bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Creative climate and organisational resilience: the mediating role of innovation
Authors: Mafabi Samuel , Munene John C. , Ahiauzu Augustine
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– This study aims to investigate the mediation role of innovation between creative climate and organisational resilience.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study used a cross-sectional design to collect data about the study variables from parastatal managers using self-administered questionnaires. Hierarchical regression and Medigraph were used to test hypotheses.

Findings

– Creative climate has a significant association with innovation and organisational resilience. Innovation partially mediates the effect of creative climate on organisational resilience.

Research limitations/implications

– The sample size was small involving only parastatals. The results may be different in an expanded public sector. The study was cross-sectional that is limited in examining long-term effects of creative climate and innovation on organisational resilience. Therefore, a longitudinal study design is proposed for future research.

Practical implications

– Managers in parastatals need to provide a conducive creative climate that promotes innovations for organisational resilience.

Originality/value

– The study provides empirical evidence on the mediation role of innovation in the relationship between creative climate and organisational resilience in a public sector. The evidence shows the contribution of innovation in striving for organisational resilience based on the creative climate.
Motivations for customer engagement in online co-innovation communities (OCCs)
Authors: Zhang Tingting (Christina) , Kandampully Jay , Bilgihan Anil
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to propose an extended model to examine these motivations. As technology-led changes have revolutionized the marketplace, researchers and practitioners have grown keen to understand customers’ motivations for engaging in co-innovation in online communities.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research model is based on a review of previous literature and relevant business practices.

Findings

– The proposed conceptual model can be used to test empirically and explicate customers’ attitude towards engagement in co-innovation communities in the hospitality industry. Three major motivations drive customer engagement in online co-innovation communities (OCCs): brand equity, sense of community and monetary incentive. Customers’ prior experience with co-innovation projects also moderates the effects of the three motivations on customers’ attitude towards engagement in OCCs.

Practical implications

– The proposed model highlights the importance of engaging customers through OCCs to create service innovations. These OCCs advance customers’ active participation in the firm’s co-creation and co-innovation process. Leading service firms already rely on online brand communities to stay on the cutting edge. Co-creation represents a unique, strategic partnership between the firm and the customer that can enhance both the customer experience and the firm’s innovativeness.

Originality/value

– This study provides an initial exploration of the key components of the co-innovation of service through online communities in the hospitality industry.
Crowdsourcing innovative service ideas
Authors: Duverger Philippe
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how negatively worded innovative ideas can be rejected during a crowdsourcing event sponsored by a service firm via an online forum. The goal of an ideation forum is to collect user-generated content in the form of ideas for new products or services. An ideation forum attempts to clarify the “fuzziness” on the front-end of new product development.

Design/methodology/approach

– A 2 × 2 (satisfied/dissatisfied customers and negatively/positively worded ideas) experiment replicates the effect of mood-incongruent interactions within ideation forums and measures the likelihood for an idea to be buried or selected on the basis of its merit rather than its negative/positive wording.

Findings

– The results demonstrate that mood-incongruent interactions have different effects on different groups of participating customers. Negatively worded innovative ideas are rated lower by satisfied customers, despite their superior merit.

Research limitations/implications

– The nature of the experiment shows a high validity, but lacks in reliability. Thus, future research should attempt to replicate this experiment on a larger scale and across different industries.

Practical implications

– In an open forum where thousands of customers can give a thumbs’ up or down to an idea, merit should prevail over mood-congruency. If the crowdsourcing mechanism cannot be trusted, it puts the burden back on the firm’s review team to promote or review any downgraded innovative idea, which ends up being counterproductive.

Originality/value

– These findings shed light on the hidden aspect of crowdsourcing when the aim is to find unique, if not radical, ideas for services. Thus, hoteliers and other hospitality and tourism managers should use these findings to design better ideation forums.
Operationalizing cultural political economy: towards critical grounded theory
Authors: Belfrage Claes Axel , Hauf Felix
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to take conceptual and methodological steps towards the elaboration of the critical grounded theory (CGT) method.

Design/methodology/approach

– Starting from conceptual issues with mapping everyday discourses and practices in their broader societal context in organisational ethnography, cultural political economy (CPE) is proposed as a suitable theoretical framework for integrating the cultural dimension of discourses and imaginaries into political-economic analyses of organisation and management. The CGT method is introduced for empirical operationalisation.

Findings

– Grounded theory tools for working with ethnographic data can be employed within critical approaches such as CPE although they originate from positivist social science. The need to combine ethnographic fieldwork with substantial theoretical work and/or critical discourse analysis may be met by CGT, which affords the ethnographic strengths of grounded theory without, however, bracketing the critical-theoretical insights of CPE.

Research limitations/implications

– The usefulness of CGT has been tentatively tested, but requires thorough meta-theoretical and methodological development, which is what is undertaken here.

Social implications

– CGT expects and takes account of the social implications of its employment in the field.

