bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Experimental investigation on the surface humidity of fabric during the process of dynamic moisture liberation
Authors: Li Wenbin , Jiang Peiqing , Wang Xin , Li GaoWen , Xu Weilin
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– In this study, a novel dynamic testing method was established to measure the moisture variation of fabric surface during the process of moisture liberation in simulated windy condition. The paper aims to discuss these issues

Design/methodology/approach

– In this method, the samples were rotating during the test process so as to simulate the external windy environment. Effects of simulated wind speed, moisture regains and fabric materials on the surface moisture of fabric were investigated.

Findings

– Experimental results showed that the surface moisture presented a trapezoidal moisture liberation curve, it increased at first, then kept stable for a while, and decreased finally with the increase of time. It took longer time for the fabric to complete the liberation process when the moisture regain of the fabric increased or the simulated wind speed decreased. The fiber materials of the fabric affected the time for the moisture liberation process under a specific windy condition.

Practical implications

– This study will benefit the designing and development of clothing such as sportswear.

Originality/value

– A dynamic testing method was proposed to characterize the surface humidity of textiles under simulated windy conditions.
Science park or innovation cluster?
Authors: Salvador Elisa , Mariotti Ilaria , Conicella Fabrizio
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to focus on the science park (SP) “physical” location and the innovation cluster (IC) “virtual” location, and aims at investigating: the motivations driving firms to settle in these two agglomerations; the main problems firms, belonging to the two structures, face in their growth process; similarities and differences between a “physical” and a “virtual” location; which forms of proximity (geographical, relational, social, cognitive, organizational, and institutional) play a role within the SP and the IC.

Design/methodology/approach

– A literature review on proximity is followed by an investigation of the Bioindustry Park and the IC BioPmed in Piedmont region in Italy, through a structured questionnaire, sent between February and March 2002, to firms co-located in the park and/or member of the cluster.

Findings

– From the analysis did emerge that the physical location in the park and the virtual location in the cluster might be complements rather than substitutes.

Research limitations/implications

– Shortcomings like the limited number of companies interviewed, and the absence of a sample of companies exclusively co-located in the park, are observable. Additional research might corroborate the results, which are specifically valid for the two case studies.

Practical implications

– The idea of understanding differences and similarities between the SP and the IC, and of investigating which proximity typologies play a role in a “physical” and in a “virtual” location, may be useful to design future policy strategies.

Originality/value

– The originality of this paper is given by the analysis of a new phenomenon: physical and virtual agglomeration typologies, characterized by several forms of proximity enhancing knowledge diffusion.
Exploring business growth and eco innovation in rural small firms
Authors: Martin Lynn , McNeill Tamara , Warren-Smith Izzy
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore eco innovation in rural small firms. It looks at the motivations of rural small business owners for eco innovation and the extent to which rurality is important. Owner-managers’ perceptions of how eco innovation had, or would, contributed to growth in the future are also explored.

Design/methodology/approach

– This is a qualitative study involving micro-level exploration of eight growth-oriented rural small firms and their implementation of eco innovation. These case studies involved semi-structured interviews, observation of practices in the firm and review of documentation and web-based materials.

Findings

– Within each of the case study businesses, eco innovation involved changing business processes to reduce waste and to reduce the amounts of raw materials consumed. Rurality was described as very important due to closeness to the impacts of climate change and firms’ visibility within their local communities. Although none of the businesses identified growth as a motivating factor, each enjoyed economic benefits as a result of their pro-environmental behaviour.

Research limitations/implications

– As a small-scale study of eight atypical firms, the findings cannot be readily generalised. Rather, they provide insight to how eco innovation can address both the environmental and the economic.

Practical implications

– The findings may be useful for those wishing to encourage pro-environmental behaviours and eco innovation among rural SMEs.

Originality/value

– The paper contributes to the currently limited literature on how and why SMEs are implementing pro-environmental practice, and also in relation to greener operational practice and business growth.
Resource flexibility for lean manufacturing: SAP-LAP analysis of a case study
Authors: Chauhan Gulshan , Singh T.P.
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Manufacturing industry is under pressure to improve productivity and reducing costs through minimization of wastage of resources. This paper aims to present case study of an automobile component manufacturing company to implement lean manufacturing through resource flexibility and also demonstrate the various areas of future scope for improving lean manufacturing.

Design/methodology/approach

– The case study has been conducted using the flexible system methodology framework. For measuring resource (labor and machine) flexibility and lean manufacturing, various parameters contributing towards labor flexibility, machine flexibility and lean manufacturing are identified. To determine their relative weights, analytical hierarchy process has been employed. A specially designed questionnaire is used to collect the information during case study on different aspects of resource flexibility and lean manufacturing. SAP-LAP analysis has also been carried out, to look into the ways the company is building up resource flexibility and lean manufacturing.

