bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of effective governance structure on succession process in the family business: exploring the mediating role of management succession planning
Authors: Renuka V.V. , Marath Bhasi
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The aim of this research is to analyze empirical evidence of the effect of governance structure (GS) on perceived success of the succession process. It is also reported that in India, family firms have a more informal organization structure and governance and have an informal and unplanned approach to bringing the successors into family business. Previous studies have reported that GS is an important factor for a successful succession process. This study examines the role of management succession planning as an intervening variable to achieve perceived success of the succession process.

Design/methodology/approach

Data have been collected using a questionnaire schedule with 113 respondents who are successors from family business firms in Kerala, India. The study uses snowball sampling technique. Partial least square-structural equation modeling has been used to do data analysis.

Findings

The results of the study showed that GS has a significant positive effect on the success of the succession process. GS has a significant positive effect on management succession planning. Management succession planning partially mediates the relationship between GS and perceived success of the succession process.

Research limitations/implications

The results of the study indicate the effect of GS on the relationship between, perceived success of the succession process and management succession planning. The mediating role of management succession planning in the above relationship is also confirmed. Therefore, before starting the succession process a good GS should be put in place for ensuring the success of the succession process. Family firms must implement the succession plan well to make the succession process successful.

Originality/value

The main contribution of the study is to empirically investigate the effect of GS and management succession planning to enhance the success of the succession process.
Implementing just-in-time inventory management to address contextual operational issues: a case study of a commercial livestock farm in southern Nigeria
Authors: Ufua Daniel E. , Ibidunni Ayodotun S. , Papadopoulos Thanos , Matthew Oluwatoyin A. , Khatoon Rehmat , Agboola Mayowa G.
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This research focuses on the implementation of Just-in-Time (JIT) inventory management, drawing on a case study of a commercial livestock farm located in a swampy area of southern Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

The research adopts a qualitative approach. Interviews and workshops were used for data collection.

Findings

Findings from the study reveal that the commitment on the internal organisational members and skilful collaboration with supply chain partners are required for effective use of JIT, especially in an odd contextual situation such as the case in this study. This also justifies the embraced of additional cost of securing JIT inventory management practices such as the situation in the case study organisation that could not allow conventional inventory management.

Originality/value

It is suggested for further research to consider the topic from a mixed method approach as well as extend the focus on the possibility of legal regulations and government support to exceptional operational practices among organisations, especially those in the context of the food production sector, where this research was based.
Measuring tourism success: how European National Tourism Organisations are shifting the paradigm
Authors: Araújo Luís
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The paper analyses the dramatic global slowdown of tourism caused by the pandemic and how it has provided an exceptional opportunity for the tourism sector to reassess both its priorities and practices, especially in relation to our planet and society.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper provides an analysis of the European Travel Commission's position regarding the development of a sustainable tourism ecosystem and the definition of new metrics to measure this transition, thus allowing European National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) to share knowledge and learn from each other.

Findings

NTOs across Europe are at different stages in their journey towards a sustainable tourism development model. Some destinations are still focussing on attracting more travellers from international markets while others at a more mature stage, are switching their work towards the management of tourism flows. These latter examples support the approach that developing a tourism strategy should start with the needs of the destination, and the local people should be directly and fully involved in the tourism strategy. Initiatives such as this can support tourism decision-making based on data and firm evidence and help to address doubts and common misunderstandings around how residents feel.

Originality/value

This paper highlights how the European Travel Commission, together with its members, are working towards a new world benchmark for responsible, sustainable and innovative tourism in response to exponential growth of demand, the reality of the ecological transition and the emergence of a new digital era.
Destination management in a post-covid environment
Authors: Guerreiro Sérgio
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This paper seeks to reflect on the impacts of the pandemic on the management of tourist destinations, discussing the role of destination-management organizations in the tourism development model, as well as the challenges that these organizations must address to ensure an effective construction of a more sustainable and competitive tourism.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology is based on a literature review linking destination management with pandemic and post-pandemic responses.

Findings

The COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedent shock to the tourism industry's growth model since World War II, challenging tourism stakeholders (destinations and companies) with several threats and opportunities to their future competitiveness. In addition to the massive impacts in terms of business development, the abrupt reduction of tourism demand and the significative loss of jobs, the pandemic also caused significant disruption in terms of destination-management models. In less than four months, the focus of Governments and Destination Management Organizations shifted from defining development models compatible with improving the quality of life of residents due to the emergence of the so-called overtourism phenomenon, to the urgent need to support the industry's survival, to preserve jobs and ensure conditions of safety for tourists and workers.

