bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An outcomes evaluation of a leadership development initiative
Authors: Packard Thomas , Jones Loring
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to report the impact of a leadership development initiative in eight organizations and to demonstrate the use of promising evaluation methods.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study used multiple methods including surveys with quantitative and qualitative data from participants and their supervisors.

Findings

– Program participants and their supervisors reported improved on-the-job performance of participants. There were statistically significant increases in participant self-efficacy over time.

Research limitations/implications

– In this time series design, some changes may be due to factors besides the program. Limitations in self-report data, common in studies such as this, were partially mediated by the use of supervisor ratings. Future research could include more objective measures of performance.

Practical implications

– Because this evaluation reported on-the-job performance improvements for participants in a leadership development program, other organizations can adapt the program model and expect similar performance improvements. This study also advances leadership development evaluation methods by addressing on-the-job performance to a much greater extent than in past studies.

Social implications

– This study of a program training leaders in human service organizations can help similar organizations better train their leaders with expectations of improving the quality of life for clients such as families experiencing poverty, unemployment, and child abuse or neglect.

Originality/value

– This evaluation makes a unique contribution in terms of measurement of on-the-job performance of program participants in a time series design which includes ratings of supervisors and self-ratings, benefiting organizations designing such programs and evaluations of them.
Managerial effectiveness: an Indian experience
Authors: Bamel Umesh Kumar , Rangnekar Santosh , Stokes Peter , Rastogi Renu
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to conduct an investigation into the interaction of three factors: ownership (public and private sector organizations), gender (male and female), and level of manager (senior, middle, junior) in relation to the concept of effectiveness in the Indian context.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study is based on a data set of primary responses from 200 Indian executives. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was employed to retrieve and validate the instrument. Finally, 2×2×3 factorial ANOVA (GLM) was performed.

Findings

– First, the study proposes a valid and reliable measure of managerial effectiveness. Second, the interaction pattern of predictor variables in relation to managerial effectiveness provides further insights.

Practical implications

– Through its empirical evidence the study offers insight into issues of managerial effectiveness and provides suggestions for managerial action.

Originality/value

– The study attempted to gather the views of executives regarding issues of productivity, adaptability and flexibility as constructs of managerial effectiveness. Last, comparative analysis of different categories of managers (based on gender, organizational position, and institutional ownership status) provide an understanding of these issues in the Indian context.
Technology brokering in action: revolutionizing the skiing and tennis industries
Authors: Laudone Robert , Liguori Eric W. , Muldoon Jeffrey , Bendickson Josh
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to explore the true sources of innovation that revolutionized two sports industries – skiing and tennis, tracking the flow of ideas and power of technology brokering through the eyes of the innovator, Howard Head.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using a focal innovation action-set framework, the authors unite heretofore-disparate pieces of information to paint a more complete picture of the innovation and technology brokering process. Primary source material from Head’s patents, personal memoirs and journals and documented correspondence between him, his brother and his colleagues are augmented with secondary source material from periodicals, media excerpts and the academic literature.

Findings

– Head stands as an exemplar example of a technology broker, both through his serial practice of recombinant innovation and his savvy exploitation of resources. Results discredit the Great Man Theory of Innovation, while emphasizing the importance of exploiting social capital to realize opportunities.

Originality/value

– This paper is the first to offer detailed insight into the technology brokering and innovation processes that revolutionized the tennis and skiing industries. It is novel in that it is one of very few papers to challenge the Great Man Theory of Innovation propagated by many textbooks and mass media, explores the process of technology brokering from the broker’s perspective rather than organizationally and uses focal innovation action-set methodology to complement a historical biographical sketch of innovativeness relative to sports equipment and machines.
Management lore continues alive and well in the organizational sciences
Authors: Buckley M. Ronald , Baur John E. , Hardy, III Jay H. , Johnson James F. , Johnson Genevieve , MacDougall Alexandra E. , Banford Christopher G. , Bagdasarov Zhanna , Peterson David R. , Peacock Juandre
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper was to identify examples of management lore currently in the organizational sciences.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors deliberated and developed a series of examples of management lore in the organizational sciences and surveyed management practitioners concerning their beliefs in the lore hypothesized.

Findings

– Pervasive beliefs that conflict with academic research exist in management practices. Although many of these ideas are commonly accepted as immutable facts, they may be based upon faulty logic, insufficient understanding of academic research, anecdotal evidence and an overdependence upon common sense. Buckley and Eder (1988) called these as examples of management lore. In this conceptual paper, we identify and discuss 12 examples of management lore that persist in day-to-day management practices. Topics we explore include personality, emotional intelligence, teams, compensation, goals, performance, work ethic, creativity and organizational citizenship behaviors.

Originality/value

– A number of areas in which academic research gainsays what we believe to be an immutable fact.
Strategic political emphasis, strategic capabilities and uncertainty
Authors: Parnell John A
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– With heightened regulations in many nations, increasing political influence, greater emphasis on government-business partnerships, and the rapid development of emerging markets, the notion of nonmarket strategy (NMS) is now widely viewed as a key component of a firm’s overall strategic orientation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors associated with strategic political emphasis (SPE), a key part of NMS.

