bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Enhancing hospital care of patients with cognitive impairment
Authors: Isaac Loretta M. , Buggy Elaine , Sharma Anita , Karberis Athena , Maddock Kim M. , Weston Kathryn M.
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The patient-centred management of people with cognitive impairment admitted to acute health care facilities can be challenging. The TOP5 intervention utilises carers’ expert biographical and social knowledge of the patient to facilitate personalised care. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether involvement of carers in the TOP5 initiative could improve patient care and healthcare delivery.

Design/methodology/approach

A small-scale longitudinal study was undertaken in two wards of one acute teaching hospital. The wards admitted patients with cognitive impairment, aged 70 years and over, under geriatrician care. Data for patient falls, allocation of one-on-one nurses (“specials”), and length-of-stay (LOS) over 38 months, including baseline, pilot, and establishment phases, were analysed. Surveys of carers and nursing staff were undertaken.

Findings

There was a significant reduction in number of falls and number of patients allocated “specials” over the study period, but no statistically significant reduction in LOS. A downward trend in complaints related to communication issues was identified. All carers (n=43) completing the feedback survey were satisfied or very satisfied that staff supported their role as information provider. Most carers (90 per cent) felt that the initiative had a positive impact and 80 per cent felt that their loved one benefitted. Six months after implementation of the initiative, 80 per cent of nurses agreed or strongly agreed that it was now easier to relate to carers of patients with cognitive impairment. At nine-ten months, this increased to 100 per cent.

Originality/value

Actively engaging carers in management of people with cognitive impairment may improve the patient, staff, and carer journeys, and may improve outcomes for patient care and service delivery.
Antecedents and consequences of nurses’ burnout
Authors: Chen Shu-Chuan , Chen Ching-Fu
Published: January 2018

Purpose

Healthcare is recognized as a fertile field for service research, and due to the fact that nurses are stressed physically and emotionally, reducing burnout among frontline healthcare staff is an emerging and important research issue. The purpose of this paper is to explore the possible antecedents and consequences of nurses’ burnout and to examine the moderating effects of personal trait and work-environment issue.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on Bagozzi’s (1992) reformulation of attitude theory (appraisal→emotional response→behavior), data from a survey of 807 nurses working in a major hospital in Taiwan were analyzed using the structural equation modeling technique and hierarchical regression analysis.

Findings

The results reveal the positive causality between job stressors and nurses’ burnout, whereas supervisor support negatively relates to burnout. In addition, the full moderating effects of leadership effectiveness and partly moderating effect of emotional intelligence on the relationships among job demands, job resources, and burnout are confirmed.

Practical implications

The findings provide practical insight regarding how supervisors play an essential role in alleviating nurses’ burnout. The supportive attitude and leadership effectiveness are recommended to be effectual managerial strategies.

Originality/value

The empirical results support the job demands-resources model by applying reformulation of attitude theory. The work-environment issue surpasses the personal trait in moderating the relationships among job demands, job resources, and burnout.
Bibliometric study on relationship of agricultural credit with farmer distress
Authors: Pandey Bhavna , Bandyopadhyay Prabir , Kadam Sanjeev , Singh Manju
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide quantitative analysis of the extant literature on farmer distress resulting from agricultural credit and identify research gaps.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have used the citation analysis which is based on the citation graph. For the current study, the authors have used SCOPUS database.

Findings

The study reveals that the farmer distress is one of the social sustainability issues which have attracted major attentions from academia. Most of the studies in recent years are from South Asian perspectives and the extant literature focusing on some of the important issues like farmer challenges and pesticide poisoning. Most of the studies provide anecdotal evidences. Hence, the empirical research is scant.

Originality/value

The study is an attempt to provide an in-depth analysis, so that future research directions can be formulated.
Skills use in the workplace and its effects on wages and on job satisfaction
Authors: Mateos Romero Lucía , Salinas-Jiménez Maria del Mar
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of labor mismatches on wages and on job satisfaction for the Spanish case, with a distinction been made between educational and skills-related measures of mismatch.

Design/methodology/approach

The focus is placed on the usage that the individuals do of their skills in the workplace and different measures of skills use are considered to check the robustness of the results.

Findings

Using data from PIAAC, the results suggest that whereas educational mismatch shows greater effects on wages, the effects of labor mismatch on job satisfaction are better explained by the relative use of individual skills in the workplace.

Research limitations/implications

Both educational and skills mismatches are relevant for understanding the economic effects of labor mismatch. Nevertheless, it should be taken into account that educational mismatch is not an accurate proxy for skills mismatch, mainly when the non-monetary effects of labor mismatch are addressed.

Practical implications

There is room to increase workers’ skills utilization in the workplace, which, in turn, would contribute to enhance individual job satisfaction and, consequently, workers productivity.

