bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The blind leading the blind
Authors: Shah Chirag
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– Online collaboration – a required method for many problem-solving situations in today’s work environments – has many aspects that are not clearly understood or explored. One of them is how work styles, specifically leadership styles, within a seemingly homogeneous teams with no prior role assignments affects the process and outcomes of collaboration. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the aspect of online collaboration to learn how different leadership styles that may emerge impact collaborative work.

Design/methodology/approach

– The work described here employs a user study involving 84 participants in 42 pairs, working in one of the three conditions across two sessions. The three conditions are defined based on the amount and the kind of awareness provided to the team members: no awareness of personal or team progress (C1), awareness of personal progress (C2), and awareness of both personal and team progress (C3). The log and chat data from the sessions where these teams work in collecting relevant information for two different topics are collected and analysed.

Findings

– Quantitative and qualitative analyses indicate the difference among the three conditions with respect to these two leadership styles. Specifically, it is found that those with the team awareness provided to them (C3) exhibited the least amounts of leadership, keeping the team relatively symmetric. The democratic nature of such teams also fostered more diverse searching behaviour and less need for communication.

Originality/value

– The work reported here is a first attempt to shed light on two kinds of connections: individual and team awareness to leadership style, and leadership style to diversity of information exploration.
The role of hotel restaurants in gastronomic place branding
Authors: Gordin Valery , Trabskaya Julia , Zelenskaya Elena
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– This paper aims to display the role of hotel restaurants in gastronomic place branding. The authors view hotel restaurants as having a great potential in the promotion of local gastronomy.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research was done in several stages. First, the authors selected six destinations (Lapland, Catalonia, Saint Petersburg, Marseille, Parma and Munich) according to the classification of gastronomic brands based on the settlement type. Second, the authors studied conceptions of hotel restaurants located in these destinations to see how they reflect local gastronomic brands. For this purpose, restaurant menus, verbal descriptions of interiors and names of establishments were analyzed using elements of content analysis. Finally, the authors conducted several interviews with hotel managers in one of the destinations to distinguish the challenges of gastronomic branding within hotel restaurants.

Findings

– The results allowed defining the role of hotel restaurants in gastronomic branding depending on the following factors: hotel’s affiliation with a chain, hotel’s star rating and destination type.

Practical implications

– The authors argue that gastronomic branding raises attractiveness of hotels, its restaurants and destination on the whole. This research was presented to the Tourism Committee of St Petersburg, resulting in increased attention to gastronomic branding among the city authorities.

Originality/value

– The role of hotel restaurants in gastronomic branding has not been studied previously. However, hotel restaurants differ from other actors of gastronomic branding due to the necessity to comply with hotel’s conception, brand and standards.
Technology implementation: impact on students’ perception and mindset
Authors: Pate Laura Patricia
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyze the current negative impacts of implementation while also recommending proper applications to these new technological “applications.”

Design/methodology/approach

– This literary analysis looks at a few of the negative results of technology implementation thus far and also provides ways to correct these impacts.

Findings

– Technology could significantly aide in the efficacy of instruction if used properly. Educators must not merely understand how to work the basic tools for the classroom; they must utilize those conveniences in such a way that sparks interest, critical thinking, and a desire to create.

Originality/value

– Throughout public education, technology implementation seems to be the topic on every educator’s lips and listed on every school board’s agenda. Considering the generous financial support, arduous research, and extensive professional development, the expectations for positive results are unbelievably high. As school districts competitively rush to obtain state of the art equipment and demand that administrators provide professional development for teachers, educators then inundate students with constant change. Teachers are learning how to flip classrooms, provide constant communication, and utilize visual aids via new media. Students have answers at their fingertips, research is instantaneous, and communication with the world beyond the classroom never ceases. However, educators are now obliged to step back and reflect on what impact these alterations are really having. Are schools really getting their anticipated results? What impact are all of these revolutionary ideas really having on the students as a whole? What can be done to make this inevitable turn of the tide flow in the favor of effective instruction?
Designing training in organic farming on a multinational basis
Authors: Guiné Raquel P.F. , Costa Daniela V.T.A , Correia Paula M.R. , Costa Cristina A. , Correia Helena E. , Castro Moises , Guerra Luis T , Seeds Catherine , Coll Collette , Radics Laszlo , Arslan Meahmet , Soylu Soner , Tothova Monika , Toth Peter , Basile Salvatore
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to obtain information to characterize potential trainees seeking training programs about organic farming in the form of mobile learning. This information is expected to allow for establishing a set of guidelines to design mobile training opportunities that could match the potential clients’ wishes.

