bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Supply chain management skills to sense and seize opportunities
Authors: Tatham Peter , Wu Yong , Kovács Gyöngyi , Butcher Tim
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the supply chain management (SCM) skills that support the sensing and seizing of opportunities in a changing business environment.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the previous literature on the T-shaped model of SCM skills, data were collected through a mail survey among Australian business executives. The resultant skill sets are grouped along factors that support the sensing vs seizing of opportunities.

Findings

Interestingly from an SCM perspective, functional logistics-related skills are important to maintain competitiveness but are not the ones contributing to a firm’s ability to sense opportunities and threats, and to seize opportunities in a changing business environment. The authors, therefore, support the notion that supply chain managers should be managers first. Factual SCM knowledge is the solid basis, but otherwise only an entry requirement in this field.

Research limitations/implications

Problem-solving skills, along with forecasting and customer/supplier relationship management, stand out as important components that support the ability of supply chain managers to sense and shape opportunities and threats in a turbulent business environment. This focus would tend to suggest the importance of supply chain integration and collaboration as management approaches. Other SCM skills from warehousing and inventory management to transportation and purchasing are more prevalent for maintaining competitiveness.

Practical implications

The results of the survey and the consequential analysis indicate that the content of tertiary-level educational programmes should be significantly reviewed to deliver two distinct (but partially overlapping) streams that focus on the generalist and functionalist managers who must work together in the management of the increasingly global and complex supply chains.

Social implications

Functional skills often form the basis of training and education programmes for supply chain managers. Whilst these form the solid foundation for their jobs, they are entry requirements at best. In a changing business environment, other skills are needed for success. Given that turbulence is becoming the norm rather than the exception, this finding necessitates rethinking in training and education programmes, as well as in the recruitment of supply chain managers.

Originality/value

Testing the T-shaped model of SCM skills from a dynamic capabilities perspective, the results of the factor analysis lead to a regrouping of skill sets in terms of sensing and seizing opportunities in a turbulent business environment.
A product centric examination of PD/SC alignment decisions at the nexus of product development and supply chains
Authors: Primus Dirk J. , Stavrulaki Euthemia
Published: May 2017

Purpose

This study applies a product centric view to examine three product development (PD) decisions that relate to a new product and its supply chain (SC): product design, sourcing strategy and product delivery strategy (PDS). The purpose of this paper is to expand the understanding of alignment decisions in this area to include concurrent compatibility between product design, SC strategy and market conditions.

Design/methodology/approach

The study leverages existing theory to identify the key dimensions of alignment between product design, SC strategy and market conditions in a conceptual model. Using survey data from 124 new PD projects collected from various industries, the authors then empirically test the impact of multiple alignment decisions on new product introductions (NPIs) performance.

Findings

The results suggest that one specific project-level design parameter (interface intensity) is a key alignment dimension for product design decisions. Specifically, the authors find that alignment between interface intensity and sourcing strategy, as well as between interface intensity and clock-speed improves NPI performance. Additionally, the authors find evidence that three-way alignment between PDS, interface intensity and market volatility will benefit NPI performance.

Research limitations/implications

Because the study is cross-sectional and conducted at the project level, future work should continue this line of inquiry with longitudinal exams and across a families of development projects.

Practical implications

The findings inform the deliberate management of the PD/SC interface and provide managers with quantitative benefits of concurrent alignment decisions.

Originality/value

This study identifies and addresses important deficits in the understanding of concurrent alignment between product design, SC strategy and market conditions.
Purchasing-logistics integration and supplier performance: an information-processing view
Authors: Ashenbaum Bryan , Maltz Arnold
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a purchasing-logistics integration (PLI) conceptualization along two dimensions: mutual responsibility and integrative efforts. This conceptualization is then tested as to whether it provides any insights for supplier performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Information-Processing Theory is used to posit hypotheses linking the dimensions of PLI with various measures of supplier performance. Hypotheses are then tested with a dyadic data set of purchasing and logistics managers, using multiple regression methods.

Findings

Purchasing managers found mutual responsibility to positively influence supplier delivery speed, whereas logistics managers found it to positively influence supplier price performance. Generally speaking, purchasing managers perceived a stronger linkage between formal integrative efforts (liaison roles and joint reward systems) and supplier performance, whereas logistics managers perceived this linkage to be stronger for informal integrative efforts such as information exchange and collaboration.

Research limitations/implications

Study results are cross-sectional in nature and consist of three major industry groupings. The dyadic data were analyzed separately to avoid significant data loss.

Practical implications

Supply chain managers will find the areas where purchasing and logistics managers overlap in their perceptions (as well as where they differ) useful. In addition, an understanding of how PLI influences supplier performance should help improve organizational effectiveness.

