bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Rapid synthesis and properties of segmented block copolymers based on monodisperse aromatic poly(N-methyl benzamide) and poly(propylene oxide)
Authors: Mori T. , Masukawa S. , Kikkawa T. , Fujimori A. , Satoh A. , Matsumoto K. , Jikei M. , Oishi Y. , Shibasaki Y.
Published: July 2017

Monodisperse aromaticN-methyl benzamide-based molecules (Mw/Mn= 1.02–1.04) with terephthalic acid at both sides (MABx–x) were rapidly prepared by a step-wise reaction using the reported one-pot dendrimer synthetic method.
Suppression of degradation for lithium iron phosphate cylindrical batteries by nano silicon surface modification
Authors: Yang Wenyu , Wang Zhisheng , Chen Lei , Chen Yue , Zhang Lin , Lin Yingbin , Li Jiaxin , Huang Zhigao
Published: July 2017

Si surface modification gets improved electrochemical performances for 18 650 cylindrical cells, especially at elevated temperature, which is attributed to the fact that Si can enable the LiFePO4 electrodes to suppress battery degradation.
Dissolution of anionic surfactant mesophases
Authors: Poulos Andreas S. , Jones Christopher S. , Cabral João T.
Published: July 2017

A simple model for water penetration can describe the dissolution kinetics of an anionic surfactant mesophase.
Anatomical Segmentectomy with a Hybrid VATS Approach in a Patient with Intralobar Pulmonary Sequestration after Severe Pneumonia: A Case Report
Authors: Shibuya Soichi , Nakamura Toru , Miyazaki Eiji
Published: July 2017

Anatomical segmentectomy is an advantageous procedure because it spares healthy lung that has potential to show compensatory growth after lung resection and decreases the risk of air leak and residual resection, which becomes a problem in wedge resection. However, anatomical segmentectomy has not become a common procedure in pediatrics because it requires more complicated procedure than lobectomy or wedge resection, especially in patients with a history of pulmonary infection. In this case report, anatomical basal segmentectomy was safely performed with magnified vision by a hybrid video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) approach in a 6-year-old girl with intralobar pulmonary sequestration after severe pneumonia. The result suggests that the indications for hybrid VATS segmentectomy can expand further to include segmental lesions in children.
Stentless Bioprostheses for Aortic Valve Replacement in Octogenarians: The Influence of Coronary Artery Disease
Authors: Ennker Juergen , Zadeh Behnam , Pons-Kuehnemann Joern , Niemann Bernd , Grieshaber Philippe , Ennker Ina , Boening Andreas
Published: July 2017

Background We sought to determine the long-term results of stentless biological heart valve replacement in octogenarians to find out whether coronary artery disease or the coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedure itself influences survival in these aged patients.

Methods From 4,012 patients undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR) with a stentless prosthesis (Freestyle, Medtronic) at a single center, 721 patients were older than 80 years. They had a mean age of 83 ±  2 (2,320 patient years), the male/female ratio was 42:58, NYHA (New York Heart Association) class I and II was prevalent in 22.8%, preoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) in 20.6%, coronary artery disease in 56.1%, mitral valve disease in 12.5%, and aortic disease in 3.5%. Follow-up included a total of 11,546 patient years (mean follow-up time: 74 ± 53 months); follow-up mortality data were 96.3% complete.

Results In these aged patients, 30-day mortality in the isolated AVR group (10.3%) was similar to that in the AVR + CABG group (13.4%). Although long-term survival (15 years) in the octogenarian population is low (9% in the AVR group and 6% in the AVR + CABG group), it was not different (p = 0.191) between patients with and without coronary artery disease. The stroke rate and the myocardial infarction rate, respectively, in the AVR + CABG group (0.43%/100 patient years and 0.17%/100 patient years) were only insignificantly higher than that in the isolated AVR group (each 0.01%/100 patient years). The actuarial freedom from reoperation was 99% in both the groups.

Conclusion Use of the Freestyle stentless valve prosthesis for AVR is feasible also in octogenarians. The existence of coronary artery disease leads to concomitant bypass surgery, but not a higher level of perioperative or long-term mortality.
Sicherheitskultur und kritische Ereignisse in der Palliativversorgung
Authors: Müller-Busch H.
Published: July 2017

