bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The role of the adoption network in the early market survival of innovations
Authors: Dell’Era Claudio , Frattini Federico , Ghezzi Antonio
Published: January 2013

Purpose

Considering the strikingly high number of new products and services that are withdrawn from the market very soon after launch, the aim of this paper is to study how early market survival is affected by decisions regarding a particular launch tactic, i.e. the configuration of the adoption network through which the innovation is commercialized. The paper also investigates how the impact on early market survival of this launch tactics depends on the maturity of the technology underlying the new service.

Design/methodology/approach

The conceptual model relating the variables “size of the adoption network”, “brand awareness of the organizations comprised in the adoption network”, “maturity of the underlying technology” and “early market survival” is tested in the empirical setting of the Italian mobile value added services (VAS) market, utilizing a longitudinal dataset which includes more than 28,000 new VAS launched between 2003 and 2007.

Findings

The paper shows that increasing the number of external organizations involved in the adoption network is a particularly effective tactical decision for new services based on very novel technologies, whereas building an adoption network that involves organizations with high brand awareness in the eyes of prospective customers positively impacts the early market survival of services relying on mature technologies.

Originality/value

Besides providing practical insight to product and marketing managers seeking to maximize the chances of early survival of the services they are responsible for, the paper has interesting implications for launch decisions and diffusion of innovation research.
Implementing an intellectual capital framework in practice
Authors: Demartini Paola , Paoloni Paola
Published: January 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the transition from measurement to management in relation to intellectual capital (IC). It aims to understand the relationships between measurement of IC and operational activities, strategies and context.

Design/methodology/approach

This study takes an “action research” perspective to investigate the management of the analysed company in respect to IC.

Findings

The study concerns a company operating in the field of electronics and defence, which has developed a model of IC management. Every project set up by the company that impacts on IC is subject to measurement, valuation and reporting. This model aims to be an effective support to general management, providing a link between intangible assets and capabilities that create value.

Originality/value

This study does not aim to develop a framework for IC measurement but to highlight the process leading to implementing an IC framework in practice.
An empirical analysis of resources in the Indian pharmaceutical industry
Authors: Jit Singh Mann Bikram , Dutta Prabhjot
Published: January 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to utilize the concept of resource based approach to ascertain the resources and the interactions that exist among these resources leading to differential performance in the Indian pharmaceutical industry. Based on review of the literature, the study also highlights differences among companies operating in economically developed economies and in an emerging economy in the pharmaceutical industry, in terms of resources that matter.

Design/methodology/approach

Panel data ranging from 2005‐2010 comprising of the listed companies from the Indian pharmaceutical industry is analyzed using random effects regression technique.

Findings

The analysis reveals company age and the interaction of R&D expenditure with MD experience are significantly related to performance. Further, the analysis reveals a negative relationship of R&D expenditure with performance in two out of the four models and marketing expenditure is found to have no significant impact on performance.

Practical implications

The paper helps managers understand the resources they should build upon to improve performance.

Originality/value

The paper adds to existing literature on the resource based research in India, where the application of the concept is less prevalent.
Principled success
Authors: Stephens Anne
Published: January 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report on the product of a ten year study, the PhD thesis, “Feminist Systems Thinking: Principles and Practice”, conferred in April, 2012 by the University of Queensland, which contains a set of five practical principles, to assist in policy directions for enhanced community development and project management.

Design/methodology/approach

This research adapted Constructivist Grounded Theory to complete Part A, a theoretical imbrication of Cultural Ecofeminism and Critical Systems Thinking. Part B of the thesis is a set of four applied case studies utilising participatory action research.

Findings

The findings of Part A of this work established a meta‐theoretical framework in the form of five practical principles to guide project managers at various stages and scales of their work. Part B's evaluation of these principles found that the principles can make practitioners' work clearer, identify gaps to address the multiplicity of often overlapping social concerns, and flag implications for future research and practice.

Research limitations/implications

Embedding the principles in practice can help managers plan, guide and evaluate community development interventions. Further research to establish the principles in a wider number of settings would be advantageous.

Social implications

Embedding the principles draws in the voices of those on the margins of any project, helping to avoid superficial consultations and oversight of all (human and non‐human inhabitants) affected.

Originality/value

This work is entirely original. There is no known imbrication of the epistemologies selected for this study. In the recent examination of the thesis, the work was commended for its innovative methodological approach and original contribution to knowledge.
TQM in new car dealerships: a study from the firms’ perspective
Authors: Fraser Kym , Tseng Bill , Hvolby Hans‐Henrik
Published: January 2013

Purpose

New car dealerships play an integral role in the initial and on‐going relationship between the purchaser and vehicle manufacturer. Evidence, mostly anecdotal, suggests that the buying and servicing experience of the paying public in regards to new car dealerships is far from ideal. With continuous improvement systems such as total quality management (TQM) firmly embedded into the manufacturing and supply side of the car industry, questions still exist surrounding the level of quality being adopted by automotive dealerships. The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate if a quality culture is being developed within the dealership network in South Australia by testing a number of key principles of TQM such as: the support and commitment from top management, customer focus and satisfaction, process management, and employee involvement.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire survey was designed and all 105 new car dealerships in the greater Adelaide region were targeted. The service manager from each dealership was advised of the pending posted questionnaire and an excellent response rate of 66 percent was achieved.

