bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Perinatal outcomes of Australian buprenorphine‐exposed mothers and their newborn infants
Authors: Patel Pankaj , Abdel‐Latif Mohamed E , Hazelton Briony , Wodak Alex , Chen Julia , Emsley Fiona , Feller John M , Lui Kei , Oei Ju Lee
Published: June 2013

Aim

To determine the short‐term outcomes of Australian buprenorphine‐exposed mother/infant dyads.

Methods

Retrospective record review of drug‐exposed mothers and infants in Australia. Groups were based on drug exposure: buprenorphine (55, 3.8%), non‐buprenorphine opiates (O, 686, 48.6%) and non‐opiates (NO, 671, 47.5%).

Results

More than 30% of buprenorphine mothers continued to use heroin (21, 38%) and benzodiazepines (16, 29%). They were more likely to have child at risk concerns (29, 52.7%, P = 0.019) and have previous children placed in out‐of‐home care (9, 16.3%, P = 049). Buprenorphine babies were less likely to be preterm (16% vs. 25% (O), P = 0.001 and 23% (NO), P = 0.004) and had higher birthweights (median: 3165 g vs. 2842.5 g (O), P < 0.001 and 2900 g (NO), P = 0.004). Buprenorphine and non‐buprenorphine opioid babies had similar maximum Finnegan scores (median 10 vs. 11(O), P = 0.144). The number of babies needing abstinence treatment (45% vs. 51% (O), P = 0.411) and length of hospital stay (median days 9 vs. 11(O), P = 0.067) were similar, but buprenorphine infants required lower maximum morphine doses (mg/kg/day) (median 0.4 mg vs. 0.5 mg (O), P = 0.009).

Conclusions

Short‐term medical outcomes of infants of buprenorphine‐using mothers are similar to those of non‐buprenorphine opiate‐using mothers, but interpretation of these results is confounded by the high rates of polydrug exposure in the buprenorphine group. This and other social concerns noted in buprenorphine mothers and infants warrant further study.
Review of the management of childhood asthma in Tasmania
Authors: Bereznicki Bonnie J , Norton Lucy C , Beggs Sean A , Gee Peter , Bereznicki Luke RE
Published: June 2013

Aim

To review the supply of medications to children with asthma and parent‐reported management of childhood asthma in Tasmania and highlight evidence‐practice gaps for future interventions.

Methods

Participating pharmacies ran a software application that extracted data from dispensing records and helped to identify children with asthma. Parents of identified children were mailed a survey evaluating components of asthma management. Dispensing and survey data were analysed.

Results

A total of 939 children from 23 pharmacies were identified by the software and deemed eligible for inclusion. Surveys were received from 353 (37.6%) parents. In the past year, short‐acting beta‐2 agonists were supplied to 56.1% of the cohort, preventers to 76.5% (inhaled corticosteroids 52.3%; leukotriene receptor antagonists 31.3%; inhaled cromones 0.6%), long‐acting beta‐2 agonists (LABAs) to 25.7% and oral corticosteroids to 21.5%. Approximately half of the children receiving inhaled corticosteroids were concurrently receiving a LABA. Among children with indicators of inadequately controlled asthma, up to 73.7% of their parents reported that their asthma was adequately controlled, up to 38.2% did not possess an Asthma Action Plan, up to 36.8% were not regularly using a spacer and up to 22.8% had not received a preventer.

Conclusion

These results indicate gaps in childhood asthma management, in particular, undersupply of preventers in high‐risk patient groups, high supply of LABAs and insufficient spacer and asthma action plan usage. These areas should be targeted for interventions to improve childhood asthma management.
Nitric Oxide-Releasing Polymeric Microspheres Improve Diabetes-Related Erectile Dysfunction
Authors: Soni Samit D. , Song Weitao , West Jennifer L. , Khera Mohit
Published: June 2013

Introduction

We have used a long-acting nitric oxide (NO)-releasing polymer to develop injectable biodegradable microspheres capable of localized NO release over prolonged periods of time.

Aim

The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic potential of these microspheres for diabetes-related erectile dysfunction (ED) in the rat model.

Methods

NO-releasing microspheres were incubated in physiologic buffer, and in vitro NO release was measured using a Griess assay. To ensure no migration, microspheres were fluorescently tagged and injected into the corpus cavernosum of adult rats, and fluorescent imaging was performed weekly for 4 weeks, at which point rats were sacrificed. To assess physiologic efficacy, diabetes was induced in 40 rats using streptozotocin (STZ), whereas 10 rats were kept as age-matched controls. Diabetic rats were divided into four groups: no treatment, sildenafil, NO-releasing microspheres, and combination therapy. For each rat, the cavernosal nerve (CN) was stimulated at various voltages, and intracavernosal pressure (ICP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were measured via corpus cavernosum and carotid artery catheterization, respectively. Long-term efficacy was determined by injecting diabetic rats with microspheres and measuring erectile response at predetermined intervals for up to 5 weeks.

Main Outcome Measures

Erectile response was determined via calculation of mean peak ICP/MAP and area under curve (AUC) for each experimental group.

