bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The relationship between violence, level of functioning, and treatment outcome in psychiatric inpatients
Authors: Walji Irram , Egan Vincent , Fonseca Andres , Huxley Adam
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– There is an association between the diagnosis of a mental illness and violent behaviour. Individuals diagnosed with severe and enduring mental health difficulties who display violent behaviour have inferior treatment outcomes when compared with those who do not engage in violent behaviour. Violent behaviour within care settings impacts on general functioning, adherence to treatment plans, and inhibits wider recovery goals. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– This research studied 95 inpatients with a primary diagnosis of severe mental illness, with and without a history of violence, and compared how levels of global functioning and risk impacted on recovery. Patients were divided into two groups: those with and without a previous or current history of violence. The two groups were compared on measures of global functioning, symptomatology, and risk at baseline and 12-month follow up.

Findings

– Both violent and non-violent groups showed increased global functioning over time, with no significant difference between the groups. Neither group showed significant reductions in risk over time. Patients in the violent group had significantly fewer prior and current symptoms of mental ill-health than non-violent individuals.

Research limitations/implications

– Despite evidence suggesting that historical or current violence leads to impaired outcomes amongst people with diagnoses of mental illness, the findings of this study suggest a history of violent behaviour was not a predictor of poor progress within inpatient settings.

Practical implications

– Disconfirming previous hypotheses, the paper suggests that in itself, violent behaviour does not always significantly impair outcomes for individuals diagnosed with mental illnesses, and that many other variables contribute to meaningful recovery.

Originality/value

– Whilst there are previous studies investigating outcomes for inpatients diagnosed with mental illness who have violent histories, there is a dearth of research comparing equivalent groups in the same facility over the same time period. This study directly compared inpatients with or without a history of violence in the same psychiatric rehabilitation settings.
Prediction of treatment outcomes for personality disordered offenders
Authors: Archibald Sarah-Jane , Campbell Colin , Ambrose Derval
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– Evidence has shown associations between personality disorder (PD) and poor treatment outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to: first, establish which risk assessment method (i.e. structured professional judgement or actuarial) is most reliable for predicting treatment outcomes for individuals with PD. Second, determine whether individuals identified as high risk are more likely to have poorer treatment outcomes. Third, determine if engagement in treatment helps to reduce risk assessment scores.

Design/methodology/approach

– In total, 50 patients were recruited from a medium secure forensic PD service. Their risk was assessed using one structured professional judgement instrument (the HCR-20) and one actuarial instrument (the RM2000). The study used a retrospective cohort design.

Findings

– Overall, the HCR-20 was a better predictor of treatment outcome than the RM2000. Personality-disordered offenders with high HCR-20 scores are at an increased risk of adverse treatment outcomes.

Research limitations/implications

– This investigation used a small, non-randomised sample of male patients with PD at one South East England medium secure unit. The data were over-represented by white British males. Future research should compare PD offenders with non-PD offenders to investigate what factors best predict poorer treatment outcomes.

Originality/value

– The findings indicate that structured professional judgement approaches are more effective predictors of risk than actuarial measures for assessing patients with PD. This study therefore adds value to forensic services and to the risk assessment debate.
Constructing faces from memory: the impact of image likeness and prototypical representations
Authors: D. Frowd Charlie , White David , I. Kemp Richard , Jenkins Rob , Nawaz Kamran , Herold Kate
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– Research suggests that memory for unfamiliar faces is pictorial in nature, with recognition negatively affected by changes to image-specific information such as head pose, lighting and facial expression. Further, within-person variation causes some images to resemble a subject more than others. Here, the purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of target-image choice on face construction using a modern evolving type of composite system, EvoFIT.

Design/methodology/approach

– Participants saw an unfamiliar target identity and then created a single composite of it the following day with EvoFIT by repeatedly selecting from arrays of faces with “breeding”, to “evolve” a face. Targets were images that had been previously categorised as low, medium or high likeness, or a face prototype comprising averaged photographs of the same individual.

Findings

– Identification of composites of low likeness targets was inferior but increased as a significant linear trend from low to medium to high likeness. Also, identification scores decreased when targets changed by pose and expression, but not by lighting. Similarly, composite identification from prototypes was more accurate than those from low likeness targets, providing some support that image averages generally produce more robust memory traces.

Practical implications

– The results emphasise the potential importance of matching a target's pose and expression at face construction; also, for obtaining image-specific information for construction of facial-composite images, a result that would appear to be useful to developers and researchers of composite software.

