bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Compliance with Surgical Care Improvement Project for Body Temperature Management (SCIP Inf-10) Is Associated with Improved Clinical Outcomes
Authors: Scott Andrew V. , Stonemetz Jerry L. , Wasey Jack O. , Johnson Daniel J. , Rivers Richard J. , Koch Colleen G. , Frank Steven M. 
Published: April 2015

AbstractAbstract
Data from 45,304 noncardiac surgical patients at a single academic medical center found that 1,240 were noncompliant (body temperature < 36°C or no use of active warming). Noncompliant patients had an increased risk of infection, ischemic events, and mortality, supporting maintenance of normothermia as a useful perioperative quality measure.

Background:
In an effort to measure and improve the quality of perioperative care, the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) was introduced in 2003. The SCIP guidelines are evidence-based process measures designed to reduce preventable morbidity, but it remains to be determined whether SCIP-measure compliance is associated with improved outcomes.

Methods:
The authors retrospectively analyzed the electronic medical record data from 45,304 inpatients at a single institution to assess whether compliance with SCIP Inf-10 (body temperature management) was associated with a reduced incidence of morbidity and mortality. The primary outcomes were hospital-acquired infection and ischemic cardiovascular events. Secondary outcomes were mortality and hospital length of stay.

Results:
Body temperature on admission to the postoperative care unit was higher in the SCIP-compliant group (36.6° ± 0.5°C; n = 44,064) compared with the SCIP-noncompliant group (35.5° ± 0.5°C; n = 1,240) (P < 0.0001). SCIP compliance was associated with improved outcomes in both nonadjusted and risk-adjusted analyses. SCIP compliance was associated with a reduced incidence of hospital-acquired infection (3,312 [7.5%] vs.160 [12.9%] events; risk-adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.85), ischemic cardiovascular events (602 [1.4%] vs. 38 [3.1%] events; risk-adjusted OR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.41 to 0.92), and mortality (617 [1.4%] vs. 60 [4.8%] events; risk-adjusted OR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.29 to 0.58). Median (interquartile range) hospital length of stay was also decreased: 4 (2 to 8) versus 5 (2 to 14) days; P < 0.0001.

Conclusion:
Compliance with SCIP Inf-10 body temperature management guidelines during surgery is associated with improved clinical outcomes and can be used as a quality measure.
ESPGHAN and NASPGHAN Report on the Assessment of Exocrine Pancreatic Function and Pancreatitis in Children
Authors: Taylor Christopher J. , Chen Kathy , Horvath Karoly , Hughes David , Lowe Mark E. , Mehta Devendra , Orabi Abrahim I. , Screws Jeremy , Thomson Mike , Van Biervliet Stephanie , Verkade Henkjan J. , Husain Sohail Z. , Wilschanski Michael 
Published: April 2015

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this clinical report is to discuss several recent advances in assessing exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) and pancreatitis in children, to review the array of pancreatic function tests, to provide an update on the inherited causes of EPI, with special emphasis on newly available genetic testing, and to review newer methods for evaluating pancreatitis.
Site-specific amino-acid preferences are mostly conserved in two closely related protein homologs
Authors: Doud Michael B. , Ashenberg Orr , Bloom Jesse D. 
Published: April 2015

AbstractEvolution drives changes in a protein’s sequence over time. The extent to which these changes in sequence lead to shifts in the underlying preference for each amino acid at each site is an important question with implications for comparative sequence-analysis methods such as molecular phylogenetics. To quantify the extent that site-specific amino-acid preferences shift during evolution, we performed deep mutational scanning on two homologs of human influenza nucleoprotein with 94% amino-acid identity. We found that only a modest fraction of sites exhibited shifts in amino-acid preferences that exceeded the noise in our experiments. Furthermore, even among sites that did exhibit detectable shifts, the magnitude tended to be small relative to differences between non-homologous proteins. Given the limited change in amino-acid preferences between these close homologs, we tested whether our measurements could inform site-specific substitution models that describe the evolution of nucleoproteins from more diverse influenza viruses. We found that site-specific evolutionary models informed by our experiments greatly outperformed non-site-specific alternatives in fitting phylogenies of nucleoproteins from human, swine, equine, and avian influenza. Combining the experimental data from both homologs improved phylogenetic fit, partly because measurements in multiple genetic contexts better captured the evolutionary average of the amino-acid preferences for sites with shifting preferences. Our results show that site-specific amino-acid preferences are sufficiently conserved that measuring mutational effects in one protein provides information that can improve quantitative evolutionary modeling of nearby homologs.
The Regime Shifts Database: A Framework for Analyzing Regime Shifts in Social-Ecological Systems
Authors: Biggs Reinette (Oonsie) , Peterson Garry , Rocha Juan Carlos 
Published: April 2015

