bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of Depression in Animal Model of High Fat Diet Induced Obesity
Authors: Muhammad Farhan  , Hamna Rafiq  , Hira Rafi
Published: September 2015

The prevalence of obesity is substantially increased in developing countries and it is considerably associated with type 2 diabetes (T2DM), dyslipidemia, and hypertension. These symptoms are clustered to form metabolic syndrome. In accordance with the Researchers opinion, obese people are more likely to suffer from depression, a mental affliction that appears due to chronic stress, disturbs thoughts, behavior, and feelings. It has been addressed that the physiological impairments which are undergoing due to obesity can affect the metabolic activities which in turn give impact on brain and affect it’s functioning, because obesity itself seems to constitute a chronic stressful state thus, exacerbates the risk of depression. Present study intended to illuminate the anticipated links between obesity and stress. To make possible the study, animal model of obesity was accomplished by subjecting the Albino wistar rats with energy-dense diet (high fat diet) for 5 weeks; later on, chronic mild stress paradigm was implemented along with high fat feeding for 2 weeks. As expected, high fat feeding increased the adiposity in rodents. Obese animals presented the depressive symptoms more prominent than normal fat feeding rats. Present findings suggest that obesity could increase the depressive symptoms potentially involve in the recruitment of depression.
A Study of School Lunch Food Choice and Consumption among Elementary School Students
Authors: Johnson Ping Hu , Gerson Deanne , Porter Kandice , Petrillo Jane
Published: September 2015

Background: School lunches that are part of the National School Lunch Program must meet specific nutrition requirements. It is unknown whether students eat school lunches in a balanced manner. This study examined which lunch food items children eat/toss, and consumption differences between sexes, and between students at a Non-Title 1 school where most students purchase school lunches and a Title 1 school where most students receive free or reduced-priced lunches.
Methods: Students in both schools were observed unobtrusively for five consecutive days. Trained observers recorded the discarded food items on a checklist listing the menu items for the day. The final analyses (t- tests, z tests) included data from 2,826 student-meals.
Results: Entrees similar to those offered in fast food restaurants (i.e., chicken nuggets, pizza, nachos, corndogs) were favored by most students. Fresh fruits and vegetables were not selected or consumed frequently. Boys consumed more food in the fast food, starches, and dessert categories, while girls consumed more soup, salads, and vegetables. Title 1 school students consumed more food in all categories except bread, pasta, and sandwiches than Non-Title 1 school students.
Conclusions: Students’ preference of unhealthy lunch items may decrease the health benefits that school lunches attempt to provide.
Potentials, Experiences and Outcomes of a Comprehensive Community Based Programme to Address Malnutrition in Tribal India
Authors: Prasad Vandana , Sinha Dipa
Published: September 2015

This paper demonstrates the effect of an innovative community-based management programme on acute malnutrition among children under three years of age, through an observational longitudinal cohort study in tribal blocks in central-eastern India.
The key components of the programme include child care through crèches, community mobilisation and systems strengthening to ensure better child feeding and caring practices and delivery of public health and nutrition services.
For a cohort of 587 children, the increase in children in the non-wasting category is from 72% to 80% (p<0.001) and the reduction in Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) from 8% to 4% (p<0.005), a reduction of 46.6%. Normalcy is fairly well maintained at 89%. Among the severely wasted, 16% show no improvement, 49% moved into a moderate wasting category and 36% to normalcy over 4-6 months. Among the moderately wasted, 26% showed no improvement and 7% declined to a severely wasted category, and 67% moved to normalcy. The average Weight for Height Z-score (WHZ) for the cohort improved from -1.41 in the initial period to -1.13 in November (p<0.0001).
This study suggests that this medium term strategy using a rights-based participatory approach for community based management of malnutrition may be comparatively effective by current WHO guidelines and other known community based interventions in terms of mortality, cost, degree and pace of improvements.
Impact of School-Based Interventions on Children’s Healthful Nutritional Outcomes (2009-2013): Implications for Future Research
Authors: Domínguez Paloma Rohlfs
Published: September 2015

