bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Leadership style and employee turnover intentions: a social identity perspective
Authors: Liu Zhiqiang , Cai Zhenyao , Li Ji , Shi Shengping , Fang Yongqing
Published: June 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to study how an approach of culturally‐specific human resource management (HRM) should moderate the relationship between leadership style and employee turnover.

Design/methodology/approach

Questionnaire data were collected from firms in both Shenzhen and Hong Kong. The subjects are 190 leader/member dyads (111 (58 percent) were from mainland China (i.e. Shenzhen), and 79 (42 percent) were from Hong Kong). Hierarchical regression model is adopted to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Collecting empirical data from firms in different regions of China, it was found that a leadership style, i.e. leader‐member exchange (LMX), can have a significant effect on employee turnover. Moreover, the effect of LMX can be moderated by the C‐HRM‐oriented HRM (C‐HRM) approach. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the findings to academic researchers and practitioners. There exist both the direct effect and interactive effect of LMX on employees' organization identity, which in turn affects their turnover. Moreover, collectivism‐oriented HRM (C‐HRM) moderates the relationship between LMX and employees' organization identity. Other conditions being equal, the higher the C‐HRM, the stronger is the positive relationship between LMX and organization identity.

Originality/value

Integrating prior research on LMX, C‐HRM, organization identity and employee retention, this study examines the relationships among LMX, organization identity and employee retention. This is the first study testing these relationships. The findings have several important implications. For instance, this study documents both the direct and moderating effects of C‐HRM on employees' performance for the first time, which will be helpful for the development of new studies on human resource management and cross‐cultural management.
Accounting for good governance: the fair value challenge
Authors: Dixon John , Frolova Yuliya
Published: June 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze the accounting standards reforms that have moved the accounting profession away from rules‐based towards principles‐based accounting practice and financial reporting, and to explore the implications for boards of directors of fair value estimates of the unknowable contaminating financial statements with financial misstatements.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper critically reviews the internationally accepted accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards with respect to fair value accounting and relates them to directors' fiduciary duties – the duties of care, of oversight, and of obedience.

Findings

The search for relevance in financial accounting raises daunting challenges for boards of directors tasked with fairly presenting the financial condition of a reporting business entity.

Research limitations/implications

The accounting profession has long been epistemologically conservative, judging reliability to be more important than relevance in the compiling of financial statements. With the fair value reforms, relevance has achieved ascendency over reliability. This necessitates an increase in the need for more research in the epistemology and ethics of accounting.

Practical implications

Boards of directors need to be well‐informed about, and fully engaged with, the assessment of the level of risk of material misstatement associated with the fair value accounting estimates, and with the adequacy of the related mandatory explanatory disclosures.

Originality/value

This paper's originality is grounded in its exploration of the epistemology of accounting in the light of the adoption of fair value conventions in the internationally accepted accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and its drawing out of the implications this has for corporate governance.
Weathering the storm? Multinational companies and human resource management through the global financial crisis
Authors: Gunnigle Patrick , Lavelle Jonathan , Monaghan Sinéad
Published: June 2013

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the impact of the global financial crisis on human resource management (HRM) in multinational companies (MNCs) in Ireland. It focuses on four key areas of HR, namely staffing, pay and benefits, industrial relations and the HR function.

Design/methodology/approach

It uses a mixed methods approach involving four major data sources combining objective information reported on the impact of the GFC on HRM with subjective perspectives on HRM practice within MNCs.

Findings

Specific findings are presented in regard to staffing, pay and benefits, industrial relations and role of HR function. The authors find extensive evidence to indicate that MNCs have been in the vanguard of organisations engaging in multidimensional restructuring programmes in response to the GFC, incorporating many initiatives in the domain of HRM. These include job cuts, short‐term working, reduction in training and development expenditure, pay cuts and freezes, reduced benefits and changes in industrial relations. While the authors find that HR function has played a central key role in “delivering” responses to the GFC within MNCs, they also find evidence of a reorganisation of, and financial pressure on, the HR function itself.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to and develops the extant literature on the impact of economic crisis on human resource management.
Business organizations' knowledge‐production processes: an autopoietic approach
Authors: Koskinen Kaj U.
Published: June 2013

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to explore the potential of autopoiesis theory to open up new ways to understand knowledge production in business organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

Initially essential theoretical information is presented, by reviewing the concept of knowledge‐based competitive advantages in business organizations, and describing the notions of autopoiesis as a basis for the understanding of knowledge production in organizations, and micro‐macro problem within the companies' structure and production. After that follows the main content of the paper, namely descriptions of processes influencing knowledge production in business organizations.

