bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
System dynamics education: becoming part of anticipatory systems
Authors: Scolozzi Rocco , Poli Roberto
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to present an overview of deep issues flanking the ideas of system and complexity, and an overview of the mentioned course as a proposal for systems thinking.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper provides a discursive overview of systems and philosophical concepts related to the described course.

Findings

– The review offers a perspective of a super-system that includes the students, the lecturers and the context of their interaction, in which one may recognize a relational framework for social learning of a systemic sustainability.

Research limitations/implications

– The overview concerns only the actual intervention in the University of Trento.

Practical implications

– The described concepts and related philosophical discussion may contribute to the integration of system thinking in the future studies.

Originality/value

– The described intervention is a new Italian context and the integration of systems concepts with futures studies seems not to be commonly established.
On the evaluation of public goods: cognitive and emotional aspects
Authors: Bonini Nicolao , Ritov Ilana , Graffeo Michele
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical framework for the assessment of subjective value of public goods. Public goods are not traded, so they do not have market prices, even if they may be of great importance for the well-being of citizens (e.g. green spaces, urban air). A procedure used to estimate the economic value of a public good is the contingent evaluation method: people are asked to state how much they are willing to pay to preserve or restore a public good. Many studies report that the subjective evaluation of public goods is affected by factors that, according to standard economics, should be irrelevant, such as the manipulation of frame and prime. On the other hand, factors that should be relevant, such as the magnitude of the expected benefit, are neglected. It appears that the evaluation of a public good cannot be reduced to a mere cost–benefit tradeoff evaluation. On the contrary, it seems that the subjective value of a public good is constructed. The authors argue that to accurately predict and describe how people valuate public goods, it is fundamental to study how people construct the associated mental representation.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper takes into account the cognitive and emotional aspects of the evaluation of public goods.

Findings

– Subjective valuation of public goods is affected by irrelevant factors and is not affected by relevant factors.

Practical implications

– This paper provides an accurate description and prediction of how people evaluate public goods.

Social implications

– The social implications of this paper include a better evaluation of public policies.

Originality/value

– This paper is an original psychological perspective on the evaluation of public goods.
Flexible resistive tensile load cells based on MWCNT/rubber composites
Authors: Karimov Kh.S. , Ahmed Nisar , Bashir M. Mehran , Aziz Fakhra , Rizvi M.Zeeshan , Khan Adam , Tahir M. , Zaidi Nayyer Abbas , Hafeez Muhammad , Bhatti Arshad Saleem
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to fabricate and investigate sensing properties of a novel, flexible resistive tensile load cells based on multi-walled carbon nano-tubes (MWCNTs)/rubber composites. The use of carbon nanotubes makes it very attractive for being used as sensors.

Design/methodology/approach

– On thin rubber substrate, MWCNTs powder was deposited and pressed at elevated temperature. Two types of samples were prepared: first sample was made by depositing MWCNTs suspension in water on the substrate, then the sample was dried at room temperature; the second sample was prepared by applying dry MWCNTs powder directly on the substrate.

Findings

– The resistances of the cells made from wet MWCNT powder are much lower than those made with dry powder. It was found that the fabricated load cells were highly sensitive to the force and showed good repeatability. The resistance of the flexible resistive tensile MWCNTs/rubber composite load cells increased 1.37 times, on average, with the increasing force (up to 0.045 N). The sensitivity of the cells was equal to 142 N-1.

Practical implications

– The device fabrication method used here provides a simple, less expensive and effective approach for preparing resistive tensile load cells.

Originality/value

– A novel, flexible resistive tensile load cells using MWCNTs/rubber composites have been successfully fabricated and investigated. MWCNTs, in dry and wet form, have been deposited on thin rubber substrates by adopting a very simple and inexpensive technique.
How “smart cities” will change supply chain management
Authors: Tachizawa Elcio M. , Alvarez-Gil María J. , Montes-Sancho María J.
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of smart city initiatives and big data on supply chain management (SCM). More specifically, the connections between smart cities, big data and supply network characteristics (supply network structure and governance mechanisms) are investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

– An integrative framework is proposed, grounded on a literature review on smart cities, big data and supply networks. Then, the relationships between these constructs are analyzed, using the proposed integrative framework.

Findings

– Smart cities have different implications to network structure (complexity, density and centralization) and governance mechanisms (formal vs informal). Moreover, this work highlights and discusses the future research directions relating to smart cities and SCM.

Research limitations/implications

– The relationships between smart cities, big data and supply networks cannot be described simply by using a linear, cause-and-effect framework. Accordingly, an integrative framework that can be used in future empirical studies to analyze smart cities and big data implications on SCM has been proposed.

Practical implications

– Smart cities and big data alone have limited capacity of improving SCM processes, but combined they can support improvement initiatives. Nevertheless, smart cities and big data can also suppose some novel obstacles to effective SCM.

