bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Carcino-Sarcoma in a Case of Syringocystadenoma Papilliferum: A Rare Entity
Authors: Bakhshi Girish D. , Wankhede Kishor R. , Tayade Mukund B. , Shenoy Sachin S. , Gore Sandeep T. , Valand Arvind G.
Published: July 2012

Syringocystadenocarcinoma papilliferum is a rare form of adenocarcinoma of the skin. It is the malignant counterpart of syringocystadenoma papilliferum (SCAP). It usually develops on the scalp in a long-standing lesion identified clinically as SCAP. Twelve cases of syringocystadenocarcinoma papilliferum have been reported in literature, with limited information regarding its clinical and histological characteristics. Sarcomatous change in a case of SCAP has not been reported in literature till date to the best of our knowledge. We present the first case of syringocystadenocarcino-sarcoma papilliferum in a middle-aged female with a satellite lesion over the scalp.
Ouverture de 'Market-Driven Management and Global Markets - 1'
Authors: Brondoni Silvio M.
Published: July 2012

The serious financial crisis that has hit the ‘Western’ world will generate longterm effects and the emergency measures adopted by the more responsible Governments to offset the credit paralysis (support to the mortgage market, public investment in key sectors, incentives to mass consumption, etc.) will take years (at least two to four) to produce positive consequences in the real economy of domestic and international markets. Globalisation and new competition boundaries thus force companies to adopt a new ‘philosophy of market-oriented competitive management’ (‘market-driven management’), which reformulates the traditional marketing management approach, introduced in the 1950s by Alfred P. Sloan of GM. In fact, marketing management presuppose an understanding of demand (and above all of its segments). With market-driven management on the other hand, market orientation helps to identify a temporary competition space, in  ther works a ‘demand vacuum’, which must be maintained highly unstable, by constant innovative proposals.  In global, over-supplied markets, where consumers are increasingly voluble and disloyal, market-driven management is very attractive because it favours: 1. activities focused on the profitability of competition, rather than on mere customer satisfaction; 2. market policies based on innovation and competitive pricing; 3. and finally, even very short-term performance metrics.
Market-Driven Management: the Policy Implications
Authors: Bellini Nicola
Published: July 2012

The first policy implication of the diffusion of a Market-Driven Management approach is the same as the spreading of globalization, i.e. the obsolescence of industrial policies as traditionally designed and managed by Nation-States with the established toolbox of protectionism and subsidies, picking ‘national champions’, etc. The growing asymmetry between the physical jurisdiction of political bodies and the global operation space of modern corporations feeds the apparent trend toward company ‘denationalization’.
Market-Driven Management in Fashion and Luxury Industries
Authors: Mosca Fabrizio
Published: July 2012

The Market-Driven Management requires that the continuous attention to customers is combined to constant and direct competition in all reference markets. The Market-Driven Management, in the specific context of companies competing in the fashion and luxury industries can be traced back to three main factors: a growing attention to brand equity; the reinforcement of the direct relationships with final consumers; the improvement of the information flow management system.
Ouverture de 'Market-Driven Management and Global Markets - 2'
Authors: Brondoni Silvio M.
Published: July 2012

Global markets endorse the principles of market-space competition, where competition space represents a factor of competition. Firms compete with one another in extensive markets, without geographical and administrative boundaries; they adopt highly flexible managerial directions, featuring the absolute predominance of intangible assets and aimed at exploiting  global economies of scale, focused on dimension and relationship. Global markets redefine market-space competition and substantiate global managerial economics. The distinctive features of these are: asset management without physical or administrative limits; increasingly sophisticated products which are rapidly rendered obsolete because they are easily imitable at decreasing cost; competitive interrelations, developed between transnational networks, which go far beyond the multinational (or multidomestic). Globalisation changes corporate organisation and the role of strategic alliances, imposing collaborative network strategies on groups of firms with competitive relations; these then tend to form ‘closed’ relationships of cooperation to pursue a global vision in keeping with their huge corporate size.
Ouverture de ‘Market-Driven Management and Competitive Customer Value – 1’
Authors: Brondoni Silvio M.
Published: July 2012

The globalisation of the market generates unprecedented over-supply well in excess of the market potential. This oversupply thus becomes a structural factor of development. In open markets, global competition has set new rules (manufacturing delocalisation, global distribution players, competitive imitation, instable and non-loyal consumption) which have significantly scaled down the model of economic development based on the isolated small and medium sized enterprise without global networking relations. Instead they emphasise the importance of a robust national development policy based on the ‘identity of the industrial system’, in other words on precise ‘intangible macro-system factors’.
Market-Driven Management, Competitive Customer Value and Global Networks
Authors: Brondoni Silvio M.
Published: July 2012