Findings

Knowledge is embedded in social practices and a local setting and it is very much tacit in nature providing then a basis for creating a sustainable competitive advantage for business organizations. A business organization's memory and production are mutual media for one another in autopoietic recursive processes.

Originality/value

Finding a viable perspective and approach with which business organizations can understand how their knowledge production takes place is an important issue. It is claimed in this paper that the idea of autopoiesis can potentially provide a new understanding for business organizations' knowledge production.
The role of individual and organizational factors in promoting firm environmental practices
Authors: Cantor David E. , Morrow Paula C. , McElroy James C. , Montabon Frank
Published: June 2013

Purpose

This study seeks to explore the roles of organizational support and environmental manager commitment on organizational environmental management practices.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey of environmental managers was conducted to examine the role of organizational support and individual environmental commitment on key informant perceptions of environmental organizational practices including participation in extra‐organizational voluntary environmental programs, adoption of a company‐specific environmental management system (EMS), and involvement in ISO 14000 certification.

Findings

Study findings demonstrate that high perceptions of organizational support for the environment affect the likelihood of an organization's implementation of environmental practices. Similarly, study findings indicate that higher levels of environmental commitment of the individual responsible for environmental management practices affects the likelihood of an organization's implementation of environmental practices. Lastly, the statistical results provide evidence that high organizational support and high personal commitment by an environmental champion interact to enhance the implementation of environmental practices.

Originality/value

This study represents the first development and empirical testing of a model of how organizational support for environmental practices and environmental managers' commitment to such endeavors affect the adoption of environmental practices by organizations. Additionally, the research illustrates how theoretical perspectives from the organizational behavior literature can be fruitfully adopted to explain behavior in the field of supply chain management.
Employee perceptions of workplace bullying and their implications
Authors: Van Rooyen Judy , McCormack Darcy
Published: June 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether perceptions of workplace bullying have evolved to encompass a holistic appreciation that includes both physical and psychological components of this costly phenomenon, and to assess the effectiveness of relevant training programs in a major retail organisation.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative methodology is adopted. In total, 30 semi‐structured interviews were conducted with frontline employees and management in an organisation comprising several retail outlets.

Findings

The interviews reveal that although participants experienced a variety of behaviours associated with workplace bullying and harassment, these behaviours were commonly ignored or neglected until they escalated into confrontation and threatened productivity and profitability. Employees and supervisory staff had minimal appreciation, practical skills, or training on how to deal effectively with negative workplace behaviours.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation of the study is that the data are sourced from a single organisation. The findings highlight the need to evaluate the effectiveness and relevance of occupational health and safety policies and procedures, and to expand their focus beyond the physical paradigm to incorporate also psychosocial and psychological, risk and injury.

Originality/value

The study provides a unique examination of whether management and staff incorporate both physical and psychological aspects of occupational health and safety.
Impact of sustainable office buildings on occupant's comfort and productivity
Authors: Feige Annika , Wallbaum Holger , Janser Marcel , Windlinger Lukas
Published: June 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to research the impact of sustainable office buildings on occupant's comfort and self‐assessed performance and work engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

The research consists in an empirical study of 18 office buildings and is based on survey data from almost 1,500 employees.

Findings

The study shows that the building itself has a clear impact on the comfort level of the building user. Also, the positive impact of certain features, such as operable windows and the absence of air conditioning, can be clearly identified. While productivity is not directly correlated to comfort levels, work engagement is. Generally, the analysis shows that specific building aspects seem to have an influence on user comfort and with that, also an impact on productivity; however, this impact appears to be limited.

Originality/value

This is a very important insight since this shows the connection between employee and company and thus demonstrates that a high user comfort can reduce the turnover rate of employees. Therefore, additional planning towards user comfort and social sustainability can be shown to yield real returns.
Impacts of organizational relocation: a conceptual framework
Authors: Christersson Matti , Rothe Peggie
Published: June 2013

Purpose

Relocation is a significant event in the course of an organization's lifetime. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the impacts that relocation has on the relocating organization itself and to identify the economic, social, and environmental impacts of office occupier relocation.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing from the existing literature on impacts of occupiers' relocation, a conceptual framework for modelling organizational relocation impacts is developed. The literature review is done by a systematic review of the ten most relevant journals within the corporate real estate, property, and facilities sector.

Findings

Relocation has various impacts including relocation costs, disruption, employee reactions to change, altered lease attributes, and changed environmental footprint. Further, the changes in productivity, employee satisfaction, employee turnover, organizational dynamics, ways of working, commuting, accessibility for external stakeholders, and organizational culture and image are all possible impacts of organizational relocation.