Originality/value

– Several studies have analyzed information technology innovation adoption in supply chains, but, to the best of our knowledge, no study has focused on smart cities.
The role of a structured stakeholder consultation process within the establishment of a sustainable urban supply chain
Authors: Österle Ines , Aditjandra Paulus T. , Vaghi Carlo , Grea Gabriele , Zunder Thomas H.
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse a case of local freight stakeholder involvement to plan and design eco-efficient city logistics innovations in Como, a small city in Italy. While the importance of a well-functioning urban goods distribution system is widely acknowledged, city authorities have become increasingly aware of the need to minimise the negative impacts associated to the system. There are now countless examples of attempts to increase the eco-efficiency of urban freight deliveries; however, very few have made a notable impact. The success of such schemes often depends upon the response of a range of private sector freight stakeholders and their involvement during the planning process of these solutions is crucial.

Design/methodology/approach

– To engage local freight stakeholders within the planning process of a city logistics project, the logical framework approach, in the form of the design and monitoring framework (DMF) developed by the Asian Development Bank, has been applied.

Findings

– The structured consultation process implied within the DMF approach allowed urban freight stakeholders to share their aspirations from the beginning of the city freight planning process, despite their differences in priorities in adopting eco-efficient logistics innovations. The process ensured that city stakeholders accepted and committed to the city logistics strategies formulated during the consultation process, namely: changes to the Limited Traffic Zone regulation, the use of an urban consolidation centre and hybrid electric truck adoption.

Research limitations/implications

– The evaluation of the DMF application will be definitive after the demonstration/implementation stage of the city logistics project. It will then become clear if freight stakeholders have committed to the project and if it is effective in delivering the expected outputs and outcomes.

Practical implications

– Local city authorities may find this method useful in situations where a structured consultation process is needed for addressing urban freight issues. This is especially the case in the context of introducing innovative, eco-efficiency solutions.

Originality/value

– The application of DMF in the developed environment can be considered novel; this paper extends this with an application to the promotion of sustainable urban freight.
Between stigma and mother‐blame: blind mothers' experiences in USA hospital postnatal care
Authors: Frederick Angela
Published: April 2015

This study examines instances of discrimination that blind mothers in the USA have experienced at the hands of doctors, nurses and social workers during hospital postnatal care. The author identifies postnatal care as the time when blind mothers are likely to face the most stigmatising interactions with medical staff, as it is when scepticism about their competence as mothers is at its height. The author argues these interactions must be understood within their institutional context in which ideologies of risk and mother‐blame are embedded in hospital postnatal practices.
Doing good when times are bad: volunteering behaviour in economic hard times
Authors: Lim Chaeyoon , Laurence James
Published: April 2015

This paper examines how the 2008–9 recession has affected volunteering behaviours in the UK. Using a large survey dataset, we assess the recession effects on both formal volunteering and informal helping behaviours. Whilst both formal volunteering and informal helping have been in decline in the UK since 2008, the size of the decline is significantly larger for informal helping than for formal volunteering. The decline is more salient in regions that experienced a higher level of unemployment during the recession and also in socially and economically disadvantaged communities. However, we find that a growing number of people who personally experienced financial insecurity and hardship do not explain the decline. We argue that the decline has more to do with community‐level factors such as civic organizational infrastructure and cultural norms of trust and engagement than personal experiences of economic hardship.
Tectonic Evolution of the Meso‐Tethys in the Western Segment of Bangonghu‐Nujiang Suture Zone: Insights from Geochemistry and Geochronology of the Lagkor Tso Ophiolite
Authors: Yajuan YUAN , Zhengxin YIN , Weiliang LIU , Qiangtai HUANG , Jianfeng LI , Hongfei LIU , Zhifeng WAN , Zhourong CAI , Bin XIA
Published: April 2015

The subduction of the Bangonghu‐Nujiang Meso‐Tethys and the collision between the Lhasa and Qiangtang blocks were important events in the growth of the Tibetan crust. However, the timing of collision initiation and closure timing, as well as nature and structure of the Bangonghu ocean basin, are still poorly constrained. The Lagkor Tso ophiolite, located in the south of Gerze County, Tibet, is one of the most completed ophiolites preserved in the southern side of the Bangonghu‐Nujiang suture zone. This study discussed the tectonic evolution of the Bangonghu‐Nujiang suture zone as revealed by the Lagkor Tso ophiolite investigated by field investigations, petrology, geochemistry, geochronology and tectonic analysis methods. We present new LA‐ICP‐MS zircon U‐Pb and 39Ar/40Ar ages for the Lagkor Tso ophiolite, in addition to geochemical and platinum‐group element (PGE) data presented for the Lagkor Tso ophiolite in Tibet. It is suggested that the ancient Lagkor Tso oceanic basin split in Middle Jurassic (161.2 ± 2.7 Ma – 165.4 ± 3.5 Ma), and experienced a second tectonic emplacement during the Early Cretaceous (137.90 ± 6.39 Ma). The Lagkor Tso ophiolite likely developed in an independent suture zone. The Bangonghu‐Nujiang ocean subducted southwards, and the dehydration of the subducting oceanic crust materials caused partial melting of the continental mantle wedge, which formed the second‐order expanding center of the obduction dish. This led to inter‐arc expansion, followed by the formation of inter‐arc and back‐arc basins with island arc features, which are represented by ophiolites around the Shiquanhe‐Lagkor Tso‐Yongzhu region. The tectonic environment presently can be considered to be similar to that of the current Western Pacific, in which a large number of island arc‐ocean basin systems are developed.
Origin of Listwanite in the Luobusa Ophiolite, Tibet, Implications for Chromite Stability in Hydrothermal Systems
Authors: Lan ZHANG , Jingsui YANG , ROBINSON Paul T. , Fahui XIONG , Yanhong CHEN , Shengmin LAI , Mei CHEN
Published: April 2015