Objective: The objective was to review the literature on school-based interventions during compulsory education (published in 2009-2013) that may be effective in increasing healthful nutritional outcomes in children. Specific strategies and their limitations will be identified.
Methods: A qualitative systematic analysis of seventeen school-based interventions applied to six-eleven year-old children, and published in peer-reviewed journals from 2009-2013 was carried out.
Results: These studies taken as a whole used a variety of fourteen strategies, such as provision of nutritional and gardening education; repeated exposure to vegetables (V); peer and adult modelling; chefs going into schools to teach healthy nutritional issues. These studies showed four types of limitations: limitations derived from the experimental designs and experimental procedures used and limitations affecting participant samples and data collection. Fifteen recommendations for overcoming the targeted research limitations were identified, such as applying the intervention during longer time intervals; examining the effectiveness of these interventions in different ethnicities and socioeconomic groups; including larger participant samples; using randomized designs. Finally, six new working hypotheses to guide future studies are proposed here. For example, a small number of V offered might lead to insufficient opportunities to learn to like the flavour of V; schools’ previous experience with these interventions might distort children’s post-intervention data related to their nutritional outcomes; providing children with nutritional and gardening education might increase their fruit (F) selection, consumption and preferences and application of evaluative conditioning under more appropriate experimental conditions might increase child V consumption.
Conclusion: seventeen school-based interventions were included. These studies taken as a whole used a variety of strategies (fourteen), and showed four types of limitations. Fifteen recommendations for overcoming the targeted research limitations as well as six new hypotheses are proposed here. Future research in this field should focus on overcoming its research limitations, such as the ones highlighted here, and building new working hypotheses, such as those proposed here.
Combining Theoretical Perspectives on the Organizational Structure-Performance Relationship
Authors: Hunter Starling David
Published: September 2015

Much of the literature linking organization structure to performance falls into two broad research streams. One stream concerns formal structure – the hierarchy of authority or reporting relationships as well as the degree of standardization, formalization, specialization, etc. The impact of formal structure and other elements of organization design on performance is typically contingent on factors such as strategic orientation, task characteristics, and environmental conditions. The other research stream focuses on informal structure – a network of interpersonal and intra-organizational relationships. Properties of informal structure are typically shown to have a more direct (less contingent) impact on organizational performance. Despite these pronounced differences in the conceptualization of organization structure, considerable overlap and complementarity exist between the two research streams. In this article, I compare and contrast a pair of exemplars from each stream – the information processing perspective and the social network perspective – with respect to their conceptualizations of organization structure and its relationship to performance. Several recommendations for future research that combines the two approaches are offered.
Activating Global Operating Models: The bridge from organization design to performance
Authors: Kates Amy , Kesler Gregory
Published: September 2015

This article introduces the concept of activation and discusses its use in the implementation of global operating models by large multinational companies. We argue that five particular activators help set in motion the complex strategies and organizations required by global operating models.
Valve’s Organization: Opportunities and open questions
Authors: Von Krogh Georg , Geilinger Nina
Published: September 2015

Valve is a very interesting case study! The company shares many features with open source software projects. In Valve, as in the open source world, the focus is on creating advanced technologies and letting developers self-select projects and tasks. Self-selection seems to work particularly well in an environment where technology development itself has a coordinating function. In software development, people have a strong bond of common knowledge based on design philosophies and approaches, language and terminology, and engineering tasks. In most cases, they also share a similar educational background and/or development experience that helps them implement creative ideas in physical machines and graphic environments. Developers rarely rely on detailed instructions from higher-level managers because they already have the implicit knowledge of what needs to be done. When inconsistent views about development come to the forefront, they are best reconciled where the knowledge resides: with the experts. Moreover, it appears that Valve has uncovered how developers’ self-selection of projects and tasks can be a powerful motivator to unleash their creativity.
Valve's Way: Vayward, Visionary, or Voguish?
Authors: Foss Nicolai J. , Dobrajska Magdalena
Published: September 2015

Puranam and Håkonsson (2015) challenge us to ponder what we as organization design theorists make of Valve’s way (see also Jeppesen, 2008). We believe that Valve, in spite of its radical vision, does not represent a challenge to fundamental organization design theory and that it is questionable to what extent it represents a new blueprint for organization design, despite it being consistent with an “egalitarian Zeitgeist” (Puranam, 2014). In fact, managerial authority may be of increasing importance rather than the opposite (Guadalupe, Li, & Wulf, 2015). Thus, Valve is, and will remain, an outlier, albeit a voguish one.
In the Shadow of the Crowd: A comment on "Valve’s Way"
Authors: Baldwin Carliss Y.
Published: September 2015

There are many ways to exercise authority. Perrow (1986), in his review of March and Simon’s Organizations (1958), offers a threefold classification of the ways authority can be exercised in organizations: (1) direct, “fully obtrusive” controls such as giving orders and direct monitoring; (2) bureaucratic controls such as defined specializations, roles, and hierarchy; and (3) “control of the cognitive premises underlying action.” Valve ostentatiously makes little use of direct authority. It downplays bureaucracy, although in fact many bureaucratic controls are in place. Instead, the legal authority vested in the owners of the company (especially the majority shareholder, Gabe Newell) is used quite extensively to set the premises of action and thus unobtrusively channel employees’ efforts and communication patterns into a highly productive configuration. The sustained high profits of the company, and its ability to attract and retain talented software developers, are testimony to the success of this organizational model. At the same time, contextual variables – in particular Valve’s identity as a video game creator and the fact of a single majority shareholder – are also critical factors contributing to its success. As a result, even within the software industry, the range of companies for which this organizational model is appropriate is quite limited.
Introduction
Authors: Obel Børge , Snow Charles
Published: September 2015

