bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of highly and less job-related diversity on work group cohesion and performance: a meta-analysis
Authors: Webber Sheila Simsarian , Donahue Lisa M.
Published: June 2011

A meta-analysis of the data from empirical investigations of diversity in work groups was used to examine the impact of two types of diversity attributes, highly job-related and less job-related, on work group cohesion and performance. This distinction was used to test the proposition that different types of diversity will differentially impact work group cohesion and performance. In addition, type of team was examined as a possible moderator of the relationship between diversity and performance. Results showed that neither type of diversity had a relationship with cohesion or performance. Explanations and directions for future research are offered.
The role of information technology in the organization: a review, model, and assessment
Authors: Dewett Todd , Jones Gareth R.
Published: June 2011

This paper reviews and extends recent scholarly and popular literature to provide a broad overview of how information technology (IT) impacts organizational characteristics and outcomes. First, based on a review of the literature, we describe two of the principal performance enhancing benefits of IT: information efficiencies and information synergies, and identify five main organizational outcomes of the application of IT that embody these benefits. We then discuss the role that IT plays in moderating the relationship between organizational characteristics including structure, size, learning, culture, and interorganizational relationships and the most strategic outcomes, organizational efficiency and innovation. Throughout we discuss the limitations and possible negative consequences of the use of IT and close by considering several key areas for future research.
Sources of CEO Power and Firm Financial Performance: A Longitudinal Assessment
Authors: Daily Catherine M. , Johnson Jonathan L.
Published: June 2011

The chief executive officer (CEO) is generally regarded as the most powerful organizational member. Attributions regarding the potential effect of a strong CEO on firm financial performance are common in both the academic literature and popular press. The oft-made assumption is that a powerful CEO will impact firm performance. The anticipated direction of this influence, however, has not been uniformly established. Moreover, we are not aware of any direct empirical assessment of the relationship between CEO power and firm financial performance. We are also intrigued by the potential for reciprocal effects—firm performance impacts the level of CEO’s power. Our review of the literature demonstrates no empirical attention to this possibility. This study relies on a four-wave panel design to assess the nature of the relationship between CEO power and firm performance. Results of LISREL analysis demonstrate that aspects of CEO power and financial performance are, in fact, interrelated. Performance was found to be both an antecedent condition and outcome of CEO power.
Person-Environment Fit and Creativity: An Examination of Supply-Value and Demand-Ability Versions of Fit
Authors: Livingstone Linda P. , Nelson Debra L. , Barr Steve H.
Published: June 2011

This study extends the previous research on creativity and person-environment fit by examining fit on the dimension of creativity and by incorporating both supply-value and demand-ability versions of fit. A fit between demands for creativity and abilities for creativity was related to lower strain and higher job satisfaction. However, the most impressive influence on outcomes was the environmental influence; particularly the influence of supplies for creativity. The version of fit examined also affected results. Supply-value and demand-ability versions of fit exhibited different relationships with outcomes. These results suggest that more research is needed to explore specific environmental conditions that encourage creativity in organizations.
Celebrating the “Essential:” The Impact of Performance on the Functional Favoritism of CEOs in Two Contexts
Authors: Miller Danny , Droge Comelia , Vickery Shawnee
Published: June 2011

This paper argues that an organization’s performance can influence the extent to which CEOs favor the importance and competence of one functional department above all others. Specifically, financial success induces such favoritism in CEOs, not in stable but in uncertain environments where there is a good deal of scope and motivation for attributional opportunism and superstitious learning. Financial weakness also induces functional favoritism on the part of CEOs, not in uncertain but in stable environments where conditions are right for escalation of commitment and threat-rigidity responses. These findings were confirmed using subgroup regressions, moderated regressions and two-group LISREL analyses.
The Effects of Top Management Team Size and interaction Norms on Cognitive and Affective Conflict
Authors: Amason Allen C. , Sapienza Harry J.
Published: June 2011

There is mounting evidence that effective top management teams engage in cognitive conflict but limit affective conflict. Cognitive conflict is task-oriented disagreement arising from differences in perspective. Affective conflict is individual-oriented disagreement arising from personal disaffection. This study of 48 TMTs found that team size and openness were positively related to cognitive conflict. While team size was also associated with greater affective conflict, when teams had high levels of mutuality, greater openness led to less affective conflict. The findings have implications for improving strategic decision making through the use of conflict.
The Role of Risk in Executive Compensation
Authors: Gray Samuel R. , Cannella Albert A.
Published: June 2011

The present study was designed to investigate the role of risk in executive compensation. We argue that compensation arrangements may be used to mitigate agency problems by encouraging risk taking behavior and providing incentives for optimizing long-term performance. We examine total compensation, compensation risk, and compensation time horizon. Consistent with our theory, the evidence indicates that these dimensions vary with the financial and strategic context of the firm and with the risk-taking propensity of the CEO.
Organizational Characteristics and Employer Responses to Employee Substance Abuse
Authors: Milne Stuart H. , Blum Terry C.
Published: June 2011

