bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Demand management in fresh food value chains: a framework for analysis and improvement
Authors: Taylor David H. , Fearne Andrew
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the problems with demand management in fresh food value chains and to propose a framework for demand analysis and improved demand management.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on empirical evidence from multiple case studies undertaken in the UK food industry.

Findings

Evidence from the case studies indicates a consistent misalignment of demand and supply, due to demand amplification, poor production systems and inconsistencies with information and data handling procedures.

Research limitations/implications

The case study evidence is limited to the UK context and is therefore unlikely to be representative of the global situation in fresh food value chains. The proposed framework is based on the case study evidence but has not been formally tested.

Practical implications

More collaboration, information sharing and joint planning from primary production through to retailing is critical if fresh food value chains are to function efficiently and effectively in retail environments where promotional activity creates significant uncertainty.

Originality/value

Demand management has received little attention to date, outside the industry framework of ECR. This paper is the first to propose a framework for improvement based on greater collaboration and joint planning that extends beyond the retailer‐manufacturer interface
Buyer‐supplier relationships in Dongdaemun fashion market: relationship quality model
Authors: Jung Choo Ho , Jung Ji‐Wook , Hee Chung Ihn
Published: October 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the structure of buyer‐supplier relationship quality perceived by small‐sized fashion businesses with their major supplier.

Design/methodology/approach

On the basis of the literature review and in‐depth interviews, a testable relationship quality model is proposed. Two hundred and eighty stores located in Dongdaemun fashion market in Seoul, Korea, are surveyed and 233 complete responses are used in the analysis to test hypotheses.

Findings

The major findings includes the critical role of product design, product quality, and a supplier's honesty in the building of relationship quality. As the relationship ages, geographical proximity, communication, and design factors become more important in determining relationship quality and behavioral intentions, while product quality and power balance factors became less important.

Research limitations/implications

Only one side of the perception is analyzed. The data is collected from single informants from each buying fashion store. Instead of using longitudinal data, a cross‐sectional research design is employed.

Practical implications

Among the proposed anteceding factors to relationship quality, product design is found to have the strongest impact on the buyer's perception of relationship quality. Thus, product suppliers in Dongdaemun market should focus on improving their capability to produce superior designs.

Originality/value

Dongdaemun market has been successfully positioned as a main hub for the distribution of non‐brand fashion products in Korea. This paper is the first to investigate the channel members' relationships and behaviors in Dongdaemun market.
Complaints procedures in the NHS: are they fair and valid?
Authors: George Manoj K. , Joseph Renju
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to the complaints procedure in health care in the UK.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides an overview of the current complaints procedure in the UK and whether it meets the objectives of a robust health care complaints system. A literature search was conducted in March 2009 on EMBASE, HMIC, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, HEALTH BUSINESS ELITE (1995‐2009) using the terms “NHS complaints” and “Negligence”. The reference sections of retrieved papers were hand‐searched for further relevant references.

Findings

There are several concerns about complaints handling in the current system. Poor handling of complaints typified by delays in responding to complainants' concerns, poor communication with complainants and inadequate record keeping have been highlighted.

Originality/value

The paper draws attention to the fact that there are still several concerns about complaints handling in the NHS and that it needs further improvement before gaining the confidence of service users. Not much interest has been demonstrated in this area and an effective and transparent complaints procedure will facilitate service user confidence in the system.
EU proposes directive on alternative investment fund managers
Authors: Bibby Peter , Marshall Helen , Leonard Christopher
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explain the content, purpose, and likely effects of the European Commission's draft directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers published on April 30, 2009.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper explains which firms will be affected by the AIFM Directive; the proposed new regime for fund promotion; organizational and capital requirements, including required background information and conditions of ongoing authorization; leverage disclosure requirements; and controlling interest disclosure requirements.

Findings

The AIFM Directive, were it to be implemented in its current form, would reshape the European investment management landscape, subjecting all entities managing or promoting pooled funds to regulation, imposing capital and disclosure requirements, and permitting a fund incorporated outside the EU to be promoted within the EU only if its country of incorporation exchanges tax information with the member state authorizing the fund.

Practical implications

The AIFM Directive is at a very early stage, contains ambiguities and inconsistencies, and will be subject to revision and refinement.

Originality/value

The paper presents a practical explanation by experienced securities lawyers.
Development of payload housing for temperature and pressure control of bio fuel cells for space applications
Authors: Jayaram Sanjay
Published: October 2009

Purpose

Alternative energy sources and power generation techniques for long‐term space missions are gaining importance in recent years for future bases and colonies on the Moon or Mars. Current technologies used for manned or unmanned missions to the Moon or Mars use either solar panels (bulky, expensive/kilogram to space, and inefficient) or nuclear energy (extremely dangerous and unpopular). Enzyme based bio fuel cells can be used as alternative energy sources, but its survival depends on maintaining appropriate temperature and pressure in space. The purpose of this paper is to detail the concept design and development of a payload tank to house bio fuel cells for operations in space environment.

