bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An uncertain future
Authors: Clott Christopher
Published: June 2007

Purpose

This is a preliminary study that explores the nature of decision making in the implementation process through an examination of environmental scanning and interpretation activities of project managers tasked with implementing offshore outsourcing activities.

Design/methodology/approach

The model utilized for this study suggests that individual scanning is filtered through distinct organizational types and control that will influence implementation efforts to find solutions to major issues associated with offshore outsourcing. The methodology uses a semi‐structured detailed set of interviews to gather data.

Findings

The preliminary findings suggest that project managers entrusted with implementing complex offshoring arrangements to achieve strategic short term cost reduction goals receive relatively little scanning information from senior management to guide them, must learn by doing, and are confronted with multiple external challenges centering on culture and communication with individuals performing work offshore that they were not initially prepared for.

Research limitations/implications

Suggestions for future research include expanding the study to complete comparative interviews with senior management scanning, comparisons between industries, comparisons between client and provider organizations and comparisons between organizational countries of origin.

Practical implications

Practical implications include a more accurate definition of decision‐making and implementation of offshore outsourcing by individuals and how this impacts organizations.

Originality/value

The study fulfills a void in organizational literature by examining scanning and interpretation as performed by mid‐level managers.
A preliminary study of electronic surveys as a means to enhance management accounting research
Authors: Al‐Omiri Mohammed
Published: June 2007

Purpose

This paper addresses the use of the electronic survey method with particular reference to management accounting research.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 222 questionnaires were used, where 182 questionnaires were sent with an accompanying invitation letter to participate in a pre‐paid envelope. There were posted directly to the respondents. The remainder were administered as an email survey.

Findings

The results of the email survey have been compared with that of the traditional postal survey and the relative advantages and disadvantages of the two methods are discussed and explored. The findings show that email and Internet facilitated surveys can yield higher returns at a lower cost per returned questionnaire. Moreover, such surveys are also a relatively inexpensive and expedient means of communicating with respondents, while facilitating a convenient way of correcting misunderstandings and following up on missing data.

Originality/value

Drawing on the literature, strategies such as email surveys and other Web‐based activities will enrich the data and increase response rates. The value of the paper is to draw attention to such methods, which will help overcome problem of low response rates associated with traditional postal surveys.
Controlling working time in the ward and on the line
Authors: Wise Sarah , Smith Chris , Valsecchi Raffaella , Mueller Frank , Gabe Jonathan
Published: June 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to assess whether tele‐nursing in Scotland (NHS24), when compared with traditional face‐to‐face nursing, facilitates greater employee control over working time and therefore a potentially better work‐life balance.

Design/methodology/approach

The article draws on evidence from two independent research projects; a survey of 64 ward nurses and midwives, which involved face‐to‐face interviews; and a field study of tele‐nursing in a large site in Scotland, using interviews and observations of 15 nurse advisors or tele‐nurses.

Findings

Three elements of work organisation are central in shaping nurses' working hours and their control over the balance between their work and their home life: the management of working hours; the degree of mutual dependency of nurses within teams; and the nature of patient care.

Research limitations/implications

The two pieces of research reported offer a strong basis for comparative study. However, the two projects were designed independently, though research questions overlapped and one researcher conducted the field work in both settings; there is an imbalance in the number of interviews conducted in each setting; and the nurse advisor interviewees are of the same clinical grade, whereas a variety of grades and clinical areas are represented among the hospital nurse interviewees.

Originality/value

This is the first study of work‐life balance amongst tele‐nurses. The research demonstrates that call centre work has rationalised, depersonalised and yet enabled more “control” by nurses over their work‐life balance, while paradoxically offering less autonomy in their task environment. In conventional work settings professional values make it difficult for nurses to disengage from the workplace.
Work‐life balance: contrasting managers and workers in an MNC
Authors: Moore Fiona
Published: June 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to compare and contrast the workers and managers of an Anglo‐German MNC, focusing on how each group attempts to maintain an acceptable work‐life balance.

Design/methodology/approach

The article is based on a two‐year‐long ethnographic study, including in‐depth interviews, participant‐observation and archival research.

Findings

Although the bulk of the company's work‐life balance initiatives focus on the managers, and the managers display greater loyalty to the company, the workers are better able to achieve work‐life balance. Neither group displays a more positive attitude to their work; however, the managers focus more on achieving status and the workers on personal satisfaction.

Research limitations/implications

The findings challenge assertions that “flexible” working practices are good for work‐life balance, that managers are better able to maintain a good work‐life balance than workers, and that the development of an appropriate work‐life balance policy assists in ensuring company loyalty and positive attitudes to work.

Practical implications

This article suggests that flexible working may contribute to poor work‐life balance, and that success may be less an issue of developing work‐life balance policies and more of encouraging a healthy attitude towards work.

