bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Supervisor support as a moderator between work schedule flexibility and job stress
Authors: Wickramasinghe Vathsala
Published: March 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating effect of supervisor support on the relationship between work schedule flexibility and job stress.

Design/methodology/approach

For the study a survey methodology was used and 232 software developers attached to offshore outsourced software development firms responded.

Findings

It was found that supervisor support moderates the relationship between work schedule flexibility and job stress.

Originality/value

The findings of this study will provide useful information for both practitioners and academics to better understand the nature of strategies to be adopted in mitigating job stress.
Projects and organisations
Authors: Drouin Nathalie , Besner Claude
Published: March 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the papers comprising a special issue of the journal. The central theme of this special issue is “Projects and organisations: adding rungs to the ladder of understanding project management and its relationship with the organisation”. It is dedicated to research that explores and proposes different avenues to contribute to the development of the field of project management from this perspective of projects and organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

The Guest Editors solicited academics and collaborators of the Project Management Research Chair at the École des sciences de la gestion, Université du Québec à Montréal (ESG UQAM). Following a call for papers, five were selected that underwent a double‐blind peer‐review process.

Findings

The five selected articles each provide unique perspectives and insights. Viewed as a set, their contributions view projects and organisations from three main perspectives: project management governance issues; management of innovative and IT projects; and processes, practices and tools. The set brings new empirical data, ideas and theoretical frameworks to bear that justify the extension of the current project management paradigm, and suggest that project management be viewed as a critical function of the organisation.

Practical implications

The set of papers encourages scholars to continue to examine organisational concerns related to project management with the goal of explaining and enhancing important relationships among organisational phenomena and the project management field.

Originality/value

By bringing this special issue together, the Editor played an important role in adding rungs to the ladder of understanding project management and its relationship with the organisation.
Organisational project management as a function within the organisation
Authors: Aubry Monique , Sicotte Hélène , Drouin Nathalie , Vidot‐Delerue Hélène , Besner Claude
Published: March 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a theoretical framework and the preliminary results from a research programme on organisational project management. It aims at exploring how organisational project management can be conceptualised as a function within the organisation.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodological framework is based on a constructivist epistemology. This research programme contains two sequential phases based on a robust mixed method. The first phase of the qualitative approach, which is the focus of this paper, includes 20 interviews with executives and middle managers.

Findings

This approach is expected to be helpful in assessing the fit between organisational context, project management implementation and organisational strategy. The proposed theoretical framework draws from the exploration of organisational project management as a function. Preliminary results confirm that organisational project management can be best understood as a function within the organisation. Future research includes the second phase of this research programme based on a quantitative approach.

Research limitations/implications

This research situates project management within the theoretical field of organisational design. It borrows from innovation literature the concept of function that serve as a foundation piece in the proposed framework, to integrate the various activities undertaken to manage multiple projects.

Practical implications

This research provides some evidence for the organisation design that serves articulating different activities undertaken for the management of multiple projects into a coherent function throughout the organisation.

Originality/value

This research explores what organisations really do when they face the challenges of managing multiple projects while at the same time pursuing their operations. Interviews with executives and middle managers clearly justify the identification of a function dedicated to the overall project management.
Islamic banking and economic growth: the Indonesian experience
Authors: Abduh Muhamad , Azmi Omar Mohd
Published: March 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the short‐run and the long‐run relationships between Islamic banking development and economic growth in the case of Indonesia.

Design/methodology/approach

Using quarterly data (2003:1‐2010:2), this paper utilizes the bound testing approach of cointegration and error correction models, developed within an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) framework.

Findings

The results demonstrate a significant relationship in short‐run and long‐run periods between Islamic financial development and economic growth. The relationship, however, is neither Schumpeter's supply‐leading nor Robinson's demand‐following. It appears to be bi‐directional relationship.

Originality/value

This paper uses empirical evidence to show the role of Islamic banks' financing towards economic performance of a country. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the study on the role of Islamic banking development towards economic growth is limited, particularly in the context of Indonesia.
Formulating withdrawal risk and bankruptcy risk in Islamic banking
Authors: Ismal Rifki
Published: March 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to formulate both withdrawal risk and bankruptcy risk to mitigate the risks and to find the equilibrium area of revenue sharing to depositors. Taking the case of the Indonesian Islamic banking industry, this work might benefit the Islamic banks, banking regulators and all stakeholders to manage the risks and maintain the robust development of the industry.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the application of revenue sharing ratio in Islamic banks is studied. Withdrawal risk might happen because of the displaced commercial risk and bankruptcy occurs when the banks fail to manage such withdrawal risk. Referring to that, by using a mathematical approach, the formulas of withdrawal risk and bankruptcy risk are created with some underlying scenarios. Finally, mathematical formula and three dimensions area of the equilibrium revenue sharing ratio are developed.