Findings

– Although all parameters of labor flexibility contribute towards overall labor flexibility but ability of workers to work on different machines has the maximum impact of 35.16 percent. Ability of machines to perform diverse set of operations has maximum contribution of 40.38 percent towards machine flexibility. Similarly elimination of waste is 35.15 percent responsible for lean manufacturing implementation. There is also a huge scope to achieve higher degree of lean manufacturing by implementing zero defects, changing attitude towards change and installing flexible machines. It is inferred that 76.2 percent of lean manufacturing is endorsed by resource flexibility.

Research limitations/implications

– The present study includes only labor and machines as the elements of resource flexibility. Other resources may also be included to compute overall resource flexibility.

Practical implications

– The present study provides guidelines to assess the status of resource flexibility and lean manufacturing. According to conclusions, feeble areas in the manufacturing system can be identified and a suitable course of action might be planned for the improvement. Hopefully this study will help the firm's management to identify the problems to manage resource flexibility and implement an effective lean manufacturing.

Originality/value

– In this work, the theoretical perspective has been used not only to update the original instrument, but also to study the subject from a perspective beyond that usually associated with resource flexibility and lean manufacturing.
Lean supply chain practices in the Halal food
Authors: Manzouri Malihe , Nizam Ab Rahman Mohd , Saibani Nizaroyani , Rosmawati Che Mohd Zain Che
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This study aims to assess the possibility of implementing lean practices in the Halal food supply chain, and the barriers to their implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

– A survey was used to identify the perceived issues and attitudes towards implementing lean practices in the supply chain. The questionnaire was distributed to 300 Halal food firms in Malaysia. A total of 61 usable replies were received.

Findings

– More than 70 percent of the firms reported that lean supply chain (LSC) has not yet been implemented in their firm. Data analysis shows that 14 percent of non-lean firms urgently need to implement lean manufacturing. Market competition and uncertainty was highlighted as an important barrier in implementing LSC among lean firms. In contrast, lack of customer awareness of LSCM practices was recognised as a major barrier in non-lean firms.

Originality/value

– There is little documentation regarding the status of LSC implementation in the Halal food industries, and therefore identifying the necessity of its implementation and the important impediments was identified as a gap in the existing literature. This paper provides insightful information on the necessity of implementing lean manufacturing practices in Halal food supply chains.
Mentoring frameworks: synthesis and critique
Authors: Dominguez Nora , Hager Mark
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to present a synthesis of the origins and theoretical frameworks of adult mentoring practices in educational and workplace settings along with an analysis and critique of their application to mentoring processes.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors systematically analyzed books and articles published in peer-reviewed journals from 1978 to 2012 using qualitative meta-summary and qualitative meta-synthesis methodological approaches.

Findings

– This systematic review of the literature resulted first, in an organized, historical framework of theories of adult mentoring in academic and workplace and educational contexts from 1978 to 2012. Second, it provided information regarding the recognized challenges in traditional mentoring endeavors that led to the more expansive concept of developmental networks and participation in communities of practice. Third, it served as a foundation for a critique of the theories as applied to mentoring relationships and programs.

Practical implications

– The paper provides the theoretical foundation for future empirical work in the field of adult mentoring in educational and workplace settings.

Originality/value

– This paper is the first to condense the vast theoretical frameworks that inform the field of adult mentoring in the twenty-first century.
Technology's role in fostering transformational educator mentoring
Authors: J. Butler Aaron , S. Whiteman Rodney , M. Crow Gary
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to expand the current conversation on and research into the potential use of technology as a means of transforming mentoring processes and those engaged in them. The authors examine the manner in which technology is being integrated into mentoring endeavors and the advantages and disadvantages of this tool, arguing that the particular attributes of e-mentoring make it an ideal platform for enhancing mentoring processes and outcomes through the use of new mentoring perspectives. They describe a specific mentoring perspective that could be adopted as a means of critically examining some of the opportunities and challenges of using technology as a tool for transformational mentoring, with an emphasis on mentoring in educational environments.

Design/methodology/approach

– This conceptual paper uses a constructionist perspective to mentoring as a lens to examine how technology influences the mentoring process and investigates the implications of transformational e-mentoring for educational professionals.

Findings

– The paper contends that e-mentoring may extend mentoring's horizons to include increasingly broad and diverse constellations of mentors for protégés. With proper guidance, the relationships made possible through e-mentoring can fulfill many mentoring functions and transform both mentors and protégés as they learn from one other.

Research limitations/implications

– Other than descriptions of mentoring programs that use technological tools, very little research on the outcomes of e-mentoring is available. The paper calls for a greater focus on the outcomes of e-mentoring in future research.