Market-Driven Management is a corporate strategy that presupposes direct, continuous benchmarking with competitors, in a context of customer value management. Market-driven management therefore favours an ‘outside-in’ vision, based on: the identification of products with a higher value than that of the competition to provoke the intersection with demand (‘Before and Better than Competitors’). In global over-supplied markets, a firm’s success is conditioned rather by the intensity of the presence and by the level of sophistication of intangible corporate asset; in other words, the peculiar managerial capabilities that regard brand equity, information system and corporate culture.
Market-Driven Management as Entrepreneurial Approach
Authors: Vallini Carlo , Simoni Christian
Published: July 2012

Entrepreneurship is traditionally considered as an ‘outward-looking’ phenomenon. Entrepreneurs initiate change by identifying and starting new trading opportunities, related to improved versions of existing commodities or new product or service concepts, which have been until then unknown to other agents. Market-driven management is not posited to be an alternative to entrepreneurial management, a surrogate or even a better substitute to entrepreneurship. They are, rather, two different theoretical constructs that can be fully integrated. Value creation and appropriation within the market is the node of the relationship between entrepreneurship and market-driven management.
Global Account Management for Sales Organization in Multinational Companies
Authors: Canegrati Tino
Published: July 2012

A Global Company is not just a Multinational Company, but on top it has developed an organizational structure, an overall governance and a set of operational decision making processes which allow running a significant percentage of business processes as a unique body across borders. Successful Global Companies have a clear setup and governance of local versus centralized decision making processes, as well as budget ownership Corporations focused on global opportunities need to re-think their customer approach, namely in terms of set up of their sales force, and more specifically planning, a transformation from national based to international managed sales organization for those specific customers.
Market-Driven Management, Global Competition and Corporate Responsibility
Authors: Arrigo Elisa
Published: July 2012

The aim of the paper is to define the role of corporate responsibility in sustainable development of global firms. To be successful, global firms must be on the alert of emerging environmental trends and do their best to improve the corporate performance in line with key stakeholder expectations. In this respect, the management of corporate social responsibility highlights the criticality of the corporate intangible assets system and the need for overall assessment of corporate performance - not only financial performance but social too.
Ouverture de ‘Market-Driven Management and Competitive Customer Value-2’
Authors: Lambin Jean-Jacques
Published: July 2012

The economic and financial crisis has generated numerous articles announcing the end of the capitalistic system. As a matter of fact, such considerations regarding the capitalistic system abandonment are highly nebulous and surely leave us very perplexed. Nowadays, almost all the markets are global and in global markets doesn’t exist any right that would regulate the economy. Nevertheless, we wonder if the capitalist system could evolve towards a sustainable economic growth. For the corporations the challenge is considerable: how to reconcile the profitability and the reduction of waste and pollution?
Market-Driven Management and Relations Between Banks and Corporations
Authors: Gandini Giuseppina
Published: July 2012

Many banks, particularly local banks, use standard evaluation systems that often do not allow specific and detailed analysis of the different businesses which, on the contrary, should be encouraged to improve their corporate performance, particularly by trying to demonstrate that they are containing the risk of probable insolvency. The need to recover a governance structure that is effective for a collaborative relationship with banks entails a review of how organs are composed, and of the appointment, delegation and remuneration system to improve operating effectiveness. This means paying even greater attention to the corporate culture and the construction of more structured governance models.
Market-Driven Management, Market Space and Value Proposition
Authors: Gnecchi Flavio
Published: July 2012

In over-supplied markets, companies that have developed market-driven management policies have proved to be able to sustain their proposals, to achieve remunerative income flows and to generate financial resources. A market-driven company is aware of the fact that the opportunities embodied by globalisation are not limited to a mere advantage in terms of reduced costs, but generate conditions for a competitive approach to the market. By revisiting the concept of ‘space’, market-driven businesses focus their commitment on understanding the customer’s assessment; they therefore define their own supply so that they can propose performance that is superior to that guaranteed by competitors. In this context, which determines a clear value proposition, companies have realised that by developing market-space management they can not only modify relations with customers, but even foster the development of collaboration agreements with partners (strategic alliances).
Market-Driven Management and Global Economies of Scale
Authors: Storlazzi Alessandra
Published: July 2012

In market-driven management, dominated by competitive customer value, economies of intensity of sharing, or synergies, can be linked to global economies of scale. A market-driven management strategy radically alters the interpretation perspective of the issue of synergies. In market-driven management, synergies or economies of intensity of sharing do not derive from ‘pooling resources’ in order to saturate manufacturing capacity better, but from exploiting a store of skills to support different businesses. The cases presented (Geox and Yamamay) regard companies that can be defined as competitive customer value oriented, partly as a result of their capacity to exploit economies of intensity of sharing, by synergetic recourse to their basic skills.
Market-Driven Management and Global Supply Chain
Authors: Faraoni Monica , Petretto Lorenzo
Published: July 2012

