bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Building family business identity through transgenerational narratives
Authors: Parada Maria Jose , Dawson Alexandra
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand how family businesses (FBs) build their collective identity through transgenerational narratives. The authors examine the processes through which organizational meanings are socially constructed through narratives about individuals who are closely linked to the organizations (and their family).

Design/methodology/approach

Based on qualitative research, the authors study a 180-year old Spanish Pharmaceutical FB. Using longitudinal data, the authors analyze the narratives of six family members and two non-family executives. The authors use open-ended questions to allow interviewees to elaborate their own stories, following previous studies using extended narratives that leave the stage to the narrator.

Findings

Findings based on the stories of the eight interviewees (voice) suggest that the FB identity was initiated by the founder’s way to grow the business (fictionality). In turn the family shaped the identity of the FB, being reshaped by the stories arising from next generations’ entry into the business (reflexivity). While the FB identity reflects that of the owners, this identity is enduring but dynamic (temporality), not only shaped by the business family behind, but also conditioned by the environment.

Originality/value

The authors contribute to the growing literature adopting a narrative method to study phenomena in FBs. Thanks to the richness of the empirical material, a narrative method is particularly suited – and novel – for understanding collective identity, a crucial organizational resource that is closely linked to leadership in the FB.
CDS spreads as an independent measure of credit risk
Authors: Kiesel Florian , Spohnholtz Jonathan
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The creditworthiness of corporates is most visible in credit ratings. This paper aims to present an alternative credit rating measure independently of credit rating agencies. The credit rating score (CRS) is based on the credit default swap (CDS) market trading.

Design/methodology/approach

A CRS is developed which is a linear function of logarithmized CDS spreads. This new CRS is the first one that is completely independent of the rating agency. The estimated ratings are compared with ratings provided by Fitch Ratings for 310 European and US non-financial corporates.

Findings

The empirical analysis shows that logarithmized CDS spreads and issuer credit ratings by agencies have a linear relationship. The new CRS provides market participants with an alternative risk assessment, which is solely based on market factors, and does not rely on credit rating analysts. The results indicate that our CRS is able to anticipate agency ratings in advance. Moreover, the analysis shows that the trading volume has only a limited influence in the anticipation of rating changes.

Originality/value

This study shows a new approach to measure the creditworthiness of firms by analyzing CDS spreads. This is highly relevant for regulation, firm monitoring and investors.
Contact and contagion: Probability of transmission given contact varies with demographic state in bighorn sheep
Authors: Manlove Kezia R. , Cassirer E. Frances , Plowright Raina K. , Cross Paul C. , Hudson Peter J.
Published: March 2017

Understanding both contact and probability of transmission given contact are key to managing wildlife disease. However, wildlife disease research tends to focus on contact heterogeneity, in part because the probability of transmission given contact is notoriously difficult to measure. Here, we present a first step towards empirically investigating the probability of transmission given contact in free‐ranging wildlife.

We used measured contact networks to test whether bighorn sheep demographic states vary systematically in infectiousness or susceptibility to Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae, an agent responsible for bighorn sheep pneumonia.

We built covariates using contact network metrics, demographic information and infection status, and used logistic regression to relate those covariates to lamb survival. The covariate set contained degree, a classic network metric describing node centrality, but also included covariates breaking the network metrics into subsets that differentiated between contacts with yearlings, ewes with lambs, and ewes without lambs, and animals with and without active infections.

Yearlings, ewes with lambs, and ewes without lambs showed similar group membership patterns, but direct interactions involving touch occurred at a rate two orders of magnitude higher between lambs and reproductive ewes than between any classes of adults or yearlings, and one order of magnitude higher than direct interactions between multiple lambs.

Although yearlings and non‐reproductive bighorn ewes regularly carried M. ovipneumoniae, our models suggest that a contact with an infected reproductive ewe had approximately five times the odds of producing a lamb mortality event of an identical contact with an infected dry ewe or yearling. Consequently, management actions targeting infected animals might lead to unnecessary removal of young animals that carry pathogens but rarely transmit.

This analysis demonstrates a simple logistic regression approach for testing a priori hypotheses about variation in the odds of transmission given contact for free‐ranging hosts, and may be broadly applicable for investigations in wildlife disease ecology.
Contradiction in contemporary political life: meeting bureaucracy in Norwegian municipal government
Authors: Abram Simone
Published: March 2017

Meetings are the apotheosis of contemporary bureaucratic life, containing dilemmas and contradictions that are at the heart of modernity. In particular, political and bureaucratic meetings (both state and civic) are ritual performances in which rules are enacted, ritual correctness is met with manipulative political game‐playing, and formal transparency is intertwined with relational and informational secrecy. Meetings in bureaucratic government rely on a series of legitimating motifs, including the invoking of ‘conjured contexts’ to link bureaucratic practices to external action. This essay shows how meetings order political and bureaucratic life, and vice versa, and explores the materiality and embodiment of meeting practices, illustrating how a dominant global model of bureaucratic meeting is elaborated locally.
Hector Davies: A Liberal at War
Authors: JEFFREYS‐JONES RHODRI
Published: March 2017