Design/methodology/approach

Details about the development of the design methodology for such housing are discussed. A full‐scale payload tank is designed to house a small biological fuel cell using space grade materials. Requirements analysis, design, validation, and manufacturing process are covered.

Findings

The outcome is a dimensionally optimized housing structure for housing biological fuel cells and maintaining the temperature and pressure for survival of the fuel cell.

Originality/value

The designed payload housing satisfies all the constraints and requirements. Furthermore, its advantages include scalability and modularity by virtue of using optimized design approach. The final product provides a planned procedure for designing larger housing for other missions.
Efficient XML tree pattern query evaluation using a novel one‐phase holistic twig join scheme
Authors: Jiang Zhewei , Luo Cheng , Hou Wen‐Chi , Che Dunren , Zhu Qiang
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an efficient algorithm for Extensible Markup Language (XML) twig query evaluation.

Design/methodology/approach

A single‐phase holistic twig pattern matching method based on the TwigStack algorithm is proposed. The method applies a novel stack structure to preserve the holisticity of the twig matches. Twig matches rooted at elements that are currently in the root stack are output directly.

Findings

Without generating individual path matches as intermediate results, the method is able to avoid the storage and output/input of the individual path matches, and totally eliminate the potentially time‐consuming merging operation. Experimental results demonstrate the applicability and advantages of our approach.

Originality/value

The paper proposes an efficient XML twig query evaluation algorithm, which by both theoretical analyses and empirical studies demonstrates its advantages over the current state‐of‐the‐art algorithm TwigStack.
A semi‐automatic approach for bridging DSMLs with UML
Authors: Wimmer Manuel
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The definition of modeling languages is a key‐prerequisite for model‐driven engineering. In this respect, Domain‐Specific Modeling Languages (DSMLs) defined from scratch in terms of metamodels and the extension of Unified Modeling Language (UML) by profiles are the proposed options. For interoperability reasons, however, the need arises to bridge modeling languages originally defined as DSMLs to UML. Therefore, the paper aims to propose a semi‐automatic approach for bridging DSMLs and UML by employing model‐driven techniques.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper discusses problems of the ad hoc integration of DSMLs and UML and from this discussion a systematic and semi‐automatic integration approach consisting of two phases is derived. In the first phase, the correspondences between the modeling concepts of the DSML and UML are defined manually. In the second phase, these correspondences are used for automatically producing UML profiles to represent the domain‐specific modeling concepts in UML and model transformations for transforming DSML models to UML models and vice versa. The paper presents the ideas within a case study for bridging ComputerAssociate's DSML of the AllFusion Gen CASE tool with IBM's Rational Software Modeler for UML.

Findings

The ad hoc definition of UML profiles and model transformations for achieving interoperability is typically a tedious and error‐prone task. By employing a semi‐automatic approach one gains several advantages. First, the integrator only has to deal with the correspondences between the DSML and UML on a conceptual level. Second, all repetitive integration tasks are automated by using model transformations. Third, well‐defined guidelines support the systematic and comprehensible integration.

Research limitations/implications

The paper focuses on the integrating direction DSMLs to UML, but not on how to derive a DSML defined in terms of a metamodel from a UML profile.

Originality/value

Although, DSMLs defined as metamodels and UML profiles are frequently applied in practice, only few attempts have been made to provide interoperability between these two worlds. The contribution of this paper is to integrate the so far competing worlds of DSMLs and UML by proposing a semi‐automatic approach, which allows exchanging models between these two worlds without loss of information.
Innovative research management as a tool for institutional competitiveness
Authors: Lanskoronskis Marius , Ramoniene Lineta , Barsauskas Petras
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the influence of university research management on institutional competitiveness, international visibility and fund‐raising.

Design/methodology/approach

The research findings are based on analysis of leading universities in six European countries: Belgium (Flanders), Denmark, Czech Republic, Finland, The Netherlands and Germany. For the analysis, two criteria are chosen – institutional way of work and core partnerships. This summary is compared with theoretical background for innovative research management and the conclusion is made that these two issues are much in line.

Findings

The findings suggest that majority of leading universities in the analysed countries actively realize principles of the Triple Helix and Mode 2 Science. This is realized through innovative managerial structures and strong orientation to practical implication of research production. The findings summarise the main forms of institutional work and discuss core partnering issues.