Originality/value

– This current project is the first of its kind to formally explore the potential impact of pictorial properties of a target face on identifiability of faces created from memory. The design followed forensic practices as far as is practicable, to allow good generalisation of results.
Knowledge management barriers, practices and maturity model
Authors: Lotti Oliva Fabio
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to discuss the barriers and practices associated with knowledge management (KM), which is characterized as an important management tool to add value to products and services of companies and, thus, allow them to become more competitive and unique, of large Brazilian companies.

Design/methodology/approach

– As a conceptual framework, the author adopted the main theories on KM to extract the barriers and practices included in the literature, aiming to confirm them through quantitative research with managers from large Brazilian companies. Based on the responses obtained, the author conducted several multivariate analyses, including descriptive analysis, factor analysis, cluster analysis and multinomial logistic regression.

Findings

– In addition to presenting the main barriers and key practices associated with KM, our main result also presents a model for the evaluation of the level of maturity in KM based on the practices adopted by large Brazilian companies.

Originality/value

– The main result presents a model for the evaluation of the level of maturity in KM based on the practices adopted by large Brazilian companies.
Intra-network knowledge roles and division performance in multi-business firms
Authors: Villasalero Manuel
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to deal with the performance consequences of business units that adopt varying knowledge roles within the internal multi-business network. Multi-business firms are distributed knowledge systems in which business units are extensively involved in internal knowledge transfer processes. Business units play different roles within their respective corporate knowledge networks as knowledge providers, knowledge receivers, both or neither.

Design/methodology/approach

– Survey data from a sample of 225 business divisions were analyzed using a multivariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).

Findings

– Results indicate that divisions which occupy knowledge roles that reveal the possession of unique knowledge (knowledge signaling) or guarantee the accumulation of new knowledge (knowledge learning) outperform those divisions that have access to spilled knowledge (knowledge depreciation) or have no access to any kind of knowledge (knowledge insulation).

Practical implications

– Four knowledge roles are distinguished according to the extent to which a business division provides the rest of the corporation with knowledge or receives knowledge from the rest of the corporation, thus exploring the issue of internal knowledge transfer from an integrated perspective that takes the directionality of knowledge flows and the position within the knowledge network into account.

Originality/value

– This study contributes to existent research on knowledge transfer and performance outcomes by demonstrating the usefulness of the knowledge role as an integrating concept within this literature. It also extends the four-role framework to the prescriptive domain and tests its normative implications in an intensive internal knowledge transfer setting which has to date gone relatively unnoticed, as is that of multi-business firms.
Wiki for knowledge sharing, a user-centred evaluation approach: a case study at STMicroelectronics
Authors: Brichni Manel , Mandran Nadine , Gzara Lilia , Dupuy-Chessa Sophie , Rozier David
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study how a Wiki is used for knowledge sharing within an organization.

Design/methodology/approach

– The aim of this research is to evaluate this Wiki performance regarding knowledge sharing objectives.

Findings

– A Wiki has been deployed since several years within STMicroelectronics Company to improve Business Intelligence teamwork.

Originality/value

– The proposed evaluation methodology is based on a user-centered approach.
Alternative control methods for exploiting subsidiary knowledge within an MNE: quantity versus quality
Authors: Larkin Roslyn
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The aim of this paper is to expose the power of informal control mechanisms over explicit knowledge transfer through information communication technology (ICT) systems in subsidiaries of a multinational enterprise (MNE).

Design/methodology/approach

– The research used a case study approach consistent with the purpose of exploring control/knowledge transfer relationships. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with managers across 19 sites in an MNE. Analysed data were thematically organised into two case studies for comparison.

Findings

– The results show that when control is exerted from bottom-up, knowledge transfer barriers are overcome, quality of outcomes is increased and new and incremental knowledge innovation is more likely to become organisational.

Practical implications

– The findings signal a caution for managers to assess the suitability of control type on knowledge transfer incentives to leverage quality knowledge outcomes. By using informal methods, subsidiary managers’ local autonomy and power to resist centralised management objectives was positively moderated.

Originality/value

– The paper exposes alternative control methods for exploiting subsidiary knowledge within an MNE. The research is unique in that it identifies a superior role for bottom-up social control to elicit explicit knowledge sharing behaviours through ICT where bureaucratic reward-based control had failed.
Knowledge management driven firm performance: the roles of business process capabilities and organizational learning
Authors: Wu Ing-Long , Chen Jian-Liang
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims at defining a model to properly evaluate knowledge management (KM) value. Empirical studies have found little or no improvement in organizational performance despite large KM investments.

Design/methodology/approach

– The KM-driven performances are rooted in knowledge resources based on the knowledge-based view. Further, the KM-driven performances are mediated by business process capabilities. Organizational learning is critically complementary to KM for being a moderator to knowledge resources. A model was proposed for defining the performance with the relationships between these issues. A survey was conducted for collecting empirical data. Partial least squares was used for path analysis.