Beginning with this issue of JOD (v. 4, #2), we are launching a periodic series called “Organization Zoo.” Conceived by Associate Editors Dorthe Døjbak Håkonsson and Phanish Puranam, Organization Zoo is intended to analyze new or unusual organizational forms. The objective of the series is to examine organizations that have recently appeared, or which would be considered as outliers compared to traditional organizations, in order to learn more about what particular organizational forms can do as well as their drawbacks.
A Bi-Objective Model for Siting Park-and-Ride Facilities with Spatial Equity Constraints
Authors: Lu Xiao-Shan , Guo Ren-Yong
Published: September 2015

A bi-objective programming model (BP) with spatial equity constraints is proposed to site park-and-ride (P&R) facilities in traffic networks. Both the number and locations of P&R facilities are determined. The maximal coverage and minimal resource utilization criteria, which are generally conflicting, are simultaneously considered to reveal the trade-off between the quality and cost of coverage. Furthermore, the concept of passenger flow volume per cost is defined and several properties of the model solutions are analyzed. Finally, this model is applied to site P&R facilities in Anaheim, California. Application results show the trade-offs associated with passenger flow volume, cost and passenger flow volume per cost, and the effects of spatial equity constraints on the spatial deployment of P&R facilities.
Immediate Effect of Therapeutic Massage on Pain Sensation and Unpleasantness: A Consecutive Case Series
Authors: Menard Martha Brown
Published: September 2015

Background:

Musculoskeletal pain is a common condition that poses a significant burden to its sufferers and costs the US economy billions of dollars each year in lost productivity. Individuals complaining of musculoskeletal pain make up a large proportion of clients treated by massage therapists in community practices, yet few studies have examined the immediate effect of therapeutic massage on this type of pain in the practice setting.

Purpose:

To assess the immediate effect of therapeutic massage on musculoskeletal pain sensation and unpleasantness in a community setting.

Setting:

Solo private practice in central Virginia, United States.

Participants:

One hundred sixteen first-time clients who complained of musculoskeletal pain as a presenting symptom.

Research design:

Prospective, consecutive practice-based case series.

Intervention:

A single 60-minute session of individualized therapeutic massage; techniques used included Swedish massage employing effleurage, petrissage, and friction,;deep tissue; myofascial; positional release; passive and resisted joint mobilization; and biofield modalities.

Main Outcome Measures:

Visual Analog Scales for pain sensation and unpleasantness.

Results:

Both pain sensation and unpleasantness were significantly reduced by a single session of therapeutic massage. Mean pain sensation decreased from 3.76 (SD=1.87) prior to massage to .89 (SD=1.35) following massage, with t=18.87, P<.001. Mean pain unpleasantness decreased from 5.21 (SD=2.48) prior to massage to .64 (SD=1.23) following massage, with t=20.45, P<.001. Effect sizes were 1.76 and 1.90, respectively.

Conclusions:

In this case series, therapeutic massage appeared to be an effective intervention for common musculoskeletal pain that influenced both the physical and affective dimension of the pain experience. Although care was taken to reduce potential bias through limiting eligibility to first time clients and use of a standardized script, practice-based case series have inherent limitations. Issues in conducting practice-based research by massage therapists and recommendations for future research are discussed.
Interprofessional Competencies in Integrative Primary Healthcare
Authors: Kligler Benjamin , Brooks Audrey J. , Maizes Victoria , Goldblatt Elizabeth , Klatt Maryanna , Koithan Mary S. , Kreitzer Mary Jo , Lee Jeannie K. , Lopez Ana Marie , Mcclafferty Hilary , Rhode Robert , Sandvold Irene , Saper Robert , Taren Douglas , Wells Eden , Lebensohn Patricia
Published: September 2015

In October 2014, the National Center for Integrative Primary Healthcare (NCIPH) was launched as a collaboration between the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine and the Academic Consortium for Integrative Health and Medicine and supported by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration. A primary goal of the NCIPH is to develop a core set of integrative healthcare (IH) competencies and educational programs that will span the interprofessional primary care training and practice spectra and ultimately become a required part of primary care education. This article reports on the first phase of the NCIPH effort, which focused on the development of a shared set of competencies in IH for primary care disciplines. The process of development, refinement, and adoption of 10 “meta-competencies” through a collaborative process involving a diverse interprofessional team is described. Team members represent nursing, the primary care medicine professions, pharmacy, public health, acupuncture, naturopathy, chiropractic, nutrition, and behavioral medicine. Examples of the discipline-specific sub-competencies being developed within each of the participating professions are provided, along with initial results of an assessment of potential barriers and facilitators of adoption within each discipline. The competencies presented here will form the basis of a 45-hour online curriculum produced by the NCIPH for use in primary care training programs that will be piloted in a wide range of programs in early 2016 and then revised for wider use over the following year.
Paradoxical resistance of multiple myeloma to proteasome inhibitors by decreased levels of 19S proteasomal subunits
Authors: Acosta-Alvear Diego , Cho Min Y , Wild Thomas , Buchholz Tonia J , Lerner Alana G , Simakova Olga , Hahn Jamie , Korde Neha , Landgren Ola , Maric Irina , Choudhary Chunaram , Walter Peter , Weissman Jonathan S , Kampmann Martin
Published: September 2015