Research limitations/implications

A limited number of universities are chosen and data are mainly collected from secondary sources such as institutional documents, web site information or corporate presentations. This is why it is difficult to evaluate how some formal declarations are realized in practice.

Practical implications

The findings may serve as a framework for considering changes in university research management structure or seeking increase of institutional competitiveness, international visibility and effective fund‐raising

Originality/value

The paper compares theoretic discussions on innovative research management through cooperation and specialization with existing practices in leading universities and provides summary and examples universities are taking to increase institutional effectiveness.
Cameroon reached the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) initiative: expectations of civil servants and their predicaments
Authors: Tanga Pius T. , Ngamdzele Dzemua Evert
Published: October 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on the expectations and predicaments of Cameroonian civil servants two years after the country reached its completion point of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.

Design/methodology/approach

In‐depth interviews were conducted with some civil servants in Yaoundé, the provincial capital of the Centre Region and the capital of Cameroon, and Bamenda, the capital town of the North West Region. Newspaper articles were also an important source of data for this paper.

Findings

Cameroonians were initially exhorted to understand the government's adoption of the stringent measures prescribed by the Breton Wood Institutions in order to revamp the ailing economy. The austerity measures adopted by the Cameroon government led to immense hardship for civil servants and Cameroonians in general. Cameroonians initially had high hopes for the HIPC programmes, but they were rather seeing their living and working conditions deteriorating further. This led to bribery and corruption and other social vices perpetuated by all categories of civil servants. Because of the deteriorating living conditions, the economy has been marred by continuous strikes, which have led to the massacre of many Cameroonians. Although the future seems to be bright in the long run, it is bleak within the next few years given the enormous challenges facing the country.

Practical implications

This is a useful source of information to Cameroonian diasporas who are not abreast with the happenings in Cameroon.

Originality/value

This paper exposes the hypocrisy of the Cameroon government and the incessant strikes that have bedevilled the country. This paper will be of interest to Cameroonians, especially those in diaspora who are attempting to fight Paul Biya's corrupt regime.
Developing BTB relationships through direct marketing: customers' perceptions
Authors: Reis Raquel , Oates Caroline , McGuinness Martina , Elliott Dominic
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how business‐to‐business (BTB) relationships may be developed through direct marketing (DM) in the context of a Portuguese training organization.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi‐structured interviews (30) are undertaken, including 24 training directors and six participants from 30 different organizations. A grounded theory approach as used in data analysis is employed.

Findings

Two key roles of DM emerged from the paper: to establish a relationship between customers and training companies, this being dependent on the relevance of DM to the recipients' jobs/activities combined with the credibility of the DM source; and DM has a conditional role in the relationship development between customers and training companies. DM only has a role in developing relationships if the received DM is relevant to customers' training needs combined with positive perceptions of the past training performance in customers' minds. These perceptions are linked to quality and satisfaction, customers making an immediate association between the DM source and past training performance.

Practical implications

Customers want to receive DM from training companies which is relevant to their professional interests. These customers desire further follow‐up and diagnosis from training providers than is currently the case. Training providers are thus losing market opportunities. Further dialogue and interaction between companies and customers is necessary.

Originality/value

There has been limited empirical study of the processes and activities of DM in developing relationships in BTB contexts using a qualitative approach around customers' experiences.
The service environment: functional or fun? Does it matter?
Authors: Joseph‐Mathews Sacha , Bonn Mark A.
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this editorial is to introduce the reader to three papers discussing the role of atmospherics within predominantly hedonic service settings.

Design/methodology/approach

This editorial introduces the papers in this special section.

Findings

Atmospherics plays a significant role in determining how consumers and patrons perceive and interpret hedonic services.

Originality/value

The first study examines how atmospherics can impact the overall meanings patrons attach to visiting a hedonic facilities. The second study looks at the role of promotional materials on setting the tone for fringe festivals. The third study investigates the role of atmospherics in green consumerism.
The culture of wine buying in the UK off‐trade
Authors: Ritchie Caroline
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The UK wine market is one of the largest in the world. The purpose of this paper is to investigate current social and cultural influences affecting the buying behaviour of UK wine consumers within off‐trade environments.

Design/methodology/approach

Three stakeholder groups involved in the provision and sale of wine in the UK are identified. Data gathered from these stakeholders, via semi‐structured interviews, are used to classify groups of UK wine consumers and to develop a question schedule for a series of six wine consumer focus groups.

Findings

The results show that intended usage and or consumption situation have significant influence upon purchasing behaviour. The purchase decision is further influenced by whether intended usage is to be private or public. Significant gender differences are identified; wine buying is often perceived as a predominantly male role although more women actually buy more wine. Differences in low involvement and novice behaviours are identified.