Working within an integrative framework of human resource management (HRM) in context (Jackson & Schuler, 1995), and theorizing from an integrated institutional and resource dependence perspective (Oliver, 1991), this study investigated whether factors in the internal and external organizational environments are associated with the presence of a counseling/rehabilitative response by employers to identified employee substance abuse. Data were collected at two points in time from a sample of 342 private sector worksites in the state of Georgia. The results of ordered logistic regression analysis suggest that variables from both the internal and external organizational environments are related to a rehabilitative response by management to employee substance abuse.
Explaining the Distribution of Franchised and Company-Owned Outlets in Franchise Systems
Authors: Shane Scott
Published: June 2011

Agency theory research on franchising, to date, has posited linear effects of franchisor characteristics on the distribution of company-owned and franchised outlets in franchise systems. This study argues that many of these characteristics actually have curvilinear effects. Using pooled cross-sectional time series regression analysis on U.S. franchisors over the 1991-1994 period, this study tests the curvilinear effects of geographic dispersion, royalty rates, system growth rate, system size, franchise fee and initial investment on the proportion of outlets franchised.
The confluence of adverse early experience and puberty on the cortisol awakening response
Authors: Quevedo Karina , Johnson Anna E. , Loman Michelle L. , LaFavor Theresa L. , Gunnar Megan
Published: June 2011

Associations between early deprivation/neglect in the form of institutional care with the cortisol awakening response (CAR) were examined as a function of pubertal status among 12- and 13-year-old postinstitutionalized youth. CARs indexed hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical reactivity. Postinstitutionalized youth were compared to youth adopted internationally from foster care (adoption control) and to nonadopted youth reared in families comparable in parental education and income to the adoptive families. Postinstitutionalized youth exhibited a blunted CAR if they were at earlier, but not if they were at later, stages of puberty. Similarly, for both groups of internationally adopted youth combined, earlier but not later stages of puberty were associated with more blunted CARs at higher but not lower levels of parent-reported preadoption physical and social neglect.
Improvisation in Product Innovation: The Contingent Role of Market Information Sources and Memory Types
Authors: Kyriakopoulos Kyriakos
Published: June 2011

Though improvisation has emerged as a crucial organizational competence, research wrestles with a key question – how can organizations benefit from improvisation? To advance research, I build a richer conceptualization of the role of knowledge resources – market information sources and memory types – in improvisation. I argue that as (a) internal and external sources of market information differ in speed and novelty and (b) procedural and declarative memory differ in articulation and abstractness, they shape the impact of improvisation on new product outcomes in a distinct way. A longitudinal survey of new products in the Dutch food industry uncovers that, contrary to prior thinking, improvisation increases cost efficiency when new product teams rely on internal market information and declarative memory and they minimize external market information. Though both sources of market information and low procedural memory weaken the negative impact of improvisation on market effectiveness, these conditions were not enough to make its impact positive, echoing traditional concerns with improvisation.
Agonal sovereignty: Rethinking war and politics with Schmitt, Arendt and Foucault
Authors: Barder Alexander D. , Debrix François
Published: June 2011

The notion of biopolitical sovereignty and the theory of the state of exception are perspectives derived from Carl Schmitt’s thought and Michel Foucault’s writings that have been popularized by critical political theorists like Giorgio Agamben and Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri of late. This article argues that these perspectives are not sufficient analytical points of departure for a critique of the contemporary politics of terror, violence and war marked by a growing global exploitation of bodies, tightened management of life, and endless and unpredictable abusive force. To better capture the singularity of our present condition of violence, war and terror, a supplementation of Schmitt’s and Foucault’s approaches by way of Hannah Arendt’s language of political action and agonistic engagement is useful. By bringing Arendt’s language of political agony to bear on contemporary biopolitical debates and discourses, we wish to revisit common practices of war and terror as matters of ‘agonal sovereignty’. ‘Agonal sovereignty’ allows us to peer into the ‘abyss of total violence’ that manifests itself after sovereign decisionism and biopolitical modalities of power have taken over the everyday conduct of political affairs.
Raf Inhibition Causes Extensive Multiple Tissue Hyperplasia and Urinary Bladder Neoplasia in the Rat
Authors: Wisler John A. , Afshari Cynthia , Fielden Mark , Zimmermann Cameron , Taylor Scott , Carnahan Josette , Vonderfecht Steven
Published: June 2011

