bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Ontological Turn in Categories Research: From Standards of Legitimacy to Evidence of Actuality
Authors: Kennedy Mark Thomas , Fiss Peer C.
Published: April 2013

In this Counterpoint to Durand and Paolella, we argue that prior work on categories has neglected processes of category emergence and dissolution. In response, we call for studies of categories that focus on how they emerge and fall out of use and on what they come to mean. We call this an ontological turn in categories research because systems of categorization and their associated meanings capture and reflect what societies view as social realities, or ontologies. As a guide to this broad topic, we develop a framework that relates the effects of categories to the familiarity of (1) occasions and motivations for their usage and (2) meanings and ontologies they carry, and we use this framework to elaborate two paths by which previously unfamiliar categories become accepted as elements of common knowledge. These paths jointly inform the recognition front of the emergence question, an understudied problem in organization studies. Finally, we outline two methodologies – set theoretic analysis and network‐based analysis – that offer particular promise for analysing processes of category emergence and dissolution.
A preliminary randomised double‐blind placebo‐controlled clinical trial of hydroxyzine for treating sleep bruxism in children
Authors: Ghanizadeh A. , Zare S.
Published: April 2013

This is a randomised placebo‐controlled clinical trial investigating the efficacy of hydroxyzine for treating parent‐reported sleep bruxism in children. Participants of this trial were 30 patients randomly allocated to one of the two groups in a ratio of 1:2. One group received hydroxyzine and the other group received placebo. The outcome measures were Visual Analogue Scale test and Clinical Global Severity scale. Assessments occurred at baseline and at the end of week 4. The side effects of drugs were assessed using a checklist. The number of children in the hydroxyzine and placebo groups was 21 and 9, respectively. The mean age of children in the hydroxyzine and placebo groups was 8·4(s.d. = 3·3) and 6·5(s.d. = 1·5) years, respectively. Hydroxyzine more than placebo decreased bruxism score (3·8 versus 2·2). No serious adverse effect was reported. Current evidence support that hydroxyzine is effective and well tolerated for treating bruxism in children.
Merits of Task Advice during New Product Development: Network Centrality Antecedents and New Product Outcomes of Knowledge Richness and Knowledge Quality
Authors: Durmuşoğlu Serdar S.
Published: April 2013

Utilizing new product development (NPD) teams to accomplish complex tasks in firms has been an emergent issue in many industries throughout the last couple of decades. Despite numerous studies, formation and efficient management of NPD teams is still a developing research domain. Using the knowledge‐based view of the firm and social network theories complementarily, this paper contributes to literature by examining the intrafirm social relational structures of NPD teams. Focusing specifically on the network centrality of the NPD teams, this paper argues that network centrality types of closeness, betweenness, and degree centralities influence the quality and richness characteristics of knowledge received through task advice seeking. Subsequently, the knowledge gained with these characteristics enhances product innovativeness and new product success. Consequently, the second contribution of this paper is to conceptualize the effect of the task advice‐seeking activities of NPD teams on NPD outcomes. The paper concludes with a discussion of the empirical testing of the proposed model, including suggestions for focal construct operationalizations as well as other future research directions.
Market Orientation and Innovativeness in Supply Chains: Supplier's Impact on Customer Satisfaction
Authors: Kibbeling Mirjam , van der Bij Hans , van Weele Arjan
Published: April 2013

As today's firms increasingly outsource their noncore activities, they not only have to manage their own resources and capabilities, but they are ever more dependent on the resources and capabilities of supplying firms to respond to customer needs. This paper explicitly examines whether and how firms and suppliers, who are both oriented to the same customer market, enable innovativeness in their supply chains and deliver value to their joint customer. We will call this customer of the focal firm the “end user.” The authors take a resource‐dependence perspective to hypothesize how suppliers' end‐user orientation and innovativeness influence downstream activities at the focal firm and end‐user satisfaction. The resource dependence theory looks typically beyond the boundaries of an individual firm for explaining firm success: firms need to satisfy customer demands to survive and depend on other parties such as their suppliers to achieve customer satisfaction. Accordingly, the research design focuses on three parties along a supply chain: the focal firm, a supplier, and a customer of the focal firm (end user). The results drawn from a survey of 88 matched chains suggest the following. First, customer satisfaction is driven by focal firms' innovativeness. A focal firm's innovativeness depends, on the one hand, on a focal firm's market orientation and, on the other hand, on its suppliers’ innovativeness. Second, no relationship could be established between a focal firm's market orientation and a supplier's end‐user orientation. Market orientation typically has within‐firm effects, while innovativeness has impact beyond the boundaries of the firm. These results suggest that firms create value for their customer through internal market orientation efforts and external suppliers' innovativeness.
How Formal Control Influences Decision‐Making Clarity and Innovation Performance
Authors: Schultz Carsten , Salomo Søren , de Brentani Ulrike , Kleinschmidt Elko J.
Published: April 2013