Research limitations/implications

The sample population used was small and may not be representative quantitatively. However the use of focus groups enabled the gathering of significant qualitative data.

Practical implications

As a mature, sophisticated wine market, wine purchasing and consumption in the UK has become so incorporated into lifestyle that the consumption context drives purchasing behaviour whether overtly or covertly. Understanding the context of presumed use enables better understanding of consumer behaviour to be developed.

Originality/value

This study suggests that whilst high and low involvement market segments can be, and have previously been, identified these are artificial and fluid constructs since most wine consumers utilise a range of behaviours.
Goal‐obstacle conflicts
Authors: Avakian Paul N.
Published: October 2009

Purpose

This article discusses power and resistance in commercial environments. It finds that a company's ability to realize its goals (fulfill its strategy) is a function of its ability to deal with resistance; to recognize it first of all, and then to find ways to overcome it, which inevitably involve the use of power in some form.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines strategies used by pharmaceutical companies for getting drugs prescribed, programs by credit card companies to defeat resistance to card proliferation, and strategies by software companies to overcome resistance in OEMs to product acceptance.

Findings

The author concludes that the success of the products/companies studied is explained by their capacity for overcoming resistance, that it cannot be attributed to a compelling vision statement, or a five‐year plan, a competitive analysis, or any of the other strategy approaches used by the majority of companies.

Practical implications

All companies, presumably, have goals, and all companies operate in power‐dependent environments, and all companies, whether they recognize it or not, face resistance beyond the existence of competitors. The key is to be able to see resistance, and to understand how it is manifesting itself against a specific goal.

Originality/value

The thesis of the paper is important to practitioners because it gets them thinking about resistance beyond the existence of competitors. It reveals other, more powerful sources of opposition, and gives them a new platform for strategy based on finding power over resistance.
An interdependence analysis of Australian house prices using variance decomposition
Authors: Liu Chunlu , Ma Le , Qiang Luo Zhen , Picken David
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the interdependencies of the house price growth rates in Australian capital cities.

Design/methodology/approach

A vector autoregression model and variance decomposition are introduced to estimate and interpret the interdependences among the growth rates of regional house prices in Australia.

Findings

The results suggest the eight capital cities can be divided into three groups: Sydney and Melbourne; Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane; and Hobart, Perth and Darwin.

Originality/value

Based on the structural vector autoregression model, this research develops an innovative interdependence analysis approach of regional house prices based on a variance decomposition method.
Improved biclustering on expression data through overlapping control
Authors: Pontes Beatriz , Divina Federico , Giráldez Raúl , Aguilar‐Ruiz Jesús S.
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a novel control mechanism for avoiding overlapping among biclusters in expression data.

Design/methodology/approach

Biclustering is a technique used in analysis of microarray data. One of the most popular biclustering algorithms is introduced by Cheng and Church (2000) (Ch&Ch). Even if this heuristic is successful at finding interesting biclusters, it presents several drawbacks. The main shortcoming is that it introduces random values in the expression matrix to control the overlapping. The overlapping control method presented in this paper is based on a matrix of weights, that is used to estimate the overlapping of a bicluster with already found ones. In this way, the algorithm is always working on real data and so the biclusters it discovers contain only original data.

Findings

The paper shows that the original algorithm wrongly estimates the quality of the biclusters after some iterations, due to random values that it introduces. The empirical results show that the proposed approach is effective in order to improve the heuristic. It is also important to highlight that many interesting biclusters found by using our approach would have not been obtained using the original algorithm.

Originality/value

The original algorithm proposed by Ch&Ch is one of the most successful algorithms for discovering biclusters in microarray data. However, it presents some limitations, the most relevant being the substitution phase adopted in order to avoid overlapping among biclusters. The modified version of the algorithm proposed in this paper improves the original one, as proven in the experimentation.
No accounting for corporate governance: proxy voting with securities lending
Authors: Trimbath Susanne
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is: to detail the importance of corporate governance to institutional investors; to describe the tension created by their desire to earn extra revenue from stock lending; and to outline the challenges to corporate governance presented by the subsequent lack of accounting for voting rights.

Design/methodology/approach

Descriptive analysis, including historical perspective on the reliance of corporate governance on active shareholder investors.

Findings

Voting rights are not being tracked when securities are loaned out, resulting in improper and inappropriate vote counting.

Research limitations/implications

This commentary makes the argument in favor of shareholder activism.

Practical implications

In addition to added transparency in the voting process, accounting systems similar to those used in the USA for dividend reporting could be applied to track voting rights and votes for corporate governance matters.

Originality/value

The paper aligns knowledge about securities lending with issues in corporate governance.
Institutional and individual factors impacting domestic private companies in China
Authors: Wang Lei , Prieto Leonel
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine several institutional and individual factors impacting business dynamics of domestic private companies in China.