Originality/value

Demonstrates the need for a profound change in the paradigm of destination management so that the sector is prepared to face future shocks. It also proposes further discussion on the role of destination management in the recovery process of the tourism sector in global terms, given the challenges that these organizations face. The article also considers the ways in which destination management can be a fundamental tool in the process of building a more inclusive, sustainable and competitive future.
Reliability of antinuclear matrix protein 2 antibody assays in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies is dependent on target protein properties
Authors: Ichimura Yuki , Konishi Risa , Shobo Miwako , Inoue Sae , Okune Mari , Maeda Akemi , Tanaka Ryota , Kubota Noriko , Matsumoto Isao , Ishii Akiko , Tamaoka Akira , Shimbo Asami , Mori Masaaki , Morio Tomohiro , Kishi Takayuki , Miyamae Takako , Tanboon Jantima , Inoue Michio , Nishino Ichizo , Fujimoto Manabu , Nomura Toshifumi , Okiyama Naoko
Published: December 2021

A line blotting assay (LB) is currently used to detect myositis‐specific autoantibodies (MSAs) in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs), because of its simplicity; however, the sensitivity and specificity of this assay is low. The aim of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of the commercial LB in detection of antinuclear matrix protein 2 (NXP2) antibody. Seventy‐seven serum samples from patients with IIMs, in which anti‐NXP2 antibodies were detected through immunoprecipitation and western blotting (IP‐WB) using K562 cell lysate, were enrolled. All samples were assessed by LB and IP‐WB using recombinant human NXP2 whole protein (rNXP2) produced by insect cells, and the positive rates of each assay were compared. Thirty‐two samples (41.6%) showed false‐negativity by LB, which includes 11 samples with negative results by IP‐WB using rNXP2. Relative intensities of IP‐WB using cell lysate were significantly higher in the samples with positive results by both LB and IP‐WB using rNXP2, compared to samples with positive by IP‐WB using rNXP2 but negative by LB. Three of 11 samples with negative results by both LB and IP‐WB using rNXP2 revealed high antibody titers. Further, differences in post‐transcriptional SUMOylation were observed between recombinant and natural NXP2 proteins. In conclusion, the LB showed low sensitivity for detection of anti‐NXP2 antibody, an effect exacerbated at low titers of anti‐NXP2 antibodies. Moreover, there appears to be differences in the reactivities of antibodies to recombinant and natural NXP2 proteins with different post‐transcriptional modifications.
Risk and protection strategies of Amolops wuyiensis intestine against gastrointestinal nematode (Cosmocercoides wuyiensis n. sp.) infection
Authors: Shu Yilin , Xie Yunyun , Li Shikun , Cai Liming , Liu Ying , Feng Yalin , He Jun , Zhang Huijuan , Ran Menglong , Jia Qina , Wu Hailong , Lu Linming
Published: December 2021

Anuran amphibians are susceptible to infection by intestinal nematodes, but the damage and response mechanisms that occur in their intestines after infection are only partially understood. In this study, the intestinal disruption and response mechanisms in Amolops wuyiensis frogs infected with Cosmocercoides wuyiensis n. sp. were revealed through analysis of the intestinal histopathology, digestive enzyme activity, transcriptome and intestinal microbiota. Tissue section analysis showed histological damage and inflammation in the infected intestine, and the digestive enzyme activity indicated a decrease in digestion and absorption of some nutrients. We found that infection led to differences in the intestinal microbiota composition, including lower diversity and symbiotic relationships. The greater relative abundance of the genera Burkholderia and Rhodococcus may enhance intestinal immunity to resist pathogenic infections. A comparison of the transcriptomes of infected and uninfected intestines revealed 1055 differentially expressed genes. GO enrichment and KEGG pathways analyses suggested that the guts of infected C. wuyiensis n. sp. show enhanced complement activation, cell adhesion molecule function, NOD‐like receptor signalling pathway activity and other innate immunity responses. Among the adaptive immune responses, the intestinal immune network for IgA production was significantly enriched, and the expression of IL‐17D and transforming growth factor beta‐1 genes were upregulated in the infected intestine. These results imply that C. wuyiensis n. sp. infection of A. wuyiensis intestine may trigger innate and adaptive immune responses, which reduce the post‐infection burden. Furthermore, the intestine of A. wuyiensis may also respond to C. wuyiensis n. sp. infection by increasing metallocarboxypeptidase activity and accelerating smooth muscle contraction.
The ‘Obstacle of Sex’. Christina of Sweden and Her Aspirations to the Polish–Lithuanian Throne
Authors: Gregorowicz Dorota
Published: December 2021

An important field of research related to early modern sovereignty is the topic of female political authority. This article aims to utilise the category of gender to analyse potential obstacles that Queen Christina of Sweden had to overcome in order to obtain royal dignity in an elective monarchy, the early modern Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Could the election of a female monarch constitute an acceptable and functional alternative for the Catholic and conservative noble society of this vast composite state? Former examples of Jadwiga of Anjou (1384) and Anna Jagiellon (1576) elected and crowned Kings of Poland seemed to suggest as much. The case of Christina's aspirations is all the more interesting, as her prominent supporter during the royal election of 1669 was the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Clement IX. It is, in fact, the diplomatic correspondence created by the papal Secretariat of State that constitutes the historical basis for the research presented here.
Light‐emitting diodes (below 700 nm): Improving the preservation of fresh foods during postharvest handling, storage, and transportation
Authors: Zhang Xijia , Zhang Min , Xu Baoguo , Mujumdar Arun S. , Guo Zhimei
Published: December 2021

