bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Current Progress of Research on Magnetically-induced Ferroelectrics
Authors: Kimura Tsuyoshi
Published: November 2015

Among several different types of magnetoelectric multiferroics, "magnetically-induced ferroelectrics" in which ferroelectricity is induced by complex spin orders, such as spiral orders, exhibit giant direct magnetoelectric effects, i.e., remarkable changes in electric polarization in response to a magnetic field. Not a few spin-driven ferroelectrics showing the magnetoelectric effects have been found in the past decade.[1] However, their induced ferroelectric polarization is much smaller than that in conventional ferroelectrics and mostly develops only at temperatures much lower than room temperature. Thus, the quest for spin-driven ferroelectrics with room temperature operation and/or robust ferroelectric polarization is still a major challenge in magnetoelectric multiferroics research. In this presentation, I will begin with introducing the background of research on magnetically-induced ferroelectrics, and present the following current progress. Recently, some hexaferrites have been found to show direct magnetoelectric effects at room temperature and relatively low magnetic fields.[2] Furthermore these hexferrites show inverse magnetoelectric effects, that is, induction of magnetization by applying electric fields, at room temperature. The results represented an important step toward practical applications using the magnetoelectric effect in spin-driven ferroelectrics. This presentation introduces magnetism and magnetoelectricity of several types of hexaferrites which show magnetoelectric effect at temperatures above room temperature. In addition, I will also introduce our recent work on magnetoelectric perovskite manganites with large magnetically-induced ferroelectric polarization which is comparable to that in conventional ferroelectrics. This work has been done in collaboration with T. Aoyam, K. Haruki, K. Okumura, A. Miyake, K. Shimizu, and S. Hirose.
Beyond Crystallography: Coherent Diffraction Imaging and Atomic Resolution Electron Tomography
Authors: Miao John
Published: November 2015

The discovery and interpretation of X-ray diffraction from crystals by von Laue, Henry and Lawrence Bragg about a century ago marked the beginning of a new era for visualizing the three-dimensional (3D) atomic structures in crystals. In 1999, the methodology of X-ray crystallography was extended to allow the structure determination of non-crystalline specimens, which is known as coherent diffraction imaging (CDI) or lensless imaging. In CDI, the diffraction pattern of a non-crystalline sample or a nanocrystal is first measured and then directly phased to obtain an image. The well-known phase problem is solved by combining the oversampling method with iterative algorithms. In the first part of the talk, I will present the principle of CDI and illustrate some applications using synchrotron radiation and X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs). In the second part of the talk, I will present a general tomographic method for determining the 3D local structure of materials at atomic resolution. By combining scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) with a novel data acquisition and image reconstruction method known as equally sloped tomography (EST), we achieve electron tomography at 2.4 Å resolution and observe nearly all the atoms in a multiply-twinned Pt nanoparticle. We find the existence of atomic steps at 3D twin boundaries of the Pt nanoparticle and, for the first time, image the 3D core structure of edge and screw dislocations in materials at atomic resolution. We expect this atomic resolution electron tomography method to find application in solid state physics, materials sciences, nanoscience, chemistry and biology.
Aperiodic Crystals
Authors: Janssen Ted , Janner Aloysio
Published: November 2015

2014 is the International Year of Crystallography. During at least fifty years after the discovery of diffraction of X-rays by crystals, it was believed that crystals have lattice periodicity, and crystals were defined by this property. Now it has become clear that there is a large class of compounds with interesting properties that should be called crystals as well, but are not lattice periodic. A method has been developed to describe and analyze these aperiodic crystals, using a higher-dimensional space. In this lecture the discovery of aperiodic crystals and the development of the formalism of the so-called superspace will be described. There are several classes of such materials. After the incommensurate modulated phases, incommensurate magnetic crystals, incommensurate composites and quasicrystals were discovered. They could all be studied using the same technique. Their main properties of these classes and the ways to characterize them will be discussed. The new family of aperiodic crystals has led also to new physical properties, to new techniques in crystallography and to interesting mathematical questions. Much has been done in the last fifty years by hundreds of crystallographers, crystal growers, physicists, chemists, mineralogists and mathematicians. Many new insights have been obtained. But there are still many questions, also of fundamental nature, to be answered. We end with a discussion of these open questions.
Significant risk factors associated with facilities management (FM) outsourcing
Authors: Ikediashi Dubem I. , Ogunlana Stephen O.
Published: November 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to extend the body of knowledge on healthcare facilities management (FM) by investigating the risks associated with outsourcing of FM services in hospitals.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper relied on two strands of methodology common with pragmatic research. Questionnaire survey (QS) used data from 208 respondents representing ten hospitals while three out of the ten hospitals involved in the QS were selected based on their willingness to enter the case study (CS) interview. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics for QS and using narrative techniques by discussing themes, sub-themes for the CS.

Findings

– Findings established 24 out of the 35 risk factors as critical, four factors as somehow critical, and five factors as not critical. Besides, nine risk factors were found to be significantly loaded on the five risk categories. The rank analysis also revealed that the top five critical risk factors are: inexperience and lack of requisite skills; possibility of fraud by vendor; financial failure of chosen vendor; vendor opportunism; and fall in morale of employees.

