bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The individual and organizational level effects of TQM practices on job satisfaction
Authors: Prajogo Daniel I. , Cooper Brian
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the multi-level relationship between people-related total quality management (TQM) practices and employee job satisfaction. The authors draw upon organizational climate theory to hypothesize that TQM is related to job satisfaction at the individual employee level, as well as at the organizational level in the form of shared perceptions of TQM practices in the workplace.

Design/methodology/approach

Multi-level modelling was used to test the study hypotheses. The sample was drawn from 201 employees working in 23 organizations in Australia.

Findings

The findings show that people-related TQM practices are positively related to job satisfaction at both individual and organizational levels, with a stronger effect on employee attitudes observed at the organizational level.

Research limitations/implications

The statistically significant multi-level relationship between people-related TQM practices and job satisfaction extends the findings of previous studies conducted only at the individual level; thus, supporting the sustainability of TQM as a management principle at a company-wide level.

Practical implications

The findings broadly support the implementation of people-related TQM practices as part of a strategy of creating a “high performance” climate in organizations, which in turn, will likely to positively affect both individual and organizational performance.

Social implications

From a wider social perspective, the implementation of TQM practices as a company-wide initiative could facilitate greater corporate social responsibility of the organization. Such practices as training, involving, and empowering employees can promote social commitment by valuing employees as one important stakeholder.

Originality/value

This is the first empirical study to the best of the author’s knowledge that uses multi-level modelling to examine the relationship between TQM practices and employee attitudes such as job satisfaction.
Extending customer order penetration concepts to engineering designs
Authors: Gosling Jonathan , Hewlett Bill , Naim Mohamed M.
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The customer order decoupling point (CODP) concept addresses the issue of customer engagement in the manufacturing process. This has traditionally been applied to material flows, but has more recently been applied to engineering activities. This later subject becomes of particular importance to companies operating in “engineer-to-order” (ETO) supply chains, where each order is potentially unique. Existing conceptualisations of ETO are too generic for practical purposes, so there is a need to better understand order penetration in the context of engineering activities, especially design. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to address the question “how do customer penetration concepts apply to engineering design activities?”

Design/methodology/approach

A collaborative form of inquiry is adopted, whereby academics and practitioners co-operated to develop a conceptual framework. Within this overarching research design, a focus group of senior practitioners and multiple case studies principally from complex civil and structural engineering as well as scientific equipment projects are used to explore the framework.

Findings

The framework results in a classification of nine potential engineering subclasses, and insight is given into order penetration points, major uncertainties and enablers via the case studies. Focus group findings indicate that different managerial approaches are needed across subclasses.

Practical implications

The findings give insight for companies that engage directly with customers on a one-to-one basis, outlining the extent of customer penetration in engineering activities, associated operational strategies and choices regarding the co-creation of products with customers. Care should be taken in generalising beyond the sectors addressed in the study.

Originality/value

The paper refines the definition of the ETO concept, and gives a more complete understanding of customer penetration concepts. It provides a comprehensive reconceptualization of the ETO category, supported by exploratory empirical research.
Capability antecedents and performance outcomes of servitization
Authors: Sousa Rui , da Silveira Giovani J.C.
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to theoretically articulate and empirically test an integrated model of capability antecedents and performance outcomes of servitization strategies. The authors characterize servitization strategies based on the offering of two types of services: basic services (BAS) and advanced services (ADS).

Design/methodology/approach

Hypotheses are tested based on statistical analyses of a large survey of manufacturers from different countries and sectors.

Findings

The authors find that manufacturing capabilities associate with the provision of BAS, while service capabilities associate with both BAS and ADS; BAS do not impact financial performance, but support the offering of ADS; there seem to be naturally occurring servitization trajectories involving the gradual development of balanced levels of BAS and ADS and adequate levels of manufacturing and service capabilities.

Research limitations/implications

The findings on servitization trajectories are based on the observation of manufacturing business units at different stages of servitization (cross-sectional data).

Practical implications

Manufacturers wishing to servitize should distinguish between BAS and ADS and deploy a balanced adoption of BAS and ADS, using BAS as a platform. This should be accompanied with the building of appropriate capabilities.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies to show an explicit link between different servitization strategies, capabilities, and servitization maturity. It provides new insights into the servitization paradox and servitization trajectories.
The potential of prison-based democratic therapeutic communities
Authors: Bennett Jamie , Shuker Richard
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the work of HMP Grendon, the only prison in the UK to operate entirely as a series of democratic therapeutic communities and to summarise the research of its effectiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is both descriptive, providing an overview of the work of a prison-based therapeutic community, and offers a literature review regarding evidence of effectiveness.

Findings

The work of HMP Grendon has a wide range of positive benefits including reduced levels of disruption in prison, reduced self-harm, improved well-being, an environment that is experienced as more humane and reduced levels of reoffending.

