bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An online niche-market tour identification system for the travel and tourism industry
Authors: Wu C.H. , Ho G.T.S. , Lam C.H.Y. , Ip W.H. , Choy K.L. , Tse Y.K. 
Published: January 2016

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to present a novel approach for niche-market tour identification, with the objective to obtain a better segmentation of target tourists and support the design of tourism products. A proposed system, namely the Niche Tourism Identification System (NTIS) was implemented based on the proposed scheme and its functionality was showcased in a case study undertaken with a local travel agency.Design/methodology/approach– The proposed system implements automated customer market segmentation, based on similar characteristics that can be collected from potential customers. After that, special-interest tourism-based market strategies and products can be designed for the potential customers. The market segmentation is conducted using a GA-basedk-means clustering engine (GACE), while the parameter setting is controlled by the travel agents.Findings– The proposed NTIS was deployed in a real-world case study which helps a local travel agency to determine the various types of niche tourism found in the existing market in Hong Kong. Its output was reviewed by experience tour planners. It was found that with the niche characteristics can be successfully revealed by summarizing the possible factors within the potential clusters in the existing database. The system performed consistently compared to human planners.Originality/value– To the best of the authors’ knowledge, although some alternative methods for segmenting travel markets have been proposed, few have provided any effective approaches for identifying existing niche markets to support online inquiry. Also, GACE has been proposed to compensate for the limitations that challengek-means clustering in binding to a local optimum and for its weakness in dealing with multi-dimensional space.
Political connections and firm value: an analysis of listed firms in Sri Lanka
Authors: Berkman Henk , Galpoththage Vidura 
Published: January 2016

Purpose
– The purpose of this study is to use a portfolio-time-series approach to examine the impact of five important political events on the value of politically connected firms in Sri Lanka.

Design/methodology/approach
– This study examines five major political events to test if political connections affect market value of listed companies in Sri Lanka. Results show that despite numerous news articles and public perception suggesting otherwise, there is no convincing evidence which indicate that political connections increase firm value in Sri Lanka.

Findings
– The empirical results provide no evidence that political connections increase firm value in Sri Lanka. Further tests indicate that the government is not biased towards politically connected firms when granting major projects. The authors also fail to find a relation between Tobin’s Q and the level of political connection after including several common control variables.

Originality/value
– This study contributes to the literature on the value of political connections by using a robust event study methodology and a novel setting: Sri Lanka in the period around the end of the civil war.
Accounting quality, governance standards, and syndicated loan contracts
Authors: Song Liang , Tuoriniemi Joel C 
Published: January 2016

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to examine how firms’ accounting quality affects bank loan contracting in seven emerging markets and whether these relationships are affected by borrowers’ governance standards.

Design/methodology/approach
– The study sample period is 1999-2007 because the syndicated loan market was severely affected by the East Asian financial crisis of 1998 and the US financial crisis of 2008. The final sample includes 719 loan observations for 75 firms in seven emerging markets.

Findings
– The authors find that syndicated lenders provide loans with more favorable terms such as larger amounts, longer maturity and lower interest spread to borrowers in emerging markets with higher accounting quality. The authors also find that the influences of accounting quality on syndicated loan contracting for borrowers in emerging markets exist only with higher country- and firm-level governance rankings. The results of this paper suggest that lenders place more value on accounting numbers generated by borrowers in emerging markets with stronger internal and country governance frameworks.

Originality/value
– Overall, this research provides new insights about how accounting quality affects the contract design. Specifically, the extant literature has demonstrated the effects of accounting quality on financial contracts in developed countries (e.g. Bharath et al., 2008). The authors extend this analysis to borrowers in emerging markets and confirm a similar result. Most notably, the authors explore whether the relationship between accounting quality and syndicated loan contracts is influenced by borrowers’ country- and firm-level governance, and find that accounting quality matters only when accompanied by high-quality governance. This research provides new insights about how accounting quality and governance standards affect the terms of borrowing contracts in emerging markets.
Non‐invasive naturalized alien plants were not more pollen‐limited than invasive aliens and natives in a common garden
Authors: Razanajatovo Mialy , van Kleunen Mark 
Published: January 2016

