bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
De novo erectile dysfunction after anterior urethroplasty: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Blaschko Sarah D. , Sanford Melissa T. , Cinman Nadya M. , McAninch Jack W. , Breyer Benjamin N.
Published: March 2013

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add?

Erectile dysfunction has been associated with urethroplasty operations, but the incidence of erectile dysfunction after anterior urethroplasty operations is largely unknown.

A 1% incidence of de novo erectile dysfunction after anterior urethropathy was found with systematic review and meta analysis of 36 studies with 2323 patients. In most cases the erectile dysfunction was transient and resolved within six to twelve months.

Objective

To evaluate the likelihood of developing de novo erectile dysfunction (ED) after anterior urethroplasty and to determine if this likelihood is influenced by age, stricture length, number of previous procedures or timing of evaluation.

Materials and Methods

PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Google Scholar databases were searched for the terms ‘urethroplasty’, ‘urethral obstruction’, ‘urethral stricture’, ‘sexual function’, ‘erection’, ‘erectile function’, ‘erectile dysfunction’, ‘impotence’ and ‘sexual dysfunction’.

Two reviewers evaluated articles for inclusion based on predetermined criteria.

Results

In a meta‐analysis of 36 studies with a total of 2323 patients, de novo ED was rare, with an incidence of 1%.

In studies that assessed postoperative erectile function at more than one time point, ED was transient and resolved at between 6 and 12 months in 86% of cases.

Conclusions

Men should be counselled regarding the possibility of transient or permanent de novo ED after anterior urethroplasty procedures.

Increasing mean age was associated with an increased likelihood of de novo ED, but this was not statistically significant.
Machine tools and mass production in the armaments boom: Germany and the United States, 1929–44
Authors: Ristuccia Cristiano Andrea , Tooze Adam
Published: March 2013

This article anatomizes the ‘productivity race’ between Nazi Germany and the US over the period from the Great Depression to the Second World War in the metalworking industry. We present novel data that allow us to account for both the quantity of installed machine tools and their technological type. Hitherto, comparison of productive technologies has been limited to case studies and well‐worn narratives about US mass production and European‐style flexible specialization. Our data show that the two countries in fact employed similar types of machines combined in different ratios. Furthermore, neither country was locked in a rigid technological paradigm. By 1945 Germany had converged on the US both in terms of capital‐intensity and the specific technologies employed. Capital investment made a greater contribution to output growth in Germany, whereas US growth was capital‐saving. Total factor productivity growth made a substantial contribution to the armaments boom in both countries. But it was US industry, spared the war's most disruptive effects, that was in a position to take fullest advantage of the opportunities for wartime productivity growth. This adds a new element to familiar explanations for Germany's rapid catch‐up after 1945.
Global environmental justice and international transboundary waters: an initial exploration
Authors: Zeitoun Mark
Published: March 2013

This paper explores the extent to which global environmental justice can serve to serve to interpret negotiations over international transboundary waters. Trade‐offs are considered in terms of their spatial and temporal features, while the biophysical traits of water are found to shape the cast and behaviour of actors and institutions suffering injustices, or ignoring or opposing justice claims. Applications of the frame to recent negotiations along the Nile and Jordan rivers show that inequitable outcomes can be entrenched by apparently fair processes. The negotiations procedures do not recognize the power asymmetry that exists between the actors, and thus fail on Rawls' precondition of equality for justice, suggesting that while distribution may be a necessary condition for justice, process alone is not necessarily so. The analysis also finds that focus on the international can obscure injustices at the sub‐national level, and that environmental issues must be considered within the social justice context they derive from. One practical implication is that evaluations of negotiations over international transboundary waters should consider their outcome first, followed by investigation of the asymmetry in power that undermines the processes.
Heavy and Light/Moderate Smoking Among Building Trades Construction Workers
Authors: Chin Dal Lae , Hong OiSaeng , Gillen Marion , Bates Michael N. , Okechukwu Cassandra A.
Published: March 2013

Objective

The purpose of the study was to identify the correlates of heavy smoking (defined as more than one pack of cigarettes per day) in building trades construction workers.

Design and Sample

This study used cross‐sectional data from the MassBUILT smoking cessation intervention study at Massachusetts building trades unions with the sample of 763 smokers.

Measures

Data collected included information about smoking behavior, individual, psychological, interpersonal, and occupational factors obtained through self‐reported questionnaires.

Results

Approximately 21% of smokers were heavy smokers. Significant factors related to heavy smoking were: older age (OR = 1.10; 95% CI: 1.06–1.14), male gender (OR = 4.55; 95% CI: 1.62–12.79), smoking the first cigarette of the day within 30 min of waking (OR = 4.62; 95% CI: 2.81–7.59), smoking initiation at earlier age (OR = 0.93; 95% CI: 0.87–1.00), higher temptation to smoke (OR = 1.55; 95% CI: 1.17–2.05), household smoking (OR = 1.90; 95% CI: 1.18–3.06) or living alone (OR = 4.11; 95% CI: 1.70–9.92), and exposure to chemicals at work (OR = 1.61; 95% CI: 1.06–2.53).

