bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How Pricing Teams Develop Effective Pricing Strategies for New Products
Authors: Feurer Sven , Schuhmacher Monika C. , Kuester Sabine
Published: March 2018

Companies increasingly rely on pricing teams to master the complexity of pricing a new product. However, little is known about how firms should design such pricing teams. In this study, pricing teams are defined as two or more professionals within a firm who are formally or informally involved in the decision‐making process with regard to the pricing strategy for a new product. Drawing on the information‐processing view of organizational design, this study presents a framework of how pricing teams develop effective pricing strategies for such new products. Specifically, the authors provide evidence that rationality and intuition are two key pricing team information‐processing modes that drive the effectiveness of a new product's pricing strategy. The authors examine how pricing team characteristics—stability, experience, size, autonomy, and functional diversity—enable pricing teams to apply rationality and intuition when developing a new product's pricing strategy. Using data gathered from managers involved in pricing team decisions, the authors demonstrate that pricing teams can be designed to enable the application of pricing team rationality and intuition in this realm, thereby driving effectiveness of the pricing strategy. Product innovativeness moderates these relationships. Specifically, while pricing team rationality has an unambiguously positive effect on pricing strategy effectiveness, pricing team intuition is functional for high levels of product innovativeness and dysfunctional for low levels of product innovativeness. Consequently, managers should not inhibit intuitive decision‐making processes under all circumstances but allow intuition to complement rational decision‐making in the development of pricing strategies for really new products. Choosing the right pricing team design can facilitate the effective use of rationality and intuition.

Practitioner Points

Companies frequently employ pricing teams to master the complexity of developing pricing strategies for new products.

In the case of incrementally new products, pricing team members should be experienced but membership should remain stable throughout the pricing strategy task to curb the use of intuition.

In the case of really new products, pricing team members should also be experienced but membership should fluctuate throughout the pricing strategy task to facilitate the use of intuition.

Managers should not inhibit intuitive decision‐making processes under all circumstances but allow intuition to complement rational decision‐making in the development of pricing strategies for really new products.
Retrospectively analysing condition in historical samples of birds
Authors: Møller A. P. , Laursen K. , Hobson K. A.
Published: March 2018

Large amounts of nitrogen are used as fertilizer across the globe annually exceeding 100 million metric tons, with consequences for primary productivity and effects at higher trophic levels. We measured δ15N values in feathers from samples of eidersSomateria mollissimawintering on the Danish coast in 2014‐2016 and a century ago, using museum specimens. Blue musselsMytilus edulisare filter feeders relying on phytoplankton as food and they constitute the main diet of eiders. Feather δ15N increased by 40% during the past century reflecting increased terrestrial runoff of N through agricultural use of fertilizer, in turn supporting increased primary production in shallow coastal systems. This increase in δ15N was associated with an increase in body mass and longer duration of moult. However, there was a recent decrease in the quality of feathers as reflected by more fault bars and a higher degree of feather wear suggesting that longer duration of moult comes at a cost in terms of poorer feather quality. These findings imply that terrestrial nitrogen subsidies to coastal marine systems from anthropogenic sources has profound effects on species such as the eider as revealed by the effects on body condition and plumage quality and hence the ability to fly and dive.
Public Mass Murderers and Federal Mental Health Background Checks
Authors: Silver James , Fisher William , Horgan John
Published: March 2018

The litany of public mass murders, from Aurora, Newtown, Charleston, Las Vegas, and Parkland to less well‐known incidents that occur yearly, has focused national attention on federally mandated mental health background checks of prospective gun purchasers. The call has been to put more gun‐disqualifying mental health records into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System database to prevent “deranged” murderers from buying guns and running amok. Our study examines whether increasing the robustness of the mental health background database will likely prevent potential public mass murderers from buying guns. Building on research that shows that serious mental illness contributes little to the risk of interpersonal violence and, further, that few persons with serious mental illness acquire gun‐disqualifying mental health records, we examine whether public mass murderers are among the small percentage of those with serious mental illness who do have gun‐disqualifying mental health records. Using a large sample of 106 US offenders who used a firearm to commit a public mass murder from 1990 to 2014, we find that half of the offenders had a history of mental illness or mental health treatment but that less than 5 percent had gun‐disqualifying mental health records. Implications of these findings and recommendations for further research are discussed.
The pleasures of reading non‐fiction
Authors: Alexander Joy , Jarman Ruth
Published: March 2018

This article examines data gathered in a broader study of a school‐based reading challenge to children aged from 8 to 14 to read science information books, centred in their school or class library. A survey was conducted before they embarked on the reading challenge to establish the children's reading habits. After the period of time allotted to the challenge had ended, participating teachers and children completed questionnaires and a sample from each were interviewed. Evidence relating to reading non‐fiction for pleasure was identified and extracted from the dataset and analysed. Prior to the challenge, most children's attitude to science books was that they would be boring, difficult or at variance with what they perceived as their reader identity. More positive attitudes resulted from taking part in the challenge. Contemporary science information books were found to be in themselves a source of pleasure. It is concluded that it is possible to differentiate between the pleasures of fiction and non‐fiction and that different types of pleasure which are derived from reading science non‐fiction can also be differentiated, ranging from extrinsic to intrinsic and including efferent and aesthetic. A tentative typology of intrinsic pleasures is proposed.
Collecting the Puerto Rican Colony: Spanish‐American War Material Encounters between Officer‐Wives and Puerto Ricans
Authors: Guzmán Amanda J.
Published: March 2018

