bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Corporate and product brands: do they improve SMEs' performance?
Authors: Agostini Lara , Filippini Roberto , Nosella Anna
Published: April 2014

Purpose

–The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of brands on small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) performance in the fashion industry, trying also to shed light on the different effect that corporate and product brands may produce.

Design/methodology/approach

–The approach uses cross-sectional time series regression to investigate the relationship between trademarks and sales, controlling for firm size. A purposive sampling technique is adopted, focusing on a sample of Italian SMEs in the fashion industry.

Findings

–Results indicate that trademarks do have a positive impact on SMEs' performance in the fashion industry, and in particular corporate trademarks seem to be effective in producing a sales increase, while product trademarks do not.

Research limitations/implications

–The main limit of this research is that no variable mediating the relationship between trademarks and performance was considered. Furthermore, the number of trademarks may not capture all the dimensions of brand.

Practical implications

–The most important aspect is that SME managers in the fashion industry could benefit from a trademarking strategy; in particular, investments in building a strong corporate brand, thus concentrating SMEs' effort, instead of having many different product brands, seems to create greater effect in the minds of consumers, and thus result in sales increases.

Originality/value

–This paper is one of first attempts to shed light on the issue regarding the association between SMEs' branding strategy and performance. Moreover, the distinction between corporate and product brands represents an innovative element in this type of study.
What determines the variation in relative performance evaluation usage across US industries?
Authors: J. Cordeiro James , Yang Rong , Donald Kent Jr D. , Callahan III Charles
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– Relative performance evaluation (RPE) involves board comparisons of firm performance to that of a peer group when evaluating CEO performance. To date, research on RPE in the USA has typically relied on models where RPE is implicitly assumed. In contrast, Bannister and Newman provide some direct evidence on the explicit RPE usage by US firms showing that it is limited and there is significant inter-industry variation in its use. The authors aim to focus on why boards in some industries employ RPE to a greater extent than those in other industries do using measures of industry discretion, industry homogeneity, industry competition.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors utilize the sample use in the Bannister and Newman study of RPE usage in industries (160 firms from the 1992Fortune250 with proxy statements for 1992 and 1993). The authors compile measures of industry membership (using SIC codes), industry discretion, industry homogeneity, and industry competition from Compustat a well. Multiple regression is used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

– The authors find that the use of RPE at the industry level is significantly related to industry discretion (i.e. the degree of latitude that managers have over strategic and operational choices in the particular industry environment) and industry homogeneity, but not to industry competition.

Research limitations/implications

– The study is limited in terms of a dated sample (necessary to be consistent with the Bannister and Newman paper). It would bear updating. In addition, multi-year panel data could be used to generate more robust results. It would also be useful to replicate the study in other national (and hence governance) contexts.

Practical implications

– The findings should help boards when deciding how to reward or punish CEOs and top managers for their firm performance by filtering out relative performance in a more rational manner (e.g. by taking relevant industry context into account).

Originality/value

– In terms of originality, this is the first study, to the authors' knowledge, that investigates RPE at the industry level. It is valuable because industry discretion is an important contextual variable that a board of directors will find useful in evaluating managers since this type of discretion is beyond managerial control.
Customer preference for decision authority in credence services
Authors: Ngamvichaikit Anothai , Beise-Zee Rian
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of offering customer decision authority on customer satisfaction in credence services, and the moderating effects of customer persuasion knowledge and service provider credibility.

Design/methodology/approach

– A video-based experiment is conducted to achieve high similarity to real service encounters. The video comprises three levels of customer authority while service provider credibility is manipulated. In a subsequent questionnaire, customer response and customer persuasion knowledge are measured.

Findings

– Results suggest that greater decision authority increases customer satisfaction. However, customer persuasion knowledge and provider credibility together were found to moderate these effects. Offering decision autonomy is most important when source credibility is low and persuasion knowledge is high.

Research limitations/implications

– The study setting is an initial healthcare encounter. Other service settings and service provider communication behaviors, such as empathy, responding to customer queries, and length of encounter are not considered in this study but should be further studied.

Practical implications

– The study confirms that offering decision authority to customers increases satisfaction only under certain circumstances. Customers are willing to relinquish authority to credible service providers who then direct customer decisions in order to maintain service quality. Offering decision autonomy to customers is suggested when provider credibility is low and customer persuasion knowledge is high.

Originality/value

– Analysis of credence service encounters is based on agency theory. Specifically, this study highlights the role of customer (principal) persuasion knowledge, which acts as a qualifier for the principal-agent problem because it alerts the customer to possible persuasion attempts by the service provider, whereas agent credibility eases customer suspicion.
Is the quantity-quality trade-off in call centres a false dichotomy?
Authors: Piers William Ellway Benjamin
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the existing conceptualisation of quantity and quality in call centres as conflicting or contradictory, and through qualitative analysis, demonstrate that quantity and quality may not necessarily operate as a trade-off.