Unter der Annahme, dass – ähnlich wie in den USA – Irrtümer und Fehlbehandlungen auch bei uns in vielen Fällen als Todesursache angesehen werden müssen, zumindest aber die letzte Lebensphase und das Sterben in einem erheblichen Ausmaß mitbestimmen, stellen der Umgang mit Fehlern und Irrtümern bzw. die Fehlervermeidung auch für die Palliativversorgung eine bedeutsame Herausforderung dar. Da bis zu 90 % aller Patienten in ihrer letzten Lebensphase eine Betreuung bzw. Versorgung unter palliativen Gesichtspunkten benötigen, heißt das zunächst, den Blick auf Fehlbehandlungen zu schärfen, diese als solche zu erkennen und darüber zu kommunizieren. Um die Ursachenanalyse von kritischen Ereignissen und Fehlern in einem auf Vertrauen basierenden Miteinander zu ermöglichen, sollte weniger nach „Schuldigen“, sondern gemeinsam nach Lösungen gesucht werden. Verbesserungsvorschläge sind ernst zu nehmen, zu prüfen und konsequent umzusetzen. Die Prävention von Fehlern und die Identifikation von Schwachstellen sollte durch Schulungen und Einbeziehung des speziellen Wissens aller Beteiligten interdisziplinär und im Team systematisch gefördert werden. Fehlermanagement und Sicherheitskultur in der Palliativversorgung bedeutet, die Bedürfnisse, das Vertrauen und die Sicherheit des Patienten und der ihm Nahestehenden im Blick zu haben und dabei: 1. Wissensfehler, 2. Einstellungs- und Haltungsfehler, 3. prozedurale Verhaltens- und Handlungsfehler sowie 4. strukturelle und organisatorische Fehler zu differenzieren. Anstelle von individuellen Sanktionen bei festgestellten Fehlern oder kritischen Ereignissen sollten mehr Prävention und Verbesserungsmaßnahmen auf struktureller und prozeduraler Ebene angestrebt werden. Die meisten Berichte zu kritischen Ereignissen und Fehlern in der Palliativversorgung erfolgen auf der rein deskriptiven Ebene und beziehen sich auf Medikationsfehler bzw. ungenügende Kommunikation. Wenn kritische Ereignisse in Form von Fallkonferenzen bzw. der Analyse von Meldungen in anonymen Fehlermeldesystemen (CIRS-Systeme) konsequent im Team und ohne personale Schuldsuche und Schuldzuweisung analysiert und im Hinblick auf Fehlervermeidung konstruktiv behandelt werden, können sie als wichtiger Beitrag zur Patientensicherheit bzw. Risikoprävention und zur interprofessionellen Qualitätssicherung in der Medizin angesehen werden.
Marlies Hübner – „Ich lasse mich nicht auf faule Kompromisse ein“
Authors: Becker Marion
Published: July 2017

Sie ist Autistin, unbequem und führt der Welt vor Augen, wie schwer es Menschen mit Autismus im Alltag gemacht wird. Ein Gespräch mit Marlies Hübner über ihr erstes Buch „Verstörungstheorien“ und neue Wege zu mehr Teilhabe.
Schluckrehabilitation therapeutisch unterstützen – Das Schlucken fördern
Authors: Sticher Heike , Lehmann Karin Gampp
Published: July 2017

Wenn Patienten in der Neuroreha nicht sicher schlucken können und ihnen Speichel aus dem Mund fließt, ist das einerseits unangenehm. Andererseits weist es darauf hin, dass die orale Kontrolle beeinträchtigt ist. Ergotherapeuten können Patienten innerhalb der Therapie beim Schlucken effektiv unterstützen.
Überlebender eines schweren Schädel-Hirn-Traumas – Reise in ein neues Leben
Authors: Schäler Reinhard
Published: July 2017

Als Patrick 23 Jahre alt war, beendete ein Pickup-Truck sein bis dahin aktives und glückliches Leben. Zurück blieben ein schweres Schädel-Hirn-Trauma, unermüdlich kämpfende Eltern und eine Odyssee über die Ländergrenzen hinweg.
Race and surveillance in the settler colony: the case of Israeli rule over Palestine
Authors: Lentin Ronit
Published: July 2017

This article begins by outlining a three-pronged critical theory of the state of Israel as, following Giorgio Agamben, a state of exception, following David Theo Goldberg, a racial state, and, following Patrick Wolfe, a settler colony. Elia Zureik’s work on the role of surveillance used by the state of Israel in controlling the Palestinians both in Israel proper and in the territory occupied by Israel in 1967 is then outlined. Since theories of exception and settler colonialism often fail to specifically foreground race, the paper continues by following African American theorist Alexander Weheliye who critiques westocentric work on exception and biopolitics as not foregrounding race, placing race front and centre in this analysis of Israel’s war against the Palestinians. Following Zureik’s work on the centrality of surveillance to Israel’s racialized settler-colonial control of Palestine and its citizens, occupied and exiled populations and Agamben’s insistence that the line separating citizens and non-citizens is very thin indeed (2008), the article focuses on the extension of strategies of surveillance to Israel’s critics, including Israeli Jews, international critics and diaspora Jewish people. In conclusion, the article focuses on Israel’s highly funded surveillance campaign against supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, to demonstrate the crucial role played by discourses of security and practices of information gathering and harassment in maintaining what Patrick Wolfe has termed the Israeli settler colony’s “logic of elimination”, which, as he argued in his last book, is highly racialized. This paper is published as part of a collection on racism in counter-terrorism and surveillance discourse.
What can we learn from Occupy’s failure?
Authors: Ehrenberg John
Published: July 2017