Originality/value

– First steps towards a new critical method for organisation and management studies are taken. Although originating from concern with CPE, the CGT method may appeal to a wider audience of critical scholars across the social sciences.
Balancing differentiated interests and conceptualizations in environmental management
Authors: Sjölander-Lindqvist Annelie
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the everyday practices and routines undertaken by an authority to support internal coordination and deal with sector-specific interests and conflicting goals, and how exclusive interests and objectives in policy work are construed, understood, and negotiated in practice.

Design/methodology/approach

– An institutional ethnographic approach was adopted to investigate how policy-formulated goals, bureaucratic aims, and rules establish a frame for action procedures and alternatives available for agency-level collaboration.

Findings

– The results of this study reveal how compromise and agreement may be difficult to achieve in practice since each concerned administrative unit has its own sets of criteria concerning what constitutes valid or valuable knowledge of aspects relating to river restoration. The study illustrates how lack of knowledge affects collaboration, how the policy process is informed by sector-specific rules and norms for organizational conduct, and how the professions in their discussions and interaction concerning the issue of river restoration uphold, demarcate, and negotiate what knowledge and interests should take centre stage in the decision-making process.

Originality/value

– The paper contributes to policy anthropology literature and highlights how the policy process is informed politically and regulatorily but is also guided by sector-specific norms, values, and differently construed ideas of temporality and heritage. In this case, policy work exposes contrasting ideas of the past, present, and future, and mobilize diverse conceptual models and structural arrangements that are continually performed and contested in everyday policy work.
The development of stage coaching and the impact of turnpike roads, 1653–1840
Authors: Gerhold Dorian
Published: October 2015

This article uses newspaper advertisements to chart the changes in speeds and fares of stage coaches, identifying the main periods of increasing speeds among London coaches as the 1760s–80s and 1810s–20s, separated by a period when speeds declined. It then measures productivity growth. Fares of London coaches in 1835–6 were about 27 per cent of what they would have been but for improvements in horses, vehicles, and roads from 1750, and the two main periods of productivity growth correspond to those of rising speeds. Speeds and productivity of regional coaches increased more smoothly. The rising productivity firmly identifies road transport as one of the modernizing sectors of the economy. New figures are put forward for the growing number of London and regional coaches, indicating rapid growth in passenger miles. While turnpike trusts had little impact before the 1750s, their increasing effectiveness, together with the use of steel springs and improved horses, was crucial to the rising productivity of the 1760s–80s, and even more so to that of the 1810s–20s. The cross roads were apparently poorer than London roads in the late eighteenth century, but thereafter the gap narrowed.
Causality as individual essence: its bearing on synchronicity
Authors: Tougas Cecile T.
Published: October 2015

Causality, time, and number are subjectively lived realities and need to be noticed as such. Fundamental to the wide range of living experience, they are also basic to scientific knowing. In this article I examine causality in relation to an article on synchronicity by Harald Atmanspacher and Wolfgang Fach. My examination is neither scientific nor metaphysical, but rather phenomenological, as it is a clarification of form as individual essence of a thing. This non‐material form of an individual thing in the widest sense of the word ‘thing’ was rejected and so lost during modern seventeenth‐century science but, renewed now, can help describe synchronicity.

A commentary by William Willeford follows.
Levels of unconsciousness and their formal structure
Authors: Atmanspacher Harald
Published: October 2015

This brief essay replies to Carvalho's exposition of a formal approach to the concept of the unconscious which is originally due to Ignacio Matte Blanco (1908–1995), a psychoanalyst from Chile. It's a challenge – first because I have been largely unfamiliar with the details of Matte Blanco's approach, and second because the space available for this reply does not allow me to be as precise as Carvalho's essay no doubt deserves. I will start with some remarks about how I see Matte Blanco's system from a mathematical perspective and then try to relate it to some of the core features of Pauli's and Jung's thinking. I will conclude with a tentative proposal of how Matte Blanco's strata between full consciousness and most undifferentiated unconscious can be related to the tension between ontic and epistemic accounts.
Introduction to Special Issue: Government Involvement in Residential Mortgage Markets
Authors: Frame W. Scott
Published: October 2015

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Center for Real Estate Analytics and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte's Center for Real Estate jointly sponsored a research conference held in Charlotte on December 5–6, 2013. The conference theme was “Government Involvement in Residential Mortgage Markets” and included papers and discussions from an array of economists employed in academia, government, think tanks and the private sector. This special issue of Real Estate Economics is composed of seven of the ten papers presented at the conference. The research is concentrated on the recent U.S. housing boom and bust, with a particular focus on the role of government policy.
Food and Dietary Supplement Package Labeling—Guidance from FDA's Warning Letters and Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations
Authors: Brody Tom
Published: October 2015

Package labels for foods and dietary supplements must conform with Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This review provides guidance for the content and format of labels, including for the Nutrient Facts panel and Supplement Facts panel, and for drafting structure/function claims, health claims, and nutrient content claims. Also provided is guidance on how to refrain from drafting disease claims. Inappropriate disease claims on a food or dietary supplement compels FDA to review the product as a drug. Disease claims is the most common source of complaint in FDA's warning letters. This review makes use of all of FDA's warning letters that were published over a 14‐y span (2002to 2015). This is the first comprehensive review on package labels to make use of FDA's warning letters as a source document.
Granulocyte and Monocyte Adsorption Apheresis for Refractory Skin Diseases due to Activated Neutrophils, Psoriasis, and Associated Arthropathy
Authors: Sakanoue Masanao , Takeda Koichiro , Kawai Kazuhiro , Kanekura Takuro
Published: October 2015