Listwanite from the Luobusa ophiolite, Tibet, forms a narrow, discontinuous band along the eastern part of the southern boundary fault. We undertook a detailed petrographic and geochemical study to understand the mineral transformation processes and the behaviour of major and trace elements during listwanite formation. Three alteration zones characterized by distinct mineral components and texture are recognized and, in order of increasing degree of alteration, these are: zoneIII is rich in serpentine minerals; zoneII is rich in talc and carbonates; and zoneI is mainly composed of carbonates and quartz. Geochemical data for the three alteration zones show significant modification of some major and trace elements in the protolith, although some oxides show linear correlations with MgO. Gold mineralization is recognized in the Luobusa listwanite and may signify an important target for future mineral exploration. Gold enrichment occurs in both zoneI and zoneII and is up to 0.91 g/t in one sample from zoneI. We show that CO2‐rich hydrothermal fluids can modify both the occurrence and composition of chromite grains, indicating some degree of chromite mobility. Low‐Cr anhedral grains are more easily altered than high‐Cr varieties. The compositions of chromite and olivine grains in the listwanite suggest a dunite protolith.
Apatite Fission Track Evidence of Uplift Cooling in the Qiangtang Basin and Constraints on the Tibetan Plateau Uplift
Authors: Zhanli REN , Junping CUI , Chiyang LIU , Tiejun LI , Gang CHEN , Shuang DOU , Tao TIAN , Yating LUO
Published: April 2015

The Qiangtang basin is located in the central Tibetan Plateau. This basin has an important structural position, and further study of its tectonic and thermal histories has great significance for understanding the evolution of the Tibetan Plateau and the hydrocarbon potential of marine carbonates in the basin. This study focuses on low temperature thermochronology and in particular conducted apatite fission track analysis. Under constraints provided by the geological background, the thermal history in different tectonic units is characterized by the degree of annealing of samples, and the timing of major (uplift‐erosion related) cooling episodes is inferred. The cooling history in the Qiangtang basin can be divided into two distinct episodes. The first stage is mainly from the late Early Cretaceous to the Late Cretaceous (69.8 Ma to 108.7 Ma), while the second is mainly from the Middle‐Late Eocene to the late Miocene (10.3 Ma to 44.4 Ma). The first cooling episode records the uplift of strata in the central Qiangtang basin caused by continued convergent extrusion after the Bangong‐Nujiang ocean closed. The second episode can be further divided into three periods, which are respectively 10.3 Ma, 22.6–26.1 Ma and 30.8–44.4 Ma. The late Oligocene‐early Miocene (22.6–26.1 Ma) is the main cooling period. The distribution and times of the earlier uplift‐related cooling show that the effect of extrusion after the collision between Eurasian plate and India plate obviously influenced the Qiangtang basin at 44.4 Ma. The Qiangtang basin underwent compression and started to be uplifted from the middle‐late Eocene to the early Oligocene (45.0–30.8 Ma). Subsequently, a large‐scale and intensive uplift process occurred during the late Oligocene to early Miocene (26.1–22.6 Ma) and the basin continued to undergo compression and uplift up to the late Miocene (10.3 Ma). Thus, uplift‐erosion in the Qiangtang basin was intensive from 44.5 Ma to about 10 Ma. The timing of cooling in the second episode shows that the uplift of the Qiangtang basin was caused by the strong compression after the collision of the Indian plate and Eurasian plate. On the whole, the new apatite fission‐track data from the Qiangtang basin show that the Tibetan Plateau started to extrude and uplift during 45–30.8 Ma. The main period of uplift and formation of the Tibetan Plateau took place about 22.6–26.1 Ma, and uplift and extrusion continued until the late Miocene (10.3 Ma).
Successful autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for a patient with rapidly progressive localized scleroderma
Authors: Nair Velu , Sharma Ajay , Sharma Sanjeevan , Das Satyaranjan , Bhakuni Darshan S. , Narayanan Krishnan , Nair Vivek , Shankar Subramanian
Published: April 2015

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) for rapidly progressive disease has not been reported in localized scleroderma. Our patient, a 16‐year‐old girl had an aggressive variant of localized scleroderma, mixed subtype (linear‐generalized) with Parry Romberg syndrome, with no internal organ involvement, that was unresponsive to immunosuppressive therapy and was causing rapid disfigurement. She was administered autologous HSCT in June 2011 and has maintained drug‐free remission with excellent functional status at almost 3.5 years of follow‐up.
Treatment of glucocorticoid‐induced low bone mineral density in children: a systematic review
Authors: Jayasena Arundathi , Atapattu Navoda , Lekamwasam Sarath
Published: April 2015

Aims

The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate, critically, the treatment options used in the management of bone loss associated with glucocorticoid (GC) use among children.