Design/methodology/approach

– For this survey an on-line questionnaire was used, translated into the languages of the participating countries (Portugal, Spain, Slovakia, Hungary, UK, Italy and Turkey), and in the end 133 consented valid questionnaires were obtained. The data analysis was made with SPSS and included basic descriptive statistics, crosstabs andχ2 tests, considering a level of significance of 5 per cent.

Findings

– The results obtained in the present study indicate that designing training programs in organic farming for a wide target population should attend to the differences between countries, which showed to significantly influence the preferences of the possible clients for this type of training.

Practical implications

– This study provided valuable information for use in the preparation of training programs for adults who want to expand their knowledge on organic farming, in order to prepare courses more in accordance with their preferences.

Originality/value

– The fact that the study was undertaken in several countries, including North, Central and South Europe, is a positive indicator that globally accepted courses could be implemented successfully. To the knowledge no such work was undertaken up to the present, thus confirming the originality of the study presented.
Injecting drug use, sexual risk, HIV knowledge and harm reduction uptake in a large prison in Bali, Indonesia
Authors: Sawitri Anak Agung Sagung , Hartawan Anak Agung Gede , Craine Noel , Sari Ayu Kartika , Septarini Ni Wayan , Wirawan Dewa Nyoman
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to describe HIV-related risk behavior and knowledge of HIV among inmates of Kerobokan prison Bali, Indonesia.

Design/methodology/approach

– A cross-sectional survey of inmates of using a structured questionnaire and sample framework to reflect narcotic use among inmates and the prison gender mix.

Findings

– Among 230 inmates recruited to the study self-reported prevalence of injecting drug use was 7.4 percent (95 percent CI 4.0-10.8percent). Respondents who participated in a prison based methadone treatment program were all still injecting drugs, these made up 13/17 of the IDU. In total, 47 percent (95 percent CIs 45-55 percent) of respondents who reported injecting also reported sharing needles within the last week. Sexual intercourse while in prison was reported by 3.0 percent (95 percent CI 0.82-5.26 percent) of study respondents. One-third of non-injectors were unaware of the preventative role of condom use. This study suggests that despite harm reduction initiatives within Kerobokan prison HIV risk behavior continues and there is a considerable lack of awareness of the importance of condom use in preventing HIV.

Research limitations/implications

– The authors relied on self-reported risk behavior that may be subject to reporting bias. The sampling strategy may not reflect the true ratio inmates using or not using narcotics.

Practical implications

– The current harm reduction approach, including methadone substitution treatment should be optimized within the Indonesian prison setting.

Originality/value

– This is the first study reporting HIV-related risk behavior from an Indonesian prison with an established methadone substitution program.
Prisons as a source of tuberculosis in Russia
Authors: Sarang Anya , Platt Lucy , Vyshemirskaya Inna , Rhodes Tim
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyze poor management of tuberculosis (TB) prevention and treatment and explore parameters and causes of this problem drawing on qualitative interviews with former prisoners and medical specialists in Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors undertook a qualitative study, to explore access to HIV and TB treatment for people who inject drugs in Kaliningrad. The authors interviewed (outside of prisons) 15 patients and eight health specialists using a semi-structured guide. The authors analyzed the accounts thematically and health consequences of imprisonment emerged as a major theme.

Findings

– Prisons are overcrowded and lack basic hygiene and infection control. Demand for medical services outstrip supply, HIV and TB prevention lacking, HIV and TB treatment is patchy, with no second-line drugs available for resistant forms. The prison conditions are generally degrading and unhealthy and many respondents perceived surviving prisons as a miracle. Cooperation with medical services in the community is poor.

Research limitations/implications

– The authors used qualitative research methods, which do not rely on a representative sample. However, many of the structural barriers preventing effective TB treatment and prevention highlighted in this paper have been noted elsewhere, suggesting that findings are likely to reflect conditions elsewhere in Russia. The authors tried to include all possible points of view, as of the medical staff and the patients. However, due to resistance of the officials the authors were unable to conduct interviews with employees of the FCS. Since all the interviews are recalling past experience, the situation may have changed. This does not undermine importance of the findings, as they shed light on particular treatment experiences, and development of prison health system.

Originality/value

– The paper contributes to the literature on prisons as a contributor to TB epidemic, including drug resistant forms. An urgent penitentiary reform in Russia should focus on HIV and TB prevention, case detection, availability of medications and effective treatments. Key to decreasing prison population and improving health is political reform aimed at introduction of effective drug treatment, de-penalization and de-criminalization of drug users and application of alternatives to incarceration.
Hepatitis C in Australian prisons: a national needs assessment
Authors: Mina Michael Mokhlis , Herawati Lilie , Butler Tony , Lloyd Andrew
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– Hepatitis C (HCV) infections are prevalent in custodial settings worldwide, yet provision of antiviral therapies is uncommon. Approximately 30,000 prisoners are held in Australian prisons at any one time, with more than 30 per cent testing positive for HCV antibodies. Prisoners have been identified in the National Hepatitis C Strategy as a priority population for assessment and treatment. The purpose of this paper is to examine the rates of HCV testing and treatment, as well as barriers and opportunities for development of infrastructure for enhanced services.