Originality/value

This article focuses on the occupationally stratified aspects of work‐life balance, comparing managers and workers within an organisation.
Practical advice for weeding in small academic libraries
Authors: Handis Michael W.
Published: June 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present information on how to organize and carry out a weeding project in an academic library.

Design/methodology/approach

Describes how the weeding project was organized and its various phases.

Findings

Argues that weeding is appropriate in small, academic non‐research libraries and discusses a methodology for approaching it.

Originality/value

Provides the academic librarian with a road map as to how to handle a weeding project.
Perceived organizational support and organizational commitment
Authors: Aubé Caroline , Rousseau Vincent , Morin Estelle M.
Published: June 2007

Purpose

The aim of this article is to deepen the understanding of the relationships between perceived organizational support (POS) and the dimensions of organizational commitment (i.e. affective, normative and continuance commitment), and to test the moderating effect of locus of control and work autonomy.

Design/methodology/approach

This study, based on a cross‐sectional research design, was conducted in an organizational setting. The sample includes 249 prison employees. The data were collected through questionnaires.

Findings

The results show that POS is positively and significantly correlated with affective and normative commitment. In addition, the results of the hierarchical multiple regression analyses support the moderating effect of locus of control and work autonomy with regard to the relationship between POS and affective commitment.

Practical implications

This study highlights the importance of providing support to employees in order to foster their affective and normative commitment to the organization. Moreover, the results provide evidence in favour of managerial interventions aimed at enhancing perceived control and, consequently, minimizing the negative effects of a lack of organizational support on employees' affective commitment.

Originality/value

In addition to taking into account three dimensions of organizational commitment, this study underlines personality and job design factors that can modulate the relationship between POS and organizational commitment.
Artistry for the strategist
Authors: Austen Johnson Hilary
Published: June 2007

Purpose

– Artistry has been suggested by many authors to be a characteristic of exemplary practitioners in any discipline; however, few have defined artistry, or described how it might be employed and developed. The purpose of this paper is to explain the role of artistry in practice and how it can be developed.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper explains the relevance of artistry to contemporary practice. The problems faced by today
'
s practitioners are often filled with features such as ambiguity, uncertainty, and complexity. The paper suggests that, in the face of these features, practitioners may not be able to rely on historical solutions however powerful these may be. Artistry is explained as an alternative capability that allows practitioners to work effectively with difficult problems.

Findings

– Artistry is not an exclusive talent. Instead, it is a learned, emergent capability that allows practitioners to integrate mastery and originality as the work. This integration is made possible through the development of a sophisticated knowledge system.

Originality/value

– By revealing what artistic practice is and how it can be achieved, this paper gives practitioners a route to a creative and effective approach to practice.
The second road of thought: how design offers strategy a new toolkit
Authors: Golsby-Smith Tony
Published: June 2007

Purpose

– Traditional approaches to strategy have failed to deliver the hoped for benefits of transformation in too many cases. They do not engage people and they do not foster inventive thinking. This paper aims to declare an exciting new alternative called “strategic conversations” based on the symbiotic disciplines of design and conversation.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper develops the new approach through the twin arms of theory and practice. The theory is that the Western world bought the wrong thinking system from Aristotle. It has become seduced by the art of analytics and consequently strategy has become an analytic art. However, Aristotle
'
s art for transformation was not analytics but rhetoric which is the ancient forebear of design. Strategy in ancient Greece was an art of rhetoric not an analytic science. The paper pursues how a strategic process built on rhetoric would work based on a major case study from the Australian Navy.

Findings

– The case study illustrates the practical success of this new approach. It is one of hundreds of such assignments that the author
'
s firm has accomplished. The success is measured against three key factors: a growth in agency or shared intent across multiple players; development of possibilities or new options for actions; and the emergence of a community of action.

Practical implications

– This approach suggests a major shift in the strategy process, and in leadership skills, towards design and conversation.

Originality/value

– The core theory underpinning the paper of the “Two roads to truth” is stunning and broadly applicable approach to thinking skills. A very small group of academics understand the significance of rhetoric, but this paper applies it much more broadly to business and organizations, in a pioneering way.
Possibility thinking: lessons from breakthrough engineering
Authors: Friedel Robert , Liedtka Jeanne
Published: June 2007

Purpose

– The ability to see new possibilities is fundamental to creating innovative designs – but what do we know about state-of-the-art possibility thinking? The purpose of this paper is to look at this topic, which the strategy field has largely ignored in favor of analytics, by examining a selection of breakthrough engineering projects. Out of these, the paper aims to draw eight different ways of illuminating new possibilities – challenging, connecting, visualizing, collaborating, harmonizing, improvising, re-orienting, and playing – and discuss what each of these might look like if applied to business strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper explores eight different engineering projects that are regarded as especially innovative. It then explores the lessons of these for business strategists.