Results

Under physiologic conditions in vitro, microspheres continued NO release for up to 4 weeks. Fluorescent imaging revealed no detectable signal in tissues besides cavernosal tissue at 4 weeks postinjection. Upon CN stimulation, peak ICP/MAP ratio and AUC of diabetic rats improved significantly (P < 0.05) in microsphere and combination therapy groups compared with no treatment and sildenafil groups. In long-term efficacy studies, microspheres augmented the effect of sildenafil for 3 weeks following injection (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

NO-releasing microspheres significantly improved erectile response in diabetic rats for 3 weeks and hence offer a promising approach to ED therapy, either as monotherapy or combination therapy.
Incidence, Nature, and Etiology of Metabolic Alkalosis in Dogs and Cats
Authors: Ha Y.‐S. , Hopper K. , Epstein S.E.
Published: June 2013

Background

The incidence and causes of metabolic alkalosis in dogs and cats have not been fully investigated.

Objectives

To describe the incidence, nature, and etiology of metabolic alkalosis in dogs and cats undergoing blood gas analysis at a veterinary teaching hospital.

Animals

Dogs and cats at a veterinary medical teaching hospital.

Methods

Acid–base and electrolyte results for dogs and cats measured during a 13‐month period were retrospectively collected from a computer database. Only the first measured (venous or arterial) blood gas analyzed in a single hospitalization period was included. Animals with a base excess above the reference range for the species were included.

Results

A total of 1,805 dogs and cats were included. Of these, 349 (19%) were identified as having an increased standardized base excess, 319 dogs and 30 cats. The mixed acid–base disorder of metabolic alkalosis with respiratory acidosis was the most common abnormality identified in both dogs and cats. Hypokalemia and hypochloremia were more common in animals with metabolic alkalosis compared to animals without metabolic alkalosis. The 4 most commonly identified underlying diseases were respiratory disease, gastrointestinal tract obstruction, furosemide administration, and renal disease.

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

Metabolic alkalosis was less common than metabolic acidosis in the same population of animals. Evidence of contraction alkalosis was present in many patients in this study. Hypokalemia and hypochloremia were more frequent in patients with metabolic alkalosis and suggest the importance of evaluation of acid–base status in conjunction with serum electrolyte concentrations.
Identification of Ictalurid Catfish Fillets to Rearing Location Using Elemental Profiling
Authors: Li Li , Boyd Claude E. , Odom John , Dong Shuanglin
Published: June 2013

Fillets of channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, from three geographic areas, fillets of hybrid catfish (♀ I. punctatus × ♂ blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus) from one of the areas, water samples from the culture ponds, and feed samples were subjected to elemental analysis by inductive‐coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP‐AES). The fillets were low in concentrations of several elements, and ICP‐AES could consistently detect only 11 elements. In addition, the composition of the fillets was not greatly influenced by water chemistry or feed composition. Nevertheless, both canonical discriminant analysis and K‐nearest‐neighbor analysis were reliable in separating the fillets to geographic area of origin and separating hybrid from channel catfish fillets based on elemental composition. Although this study suggests that multielement analysis and pattern recognition techniques have potential for validating the geographic origin of catfish fillets, much more work is needed to perfect the technique.
Progeny Production of the Copepods Pseudodiaptomus euryhalinus and Tisbe monozota in Monospecific and Mixed Cultures
Authors: Puello‐Cruz Ana C. , Mezo‐Villalobos Sofía , Voltolina Domenico
Published: June 2013

The objective of this research was to culture the calanoid copepod Pseudodiaptomus euryhalinus, Johnson 1939, and the harpacticoid Tisbe monozota, Bowman, 1962, in monospecific and combined cultures (P. euryhalinus : T. monozota at 1:1, 2:1, and 1:2 starting ratios), and to compare the nauplii, copepodite, and adult production. Mean total production ranged from 740.3 ± 137.5 organisms/L (P. euryhalinus) to 884.3 ± 489.7 organisms/L (T. monozota) for monospecific cultures. The 1:1 ratio mixed cultures gave 780.4 ± 155.8 organisms/L, those with the 2:1 and 1:2 P. euryhalinus and T. monozota starting ratios produced 710.1 ± 195.2 and 799.7 ± 232.5 organisms/L, respectively, and there were no significant difference among treatments. All mixed cultures gave significantly lower copepodite productions than the monocultures of each species. In addition, the tendency to a decreased progeny production of the initial females of T. monozota indicates that the outcome of long‐term mixed cultures would production either a high dominance of P. euryhalinus, or monocultures of this species.
Molecular Cloning and Expression Analysis of Transformer‐2 Gene During Development in Macrobrachium nipponense (de Haan 1849)
Authors: Zhang Yanping , Fu Hongtuo , Qiao Hui , Jin Shubo , Jiang Sufei , Xiong Yiwei , Gong Yongsheng , Zhang Xianzhong
Published: June 2013

