bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A framework for programmatically designing user interfaces in JavaScript
Authors: Larkin Henry
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of creating a declarative user interface language suitable for rapid prototyping of mobile and Web apps. Moreover, this paper presents a new framework for creating responsive user interfaces using JavaScript.

Design/methodology/approach

– Very little existing research has been done in JavaScript-specific declarative user interface (UI) languages for mobile Web apps. This paper introduces a new framework, along with several case studies that create modern responsive designs programmatically.

Findings

– The fully implemented prototype verifies the feasibility of a JavaScript-based declarative user interface library. This paper demonstrates that existing solutions are unwieldy and cumbersome to dynamically create and adjust nodes within a visual syntax of program code.

Originality/value

– This paper presents the Guix.js platform, a declarative UI library for rapid development of Web-based mobile interfaces in JavaScript.
Psychotherapy and despair in the prison setting
Authors: Gee Joanna , Loewenthal Del , Cayne Julia
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to outline research which aimed to explore psychotherapists’ experience of working with despair, in the UK prison setting, through a qualitative phenomenological approach. Within the forensic psychological literature, despair is considered a pathology, associated with suicide and self-harm, resulting from the prisoners histories and the coercive prison setting. In turn, therapeutic writings outline the importance of therapy in the prison setting with despair in providing coping skills, containment and learning opportunities for the prisoners involved.

Design/methodology/approach

– Within the study, ten psychotherapists were interviewed as to their experience of working with clients in despair in the prison setting. The data were analysed via the phenomenological research method Empirical Phenomenological Analysis (EPA), and a secondary analysis through reverie.

Findings

– Through the analysis by EPA, despair emerged in the prison setting as a destabilising phenomenon to which there was no protocol for working with it. Participants also described the prisoners’ despair and the despairing prison setting, touching on their own sense of vulnerability and despair. However, drawing on the secondary analysis by reverie, the researcher also became aware of how the phenomenon of despair emerged not simply through the said, but also through the intersubjective.

Originality/value

– It was therefore through the secondary analysis by reverie that the importance of the attendance to aspects of intersubjectivity in prison research emerged. This paper contributes to the therapeutic writings on despair in the prison setting, alongside holding implications for qualitative research in the prison setting.
Legal and regulatory barriers to effective public-private partnership governance in Kazakhstan
Authors: Mouraviev Nikolai , Kakabadse Nada K.
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical assessment of legal and regulatory impediments to effective governance of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in Kazakhstan.

Design/methodology/approach

– The qualitative study develops propositions from the PPP literature and then tests them against findings from in-depth interviews. Interviewees have been selected by a purposeful sampling from PPP projects in Kazakhstan as well as from national and regional PPP centres.

Findings

– The identified barriers to effective PPP management include irregularities in the PPP legal framework, such as lack of legal definition of a PPP and controversy with the government guarantee’s legal status for its long-term payments to partnerships; bureaucratic tariff setting for partnership services; non-existent opportunity for private asset ownership; and excessive government regulation of PPP workers’ wage rates.

Practical implications

– The partners’ opposing perspectives on a number of PPP issues show that management needs to identify and carefully reconcile stakeholder values in a partnership in order to achieve more effective PPP governance. Practitioners, particularly those in the public agencies, have to be concerned with ways to reduce the government overregulation of the private operators, which is likely to result in greater PPP flexibility in management and, ultimately, higher efficiency in delivering the public services.

Originality/value

– By elucidating multiple examples of overregulation and PPPs’ inefficiency, the paper demonstrates that the government dominance in PPP management is conceptually inappropriate. Instead, the government should adopt the concept of co-production and manage its relations with the private sector partner in a collaborative fashion.
The changing face of homicide research: the shift in empirical focus and emerging research trends
Authors: Ioannou Maria , Hammond Laura
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– Homicidal behaviour is influenced by a complex interaction of behavioural, situational and environmental factors that raise many challenging psychological questions. A large and continually growing body of research has explored the crime of homicide, its epidemiology, victims and perpetrators. The area is developing rapidly, opening up new avenues of study. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– This special issue of theJournal of Criminal Psychologybrings together an exciting array of papers on homicidal behaviour, examining a wide range of issues including juvenile homicide perpetrators, school shootings, child homicide, homicide-suicide and differences in offence behaviours and victim characteristics between hard-to-solve one-off homicides and serial homicides.

Findings

– The range of papers included in this special edition cover a wide range of aspects of homicidal behaviour, reflecting the importance of – and the need for – applied research moving away from examining general homicide to specialised research focusing on subtypes of homicide and subgroups of homicide offenders. A research agenda is proposed.