Within a current moment characterized by widespread diaspora and debate about national identities, the American commonwealth of Puerto Rico stands at an economically perilous, politically liminal classificatory intersection as both American and a “cultural other.” This article presents an on‐the‐ground, collection‐oriented intervention for documenting and interpreting the origins of the island's complex colonial relationship with the United States. Tacking between objects, texts, and photographs, the historical context of the Spanish‐American War is explored through the case study of the Puerto Rican Ethnological Collection at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). TheNMNH's assemblage reveals previously unrecognized intercultural exchanges between officer‐wife collectors (collectors who were the wives of military officers stationed in Puerto Rico) and local makers. The perspectives of these two differentially disenfranchised, yet agential, groups, which formed part of the ideological formation of Puerto Rico within a nationalist museum imaginary, simultaneously reconstruct and complicate Puerto Rican narratives. [Puerto Rico, Caribbean, Spanish‐American War, women collectors, miniatures]
Molecular identification and susceptibility profile of Sporothrix schenckii sensu lato isolated in Argentina
Authors: Córdoba Susana , Isla Guillermina , Szusz Wanda , Vivot Walter , Hevia Alejandra , Davel Graciela , Canteros Cristina E.
Published: March 2018

We studied 23 clinical and environmental strains of Sporothrix schenckii sensu lato collected from 1984 to 2017 in Argentina. The molecular identification (partial sequencing of a fragment of the calmodulin gene) of the strains was performed. For the yeast and mycelial phases, the in vitro susceptibility testing by a microdilution reference method was determined against eight antifungal drugs. Strains studied were identified as S. schenckii sensu stricto 13 (56.5%), S. brasiliensis 8 (34.7%) and S. globosa 2 (8.7%). The most active antifungal drugs tested for the yeast and mycelial phases expressed as geometric mean (GM) value of the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) (μg mL−1) were terbinafine (0.07 and 0.24), posaconazole (0.13 and 0.58), itraconazole (0.38 and 1.10) and ketoconazole (0.22 and 0.89), while fluconazole (110.10 and 131.92) and flucytosine (2.96 and 79.03) were the less active. For voriconazole and amphotericin B the GM‐MIC values were acceptably low for the yeast phase (0.39 and 0.72 μg mL−1), while the mycelial phase showed values ≥2‐fold higher (8.76 and 1.88 μg mL−1), P < .05. Here, we described S. schenckii sensu stricto, S. brasiliensis and S. globosa, these species were isolated from humans, animals and soil and are circulating in Argentina since at least 1984.
Detection of some newTrichosporonspecies from the dystrophied nails of three female members of a family from North Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir
Authors: Kotwal Sandeep , Sumbali Geeta , Sharma Supriya , Kaul Sanjana
Published: March 2018

Dermatophytes are considered as the main pathogens responsible for onychomycosis, but recently successive isolations of yeast‐like fungi from the infected nails has led to consider these also as primary agents of nail infections.Trichosporonspecies which are non‐candidal, basidiomycetous, yeast‐like, anamorphic fungi are commonly isolated from soil but they are also emerging as important etiological agents of onychomycosis. Three species ofTrichosporonviz.,T. asahii,T. asteroidesandT. faecalewere isolated from the infected nails of three female members of a family from district Doda of Jammu and Kashmir State. Among the isolated species ofTrichosporon,T. asahiiwas recovered from the nail samples of all the three members, thus confirming its recognition as a main pathogenic species of onychomycosis. So far, there is no report ofT. asteroidesandT. faecalecausing onychomycosis and hence they constitute new additions to the list of onychomycotic fungi. Some of the predisposing factors like low socio‐economic condition, poor hygiene, frequent exposure of finger nails to water and dirt, climatic conditions and nail trauma were observed to be the main causes of nail infection in these patients. However, a link between the pathogenic genus and the genetic makeup of the patients is also probable.
Rhizosphere priming effects on soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics among tree species with and without intraspecific competition
Authors: Yin Liming , Dijkstra Feike A. , Wang Peng , Zhu Biao , Cheng Weixin
Published: March 2018

Rhizosphere priming effects (RPEs) play a central role in modifying soil organic matter mineralization. However, effects of tree species and intraspecific competition on RPEs are poorly understood.

We investigated RPEs of three tree species (larch, ash and Chinese fir) and the impact of intraspecific competition of these species on the RPE by growing them at two planting densities for 140 d. We determined the RPE on soil organic carbon (C) decomposition, gross and net nitrogen (N) mineralization and net plant N acquisition.

Differences in the RPE among species were associated with differences in plant biomass. Gross N mineralization and net plant N acquisition increased, but net N mineralization decreased, as the RPE on soil organic C decomposition increased. Intraspecific competition reduced the RPE on soil organic C decomposition, gross and net N mineralization, and net plant N acquisition, especially for ash and Chinese fir.