The transformer‐2 gene (tra‐2) plays a key role in the sexual differentiation regulatory hierarchy. In this study, tra‐2 gene homologs designated as Mntra‐2 was cloned and characterized from Macrobrachium nipponense. The full‐length cDNA of Mntra‐2 consists of 1724 bp with an open reading frame (ORF) encoding 192 amino acids, an 827 bp 5′‐untranslated region (UTR) and a 318 bp 3′‐UTR. The predicated molecular mass of Mntra‐2 was 20.805 kDa with an estimated theoretical isoelectric point of 10.36. The deduced amino acid sequence shares high homology with Penaeus monodon. Real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR) analyses demonstrated that the expression levels of Mntra‐2 varied significantly during different developmental stages of embryogenesis, larvae, and post‐larvae and in various adult tissues. During embryogenesis, the expression level of Mntra‐2 was slightly higher at the cleavage stage than at the blastula stage, and reached the highest level at the nauplius stage. During the larvae, the Mntra‐2 expression gradually increased from 1 d larvae post hatch (L1) to L10 and decreased to a lowest level at the end of metamorphosis. During the post‐larvae, the Mntra‐2 expression was higher level at the 5 d after the metamorphosis (P5). RT‐qPCR showed the Mntra‐2 mRNA was expressed in ovary, testis, muscle, heart, abdominal ganglion, brain, and intestine with the highest level of expression in muscle and intestine. The results indicate that Mntra‐2 is an arthropods tra‐2 homolog and probably plays important roles in embryonic development and sex differentiation of M. nipponense.
Ontogenetic Development of the Digestive System in Agastric Chinese Sucker, Myxocyprinus asiaticus, Larvae
Authors: Liu Cai‐Xia , Luo Zhi , Tan Xiao‐Ying , Gong Shi‐Yuan
Published: June 2013

This study was conducted to determine the ontogenetic development of the digestive tract and its accessory structures (liver, pancreas, and gall bladder) in agastric larval Chinese sucker Myxocyprinus asiaticus with the histological and ultrastructural approaches from hatching to 56 days after hatching (DAH). On the basis of its feeding mode, and analyzing the main histological features of the digestive system, larval development in Chinese sucker was divided into three stages from hatching: stage 1 (endotrophic period): 1–6 DAH; stage 2 (endoexotrophic period): 7–14 DAH; stage 3 (exclusively exotrophic period): from 15 DAH onward. At hatching, the digestive tract of the larvae consisted of an undifferentiated straight tube. At 4 DAH, the mouth opened, and the digestive tract was differentiated into buccopharyngeal cavity, esophagus and intestine. At 7 DAH, fish started to feed exogenously. Yolk sac was completely exhausted at 15 DAH. Until 56 DAH, the digestive tract of the larvae displayed regularly arranged microvilli, abundant vacuoles, and protein inclusion bodies. The pancreas, liver, and gall bladder were functional from 6 DAH, which enabled larvae to ingest, digest, and assimilate the first exogenous food. In comparison with teleosts that have a stomach, the development of the digestive tract of the agastric Chinese sucker seemed relatively slow.
Differential growth in doctor–patient communications skills
Authors: M van Es Judith , Wieringa‐de Waard Margreet , Visser Mechteld R M
Published: June 2013

Context

Although doctor–patient communication is considered a core competency for medical doctors, the effect of training has not been unequivocally established. Moreover, knowledge about the variance in the growth of different skills and whether certain patterns in growth can be detected could help us to develop more efficient programmes. We therefore investigated the growth in general practitioner (GP) trainees' doctor–patient communication skills in their first year and whether the growth was different for distinct categories of skills.

Methods

Seventy‐one first‐year GP trainees were invited to participate in a study aimed at measuring their consultation skills at the beginning (baseline) and at the end of their first year (follow‐up). Consultation skills were assessed with the MAAS–Global rating list for consultation skills.

Results

Data on 29 general practitioner trainees were collected. MAAS–Global scores showed a significant growth on all items but one. Patient‐oriented skills showed significantly more growth than task‐oriented skills. Empathy as a separate skill seems to be mastered predominantly before the start of training.

Conclusions

Three patterns in the growth in skills were distinguished: (i) low baseline, relatively high follow‐up, (ii) moderate baseline, moderate growth and (iii) high baseline, hardly any growth. Patient‐oriented skills follow either pattern (i) or (iii), whereas task‐oriented skills follow pattern (ii). These findings may help to define where the focus should lie in the training of doctor–patient communication skills.
Web‐based feedback after summative assessment: how do students engage?
Authors: Harrison Christopher J , Könings Karen D , Molyneux Adrian , Schuwirth Lambert W T , Wass Valerie , van der Vleuten Cees P M
Published: June 2013

Context

There is little research into how to deliver summative assessment student feedback effectively. The main aims of this study were to clarify how students engage with feedback in this context and to explore the roles of learning‐related characteristics and previous and current performance.

Methods

A website was developed to deliver feedback about the objective structural clinical examination (OSCE) in various formats: station by station or on skills across stations. In total, 138 students (in the third year out of five) completed a questionnaire about goal orientation, motivation, self‐efficacy, control of learning beliefs and attitudes to feedback. Individual website usage was analysed over an 8‐week period. Latent class analyses were used to identify profiles of students, based on their use of different aspects of the feedback website. Differences in learning‐related student characteristics between profiles were assessed using analyses of variance (anovas). Individual website usage was related to OSCE performance.