Extrapolating from a particular case, the article argues that experience of the Second World War was capable of broadening combatants’ minds, and of helping to shape their post‐war attitudes. Before the war, Hector Davies was a Bank of England official. From 1940 he served in Nigeria and Chad, where he was responsible for British military liaison with the Free French Equatorial commander, Jacques Leclerc. After a period in Gaza and Cairo, he joined the French division of SOE's mission near Algiers, and was infiltrated into the Tarn in 1944, there receiving accolades for his diplomacy and bravery. His mainly unpublished and hitherto unexploited memoirs and scrapbook help especially to rectify an evidential gap created by the incineration of official SOE/Massingham/France records. In 1945, he moved to Austria and Germany to help with economic reconstruction, and after the war was active in Liberal Party politics. Davies shared some common prejudices at the outset of the war. In the course of the conflict, he came to support the idea of African federal autonomy, and defended the record of the maquis including its leftist component. After the war and at a time of semi‐racial prejudice against the defeated powers, he promoted the principle of German economic reconstruction.
African American Citizenship, the 1883 Civil Rights Cases and the Creation of the Jim Crow South
Authors: ROBINSON STEPHEN
Published: March 2017

Brown v. Board of Education and Plessy v. Ferguson dominate discussion of the impact of the Supreme Court on matters of southern race relations, and understandably so given the significance of Brown in overturning Plessy. As a result, historians have focused heavily on the Plessy case as a way of understanding the emergence of Jim Crow segregation. Yet this is to study the late nineteenth century from the perspective of the mid‐twentieth century, and overlook other Supreme Court decisions of the late nineteenth century, most notably the decision in the 1883 Civil Rights Cases. This article will explore the implications of the 1883 decision: how it reignited an existing national debate over the meaning of civil rights that was influenced by local concerns. Through a study of how African Americans in Alabama responded to the court's 1883 decision, this article will demonstrate that black political activism remained strong well into the 1880s. Race and citizenship were brought into sharp focus by this decision, which had longer‐term implications over the very meaning of civil rights in America.
Identification – obstacle to individuation, or: on how to become ‘me’
Authors: Cavalli Alessandra
Published: March 2017

This paper will explore the use of identification with aspects of a lost object as a defensive strategy to cope with traumatic loss, and will show how in the depth of the analytic work this identification can be accessed and made conscious. Descriptions of work with a three‐year‐old boy illustrate how the sudden loss of his mother's breasts had made weaning un‐accessible to him, and how, in the absence of a good experience of separation, the process of mourning had not been able to take place. Instead, identification with aspects of the lost breast was used as a defence against pain, and this state of affairs was proving a hindrance to individuation. In the discussion of the case material, the use of identification as a defence will be highlighted, and a differentiation made between abandonment and separation as this illuminates the link between mourning and individuation.
Autistic phenomena in The Adventures of Pinocchio
Authors: Smith Adrian
Published: March 2017

This paper seeks to demonstrate that the protagonist of Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio illustrates numerous autistic phenomena such as communication difficulties, sensory and perceptual distortions and mindblindness. While Pinocchio is viewed as a literary construct with contraindications of autism, it will be argued that his autistic traits are sufficient to suggest the possibility that Collodi had a partial intuition of the syndrome 60 years before it was identified by Leo Kanner. Approaching Collodi's text in this manner is taken as an opportunity to survey and reflect upon the psychoanalytic literature on autism and to position it in relation to contemporary theories from cognitive neuroscience.
Elevated High Sensitivity C‐Reactive Protein Increases the Risk of Microalbuminuria in Subjects With Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors
Authors: Yang Shi‐kun , Liu Jun , Yi Bin , Mao Juan , Zhang Xian‐ming , Liu Yan , Lei Dan‐dan , Gui Ming , Zhang Hao
Published: March 2017

Microalbuminuria is an early biomarker of kidney injury, the aim of this study was to investigate the impact of high sensitivity C‐reactive protein (hs‐CRP) on microalbuminuria in adults with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. A total of 5667 subjects who voluntarily attended annual health screenings in the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University were included in the study. Logistic regression was used to determine the validity of hs‐CRP to predict the presence of microalbuminuria. In the unadjusted regression analysis, male gender (OR 2.23), age (OR 1.71), smoking status (OR 1.48), obesity (OR 2.41), hypertension(OR 4.03), diabetes (OR 4.61), hyperuricemia (OR 1.83), and high hs‐CRP(OR 1.61) were associated with microalbuminuria. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the adjusted odds ratios (OR) of diabetes, hypertension, male, abdominal obesity, and high hs‐CRP for microalbuminuria were 2.71, 2.57, 1.51, 1.28 and 1.41 in all subjects, respectively (P < 0.01). ROC analysis indicated that the cut‐off for hs‐CRP with better properties for screening of microalbuminuria was identified as ≥0.85 mg/L. The ORs of microalbuminuria were 1.97, 1.49, 1.32 and 1.71 times in male, abdominal obesity, diabetes and hypertension subjects with hs‐CRP ≥ 0.85 mg/L, respectively, compared with those without elevated hs‐CRP (P < 0.01). Elevated hs‐CRP level was associated with microalbuminuria independent of cardiovascular risk factors. In addition, elevated hs‐CRP increased the risk of developing microalbuminuria in subjects with CVD risk factors, indicating that chronic inflammation could amplify the deterioration of kidney by effect of CVD risk factors.
Europe's Mea Culpa: A Global Economy Gone Mad or a Crisis of Our Own Making?
Authors: Raviv Or
Published: March 2017

