bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
History
Authors: Malone David M.
Published: January 2015

This chapter reviews the history of India, sketching out aspects of Indian experience over the millennia that are relevant to its contemporary self-image as well as some past efforts to project abroad Indian aspirations, values, and power. It addresses a number of problematic yet common myths regarding key features of Indian civilization, especially with regard to the nature of religious communities and their interaction, as well as the nature of immigration processes and the accommodation of diverse ethnic and linguistic groups over the twentieth century. Two broad phenomena emerge as constants in Indian history. First, the repeated influx of peoples and ideas from the northwest, at times in the form of invasions, but more often through migration, pastoral circuits, or as traders and missionaries, is striking. Second, barring the colonial period, Indian history is characterized by alternating cycles of imperial consolidation and processes of decentralization, with foreign influences accommodated and assimilated, and ‘cultural fusions’ occurring throughout.
India and Its South Asian Neighbours
Authors: Malone David M.
Published: January 2015

This chapter analyses India’s relations with its immediate neighbours other than China. It first lays out a sense of how India’s approach to its neighbours has evolved over the past two decades. It then suggests that India’s approach to its neighbours is both too often reactive and at times quite dismissive, but the country has been trying much harder in recent years to accommodate and tolerate neighbourly differences. India’s regional rivalry with China as played out in countries abutting India is also discussed.
India–USA Relations
Authors: Malone David M.
Published: January 2015

This chapter traces the evolution of the relationship between India and the United States, from the early years of the Indian republic through to the new millennium. That a fundamental shift has occurred during the past decade is clear and this shift is explored in terms of its motivation and timing, attempting to locate its causes. The analysis rests on a combination of international, regional, and domestic factors that operated jointly to usher in the modern era of India-US relations.
India’s Relationships with Europe and Russia
Authors: Malone David M.
Published: January 2015

This chapter examines India’s relationship with Western Europe and Russia. It discusses India’s pre-colonial and colonial links with Western Europe as well as its relationships with Russia and regions of Russia’s near-abroad. It also examines the relationships between India and the European Union and its leading member states, and Europe’s geostrategic significance for India.
The Changing Character of War
Authors: Gat Azar
Published: January 2015

This chapter discusses the changes affecting war today and considers the broader historical processes from which these changes arise. Some of these processes in fact go back quite far in time — only to have become more entrenched and prominent today — while others are more recent. Three of these broad historical processes are set out as a framework for the discussion: modernization, democratization, and technological innovation.
The ‘New Wars’ Thesis Revisited
Authors: Berdal Mats
Published: January 2015

This chapter focuses on the so-called ‘new wars’ that emerged in the late twentieth century. It examines the proposition that contemporary wars are ‘substantively distinct’ from older patterns of armed conflict and, as such, the ‘new wars’ reflect a new reality. Two related aspects to this general proposition are considered. The first concerns the idea of a historical disjunction between ‘old’ and ‘new’ wars and the accompanying argument that links the emergence of ‘new wars’ to two fundamental processes of change: globalization in the late twentieth century and the end of the Cold War. The second aspect concerns the actual features of the ‘new wars’ and the way in which ‘they differ from earlier wars in terms of their goals, the methods of warfare, and how they are financed’. The most interesting of these relates to the economic underpinnings of contemporary intra-state armed conflicts.
Humanitarian Intervention
Authors: Trim D. J. B.
Published: January 2015

This chapter examines military humanitarian interventions spurred by concerns about ‘crimes against humanity’ or ‘mass atrocity crimes’. It begins by discussing early-modern precedents of intervention, in theory and practice. It then considers the treaties of Westphalia (1648) and argues that they did not establish a norm of non-intervention, based on modern concepts of state sovereignty. It looks at humanitarian intervention in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including the advent of the term ‘humanitarian intervention’ into the jargon of statesmen and lawyers. It surveys both the concept of intervention and actual interventions from the League of Nations to the present day.
The European Union, Multilateralism, and the Use of Force
Authors: Deighton Anne
Published: January 2015

This chapter examines the EU’s development of its Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). It first looks at how European states reacted to mechanisms proposed in the League of Nations and the United Nations charters to deal collectively, using force if necessary, with breaches of charter norms. It then explains how the EU as a multilateral institution has developed since the end of the Cold War. The chapter concludes with some observations on the possible implications of this shift towards what has been called the militarization of the EU, and the interaction between this change and the new post-Cold War global discourse on the broadening of security.
Robots at War
Authors: Singer P W.
Published: January 2015

Unmanned systems are being used in almost every realm of war, moving more and more soldiers out of danger and allowing their enemies to be targeted with increasing precision. They are also changing the experience of war itself, leading some of the first generation of soldiers working with robots to worry that war waged by remote control from distant locations will come to seem too easy, too tempting. This chapter discusses the development of robot systems; robotic advantages; the human role in war given the increasing use of robots; and whether human warriors will eventually be rendered obsolete. Robotics offers the public and their leaders the lure of riskless warfare. However, wars are never simple. They are by their very nature complex, messy, and unpredictable. And this will remain the case even as unmanned systems increasingly substitute for humans.
Morality and Law in War
Authors: Rodin David
Published: January 2015

