bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Somali refugees’ perspectives regarding FGM/C in the US
Authors: McNeely Shaunessy , Jong Floor Christie-de
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore perspectives of Somali refugees on female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and potential changes in these after migration.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted in Denver, Colorado, USA, with 13 Somali refugees. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze the data.

Findings

Change of perspectives regarding the support of FGM/C were noted among all participants, with most opposing infibulations, FGM/C type III, after migration but supporting Sunna, the cutting of the clitoris, FGM/C type I. Changes were prompted by education on FGM/C and resettling resulting in an awareness that infibulation is not a religious requirement nor undergone by all women. Cultural beliefs regarding the importance of virginity, purity and honor to the family underpinning the rationale of FGM/C were prevalent and some confusion in dealing with these cultural values was found. Women reported health care providers (HCPs) not being culturally prepared for women with FGM/C.

Research limitations/implications

Despite limitations to the study, findings indicate the complex process of migration and acculturation, leaving communities with cultural values in a context where these are not accepted. More research and discussion with the Somali immigrant community is required to better understand the practice of FGM/C after immigration, and how to deal with these cultural values.

Originality/value

Findings suggest some girls may still be at risk of some types of FGM/C after migration. Public health professionals, social and immigration workers should be aware of a potential risk. HCPs should prepare for caring for women with FGM/C.
Test methods for robot agility in manufacturing
Authors: Downs Anthony , Harrison William , Schlenoff Craig
Published: September 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to define and describe test methods and metrics to assess industrial robot system agility in both simulation and in reality.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper describes test methods and associated quantitative and qualitative metrics for assessing robot system efficiency and effectiveness, which can then be used for the assessment of system agility.

Findings

The paper describes how the test methods were implemented in a simulation environment and real-world environment. It also shows how the metrics are measured and assessed as they would be in a future competition.

Practical implications

The test methods described in this paper will push forward the state of the art in software agility for manufacturing robots, allowing small and medium manufacturers to better utilize robotic systems.

Originality/value

The paper fulfills the identified need for standard test methods to measure and allow for improvement in software agility for manufacturing robots.
Learning of assembly constraints by demonstration and active exploration
Authors: Kramberger Aljaž , Piltaver Rok , Nemec Bojan , Gams Matjaž , Ude Aleš
Published: September 2016

Purpose

In this paper, the authors aim to propose a method for learning robotic assembly sequences, where precedence constraints and object relative size and location constraints can be learned by demonstration and autonomous robot exploration.

Design/methodology/approach

To successfully plan the operations involved in assembly tasks, the planner needs to know the constraints of the desired task. In this paper, the authors propose a methodology for learning such constraints by demonstration and autonomous exploration. The learning of precedence constraints and object relative size and location constraints, which are needed to construct a planner for automated assembly, were investigated. In the developed system, the learning of symbolic constraints is integrated with low-level control algorithms, which is essential to enable active robot learning.

Findings

The authors demonstrated that the proposed reasoning algorithms can be used to learn previously unknown assembly constraints that are needed to implement a planner for automated assembly. Cranfield benchmark, which is a standardized benchmark for testing algorithms for robot assembly, was used to evaluate the proposed approaches. The authors evaluated the learning performance both in simulation and on a real robot.

Practical implications

The authors' approach reduces the amount of programming that is needed to set up new assembly cells and consequently the overall set up time when new products are introduced into the workcell.

Originality/value

In this paper, the authors propose a new approach for learning assembly constraints based on programming by demonstration and active robot exploration to reduce the computational complexity of the underlying search problems. The authors developed algorithms for success/failure detection of assembly operations based on the comparison of expected signals (forces and torques, positions and orientations of the assembly parts) with the actual signals sensed by a robot. In this manner, all precedence and object size and location constraints can be learned, thereby providing the necessary input for the optimal planning of the entire assembly process.
Industrial robot capability models for agile manufacturing
Authors: Kootbally Zeid
Published: September 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to represent a capability model for industrial robot as they pertain to assembly tasks.

Design/methodology/approach

The architecture of a real kit building application is provided to demonstrate how robot capabilities can be used to fully automate the planning of assembly tasks. Discussion on the planning infrastructure is done with the Planning Domain Definition Language (PDDL) for heterogeneous multi robot systems.

Findings

The paper describes PDDL domain and problem files that are used by a planner to generate a plan for kitting. Discussion on the plan shows that the best robot is selected to carry out assembly actions.

Originality/value

The author presents a robot capability model that is intended to be used for helping manufacturers to characterize the different capabilities their robots contribute to help the end user to select the appropriate robots for the appropriate tasks, selecting backup robots during robot’s failures to limit the deterioration of the system’s productivity and the products’ quality and limiting robots’ failures and increasing productivity by providing a tool to manufacturers that outputs a process plan that assigns the best robot to each task needed to accomplish the assembly.
De-commoditizing change management
Authors: Brown Derek Robert , Rose Dennis , Gordon Ray
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to begin the discussion about re-positioning change management in information technology projects and to propose a framework for improving the quality of decision making in change initiatives that may contribute to that re-positioning.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper analyzed all change management job advertisements in Australia in both the public and private sectors for May 2015, to identify which change management-related skills were being sought. The purpose was to try to identify any patterns that would confirm or negate the original observations, and to help develop a research question for a subsequent, substantive study.