Much of the existing literature on the current financialized era of capitalism is guilty of essentializing the US experience. The methodological implication of this conceptual starting point has been that financialization in Europe was, and still is, generally assessed in comparative terms against the yardstick of US developments. This limitation obscures from view the unique trajectory of European finance‐led innovation, and consequently, the extent to which European economies have become vulnerable to financial instability and crisis. To remedy this, the present article investigates the micro‐foundations of European financialization in the lead‐up to the 2007–2008 global financial crisis to uncover the reasons for the surprising severity and persistence of financial instability in Europe. The article argues that while the institutions, actors and practices underpinning European financialization may differ markedly from those in the US, the former were nevertheless at once reconstituted by, and constitutive of, the continuous global process of finance‐led restructuring. This work offers insights that go beyond the specificities of European financial capitalism. It facilitates a more nuanced approach to banking and macroprudential policy reform in Europe as well as encourages further research into the financialization of accumulation in other national and regional contexts.
HELPING LEADERS ACHIEVE GREATNESS
Authors: Rollins Vyla , Peterson Randall
Published: March 2017

Applying the Leadership Institute's research to degree programmes at London Business School enables leaders to reach their potential
GENDER PARITY: THE PIPELINE PROBLEM
Authors: Fernandez‐Mateo Isabel
Published: March 2017

A spotlight on Isabel Fernandez‐Mateo's research ‐ why on the path to gender parity we need to look beyond the top
WHAT ARE YOU SAVING BY SAVING FACE?
Authors: Adams Gabrielle
Published: March 2017

Research by Gabrielle Adams holds the nonverbal expression of ‘sorry’ to financial account
Perforating and deep lymphatic vessels in the knee region: an anatomical study and clinical implications
Authors: Pan Wei‐Ren , Zeng Fan‐Qiang , Wang De‐Guang , Qiu Zhi‐Qiang
Published: March 2017

Background

To determine the relationship between the perforating and deep lymphatic vessels in the knee region for clinical implications.

Methods

Four lower limbs from two unembalmed human cadavers were used. Under a surgical microscope, 6% hydrogen peroxide was employed to detect lymph vessels accompanying the small saphenous vein, anterior tibial, posterior tibial and fibular blood vessels all commencing from distal ends of specimens. Each lymphatic vessel was inserted by a 30‐gauge needle and injected with a barium sulphate mixture. Each specimen was dissected, radiographed and photographed to determine the perforating and deep lymphatic vessels in the region.

Results

A perforating lymph vessel was observed in the popliteal fossa of each specimen. It arose from the superficial popliteal lymph node and terminated in the deep popliteal lymph node. The anterior tibial, posterior tibial and peroneal lymph vessels were discovered in the region travelling with the corresponding vascular bundles. After penetrating the vascular aperture of the interosseous membrane between the tibia and fibula, the anterior tibial lymph vessel entered directly into the deep popliteal lymph node or converged to either the posterior tibial or fibular lymph vessel, before entering the node. The posterior tibial and peroneal lymph vessels entered the deep popliteal lymph node. The efferent lymph vessel of the deep popliteal lymph node travelled with the femoral vascular bundle.

Conclusion

The perforating and deep lymphatic vessels in the knee region has been presented and discussed. The information advances our anatomical knowledge and the results will benefit clinical management.
Management of colorectal trauma: a review
Authors: Cheong Ju Yong , Keshava Anil
Published: March 2017

Traumatic colorectal injuries are common during times of military conflict, and major improvements in their care have arisen in such periods. Since World War II, many classification systems for colorectal trauma have been proposed, including (i) Flint Grading System; (ii) Penetrating Abdominal Trauma Index; (iii) Colonic/Rectal Injury Scale; and (iv) destructive/non‐destructive colonic injuries. The primary goal of these classifications was to aid surgical management and, more particularly, to determine whether a primary repair or faecal diversion should be performed. Primary repair is now the preferred surgical option. Patients who have been identified as having destructive injuries have been found to have higher anastomotic leak rates after a primary repair. Damage control principles need to be adhered to in surgical decision‐making. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms of injury, classifications, clinical presentation and current recommendations for the management of colorectal trauma.
Optical Dynamic Analysis of Thrombus Inside a Centrifugal Blood Pump During Extracorporeal Mechanical Circulatory Support in a Porcine Model
Authors: Fujiwara Tatsuki , Sakota Daisuke , Ohuchi Katsuhiro , Endo Shu , Tahara Tomoki , Murashige Tomotaka , Kosaka Ryo , Oi Keiji , Mizuno Tomohiro , Maruyama Osamu , Arai Hirokuni
Published: March 2017