Originality/value

– The study provides an unambiguous contribution to exiting body of knowledge on outsourcing risks as it relates to healthcare FM. It reinforces the theory that risks exist in any form of relationship but developed a distinct body of factors associated with outsourcing of FM services particularly from the context of Nigeria’s public healthcare sector.
Feature reduction with PCA/KPCA for gait classification with different assistive devices
Authors: Martins Maria , Santos Cristina , Costa Lino , Frizera Anselmo
Published: November 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to propose a gait analysis technique that aims to identify differences and similarities in gait performance between three different assistive devices (ADs).

Design/methodology/approach

– Two feature reduction techniques, linear principal component analysis (PCA) and nonlinear kernel-PCA (KPCA), are expanded to provide a comparison of the spatio-temporal, symmetrical indexes and postural control parameters among the three different ADs. Then, a multiclass support vector machine (MSVM) with different approaches is designed to evaluate the potential of PCA and KPCA to extract relevant gait features that can differentiate between ADs.

Findings

– Results demonstrated that symmetrical indexes and postural control parameters are better suited to provide useful information about the different gait patterns that total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients present when walking with different ADs. The combination of KPCA and MSVM with discriminant functions (MSVM DF) resulted in a noticeably improved performance. Such combination demonstrated that, with symmetric indexes and postural control parameters, it is possible to extract with high-accuracy nonlinear gait features for automatic classification of gait patterns with ADs.

Originality/value

– The information obtained with the proposed technique could be used to identify benefits and limitations of ADs on the rehabilitation process and to evaluate the benefit of their use in TKA patients.
Decay rate performance approach for stabilization continuous fuzzy models using their discretized forms
Authors: Ellouze Ameni , Delmotte François , Lauber Jimmy , Chtourou Mohamed , Ksantini Mohamed
Published: November 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to deal with the stabilization of the continuous Takagi Sugeno (TS) fuzzy models using their discretized forms based on the decay rate performance approach.

Design/methodology/approach

– This approach is structured as follows: first, a discrete model is obtained from the discretization of the continuous TS fuzzy model. The discretized model is obtained from the Euler approximation method which is used for several orders. Second, based on the decay rate stabilization conditions, the gains of a non-PDC control law ensuring the stabilization of the discrete model are determined. Third by keeping the values of the gains, the authors determine the values of the performance criterion and the authors check by simulation the stability of the continuous TS fuzzy models through the zero order hold.

Findings

– The proposed idea lead to compare the performance continuous stability results with the literature. The comparison is, also, taken between the quadratic and non-quadratic cases.

Originality/value

– Therefore, the originality of this paper consists in the improvement of the continuous fuzzy models by using their discretized models. In this case, the effect of the discretization step on the performances of the continuous TS fuzzy models is studied. The usefulness of this approach is shown through two examples.
Negotiating a dominant heritage discourse. Sustainable urban planning in Cape Coast, Ghana
Authors: Fredholm Susanne
Published: November 2015

Purpose

– With specific focus on sustainable development of the built environment in Cape Coast, Ghana, the purpose of this paper is to examine practical and conceptual barriers for local planning authorities advancing international outreach programmes based on a global discourse on heritage and heritage management.

Design/methodology/approach

– A discourse analysis was conducted on documents and programmes produced by international organisations and local planning authorities since 2000. Further qualitative data collection methods included 25 semi-structured interviews, literature and media review and on-site observations.

Findings

– The study shows that the dominant global discourse on heritage management being interconnected with tourism development is adopted by local planning authorities. However, the requirements to advance initiated urban redevelopment projects are neither adapted to the economic realities nor institutional capabilities of the local planning system. Instead of adjusting specific Ghanaian notions of heritage or local forms of heritage organisations, negotiating the discourse is potentially a more sustainable approach.

Practical implications

– The findings reveal important implications necessary to address from sustainable development perspective. The study can help practitioners to develop strategies based on local African planning contexts rather than western discourses on best practice.

Originality/value

– This study discusses the impact of an Authorised Heritage Discourse on local planning of the built environment, and the need to rescale and broaden the scope of such discourses to other levels than the dominating national/global.
Community involvement for sustainable heritage tourism: a conceptual model
Authors: Li Yulong , Hunter Caroline
Published: November 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore why and how to involve community stakeholders to achieve sustainability in heritage tourism operations.

Design/methodology/approach

– A conceptual model and three propositions are created based on stakeholder theory and the social capital perspective.

Findings

– The study highlights the challenges facing heritage tourism operators and recommends that these organizations focus on inter-stakeholder group collaboration, participative decision making, responsibility and benefits sharing, and building an institutional power structure to involve hosting communities for sustainable operations.

Practical implications

– Instead of approaching from the traditional philosophic perspective at the overall societal level, community involvement is studied at individual organizational level to provide more specific recommendations on how tourism companies can empower and involve community stakeholders.

