bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Selective Fusions for Primary Midfoot Osteoarthritis
Authors: Bariteau Jason T. , Fantry Amanda , Tenenbaum Shay
Published: May 2015

Midfoot arthritis is a common condition presenting to foot and ankle specialists. Primary osteoarthritis of the midfoot demonstrates a unique combination of symptoms and radiographic changes, most commonly involving the second tarsometatarsal, the third tarsometatarsal, and the medial facet of the naviculocuneiform joints. Operative intervention typically involves fusing the arthritic joints. This paper reviews the important steps for a successful outcome, discusses the common complications, and delineates a typical postoperative protocol.

Level of Evidence: Diagnostic Level 5. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Bacteremia Due to Clostridium cadaveris
Authors: Shinha Takashi
Published: May 2015

Clostridium cadaveris is ubiquitously found in the environment and part of the normal intestinal flora of humans. Although it is generally considered non-toxigenic to humans, it has been reported to cause a wide array of infectious etiologies, including bacteremia. Heightened awareness of C. cadaveris is warranted for clinicians because immunocompromised individuals are particularly at risk for developing significant complications due to Clostridium infections.
Breast‐feeding Duration
Authors: Karall Daniela , Ndayisaba Jean‐Pierre , Heichlinger Angelika , Kiechl‐Kohlendorfer Ursula , Stojakovic Sarah , Leitner Hermann , Scholl‐Bürgi Sabine
Published: May 2015

Objectives:

Breast‐feeding is the recommended form of nutrition for the first 6 months. This target is unmet, however, in most industrialized regions. We evaluated aspects of breast‐feeding in a cohort of mother–baby dyads.

Methods:

Breast‐feeding practices in 555 mother–baby dyads were prospectively studied for 24 months (personal interview at birth and 7 structured telephone interviews).

Results:

Of the babies, 71.3% were fully breast‐fed on discharge from maternity hospitals and 11.9% were partially breast‐feed. Median breast‐feeding duration was 6.93 (interquartile range 2.57–11.00) months; for full (exclusive) breast‐feeding 5.62 (interquartile range 3.12–7.77) months; 61.7% received supplemental feedings during the first days of life. Breast‐feeding duration in babies receiving supplemental feedings was significantly shorter (median 5.06 months versus 8.21 months, P < 0.001). At 6 months, 9.4% of the mothers were exclusively and 39.5% partially breast‐feeding. Risk factors for early weaning were early supplemental feedings (odds ratio [OR] 2.87, 95% CI 1.65–4.98), perceived milk insufficiency (OR 7.35, 95% CI 3.59–15.07), low breast‐feeding self‐efficacy (a mother's self‐confidence in her ability to adequately feed her baby) (OR 3.42, 95% CI 1.48–7.94), lower maternal age (OR 3.89, 95% CI 1.45–10.46), and lower education level of the mother (OR 7.30, 95% CI 2.93–18.20).

Conclusions:

The recommended full breast‐feeding duration of the first 6 months of life was not reached. Sociodemographic variables and factors directly related to breast‐feeding practices play an important role on breast‐feeding duration/weaning in our region. Understanding risk factors will provide insights to give better support to mothers and prevent short‐ and long‐term morbidity following early weaning.
Diversification events and the effects of mass extinctions on Crocodyliformes evolutionary history
Authors: Bronzati Mario , Montefeltro Felipe C. , Langer Max C.
Published: May 2015

The rich fossil record of Crocodyliformes shows a much greater diversity in the past than today in terms of morphological disparity and occupation of niches. We conducted topology-based analyses seeking diversification shifts along the evolutionary history of the group. Our results support previous studies, indicating an initial radiation of the group following the Triassic/Jurassic mass extinction, here assumed to be related to the diversification of terrestrial protosuchians, marine thalattosuchians and semi-aquatic lineages within Neosuchia. During the Cretaceous, notosuchians embodied a second diversification event in terrestrial habitats and eusuchian lineages started diversifying before the end of the Mesozoic. Our results also support previous arguments for a minor impact of the Cretaceous/Palaeogene mass extinction on the evolutionary history of the group. This argument is not only based on the information from the fossil record, which shows basal groups surviving the mass extinction and the decline of other Mesozoic lineages before the event, but also by the diversification event encompassing only the alligatoroids in the earliest period after the extinction. Our results also indicate that, instead of a continuous process through time, Crocodyliformes diversification was patchy, with events restricted to specific subgroups in particular environments and time intervals.
Origins of major archaeal clades do not correspond to gene acquisitions from bacteria
Authors: Groussin Mathieu , Boussau Bastien , Szöllősi Gergely , Eme Laura , Gouy Manolo , Brochier-Armanet Céline , Daubin Vincent
Published: May 2015