Research limitations/implications

The identified impacts are limited to office occupiers' short distance relocations. As the paper is conceptual by nature, there is a need for more empirical research on the impacts of relocation. The framework introduced in the article requires testing with experiences of relocated case companies and accordingly, it is to be developed further.

Practical implications

The paper provides central questions that relocating organizations should ask themselves.

Originality/value

Using the perspective of the relocating organization, the paper provides insight into the impacts of relocation from the expanded spectrum of Triple Bottom Line of sustainability. The study is of value to corporate real estate researchers and practitioners.
Modeling parameter risk in premium risk in multi‐year internal models
Authors: Diers Dorothea , Eling Martin , Linde Marc
Published: June 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the importance of modeling parameter risk in premium risk, especially when data are scarce and a multi‐year projection horizon is considered. Internal risk models often integrate both process and parameter risks in modeling reserve risk, whereas parameter risk is typically omitted in premium risk, the modeling of which considers only process risk.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors present a variety of methods for modeling parameter risk (asymptotic normality, bootstrap, Bayesian) with different statistical properties. They then integrate these different modeling approaches in an internal risk model and compare their results with those from modeling approaches that measure only process risk in premium risk.

Findings

The authors show that parameter risk is substantial, especially when a multi‐year projection horizon is considered and when there is only limited historical data available for parameterization (as is often the case in practice). The authors' results also demonstrate that parameter risk substantially influences risk‐based capital and strategic management decisions, such as reinsurance.

Practical implications

The authors' findings emphasize that it is necessary to integrate parameter risk in risk modeling. Their findings are thus not only of interest to academics, but of high relevance to practitioners and regulators working toward appropriate risk modeling in an enterprise risk management and solvency context.

Originality/value

To the authors' knowledge, there are no model approaches or studies on parameter uncertainty for projection periods of not just one, but several, accident years; however, consideration of multiple years is crucial when thinking strategically about enterprise risk management.
Exploring the impact of trust on research scientists' work engagement
Authors: Chughtai Aamir Ali , Buckley Finian
Published: June 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of trust in top management and trust in team members on research scientists' work engagement. Specifically, it is proposed that the link between trust in top management and work engagement will be mediated by organizational identification whereas the relationship between trust in team members and work engagement will be mediated by team psychological safety.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data were collected from 170 research scientists, drawn from six Irish science research centres. Structural equation modelling was used to test the direct and mediating effects.

Findings

Results revealed that as hypothesised, organizational identification and team psychological safety fully mediated the effects of trust in top management and trust in team members on work engagement respectively.

Research limitations/implications

The cross‐sectional research design and the use of self‐reported data are the main limitations of this research. Additionally, the team psychological safety scale exhibited a relatively low reliability and, therefore, the results should be viewed with caution. Limitations aside, this study demonstrates that science researchers' trust in top management and their fellow team members is likely to be an important driver of work engagement.

Originality/value

This is the first study which has empirically established a link between work engagement and two distinct forms of trust. In addition, it also uncovers the psychological processes through which researchers' trust in top management and their team members can influence work engagement.
Employers' motives behind outplacement activities
Authors: Alewell Dorothea , Hauff Sven
Published: June 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the determinants of employers' motives behind outplacement activities, the relationship between these motives, and the specific activities of firms in outplacement.

Design/methodology/approach

Theoretical assumptions were tested on a sample of 431 German firms, differentiating between specific outplacement activities and asking in detail about motives and rationales of outplacement. Factor analysis and Mann‐Whitney U‐Tests are applied.

Findings

Different types of motives can be identified and related to theoretical approaches. The relative importance of different motives is influenced by several situational and structural factors. The types of motives have an impact on the termination benefits offered to redundant employees.

Originality/value

Termination benefits are increasingly gaining importance, but the theoretical and empirical knowledge about the incidence, structure, motives, and effects of outplacement is still limited. This paper extends previous studies by shedding more light on the economic motives of employers to invest in outplacement activities, the determinants of these motives and the relationship between motives and specific bundles of activities.
Integrity and the boardroom
Authors: Coulson‐Thomas Colin
Published: June 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the importance of integrity in the boardroom.

Design/methodology/approach

This viewpoint draws on a keynote speech delivered to the 2013 World Congress on Leadership and the Quality of Governance.

Findings

Directors have onerous duties and responsibilities. They can do great good or cause significant harm.

Originality/value

The paper shows that nomination committees should be looking for strategic awareness, objectivity, stakeholder focus, communications skills and other directorial competences.
Plant competition, temporal niches and implications for productivity and adaptability to climate change in water‐limited environments
Authors: Schwinning Susanne , Kelly Colleen K.
Published: June 2013

We review plant competition in water‐limited environments with focus on temporal niche dynamics and examine implications for diversity–productivity relationships and the response of ecosystem productivity to changes in water availability. The main theses under examination are that (i) plant functional types (PFTs) have distinct resource pulse use and coexist through mechanism of temporal resource use complementarity; and (ii) species of same PFT (functionally redundant species) coexist through distinct recruitment niches.