Design/methodology/approach

– Interviews were conducted with 55 stakeholders from the correctional sector in each state and territory in Australia in two stages: service directors to gather quantitative data regarding rates of testing and treatment; and other stakeholders for qualitative information regarding barriers and opportunities.

Findings

– Of more than 50,000 individuals put in in custody in Australian prisons in 2013, approximately 8,000 individuals were HCV antibody positive, yet only 313 prisoners received antiviral treatment. The barriers identified to assessment and treatment at the prisoner-level included: fear of side effects and the stigma of being identified to custodial authorities as HCV infected and a likely injecting drug user. Prisoners who came forward may be considered unsuitable for treatment because of prevalent mental health problems and ongoing injecting drug use. Provision of specialist hepatitis nurses and consultants were the most frequently recommended approaches to how prison hepatitis services could be improved.

Originality/value

– Many personal and systems-level barriers relevant to the delivery of HCV treatment services in the custodial setting were identified. Ready access to skilled nursing and medical staff as well as direct acting antiviral therapies will allow the prison-sector to make a major contribution to control of the growing burden of HCV disease.
Good governance and crime rates in Malaysia
Authors: Habibullah Muzafar Shah , H.Din Badariah , Abdul Hamid Baharom
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to relate the quality of governance with crime in Malaysia. The study also identifies the best good governance tool to fight against crime in Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study uses time-series data on crime rates and six measures of governance: voice and accountability, political stability, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law and control of corruption. In this study the authors employed the popular autoregressive distributed lagged modeling approach to estimate the long-run model of crime and governance.

Findings

– The authors test the hypothesis that good governance lowers crime rates (total crime, violent and property crimes). The results suggest a negative relationship between crime rates and good governance in Malaysia. This suggests that good governance reduces crime rates in Malaysia.

Research limitations/implications

– The limitations of this study is the short time-series used in the analysis which is from 1996 to 2009.

Practical implications

– This study provides evidence that the practice of good governance, for example, lower corruption, good policing and judicial system can mitigate crime in Malaysia.

Social implications

– The implementation of good governance will protect property right of individuals, business sector and the society as a whole, and this will enhance prosperity of a nation.

Originality/value

– This study provide the first empirical evidence that linking between crime and good governance in Malaysia.
Indicators of rearrest among male court mandated substance use treatment patients
Authors: Kopak Albert M. , Proctor Steven L. , Hoffmann Norman G.
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– Effective substance use treatment is a viable way to reduce criminal justice contact among drug-involved offenders, but there is still a lot to learn about which indicators have the greatest impact on treatment outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to determine which clinical indicators influenced the likelihood of rearrest among male drug-involved offenders.

Design/methodology/approach

– This prospective longitudinal study examined indicators of 12-month post-treatment rearrest for male criminal justice-involved substance use treatment patients. Multinomial logistic regression results drawn from a sample of 1,531 adult male patients who were mandated to substance use treatment indicated that there were different factors related to the likelihood of one as well as multiple post-treatment arrests.

Findings

– Demographic risk factors, such as age and unemployment, were associated with significant increases in the probability of experiencing an arrest within 12-months of treatment discharge. Substance use relapse was also a significant indicator of the likelihood of rearrest and contributed to an increase in the odds of one post-treatment rearrest as well as multiple rearrests. A drug dependence diagnosis, relative to a diagnosis for alcohol dependence, was associated with an increased likelihood of rearrest. Participation in outpatient treatment was associated with a lower likelihood of rearrest.

Practical implications

– These findings emphasize the need for treatment providers to concentrate heavily on demographic risk reduction to minimize the chance that male patients are rearrested after treatment. Relapse prevention, on the other hand, is critical in the effort to minimize the number of post-treatment rearrests in this population.

Originality/value

– The results from this study provide evidence to empirically support the refinement of substance treatment programs for male patients involved in the criminal justice system.
The Panopticon Effect: the surveillance of police officers
Authors: Vickers Margaret , Birch Philip , Gallovic Sally , Kennedy Michael
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– Police officers from a police force in Australia were interviewed about the types and level of surveillance they experience in their work, with the recognition of technology contributing to an increased level of such. The concept of the Panopticon and the Looking-Glass Self offer useful frameworks for understanding the experiences of those police officers interviewed. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on 14 in-depth unstructured interviews with police officers, this study is an exploratory piece of research.

Findings

– This study presents findings in which police officers spoke of the surveillance they encounter from the perspective of the police organisation; their own self-surveillance as well as being monitored by other police officers. This paper argues that the Panopticon Effect can negatively impact on individual officers as well as overall police practice.