Design/methodology/approach

– A survey instrument including items related to competitive strategy, environmental uncertainty, strategic capability, performance, and SPE was administered to 275 managers in the USA. Strategy along Porter’s typology, strategic capabilities, uncertainty, and performance were measured via existing scales. Items were created to assess SPE.

Findings

– Managers in firms with greater SPE also reported greater uncertainty about competition and markets, and lower capabilities with regard to management and technology. Managers in organizations with weaker market orientations (MOs) – including greater uncertainty about competition and markets, and lower capabilities in management and technology – emphasized greater SPE. Managers reporting lower capability levels in their firms were more likely to report higher SPE and to have increased SPE in the last decade. Select uncertainties and capabilities – not competitive strategyper se– appears to have prompted an increase in SPE in these firms.

Originality/value

– An effective NMS is vital from the perspectives of both profit maximization for shareholders and the satisfaction of broader, social objectives. However, many executives are trained to excel in the market arena and may not have the skill set and temperament necessary for success in NMS and specifically, the political arena. Moreover, SPE and market strategies are not always consistent, challenging executives to integrate and balance the two orientations.
Perceived food security status – a case study of households in North Luwu, Indonesia
Authors: Diansari Pipi , Nanseki Teruaki
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study was to investigate the socioeconomic impact on perceived household food security in the North Luwu District of South Sulawesi Province in the eastern part of Indonesia. In Indonesia, 87 million people are presently vulnerable to food insecurity. Thus, the United Nations Development Programme’s primary millennium development goal for Indonesia is to halve the number of people who suffer from hunger by 2015. It is clear that food security at the household level is crucial to achieving this target.

Design/methodology/approach

– In total, 371 household heads were interviewed. The households’ perceptions of their food security status were captured by asking the household head the following question: “How do you perceive your household’s food security status during the last month”? Respondents could select from the following options: insecure, somewhat insecure, somewhat secure, secure and highly secure. Here, the household head’s answer is regarded as the household’s subjective food security status (SFSS). We then applied descriptive analysis and an ordered logit model to determine the socioeconomic factors that influence SFSS.

Findings

– As expected, in both analyses, household income and formal level of education have a strong relationship to SFSS. However, this study finds that food nutrition knowledge also shows a significant role in enhancing the probability that household SFSS will be in a better food security category. This could be a breakthrough in improving household food security status given the lack of formal education.

Practical implications

– Neighborhood resource-based food preparation counseling programs are essential. Existing food programs for Indonesian households should be reoriented and incorporated into the non-formal educational curriculum and should be carried out at the family level or in small groups to ensure that the message of the program is delivered effectively. In the short term, for non-farm households, the government should provide targeted households with crash programs such as revolving funds for household-level business activities. For farm households, ensuring that farming infrastructures, facilities and technologies are adequate and affordable is crucial to sustaining their production process.

Originality/value

– This is the first study to investigate the perceptions of household heads on their food security status in Indonesia. Most prior studies on household food security in Indonesia were conducted in response to Indonesia’s 1997 economic crisis and focused predominantly on Java, in the western part of Indonesia; there is little existing research on the eastern part of Indonesia. Moreover, this study is the first to emphasize the significant role of food nutrition knowledge in increasing the probability of household heads’ perceptions on their food security status being in a better category.
Effect of post rigor marination with calcium chloride on the tenderness, colour and palatability traits of buffalo meat
Authors: Rajagopal Kavitha , Oommen George T , Kuttinarayanan P. , George Sisilamma , SyamMohan K.M.
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– This study aims to assess the effects of calcium chloride marination on buffalo meat tenderness, instrumental color and palatability traits and to compare the effects with that of aging, so as to suggest a cost-effective tenderizing method to meat retailers.

Design/methodology/approach

– Buffalo longissimus thoracis (LT) steaks were marinated post-rigor with 200-mM (5 per cent w/w) calcium chloride solution and were subjected to aging at 2-4°C for eight days. The pH, water holding capacity (WHC), cooking loss, color, myofibrillar fragmentation index, Warner–Bratzler shear force and sensory quality attributes were assessed at 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 days post-mortem. The values were then compared with those of control steaks kept at the same storage conditions.

Findings

– Marination was not found to affect pH, WHC, cooking loss or color as compared to the control steaks. Tenderness was found to be improved in marinated steaks by 53.44 per cent as against 35.59 per cent in those that aged without marination. The sensory panel evaluation showed that marinated steaks significantly improved (p < 0.01) in the scores for the different attributes, and no flavor problems or alterations in cooked color were noticed.

Research limitations/implications

– The animals used in this study fall in the age group of four-eight years with one of them being four years old and the rest above the age of six years. Given the fact that, age-related increase in pyridinoline content of intramuscular collagen and cross-link formation influenced by sex can contribute to the toughness of meat in spent animals (Bosselmann et al., 1995), the variation in age of the animals under study could be regarded as a limitation of the study. But apart from one animal, all of them were more than six years old, forming more or less uniform samples.