Social implications

A process of upgrading in the Spanish labor market would allow to take full advantage of recent investments in education and skills formation done in the country in the last decades.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature on labor mismatch by explicitly considering that educational and skills mismatch might reflect different phenomena and by analyzing the effects of both types of mismatches on different labor market outcomes.
Psychological processes linking organizational commitment and change-supportive intentions
Authors: Straatmann Tammo , Nolte Janna K. , Seggewiss Britta J.
Published: January 2018

Purpose

With employees’ support of organizational changes being vital for today’s organizations, the purpose of this paper is to enhance the understanding of how organizational commitment is linked to change-supportive intentions. Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB, Ajzen, 1991), mediated effects of affective organizational commitment were empirically tested to explore the underlying psychological processes.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted in the context of a complex change process at a production facility of a large international manufacturing company (n=667). Data from the change survey were analyzed employing Hayes’ (2012) PROCESS macro.

Findings

The results showed that organizational commitment relates to change-supportive intentions directly and, as suggested by the TPB, its effects are mediated via change-related attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Furthermore, results suggest additional effects of change recipients’ age and occupational status.

Practical implications

Employing the TPB offers specific insights for tailored interventions to create conditions facilitating organizational changes. The results indicate that commitment lays the ground for employees’ change reactions. Moreover, the psychological processes suggested by the TPB serve as additional levers for explaining change-supportive intentions.

Originality/value

The study provides valuable information on the relationship between commitment and change-supportive intentions. Specifically, affective organizational commitment is shown to be an important resource in times of change, as it relates to more positive psychological reactions to change.
Hunger mediates apex predator's risk avoidance response in wildland–urban interface
Authors: Blecha Kevin A. , Boone Randall B. , Alldredge Mathew W.
Published: January 2018

Conflicts between large mammalian predators and humans present a challenge to conservation efforts, as these events drive human attitudes and policies concerning predator species. Unfortunately, generalities portrayed in many empirical carnivore landscape selection studies do not provide an explanation for a predator's occasional use of residential development preceding a carnivore–human conflict event. In some cases, predators may perceive residential development as a risk–reward trade‐off.

We examine whether state‐dependent mortality risk‐sensitive foraging can explain an apex carnivore's (Puma concolor) occasional utilization of residential areas. We assess whether puma balance the risk and rewards in a system characterized by a gradient of housing densities ranging from wildland to suburban. Puma GPS location data, characterized as hunting and feeding locations, were used to assess landscape variables governing hunting success and hunting site selection. Hunting site selection behaviour was then analysed conditional on indicators of hunger state.

Residential development provided a high energetic reward to puma based on increases in prey availability and hunting success rates associated with increased housing density. Despite a higher energetic reward, hunting site selection analysis indicated that pumas generally avoided residential development, a landscape type attributed with higher puma mortality risk. However, when a puma experienced periods of extended hunger, risk avoidance behaviour towards housing waned.

This study demonstrates that an apex carnivore faces a trade‐off between acquiring energetic rewards and avoiding risks associated with human housing. Periods of hunger can help explain an apex predator's occasional use of developed landscapes and thus the rare conflicts in the wildland–urban interface. Apex carnivore movement behaviours in relation to human conflicts are best understood as a three‐player community‐level interaction incorporating wild prey distribution.
Pulsed flows, tributary inputs and food‐web structure in a highly regulated river
Authors: Sabo John L. , Caron Melanie , Doucett Rick , Dibble Kimberly L. , Ruhi Albert , Marks Jane C. , Hungate Bruce A. , Kennedy Ted A.
Published: January 2018

Dams disrupt the river continuum, altering hydrology, biodiversity and energy flow. Although research indicates that tributary inputs have the potential to dilute these effects, knowledge at the food‐web level is still scarce.

Here, we examined the riverine food‐web structure of the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam, focusing on organic matter sources, trophic diversity and food chain length. We asked how these components respond to pulsed flows from tributaries following monsoon thunderstorms that seasonally increase streamflow in the American Southwest.

Tributaries increased the relative importance of terrestrial organic matter, particularly during the wet season below junctures of key tributaries. This contrasted with the algal‐based food‐web present immediately below Glen Canyon Dam.

Tributary inputs during the monsoon also increased trophic diversity and food chain length: food chain length peaked below the confluence with the largest tributary (by discharge) in Grand Canyon, increasing by >1 trophic level over a 4–5 km reach possibly due to aquatic prey being flushed into the mainstem during heavy rain events.

Our results illustrate that large tributaries can create seasonal discontinuities, influencing riverine food‐web structure in terms of allochthony, food‐web diversity and food chain length.

Synthesis and applications. Pulsed flows from unregulated tributaries following seasonal monsoon rains increase the importance of terrestrially derived organic matter in large, regulated river food webs, increasing food chain length and trophic diversity downstream of tributary inputs. Protecting unregulated tributaries within hydropower cascades may be important if we are to mitigate food‐web structure alteration due to flow regulation by large dams. This is critical in the light of global hydropower development, especially in megadiverse, developing countries where dam placement (including completed and planned structures) is in tributaries.
The abundance and distribution of guilds of riparian woody plants change in response to land use and flow regulation
Authors: Aguiar Francisca C. , Segurado Pedro , Martins Maria João , Bejarano Maria Dolores , Nilsson Christer , Portela Maria Manuela , Merritt David M.
Published: January 2018

Many riparian ecosystems in Mediterranean Europe are affected by land use and flow alteration by dams. We focused on understanding how these stressors and their components affect riparian forests in the region. We asked the following questions: (1) Are there well‐defined, responsive riparian guilds? (2) Do dam‐induced streamflows determine abundance and distribution of riparian guilds? (3) What are the main drivers governing composition and cover of riparian guilds in regulated rivers?