SummaryMany invasive alien plants are, in contrast to many non‐invasive ones, self‐compatible and autofertile and thus do not fully depend on mates and pollinators for seed production. Nevertheless, they often still depend on pollinators for maximal reproduction. Indeed, it has been shown that many invasive plants can attract pollinators in the non‐native range and may attract more of them than non‐invasive plants do. This suggests that many introduced alien plants may have failed to become invasive because they are pollen‐limited.We used an experimental approach to test whether non‐invasive alien species suffer higher pollen limitation and have lower autofertility than invasive aliens and natives. In a common garden, we assessed the degree of pollen limitation and autofertility of eight confamilial (or congeneric) triplets of native, invasive and non‐invasive (but naturalized) alien plant species (totalling 24 species). Our breeding‐system experiment included three treatments: pollen supplementation, open pollination and pollinator exclusion. We report three measures of pollen limitation and autofertility (fruit set, seed production per fruit and indices of pollen limitation and autofertility based on seed production per flower).We found that the three plant groups had low degrees of pollen limitation and were almost all autofertile to some degree. Moreover, our phylogenetically informed analyses showed that the three plant groups did not differ significantly in their degrees of pollen limitation and autofertility.Our results support previous findings that alien plants are able to attract pollinators in non‐native regions. Nevertheless, because invasive and non‐invasive naturalized alien species did not differ in their degrees of pollen limitation, our results suggest that pollen limitation may not play a major role in the spread of alien plants, once they have become naturalized.
The relationship between metabolic rate and sociability is altered by food deprivation
Authors: Killen Shaun S. , Fu Cheng , Wu Qingyi , Wang Yu‐Xiang , Fu Shi‐Jian 
Published: January 2016

SummaryIndividuals vary in the extent to which they associate with conspecifics, but little is known about the energetic underpinnings of this variation in sociability. Group‐living allows individuals to find food more consistently, but within groups, there can be competition for food items. Individuals with an increased metabolic rate could display decreased sociability to reduce competition. Long‐term food deprivation (FD) may alter any links between sociability and metabolic rate by affecting motivation to find food.We examined these issues in juvenile qingbo carpSpinibarbus sinensis, to understand how FD and metabolic rate affect sociability. Like many aquatic ectotherms, this species experiences seasonal bouts of FD.Individuals were either: (i) food‐deprived for 21 days; or (ii) fed a maintenance ration (control). Fish from each treatment were measured for standard metabolic rate (SMR) and tested for sociability twice: once in the presence of a control stimulus shoal and once with a food‐deprived stimulus shoal.Control individuals ventured further from stimulus shoals over a 30‐min trial, while food‐deprived fish did not change their distance from stimulus shoals as trials progressed. Control fish with a higherSMRwere least sociable. Well‐fed controls showed decreased sociability when exposed to food‐deprived stimulus shoals, but there was evidence of consistency in relative sociability between exposures to different shoal types.Results contrast with previous findings that several days of fasting causes individuals to decrease associations with conspecifics. Prolonged FD may cause individuals to highly prioritize food acquisition, and the decreased vigilance that would accompany continuous foraging may heighten the need for the antipredator benefits of shoaling. Conversely, decreased sociability in well‐fed fish with a highSMRprobably minimizes intraspecific competition, allowing them to satisfy an increased energetic demand while foraging. Together, these results suggest that FD – a challenge common for many ectothermic species – can affect individual sociability as well as the attractiveness of groups towards conspecifics. In addition, the lack of a link betweenSMRand sociability in food‐deprived fish suggests that, in situations where group membership is linked to fitness, the extent of correlated selection on metabolic traits may be context‐dependent.
South for the winter? Within‐dive foraging effort reveals the trade‐offs between divergent foraging strategies in a free‐ranging predator
Authors: Arthur Benjamin , Hindell Mark , Bester Marthan N. , Oosthuizen W. Chris , Wege Mia , Lea Mary‐Anne 
Published: January 2016

Summary

Central to an animal's fitness is its foraging strategy and understanding the choices made by foraging animals is a fundamental aim in animal ecology. For diving animals, quantifying foraging effort within dives provides a measure of foraging that can be integrated with location information to reveal how animals use their environment as well as the trade‐offs associated with contrasting foraging strategies.