Globalization and over-supply have pushed companies to face new competitive challenges. In such a competitive space, a new approach in managing the supply chains and the consequent optimization of material flows and intangible assets plays a crucial role for improving long-term performances of both individuals belonging to the chain and the entire supply chain. Companies are part of a systematic network of companies and an efficient management of the network allows to reduce the time-to-market for launching new products, to increase the ability to collaborate with value-chain partners and the ability to generate greater value for the customers.
Six Classic Distribution Paradigms for Global Marketing Channel Strategy
Authors: Rosenbloom Bert
Published: July 2012

Global marketing has become an established fact of life for more and more businesses. Along with the large multinational corporations that have been operating on a global scale for decades, many middle market or even relatively small firms have already or will soon need to enter the global marketplace to enhance their long-term viability (Czinkota et al 1995). The growth of Internetbased e-commerce has accelerated this global trend. Marketing channels which provide the institutional structure that connects firms to the markets they serve have not escaped this global environment. In today’s world, marketing channel structure and strategy must be formulated in the context of globalization. The six distribution channel paradigms discussed are characterized as ‘classic’ because they have all appeared in the scholarly literature associated with marketing channels and distribution systems for many years and in some cases many decades.
Retailers, Frontiers of Innovation and Local Legislative Constraints
Authors: Tassinari Vincenzo
Published: July 2012

The role of retail has deeply changed over the last years. Today, large scale retailers are no longer perceived as mere sellers of products. A modern, advanced retailer, must be able to innovate and enrich the value of the offer throughout its network, integrating more and more goods and services under an umbrella brand that increases distinctiveness and loyalty. In order to do so, it is necessary to have an entrepreneurial ability oriented towards evolution of demand, a socially-focused company mission, but also a legislative landscape that allows for this innovation process.
Management Control in Global Mass Market Retailers
Authors: Gennari Francesca
Published: July 2012

For large retail firms, management control is a valid tool with which to face the competition of global markets and to manage corporate complexity. The management control systems of global retailers have specific characteristics that stem from the geographical dispersion of their organisational units and frequently from the existence of cooperative alliances with other companies
Market-Driven Management, Global Markets and Competitive Convergence
Authors: Rancati Elisa
Published: July 2012

Global markets redefine competition space, fostering a collaborative network between companies (market-driven management). Globalisation causes previously distinct global economies to converge into a single large market, thus generating fusion between competitive environments that are not only differentiated but also often very distant (competitive convergence).
Ouverture de ‘Intangible Assets & Global Competition’
Authors: Brondoni Silvio M.
Published: July 2012

Since the early ‘80s, the global economy has radically changed companies, manufacturing system and products. Global managerial economics demands ramified, far-flung and strongly interconnected organisations (networks). These complex structures favour knowledge management skills, competitive alliances and outsourcing agreements (with co-makers and external partners). Market-space competition also emphasises global economies of scale, whose value does not depend on the level of exploitation of elementary manufacturing factors but on the ‘intensity of sharing’ of specific resources in a networking system. In highly competitive markets, therefore, lasting corporate development does not depend primarily on the volumes of individual products (easily imitated in their tangible characteristics). In fact, corporate success on global markets is conditioned more by the level of sophistication of the intangible assets, developed, maintained and even modified, with targeted spending and investment plans.
Corporate Sustainability, Intangible Assets Accumulation and Competitive Advantage Constraints
Authors: Perrini Francesco , Vurro Clodia
Published: July 2012

The article bridges corporate sustainability (CS) and intangibles, deepening the mechanisms linking specific stakeholder-related CS policies and practices to intangible asset accumulation and competitive outcomes. The implementation of CS strategies, practices and processes strengthens company ability to identify, protect and give value to inimitable resources, stimulating the development of intangibles related to human capital, innovation and knowledge, culture and reputation.
The Cost of Managing Intangibles in Global Markets
Authors: Corniani Margherita
Published: July 2012

Intangibles are often become the most critical resources for businesses in global competitive markets. Thus, intangible assets and resources must be managed adopting specific strategies that determine costs with different patterns over time: expenses (with a short term span) and investments (with a medium to long term span) and with different underling explications (discretional and causal costs).
Innovation and Market-Driven Management in Fast Fashion Companies
Authors: Arrigo Elisa
Published: July 2012

In hyper-competitive markets, innovation is critical for the growth of marketdriven companies. An examination of case studies of highly competitive global companies in the fast fashion sector, reveals that detailed understanding of the market, deriving from direct management of their stores, enables Zara, Gap and H&M to develop an innovation management capability. This is a fundamental competitive driver for the company’s success.
Market-Driven Management: A Critical Literature Review
Authors: Gordini Niccolò
Published: July 2012

In global markets the firms adopt a market–driven approach characterized by a careful monitoring of the competition and by the development of high skills in understanding the market and its stakeholders, in order to choose the most suitable competitive strategy. The paper provides a critical review of the main literature on market-driven management, analysing its evolution from Japan to the USA and Europe.
Debt, Deleveraging and Business Cycles: An Agent-Based Perspective
Authors: Raberto Marco , Teglio Andrea , Cincotti Silvano
Published: July 2012

