bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
SEC proposes large trader reporting system
Authors: Sacks Russell D. , Blankenship Michael J.
Published: September 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the Securities and Exchange Commission's recently proposed new rules to establish a large trading reporting system.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides an overview of the new Rule 13h‐1, which, if adopted, would require large traders to identify themselves to the SEC and to be issued a “Large Trader Identification Number”. It outlines the proposed definition of a large trader and describes how a large trader would report itself to the SEC and the broker‐dealers it uses to effect trades using a new Form 13H. The paper also provides detailed guidance to broker‐dealers regarding their books and records obligations under the proposed rule.

Findings

The proposed new rule and form are intended to provide the SEC with data to facilitate its ability to assess the impact of the trading activity, to reconstruct trading activity following periods of unusual market volatility, and to analyze significant market events for regulatory purposes. Registered broker‐dealers would also be under an obligation to maintain records of transactions effected in accounts identified to it as large trader accounts; electronically report large trader transaction information to the SEC upon request; and monitor compliance with the new rule.

Originality/value

The paper provides practical guidance from experienced securities lawyers regarding an important proposed change.
SEC adopts amendments to regulation SHO
Authors: Forbes Jessica , Gnall Gregory P. , Lombardo Christine M.
Published: September 2010

Purpose

This paper aims to explain the SEC's new Rule 201 and amended Rule 200(g), which are designed to improve the regulations that address harmful shortselling practices.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper summarizes Rule 201, discusses the reasoning behind the “alternative uptick rule”, defines “covered securities” to which Rule 201 applies, explains why the commission chose the national best bid as the basis of the execution of short sales during the circuit breaker period, discusses the SEC's policies and procedures approach, explains conditions under which a broker‐dealer submitting a short‐sale order after the circuit breaker is triggered submitting a short sale order after the circuit breaker is triggered may mark the order “short exempt,” explains the reason an exception for market making activities is not included in the rule, and discusses the implementation period and the need for broker‐dealers to develop new policies and procedures.

Findings

Broker‐dealers and other market centers will need to dedicate significant compliance and systems resources to develop the policies and procedures and systems enhancements necessary to comply with the rule.

Originality/value

The paper provides practical guidance from experienced securities lawyers.
FINRA proposes to require registration of back office and operations personnel
Authors: Weissmann Michael R. , Tyrrell Paul M.
Published: September 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explain FINRA's proposed new registration category, qualification examination, and continuing education requirements for certain back office and operations personnel, as published in Regulatory Notice 10‐25, which would add an addendum to proposed Rule 1230.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper explains the background to the proposed rule, who “covered persons” are, what “covered functions” are, the purpose and content of the new qualification examination, exceptions to that examination, continuing educational requirements for operations professionals, and the proposed timing of the new requirements.

Findings

FINRA believes that licensing and education requirements for certain operations personnel are needed to help ensure that investor protection mechanisms are in place in all areas of a member firm's business that could harm a customer, a firm, the integrity of the marketplace or the public.

Practical implications

The breadth of the proposed rule will likely require firms to register significant numbers of back office and operations personnel who currently, under existing rules, are not required to be registered.

Originality/value

The paper provides practical guidance from experienced broker‐dealer lawyers.
Summary of selected FINRA regulatory notices April‐June 2010
Authors: Davis Henry A.
Published: September 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this summary is to provide excerpts of selected Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Regulatory Notices and Disciplinary Actions issued in April, May, and June 2010.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides excerpts from FINRA Regulatory Notice 10‐18, Master Accounts and Sub‐Accounts; 10‐22, Regulation D Offerings; 10‐23, Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE); 10‐24, Trade Reporting; 10‐27, Customer Complaint Reporting; and 10‐30, Trading‐Pause Pilot Program; provides summaries of selected disciplinary actions.

Findings

(10‐18) If a firm has notice that the sub‐accounts of a master account have different beneficial ownership (but does not know the identities of the beneficial owners) or the firm is privy to facts and/or circumstances that would reasonably raise the issue as to whether the sub‐accounts, in fact, may have separate beneficial owners, then the firm must inquire further and satisfy itself as to the beneficial ownership of each such sub‐account. (10‐22) A broker‐dealer has a duty – enforceable under federal securities laws and FINRA rules – to conduct a reasonable investigation of securities that it recommends, including those sold in a Regulation D offering. (10‐23) On February 22, 2010, the SEC approved the second major proposed expansion of TRACE to include Asset‐backed Securities as TRACE‐Eligible Securities, to require the reporting of Asset‐backed Securities transactions and to establish reporting fees. (10‐27) Starting on July 1, 2010, the beginning of the third calendar quarter, firms must use revised and new product codes to report statistical information regarding written customer complaints relating to annuities and life settlement products. (10‐30) On June 10, 2010, FINRA began a pilot program in which it will halt trading otherwise than on an exchange with respect to securities included in the S&P 500® Index where the primary listing market has issued a trading pause due to extraordinary market volatility. Selected disciplinary actions: FINRA announced that it has settled charges with two additional firms relating to the sale of auction rate securities (ARS) that became illiquid when auctions froze in February 2008. FINRA announced that it has fined five broker‐dealers a total of $385,000 for the illegal sale of more than 8 billion shares of penny stock on behalf of their customers.