Design/methodology/approach

– Existing literature is reviewed to show how quantity-quality has been conceptualised to date, followed by an analysis of quantity-quality manifestations based upon an in-depth field study of work and service in a large and complex call centre operation. Advisors’ work practices were observed during their interactions with customers, which provided rich insights into the nature of live calls and service provision in 13 different teams, supplemented with informal semi-structured interviews with team managers, coaches, and centre managers.

Findings

– The paper demonstrates that quantity and quality operate as a trade-off when the unit of analysis is the individual advisor or individual call fragment. However, if the entire customer enquiry is examined, quantity and quality are manifest differently: emphasising quality may also simultaneously support efficiency; favouring quantity may not only undermine quality but also ultimately circumvent efficiency gains.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper is based upon a single case study so further research is required to investigate whether findings concerning quantity-quality are manifest in other call centres, particularly of differing size and complexity.

Practical implications

– Call centre management must recognise the negative consequences of focusing upon quantity, the potential benefits of instead emphasising quality, and also acknowledge the limitations of conventional quantitative and qualitative measures. Management should also consider attempting to foster and improve relations between teams and functions within call centres.

Originality/value

– The paper provides a qualitative study of quantity and quality in call centres. Quantity and quality are examined beyond the conventional unit of analysis of the individual advisor or call, to explicate interdependence between past, current, and future actions and events involved in customer enquiries. Thus, quantity and quality are analysed in terms of the immediate focus during call handling and the longer run consequences for the efficiency and effectiveness of service provided by the call centre operation.
The tangled causes of population decline in two harvested plant species: a comment on Ticktin et al. (2012)
Authors: Prasad Soumya , Krishnadas Meghna , McConkey Kim R. , Datta Aparajita
Published: April 2014

Ticktin et al. (2012) attempted to disentangle multiple stressors impacting harvested populations of amla (Phyllanthus emblica and P. indofischeri) [Ticktin et al. (2012) Disentangling the effects of multiple anthropogenic drivers on the decline of two tropical dry forest trees. Journal of Applied Ecology, 49, 774–784.].

We propose that an unbalanced design and substitution of missing data for key parameters render their matrix models flawed. They conclude that the main threats to recruitment were lantana and mistletoe invasion and recommend revoking the ban on amla harvest.

Our re‐analyses of their data set, without substituting unavailable data, showed that cessation of harvests significantly increased stochastic growth rates of amla, despite high lantana and mistletoe cover.

Management recommendations by Ticktin et al. (2012) were based on the assumptions of invasiveness of a native mistletoe and grazing impacts of wild ungulates. However, interactions with amla are complex, and the recommendations made by them could have deleterious repercussions on native biota.

Synthesis and applications. Developing an objective understanding of harvest consequences by incorporating earlier findings and considering uncertainties in results is critical for maintaining livelihoods and ecological processes linked to amla populations.
1 Immanent anthropology: a comparative study of ‘process’ in contemporary France
Authors: Hodges Matt
Published: April 2014

This paper presents a comparative critique of the ‘processual temporalities’ which infuse both social‐scientific theorizing and selected Western cultural practices. Through study of a public‐private partnership which emerged from a biotechnology project devised for producing ‘self‐cloning’ maize for resource‐poor farmers, I analyse how processual temporalities were central to re‐gearing knowledge practices towards market‐orientated solutions. In a study of characterizations of the ‘state of flux’ which affects life in a French peri‐urban village, I explore how processualism is identified as a component of a metropolitan hegemony which villagers ‘resist’ through idealizing ‘enduring temporalities’ of cultural practice. Drawing on Arendt and Deleuze, I analyse processualism as a dominant contemporary chronotope, mediating and disciplining conflictive temporalities and practices, underwriting economic projects of deterritorialization and restructuring – whose idiom is also prominent in social‐scientific paradigms. I substitute an ‘immanent anthropology’, which advocates a non‐transcendental ontology of cultural practice and analysis – displacing anthropological analysis onto a polychronic temporal foundation.
5 Rethinking reproductive politics in time, and time in UK reproductive politics: 1978‐2008
Authors: Franklin Sarah
Published: April 2014

This paper explores two different but interlinked and contemporaneous debates over reproductive politics in which we can observe at least three distinct combinations of time. In the first part, I describe the shift in the 1980s to a ‘biologized’ time by British Christian Right‐to‐Life groups, who began to use a secularized ontogeny to promote and defend a religious definition of ‘the way, the truth, and the life’ – an altered ‘theo‐ontology’ based on the equivalence of the absolute value of human life, the truth (of biological life), and faith in Christ (as everlasting life). In the second part, I describe a differently ‘remixed’, and opposing, ontology (secular and semi‐secular, using a hybrid bio‐legal chronometry but orientated toward the timeless horizon of progress) that characterized the debate over the future of in vitro fertilization in the same period, leading up to the adoption of the first Human Fertilization and Embryology (HFE) Act in the UK in 1990. In the third part, I examine the legacy of these debates insofar as they are evident in the more recent political conflicts accompanying passage of an amended HFE Act in 2008 and the debate over so‐called ‘cybrid embryos’. These episodes reveal how social movements ‘are profoundly shaped by mediations and conflicts between diverse representations, technologies, social disciplines and rhythms of time’. I argue that the varied constructions of temporality in reproductive politics evident in these three distinct episodes are crucial to anthropological understandings of the meaning of ‘biological control’ in the context of stem cell research, cloning, tissue engineering, and reproductive biomedicine.
7 The reign of terror of the big cat: bureaucracy and the mediation of social times in the Indian Himalaya
Authors: Mathur Nayanika
Published: April 2014