Findings

Change management may be perceived as predominantly comprising communications, stakeholder management and training. The quality of leadership decision making in change initiatives may also be contributing to the consistently high failure rates.

Research limitations/implications

The analysis of job advertisements was a sample only, and requires more quantitative research.

Practical implications

The required alignment of leadership, ethics and change can only be achieved by first improving the quality of leadership decision making, which demands a values-based approach.

Originality/value

The paper highlights a restriction to the scope of practice of change management, and how that contributes to continuing high failure rates. The value is that it provides deeper insight into the commonly accepted “leadership alignment” issue, as well as demonstrating that this is probably the least practiced aspect of change management. The paper also challenges to build strong ethical foundations for the practice.
Organizational learning? Look again
Authors: Belle Stuart
Published: September 2016

Purpose

Despite the growth in research on conditions for successful learning by organizations and the introduction of expanding practices and approaches, a progressive and shared understanding of the link between organizational learning and governance is currently missing. This paper aims to take a closer look at organizational learning from a governance angle alongside an institution’s strategic and performance improvement goals.

Design/methodology/approach

This article takes a reflective approach through which the author’s observations and experiences in guiding organizational learning efforts are presented.

Findings

The nature of participation and advances in learning how to participate in organizational learning are noted as areas for further inquiry. Dimensions such as desirability, discipline, decision-making, democracy and dividend are presented as critical elements through which organizational learning as governance can be better understood. This novel view of organizational learning is suggested to require more thoughtful and sensitive empirical inquiry and theory development, particularly in contexts with a history of less-than-good governance.

Originality/value

This viewpoint makes an original contribution to the literature by introducing a new lens through which a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the practices, processes and performance of organizational learning can be further pursued. The article invites researchers, practitioners and leaders in organizations to take another look at how knowledge generation and use is governed. This paper also positions developing and less-developed contexts as ripe and necessary fields within which organizational learning capacities should be explored and strengthened.
Organizational learning in shop floor level
Authors: Cheung Che Keung , Geng Shuang , Chuah Kong Bieng , Chau Yiu Chung , Kwong Kar Fai
Published: September 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to present the result of the pilot run of a research project which aims at evaluating the applicability of project-based action learning (PAL) to shop floor organizational learning (OL) component in a manufacturing company in Dongguan, China. How the PAL framework was introduced and implemented is described. The factors that influence PAL implementation are examined in this pilot implementation. The implications and effectiveness are discussed. The findings shed light on the modifications needed in the PAL framework for shop floor implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a longitudinal case research which is conducted in a case company (APT) located in Dongguan, China. PAL framework was introduced and implemented in APT. A wave-like approach was used to repeat launching PAL projects in cycles. Data of learning and work performances were collected for review during each phase and each cycle of the project. The result presented here is from the early round of the pilot PAL implementation.

Findings

Result indicated that the PAL framework is applicable in the shop floor level OL. Learning and performance have been found to have improved in all the PAL groups participating in the pilot run. Result also shows that the PAL implementation framework needs some fine tuning to meet the needs of the unique shop floor environment particularly with regard to performance measure and evaluation.

Originality/value

No such case study has been conducted in shop floor level before. The research study will be valuable experience and example for other organizations to implement OL in shop floor level.
Mediating role of organizational learning on the relationship between market orientation and innovativeness
Authors: Raj Rahul , Srivastava Kailash B.L.
Published: September 2016

Purpose

This paper has three purposes – first, to establish the direction of relationship between market orientation (MO) and organizational learning (OL); second, to assess the effect of MO and OL on organizational innovativeness (OI); and third, to examine the mediating role of OL on the relationship between MO and innovativeness.

Design/methodology/approach

This research was carried out with a sample size of 321 respondents from Indian private and government/public sector industries, applying structural equation modeling (maximum likelihood estimation technique) using AMOS 16. To check the mediation, the study adopts the method suggested by Baron and Kenny (1986).

Findings

The study finds that MO acts as an antecedent to OL, and the direct effect of both the variables on innovativeness is positive. The study also exhibits that though OL plays a role of mediator between MO and innovativeness, yet the mediation is partial. However, the study also demonstrates the dominance of OL over MO to improve OI.

Research limitations/implications

The study is survey-based, where self-reporting bias can occur. The study considers the cross-sectional data only, whereas OL is a dynamic process which constrains the ability to make causal relations. Therefore, to firmly show relationships, the use of longitudinal study is necessary. Moreover, the study mainly includes Indian organizations. The diverse sample from different multi-national companies could lead to a better understanding of the model.