Findings

– Knowledge resources lay a foundation on the KM-driven performance through the mediator of business process capabilities. Specifically, knowledge assets and process capabilities are two different but relevant drivers in a value creation process. The findings particularly provide evidence to explain the knowledge-based view and the mediator of business process capabilities.

Practical implications

– While an organization owns important knowledge resources in the industry, it should dedicate its effort to the improvement of business process capabilities for well-achieving final performance. The KM-driven performance should be considered for both financial and non-financial indicators in a complementary manner.

Originality/value

– Extant theories may provide inadequate methods to evaluate KM-enabled performance. This study attempted to define an effective model for this issue. This model empirically demonstrated its capability to work on this issue.
Servant leadership and engagement in a merge process under high uncertainty
Authors: Jorge Correia de Sousa Milton , van Dierendonck Dirk
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to aim mainly at further understanding how servant leadership can affect engagement during a merger with high levels of uncertainty through the mediating role of organizational identification and psychological empowerment. In addition, the research aimed at validating the servant leadership survey (SLS) in a new culture and language.

Design/methodology/approach

– In total, 1,107 respondents from two merging Portuguese companies answered a survey. Structural equation modeling was used to further test the mediation model proposed.

Findings

– SLS proved to be valid and reliable in the Portuguese context and language. Servant leadership strongly affected work engagement in conditions of high uncertainty. Organizational identification and psychological empowerment acted as mediating variables.

Research limitations/implications

– Future research could include longitudinal studies, the effect of specific servant leadership dimensions and the distinction between servant leadership and other leadership models during a merger in conditions of high uncertainty.

Practical implications

– This study extends the applicability of the servant leadership model, and the corresponding SLS in a new national culture and as an effective leadership approach under conditions of high uncertainty, such as in a merge process.

Social implications

– Multinational corporations can see servant leadership as a valid model that can permeate the whole organizational culture, inducing greater performance and the well-being of the workforce for increased engagement. Given the increasing uncertainty and volatility of the work environment, servant leadership could be particularly useful in such contexts.

Originality/value

– This study benefits both leadership scholars and practitioners by providing evidence on the value of servant leadership in ensuring workforce engagement in conditions of high uncertainty, as in dynamic merger processes. The fact that the study was conducted right in the middle of the change process is rather unique. Moreover, servant leadership effectiveness is for the first time tested in Portugal, a country typically with a relatively strong power distance culture.
Academic leadership development programs: a model for sustained institutional change
Authors: Zuber-Skerritt Ortrun , Louw Ina
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a leadership development program (LDP) for senior academic staff on “qualitative research” after two years to establish the success, limitations and overall impact of the program in terms of personal, professional and organizational benefits.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper presents the background, outline of the LDP and evaluation of results through participant feedback: at the end of the program; and after two years, using a “participatory action learning and action research” (PALAR) approach.

Findings

– All participants were very positive about the design, conduct and learning outcomes of the program in terms of their own and their students’ learning during and after the program. But although the workshop had prepared them, some had not cascaded their learning and skills by conducting similar programs in their department, faculty or university wide, which was one of the main original objectives to achieve a multiplier effect across the institution. The authors discuss various reasons for this shortcoming and develop a process model for positive institutional change management in higher education.

Research limitations/implications

– Medium- and long-term effects of an LDP need to be followed up after a timespan of one to three or five years to establish whether the development has been effective and sustainable and to learn from limitations and shortcomings for future R&D activities.

Practical implications

– The authors identify the limitations and suggest practical institutional changes that encourage cascading of learning in theory and practice with a multiplier effect.

Social implications

– The paper aims to assist higher education institutions to ensure sustainability in their LDPs.

Originality/value

– The process model for leadership development in higher education can be adopted, adapted or further developed by other scholars interested in designing, conducting and evaluating a sustainable LDP in their field and organization.
Managerial networks and strategic orientation in SMEs
Authors: Kumar Panda Debadutta
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to igvestigate how strategic orientation influences managerial networks in Indian SMEs and the role competitive intensity as a moderator.

Design/methodology/approach

– Structured pre-tested questionnaire was employed to gather information from 147 top managers from Indian SMEs. Statically models were used for internal and external validation, hypothesis testing and data analysis.

Findings

– The study results support the positive significant influence of strategic orientation including market orientation (customer orientation, competitor orientation and inter-functional orientation), technology orientation and entrepreneurship orientation on managerial network (business and political networks) building in Indian SMEs.