Findings

The paper generates the financial mathematical formulas to assess the vulnerable and invulnerable conditions of the withdrawal risk and the bankruptcy and solvency conditions of the bankruptcy risk to be used by decision makers to mitigate the risks. The ultimate output of the paper is the equilibrium area of the revenue sharing ratio, which locates Islamic banks in a proper condition of no withdrawal risk and bankruptcy risk.

Originality/value

To the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first paper trying to analyze the issues under the Indonesian case.
Non‐exclusive attention‐structure for inter‐organizational knowledge flow and performance of the pharmaceutical firm
Authors: Malik Tariq
Published: March 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to raise an empirical question: whether a non‐exclusive licensing for a technological exchange contributes to the firm's performance better than an exclusive licensing (closed) structure.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from 343 pharmaceutical firms were used to test effects of these exclusive versus non‐exclusive modes (attention‐structures) on inter‐firm knowledge flow and the firm's performance. Logistic regression was used to analyze the evidence.

Findings

The results revealed that the firm that used non‐exclusive licensing more than exclusive modes performs better. The performance was measured in two ways: efficiencies and returns, both on assets and on investment. It appears that non‐exclusive licensing is contributing more to the firm's overall performance than an exclusive licensing. This paper makes an argument in favour of an open attention‐structure.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited to one sector; it can be extended to other industrial sectors. Modes of governance can be extended to internalization or equity investment. The study is also limited to cross‐section analysis. Temporal factors can provide better insights. Knowledge type and its scope are also likely to influence the outcome. These areas provide opportunities for future research.

Practical implications

The study emphasises that structures may precede technologies. Therefore, relevant institutions need to be considered in favour of a non‐exclusive attention‐structure. These findings may be relevant for future research and practice or policy making.

Originality/value

This paper extends the literature by supporting the argument that the usage of knowledge can increase its value to all relevant stakeholders. It provides empirical evidence to indicate that relatively open systems are better for high technology sectors. The study is likely to provide a solution, as well as trigger contentions, in the future.
Penrose's “unused services”: a cross‐cultural perspective on growth of firms
Authors: Chen Zheng , Doyle Eleanor , Fanning Connell
Published: March 2012

Purpose

Penrose introduced the concept of “unused services” which she identified as the internal inducement to firm growth. The purpose of this paper is to explore “unused services”, insufficiently examined in the literature to date, by applying Eastern conceptual thinking to refine Penrose's arguments.

Design/methodology/approach

The centrality of “unused services” to Penrose's theory is highlighted. The rationale for a general propensity of entrepreneurial managers to overlook the generation of such services in practice is developed and two Chinese concepts (XingandShifromSun Tzu) are employed to work through their implications for Penrose's concept.

Findings

The continuous availability of unused services represents the firm's propensity to grow (Shi) and is derived from the disposition of existing resources (Xing). The authors' cross‐cultural perspective highlights the fundamental and inherent force governing the growth of the firm as the process through which the management team makes meaning of existing and potential productive resources to explore and exploit their unused services.

Practical implications

Greater focus is required on the relationship between a firm's physical resources and the thinking and sense‐making of its managers. The art of achieving growth from a firm's productive resources arises from the meaning‐making capability and progression in managerial thinking of the management team, facilitating its members to “see” and exploit the inherent force for growth available in unused services.

Originality/value

The paper's cross‐cultural perspective permits refinement of Penrose's theory true to her focus on the inherent incentives and constraints on firm growth. Thus, thinking is advanced in terms of exploring the dominant factor governing the identification of potential productive opportunities within firms, i.e. their source of growth. Implications for practice are provided in the research agenda.
A version of Geiringer‐like theorem for decision making in the environments with randomness and incomplete information
Authors: Mitavskiy Boris , Rowe Jonathan , Cannings Chris
Published: March 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to establish a version of a theorem that originated from population genetics and has been later adopted in evolutionary computation theory that will lead to novel Monte‐Carlo sampling algorithms that provably increase the AI potential.

Design/methodology/approach

In the current paper the authors set up a mathematical framework, state and prove a version of a Geiringer‐like theorem that is very well‐suited for the development of Mote‐Carlo sampling algorithms to cope with randomness and incomplete information to make decisions.

Findings

This work establishes an important theoretical link between classical population genetics, evolutionary computation theory and model free reinforcement learning methodology. Not only may the theory explain the success of the currently existing Monte‐Carlo tree sampling methodology, but it also leads to the development of novel Monte‐Carlo sampling techniques guided by rigorous mathematical foundation.

Practical implications

The theoretical foundations established in the current work provide guidance for the design of powerful Monte‐Carlo sampling algorithms in model free reinforcement learning, to tackle numerous problems in computational intelligence.