Originality/value

These are direct excerpts designed to provide a useful digest for the reader and an indication of regulatory trends. The FINRA staff is aware of this summary but has neither reviewed nor edited it. For further detail as well as other useful information, the reader should visit www.finra.org.
Determinants of all‐inclusive travel expenditure
Authors: Anderson Wineaster
Published: September 2010

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the determinants of the expenditure for the all‐inclusive (AI) package tourists.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a visitor exit‐survey, a total of 843 all‐inclusive tourists visiting the Balearic Islands were involved. Then, a least square regression model was estimated, with the two dependent variables (logarithm of average daily expenditure in the country of origin and logarithm of average daily expenditure in the destination) while sharing the same explanatory variables (visitor and travelling attributes) to determine the variables which are more associated with the respective expenditure category.

Findings

It was found that the presence of the AI holiday experience at the destination as well as visitor and traveling attributes, were the important contributing determinants of expenditure either at home or destination economies. Noticeably, the tourist who could have visited the Balearics even in the absence of the AI holidays has spent more money compared to the tourist who could not have visited the destination. This implies that the kind of the customers the AI tourism tries to attract have the least economic contribution.

Practical implications

Expenditure patterns are always important element for tour organizers and marketers when planning, designing and delivering their products. With the intention of maximizing the tourism benefits the destination management could focus on the variables which have positive impact on the expenditure with the aim of capturing the consumer surplus which is central element of the economy. The study gives the insights.

Originality/value

While the determinants of tourism expenditure have been widely studied in tourism literature little is still known on the same determinants for the specific tourism segments like the all‐inclusive tourism. It is niches or segments that make up the total tourism market; unfortunately most researches focus on the total market while ignoring its niches. This study is an effort to focus on individual tourism niches.
Loyalty programmes as a tourism service sales channel: a Spanish multi‐sponsor programme case study
Authors: Manuel Ponzoa Casado José , Reinares Lara Pedro
Published: September 2010

Purpose

The relevance of this study lies in the search for alternative sales channels, not originally intended for this end, at a time of general crisis within the tourism sector. In spite of the great number of companies from the tourism sector that join multi‐sponsor loyalty platforms and the high volume of tourism service offers (flights, journeys, hotel accommodation, etc.) made and accepted through this medium, little is known about basic aspects for the management of such companies' participation. The paper aims to investigate this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data from a leading programme in the Spanish market over a wide period of time – ten years and nearly 100,000 point redemptions have been analysed – additional sales in different tourism service categories, related with the redemption of points, have been evaluated by comparing them with other offers made.

Findings

Tourism service offers are indeed one of the reward choices most popular among cardholders. In order to obtain tourism offers the consumer usually makes up their points total in the programme to the required level by making additional payments. It is important to classify cardholders according to their point credit‐rating (the rate at which they accumulate points in the programme) and make them offers in accordance with their preferences.

Practical implications

The benefits that a tourism service provider may obtain by joining a multi‐sponsor loyalty programme and including its services as reward offers are discussed. For programme managers information and conclusions relevant to reward catalogue design are also expounded.

Originality/value

This paper helps tourism service providers to take decisions with regard to joining a multi‐sponsor loyalty programme by reviewing important issues relating to both point redemption and sales.
Relative efficacy of organizational support and personality traits in predicting service recovery and job performances: a study of frontline employees in Turkey
Authors: Yavas Ugur , Karatepe Osman M. , Babakus Emin
Published: September 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relative efficacies of a set of organizational support mechanisms and personality traits in predicting frontline employees' service recovery and job performances.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were gathered through self‐administered questionnaires. A sample of 723 frontline hotel employees in Turkey serves as the study setting.

Findings

The study results show that organizational support is more effective in differentiating between high‐ and low‐performing frontline employees in the case of service recovery performance. However, job performance overall is more susceptible to the influences of personality traits.

