bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Voice and silence as immediate consequences of job insecurity
Authors: Breevaart Kimberley , Lopez Bohle Sergio , Pletzer Jan Luca , Muñoz Medina Felipe
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the weekly effects of job insecurity on employee voice and silence. Specifically, the authors argue that because employment fulfils important needs, employees’ needs are less fulfilled when they feel that their job is at risk (i.e. high job insecurity). Consequently, the authors argue that employees engage in less voice and more silence because when employees’ needs are not fulfilled, they are less committed to the organization and/or protect their personal resources.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors tested their hypotheses in a five-week long diary study among 97 employees.

Findings

The authors found that employees reported lower need fulfilment in those weeks and the week after job insecurity was higher, which, in turn, decreased employee voice and increased employee silence in those weeks and the week after.

Research limitations/implications

The study shows that feelings about one’s job insecurity fluctuate from week to week and that the weekly negative effects associated with increased job insecurity can be explained from a needs fulfilment perspective. The study also highlights the importance of studying voice and silence simultaneously.

Practical implications

Managers could indirectly increase employees’ voice and decrease employees’ silence by reducing feelings of job insecurity to increase employees’ feelings of predictability of and control over their future.

Originality/value

The authors studied short-term effects of job insecurity on both employee voice and silence, and examined need fulfilment as an underlying mechanism to explain the effects of job insecurity.
Be flexible: turning innovativeness into competitive advantage in hospitality firms
Authors: Anning-Dorson Thomas , Nyamekye Michael Boadi
Published: January 2020

Purpose

While acknowledging the importance of innovation capability and its potential for creating competitive advantage for firms, the purpose of this paper is to further explain how firms can gain the most from this potential. In the face of the low success rate of innovations and innovation activities in the hospitality sector, this study explains – through the dynamic capability perspective – that building a flexible organization is instrumental in creating competitive advantage out of innovation capabilities.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses data from hospitality firms operating in an emerging economy with a fast-growing hospitality sector. As this study uses survey and statistical methods, the possibility of common method bias is addressed by partial least squares structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized relationships.

Findings

The study finds that organizational flexibility (OF) is an important mediator in the relationship between innovation capabilities and competitive advantage. The study explains that building a flexible organization is instrumental in creating competitive advantage out of innovation capabilities in hospitality firms.

Originality/value

This study suggests that relying only on innovation capability offers hospitality firms just a fraction of what would be gained if such capabilities are properly aligned with OF. This is because such alignment generates better response power to changing needs as the firm becomes more mobile, responsive and agile to rapidly identify market trends, adjust internal operations and respond quickly to new market demand.
Psychoanalysis: neglected ally in an emerging “critical healthcare management studies” (CHMS)?
Authors: Gerard Nathan
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the relevance of psychoanalysis to an emerging sub-field known as “critical healthcare management studies” (CHMS).

Design/methodology/approach

Building upon a wave of critical scholarship in the broader field of management, scholars and practitioners of healthcare management have begun to forge a critical scholarly movement of their own. CHMS, short for “critical healthcare management studies,” formally denotes a new subfield of inquiry dedicated to challenging entrenched assumptions, exposing power relations, and cultivating critical praxis, all the while serving as a vital counterpoint to mainstream scholarship. This paper seeks to augment the CHMS movement with psychoanalysis, and particularly the critical vein of organizational psychoanalysis already well-established in critical management studies.

Findings

The argument is made that a greater engagement with psychoanalysis offers novel avenues for critical theorizing and practice in healthcare management. Specifically three areas are considered: 1) the exploitative role of guilt in the caring professions, 2) the resurgence of authoritarianism and its implications for unconscious organizational dynamics, and 3) the potential for a psychoanalytically informed critical healthcare praxis.

Originality/value

While there remain wide differences of opinion about the utility of psychoanalysis outside of the clinical arena, this paper reveals just how psychoanalysis can inform today's healthcare organizations, and more broadly the social and political organization of health in society.
Using fieldwork to deepen understanding of organizational learning and/or the learning organization
Authors: Field Laurie
Published: January 2020

Purpose

In an effort to encourage more probing studies of organizational learning and the learning organization (OL/LO), this paper aims to highlight the value of extended periods of fieldwork and suggest priorities for future fieldwork-based research into OL/LO.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on the author’s research and consultancies in the OL/LO field and on systematic reviews of OL/LO literature.

Findings

Evidence is presented to justify the following four priorities for future fieldwork-based studies of OL/LO: to obtain trustworthy data, to bring the role of time and place into sharp focus, to explore the relationship between organizational learning and interests and to identify strategies for improving organizational learning in particular contexts.