Originality/value

Establishing a Geiringer‐like theorem with non‐homologous recombination was a long‐standing open problem in evolutionary computation theory. Apart from overcoming this challenge, in a mathematically elegant fashion and establishing a rather general and powerful version of the theorem, this work leads directly to the development of novel provably powerful algorithms for decision making in the environment involving randomness, hidden or incomplete information.
Receding horizon control for cooperative search of multi‐UAVs based on differential evolution
Authors: Zhao Zhenyu , Lu Guangshan
Published: March 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a hybrid method of intelligent optimization algorithm and Receding Horizon Control. The method is applied to solve the problem of cooperative search of multi‐unmanned aerial vehicles (multi‐UAVs).

Design/methodology/approach

The intelligent optimization of Differential Evolution (DE) makes the complex problem of multi‐UAVs cooperative search a regular function optimization problem. To meet the real‐time requirement, the idea of Receding Horizon Control is applied. An Extended Search Map based on hormone information is used to describe the uncertain environment information.

Findings

Simulation results indicate effectiveness of the hybrid method in solving the problem of cooperative search for multi‐UAVs.

Originality/value

The paper presents an interesting hybrid method of DE and Receding Horizon Control for the problem of cooperative multi‐UAVs.
Support for women's entrepreneurship: a Nordic spectrum
Authors: Pettersson Katarina
Published: March 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse national state support programmes for women's entrepreneurship, in the Nordic countries, from a gender perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

From an analytical gender perspective based on a combination of Mayoux's framework of paradigms in support of women's entrepreneurship, Rees' approach to gender equality and Bacchi's analysis of what the problem is represented to be, the author performs a systematic comparative analysis of the varying policy goals, underlying paradigms and approaches in state support programmes for women's entrepreneurship in the Nordic countries.

Findings

The author concludes that all Nordic countries, with the exception of Iceland, have a programme or an action plan to support women's entrepreneurship, but vary in their underlying paradigms and rationales. The author places Norway at one end of the spectrum because its policy programme is most clearly influenced by a feminist empowerment paradigm intended to transform and/or tailor the existing support system through various measures. At the other end of the spectrum is Denmark, which most clearly focuses on economic growth in line with a neo‐liberal paradigm. Between these extremes, are Sweden, Finland and Iceland. The analysis reveals that state support programmes, in the name of supporting women entrepreneurs, tend to put women in a subordinate position to men and thereby risk sustaining a male norm.

Originality/value

The paper contributes a much‐needed systematic comparative analysis of support for women's entrepreneurship in the Nordic countries. This analysis is important in order to further the discussion of how policy actors can refrain from putting women in a secondary position to men, and thus avoid sustaining a male norm in entrepreneurship support.
Entrepreneurial experiences of women in Canadian high technology
Authors: Ezzedeen Souha R. , Zikic Jelena
Published: March 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how women entrepreneurs experience entrepreneurship in the Canadian technology sector and the types of obstacles posed by the field's male‐dominated character.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors' research purpose called for an inductive approach. Interviews with a sample of women technology entrepreneurs allowed for in‐depth exploration of their subjective experiences and the contexts in which these were situated.

Findings

The research subjects encountered persistent gender stereotypes, a paucity of female role models, resistance from associates within and outside of their organizations, and societal pressures to maintain appropriate levels of work‐family balance.

Research limitations/implications

Although exploratory and preliminary in nature, the findings indicate that women entrepreneurs do not experience “glass ceilings” as much as they experience “labyrinth walls” and what the authors identify as “thorny floors”, meaning opposition and sabotage from male subordinates.

Social implications

Women considering entrepreneurship should expect to encounter resistance to their leadership, albeit manifested in different forms than in corporate settings. Male‐dominated fields such as technology involve industry‐level resistance as well as opposition from within the organization. Nevertheless, women perceived the field as merit‐driven whereby they gained acceptance once they had established themselves as credible competitors.

Originality/value

This study is one of few to elucidate the multiple levels of opposition to women's entrepreneurship in male‐dominated settings and introduces the concept of “thorny floors” to research on women's advancement and entrepreneurship.
Gender differences of business owners in technology‐based firms
Authors: Dautzenberg Kirsti
Published: March 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to disclose the commonalities and differences among business owners of technology‐based firms in Germany. The paper addresses both single entrepreneurs as well as entrepreneurial teams regarding gender.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines firm characteristics and firm success variables in light of gender. Data were sourced from 593 firms in very‐high‐tech‐manufacturing, 886 firms in high‐tech manufacturing, and 4.822 firms in technology‐based service industries.

Findings

Results confirm the supposed gender gap in the technology industry. Whereas firm characteristics such as firm size, number of employees, and revenues are correlated to gender, firm success appears to be independent of these.