Originality/value

The work of HMP Grendon offers a well established and evidenced approach to managing men who have committed serious violent and sexually violent offences. It also promotes and embodies a progressive approach to managing prisons rooted in the welfare tradition.
Older and incarcerated: policy implications of aging prison populations
Authors: Psick Zachary , Simon Jonathan , Brown Rebecca , Ahalt Cyrus
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the policy Implications of aging prison populations.

Design/methodology/approach

An examination of the worldwide aging trend in prison and its implications for correctional policy, including an examination of population aging in California prisons as a case example of needed reform.

Findings

Prison populations worldwide are aging at an unprecedented rate, and age-related medical costs have had serious consequences for jurisdictions struggling to respond to the changes. These trends are accompanied by a growing body of evidence that old age is strongly correlated with desistance from criminal behavior, suggesting an opportunity to at least partially address the challenges of an aging prison population through early release from prison for appropriate persons.

Originality/value

Some policies do exist that aim to reduce the number of older, chronically ill or disabled and dying people in prison, but they have not achieved that goal on a sufficient scale. An examination of the situation in California shows that recognizing how the healthcare needs of incarcerated people change as they age – and how aging and aging-related health changes often decrease an older person’s likelihood of repeat offense – is critical to achieving effective and efficient policies and practices aimed at adequately caring for this population and reducing their numbers in prisons when appropriate.
An update on the EU securities financing transactions regulation
Authors: Yonge William J.G.
Published: March 2017

Purpose

To provide an update and detailed explanation on the EU Regulation on Transparency of Securities Financing Transactions and of Reuse (“SFTR”).

Design/methodology/approach

Examines the SFTR, its key measures and requirements.

Findings

Concludes with a number of considerations and recommendations. For example, it advises managers of Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) and alternative investment funds (AIFs) to prepare to disclose details of their use of securities financing transactions and total return swaps.

Originality/value

Offers information on the SFTR and explains its requirements and scope. It has been written by a partner at an international law firm.
Practical tips for satisfying FINRA’s “culture” concerns
Authors: Nathan Daniel A.
Published: March 2017

Purpose

To analyze FINRA’s focus on broker-dealer culture in its 2016 annual priorities letter and the application of the concept in FINRA disciplinary proceedings, to explain how that focus will affect FINRA’s examinations of firms, and to provide recommendations as to how a firm can develop or improve its culture of compliance.

Design/methodology/approach

This article examines FINRA’s current and historic pronouncements about “culture” in speeches, guidance, and decisions in disciplinary proceedings, and looks for common themes that should guide broker-dealers’ compliance.

Findings

This article concludes that even if the focus on culture might be regarded as an unnecessary overlay to the panoply of securities laws and regulations to which broker-dealers already are subject, firms should still take it seriously. It is now a focus of FINRA examinations for the purpose of fact-gathering, but FINRA might well elevate their concerns about culture into examination findings or worse.

Originality/value

This article gathers together all available information about the concept of firm “culture” and examines what aspects of the current focus represents legitimate concerns, and what aspects are unnecessary. The article takes the best of the guidance about culture and offers suggestions about how to improve a firm’s culture and, correspondingly, its compliance.
Cultures of professional collaboration: their origins and opponents
Authors: Hargreaves Andy , O’Connor Michael T.
Published: March 2017

Purpose

This Commentary is a review and critique of arguments that oppose the desirability and impact of professional collaboration in education. The purpose of this paper is to analyze two recent high-profile reviews of professional development and collaboration. The analysis is informed by a historical typology of five phases of professional collaboration in theory and practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The Commentary reviews and summarizes selected key texts that represent different phases in the development of advocacy for and research concerning the emergence of professional collaboration. It then critiques the methodology, findings, and recommendations of two key critiques of professional collaboration and development that have been widely disseminated for educators and policymakers.

Findings

Contrary to the views of its opponents, professional collaboration as a whole has a record of indirect, long term, yet clear and positive effects on teachers and students. Particular kinds of professional collaboration can vary a great deal in quality and impact, however. Short-term collaborative interventions, such as data teams, are often dependent for their success on the prior existence of deeper cultures and processes. These processes and cultures characterize high-performing systems globally. Advocacy for competitive alternatives is based on insufficient evidence.

Originality/value

Although advocacy for more competition in public school systems is common, high-profile critiques of professional collaboration are relatively new. This paper engages with these critiques from a broader historical perspective, and finds they have serious flaws of reasoning and methodology. Thus far, the critiques provide insufficient warrant for moves toward more competitive systems of schooling and teaching.
Structural elaboration in police organizations: an exploration
Authors: Jurek Alicia L. , Matusiak Matthew C. , Matusiak Randa Embry
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The current research explores the structural elaboration of municipal American police organizations, specifically, the structural complexity of police organizations and its relationship to time. The purpose of this paper is to describe and test essential elements of the structural elaboration hypothesis.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors explore the structural elaboration hypothesis utilizing a sample of 219 large police departments across the USA. Data are drawn from multiple waves of the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey and are analyzed using tobit and OLS regression techniques.

Findings

While there is some evidence that police departments are becoming more elaborate, little evidence for the structural elaboration hypothesis as a function of time is found.