Originality/value

– This is one of the first studies to synthesize the constructs of organizational motivation, community empowerment, community involvement, and sustainable tourism operations in an integrated model to explore their relationships.
The influence of the Japanese tea ceremony on Japanese restaurant hospitality
Authors: Sato Yoshinobu , Parry Mark E.
Published: November 2015

Purpose

– Recent discussions of value-in-use from the perspective of service dominant logic have focused on the customer’s determination of value and control of the value creation process. The purpose of this paper is to extend these discussions by exploring the value creation process in the Japanese tea ceremony and in thekaiseki ryoristyle of Japanese cuisine, which is based on the Japanese tea ceremony.

Design/methodology/approach

– A historical analysis is used to describe the history of the Japanese tea ceremony in Japan and its influence on Japanese culture. key principles underlying the Japanese tea ceremony and their relationship to Zen Buddhism are summarized and the ways in which these principles are reflected in the service provided by Japanese restaurants are explored.

Findings

– The two elite restaurants examined in this analysis have designed their service experience to reflect four principles of the tea ceremony: the expression of seasonal feelings, the use of everyday items, ritualized social interactions, and the equality of host and guest. Given these principles, we argue that the tea ceremony and restaurants based on this ceremony imply a co-creation process that is different in three important ways from the process discussed in the co-creation literature. First, the tea ceremony involves dual experiential-value-creation processes. Both the master and the customer experience value-in-use during the delivery ofkaisekicuisine, and the value-in-use each receives is critically dependent on that received by the other. Second, the degree to which value-in-use is created for both parties (the customer and the master) depends on the master’s customization of the service experience based on his knowledge of the customer and that customer’s with the tea ceremony,kaiseki ryoricuisine and Japanese culture.

Research limitations/implications

– We hypothesize that the dual experiential-value-creation model is potentially relevant whenever the service process contains an element of artistic creation. Potential examples include concerts, recitals, theatre performances and art exhibitions, as well as more mundane situations in which the service provider derives value-in-use from aesthetic appreciations of the service provider’s art.

Originality/value

– Recent discussions of value co-creation argue that the customer controls the value creation process and the determination of value. The authors argue that the tea ceremony can serve as a metaphor for value co-creation in service contexts where the customer’s value creation process depends on the creation of value-in-use by the service provider.
The role of biology in planetary evolution: cyanobacterial primary production in low‐oxygen Proterozoic oceans
Authors: Hamilton Trinity L. , Bryant Donald A. , Macalady Jennifer L.
Published: November 2015

Understanding the role of biology in planetary evolution remains an outstanding challenge to geobiologists. Progress towards unravelling this puzzle for Earth is hindered by the scarcity of well‐preserved rocks from the Archean (4.0 to 2.5 Gyr ago) and Proterozoic (2.5 to 0.5 Gyr ago) Eons. In addition, the microscopic life that dominated Earth's biota for most of its history left a poor fossil record, consisting primarily of lithified microbial mats, rare microbial body fossils and membrane‐derived hydrocarbon molecules that are still challenging to interpret. However, it is clear from the sulfur isotope record and other geochemical proxies that the production of oxygen or oxidizing power radically changed Earth's surface and atmosphere during the Proterozoic Eon, pushing it away from the more reducing conditions prevalent during the Archean. In addition to ancient rocks, our reconstruction of Earth's redox evolution is informed by our knowledge of biogeochemical cycles catalysed by extant biota. The emergence of oxygenic photosynthesis in ancient cyanobacteria represents one of the most impressive microbial innovations in Earth's history, and oxygenic photosynthesis is the largest source of O2 in the atmosphere today. Thus the study of microbial metabolisms and evolution provides an important link between extant biota and the clues from the geologic record. Here, we consider the physiology of cyanobacteria (the only microorganisms capable of oxygenic photosynthesis), their co‐occurrence with anoxygenic phototrophs in a variety of environments and their persistence in low‐oxygen environments, including in water columns as well as mats, throughout much of Earth's history. We examine insights gained from both the rock record and cyanobacteria presently living in early Earth analogue ecosystems and synthesize current knowledge of these ancient microbial mediators in planetary redox evolution. Our analysis supports the hypothesis that anoxygenic photosynthesis, including the activity of metabolically versatile cyanobacteria, played an important role in delaying the oxygenation of Earth's surface ocean during the Proterozoic Eon.
Regulation of oxidative response and extracellular polysaccharide synthesis by a diadenylate cyclase in Streptococcus mutans
Authors: Cheng Xingqun , Zheng Xin , Zhou Xuedong , Zeng Jumei , Ren Zhi , Xu Xin , Cheng Lei , Li Mingyun , Li Jiyao , Li Yuqing
Published: November 2015