In order to maintain the original taste, flavors, and appearance, fresh foods usually do not go through complex processing prior to sale; this makes them prone to deterioration due to external factors. Light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) have many unique advantages over traditional preservation technologies leading to their increasing application in the food industry. This paper reviews the luminescence principles of LED, the advantages of LED compared with traditional lighting equipment, and its possible preservation mechanism, and then critically summarizes the beneficial effects of LED irradiation on the ripening and aging process of various fruits and vegetables (climacteric and non‐climacteric). The activity changes of many enzymes closely related to crop development and quality maintenance, and the variation of flavor components caused by LED irradiation are discussed. LED illumination with a specific spectrum also has the important effect of maintaining the original color and flavor of meat, seafood, and dairy products. For microorganisms attached to the surface of animal‐derived food, both 400–460 nm LED irradiation based on photodynamic inactivation principle and UV–LED irradiation based on ultraviolet sterilization principle have high bactericidal efficacy. Although there is still a lack of useful standards for matching optimal LED irradiation dose with wavelength, perhaps in the near future, the improved LED irradiation system will be applied extensively in the food industry.
Employees' experience of human resource practices under plural form franchising: The impact of front‐line managerial capability
Authors: Butler Peter , Muskwe Never
Published: December 2021

The franchising business model has received scant attention within the field of human resource management (HRM). Data tracking workers' experience of this format are more elusive still. This study draws on comparative, qualitative data derived from discussions with 82 respondents working within the corporate and franchised divisions of a market leading, fast food multinational company (MNC). Extant analyses of franchised operations point to shortcomings in franchisees' treatment of staff. This outcome is typically asserted to be the result of the opportunism that flows from the desire to maximise revenues and minimise costs. This emphasis on structural pressures ignores the micro‐level influences and the complexity of the day‐to‐day dynamics of the employment relationship. Specifically, the impact of the leadership skills and competence of front‐line managers (FLMs) is overlooked. The study highlights that differences in FLM capability significantly affect the work climate, further aggravating poor HR activities in the franchised units, while offsetting some of the repressive task features associated with routinised work in the corporate division.
Areas of endemism in the Afrotropical region based on the geographical distribution of Tipulomorpha (Insecta: Diptera)
Authors: Santos Daubian , Ribeiro Guilherme Cunha
Published: December 2021

This article explores the distributional data of 2440 occurrence records for 1415 Tipulomorpha (Insecta: Diptera) species to search endemism patterns in the Afrotropical region and to propose a regionalisation scheme. The results were compared to areas of endemism proposed in previous works for other taxa. Areas of endemism were established using NDM/VNDM based on a grid size of 8° and consensus cut‐off of 24%. In this study, five subregions were found: Arabian, Atlantic, Indian, Southern Africa and Central Africa. These subregions are divided into 12 dominions: Arabian Peninsula, Atlantic Islands, Central Africa, Central Madagascar, Eastern Africa, Indian Ocean, Northwestern Africa, Southeastern Africa, Southern Africa, Southern Madagascar, Southwestern Africa and Western Africa. There is a general congruence of the dominions with the distribution of the main hydrographic basins and divisions of the forests of Madagascar.
Bioclimatic changes in ecoregions of southern South America: Trends and projections based on Holdridge life zones
Authors: Derguy Maria R. , Martinuzzi Sebastian , Arturi Marcelo
Published: December 2021

Modelling the potential impacts of future climate on ecosystems provides important information for environmental planning and management. The Holdridge life zones system is a land classification based on simple bioclimatic variables that can be used for evaluating the potential effect of future climates on ecosystems. However, information on future bioclimatic changes in ecoregions of southern South America is too coarse, or unavailable. Our main goals were to evaluate the usefulness of a simple bioclimatic classification system to assess the potential effects of climate change on ecological systems, and to what extent such changes would affect the ecoregions of Argentina. We analysed the multivariate distance between ecoregions of Argentina based on the area occupied by each life zone in each ecoregion and conducted an ordination of ecoregions under current and future climate scenarios. We also evaluated the correspondence between the boundaries of ecoregions and life zones. Overall, the ecoregions of Argentina are expected to face substantial change in bioclimatic conditions. In particular, ecoregions at high latitudes (e.g. Bosques Patagonicos) or altitudes (e.g. Altos Andes) are projected to exhibit similar bioclimatic conditions to ecoregions at lower latitudes or altitudes under current climate (e.g. Estepa Patagonica, Puna). The boundaries of ecoregions tended to coincide with those of life zones only in two cases and partial coincidence was the most frequent result. Further, the analysis of uncertainties of local climate data allowed to identify ecoregions where the results might be less reliable. Our study provides insights to improve conservation planning and management in Argentina. Integrating ecoregions and Holdridge life zones proved to be a useful approach for understanding the potential effects of future climate changes on ecological systems.
A frameshift deletion in the GDF9 gene in Icelandic Loa prolific sheep
Authors: Holm Lars‐Erik , Bendixen Christian , Eythorsdottir Emma , Hallsson Jon H.
Published: December 2021