In a recent article, Nelson-Sathi et al. [NS] report that the origins of Major Archaeal Lineages [MAL] correspond to massive group-specific gene acquisitions via horizontal gene transfer (HGT) from bacteria (Nelson-Sathi et al., 2015, Nature 517(7532):77-80). If correct, this would have fundamental implications for the process of diversification in microbes. However, a re-examination of these data and results shows that the methodology used by NS systematically inflates the number of genes acquired at the root of each MAL, and incorrectly assumes bacterial origins for these genes. A re-analysis of their data with appropriate phylogenetic models accounting for the dynamics of gene gain and loss between lineages supports the continuous acquisition of genes over long periods in the evolution of Archaea.
Detection and interpretation of shared genetic influences on 40 human traits
Authors: Pickrell Joseph K. , Berisa Tomaz , Segurel Laure , Tung Joyce Y. , Hinds David
Published: May 2015

We performed a genome-wide scan for genetic variants that influence multiple human phenotypes by comparing large genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of 40 traits or diseases, including anthropometric traits (e.g. nose size and male pattern baldness), immune traits (e.g. susceptibility to childhood ear infections and Crohn’s disease), metabolic phenotypes (e.g. type 2 diabetes and lipid levels), and psychiatric diseases (e.g. schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease). First, we identified 307 loci (at a false discovery rate of 10%) that influence multiple traits (excluding “trivial” phenotype pairs like type 2 diabetes and fasting glucose). Several loci influence a large number of phenotypes; for example, variants near the blood group gene ABO influence eleven of these traits, including risk of childhood ear infections (rs635634: log-odds ratio = 0.06, P = 1.4×10−8) and allergies (log-odds ratio = 0.05,P= 2.5×10−8), among others. Similarly, a nonsynonymous variant in the zinc transporter SLC39A8 influences seven of these traits, including risk of schizophrenia (rs13107325: log-odds ratio = 0.15,P= 2×10−12) and Parkinson’s disease (log-odds ratio = -0.15,P= 1.6×10−7), among others. Second, we used these loci to identify traits that share multiple genetic causes in common. For example, genetic variants that delay age of menarche in women also, on average, delay age of voice drop in men, decrease body mass index (BMI), increase adult height, and decrease risk of male pattern baldness. Finally, we identified four pairs of traits that show evidence of a causal relationship. For example, we show evidence that increased BMI causally increases triglyceride levels, and that increased liability to hypothyroidism causally decreases adult height.
A localized nucleolar DNA damage response facilitates recruitment of the homology-directed repair machinery independent of cell cycle stage
Authors: van Sluis Marjolein , McStay Brian
Published: May 2015

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are repaired by two main pathways: nonhomologous end-joining and homologous recombination (HR). Repair pathway choice is thought to be determined by cell cycle timing and chromatin context. Nucleoli, prominent nuclear subdomains and sites of ribosome biogenesis, form around nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) that contain rDNA arrays located on human acrocentric chromosome p-arms. Actively transcribed rDNA repeats are positioned within the interior of the nucleolus, whereas sequences proximal and distal to NORs are packaged as heterochromatin located at the nucleolar periphery. NORs provide an opportunity to investigate the DSB response at highly transcribed, repetitive, and essential loci. Targeted introduction of DSBs into rDNA, but not abutting sequences, results in ATM-dependent inhibition of their transcription by RNA polymerase I. This is coupled with movement of rDNA from the nucleolar interior to anchoring points at the periphery. Reorganization renders rDNA accessible to repair factors normally excluded from nucleoli. Importantly, DSBs within rDNA recruit the HR machinery throughout the cell cycle. Additionally, unscheduled DNA synthesis, consistent with HR at damaged NORs, can be observed in G1 cells. These results suggest that HR can be templated in cis and suggest a role for chromosomal context in the maintenance of NOR genomic stability.
Algorithm for systematic peak extraction from atomic pair distribution functions
Authors: Granlund L. , Billinge S. J. L. , Duxbury P. M.
Published: May 2015

The study presents an algorithm, ParSCAPE, for model-independent extraction of peak positions and intensities from atomic pair distribution functions (PDFs). It provides a statistically motivated method for determining parsimony of extracted peak models using the information-theoretic Akaike information criterion (AIC) applied to plausible models generated within an iterative framework of clustering and chi-square fitting. All parameters the algorithm uses are in principle known or estimable from experiment, though careful judgment must be applied when estimating the PDF baseline of nanostructured materials. ParSCAPE has been implemented in the Python programSrMise. Algorithm performance is examined on synchrotron X-ray PDFs of 16 bulk crystals and two nanoparticles using AIC-based multimodeling techniques, and particularly the impact of experimental uncertainties on extracted models. It is quite resistant to misidentification of spurious peaks coming from noise and termination effects, even in the absence of a constraining structural model. Structure solution from automatically extracted peaks using the Liga algorithm is demonstrated for 14 crystals and for C60. Special attention is given to the information content of the PDF, theory and practice of the AIC, as well as the algorithm's limitations.
The atomic anisotropic displacement tensor – completing the picture
Authors: Thorkildsen Gunnar , Larsen Helge B.
Published: May 2015