Originality/value

– This study is one of the few studies on the subject line in Indian context, and among the first few studies in the Indian SME sector.
Model predictive control based on chaos particle swarm optimization for nonlinear processes with constraints
Authors: Taeib Adel , Soltani Moêz , Chaari Abdelkader
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to propose a new type of predictive fuzzy controller. The desired nonlinear system behavior is described by a set of Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) model. However, due to the complexity of the real processes, obtaining a high quality control with a short settle time, a periodical step response and zero steady-state error is often a difficult task. Indeed, conventional model predictive control (MPC) attempts to minimize a quadratic cost over an extended control horizon. Then, the MPC is insufficient to adapt to changes in system dynamics which have characteristics of complex constraints. In addition, it is shown that the clustering algorithm is sensitive to random initialization and may affect the quality of obtaining predictive fuzzy controller. In order to overcome these problems, chaos particle swarm optimization (CPSO) is used to perform model predictive controller for nonlinear process with constraints. The practicality and effectiveness of the identification and control scheme is demonstrated by simulation results involving simulations of a continuous stirred-tank reactor.

Design/methodology/approach

– A new type of predictive fuzzy controller. The proposed algorithm based on CPSO is used to perform model predictive controller for nonlinear process with constraints.

Findings

– The results obtained using this the approach were comparable with other modeling approaches reported in the literature. The proposed control scheme has been show favorable results either in the absence or in the presence of disturbance compared with the other techniques. It confirms the usefulness and robustness of the proposed controller.

Originality/value

– This paper presents an intelligent model predictive controller MPC based on CPSO (MPC-CPSO) for T-S fuzzy modeling with constraints.
Acting to understand and understanding to act
Authors: Glanville Ranulph
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– To establish the essential centrality of a circular relationship between acting and understanding, and a role learning plays in this circularity, with special reference to Aristotle's phronesis and sophia. The purpose of this paper is to establish a position.

Design/methodology/approach

– The argument is made through critical, cybernetic analysis and argument.

Findings

– The argument reconceptualises key relationships in the approach to understanding the world, and in education.

Research limitations/implications

– Research implications are not explored: the argument attempts to lay groundwork for other and later work.

Originality/value

– The argument establishes a cybernetic circular causality to replace the currently preferred linear causality.
Education as a subversive activity: a proposal
Authors: Richards Larry
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to present a case for a change of educational system, rather than a change in the current system. A rudimentary framework for an alternative educational system is proposed.

Design/methodology/approach

– Cybernetic and educational literature supports an alternative approach to education. Design principles are identified for an alternative system.

Findings

– For the desirable integration of curricular and pedagogical principles to be realized in an educational system, a non-hierarchical organizational structure is required. The icosahedral structure that embeds Stafford Beer's syntegration process provides such a default structure. Such a structure would be subversive in the current society.

Social implications

– The implementation of the proposed system of schools could transform society by offering an alternative way of thinking about the structure of organizations like schools, as well as political and economic organizations. In so doing, fully participative democratic processes could be realized and sustained.

Originality/value

– The use of the icosahedral structure as a framework for creating a system of schools world-wide is new and has value for anyone contemplating alternative educational systems.
A metaheuristic algorithm for project selection and scheduling with due windows and limited inventory capacity
Authors: Garcia Christopher
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide an effective solution for a complex planning problem encountered in heavy industry. The problem entails selecting a set of projects to produce from a larger set of solicited projects and simultaneously scheduling their production to maximize profit. Each project has a due window inside of which, if accepted, it must be shipped. Additionally, there is a limited inventory buffer where lots produced early are stored. Because scheduling affects which projects may be selected and vice-versa, this is a particularly difficult combinatorial optimization problem.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors develop an algorithm based on the Metaheuristic for Randomized Priority Search (Meta-RaPS) as well as a greedy heuristic and an integer programming (IP) model. The authors then perform computational experiments on a large set of benchmark problems over a wide range of characteristics to compare the performance of each method in terms of solution quality and time required.

Findings

– The paper shows that this problem is very difficult to solve using IP, with even small instances unable to be solved optimally. The paper then shows that both proposed algorithms will in seconds often outperform IP by a large margin. Meta-RaPS is particularly robust, consistently producing the best or very near-best solutions.

Practical implications

– The Meta-RaPS algorithm developed enables companies facing this problem to achieve higher profits through improved decision making. Moreover, this algorithm is relatively easy to implement.