Originality/value

– This research is of value to the meat industry or retailers. The post-rigor marination of buffalo LT steaks with 200-mM CaCl2 (5 per cent w/w) appears to be a promising measure from the view of practicability. The relative ease of operation makes it superior to other successful techniques in reducing toughness, such as electrical stimulation.
Vegetable gourds – guards of human health: a critical appraisal
Authors: Devaki C.S. , Wadikar D. D. , Patki P.E.
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of the paper was to assess the functional properties vegetable gourds & the validated health claims so as to help the future researchers to locate the gaps. However, emphasizing on the scientifically available reports was required to make information available in a nutshell to the health-conscious consumers, as well as the researcher from the area of functional foods and nutrition.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper is a mini-review of scientific findings in different studies on gourd vegetables. The approach to information collection was finding the research gaps and potential areas for future work with a nutritional perspective.

Findings

– Ash gourd, bitter gourd and bottle gourd have been extensively studied, and several health benefits and functional components have been reported, while ridge gourd, snake gourd and pointed gourd have been sparsely studied for their therapeutic benefits and the validation thereof; hence, there lies a scope for researchers.

Research limitations/implications

– The scarcity of scientific reports compared to the traditional usage and folkloric beliefs was a limitation.

Originality/value

– Understanding the nutritional potential of gourd vegetables from scientific reports may influence both the work areas and consumers in the appropriate direction.
Analysis of oral microbial community and Th17‐associated cytokines in saliva of patients with oral lichen planus
Authors: Wang Kun , Miao Tianyu , Lu Wenxin , He Jinzhi , Cui Bomiao , Li Jiyao , Li Yan , Xiao Liying
Published: February 2015

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of oral mucosa of unknown cause. Microbial infection and dysimmunity appear to play important roles in its pathogenesis. In this study, differences in genetic profiling of salivary microbial communities in two subtypes of OLP and healthy controls were evaluated by means of PCR‐denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Additionally, ELISA was used to investigate the possible role of Th17 in lesion formation by detecting two related cytokines IL‐17 and IL‐23 in the saliva of OLP patients. When the DGGE profiles were analyzed, the bacterial populations were found to be significantly less rich in subjects with reticular and erosive OLP than in healthy controls. There was significantly less microbial diversity, as denoted by the Shannon index, in saliva samples from subjects with erosive OLP than in those from healthy controls. Cluster analysis and principal component analysis showed that the DGGE profiles formed distinctly group‐specific clusters. Salivary concentrations of IL‐17 in subjects with erosive OLP group were significantly higher than in those with reticular OLP and healthy controls. What's more, significantly positive correlations were observed between salivary IL‐17 concentrations and disease clinical scores. Microbial richness and diversity was negatively correlated with salivary IL‐17 concentrations. These results suggest there is significantly less salivary bacterial diversity and complexity in subjects with OLP han in healthy controls and that the shifted community composition is closely related to an immune cytokine, IL‐17.
Effects of interaction between genetic variants in human leukocyte antigen DQ and granulysin genes in Chinese Han subjects infected with hepatitis B virus
Authors: Hou Si‐hui , Hu Jun , Zhang Yu , Li Qing‐Ling , Guo Jin‐Jun
Published: February 2015

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of HLA‐DQ and granulysin (GNLY) are reportedly associated with HBV infection. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of interactions between SNPs in HLA‐DQ and GNLY on the outcome of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in Chinese Han subjects. HLA‐DQ (rs9275572) and GNLY (rs1866139 and rs11127) were genotyped in 310 subjects with HBV‐related chronic liver disease, 295 in whom spontaneous clearance of HBV had occurred and 316 who had not been exposed to HBV. HLA‐DQ rs9275572 was significantly correlated with HBV clearance (dominant genetic model: OR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.30–2.61; adjusted P = 0.001). There was no statistical association of GNLY rs1866139 and rs11127with HBV infection outcomes. However, significant sex‐specific associations with HBV susceptibility were observed in men who carried rs1866139 CG or rs11127 TC and in women who carried rs1866139 GG or rs11127 CC. The findings were the same in the validation cohort, which was composed of 829 subjects. Based on a multifactor dimensionality reduction test with permutation correction, a three‐way interaction between SNPs in HLA‐DQ and GNLY was identified in terms of HBV clearance. In conclusion, additional evidence for an association of HLA‐DQ and GNLY SNPs with HBV infection outcomes has been identified and a SNP‐SNP interaction between HLA‐DQ and GNLY on HBV clearance observed.
Macrophages largely contribute to heterologous anti‐Propionibacterium acnes antibody‐mediated protection from Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae infection in mice
Authors: Ma Qiuyue , Sun Changjiang , Yang Feng , Wang Lei , Qin Wanhai , Xia Xiaojing , Feng Xin , Du Chongtao , Gu Jingmin , Han Wenyu , Lei Liancheng
Published: February 2015

