bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An exploratory evaluation of state road provision to commuters and shippers
Authors: Min Hokey , Lambert Thomas 
Published: June 2015

Purpose
– Due to mounting fiscal pressures, the federal government as well as many state and municipal governments in the USA have had to re-examine their transportation policies. Tax increases and/or spending cuts which aim to trim budget deficits are preoccupations of most policy makers and legislative bodies nowadays. With regard to the task of building new or rehabilitating old bridges, highways, and toll gates, cost-benefit analysis and economic impact studies are often undertaken by various government entities to rank and prioritize spending in the hopes of maximizing fiscal efficiency and road usage benefits. Since most highway construction and maintenance expenditures are absorbed by state governments, it is mostly up to state policy makers to decide transportation priorities. Not much research to date has been conducted to evaluate the comparative efficiency of state road provision to commuters and shippers. Such research would be useful to a state government’s budgetary allocation, road planning, and spending plans. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach
– This paper uses data envelopment analysis under both constant and variable returns-to-scale and then to explain variations in efficiency ratings by using Tobit regression analysis.

Findings
– The authors discovered that the greater the level of state resident income and/or the warmer the weather, the higher the road or mass transit provision efficiency on average. The authors also found that greater urbanization in a state had little to do with efficiencies with respect to road provision.

Originality/value
– This paper is one of the first to assess and evaluate the comparative efficiency of road provision across 50 states in the USA and then set a benchmark for utilizing state financial resources to improve road infrastructure. More importantly, this paper helps transportation planners and public policy makers better allocate their limited financial resources to public goods in time of budget cutbacks and shortfalls.
Testing complex hypotheses using secondary data analysis: is the association between sexual abuse and psychosis moderated by gender in a large prison sample?
Authors: Shevlin Mark , Murphy Jamie , Read John 
Published: June 2015

Purpose
– There have been many studies that demonstrated an association between sexual trauma and psychotic disorders or psychotic symptoms. Limited attention has been paid to gender differences regarding this association. A recent study evidenced that the trauma-psychosis association may be moderated by gender and that the effect may be specific for females. However, there have been many methodological limitations, particularly that low prevalence of psychosis and sexual trauma for males leads to low statistical power, that have made this hypothesis difficult to test. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach
– This study sought to estimate the association between sexual trauma and psychosis, and to determine if the association was moderated by gender using data from the Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity among Prisoners in England and Wales (n=3,142).

Findings
– Bivariate analysis showed that sexual trauma predicted probable psychosis for both females (OR=4.13) and males (OR=4.72). After controlling for confounding variables the odds ratios for males and females did not differ significantly (the shared odds ratio was 2.60) indicating that the association was not moderated by gender.

Originality/value
– The relationship between sexual abuse and psychosis may neither be specific to, nor moderated by, gender.
Optimal design study of thermoacoustic regenerator with lexicographic optimization method
Authors: Tartibu L.K. , Sun B. , Kaunda M.A.E. 
Published: June 2015

Purpose
– This paper aims to illustrate the use of the augmented epsilon-constraint method implemented in general algebraic modelling system (GAMS), aimed at optimizing the geometry of a thermoacoustic regenerator. Thermoacoustic heat engines provide a practical solution to the problem of heat management where heat can be pumped or spot cooling can be produced. However, the most inhibiting characteristic of thermoacoustic cooling is their current lack of efficiencies.

Design/methodology/approach
– Lexicographic optimization is presented as an alternative optimization technique to the common used weighting methods. This approach establishes a hierarchical order among all the optimization objectives instead of giving them a specific (and most of the time, arbitrary) weight.

Findings
– A practical example is given, in a hypothetical scenario, showing how the proposed optimization technique may help thermoacoustic regenerator designers to identify Pareto optimal solutions when dealing with geometric parameters. This study highlights the fact that the geometrical parameters are interdependent, which support the use of a multi-objective approach for optimization in thermoacoustic.

Originality/value
– The research output from this paper can be a valuable resource to support designers in building efficient thermoacoustic device. The research illustrates the use of a lexicographic optimization to provide more meaningful results describing the geometry of thermoacoustic regenerator. It applies the epsilon-constraint method (AUGMENCON) to solve a five-criteria mixed integer non-linear problem implemented in GAMS (GAM software).
Corporate cash flow and dividends smoothing: a panel data analysis at Bursa Malaysia
Authors: Kighir Apedzan Emmanuel , Omar Normah Haji , Mohamed Norhayati 
Published: June 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate and find out the impact of cash flow on changes in dividend payout decisions among non-financial firms quoted at Bursa Malaysia as compared to earnings. There has been renewed debate in recent finance and accounting literature concerning the key determinants of changes in dividends payout policy decisions in some jurisdictions. The conclusion in some is that firms base their dividend decisions on cash flows rather than published earnings.