A simplified approach for calculating the equivalent isotropic displacement parameter is presented and the transformation property of the tensor representationUto point-group operations is analysed. Complete tables have been compiled for the restrictions imposed upon the tensor owing to the site symmetry associated with all special positions as listed in Hahn [(2011),International Tables for Crystallography, Vol. A,Space-group Symmetry, 5th revised ed. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd].
The effect of business process configurations on user motivation
Authors: Torres Russell , Sidorova Anna
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to understand how business process configurations influence motivation among process participants.

Design/methodology/approach

– An experiment was conducted in which business process rules complexity, work backlog, and case distribution method were manipulated. Participant motivation and its antecedents were measured using a survey.

Findings

– The study finds that business process configurations influence the motivation of process participants through their effect on perceived competence. Increasing business process rules complexity reduces competence. The effect of case distribution method on competence depends on backlog. Sequential distribution undermines competence in the presence of backlog, and enhances competence when backlog is absent. However, batch distribution results in higher competence in the presence of backlog than in its absence.

Research limitations/implications

– The study confirms the applicability of self-determination theory for analyzing the effect of work settings, including business process configurations, on employee motivation. The study further demonstrates the applicability of the task technology fit model in the context of business process automation.

Practical implications

– The study suggests that reducing process complexity through the use of information technology can benefit process participant motivation. Additionally, the study highlights the importance of case distribution method on performance expectations.

Originality/value

– While much of the extant research has considered the enhancement of business processes at the organizational level, this study examines how business process design can be used to preserve and potentially enhance the motivation of human process participants.
Strategic planning and organizational flexibility in turbulent environments
Authors: Vecchiato Riccardo
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The main purpose of this paper is to address a key issue in literature on management and foresight: the author explores how firms might cope with the increased turbulence of the business environment.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper is based on a multiple case study of major firms of the energy and the mobile communication industries.

Findings

– The focus is on strategic foresight and organizational flexibility: the author introduces the concept of “boundary uncertainty” and investigates its managerial implications.

Originality/value

– The main contribution of this paper is to expand our understanding of environmental uncertainty and to reinvigorate the study of strategic decision making in turbulent industries. The author provides descriptive data on the foresight approaches that some of the world’s largest and most influential companies used throughout the 2000s for remaining aligned with their fast-paced environments, and thus informs the debate between the “planning” and the “learning” schools of strategic management.
Oil prices as a driving force in the diffusion of renewables?
Authors: Kehrel Uwe , Sick Nathalie
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– Researchers began investigating the diffusion of renewable energy technologies (RETs) in the late 1990s, and, up to today, a variety of authors have presented different approaches to understand the special characteristics of RET diffusion. However, one factor has been thus far disregarded in the research: the influence of raw material prices on RET diffusion. The dependence of a multitude of technologies on raw material prices became especially apparent in recent years due to rather sudden and volatile price movements in raw material markets. Thus, the aim of this work is to contribute to the research by providing evidence for a direct linkage between raw material price developments and RET diffusion.

Design/methodology/approach

– A theoretical framework used in this article derives from the concept of induced diffusion. This empirical study is based on publicly available data of 18 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries over 20 years and uses multivariate regression analysis to identify the corresponding diffusion models for selected established and emerging RETs.

Findings

– Results reveal that crude oil prices play a crucial role in the diffusion of emerging RETs. In addition, a joint reflection of induced diffusion and path dependencies as the theoretical foundation of RET diffusion models might be reasonable.

Originality/value

– This paper makes a significant contribution to the literature on induced diffusion in the field of renewable energies by providing insights from publicly available data from 18 OECD-countries. The findings are highly relevant for managers of the energy industry and policymakers in this field.
Signaling with convertible debt in the renewable energy industry?
Authors: Ettenhuber Christoph , Schiereck Dirk
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to show how convertible debt is used in the renewable energy industry. The authors argue that there is an investor rationing component to the design and market impact of convertible debt securities.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors apply event study methodology, option pricing theory and risk shift analysis to examine capital market reactions following the issuance of convertible debt by exchange-listed companies of the renewable energy sector.

Findings

– Contrary to prior cross-industry research findings, the authors show that convertible debt in the renewable energy industry tends to have a debt-like structure, and its issue is associated with strongly negative announcement returns. The authors further show that convertible issuers face high business risk and adverse selection costs.

Practical implications

– The results have important implications for both renewable energy industry companies and investors. For example, one problem is that the risk-mitigating features of convertible debt may not materialize, if issuers fail to credibly signal firm quality to the markets. Furthermore, excessive growth assumptions and mismatches between project risk/return and financing costs may render it more difficult to create credible signals.

