bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Retention of virulence following adaptation to colistin in Acinetobacter baumannii reflects the mechanism of resistance
Authors: Wand Matthew E. , Bock Lucy J. , Bonney Laura C. , Sutton J. Mark 
Published: April 2015

Abstract

Objectives
Colistin resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii has been associated with loss of virulence and a negative impact on isolate selection. In this study, exposure of clinical isolates to suboptimal concentrations of colistin was used to explore the capacity to develop resistance by diverse mechanisms, and whether acquired resistance always reduces fitness and virulence.

Methods
Twelve colistin-susceptible clinical A. baumannii isolates were exposed to a sub-MIC concentration of colistin over 6 weeks with weekly increases in concentration. Stable resistance was then phenotypically investigated with respect to antibiotic/biocide resistance, virulence in Galleria mellonella and growth rate. Putative mechanisms of resistance were identified by targeted sequencing of known resistance loci.

Results
Eight A. baumannii isolates acquired resistance to colistin within 1 week with MICs ranging from 2 to &gt;512 mg/L. By 6 weeks 11 isolates were resistant to colistin; this was linked to the development of mutations in pmr or lpx genes. Strains that developed mutations in lpxACD showed a loss of virulence and increased susceptibility to several antibiotics/disinfectants tested. Two of the colistin-resistant strains with mutations in pmrB retained similar virulence levels to their respective parental strains in G. mellonella.

Conclusions
Acquisition of colistin resistance does not always lead to a loss of virulence, especially when this is linked to mutations in pmrB. This underlines the importance of understanding the mechanism of colistin resistance as well as the phenotype.
Assessing and Comparing Anesthesiologists’ Performance on Mandated Metrics Using a Bayesian Approach
Authors: Bayman Emine Ozgur , Dexter Franklin , Todd Michael M. 
Published: April 2015

AbstractAbstract
Noncompliance with simple blood pressure and oxyhemoglobin saturation metrics defined by the Joint Commission in the United States in approximately 70,000 cases at the University of Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa) was present in up to 43 and 70% of anesthesiologists, respectively, using frequentist statistics compared with 2.4 and 0% using a Bayesian approach.
Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

Background:
Periodic assessment of performance by anesthesiologists is required by The Joint Commission Ongoing Professional Performance Evaluation program.

Methods:
The metrics used in this study were the (1) measurement of blood pressure and (2) oxygen saturation (Spo
2) either before or less than 5 min after anesthesia induction. Noncompliance was defined as no measurement within this time interval. The authors assessed the frequency of noncompliance using information from 63,913 cases drawn from the anesthesia information management system. To adjust for differences in patient and procedural characteristics, 135 preoperative variables were analyzed with decision trees. The retained covariate for the blood pressure metric was patient’s age and, for Spo
2 metric, was American Society of Anesthesiologist’s physical status, whether the patient was coming from an intensive care unit, and whether induction occurred within 5 min of the start of the scheduled workday. A Bayesian hierarchical model, designed to identify anesthesiologists as “performance outliers,” after adjustment for covariates, was developed and was compared with frequentist methods.

Results:
The global incidences of noncompliance (with frequentist 95% CI) were 5.35% (5.17 to 5.53%) for blood pressure and 1.22% (1.14 to 1.30%) for Spo
2 metrics. By using unadjusted rates and frequentist statistics, it was found that up to 43% of anesthesiologists would be deemed noncompliant for the blood pressure metric and 70% of anesthesiologists for the Spo
2 metric. By using Bayesian analyses with covariate adjustment, only 2.44% (1.28 to 3.60%) and 0.00% of the anesthesiologists would be deemed “noncompliant” for blood pressure and Spo
2, respectively.

Conclusion:
Bayesian hierarchical multivariate methodology with covariate adjustment is better suited to faculty monitoring than the nonhierarchical frequentist approach.
Total or Near-Total Lower Eyelid Defect Reconstruction Using Malar Myocutaneous Bridge and Nasojugal Flaps and Septal Chondromucosal Graft
Authors: Eser Cengiz , Kesiktaş Erol , Gencel Eyüphan , Tabakan İbrahim , Yavuz Metin 
Published: April 2015

Purpose:
The purpose of this study is to repair total or near-total lower eyelid defects by single-staged operative technique.

Methods:
The procedure was performed on 7 referred patients who had a total or near-total lower eyelid defects after tumor extirpation or trauma. Patients ages were between 13 and 67 years (average, 46.5). Defects were repaired by simultaneous reconstruction of anterior and posterior lamellae using a bipedicled malar myocutaneous bridge flap, a nasojugal transposition flap, and a septal chondromucosal graft in combination.