Methods

We performed a systematic search using PubMed, Cochrane clinical trial registry, Clinicaltiral.gov and Ovid databases (1 March, 2013). The search resulted in 34 eligible retrievals. Of them, seven clinical trials that fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected by two authors.

Results

Four studies have compared the effectiveness of bisphosphonates in the treatment of GC‐induced low bone mineral density (BMD) in children. Remaining studies were on menatretenone + alfacacidol versus alfacalcidol alone, calcium + vitamin D versus placebo and alfacalcidol versus menatetrenone. In the four studies, bisphosphonates have shown the ability either to improve BMD or prevent bone loss associated with GC use in children. However, alendronate either in oral or intravenous routes and oral pamidronate were the only bisphosphnates that have been studied in children. Vitamin K2 (menatetrenone) combined with alfacalcidol has also preserved BMD in children on long‐term GC therapy. Calcium combined with alfacalcidol has also prevented bone loss, greater than menatetrenone. Calcitriol together with Calcium in conventional doses has retarded bone loss, although the combination could not completely prevent the process.

Conclusions

Vitamin D derivatives such as calcitriol or alfacalcidol together with adequate calcium can be considered suitable treatment options to be started simultaneously when long‐term GC therapy is needed in children. For children who have been on GCs or have already lost BMD, either oral pamidronate or alendronate in oral/intravenous routes can be considered based on the availability.
Wit and Greece's economic crisis: Ironic slogans, food, and antiausterity sentiments
Authors: KNIGHT DANIEL M.
Published: April 2015

Ironic slogans voice opposition to neoliberal austerity measures as people in western Thessaly, Greece, strive to account for dramatically increasing poverty and cultivate a sense of collective suffering in an era of economic crisis. The slogans are pinned to moments of socioeconomic turmoil in recent Greek history, such as the 1941–43 famine and the 1973 polytechnic uprising against military dictatorship. Through satire, they capture local and national attitudes toward the government's current austerity policy and neoliberalism more generally. Drawing on powerful tropes of food, the slogans critique the experiences of neoliberal reform, becoming sites of resistance and solidarity that reframe relations between local people, their government, and international creditors.
Liberty and moral ambivalence: Postsocialist transitions, refugee hosting, and bodily comportment in the Republic of Guinea
Authors: MCGOVERN MIKE
Published: April 2015

Guinean hosts viewed Liberian refugees with the same ambivalence and fascination that many held for their own children, who were embracing the consumerist ethos of Guinea's postsocialist 1990s. Loma‐speaking farmers’ categories for evaluating historical change and refugee comportment grew out of metaphors of embodied agency and morality. These categories challenge some aspects of both Guinean elites’ and contemporary anthropologists’ understandings of the meaning of post–Cold War social change. [subaltern historiography, embodiment, Guinea, West Africa, fast capitalism, postsocialism]
Global health partnerships, governance, and sovereign responsibility in western Kenya
Authors: BROWN HANNAH
Published: April 2015

The delivery of resources to citizens in the global South is increasingly managed through international partnerships. As systems of plural governance, such arrangements are characterized by alignments, accommodations, and conflicts between partners’ respective interests. This article focuses on partnerships between the Kenyan Ministries of Health and organizations funded by PEPFAR (the President's Fund for AIDS Relief), drawing on fieldwork with Kenyan government health managers. These partnerships were based on a separation between the ability to provide resources and the right to administer them. For Kenyans, partnerships animated a politics of sovereign responsibility in which they often felt a deep sense of managerial disenfranchisement. For their foreign collaborators, partnership relations legitimized the interventions they organized. This politics of sovereign responsibility reconfigured the importance of the state on the basis of its role in delivering resources within global relations of inequality. [global health, PEPFAR, HIV/AIDS, governance, partnership, sovereign responsibility, the state, Kenya]
Predictors of weight loss 2 years after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy
Authors: Martin David J , Lee Crystal MY , Rigas Georgia , Tam Charmaine S
Published: April 2015

Introduction

Despite the rapidly increasing popularity of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG), there is limited data examining weight loss more than 1 year after the procedure. There have also been few studies examining baseline predictors of weight loss after LSG. We aimed to examine the percentage of excess weight loss (%EWL) in patients 2 years after LSG and identify baseline predictors of %EWL.

Methods

Electronic records from university hospitals were available for 292 patients who underwent LSG (205 women; mean age, 41.5 ± 11.1 years; mean weight, 126.5 ± 27.5 kg; mean BMI, 45.5 ± 7.5 kg/m2). Variables assessed for predictive effect were baseline age, sex, BMI, presence of comorbidities (diabetes, hypertension, or obstructive sleep apnea), the amount of weight loss induced by a very low‐calorie diet before surgery, and the number of clinic appointments attended over the 2 years. We performed linear regression and mixed model analyses between predictor variables and %EWL at 2 years.