Occupy Wall Street was the first mass movement in many years to raise the issue of economic equality and political corruption. It spread rapidly through hundreds of American communities and changed the terms of political life. The reasons for its initial success, and for its ultimate failure, are profoundly important for political affairs and for the American left. Its initial success was a direct result of the silence of the nation’s voluntary organizations, political leaders and press in focusing attention on the stagnation of incomes and accompanying upward distribution of wealth that have permanently shaped American society for a generation. The incapacity or unwillingness of the political class, the press and “civil society” to raise this issue in a general and comprehensive fashion left the door open for a vigorous social movement to take the lead. Occupy Wall Street was that movement. But its ultimate failure was a function of its initial strength. Drawing power from a utopian and anarchistic impulse, OWS refused to engage with the established political system. Fearful of being coopted and of engaging with power, its leaders articulated three guiding principles that made it impossible for the movement to follow through on its original positions. Horizontalism, abstention from politics and prefiguration were decidedly antipolitical positions that were rooted in a moral stance and refused to engage with the established institutions of practical life. Having raised the issues of inequality and corruption in a particularly urgent and compelling fashion, OWS deliberately refused to do something about them. In the end, this refusal made common cause with the same forces that it had been denouncing. The Civil Rights, antiwar and women’s movements all understood the importance of addressing society as a whole and proposing comprehensive critiques that could mobilize large numbers of people. Their leaders knew how important political institutions and state power were, and their movement’s successes resulted from their willingness to act politically. OWS’s ultimate failure is an object lesson in how important it is to take positions, engage in debate, and fight for change. There is no substitute for organization, discipline, and authority in public life. Like it or not, existing institutions provide the only context for meaningful public action.
MRG15-mediated tethering of PALB2 to unperturbed chromatin protects active genes from genotoxic stress
Authors: Bleuyard Jean-Yves , Fournier Marjorie , Nakato Ryuichiro , Couturier Anthony M. , Katou Yuki , Ralf Christine , Hester Svenja S. , Dominguez Daniel , Rhodes Daniela , Humphrey Timothy C. , Shirahige Katsuhiko , Esashi Fumiko
Published: July 2017

Significance

Partner and localiser of BRCA2 (PALB2) is a breast cancer susceptibility gene, and the role of its product in repairing broken chromosomes has been extensively described. However, a fraction of PALB2 is also found on intact chromosomes, and it is unknown how and why PALB2 associates with undamaged chromatin. In this study, we establish that the histone binding protein MRG15 is a major interaction partner of PALB2 and plays a key role in tethering PALB2 to active genes. Failure of PALB2 to interact with MRG15 leads to the accumulation of DNA stress at active genes and chromosome instability in dividing cells. These findings shed light on why patients with PALB2 mutations often develop genome instability syndromes, such as cancer.
Spontaneous fine-tuning to environment in many-species chemical reaction networks
Authors: Horowitz Jordan M. , England Jeremy L.
Published: July 2017

Significance

A qualitatively more diverse range of possible behaviors emerge in many-particle systems once external drives are allowed to push the system far from equilibrium; nonetheless, general thermodynamic principles governing nonequilibrium pattern formation and self-assembly have remained elusive, despite intense interest from researchers across disciplines. Here, we use the example of a randomly wired driven chemical reaction network to identify a key thermodynamic feature of a complex, driven system that characterizes the “specialness” of its dynamical attractor behavior. We show that the network’s fixed points are biased toward the extremization of external forcing, causing them to become kinetically stabilized in rare corners of chemical space that are either atypically weakly or strongly coupled to external environmental drives.
Coherent alpha oscillations link current and future receptive fields during saccades
Authors: Neupane Sujaya , Guitton Daniel , Pack Christopher C.
Published: July 2017

Significance

Humans and other primates make frequent eye movements to inspect their surroundings. Consequently, stimuli that are stable in the environment are constantly changing position on the retina. One way for the brain to compensate for these changes is a mechanism called receptive field remapping, which allows individual neurons to encode the same object both before and after each saccade. Here, we provide a possible mechanism for remapping: Simultaneous recordings from cortical sites encoding the presaccadic and postsaccadic locations of a visual stimulus reveal coherent oscillations in the alpha frequency band. Because coherent oscillations are thought to play a role more generally in routing information within the brain, our findings provide a framework for understanding stable visual perception during eye movements.
Synergistic effects of treating the spinal cord and brain in CLN1 disease
Authors: Shyng Charles , Nelvagal Hemanth R. , Dearborn Joshua T. , Tyynelä Jaana , Schmidt Robert E. , Sands Mark S. , Cooper Jonathan D.
Published: July 2017

Significance

Infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (INCL, or infantile Batten disease) is a fatal childhood disease that devastates the brain. Trying to treat the brain alone has so far proved ineffective, so we looked for effects of the disease in other parts of the body. Unexpectedly, we found that the spinal cord is severely affected before the brain and contributes to disease outcome. Directing gene therapy to just the spinal cord of INCL mice can improve their disease. However, treating both the spinal cord and brain provides the most effective therapeutic strategy ever seen in this disease. This combined therapy returned INCL mice to a near-normal life span and dramatically improved their quality of life.
BAK α6 permits activation by BH3-only proteins and homooligomerization via the canonical hydrophobic groove
Authors: Li Mark Xiang , Tan Iris K. L. , Ma Stephen B. , Hockings Colin , Kratina Tobias , Dengler Michael A. , Alsop Amber E. , Kluck Ruth M. , Dewson Grant
Published: July 2017