Seven novel and potent Raf small molecule kinase inhibitors (C1–7) were evaluated in seven-day oral repeat dose rat toxicity studies. All compounds tested induced hyperplasia in multiple tissues. Consistently affected was stratified squamous epithelium at a number of sites and transitional epithelium of urinary bladder and kidney. A seven-day time course study in rats showed morphologic evidence of epithelial proliferation in the nonglandular stomach within four to five hours after a single dose of C-1. Similar indications of cellular proliferation were observed in the urinary bladder by day 2 and in the heart, kidney, and liver by day 3. Transcriptional evidence of proliferation in the urinary bladder was detected within four to five hours after a single dose consistent with activation of the PI3K/AKT and ERK/MAPK pathways. In a twenty-eight-day rat toxicity study of C-1, hyperplasia was observed in the esophagus, nonglandular stomach, skin, urinary bladder, kidney, and heart. Hyperplasia of transitional epithelium of the urinary bladder was particularly severe and in one female rat was accompanied by the presence of a transitional cell carcinoma. These results suggest that these Raf inhibitors induce early transcriptional changes driving unchecked cell proliferation, resulting in marked tissue hyperplasia that can progress to carcinoma within a short time frame.
Clinical Practice Guideline: Polysomnography for Sleep‐Disordered Breathing Prior to Tonsillectomy in Children
Authors: Roland Peter S. , Rosenfeld Richard M. , Brooks Lee J. , Friedman Norman R. , Jones Jacqueline , Kim Tae W. , Kuhar Siobhan , Mitchell Ron B. , Seidman Michael D. , Sheldon Stephen H. , Jones Stephanie , Robertson Peter
Published: June 2011

Objective. This guideline provides otolaryngologists with evidence‐based recommendations for using polysomnography in assessing children, aged 2 to 18 years, with sleep‐disordered breathing and are candidates for tonsillectomy, with or without adenoidectomy. Polysomnography is the electrographic recording of simultaneous physiologic variables during sleep and is currently considered the gold standard for objectively assessing sleep disorders.

Purpose. There is no current consensus or guideline on when children 2 to 18 years of age, who are candidates for tonsillectomy, are recommended to have polysomnography. The primary purpose of this guideline is to improve referral patterns for polysomnography among these patients. In creating this guideline, the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation selected a panel representing the fields of anesthesiology, pulmonology medicine, otolaryngology–head and neck surgery, pediatrics, and sleep medicine.

Results. The committee made the following recommendations: (1) before determining the need for tonsillectomy, the clinician should refer children with sleep‐disordered breathing for polysomnography if they exhibit certain complex medical conditions such as obesity, Down syndrome, craniofacial abnormalities, neuromuscular disorders, sickle cell disease, or mucopolysaccharidoses. (2) The clinician should advocate for polysomnography prior to tonsillectomy for sleep‐disordered breathing in children without any of the comorbidities listed in statement 1 for whom the need for surgery is uncertain or when there is discordance between tonsillar size on physical examination and the reported severity of sleep‐disordered breathing. (3) Clinicians should communicate polysomnography results to the anesthesiologist prior to the induction of anesthesia for tonsillectomy in a child with sleep‐disordered breathing. (4) Clinicians should admit children with obstructive sleep apnea documented on polysomnography for inpatient, overnight monitoring after tonsillectomy if they are younger than age 3 or have severe obstructive sleep apnea (apnea‐hypopnea index of 10 or more obstructive events/hour, oxygen saturation nadir less than 80%, or both). (5) In children for whom polysomnography is indicated to assess sleep‐disordered breathing prior to tonsillectomy, clinicians should obtain laboratory‐based polysomnography, when available.
Tympanostomy Tube Placement and Vestibular Function in Children
Authors: Cohen Michael S. , Mandel Ellen M. , Furman Joseph M. , Sparto Patrick J. , Casselbrant Margaretha L.
Published: June 2011

Objective

To determine the effect of bilateral myringotomy with tube placement (BMT) on balance in children 4 to 7 years old.

Study Design

Case‐control study.

Setting

Tertiary‐care academic hospital.

Subjects and Methods

Children with otitis media with effusion (OME) who were scheduled for BMT underwent rotational chair testing (RCT) and computerized dynamic posturography (CDP) preoperatively and at 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively. Control children without a significant history of middle ear disease were tested at the same intervals. Analysis of covariance was performed to evaluate the effect of BMT on RCT and CDP outcomes with age as a covariate.

Results

Seventy‐two cases and 56 controls were enrolled. Mean (SD) age was 69 (12) months for cases and 72 (15) months for controls. No difference was seen between groups on RCT outcomes or sensory organization test (SOT) scores. Higher sway velocity during CDP was observed in the OME group both preoperatively and 1 month postoperatively. This difference was not statistically significant. There was no difference between groups 3 months postoperatively. At 6 months, the BMT group had a statistically significant decrease in sway velocity compared with the control group.