Microbial N mining may explain the overall positive RPEs across species, whereas intensified plant–microbe competition for N may have reduced the RPE with intraspecific competition. Overall, the species‐specific effects of tree species play an important role in modulating the magnitude and mechanisms of RPEs and the intraspecific competition on soil C and N dynamics.
CTLA‐4Ig (abatacept) balances bone anabolic effects of T cells and Wnt‐10b with antianabolic effects of osteoblastic sclerostin
Authors: Roser‐Page Susanne , Vikulina Tatyana , Weiss Daiana , Habib Mark M. , Beck George R. , Pacifici Roberto , Lane Timothy F. , Weitzmann M. Neale
Published: March 2018

Activated lymphocytes promote inflammation and bone destruction in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), making T cells and B cells therapeutic targets. Indeed, pharmacological blockade of CD28 costimulation using CTLA‐4Ig (abatacept), approved for amelioration of RA, renders T cells dormant (anergic). CTLA‐4Ig also promotes bone accretion in healthy mice; surprisingly, however, this effect is driven exclusively through upregulation of bone formation, rather than anti‐inflammatory effects on resorption. In the study presented here, we utilized T cell receptor β gene and Wnt‐10b gene knockout mice to investigate the roles of T cells and Wnt‐10b in CTLA‐4Ig–induced bone anabolism. Ablation of either T cells or Wnt‐10b not only abolished CTLA‐4Ig–induced bone anabolism but also, paradoxically, suppressed bone formation leading to bone loss. Stalled bone formation was accompanied by bone marrow stromal cell expression of the Wnt pathway inhibitor sclerostin. Our data suggest that an immunoskeletal pivot may promote or suppress bone formation, depending on the net outcome of CTLA‐4Ig action directed independently on T cells and osteoblast‐linage cells that counter Wnt‐10b–induced bone anabolism, by secretion of sclerostin. While CTLA‐4Ig action is tipped in favor of bone formation under physiological conditions, pathological immunodeficiency may lead to suppressed bone formation and skeletal damage.
Hypothalamic endoplasmic reticulum stress as a key mediator of obesity‐induced leptin resistance
Authors: Ye Z. , Liu G. , Guo J. , Su Z.
Published: March 2018

Obesity is an epidemic disease that is increasing worldwide and is a major risk factor for many metabolic diseases. However, effective agents for the prevention or treatment of obesity remain limited. Therefore, it is urgent to clarify the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the development and progression of obesity and exploit potential agents to cure and prevent this disease. According to a recent study series, obesity is associated with the development of endoplasmic reticulum stress and the activation of its stress responses (unfolded protein response) in metabolically active tissues, which contribute to the development of obesity‐related insulin and leptin resistance, inflammation and energy imbalance. Hypothalamic endoplasmic reticulum stress is the central mechanism underlying the development of obesity‐associated leptin resistance and disruption of energy homeostasis; thus, targeting endoplasmic reticulum stress offers a promising therapeutic strategy for improving leptin sensitivity, increasing energy expenditure and ultimately combating obesity. In this review, we highlight the relationship between and mechanism underlying hypothalamic endoplasmic reticulum stress and obesity‐associated leptin resistance and energy imbalance and provide new insight regarding strategies for the treatment of obesity.
Healthcare providers’ experiences of assessing and performing oral care in older adults
Authors: Ek Kristina , Browall Maria , Eriksson Monika , Eriksson Irene
Published: March 2018

Aims and objectives

The purpose of this study was to describe healthcare providers’ experiences, knowledge and attitudes in relation to the assessment of oral health in older adults.

Background

Oral health is an important element in the care of older adults. An increasing proportion of older people need the help and support of community‐based healthcare services, which are responsible for providing oral health assessment for this group. Although oral care is an important part of nursing care, studies show that it is often an overlooked area in the care of older people.

Design

An inductive qualitative description design was used.

Methods

The participating healthcare providers were selected from a municipality in western Sweden. Purposeful sampling was employed and data were collected through focus‐group interviews and were analysed with content analysis.

Results

The analysis resulted in four categories: healthcare providers’ knowledge and attitudes to oral health; routines affect flexibility; challenges in assessing and performing oral care and ethical dilemmas. The results showed that oral health was neglected because of several factors. Lack of knowledge, inadequate procedures and time constraints were most prominent. The healthcare providers’ own attitudes affected the performing of oral health assessments. Ethical dilemmas related to the attitudes of those people in receipt of care and their relatives, and their integrity and autonomy, could be seen as complicating factors.

Conclusions

The healthcare providers expressed that they did not have the necessary knowledge of oral health that was required in their area of responsibility. In addition, they described their own attitudes as being important when attending to the patients’ oral health.