Significance

Apoptosis is crucial for immune system function and limiting tumor development. Because BAK and BAX are essential effectors of apoptosis, understanding how they are activated to form the oligomeric mitochondrial pores that kill cells is a major goal of the field. We define a requirement for two sites on mitochondrial BAK for its interaction with, and activation by, BCL-2 homology 3 (BH3)-only proteins during apoptosis and determine that binding of BH3-only proteins at a distal site promotes exposure of a canonical site to allow terminal BAK activation and homooligomerization. Additionally, we provide insight into how BAK and BAX kill cells, identifying that the oligomeric pore is limited to interactions between the BH3 domain and canonical groove and does not involve additional protein interfaces.
Observing a quantum Maxwell demon at work
Authors: Cottet Nathanaël , Jezouin Sébastien , Bretheau Landry , Campagne-Ibarcq Philippe , Ficheux Quentin , Anders Janet , Auffèves Alexia , Azouit Rémi , Rouchon Pierre , Huard Benjamin
Published: July 2017

Significance

Maxwell’s demon plays a central role in thermodynamics of quantum information, yet a full experimental characterization is still missing in the quantum regime. Here we use superconducting circuits to realize a quantum Maxwell demon in which all thermodynamic quantities can be controlled and measured. Using power detection resolved at the single microwave photon level and unprecedented tomography techniques, we directly measure the extracted work while tracking the qubit and cavity entropies and energies. We are thus able to fully characterize the demon’s memory after the work extraction and show that it takes full part in the thermodynamic process. The experiment establishes superconducting circuits as a testbed well suited to perform quantum thermodynamics experiments.
Quantification of habitat fragmentation reveals extinction risk in terrestrial mammals
Authors: Crooks Kevin R. , Burdett Christopher L. , Theobald David M. , King Sarah R. B. , Di Marco Moreno , Rondinini Carlo , Boitani Luigi
Published: July 2017

Significance

Despite the critical threat of habitat fragmentation, global patterns of fragmentation and its relationship to extinction risk have not been quantified for any major taxon. We developed high-resolution models that provide a global assessment of the degree of habitat fragmentation impacting the world’s terrestrial mammals. Results demonstrate that mammals with more fragmentation are at greater risk of extinction, even after accounting for the effects of key macroecological predictors, such as body size and geographic range size. Species with higher fragmentation had smaller ranges and a lower proportion of high-suitability habitat within their range, and most high-suitability habitat occurred outside of protected areas, further elevating extinction risk. Quantification of habitat fragmentation will help guide strategic priorities for global mammal conservation.
Disruption of a horizontally transferred phytoene desaturase abolishes carotenoid accumulation and diapause inTetranychus urticae
Authors: Bryon Astrid , Kurlovs Andre H. , Dermauw Wannes , Greenhalgh Robert , Riga Maria , Grbić Miodrag , Tirry Luc , Osakabe Masahiro , Vontas John , Clark Richard M. , Van Leeuwen Thomas
Published: July 2017

Significance

In animals, carotenoid pigments fulfill a number of essential roles in vision, protection from stresses, and signaling. Although carotenoids are synthesized primarily by plants and some bacteria and fungi, carotenoid biosynthetic genes have been acquired by horizontal gene transfer in some insects and mites. In the two-spotted spider mite,Tetranychus urticae, as well as in a related species, we show that a horizontally transferred carotenoid biosynthetic gene is required for normal pigmentation. Spider mites can therefore synthesize their own carotenoids. Further, in aT. urticaestrain, the gene is required for the induction of diapause, a key for overwintering of this widespread and important agricultural pest.
Fast and accurate HLA typing from short-read next-generation sequence data with xHLA
Authors: Xie Chao , Yeo Zhen Xuan , Wong Marie , Piper Jason , Long Tao , Kirkness Ewen F. , Biggs William H. , Bloom Ken , Spellman Stephen , Vierra-Green Cynthia , Brady Colleen , Scheuermann Richard H. , Telenti Amalio , Howard Sally , Brewerton Suzanne , Turpaz Yaron , Venter J. Craig
Published: July 2017

Significance

Regulation of the human immune system is largely controlled by the HLA gene complex on chromosome 6 and is important in infectious disease immunity, graft rejection, autoimmunity, and cancer. HLA typing is traditionally performed by serotyping and/or targeted sequencing. However, the advent of precision medicine and cheaper personal genome sequencing has sprung an unmet need for a fast and accurate way of predicting HLA types from short-read sequencing data. Here, we present xHLA, an algorithm for HLA typing based on translated short reads, exhaustive multiple sequence alignment-based alignment expansion, and iterative solution set refinement that is also faster and more accurate than existing methods. Results are achievable within minutes and could greatly benefit individuals who have had their genome sequenced.
From the glass through the nose and the mouth
Authors: Caballero Rosario
Published: July 2017