Originality/value

– This paper is an exploratory study based on the experiences of rank and file police officers currently in service. The paper considers the surveillance and scrutiny of police officers from within the organisation and recognises the impact of technology.
The impact of entrepreneurship on knowledge economy in Africa
Authors: Asongu Simplice A. , Tchamyou Vanessa S.
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– This paper aims to assess how entrepreneurship affects knowledge economy (KE) in Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

– Entrepreneurship is measured by indicators of starting, doing and ending business. The four dimensions of the World Bank’s index of KE are used. Instrumental variable panel-fixed effects are applied on a sample of 53 African countries for the period of 1996-2010.

Findings

– The following are some of the findings. First, creating an enabling environment for starting business can substantially boost most dimensions of KE. Second, doing business through mechanisms of trade globalization has positive effects from sectors that are not information and communication technology (ICT) and high-tech oriented. Third, the time required to end business has negative effects on KE.

Practical implications

– The findings confirm the narrative that the technology in African countries at the moment may be more imitative and adaptive for reverse engineering in ICTs and high-tech products. Given the massive consumption of ICT and high-tech commodities in Africa, the continent has to start thinking of how to participate in the global value chain of producing what it consumes.

Originality/value

– This paper has a twofold motivation. First, given the ambitions of African countries of moving towards knowledge-based economies, the line of inquiry is timely. Second, investigating the nexus may have substantial poverty mitigation and sustainable development implications. These entail, inter alia, the development of technology with value-added services; enhancement of existing agricultural practices; promotion of conditions that are essential for competitiveness; and adjustment to globalization challenges.
An empirical examination of group emotional intelligence in public sector workgroups
Authors: Ghuman Umar
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– Despite increased calls for incorporating emotional intelligence (EI) in workgroups and teams, there exists a need to develop empirical instruments that can measure group-level emotional intelligence (GEI), and assess its efficacy in predicting outcomes such as performance and learning ability. This paper aims to empirically demonstrate how GEI affects the performance and learning ability of public sector workgroups in city governments.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using Ghuman’s (2011) proposed theoretical model of GEI as a two-component system, an empirical instrument is created that measures GEI at the group level of analysis. Regression analyses are performed for 44 workgroups in the public sector organizations, with group performance and group learning ability as the dependent variables. Results show a significant positive relationship between GEI and the outcomes of group performance and group learning ability.

Findings

– The findings demonstrate that a competent instrument has been developed for GEI, and that it can be used to measure the construct in workgroups and teams. The results also empirically demonstrate the importance of GEI in workgroups, by demonstrating that an increased GEI positively enhances the group’s performance and learning ability.

Research limitations/implications

– The implication of this research is the creation and testing of an instrument that allows researchers in GEI to utilize this instrument for future studies concerning GEI.

Practical implications

– Such findings show that GEI can be an added resource for workgroups to foster positive within-group relations. It can assist in enhancing group learning and group performance. The study also demonstrates that groups that develop a group emotional awareness, and that can manage within group emotional relationships, may become more productive, and more able to learn. These results can be utilized to bolster the arguments of fostering within group emotional socialization, helping nurture a positive group culture and forming a culture of group affect, i.e. a clear understanding of how to perceive and manage affect within the group.

Originality/value

– The study builds on past theoretical understanding of GEI to create a model that showcases the effects of GEI on group outcomes such as group learning and group performance. It thereby fulfills a need for an empirical instrument that is able to measure GEI and utilize this instrument to ascertain the effect of GEI on group performance and group learning ability.
Diversity effects on team performance in the Tour de France
Authors: Prinz Joachim , Wicker Pamela
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The aim of this study is to examine the effects of team diversity on team performance in the Tour de France.

Design/methodology/approach

– Longitudinal data on teams participating in the Tour de France between 2004 and 2013 are used for the empirical analysis (n= 208). Team performance is captured with a standardized measure controlling for the number of riders arriving in Paris. Diversity is measured with the variation coefficient (continuous variables) and the Blau index (categorical variables). Regression analysis is used to analyze diversity effects on team performance.

Findings

– The results show that diversity in terms of tenure significantly adds to team performance, while diversity in terms of skills (proxied by body mass index) decreases performance. Diversity in terms of age, nationality, language, previous Tour participations and stage wins has no significant effect on team performance. The more teammates arrive in Paris, the better the team’s performance.

Practical implications

– The findings have implications for team managers and the composition of teams. Managers should employ riders who are heterogeneous regarding tenure and homogeneous regarding skills. While investing in the integration of riders of different nationalities or languages does not pay off, it can be recommended to select riders who are likely to arrive in Paris.

