bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Barriers constraining management innovation (MI) adoption in the Ghanaian construction consulting sector
Authors: Owusu-Manu D. , Quaigrain R. , Edwards D.J.
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to critically examine and report upon the barriers that constrain MI within the Ghanaian construction consulting sector. Globalization and the shift towards knowledge-based economies have encouraged organizations to adopt management innovation (MI) as a means of increasing market share and creating competitive leverage. Organizations within developing countries, such as Ghana, have followed this global trend, but barriers continue to affect MI adoption.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research is positioned within a mixed methods “deductive” methodological tradition and is undertaken via a three-stage iterative approach. First, the research synthesizes relevant literature to identify 14 potential barriers to MI adoption. Second, using convenient and snowball sampling techniques, structured survey questionnaires were distributed to 70 consulting firms within the Kumasi metropolis; a high 78.5 per cent response rate was returned. Third, data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and principal component (factor) analysis to determine underlying barriers that restrict MI adoption.

Findings

– The barriers to MI adoption are contained within four inextricably linked factor groups: organizational structural influences, flow of information, institutional constraints and costs of innovations. The findings demonstrate that innovation thrives in an organizational environment that nurtures creativity, staff development, moderate risk taking and idea generation and management – albeit, the external economic environment must also be conducive to facilitating innovation within companies and organizations.

Practical implications

– Innovation within construction companies is a prerequisite requirement for a dynamic and competitive economy because it nurtures self-regulating “free market” behavior, which creates considerable benefit to an economy. Such an attribute is particularly attractive for the developing country of Ghana, which has historically suffered from recurrent social, political and economic pressures. Hence, the research findings will be of practical interest to policymakers, academics and industrialists who have a vested interest in improving the performance of the Ghanaian economy. It will also be of interest to others within developing countries who are experiencing similar issues.

Originality/value

– This research work builds upon the work of previous scholars in this field and investigates the barriers to implementing MI in Ghana. The paper’s findings will be useful to organizations and government policymakers who seek to increase business performance within a free market and profitability in an ever increasingly competitive world.
Measuring adaptive performance in individuals and teams
Authors: Marques-Quinteiro Pedro , Ramos-Villagrasa Pedro J. , Passos Ana Margarida , Curral Luís
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– While scales were developed to measure individual adaptive performance (IAP), fewer contributions have been done to assess the construct at the team level of analysis. This issue is addressed through two related studies: Study 1 builds on Pulakoset al.(2000) to develop a measure of IAP. Study 2 follows from the results in Study 1 and tests a measure of team adaptive performance (Chan, 1998).

Design/methodology/approach

– Scale development was done adopting a single level (Study 1) and multi-level (Study 2) structural equations modeling approach.

Findings

– Results suggest that both measures of individual and team adaptive performance are reliable and show evidence supporting the adequacy of adopting referent-shift methodologies to the measurement and aggregation of team members’ rating of team adaptive performance.

Originality/value

– The study offers a reliable, parsimonious and easy to apply measure of individual and team adaptive performance in organizational work environments.
Gross national income, football workers and national football team performances
Authors: Omondi-Ochieng Peter
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– This study aims to examine the association between national economic prosperity (measured by per capita gross national income – GNI) and the acquisition of football workers (indicated by number of amateur footballers, football officials and professional footballers) and predict football performances (specified by qualifications at continental football championships) based on per capita GNI and football workers.

Design/methodology/approach

– Archival data of 203 national football teams were utilized based on continental football championship records before 2014. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to build various models to ascertain their predictive values. Economically prosperous nations are those with a per capita GNI of more than US$10,000, and unprosperous nations are those with per capita GNI of less than US$10,000.

Findings

– The analysis indicated that per capita GNI was significantly and positively associated with the acquisition of football workers – but not predictive of football performance. Rather football officials and professionals emerged to be the key predictors of football performance and not per capita GNI. The final model predicted 73.1 and 74.2 per cent of performance and non-performance, respectively, of national football teams correctly.

Research limitations

– The findings were largely restricted to quantitative archival data for the last continental championships. However, future research may benefit from using qualitative interviews, questionnaires and or ethnographic studies of players, teams and or managers.

Practical implications

– The results revealed that economic prosperity positively influences the acquisition of football resources (here – in football workers). Specifically, targeted production of football workers, such as the acquisition of a large number of effective professional footballers and officials, can boost football performance – and not merely economic prosperity.

Originality/value

– Actual football-specific human capital (and not general population) was used in predicting continental football qualifications – a factor uncommon in such studies.
Collective work motivation in knowledge based organizations
Authors: Tongo Constantine Imafidon
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– Collective work motivation (CWM) has been construed as humans’ innate predispositions to effectively undertake team-oriented work activities under ideal conditions (Lindenberg and Foss, 2011). However, management research aimed at explicating its etiology in knowledge-based organizations (KBOs) has been largely ignored. Given that these organizations strive to gain market competitiveness by motivating employees to cooperatively share knowledge, as well as protect organizational specific knowledge from being externally expropriated, it becomes expedient to understand how they can mobilize and sustain CWM that is geared towards the normative goal of knowledge sharing and knowledge protection.