Practical implications

The study suggests that organizations need an inclination toward market information to improve their innovativeness in changing the business environment. The innovativeness of the organization can be improved further with the introduction of proper organizational learning processes which includes both adaptive and generative learning. The partial mediation of OL suggests that firms have several other ways to improve innovativeness; however, learning offers opportunity to process the external information adequately that can be combined with other resources to enhance innovativeness.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the literature in three ways. First, it addresses a gap in literature by responding to issues regarding the direction of relationship between MO and OL. It also provides empirical evidence that MO precedes OL. Second, it bridges the gap between MO and innovativeness literature by providing empirical evidence. Third, it also demonstrates the possible mediating role of OL between MO and innovativeness.
Organizational teaching and learning – a (re)view from educational science
Authors: Lahn Leif Christian
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the dominance of the participation metaphor for learning in the literature on learning organizations and to propose a working model of the teaching organization with conceptual input from educational science and the sociology of professions.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper combines theoretical critique and a selective review of literature that is relevant to the discussion of the concept “teaching organization”.

Findings

Concepts referring to teaching as a systemic attribute of learning organizations are not made explicit in texts on organizational learning and knowing. Key concepts from educational science are almost completely absent from this literature.

Originality/value

The paper describes elements from educational science and the sociology of professions and proposes to integrate them in a model of a teaching organization that could serve as a theoretical platform for further empirical studies.
Clinical and molecular epidemiological study of xeroderma pigmentosum in China: A case series of 19 patients
Authors: Zhou Eray Yihui , Wang Huijun , Lin Zhimiao , Xu Guiwen , Ma Zhihong , Zhao Jiahui , Feng Cheng , Duo Lina , Yin Jinghua , Yang Yong
Published: September 2016

Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) is a rare genetic disorder which is divided into eight complementation groups: XP‐A to XP‐G and XP‐V. Some XP patients demonstrate severe cutaneous and neurological manifestations, management of which requires timely diagnosis and intervention. We performed clinical evaluation and genetic analysis on 19 patients, the largest cohort of XP to date in China. Twenty‐three mutations from six groups were identified, 16 of which were novel. All patients developed marked freckle‐like pigmentation on sun‐exposed sites while patients with XP‐A, XP‐D, XP‐F and XP‐G showed acute sunburn reactions. Only XP‐A patients displayed progressive neurological degeneration. A relatively larger proportion of XP‐A and XP‐C were found in Chinese XP patients. One XP case and two carriers were prenatally determined. This study extended the mutation spectrum of XP in China and may aid in the diagnosis and treatment of Chinese XP patients.
Business and Management Impact Assessment in Research Excellence Framework 2014: Analysis and Reflection
Authors: Kellard Neil M. , Śliwa Martyna
Published: September 2016

The evaluation of research impact is likely to remain an important element of research quality audits in the UK for the foreseeable future. With this paper, we contribute to debates on impact and relevance of business and management studies research through an analysis of Research Excellence Framework 2014 impact scores within the business and management unit of assessment. We offer insights into the organizational contexts of UK business schools within which impact is produced, drawing attention to the issues of linkages with research intensity, grant income generation, research team size, career stage and gender of academics, and whether impact activity is focused on private or public sector organizations and national or international reach. We put forward recommendations for managers responsible for business schools and higher education policymakers regarding management and organizational policies and processes, as well as possible changes to the rules guiding future research excellence audits.
Improving Expatriation Success: The Roles of Regulatory Focus and Burnout
Authors: Silbiger Avi , Berger Ron , Barnes Bradley R. , W.S. Renwick Douglas
Published: September 2016

The study empirically and theoretically contributes to the human resource management discipline by developing and testing a cohesive model drawing on the pertinent literature from expatriate management, burnout and regulatory focus theory. Drawing on data from 233 expatriate managers, the study aims to examine the relationships between expatriate adjustment and the outcomes of job satisfaction and withdrawal cognitions via expatriate burnout. Specifically, the findings reveal that (a) higher levels of both work adjustment and interaction adjustment lead to reduced expatriate burnout, with the former having a greater effect on burnout than the latter; (b) burnout serves as a full mediator between work adjustment and withdrawal cognitions, and a partial mediator between work adjustment and job satisfaction; and (c) regulatory focus serves to moderate expatriate adjustment–outcome consequences, i.e. promotion‐focused (as opposed to prevention‐focused) expatriates demonstrate a stronger burnout–job satisfaction relationship. Several implications are extracted from the study for regulatory theory, burnout and expatriation management practices as well as suggested avenues for future research.
Documented Nursing Interventions in Inpatient Psychiatry
Authors: Frauenfelder Fritz , van Achterberg Theo , Müller‐Staub Maria
Published: September 2016

PURPOSE

This study explored how well the Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) covers adult inpatient psychiatric care.

METHODS

By systematic analyses and a mapping approach, documented nursing interventions were assessed on concurrencies with the NIC.