The just war theory provides an account of rights and duties in war. At its heart lies a distinction between two sets of rules. The jus ad bellum provides a set of conditions under which going to war is deemed just. The jus in bello provides a set of conditions for just conduct in war. This chapter discusses the three challenges to just war theory and the responses to the three challenges.
The Return of Realism? War and Changing Concepts of the Political
Authors: Owens Patricia
Published: January 2015

This chapter examines a form of political realism whose intellectual standing improved under the administration of George W. Bush. Specifically, a strand of the authoritarian German jurist, Carl Schmitt’s version of political ‘decisionism’, which is said to correlate with the Bush administration’s claims about executive authority and state sovereignty. The chapter first sets out what many have described as the ‘decisionist’ basis of the Bush administration’s legal revisionism and its interpretation of the normative order more generally. It then discusses German-American political theorist Hannah Arendt’s rejection of both Schmitt’s ‘decisionism’ and liberal constitutional rationalism in favour of a different understanding of law.
Strategy in the Twenty-First Century
Authors: Strachan Hew
Published: January 2015

This chapter analyses the development of strategic theory in the twenty-first century. Strategic studies today have been divorced from the historical roots in which it first flourished. The challenge for historians is to identify continuity and to use that as the bedrock from which to determine what is really new, as opposed to what merely seems to be new, to distinguish the revolutionary and the evolutionary from the evanescent and ephemeral.
(C4H12N2)[CoCl4]: tetrahedrally coordinated Co2+without the orbital degeneracy
Authors: Decaroli C. , Arevalo-Lopez A. M. , Woodall C. H. , Rodriguez E. E. , Attfield J. P. , Parker S. F. , Stock C.
Published: January 2015

We report on the synthesis, crystal structure and magnetic properties of a previously unreported Co2+S = {3\over 2} compound, (C4H12N2)[CoCl4], based upon a tetrahedral crystalline environment. The S = {3\over 2} magnetic ground state of Co2+, measured with magnetization, implies an absence of spin-orbit coupling and orbital degeneracy. This contrasts with compounds based upon an octahedral and even known tetrahedral Co2+[Cottonet al.(1961).J. Am. Chem. Soc.83, 4690] systems where a sizable spin-orbit coupling is measured. The compound is characterized with single-crystal X-ray diffraction, magnetic susceptibility, IR and UV–vis spectroscopy. Magnetic susceptibility measurements find no magnetic ordering above 2 K. The results are also compared with the previously known monoclinic hydrated analogue.
A new polymorph of 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid obtained during failed co-crystallization experiments
Authors: Zhang Qi , Li Meiqi , Mei Xuefeng
Published: January 2015

Pharmaceutical salt-forming acid 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid (HNA) is widely used in pharmaceutical co-crystal preparation. In this work, we report a new polymorph of HNA obtained during attempted co-crystallization experiments. The reported form and the new form were fully characterized and their thermodynamic relationship was also established to be monotropic with the new form being the more stable form.
The ecstasy and the agony; compression studies of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)
Authors: Connor Lauren E. , Delori Amit , Hutchison Ian B. , Nic Daeid Niamh , Sutcliffe Oliver B. , Oswald Iain D. H.
Published: January 2015

MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is a Class A substance that is usually found in a tableted form. It is only observed in one orthorhombic polymorph under ambient conditions. It shows slight positional disorder around the methlyenedioxy ring which persists during compression up to 6.66 GPa. The crystal quality deteriorates above 6.66 GPa where the hydrostatic limit of the pressure-transmitting medium is exceeded. The structure undergoes anisotropic compression with thea-axis compressing the greatest (12%cf.4 and 10% for theb- andc-axes, respectively). This is due to the pattern of the hydrogen bonding which acts like a spring and allows the compression along this direction.
Exploring privacy and trust for employee monitoring
Authors: Chang Shuchih Ernest , Liu Anne Yenching , Lin Sungmin
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate privacy boundaries and explores employees’ reactions in employee monitoring.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research used the metaphor of boundary turbulence in the Communication Privacy Management (CPM) theory to demonstrate the psychological effect on employees. The model comprised organizational culture, CPM, trust, and employee performance in employee monitoring to further investigated the influence exerted by organizational culture and how employees viewed their trust within the organization when implementing employee monitoring. Variables were measured empirically by administrating questionnaires to full-time employees in organizations that currently practice employee monitoring.

Findings

– The findings showed that a control-oriented organizational culture raised communication privacy turbulence in CPM. The communication privacy turbulence in CPM mostly had negative effects on trust in employee monitoring policy, but not on trust in employee monitoring members. Both trust in employee monitoring policy and trust in employee monitoring members had positive effects on employee commitment and compliance to employee monitoring.