Conclusion

No difference was observed between children with OME and controls in RCT or SOT scores. Gradual improvement in sway velocity was observed after BMT. At the final time point, the groups did significantly differ in speed of sway, although the preoperative baseline difference failed to reach statistical significance. The authors suggest that physicians continue to inquire about balance development in patients with OME.
Hedges, Tag Questions, Message Processing, and Persuasion
Authors: Hosman Lawrence A. , Siltanen Susan A.
Published: June 2011

This study explored the effects of tag questions, hedges, and argument quality on receivers’ perceptions of a speaker, perceptions of message quality, cognitive responses, and attitude change. The results showed that tag questions and argument quality directly affected speaker and message quality perceptions and cognitive responses. They also interacted to directly affect perceptions of the speaker’s power and credibility. Mediational analyses also showed that tag questions and argument quality had indirect effects on attitude change. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the cognitive processing of and research on linguistic markers of powerlessness.
Effects of test-taker characteristics and the number of participants in group oral tests
Authors: Nakatsuhara Fumiyo
Published: June 2011

This study explores the nature of co-constructed interaction in group oral tests by examining whether a test-taker’s own and his or her group members’ extraversion levels and oral proficiency levels have different influences on conversational styles between two group sizes: groups of three and groups of four. Data were collected from 269 Japanese upper-secondary school students, who took group oral tests either in groups of three or four. All sessions were video-taped and transcribed following Conversation Analysis (CA) conventions. The data were quantitatively analysed in terms of goal-orientation, interactional contingency and quantitative dominance. Then, CA methodology was used to interpret and elaborate the statistical results. The findings have implications for our understanding of the group oral test construct and for appropriate choices of group size in group oral testing.
Measuring Informed Decision Making about Prostate Cancer Screening in Primary Care
Authors: Leader Amy , Daskalakis Constantine , Braddock Clarence H. , Kunkel Elisabeth J. S. , Cocroft James R. , Bereknyei Sylvia , Riggio Jeffrey M. , Capkin Mark , Myers Ronald E.
Published: June 2011

Purpose. To measure the extent of informed decision making (IDM) about prostate cancer screening in physician-patient encounters, describe the coding process, and assess the reliability of the IDM measure. Methods. Audiorecoded encounters of 146 older adult men and their primary care physicians were obtained in a randomized controlled trial of mediated decision support related to prostate cancer screening. Each encounter was dual coded for the presence or absence of 9 elements that reflect several important dimensions of IDM, such as information sharing, patient empowerment, and engaging patients in preference clarification. An IDM-9 score (range = 0–9) was determined for each encounter by summing the number of elements that were coded as present. Estimates of coding reliability and internal consistency were calculated. Results. Male patients tended to be white (59%), married (70%), and between the ages of 50 and 59 (70%). Physicians tended to be white (90%), male (74%), and have more than 10 years of practice experience (74%). IDM-9 scores ranged from 0 to 7.5 (mean [SD], 2.7 [2.1]). Reliability (0.90) and internal consistency (0.81) of the IDM-9 were both high. The IDM dimension observed most frequently was information sharing (74%), whereas the dimension least frequently observed was engagement in preference clarification (3.4%). Conclusions. In physician-patient encounters, the level of IDM concerning prostate cancer screening was low. The use of a dual-coding approach with audiorecorded encounters produced a measure of IDM that was reliable and internally consistent.
The Links Between Religiosity, Childhood Sexual Abuse, and Subsequent Marijuana Use
Authors: Chu Doris C.
Published: June 2011

A number of studies indicate that childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has a negative impact on later psychological well-being. It is well documented that experiences of CSA are associated with depression, self-destructiveness, and subsequent substance abuse or alcohol consumption. Compared with women who experienced no such sexual abuse in childhood, women who were victims of sexual abuse in childhood were more likely to be depressed and use drugs or consume alcohol in later life. Analyzing data of 1,569 females derived from the “Longitudinal Study of Violence Against Women,” this study examines whether the strain caused by sexual victimization leads to a higher level of subsequent marijuana use and whether religiosity moderates the negative effects of CSA. It was found that CSA was associated with an increased level of marijuana use in high school. However, more proximate sexual victimization (victimization in college) seemed to override the impact of CSA on subsequent marijuana use. Religiosity was found to moderate the effect of CSA on marijuana use in high school. Religiosity was negatively associated with marijuana use in high school as well as the second and fourth collegiate years. Policy implications and promising directions for future research are discussed.
Herlihy’s Thesis Revisited: Some Notes on Investment in Children in Medieval Muslim Societies
Authors: Giladi Avner
Published: June 2011

David Herlihy proposed ‘‘that we seek to evaluate, and on occasion even to measure, the psychological and economic investment which families and societies in the past were willing to make in their children’’ and suggested an alternative to both the ‘‘theory of discovered childhood [in Europe],’’ as introduced by Philippe Ariès and the notion of Lloyd DeMause that the historical evolution of child—parent relations in general formed a continuous and irreversible process of progress.This article shows that although we lack some of the archival sources that are essential for reconstructing the real lives of children in the premodern Mediterranean Muslim world, we are still able, with the ‘‘investment’’ criterion in mind, to assess attitudes toward children, at least in some defined periods of time and geographical regions.
Shoulder Range of Motion Measures as Risk Factors for Shoulder and Elbow Injuries in High School Softball and Baseball Players
Authors: Shanley Ellen , Rauh Mitchell J. , Michener Lori A. , Ellenbecker Todd S. , Garrison J. Craig , Thigpen Charles A.
Published: June 2011

Background: Range of motion deficits in shoulder external rotation (ER), internal rotation (IR), total rotation range of motion (ER + IR), and horizontal adduction (HA) have been retrospectively associated with overhand athletes’ arm injuries.