Research limitations/implications

Replication studies in other regions of Turkey and other countries among frontline employees in the hotel industry as well as other service settings would broaden the database for further generalizations. Including other organizational support mechanisms (e.g. technology support) and personality traits (e.g. customer orientation) would shed further light on our understanding of the relative roles of organizational support and personality traits in predicting frontline employee performance.

Practical implications

In addition to providing organizational support to their employees, hotel managers should recruit individuals with the relevant personality traits for frontline service jobs. Using these strategies in tandem increases the likelihood of having high‐performing employees.

Social implications

From a macro standpoint, implementation of the strategies discussed here will benefit the hotels in Turkey which are in stiffening competition with their counterparts.

Originality/value

The study adds to the body of knowledge by investigating simultaneously the relative efficacies of organizational support and personality traits in predicting service recovery and job performances of frontline hotel employees in a developing economy.
Projects are emotional
Authors: Clarke Nicholas
Published: September 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer insights into how emotions can influence project manager behaviours and decisions specifically within the context of undertaking their roles in relationship management in projects. It shows that the emotional awareness of project managers may be a factor that helps to explain how project managers may arrive at decisions that affect their inter‐personal relationships on projects.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is set within the context of follow‐up interviews conducted with 15 project managers who attended emotional intelligence training that provided in‐depth, rich qualitative data that was collected making use of a critical incident technique, and analysed using a semi‐emergent theme approach.

Findings

The data suggest that project managers are consistently subject to emotion generating situations during project management and their emotional awareness plays a part in determining how they potentially respond to the emotional information generated. Emotional awareness was found to be particularly significant in underpinning decisions and behaviours that were likely to affect the subsequent pattern of inter‐personal relationships in projects.

Originality/value

The impact of emotions in projects has received minimal attention in the literature to date. The findings suggest that project managers may respond differently in similar emotion generating circumstances dependent upon their levels of emotional awareness. This would help explain the limitations of a strictly rational and functionalist approach to fully account for effective project management practice.
Project owner involvement for information and knowledge sharing in uncertainty management
Authors: Terje Karlsen Jan
Published: September 2010

Purpose

The paper aims to investigate the communication of uncertainty information and knowledge between the project manager, owner and steering group. The purpose of the project is to identify the effects of project owner and steering group involvement in the process of uncertainty management.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical data are based on a qualitative case study with in‐depth interviews following a semi‐structured approach. The building of new frigates, a project in the Royal Norwegian Navy, is studied. This is a large public technology project, with a great deal of media and public attention from Norwegian society.

Findings

The project owner and steering group involvement in the project's uncertainty management process were identified. The interviews revealed that uncertainty information and knowledge have frequently been communicated and shared. The results indicate that this has reduced the asymmetric information problem between the parties. This involvement has also contributed to building a collaborative, respectful, professional and trusting relationship between the parties. Another effect that was found is that the project owner has learned about uncertainty management and developed uncertainty consciousness. Moreover, the data indicate that the uncertainty information has helped the project owner develop a holistic view for improved decisions.

Research limitations/implications

Future research should investigate other scenarios, types of projects, cultures and countries, so that these findings may be generalized.

Practical implications

The paper concludes that project owner involvement and communicating uncertainty information are important for the effective management of uncertainties and achieving project success.

Originality/value

The involvement of the project owner and the communication of uncertainty information between the project manager and the owner are studied in this research paper.
A systemic view of dispute causation
Authors: Love Peter E.D. , Davis Peter R. , Ellis Joanne M. , Cheung S.O.
Published: September 2010

Purpose

A considerable amount of research has been undertaken with regard to the dispute causation within construction project management. Research has eschewed identifying the interrelatedness of variables, which has blurred researchers understanding of dispute causation and lead to latent work practices being embedded within the contracting environment within which projects are procured. With this in mind, this paper attempts to identify the underlying dynamics influencing disputes through the use of causal modeling.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the concept of system dynamics a series of causal models are developed from the literature to demonstrate the complexity associated with dispute causation.

Findings

It is revealed that project management, organization and people are the main sources of disputes. Causal models are constructed for each of these constructs and a series of strategies for avoiding disputations identified.

Originality/value

The research has demonstrated the inherent complexity associated with disputes and identified the interrelatedness of factors that can lead to their causation. It is suggested that further empirical research is required to determine the recurring latent conditions that contribute disputes. Once these conditions are examined then effective strategies for dispute avoidance can be identified and advancement toward improving the performance of construction projects made.
Toward a regional ontology for information systems project management
Authors: Sewchurran Kosheek , Smith Derek , Roode Dewald
Published: September 2010

Purpose

The paper aims to paper an overview of a completed doctoral thesis which pursued the development of underlying theory (ontology) to give coherence to research in the information systems (IS) project management space.