Research limitations/implications

– This research applied the CPM theory in workplace privacy to explore the relationship between employees’ privacy and trust. The results provide insights of why employees feel psychological resistance when they are forced to accept the practice of employee monitoring. In addition, this study explored the relationship between CPM and trust, and offer support and verification to prior studies.

Practical implications

– For practitioners, the findings help organizations to improve the performance of their employees and to design a more effective environment for employee monitoring.

Originality/value

– A research model was proposed to study the impacts of CPM on employee monitoring, after a broad survey on related researches. The validated model and its corresponding study results can be referenced by organization managers and decision makers to make favorable tactics for achieving their goals of implementing employee monitoring.
How does performance history impact supplier selection in public sector?
Authors: Mamavi Olivier , Nagati Haithem , Pache Gilles , Wehrle Frederick T.
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study if the performance history impacts supplier selection in the French public sector context. While French public procurement legislation forbids consideration of the past contract wins in supplier selection, public contractors may still rely on contract win history for highly complex transactions.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using French Official Journals (BOAMP), the authors collected all public procurement transactions of 976 suppliers that had at least one transaction per year, over a period of six years (between 2006 and 2011). The authors conducted a two-level hierarchical linear auto-regression analysis and a feature evaluation analysis for all transactions.

Findings

– The paper finds significant variation between the transactions of different markets, as well as in the overall positive impact of past wins and in the detailed impact patterns and thresholds of each market. The findings may allow refinement of existing contract awarding strategies and of current legislation.

Originality/value

– The paper aims at empirically testing whether a supplier’s degree of success in any given year, measured by the number of public contracts won, may have an impact on the likelihood that the same supplier is awarded a public contract the following year. The authors conclude that suppliers retained for public contracts could benefit from building public buyers’ loyalty using a key account selling approach rather than systematically seeking to acquire new contracts.
Effect of information sharing and process coordination on logistics outsourcing
Authors: Liu Chen , Huo Baofeng , Liu Shulin , Zhao Xiande
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to test how integrative mechanisms, including information sharing and process coordination, influence logistics outsourcing, and how logistics outsourcing influence performance from an extended RBV perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

– The structural equation modeling (SEM) method is used to examine the proposed model, based on data collected from 361 companies in greater China.

Findings

– Integrative mechanisms are helpful for logistics outsourcing (basic, customized, and advanced outsourcing). Specially, information sharing contributes to customized and advanced outsourcing, but has no significant effect on basic outsourcing. In contrast, process coordination improves basic and advanced outsourcing, but insignificantly influences customized outsourcing. Besides, each type of logistics outsourcing has differently effects on 3PL users’ performance. This study contributes to 3PL theories and practices.

Originality/value

– This study empirically examines the antecedents and the outcomes of logistics outsourcing, contributing to 3PL literature and practices.
Gender differences in satisfaction with Facebook users
Authors: Chan Tommy K. H. , Cheung Christy M. K. , Shi Na , Lee Matthew K. O.
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors associated with user satisfaction in the social network sites (SNSs), and to explore the moderating effects of gender on user satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

– A research model was built upon the expectation disconfirmation model (EDM) with a focus on SNSs specific motivations (i.e. relationship maintenance and entertainment). The model was tested empirically with 221 experienced Facebook users using an online survey.

Findings

– The research model explained 40.5 percent of the variance in user satisfaction. In addition, the results showed that entertainment plays a more important role in determining user satisfaction with SNSs for male users, while relationship maintenance is more important in determining user satisfaction with SNSs for female users.

Research limitations/implications

– The current study enriched the theoretical understanding of user satisfaction in the context of SNSs. Particularly, perceptions and disconfirmations about the use of SNSs were identified and empirically tested. Furthermore, gender differences in terms of SNSs usage were empirically demonstrated.

Originality/value

– The present study is one of the first few studies that attempts to explain user satisfaction with SNSs as well as examine the role of gender with a theoretical foundation. It complements the empirical research in the IS literature that addresses new social communication technologies.
Impact of human resources on supply chain management and performance
Authors: Gómez-Cedeño Milena , Castán-Farrero José María , Guitart-Tarrés Laura , Matute-Vallejo Jorge
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that human resource management (HRM) has an impact on supply chain management (SCM), which in turn has a significant impact on customer satisfaction (CS) and organisational performance (OP), playing a mediating role in the relationship between HRM and SCM outcomes (SCMO).

Design/methodology/approach

– The model is first validated and the hypotheses formulated are tested using the partial least squares structural equation model (SEM), based on five constructs: HRM, SCM implementation (SCMI), SCMO, customer satisfaction and organisational performance, taken from an existing model tested previously in a different geographical context. To do this, a survey was conducted and 231 valid responses were obtained.