Originality/value

– The present study adds to the literature by examining diversity in a variety of attributes including human capital, experience and success that are observable in sport.
How leader–member exchange can uplift team’s energy to increase creative work involvement
Authors: Kahrobaei Sara , Mortazavi Saeed
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of leader–member exchange quality on creative involvement of teams in creative work through the mediating role of collective energy comprising of affect, cognitive and behavioral energies.

Methodology/approach

– In total, a sample of 298 participants in 71 teams working for manufacturing companies producing different auto parts in the eastern part of Iran was examined. A conceptual model was developed, and the hypotheses were analyzed by using structural equation modeling (SEM). Finally, the direct and indirect effects of variables were acquired by a path analysis technique.

Findings

– The results revealed that, in teams, leader-members exchange indirectly impacts involvement in creative work via affective, cognitive and behavioral energies. Furthermore, affective energy play the most mediating role and behavioral energy my negatively affect involvement in creative work.

Originality/value

– First, this paper makes a significant contribution to the literature of energy through considering a more panoramic view of it at work. This is the first study in which collective energy functions as a mediating factor in teams. Second, it helps to broaden the scope of research on the relationship between leaders and individuals through multi-level analysis.
Childcare demands and employee performance
Authors: Damoah John Ofori , Ntsiful Alex
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– This study aims to investigate the effect of childcare demands on the work performance of mothers. It examines the moderating influence of team support on the relationship between childcare demands and employee performance.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data were collected from 217 working mothers in various companies in Ghana. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was used to estimate the research model.

Findings

– The results indicate that childcare demands negatively relate to performance of working mothers at workplace. Further, team support moderates the negative relationship between childcare demands and employee performance such that the relationship is positive and significant.

Research limitations/implications

– The study adopted a cross-sectional data collection method that prevented casual inferences among the variables. Longitudinal research design will be more beneficial in future research endeavours. Further research should test the influence of personality characteristics of individuals in the moderating influence of team support on the relationship between childcare demands and employee performance.

Practical implications

– The study suggests that when team support is well taken care of in organisations, managers can turn the negative effect of childcare demands on employee performance into improved performance outcomes.

Originality/value

– To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first in Sub-Saharan Africa to examine the moderating influence of team support on the childcare demands – employee performance linkage.
Losing reduces maximum bite performance in house cricket contests
Authors: Condon Catriona , Lailvaux Simon P.
Published: March 2016

Whole‐organism performance capacities influence male combat outcomes in many animal species. However, several species also exhibit winner and loser effects, and current theory predicts that losers are more likely to lose again due to a decrease in aggression following defeat, not because of any change in underlying maximum performance capacity.

To test the effect of fight experience on performance, we measured the maximum bite force of male Acheta domesticus crickets that were pitted against size‐matched opponents in staged fights. Winners then fought a second contest against other winners while losers fought other losers, after which we measured the change in bite force in all contest crickets and in a control group that did not take part in any contests.

Bite force predicted fight outcomes in the first round, and losing the first fight had a significant effect on bite force, leading to a 20% decrease in relative bite force compared to crickets that won both rounds. However, winning did not increase performance as there was no difference between those that won the first round and those that never experienced a loss, nor did winning a second bout alleviate the negative effects on realized bite performance of losing an initial bout.

Past defeats can therefore alter the realized short‐term maximal performance of traits that contribute to contest outcomes independent of maximum performance limits set by morphology.
Inbreeding and neighbouring vegetation drive drought‐induced die‐off within juniper populations
Authors: Lloret Francisco , García Cristina
Published: March 2016

Drought‐induced episodes of forest die‐off are being reported world‐wide, and recent evidence shows that increases in temperature due to climate change are contributing to this decline. Several ecological mechanisms have been invoked at the plant level to explain the vulnerability of trees to this widespread drought‐induced mortality.

Apart from ecological factors, some genetic factors might also influence population responses to disturbances: it has been reported, for example, that genetic diversity enhances population resilience through genotypic complementarity, whereas genetic relatedness between conspecific individuals exerts a negative influence on variations in fecundity. However, we lack empirical data that prove any functional relationship between levels of individual inbreeding or kinship and patterns of drought‐induced forest die‐off resulting from field conditions.

Here, we investigated the role of ecological, phenotypic and genetic factors in determining the response of trees to prolonged drought conditions. We focused on populations of the small tree Juniperus phoenicea L. that recently experienced severe drought‐induced die‐off in semi‐arid woodlands from central Spain.

We correlated mean individual inbreeding (f) and mean kinship between individuals within a plot (fij) with remaining green plant canopy and crop size. We found that f was negatively correlated with plant performance, whereas fij was not. Healthier canopy also tended to correspond with large plants and neighbourhoods dominated by trees and shrubs, suggesting a role for facilitative interactions and microsite heterogeneity. Accordingly, the probability of severe damage increased linearly with f, and individuals growing in open habitats with f values > 0·625 only had 15% chance of remaining unaffected after a period of prolonged drought.