Design/methodology/approach
– The research made use of panel data from 1999 to 2012 at Bursa Malaysia, using generalized method of moments as the main method of analysis.

Findings
– The research finds that Malaysia non-financial firms consider current earnings more important than current cash flow while making dividends payout decisions, and prior year cash flows are considered more important in dividends decisions than prior year earnings. We also found support for Jensen (1986) in Malaysia on agency theory, that managers of firms pay dividends from free cash flow to reduce agency conflicts.

Practical implications
– The research concludes that Malaysian non-financial firms use current earnings and less of current cash flow in making changes in dividends policy. The policy implication is that current earnings are dividends smoothing agents, and the more they are considered in dividends payout decisions, the less of dividends smoothing.

Social implications
– If dividends smoothing is encouraged, it could lead to dividends-based earnings management.

Originality/value
– The research is our novel contribution of assisting investors and government in making informed decisions regarding dividends policy in Malaysia.
Overseas financial investigation of organised crime
Authors: Brown Rick , Gillespie Samantha 
Published: June 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore the problems that arise when undertaking a financial investigation that involves tracing assets in foreign jurisdictions.Design/methodology/approach– The paper is based on a secondary analysis of data collected as part of a qualitative study of the role of financial investigation in tackling organised crime. This was based on interviews with investigating officers, financial investigators and Crown Prosecution Service representatives associated with 60 cases. Of the 60 cases, 36 were found to have an international dimension.Findings– The study found a number of problems with undertaking overseas financial investigations. These included problems with the letter of request process, difficulties tracking assets in some countries and problems with tracing funds transferred through money service bureaux. Informal contact on a police-to-police basis was generally considered an effective means of improving the quality of information received.Research limitations/implications– This study is based on just 60 cases of organised crime in which financial investigation was used. The extent to which these findings can be generalised to other cases is unclear.Practical implications– The study highlights the most common obstacles to overseas financial investigation that should be addressed. In addition, the importance of informal contact with overseas police jurisdictions may highlight a means of improving requests for assistance.Originality/value– This paper provides an important insight into the views of operational staff undertaking overseas financial investigations and as such highlights the particular difficulties in this work.
Payday loans and globalization in the age of the Internet – policy recommendations
Authors: Szajngarten Roger Alain 
Published: June 2015

Purpose– This study aims to analyze Payday loans and many similar products which are a relatively new phenomena in the USA, but have been rapidly expanding particularly after the 2008 financial crisis, and have taken a heavy toll on the most vulnerable members of our society.Design/methodology/approach– An extensive literature review of the key US features of payday loans, the regulatory framework and its limitations, the issues and the most recent actions taken to date. The review also includes work done by the European Union, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the United Nations while discussing how the Internet and extraterritoriality influence the current landscape.Findings– With the advent of globalization and the Internet, the issues associated with payday loans have become harder to tackle, particularly in the USA, given the arcane state regulations used to address the numerous frauds and abuses plaguing the industry. The lack of any international approach combined with increasing cases where questionable actors leverage extraterritoriality, making addressing the issues even more challenging.Originality/value– This is an all-encompassing review aimed at expanding on existing approaches to properly provide and regulate payday loans and similar alternative sources of credit in this rapidly changing environment; pragmatic domestic and international policy recommendations are listed accordingly.
An exploratory study of entrepreneurship barriers: the case of Qatar
Authors: Kebaili Boumediene , Al-Subyae Saif Saeed , Al-Qahtani Fahed , Belkhamza Zakariya 
Published: June 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore the major entrepreneurship barriers facing Qataris. Qatar has a very specific economic and cultural environment that is different from any other Arab or western country. Such differences may contribute to the existing literature regarding entrepreneurship barriers in the Middle East.Design/methodology/approach– A qualitative methodology was adopted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with final year business students. Face-to-face in-depth interviews were used in order to uncover all aspects related to the research objective from the students’ perspective.Findings– Seven factors were identified as the main barriers to start-up new business activities among Qataris, which are: the non-availability of funds, risk avoidance, fear of failure, market barriers, knowledge barriers, stress avoidance, and attitude towards change.Research limitations/implications– It will be very useful to conduct a comparative study that covers more Gulf Cooperation Council countries to see whether the findings can be generalised to them. Furthermore, since this study adopted a qualitative approach, it will be interesting to empirically test these findings using a quantitative method.Practical implications– The government needs to ease and facilitate the loans, by establishing a government fund for financing new businesses. Learning institutions have an important role to reduce these barriers. Indeed, promoting a healthy culture that encourages and promotes entrepreneurship can be achieved by including specialised entrepreneurship courses into students’ curriculum as early as primary schools. Government can also allocate certain percentage of contracts to new or small companies. This will ease market access. Business associations must also play their part by providing assistance, and provide training programmes tailored to the need of local potential entrepreneurs.Originality/value– The paper contributes to the entrepreneurship body of knowledge by providing insight from the Qatari-specific economic and social environment context.
Paired box gene 5 isoforms A and B have different functions in transcriptional regulation of B cell development‐related genes in immature B cells
Authors: Kikuchi Hidehiko , Nakayama Masami , Kuribayashi Futoshi , Mimuro Hitomi , Imajoh‐Ohmi Shinobu , Nishitoh Hideki , Takami Yasunari , Nakayama Tatsuo 
Published: June 2015