Implications for practice

The healthcare providers themselves identified lack of knowledge and their own attitudes as being especially important factors in the oral care of older adults, and further research in this area is needed.
Navigating tensions in co‐production: A missing link in leadership for public value
Authors: Brown Prudence R. , Head Brian W.
Published: March 2018

New forms of public leadership are needed to design and implement co‐production of public value. We draw on narrative analysis to explore the barriers to developing the capacity for co‐production of public value in disadvantaged and vulnerable Indigenous communities and find that existing norms not only crowd out efforts at reform, but can work against them. In particular, we find that upward accountability and a focus on expert knowledge are the most problematic for co‐production of public value. We focus on how more traditional practices of public administration mediated the achievements of public leaders in their co‐production efforts when Australian governments introduced strategies for partnership with Indigenous communities for services design and delivery. The analysis suggests that creating a broader enabling environment of supportive logics would allow public leaders to engage more productively with inherent tensions between old and new ways of working.
Contribution of repeated infections in asthma persistence from preschool to school age: Design and characteristics of the PreDicta cohort
Authors: Xepapadaki Paraskevi , Bachert Claus , Finotto Susetta , Jartti Tuomas , Konstantinou George N. , Kiefer Alexander , Kowalski Marek , Lewandowska‐Polak Anna , Lukkarinen Heikki , Roumpedaki Eirini , Sobanska Anna , Sintobin Ina , Vuorinen Tytti , Zhang Nan , Zimmermann Theodor , Papadopoulos Nikolaos G.
Published: March 2018

Background

The PreDicta cohort was designed to prospectively evaluate wheeze/asthma persistence in preschoolers in association with viral/microbial exposures and immunological responses. We present the cohort design and demographic/disease characteristics and evaluate unsupervised and predefined phenotypic subgroups at inclusion.

Methods

PreDicta is a 2‐year prospective study conducted in five European regions, including children 4‐6 years with a diagnosis of asthma as cases and healthy age‐matched controls. At baseline, detailed information on demographics, asthma and allergy‐related disease activity, exposures, and lifestyle were recorded. Lung function, airway inflammation, and immune responses were also assessed. Power analysis confirmed that the cohort is adequate to answer the initial hypothesis.

Results

A total of 167 asthmatic children (102 males) and 66 healthy controls (30 males) were included. Groups were homogeneous in respect to most baseline characteristics, with the exception of male gender in cases (61%) and exposure to tobacco smoke. Comorbidities and number and duration of infections were significantly higher in asthmatics than controls. 55.7% of asthmatic children had at least one positive skin prick test to aeroallergens (controls: 33.3%, P = .002). Spirometric and exhaled nitric oxide values were within normal limits; only baseline FEV0.5 and FEV1 reversibility values were significantly different between groups. Viral infections were the most common triggers (89.2%) independent of severity, control, or atopy; however, overlapping phenotypes were also common. Severity and control clustered together in an unsupervised analysis, separating moderate from mild disease.

Conclusions

The PreDicta cohort presented no differences in non‐asthma related measures; however, it is well balanced regarding key phenotypic characteristics representative of “preschool asthma”.
YouTube and food allergy: An appraisal of the educational quality of information
Authors: Reddy Keerthi , Kearns Mary , Alvarez‐Arango Santiago , Carrillo‐Martin Ismael , Cuervo‐Pardo Nathaly , Cuervo‐Pardo Lyda , Dimov Ves , Lang David M. , Lopez‐Alvarez Sonia , Schroer Brian , Mohan Kaushik , Dula Mark , Zheng Simin , Kozinetz Claudia , Gonzalez‐Estrada Alexei
Published: March 2018

Background

Food allergy affects an estimated 8% of children and 3% of adults in the United States. Food‐allergic individuals increasingly use the web for medical information. We sought to determine the educational quality of food allergy YouTube videos.

Methods

We performed a YouTube search using keywords “food allergy” and “food allergies”. The 300 most viewed videos were included and analyzed for characteristics, source, and content. Source was further classified as healthcare provider, alternative medicine provider, patient, company, media, and professional society. A scoring system (FA‐DQS) was created to evaluate quality (−10 to +34 points). Negative points were assigned for misleading information. Eight reviewers scored each video independently.

Results

Three hundred videos were analyzed, with a median of 6351.50 views, 19 likes, and 1 dislike. More video presenters were female (54.3%). The most common type of video source was alternative medicine provider (26.3%). Alternative treatments included the following: water fast, juicing, Ayurveda, apple cider, yoga, visualization, and sea moss. Controversial diagnostics included kinesiology, IgG testing, and pulse test. Almost half of the videos depicted a non‐IgE‐mediated reaction (49.0%).Videos by professional societies had the highest FA‐DQS (7.27). Scores for videos by professional societies were significantly different from other sources (P < .001). There was a high degree of agreement among reviewers (ICC = 0.820; P < .001).