Conclusion

Addressing the influence of these factors on heavy smoking could lead to the development of targeted, multiple components in comprehensive cessation strategies for blue‐collar smokers.
Female Fertility: A Conceptual and Dimensional Analysis
Authors: Rodriguez Dana
Published: March 2013

Introduction

Female fertility is commonly described as the biological nature of women, yet different meanings emerge when one takes a holistic approach to fertility while considering varying contexts and perspectives. An improved understanding of female fertility will enhance health care professionals’ understanding of female fertility and improve communication with women and other health care professionals. This article presents a conceptual and dimensional analysis of female fertility.

Methods

A search of the literature included the databases CINAHL, PsycINFO, Philosopher's Index, and Web of Science. Concept and dimensional analyses were performed using the Rogers' methodology and the Caron and Bowers' framework to define female fertility and explore the concept. Articles were examined to identify definitions, dimensions, perspectives, antecedents, and consequences of female fertility.

Results

Biological self, psychosexual self, power, and paradox are the attributes of female fertility. The contexts of menarche, menstruation, menopause, infertility, fertility goals, society and culture, and health care were explored. Perspectives included those of women across many different fertility stages as well as perspectives of various clinicians. Necessary antecedents were sexual decision making and influences of culture and society. Consequences were realized fertility, stress, and an understanding of self. A definition of fertility was proposed: Female fertility is a paradoxical phenomenon of power between the biological and psychosexual self.

Discussion

Antecedents, attributes, and consequences derived from the fertility literature can be used by health care providers for patient education and therapeutic interventions. This concept analysis may assist in facilitation of a greater understanding of biological and psychosexual self, as they relate to fertility across the lifespan.
OPENING KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Tell Them I Built This: A story of community transformation through design, youth, and education
Authors: PILLOTON EMILY
Published: March 2013

Emily Pilloton is the founder and executive director of Project H Design, a non‐profit design agency founded in 2008 to use design and hands‐on building for community and educational benefit. Trained in architecture and product design, Emily now spends most days in rural Bertie County, North Carolina, teaching her high school Studio H design/build curriculum, in which students design and build full‐scale architectural projects for their hometown. She is the author of the book Design Revolution: 100 Products That Empower People, a compendium and call‐to‐action for design for social impact, and has appeared on the TED Stage as well as The Colbert Report.
DESIGNING the End
Authors: SALVADOR TONY , WHITNEY DEAN M.
Published: March 2013

We consider implications for the active, intentional design of the endings of products, services, institutions and other structures and processes pervading our societies. We suggest psychological reluctance to some kinds of endings even in the context of broader social benefit. We propose direction for and encourage attention of this community to certain kinds of work designed to end some things while creating other things. We introduce the notion of “creative idiosyncratic ritualization for renewal” and propose that the EPIC community is uniquely situated to ask “strange” questions in the most “familiar” of ways to increase our collective general welfare.
Ethnographic Temporality: Using time‐based data in product renewal
Authors: LADNER SAM
Published: March 2013

Corporate ethnography is often targeted at renewing the life of a product. Getting customers to start using a product again – or start using it in the first place – entails a deep understanding of the rhythm of everyday life. When do customers begin to use this product? When do they stop? What else is going on during this time? It is tempting to rely on the automatically collected time‐data from “big data” analytics to answer this question. But ethnography offers a unique cultural lens to understanding the temporal aspects of the product lifecycle. In this paper, I provide examples of technological products that demonstrate how ethnographic insight offers deeper insight about the temporal aspects of products. I introduce the concept of the “timescape” and its three dimensions of time, and explain where some products are temporally successful and others temporally fail. I explain in the final portion of this paper, I outline ways in which digital time‐data should complement traditional ethnography.
ETHICS IN BUSINESS ANTHROPOLOGY
Authors: HAMMERSHØY LAURA , MADSEN THOMAS ULRIK
Published: March 2013

Solely protecting research subjects undermines ethical business anthropology practice. In this paper, we argue that a negative definition of ethics, manifest in the primary focus of “doing no harm” to research subjects, undermines a concern for the potential of business anthropology to do good in a broader sense. Alain Badiou's concept of truth procedure gives, we argue, an actively responsible and necessary direction to ethical business anthropology in its complicity with constructing new subjectivities within contemporary society.
If These Walls Could Talk: The mental life of the built environment
Authors: PATEL NEAL H.
Published: March 2013

Renewing Henri Lefebvre's unfinished and overlooked science of ‘rhythmanalysis,’ I propose physical space becomes meaningful to us to the extent that it provides refuge from the ravages of time—specifically, the intersecting rhythms of everyday life. In other words, we develop affinity with space based upon its restorative function. Conflict between overlapping rhythms is mentally exhausting. There are cognitive costs associated with the work day's intrusion upon our sleep cycle, or extension into our evening leisure time. I will contend that we love our local bars, coffee shops, and hangouts because they are intermediary spaces, situated between cycles, thereby easing our transition and restoring our mental energy. I conclude with some examples of these dynamics at play in the urban life surrounding two peculiar Polish sausage stands on South Side of Chicago.
The Ethnographer Unbounded: Considering open source in corporate environments
Authors: CONAND NICOLE , DORNADIC ALICIA
Published: March 2013