In water‐limited systems, opportunities for plant resource uptake and growth fluctuate through time, dependent on precipitation patterns. Species differ in the sensitivities of germination, seedling mortality and adult productivity to pulses of water availability, and this generates opportunity for temporal niche diversification. We illustrate this in two case studies.

Case study I. Savannas: This is an example of niche separation between two distinct plant functional types (PFTs), trees and grasses. Several models suggest that the two PFTs have complementary resource pulse use, which regulates their abundances, but other models suggest that tree abundance is regulated by the narrow recruitment niche of trees. Overly restrictive recruitment niches can cause a mismatch between resource availability, PFT composition and ecosystem productivity.

Case study II. The tropical dry forest: Here, we examine niche separation between closely related species of same PFT. These species commonly have distinct temporal recruitment niches based on differences in seed and seedling traits. A diversification of recruitment niches may be necessary for sympatric speciation and has the effect of broadening of the recruitment ‘portfolio’ of a phylogenetic lineage and PFT.

Synthesis: Functional diversity, characterized by differences in adult resource use, optimizes ecosystem function in a pulsed resource environment only if PFT abundances are regulated by adult resource use. Regulation through recruitment niches tends to uncouple plant productivity from resource availability. However, we hypothesize that a diversification of recruitment niches within PFTs may help alleviate recruitment limitations and help communities attain a PFT composition that optimizes resource use and permits adaptation to climate change.
Estimation of bird and bat mortality at wind‐power farms with superpopulation models
Authors: Péron Guillaume , Hines James E. , Nichols James D. , Kendall William L. , Peters Kimberly A. , Mizrahi David S.
Published: June 2013

Collision of birds and bats with turbines in utility‐scale wind farms is an increasing cause of concern.

Carcass counts conducted to quantify the ‘take’ of protected species need to be corrected for carcass persistence probability (removal by scavengers and decay) and detection probability (searcher efficiency). These probabilities may vary with time since death, because of intrinsic changes in carcass properties with age and of heterogeneity (preferential removal of easy‐to‐detect carcasses).

In this article, we describe the use of superpopulation capture–recapture models to perform the required corrections to the raw count data. We review how to make such models age specific and how to combine trial experiments with carcass searches in order to accommodate the fact that carcasses are stationary (which affects the detection process).

We derive information about optimal sampling design (proportion of the turbines to sample, number of sampling occasions, interval between sampling occasions) and use simulations to illustrate the expected precision of mortality estimates. We analyse data from a small wind farm in New Jersey, in which we find the estimated number of fatalities to be twice the number of carcasses found.

Synthesis and applications. Our approach to estimation of wind farm mortality based on data from carcass surveys is flexible and can accommodate a range of different sampling designs and biological hypotheses. Resulting mortality estimates can be used (1) to quantify the required amount of compensation actions, (2) to inform mortality projections for proposed wind development sites and (3) to inform decisions about management of existing wind farms.
Does lake habitat alteration and land‐use pressure homogenize European littoral macroinvertebrate communities?
Authors: McGoff Elaine , Solimini Angelo G. , Pusch Martin T. , Jurca Tamara , Sandin Leonard
Published: June 2013

Beta diversity is the compositional heterogeneity of biotic assemblages among sites, and biotic homogenization is the decrease in beta diversity, facilitated by an increase in similarity of biotic communities over time. Environmental harshness decreases the importance of stochastic processes in structuring assemblages, resulting in a homogenization of the biota.

We investigated if increasing nutrient enrichment, land‐use pressure, and within‐lake habitat alteration would decrease the beta diversity of macroinvertebrates in 46 lakes across Europe. Beta diversity was calculated using global multivariate dispersion. We utilized a structural equation modelling approach to account for hierarchical interdependence between potential impacts, that is the direct effects and correlations among the different impacts.

We found clear indications that European macroinvertebrate communities are being homogenized by ongoing lake shore development. Increasing land‐use pressure in the form of residential and commercial development had a direct negative effect on beta diversity (standardized coefficient = −0·40), as did roadways, albeit indirectly through an increase in engineering structures (standardized coefficient = −0·31). Increasing within‐lake silt levels also homogenized macroinvertebrate communities (standardized coefficient = −0·18), independent of near shore land use. Our results indicate the negative effect of both the near shore land‐use pressure and the within‐lake habitat alteration on macroinvertebrate beta diversity, with significant interactions between these pressures.

