bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A qualitative study for developing a framework for implementing public–private partnerships in developing countries
Authors: Almarri Khalid , Abuhijleh Bassam 
Published: March 2017

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a public–private partnership (PPP) framework for newcomers from developing countries with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).Design/methodology/approachFor this purpose, through the meta-analysis review of literature and applied qualitative content analysis to the international PPP best practices, the authors identified key relevant PPP processes, terminologies and vocabulary that can assist new entrants in establishing their PPP infrastructure.FindingsThe outcome was a generic best practice framework for PPP implementation that consisted of five phases which further consisted of groups of functions and sub-groups of functions. These phases are establish the PPP framework, PPP implementation, contract design, bid management and PPP contract management.Practical implicationsThis framework is expected to benefit the upper management of local government departments and the federal ministries to understand the full process for local PPPs and to help them make informed decision for what to develop as PPPs and how to develop them.Social implicationsThis systematic approach to the development of PPPs in the UAE is expected to increase the number of PPP tenders, as there will be more awareness on what PPPs stand for, how they balance risks, improve efficiency and effectiveness of projects, improve facilities and services, etc.Originality/valueThis framework is the first to lay the foundations for a standardised PPP practice in the UAE for practitioners.
Exploring critical road project delay factors in Ghana
Authors: Amoatey Charles Teye , Ankrah Alfred Nii Okanta 
Published: March 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the causes of road construction delays in Ghana and identify appropriate mitigation measures.

Design/methodology/approach
The initial approach involved an empirical analysis of 48 road projects to quantify the extent of time. This was followed by a survey of the perception of road agency and donor partner officials of the critical causes of road project delays.

Findings
About 70 per cent of road projects experience delays and 52 per cent experience cost overruns. The average time overrun and cost overruns of road projects in Ghana was 17 months and US$1.15m (or 22.5 per cent), respectively. The five most critical causes of road construction delays were delay in finance and payment of completed work by owner (client-related); inadequate contractor experience (contractor-related); changes in scope by the owner during construction (client-related); delay to furnish and deliver the site to the contractor (client-related); and inflexible funding allocation for project items (donor-related).

Research limitations/implications
The most critical constraint of this study is the fact that findings are based on only the views of industry professional experts. It may be assumed that despite using broadly used terminology to refer to the causes of project delays, the interpretations by respondents may have differed from those intended. Further research could look at the correlation between time overrun and cost overrun using principle component analysis.

Practical implications
The identified delay factors are not unique to the road sector. From both academic and practical perspectives, the results emphasizes on the need for a holistic and integrated risk management model for the entire construction industry in Ghana.

Originality/value
The paper examined the causes of road project delays in the Ghanaian context and recommended remedial measures.
Scheduling and route optimisation for labour cost reduction in facility custodial maintenance
Authors: Pradhan Ninad , Patlolla Dinesh , Sawhney Rupy 
Published: March 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present an optimised scheduling system for facility mangers and custodians. Experience-driven systems currently in use can result in poor ratings for facility maintenance metrics such as overtime hours, utilisation difference and labour costs.

Design/methodology/approach
The cleaning schedule and custodian work assignments defined by the manager are simulated for the entire year. Clustering and routing algorithms assign work to custodians equally and find optimal cleaning routes. The manager may use the resulting feedback to iteratively find a suitable schedule which lowers costs.

Findings
Data were collected at a large university building in consultation with facility management and custodians. Results indicate a significant reduction in overtime hours, improvement in utilisation difference and a lowering of labour costs.

Research limitations/implications
The methodology was validated at a single building in the facility. Variable selection and optimisation model design will benefit from a comprehensive case study which spans the entire facility.

Practical implications
The methodology may easily be integrated with existing facility maintenance software, adding to it features such as a manager scheduling interface with feedback on critical cleaning metrics and a custodian user interface which highlights room visitation routes and task times.

Originality/value
This study acts on the need for facility cleaning labour cost management highlighted in literature. It achieves its goals using a novel combination of scheduling, simulation and optimisation. It is designed to empower key decision-makers, i.e. facility managers and custodians, with better information.
Understanding how mammalian scavengers use information from avian scavengers: cue from above
Authors: Kane Adam , Kendall Corinne J. 
Published: March 2017

Summary

Interspecific social information transfer can play a key role in many aspects of animal ecology from foraging to habitat selection to predator avoidance.

Within scavenging communities, avian scavengers often act as producers and mammalian scavengers act as scroungers, but we predict that species‐specific cueing will allow for mammalian scavengers to utilize particular avian scavenger species using preferred food sources similar to their own preferences.

We use empirical and theoretic approaches to assess interactions between mammalian and avian scavengers in one of the most diverse scavenging guilds in Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya.