Technological advances that enable seemingly endless information sharing, as well as various counter efforts that attempt to limit and control access to information, have prompted us to reexamine how industry‐based practitioners of ethnography promulgate their research. A comparison of two distinct professional experiences reveals how varying degrees of information “openness” impact ethnographic work. One occurs within a large corporation in which research is proprietary and confidential. The second is an open source project supported by a Knight Foundation grant. In doing so, we aim to discern which elements of open source ethnography have beneficial applications in corporate environments. We present a “layering model,” as well as a set of questions to consider, as a way of determining which aspects of ethnographic research should be shared and with whom.
Concreting Sustainability: Renewing the cement industry through sustainability implementation
Authors: RESENDEZ DE LOZANO LAURA E.
Published: March 2013

While the cement industry had traditionally been linked to the concepts of modernity and development, the drive towards socially responsible and environmentally friendly business practices has required a revision of the industry mostly in relation to its sustainability programs. This paper examines the logics followed by employees when relating to the concept of sustainability as sustainability programs are implemented in the cement industry. The interaction with different stakeholders in combination with personal convictions about ethics, power, environment and participation in a team influence how an individual understands sustainability policies and makes them concrete.
Role of the Ephemeral in Recovery and Renewal
Authors: ISHIDA AKI
Published: March 2013

Installed during the Tohoku earthquake relief fundraising event, CONCERT FOR JAPAN, at Japan Society in New York City on April 2011, the Luminous Washi Lanterns was a meditation and celebration of renewal through light and impermanent materials. The paper examines the role of the ephemeral from the ancient to contemporary Japanese culture, collective experience during an ephemeral performance, and translation of traditional Japanese renewal rituals into a piece that engages a diverse range of people outside of Japan. How can designers instigate a process of renewal following a disaster in manners that engage people of all ages and backgrounds in a collective healing experience?
STAND Where You Live: Activating civic renewal by socially constructing Big Ethno
Authors: JONES STOKES , MILLER CHRISTINE Z. , DHANANI BIJAN
Published: March 2013

This paper explains how STAND Chattanooga became the world's largest community visioning process in 2009. Behind its public success, the authors relate the underlying ‘research story’ of how 26,263 viewpoints were achieved by changing course in midstream and adopting more ethnographic methods of survey collection. For an EPIC audience, we analyze STAND's ultimately successful outcomes as a case of following the logic of ‘social fields’ (however unintentionally). The paper furthermore argues that STAND is a paradigm example of the way ethnographic principles can be deployed at various scales to accomplish goals (such as community renewal) outside the reach of most ‘Big Data’ analytics.
Integrating Organizational and Design Perspectives to Address Challenges of Renewal: A case study of NASA's post‐shuttle workforce transition
Authors: AIKEN JO
Published: March 2013

As organizations become increasingly complex and technology‐dependent, likewise their challenges become increasingly complex and technology‐driven. In the practice of organizational and design ethnography, the elements of organization and technology design overlap. However, a need remains for an explicit framework to deal with the complex challenges of innovation and change faced by contemporary organizations. This need is evident in a case study of NASA's workforce transition as a result of the space shuttle's retirement. NASA's challenge is both organizational and technological – the end of the Space Shuttle Program left the agency without a clear replacement vehicle and the risk of losing an experienced, expert workforce. An integrated organizational and design approach could foster an environment of renewal by involving stakeholders at all levels of the agency and adopting a future‐oriented approach to anticipating change.
Opting Out Of Stasis: Using integrated techniques to create sustainable change and renewal in healthcare organizations
Authors: MESSERVY LINDSEY , WERNER BETH
Published: March 2013

In recent times, hospitals and healthcare organizations have become more accepting of using human‐centered approaches, including ethnography, to lend insight on how to prevent risk, increase efficiency, improve staff experience, and advance delivery of care. But often times, these approaches lack the tools and techniques needed to carry these insights to implementation. This paper identifies and reflects on the hurdles that make change and innovation difficult and how the integration of practices, such as quantitative, co‐creative, and change management, with ethnographic methods can help facilitate responsive and sustainable transformation in healthcare organizations.
Maru: An ethnographic approach to revive local communities
Authors: ICHIKAWA FUMIKO , TAMURA HIROSHI
Published: March 2013