Originality/value

This project is the first to specifically explore the structural elaboration hypothesis across multiple time points. Additionally, results highlight structural trends across a panel of large American police organizations and provide potential explanations for changes. Suggestions for large-scale policing data collection are also provided.
Confidence in the police and the fear of crime in the developing world
Authors: Alda Erik , Bennett Richard R. , Morabito Melissa S.
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The determinants of the fear of crime have been extensively investigated over the past three decades, yet few studies are comparative, include data from developing countries or use attitudes toward the police as explanatory variables. Understanding how perceptions of police performance influence fear of crime is essential to developing strategies which will reduce citizens’ isolation and reluctance to exert informal social control in their communities. Such lack of engagement creates opportunities for increased crime and disorder and heightens fear of crime. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This study examines the mediating effect of perceived confidence in the police on citizens’ fear of crime in seven developing Caribbean region countries using structural equation modeling. The data were collected in a 2011 United Nations survey from representative samples in each nation.

Findings

The results indicate that confidence in the police plays a significant and partial mediating role in explaining fear of crime and that community- and individual-level characteristics influence the level of confidence and independently affect fear of crime as well.

Originality/value

This is one of the few studies that employs comparative victimization data in the Caribbean to examine the role that confidence in the police has on fear of crime. The findings of this study will contribute to fill the gap in the understanding of the drivers of fear of crime in developing countries.
Social trust, neighborhood cohesion, and public trust in the police in China
Authors: Han Ziqiang , Sun Ivan Y. , Hu Rong
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the influences of social trust and neighborhood cohesion on public trust in the police in China.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used survey data collected from roughly 5,600 respondents by the 2012 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS). Multivariate regression was employed to analyze the effects of two forms of social trust, generalized trust and particularized trust, and three types of neighborhood cohesion, neighbor solidary, support and interaction, on public trust in the Chinese police, controlling for personal background characteristics.

Findings

Both generalized trust and particularized trust exerted a significant positive effect on trust in the Chinese police. Greater neighborhood cohesion also enhanced public trust in the police. Elderly, women, less educated and people with ruralhukouand higher perceived social class were more likely to trust the police.

Research limitations/implications

The CGSS data contained only a single item that could be used to measure public trust in the police. Future studies should consider using multiple survey items to reflect Chinese people’s trust from different conceptual dimensions, such as procedural- and outcome-based trust and police legitimacy. The CGSS data also did not contain information on some relevant predictors, such as victimization and fear of crime, personal and vicarious contact experiences with the police, and news and social media usage and exposure. Future studies, if possible, should incorporate these theoretically relevant and empirically proven variables into the analysis.

Practical implications

Improving neighborhood cohesion is a clear path to cultivate stronger public trust in the police. Policy-makers and officials must bring the neighborhood-centered approach back to local governance by working closely with police leaders and other private and parochial social institutions to launch programs that can effectively stabilize and strengthen local communities and actively promoting positive interactions and social bonds among residents. Policies and programs aimed at enhancing public trust in the police should target at younger, better educated and urban Chinese who are more likely to be critical of the police.

Originality/value

Despite their high relevance, social trust and neighborhood cohesion have received only limited attention in past research on Chinese attitudes toward the police. This study represents one of the first attempts to examine different forms of social trust and neighborhood cohesion on public trust in the police in China.
FoxO1‐AMPK‐ULK1 Regulates Ethanol‐Induced Autophagy in Muscle by Enhanced ATG14 Association with the BECN1‐PIK3C3 Complex
Authors: Hong‐Brown Ly Q. , Brown C. Randell , Navaratnarajah Maithili , Lang Charles H.
Published: March 2017

Background

Excessive alcohol (EtOH) consumption causes an imbalance in protein metabolism. EtOH impairs protein synthesis in C2C12 myoblasts via a FoxO1‐AMPK‐TSC2‐mTORC1 pathway and also induces protein degradation. As the underlying regulatory signaling cascades for these processes are currently poorly defined, we tested the hypothesis that alcohol‐induced autophagy is mediated via activation of the PIK3C3 complex that is regulated by FoxO1‐AMPK.

Methods

C2C12 myoblasts were incubated with EtOH for various periods of time, and autophagy pathway‐related proteins were assessed by Western blotting and immunoprecipitation. Expression of targeted genes was suppressed using electroporation of specific siRNAs and chemical inhibitors.