Findings

– The paper finds that innovative business strategy development has many parallels with engineering approaches.

Practical Implications

– Some of the advice resulting from this perspective includes: take an absolute industry “truth” and turn it on its head; look outside the boundaries of your usual world; put the numbers aside and get some images down on paper; find a partner and work together; push yourself beyond the “workable” and try to get to “intriguing;” act as if necessity truly was the mother of invention; formulate a different definition of the problem; and go out and conduct some low cost experiments instead of forming a committee.

Originality/value

– The creative front-end of the process of innovation is revealed to be more than a mysterious “black box.” Instead, eight systematic ways to generate possibilities, using concrete examples from both the world of engineering and business, are described to help managers begin to see new possibilities for themselves.
Green community entrepreneurship: creative destruction in the social economy
Authors: Gliedt Travis , Parker Paul
Published: June 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the process of green community entrepreneurship in the social economy by studying creative responses among environmental non‐profit organizations to an external fiscal shock.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 12 managers of environmental non‐profit organizations were interviewed to identify and classify their responses to a single external fiscal shock. These organizations are connected by a social capital network, their national association, Green Communities Canada. The social economy and ecological economics literatures are reviewed to construct a definition of green community entrepreneurship. Interview respondents identified factors which facilitate this process.

Findings

The need for green community entrepreneurship was driven by two interrelated issues (a loss of external government funding, and an associated market collapse for residential energy audits), and facilitated by three main factors (external social capital network flows, internal human capital stocks, and strategic partnerships).

Research limitations/implications

Future research should examine other social economy organizations to determine if the dynamics discovered here are unique to green community organizations delivering climate change programs or apply more generally. Policy implications include the potential for joint project creation and investment utilizing green community entrepreneurship to integrate social and ecological economy objectives.

Originality/value

A new conceptual framework for green community entrepreneurship is developed.
Modelling of electrostatic accelerator tubes
Authors: Trowbridge C.W. , Hyder H.R.McK.
Published: June 2007

Purpose

To investigate the effectiveness of a simple analytic model for the calculation of electrostatic fields and optical properties of particle beams in accelerator tubes.

Design/methodology/approach

The analytic model is derived by superimposing the solution obtained from two co‐axial circular apertures. Potentials and fields derived from the model are compared to solutions based on finite element analysis together with first, third, and fifth order optical parameters and aberration. More realistic models are also compared.

Findings

It is shown that the model is capable of capturing many of the ion optical effects produced in small electrostatic accelerator tubes. Even for more realistic tube models the basic optical parameters, first and third order, are sufficiently accurate to allow a preliminary design to be achieved.

Originality/value

The work demonstrates that the first stages of the optical design of accelerator tubes can be rapidly achieved by analytic means which then provide good starting parameters for a fuller optimisation carried out by advanced numerical methods. The results also serve as a benchmark for numerical methods.
Efficient post‐processing with the integral equation method
Authors: Hafla Wolfgang , Buchau André , Rucker Wolfgang M. , Weinläder Andreas , Bardakcioglu Antoni
Published: June 2007

Purpose

To show for magnetostatic problems, how the numerically expensive post‐processing with the integral equation method (IEM) can be accelerated with the fast multipole method (FMM) and how this approach can be used to generate post‐processing data that allow for drawing streamlines.

Design/methodology/approach

In general, post‐processing with the IEM requires computation of the induced field due to solution variables, the field of permanent magnets and of free currents. For each of the three parts an approach to apply the FMM. With these approaches, large numbers of evaluation points can be used which are needed when streamlines are to be drawn. It is shown that this requires specially tailored meshes.

Findings

Post‐processing time can be largely reduced by applying the FMM. Additional memory requirements are acceptable even for high numbers of evaluation points. In order to obtain streamline breaks at material discontinuities, flat volume elements can be used.

Research limitations/implications

The presented application of the FMM is applicable only to static problems.

Practical implications

Application of the FMM during post‐processing allows for a large number of evaluation points which are often required to visualize electromagnetic fields. This approach in combination with specially tailored meshes allows for drawing of streamlines.

Originality/value

The FMM is used not only to solve the field problem, but also for post‐processing which requires using the FMM to compute induced magnetic fields as well as the field due to permanent magnets and free currents. This leads to a speedup which allows for a large number of evaluation points which can be used, e.g. for high‐precision drawing of streamlines.
Driving a coupled field‐circuit problem
Authors: Suuriniemi Saku , Kangas Jari , Kettunen Lauri
Published: June 2007

Purpose

The paper addresses various ways of driving a magneto‐quasi‐static coupled field‐circuit problems, starting with the underlying assumptions of this problem class. It focuses on problem consistency, supporting both conceptual understanding, and translation into software.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper proceeds from a precisely defined problem class and analyze its consistency with homology theory.