How would Japan's rural communities renew oneself when the nation's economy no longer holds the absolute financial and technological powers in the global sphere? Through our post‐3.11 recovery effort in local communities of Kesennuma, Japan, we discuss – a gap between the perceptions of Japan's rise from the 1950s and how in fact rural economies, such as the one in Kesennuma, have lost independency through its process. This paper seeks to capture the power of Maru, an inter‐local activity, seeking an alternative to the conventional model of development based on the economy of capitalism, and how ethnography and design would play a central role in the success of community revival.
Detroit is a Blank Slate: Metaphors in the journalistic discourse of art and entrepreneurship in the City of Detroit
Authors: GREGORY SIOBHAN
Published: March 2013

This paper presents an investigation of metaphoric language in the contemporary discourse of Detroit's “renewal.” News articles from local and national news sources from 2009–2011 provide evidence of critical and provocative metaphoric constructions found in the gentrification discourse of Detroit. As harbingers of gentrification, the discourse communities of artists and business entrepreneurs are the focus of this review. The author argues that metaphoric language in journalism must be critically evaluated and challenged to help ensure sustainable, equitable, and historically sensitive “renewal” of the city of Detroit and similar inner‐city urban communities experiencing gentrification.
Service Infrastructures: A call for ethnography of heterogeneity
Authors: DE PAULA ROGÉRIO A. , CAVALCANTE VICTOR , PINHANEZ CLAUDIO
Published: March 2013

This paper investigates the notion of heterogeneity, inspired by Latour's work on Actor Network Theory, as a lens for understanding daily work practices in a large service delivery organization. To this end, we present and discuss the findings from an ongoing research where we unpacked how system‐administrators manage and negotiate incident resolution requests as part of service delivery practices. In particular, we looked into how performance metrics, such as, service level agreements (SLAs), mediated those practices. This paper contributes to the studies of infrastructure and explores the critical synergy between quantitative and qualitative methods in support of large‐scale work practice research.
Badges, Branding and Business Growth: The ROI of an ethnographic praxis professional certification
Authors: ENSWORTH PATRICIA
Published: March 2013

Renewal is not just about natural cycles of waxing and waning: sometimes it means a leap forward. The progress of ethnographic praxis in industry has been a gradual but steady evolution. Yet recent economic events and academic trends suggest that the moment has arrived for ethnographers to expand our influence by codifying our practices. This paper proposes the establishment of an Ethnographic Praxis Professional (EPP) certification based upon an Ethnographic Body of Knowledge (EBOK). A professional credential and an authoritative repository of shared concepts and methods would benefit clients, employers, professors, students – and most of all ourselves as practitioners.
Framed by Experience: From user experience to strategic incitement
Authors: VENKATARAMANI ARVIND , AVERY CHRISTOPHER
Published: March 2013

Ethnographic and other related practices in industry focus – for a variety of historical reasons – primarily on studying the experiences of individuals/institutions as consumers/users. We suggest that this framing limits our work to descriptive forms of knowledge, and renders invisible larger social and institutional changes that nevertheless have an impact on the domains we study, and whose invisibility curtails the forms of innovation we can support. While a variety of practitioners are indeed broadening the range and scope of their work, we contend that for this expansion to succeed sustainably in our community it must also incorporate a discourse on values, and engage with other forms of knowing outside the frame of consumers and users, by encompassing context and engaging in a values discourse.
Renewing Our Practice: Preparing the next generation of practitioners
Authors: SQUIRES SUSAN , MACK ALEXANDRA
Published: March 2013

A key aspect of renewal is disciplinary renewal though the addition of new practitioners, who can bring revitalization to our practice. To successfully land their first job, today's new practitioners need practical, relevant basic skills and knowledge, which they can acquire through a range of training programs. In this paper, we reflect upon the significant methodological, interpretive, ethical implications of such training programs for ethnographic praxis in industry. How they evolve and change the work, how new knowledge is created in the field and what that may mean for the future renewal of our practice begins with how they are trained.
Fading into the Horizon: the disappearance of Appalachian hollow communities and culture
Authors: GRENOBLE JESSICA
Published: March 2013

The identity of an individual or community is highly dependent upon their cultural values and traditions. It is an industry that is causing the communities that occupy the hollows of Appalachia to lose these values and traditions. It has been found that the loss of cultural identity in Appalachian hollow communities is tied to local mountain top removal mining operations. Mountain top removal mining is the source of many jobs for these communities, but the mining process itself is causing environmental devastation and spreading disease through surrounding communities. This destruction has forced community members to choose between their health and their livelihood and is dividing the community into those who are “for” and “against” mountain top removal mining. This division of community goes against the traditions and values of the Appalachian hollow culture and is causing the eradication of communities, a lifestyle, a culture, and their identity.
Rebuilding Mumbai – Dreams and Reality
Authors: ATHALYE SHUBHANGI
Published: March 2013

Mumbai is described as the city that never sleeps. Life is about strife, change, getting ahead, adapting to the city's rhythms. People catch their daily, overcrowded trains and buses to work through the heavy downpour of the monsoon, through terrorist attacks, and taxi strikes. Amidst this is a city being rebuilt. Mumbai is one of the most expensive real‐estate markets in the world. We explore different aspects of Mumbai's rebuilding through the juxtaposition of old buildings with new swanky high rises, slum relocation and subsidized homes. We examine Mumbai's underbelly – who really benefits? Is the city losing its soul?
Public & Collaborative: Designing Services for Housing
Authors: MAULDIN CHELSEA
Published: March 2013