Practical implications

– The paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of e-mentoring, presents recommendations for using new technologies to enhance mentoring programs in education and argues for the need to reconsider the purposes and structures of such programs.

Originality/value

– The paper lays the groundwork for a better understanding of technology's role in mentoring in today's complex, rapidly changing knowledge society.
Does design matter? Affordance perspective on smartphone usage
Authors: Tsai Jo-Peng , Ho Chin-Fu
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The aim of this research is to propose a new prospective and methodology to explore how design affordance affects smartphone usage with a contextual approach to investigating the relationship among design features, functional affordance, descriptive beliefs, and inferential beliefs.

Design/methodology/approach

– This research was conducted in two phases to explore the effect of design affordance on adoption of smartphone. In the first phase, the paper investigated how smartphone's innovative design features afford user's functional perception. Subsequently, two affordance-based beliefs – intuition and diversity – were elicited from the design features of smartphone's user interface. In the second phase, a theoretical model was developed and empirically assessed for exploring the effects of the elicited affordance-based variables along with the innovation diffusion theory (IDT) variables on smartphone adoption.

Findings

– Results show that the diversity has significant positive effect on both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of smartphone usage. However, the effect of intuition is significant on perceived ease of use but not on perceived usefulness. Of the IDT variables, only relative advantage is statistically significant for attitudes.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper only focused on exploring some innovative design features and associated affordances for smartphone adoption. Other design features should be taken into consideration in future research.

Practical implications

– The result of this research implies that managers or designers should take advantage of the current advanced technology to develop diverse and intuitive design features on smartphone for attracting user's attention and affection.

Originality/value

– There is a contradiction in prior studies concerning the explanations for the causes of ICT artifact adoption while preserving both the generalizability of TAM model and the accuracy and salience to practice. This research contributes a new vision and methodology to explain what and how innovative design features influence user's attitudes towards smartphone usage from the affordance perspective.
Financing through cash-waqf: a revitalization to finance different needs
Authors: Ismail Abdel Mohsin Magda
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Recently the revival of the institution of waqf took a movable form especially in terms of the creation of cash waqf which found its ways as one of the financial institutions financing different goods and services in the different countries. In an attempt to enrich the literature on this area, this study is an extension to the authors' work, focusing mainly on the different goods and services provided by different cash waqf schemes in Muslim and Muslim minority countries without depending on the government to provide their needs. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study uses data collected from primary sources including text from the Hadith, while data collected from secondary sources include books, articles, journals besides web sites and e-books.

Findings

– The findings show the potential of cash waqf in financing not only religious areas but also financing different goods and services needed globally, such as education, health, social care and commercial activates, basic infrastructures, besides opening jobs for the majority of people.

Practical implications

– The expected outcome of this research is to open the door wider for more researchers to explore the potential of cash waqf as one of the instruments to finance all sectors in Muslim and Muslim minority countries without exhausting government budget.

Originality/value

– A revitalization of an old Islamic financial product to meet the different needs.
Dissemination of knowledge and copyright: an historical case study
Authors: Volpe Tony , Schopfel Joachim
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Does copyright protection reduce or foster intellectual and industrial creation? Based on a case study from history of science, the aim is to provide more controversial evidence to this debate.

Design/methodology/approach

– The investigation used primary and secondary sources from the history of science and made the link to the actual debate on copyright, piracy and scientific communication.

Findings

– The paper describes how Elzevier, through non-authorized exploitation of a new product and without consideration of the editor's legitimate interests, in a context of missing copyright protection, largely contributed to the dissemination of the FrenchJournal de Savantsand its content, and finally to the success of scientific journals. Obviously, rights infringement can not only promote the interest and objective of the rights holder but also and above all contribute to the emergence and development of new forms of scientific life. Sometimes, when barriers to communication and debate are too strong, tolerated and calculated infringement may be an option to move the lines/change the situation.

Research limitations/implications

– In the post-Gutenberg galaxy, made up of open access, common goods and public domain, open data and e-Science, evaluation, innovation, sustainability, communication and sharing, copyright is not necessarily the (only) option to develop scientific communication. At least, the authors have to study lessons from academic publishing, copyright protection and piracy very carefully.

Originality/value

– The paper sheds light on a surprising and not very well-known part of the history of academic publishing.
Knowledge loss when older experts leave knowledge-intensive organisations
Authors: Joe Carmel , Yoong Pak , Patel Kapila
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to describe different concepts of valuable knowledge that are perceived to be lost when an older expert departs from a knowledge-intensive organisation.

Design/methodology/approach

– A multiple case research methodology and semi-structured interviews involving 17 participants from five small-to-medium enterprises (SME).