ABSTRACTThis paper presents the Regime Shifts Database (RSDB), a new online, open-access database that uses a novel consistent framework to systematically analyze regime shifts based on their impacts, key drivers, underlying feedbacks, and management options. The database currently contains 27 generic types of regime shifts, and over 300 specific case studies of a variety of regime shifts. These regime shifts occur across diverse types of systems and are driven by many different types of processes. Besides impacting provisioning and regulating services, our work shows that regime shifts substantially impact cultural and aesthetic ecosystem services. We found that social-ecological feedbacks are difficult to characterize and more work is needed to develop new tools and approaches to better understand social-ecological regime shifts. We hope that the database will stimulate further research on regime shifts and make available information that can be used in management, planning and assessment.
Employee perception of diversity in Morocco: empirical insights
Authors: Hassi Abderrahman , Foutouh Najoua , Ramid Souhail 
Published: April 2015

Purpose– The present paper aims to shed light on workers ' perception of diversity and their demographical characteristics as well as characteristics of their organizations.Design/methodology/approach– Descriptive statistics and multiple regression technique were used to, respectively, describe the sample and test the research hypothesis.Findings– The current study findings reveal that three variables influence employee perception about diversity within Moroccan organizations, namely, education, industry and nationality. The more employees are educated, the more positively they perceive diversity. The same logic applies to nationality and industry. Diversity is better perceived by foreign workers in Morocco and is most prevalent in the services industry.Research limitations/implications– The sample size (N= 87) is too small compared to the number of variables included in the research.Practical implications– Enhancing employees’ diversity climate perceptions may have financial and non-financial implications for organizations. Moreover, diversity perception is linked to worker attitudes in the workplace.Social implications– Policymakers in Morocco ought to design and enforce human resource policies that encourage organizations to recruit employees with diverse backgrounds. To do so, it is recommended that a commission or task force be created to fulfill the role of a “watchdog” in diversity-related spheres such as developing plans and models for employers, setting diversity-related goals and objectives and putting in place adequate and effective mechanisms and tools to assess the implementation of diversity initiatives by Moroccan organizations.Originality/value– The current research is the first survey-based study on the topic in the Moroccan context. Further, the fact the respondents are from various organizations, industries and sectors allows for the elimination of the normative influence of a single organizational culture.
Bountiful enlightenment and transcendence
Authors: Kazanjian Christopher , Choi Su-Jin 
Published: April 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to offer educators and social workers three innovative tools to engage diverse community environments.Design/methodology/approach– The methodology of this paper comes from extensive research into areas of the 1950s Beat culture, humanistic psychology and Bhuddism. The literature has been synthesized to create the tools.Findings– The result of the literature review is three diverse yet helpful tools that educators and social workers can use for to help them serve diverse communities.Originality/value– This paper is significant because communities around the world are diversifying. Educators and social workers need better tools to help their methods become more effective. The authors offer these three tools as a gateway.
Resilient leadership: a transformational-transactional leadership mix
Authors: Dartey-Baah Kwasi 
Published: April 2015

Purpose– This paper aims to bring to bear the resemblance between the current resilient leadership theory and the transformational–transactional leadership theories. It does this with the view of re-focusing discussions of leadership on an effective mix of the transformational–transactional leadership theories to achieve the desired organisational performance, rather than a new look at leadership from the resilient leadership perspective – which is quite the same.Design/methodology/approach– It achieves this purpose by reviewing literature on the three leadership styles; and further goes on to draw a conceptual link among them to buttress the point that resilient leadership is a repetition of the ideas underlying the two already existing theories – transformational and transactional.Findings– A review of the three leadership theories in literature showed that qualities such as strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, adaptation/change orientation, learning, performance orientation and collective leadership as captured under the resilient leadership theory are already considered under the transformational–transactional leadership theories, and thus, constitutes a repetition not needed in the search for the best leadership approach.Originality/value– The current volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment calls for a new leadership thinking/approach – one that is known and empirically tested to yield best results. In this regard, the present study advocates for a consideration of the transformational–transactional approaches, which have been proven to yield best results, to focus the discussion on leadership.
How the litter‐feeding bioturbator Orchestia gammarellus promotes late‐successional saltmarsh vegetation
Authors: Schrama Maarten , van Boheemen Lotte A. , Olff Han , Berg Matty P. 
Published: April 2015

Summary

Traditionally, studies on vegetation succession have focused either on plant–plant interactions or on interactions between plants and their physical environment, for example through organic matter build‐up and increased nutrient cycling. These interactions can change conditions for macrodetritivores that feed on plant litter, but their role in vegetation succession is rarely studied. In this paper, we explore whether the bioturbating crustacean macrodetritivore Orchestia gammarellus alters soil conditions in a saltmarsh ecosystem in such a way that it promotes late‐successional, less stress‐tolerant plant species at the expense of early successional species.