We investigated the diving behaviour of 12 free‐ranging Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) during their post‐breeding winter migrations, quantifying within‐dive foraging effort using a novel approach to identify divergent foraging strategies and determine the costs and benefits associated with foraging decisions.

Significant differences identified in both diving behaviour and foraging effort of female Antarctic fur seals could be attributed to two main, contrasting foraging strategies. Habitat was a major determinant of diving and foraging behaviour, with clear differences occurring either side of the Polar Front, a prominent oceanographic feature in the Southern Ocean.

Longer night duration and improved access to vertically migrating prey lead to increased foraging opportunities and a reduced foraging effort south of the Polar Front. Dives in this region were short and shallow. Conversely, seals remaining closer to the breeding colony north of the Polar Front had deep, long dives and an elevated foraging effort. The distinct foraging strategies of fur seals have associated trade‐offs related to habitat availability, travel costs, prey accessibility and prey quality, which are likely driving their foraging decisions.

This study highlights the trade‐offs between contrasting foraging strategies that currently coexist within a population of a wide‐ranging predator and raises questions about the viability of strategies with future change to population size or environmental conditions. Finally, understanding the trade‐offs associated with foraging strategies is important for assessing the foraging decisions of animals across a variety of environments.
Integrating ecosystem services in river basin management plans
Authors: Terrado Marta , Momblanch Andrea , Bardina Mònica , Boithias Laurie , Munné Antoni , Sabater Sergi , Solera Abel , Acuña Vicenç 
Published: January 2016

Summary

According to the European Union Water Framework Directive, river basin management plans must include a programme of measures, with a series of management actions aiming to achieve good ecosystem status of all water bodies within the basin. The design and later prioritization of these management actions is, in theory, done through cost‐effectiveness analysis (CEA), which compares management action costs with expected improvements in ecosystem status. However, such an approach does not consider the effects of management actions on human well‐being resulting from changes in the provision of ecosystem services.

We propose to complement the current CEA approach with a cost–benefit analysis (CBA) integrating the effects of management actions on the provision of ecosystem services, therefore moving from a single‐objective to a multiobjective approach. We propose a flexible methodological framework based on a combination of CEA and CBA that can be easily adapted to different case studies.

To test the applicability of our approach, we applied it to an impaired basin, the Llobregat River basin (north‐eastern Iberian Peninsula). The analysis considers management actions selected from the programme of measures under implementation: establishment of environmental river flows, improvement of river connectivity, treatment of urban wastewater and reduction in saline pollution; and the effects on a series of ecosystem services: water provisioning, waste treatment and habitat for species.

Results revealed that management actions designed to improve ecosystem status do not necessarily improve human well‐being through changes in the provision of ecosystem services.

The implementation of the CEA and CBA allowed the identification of management actions providing the best trade‐offs between improvements of ecosystem status and human well‐being. For example, the establishment of environmental river flows in the upper Llobregat River was the management action that maximized the balance between gains in ecosystem status and human well‐being.