Results

Incubation of C2C12 myoblasts with 100 mM EtOH increased the autophagy markers LC3B‐II and ATG7, whereas levels of SQSTM1/p62 decreased. The lysosomal inhibitor bafilomycin A1 caused a similar response, although there was no additive effect when combined with EtOH. EtOH altered ULK1 S555 and S757 phosphorylation in a time‐ and AMPK‐dependent manner. The activation of AMPK and ULK1 was associated with increased BECN1 (S93, S14) and PIK3C3/VPS34 (S164) phosphorylation as well as increased total ATG14 and PIK3C3. These changes promoted formation of the ATG14‐AMBRA1‐BECN1‐PIK3C3 proautophagy complex that is important in autophagosome formation. EtOH‐induced changes were not associated with increased production of PtdIns3P, which may be due to enhanced PIK3C3 complex binding with 14‐3‐3θ. Reduction of AMPK using siRNA suppressed the stimulatory effect of EtOH on BECN1 S93, BECN1 S14, and PIK3C3 S164 phosphorylation in a time‐dependent manner. Likewise, knockdown of AMPK or chemical inhibition of FoxO1 attenuated phosphorylation of ULK1 at both residues. Knockdown of ULK1 or BECN1 antagonized the effect of EtOH on LC3B‐II, SQSTM1, and ATG7 protein expression.

Conclusions

EtOH‐induced autophagy is mediated through changes in phosphorylation and interaction of various PIK3C3 complex components. This, in turn, is regulated either directly via FoxO1‐AMPK or indirectly via the FoxO1‐AMPK‐ULK1 signaling cascade in a mTORC1‐independent or mTORC1‐dependent manner.
What about your qualitative cousins? Adapting the pitching template to qualitative research
Authors: Lodhia Sumit
Published: March 2017

This paper reviews the pitching template proposed by Faff (). The article highlights the usefulness of this template for researchers. It is observed that there is scope for adapting this tool, with a template suitable for qualitative researchers being proposed. In the light of the various methodological differences through different research paradigms, it is envisaged that this adaptation will assist in bridging the schism between qualitative and quantitative research. It is also hoped that the proposed enhanced template will encourage qualitative researchers to submit to mainstream accounting journals and quantitative researchers to comprehend the value of qualitative research.
Impact of uterine balloon tamponade on the use of invasive procedures in severe postpartum hemorrhage
Authors: Gauchotte Emilie , De La Torre Manuela , Perdriolle‐Galet Estelle , Lamy Catherine , Gauchotte Guillaume , Morel Olivier
Published: March 2017

Introduction

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of tamponade when uterotonic agents fail, on the need for surgery or interventional radiology.

Material and methods

All women who received sulprostone for postpartum hemorrhage were retrospectively compared over two periods [December 2008 to December 2010 without use of tamponade (period 1) and June 2011 to June 2013 with use of tamponade (period 2)] in the case of sulprostone failure (STROBE compliant retrospective cohort study). During period 2, interventional radiology or surgery was used only in the case of tamponade failure.

Results

165 women were included (74 for period 1, 91 for period 2). The rate of interventional radiology or surgery significantly decreased from period 1 (21 of 74 women, 28.4%) to period 2 (six of 91 women, 6.6%, p = 0.0003). The rate of assumed failure of uterotonic agents was higher for period 2: 22 of 74 women (29.7%) during period 1, and 41 of 91 (45.1%, p = 0.0439) during period 2. The success rate of tamponade was 92.1% (35 of 38 women).

Conclusions

Although the efficacy of tamponade should be viewed in the light of its widespread use, our findings confirm that tamponade significantly reduces the need for interventional radiology or surgery for postpartum hemorrhage treatment.
Beneficial effect of ustekinumab in familial pityriasis rubra pilaris with a new missense mutation in CARD14
Authors: Lwin S.M. , Hsu C-K. , Liu L. , Huang H-Y. , Levell N.J. , McGrath J.A.
Published: March 2017

Pityriasis rubra pilaris (PRP) represents a group of rare chronic inflammatory skin disorders in which around one in 20 affected individuals show autosomal dominant inheritance. In such cases there may be gain-of-function mutations in CARD14, encoding caspase recruitment domain-containing protein 14 (CARD14), which activates the noncanonical nuclear factor (NF)-κB pathway, thereby promoting cutaneous inflammation. Here we report a mother and son with PRP due to a new missense mutation in CARD14 and describe the beneficial clinical effects of ustekinumab, a monoclonal antibody against interleukins 12 and 23, in both patients. A 49-year-old woman and her 20-year-old son had lifelong, generalized, patchy erythematous scale with a few islands of sparing, as well as minor nail ridging and mild palmoplantar keratoderma, features consistent with generalized PRP. Topical steroids, phototherapy and oral retinoids proved ineffective. Following informed consent, Sanger sequencing of CARD14 in both individuals revealed a new heterozygous single-nucleotide transversion in exon 4, c.356T>G, resulting in the missense mutation p.Met119Arg. Ustekinumab, at a dose of 45 mg every 12 weeks, brought about a significant physical and emotional improvement in both the mother and son within a few days of the initial dose, which was sustained on maintenance dosing. This report highlights the therapeutic potential of biologics that downregulate NF-κB signalling in familial PRP with mutations in CARD14.
TC Mps1 12, a novel Mps1 inhibitor, suppresses the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma cells via the accumulation of chromosomal instability
Authors: Choi Minji , Min Yoo Hong , Pyo Jaehyuk , Lee Chang‐Woo , Jang Chang‐Young , Kim Ja‐Eun
Published: March 2017

Background and Purpose

Chromosomal instability is not only a hallmark of cancer but also an attractive therapeutic target. A diverse set of mitotic kinases maintains chromosomal stability. One of these is monopolar spindle 1 (Mps1, also known as TTK), which is essential for chromosome alignment and for the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC). Pharmacological inhibition of Mps1 has been suggested as a cancer therapeutic; however, despite the existence of a novel Mps1 inhibitor, TC Mps1 12, no such studies have been performed.