Design/methodology/approach

– Conceptual insights from the social identity theory were deployed by the study.

Findings

– Three hypothetical principles derived from the processes of social categorization, social comparison and social identification tentatively mobilize and sustain CWM in KBOs.

Originality/value

– This paper adopts the social identity perspective to CWM. In so doing, it sees CWM as a team-based intrinsically derived process rather than an extrinsic means of eliciting the motivation of people in KBOs to engage in the normative goal of knowledge sharing and protection.
Evidence‐based Management in Practice: Opening up the Decision Process, Decision‐maker and Context
Authors: Wright April L. , Zammuto Raymond F. , Liesch Peter W. , Middleton Stuart , Hibbert Paul , Burke John , Brazil Victoria
Published: September 2015

Evidence‐based management (EBM) has been subject to a number of persuasive critiques in recent years. Concerns have been raised that: EBM over‐privileges rationality as a basis for decision‐making; ‘scientific’ evidence is insufficient and incomplete as a basis for management practice; understanding of how EBM actually plays out in practice is limited; and, although ideas were originally taken from evidence‐based medicine, individual‐situated expertise has been forgotten in the transfer. To address these concerns, the authors adopted an approach of ‘opening up’ the decision process, the decision‐maker and the context (Langley et al. (). ‘Opening up decision making: the view from the black stool’, Organization Science, 6, pp. 260–279). The empirical investigation focuses on an EBM decision process involving an operations management problem in a hospital emergency department in Australia. Based on interview and archival research, it describes how an EBM decision process was enacted by a physician manager. It identifies the role of ‘fit’ between the decision‐maker and the organizational context in enabling an evidence‐based process and develops insights for EBM theory and practice.
Designing a qualitative and flexible case study to investigate the opportunities and challenges for primary education offered to first‐generation learners in a rural community in the state of Maharashtra, India
Authors: Velu Ratika
Published: September 2015

Many children from rural communities in India seeking an education are first‐generation learners. These children at times find it difficult to cope with the school environment and learning the state language, which is unfamiliar to them. The parents of these children have no academic background or formal education at any level, which leaves them at a disadvantage as a significant part of their educational process occurs at home. This research is an attempt to study and understand the problems that are being faced by first‐generation learners and to assist them in achieving their educational goals.

The study uses a qualitative and flexible case‐study approach, reflecting the real‐life complexities of first generation learners. A flexible design with semi‐structured interview method has been employed to allow for more freedom during data collection. This provides an opportunity to present the account of the journey and to refine and modify the original plan to follow up issues that emerged during the process of data collection.

It is hoped that the study will provide some insight into the educational needs of first‐generation learners and influence future school improvement programmes of both governmental and non‐governmental rural development organisation.
Adopted children: a question of identity
Authors: Mahmood Samina , Visser John
Published: September 2015

This article draws upon a study completed in a specific school in Bangalore where most children enter at the pre‐school level and continue till high school. While the particular children in the study constitute a small number – four – it was observed that questions of identity mainly arose when they started questioning the circumstances behind their adoption, were curious about their biological roots and searched for answers about their state of belonging. The findings in this study derive from observation of these children from the pre‐primary level to high school, supplemented by discussions, interviews and feedback from teachers who have worked with them, the parents of the adopted children, fieldwork and personal interactions, and show that sensitive handling and nurturing are essential in helping these children overcome the difficulties they experience.
The Quality of Surgical and Pneumonia Care in Minority‐Serving and Racially Integrated Hospitals
Authors: Gaskin Darrell J. , Zare Hossein , Haider Adil H. , LaVeist Thomas A.
Published: September 2015

Objective

To explore the association between quality of care for surgical and pneumonia patients and the racial/ethnic composition of hospitals' patients.

Data Source

Our primary data were surgical and pneumonia processes of care indicators from the 2012 Medicare Hospital Compare Data. We merged this data with information from the 2011 American Hospital Association Annual Survey of Hospitals. We computed the racial and ethnic composition of hospital patients using 2008 data from the Healthcare Costs and Utilization Project.

Study Design

The sample included 1,198 acute care general hospitals from 11 states:AZ,CA,FL,IA,MA,MD,NC,NJ,NY,WA, andWI. We compared quality across minority‐serving, racially integrated, and majority‐white hospitals using unconditional quantile regression models controlling for hospital and market characteristics.

Principal Findings

We found quality differences between the lowest performing minority‐serving, racially integrated, and majority‐white hospitals. As we moved from 10th to 90th quantile, the quality differences between hospitals by patients' racial composition disappeared. In other words, the best minority‐serving and racially integrated hospitals performed as well as the best majority hospitals.