Findings

– Five concepts of valuable knowledge have emerged from the interviews: subject matter expertise; knowledge about business relationships and social networks; organisational knowledge and institutional memory; knowledge of business systems, processes and value chains; and knowledge of governance.

Research limitations/implications

– The scope of the research project is restricted to SMEs in New Zealand and this restriction limits the generalisation of the results to other contexts. This study may serve as a starting point for future investigations including larger organisations that may have a greater number of older experts.

Practical implications

– By identifying the different types of older experts' knowledge, organisations are able to realise the potential of retaining that knowledge within the organisation.

Originality/value

– This is one of the first investigations of the knowledge that older experts in the professional services industry possess within a small-to-medium enterprise context.
Designing a scientific social network site based on a conceptual methodology
Authors: Serajian Mina , Akhgar Babak
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– There exist large gaps in research about social networking services, for example in their development. Most of these networks lack any scientific or engineered base in their designing and developing processes. In this paper, a holistic model will be described for the development of social network sites and parts of a scientific social network (SSN) will be developed using it. Users of this site are faculties, students and R&D personnel of a university or an enterprise. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– In this paper, a SSN site is designed along with a brief description of a social network site development methodology. The structure of methodology is based on conceptual template for the construction of a methodology. Using this methodology, a group of 50 users (from all three types of end-users) have been chosen to be interviewed about their expectations from the mentioned site.

Findings

– Based on the interview, it was discovered that their view about social networks is inflexible and they do not have any new visions about functionalities of these networks. Their emphasis was mostly on exchanging and sharing role of this site. Design and development of social network sites based on the proposed methodology is easily understandable because of using state machine notations.

Originality/value

– The innovation of this study is to propose a soft model for social network sites design based on these site's special specifications and regarding differences of them with other regular ones. This can pave the way for investors of such sites for setting up distinct social sites with new functionalities in an innovative approach.
Hospitality management: a guide to key reference works
Authors: Bottorff Tim
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This paper aims to provide an overview of the field of hospitality management and a guide to the major books, databases, web sites, and other resources that comprise a quality hospitality management reference collection.

Design/methodology/approach

– Following a short introduction and overview, key sources and annotations are presented in categories that will help reference and collection librarians to better understand and serve hospitality management students. The sources were identified through the author's experience, library research guides and web sites, bibliographies, and other standard sources.

Findings

– Hospitality management is growing and maturing as an academic discipline, aided by the fact that the field offers good job prospects. The key sources pertaining to hospitality management are scattered among several different industry sectors, including food and beverage, lodging, meetings and special events, travel and tourism, and theme parks and attractions.

Originality/value

– This paper is the first to systematically identify key reference works for the field of hospitality management. It will be useful for librarians who work with business, culinary arts, hospitality management, or related fields.
Vulval cancer incidence, mortality and survival in England: age‐related trends
Authors: Lai J , Elleray R , Nordin A , Hirschowitz L , Rous B , Gildea C , Poole J
Published: October 2013

Objective

To explore the trends and age characteristics of vulval cancer incidence, mortality, survival and stage of disease.

Design

Retrospective population‐based observational study based on cancer registry and Office for National Statistics data.

Setting

England.

Population

All women diagnosed with vulval cancer, defined by the site of the tumour (ICD‐10 code C51).

Methods

Including all C51 cases, Poisson regression was used to test for trends in incidence and mortality rates, and generalised linear modelling was used to test for trends in relative survival. Excluding women with melanomas, basal cell carcinomas and Paget disease, stage was investigated as a percentage of staged data by age.

Main outcome measures

Age‐standardised incidence and mortality rates, relative survival rates and stage of disease at diagnosis.

Results

From 1990, there was a statistically significant increase in overall incidence (P = 0.018) and decrease in mortality (P < 0.001). In addition, there were statistically significant increases in overall survival (1‐year, P < 0.001; 5‐year, P < 0.001). However, from 1990, incidence increased in women aged 20–39 years (P = 0.002), 40–49 and 50–59 years (both P < 0.001) and 60–69 years (P = 0.030) and decreased in women aged 80 years and above (P < 0.001). There were statistically significant decreases in mortality in women aged ≥60 years (P < 0.001), and statistically significant increases in 1‐year survival in women aged ≥40 years (P ≤ 0.047) and in 5‐year survival in women aged 40–49 and ≥60 years (P ≤ 0.011). Stage patterns by age highlight diagnosis at an earlier stage in younger women and more advanced stage diagnosis in older women.

