bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Enablers of sustainable industrial ecosystem: framework and future research directions
Authors: Kumari Sneha , Patil Yogesh B. 
Published: June 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to dig out enablers of sustainable industrial ecosystem to develop a framework.Design/methodology/approachTo test the framework statistically, a structured questionnaire was designed. Measures for the questionnaire were adopted from an extensive literature review. Further, the questionnaire was pretested and further pilot study was conducted. Adding to this, the reliability and validity of the constructs was examined using confirmatory factor analysis followed by covariance-based structural equation modeling to test research hypotheses.FindingsThe statistical analyses suggest that the model exceeds the threshold limit for goodness of fit after undergoing through few iterations. Normative pressure has a low effect than rest of the factors.Originality/valueThe present study is a unique contribution in terms of its theoretical implications and practical use. Finally, research findings are concluded and further research directions is outlined.
Is sustainability reporting (ESG) associated with performance? Evidence from the European banking sector
Authors: Buallay Amina 
Published: June 2018

Purpose
Sustainability reporting has been widely adopted by firms worldwide given the need of stakeholders for more transparency on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between ESG and bank’s operational (Return on Assets), financial (Return on Equity) and market performance (Tobin’s Q).

Design/methodology/approach
This study examined 235 banks for ten years (2007-2016) to ends up with 2,350 observations. The independent variable is the ESG disclosure; the dependent variables are performance indicators (return on assets, return on equity and Tobin’s Q). Two type of control variables are utilized in this study: bank specific and macroeconomic.

Findings
The findings deduced from the empirical results demonstrate that there is significant positive impact of ESG on the performance. However, the relationship between ESG disclosures is vary if measured individually; the environmental disclosure found positively affect the ROA and TQ. Whereas, the corporate social responsibility disclosure is negatively affect the three models. However, the corporate governance disclosure found negatively affects the ROA, ROE and positively affects the Tobin’s Q.

Originality/value
The results of this study can be used to present a successful model for worldwide banks to concentrate on the role of ESG disclosure in performance.
Public Spaces Protection Orders: a critical policy analysis
Authors: Heap Vicky , Dickinson Jill 
Published: June 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to critically appraise the Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) policy that was introduced by the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act (2014). Within a designated area assigned by the local council, PSPOs can prohibit or require specific behaviours to improve the quality of life for people inhabiting that space. Those who do not comply face a fixed penalty notice of £100 or a fine of £1,000 on summary conviction. However, the practical and theoretical impact associated with the development of these powers has yet to be fully explored.Design/methodology/approachUsing Bannister and O’Sullivan’s (2013) discussion of civility and anti-social behaviour policy as a starting point, the authors show how PSPOs could create new frontiers in exclusion, intolerance and criminalisation, as PSPOs enable the prohibition of any type of behaviour perceived to negatively affect the quality of life.FindingsLocal councils in England and Wales now have unlimited and unregulated powers to control public spaces. The authors suggest that this has the potential to produce localised tolerance thresholds and civility agendas that currently target and further marginalise vulnerable people, and the authors highlight street sleeping homeless people as one such group.Originality/valueThere has been little academic debate on this topic. This paper raises a number of original, conceptual questions that provide an analytical framework for future empirical research. The authors also use original data from Freedom of Information requests to contextualise the discussions.
Elastic properties of sands, Part 1: Micro computed tomography image analysis of grain shapes and their relationship with microstructure
Authors: Ahmed Zubair , Lebedev Maxim 
Published: June 2018

