bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
How effective are interface organizations in the promotion of university-industry links? Evidence from a regional innovation system
Authors: Fernández-Esquinas Manuel , Merchán-Hernández Carmen , Valmaseda-Andía Oihana 
Published: August 2016

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of the interface organizations of a regional innovation system on the dynamics of knowledge transfer between universities and firms.

Design/methodology/approach
– The Triple Helix approach is used as a heuristic tool. The paper is based on a face-to-face survey to a sample of 800 innovative firms in Andalusia (Spain). The analysis focusses on the effectiveness attributed by the firms to technology transfer offices (TTOs), science parks and the regional innovation agency.

Findings
– Different organizations have different roles in the relationships that firms maintain with universities in a regional innovation system. Firm’s positive perceptions of TTOs, science parks and the innovation agency in the promotion of knowledge transfer are associated to the kind of relationships maintained with universities.

Research limitations/implications
– The research focusses on the region of Andalusia. Further studies could consider the applicability of the findings in other regional innovation systems.

Practical implications
– The paper helps governments and managers of TTOs, science parks and innovation agencies to understand the real use that interface organizations have for the industrial tissue of a regional innovation system.

Originality/value
– There have been few studies that observe together the value attributed by firms to the several interface organizations in a specific innovation system. The analysis contributes to the debate on the adjustment of the different roles of interface organizations in the promotion of knowledge transfer and innovation dynamics.
Types of proximity in knowledge access by science-based start-ups
Authors: Fontes Margarida , Sousa Cristina 
Published: August 2016

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to address the strategies adopted by science-based start-ups to gain access to knowledge resources at diverse spatial levels. It investigates the presence and relative importance of ties endowed with different types of proximity in firms’ knowledge networks, and the role played by non-geographical proximity in gaining access to knowledge sources, both nearby and distant.

Design/methodology/approach
– An analytical framework is proposed that distinguishes between two dimensions of proximity – geographical and relational – leading to different forms of proximity, which are further linked with modes of knowledge interaction (formal or informal). A methodology for network reconstruction is developed and applied to Portuguese molecular biology firms, permitting to identify the origin, location and nature of the ties and to position them along forms of proximity.

Findings
– The results show that the incidence and mix of the different forms of proximity vary in firms’ individual networks, being possible to identify several patterns. They also uncover the relevance of relational proximity, whether or not coexisting with geographical proximity and often compensating for its absence.

Research limitations/implications
– This approach needs to be complemented with further research that refines the operationalization of relational proximity, by attempting to disentangle the influence of different types of non-geographical proximity. Further research will also explore in greater detail the factors that may explain variety in the proximity mix of firms’ networks.

Practical implications
– The paper offers insights into the knowledge sourcing strategies adopted by science-based firms located outside the main concentrations of knowledge in their field.

Originality/value
– The paper contributes to the literature on the role of proximity in knowledge access, by developing and empirically testing a taxonomy of forms of proximity, considering the characteristics of science-based firms. It uncovers the mechanisms through which relational proximity can contribute to span spatial boundaries, highlighting the role played by entrepreneurs’ personal networks.
Russian way to the knowledge-based society
Authors: Kulikov Sergey B. 
Published: August 2016

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the modeling of industrial–postindustrial transition in Russian society. The very special part of this process concerns the relations between lordship and bondage. The relations between Lordship and Bondage in a context of so-called Master–Slave dialectic can elucidate a way to the knowledge-based society as a kind of modern capitalistic society.

Design/methodology/approach
An author uses a complex of methods. He applies a phenomenological approach, mixed with the dialectics and analytical approach. Phenomenological approach presupposes the neediness of attention on a work of the conscious actions within formation of the social experiences. The modification of dialectics helps to make the comprehension of the history of social relations as a game of forces in self-consciousness, which nowadays bases on the attitudes between leaders and led people. A variant of analytic methodology helps to understand each problem as a puzzle.

Findings
As a result, author finds a spirit of the processes within development of knowledge-based society and innovative economy depends on so-called Master–Slave dialectic. In Europe, Master–Slave dialectic caused the leading role of scientists. In Russia, scientists depended on the Government and played secondary role in economy.

Research limitations/implications
Research is the philosophical treatise, which demonstrates the speculative evaluation of industrial–postindustrial transition in Russian society.

Practical implications
Practical implications is the constructing the prognosis of the development of the Russian society.

Social implications
Research can help to improve the understanding of the mechanisms of leadership in society.