Conclusion

YouTube videos on food allergy frequently recommend controversial diagnostics and commonly depict non‐IgE‐mediated reactions. There is a need for high‐quality, evidence‐based, educational videos on food allergy.
Plywood‐like shell microstructures in hyoliths from the middle Cambrian (Drumian) Gowers Formation, Georgina Basin, Australia
Authors: Moore J. L. , Porter Susannah M.
Published: March 2018

Hyoliths are a group of Palaeozoic fossils with calcareous shells whose affinities remain controversial. As their shells were originally aragonitic, their fossils are usually coarsely recrystallized, and few data on their microstructure are available. We report hyoliths from the middle Cambrian (Drumian, Floran) Gowers Formation of the eastern Georgina Basin, Queensland. These are preserved as phosphatic internal moulds, often with the inner layers of the shell also partly replaced by phosphate. Microstructural details preserved by this early diagenetic phosphatization show that these hyolith conchs were originally composed of fibrous crystallites,c. 0.5 μm wide, parallel to one another and to the inner surface of the shell. In several species, the fibres are arranged in a plywood‐like structure composed of multiple lamellae with a different fibre orientation in each lamella: often they are transversely oriented (relative to the long axis of the conch) in the inner part of the wall and longitudinally oriented in the outer part. Opercula also show a microstructure of parallel fibres. The lamello‐fibrillar microstructure we report from hyoliths is reminiscent of microstructures of many Cambrian molluscs; that this microstructure is found in both conchs and opercula suggests that these structures are serial homologues of one another, and in this respect they resemble brachiopod valves. As with many other biological plywoods, the hyolith shell probably records self‐organization in a liquid‐crystal‐like organic matrix. This provided a straightforward way to construct a material that could resist stresses from different directions, offering an effective defence against predators.
Lifestyle and overall health in high school children: Results from the Toyama birth cohort study, Japan
Authors: Li Weixiu , Sekine Michikazu , Yamada Masaaki , Fujimura Yuko , Tatsuse Takashi
Published: March 2018

Background

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between lifestyle and overall health in high school children.

Methods

Subjects were from the Toyama Birth Cohort Study, a prospective, longitudinal study of children born between 1989 and 1990, and who lived in Toyama Prefecture, Japan, at the time of the survey. This investigation used data from phase 5 of the Birth Cohort Study, which was conducted in 2005, when the children were in high school. Participants included 4,966 children (2,449 boys and 2,517 girls) aged 15–16 years old. A questionnaire was designed to measure lifestyle factors such as eating habits, physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleeping pattern. A question from a validated Japanese version of the Dartmouth Primary Care Cooperative Information Project was used to evaluate overall health in children. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine if lifestyle factors are associated with overall health in high school children.

Results

Boys who skipped breakfast and had short night‐time sleep duration (≤6 h per night) were more likely to have poor health status. Girls who skipped breakfast, and had night‐time eating patterns, personal computer use >4 h per day, and short night‐time sleep duration (≤6 h/night) were more likely to have poor health status.

Conclusions

Undesirable lifestyle was associated with poor health status in high school boys and girls. Further understanding of these relationships is needed to facilitate the development of interventions that will help children with poor health status.
The Political Use of Evidence and Its Contribution to Democratic Discourse
Authors: Schlaufer Caroline , Stucki Iris , Sager Fritz
Published: March 2018

This article argues that evidence, even when used politically, contributes to high‐quality democratic discourse. Research results on the use of evidence in referendum campaigns in Switzerland show that (1) evidence fosters discourse quality and shifts the focus away from politics to policy; (2) evaluations and basic research contribute positively to discourse, but not opinion surveys and statistics; (3) the participation of experts and administrative practitioners in discourse is crucial to make evidence available to the public; and (4) evidence is always used as a part of a narrative and can alter the constructed images used in a story. In conclusion, the implications for practitioners are discussed.
Does Disclosure of Performance Information Influence Street‐level Bureaucrats’ Enforcement Style?
Authors: de Boer Noortje , Eshuis Jasper , Klijn Erik‐Hans
Published: March 2018

Governments use different regulatory instruments to ensure that businesses owners or “inspectees” comply with rules and regulations. One tool that is increasingly applied is disclosing inspectees’ performance information to other stakeholders. Disclosing performance information has consequences for street‐level bureaucrats because it increases the visibility of their day‐to‐day work. Using a survey (n = 507) among Dutch inspectors of the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, this article shows that the disclosure of performance information has an impact on enforcement style at the street level. Findings show that perceived disclosed performance information positively enhances all three dimensions of street‐level bureaucrats’ enforcement style (legal, facilitation, and accommodation). This effect is strongest for facilitation and accommodation and weakest for the legal style. Perceived resistance by inspectees partly explains this effect. Contrary to expectations, more perceived disclosure does not result in more but in less perceived resistance of inspectees by street‐level bureaucrats.
Three‐dimensional facial phenotyping in obstructive sleep apnoea
Authors: Lee Richard W.W.
Published: March 2018

See related Article
General and Specific Utility Measures for Synthetic Data
Authors: Snoke Joshua , Raab Gillian M. , Nowok Beata , Dibben Chris , Slavkovic Aleksandra
Published: March 2018

Data holders can produce synthetic versions of data sets when concerns about potential disclosure restrict the availability of the original records. The paper is concerned with methods to judge whether such synthetic data have a distribution that is comparable with that of the original data: what we term general utility. We consider how general utility compares with specific utility: the similarity of results of analyses from the synthetic data and the original data. We adapt a previous general measure of data utility, the propensity score mean-squared error pMSE, to the specific case of synthetic data and derive its distribution for the case when the correct synthesis model is used to create the synthetic data. Our asymptotic results are confirmed by a simulation study. We also consider two specific utility measures, confidence interval overlap and standardized difference in summary statistics, which we compare with the general utility results. We present two contrasting examples of data syntheses: one illustrating synthetic data that is evaluated as being useful by both general and specific measures and the second where neither is the case. For the second case we show how the general utility measures can identify the deficiencies of the synthetic data and suggest how this can inform possible improvements to the synthesis method.
Electromagnetic Excitation of a Spherical Medium by an Arbitrary Dipole and Related Inverse Problems
Authors: Prokopiou Prokopios , Tsitsas Nikolaos L.
Published: March 2018