Cyclic diadenosine monophosphate (c‐di‐AMP) has been implicated in the control of many important bacterial activities. However, the function of this molecule in Streptococcus mutans, the primary aetiological agent of human dental caries, is unknown. In this study, we identified and characterized a diadenylate cyclase, named CdaA, in S. mutans. Furthermore, we showed that in‐frame deletion of the cdaA gene in S. mutans causes decreased c‐di‐AMP levels, increased sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide and increased production of extracellular polysaccharides. Global gene expression profiling revealed that more than 200 genes were significantly upregulated or downregulated (> 2.0‐fold) in the cdaA mutant. Interestingly, genes with increased or decreased expression were clustered in cellular polysaccharide biosynthetic processes and oxidoreductase activity respectively. Notably, the expression of several genomic islands, such as GTF‐B/C, TnSmu, CRISPR1‐Cas and CRISPR2‐Cas, was found to be altered in the cdaA mutant, indicating a possible link between these genomic islands and c‐di‐AMP signalling. Collectively, the results reported here show that CdaA is an important global modulator in S. mutans and is required for optimal growth and environmental adaption. This report also paves the way to unveil further the roles of c‐di‐AMP signalling networks in the biology and pathogenicity of S. mutans.
Measuring Organizational Performance: A Case for Subjective Measures
Authors: Singh Satwinder , Darwish Tamer K. , Potočnik Kristina
Published: November 2015

We review the organizational performance (OP) measurement literature highlighting the limitations of both objective and subjective measures of performance. We argue that, with careful planning, subjective measures can be successfully employed to assess OP. This is because often consistent, reliable and comparable compatible objective data on OP measures – particularly across countries and sectors – is difficult to come by. Considering that an inflated OP measure can be cross‐checked with the use of secondary data, managers have little incentive to report such figures. As a result, when quizzed over the stand‐alone performance measures of their organizations or vis‐à‐vis their rivals, managers accurately assess and respond to questions on the performance of their organizations. An in‐depth statistical exercise conducted on the subjective measures of OP as reported by managers of four sets of companies in four separate countries, show consistent results, thus lending support to this premise.
Materializing Strategy in Mundane Tools: the Key to Coupling Global Strategy and Local Strategy Practice?
Authors: Arnaud Nicolas , Mills Colleen E. , Legrand Céline , Maton Eric
Published: November 2015

While much of the literature on strategy and strategy as practice (SaP) focuses on traditional strategic tools, technologies and discursive practices of managers, this paper extends the understanding of strategic change implementation by proposing that mundane material tools, understood as text, translate global strategic discourse in ways that make sense to workers and orchestrate successful global strategy implementation at the local level. Based on a rich case study within one branch of a national bank, this paper demonstrates how a middle manager's materializing practices developed local strategy practice while simultaneously transforming work and producing strategic figures or indicators that satisfied senior management's global strategic change objectives. The contributions of this paper are threefold: (i) it advances the understanding of the multimodality of materiality by identifying the influence of three types of mundane tools produced locally by a middle manager as he performed his sense of the senior managers’ strategic discourse; (ii) it reveals how these three types of physical texts materialized the manager's sense of this discourse, facilitating frontline workers’ engagement and coupling materiality and orality in a coherent way that allowed workers to embody the company's global strategy in their ‘sayings and doings’; and (iii) it highlights the importance of managers’ ability to materialize a strategic discourse.
Aiming for Excellence: Reflections on the Advanced Institute of Management Research and its Elite
Authors: Macdonald Stuart , Steen John , Shazi Rahmat
Published: November 2015

In 2002, the UK government launched the Advanced Institute of Management Research, a major initiative intended to raise the quality of research in business schools. Rather than offering research grants in open competition, AIM deliberately funded a select few leading lights in management. Insufficient allowance was made for the Research Assessment Exercise, which measured research excellence in terms of papers published in top journals. The AIM's elite exploited its existing publishing advantage, and AIM provided further resources to aid their efforts. The AIM recruited willing acolytes to work with its elite in fashioning the sort of papers required by the top journals of management – positive papers, consensual and endlessly citable. Analysis of the publishing patterns of AIM senior fellows reveals research cliques and publication silos rather than a network organization. Much as the elite saw its AIM funding as recognition of its own excellence, so AIM itself came to be seen as acknowledgement of the excellence of management research as a whole. That AIM existed to raise management research from intellectual poverty was forgotten. The AIM was wound up in 2012, having spent £30 million, most of it on the subject's elite. The problems that beset management research remain.
The Theory of Value‐Based Payment Incentives and Their Application to Health Care
Authors: Conrad Douglas A.
Published: November 2015

Objectives

To present the implications of agency theory in microeconomics, augmented by behavioral economics, for different methods of value‐based payment in health care; and to derive a set of future research questions and policy recommendations based on that conceptual analysis.

Data Sources

Original literature of agency theory, and secondarily behavioral economics, combined with applied research and empirical evidence on the application of those principles to value‐based payment.

Study Design

Conceptual analysis and targeted review of theoretical research and empirical literature relevant to value‐based payment in health care.

Principal Findings

Agency theory and secondarily behavioral economics have powerful implications for design of value‐based payment in health care. To achieve improved value—better patient experience, clinical quality, health outcomes, and lower costs of care—high‐powered incentives should directly target improved care processes, enhanced patient experience, and create achievable benchmarks for improved outcomes. Differing forms of value‐based payment (e.g., shared savings and risk, reference pricing, capitation, and bundled payment), coupled with adjunct incentives for quality and efficiency, can be tailored to different market conditions and organizational settings.