FINDINGS

From 2,153 intervention descriptions in nursing notes, 1,924 were recognizable as NIC interventions, and 229 did not match the NIC. 89.4% of all identified descriptions of interventions were recognizable as NIC interventions on the level of definition.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that the NIC describes adult inpatient psychiatric care to a large extent. Nevertheless, further development of the classification is important.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

The study results provide a basis for further developing the NIC and to reinforce its use in inpatient psychiatric settings.
Modelling different reintroduction strategies for the critically endangered Floreana mockingbird
Authors: Bozzuto C. , Hoeck P. E. A. , Bagheri H. C. , Keller L. F.
Published: September 2016

One of the main recommendations of reintroduction biology for prospective projects is that they should be planned with local species knowledge and with species‐specific quantitative modelling, for example, from population viability analysis (PVA). Here, we apply this approach to the planned reintroduction of the critically endangered Floreana mockingbird Mimus trifasciatus in the Galápagos Archipelago. After its extinction on Floreana Island, the Floreana mockingbird today only persists on two small islets, Champion and Gardner. In the context of a wider island restoration project, there are plans to reintroduce M. trifasciatus back to Floreana to establish a population as large and genetically diverse as possible, while minimizing the impact on the two source populations. To aid the planning of this reintroduction effort, we compared six potential reintroduction strategies that differ in three aspects: (1) use of captive breeding, (2) state‐(in)dependent sourcing of birds, (3) time span for translocations. We assessed the strategies’ performance using a multi‐site count‐based PVA and simulations of coancestry as a measure of genetic diversity. In general, PVA and coancestry results were comparable in terms of the strategies’ performance. Strategies with captive breeding resulted in larger population sizes and higher genetic diversity on Floreana after 20 years. However, the advantages of captive breeding disappeared when the population growth rate in captivity or on Floreana was very low. The reintroductions did not negatively impact the source populations’ viability, provided no more than 2 and 16 birds were taken annually from the two source islets. The approach employed here shows how a count‐based PVA in combination with simulations of genetic diversity can help reintroduction planning.
New scoring system for differentiating xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis from gall bladder carcinoma: a tertiary care centre experience
Authors: Rajaguru Kishore , Mehrotra Siddharth , Lalwani Shailendra , Mangla Vivek , Mehta Naimish , Nundy Samiran
Published: September 2016

Background

Xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis (XGC) is an uncommon variant of chronic cholecystitis, characterized by a focal or diffuse destructive inflammatory process. The importance of XGC is that it mimics gall bladder carcinoma (GBC) both preoperatively and intra‐operatively, as it can present with pericholecystic infiltration, hepatic involvement and lymphadenopathy. As a result of a misdiagnosis, which is not infrequent, the patient may undergo an unnecessary radical cholecystectomy rather than only a cholecystectomy, which is associated with a greater morbidity and mortality. The main aim of the study is to formulate a simple preoperative scoring system for diagnosis of XGC which might benefit patients by avoiding radical procedures.

Methods

A retrospective study was done from all the patients who underwent gall bladder and gall bladder‐related operations (benign and malignant), during a 5‐year time period from 2010 to 2014 in a tertiary care centre were reviewed (n = 462).

Results

Initial analyses of all the clinical and imaging parameters were done. Patients with a long history of recurrent abdominal pain with leucocytosis and who on imaging are found to have a diffusely thickened gall bladder wall, cholelithiasis, choledocholithiasis and submucosal hypoattenuated nodules are likely to have XGC while those with anorexia, weight loss, focal thickening of the gall bladder wall on imaging and dense local organ infiltration are more likely to have GBC. The presence of lymph nodes on imaging and the loss of a fat plane interface between the liver and gall bladder are not differentiating factors. A scoring system was made by taking statistically significant features (n = 13) of clinical and imaging parameters in initial assessment to identify the features of XGC. The same scoring system was subsequently applied to the patients who underwent cholecystectomy to study the effectiveness and the results were reviewed.

Conclusion

High value scores (≥11/13) helps in diagnosing XGC in preoperative setting. Hence, intra‐operative frozen section analysis can be avoided in such cases to differentiate XGC and GBC. However in difficult cases with high suspicion of malignancy based on clinical experience, definitive diagnosis still remains a histopathological examination to avoid radical resection in patients who have a benign condition.
Laparoscopic surgery for the treatment of a ruptured aneurysm of the right gastric artery: a case report
Authors: Toyoda Yoshitaka , Kyokane Takanori , Kawai Toru , Watanabe Katsutaka , Koide Fumihiko , Ochiai Yosuke , Asai Yuichi , Igami Tsuyoshi , Kuze Shingo
Published: September 2016