Originality/value

– The paper contributes to three primary strands of literature. One is the research on finance and growth. Here, this paper provides new insights into risk-mitigating securities that should more effectively mirror the risk and return distributions of emerging industry issuers. Additionally, it extends the research on the motives for convertible debt offerings and provides insight on stock returns around such announcements.
Cultural influences in mentoring endeavors: applying the Cultural Framework Analysis Process
Authors: Kochan Frances , Searby Linda , George Manju P , Edge Jon Mitchell
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the usability of the Cultural Framework Analysis Process, a strategy designed to examine cultural factors in mentoring endeavors and to identify whether there are patterns of cultural elements that served to hinder or facilitate mentoring programs across a variety of organizations and contexts. The process also involves identifying methods for overcoming the barriers and enhancing the facilitating factors.

Design/methodology/approach

– Graduate students in a class on mentoring were given an assignment to analyze a mentoring program using the Cultural Framework Analysis Process. They were also asked to share their most significant learning outcomes. Data were gathered by two student groups over a two-year period. Researchers determined the usability of the analysis process by evaluating the quality of the student submissions. They aggregated the data and conducted a content analysis on the facilitating and hindering factors to determine commonalities and the lessons learned.

Findings

– The Cultural Framework Analysis Process appears to be a useful tool in examining and dealing with cultural elements in mentoring programs and relationships. The barriers and facilitating factors were closely related to one another. The five barriers to success were matching processes; mentee attitude toward matching; lack of organizational support; static or closed organizational culture; and organizational or community culture. The five factors that facilitated mentoring endeavors were: comprehensive and flexible matching; mentee/mentor attitudes; training; organizational culture and demonstrated commitment; and a focus on mentees.

Practical implications

– The ability to examine the cultural elements in the context of mentoring is vital in assuring mentoring success. Having a description of how the process was conducted should be of value to those wanting to engage in similar analyses. The findings related to the factors identified should help guide those engaged in mentoring endeavors to become more aware of elements to consider and deal with as they create and operationalize their programs.

Originality/value

– There is a need to enhance the knowledge about the cultural factors involved in mentoring programs and relationships. This research study expands the understanding and presents findings about barriers and supports to mentoring that have not been previously reported. It also provides a mechanism for others to conduct similar analyses as they develop, implement and research mentoring endeavors.
Marriage and family structures in the rural Punjab
Authors: Farooq Ayesha , Kayani Ashraf Khan , Ahmad Khalil
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to look into marriage patterns and family structure and changes therein over the period of 50 years. Reasons for change in marriage patterns are also included. It also includes marriage arrangements in the village by time periods. The latter part of the paper explores changes in family structure and its relevant reasons over the decades.

Design/methodology/approach

– Survey was conducted to attain and assess the required information. An interview schedule was developed as a tool for data collection. Systematic sampling technique was used for the selection of the respondents (aged 55+). These respondents were assumed to have observed the changes over the decades. The results were based on trend analysis from 1960s through 2008.

Findings

– The results showed that material exchanges on the vital events have declined with the exception of marriage occasion over the period of time. The data shows that most of the marriages were taking place between close relatives from 1960s through 1980s. Substantial decline in these marriages was replaced by corresponding increase in inter-caste marriages after 1990 due to education and economic factors. During the same period, a shift is observed from joint family system to nuclear one.

Social implications

– Policy makers might consider various social trends to manage changes in a traditional society.

Originality/value

– This paper focusses on changes in marriage patterns and family structure along with their pertinent causal factors in a rural community of the Punjab, Pakistan.
“We don’t want school bags”
Authors: Barsoum Ghada , Refaat Sara
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to highlight the competing and overlapping discourses on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Egypt, a setting with a serious knowledge gap on CSR.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study is based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with key players in the field of CSR in Egypt conducted in the fall of 2013 and early 2014. Informants included in this study were CSR staff members at major multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in Egypt, key partner non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in the field of CSR, media and public relations agents that are partners with MNEs in launching CSR media campaigns about CSR activities.

Findings

– The paper identifies three themes in the discourse on CSR among some of the key field players including CSR practitioners at MNEs, NGOs and media specialists. First, CSR is seen as a western version of a long standing philanthropic tradition, that is rooted in religion. The comparison between CSR and indigenous religious practices discredits CSR as a vulgarized form of giving that seeks to take more than give. Second, the surmount challenges of poverty and unemployment place heightened expectations on CSR to seriously address these challenges. It is in view of these challenges that CSR is accused of doing “bad” development, which is the third theme identified in the data.

Research limitations/implications

– There is a dearth of research on CSR in Egypt, which largely remains a setting less explored in terms of CSR. This paper problematizes the connection between CSR and development. It also highlights the importance of studying CSR in different contexts.