Research limitations/implications

This paper focuses on the analysis of firm characteristics and gender variables. Due to the data sample, it contributes to the understanding of gender, as well as firm success and characteristics of German technology‐based firms.

Originality/value

The quantitative nature of this study contributes to reducing the scarcity of existing studies in the field of women entrepreneurship in technology‐based industries in Germany. It offers insights into the gender and entrepreneurial team characteristics of these firms.
Improving marketing process using Six Sigma techniques (case of Saman Bank)
Authors: Oliya Ebrahim , Saleh Owlia Mohammad , Dehdashti Shahrokh Zohreh , Olfat Laya
Published: March 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the significance of improvement of marketing process using Six Sigma methodology, in the context of a banking environment.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on Six Sigma's DMAIC model, the paper uses Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control phases to study marketing process improvement in Saman Bank.

Findings

Research states the way concepts of marketing performance management relates to the improvement of a bank marketing process using Six Sigma. Low quality was observed in the process and then regarding customer relations as one of the main priorities, improvement actions were planned. A major marketing failure for the bank was decline of online banking usage, which justifies the importance of loyal online banking customers in marketing plans.

Practical implications

This paper helps marketing departments in financial institutions to analyze their current performance and execute improvement actions to optimize their process. One fact in designing marketing improvement actions for banks is effectively using related information systems to organize the high amount of marketing data and to respond quickly to customer needs.

Originality/value

Marketing performance measurement is done in a new way as the research describes how a general marketing process can adopt Six Sigma tools to have stronger customer relations, reduced marketing costs and how to prioritize improvement actions systematically.
Innovative lean: work practices and product and process improvements
Authors: Angelis Jannis , Fernandes Bruno
Published: March 2012

Purpose

Innovation is a key source of competitiveness in the knowledge economy, and continuous improvement (CI) is a key element of such corporate pursuit. The purpose of this paper is to explore links to prevalent shop floor conditions which support or prohibit the effective realisation of CI. Lean is a globally competitive standard for product assembly of discreet parts. Successful Lean application is conditioned by an evolutionary problem‐solving ability of the rank and file. This is in itself contingent on employee involvement in improvement programs and the implementation of appropriate practices. But the challenge of operating innovative Lean systems lacks statistically valid guidance.

Design/methodology/approach

This empirical study is based on 294 worker responses from 12 manufacturing sites in four industry sectors.

Findings

The study identifies particular practices that impact employee participation in improvement activities and their performance outcomes. Process suggestions are driven by a combination of difficult working conditions that the workers seek to improve and team‐based work. However, for suggestions on product improvements, significant practices are worker favorable industrial relations and human resource practices.

Research limitations/implications

To test work practices, work practice variables were measured with single items, trading lower measurement reliability for increased scope. Also, there is a moderate sample size, if addressed by selecting sites with a variety of practices.

Practical implications

The results indicate that the main business benefit is in enhanced product quality through process, rather than product, improvements, suggesting that management should pursue worker involvement on continuous process improvements, and employ designated design teams for product improvements.

Originality/value

The paper empirically identifies the relationship between particular work practices and product and process improvement in a Lean setting.
Quantitative trait loci segregating in crosses between New Hampshire and White Leghorn chicken lines: II. Muscle weight and carcass composition
Authors: Nassar M. K. , Goraga Z. S. , Brockmann G. A.
Published: March 2012

In order to identify genetic factors influencing muscle weight and carcass composition in chicken, a linkage analysis was performed with 278 F2 males of reciprocal crosses between the extremely different inbred lines New Hampshire (NHI) and White Leghorn (WL77). The NHI line had been selected for high meat yield and the WL77 for low egg weight before inbreeding. Highly significant quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling body weight and the weights of carcass, breast muscle, drumsticks–thighs and wings were identified on GGA4 between 151.5 and 160.5 cM and on GGA27 between 4 and 52 cM. These genomic regions explained 13.7–40.2% and 5.3–13.8% of the phenotypic F2 variances of the corresponding traits respectively. Additional genome‐wide highly significant QTL for the weight of drumsticks–thighs were mapped on GGA1, 5 and 7. Moreover, significant QTL controlling body weight were found on GGA2 and 11. The data obtained in this study can be used for increasing the mapping resolution and subsequent gene targeting on GGA4 and 27 by combining data with other crosses where the same QTL were found.
Nanomodification of mineral trioxide aggregate for enhanced physiochemical properties
Authors: Saghiri M. A. , Asgar K. , Lotfi M. , Garcia‐Godoy F.
Published: March 2012

Saghiri MA, Asgar K, Lotfi M, Garcia‐Godoy F.Nanomodification of mineral trioxide aggregate for enhanced physiochemical properties.International Endodontic Journal., 45, 979–988, 2012.

