bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Investors as Stewards of the Commons?
Authors: Serafeim George 
Published: August 2018

The author makes the case that business generally, not just government, should assume responsibility for social and environmental problems. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) formally recognize the role of the private sector in addressing some of the world's most pressing environmental and social challenges. What started as a corporate social responsibility movement now a focuses on integrating positive social impact into the core mission of the organization.Encouragingly, studies document that improving firm performance on business‐relevant ESG issues has a positive association with future financial performance. Investors can enable better societal outcomes by exercising ‘voice’ and voting rights in corporate governance.He acknowledges that competitive businesses face a “commons” or “free‐rider” problem where a defector avoids the full cost of his actions. Overcoming this problem requires legally sanctioned collaboration between business enterprises and large institutional shareholders, particularly pension funds. He also acknowledges that the corporate level free‐rider problem has a counterpart that at the investor level. Investor engagement with companies involves resources, money and time. It is no simple matter to justify increased costs in the context of asset managers that compete on the basis of low management fees, such as index funds.Collaboration between companies can mitigate some of these free riding problems. Large institutional investors with long time horizons and significant common ownership across different companies may have the best opportunities for collaboration. But, smaller activist funds and retail investors also have an important role in pushing large institutional investors to engage. While it is unlikely that investors will be able to solve all of the pressing societal problems, progress can be made.
Building a Bridge between Marketing and Finance
Authors: Barker Ryan , Milano Greg 
Published: August 2018

Corporate finance executives are often frustrated by spending proposals from their marketing colleagues but cannot seem to be able to quantify the putative benefits. Similarly, the marketing staff is frustrated by the finance team's inability to convert soft marketing metrics, such as “awareness” and “customer satisfaction” into financial forecasts. The challenge is that neither marketers nor finance executives have been able to articulate a single analytical framework which both explains how and why brands come to flourish or flounder and how brand growth contributes to the business's short and long term bottom line.Lacking an effective way to do this now, most managers default to using the hard data they do have, namely how marketing investment is likely to impact sales this quarter and next. This reinforces the widespread focus on quarterly EPS and reduces the perceived value of the marketing department to their ability to hit three month sales targets. This degraded view of marketing's contribution and the inability to link “soft” marketing metrics to longer term financial returns impedes building long‐term brand value. This article focuses on how advances in behavioral science and financial analytics offer an effective way to bridge this gap between marketing and finance.Building that bridge requires better measures of brand health and financial performance to allocate capital and marketing resources. Undoubtedly, brand building is both an art and a science. But, the finance people can develop an evidence‐based framework explaining how some of the “softer” investments such as brand building, contribute to the value of the firm.
CXCL6‐EGFR‐induced Kupffer cells secrete TGF‐β1 promoting hepatic stellate cell activation via the SMAD2/BRD4/C‐MYC/EZH2 pathway in liver fibrosis
Authors: Cai Xiaobo , Li Zhenghong , Zhang Qidi , Qu Yin , Xu Mingyi , Wan Xinjian , Lu Lungen 
Published: August 2018