Motion verbs are often used to predicate entities such as roads, paths and the like as in “The road snakes tothe port of Shakespeare Baybefore climbing over the last hillto Picton” or “La carreteraserpenteaunos 30 kilómetros entre las montañas de la cordillera Nipe”. The verbs foreground thepathconfiguration and dynamic rendering of things that cannot move – a phenomenon known asfictive motion(Langacker 1987;Talmy 1996). However, motion verbs are also frequent components in specialized contexts such as wine discourse, where they communicate different sensory experience of wines as in “Exotic, exuding red berry aromas and flavors thatsneak upon you rather than hit you over the head”, “Bright and focused, offering delicious flavors thatglidesmoothlythroughthe silky finish”, or “En boca tiene una magnifica entrada, aunque en el pasosobresalenrasgos vegetales y seprecipitahacia un final en el que predominan notas tostadas y amargas”. Using two corpora of tasting notes written in English and in Spanish, I examine the motion expressions used to communicate the sensory experiences of the wines and explore the motivations for their use in descriptions of wines’ aromas, flavours and mouthfeel. Three questions are at the heart of this study. They are (i) what types of scenarios are described through motion expressions, (ii) what sensory perceptions do they describe, and (iii) what may the differences between English and Spanish be?
Escherichia coli yjjPB genes encode a succinate transporter important for succinate production
Authors: Fukui Keita , Nanatani Kei , Hara Yoshihiko , Yamakami Suguru , Yahagi Daiki , Chinen Akito , Tokura Mitsunori , Abe Keietsu
Published: July 2017

Under anaerobic conditions, Escherichia coli produces succinate from glucose via the reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle. To date, however, no genes encoding succinate exporters have been established in E. coli. Therefore, we attempted to identify genes encoding succinate exporters by screening an E. coli MG1655 genome library. We identified the yjjPB genes as candidates encoding a succinate transporter, which enhanced succinate production in Pantoea ananatis under aerobic conditions. A complementation assay conducted in Corynebacterium glutamicum strain AJ110655ΔsucE1 demonstrated that both YjjP and YjjB are required for the restoration of succinate production. Furthermore, deletion of yjjPB decreased succinate production in E. coli by 70% under anaerobic conditions. Taken together, these results suggest that YjjPB constitutes a succinate transporter in E. coli and that the products of both genes are required for succinate export.
An accurate algorithm for the detection of DNA fragments from dilution pool sequencing experiments
Authors: Bansal Vikas
Published: July 2017

Motivation

The short read lengths of current high-throughput sequencing technologies limit the ability to recover long-range haplotype information. Dilution pool methods for preparing DNA sequencing libraries from high molecular weight DNA fragments enable the recovery of long DNA fragments from short sequence reads. These approaches require computational methods for identifying the DNA fragments using aligned sequence reads and assembling the fragments into long haplotypes. Although a number of computational methods have been developed for haplotype assembly, the problem of identifying DNA fragments from dilution pool sequence data has not received much attention.

Results

We formulate the problem of detecting DNA fragments from dilution pool sequencing experiments as a genome segmentation problem and develop an algorithm that uses dynamic programming to optimize a likelihood function derived from a generative model for the sequence reads. This algorithm uses an iterative approach to automatically infer the mean background read depth and the number of fragments in each pool. Using simulated data, we demonstrate that our method, FragmentCut, has 25–30% greater sensitivity compared with an HMM based method for fragment detection and can also detect overlapping fragments. On a whole-genome human fosmid pool dataset, the haplotypes assembled using the fragments identified by FragmentCut had greater N50 length, 16.2% lower switch error rate and 35.8% lower mismatch error rate compared with two existing methods. We further demonstrate the greater accuracy of our method using two additional dilution pool datasets.

Availability and implementation

FragmentCut is available from https://bansal-lab.github.io/software/FragmentCut

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Shifting the Curve: Fostering Academic Success in a Diverse Student Body
Authors: Elks Martha L. , Herbert-Carter Janice , Smith Marjorie , Klement Brenda , Knight Brandi Brandon , Anachebe Ngozi F.
Published: July 2017

Problem

Diversity in the health care workforce is key to achieving health equity. Although U.S. medical schools have worked to increase the matriculation and academic success of underrepresented minority (URM) students (African Americans, Latinos, others), they have had only limited success. Lower standardized test scores, including on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), have been a barrier to matriculation for many URM applicants. Lower subsequent standardized exam scores, including on the United States Medical Licensing Exam Step 1, also have been an impediment to students’ progress, with mean scores for URM students lagging behind those for others.

Approach

Faculty at the Morehouse School of Medicine developed and implemented interventions to enhance the academic success of their URM students (about 75% are African American, and 5% are from other URM groups). To assess the outcomes of this work, the authors analyzed the MCAT scores and subsequent Step 1 scores of students in the graduating classes of 2009–2014. They also reviewed course evaluations, Graduation Questionnaires, and student and faculty interviews and focus groups.

Outcomes

Students’ Step 1 scores exceeded those expected based on their MCAT scores. This success was due to three key elements: (1) milieu and mentoring, (2) structure and content of the curriculum, and (3) monitoring.

Next Steps

A series of mixed-method studies are planned to better discern the core elements of faculty–student relationships that are key to students’ success. Lower test scores are not a fixed attribute; with the elements described, success is attainable for all students.
Reconstruction of parotidectomy and lateral skull base defects
Authors: Bertelsen Caitlin , Liu Changxing , Kokot Niels
Published: July 2017

Purpose of review

The purpose of this review is to summarize the options for reconstruction of parotid and lateral skull base defects based on the size and functional requirements of the defect.