Findings

Results indicated a reasonably high level of commitment to quality within dealerships, including the important success factors of TQM. Questions still remain about quality endorsement, the type of quality systems being used and the depth of penetration of quality at the ground level.

Research limitations/implications

The limiting features of this study surround the descriptive nature of the data analysis and the fact that the study was only conducted in one major city in Australia.

Practical implications

The findings of this paper can give some implications for senior managers to consider when developing firm's policies.

Originality/value

Empirical studies on quality in automotive dealerships are very scarce in the literature. Therefore, this paper provides an insight into the quality culture of new car dealerships and examines if key TQM principles such as top management support, customer focus, process management, and employee involvement are in fact practised.
Cognitive behavioural therapy and the impact of internalised societal discourses in people with intellectual disabilities: a case example
Authors: Gerry Louise , Crabtree Jason
Published: January 2013

Purpose

Whilst there is a growing evidence base for the use of cognitive behavioural therapies (CBT) for people with intellectual disabilities, there may be challenges to using an approach that locates problems within people rather than as being generated and maintained through social relations and social discourses. The purpose of this paper is to present a cautionary case that demonstrates some of the potential dilemmas and challenges that can be experienced in therapy when applying this way of working to a client with intellectual disabilities.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors present a case example of work with Mark, a young man with intellectual disabilities who accessed services for support with his low mood and outline the challenges faced when using CBT in understanding his presenting problem.

Findings

There is evidence from the case example that there is the potential for therapeutic techniques used in CBT to promote questions that invite, generate and reinforce feelings of incompetence and inability in people with intellectual disabilities.

Originality/value

The use of narrative techniques is discussed as a means of avoiding locating the problem as being within clients with intellectual disabilities; the implications that this has for the use of CBT with this client group are considered.
Teachers’ solutions: a learning study about solution chemistry in Grade 8
Authors: Vikström Anna , Billström Anna , Fazeli Parviz , Holm Monica , Jonsson Kerstin , Karlsson Gunilla , Rydström Peter
Published: January 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the collective exploration, process and knowledge production made in a learning study about solution chemistry.

Design/methodology/approach

Secondary school teachers conducted a learning study with variation theory as a guiding principle, supervised by a researcher. The relationship between teaching and learning was analyzed and evaluated in a learning study cycle of three lessons.

Findings

Critical aspects when teaching solution chemistry were identified, as well as enacted patterns of variation that significantly improved students’ learning. Examples of critical aspects were the particulate character of matter, especially the feature of “empty space” between particles, the connection between macroscopic phenomenon and sub‐microscopic explanations and the difference between answers with everyday language and scientific language.

Practical implications

The paper suggests that teachers in a learning study can produce new knowledge as well as use earlier research results when creating teaching activities that can improve their own practical work and students’ learning.

Originality/value

The study represents an example of research with the aim to improve teachers’ practice by generating knowledge in connection with teachers’ professional tasks.
Governing the Games: High Politics, Risk and Mega-Events
Authors: Jennings Will
Published: January 2013

Prima facie, spectacular public events and large-scale capital projects are an ideal vehicle for ‘high politics’ and the predilection of policy-making elites for grand, iconic and schematic visions that offer high-profile policy successes and historic legacies. Yet the prospective political rewards from such mega-events and projects must be offset against high levels of risk and complexity. Further, such schemes tend to be at odds with the prevailing doctrines and practices of the modern state: in particular its deference to market-based mechanisms and its liking for instruments of calculation and control. Indeed, mega-projects and events often prove uneconomic despite the predictions of forecasters. This review essay considers how the bidding and planning process for the London 2012 Olympic Games demonstrates this tension between high politics, risk and the preferred methods of governing the modern state.
Corynebacterium glutamicum promoters: a practical approach
Authors: Pátek Miroslav , Holátko Jiří , Busche Tobias , Kalinowski Jörn , Nešvera Jan
Published: January 2013