Hallmarks of cancer, including rapid growth and aneuploidy, can result in non-oncogene addiction to the proteostasis network that can be exploited clinically. The defining example is the exquisite sensitivity of multiple myeloma (MM) to 20S proteasome inhibitors, such as carfilzomib. However, MM patients invariably acquire resistance to these drugs. Using a next-generation shRNA platform, we found that proteostasis factors, including chaperones and stress-response regulators, controlled the response to carfilzomib. Paradoxically, 19S proteasome regulator knockdown induced resistance to carfilzomib in MM and non-MM cells. 19S subunit knockdown did not affect the activity of the 20S subunits targeted by carfilzomib nor their inhibition by the drug, suggesting an alternative mechanism, such as the selective accumulation of protective factors. In MM patients, lower 19S levels predicted a diminished response to carfilzomib-based therapies. Together, our findings suggest that an understanding of network rewiring can inform development of new combination therapies to overcome drug resistance.
Streptozotocin‐Induced Diabetic Models in Mice and Rats
Authors: Furman Brian L.
Published: September 2015

Streptozotocin (STZ) is an antibiotic that produces pancreatic islet β‐cell destruction and is widely used experimentally to produce a model of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Detailed in this unit are protocols for producing STZ‐induced insulin deficiency and hyperglycemia in mice and rats. Also described are protocols for creating animal models for type 2 diabetes using STZ. These animals are employed for assessing the pathological consequences of diabetes and for screening potential therapies for the treatment of this condition. © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Isolation of Endoplasmic Reticulum, Mitochondria, and Mitochondria‐Associated Membrane and Detergent Resistant Membrane Fractions from Transfected Cells and from Human Cytomegalovirus‐Infected Primary Fibroblasts
Authors: Williamson Chad D. , Wong Daniel S. , Bozidis Petros , Zhang Aiping , Colberg‐Poley Anamaris M.
Published: September 2015

Increasingly mechanistic virology studies require dependable and sensitive methods for isolating purified organelles containing functional cellular sub‐domains. The mitochondrial network is, in part, closely apposed to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The mitochondria‐associated membrane (MAM) fraction provides direct physical contact between the ER and mitochondria. Characterization of the dual localization and trafficking of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) UL37 proteins required establishing protocols in which the ER and mitochondria could be reliably separated. Because of its documented role in lipid and ceramide transfer from the ER to mitochondria, a method to purify MAM from infected cells was also developed. Two robust procedures were developed to efficiently isolate mitochondria, ER, and MAM fractions while providing substantial protein yields from HCMV‐infected primary fibroblasts and from transfected HeLa cells. Furthermore, this unit includes protocols for isolation of detergent resistant membranes from subcellular fractions as well as techniques that allow visualization of the mitochondrial network disruption that occurs in permissively infected cells by their optimal resolution in Percoll gradients. © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Handling Data Quality Information of Survey Data in GIS: A Case of Using the American Community Survey Data
Authors: Wong David W. , Sun Min
Published: September 2015

Many survey datasets have relatively high levels of error. The American Community Survey (ACS) data disseminated by the U.S. Census Bureau offer critical socio-demographic data of the U.S. and include a margin of error to indicate the reliability of an estimate for each census unit. Such feature-based reliability data should be incorporated when using ACS data in GIS such that users are informed of the data quality. This paper provides a brief review of the ACS data. Challenges to the use of ACS data quality information in GIS are discussed. The paper briefly reviews a set of mapping tools packaged as an ArcGIS extension to tackle some challenges in incorporating the data quality information in ACS data. These mapping functions can also be used to handle other survey spatial datasets with reliability information. The extension provides a foundation to build additional GIS tools to handle and analyze survey data.
Public Use Microdata Area Fragmentation: Research and Policy Implications of Polygon Discontiguity
Authors: Siordia Carlos , Fox Amber
Published: September 2015