Originality/value

– This editorial gives an introduction to the themes explored in this special issue and provides an overview of the selected papers.
Expatriates’ willingness to adjust their symbolic leadership abroad. An analysis of how culture affects expatriates’ use of symbolic interaction
Authors: Linder Christian
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relation between perceived cultural distances and the willingness to adjust symbolic leadership by expatriates. Further, it is asked whether this adjustment has the potential to increase their acceptance as leader by the foreign workforce.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research derives testable propositions from symbolic leadership theory and the theory about cultural distance and transfers them into a structural equation model in order to identify the impact of cultural distance on expatriates’ adjustment effort. Therefore, an empirical investigation among German expatriates in the Philippines was conducted.

Findings

– The study contributes to the understanding of symbolic leadership in several unique ways. It is found that there is a relationship between perceived cultural distance and a willingness for symbolic leadership behavior in order to reduce social sanctions caused by unappropriated symbolism. The study shows that willingness to adopt foreign symbols does not lead to an increased acceptance.

Originality/value

– This research implies that the willingness alone is not sufficient if the appropriate cultural knowledge and required skills do not exist. Thus, this study points to the importance of expatriates’ cultural knowledge for the success of foreign assignments.
Expatriate coaching: factors impacting coaching success
Authors: Salomaa Raija
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors impacting successful coaching of expatriates.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data were gathered from 25 semi-structured interviews of coached expatriates, coaches and HR professionals. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyze and interpret the data.

Findings

– Altogether, 16 factors impacting expatriate coaching success were identified. They were categorized with respect to the four-quadrant framework of Wilber. The findings suggest, for example, that coaching success is impacted by: from the coach and coachee as individuals perspective, international experience of the coach; from the coaching relationship perspective, coaching language and managerial leadership style; from the behaviors, processes, models and techniques perspective, a clear contract with objectives and evaluation, and challenging behavior of the coach; and from the systems perspective, organizational support.

Practical implications

– Coaching processes, tools and techniques should be adapted to the needs and situation of the assignee. It would be beneficial if organizations ensured that their coaches are internationally experienced and that their managerial leadership style supports coaching. Coaching should be clearly defined and contracted with goals and evaluation. Coaching tools and techniques suitable for international coaching should be added to coach-training programs.

Originality/value

– Given the paucity of expatriate coaching research, and the fact that expatriation continues to be a key component of the international management field, this paper contributes to coaching and expatriate research by identifying factors that give expatriate coaching success and by analyzing and presenting them using Wilber’s systemic four-quadrant framework.
Self-esteem and transformational leadership
Authors: Matzler Kurt , Bauer Florian Andreas , Mooradian Todd A.
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether transformational leadership behavior is a function of the leader’s own self-respect and his/her evaluation of being capable, significant, and worthy (self-esteem). It is also tested whether transformational leadership is related to innovation success.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data were collected from 411 entrepreneurs and managing directors of small- and medium-sized Austrian companies. The proposed hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (PLS).

Findings

– A strong and significant relationship between self-esteem and transformational leadership was found. Furthermore, data analyses revealed that transformational leadership has a positive impact on innovation success.

Originality/value

– This study reveals the important but heretofore neglected role of self-esteem, defined as a manager’s overall self-evaluation of his/her competences, as an important predictor of transformational leadership.
Leader-member exchange, work engagement, and job performance
Authors: Breevaart Kimberley , Bakker Arnold B. , Demerouti Evangelia , van den Heuvel Machteld
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the process through which leader-member exchange (LMX) is related to followers’ job performance. Integrating the literature on LMX theory and resource theories, the authors hypothesized that the positive relationship between LMX and employee job performance is sequentially mediated by job resources (autonomy, developmental opportunities, and social support) and employee work engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

– In total, 847 Dutch police officers filled out an online questionnaire. Multilevel structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized relationships and to account for the nesting of employees in teams.

Findings

– Employees in high-quality LMX relationships work in a more resourceful work environment (i.e. report more developmental opportunities and social support, but not more autonomy). This resourceful work environment, in turn, facilitates work engagement and job performance.

Research limitations/implications

– Because of the research design, it is difficult to draw conclusions about causality. Future research may test the newly proposed relationship using a longitudinal or daily diary design.

Practical implications

– This study emphasizes the value of high-LMX relationships for building a resourceful environment. In turn, this resourceful environment has important implications for employees’ work engagement and job performance.

Originality/value

– This study examines LMX as a more distal predictor of employee job performance and examines a sequential underlying mechanism to explain this relationship. Furthermore, this paper explicitly examined job resources as a mediator in the relationship between LMX and employee job performance.
Leader-member exchange differentiation and team creativity
Authors: Zhao Hongdan
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of leader-member exchange (LMX) differentiation on team creativity by developing a moderated mediation model. The model focuses on the mediating role of relationship conflict in linking LMX differentiation with team creativity and the moderating role of team-member exchange (TMX) median in influencing the mediation.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors tested the model with a time-lagged field survey data from 358 employees and 98 supervisors belonging to 98 teams in a large diversified company with more than 15,000 employees, based in Shanghai, Southeastern China. In the first stage (T1), employees assessed LMX, TMX, relationship conflict, and control variables. In the second stage (T2), the leaders were asked to report team creativity.

