bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Spectral and chemical characterization of gypsum‐phyllosilicate association in Tiruchirapalli, South India, and its implications
Authors: Singh Mahima , Rajesh V.J. , Kannan Bharathi , Bhattacharya Satadru 
Published: December 2017

Here, we present the detailed chemical and spectral characteristics of gypsum‐phyllosilicate association of Karai Shale Formation in Tiruchirapalli region of the Cauvery Basin in South India. The Karai Shale Formation comprises Odiyam sandy clay and gypsiferous clay, well exposed in Karai village of Tiruchirapalli area, Tamil Nadu in South India. Gypsum is fibrous to crystalline and translucent/transparent type with fluid inclusions preserved in it. Along some cleavage planes, alteration features have been observed. Visible and near infrared (VNIR), Raman, and Fourier transform infrared techniques were used to obtain the excitation/vibration bands of mineral phases. VNIR spectroscopic analysis of the gypsum samples has shown absorption features at 560, 650, 900, 1,000, 1,200, 1,445, 1,750, 1,900, 2,200, and 2,280 nm in the electrical and vibrational range of electromagnetic radiation. VNIR results of phyllosilicate samples have shown absorption features at 1,400, 1,900, and 2,200 nm. Further, we have identified the prominent Raman bands at 417.11, 496.06, 619.85, 673.46, 1,006.75, 1,009.75, ∼1,137.44, ∼3,403, and 3,494.38 cm−1for gypsum due to sulphate and hydroxyl ion vibrations. We propose that gypsum veins in Karai may have precipitated in the fractures formed due to pressure/forces generated by crystal growth. The combined results of chemical and spectral studies have shown that these techniques have significant potential to identify the pure/mineral associates/similar chemical compositions elsewhere. Our results definitely provide the database from a range of spectroscopic techniques to better identify similar minerals and/or mineral‐associations in an extraterrestrial scenario. This study has significant implications in understanding various geological processes such as fluid‐rock interactions and alteration processes involving water on the planets such as Mars.
Bioenergetic regulation of microglia
Authors: Ghosh Soumitra , Castillo Erika , Frias Elma S. , Swanson Raymond A. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractMicroglia have diverse actions, ranging from synapse pruning in development to cytotoxic effects in disease. Brain energy metabolism and substrate availability vary under normal and disease states, but how these variations influence microglial function is relatively unknown. Microglia, like most other cell types, express the full complement of gene products required for both glycolytic and oxidative metabolism. Evidence suggests that microglia increase aerobic glycolysis and decrease respiration when activated by various stimuli. Mitochondrial function, glucose availability, and glycolytic rate influence pro‐inflammatory gene expression at both transcriptional and post‐translational levels. These effects are mediated through CtBP, an NADH—sensitive transcriptional co‐repressor; through effects on NLRP3 inflammasome assembly and caspase‐1 activation; through formation of advanced glycation end‐products; and by less well‐defined mechanisms. In addition to these transcriptional effects, microglial glucose metabolism is also required for superoxide production by NADPH oxidase, as glucose is the obligate substrate for regenerating NADPH in the hexose monophosphate shunt. Microglia also metabolize acetoacetate and β‐hydroxybutyrate, which are generated during fasting or ketogenic diet, and respond to these ketones as metabolic signals. β‐Hydroxybutyrate inhibits histone de‐acetylases and activates microglial GRP109A receptors. These actions suppress microglia activation after brain injury and promote neuroprotective microglia phenotypes. As our understanding of microglial activation matures, additional links between energy metabolism and microglial function are likely to be identified.
The impact of family ownership on establishment and ownership modes in foreign direct investment: The moderating role of corruption in host countries
Authors: Yamanoi Junichi , Asaba Shigeru 
Published: December 2017

