bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Risk assessment of the Egyptian stock market in the wake of the Arab Spring
Authors: Omran M. F. 
Published: November 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to shed some light on the Egyptian stock market and its macroeconomic environment in the wake of the Arab Spring.

Design/methodology/approach
– The paper examines whether the averages of the EGX30 index price changes in addition to key macroeconomic variables are statistically significant pre and post Arab Spring.

Findings
– High inflation in the period up to the Arab Spring was a major contributing factor for the uprising. The solutions for the EGX30 index troubles are political and macroeconomic.

Originality/value
– The variables examined pre and post Arab Spring are EGX30 returns, EGX30 total market value, US$ reserves kept at the Egyptian Central Bank, US$ to Egyptian pounds exchange, and inflation.
TQM implementation through ISO 9001: findings from Chinese construction firms in Nigeria
Authors: Babatunde Yomi , Sui Pheng Low 
Published: November 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to design and test a model integrating the attributes of national culture and total quality management (TQM) principles for successful TQM implementation in international projects involving Chinese construction firms in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach
– Based on the culture-specific relationship between TQM implementation and national culture and ISO 9001 being a stepping stone to TQM implementation, a model in the form of a matrix was designed integrating Hofstede’s five national cultural dimensions (NCD) and ISO 9001 eight quality management principles. The model was then tested through a three-phase research process including cross-sectional surveys of the Chinese (n=48) and the Nigerians (n=80) (Phase 1), Delphi study involving TQM experts (n=12) (Phase 2), and case studies of Chinese projects in Nigeria (n=6) (Phase 3).

Findings
– The model predicts important attributes of national culture and TQM principles for achieving good-quality performance, the management of which leads to a Chinese firm being perceived as delivering good or poor-quality services in Nigeria. Statistical testing using κ statistics revealed significant agreement between two perceived good-quality Chinese firms on the important attributes and significant disagreement between perceived good-quality and poor-quality Chinese firms in Nigeria.

Research limitations/implications
– The model designed is based on ISO 9001: 2008 version.

Practical implications
– International businesses in Africa will benefit from this study’s findings.

Social implications
– Overseas Chinese firms’ service quality perceptions can be better managed.

Originality/value
– This empirical study presents a model for successful TQM implementation through ISO 9001.
Ferulic acid improves lipid and glucose homeostasis in high‐fat diet‐induced obese mice
Authors: Naowaboot Jarinyaporn , Piyabhan Pritsana , Munkong Narongsuk , Parklak Wason , Pannangpetch Patchareewan 
Published: November 2015

SummaryFerulic acid (FA) is a plant phenolic acid that has several pharmacological effects including antihyperglycaemic activity. Thus, the objective of this study is to investigate the effect of FA on glucose and lipid metabolism in high‐fat diet (HFD)‐induced obese mice. Institute for Cancer Research (ICR) mice were fed a HFD (45 kcal% fat) for 16 weeks. At the ninth week of induction, the obese mice were orally administered with daily FA doses of 25 and 50 mg/kg for the next eight weeks. The results show that FA significantly reduced the elevated blood glucose and serum leptin levels, lowered the insulin resistance, and increased the serum adiponectin level. Moreover, serum lipid level, and liver cholesterol and triglyceride accumulations were also reduced. The histological examination showed clear evidence of a decrease in the lipid droplets in liver tissues and smaller size of fat cells in the adipose tissue in the obese mice treated with FA. Interestingly, FA reduced the expression of hepatic lipogenic genes such as sterol regulatory element‐binding protein 1c (SREBP1c), fatty acid synthase (FAS), and acetyl‐CoA carboxylase (ACC). It could also up‐regulate hepatic carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a (CPT1a) gene and peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor alpha (PPARα) proteins. The FA treatment was also found to suppress the protein expressions of hepatic gluconeogenic enzymes, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPCK) and glucose‐6‐phosphatase (G6Pase). In conclusion, the findings of this study demonstrate that FA improves the glucose and lipid homeostasis in HFD‐induced obese mice probably via modulating the expression of lipogenic and gluconeogenic genes in liver tissues.
School readiness of children with language impairment: predicting literacy skills from pre‐literacy and social–behavioural dimensions
Authors: Pentimonti Jill M. , Murphy Kimberly A. , Justice Laura M. , Logan Jessica A. R. , Kaderavek Joan N. 
Published: November 2015