Design/methodology/approach

As a result of the considerable concern about a lack of underlying theory in project management the author has chosen to investigate the development of underlying theory to serve as a regional ontology to give debates undertaken to improve IS project management coherence. The thesis is a critical interpretive a priori effort. In the pursuit of the goal of developing a regional ontology, the notions, concepts and theories related to existentialism and social construction were investigated. These were investigated because the research literature places considerable emphasis on the need to understand as‐lived project experiences.

Findings

One of the significant outcomes that results from this research is the development of a proposed regional ontology. This was achieved by fusing the theories of Heidegger's Dasein, Bourdieu's “Theory of practice” and Maturana and Varela's “Theory of living systems”. The regional ontology is a consolidation of the various concepts defined by these researchers. These theories complement each other to give rise to a relational model of social construction which also has related phenomenological, existential and biological perspectives.

Practical implications

The proposed ontology was interpreted using the popular alternatives that have recently emerged alongside the established best practices such as project management body of knowledge. The perspectives of complex, responsive processes of relating, the temporary organisation, agility and organisational becoming were reviewed using the regional ontology. The interpretation process illustrated that the regional ontology is able to provide a more fundamental and coherent context to subsume and delimit these emerging new frames.

Originality/value

The thesis also discusses the researcher's view of contemporary project management practice that accords with the regional ontology principles. Through argument and the contemporary context of IS project management practice that was sketched, the principles of the regional ontology are illuminated. Through this process it was possible to claim that established best practice modes of education should not exist in isolation but should instead be situated within a wider analogical context that embraces the values of learning, becoming and innovating.
Distributions, the UK Companies Act of 2006, and the Miller and Modigliani (1961) dividend irrelevance argument
Authors: Paulo Stanley
Published: September 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer a viewpoint on the 1961 scientific method and research methodology used by Miller and Modigliani to derive the conclusion that dividends are irrelevant, with reference to the UK Companies Act of 2006, specifically Sections 829‐840 that concern distributions, and Section 172 that stipulates the duties of the directors in their promotion of the success of the company.

Design/methodology/approach

The relevant sections of the UK Companies Act of 2006 concerning distributions and the duty of directors to promote the success of the company were studied. It was followed by a detailed analysis of the article by Miller and Modigliani, in particular the purpose, assumptions, the 30 equations that comprise their model, and their interpretive logic in drawing conclusions from their equations.

Findings

In effect, Miller and Modigliani exclude dividends as a determinant of share value, side‐step the purpose of their research, do not state assumptions upon which their analysis and interpretations are reliant, and disregard the conceptual difference between income and capital. On the basis of their interpretive logic not only is the dividend decision irrelevant but so too is the financing decision and important aspects of company law. Nonetheless, the erroneous doctrinal view that is presented by Miller and Modigliani continues to have obstinately resolute adherents, as evidenced by its uncritical presentation in authoritative textbooks on financial management.

Originality/value

This paper's view is that the continued uncritical presentation of Miller and Modigliani cannot be justified as an approach consistent with sound research methodology.
A reflective analysis of the “new audit” and the public interest
Authors: Fogarty Timothy J. , Rigsby John T.
Published: September 2010

Purpose

Prior to the sudden collapse of large companies following the turn of the century and the implication that the auditing of these enterprises had failed, the large public accounting firms sought to re‐engineer the audit. A comprehension attempt to convert that which had been designed as a social good into one more aligned with a commercial logic was halted by the legislative response to this departure from classic professionalism. Recent developments suggest that change in this direction is regrouping. The purpose of this paper is to provide a reflective analysis of the thoughts of the authors on the early development of the new audit approach.

Design/methodology/approach

Most of the information in the piece was garnered from conversations with public accounting partners during the era in question. Logical argumentation derived from the academic and theoretical literature is the primary method.

Findings

Attributes of the firms' strategies during this period are outlined. Features of the new audit are developed, especially as they vary from the traditional audit. These techniques and approaches are analyzed in terms of their ability to serve the public interest. This paper argues that motivating factors of the new audit will continue to be a force even in the more hostile regulatory environment of today.

Practical implications

An appreciation of the findings of the study is useful in maintaining a level of skepticism about changes to the audit that are advocated by audit firms. Users of audit services, regulators, and legislators would benefit from an appreciation of the recent past. The motivating factors underlying these changes to audit environment continue to operate over time as the social purposes of the audit are less likely to be converted by the firms to ones that can be commercially exploited.