Originality/value

The paper suggests priorities for a research approach that is not often used to study organizational learning and the learning organization, namely, to undertake extended periods of fieldwork in individual organizations or parts of organizations, gathering trustworthy data and interpreting it with the help of extant OL/LO theory.
Pre‐adaptation to climate change through topography‐driven phenotypic plasticity
Authors: De Kort Hanne , Panis Bart , Helsen Kenny , Douzet Rolland , Janssens Steven B. , Honnay Olivier
Published: January 2020

Climate change will increase the level of drought stress experienced by plant communities, but the spatial distribution of projected changes in dryness remains highly uncertain. Species can, to some extent, deal with climate uncertainty through natural variation in adaptive responses to environmental heterogeneity and predictability. Biodiversity conservation could thus target populations pre‐adapted to climatic heterogeneity to anticipate climate uncertainty. Disentangling adaptive evolution of trait means versus trait plasticity, however, requires a sampling design with genetic replicates grown under distinct environmental conditions.

Here, we applied three soil moisture treatments to genetic replicates of Fragaria vesca plants raised from seeds that were sampled in distinct topographical settings, to study adaptive trait and plasticity divergence in response to drought.

We demonstrate that various plant traits evolved along distinct topographical gradients. Populations on south‐exposed slopes, for example, retained high levels of both flowering and runner formation under drought stress, while north‐faced populations hardly flowered under reduced soil moisture levels. Aspect but not elevation was found to coincide with variation in plant traits, suggesting that microenvironmental variation rather than general clines in elevation drive evolution in mountainous landscapes. Our results also indicate that traits and their plasticity can evolve independently in response to distinct topographical stressors.

Synthesis. We conclude that heterogeneous landscapes (a) harbour micro‐refugia of adaptive genetic diversity that protect natural populations against environmental change, and (b) represent invaluable sources of quantitative genetic variation that could support conservation where climate projections are inconclusive.
Suburban ethnicities: Home as the site of interethnic conviviality and racism
Authors: Tyler Katharine
Published: January 2020

This article explores the ways in which the white working‐class residents of a suburban English town reflect on their relationships with their British Asian Pakistani Muslim neighbors. Its focus is on how everyday constructions of home become sites for the intermingling of discourses of intercultural conviviality and racism. My contention is that the idea of home has not yet been given the detailed critical attention that it deserves in the sociological literature on everyday manifestations of multiculturalism, conviviality, and racism. My supposition is that a special focus on the idea of home as the site of conviviality offers a productive avenue to analyze how intercultural relationships are formed and how the norms of neighborliness are thought to break down, opening a space for commonplace racialized and racist stereotypes to take hold. The idea of home is central to the rhythm and landscape of the English suburbs. It conjures up the idea of a uniform and aspirational white space. Drawing on this imaginary of home, I shall trace how “white working class” “English,” “Scottish,” and “Anglo‐Italian” residents’ everyday constructions of home become embroiled with their relationships with their British Asian Pakistani Muslim neighbors.
Could Defects on a Rubber Stamp be Reproduced on a Duplicated Rubber Stamp?
Authors: Li Chi‐keung , Hui Janesse Wing‐sze
Published: January 2020

The examination of stamp impressions has been an integral part of questioned document examination since its inception. Matching in design details and unique defects has proven to be essential factors for rubber stamps and stamp impression examination. In this study, several duplicate stamps were made from various rubber stamp manufacturers in Hong Kong, from the same original stamp impression(s). The objective was to examine the stamp impressions prepared from these duplicated stamp products and compared with each other and to determine whether they could be distinguished from the source stamp impression(s); by comparison of the size and defects deliberated introduced onto the latter. Further consideration of this study was an attempt to create a perfect duplicate stamp from an original stamp impression. The results of the analysis showed that the quality of source stamp impression(s) and scanner device of the stamp manufacturing process, and the knowledge of the stamp manufacturer were critical to the quality and outcome of the duplicated stamp products. It is concluded that although a perfect duplicate stamp could only be made under several essential control conditions, it was still possible to create a duplicate stamp that replicated the features of the original when a high‐quality source stamp impression was available.
Female answer specificity to male drumming calls in three closely related species of the stonefly genus Zwicknia (Plecoptera: Capniidae)
Authors: Orci Kirill Márk , Murányi Dávid
Published: January 2020

This study examines the rate of female answers to conspecific versus heterospecific male vibratory calls in three, closely related stonefly species: Zwicknia bifrons, Z. acuta, and Z. rupprechti. In a previous study those three species were recognized on the basis of their distinct male drumming calls along with differences in genital morphology and genetic divergence. During this study no‐choice playback experiments using original male call samples from each species were performed, and the answer rate of females to conspecific and heterospecific signal variants was measured. Mixed effect logistic regression models were used to test if male call species identity had a statistically significant effect on female answer probability. Females answered conspecific male calls with significantly higher probability than heterospecific calls in all the three examined species, suggesting that the divergence of vibrational communication can be an important component of the prezygotic isolation between them. Low, but well detectable responsiveness to heterospecific calls was observable between Z. bifrons and Z. acuta, the two species closest to each other regarding mitochondrial genetic divergence and male call pattern similarity. Thus, our results are most congruent with a tight, gradual coevolution of male calls and female preferences.
Effects of exercise on residual renal function in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis: A post‐hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Uchiyama Kiyotaka , Washida Naoki , Morimoto Kohkichi , Muraoka Kaori , Nakayama Takashin , Adachi Keika , Kasai Takahiro , Miyashita Kazutoshi , Wakino Shu , Itoh Hiroshi
Published: January 2020