Results

In total, 132 students (95.7%) viewed the website. The number of pages viewed ranged from two to 377 (median 102). Fifty per cent of students engaged comprehensively with the feedback, 27% used it in a minimal manner, whereas a further 23% used it in a more selective way. Students who were comprehensive users of the website scored higher on the value of feedback scale, whereas students who were minimal users scored higher on extrinsic motivation. Higher performing students viewed significantly more web pages showing comparisons with peers than weaker students did. Students who just passed the assessment made least use of the feedback.

Conclusions

Higher performing students appeared to use the feedback more for positive affirmation than for diagnostic information. Those arguably most in need engaged least. We need to construct feedback after summative assessment in a way that will more effectively engage those students who need the most help.
Tools for the direct observation and assessment of psychomotor skills in medical trainees: a systematic review
Authors: Jelovsek J Eric , Kow Nathan , Diwadkar Gouri B
Published: June 2013

Context

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Milestone Project mandates programmes to assess the attainment of training outcomes, including the psychomotor (surgical or procedural) skills of medical trainees. The objectives of this study were to determine which tools exist to directly assess psychomotor skills in medical trainees on live patients and to identify the data indicating their psychometric and edumetric properties.

Methods

An electronic search was conducted for papers published from January 1948 to May 2011 using the PubMed, Education Resource Information Center (ERIC), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and Web of Science electronic databases and the review of references in article bibliographies. A study was included if it described a tool or instrument designed for the direct observation of psychomotor skills in patient care settings by supervisors. Studies were excluded if they referred to tools that assessed only clinical or non‐technical skills, involved non‐medical health professionals, or assessed skills performed on a simulator. Overall, 4114 citations were screened, 168 (4.1%) articles were reviewed for eligibility and 51 (1.2%) manuscripts were identified as meeting the study inclusion criteria. Three authors abstracted and reviewed studies using a standardised form for the presence of key psychometric and edumetric elements as per ACGME and American Psychological Association (APA) recommendations, and also assigned an overall grade based on the ACGME Committee on Educational Outcome Assessment grading system.

Results

A total of 30 tools were identified. Construct validity based on associations between scores and training level was identified in 24 tools, internal consistency in 14, test–retest reliability in five and inter‐rater reliability in 20. The modification of attitudes, knowledge or skills was reported using five tools. The seven‐item Global Rating Scale and the Procedure‐Based Assessment received an overall Class 1 ACGME grade and are recommended based on Level A ACGME evidence.

Conclusions

Numerous tools are available for the assessment of psychomotor skills in medical trainees, but evidence supporting their psychometric and edumetric properties is limited.
The pathogenicity island encoded PvrSR/RcsCB regulatory network controls biofilm formation and dispersal in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14
Authors: Mikkelsen Helga , Hui Kailyn , Barraud Nicolas , Filloux Alain
Published: June 2013

Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm formation is linked to persistent infections in humans. Biofilm formation is facilitated by extracellular appendages, some of which are assembled by the Chaperone Usher Pathway (Cup). The cupD gene cluster is located on the PAPI‐1 pathogenicity island of strain PA14 and has probably been acquired together with four genes encoding two‐component signal transduction proteins. We have previously showed that the RcsB response regulator activates expression of the cupD genes, which leads to the production of CupD fimbriae and increased attachment. Here we show that RcsB activity is tightly modulated by two sensors, RcsC and PvrS. While PvrS acts as a kinase that enhances RcsB activity, RcsC has a dual function, first as a phosphorelay, and second as a phosphatase. We found that, under certain growth conditions, overexpression of RcsB readily induces biofilm dispersal. Microarray analysis shows that RcsB positively controls expression of pvrR that encodes the phosphodiesterase required for this dispersal process. Finally, in addition to the PAPI‐1 encoded cupD genes, RcsB controls several genes on the core genome, some of which encode orphan response regulators. We thus discovered that RcsB is central to a large regulatory network that fine‐tunes the switch between biofilm formation and dispersal.
In vitro resistance mechanisms of Neisseria meningitidis against neutrophil extracellular traps
Authors: Lappann Martin , Danhof Sophia , Guenther Frank , Olivares‐Florez Silvana , Mordhorst Ines Louise , Vogel Ulrich
Published: June 2013

Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) is a leading cause of septicemia in childhood. Nm septicemia is unique with respect to very quick disease progression, high in vivo bacterial replication rate and its considerable mortality. Nm circumvents major mechanisms of innate immunity such as complement system and phagocytosis. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are formed from neutrophils during systemic infection and are suggested to contain invading microorganisms. Here, we investigated the interaction of Nm with NETs. Both, meningococci and spontaneously released outer membrane vesicles (SOMVs) were potent NET inducers. NETs were unable to kill NET bound meningococci, but slowed down their proliferation rate. Using Nm as model organism we identified three novel mechanisms how bacteria can evade NET‐mediated killing: (i) modification of lipid A of meningococcal LPS with phosphoethanolamine protected Nm from NET‐bound cathepsin G; (ii) expression of the high‐affinity zinc uptake receptor ZnuD allowed Nm to escape NET‐mediated nutritional immunity; (iii) binding of SOMVs to NETs saved Nm from NET binding and the consequent bacteriostatic effect. Escape from NETs may contribute to the most rapid progression of meningococcal disease. The induction of NET formation by Nm in vivo might aggravate thrombosis in vessels ultimately directing to disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC).
Plasticity in the proteome of Emiliania huxleyi CCMP 1516 to extremes of light is highly targeted
Authors: McKew Boyd A. , Lefebvre Stephane C. , Achterberg Eric P. , Metodieva Gergana , Raines Christine A. , Metodiev Metodi V. , Geider Richard J.
Published: June 2013

Optimality principles are often applied in theoretical studies of microalgal ecophysiology to predict changes in allocation of resources to different metabolic pathways, and optimal acclimation is likely to involve changes in the proteome, which typically accounts for > 50% of cellular nitrogen (N).