Implementing formal planning instruments such as the stage‐and‐gate‐type system (SGS) and project management (PM) have long been seen as the key to new product development (NPD) success. They create the structure needed for managing NPD activities, supporting coordination among functional groups, reducing uncertainty and error, and assuring time and cost efficiency. But recent research presents ambiguous results, suggesting that SGS and PM as formal controls can also have a negative effect. Integrating ideas from three literatures—i.e., NPD management, organization control theory, and technical control theory—the present study assesses NPD programs in terms of three perspectives: (1) the formal control mechanisms used for managing NPD programs—specifically SGS, which is mainly seen as a higher organizational level approach used for guiding and implementing a portfolio of NPD projects, and PM, which is a precise formal control mechanism relevant for managing specific problems at a single project level; (2) the immediate outcome of the application of formal controls, i.e. decision‐making clarity (DMC); and (3) degree of NPD innovativeness, a key contingency hypothesized to impact the efficacy of formal controls. For the empirical analysis, data are collected through a survey of 162 corporate NPD programs (Austria and Denmark, manufactured goods and services) where a total of 1274 respondents provide information relevant to their position. Hierarchical regression analysis is used to test the relationships. Results indicate that the performance effect of NPD formal control is fully mediated by DMC. Further, of the six hypothesized outcome relationships, four are fully supported. Both SGS and PM are effective systems for managing NPD when degree of innovativeness is not taken into account. PM, however, loses its efficacy at higher degrees of NPD program innovativeness while SGS continues to work at achieving positive DMC at the radical end of the innovativeness spectrum. Analysis of interaction effects indicates that for more innovative NPD programs, best results are achieved when companies implement an interactive system of both SGS and PM, where the two systems complement each other.
Passion for Work, Nonwork‐Related Excitement, and Innovation Managers’ Decision to Exploit New Product Opportunities
Authors: Klaukien Anja , Shepherd Dean A. , Patzelt Holger
Published: April 2013

This article investigates the role of affect in innovation managers’ decision to exploit new product opportunities—a decision central to the innovation process. The model proposes that different types of passion can trigger managers’ exploitation decisions but that this effect is contingent on experiencing excitement from events outside their work environment. A field experiment with 90 owner–managers of young firms located in an innovation context (business incubators) shows that passion for work and nonwork‐related excitement levels interdependently impact innovation managers’ decision to exploit new product opportunities. Specifically, harmonious passion has a general positive effect on managers’ propensity to exploit. In contrast, the effect of obsessive passion is more complex and contingent on the additional excitement managers experience such that the positive relationship between obsessive passion and the decision to exploit is more positive with higher levels of excitement. These findings extend the product innovation management literature by acknowledging that decision‐makers’ affective experiences influence innovation decisions and provide a first step toward understanding the role of affect and passion in the product innovation context. Second, the finding that obsessive passion and nonwork‐related excitement interact in explaining opportunity exploitation decisions highlights the need to incorporate contingency relationships in models of innovation decision‐making. Third, in drawing on a field experiment and the experimental manipulation of managerial affect during the decision‐making task, this article answers a recent call in the project management literature to pursue less common methodological approaches and develop “broader theoretical schema” in order to enhance our understanding of innovation management. Finally, this study also has implications for practitioners because it can help innovation managers understand their own decision policies. To the extent that innovation managers are able to regulate their affective experiences, this improved understanding might prevent them from premature and faulty decision‐making.
Technology versus Design Innovation's Effects on Sales and Tobin's Q: The Moderating Role of Branding Strategy
Authors: Rubera Gaia , Droge Cornelia
Published: April 2013

This research investigates the impacts on firm performance of (1) technology versus design innovation and (2) their potentially synergistic interaction. Synergies could arise from complementarities, in particular the utilization of technology innovation as a platform for design innovations. Both sales and Tobin's q are examined as dependent performance variables, with sales tapping consumer responses and Tobin's q reflecting investor responses. Moderation by branding strategy (i.e., Corporate Branding versus Mixed Branding versus House of Brands) is analyzed because innovation may impact performance differently depending on branding strategy. Advertising effects, the number of new product introductions, their interaction, R&D expenditures, operating margins, and firm size are also modeled as covariates. The results show that all main and interaction effects are significant in at least one of the branding groups, and that moderation of model paths by branding strategy was pervasive.

Overall, except for technology innovation → Tobin's q, Corporate Branding coefficients for technology innovation, design innovation, and their interaction were almost always significantly different from Mixed Branding and House of Brands coefficients, which were not significantly different from each other. Since Mixed Branding and House of Brands proved very similar, these groups were combined under “Non‐Corporate.” First, for technology innovation, the impact on both sales and Tobin's q for Corporate Branding was less than or equal to Noncorporate. Noteworthy was that the technology innovation → Tobin's q relationship was equal across all branding strategies; technology innovation appears to be key for investors. Second, for design innovation, the impact for Corporate Branding was positive while for Noncorporate it was null; the same pattern was observed for sales and Tobin's q. Third, for the interaction, the impact for Corporate Branding was significantly less than the positive impacts for Noncorporate. For Noncorporate, the marginal impact of design innovation on sales or Tobin's q increased with the level of technology innovation. For Corporate Branding however, there was no interaction in the case of sales and a negative interaction for Tobin's q. Thus, the marginal impact of design innovation on Tobin's q decreased with increasing levels of technology innovation. These decreasing marginal effects could reflect limits to corporate brand name extensions, as perceived by investors.
When Does Search Openness Really Matter? A Contingency Study of Health‐Care Innovation Projects
Authors: Salge Torsten Oliver , Farchi Tomas , Barrett Michael Ian , Dopson Sue
Published: April 2013