A piecewise homogeneous spherical medium is excited by an external or internal electric dipole with arbitrary location and polarization. The dyadic Green's function of the medium is determined analytically. Then, the vector electric fields and far‐field patterns are obtained. Low‐frequency approximations of the far‐field patterns are subsequently derived, which encode the dipole's locations coordinates and polarization components in the different orders of the associated expansions. This fact enables the establishment of far‐field inverse scattering algorithms referring to the electromagnetic interior or exterior excitation of a small sphere by an arbitrary dipole. Inverse medium and inverse source problems are considered concerning, respectively, the determination of the scatterer's material parameters and the dipole's characteristics. The developed inverse algorithms determine exactly the unknown parameters of problems fulfilling the low‐frequency assumption, which is indeed the case in most relevant applications, like, e.g., in biomedical imaging.
Veteran Participation in Intensive Suicide Research Protocols: No Evidence of Iatrogenic Effects
Authors: Poindexter Erin K. , Nazem Sarra , Barnes Sean M. , Hostetter Trisha A. , Smith Phillip N.
Published: March 2018

Suicide research remains fraught with ethical and methodological issues, including researchers’ reservations about conducting intensive suicide research protocols due to potential iatrogenic effects and liability concerns. Such issues significantly impede scientific inquiry related to suicide. To date, no research has explored potential iatrogenic effects of intensive, nontreatment suicide research among Veterans. This study aimed to fill this gap. It was hypothesized that participation in suicide‐specific protocols would not significantly increase risk among Veterans. Veterans completed self‐reports, structured interviews, and rigorous suicide‐specific tasks (Study A, N = 34; Study B, N = 18; Study C, N = 119). Findings indicated there were no significant differences in pre‐ and postassessment suicide risk variables (all ps > .05). Estimated mean change for “urge to harm self” was −0.24 (95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.60, 0.13), −0.28 (CI: −0.56, 0.01), and −0.01 (CI: −0.09, 0.07) and “intent to harm self” was −0.18 (95% CI: −0.45, 0.10), 0 (CI: −0.17, 0.17), and 0.01 (CI: −0.04, 0.06) for Studies A, B, and C, respectively. Results indicated the respective protocols did not produce iatrogenic effects. The current findings are discussed with attention to safety‐monitoring techniques that may reduce iatrogenic effects and considerations for future researchers.
Is the Tea Party Libertarian, Authoritarian, or Something Else?*
Authors: Havercroft Jonathan , Murphy Justin
Published: March 2018

Objective

Research on the Tea Party finds that both libertarian and authoritarian attitudes drive support for this movement, but political scientists lack a satisfactory explanation of this contradiction.

Methods

Factor analysis of nine attitudes from the 2012 American National Election Study is used to explore whether statism and moral traditionalism are intercorrelated on a dimension distinct from attitudes toward government; regression analysis is used to test if these distinct dimensions help to explain support for the Tea Party.

Results

Controlling for several competing explanations, the multiplicative interaction of anti‐government and morally statist ideological factors is shown to be a predictor of Tea Party support, especially among conservatives.

Conclusion

Our results suggest the Tea Party movement is in part driven by what Nietzsche called “misarchism,” an ideological mixture of moralism, statism, and libertarianism he first observed in Herbert Spencer.
Low‐dose valganciclovir prohylaxis is efficacious and safe in cytomegalovirus seropositive heart transplant recipients with anti‐thymocyte globulin
Authors: Eriksson Mari , Jokinen Janne J. , Söderlund Sanni , Hämmäinen Pekka , Lommi Jyri , Lemström Karl
Published: March 2018

Background

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) remains an important pathogen in solid organ transplant patients.

Objective

We executed a hybrid prophylactic and pre‐emptive valganciclovir (VGCV) prophylaxis to prevent CMV infection in heart transplant patients with anti‐thymocyte globulin (ATG) induction and retrospectively evaluated the efficacy and safety of this regimen.

Methods

Hundred adult heart transplant patients between 2004 and 2010 were included. Recipients with CMV serostatus D+/R− received VGCV 900 mg OD for 6 months and 94.2% (81/86) of R+ recipients received a low‐dose 450 mg OD for 3 months. Blood CMV was monitored until 3 months after cessation of the prophylaxis.

Results

All patients accomplished the prophylaxis. The overall incidence of CMV disease was 4% (4/100) and it was more frequent in D+/R− patients (P = .001). Three of eighty‐six (3.5%) of R+ patients had CMV infection (one CMV disease) while on prophylaxis, 2/3 were still on the original significantly reduced renal dose though. There was one late CMV disease in both D+/R− and R+ groups. Ganciclovir/VGCV treatment was successful in all patients.