Habitat protection should take a more holistic approach to assessing lake development pressure, over a range of scales, as a solely site specific approach is not always biologically meaningful. Thus, future management plans should carefully control and mitigate ongoing development pressure if lake ecosystem health and resilience is to be maintained.

Synthesis and applications. This study is the first of its kind to demonstrate European‐wide homogenization of littoral macroinvertebrate lake communities with increasing habitat alteration and land‐use pressure. Significant interactions occur between different habitat scales, with no one scale entirely accounting for the homogenization effect. To avoid further biotic homogenization, development pressure must be carefully managed at multiple scales, and where possible, minimized. This presents a challenge, as globally there is an increasing expansion of the human population and a consequent increase in anthropogenic pressure across all habitats.
Does it make economic sense to restore rivers for their ecosystem services?
Authors: Acuña Vicenç , Díez José Ramón , Flores Lorea , Meleason Mark , Elosegi Arturo
Published: June 2013

Temperate forests managed to maximize sustainable yield of wood products can reduce the availability of dead wood on the forest floor and in adjacent streams, which in turn can impair ecological processes such as retention and transformation of organic matter. Lack of tools to link ecological processes with their effects on human well‐being leads forest managers to ignore the cost on other services from terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

We examine how adding dead wood to restore stream channel complexity affects the provision and value of selected ecosystem services, mainly related to the retention and transformation of matter and cycling of nutrients, as well as to the effects on aquatic biota. Specifically, we evaluated the cost‐effectiveness of stream restoration through a comparative analysis of four reach‐scale projects in streams flowing through temperate forest and into a drinking water reservoir and two scenarios of active and passive restoration at the basin scale.

Results indicate that the lack of dead wood in streams has an important economic cost because of the effects on fish provisioning, opportunities for recreation and tourism, water purification and erosion control. Active reach‐scale restoration resulted in a 10‐ to 100‐fold increase in the monetary benefits provided by streams, accounting as much as 1·8 € per metre of restored river length each year. Results of the reach‐scale cost–benefit analyses estimated that the time required to recover the active restoration investment ranged from 15 to 20 years in low‐ to middle‐order streams.

Synthesis and applications. Our study showed that restoration of natural wood loading in streams greatly increases the ecosystem services they provide. The benefits in terms of the analysed services surpass the costs of active restoration over realistic timeframes, whereas this was not the case for passive restoration. Inclusion of other ecosystem services such as conservation of biodiversity might make restoration more economically profitable. Overall, our study provides a decision framework for managing temperate riparian forests in the context of ecological services.
The M Curve and the Performance of Spanish International New Ventures
Authors: Almodóvar Paloma , Rugman Alan M.
Published: June 2013

In this paper we address three challenges. First, we discuss how international new ventures (INVs) are probably not explained by the Uppsala model as there is no time for learning about foreign markets in newly born and small firms. Only in the longer term can INVs develop experiential learning to overcome the liability of foreignness as they expand abroad. Second, we advance theoretically on previous research demonstrating that the multinationality−performance relationship of INVs follows a traditional S‐shaped relationship, but they first experience a ‘born global illusion’ which leads to a non‐traditional M curve. Third, using a panel data analysis for the period 1994–2008 we find empirically that Spanish INVs follow an inverted U curve in the very short term, where no learning takes place, but that experience gained over time yields an M‐curve relationship once learning takes place.
Delivery outcomes for nulliparous women at the extremes of maternal age – a cohort study
Authors: Vaughan DA , Cleary BJ , Murphy DJ
Published: June 2013

Objective

To examine the associations between extremes of maternal age (≤17 years or ≥40 years) and delivery outcomes.

Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting

Urban maternity hospital in Ireland.

Population

A total of 36 916 nulliparous women with singleton pregnancies who delivered between 2000 and 2011.

Methods

The study population was subdivided into five maternal age groups based on age at first booking visit: ≤17 years, 18–19 years, 20–34 years, 35–39 years and women aged ≥40 years. Logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the associations between extremes of maternal age and delivery outcomes, adjusting for potential confounding factors.

Main outcome measures

Preterm birth, admission to the neonatal unit, congenital anomaly, caesarean section.

Results

Compared with maternal age 20–34 years, age ≤17 years was a risk factor for preterm birth (adjusted odds ratio [adjOR] 1.83, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.33–2.52). Babies born to mothers ≥40 years were more likely to require admission to the neonatal unit (adjOR 1.35, 95% CI 1.06–1.72) and to have a congenital anomaly (adjOR 1.71, 95% CI 1.07–2.76). The overall caesarean section rate in nulliparous women was 23.9% with marked differences at the extremes of maternal age; 10.7% at age ≤17 years (adjOR 0.46, 95% CI 0.34–0.62) and 54.4% at age ≥40 years (adjOR 3.24, 95% CI 2.67–3.94).