Given the growing popularity of the open innovation model, it is increasingly common to source knowledge for new product ideas from a wide range of actors located outside of organizational boundaries. Such open search strategies, however, might not always be superior to their closed counterparts. Indeed, widening the scope of knowledge sourcing at the ideation stage typically comes at a price given the substantial monetary and nonmonetary costs often incurred in the process of identifying, assimilating, and utilizing external knowledge inputs. Considering both the benefits and costs of search openness, the authors develop a project‐level contingency model of open innovation. This model suggests that search openness is curvilinearly (taking an invertedU‐shape) related to new product creativity and success. They hence assume that too little as well as too much search openness at the ideation stage will be detrimental to new product outcomes. Moreover, they argue that the effectiveness of open search strategies is contingent upon the new product development (NPD) project type (typologicalcontingency), theNPDproject leader (managerialcontingency), and theNPDproject environment (contextualcontingency). To test these propositions empirically, multi‐informant data from 62NPDprojects initiated in theEnglishNationalHealthService (NHS) were collected. The econometric analyses conducted provide considerable support for a curvilinear relationship between search openness andNPDoutcomes as well as for the hypothesized contingency effects. More specifically, they reveal that explorativeNPDprojects have more to gain from search openness at the ideation stage than their exploitative counterparts. Moreover, the project‐level payoff from search openness tends to be greater, when the project leader has substantial prior innovation and management experience, and when the immediate work environment actively supports creative endeavors. These findings are valuable forNPDpractice, as they demonstrate that effective knowledge sourcing has much to contribute toNPDsuccess. In particular, pursuing an open search strategy might not always be the best choice. Rather, eachNPDproject is in need of a carefully tailored search strategy, effective leadership, and a supportive climate, if the full value of external knowledge sourcing is to be captured.
Ordered to Innovate: A Longitudinal Examination of the Early Periods of a New Product Development Process Implementation in a Manufacturing Firm
Authors: Durmuşoğlu Serdar S. , Calantone Roger J. , McNally Regina C.
Published: April 2013

Firms can generate rather long‐lasting growth spurts through continuous innovation. Moreover, literature suggests that, when growing organically, firm performance is enhanced through a revenue expansion emphasis encompassing new‐to‐the‐world or new‐to‐the‐firm physical goods or service augmentations. This organic approach usually outperforms cost‐reduction programs, which often yield minor improvements to existing products; or an emphasis on simultaneous revenue expansion and cost reduction. While this finding has the major implication that firms should focus and generate more radical new products for long‐term success, there is need for research that investigates how firms should implement the strategy change to organic growth via innovation. The authors present a case study, which suggests that in the short run, it might be better to commence a revenue expansion strategy by focusing on incremental new product development (NPD) efforts, rather than focusing too much on new‐to‐the‐world or new‐to‐the‐firm products. Moreover, analyses of the rich, multimethod data, collected over a two‐and‐a‐half‐year interaction with the focal firm, illustrates that to increase success prospects of an organic innovation strategy, managers should not only engage incrementally innovative new product projects initially, but also ensure proficiency in commercializing the new product with cross‐functional NPD teams. Thus, in early stages of organization transformation, the merits of the organic growth strategy will be swiftly demonstrated, the cross‐functional teaming skills are learned and tested, and the new strategy becomes institutionalized. While somewhat contradictory to other studies on this topic, this more evolutionary exploration provides a new perspective for organizational change, especially when a firm is ordered to innovate. In conclusion, the insights gleaned in this study shed light on the journey from stagnating firm to a successful serial innovator via formalized NPD process implementation.
Boards of Directors, Innovation, and Performance: An Exploration at Multiple Levels
Authors: Robeson Daniel , O'Connor Gina Colarelli
Published: April 2013