Conclusions

Payment contracts that are “incentive compatible”—which directly encourage better care and reduced cost, mitigate gaming, and selectively induce clinically efficient providers to participate—will focus differentially on evidence‐based care processes, will right‐size and structure incentives to avoid crowd‐out of providers’ intrinsic motivation, and will align patient incentives with value. Future research should address the details of putting these and related principles into practice; further, by deploying these insights in payment design, policy makers will improve health care value for patients and purchasers.
The Changing Landscape of Accrual Accounting
Authors: BUSHMAN ROBERT M. , LERMAN ALINA , ZHANG X. FRANK
Published: November 2015

A fundamental property of accrual accounting is to smooth temporary timing fluctuations in operating cash flows, indicating an inherent negative correlation between accruals and cash flows. We show that the overall correlation between accruals and cash flows has dramatically declined in magnitude over the past half century and has largely disappeared in more recent years. The adjusted R 2 from regressing (changes in) accruals on (changes in) cash flows drops from about 70% (90%) in the 1960s to near zero (under 20%) in more recent years. In exploring potential reasons for the observed attenuation, we find that increases in non‐timing‐related accrual recognition, as proxied by one‐time and nonoperating items and the frequency of loss firm‐years, explain the majority of the overall decline. On the other hand, temporal changes in the matching between revenues and expenses, and the growth of intangible‐intensive industries play only a limited role in explaining the observed attenuation. Finally, the relative decline of the timing role of accruals does not appear to be associated with an increase in the asymmetrically timely loss recognition role.
Death from Hypothermia during a Training Course under “Extreme Conditions”: Related to Two Cases
Authors: Perich Pierre , Tuchtan Lucile , Bartoli Christophe , Léonetti Georges , Piercecchi‐Marti Marie‐Dominique
Published: November 2015

Death from hypothermia following exhaustion or from various complicated pathologies is no longer a frequent cause of death among combat troops. During a training course under “extreme conditions” in the French Alps, two young African officers died. Confronted with these two clinically confirmed cases of hypothermia, the unknown anatomopathological and biological specificities associated with death from hypothermia were highlighted. In these typical and clinically confirmed cases of death from subacute exhaustion hypothermia, none of the signs revealed by the autopsy were specific. Although some recent publications have addressed the utility of postmortem biochemical markers when establishing a diagnosis, with no anamnesis, with no knowledge or analysis of the circumstances of death, and without an in situ examination of the body, it appears difficult, if not impossible, to confirm that death was caused by hypothermia.
Comparative analysis of peptidoglycan recognition proteins in endoparasitoid wasp Microplitis mediator
Authors: Wang Rui‐Juan , Lin Zhe , Jiang Hong , Li Jiancheng , Saha Tusar T. , Lu Ziyun , Lu Zhiqiang , Zou Zhen
Published: November 2015

Peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs) are a family of innate immune receptors that specifically recognize peptidoglycans (PGNs) on the surface of a number of pathogens. Here, we have identified and characterized six PGRPs from endoparasitoid wasp, Microplitis mediator (MmePGRPs). To understand the roles of PGRPs in parasitoid wasps, we analyzed their evolutionary relationship and orthology, expression profiles during different developmental stages, and transcriptional expression following infection with Gram‐positive and ‐negative bacteria and a fungus. MmePGRP‐S1 was significantly induced in response to pathogenic infection. This prompted us to evaluate the effects of RNA interference mediated gene specific knockdown of MmePGRP‐S1. The knockdown of MmePGRP‐S1 (iMmePGRP‐S1) dramatically affected wasps’ survival following challenge by Micrococcus luteus, indicating the involvement of this particular PGRP in immune responses against Gram‐positive bacteria. This action is likely to be mediated by the Toll pathway, but the mechanism remains to be determined. MmePGRP‐S1 does not play a significant role in anti‐fungal immunity as indicated by the survival rate of iMmePGRP‐S1 wasps. This study provides a comprehensive characterization of PGRPs in the economically important hymenopteran species M. mediator.
Differentiation of Wines Treated with Wood Chips Based on Their Phenolic Content, Volatile Composition, and Sensory Parameters
Authors: Kyraleou Maria , Kallithraka Stamatina , Chira Kleopatra , Tzanakouli Eleni , Ligas Ioannis , Kotseridis Yorgos
Published: November 2015

The effects of both wood chips addition and contact time on phenolic content, volatile composition, color parameters, and organoleptic character of red wine made by a native Greek variety (Agiorgitiko) were evaluated. For this purpose, chips from American, French, Slavonia oak, and Acacia were added in the wine after fermentation. A mixture consisting of 50% French and 50% Americal oak chips was also evaluated. In an attempt to categorize wine samples, various chemical parameters of wines and sensory parameters were studied after 1, 2, and 3 mo of contact time with chips. The results showed that regardless of the type of wood chips added in the wines, it was possible to differentiate the samples according to the contact time based on their phenolic composition and color parameters. In addition, wood‐extracted volatile compounds seem to be the critical parameter that could separate the samples according to the wood type. The wines that were in contact with Acacia and Slavonia chips could be separated from the rest mainly due to their distinct sensory characters.
Predictors and rate of adjuvant radiation therapy following radical prostatectomy: A report from the Prostate Cancer Registry
Authors: Daniels Christopher P , Millar Jeremy L , Spelman Tim , Sengupta Shomik , Evans Sue M
Published: November 2015

Introduction

Long‐term data from three randomized trials have demonstrated that adjuvant radiation therapy (ART) reduces the rate of biochemical failure in high‐risk men following radical prostatectomy (RP). One of these trials has shown a survival advantage. We investigated the rate of ART in Victoria and the predictors for this treatment.