Hypothesis: The authors expected the incidence of upper extremity injury in high school softball and baseball players with side-to-side shoulder range of motion deficits to be greater than the incidence of upper extremity injury in players with normal shoulder range of motion.

Study Design: Cohort study (prognosis); Level of evidence, 2.

Methods: High school softball and baseball players (N = 246) participated. Before the start of the season, passive shoulder ER, IR, and HA were assessed at 90° of abduction with the scapula stabilized. Relative risk (RR) was calculated to examine range of motion measure, by categorical criteria, and risk of upper extremity injury.

Results: Twenty-seven shoulder and elbow injuries (9 softball, 18 baseball) were observed during the season. The dominant shoulder of all injured players and baseball players displayed a significant decrease in HA ( P = .05) and IR ( P = .04). The dominant shoulder total rotation of injured baseball players displayed a significant decrease (mean difference = 8.0° ± 0.1°; P = .05) as compared with the dominant shoulder of uninjured baseball players. Players who displayed a decrease of ≥25° of IR in the dominant shoulder were at 4 times greater risk of upper extremity injury compared with players with a <25° decrease in IR, especially for baseball players. While we observed a 1.5 to 2 times increased risk of injury for the 10° to 20° loss in rotational range of motion for the overall sample and baseball, the risk estimates were not statistically significant ( P > .05).

Conclusion: There are large mean deficits in shoulder IR and HA between injured and noninjured players, but not in ER or total rotation. Passive shoulder IR loss ≥25° as compared bilaterally was predictive of arm injury. Shoulder range of motion deficits differed between sports and appeared more predictive of injury for baseball players.
Recalled Peritraumatic Reactions, Self-Reported PTSD, and the Impact of Malingering and Fantasy Proneness in Victims of Interpersonal Violence Who Have Applied for State Compensation
Authors: Kunst Maarten , Winkel Frans Willem , Bogaerts Stefan
Published: June 2011

The present study explores the associations between three types of peritraumatic reactions (dissociation, distress, and tonic immobility) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in a sample of 125 victims of interpersonal violence who had applied for compensation with the Dutch Victim Compensation Fund (DCVF). In addition, the confounding roles of malingering and fantasy proneness are examined. Results indicate that tonic immobility did not predict PTSD symptom levels when adjusting for other forms of peritraumatic reactions, whereas peritraumatic dissociation and distress did. However, after the effects of malingering and fantasy proneness had been controlled for, malingering is the only factor associated with increased PTSD symptomatology. Implications for policy practice as well as study strengths and limitations are discussed.
Mechanical Behavior of Shape Memory Polymers by 1WE Method: Application to Tecoflex®
Authors: Schmidt C. , Chowdhury A.M.S. , Neuking K. , Eggeler G.
Published: June 2011

Thermomechanical cycles including programming, cooling, unloading, and heating to trigger the 1WE were examined for a shape memory polymer, Tecoflex® (TFX EG − 72D). Cycles were performed at 60°C with 300% strain and a recovery time of 10 min. Strains evolving with time were estimated during the thermomechanical treatments for the total 50 cycles using 300% strain. Recovery ratios for the 300% strain were also estimated. It turns out that programming, cooling, unloading and heating to trigger the 1WE causes an increase of irreversible strain and is associated with a corresponding decrease of the intensity of the 1WE in particular during the first thermomechanical cycles.
Evaluation of humped slab track performance in desert railways
Authors: Zakeri J A , Esmaeili M , Fathali M
Published: June 2011

The movement of sand dunes in desert railways has various harmful effects on conventional ballasted tracks. Ballast layer solidification and line closure due to the retention of sands are major problems in such areas. In this study, a new superstructure called ‘humped slab track’ is introduced which can obviate the main problems for desert railway tracks to a significant extent. This system applies the main advantage of the ballastless track which is theballast layer's elimination for avoiding the filling of ballast voids via sand dunes. Moreover, the rail seats in this superstructure were elevated above the slab level by means of reinforced concrete protuberances called humps. Hence, the transmission of sand dunes occurred through the transverse channels between the humps and beneath the rails. To demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed system, several multi-phase fluid simulations (involving solid sand particles and air) were accomplished using the computational fluid dynamic method. The results obtained for the maximum sand flow conditions show that the ballasted track needs to be closed after a very short time whereas the humped slab track is capable of enduring considerable sand flow conditions without any need for line closure.
Anisotropic strain transfer through the aortic valve and its relevance to the cellular mechanical environment
Authors: Lewinsohn A D , Anssari-Benham A , Lee D A , Taylor P M , Chester A H , Yacoub M H , Screen H R C
Published: June 2011