Recent findings

Free grafts with dermal fat or acellular human dermis, superficial musculoaponeurotic system flaps, and sternocleidomastoid flaps have been successful in preventing Frey's syndrome and restoring facial contour defects after superficial and total parotidectomy. Lateral skull base resections often require reconstruction with pedicled or free flaps to restore extensive soft tissue and dural defects. Supraclavicular artery island flaps and submental flaps have been recently been gaining popularity for use for these purposes. Free tissue transfer remains the best reconstructive option for repair of large soft tissue and/or dural defects. The most reliable free flap for lateral skull base reconstruction is the anterolateral thigh flap, which is highly versatile because of its large skin paddle and potential for harvest with varying amounts of fascial and muscle tissue.

Here we will summarize the most appropriate and widely used reconstructive options for parotid and lateral skull base defects of various sizes, discussing the most recent evidence pertaining to each technique along with advantages and limitations of each reconstructive strategy.
A Severe Case of Congenital Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia Purpura Resulting From Compound Heterozygosity Involving a Novel ADAMTS13 Pathogenic Variant
Authors: Conboy Erin , Partain Paige I. , Warad Deepti , Kluge Michelle L. , Arndt Carola , Chen Dong , Rodriguez Vilmarie
Published: July 2017

We report a 9-year-old Chinese girl with congenital thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura found to be a compound heterozygote for 2 pathogenic variants in the ADAMTS13 gene, including a novel variation. The girl suffered from recurrent, life-threatening episodes of thrombocytopenia and hemolysis, and laboratory testing showed ADAMST13 enzyme activity of <5%. Sequencing of the ADAMTS13 gene revealed a previously reported missense variant, c.1787C>T (p.Ala596Val), and a novel duplication defined as c.1007_1025dup19 (p.Asp343Leufs*53); the duplication is predicted to result in a premature stop codon and protein truncation. We propose that this novel variant is partly responsible for the patient’s early-onset and severe phenotype.
New Tool for Monitoring Molecular Response in Patients With Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
Authors: Badar Talha , Luthra Rajyalakshmi , Kantarjian Hagop , Jabbour Elias , Borthakur Gautam , Garcia-Manero Guillermo , Huang Xuelin , Singh Rajesh , Alvarez Brittany , Austermiller Bradley , Morrison Tom B. , Patel Keyur P. , Cortes Jorge
Published: July 2017

Objective:

Chronic myeloid leukemia treatment monitoring using polymerase chain reaction-based peripheral blood testing of t
9;22
BCR-ABL1 provides improved test sensitivity over cytology but suffers from inadequate standardization in most laboratories due to variations inherent in the existing polymerase chain reaction methodologies. We performed the initial analytic performance evaluation of a novel competitive template-based peripheral blood b2a2/b3a2 transcript abundance method, called standardized nucleic acid quantification (SNAQ) test, with hypothesis that this will produced more consistent results with less frequent interlaboratory variations.

Materials and Methods:

Thirty-six chronic myeloid leukemia patients treated at our institution were enrolled. We compared SNAQ test with 2 laboratory developed test at the MD Anderson molecular diagnostic laboratory and Cancer Genetics Institute for analyzing BCR-ABL1 from peripheral blood samples. Each test result (n=36) was ranked against all the other samples tested by the same method.

Results:

The Pearson correlation between SNAQ and laboratory developed test done at 2 labs was met by correlations of 0.97, 0.96, 0.96, and 0.94. Analysis of variance of log %BCR-ABL1 interlaboratory results indicated no significant difference (P=0.98). Post hoc analysis of method agreement showed the SNAQ method had a 95% limit of agreement of ±3-fold between laboratories.

Conclusions:

In this pilot study, SNAQ methodology performed consistent with half-log accuracy. Additional studies from a larger sample size and correlation with clinical outcomes are required to confirm this observation.
Efficacy of Rapid Fluid Administration Using Various Setups and Devices
Authors: Balaban Onur , Walia Hina , Tumin Dmitry , Bhalla Tarun , Tobias Joseph D.
Published: July 2017

Objectives

In clinical practice, there are various methods that can be used for the rapid administration of fluid in infants and children. The current study prospectively evaluates gravity, pressure-assisted, and hand-pump methods for the rapid administration of fluid using an in vitro model.

Methods

Thirty participants were asked to deliver 500 mL of fluid using 1 of 6 setups: (1) standard blood tubing with gravity administration, (2) standard blood tubing with pressure bag maintained at 300 mm Hg, (3) standard blood tubing with pressure bag inflated to 300 mm Hg and left to flow, (4) blood tubing with in-line bulb pump, (5) blood tubing with in-line bulb pump and pressure bag, and (6) standard blood tubing with 20-mL syringe attached to the stopcock for a push-and-pull technique using a 20-mL syringe.

Results

The blood tubing with an in-line bulb pump to allow manual acceleration of the administration of fluid along with a pressure bag on the intravenous fluid bag achieved the fastest flow rate, requiring an average of 98 seconds to deliver 500 mL of fluid.