Results:
Patients were followed up for 12 to 24 months (average, 18 months). No necrosis, hematoma, or infection was observed in flaps, and no recurrence was observed in any patients. Mild scleral show was observed at postoperative 12 months in 2 cases.

Conclusions:
As an addition to classical methods, the present novel single-staged surgical procedure with the malar myocutaneous bridge flap, nasojugal transposition flap, and septal chondromucosal graft combination provides anatomical, functional, and stable reconstruction for total or near-total lower eyelid defects.
Fecal Microbiota Transplantation
Authors: Vandenplas Yvan , Pierard Denis , De Greef Elisabeth 
Published: April 2015

ABSTRACTThe risks and advantages of the administration of fecal material of healthy people to patients are heavily debated. In adults, recurrent Clostridium difficile has become an accepted indication. In addition to all of the possible indications, many other questions need to be answered before pediatric indications and recommendations can be established. Optimal donor selection, fresh versus frozen stools versus capsules containing only microbiota, volume, and route of administration are just a few examples of the areas with missing data to allow in formulating recommendations for fecal microbiota or fecal material administration in children. A careful but not‐too‐complex regulation is the first priority in order to minimize the risk of administration of fecal slurry from unselected donors at home without medical supervision.
Present Standard in Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellowship Training in the Interpretation of Capsule Endoscopy
Authors: Hijaz Nadia M. , Septer Seth S. , Attard Thomas M. 
Published: April 2015

ABSTRACTConsensuses on fellowship training in wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) interpretation have been published for adult gastroenterology (GI) but not in pediatric GI training. A questionnaire has been sent to 64 pediatric and 45 adult GI fellowship programs to compare their present training approach. Adult GI programs reported having a formal GI capsule endoscopy module in 38% and required to attend hands‐on course in 27% as compared with 4% and 8% in pediatric programs, respectively. A more formalized approach to WCE training may be required for credentialing pediatric trainees to be aligned with expectations in adult GI programs.
Does Employee Safety Matter for Patients Too? Employee Safety Climate and Patient Safety Culture in Health Care
Authors: Mohr David C. , Eaton Jennifer Lipkowitz , McPhaul Kathleen M. , Hodgson Michael J. 
Published: April 2015

Objective
We examined relationships between employee safety climate and patient safety culture. Because employee safety may be a precondition for the development of patient safety, we hypothesized that employee safety culture would be strongly and positively related to patient safety culture.

Methods
An employee safety climate survey was administered in 2010 and assessed employees' views and experiences of safety for employees. The patient safety survey administered in 2011 assessed the safety culture for patients. We performed Pearson correlations and multiple regression analysis to examine the relationships between a composite measure of employee safety with subdimensions of patient safety culture. The regression models controlled for size, geographic characteristics, and teaching affiliation. Analyses were conducted at the group level using data from 132 medical centers.

Results
Higher employee safety climate composite scores were positively associated with all 9 patient safety culture measures examined. Standardized multivariate regression coefficients ranged from 0.44 to 0.64.

Conclusions
Medical facilities where staff have more positive perceptions of health care workplace safety climate tended to have more positive assessments of patient safety culture. This suggests that patient safety culture and employee safety climate could be mutually reinforcing, such that investments and improvements in one domain positively impacts the other. Further research is needed to better understand the nexus between health care employee and patient safety to generalize and act upon findings.
Accounting academia in emerging economies: evolutions and challenges
Authors: Albu Nadia , Albu Catalin Nicolae , Bunea Stefan , Girbina Maria Madalina 
Published: April 2015

Purpose
– This paper aims to investigate the development of accounting academia in an emerging country situated in Central and Eastern Europe.

Design/methodology/approach
– First, the authors analyze publications in the main three local Romanian journals dedicated to accounting, using content analysis and statistical tests in line with the issues analyzed for accounting publications in the international literature. Second, they mobilize personal experience of, and observations of local developments by, the authors.

Findings
– The authors find that the decision of establishing a national journal ranking system in Romania in 2005 had both positive and negative consequences. Romanian accounting academics were asked after 2005 to focus on a very short notice on writing research papers, following a long period of communism and about 15 years of post-communism during which they wrote textbooks and professional papers. Journal and university rankings therefore influenced the publication behavior of such researchers, leading to searches for efficiency, ease of publications, publications outside accounting as well as to a difficult publication of their research outcome by internationally relevant accounting journals.

Research limitations/implications
– Publications in the three Romanian accounting journals for one year were analyzed and the personal experience of the authors mobilized. However, following this study, university administrators and national regulators can better ascertain the effect of their actions, and use these findings to better plan their future actions.