How can members of the public help create government services that are simpler and more satisfying to use? And can user‐centered public services better meet public‐policy goals, while saving government money or time? Those are the questions that the Public Policy Lab, a New York City non‐profit, is dedicated to exploring. PPL executive director Chelsea Mauldin will describe insights and pitfalls from an ongoing project – a collaboration with the NYC Department of Housing Development & Preservation and DESIS Lab, a research group at Parsons The New School for Design – to co‐design better services for housing, particularly for low‐ and moderate‐income New Yorkers, with agency staff, housing developers, community‐based organizations, and local residents in the Bronx.
Exploring the analogue – digital legibility of our behaviors
Authors: GODDEMEYER DANIEL
Published: March 2013

Cell phones have become ubiquitous devices that help us to navigate and interact with the city. We use them for almost everything from talking to emails to surfing the web. Through these interactions we leave behind geo‐local ‘data trails’ that enable assumptions and observations about our behaviors with one another and our environment.

In the context of the current hype around data this session explores questions around the use of digital data as new means for behavioral user observation and the impact of these methods on the field of user observation and field studies.
5 Facts, 3 Lessons, and 2 Rules that doing ethnography of ICT in rural China taught me
Authors: OREGLIA ELISA
Published: March 2013

In a year‐long ethnography of mobile phones and computer use in the Chinese countryside I saw unexpected uses and unexpected users of technology, I learned valuable lessons on conducting research in alien yet familiar environments, and I realized what are the two most important rules of fieldwork. In this talk, I summarize the facts (ICT devices are often gifted, not bought; ICT is for entertainment, and that's a good thing; people go online without knowing it; farmers enjoy playing Farmville; old people know a lot about the Internet even if they never used it), share the lessons (trust grandmothers, enjoy discrepant versions people give of the same facts, and do manual labor), and propose the rules (stay still, but never procrastinate interviews) from my rural Chinese year.
Work and the Future
Authors: CEFKIN MELISSA
Published: March 2013

New configurations of work are emerging. Advanced through dynamics of componentization and disintermediation, these developments promise great hope and great risk for society. In sites such as Innocentive people can self‐organize to solve vexing scientific challenges. Large‐scale work production can be managed rapidly through micro‐task labor at sites such as Mechanical Turk. These developments have the potential to liberate people from limiting and hard to secure organizational bounds while threatening to prompt de‐skilling and hamper organizations' abilities to sustain innovative practice. Work has the potential to be both more widely assessable and creative, and more fragmented and cheapened. Ethnographers are especially well positioned to perceive the changing nature of work and its societal impact.
Open Source Family: Implications for remaking and renewing notions of family
Authors: BEERS ROBIN , YEAGER JAN
Published: March 2013

Family, as a foundational structural unit of society, is undergoing a morphological shift enabled by scientific and technological advances that have expanded methods and pathways for reproductive success and are consequently pushing the boundaries of traditional forms. Single women and men, as well as gay and lesbian couples, are building families with the help of donor sperm, eggs, and surrogates and this “open source” approach to reproduction is creating new types of families and new types of family constructs. We highlight some of the factors surrounding this trend, including emergent product, service, and civic needs and the implications for ethnographers in industry to illuminate the stories and synthesize the trends surrounding these changes
Don't Clean Up And Lie Down: Ethnography and Conceptual Art
Authors: YURY CARRIE
Published: March 2013

I'm a conceptual artist and an ethnographer. Since 2006 I've been creating ethnographically inspired conceptual photographic series. Focusing on three photographic series, I discuss my research interests and how my ethnographic training and mindset have shaped my approach to making art.
Co‐renewal of a village with local residents: A case study of a fisherman's village
Authors: UGAI TAKANORI
Published: March 2013

After one year from huge earthquakes and tsunami a small village remains to be covered with the rubble. There is no indication of re‐development of the village. In this artifact, certain steps with some drawings are displayed and new‐born products are displayed to touch. The drawings are used to share ideas for their new village within the residents and to share with the local government.
dScout
Authors: Winnick Michael
Published: March 2013

Camera studies have long been a part of ethnographic praxis. Researchers have used them as a way to expand the aperture of ethnographic research, allowing participants to document their experiences. dScout is a software service that builds on the tradition of camera studies, extending it into the digital and mobile sphere.
Drivers, Behaviors, and Scenarios: A Card Game for Concept Development
Authors: CURTIS J. ALEXA , PAYNE JOHN
Published: March 2013

A set of cards created to embody key findings from fieldwork. The set includes three decks that can be explored individually, or used together as a game.
VIDEO CONFESSION BOOTH
Authors: FAULKNER SUSAN , AINSWORTH LUCAS
Published: March 2013