Transcription initiation is the key step in gene expression in bacteria, and it is therefore studied for both theoretical and practical reasons. Promoters, the traffic lights of transcription initiation, are used as construction elements in biotechnological efforts to coordinate ‘green waves’ in the metabolic pathways leading to the desired metabolites. Detailed analyses of Corynebacterium glutamicum promoters have already provided large amounts of data on their structures, regulatory mechanisms and practical capabilities in metabolic engineering. In this minireview the main aspects of promoter studies, the methods developed for their analysis and their practical use in C. glutamicum are discussed. These include definitions of the consensus sequences of the distinct promoter classes, promoter localization and characterization, activity measurements, the functions of transcriptional regulators and examples of practical uses of constitutive, inducible and modified promoters in biotechnology. The implications of the introduction of novel techniques, such as in vitro transcription and RNA sequencing, to C. glutamicum promoter studies are outlined.
Glucagon: The renewal of an old hormone in the pathophysiology of diabetes (胰升糖素：一种老激素在糖尿病病理生理中的新作用)
Authors: Gosmain Yvan , Masson Mounia Heddad , Philippe Jacques
Published: January 2013

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is one of the most common diseases, affecting 5–10% of the population in most countries; the progression of its prevalence has been constant over the past 50 years in all countries worldwide, creating a major public health problem in terms of disease management and financial burden. Although the pathophysiology of T2D has been attributed for decades to insulin resistance and decreased insulin secretion, particularly in response to glucose, the contributing role of glucagon in hyperglycemia has been highlighted since the early 1970s by demonstrating its glycogenolytic, gluconeogenic and ketogenic properties. More recently, the importance of glucagon in diabetes has been highlighted in a model of streptozotocin‐induced diabetic mice becoming euglycemic in the absence of glucagon receptors and without insulin treatment. Understanding the dysregulation of α‐cells in diabetes will be critical to better define the pathophysiology of diabetes and develop new antidiabetic treatment.
Habitat species pools for phylogenetic structure in microbes
Authors: Wang Jianjun , Soininen Janne , Shen Ji
Published: January 2013

The processes underlying the phylogenetic structure of the biotic communities are typically scale‐dependent and thus often poorly resolved. Illustrated by the study of macroorganisms, it is suggested that the relative influence of ecological processes on the phylogenetic structure of the communities can be inferred by the geographical definition of the species pools. However, given the high dispersal ability of microbes, the spatial delineation of the species pool may not be that practical for microbial taxa. This idea is supported by the observational data on bacteria along an elevational gradient. Significant negative values of standardized effect size of the mean nearest taxon distance were consistently observed for different sized species pools considered. Reviewing the reports on microbial phylogenetic structure so far, we suggested that the ‘habitat species pools’ are perhaps more important for microbes than spatial delineated ‘regional species pools’.
Scaling up predator–prey dynamics using spatial moment equations
Authors: Barraquand Frédéric , Murrell David J.
Published: January 2013

Classical models of predator–prey dynamics, commonly used in community and evolutionary ecology to explain population cycles, species coexistence, the effects of enrichment, or predict the evolution of behavioural traits, are often based on the mass‐action assumption. This means encounter rates between predators and prey are expressed as a product of predator and prey landscape densities; as if the system was well‐mixed.

While mass‐action may occur at small spatial scales, spatial variances and covariances in prey and predator densities affect encounter rates at large spatial scales. In the context of host–parasitoid interactions, this has been incorporated into theory for some time, but for predators, well‐mixed or other ad hoc models are often used despite empirical evidence for intricate spatial variation in predator and prey numbers.

We review the classical models and concepts, their strengths and weaknesses, and we present two recent spatial moment approaches that scale up predator–prey population dynamics from the individual or patch level to large spatial scales. Both methods include descriptors of spatial structure as corrections to encounter rates, but differ in whether or not these descriptors have dynamics that are explicit functions of movements, births and deaths.

We describe how these spatial moment techniques work, what new results they have so far produced, and provide some suggestions to improve the connection of predator–prey theoretical models to empirical studies.
A hierarchical distance sampling approach to estimating mortality rates from opportunistic carcass surveillance data
Authors: Bellan Steve E. , Gimenez Olivier , Choquet Rémi , Getz Wayne M.
Published: January 2013

Distance sampling is widely used to estimate the abundance or density of wildlife populations. Methods to estimate wildlife mortality rates have developed largely independently from distance sampling, despite the conceptual similarities between estimation of cumulative mortality and the population density of living animals. Conventional distance sampling analyses rely on the assumption that animals are distributed uniformly with respect to transects and thus require randomised placement of transects during survey design. Because mortality events are rare, however, it is often not possible to obtain precise estimates in this way without infeasible levels of effort. A great deal of wildlife data, including mortality data, are available via road‐based surveys. Interpreting these data in a distance sampling framework requires accounting for the non‐uniformity of sampling. In addition, analyses of opportunistic mortality data must account for the decline in carcass detectability through time. We develop several extensions to distance sampling theory to address these problems.

We build mortality estimators in a hierarchical framework that integrates animal movement data, surveillance effort data and motion‐sensor camera trap data, respectively, to relax the uniformity assumption, account for spatiotemporal variation in surveillance effort and explicitly model carcass detection and disappearance as competing ongoing processes.

Analysis of simulated data showed that our estimators were unbiased and that their confidence intervals had good coverage.