Conclusions

Efforts to improve quality of care for patients in minority‐serving and racially integrated hospitals should focus on the lowest performers.
The Impact of Instructional Design on College Students’ Cognitive Load and Learning Outcomes in a Large Food Science and Human Nutrition Course
Authors: Andrade Jeanette , Huang Wen‐Hao David , Bohn Dawn M.
Published: September 2015

The effective design of course materials is critical for student learning, especially for large lecture introductory courses. This quantitative study was designed to explore the effect multimedia and content difficulty has on students’ cognitive load and learning outcomes. College students (n = 268) were randomized into 1 of 3 multimedia groups: text + graphics (Group 1–TG); audio + text + graphics (Group 2–ATG); or video + audio + text + graphics (Group 3–VATG). Participants answered a demographic survey and pretests before viewing 2 food science supplemental lecture materials (i.e., water mobility and amino acid structures) and completing the cognitive load instrument and post‐tests within a noncontrolled setting. Cognitive load scores were tabulated and compared using a 3 × 3 ANOVA and Tukey post hoc analysis across multimedia groups and food science supplemental lecture materials. Based on the post hoc, students in Group 1–TG had higher intrinsic cognitive load scores than Group 2–ATG (ANOVA, P < 0.05). Cognitive load and post‐test scores were tabulated and compared using a spearman correlation across groups. In Group 1–TG, students that reported less intrinsic cognitive load had higher post‐test scores. Also, students that reported more germane cognitive load had higher post‐test scores. In Groups 2–ATG and 3–VATG, students that reported less extraneous cognitive load had higher post‐test scores (ANOVA, P < 0.05).
Biofilm Formation of Staphylococcus aureus on Various Surfaces and Their Resistance to Chlorine Sanitizer
Authors: Lee Jung‐Su , Bae Young‐Min , Lee Sook‐Young , Lee Sun‐Young
Published: September 2015

This study investigated the effect of material types (polystyrene, polypropylene, glass, and stainless steel) and glucose addition on Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation, and the relationship between biofilm formation measured by crystal violet (CV) staining and the number of biofilm cells determined by cell counts was studied. We also evaluated the efficacy of chlorine sanitizer on inhibiting various different types of S. aureus biofilms on the surface of stainless steel. Levels of biofilm formation of S. aureus were higher on hydrophilic surfaces (glass and stainless steel) than on hydrophobic surfaces (polypropylene and polystyrene). With the exception of biofilm formed on glass, the addition of glucose in broth significantly increased the biofilm formation of S. aureus on all surfaces and for all tested strains (P ≤ 0.05). The number of biofilm cells was not correlated with the biomass of the biofilms determined using the CV staining method. The efficacy of chlorine sanitizer against biofilm of S. aureus was not significantly different depending on types of biofilm (P > 0.05). Therefore, further studies are needed in order to determine an accurate method quantifying levels of bacterial biofilm and to evaluate the resistance of bacterial biofilm on the material surface.
TESS3: fast inference of spatial population structure and genome scans for selection
Authors: Caye Kevin , Deist Timo M. , Martins Helena , Michel Olivier , François Olivier
Published: September 2015

Geography and landscape are important determinants of genetic variation in natural populations, and several ancestry estimation methods have been proposed to investigate population structure using genetic and geographic data simultaneously. Those approaches are often based on computer‐intensive stochastic simulations and do not scale with the dimensions of the data sets generated by high‐throughput sequencing technologies. There is a growing demand for faster algorithms able to analyse genomewide patterns of population genetic variation in their geographic context. In this study, we presentTESS3, a major update of the spatial ancestry estimation programTESS. By combining matrix factorization and spatial statistical methods,TESS3provides estimates of ancestry coefficients with accuracy comparable toTESSand with run‐times much faster than the Bayesian version. In addition, theTESS3program can be used to perform genome scans for selection, and separate adaptive from nonadaptive genetic variation using ancestral allele frequency differentiation tests. The main features ofTESS3are illustrated using simulated data and analysing genomic data from European lines of the plant speciesArabidopsis thaliana.
3 English Houses, Materiality, and Everyday Life
Authors: Johnson Matthew H.
Published: September 2015

My previous work developed a structural model for understanding English vernacular houses, stressing the way the house reflected wider household values. In this paper, I balance this account by starting with everyday life rather than formal structure. I examine material traces of dwelling within and around the house, rather than the presumed mental template that conditioned its building. I discuss material items that flowed through the house in sometimes unpredictable and alarming ways (for example through witchcraft). These artifacts reflect gendered tensions and anxieties that ran through the rhythms of everyday life, rather than a patriarchal structure that governed them. A focus on dwelling brings into focus how the material form of the house and the social form of the household mutually created each other.
5 Metalworking and Ritualization: Negotiating Change through Improvisational Practice in Banda, Ghana
Authors: Stahl Ann B.
Published: September 2015