Findings

– The empirical results reveal that HRM had significant direct and indirect impacts on SCMO, and SCMI, which in turn played a mediating role in the relationships between HRM and SCMO. CS also played a mediating role in the relationships between SCMO and OP. This finding suggests that the successful implementation of SCM not only directly improves SCMO, but it also indirectly increases CS and OP.

Research limitations/implications

– A firm’s human resource practices need to be aligned with its SCM to foster the involvement of the members of the supply chain (SC), promote the integration of the SC and, consequently, ensure better business outcomes.

Originality/value

– The study provides an original analysis not only in terms of the measurement of the relationship between HRM and SCM, but also with regard to its examination of the mediating effects, thus shedding light on the mechanisms by which these relationships are produced, and how this impacts CS and OP. This has allowed us to obtain more insightful results than those reported in the literature to date.
Corporate sustainability development in China: review and analysis
Authors: Bai Chunguang , Sarkis Joseph , Dou Yijie
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to threefold. The first purpose is to review and critically analyze corporate sustainability development (CSD) research in China. Second, the paper extracts a unified theoretical framework among CSD drivers, CSD practices, and corporate performance in China. Finally, it seeks to identify links between CSD and industrial management and data systems (IMDS) topics.

Design/methodology/approach

– A comprehensive and structured review of the research literature investigating CSD in China was completed. Categorizations and classifications of the literature were summarized. A critical analysis of the literature resulted in a generic theoretical framework that can be used for evaluation of the literature and further investigation.

Findings

– The literature review found over 189 papers on CSD in China published from 1997 to 2013. The framework developed focussed on relationships among drivers, practices, and performance within a CSD in China context. The framework provides useful insights into the implementation of CSD practices. The integration of the three dimensions of sustainability and decision-making methodology are still rare. Specific features of CSD are also reviewed with a linkage to IMDS research around information technology, business process modeling, and supply chain management.

Originality/value

– This is one of the first works to provide a comprehensive focus on CSD in China. The theoretical framework was developed for CSD in China to clarify the relationships between the drivers, the corporation’s characteristics, CSD practices, and corporation performance and will prove useful for future research development and investigation. The linkage to IMDS topics is novel and will help further research related to CSD in China for this journal.
Influence of a catalan peer tutoring programme on reading comprehension and self‐concept as a reader
Authors: Flores Marta , Duran David
Published: January 2015

This study relates to the results obtained in the development of reading comprehension (RC) and self‐concept as a reader in students who participated in Llegim en parella (Reading in pairs), a Catalan peer tutoring programme. The research combines a quasi‐experimental design with the use of comparison groups and pre‐tests/post‐tests for both variables; a qualitative approach is adopted by analysing the interactions in order to detect influencing factors. Statistically significant results were obtained for all students in terms of RC but only for student tutors in relation to reading self‐concept. The factors involved in the improvements identified in RC are: reading strategies, scaffolding in inferential and deep comprehension questions. Regarding self‐concept, the tutor's own role, his involvement with their tutees' progress, reading aloud and the metacognitive reflection processes, are all factors that enable us to explain the improvement in the tutor's reading self‐perception. The positive influence of peer tutoring on the development of reading competence through this programme is clearly evident.
Everyday politics, social practices and movement networks: daily life in Barcelona's social centres
Authors: Yates Luke
Published: January 2015

The relations between everyday life and political participation are of interest for much contemporary social science. Yet studies of social movement protest still pay disproportionate attention to moments of mobilization, and to movements with clear organizational boundaries, tactics and goals. Exceptions have explored collective identity, ‘free spaces’ and prefigurative politics, but such processes are framed as important only in accounting for movements in abeyance, or in explaining movement persistence. This article focuses on the social practices taking place in and around social movement spaces, showing that political meanings, knowledge and alternative forms of social organization are continually being developed and cultivated. Social centres in Barcelona, Spain, autonomous political spaces hosting cultural and educational events, protest campaigns and alternative living arrangements, are used as empirical case studies. Daily practices of food provisioning, distributing space and dividing labour are politicized and politicizing as they unfold and develop over time and through diverse networks around social centres. Following Melucci, such latent processes set the conditions for social movements and mobilization to occur. However, they not only underpin mobilization, but are themselves politically expressive and prefigurative, with multiple layers of latency and visibility identifiable in performances of practices. The variety of political forms – adversarial, expressive, theoretical, and routinized everyday practices, allow diverse identities, materialities and meanings to overlap in movement spaces, and help explain networks of mutual support between loosely knit networks of activists and non‐activists. An approach which focuses on practices and networks rather than mobilization and collective actors, it is argued, helps show how everyday life and political protest are mutually constitutive.
Sensory evaluation of ovine milk yoghurt with inulin addition
Authors: Balthazar Celso Fasura , Gaze Leonardo Varon , Azevedo da Silva Hugo Leandro , Pereira Camila Serva , Franco Robson Maia , Conte‐Júnior Carlos Adam , de Freitas Mônica Queiroz , de Oliveira Silva Adriana Cristina
Published: January 2015