We also illustrate our approach on opportunistic carcass surveillance data acquired in 2010 during an anthrax outbreak in the plains zebra of Etosha National Park, Namibia.

The methods developed here will allow researchers and managers to infer mortality rates from opportunistic surveillance data.
Sociodemographic factors influence the risk for femur shaft fractures in children: a Swedish case–control study, 1997–2005
Authors: von Heideken Johan , Svensson Tobias , Iversen Maura , Blomqvist Paul , Haglund‐Åkerlind Yvonne , Janarv Per‐Mats
Published: January 2013

Aim

To investigate how sociodemographic factors relate to the risk of femur shaft fractures in children and how the relationship differs by gender and age.

Methods

Population‐based case–control study. Swedish children (n = 1,874), 0–14 years of age, with a femur shaft fracture diagnostic code occurring between 1997 and 2005 were selected from the Swedish national inpatient register and compared with matched controls (n = 18,740). Demographic, socio‐economic and injury data were based on record linkage between six Swedish registers.

Results

The risk of femur shaft fracture increased for children with younger parents or those living in low‐income households. Having a parent with a university education reduced the risk. Stratifying for gender and age group, the association between parents' age was evident only for older boys (7–14 years of age) (OR = 1.40; 95% CI 1.04–1.45), and the association between living in low‐income households and fracture rate was only seen in older girls (7–14 years) (OR = 1.50; 95% CI 1.01–2.22). Family composition, number of siblings, birth order or receiving social welfare did not influence the fracture risk.

Conclusion

Sociodemographic variables influence the rate of femur shaft fractures, in older children the influence differs between boys and girls.
Differential effects of depression and mania symptoms on social adjustment: prospective study in bipolar disorder
Authors: Morriss Richard , Yang Min , Chopra Arun , Bentall Richard , Paykel Eugene , Scott Jan
Published: January 2013

Morriss R, Yang M, Chopra A, Bentall R, Paykel E, Scott J. Differential effects of depression and mania symptoms on social adjustment: prospective study in bipolar disorder.  Bipolar Disord 2013: 15: 80–91. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Objectives:  Previous studies of social adjustment in bipolar disorder have been cross‐sectional and small in sample size, have examined a limited number of roles, or were not controlled for baseline mood and other clinical, social, or treatment confounders. We aimed to prospectively explore the strength and stability of correlations between depression and mania‐type symptoms and impairment in a broad range of social adjustment roles and domains.

Methods:  Multilevel modeling analysis of correlation coefficients between depression and mania‐type symptoms with roles and domains of the modified social adjustment scale (overall, work, social/leisure, extended family, marital, parental social adjustment roles, performance, interpersonal behavior, friction, dependency, overactivity domains) was used. Interview assessments were made at eight‐week intervals beginning at eight weeks and continuing through 72 weeks after baseline in 253 patients in a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Results:  After controlling for baseline mood episodes, and other clinical, social, and treatment variables, depression symptoms showed strong and stable correlations over time with performance, overall social adjustment, and the work role; and a moderate but stable relationship with interpersonal behavior. The relationships of depression symptoms with the other roles were weak, non‐significant, or not stable. For mania‐type symptoms, only the correlation with interpersonal friction was moderately strong and reasonably stable over time. Mood episodes, substance use disorder, and borderline/antisocial personality disorder increased role impairment, while employment and marriage mildly decreased it.

Conclusions:  Depression and mania‐type symptoms have specific effects on social adjustment in bipolar I disorder. Depression symptoms are correlated strongly with performance and moderately with interpersonal behavior, while mania‐type symptoms are correlated moderately with interpersonal friction.
Incorporating Uncertainty of Management Costs in Sensitivity Analyses of Matrix Population Models
Authors: SALOMON YACOV , M c CARTHY MICHAEL A. , TAYLOR PETER , WINTLE BRENDAN A.
Published: January 2013

The importance of accounting for economic costs when making environmental‐management decisions subject to resource constraints has been increasingly recognized in recent years. In contrast, uncertainty associated with such costs has often been ignored. We developed a method, on the basis of economic theory, that accounts for the uncertainty in population‐management decisions. We considered the case where, rather than taking fixed values, model parameters are random variables that represent the situation when parameters are not precisely known. Hence, the outcome is not precisely known either. Instead of maximizing the expected outcome, we maximized the probability of obtaining an outcome above a threshold of acceptability. We derived explicit analytical expressions for the optimal allocation and its associated probability, as a function of the threshold of acceptability, where the model parameters were distributed according to normal and uniform distributions. To illustrate our approach we revisited a previous study that incorporated cost‐efficiency analyses in management decisions that were based on perturbation analyses of matrix population models. Incorporating derivations from this study into our framework, we extended the model to address potential uncertainties. We then applied these results to 2 case studies: management of a Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) population and conservation of an olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) population. For low aspirations, that is, when the threshold of acceptability is relatively low, the optimal strategy was obtained by diversifying the allocation of funds. Conversely, for high aspirations, the budget was directed toward management actions with the highest potential effect on the population. The exact optimal allocation was sensitive to the choice of uncertainty model. Our results highlight the importance of accounting for uncertainty when making decisions and suggest that more effort should be placed on understanding the distributional characteristics of such uncertainty. Our approach provides a tool to improve decision making.
The diagnostic value of fungal fluorescence in onychomycosis
Authors: Idriss Munir H. , Khalil Ahmed , Elston Dirk
Published: January 2013

Background

Fluorescence of pathogenic fungi has been previously shown when hematoxylin and eosin‐stained sections are examined under a fluorescent microscope. We hypothesize that this phenomenon could aid in the evaluation of nail specimens for onychomycosis.