To answer this, we performed a field and a laboratory experiment in which we manipulated abundances of O. gammarellus, and studied the consequences for soil physical and chemical parameters and for vegetation community composition.

Our field experiment showed that O. gammarellus stimulated nitrogen mineralization, likely resulting from the positive effect of this macrodetritivore on soil aeration and litter decomposition. Moreover, results from the laboratory experiment showed that O. gammarellus negatively affected dicot seedling survival of mainly early successional plant species, likely through grazing, thus affecting plant community composition.

The experiments together provided evidence that O. gammarellus promotes late‐successional plant species in multiple ways: by alleviation of anoxic conditions, by promoting nutrient cycling and by selective herbivory on early successional species.

Synthesis. By demonstrating that a species traditionally considered as part of the detrital (‘brown’) food web is thus an important accelerator of vegetation succession, this study documents an important but often overlooked link in food web and ecosystem ecology.
The Open‐Economy Trilemma in China: Monetary and Exchange‐Rate Policy Interaction under Financial Repression
Authors: Wu Ying 
Published: April 2015

AbstractThis paper models China's monetary‐cum‐exchange rate policy, in which sterilization measures insulate base money from the full effects of capital inflow while the accumulation of net foreign assets (NFAs) limits exchange‐rate appreciation. I find that the negative‐risk premium in the interest rate—which compensates NFA holders for exchange‐rate risk with a higher relative rate of return on their NFAs—plays a pivotal role in influencing the magnitude of sterilization and in inducing endogenous change in the exchange rate. I show that a feedback loop between the exchange rate and capital inflow exists in the form of a multiplier mechanism that jeopardizes both monetary autonomy and exchange‐rate stability. The findings testify to the open‐economy trilemma challenging the effectiveness and sustainability of China's monetary‐cum‐exchange rate policy and point to a flexible exchange rate as a solution that can enhance monetary sovereignty, reduce financial repression and improve economic efficiency.
Asymmetric Information, Externalities and Incentives in Animal Disease Prevention and Control
Authors: Hennessy David A. , Wolf Christopher A. 
Published: April 2015

AbstractIncentives influence behaviour while an understanding of farmer behaviour facilitates the control and prevention of infectious livestock disease. This paper lays out several perspectives on how information problems and other externalities affect biosecurity incentives. We use the principal–agent framework to examine livestock disease management in the presence of potential moral hazard and adverse selection. Moral hazard may apply to biosecurity decisions while adverse selection may apply to disease reporting. The example of compensation policies illustrates the importance of creating appropriate incentives: compensation must be sufficient to ensure early reporting but not so large as to discourage appropriate levels of biosecurity effort. Other cases of externalities are more diffuse than those modelled using principal–agent analysis, placing emphasis on third‐party effects and coordination problems. Three examples are provided. One concerns free‐riding when facing an endemic disease pool that can be managed by limiting sources and flows. Another regards coordination failure when securing against an exotic disease where farmer efforts complement and communicating actions are important. The last arises from absence of a risk market where an adverse infrastructural support externality could be managed by disease outbreak insurance.
Changes in food choice patterns in a weight loss intervention
Authors: Grafenauer Sara J. , Tapsell Linda C. , Beck Eleanor J. , Batterham Marijka J. 
Published: April 2015

AbstractAimAnalyses of changes in food choice patterns made during weight loss may be informative for practice. In this research, food categorisation may be critical. The aim of the present study was to identify key changes in food choice patterns in weight loss trials.MethodsChanges in dietary patterns between baseline and three months were analysed for 231 participants from two weight loss trials in terms of grams of food, kilojoules and the number of food serves consumed. Two food categorisation systems were applied using six more traditional food groups and 17 newly defined food categories considering national food guidance systems, and specific criteria, including the scientific evidence on the relationships between consumption of specific foods and health outcomes associated with weight management.ResultsAfter three months, there was no significant change in the total weight of food consumed, yet mean energy intakes decreased by more than 3000 kJ. Where six categories were applied, all groups except milk and milk alternatives were altered by the diet prescription. However, with 17 categories, subtle changes were more clearly demonstrated. For example, the 17 categories showed increased intake of low‐fat dairy foods and decreased intake of fatty meats, non‐wholegrain (refined) cereals specifically, and non‐core foods and drinks more broadly.ConclusionsChanges in food choice patterns can be identified during weight loss trials. Applying a greater number of categories in the analysis enables a greater identification of changes in choice of key foods reflecting actual dietary change.
Identification of novel transaminases from a 12‐aminododecanoic acid‐metabolizing Pseudomonas strain
Authors: Wilding Matthew , Walsh Ellen F. A. , Dorrian Susan J. , Scott Colin 
Published: April 2015