Several genetic variants have been shown to affect the mean number of offspring in different sheep breeds. Here, we analyzed samples from Icelandic sheep with the aim of identifying the genetic cause of the Icelandic Loa phenotype using three previously identified prolificacy genes as candidates. We demonstrate that a 4‐bp frameshift deletion positioned in the mature region of the GDF9 protein in the Loa animals is a likely causal mutation for the observed increase in prolificacy; however, sequencing showed that not all ewes with a high number of offspring carried the deletion, suggesting the presence of a second mutation segregating within this group of animals.
A Repeated Measures Approach to Pooled and Calibrated Biomarker Data
Authors: Sloan Abigail , Cheng Chao , Rosner Bernard , Ziegler Regina G. , Smith-Warner Stephanie A. , Wang Molin
Published: December 2021

Participant-level meta-analysis across multiple studies increases the sample size for pooled analyses, thereby improving precision in effect estimates and enabling subgroup analyses. For analyses involving biomarker measurements as an exposure of interest, investigators must first calibrate the data to address measurement variability arising from usage of different laboratories and/or assays. In practice, the calibration process involves reassaying a random subset of biospecimens from each study at a central laboratory and fitting models that relate the study-specific “local” and central laboratory measurements. Previous work in this area treats the calibration process from the perspective of measurement error techniques and imputes the estimated central laboratory value among individuals with only a local laboratory measurement. In this work, we propose a repeated measures method to calibrate biomarker measurements pooled from multiple studies with study-specific calibration subsets. We account for correlation between measurements made on the same person and between measurements made at the same laboratory. We demonstrate that the repeated measures approach provides valid inference, and compare it to existing calibration approaches grounded in measurement error techniques in an example describing the association between circulating vitamin D and stroke.
Advances and weaknesses of the work process of the oral cancer care network in Brazil: A latent class transition analysis
Authors: Thomaz Erika Barbara Abreu Fonseca , Costa Elisa Miranda , Queiroz Rejane Christine de Sousa , Emmi Danielle Tupinambá , Ribeiro Ana Graziela Araújo , Silva Núbia Cristina da , Hugo Fernando Neves , Figueiredo Nilcema
Published: December 2021

Objective

To analyse the provision of oral cancer (OC) care services in the Dental Specialties Centers (Centros de Especialidades Odontológicas‐CEO) in Brazil and identify changes over two cycles of external evaluation of the Program for the Improvement of Access and Quality‐PMAQ, in 2014 and 2018.

Method

This is a nationwide panel ecological study, including 916 CEO. Data from interviews with managers and dentists of the CEO were used, including variables related to training on OC, clinical protocols, biopsies, referral for diagnosis and treatment, and registration of users with OC. We carried out Latent Transition Analysis (LTA) to identify patterns (latent status LS) of service adequacy and work processes’ changes between the two assessment cycles. We tested models with three, four, and five LS, selecting the one with the best conceptual interpretability and good model fit parameters. Data from the LS were plotted on choropleth and hotspots maps in Brazil allowing us to identify areas with the better or worse provision of specialized OC services.

Results

The model with four LS was chosen. The four LS were named: 1.’Most indicators inadequate for OC care’ (the worst); 2. ‘Most indicators suitable for OC care’ (the best); 3. ‘CEO with a poor relation with Primary Health Care (PHC) services’; and 4. ‘CEO with a poor relation with tertiary hospital services’. The comparison of the LS transition between the two cycles revealed that 419 (45.7%) CEO remained in the same LS (1→1, 3→4, 2→2); 228 (24.9%) switched to a worse status (2→1, 2→4, 3→1) and 269 (29.4%) switched to a better LS (1→2, 1→4, 3→2). While the majority of the CEO improved, we identified a decline of 17.8% in those who reported performing biopsies and 18.3% in the number of CEO that had hospitals for referring confirmed OC cases. Almost all Brazilian states had CEO that improved the work process. The Southeast and South regions had the highest percentage of CEO with the better work process in both cycles. Hotspots showed areas concentrating improvements in the work process in the Northeast region. However, some hotspots in the North revealed some CEO where the work process deteriorated or remained unsatisfactory.

Conclusions

There are regional inequities in the provision of OC care in CEO. Most services improved their work process or remained stable. However, the biopsies and the referral to hospital care for confirmed cases declined, indicating that CEO need to improve planning and care provision to reduce OC morbimortality.
User satisfaction with the secondary dental care services: Is there an association between structure and work process?
Authors: Amaral João Henrique Lara do , Vasconcelos Mara , Gomes Viviane Elisângela , Werneck Marcos Azeredo Furquim , Gaspar Gabriela da Silveira , Lopes Amanda Lívia , Pinheiro Elisa Lopes , Ferreira Raquel Conceição
Published: December 2021

Objective

To assess the association between user satisfaction in relation to secondary dental care services and the structure and process of Brazilian Dental Specialty Centers (CEO, in Portuguese).