Research Summary: In this study, we adopt a socioemotional wealth perspective to examine the influence of family ownership on foreign direct investment. When establishing foreign subsidiaries, firms with greater degrees of family ownership are more likely to engage in greenfield investment and full equity ownership in order to maintain family owners’ socioemotional wealth. Additionally, these relationships are more pronounced in countries with higher levels of corruption. In corrupt countries, greater control over foreign subsidiaries is necessary to restrict their corrupt behaviors, which can seriously damage the firm’s socioemotional wealth and destroy the reputation of the family owners. By using a dataset of foreign market entries by Japanese listed firms in the electronic machinery industry, we find general support for our hypotheses.Managerial Summary: We find evidence that Japanese listed electronic machinery manufacturers with larger family ownership are more likely to choose greenfield investment and full ownership when entering foreign countries. This result suggests that family owners prefer to maintain strong control on local subsidiaries, possibly for preserving their socioemotional wealth. Additionally, this tendency of family firms’ regarding the choice of greenfield investment is stronger when they enter countries with higher levels of corruption. Managers and investors of family firms might need to pay attention to family owners’ entry mode choices, which could be incentivized excessively for the preservation of socioemotional wealth, possibly at the expense of economic wealth.
Intraclass correlation: Improved modeling approaches and applications for neuroimaging
Authors: Chen Gang , Taylor Paul A. , Haller Simone P. , Kircanski Katharina , Stoddard Joel , Pine Daniel S. , Leibenluft Ellen , Brotman Melissa A. , Cox Robert W. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractIntraclass correlation (ICC) is a reliability metric that gauges similarity when, for example, entities are measured under similar, or even the same, well‐controlled conditions, which in MRI applications include runs/sessions, twins, parent/child, scanners, sites, and so on. The popular definitions and interpretations of ICC are usually framed statistically under the conventional ANOVA platform. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of ICC analysis in its prior usage in neuroimaging, and we show that the standard ANOVA framework is often limited, rigid, and inflexible in modeling capabilities. These intrinsic limitations motivate several improvements. Specifically, we start with the conventional ICC model under the ANOVA platform, and extend it along two dimensions: first, fixing the failure in ICC estimation when negative values occur under degenerative circumstance, and second, incorporating precision information of effect estimates into the ICC model. These endeavors lead to four modeling strategies: linear mixed‐effects (LME), regularized mixed‐effects (RME), multilevel mixed‐effects (MME), and regularized multilevel mixed‐effects (RMME). Compared to ANOVA, each of these four models directly provides estimates for fixed effects and their statistical significances, in addition to the ICC estimate. These new modeling approaches can also accommodate missing data and fixed effects for confounding variables. More importantly, we show that the MME and RMME approaches offer more accurate characterization and decomposition among the variance components, leading to more robust ICC computation. Based on these theoretical considerations and model performance comparisons with a real experimental dataset, we offer the following general‐purpose recommendations. First, ICC estimation through MME or RMME is preferable when precision information (i.e., weights that more accurately allocate the variances in the data) is available for the effect estimate; when precision information is unavailable, ICC estimation through LME or the RME is the preferred option. Second, even though the absolute agreement version, ICC(2,1), is presently more popular in the field, the consistency version, ICC(3,1), is a practical and informative choice for whole‐brain ICC analysis that achieves a well‐balanced compromise when all potential fixed effects are accounted for. Third, approaches for clear, meaningful, and useful result reporting in ICC analysis are discussed. All models, ICC formulations, and related statistical testing methods have been implemented in an open source program 3dICC, which is publicly available as part of the AFNI suite. Even though our work here focuses on the whole‐brain level, the modeling strategy and recommendations can be equivalently applied to other situations such as voxel, region, and network levels.
Neuronal responses to the scratching and caressing of one's own skin in patients with skin‐picking disorder
Authors: Schienle Anne , Übel Sonja , Wabnegger Albert 
Published: December 2017

AbstractSkin‐picking disorder (SPD) is a common mental disorder. The predominant symptom involves the repeated scratching and picking of one's own skin. This behavior causes severe tissue damage (sores, scars, and infections), often leading to disfigurement. Besides physical injury, SPD is associated with clinically significant distress and impairment in important areas of functioning. The neurobiological mechanisms of SPD are still poorly understood. In this study, 30 SPD patients and 31 control participants (35 women, 26 men) with a mean age of 34 years were instructed to either scratch or gently stroke a small skin area on their arms during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Gender‐specific effects were revealed. In the female sample, SPD patients showed less activation in the middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and primary/secondary somatosensory cortices during caressing relative to scratching than controls. In addition, contrasting caressing with a rest condition revealed reduced activation in the somatosensory cortex (concerned with the decoding and integration of tactile information) and the MFG (attention/cognitive monitoring) in female patients. No differential brain activation was found in the male sample. This symptom provocation study hints at a reduced sensitivity of pleasant touch in women with SPD.
Prospective systemic risk analysis of the dispensing process in German community pharmacies
Authors: Stojković Tatjana , Rose Olaf , Woltersdorf Ronja , Marinković Valentina , Manser Tanja , Jaehde Ulrich 
Published: December 2017