Experimental Approach

The effects of TC Mps1 12 on cell viability, chromosome alignment, centrosome number, mitotic duration, apoptosis and SAC were determined in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. In addition, the association of Mps1 expression with the overall survival of HCC patients was analysed.

Key Results

Treatment of human HCC cells with TC Mps1 12 led to chromosome misalignment and missegregation, and disorganization of centrosomes. Even in the presence of these errors, TC Mps1 12‐treated cells overrode the SAC, resulting in a shortened mitotic duration and mitotic slippage. This mitotic catastrophe triggered apoptosis and, finally, inhibited the growth of HCC cells. In addition, the expression of the Mps1‐encoding TTK gene was associated with poor overall survival of HCC patients.

Conclusion and Implications

TC Mps1 12 results in the accumulation of chromosomal instabilities and mitotic catastrophe in HCC cells. Overall, these data demonstrate that the inhibition of Mps1 kinase using TC Mps1 12 is a promising therapeutic approach for liver cancer.
Rapid weight gain during infancy and early childhood is related to higher anthropometric measurements in preadolescence
Authors: Nanri H. , Shirasawa T. , Ochiai H. , Nomoto S. , Hoshino H. , Kokaze A.
Published: March 2017

Background

This study examined the relationship between rapid weight gain during infancy and/or early childhood and anthropometric measurements [body mass index (BMI), percent body fat (%BF), waist circumference (WC) and waist‐to‐height ratio (WHtR)] in preadolescence by sex.

Methods

Subjects were fourth‐grade school children (aged 9 to 10 years) from elementary schools in Ina‐town, Japan, in 2010. Measurements of height, weight, %BF and WC were conducted for each subject. We obtained data on height and weight of subjects at birth, age 1.5 years and age 3 years from the Maternal and Child Health handbook. Rapid weight gain was defined as a change in weight‐for‐age standard deviation score greater than 0.67 from birth to age 1.5 years (infancy) or from age 1.5 to 3 years (early childhood).

Results

All anthropometric variables (BMI, %BF, WC and WHtR) at age 9 to 10 years were significantly higher in the rapid weight gain during both infancy and early childhood period group than in the no rapid weight gain group, regardless of sex. When compared with the no rapid weight gain group, rapid weight gain during early childhood period had significantly higher BMI and WC in boys and BMI, %BF and WC in girls. Compared with the no rapid weight gain group, the rapid weight gain during infancy group had a significantly higher WC in boys and significantly higher BMI and WC in girls.

Conclusion

Rapid weight gain during both infancy and early childhood was related to higher anthropometric measurements, including WHtR, among Japanese preadolescents, regardless of sex. This study suggests that rapid weight gain during infancy and early childhood may be a risk factor for general/abdominal obesity later in life.
Reassessing the clinical spectrum associated with hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell carcinoma syndrome in French FH mutation carriers
Authors: Muller M. , Ferlicot S. , Guillaud‐Bataille M. , Le Teuff G. , Genestie C. , Deveaux S. , Slama A. , Poulalhon N. , Escudier B. , Albiges L. , Soufir N. , Avril M.‐F. , Gardie B. , Saldana C. , Allory Y. , Gimenez‐Roqueplo A.‐P. , Bressac‐de Paillerets B. , Richard S. , Benusiglio P.R.
Published: March 2017

We addressed uncertainties regarding hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell carcinoma (HLRCC) by exploring all French cases, representing the largest series to date. Fumarate hydratase (FH) germline testing was performed with Sanger sequencing and qPCR/MLPA. Enzyme activity was measured when necessary. We carried out whenever possible a pathology review of RCC and S‐(2‐succino)‐cysteine (2SC)/fumarate hydratase immunohistochemistry. We estimated survival using non‐parametric Kaplan‐Meier. There were 182 cases from 114 families. Thirty‐seven RCC were diagnosed in 34 carriers (19%) at a median age of 40. Among the 23 RCC with pathology review, 13 were papillary type 2. There were 4 papillary RCC of unspecified type, 3 unclassified, 2 tubulocystic, and 1 collecting duct (CD) RCC, all 2SC+ and most (8/10) FH−. Of the remaining 14, papillary type 2, papillary unspecified, CD, and clear cell histologies were reported. The vast majority of RCC (82%) were metastatic at diagnosis or rapidly became metastatic. Median survival for metastatic disease was 18 months (95%CI: 11‐29). 133 cases (73%) had a history of cutaneous leiomyomas, 3 developed skin leiomyosarcoma. Uterine leiomyomas were frequent in women (77%), but no sarcomas were observed. Only 2 cases had pheochromocytomas/paraganglioma.