We show that both vegetative and reproductive responses to prolonged drought episodes are determined by multiple factors, including individual inbreeding. Therefore, any fuller understanding of phenomena such as drought‐induced forest die‐off needs to incorporate the contribution of individual genetic variations in conjunction with plant–plant interactions.
Are leaves more vulnerable to cavitation than branches?
Authors: Zhu Shi‐Dan , Liu Hui , Xu Qiu‐Yuan , Cao Kun‐Fang , Ye Qing
Published: March 2016

1. Vulnerability segmentation hypothesis proposes that plant branches are more resistant to cavitation than their terminal leaves, namely, the difference in vulnerability to cavitation between branches and their terminal leaves is positive (P50leaf‐branch>0). This allows leaves to act as “safety valves” to protect hydraulic pathway from dysfunction.

2. Recent studies showed that several species from humid regions have negative values of P50leaf‐branch, indicating a lack of vulnerability segmentation in these species (LVS species).

3. We hypothesize that compared with species from humid regions, vulnerability segmentation is critical and necessary for arid species to survive droughts, but LVS species may take compensatory hydraulic strategies to maintain safety margins during drought periods.

4. We compile branch and leaf hydraulic trait data of 69 broadleaved woody species belonging to different biomes with contrasting climatic conditions as indicated by variable aridity index (AI), and we find that P50leaf‐branch becomes small and even negative with the increase of AI. Although leaves of LVS species may lose their function as “safety valves”, their deep rooting, great hydraulic conductivity, and/or high stem capacitance features are critical for them to maintain hydraulic safety.

5. The results indicate that vulnerability segmentation is evidently common for species from arid regions, but not necessarily the case for some species from humid regions. With robust cavitation‐resistant leaves and effective hydraulic compensatory strategies, LVS species can maintain water supply and the functionality of leaves, thus giving them a hydraulic advantage over counterparts in the face of potential drought stress.

A lay summary is available for this article.
Adding constraints to predation through allometric relation of scats to consumption
Authors: Chakrabarti Stotra , Jhala Yadvendradev V. , Dutta Sutirtha , Qureshi Qamar , Kadivar Riaz F. , Rana Vishwadipsinh J.
Published: March 2016

A thorough understanding of mechanisms of prey consumption by carnivores and the constraints on predation help us in evaluating the role of carnivores in an ecosystem. This is crucial in developing appropriate management strategies for their conservation and mitigating human–carnivore conflict. Current models on optimal foraging suggest that mammalian carnivores would profit most from killing the largest prey that they can subdue with minimal risk of injury to themselves.

Wild carnivore diets are primarily estimated through analysis of their scats. Using extensive feeding experiments (n = 68) on a wide size range (4·5–130 kg) of obligate carnivores – lion, leopard, jungle cat and domestic cat, we parameterize biomass models that best relate consumption to scat production. We evaluate additional constraints of gut fill, prey digestibility and carcass utilization on carnivory that were hereto not considered in optimal foraging studies.

Our results show that patterns of consumption to scat production against prey size are similar and asymptotic, contrary to established linear models, across these carnivores after accounting for the effect of carnivore size. This asymptotic, allometric relationship allowed us to develop a generalized model: biomass consumed per collectable scat/predator weight = 0·033–0·025exp−4·284(prey weight/predator weight), which is applicable to all obligate carnivores to compute prey biomass consumed from scats. Our results also depict a relationship for prey digestibility which saturates at about 90% for prey larger than predator size. Carcass utilization declines exponentially with prey size. These mechanisms result in digestible biomass saturating at prey weights approximately equal to predator weight.

Published literature on consumption by tropical carnivores that has relied on linear biomass models is substantially biased. We demonstrate the nature of these biases by correcting diets of tiger, lion and leopard in recent publications. Our analysis suggests that consumption of medium‐sized prey was significantly underestimated, while large prey consumption was grossly overestimated in large carnivore diets to date. We highlight that additional constraints of prey digestibility and utilization combined with escalating handling time and risks of killing large prey make prey larger than the predator size unprofitable for obligate carnivores.
The incidence of congenital syphilis in the United Kingdom: February 2010 to January 2015
Authors: Simms I , Tookey PA , Goh BT , Lyall H , Evans B , Townsend CL , Fifer H , Ison C
Published: March 2016

Objective

To estimate the incidence of congenital syphilis in the UK.

Design

Prospective study.

Setting and population

United Kingdom.

Methods

Children born between February 2010 and January 2015 with a suspected diagnosis of congenital syphilis were reported through an active surveillance system.