Villagers of the 15th through mid–16th centuries C.E. in the Banda area of west central Ghana were living in times of change. The Saharan exchange networks that for several centuries had shaped the lives of earlier villagers were to give way by the late 17th century to Atlantic ones. Both offered opportunities (of access to desired goods) and perils (of enslavement). This paper focuses on a metallurgical workshop and the varied ritual practice associated with metalworking as gleaned from residues of stratified depositional practice. A variety of ritualized contexts and object configurations created a scaffolding “meshwork” that animated metallurgical practice, one that was improvised in relation to the broader context of opportunities and perils within which skilled artisans worked. These ritualized configurations were central to how craftsmen calibrated their practice in relation to the shifting global connections and moral terrains of their times.
13 Transforming Archaeology, Transforming Materiality
Authors: Joyce Rosemary A.
Published: September 2015

The archaeological contribution to materiality has to date been less widely appreciated by practitioners outside the subdiscipline. This chapter argues that this is in part due to the identification of archaeological materiality with things, objects, or material culture, deriving from the twentieth‐century history of Americanist archaeology in particular. While archaeologists have made important contributions to debates about the agency of objects, object biographies, and critiques of object/subject dichotomies, there are specific perspectives that archaeology could contribute that derive from the nature of archaeological sites as places consisting of material traces. This article examines in depth the concept oftraceas it is used in broader social theory, and as it is instantiated in archaeological materialities. It is argued that for materialities of everyday life, in particular, traces have been the most effective kinds of materialities explored by archaeologists.
10 Bioarchaeological Perspectives on the Materiality of Everyday Life Activities
Authors: Wesp Julie K.
Published: September 2015

The activities of everyday life influence not only the extrasomatic material world, but also the material properties of our own bodies. Living bone tissue is a dynamic material that responds to external and internal stimuli to alter its size, shape, and structure, and the repetitive actions from daily life performances leave traces that can be interpreted from archaeological skeletal remains. This chapter examines how the human body can be interpreted as a type of material object that both shapes and is shaped by our behavior. These changes are highlighted through the examination of a small skeletal population from the Postclassic site of Xaltocan in Central Mexico. Bioarchaeological analyses of these material changes add a unique perspective to the discussion of the materiality of everyday life in the past.
12 What Do Things Want? Object Design as a Middle Range Theory of Material Culture
Authors: Robb John
Published: September 2015

Material culture theorists in archaeology often argue directly from abstract philosophical models to the interpretation of specific examples which exemplify a particular paradigm well; there has been little attempt to develop methods which work across the entire range of material things we make and which relate the social projects they form part of to the actual material characteristics of things. This paper attempts to refocus attention upon objects by asking the design question: what social task are they intended to accomplish, and what characteristics (material and otherwise) enable them to do it? It develops a general model in which objects incorporate knowledge of the responses they are intended to provoke; this incorporated knowledge gives archaeologists analytical purchase for understanding ancient things. This thesis is illustrated both by a survey of some common strategies of material efficacy and by two capsule examples of how aesthetic style as a design feature provokes specific reactions on the part of people using objects, linking them into particular kinds of social relationships.
Suicide attempts in major depressive episode: evidence from the BRIDGE‐II‐Mix study
Authors: Popovic Dina , Vieta Eduard , Azorin Jean‐Michel , Angst Jules , Bowden Charles L , Mosolov Sergey , Young Allan H , Perugi Giulio
Published: September 2015

Objectives

The Bipolar Disorders: Improving Diagnosis, Guidance, and Education (BRIDGE‐II‐Mix) study aimed to estimate the frequency of mixed states in patients with a major depressive episode (MDE) according to different definitions and to compare their clinical validity, looking into specific features such as suicidality.

Methods

A total of 2,811 subjects were enrolled in this multicenter cross‐sectional study. Psychiatric symptoms, and sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected. The analysis compared the characteristics of patients with MDE with (MDE‐SA group) and without (MDE‐NSA) a history of suicide attempts.

Results

The history of suicide attempts was registered in 628 patients (22.34%). In the MDE‐SA group, women (72.5%, p = 0.028), (hypo)mania in first‐degree relatives (20.5%, p < 0.0001), psychotic features (15.1%, p < 0.0001), and atypical features (9.2%, p = 0.009) were more prevalent. MDE‐SA patients’ previous responses to treatment with antidepressants included more (hypo)manic switches [odds ratio (OR) = 1.97, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.58–2.44, p < 0.0001], treatment resistance (OR = 2.07, 95% CI: 1.72–2.49, p < 0.0001), mood lability (OR = 1.98, 95% CI: 1.65–2.39, p < 0.0001), and irritability (OR = 1.80, 95% CI: 1.48–2.17, p < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis evidenced that risky behavior, psychomotor agitation and impulsivity, and borderline personality and substance use disorders were the variables most frequently associated with previous suicide attempts. In the MDE‐SA group, 75 patients (11.9%) fulfilled Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)‐5 criteria for MDE with mixed features, and 250 patients (39.8%) fulfilled research‐based diagnostic criteria for a mixed depressive episode.