Laparoscopic surgery for the treatment of a ruptured visceral artery aneurysm is recognized as a challenging procedure. Here, we describe our experience with laparoscopic surgery to treat a ruptured aneurysm of the right gastric artery. A 72‐year‐old woman was diagnosed with intra‐abdominal hemorrhage caused by a ruptured aneurysm of the right gastric artery. Transcatheter arterial embolization failed because the right gastric artery could not be cannulated. Therefore, we performed laparoscopic surgery. Using laparoscopy, we detected that the bleeding from the aneurysm had ceased; thus, the planned procedure was successful. The operative time and intraoperative blood loss were 100 min and 5 mL, respectively. The patient was discharged 7 days after surgery. Laparoscopic surgery after the failure of transcatheter arterial embolization is a suitable and safe procedure for ruptured visceral artery aneurysms, provided the circulatory dynamics are stable as a result of the temporary cessation of bleeding from the ruptured aneurysm.
Screening and Clustering of Sparse Regressions with Finite Non-Gaussian Mixtures
Authors: Zhang Jian
Published: September 2016

This article proposes a method to address the problem that can arise when covariates in a regression setting are not Gaussian, which may give rise to approximately mixture-distributed errors, or when a true mixture of regressions produced the data. The method begins with non-Gaussian mixture-based marginal variable screening, followed by fitting a full but relatively smaller mixture regression model to the selected data with help of a new penalization scheme. Under certain regularity conditions, the new screening procedure is shown to possess a sure screening property even when the population is heterogeneous. We further prove that there exists an elbow point in the associated scree plot which results in a consistent estimator of the set of active covariates in the model. By simulations, we demonstrate that the new procedure can substantially improve the performance of the existing procedures in the content of variable screening and data clustering. By applying the proposed procedure to motif data analysis in molecular biology, we demonstrate that the new method holds promise in practice.
Further evidence that de novo missense and truncating variants in ZBTB18 cause intellectual disability with variable features
Authors: Cohen J.S. , Srivastava S. , Farwell Hagman K.D. , Shinde D.N. , Huether R. , Darcy D. , Wallerstein R. , Houge G. , Berland S. , Monaghan K.G. , Poretti A. , Wilson A.L. , Chung W.K. , Fatemi A.
Published: September 2016

Identification of rare genetic variants in patients with intellectual disability (ID) has been greatly accelerated by advances in next generation sequencing technologies. However, due to small numbers of patients, the complete phenotypic spectrum associated with pathogenic variants in single genes is still emerging. Among these genes is ZBTB18 (ZNF238), which is deleted in patients with 1q43q44 microdeletions who typically present with ID, microcephaly, corpus callosum (CC) abnormalities, and seizures. Here we provide additional evidence for haploinsufficiency or dysfunction of the ZBTB18 gene as the cause of ID in five unrelated patients with variable syndromic features who underwent whole exome sequencing revealing separate de novo pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in ZBTB18 (two missense alterations and three truncating alterations). The neuroimaging findings in our cohort (CC hypoplasia seen in 4/4 of our patients who underwent MRI) lend further support for ZBTB18 as a critical gene for CC abnormalities. A similar phenotype of microcephaly, CC agenesis, and cerebellar vermis hypoplasia has been reported in mice with central nervous system‐specific knockout of Zbtb18. Our five patients, in addition to the previously described cases of de novo ZBTB18 variants, add to knowledge about the phenotypic spectrum associated with ZBTB18 haploinsufficiency/dysfunction.
Retracted: A new cervical implant design compared with standard design in order to increase peri‐implant hard and soft tissue behavior: histomorphometric and histological study in dogs
Authors: Calvo‐Guirado José Luis , Maté‐Sánchez de Val José E. , Delgado‐Ruiz Rafael Arcesio , Fernández Domínguez Manuel , Orlato Rossetti Paulo Henrique , Gehrke Sergio A.
Published: September 2016

Calvo‐Guirado JL, Maté‐Sánchez de Val JE, Delgado‐Ruiz RA, Fernández Domínguez M, Orlato Rossetti PH, Gehrke SA. A new cervical implant design compared with standard design in order to increase peri‐implant hard and soft tissue behavior: histomorphometric and histological study in dogs. Clin Oral Impl Res.

The above article, published online on September 5, 2016 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement between the journal editor in chief, L Heitz‐Mayfield, and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. The retraction has been agreed due to image discrepancies, resulting in unreliable data. Identical Images in Figures 8e and 9f describe different time points and materials.

Reference

Calvo‐Guirado JL, Maté‐Sánchez de Val JE, Delgado‐Ruiz RA, Fernández Domínguez M, Orlato Rossetti PH, Gehrke SA. A new cervical implant design compared with standard design in order to increase peri‐implant hard and soft tissue behavior: histomorphometric and histological study in dogs. Clin Oral Impl Res. https://doi.org/10.1111/clr.12978.
Body dysmorphic concerns, social adaptation, and motivation for psychotherapeutic support in dermatological outpatients
Authors: Ritter Viktoria , Fluhr Joachim W. , Schliemann‐Willers Sibylle , Elsner Peter , Strauß Bernhard , Stangier Ulrich
Published: September 2016

Background and objectives

Dermatologists are increasingly confronted with patients affected by body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). BDD is characterized by excessive preoccupation with one or more perceived defect(s) or flaw(s) in physical appearance which are not observable or appear slight to others. So far, there have been only few studies examining the prevalence of BDD in dermatological outpatients. In addition, the need for psychotherapeutic support in dermatological outpatients with body dysmorphic concerns has not yet been systematically examined. The objective of the present study was therefore to investigate the frequency of body dysmorphic concerns as well as social adaptation and the need for psychotherapeutic support in the aforementioned patient group.