Main outcome measures

Number of congenital syphilis cases and incidence.

Results

For all years, reported incidence was below the WHO threshold for elimination (<0.5/1000 live births). Seventeen cases (12 male, five female) were identified. About 50% of infants (8/17) were born preterm (<37 weeks' gestation): median birthweight 2000 g (865–3170 g). Clinical presentation varied from asymptomatic to acute disease, including severe anaemia, hepatosplenomegaly, rhinitis, thrombocytopaenia, skeletal damage, and neurosyphilis. One infant was deaf and blind. Median maternal age was 20 years (17–31) at delivery. Where maternal stage of infection was recorded, 6/10 had primary, 3/10 secondary and 1/10 early latent syphilis. Most mothers were white (13/16). Country of birth was recorded for 12 mothers: UK (n = 6), Eastern Europe (n = 3), Middle East (n = 1), and South East Asia (n = 2). The social circumstances of mothers varied and included drug use and sex work. Some experienced difficulty accessing health care.

Conclusion

The incidence of congenital syphilis is controlled and monitored by healthcare services and related surveillance systems, and is now below the WHO elimination threshold. However, reducing the public health impact of this preventable disease in the UK is highly dependent on the successful implementation of WHO elimination standards across Europe.

Tweetable abstract

Congenital syphilis incidence in the UK is at a very low level and well below the WHO elimination threshold.
Comparative morphometric and chemical analyses of phenotypes of two invasive ambrosia beetles (Euwallacea spp.) in the United States
Authors: Chen Yigen , Dallara Paul L. , Nelson Lori J. , Coleman Tom W. , Hishinuma Stacy M. , Carrillo Daniel , Seybold Steven J.
Published: March 2016

The polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB), Euwallacea sp., was first detected in 2003 in Los Angeles County, California, USA. Recently, this invasive species has become a major pest of many hardwood trees in urban and wildland forests throughout southern California. PSHB is nearly identical in morphology and life history to the tea shot hole borer (TSHB), Euwallacea fornicatus, an invasive pest of hardwoods in Florida, USA and many other parts of the world. However, molecular studies have suggested that the taxa are different species. We conducted morphometric and chemical analyses of the phenotypes of Euwallacea sp. collected in southern California (Los Angeles County) and E. fornicatus collected in Florida (Miami‐Dade County). Our analyses indicated that PSHB has 3 larval instars. The third larval instar was separated from the first 2 instars by head capsule width with 0 probability of misclassification. The body length, head width, and pronotal width of PSHB adult males were significantly less than those of females. Head width and pronotal width of female PSHB were significantly less than those of female TSHB. In contrast, body length, and ratio of body length to pronotal width of female PSHB were significantly greater than those of female TSHB. However, females of these 2 species could not be separated completely by these 4 measurements because of the overlapping ranges. Cuticular hydrocarbons detected in both species were exclusively alkanes (i.e., n‐alkanes, monomethylalkanes, dimethylalkanes, and trimethylalkanes). Cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of PSHB males and females were similar, but they both differed from that of TSHB females. Cuticular hydrocarbons of PSHB were predominantly internally branched dimethylalkanes with backbones of 31 and 33 carbons, whereas cuticular hydrocarbons of TSHB females were dominated by internally branched monomethylalkanes and dimethylalkanes with backbones of 28 and 29 carbons. Multiple compounds within these classes appear to be diagnostic for PSHB and TSHB, respectively.
Increased Identification of Emergency Department 72‐hour Returns Using Multihospital Health Information Exchange
Authors: Shy Bradley D. , Kim Eugene Y. , Genes Nicholas G. , Lowry Tina , Loo George T. , Hwang Ula , Richardson Lynne D. , Shapiro Jason S.
Published: March 2016

Objectives

Emergency departments (EDs) commonly analyze cases of patients returning within 72 hours of initial ED discharge as potential opportunities for quality improvement. In this study, we tested the use of a health information exchange (HIE) to improve identification of 72‐hour return visits compared to individual hospitals' site‐specific data.

Methods

We collected deidentified patient data over a 5‐year study period from Healthix, an HIE in the New York metropolitan area. We measured site‐specific 72‐hour ED returns and compared these data to those obtained from a regional 31‐site HIE (Healthix) and to those from a smaller, antecedent 11‐site HIE. Although only ED visits were counted as index visits, either ED or inpatient revisits within 72 hours of the index visit were considered as early returns.

Results

A total of 12,669,657 patient encounters were analyzed across the 31 HIE EDs, including 6,352,829 encounters from the antecedent 11‐site HIE. Site‐specific 72‐hour return visit rates ranged from 1.1% to 15.2% (median = 5.8%) among the individual 31 sites. When the larger HIE was used to identify return visits to any site, individual EDs had a 72‐hour return frequency of 1.8% to 15.5% (median = 6.8%). HIE increased the identification ability of 72‐hour ED return analyses by a mean of 11.16% (95% confidence interval = 11.10% to 11.22%) compared with site‐specific (no HIE) analyses.