ABSTRACTElastic properties of an unconsolidated sand are largely dependent on the elastic properties of its constituent grain and the micro‐structure that defines how the grains are arranged within themselves. Coordination number, that is the average number of contacts a grain has with its neighbours, and contact surface area are the two parameters closely related to the microstructure. Moreover, grain shapes and sorting also have substantial influence on these parameters. To calculate these parameters and find any potential relationships with the shape factors, we acquire high‐resolution micro computed tomography images of four mechanically compacted unconsolidated dry sand samples that are of different shape factors and sorting indices. After a comprehensive voxel‐based data processing, we calculate shape factors such as sphericity and roundness of each grain in all samples. Using own algorithm, we then calculate the coordination number and contact surface area. Results show that samples of well‐sorted and higher spherical and rounded grains have higher coordination number and contact surface area than the samples of poorly sorted and lower spherical and rounded grains. Among the poorly sorted samples, coordination number is largely dependent on the fraction of larger grain sizes present in the sample. Inside any given sample, grains of lower sphericity tend to have higher coordination numbers. Moreover, more spherical and rounded grains have greater contact surface area with their neighbours.
Identifying Causal Effects of Reproductive Health Improvements on Women's Economic Empowerment Through the Population Poverty Research Initiative
Authors: FINLAY JOCELYN E. , LEE MARLENE A. 
Published: June 2018

Policy Points:
Improvements in reproductive health lead to improvements in women's economic empowerment.
Contraceptive use improves women's agency, education, and labor force participation; higher maternal age at first birth (reducing adolescent childbearing) increases the likelihood of school completion and participation in the formal labor market; and having fewer children increases labor market participation.
Reproductive health is not just a benefit to a woman's individual rights, but her gateway for breaking free from her poverty trap and improving the welfare of herself, her children, and her household.
ContextWomen's access to employment, business opportunities, and financial resources is critical to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals over the next 15 years. With increased attention to women's economic empowerment among donors and policymakers across the globe, this moment is a pivotal one in which to review the current state of the research on this topic.MethodsWe reviewed the Population and Poverty (PopPov) Research Initiative results from the past 10 years with attention to the causal link between reproductive health improvements and women's economic empowerment, in addition to seminal research that informed our understanding of the link.FindingsOur review of PopPov findings revealed that improvements in reproductive health do lead to improvements in women's economic empowerment; expanding contraceptive use improves women's agency, education, and labor force participation; higher maternal age at first birth (reducing adolescent childbearing) increases the likelihood of school completion and participation in the formal labor market; and having fewer children increases labor force participation.ConclusionsGaps remain in measuring women's work and in the full exploration of women's economic empowerment. More research is needed regarding the long‐term impact of reproductive health improvements on women's economic empowerment, as some studies have shown that at times unintended negative consequences occur after early positive improvements.
Predicting long‐term ischemic events using routine clinical parameters in patients with coronary artery disease: The OPT‐CAD risk score
Authors: Han Yaling , Chen Jiyan , Qiu Miaohan , Li Yi , Li Jing , Feng Yingqing , Qiu Jian , Meng Liang , Sun Yihong , Tao Guizhou , Wu Zhaohui , Yang Chunyu , Guo Jincheng , Pu Kui , Chen Shaoliang , Wang Xiaozeng 
Published: June 2018

SummaryBackgroundThe prognosis of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) at hospital discharge was constantly varying, and postdischarge risk of ischemic events remain a concern. However, risk prediction tools to identify risk of ischemia for these patients has not yet been reported.AimsWe sought to develop a scoring system for predicting long‐term ischemic events in CAD patients receiving antiplatelet therapy that would be beneficial in appropriate personalized decision‐making for these patients.MethodsIn this prospective Optimal antiPlatelet Therapy for Chinese patients with Coronary Artery Disease (OPT‐CAD, NCT01735305) registry, a total of 14 032 patients with CAD receiving at least one kind of antiplatelet agent were enrolled from 107 centers across China, from January 2012 to March 2014. The risk scoring system was developed in a derivation cohort (enrolled initially 10 000 patients in the database) using a logistic regression model and was subsequently tested in a validation cohort (the last 4032 patients). Points in risk score were assigned based on the multivariable odds ratio of each factor. Ischemic events were defined as the composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction or stroke.ResultsIschemic events occurred in 342 (3.4%) patients in the derivation cohort and 160 (4.0%) patients in the validation cohort during 1‐year follow‐up. The OPT‐CAD score, ranging from 0‐257 points, consist of 10 independent risk factors, including age (0‐71 points), heart rates (0‐36 points), hypertension (0‐20 points), prior myocardial infarction (16 points), prior stroke (16 points), renal insufficient (21 points), anemia (19 points), low ejection fraction (22 points), positive cardiac troponin (23 points) and ST‐segment deviation (13 points). In predicting 1‐year ischemic events, the area under receiver operating characteristics curve were 0.73 and 0.72 in derivation and validation cohort, respectively. The incidences of ischemic events in low‐ (0‐90 points), medium‐ (91‐150 points) and high‐risk (≥151 points) patients were 1.6%, 5.5%, and 15.0%, respectively. Compared to GRACE score, OPT‐CAD score had a better discrimination in predicting ischemic events and all‐cause mortality (ischemic events: 0.72 vs 0.65, all‐cause mortality: 0.79 vs 0.72, both P < .001).ConclusionsAmong CAD patients, a risk score based on 10 baseline clinical variables performed better than the GRACE risk score in predicting long‐term ischemic events. However, further research is needed to assess the value of the OPT‐CAD score in guiding the management of antiplatelet therapy for patients with CAD.
Alcohol‐Related Alterations in Placental Imprinted Gene Expression in Humans Mediate Effects of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure on Postnatal Growth
Authors: Carter R. Colin , Chen Jia , Li Qian , Deyssenroth Maya , Dodge Neil C. , Wainwright Helen C. , Molteno Christopher D. , Meintjes Ernesta M. , Jacobson Joseph L. , Jacobson Sandra W. 
Published: June 2018