Granulocyte and monocyte adsorption apheresis (GMA), an extracorporeal apheresis instrument whose column contains cellulose acetate (CA) beads, is designed to remove activated granulocytes and monocytes. We previously demonstrated that GMA was useful for treating neutrophilic dermatoses and associated arthropathy as it adsorbs Mac‐1 (CD11b/CD18)‐expressing neutrophils to the CA beads by the binding of complement component (iC3b) and CD11b expressed on activated neutrophils. The objective of this study is to further assess the clinical effectiveness of GMA in the treatment of neutrophilic dermatoses and associated arthropathy. The effect of GMA for skin lesions and joint lesions was assessed in 44 and 23 patients, respectively. Mac‐1 expression on peripheral neutrophils was measured by flow cytometry. Skin lesions and arthropathy improved in 39 of 44 patients (88.6%) and 22 of 23 (95.6%), respectively. Mac‐1 (CD11b/CD18) expression on the peripheral neutrophils, 27.1 ± 6.66 MFI (mean fluorescence intensity) before treatment, was reduced to 17.9 ± 3.02 MFI by GMA (P < 0.05). Clinical effectiveness of GMA for the treatment of intractable neutrophilic dermatoses and associated arthropathy was further confirmed.
Soluble Vascular Endothelial‐Cadherin Levels in Patients With Sepsis Treated With Direct Hemoperfusion With a Polymyxin B‐immobilized Fiber Column
Authors: Ebihara Itaru , Hirayama Kouichi , Nagai Miho , Koda Megumi , Gunji Masanobu , Okubo Yuki , Katayama Taisuke , Sato Chihiro , Usui Joichi , Yamagata Kunihiro , Kobayashi Masaki
Published: October 2015

Capillary permeability is a tightly regulated feature of microcirculation in all organ beds; however, in sepsis this feature is fundamentally altered. Several molecules are investigated as associated factors with capillary permeability and vascular endothelial (VE)‐cadherin internalization by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)‐induced signaling through VEGF receptors leads to increased vascular endothelial cell detachment and trans‐endothelial permeability. We investigated serum soluble VE‐cadherin levels in septic patients. An enzyme‐linked immunoassay was used to measure serum soluble VE‐cadherin levels in 47 septic patients treated by direct hemoperfusion with a polymyxin B‐immobilized fiber column (DHP‐PMX). The serum soluble VE‐cadherin level of septic patients before PMX‐DHP was 3424.1 ± 2033.0 ng/mL, which was significantly lower than that of the controls (5862.0 ± 1521.2 ng/mL; P < 0.0001). The time course of serum soluble VE‐cadherin levels remained unchanged during PMX‐DHP therapy. There was no significant difference in serum soluble VE‐cadherin levels before PMX‐DHP therapy between survivors and non‐survivors, and there was no significant difference in those levels between the groups at any time after the initiation of PMX‐DHP therapy. There was no correlation between soluble VE‐cadherin levels and clinical data, except white blood cell count (r = −0.277, P = 0.0009). There was no correlation between soluble VE‐cadherin levels and the levels of angiopoietin 1 and 2. In summary, the relationship between VE‐cadherin and capillary permeability in sepsis could not be demonstrated. Soluble VE‐cadherins are not reflected in the balance between intercellular junction plasticity and integrity, but VE‐cadherin stabilization by its phosphorylation or internalization may be associated with capillary permeability.
Indicators of success for smart law enforcement in protected areas: A case study for Russian Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) reserves
Authors: HÖTTE Michiel H. H. , KOLODIN Igor A. , BEREZNUK Sergei L. , SLAGHT Jonathan C. , KERLEY Linda L. , SOUTYRINA Svetlana V. , SALKINA Galina P. , ZAUMYSLOVA Olga Y. , STOKES Emma J. , MIQUELLE Dale G.
Published: October 2015

Although considerable conservation resources have been committed to develop and use law enforcement monitoring and management tools such as SMART, measures of success are ill‐defined and, to date, few reports detail results post‐implementation. Here, we present 4 case studies from protected areas with Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) in Russia, in which indicators of success were defined and evaluated at each. The ultimate goal was an increase in tiger numbers to 1 individual/100 km2 at each site. We predicted that improvements in law enforcement effectiveness would be followed by increases in prey numbers and, subsequently, tiger numbers. We used short‐term and long‐term indicators of success, including: (i) patrol team effort and effectiveness; (ii) catch per unit effort indicators (to measure reductions in threats); and (iii) changes in target species numbers. In addition to implementing a monitoring system, we focused on improving law enforcement management using an adaptive management process. Over 4 years, we noted clear increases in patrol effort and a partial reduction in threats. Although we did not detect clear trends in ungulate numbers, tiger populations remained stable or increased, suggesting that poaching of tigers may be more limiting than prey depletion. Increased effectiveness is needed before a clear reduction in threats can be noted, and more time is needed before detecting responses in target populations. Nonetheless, delineation of concrete goals and indicators of success provide a means of evaluating progress and weaknesses. Such monitoring should be a central component of law enforcement strategies for protected areas.
Antioxidant Effects of Herbal Tea Leaves from Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) on Multiple Free Radical and Reducing Power Assays, Especially on Different Superoxide Anion Radical Generation Systems
Authors: Sugahara Shintaro , Ueda Yuto , Fukuhara Kumiko , Kamamuta Yuki , Matsuda Yasushi , Murata Tatsuro , Kuroda Yasuhiro , Kabata Kiyotaka , Ono Masateru , Igoshi Keiji , Yasuda Shin
Published: October 2015

Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius), a native Andean plant, has been cultivated as a crop and locally used as a traditional folk medicine for the people suffering from diabetes and digestive/renal disorders. However, the medicinal properties of this plant and its processed foods have not been completely established. This study investigates the potent antioxidative effects of herbal tea leaves from yacon in different free radical models and a ferric reducing model. A hot‐water extract exhibited the highest yield of total polyphenol and scavenging effect on 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical among four extracts prepared with hot water, methanol, ethanol, and ethylacetate. In addition, a higher reducing power of the hot‐water extract was similarly demonstrated among these extracts. Varying concentrations of the hot‐water extract resulted in different scavenging activities in four synthetic free radical models: DPPH radical (EC50 28.1 μg/mL), 2,2′‐azinobis(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid) cation radical (EC50 23.7 μg/mL), galvinoxyl radical (EC50 3.06 μg/mL), and chlorpromazine cation radical (EC50 475 μg/mL). The yacon tea‐leaf extract further demonstrated superoxide anion (O2−) radical scavenging effects in the phenazine methosulfate‐NADH‐nitroblue tetrazolium (EC50 64.5 μg/mL) and xanthine oxidase assay systems (EC50 20.7 μg/mL). Subsequently, incubating human neutrophilic cells in the presence of the tea‐leaf extract could suppress the cellular O2− radical generation (IC50 65.7 μg/mL) in a phorbol 12‐myristate 13‐acetate‐activated cell model. These results support yacon tea leaves may be a good source of natural antioxidants for preventing O2− radical‐mediated disorders.
The Genetic Impact of the Lake Chad Basin Population in North Africa as Documented by Mitochondrial Diversity and Internal Variation of the L3e5 Haplogroup
Authors: Podgorná Eliška , Soares Pedro , Pereira Luísa , Černý Viktor
Published: October 2015

The presence of sub‐Saharan L‐type mtDNA sequences in North Africa has traditionally been explained by the recent slave trade. However, gene flow between sub‐Saharan and northern African populations would also have been made possible earlier through the greening of the Sahara resulting from Early Holocene climatic improvement. In this article, we examine human dispersals across the Sahara through the analysis of the sub‐Saharan mtDNA haplogroup L3e5, which is not only commonly found in the Lake Chad Basin (∼17%), but which also attains nonnegligible frequencies (∼10%) in some Northwestern African populations. Age estimates point to its origin ∼10 ka, probably directly in the Lake Chad Basin, where the clade occurs across linguistic boundaries. The virtual absence of this specific haplogroup in Daza from Northern Chad and all West African populations suggests that its migration took place elsewhere, perhaps through Northern Niger. Interestingly, independent confirmation of Early Holocene contacts between North Africa and the Lake Chad Basin have been provided by craniofacial data from Central Niger, supporting our suggestion that the Early Holocene offered a suitable climatic window for genetic exchanges between North and sub‐Saharan Africa. In view of its younger founder age in North Africa, the discontinuous distribution of L3e5 was probably caused by the Middle Holocene re‐expansion of the Sahara desert, disrupting the clade's original continuous spread.
Irresistible Force? Achieving Carbon Pricing in Australia
Authors: Crowley Kate
Published: October 2015

Australia is one of the largest coal exporting nations in the world and its economy is underpinned by the availability of cheap fossil fuels. It is well documented that it has failed to act on climate change, and that the conservative Howard government was particularly hostile to international action. It is also well documented that 2007 was an agenda‐setting period when climate change was elevated to national prominence. This paper details and interrogates the ultimately successful Labor national governments' efforts to establish an Australian carbon pricing mechanism. It considers whether irresistible normative forces for climate policy change overcame the previously immovable object of economic and political self‐interest, and the power of the carbon lobby. In explaining complex climate policy dynamics, temporal scales and politics, it finds great utility in John Kingdon's pragmatic “policy window”1 as an explanation for Australia's climate policy change.
Poles Apart?: The Social Construction of Responsibility for Climate Change in Australia and Norway
Authors: Eckersley Robyn
Published: October 2015