Originality/value

The study contributes insights into the origins of the new business audit approach and related strengths and limitations. These factors should be considered as the approach is developed and moves forward into the future in order for the audit approach to be effective in performing its social functions.
Strategic performance measurement systems and managers' understanding of the strategy
Authors: Aranda Carmen , Arellano Javier
Published: September 2010

Purpose

The paper aims to explore how managers change their strategic view so that they come with a better understanding of the strategy. It uses two proxies for such understanding: balance in beliefs (taken from performance measurement system literature) and consensus on strategic priorities (taken from strategic literature).

Design/methodology/approach

A longitudinal study is conducted in a financial institution during a strategic change communicated through a tailor‐made balanced scorecard (BSC). The changes are measured in the degree of understanding experienced by a set of 45 middle managers in each of the two phases in which the BSC implementation has been divided. The paper tests to what extent as the BSC implementation progresses there is a balancing in users' beliefs, an increase in consensus and alignment of managers' priorities; and finally, whether or not those proxies of managers' understanding are interchangeable.

Findings

Results show that the implementation of this BSC brought about a change in managers' beliefs by increasing the importance given to measures located in the lower BSC perspectives (called balancing effect), as well as an increase in the degree of consensus on strategic priorities. However, in the paper more balance in managers' beliefs were not necessarily associated with a higher degree of consensus and alignment. The two proxies are not interchangeable and the balancing effect was found to be ineffective and insufficient in providing an explanation for the consensus formation process.

Originality/value

The paper provides empirical evidence on how middle managers change their mental models and improve their understanding of the strategy. The paper helps in aligning performance measurement systems literature and strategic literature.
Unraveling Home and Host Country Effects: An Investigation of the HR Policies of an American Multinational in Four European Countries
Authors: ALMOND PHIL , EDWARDS TONY , COLLING TREVOR , FERNER ANTHONY , GUNNIGLE PADDY , MÜLLER‐CAMEN MICHAEL , QUINTANILLA JAVIER , WÄCHTER HARTMUT
Published: September 2010

This article argues that the institutional “home” and “host” country effects on employment policy and practice in multinational corporations (MNCs) need to be analyzed within a framework which takes more account both of the multiple levels of embeddedness experienced by the MNC, and processes of negotiation at different levels within the firm. Using in‐depth case study analysis of the human resource (HR) structure and industrial relations and pay policies of a large U.S.‐owned MNC in the IT sector, across Germany, Ireland, Spain, and the United Kingdom, the article attempts to move towards such a framework.
Increase of oxidant‐related triglycerides and phosphatidylcholines in serum and small intestinal mucosa during development of intestinal polyp formation in Min mice
Authors: Ikeda Kazutaka , Mutoh Michihiro , Teraoka Naoya , Nakanishi Hiroki , Wakabayashi Keiji , Taguchi Ryo
Published: September 2010

Recent epidemiological studies have shown a positive association of a high‐fat diet with the risk of colon cancer. Indeed, increments in the serum levels of triglycerides (TG) and cholesterols are positively related with colon carcinogenesis. We previously reported that an age‐dependent hyperlipidemic state is characteristic of Min mice, an animal model for human familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). However, qualitative and quantitative changes of lipid metabolism are poorly understood in this state. Here, we provide detailed analysis of serum lipids in Min mice using reverse‐phased liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (RPLC/ESI‐MS). We also demonstrate local analysis of lipid droplets in the villi of the small intestine using laser capture microdissection and a sensitive chip‐based nanoESI‐MS system. As a result, oxidized phosphatidylcholines (PC) such as aldehyde and carboxylic acid types were increased, even at an early stage of intestinal polyp formation in serum. In addition, hydroperoxidizable TG precursors containing linoleic acid (18:2n‐6) were deposited at the tip of the villi with aging, and these hydroperoxidized TG were also increased in serum. Meanwhile, increments of the oxidizable TG precursors in serum and small intestinal mucosa were suppressed by treatment with pitavastatin, a novel third generation lipophilic statin. These results suggest that quantitative and qualitative lipid changes such as hydroperoxidizable TG precursors are important in the course of intestinal polyp formation and oxidative stress might lead to the development of intestinal polyp formation in Min mice. (Cancer Sci 2011; 102: 79–87)
Severe sepsis: patient management focusing on administration of drotrecogin alpha (activated) infusion
Authors: Riddell Caroline , Blackwood Bronagh
Published: September 2010