Originality/value

PLI is a highly important, yet understudied, internal connection. This study provides a useful framework in helping academics and practitioners better understand this crucial internal connection, and how it relates to the performance extracted from suppliers.
The impact of backstage cues on service evaluation
Authors: Liu Yi-Fen , Xu Yingzi , Ling I-Ling
Published: May 2017

Purpose

This research aims to investigate how backstage visibility affects intangibility and perceived risk at the pre-purchase stage and how service credence moderates the effect of backstage visibility on intangibility and perceived risk. It also focuses on the effect of backstage visibility on perceived service quality and value at the post-purchase stage and the moderating role of the service contact level.

Design/methodology/approach

This research tests the causal relationships between backstage visibility and customers’ service evaluations through two experimental studies.

Findings

Study 1 shows that customers who are exposed to backstage cues perceive less pre-purchase risk in the service than those who are not exposed. Pictures plus text information are more effective than text illustrations alone for risk reduction. This risk reduction effect is stronger for high-credence than for low-credence services and is partially mediated by the perceived intangibility of the service. Study 2 reveals that customers with access to backstage cues perceive higher service quality and higher overall value from service experiences. The value increase is more significant for high-contact than for low-contact services.

Research limitations/implications

Future research could apply different methods to different data sources to provide further insight about backstage visibility.

Originality/value

The findings of this research suggest that allowing customers to view some backstage activities before purchase helps tangibilize the service, achieve more effective communication with customers and create more positive service experiences.
The effect of role stress, job satisfaction, self-efficacy and nurses’ adaptability on service quality in public hospitals of Wajo
Authors: Kadir Abdul Rahman , Kamariah Najmi , Saleh Ariyanti , Ratnawati Ratnawati
Published: May 2017

Purpose

This study aimed to determine the effect of role conflict and role ambiguity on job satisfaction, self-efficacy and nurses’ adaptability and improvement in service quality by analysis of quality function deployment.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a cross-sectional study design. The research sample of 115 nurses and 299 patients was obtained through the use of probability sampling techniques. Data were statistically analyzed using Spearman’s test to see the correlation between independent and dependent variables. Kruskal–Wallis and one-way ANOVA were used to see the differences and quality function deployment analysis was conducted to improve service quality.

Findings

The study concluded there is influence of role conflict and role ambiguity on job satisfaction, self-efficacy and nurses’ adaptability. There are differences in role ambiguity in the inpatient unit, critical room and the emergency room.

Practical implications

The quality of service in the hospital can be improved by evaluating the behavior of nurses on the quality of service perceived by the patient. In addition, the necessary improvement of discipline and commitment between physicians and nurses in improving the quality of services at the hospital.

Originality/value

With this measure, the management of nursing at the hospital can translate patient’s needs into specific plans to produce products and services that bring together the needs of the patient to service quality.
Management processes and management’s role in customer value creation
Authors: Åslund Anna , Bäckström Ingela
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study management processes within successful societal entrepreneurship to further understand the role of management in customer value creation.

Design/methodology/approach

Management in three successful societal entrepreneurship initiatives has been studied. Data have been collected through interviews, direct observation, participant observation and documentation. Management tasks, activities and behaviours have been identified and analysed from a system view.

Findings

The result presents essential management processes important for societal customer value creation, their input, output and main focus. Some management processes are inter-related and are sometimes part of another management process. The management seems driven by “need”, “opportunity”, “interest” and “demand”, when creating societal customer value. From a system perspective, management has an indirect role in societal customer value creation and is important for possibilities to create societal customer value. Both the initiative and the surroundings have been found to be of importance to the management’s scope for contributing to societal customer value creation.

Originality/value

The study provides the possibility to understand and learn from management, the management processes and their role in societal customer value creation. Thereby, it describes how to successfully provide customer value to society and work with societal, environmental and sustainability issues.
The entrepreneurial influence on winery market performance – a mediation perspective
Authors: Li Huanmei , O’Connor Allan
Published: May 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to take a disaggregated approach to investigate the relationships between single entrepreneurial orientation (EO) dimensions and firm performance in the wine industry, with the generally established positive relationship between aggregated EO dimensions and firm performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Literature review, field studies, pilot tests, survey and structural equation modelling were used to build hypotheses and to test these hypotheses.

Findings

Proactiveness was identified to be the predominant EO dimension that contributed most to winery market performance. Entrepreneurial opportunity perception, however, was found to positively mediate the risk taking–winery market performance relationship, while negatively mediating the competitive aggressiveness–winery market performance relationship. The authors found no innovativeness and autonomy winery market performance relationships.