We tested the hypothesis that acclimation of the microalga Emiliania huxleyi CCMP 1516 to suboptimal vs supraoptimal light involves large changes in the proteome as cells rebalance the capacities to absorb light, fix CO2, perform biosynthesis and resist photooxidative stress.

Emiliania huxleyi was grown in nutrient‐replete continuous culture at 30 (LL) and 1000 μmol photons m−2 s−1 (HL), and changes in the proteome were assessed by LC‐MS/MS shotgun proteomics. Changes were most evident in proteins involved in the light reactions of photosynthesis; the relative abundance of photosystem I (PSI) and PSII proteins was 70% greater in LL, light‐harvesting fucoxanthin–chlorophyll proteins (Lhcfs) were up to 500% greater in LL and photoprotective LI818 proteins were 300% greater in HL.

The marked changes in the abundances of Lhcfs and LI818s, together with the limited plasticity in the bulk of the E. huxleyi proteome, probably reflect evolutionary pressures to provide energy to maintain metabolic capabilities in stochastic light environments encountered by this species in nature.
Washing the patient: dignity and aesthetic values in nursing care
Authors: Pols Jeannette
Published: June 2013

Dignity is a fundamental concept, but its meaning is not clear. This paper attempts to clarify the term by analysing and reconnecting two meanings of dignity: humanitas and dignitas. Humanitas refers to citizen values that protect individuals as equal to one another. Dignitas refers to aesthetic values embedded in genres of sociality that relate to differences between people. The paper explores these values by way of an empirical ethical analysis of practices of washing psychiatric patients in nursing care. Nurses legitimate the washing of reluctant patients with reference to dignity. The analysis shows the intertwinement of humanitas and dignitas that gives dignity its fundamental meaning
The politics of corruption, inequality, and the socially excluded
Authors: Santos Salas Anna
Published: June 2013

In this article, the production of knowledge in the context of socially excluded people exposed to inequality, oppression, and exploitation is problematized. The analysis follows Enrique Dussel's philosophical exegesis of the politics of power and corruption and his vision of a critical transformation of the social political order. The argument is also informed by the work of critical educator Paulo Freire, who elucidates the conditions of oppression and marginalization and highlights the importance of conscientization to develop a critical awareness of these conditions. Hannah Arendt's work on the politics of understanding totalitarianism also assists in the elucidation of the machinery that operates behind oppression to sustain power and inequality. The article emphasizes the need to recognize the inequality of conditions that exists between the producer of knowledge and those who live through inequality and oppression in their lived corporality. A critical transformation of the process of production of knowledge is needed to both acknowledge the conditions that sustain this endeavour in the first place and avoid the corruption of knowledge. A work of conscientization is also necessary among knowledge producers to undertake a critical analysis of inequality that exposes the corruption of power. This analysis needs to examine and unmask the hidden mechanisms that perpetuate inequality and oppression and serve only the interests of a few. The abysmal gaps between the wealthy and the poor within and among countries bespeak a degree of human indifference that reflects a most serious and complex phenomenon that perverts something profoundly human in our societies.
Desiring productivity: nary a wasted moment, never a missed step!
Authors: Rudge Trudy
Published: June 2013

The purpose of this paper is to explore how nurses are enrolled into and take part in programmes of efficiency and effectiveness. Using the philosophical theorizing about desire as a force or power, I focus specifically on what is understood as relations between desire and productivity in current Westernized health‐care systems. Use is made of the idea from Spinoza that human emotions consist only of pleasure, pain, and desire as these act as a motive force. This is then linked with more contemporary work on the politics and discourses of desire. A report on the implementation of a productivity programme in the United Kingdom, The Productive Ward: Releasing time to care™, is explored for the ways its developers set about motivating nurses to endorse and enact the programme. In exploring the mechanics of desire in these processes, a view of desire as productive is promoted. Looking at desire as assembling actions, and an assemblage, moves the analysis to an interrogation of actions and practices used to enable and bring nurses to the process. Moreover, in working through the various modalities and operations of desire, the potential and limits of such projects are abstracted. Such potentials and limits are necessarily set by the intensification of power and desire in the capitalist economy, saturating areas of nursing, and health‐care provision.
Beat the clock! Wait times and the production of ‘quality’ in emergency departments
Authors: Melon Karen A. , White Deborah , Rankin Janet
Published: June 2013