This article presents a case study of a 49‐year‐old male admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) via Accident and Emergency following a collapse at home with a diagnosis of severe sepsis. The pathophysiology of sepsis is discussed together with a physiological assessment of the patient's cardiovascular, respiratory and renal systems, coagulation and metabolic responses. The discussion focuses on the period from ICU admission to commencement of drotrecogin alpha (activated) treatment (also known as recombinant human activated protein C). The management of sepsis and the treatment the patient received are outlined with particular focus on the strategic and procedural issues of the drug administration. The article concludes by presenting nursing clinical guidelines which will provide helpful guidance for nurses when caring for patients receiving drotrecogin alpha (activated) treatment. This is especially welcome, as drotrecogin alpha (activated) is internationally recommended in the treatment of severe sepsis.
Intensive care nurses’ beliefs and attitudes towards the effect of open visiting on patients, family and nurses
Authors: Marco Laura , Bermejillo Iciar , Garayalde Nagore , Sarrate Isabel , Margall MaAngeles , Asiain Ma Carmen
Published: September 2010

The policy of family visits to patients admitted into intensive care units (ICUs) has been liberalised in recent years. This change has been progressive in our unit from a restricted to an open visiting policy. We have carried out this study based on Ajzen and Fishbein reasoned action theory.

The aim of this study is to analyse the relationship between nurses’ beliefs and attitudes towards the effect of an open visiting policy on patients, family and nurses.

A descriptive correlational design was used. The sample included 46 intensive care nurses from a teaching hospital in Spain, who completed two self‐administered anonymous questionnaires. One of them, derived from empirical results of Kirchhoff et al. (1993) and Simpson et al. (1996) studies, was a Likert‐type scale including 26 items divided in three subscales (patient, family and nurses). This scale was used to obtain the nurses’ beliefs regarding the effects of open visiting. The second questionnaire was a differential semantic scale (used by the previous authors), which analysed nurses’ attitudes towards visiting on the patient, family and nurses.

Nurses’ beliefs about the effect of visiting were positive, achieving a mean value of 3·001 (patient 3·04, family 3·23 and nurses 2·78) on a scale with a maximum value of 4. The mean score obtained on the scale of attitudes toward an open visiting policy was 6·005 (patient 6·41, family 6·37 and nurses 5·22), with a maximum of 7. The correlation between beliefs and attitudes was significant and positive (r = 0·523, p < 0·0001). Comparison of sociodemographic variables with beliefs and attitudes disclosed no statistically significant differences, except for the two following variables: attitude and having children (t = −2·254, p = 0·03) which obtained a higher score.

There is a correlation between nurses’ beliefs and attitudes regarding the positive effects of open visiting on patients, family and nurses.
Viola rupestris: molecular analyses to elucidate postglacial migration in Western Europe
Authors: Nordal Inger , Jonsell Bengt , Marcussen Thomas
Published: September 2010

Aim  Our aim was to elucidate the postglacial migration of Viola rupestris F.W. Schmidt, with its two subspecies, rupestris and relicta Jalas, in Europe, using molecular methods.

Location  Norway, Sweden, Finland, England, the Netherlands, France and Switzerland.

Methods  Isoenzymes were analysed from 49 populations of Viola rupestris s.lat. Based on former experience of variation in the taxon, the following were included: aspartate aminotransferase, leucine/aminopeptidase, and phosphoglucomutase, yielding a total of nine interpretable and six variable (putative) loci.

Results  Six multilocus phenotypes were revealed (A–F). Phenotype A (only one individual) is restricted to northern Norway, B is shared by all populations in northern Norway and an isolated population on the west coast of southern Norway (Møre). Phenotype B comes close to C, co‐occurring with D in England, the latter also occurring in southern France. Phenotypes E and F occur in the rest of Europe.

Main conclusions  Viola rupestris ssp. relicta Jalas, previously known only from northern Scandinavia (northern unicentric), was discovered on the west coast of southern Norway (Møre), making the taxon ‘bicentric’. Populations are connected through a putative migration route from the Grands Causses in southern France (Massif Central) via England and western Norway to northern Scandinavia. The Grands Causses might represent a glacial refugium.
Do gut symbiotes reflect the endemism of their host black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) in the Caucasus of Armenia?
Authors: Nelder Mark P. , Adler Peter H. , Kachvoryan Eugenie A.
Published: September 2010

Aim  We tested the hypothesis that endemism of black flies in the Caucasus of Armenia is reflected in their gut symbiotes, i.e. trichomycete fungi and ichthyosporean protists.

Location  The study area, Armenia, is a biodiversity hotspot, with high levels of plant and animal endemism. Located in the southern Caucasus, Armenia is a rugged, mountainous, landlocked country of 29,800 km2, with fast‐flowing rivers and little forested land. About half of the 51 species of black flies in Armenia are endemic to the Caucasus.

Methods  The larvae of 22 species of black flies, including seven endemic to the Caucasus, were collected from 35 sites throughout Armenia, from 1998 to 2004, and assayed microscopically for gut‐inhabiting trichomycete fungi and ichthyosporean protists.