This paper describes the arrival of a man‐eating leopard in a small Himalayan town in India and the local state's subsequent struggle to control the big cat. By focusing on what went on within the apparatus of the state during this period, this paper attempts to contribute to the study of modern time in bureaucracy. It argues that the startling inefficiencies in the effective governance and regulation of the big cat stemmed from a clash of various social times that were unfolding simultaneously. It outlines five distinct forms of social time that were in play during this period, which led to long periods of waiting and allowed for the articulation of a searing critique of the Indian state by town residents. Ultimately this paper contributes a rethinking of current theories of bureaucratic time that focus on the production of disempowered waiting, risk analysis, and anticipation. Instead it argues that a study of low‐level bureaucrats and citizens shows that a central task of bureaucracy is to attempt to mediate conflicting forms of social time. Moving away from accounts of bureaucratic indifference, this paper depicts failure as an impasse arising out of attempts to bring incommensurable forms and representations of time into congruence. These failures importantly imperil the legitimacy of bureaucrats and can lead to a radical critique of the state.
Glycemic control after 6 days of insulin pump reservoir use in type 1 diabetes: Results of double‐blind and open‐label cross‐over trials of insulin lispro and insulin aspart 1型糖尿病患者连续使用胰岛素泵6天后的血糖控制情况：赖脯胰岛素与门冬胰岛素的双盲、开放标签、交叉试验
Authors: Tamborlane William V. , Renard Eric , Wadwa R. Paul , Blevins Thomas , Jacober Scott J. , Liu Rong , D'Souza Deborah N. , Rees Tina M.
Published: April 2014

Background

The objective of the current study was to assess mean self‐monitored blood glucose (SMBG), on day 6 of 6 days of continuous reservoir wear (6D), with insulin lispro (Lis) or insulin aspart (Asp).

Methods

Two 24‐week, randomized trials were conducted in subjects with type 1 diabetes treated by continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) for ≥6 months, with a mean total daily insulin dose capable of supporting 6 days of in‐reservoir use. Study 1 had an open‐label, six‐sequence, three‐treatment, three‐period, cross‐over design. Study 2 had a double‐blind, two‐sequence, two‐treatment, two‐period, cross‐over design. The primary efficacy measure was the mean of Day 6, seven‐point SMBG profiles for insulin lispro 6D (Lis6D) and insulin aspart 6D (Asp6D) treatment periods. Safety measures were also assessed.

Results

Lis did not achieve noninferiority (SMBG; margin = 0.6 mmol/L [10.8 mg/dL]) to Asp on Day 6 of reservoir wear in either Study (least‐squares mean difference: Study 1 = 0.48 mmol/L [8.64 mg/dL]; 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.20, 0.76], Study 2 = 0.36 mmol/L [6.49 mg/dL]; 95% CI [0.06, 0.66]). Noninferiority was demonstrated for overall daily mean of SMBG values over days 1 to 6 of reservoir use during each treatment period. In the Lis treatment period, subjects reported a lower documented and total hypoglycemia rate per 30 days and a higher rate of non‐explained hyperglycemia than in the Asp treatment period.

Conclusion

While the mean blood glucose on Day 6 of Lis6D did not meet non‐inferiority, the overall daily mean blood glucose was not different, with a decreased rate of hypoglycemia with Lis.
Environmental monitoring through protist next‐generation sequencing metabarcoding: assessing the impact of fish farming on benthic foraminifera communities
Authors: Pawlowski Jan , Esling Philippe , Lejzerowicz Franck , Cedhagen Tomas , Wilding Thomas A.
Published: April 2014

The measurement of species diversity represents a powerful tool for assessing the impacts of human activities on marine ecosystems. Traditionally, the impact of fish farming on the coastal environment is evaluated by monitoring the dynamics of macrobenthic infaunal populations. However, taxonomic sorting and morphology‐based identification of the macrobenthos demand highly trained specialists and are extremely time‐consuming and costly, making it unsuitable for large‐scale biomonitoring efforts involving numerous samples. Here, we propose to alleviate this laborious task by developing protist metabarcoding tools based on next‐generation sequencing (NGS) of environmental DNA and RNA extracted from sediment samples. In this study, we analysed the response of benthic foraminiferal communities to the variation of environmental gradients associated with salmon farms in Scotland. We investigated the foraminiferal diversity based on ribosomal minibarcode sequences generated by the Illumina NGS technology. We compared the molecular data with morphospecies counts and with environmental gradients, including distance to cages and redox used as a proxy for sediment oxygenation. Our study revealed high variations between foraminiferal communities collected in the vicinity of fish farms and at distant locations. We found evidence for species richness decrease in impacted sites, especially visible in the RNA data. We also detected some candidate bioindicator foraminiferal species. Based on this proof‐of‐concept study, we conclude that NGS metabarcoding using foraminifera and other protists has potential to become a new tool for surveying the impact of aquaculture and other industrial activities in the marine environment.
Smart technologies to enhance social connectedness in older people who live at home
Authors: Morris Meg E , Adair Brooke , Ozanne Elizabeth , Kurowski William , Miller Kimberly J , Pearce Alan J , Santamaria Nick , Long Maureen , Ventura Cameron , Said Catherine M
Published: April 2014