Synthesis and applications. Overall, the combination of cost‐effectiveness analysis and cost–benefit analysis supports a more informed and transparent decision‐making in the implementation of river basin management plans, better assisting stakeholders to prioritize those management actions providing the optimal win–win results.
Bringing forth stories of blame and shame in dialogues with families affected by adolescent self‐harm
Authors: Amoss Sarah , Lynch Monica , Bratley Mary 
Published: January 2016

Feelings of blame and shame seemed to figure significantly in the interactional patterns of some families seen within the self‐harm intervention family therapy (SHIFT) trial. Taking the SHIFT manual as a starting point, we elaborate the links between blame, shame, emotional regulation and adolescent self‐harm, drawing on various theoretical models. We note the importance of attending to these emotional processes both in the family and the therapy team, arguing that these unhelpful patterns of interaction, emotion and meaning‐making may also signal a motivation for change. We offer some ideas about using blame and shame as platforms for understanding and intervention in the context of adolescent self‐harm and illustrate the application of these ideas with case vignettes.Practitioner points

Consider offering the young person and parents parallel sessions to scaffold better communication in family sessions.
If you can, work with a team to help reflect on your own emotional responses and their meanings.
When attempts to lessen blame provoke more, try to understand what underlies blaming behaviour.
When a family's reported lack of difficulties seems incongruent with the presence of self‐harm, consider the possible silencing effect of shame.
AYin‐Yangapproach to education policy regarding health and the environment: early‐careerists' image of the future and priority programmes
Authors: Watts Paul , Custer Benjamin , Yi Zhuang‐Fang , Ontiri Enoch , Pajaro Marivic 
Published: January 2016

AbstractSince the inception of sustainable development (SD), there has been a somewhat ignored contradiction between paradigms that are ecosystem‐based and paradigms that are human‐based or purely economic. We suggest that this contradiction can be unified through a balance of the two. TheChineseYin‐Yang philosophy is applied as a tool or approach to seeking balance between these ecocentric and anthropocentric paradigms. Priority education policy design for the merging of ecology and health are projected through an Ecohealth lens in response to increasingSDchallenges and the intention of the international Ecohealth organization to contribute toSDgoals. MeetingSDgoals along the nexus of health and environment is further considered through early‐careerist cultural assessments and projections. The groups considered for their professional image of the future are: members of the Ecohealth Association Student Section andChinese early‐careerists participating in a related conference. In response toSDgoals, a problem‐based learning design is suggested as an education policy priority. Rather than approachingSDas a boolean concept, for example, by either focusing on ecosystem sustainability or economic development, we suggest education policy for programmes and curriculums that will help emerging professionals balance these paradigms, so as to best address national and global challenges.
Obscure oases: natural, cultural and historical geography of western Queensland's Tertiary sandstone springs
Authors: Silcock Jennifer L. , Macdermott Harry , Laffineur Boris , Fensham Roderick J. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractThe distribution of surface water dictates human and animal activity in arid zones. Although typically small, hidden, and inaccessible, springs and wells fed by local aquifers were the only sources of reliable water across vast areas of inland Australia until the last century. Compared to larger, more accessible water sources such as riverine waterholes and Great Artesian Basin discharge springs, their history is sketchy and poorly documented, although rich in intrigue and mythology. Since the expansion of artificial waters and motorised transport, many of these small oases have been forgotten, and their location and permanence are now less well‐known than for thousands of years. We examine the distribution, hydrogeology, cultural history, and biological values of Tertiary sandstone springs in western Queensland based on a review of historical literature, interviews with long‐term residents, and extensive field surveys. One hundred and sixty springs were documented, and nearly 40% of these have declined in flow or become inactive since pastoral settlement for reasons that are not well understood. While their decline in some areas seems related to shallow bores sunk into their local aquifers, it is possible that some smaller springs owed their existence to regular human maintenance. Others are probably naturally dynamic over decadal time scales. This study documents an almost‐forgotten aspect of Queensland's natural and cultural history.
Activation of TRAIL‐DR5 pathway promotes sensorineural degeneration in the inner ear
Authors: Kao Shyan‐Yuan , Soares Vitor Y.R. , Kristiansen Arthur G. , Stankovic Konstantina M. 
Published: January 2016