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae is the causative agent of acute and chronic pleuropneumonia. Propionibacterium acnes is a facultative anaerobic gram‐positive corynebacterium. We have previously found that anti‐P. acnes antibodies can prevent A. pleuropneumoniae infections in mice. To investigate the role of macrophages in this process, affinity‐purified anti‐P. acnes IgG and anti‐A. pleuropneumoniae IgG were used in opsonophagocytosis assays. Additionally, the efficacy of passive immunization with P. acnes serum against A. pleuropneumoniae was tested in macrophage‐depleted mice. It was found that anti‐P. acnes IgG had an effect similar to that of anti‐A. pleuropneumoniae IgG (P > 0.05), which significantly promotes phagocytosis of A. pleuropneumoniae by macrophages (P < 0.01). It was also demonstrated that, after passive immunization with anti‐P. acnes serum, macrophage‐replete mice had the highest survival rate (90%), whereas the survival rate of macrophage‐depleted mice was only 40% (P < 0.05). However, macrophage‐depleted mice that had been passively immunized with naïve serum had the lowest survival rate (20%), this rate being lower than that of macrophage‐replete mice that had been passively immunized with naïve serum. Overall, anti‐P. acnes antibodies did not prevent A. pleuropneumoniae infection under conditions of macrophage depletion (P > 0.05). Furthermore, in mice that had been passively immunized with anti‐P. acnes serum, macrophage depletion resulted in a greater A. pleuropneumoniae burden and more severe pathological features of pneumonia in lung tissues than occurred in macrophage‐replete mice. It was concluded that macrophages are essential for the process by which anti‐P. acnes antibody prevents A. pleuropneumoniae infection in mice.
A novel growth model evaluating age–size effect on long‐term trends in tree growth
Authors: Matsushita Michinari , Takata Katsuhiko , Hitsuma Gaku , Yagihashi Tsutomu , Noguchi Mahoko , Shibata Mitsue , Masaki Takashi
Published: February 2015

One of the major problems in understanding growth trends in long‐lived trees is the difficulty of separately quantifying the effects of tree size and age. Careful statistical control of the axiomatic age×size covariation is therefore required to identify long‐term trends in tree growth and their drivers, and to predict forests' responses to environmental changes reliably.

To address this issue, we present a novel tree growth model: a ‘two‐dimensional log‐normal growth model’. This is an extension of the one‐dimensional log‐normal growth model, in which tree growth is modelled primarily as a function of size. Our model assesses the trend in tree growth over time by explicitly partitioning the effects of age and size, controlling the covariation. The model is then extended to incorporate the effects of neighbourhood crowding and individual tree variation.

To demonstrate our model, we apply it to long‐term monitoring data from a mature (104‐year‐old) plantation of Japanese cedar. Thinning operations of various intensities have been applied to this plantation, and the diameter of each individual tree has been measured repeatedly.

We observed a pronounced age‐related decline in diameter growth. However, at each age, greater tree size was associated with a higher growth rate. The growth–size curve predicted from the model became flatter with tree age, and the curve's peak shifted rightwards as tree age increased. The model reveals that the sensitivity of a target tree to neighbourhood crowding depends strongly on neighbours' size and also provides an estimate of among‐tree variation in growth performance.

Although the relationships between growth, size and age in long‐lived trees are very complex, our growth model supports the conclusion that it is possible to predict long‐term trends in tree growth reliably with respect to both age and size. In addition, the model's flexibility will facilitate more robust testing of species‐specific responses to long‐term environmental changes.
Floral colour change in the eyes of pollinators: testing possible constraints and correlated evolution
Authors: Ohashi Kazuharu , Makino Takashi T. , Arikawa Kentaro
Published: February 2015

Many of the ‘adaptive' traits in angiosperm flowers occur only in some species within a clade. One good example of such traits is floral colour change, that is the retention of old, nonreproductive, rewardless, but fully turgid flowers in an altered colour. This trait has been viewed as a plant strategy to enhance distant pollinator attraction while minimizing visits to nonreproductive flowers. Considering that the same scenario appears true for most visually oriented flower visitors, however, it is unclear why this trait does not prevail in nature.

To understand such evolutionary patterns, we conducted a screening search for floral colour change in 219 angiosperm species. We quantified spectral alterations in petals or petaloid organs and translated them into colour shifts through insect eyes. Using phylogeny‐based comparative methods, we further explored possibilities accounting for the infrequent occurrences of floral colour change: tendency of related species to resemble each other more than those randomly drawn from the phylogenetic tree (i.e. phylogenetic signal), constraints imposed through pigment coloration and their functions and evolutionary correlates of floral colour change.

Ultraviolet‐sensitive insect eyes were estimated to perceive floral colour change more often than previously noticed. We detected significant phylogenetic signal in the degree of floral colour change. The evolution of floral colour change appeared constrained by pigment chemistry, because greater changes were more likely to occur in yellow or red floral parts. Postchange colours tended to retain distant visual detectability (i.e. green‐receptor contrast), while reducing attractiveness in a close range (i.e. colour contrast), indicating another constraint imposed through the functions of pigment coloration. Data also suggest a possible evolutionary association between floral colour change and bee pollination.