This article provides a comparative discourse analysis of the climate responsibility narratives of Australian and Norwegian political leaders during the period 2007–2012. The analysis focuses on how political leaders imagine their country's identity and role in the world and how they connect (or disconnect) these identities, roles and interests with responsibility for climate change, and with their respective energy policies. The analysis shows that the striking differences in mitigation ambition and responsibility discourses between Australia and Norway are clearly related, but cannot be reduced, to differences in their relative dependence on fossil fuel. Rather, differences in national identity and international role conception provide a far more illuminating account than a simple interest‐based explanation. However, Australia and Norway are not quite so “poles apart” on their energy policies, and I briefly explore the implications of climate policy hypocrisy.
Influence of the modifiable life‐style factors body mass index and smoking on the outcome of hysterectomy
Authors: Bohlin Katja S. , Ankardal Maud , Stjerndahl Jan‐Henrik , Lindkvist Håkan , Milsom Ian
Published: October 2015

Introduction

The aim of this study was to study the impact of body mass index (BMI) and smoking on the outcome of hysterectomy and whether effects of these factors vary between abdominal, laparoscopic and vaginal hysterectomy.

Material and methods

Pre‐, per‐ and postoperative (8 weeks) data were retrieved from the Swedish National Register for Gynecological Surgery on 28 537 hysterectomies performed because of a benign indication between 2004 and 2013. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to identify independent factors affecting the rate of complications, presented as adjusted odds ratios (adjOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Results

Overweight and obesity had the strongest impact on complications in the abdominal hysterectomy group. In women with a BMI ≥ 30 an increased adjOR could be seen for bleeding >1000 mL (2.90; 95% CI 2.23–3.77), peroperative complications (1.54; 95% CI 1.26–1.88), operation time >120 min (2.67; 95% CI 2.33–3.03), postoperative complications (1.21; 95% CI 1.08–1.34) and postoperative infections (1.73; 95% CI 1.50–1.99). With vaginal hysterectomy, the effect of BMI ≥ 30 could be seen in relation to excessive bleeding >500 mL (1.63; 95% CI 1.22–2.17) and operative time >120 min (2.00; 95% CI 1.60–2.50). With laparoscopic hysterectomy (LH), a BMI ≥ 30 had a higher adjOR for prolonged surgery (1.71; 95% CI 1.30–2.26). Smokers had an increased risk of postoperative infection in the abdominal hysterectomy (1.23; 95% CI 1.07–1.40) and vaginal hysterectomy groups (1.21; 95% CI 1.02–1.43) but not in the LH group.

Conclusions

Body mass index and smoking had a negative effect with all hysterectomy approaches but to a lesser extent in vaginal and laparoscopic hysterectomies. This should be taken into consideration in advance of surgery to improve outcome.
Tranexamic acid for preventing postpartum blood loss after cesarean delivery: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Simonazzi Giuliana , Bisulli Maria , Saccone Gabriele , Moro Elisa , Marshall Ariela , Berghella Vincenzo
Published: October 2015

Introduction

There are several published clinical trials of the use of tranexamic acid (TXA) in an obstetric setting, but no consensus on its use or guidelines for management.

Material and methods

The aim of this meta‐analysis was to evaluate the effectiveness of TXA in reducing blood loss when given prior to cesarean delivery. We performed a systematic search in electronic databases. We included all randomized controlled trials comparing the use of TXA prior to cesarean delivery with controls (either placebo or no treatment).

Results

Nine trials with 2365 women were included in the analysis. Women who received TXA had significantly less postpartum blood loss, a lower drop in hemoglobin and a lower incidence of postpartum hemorrhage and severe postpartum hemorrhage compared with controls. Moreover, the number of women who needed additional uterotonic agents was significantly lower in the TXA group than in controls. The percentage of women who required blood transfusions at, or immediately after, cesareans was significantly lower in the intervention group than in the controls. There was no difference in the incidence of thromboembolic events in the two groups.

Conclusions

Prophylactic TXA given before cesarean skin incision in women undergoing cesarean delivery, under spinal or epidural anesthesia, significantly decreases blood loss, including postpartum hemorrhage and severe postpartum hemorrhage, in addition to the standard prophylactic oxytocin given after delivery of the neonate. The effect of TXA on thromboembolic events and mortality as well as its use in high‐risk women should be investigated further.
Epigenetics and assisted reproductive technologies
Authors: Pinborg Anja , Loft Anne , Romundstad Liv B. , Wennerholm Ulla‐Britt , Söderström‐Anttila Viveca , Bergh Christina , Aittomäki Kristiina
Published: October 2015

Epigenetic modification controls gene activity without changes in the DNA sequence. The genome undergoes several phases of epigenetic programming during gametogenesis and early embryo development, coinciding with assisted reproductive technologies (ART) treatments. Imprinting disorders have been associated with ART techniques, but disentangling the influence of the ART procedures per se from the effect of the reproductive disease of the parents is a challenge. Epidemiological human studies have shown altered birthweight profiles in ART compared with spontaneously conceived singletons. Conception with cryopreserved/thawed embryos results in a higher risk of large‐for‐gestational‐age babies, which may be due to epigenetic modification. Further animal studies have shown altered gene expression profiles in offspring conceived by ART related to altered glucose metabolism. It is controversial whether human adolescents conceived by ART have altered lipid and glucose profiles and thereby a higher long‐term risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. This commentary describes the basic concepts of epigenetics and gives a short overview of the existing literature on the association between imprinting disorders, epigenetic modification and ART.
Shoulder dystocia in primary midwifery care in the Netherlands
Authors: Kallianidis Athanasios F. , Smit Marrit , Van Roosmalen Jos
Published: October 2015

Introduction

In the Netherlands, low‐risk pregnancies are managed by midwives in primary care. Despite strict definitions of low risk, obstetric complications can occur. Midwives seldom encounter uncommon labour complications, but are sufficiently trained to manage these. We assessed neonatal and maternal outcome after management of shoulder dystocia in primary midwifery care.