We inventoried the cover of riparian woody species in free‐flowing rivers and downstream of dams. We performed a cluster analysis and ordination to derive riparian guilds, using abundance data from 66 riparian woody species and 26 functional plant traits. We used a reduced set of principal components for the environment, land use and hydrology, and general linear modelling to explore the effect of these factors (separately and combined) on riparian guilds.

We found that: (1) four dominant guilds are responsive to disturbance in southwestern European streams, namely the obligate riparian, water‐stress tolerant, deciduous competitive and Mediterranean evergreen guilds; (2) a set of land use and hydrological variables differentially affect the diverse co‐occurring riparian guilds; (3) frequency and duration of high flow pulses and the low‐flow conditions were major drivers of change in landscapes dominated by intensive agriculture and forestry; (4) storage reservoirs reduced the cover of obligate riparian and Mediterranean evergreen guilds, and increased the abundance of water‐stress tolerant and deciduous competitive guilds, while run‐of‐river dams, having limited water storage, reduced both obligate and deciduous competitive guilds.

Synthesis and applications. Future research in southwestern Europe should address the resilience of riparian guilds and the effects of interacting landscape factors and stressors on guild distribution. Streamflow regulations downstream of reservoirs should focus on specific flow components, namely the magnitude of flows, and frequency and duration of extreme flow events. For successful mitigation of the dam‐induced effects on riparian vegetation, river management plans must incorporate the environmental and land use site‐specific contexts.
Paying for conservation: A bioeconomic analysis of the effects of land management options on the viability of an endangered species, Eryngium alpinum
Authors: Andrello Marco , Devaux Caroline , Quétier Fabien , Till–Bottraud Irène
Published: January 2018

Land management is critical for biodiversity conservation in mountain grasslands. It should be both ecologically effective and economically efficient. We provide an economic analysis of different options (spring and autumn grazing, mowing and abandonment) and their effects on population viability of a rare plant species, Eryngium alpinum (Apiaceae), in two French mountain grassland sites (Fournel and Pralognan).

Using data collected in a 10‐year individual‐based demographic study, we estimated the effects of land management options on the population growth rate and simulated the effect of combinations of options. Income earned through each option was estimated using data on associated costs (price of consumables, working time and wages) and benefits (forage production, quality and price), and we assessed the economic effects of agri‐environment subsidies (AESs). We also simulated the effects of increased frequencies of extreme climatic events (such as the 2003 heatwave).

Spring grazing was the worst option for E. alpinum demography but the best in economic terms, as it provided net positive incomes. Autumn grazing was the best option, resulting in positive growth rates and incomes, even if the latter were lower than for spring grazing. Mowing was the second best option for demography but resulted in economic losses for farmers. Abandonment provided zero income and was not favourable to population growth.

In Fournel, AESs allowed for economically and ecologically near‐optimal combinations of management options. In Pralognan, alternating years of grazing with mowing resulted in an acceptable compromise, with positive growth rates and incomes, but AESs were not sufficient to cover the opportunity cost of spring and autumn grazing. Mowing was also unattractive because of the inaccessibility of the site and impossibility to recover the hay to make forage.

Simulations with increased frequency of extreme climatic events resulted in negative growth rates in Pralognan, questioning the continuation of AESs in extinction‐prone populations.

Synthesis and applications. The conservation effectiveness and economic efficiency of grassland management could be improved by alternating practices over several years. However, existing agri‐environment subsidies would barely be sufficient to increase uptake of the most favourable land management options for biodiversity.
Crop traits drive soil carbon sequestration under organic farming
Authors: García‐Palacios Pablo , Gattinger Andreas , Bracht‐Jørgensen Helene , Brussaard Lijbert , Carvalho Filipe , Castro Helena , Clément Jean‐Christophe , De Deyn Gerlinde , D'Hertefeldt Tina , Foulquier Arnaud , Hedlund Katarina , Lavorel Sandra , Legay Nicolas , Lori Martina , Mäder Paul , Martínez‐García Laura B. , Martins da Silva Pedro , Muller Adrian , Nascimento Eduardo , Reis Filipa , Symanczik Sarah , Paulo Sousa José , Milla Rubén
Published: January 2018

Organic farming (OF) enhances top soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in croplands compared with conventional farming (CF), which can contribute to sequester C. As farming system differences in the amount of C inputs to soil (e.g. fertilization and crop residues) are not enough to explain such increase, shifts in crop residue traits important for soil C losses such as litter decomposition may also play a role.