SummaryA Pseudomonas species [Pseudomonas sp. strain amino alkanoate catabolism (AAC)] was identified that has the capacity to use 12‐aminododecanoic acid, the constituent building block of homo‐nylon‐12, as a sole nitrogen source. Growth of Pseudomonas sp. strain AAC could also be supported using a range of additional ω‐amino alkanoates. This metabolic function was shown to be most probably dependent upon one or more transaminases (TAs). Fourteen genes encoding putative TAs were identified from the genome of Pseudomonas sp. AAC. Each of the 14 genes was cloned, 11 of which were successfully expressed in Escherichia coli and tested for activity against 12‐aminododecanoic acid. In addition, physiological functions were proposed for 9 of the 14 TAs. Of the 14 proteins, activity was demonstrated in 9, and of note, 3 TAs were shown to be able to catalyse the transfer of the ω‐amine from 12‐aminododecanoic acid to pyruvate. Based on this study, three enzymes have been identified that are promising biocatalysts for the production of nylon and related polymers.
Expression of calcium sensing receptor and E‐cadherin correlated with survival of lung adenocarcinoma
Authors: Wen Liyuan , Sun Lichun , Xi Yuhui , Chen Xuesong , Xing Ying , Sun Weiling , Meng Qingwei , Cai Li 
Published: April 2015

AbstractBackgroundIt has been reported that the calcium sensing receptor (CaSR), a widely expressed G protein‐coupled receptor, can stimulate cell differentiation and proliferation. However, in malignant tumors, loss of CaSR expression has been associated with tumorigenesis, metastasis, and progression. Recent studies have indicated that the CaSR could promote the expression of E‐cadherin, which was considered a tumor suppressor. However, in human lung adenocarcinoma, the importance of the CaSR and E‐cadherin has not been sufficiently investigated.MethodsExpression levels of CaSR and E‐cadherin in paraffin sections from 117 resected lung adenocarcinoma patients were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. We analyzed the correlation between our target proteins and clinical variables. Clinical significance was analyzed by multivariate Cox regression analysis, Kaplan–Meier curve, and log‐rank test.ResultsExpression of the CaSR in lung adenocarcinoma tissue was significantly lower than in the normal sample (P = 0.003). Kendall tau‐b analysis showed that, in a lung adenocarcinoma sample, the expression of CaSR positively correlated with a high level of E‐cadherin (P < 0.001). Lung adenocarcinoma patients with a strong expression of CaSR (P = 0.034) or E‐cadherin (P = 0.001) had longer overall survival. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards model analysis showed that the combined marker was an independent prognostic indicator of overall survival (hazard ratio = 0.440, confidence interval = 0.249–0.779, P = 0.005).ConclusionsWe identified the CaSR as a new prognostic biomarker in lung adenocarcinoma. These results also suggested that the CaSR may become a new therapeutic target of lung adenocarcinoma.
Prediction of survival in patients suspected of disseminated intravascular coagulation
Authors: Hjorleifsson E. , Sigurdsson M. I. , Gudmundsdottir B. R. , Sigurdsson G. H. , Onundarson P. T. 
Published: April 2015

BackgroundAlthough antithrombin (AT), protein C (PC), and antiplasmin (AP) are consumed during disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), their association with mortality in patients initially suspected of acute DIC is unknown. We examined how these proteins associate with mortality in consecutive patients initially suspected of DIC, fulfilling or not fulfilling overt DIC criteria.MethodsAll consecutive patients clinically suspected of acute DIC during 5 years at a tertiary referral hospital were scored according to overt International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) DIC criteria. The influence of ISTH DIC score and measurements of AT, PC, and AP measured in all on mortality was assessed.ResultsDuring 1825 occurrences in 1814 patients, 91 fulfilled ISTH criteria for overt DIC (score ≥ 5). Both 28‐day and 1‐year mortality increased progressively as AT and in particular PC decreased. AT and PC correlated inversely with ISTH score (AT: R2 = 0.14, P < 0.001, PC: R2 = 0.21, P < 0.001). AP decreased when ISTH score of > 3 was reached. The 28‐day mortality was 3%, 11%, 16%, 23%, 35%, and 52% and 1‐year mortality 5%, 18%, 24%, 36%, 54%, and 63%, respectively for patients with an ISTH score of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and ≥5 (P < 0.001 for all).ConclusionsLowered AT and in particular PC activity was predictive of mortality risk upfront in critically ill patients suspected of acute DIC. Mortality in patients suspected of acute DIC increased progressively across the spectrum of the overt ISTH score and not only in those fulfilling overt DIC criteria.