bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Influence of human capital on healthcare agility and healthcare supply chain performance
Authors: Mandal Santanu 
Published: September 2018

PurposeHealth-care supply chains must focus on efficient deployment of resources for ensuring optimal supply chain performance. With efficient supply chain (SC) performance, health-care entities would be able to address their patients’ requirements with great speed. This is the essence of health-care agility. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to focus on developing health-care agility through human capital, that is, innovative idea generation capabilities and specialised knowledge possessed by the firm employees. Because information technology (IT) capabilities play a dominant role in information exchange crucial to supply chain operations; the study considered the moderating role of three IT capabilities, viz. outside-in, spanning and inside-out IT capabilities on human capital and health-care SC performance association, and on health-care supply chain performance and health-care agility association.Design/methodology/approachBecause the constructs used in the study mainly deals with issues specifically related to hospitals and their associated supply chains, the study collected perceptual responses from senior hospital managers. Perceptual responses were received through face-to-face interviews with 212 hospital managers working in different hospitals. The collected responses were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling.FindingsFindings suggests positive influences of human capital on health-care SC performance and health-care agility. Furthermore, health-care SC performance was also found to result in enhanced health-care agility. The study further revealed positive moderation of outside-in, spanning and inside-out IT capabilities on human capital and health-care SC performance association and on health-care SC performance and health-care agility association.Originality/valueThe study addressed the importance of human capital in providing faster services to patients (i.e. agility) in health-care supply chains through improved SC performance. Furthermore, the study addressed the importance of different IT capabilities that enhance the importance of human capital in providing efficient and faster services through efficient SC performance.
Gamified mobile experiences: smart technologies for tourism destinations
Authors: Garcia Ander , Linaza Maria Teresa , Gutierrez Aitor , Garcia Endika 
Published: September 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold: to present gamified mobile experiences as valid tools for DMOs to enrich the experience of tourists, and to present the benefits provided to DMOs by analytics tools integrated on gamified mobile experiences.Design/methodology/approachStaff from three DMOs have generated a gamified mobile experience using a custom authoring tool designed and developed to fulfil their requirements. This gamified experience has targeted families with children visiting Basque Country during off-peak season. The experience has been validated over a period of seven weeks within a pilot project promoted by the local tourist information offices of the DMOs. Data directly provided by tourists and data gathered from analytic tools integrated on the gamified mobile experience have been analysed to fulfil the research objectives presented on the paper.FindingsBoth DMOs and tourists can benefit from gamified mobile experiences. The integration of analytics tools to gain insights into the behaviour of tourists can be a relevant information source for DMOs.Research limitations/implicationsThe pilot project has targeted a niche tourism market, families with children visiting Basque Country, and has been running during off-peak season. Further studies focusing on other tourist types and different tourism season and destination types will be required to strengthen the validation of the research objectives presented on this paper.Practical implicationsThe paper promotes both the development of gamified mobile experiences and the inclusion of analytics tools for DMOs to obtain relevant information about tourists and the mobile experiences.Originality/valueA gamified mobile experience is generated by DMOs, validated on the basis of experience of real tourists. The analytics tools inside the gamified mobile experience provide DMOs with relevant information.
Prediction of sonic velocities from other borehole data: An example from the Kevitsa mine site, northern Finland
Authors: Kieu Duy Thong , Kepic Anton , Kitzig Maria Cornelia 
Published: September 2018