The Video Confession Booth is an ephemeral artifact created at EPIC to help conference‐goers share their thoughts and unload their burdens. Made of PVC pipe walls and thick curtains, the booth contains a webcam, a touch‐screen laptop and a microphone. Instructions walk the penitent through the process of creating a confession, and provocative questions prompt participation and storytelling.
Design Research for Website Visual Branding
Authors: MOHAN SHIVANI , YANG SHU‐JU
Published: March 2013

Our artifact illustrates a method that captures the impact of visual designs on consumers and provides insights for website visual branding. This method divorces visual content from text and brand so that pure impact of the visual design can be obtained. The research provides direction on which visual collateral is best aligned to specific brand strategy, balancing brand consistency and brand renewal.
Green Building Renovation: Renewal of Hardware, Software, Human Behavior and Design Process
Authors: KUBOSUMI AYA , UEDA HIROBUMI , MATSUNAMI HARUHITO
Published: March 2013

In going green, it is important not only to introduce environmentally friendly hardware or software, but also to improve people's environmental consciousness and behavior. Tenant behavior, activity, culture, and communication were investigated to implement green building solutions through interactive workshops with engineers, ethnographers and tenants. The main solution is the Building Energy & Interactive Communication System, which was designed with the service blueprint method to encourage interactive green communication between tenants and superintendent.
Diabetes Ecosystem: A tablet‐based platform for self‐navigated rich storytelling about living with type 2 diabetes
Authors: ANDERSEN HELLE ROHDE , BERTRAN ISHAC , DICKSON EILIDH , FREDERKING JULIA , GIANNI ELENA
Published: March 2013

Diabetes Ecosystem is the outcome of a research investigation for Novo Nordisk, a Danish global leader in diabetes care and innovation. The research is visualized in a tablet‐based platform for self‐navigated rich storytelling that takes the viewer through a deep dive into the everyday lives of individuals with type 2 diabetes and their personal care networks. We offer a comprehensive look into patient's lives and restore the value of user presence in executive thinking.
When to stay, when to disperse and where to go: survival and dispersal patterns in a spatially structured seabird population
Authors: Fernández‐Chacón Albert , Genovart Meritxell , Pradel Roger , Tavecchia Giacomo , Bertolero Albert , Piccardo Julia , Forero Manuela G. , Afán Isabel , Muntaner Jordi , Oro Daniel
Published: March 2013

Dispersal is a key process for the population dynamics of spatially structured populations (at local and metapopulation levels), so the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the movement of individuals in space and time is important for evolutionary and ecological studies. Here we analyzed, for the first time, a long‐term (1992–2009) multi‐site capture– recapture database collected at four local populations of a long‐lived seabird, the Audouin’s gull Larus audouinii, covering 90% of its total world population. Those local populations show different ecological and demographic features that allow us to assess the influence of several key factors involved in breeding dispersal patterns at large spatio‐temporal scales. A recently developed analytical tool in mark–recapture modelling, the multi‐event approach, allowed us to obtain separate departure and settlement probabilities and test different biological hypotheses for each step of the dispersal process. Our results revealed that site fidelity was the most common strategy among breeders, and dispersal was only high from the site with the lowest population size and habitat quality. However, departures from the two largest local populations increased over the study period in response to severe ecological perturbations. Dispersers chose different settlement patches depending on their site of origin, with settlement choices determined by the population size of the destination colony rather than by the local reproductive performance, foraging area (a proxy of food availability) or distance to the destination site. Our results indicate that a breeding site is not abandoned by breeders unless a series of cumulative perturbations occur; once dispersing, settlement is directed towards densely populated sites, with dispersers using population size to rapidly assess the quality of the breeding patch.
Serum concentration of IL‐17, IL‐23 and TNF‐α among patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria: association with disease activity and autologous serum skin test
Authors: Atwa M.A. , Emara A.S. , Youssef N. , Bayoumy N.M.
Published: March 2013

Background

Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a common skin disorder, which is considered in a subset of patients to be an autoimmune disorder. T helper 17 (Th17) cells are crucially involved in the pathogenesis of some autoimmune diseases.

Objectives

Our aim was to test the association of Th17 with CSU. We examined interleukin (IL)‐17, IL‐23 and tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) serum levels in CSU patients and studied their association with urticaria activity and autologous serum skin test (ASST).

Subjects and methods

Serum concentration of IL‐17, IL‐23 and TNF‐α were measured in 75 patients with CSU and 30 healthy control subjects. Disease activity was assessed by using urticaria activity score (UAS) as recommended by EAACI/GA2LEN/EDF/WAO Guidelines.

Results

Serum concentration of IL‐17, IL‐23 and TNF‐α were significantly higher in CSU patients as compared with the healthy control subjects (mean: 35.51 ± 31.14 vs. 4.60 ± 1.38 pg/mL; P < 0.001, 38.95 ± 27.82 vs. 9.87 ± 4.62 pg/mL; P > 0.001 and 17.93 ± 6.05 vs. 6.87 ± 3.73 pg/mL; P = 0.004, respectively). There were significant positive correlation between serum IL‐17, IL‐23, TNF‐α and disease activity assessed by cumulative UAS for 7 days before blood sampling. The Serum concentration of IL‐17, IL‐23 and TNF‐α were also significantly higher in ASST positive patients than in ASST negative patients.