Findings

– Results indicated that the relationship between LMX differentiation and team creativity was mediated by relationship conflict. Moderated mediation analyses further revealed that relationship conflict mediated the relationship between LMX differentiation and team creativity for only those teams with low-TMX median.

Research limitations/implications

– Testing the moderated mediation model helps to advance our theoretical understanding of the intervening processes that underlie the effect of LMX differentiation on team creativity. The findings may also help Chinese managers to inform the importance of helping subordinates better adapt to LMX differentiation, reducing relationship conflict, and constructing high-quality TMX relationships within groups, in order to promote team creativity.

Originality/value

– This empirical study provides preliminary evidence of the mediating role of relationship conflict in the negative relationship between LMX differentiation and team creativity. The moderated mediation model also extends the existing finding by showing that not only the quality of social exchange relationships with a supervisor (i.e. LMX) but also with team members (i.e. TMX), can moderate the impact of LMX differentiation on team outcomes.
Information acceleration to improve strategic management decisions
Authors: Proff Heike , Fojcik Thomas M.
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– Really new products (RNP) run the risk not only of technical problems in the development process, but also of problems with customer acceptance. Because market uncertainty in particular is frequently high, many top management teams defer essential management decisions on these products until sufficient information is available to be able to make a sound decision. In many cases, however, the market is already been divided up by that time. The purpose of this paper is to examine how better information about customers can be acquired by providing them with a better offering of information which has been prepared in a variety of forms (“information acceleration”) and how management decisions can be improved as a result.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper is based on modern models for decision making under uncertainty that incorporate group decisions, and shows how the measurement of purchasing behavior can be improved by information acceleration in a test studio. This is needed because customers generally cannot draw on mentally established analogies in the case of RNP, so that they are virtually unable to make meaningful statements that would improve strategic management decisions when completing standard customer surveys. A test studio was set up in the form of a Car Clinic for the example of a future electric vehicle as a RNP. 121 customers were to be offered a wide variety of information (about the future urban environment, the design of the vehicle concept and the driver’s experience), partly in order to acquire information about the customers. In particular, the extent to which customers could better evaluate their purchasing probability and willingness to pay certain prices and the extent to which the variance of customer opinions was reduced after attending the Car Clinic were examined, because these factors make it easier to forecast future sales revenue and management decisions can be made more easily.

Findings

– The results reveal that information acceleration in a test studio can improve the estimation of sales revenue in an early decision-making phase and can have a positive influence on decision-making behavior under uncertainty.

Originality/value

– This study provides an empirical, valuable step toward an investigation of management decisions on RNP under uncertainty.
Speak up! Enhancing risk performance with enterprise risk management, leadership style and employee voice
Authors: Sax Johanna , Torp Simon S.
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to test the effect of psychological safety and participative leadership style on risk performance as well as its interaction with enterprise risk management (ERM) processes to evaluate if a decentralisation in the form of a safe environment and participative leadership style enhances or crowds out the effect of a centralised-ERM process.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on a survey among top-500 Danish companies, the paper tests in SEM the relationships between ERM, participative leadership style and psychological safety on risk performance

Findings

– The paper finds that not only do both ERM and participative leadership style enhance risk performance but a positive interaction effect is also found. In addition, the findings suggest that a safe environment precede participative leadership style indicating this as a prerequisite for management to introduce participative leadership style. These findings underpin that an effective risk management system should include both a holistic, formalised ERM system and organisational initiatives that enhance a strategic responsiveness through employee involvement.

Originality/value

– The current study provides new empirical insights about the effect of a formal ERM process on risk performance as well as cultural factors for ERM success. As something new to the risk management literature, it draws on leadership and employee voice theory and investigates participative leadership style and psychological safety for employee voice as contextual influences on the effect of a formal ERM process on risk performance.
Permaculture approach: linking ecological sustainability to businesses strategies
Authors: Akhtar Faiza , Lodhi Suleman Aziz , Shah Khan Safdar
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to discuss the concept of ecological sustainability is attracting attention of global business community as neoclassical approach continues to fail in delivery. There is now an emerging need to explore new approaches towards balancing ecological and economic returns. The paper extends the philosophy of Permaculture into business domain and explores its compatibility to be integrated with strategic management perspectives.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study primarily conducts a review of Permaculture and Strategic Management domains and uncovers the compatibility between the two domains while arguing that the integration of Permaculture philosophy in business strategy would achieve sustainability.