AbstractLiver fibrosis is the excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix proteins in response to the inflammatory response that accompanies tissue injury, which at an advanced stage can lead to cirrhosis and even liver failure. This study investigated the role of the CXC chemokine CXCL6 (GCP‐2) in liver fibrosis. The expression of CXCL6 was found to be elevated in the serum and liver tissue of high stage liver fibrosis patients. Furthermore, treatment with CXCL6 (100 ng/mL) stimulated the phosphorylation of EGFR and the expression of TGF‐β in cultured Kupffer cells (KCs). Although treatment with CXCL6 directly did not activate the hepatic stellate cell (HSC) line, HSC‐T6, HSCs cultured with media taken from KCs treated with CXCL6 or TGF‐β showed increased expression of α‐SMA, a marker of HSC activation. CXCL6 was shown to function via the SMAD2/BRD4/C‐MYC/EZH2 pathway by enhancing the SMAD3‐BRD4 interaction and promoting direct binding of BRD4 to the C‐MYC promoter and CMY‐C to the EZH2 promoter, thereby inducing profibrogenic gene expression in HSCs, leading to activation and transdifferentiation into fibrogenic myofibroblasts. These findings were confirmed in a mouse model of CCl4‐induced chronic liver injury and fibrosis in which the levels of CXCL6 and TGF‐β in serum and the expression of α‐SMA, SMAD3, BRD4, C‐MYC, and EZH2 in liver tissue were increased. Taken together, our results reveal that CXCL6 plays an important role in liver fibrosis through stimulating the release of TGF‐β by KCs and thereby activating HSCs.
Human Rights and Religion: A Sociological Perspective
Authors: Breskaya Olga , Giordan Giuseppe , Richardson James T. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThis essay aims to review mainstream literature and research perspectives on the sociology of human rights with the further focus on relationship between human rights and religion. We consider the challenges of late engagement of sociology with human rights and current narratives of the relationship of human rights and religion that encompass normativity as the central category of historically oriented sociology. We discuss the contribution of two empirical research mainstreams on human rights and religion and focus on a new field of study—sociology of religious freedom. A detailed new agenda for sociological research on human rights and religion is explored in the final part of our assessment.
Signatures of the Martian regolith components entrained in some impact‐melt glasses in shergottites
Authors: Rao M. N. , Nyquist L. E. , Ross D. K. , Sutton S. R. , Hoppe P. , Shih C. Y. , Wentworth S. J. , Garrison D. H. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractMartian regolith components are found in some impact melts (IM) containing Martian atmospheric gases in the shergottites Elephant Moraine (EET) 79001, Tissint, Zagami, and Shergotty. Excess sulfur abundances provide strong indicators for the presence of an exogenous component. High sulfur abundances and the SO3‐SiO2 correlation in polished thin section (PTS) EET 79001,507 (here #507) are comparable to those in Martian soils. Correlations of SO3 with FeO in #507 from Lithology B and of CaO and Al2O3 in EET 79001,506 (here #506) from Lithology A suggest the possible occurrence of two varieties of sulfate‐bearing phases in impact‐melt precursors. Fe/S (atomic) ratios of 1.02–1.34 determined in several sulfide blebs in #507 differ from those determined in igneous sulfides (Fe/S = 0.92), and suggest that most sulfide blebs in #507 are not related to igneous sulfides. Fe/S (atomic) ratios in a Tissint glass range from ~0.5 (pyrite) to >1.1 suggesting a mixture of sulfur‐bearing phases. S K‐XANES spectra of the blebs in EET 79001 and Tissint glasses show that sulfur occurs as mixed amorphous sulfide and sulfite. The δ34S values and the 87Sr/86Sr (I) ratios determined in EET 79001 impact melts are consistent with the proposition that the sulfide blebs result from decomposition of secondary sulfates into sulfites during shock heating followed by reduction to sulfides by isentropic cooling. These results suggest the presence in some shergottites of extraneous regolith components containing oxidized S‐bearing species resembling sulfur species present in Martian soils.
Functional mapping of the E. coli translational machinery using single‐molecule tracking
Authors: Mohapatra Sonisilpa , Weisshaar James C. 
Published: August 2018

SummaryThe organization of the chromosomal DNA and ribosomes in living Escherichia coli is compared under two growth conditions: ‘fast’ (50 min doubling time) and ‘slow’ (147 min doubling time). Superresolution fluorescence microscopy reveals strong DNA‐ribosome segregation in both cases. In both fast and slow growth, free ribosomal subunits evidently must circulate between the nucleoid (where they initiate co‐transcriptional translation) and ribosome‐rich regions (where most translation occurs). Single‐molecule diffusive behavior dissects the ribosome copies into translating 70S polysomes and free 30S subunits, providing separate spatial distributions for each. In slow growth, ~21,000 total 30S copies/cell comprise ~65% translating 70S ribosomes and ~35% free 30S subunits. The ratio of 70S ribosomes to free 30S subunits is ~2.5 outside the nucleoid and ~0.50 inside the nucleoid. This new level of quantitative detail may motivate development of comprehensive, three‐dimensional reaction‐diffusion models of ribosome, DNA, mRNA and RNAP spatial distributions and dynamics within the E. coli cytoplasm.
Naïve Realism, Seeing Stars, and Perceiving the Past
Authors: Moran Alex 
Published: August 2018