SummaryTumor necrosis factor (TNF) family cytokines are important mediators of inflammation. Elevated levels of serum TNF‐α are associated with human sensorineural hearing loss via poorly understood mechanisms. We demonstrate, for the first time, expression of TNF‐related apoptosis‐inducing ligand (TRAIL) and its signaling death receptor 5 (DR5) in the murine inner ear and show that exogenous TRAIL can trigger hair cell and neuronal degeneration, which can be partly prevented with DR5‐blocking antibodies.
Differential Effects of Sunitinib on the Expression Profiles of Xenobiotic‐Metabolizing Enzymes and Transporters in Rat Liver and Kidneys
Authors: Korashy Hesham M. , Ansari Mushtaq A. , Maayah Zaid H. , Imam Faisal , Raish Mohammad , Attafi Ibraheem M. , Alharbi Naif O. , Moraished Bader A. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractSunitinib (SUN) is a multi‐targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor that was recently approved for the treatment of gastrointestinal tract and renal cancers. To date, very little is known about the effects of SUN on the expression of hepatic and renal xenobiotic‐metabolizing enzymes (XMEs) and transporters. The present study was designed to investigate the capacity of chronic SUN treatment to modulate the mRNA and protein expression levels of phase I cytochrome P450 (CYP), phase II conjugating enzymes, and phase III transporters in rat liver and kidneys. For this purpose, SUN (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg) was injected IP into Wistar albino rats for 4 weeks; thereafter, the mRNA and protein expression levels of several XMEs and transporters were determined by RT‐PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively. Real‐time PCR analysis showed that SUN significantly induced the hepatic and renal CYP1A1, 1A2, 1B1, 2E1 and 4F4, whereas it inhibited CYP2C11 and 4A2. Furthermore, SUN specifically induced renal, but not hepatic, CYP2J3 and 3A2, while it induced only hepatic CYP4A1. With regard to phase II, SUN induced hepatic GSTA1 and UGT1A and renal NQO1 and UGT1A mRNA levels, whereas it inhibited renal GST1A expression. On the other hand, both renal and hepatic P‐gp, MRP2 and BCRP transporters were significantly induced by SUN at the mRNA and protein expression levels. Importantly, these differential effects were associated with changes in oxidative stress genes and lipid peroxidation levels. In conclusion, SUN can serve as XME and transporters modulator, which potentially may counteract the efficacy of the treatment, adverse reactions and drug interactions in SUN treatment.
Is Low Serum Klotho Level Associated with Alterations in Coronary Flow Reserve?
Authors: Keles Nursen , Caliskan Mustafa , Dogan Burcu , Aksu Feyza , Bulur Serkan , Keles Necibe Nur , Kostek Osman , Aung Soe Moe , Isbilen Banu , Demircioglu Kenan , Kalcik Macit , Oguz Aytekin 
Published: January 2016

BackgroundThe Klotho gene, described as an “aging suppressor” gene, encodes a single‐pass transmembrane protein. The extracellular part of Klotho is cleaved and released into the circulation where it may function as a vasculoprotective hormone. Coronary flow reserve (CFR) is accepted as a marker of coronary microvascular dysfunction when epicardial coronary stenosis is absent. There are no data regarding the relationship between serum Klotho levels and disorders in coronary microcirculation in healthy adults. We aimed to investigate the association between serum Klotho levels and alterations in coronary microcirculation in healthy adults using echocardiographic measurements of CFR.MethodsThirty‐four healthy volunteers (median age: 34 [27–39], 14 males) were enrolled in this study. The study population was divided into two subgroups according to the median value of serum Klotho levels: a high Klotho (HK) group (n = 17, median age: 34 [30–38]; 6 males) and a low Klotho (LK) group (n = 17, median age: 32 [26–39]; 8 males). The analysis of coronary flow velocities was performed by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography.ResultsHyperemic diastolic peak flow velocities and CFR were significantly higher in the HK group than in the LK group (70 [66–92] versus 61 [47–66], P = 0.003 and 3.0 [2.6–3.8] versus 2.2 [1.7–2.8], respectively, P = 0.001). Serum Klotho levels were positively correlated with CFR (P < 0.001).ConclusionSerum Klotho levels correlate with CFR in a healthy population. Low serum Klotho levels may potentially identify patients with impaired CFR.