Originality/value
Originality of the paper is the reconstruction of social forms, which caused the social progress in Russia.
Lebanese cherishing a transformational educational leader
Authors: Mattar Dorine Maurice 
Published: August 2016

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to find out if the characteristics, traits and leadership style of an effective university leader in Lebanon match those of a transformational one. Moreover, it is intended to shed light on the possible transferability of the transformational leadership’s success to the Middle-Eastern society where norms and values differ significantly from the North-American context where research extensively supported its positive effect.Design/methodology/approach– Qualitative data were collected from semi-structured interviews conducted with eight faculty and two staff members chosen based on the purposiveness sampling technique. The researcher tape-recorded the interviews, then transcribed and coded the data before analyzing it.Findings– Results revealed that the director demonstrated to a great extent all the characteristics that define a transformational leader, except when it comes to nepotism and to the lower level employees who are not usually invited to share in the decision-making process. He was able to successfully challenge the process, inspire and motivate all the campus’s employees. However, in order to generalize and conclude that the whole Lebanese higher educational setting encompasses and cherishes the transformational leadership style, additional research is to be undertaken.Originality/value– Although Lebanon has long been a pioneer in the education field in the Middle-East, however, not enough studies are found on the various leadership styles exhibited by Lebanese university leaders, and here lies this research’s value.
Changing the face of reference and user services
Authors: Ahenkorah-Marfo Michael , Akussah Harry 
Published: August 2016

Purpose
Social media allows collaboration, participation and sharing in libraries with users. The purpose of this study is to examine the response of academic librarians in Ghana to the use of social media in reference and user services.

Design/methodology/approach
It is a quantitative study that used the Likert type of questionnaire in soliciting the views of academic librarians from six public and private universities in Ghana on their knowledge and use of social media in providing reference and user services.

Findings
The findings of the study indicate that majority of academic librarians are knowledgeable and use social media for both personal and work-related purposes. They, however, lack adequate skills to use the array of social media tools to make remarkable difference in service delivery. For this reason, they find the traditional mode of service delivery a comfort zone.

Practical implications
Higher education policy makers in Ghana and elsewhere would find the results useful in decisions on the types of social media tools to use in universities and colleges.

Originality/value
The study provides in-depth analysis of the impact of social media on reference and user services in Ghanaian libraries, which is deficient in literature. It also recommends change in policy direction and training to whip up interest in librarians to use social media.
Studying the impact of blended learning that uses the online PBwiki guided by activity theory on LIS students’ knowledge management
Authors: Barhoumi Chokri 
Published: August 2016

Purpose
This research paper aims to explore the impact of using wiki activities to support a blended learning course (70 per cent in-class and 30 per cent PBwiki activities) on the knowledge management of library and information science (LIS) students compared to 100 per cent in-class learning.

Design/methodology/approach
In the 2015 academic year, the researcher compared an experimental group (41 students) and a control group (41 students). Instruction of the experimental group was based on combining 2 h (70 per cent) of in-class learning and 1 h (30 per cent) of wiki-based learning activities each week. The control group’s experience was 100 per cent in a physical classroom without the use of a wiki. The researcher used a t-test to compare the means of the control and experimental groups in achievement tests and the students’ attitudes based on principles of activity theory (technological, individual and community levels) at 0.05 alpha levels.

Findings
The principal results of the study are that students in the experimental group perform better than those in the control group on the achievement test, learning tracks and attitudes. Learning tracks analysis shows that students in the experimental group had greater participation in different topics of discussion in the PBwiki than did the control group. The first topic discussed by students in the wiki is related to exam revision, and the second topic is related to the course content.

Originality/value
This research paper is useful for readers, parents, students and schools to explore the effectiveness of PBwiki activities to support blended courses in LIS education.
Are reference pop-up widgets welcome or annoying? A usability study
Authors: Imler Bonnie Brubaker , Garcia Kathryn Rebecca , Clements Nina 
Published: August 2016

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate user reaction to pop-up chat widgets for possible use as a promoter of online reference services in libraries.

Design/methodology/approach
Librarians at three different campuses of the Pennsylvania State University interviewed ten students at each campus. Librarians used a script to ask students to respond to various library websites and the potential utility of a pop-up widget. Students also responded to a sample chat widget and were asked to evaluate the timing of its appearance on the page.

Findings
All participants indicated on a timeline their preferred time for a pop-up to appear on a web page. Only 16 per cent of study participants had used the “Ask a Librarian” reference service from its current access point as a linked button on the libraries’ web pages. However, 83 per cent indicated that they would be more likely to use the Ask service if the widget appeared on the screen.

Originality/value
This research is unique, as there are no other studies in the library literature that explore pop-up chat widgets.
A mammoth undertaking: harnessing insight from functional ecology to shape de‐extinction priority setting
Authors: McCauley Douglas J. , Hardesty‐Moore Molly , Halpern Benjamin S. , Young Hillary S. 
Published: August 2016

Summary

De‐extinction, or the process of resurrecting extinct species, has been advanced as a promising new tool in conservation biology. Most scientific discussion of de‐extinction has thus far focused on the methodology and ethics of bringing once‐extinct species back to life. We ask: How can de‐extinction be strategically shaped into a service that maximally benefits ecological communities and ecosystems?