Materials and methods

In this 2‐year prospective cohort study from April 2008 to April 2010, primary‐care midwives, who participated in an obstetric emergency course, reported all obstetric complications. Main outcome was neonatal and maternal outcome.

Results

In sixty‐four cases of shoulder dystocia McRoberts was the first maneuver in 42/64 (65.6%) cases with a success rate of 23.8%. All‐fours maneuver was most frequently used as the second maneuver (24/45; 53.3%). No neonatal mortality occurred, none of the infants suffered from hypoxic ischemic injury, two (3.1%) had transient brachial plexus injuries, two (3.1%) had fractured clavicles and one (1.6%) had a fractured humerus. Eight (12.5%) neonates were successfully resuscitated because of birth asphyxia. All infants fully recovered. In neonates with immediate adverse outcome significantly more maneuvers were used compared with those without adverse neonatal outcome (p = 0.02). Postpartum hemorrhage occurred in 2/64 (3.1%) women, deep vaginal lacerations in 2/64 (3.1%), perineal tears in 23/64 (35.9%). No anal sphincter injuries occurred.

Conclusions

McRoberts and all‐fours maneuvers are widely used by primary‐care midwives in the management of shoulder dystocia. Low rates of adverse neonatal and maternal outcomes were observed in cases of shoulder dystocia up to 6 weeks postpartum.
A longitudinal study of maternal endothelial function, inflammatory response and uterine artery blood flow during the second half of pregnancy
Authors: Flo Kari , Blix Egil S. , Husebekk Anne , Thommessen Anders , Uhre Andreas T. , Wilsgaard Tom , Vårtun Åse , Acharya Ganesh
Published: October 2015

Introduction

The objective of this study was to investigate serial changes in maternal endothelial function, inflammatory response and uterine artery blood flow in normal pregnancy, and to explore their inter‐relation.

Material and methods

In this prospective longitudinal observational study, 53 women with uncomplicated pregnancies were examined at 4‐weekly intervals (248 observations) during 22–40 weeks of gestation. Uterine artery blood flow was measured using Doppler ultrasonography. Maternal endothelial function was assessed by flow‐mediated vasodilatation (FMD) of the brachial artery. Circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPC), defined as CD34+ CD133+ VEGFR2+ cells, were quantified by flow cytometry. Biomarkers of inflammation, such as leptin and high sensitivity C‐reactive protein (hsCRP), were measured in plasma samples. Multilevel modeling was used to investigate gestational‐age‐associated serial changes.

Results

The EPC increased from 6.5 to 12.3 per million mononuclear cells (p < 0.01) and FMD decreased from 16.3 to 13.4% (p = 0.20). Leptin increased from 18 to 22 ng/mL (p < 0.01), and hsCRP did not change significantly (p = 0.61). There was no significant association between FMD and EPC (p = 0.66). FMD was significantly associated with hsCRP (p = 0.002) and leptin (p = 0.003), but the EPC were not. Neither FMD nor EPC were significantly associated with uterine artery blood flow.

Conclusion

Changes in FMD were significantly associated with inflammatory biomarkers, suggesting that the reduced nitric oxide‐dependent vasodilatation in late gestation is related to maternal inflammatory response. As EPC and FMD did not correlate, mechanisms other than mobilization of EPC to repair endothelial damage must be responsible for the gestational‐age‐associated increase in EPC.
Health‐related quality of life in very low birth weight children at nearly eight years of age
Authors: Huhtala Mira , Korja Riikka , Rautava Liisi , Lehtonen Liisa , Haataja Leena , Lapinleimu Helena , Rautava Päivi ,   PIPARI Study Group
Published: October 2015

Aim

This study examined the impact of prematurity‐related morbidity on the health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) of premature children at eight years of age, compared to term born controls of same age.

Methods

We focused on 155 premature, very low birth weight (VLBW) infants weighing up to 1500 g who were born from 2001 to 2006 in Turku University Hospital, Finland, and compared them with 129 full‐term controls. Cognitive development and length was assessed at five years of age and the children self‐reported 17 dimensions of HRQoL at eight years of age. The VLBW group was subdivided into healthy children and those with prematurity‐related morbidities.

Results

Our findings showed that 64.5% of the VLBW children did not have prematurity‐related morbidities. The HRQoL of the healthy preterm VLBW children was very good and did not differ significantly from the controls. However, the VLBW children with one or more morbidities had significantly lower scores in nine of the 17 HRQoL dimensions than the children in the control group.