The American Community Survey (ACS) is created by the Unites States Census Bureau and contains the most recent and detailed information on the population. The U.S. Census Bureau releases Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) ACS files to allow public entities the ability to examine detailed individual-level data. In order to protect the confidentiality of survey participants, the Census only allows individual-level observations to be geographically referenced with Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs)—polygons that contain at least 100,000 people. Microdata files offer the unique advantage of creating custom tabulations on the population that are not made available elsewhere. The advantages from using PUMS files are limited by the typology of PUMAs. Our project fills a gap by introducing the reader to how PUMA typology is produced and how it affects research. The specific aim of this project is to highlight the fact that PUMAs can be fragmented—made up of physically non-adjacent/multi-part polygons. This is important because the treatment of fragmented/multi-part polygons as contiguous spatial entities erroneously imposes a false structure of contiguity that challenges theoretical and statistical assumptions in geographically aware research. By providing evidence from three metropolitan areas in Texas (USA) and displaying the degree of polygon discontiguity concentration by state, we outline some of the implications of polygon discontiguity for research and policy. We compliment our descriptive investigation by discussing solutions in closing and by identifying and discussing the three general elements in polygon fragmentation: quantity, distance, and size.
Assessing the Spatial Concentration and Temporal Persistence of Poverty: Industrial Structure, Racial/Ethnic Composition, and the Complex Links to Poverty
Authors: Curtis Katherine J. , Reyes Perla E. , O’Connell Heather A. , Zhu Jun
Published: September 2015

This study assesses the social-structural, spatial, and temporal dimensions of aggregate-level poverty in the US Upper Midwest between 1960 and 2000. Central focus is on the links between local-area poverty, industrial structure and racial/ethnic composition, and the spatial and temporal dimensions of the linkages. During the study period, the region underwent significant industrial restructuring and dramatic change in racial/ethnic concentration. Using newly developed statistical methods for spatial-temporal regression, we explore hypotheses related to the spatial and temporal dimensions of the complex relationship between poverty, industrial structure, and race/ethnicity. Our approach yields reliable and interpretable estimates for structural factors of interest as well as the spatial-temporal autocorrelation structure underlying the data. Results inform theory about the implications of industrial structure and racial/ethnic composition for the concentration and persistence of poverty with clear direction for future research, and contribute to our understanding of the methodological approaches to investigating data that varies by and is dependent on space and time.
Spatial Sufficiency of 5% Medicare Standard Analytic Files
Authors: Mobley Lee R.
Published: September 2015

The 5% Medicare Standard Analytic Files (SAF) are random samples used to analyze national trends in medical treatments, expenditures, and outcomes. Their utility in small-area or multilevel analyses is unknown. To demonstrate possible limitations of the 5% SAF for analysis of health behaviors in small areas. We use descriptive Chi-square goodness-of-fit tests and mapping to explore consistency in the 5% representation of the 100% population in states and counties. We conduct multilevel modeling of individual utilization of mammography or endoscopy services for cancer screening and contrast findings across the 5% and 100% files. Subjects are enrolled in both parts A and B Medicare coverage and ages 65–104, alive and residing in the same state, with no gaps in coverage during the study period. Identically defined groups are drawn from the 5% SAF and 100% population claims and denominator files. The Chi-square tests of homogeneous population subgroups in 5% and 100% files exhibit significant differences in 7 of 8 states. Maps confirm this among states’ counties and find that one state is generally under-represented by the 5% SAF, while others show areas with variable representation. Multilevel modeling results are largely consistent across the partitions of the data, but 5% sample models have much lower statistical power. Area-level covariate effect estimates show some differences across the two datasets. Multilevel modeling with contextual variables may be misleading in small area analyses conducted using 5% Medicare SAFs. Provider supply and market characteristics show inconsistent results. Disparities research may benefit from 100% files to provide statistical power needed to detect meaningful differences. This is significant because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have recently curtailed permissions to use the 100% files. These 100% files are one of few sources of population data available in the U.S. that are representative of small areas in the U.S.. In times of constrained budgets, using population data files is essential so that resources can be targeted to areas robustly identified as having greatest need or gaps in outcomes.
Spatial Variation in the Relationship between Hispanic Concentration and County Poverty: A Migration Perspective
Authors: O’Connell Heather A. , Shoff Carla
Published: September 2015

Racial/ethnic minority concentration is generally positively related to county poverty. Yet, spatial variation in this relationship may call into question the meaning attached to racial/ethnic concentration. We argue that racial/ethnic concentration reflects more than just the concentration of individuals from a disadvantaged group. In addition, we extend previous work by taking a migration perspective to explain spatial non-stationarity in racial/ethnic concentration’s relationship with county poverty. Factors related to the migration process, including migrant selectivity and spatial differentiation in place characteristics, could alter the relationship between a minority group’s concentration and poverty. We employ spatially informed methods and 2006–2010 American Community Survey data to examine the relationship between Hispanic concentration and county poverty. The GWR results indicate significant spatial variation in the percent Hispanic-county poverty relationship. Hispanic migration regimes capture some of the observed relationship non-stationarity, suggesting migration-related processes partially drive Hispanic-county poverty relationship non-stationarity. However, we discuss other explanations that should be considered in future research. This work advances research on spatial inequality by examining the social implications of migration and by investigating the role of place in shaping the meaning of minority concentration.
Liver Resection for Primary Intrahepatic Stones: Focus on Postoperative Infectious Complications
Authors: Clemente Gennaro , De Rose Agostino M. , Murri Rita , Ardito Francesco , Nuzzo Gennaro , Giuliante Felice
Published: September 2015