Aortic valve interstitial cells are responsible for maintaining the valve in response to their local mechanical environment. However, the complex organization of the extracellular matrix means cell strains cannot be directly derived from gross strains, and knowledge of tissue structure–function correlations is fundamental towards understanding mechanotransduction. This study investigates strain transfer through the valve, hypothesizing that organization of the valve matrix leads to non-homogenous local strains. Radial and circumferential samples were cut from aortic valve leaflets and subjected to quasi-static mechanical characterization. Further samples were imaged using confocal microscopy, to determine local strains in the matrix. Mechanical data demonstrated that the valve was significantly stronger and stiffer when loaded circumferentially, comparable with previous studies. Micromechanical studies demonstrated that strain transfer through the matrix is anisotropic and indirect, with local strains consistently smaller than applied strains in both orientations. Under radial loading, strains were transferred linearly to cells. However, under circumferential loading, strains were only one-third of applied values, with a less direct relationship between applied and local strains. This may result from matrix reorganization, and be important for preventing cellular damage during normal valve function. These findings should be taken into account when investigating interstitial cell behaviours, such as cell metabolism and mechanotransduction.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs-induced generalized fixed drug eruption: two cases
Authors: Bilgili SG , Calka O , Karadag AS , Akdeniz N , Kosem M
Published: June 2011

Fixed drug eruption (FDE) is a drug-induced cutaneous reaction that occurs at the same site with each exposure to a specific medication and usually manifests as round or oval, sharply demarcated erythematous or edematous plaques. The exact mechanism is unknown. The most common causative agent is co-trimoxazole. Other major categories of causative agents of FDE include antibiotics, antiepileptics, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). FDE usually causes localized eruptions and very rarely generalized lesions. We report two cases of developing generalized FDEs after exposure to diclofenac and naproxen.
Vulvar epithelioid hemangiosarcoma with solar elastosis in a mare
Authors: Gumber Sanjeev , Baia Petrisor , Wakamatsu Nobuko
Published: June 2011

A 15-year-old female gray Appaloosa horse was presented with history of a mass over the right dorsal commissure of vulva for the past 7 months. Based on histopathological examination, and positive staining with factor VIII–related antigen, vimentin, and Verhoeff–van Gieson stain, the vulvar mass was diagnosed as hemangiosarcoma with marked solar elastosis.
Brucella sp. vertebral osteomyelitis with intercurrent fatal Staphylococcus aureus toxigenic enteritis in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
Authors: Goertz Caroline E. C. , Frasca Salvatore , Bohach Gregory A. , Cowan Daniel F. , Buck John D. , French Richard A. , De Guise Sylvain , Maratea Jennifer , Hinckley Lynn , Ewalt Darla , Schlievert Patrick M. , Karst Sheila M. , Deobald Claudia F. , St. Aubin David J. , Dunn J. Lawrence
Published: June 2011

A previously beach-stranded, juvenile, male, bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus) was diagnosed with vertebral osteomyelitis of unknown etiology. Antemortem serological testing suggested past or current Brucella sp. infection; however, this could not be confirmed prior to death despite multiple isolation attempts from aspirates, blood, and biopsies. Systemic antibiotics were administered for over a year to control the suspected infection; however, the animal succumbed peracutely to infection by a highly pathogenic, enterotoxin-secreting Staphylococcus sp. Gross necropsy findings included a fistulous tract leading to locally extensive osteomyelitis of a coccygeal vertebra with sequestra and osteophytes from which a Brucella species was isolated. Histopathological examination of intestine revealed pseudomembranous enteritis with a uniform population of intraluminal Gram-positive cocci. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated in pure culture from the intestine and tested positive for the staphylococcal enterotoxin A gene by polymerase chain reaction analysis. Serum taken shortly before death had endotoxin and elevated antibody titers to staphylococcal enterotoxin A when compared to samples collected during a period of apparent good health 18 months earlier. The isolation of a pyrogenic toxin superantigen-producing staphylococcal isolate, clinical signs, and diagnostic findings in this animal resembled some of those noted in human toxic shock syndrome. The present case highlights the clinical challenges of treating chronic illnesses, complications of long-term antibiotic use, and promotion of pathogenic strains in cases of prolonged rehabilitation of marine mammals.
Variation in Bluetongue virus real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay results in blood samples of sheep, cattle, and alpaca
Authors: Brito Barbara P. , Gardner Ian A. , Hietala Sharon K. , Crossley Beate M.
Published: June 2011

Bluetongue is a vector-borne viral disease that affects domestic and wild ruminants. The epidemiology of this disease has recently changed, with occurrence in new geographic areas. Various real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (real-time qRT-PCR) assays are used to detect Bluetongue virus (BTV); however, the impact of biologic differences between New World camelids and domestic ruminant samples on PCR efficiency, for which the BTV real-time qRT-PCR was initially validated are unknown. New world camelids are known to have important biologic differences in whole blood composition, including hemoglobin concentration, which can alter PCR performance. In the present study, sheep, cattle, and alpaca blood were spiked with BTV serotypes 10, 11, 13, and 17 and analyzed in 10-fold dilutions by real-time qRT-PCR to determine if species affected nucleic acid recovery and assay performance. A separate experiment was performed using spiked alpaca blood subsequently diluted in 10-fold series in sheep blood to assess the influence of alpaca blood on performance efficiency of the BTV real-time qRT-PCR assay. Results showed that BTV-specific nucleic acid detection from alpaca blood was consistently 1–2 logs lower than from sheep and cattle blood, and results were similar for each of the 4 BTV serotypes analyzed.
Newcastle disease
Authors: Cattoli Giovanni , Susta Leonardo , Terregino Calogero , Brown Corrie
Published: June 2011