Findings

Precise notion of “driving a problem,” extensive discussion of modeling assumptions and decisions, and classification and consistency analysis of various driving methods.

Practical implications

Helps modelers systematically pose consistent coupled field‐circuit problems. The computation of homology groups can be automated to help pose problems and detect consistency problems.

Originality/value

Starting from the basic underlying assumptions, the paper summarizes logically the application of homology to consistency analysis. The style is tutorial for modelers, with numerous particular cases.
Operational factors affecting strategic partnering in UK social housing
Authors: Jones Keith , Kaluarachchi Yamuna
Published: June 2007

Purpose

This paper seeks to report the findings of a research project that observed and monitored the performance of a four‐year strategic partnering agreement between a consortium of Registered Social Landlords (AMPHION) and their contracting partner as they procured approximately 800 new houses, across 33 separate development projects.

Design/methodology/approach

The research project used a combination of in‐depth case studies (of individual housing projects and the relationship between the client group and their main contractor) supplemented by quantitative measures of project performance (Key Performance Indicators) and integrated workshops to study the operational factors that affected the success of the partnering initiative.

Findings

The paper concludes that failures to manage expectations within and between partners undermined confidence and trust in the partnering process.

Research limitations/implications

Whilst strategic partnering within the UK social housing sector was immature at the time of the study, the lessons learned have implications for other organisations considering strategic partnering relationships.

Originality/value

Evidence is provided from a long‐term study of strategic partnering which explores the dynamic nature of strategic partnering and its impact on success. Very few studies have addressed this issue.
Procurement effects on trust and control in client‐contractor relationships
Authors: Erik Eriksson Per , Laan Albertus
Published: June 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate how construction clients currently deal with procurement and to analyse how the choices made during the buying process stages affect the combination of governance mechanisms and control types in client‐contractor relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical data were collected through a survey of 87 Swedish construction clients.

Findings

Current procurement procedures establish governance forms facilitating a focus on price, through output control, and authority, through process control. Since construction transactions are mostly characterized by high complexity and customisation and long duration, the theoretical framework prescribes a focus on trust and a somewhat lower focus on price and authority. Hence, from a transaction cost perspective, construction clients focus too much on price and authority and too little on trust. Since current procedures may cause problems in all stages of the buying process, the result suggests that partnering arrangements, entailing completely different choices during the buying process, may be a suitable way to facilitate trust and cooperation through informal social control.

Research limitations/implications

Since the empirical results are based on data collected from only Swedish clients, international generalizations should be made cautiously.

Practical implications

Clients wishing to implement trust‐based collaborative relationships need to reconsider their procurement procedures entirely; joint objectives, teambuilding and other “fuzzy” techniques are not enough to transform adversarial relationships into cooperative ones.

Originality/value

Earlier research has focused on one or a few aspects of procurement and governance, while this paper adopts an overall process perspective, taking into account clients' procurement procedures in their entirety.
Service intermediaries: a theoretical modeling framework with an application to travel agents
Authors: Morgan Michael S. , Trivedi Minakshi
Published: June 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the motivations of an agent in a service industry to honestly represent the quality of a service provider.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper develops a theoretical modeling and derives implications from it, which are then tested using empirical data.

Findings

The main finding of the paper is that the agent's propensity to overstate the service provider's true quality level increases as the relative price of the service increases.

Research limitations/implications

The testable implications are tested in the hotel industry. One could extend this to alternative services. It should be noted, however, that since the modeling framework is general, so too will be the implications that arise from it.

Originality/value

The theoretical development in the paper from which the implications arise, gives the results a strong foundation and lends some validity to the work. This is complemented by a unique data set that supplies information from the agent as well as the consumer regarding the same transaction. This offers a unique opportunity to study the two different points of view, and test some propositions regarding the degree to which the players understand each other.
An exploratory study of internationalization strategies of Malaysian and Taiwanese firms
Authors: Sim A.B. , Rajendran Pandian J.
Published: June 2007

Purpose

There is limited empirical research on the internationalization processes, strategies and operations of Asian multinational enterprises (MNEs) from countries at different levels of development. This paper examines and analyzes the internationalization strategies and characteristics of Asian MNEs within the investment development path (IDP) perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

Primary data are drawn from matched case studies of emerging MNEs from Taiwan (a newly industrializing country) and Malaysia (a fast developing country) in the textile and electronics industries.

Findings

The internationalization strategies of our Taiwanese and Malaysian case firms were founded on cost‐based competencies and other location‐based advantages, brought together by an extensive web of ethnic networks. Differences between our Taiwanese and Malaysian case firms were found and discussed. In general, the Taiwanese firms were more internationalized (at stage 3 of IDP) than the Malaysian firms (stage 2). They had more developed and elaborate production networks and greater own design manufacturing/own brand manufacturing participation than the Malaysian firms.