Patients and methods

A total of 252 dermatological outpatients seen at a German university hospital were consecutively enrolled, and examined using the Dysmorphic Concerns Questionnaire, the Social Adaptation Self‐Evaluation Scale, and the German version of the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale.

Results

7.9 % of all outpatients (unselected sample) showed positive test results, suggesting clinically relevant body dysmorphic concerns. Patients with clinically relevant body dysmorphic concerns exhibited poor social adaptation. Contrary to expectations, these patients revealed a high motivation for change, indicating the necessity for psychotherapeutic support.

Conclusions

Our findings confirm previous prevalence rates of BDD in dermatological outpatients, and highlight the need for providing psychotherapeutic support to dermatological patients.
Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion correlates with exercise capacity in a cohort of patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome after Fontan operation
Authors: Goldberg David J. , French Benjamin , Szwast Anita L. , McBride Michael G. , Paridon Stephen M. , Rychik Jack , Mercer‐Rosa Laura
Published: September 2016

Objective

Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) is a reproducible measure of right ventricular systolic function. We sought to determine the reliability of TAPSE measurements, to evaluate TAPSE in patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) relative to normal values, and to correlate values of TAPSE with measures of exercise performance.

Design

Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion measurements were performed off‐line in the cohort of patients with single right ventricle anatomy who had been enrolled in the Sildenafil After Fontan Operation clinical trial. These values were converted to z‐scores using age‐specific means and standard deviations according to published reference values. Reproducibility of measurements was assessed using the coefficient of variation between two readers. Comparisons between echo measurements and exercise outcomes were assessed using Pearson correlation coefficients.

Results

Forty‐four echocardiograms from 11 subjects were included in this analysis. The median age of included subjects was 13 years (range 12–17). The coefficient of variation for TAPSE measurements was 5.0%. TAPSE was significantly diminished relative to reference values, with a median z‐score of −7.6. TAPSE values correlated with both maximal oxygen consumption (R=.64; P=.033) and oxygen consumption at the anaerobic threshold (R=.73, P=.017).

Conclusions

In this small sample of children with HLHS, TAPSE was reproducible, substantially lower than reference values, and correlated well with measures of exercise performance. Further studies are needed to evaluate these findings in a larger cohort and in a longitudinal manner.
Echocardiographic correlates of severe pulmonary hypertension in adult patients with ostium secundum atrial septal defect
Authors: Cossío‐Aranda Jorge , Zamora Karina Del Valle , Nanda Navin C. , Uzendu Anezi , Keirns Candace , Verdejo‐Paris Juan , Martínez‐Ríos Marco Antonio , Espinola‐Zavaleta Nilda
Published: September 2016

Objective

To identify echocardiographic factors that correlate with pulmonary hypertension (PH) in adults with ostium secundum atrial septal defect (ASD).

Methods

Between November 2009 and November 2013, 92 adults with ASD were studied. All had clinical history and transthoracic echocardiogram.

Results

Thirty‐nine percent of patients had severe PH defined as systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) of 70 mm Hg or more. The size of ASD (31.84±8.21 mm) and a right‐sided tricuspid inflow E‐wave to tissue Doppler e′‐wave ratio >6.2 correlated with severe PH with AUC of 0.704 (CI 95%=0.59 to 0.818, P<.001) and 0.65 (CI 95%=0.531 to 0.773, P<.014), respectively. Multivariate logistic regression showed that sPAP >70 mm Hg was the variable that most precisely correlated with right ventricular (RV) dysfunction as evidenced by TAPSE <17 mm and RV fractional shortening area (RVFSA) <35%. Left ventricular (LV) diastolic function was also significantly reduced in the group with severe PH with mitral inflow E/A ratio of 0.73±0.23 vs 1.13±0.42 in the group without severe PH (sPAP <70 mm Hg, (P=.001). The pulmonary (Qp) to systemic (Qs) cardiac output ratio (3.09±1.12) and right‐sided tissue Doppler S <9.5 cm/s most accurately predicted a Tei index >0.55.