Conclusion

Our results showed high serum levels of IL‐17, IL‐23 and TNF‐α among CSU patients which may highlight a functional role of these cytokines in the pathogenesis of this important and common skin disease. It also may provide the rationale for new treatment strategies in chronic urticaria.
The Hurdle Effect of Bunium persicum Essential Oil, Smoke and NaCl for Controlling the Listeria monocytogenes Growth in Fish Model Systems
Authors: Rabiey Soghra , Hosseini Hedayat , Rezaei Masoud
Published: March 2013

Application of natural antimicrobial essential oils (EOs) against foodborne pathogens has been recently developed due to consumer demand. In this study, at first step, the highest concentration of Bunium persicum (Black zira) EO without any undesirable effect on sensory properties on fillet was determined, and then the antimicrobial effect of this EO at 0.05, 0.2 and 0.4% against Listeria monocytogenes was examined in fish model systems for 12 days at 4C. Fish peptone broth, kutum broth and cold smoked kutum broth were inoculated with 104 cfu/mL L. monocytogenes. Black zira EO demonstrated strong inhibitory activity against L. monocytogenes in fish peptone broth, this efficacy significantly decreased in kutum and cold smoked kutum broth (P < 0.05). Black zira EO performance significantly stimulated in broth with 4% NaCl. L. monocytogenes growth rate in cold smoked kutum broth was significantly lower than in kutum broth. Combination of Black zira EO, smoke component, NaCl and low temperature as a Hurdle system has noticeable inhibition on L. monocytogenes growth.

Practical Applications

L. monocytogenes is one of the most important biological hazards in marine products and control of this foodborne pathogen via application of antimicrobial EOs could have a great impact on safety promotion of sea foods. This study focused on B. persicum (Black zira) because of its pleasant and proper flavor which supports the application of this EO in fish and fish products traditionally from the past times till now.

The demonstrated antibacterial activity of B. persicum EO against L. monocytogenes, recommends its application as a natural food preservative. Moreover synergistic effect between NaCl, smoke compounds and the EO in a Hurdle system increased the antibacterial activity of Black zira against L. monocytogenes.
Sexual health information seeking: a survey of adolescent practices
Authors: Whitfield Clare , Jomeen Julie , Hayter Mark , Gardiner Eric
Published: March 2013

Aims and objectives

To identify sources of information and support preferred by young people to understand adolescent practices as adolescents develop a sexual health knowledge base.

Background

Statistics suggest that adolescents are not always making safe sexual health decisions. It is essential to develop an understanding of preferred sources of information and support to structure health and education services so that adolescents develop skills and knowledge to make safer choices.

Design

A cross‐sectional survey design.

Methods

A wide‐ranging questionnaire was developed using validated questions, drawn from similar adolescent lifestyle surveys and adapted with guidance from an advisory group; 2036 13–16‐year‐olds responded. Two questions, reporting information sources adolescents find useful and sources of approachable support, are considered here.

Results

Adolescents find informal sources more useful and experience higher levels of comfort accessing informal support especially from their best friends and mothers. Of formal provision, school‐based sources are preferred; however, sexual health information seeking is gendered and changes across year groups. The range of sexual health information sources adolescents access increases with age, and how they access these information sources changes as sexual activity increases and the information becomes more relevant.

Conclusions

The findings support the targeting of sexual health provision in relation to age and gender and suggest a youth‐focused approach to formal provision, including outreach working and a collaborative relationship with adolescents and parents.

Relevance to clinical practice

The findings contribute to an understanding of sources of information and support preferred by adolescents. In particular, they need to reconsider how services external to the school may be developed so they are youth‐focused and approachable. Nurses need to consider how best to work in partnership with adolescents and their families to disseminate accurate information and develop relevant services.
Chitosan and platelet‐derived growth factor synergistically stimulate cell proliferation in gingival fibroblasts
Authors: Silva D. , Arancibia R. , Tapia C. , Acuña‐Rougier C. , Diaz‐Dosque M. , Cáceres M. , Martínez J. , Smith P. C.
Published: March 2013

Background and Objective

Chitosan is a naturally derived polymer that may be applied in periodontal therapy for tissue‐reconstruction purposes. Previous studies have shown that chitosan may stimulate tissue healing. However, reports exploring the cellular responses stimulated by chitosan are lacking. In the present study we analyzed whether chitosan may promote cell proliferation in primary cultures of human gingival fibroblasts.