Research limitations/implications

The research did not capture the operational strategies at the level of the subsidiary or JV. The findings were exploratory and formed the basis for research propositions presented. As indicated there existed a wide empirical research gap on Asian as well as Taiwanese and Malaysian MNEs. These need to be filled to provide further evidence and answers to the issues raised in the paper. Other potential areas of research could include longitudinal studies of Asian MNEs to examine whether they will resemble Western MNEs as they evolve, the impact of ethnic networks on the performance of Asian MNEs of both Chinese and non‐Chinese origins, and the role of the state in internationalization strategies.

Originality/value

Few studies have been done on emerging market multinationals and their internationalisation strategies.
Delayed attainment of full donor chimaerism following alemtuzumab‐based reduced‐intensity conditioning haematopoeitic stem cell transplantation for acute myeloid leukaemia and myelodysplastic syndromes is associated with improved outcomes
Authors: Lim Zi Yi , Pearce Laurence , Ho Aloysius Y. , Barber Linda , Ingram Wendy , Usai Monica , Tobal Khalid , Devereux Stephen , Pagliuca Antonio , Mufti Ghulam J.
Published: June 2007

This prospective study evaluated the kinetics of lymphoid (CD3) engraftment in 110 patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) after allogeneic transplantation and conditioning with fludarabine, busulphan and alemtuzumab, using ciclosporin for post‐transplant immunosuppression. Declining donor CD3 chimaerism beyond day+100 was treated with pre‐emptive donor lymphocyte infusion (pDLI). The median age of patients was 53·0 years (range: 19–72 years), and the median follow‐up was 690 d (range:168–1470 d). Patients achieving full CD3 donor chimaerism (FDC, n = 46) by day+100 had a significantly inferior disease‐free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) compared to patients with mixed donor chimaerism (MDC, n = 59). Twenty patients had stable MDC and did not require pDLI. Patients attaining early FDC had a higher transplant‐related mortality compared to those who maintained stable levels of MDC (P = 0·02), with no difference between the FDC and pDLI groups (P = 0·07). There was no difference in relapse between all three groups (P = 0·21). On multivariate analysis, only CD3 chimaerism status at day+100 and disease status at transplantation had a significant effect on DFS and OS. In patients with AML/MDS undergoing alemetuzumab based‐RIC HSCT, prolonged MDC beyond day+100 is associated with an improved OS. Future studies need to be directed towards establishing the underlying factors that dictate T‐cell engraftment, expansion and homing post‐transplantation.
Thrombosis and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
Authors: Payne Jeanette H. , Vora Ajay J.
Published: June 2007

Venous thrombosis is more frequent in patients treated for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) than other malignancies and has distinctive causes, clinical features and remedies. The reported incidence varies from 1% to 36%, depending on the chemotherapy protocol and whether the reported cases are symptomatic or detected on screening radiography. The risk is thought to arise from increased thrombin generation at diagnosis combined with reduced thrombin inhibitory capacity due to depletion of circulating anti‐thrombin (AT) by asparaginase. A number of patient and treatment variables have been reported to influence the risk of thrombosis including hereditary thrombophilia, early insertion of central venous catheters and exposure to a combination of steroids and asparaginase during induction. Erwinia asparaginase is associated with a lower risk of thrombosis compared with Escherichia coli asparaginase. The majority of symptomatic thromboses are related to central venous catheters and involve the upper venous system. Central nervous system thrombosis involving the cerebral venous sinuses is a unique feature of asparaginase‐related thrombosis and is reported to occur in 1–3% of patients. Conclusive evidence to support the use of anti‐coagulant treatment or AT concentrates for primary prevention is lacking, as is evidence for the efficacy of AT concentrates in the management of established thrombosis. Preventative strategies are hampered by conflicting data on factors that would enable identification of those at highest risk of thrombosis.
Phase II trial of the combination of denileukin diftitox and rituximab for relapsed/refractory B‐cell non‐Hodgkin lymphoma
Authors: Dang Nam H. , Fayad Luis , McLaughlin Peter , Romaguara Jorge E. , Hagemeister Fredrick , Goy Andre , Neelapu Sattva , Samaniego Felipe , Walker Pamela L. , Wang Michael , Rodriguez Maria A. , Tong Ann T. , Pro Barbara
Published: June 2007

Denileukin diftitox plus rituximab was evaluated in relapsed/refractory B‐cell non‐Hodgkin lymphoma patients. Of the 38 evaluable patients, 30 (80%) were rituximab‐refractory. The overall response rate (ORR) was 32%, with six complete responses (CR) and six partial responses (PR). The median time to progression for responders was 8 months (range: 2–36+); two patients with rituximab‐refractory follicular lymphoma were in CR at 25 and 36+ months. The ORR was 55% (4 CRs, 2 PRs) in 11/14 patients with rituximab‐refractory follicular lymphoma, and 100% in the three patients with rituximab‐sensitive tumour. Most toxicities were low grade and transient, and myelotoxicity was uncommon.
A new index of habitat alteration and a comparison of approaches to predict stream habitat conditions
Authors: FRAPPIER BRIAN , ECKERT ROBERT T.
Published: June 2007

1. Stream habitat quality assessment complements biological assessment by providing a mechanism for ruling out habitat degradation as a potential stressor and provides reference targets for the physical aspects of stream restoration projects. This study analysed five approaches for predicting habitat conditions based on discriminant function, linear regressions, ordination and nearest neighbour analyses.