Aim To analyse the physicochemical properties of a Nano white mineral trioxide aggregate (NWMTA) and compare it with white mineral trioxide aggregate (WMTA).

Methodology White mineral trioxide aggregate and NWMTA were prepared and mixed according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Surface area of powder before hydration, setting time, X‐ray diffraction and microhardness at pH values of 4.4 and 7.4 were evaluated by Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, ISO Specification no.6876, Vickers microhardness, and energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy equipped with X‐ray colour (dot) map for both cements.anovaand Mann–Whitney were used for statistical analysis at a significance level of 0.5.

Results The mean ± SD of surface area and setting time were 1.8 ± 0.2 m2g−1and 43 ± 2 min for WMTA and 7.8 ± 1.2 m2 g−1and 6 ± 1 min for NWMTA, respectively. Mean ± SD of Microhardness were 16 ± 2, 51 ± 1, 69 ± 1 and 81 ± 2 for WMTA at pH values of 4.4 and 7.4 and for NWMTA correspondingly. Numbers of open porosity over the surface were 88 ± 24 and 44 ± 13 for WMTA and NWMTA, respectively. Statistical tests revealed significant differences between the groups (P < 0.001) in surface area, setting time and surface hardness for both cements. Uniform distribution of strontium was only observed in NWMTA. However, other compounds were not significantly different.

Conclusion Increasing surface area of powder can reduce setting time and increase microhardness even at lower pH values after hydration.
The health status of postpartum immigrant women in Taiwan
Authors: Hung Chich‐Hsiu , Wang Hsiu‐Hung , Chang Su‐Hong , Jian Shu‐Yuan , Yang Yung‐Mei
Published: March 2012

Aims.  This study aims to contribute to the current body of literature by examining immigrant women’s postpartum health in the context of Taiwan, in particular, their experience with postpartum stress and depression as well as the levels of social support available to them. This study also aims to identify predictors of their postpartum health status.

Background.  While there has been considerable research on the risk factors for poor postpartum health in the general population, research on the factors influencing immigrant women’s postpartum health has been limited.

Design.  A non‐experimental research design.

Methods.  We collected data from a sample of 340 immigrant postpartum women who could speak Mandarin Chinese, recruited from 10 general hospitals and one obstetric clinic in Taiwan from March 2005 – September 2006. The Hung Postpartum Stress Scale, Beck Depression Inventory‐II, Social Support Scale and Chinese Health Questionnaire were used in this study.

Results.  We found that immigrant women’s postpartum health status differed significantly in relation to their key helpers, depression status, levels of postpartum stress and social support. The logistic regression analysis showed that a one‐point increase in immigrant women’s postpartum stress increased the probability of suffering from minor psychiatric morbidity by 1·04 times.

Conclusions.  These findings suggest that health care professionals should pay attention not only to immigrant postpartum women’s basic financial and support needs but also to their postpartum stress and stressors.

Relevance to clinical practice.  The use of trained community health advocates in partnership with registered nurses can help meet the needs of postpartum women and improve maternal and infant health through their home visits. These nursing interventions should be tailored specifically to decrease immigrant Asian women’s postpartum stress and improve their overall health status and well‐being.
Identification of Leishmania infantum chagasi proteins in urine of patients with visceral leishmaniasis: a promising antigen discovery approach of vaccine candidates
Authors: KASHINO S. S. , ABEIJON C. , QIN L. , KANUNFRE K. A. , KUBRUSLY F. S. , SILVA F. O. , COSTA D. L. , CAMPOS D. , COSTA C. H. N. , RAW I. , CAMPOS‐NETO A.
Published: March 2012

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a serious lethal parasitic disease caused by Leishmania donovani in Asia and by Leishmania infantum chagasi in southern Europe and South America. VL is endemic in 47 countries with an annual incidence estimated to be 500 000 cases. This high incidence is due in part to the lack of an efficacious vaccine. Here, we introduce an innovative approach to directly identify parasite vaccine candidate antigens that are abundantly produced in vivo in humans with VL. We combined RP‐HPLC and mass spectrometry and categorized three L. infantum chagasi proteins, presumably produced in spleen, liver and bone marrow lesions and excreted in the patients’ urine. Specifically, these proteins were the following: Li‐isd1 (XP_001467866.1), Li‐txn1 (XP_001466642.1) and Li‐ntf2 (XP_001463738.1). Initial vaccine validation studies were performed with the rLi‐ntf2 protein produced in Escherichia coli mixed with the adjuvant BpMPLA‐SE. This formulation stimulated potent Th1 response in BALB/c mice. Compared to control animals, mice immunized with Li‐ntf2+ BpMPLA‐SE had a marked parasite burden reduction in spleens at 40 days post‐challenge with virulent L. infantum chagasi. These results strongly support the proposed antigen discovery strategy of vaccine candidates to VL and opens novel possibilities for vaccine development to other serious infectious diseases.
Elevational Variation in Diversity of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae in South‐West China
Authors: Chen Xiao L. , Yu Lei , Gao Ling L. , Jiang Tao , Li Qing Y. , Huang Qiong
Published: March 2012