Complications due to pump thrombus remain the weak point of mechanical circulatory support (MCS), such as the use of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, leading to poor outcomes. Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) is an effective imaging method using a hyperspectral (HS) camera, which comprises a spectrophotometer and a charge‐coupled device camera to discriminate thrombus from whole blood. Animal experiments were conducted to analyze dynamic imaging of thrombus inside a prototype of a hydrodynamically levitated centrifugal blood pump using an HSI system. Six pigs were divided into a venous circulation group (n = 3) and an arterial circulation group (n = 3). Inflow and outflow cannulae were inserted into the jugular veins in the venous circulation group. The latter simulated an LVAD application. To create thrombogenic conditions, pump flow was maintained at 1 L/min without anticoagulation. An image of the bottom surface of the pump was captured by the HS camera every 4 nm over the wavelength range of 608–752 nm. Real‐time dynamic images of the inside of the pump were displayed on the monitor. Appearance of an area displaying thrombus was detected within 24 h after the start of the circulation in every experiment. This imaging system also succeeded in determining the origins of pump thrombus: from inside the pump in two cases, and from outside in four cases. Two main possible sources of pump thrombus originating outside the pump were identified on autopsy: wedge thrombus around the inflow cannula; and string‐like thrombus at the junction between the pump inlet and circuit tube. The results of this study from close observation of the changing appearance of pump thrombus may contribute to improvements in the safety of extracorporeal MCS.
The coming of age of a young subspecialty: paediatric hepatology
Authors: Németh Antal
Published: March 2017

Paediatric hepatology dates from the 1970s and it is the youngest of the organ‐specific subspecialties. As then there have been impressive achievements in the fields of anatomical, metabolic, immunological and neoplastic diseases, and the advent of modern molecular biology has resulted in a marked increase in exact diagnoses. Liver transplants provided enormous stimulus for the discipline. Due to changing morbidity patterns, the discipline faces new challenges, such as environment‐ and lifestyle‐induced liver diseases, but different forms of chronic viral hepatitis are diminishing.Conclusion: High levels of competence require good clinical research, optimal results and a high degree of centralisation.
Urinary continence recovery after radical prostatectomy – anatomical/reconstructive and nerve‐sparing techniques to improve outcomes
Authors: Pavlovich Christian P. , Rocco Bernardo , Druskin Sasha C. , Davis John W.
Published: March 2017

In an editorial board‐moderated debate format, two experts in prostate cancer surgery are challenged with presenting the key strategies in radical prostatectomy that improve urinary functional outcomes. Dr Bernardo Rocco was tasked with arguing the facts that support the anatomical preservation and reconstruction steps that improve urinary continence. Drs Christian Pavlovich and Sasha Druskin were tasked with arguing the facts supporting neurovascular bundle and high anterior release surgical planes that improve urinary continence. Associate Editor John Davis moderates the debate, and outlines the current status of validated patient questionnaires that can be used to evaluate urinary continence, and recent work that allows measuring what constitutes a ‘clinically significant’ difference that either or both of these surgical techniques could influence. A review of raw data from a publication from Dr Pavlovich's team demonstrates how clinically relevant differences in patient‐reported outcomes can be correlated to technique. A visual atlas is presented from both presenting teams, and Dr Davis demonstrates further reproducibility of technique. A linked video on this concept is available as a supplementary file.
CGRP receptor activity in mice with global expression of human receptor activity modifying protein 1
Authors: Bohn Keegan J , Li Baolin , Huang Xiaofang , Mason Bianca N , Wattiez Anne‐Sophie , Kuburas Adisa , Walker Christopher S , Yang Peiyi , Yu Jianliang , Heinz Beverly A , Johnson Kirk W , Russo Andrew F
Published: March 2017

Background and Purpose

CGRP is a potent vasodilator and nociceptive neuropeptide linked to migraine. CGRP receptors are heterodimers of receptor activity modifying protein 1 (RAMP1) and either calcitonin receptor‐like receptor (CLR; forms canonical CGRP receptor) or calcitonin receptor (CT receptor; forms AMY1 receptor). The goal of this study was to test whether transgenic mice globally expressing human RAMP1 have increased CGRP receptor activity and whether the receptors are sensitive to human selective antagonist telcagepant.

Experimental Approach

cAMP production was measured in primary cultures of aortic smooth muscle and trigeminal ganglia neurons from global hRAMP1 mice and non‐transgenic littermates. Functional activity and inhibition were compared with clonal cell lines expressing combinations of CLR or CT receptors with RAMP1.

Key Results

Cultured smooth muscle from global hRAMP1 mice had a 10‐fold greater CGRP‐induced cAMP maximal response (Rmax) than non‐transgenic littermates, with similar EC50s. In contrast, cultured trigeminal ganglia from global hRAMP1 mice had a 40‐fold leftward shift of the EC50, with similar Rmax values as littermates. In both hRAMP1 cultures, telcagepant blocked CGRP‐induced cAMP production, but was not effective in non‐transgenic cultures. IC50 values were closer to those observed for CT receptor/hRAMP1 than CLR/hRAMP1 in clonal cell lines.