Emergency care in large urban hospitals across the country is in the midst of major redesign intended to deliver quality care through improved access, decreased wait times, and maximum efficiency. The central argument in this paper is that the conceptualization of quality including the documentary facts and figures produced to substantiate quality emergency care is socially organized within a powerful ruling discourse that inserts the interests of politics and economics into nurses' work. The Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale figures prominently in the analysis as a high‐level organizer of triage work and knowledge production that underpins the way those who administer the system define, measure and evaluate emergency care processes, and then use this information for restructuring. Managerial targets and thinking not only dominate the way emergency work is understood, determined, and controlled but also subsume the actual work of health‐care providers in spaces called ‘wait times’, where it is systematically rendered ‘unknowable’. The analysis is supported with evidence from an extensive institutional ethnography that shows what nurses actually do to manage the safe passage of patients through their emergency care process starting with the work of triage nurses.
Climate change and species interactions: beyond local communities
Authors: Gilbert Benjamin , O'Connor Mary I.
Published: June 2013

It is increasingly recognized that the wide‐scale modification of habitats caused by climate change requires scientists to consider how species and species interactions change both locally and at larger, regional scales. Metacommunity approaches explicitly link local and regional dynamics for communities of species, providing a conceptual and mathematical framework for global change biologists. These approaches can scale between community‐level impacts and the regional distributions and movements of species, and likewise determine how changes to regional processes, such as dispersal and habitat configuration, influence local abundances and occurrences. This review discusses several lessons that have recently emerged from climate change studies and metacommunity theory to identify some of the key processes that link local‐scale studies to regional‐scale properties of communities, and vice versa. We then use simple models to highlight how these linkages function and to identify where research could gain most by studying specific local and regional processes. Finally, we propose methods for the field to move forward by clarifying how to incorporate metacommunity approaches into empirical research, and by identifying important gaps in metacommunity research.
The Role of Operational Capabilities in Enhancing New Venture Survival: A Longitudinal Study
Authors: Tatikonda Mohan V. , Terjesen Siri A. , Patel Pankaj C. , Parida Vinit
Published: June 2013

We investigate relationships between operational capabilities and new venture survival. On the basis of operations management and entrepreneurship literature, we develop a contingency framework of operational capabilities especially appropriate at different life phases of a new venture's evolution. We expect that in the first years of a new venture's life, entrepreneurs should emphasize high inventory turnover to preserve working capital, support customer responsiveness, and aid firm adaptability. As new ventures grow, entrepreneurs should emphasize internal working capital generation via larger gross margins to support production ramp‐up. Later, new venture entrepreneurs should emphasize employee productivity to buttress sustainable volume production. We analyze a 6‐year longitudinal sample of 812 Swedish manufacturing new ventures using a gamma frailty‐based Cox regression. The findings show that specific operational capabilities, while always supporting new venture survival, have exceptional influence in specific new venture life phases. The three hypotheses are confirmed, suggesting that higher inventory turnover, gross margin, and employee productivity further increase new venture survival likelihoods, respectively, in the venture's start‐up, growth, and stability phases. This suggests a phased‐capabilities approach to new venture survival. This study contributes to operations management and entrepreneurship theory and practice, and sets a foundation for future research on operations strategy for new ventures.
Outcome following Fractures of the Greater Tuberosity of the Humerus: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Unnithan Ashwin , Matti Zaid , Hong Thin Foo
Published: June 2013

Background

There are limited data available on the outcome of patients following isolated fractures of the greater tuberosity of the humerus. In this retrospective study, we looked at how differences with respect to the injury and subsequent management affected patient outcomes.

Methods

Forty-eight (28 men and 20 women) patients (mean age 45 years) who were treated at our institution between 1999 and 2009 matched our inclusion criteria. Thirty-five patients were treated surgically and 13 were managed conservatively. Functional outcome was assessed after a mean follow-up of 5.5 years using the Oxford Shoulder Score (OSS), the University of California and Los Angeles (UCLA) rating scale and the shoulder index of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES).

Results

Post-fixation displacement of the greater tuberosity fragment of < 5 mm led to a significantly better outcome than displacement > 5 mm (OSS = 43 versus 37; ASES = 25.6 versus 17.7; UCLA 28.2 versus 21.3). Patients who had surgery > 2 weeks after the initial injury had a significantly worse outcome than those who had surgery in < 2 weeks (OSS = 37.4 versus 44.7; ASES = 18.9 versus 27.2). Patients with shoulder dislocation had worse outcome than those with no dislocation (OSS = 40.6 versus 44; ASES 22.9 versus 26) and rotator cuff tears were also associated with worse outcome scores than those without (OSS 42.8 versus 36.8; ASES 24.5 versus 20.5), although neither of these variables proved statistically significant.