Aim

To examine the effectiveness of smart technologies in improving or maintaining the social connectedness of older people living at home.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review and critical evaluation of research articles published between 2000 and 2013. Article screening, data extraction and quality assessment (using the Downs and Black checklist) were conducted by two independent researchers.

Results

Eighteen publications were identified that evaluated the effect of smart technologies on dimensions of social connectedness. Fourteen studies reported positive outcomes in aspects such as social support, isolation and loneliness. There was emerging evidence that some technologies augmented the beneficial effects of more traditional aged‐care services.

Conclusion

Smart technologies, such as tailored internet programs, may help older people better manage and understand various health conditions, resulting in subsequent improvements in aspects of social connectedness. Further research is required regarding how technological innovations could be promoted, marketed and implemented to benefit older people.
HIV‐1 Vaginal Transmission: Cell‐Free or Cell‐Associated Virus?
Authors: Barreto‐de‐Souza Victor , Arakelyan Anush , Margolis Leonid , Vanpouille Christophe
Published: April 2014

The vast majority of new HIV infections in male‐to‐female transmission occurs through semen, where HIV‐1 is present in two different forms: as free and as cell‐associated virus. In the female lower genital tract, semen mixes with female genital secretions that contain various factors, some of which facilitate or inhibit HIV‐1 transmission. Next, HIV‐1 crosses the genital epithelia, reaches the regional lymph nodes, and disseminates through the female host. Cervico‐vaginal mucosa contains multiple barriers, resulting in a low probability of vaginal transmission. However, in some cases, HIV‐1 is able to break these barriers. Although the exact mechanisms of how these barriers function remain unclear, their levels of efficiency against cell‐free and cell‐associated HIV‐1 are different, and both cell‐free and cell‐associated virions seem to use different strategies to overcome these barriers. Understanding the basic mechanisms of HIV‐1 vaginal transmission is required for the development of new antiviral strategies to contain HIV‐1 epidemics.
Perinatal mortality by birthweight centile
Authors: Francis Julia H. , Permezel Michael , Davey Mary Ann
Published: April 2014

Background

Detection of abnormal fetal growth is vital to antenatal care, and traditionally birthweights that are <10th or >90th centile are classified as small or large for gestational age (LGA). Evidence regarding outcomes for birthweight centiles outside these extremes remains unclear.

Aims

To evaluate the relationship between birthweight centile and perinatal death and determine the ‘optimum’ birthweight centile with the lowest rate of perinatal mortality.

Method

Data on all Victorian births from 1999 to 2008 were stratified into smaller subsets than the traditional small for gestational age (SGA) (<10th centile), appropriate for gestational age (AGA) (10–90th centile) and LGA (>90th centile) and analysed by all gestations, for term births alone, and using the ‘fetus at risk’ approach. Multiple logistic regression was used to adjust for age, parity and co‐morbidities.

Results

For term births, the ‘optimum’ birthweight centile was the 50–90th range (1.1 perinatal deaths/1000 births). Lower birthweight centiles had significantly higher rates of perinatal death – even those that would be classified as AGA. Babies with a 10–25th birthweight centile had a two‐fold increased risk of perinatal death (AOR 2.10, 95% CI 1.6, 2.7). Even those with a 25–50th birthweight centile had higher perinatal mortality rates (AOR 1.58, 95% CI 1.3, 2.0). There was no strong evidence of higher perinatal mortality in larger birthweight centiles, except term births >99th centile. The ‘fetus at risk’ analysis showed a rise in perinatal mortality after 37 weeks' gestation for all birthweight centiles, particularly for SGA babies.

Conclusion

Babies with a birthweight below the 50th centile are at greater risk of perinatal mortality compared with the ‘optimum’ ≥50 to <90th centile group.
Impact and outcomes of a rural Personal Helpers and Mentors service
Authors: Dunstan Debra A. , Todd Anna K. , Kennedy Linda M. , Anderson Donnah L.
Published: April 2014

Objective

To describe impacts and outcomes associated with the Personal Helpers and Mentor's (PHaMs) service in a rural Australian town.

Design

A descriptive analysis of longitudinal data, uncontrolled pre‐test and post‐test caseworker ratings, and retrospective pre‐test/post‐test self‐ratings and feedback comments were collected from convenience samples.

Setting

A community‐based mental health recovery service.

Participants

n = 76 mental health consumers; mean age = 37.78 years; 45% male; 63% Aboriginal; primary diagnoses = 41% psychotic disorder and 61% mood disorder; co‐morbid diagnosis = 45% substance use disorder.