Conclusions

When considering factors that affect fluid administration, Poiseuille’s law dictates that the most important variable is the radius of the intravenous cannula, whereas the length of the cannula and the viscosity of the fluid administered are of secondary importance. With these limitations in mind, other factors may be used to speed fluid administration. Our study demonstrates the advantage of using blood tubing with the in-line bulb pump combined with a pressure bag.
Spin-reorientation magnetic transitions in Mn-doped SmFeO3
Authors: Kang Jian , Yang Yali , Qian Xiaolong , Xu Kai , Cui Xiaopeng , Fang Yifei , Chandragiri Venkatesh , Kang Baojuan , Chen Bin , Stroppa Alessandro , Cao Shixun , Zhang Jincang , Ren Wei
Published: July 2017

Spin reorientation is a magnetic phase transition in which rotation of the magnetization vector with respect to the crystallographic axes occurs upon a change in the temperature or magnetic field. For example, SmFeO3shows a magnetization rotation from thecaxis above 480 K to theaaxis below 450 K, known as the Γ4→ Γ2transition. This work reports the successful synthesis of the new single-crystal perovskite SmFe0.75Mn0.25O3and finds interesting spin reorientations above and below room temperature. In addition to the spin reorientation of the Γ4→ Γ2magnetic phase transition observed at aroundTSR2= 382 K, a new spin reorientation, Γ2→ Γ1, was seen at aroundTSR1= 212 K due to Mn doping, which could not be observed in the parent rare earth perovskite compound. This unexpected spin configuration has complete antiferromagnetic order without any canting-induced weak ferromagnetic moment, resulting in zero magnetization in the low-temperature regime.M–TandM–Hmeasurements have been made to study the temperature and magnetic-field dependence of the observed spin reorientation transitions.
Authentic leadership as a contemporary leadership model applied in Nigeria
Authors: Emuwa Amara , Fields Dail
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which each dimension of authentic leadership (AL) is related with employee organizational commitment (OC) and assessment of leadership effectiveness for employees in Nigeria and to investigate the moderating effects of contingent reward leadership behaviors on these relationships. By testing the dimensions of AL with employee outcomes, this study provides further validity and empirical evidence to the theoretical structure of AL theory across cultures.

Design/methodology/approach

This empirical study used cross-sectional survey data collected from a sample of 212 Nigerian employees from 16 organizations across various sectors.

Findings

The results of hierarchical regression analysis of this study showed a positive relationship between AL behaviors and the outcome variables of OC and perceived leader effectiveness (LE) among Nigerian employees. The moderation result shows that the leader’s contingent reward behaviors reduce the effects of the internal moral perspective dimension of AL. As authentic leaders interact with followers and followers experience high levels of moral and ethical behaviors, contingent rewards become less important to followers.

Practical implications

Leadership effectiveness and OC are desirable organizational outcomes across cultures. From a practical standpoint, the results indicate several authentic dimensions are related to OC and leadership effectiveness among Nigerian employees. This extends the applicability of AL into the African countries. Particularly, it provides additional insight into a contemporary leadership model that can positively impact the leadership development in Nigeria. While the interactive effects of contingent reward were limited, they do suggest that some combinations of behaviors should be considered to effectively meet situational needs.

Originality/value

This is the first study that examines the relationship of the components that constitute AL with OC and perceived LE in the context of Nigeria, a major African nation.
Relational impact of authentic and transactional leadership styles on employee creativity
Authors: Sanda Aminu , Arthur Nana Ama Dodua
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how authentic leadership and transactional leadership styles in Ghanaian telecom firms influence employees’ creativity, and the effect that climate for innovation and work-related flow have on such influencing relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

Guided by the implicit theory of leadership, and using questionnaires, data were collected from 335 employees in five mining firms and analyzed descriptively and inferentially.

Findings

It was found that managers in the telecom firms use transactional leadership styles and authentic leadership styles to enhance employees’ creativity. The work climate fostered employees’ creativity and encouraged their innovation. The prevalence of work-related flow enhanced employees’ job performances. The innovative climate mediated the effect of authentic leadership on employees’ creativity, but moderated the effect of transactional leadership on the employees’ creativity. Work-related flow also moderated the effects of both authentic and transactional leadership styles on employee creativity. It is concluded that managers in telecom firms influence their followers’ creativity by altering their leadership styles in accordance with the given situation to achieve organizational goals.

Research limitations/implications

The study sample was drawn from a single sub-sector of the Ghanaian economy. This represents a limitation, for which the findings cannot be generalized. Replications and extensions of the study in different industrial sectors will help test the robustness and generalizability of the findings.

Originality/value

This study has shown that managers of telecom firms in Ghana can cultivate and nurture the creativities of their employees toward increased performances by creating conducive psychosocial work climate that supports innovativeness, and use the requisite authentic and transactional leadership skills in the conduct of their managerial functions.
The recontextualisation of values in the multilingual workplace
Authors: Bjørge Anne Kari , Sandvik Alexander Madsen , Whittaker Sunniva
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how corporate values are interpreted by local and international employees in a multilingual organisation that has opted for the local language, not English, as its corporate language.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a research paper exploring how the recontextualisation and resemiotisation of value terms impact on how corporate values are interpreted, employing triangulation of questionnaire and interview results.