Using a spatially explicit model and data from experimental carcasses, we found evidence that mammals benefit from local enhancement provided by vultures and that mammalian‐avian following patterns are consistent with the idea that species‐specific cueing is occurring.

Results suggest that ongoing population declines in avian scavengers may have significant impacts on mammalian scavengers and potentially create trophic cascades.
Determinants of Technical Efficiency in Kenyan Manufacturing Sector
Authors: Cheruiyot Kiplangat Josea 
Published: March 2017

AbstractThis paper uses World Bank's 2007 Regional Program for Enterprise Development survey data for Kenya to investigate the efficiency levels of Kenya's manufacturing sector and establish the sources of its variations across firms. Using a two‐stage nonparametric approach, we establish the average technical efficiency of Kenya's manufacturing sector to be 68.3 percent with the least being 53 percent. Also, we find that 63 percent of the firms operated under increasing returns to scale, 35 percent of firms operate under decreasing returns and 2 percent under constant returns. Second stage results from Tobit estimation show that age of the enterprise and size enter the efficiency function negatively and their coefficients are significant. Technical efficiency is established to be concave with respect to these variables as well. The results also show that firms located in Nairobi are more efficient than their counterparts in Mombasa are. The implications of these findings for the design of policies that influence firm performance and location decisions are briefly discussed.
Laying the Tracks for Successful Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education: What Can We Learn from Comparisons of Immigrant–Native Achievement in the USA?
Authors: Jia Ning 
Published: March 2017

AbstractThis paper examines the immigrant–native achievement gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields in college in the USA. Using student survey data from the Beginning Postsecondary Longitudinal Studies 2004/09, I find that on average immigrant students have significantly higher rates entering and persisting in STEM fields compared to their native counterparts. There is, however, considerable variation across immigrant generations and race and ethnicity. The immigrant attainment advantage is particularly large among first‐generation Asian and white immigrant students who attended foreign K–12 schools. I explore the channels leading to the achievement gap, including socioeconomic status, individual preferences, and academic preparation in math and science. Results suggest that the immigrant STEM advantage is largely due to better academic preparation in math and science in high school. This indicates that improvements in students' college STEM attainment may depend crucially on policy efforts devoted to strengthening the quality of high school math and science education.
The reproductive strategy and the vibrational duet of the leafhopper Empoasca vitis
Authors: Nieri Rachele , Mazzoni Valerio 
Published: March 2017

AbstractThe recent description of a new vibrational mating disruption method to control the leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus Ball opened questions about its possible application to other leafhopper pests. Since the prerequisite for the method's successful application is a deep knowledge of the species mating behavior and the exact role of associated signals, we conducted behavioral assays on the green leafhopper Empoasca vitis Göthe, a pest of grapevine and other crops in Europe and Asia. Laser vibrometer recordings of single and paired individuals (male and female) during a 24‐h period enabled us to detect and describe 2 male and 1 female signal. The pair formation starts when the female replies to a male call and a duet is established, then it continues through 2 different behavioral stages: Location and Courtship. The proper courtship begins only when the male locates the female. The latter is characterized by a significant change in temporal parameters that regards both the signals and the duet structure. Although the male calling activity and the female replying rate were the same during the 24 h, a lower number of matings was recorded during the night. We discuss the possible role of vision and of the species ecology as factors of reproductive success and mating strategy. Our conclusion is that the mechanical mating disruption technique seems feasible for future application to this species.
Passive vectoring of entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana among the wax moth Galleria mellonella larvae by the ectoparasitoid Habrobracon hebetor females
Authors: Kryukov Vadim Yu. , Kryukova Natalia A. , Tyurin Maksim V. , Yaroslavtseva Olga N. , Glupov Viktor V. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractFemales of the ectoparasitoid Habrobracon hebetor attack and envenomate numerous host individuals during oviposition. The vectoring of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana during the adhesion stage by ectoparasitoid females among the wax moth larvae Galleria mellonella was explored under laboratory conditions. Vectoring occurred both from infected parasitoids to wax moth larvae and from infected to healthy wax moth larvae by parasitoids. The efficacy of vectoring in both cases was dose dependent. Parasitoid females were unable to recognize infected larvae in a labyrinth test. In addition, the presence of H. hebetor females significantly (1.5–13 fold) increased the mycoses level in clusters of G. mellonella, with 40% of the larvae infected with fungal conidia. Envenomation by H. hebetor increased conidia germination on the cuticles of the wax moth larvae by 4.4 fold. An enhanced germination rate (2 fold) was registered in the n‐hexane epicuticular extract of envenomated larvae compared to that of healthy larvae. Both envenomation and mycoses enhanced the phenoloxidase (PO) activity in the integument of G. mellonella and, in contrast, decreased the encapsulation rate in hemolymphs. We hypothesize that changes in the integument property and inhibition of cellular immunity provide the highest infection efficacy of entomopathogenic fungi with H. hebetor.
Sustained response to standard dose osimertinib in a patient with plasma T790M‐positive leptomeningeal metastases from primary lung adenocarcinoma
Authors: Chan Oscar Siu‐Hong , Leung Warren Kam‐Wing , Yeung Rebecca Mei‐Wan 
Published: March 2017