The recent financial crises pointed out the central role of public and private debt in modern economies. However, even if debt is a recurring topic in discussions about the current economic situation, economic modeling does not take into account debt as one of the crucial determinants of economic dynamics. The authors’ contribution, in this paper, is to investigate the issues of borrowing and debt load by means of computational experiments, performed in the environment of the agent-based Eurace simulator. The authors aim to shed some light on the relation between debt and main economic indicators. Their results clearly confirm that the amount of credit in the economy is a very important variable, which can affect economic performance in a twofold way: fostering growth or pushing the economy into recession or crisis. The outcomes of their computational experiments show a rich scenario of interactions between real and financial variables in the economy, and therefore represent a truly innovative tool for the study of economics.
Tropospheric methanol observations from space: retrieval evaluation and constraints on the seasonality of biogenic emissions
Authors: Wells K. C. , Millet D. B. , Hu L. , Cady-Pereira K. E. , Xiao Y. , Shephard M. W. , Clerbaux C. L. , Clarisse L. , Coheur P.-F. , Apel E. C. , de Gouw J. , Warneke C. , Singh H. B. , Goldstein A. H. , Sive B. C.
Published: July 2012

Abstract. Methanol retrievals from nadir-viewing space-based sensors offer powerful new information for quantifying methanol emissions on a global scale. Here we apply an ensemble of aircraft observations over North America to evaluate new methanol measurements from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) on the Aura satellite, and combine the TES data with observations from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) on the MetOp-A satellite to investigate the seasonality of methanol emissions from northern midlatitude ecosystems. Using the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model as an intercomparison platform, we find that the TES retrieval performs well when the degrees of freedom for signal (DOFS) are above 0.5, in which case the model:TES regressions are generally consistent with the model:aircraft comparisons. Including retrievals with DOFS below 0.5 degrades the comparisons, as these are excessively influenced by the a priori. The comparisons suggest DOFS >0.5 as a minimum threshold for interpreting retrievals of trace gases with a weak tropospheric signal. We analyze one full year of satellite observations and find that GEOS-Chem, driven with MEGANv2.1 biogenic emissions, underestimates observed methanol concentrations throughout the midlatitudes in springtime, with the timing of the seasonal peak in model emissions 1–2 months too late. We attribute this discrepancy to an underestimate of emissions from new leaves in MEGAN, and apply the satellite data to better quantify the seasonal change in methanol emissions for midlatitude ecosystems. The derived parameters (relative emission factors of 11.0, 0.26, 0.12 and 3.0 for new, growing, mature, and old leaves, respectively, plus a leaf area index activity factor of 0.5 for expanding canopies with leaf area index <1.2) provide a more realistic simulation of seasonal methanol concentrations in midlatitudes on the basis of both the IASI and TES measurements.
Middle atmosphere response to different descriptions of the 11-yr solar cycle in spectral irradiance in a chemistry-climate model
Authors: Swartz W. H. , Stolarski R. S. , Oman L. D. , Fleming E. L. , Jackman C. H.
Published: July 2012

Abstract. The 11-yr solar cycle in solar spectral irradiance (SSI) inferred from measurements by the SOlar Radiation & Climate Experiment (SORCE) suggests a much larger variation in the ultraviolet than previously accepted. We present middle atmosphere ozone and temperature responses to the solar cycles in SORCE SSI and the ubiquitous Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) SSI reconstruction using the Goddard Earth Observing System chemistry-climate model (GEOSCCM). The results are largely consistent with other recent modeling studies. The modeled ozone response is positive throughout the stratosphere and lower mesosphere using the NRL SSI, while the SORCE SSI produces a response that is larger in the lower stratosphere but out of phase with respect to total solar irradiance above 45 km. The modeled responses in total ozone are similar to those derived from satellite and ground-based measurements, 3–6 Dobson Units per 100 units of 10.7-cm radio flux (F10.7) in the tropics. The peak zonal mean tropical temperature response using the SORCE SSI is nearly 2 K per 100 units F10.7 – 3 times larger than the simulation using the NRL SSI. The GEOSCCM and the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) 2-D coupled model are used to examine how the SSI solar cycle affects the atmosphere through direct solar heating and photolysis processes individually. Middle atmosphere ozone is affected almost entirely through photolysis, whereas the solar cycle in temperature is caused both through direct heating and photolysis feedbacks, processes that are mostly linearly separable. This is important in that it means that chemistry-transport models should simulate the solar cycle in ozone well, while general circulation models without coupled chemistry will underestimate the temperature response to the solar cycle significantly in the middle atmosphere. Further, the net ozone response results from the balance of ozone production at wavelengths less than 242 nm and destruction at longer wavelengths, coincidentally corresponding to the wavelength regimes of the SOLar STellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE) and Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM) on SORCE, respectively. A higher wavelength-resolution analysis of the spectral response could allow for a better prediction of the atmospheric response to arbitrary SSI variations.
Impact of anthropogenic emission on air-quality over a megacity – revealed from an intensive atmospheric campaign during the Chinese Spring Festival
Authors: Huang K. , Zhuang G. , Lin Y. , Wang Q. , Fu J. S. , Zhang R. , Li J. , Deng C. , Fu Q.
Published: July 2012