AbstractBackground: School readiness generally captures the notion that children do best when they arrive at formal schooling with a certain threshold of skill that will help them thrive in the classroom's academic and social milieu.Aims: To examine the dimensionality of the construct of school readiness among children with language impairment (LI), as well as the extent to which these dimensions relate to children's end‐of‐kindergarten literacy skills.Methods & Procedures: Participants were 136 preschool‐aged children with LI. Children were assessed on measures of pre‐literacy, social, and behavioural skills in preschool and reading and spelling in kindergarten.Outcomes & Results: Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that school readiness for this sample of children with LI is best characterized as two dimensions: pre‐literacy and socio‐emotional. Of the two dimensions, pre‐literacy readiness was predictive of children's future performance in reading and spelling.Conclusions & Implications: The results further our theoretical understanding of the dimensions of school readiness, as well as our knowledge of how these skills are related among children with LI. Identifying domain‐specific readiness skills that are predictive of kindergarten success can help to identify means of early assessment and targets for speech–language intervention.
Assessment of language impairment in bilingual children using semantic tasks: two languages classify better than one
Authors: Peña Elizabeth D. , Bedore Lisa M. , Kester Ellen S. 
Published: November 2015

AbstractBackgroundSignificant progress has been made in the identification of language impairment in children are bilingual. Bilingual children's vocabulary knowledge may be distributed across languages. Thus, when testing bilingual children it is difficult to know how to weigh each language for diagnostic purposes. Even when conceptual scoring is used in vocabulary testing, bilingual children may score below that of their typical monolingual peers.AimsThe primary aim was to evaluate the classification accuracy of two approaches (total semantics score and two‐dimensional bilingual coordinate score) that combined lexical–semantic knowledge across two languages. We investigated the classification accuracy of the English and Spanish semantics subtest using the experimental version of the Bilingual English Spanish Assessment (BESA) with bilingual children with and without language impairment.MethodsA total of 78 bilinguals with balanced exposure to English and Spanish (15 with language impairment, 63 with typical development) participated. Children were between 4;0 and 6;11 years old. Discriminant function analysis explored the extent to which these children were accurately classified when combining Spanish and English subtests.Outcomes & ResultsDiscriminant analysis yielded above 85% correct classification for balanced bilingual children for both approaches.Conclusions & ImplicationsFor the most accurate assessment and diagnostic decision‐making for bilinguals, approaches that consider both languages together are recommended.
Evaluation of low‐dose thalidomide as induction and maintenance therapy in patients with multiple myeloma not eligible for stem cell transplantation
Authors: Aznab Mozaffar , Rezaei Mansour , Navabi Jafar , Moieni Ali 
Published: November 2015

AbstractBackgroundThe role of thalidomide in induction and long‐term maintenance therapy in patients with multiple myeloma not eligible for stem cell transplantation remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of low‐dose thalidomide as induction therapy and as maintenance therapy for 24 months in patients with a complete remission after the induction chemotherapy and to monitor the survival and relapse rates.MethodsBetween October 2005 and September 2013, 50 patients with multiple myeloma received six courses of Cyclophosphamide‐Vincristine Adriamycin and Dexamethazone (c‐VAD) and pamidronate, and thalidomide 100 mg daily during induction, then thalidomide 100 mg daily for 24 months as maintenance. The effects of thalidomide were assessed objectively and subjectively. Whenever necessary, electromyography and nerve capacity volume were performed monthly for 6 months, then once every 3 months until the end of treatment.ResultsPrimary response was 96% (CR or very good PR in 48/50 patients). Fifteen out of the remaining 48 patients relapsed during the follow‐up period. Nine out of the 15 patients who relapsed showed very good partial response to treatment and four patients showed partial response. Survival rate was 81% in these patients. The primary outcome measures showed a mean and median progression‐free survival of 33 and 27 months, respectively, and a mean and median overall survival of 43 and 39 months, respectively.ConclusionLow‐dose thalidomide during induction therapy combined with conventional chemotherapy and a 2‐year maintenance may be effective in preventing the relapse and improving the overall survival.
Winters too warm to skate? Citizen‐science reported variability in availability of outdoor skating in Canada
Authors: Robertson Colin , McLeman Robert , Lawrence Haydn 
Published: November 2015

Key Messages

Citizen scientists have contributed thousands of reports of skating conditions in Canada.
Variability in reported “skateability” is evident across 10 Canadian cities and the temperature‐skating relationship varies across Canada.
Climate modelling scenarios suggest significant declines in opportunities for outdoor skating across Canada.
Factors associated with dental caries in a group of American Indian children at age 36 months
Authors: Warren John J. , Blanchette Derek , Dawson Deborah V. , Marshall Teresa A. , Phipps Kathy R. , Starr Delores , Drake David R. 
Published: November 2015