SummaryBackgroundMedicine dispensing represents an error‐prone activity, carrying a considerable risk for patients.ObjectiveTo prospectively identify and prioritize potential failure modes in the medicine dispensing process as well as to develop corrective actions for patient safety improvement in German community pharmacies.MethodFailure mode and effects analysis was performed in 2 community pharmacies in North Rhine‐Westphalia, Germany, in October 2016. A 9‐member team was assembled, comprising of a leader and process experts who prospectively assessed the medicine dispensing process by brainstorming, quantified the attributed risks, proposed corrective actions, and reassessed the risks.ResultsThe analysis identified 39 failure modes, out of which the highest criticality scores were assigned to inadequate assessment of therapy appropriateness (Risk Priority Number 45), reluctance to deviate from rebate contracts (36), and dispensing the wrong medicine (30). The corrective actions proposed demonstrated a considerable potential for risk reduction in most failure modes, the most effective of which were introducing obligatory continuous education for pharmacists, organizing communication training, and implementing electronic prescribing.ConclusionThis analysis not only detected various potential safety issues concerning the dispensing in Germany but also strongly indicated that application of failure mode and effects analysis could be highly effective in prospective risk reduction in community pharmacies.
The communication and emotional support needs to improve women's experience of childbirth care in health facilities in Southwest Nigeria: A qualitative study
Authors: Ojelade Olubunmi A. , Titiloye Musibau A. , Bohren Meghan A. , Olutayo Akinpelu O. , Olalere Adebimpe A. , Akintan Adesina , Oladapo Olufemi T. , Fawole Bukola 
Published: December 2017

AbstractObjectiveTo improve women's childbirth experiences in health facilities, their psychosocial and communication needs have to be met. However, what constitutes these specific needs is poorly understood, particularly in Sub‐Saharan Africa. This paper explores women's needs for communication and emotional support during facility‐based childbirth.MethodsQualitative research was conducted in a large referral maternity hospital and its catchment communities in Akure, Nigeria. In‐depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted among women of reproductive age, midwives, doctors, and facility administrators. Thematic analysis was used to synthesize findings, and then interpreted within the context of this study and existing quality of care framework.ResultsForty‐two IDIs and 10 FGDs are included in this analysis. Participants reported such needs as communication in simple words in local language by healthcare staff, having their husbands as birth companions, spiritual support, and prayers from family members and healthcare providers.ConclusionTo increase, improve, and sustain facility‐based childbirth in Nigeria, health systems should appreciate the uniqueness and importance of each woman's needs during childbirth. Practical and sustainable actions should be taken to meet these needs, within the confines of the acceptable sociocultural norms.
Configuring blockchain architectures for transaction information in blockchain consortiums: The case of accounting and supply chain systems
Authors: O'Leary Daniel E. 
Published: December 2017

SummaryThis paper investigates alternative configurations of different blockchain architectures that can be used for gathering and processing transactions in a range of different settings, including accounting, auditing, supply chain and other types of transaction information. Although there has been substantial focus on the peer‐to‐peer and public versions of blockchain, this paper focuses primarily on cloud‐based and private configuration versions of blockchains and investigates use configurations, advantages and limitations as firms bring blockchain‐based market mechanisms into their organizations. In addition, this paper investigates some emerging issues associated with blockchain use in consortium settings. Finally, this paper relates some proposed uses of blockchain for transaction processing to other technologies, such as data warehouses and databases.
Bridging the Gap: The Role of Spatial Information Technologies in the Integration of Traditional Environmental Knowledge and Western Science
Authors: Brodnig Gernot , Mayer‐Schönberger Viktor 
Published: December 2017