2. Quantitative physical and chemical habitat and riparian conditions in minimally‐impacted streams in New Hampshire were estimated using United States Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program protocols. Catchment‐scale descriptors were used to predict segment‐scale stream channel and riparian habitat, and the accuracy and precision of the different modelling approaches were compared.

3. A new assessment index comparing and summarizing the degree of correspondence between predicted and observed habitat based on Euclidean distance between the standardized habitat factors is described. Higher index scores (i.e. greater Euclidean distance) would suggest a greater deviation in habitat between observed conditions and expected reference conditions. As in most biotic indices, the range in index scores in reference sites would constitute a situation equivalent to reference conditions. This new index avoids the erroneous prediction of multiple, mutually exclusive habitat conditions that have confounded previous habitat assessment approaches.

4. Separate linear regression models for each habitat descriptor yielded the most accurate and precise prediction of reference conditions, with a coefficient of variation (CV) between predictions and observations for all reference sites of 0.269. However, for a unified implementation in regions where a classification‐based approach has already been taken for biological assessment, a discriminant analysis approach, that predicted membership in biotic communities and compared the mean habitat features in the biotic communities with the observed habitat features, was similar in prediction accuracy and precision (CV = 0.293).

5. The best model had an error of 27% of the mean index value for the reference sites, indicating substantial room for improvement. Additional catchment characteristics not readily available for this analysis, such as average rainfall or winter snow‐pack, surficial geological characteristics or past land‐use history, may improve the precision of the predicted habitat features in the reference streams. Land‐use history in New Hampshire and regional environmental impacts have greatly impacted stream habitat conditions even in streams considered minimally‐impacted today; thus as regional environmental impacts change and riparian forests mature, reference habitat conditions should be re‐evaluated.
Population structure and its implications for conservation of the great silver beetle Hydrophilus piceus in Britain
Authors: BEEBEE TREVOR J. C.
Published: June 2007

1. The great silver water beetle Hydrophilus piceus is one of the largest aquatic insects in Europe. In Britain it is rare and endangered, and confined to a small number of low‐lying marshes. Very little is known about the beetle populations in any of these areas, or the connectivity between them.

2. To investigate the population structure of H. piceus in Britain, four polymorphic microsatellite loci were identified and characterized. The genome of this beetle seems to have few microsatellites but contains a high proportion of a larger repeated sequence.

3. All six of the main British populations (Somerset, Lewes, Pevensey, Romney, North Kent and Norfolk) showed substantial genetic diversity at the microsatellite loci. However, estimates of effective population size at one site (Pevensey) were remarkably low, at <10 adults for the period 2004–05.

4. Most of the genetic diversity was partitioned within rather than among the populations, although there was, nevertheless, significant genetic sub‐structuring. Almost all population pairwise Fst estimates were significantly different from zero, and there was a clear isolation‐by‐distance effect. Assignment tests and cluster analyses demonstrated interpopulation relationships largely consistent with their geographical separations.

5. Hydrophilus disperses by flight, and records from moth traps indicated that there was no month in which the beetles never flew, but that flight activity was highest in the spring.

6. The genetic data highlight the need to maintain or regenerate habitat connectivity within flying distance for H. piceus, and to sustain large areas of suitable breeding marshes.
Seismic imaging of the laterally varying D″ region beneath the Cocos Plate
Authors: Thorne Michael S. , Lay Thorne , Garnero Edward J. , Jahnke Gunnar , Igel Heiner
Published: June 2007