ABSTRACTP‐wave and S‐wave velocities are vital parameters for the processing of seismic data and may be useful for geotechnical studies used in mine planning if such data were collected more often. Seismic velocity data from boreholes increase the robustness and accuracy of the images obtained by relatively costly seismic surface reflection surveys. However, sonic logs are rarely acquired in boreholes in‐and‐near base metal and precious metal mineral deposits until a seismic survey is planned, and only a few new holes are typically logged because the many hundreds of holes previously drilled are no longer accessible. If there are any pre‐existing petrophysical log data, then the data are likely to consist of density, magnetic susceptibility, resistivity and natural gamma logs. Thus, it would be of great benefit to be able to predict the velocities from other data that is more readily available.In this work, we utilize fuzzy c‐means clustering to build a “fuzzy” relationship between sonic velocities and other petrophysical borehole data to predict P‐wave and S‐wave velocity. If boreholes with sonic data intersect most of the important geological units in the area of interest, then the cluster model developed may be applied to other boreholes that do not have sonic data, but do have other petrophysical data to be used for predicting the sonic logs. These predicted sonic logs may then be used to create a three‐dimensional volume of velocity with greater detail than would otherwise be created by the interpolation of measured sonic data from sparsely located holes.Our methodology was tested on a dataset from the Kevitsa Ni‐Cu‐PGE deposit in northern Finland. The dataset includes five boreholes with wireline logs of P‐wave velocity, S‐wave velocity, density, natural gamma, magnetic susceptibility and resistivity that were used for cluster analysis. The best combination of input data for the training section was chosen by trial and error, but differences in the misfit between the various training datasets were not particularly significant. Our results show that the fuzzy c‐means method can predict sonic velocities from other borehole data very well, and the fuzzy c‐means method works better than using multiple linear‐regression fitting. The predicted P‐wave velocity data are of sufficient quality to robustly add low‐frequency information for seismic impedance inversion and should provide better velocity models for accurate depth conversion of seismic reflection data.
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation retrieval factors and survival to intensive care unit discharge
Authors: Kennedy Lucy , Wrigley Scott , Kennedy Marcus , Pellegrino Vincent 
Published: September 2018

AbstractObjectiveAudit of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) retrieval service operating in Victoria, Australia, regarding retrieval factors and patient survival to intensive care unit (ICU) discharge.MethodsRetrospective cohort analysis of Adult Retrieval Victoria ECMO retrievals with subsequent ICU admission (n = 88) from January 2014 to December 2017.ResultsComplications occurring during veno‐arterial ECMO transfer have significant association with decreased survival to ICU discharge (P = 0.012). Mortality for veno‐arterial ECMO patients was greater than veno‐venous ECMO patients.ConclusionRetrieval ECMO achieves similar survival outcomes to in‐house ECMO. The demonstrated relationship of adverse events during retrieval phase to subsequent mortality in ICU highlights the need for optimised case management and retrieval processes.
High prevalence of comorbid autoimmune diseases in adults with type 1 diabetes from the HealthFacts database
Authors: Bao Yicheng K. , Weide Lamont G. , Ganesan Vishwanath C. , Jakhar Ishaan , McGill Janet B. , Sahil Suman , Cheng An‐Lin , Gaddis Monica , Drees Betty M. 
Published: September 2018

AbstractBackgroundPatients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) are at risk for other autoimmune diseases (ie, polyautoimmunity). The prevalence and risk factors of this phenomenon have been underreported in adults and ethnic minorities, and data are lacking regarding non‐endocrine autoimmune diseases.MethodsStudy population data were gathered from HealthFacts, a deidentified patient database compiled from electronic medical records systems in the US. Patients with an International Classification of Diseases diagnosis code specifying T1D were included in the study, whereas those with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes were excluded.ResultsThe cross‐sectional study cohort comprised 158 865 adults with T1D (mean [±SD] age 51.4 ± 18.9 years, 52.5% female). The most common autoimmune diseases were thyroid disease (20.1%), systemic rheumatic diseases (3.4%), rheumatoid arthritis specifically (2.0%), and gastrointestinal autoimmune diseases (1.4%). Most of the autoimmune diseases were more common in women (eg hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, celiac disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and Sjögren syndrome). Caucasians were more likely than other ethnicities to have an additional autoimmune disease. The prevalence of autoimmune diseases increased with increasing age, significantly in women, such that 38.5% of women over 80 years of age had an additional autoimmune disease, compared with 17.9% of women aged ≤29 years.ConclusionsAdditional autoimmunity represents a significant comorbidity in patients with T1D. Autoimmune diseases are more common in Caucasians and in women, and increase with age. Clinicians treating patients with T1D should be aware of the risk factors for additional autoimmune diseases.
Effects of combined treatment with blood flow restriction and low‐intensity electrical stimulation on diabetes mellitus‐associated muscle atrophy in rats
Authors: Tanaka Minoru , Morifuji Takeshi , Yoshikawa Madoka , Nakanishi Ryosuke , Fujino Hidemi 
Published: September 2018