Conclusions and Implications

Overexpression of hRAMP1 increases CGRP signalling by changing the maximal response or ligand sensitivity, depending on tissue type. Furthermore, telcagepant inhibited transgenic hRAMP1 CGRP receptors, but the degree of inhibition suggests that the transgenic mice are only partially humanized or both canonical CGRP and AMY1 receptors are functional in trigeminal ganglia neurons and vascular smooth muscle.
Critically evaluating best management practices for preventing freshwater turtle extinctions
Authors: Spencer R.‐J. , Van Dyke J.U. , Thompson Michael B.
Published: March 2017

Ex situ conservation tools, such as captive breeding for reintroduction, are considered a last resort to recover threatened or endangered species, but they may also help reduce anthropogenic threats where it is difficult or impossible to address them directly. Headstarting, or captive rearing of eggs or neonate animals for subsequent release into the wild, is controversial because it treats only a symptom of a larger conservation problem; however, it may provide a mechanism to address multiple threats, particularly near population centers. We conducted a population viability analysis of Australia's most widespread freshwater turtle, Chelodina longicollis, to determine the effect of adult roadkill (death by collision with motor vehicles), which is increasing, and reduced recruitment through nest predation from introduced European red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). We also modeled management scenarios to test the effectiveness of headstarting, fox management, and measures to reduce mortality on roads. Only scenarios with headstarting from source populations eliminated all risks of extinction and allowed population growth. Small increases in adult mortality (2%) had the greatest effect on population growth and extinction risk. Where threats simultaneously affected other life‐history stages (e.g., recruitment), eliminating harvest pressures on adult females alone did not eliminate the risk of population extinction. In our models, one source population could supply enough hatchlings annually to supplement 25 other similar‐sized populations such that extinction was avoided. Based on our results, we believe headstarting should be a primary tool for managing freshwater turtles for which threats affect multiple life‐history stages. We advocate the creation of source populations for managing freshwater turtles that are greatly threatened at multiple life‐history stages, such as depredation of eggs by invasive species and adult mortality via roadkill.
Assumption‐Based Argumentation Equipped with Preferences and its Application to Decision Making, Practical Reasoning, and Epistemic Reasoning
Authors: Wakaki Toshiko
Published: March 2017

The existing approaches that map the given explicit preferences into standard assumption‐based argumentation (ABA) frameworks reveal some difficulties such as generating a huge number of rules. To overcome them, we present an assumption‐based argumentation framework equipped with preferences (p_ABA). It increases the expressive power of ABA by incorporating preferences between sentences into the framework. The semantics of p_ABA is given byextensions, which are maximal among extensions of ABA with regard to the extension ordering “lifted” from the given sentence ordering. As a theoretical contribution of this study, we show that prioritized logic programming can be formulated as a specific form of p_ABA. The advantage of our approach is that not only does p_ABA enable us to express different kinds of preferences such as preferences over rules, over goals, or over decisions by means of sentence orderings but we can also successfully obtain solutions fromextensions of the p_ABA expressing the respective knowledge for various applications such as epistemic reasoning, practical reasoning, and decision making with preferences in a uniform and domain‐independent way without suffering from difficulties of the existing approaches.
Impact of mild to severe hemophilia on engagement in recreational activities by US men, women, and children with hemophilia B: The Bridging Hemophilia B Experiences, Results and Opportunities into Solutions (B‐HERO‐S) study
Authors: Baumann Kimberly , Hernandez Grace , Witkop Michelle , Peltier Skye , Dunn Spencer , Cutter Susan , Frick Neil , Haugstad Kimberly , Guelcher Christine , Frey Mary Jane , Rotellini Dawn , Clark David B. , Iyer Neeraj N. , Cooper David L.
Published: March 2017

The psychosocial impact of hemophilia on activities was recently investigated in the Hemophilia Experiences, Results and Opportunities (HERO) study (675 people with hemophilia and 561 caregivers of children with hemophilia in 10 countries). The impact of hemophilia B may not be accurately reflected in the HERO results, as ~75% of respondents described issues affecting males with hemophilia A. To address the needs of this population, the Bridging Hemophilia B Experiences, Results and Opportunities Into Solutions (B‐HERO‐S) was developed as a pilot study in the United States in collaboration with the hemophilia community. The analysis reported here assessed engagement in recreational activities and changes to treatment regimens around activities as reported by 299 adults with hemophilia B and 150 caregivers of children with hemophilia B. Nearly all adults with hemophilia B (98%) experienced a negative impact on their participation in recreational activities due to hemophilia‐related issues, and most caregivers (90%) reported that hemophilia B had a negative impact on their child's engagement in recreational activities. One of the main reasons identified for discontinuing past activities was the risk of bruising or bleeding (adults/children with hemophilia B, 49%/41%). In particular, adults with hemophilia B reported a history of activity‐related bleeding, and most adults decreased their participation in high‐risk activities as they aged. Substantial percentages of adults and children with hemophilia B (including mild/moderate severity) altered their treatment regimens to accommodate planned activities. These findings may help inform guidelines for individualizing treatment regimens around participation in recreational activities based on hemophilia severity, baseline factor level, and activity risk and intensity.
Population genetic and field‐ecological analyses return similar estimates of dispersal over space and time in an endangered amphibian
Authors: Wang Ian J. , Shaffer H. Bradley
Published: March 2017