Interventions

Individual recovery plan (IRP), personal goal setting, caseworker mentoring and support.

Main outcome measures

Gains towards goals, the Role Functioning Scale (RFS), self‐ratings and feedback comments.

Results

The most frequently addressed goals were: attend mental health treatment services, acquire suitable accommodation and be more involved in the community. IRP completers (n = 19) showed a significant improvement in caseworker‐rated adaptive functioning which was adequate at case closure (t(18) = −4.38, P < 0.001). Participant (n = 19) ratings of the service and its key performance indicators suggested global satisfaction and gains in the management of everyday tasks, use of medications and community engagement. Good rapport was reported with the locally trained and predominantly Aboriginal (56%) staff.

Conclusions

PHaMs shows promise for assisting rural people with mental illness to improve their everyday functioning, medication management and community involvement. Recruitment and capacity‐building of Aboriginal staff appears to facilitate Aboriginal consumer participation.
Systematic review on cashew nut allergy
Authors: van der Valk J. P. M. , J. Dubois A. E. , Gerth van Wijk R. , Wichers H. J. , de Jong N. W.
Published: April 2014

Recent studies on cashew nut allergy suggest that the prevalence of cashew nut allergy is increasing. Cashew nut consumption by allergic patients can cause severe reactions, including anaphylaxis. This review summarizes current knowledge on cashew nut allergy to facilitate timely clinical recognition and to promote awareness of this emerging food allergy amongst clinicians. The goal of this study is to present a systematic review focused on the clinical aspects of allergy to cashew nut including the characteristics of cashew nut, the prevalence, allergenic components, cross‐reactivity, diagnosis and management of cashew nut allergy. The literature search yielded 255 articles of which 40 met our selection criteria and were considered to be relevant for this review. The 40 articles included one prospective study, six retrospective studies and seven case reports. The remaining 26 papers were not directly related to cashew nut allergy. The literature suggests that the prevalence of cashew nut allergy is increasing, although the level of evidence for this is low. A minimal amount of cashew nut allergen may cause a severe allergic reaction, suggesting high potency comparable with other tree nuts and peanuts. Cashew allergy is clearly an underestimated important healthcare problem, especially in children.
miRNA‐155 controls mast cell activation by regulating the PI3Kγ pathway and anaphylaxis in a mouse model
Authors: Biethahn K. , Orinska Z. , Vigorito E. , Goyeneche‐Patino D. A. , Mirghomizadeh F. , Föger N. , Bulfone‐Paus S.
Published: April 2014

Background

Mast cells (MCs) play a central role in allergic and inflammatory disorders by rapid degranulation and release of inflammatory mediators upon antigen‐driven engagement of the FcεRI. Receptor‐mediated MC responses are controlled by the activation of different isoforms of phosphoinositide‐3‐kinase (PI3K) and the downstream signaling processes. Recent evidence suggests that miRNAs are important molecular players regulating the PI3K/Akt pathway.

Methods

The role of miR‐155 in the regulation of MC functions in vivo was studied in the passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) MC‐dependent model. WT and miR‐155−/− mice were injected intradermally with anti‐DNP‐IgE and intravenously with the antigen DNP‐HSA. Ear swelling was assessed to evaluate the anaphylactic response. All investigations, to characterize miR‐155 specific activities in MCs, were conducted comparing WT and miR‐155−/− bone marrow‐derived MCs (BMMCs).

Results

We report that miR‐155−/− mice display enhanced anaphylaxis reactions. Although miR‐155−/− BMMCs show normal development, proliferation, and survival, miR‐155 deficiency enhances FcεRI‐mediated degranulation and release of TNF‐α, IL‐13, and IL‐6. Interestingly, the level of Akt phosphorylation on both of its regulatory residues Thr308 and Ser473 was increased in miR‐155−/− compared to WT BMMCs. Gene expression profiling showed that miR‐155−/− BMMCs exhibited significantly increased expression of the adapter PI3Kγ subunits Pik3r5 (p101) and Pik3r6 (p84, p87PIKAP). Furthermore, selective blockade of the PI3Kγ pathway inhibited degranulation in miR‐155−/− BMMCs.

Conclusions

Thus, we suggest that miR‐155 plays a critical role in FcεRI‐mediated MC responses by modulating components of the PI3Kγ pathway. This newly identified mechanism of miRNA‐controlled MC activation may affect the initiation and maintenance of allergic disorders.
Robot‐assisted gastrectomy and oesophagectomy for cancer
Authors: Falkenback Dan , Lehane Christopher W. , Lord Reginald V. N.
Published: April 2014

Background

Robot‐assisted surgery is a technically feasible alternative to open and laparoscopic surgery, which is being more frequently used in general surgery. We undertook this review to investigate whether robotic assistance provides a significant benefit for oesophagogastric cancer surgery.

Methods

Electronic databases were searched for original English‐language publications for robotic‐assisted gastrectomy and oesophagectomy between January 1990 and October 2013.