Conclusion

Survival from vulval cancer has improved and mortality has decreased since 1990. The overall incidence of disease has increased as a result of more new diagnoses in the under 70‐year age group.
The impact of information and familiarity on public attitudes toward the eastern hellbender
Authors: Reimer A. , Mase A. , Mulvaney K. , Mullendore N. , Perry‐Hill R. , Prokopy L.
Published: October 2013

Despite their ecological significance, rare and uncharismatic but threatened species are less often the focus of research and conservation efforts than more familiar and charismatic threatened species. The eastern hellbender, a salamander threatened by human activities, is believed to be negatively perceived by or unknown to the general public. Through a survey of 541 (response rate 40.1%) residents in southern Indiana, this study assessed public familiarity and attitudes toward the hellbender. Overall attitudes were found to be relatively neutral. There were significant differences between the attitudes of respondents who were familiar with hellbenders compared to those who were not familiar, with familiar respondents reporting more positive attitudes overall. Providing survey respondents with just a small amount of additional information about the rarity and locality of the hellbender resulted in more positive attitudes toward this species. Respondents who were unfamiliar with the hellbender expressed significantly more positive attitudes when given the additional information, while the attitudes of respondents familiar with hellbenders were more established and remained stable despite the additional information. The measurement instruments and findings from this study could inform future efforts to protect little‐known and threatened species by identifying attitudes and beliefs for social interventions to address.
Exact Simultaneous Confidence Bands for Quadratic and Cubic Polynomial Regression with Applications in Dose Response Study
Authors: Liu Wei , Zhou Sanyu , Bretz Frank
Published: October 2013

Exact simultaneous confidence bands (SCBs) for a polynomial regression model are available only in some special situations. In this paper, simultaneous confidence levels for both hyperbolic and constant width bands for a polynomial function over a given interval are expressed as multidimensional integrals. The dimension of these integrals is equal to the degree of the polynomial. Hence the values can be calculated quickly and accurately via numerical quadrature provided that the degree of the polynomial is small (e.g. 2 or 3). This allows the construction of exact SCBs for quadratic and cubic regression functions over any given interval and for any given design matrix. Quadratic and cubic regressions are frequently used to characterise dose response relationships in addition to many other applications. Comparison between the hyperbolic and constant width bands under both the average width and minimum volume confidence set criteria shows that the constant width band can be much less efficient than the hyperbolic band. For hyperbolic bands, comparison between the exact critical constant and conservative or approximate critical constants indicates that the exact critical constant can be substantially smaller than the conservative or approximate critical constants. Numerical examples from a dose response study are used to illustrate the methods.
Porous Titanium‐6 Aluminum‐4 Vanadium Cage Has Better Osseointegration and Less Micromotion Than a Poly‐Ether‐Ether‐Ketone Cage in Sheep Vertebral Fusion
Authors: Wu Su‐Hua , Li Yi , Zhang Yong‐Quan , Li Xiao‐Kang , Yuan Chao‐Fan , Hao Yu‐Lin , Zhang Zhi‐Yong , Guo Zheng
Published: October 2013

Interbody fusion cages made of poly‐ether‐ether‐ketone (PEEK) have been widely used in clinics for spinal disorders treatment; however, they do not integrate well with surrounding bone tissue. Ti‐6Al‐4V (Ti) has demonstrated greater osteoconductivity than PEEK, but the traditional Ti cage is generally limited by its much greater elastic modulus (110 GPa) than natural bone (0.05–30 GPa). In this study, we developed a porous Ti cage using electron beam melting (EBM) technique to reduce its elastic modulus and compared its spinal fusion efficacy with a PEEK cage in a preclinical sheep anterior cervical fusion model. A porous Ti cage possesses a fully interconnected porous structure (porosity: 68 ± 5.3%; pore size: 710 ± 42 μm) and a similar Young's modulus as natural bone (2.5 ± 0.2 GPa). When implanted in vivo, the porous Ti cage promoted fast bone ingrowth, achieving similar bone volume fraction at 6 months as the PEEK cage without autograft transplantation. Moreover, it promoted better osteointegration with higher degree (2‐10x) of bone‐material binding, demonstrated by histomorphometrical analysis, and significantly higher mechanical stability (P < 0.01), shown by biomechanical testing. The porous Ti cage fabricated by EBM could achieve fast bone ingrowth. In addition, it had better osseointegration and superior mechanical stability than the conventional PEEK cage, demonstrating great potential for clinical application.
Nocturnal blood pressure non‐dipping is prevalent in severely obese, prepubertal and early pubertal children
Authors: Westerståhl M , Hedvall Kallerman P , Hagman E , Ek A E , Rössner S M , Marcus C
Published: October 2013

Aim

To investigate the prevalence of nocturnal blood pressure dipping among obese prepubertal and early pubertal children and to analyse the relationship between dipping and measures of insulin‐glucose metabolism or sleep‐disordered breathing.