Ecologists often indicate that the worst facet of extinction is the associated loss of ecological function. Several decades of research on defining, classifying and tracking changes in portfolios of ecological function have generated a rich repository of information that should be mined to help guide de‐extinction towards a future where its products can meaningfully restore extinction‐induced loss of function.

Classifications of ecological function remain more subjective than other biological taxonomies. Yet, there is a clear consensus among ecologists that the functions of certain species are less ecologically redundant than others. The loss of such functionally unique species can have proximate and cascading effects on community and ecosystem functioning.

We review, from an ecologist's vantage point, efforts underway to use de‐extinction to resurrect the woolly mammoth and the passenger pigeon. These iconic case studies illustrate the opportunities and challenges ahead for restoring ecological function using de‐extinction.

There is great risk that de‐extinction could limit itself to the fabrication of products that mimic the biology of extinct species, but fail to resurrect their ecology. We suggest three ways that de‐extinction may more meaningfully restore the functioning of once‐extinct species: (i) select target species from guilds with low functional redundancy; (ii) concentrate on species that went extinct recently rather than older extinctions; and (iii) only work with species that can be restored to levels of abundance that meaningfully restore ecological function.

A lay summary is available for this article.
Bipartite graph analyses reveal interdomain LGT involving ultrasmall prokaryotes and their divergent, membrane‐related proteins
Authors: Jaffe Alexander L. , Corel Eduardo , Pathmanathan Jananan Sylvestre , Lopez Philippe , Bapteste Eric 
Published: August 2016

SummaryBased on their small size and genomic properties, ultrasmall prokaryotic groups like the Candidate Phyla Radiation have been proposed as possible symbionts dependent on other bacteria or archaea. In this study, we use a bipartite graph analysis to examine patterns of sequence similarity between draft and complete genomes from ultrasmall bacteria and other complete prokaryotic genomes, assessing whether the former group might engage in significant gene transfer (or even endosymbioses) with other community members. Our results provide preliminary evidence for many lateral gene transfers with other prokaryotes, including members of the archaea, and report the presence of divergent, membrane‐associated proteins among these ultrasmall taxa. In particular, these divergent genes were found in TM6 relatives of the intracellular parasite Babela massiliensis.
Trait values and not invasive status determine competitive outcomes between native and invasive species under varying soil nutrient availability
Authors: Tabassum Samiya , Leishman Michelle R. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractInvasion by exotic plants is often associated with nutrient enrichment of soils, particularly on soils of naturally low fertility. As a consequence, it is likely that the outcome of competitive interactions between native and invasive plants may be mediated by soil nutrient availability. We independently investigated competitive effect and response as well as the occurrence of asymmetric competition among native and invasive plants on soils of varying nutrient availability, using a glasshouse experiment. Seedlings of eight co‐occurring pairs of invasive and native species from low fertility Hawkesbury Sandstone‐derived soil were grown under low and high nutrient availability. We tested the hypotheses that native species would be competitively superior at low nutrient availability and have trait values associated with a resource conservation strategy while invasive species would be competitively superior at high nutrient availability and have trait values associated with a resource acquisition strategy. We found that nutrient availability did not mediate competitive interactions between invasive and native species. Instead, two invasive and one native species were always competitively superior irrespective of nutrient availability. Competitively superior species displayed a mixture of both resource conservation and acquisition strategies at low and high nutrient availability. In support of previous studies, we found that the a priori classification of invasive and native species does not predict competitive superiority at varying nutrient levels. Rather, species specific differences in trait values provide a competitive advantage in response to nutrient availability.
Similar biological activity in skin prick test for Oralair® (8200 BAU) and Grazax® (6200 BAU) reinforces effective SLIT dosing level
Authors: Larenas Linnemann D. E. S. , Singh J. , Rosario N. , Esch R. , Matta J. J. , Maspero J. , Michels A. , Mösges R. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractIn Europe, allergen extracts are standardized based on skin prick wheal size in 20–30 allergic subjects. To understand the biological activity of clinically effective Sublingual immunotherapy, we used this method to determine the biological activity of solution and tablet Timothy grass pollen (TIM) extracts, compared to an FDA‐approved extract (Reference) of 10 000 BAU/ml. Blinded, quadruplicate skin prick tests with concentrate and three serial half‐log dilutions allowed the construction of a semilogarithmic regression line per extract. Bioequivalent allergy units (BAU) values were obtained from the comparison with reference. Extracts and dilutions showed a neat linear dose response (all: R2 > 0.98) in 33 rhinitis patients. Relative potencies: Staloral® 12 000 BAU/ml, Soluprick® 10 300 BAU/ml, Oralair® 8200 BAU, and Grazax® 6200 BAU. Even though all extract concentrates differed in wheal size (P = 0.01–0.001), Grazax® producing a 25% smaller wheal size than Oralair®, and the biological activity of these clinically effective TIM tablets led in the same range (6200–8200 BAU; 0.92–1.23 cm2). SLIT dose‐finding studies for other pollens might start with allergen extracts producing 1.1 cm2 wheal surface.
The grey fovea sign of macular oedema or subfoveal fluid on non‐stereoscopic fundus photographs
Authors: Hasler Pascal W. , Soliman Wael , Sander Birgit , Haamann Per , Larsen Michael 
Published: August 2016