Findings

– Permaculture philosophy is compatible with Strategic Management process for developing business strategies. It can incorporate ecological and social aspects for developing integrated strategy process for sustainability in organizations.

Research limitations/implications

– Focusing on financial and non-financial value addition contributed by organizations towards community would lead to long-term sustainability of the organization and the community which supports it.

Originality/value

– The study extends the emerging philosophy of Permaculture into the established domain of Strategic Management. Arguing that simultaneous equilibrium of capacities, resources and demands of stakeholders must be maintained for sustained economic success in business world.
Sustainable development of urban slum areas in northwestern Spain
Authors: Gago-Cortés Carmen , Novo-Corti Isabel
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The persistence of shanty towns in cities is a major public issue due to the situation of poverty and abandonment of its inhabitants. Despite public authorities are concerned about this serious issue, they often fail to address suitably the problem due to their short-term goals. The purpose of this paper is to assess the public policies and green economy projects to improve the quality of life of people living in shanty towns in northwest Spain from the point of view of sustainable development and the interaction between social, economic and environmental areas.

Design/methodology/approach

– A systemic causal diagram is proposed for the empirical analysis. It has been contrasted through the study of the various actions undertaken in some shanty towns in Spain. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to complement this analysis.

Findings

– As a result, the study shows that the actions should not only be limited to providing access to adequate housing, but should also require more extensive cross-cutting projects. In this, green economy policies are shown as a good choice for improving the quality of life and development of the population.

Originality/value

– The study highlights the potential of green economic policies to mitigate environmental problems in slum areas and to support the social and economic development of its inhabitants. This paper provides some lines of action to improve the efficiency of public policies implemented in these cases. Thus, benefits in multiple areas such as social, environmental and urban could be generated.
ISO 14001 in a corporate sustainability context: a multiple case study approach
Authors: Maletic Matjaž , Podpečan Manja , Maletic Damjan
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mechanisms through which ISO 14001 can contribute to the corporate sustainability. In this regard, the paper examines the underlying theoretical concepts and discusses the ISO 14001 in the context of the corporate sustainability. Additionally, the paper discusses the benefits of ISO 14001 from the perspective of the triple bottom line.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper uses a multiple case study approach focusing on four ISO 14001-certified Slovenian organizations and two non-ISO 14001-certified organizations. The data collection methods included semi-structured questionnaire and interviews with managers in all studied organizations.

Findings

– It is suggested that the motives could be perceived as explanatory variables of the benefits realized from ISO 14001 certification. Further, the findings of this study indicate that environmental management system should be seen in a wider perspective that includes elements such as quality and social responsibility. Moreover, the results also lead us to the suggestion that there could be a reciprocal causal mechanism linking the environmental performance and economic performance.

Practical implications

– ISO 14001 can be an effective tool for pursuing sustainable development; however, organizations should move a step beyond ISO 14001’s environmental focus and recognize a multidimensional perspective by simultaneously addressing environmental, quality and social responsibility issues.

Originality/value

– The paper contributes to the corporate sustainability literature by investigating the mechanisms through which organizations can shift to more sustainable patterns using the ISO 14001.
The influence of urea on composition, microstructure and electrochemical properties of nitrogen-enriched carbon based on polyvinylpyrrolidone/melamine formaldehyde resin
Authors: Li Qiang , Du Jiahuan , Zhang Xugang , Qin Chuanli , Jin Zheng , Bai Xuduo
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to develop porous nitrogen-enriched carbon (NC-U) with high nitrogen concentration and high specific capacitance (Cpe) as the electrode material for supercapacitors.

Design/methodology/approach

– NC-U was obtained by carbonization of polyvinylpyrrolidone/melamine formaldehyde resin (PVP/MF) with different contents of urea. In comparison, NC-K was also prepared by the KOH activation method. A series of asymmetric supercapacitors with NC as a negative electrode was assembled. The composition, microstructure and electrochemical properties of NC and their supercapacitors were studied.

Findings

– The results show that NC-U shows irregular particles with a porous honeycomb structure. High Cpe was obtained for urea-treated NC-U because of the improvement of nitrogen, conductivity and specific surface area (S

BET
). NC-U50 with 13.15 per cent at nitrogen has the highest Cpe of 148.53 F/g because of the highest concentration of N-6 and N-5. NC-K with higher S

BET
has lower Cpe than NC-U50 because of its lower nitrogen concentration. When the specific power of the supercapacitor with NC-U50 as a negative electrode is 1,565.56 W/kg, its specific energy is still 4.35 Wh/kg. There is only 5.9 per cent decay in Cpe over 1,000 cycles.