Conclusions

Isolated fractures of the greater tuberosity have a worse outcome if there is a delay in surgical fixation of > 2 weeks and post-fixation displacement of > 5 mm.
Review of Literature on Media Literacy
Authors: Potter W. James
Published: June 2013

Media literacy is a topic that has attracted a wide variety of scholars as well as non‐scholars. This review begins with an analysis of how media literacy has been defined by the range of contributors to the huge and growing literature on media literacy. The review then lays out the big picture concerning media literacy interventions as well as how media literacy has been regarded within the institution of public education. The review concludes with a series of recommendations about conceptualizations, research, and instruction.
The social organisation of Wadeye's heavy metal mobs
Authors: Mansfield John
Published: June 2013

The heavy metal mobs of Wadeye (notorious in the media as ‘heavy metal gangs’) are a new form of Aboriginal social organisation, almost entirely constituted by collateral kinship rather than descent relations. Dozens of overlapping mobs are each made up of sets of brothers and cousins, and are publicly symbolised by the name of a heavy metal band discovered via mass media. In contrast to recent Australianist anthropology that emphasises the fluidity of social structures and intercultural processes of identity formation, I argue that the metal mobs constitute a highly codified system of social organisation, and one in which non‐Aboriginal cultural influences are quite peripheral.
Transforming history and myth: On the mutuality and separation of shared narratives in Eastern Tibet
Authors: Tan Gillian G.
Published: June 2013

Questioning the distinction between ‘cold’ and ‘hot’ societies, and an implied separation between myth and history, anthropologists have increasingly urged for an understanding of both myth and history as equally valid modes of shared social consciousness. This article takes up this point of view by referring to a written history of Lhagang, a town in Eastern Tibet; a history that appears to have the transformative content and oral circulation of myth. Using Lévi‐Strauss’ structural analysis of myth and Santos‐Granero's concept of topograms to demonstrate themythemesthat derive from the written history and circulate among Lhagang Tibetans, the article argues that, within the political and cultural context of Lhagang, myth and history shift in and out of indigenous categories even while being categorically distinct.
Association of IFNAR2 and IL10RB genes in chronic hepatitis B virus infection
Authors: Romporn S. , Hirankarn N. , Tangkijvanich P. , Kimkong I.
Published: June 2013

In this study, we investigated the effects of two functional polymorphisms, type I interferon receptor 2 gene (IFNAR2)‐F8S and interleukin‐10 receptor subunit beta gene (IL10RB)‐K47E, on chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. We included 227 Thai patients with chronic HBV infection [100 with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and 127 non‐HCC], 170 individuals with self‐limited HBV infection and 150 healthy controls. Polymerase chain reaction‐restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR‐RFLP) method was used to analyze these two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). In this study, the C allele of IFNAR2‐F8S was found to be significantly increased in chronic HBV patients when compared with healthy controls [odds ratio, OR (95% confidence interval, CI) = 3.31 (2.11−5.21), P = 6.214 × 10−9 and corrected P‐value, Pc = 1.864 × 10−8]. The effect of this allele was similar to that of an autosomal dominant gene in the presence of CC and CT genotype, when compared to TT with an OR of 4.02 (P = 4.631 × 10−9 and Pc = 1.389 × 10−8 ). Furthermore, AA genotype of IL10RB‐K47E was found to be significantly decreased in chronic HBV patients compared with individuals with self‐limited HBV infection (P = 0.006, Pc = 0.018 and OR = 0.45). For haplotype analysis, we found CA and CG haplotypes were associated with susceptibility to chronic HBV (P = 0.014, OR = 6.84 and P = 0.002, OR = 3.75, respectively) when compared with healthy individuals. This study suggests that IFNAR2‐F8S polymorphisms might be involved in the susceptibility to chronic HBV infection. Moreover, AA genotype of IL10RB‐K47E may provide a protective effect in this disease. However, an association study using a larger sample size should be performed to confirm these findings.
Role of major histocompatibility complex class II expression by non‐hematopoietic cells in autoimmune and inflammatory disorders: facts and fiction
Authors: Duraes F. V. , Thelemann C. , Sarter K. , Acha‐Orbea H. , Hugues S. , Reith W.
Published: June 2013

It is well established that interactions between CD4+ T cells and major histocompatibility complex class II (MHCII) positive antigen‐presenting cells (APCs) of hematopoietic origin play key roles in both the maintenance of tolerance and the initiation and development of autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. In sharp contrast, despite nearly three decades of intensive research, the functional relevance of MHCII expression by non‐hematopoietic tissue‐resident cells has remained obscure. The widespread assumption that MHCII expression by non‐hematopoietic APCs has an impact on autoimmune and inflammatory diseases has in most instances neither been confirmed nor excluded by indisputable in vivo data. Here we review and put into perspective conflicting in vitro and in vivo results on the putative impact of MHCII expression by non‐hematopoietic APCs—in both target organs and secondary lymphoid tissues—on the initiation and development of representative autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. Emphasis will be placed on the lacunar status of our knowledge in this field. We also discuss new mouse models—developed on the basis of our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that regulate MHCII expression—that constitute valuable tools for filling the severe gaps in our knowledge on the functions of non‐hematopoietic APCs in inflammatory conditions.
Prediction of Deswirled Radial Inflow in Rotating Cavities With Hysteresis
Authors: May David , Chew John W. , Scanlon Timothy J.
Published: June 2013