BackgroundA growing body of evidence in animal models has implicated alcohol‐induced alterations in epigenetic programming as an important mechanism in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Imprinted genes, a subset of epigenetically regulated genes that are sensitive to the prenatal environment, are chiefly involved in growth and neurobehavior. We tested the hypothesis that alterations in placental imprinted gene expression mediate fetal alcohol growth restriction.MethodsPlacental expression of 109 genes previously shown to be imprinted and expressed in the placenta was assessed using the NanoString™ nCounter Analysis System in flash‐frozen samples from 34 heavy drinkers and 31 control women in Cape Town, South Africa, from whom prospective pregnancy alcohol consumption data had been obtained. Length/height, weight, and head circumference were measured at 6.5 and 12 months and at an FASD diagnostic clinic (at ages 1.1 to 4.6 years) that we organized. Imprinted gene expression between exposed and control placentas was compared using the limma R package. The relation of alcohol exposure to World Health Organization length‐for‐age z‐scores was examined before and after inclusion of expression for each alcohol‐related imprinted gene, using hierarchical mixed regression models with repeated measures.ResultsHeavy drinkers averaged 8 standard drinks on 2 to 3 days/wk (vs. 0 for controls). Prenatal alcohol exposure was associated with smaller length/height and weight during the postnatal period. Heavy exposure was related to alterations in expression of 11 of 93 expressed imprinted genes, including increased expression of 5 genes found to be negatively associated with growth and decreased expression of 3 genes positively associated with growth. Alcohol‐related alterations in expression of 5 genes statistically mediated the effect of prenatal alcohol exposure on length.ConclusionsThese findings identify alcohol‐related alterations in placental imprinted gene expression as potential biomarkers of adverse effect in FASD and suggest that these alterations may play a mechanistic role in fetal alcohol growth restriction. Future studies are needed to determine whether alterations in imprinted gene expression also mediate FASD neurobehavioral deficits and whether such alterations are amenable to intervention.
HLA genetics in bipolar disorder
Authors: Tamouza R. , Oliveira J. , Etain B. , Bengoufa D. , Hamdani N. , Manier C. , Mariaselvam C. , Sundaresh A. , Bellivier F. , Henry C. , Kahn J‐P. , Krishnamoorthy R. , Charron D. , Leboyer M. 
Published: June 2018