Results  Nearly 68% of larval black flies in Armenia contained at least one species of gut symbiote, with a mean of 0.9 ± 0.04 species per host larva. Eight species of trichomycete fungi and two species of ichthyosporeans were found in larval guts. Seven of these species were recorded for the first time in Asian black flies. Species accumulation curves showed no additional species of gut symbiotes after 17 host species and 22 sites had been examined. All gut symbiotes were widely distributed, indicating an absence of endemic trichomycetes in the black flies of Armenia.

Main conclusions  Although the Caucasus Region is noted for its high levels of endemism for plants and animals, including black flies, the gut symbiotes of black flies are all widespread species. The absence of endemic gut symbiotes in larval black flies might be explained by their lack of host specificity; an absence of host specificity would not constrain the geographical distribution of the symbiotes.
Conservatism of ecological niche characteristics in North American plant species over the Pleistocene‐to‐Recent transition
Authors: Martínez‐Meyer E. , Peterson A. T.
Published: September 2010

Aim  To provide a test of the conservatism of a species’ niche over the last 20,000 years by tracking the distribution of eight pollen taxa relative to climate type as they migrated across eastern North America following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM).

Location  North America.

Methods  We drew taxon occurrence data from the North American pollen records in the Global Pollen Database, representing eight pollen types – all taxa for which ≥5 distinct geographic occurrences were available in both the present day and at the LGM (21,000 years ago ± 3000 years). These data were incorporated into ecological niche models based on present‐day and LGM climatological summaries available from the Palaeoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project to produce predicted potential geographic distributions for each species at present and at the LGM. The output for each time period was projected onto the ‘other’ time period, and tested using independent known occurrence information from that period.

Results  The result of our analyses was that all species tested showed general conservatism in ecological characteristics over the climate changes associated with the Pleistocene‐to‐Recent transition.

Main conclusions  This analysis constitutes a further demonstration of general and pervasive conservatism in ecological niche characteristics over moderate periods of time despite profound changes in climate and environmental conditions. As such, our results reinforce the application of ecological niche modelling techniques to the reconstruction of Pleistocene biodiversity distribution patterns, and to project the future potential distribution range of species in the face of global‐scale climatic changes.
Imaging the fluorescence of marine invertebrates and their associated flora
Authors: AINSWORTH T.D. , HOEGH‐GULDBERG O. , LEGGAT W.
Published: September 2010

The cells and tissues of many marine invertebrates and their associated flora contain fluorescent pigments and proteins, many of which have been utilized commercially and provide marker molecules in other systems for fluorescence imaging technology. However, in the study of marine invertebrates and their symbioses these naturally occurring molecules have been seen to limit or confound fluorescence microscopy analyses. Here we demonstrate the endogenous fluorescence associated with two marine invertebrates (coral and foraminifera) and describe how these qualities can be utilized in fluorescence microanalyses. Understanding and imaging the diversity of fluorescent molecules provide insight into how fluorescence microscopy techniques can now be applied to these complex systems.
Near‐field scanning optical microscopy detects nanoscale glycolipid domains in the plasma membrane
Authors: ABULROB A. , LU Z. , BRUNETTE E. , PULLA D. , STANIMIROVIC D. , JOHNSTON L.J.
Published: September 2010

The localization of asialo‐GM1 in ordered membrane raft domains in HeLa cells has been examined using a combination of membrane fractionation and fluorescence imaging. The glycolipid is enriched in Triton X‐100 insoluble membrane fractions that contain high concentrations of cholesterol and caveolin‐1 but is also found in detergent soluble membrane fractions. Near‐field fluorescence microscopy shows that a fraction of the asialo‐GM1 is localized in small nanoscale clusters that have an upper limit for the average diameter of approximately 90 nm and are partially colocalized with caveolae membrane domains. In addition to clusters, a diffuse, non‐clustered population of asialo‐GM1 is observed and is hypothesized to correspond to glycolipid isolated in detergent soluble membrane fractions.
In vivo imaging of neurodegeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans by third harmonic generation microscopy
Authors: GUALDA E.J. , FILIPPIDIS G. , MARI M. , VOGLIS G. , VLACHOS M. , FOTAKIS C. , TAVERNARAKIS N.
Published: September 2010