Methods

Forty‐eight routinely stained nail sections of periodic acid‐Schiff (PAS)‐positive onychomycosis, along with 23 PAS‐negative control specimens with a clinical diagnosis of onychomycosis, were studied under a fluorescent microscope to determine the clinical usefulness of this technique.

Results

In most cases, fluorescence of fungal organisms was noted. Fungi were identified by their tubular or annular shapes with fluorescence surrounding them. The sensitivity and specificity of the method were 96 and 90%, respectively. In some cases, it was difficult to identify the fungi because of the relative paucity of organisms, weak fluorescence and high background fluorescence of eosinophilic nail keratin.

Conclusions

We conclude that fluorescence microscopy can be used as a rapid screening tool for identification of fungi in nail specimens.
The hyperpolarization‐activated non‐specific cation current (Ih) adjusts the membrane properties, excitability, and activity pattern of the giant cells in the rat dorsal cochlear nucleus
Authors: Rusznák Zoltán , Pál Balázs , Kőszeghy Áron , Fu Yuhong , Szücs Géza , Paxinos George
Published: January 2013

Giant cells of the cochlear nucleus are thought to integrate multimodal sensory inputs and participate in monaural sound source localization. Our aim was to explore the significance of a hyperpolarization‐activated current in determining the activity of giant neurones in slices prepared from 10 to 14‐day‐old rats. When subjected to hyperpolarizing stimuli, giant cells produced a 4‐(N‐ethyl‐N‐phenylamino)‐1,2‐dimethyl‐6‐(methylamino) pyridinium chloride (ZD7288)‐sensitive inward current with a reversal potential and half‐activation voltage of –36 and –88 mV, respectively. Consequently, the current was identified as the hyperpolarization‐activated non‐specific cationic current (Ih). At the resting membrane potential, 3.5% of the maximum Ih conductance was available. Immunohistochemistry experiments suggested that hyperpolarization‐activated, cyclic nucleotide‐gated, cation non‐selective (HCN)1, HCN2, and HCN4 subunits contribute to the assembly of the functional channels. Inhibition of Ih hyperpolarized the membrane by 6 mV and impeded spontaneous firing. The frequencies of spontaneous inhibitory and excitatory postsynaptic currents reaching the giant cell bodies were reduced but no significant change was observed when evoked postsynaptic currents were recorded. Giant cells are affected by biphasic postsynaptic currents consisting of an excitatory and a subsequent inhibitory component. Inhibition of Ih reduced the frequency of these biphasic events by 65% and increased the decay time constants of the inhibitory component. We conclude that Ih adjusts the resting membrane potential, contributes to spontaneous action potential firing, and may participate in the dendritic integration of the synaptic inputs of the giant neurones. Because its amplitude was higher in young than in adult rats, Ih of the giant cells may be especially important during the postnatal maturation of the auditory system.
Mapping China's freshwater fishes: diversity and biogeography
Authors: Kang Bin , Deng Junming , Wu Yunfei , Chen Liqiang , Zhang Jie , Qiu Haiyuan , Lu Yin , He Daming
Published: January 2013

Freshwater fishes worldwide face an array of threats from dam construction, river fragmentation, pollution, over‐exploitation and interactions with introduced species. Such impacts are especially prevalent in densely populated countries undergoing rapid development, and their effects are felt most strongly where regional fish diversity is high. We reviewed studies of the distribution of freshwater fish species throughout China to map a biogeographical pattern and ascertain the environmental factors contributing to this distribution. We then linked this information to identify geographic areas to be recommended as the focus of conservation efforts. A total of 920 species in 302 genera, 54 families and 21 orders were recorded. Among the recorded species, 73% were Cypriniformes and 12% were Siluriformes. Cyprinidae was the most dominant family with 473 species, followed by Balitoridae with 157 species. The administrative division of the biogeography of China's freshwater fishes consisted of nine regions, including the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau Region, Oriental Region, Northwest Region, South Region, Loess Plateau Region, Heilongjiang Region, Upper Yangtze Region, 3H Plain Region and Middle‐Lower Yangtze Plain Region. The river system was the primary factor in determining China's freshwater fish biogeography. Under stepwise regression analysis, river discharge was found to be the most influential factor in determining richness, followed by population size and net primary productivity. The higher level of fish endemicity and sensitivity to environmental change led to the identification of Southwest China and the higher areas of Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau as the primary areas to be considered for fish conservation and potential natural reserves.
Novel regulator PgrR for switch control of peptidoglycan recycling in Escherichia coli
Authors: Shimada Tomohiro , Yamazaki Kaoru , Ishihama Akira
Published: January 2013