Abstract. The Chinese Spring Festival is one of the most important traditional festivals in China. The peak transport in the Spring Festival season (spring travel rush) provides a unique opportunity for investigating the impact of human activities on air quality in the Chinese megacities as emission sources varied and fluctuated greatly prior to, during and after the festival. Enhanced vehicular emission during the spring travel rush before the festival resulted in high level pollutants of NOx (270 μg m−3), CO (2572 μg m−3), BC (8.5 μg m−3) and extremely low single scattering albedo of 0.70, indicating strong fresh combustion. Organics contributed most to PM2.5, followed by NO3−, NH4+, and SO42−. During the Chinese Lunar New Year's Eve and Day, widespread usage of fireworks burning caused heavy pollution of extremely high aerosol mass concentration, scattering coefficient, SO2 and NOx. Due to the spring travel rush after the festival, anthropogenic emission gradually climbed and mirrored corresponding increases in the aerosol components and gaseous pollutants. Secondary inorganic aerosol (SO42−, NO3−, and NH4+) accounted for a dominant fraction of 74% in PM2.5 due to the enhanced human activities, e.g. higher demand of energy usage from returned residents and re-open of factories and construction sites, more vehicle mileages due to returned workers and expanded public transportation. The average visibility during whole study period was less than 6 km. It was estimated that about 50% of the total light extinction was due to the high water vapor in the atmosphere. Of the aerosol extinction, organic aerosol had the largest contribution of 47%, followed by sulfate ammonium, nitrate ammonium and EC of 22%, 14%, and 12%, respectively. Our results indicated the dominant role of traffic-related aerosol species (i.e. organic aerosol, nitrate and EC) on the formation of air pollution, and suggested the importance of controlling vehicle numbers and emissions in mega-cities of China as its population and economy continue to grow.
Bacterial diversity and biogeochemistry of different chemosynthetic habitats of the REGAB cold seep (West African margin, 3160 m water depth)
Authors: Pop Ristova P. , Wenzhöfer F. , Ramette A. , Zabel M. , Fischer D. , Kasten S. , Boetius A.
Published: July 2012

Abstract. The giant pockmark REGAB (West African margin, 3160 m water depth) is an active methane-emitting cold seep ecosystem, where the energy derived from microbially mediated oxidation of methane supports high biomass and diversity of chemosynthetic communities. Bare sediments interspersed with heterogeneous chemosynthetic assemblages of mytilid mussels, vesicomyid clams and siboglinid tubeworms form a complex seep ecosystem. To better understand if benthic bacterial communities reflect the patchy distribution of chemosynthetic fauna, all major chemosynthetic habitats at REGAB were investigated using an interdisciplinary approach combining porewater geochemistry, in situ quantification of fluxes and consumption of methane, as well bacterial community fingerprinting. This study revealed that sediments populated by different fauna assemblages show distinct biogeochemical activities and are associated with distinct sediment bacterial communities. The methane consumption and methane effluxes ranged over one to two orders of magnitude across habitats, and reached highest values at the mussel habitat, which hosted a different bacterial community compared to the other habitats. Clam assemblages had a profound impact on the sediment geochemistry, but less so on the bacterial community structure. Moreover, all clam assemblages at REGAB were restricted to sediments characterized by complete methane consumption in the seafloor, and intermediate biogeochemical activity. Overall, variations in the sediment geochemistry were reflected in the distribution of both fauna and microbial communities; and were mostly determined by methane flux.
Natural organic matter removal by ion exchange at different positions in the drinking water treatment lane
Authors: Grefte A. , Dignum M. , Cornelissen E. R. , Rietveld L. C.
Published: July 2012

Abstract. To guarantee a good water quality at the customers tap, natural organic matter (NOM) should be (partly) removed during drinking water treatment. The objective of this research was to improve the drinking water quality, including biological stability, by incorporating anion exchange (IEX) for NOM removal. Different placement positions of IEX in the treatment lane (IEX positioned before coagulation, before ozonation or after slow sand filtration) are compared on water quality as well as costs. For this purpose the pre-treatment plant at Loenderveen and production plant Weesperkarspel of Waternet were used as a case study. NOM removal can be done efficiently before ozonation and after slow sand filtration; it was found that the position in the treatment lane did not influence the NOM removal capacity. The operational costs were assumed to be directly dependent of the NOM removal rate and determined the difference between the IEX positions. The operational costs for IEX positioned before coagulation were higher than for IEX positioned after slow sand filtration, however the savings on following treatment processes caused a cost reduction compared to IEX positioned after slow sand filtration. IEX positioned before coagulation or ozonation were most cost effective and produced the highest water quality.
Understanding hydroclimate processes in the Murray-Darling Basin for natural resources management
Authors: Gallant A. J. E. , Kiem A. S. , Verdon-Kidd D. C. , Stone R. C. , Karoly D. J.
Published: July 2012