Virulence analysis and two polymerase chain reaction–based assays were used to evaluate the population structure of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) from different elevations ranging from 150 to 2600 m in south‐west China. Among the 218 isolates of Xoo, 18 pathotypes were identified using six near‐isogenic rice lines, each containing a single resistance gene. Among them, pathotype 9 predominated in low and mid‐elevations was virulent to all resistance genes, including Xa2, Xa3, xa5, xa13, Xa14 and Xa18. However, pathotype 2 was predominant at high elevation and was virulent to Xa18 only. The 18 pathotypes were grouped into four clusters. Isolates belonging to cluster 1 were mainly found at high and mid‐elevations, while those of cluster 4 were mainly found at low elevations. There were significant trends of virulence of isolates from low to high with the elevation from high to low. The ERIC and J3 primers were used to screen the genomes of 218 isolates, and 56 molecular haplotypes were found. Multiple correspondence analyses revealed that 56 haplotypes were divided into four putative genetic lineages. Lineage 2 was the most frequently detected from 150 to 2600 m; it was clearly shown that isolates from high elevation with 80% is much more than from low and mid‐elevation in the lineage. It is intriguing that genetic variation of Xoo is restricted by physical geographical barriers of elevations. This is the first report on the relationship of pathotypic and genotypic diversity of Xoo at different elevations.
Predictors of dropout among personality disorders in a specialist outpatients psychosocial treatment: A preliminary study
Authors: Martino Francesca , Menchetti Marco , Pozzi Euro , Berardi Domenico
Published: March 2012

Aim:  The aim of this study was to identify factors that may affect treatment retention in a 1‐year psychosocial program for adult personality disorders.

Methods:  The sample consists of patients admitted to the Adult Personality Disorder Outpatient Programme of the Bologna Community Mental Health Centre in the period 2003–2008. At the beginning of the program, patients were evaluated through a comprehensive assessment including sociodemographic form, diagnostic interviews and self‐report questionnaires. Patients who dropped out from treatment were retrospectively compared with patients who completed the program.

Results:  Out of 39 patients enrolled in the program, 20 (51.3%) dropped out and 19 (48.7%) completed the treatment. Out of 20 patients who dropped out, 14 terminated the treatment within the first 2 months. The dropout group and the group which remained showed significant differences in diagnosis (borderline personality disorder [BPD]), demographic data (age, time from first contact with psychiatric services), clinical variable (impulsiveness) and subjective experience (motivation, treatment expectation, therapeutic relation perception and barriers to access). BPD and subjective evaluation were found to be predictors of premature termination in the sample. In detail, BPD patients who experienced a less satisfactory therapeutic relationship and reported many external problems were more likely to drop out of the program.

Conclusion:  Important factors contributing to dropout were identified, with potential implication for clinical practice. Further efforts need to be made to find ways to retain BPD patients who find the first subjective experience of the service more problematic.
Changes in oxidative stress and cellular immunity serum markers in attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder
Authors: Ceylan Mehmet Fatih , Sener Sahnur , Bayraktar Aslihan Cavunt , Kavutcu Mustafa
Published: March 2012

Aims:  Attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder with an etiopathogeny not fully understood. According to the prevailing view, the main factors contributing to the disorder are prefrontal dopamine deficiency and central dopaminergic dysfunction, but the factors/mechanisms involved in the brain dysfunction and its consequences are not well known. We suggest that changes in oxidative metabolism and cellular immunity may be involved. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether there are associations between ADHD and changes in serum levels of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), xanthine oxidase (XO), glutathione S‐transferase (GST) and paraoxonase‐1 (PON‐1) activities, which are important markers of oxidative stress, and adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity, marker of cellular immunity.

Methods:  The study sample consisted of 35 child or adolescent patients diagnosed with ADHD according to DSM‐IV‐TR criteria. Thirty‐five healthy subjects were also included in the study as controls. Venous blood samples were collected, and NOS, XO, GST, PON‐1 and ADA activities were measured.

Results:  NOS, XO and ADA activities of the patients were significantly higher than those of the controls. GST and PON‐1 activities of the patients were significantly lower than those of the controls.