Design/methodology/approach

Basing the discussion on detailed interviews with business owners, the paper discusses recent and future effects of financial and legal systems, social networks, family support, informal institutions, and business people's educational and work experiences on domestic, private companies.

Findings

The unfolding interplay between formal and informal institutions appears to be crucial for the future of the private sector and the development of free market institutions. Business people, who benefit from the changing orders bring about by economic reform, now want formal institutions to provide stability and security. The Chinese state has played, and will continue to play, a central role in most institutionalization processes. In addition to further shaping and stabilizing their institutional framework, Chinese private companies appear to face the following challenges: acquiring more soft management skills, resolving the potential agency problem of companies with mixed ownership managed by families, and solving the latent succession problem for some family businesses that originate from the “one child policy.”

Originality/value

Although the paper focuses on institutional and individual factors that pertain to the Chinese private business environment and business owners, the findings of this study deepen the understanding of the development of private firms conducting business in transitional economies.
The challenge of external validity in policy‐relevant systematic reviews: a case study from the field of substance misuse
Authors: Pearson Mark , Coomber Ross
Published: October 2009

Aim  To critically evaluate the methods utilized in the conduct of a systematic review in the field of substance misuse

Design  Participant‐observation in the review process, semi‐structured interviews with review team members and management and structured observation of the process of guidance development.

Setting  An ‘arm's‐length’ government body.

Participants  Review team members, management and the committee responsible for producing evidence‐based guidance for policy and practice.

Measurements  Data from interviews and (participant‐)observation were reflected upon critically in order to increase understanding of the systematic review process.

Findings  The application of systematic review methods produced an evidence base that did not inform the development of guidance to the extent that it could have done: (i) an emphasis upon internal research validity produced an evidence base with an emphasis on short‐term interventions at the level of the individual; (ii) criteria for appraising the external validity of studies were not developed sufficiently; and (iii) the systematic review of evidence and development of guidance are strongly reliant upon the judgement of reviewers and committee members.

Conclusions  Prioritizing internal validity in a systematic review risks producing an evidence base that is not informed adequately by the wider determinants of health and which does not give sufficient consideration to external validity. The use of appropriate methods requires that commissioners of systematic reviews are clear at the outset how the review is proposed to be utilized. Review methods such as meta‐ethnography and realist synthesis could contribute to making the frameworks within which judgements are made more explicit.
Genetic variation and relationships among Turkish water buffalo populations
Authors: Gargani M. , Pariset L. , Soysal M. I. , Özkan E. , Valentini A.
Published: October 2009

The genetic variation and relationships among six Turkish water buffalo populations, typical of different regions, were assessed using a set of 26 heterologous (bovine) microsatellite markers. Between seven and 17 different alleles were identified per microsatellite in a total of 254 alleles. The average number of alleles across all loci in all the analysed populations was found to be 12.57. The expected mean heterozygosity (He) per population ranged between 0.5 and 0.58. Significant departures from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium were observed for 44 locus–population combinations. Population differentiation was analysed by estimation of the Fst index (values ranging from 0.053 to 0.123) among populations. A principal component analysis of variation revealed the Merzifon population to show the highest differentiation compared with the others. In addition, some individuals of the Danamandira population appeared clearly separated, while the Afyon, Coskun, Pazar and Thural populations represented a single cluster. The assignment of individuals to their source populations, performed using the Bayesian clustering approach implemented in the structure 2.2 software, supports a high differentiation of Merzifon and Danamandira populations. The results of this study are useful for the development of conservation strategies for the Turkish buffalo.
Genetic structure and differentiation of the Japanese extremely long‐tailed chicken breed (Onagadori), associated with plumage colour variation: suggestions for its management and conservation
Authors: Tadano R. , Nishibori M. , Tsudzuki M.
Published: October 2009

The Onagadori is a distinguished chicken breed that is characterized by an extremely long tail in the male. In this breed, three different plumage colour varieties have been developed (black‐breasted white, black‐breasted red and white) in which the black‐breasted white is believed to be the original colour of the Onagadori, based on historical records. To establish a conservation strategy, 176 birds were genotyped for autosomal microsatellites. Significant genetic distinctness was found between the original (black‐breasted white) and two derivative varieties (FST = 0.091 and 0.093). At the same time, a Bayesian model‐based clustering revealed that the majority of individuals belonging to the black‐breasted red and white varieties had an extremely low proportion of the genome shared with the original type (black‐breasted white). This suggests that derivative varieties were created by crossing with other breeds, with low introgression of the original‐type genome. We propose that the three plumage colour varieties should be treated as separate genetic units in a conservation programme.
A major SNP resource for dissection of phenotypic and genetic variation in Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)
Authors: Ciobanu D. C. , Bastiaansen J. W. M. , Magrin J. , Rocha J. L. , Jiang D.‐H. , Yu N. , Geiger B. , Deeb N. , Rocha D. , Gong H. , Kinghorn B. P. , Plastow G. S. , Van Der Steen H. A. M. , Mileham A. J.
Published: October 2009