Results indicate that floral colour change is scarce in nature because it primarily evolved to accommodate bees or comparable pollinators and because its occurrence was constrained by phylogenetic relatedness, pigment chemistry and ecological functions. An understanding of floral evolution thus requires considering different causalities for trait diversity in an integrative manner.
Restricting access to invasion hubs enables sustained control of an invasive vertebrate
Authors: Letnic Mike , Webb Jonathan K. , Jessop Tim S. , Dempster Tim
Published: February 2015

Biological invasions often occur through expansion of satellite populations that become established at ‘invasion hubs’. Invasion hubs can result from random dispersal events, but frequently arise when invading individuals actively choose habitats using cues that signify high‐quality environments where the fitness consequences are positive. Theoretical studies suggest that targeted control at invasion hubs can effectively suppress the populations and impacts of invaders.

In arid Australia, small dams that provide water for livestock function as invasion hubs by providing an invasive vertebrate, the cane toad Rhinella marina, with refuge from extreme aridity during the annual dry season. Toads are attracted to dams and use them as stepping stone habitats from which they disperse during rainy periods. Here, we ask whether sustained control of this invasive vertebrate can be achieved by converting invasion hubs into ecological traps. We did this by manipulating invasion hub habitats to induce a mismatch between toads' habitat preference and the fitness consequences of their habitat choice to cause high mortality.

We constructed fences to exclude toads from dams and maintained these fences for 1 year. This period encompassed periods of dry and wet seasonal climatic conditions. Our manipulation did not alter the attractive cues for invading toads which died en masse while attempting to settle at fenced dams that prevented toads from reaching water. Toad populations at the fenced dams were suppressed by 1–2 orders of magnitude compared to unfenced controls and procedural controls. Toad populations remained suppressed for a year after exclusion.

By excluding toads from dams, we converted invasion hubs into ecological traps and effectively thwarted the reinvasion of cane toads. Our research suggests that water exclusion devices could be used to prevent toad invasion or to control cane toad populations in arid landscapes colonized by toads.

Synthesis and applications. Our study demonstrates that sustained control of invader populations can be achieved by restricting their access to invasion hubs. Control of invasive species via elimination of invasion hubs could be conducted reactively, to control established populations of invaders, or conducted strategically, by rendering invasion hubs unsuitable for colonization ahead of the invasion front to prevent further population spread.
Life history evolution under climate change and its influence on the population dynamics of a long‐lived plant
Authors: Williams Jennifer L. , Jacquemyn Hans , Ochocki Brad M. , Brys Rein , Miller Tom E. X.
Published: January 2015

One of the key components of an organism's life history is the delay of reproduction until it reaches or returns to an optimal size. While we know climate can influence vital rates that shape life‐history strategies, it is also critical to understand the effects of climate change on rapid life history evolution, which might modify the influence of climate change on population dynamics.

We asked how realistic changes in temperature and precipitation influence vital rates, costs of reproduction, and ultimately, evolutionarily stable (ES) flowering size in a long‐lived perennial plant, Orchis purpurea. We also explored how evolution of flowering size could influence population persistence under changing climate.

Our approach combined model selection methods to characterize climate dependence in vital rates, stochastic integral projection models to integrate vital rates into an estimate of fitness, and adaptive dynamics to identify ES flowering sizes.

Vital rates responded uniquely to seasonal temperature and precipitation, with the largest response in the size‐dependent probability of flowering. The predicted ES flowering size closely matched that observed, and responded strongly to adjusting the frequencies of extreme climate years. For example, increasing the frequency of extreme drought conditions was predicted to favour smaller reproductive sizes (and hence a shorter reproductive delay), despite observation that smaller plants were less likely to flower in dry years. This apparent discrepancy stems from a smaller payoff to delaying reproduction due to lower costs of reproduction in dry years.

The model of stochastic population dynamics predicted long‐term persistence of the focal populations, even under the most extreme climate scenarios, while incorporating rapid life history evolution into predictions reduced the sensitivity of population growth to changing climate.

Synthesis. Our results illustrate that long‐lived organisms can exhibit complex demographic responses to changing climate regimes. Additionally, they highlight that long‐term evolutionary responses may be in opposing directions from short‐term plastic responses to climate and emphasize the need for demographic models to integrate ecological and evolutionary influences of climate across the life cycle.
A combined parasitological molecular approach for noninvasive characterization of parasitic nematode communities in wild hosts
Authors: Budischak Sarah A. , Hoberg Eric P. , Abrams Art , Jolles Anna E. , Ezenwa Vanessa O.
Published: February 2015