Research limitations/implications

First, as with much survey-based research, the study relied upon self-report measures and there was only a 12.4 per cent response rate. Second, we used Australian wine industry cross-sectional data in the research. Third, this research used conceptual measures of market performance including sales growth, market share growth, profitability and customer retention. Fourth, while the present research investigated the mediating effects of entrepreneurial opportunity perception to introduce new wine styles/services into national and/or international markets, additional research could explore the same questions in the context of some specific types of entrepreneurial opportunity perceptions.

Originality/value

The research adds evidence to the ongoing debate about whether there are five or three EO dimensions by examining five EO dimensions and their individual relationships with firm market performance. This research meets Miller’s (2011) call for research on the disaggregation of EO components, in particular, research contexts. This research contributes to the limited empirical research on entrepreneurial opportunity perception. This research also has important practical implications for practitioners and government.
Getting buy-in: financial stakeholders’ commitment to strategic transformation
Authors: Mallon Mark R.
Published: May 2017

Purpose

Strategic transformations are likely necessary for all organizations at some point in their existence, but the role of external stakeholders in committing resources to support transformations has been largely overlooked. This paper aims to begin to fill this gap by developing a theoretical model detailing which factors increase the likelihood that financial stakeholders will commit resources to strategic transformation.

Design/methodology/approach

Neo-institutional and stakeholder theories are applied to the strategic transformation phenomenon to develop six propositions regarding financial stakeholders’ resource commitment to strategic transformation.

Findings

Moral legitimacy, pragmatic legitimacy and unfamiliarity with the firm directly affect the likelihood that financial stakeholders will commit resources to strategic transformation. Cognitive legitimacy or familiarity amplifies the positive effect of pragmatic legitimacy on resource commitment, and pragmatic legitimacy lessens the negative effect of unfamiliarity with the firm on resource commitment.

Originality value

This paper lays out a clear conceptual model of the antecedents of financial stakeholders’ resource commitment to strategic transformation, aiding practitioners in securing critical stakeholder support and filling an important gap in strategic transformation/stakeholder literature.
Calibrating management control technologies and the dual identity of family firms
Authors: El Masri Tarek , Tekathen Matthäus , Magnan Michel , Boulianne Emilio
Published: May 2017

Purpose

Family firms possess dual identities, being the family and the business, which can be segmented and integrated to various degrees. This study examines whether and how management control technologies are calibrated to fit into the dual identities of family firms.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative study of 20 family firms was conducted using semi-structured, in-depth interviews with owner-managers, drawings of mental maps and publicly available information. The notion of calibration was developed and used, with its three components of graduation, purpose and reference, as an organizing device for the interpretive understanding of the management control usage and its relation to family firms’ dual identities.

Findings

The study finds that the use of calculative, family-centric and procedural management controls – in sum the pervasive use of management control technologies – are associated with a professionalization of the family firm, a foregrounding of the business identity and a reduction of the disadvantageous side of familiness. In comparison, the pragmatic and minimal use of management control technologies are found to be associated with an emphasis on family identity. It transpires as liberating, engendering trust and unfolding a familial environment.

Research limitations/implications

Because results are derived from a qualitative approach, they are not generalizable at an empirical level. By showing how the use of management control technologies is calibrated with reference to family firms’ dual identities, the paper reveals the perceived potency of control technologies to affect the identity of firms.

Practical implications

The study reveals how family firms perceive management control technologies as strengthening their business identity while weakening their family identity. Thereby, this study provides an account of how management control technologies are expected to change the identity of firms.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the management control and family business literatures because it uncovers how management control technologies are calibrated in reference to family firms’ dual identities. It shows that calculative, family-centric and procedural management controls are used to professionalize the firm and strengthen its business identity as well as to reduce the negative effects of the family identity. The paper also illustrates how the liberating force of using pragmatic and minimal control technologies can serve to give prominence to the family identity.
Management accounting and leadership construction in family firms
Authors: Leotta Antonio , Rizza Carmela , Ruggeri Daniela
Published: May 2017

Purpose

Succession in family firms may determine the survival or the failure of the business itself. Management accounting literature has added little to this issue, mainly focusing on the process of succession and change (Songini et al., 2013; Giovannoni and Maraghini, 2013; Giovannoni et al., 2011). This study aims to deal with new management accounting (MA) practices that the junior generation may introduce during the process of succession. The aim of the study is to show that the introduction of new MA practices can contribute to constructing the leadership profile of the junior generation.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on the perspective of actor-reality construction (ARC), the authors conducted a case study at a small-sized family firm producing solar shading systems. The authors examined how the construction of the successor’s leadership derives from the integration of four dimensions of reality: facts, possibilities, values and communication. Such an integration is facilitated by the introduction of a new accounting information system and cost reporting.