Methods

This study used nationwide secondary data from two CEO evaluation cycles. Ten users from each CEO answered questions on the self‐perception of healthcare quality and satisfaction with health services. Latent class analysis (LCA) was performed to identify subgroups of satisfied and dissatisfied users (outcome). The CEO structure included equipment, supplies, instruments, ambience and type of CEO (type I, II or III, according to the number of dental chairs and dental professionals). The work process referred to the planning/monitoring of actions, collaborative care, characteristics of the demand for medical care /the organization of scheduling, and continuing education for employees. Covariables concerned user profiles. A multilevel logistic regression model was used (p‐value <.05).

Results

Seven thousand nine hundred and ninety‐seven users in 794 CEOs, together with 10056 users in 911 CEOs, participated in the 1st and 2nd evaluation cycles, and satisfied users corresponded to 85.3% and 87.1%, respectively. In both cycles, the CEO’s structural characteristics explained most of the variance in satisfaction. CEOs with more favourable structural characteristics showed higher satisfaction. Users from CEOs, type II and III, and those who received dental care where there was an interruption of services due to a lack of equipment or instruments reported a lower level of satisfaction. CEOs that organize their demand through referrals received from primary care dentists who have participated in continuing education actions for dental professionals presented a higher frequency of satisfied users.

Conclusions

Characteristics of the process and structure were associated with user satisfaction, but a quality of care was perceived by users, mainly due to structural characteristics.
Pay‐for‐performance and dental procedures: A longitudinal analysis of the Brazilian Program for the Improvement of Access and Quality of Dental Specialities Centres
Authors: Cabreira Fabiana da Silva , Hugo Fernando Neves , Celeste Roger Keller
Published: December 2021

Objective

Evaluate the impact of a pay‐for‐performance program on changes in the number of dental procedures performed by public secondary dental care services in Brazil.

Methods

A longitudinal study was carried out with 932 public Dental Specialities Centres (Centro de Especialidades Odontológicas – CEO) that participated in the pay‐for‐performance Program for the Improvement of Access and Quality of Dental Specialities Centres Services (PMAQ/CEO) and 379 non‐CEO centres with secondary dental production. The non‐CEO and a group of CEOs did not receive financial incentives from the PMAQ‐CEO and served as control groups. Three CEOs groups received additional financial incentives of 20%, 60% or 100% over maintenance values, based on their performance scores. The outcome was the increase (yes/no) in the number of dental procedures between 2011/2013 and 2015/2017. Analyses were carried out using logistic regressions.

Results

The number of specialized procedures increased in 48.4% of the services, 44.6% among non‐CEO, 52.3% among CEO with no financial incentive and 59.1% among CEO with 100% incentive. The fully adjusted model showed that CEOs receiving 100% of the financial incentive had greater odds of increasing the production of dental procedures (OR = 1.65, 95%CI: 1.09–2.51). Services that increased the number of specialist dentists had (OR = 2.35, 95%CI 1.88–2.94). Municipalities that increased in coverage of private dental insurance had OR = 0.98 (95%CI: 0.94–1.02), and those with higher coverage of primary dental care had OR = 1.02 (95%CI: 0.99–1.05).

Conclusion

Pay‐for‐performance may increase the production of dental procedures by CEOs, and mechanisms explaining it must be further investigated.
Contextual and local determinants associated with the achievement of goals in the endodontics specialty in Brazilian dental speciality centres: A multilevel analysis
Authors: Pinto Rafaela da Silveira , Lucas Simone Dutra , Goes Paulo Sávio Angeiras de , Silva Samuel Lucas da , Neves Érika Said Monteiro , Zina Lívia Guimarães , Vettore Mario Vianna
Published: December 2021

Objectives

To assess which factors were associated with the achievement of endodontic goals.

Methods

Cross‐sectional study using secondary data from the second cycle of the Program for the Improvement of Access and Quality in the dental speciality centres—in Portuguese PMAQ‐CEO. The independent variables extracted from this database were related to dental speciality centres (CEO in Portuguese). In addition, variables referring to the CEO host city were incorporated into the model. The outcome variable was the number of endodontic goals achieved calculated from the production of the CEO available in the Ambulatory Health Information System in 2018. Descriptive analyses and multilevel Poisson regression were performed with the software SPSS 23.0 and STATA 14.0.

Results

CEOs with more than 20% of patients' absenteeism were 26% less likely to reach the goals of the endodontics specialty; CEOs with availability of endodontists for more than 40 hours a week were two times more likely to reach the goals than those with less than 40 hours in endodontics specialty. CEOs with a waiting time for endodontic procedures greater than 45 days achieved a number of goals 31% lower than those with a waiting time up to 45 days. CEO type I and CEO type II showed 2.10 and 1.20 higher likelihood to reach the number of goals of the endodontics specialty than CEO type III. The number of endodontic instruments in sufficient number was positively associated with the achievement of goals. CEOs located in municipalities that reached more than 5% in the supervised brushing indicator had 2.26 greater likelihood to achieve the goals than those that did not reach this percentage.