Most hosts are concurrently or sequentially infected with multiple parasites; thus, fully understanding interactions between individual parasite species and their hosts depends on accurate characterization of the parasite community. For parasitic nematodes, noninvasive methods for obtaining quantitative, species‐specific infection data in wildlife are often unreliable. Consequently, characterization of gastrointestinal nematode communities of wild hosts has largely relied on lethal sampling to isolate and enumerate adult worms directly from the tissues of dead hosts. The necessity of lethal sampling severely restricts the host species that can be studied, the adequacy of sample sizes to assess diversity, the geographic scope of collections and the research questions that can be addressed. Focusing on gastrointestinal nematodes of wild African buffalo, we evaluated whether accurate characterization of nematode communities could be made using a noninvasive technique that combined conventional parasitological approaches with molecular barcoding. To establish the reliability of this new method, we compared estimates of gastrointestinal nematode abundance, prevalence, richness and community composition derived from lethal sampling with estimates derived from our noninvasive approach. Our noninvasive technique accurately estimated total and species‐specific worm abundances, as well as worm prevalence and community composition when compared to the lethal sampling method. Importantly, the rate of parasite species discovery was similar for both methods, and only a modest number of barcoded larvae (n = 10) were needed to capture key aspects of parasite community composition. Overall, this new noninvasive strategy offers numerous advantages over lethal sampling methods for studying nematode–host interactions in wildlife and can readily be applied to a range of study systems.
Cost comparison of re‐usable and single‐use fibrescopes in a large English teaching hospital
Authors: McCahon R. A. , Whynes D. K.
Published: January 2015

A number of studies in the USA and mainland Europe have described the costs of fibreoptic tracheal intubation. However, no such data from the UK appear available. We performed a cost assessment of fibreoptic intubation, using re‐usable (various devices from Olympus, Acutronic and Karl Storz) and single‐use (Ambu® aScope™) fibrescopes, at the Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham, UK, between 1 January 2009 and 31 March 2014. The total annual cost of fibreoptic intubation with re‐usable fibrescopes was £46 385. Based on 141 fibreoptic intubations per year, this equated to £329 per use, an average dominated by repair/maintenance costs (43%) and capital depreciation costs (42%). In comparison, the total annual cost of using single‐use fibrescopes for the same work would have been around £200 per use. The analysis enabled us to develop a generic model, wherein we were able to describe the relationship between total cost of use vs number of uses for a fibrescope. An ‘isopleth’ was identified for this relationship: a line that joined all the points where the cost of re‐usable vs single‐use fibrescopes was equal. It appears cheaper to use single‐use fibrescopes at up to 200 fibreoptic intubations per year (a range commensurate with normal practice) even when the repair rate for re‐usable fibrescopes is low. Any centre, knowing its fibrescope use and repair rate, can plot its data similarly to help ascertain which of the re‐usable or single‐use fibrescope represents better value.
What are the demographic predictors in laparoscopic simulator performance?
Authors: Lin Diwei , Pena Guilherme , Field John , Altree Meryl , Marlow Nicholas , Babidge Wendy , Hewett Peter , Maddern Guy
Published: February 2015

Background

Simulation is playing an increasingly important role in surgical education. There are a number of laparoscopic simulators of which the design and tasks vary considerably. It is unknown if any particular type may result in better outcomes for a specific population. This study assesses the predictors of acquisition of basic surgical skills on two different laparoscopic simulators.

Methods

Participants (n = 370) were randomized to be trained and assessed using either a fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery (FLS) or a LapSim (Surgical Science, Goteborg, Sweden) simulator. The number of attempts required to reach proficiency on individual tasks and on each simulator was recorded and compared with demographic data and surgical experience.

Result

Skills acquisition on both simulators was positively affected by surgical experience. Gender was an influential factor on the LapSim with men reaching proficiency sooner than women. The effect of gaming had no clear influence on the participants' scores; however, for those who reported more than 1 h/week gaming, it had a positive influence on skills acquisition on the FLS and a negative influence on the LapSim. Playing a musical instrument had no impact. Practising non‐surgical tasks requiring manual dexterity and handedness were not an influential factor in total proficient scores, but had a significant impact on individual task scores on the FLS simulator.

Conclusions

The rate of skills acquisition on each simulator and individual tasks are influenced by different demographic characteristics of the participants. This has implications for surgical education as it may inform the selection of the most suitable laparoscopic simulators for specific populations of trainees.
Study findings challenge the content validity of the Canadian Consensus Criteria for adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome
Authors: Asprusten Tarjei Tørre , Fagermoen Even , Sulheim Dag , Skovlund Eva , Sørensen Øystein , Mollnes Tom Eirik , Wyller Vegard Bruun
Published: January 2015

Aim

The 2003 Canadian Consensus Criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) are often assumed to suggest low‐grade systemic inflammation, but have never been formally validated. This study explored the content validity of the Criteria in a sample of adolescents with CFS selected according to a wide case definition.

Methods

A total of 120 patients with CFS with a mean age of 15.4 years (range 12–18 years) included in the NorCAPITAL project were post hoc subgrouped according to the Canadian Consensus Criteria. Those who satisfied the criteria (Criteria positive) and those who did not (Criteria negative) were compared across a wide range of disease markers and markers of prognosis.