Practical implications

– The findings in this paper are relevant for the design of CSR programs in contexts of countries in the south.

Social implications

– CSR is a normative practice, understanding the views of its practitioners and criticisms of the field is central to its development and maturity.

Originality/value

– Paper builds on original data collected by the authors. It addresses a lacuna of research on CSR in the Middle East region, particularly Egypt.
The role of online product reviews on information adoption of new product development professionals
Authors: Lee Kyung Young , Yang Sung-Byung
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of features involving online product reviews (OPRs) on information adoption by new product developers (NPDs).

Design/methodology/approach

– In total, 143 OPRs on a specific product on Amazon.com were collected as the sample of this study. Using content analysis ratings and observed data in OPRs, the research model was analyzed with the partial least squares (PLS) method.

Findings

– Results suggest that helpfulness rating and the degree of referencing are positively associated with NPDs’ information adoption, while the extremeness of product rating is negatively associated. Moreover, title attractiveness mitigates the negative relationship between the extremeness of product rating and information adoption.

Practical implications

– The findings provide interesting insight for NPDs who visit e-commerce sites to learn through electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication. OPRs with a higher degree of referencing, higher helpfulness rating, moderate level of product rating, and higher degree of title attractiveness are better adopted by NPDs.

Social implications

– This paper investigates the value of OPRs for a specific group of information users and suggests that information about products generated by anonymous consumers can be crucial.

Originality/value

– While extant studies have focussed on the impacts of OPRs on consumers’ purchasing intention and behavior, this paper is among the first attempts to investigate the impacts of OPRs on developers’ information adoption. Therefore, it contributes to the body of knowledge on knowledge transfer from consumers to business as well as the information adoption literature.
Using Twitter to engage with customers: a data mining approach
Authors: Okazaki Shintaro , Díaz-Martín Ana M. , Rozano Mercedes , Menéndez-Benito Héctor David
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore customer engagement in Twitter via data mining.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study’s intended contributions are twofold: to find a clear connection among customer engagement, presumption, and Web 2.0 in a context of service-dominant (S-D) logic; and to identify social networks created by prosumers. To this end, the study employed data mining techniques. Tweets about IKEA were used as a sample. The resulting algorithm based on 300 tweets was applied to 4,000 tweets to identify the patterns of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM).

Findings

– Social networks created in IKEA’s tweets consist of three forms of eWOM: objective statements, subjective statements, and knowledge sharing. Most objective statements are disseminated from satisfied or neutral customers, while subjective statements are disseminated from dissatisfied or neutral customers. Satisfied customers mainly carry out knowledge sharing, which seems to reflect presumption behavior.

Research limitations/implications

– This study provides partial evidence of customer engagement and presumption in IKEA’s tweets. The results indicate that there are three forms of eWOM in the networks: objective statements, subjective statements, and knowledge sharing. It seems that IKEA successfully engaged customers in knowledge sharing, while negative opinions were mainly disseminated in a limited circle.

Practical implications

– Firms should make more of an effort to identify prosumers via data mining, since these networks are hidden behind “self-proclaimed” followers. Prosumers differ from opinion leaders, since they actively participate in product development. Thus, firms should seek prosumers in order to more closely fit their products to consumer needs. As a practical strategy, firms could employ celebrities for promotional purposes and use them as a platform to convert their followers to prosumers. In addition, firms are encouraged to make public how they resolve problematic customer complaints so that customers can feel they are a part of firms’ service development.

Originality/value

– Theoretically, the study makes unique contributions by offering a synergic framework of S-D logic and Web 2.0. The conceptual framework collectively relates customer engagement, presumption, and Web 2.0 to social networks. In addition, the idea of examining social networks based on different forms of eWOM has seldom been touched in the literature. Methodologically, the study employed seven algorithms to choose the most robust model, which was later applied to 4,000 tweets.
Investigation of psychological dimensions of trust on e-loyalty
Authors: Azam Afshan
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to integrate extant literature on psychological dimensions and trust to develop a model of consumer e-loyalty.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper develops four important psychological-based factors impacting consumer trust and e-loyalty: perception-based, experience-based, knowledge-based and attitude.

Findings

– The results of this paper propose that perception-based and experience-based factors are the main determinants of consumer trust and e-loyalty in e-retailing. Consumers do consider information practices.

Research limitations/implications

– This paper has attempted to shed some light on the psychological antecedents of consumer trust in e-retailing but still missed some important antecedents for example personality. An option for “not applicable” as an answer choice was not provided in the survey instrument. It is hard for a participant to provide accurate information about his/her past experience that happened three months ago in a self-reported method.

Practical implications

– From a theoretical perspective, the psychological-based consumer trust decision-making model provides a holistic view of an online consumer’s purchase decision-making process and e-loyalty. From a practical standpoint, the paper identified a number of potentially important psychology determinants of consumers’ trust in a website and empirical evidence concerning the relative impact of each of these determinants on consumers’ trust and e-loyalty.