The purpose of this study was to elaborate prebiotic yoghurt using ovine milk and different inulin concentrations (0, 2 and 6%). Samples were submitted to laboratory analysis and two sensory tests with 100 consumers. The results of apparent viscosity and firmness determined by instrumental analysis of each yoghurt and control differed significantly. Just‐About‐Right showed consistency as the main attribute that varied in treatments. According to penalty analysis, prebiotic yoghurt containing 6% inulin had minor penalties, which indicates its advantage in the quest to better consumer demands. Hence, this treatment demonstrated better results as well as the many prebiotic benefits associated with an adequate fibre amount.
Control Outcomes and Exposures for Improving Internal Validity of Nonrandomized Studies
Authors: Dusetzina Stacie B. , Brookhart M. Alan , Maciejewski Matthew L.
Published: January 2015

Objective

Control outcomes and exposures can improve internal validity of nonrandomized studies by assessing residual bias in effect estimates. Control outcomes are those expected to have no treatment effect or the opposite effect of the primary outcome. Control exposures are treatments expected to have no effect on the primary outcome. We review examples of control outcomes and exposures from prior studies and provide recommendations for conducting and reporting these analyses.

Data Sources and Study Design

Review in Google Scholar and Medline of research studies employing control outcomes or exposures. We abstracted publication year, control outcome, control exposure, primary outcome, primary exposure, control outcome/exposure effect, proposed source of bias, and causal criteria.

Principal Findings

There is inconsistent terminology for these concepts, making study identification challenging. Six of 11 studies found null associations between treatments and negative control outcomes/exposures, providing greater confidence that the primary study findings were not biased. Five studies found unexpected associations, suggesting bias in the primary association.

Conclusions

The rigor of nonrandomized studies can be improved with inclusion of control outcomes and exposures for bias detection. Given ongoing concern about clinical and policy inferences from nonrandomized studies, we recommend adoption of these measurement tools.
Quality of Disease Management and Risk of Mortality in English Primary Care Practices
Authors: Dusheiko Mark , Gravelle Hugh , Martin Stephen , Smith Peter C.
Published: January 2015

Objective

To investigate whether better management of chronic conditions by family practices reduces mortality risk.

Data

Two random samples of 5 million patients registered with over 8,000 English family practices followed up for 4 years (2004/5–2007/8). Measures of the quality of disease management for 10 conditions were constructed for each family practice for each year. The outcome measure was an indicator taking the value 1 if the patient died during a specified year, 0 otherwise.

Study Design

Cross‐section and multilevel panel data multiple logistic regressions were estimated. Covariates included age, gender, morbidity, hospitalizations, attributed socio‐economic characteristics, and local health care supply measures.

Principal Findings

Although a composite measure of the quality of disease management for all 10 conditions was significantly associated with lower mortality, only the quality of stroke care was significant when all 10 quality measures were entered in the regression.

Conclusions

The panel data results suggest that a 1 percent improvement in the quality of stroke care could reduce the annual number of deaths in England by 782 [95 percent CI: 423, 1140]. A longer study period may be necessary to detect any mortality impact of better management of other conditions.
The Structure of Voluntary Disclosure Narratives: Evidence from Tone Dispersion
Authors: ALLEE KRISTIAN D. , DEANGELIS MATTHEW D.
Published: January 2015

We examine tone dispersion, or the degree to which tone words are spread evenly within a narrative, to evaluate whether narrative structure provides insight into managers’ voluntary disclosures and users’ responses to those disclosures. We find that tone dispersion is associated with current aggregate and disaggregated performance and future performance, managers’ financial reporting decisions, and managers’ incentives and actions to manage perceptions. Furthermore, we find that tone dispersion is associated with analysts’ and investors’ responses to conference call narratives. Our results suggest that tone dispersion both reflects and affects the information that managers convey through their narratives.
Feasibility of quantitative parameters of dynamically enhanced patterns of spiral computed tomography scanning integrated into tumour progression before targeted treatment of non‐small cell lung cancer
Authors: Qiao Peng‐Gang , Huang Qiong , Zhou Juan , Wang Xiang‐Chao , Li Ming , Ma Jin‐Lin , Tian Ning , Li Gong‐Jie
Published: January 2015

Introduction

The relationship between quantitative parameters of contrast‐enhanced computed tomography (CT) and non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) progression remains controversial. We aimed to explore the usefulness of contrast‐enhanced spiral CT scanning for confirming the time of tumour progression before targeted treatment of NSCLC.

Methods

Contrast‐enhanced spiral CT scanning was performed on 33 NSCLC patients with a biopsy‐proven diagnosis of NSCLC. All the patients were divided into three groups according to times of tumour progression (<6 weeks, 6–20 weeks, and >20 weeks). The perfusion CT data were used to calculate quantitative parameters, including enhanced peak values, peak time of tumour enhancement, ratio of tumour mass and enhanced aorta peak value and perfusion value of blood flow. Variance analysis was used for statistical analysis among the three groups using sas 9.13 statistical software.