This work reports on an investigation of the dynamics of governance over breakthrough innovation within Fortune 1000 firms. The primary research question investigates the boundary of agency theory within the firm. Using agency and stakeholder theoretic perspectives, the study tests the hypothesis that innovation will thrive in firms that combine a board of directors operating in accordance with a high agency theoretic focus in addition to an innovation governance board operating deeper within the firm that employs a strong stakeholder theoretic orientation in its behavior. The model is tested with data from 98 large firms. Results suggest that the relationship between board of directors' behavior and the firm's overall innovativeness is mediated by innovation decision‐making boards that (1) promote projects that are breakthrough in scope, (2) incorporate input of diverse constituencies within the firm, (3) exhibit patience with financial results, and (4) engage in frequent, informal interactions with project teams. Firms exhibiting high board of director agency orientation in combination with loyalty to mandate, patient financial capital disposition, inclusiveness, and project team interaction as described above for innovation governance board decision‐making prove to be the most innovative as measured by external indicators. For firm innovativeness, consolidated managerial power and behavior is frequently present at the upper levels of the firm, but must be broken down at deeper levels of the firm. This research offers implications to innovation decision‐makers as to how to proceed if the intent is to offer commercializably successful breakthrough innovations.
The Formation of Fairness Perceptions in the Cooperation between Entrepreneurs and Universities
Authors: van Burg Elco , Gilsing Victor A. , Reymen Isabelle M.M.J. , Romme A. Georges L.
Published: April 2013

For entrepreneurs who intend to exploit university‐owned technologies, a cooperative relationship with the university is critical. This study aims to better understand this entrepreneur–university cooperation. A key factor influencing the quality of this cooperation is the fairness perception of the entrepreneur. However, little is known about how these fairness perceptions are formed in this context. Therefore, to increase insight in entrepreneur–university cooperation, this study explores the formation of fairness perceptions by entrepreneurs who cooperate with universities (in so‐called university spin‐offs). This study assesses how the rules these entrepreneurs employ to form fairness perceptions differ from fairness rules that have been established in previous studies on organizational justice. The results show that, in addition to established fairness rules, there are also fairness rules that are more specific to this entrepreneurial setting. These specific rules complement the established fairness rules to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the formation of fairness perceptions by entrepreneurs cooperating with a university. Moreover, this study explores to what extent different entrepreneurs form fairness perceptions differently and finds that both experience and relational capital of the entrepreneurs within the university are two key sources of heterogeneity. Overall, this study contributes to the literature by conceptualizing how entrepreneurs form fairness perceptions in cooperating with universities and how this extends established wisdom in organizational justice theory. Moreover, the rules identified in this study provide clues for entrepreneurs who wish to improve their collaboration with universities, and may also apply to the relationships between entrepreneurs and large corporations and between entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.
Promoting critical perspectives in mental health nursing education
Authors: McKie A. , Naysmith S.
Published: April 2013

Accessible summary

Contested philosophical, conceptual, social and ethical dimensions of contemporary mental health nursing practice should be addressed in pre‐registration educational curricula.

By interlinking knowledge and being, educational curricula can encourage students to become ‘critical practitioners’.

Issues of students' knowledge, self‐awareness and personal development can be promoted via engagement with selected literary texts.

This paper explores themes relevant to mental health nursing using the example of one educational module of a nursing degree. The authors argue that the educational preparation of mental health nursing students in higher education must address certain contested philosophical, conceptual, social and ethical dimensions of contemporary mental health care practice. These themes are discussed within the context of a third‐year mental health nursing module within a Scottish nursing degree programme. By interlinking epistemology and ontology, the notion of student as ‘critical practitioner’, involving the encouragement of ‘critical thinking’, is developed. This is shown via engagement with parallel perspectives of the sciences and the humanities in mental health. Narratives of student nurse engagement with selected literary texts demonstrate the extent to which issues of knowledge, self‐awareness and personal development are central to a student's professional journey as they progress through an academic course. The paper concludes by suggesting that these ‘critical perspectives’ have important wider implications for curriculum design in nursing education. Insights from critical theory can equip nurse educators to challenge consumerist tendencies within contemporary higher education by encouraging them to remain knowledgeable, critical and ethically sensitive towards the needs of their students.
Brain RegionSpecific Transcriptomic Markers of Serotonin1A Receptor Agonist Action Mediating Sexual Rejection and Aggression in Female Marmoset Monkeys
Authors: Aubert Yves , Allers Kelly A. , Sommer Bernd , de Kloet E. Ronald , Abbott David H. , Datson Nicole A.
Published: April 2013

Introduction

In a marmoset model of hypoactive female sexual function, we have shown that repeated administration of the serotonin (5HT)1A agonist R(+)8hydroxy2(diNpropylamino)tetralin (8OHDPAT) inhibits sexual receptivity in female marmoset monkeys and increases aggression toward the male pairmate.

Aim

The aims of this study are to investigate gene expression changes induced by 8OHDPAT in lasermicrodissected brain areas that regulate female sexual function and to identify genes, functional gene classes, and pathways associated with 8OHDPATmediated inhibition of female sexual receptivity.

Methods

Gene expression was measured in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), medial preoptic area (mPOA), cornu ammonis1 (CA1) area of the hippocampus (CA1), and dorsal raphé nucleus (DRN) of four 8OHDPATtreated (0.1 mg/kg; daily administration for 16 weeks) and four vehicletreated female marmosets using a marmosetspecific microarray (European Marmoset Microarray [EUMAMA]) and validated by realtime quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RTqPCR). Enriched functional gene classes were determined. In a parallel candidate gene approach, the expression of serotonergic candidate genes, i.e., the 5HT1A, 5HT2A, and 5HT7 receptors and the 5HT transporter (5HTT), was measured by RTqPCR.