ObjectiveBipolar Disorder (BD) is characterized by deregulated adaptive immune processes. Recent genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) implicate the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region in BD. The present study investigates the potential influence of variations in human leukocyte antigen (HLA) on BD risk and/or clinical presentations. This may have relevance to the dysregulated inflammatory processes commonly found in BD.MethodDNAs from 475 BD patients and 195 healthy controls (HC) were genotyped for classical HLA class I and II loci.ResultsWe found that: (i) the HLA‐A*02~B*44~DRB1*07 sub‐haplotype is less prevalent in BD, vs. HC (pc = 2.4 × 10−2); (ii) the 57.1 and the 8.1‐derived ancestral haplotypes i.e. HLA‐A*02~B*57~Cw*06~DRB1*07~DQB1*09 and HLA‐A*02~B*08~Cw*07 are associated with rapid cycling (pc = 1.9 × 10−3 and 1.05 × 10−2, respectively); (iii) the 8.1AH‐derived HLA class II‐DRB*03~HLA‐DQB1*02 sub‐haplotype is more frequent in BD patients with a history of suicidal behaviors (pc = 2.1 × 10−2); and (iv) disease onset by an hypomanic episode or by psychotic symptoms are, respectively, more frequent in BD patients bearing the 7.1 AH‐derived A*03~B*07~DRB1*15 sub‐haplotype (pc = 8.5 × 10−3) and the HLA‐A*02~B*07~DRB1*15 sub‐haplotype (pc = 4.0 × 10−2).ConclusionCorroborating the established link between these HLA haplotypes/sub haplotypes and common immune disorders, our findings suggest possible HLA‐mediated proinflammatory processes operating in BD.
Does Risk‐taking Promote New Product Development Performance? An Environmental Dynamism Perspective
Authors: Xue Jiao , Zeng Saixing , Meng Xiaohua , Peng Yunfeng 
Published: June 2018

AbstractUsing an “entrepreneurial orientation–performance” framework and environmental contingency theory, this study proposes and empirically explores a theoretical framework for understanding the impacts of risk‐taking and environmental dynamism on new product development (NPD) performance in emerging markets. We deepen the analysis of environmental dynamism into customer, competitor, supplier, institutional environment, and economic environment. The results demonstrate that risk‐taking and environmental dynamism contribute both individually and interactively to the performance of NPD. Further, of all the environmental units, environmental dynamism from suppliers and regulatory groups has a significant, direct and positive moderating effect on the performance of NPD.
Precision medicine in united airways disease: A “treatable traits” approach
Authors: Yii A. C. A. , Tay T.‐R. , Choo X. N. , Koh M. S. Y. , Tee A. K. H. , Wang D.‐Y. 
Published: June 2018

AbstractUnited airways disease (UAD) is the concept that the upper and lower airways, which are anatomically and immunologically related, form a single organ. According to this concept, upper and lower airway diseases are frequently comorbid because they reflect manifestations of a single underlying disease at different sites of the respiratory tract. Allergic asthma‐allergic rhinitis is the archetypal UAD, but emerging data indicate that UAD is a heterogeneous condition and consists of multiple phenotypes (observable clinical characteristics) and endotypes (pathobiologic mechanisms). The UAD paradigm also extends to myriad sinonasal diseases (eg, chronic rhinosinusitis with or without nasal polyps) and lower airway diseases (eg, bronchiectasis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Here, we review currently known phenoendotypes of UAD and propose a “treatable traits” approach for the classification and management of UAD, wherein pathophysiological mechanisms and factors contributing to disease are identified and targeted for treatment. Treatable traits in UAD can be analyzed according to a framework comprising airway inflammation (eosinophilic, neutrophilic), impaired airway mucosal defense (impaired mucociliary clearance, antibody deficiency), and exogenous cofactors (allergic sensitizers, tobacco smoke, microbes). Appreciation of treatable traits is necessary in advancing the effort to deliver precise treatments and achieve better outcomes in patients with UAD.
Insights into the role of androgen receptor in human testicular peritubular cells
Authors: Mayer C. , Adam M. , Walenta L. , Schmid N. , Heikelä H. , Schubert K. , Flenkenthaler F. , Dietrich K.‐G. , Gruschka S. , Arnold G. J. , Fröhlich T. , Schwarzer J. U. , Köhn F. M. , Strauss L. , Welter H. , Poutanen M. , Mayerhofer A. 
Published: June 2018