AbstractIt seems possible to see a star that no longer exists. Yet it also seems right to say that what no longer exists cannot be seen. We therefore face a puzzle, the traditional answer to which involves abandoning naïve realism in favour of a sense datum view. In this article, however, I offer a novel exploration of the puzzle within a naïve realist framework. As will emerge, the best option for naïve realists is to embrace an eternalist view of time, and claim that in the relevant case, one sees a still existent star‐stage located somewhere in the distant past.
Ultrasound‐assisted Synthesis of Ag‐ZnS/rGO and its Utilization in Photocatalytic Degradation of Tetracycline Under Visible Light Irradiation
Authors: Kameli Samaneh , Mehrizad Ali 
Published: August 2018

AbstractRecent improvements based on heterojunction nanocomposites have opened new possibilities in photocatalysis. In this research, an ultrasound‐assisted coprecipitation method was used to fabricate silver, zinc sulfide and reduced graphene oxide (Ag‐ZnS/rGO) nanocomposite, and characterization results indicated that 3% Ag‐ZnS spherical nanoparticles are successfully embedded in rGO matrix. The potential of the Ag‐ZnS/rGO, as a visible light active photocatalyst, was assessed through optimizing degradation of Tetracycline (TC) by response surface methodology. It was found that the photocatalytic degradation of TC increased with an increase in the amount of nanocomposite and irradiation time, whereas it decreased with increasing the initial TC concentration. Under the optimal conditions (10 mg L−1 of TC, 1.25 g L−1 of Ag‐ZnS/rGO, at pH = 7, and irradiation duration 110 min), more than 90% of the TC was degraded. The study of the mechanism of the photocatalytic process disclosed that the synergistic role of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) induced by Ag nanoparticles and p‐type semiconductor feature of rGO leads to ZnS semiconductor stimulation in the visible light region. Eventually, a pseudo‐first order kinetics model was developed based on the proposed mechanism. The obtained results highlight the role of Ag‐ZnS/rGO nanophotocatalyst toward degradation of some antibiotics under visible light.
Parental sensitivity and friendship development: The mediating role of cooperation
Authors: Blair Bethany L. , Perry Nicole B. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractInteractions with mothers and fathers form a critical foundation for youths’ later peer relationships. This study focused on the associations of maternal and paternal sensitivity in third grade with friendship outcomes in sixth grade. Because interactions with parents provide the earliest opportunities for children to learn prosocial behaviors such as cooperation, and cooperation is theoretically conceptualized as a foundation of friendship, cooperation may play a role in the link between parenting and children’s later social relationships. Using the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development sample (N = 955; 51% female; 83% White), and a multimethod, multireporter longitudinal design, children’s cooperation was tested as a mediating mechanism that linked parental sensitivity to early adolescent friendship. Results indicated that most indirect paths from both mothers and fathers’ sensitivity to observed friendship interactions and perceived friendship quality, via cooperation, were significant. Findings provide a more concrete understanding of how parental sensitivity translates to better friendships.
Ecosystem change and zoonoses in the Anthropocene
Authors: McMahon Barry J. , Morand Serge , Gray Jeremy S. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractChanges in land use, animal populations and climate, primarily due to increasing human populations, drive the emergence of zoonoses. Force of infection (FOI), which for these diseases is a measure of the ease with which a pathogen reaches the human population, can change with specific zoonoses and context. Here, we outline three ecosystem categories—domestic, peridomestic and sylvatic, where disease ecology alters the FOI of specific zoonoses. Human intervention is an overriding effect in the emergence of zoonoses; therefore, we need to understand the disease ecology and other influencing factors of pathogens and parasites that are likely to interact differently within ecological and cultural contexts. Planning for One Health and community ecology, such as an ecological impact assessment, is required to prepare and manage the emergence and impact of zoonoses in the Anthropocene.
Building the foundation for veterinary register‐based epidemiology: A systematic approach to data quality assessment and validation
Authors: Birkegård Anna Camilla , Fertner Mette Ely , Jensen Vibeke Frøkjær , Boklund Anette , Toft Nils , Halasa Tariq , Lopes Antunes Ana Carolina 
Published: August 2018