We aimed to investigate the effects of exercise on renal outcomes in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD). In a post‐hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial of a 12‐week home‐based exercise program involving 47 patients undergoing PD, we excluded 18 patients with anuria and analyzed 13 and 16 patients in the usual care and exercise groups, respectively. The primary outcomes were weekly renal creatinine clearance (CCr) and urinary biomarkers: liver‐type fatty acid‐binding protein (L‐FABP) and the microalbumin‐to‐creatinine ratio (ACR). Although the maintenance of weekly renal CCr in the exercise group was not significantly different compared with that in the usual care group (P = .09), urinary L‐FABP levels (P = .02) and ACR (P = .04) were significantly decreased in the exercise group. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate the beneficial effects of exercise on renal outcomes in patients undergoing PD.
Public safety assessment
Authors: DeMichele Matthew , Baumgartner Peter , Wenger Michael , Barrick Kelle , Comfort Megan
Published: January 2020

Research Summary

We assess the predictive validity and differential prediction by race of one pretrial risk assessment, the Public Safety Assessment (PSA). The PSA was developed with support from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation (LJAF) to reduce the burden placed on vulnerable populations at the front end of the criminal justice system. The growing and disparate use of incarceration is one of the most pressing social issues facing the United States. The implementation of risk assessments has provided fuel for both sides of the reform debate with proponents arguing that the use of these assessments offers a policy mechanism to alleviate populations and bias. Risk assessment critics, however, argue that the use of the assessments exacerbates bias and does not improve decision‐making. By examining a statewide data set from Kentucky (N = 164,597), we found the PSA to have predictive validity measures in line with what are generally accepted within the criminal justice field. The differences we found indicate the PSA scores for failure to appear (FTA) are moderated by race, but these differences do not lead to disparate impact.

Policy Implications

We point to data limitations and the need for localized risk assessment studies, and we emphasize that risk assessments are decision‐making tools that require ongoing refinement. Risk assessment developers, opponents, and proponents would do better to focus on the reality of risk assessments as probabilistic models. The results of these assessments cannot predict with certainty, and they are not inherently biased. Rather, criminologists and policy makers need to understand the uncertainty that comes with any predictive model.
Evidence concerning the regulation of firearms design, sale, and carrying on fatal mass shootings in the United States
Authors: Webster Daniel W. , McCourt Alexander D. , Crifasi Cassandra K. , Booty Marisa D. , Stuart Elizabeth A.
Published: January 2020

Research Summary

We used data from the FBI's Supplemental Homicide Reports and other publicly available databases to calculate state‐level annual incidence of fatal mass shootings for 1984–2017. Negative binomial regression models were used to estimate the associations between changes in key gun laws and fatal mass shootings. Handgun purchaser licensing laws and bans of large‐capacity magazines (LCMs) were associated with significant reductions in the incidence of fatal mass shootings. Other laws commonly advocated as solutions to mass shootings—comprehensive background checks, assault weapons bans, and de‐regulation of civilian concealed carry of firearms—were unrelated to fatal mass shootings.

Policy Implications

Our findings suggest that laws requiring firearm purchasers to be licensed through a background check process supported by fingerprints and laws banning LCMs are the most effective gun policies for reducing fatal mass shootings.
Influence of aflatoxin in Nuruk on the safety of starch‐based alcoholic beverage
Authors: Yun Jeonghyun , Kim Jae Ho , Lee Jang‐Eun
Published: January 2020

Nuruk is a fermentation agent used to manufacture alcoholic beverages, which contains a variety of microorganisms. Most microorganisms in Nuruk are useful for the production of alcoholic beverages; however, Nuruk can be infected with Aspergillus flavus, which produces aflatoxin (AF). Therefore, this study analyzed total AF concentrations in Nuruk, the transfer of AF from Nuruk to alcoholic beverages, and AF‐producing microorganisms to determine the safety of alcoholic beverages with respect to this toxin. ELISA showed that total AF levels in 14 of 61 Nuruk samples exceeded 15 ppb, the Korean permissible level in cereal products. In alcoholic beverages produced with Nuruk containing AF levels >15 ppb, only AF G1 was detected, at a level of 0.3 ppb, and the transfer ratio of AF G1 was approximately 1.2% to 1.3%. The dominant genera in Nuruk were Aspergillus and Rhizopus. Among 30 strains belonging to Aspergillus, 10 produced only AF B1 at levels of 0.1 to 2.4 ppb after incubation at 25 °C for 8 days on potato dextrose agar plates. Although AF in Nuruk was rarely transferred to alcoholic beverages and the aflatoxigenic strains were found to possess poor AF‐producing capacity, further efforts to reduce AF in Nuruk are needed to ensure the safety of alcoholic beverages.
Biofilm formation by marine bacteria is impacted by concentration and surface functionalization of polystyrene nanoparticles in a species‐specific manner
Authors: Okshevsky Mira , Gautier Eva , Farner Jeffrey M. , Schreiber Lars , Tufenkji Nathalie
Published: January 2020