Originality/value

– To date, this is the first research that has been conducted to analyse psychological dimensions of trust in e-retailers and its influence on e-loyalty by using partial least squares in Saudi Arabia e-commerce research.
Effects of contamination with toxic metals on the environmental quality of Sepetiba Bay (SE Brazil)
Authors: Ribeiro Andreza Portella , Figueiredo Ana Maria Graciano , Santos José Osman dos , Ferreira Paulo Alves de Lima , Graudenz Gustavo Silveira , Ruiz Mauro Silva , Mahiques Michel Michaelovitch de , Figueira Rubens Cesar Lopes , Wasserman Julio Cesar de Faria Alvim
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to address the case of toxic metal contamination of Sepetiba Bay caused by the Ingá Company. The paper reviews the history of the contamination and discusses the current presence of metals in the bay sediments, demonstrating that the toxic metals are clearly enriched. Sepetiba Bay is prone to significant dredging activities that make metals available in the food chain, affecting human populations, mainly fishermen communities.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study presents the case of the Ingá Company based on international literature and data provided by previous studies.

Findings

– Through the analysis and compilation of diverse data from the literature, this study demonstrates that the Ingá Company is a major source of Cd, Pb and Zn due to its calamine processing activities used to obtain high purity Zn.

Originality/value

– This study highlights important research to complete the historical scenario of heavy metal contamination of the Sepetiba Bay by Ingá Company. The results indicate that the contaminants from the Ingá Company can indeed be traced in the sediments of Sepetiba Bay. These data have the utmost value for the environmental management of this coastal system, because such high concentrations of toxic metals in marine sediments have serious implications for the environmental quality of the bay and may negatively affect biota and human health. Therefore, this study suggests that it is now necessary to monitor this region for contamination continuously.
“Attention seeker”, “drama queen”: the power of talk in constructing identities for young people with mental health difficulties
Authors: Byrne Alison , Swords Lorraine
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– Mental health difficulties are often stigmatised because of situated ways of talking that become taken-for-granted “truths”. Against this backdrop, identities of those affected are constructed. The purpose of this paper is to explore identities of former inpatients at an Irish Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.

Design/methodology/approach

– Ten young people (aged 18-22) participated in discussions and their discourse was analysed using a critical discursive perspective.

Findings

– Three key identities emerged: a hidden identity, a misunderstood identity and the struggle for a re-claimed identity.

Research limitations/implications

– Findings indicate the power of discourse in creating stigma and the need for mental health professionals to draw on empowering discourses to help service-users construct positive identities. The importance of involving service-users in research is also implicated.

Originality/value

– This research involves service-users who are increasingly, although not traditionally, involved in research. Use of qualitative methodology allows their voices to be heard and gives meaning to their experiences.
Mycobacterium haemophilum infection with prominent facial manifestation mimicking leprosy
Authors: Ishii Kentaro , Ishii Norihisa , Nakanaga Kazue , Nakano Kazuaki , Saito Ikuo , Asahina Akihiko
Published: May 2015

Mycobacterium haemophilum is a slow‐growing non‐tuberculous mycobacterium that is rarely known to cause human skin infection, particularly in immunocompromised patients. We recently experienced a 69‐year‐old Japanese woman with this infection who had been under immunosuppressive treatment for recalcitrant rheumatoid arthritis. The patient showed disseminated erythematous plaques and subcutaneous nodules on the face and extremities, and interestingly, the face manifested with a striking “facies leontina” appearance. Biopsy revealed abscess and granulomatous dermatitis with the involvement of peripheral nerve bundles and the presence of innumerable acid‐fast bacilli, thus necessitating differentiation from lepromatous leprosy. M. haemophilum was identified by molecular characterization as well as by successful culture with iron supplements. Although drug susceptibility testing indicated responsiveness to multiple antibiotics administrated simultaneously for the treatment, it took over 6 months to achieve significant improvement, and we also employed concurrent oral potassium iodide administration and repeated surgical excision. This case highlights the importance of continuous combination therapy for successful outcome in this rare infection. Furthermore, application of potassium iodide for mycobacterial infection warrants further evaluation by accumulating more cases.
Escaping identity: border zones as places of evasion and cultural reinvention
Authors: Campbell Howard
Published: May 2015

The article, based on in‐depth ethnographic research in the El Paso, Texas/Ciudad Juárez area, is concerned with the ways in which liminal border zones become places of cultural transformation in which groups of individuals, rather than synthetically blending two or more identities, may attempt to downplay potentially harmful or restrictive uni‐dimensional identities, evade past lives, and re‐create themselves anew. The argument is twofold: the relative separation and distance of borderlands from national structures allows for a degree of cultural agency that may be less available to individuals closer to centres of cultural and political power; and border zones provide possibilities for reinvention, new relationalities, and other cultural creations and constructions that I call ‘escaping identity’.
Deaf bodies and corporate bodies: new regimes of value in Bangalore's business process outsourcing sector
Authors: Friedner Michele
Published: May 2015