Bioinformatics and re‐sequencing approaches were used for the discovery of sequence polymorphisms in Litopenaeus vannamei. A total of 1221 putative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in a pool of individuals from various commercial populations. A set of 211 SNPs were selected for further molecular validation and 88% showed variation in 637 samples representing three commercial breeding lines. An association analysis was performed between these markers and several traits of economic importance for shrimp producers including resistance to three major viral diseases. A small number of SNPs showed associations with test weekly gain, grow‐out survival and resistance to Taura Syndrome Virus. Very low levels of linkage disequilibrium were revealed between most SNP pairs, with only 11% of SNPs showing an r2‐value above 0.10 with at least one other SNP. Comparison of allele frequencies showed small changes over three generations of the breeding programme in one of the commercial breeding populations. This unique SNP resource has the potential to catalyse future studies of genetic dissection of complex traits, tracing relationships in breeding programmes, and monitoring genetic diversity in commercial and wild populations of L. vannamei.
Polymorphisms in the ovine myostatin gene (MSTN) and their association with growth and carcass traits in New Zealand Romney sheep
Authors: Hickford J. G. H. , Forrest R. H. , Zhou H. , Fang Q. , Han J. , Frampton C. M. , Horrell A. L.
Published: October 2009

Myostatin is a regulator of myogenesis and has been implicated in the regulation of adiposity and in controlling the structure and function of tendons. Polymerase Chain Reaction Single‐Stranded Conformational Polymorphism (PCR‐SSCP) analysis of intron‐1 was used to identify five variants (designated A‐E) of the myostatin gene (MSTN). The effect of this genetic variation on growth and carcass traits was investigated in 517 Romney male lambs from 17 sire‐lines, born on a South Island New Zealand farm. General linear mixed effect models revealed that the presence of allele A in a lamb’s genotype was associated with decreased leg, loin and total yield of lean meat, whereas the presence of allele B was associated with increased loin yield and proportion loin yield (loin yield divided by total yield expressed as percentage). The effect of the number of allele copies present was investigated, and it was found that the absence of A, or the presence of two copies of B, was associated with increased mean leg yield, loin yield and total yield. Two copies of B were also associated with a decrease in proportion of shoulder yield, whereas two copies of A were associated with a decrease in proportion of loin yield. Associations with allele C were not detected. No associations of MSTN variation with birth weight, weaning weight, pre‐weaning growth rate, draft age and hot carcass weight (H‐W) were detected. These results suggest that variation in ovine MSTN is associated with meat production, but not birth weight or growth rate in New Zealand Romney sheep.
PAR4: A new role in the modulation of visceral nociception
Authors: Bradesi S.
Published: October 2009

Abstract  Protease‐activated receptors (PARs) are a family of G‐protein‐coupled receptors with a widespread distribution that are involved in various physiological functions including inflammation and nociception. In a recent study in Neurogastroenterology and Motility, Augé et al. describe for the first time the presence of PAR4 on visceral primary afferent neurons and its role in modulating colonic nociceptive responses, colonic hypersensitivity and primary afferent responses to PAR2 and Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid‐4 (TRPV4). Using the model of visceromotor response (VMR) to colorectal distension (CRD), they show that a PAR4 agonist delivered into the colon lumen decreases basal visceral response to CRD and reduces the exacerbated VMR to CRD induced by treatment with PAR2 or TRPV4 agonists. In isolated sensory neurons, they show that a PAR4 agonist inhibits calcium mobilization induced by PAR2 or TRPV4 agonists. Finally, they describe increased pain behaviour evoked by luminal application of mustard oil in PAR4 deficient mice compared to wild type controls. The newly discovered role of PAR4 in modulating visceral pain adds to our growing understanding of the contribution of colonic proteases and PARs to the mechanisms involved in colonic hypersensitivity and their potential role as therapeutic targets for irritable bowel syndrome.
Using verbal autopsy to ascertain perinatal cause of death: are trained non‐physicians adequate?
Authors: Engmann C. , Jehan I. , Ditekemena J. , Garces A. , Phiri M. , Mazariegos M. , Chomba E. , Pasha O. , Tshefu A. , Hemed Y. , McClure E. M. , Thorsten V. , Bann C. , Goldenberg R. L. , Bose C. , Setel P. , Carlo W. A. , Wright L. L.
Published: October 2009

Objectives  To develop a standardized verbal autopsy (VA) training program and evaluate whether its implementation resulted in comparable knowledge required to classify perinatal cause of death (COD) by physicians and non‐physicians.