AbstractAgenda 21 dedicates a whole chapter to the role and importance of information for sustainable development. Among the provisions on harnessing the potential of information and communication technologies (ICT) one paragraph addresses the need for a strengthening of the capacity for traditional information. Local communities and resource users should benefit from mechanisms that provide them with the know‐how they need to manage their environment and resources sustainably, applying traditional and indigenous knowledge and approaches.This paper will examine how this objective is being implemented through the use of spatial information systems (including GPS and Remote Sensing), which collect, manipulate and distribute data on a variety of environmental factors, in order to inform and encourage sustainable resource management practices. Some initiatives have adopted grassroots and participatory approaches, whereby local communities map their territories and resources with the help of information technologies. This paper will review a sample of these projects and analyze how they can generate synergies between traditional knowledge and modern science.
Social Implications of Information and Communication Technology in Developing Countries: Lessons from Asian Success Stories
Authors: Bhatnagar Subhash 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThe Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) and the World Bank had organised a workshop titled: Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for Rural Development to bring together case studies of various applications of ICT that have been demonstrated to make a difference in the delivery of services or products in rural areas. The cases presented illustrate both the opportunities and challenges in the diffusion of ICT within India and for other developing countries. ICT applications can be classified as those that provided decision support to public administrators for improving planning and monitoring of developmental programs, those that improved services to citizens and brought in transparency, and those that empowered citizens through access to information and knowledge. This paper presents successful examples of each type of application of and discusses one application in detail to draws lessons for what needs to be done to promote ICT for rural development.
Cultivating Technological Innovation for Development
Authors: Corea Stephen 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThis paper essays the viewpoint that the development or innovation in society of technologies, such as information and communication technologies, should be self‐cultivated rather than imported. Ideas are drawn from multiple research disciplines to inform the elaboration of this perspective. A behavioral notion of development, based on the notion of structural conditioning of behaviors of social units, is discussed and adopted. Concepts of change from cybernetic theory are then delineated, to be used analogously later on for illustrating behavioral aspects of technology adoption and societal development. Subsequently, current theoretical formulations in the economic literature on technological change are reviewed, to muster key insights for furthering an understanding of the behavioral notion of development. The paper then recruits principles and ideas from current developments in sociotechnical systems (STS) theory. The applicability of these ideas for promoting understanding of macro‐phenomena in national development systems is discussed. Finally, the paper integrates these various strands of theoretical formulations into the assertion that it is more important to invest in the cultivation of the patterns of behavior that underpin the various technological innovations of modernization than it is to invest in the pervasive uptake of information and communication technologies.
An Empirical Investigation of Use of Information Technology among Small and Medium Business Organizations: A Bruneian Scenario
Authors: Seyal Afzaal H. , Rahim Md. Mahbubur , Rahman Mohd. Noah A. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractIn the last two decades issues regarding management of Information Technology (IT) within organizations have gained due consideration. The heavy reliance on IT has caused difficulties for chief executives’ officers (CEOs) to optimize their computing resources. A survey of fifty‐four small and medium sized organizations was conducted to investigate the degree of IT usage in Brunei Darussalam. The study attempts to assess the depth and breadth of IT usage in business. The parameters such as organizational (size, sale or profitability and type of business) and chief executives (educational level and computer literacy, ownership of PC and computer experience) are studied. The study highlights how sales figures of the organizations; type of business and CEO computer literacy contributes toward the use of IT. None of the other variables were found to be significant.
Comparing Urban and Rural Telecenters Costs
Authors: Shakeel Hani , Best Michael , Miller Bruno , Weber Sam 
Published: December 2017

AbstractIf deployed in both urban and rural areas, telecenters can decrease the gap in social services and economic opportunities that often exist between the two. However, establishing and operating rural telecenters is perceived to be more costly than urban ones. This paper presents a cost comparison of establishing urban and rural telecenter in Costa Rica. It shows that telecenter operations in rural areas disconnected from the power and telecommunication grids may not be significantly more expensive than those of an urban telecenter. Utilization of stand‐alone communication and power systems, combined with low‐power equipment can bring rural operating costs within range of those of a typical urban telecenter. The analysis is based on the Little Intelligent Communities (LINCOS) telecenter project, an initiative of the Foundation for Sustainable Development of Costa Rica.
A Study of the Actual and Potential Usage of Information and Communication Technology at District and Provincial Levels in Mozambique with a Focus on the Health Sector
Authors: Braa Jørn , Macome Esselina , Mavimbe João Carlos , Nhampossa José Leopoldo , da Costa João Leopoldo , José Bonifacio , Manave Aurélia , Sitói António 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThis article presents results from a study on the use and appropriation of information and communication technologies (ICT) in Mozambique with a focus on the health sector. The three provinces of Gaza, Inhambane and Niassa were surveyed and two questionnaires addressing 1) computer users and their ability to manage ICT, and 2) health workers and their handling of health information, were used. Based on this study appropriate strategies for developing an ICT‐infrastructure with the needs of the health sector as points of departure are discussed. The study is born out of a program to strengthen and further develop the health information and management systems at district and provincial levels as part of a process to support decentralisation of the health system in Mozambique. The study shows that computers and Internet are rapidly being spread to the provincial capitals and major districts in Mozambique. A main problem identified is the lack of ICT‐skills and education and poorly developed infrastructure and networks of support. There are very few formal ICT companies providing hardware, and even less, software support. Maintenance and learning about ICT are to a large extent going on within informal networks of computer users in the provinces.A main finding in this study is that development of ICT capacity and information systems at district and provincial levels in Mozambique needs to be an integrated effort across sectors. A district health information system cannot be developed in a void.A general recommendation is to develop educational programmes ranging from training of ICT entrepreneurs and health workers and managers, to Masters and PhD programmes in ICT and health information systems. A specific recommendation related to health information systems development is to focus on the district level and to develop a strategy which encompasses and integrates all districts, both the advanced districts with computers and the majority of the districts where there are no computers.