Main Outcome Measures

The main outcome is the differential expression of genes between 8OHDPAT and vehicletreated marmosets.

Results

8OHDPAT affected the gene classes important to neural development (mPFC, mPOA, and DRN), neurotransmission (mPOA), energy production (mPFC and mPOA), learning and memory (CA1), and intracellular signal transduction (DRN). Oxytocin (OXT) in the mPOA and 5HTT in the DRN were strongly increased by 8OHDPAT. 5HT1A tended to increase in the mPFC, while 5HT7 was decreased in the CA1.

Conclusions

Brain regionspecific alterations of gene expression regulating neural circuitries, energy demands, and learning processes are associated with 8OHDPATinduced decrease in female sexual receptivity and increase in pairmate aggression. The role of OXT in the serotonergic regulation of female sexual behavior and partner interactions warrants attention in future studies.
Knowledge and attitudes about hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and its treatment in HCV mono‐infected and HCV/HIV co‐infected adults
Authors: Chen E. Y. , North C. S. , Fatunde O. , Bernstein I. , Salari S. , Day B. , Jain M. K.
Published: April 2013

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment is rapidly changing but little is known about patients' attitudes and knowledge about HCV. This study used a cross‐sectional survey to examine the relationship between HCV knowledge and attitudes towards HCV in patients with HCV mono‐infection and HIV/HCV co‐infection. Subsequently, an education intervention was developed with an abridged version of the cross‐sectional survey administered before and after the education session to assess changes in knowledge and attitudes. 292 people participated in the cross‐sectional survey, and 87 people participated in the education intervention. In the cross‐sectional survey, the mean knowledge score regarding HCV was low (<50% of the total possible score). Mono‐infected and co‐infected individuals shared similar knowledge deficits and attitudes towards HCV despite having distinct demographic differences. Attitudes endorsed by patients included the following: 57% feared the consequences of HCV on their life, 37% felt HCV was not fatal, 27% did not believe they needed HCV medication, 21% felt ashamed of having HCV and 16% felt HCV treatment was not important. Attitudes that reflected indifference and shame towards HCV were associated with lower knowledge scores (HCV knowledge score of 15.1 vs. 17.5, P < 0.01 for indifference and 15.3 vs. 17.2 for shame, P = 0.02). The education intervention improved knowledge scores but did not modify the assessed attitudes. Intervention studies are needed to effectively change attitudes towards HCV infection and treatment.
Successional convergence, stochastic assembly and the future of tropical forests
Authors: Fridley Jason D.
Published: April 2013

In this issue of the Journal of Vegetation Science, Dent et al. take advantage of a century‐long chronosequence of forest succession in central Panama, and highlight a lack of convergence to the tree composition of old‐growth stands. Does this suggest tropical forests assemble randomly, or is this an expected consequence of high diversity and patchy recruitment?
Are trait‐based species rankings consistent across data sets and spatial scales?
Authors: Kazakou Elena , Violle Cyrille , Roumet Catherine , Navas Marie‐Laure , Vile Denis , Kattge Jens , Garnier Eric
Published: April 2013

Abstract

Questions

One central assumption of trait screening approaches in comparative plant ecology, i.e. simultaneous measurement of traits on a large number of species or populations, is that the species level captures a major part of trait variation. The current development of large databases has led to a new screening approach that relies on the extraction of trait values from databases, rather than on measurement of traits in the field. We tested this assumption with the following questions: (1) is the magnitude of intra‐specific variability of co‐occurring species lower than inter‐specific variability for a given trait, in comparisons at different spatial scales; (2) is species hierarchy based on trait values conserved across different spatial scales and data sets (stable species hierarchy hypothesis); and (3) when we compare different traits, what is the more stable trait that is conserved across different spatial scales and data sets?

Methods

We combined approaches commonly used in functional ecology, i.e. experimental data, field observations and extraction of data from a global database, and analysed the magnitude of intra‐specific and inter‐specific trait variations for a large number of traits across contrasting environmental conditions for 18–39 (mostly) herbaceous species, according to the data set used.

Results

For most traits, inter‐specific variability was higher than intra‐specific variability, and species ranking was conserved across different data sets and spatial scales. However, we also detected important differential responses in terms of intra‐specific trait variability, depending on the trait examined: SLA, LDMC, SM, seed N concentration and onset of flowering were more stable, whereas leaf chemical traits and RH were more flexible traits.

Conclusions

Our study validated, for the species studied, the stable species hierarchy hypothesis in the case of several, but not all, widely used traits. The main conclusion is that the strength of the species signal is strong enough for some traits to allow values to be used from different data sets (experiments, databases) to characterize local populations of species: for SM, seed N concentration, RH, SLA and LDMC.
Effects of traumatic brain injury on intestinal contractility
Authors: Olsen A. B. , Hetz R. A. , Xue H. , Aroom K. R. , Bhattarai D. , Johnson E. , Bedi S. , Cox C. S. , Uray K.
Published: April 2013

Background

Patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) often suffer from gastrointestinal dysfunction including intolerance to enteral feedings. However, it is unclear how TBI affects small intestinal contractile activity. The purpose of this study was to determine if TBI affects intestinal smooth muscle function.