Conclusion

The majority of the VLBW children survived without prematurity‐related morbidities, and their HRQoL was very good and similar to the control children. The main goal of neonatal care for preterm infants should be to prevent long‐term morbidities.
The ambivalence of familiarity: understanding breathable diversity through fleeting encounters inSingapore'sJurongWest
Authors: Ye Junjia
Published: October 2015

This paper contributes to the recent interest by geographers on urban diversity and encounters and is motivated by the significance of living with difference in grounded, prosaic ways. I situate co‐existence with strange others in shared public spaces through the interrogation of fleeting, prosaic ways people manage such diversity in their everyday encounters. Drawing on ethnographic data based onSingapore's neighbourhood ofJurongWest, I expand on a politics of diversity that acknowledges distance, limitations and ambivalence among people who are personally unknown to one another. I develop the notion of the familiar stranger as a way to interrogate the potentials and limitations of coexisting with difference, where positive and strained relations can occur simultaneously. Rather than demanding cohesion and integration, I argue that a far more open form of coexistence would acknowledge these kinds of sociality that do not force people to engage beyond the present precisely so that diversity can become unremarkable and everyday. In this sense, this paper argues for a non‐prescriptive way of understanding coexisting with difference where exchanges of ambivalent and fleeting nature can pave the way for a politics of breathable diversity.
‘The Parental Couple’: Françoise Dolto and Jacques Lacan: Contributions to the Mirror Stage
Authors: Hivernel Françoise
Published: October 2015

This paper aims to sketch a comparison of the different and sometimes complementary approaches of Lacan and Dolto to the theory of becoming a subject – through bringing to light Dolto's clinical contributions to the Mirror Stage – and the development of her own theory on the Unconscious Image of the Body. This paper makes extensive use of the correspondence between Dolto and Lacan published in 2005, as well as of the references they made to each other in their written work. Both have a Freudian theoretical background, but Dolto's theories are built upwards from the observation of infant and child development as well as from their treatment, whilst Lacan's stems from adult psychoanalysis, the re‐reading of Freud's cases and structural anthropology and linguistics. Through this paper I hope to bring to the Anglo‐Saxon attention the fascinating seminal interaction of this famous French ‘parental couple’.
Incidence and outcomes of cytomegalovirus in pancreas transplantation with steroid‐free immunosuppression
Authors: Shah Ashesh P. , Chen Jeanne M. , Fridell Jonathan A.
Published: October 2015

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common opportunistic infection encountered after pancreas transplantation. The records of 407 pancreas transplant recipients (226 simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplant (SPK), 101 pancreas transplant after kidney (PAK), and 97 pancreas transplants alone [PTA]) performed at a single center with at least 1‐yr follow‐up were reviewed. Immunosuppression included rabbit antithymocyte globulin induction, steroid withdrawal, and maintenance therapy of tacrolimus and sirolimus (± mycophenolate). In addition, PTA recipients received a single dose of rituximab. All recipients received valganciclovir prophylaxis. Donor (D)+/recipient (R)− recipients received 6 months of prophylaxis; all others received 3 months. The overall CMV infection rate was 12%. The cumulative incidences of CMV infection at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after transplant were 0.25%, 3%, 7%, and 8%, respectively. CMV infection rates were 20.2% in the D+/R− group, 16.5% in the D+/R+ group, 5.0% in the D−/R+ group, and 2.8% in the D−/R− group. Infections were less common in SPK recipients. Most infections developed at least 3 months post‐transplant, and 24% demonstrated tissue‐invasive disease. Immunosuppression was NOT reduced in 72% of patients with infections. Ganciclovir‐resistant CMV occurred in four patients. No patients died or lost their allografts due to CMV‐related infection; one graft was lost due to chronic rejection associated with a reduction in immunosuppression. In many cases, CMV infections may be treated in pancreas transplant recipients without necessarily reducing immunosuppression.
746. TROPAEOLUM MAJUS
Authors: Christenhusz Maarten J. M.
Published: October 2015

The garden nasturtium is not known in the wild, but is by far the most commonly grown member of the Tropaeolaceae. After its introduction from Peru into the Netherlands in the late 17th century, it spread rapidly across gardens, and because of its value as a source of vitamin C, it was distributed to harbours and oceanic islands to fight scurvy amongst sailors on long sea voyages. Here we present the history of its introduction, the many uses of the plant (including three recipes), and an illustration from material grown at Kew.
756. TULIPA UNDULATIFOLIA var. MICHELIANA
Authors: Wilford Richard
Published: October 2015

The new combination Tulipa undulatifolia var. micheliana is made and two Iranian forms are illustrated and described. The history and classification of this tulip are discussed and notes are provided on its distribution, natural habitat and cultivation requirements.
Conservation in Brazil needs to include non‐forest ecosystems
Authors: Overbeck Gerhard E. , Vélez‐Martin Eduardo , Scarano Fabio R. , Lewinsohn Thomas M. , Fonseca Carlos R. , Meyer Sebastian T. , Müller Sandra C. , Ceotto Paula , Dadalt Letícia , Durigan Giselda , Ganade Gislene , Gossner Martin M. , Guadagnin Demetrio L. , Lorenzen Katrin , Jacobi Claudia M. , Weisser Wolfgang W. , Pillar Valério D.
Published: October 2015