Conclusions

The hybrid strategy with low‐dose VGCV in R+ patients with ATG was efficient and safe. The good treatment results indicate that the regimen did not lead to a clinically relevant resistance. Optimal renal dosage is essential throughout prophylaxis.
Disseminated blastomycosis in a transplant patient
Authors: Challener Douglas , Abu Saleh Omar
Published: March 2018

A 51‐year‐old woman from Wisconsin with past medical history of kidney transplantation from her sibling 8 weeks prior, presented with symptoms of shortness of breath, cough, and a new skin rash over a 2‐week period.
Cutaneous ulcerations caused by Paecilomyces variotii in a renal transplant recipient
Authors: Eren Davut , Eroglu Eray , Ulu Kilic Aysegul , Atalay Mustafa Altay , Mumcu Necati , Sipahioglu Murat Hayri , Canoz Ozlem , Koc Ayse Nedret , Oymak Oktay
Published: March 2018

Skin infections caused by Paecilomyces species have been rarely described in patients with solid organ transplantation. Cutaneous manifestations are highly variable and include erythematous macules, nodules, pustules, and vesicular and necrotic lesions. The diagnosis of these infections is generally made by examination of a skin biopsy. Management of these fungal infections is difficult due to the immunocompromised state of the patients. Moreover, antifungal therapy and immunosuppressive drug interactions should be considered during treatment management. Herein, we reported a case of cellulitis caused by Paecilomyces variotii in a 56‐year‐old man who had undergone a kidney transplantation. Erythematous macular and nodular lesions on the left hand and left foot appeared first; within 2 months the skin lesions became ulcerated, hemorrhagic, and progressively painful and the patient was admitted to our hospital. The diagnosis was made by skin biopsy and tissue culture. The skin lesions resolved by the sixth week of the treatment with voriconazole.
Fatal Fusarium infection manifesting as osteomyelitis following previous treatment with amphotericin B in a multi‐visceral transplant: Case report and review of Fusarium infections in solid organ transplantation
Authors: Nambiar P. , Cober E. , Johnson L. , Brizendine K. D.
Published: March 2018

Invasive fusariosis in solid organ transplant is uncommon and usually presents as localized infection with favorable outcomes compared to hematologic malignancies or bone marrow transplants. We report the first case of Fusarium osteomyelitis in a patient following multi‐visceral transplant and review Fusarium in organ transplant recipients and Fusarium bone and joint infections. Our case underscores the importance of early recognition and multidisciplinary approach to treatment and highlights potential failure to eradicate with amphotericin B monotherapy.
Lymphopenia is associated with late onset Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in solid organ transplantation
Authors: Werbel W.A. , Ison M.G. , Angarone M.P. , Yang A. , Stosor V.
Published: March 2018

Background

Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) affected 5%‐15% of solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients prior to universal prophylaxis, classically with trimethoprim‐sulfamethoxazole (TMP‐SMX). Guidelines generally recommend 6‐12 months of prophylaxis post‐SOT, yet optimal duration and robust PJP risk stratification have not been established.

Methods

A retrospective, single‐center, case‐control study of PJP among SOT recipients from January 1998 to December 2013 was conducted. Cases had positive PJ direct fluorescent antibody assay of respiratory specimens. Controls were matched 4:1 by nearest date of SOT. Univariate testing and multivariate logistic regressions were performed.

Results

Fifteen cases were identified among 5505 SOT recipients (0.27% rate) and analyzed vs 60 controls. PJP occurred on average 6.1 years (range 0.9‐13.8) post‐SOT; no case was receiving PJP prophylaxis at diagnosis. Most were treated with reduced immunosuppression and TMP‐SMX plus steroids (80%). Six patients (40%) required critical care; 3 (20%) died. There were no significant demographic differences, though cases tended to be older at SOT (54 vs 48 years, P = .1). In univariate analysis, prior viral infection was more common among cases (67% vs 37%, P = .08). Lower absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) at diagnosis date was strongly associated with PJP (400 vs 1230 × 106 cells/μL, P < .001); odds of infection were high with ALC ≤ 500 × 106 cells (OR 18.7, P < .01).

Conclusion

Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia is a rare, late complication of SOT with significant morbidity and mortality. Severe lymphopenia may be useful in identifying SOT recipients who warrant continued or reinstated PJP prophylaxis.
Cytomegalovirus infections in lung and hematopoietic cell transplant recipients in the Organ Transplant Infection Prevention and Detection Study: A multi‐year, multicenter prospective cohort study
Authors: Avery Robin K. , Silveira Fernanda P. , Benedict Kaitlin , Cleveland Angela A. , Kauffman Carol A. , Schuster Mindy G. , Dubberke Erik R. , Husain Shahid , Paterson David L. , Chiller Tom , Pappas Peter
Published: March 2018

Background

Most studies of post‐transplant CMV infection have focused on either solid organ or hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients. A large prospective cohort study involving both lung and HCT recipients provided an opportunity to compare the epidemiology and outcomes of CMV infections in these 2 groups.

Methods

Patients were followed up for 30 months in a 6‐center prospective cohort study. Data on demographics, CMV infections, tissue‐invasive disease, recurrences, rejection, and immunosuppression were recorded.