ABSTRACTThe transcription factor paired box gene 5 (Pax5) is essential for B cell development. In this study, complementation analyses in Pax5‐deficient DT40 cells showed that three Pax5 isoforms Pax5A, Pax5B and Pax5BΔEx8 (another spliced isoform of Pax5B lacking exon 8) exhibit distinct roles in transcriptional regulation of six B cell development‐related genes (activation‐induced cytidine deaminase, Aiolos, BTB and CNC homology 2, B cell lymphoma‐6, early B cell factor 1, origin binding factor‐1 genes), transcriptions of which are remarkably down‐regulated by Pax5‐deficiency. Moreover, ectopic expression study shows that these Pax5 isoforms may regulate themselves and each other at the transcriptional level.
Body size affects individual winter foraging strategies of thick‐billed murres in the Bering Sea
Authors: Orben Rachael A. , Paredes Rosana , Roby Daniel D. , Irons David B. , Shaffer Scott A. 
Published: June 2015

Summary

Foraging and migration often require different energetic and movement strategies. Though not readily apparent, constraints during one phase might influence the foraging strategies observed in another. For marine birds that fly and dive, body size constraints likely present a trade‐off between foraging ability and migration as smaller bodies reduce flight costs, whereas larger bodies are advantageous for diving deeper.

This study examines individual wintering strategies of deep diving thick‐billed murres (Uria lomvia) breeding at three colonies in the south‐eastern Bering Sea: St Paul, St George and Bogoslof. These colonies, arranged north to south, are located such that breeding birds forage in a gradient from shelf to deep‐water habitats.

We used geolocation time‐depth recorders and stable isotopes from feathers to determine differences in foraging behaviour and diet of murres during three non‐breeding periods, 2008–2011. Body size was quantified by a principal component analysis (wing, culmen, head+bill and tarsus length). A hierarchical cluster analysis identified winter foraging strategies based on individual movement, diving behaviour and diet (inferred from stable isotopes).

Structural body size differed by breeding island. Larger birds from St Paul had higher wing loading than smaller birds from St George. Larger birds, mainly from St Paul, dove to deeper depths, spent more time in the Bering Sea, and likely consumed higher trophic‐level prey in late winter. Three winter foraging strategies were identified. The main strategy, employed by small birds from all three breeding colonies in the first 2 years, was characterized by high residency areas in the North Pacific south of the Aleutians and nocturnal diving. In contrast, 31% of birds from St Paul remained in the Bering Sea and foraged mainly during the day, apparently feeding on higher trophic‐level prey. Throat feather stable isotopes indicated that individuals exhibited flexibility in the use of this colony‐specific foraging strategy. The third strategy only occurred in 2010/2011, when birds dove more and deeper, suggesting limited prey resources.

Foraging strategies partitioned with respect to annual differences, presumably in response to shifts in distribution of prey, and were linked to body size. The presence of a colony‐specific wintering strategy suggests the potential for overwinter survival differences between these populations.
Assessing Community Quality of Health Care
Authors: Herrin Jeph , Kenward Kevin , Joshi Maulik S. , Audet Anne‐Marie J. , Hines Stephen J. 
Published: June 2015

ObjectiveTo determine the agreement of measures of care in different settings—hospitals, nursing homes (NHs), and home health agencies (HHAs)—and identify communities with high‐quality care in all settings.Data Sources/Study SettingPublicly available quality measures for hospitals, NHs, and HHAs, linked to hospital service areas (HSAs).Study DesignWe constructed composite quality measures for hospitals, HHAs, and nursing homes. We used these measures to identify HSAs with exceptionally high‐ or low‐quality of care across all settings, or only high hospital quality, and compared these with respect to sociodemographic and health system factors.Principal FindingsWe identified three dimensions of hospital quality, four HHA dimensions, and two NH dimensions; these were poorly correlated across the three care settings. HSAs that ranked high on all dimensions had more general practitioners per capita, and fewer specialists per capita, than HSAs that ranked highly on only the hospital measures.ConclusionHigher quality hospital, HHA, and NH care are not correlated at the regional level; regions where all dimensions of care are high differ systematically from regions which score well on only hospital measures and from those which score well on none.
A Level‐of‐Service Concept for Planning Future Water Supply Projects under Probabilistic Demand and Supply Framework
Authors: Asefa Tirusew , Adams Alison , Wanakule Nisai 
Published: June 2015