In the past decades, Brazil made important progress in the conservation of forest ecosystems. Non‐forest ecosystems (NFE), in contrast, have been neglected, even though they cover large parts of the country and have biodiversity levels comparable to forests. To avoid losing much of its biodiversity and ecosystem services, conservation and sustainable land use policies in Brazil need to be extended to NFE. A strategy for conservation of Brazil's NFE should encompass the following elements: (1) creation of new large protected areas in NFE; (2) enforcement of legal restrictions of land use; (3) extension of subsidy programs and governance commitments to NFE; (4) improvement of ecosystem management and sustainable use in NFE; and (5) improvement of monitoring of land use change in NFE. If Brazil managed to extend its conservation successes to NFE, it not only would contribute significantly to conservation of its biodiversity, but also could take the lead in conservation of NFE world‐wide.
N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptor antibody encephalitis: how do we evaluate symptomatic treatment?
Authors: Gadian Jonathan , Lim Ming
Published: October 2015

This commentary is on the original article by Mohammad et al. on pages 376–384 of this issue.
Socioeconomic Rights: A Dialogue With Islam
Authors: Etzioni Amitai
Published: October 2015

There are some who believe that there will be an inevitable “clash of civilizations” between the Muslim world and the West. By contrast, this article contends that there are many opportunities for constructive dialogue between the two that can bridge the cultural divide. Specifically, the article proposes a cross‐cultural dialogue on social justice as a promising starting point for productive intercultural engagement. The article discusses the rich tradition of social justice in the Muslim world, and the ways in which these Islamic tenets are implemented by a range of Islamist political parties, including Turkey's Justice and Development Party (AKP), Morocco's Justice and Development Party (PJD), and Tunisia's Ennahda Movement. Given the West's relative dearth of mainstream social justice parties, the article proposes that, on this count, it has much to learn from the Muslim world.
What Can Climate‐Adaptation Policy in Sub‐Saharan Africa Learn from Research on Governance and Politics?
Authors: Lockwood Matthew
Published: October 2015

There has been relatively little thinking about the political context of climate‐adaptation policy in sub‐Saharan Africa, what this means for the quality of governance, and the capacity to plan and deliver what are often quite complex policies and programmes. This is all the more surprising given the quantity and depth of what is already known about politics and governance in Africa. This article asks what can be learned from this body of knowledge and experience that is relevant for climate‐adaptation policy.
The Hollow Ring of Donor Commitment: Country Concentration and the Decoupling of Aid‐Effectiveness Norms from Donor Practice
Authors: Brown Stephen , Swiss Liam
Published: October 2015

The fragmentation of a donor's foreign aid across too many recipient countries is widely believed to be detrimental to aid effectiveness. This article explores the origins of a new norm – recipient concentration – and assesses the extent to which it can be expected to improve aid effectiveness. It also examines 23 donors' actual record of country concentration, and finds that, though there are some potential explanations for donors' behaviour, their collective failure to implement country concentration has very little consequence in theory or in practice.
Climate‐Responsive Social Protection
Authors: Kuriakose Anne T. , Heltberg Rasmus , Wiseman William , Costella Cecilia , Cipryk Rachel , Cornelius Sabine
Published: October 2015

How can social protection help tackle the impacts of climate change and improve household and community resilience in developing countries? This article sets out the case for more climate‐responsive social‐protection systems, and proposes a design framework to achieve this. Four features can help, namely: scaleable and flexible programmes that can increase in response to climate disasters and then scale back as necessary; targeting that responds to climate events; livelihood enhancements; and building institutions for climate and disaster risk management.
Governance and Economic Transformation in Taiwan: The Role of Politics
Authors: Lauridsen Laurids S.
Published: October 2015

This article analyses the strengths and weaknesses of the developmental‐state approach as compared with a broader and more flexible developmental‐governance approach – in relation to economic transformation in a single case country, Taiwan. It argues that both approaches have strong and weak points, and comes down in favour of the view that it is only through a ‘thick’ study of political forces, processes and circumstances that the reasoning behind developmental policies and institutions can be understood and the processes of economic transformation explained.
Understanding Ideal Experiences
Authors: Gage Justine Carleton , Murrell Spencer
Published: October 2015

Need a visual to inspire your vision for customer experience? This spread will help you see the big picture.
Defining the Role of Service Design in Healthcare
Authors: Teso Giulia , Ceppi Giulio , Furlanetto Annarita , Dario Claudio , Scannapieco Gianluigi
Published: October 2015

Developments in information technology, as well as the need to conserve resources, are resulting in healthcare systems that place increased value on the patient's input. In Italy, the national health service has taken notice.

The national healthcare service: It's hard to think of a system in which good service design could be more important.
Design‐Driven Service Innovation at Korea Telecom
Authors: Kim Bo‐Young , Kang Lee‐Hwan , Lim Jae‐Hee
Published: October 2015

A telecommunications company sells services, of course, but adding tangible products not only rewards customers but also differentiates the company's offerings.

A good service product identifies profitable service space, packages it in a productized form, and delivers it to the market.