Originality/value
– This paper contributes to accounting research literature by offering insights into the current state of accounting research and publication in an emerging economy (Romania), and by investigating the institutional factors that may be responsible for this state of affairs.
International insurance audits and governance
Authors: Chong Gin 
Published: April 2015

Purpose
– This paper aims to assess 12 audit procedures that deemed challenging to insurance audits.

Design/methodology/approach
– This paper uses grounded theory as a framework for conducting series of semi-structured interviews with six technical audit partners, two from Big Four and four from non-Big Four. The interview agendas are drawn from the 12 audit approaches suggested by Practice Notes 20 (The Audit of Insurance in the United Kingdom) issued by the Auditing Practices Board (UK).

Findings
– Without an audit standard, practitioners will exercise excessive professional judgments and deviate from audit approaches.

Research limitations/implications
– Though the findings are solely drawn from the insurance sector rather than a wide spectrum of sectors, they have huge ramifications to accounting and audit professions, stakeholders and regulators.

Practical implications
– This paper reveals differences in audit approaches between the theoretical context and practical perspective.

Social implications
– The paper showed that impact of audit failure leads to litigation, financial losses and loss of faith in audit quality and approaches.

Originality/value
– This paper suggests a hybrid approach on the grounded theory, provides an extensive overview of the sector’s audit approaches and issues and unravels an urgent need for a concerted international auditing standard.
The influence of a business ethics course on ethical judgments of Malaysian accountants
Authors: Mohd Ghazali Nazli Anum 
Published: April 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of ethics instruction received during tertiary education on ethical judgments of Malaysian accountants.

Design/methodology/approach
– Data were obtained through questionnaire survey and analyzed using regression analysis.

Findings
– A total of 221 respondents representing a 88.4 per cent response rate completed the questionnaire. The regression results show that ethics instruction received during tertiary education have a significant impact on both legal and illegal business scenarios. Accountants also judged an illegal questionable scenario stricter than a legal questionable scenario.

Research limitations/implications
– The questionnaires were distributed to those firms which participated in the internship programme. Although the firms which participated were of varying sizes, care still needs to be taken in interpreting the results, as representativeness remains an issue in studies of small sample size.

Practical implications
– The findings appear to suggest that ethics is an important factor influencing ethical judgments. Hence, the subject should be taught at least at the tertiary level so as to inculcate ethical values early in younger generation. An ethically imbued workforce can be expected to make sound and equitable corporate decisions.

Originality/value
– The study offers preliminary insight into the benefit of introducing the business ethics course in the undergraduate accounting programme at public universities in Malaysia.
Effects of ownership concentration on firm performance: Pakistani evidence
Authors: Yasser Qaiser Rafique , Mamun Abdullah Al 
Published: April 2015

Purpose– This paper aims to present an analysis of the association between five categories of concentrated ownership and firm performance in Pakistan. The connection between high ownership concentration and firm performance has attracted much attention, especially in emerging market, yet yielded many inconsistent empirical results.Design/methodology/approach– Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE)-100 Indexed companies listed in KSE from 2007 to 2011 were selected as the sample, and correlation coefficient and regression model were used to inspect the relationship between ownership concentration degree and corporate performance.Findings– It was found that there is no significant association with ownership concentration and accounting-based performance, market-based performance measures and economic profit, in general.Originality/value– The first demonstration that the shareholding proportion of the single largest shareholder is the only variable having positive association with market-based performance measures.
Corporate governance and dividends payout: are they substitutes or complementary?
Authors: Benjamin Samuel Jebaraj , Mat Zain Mazlina 
Published: April 2015

Purpose– This paper aims to furnish incremental insights on dividends and corporate governance (CG) by addressing the relationship between board meeting frequency and board independence with dividend payout. In particular, this study aims to investigate whether CG attributes are substitutes to control agency problem within the Malaysian context.Design/methodology/approach– This paper examines panel data on a sample of 114 Malaysian firms (798 observations) for seven years from 2002 to 2008.Findings– Based on 798 firm-year observations for the period from 2002 to 2008, the results show significant negative relationship between CG (board independence, board meeting frequency) and dividend payout. This suggests that CG and dividend payout are substitutes in reducing agency costs. Our study provides empirical evidence consistent with the “substitution argument”, indicating that firms with weak CG need to establish reputation by paying more dividends. Specifically, the findings indicate that firms with a higher proportion of independent directors and boards of director that meet more frequent pay lower dividends.Originality/value– This paper provides evidence on previously untested governance characteristics in relation to how they act as substitute mechanisms with dividends for reducing agency costs. The results builds a strong case for the fresh strand of knowledge on dividends and CG which tests each CG variables to understand each of its unique relationship with dividends in line with the dividends outcome or substitute theory.
Elusive corporate social responsibility (CSR) in global shipping
Authors: Sampson Helen , Ellis Neil 
Published: April 2015

Purpose
– This paper aims to, using the example of the highly globalised shipping industry, shed light upon the practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the extent to which it might be relied upon to fill international regulatory gaps.