Findings

The case evidence highlights that the construction of the new generation leadership may emerge as a consequence of the introduction of new MA practices. Moreover, the field evidence highlights that the construction of a new generation leadership is a process that integrates the four dimensions of reality.

Originality/value

From the emergent perspective of ARC, the paper highlights how new MA practices play an active role in constructing the new generation leadership.
Time since disturbance affects colonization dynamics in a metapopulation
Authors: Mutz Jessie , Underwood Nora , Inouye Brian D.
Published: May 2017

Disturbances are widespread in nature and can have substantial population‐level consequences. Most empirical studies on the effects of disturbance track population recovery within habitat patches, but have an incomplete representation of the recolonization process. In addition, recent metapopulation models represent post‐disturbance colonization with a recovery state or time‐lag for disturbed (“focal”) patches, thus assuming that recolonization rates are uniform.

However, the availability of colonists in neighbouring “source” patches can vary, especially in frequently disturbed landscapes such as fire‐managed forests that have a mosaic of patches that differ in successional state and undergo frequent local extinctions. To determine how time since disturbance in both focal and neighbouring source patches might affect metapopulations, we studied the effects of time since fire (TSF) on abundances of a specialist palmetto beetle within and between fire management units in Apalachicola National Forest, Florida.

We measured beetle abundances at three distances from the shared edge of paired units, with units ranging from 0 to 64 months since fire and the difference in time since burning for a focal‐source pair ranging from 3 to 58 months.

Soon after fire, beetle abundances within management units were highest near the unit edge, but this pattern changed with increasingTSF. Between paired units, the more recently disturbed (“focal”) unit's beetle abundance was positively related to source unit abundance, but the shape of this relationship differed based on focal unitTSFand the units’ difference in time since burning.

Results suggest that both focal and source habitat history can influence recolonization of recently disturbed patches and that these effects may persist over years. Thus, when predicting metapopulation dynamics, variation in habitat characteristics should be considered not only for patches receiving colonists but for patches supplying colonists as well.
Explaining Social Class Inequality in Voter Turnout: The Contribution of Income and Health
Authors: Lahtinen Hannu , Mattila Mikko , Wass Hanna , Martikainen Pekka
Published: May 2017

Occupation‐based social class is an important, yet under‐explored, factor in electoral participation. In this article, social class differences in voter turnout over time are measured, and how two other resources – namely income and health – mediate or modify this relationship is analysed. The analysis is based on an individual‐level register‐based 11 percent sample of the entire electorate in the 1999 Finnish parliamentary elections, and secondarily on smaller register‐based samples in the 2012 presidential and municipal elections. Results show that income mediates part of the effects of social class on voting, while social class and utilised health indicators exert mainly independent effects on turnout. Social class differences remain largely stable in all income and hospital care groups, except that no differences between classes are observed among those most severely affected by health problems. Results are also mostly similar between those of working age and the older population, and between men and women, and remain stable over time and in different types of elections. The findings imply that social class should be taken account in theoretical and empirical models of turnout.
How to Constrain Multi‐Objective Calibrations of the SWAT Model Using Water Balance Components
Authors: Pfannerstill Matthias , Bieger Katrin , Guse Björn , Bosch David D. , Fohrer Nicola , Arnold Jeffrey G.
Published: May 2017

Accurate discharge simulation is one of the most common objectives of hydrological modeling studies. However, a good simulation of discharge is not necessarily the result of a realistic simulation of hydrological processes within the catchment. We propose an evaluation framework that considers both discharge and water balance components as evaluation criteria for calibration of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). In this study, we integrated average annual values of surface runoff, groundwater flow, and evapotranspiration in the model evaluation procedure to constrain the selection of good model runs for the Little River Experimental Watershed in Georgia, United States. For evaluating water balance and discharge dynamics, the Nash‐Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) and percent bias (PBIAS) were used. In addition, the ratio of root mean square error and standard deviation of measured data (RSR) was calculated for individual segments of the flow duration curve to identify the best model runs in terms of discharge magnitude. Our results indicate that good statistics for discharge do not guarantee realistic simulations of individual water balance components. Therefore, we recommend constraining the ranges of water balance components to achieve a more realistic simulation of the entire hydrological system, even if tradeoffs between good statistics for discharge simulations and reasonable amounts of the water balance components are unavoidable. Editor's note: This paper is part of the featured series on SWAT Applications for Emerging Hydrologic and Water Quality Challenges. See the February 2017 issue for the introduction and background to the series.
Differences in emergency ambulance demand between older adults living in residential aged care facilities and those living in the community in Melbourne, Australia
Authors: Cantwell Kate , Morgans Amee , Smith Karen , Livingston Michael , Dietze Paul
Published: May 2017

Objective

To describe the clinical presentation and temporal variation in ambulance service cases involving patients aged 65 years or older (older adults) from residential aged care facilities and those who are community dwelling (CD).