Originality/value

– This research provides an effective solution for a difficult combinatorial optimization problem encountered in heavy industry which has not been previously addressed in the literature.
Risks to a mountain summit ecosystem with endemic biota in southwestern Australia
Authors: Barrett Sarah , Yates Colin J.
Published: November 2014

Throughout the world, mountains provide unique environments with attendant endemic species. In the otherwise subdued landscapes of the floristically diverse Southwest Western Australian Floristic Region, the Stirling Range provides the region's only distinctly montane environments. On the highest peaks of the Range the characteristic heathland (Kwongan) of the region becomes a dense shrub thicket with many endemic species and is known as the Eastern Stirling Range Montane Heath and Thicket. We assessed the conservation status of the Montane Heath and Thicket using the IUCN Red list criteria for ecosystems. We found the ecosystem to be Critically Endangered based on its naturally limited geographic extent and area of occupancy in combination with the impacts of the plant pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi. Historical sources and long‐term monitoring were critical to our assessment of this ecosystem highlighting their importance in detecting and understanding likely causes of change. The ecosystem is predicted to decline further in the absence of intensive management due to current threatening processes as well as the potential future impacts of climate change. The Montane Heath and Thicket, while substantially modified still retains areas with highly significant conservation values and these pose many challenges for management. Continued management of P. cinnamomi through phosphite application and management of fire return intervals will be critical to conserve the remaining areas of the thicket where sensitive plant species occur together with an ex situ conservation program including ongoing seed collection and translocation for the most threatened species.
Oestrus Synchronization Treatment Induces Histomorphological Changes on the Uterine Tube Epithelium of the Gilt
Authors: Juárez‐Mosqueda M. L. , Anzaldúa Arce S. R. , Palma Lara I. , García Dalmán C. , Cornejo Cortés M. A. , Córdova Izquierdo A. , Villaseñor Gaona H. , Trujillo Ortega M. E.
Published: November 2014

The aim of this study was to determine the histomorphological changes that occurred in response to two treatments for oestrus synchronization in three different regions of the gilt's uterine tubes epithelium: the ampulla (AMP), ampulla–isthmic junction (AIJ) and isthmus (IST). Nine prepuberal gilts were divided into three groups (n = 3): (1) eCG 400 IU and hCG 200 IU (eCG/hCG), (2) progesterone agonist (P4) and (3) control group. The number of secretory cells (stained with periodic acid–Schiff reaction or PAS‐positive cells) decreased in the AMP in the P4 treated group when compared to the control group, whereas, no difference was observed in the number of PAS‐negative cells in the AMP of the three groups. A significant decrease in the number of PAS‐positive cells was observed in the AIJ and IST of the P4 treated group when compared to the eCG/hCG and control groups. An increase in the number of PAS‐negative cells was observed in the AIJ and IST in the P4 treated group. The epithelium height in the AMP and AIJ was increased in the eCG/hCG group when compared to the control and P4 groups. In this last group, we observed a reduced height compared with the other two groups for the AIJ. In the IST, there were no significant changes in the epithelium height of the control or the other two groups (eCG/hCG and P4). The epithelial cells of the P4 treated group had the least amount of cytoplasmic granules and the lowest intensity of PAS staining in the AMP, AIJ and IST. Animals treated with eCG/hCG showed an intermediate number of cytoplasmic granules and intensity in all regions evaluated. These data show that P4 treatment for synchronization induces a significant (P < 0.001) decrease of PAS‐positive cells and staining intensity of cytoplasmic granules in the different regions studied and an increased number of PAS‐negative cells in the AIJ and IST epithelium. Moreover, eCG/hCG treatment increased the height of the epithelium in the AMP and AIJ, while in this last region, the P4 treatment decreased the epithelium height. These results show that synchronization treatments with P4 and in a smaller proportion with eCG/hCG can modify the amount of PAS‐positive and PAS‐negative cells, and the epithelium height. This has influence in the secretory activity of the epithelium and possibly alters the fluid microenvironment of the gilt's uterine tube. The biological impact of regional variations in the epithelial cells of the gilt′s uterine tube needs further investigation to understand the implications that the reproductive processes can have in the uterine tube.
Cranial nerve injuries with supraglottic airway devices: a systematic review of published case reports and series
Authors: Thiruvenkatarajan V. , Van Wijk R. M. , Rajbhoj A.
Published: November 2014

Cranial nerve injuries are unusual complications of supraglottic airway use. Branches of the trigeminal, glossopharyngeal, vagus and the hypoglossal nerve may all be injured. We performed a systematic review of published case reports and case series of cranial nerve injury from the use of supraglottic airway devices. Lingual nerve injury was the most commonly reported (22 patients), followed by recurrent laryngeal (17 patients), hypoglossal (11 patients), glossopharyngeal (three patients), inferior alveolar (two patients) and infra‐orbital (one patient). Injury is generally thought to result from pressure neuropraxia. Contributing factors may include: an inappropriate size or misplacement of the device; patient position; overinflation of the device cuff; and poor technique. Injuries other than to the recurrent laryngeal nerve are usually mild and self‐limiting. Understanding the diverse presentation of cranial nerve injuries helps to distinguish them from other complications and assists in their management.
A randomised, single‐blind technical study comparing the ultrasonic visibility of smooth‐surfaced and textured needles in a soft embalmed cadaver model
Authors: Munirama S. , Joy J. , Columb M. , Habershaw R. , Eisma R. , Corner G. , Cochran S. , McLeod G.
Published: November 2014