Results

Sixty‐one publications were included. Thirty‐five included gastrectomy, 31 included oesophagectomy and five included both operations. Several publications suggest that robot‐assisted subtotal gastrectomy can be as safe and effective as an open or laparoscopic procedure, with equal outcomes with regard to the number of lymph nodes resected, overall morbidity and perioperative mortality, and length of hospital stay. Robotic assistance is associated with longer operation times but also with less blood loss in some reports. A significant benefit for robotic assistance has not been shown for the more extensive operations of oesophagectomy or total gastrectomy with D2‐lymphadenectomy. There are very few oncologic data regarding local recurrence or long‐term survival for any of the robotic operations.

Conclusions

No significant differences in morbidity, mortality or number of lymph node harvested have been shown between robot‐assisted and laparoscopic gastrectomy or oesophagectomy. Robotic surgery, with its relatively short learning curve, may facilitate reproducible minimally invasive surgery in this field but operation times are reportedly longer and cost differences remain unclear. Randomized trials with oncologic outcomes and cost comparisons are needed.
Endoscopic large balloon sphincteroplasty is a useful, safe adjunct for difficult to treat choledocholithiasis
Authors: Turner Greg A. , Ing Andrew J. , Connor Saxon J.
Published: April 2014

Background

The aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of large balloon sphincteroplasty when used in conjunction with endoscopic biliary sphincterotomy during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for therapy of choledocholithiasis.

Methods

A retrospective audit of all ERCP's performed for choledocholithiasis between January 2012 and October 2013 at one institution was performed. Procedures that utilized large balloon sphincteroplasty were compared with those underwent standard endoscopic stone extraction. Outcomes including stone clearance rate for the individual procedure type, post‐ERCP complications and need for surgical exploration of the bile duct were documented.

Results

A total of 346 procedures on 306 patients that met the inclusion criteria were identified. Fifty‐four (15.6%) procedures included large balloon sphincteroplasty and were compared with 292 (84.4%) procedures that used standard balloon extraction techniques. Despite those patients in the large balloon sphincteroplasty group having a higher rate of previous ERCP (33.3% versus 19.5%, P = 0.031) and a larger proportion of patients with stones greater than 10 mm (40.3% versus 11.3%, P < 0.001), the overall initial clearance rate was similar at 83%. Ultimately, only 14 out of 306 (4.6%) of all patients required surgical intervention. There was no significant difference in the rate of post‐ERCP pancreatitis between the two groups (5.6% versus 3.8%, P = 0.466).

Conclusion

Large balloon sphincteroplasty of the sphincter of Oddi is a safe and effective adjunct to endoscopic biliary sphincterotomy in difficult to treat choledocholithiasis. The current study demonstrated large balloon sphincteroplasty did not result in more complications despite a tendency to being used for larger stones.
Bile deficiency induces changes in intestinal Cl− and HCO3− secretions in mice
Authors: Song P. , Du Y. , Song W. , Liu X. , Hong L. , Li H. , Xie H. , Zhou L. , Tuo B. , Zheng S.
Published: April 2014

Aims

Biliary tract obstruction is a common clinical lesion. However, the effect of biliary tract obstruction on intestinal secretion is poorly understood. In this study, we made an investigation on intestinal HCO3− and Cl− secretions in an experimental model of murine biliary duct ligation.

Methods

Murine intestinal mucosal HCO3− and Cl− secretions were examined in vitro in Ussing chambers by pH‐stat and short‐circuit current (Isc) techniques. The mRNA and protein expressions of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) and the Na+–K+–2Cl− cotransporter (NKCC1) were analysed by real‐time PCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry.

Results

Basal Cl− secretion and forskolin‐stimulated duodenal and jejunal mucosal HCO3− and Cl− secretions in mice with common biliary duct ligation were markedly elevated, compared with controls (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01). Further experiments showed that basal Cl− secretion and forskolin‐stimulated duodenal and jejunal mucosal HCO3− and Cl− secretions in mice with external bile drainage were also markedly elevated. CFTRinh‐172 inhibited forskolin‐stimulated HCO3− and Cl− secretions. The mRNA and protein expression levels of CFTR and NKCC1 in the intestinal mucosa with both biliary duct ligation and external bile drainage were markedly higher than those in controls (P < 0.001). Bile acid administration restored the changes in function and expression of CFTR and NKCC1 in the intestinal mucosa.

Conclusion

Bile deficiency in the intestine up‐regulates the expressions of intestinal mucosal CFTR and NKCC1 and enhances intestinal mucosal HCO3− and Cl− secretion capacity, which contributes to the understanding of intestinal physiological function for patients with biliary duct obstruction.
Estimating the precision of disc diffusion antibiotic susceptibility data published by the European committee on antimicrobial susceptibility testing
Authors: Smith Peter , Kronvall Göran
Published: April 2014