Conclusions

Larger size of ASD using the QP/QS ratio and increased right‐sided tricuspid E/e’ ratio correlated with severe PH with a sPAP of 70 mm Hg or more. Patients with severe PH had more severe RV dysfunction as evaluated by TAPSE and RVFSA in comparison to those with PH <70 mm Hg. LV diastolic function was also reduced in the severe PH group.
Regional quantification of left atrial early diastolic strain in two groups of patients with mitral stenosis: normal sinus rhythm vs atrial fibrillation
Authors: Nikdoust Farahnaz , Sadeghian Hakimeh , Lotfi‐Tokaldany Masoumeh
Published: September 2016

Background

Strain rate imaging (SRI) is proposed for assessing atrial function. There are limited studies on the role of SRI in assessing the left atrial (LA) function in patients with mitral stenosis (MS). We decided to assess LA early diastolic strain to evaluate LA conduit function in two groups of patients with MS.

Methods

A total of 49 patients with moderate to severe MS, scheduled for percutaneous transluminal mitral commissurotomy, were categorized into two groups: normal sinus rhythm (NSR, n=24) and persistent atrial fibrillation (AF, n=25). Early diastolic strain was measured via SRI in four mid‐left atrial walls by transthoracic echocardiography.

Results

Left atrial volume was significantly higher in AF group. LA early diastolic strain was significantly reduced in AF patients in three walls: interatrial septum (−6.78±6.22% vs −11.44±6.35%, P=.016), anterior wall (−4.47±4.30% vs −12.52±10.62%, P=.002), and inferior wall (−2.87±3.23% vs −9.73±9.67%, P=.003). After adjustment for age, heart rate, LA volume, LA thrombus, and LAA emptying velocity, there was a significant correlation between the presence of AF and left atrial average early diastolic strain. This correlation was also remarkable between existence of AF and two LA walls (i.e., anterior and inferior walls of the LA).

Conclusion

There was reduced average early diastolic strain in the presence of AF compared to NSR in MS patients regardless of LA volume and age. In AF patients, there is not only a loss of atrial late diastolic contraction, but also there is a reduction in early diastolic shortening of LA myocardium.
Functional diversity underlies demographic responses to environmental variation in European forests
Authors: Ruiz‐Benito Paloma , Ratcliffe Sophia , Jump Alistair S. , Gómez‐Aparicio Lorena , Madrigal‐González Jaime , Wirth Christian , Kändler Gerald , Lehtonen Aleksi , Dahlgren Jonas , Kattge Jens , Zavala Miguel A.
Published: September 2016

Aim

Biodiversity loss and climate‐driven ecosystem modification are leading to substantial changes in forest structure and function. However, the effects of diversity on demographic responses to the environment are poorly understood. We tested the diversity hypothesis (measured through functional diversity) and the mass ratio hypothesis (measured through functional identity) in relation to tree growth, tree mortality and sapling abundance. We sought to determine whether functional diversity underlies demographic responses to environmental variation in European forests.

Location

Europe (Spain, Germany, Wallonia, Finland and Sweden).

Methods

We used data from five European national forest inventories from boreal to Mediterranean biomes (c. 700,000 trees in 54,000 plots and 143 tree species) and the main forest types across Europe (i.e. from needle‐leaved evergreen forests to broad‐leaved deciduous forests). For each forest type, we applied maximum likelihood techniques to quantify the relative importance of stand structure, climate and diversity (i.e. functional diversity and functional identity) as determinants of growth, mortality and sapling abundance. We also tested whether demographic responses to environmental conditions (including stand density, evapotranspiration and temperature anomalies) varied with functional diversity.

Results

Our results suggest that functional diversity has a positive effect on sapling abundance and growth rates in forests across Europe, while no effect was observed on tree mortality. Functional identity has a strong effect on mortality and sapling abundance, with greater mortality rates in forests dominated by needle‐leaved individuals and a greater abundance of saplings in forests dominated by broad‐leaved individuals. Furthermore, we observed that functional diversity modified the effects of stand density on demographic responses in Mediterranean forests and the influence of evapotranspiration and temperature anomalies in forests widely distributed across Europe.

Main conclusion

Our results suggest that functional diversity may play a key role in forest dynamics through complementarity mechanisms, as well as by modulating demographic responses to environmental variation.
Persistence of tall fescue in a subtropical environment: tiller survival over summer in response to flowering control and nitrogen supply
Authors: Jáuregui J. M. , Michelini D. F. , Agnusdei M. G. , Baudracco J. , Sevilla G. H. , Chilibroste P. , Lattanzi F. A.
Published: September 2016