AbstractEpidemiological studies often use data from registers. Data quality is of vital importance for the quality of the research. The aim of this study was to suggest a structured workflow to assess the quality of veterinary national registers. As an example of how to use the workflow, the quality of the following three registers was assessed: the Central Husbandry Register (CHR), the database for movement of pigs (DMP) and the national Danish register of drugs for veterinary use (VetStat). A systematic quantitative assessment was performed, with calculation the proportion of farms and observations with “poor quality” of data. “Poor” quality was defined for each measure (variable) either as a mismatch between and/or within registers, registrations of numbers outside the expected range, or unbalanced in‐ and outgoing movements. Interviews were conducted to make a complementary qualitative assessment. The proportion of farms and observations within each quality measure varied. This study highlights the importance of systematic quality assessment of register data and suggests a systematic approach for such assessments and validations without the use of primary data.
Secukinumab in the treatment of psoriatic arthritis: efficacy and safety results through 3 years from the year 1 extension of the randomised phase III FUTURE 1 trial
Authors: Mease Philip J , Kavanaugh Arthur , Reimold Andreas , Tahir Hasan , Rech Jürgen , Hall Stephen , Geusens Piet , Pellet Pascale , Delicha Evie Maria , Mpofu Shephard , Pricop Luminita 
Published: August 2018

ObjectiveTo assess the long-term (3 year) efficacy and safety of secukinumab in patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in the extension phase of the FUTURE 1 study (NCT01892436).MethodsFollowing the 2-year core trial, eligible patients receiving subcutaneous secukinumab 150 or 75 mg entered a 3-year extension phase. Results are presented for key efficacy and safety endpoints at week 156.ResultsIn total, 460 patients entered the extension study; 308 patients originally randomised to secukinumab were assessed for efficacy. Sustained improvements in all efficacy endpoints were achieved with secukinumab through week 156. Overall, 76.8%/54.9% (secukinumab 150 mg) and 65.2%/39.0% (secukinumab 75 mg) of patients achieved an American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 20/50 response (multiple imputation data); ACR20 responses were sustained irrespective of previous anti-tumour necrosis factor exposure. Improvements in quality of life and physical function were also sustained through week 156. Radiographic results (observed data; van der Heijde modified total Sharp score (mTSS)) showed that 78.1% (secukinumab 150 mg) and 74.8% (secukinumab 75 mg) of patients had no radiographic progression (≤0.5 increase in mTSS) through week 156. Exposure-adjusted incidence rates for selected adverse events per 100 patient-years (secukinumab 150/75 mg) were serious infections (1.7/1.6),Candidainfections (1.4/0.7), Crohn’s disease (0/0.3), ulcerative colitis (0/0.3) and major adverse cardiac events (0.3/0.8).ConclusionSubcutaneous secukinumab provided sustained improvements in the signs and symptoms, quality of life and physical function of patients with active PsA with low rate of radiographic disease progression through 3 years. Secukinumab was well tolerated with no new safety signals.
Agreement of clinical examination for low back pain with facet joint origin
Authors: Vongsirinavarat Mantana , Wahyuddin Wahyuddin , Adisaiphaopan Ratchaneewan 
Published: August 2018