Conclusions

Important differences between MDE‐SA and MDE‐NSA patients have emerged. Early identification of symptoms such as risky behavior, psychomotor agitation, and impulsivity in patients with MDE, and treatment of mixed depressive states could represent a major step in suicide prevention.
Pulmonary sarcoidosis is associated with high-level inducible co-stimulator (ICOS) expression on lung regulatory T cells – possible implications for the ICOS/ICOS-ligand axis in disease course and resolution
Authors: Sakthivel P , Grunewald J , Eklund A , Bruder D , Wahlström J
Published: September 2015

Sarcoidosis is a granulomatous inflammatory disorder of unknown aetiology. The increased frequency of activated lung CD4+ T cells with a T helper type 1 (Th1) cytokine profile in sarcoidosis patients is accompanied by a reduced proportion and/or impaired function of regulatory T cells (Tregs). Here we evaluated the expression of the inducible co-stimulator (ICOS) on lung and blood CD4+ T cell subsets in sarcoidosis patients with different prognosis, by flow cytometry. Samples from the deep airways were obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). We show that Tregs from the inflamed lung of sarcoidosis patients were characterized by a unique ICOShigh phenotype. High-level ICOS expression was restricted to Tregs from the inflamed lung and was absent in blood Tregs of sarcoidosis patients as well as in lung and blood Tregs of healthy volunteers. In addition, lung Tregs exhibited increased ICOS expression compared to sarcoid-specific lung effector T cells. Strikingly, ICOS expression on Tregs was in particularly high in the lungs of Löfgren’s syndrome (LS) patients who present with acute disease which often resolves spontaneously. Moreover, blood monocytes from LS patients revealed increased ICOS-L levels compared to healthy donors. Sarcoidosis was associated with a shift towards a non-classical monocyte phenotype and the ICOS-Lhigh phenotype was restricted to this particular monocyte subset. We propose a potential implication of the ICOS/ICOS-L immune-regulatory axis in disease activity and resolution and suggest to evaluate further the suitability of ICOS as biomarker for the prognosis of sarcoidosis.
Signal peptide‐CUB‐EGF domain‐containing protein 1 (SCUBE1) levels in patients with overt and subclinical hyperthyroidism: effects of treatment
Authors: Erem Cihangir , Civan Nadim , Coskun Hulya , Mentese Ahmet , Suleyman Akile Karacin , Altay Diler Us , Akgul Zeynep , Deger Orhan
Published: September 2015

Background and Objectives

Signal peptide‐CUB‐EGF domain‐containing protein 1 (SCUBE1) has been shown to increase in parallel with platelet activation in acute ischaemic and thrombotic diseases. There has been no study evaluating SCUBE1 levels in patients with overt hyperthyroidism (OHyper) and subclinical hyperthyroidism (SHyper), conditions which are known to show impairment of both endothelial and platelet function. This study sought to evaluate SCUBE1 concentrations in patients with SHyper and OHyper, and assessed the effects of antithyroid drug (ATD) therapy on circulating SCUBE1 levels.

Design and Methods

Forty‐five untreated patients with OHyper, 20 untreated patients with SHyper and 30 age‐ and sex‐matched healthy controls were prospectively included in the study. Biochemical and hormonal parameters were evaluated in all patients before and after treatment.

Results

Compared with the control subjects, SCUBE1 levels were significantly increased in patients with SHyper and OHyper (P < 0·0001 and P = 0·002, respectively). SCUBE1 levels were not significantly different in patients with OHyper compared with patients with SHyper. There was no significant correlation between serum thyroid hormones and SCUBE1 levels. Plasma SCUBE1 levels decreased significantly in both OHyper and SHyper after ATD treatment (P < 0·05).

Conclusions

Increased SCUBE1 levels in both SHyper and OHyper patients may reflect increased platelet activation and possible endothelial dysfunction, which might augment the risk for atherosclerotic and atherothrombotic complications. SCUBE1 may be used as a reliable marker of endothelial damage in hyperthyroidism, especially in the subclinical period.
An aphid lineage maintains a bark‐feeding niche while switching to and diversifying on conifers
Authors: Chen Rui , Favret Colin , Jiang Liyun , Wang Zhe , Qiao Gexia
Published: September 2015

Lachnine aphids are unusual among phytophagous insects because they feed on both leafy and woody parts of both angiosperm and conifer hosts. Despite being piercing‐sucking phloem‐feeders, these aphids are most speciose on woody parts of coniferous hosts. To evaluate the significance of this unusual biology on their evolution, we reconstructed the ancestral host and feeding site of the lachnine aphids and estimated important host shifts during their evolution. We sampled 78 species representing 14 of the 18 genera of Lachninae from Asia and North America. We performed parsimony, Bayesian and likelihood phylogenetic analyses of combined mitochondrialCox1,Cox2,CytBand nuclearEF1a1DNAsequences. We dated the resulting phylogram's important nodes using Bayesian methods and multiple fossil and secondary calibrations. Finally, we used parsimony and Bayesian ancestral state reconstruction to evaluate ancestral feeding ecology. Our results suggest the lachnine common ancestor fed on a woody part of an angiosperm host in the mid‐Cretaceous. A shift to conifer hosts in the Late Cretaceous is correlated with a subsequent increased diversification in the Palaeogene, but a switch to leafy host tissues did not engender a similar burst of diversification. Extant lachnine lineages exhibit the full range of historical association with their hosts: some appeared before, some concomitant with and some after the appearance of their hosts. We conclude our study by placing all the lachnine genera in five tribes.
Clinical value of capsule endoscopy for detecting small bowel lesions in patients with intestinal Behçet's disease
Authors: Arimoto Jun , Endo Hiroki , Kato Takayuki , Umezawa Shotaro , Fuyuki Akiko , Uchiyama Shiori , Higurashi Takuma , Ohkubo Hidenori , Nonaka Takashi , Takeno Mitsuhiro , Ishigatsubo Yoshiaki , Sakai Eiji , Matsuhashi Nobuyuki , Nakajima Atsushi
Published: September 2015