Background

Primary intrahepatic lithiasis is defined by the presence of gallstones at the level of cystic dilatations of the intrahepatic biliary tree. Liver resection is considered the treatment of choice, with the purpose of removing stones and atrophic parenchyma, also reducing the risk of cholangiocarcinoma. However, in consequence of the considerable incidence of infectious complications, postoperative morbidity remains high. The current study was designed to evaluate the impact of preoperative bacterial colonization of the bile ducts on postoperative outcome.

Methods

The clinical records of 73 patients treated with liver resection were reviewed and clinical data, operative procedures, results of bile cultures, and postoperative outcomes were examined.

Results

Left hepatectomy (38 patients) and left lateral sectionectomy (19 patients) were the most frequently performed procedures. Overall morbidity was 38.3 %. A total of 133 microorganisms were isolated from bile. Multivariate analysis identified previous endoscopic or percutaneous cholangiography (p = 0.043) and preoperative cholangitis (p = 0.003) as the only two independent risk factors for postoperative infectious complications.

Conclusions

Postoperative morbidity was strictly related to the preoperative biliary infection. An effective control of infections should be always pursued before liver resection for intrahepatic stones and an aggressive treatment of early signs of sepsis should be strongly emphasized.
Universal Use of Intraoperative Nerve Monitoring by Recently Fellowship‐Trained Thyroid Surgeons is Common, Associated with Higher Surgical Volume, and Impacts Intraoperative Decision‐Making
Authors: Marti Jennifer L. , Holm Tammy , Randolph Gregory
Published: September 2015

Introduction

The value of routine use of intraoperative recurrent laryngeal nerve monitoring (IONM) in thyroid surgery is controversial. We analyzed the practices of recently fellowship‐trained thyroid surgeons from two diverging surgical backgrounds with respect to IONM. We hypothesized that the majority of recently trained surgeons would use IONM, and that it would potentially influence their operative procedure.

Methods

A 21‐question survey was sent to 56 fellowship‐trained endocrine and head and neck surgeons who completed fellowships accredited by the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons or American Head and Neck Society within the past 10 years, examining the demographics of respondents, and details of IONM practice. Groups were compared using the Fisher exact and χ2 tests.

Results

The response rate for the survey was 76 % (42/56). Overall, 95 % use IONM for some or all of their cases. Sixty percent (n = 25) of respondents always use IONM during thyroid surgery, 36 % (n = 15) use it selectively, and 5 % (n = 2) never use it. We compared respondents who always use IONM (n = 25), to those who selectively or never use it (n = 17). Exposure to IONM during residency or fellowship did not influence use (p = 0.99). However, higher‐volume surgeons were more likely to always use IONM (p = 0.036). Among users of IONM, the most common reason given for use was increased surgeon confidence (55 %) and improved safety (54 %). Over 90 % of respondents found reoperative cases and preoperative vocal cord paralysis to be indications for IONM. Among those who always used IONM, 64 % would alter extent of surgery based on IONM findings, compared to only 27 % of selective users.

Conclusions

A survey of recently trained endocrine and head and neck surgeons reveals that the vast majority (95 %) of these surgeons commonly use IONM during thyroid surgery. IONM was more commonly used by higher‐volume surgeons. Routine users were more likely to modify surgery based on nerve integrity (i.e., not complete a total thyroidectomy if the nerve loses conduction signal).
Episode of Care Payments in Total Joint Arthroplasty and Cost Minimization Strategies
Authors: Nwachukwu Benedict U. , O'Donnell Evan , McLawhorn Alexander S. , Cross Michael B.
Published: September 2015

Total joint arthroplasty (TJA) is receiving significant attention in the US health care system for cost containment strategies. Specifically, payer organizations have embraced and are implementing bundled payment schemes in TJA. Consequently, hospitals and providers involved in the TJA care cycle have sought to adapt to the new financial pressures imposed by episode of care payment models by analyzing what components of the total “event” of a TJA are most essential to achieve a good outcome after TJA. As part of this review, we analyze and discuss a health economic study by Snow et al. As part of their study, the authors aimed to understand the association between preoperative physical therapy (PT) and post-acute care resource utilization, and its effect on the total cost of care during total joint arthroplasty. The purpose of this current review therefore is to (1) describe and analyze the findings presented by Snow et al. and (2) provide a framework for analyzing and critiquing economic analyses in orthopedic surgery. The study under review, while having important strengths, has several notable limitations that are important to keep in mind when making policy and coverage decisions. We support cautious interpretation and application of study results, and we encourage maintained attention to economic analysis in orthopedics as well as continued care path redesign to maximize value for patients and health care providers.
Could ecosystem management provide a new framework for Alzheimer's disease?
Authors: Hubin Ellen , Vanschoenwinkel Bram , Broersen Kerensa , De Deyn Peter P. , Koedam Nico , van Nuland Nico A. , Pauwels Kris
Published: September 2015