AbstractBackgroundDiabetes mellitus (DM) results in decreased muscle mass and harmful complications. Blood flow restriction (Bfr) and electrical stimulation (ES) increase muscle protein synthesis. We hypothesized that combined Bfr and low‐intensity ES may be more effective in preventing diabetes‐associated muscle atrophy by inhibiting the downregulation of protein synthesis‐related pathways. In this study, the effects of combined Bfr and low‐intensity ES on diabetes‐associated muscle atrophy were investigated by evaluating advanced glycation end‐products (AGEs) and receptor for AGEs (RAGE) in rats.MethodsTwenty‐four Goto‐Kakizaki (GK) rats were randomly divided into four treatment groups: sedentary DM, DM + Bfr (pressure cuffs placed around the thigh), DM + ES, and DM + Bfr + ES. Six Wistar rats were used as an age‐matched control. Levels of AGEs and the expression of RAGE, extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (ERK), and ribosomal protein S6 (rpS6) were determined in plantaris muscles.ResultsDiabetes resulted in a loss of muscle mass and upregulation of AGEs and RAGE in the plantaris muscle compared with the control group. Treatment with Bfr and ES alone failed to attenuate diabetes‐associated loss of muscle mass, and could not prevent the upregulation of AGEs. However, the combination of Bfr and ES prevented the diabetes‐associated decrease in muscle mass and upregulation of AGEs. In addition, the combination treatment prevented diabetes‐associated decreases in the expression of phosphorylated rpS6.ConclusionsCombination treatment with Bfr and ES may prevent diabetes‐associated muscle atrophy by upregulating inhibition of AGEs, which leads to the activation of protein synthesis.
New mitochondrial primers for metabarcoding of insects, designed and evaluated using in silico methods
Authors: Marquina Daniel , Andersson Anders F. , Ronquist Fredrik 
Published: September 2018

AbstractInsect metabarcoding has been mainly based on PCR amplification of short fragments within the “barcoding region” of the gene cytochrome oxidase I (COI). However, because of the variability of this gene, it has been difficult to design good universal PCR primers. Most primers used today are associated with gaps in the taxonomic coverage or amplification biases that make the results less reliable and impede the detection of species that are present in the sample. We identify new primers for insect metabarcoding using computational approaches (ecoprimers and degeprime) applied to the most comprehensive reference databases of mitochondrial genomes of Hexapoda assembled to date. New primers are evaluated in silico against previously published primers in terms of taxonomic coverage and resolution of the corresponding amplicons. For the latter criterion, we propose a new index, exclusive taxonomic resolution, which is a more biologically meaningful measure than the standard index used today. Our results show that the best markers are found in the ribosomal RNA genes (12S and 16S); they resolve about 90% of the genetically distinct species in the reference database. Some markers in protein‐coding genes provide similar performance but only at much higher levels of primer degeneracy. Combining two of the best individual markers improves the effective taxonomic resolution with up to 10%. The resolution is strongly dependent on insect taxon: COI primers detect 40% of Hymenoptera, while 12S primers detect 12% of Collembola. Our results indicate that amplicon‐based metabarcoding of insect samples can be improved by choosing other primers than those commonly used today.
Evidence of governance arbitrage by private equity sponsors
Authors: Schofield Guy 
Published: September 2018