The world's oceans are becoming increasingly polluted by plastic waste. In the marine environment, larger plastic pieces may degrade into nanoscale (<100 nm in at least one dimension) plastic particles due to natural weathering effects. We observe that the presence of 20 nm plastic nanoparticles at concentrations below 200 ppm had no impact on planktonic growth of a panel of heterotrophic marine bacteria. However, the presence of plastic nanoparticles significantly impacted the formation of biofilms in a species‐specific manner. While carboxylated nanoparticles increased the amount of biofilm formed by several species, amidine‐functionalized nanoparticles decreased the amount of biofilm of many but not all bacteria. Further experiments suggested that the aggregation dynamics of bacteria and nanoparticles were strongly impacted by the surface properties of the nanoparticles. The community structure of an artificially constructed community of marine bacteria was significantly altered by exposure to plastic nanoparticles, with differently functionalized nanoparticles selecting for unique and reproducible community abundance patterns. These results suggest that surface properties and concentration of plastic nanoparticles, as well as species interactions, are important factors determining how plastic nanoparticles impact biofilm formation by marine bacteria.
Diel cycling of the cosmopolitan abundant Pelagibacter virus 37‐F6: one of the most abundant viruses on earth
Authors: Martinez‐Hernandez Francisco , Luo Elaine , Tominaga Kento , Ogata Hiroyuki , Yoshida Takashi , DeLong Edward F. , Martinez‐Garcia Manuel
Published: January 2020

The spatiotemporal dynamics for marine viral populations has only recently been explored. However, nothing is known about temporal activities of the uncultured Pelagibacter virus vSAG 37‐F6, which was discovered by single‐virus genomics as potentially the most abundant marine virus. Here, we investigate the diel cycling of 37‐F6 virus and the putative SAR11 host using coastal and oceanic transcriptomic and viromic time‐series data from Osaka Bay and North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Virus 37‐F6 and relatives displayed diel cycling of transcriptional activities synchronized with its putative host. In both virus and host, the lowest transcription rates were observed at 14:00–15:00, coinciding roughly with maximum solar irradiance, while higher transcriptional rates were detected during the night/early morning and afternoon. Diel abundance of free viruses of 37‐F6 in seawater roughly mirrored the transcriptional activities of both virus and host. In Osaka Bay, among viral relatives (genus level), virus 37‐F6 specifically showed the highest ratio of transcriptional activity to virome abundance, a proxy for viral transcriptional activity relative to free viral particle abundance. This high ratio suggests high infection rate efficiencies in vSAG 37‐F6 virus compared to viral relatives. Thus, time‐series data revealed temporal transcript activities in one of the most abundant viruses in Earth.
Analysis of temporal patterns in animal movement networks
Authors: Pasquaretta Cristian , Dubois Thibault , Gomez‐Moracho Tamara , Delepoulle Virginie P. , Le Loc’h Guillaume , Heeb Philipp , Lihoreau Mathieu
Published: January 2020

Understanding how animal movements change across space and time is a fundamental question in ecology. While classical analyses of trajectories give insightful descriptors of spatial patterns, a satisfying method for assessing the temporal succession of such patterns is lacking.

Network analyses are increasingly used to capture properties of complex animal trajectories in simple graphical metrics. Here, building on this approach, we introduce a method that incorporates time into movement network analyses based on temporal sequences of network motifs.

We illustrate our method using four example trajectories (bumblebee, black kite, roe deer, wolf) collected with different technologies (harmonic radar, platform terminal transmitter, global positioning system). First, we transformed each trajectory into a spatial network by defining the animal's coordinates as nodes and movements in between as edges. Second, we extracted temporal sequences of network motifs from each movement network and compared the resulting behavioural profiles to topological features of the original trajectory. Finally, we compared each sequence of motifs with simulated Brownian and Lévy random motions to statistically determine differences between trajectories and classical movement models.

Our analysis of the temporal sequences of network motifs in individual movement networks revealed successions of spatial patterns corresponding to changes in behavioural modes that can be attributed to specific spatio‐temporal events of each animal trajectory. Future applications of our method to multi‐layered movement and social network analysis yield considerable promises for extending the study of complex movement patterns at the population level.
Effects of low‐dose remifentanil infusion on analgesic or antiemetic requirement during brain function mapping: A retrospective cohort study
Authors: Shiraki Atsuko , Goto Wataru , Fukagawa Hiroshi , Arakawa Yoshiki , Kikuchi Takayuki , Mineharu Yohei , Yamao Yukihiro , Yasuda Takayuki , Hattori Etsuko , Fukui Ayaka , Matsui Yoshihiro , Yonezawa Atsushi , Furukawa Keiko , Mizota Toshiyuki
Published: January 2020

Background

Pain and discomfort during the awake phase in awake craniotomy should be relieved to facilitate brain mapping. Although some anaesthesiologists use low‐dose (0.01‐0.05 µg/kg/min) remifentanil infusion to provide analgesia during this phase, its efficacy and side effects have never been evaluated. Therefore, this study primarily aimed to investigate the effects of low‐dose remifentanil infusion on the need for antiemetic treatment during brain mapping and secondarily aimed to determine its effects on the need for additional analgesic treatment.