AbstractObjectivesEarly childhood caries (ECC) is rampant among American Indian children, but there has been relatively little study of this problem. This article reports on risk factors for caries for a group of American Indian children at age 36 months as part of a longitudinal study.MethodsPregnant women from a Northern Plains Tribal community were recruited to participate in a longitudinal study of caries and caries risk factors. Standardized dental examinations were completed on children, and questionnaires were completed by mothers at baseline and when children were 4, 8, 12, 16, 22, 28, and 36 months of age. Examinations were surface‐specific for dental caries, and the questionnaires collected data on demographic, dietary, and behavioral factors. Nonparametric bivariate tests and logistic regression models were used to identify risk factors for caries at 36 months, and negative binomial regression was used to identify factors related to caries severity (dmf counts).ResultsAmong the 232 children, and caries prevalence for cavitated lesions was 80%, with an additional 15% having only noncavitated lesions. The mean dmfs was 9.6, and of the total dmfs, nearly 62% of affected surfaces were decayed, 31% were missing, and 7% were filled. Logistic regression identified higher added‐sugar beverage consumption, younger maternal age at baseline, higher maternal DMFS at baseline, and greater number of people in the household as significant (P < 0.05) risk factors. Negative binomial regression found that only maternal DMFS was associated with child dmf counts.ConclusionsBy the age of 36 months, dental caries is nearly universal in this population of American Indian children. Caries risk factors included sugared beverage consumption, greater household size, and maternal factors, but further analyses are needed to better understand caries in this population.
Pollinator floral provisioning by a plant invader: quantifying beneficial effects of detrimental species
Authors: Russo Laura , Nichol Christina , Shea Katriona 
Published: November 2015

AbstractAimAlthough the negative effects of invasive species are globally recognized, little is known about the potential positive impacts they can have on other species in the ecosystems they invade. However, the persistence of invaders in a wide range of ecological communities may mean that they provide resources and refuge for threatened native species, or supplement ecosystem services.LocationAgroecosystems in the USA.MethodsWe use a 2‐year field experiment to explore the potential positive and negative impacts of an invasive thistle (Carduus acanthoides) on the composition of the resident community of foraging insects. The presence or absence of the thistle was the only difference in experimental and control plots comprising a background community of ten flowering annual species.ResultsWe demonstrate that the invasive thistle is both highly visited and strongly preferred by bees relative to other flowering species. Bee abundance was 302% higher and bee species richness 35% higher in habitat patches where the thistle was present compared to where it was absent. In addition, the abundance of Bombus species, a native group recently found to be in decline, was 479% higher when the thistle was present.Main conclusionsOur results suggest that, despite causing significant problems, the invasion of this non‐native species may also provide crucial benefits via floral resources for pollinators. Benefits, such as the floral resources that invaders provide to pollinators, should also be taken into account in conservation and invader management plans. Eradication or complete removal of invasive species which provision insects with floral resources could have unintended negative impacts on the associated pollinator community.
Sovereignty, Risk and Biotechnology: Zambia's 2002 GM Controversy in Retrospect
Authors: Bowman Andrew 
Published: November 2015

ABSTRACTThe southern African food crisis of 2002 led to one of the most significant controversies over the use of genetically modified (GM) crops in the developing world to date. Zambia's staunch opposition to GM food aid during the crisis is still frequently used as a reference point in debates over GM seed technology in agricultural development, and the morality of advanced biotechnology. This article re‐examines the controversy and its contemporary relevance using oral history interviews with key scientists, policy makers and development practitioners engaged in debates and decision‐making processes in Zambia in 2002, alongside a review of discourses in the Zambian press. The author argues that, rather than different perceptions of health and environmental risks derived from GM crops, it was questions of sovereign regulatory control of technology in a context of diminished state capacity — and the decline in the Zambian state's capacity for agricultural science research in particular — that played a central role in shaping anti‐GM attitudes. In addition, trust in the arguments of GM advocates was diminished by communication efforts which treated Zambian scientists and policy elites as a lay rather than an expert audience.
The Social Regulation of Markets: Why Microcredit Fails to Promote Jobs in Rural South India
Authors: Guérin Isabelle , D'Espallier Bert , Venkatasubramanian G. 
Published: November 2015

ABSTRACTThere is growing evidence that microcredit does little to support self‐employment. Two main explanations are typically emphasized: from a microeconomic perspective, the poor have been argued to lack the skills, resources and motivation to start their own businesses; from a macroeconomic perspective, local markets are often saturated. This article uses first‐hand data from rural South India to explore a third explanation which focuses on the social regulation of markets. Drawing on a household survey, the authors show that self‐employment and microcredit are uncorrelated, and that women and lower castes have a significantly lower chance of starting up a business. The businesses they do start tend to be smaller, less profitable and based in very specific sectors. Qualitative insights into the workings of local economies show that caste and gender‐based social regulations influence local markets determining who can produce or sell what, to whom, and at what price. The authors observe that real markets are affected by power relations and structured through social institutions rather than being the sum of interactions between free and competitive individuals. These findings show the importance of integrating self‐employment programmes into broader policies for transforming the social regulation of markets and for eradicating discrimination against women and lower castes.
Capitalizing on Desire: Reconfiguring ‘the Social’ and the Government of Poverty in the Philippines
Authors: Seki Koki 
Published: November 2015