Results

A total of 46 patients were classified as Criteria positive, 69 were classified as Criteria negative, and five could not be classified. All disease markers were equal across the two groups, except the digit span backward test of cognitive function, which showed poorer performance in the Criteria‐positive group. Also, the prognosis over a 30‐week period was equal between the groups.

Conclusion

This study questions the content validity of the Canadian Consensus Criteria, as few differences were found between adolescent patients with CFS who did and did not satisfy the Criteria.
Involvement of Spinal Bv8/Prokineticin 2 in a Rat Model of Cancer‐Induced Bone Pain
Authors: Hang Li‐Hua , Luo Hong , Li Shu‐Na , Shu Wei‐Wei , Chen Zheng , Chen Yuan‐Feng , Yuan Ju‐Fang , Shi Lei‐Lei , Shao Dong‐Hua
Published: January 2015

Cancer‐induced bone pain (CIBP) is seriously disruptive to the quality of life in cancer patients, and present therapies are limited. The Bv8/prokineticin 2, a new family of chemokines, has been demonstrated to be involved in inflammatory and neuropathic pain. However, whether it is involved in CIBP remains unclear. This study was designed to examine whether spinal Bv8 was involved in the development of CIBP in rats. A rat CIBP model was constructed by injecting Walker 256 carcinoma cells into the medullary cavity of rat tibia. Tibia inoculation with Walker 256 tumour cells resulted in the development of mechanical hyperalgesia. Compared with sham rats, spinal Bv8 mRNA and protein levels were markedly and time‐dependently increased in CIBP rats. Intrathecal administration of Bv8 neutralizing antibody (5 ng) could markedly attenuate pain behaviour as well as up‐regulation of spinal TNF‐α expression at day 18 after inoculation. Intrathecal pre‐treatment with synthetic Bv8 (50 pg) almost completely abolished these effects. These data suggested that spinal Bv8/prokineticin 2 participated in the development of CIBP. Targeting of spinal Bv8 might be a promising strategy for the management of cancer‐induced bone pain.
On the Alleged Right to Participate in High‐Risk Research
Authors: Różyńska Joanna
Published: February 2015

Reigning regulatory frameworks for biomedical research impose on researchers and research ethics committees an obligation to protect research participants from risks that are unnecessary, disproportionate to potential research benefits, and non‐minimized. Where the research has no potential to produce results of direct benefit to the subjects and the subjects are unable to give consent, these requirements are strengthened by an additional condition, that risks should not exceed a certain minimal threshold. In this article, I address the question of whether there should be limits of permissible risks in non‐therapeutic research involving competent and healthy subjects. Some commentators argue that competent and informed individuals should have a right to participate even in extremely risky research and that research ethics committees should never reject studies because they are too dangerous. To use David Shaw's expression, competent volunteers should have ‘a right to participate in high‐risk research’. I argue that this idea is ill‐founded, as it does not take into account the social mission and complex collaborative nature of research practice as well as the inequity of power between researchers and subjects. Imposition of limits on permissible risks for healthy volunteers is justified by the need to protect research enterprise and the need to protect the weaker party, namely the subjects. Also, I suggest that the best way to set boundaries on research risks is to leave the judgment of risk acceptability to research ethics committees.
Tumor‐suppressive microRNA‐145 induces growth arrest by targeting SENP1 in human prostate cancer cells
Authors: Wang Chunyang , Tao Weiyang , Ni Shaobin , Chen Qiyin , Zhao Zhongshan , Ma Li , Fu Yiming , Jiao Zhixing
Published: February 2015

Prostate cancer (PCa) prevails as the most commonly diagnosed malignancy in men and the third leading cause of cancer‐related deaths in developed countries. One of the distinct characteristics of prostate cancer is overexpression of the small ubiquitin‐like modifier (SUMO)‐specific protease 1 (SENP1), and the upregulation of SENP1 contributes to the malignant progression and cell proliferation of PCa. Previous studies have shown that the expression of microRNA‐145 (miRNA‐145) was extensively deregulated in PCa cell lines and primary clinical prostate cancer samples. Independent target prediction methods have indicated that the 3′‐untranslated region of SENP1 mRNA is a potential target of miR‐145. Here we found that low expression of miR‐145 was correlated with high expression of SENP1 in PCa cell line PC‐3. The transient introduction of miR‐145 caused cell cycle arrest in PC‐3 cells, and the opposite effect was observed when miR‐145 inhibitor was transfected. Further studies revealed that the SENP1 3′‐untranslated region was a regulative target of miR‐145 in vitro. MicroRNA‐145 also suppressed tumor formation in vivo in nude mice. Taken together, miR‐145 plays an important role in tumorigenesis of PCa through interfering SENP1.
Proportions of several types of plasma and urine microparticles are increased in patients with rheumatoid arthritis with active disease
Authors: Viñuela-Berni V , Doníz-Padilla L , Figueroa-Vega N , Portillo-Salazar H , Abud-Mendoza C , Baranda L , González-Amaro R
Published: January 2015