Conclusion

Contextual and local determinants are associated with the achievement of goals in the endodontic specialty in the dental speciality centres in Brazil.
A systematic review of interventions that have the potential to foster engaged fathering to enhance children's health and development
Authors: Kalembo Fatch W. , Kendall Garth E.
Published: December 2021

This review aimed to identify and evaluate interventions that have the potential to foster engaged fathering to enhance children's health and development. Relevant articles published in the last 20 years were searched in Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Web of Science databases. The quality of studies was assessed independently by two reviewers using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Checklists. Thirty out of 3968 articles met the inclusion criteria and were subsequently reviewed. Studies were conducted in six countries (USA, Australia, Canada, Germany, Vietnam and Taiwan). Twenty‐one studies were targeted interventions while nine were universal interventions. The interventions involved parenting education, physical activity, nutrition, father–child socialization, father delivered infant massage and father–infant skin‐to‐skin contact. Authors of the studies reported that the interventions led to significant improvements in positive parenting behaviours and fathers' engagement with their children and better physical health and developmental outcomes among children. Notwithstanding the reported benefits of the interventions, all 30 studies had one or more methodological problems that call in question the generalizability of the findings. Future, well‐designed, RCT studies with larger sample sizes and clear measures of fidelity are warranted to replicate and strengthen findings reported in this review.
Intraoperative adverse events as a risk factor for local recurrence of rectal cancer after resection surgery
Authors: Waldenstedt Sophia , Bock David , Haglind Eva , Sjöberg Björn , Angenete Eva
Published: December 2021

Aim

Failure to achieve a radical resection as well as intraoperative rectal perforation are important risk factors for local recurrence after rectal cancer surgery, but the importance of other intraoperative adverse events for the prognosis is unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the occurrence of intraoperative adverse events during rectal cancer surgery, and to determine whether these were associated with an increased risk of local recurrence.

Methods

A retrospective population‐based cohort study was undertaken, including all patients in Region Västra Götaland, Sweden, who had undergone primary resection surgery for rectal cancer diagnosed between 2010 and 2014, registered in the Swedish Colorectal Cancer Registry. Data were retrieved from the registry and through review of the medical records.

Results

In total, 1208 patients were included in the study of whom 78 (6%) developed local recurrence during the follow‐up period of at least 5 years. Intraoperative adverse events were common and occurred in 62/78 (79%) of patients with local recurrence compared to 604/1130 (53%) of patients without local recurrence. In multivariate analysis intraoperative adverse events were found to be an independent risk factor for local recurrence of rectal cancer, as were nonradical resection, a high pathological T stage, the presence of lymph node metastases, type of surgery and refraining from rectal washout during anterior resection and Hartmann's procedure.

Conclusions

Intraoperative adverse events were found to be an independent risk factor for local recurrence of rectal cancer and could possibly be used together with other known risk factors to select patients for intensified postoperative surveillance.
Donor rhabdomyolysis, acute kidney injury, and kidney transplant outcomes
Authors: Zaphiros Nikolas H. , Nie Jing , Noyes Katia , Luong Albert , Kayler Liise K.
Published: December 2021

Background

Donor rhabdomyolysis may constrain kidney utilization due to anticipated unfavorable graft outcomes—especially in combination with acute kidney injury (AKI). There is a paucity of empiric data to inform organ acceptance decision‐making.

Methods

A single‐center retrospective cohort study of adult transplant recipients of deceased‐donor kidneys with reported donor creatine phosphokinase (CPK) levels was conducted between 2014 and 2020. Recipients of CPK ≥ 1000 U/L kidneys were propensity matched to CPK < 1000 recipients according to outcome‐predictive baseline covariates, except AKI.

Results

A total of 254 kidney transplants were propensity matched into CPK ≥ 1000 (n = 90) versus CPK < 1000 (n = 90) groups. Transplant outcomes with high versus low CPK kidneys were similar in terms of delayed graft function (P = 0.64), 1‐year estimated glomerular filtration rate < 25th percentile (P = 0.69) and mean (P = 0.58), and time to all‐cause graft failure (P = 0.58). There was no interaction between AKI and high CPK for these outcomes. Extreme CPK thresholds as high as > 8672 U/L were not associated with overall graft survival in the unmatched sample (P = 0.81).