To assess whether crop residue (leaf and root) traits determined SOC sequestration responses to OF, we coupled a global meta‐analysis with field measurements across a European‐wide network of sites. In the meta‐analysis, we related crop species averages of leaf N, leaf‐dry matter content, fine‐root C and N, with SOC stocks and sequestration responses in OF vs. CF. Across six European sites, we measured the management‐induced changes in SOC stocks and leaf litter traits after long‐term ecological intensive (e.g. OF) vs. CF comparisons.

Our global meta‐analysis showed that the positive OF‐effects on soil respiration, SOC stocks, and SOC sequestration rates were significant even in organic farms with low manure application rates. Although fertilization intensity was the main driver of OF‐effects on SOC, leaf and root N concentrations also played a significant role. Across the six European sites, changes towards higher leaf litter N in CF also promoted lower SOC stocks.

Our results highlight that crop species displaying traits indicative of resource‐acquisitive strategies (e.g. high leaf and root N) increase the difference in SOC between OF and CF. Indeed, changes towards higher crop residue decomposability was related with decreased SOC stocks under CF across European sites.

Synthesis and applications. Our study emphasizes that, with management, changes in crop residue traits contribute to the positive effects of organic farming (OF) on soil carbon sequestration. These results provide a clear message to land managers: the choice of crop species, and more importantly their functional traits (e.g. leave and root nitrogen), should be considered in addition to management practices and climate, when evaluating the potential of OF for climate change mitigation.
Ptrf transgenic mice exhibit obesity and fatty liver
Authors: Li Qian , Bai Lin , Shi Guiying , Zhang Lianfeng , Dai Yifan , Liu Pingsheng , Cong Yu‐Sheng , Wang Miao
Published: January 2018

Polymerase I and transcript release factor (Ptrf, also known as Cavin1) is an essential component in the biogenesis and function of caveolae. Ptrf knockout mice or patients with PTRF mutations exhibit numerous pathologies including markedly aberrant fuel metabolism, lipodystrophy and muscular dystrophy. In this study, we generated Ptrf transgenic mice to explore its function in vivo. Compared with wild‐type (WT) mice, we found that the Ptrf transgenic mice showed obesity with an increased level of ALT (alanine aminotransferase) and AST (aspartate transaminase). Ptrf transgenic mice exhibited severe fat degeneration and a higher degree of fat accumulation in the liver compared with WT mice. Consistently, we found that the expression of the fat synthesis gene, Fasn, was increased in the liver of Ptrf transgenic mice. Thus, Ptrf transgenic mice would be a good model for investigating the molecular mechanism and therapeutic targets of obesity and fatty liver associated diseases.
Beyond Space: Spatial (Re)Production and Middle‐Class Remaking Driven by Jiaoyufication in Nanjing City, China
Authors: Wu Qiyan , Edensor Tim , Cheng Jianquan
Published: January 2018

An extension of gentrification, jiaoyufication–urban change driven by a desire for high‐quality education–is not only displacing previous lower‐class residents, but also replacing earlier jiaoyufiers with newcomers, turning formerly blue‐collar neighbourhoods into white‐collar ones. New middle‐class communities are emerging as spatially limited school catchment zones attract social groups who occupy these spaces in an attempt to facilitate social mobility or consolidate social status, causing tension between them. Consequently, jiaoyufication has narrowed down opportunities for intergenerational social mobility and exacerbated social polarization, gradually replacing traditional social hierarchies with intergenerational neoliberal stratification.
Brain atrophy in middle‐aged subjects with Type 2 diabetes mellitus, with and without microvascular complications
Authors: Fang Fang , Zhan Ya‐Feng , Zhuo Yao‐Yao , Yin Da‐Zhi , Li Kang‐An , Wang Yu‐Fan
Published: January 2018

Background: The rapid rise in Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) among young adults makes it important to understand structural changes in the brain at a presenile stage. This study examined global and regional brain atrophy in middle‐aged adults with T2DM, with a focus on those without clinical evidence of microvascular complications.

Methods: The study recruited 66 dementia‐free middle‐aged subjects (40 with T2DM, 26 healthy volunteers [HVs]). Patients were grouped according to the presence (T2DM‐C; n = 20) or absence (T2DM‐NC; n = 20) of diabetic microvascular complications. Global brain volume (including gray matter [GM] and white matter) was calculated based on voxel‐based morphometry analysis. Regional GM volumes were further extracted using the anatomical automatic labeling template.

Results: There was a significant difference in global brain volume among groups (P = 0.003, anova). Global brain volume was lower in T2DM‐C patients than in both T2DM‐NC patients and HVs (mean [±SD] 0.720 ± 0.024 vs 0.736 ± 0.021 and 0.743 ± 0.019, respectively; P = 0.032 and P = 0.001, respectively). Regional analysis showed significant GM atrophy in the right Rolandic operculum (t = 3.42, P = 0.001) and right superior temporal gyrus (t = 2.803, P = 0.007) in T2DM‐NC patients compared with age‐ and sex‐matched HVs.