Research limitations/implications

– NC-U is a suitable electrode material for supercapacitors, which can be used in the field of electric vehicles to solve the problems of energy shortage and environmental pollutions.

Originality/value

– Porous NC-U based on PVP/MF/urea composites with high nitrogen concentration and Cpe is novel, and it owns good electrochemical properties.
Verrucous lesions arising in lymphedema and diabetic neuropathy: Elephantiasis nostras verrucosa or verrucous skin lesions on the feet of patients with diabetic neuropathy?
Authors: Hotta Eri , Asai Jun , Okuzawa Yasutaro , Hanada Keiji , Nomiyama Tomoko , Takenaka Hideya , Katoh Norito
Published: August 2015

Verrucous skin lesions on the feet in diabetic neuropathy (VSLDN) develop in areas with sensory loss in diabetic patients. Although various types of chronic stimulation, such as pressure or friction, are considered an important factor in the development of such lesions, the precise pathogenesis of VSLDN remains obscure, and there is currently no established treatment for this disease. Here, we present a case of VSLDN on the dorsum of the right foot. However, because lymphedema was also observed at the same site, this lesion could also be diagnosed as elephantiasis nostras verrucosa arising in diabetic neuropathy. The lesion was successfully treated with a combination of elastic stocking and mixed killed bacterial suspension and hydrocortisone ointment, which suggested that VSLDN might have been exacerbated by the pre‐existing lymphedema. Because various types of chronic stimulation can trigger VSLDN, treatment plans should be devised on a case‐by‐case basis. Therefore, it is important to investigate the presence of factors that can induce or exacerbate chronic inflammatory stimulation, such as lymphedema in our case, in each patient with VSLDN.
Individual‐level trait diversity concepts and indices to comprehensively describe community change in multidimensional trait space
Authors: Fontana Simone , Petchey Owen L. , Pomati Francesco
Published: August 2015

Global environmental change can influence ecosystem processes directly or through changes in the trait composition of natural communities. Traits are individual‐level features of organisms, and theory predicts that diversity in traits should relate to ecosystem processes. Validated indices that account for both intra‐ and interspecific trait variation in multidimensional trait space are lacking. In this article, we highlight how an individual‐level perspective requires new concepts for trait diversity (TD) and we validate a set of measures suitable to study trait richness, evenness and divergence at the individual scale.

First, we tested a selection of multivariate indices for trait richness, evenness and divergence from the literature (FRic, FEve, FDis and the Rao coefficient) using simulated and real individual‐level data. We compared the observed changes in the tested indices with those predicted from their expected/required behaviour (i.e. increase or decrease under specific manipulation of community trait structure) and found unsatisfactory results only for FRic and FEve, whereas FDis and the Rao coefficient showed the expected changes.

Therefore, we propose two novel concepts and related indices for individual‐level trait richness (TOP = trait onion peeling) and evenness (TED = trait even distribution). TOP represents the sum of all successive convex hull areas touching all individuals (points) within a multidimensional trait distribution. TED is a measure of how evenly distributed are individuals within the multidimensional trait space. It is calculated comparing the probability distributions of pairwise distances between individuals and between points of a perfectly even reference distribution. We tested TOP and TED on the same simulated and real data as above, and results indicated appropriate behaviour for TOP (trait richness) and TED (trait evenness).

By validating TD indices in an individual‐level context, this study contributes to the expansion of functional ecology towards individual‐level dynamics. Future comprehensive investigations of individual trait differences in natural communities may improve our understanding of the pathways by which environmental changes affect ecosystem functioning through biodiversity change.
Encountering extreme weather during migration: individual strategies and their consequences
Authors: Gill Jennifer A.
Published: August 2015

Migratory birds can encounter extreme weather when they arrive on their breeding grounds in spring. These recently‐arrived Icelandic black‐tailed godwits encounter snow quite frequently in spring, but how does the same species cope with extreme weather in breeding grounds further south, where cold weather is much less common? Photo credit: Tómas G. Gunnarsson.

image

Migratory birds can encounter extreme weather when they arrive on their breeding grounds in spring. These recently‐arrived Icelandic black‐tailed godwits encounter snow quite frequently in spring, but how does the same species cope with extreme weather in breeding grounds further south, where cold weather is much less common? Photo credit: Tómas G. Gunnarsson.

In Focus: Senner, N.R., Verhoeven, M.A., Abad‐Gómez, J.M., Gutiérrez, J.S., Hooijmeijer, J.C.E.W., Kentie, R., Masero, J.A., Tibbitts, T.L. & Piersma, T. (2015) . Journal of Animal Ecology, 84, 1164–1176.