Methods

Sprague–Dawley rats were subjected to controlled cortical impact injury (TBI). Sham animals underwent a similar surgery but no injury (SHAM). Animals were sacrificed 1, 3, and 7 days after TBI and intestinal smooth muscle tissue was collected for measurement of contractile activity and transit, NF‐kB activity, and cytokine levels. Brains were collected after sacrifice to determine volume loss due to injury.

Key Results

Contractile activity decreased significantly in ileum, but not jejunum, in the TBI group 7 days after injury compared with SHAM. Brain volume loss increased significantly 7 days after injury compared with 3 days and correlated significantly with the contractile activity 1 day after injury. In the intestinal smooth muscle, NF‐kB activity increased significantly in the TBI group 3 and 7 days after injury vs SHAM. Wet to dry weight ratio, indicating edema, also increased significantly in the TBI group. Interleukin‐1α, ‐1β, and ‐17 increased significantly in the TBI group compared with SHAM.

Conclusions & Inferences

Traumatic brain injury causes a delayed but significant decrease in intestinal contractile activity in the ileum leading to delayed transit. The decreased intestinal contractile activity is attributed to secondary inflammatory injury as evidenced by increased NF‐kB activity, increased edema, and increased inflammatory cytokines in the intestinal smooth muscle.
Changes in the modulation of spinal pain processing are related to severity in irritable bowel syndrome
Authors: Bouhassira D. , Moisset X. , Jouet P. , Duboc H. , Coffin B. , Sabate J.‐M.
Published: April 2013

Background

In irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients can be divided in two groups according to inhibition or facilitation of the RIII nociceptive spinal reflex induced by rectal distension. We further investigated the differences in pain processes in these two groups and their relationship to clinical symptoms.

Methods

This study included 10 female IBS‐C patients with facilitation (Group F) and 10 patients with inhibition (Group I) of the RIII reflex recorded on the left lower limb during slow‐ramp rectal distension, and 11 healthy female volunteers. Diffuse noxious inhibitory control (DNIC)‐induced inhibition was assessed by measuring the effects of noxious cold stimulation of the right hand on the RIII reflex and the concomitant sensation of pain. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed to compare the changes in brain activity induced by painful and non painful rectal distension. Irritable bowel syndrome symptom severity, mood, anxiety, and catastrophizing were also systematically assessed.

Key Results

Unlike the patients of Group I and healthy volunteers, Group F patients displayed no inhibition of the RIII reflex or of concomitant pain sensation during immersion of the hand in ice‐cold water. The reduction of the inhibition induced by heterotopic noxious stimuli was directly correlated with the severity of IBS symptoms, but not with psychological symptoms. The fMRI study showed that non‐painful and painful rectal distension induced similar changes in brain activity in the two groups of patients.

Conclusion & Inferences

Alterations of the modulation of spinal pain processing in IBS correlates with symptom severity but not with psychological factors or brain activity.
The rice narrow leaf2 and narrow leaf3 loci encode WUSCHEL‐related homeobox 3A (OsWOX3A) and function in leaf, spikelet, tiller and lateral root development
Authors: Cho Sung‐Hwan , Yoo Soo‐Cheul , Zhang Haitao , Pandeya Devendra , Koh Hee‐Jong , Hwang Ji‐Young , Kim Gyung‐Tae , Paek Nam‐Chon
Published: April 2013

In order to understand the molecular genetic mechanisms of rice (Oryza sativa) organ development, we studied the narrow leaf2 narrow leaf3 (nal2 nal3; hereafter nal2/3) double mutant, which produces narrow‐curly leaves, more tillers, fewer lateral roots, opened spikelets and narrow‐thin grains.

We found that narrow‐curly leaves resulted mainly from reduced lateral‐axis outgrowth with fewer longitudinal veins and more, larger bulliform cells. Opened spikelets, possibly caused by marginal deformity in the lemma, gave rise to narrow‐thin grains.

Map‐based cloning revealed that NAL2 and NAL3 are paralogs that encode an identical OsWOX3A (OsNS) transcriptional activator, homologous to NARROW SHEATH1 (NS1) and NS2 in maize and PRESSED FLOWER in Arabidopsis. OsWOX3A is expressed in the vascular tissues of various organs, where nal2/3 mutant phenotypes were displayed. Expression levels of several leaf development‐associated genes were altered in nal2/3, and auxin transport‐related genes were significantly changed, leading to pin mutant‐like phenotypes such as more tillers and fewer lateral roots.