Conclusions

In a single center study, donor rhabdomyolysis was not associated with short‐term kidney transplant graft outcomes, nor was there an additive effect of AKI. However, studies with greater CPK and AKI severity and longer follow‐up are warranted.
Fire, herbivores and the management of temperate Eucalyptus savanna in Tasmania: Introducing the Beaufront fire – mammalian herbivore field experiment
Authors: Bowman David M. J. S. , French Ben J. , Williamson Grant J. , Prior Lynda D.
Published: December 2021

The temperate Eucalyptus savannas in the Midlands of Tasmania are ancient ecosystems where fire and grazing are intrinsic ecological disturbances. The arrival of Aboriginal people into Tasmania some 40,000 years ago altered natural fire regimes, and since the end of the last ice age, their skilful patch burning increased the grass cover and the abundance of large grazers in the Midlands savannas. This ancient socio‐ecological tradition abruptly ended following European invasion in the early 19th century, which resulted in the rapid establishment of pastoralism, causing profound adverse changes to the ecological integrity of the temperate savannas. These changes include widespread tree clearing, extinction of native biota, establishment of domestic and feral mammalian herbivores, the introduction of exotic plants, broadscale application of chemical fertilisers and more recently irrigation. The Midlands retains a small fraction of the original vegetation, which typically occurs in small fragments on private land. These have been colonised by non‐native plants and animals, and experience altered fire regimes. There is a growing awareness that to effectively manage temperate savanna fragments may require the intentional coupling of fire and herbivory. We describe the establishment of a field experiment designed to test four broad hypotheses: a) herbivore off‐take increases after fire; b) smaller burned areas experience more intense herbivory than larger ones; c) non‐native herbaceous plants are more tolerant of herbivory, whereas native herbaceous species are more tolerant of fire; and d) Eucalyptus seedlings are most likely to reach maturity in areas which are both burned and protected from herbivores. A novel aspect of the fire‐herbivore experiment was that the Tasmanian Aboriginal community were engaged with and were contracted to conduct the burning. The findings of this landscape ecology experiment will inform the management of remnant temperate Eucalyptus savannas.
Landholder reflections of their engagement in landscape conservation and restoration projects in the Northern Midlands of Tasmania
Authors: Bridle Kerry L. , Foster Henry , Foster Simon , Lyne Crosby , Lyne Poppy , O’Connor Roderic , von Bibra Annabel , von Bibra Julian , Young Lindsay , Young Rae , Davidson Neil J
Published: December 2021

‘Environmentalism without Fanaticism’, a sticker on a fridge in a farmer’s house, encapsulates attitudes to conservation and restoration over the past 30 years for five farming families in the Northern Midlands. Their willingness to participate in long‐term programmes such as the Tasmania Island Ark project stems from their experience of living in the landscape, their observations of changes in that landscape and their thirst for knowledge to underpin management decisions. Being open to other opinions has led to interactions with ‘catalysts’, usually researchers and extension officers, who have provided farmers with specific information on the natural values of their landscapes. These interactions—time‐ and context‐specific—have resulted in a working lifetime of involvement in conservation and restoration activities shared between landowners, land‐managers, researchers and the broader community. In this article, we present information shared in interviews with five farming families in the Northern Midlands of Tasmania that explored why and how they have continued to engage with conservation and restoration projects over several decades.
From little things, big things grow: Building connections through place‐based education in the Tasmanian Midlands biodiversity hotspot
Authors: Wallis Louise , Hornblow Michael , Smit Nel , Gough David Mangenner , Wise Kit , Bailey Tanya
Published: December 2021

The Tasmanian Midlands restoration work includes a multi‐faceted educational programme that connects schoolchildren, university students, researchers, artists and the community in the Midlands. Here, we outline this programme and consider its many benefits and challenges through its five years of continued support.
Research supporting restoration aiming to make a fragmented landscape ‘functional’ for native wildlife
Authors: Jones Menna E. , Bain Glen C. , Hamer Rowena P. , Proft Kirstin M. , Gardiner Riana Z. , Dixon Kirsty J. , Kittipalawattanapol Kawinwit , Zepeda de Alba Ana L. , Ranyard Claire E. , Munks Sarah A. , Barmuta Leon A. , Burridge Christopher P. , Johnson Christopher N. , Davidson Neil J.
Published: December 2021

Temperate woodlands are amongst the most threatened ecosystems in Australia because the land on which they occur is highly suited to agriculture. Two hundred years of habitat loss and fragmentation in the Midlands agricultural region in Tasmania have led to widespread declines in native vertebrates and landscapes with populations of predators including feral Cat (Felis catus) and the native‐invasive Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala). Ecologists at the University of Tasmania co‐designed mechanistic animal‐centric research on mammals and birds in the Midlands to inform vegetation restoration carried out by Greening Australia that would support the recovery of wildlife species. We used species‐appropriate technologies to assess the decisions made by individual animals to find food and shelter and to disperse across this fragmented landscape, and linked these, together with patterns of occupancy, across multiple spatial and temporal scales. We focussed on a native (Spotted‐tailed Quoll, Dasyurus maculatus) and an invasive (feral Cat, Felis catus) carnivore, a woodland‐specialist herbivore (Eastern Bettong, Bettongia gaimardi) and woodland birds including the native‐invasive Noisy Miner. Our results, which show intense predatory and competitive pressure of cats and populations of Noisy Miner on native fauna, highlight how grounding restoration in the context of ecological interactions is essential to success in managing the impacts of invasive species in restored landscapes. Successful restoration will require innovative approaches in plantings and field experimentation with artificial refuges, to reduce habitat suitability for the Noisy Miner and cats and provide refuges for native mammals and birds to live in the landscape where cats also occur. Our results emphasise the significance of structural complexity of restoration plantings for supporting the recolonisation and persistence of native fauna. At large landscape‐scale, we demonstrate the importance of retaining small habitat elements, including ancient paddock trees, pivot irrigation corners and small, degraded remnants, in facilitating occupancy and dispersal and, therefore, persistence of wild animals across this agricultural region.
New approaches for revegetating agricultural landscapes to provide connectivity for wildlife: The example of the Tasmanian Midlands, Australia
Authors: Davidson Neil J. , Bailey Tanya G. , Burgess Sebastian , Potts Brad M.
Published: December 2021