Conclusions

Extremes of maternal age need to be recognised as risk factors for adverse delivery outcomes. Low caesarean section rates in younger women suggest that a reduction in overall caesarean section rates may be possible.
How Medicare Part D Benefit Phases Affect Adherence with Evidence‐Based Medications Following Acute Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Stuart Bruce , Davidoff Amy , Erten Mujde , Gottlieb Stephen S. , Dai Mingliang , Shaffer Thomas , Zuckerman Ilene H. , Simoni‐Wastila Linda , Bryant‐Comstock Lynda , Shenolikar Rahul
Published: June 2013

Objective

Assess impact of Medicare Part D benefit phases on adherence with evidence‐based medications after hospitalization for an acute myocardial infarction.

Data Source

Random 5 percent sample of Medicare beneficiaries.

Study Design

Difference‐in‐difference analysis of drug adherence by AMI patients stratified by low‐income subsidy (LIS) status and benefit phase.

Data Collection/Extraction Methods

Subjects were identified with an AMI diagnosis in Medicare Part A files between April 2006 and December 2007 and followed until December 2008 or death (N = 8,900). Adherence was measured as percent of days covered (PDC) per month with four drug classes used in AMI treatment: angiotensin‐converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), beta‐blockers, statins, and clopidogrel. Monthly exposure to Part D benefit phases was calculated from flags on each Part D claim.

Principal Findings

For non‐LIS enrollees, transitioning from the initial coverage phase into the Part D coverage gap was associated with statistically significant reductions in mean PDC for all four drug classes: statins (−7.8 percent), clopidogrel (−7.0 percent), beta‐blockers (−5.9 percent), and ACE inhibitor/ARBs (−5.1 percent). There were no significant changes in adherence associated with transitioning from the gap to the catastrophic coverage phase.

Conclusions

As the Part D doughnut hole is gradually filled in by 2020, Medicare Part D enrollees with critical diseases such as AMI who rely heavily on brand name drugs are likely to exhibit modest increases in adherence. Those reliant on generic drugs are less likely to be affected.
Gambling and problem gambling in the Netherlands
Authors: Goudriaan Anna E.
Published: June 2013

Aims

To provide an overview of gambling in the Netherlands, focusing on historical background, policy, legislation, prevalence of problem gambling, availability of treatment options and research base.

Methods

Literature review.

Results

Contradictions between gambling policy and practice have been present in the past 15–20 years, and have led to an increasingly stricter gambling regulation to retain the government policy to restrict gambling within a national monopoly. Conversely, political efforts have been made to legalize internet gambling, but have not yet been approved. Compared to other European countries, slot machine gambling and casino gambling are relatively popular, whereas betting is relatively unpopular. Last‐year problem gambling prevalence (South Oaks Gambling Screen score > 5) is estimated at 0.22–0.15% (2005, 2011). Treatment for problem gambling is covered by health insurance under the same conditions as substance dependence, but only a small proportion of Dutch problem gamblers seeks help at addiction treatment centres.

Conclusions

Gambling policy in the Netherlands has become stricter during recent last years in order to maintain the Dutch gambling monopoly. Problem gambling in the Netherlands is relatively stable. Dutch research on problem gambling has a lack of longitudinal studies. Most of the epidemiological gambling studies are reported in non‐peer‐reviewed research reports, which diminishes control by independent peers on the methodology and interpretation of results. Recent efforts to enhance consistency in research methods between gambling studies over time could enhance knowledge on changes in (problem) gambling in the Netherlands.
Desensitization in delayed drug hypersensitivity reactions – an EAACI position paper of the Drug Allergy Interest Group
Authors: Scherer K. , Brockow K. , Aberer W. , Gooi J. H. C. , Demoly P. , Romano A. , Schnyder B. , Whitaker P. , Cernadas J. S. R. , Bircher A. J. ,   for ENDA, the European Network on Drug Allergy and the EAACI Drug Allergy Interest Group
Published: June 2013