Conclusion

This analysis demonstrates incremental improvements in our ability to identify early ED returns using increasing levels of HIE data aggregation. Although intuitive, this has not been previously described using HIE. ED quality measurement and patient safety efforts may be aided by using HIE in 72‐hour return analyses.
Photographing Injuries in the Acute Care Setting: Development and Evaluation of a Standardized Protocol for Research, Forensics, and Clinical Practice
Authors: Bloemen Elizabeth M. , Rosen Tony , Cline Schiroo Justina A. , Clark Sunday , Mulcare Mary R. , Stern Michael E. , Mysliwiec Regina , Flomenbaum Neal E. , Lachs Mark S. , Hargarten Stephen
Published: March 2016

Background

Photographing injuries in the acute setting allows for improved documentation as well as assessment by clinicians and others who have not personally examined a patient. This tool is important, particularly for telemedicine, tracking of wound healing, the evaluation of potential abuse, and injury research. Despite this, protocols to ensure standardization of photography in clinical practice, forensics, or research have not been published. In preparation for a study of injury patterns in elder abuse and geriatric falls, our goal was to develop and evaluate a protocol for standardized photography of injuries that may be broadly applied.

Methods

We conducted a literature review for techniques and standards in medical, forensic, and legal photography. We developed a novel protocol describing types of photographs and body positioning for eight body regions, including instructional diagrams. We revised it iteratively in consultation with experts in medical photography; forensics; and elder, child, and domestic abuse. The resulting protocol requires a minimum of four photos of each injury at multiple distances with and without a ruler/color guide. To evaluate the protocol's efficacy, multiple research assistants without previous photography experience photographed injuries from a convenience sample of elderly patients presenting to a single large, urban, academic emergency department. A selection of these patients' images were then evaluated in a blinded fashion by four nontreating emergency medicine physicians and the inter‐rater reliability between these physicians was calculated.

Results

Among the 131 injuries, from 53 patients, photographed by 18 photographers using this protocol, photographs of 25 injuries (10 bruises, seven lacerations, and eight abrasions) were used to assess characterization of the injury. Physicians' characterizations of the injuries were reliable for the size of the injury (κ = 0.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.77 to 1.00), side of the body (κ = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.88 to 1.00), precise location of the injury (κ = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.63 = 0.81), and type of abrasion (κ = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.45 to 1.00). The exact shape of the injury (κ = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.17 to 0.51), and the primary color of bruises (κ = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.25 to 0.48) were not as reliably characterized.

Conclusions

Standardizing the documentation of injuries with photographs for clinical and research assessment can be conducted by nonprofessional photographers. A photography protocol will ensure that this important mechanism for documentation is optimized.
Transcriptional profiling of subcutaneous adipose tissue in Italian Large White pigs divergent for backfat thickness
Authors: Zambonelli P. , Gaffo E. , Zappaterra M. , Bortoluzzi S. , Davoli R.
Published: March 2016

Fat deposition is a widely studied trait in pigs because of its implications with animal growth efficiency, technological and nutritional characteristics of meat products, but the global framework of the biological and molecular processes regulating fat deposition in pigs is still incomplete. This study describes the backfat tissue transcription profile in Italian Large White pigs and reports genes differentially expressed between fat and lean animals according to RNA‐seq data. The backfat transcription profile was characterised by the expression of 23 483 genes, of which 54.1% were represented by known genes. Of 63 418 expressed transcripts, about 80% were non‐previously annotated isoforms. By comparing the expression level of fat vs. lean pigs, we detected 86 robust differentially expressed transcripts, 72 more highly expressed (e.g. ACP5, BCL2A1, CCR1, CD163, CD1A, EGR2, ENPP1, GPNMB, INHBB, LYZ, MSR1, OLR1, PIK3AP1, PLIN2, SPP1, SLC11A1, STC1) and 14 lower expressed (e.g. ADSSL1, CDO1, DNAJB1, HSPA1A, HSPA1B, HSPA2, HSPB8, IGFBP5, OLFML3) in fat pigs. The main functional categories enriched in differentially expressed genes were immune system process, response to stimulus, cell activation and skeletal system development, for the overexpressed genes, and unfolded protein binding and stress response, for the underexpressed genes, which included five heat shock proteins. Adipose tissue alterations and impaired stress response are linked to inflammation and, in turn, to adipose tissue secretory activity, similar to what is observed in human obesity. Our results provide the opportunity to identify biomarkers of carcass fat traits to improve the pig production chain and to identify genetic factors that regulate the observed differential expression.