The explosive growth of empirical population genetics has seen a proliferation of analytical methods leading to a steady increase in our ability to accurately measure key population parameters, including genetic isolation, effective population size, and gene flow, in natural systems. Assuming they yield similar results, population genetic methods offer an attractive complement to, or replacement of, traditional field‐ecological studies. However, empirical assessments of the concordance between direct field‐ecological and indirect population genetic studies of the same populations are uncommon in the literature. In this study, we investigate genetic isolation, rates of dispersal, and population sizes for the endangered California tiger salamander, Ambystoma californiense, across multiple breeding seasons in an intact vernal pool network. We then compare our molecular results to a previously published study based on multiyear, mark–recapture data from the same breeding sites. We found that field and genetic estimates of population size were only weakly correlated, but dispersal rates were remarkably congruent across studies and methods. In fact, dispersal probability functions derived from genetic data and traditional field‐ecological data were a significant match, suggesting that either method can be used effectively to assess population connectivity. These results provide one of the first explicit tests of the correspondence between landscape genetic and field‐ecological approaches to measuring functional population connectivity and suggest that even single‐year genetic samples can return biologically meaningful estimates of natural dispersal and gene flow.
Big in the benthos: Future change of seafloor community biomass in a global, body size‐resolved model
Authors: Yool Andrew , Martin Adrian P. , Anderson Thomas R. , Bett Brian J. , Jones Daniel O. B. , Ruhl Henry A.
Published: March 2017

Deep‐water benthic communities in the ocean are almost wholly dependent on near‐surface pelagic ecosystems for their supply of energy and material resources. Primary production in sunlit surface waters is channelled through complex food webs that extensively recycle organic material, but lose a fraction as particulate organic carbon (POC) that sinks into the ocean interior. This exported production is further rarefied by microbial breakdown in the abyssal ocean, but a residual ultimately drives diverse assemblages of seafloor heterotrophs. Advances have led to an understanding of the importance of size (body mass) in structuring these communities. Here we force a size‐resolved benthic biomass model, BORIS, using seafloor POC flux from a coupled ocean‐biogeochemistry model, NEMO‐MEDUSA, to investigate global patterns in benthic biomass. BORIS resolves 16 size classes of metazoans, successively doubling in mass from approximately 1 μg to 28 mg. Simulations find a wide range of seasonal responses to differing patterns of POC forcing, with both a decline in seasonal variability, and an increase in peak lag times with increasing body size. However, the dominant factor for modelled benthic communities is the integrated magnitude of POC reaching the seafloor rather than its seasonal pattern. Scenarios of POC forcing under climate change and ocean acidification are then applied to investigate how benthic communities may change under different future conditions. Against a backdrop of falling surface primary production (−6.1%), and driven by changes in pelagic remineralization with depth, results show that while benthic communities in shallow seas generally show higher biomass in a warmed world (+3.2%), deep‐sea communities experience a substantial decline (−32%) under a high greenhouse gas emissions scenario. Our results underscore the importance for benthic ecology of reducing uncertainty in the magnitude and seasonality of seafloor POC fluxes, as well as the importance of studying a broader range of seafloor environments for future model development.
Characterization of plasma cholinesterase activity in the Eurasian Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus and its in vitro inhibition by carbamate pesticides
Authors: Oropesa Ana‐Lourdes , Sánchez Susana , Soler Francisco
Published: March 2017

The legal and illegal use of organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides represents one of many threats to birds. The activity of the cholinesterase enzyme in plasma is used as a non‐destructive biomarker to diagnose the exposure of birds to these pesticides. Scavengers are one of the most important bird groups threatened by the use of baits poisoned with anticholinesterase pesticides. Knowledge of the characteristics of this enzyme in each bird species is crucial, as several studies indicate that more than one cholinesterase form may be present in the plasma of birds. In this study, cholinesterase activity was characterized in the plasma of the Eurasian Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus by using several substrates and inhibitors of the enzyme, and its normal activity value was also determined. The in vitro sensitivity of Gyps fulvus plasma cholinesterase to carbamate insecticides (aldicarb, carbaryl and methomyl) was also investigated. The results indicated that propionylthiocholine iodide was the preferred substrate to determine plasma cholinesterase activity, followed by acetylcholine iodide and S‐butyrylcholine iodide, and acetylcholinesterase was the predominant enzymatic activity in Gyps fulvus plasma. Aldicarb was the most potent in vitro inhibitor of plasma cholinesterase activity in this species. However, cholinesterase enzymatic activity was significantly inhibited by all tested carbamates, providing further evidence that this biomarker is a suitable tool to monitor the exposure to these poisons in the field, highlighting its utility in conservation programmes.
Cutaneous surgery under local anesthesia in very elderly patients 90 years of age and older is as safe as in elderly patients ranging in age from 75 to 80 years old
Authors: Imamura Taichi , Nakamura Yasuhiro , Tanaka Ryota , Teramoto Yukiko , Asami Yuri , Maruyama Hiroshi , Fujisawa Yasuhiro , Fujimoto Manabu , Yamamoto Akifumi
Published: March 2017

Background

The number of very elderly patients who require surgery for cutaneous tumors is increasing. However, there is limited information on the safety of cutaneous surgery in such patients.