Results

The overall incidence of CMV infection was 83/293 (28.3%) in the lung transplant group and 154/444 (34.7%) in the HCT group (P = .0706). Tissue‐invasive CMV disease occurred in 8/83 (9.6%) of lung and 6/154 (3.9%) of HCT recipients with CMV infection, respectively (P = .087). Median time to CMV infection was longer in the lung transplant group (236 vs 40 days, P < .0001), likely reflecting the effects of prophylaxis vs preemptive therapy. Total IgG levels of < 350 mg/dL in lung recipients and graft vs host disease (GvHD) in HCT recipients were associated with increased CMV risk. HCT recipients had a higher mean number of CMV episodes (P = .008), although duration of viremia was not significantly different between the 2 groups. CMV infection was not associated with reduced overall survival in either group.

Conclusions

Current CMV prevention strategies have resulted in a low incidence of tissue‐invasive disease in both lung transplant and HCT, although CMV viremia is still relatively common. Differences between the lung and HCT groups in terms of time to CMV and recurrences of CMV viremia likely reflect differences in underlying host immunobiology and in CMV prevention strategies in the modern era.
Impact of Informal Workplace Learning on Job Satisfaction
Authors: Mohd Sukor Mohammad Saipol , Mad Shah Ishak , Sam Ruai Malissa Koammapat
Published: March 2018

In order to remain competitive in the global economy, many employers emphasized
lifelong learning on their workers. But most of them focused on formal learning and tend
to overlook the informal learning in the workplace. Current evidence suggests that
informal learning is far more important for skill development and predict employees’
behavior in the workplace. Therefore, this study takes into account the impact of
informal workplace learning on employees’ job satisfaction. Samples of the study were
197 property executives. Instruments used in this study were Small Business Workplace
Learning Survey (SBWLS) and Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS). Result shows that there was a
significant positive impact of informal workplace learning on the job satisfaction.
Further analysis concluded that all three components of informal workplace learning such
as past episode, current experience and future behavior were positively significant
predictors of job satisfaction among property executives. Some limitations and
recommendations for future research were discussed in this article. For overall, this
study provided full support for the predictive role of informal workplace learning
towards employees’ job satisfaction especially in property consulting firms.
Task-Based Flipped Classroom in Chinese College EFL Teaching: An Empirical Study in Oral English Course
Authors: Wang Sumin , Liu Changjiang
Published: March 2018

As a new teaching model, the flipped classroom inverts the sequence of imparting knowledge and internalizing knowledge. On the basis of flipped classroom concept and previous empirical research, the present study is intended to construct task-based college EFL flipped classroom model and put it into Chinese college oral English teaching practice. The design of the study involves contrastive experiments, questionnaires and in-depth interview. The results suggest that the task-based flipped classroom teaching model has a remarkably better effect on boosting students’ communicative competence of English.
Combined ToF-SIMS and AFM protocol for accurate 3D chemical analysis and data visualization
Authors: Moreno Maiglid A. , Mouton Isabelle , Chevalier Nicolas , Barnes Jean-Paul , Bassani Franck , Gautier Brice
Published: March 2018

In dual-beam time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) depth profiling, a succession of two-dimensional chemical images is acquired. These can be used to generate a three-dimensional (3D) visualization of the sputtered volume. However, standard reconstruction methods do not take into account the initial sample topography or lateral variations in sputter rates. For heterogeneous, nonplanar samples, the resulting 3D chemical visualization may be distorted. To address this issue, ToF-SIMS analysis was combined with atomic force microscopy (AFM). This correlation provides the missing sample topography and allows the calculation of sputter rates. The protocol to achieve an accurate 3D ToF-SIMS reconstruction comprises AFM topographical images, crater depth measurements, and sequences of ToF-SIMS images, all acquired on the same area of the sample. As a result, a 3D overlay between AFM and ToF-SIMS images at each interface can be made. In addition, the morphological information can be used to map the local sputter rate. Finally, the authors developed an accurate data processing for the correction of the 3D ToF-SIMS reconstruction within the rendered volume defined by successive AFM imaging.
Exploiting an Asp-Glu “switch” in glycogen synthase kinase 3 to design paralog-selective inhibitors for use in acute myeloid leukemia
Authors: Wagner Florence F. , Benajiba Lina , Campbell Arthur J. , Weïwer Michel , Sacher Joshua R. , Gale Jennifer P. , Ross Linda , Puissant Alexandre , Alexe Gabriela , Conway Amy , Back Morgan , Pikman Yana , Galinsky Ilene , DeAngelo Daniel J. , Stone Richard M. , Kaya Taner , Shi Xi , Robers Matthew B. , Machleidt Thomas , Wilkinson Jennifer , Hermine Olivier , Kung Andrew , Stein Adam J. , Lakshminarasimhan Damodharan , Hemann Michael T. , Scolnick Edward , Zhang Yan-Ling , Pan Jen Q. , Stegmaier Kimberly , Holson Edward B.
Published: March 2018

Paralog-selective inhibitors of GSK3 kinases were designed by exploiting a single amino acid difference in their ATP-binding domains and studied in AML.