Methods  Training materials, case studies, and written and mock scenarios for this VA program were developed using conventional VA and ICD‐10 guidelines. This program was used to instruct physicians and non‐physicians in VA methodology using a train‐the‐trainer model. Written tests of cognitive and applied knowledge required to classify perinatal COD were administered before and after training to evaluate the effect of the VA training program.

Results  Fifty‐three physicians and non‐physicians (nurse‐midwives/nurses and Community Health Workers [CHW]) from Pakistan, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Guatemala were trained. Cognitive and applied knowledge mean scores among all trainees improved significantly (12.8 and 28.8% respectively, P < 0.001). Cognitive and applied knowledge post‐training test scores of nurse‐midwives/nurses were comparable to those of physicians. CHW (high‐school graduates with 15 months or less formal health/nursing training) had the largest improvements in post‐training applied knowledge with scores comparable to those of physicians and nurse‐midwives/nurses. However, CHW cognitive knowledge post‐training scores were significantly lower than those of physicians and nurses.

Conclusions  With appropriate training in VA, cognitive and applied knowledge required to determine perinatal COD is similar for physicians and nurses‐midwives/nurses. This suggests that midwives and nurses may play a useful role in determining COD at the community level, which may be a practical way to improve the accuracy of COD data in rural, remote, geographic areas.
Disclosing clinical adverse events to patients: can practice inform policy?
Authors: Sorensen Ros , Iedema Rick , Piper Donella , Manias Elizabeth , Williams Allison , Tuckett Anthony
Published: October 2009

Objectives  To understand patients’ and health professionals’ experience of Open Disclosure and how practice can inform policy.

Background  Open Disclosure procedures are being implemented in health services worldwide yet empirical evidence on which to base models of patient–clinician communication and policy development is scant.

Design, setting and participants  A qualitative method was employed using semi‐structured open‐ended interviews with 154 respondents (20 nursing, 49 medical, 59 clinical/administrative managerial, 3 policy coordinators, 15 patients and 8 family members) in 21 hospitals and health services in four Australian states.

Results  Both patients and health professionals were positive about Open Disclosure, although each differed in their assessments of practice effectiveness. We found that five major elements influenced patients’ and professionals’ experience of openly disclosing adverse events namely: initiating the disclosure, apologizing for the adverse event, taking the patient’s perspective, communicating the adverse event and being culturally aware.

Conclusions  Evaluating the impact of Open Disclosure refines policy implementation because it provides an evidence base to inform policy. Health services can use specific properties relating to each of the five Open Disclosure elements identified in this study as training standards and to assess the progress of policy implementation. However, health services must surmount their sensitivity to revealing the extent of error so that research into patient experiences can inform practice and policy development.
Impact of normal saline infusion on postoperative metabolic acidosis
Authors: MANN CHRISTIAN , HELD ULRIKE , HERZOG SUSANNE , BAENZIGER OSKAR
Published: October 2009

Background:  Standard base excess (SBE) is an important parameter for guiding fluid management in postoperative metabolic acidosis. However, individual SBE components, notably the chloride effect (Cleff), provide valuable additional information. Cleff is the deviation of the strong ion difference (SID) from normal caused by chloride loss or increase and represents the effect on SBE of an abnormal chloride–sodium ratio. Many centers use normal saline (NS) for intravascular volume therapy. In this study, we examined the impact of NS infusion on SBE and its chloride‐driven component (Cleff) in postoperative children.

Methods:  The study was conducted in 119 children who underwent post‐heart surgery in a Swiss pediatric intensive care unit. The 72‐h postoperative course was divided into six observation periods, during which NS input and its impact on SBE and Cleff were measured per period in each patient, and the results compared between patients infused and not infused with NS during each period.

Results:  Normal saline was infused in 168/625 observation periods if indicated by volume deficit. Postoperative metabolic acidosis and the acidifying Cleff were aggravated in the first 12 postoperative hours. Over the 72 h, NS infusion simultaneously lowered SBE by −0.06 mm·ml−1·kg−1 body weight infused and Cleff by −0.07 mm.