Drug hypersensitivity may deprive patients of drug therapy, and occasionally no effective alternative treatment is available. Successful desensitization has been well documented in delayed drug hypersensitivity reactions. In certain situations, such as sulfonamide hypersensitivity in HIV‐positive patients or hypersensitivity to antibiotics in patients with cystic fibrosis, published success rates reach 80%, and this procedure appears helpful for the patient management. A state of clinical tolerance may be achieved by the administration of increasing doses of the previously offending drug. However, in most cases, a pre‐existent sensitization has not been proven by positive skin tests. Successful re‐administration may have occurred in nonsensitized patients. A better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of desensitization is needed. Currently, desensitization in delayed hypersensitivity reactions is restricted to mild, uncomplicated exanthems and fixed drug eruptions. The published success rates vary depending on clinical manifestations, drugs, and applied protocols. Slower protocols tend to be more effective than rush protocols; however, underreporting of unsuccessful procedures is very probable. The decision to desensitize a patient must always be made on an individual basis, balancing risks and benefits. This paper reviews the literature and presents the expert experience of the Drug Hypersensitivity Interest Group of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
PI3K, ERK, p38 MAPK and integrins regulate CCR3‐mediated secretion of mouse and human eosinophil‐associated RNases
Authors: Shamri R. , Young K. M. , Weller P. F.
Published: June 2013

Background

Eosinophils have the capacity to secrete varied cytotoxic proteins. Among the proteins are the eosinophil‐associated RNases (EARs): the human eosinophil‐derived neurotoxin and eosinophilic cationic protein, and their murine ortholog EARs, which have been shown to be involved in host defense, tissue remodeling, and immunity regulation. However, the signal transduction that regulates EARs secretion in response to physiological stimuli, such as chemokines, has been little studied in human and scarcely in mouse eosinophils, the foremost animal model for eosinophil‐associated human diseases.

Objective

In this study, we aimed to understand the signal transduction involved in the secretion of enzymatically active EARs following chemokine stimulation.

Methods

Fresh mouse and human eosinophils were stimulated with CCL11 and CCL24, and the secretion of enzymatically active EARs was detected using an RNase activity assay. The involvement of signaling factors or integrins was probed using specific inhibitors and blocking antibodies. Adhesion was evaluated by microscopy.

Results

We found that secretion of mouse EARs in response to CCL11 and CCL24 was Gαi‐dependent. Both mouse and human eosinophils required the activation of PI3K, ERK, and p38 MAPK. In addition, the adhesion molecules β1 and β2 integrins were found to be crucial for EAR secretion, and we suggest a mechanism in which spreading is obligatory for EAR secretion.

Conclusions

Collectively, these data suggest a common CCR3‐mediated signaling pathway that leads to EAR secretion in both mouse and human eosinophils. These findings are applicable for eosinophil‐mediated host defense and eosinophil‐associated diseases.
Novel membrane frizzled‐related protein gene mutation as cause of posterior microphthalmia resulting in high hyperopia with macular folds
Authors: Wasmann Rosemarie A. , Wassink‐Ruiter Jolien S. Klein , Sundin Olof H. , Morales Elisa , Verheij Joke B. G. M. , Pott Jan Willem R.
Published: June 2013

Purpose:  We present a genetic and clinical analysis of two sisters, 3 and 4 years of age, with nanophthalmos and macular folds.

Methods:  Ophthalmological examination, general paediatric examination and molecular genetic analysis of the MFRP gene were performed in both affected siblings.

Results:  Clinical analysis showed high hyperopia (+11 D and +12 D), short axial lengths (15 mm) and the presence of macular folds and optic nerve head drusen. Autofluorescence of the retina was generally normal with subtle macular abnormalities. Sequence analysis showed compound heterozygosity for severe MFRP mutations in both sisters: a previously reported p.Asn167fs (c.498dupC) and a novel stop codon mutation p.Gln91X (c.271C>T).

Conclusion:  These are the youngest nanophthalmos patients in the literature identified with severe loss of MFRP function, showing already the known structural abnormalities for this disease. Adult patients affected by homozygous or compound heterozygous MFRP mutations generally show signs of retinal dystrophy, with ERG disturbances and RPE abnormalities on autofluorescence imaging. ERG examination could not be performed in these children, but extensive RPE abnormalities were not seen at this young age.
Late gestation over‐ and undernutrition predispose for visceral adiposity in response to a post‐natal obesogenic diet, but with differential impacts on glucose–insulin adaptations during fasting in lambs
Authors: Khanal P. , Husted S. V. , Axel A. M. D. , Johnsen L. , Pedersen K. L. , Mortensen M. S. , Kongsted A. H. , Nielsen M. O.
Published: June 2013

Aim

To investigate if late gestation under‐ or overnutrition has similar adverse impacts on visceral adiposity, metabolic and endocrine function in sheep, and if subsequent exposure to a high‐fat diet in early post‐natal life exaggerates the prenatal programming outcomes later in life.

Methods

Thirty‐six twin‐pregnant ewes were fed a NORM (fulfilling 100% of daily requirements for energy and protein), LOW (50% of NORM) or HIGH diet (150% of energy and 110% of protein requirements) during the last 6 weeks of gestation (term = 147 days). Post‐natally, the twin lambs were subjected to a high‐fat or a moderate diet until 6 months of age (around puberty), where metabolic and endocrine adaptability to fasting was examined, and subgroups of animals were killed.