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative brain disorder that involves a plethora of molecular pathways. In the context of therapeutic treatment and biomarker profiling, the amyloid‐beta (Aβ) peptide constitutes an interesting research avenue that involves interactions within a complex mixture of Aβ alloforms and other disease‐modifying factors. Here, we explore the potential of an ecosystem paradigm as a novel way to consider AD and Aβ dynamics in particular. We discuss the example that the complexity of the Aβ network not only exhibits interesting parallels with the functioning of complex systems such as ecosystems but that this analogy can also provide novel insights into the neurobiological phenomena in AD and serve as a communication tool. We propose that combining network medicine with general ecosystem management principles could be a new and holistic approach to understand AD pathology and design novel therapies.
An inverted U‐shaped crude oil price return‐implied volatility relationship
Authors: Agbeyegbe Terence D.
Published: September 2015

We examined the return–volatility relationship for USO ETF oil price return and CBOE Crude Oil ETF Volatility Index, OVX. The data for the USO and OVX covers the period covering May 11, 2007 to February 28, 2013. Our OLS regression results suggest evidence of regular feedback and leverage effects. When we employ linear quantile regression techniques, we find evidence of regular and inverse feedback effects. The inverse feedback effects being noticeable in the upper quantile region of the oil return distribution. There is also support for a regular leverage effect in USO prices. We also examined the return–volatility relationship using quantile regression copula methods for measuring the degree of asymmetry in the relationships between the oil price return and implied volatility. The results of the analysis indicate, first, that there exists a negative relationship between contemporaneous oil VIX and USO ETF oil returns. Second, that the relationship between oil returns and implied volatilities depends on the quartile at which the relationship is being investigated. Third, there exists an inverted U‐shaped dependency relationship between returns and implied volatilities across quantiles. Fourth, though an inverted U‐shape exists, the shape is different from those observed in stock markets.
Hydrologic changes in Colorado during the mid-Holocene and Younger Dryas
Authors: Shuman Bryan N. , Pribyl Paul , Buettner Jacob
Published: September 2015

The stratigraphy of Upper Big Creek Lake (UBC), an overflowing lake in northern Colorado, indicates that the lake responded to a series of hydroclimatic changes over the past ~ 13,000 years. Modern sediments in eight comparator lakes from across Wyoming and Colorado facilitate the stratigraphic interpretation by showing that littoral sediments have exponentially higher sand content, lower loss-on-ignition (LOI), and lower net accumulation rates than off-shore sediments. Sand layers in two near-shore cores from UBC share the characteristics of the modern littoral sediments (> 80% sand, < 5% LOI, and < 10 cm/ka accumulation rates), and indicate that UBC was > 1.9 m below its outlet from 12,500 to 11,300 and from 7500 to 2100 cal yr BP. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) profiles consistent with the low-water episodes show correlative sand layers and submerged wave-cut scarps around the lake margin. The stratigraphic features correlate with those formed in the comparator lakes during extensive droughts at > 11,300, 6900–6000, and 4800–3400 cal yr BP as well as a series of north-south anti-phased droughts between 5800 and 1200 cal yr BP. Lake closure at UBC amplified the local changes, and demonstrates that climate changes can increase the extent of intermittent streamflow in the Rocky Mountains relative to today.
At the Service of Community Development: The Professionalization of Volunteer Work in Kenya and Tanzania
Authors: Brown Hannah , Green Maia
Published: September 2015

This article explores the changing nature of the “volunteer” as an official role within health and development interventions in East Africa. Contemporary development interventions require the engagement of volunteers to act as links between project and community. This role is increasingly professionalized within development architectures with implications for the kinds of people who can engage in volunteering opportunities. Volunteers in development interventions are likely to be drawn from public sector staff and from educated youth seeking access to positions of paid employment. Volunteering as a formal status within the organization of development programs is recognized as a kind of professional work by those seeking to engage with development organizations. Volunteers perform important work in linking development programs with beneficiaries. At the same time, volunteering provides opportunities for personal transformation.
Seeking Incorporation? Voluntary Labor and the Ambiguities of Work, Identity, and Social Value in Contemporary Kenya
Authors: Prince Ruth J.
Published: September 2015