Peptidoglycan (PG), also designated as murein, forms a skeletal mesh within the periplasm of bacterial membrane. PG is a metabolically stable cell architecture in Escherichia coli, but under as yet ill‐defined conditions, a portion of PG is degraded, of which both amino sugar and peptide moieties are either recycled or used as self‐generated nutrients for cell growth. At present, the control of PG degradation remains uncharacterized. Using the Genomic SELEX screening system, we identified an uncharacterized transcription factor YcjZ is a repressor of the expression of the initial step enzymes for PG peptide degradation. Under nutrient starvation, the genes encoding the enzymes for PG peptide degradation are derepressed so as to generate amino acids but are tightly repressed at high osmotic conditions so as to maintain the rigid membrane for withstanding the turgor. Taken together, we propose to rename YcjZ as PgrR (regulator of peptide glycan recycling).
Immunoarchitectural patterns in splenic marginal zone lymphoma: correlations with chromosomal aberrations, IGHV mutations, and survival. A study of 76 cases
Authors: Traverse‐Glehen Alexandra , Bachy Emmanuel , Baseggio Lucile , Callet‐Bauchu Evelyne , Gazzo Sophie , Verney Aurélie , Hayette Sandrine , Jallades Laurent , Ffrench Martine , Salles Gilles , Coiffier Bertrand , Felman Pascale , Berger Francoise
Published: January 2013

Aims

To describe 76 cases of splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL), including correlations with clinical and other characteristics.

Methods and results

Patients were predominantly female, with a median age of 62 years. The main clinical presentation was splenomegaly, except for eight cases presenting with evolution of autoimmune disorders or spontaneous splenic rupture. White pulp infiltration was nodular, with a monophasic (42%) or biphasic (53%) pattern, and associated diffuse or nodular infiltration of the red pulp, except for four cases which had atrophic white pulp. Plasmacytic differentiation and the MYD88 L265P mutation were observed in 18% and 5% of the cases, respectively. Histological progression was considered in cases with a significant association of large cells with Ki67 > 30% and macronodular architecture (P = 0.001). Other significant correlations were found between del7q (44%) and del6q (17%) (P = 0.018), IGHV1‐2*04 segment usage (35%) (P = 0.001) and unmutated IGHV (39%) (P = 0.019), and between CD5 expression (27%) and higher lymphocytosis (P = 0.002). Patients requiring intensive chemotherapy after splenectomy because of clinical and/or histological progression had significantly shorter overall survival (P = 0.012).

Conclusions

We report the histological spectrum of SMZL, and discuss the differential diagnosis and requirement for molecular and cytogenetic analysis in atypical cases.
Muslim‐American Scripts
Authors: Fatima Saba
Published: January 2013

This paper argues that one of the most valuable insights that Muslim‐Americans ought to bring into the political arena is our affective response to the government of the United States' internal and foreign policies regarding Muslims. I posit the concept of empathy as one such response that ought to inform our foreign policy in a manner inclusive of Muslim‐Americans. The scope of our epistemic privilege encompasses the affective response that crosses borders of the nation‐state in virtue of our propinquity to the narratives of Muslims globally. Such an affective response is crucial to our selves remaining multiplicitous and whole. Furthermore, I argue that we ought to access and assess those aspects of our identity that make us subject to suspicions of disloyalty, because it is precisely those aspects that can inform our social and political discourse in a more morally adequate and responsive way.
Shear Strength Measurement of AV119 Epoxy‐Joined SiC by Different Torsion Tests
Authors: Ferraris Monica , Ventrella Andrea , Salvo Milena , Gross Dietmar
Published: January 2013

The results of an experimental investigation on epoxy‐joined silicon carbide tested in shear mode by seven different configurations of torsion tests are presented and compared to results obtained by asymmetric four‐point bending. All samples have been joined by an epoxy adhesive (Araldite AV119) chosen to obtain several joined samples in a reasonable time. Advantages and disadvantages of each configuration are discussed with the aim of finding a suitable method to measure the shear strength of joined components.
Effect of CaO Addition on Compressive Deformation of Silicon Nitride Ceramic with Y‐Mg‐Si‐O‐N Glassy System
Authors: Wananuruksawong Raayaa , Shinoda Yutaka , Akatsu Takashi , Wakai Fumihiro
Published: January 2013

Creep behavior of Si3N4 polycrystals containing Y2O3‐MgO‐SiO2 glass phase (with and without Calcium oxide [CaO] additive) was studied by compression tests between 1500 and 1700°C. We studied the effect of CaO additive on flow stress, microstructural evolutions, and thermal stability of the intergranular glass phase during deformation. While the addition of CaO did not affect grain size, the flow stress decreased with the amount of CaO. This result suggested that the addition of CaO reduced the viscosity of intergranular glass phase. The addition of CaO further improved the thermal stability of the glass phase by suppressing the evaporation at elevated temperatures.
Prevalence and impact on survival of positive surgical margins in partial nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma: a population‐based study
Authors: Ani Ifeanyi , Finelli Antonio , Alibhai Shabbir M.H. , Timilshina Narhari , Fleshner Neil , Abouassaly Robert
Published: January 2013

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add?