Methods

This retrospective study included 218 patients who underwent awake craniotomy at our centre from 2008 to 2018. The relationship between low‐dose remifentanil infusion during the awake phase and the requirement for analgesic or antiemetic treatment was examined. A multivariable competing risk regression analysis was performed to adjust for patient and operative variables.

Results

Sixty‐six patients (30.3%) received low‐dose (median rate: 0.01 µg/kg/min) remifentanil infusion during the awake phase. Forty‐nine patients (22.5%) received an antiemetic and 99 (45.4%) received additional analgesic treatment. The difference in additional analgesic treatment was not significant between patients who received low‐dose remifentanil infusion and those who did not (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.13; 95% confidence interval: 0.75‐1.70; P = .570); however, the use of antiemetics significantly increased in patients who received remifentanil (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.78; 95% confidence interval: 1.01‐3.15; P = .047).

Conclusion

Low‐dose remifentanil infusion during the awake phase in awake craniotomy significantly increased the need for antiemetics but did not decrease the need for additional analgesic treatment.
Role of the central amygdala in acupuncture inhibition of methamphetamine‐induced behaviors in rats
Authors: Kim Mi Seon , Fan Yu , Lee Soo Min , Chang Su Chan , Kim Hyung Kyu , Ryu Yeonhee , Steffensen Scott C. , Yang Chae Ha , Kim Hee Young
Published: January 2020

Methamphetamine (METH) enhances dopamine (DA) transmission in the mesolimbic system implicated in its reinforcing effects. Our previous studies have shown that acupuncture attenuates drug‐seeking behaviors by modulating GABAergic transmission in the ventral tegmental area and DA release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) of the striatum. The effects of acupuncture on METH‐induced behaviors and its mediation by neural pathways remain a relatively understudied area of research. The central amygdala (CeA) plays a critical role in physiological and behavioral responses to somatosensory and drug stimuli and has been implicated in negative reinforcement. Thus, we evaluated the role of the CeA in acupuncture effects on locomotor activity, positive affective states, and DA release in the NAc following acute administration of METH. Acupuncture at acupoint HT7 reduced locomotor activity, 50‐kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), and NAc DA release following systemic injection of METH, which was prevented by electrolytic lesions or optogenetic inhibition of the CeA. Acupuncture alone excited CeA neurons and reversed the suppression of CeA neurons induced by METH. These results suggest that acupuncture can relieve psychomotor responses and positive affective states following METH by inhibiting NAc DA release and this effect is mediated by activation of CeA neurons.
Potential of genomic selection for improvement of resistance to ostreid herpesvirus in Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas)
Authors: Gutierrez A. P. , Symonds J. , King N. , Steiner K. , Bean T. P. , Houston R. D.
Published: January 2020

In genomic selection (GS), genome‐wide SNP markers are used to generate genomic estimated breeding values for selection candidates. The application of GS in shellfish looks promising and has the potential to help in dealing with one of the main issues currently affecting Pacific oyster production worldwide, which is the ‘summer mortality syndrome’. This causes periodic mass mortality in farms worldwide and has mainly been attributed to a specific variant of the ostreid herpesvirus (OsHV‐1). In the current study, we evaluated the potential of genomic selection for host resistance to OsHV‐1 in Pacific oysters, and compared it with pedigree‐based approaches. An OsHV‐1 disease challenge was performed using an immersion‐based virus exposure treatment for oysters for 7 days. A total of 768 samples were genotyped using the medium‐density SNP array for oysters. A GWAS was performed for the survival trait using a GBLUP approach in blupf90 software. Heritability ranged from 0.25 ± 0.05 to 0.37 ± 0.05 (mean ± SE) based on pedigree and genomic information respectively. Genomic prediction was more accurate than pedigree prediction, and SNP density reduction had little impact on prediction accuracy until marker densities dropped below approximately 500 SNPs. This demonstrates the potential for GS in Pacific oyster breeding programmes, and importantly, demonstrates that a low number of SNPs might suffice to obtain accurate genomic estimated breeding values, thus potentially making the implementation of GS more cost effective.
Demand for global health training among obstetrics and gynaecology trainees in Australia and New Zealand: Insights from the TIGHT study
Authors: Mitchell Rebecca , Mitchell Rob , Phillips Georgina , Jayaratnam Skandarupan
Published: January 2020

Background

Global health (GH) training aims to equip clinicians with the skills and knowledge to practise in international and cross‐cultural environments. Interest among obstetrics and gynaecology trainees is unknown.

Aims

The Trainee Interest in Global Health Training (TIGHT) study aimed to assess demand for GH training among specialty trainees in Australia and New Zealand. The primary objective was to quantify the number of trainees interested in undertaking a rotation in a resource‐limited environment (RLE) in a low‐ or middle‐income country during specialty training. This paper reports the results of a planned sub‐group analysis of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) trainees.