AbstractA 44‐year‐old male, never smoker, suffers from stage IV adenocarcinoma of the right lung with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon‐21 L858R point mutation on initial presentation. After 23 months of treatment with gefitinib, intercalated with multiple courses of radiotherapy, leptomeningeal metastases (LMs) developed. Acquired T790M mutation was confirmed by the droplet digital polymerase chain reaction plasma EGFR test. After switching to osimertinib at the standard dose, his neurocognitive function improved clinically, coupled with sustained radiological improvement. As this clinical entity is underrepresented in clinical trials, the practicability of plasma EGFR testing and the optimal dose–response relationship of osimertinib in T790M‐positive lung cancer complicated with LM deserves further exploration.
Orthopaedic research in Australia: a bibliographic analysis of the publication rates in the top 15 journals
Authors: Hohmann Erik , Glatt Vaida , Tetsworth Kevin 
Published: March 2017

BackgroundTo investigate the publications rates and characteristics of the authors for manuscripts originating from Australia in the 15 highest ranked orthopaedic journals over a 5‐year period.MethodsThe 15 highest ranked journals in orthopaedics, based on their 2015 impact factor, were used to establish the total number of publications and cumulative impact factor points between January 2010 and December 2014. The affiliations of the primary author and co‐authors were used to determine the involvement of Australian trained orthopaedic surgeons. Study location, research topic and anatomic areas were recorded.ResultsA total of 478 publications were identified; 110 of these manuscripts were principally authored by Australian trained orthopaedic surgeons or medical professionals affiliated with orthopaedics. In addition, 158 articles were published with orthopaedic surgery involvement where one of the co‐authors was an Australian trained surgeon. Australian orthopaedic surgeon (FRACS) involvement was most commonly observed in the knee (n = 90; 33.6%) followed by the hip (n = 69; 25.7%) and basic sciences (n = 27; 10.1%). Surgeons in Sydney had the highest number of publications (n = 95; 35.4%), followed by Adelaide (n = 55; 20.5%) and Melbourne (n = 54; 20.1%).ConclusionThe results of this study demonstrate that the minority (23%) of the publications originating from Australia in the 15 highest‐ranking orthopaedic journals were principally authored by either an Australian trained surgeon or a trainee surgeon. A total of 59% of the publications focused on the hip and knee. Sydney was the leading region, followed by Adelaide and Melbourne. These three regions published 76% of all manuscripts identified during the 5‐year study period.
Learning styles: Considerations for technology enhanced item design
Authors: Adkins Deborah , Guerreiro Meg 
Published: March 2017

AbstractLearning styles (LS) have been used for classifying students by their preferences relative to taking information in, processing it and demonstrating their ability in the context of education. This paper investigates the role of LS in K‐12 education by considering the manner in which student LS are assessed and the extent to which they have informed K‐12 instruction. The paper illustrates the impact of LS on teachers, pedagogy, student engagement and assessment. The theoretical framework of LS theory is discussed. Furthermore, this paper identifies a gap in the literature regarding LS and assessment; specifically the development of assessments based on LS. The authors suggest adapting student assessment utilizing technology‐enhanced items (TEIs) developed based on students' LS may provide a more reliable measure of student ability. Implications for practice and limitations are discussed.
IL‐21 promotes myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion injury through the modulation of neutrophil infiltration
Authors: Wang Kejing , Wen Shuang , Jiao Jiao , Tang Tingting , Zhao Xin , Zhang Min , Lv Bingjie , Lu Yuzhi , Zhou Xingdi , Li Jingyong , Nie Shaofang , Liao Yuhua , Wang Qing , Tu Xin , Mallat Ziad , Xia Ni , Cheng Xiang 
Published: March 2017