Methods

This study used four years of electronic case records from Ambulance Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. Trigonometric regression was used to analyse demand patterns.

Results

Residential aged care facility cases included proportionally more falls and infection‐related problems and fewer circulatory‐related incidents than CD cases. Community dwelling demand patterns differed between weekdays and weekends and peaked late morning. Residential aged care facility cases peaked late morning, with a secondary peak early evening, but with no significant difference between days.

Conclusions

Older adult ambulance demand has distinct temporal patterns that differ by place of residence and are associated with different clinical presentations. These results provide a basis for informing ambulance planning and the identification of alternate health services.
Nursing students’ death anxiety and fear towards dementia patients
Authors: McKenzie Ellen L , Brown Patricia M
Published: May 2017

Objective

This study investigated the relationship between death anxiety (DA) and fear towards patients according to the age and illness of the patient.

Methods

A sample of 94 undergraduate nursing students from an Australian university were presented with a hypothetical patient, who varied by age (29 years or 71 years) and illness (arthritis, cancer or dementia). They then completed measures of DA and fear towards the patient.

Results

Older patients with dementia were associated with higher DA compared to all other conditions. Greater fear was associated with patients in the dementia target condition.

Conclusion

The findings from this study are consistent with terror management theory; specifically, older age and terminal illness are associated with greater DA. Implications are discussed regarding the quality of care provided to older people with dementia.
Optical coherence tomography morphology and evolution in cblC disease‐related maculopathy in a case series of very young patients
Authors: Bacci Giacomo M. , Donati Maria A. , Pasquini Elisabetta , Munier Francis , Cavicchi Catia , Morrone Amelia , Sodi Andrea , Murro Vittoria , Garcia Segarra Nuria , Defilippi Claudio , Bussolin Leonardo , Caputo Roberto
Published: May 2017

Purpose

To describe the retinal structure of a group of patients affected by methylmalonic aciduria with homocystinuria cblC type, caused by mutations in the MMACHC gene, using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD‐OCT).

Methods

Young patients (n = 11, age 0–74 months) with cblC disease, detected by newborn screening or clinically diagnosed within 40 days of life, underwent molecular analysis and complete ophthalmic examination, including fundus photography and SD‐OCT. In one case, we also performed fluorescein angiography (FA) and standard electroretinography (ERG).

Results

Molecular analysis of the MMACHC gene fully confirmed cblC disease in nine of 11 patients. Two patients harboured only a single heterozygous pathogenic MMACHC mutation and large unbalanced rearrangements were excluded by array‐CGH analysis in both. All patients except two showed a bilateral maculopathy. In general, retinal changes were first observed before one year of age and progressed to a well‐established maculopathy. Measurable visual acuities ranged from normal vision, in keeping with age, to bilateral, severe impairment of central vision. Nystagmus was present in six patients. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD‐OCT) showed macular thinning with severe alterations in outer, and partial sparing of inner, retinal layers.

Conclusion

Patients affected by cblC disease may frequently show an early onset maculopathy with variable ophthalmoscopic appearance. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD‐OCT) broadens the knowledge of subtle retinal alterations during the disease's progression and helps to shed light on the pathological mechanism of maculopathy development.
Research on the epigenetic regulation mechanism of the PTPN6 gene in advanced chronic myeloid leukaemia
Authors: Zhang Xiaokun , Yang Lin , Liu Xiaojun , Nie Ziyuan , Wang Xingzhe , Pan Yuxia , Luo Jianmin
Published: May 2017

PTPN6, a tyrosine phosphatase protein, plays a negative role in cell signal transduction and is negatively correlated with tumour formation and growth. However, epigenetic regulation mechanism of the PTPN6 gene in advanced chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) remains unclear. This study investigated bone marrow or blood samples from 44 CML patients and 10 healthy volunteers. KCL22 and K562 cells were cultured and treated with demethylation drugs and histone deacetylase inhibitors. Real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), methylation‐specific PCR, bisulfite sequencing PCR, Western blotting, co‐immunoprecipitation and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) was performed. PTPN6 was down‐regulated in cell lines and patients with advanced phase CML, whereas DNMT1, DNMT3A, MECP2, MBD2 and HDAC1 were up‐regulated. Treatment with 5‐azacytidine, decitabine, sodium valproate and LBH589 increased PTPN6 expression, but decreased that of DNMT1, DNMT3A, MECP2, MBD2 and HDAC1. Immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry showed that HDAC1 combined directly with PTPN6. ChIP‐seq showed that HDAC1 did not combine with the promoter region of PTPN6, while MAPK, AKT, STAT5, JAK2 and MYC promoter regions all combined with HDAC1. PTPN6 is associated with progression of CML. Low expression level of PTPN6 was associated with DNA methylation and regulated by histone acetylation. HDAC1 participates in the regulation of PTPN6.
Association of Human Development Index with global bladder, kidney, prostate and testis cancer incidence and mortality
Authors: Greiman Alyssa K. , Rosoff James S. , Prasad Sandip M.
Published: May 2017