Background and Aim

To evaluate the clinical value of capsule endoscopy (CE) in patients with intestinal Behçet's disease (BD).

Methods

The present study was a case–control pilot study conducted in intestinal BD patients and healthy volunteers. A total of 19 patients with intestinal BD (intestinal BD group) and 19 healthy volunteers (control group) matched for age and sex were enrolled. Frequency, number of small bowel lesions per subject, and Lewis score were comparatively evaluated between the two groups.

Results

Of the 19 patients with intestinal BD, 18 (94.7%) had reddened lesions, 15 (78.9%) had erosions, and nine (47.4%) had ulcers. There were significant differences in the frequency of reddened lesions (P < 0.0001), erosions (P < 0.0001) and ulcers (P = 0.0011) between the two groups. The difference in the number of small bowel lesions between the two groups was also statistically significant. The median Lewis score in the intestinal BD group was significantly higher than that in the control group (intestinal BD group 237 (0–768) vs control group 8 (0–135); P < 0.0001). Analysis according to the location in the small bowel revealed that the frequency of ulcers tended to increase towards the distal intestine.

Conclusion

This is the first CE study conducted to examine small bowel involvement in intestinal BD patients. Our results suggest that CE evaluation is necessary, in addition to colonoscopy, in all intestinal BD patients.
Smoking affects the oral glucose tolerance test profile and the relationship between glucose and HbA1c in gestational diabetes mellitus
Authors: Aulinas A. , Colom C. , García Patterson A. , Ubeda J. , María M. A. , Orellana I. , Adelantado J. M. , de Leiva A. , Corcoy R.
Published: September 2015

Aims

Current smokers in the general population have a lower 2 h plasma glucose after an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and a higher HbA1c than non‐smokers, but the relationships between OGTT/HbA1c and smoking status have not been addressed in pregnancy. We analysed glycaemic measurements in women with gestational diabetes mellitus in relation to smoking status.

Methods

We performed a review of the prospectively collected database of the diabetes and pregnancy clinic. We included women with gestational diabetes mellitus and a singleton pregnancy who delivered between 1986 and 2006. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to evaluate patient characteristics in relation to smoking status.

Results

A total of 2361 women met the inclusion criteria: 556 (23.5%) were active smokers, 266 (11.3%) quit during pregnancy and 1539 (65.2%) were non‐smokers. Most baseline characteristics were similar across groups. Diagnostic OGTT was performed at a gestational age of [median (25th, 75th centiles)] 29 weeks (26, 33). Women who smoked at the beginning of pregnancy had a higher 1‐h plasma glucose than non‐smokers [11.8 (11, 12.7), 11.6 (11, 12.6) and 11.5 (10.8, 12.5) mmol/l, for active smokers, those who quit during pregnancy and non‐smokers, respectively, P < 0.001] and a lower 3‐h plasma glucose [7.3 (5.9, 8.4), 7.6 (6.4, 8.7) and 8.0 (6.8, 9.0) mmol/l, respectively, P < 0.001]. HbA1c was higher in women who smoked at the beginning of pregnancy. Multiple regression analysis confirmed the independent association of smoking status with HbA1c and OGTT plasma glucose.

Conclusions

In women with gestational diabetes mellitus who smoke at the beginning of pregnancy, the shape of the OGTT is consistent with accelerated glucose absorption, and HbA1c is higher than expected for glycaemic values.
Community assembly is a race between immigration and adaptation: eco‐evolutionary interactions across spatial scales
Authors: Vanoverbeke Joost , Urban Mark C. , De Meester Luc
Published: September 2015