We use an axisymmetric, spherical Earth finite difference algorithm to model SH-wave propagation through cross-sections of laterally varying lower mantle models beneath the Cocos Plate derived from recent data analyses. Synthetic seismograms with dominant periods as short as 4 s are computed for several models: (1) a D″ reflector 264 km above the core-mantle boundary with laterally varying S-wave velocity increases of 0.9–2.6 per cent, based on localized structures from a 1-D double-array stacking method; (2) an undulating D″ reflector with large topography and uniform velocity increase obtained using a 3-D migration method and (3) cross-sections through the 3-D mantle S-wave velocity tomography model TXBW. We apply double-array stacking to assess model predictions of data. Of the models explored, the S-wave tomography model TXBW displays the best overall agreement with data. The undulating reflector produces a double Scd arrival that may be useful in future studies for distinguishing between D″ volumetric heterogeneity and D″ discontinuity topography. Synthetics for the laterally varying models show waveform variability not observed in 1-D model predictions. It is challenging to predict 3-D structure based on localized 1-D models when lateral structural variations are on the order of a few wavelengths of the energy used, particularly for the grazing geometry of our data. Iterative approaches of computing synthetic seismograms and adjusting model characteristics by considering path integral effects are necessary to accurately model fine-scale D″ structure.
Histopathology of breast carcinoma following neoadjuvant systemic therapy: a common association between letrozole therapy and central scarring
Authors: Thomas J S J , Julian H S , Green R V , Cameron D A , Dixon M J
Published: June 2007

Aims:  Neoadjuvant systemic therapy of large and locally advanced breast cancers may, through shrinkage, enable breast conservation surgery. Letrozole, an aromatase inhibitor, is used frequently in the treatment of oestrogen receptor‐positive breast cancer. The aim was to examine the response patterns in a letrozole‐treated group compared with a chemotherapy‐treated group.

Materials and methods:  Fifty patients with primary breast cancer were treated with 3 months of chemotherapy and 53 with 3 months of neoadjuvant letrozole. Excised tumours were compared with preoperative core biopsy specimens. Volume calculations before and after therapy were used to calculate clinical response in the letrozole group.

Results:  Response patterns were significantly different between the two therapies (P < 0.0005). Chemotherapy produced more complete pathological responses (P = 0.008) and a scattered cell pattern was also seen more frequently (P = 0.035). Letrozole produced substantially more central scars – 31 cases as opposed to two cases in the chemotherapy group (P = 0.0001) – and there was a statistically significant correlation with central scarring and clinical tumour volume reduction (P = 0.034).

Conclusions:  There are significantly different histological responses between cancers treated with chemotherapy and endocrine therapy, particularly central scarring. This has not been documented previously and may be an important factor in down‐sizing tumours with letrozole, enabling subsequent conservation surgery.
Percutaneous large‐needle aspiration biopsy histology of palpable thyroid nodules: technical and diagnostic performance
Authors: Carpi A , Nicolini A , Marchetti C , Iervasi G , Antonelli A , Carpi F
Published: June 2007

Aim:  To report original and review existing data on safety and performance of large‐needle aspiration biopsy (LNAB) histology in the preoperative selection of palpable thyroid nodule.

Methods and results:  The English literature and original data were reviewed or analysed. The literature on LNAB of thyroid nodules did not report any complications. A study on needle dimensions has explained why LNAB obtains more tissue than fine‐needle aspiration (FNA) and is safe. LNAB histology has higher specificity than FNA cytology and markedly reduces the number of inadequate and indeterminate FNA findings. A comparison of 150 FNA‐derived cell blocks with 200 LNAB‐derived histological blocks after galectin‐3 determination in a large nationwide (Italian) study has shown that one to two sections in 10% of the FNA cell blocks and at least five sections in 90% of the LNAB blocks were available for further determinations of thyroid tumour markers.

Conclusion:  LNAB merits further consideration for the preoperative selection of thyroid nodules.
Pathogenicity of a human thyroglobulin peptide (2340–2359) in mice with high or low genetic susceptibility to thyroiditis
Authors: Hatzioannou Aikaterini , Liakata Elisavet , Karras Evangelos , Thrasyvoulides Apollon , Alevizaki Maria , Lymberi Peggy
Published: June 2007

We have previously identified a 20‐mer peptide of human thyroglobulin (hTg), p2340 (aa2340–2359), which induced experimental autoimmune thyroiditis (EAT) in AKR/J (H‐2k) and HLA‐DR3 transgenic mice. In this study, we investigated the thyroiditogenic potential of p2340 in ‘high responder’ CBA/J (H‐2k) and SJL/J (H‐2s) or ‘low responder’ C57BL/6 (H‐2b) and BALB/c (H‐2d) mice. Mice were immunized subcutaneously with 100 nmol of p2340 in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) and both the proliferative capacity of their lymph node cells in the presence of p2340 or intact Tg and the production of peptide‐specific antibodies were investigated. The p2340 peptide was found to contain B‐cell and non‐dominant T‐cell epitope(s) in all strains tested. Moreover, it elicited EAT in CBA/J (2/6, infiltration index (I.I.) 1) and SJL/J (5/5, I.I. 1‐3) mice after direct challenge and in BALB/c (4/7, I.I. 1) and C57BL/6 (1/5, I.I. 1) after adoptive transfer of p2340‐primed lymph node cells. P2340 is the first Tg peptide found to be pathogenic in low as well as high responder mouse strains and thus will allow us to investigate mechanisms of EAT induction in a genetically resistant host.
Role of endogenous 4‐1BB in the development of systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Vinay Dass S. , Choi Jae H. , Kim Jung D. , Choi Beom K. , Kwon Byoung S.
Published: June 2007