Visibility of the needle tip and shaft is important during ultrasound‐guided regional anaesthesia in order to prevent nerve trauma. Tip and shaft visibility is reduced when needles are inserted in‐plane at wide angles and out‐of‐plane at narrow angles to the ultrasound probe. Although textured needles are more reflective than smooth needles, we hypothesised that poor visibility of the tip and shaft still remained using the above angle‐probe combinations. In a single‐blind study, we compared the visibility of a textured Tuohy needle, a textured single‐shot needle and a conventional smooth‐surfaced Tuohy needle when inserted into the biceps and deltoid muscles of a soft embalmed cadaver. One hundred and forty‐four needles were block‐randomised to in‐plane and out‐of‐plane insertions at 30°, 45°, 60° and 75° to the ultrasound beam. Two blinded raters assessed needle tip visibility on video recordings of the insertions using a binary scale (0 = not visible, 1 = visible) and shaft visibility using a 5‐point Likert scale. The median (IQR [range]) proportions of visible needle tips were 83% (67–83 [50–100]%) for the textured Tuohy, 75% (67–83 [33–83]%) for the textured single‐shot needle and 33% (33–46 [0–50]%) for the smooth‐surfaced Tuohy (p = 0.0007). Median (IQR [range]) needle shaft visibility was rated as 4.0 (3.5–4.7 [3.0–4.9]) for the textured Tuohy, 4.0 (3.8–4.5 [2.7–4.9]) for the textured single‐shot needle and 3.0 (2.4–3.3 [2.3–3.5]) for the smooth‐surfaced Tuohy (p = 0.015). Nevertheless, visibility was reduced at wide angles in‐plane and narrow angles out‐of‐plane both for needle tips (p = 0.004) and shafts (p = 0.005).
Passive transfer of antibodies to the linear epitope 60 kD Ro 273–289 induces features of Sjögren's syndrome in naive mice
Authors: Maier-Moore J S , Kurien B T , D'Souza A , Bockus L , Asfa S , Dorri Y , Hubbell S , Yeliosof O , Obeso D , Schoeb T R , Jonsson R , Scofield R H
Published: November 2014

Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease that primarily affects the lacrimal and salivary glands causing dry eyes and mouth. Antibodies to Ro60 are observed frequently in patients with SS; however, the role of these antibodies in SS initiation and progression remains unclear. The sequence Ro60 273–289 (Ro274) is a known B cell epitope of Ro60 and antibodies to this epitope have been observed in a subset of SS patients and in animals immunized with Ro60 protein. Animals immunized with Ro274 linear peptide develop a Sjögren's-like illness. We hypothesized that passive transfer of anti-Ro274-specific immunoglobulin (Ig)G would induce a Sjögren's-like phenotype. To evaluate this hypothesis, we adoptively transferred affinity-purified Ro274 antibodies into naive BALB/c animals, then evaluated salivary gland histology, function and IgG localization 4 days post-transfer. At this time-point, there was no demonstrable mononuclear cell infiltration and salivary glands were histologically normal, but we observed a functional deficit in stimulated salivary flow of animals receiving Ro274 antibodies compared to animals receiving control IgG. Cellular fractionation and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed Ro274-specific antibodies in the nucleus and cytoplasmic fractions of isolated parotid salivary gland cells that was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. These data support the hypothesis that antibodies to Ro274 deposit in salivary glands can enter intact salivary gland cells and are involved in the dysregulation of salivary flow in SS.
Usefulness of monitoring of B cell depletion in rituximab-treated rheumatoid arthritis patients in order to predict clinical relapse: a prospective observational study
Authors: Trouvin A-P , Jacquot S , Grigioni S , Curis E , Dedreux I , Roucheux A , Boulard H , Vittecoq O , Le Loët X , Boyer O , Goëb V
Published: November 2014