Methods

To evaluate the safety of cutaneous surgery in patients 90 years of age and older, we retrospectively reviewed the elderly patients who underwent surgery for cutaneous tumors under local anesthesia. Consecutive patients 90 years of age and older and 75–80 years old were included in the elderly group and the control group.

Results

The elderly and control groups included 104 and 106 patients, respectively. The mean age of the patients was 93.4 years (range, 90–101 years) in the elderly group and 77.4 years (range, 75–80 years) in the control group. The preoperative performance status was significantly worse in the elderly group than in the control group (P < 0.001). The surgical time was not significantly different between the two groups (P = 0.09). The occurrences of intraoperative and postoperative complications were not significantly different between the two groups (P = 0.19 and P = 0.07, respectively).

Conclusions

The result of the present study indicates that cutaneous surgery for very elderly patients 90 years of age and older is as safe as for patients ranging in age from 75–80 years old.
The effects of nonstandard work schedules on workers' health: A mediating role of work‐to‐family conflict
Authors: Cho Youngmin
Published: March 2017

This study examined the relationship between nonstandard work schedules, work‐to‐family conflict, and health status in the USA adult population. Based on pooled data from the 2006, 2010, and 2014 General Social Survey (N = 4,108), this study found that nonstandard work schedules were associated with poor self‐rated health and increased days of poor physical and mental health. Also, results from the causal mediation analysis indicated that the relationship between nonstandard work schedules and health status was significantly mediated by work‐to‐family conflict. These findings suggest that work‐to‐family conflict may be an important mechanism through which nonstandard work schedules affect workers' health status.
Population genetic structure and comparative diversity of smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu: congruent patterns from two genomes
Authors: Stepien C. A. , Karsiotis S. I. , Sullivan T. J. , Klymus K. E.
Published: March 2017

Genetic diversity and divergence patterns of smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu spawning groups are analysed across its northern native range with mtDNA cytochrome b gene sequences and eight unlinked nuclear DNA microsatellite loci. Results reveal high levels of genetic variability and significant differences in allelic representation among populations (mtDNA: mean ± s.e., HD = 0·50 ± 0·06, mean ± s.e., θST = 0·41 ± 0·02 and microsatellites: mean ± s.e. HO = 0·46 ± 0·03, mean ± s.e. θST = 0·25 ± 0·01). The distributions of 28 variant mtDNA haplotypes, which differ by an average of 3·94 nucleotides (range = 1–8), denote divergent representation among geographic areas. Microsatellite data support nine primary population groups, whose high self‐assignment probabilities likewise display marked divergence. Genetic patterns demonstrate: (1) high genetic diversity in both genomes, (2) significant divergence among populations, probably resulting from natal site homing and low lifetime migration, (3) support for three post‐glacial refugia that variously contributed to the current northern populations, which remain evident today despite waterway connectivity and (4) a weak yet significant genetic isolation by geographic distance pattern, indicating that other processes affect the differences among populations, such as territoriality and site fidelity.
Association of Proton Pump Inhibitors Usage with Risk of Pneumonia in Dementia Patients
Authors: Ho Sai‐Wai , Teng Ying‐Hock , Yang Shun‐Fa , Yeh Han‐Wei , Wang Yu‐Hsun , Chou Ming‐Chih , Yeh Chao‐Bin
Published: March 2017

Objectives

To determine the association between usages of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and subsequent risk of pneumonia in dementia patients.

Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting

Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database.

Participants

The study cohort consisted of 786 dementia patients with new PPI usage and 786 matched dementia patients without PPI usage.

Measurements

The study endpoint was defined as the occurrence of pneumonia. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to estimate the pneumonia risk. Defined daily dose methodology was applied to evaluate the cumulative and dose‐response relationships of PPI.

Results

Incidence of pneumonia was higher among patients with PPI usage (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 1.89; 95% CI = 1.51–2.37). Cox model analysis also demonstrated that age (adjusted HR = 1.05; 95% CI = 1.03–1.06), male gender (adjusted HR = 1.57; 95% CI = 1.25–1.98), underlying cerebrovascular disease (adjusted HR = 1.30; 95% CI = 1.04–1.62), chronic pulmonary disease (adjusted HR = 1.39; 95% CI = 1.09–1.76), congestive heart failure (adjusted HR = 1.54; 95% CI = 1.11–2.13), diabetes mellitus (adjusted HR = 1.54; 95% CI = 1.22–1.95), and usage of antipsychotics (adjusted HR = 1.29; 95% CI = 1.03–1.61) were independent risk factors for pneumonia. However, usage of cholinesterase inhibitors and histamine receptor‐2 antagonists were shown to decrease pneumonia risk.