Background: Low back pain (LBP) with facet joint origin is a common diagnosis of patients referred to physical therapy clinic. An expert consensus of diagnostic criteria has been proposed. However, the reliability of the assessment has not been proved. Objective: To test the degrees of agreement between two physical therapists for nine physical examination items and the diagnosis of facet joint origin. Methods: The examination according to diagnostic criteria was performed independently by two physical therapists in 45 patients with chronic LBP. The percent agreements and Kappa coefficients of each examination item and diagnostic conclusion were calculated. Results: The percent agreements of nine examined items ranged from 73.3–91.1%. The Kappa coefficients, widely ranged from 0.250–0.690 ([Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text]), showed statistically significant agreements for all examination items. The low level of agreements was partly due to improper distributions of test results. The agreement of conclusion was 86.7% and Kappa coefficient was 0.492 ([Formula: see text]) which reflected good agreement of facet diagnosis. Conclusion: There were adequate agreements for clinical examination of LBP with facet joint origin. The low level of agreement suggested the clinicians to have operational definition and rigorous training sessions although the examinations seemed to be routinely performed.
Effects of Exercise and Cardiorespiratory Fitness on Estrogen Metabolism in Postmenopausal Women
Authors: Matthews Charles E. , Sampson Joshua N. , Brenner Darren R. , Moore Steven C. , Courneya Kerry S. , Ziegler Regina G. , Friedenreich Christine M. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractBackground:Lowering endogenous estrogen levels is one mechanism whereby physical activity may lower postmenopausal breast cancer risk. Several prospective studies have suggested that increased 2-hydroxylation of estrogens may also reduce postmenopausal breast cancer risk, but whether or not exercise alters estrogen metabolism through this mechanism is unclear.Methods:We measured total circulating concentrations of parent estrogens (estrone and estradiol) and 13 estrogen metabolites, including glucuronidated, sulfated, and unconjugated forms, by stable isotope dilution LC/MS-MS in 153 postmenopausal women randomized to 12 months of moderate-to-vigorous exercise and 153 controls. We also explored associations with cardiorespiratory fitness measured by treadmill.Results:Although women randomized to exercise averaged 178 minutes/week of exercise over 12 months, their cardiorespiratory fitness was 13% greater than controls at 12 months (P = 0.0001), and total estradiol was reduced by 10% (P = 0.04); there were no statistically significant effects of exercise on circulating concentrations of estrogen metabolites in the 2-, 4-, or 16-pathways, or on the 2-pathway/parent estrogens ratio. However, we observed a statistically significant association between increased fitness and reduced concentration of 2-pathway metabolites (P &lt; 0.05).Conclusions:We found no evidence that 12 months of moderate-to-vigorous exercise or increased fitness changed estrogen metabolism in a way that might reduce breast cancer risk.Impact:The protective effect of exercise on postmenopausal breast cancer is unlikely to be mediated by changes in estrogen metabolism.
Tristetraprolin Is a Prognostic Biomarker for Poor Outcomes among Patients with Low-Grade Prostate Cancer
Authors: Rounbehler Robert J. , Berglund Anders E. , Gerke Travis , Takhar Mandeep M. , Awasthi Shivanshu , Li Weimin , Davicioni Elai , Erho Nicholas G. , Ross Ashley E. , Schaeffer Edward M. , Klein Eric A. , Karnes R. Jeffrey , Jenkins Robert B. , Cleveland John L. , Park Jong Y. , Yamoah Kosj 
Published: August 2018

AbstractBackground: We studied the utility of the tumor suppressor Tristetraprolin (TTP, ZFP36) as a clinically relevant biomarker of aggressive disease in prostate cancer patients after radical prostatectomy (RP).Methods: TTP RNA expression was measured in an RP cohort of patients treated at Moffitt Cancer Center (MCC) and obtained from six publically available RP datasets with biochemical recurrence (BCR; total n = 1,394) and/or metastatic outcome data (total n = 1,222). TTP protein expression was measured by immunohistochemistry in a tissue microarray of 153 MCC RP samples. The time to BCR or metastasis based on TTP RNA or protein levels was calculated using the Kaplan–Meier analysis. Univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were performed on multiple cohorts to evaluate if TTP is a clinically relevant biomarker and to assess if TTP improves upon the Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment postsurgical (CAPRA-S) score for predicting clinical outcomes.Results: In all of the RP patient cohorts, prostate cancer with low TTP RNA or protein levels had decreased time to BCR or metastasis versus TTP-high tumors. Further, the decreased time to BCR in TTP-low prostate cancer was more pronounced in low-grade tumors. Finally, pooled survival analysis suggests that TTP RNA expression provides independent information beyond CAPRA-S to predict BCR.Conclusions: TTP is a promising prostate cancer biomarker for predicting which RP patients will have poor outcomes, especially for low-grade prostate cancer patients.Impact: This study suggests that TTP RNA expression can be used to enhance the accuracy of CAPRA-S to predict outcomes in patients treated with RP. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 27(11); 1376–83. ©2018 AACR.