Results

Animals exposed to either prenatal under‐ or overnutrition had reduced subcutaneous fat deposition when fed a high‐fat diet, resulting in higher ratios of mesenteric and peri‐renal fat relative to subcutaneous fat compared to controls. This was not related to prenatal influences on plasma glucose or insulin. Irrespective of the prenatal diet, high‐fat‐fed lambs underwent changes resembling the metabolic syndrome with higher plasma glucose, cholesterol, non‐esterified fatty acids, triglyceride and lactate combined with abdominal obesity. Peri‐renal fat appeared to be a particular target of a high‐fat diet post‐natally.

Conclusion

Both prenatal under‐ and overnutrition predisposed for abdominal adiposity, apparently by reducing the expandability of subcutaneous adipose tissue and induced differential physiological adaptations to fasting. This study does not suggest that exposure to gestational overnutrition will provide a protective effect against development of hyperglycaemia later in life.
Changes in forest structure, fuels and potential fire behaviour since 1873 in theLakeTahoeBasin,USA
Authors: Taylor Alan H. , Vandervlugt Anna M. , Maxwell R. Stockton , Beaty Robert M. , Airey Catherine , Skinner Carl N.
Published: June 2013

Questions

What were the characteristics of pre‐Anglo‐American (reference) forests before logging, grazing and fire exclusion, and how have they changed? What were the structural characteristics of canopy and surface fuels and potential fire behaviour in reference forests, and how do they compare to contemporary forests? How might information from reference conditions be used to inform current restoration and management practices?

Location

LakeTahoeBasin in theSierraNevada,California andNevada,USA.

Methods

Tree species composition, size structure, basal area, density, surface and canopy fuels, and potential fire behaviour were quantified for reference and contemporary conditions in 32 stands. This was accomplished by integrating field measurements and dendroecological techniques with vegetation and fire behaviour simulation models.

Results

ContemporaryJeffrey pine and mixed conifer forests had more trees, more basal area, smaller trees and a different size structure than the reference forest. Contemporary red fir and lodgepole pine forests also had more and smaller trees, but basal areas were similar to the reference. Red fir forests also shifted in composition towards lodgepole pine. Vegetation and fire models indicate that contemporary Jeffrey pine and mixed conifer forests have higher flame length, rates of spread, lower crowning and torching indices, and more passive crown fire than the reference forests. In contrast, contemporary red fir and lodgepole pine forests only had lower crowning and torching indices, and flame length and rate of spread were only higher with extreme weather and high surface fuel load.

Conclusions

Contemporary Jeffrey pine and mixed conifer forests deviate the most from the reference, and restoration objectives for these forests should emphasize density and basal area reduction of smaller diameter stems. Restoration objectives for red fir should shift species composition and reduce basal area by thinning smaller diameter lodgepole pine. For lodgepole pine forests, restoration objectives should include reduction of density and basal area of smaller diameter stems. Fire or other surface fuel treatments will be needed in all the forests to maintain lower fuel loads, albeit at different time intervals.
Clarithromycin substantially increases steady‐state bosentan exposure in healthy volunteers
Authors: Markert Christoph , Schweizer Yvonne , Hellwig Regina , Wirsching Theresia , Riedel Klaus‐Dieter , Burhenne Juergen , Weiss Johanna , Mikus Gerd , Haefeli Walter E.
Published: June 2013

Aims

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 and organic anion‐transporting polypeptide (OATP) 1B1 inhibitor clarithromycin on the pharmacokinetics of bosentan. We also aimed to evaluate the impact of CYP2C9 and SLCO1B1 (encoding for OATP1B1) genotypes and their combination.

Methods

We assessed the effect of the OATP and CYP3A inhibitor clarithromycin on bosentan pharmacokinetics at steady state and concurrently quantified changes of CYP3A activity using midazolam as a probe drug. Sixteen healthy volunteers received therapeutic doses of bosentan (125 mg twice daily) for 14 days and clarithromycin (500 mg twice daily) concomitantly for the last 4 days, and bosentan pharmacokinetics was assessed on days 1, 10 and 14.

Results

Clarithromycin significantly increased bosentan area under the plasma concentration–time curve of the dosing interval 3.7‐fold and peak concentration 3.8‐fold in all participants irrespective of the genotype. Clarithromycin also reduced CYP3A activity (midazolam clearance) in all participants; however, these changes were not correlated to the changes of bosentan clearance.

Conclusions

Clarithromycin substantially increases the exposure to bosentan, suggesting that dose reductions may be necessary.