OsWOX3A is involved in organ development in rice, lateral‐axis outgrowth and vascular patterning in leaves, lemma and palea morphogenesis in spikelets, and development of tillers and lateral roots.
RNA interference suppression of lignin biosynthesis increases fermentable sugar yields for biofuel production from field‐grown sugarcane
Authors: Jung Je Hyeong , Vermerris Wilfred , Gallo Maria , Fedenko Jeffrey R. , Erickson John E. , Altpeter Fredy
Published: April 2013

The agronomic performance, cell wall characteristics and enzymatic saccharification efficiency of transgenic sugarcane plants with modified lignin were evaluated under replicated field conditions. Caffeic acid O‐methyltransferase (COMT) was stably suppressed by RNAi in the field, resulting in transcript reduction of 80%–91%. Along with COMT suppression, total lignin content was reduced by 6%–12% in different transgenic lines. Suppression of COMT also altered lignin composition by reducing syringyl units and p‐coumarate incorporation into lignin. Reduction in total lignin by 6% improved saccharification efficiency by 19%–23% with no significant difference in biomass yield, plant height, stalk diameter, tiller number, total structural carbohydrates or brix value when compared with nontransgenic tissue culture–derived or transgenic control plants. Lignin reduction of 8%–12% compromised biomass yield, but increased saccharification efficiency by 28%–32% compared with control plants. Biomass from transgenic sugarcane lines that have 6%–12% less lignin requires approximately one‐third of the hydrolysis time or 3‐ to 4‐fold less enzyme to release an equal or greater amount of fermentable sugar than nontransgenic plants. Reducing the recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass to saccharification by modifying lignin biosynthesis is expected to greatly benefit the economic competitiveness of sugarcane as a biofuel feedstock.
A novel waxy allele in sorghum landraces in East Asia
Authors: Kawahigashi Hiroyuki , Oshima Masao , Nishikawa Tomotaro , Okuizumi Hisahito , Kasuga Shigemitsu , Yonemaru Jun‐ichi
Published: April 2013

A loss of granule‐bound starch synthase I (GBSS I) activity results in starch granules that contain mostly amylopectin and little or no amylose, a phenotype described as waxy. Previously, two phenotypic classes of waxy alleles, wxa, associated with no detectable GBSS I, and wxb, associated with apparently inactive GBSS I in the endosperm, were reported in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench). In this study, the waxy alleles in a sorghum core collection were investigated using DNA markers. Of the 337 sorghum accessions examined, 17 accessions that were confirmed to be waxy by a negative iodine staining result and 16 were found to be wxa. A novel waxy allele, wxc, was found in a Taiwanese landrace. This allele consists of a +1G to C mutation in the 5′ splice site at the intron 10–exon 11 boundary, a mutation that most likely resulted in the suppression of GBSS I gene expression. A DNA marker specific for wxc was produced to distinguish the wxc allele from other alleles, allowing the identification of heterozygous non‐waxy plants.
MUC5AC and inflammatory mediators associated with respiratory outcomes in the British 1946 birth cohort
Authors: Johnson Lauren , Shah Imran , Loh Andrew X. , Vinall Lynne E. , Teixeira Ana S. , Rousseau Karine , Holloway John W. , Hardy Rebecca , Swallow Dallas M.
Published: April 2013

Background and objective

Dysregulation of respiratory mucins, MUC5AC in particular, has been implicated in respiratory disease and MUC5AC expression is up‐regulated in response to environmental challenges and inflammatory mediators. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of genetic variation on susceptibility to common respiratory conditions.

Methods

The association of MUC5AC and the closely linked genes MUC2 and MUC5B with respiratory outcomes was tested in the MRC National Survey of Health and Development, a longitudinal birth cohort of men and women born in 1946. Also examined were the functional variants of the genes encoding inflammatory mediators, IL13, IL1B, IL1RN, TNFA and ERBB1, for which there is a likely influence on MUC5AC expression and were explored potential gene–gene interactions with these inflammatory mediators.

Results

Statistically significant associations between the 3'ter MUC5AC simple nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1132440 and various non‐independent respiratory outcomes (bronchitis, wheeze, asthma, hay fever) were reported while the adjacent loci show slight (but largely non‐statistically significant) differences, presumably reflective of linkage disequilibrium (allelic association) across the region. A novel association between bronchitis and a non‐synonymous functional ERBB1 SNP, rs2227983 (aka epidermal growth factor receptor:R497K, R521K) is also reported and evidence presented of interaction between MUC5AC and ERBB1 and between MUC5AC and IL1RN with respect to bronchitis. The ERBB1 result suggests a clear mechanism for a biological interaction in which the allelic variants of epidermal growth factor receptor differentially affect mucin expression.