Methods

We studied 76 obese children (41% girls) under clinical care, with an average age of 10.4 ± 1.7 and a body mass index Z‐score (BMI Z‐score) of 6.2 ± 1.6. We performed a 24‐h ambulatory blood pressure measurement. Non‐dipping was defined as a nocturnal blood pressure reduction of <10%. We calculated measures of insulin‐glucose metabolism from the performed frequently sampled intravenous glucose‐tolerance test and from fasting blood samples. Overnight sleep polygraph recordings were performed to assess sleep‐disordered breathing.

Results

Forty‐two percent of the children were systolic non‐dippers, and 17% were diastolic non‐dippers. There were no associations between systolic or diastolic dipping and measures of insulin‐glucose metabolism after adjustments for BMI Z‐score, gender and pubertal status. There were no associations between dipping and measures of sleep‐disordered breathing.

Conclusion

Nocturnal non‐dipping was two times higher among severely obese, prepubertal and early pubertal children, compared to previous reports among children in general. There were no associations between nocturnal dipping and insulin‐glucose metabolism or measures of sleep‐disordered breathing in this group.
Design, Synthesis and Bioevaluation of Novel N‐Substituted‐3,5‐Bis(Arylidene)‐4‐piperidone Derivatives as Cytotoxic and Antitumor Agents with Fluorescent Properties
Authors: Sun Jufeng , Zhang Shuping , Yu Chen , Hou Guige , Zhang Xiaofan , Li Keke , Zhao Feng
Published: October 2013

Ten new N‐substituted‐3,5‐bis(arylidene)‐4‐piperidone derivatives (series 1 and 2) were synthesized and subsequently evaluated against human carcinoma cell lines SW1990, MIA PaCa‐2, PG‐BE1, NCI‐H460, and SK‐BR‐3 for cytotoxic activity by the CCK‐8 method, and their fluorescent properties were investigated as well. The compounds were confirmed to display greater cytotoxic activity to the neoplastic cells, and approximately 50% of the IC50 values were lower than 5 μm. In particular, compounds 1a, 1c, 1d, and 1e bearing 3‐bromophenyl groups were revealed as the most active antitumor drug candidates and had the average IC50 values of 1.94, 1.11, 1.16, and 0.817 μm, respectively. Furthermore, their fluorescent properties were interesting and might contribute to the visualization of their distribution in tumor cells. Some possible reasons for the disparity between cytotoxic activity and fluorescent properties in the two series of compounds were explored. This study revealed high potential of these molecules for further development as fluorescent cytotoxic and antitumor agents.
Walking the talk. Implementation of transitional care guidance in a UK paediatric and a neighbouring adult facility
Authors: Shaw K. L. , Watanabe A. , Rankin E. , McDonagh J. E.
Published: October 2013

Objectives

To examine the quality of transitional care in a paediatric and adult hospital by investigating (i) adherence to national transition guidance and (ii) whether implementation is associated with better patient/carer experiences.

Methods

A cross‐sectional study was conducted in a UK paediatric hospital (PH) and neighbouring adult hospital. Clinics completed a questionnaire to determine characteristics of their transitional care provision and invited patients aged 11–21 years and parents/carers to complete a questionnaire (‘Mind the Gap’) to assess their satisfaction.

Results

Twenty‐three clinics participated. Fourteen (70%) reported delivering a transition programme, but only 5 (25%) indicated this was holistic (addressing medical, psychosocial and vocational issues). Participants included 457 young people and 330 parents, 71% and 88% respectively attending the PH. Ratings of current care were significantly lower than ratings of best care. These ‘gap’ scores were not excessive, although some participants were very dissatisfied. Better satisfaction was associated with attending clinics that provided transitional care, especially when defined as ‘holistic’ and youth‐friendly.

Conclusions

Transition programmes that adhere to current guidance are associated with better satisfaction, but variations in provision suggest barriers to implementation. Attention is required to how youth‐friendly transitional care is defined with particular reference to the specific clinic model.
Growing up with cerebral palsy: perceptions of the influence of family
Authors: Freeborn D. , Knafl K.
Published: October 2013

Background

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a non‐progressive condition present from birth or infancy that includes various neurological patterns of dysfunction. It is characterized by abnormal motor control and/or posture and can involve communication difficulties. Children and youth with CP face multiple social and developmental challenges during their formative years including mild to severe physical limitations, poor socialization, limited recreational activities, and stigmatization. Families play a key role in supporting adaptation to CP. The purpose of this paper was to explore women's perceptions of the ways their families contributed to their overall quality of life with CP.