In this study, neurodegeneration phenomena were investigated, by performing third harmonic generation imaging measurements on the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, in vivo. The in vivo, precise identification of the contour of the degenerating neurons in the posterior part of the nematode and the monitoring, in real time, of the progression of degeneration in the worm, through third harmonic generation imaging measurements, were achieved. Femtosecond laser pulses (1028 nm) were utilized for excitation. Thus, the THG image contrast modality comprises a powerful diagnostic tool, providing valuable information and offering new insights into morphological changes and complex developmental processes in live biological specimens.
The polarized AB plot for the frequency‐domain analysis and representation of fluorophore rotation and resonance energy homotransfer
Authors: CLAYTON A.H.A.
Published: September 2010

The graphical representation of single‐frequency phase‐modulation fluorescence lifetime imaging data, referred to as the AB plot, is extended to take into account measurements of the polarized components of the fluorescence. For a hindered rotator model (characterized with a single excited‐state lifetime, a single rotational correlation time and limiting initial and final anisotropies) the rotational correlation time and the excited lifetime can be determined from the AB plot of any two of the following emission components: parallel, perpendicular, total emission or combinations thereof. A strategy for resolving the component hindered rotations and lifetimes for mixtures of two hindered rotators from measurements of the total, parallel and perpendicular components of the emission is developed. The analysis does not require prior knowledge of the initial limiting anisotropy or of the steady‐state anisotropy or of the excited state lifetime. Plots in polarized AB space derived for heterogeneous systems are constructed to aid interpretation of frequency‐domain dynamic depolarization imaging microscopy experiments. These plots can be used to distinguish spatially dependent rotational correlation time heterogeneity from heterogeneity in limiting anisotropies. The effects of noise and aperture depolarization are discussed. It is anticipated that the polarized AB plot will provide a useful adjunct to existing methods for visualizing and analysing dynamic polarization phenomena arising from molecular dynamics and homo‐energy transfer in single‐frequency microscopy applications.
Screening of platelets for bacterial contamination at the Welsh Blood Service
Authors: Pearce S. , Rowe G. P. , Field S. P.
Published: September 2010

Background and Objective: This report details the results of the implementation of a bacterial screening system at the Welsh Blood Service and provides an estimate of the levels of bacterial contamination at the time of sampling.

Materials and Methods: Apheresis (Caridian BCT) and buffy coat‐derived pooled platelet components were sampled on day 1 for bacterial contamination and the sample was monitored throughout the lifespan of the platelet component. Unused platelet components were re‐tested to determine the effectiveness of the screening. Results from the BacT/ALERT are uploaded to the in‐house Blood Establishment Computer System (BECS) every 12 min. Positive alerts are automatically sent to staff, facilitating a timely intervention.

Results: Between February 2003 and March 2010 the screening system tested 54 828 platelets and detected 257 (1 in 213) initial positives of which 35 (1 in 1567, 0·06%) were confirmed [95% confidence interval (CI), 0·04–0·08%]. Additionally, screening of 6438 unused platelet components detected another 6 (1 in 1073, 0·09%) confirmed positives not detected during initial testing (95% CI, 0·02–0·16%). Analysis of the data suggests that on day 1 the number of bacteria in such platelet component packs was between 5 and 62 cfus total. Day 1 culture has a sensitivity of 40%.

Conclusions: The bacterial screening system has removed a significant number, but not all bacterially contaminated platelet components from the supply. The sample volume is an important factor in sensitivity due to the low number of bacteria in a platelet component pack on day 1. An effective notification and recall system is a critical part of the bacterial screening system.
Surface appendages, hemagglutination, and adherence to human epithelial cells of Bacteroides intermedius
Authors: Leung K.‐P. , Fukushima H. , Sagawa H. , Walker C. B. , Clark W. B.
Published: September 2010

Four types of morphologically distinct surface appendages were found on oral strains of Bacteroides intermedius. These appendages, designated as A, B, C, and D, were different in size, with diameters of 1–2 nm, 12 nm, 8 nm, and 5 nm, respectively. Twenty different strains were examined by electron microscopy and 5 strains, 5, 17, 27, 113, and 25611, were selected to be representative of the different appendages encountered. Type A appendages were thin filaments per‐itrichously arranged on the cell surface and were associated mainly with Strains 5, 113, and ATCC 25611. Type B appendages were present on all 5 strains but these structures were scarce (i.e., 3 per organism). Type C appendages were associated exclusively with Strain 17. Type D appendages were present mainly on Strain 27. Hemagglulination activity of these organisms and their ability to adhere to human buccal epithelial cells were also tested. Strain 17, which possessed Type C appendage (uncommon to the other strains), agglutinated strongly with 5 different species of erythrocytes and adhered avidly to human buccal epithelial cells. The other strains, possessing different types of appendages, showed considerable variation in hemagglutination activity and adherence properties. Correlation between these surface appendages and adherent functions was speculated.