Results

Tumour perfusion values among the three group with different stage of TTP were significantly different from each other with P = 0.0129 (<6 weeks, perfusion value = 0.35 ± 0.15 mL/(min × mL); 6–20 weeks, perfusion value = 0.41 ± 0.086 mL/(min × mL); > 20 weeks, perfusion value = 0.47 ± 0.087 mL/(min × mL)). However, no significant differences were found in other parameters (enhanced peak values, peak time of tumour enhancement, ratios of tumour mass, and enhanced aorta peak value) among three groups (P > 0.05).

Conclusion

The NSCLC patients with high perfusion value before targeted therapy are more sensitive to targeted therapy, and further experiments with larger sample size are needed.
Recognising pitfalls in assessment of tumours by diffusion‐weighted MRI: A pictorial essay
Authors: Parameswaran Bimal Kumar , Lau Eddie , Ferris Nicholas J
Published: January 2015

Diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI) has become an integral part of MRI. Knowledge of the basic principles of DWI and its pitfalls are imperative in the proper application of this technique. We illustrate potential pitfalls of DWI in oncologic imaging.
In‐hospital C‐reactive protein predicts outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage treated by endovascular coiling
Authors: CSAJBOK L. Z. , NYLÉN K. , ÖST M. , SONANDER H. , NELLGÅRD B.
Published: January 2015

Background

This study aimed to examine prospectively whether the inflammatory marker C‐reactive protein (CRP) increases in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (aSAH) treated by endovascular coiling and investigate whether CRP could be used as prognostic factor for long‐term neurological outcome.

Methods

This single‐hospital study comprised 98 consecutive patients with confirmed aSAH treated by endovascular coiling. Admission status was classified according to the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) Scale and initial cerebral computed tomography according to Fisher scale. CRP was analysed on days 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 after the initial bleed. A neurological follow up was performed 1 year later according to the Extended Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOSE) for overall outcome and National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) for focal deficit.

Results

CRP values increased from normal to peak at 53 mg/l at day 3–4 and then declined, without normalising, at day 8. Patients with a higher increase in CRP had a poorer neurological outcome after 1 year. CRP during the first week had a stronger correlation to outcome (r = 0.417) and NIHSS (r = 0.449) than initial clinical status (WFNS; r = 0.280 and 0.274) and radiology (Fisher scale; r = 0.137 and 0.158). CRP increase indicated a risk of poor outcome (GOSE) (P < 0.001) and permanent loss of neurological function (NIHSS) (P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis suggested that elevated CRP already on day 2 is an independent prognostic marker for outcome.

Conclusion

Early CRP values can perhaps be used as a prognostic factor for long‐term neurological outcome prediction after endovascular treatment of aSAH.
Inflammation in cold complex regional pain syndrome
Authors: DIRCKX M. , STRONKS D. L. , VAN BODEGRAVEN‐HOF E. A. M. , WESSELDIJK F. , GROENEWEG J. G. , HUYGEN F. J. P. M.
Published: January 2015

Background

In patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), the temperature of the affected side often differs from that of the contralateral side. In the acute phase, the affected side is usually warmer than the contralateral side, the so‐called ‘warm’ CRPS. This thermal asymmetry can develop into a colder affected side, the so‐called ‘cold’ CRPS. In contrast to cold CRPS, in warm CRPS, inflammation is generally assumed to be present. However, there are reports of cold CRPS patients, successfully treated with vasodilatation therapy, who subsequently displayed warm CRPS. It seems that inflammation could be ‘hidden’ behind vasomotor disturbance. This study was designed to test this hypothesis.

Methods

A retrospective analysis was made of patients in our CRPS database. We defined three types of CRPS: cold CRPS, neither cold nor warm (intermediate) CRPS, and warm CRPS. Of these patients, the difference between the level of the pro‐inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)‐6 (Δ IL‐6) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α (Δ TNF‐α) in the affected extremity and that in the contralateral extremity was determined.

Results

The bilateral difference of the level of these cytokines did not differ among patients with cold CRPS, intermediate CRPS, or those with warm CRPS.

Conclusion

Inflammation may be involved in cold CRPS.
Prolonged hypogonadism in males following withdrawal from anabolic–androgenic steroids: an under‐recognized problem
Authors: Kanayama Gen , Hudson James I. , DeLuca James , Isaacs Stephanie , Baggish Aaron , Weiner Rory , Bhasin Shalender , Pope Harrison G.
Published: January 2015

Aims

To assess the frequency and severity of hypogonadal symptoms in male long‐term anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS) misusers who have discontinued AAS use.

Design

Cross‐sectional, naturalistic.

Setting

Out‐patient facility.