Deswirl nozzles are sometimes used in turbomachinery to reduce the pressure drop when air is drawn radially inwards through a rotating cavity. However, this can lead to nonunique steady state solutions with operating conditions achieved depending on how the steady point is approached. In the present study, a novel transient, 1D model of flow in a rotating cavity has been created. The model was validated for two distinct cases: a smooth rectangular cavity and an engine-representative case. The transient model reproduced experimentally observed hysteresis, discontinuity in operating characteristics, and regions where no steady-state solution could be found. In the case of the engine-representative rig, part of the flow characteristic could not be obtained in testing. This was determined to be due to the interaction of the negative resistance region of the vortex and the flow-modulating valve characteristic. Measures that allow the full capture of the flow characteristic in rig testing are identified. These results show that inclusion of transient rotating flow effects can be important in turbomachinery air systems modeling. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first model to capture these effects.
Optimal Operation of a Gas Turbine Cogeneration Plant in Consideration of Equipment Minimum Up and Down Times
Authors: Yokoyama Ryohei
Published: June 2013

It has become important for operators to determine operational strategies of energy supply plants appropriately corresponding to energy demands varying with season and time from the viewpoints of economics, energy saving, and reduction in CO2 emission. Especially, cogeneration plants produce heat and power simultaneously, which increases alternatives for operational strategies. This makes it more important for operators to determine operational strategies of cogeneration plants appropriately. In this paper, for the purpose of assisting operators or operating plants automatically, an optimal operational planning method based on the mixed-integer linear programming is developed to determine the operational strategy of equipment so as to minimize the operational cost, in consideration of equipment minimum up and down times for each piece of equipment to be operated with appropriate numbers of startups and shutdowns. In the numerical study, the proposed method is applied to the daily operational planning of a gas turbine cogeneration plant for district energy supply. It is clarified how the constraints for minimum up and down times affect the operational strategy and cost. Through the study, the validity and effectiveness of the proposed method is ascertained.
Equivalence of History-Function Based and Infinite-Dimensional-State Initializations for Fractional-Order Operators
Authors: Hartley Tom T. , Lorenzo Carl F. , Trigeassou Jean-Claude , Maamri Nezha
Published: June 2013

Proper initialization of fractional-order operators has been an ongoing problem, particularly in the application of Laplace transforms with correct initialization terms. In the last few years, a history-function-based initialization along with its corresponding Laplace transform has been presented. Alternatively, an infinite-dimensional state-space representation along with its corresponding Laplace transform has also been presented. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that these two approaches to the initialization problem for fractional-order operators are equivalent and that the associated Laplace transforms yield the correct initialization terms and can be used in the solution of fractional-order differential equations.
Effects of Scalloping on the Mixing Mechanisms of Forced Mixers With Highly Swirling Core Flow
Authors: Wright Alex , Lei Zhijun , Mahallati Ali , Cunningham Mark , Militzer Julio
Published: June 2013

This paper presents a detailed experimental and computational investigation of the effects of scalloping on the mixing mechanisms of a scaled 12-lobe turbofan mixer. Scalloping was achieved by eliminating approximately 70% of the lobe sidewall area. Measurements were made downstream of the mixer in a co-annular wind tunnel, and the simulations were carried out using an unstructured Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) solver, Numeca FINE/Hexa, with k-ω SST model. In the core flow, the swirl angle was varied from 0 deg to 30 deg. At high swirl angles, a three-dimensional separation bubble was formed on the lobe's suction surface penetration region and resulted in the generation of a vortex at the lobe valley. The valley vortex quickly dissipated downstream. The mixer lobes removed most of the swirl, but scalloped lobes removed less swirl in the region of the scalloped notch. The residual swirl downstream of the scalloped mixer interacted with the vortices and improved mixing rates compared to the unscalloped mixer. Core flow swirl up to 10 deg provided improved mixing rates and reduced pressure and thrust losses for both mixers. As core flow swirl increased beyond 10 deg, the mixing rate continued to improve, but pressure and thrust losses declined compared to the zero swirl case. Lobe scalloping, in high swirl conditions, resulted in better mixing and improved pressure loss over the unscalloped mixer but at the expense of reduced thrust.
On the Pressure Ripple Measurement in Variable Displacement Vane Pumps
Authors: Mucchi E. , Cremonini G. , Delvecchio S. , Dalpiaz G.
Published: June 2013

Vane pumps exhibit pressure ripple in the pressure evolution trend during a complete shaft rotation. Pressure ripple can determine oscillating forces within the system leading to vibration and noise generation. In this context, this paper is focused on the experimental measurement of the pressure evolution in vane pumps by using two different methodologies. Results of measurements are shown, highlighting advantages and disadvantages of both methodologies. In the first method a pressure transducer is directly facing the volume between two vanes, in the second method the sensor is located inside an external chamber where the oil is transferred via a duct suitably designed in the rotor shaft. Briefly, the first method gives better results in terms of pressure evolution but involves some practical problems in the setup: the measurements exhibit pressure offsets strongly dependent on the tightening torque used for sensor mounting and negative pressure values in the low pressure region. The second method is simpler to set up but the results are influenced by the dynamical behavior of the measurement duct carrying oil. In order to avoid resonances of this duct, a vibro-acoustical finite element (FE) model of the oil cavity has been developed. The numerical frequency response functions obtained by the FE model have been used in order to optimize the geometry of the measurement duct, reducing the effects of the resonances of the oil ducts. It is shown that, using this improved methodology, the dynamical components of the measured pressure are not significantly influenced by the frequency response of the measurement duct when the outlet pressures is higher than 50 bar, while for lower outlet pressure the first resonance of the measurement duct is close to the main vane harmonics.