Methods

We analysed data from eligible patients who were notified to the Victorian Prostate Cancer Registry (PCR) by 37 Victorian hospitals between 1 August 2008 and 31 October 2011. We defined ART as radiation therapy (RT) delivered within 6 months of RP. Predictors of ART receipt were modelled using adjusted and unadjusted logistic regression.

Results

There were 4626 eligible cases from which 2018 underwent RP with recorded date of surgery. Of these eligible prostatectomy cases, a total of 89 received ART. A subgroup of 833 men had an adverse pathologic feature, of whom 78 received ART. In a multivariate model, pathologic tumour stage pT3a (odds ratio (OR) 2.64; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.4–5.00; P = 0.003), pT3b (OR 4.58; 95% CI 2.12–9.89; P = 0.000), a positive surgical margin (OR 8.91; 95% CI 4.61–17.2; P = 0.000) and pathologic Gleason grade >7 (OR 7.18; 95% CI 1.54–33.6; P = 0.012) predicted receipt of ART.

Conclusion

Adverse pathologic features and high pathologic Gleason score predict for receiving ART in Victorian men after RP, but overall, ART is not commonly prescribed. This finding is consistent with other published series and may reflect clinician scepticism regarding the benefit of ART over salvage RT and concern about toxicity and the risk of over treatment.
Audit of demand for after‐hours CT scanning services in RANZCR‐accredited training departments
Authors: Goergen Stacy K , Grimm Jane , Paul Eldho , Fabiny Robert , Lee Wai Kit , Blome Steven , Zhou Kim , Munro Philip L
Published: November 2015

Introduction

The aims of this study were to measure: (i) the growth in after‐hours emergency department – referred CT (ED–CT) performed in accredited training departments between 2011 and 2013; (ii) the growth in ED CT relative to growth in ED presentations at the same hospitals; and (iii) trainee workload resulting from after‐hours ED CT.

Methods

Ethics approval was obtained for all participating sites. Accredited training facilities in Australia and New Zealand with three or more trainees and serving one or more EDs were invited to participate (N = 32). Four nights were surveyed between August and December 2013. For data collection, the number of ED patients having one or more CT scans; ED CT scan total images; non‐contrast head CTs; and ED patients (total and categories 1 and 2) attending the ED in the preceding 24 h and first half of calendar year were collected for 2013 and corresponding days in 2012 and 2011. Trainee staffing levels were measured.

Results

Eleven of 32 sites provided data for all four nights and 14 of 32 for one or more nights. A 15.7% increase in number of ED CTs between 1700 and 2200 h and 16.8% increase between 2201 and 0730 h occurred in the 2 years between 2011 and 2013 compared with a 6.9% increase in overall ED and 26% increase in categories 1 and 2 presentations over the same period. The number of CT images, however, increased 23%.

Conclusion

Growth in demand by EDs for after‐hours CT services has implications for service provision and trainee workloads in Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists‐accredited training departments.
Novel CT and scintigraphic findings of bone metastasis from invasive lobular breast cancer
Authors: Al‐Ogaili Zeyad , Troedson Russell
Published: November 2015

Introduction

The aim of this study is to identify and describe the computed tomography and scintigraphic imaging patterns of osseous metastasis from invasive lobular breast cancer (ILC).

Materials and methods

CT and skeletal scintigraphy (SS) studies of 23 patients with diagnosis of ILC and osseous metastasis on their initial presentation were reviewed.

Results

Osseous metastases in 14 patients (60.8%) appear as uniform small sclerotic lesions (USSL) on CT scan. The SS in these patients were interpreted as negative for metastasis (either normal or with some equivocal findings not typical for metastasis).