Conclusions:  Changes in oxidative metabolism and cellular immunity may have a role in the etiopathogenesis of ADHD.
Correlation between optic nerve head parameters and retinal nerve fibre layer thickness measured by spectral‐domain optical coherence tomography in myopic eyes
Authors: Hwang Young H , Kim Yong Y
Published: March 2012

Abstract

Background:  To evaluate the correlation between optic nerve head parameters and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness measured by Cirrus HD spectral‐domain optical coherence tomography (Cirrus HD‐OCT; Carl Zeiss Meditec) in healthy myopic eyes.

Design:  Cross‐sectional study.

Participants:  One hundred and sixty‐one right eyes from 161 healthy young myopic subjects.

Methods:  Optic nerve head parameters and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness were measured with the Cirrus HD‐OCT. The distance between optic disc margin and scan circle (disc margin‐to‐scan distance) was measured on the Cirrus HD‐OCT en‐face optic nerve head image with aid of National Institutes of Health ImageJ image‐analysis software (developed by Wayne Rasbands, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD).

Main Outcome Measures:  The correlations among optic nerve head parameters, retinal nerve fibre layer thickness and the disc margin‐to‐scan distance were evaluated with and without adjustment of the magnification effect.

Results:  Without correction of the magnification effect, the thicker average retinal nerve fiber layer was correlated with greater rim area and lower degree of myopia (P < 0.001). When the magnification effect was corrected, thicker average retinal nerve fibre layer was associated with greater disc area and greater rim area in univariate and multivariate analyses (P ≤ 0.028); however, degrees of myopia and the disc margin‐to‐scan distance were not significantly associated with average RNFL thickness (P ≥ 0.104).

Conclusions:  Thicker average retinal nerve fibre layer thickness was associated with greater rim and disc areas. Disc margin‐to‐scan distance was not significantly correlated with average retinal nerve fibre layer thickness in healthy myopic eyes.
Horseshoe tract of anal fistula: bad luck or an avoidable extension? Lessons from 82 cases
Authors: de Parades V. , Fathallah N. , Blanchard P. , Zeitoun J.‐D. , Bennadji B. , Atienza P.
Published: March 2012

Aim  The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of horseshoe tract formation in anal fistula.

Method  We retrospectively analysed the data from all consecutive patients who underwent surgery for an anal fistula from November 2004 to March 2011. A horseshoe tract was defined as a circumferential extension connecting both sides of the anorectum.

Results  During the period of analysis, 1876 patients were operated on for a fistula. Of these, 82 (4.4%) had a horseshoe extension. The majority (72%) were male and the median age was 46 (17–84) years. The primary tract was high transsphincteric in 90% of cases and the primary opening was posterior in 65% of cases. The location of the horseshoe extension was posterior in 66% of cases with spread in the deep perianal space in 62%. In all, 71% were cryptoglandular and 24% were seen in Crohn’s disease (20). Of the 62 non‐Crohn’s patients previous treatment was common and included surgery (42), antibiotics alone (41) and non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (21).

Conclusion  Horseshoe extension in anal fistula is uncommon. With Crohn’s disease excepted, the majority had had previous treatment.
Pumpers, skypers, surfers and texters: technology to improve the management of diabetes in teenagers
Authors: Harris M. A. , Hood K. K. , Mulvaney S. A.
Published: March 2012

A variety of innovative technologies are available to assist with the management of diabetes in teenagers. Technologies include devices that assist with the direct day‐to‐day management of diabetes including insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors. These devices are being used more and more with teenagers as a means of improving treatment adherence and glycaemic control. In addition, telehealth is being used to deliver care and support around diabetes management issues for teens with diabetes. Telehealth used in diabetes care for teens includes cell phones and video‐conferencing. The goal of this telehealth technology is to support health behaviours and implement behavioural change strategies in a way that is more integrated into the everyday lives of patients and even in the context in which the behaviours occur in ‘real time’. Finally, information and support via the Internet are gaining acceptance and use among teens with diabetes as an effective means of strategies for improved diabetes self‐care. All three of these broad uses of technology in diabetes in teens represent flexible, innovative, and accessible approaches to improving both diabetes management and glycaemic control in this ‘at risk’ population.
Comparison between sitagliptin as add‐on therapy to insulin and insulin dose‐increase therapy in uncontrolled Korean type 2 diabetes: CSI study
Authors: Hong E. S. , Khang A. R. , Yoon J. W. , Kang S. M. , Choi S. H. , Park K. S. , Jang H. C. , Shin H. , Walford G. A. , Lim S.
Published: March 2012

Aim: Individuals requiring insulin therapy for type 2 diabetes often require escalation of their regimen to achieve glycaemic control. Optimal management strategies for uncontrolled type 2 diabetes would improve glycaemic control without hypoglycaemia and weight gain. This study compared the efficacy and tolerability of adding sitagliptin, an oral dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitor, and an up to 20% increase in insulin dose in patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes on insulin therapy.