AbstractOne of the most challenging tasks of water supply utilities is planning the timing and quantity of new water supply sources as demand for water consumption grows. Many water supply utilities target on meeting 100% of their customers' needs based on scenario‐based deterministic demand projections numbers even though there are uncertainties in both supply and demand values. This may result in under or overly conservative approach in assessing future needs. In this article, a level‐of‐service concept is introduced to capture a utility's willingness to accept a given level of risk, plan for it, and invoke a management strategy during extreme events than build a facility to accommodate those in planning for new water supply sources. Accounting for uncertainties in both supply and demand help quantify reliability by achieving a prescribed level of service. The major benefit of such an approach for planning future water supply is that it allows policy makers to evaluate the use of adaptive water management strategies and develop supply in an incremental fashion as demand warrants it. For example, if a given level of service cannot be reliably met with the existing system at a future time t, an incremental water supply project would come online to bring the required reliability level up but no more.
Apocalyptic Satire, James II and Transubstantiation: Pulpit, Polemics and the Declaration of Indulgence
Authors: Weinbrot Howard D. 
Published: June 2015

AbstractApocalyptic satire laments the collapse of a culture, a nation or a religion – or all of these. The speaker uses images of ruins, deluges and infectious diseases but fails to correct vice. The exception is Protestant, especially Anglican, resistance to James II's Declaration of Indulgence. Opponents focused on Transubstantiation as an emblem of James's absolutism, savaged Catholic convert John Dryden and feared that James might also demand that priests ‘read an Homily for Transubstantiation’. To avoid apocalypse, the satirists sought to change the king's behaviour, as in this rare case they did by changing the king.
Clinical outcome of epidermal growth factor receptor‐tyrosine kinase inhibitors therapy for patients with overlapping kirsten rat sarcoma 2 viral oncogene homolog and epidermal growth factor receptor gene mutations
Authors: Zhang Hong , Bai Hua , Yang Xiaodan , Zhong Jia , An Tongtong , Zhao Jun , Wang Jie 
Published: June 2015

AbstractBackgroundKirsten rat sarcoma 2 viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) is the second most common mutated gene following epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation in Chinese lung adenocarcinoma (LADC) patients. Investigating the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with co‐existing KRAS and EGFR mutations can provide significant information for suitable therapies.MethodsWe retrospectively investigated 2106 LADC patients who had undergone EGFR and KRAS mutation tests at the Peking University Cancer Hospital. Only advanced LADC patients who carried KRAS and/or EGFR mutations, received EGFR‐tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and/or chemotherapy, and had completed follow‐up analysis were analyzed further. KRAS and EGFR mutations were tested by denaturing high‐performance liquid chromatography.ResultsA KRAS mutation was detected in 123 out of 2106 LADC patients (5.8%) and 38 (1.8%) had a concurrent EGFR mutation. Seventy‐two of 123 patients were advanced cases, which were divided into two sub‐groups according to EGFR mutation status: overlapping KRAS and EGFR mutations (n = 24) and KRAS mutation alone (n = 48). Clinical characteristics of the two subgroups were similar. A greater ratio of patients with double mutations received EGFR‐TKIs compared to KRAS mutation alone (75% vs. 43.8%, P = 0.012), and obtained a better objective response rate (38.9% vs. 9.5%, P = 0.027) and longer progression‐free survival (8.0 vs. 1.5 months, P = 0.028) following EGFR‐TKIs therapy. However, these differences were not observed in patients treated with platinum‐based chemotherapy.ConclusionsOverlapping KRAS and EGFR mutations occurred in 1.8% of Chinese LADC patients studied. The co‐presence of EGFR mutations could predict a clinical benefit from EGFR‐TKIs treatment for patients with KRAS mutations.
Severe hypoglycemia during methadone escalation in an 8‐year‐old child
Authors: Gjedsted J. , Dall R. 
Published: June 2015

This case report describes hypoglycemia during methadone escalation in an 8‐year‐old girl with acute lymphatic leukemia. After a significant increase in the methadone dosage, the blood glucose decreased from 12 mmol/l to 1 mmol/l. Nutrition and other medications were meticulously checked and no other apparent explanation was found. There are few reports from the adult palliative setting which describe this serious side effect. This is to our knowledge, the first described pediatric case.