ABSTRACTTracing the contours of ‘the social’ is of critical importance today, since there is a widely shared understanding that ‘the social’ has been undergoing a fundamental mutation under the encroaching influence of globalization and neoliberalism. This mutation means that a population and its risks are increasingly administered and managed through the nurturing of free subjects, productive citizens and active communities. By focusing on conditional cash transfers as a poverty‐alleviation programme in the Philippines, this study examines how the contemporary government of poverty attempts to realize social inclusion through the nurturing of desires, habits and dispositions that are conducive to an ‘investment in human capital’. The study argues that such regimes produce various forms of exclusion and counterclaims by the beneficiaries, and that these counterclaims, which reflect the popular notions of patronage and clientelism, have serious implications for envisioning the alternative configuration of ‘the social’.
Rare mimic of pedal osteomyelitis in a patient with diabetes
Authors: Kumar S. , Kyi M. , Wraight P. R. 
Published: November 2015

AbstractBackgroundDiabetic foot infections are an important cause of hospitalization, health expenditure and mortality. Bone biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosing diabetic foot osteomyelitis but it is not routinely performed in most centres. Instead, a combination of history, examination, biochemical and radiological findings are used to make the diagnosis.Case ReportHere, we report a case mimicking diabetic foot osteomyelitis, where the histology was crucial in acquiring the correct diagnosis.ConclusionThe absence of ulceration in cases of presumed diabetic foot osteomyelitis should raise suspicion of potential rare mimics of osteomyelitis and bone biopsy should be considered to further evaluate the underlying etiology prior to any definitive surgical management.
Functional characterization of the hGRαT556I causing Chrousos syndrome
Authors: Nicolaides Nicolas C. , Skyrla Eirini , Vlachakis Dimitrios , Psarra Anna‐Maria G. , Moutsatsou Paraskevi , Sertedaki Amalia , Kossida Sophia , Charmandari Evangelia 
Published: November 2015

AbstractBackgroundChrousos syndrome is a rare pathologic condition characterized by generalized, partial resistance of target tissues to glucocorticoids and caused by inactivating mutations of the human glucocorticoid receptor (hGR) gene. A novel case of Chrousos syndrome has been reported in a patient with adrenal incidentaloma, who harboured a heterozygous point mutation in the hGR gene, which resulted in threonine (T) to isoleucine (I) substitution at amino acid position 556 in the ligand‐binding domain of the receptor.ObjectiveTo delineate the molecular mechanisms through which the mutant receptor hGRαT556I causes Chrousos syndrome.Design and ResultsCompared with the wild‐type receptor, the mutant receptor hGRαT556I demonstrated 50% reduction in its ability to transactivate glucocorticoid‐responsive genes and in the affinity for the ligand, 30% increase in the ability to transrepress the nuclear factor‐κB‐target genes and a 3,4‐fold delay in the cytoplasmic‐to‐nuclear translocation. The mutant receptor hGRαT556I did not exert a dominant negative effect upon the hGRα‐mediated transcriptional activity; it preserved its ability to bind to DNA and interacted with the glucocorticoid receptor‐interacting protein 1 coactivator mostly through its activation function‐1 domain. Structural biology studies revealed that the T556I mutation caused disruption of the hydrogen bond formed by the T556 with the =O group of P637 backbone, which resulted in a significant relocation of the P637‐bearing loop. This conformational alteration affected the local 3D arrangement of the receptor and hence the electrostatic surface of the region.ConclusionsThe hGRαT556I causes Chrousos syndrome by impairing multiple steps of the glucocorticoid signal transduction pathway.
Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in daily clinical practice – the Spanish ABPM Registry experience
Authors: Gorostidi Manuel , Banegas José R. , de la Sierra Alejandro , Vinyoles Ernest , Segura Julián , Ruilope Luis M. 
Published: November 2015

AbstractMany patients are hypertensive at the medical settings but show normal blood pressure out of the doctor's office, and are classified as white‐coat hypertensives. On the other hand, many patients with controlled hypertension at the clinic show ambulatory blood pressure levels above the thresholds considered for an adequate blood pressure control, known as having masked hypertension. Using data from the Spanish Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring Registry (Spanish ABPM Registry), a national program developed to promote the use of the ambulatory technique for hypertension management in daily practice, we have reviewed the main strengths of this approach, that is the ability to detect discrepancies of blood pressure status with respect to office blood pressure measurement, and to better assess accurate rates of hypertension control. White‐coat hypertension within patients with elevated office blood pressure, and masked hypertension within office‐controlled patients affected one of three patients in each office status. On the other hand, rates of ambulatory blood pressure control (50%) doubled those of office blood pressure control (25%), still remaining half the patients uncontrolled. We think that a systematic use of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, and strategies to improve blood pressure control constitute key priorities in hypertension management.