Objectives

To describe contemporary worldwide age‐standardized incidence and mortality rates for bladder, kidney, prostate and testis cancer and their association with development.

Materials and Methods

We obtained gender‐specific, age‐standardized incidence and mortality rates for 184 countries and 16 major world regions from the GLOBOCAN 2012 database. We compared the mortality‐to‐incidence ratios (MIRs) at national and regional levels in males and females, and assessed the association with socio‐economic development using the 2014 United Nations Human Development Index (HDI).

Results

Age‐standardized incidence rates were 2.9 (bladder) to 7.4 (testis) times higher for genitourinary malignancies in more developed countries compared with less developed countries. Age‐standardized mortality rates were 1.5–2.2 times higher in more vs less developed countries for prostate, bladder and kidney cancer, with no variation in mortality rates observed in testis cancer. There was a strong inverse relationship between HDI and MIR in testis (regression coefficient 1.65, R2 = 0.78), prostate (regression coefficient −1.56, R2 = 0.85), kidney (regression coefficient −1.34, R2 = 0.74), and bladder cancer (regression coefficient −1.01, R2 = 0.80).

Conclusion

While incidence and mortality rates for genitourinary cancers vary widely throughout the world, the MIR is highest in less developed countries for all four major genitourinary malignancies. Further research is needed to understand whether differences in comorbidities, exposures, time to diagnosis, access to healthcare, diagnostic techniques or treatment options explain the observed inequalities in genitourinary cancer outcomes.
Glacial advance, occupation and retreat sediments associated with multi‐stage ice‐dammed lakes: north‐central Alberta, Canada
Authors: Slomka Jessica M. , Utting Daniel J.
Published: May 2017

Ice sheets that advance upvalley, against the regional gradient, commonly block drainage and result in ice‐dammed proglacial lakes along their margins during advance and retreat phases. Ice‐dammed glacial lakes described in regional depositional models, in which ice blocks a major lake outlet, are often confined to basins in which the glacial lake palaeogeographical position generally remains semi‐stable (e.g. Great Lakes basins). However, in places where ice retreats downvalley, blocking regional drainage, the palaeogeographical position and lake level of glacial lakes evolve temporally in response to the position of the ice margin (referred to here as ‘multi‐stage’ lakes). In order to understand the sedimentary record of multi‐stage lakes, sediments were examined in 14 cored boreholes in the Peace and Wabasca valleys in north‐central Alberta, Canada. Three facies associations (FAI–III) were identified from core, and record Middle Wisconsinan ice‐distal to ice‐proximal glaciolacustrine (FAI) sediments deposited during ice advance, Late Wisconsinan subglacial and ice‐marginal sediments (FAII) deposited during ice‐occupation, and glaciolacustrine sediments (FAIII) that record ice retreat from the study area. Modelling of the lateral extent of FAs using water wells and gamma‐ray logs, combined with interpreted outlets and mapped moraines based on LiDAR imagery, facilitated palaeogeographical reconstruction of lakes and the identification of four major retreat‐phase lake stages. These lake reconstructions, together with the vertical succession of FAs, are used to develop a depositional model for ice‐dammed lakes during a cycle of glacial advance and retreat. This depositional model may be applied in other areas where meltwater was impounded by glacial ice advancing up the regional gradient, in order to understand the complex interaction between depositional processes, ice‐marginal position, and supply of meltwater and sediment in the lake basin. In particular, this model could be applied to decipher the genetic origin of diamicts previously interpreted to record strictly subglacial deposition or multiple re‐advances.
Protecting children and families from tobacco and tobacco‐related NCDs in the Western Pacific: good practice examples from Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore
Authors: David A. M. , Mercado S. P. , Klein J. D. , Kaundan M. s./o. K. , Koong H. N. , Garcia E.
Published: May 2017

Background

Non‐communicable diseases (NCDs) are generally considered diseases of adulthood, but NCD risk factors like tobacco use often are taken up during childhood and adolescence, and second‐hand smoke exposure affects child survival and development.