SummaryContractile smooth muscle‐like peritubular cells build the wall of seminiferous tubules in men. They are crucial for sperm transport and complement the functions of Sertoli cells by secreting factors, including glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor. Previous studies revealed that they also secrete the chemokine C‐X‐C motif chemokine ligand 12 (CXCL12), which has known roles in spermatogenesis. Peritubular cells express the androgen receptor (AR), which is retained in isolated human testicular peritubular cells. We aimed to explore AR‐regulated functions in human testicular peritubular cells. Bearing in mind that infertile men often have high aromatase activity, which may lower intratesticular androgen concentrations, an animal model for male infertility was studied. These mice display an age‐dependent loss in spermatogenesis due to high aromatase activity. Human testicular peritubular cells were exposed to dihydrotestosterone or the antiandrogen flutamide. We studied AR, smooth muscle cell markers, glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor and 15 secreted factors previously identified, including CXCL12. We used qPCR, Western blotting, ELISA or selected reaction monitoring (SRM). In the animal model for male infertility, we employed qPCR and immunohistochemistry. Dihydrotestosterone increased AR and flutamide prevented these actions. The smooth muscle cell markers calponin and smooth muscle actin were likewise increased, while cell size or cellular proliferation was not changed. Dihydrotestosterone did not increase glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor or CXCL12 secretion but increased levels of serine proteinase inhibitor (SERPIN) E1. The animal model for male infertility with high aromatase activity showed reduced numbers of AR‐immunoreactive testicular peritubular cells, suggesting that altered androgen and/or oestrogen levels could influence AR‐mediated responses in peritubular cells. Androgens act on human testicular peritubular cells to enhance AR levels, their contractile phenotype and to modulate the secretion of some secreted factors. This study suggests that some aspects of human peritubular cell functions are regulated by androgens.
Multiple Imputation of Missing Data in Nested Case-Control and Case-Cohort Studies
Authors: Keogh Ruth H. , Seaman Shaun R. , Bartlett Jonathan W. , Wood Angela M. 
Published: June 2018

Summary
The nested case-control and case-cohort designs are two main approaches for carrying out a substudy within a prospective cohort. This article adapts multiple imputation (MI) methods for handling missing covariates in full-cohort studies for nested case-control and case-cohort studies. We consider data missing by design and data missing by chance. MI analyses that make use of full-cohort data and MI analyses based on substudy data only are described, alongside an intermediate approach in which the imputation uses full-cohort data but the analysis uses only the substudy. We describe adaptations to two imputation methods: the approximate method (MI-approx) of White and Royston (2009) and the “substantive model compatible” (MI-SMC) method of Bartlett et al. (2015). We also apply the “MI matched set” approach of Seaman and Keogh (2015) to nested case-control studies, which does not require any full-cohort information. The methods are investigated using simulation studies and all perform well when their assumptions hold. Substantial gains in efficiency can be made by imputing data missing by design using the full-cohort approach or by imputing data missing by chance in analyses using the substudy only. The intermediate approach brings greater gains in efficiency relative to the substudy approach and is more robust to imputation model misspecification than the full-cohort approach. The methods are illustrated using the ARIC Study cohort. Supplementary Materials provide R and Stata code.
An Asymptotic Approximation to the N-Mixture Model for the Estimation of Disease Prevalence
Authors: Brintz Ben , Fuentes Claudio , Madsen Lisa 
Published: June 2018

Summary
N-mixture models are probability models that estimate abundance using replicate observed counts while accounting for imperfect detection. In this article, we propose an asymptotic approximation to the N-mixture model which efficiently estimates large abundances without the computational limitations of the generalized N-mixture model introduced by Dail and Madsen in 2011. It has been suggested in the literature that N-mixture models do not perform well when counts from the same sites show weak patterns of population dynamics. Our proposed model addresses this issue by using the asymptotic information matrix to diagnose model parameter estimability and to derive parameter standard errors. A simulation study show that this model performs almost as well as the Dail–Madsen Generalized N-mixture model at low abundances and improves on it at higher abundances. We illustrate the procedure using two data sets: the American robin data from Dail and Madsen (2011), and counts of chlamydia cases in the state of Oregon from 2007–2016. The chlamydia data exhibit very large abundances and demonstrate the potential usefulness of the proposed model for disease surveillance data.