Abstract. Isolating the causes of extreme variations or changes in the hydroclimate is difficult due to the complexities of the driving mechanisms, but it is crucial for effective natural resource management. In Australia's Murray-Darling Basin (MDB), ocean-atmosphere processes causing hydroclimatic variations occur on time scales from days to centuries, all are important, and none are likely to act in isolation. Instead, interactions between all hydroclimatic drivers, on multiple time scales, are likely to have caused the variations observed in MDB instrumental records. A simplified framework is presented to assist natural resource managers in identifying the potential causes of hydroclimatic anomalies. The framework condenses an event into its fundamental elements, including its spatial and temporal signal and small-scale evolution. The climatic processes that are potentially responsible are then examined to determine possible causes. The framework was applied to a period of prolonged and severe dry conditions occurring in the southern MDB from 1997–2010, providing insights into possible causal mechanisms that are consistent with recent studies. The framework also assists in identifying uncertainties and gaps in our understanding that need to be addressed.
Informal uncertainty analysis (GLUE) of continuous flow simulation in a hybrid sewer system with infiltration inflow – consistency of containment ratios in calibration and validation?
Authors: Breinholt A. , Grum M. , Madsen H. , Thordarson F. Ö. , Mikkelsen P. S.
Published: July 2012

Abstract. Monitoring of flows in sewer systems is increasingly applied to calibrate urban drainage models used for long term simulation. However, most often models are calibrated without considering the uncertainties. The GLUE methodology is here applied to assess parameter and flow simulation uncertainty using a simplified lumped sewer model that accounts for three separate flow contributions: wastewater, fast runoff from paved areas, and slow infiltrating water from permeable areas. Recently the GLUE methodology has been critised for generating prediction limits without statistical coherence and consistency and for the subjectivity in the choice of a threshold value to distinguish "behavioral" from "non-behavioral" parameter sets. In this paper we examine how well the GLUE methodology performs when the behavioural parameter sets deduced from a calibration period are applied to generate prediction bounds in validation periods. By retaining an increasing number of parameter sets we aim at obtaining consistency between the GLUE generated 90% prediction limits and the actual containment ratio (CR) in calibration. Due to the large uncertainties related to spatio-temporal rain variability during heavy convective rain events, flow measurement errors, as well as model limitations, it was not possible to obtain an overall CR of more than 80%. However, the GLUE generated prediction limits still proved rather consistent, since the overall CRs obtained in calibration corresponded well with the overall CRs obtained in validation periods for all proportions of retained parameter sets evaluated. When focusing on wet and dry weather periods separately, some inconsistencies were however found between calibration and validation and we address here some of the reasons why we should not expect the coverage of the prediction limits to be identical in calibration and validation periods in real-world applications. The large uncertainties propagate to the parameters and result in wide posterior parameter limits, that cannot be used for interpretation of e.g. the relative size of paved area vs. the size of infiltrating area. From this study it seems crucial to obtain more representative rain inputs and more accurate flow observations to reduce parameter and model simulation uncertainty.
Review article: locomotion systems for ground mobile robots in unstructured environments
Authors: Bruzzone L. , Quaglia G.
Published: July 2012

Abstract. The world market of mobile robotics is expected to increase substantially in the next 20 yr, surpassing the market of industrial robotics in terms of units and sales. Important fields of application are homeland security, surveillance, demining, reconnaissance in dangerous situations, and agriculture. The design of the locomotion systems of mobile robots for unstructured environments is generally complex, particularly when they are required to move on uneven or soft terrains, or to climb obstacles. This paper sets out to analyse the state-of-the-art of locomotion mechanisms for ground mobile robots, focussing on solutions for unstructured environments, in order to help designers to select the optimal solution for specific operating requirements. The three main categories of locomotion systems (wheeled – W, tracked – T and legged – L) and the four hybrid categories that can be derived by combining these main locomotion systems are discussed with reference to maximum speed, obstacle-crossing capability, step/stair climbing capability, slope climbing capability, walking capability on soft terrains, walking capability on uneven terrains, energy efficiency, mechanical complexity, control complexity and technology readiness. The current and future trends of mobile robotics are also outlined.
Strength and permeability recovery of tuffisite-bearing andesite
Authors: Kolzenburg S. , Heap M. J. , Lavallée Y. , Russell J. K. , Meredith P. G. , Dingwell D. B.
Published: July 2012