Design/methodology/approach
– The paper draws upon findings from a questionnaire study of shipboard accommodation.

Findings
– The paper finds that seafarers’ welfare remains under-considered by many companies. It suggests that the consolidation of regulation pertaining to seafarer living conditions under the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) has been timely. However, a priority for the international community should be to develop the relatively low standards currently required by existing regulation to provide for better standards of seafarer welfare across the global fleet.

Research limitations/implications
– This evidence from the shipping industry challenges arguments for the normative basis for CSR and lends weight to those suggesting that the apparent exercise of CSR by multinational companies should broadly be understood as an exercise in public relations.

Social implications
– The research points to the need for the MLC to be amended to raise the mandatory standards of shipboard accommodation in the merchant shipping industry.

Originality/value
– The paper contributes unique data on seafarers’ living conditions and augments the body of knowledge concerning the exercise of CSR in global sectors.
An instrument to measure the customer-based corporate reputation of large service organizations
Authors: Wepener Marietjie , Boshoff Christo 
Published: April 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this study is to develop a valid and reliable instrument to measure the corporate reputation of large service organizations. The validity of a discipline’s constructs is a prerequisite for effective theory development and testing. Construct validity thus lies at the very heart of both decision-making and scientific progress in marketing. The use of marketing instruments that do not demonstrate sufficient evidence of construct validity can lead to invalid results, erroneous conclusions and poor decision-making. Despite several attempts to develop an instrument to measure the corporate reputation of service organizations effectively, lingering doubts remain about the construct validity of several published instruments.

Design/methodology/approach
– Empirical data were collected from the clients of service organization using an online survey during three waves of data collection and scale purification. Invariance testing in two different service industries confirmed that the final instrument is completely invariant, suggesting that the measurement parameters of the measurement model are the same in both samples.

Findings
– Rigorous scale development led to the development of a 19-item instrument that effectively measures a large service organization’s corporate reputation along five dimensions, namely, emotional appeal, corporate performance, social engagement, good employer and service points.

Research limitations/implications
– The study was limited to the measurement of the corporate reputation of large service organizations.

Practical implications
– Given the fact that corporate reputation has been described as “the ultimate determinant of competitiveness” by some executives, the outcome of this study is a proposal that large service organizations measure this intangible asset along five dimensions, namely, emotional appeal, corporate performance, social engagement, good employer and service points.

Originality/value
– Despite several attempts to do so, a valid and reliable instrument to effectively measure the corporate reputation of service firms (particularly large ones) has remained elusive. After more than two decades after the first attempts at measurement, there are many who now call for improved methodologies and more valid instruments to measure corporate reputation, based on more rigorous theoretical and conceptual development. This study addresses a matter of concern for many managers and academics.
Exploring consumers’ attitude towards relationship marketing
Authors: Jones Michael A , Reynolds Kristy E , Arnold Mark J , Gabler Colin B , Gillison Stephanie T , Landers Vincent Myles 
Published: April 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this study is to explore consumers’ overall attitude toward relationship marketing and to determine the influence of consumers’ overall attitude on consumers’ intentions and behaviors. Many services companies practice relationship marketing and customer relationship management. Although the benefits and drawbacks of relationship marketing for consumers have been established, little is known about whether consumers have a relatively positive or negative attitude toward relationship marketing practices.

Design/methodology/approach
– This research investigates consumers’ attitudes toward relationship marketing using a national survey of 245 consumers and a survey of 417 consumers living in the southern region of the USA.

Findings
– Although approximately 70 per cent of our national consumer sample had a somewhat positive attitude toward relationship marketing, about 30 per cent had a somewhat negative or neutral attitude. Furthermore, approximately 39 per cent of consumers in the study would choose a company that does not engage in relationship marketing over a company that does. The results also indicate that consumers’ overall attitude toward relationship marketing impacts their likelihood to respond favorably to specific relationship marketing tactics.

Research limitations/implications
– Some limitations should be noted. First and not uncommon to most survey research in marketing, the relationships between constructs in this study may be inflated because of common methods bias. Second, this research reports the results from two studies. Although one of the studies represents a national sample, additional research using the scales developed in this research is needed.

Practical implications
– This research indicates that consumers’ attitudes toward relationship marketing impacts their willingness to engage in relationships with service companies and their response to specific relationship marketing tactics. Because consumer attitudes toward relationship marketing vary, companies should consider segmenting their customer base using this information.

Originality/value
– This study extends previous research by using quantitative techniques to measure consumers’ overall attitudes toward relationship marketing and assessing the influence of those attitudes on intentions and behaviors.