AbstractThe motivation for private equity bids is not well understood, partly due to the private nature of their activity. This research contributes to understanding the merits of current‐day private equity by examining whether ineffective governance of target public corporations contributes to the role that private equity fulfils. I examine the characteristics of large public target firms that receive a private equity bid to investigate the evidence that private equity is motivated to address ineffective governance. I find evidence the private equity is motivated by what is referred to as governance arbitrage and that this role is heightened when there are constraints such as the imposition of uniform governance practices within public corporations.
Evaluating support for rangeland‐restoration practices by rural Somalis: an unlikely win‐win for local livelihoods and hirola antelope?
Authors: Ali A. H. , Amin R. , Evans J. S. , Fischer M. , Ford A. T. , Kibara A. , Goheen J. R. 
Published: September 2018

AbstractIn developing countries, governments often lack the authority and resources to implement conservation outside of protected areas. In such situations, the integration of conservation with local livelihoods is crucial to species recovery and reintroduction efforts. The hirola Beatragus hunteri is the world's most endangered antelope, with a population of <500 individuals that is restricted to <5% of its historical geographic range on the Kenya–Somali border. Long‐term hirola declines have been attributed to a combination of disease and rangeland degradation. Tree encroachment—driven by some combination of extirpation of elephants, overgrazing by livestock, and perhaps fire suppression—is at least partly responsible for habitat loss and the decline of contemporary populations. Through interviews in local communities across the hirola's current range, we identified socially acceptable strategies for habitat restoration and hirola recovery. We used classification and regression trees, conditional inference trees, and generalized linear models to identify sociodemographic predictors of support for range‐restoration strategies. Locals supported efforts to conserve elephants (which kill trees and thus facilitate grass growth), seed and fertilize grass, and remove trees, but were opposed to livestock reduction. Locals were ambivalent toward controlled burns and soil ripping (a practice through which soil is broken up to prevent compaction). Livestock ownership and years of residency were key predictors of locals’ perceptions toward rangeland‐restoration practices. Locals owning few livestock were more supportive of elephant conservation, and seeding and fertilization of grass, while longer term residents were more supportive of livestock reduction but were less supportive of elephant conservation. Ultimately, wildlife conservation outside protected areas requires long‐term, community‐based efforts that are compatible with human livelihoods. We recommend elephant conservation, grass seeding and fertilization, manual tree removal and resting range from livestock both to enhance the potential for hirola recovery and to build positive rapport with local communities in the geographic range of this critically endangered species.
Reducing the Hellenic Financial Crisis to Its Root Cause: A Cybernetic Analysis
Authors: Trujillo Joaquin 
Published: September 2018

AbstractThis article cybernetically (isomorphically) investigates the causes of the Hellenic financial crisis. It (1) describes the crisis and its commonly assessed root cause: systemic corruption coupled to the decisions of ample numbers of Greeks to endure the problem rather than resolve it; (2) reviewsSYRIZA's 2015 anti‐austerity campaign and identifies incompatibilities within its apparent collective purposes that imply processes more fundamental than corruption and bad faith may be causing the crisis; (3) situates cybernetics within a sociological framework to analyze those processes appropriately; (4) propositionally reduces them to a general rule—the tragedy of the commons—operating more or less within the collective conscience of the Greek people; and (5) and exposes the parameter's self‐similar manifestation in social actions that have contributed to the crisis.
Perilous Journeys: Visualising the Racialised “Refugee Crisis”
Authors: Burrell Kathy , Hörschelmann Kathrin 
Published: September 2018