The increased detection of small renal masses (SRMs) with diagnostic imaging has highlighted the importance of preserving renal function, with many patients with SRMs being managed with nephron‐sparing procedures. The significance of positive surgical margins (PSMs) is debatable and various studies have looked at the risk factors for PSMs and recurrence. It has been suggested that tumour size may be a risk factor and the centrality of the tumour has been found to be an increased risk factor. The indication and location of the tumour has been found to be an independent predictive factor for recurrence.

Various studies have assessed the outcome of patients with PSMs with short‐ to intermediate‐term follow‐up. Our study has an intermediate‐term median follow‐up of 7.9 years, and found no significant difference in 5‐year disease‐specific and overall survival rates between patients with PSMs and negative surgical margins. We also found that tumour size was not significant, but pathological stage and fat invasion were found to be significant. These risk factors have not been published in previous studies.

Objectives

To determine the prevalence of positive surgical margins (PSMs) on a population level.

To identify the predictors of PSMs and assess their impact on survival.

Patients and Methods

Using the Ontario Cancer Registry, we reviewed pathology reports on 664 patients after partial nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma between 1995 and 2004.

Demographic information and pathological characteristics were obtained and multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the predictors of PSMs.

Kaplan–Meier analysis was used to examine disease‐specific (DSS) and overall survival (OS) by margin status. A multivariable Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine the independent association between PSMs and survival.

Results

The mean patient age was 57.7 years and 61.6% were men. Tumour size was <2.0 cm in 25%, 2.0–3.9 cm in 59%, 4.0–6.9 cm in 13%, and ≥7.0 cm in 3% of patients.

Seventy‐one patients (10.7%) had PSMs on final pathology. Only stage (P = 0.02) and fat invasion (P = 0.04) were significantly associated with PSMs.

At a median follow‐up of 7.9 years, the unadjusted 5‐year DSS and OS rates were 91.8 and 88.3%, respectively.

Survival rates did not differ by surgical margin status, with 90.9 and 84.4% 5‐year DSS and OS rates for patients with PSMs compared with 91.9 and 88.6% for those with a negative surgical margin (P = 0.58, log rank test).

Using a Cox proportional hazards model, surgical margin status was not associated with time to all‐cause death (P = 0.67).

Conclusion

Our population‐level data suggest that, although PSMs are fairly prevalent, they appear to have little to no impact on 5‐year survival rates.
WITHIN U.S. TRADE AND THE LONG SHADOW OF THE AMERICAN SECESSION
Authors: FELBERMAYR GABRIEL , GRÖSCHL JASMIN
Published: January 2013

Using data from U.S. commodity flow survey, we show that the historical Union–Confederacy border lowers contemporaneous trade between U.S. states by about 13%. The finding is robust over econometric models, survey waves, or aggregation levels. Including contemporaneous controls, such as network or institutional variables, lowers the estimate only slightly. Historical variables, such as slavery, do not explain the effect. Adding U.S. states unaffected by the Civil War, we argue that the friction is not merely reflecting unmeasured North–South differences. Finally, the border effect is larger for differentiated than for homogeneous goods, stressing the potential role for cultural factors and trust. (JEL F15, N72, N92, Z10)
Security and subjective wellbeing: the experiences of unaccompanied young people seeking asylum in the UK
Authors: Chase Elaine
Published: January 2013

This article considers the relevance of the notion of ontological security – a sense of order, stability, routine and predictability to life – to contemporary conceptualisations of wellbeing. Drawing on in‐depth interviews with unaccompanied young people seeking asylum in the UK, it demonstrates how a positive sense of self and being able to visualise a place and role in the world into the future were integral to their notion of wellbeing, offering an important counter to the pervasive sense of living in limbo. The article argues that this fundamental need for a projected self is largely neglected in contemporary discussions on wellbeing. To date the idea of security as a determinant of wellbeing has been primarily constructed around the notion of protection from harm and the provision of the requirements for physical, emotional, economic and social wellbeing in the here and now. Findings from this research suggest that those providing services and support to young people who have experienced trauma need to consider how they might best nurture in them a sense of place, belonging and security into the future. Equally, they have implications for how we conceptualise and operationalise wellbeing more generally.
The Mid‐Eighteenth‐Century Georgic and Agricultural Improvement
Authors: BUCKNELL CLARE
Published: January 2013