Methods

Drawing on data from a qualitative study of eight women with CP, the purpose of this analysis was to examine perceptions of the ways in which their families and individual family members contributed to participants' overall quality of life and adaptation to CP. Respondents ranged in age from 22 years to 55 years and had varied forms of CP. The study was based on a feminist biographical approach, which combines biographical methods with feminist principles.

Results

Participants provided considerable, rich contextual data on their family life and the pivotal role family played. The analysis identified four themes related to supportive family roles: (1) being an advocate, and teaching advocacy; (2) promoting inclusion and acceptance; (3) integrating therapy into daily life; and (4) the importance of siblings as friends and mentors.

Conclusions

Health‐care providers can contribute to the family's ability to facilitate quality of life by providing guidance on how to be advocates and teach advocacy, including the child with CP in family activities, accessing therapy and incorporating beneficial therapies at home, and promoting healthy sibling relationships.
The challenges, advantages and future of phenome‐wide association studies
Authors: Hebbring Scott J.
Published: October 2013

Over the last decade, significant technological breakthroughs have revolutionized human genomic research in the form of genome‐wide association studies (GWASs). GWASs have identified thousands of statistically significant genetic variants associated with hundreds of human conditions including many with immunological aetiologies (e.g. multiple sclerosis, ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis). Unfortunately, most GWASs fail to identify clinically significant associations. Identifying biologically significant variants by GWAS also presents a challenge. The GWAS is a phenotype‐to‐genotype approach. As a complementary/alternative approach to the GWAS, investigators have begun to exploit extensive electronic medical record systems to conduct a genotype‐to‐phenotype approach when studying human disease – specifically, the phenome‐wide association study (PheWAS). Although the PheWAS approach is in its infancy, this method has already demonstrated its capacity to rediscover important genetic associations related to immunological diseases/conditions. Furthermore, PheWAS has the advantage of identifying genetic variants with pleiotropic properties. This is particularly relevant for HLA variants. For example, PheWAS results have demonstrated that the HLA‐DRB1 variant associated with multiple sclerosis may also be associated with erythematous conditions including rosacea. Likewise, PheWAS has demonstrated that the HLA‐B genotype is not only associated with spondylopathies, uveitis, and variability in platelet count, but may also play an important role in other conditions, such as mastoiditis. This review will discuss and compare general PheWAS methodologies, describe both the challenges and advantages of the PheWAS, and provide insight into the potential directions in which PheWAS may lead.
Pioglitazone and metformin are equally effective in reduction of chemerin in patients with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Esteghamati Alireza , Ghasemiesfe Mehrnaz , Mousavizadeh Mostafa , Noshad Sina , Nakhjavani Manouchehr
Published: October 2013

Aims/Introduction

Chemerin, a novel member of the family of adipocytokines, has been shown to be associated with insulin resistance, as well as micro‐ and macrovascular complications of diabetes. We investigated the effects of pioglitazone and metformin, two commonly prescribed antidiabetic agents, on the reduction of serum chemerin concentrations.

Materials and Methods

In an open‐labeled randomized clinical trial, 81 patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes who were not taking antidiabetic medications were recruited. Patients were randomly assigned to either pioglitazone 30 mg daily or metformin 1,000 mg daily. Serum chemerin concentrations, indices of glycemic control, serum lipids concentrations, and anthropometric parameters were measured at baseline and after 3 months.

Results

Pioglitazone and metformin did not alter waist circumference, weight or body mass index after 3 months. In contrast, all indices of glycemia and insulin resistance improved substantially after 3 months’ treatment with both medications (P < 0.01 in all analyses). There was a significant decrease in chemerin concentrations after 3 months in the pioglitazone group (P = 0.008). Similarly, metformin caused a significant drop in chemerin concentrations at week 12 (P = 0.015). When compared, metformin and pioglitazone proved to be equally effective in the alleviation of chemerin concentrations (P = 0.895, effect size: 0.1%).

Conclusions

The present findings show that pioglitazone and metformin have comparable efficacy on serum chemerin concentrations, albeit through different mechanisms. Future studies need to focus on the clinical implications of lowered chemerin concentration on improvement of diabetes complications. This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (no. NCT01593371).
The Endocrown: An Alternative Approach for Restoring Extensively Damaged Molars
Authors: Biacchi Gislaine Rosa , Mello Beatriz , Basting Roberta Tarkany
Published: October 2013

Endocrown‐type restorations are single prostheses fabricated from reinforced ceramics that can be acid etched, indicated for endodontically treated molar teeth that have significant loss of coronal structure. Endocrowns are formed from a monoblock containing the coronal portion integrated into the apical projection that fills the pulp chamber space, and possibly the root canal entrances. In this study, the proposal was to discuss the indication and use of the endocrown to replace single crowns with intraradicular retention, and to present a clinical case report on the 3‐year follow‐up of an endocrown‐type restoration, fabricated from injected lithium disilicate ceramic (IPS e.Max Press/Ivoclar Vivadent) in a mandibular first molar with extensive coronal destruction from fracture. It was found that endocrown restorations could be made following the development of reinforced ceramics that can be acid etched, that have aggregate strength and esthetics, that bond to the dental structure, and that have developed from broader knowledge of the biomechanical behavior of depulped teeth restored with and without intraradicular posts. Clinical studies have shown that the endocrown has functional longevity, and has become a promising alternative in the esthetic and functional recovery of endodontically treated molar teeth.