Background and PurposeThe immune system plays an important role in driving the acute inflammatory response following myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion injury (MIRI). IL‐21 is a pleiotropic cytokine with multiple immunomodulatory effects, but its role in MIRI is not known.Experimental ApproachMyocardial injury, neutrophil infiltration and the expression of neutrophil chemokines KC (CXCL1) and MIP‐2 (CXCL2) were studied in a mouse model of MIRI. Effects of IL‐21 on the expression of KC and MIP‐2 in neonatal mouse cardiomyocytes (CMs) and cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) were determined by real‐time PCR and ELISA. The signalling mechanisms underlying these effects were explored by western blot analysis.Key ResultsIL‐21 was elevated within the acute phase of murine MIRI. Neutralization of IL‐21 attenuated myocardial injury, as illustrated by reduced infarct size, decreased cardiac troponin T levels and improved cardiac function, whereas exogenous IL‐21 administration exerted opposite effects. IL‐21 increased the infiltration of neutrophils and increased the expression of KC and MIP‐2 in myocardial tissue following MIRI. Moreover, neutrophil depletion attenuated the IL‐21‐induced myocardial injury. Mechanistically, IL‐21 increased the production of KC and MIP‐2 in neonatal CMs and CFs, and enhanced neutrophil migration, as revealed by the migration assay. Furthermore, we demonstrated that this IL‐21‐mediated increase in chemokine expression involved the activation of Akt/NF‐κB signalling in CMs and p38 MAPK/NF‐κB signalling in CFs.Conclusions and ImplicationsOur data provide novel evidence that IL‐21 plays a pathogenic role in MIRI, most likely by promoting cardiac neutrophil infiltration. Therefore, targeting IL‐21 may have therapeutic potential as a treatment for MIRI.Linked ArticlesThis article is part of a themed section on Spotlight on Small Molecules in Cardiovascular Diseases. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v175.8/issuetoc
From the Same Spirit: Receiving the Theological Gifts of Transgender Christians
Authors: Lowe Mary Elise 
Published: March 2017

AbstractTransgender Christians bear four transformative gifts to the body of Christ. They celebrate that humans are God's created co‐creators, and that God creates with and through them. Second, gender non‐conforming Christians have learned to steadfastly love (hesed) themselves as they love God and the world. Next, transgender Christians witness that humans are a coherent unity of body‐mind, not a mind in a body. Finally, transgender followers of Jesus welcome the Holy Spirit's gifts of plurality, newness, unity, and freedom.
The Christified Universe and the Vanquished Creatures: The Perspectives of Ilia Delio and Elizabeth A. Johnson
Authors: Sasongko Nindyo 
Published: March 2017

AbstractThis article is a study of Christology in which Christ, the center of cosmos, is on the side of creatures in pain. I examine the argument of Jesuit paleontologist and mystic Teilhard de Chardin that the whole universe is in the process of Christification. With Ilia Delio and Elizabeth A. Johnson, I contend that Christ takes the side of suffering creatures going extinct just like Christ opts for the people on the margins of power. First, I sketch a background in which natural evil must be placed within an evolutionary framework. Second, in highlighting Delio's and Johnson's views, I ask, where is Christ in evolution? Finally, I revisit christological notions implied in Colossians 1 and John 1.
The hemodynamic response to interictal epileptic discharges localizes the seizure‐onset zone
Authors: Khoo Hui Ming , Hao Yongfu , von Ellenrieder Nicolás , Zazubovits Natalja , Hall Jeffery , Olivier André , Dubeau François , Gotman Jean 
Published: March 2017

SummaryObjectiveIntracranial electroencephalography (EEG), performed presurgically in patients with drug‐resistant and difficult‐to‐localize focal epilepsy, samples only a small fraction of brain tissue and thus requires strong hypotheses regarding the possible localization of the epileptogenic zone. EEG/fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging), a noninvasive tool resulting in hemodynamic responses, could contribute to the generation of these hypotheses. This study assessed how these responses, despite their interictal origin, predict the seizure‐onset zone (SOZ).MethodsWe retrospectively studied 37 consecutive patients who underwent stereo‐EEG (SEEG) and EEG/fMRI that resulted in significant hemodynamic responses. Hemodynamic response maps were co‐registered to postimplantation anatomic imaging, allowing inspection of these responses in relation to SEEG electrode's location. The area containing the most significant t‐value (primary cluster) explored with an electrode was assessed for concordance with SEEG‐defined SOZ. Discriminant analysis was performed to distinguish the primary clusters having a high probability of localizing the SOZ.ResultsThirty‐one patients had at least one study with primary cluster explored with an electrode, and 24 (77%) had at least one study with primary cluster concordant with the SOZ. Each patient could have multiple types of interictal discharge and therefore multiple studies. Among 59 studies from the 37 patients, 44 had a primary cluster explored with an electrode and 30 (68%) were concordant with the SOZ. Discriminant analysis showed that the SOZ is predictable with high confidence (>90%) if the primary cluster is highly significant and if the next significant cluster is much less significant or absent.SignificanceThe most significant hemodynamic response to interictal discharges delineates the subset of the irritative zone that generates seizures in a high proportion of patients with difficult‐to‐localize focal epilepsy. EEG/fMRI generates responses that are valuable targets for electrode implantation and may reduce the need for implantation in patients in whom the most significant response satisfies the condition of our discriminant analysis.