Conclusion

Our findings have direct implications regarding the identification and management of HLRCC patients.
Informed trading by foreign institutional investors as a constraint on tunneling: Evidence from China
Authors: Zhang Xiaoxiang , Yang Xiaotong , Strange Roger , Zhang Qiyu
Published: March 2017

Manuscript Type

Empirical

Research Question/Issue

This paper investigates how the trading activities of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) affect the tunneling activities of controlling shareholders in an emerging economy (China).

Research Findings/Insights

We use an unbalanced panel dataset of 167 FIIs with investments in Chinese real estate firms during the period 2003 to 2011, which gives us 1006 firm‐year observations in total. We find strong support for our hypothesis of an inverted U‐shaped relationship between FII trading turnover and the extent of tunneling by controlling shareholders.

Theoretical/Academic Implications

In many emerging economies, the institutional environment for investor protection is weak. Powerful controlling shareholders may take the opportunity to extract private benefits via tunneling activities to the detriment of minority shareholders, and informed minority investors may also take advantage of less well‐informed investors. There are thus multiple principal–principal agency conflicts. FIIs are a particularly important group of informed investors. On the one hand, large‐scale aggressive trading by FIIs should drive stock prices to fundamentals, provide market discipline to management, and thus limit tunneling. On the other hand, FIIs may opt to exploit their private knowledge to gain trading profits at the expense of uninformed investors, and implicitly support tunneling. We highlight these potential effects, and demonstrate empirically an inverted U‐shaped relationship between FII trading turnover and the extent of tunneling.

Practitioner/Policy Implications

Tunneling is a serious issue, particularly in emerging economies where the institutional arrangements for minority investor protection are often weak. FII involvement may enhance market discipline, but may also exacerbate the problem, so policymakers need to guard against potential adverse effects. An ownership cap on FII shareholdings is unlikely to be effective, but policymakers might strengthen QFII license revocation policies and issue more licenses to promote competition among FIIs.
Biliary reconstruction in liver transplant patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis, duct‐to‐duct or Roux‐en‐Y?
Authors: Shamsaeefar Alireza , Shafiee Mohammad , Nikeghbalian Saman , Kazemi Kourosh , Mansorian Mohsenreza , Motazedian Nasrin , Afshinnia Farsad , Geramizadeh Bita , Malekhosseini Seyed Ali
Published: March 2017

Introduction

Roux‐en‐Y choledochojejunostomy and duct‐to‐duct (D‐D) anastomosis are biliary reconstruction methods for liver transplantation. However, there is a controversy over which method produces better results. We have compared the outcome of D‐D anastomosis vs. Roux‐en‐Y hepaticojejunostomy in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis who had undergone liver transplant in Shiraz Organ Transplant Center.

Materials

The medical records of 405 patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) who had undergone liver transplant from 1996 to 2015 were reviewed. Patients were divided into two groups: Roux‐en‐Y group and D‐D group. Morbidity, disease recurrence, and graft and patient survival rates were compared between the two groups.

Results

Total of 143 patients underwent a D‐D biliary reconstruction, and 260 patients had a Roux‐en‐Y loop. Biliary complication involved 4.2% of patients from the D‐D group, and 3.9% from the Roux‐en‐Y group (P=. 863). Actuarial 1‐, 3‐, and 5‐year patient survival for D‐D and Roux‐en‐Y group was 92%, 85%, and 74%; and 87%, 83%, and 79%, respectively (P=.384). The corresponding 1‐, 3‐, and 5‐year probability of biliary complication was 97%, 95%, and 92%; and 98%, 97%, and 94%, respectively (P=.61).

Conclusion

Duct‐to‐duct biliary reconstruction in liver transplantation for selected patients with PSC is a good alternative instead of Roux‐en‐Y biliary reconstruction.
Bedside screening with the use of pocket‐size imaging device can be useful for ruling out carotid artery stenosis in patients scheduled for cardiac surgery
Authors: Filipiak‐Strzecka Dominika , Kasprzak Jarosław D. , Szymczyk Ewa , Wejner‐Mik Paulina , Lipiec Piotr
Published: March 2017

Background

Patients (pts) scheduled for coronary artery bypass grafting, burdened with high risk of carotid stenosis, are recommended to undergo duplex ultrasonography (DUS) of carotid arteries.

Purpose

To validate pocket‐size imaging device (PSID) equipped with linear probe as an easily accessible tool enabling bedside screening for carotid artery stenosis (CAS).

Methods

A total of 100 pts (60 men, mean age 69±11 years) with multivessel coronary artery disease underwent bedside DUS of carotid arteries with the use of PSID performed by a cardiology resident trained in DUS. Subsequently, DUS with the use of stationary high‐end ultrasound system was performed in all pts to verify findings of PSID examination.