There is an ongoing search for cost‐effective, practical and successful methods for landscape‐scale restoration required to meet the challenges posed by the United Nations Decade on Restoration 2021–2013. Mechanised cultivation techniques (rip mounding and Wilco spot cultivation), a range of revegetation strategies (dense reafforestation, riparian corridors, vegetation islets and scattered tree plantings) and best horticultural practice were employed to successfully establish extensive areas of local native trees and shrubs in highly altered agricultural landscapes within the Midlands of Tasmania, Australia. This region has been intensely farmed for the last 200 years and is characterised by past failures in native tree plantings. Between 2009 and 2018, 1800 ha were revegetated with a suite of hardy local native species to enhance, buffer and connect native vegetation remnants. These techniques were applied at a landscape scale to create biodiversity corridors that crossed the Midlands. Riparian corridors 100–200 m wide were created along 21 km of riverbank at an average density of 440 stems/ha. Fenced vegetation islets and individually caged scattered trees were established within and surrounding native vegetation remnants, at an average density of 143 stems/ha. Whole paddocks were densely reafforested at up to 800 stems/ha. Despite this, re‐establishing structurally complex and species diverse native vegetation, which can provide habitat for local native animals, proved challenging. In areas highly altered by a long history of farming, repeated interventions and long‐term relationships with landholders will be needed to achieve restoration objectives.
Dry biomass and carbon sequestration in environmental plantings in the Midlands of Tasmania
Authors: Davidson Neil J. , Potts Brad M. , Burgess Sebastian , Bailey Tanya G.
Published: December 2021

Estimates of dry biomass and carbon sequestration were made for environmental plantings established in the harsh, dry agricultural landscapes of the Midlands of Tasmania. Plantings were designed to provide habitat connectivity for native wildlife. The dry biomass for 6‐year‐old woodland and riparian plantings was estimated to be 4.7 and 9.0 tonnes/ha, respectively. The carbon component of this biomass was estimated to be 2.4 and 4.5 tonnes/ha carbon, equivalent to 8.7 and 16.5 tonnes/ha carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestered, respectively. These are lower than previous estimates for plantings of the same age in the same landscape. This is largely due to lower planting densities of 200 stems/ha, and 883 stems/ha respectively, for woodland and riparian plantings, relative to comparable plantings (˜1,000 stems/ha). Further, a combination of extreme climatic events during early establishment and high heterogeneity in soil type and landscape position reduced performance in riparian plantings.
Adults with tuberous sclerosis complex: A distinct patient population
Authors: Bachour Kenan , House Andrew A. , Andrade Danielle M. , Connolly Mary , Debicki Dereck B. , Desbiens Richard , Fantaneanu Tadeu A. , Kyriakopoulos Paulina , Lattouf Jean‐Baptiste , Suller‐Marti Ana , Marques Paula T. , Keezer Mark R.
Published: December 2021

Objectives

There are few data on adults living with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), with most studies focusing on pediatric populations. The objective of our study was to examine a large national cohort of adults with TSC, and to describe the clinical characteristics of these adults and the nature of the multidisciplinary care that they receive.

Methods

Six Canadian medical centers collaborated in this study. Data were collected using a standardized form, and descriptive statistics were used for the analyses.

Results

Our study included 181 adults with definite TSC (mean age = 33.6 years [SD = 13.7]). More than 40% (n = 75) had family members affected by TSC. Forty‐six percent (n = 83) of individuals had intellectual disability. Nearly 30% (n = 52) of individuals reported living alone or with a partner/spouse. Seventy‐six percent (n = 138) of people had epilepsy, 43% (n = 59) of whom had drug‐resistant epilepsy, and 21% (n = 29) had undergone epilepsy surgery. Neuropsychiatric disease (n = 128) and renal angiomyolipomas (n = 130) were both present in approximately 70% of people. Renal imaging was performed in 75.7% (n = 137) of participants within the past 3 years. Renal and pulmonary function tests, as well as electrocardiograms, were recently performed in a minority of individuals.

Significance

Our cohort of adults with TSC showed that an important proportion have a milder phenotype, and are more frequently familial, as compared to children with TSC (and differing from prior reports in adult cohorts). Drug‐resistant epilepsy, neuropsychiatric comorbidities, and renal angiomyolipoma are challenging factors in adults with TSC. Our participating medical centers generally followed recommended screening strategies, but there remain important gaps in care. Multidisciplinary and structured TSC care centers offering service to adults may help to improve the health of this important patient population.