Conclusion

Osseous metastasis from ILC can have a characteristic imaging pattern on CT and SS. The pattern of USSL on CT scan with negative SS is highly suggestive of osseous metastasis from ILC.
Noradrenergic inputs from locus coeruleus to posterior ventral tegmental area are essential to support ethanol reinforcement
Authors: Shelkar Gajanan P. , Kumar Santosh , Singru Praful S. , Subhedar Nishikant K. , Kokare Dadasaheb M.
Published: November 2015

Although dysregulation of the dopaminergic mesolimbic system is generally considered central to addiction, the involvement of other circuits is increasingly being appreciated. An interaction between locus coeruleus (LC) noradrenergic neurons and the posterior ventral tegmental area (pVTA) dopaminergic system, in the processing of drug‐triggered reward, has been suggested, but not demonstrated in behaving animals. Herein, we try to tease out the precise role of noradrenergic neurons in the LC–VTA circuit in mediating reward and reinforcement behavior associated with ethanol. In the standard two‐lever (active/inactive) operant paradigm, the rats were trained to self‐administer ethanol in pVTA and subjected to pharmacological intervention. Intra‐pVTA administration of phenylephrine (alpha‐1 adrenoceptor agonist) increased ethanol self‐administration, while prazosin and disulfiram (agents that reduce noradrenergic tone) produced opposite effects. While degeneration [N‐(2‐chloroethyl)‐N‐ethyl‐2‐bromobenzylamine hydrochloride, DSP‐4, intraperitoneal route] or silencing (lidocaine or muscimol, both via intra‐LC route) of the LC noradrenergic neurons decreased, phenylephrine via the intra‐LC route reinstated ethanol self‐administration. Furthermore, lidocaine reduced ethanol self‐administration, but the effect was fully attenuated by noradrenaline given directly in the pVTA. This suggests that the feedback signals from LC to pVTA are necessary to sustain the ethanol self‐infusion activity. Ethanol self‐administration significantly increased tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in pVTA and LC; the response was blocked by DSP‐4 pre‐treatment. While dopamine D1, but not D2, receptors were localized on noradrenergic LC neurons, pre‐treatment with SCH‐23390 (intra‐LC) dampened the lever press activity. We suggest that two‐way communications between VTA and LC regions is essential for ethanol‐triggered reinforcement behavior.
Excess risk of urinary tract cancers in patients receiving thiopurines for inflammatory bowel disease: a prospective observational cohort study
Authors: Bourrier A. , Carrat F. , Colombel J.‐F. , Bouvier A.‐M. , Abitbol V. , Marteau P. , Cosnes J. , Simon T. , Peyrin‐Biroulet L. , Beaugerie L. ,   the CESAME study group
Published: November 2015

Background

The risk of urinary tract cancers, including kidney and bladder cancers, was increased in transplant recipients receiving thiopurines.

Aim

To assess the risk of urinary tract cancers in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) receiving thiopurines in the CESAME observational cohort.

Methods

Between May 2004 and June 2005, 19 486 patients with IBD, 30.1% of whom were receiving thiopurines, were enrolled. Median follow‐up was 35 months (IQR: 29–40).

Results

Ten and six patients developed respectively kidney and bladder cancer. The incidence rates of urinary tract cancer were 0.48/1000 patient‐years in patients receiving thiopurines (95% CI: 0.21–0.95), 0.10/1000 patient‐years in patients who discontinued thiopurines (95% CI: 0.00–0.56) and 0.30/1000 patient‐years in patients never treated with thiopurines (95% CI: 0.12–0.62) at entry. The standardised incidence ratio of urinary tract cancer was 3.40 (95% CI: 1.47–6.71, P = 0.006) in patients receiving thiopurines, 0.64 (95% CI: 0.01–3.56, P = 0.92) in patients previously exposed to thiopurines and 1.17 (95% CI: 0.47–12.42, P = 0.78) in patients never treated with thiopurines. The multivariate‐adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of urinary tract cancer between patients receiving thiopurines and those not receiving thiopurines was 2.82 (95% CI: 1.04–7.68, P = 0.04). Other significant risk factors were male gender (HR: 3.98, 95% CI: 1.12–14.10, P = 0.03) and increasing age (HR after 65 years (ref <50): 13.26, 95% CI: 3.52–50.03, P = 0.0001).

Conclusion

Patients with IBD receiving thiopurines have an increased risk of urinary tract cancers. Clinically relevant excess risk is observed in older men.
Evidence of Different Propofol Pharmacokinetics under Short and Prolonged Infusion Times in Rabbits
Authors: Campos Sónia , Monteiro Joaquim , Valenzuela Belén , Gonçalinho Helena , de Pinho Paula Guedes , Fresco Paula , Félix Luis , Antunes Luís
Published: November 2015

Propofol is an anaesthetic widely used in both human beings and animals. However, the characterization of propofol pharmacokinetics (PK) is not well understood when long‐term infusions are used. The main objective of this study was to explore the PK behaviour of propofol in a rabbit model during short and prolonged propofol infusions and to develop an internally validated PK model, for propofol dose individualization in the rabbit for future use. Population 1 (P1) was constituted by seven New Zealand rabbits and was used to characterize the PK profile of propofol at short infusions. Animals were anaesthetized with a bolus of 20 mg/kg, followed by an infusion rate of 50 mg/kg/hr of propofol at 1%, which was then maintained for 30 min. A second rabbit population (P2, n = 7) was sedated according to reflexes responses and Index of Consciousness values, for 20 consecutive hours using propofol 2% aiming at characterizing propofol behaviour at long‐term infusions. Clinical data and blood samples were collected at specific time‐points in both populations. Propofol plasma concentrations were determined by gas chromatography/ion trap mass spectrometry. The NONMEM VII software was used to evaluate the relationships between dose and plasma concentrations. A linear two‐compartment model with different central compartment volume and plasma clearance (separately modelled in the two populations) was the one that best described propofol concentrations. The time course of propofol plasma concentrations was well characterized by the PK model developed, which simultaneously accounts for propofol short‐ and long‐term infusions and can be used to optimize future PK studies in rabbits.
Glucagon‐Like Peptide‐1 Formulation – the Present and Future Development in Diabetes Treatment
Authors: Lee Chooi Yeng
Published: November 2015