Materials and Methods

A cross‐sectional study was conducted between August and October 2018. Data were collected using an anonymous, self‐reporting, web‐based survey.

Results

There were 210 respondents among 698 RANZCOG trainees, equating to a response rate of 30.1%. Overall, 77% (157/204) of respondents were keen to undertake a rotation in a RLE, with the vast majority (166/203, 81.8%) interested or very interested in having their GH accredited for training. Sixty‐four percent (125/195) expressed interest in undertaking an integrated GH training or fellowship program as an adjunct to specialty training, and a majority (177/201, 88.1%) were keen to continue GH work as a specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist.

Conclusion

There is significant demand for GH training among RANZCOG trainees. These findings should inform the development of accredited rotations in RLEs and the cultivation of safe and effective global women’s health training pathways. Ideally, these arrangements should be underpinned by mutually beneficial partnerships with both educational and development objectives.
Sperm retrieval rates in non‐mosaic Klinefelter patients undergoing testicular sperm extraction: What expectations do we have in the real‐life setting?
Authors: Boeri Luca , Palmisano Franco , Preto Mirko , Sibona Mattia , Capogrosso Paolo , Franceschelli Alessandro , Ruiz‐Castañé Eduard , Sarquella‐Geli Joaquim , Bassas‐Arnau Lluís , Scroppo Fabrizio Ildefonso , Saccà Antonino , Gentile Giorgio , Falcone Marco , Timpano Massimiliano , Ceruti Carlo , Gadda Franco , Trost Landon , Colombo Fulvio , Rolle Luigi , Gontero Paolo , Montorsi Francesco , Sánchez‐Curbelo Josvany , Salonia Andrea , Montanari Emanuele
Published: January 2020

Background

A recent meta‐analysis (Human Reproduction Update 23, 2017 and 265) reported positive sperm retrieval rates (SRR) in 50% of patients with Klinefelter syndrome (KS) undergoing testicular sperm extraction (TESE). However, these results do not reflect the rates of SR that we observe in clinical practice. We assessed the rate and potential predictors of SR in Klinefelter patients in the real‐life setting.

Materials and Methods

We reviewed clinical data of 103 KS men who underwent TESE between 08/2008 and 03/2019 at five tertiary referral Andrology centers. Patients underwent testis ultrasound, hormonal evaluation, and genetic testing. All patients were azoospermic based on the 2010 WHO reference criteria. Conventional TESE (cTESE) or microsurgical TESE (mTESE) was performed based on the surgeon's preference. We used descriptive statistics and logistic regression models to describe the whole cohort.

Results

Median (IQR) patient's age was 32 (24‐37) years. Baseline serum FSH and total testosterone levels were 29.5 (19.9‐40.9) mUI/mL and 3.8 (2.5‐11.0) ng/mL, respectively. Conventional TESE and mTESE were performed in 38 (36.5%) and 65 (63.5%) men, respectively. The sperm retrieval rate was 21.4% (22/103 men). Fifteen patients used spermatozoa for ICSI and five ended in live birth children. Patients with positive SR were similar to those with a negative TESE in terms of clinical, hormonal, and procedural parameters (all P > .05). Logistic regression analyses confirmed the lack of association between clinical, hormonal, and procedural parameters with SR outcome.

Discussion

Given the conflicting results in the literature regarding SRR in KS, patients should be carefully counseled regarding TESE outcomes based on data from published literature and local results.

Conclusions

In the real‐life setting, we observed a lower SRR (21.4%) than that reported in meta‐analyses in our cohort of KS patients. No associations between clinical, hormonal, and procedural variables with TESE success were found.
Active antibiotic discontinuation in suspected but not confirmed early‐onset neonatal sepsis—A quality improvement initiative
Authors: Dretvik Thomas , Solevåg Anne Lee , Finvåg Andreas , Størdal Eline Hasselgård , Størdal Ketil , Klingenberg Claus
Published: January 2020

Aim

To study whether a simple targeted intervention could reduce unwarranted antibiotic treatment in near‐term and term neonates with suspected, but not confirmed early‐onset sepsis.

Methods

A quality improvement initiative in three Norwegian neonatal intensive care units. The intervention included an inter‐hospital clinical practice guideline for discontinuing antibiotics after 36‐48 hours if sepsis was no longer suspected and blood cultures were negative in neonates ≥ 34+0 weeks of gestation. Two units used procalcitonin in decision‐making. We compared data 12‐14 months before and after guideline implementation. The results are presented as median with interquartile ranges.

Results

A total of 284 infants (2.5% of all births ≥ 34+0 weeks of gestation) received antibiotics before and 195 (1.8%) after guideline implementation (P = .0018). The two units that used procalcitonin discontinued antibiotics earlier after guideline implementation than the unit without procalcitonin. Neonates not diagnosed with sepsis were treated 49 (31‐84) hours before and 48 (36‐72) hours after guideline implementation (P = .68). In all infants, including those diagnosed with sepsis, antibiotic treatment duration was reduced from 108 (60‐144) to 96 (48‐120) hours (P = .013).