AbstractPurposeTo describe the grey fovea sign of fovea‐involving macular oedema or subretinal fluid accumulation in red‐free fundus photography.MethodsA test set of 91 digital fundus photographs of good quality from 100 consecutive eyes in 72 patients with diabetic retinopathy or central serous chorioretinopathy was composed by one of the investigators and evaluated by four masked observers. The photographs were graded as to whether a normal dark fovea was present or absent. The reference method was foveal thickness measurement using optical coherence tomography (OCT).ResultsEyes graded as having a grey fovea on fundus photographs (n = 67) had a median foveal thickness of 279 μm (interquartile range 130 μm), whereas eyes graded as having a normal dark fovea (n = 24) had a median foveal thickness of 238 μm (interquartile range 44.5 μm, p = 0.025).ConclusionThe absence of a dark fovea on red‐free greyscale fundus photographs is a sign of foveal thickening or detachment that can be reliably recognized by graders when using OCT as the reference diagnostic method. Awareness of the grey fovea sign may facilitate fundus photographic screening for maculopathy because its absence is a reliable sign that no foveal oedema or detachment is present. Its presence may indicate that such conditions are present, but it can also be induced by various other conditions, for which reason it should prompt further investigations by OCT.
THE TRANSMISSION OF THE MONETARY POLICY IN THE EURO AREA: THE ROLE OF THE BANKS’ BUSINESS MODEL
Authors: MIGLIORELLI Marco , BRUNELLI Sandro 
Published: August 2016

ABSTRACTThis paper sheds some new light on the incidence of the banks’ business model as a component of the bank lending channel in the euro area. Differently from existing literature, the analysis is led on the basis of the two main macroeconomic regions that today characterize the euro area: its north‐east (German‐centric) and south‐west halves. The observation period is 2008–2013, mainly featured by the financial and economic crisis. The empirical findings evidence that in the north‐east half of the euro area the cooperative banks leveraged the effects of the reduction in the interest rates in terms of new lending. In this respect, they differentiated from commercial and savings banks, which showed a more neutral impact on the transmission of the monetary policy decisions. These results highlight the distinctive role of the cooperative banks in terms of credit provision in Germany and in the whole north‐east half of the euro area. Nevertheless, this cooperative banking effect did not emerge for the south‐west half of the continent, particularly hit by the crisis. This may suggest that the bank's business model tend to be neutral to the transmission of the monetary policy in economies characterized by prolonged recessions.
Generation of rats from vitrified oocytes with surrounding cumulus cells via in vitro fertilization with cryopreserved sperm
Authors: Fujiwara Katsuyoshi , Kamoshita Maki , Kato Tsubasa , Ito Junya , Kashiwazaki Naomi 
Published: August 2016

AbstractThe objective of this study was to evaluate fertility and full‐term development of rat vitrified oocytes after in vitro fertilization (IVF) with cryopreserved sperm. Oocytes with or without surrounding cumulus cells were vitrified with 30% ethylene glycol + 0.5 mol/L sucrose + 20% fetal calf serum by using the Cryotop method. The warmed oocytes were co‐cultured with sperm. Although the denuded/vitrified oocytes were not fertilized, some of the oocytes vitrified with cumulus cells were fertilized (32.7%) after IVF with fresh sperm. When IVF was performed with cryopreserved sperm, vitrified or fresh oocytes with cumulus cells were fertilized (62.9% or 41.1%, respectively). In addition, to confirm the full‐term development of the vitrified oocytes with surrounding cumulus cells after IVF with cryopreserved sperm, 108 vitrified oocytes with two pronuclei (2PN) were transferred into eight pseudopregnant females, and eight pups were obtained from three recipients. The present work demonstrates that vitrified rat oocytes surrounded by cumulus cells can be fertilized in vitro with cryopreserved sperm, and that 2PN embryos derived from cryopreserved gametes can develop to term. To our knowledge, this is the first report of successful generation of rat offspring derived from vitrified oocytes that were fertilized in vitro with cryopreserved sperm.