Abstract. Tuffisites, the products of subsurface fragmentation, transport and deposition, are common in explosive volcanic environments. Their study provides direct insight to the mechanical processes operating within volcanic conduits. Here we document the influence of the presence of coherent tuffisite veins on the physical properties of andesitic rocks. We find that (1) compressive strength is unaffected by the presence and/or orientation of tuffisites, (2) permeability doubles when tuffisites are oriented favorably (at 45° to the fluid flow direction), and (3) ultrasonic wave velocities show a continuous increase with depth, independent of vein presence and orientation. Although the influence of tuffisites on andesitic rock properties determined here is modest, we emphasize that the material tested represents the post-eruptive state of tuffisite. Thus, these results likely delineate the upper and lower boundaries of strength vs. permeability and porosity, respectively. Our evidence suggests that, via compaction and lithification, tuffisites may restore the strength of the volcanic host-rocks to that of their pre-tuffisite values.
Significant contribution to total mass from very small glaciers
Authors: Bahr D. B. , Radić V.
Published: July 2012

Abstract. A single large glacier can contain tens of millions of times the mass of a small glacier. Nevertheless, very small glaciers (with area ≤1 km2) are so numerous that their contribution to the world's total ice volume is significant and may be a notable source of error if excluded. With current glacier inventories, total global volume errors on the order of 10% are possible. However, to reduce errors to below 1% requires the inclusion of glaciers that are smaller than those recorded in most inventories. At the global scale, 1% accuracy requires a list of all glaciers and ice caps (GIC, exclusive of the ice sheets) larger than 1 km2, and for regional estimates requires a complete list of all glaciers down to the smallest possible size. For this reason, sea-level rise estimates and other total mass and total volume analyses should not omit the world's smallest glaciers. In particular, upscaling GIC inventories has been common practice in sea level estimates, but downscaling may also be necessary to include the smallest glaciers.
Indirect Genetic Characterization of Serratia marcescens
Authors: Mohankumar A. , Hari Krishna Raj R.
Published: July 2012

The pure culture isolate of Serratia marcescens, obtained from a clinical specimen was maintained in nutrient agar medium at 4°C. It was genetically characterized by performing 16s rRNA sequence analysis, neighbour tree exposition, phylogenetic tree construction and peptide mass fingerprinting of serratiopeptidase, obtained from it. In order to obtain high purity of serratiopeptidase from the fermentation broth of pure culture isolate of Serratia marcescens, some separation and purification techniques were also explored.  The results demonstrate that the combination of bio separation   processes of ammonium sulfate precipitation with ion exchange chromatography is suitable for the separation and purification of serratiopeptidase from culture broth of Serratia marcescens. Peptide mass finger printing was performed and the amino acid sequence of serratiopeptidase was elucidated, compared and confirmed with clustal pair wise alignment database tool to confirm that the product produced and purified was serratiopeptidase from Serratia marcescens. Thus, indirectly Serratia marcescens has been completely genetically characterized using its therapeutically important product serratiopeptidase and the 16s rRNA sequencing of the bacteria.
Control Approaches against Vascular Wilt Disease of Elaeis guineensis Jacq. Caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. elaeidis.
Authors: Ntsefong Godswill Ntsomboh , Ebongue G. F. Ngando , Paul Koona , Martin Bell Joseph , Emmanuel Youmbi , B. Ngalle Hermine , Gervais Bilong Eloi , Galdima Madi , Bienvenu Anaba
Published: July 2012

The oil palm, Elaeis guineensis Jacq., is the most important and highest oil yielding crop in the world. Two types of oils are produced from its fruits, crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel oil (PKO). Palm oil is used for food purposes, oleo-chemicals, pharmaceutical purposes, health supplement and as a source of biofuel. Among the various challenges faced by farmers of this crop are diseases like Ganoderma (common in Asia), bud rot (Latin America) and vascular wilt (Africa) that affect growth and reduce oil yields. Vascular wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. elaeidis results in serious damages on oil palm culture in Africa. Various methods of control which have been tried against the disease are: selection of resistant or tolerant plant material, soil renewal, chemical control, stimulation of defense reactions, and the use of cover crop and potassium (K) fertilizer. The only most feasible and eco-friendly control method presently considered to be most effective against the disease is research for resistant plant material through artificial inoculation of plantlets in the pre-nursery with pathogenic fungus. Selection is based on the sensitivity of oil palm strains to the fungal inoculum. The present review outlines the importance of oil palm and the various approaches to fight against vascular wilt disease, with emphasis on biological control by the use of resistant plant material.
Oral anticoagulation with edoxaban
Authors: Bode C. , Ahrens I.
Published: July 2012

Edoxaban (the former DU176b) an orally available direct factor Xa inhibitor has been engineered from DX-9065a, which was one of the first parenteral Xa inhibitors. Edoxaban has a time to peak plasma concentrations of 1–2 hours and a half-life of approximately 10 hours after multiple doses. Edoxaban is the third new oral anticoagulant in the group of direct factor Xa inhibitors that has gained clinical approval for the prevention of venous thromboembolism after major orthopaedic surgery. Currently, edoxaban is assessed in late stage clinical development for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (ENGAGE AF-TIMI 48, NCT00781391) and for the treatment and prevention of venous thromboembolism in patients with acute deep vein thrombosis and/or pulmonary embolism (HOKUSAI VTE, NCT00986154).