Analysis of 163 disc diffusion data sets, 115 for bacterial species groups and 48 for types strains, published by EUCAST, was used to optimize the setting of the parameters of a standardized protocol for normalized resistance interpretation of these data. The standard deviations of the normalized distributions of these data sets, calculated using this standardized protocol, were shown to be independent of the means of their respective distributions. These standard deviations could, therefore, be used as a metric to quantify the precision of disc diffusion data sets. The median value of the standard deviations for 115 EUCAST data sets produced in multiple laboratory studies of bacterial species groups was 2.3 mm and that for the 48 EUCAST data sets produced in multiple laboratory studies of type strains was 1.5 mm. It is argued that this standardized method for estimating the precision of disc diffusion data provides a tool by which individual laboratories can assess the quality of the disc diffusion data they produce.
Immune responses to Campylobacter (C. jejuni or C. coli) infections: a two‐year study of US forces deployed to Thailand
Authors: Islam Dilara , Ruamsap Nattaya , Aksomboon Ajchara , Khantapura Patchariya , Srijan Apichai , Mason Carl J.
Published: April 2014

Campylobacter spp. is a leading cause of diarrheal disease among US troops deployed to Thailand for exercise. We investigated the importance of immunological analysis and immune responses against Campylobacter infection in US troops deployed to Thailand. Blood and fecal samples were collected from volunteered soldiers with diarrhea and from healthy controls. Stool culture was performed to identify the pathogens. Campylobacter‐specific antibodies, antibody secreting cells and cytokines were measured. Several bacterial protein fragments in the outer membrane extract of Campylobacter spp., were identified by an immunoblot analysis with plasma and fecal antibodies. Among all of the diarrheal cases, 35% were Campylobacter‐positive. Based on antibody titers in plasma and in fecal extract and antibody secreting cells: 6% of healthy controls, 32% of the Campylobacter culture‐negative diarrheal cases, and 85% of the Campylobacter culture‐positive diarrheal cases were positive for Campylobacter. Our results indicate that the measurement of Campylobacter‐specific antibodies in plasma and fecal extract samples is a good marker of exposure to Campylobacter, and this test may be a useful diagnostic tool for seroepidemiological studies. Elicited antibodies against several bacterial outer membrane protein fragments suggest that these protein fragments are vital in providing protective immunity against Campylobacter.
On the creative (re)turn to geography: poetry, politics and passion
Authors: Madge Clare
Published: April 2014

This paper contributes to the debate about the creative (re)turn to geography through the lens of poetry. In considering the potentialities and limitations of geopoetics, I explore three issues in particular: evaluation of the poetic creative moment; poetry as a means of expressing an embodied, affective geopolitics; and the limitations involved in this particular creative move as a means of empathetic, passionate storytelling. The paper highlights the ambivalences and complexities of using poetry as a creative literary form of geographical world‐writing.
Unpacking geography: a brief history, 1973–2013
Authors: Keighren Innes M
Published: April 2014

In this paper I describe the changing use of the figurative term ‘unpack’ in Anglo‐American geographical writing between 1973 and 2013. I present the results of a survey of the term's occurrence, across four decades, in five leading geography journals. I conclude by discussing the implications of ‘unpack’ as a critical instruction and reflecting on what that term's deployment reveals about the prioritisation of scholarly activities in geographical research.
Managing animal wellbeing: a preliminary survey of pig farmers
Authors: Wilson RL , Holyoake PK , Cronin GM , Doyle RE
Published: April 2014

Objectives

To gather information on producers' perceptions and management strategies towards the detection, alleviation of pain and management of sick, injured and heat‐stressed pigs.

Methods

A total of 16 Victorian pig farmers completed a face‐to‐face questionnaire consisting of 9 open and 26 closed questions regarding their detection and management of sick, injured and heat‐stressed pigs and their perceptions of pigs' tolerance to pain.

Results

We identified 15 behavioural and physiological indicators of pain and heat stress. Treatment records were kept more often for weaned progeny and lactating sows than for piglets and mated sows. Most producers felt that pigs suffered little pain from routine husbandry procedures and that pain relief was not warranted in those situations. Castration at 10 days of age was the only procedure considered by producers to be very painful. There were inconsistencies in approaches to treating pigs in three case studies of animals with sickness or injury of varying severity. Meloxicam was stated as the most common anti‐inflammatory drug used on‐farm. A small proportion of farmers incorrectly identified antibiotics as anti‐inflammatory drugs. All producers had at least one cooling system in place for preventing heat stress in pigs.

Conclusions

The farmers in this survey group generally relied on behavioural changes in pigs to signal pain and heat stress. Although producers kept treatment records and used hospital pens for compromised pigs, our results suggest that the monitoring of pigs' recovery could be improved. Producers generally have a good understanding of the use of anti‐inflammatory drugs to aid recovery of pigs.
Trust and the Duty of Organ Donation
Authors: Almassi Ben
Published: April 2014

Several recent publications in biomedical ethics argue that organ donation is generally morally obligatory and failure to do so is morally indefensible. Arguments for this moral conclusion tend to be of two kinds: arguments from fairness and arguments from easy rescue. While I agree that many of us have a duty to donate, in this article I criticize these arguments for a general duty of organ donation and their application to organ procurement policy. My concern is that these arguments neglect the role that trust plays in contemporary organ transplant policies and in differential rational attitudes toward donation. Recognizing donation as an achievement of trust, and acknowledging the warrant of many people's rational distrust or withheld trust in medicine, I argue, should have significant implications for the ethics of organ procurement.
Focusing on Reflections: Mentalization and Mirroring in Brief Dynamic Therapy
Authors: Smith Jonathan D.
Published: April 2014