Our objective was to evaluate the contribution of monitoring B cell subset depletion after rituximab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in order to guide reintroduction to forestall relapse. This prospective, monocentre study included all RA patients receiving two 1-g rituximab infusions at a 15-day interval. The patients were followed clinically and biologically every 2 months until rituximab reintroduction. The physician was blinded to lymphocyte-typing results to diagnose relapse and, hence, retreatment. Among the 39 patients included between March 2010 and December 2011 and followed until April 2013, seven received two rituximab cycles, yielding a total of 46 cycles for analysis. After the two rituximab cycles, the total number of CD19+ B cells decreased significantly (0·155 versus 0·0002 G/l, P < 0·0001), with complete depletions in all patients of CD19+ CD38++ CD24++ (transitional) (P < 0·0001) and CD19+ CD27+ (memory) B lymphocytes. A significant majority of patients relapsed within the 4 months following repopulation of total B (P = 0·036), B transitional (P = 0·007) and B memory (P = 0·01) lymphocytes. CD19+ B lymphocyte repopulation preceded clinical RA relapse and enabled its prediction 4 months in advance. Hence, monitoring of CD19+ B lymphocytes could serve as a tool to predict those relapses.
Example‐Based Retargeting of Human Motion to Arbitrary Mesh Models
Authors: Celikcan Ufuk , Yaz Ilker O. , Capin Tolga
Published: November 2014

We present a novel method for retargeting human motion to arbitrary 3D mesh models with as little user interaction as possible. Traditional motion‐retargeting systems try to preserve the original motion, while satisfying several motion constraints. Our method uses a few pose‐to‐pose examples provided by the user to extract the desired semantics behind the retargeting process while not limiting the transfer to being only literal. Thus, mesh models with different structures and/or motion semantics from humanoid skeletons become possible targets. Also considering the fact that most publicly available mesh models lack additional structure (e.g. skeleton), our method dispenses with the need for such a structure by means of a built‐in surface‐based deformation system. As deformation for animation purposes may require non‐rigid behaviour, we augment existing rigid deformation approaches to provide volume‐preserving and squash‐and‐stretch deformations. We demonstrate our approach on well‐known mesh models along with several publicly available motion‐capture sequences.
10‐year survival rate and the incidence of peri‐implant disease of 374 titanium dental implants with aSLAsurface: a prospective cohort study in 177 fully and partially edentulous patients
Authors: van Velzen Frank J.J. , Ofec Ronen , Schulten Engelbert A.J.M. , ten Bruggenkate Christiaan M.
Published: November 2014

Purpose

This prospective cohort study evaluates the 10‐year survival and incidence of peri‐implant disease at implant and patient level of sandblasted, large grid, and acid‐etched titanium dental implants (Straumann, soft tissue level,SLAsurface) in fully and partially edentulous patients.

Material and methods

Patients who had dental implant surgery in the period between November 1997 and June 2001, with a follow‐up of at least 10 years, were investigated for clinical and radiological examination. Among the 506 inserted dental implants in 250 patients, 10‐year data regarding the outcome of implants were available for 374 dental implants in 177 patients. In the current study, peri‐implantitis was defined as advanced bone loss (≧1.5 mm. postloading) in combination with bleeding on probing.

Results

At 10‐year follow‐up, only one implant was lost (0.3%) 2 months after implant surgery due to insufficient osseointegration. The average bone loss at 10 year postloading was 0.52 mm. Advanced bone loss at 10‐year follow‐up was present in 35 dental implants (9.8%). Seven percent of the observed dental implants showed bleeding on probing in combination with advanced bone loss and 4.2% when setting the threshold for advanced bone loss at 2.0 mm. Advanced bone loss without bleeding on probing was present in 2.8% of all implants.

Conclusion

In this prospective study, the 10‐year survival rate at implant and patient level was 99.7% and 99.4%, respectively. Peri‐implantitis was present in 7% of the observed dental implants according to the above‐mentioned definition of peri‐implantitis. This study shows thatSLAimplants offer predictable long‐term results as support in the treatment of fully and partially edentulous patients.
The impact of predive exercise on repetitive SCUBA diving
Authors: Madden Dennis , Barak Otto , Thom Stephen R. , Yang Ming , Bhopale Veena M. , Ljubkovic Marko , Dujic Zeljko
Published: November 2014

Aim

SCUBA diving frequently involves repetitive exposures. The goal of this study was to see how exercise impacts microparticles (MPs), endothelial function and venous gas emboli (VGE) throughout multiple dives.

Methods

Sixteen divers in two groups (G1 and G2) each completed six dives, three preceded by exercise (EX) and three as controls (CON). Blood for MP analysis was collected before and after each dive. VGE were monitored via transthoracic echocardiography 30, 60 and 90 min after surfacing. Exercise before diving consisted of 60‐min running including eight, 3‐min intervals at 90% VO2max.

Results

Exercise did not have a significant impact on VGE. There was no significant difference in MP counts between EX and CON. Both groups experienced a significant decrease in MP counts in the last three dives compared to the first three (G1 P = 0·0008, G2 P = 0001). Other indices of neutrophil/platelet interaction (dual‐positive CD63/41 and CD62/41) show a significant increase (P = 0·004 and 0·0001) in G2.