Methods: We conducted a 24‐week, randomized, active‐competitor, parallel‐group study in subjects with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes [haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) = 7.5–11%] currently using insulin therapy. Subjects were randomly assigned to either the sitagliptin adding (100 mg daily, n = 70) or an insulin‐increasing arm (≥10% at week 12 and ≥10% at week 24, n = 70) while continuing other medications.

Results: Average baseline HbA1c was 9.2% in both groups. HbA1c decreased more at 24 weeks in the sitagliptin adding than the insulin‐increasing arm (−0.6 ± 0.1% vs. −0.2 ± 0.1%, p < 0.01). Insulin was increased by 25% at 24 weeks in the insulin‐increasing group. Hypoglycaemic events were less common and less severe in sitagliptin adding arm than insulin‐increasing arm (7.0 vs. 14.3 events per patient‐year, p < 0.05). Weight was stable in the sitagliptin adding subjects (68.6 ± 11.6 vs. 68.1 ± 11.4 kg) but increased in the insulin‐increasing subjects (66.2 ± 10.6 vs. 67.4 ± 9.7 kg, p < 0.05). Other adverse events occurred at similar rates in both arms.

Conclusions: Compared to a 25% increase in insulin dose, adding sitagliptin to an insulin‐based regimen was more effective at lowering HbA1c and associated with less hypoglycaemia and weight gain over 24 weeks. Clinical trial number: NCT01100125.
Biomedicine inside out: an ethnography of brain surgery
Authors: Gross Sky
Published: March 2012

The article discusses patient objectification from the viewpoint of the objectifying, rather than the objectified party. Resisting a dichotomy between physician‐objectifying and ethnographer‐humanising, the author portrays objectification not as an essential by‐product of professional tendencies, epistemological bases, practical necessities and processes of socialisation but as highly dependent upon context. A further look is given to the settings within which the discursive dynamics of ‘objectivity’ and ‘experience’ come about through artefacts, space, symbols, bodily appearances and so on. The author portrays her relationship with Omer, a brain cancer patient whom she has followed over a period of 18 months and then focuses on her observations of his brain surgery. The fluctuations in the author’s relationship with Omer (as a subject and as a body, alternately) are brought within their immediate contextual elements.
Governing Condominiums and Renters with Legal Knowledge Flows and External Institutions
Authors: LIPPERT RANDY K.
Published: March 2012

This article explores the intertwined roles of legal knowledge and external institutions in condominium governance using a sociology of governance framework. Condominium legislation spread in North America in the 1960s. By the 1970s, renters had become the condominium's primary “other.” The article elaborates legal governance and strategies of property management and private insurance that converge on renters in condominiums. Through this analysis, the renter category is shown to be one point of convergence of mutually reinforcing institutional processes of juridification, commodification, and risk avoidance. Condominium governance is revealed as more complex, heterogeneous, and dependent upon legal knowledge flows through channels and “excerpting” practices beyond the courts, and upon external institutions beyond statute‐mandated condominium boards, than previously acknowledged. Implications for critical legal studies and condominium governance policy are discussed.
Differential regulation of accumbal dopamine transmission in rats following cocaine, heroin and speedball self‐administration
Authors: Pattison Lindsey P. , McIntosh Scot , Budygin Evgeny A. , Hemby Scott E.
Published: March 2012

J. Neurochem. (2012) 122, 138–146.

Cocaine/heroin combinations (speedball) exert synergistic neurochemical and behavioral effects that are thought to contribute to the increased abuse potential and subjective effects reported by polydrug users. In vivo fast‐scan cyclic voltammetry was used to examine the effects of chronic intravenous self‐administration (25 consecutive sessions) of cocaine (250 μg/inf), heroin (4.95 μg/inf) and speedball (250/4.95 μg/inf cocaine/heroin) on changes in electrically evoked dopamine (DA) efflux, maximal rate of DA uptake (Vmax) and the apparent affinity (Km) of the DA transporter in the nucleus accumbens. The increase in electrically evoked DA was comparable following cocaine and speedball injection; however, heroin did not increase evoked DA. DA transporter Km values were similarly elevated following cocaine and speedball, but unaffected by heroin. However, speedball self‐administration significantly increased baseline Vmax, while heroin and cocaine did not change baseline Vmax, compared with the baseline Vmax values of drug‐naïve animals. Overall, elevated DA clearance is a likely consequence of synergistic elevations of nucleus accumbens extracellular DA concentrations by chronic speedball self‐administration, as reported previously in microdialysis studies. The present results indicate neuroadaptive processes that are unique to cocaine/heroin combinations and cannot be readily explained by simple additivity of changes observed with cocaine and heroin alone.