The author begins by noting the growing recognition of the contribution that addressing a client's capacity to mentalize can make to therapeutic effectiveness in short‐term psychodynamic work. He outlines the developmental origins of the capacity for reflective function or mentalization in the earliest experiences of infancy and how the primary carer's changing levels of contingency to the infant's feeling states promotes the infant's development of a sense of his or her own mind as well as a sense of the minds of others as sources of the motivation of behaviour. The author compares and contrasts the concept of mentalization with that of mirroring and how the latter contributes to the realization of the self. The contribution that a focus which captures the aesthetic of a client's idiom can make to the experience of being mirrored and contained by the therapist is highlighted. The author also identifies ways in which working with the components of a focus, as it is tracked through a client's narrative, can enhance a client's capacity to mentalize. These themes are illustrated by a case example which involves complex loss and trauma resulting in unmet adult attachment needs and a diminished capacity to mentalize.
Some Consequences of being the Wrong Child: Effects of the Intergenerational Transmission of an Ideal‐Ego
Authors: Simpson David
Published: April 2014

In this paper the author considers a not uncommon group of patients seen in analytic work. These are people who present themselves for treatment because they feel that there is something ‘wrong with themselves’, and it is this belief about themselves that is their problem. They are usually people who have not achieved their potential in life; who may be dissatisfied in their relationships and/or with their level of success in their work. They often suffer from depression, symptoms of anxiety or psychosomatic complaints. In this way their belief in their sense of ‘wrongness’ is self‐confirming and to this extent they do have something wrong with them although the particular manifestations, of what is wrong, can vary considerably. However, it is what these people have in common, their fundamental belief in being ‘wrong’, which the author is going to address.
Initial Improvement in Adult Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Authors: Gastaud Marina Bento , Padoan Carolina Stopinski , Eizirik Cláudio Laks
Published: April 2014

This study aimed to determine predictors of initial improvement regarding quality of life, symptoms, and defensive style of adult patients in psychodynamic psychotherapy. This is a naturalistic quantitative study conducted at a mental health outpatient clinic. Patients were assessed before starting psychotherapy and in the 6th month of treatment using the same instruments. Patients who were still in treatment at the 6th month of psychotherapy reported, in general, better quality of life, less symptoms, reduced severity of symptoms, and changes in some aspects of their defensive style. Those patients who sought treatment because of anxiety problems were associated with higher risk of no initial improvement. Clinicians and researchers find it difficult to predict the outcome of patients starting psychodynamic psychotherapy; other clinical settings should be investigated to enable the understanding of this complex phenomenon. Although psychodynamic psychotherapy is a long‐term treatment, patients show evidence of improvement from the beginning of the treatment. Follow‐up studies of these patients are needed to monitor the process of improvement after this initial period.
The Mental Pain of Minorities
Authors: Akhtar Salman
Published: April 2014

The discord between the subjectivity of minorities and their ecological and cultural surround often causes them chronic mental pain. The unease felt by minorities arises from their being used as dehumanized targets of the majority's projections, as well as from the figure‐ground discord in their subjectivity. Seeking to anesthetize their distress, minorities retreat from social participation, nostalgically idealize times and places where they were not the minority, dream of times or places which could accord them majority status again, exalt fundamentalism, and, at times, discharge impotent rage via acts of ‘terrorism’. Far better than such turn of events are developments that follow when minorities assert their rights and the majority realizes the benefits of collaboration. Societal measures that assure minorities' presence in textbooks of history and their representation in embodied communal narratives (e.g. statues, memorials) go a long way in diminishing their distress. Protection and/or restoration of their rights to vote, run for office, have freedom of movement and expression, and own property are also important. Finally, judicial provision of designating prejudicial acts of violence as hate crimes too increases the sense of minorities' safety. All this is not only good for them; it is beneficial for the society‐at‐large and raises all sections of society to a higher humanitarian ground.
The Development of A Psychotic Countertransference in Work with Two Severely Disturbed Patients
Authors: Curtis Hannah
Published: April 2014

The paper describes and discusses some aspects of the countertransference in relation to two patients whose state of mind could be described as psychotic during treatment. The clinical work took place in the context of a private psychotherapy practice, but some aspects of the countertransference became evident in relation to external, but related figures connected with the treatment. It was not until the treatment with both patients had ended, and the author had done a considerable amount of work on her own processes, that she was able to acknowledge, think about, and eventually write about, the ways in which the two patients had impacted upon her own psyche. In order to achieve this aim of understanding, the author undertook a research degree at MA level as the frame in which to study psychotic processes in more depth, along with studying the transference and the countertransference. As she worked upon her degree thesis she became more aware of, and less embarrassed about, the countertransferential processes that taken place. The paper makes particular use of Stephen Purcell's contributions to identifying the countertransference and Harold Searles's work with psychotic patients.