Conclusion

Antibiotic treatment duration for suspected, but not confirmed early‐onset sepsis did not change. However, treatment duration for all infants and the proportion of infants commenced on antibiotics were reduced.
Tuning care relations between migrant caregivers and the elderly in Singapore
Authors: Liew Jian An , Yeoh Brenda S.A. , Huang Shirlena , Ho Elaine
Published: January 2020

The literature on care relations and eldercare has directed attention towards recognising the interdependence between ‘carer’ (familial caregiver or home support worker) and the ‘cared for’ (the older person). Such an approach gives attention to the contingencies and entanglements that shape the relationships among differently positioned members of care dyads. Drawing on in‐depth and ‘go‐along’ interviews, we examine how relations between migrant caregivers and their non‐migrant elderly charges in Singapore are spatially negotiated – formulated, sustained and reworked – on an everyday basis through Alfred Schütz's framework of intersubjective ‘tuning’. Owing to the unequal ways that migrant caregivers are positioned within Singapore society, moments of positive family‐like regard towards them are almost always preceded/superseded by forms of negativity and vice versa. The employer–employee care dyad is therefore best understood as a relational process that requires constant ‘tuning’, as the elderly employer needs care which no one else will provide, while the employee needs the job in order for the migration gamble to succeed. The paper concludes by drawing together the spatial and temporal insights that the conceptual approach of ‘tuning’ brings to analyses of care relations.
Working memory predictors of mathematics across the middle primary school years
Authors: Allen Katie , Giofrè David , Higgins Steve , Adams John
Published: January 2020

Background

Work surrounding the relationship between visuospatial working memory (WM) and mathematics performance is gaining significant traction as a result of a focus on improving academic attainment.

Aims

This study examined the relative contributions of verbal and visuospatial simple and complex WM measures to mathematics in primary school children aged 6–10 years.

Sample

A sample of 111 children in years 2–5 were assessed (Mage = 100.06 months, SD = 14.47).

Method

Children were tested individually on all memory measures, followed by a separate mathematics testing session as a class group in the same assessment wave.

Results and Conclusions

Results revealed an age‐dependent relationship, with a move towards visuospatial influence in older children. Further analyses demonstrated that backward word span and backward matrices contributed unique portions of variance of mathematics, regardless of the regression model specified. We discuss possible explanations for our preliminary findings in relation to the existing literature alongside their implications for educators and further research.
Understanding behavioural engagement and achievement: The roles of teaching practices and student sense of competence and task value
Authors: Olivier Elizabeth , Galand Benoit , Hospel Virginie , Dellisse Sébastien
Published: January 2020

Background

Different teaching practices, such as autonomy support and structure, provide students with a positive learning context supporting their engagement, which can operate through their underlying motivation, including sense of competence and task value.

Aims

This study aims at investigating the best configuration (unique or synergistic) between autonomy support and structure to support student behavioural engagement, including compliance, participation, and misbehaviour, and reading achievement. A second objective is to assess students' sense of competence and task value as mediators linking teaching practices to student engagement and achievement.

Sample

The samples included 1,666 7th‐grade students and their 85 teachers. Students answered questionnaires and tests at the beginning and the end of the school year.

Methods

Students’ perceptions of the use of autonomy support and structure by their Language Arts teacher were aggregated at the classroom level. Students rated their sense of competence and task value in Language Arts class. Twice during the school year, they also reported three facets of their behavioural engagement (compliance, participation, and misbehaviour) and answered a reading comprehension test. Multilevel path analyses using Mplus7 allowed accounting for the nested structure of data.

Results

Student sense of competence mediated the association of student classroom‐aggregated perceptions of teacher structure and autonomy support with self‐reported participation in the classroom. Task value mediated the association between both teaching practices and student misbehaviour and compliance, as reported by students. Sense of competence was directly associated with later reading achievement, but the indirect effect of teaching practices was not significant. We found no significant interaction (synergistic effect) between teacher autonomy support and structure.

Conclusion

Student classroom‐aggregated perception of teacher autonomy support and structure is important to nurture behavioural engagement. However, we found no extra benefit of combining these two dimensions of teaching practices. The processes linking these teaching practices to the three facets of student behavioural engagement were different. As such, to support the various aspects of student engagement, the actions of teachers, as reported by their students, should tap into the mechanisms that are most strongly related to each type of behaviour.
Prediction of significant bleeding during vitamin K antagonist treatment for venous thromboembolism in outpatients
Authors: Martinez Carlos , Katholing Anja , Wallenhorst Christopher , Cohen Alexander T.
Published: January 2020