This article seeks to understand why Kenyans have responded so enthusiastically to the recent push, by the government and NGOs, for voluntary labor within health and development projects and interventions. It argues that voluntary labor gains meaning and value in relation to broader economies of work and unemployment, to anxieties about identity, recognition, and belonging, and to aspirations for personal as well as national development. In the context of precarious economies and the contraction of formal employment opportunities, voluntary labor constitutes valued, if unpaid, work; it offers opportunities for those excluded from formal employment to gain a valued identity and a sense of social worth; and it makes volunteers visible to powerful institutions (state and nonstate) that hold the keys to personal growth, social recognition, and developmental futures. Voluntary labor is a site of struggles about identity, social value, and recognition, which the decline of twentieth-century trajectories of progress has made acute.
From Autochthony to Violence? Discursive and Coercive Social Practices of the Mai-Mai in Fizi, Eastern DR Congo
Authors: Verweijen Judith
Published: September 2015

This article explores the links between autochthony discourses and physical violence through a case study of a Mai-Mai group in the eastern DR Congo. While this group garners support by employing such discourses and related tropes ofautodéfense(self-defense), there are clear limits to the capacity of these narratives to mobilize for and legitimize violent action. Furthermore, much of the violence committed by the Mai-Mai is not informed directly by notions of autochthony, but is rather geared toward the consolidation of power. This observation should act as a caution against the a priori coding of violence according to the ways it is discursively framed by its protagonists.
Impaired decision-making in symptomatic anorexia and bulimia nervosa patients: a meta-analysis
Authors: Guillaume S. , Gorwood P. , Jollant F. , Van den Eynde F. , Courtet P. , Richard-Devantoy S.
Published: September 2015

Background.

Impaired decision-making is a potential neurocognitive phenotype of eating disorders. It is therefore important to disentangle the decision-making deficits associated with the eating disorder subtypes and determine whether this putative impairment is a state or trait marker of the disease or more related to starvation. We systematically reviewed the literature on decision-making in eating disorders and conducted a meta-analysis to explore its role in anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge-eating disorder (BED).

Method.

A search of the Medline and EMBASE databases and article references was performed. A total of 23 studies (2044 participants) met the selection criteria. When the Iowa gambling task (IGT) was used in at least three of the studies, a meta-analysis was run.

Results.

IGT performance was significantly worse in patients with an eating disorder diagnosis (AN, BN or BED) compared with healthy controls, indicating that eating disorders have a negative effect on decision-making. Hedges’ g effect sizes were moderate to large (−0.72 in AN, −0.62 in BN, and −1.26 in BED). Recovered AN patients had IGT scores similar to those of healthy controls. Restrictive AN patients had significantly lower IGT net scores than purging AN patients, and both AN subtypes had worse performances than healthy controls. Age and body mass index did not explain results.

Conclusions.

Decision-making was significantly altered in patients with eating disorders. Poor decision-making was more pronounced during the acute phase than in the recovered state of AN. Nutritional status during the acute phase of the disease did not seem to influence decision-making skills.
Executive functions as predictors of syntactic awareness in English monolingual and English–Spanish bilingual language brokers and nonbrokers
Authors: RAINEY VANESSA R. , DAVIDSON DENISE , LI-GRINING CHRISTINE
Published: September 2015

Executive function (EF) skills (cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and working memory) and syntactic awareness of monolingual (English) and bilingual (English–Spanish) language brokers and nonbrokers were examined. EF skills may be salient for brokers, who must not only inhibit interference from another language but also exhibit EF skills when translating. The brokers displayed better cognitive flexibility when compared to the other groups. For the bilingual groups, cognitive flexibility was also a predictor of English syntactic awareness when accuracy was taken into account. Cognitive flexibility and inhibition were important factors on a Spanish syntactic awareness measure. These results are discussed in terms of how linkages between EF skills and syntactic awareness may be moderated by language group.
An optimal wheel-torque control on a compliant modular robot for wheel-slip minimization
Authors: Siravuru Avinash , Shah Suril V. , Krishna K. Madhava
Published: September 2015

This paper discusses the development of an optimal wheel-torque controller for a compliant modular robot. The wheel actuators are the only actively controllable elements in this robot. For this type of robots, wheel-slip could offer a lot of hindrance while traversing on uneven terrains. Therefore, an effective wheel-torque controller is desired that will also improve the wheel-odometry and minimize power consumption. In this work, an optimal wheel-torque controller is proposed that minimizes the traction-to-normal force ratios of all the wheels at every instant of its motion. This ensures that, at every wheel, the least traction force per unit normal force is applied to maintain static stability and desired wheel speed. The lower this is, in comparison to the actual friction coefficient of the wheel-ground interface, the more margin of slip-free motion the robot can have. This formalism best exploits the redundancy offered by a modularly designed robot. This is the key novelty of this work. Extensive numerical and experimental studies were carried out to validate this controller. The robot was tested on four different surfaces and we report an overall average slip reduction of 44% and mean wheel-torque reduction by 16%.