Participants

Twenty‐four male former long‐term AAS users and 36 non‐AAS‐using weightlifters, recruited by advertisement in Massachusetts, USA. Five of the former users were currently receiving treatment with physiological testosterone replacement, leaving 19 untreated users for the numerical comparisons below.

Measurements

The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM‐IV, questions regarding history of AAS use, physical examination, serum hormone determinations and the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF).

Findings

Compared with the 36 non‐AAS‐using weightlifters, the 19 untreated former AAS users displayed significantly smaller testicular volumes [estimated difference, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.3 (0.1, 4.5) ml;P = 0.042] and lower serum testosterone levels [estimated difference: 95% CI = 131 (25, 227) dl;P = 0.009], with five users showing testosterone levels below 200 ng/dl despite abstinence from AAS for 3–26 months. Untreated former users also displayed significantly lower scores on the IIEF sexual desire subscale [estimated difference: 95% CI = 2.4 (1.3, 3.4) points on a 10‐point scale;P< 0.001]. In the overall group of 24 treated plus untreated former users, seven (29%) had experienced major depressive episodes during AAS withdrawal; four of these had not experienced major depressive episodes at any other time. Two men (8%) had failed to regain normal libidinal or erectile function despite adequate replacement testosterone treatment.

Conclusions

Among long‐term anabolic–androgenic steroid misusers, anabolic–androgenic steroid‐withdrawal hypogonadism appears to be common, frequently prolonged and associated with substantial morbidity.
Influence of Testosterone on Inflammatory Response in Testicular Cells and Expression of Transcription Factor Foxp3 in T Cells
Authors: Fijak Monika , Damm Lara‐Jil , Wenzel Jan‐Per , Aslani Ferial , Walecki Magdalena , Wahle Eva , Eisel Florian , Bhushan Sudhanshu , Hackstein Holger , Baal Nelli , Schuler Gerhard , Konrad Lutz , Rafiq Amir , O'Hara Laura , Smith Lee B. , Meinhardt Andreas
Published: January 2015

Problem

Previous studies demonstrated a strong association between low androgen levels and reduced capacity to mount an inflammatory response. However, the mechanisms underlying these observations are largely not understood.

Methods of study

Generation of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells in Leydig cell‐conditioned media was determined by flow cytometry and ELISA. Influence of testosterone on cytokine response was measured in LPS‐stimulated testicular macrophages, Sertoli and peritubular cells.

Results

Leydig cell‐conditioned media dose‐dependently stimulated expression of transcription factor Foxp3 and secretion of IL‐10 in splenic CD4+ T cells, an effect abolished by addition of the anti‐androgen flutamide. In isolated Sertoli and peritubular cells, testosterone pre‐treatment suppressed the LPS‐induced inflammatory response on TNF‐α mRNA expression, while no effect was evident in testicular macrophages (TM).

Conclusions

Androgens can influence the immune system under normal conditions by the generation and functional differentiation of regulatory T cells and in testicular inflammation by direct effect on Sertoli and peritubular cells.
Involvement of seminal leukocytes, reactive oxygen species, and sperm mitochondrial membrane potential in the DNA damage of the human spermatozoa
Authors: Lobascio A. M. , De Felici M. , Anibaldi M. , Greco P. , Minasi M. G. , Greco E.
Published: January 2015

Measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) producing leukocytes in semen has been a standard component of the semen analysis, but its true significance remains still unknown. In this study, we have correlated the number of seminal leukocytes to various semen parameters. We found a negative correlation between the leukocyte number and sperm concentration (rs = −0.22; p = 0.01) and motility (rs = −0.20; p = 0.02). In contrast, a positive correlation between the number of leukocytes and both seminal ROS (rs = 0.70, p < 0.001; n = 125) and the number of spermatozoa with DNA fragmentation (rs = 0.43, p = 0.032; n = 25) was found. However, only a trend of positive correlation between ROS and the number of spermatozoa with TUNEL‐detected DNA fragmentation was observed. Moreover, this latter was not correlated with loss of sperm mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) (10% vs 35%, rs = 0.25, p = 0.08; n = 50). Overall these results indicate that the presence of high number of leukocytes in the ejaculate negatively affects key semen parameters, as sperm concentration and motility, associated with infertility conditions. Moreover, they suggest that leukocytes are the major source of the seminal ROS and cause of sperm DNA fragmentation. However, the absence of a clear correlation between ROS and sperm DNA fragmentation, and spermatozoa with damaged DNA and MMP loss, suggest that ROS produced by leukocytes might be not the only cause of DNA damage in spermatozoa and that intrinsic mitochondrial‐dependent apoptotic pathways might not have a major impact on sperm DNA fragmentation.
The activity of paraoxonase type 1 (PON‐1) in boar seminal plasma and its relationship with sperm quality, functionality, and in vivo fertility
Authors: Barranco I. , Tvarijonaviciute A. , Perez‐Patiño C. , Alkmin D. V. , Ceron J. J. , Martinez E. A. , Rodriguez‐Martinez H. , Roca J.
Published: January 2015