Results

Initial diagnosis of atherosclerotic plaque presence obtained with PSID in 59 patients was confirmed by high‐end ultrasound system examination in all cases. There was a statistically significant correlation of intima‐media thickness measurements between PSID and stationary system (r=.58; 95% CI: 0.48–0.66; P<.0001), but the coefficient of agreement (κ) between the two methods in classification of intima‐media as normal or thickened (>0.9 mm) was only .38 (95% CI: 0.299–0.459). During PSID examination, turbulent flow was observed in 21 pts—CAS was confirmed in all these pts—5 pts were diagnosed with significant CAS, the rest with CAS ranging from 30% to 70%.

Conclusions

Pocket‐size imaging device equipped with linear probe allows for identification of patients with atherosclerotic plaques and turbulent flow in carotid arteries; however, the degree of CAS cannot be reliably determined. The measurement accuracy of intima‐media thickness is insufficient for a diagnostic purpose.
Oviposition preference but not adult feeding preference matches with offspring performance in the bronze bug Thaumastocoris peregrinus
Authors: Martínez Gonzalo , Finozzi María Victoria , Cantero Gissel , Soler Roxina , Dicke Marcel , González Andrés
Published: March 2017

Optimal foraging and optimal oviposition are two major forces leading to plant selection by insect females, but the contribution of these forces to the host‐selection process has been little studied for sucking herbivores. We studied feeding and oviposition behavior of a global pest, the bronze bug, Thaumastocoris peregrinus Carpintero & Dellapé (Heteroptera: Thaumastocoridae), using dual‐choice bioassays to evaluate the preference of females between host species, developmental leaf stage, or prior plant exposure to conspecifics. We assessed the link between these preferences and the performance of the offspring, by comparing survival and developmental time of nymphs reared on the various treatments. Finally, we compared the composition of the leaf wax of healthy and damaged leaves, and tested the effects of leaf wax on female preference behavior. Using healthy adult leaves of Eucalyptus tereticornis Sm. (Myrtaceae) as a reference, we found that females prefer to feed on Eucalyptus grandis W. Hill ex Maiden and E. tereticornis adult leaves that had been previously damaged by female conspecifics, whereas they reject juvenile leaves of E. tereticornis as food. Females also prefer to oviposit on leaves previously damaged by conspecifics but they rejected E. grandis as oviposition substrate. Nymphal performance varied among leaf treatments, suggesting a correlation with oviposition preference (but not feeding preference). Epicuticular wax extracts from damaged leaves contained higher concentrations of long‐chain, saturated linear alkanes, aldehydes, and alcohols than extracts from undamaged leaves. However, a choice assay failed to demonstrate an oviposition preference based on leaf surface wax chemistry. We discuss these findings in the context of the preference‐performance relationship.
Long‐term trends in economic inequality: the case of the Florentine state, c. 1300–1800
Authors: Alfani Guido , Ammannati Francesco
Published: March 2017

This article provides an overview of economic inequality, particularly of wealth, in the Florentine state (Tuscany) from the early fourteenth to the late eighteenth century. Regional studies of this kind are rare, and this is only the second‐ever attempt at covering such a long period. Consistent with recent research conducted on other European areas, during the early modern period we find clear indications of a tendency for economic inequality to grow continually, a finding that for Tuscany cannot be explained as the consequence of economic growth. Furthermore, the exceptionally old sources we use allow us to demonstrate that a phase of declining inequality, lasting about one century, was triggered by the Black Death from 1348 to 1349. This finding challenges earlier scholarship and significantly alters our understanding of the economic consequences of the Black Death.
False positive Ralstonia solanacearum real‐time PCR results in routine potato tuber samples caused by Advenella species: adaptations to avoid these cross‐reactions
Authors: Körner U. A. , Kroll U. , Hilgert S.
Published: March 2017

Several real‐time PCR tests for the detection of Ralstonia solanacearum have been developed in recent years. Only the RS primer‐probe system, developed by Weller et al., detects all phylotypes of R. solanacearum in one test. The Saxon State Company for Environment and Agriculture (BfUL) has been using this real‐time PCR test since 2012 for routine testing of potato samples for R. solanacearum. Since the introduction of this test in the laboratory, samples were analysed which were suspected to be false positives [as they gave negative results in other standard tests of the European Union (EU) Commission Directive 2006/63/EC]. Advenella kashmirensis was identified as the cause of selected false positive samples. Inclusion of the three other known Advenella species revealed that this genus could be responsible for false positive results. Because of the rising number of these cases over the last years, two different modifications of the original test from Weller et al. were evaluated independently. It was possible to reduce false positive events, caused by Advenella species by 95% in retested potato tuber samples by using a shortened RS‐primer set in the first adaption of the RS primer‐probe system of Weller et al. The combination of the original RS primer‐set, published by Weller et al., with the RSP‐55T MGB‐probe, published recently in Vreeburg et al., in a second adaption, eliminated false positive events completely.
Castration in the standing horse combining laparoscopic and conventional techniques
Authors: Rijkenhuizen A. B. M. , van der Harst M. R.
Published: March 2017

Background

Standing laparoscopic castration without orchidectomy has been shown to be a reliable method of castration in animals with abdominal cryptorchidism, but it cannot be recommended as a method of castration in those with inguinal cryptorchidism or normal males. An alternative laparoscopic method for the castration of horses with descended testes was developed.