Both ecological and evolutionary mechanisms have been proposed to describe how natural communities become assembled at both regional and biogeographical scales. Yet, these theories have largely been developed in isolation. Here, we unite these separate views and develop an integrated eco‐evolutionary framework of community assembly. We use a simulation approach to explore the factors determining the interplay between ecological and evolutionary mechanisms systematically across spatial scales. Our results suggest that the same set of ecological and evolutionary processes can determine community assembly at both regional and biogeographical scales. We find that the importance of evolution and community monopolization effects, defined as the eco‐evolutionary dynamics that occur when local adaptation of early established immigrants is fast enough to prevent the later immigration of better pre‐adapted species, are not restricted to adaptive radiations on remote islands. They occur at dispersal rates of up to ten individuals per generation, typical for many species at the scale of regional metacommunities. Dispersal capacity largely determines whether ecological species sorting or evolutionary monopolization structure metacommunity diversity and distribution patterns. However, other factors related to the spatial scale at which community assembly processes are acting, such as metacommunity size and the proportion of empty patches, also affect the relative importance of ecology versus evolution. We show that evolution often determines community assembly, and this conclusion is robust to a wide range of assumptions about spatial scale, mode of reproduction, and environmental structure. Moreover, we found that community monopolization effects occur even though species fully pre‐adapted to each habitat are abundant in the metacommunity, a scenario expected a priori to prevent any meaningful effect of evolution. Our results strongly support the idea that the same eco‐evolutionary processes underlie community assembly at regional and biogeographical scales.
Functional extinction of a desert rodent: implications for seed fate and vegetation dynamics
Authors: Gordon Christopher E. , Letnic Mike
Published: September 2015

Population declines of once‐abundant species have often preceded understanding of their roles within ecosystems. Consequently, important drivers of environmental change may remain undiagnosed because we simply do not know how species that are now rare or extinct shaped ecosystems in the past. Australia's desert rodents are thought to have little numerical impact on seed fate and vegetation recruitment when compared with ants or with desert rodents on other continents. However most research on granivory by Australian desert rodents has occurred in areas where rodents were rare or functionally extinct. Here we ask if the paradigm that rodents are relatively un‐important granivores in Australian deserts is an artefact of their historical decline. In the Strzelecki Desert, the endangered rodent, Notomys fuscus is rare where introduced mesopredators are abundant but common where dingoes (an apex predator) suppress mesopredator populations. We used foraging trays to compare rates of seed removal for a common shrub (Dodonaea viscosa angustissima hopbush) between areas where N. fuscus, hopbush shrubs and their seedlings were rare and common and found that seed removal was consistently higher where rodents were common and hopbush rare. By excluding ants and rodents from foraging trays we show that ants removed more seeds than rodents where rodents were rare but rodents removed far more seeds than ants where rodents were common. By manipulating rodents’ access to the soil seed‐bank we show that hopbush seeds persisted in greater numbers where rodents were excluded than where they had access. Our results support the hypothesis that granivory by rodents may once have been a far more important process influencing the fate of seeds and shaping plant communities in arid Australia and suggest that dingo extirpation has cascading effects on shrub seeds. Our study highlights that functional extinction of rodents may be an under‐appreciated driver of vegetation change.
Implementation and development of early intervention in psychosis services in Italy: a national survey promoted by the Associazione Italiana Interventi Precoci nelle Psicosi
Authors: Cocchi Angelo , Cavicchini Anna , Collavo Marzia , Ghio Lucio , Macchi Sara , Meneghelli Anna , Preti Antonio
Published: September 2015

Aim

This is the first comprehensive, nationwide survey aimed at collecting evidence about the process of implementation and development of early intervention in psychosis (EIP) services (EIPs) in Italy, following the establishment of the pilot program ‘Programma 2000’ in 1999 and the publishing of the Italian National Guidelines in 2007. This survey covers all the Departments of Mental Health (DMHs) operating in Italy in 2013.

Methods

Using a purpose‐designed form to assess EIP implementation, all directors of public mental health services for adults throughout Italy (n = 216) were asked to provide information about the activities of EIP‐relevant local services. The initial delivery was followed by a request for a prompt response.

Results

Out of 216 enquired DMHs, 103 provided computable answers to the survey (response rate = 48%). Among responders, 45 (44%) reported the implementation of EIP (one out of five DMHs operating in Italy). About a half of the active EIPs also targeted patients at ultra‐high risk of psychosis (n = 27). Strict application of guidelines related to drug prescription was reported in 35% of EIPs. Conversely, 90% provided some kind of structured psychotherapy and psychoeducation. Among EIPs, a minority reported willingness to provide initial assessment/contact at the patient's home.

Conclusion

Albeit slowly, the implementation of EIP is spreading throughout the Italian public network of mental health. There is still a wide variability in the distribution of EIP services across the Italian territory. Further efforts are necessary to stimulate policy endorsement and resource allocation, as well as to support the poorest zones.
Plant diversity shapes microbe‐rhizosphere effects on P mobilisation from organic matter in soil
Authors: Hacker Nina , Ebeling Anne , Gessler Arthur , Gleixner Gerd , González Macé Odette , de Kroon Hans , Lange Markus , Mommer Liesje , Eisenhauer Nico , Ravenek Janneke , Scheu Stefan , Weigelt Alexandra , Wagg Cameron , Wilcke Wolfgang , Oelmann Yvonne
Published: September 2015