Results

Adjusted %EWL was 31% at 2 weeks, 49% at 3 months, 64% at 6 months, 70% at 9 months, 76% at 12 months, 79% at 18 months, and 79% at 2 years. Multivariate analysis showed that lower baseline BMI, absence of hypertension, and greater clinic attendance predicted better %EWL (r2 = 0.11).

Conclusion

Longer‐term follow‐up studies of weight loss post LSG are required to assist with patient care and management.
Male gonads morphology, spermatogenesis and sperm ultrastructure of the seahorse Hippocampus guttulatus (Syngnathidae)
Authors: Piras Francesca , Biagi Francesca , Taddei Anna Rita , Fausto Anna Maria , Farina Vittorio , Zedda Marco , Floris Antonello , Franzoi Piero , Carcupino Marcella
Published: April 2015

Testes morphology, spermatogenetic process and mature sperm ultrastructure were analysed in Hippocampus guttulatus, using both light and transmission electron microscopy. Both testes were organized in a single large germinal compartment, with a central lumen. Spermatocysts only contained spermatogonia and primary spermatocytes. Inside the testis lumen, together with mature sperm, two types of large mono‐nucleate cells, flagellate and aflagellate, were present. Both types of cells were interpreted as developing germ cells precociously released inside the testis lumen, where their maturation was completed. According to the different morphological features of the nuclei, such as chromatin condensation degree, aspect of the nuclear fossa and others, the flagellate cells were unquestionably developing spermatids. On the contrary, the developmental stage of the aflagellate was more difficult to interpreted. They could be secondary spermatocytes or young spermatids. No dimorphic sperm were recognizable, the only sperm type observed have features typical of the intro‐sperm reports in other syngnathids species. They had a cylindrical head, a short midpiece, characterized by two mitochondrial rings housed inside a cytoplasmic collar, and a long flagellum. These and previous data about the same topic reported on other syngnathids species were compared and discussed.
Lithium modulates the production of peripheral and cerebral cytokines in an animal model of mania induced by dextroamphetamine
Authors: Valvassori Samira S , Tonin Paula T , Varela Roger B , Carvalho André F , Mariot Edemilson , Amboni Rafaela T , Bianchini Guilherme , Andersen Monica L , Quevedo João
Published: April 2015

Objectives

Several recent studies have suggested that the physiopathology of bipolar disorder (BD) is related to immune system alterations and inflammation. Lithium (Li) is a mood stabilizer that is considered the first‐line treatment for this mood disorder. The goal of the present study was to investigate the effects of Li administration on behavior and cytokine levels [interleukin (IL)‐1β, IL‐4, IL‐6, IL‐10, and tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α)] in the periphery and brains of rats subjected to an animal model of mania induced by amphetamine (d‐AMPH).

Methods

Male Wistar rats were treated with d‐AMPH or saline (Sal) for 14 days; on Day 8 of treatment, the rats were administered Li or Sal for the final seven days. Cytokine (IL‐1β, IL‐4, IL‐6, IL‐10, and TNF‐α) levels were evaluated in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), serum, frontal cortex, striatum, and hippocampus.

Results

The present study showed that d‐AMPH induced hyperactivity in rats (p < 0.001), and Li treatment reversed this behavioral alteration (p < 0.001). In addition, d‐AMPH increased the levels of IL‐4, IL‐6, IL‐10, and TNF‐α in the frontal cortex (p < 0.001), striatum (p < 0.001), and serum (p < 0.001), and treatment with Li reversed these cytokine alterations (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Li modulates peripheral and cerebral cytokine production in an animal model of mania induced by d‐AMPH, suggesting that its action on the inflammatory system may contribute to its therapeutic efficacy.
Interpreting standardized and idiographic outcome measures in CAMHS: what does change mean and how does it relate to functioning and experience?
Authors: Edbrooke‐Childs Julian , Jacob Jenna , Law Duncan , Deighton Jessica , Wolpert Miranda
Published: April 2015

Background

Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) are increasingly being used in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). The aim of this research was to explore change in standardized and idiographic outcome measures in CAMHS using naturalistic, routinely collected data.

Method

We explored change in psychosocial difficulties and impact on daily life as evaluated by a broad standardized measure, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) (Goodman, 1997, J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry, 38, 581) and progress toward goals as evaluated by a personalized idiographic measure, the Goal Based Outcomes tool (GBO) (Law, 2011, Goals and Goal Based Outcomes (GBOs): some useful information. London: CAMHS Press) in a sample of N = 137 CAMHS attenders.

Results

Psychosocial difficulties and impact on daily life showed less change over the course of treatment than progress toward goals in this study. Change in psychosocial difficulties and impact on daily life were also less strongly associated with change in clinician‐reported functioning and satisfaction with care at time two than change in progress toward goals.