Material and Methods

Chitosan particles were generated, and their size, zeta potential and morphology were characterized using transmission and scanning electron microscopy and zetasizer analysis. The biocompatibility of chitosan particles was analyzed using the 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐5‐(3‐carboxymethoxyphenyl)‐2‐(4‐sulfophenyl)‐2H‐tetrazolium (MTS)cell‐viability assay and by detecting the release of lactate dehydrogenase into the cell‐culture medium. The total number of cells was estimated by staining with crystal violet followed by measurement of the absorbance at 560 nm on a microplate reader. Cell proliferation was studied by detecting proliferating cell nuclear antigen protein levels, immunofluorescence forKi67 and incorporation of 5′‐bromo‐2′‐deoxyuridine.

Results

The sizes of the chitosan particles generated were in the micrometer and nanometer ranges. Cell viability was increased in the presence of chitosan. Moreover, the combination of chitosan and platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF‐BB) potently stimulated cell viability, cell proliferation and activation of theERK1/2 pathway involved in cell proliferation.

Conclusions

The present study shows that chitosan is well tolerated by gingival fibroblasts and is able to stimulate cell proliferation through theERK1/2 signaling pathway. A synergistic response between chitosan and growth factors (such asPDGF‐BB)may stimulate cell proliferation in gingival fibroblasts exposed to this biomaterial.
Statistics: are we related?
Authors: Scott M. , Flaherty D. , Currall J.
Published: March 2013

This short addition to our series on clinical statistics concerns relationships, and answering questions such as “are blood pressure and weight related?” In a later article, we will answer the more interesting question about how they might be related. This article follows on logically from the previous one dealing with categorical data, the major difference being here that we will consider two continuous variables, which naturally leads to the use of a Pearson correlation or occasionally to a Spearman rank correlation coefficient.
Canine breed predispositions for marked hypocobalaminaemia or decreased folate concentration assessed by a laboratory survey
Authors: Dandrieux J. R. S. , Noble P. ‐J. M. , Halladay L. J. , McLean L. , German A. J.
Published: March 2013

Objective

The aim of this study was to determine canine breed predispositions for decreased serum folate or markedly decreased cobalamin concentrations.

Methods

Retrospective analysis of samples from dogs that had serum folate and cobalamin concentrations measured, from 1990 to 2002 at the Comparative Gastroenterology Laboratory of Liverpool, were enrolled. A total of 13,069 samples were analysed. Those with trypsin‐like immunoreactivity < 5·0 lg/L were excluded, and only breeds with at least 30 individuals tested were further analyzed. Breed predisposition was determined by calculating odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for hypocobalaminaemia or decreased folate concentration. Significance was tested with a two‐sided Fisher's exact test, and the level of statistical significance was set at P<0·05.

Results

A total of 9960 dogs fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Forty breeds contained at least 30 individuals. Predispositions for hypocobalaminaemia were identified in shar peis, Staffordshire bull terriers, German shepherd dogs and mixed breeds. Predispositions for decreased folate concentration were found in golden retrievers and boxers.

Clinical Significance

Predisposition for marked hypocobalaminaemia and decreased folate concentration differed between breeds. The shar peis had a markedly increased odds ratio for hypocobalaminaemia, as previously reported in North America, but other at‐risk breeds were also identified.
Long‐term clearance of hepatitis C virus following interferon α‐2b or peginterferon α‐2b, alone or in combination with ribavirin
Authors: Manns M. P. , Pockros P. J. , Norkrans G. , Smith C. I. , Morgan T. R. , Häussinger D. , Shiffman M. L. , Hadziyannis S. J. , Schmidt W. N. , Jacobson I. M. , Bárcena R. , Schiff E. R. , Shaikh O. S. , Bacon B. , Marcellin P. , Deng W. , Esteban‐Mur R. , Poynard T. , Pedicone L. D. , Brass C. A. , Albrecht J. K. , Gordon S. C.
Published: March 2013

Sustained virologic response (SVR) is the standard measure for evaluating response to therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). The aim of this study was to prospectively assess the durability of SVR in the pivotal studies of peginterferon (PEG‐IFN) α‐2b or IFN α‐2b. We conducted two phase 3b long‐term follow‐up studies of patients previously treated for CHC in eight prospective randomized studies of IFN α‐2b and/or PEG‐IFN α‐2b. Patients who achieved SVR [undetectable hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA 24 weeks after completion of treatment] were eligible for inclusion in these follow‐up studies. In total, 636 patients with SVR following treatment with IFN α‐2b and 366 with SVR following treatment with PEG‐IFN α‐2b were enrolled. Definite relapse (quantifiable serum HCV RNA with no subsequent undetectable HCV RNA) was reported in six patients treated with IFN α‐2b and three patients treated with PEG‐IFN α‐2b. Based on these relapses, the point estimate for the likelihood of maintaining response after 5 years was 99.2% [95% confidence interval (CI), 98.1–99.7%] for IFN α‐2b and 99.4% (95% CI, 97.7–99.9%) for PEG‐IFN α‐2b. Successful treatment of hepatitis C with PEG‐IFN α‐2b or IFN α‐2b leads to clinical cure of hepatitis C in the vast majority of cases.