The way that animal populations respond to changing weather conditions is a major focus of current research, fuelled by the need to predict the future consequences of climatic changes. Severe weather events can provide valuable opportunities to uncover the mechanisms through which the weather influences population demography but opportunities to track individual responses to such events are rare. Senner et al. () report on an exceptional opportunity to address this issue, when their detailed studies of a migratory shorebird population were interrupted by an extreme weather event that coincided with spring migration, a key period in the annual cycle of migratory species. Through tracking of individuals across the migratory range, Senner et al. () show that, while individual schedules were severely disrupted by the harsh weather, with many individuals undertaking reverse migrations and experiencing delayed breeding, breeding success was unaffected. This study highlights the complexities involved in predicting the ecological consequences of extreme weather events and the key role of behavioural flexibility in mitigating the costs to individuals.
Metagenomic and metaproteomic analyses of Accumulibacter phosphatis‐enriched floccular and granular biofilm
Authors: Barr Jeremy J. , Dutilh Bas E. , Skennerton Connor T. , Fukushima Toshikazu , Hastie Marcus L. , Gorman Jeffrey J. , Tyson Gene W. , Bond Philip L.
Published: August 2015

Biofilms are ubiquitous in nature, forming diverse adherent microbial communities that perform a plethora of functions. Here we operated two laboratory‐scale sequencing batch reactors enriched with Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis (Accumulibacter) performing enhanced biological phosphorus removal. Reactors formed two distinct biofilms, one floccular biofilm, consisting of small, loose, microbial aggregates, and one granular biofilm, forming larger, dense, spherical aggregates. Using metagenomic and metaproteomic methods, we investigated the proteomic differences between these two biofilm communities, identifying a total of 2022 unique proteins. To understand biofilm differences, we compared protein abundances that were statistically enriched in both biofilm states. Floccular biofilms were enriched with pathogenic secretion systems suggesting a highly competitive microbial community. Comparatively, granular biofilms revealed a high‐stress environment with evidence of nutrient starvation, phage predation pressure, and increased extracellular polymeric substance and cell lysis. Granular biofilms were enriched in outer membrane transport proteins to scavenge the extracellular milieu for amino acids and other metabolites, likely released through cell lysis, to supplement metabolic pathways. This study provides the first detailed proteomic comparison between Accumulibacter‐enriched floccular and granular biofilm communities, proposes a conceptual model for the granule biofilm, and offers novel insights into granule biofilm formation and stability.
The role of stroke knowledge in reading and spelling in Chinese
Authors: Lo Lap‐yan , Yeung Pui‐sze , Ho Connie Suk‐Han , Chan David Wai‐ock , Chung Kevin
Published: August 2015

The present study examined the types of orthographic knowledge that are important in learning to read and spell Chinese words in a 2‐year longitudinal study following 289 Hong Kong Chinese children from Grade 1 to Grade 2. Multiple regression results showed that radical knowledge significantly predicted children's word reading and spelling performance across the years. Stroke knowledge contributed both concurrently (Grade 1) and longitudinally (Grade 2) to children's spelling performance after controlling for rapid naming, phonological awareness, morphological awareness and radical knowledge. These findings support the significance of radical knowledge in Chinese reading and spelling and the specific role of stroke order knowledge in Chinese spelling. The findings have implications for the design of an effective curriculum for teaching children to spell Chinese characters.
The risk of ureteric injury associated with hysterectomy: a 10‐year retrospective cohort study
Authors: Kiran A , Hilton P , Cromwell DA
Published: August 2015

Objective

To evaluate the rates of ureteric injury among women undergoing hysterectomy.

Design

Retrospective cohort.

Setting

English National Health Service hospitals.

Population

Women undergoing hysterectomy in 2001–2010.

Methods

Unadjusted rates of ureteric injury, within 1 year of hysterectomy, calculated by indication and type of procedure. Multivariable logistic regression used to assess the risk of ureteric injury with year of surgery.

Main outcome measures

Ureteric injury within a year of the hysterectomy.

Results

In 2001–2010, 377 073 women underwent hysterectomy, of whom 1792 (0.5%) experienced a ureteric injury. In both benign and malignant groups the rate of injury was higher in 2006–2010 than 2001–2005. After 2006, ureteric injuries were most common for abdominal radical hysterectomy for uterine cancer (10.7%; 95% CI 7.3–15.1%). The proportion of women having a ureteric injury was similar for ovarian and cervical cancer (1.9–4.0% depending on type of procedure). For benign conditions, the rate of injury tended to be lower, typically <1%. Women with endometriosis had the highest risk among this group (1.7% following total abdominal hysterectomy; 95% CI 1.4–2.0%).

Conclusion

The risk of ureteric injury within 1 year of hysterectomy varied by type of hysterectomy for benign and malignant conditions. The rates of injury have increased between 2001 and 2010.