Conclusion

PPI usage in dementia patients is associated with an 89% increased risk of pneumonia.
Use of RNA‐seq to determine variation in canine cytochrome P450 mRNA expression between blood, liver, lung, kidney and duodenum in healthy beagles
Authors: Visser M. , Weber K. , Rincon G. , Merritt D.
Published: March 2017

RNA sequencing (RNA‐seq) is a powerful tool for the evaluation and quantification of transcriptomes and expression patterns in animals, tissues, or pathological conditions. The purpose of this study was to determine the physiologic expression of cytochrome P450 (CYP) mRNA transcripts in whole blood, kidney, duodenum, liver, and lung in healthy, adult male (n = 4) and female (n = 4) beagles via RNA‐seq. mRNA expression was above background (transcripts per million) for 45 canine CYPs, with liver, duodenum, and lung expressing a high number of xenobiotic metabolizing CYPs, while prominent endogenous metabolizing CYP expression was present in blood and kidney. The relative expression pattern of CYP2A13, 2B11, 2C21, 2D15, 2E1, 3A12, and 27A1 in liver, lung, and duodenum was verified through qPCR. This is the first global profiling of physiologic CYP mRNA expression in multiple canine tissues, providing a platform for further studies characterizing canine CYPs and changes in gene expression in disease states.
Comparison of the effects of cefazolin and ceftriaxone on canine chondrocyte culture
Authors: Siengdee P. , Pradit W. , Euppayo T. , Chomdej S. , Nganvongpanit K.
Published: March 2017

Cephalosporins (CEFs) are antibiotics frequently used to treat bone infections and septic arthritis. The effects of CEFs on chondrocytes have not been studied until now. Cefazolin (cef1) and ceftriaxone (cef3), first‐and third‐generation CEFs, were selected to investigate their direct effects on normal and osteoarthritic (OA) primary canine chondrocytes, which were either nonstimulated or stimulated with the pro‐inflammatory cytokine IL‐1β. In our results, treatment with CEFs increased the negative effects on both conditioned normal and OA chondrocytes, especially when applied to IL‐1β‐stimulated cells (inflammatory stimulus). CEFs significantly decreased cell viability and induced apoptotic cell death in both normal and OA chondrocytes; moreover, treatment with cef1 caused necrotic cell death in OA chondrocytes. Cef3 treatment could increase s‐GAG synthesis in normal cells preincubated with IL‐1β, while cef1 had no significant effect. The expression of TNF was clearly downregulated after cef3 treatments, whereas it was upregulated after cef1 treatments. However, cef3 induced stronger downregulation of TIMP1 and the extracellular matrix component genes COL2A1 and ACAN. In conclusion, these results suggest both the cytotoxic effects of CEFs and their adverse effects on chondrogenic marker genes at the transcriptional level, which provide additional insight into the clinical application of cef1 and cef3.
Task Effects on Linguistic Complexity and Accuracy: A Large‐Scale Learner Corpus Analysis Employing Natural Language Processing Techniques
Authors: Alexopoulou Theodora , Michel Marije , Murakami Akira , Meurers Detmar
Published: March 2017

Large‐scale learner corpora collected from online language learning platforms, such as the EF‐Cambridge Open Language Database (EFCAMDAT), provide opportunities to analyze learner data at an unprecedented scale. However, interpreting the learner language in such corpora requires a precise understanding of tasks: How does the prompt and input of a task and its functional requirements influence task‐based linguistic performance? This question is vital for making large‐scale task‐based corpora fruitful for second language acquisition research. We explore the issue through an analysis of selected tasks in EFCAMDAT and the complexity and accuracy of the language they elicit.
Percutaneous microwave ablation of exophytic tumours in hepatocellular carcinoma patients: Safe or not?
Authors: Ding Jianmin , Zhou Yan , Wang Yandong , Jing Xiang , Wang Fengmei , Wang Yijun
Published: March 2017

Background & Aims

To explore the long‐term outcomes and safety of ultrasound‐guided percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) of exophytic tumours in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.

Methods

One hundred and thirty‐two patients with subcapsular HCC were enrolled in this retrospective study. These patients were divided into the exophytic group (n=71) and non‐exophytic group (n=61) according to the location of the tumour(s). A special technology of puncture and ablation was performed to treat the exophytic tumours. The local tumour progression (LTP), progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were analysed using Kaplan‐Meier and Log‐rank tests.

Results

Sixty‐nine of 71 exophytic tumours and 60 of 61 subcapsular tumours were completely ablated. The complete ablation rates were 97.2% and 98.4% respectively. The follow‐up periods ranged from 6 to 62 months with a median of 31 months in the exophytic group, and ranged from 5 to 61 months, with a median of 27 months in the non‐exophytic group. The 1‐, 3‐ and 5‐year cumulative LTP rates were 2.4%, 12.3%, 18.4% and 5.1%, 12.0%, 17.8% in the exophytic and non‐exophytic groups respectively (P=.733). The 1‐, 3‐ and 5‐year OS rates were 100%, 75.7%, 52.9% and 95.0%, 73.8%, 61.5% in the exophytic group and non‐exophytic group respectively (P=.980). There was no procedure‐related mortality or major complication.

Conclusion

Ultrasound‐guided percutaneous MWA is safe and effective for exophytic tumours in HCC patients. Treated by MWA, the HCC patients with exophytic tumours can get the similar local response and long‐term outcome to those with non‐exophytic subcapsular tumours.