Conclusions: Brain atrophy is present in dementia‐free middle‐aged adults with T2DM. Regional brain atrophy appears to be developing even in those with no clinical evidence of microvascular disturbances. The brain seems to be particularly vulnerable to metabolic disorders prior to peripheral microvascular pathologies associated with other target organs.
Spatial Epidemiology of Alcohol‐ and Drug‐Related Health Problems Among Northern Plains American Indians: Nebraska and South Dakota, 2007 to 2012
Authors: Ponicki William R. , Henderson Jeffrey A. , Gaidus Andrew , Gruenewald Paul J. , Lee Juliet P. , Moore Roland S. , Davids Sharice , Tilsen Nick
Published: January 2018

Background

Despite high abstinence rates, American Indians experience elevated rates of many alcohol and other drug problems. American Indians also predominantly reside in poor and rural areas, which may explain some observed health disparities. We investigated whether geographic areas including reservations or large American Indian populations exhibited greater incidence of alcohol‐ and drug‐related hospitalizations.

Methods

We obtained inpatient hospitalization records for 2 Northern Plain states (Nebraska and South Dakota) for the years 2007 to 2012. We constructed zip code counts for 10 categories of hospitalization with diagnoses or injury causation commonly associated with alcohol or drug use. We related these to community sociodemographic characteristics using Bayesian Poisson space–time regression models and examined associations with and without controls for whether each zip code was located within an American Indian reservation.

Results

Controlling for other demographic and economic characteristics, zip codes with greater percentage of American Indians exhibited greater incidence for all 10 substance abuse‐related health outcomes (9 of 10 well supported); zip code areas within American Indian reservations had greater incidence of self‐inflicted injury and drug dependence and abuse, and reduced incidence of alcohol cirrhosis and prescription opioid poisoning. However, the analyses generally demonstrated no well‐supported differences in incidence associated with local residence percentages of American Indian versus African American.

Conclusions

In our analyses, ethnicity or heredity alone did not account for alcohol‐ and drug‐related hospitalizations among Native populations. Aspects of social, economic, and political dimensions of Native lives must be considered in the etiology of alcohol‐ and drug‐related problems for rural‐dwelling indigenous peoples.
Employee stock options with performance conditions: do commonly used valuation heuristics work?
Authors: Kanne Stefan , Uhrig‐Homburg Marliese
Published: January 2018

Valuation heuristics are widely used to value traditional time vesting option plans. This study analyses if these heuristics also qualify for valuing performance vesting plans. We examine performance conditions tied to the underlying stock, the stock's performance relative to a stock index, and an earnings measure. The differences between the approximated option values and the values assuming optimal exercise are overall smaller with the performance conditions than without them. In particular, this result holds when the heuristic exercise assumptions are based on the case without performance conditions, which is a considerable simplification in practice.
Nickel hypersensitivity following closure of atrial septal defect: A case report and review of the literature
Authors: Dickison Philippa , Harris Victoria , Smith Saxon D
Published: January 2018

We present an unusual case where symptoms of headache and chest pain persisted for 3 years following the implantation of a septal occluder device for an atrial septal defect despite endothelialisation of the device. The patient was found to have nickel hypersensitivity on patch testing. Following the removal of the device the patient had complete resolution of headaches and chest pain up to 10 months post‐explantation.
Opposing forces of seed dispersal and seed predation by mammals for an invasive cactus in central Kenya
Authors: Dudenhoeffer Megan , Hodge Anne‐Marie C.
Published: January 2018

The invasive erect prickly pear cactus (Opuntia stricta) has reduced rangeland quality and altered plant communities throughout much of the globe. In central Kenya's Laikipia County, olive baboons (Papio anubis) frequently consume O. stricta fruits and subsequently disperse the seeds via defecation. Animal‐mediated seed dispersal can increase germination and subsequent survival of plants. However, consumption of seeds (seed predation) by rodents may offset the potential benefits of seed dispersal for cactus establishment by reducing the number of viable seeds. We investigated foraging preferences of a common and widely distributed small mammal—the fringe‐tailed gerbil (Gerbilliscus robustus), between O. stricta seeds deposited in baboon faeces versus control O. stricta seeds. In addition to providing evidence of seed predation on O. stricta by G. robustus, our data show that seed removal was higher (shorter time to use) for seeds within faeces than for control seeds. G. robustus clearly prefers seeds within faeces compared to control seeds. These results suggest that high abundances of rodents may limit successful establishment of O. stricta seeds, possibly disrupting seed dispersal via endozoochory by baboons.
IgE‐expressing memory B cells and plasmablasts are increased in blood of children with asthma, food allergy, and atopic dermatitis
Authors: Heeringa J. J. , Rijvers L. , Arends N. J. , Driessen G. J. , Pasmans S. G. , van Dongen J. J. M. , de Jongste J. C. , van Zelm M. C.
Published: January 2018