Methods

At a regional meeting of the Asia Pacific Child and Family Health Alliance for Tobacco Control, members reviewed existing good practices of child‐focused tobacco control approaches using health promotion strategies. These interventions were implemented nationally in Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.

Results

Three good practice national examples were identified that focused on creating supportive tobacco‐free environments and upgrading cessation skills among paediatricians. These country examples highlight strategic areas to protect children and families from the harms of tobacco, as part of NCD prevention and control. Training paediatricians in brief cessation advice has enabled them to address tobacco‐using parents. Fully enforcing smoke‐free public areas has led to an increase in smoke‐free homes. The Tobacco Free Generation is a tobacco control ‘endgame’ strategy that taps into a social movement to deglamorize tobacco use and empower youth born in and after year 2000 to reject tobacco and nicotine addiction.

Conclusion

Tobacco control is pivotal in the fight against NCDs; health promotion strategies to protect children and youth from tobacco have a critical role to play in NCD prevention and control. Frontline health workers, including primary care paediatricians, need to step up and actively advocate for full implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, including tobacco tax increases and smoke‐free areas, while monitoring patients and their parents for tobacco use and second‐hand smoke exposure, preventing adolescent smoking uptake, and offering cessation support. A life‐course approach incorporating child‐focused efforts to prevent initiation of smoking and second‐hand smoke exposure with measures promoting cessation among parents will offer the greatest chance of overcoming future tobacco‐related NCD burden.
Anthropocentric by Default? Attribution of Familiar and Novel Properties to Living Things
Authors: Arenson Melanie , Coley John D.
Published: May 2017

Humans naturally and effortlessly use a set of cognitive tools to reason about biological entities and phenomena. Two such tools, essentialist thinking and teleological thinking, appear to be early developmental cognitive defaults, used extensively in childhood and under limited circumstances in adulthood, but prone to reemerge under time pressure or cognitive load. We examine the nature of another such tool: anthropocentric thinking. In four experiments, we examined patterns of property attribution to a wide range of living and non‐living objects, manipulating time pressure, response type, and property (either novel or familiar) in a total of 471 participants. Results showed no tendency toward increased similarity‐based attribution patterns indicative of anthropocentric thinking under time pressure. However, anthropocentric thinking was consistently observed for unfamiliar properties. These findings suggest that anthropocentric thinking is not a developmentally persistent cognitive default, but rather a cognitive strategy deliberately employed in situations of uncertainty.
Acute cellular rejection later than one year after heart transplantation: A single‐center retrospective study at Skåne University Hospital in Lund 1988‐2010
Authors: Söderlund Carl , Rådegran Göran
Published: May 2017

Routine endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) to detect acute cellular rejection (ACR) late (>1 year) after heart transplantation (HT) remains debated. To gain knowledge on late ACR and thereby approach this issue, we studied the incidence, predictors, and outcome of late ACR. 815 late EMBs from 183 patients transplanted 1988‐2010 were retrospectively reviewed until June 30, 2012. Only 4.4% of the routine and 17.6% of the additional clinically indicated late EMBs showed ACR ≥ grade 2. With time post‐HT, there was a clear trend toward fewer ACRs, a lower incidence of ACR per patient per year, and a deceleration in the decrease in the proportion of patients free from ACR. Sex‐mismatching and first‐year ACR were associated with an increased risk of late ACR, which also was associated with worse outcome. Although rare, when compared to our previous study on first‐year EMBs, it appears as if late more often than early ACR remains undetected and that also late and not only early ACR influences outcome. Extended EMB surveillance >1 year post‐HT therefore still seems reasonable in “high‐risk” patients, as also suggested in the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation guidelines. These should include, but not be limited to, the two risk groups above.
Clinical yield of endoscopic ultrasound and endoscopic ultrasound‐guided fine‐needle aspiration for incidental pancreatic cysts in kidney transplant evaluation
Authors: Rejeski Jared , Rogers Jeffrey , Hauser Matthew , Mishra Girish
Published: May 2017

Introduction

For several reasons, including an elevated risk for malignancy after transplant, kidney transplant candidates undergo a thorough evaluation prior to transplantation. Further assessment of incidentally discovered pancreatic cysts on routine abdominal imaging has been assumed to be prudent, and the preferred method has been endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and endoscopic ultrasound‐guided fine‐needle aspiration (EUS‐FNA). The clinical utility of EUS/EUS‐FNA with respect to transplant decision‐making has not been evaluated.

Materials and Methods

Kidney transplant candidates undergoing EUS/EUS‐FNA for further evaluation of one or more pancreatic cysts were identified. The clinical yield of the EUS/EUS‐FNA was determined via retrospective chart review.