Plant species richness (PSR) increases nutrient uptake which depletes bioavailable nutrient pools in soil. No such relationship between plant uptake and availability in soil was found for phosphorus (P). We explored PSR effects on P mobilisation [phosphatase activity (PA)] in soil. PA increased with PSR. The positive PSR effect was not solely due to an increase in Corg concentrations because PSR remained significant if related to PA:Corg. An increase in PA per unit Corg increases the probability of the temporal and spatial match between substrate, enzyme and microorganism potentially serving as an adaption to competition. Carbon use efficiency of microorganisms (Cmic:Corg) increased with increasing PSR while enzyme exudation efficiency (PA:Cmic) remained constant. These findings suggest the need for efficient C rather than P cycling underlying the relationship between PSR and PA. Our results indicate that the coupling between C and P cycling in soil becomes tighter with increasing PSR.
Investigation on failure modes for pin joints made from unidirectional glass–epoxy nanoclay laminates
Authors: Singh M. , Saini J. S. , Bhunia H.
Published: September 2015

In the present work the effect of the nanoclay on the bearing strength and failure mode of the pin joints was investigated both experimentally and numerically. Geometric parameters, i.e. the distance from the free edge of specimen to the diameter of the first hole (E/D) ratio and width of the specimen to the diameter of the holes (W/D) ratio were investigated. The E/D and W/D ratios were varied from 1 to 5. Tsai–Wu failure criterion with characteristic curve method and progressive damage analysis was used for the prediction of failure modes. Results showed that bearing strength and failure mode were considerable affected by the wt% of nanoclay and the geometric parameters. A good agreement was obtained between experimental and numerical predictions.
D‐dimer levels in maintenance hemodialysis patients: High prevalence of positive values also in the group without predisposing diseases
Authors: Gubensek Jakob , Lolic Matea , Ponikvar Rafael , Buturovic‐Ponikvar Jadranka
Published: September 2015

We aimed to estimate the prevalence of elevated D‐dimer levels in all chronic hemodialysis patients and those without additional disease, and to identify factors associated with increased D‐dimer. In 167 chronic hemodialysis patients from our center, D‐dimer was measured before dialysis. The effects of age, C‐reactive protein (CRP), recent acute illness, vascular access, anticoagulation type, dialysis vintage, and chronic diseases, considered to predispose for increased D‐dimer levels, were analyzed. The median D‐dimer in the whole group was 966 (inter‐quartile range [IQR] 524–1947) μg/L and was positive (>500 μg/L) in 75% of cases. D‐dimer was positive in 91% of patients with acute illness, 76% of those with predisposing chronic diseases, but was still positive in 52% of patients without additional disease (i.e., acute illness or predisposing chronic diseases) – median D‐dimer was 538.5 (IQR 359–966) μg/L. D‐dimer was correlated to patients' age, but not dialysis vintage. In univariate analysis, the D‐dimer levels were significantly higher in patients with atrial fibrillation, ischemic heart disease, recent acute illness, increased CRP, dialyzed over a catheter, and on citrate anticoagulation. Multivariate logistic regression showed that only age >65 years (odds ratio [OR] 2.93), catheter (OR 4.86), and positive CRP (OR 4.07) were independently associated with positive D‐dimer at 500 μg/L cut‐off, while the significance of age disappeared at 2000 μg/L cut‐off. To conclude, the high prevalence of positive D‐dimer values even in hemodialysis patients without additional disease limits the use of D‐dimer for exclusion of thromboembolic diseases in hemodialysis patients.
Molecular basis of alcoholic fatty liver disease: From incidence to treatment
Authors: Lívero Francislaine AR , Acco Alexandra
Published: September 2015

Alcoholic liver diseases have complex and multiple pathogenic mechanisms but still no effective treatment. Steatosis or alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD) has a widespread incidence and is the first step in the progression to more severe stages of alcoholic liver disease, with concomitant increases in morbidity and mortality rates. The ways in which this progression occurs and why some individuals are susceptible are still unanswered scientific questions. Research with animal models and clinical evidence have shown that it is a multifactorial disease that involves interactions between lipid metabolism, inflammation, the immune response and oxidative stress. Each of these pathways provides a better understanding of the pathogenesis of AFLD and contributes to the development of therapeutic strategies. This review emphasizes the importance of research on alcoholic steatosis based on incidence data, key pathogenic mechanisms and therapeutic interventions, and discusses perspectives on the progression of this disease.
Skysurveys, Light Curves and Statistical Challenges
Authors: Babu G. Jogesh , Mahabal Ashish
Published: September 2015

Research in astronomy is undergoing a profound transformation from the study of small samples to the analysis of large‐scale digital surveys of the sky. Ever larger amounts of data and better statistical techniques are being used to address a vast range of astronomical problems, from near‐by asteroids to universe‐wide cosmology. There is a huge need for new methodology development to address petabyte‐sized datasets of images, atlases with millions of spectra, multivariate catalogues and time series with billions of objects. The focus of this article is on the analysis of light‐curves (i.e. the variation of source brightness as a function of time). A description of the importance of the problem and the techniques already being used is given. The field is ripe with many statistical and computational challenges.