Tweetable abstract

Ten‐year study shows ureteric injury rates have increased.
Commercial Real Estate Rental Index: A Dynamic Panel Data Model Estimation
Authors: An Xudong , Deng Yongheng , Fisher Jeffrey D. , Hu Maggie Rong
Published: August 2015

Using the actual quarterly rental income generated in the years between 2001 and 2010 by over 9,000 NCREIF commercial properties, we construct a commercial real estate rental index and estimate the time series properties (e.g., mean‐reversion speed and volatility) of market‐wide rental growth using a dynamic panel data model. The dynamic panel data model has several advantages over a standard hedonic regression. In addition, we incorporate age effects into our panel data model, and by doing so we correct the age bias in the repeated sales method and in the simple average method. Our estimates show that rental growth is cyclical but it generally lags behind broader economic growth. Surprisingly, the long‐term average rental growth is significantly lower than what is usually perceived, and the volatility of rental growth can be significantly under estimated when the conventional methods are adopted. We also find significant cross‐property type and cross‐region variations in the rental adjustment process. In contrast to the existing literature, we find a strong negative relation between rental growth and cap rate, and that this relation is significantly stronger than that between NOI growth and cap rate. Finally, we establish an empirical relation between price return and rental growth in the commercial real estate market.
Exploring the Impacts of Ordinary Laboratory Alterations During Forensic DNA Processing on Peak Height Variation, Thresholds, and Probability of Dropout,
Authors: Rowan Kayleigh E. , Wellner Genevieve A. , Grgicak Catherine M.
Published: August 2015

Impacts of validation design on DNA signal were explored, and the level of variation introduced by injection, capillary changes, amplification, and kit lot was surveyed by examining a set of replicate samples ranging in mass from 0.25 to 0.008 ng. The variations in peak height, heterozygous balance, dropout probabilities, and baseline noise were compared using common statistical techniques. Data indicate that amplification is the source of the majority of the variation observed in the peak heights, followed by capillary lots. The use of different amplification kit lots did not introduce variability into the peak heights, heterozygous balance, dropout, or baseline. Thus, if data from case samples run over a significant time period are not available during validation, the validation must be designed to, at a minimum, include the amplification of multiple samples of varying quantity, with known genotype, amplified and run over an extended period of time using multiple pipettes and capillaries.
A New Global Climate Agreement: Implications for Agriculture?
Authors: Blandford David , Hassapoyannes Katharina
Published: August 2015

Although agriculture is a relatively emissions‐intensive sector in many countries, it is unlikely to be centre stage in upcoming negotiations on a climate change agreement to be held in Paris in December 2015. Nevertheless, the agricultural sector is a major user of energy. It is therefore likely to be affected by higher costs in upstream and downstream industries resulting from domestic policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). National differences in emissions reduction commitments and their implementation may result in different implicit prices for carbon across countries. For a relatively high emitting sector like agriculture, smaller adjustments in output would be needed to satisfy a GHG reduction requirement, but adjustment may be more costly if anticipated increases in global food demand are to be met. This could have distributional implications between developed and developing nations due to changes in food prices and the composition of demand. If measures taken to reduce emissions in other sectors are successful, the increasing proportion of total emissions generated by agriculture could become a focus of attention. Agriculture is likely to become more prominent in the climate change debate and will have to play a much greater role in future global climate change policies.
Greenhouse Gas Abatement in Norwegian Agriculture: Costs or Benefits?
Authors: Blandford David , Gaasland Ivar , Vårdal Erling
Published: August 2015

Agriculture, which currently accounts for 0.3 per cent of Norway's gross domestic product, is estimated to generate roughly 13 per cent of the country's emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Norway has proposed a reduction of 40 per cent in its total emissions in the run up to the international climate change conference in Paris in December 2015. High levels of protection mean that Norway is a closed economy as far as agriculture is concerned. Agriculture is also highly subsidised. We estimate a marginal abatement cost curve for agriculture. Since producers, consumers and taxpayers would all be affected if emissions reductions are imposed on agriculture, we calculate abatement costs in terms of national economic welfare. We find that a cut of around 30 per cent in emissions from agriculture can be achieved, without undermining the stated policy objective of ensuring a minimum supply of domestically‐produced calories, by taking drained peatland out of production and restoring it to wetland. Progressing beyond a 30 per cent reduction requires a more fundamental restructuring of production away from emissions‐intensive ruminants and towards less emissions‐intensive crop and livestock products. Emissions reductions of over 60 per cent can be achieved with no reductions in national economic welfare, due to reductions in agricultural subsidies.
Effects of Statin Treatment on Inflammation and Cardiac Function in Heart Failure: An Adjusted Indirect Comparison Meta‐Analysis of Randomized Trials
Authors: Bonsu Kwadwo Osei , Reidpath Daniel Diamond , Kadirvelu Amudha
Published: August 2015

Introduction

Statins are known to prevent heart failure (HF). However, it is unclear whether statins as class or type (lipophilic or hydrophilic) improve outcomes of established HF.