Conclusions

Findings of the present research may support previous studies in which service users and clinicians report that idiographic measures are more capable than standardized measures of capturing relevant change for individuals.
The Autonomous Developmental Pathway: The Primacy of Subjective Mental States for Human Behavior and Experience
Authors: Kärtner Joscha
Published: April 2015

This review focuses on infants’ emerging awareness of mental states and demonstrates how cultural models—consisting of parenting beliefs and practices—interact dynamically with biologically prepared developmental potentialities in shaping infant behavior and development. Contrasting very different cultural contexts, it is suggested that caregivers’ visual contingent responsiveness and associated processes are key features of early mother–infant interaction. They (a) are informed by intuitive parenting and culture‐specific ethnotheories that, as a consequence, (b) differentially sensitize infants for internal mental states in the 1st year and beyond, and thereby (c) provide mechanisms that specify how culture not only shapes human behavior and experience but also produces culture‐specific developmental pathways.
CD20‐Positive nodal natural killer/T‐cell lymphoma with cutaneous involvement
Authors: Tsai Yi‐Chiun , Chen Chi‐Kuan , Wu Yu‐Hung
Published: April 2015

CD20‐positive natural killer (NK)/T‐cell lymphoma is extremely rare. We describe a case of a CD20‐positive nodal NK/T‐cell lymphoma with cutaneous involvement in a 32‐year‐old man. The patient presented with fever, night sweats, right inguinal lymphadenopathy and multiple violaceous to erythematous nodules and plaques on the back and bilateral legs. Immunohistochemical analysis showed diffusely and strongly positive staining for CD3, CD3 epsilon, CD43, CD56, TIA‐1 and CD20 but negative staining for other B‐cell markers, including CD79a and PAX‐5 and T‐cell markers CD5 and CD7. The tumor cell nuclei were diffusely positive for Epstein–Barr virus‐encoded RNA in situ hybridization. A partial clinical response was observed after chemotherapy, indicated by the decreased size of the lymph nodes and skin lesions. It is a diagnostic challenge to deal with lymphoma cells that present with the surface proteins of both T‐ and B‐cells.
Efficacy of low‐dose 5‐fluorouracil/salicylic acid in actinic keratoses in relation to treatment duration
Authors: Szeimies Rolf‐Markus , Dirschka Thomas , Prechtl Andreas , Melzer Antje
Published: April 2015

Background

In Germany, the number of actinic keratoses (AKs) diagnosed and dermatologically treated has steadily risen in recent years. As AKs represent an early form of squamous cell carcinoma, prompt initiation of treatment is pivotal. The objective of this non‐interventional study (NIS) was to determine the efficacy of a low‐dose (0.5 %) fluorouracil/10 % salicylic acid (low‐dose 5‐FU/SA) solution in the treatment of AKs (clinical grade I and II according to Olsen) in relation to treatment duration.

Patients and methods

This NIS followed 1,051 AK patients from 212 centers who were treated with low‐dose 5‐FU/SA. Data were collected at the start of treatment, at an optional follow‐up appointment during the treatment period, at the end of treatment, and during the final assessment.

Results

During the observation period, there was a decrease in the mean number of lesions by approximately 70 % and in mean size by approximately 80 %. Roughly one‐half of the patients were treated for less than six weeks. In the final global assessment, efficacy was rated as very good or good in approximately 89 % of patients; tolerability as very good or good in 87 %.

Conclusions

Under routine clinical conditions, treatment with low‐dose 5‐FU/SA effectively reduced AK lesions even during short treatment periods, while exhibiting good tolerability. These findings are in keeping with results obtained from a clinical phase III trial.
Reverse Auctions to Innovate Procurement Processes: Effects of Bid Information Presentation Design on a Supplier's Bidding Outcome
Authors: Setia Pankaj , Speier‐Pero Cheri
Published: April 2015

Information technologies (ITs) are being used to innovate various procurement processes. This research study focuses on the supplier‐side effects of IT design choices to conduct reverse auctions, which are increasingly used to procure a wide range of products and services. IT–enabled reverse auctions enhance supplier participation across geographical boundaries, leading to more efficient pricing. However, there are growing concerns about the adverse effects of IT–enabled reverse auctions on a supplier's performance. Supplier‐side issues are gaining prominence in the reverse auction literature and are critical for the long‐term success of reverse auctions. Therefore, we focus on suppliers’ bidding outcomes and assess how the design of an IT–enabled reverse auction facilitates the auction bidding outcomes of participating suppliers. Specifically, we examine the effects of two types of bid information presentation design—full price visibility and partial price visibility—on supplier's auction bidding outcomes, across auctions with different cost certainty and suppliers bargaining power vis‐à‐vis the buyer. The results of this study contribute new knowledge about the ways to use IT for creating effective auction designs and innovating procurement through auctions to enhance both the buyer's and suppliers’ performance. We present the detailed theoretical contributions of our study and discuss the managerial implications for designers of reverse auctions.
Managing Knowledge Creation in High‐Tech R&D Projects: A Multimethod Study
Authors: Chandrasekaran Aravind , Linderman Kevin
Published: April 2015