Paraoxonase 1 (PON‐1) is a hydrolytic enzyme present in body fluids, capable of protecting cells against oxidative stress. The hypothesis was hereby to test that PON‐1, present in seminal plasma (SP), acts protecting boar spermatozoa when showing a reasonable high activity in the ejaculate. SP‐PON‐1 activity differed (p < 0.001) among boars (from 0.10 to 0.29 IU/mL). Intra‐boar variability was also observed (p < 0.05), but only in two of the 15 boars. SP‐PON‐1 activity differed among ejaculate portions, showing the spermatozoa‐peak portion of spermatozoa‐rich ejaculate fraction the highest levels (0.35 ± 0.03 IU/mL, ranging from 0.12 to 0.69) and the post‐sperm ejaculate fraction the lowest levels (0.12 ± 0.01 IU/mL, ranging from 0.03 to 0.21). SP‐PON‐1 activity was positively correlated with the percentage of spermatozoa with rapid and progressive movement (p < 0.01) and negatively correlated with the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (p < 0.01) in semen samples after 72 h of liquid storage. SP‐PON‐1 activity was highest (p < 0.01) in boars with highest farrowing rates. In conclusion, SP‐PON‐1 activity differed among boars and ejaculate fractions/portions. SP‐PON‐1 activity was positively correlated with sperm quality and functionality of liquid‐stored semen samples and it evidenced a positive association with in vivo fertility.
Clinical applications of the pedicled anterolateral thigh flap in reconstruction
Authors: Lin Chin‐Ta , Wang Chih‐Hsing , Ou Kuang‐Wen , Chang Shun‐Cheng , Dai Niann‐Tzyy , Chen Shyi‐Gen , Chen Tim‐Mo , Tzeng Yuan‐Sheng
Published: January 2015

Background

Reconstruction of extensive defects of the lower abdomen, penoscrotum, trochanter, groin and knee without using complex microsurgery is a reconstructive challenge. Pedicled anterolateral thigh (ALT) flaps offer many advantages over other regional flaps for this purpose, such as the large skin area and soft‐tissue availability, a remarkable pedicle length, and possessing multiple components and reliability. We present our experience of using pedicled ALT flaps for repairing various defects.

Methods

From September 2006 to December 2013, 42 pedicled ALT flaps were used in 41 patients for defects of the lower abdomen (three patients), trochanter (26 patients), penoscrotum (10 patients), groin (one patient) and knee (one patient). Twenty‐eight were men and 13 were women, and their mean age was 70.5 years (range, 22–103 years). The characteristics of the patients' age, sex, cause, flap size, flap component, follow‐up and donor sites were recorded.

Results

The flap size ranged from 8 × 5 cm (40 cm2) to 11 × 18 cm (198 cm2). The length of the pedicle ranged from 9 to 16 cm, which was enough to reach the defect without tension. No surgery‐related mortality occurred. In 34 flaps, donor sites were closed primarily and eight underwent split‐skin grafting. Satisfactory coverage was achieved in all patients.

Conclusion

Our experience has shown the wide arc of rotation, large skin replacement potential, multiple components and reliability of pedicled ALT flaps. They are technically simple to apply as myocutaneous/fasciocutaneous flaps with minimal donor site morbidity.
Role of inflammatory markers as predictors of laparotomy in patients presenting with acute abdomen
Authors: Dias Brendan H. , Rozario Anthony P. , Olakkengil Santosh A.
Published: January 2015

Background

There is a need for an ideal indicator of surgery in patients presenting with acute abdomen. Several markers have been analysed, but the search still continues as none have proven effective. This study aimed to analyse and compare the predictive value of plasma procalcitonin (PCT) strip test in patients presenting with acute abdomen and identify a useful cut‐off value to differentiate patients that would benefit with surgery from those that require conservative management.

Methods

A prospective study was conducted in the department of general surgery from June 2012 to June 2013. Plasma PCT was estimated by the semi‐quantitative strip test. The levels of plasma PCT and other routinely used markers of inflammation were analysed and compared.

Results

Of the total of 58 patients, 44 patients (76%) were men with a mean age of 45 years. Forty patients required emergency surgical intervention. A plasma PCT value of >0.5 ng/mL at admission was 80% sensitive and 100% specific for predicting need for antibiotics in patients with acute abdomen that were managed conservatively. The mean plasma PCT value in the patients undergoing surgery (5.0–10.0 ng/mL) was significantly more than in those managed conservatively (0.5–2.0 ng/mL). Using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves a cut‐off for plasma PCT of >5.0 ng/mL was 75% sensitive and 100% specific for considering surgical intervention in patients presenting with acute abdomen.

Conclusions

Plasma PCT (value >5 ng/mL) could be used as an adjunct to clinical examination to predict requirement of surgery in patients presenting with acute abdomen.