Aims

The current meta‐analysis was performed to compare the treatment effects of lipophilic and hydrophilic statins on inflammation and cardiac function in HF. Outcomes were indicators of cardiac function [changes in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and B‐type natriuretic peptide (BNP)] and inflammation [changes in highly sensitive C‐reactive protein (hsCRP) and interluekin‐6 (IL‐6)].

Method

We conducted a search of PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane databases until December 31, 2014 for randomized control trials (RCTs) of statin versus placebo in patients with HF. RCTs with their respective extracted information were dichotomized into statin type evaluated and analyzed separately. Outcomes were pooled with random effect approach, producing standardized mean differences (SMD) for each statin type. Using these pooled estimates, we performed adjusted indirect comparisons for each outcome.

Results

Data from 6214 patients from 19 trials were analyzed. Lipophilic statin was superior to hydrophilic statin treatment regarding follow‐up LVEF (SMD, 4.54; 95% CI, 4.16–4.91; P < 0.001), BNP (SMD, −1.60; 95% CI, −2.56 to −0.65; P < 0.001), hsCRP (SMD, −1.13; 95% CI, −1.54 to −0.72; P < 0.001), and IL‐6 (SMD, −3.75; 95% CI, −4.77 to −0.72; P < 0.001) in HF.

Conclusions

Lipophilic statin produces greater treatment effects on cardiac function and inflammation compared with hydrophilic statin in patients with HF. Until data from adequately powered head‐to‐head trial of the statin types are available, our meta‐analysis brings clinicians and researchers a step closer to the quest on which statin—lipophilic or hydrophilic—is associated with better outcomes in HF.
Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor‐Coated Stents Inhibit Restenosis in a Rabbit Carotid Artery Model
Authors: Shi Mingyu , Yin Feng , Gu Hongyue , Zhu Jing , Yin Xinhua
Published: August 2015

Introduction

Our aim was to study the efficacy and safety of tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI)‐coated stents in inhibiting restenosis in a rabbit carotid artery model.

Methods

Subculture was conducted in aorta smooth muscle cell, which was taken from male Wistar rat, and the 3–5‐generation cells were taken for plasmid transfection and cytotoxicity experiment. TFPI microspheres were made of a TFPI plasmid which was enwrapped by poly‐l‐glutamic acid (PLGA). TFPI‐coated stents (n = 7) and bare metal stents (n = 6) were implanted into prepared carotid artery stenosis model of New Zealand white rabbits. The transfection efficiency of TFPI gene and its influence on animal tissue, restenosis inhibition, and biochemical indicator were observed.

Result

Tissue factor pathway inhibitor microspheres can transfect successfully into cells, and present no cytotoxicity. Autopsy results showed no pathological changes in liver and spleen of rabbits after implanting TFPI‐coated stents. TFPI gene could transfect and express successfully in vessel wall cells, and thrombus was found in some lumens of bare metal stents group after 7 day, while no such thrombus was observed in coated stents group. Degree of hyperplasia of coronary endarterectomy in bare metal stents group was evidently higher than those in coated stents group. Obvious stent restenosis was discovered only in one case in bare metal stents group (diameter stenosis ≥50%). However, no case in coated stents group showed with stent restenosis.

Conclusion

Tissue factor pathway inhibitor‐coated stents could successfully transfect TFPI gene into vessel wall cells, thereby inhibiting restenosis without obvious side effect in the rabbit carotid artery model.
Interview‐based Qualitative Research in Emergency Care Part II: Data Collection, Analysis and Results Reporting
Authors: Ranney Megan L. , Meisel Zachary F. , Choo Esther K. , Garro Aris C. , Sasson Comilla , Morrow Guthrie Kate
Published: August 2015

Qualitative methods are increasingly being used in emergency care research. Rigorous qualitative methods can play a critical role in advancing the emergency care research agenda by allowing investigators to generate hypotheses, gain an in‐depth understanding of health problems or specific populations, create expert consensus, and develop new intervention and dissemination strategies. In Part I of this two‐article series, we provided an introduction to general principles of applied qualitative health research and examples of its common use in emergency care research, describing study designs and data collection methods most relevant to our field (observation, individual interviews, and focus groups). Here in Part II of this series, we outline the specific steps necessary to conduct a valid and reliable qualitative research project, with a focus on interview‐based studies. These elements include building the research team, preparing data collection guides, defining and obtaining an adequate sample, collecting and organizing qualitative data, and coding and analyzing the data. We also discuss potential ethical considerations unique to qualitative research as it relates to emergency care research.