We analysed the proportions of different microparticles (MPs) in plasma from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and assessed their relationship with disease activity/therapy and their in-vitro effect on proinflammatory cytokine release. Blood and urine samples were obtained from 55 patients with RA (24 untreated and 31 under conventional therapy) and 20 healthy subjects. Fourteen patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were also studied. The proportions of CD3+, CD14+, CD19+, CD41+ and CD62E+ MPs were determined by flow cytometry analysis. The in-vitro effect of plasma MPs on the release of interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, IL-17 and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α was also analysed. We detected that the proportions of different types of annexin-V+ MPs were enhanced in plasma (CD3+, CD14+, CD19+, CD41+ and CD62E+ MPs) and urine (CD14+, CD3+ and CD19+ MPs) from RA patients with high disease activity (DAS28 index > 5·1). Accordingly, a significant positive correlation was observed between the levels of MPs and DAS28 score, and these levels diminished significantly at week 4 of immunosuppressive therapy. Finally, MPs isolated from patients with high disease activity induced, in vitro, an enhanced release of IL-1, IL-17 and TNF-α. In SLE, enhanced levels of different types of plasma MPs were also detected, with a tight correlation with disease activity. Our data further support that MPs have a relevant role in the pathogenesis of RA and suggest that the analysis of the proportions of these microvesicles in plasma could be useful to monitor disease activity and therapy response in patients with RA.
RETRACTED: Xenografts Supplemented with Pamindronate placed in postextraction sockets to avoid crestal bone resorption. Experimental study in Fox hound dogs
Authors: Lozano‐Carrascal Naroa , Delgado‐Ruiz Rafael arcesio , Gargallo‐Albiol Jordi , Maté‐Sánchez José Eduardo , Hernandez Alfaro Federico , Calvo‐Guirado José Luis
Published: January 2015

Objectives

The aim of the study was to compare the effects of porcine xenografts (MP3®) with or without pamindronate for the healing of small and large defects of postextraction sockets.

Materials and methods

Six beagle dogs were used in the study; second premolars and first molars of the mandible were extracted, small defects (SD) and large defects (LD) were identified. Each defect was measured and randomly filled as follows: SC (small control defects filled with MP3® alone), ST (small test defects filled with MP3® modified with pamindronate), LC (large control defects filled with MP3® alone), LT (large test defects filled with MP3® modified with pamindronate). After 4 and 8 weeks, the animals were euthanized and the percentages of new bone formation (NB), residual graft (RG) and connective tissue (CT) were analysed by histology and histomorphometry of undecalcified samples.

Results

After 4 weeks, NB formation was higher for ST compared to all groups and for LT compared to LC (P < 0.05); RG was significantly higher in both control groups compared to tests (P < 0.05); and CT was higher in large defects (LC and LT) compared to small defects. After 8 weeks, NB formation was higher for test groups (ST and LT) compared to controls (P < 0.05); RG was significantly higher in both control groups compared to tests (P < 0.05); and CT was higher in large defects (LC and LT) compared to small defects (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

Within the limitations of this experimental study, the findings suggest that porcine xenografts modified with pamindronate favours the new bone formation and increased the porcine xenograft substitution/replacement after 4 and 8 weeks of healing.
Stimulation of EphB2/ephrin‐B1 signalling by tumour necrosis factor alpha in human dental pulp stem cells
Authors: Zhu Lifang , Dissanayaka Waruna Lakmal , Green David William , Zhang Chengfei
Published: February 2015

Objectives

The aim of this study was to investigate whether in vitro stimulation of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) by tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α) would induce secretion of EphB2/ephrin‐B1 signalling.

Materials and methods

Dental pulp stem cells isolated from human dental pulp were treated with TNF‐α (5–100 ng/ml) over 2–48 h. EphB2/ephrin‐B1 mRNA and protein levels were measured by real‐time polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) and western blot analysis respectively. Additionally, DPSCs were pre‐incubated with TNF‐α receptor neutralizing antibodies or infected with nuclear factor‐kappa B (NF‐ĸB) inhibitor, p38 MAPK inhibitor, Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor and MEK inhibitor before TNF‐α treatment. Results were analysed by one‐way ANOVA.

Results

Tumour necrosis factor alpha increased EphB2 mRNA expression in DPSCs at concentrations up to 20 ng/ml and ephrin‐B1 at concentrations up to 40 ng/ml (P < 0.05). Its mRNA expression reached maximum at 24 h when treated with TNF‐α at 20 ng/ml (P < 0.05). EphB2/ephrin‐B1 protein expression levels were high at 16 and 24 h as shown by western blotting. Neutralizing antibodies for TNFR1/2 receptors down‐regulated EphB2/ephrin‐B1 mRNA expression (P < 0.05) and ephrin‐B1 protein expression, but not EphB2 protein expression. JNK‐inhibitor inhibited EphB2 mRNA expression only (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

EphB2/ephrin‐B1 were invoked in DPSCs with TNF‐α treatment via the JNK‐dependent pathway, but not NF‐ĸB, p38 MAPK or MEK signalling.