Objectives

To report the results of laparoscopy‐assisted abdominal transection of the spermatic cord and a modified open method in the standing horse for castration of descended testes in unilateral abdominal cryptorchids.

Study design

Descriptive case series.

Methods

Fifteen unilateral abdominal cryptorchids were castrated laparoscopically by performing intra‐abdominal ligation of both spermatic cords. The spermatic cord of the cryptorchid testis was not transected. After intra‐abdominal transection of the spermatic cord of the descended testis, the testis was removed by an open castration technique in the standing horse. Data collected included time taken to perform the surgical procedure, surgical complications and post‐operative recovery.

Results

Abdominal testes were located on the right side in eight horses and on the left in seven. The surgical procedure was easy to perform and few intra‐ or post‐operative complications were seen. Pulse and respiration rates and rectal temperatures remained within normal limits during the evaluation period in all but one animal, which displayed transient pyrexia. The scrotal and laparoscopic incisional wounds healed well without any signs of swelling or exudate. In one Warmblood, there was prolapse of subcutaneous tissue the day after surgery, which retracted in 3 days. The owners were contacted by telephone at 2–3 months after discharge. Post‐operative recovery had been uneventful in all horses.

Main limitations

This study included a small number of cases in which all surgeries were performed by or under the supervision of the same surgeon. Follow‐up was limited to telephone reports from owners.

Conclusions

A laparoscopic technique that is combined with an open scrotal incision to remove the descended testis in the standing horse was developed and shown to be a safe and reliable option for the castration of unilateral abdominal cryptorchids.
Testing a Military Family Stress Model
Authors: Gewirtz Abigail H. , DeGarmo David S. , Zamir Osnat
Published: March 2017

The current study examines a military family stress model, evaluating associations between deployment‐related stressors (i.e., deployment length/number, posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] symptoms) and parent, child, parenting, and dyadic adjustment among families in which a parent had previously deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan in the recent conflicts. Married families (N = 293) with at least one child between the ages of 4 and 12 were recruited from a Midwestern state. Service members were from the Reserve Component (National Guard or Reserves); fathers (N = 253) and/or mothers had deployed (N = 45) to the recent conflicts in the Middle East. Multiple‐method (observations of parenting and couple interactions; questionnaires) and multiple informant measures were gathered online and in the homes of participants, from parents, children, and teachers. Findings demonstrated associations between mothers’ and fathers’ PTSD symptoms and a latent variable of child adjustment comprising teacher, parent, and child report. Mothers’ but not fathers’ PTSD symptoms were also associated with dyadic adjustment and parenting practices; parenting practices were in turn associated with child adjustment. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for military family stress research and interventions to support and strengthen parents and families after deployment.
The Neoarchaean surficial sulphur cycle: An alternative hypothesis based on analogies with 20th‐century atmospheric lead
Authors: Gallagher M. , Whitehouse M. J. , Kamber B. S.
Published: March 2017

We revisit the S‐isotope systematics of sedimentary pyrite in a shaly limestone from the ca. 2.52 Ga Gamohaan Formation, Upper Campbellrand Subgroup, Transvaal, South Africa. The analysed rock is interpreted to have been deposited in a water depth of ca. 50–100 m, in a restricted sub‐basin on a drowning platform. A previous study discovered that the pyrites define a nonzero intercept δ34SV‐CDT–Δ33S data array. The present study carried out further quadruple S‐isotope analyses of pyrite, confirming and expanding the linear δ34SV‐CDT–Δ33S array with an δ34S zero intercept at ∆33S ca. +5. This was previously interpreted to indicate mixing of unrelated S‐sources in the sediment environment, involving a combination of recycled sulphur from sulphides that had originally formed by sulphate‐reducing bacteria, along with elemental sulphur. Here, we advance an alternative explanation based on the recognition that the Archaean seawater sulphate concentration was likely very low, implying that the Archaean ocean could have been poorly mixed with respect to sulphur. Thus, modern oceanic sulphur systematics provide limited insight into the Archaean sulphur cycle. Instead, we propose that the 20th‐century atmospheric lead event may be a useful analogue. Similar to industrial lead, the main oceanic input of Archaean sulphur was through atmospheric raindown, with individual giant point sources capable of temporally dominating atmospheric input. Local atmospheric S‐isotope signals, of no global significance, could thus have been transmitted into the localised sediment record. Thus, the nonzero intercept δ34SV‐CDT–Δ33S data array may alternatively represent a very localised S‐isotope signature in the Neoarchaean surface environment. Fallout from local volcanic eruptions could imprint recycled MIF‐S signals into pyrite of restricted depositional environments, thereby avoiding attenuation of the signal in the subdued, averaged global open ocean sulphur pool. Thus, the superposition of extreme local S‐isotope signals offers an alternative explanation for the large Neoarchaean MIF‐S excursions and asymmetry of the Δ33S rock record.