R&D projects in high‐tech organizations bring together diverse knowledge domains to quickly develop new products and processes. The fast‐paced context of high‐tech organizations makes it challenging to create new knowledge and solve complex problems. Managing these R&D projects requires understanding both the mechanisms and the type of knowledge created to achieve project objectives. This research conducts a two‐phased multimethod study to understand knowledge creation in high‐tech R&D projects. The first phase uses qualitative data to develop a theory on knowledge creation in R&D projects. The second phase involves a survey that collects data from R&D projects to test the theory. Results from the case study find that R&D projects benefit from two types of knowledge – objective and intuitive. The case analyses show that intuitive and objective knowledge creation in high‐tech organizations occurs by creating not only diverse but also psychological safe project teams. The large‐scale survey finds that team diversity positively influences objective knowledge creation while psychological safety affects intuitive knowledge creation. Surprisingly, the results show that team diversity negatively affects intuitive knowledge creation. A post hoc analysis takes a more granular look at diversity and shows that different kinds of diversity have different effects on knowledge creation. This helps to better explain how to manage innovation across boundaries. Finally, the analysis shows that both objective and intuitive knowledge influence R&D project performance. Taken together, these results help explain how to manage innovation across functional boundaries to create knowledge and enhance R&D project performance.
Supply Chain Disruptions and the Role of Information Asymmetry
Authors: Schmidt William
Published: April 2015

This research investigates how information asymmetry between the firm and its investors can influence supply chain disruptions. In such settings, these actors may be induced to take steps which exacerbate rather than ameliorate both the likelihood and impact of disruptions. By better understanding these mechanisms, managers and investors alike are better armed to avoid the costly consequences.
Similar efficacy and safety of LY2963016 insulin glargine and insulin glargine (Lantus®) in patients with type 2 diabetes who were insulin‐naïve or previously treated with insulin glargine: a randomized, double‐blind controlled trial (the ELEMENT 2 study)
Authors: Rosenstock J. , Hollander P. , Bhargava A. , Ilag L. L. , Pollom R. K. , Zielonka J. S. , Huster W. J. , Prince M. J.
Published: April 2015

Aims

To compare the efficacy and safety of LY2963016 insulin glargine (LY IGlar) and the reference product (Lantus®) insulin glargine (IGlar) in combination with oral antihyperglycaemic medications in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Methods

This phase III, randomized, double‐blind, 24‐week study enrolled patients with T2D who were insulin‐naïve [glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) ≥7 and ≤11.0%] or previously on IGlar (HbA1c ≤11%) and treated with ≥2 oral antihyperglycaemic medications. Patients were randomized to receive once‐daily LY IGlar (n = 376) or IGlar (n = 380) for 24 weeks. The primary efficacy outcome was to test the non‐inferiority (0.4% and then 0.3% margin) of LY IGlar to IGlar, as measured by change in HbA1c from baseline to 24 weeks.

Results

Both treatment groups had similar and significant (p < 0.001) within‐group decreases in mean HbA1c values from baseline. LY IGlar met non‐inferiority criteria compared with IGlar for change in HbA1c from baseline [−1.29 vs −1.34%; respectively, least‐squares mean difference 0.052% (95% confidence interval −0.070 to 0.175); p > 0.05]. There were no treatment differences (p > 0.05) in fasting plasma glucose, proportion of patients reaching HbA1c <7% or insulin dose at 24 weeks. Adverse events, allergic reactions, weight change, hypoglycaemia and insulin antibodies were similar between treatment groups. Similar findings were observed in patients who were insulin‐naïve or previously treated with IGlar at baseline.

Conclusions

Both LY IGlar and IGlar, when used in combination with oral antihyperglycaemic medications, provided effective and similar glucose control with similar safety profiles in patients with T2D.
Infective Endocarditis Complicated by Mitral Valve Aneurysm: Pathologic and Echocardiographic Correlations
Authors: Seratnahaei Arash , Bailey Alison L. , Hensley Patrick J. , O'Connor William , Smith Mikel D.
Published: April 2015

Infective endocarditis is a well‐described cardiovascular disease that causes significant morbidity and mortality despite medical and surgical advances. Complications of endocarditis include heart failure, systemic embolization, and valvular destruction including valve aneurysms which increase morbidity and mortality. Mitral valve aneurysms are rarely encountered in the clinical setting. We present eight mitral valve aneurysm cases and discuss a new potential pathogenesis of this deadly endocarditis complication. Pathologic evaluation suggests that neovascularization of the anterior mitral valve leaflet predisposes this territory to abscess and aneurysm formation. In conclusion, mitral valve aneurysms appear to be another form of intravalvular abscess which has expanded and should be approached aggressively with surgical intervention if indicated.
Intervendor Variabilities of Left and Right Ventricular Myocardial Velocities among Three Tissue Doppler Echocardiography Systems
Authors: Abe Kiyoshi , Yuda Satoshi , Sato Yasumi , Yasui Kenji , Nishi Ryosuke , Hanada Kyosuke , Hashimoto Naoko , Kawamukai Mina , Kouzu Hidemichi , Muranaka Atsuko , Hashimoto Akiyoshi , Tsuchihashi Kazufumi , Watanabe Naoki , Miura Tetsuji
Published: April 2015

Background

Whether an intervendor discordance of myocardial velocities determined by tissue Doppler echocardiography (TDE) can be generalized remains unclear. We compared intervendor variabilities of left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) myocardial velocities among three TDE systems.