Conclusion

Both groups experienced a significant decrease in MPs at all measurements in the second series of dives compared to the first, regardless of the placement of exercise. Whether this is related to an effect of suppression of MPs or exercise timing is not clear.
Periocular intralymphatic histiocytosis or localized Melkersson–Rosenthal syndrome?
Authors: Emanuel Patrick O , Lewis Isabelle , Gaskin Brent , Rosser Paul , Angelo Neville
Published: November 2014

We describe three cases of periocular edema with histopathologic features of intralymphatic histiocytosis without extravascular granulomas. All were elderly males with no other significant medical problems. Previous reports of periocular Melkersson–Rosenthal syndrome are identical clinically, and some reports show illustrations of intralymphatic histiocytosis histopathologically, in addition to other features typical of the syndrome. Given the lack of associated diseases or other features of the Melkersson–Rosenthal triad, some of these cases may be better defined as periocular intralymphatic histiocytosis.
Hydrophilic polymer microemboli in a patient with a chronic cutaneous ulcer: a case report
Authors: Hamidi Sepehr , Stevens Ryan , DeClerck Brittney , Kim Gene H.
Published: November 2014

Hydrophilic polymer coatings were designed to reduce friction between the catheter and vessel wall and facilitate intravascular manipulations during catheterization and placement of drug‐eluting stents. One newly reported complication of such hydrophilic coatings is the fragmentation and embolization of the polymer, which can lead to ischemia and infarct by blocking the small vasculature. In this report, we present a patient with a non‐healing ulcer on the leg. Biopsy from the ulcer revealed the presence of hydrophilic polymer emboli within the dermal vessels. This is one of the few reports of such a complication involving the skin. Our objective is to emphasize the histopathologic features of this uncommon iatrogenic phenomenon.
Dexmedetomidine versus midazolam for gastrointestinal endoscopy: A meta‐analysis
Authors: Nishizawa Toshihiro , Suzuki Hidekazu , Sagara Seiji , Kanai Takanori , Yahagi Naohisa
Published: November 2014

Background and Aim

Patients who undergo gastrointestinal endoscopy often require sedatives such as midazolam and the more recently developed alpha‐2 agonist, dexmedetomidine. To assess the efficacy and safety of dexmedetomidine sedation for gastrointestinal endoscopy, we conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing dexmedetomidine with midazolam.

Methods

We searched PubMed, the Cochrane library, and the Igaku‐chuo‐zasshi database in order to identify randomized trials eligible for inclusion in our meta‐analysis. Data from the eligible studies were combined to calculate pooled odds ratios (OR) or weighted mean differences (WMD).

Results

We identified nine randomized trials from the database search. Compared to that of midazolam, the pooled OR for restlessness of dexmedetomidine was 0.078 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.013–0.453, P < 0.0001), and there was no significant heterogeneity among the trial results. Dexmedetomidine significantly increased Ramsay sedation score compared with midazolam (WMD: 0.401, 95% CI: 0.110–0.692, P = 0.0069), without significant heterogeneity. Compared with midazolam, the pooled OR for hypoxia, hypotension, and bradycardia with dexmedetomidine sedation were 0.454 (95% CI: 0.098–2.11), 1.370 (95% CI: 0.516–3.637), and 2.575 (95% CI: 0.978–6.785), respectively, with no significant differences detected between the groups.

Conclusion

This meta‐analysis shows that dexmedetomidine is a safe and effective sedative agent for gastrointestinal endoscopy, especially endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and endoscopic submucosal dissection.
Geographic Effects on Intergenerational Income Mobility
Authors: Rothwell Jonathan T. , Massey Douglas S.
Published: November 2014

Research on intergenerational economic mobility often ignores the geographic context of childhood, including neighborhood quality and local purchasing power. We hypothesize that individual variation in intergenerational mobility is partly attributable to regional and neighborhood conditions—most notably access to high‐quality schools. Using restricted Panel Study of Income Dynamics and census data, we find that neighborhood income has roughly half the effect on future earnings as parental income. We estimate that lifetime household income would be $635,000 dollars higher if people born into a bottom‐quartile neighborhood would have been raised in a top‐quartile neighborhood. When incomes are adjusted to regional purchasing power, these effects become even larger. The neighborhood effect is two‐thirds as large as the parental income effect, and the lifetime earnings difference increases to $910,000. We test the robustness of these findings to various assumptions and alternative models, and replicate the basic results using aggregated metropolitan‐level statistics of intergenerational income elasticities based on millions of Internal Revenue Service records.