Conclusions

The MUC5AC association and the interactions with inflammatory mediators suggest that genetically determined differences in MUC5AC expression alter susceptibility to respiratory disease.
Experiencing Loneliness in Adolescence: A Matter of Individual Characteristics, Negative Peer Experiences, or Both?
Authors: Vanhalst Janne , Luyckx Koen , Goossens Luc
Published: April 2013

The present study builds on the child‐by‐environment model and examines the joint contribution of intra‐individual characteristics (i.e., self‐esteem and shyness) and peer experiences (i.e., social acceptance, victimization, friendship quantity, and friendship quality) in the association with loneliness. A total of 884 adolescents (Mage = 15.80; 68 percent female) participated in this multi‐informant study. Results indicated that, in addition to self‐esteem and shyness, being poorly accepted by peers, being victimized, lacking friends, and experiencing poor‐quality friendships each contributed independently to the experience of loneliness. Further, friendship quantity and quality mediated the relation between the two intra‐individual characteristics and loneliness. Finally, a significant interaction was found between self‐esteem and social acceptance in predicting loneliness. The present study highlights the importance of investigating the joint effects of inter‐individual experiences and intra‐individual characteristics in examining loneliness. Suggestions to elaborate the child‐by‐environment model in loneliness research are discussed, and clinical implications are outlined.
Correcting for possible tissue distortion between provocation and assessment in skin testing: The divergent beam UVB photo‐test
Authors: O'Doherty Jim , Henricson Joakim , Falk Magnus , Anderson Chris D.
Published: April 2013

Background

In tissue viability imaging (TiVi), an assessment method for skin erythema, correct orientation of skin position from provocation to assessment optimizes data interpretation. Image processing algorithms could compensate for the effects of skin translation, torsion and rotation realigning assessment images to the position of the skin at provocation.

Methods

A reference image of a divergent, UVB phototest was acquired, as well as test images at varying levels of translation, rotation and torsion. Using 12 skin markers, an algorithm was applied to restore the distorted test images to the reference image.

Results

The algorithm corrected torsion and rotation up to approximately 35 degrees. The radius of the erythemal reaction and average value of the input image closely matched that of the reference image's ‘true value’.

Conclusion

The image ‘de‐warping’ procedure improves the robustness of the response image evaluation in a clinical research setting and opens the possibility of the correction of possibly flawed images performed away from the laboratory setting by the subject/patient themselves. This opportunity may increase the use of photo‐testing and, by extension, other late response skin testing where the necessity of a return assessment visit is a disincentive to performance of the test.
The danger of dichotomizing continuous variables: A visualization
Authors: Kuss Oliver
Published: April 2013

Four rather different scatterplots of two variables X and Y are given, which, after dichotomizing X and Y, result in identical fourfold‐tables misleadingly showing no association.
Figuring out the statistics of the ICC World Cup 2011
Authors: Shiwalkar Jyoti P. , Deshpande M.N.
Published: April 2013

This paper deals with the analysis of cricket match results from the ICC World Cup 2011. We believe that such data provide good material for interesting classroom exercises.
Association of micropapillary urothelial carcinoma of the bladder and BK viruria in kidney transplant recipients
Authors: Bialasiewicz S. , Cho Y. , Rockett R. , Preston J. , Wood S. , Fleming S. , Shepherd B. , Barraclough K. , Sloots T.P. , Isbel N.
Published: April 2013

Introduction

BK virus (BKV) is an ubiquitous human polyomavirus that establishes latency in urothelium. BKV is known to re‐activate in immunosuppressed individuals, and is an increasingly important cause of nephropathy and graft loss in kidney transplant recipients. Animal studies have demonstrated BKV has a potential role as a tumor virus. However, its role in precipitating or facilitating oncogenesis in humans is still debated.

Report

We report 2 cases of aggressive micropapillary urothelial carcinoma of the bladder in kidney transplant recipients with persistent BK viruria and preserved graft function.

Results

In both cases, polyomavirus immunohistochemistry performed on the tumor specimens was strongly positive, and limited to the malignant tissue. BKV DNA, viral protein 1, and large T antigen mRNA were detected in the tumor; however, no viral particles were seen on electron microscopy.

Conclusion

In one of the cases, BKV integration into the host genome was identified, leading to the truncation of the major viral capsid gene. This finding raises the concern that persisting BK viruria may be a risk factor for this aggressive form of bladder cancer. Further studies to determine screening and management strategies are required.
Fatal human metapneumovirus infection following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
Authors: Dokos C. , Masjosthusmann K. , Rellensmann G. , Werner C. , Schuler‐Lüttmann S. , Müller K.‐M. , Schiborr M. , Ehlert K. , Groll A.H.
Published: April 2013

Respiratory viruses are an important yet underestimated cause of infectious morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised children and adolescents. Here, we report the occurrence of fatal lower respiratory tract disease associated with human metapneumovirus (HMPV) infection in a 10‐year‐old girl with chronic graft‐versus‐host disease following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for secondary chronic myeloid leukemia. Symptoms occurred 8 months after HSCT while on immunosuppression with 0.2 mg/kg/day of prednisone, and presented as dry cough, bilateral pneumonitis, and progressive respiratory distress. Non‐invasive and invasive microbiological investigations revealed HMPV type B as the sole pathogen. Histopathological findings showed interstitial and intra‐alveolar pneumonitis with profound alveolar cell damage. The patient was treated with intravenous and oral ribavirin and polyvalent immunoglobulins, but ultimately died from respiratory failure. The case reflects the potentially fatal impact of infections by respiratory viruses in immunocompromised patients and the need for effective approaches to their prevention and treatment.