AbstractThis article explores the benign and malignant power of the visual in the racialised framing of the ongoing “European refugee crisis”. Bringing together literatures on racial discourses, visuality, storytelling and decoloniality for the first time, this paper breaks new ground in our understandings of the political possibilities that visual storytelling offers in shifting “lines of sight” in an increasingly vitriolic anti‐refugee climate. It does this by analysing prominent graphic narratives created by the non‐profit organisation PositiveNegatives, animating the refugee experiences of Syrian men in Scandinavia. We consider the affective engagements that such progressive storytelling promotes and the decolonial potential invested in it, arguing that the modality and content of narratives of this genre offer important scope to provoke encounter and empathy. Contributing to geographies of race, migration, visuality and decoloniality, we suggest that these narratives allow new and gently radical ways of resisting the dehumanising impetus of mainstream media discourses.
Improved discrimination between normal‐tension and primary open‐angle glaucoma with advanced vascular examinations – the Leuven Eye Study
Authors: Barbosa‐Breda João , Van Keer Karel , Abegão‐Pinto Luis , Nassiri Vahid , Molenberghs Geert , Willekens Koen , Vandewalle Evelien , Rocha‐Sousa Amândio , Stalmans Ingeborg 
Published: September 2018

AbstractPurposeVascular factors have been suggested to influence the development and progression of glaucoma. They are thought to be especially relevant for normal‐tension glaucoma (NTG) patients. We aim to investigate which vascular factors, including advanced vascular examinations, better describe patients with NTG comparing to those with primary open‐angle glaucoma (POAG).MethodsThe Leuven Eye Study database (182 NTG and 202 POAG patients; similar structural and functional damage) was used to compute three multivariate logistic regression models: a conventional model (conventional parameters only, including vascular‐related self‐reported phenomena, such as migraine or peripheral vasospasm); an advanced vascular model (advanced vascular parameters only: colour Doppler imaging (CDI), retinal oximetry, ocular pulse amplitude and choroidal thickness); and a global model, in which both types of parameters were allowed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and corresponding areas under the curve (AUC) were calculated and compared between models.ResultsPatients with NTG had a higher resistive index and lower early systolic acceleration (ESA) in their retrobulbar vessels and a smaller arteriovenous retinal oxygen saturation difference. The global model (AUC 0.743) showed a significantly better discriminative ability when compared to either the conventional (AUC 0.687, p = 0.049) or the advanced vascular (AUC 0.677, p = 0.005) models. Also, the conventional and the advanced vascular models showed a similar discriminative ability (p = 0.823).ConclusionPatients with NTG have more signs of vascular dysfunction. Clinical conventional parameters, such as asking simple vascular‐related questions, combined with advanced vascular examinations provide information to better understand the value that non‐IOP‐related factors play in NTG.
Liver fat scores predict liver disease mortality in the United States population
Authors: Unalp‐Arida Aynur , Ruhl Constance E. 
Published: September 2018

SummaryBackgroundFatty liver is a significant global public health burden, contributing to premature death.AimTo examine whether liver fat scores were associated with increased overall and disease‐specific mortality in a United States (US) population‐based survey with up to 27 years of linked mortality data.MethodsWe studied 9200 fasted viral hepatitis‐negative adults in the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988‐1994. Liver fat was predicted using the US fatty liver index (US FLI), fatty liver index (FLI), non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease liver fat score (NAFLD LFS), and hepatic steatosis index (HSI). Participants were passively followed up for mortality, identified by death certificate underlying or contributing causes, by linkage to National Death Index records through 2015. Mortality hazard ratios (HR) were calculated using Cox proportional hazards regression to adjust for mortality risk factors.ResultsDuring follow‐up (median, 23.3 years), cumulative mortality was 31.4% overall and 1.1% with liver disease, including primary liver cancer. Elevated liver disease mortality was associated with a high US FLI (HR, 5.7; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.3‐24.5), and intermediate (HR, 3.1; 95% CI, 1.1‐9.1) or high (HR, 11.4; 95% CI, 2.9‐44.4) NAFLD LFS, but not with a higher FLI or HSI. Overall and cardiovascular disease mortality was unassociated with higher liver fat scores.ConclusionsIn the US population, a higher US FLI and NAFLD LFS were associated with increased liver disease mortality, but not with other mortality outcomes. Liver fat scores may be useful for metabolic health surveillance and long‐term liver disease risk stratification and may complement fibrosis markers for tracking.