Findings

When values are recontextualised in employee discourse, proficiency in the corporate language and cultural background was found to have an impact on their interpretation. Internationals were found to have a broader and not exclusively professional interpretation compared to the locals. Internationals with a low level of proficiency in the local language were more sceptical than the locals as to whether there was a shared understanding of the values.

Research limitations/implications

The questionnaire yielded fewer respondents than the authors expected, which should be taken into account when interpreting the results.

Practical implications

The paper suggests best practices for communicating corporate values to a multilingual workforce.

Social implications

This paper contributes to the understanding of linguistic challenges in the multilingual work contexts.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge, there is little prior in-depth research on how language impacts on employees’ interpretation of corporate values. As values are cohesive devices in organisations, the language used to convey them is worth addressing as the present paper aims to demonstrate.
Introducing knowledge management pattern at national level applying grounded theory method and fuzzy dematel
Authors: Akhavan Peyman , Nabizadeh Masoumeh , Rajabion Lila
Published: July 2017

Purpose

Although there are some studies about knowledge management at national level, no integrated attempts have been reported in the direction of introducing knowledge management pattern at national level based on real experiences. Numerous researches have been conducted in the domain of knowledge management at micro level. But at macro/national level, some concepts and components have been investigated briefly. The purpose of this paper is to deal with this gap.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses the hybrid method. The technique of qualitative case study of grounded theory method has been selected in this research for gathering and analyzing data. Data have been categorized and analyzed from case studies (at countries level) using the steps of this method. The degree of correlation and causality and the importance of each concept existing in the pattern have been computed by applying decision-making trial and evaluation (dematel) technique. The obtained concepts and pattern could be applied as a guide for accepting and implementing knowledge management at national level.

Findings

Total positive findings have been obtained from case studies, and the authors attained 14 concepts and one pattern. These findings provide the steps of designing and are useful in implementing projects and programs of knowledge management at national level. The degree of correlation between the components of the pattern is the other finding of this study.

Practical implications

The obtained concepts and patterns can be used as a guide in countries and governments which decide to implement knowledge management at national level. These can be a basis for countries which are in the process of implementing the projects of knowledge management at national level.

Originality/value

This research is the first study that aims to provide the pattern of knowledge management at national level and can provide useful information for countries and governments and can be used as a reference to guide them for the implementation. So these countries will be able to design and implement their programs of knowledge management purposefully.
New rationale for the need for CKOs long-term: a systems perspective on observations
Authors: Sisson Philip William , Ryan Julie J.C.H.
Published: July 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to clarify the need for Chief Knowledge Officers (CKOs) and explain how some recent views on competencies for educational guidelines, a Knowledge Management (KM) competency model and expansion of practice management concepts make the need for CKOs clearer.

Design/methodology/approach

This viewpoint was developed in response to recent publications disparaging the idea of a CKO. The method used was to extract ideas from published and in-work papers to establish the basis for and explain the postulated Unified Competency Theory of KM and its implications regarding the need for CKOs.

Findings

CKOs are needed to ensure that all organizationally relevant functions’ knowledge and KM assessments and/or audits are individually complete and collectively sufficient. A risk/opportunity management role also provides justification.

Research limitations/implications

This paper mainly limits its discussion to the papers that comprise research leading to the Unified Competency Theory of KM, its implications and an updated practice management model. Other points of view that might substantiate or refute the conclusions have not been addressed.

Practical implications

The KM field needs to better identify KM’s risk and opportunity management role and functional imperative. Organizations may need to reevaluate their directions with regards to KM and a CKO.

Originality/value

It extends the concept of practice management to permit differentiating disciplines. It provides new rationale for CKOs.
Successful customer knowledge management implementation through social media capabilities
Authors: Kargaran Sanaz , Jami Pour Mona , Moeini Hossein
Published: July 2017

Purpose

Nowadays, the recent advances in information and communications technology and the advent of Web 2.0 technology have resulted in the increasing popularity of social media and provided enterprises and companies with new horizons in establishing an effective significant relationship with clients. Despite the recognized importance of social media in knowledge management (KM) and customer relationships, there is not any research to identify social media capabilities related to customer knowledge management (CKM). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to recognize the social media capabilities related to CKM effectively.

Design/methodology/approach

To obtain research objectives, literature review, focus group method and expert interview were applied to identify and categorize social media capabilities. Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) also used to prioritize capabilities important.

Findings

The results indicate social media capabilities such as conversation capability, sharing capability, groups/community capability, relationship capability, speed and ease of access for the public are the main capabilities related to exploit customer knowledge and manage it successfully.

Research limitations/implications

The results highlight the different social media capabilities for CKM approach which will enhance customer insight and personalized services. Because of the newness of CKM and social media implementation in Iranian firms, empirical study was not conducted for a better understanding of their business value.

Originality/value

The main innovation of this study is identifying the social media capabilities related to CKM and prioritizing them which allow managers to select the most appropriate social media tools based on these results.