This article ethnographically analyses how groups (and not just individuals) are produced in business process outsourcing (BPO) workplaces. In order to mitigate an unstable labour pool, corporations hire deaf workers to perform identical BPO work regardless of their qualifications and backgrounds. These hiring practices serve to cement existing relationships and produce deaf workers as a group marked only by deafness. This article explores how engaging in the same work articulates with deaf young adults’ ‘sameness work’ to produce ambivalent deaf groups. It also analyses the everyday practices of deaf employees, their relationships with their normal co‐workers who ‘love’ them, and the ways that value is reconfigured in the workplace through the existence of disabled workers. This article argues that in contrast to dominant representations of disabled people as unemployable, the (re)inscription of deafness as a source of multiple forms of value begs for a broader analysis of the role of disability in late capitalism.
Comparison of the Victorian Audit of Surgical Mortality with coronial cause of death
Authors: Hansen Dylan , Retegan Claudia , Woodford Noel , Vinluan Jessele , Beiles Charles B.
Published: May 2015

Background

The Victorian Audit of Surgical Mortality (VASM) is designed to improve the level of patient care by educating surgeons of areas for improvement in patient management during a surgical admission. Coronial data obtained via the National Coronial Information System were used as an independent method to validate the cause of death as determined by the treating surgeon.

Method

The audit prospectively collected 4905 cases that underwent peer assessment and 842 (17%) received an in‐depth second‐line assessment of which 200 (24%) also underwent a coronial review. Using the coronial assessment as the reference standard, retrospective comparison of coronial diagnoses compared with the audit case outcomes was conducted to determine the overall accuracy of the stated cause of death. The degree of agreement was also analysed based on whether the patient received a full autopsy (internal examination) or an external examination only. The time taken to obtain the coronial and audit case closure was also analysed.

Results

Overall, 195 of the 200 cases had a cause of death identified by the coroner. In 82%, the cause of death reported to VASM by the treating surgeon matched the cause of death determined by the coroner. Concordance was not affected by the extent of post‐mortem performed. Time taken to finalize cases was slightly shorter for the coronial process, but unclosed coronial findings resulted in the exclusion of 103 cases.

Conclusion

The causes of death data in VASM are accurate when compared with the coronial data independent of whether the coronial investigation included a complete autopsy.
Accuracy of imputation of single nucleotide polymorphism marker genotypes from low‐density panels in Japanese Black cattle
Authors: Ogawa Shinichiro , Matsuda Hirokazu , Taniguchi Yukio , Watanabe Toshio , Takasuga Akiko , Sugimoto Yoshikazu , Iwaisaki Hiroaki
Published: May 2015

Using target and reference fattened steer populations, the performance of genotype imputation using lower‐density marker panels in Japanese Black cattle was evaluated. Population imputation was performed using BEAGLE software. Genotype information for approximately 40 000 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers by Illumina BovineSNP50 BeadChip was available, and imputation accuracy was assessed based on the average concordance rates of the genotypes, varying equally spaced SNP densities, and the number of individuals in the reference population. Two additional statistics were also calculated as indicators of imputation performance. The concordance rates tended to be lower for SNPs with greater minor allele frequencies, or those located near the ends of the chromosomes. Longer autosomes yielded greater imputation accuracies than shorter ones. When SNPs were selected based on linkage disequilibrium information, relative imputation accuracy was slightly improved. When 3000 and 10 000 equally spaced SNPs were used, the imputation accuracies were greater than 90% and approximately 97%, respectively. These results indicate that combining genotyping using a lower‐density SNP chip with genotype imputation based on a population of individuals genotyped using a higher‐density SNP chip is a cost‐effective and valid approach for genomic prediction.
Liver transplant associated with paracetamol overdose: results from the seven‐country SALT study
Authors: Gulmez Sinem Ezgi , Larrey Dominique , Pageaux Georges‐Philippe , Bernuau Jacques , Bissoli Franco , Horsmans Yves , Thorburn Douglas , McCormick P. Aiden , Stricker Bruno , Toussi Massoud , Lignot‐Maleyran Séverine , Micon Sophie , Hamoud Fatima , Lassalle Régis , Jové Jérémy , Blin Patrick , Moore Nicholas
Published: May 2015

Aims

Acute drug overdose, especially with paracetamol, may cause acute liver failure leading to registration for transplantation (ALFT). Population statistics and between‐country differences for ALFT related to overdose have been poorly described. The aim of the present study was to evaluate overdose ALFT in the multi‐country Study of Acute Liver Transplantation (SALT).