Conclusions:  Implementing serial Cleff assessment could improve postoperative management by disclosing or excluding hyperchloremia as a cause of acidosis undetectable from SBE alone. Calculating the chloride‐driven acidifying side effect of NS infusion using Cleff improves the interpretation of SBE values and can optimize fluid management in postoperative metabolic acidosis.
Microbial community structure in autotrophic nitrifying granules characterized by experimental and simulation analyses
Authors: Matsumoto Shinya , Katoku Mayu , Saeki Goro , Terada Akihiko , Aoi Yoshiteru , Tsuneda Satoshi , Picioreanu Cristian , Van Loosdrecht Mark C. M.
Published: October 2009

This study evaluates the community structure in nitrifying granules (average diameter of 1600 μm) produced in an aerobic reactor fed with ammonia as the sole energy source by a multivalent approach combining molecular techniques, microelectrode measurements and mathematical modelling. Fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed that ammonia‐oxidizing bacteria dominated within the first 200 μm below the granule surface, nitrite‐oxidizing bacteria a deeper layer between 200 and 300 μm, while heterotrophic bacteria were present in the core of the nitrifying granule. Presence of these groups also became evident from a 16S rRNA clone library. Microprofiles of NH4+, NO2–, NO3– and O2 concentrations measured with microelectrodes showed good agreement with the spatial organization of nitrifying bacteria. One‐ and two‐dimensional numerical biofilm models were constructed to explain the observed granule development as a result of the multiple bacteria–substrate interactions. The interaction between nitrifying and heterotrophic bacteria was evaluated by assuming three types of heterotrophic bacterial growth on soluble microbial products from nitrifying bacteria. The models described well the bacterial distribution obtained by fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis, as well as the measured oxygen, nitrite, nitrate and ammonium concentration profiles. Results of this study are important because they show that a combination of simulation and experimental techniques can better explain the interaction between nitrifying bacteria and heterotrophic bacteria in the granules than individual approaches alone.
Role of distinct dimorphic transitions in territory colonizing and formation of yeast colony architecture
Authors: Vopálenská Irena , Št'ovíček Vratislav , Janderová Blanka , Váchová Libuše , Palková Zdena
Published: October 2009

Microbial populations in nature often form organized multicellular structures (biofilms, colonies) occupying different surfaces including host tissues and medical devices. How yeast cells within such populations cooperate and how their dimorphic switch to filamentous growth is regulated are therefore important questions. Studying population development, we discovered that Saccharomyces cerevisiae microcolonies early after their origination from one cell successfully occupy the territory via dimorphic transition, which is induced by ammonia and other volatile amines independently on cell ploidy and nutrients. It results in oriented pseudohyphal cell expansion in the direction of ammonia source, which consequently leads to unification of adjacent microcolonies to one more numerous entity. The further population development is accompanied by another dimorphic switch, which is strictly dependent on Flo11p adhesin and is indispensable for proper formation of biofilm‐like aerial 3‐D colony architecture. In this, Flo11p is required for both elongation of cells organized to radial clusters (formed earlier within the colony) and their subsequent pseudohyphal expansion. Just before this expansion, Flo11p relocalizes from the bud‐neck of radial cell clusters also to the tip of elongated cells.
Bacterial community shifts in taxa and diversity in response to localized organic loading in the deep sea
Authors: Goffredi Shana K. , Orphan Victoria J.
Published: October 2009

The deep sea is a unique and extreme environment characterized by low concentrations of highly recalcitrant carbon. As a consequence, large organic inputs have potential to cause significant perturbation. To assess the impact of organic enrichment on deep sea microbial communities, we investigated bacterial diversity in sediments underlying two whale falls at 1820 and 2893 m depth in Monterey Canyon, as compared with surrounding reference sediment 10–20 m away. Bacteroidetes, Epsilonproteobacteria and Firmicutes were recovered primarily from whale fall‐associated sediments, while Gammaproteobacteria and Planctomycetes were found primarily within reference sediments. Abundant Deltaproteobacteria were recovered from both sediment types, but the Desulfobacteraceae and Desulfobulbaceae families were observed primarily beneath the whale falls. UniFrac analysis revealed that bacterial communities from the two whale falls (∼30 km apart) clustered to the exclusion of corresponding reference sediment communities, suggesting that deposition of whale fall biomass is more influential on deep sea microbial communities than specific seafloor location. The bacterial population at whale‐1820 at 7 months post deposition was less diverse than reference sediments, with Delta‐ and Epsilonproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes making up 89% of the community. At 70 months, bacterial diversity in reference sediments near whale‐2893 had decreased as well. Over this time, there was a convergence of each community's membership at the phyla level, although lower‐taxonomic‐level composition remained distinct. Long‐term impact of organic carbon loading from the whale falls was also evident by elevated total organic carbon and enhanced proteolytic activity for at least 17–70 months. The response of the sedimentary microbial community to large pulses of organic carbon is complex, likely affected by increased animal bioturbation, and may be sustained over time periods that span years to perhaps even decades.