Newcastle disease (ND) remains a constant threat to the poultry industry and is a limiting disease for poultry producers worldwide. The variety of clinical presentations and the emergence and spread of new genetic variants make recognition and diagnosis challenging. The current review details the pertinent features of the clinicopathologic disease in the main susceptible species, including chicken, turkey, duck, goose, pigeon, and other birds such as cormorants, psittacines, and canaries. Furthermore, the available and emerging laboratory diagnostic methodologies for the detection and typing of the virus are reviewed, including traditional techniques such as virus isolation and immunohistochemistry as well as rapid procedures based on molecular tools, such as real-time polymerase chain reaction, gene sequencing, and microarrays. The relevant genetic variability of ND viruses probably represents the major limitation in the validation and application of the current, advanced diagnostic molecular techniques. This underscores the importance of a multidisciplinary and comprehensive diagnostic approach, which should include, next to the new generation assays of the genomic era, the more traditional techniques such as histopathology, immunohistochemistry, and virus isolation.
Quantification of Equid herpesvirus 5 DNA in clinical and necropsy specimens collected from a horse with equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis
Authors: Marenzoni Maria Luisa , Passamonti Fabrizio , Lepri Elvio , Cercone Marta , Capomaccio Stefano , Cappelli Katia , Felicetti Michela , Coppola Giacomo , Coletti Mauro , Thiry Etienne
Published: June 2011

A 15-year-old Belgian gelding was referred for fever, depression, and respiratory distress. Lung biopsy revealed interstitial fibrosis consistent with chronic interstitial pneumonia. Equid herpesvirus 5 (EHV-5) DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in bronchoalveolar lavage and biopsy specimens. A presumptive diagnosis of equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis (EMPF) was made, and the horse was administered a systemic treatment with corticosteroids and antiviral drugs. Despite initial clinical improvement, 4 weeks later, the condition of the horse rapidly deteriorated, and the animal was euthanized. Postmortem examination confirmed the presumptive diagnosis of EMPF. The EHV-5 DNA load in different tissues was estimated using a quantitative real-time PCR. Lung had a remarkable viral load, higher than in other organs, especially within the pulmonary fibrotic nodules, and a linkage between high viral burden and the most severely affected tissues was observed. The results suggest that the quantitative real-time PCR is a useful tool to quantify the EHV-5 load in different organs and to understand the relationship between EHV-5 and EMPF. The bronchoalveolar lavage was determined to be a good clinical sample to estimate the EHV-5 load in lung.
Multi-organ involvement of Heterobilharzia americana infection in a dog presented for systemic mineralization
Authors: Corapi Wayne V. , Ajithdoss Dharani K. , Snowden Karen F. , Spaulding Kathy A.
Published: June 2011

Canine schistosomiasis due to Heterobilharzia americana is a clinically underdiagnosed disease in dogs, which is found primarily in the Gulf Coast and south Atlantic region of the United States. A 3-year-old dog from Texas with a clinical diagnosis of systemic mineralization of unknown origin in the absence of evidence of hypercalcemia was found at necropsy to have severe disseminated H. americana infection involving the liver, pancreas, small and large intestine, lungs, and kidneys. Calcification of many of the large number of H. americana eggs gave the false impression of soft-tissue mineralization on radiographic and ultrasonographic images. Polymerase chain reaction amplification and sequencing of DNA derived from formalin-fixed sections of small intestine and liver, using primers specific for a 487–base pair segment of the H. americana small subunit ribosomal RNA gene, confirmed the presence of H. americana.
Suicide Notes Among Native Americans, Hispanics, and Anglos
Authors: Olson Lenora M. , Wahab Stéphanie , Thompson Cheryl W. , Durrant Lynne
Published: June 2011

Suicide is a significant health problem, yet many questions regarding suicide remain unanswered. One of the most frequently asked questions is related to motive: “Why did that person complete suicide?” We explored motivations for completing suicide, especially with regard to cultural differences, by analyzing suicide notes written by Native Americans, Hispanics, and Anglos in New Mexico. Five categories emerged describing motivation: feelings of (a) alienation, (b) failure or inadequacy, (c) being psychologically overwhelmed; (d) the desire to leave problems behind, and (e) reunification in an afterlife. The largest difference to emerge between ethnic groups was in the alienation category, which included more Hispanics and Native Americans than Anglos. The overall lack of differences in motivation among the ethnic groups suggests that commonalities in suicidal behavior outweigh the differences. Practical implications for research and practice are discussed, along with strengths and limitations of the study.
Behavioral Activation and Therapeutic Exposure for Bereavement in Older Adults
Authors: Acierno Ron , Rheingold Alyssa , Amstadter Ananda , Kurent Jerome , Amella Elaine , Resnick Heidi , Muzzy Wendy , Lejuez Carl
Published: June 2011