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder that has become the fourth leading cause of death in the developed countries. The disorder is characterized by pancreatic β‐cells dysfunction, which causes hyperglycaemia leading to several other complications. Treatment by far, which focuses on insulin administration and glycaemic control, has not been satisfactory. Glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP1) is an endogenous peptide that stimulates post‐prandial insulin secretion. Despite being able to mimic the effect of insulin, GLP1 has not been the target drug in diabetes treatment due to the peptide's metabolic instability. After a decade‐long effort to improve the pharmacokinetics of GLP1, a number of GLP1 analogues are currently available on the market. The current Minireview does not discuss these drugs but presents strategies that were undertaken to address the weaknesses of the native GLP1, particularly drug delivery techniques used in developing GLP1 nanoparticles and modified GLP1 molecule. The article highlights how each of the selected preparations has improved the efficacy of GLP1, and more importantly, through an overview of these studies, it will provide an insight into strategies that may be adopted in the future in the development of a more effective oral GLP1 formulation.
Attachment and prejudice: The mediating role of empathy
Authors: Boag Elle M. , Carnelley Katherine B.
Published: November 2015

In two studies, we examined the novel hypothesis that empathy is a mechanism through which the relationship between attachment patterns and prejudice can be explained. Study 1 examined primed attachment security (vs. neutral prime), empathy, and prejudice towards immigrants. Study 2 examined primed attachment patterns (secure, avoidant, anxious), empathy subscales (perspective taking, empathic concern, personal distress), and prejudice towards Muslims. Across both studies, empathy mediated the relationship between primed attachment security and low prejudice levels. The findings suggest that enhancing felt security and empathic skills in individuals high in attachment–avoidance may lead to reduced prejudice.
Epistemic Trust and Education: Effects of Informant Reliability on Student Learning of Decimal Concepts
Authors: Durkin Kelley , Shafto Patrick
Published: November 2015

The epistemic trust literature emphasizes that children's evaluations of informants’ trustworthiness affects learning, but there is no evidence that epistemic trust affects learning in academic domains. The current study investigated how reliability affects decimal learning. Fourth and fifth graders (N = 122;Mage = 10.1 years) compared examples from consistently accurate and inaccurate informants (consistent) or informants who were each sometimes accurate and inaccurate (inconsistent). Fourth graders had higher conceptual knowledge and fewer misconceptions in theconsistentcondition than theinconsistentcondition, and vice versa for fifth graders due to differences in prior exposure to decimals. Given the same examples, learning differed depending on informant reliability. Thus, epistemic trust is a malleable factor that affects learning in an academic domain.
Affecting Girls’ Activity and Job Interests Through Play: The Moderating Roles of Personal Gender Salience and Game Characteristics
Authors: Coyle Emily F. , Liben Lynn S.
Published: November 2015

Gender schema theory (GST) posits that children approach opportunities perceived as gender appropriate, avoiding those deemed gender inappropriate, in turn affecting gender‐differentiated career trajectories. To test the hypothesis that children's gender salience filters (GSF—tendency to attend to gender) moderate these processes, 62 preschool girls (M = 4.5 years) were given GSF measures. Two weeks later, they played a computer game about occupations that manipulated the game‐character's femininity (hyperfeminized Barbie vs. less feminized Playmobil Jane). Following game play, girls’ interests in feminine activities showed an interaction of game condition and GSF: High‐GSF girls showed intensified feminine activity interests only with Barbie; low‐GSF girls showed no change with either character. Neither GSF nor game condition affected occupational interests. Implications for GST, individual differences, and occupational interventions are discussed.
Visualizing Waypoints‐Constrained Origin‐Destination Patterns for Massive Transportation Data
Authors: Zeng W. , Fu C.‐W. , Müller Arisona S. , Erath A. , Qu H.
Published: November 2015

Origin‐destination (OD) pattern is a highly useful means for transportation research since it summarizes urban dynamics and human mobility. However, existing visual analytics are insufficient for certain OD analytical tasks needed in transport research. For example, transport researchers are interested in path‐related movements across congested roads, besides global patterns over the entire domain. Driven by this need, we proposewaypoints‐constrained OD visual analytics, a new approach for exploring path‐related OD patterns in an urban transportation network. First, we use hashing‐based query to support interactive filtering of trajectories through user‐specified waypoints. Second, we elaborate a set of design principles and rules, and derive a novel unified visual representation called thewaypoints‐constrained OD viewby carefully considering the OD flow presentation, the temporal variation, spatial layout and user interaction. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our interface with two case studies and expert interviews with five transportation experts.