Clinical Significance

It should be borne in mind that endocrowns offer advantages for the restoration of depulped molar teeth, insofar as they promote adequate function and offer adequate esthetics, and also maintain the biomechanical integrity of the compromised structure of non‐vital posterior teeth. By eliminating the use of a post and filling core, the number of adhesive bond interfaces is reduced, thus making the restoration less susceptible to the adverse effects of degradation of the hybrid layer. In this clinical case, the 3‐year survival of the endocrown restoration may be considered successful.
Schmidingerothrix salinarum nov. spec. is the Molecular Sister of the Large Oxytrichid Clade (Ciliophora, Hypotricha)
Authors: Foissner Wilhelm , Filker Sabine , Stoeck Thorsten
Published: October 2013

In 2012, Foissner described a curious hypotrich: Schmidingerothrix extraordinaria. This ciliate, which he discovered in hypersaline soils (~100‰) from Namibia, had a frayed buccal lip, three‐rowed adoral membranelles, only one frontal cirrus, and a miniaturized first frontal membranelle, while a paroral membrane, dorsal bristle rows and buccal, transverse and caudal cirri were absent. All opisthe structures developed de novo, while parental structures were involved in the proter. When Foissner's study became available, we discovered a similar species in a Portuguese solar saltern, differing from S. extraordinaria mainly by the number of frontoventral cirral rows (3 vs. 1). Furthermore, parental structures were involved in the ontogenesis of both proter and opisthe. The small subunit (SSU) rDNA shows Schmidingerothrix as sister of a large clade containing most classical oxytrichids (e.g. Sterkiella, Oxytricha, Steinia) and many related taxa (e.g. Pattersoniella, Bistichella, Uroleptus). This clade shows a bifurcation named “Oxytricha subclade” and “Uroleptus subclade”. Foissner () interpreted the peculiarities of Schmidingerothrix as a reduction caused by the extreme habitat. However, the molecular data do not exclude that Schmidingerothrix presents an ancient state. A morphology‐based scheme is presented, showing how the subclades might have evolved from a Schmidingerothrix‐like ancestor.
Extragonadal omental teratoma: A case report
Authors: Hegde Prashanth
Published: October 2013

Mature cystic teratomas or dermoid cysts are among the most common ovarian tumors; however, teratomas of extragonadal origin are extremely rare. The most common extragonadal site of these teratomas is the omentum. It is generally accepted that teratomas arise from germ cells that originate in the mature gonads. Of the three proposed causes of omental teratoma, auto‐amputation and subsequent re‐implantation of gonadal teratoma is the most likely preceding event. A review of the published reports reveals that only 31 cases of teratoma of the greater omentum have been published to date and three cases reported wherein omental teratoma and dermoid of the ovary were coexisting. We report a rare case of an omental teratoma in a 26‐year‐old woman who underwent ovarian cystectomy for dermoid cyst. This is the fourth case of an omental mature teratoma with coexisting ovarian dermoid cyst.
Triple simultaneous primary invasive gynecological malignancies: A case report
Authors: Takatori Eriko , Shoji Tadahiro , Miura Yuki , Takeuchi Satoshi , Uesugi Noriyuki , Sugiyama Toru
Published: October 2013

Double gynecologic cancer (primary cancers in two organs) is relatively rare. However, triple gynecologic cancer (primary cancers in three organs) is extremely rare. We experienced a case of triple cancer, with primary cervical, endometrial and ovarian cancers, each showing different histopathological features. A 50‐year‐old woman with a preoperative diagnosis of cervical cancer stage Ib1 with a pathological diagnosis of mucinous adenocarcinoma underwent radical hysterectomy. The pathological diagnoses of the extracted masses were endometrioid adenocarcinoma in the uterine corpus and serous adenocarcinoma in the left ovary. Consequently, triple cancer was diagnosed. After the operation, six cycles of a paclitaxel/carboplatin regimen were administered, and no relapse of the cancers has been observed to date. To our knowledge, this is only the second case report in the international literature of concurrent gynecologic triple cancers of epithelial origin; that is, invasive cervical, endometrial and ovarian cancers, each with different histopathological features.