Both clinical phase III trials represent the largest single clinical studies in their entity so far with an enrolment of 21 107 patients in ENGAGE AF-TIMI 48 and a planned enrolment of 7500 patients in HOKUSAI VTE.

The pharmacological properties of edoxaban will be discussed along with the current late stage clinical development focusing on the prevention of stroke and venous thromboembolism.
Expanding the role of community mobilization to accelerate progress towards ending vertical transmission of HIV in Uganda: the Networks model
Authors: Mburu Gitau , Iorpenda Kate , Muwanga Fred
Published: July 2012

Introduction

Efforts to prevent vertical transmission of HIV have gained momentum globally since the launch of the “Global plan towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive”, reflecting the growing consensus that we now have low‐cost, efficacious interventions that promise to end vertical transmission of HIV. Uganda is one of the 22 focus countries in the global plan and one of the 10 countries with the highest need for prevention of vertical transmission globally. In the context of current shortfalls in the prevention of vertical HIV transmission, this paper presents the results of the Networks project, a community mobilisation model implemented by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Uganda, and draws out the theoretical foundations and promising community mobilization practices relevant to prevention of vertical transmission.

Methods

A retrospective review of the Network project's activities, documentation and evaluation was performed.

Results

The Networks project, through community mobilisation and greater involvement of people living with HIV, reached an estimated 1.3 million people with at least one health service. By clustering 750 groups of people living with HIV into larger coalitions, the project supported existing groups to amalgamate their collective strengths and skills in outreach, referral and literacy activities; and improved reach and coverage of HIV services through strengthened linkages with healthcare facilities. Our analysis of the Networks model shows that it could contribute to the prevention of vertical transmission of HIV as a replicable and sustainable community mobilisation approach. In particular, the Networks model increased the uptake of decentralized interventions for preventing vertical transmission through community referrals; promoted male involvement through peer sensitisation; and linked communities to advocacy channels for advancing maternal health and prevention of vertical HIV transmission.

Conclusions

By placing persons living with HIV at the centre, the Networks model offers a mechanism for strengthening community and male involvement in preventing vertical transmission of HIV. The role of communities and networks of people living with HIV in planning, service delivery and monitoring of national targets for prevention of vertical transmission should be further strengthened through greater community engagement in service delivery and advocacy and through the regular sharing of data between communities and health facilities.
The Tingathe programme: a pilot intervention using community health workers to create a continuum of care in the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) cascade of services in Malawi
Authors: Kim Maria H , Ahmed Saeed , Buck W Chris , Preidis Geoffrey A , Hosseinipour Mina C , Bhalakia Avni , Nanthuru Debora , Kazembe Peter N , Chimbwandira Frank , Giordano Thomas P , Chiao Elizabeth Y , Schutze Gordon E , Kline Mark W
Published: July 2012

Introduction

Loss to follow‐up is a major challenge in the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programme in Malawi with reported loss to follow‐up of greater than 70%. Tingathe‐PMTCT is a pilot intervention that utilizes dedicated community health workers (CHWs) to create a complete continuum of care within the PMTCT cascade, improving service utilization and retention of mothers and infants. We describe the impact of the intervention on longitudinal care starting with diagnosis of the mother at antenatal care (ANC) through final diagnosis of the infant.

Methods

PMTCT service utilization, programme retention and outcomes were evaluated for pregnant women living with HIV and their exposed infants enrolled in the Tingathe‐PMTCT programme between March 2009 and March 2011. Multivariate logistic regression was done to evaluate maternal factors associated with failure to complete the cascade.

Results

Over 24 months, 1688 pregnant women living with HIV were enrolled. Median maternal age was 27 years (IQR, 23.8 to 30.8); 333 (19.7%) were already on ART. Among the remaining women, 1328/1355 (98%) received a CD4 test, with 1243/1328 (93.6%) receiving results. Of the 499 eligible for ART, 363 (72.8%) were successfully initiated. Prior to, delivery there were 93 (5.7%) maternal/foetal deaths, 137 (8.1%) women transferred/moved, 51 (3.0%) were lost and 58 (3.4%) refused ongoing PMTCT services. Of the 1318 live births to date, 1264 (95.9%) of the mothers and 1285 (97.5%) of the infants received ARV prophylaxis; 1064 (80.7%) infants were tested for HIV by PCR and started on cotrimoxazole. Median age at PCR was 1.7 months (IQR, 1.5 to 2.5). Overall transmission at first PCR was 43/1047 (4.1%). Of the 43 infants with positive PCR results, 36 (83.7%) were enrolled in ART clinic and 33 (76.7%) were initiated on ART.

Conclusions

Case management and support by dedicated CHWs can create a continuum of longitudinal care in the PMTCT cascade and result in improved outcomes.