Methods

Examinations with TDE were performed in 41 healthy subjects and 11 patients with cardiovascular risk factors (CVR) using α‐7 (V1, Hitachi Aloka Medical), Artida (V2, Toshiba Medical Systems), and Vivid E9 (V3, GE Healthcare) on the same day. Peak systolic (s′), early diastolic (e′), and late diastolic (a′) myocardial velocities at medial and lateral sites of the mitral annulus and lateral site of the tricuspid annulus were measured using both pulsed‐wave TDE and color TDE. Intra‐observer and inter‐observer variabilities were determined in 10 subjects and test–retest variability in 14 subjects.

Results

As for test–retest variability, reproducibilities of LV and RV myocardial velocities determined by pulsed‐wave TDE and color TDE were relatively low but comparable between V1, V2, and V3. Myocardial velocities in healthy subjects determined by both pulsed‐wave TDE and color TDE were significantly different among the three TDE systems. Myocardial velocities by pulsed‐wave TDE in V3 were 2–12% lower (P < 0.05) than those by V2 and 5–14% lower (P < 0.05) than those by V1. Similar differences in myocardial velocities determined by both pulsed‐wave TDE and color TDE were found in patients with CVR.

Conclusions

LV and RV myocardial velocities determined by both pulsed‐wave TDE and color TDE are vendor dependent, and reproducibility of the myocardial velocities determined by both TDE systems is relatively low.
Energy consumption inEngland andItaly, 1560–1913. Two pathways toward energy transition
Authors: Malanima Paolo
Published: April 2015

The displacement of the centre of theEuropean economy from theMediterranean to theAtlantic and the beginning of north–south divergence inEurope has been discussed on the basis of data on real wages, urbanization rates, and, more recently, estimates of gross domestic product for a number ofEuropean countries. The purpose of the present article is to contribute to this line of research with the elaboration of yearly series of total energy consumption inItaly andEngland for the long period 1560–1913. New data on energy services, energy intensity, and, finally, social savings from the use of energy are also presented and discussed for bothItaly andEngland. These new data allow us to specify that energy played a central role. Yet it was relatively late that its importance as a provider of mechanical work developed fully; that is, from 1830 onwards in England and from the end of the nineteenth century inItaly.
The effect of range changes on the functional turnover, structure and diversity of bird assemblages under future climate scenarios
Authors: Barbet‐Massin Morgane , Jetz Walter
Published: April 2015

Animal assemblages fulfill a critical set of ecological functions for ecosystems that may be altered substantially as climate change‐induced distribution changes lead to community disaggregation and reassembly. We combine species and community perspectives to assess the consequences of projected geographic range changes for the diverse functional attributes of avian assemblages worldwide. Assemblage functional structure is projected to change highly unevenly across space. These differences arise from both changes in the number of species and changes in species’ relative local functional redundancy or distinctness. They sometimes result in substantial losses of functional diversity that could have severe consequences for ecosystem health. Range expansions may counter functional losses in high‐latitude regions, but offer little compensation in many tropical and subtropical biomes. Future management of local community function and ecosystem services thus relies on understanding the global dynamics of species distributions and multiscale approaches that include the biogeographic context of species traits.
Species' intrinsic traits inform their range limitations and vulnerability under environmental change
Authors: Estrada Alba , Meireles Catarina , Morales‐Castilla Ignacio , Poschlod Peter , Vieites David , Araújo Miguel B. , Early Regan
Published: April 2015

Aim

Understanding the factors that govern species' geographical ranges is of utmost importance for predicting potential range shifts triggered by environmental change. Species ranges are partially limited by their tolerances to extrinsic environmental conditions such as climate and habitat. However, they are also determined by the capacity of species to disperse, establish new populations and proliferate, which are in turn dependent on species intrinsic life‐history traits. So far, the contribution of intrinsic factors driving species distributions has been inconclusive, largely because intrinsic and extrinsic factors have not been examined simultaneously in a satisfactory way. We investigate how geographical ranges of plants are determined by both extrinsic environmental factors and species intrinsic life‐history traits.

Location

Europe.

Methods

We compiled a database on plant geographical ranges, environmental tolerances and life‐history traits that constitutes the largest dataset analysed to date (1276 species). We used generalized linear modelling to test if range size and range filling (the proportion of climatically suitable area a species occupies) are affected by dispersal distance, habitat breadth and 10 life‐history traits related to establishment and proliferation.

Results

The species characteristics that were most linked to range limitations of European plant species were dispersal potential, seed bank persistence and habitat breadth (which together explained ≥ 30% of deviance in range filling and range size). Specific leaf area, which has been linked to establishment ability, made a smaller contribution to native range limitations.

Main conclusions

Our results can be used to improve estimates of extinction vulnerability under climate change. Species with high dispersal capacity, that can maintain viable seed banks for several years and that can live in an intermediate number of habitats have the fewest non‐climatic limitations on their ranges, and are most likely to shift their geographical ranges under climate change. We suggest that climate‐change risk assessments should not focus exclusively on dispersal capacity.