Enhancing pasture persistence is crucial to achieve more sustainable grass‐based animal production systems. Although it is known that persistence of perennial ryegrass is based on a high turnover of tillers during late spring and summer, little is known about other forage species, particularly in subtropical climates. To address this question, this study evaluated survival of grazed tall fescue tillers growing in a subtropical climate. We hypothesized that hard tactical grazing during winter to remove reproductive stems (designated as ‘flowering control’), and nitrogen fertilization in spring, would both improve tiller survival over summer, and thus enhance tiller density. This was assessed in two experiments. In both experiments, few tillers appeared during late spring and summer and so tiller density depended on the dynamics of vegetative tillers present in the sward in spring. In Experiment 2, flowering control and nitrogen fertilization both enhanced the survival of that critical tiller cohort, but the effects were not additive. Responses were similar but not statistically significant in Experiment 1, which had a warmer, drier summer and lower overall survival rates. Unlike grasses in temperate environments, persistence of tall fescue in this subtropical site appeared to follow a ‘vegetative pathway’; i.e., new tillers were produced largely in autumn, from vegetative tillers that survived the summer.
Divisions of Labor: Gender, Power, and Later Medieval Childbirth, c. 1200–1500
Authors: Johnson Rebecca Wynne
Published: September 2016

In the past generation, a substantial amount of scholarship has emerged in connection with the once‐neglected subject of childbirth in the later Middle Ages. While engaging with a wide variety of sources, its historians have shown a consistent interest in childbirth's role in gender relations that draws strength from contemporary debates in women's history and gender history. Over the past 30 years, their work has generally shifted from idealization of medieval childbirth as a realm of female autonomy to a more nuanced consideration of the roles and interests of men in the birthing chamber. However, the field remains fragmented, with scholars often reaching contrary conclusions depending on the sources they utilize. This article surveys academic work on later medieval childbirth published over the past three decades. It reviews research from five major areas of inquiry: medical practitioners and knowledge, secular and canon law, art and material history, texts and ritual, and miracle accounts. By way of conclusion, it considers both the prospects for reuniting these areas into a synthetic whole and the role gender might play in doing so.
Criminal Liability for Deaths in Prison Custody: The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007
Authors: DOYLE DAVID M. , SCOTT SUZANNE
Published: September 2016

This article explores a provision of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, which has been neglected by criminologists and legal scholars – the application of the legislation to deaths in custody. The article argues that proving the liability of a prison based on the definition of ‘senior management’ in the Act may reflect the problems associated with establishing the guilt of corporate bodies under the common law identification principle and that the ‘senior management’ test may nullify the intent of Section 2(1)(d) and undermine the capacity of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to convict a prison for an avoidable death in custody.
Older Prisoners’ Experiences of Death, Dying and Grief Behind Bars
Authors: ADAY RONALD , WAHIDIN AZRINI
Published: September 2016

Prison populations are experiencing rapid increases and many more offenders are dying in prison. This article draws on research that was conducted by the authors in the US and in England and Wales. The study interrogates the meanings older prisoners give to the prospect of dying in prison. The themes identified during data analysis included general thoughts about death and dying, accounts of other prisoners' deaths, availability of end‐of‐life services, contact with social relations, and wishes to die outside of prison.
Recent progress with next‐generation biomarkers in muscle‐invasive bladder cancer
Authors: Contreras‐Sanz Alberto , Roberts Morgan E , Seiler Roland , Black Peter C
Published: September 2016

Muscle‐invasive bladder cancer is a heterogeneous disease with different clinical phenotypes. Histomorphological variants, variable mutation rates and aberrant protein expression, along with the recently identified molecular subtypes, have been linked to prognosis and response to therapy. Complete response to chemotherapy and outcome after radical cystectomy are difficult to predict. To date, no validated pathological or clinical test exists to predict response. Advances in high‐throughput, next‐generation, genomic techniques to study the molecular pathways that govern the disease have led to novel strategies for the identification of such biomarkers relevant to muscle‐invasive bladder cancer. Progress has been made not only in tissue‐based biomarkers, but also in the liquid biopsy field. Liquid biopsies represent an opportunity to obtain patient samples non‐invasively at multiple time‐points during their treatment course without the need for biopsy. Especially in the metastatic setting, this will allow monitoring of the molecular evolution of the tumor under treatment, which should inform subsequent therapeutic decisions.
Executive Mobility and Minority Status
Authors: Guest Paul M.
Published: September 2016

We examine the mobility of minority executives, defined as ethnic minority and female executives, in publicly listed U.S. firms. Minority executives as a whole experience lower promotion, higher demotion, and higher exit than Caucasian males. Female and African American executives account for the majority of these differences. Specifically, female executives experience lower promotion and exit, while African Americans experience lower promotion, higher demotion, and higher exit. In contrast, Asian and Hispanic executives do not experience different mobility outcomes from Caucasian executives.
Institutionalized Involvement: Teams and Stress in 1990s U.S. Steel
Authors: Haber Jaren
Published: September 2016

Is employee involvement universally either good or bad, a “best practice” or an exploitative tool—or do its effects depend on context? To shed light on this issue, I ask the following question: Do organizational–cultural factors determine whether employees are stressed by membership in teams? By constructing mixed‐effects models from a large mid‐1990s survey of U.S. steel employees, I find that team membership is linked to increased stress only when implemented in cultural contexts of conflict and distrust. I conclude that the unintended consequences of institutionalized formal practices depend on organizationally specific cultural conditions.