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by the production of autoantibodies directed against nuclear antigens including nucleosomes and DNA. To determine the role of T‐cell costimulatory molecule 4‐1BB in the regulation of SLE, MRL‐Faslpr (lpr) mice deficient in 4‐1BB (lpr/4‐1BB–/–) were generated and their disease phenotype was compared to that of control lpr mice. The main finding of this study is that the lpr/4‐1BB–/– mice had more pronounced skin lesions which appeared earlier, increased lymphadenopathy, increased renal damage, and higher mortality than 4‐1BB‐intact control lpr mice. The increased severity of lesions in lpr/4‐1BB–/– mice was closely associated with increases in CD4+ T, CD3+ B220+ double‐negative T cells, serum immunoglobulin, anti‐dsDNA autoantibodies, and tissue immunoglobulin deposits. These data suggest that the 4‐1BB−4‐1BB ligand signalling pathway plays an important role in SLE and that deletion of 4‐1BB confers susceptibility to lpr mice, leading to accelerated induction of disease and early mortality.
Nutritional assessment of patients before gastrointestinal surgery and nurses’ approach to this issue
Authors: Aydin Nursel , Karaöz Süreyya
Published: June 2007

Aims and objectives.  This study was conducted to evaluate the nutritional status of patients before gastrointestinal surgery and to reveal nurses’ opinions about this issue.

Background.  Although there is increasing awareness that malnutrition constitutes an important problem, especially when it accompanies diseases, malnutrition in hospitalized patients is not being diagnosed or treated.

Design.  This study was descriptive.

Methods.  Subjective global assessment and anthropometric/biochemical measurements were used to evaluate the nutritional status of 57 patients hospitalized for gastrointestinal surgery. Related opinions of eight nurses were obtained via semi‐structured interviews.

Results.  The malnutrition rate was high in patients before gastrointestinal surgery, and the nurses were not able to evaluate nutritional status properly. Furthermore, the nurses lacked knowledge.

Conclusions.  This study indicates the importance of evaluating the nutritional status of patients before surgery and the necessity of developing nutritional support plans.

Relevance to clinical practice.  Our study showed that subjective global assessment is an easy and useful scale for evaluating the nutritional status of patients. Nurses are suitable team members for continuous nutritional care and therefore must not delegate this role.
The significance of peer relationships to thriving in nursing homes
Authors: Bergland Ådel , Kirkevold Marit
Published: June 2007

Aim and objective.  The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe nursing home residents’ perceptions of the significance of relationships with peer residents to their experience of thriving.

Background.  Interactions between nursing home residents are limited. Knowledge about the importance of peer interactions to the residents’ experiences of thriving is scarce.

Design and method.  The study had a descriptive exploratory design and included 26 mentally lucid residents in two nursing homes. Data collection methods included field observation and interviews.

Results.  To contribute to an experience of thriving, peer relationships had to be experienced as positive and meaningful. A personal relationship to peer residents was not essential to an experience of thriving among all the residents. Some of the thriving residents who had not managed to establish a personal relationship expressed wishes for being involved with peers. The caregivers’ role as facilitators in the development of meaningful interactions contributing to thriving was essential.

Conclusions.  Nursing home residents have varied wishes, expectations and capacity to interact with peer residents and the significance of peer relationships to thriving also vary. A personal relationship to peer residents is not essential to the experience of thriving among all residents.

Relevance to clinical practice.  Caregivers in nursing homes have a great impact on how social gatherings intended to develop positive peer interactions and on whether the social gatherings fulfil their intentions. Skilled caregivers can secure pleasant and meaningful social gatherings in nursing homes contributing to an experience of thriving.
How can we prevent cardiovascular disease in diabetes
Authors: Wiklund O. , Håversen L. , Pettersson C. , Hultén L. M.
Published: June 2007

Evidence based goals for the treatment and prevention of atherosclerosis in diabetes are given in international and national guidelines. The importance of optimal control of lipids and blood pressure has been shown in several studies. With available drugs and behavioural modifications the treatment goals can be reached in most cases. However, only a few patients with diabetes are treated optimally today. A major possibility to reduce cardiovascular disease in diabetes is to treat patients according to guidelines.

New treatment targets may include specific treatment of the dyslipidaemia, manifested in high levels of small dense LDL and low HDL, active anti‐inflammatory treatments, specific reduction of inflammatory activity in adipose tissue, reduced volume of adipose tissue, antioxidants and reduction of advanced glycosylation endproducts production. Possible strategies for these treatments are available, and should be evaluated in clinical trials.