Methods

All adult overdose‐related ALFT, with or without suicidal intent, in France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and the UK between 2005 and 2007 were identified from liver transplant registries and hospital records. These were compared with whole‐country and per capita use of paracetamol.

Results

Six hundred cases of ALFT were identified in 52 of 57 eligible transplant centres, of which 114 involved overdose (72 intentional, 10 non‐intentional, 32 uncertain). Overdose represented 20% of all‐cause ALFT: Ireland 52%, UK 28%, France 18%, the Netherlands 8%, and Italy 1%. Overdose ALFT were mostly females (61%), mean age 33.6 ± 10.9 years. A total of 111 (97%) of the overdoses involved paracetamol. Event rates ranged from one ALFT for 20.7 tons of paracetamol in Ireland, to one for 1074 tons in Italy and one case in 60 million inhabitants over 3 years in Italy to one case in 286 000 inhabitants per year in Ireland. Per‐country event rates for non‐overdose ALFT exposed to paracetamol were between 2.5 and 4.0 per million treatment‐years sold.

Conclusions

Paracetamol overdose was found to represent one‐sixth of all‐cause ALFT. There was a 50‐fold difference in Europe in the rates of paracetamol overdose ALFT, and a 200‐fold difference per million inhabitants.
Group cognitive analytic therapy for female survivors of childhood sexual abuse
Authors: Calvert Rachel , Kellett Stephen , Hagan Theresa
Published: May 2015

Objectives

The effectiveness of cognitive analytic therapy delivered in groups has been under‐researched considering the popularity of the approach. This study sought to investigate the effectiveness of 24 sessions of group cognitive analytic therapy (GCAT) delivered in routine practice for female survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA).

Methods

In a longitudinal cohort design, N = 157 patients were treated with 24 sessions of GCAT. Validated outcome measures were administered at assessment, pre‐GCAT, and post‐GCAT. This enabled rates of reliable and clinically significant change to be compared between wait time and active group treatment. The uncontrolled treatment effect size was then benchmarked against outcomes from matched studies.

Results

On the primary outcome measure, GCAT facilitated a moderate effect size of 0.34 with 11% of patients completing treatment meeting ‘recovery’ criteria. The dropout rate was 19%. Significant improvements in interpersonal functioning, anxiety, and well‐being occurred during GCAT in comparison with wait time on secondary outcome measures.

Conclusions

Group cognitive analytic therapy appears a promising intervention for adult female CSA survivors, with further controlled evaluation indicated.

Practitioner points

Group cognitive analytic therapy appears a promising and acceptable intervention for female CSA survivors experiencing high levels of psychological distress.

Long‐term follow‐up studies are required with CSA survivors to index the clinical durability of GCAT.

A GCAT treatment fidelity measure needs to be developed and evaluated.
The clinical impact of IKZF1 deletions in paediatric B‐cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is independent of minimal residual disease stratification in Nordic Society for Paediatric Haematology and Oncology treatment protocols used between 1992 and 2013
Authors: Olsson Linda , Ivanov Öfverholm Ingegerd , Norén‐Nyström Ulrika , Zachariadis Vasilios , Nordlund Jessica , Sjögren Helene , Golovleva Irina , Nordgren Ann , Paulsson Kajsa , Heyman Mats , Barbany Gisela , Johansson Bertil
Published: May 2015

Paediatric B‐cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemias (BCP ALL) with IKZF1 deletions (∆IKZF1) are associated with a poor outcome. However, there are conflicting data as to whether ∆IKZF1 is an independent risk factor if minimal residual disease (MRD) and other copy number alterations also are taken into account. We investigated 334 paediatric BCP ALL, diagnosed 1992–2013 and treated according to Nordic Society for Paediatric Haematology and Oncology ALL protocols, with known IKZF1 status based on either single nucleotide polymorphism array (N = 218) or multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification (N = 116) analyses. ∆IKZF1, found in 15%, was associated with inferior 10‐year probabilities of event‐free (60% vs. 83%; P < 0·001) and overall survival (pOS; 73% vs. 89%; P = 0·001). Adjusting for known risk factors, including white blood cell (WBC) count and MRD, ∆IKZF1 was the strongest independent factor for relapse and death. ∆IKZF1 was present in 27% of cases with non‐informative cytogenetics (‘BCP‐other’) and a poor 10‐year pOS was particularly pronounced in this group (58% vs. 90%; P < 0·001). Importantly, neither MRD nor WBC count predicted events in the ∆IKZF1‐positive cases. Co‐occurrence of pseudoautosomal region 1 (PAR1) deletions in Xp22.33/Yp11.32 (P2RY8‐CRLF2) and ∆IKZF1 increased the risk of relapse (75% vs. 30% for cases with only ∆IKZF1; P = 0·045), indicating that BCP‐other ALL with both P2RY8‐CRLF2 and ∆IKZF1 constitutes a particularly high‐risk group.