Results

After exclusion criteria were applied, a total of 15 cases were identified at a high‐volume transplant center over a 71‐month period. EUS/EUS‐FNA was deemed to have a clinically relevant impact in 73.3% of cases.

Conclusion

Kidney transplant candidates are a unique group with respect to the need to clarify the etiology of pancreatic cysts. EUS/EUS‐FNA frequently provides information that is clinically relevant to the determination of transplant status.
The Client Satisfaction Questionnaire‐8: Psychometric properties in a cross‐sectional survey of people attending residential substance abuse treatment
Authors: Kelly Peter J. , Kyngdon Felicity , Ingram Isabella , Deane Frank P. , Baker Amanda L. , Osborne Briony A.
Published: May 2017

Introduction and Aims

The Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ‐8) is one of a limited number of standardised satisfaction measures that have been used widely across mental health services. This study examined the CSQ‐8 as a measure of general satisfaction within residential substance abuse treatment. It compared the CSQ‐8 with another established measure of client satisfaction that was developed for substance abuse treatment settings (Treatment Perceptions Questionnaire, TPQ). It also sought to examine the relationship between the CSQ‐8 and commonly used process measures.

Design and Methods

Cross‐sectional data was collected from across 14 Australian residential medium‐to‐long term alcohol and other drug treatment facilities (N = 1378). Demographic, substance abuse and mental health characteristics were collected, as well as process measures of craving, general functioning, self‐perceptions, recovery and symptom distress.

Results

A confirmatory factory analysis established that the CSQ‐8 retains a single factor. The scale was strongly correlated with the TPQ, suggesting high concurrent validity. However, while the TPQ was normally distributed, the CSQ‐8 was highly negatively skewed. Significant associations were found between the CSQ‐8 and cross‐sectional process measures.

Discussion and Conclusions

Results suggest that that CSQ‐8 is an appropriate measure to be used in residential substance abuse treatment settings. However, because of the high levels of negative skew, it is likely that the TPQ is more accurate in capturing clients' dissatisfaction than the CSQ‐8. Future research should include longitudinal studies of satisfaction in order to examine how changes in satisfaction may be related to client characteristics, outcome measures, dropout or re‐engagement in treatment. [Kelly PJ, Kyngdon F, Ingram I, Deane FP, Baker AL, Osborne BA. The Client Satisfaction Questionnaire‐8: Psychometric properties in a cross‐sectional survey of people attending residential substance abuse treatment. Drug Alcohol Rev 2018;37:79–86]
The distinct roles of Argonaute protein 2 in the growth, stress responses and pathogenicity of the apple tree canker pathogen
Authors: Feng H. , Xu M. , Liu Y. , Gao X. , Yin Z. , Voegele R. T. , Huang L.
Published: May 2017

Valsa mali (V. mali), the causal agent of apple tree Valsa canker, severely damages apple production, a major economic crop in China. To date, our understanding of the molecular mechanisms associated with the pathogenicity of V. mali is still limited. RNA interference participates in various biological processes in multicellular organisms. The Argonaute proteins (AGOs), which are a core component of the RNA interference system, play key roles in vegetable growth, environmental responses and fungal pathogenicity. Previously, transcriptome analysis revealed that the AGO2 gene (VMAGO2) was up‐regulated during V. mali infection, suggesting that VMAGO2 plays a potential role in pathogenicity. In this study, we investigated the potential roles of VMAGO2 in the growth, stress responses and pathogenicity of V. mali. VMAGO2 was isolated and found to be orthologous to AGO2 of Neurospora crassa and Fusarium graminearum. Real‐time quantitative PCR analysis showed that VMAGO2 expression was 3.4‐fold higher than that of the control (mycelium) at 24 hr post‐inoculation (hpi). Six positive VMAGO2 mutants were generated using double‐joint PCR and PEG‐mediated transformation. Deletion of VMAGO2 did not result in any obvious phenotypic change when compared with that of wild‐type strain 03‐8. Furthermore, the colonial morphology was not obviously affected when the mutants were subjected to osmotic and pH stress treatments. However, the knockout mutants did not grow on PDA with 0.05% H2O2. More importantly, infection assays showed that the average lesion diameter/length resulting from mutant infections was 34.8% and 19.8% smaller on apple leaves and twigs, respectively, than those resulting from wild‐type infections. All six positive mutants showed a consistent phenotype, and the defects of the mutants were fully complemented by re‐introducing the WTVMAGO2 allele. Our results demonstrated that VMAGO2 plays an important role in H2O2 tolerance and the pathogenicity of V. mali.