Bleeding is the most concerning complication associated with anticoagulant therapy but poorly characterized and important for risk/benefit assessment. We developed a risk stratification score to predict vitamin K antagonist (VKA)‐associated bleeding in venous thromboembolism (VTE) using the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Significant bleeding events in outpatients consisted of major bleeding and clinically relevant non‐major bleeding requiring hospitalisation (CRNMB‐H) within 90 days of VKA initiation. A scoring scheme for predicting bleeding was developed from subhazard ratios, validated using cross‐validation and expressed by the C‐statistic. The study cohort consisted of 10,010 patients with first VTE receiving initial VKA treatment, mean age 62·2 years. Between 2008 and 2016, 167 significant bleeding events were recorded (1·7%), i.e. incidence rate was 7·4/100 person‐years. Independent predictors for community‐acquired significant bleeding included active cancer, trauma/surgical procedure, male gender, dementia, liver disease, anaemia, history of bleeding, cerebrovascular, renal and chronic pulmonary disease, VTE presenting as pulmonary embolism and age over 75. The overall C‐statistic was 0·68 (95% CI, 0·60–0·76), 0·75 (0·60–0·88) for major bleeding and 0·65 (0·55–0·75) for CRNMB‐H, and higher than in other risk schemes applied to our study population. The developed risk score may identify patients having a significant bleeding risk, in particular major bleeding events, in outpatients.
Induction therapy with the MATRix regimen in patients with newly diagnosed primary diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma of the central nervous system – an international study of feasibility and efficacy in routine clinical practice
Authors: Schorb Elisabeth , Fox Christopher P. , Kasenda Benjamin , Linton Kim , Martinez‐Calle Nicolas , Calimeri Teresa , Ninkovic Slavisa , Eyre Toby A. , Cummin Tom , Smith Jeffery , Yallop Deborah , De Marco Beatrice , Krampera Mauro , Trefz Stefan , Orsucci Lorella , Fabbri Alberto , Illerhaus Gerald , Cwynarski Kate , Ferreri Andrés J. M.
Published: January 2020

The MATRix chemoimmunotherapy regimen is highly effective in patients with newly diagnosed primary diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma of the central nervous system (PCNSL). However, nothing is known about its feasibility and efficacy in everyday practice, where patients are more often older/frailer than those enrolled in clinical trials. We conducted a retrospective study addressing tolerability/efficacy of MATRix in 156 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed PCNSL treated outside a clinical trial. Median age and ECOG Performance Status of considered patients were 62 years (range 28–78) and 2 (range 0–4). The overall response rate after MATRix was 79%. Nine (6%) treatment‐related deaths were recorded. After a median follow‐up of 27.4 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 24.4–31.9%), the two‐year progression‐free and overall survival were 56% (95% CI 48.4–64.9%) and 64.1% (95% CI 56.7–72.5%) respectively. Patients not eligible for the IELSG32 trial were treated with lower dose intensity and had substantially worse outcomes than those fulfilling inclusion criteria. This is the largest series of PCNSL patients treated with MATRix outside a trial and recapitulates the IELSG32 trial outcomes in the non‐trial setting for patients who fit the trial criteria. These data underscore the feasibility and efficacy of MATRix as induction treatment for fit patients in routine practice.
Commentary on Corradi et al.’s (2019) new conception of aesthetic sensitivity: Is the ability conception dead?
Authors: Myszkowski Nils , Çelik Pinar , Storme Martin
Published: January 2020

Corradi et al. (British Journal of Psychology, 2019) argue that their new conception of visual aesthetic sensitivity (as responsiveness to aesthetic features in one’s preferences) presents several advantages in comparison with the current ability view of aesthetic sensitivity, usually defined as the ability to judge aesthetic stimuli in accordance with standards (The Journal of Psychology, 1964, 57 and 49). Although the measure they propose is interesting and presents advances to the field, we point to important issues. Notably, the authors conveniently base their comparison between the two conceptions on psychometric double standards, discard a century of research on aesthetic sensitivity by focusing on Eysenck’s speculations, and disguise an extension of already existing aesthetic preference tests (e.g., The Journal of Psychology, 1952, 33 and 199; Empirical Studies of the Arts, 2005, 23 and 165) as a redefinition of aesthetic sensitivity. We conclude that both aesthetic preference and aesthetic sensitivity research are legitimate objects of study, that the authors present interesting ideas to further the study of aesthetic preferences, but that their approach is not new and that its proposed renaming only adds confusion to the field.
Unpacking the notion of prototype archetypes in the early phase of an innovation process
Authors: BenMahmoud‐Jouini Sihem , Midler Christophe
Published: January 2020

The literature on new product development examines a variety of roles that prototypes can play based on the phase of the design process when they are used, but the characteristics of these prototypes that correspond to the expected outcomes, especially in the early phase of the design process, are understudied. We address this gap by studying the characteristics of the prototypes used in the design process (especially during the early phase) that correspond to their roles. Based on an analysis of six cases of prototypes that are used early on in the design process, we characterize three different archetypes of artefacts: stimulators, demonstrators, and validators, and we emphasize the coherence between the role they play in the design process and the characteristics that enable these roles. Specifying the roles of these artefacts should contribute to addressing the two flaws that are generally encountered during prototyping: overdesigning and overtrusting the prototypes.