During the eighteenth century the didactic precepts of Virgil's Georgics were read as practical guidance by an emerging class of professional farmers, and a set of original vernacular georgics were written on agricultural improvement. Examining Smart's The Hop‐Garden, Dodsley's Agriculture, Dyer's The Fleece and Jago's Edge‐Hill, I argue that they offer a confident, progressive and scientific approach to land cultivation, revising the inherited attitudes of Virgilian georgic. I suggest, though, that this poetics of improvement provides one reason for the decline of the georgic didactic tradition, as it becomes unable to offer comprehensive instruction on a specialised field of knowledge.
Global Sourcing of Services: Risk, Process, and Collaborative Architecture
Authors: Jensen Peter D. Ørberg , Petersen Bent
Published: January 2013

The global sourcing of services offers high returns but is also associated with high risks. The extent to which firms engage in ‘transformational’ global sourcing (i.e., global sourcing implying considerable changes in the home organization) chiefly depends on management's comfort zone which, in turn, is determined by managers' risk perceptions, risk tolerance, and ability to employ risk‐reducing measures. Many firms move into transformational global sourcing more or less deliberately. However, as the human asset specificity of the global sourcing operation increases, managers find themselves out of their comfort zones and a desire for a new collaborative architecture arises. An illustrative company case exemplifies the process of establishing such a collaborative architecture.
PARP1 inhibition affects pleural mesothelioma cell viability and uncouples AKT/mTOR axis via SIRT1
Authors: Pinton Giulia , Manente Arcangela Gabriella , Murer Bruno , De Marino Elvira , Mutti Luciano , Moro Laura
Published: January 2013

Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MMe) is a rare but increasingly prevalent, highly aggressive cancer with poor prognosis. The aetiology of MMe is essentially a function of previous exposure to asbestos fibres, which are considered to be an early‐stage carcinogen. Asbestos is toxic to human mesothelial cells (HMCs), that activate the nuclear enzyme poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase‐1 (PARP1) to repair DNA. The targeting of PARP1 is showing considerable potential for delivering selective tumour cell kill while sparing normal cells, and offers a scientifically rational clinical application. We investigated PARP1 expression in normal mesothelial and MMe tissues samples. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed low PARP1 staining in peritumoural mesothelium. As opposite, a progressive increase in epithelioid and in the most aggressive sarcomatoid MMe tissues was evident. In MMe cell lines, we correlated increased PARP1 expression to sensitivity to its inhibitor CO‐338 and demonstrated that CO‐338 significantly reduced cell viability as single agent and was synergistic with cis‐platin. Interestingly, we described a new correlation between PARP1 and the AKT/mTOR axis regulated by SIRT1. SIRT1 has a role in the modulation of AKT activation and PARP1 has been described to be a gatekeeper for SIRT1 activity by limiting NAD+ availability. Here, we firstly demonstrate an inverse correlation between AKT acetylation and phosphorylation modulated by SIRT1 in MMe cells treated with CO‐338. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that PARP1 overexpression defines increased responsiveness to its inhibition, then these results imply that a substantial fraction of patients could be candidates for therapy with PARP inhibitors.
A new therapeutic option for facial seborrhoeic dermatitis: indole‐3‐acetic acid photodynamic therapy
Authors: Kwon S.H. , Jeong M.Y. , Park K.C. , Youn S.W. , Huh C.H. , Na J.I.
Published: January 2013

Background  Indole‐3‐acetic acid (IAA) is a newly introduced photosensitizer of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for acne, presenting sebum‐reducing, anti‐inflammatory and antimicrobial activity.

Objective  This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of IAA‐PDT in the treatment of facial seborrhoeic dermatitis.

Method  In this prospective, single‐blinded, 6‐week trial, 23 patients with facial seborrhoeic dermatitis were treated with IAA‐PDT with green light (520 nm) three times with 1‐week intervals. Patients were evaluated at baseline, week 1, 2, 3 and week 6 (3 weeks after last treatment). Efficacy was determined by Seborrhoeic dermatitis Area and Severity Index (SASI), patient’s assessment of the symptoms (4‐point scale of itchiness, burning, erythema, scale and tightness), sebum secretion rate (measured with Sebumeter®), Erythema Index (EI, measured with Mexameter®) and physician’s photographic assessment. Safety was evaluated by questionnaire at each visit.

Result  For the 22 subjects completing the trial, SASI and total symptom significantly improved at week 2, which lasted until week 6. Sebum excretion was significantly reduced at week 2 and stayed reduced until week 6. EI presented continuous reduction throughout the study. Photographic assessment showed significant improvement at each visit. The procedure was painless, and no adverse event was observed during and after the treatment.

Conclusion  IAA‐PDT is a safe and effective therapeutic option for facial seborrhoeic dermatitis.