Despite the critical role of soluble IgE in the pathology of IgE‐mediated allergic disease, little is known about abnormalities in the memory B cells and plasma cells that produce IgE in allergic patients. We here applied a flow cytometric approach to cross‐sectionally study blood IgE+ memory B cells and plasmablasts in 149 children with atopic dermatitis, food allergy, and/or asthma and correlated these to helper T(h)2 cells and eosinophils. Children with allergic disease had increased numbers of IgE+CD27‐ and IgE+CD27+ memory B cells and IgE+ plasmablasts, as well as increased numbers of eosinophils and Th2 cells. IgE+ plasmablast numbers correlated positively with Th2 cell numbers. These findings open new possibilities for diagnosis and monitoring of treatment in patients with allergic diseases.
The effect of itraconazole and rifampicin on the pharmacokinetics of osimertinib
Authors: Vishwanathan Karthick , Dickinson Paul A. , So Karen , Thomas Karen , Chen Yuh‐Min , De Castro Carpeño Javier , Dingemans Anne‐Marie C. , Kim Hye Ryun , Kim Joo‐Hang , Krebs Matthew G. , Chih‐Hsin Yang James , Bui Khanh , Weilert Doris , Harvey R. Donald
Published: January 2018

Aims

We investigated the effects of a strong CYP3A4 inhibitor (itraconazole) or inducer (rifampicin) on the pharmacokinetics of the epidermal growth factor receptor‐tyrosine kinase inhibitor osimertinib, in patients with advanced non‐small cell lung cancer in two Phase I, open‐label, two‐part clinical studies. Part one of both studies is reported.

Methods

In the itraconazole study (NCT02157883), patients received single‐dose osimertinib 80 mg on Days 1 and 10 and itraconazole (200 mg twice daily) on Days 6–18 orally. In the rifampicin study (NCT02197247), patients received osimertinib 80 mg once daily on Days 1–77 and rifampicin 600 mg once daily on Days 29–49.

Results

In the itraconazole study (n = 36), the geometric least squares mean (GMLSM) ratios (osimertinib plus itraconazole/osimertinib alone) for Cmax and AUC were 80% (90% CI 73, 87) and 124% (90% CI 115, 135), respectively, below the predefined no‐effect upper limit of 200%. In the rifampicin study (n = 40), the GMLSM ratios (osimertinib plus rifampicin/osimertinib alone) for Css,max and AUCτ were 27% (90% CI 24, 30) and 22% (90% CI 20, 24), respectively, below the predefined no‐effect lower limit of 50%. The induction effect of rifampicin was apparent within 7 days of initiation; osimertinib Css,max and AUCτ values returned to pre‐rifampicin levels within 3 weeks of rifampicin discontinuation. No new osimertinib safety findings were observed.

Conclusions

Osimertinib can be co‐administered with CYP3A4 inhibitors, but strong CYP3A inducers should be avoided if possible.
WHO Global Consultation on Public Health Intervention against Early Childhood Caries
Authors: Phantumvanit Prathip , Makino Yuka , Ogawa Hiroshi , Rugg‐Gunn Andrew , Moynihan Paula , Petersen Poul Erik , Evans Wendell , Feldens Carlos Alberto , Lo Edward , Khoshnevisan Mohammad H. , Baez Ramon , Varenne Benoit , Vichayanrat Tippanart , Songpaisan Yupin , Woodward Margaret , Nakornchai Siriruk , Ungchusak Chantana
Published: January 2018

Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is prevalent around the world, but in particular the disease is growing rapidly in low‐ and middle‐income countries in parallel with changing diet and lifestyles. In many countries, ECC is often left untreated, a condition which leads to pain and adversely affects general health, growth and development, and quality of life of children, their families and their communities. Importantly, ECC is also a global public health burden, medically, socially and economically. In many countries, a substantial number of children require general anaesthesia for the treatment of caries in their primary teeth (usually extractions), and this has considerable cost and social implications. A WHO Global Consultation with oral health experts on “Public Health Intervention against Early Childhood Caries” was held on 26‐28 January 2016 in Bangkok (Thailand) to identify public health solutions and to highlight their applicability to low‐ and middle‐income countries. After a 3‐day consultation, participants agreed on specific recommendations for further action. National health authorities should develop strategies and implement interventions aimed at preventing and controlling ECC. These should align with existing international initiatives such as the Sixtieth World Health Assembly Resolution WHA 60.17 Oral health: action plan for promotion and integrated disease prevention, WHO Guideline on Sugars and WHO breastfeeding recommendation. ECC prevention and control interventions should be integrated into existing primary healthcare systems. WHO public health principles must be considered when tackling the effect of social determinants in ECC. Initiatives aimed at modifying behaviour should focus on families and communities. The involvement of communities in health promotion, and population‐directed and individual fluoride administration for the prevention and control of ECC is essential. Surveillance and research, including cost‐effectiveness studies, should be conducted to evaluate interventions aimed at preventing ECC in different population groups.
Self‐reported non‐adherence to immunosuppressive medication in adult lung transplant recipients—A single‐center cross‐sectional study
Authors: Drick Nora , Seeliger Benjamin , Fuge Jan , Tudorache Igor , Greer Mark , Welte Tobias , Haverich Axel , Gottlieb Jens
Published: January 2018

Background

Non‐adherence to immunosuppressive treatment following solid organ transplantation is common and often associated with poorer outcomes. Non‐adherence is difficult to assess, and barriers to adherence in lung transplant (LTx) recipients remain to be elucidated.