The development and clinical trial of a 5-session behavioral intervention for complicated bereavement (CB) is presented. We conceptualized CB in terms of Major Depression (MDD) and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and consequently applied treatment components of Behavioral Activation and Therapeutic Exposure (BA-TE). In order to assure standardization of treatment, control costs, and engage patients, a multi-media, multi-context format was adopted to address avoidance and withdrawal behaviors conceptualized as central pathogenic responses in CB. Participants (N = 26) were assessed before and after BA-TE treatment via structured clinical interview and standardized questionnaires in terms of PTSD, MDD, CB, and health concerns. The number of days since the death of the loved one was widely variable and served as a covariate for all outcome analyses. ANCOVAS revealed statistically significant improvement, irrespective of how many days since death had elapsed prior to initiation of intervention, on structured interviews and self-report measures for most outcome variables.
Development and Validation of the Coping With Terror Scale
Authors: Stein Nathan R. , Schorr Yonit , Litz Brett T. , King Lynda A. , King Daniel W. , Solomon Zahava , Horesh Danny
Published: June 2011

Terrorism creates lingering anxiety about future attacks. In prior terror research, the conceptualization and measurement of coping behaviors were constrained by the use of existing coping scales that index reactions to daily hassles and demands. The authors created and validated the Coping with Terror Scale to fill the measurement gap. The authors emphasized content validity, leveraging the knowledge of terror experts and groups of Israelis. A multistep approach involved construct definition and item generation, trimming and refining the measure, exploring the factor structure underlying item responses, and garnering evidence for reliability and validity. The final scale comprised six factors that were generally consistent with the authors’ original construct specifications. Scores on items linked to these factors demonstrate good reliability and validity. Future studies using the Coping with Terror Scale with other populations facing terrorist threats are needed to test its ability to predict resilience, functional impairment, and psychological distress.
Two Nomads Writing: A Textor’s Review
Authors: Badley Graham
Published: June 2011

“Between the Two” by Ken Gale and Jonathan Wyatt has been praised as methodologically significant and pedagogically important. Indeed reviewers may well struggle to challenge a book variously described as beautiful, brilliant, evocative, erudite, original, profound, and sensitive. A critical or nonaffirmative review may well be received as sour and curmudgeonly. Nevertheless, despite this risk, an attempt is made to critique the book in the form of a textor’s review. A textor is described as a weaver of threads and, by extension, a fabricator or maker of texts, so this review is a text created or fabricated to be about another text. The review is presented as a series of textual scores, which are intended to help the textor examine issues raised in the book including those of the writers seeing themselves as actual or virtual nomads, as collaborative writers, and as two individuals striving, apparently, to become one.
The Textor, the Nomads, and a Labyrinth: A Response to Graham Badley
Authors: Wyatt Jonathan , Gale Ken
Published: June 2011

This paper is a response to Graham Badley’s welcome article in this volume, Two Nomads Writing , in which he takes issue with Gale and Wyatt’s 2009 book, Between the Two: A Nomadic Inquiry into Collaborative Writing and Subjectivity . In this paper, the authors address the two key points he raises, the first of which concerns the value or otherwise of the book’s contribution and the second the authors’ use of postmodern `jargon’. Wyatt and Gale argue that Badley does not engage with and/or misunderstands, the Deleuzian notion of the subject that they explore in their book and that the `difficult’ language connects with the complex notions that Deleuze invites us to consider. The authors end with responding to Badley’s observation that conflict and challenge are missing within their writing.
In Indigenous Words: Exploring Vignettes as a Narrative Strategy for Presenting the Research Voices of Aboriginal Community Members
Authors: Blodgett Amy T. , Schinke Robert J. , Smith Brett , Peltier Duke , Pheasant Chris
Published: June 2011

Recently, awareness within academia has grown regarding the incompatibilities of mainstream research with indigenous cultures as well as the historical injustices that have accrued through colonizing practices. Accordingly, support for alternative (non-Westernized) research approaches has been increasing. Participatory action research (PAR) and cultural praxis reflect two approaches where researchers advocate for a movement toward cultural inclusivity. Both approaches have been integrated within the current work amongst mainstream academics and Aboriginal community members in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. The purpose of the current project was to empower Aboriginal coresearchers to share their voices regarding research, grounded within their lived experiences and the surrounding cultural context. Vignettes were developed as a method for presenting each Aboriginal coresearcher’s story in their “own words.” In this article, vignettes are explored as a potential method for centralizing indigenous voices and ultimately enabling PAR and praxis.