Methods

A single‐center cross‐sectional observational study of all LTx recipients attending our department between 07/2013 and 05/2014 was performed. Non‐adherence was assessed using patient self‐reporting, including Basel Assessment of Adherence with Immunosuppressive Medication Scale (BAASIS) along with healthcare worker (HCW) judgment and reasons for non‐adherence by the Immunosuppressive Therapy Barriers Scale.

Results

A total of 138/504 patients (27.4%) self‐reported non‐adherence to immunosuppressive medication. HCW scored 96/504 patients (19.1%) as poorly adherent. Self‐reported non‐adherence increased with increasing interval after transplantation. The main reason for non‐adherence was punctuality (75%), with only 11% reporting drug holidays. Explanations for non‐adherence were primarily related to self‐organization and difficulties incorporating medication into daily routine. There were no significant differences in medication knowledge or variation in trough levels.

Conclusions

This study confirms that non‐adherence in LTx recipients is frequent according to self‐report. Barriers are self‐organization and difficulties incorporating medication into daily routine. Social and behavioral support is needed to overcome non‐adherence. (ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT01889017).
Role of omalizumab in insulin hypersensitivity: a case report and review of the literature
Authors: Mishra S. , Connors L. , Tugwell B.
Published: January 2018

Background

Insulin allergy is a rare yet severe side effect of exogenous insulin use. Management typically involves use of alternative antihyperglycaemic agents, symptom control with antihistamines, use of different insulin formulations, and induction of tolerance with incremental doses of insulin. This treatment regimen is not always successful, and the use of omalizumab, an anti‐IgE monoclonal antibody, has been used to induce tolerance to insulin.

Case report

G.M. is a 62‐year‐old man with Type 2 diabetes mellitus. His condition was not optimized on oral agents, and insulin therapy was required. G.M. had anaphylaxis to insulin NPH, and subsequent skin‐prick testing was positive to insulin aspart, insulin NPH, insulin glulisine, insulin detemir, regular insulin, insulin glargine 100 units/ml and insulin glargine 300 units/ml. He received incremental doses of several insulin formulations; however, he experienced diffuse urticaria preventing optimal glycaemic control. Three successful cases have been described in the literature of omalizumab inducing tolerance to exogenous insulin; therefore, G.M. was started on omalizumab. He subsequently tolerated treatment doses of insulin glulisine and insulin detemir with no allergic reactions and with improvement in glycaemic control.

Conclusion

To our knowledge, this is the first described case of allergy to insulin glargine 300 units/ml and reiterates the potential use of omalizumab in insulin allergy. Further research is warranted to determine if omalizumab should be considered standard of care in difficult‐to‐treat insulin hypersensitivity.
Identifying in situ climate refugia for plant species
Authors: Baumgartner John B. , Esperón‐Rodríguez Manuel , Beaumont Linda J.
Published: January 2018

Identification of refugia from climate change is increasingly considered important for biodiversity conservation, but the distribution of putative refugia may vary across alternative climate scenarios, impeding conservation decision‐making. Based on 117 plant species representative of ecoregions within south‐eastern Australia, we provide a case study identifying in situ refugia across a spectrum of plausible future climates. We define in situ refugia as areas that currently contain populations of the target species, and are projected to remain climatically suitable in the future. Refugia were identified across scenarios describing futures that are, relative to 1990–2009, warmer and wetter, warmer/drier, hotter/wetter, and hotter with little precipitation change. Despite substantial variation in the spatial extent and longevity of climate refugia across species, ecoregions and climate scenarios, clear patterns emerged. By 2070, refugia for species in 1) deserts and xeric shrublands; 2) mediterranean forests, woodlands and shrublands; and 3) temperate and tropical grasslands are likely to be least extensive under a hotter/wetter future. Conversely, wetter conditions may lead to broader refugia for species in temperate forests. We identified areas of congruence where high richness refugia (refugia for ≥ 50% of representative species) were projected to occur irrespective of the climate scenario. These regions therefore appear robust to uncertainty about climate change, presenting clear targets for conservation attention. Our approach provides valuable information for decision‐makers, enabling them to identify and visualise the spatial arrangement of refugia under contrasting scenarios of environmental change. This reveals management options in the context of climate uncertainty and facilitates informed prioritisation of conservation resources.
Microclimate response of soil to plateau pika's disturbance in the northeast Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau
Authors: Ma Y. J. , Wu Y. N. , Liu W. L. , Li X. Y. , Lin H. S.
Published: January 2018

The plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) is one of the main native soil faunas on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau and plays a key role in the terrestrial ecosystem there. To understand how and why the soil microclimate changes after the plateau pika's disturbance, this study measured soil, vegetation, hydrologic and thermal properties and investigated soil moisture and soil temperature dynamics from 2014 to 2015 at the plot scale of four types of land surface: original grassland, new mound, old mound and bald patch. Our results showed that the average coefficients of surface runoff of original grassland, new mound, old mound and bald patch were 0.6, 3.0, 4.3 and 10.0%, respectively (P < 0.05). Evapotranspiration was largest for original grassland, especially under wet conditions, and was similar among the other three types of land surface during the growing season (P < 0.01). During varying precipitation events, the soil moisture content of new mound increased first, followed by old mound, original grassland and bald patch. Meanwhile, the increasing magnitude of soil moisture content had the same order. At the seasonal timescale, soil moisture content at 5‐cm depth was largest for old mound and smallest for bald patch (P < 0.01). The mean daily soil temperature at 5‐cm depth of new mound was approximately 0.8°C higher than that of old mound (P < 0.01) because of the smaller land surface reflectance of the former. The daily range of soil temperature at 5‐cm depth of original grassland and bald patch was about 2.7 and 4.7°C higher than the average value of new and old mounds, respectively, because of the larger soil thermal conductivity of the former two. A conceptual framework is suggested in this study to synthesize the evolution of soil microclimate under disturbance by the plateau pika. Overall, results indicated that new and old mounds accelerate soil hydrologic processes and have a better soil temperature buffer.

Highlights

Change in soil microclimate of different types of land surface under disturbance by the plateau pika.

New and old mounds accelerate soil hydrologic processes and have a better soil temperature buffer.

New and old mounds provide advantageous environments for plateau pika.

Bald patch had the smallest soil moisture content and largest daily range of soil temperature.
Can We Talk? What We Have Learned About How to Have Productive Conflicts About Family Policy and Family Law
Authors: Mayer Bernie
Published: January 2018

How we handle professional conflicts affects our capacity to help others in conflict. Two AFCC dialogues, one about domestic violence, the other about shared parenting, illustrate the challenges of taking on professional differences. The former resulted in considerable consensus. The latter involved a frank exchange of differences but little overall consensus. It was, however, an important beginning of a critical conversation. Other issues calling out for constructive conflict engagement, include the crisis in providing access to justice for family litigants who cannot afford legal representation. Professional groups must move beyond defending their own self interests to addressing this crisis.
Law Students on Interdisciplinary, Problem‐Solving Teams: An Empirical Evaluation of Educational Outcomes at the University Of Denver's Resource Center for Separating and Divorcing Families
Authors: Pruett Marsha Kline , Schepard Andrew , Cornett Logan , Gerety Corina , Kourlis Rebecca Love
Published: January 2018

Models of lawyering in separation and divorce disputes are evolving to emphasize interdisciplinary collaboration, problem solving, alternative dispute resolution, and changes in legal education that reflect these changes in practice. At the University of Denver's Resource Center for Separating and Divorcing Families (Center), supervised law and mental health graduate students worked as a team to provide assessment and service planning, mediation, therapy, and agreement drafting to parents. Evaluation results showed client satisfaction, and that students acquired new knowledge, skills, and values in line with a collaborative, problem‐solving orientation. Strengths and weaknesses of the model are considered.
Book Review: Conflict Resolution for the Helping Professions: Negotiation, Mediation, Advocacy, Facilitation and Restorative Justice (Third Edition) by Allan Edward Barsky
Authors: Saini Michael
Published: January 2018

The third edition of Dr. Allan Barsky's (2017) book entitled Conflict Resolution for the Helping Professions: Negotiation, Mediation, Advocacy, Facilitation and Restorative Justice is reviewed based on content, style, and relevance to the field of conflict resolution. The third edition offers an expanded exploration of conflict resolution across practice settings, making it an instructive read for diverse professionals interested in learning how to best help others resolve conflict. The scaffolding structure of the text, the problem‐solving approach embedded into the presentation of the materials, and the use of real‐life examples makes this an important source for educators and trainers in the field of conflict resolution.
Contrasted optimal environmental windows for both sardinella species in Senegalese waters
Authors: Diankha Ousmane , Ba Aliou , Brehmer Patrice , Brochier Timothée , Sow Bamol Ali , Thiaw Modou , Gaye Amadou Thierno , Ngom Fambaye , Demarcq Hervé
Published: January 2018

We investigate Sardinella aurita and Sardinella maderensis recruitment success relative to the variability of oceanographic conditions in Senegalese waters using generalized additive models (GAM). Results show that recruitment of both species is marked by a strong intra‐annual (seasonal) variation with minimum and maximum in winter and summer, respectively. Their interannual variations are synchronous until 2006 (recruitment decreasing), while from 2007 there is no synchrony. The model developed shows that sardinella recruitment variability is closely related to the tested environmental variables in the study area. However, the key environmental variables influencing the recruitment success are different for both species: the Coastal Upwelling Index and the sea surface temperature for S. aurita and S. maderensis, respectively. We report that recruitment success of S. aurita and S. maderensis are associated with distinct ranges of sea surface temperature, upwelling intensity, wind‐induced turbulence, concentration of chlorophyll‐a and north Atlantic oscillation index. Considering food security and socio‐economic importance of both stocks, we recommend that consideration is given to the environmental variability in the small pelagic fish national management plans, particularly in the context of climate change.