bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Peer-learning between pre-service teachers: embracing Lesson Study
Authors: Lamb Penny 
Published: October 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore a model of Lesson Study owned entirely by pre-service teachers (PSTs), conveying its potential to facilitate mutual spaces of learning between peers beyond formal hierarchical relationships with expert teachers. Fuller’s (1969) conceptual framework of teacher development informed the study, consisting of self, task and impact “phases of concern”.Design/methodology/approach– Participants were secondary physical education PSTs (n=17), completing a university-led postgraduate certificate in education course. Action research methodology was adopted during school placements, when PSTs engaged in Lesson Study with peers. Data obtained through a group discussion board, individual questionnaires and interviews, were subjected to inductive analysis, with key patterns compared to locate themes.Findings– All PSTs felt Lesson Study contributed positively to their training, reinforcing perceived benefits of cycles of action for planning, observing a lesson, reviewing and adapting the plan before re-teaching the revised plan. Findings reveal increased confidence in reducing self and task concerns through four emergent themes: acquiring content and pedagogical knowledge; developing the planning process; understanding individual learners’ needs; and embedding reflective practice. Mutually supportive peer-learning environments created pedagogic space beyond formal mentoring processes, augmenting learning to teach and the understanding of learners’ needs.Research limitations/implications– Endorsement of Lesson Study by PSTs as a method of engaging in a positive peer-learning climate suggests the workability of this model.Originality/value– Findings contribute to existing literature exploring the effectiveness and impact of Lesson Study within initial teacher education.
Smart city intellectual capital: an emerging view of territorial systems innovation management
Authors: Dameri Renata P. , Ricciardi Francesca 
Published: October 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore whether and how the intellectual capital (IC) approach and concepts could be fruitfully adapted to study the smart city phenomenon from a managerial point of view.Design/methodology/approach– This study is based on a long-term, in-depth ethnographic exploration of the vast global community, which is created around the smart city movement.Findings– The analysis suggests that, in order to effectively analyse a smart city context through the IC lens, the traditional IC framework needs to be extended for: expected outcomes, which should also include sustainability, resilience and quality of life; categories of key resources, which should also include institutional capital and environmental capital; units of analysis, which should also include territorial systems, such as transportation or waste; and key managerial challenges implied. As a final result, a smart city intellectual capital (SC-IC) framework is proposed.Research limitations/implications– Most of the cases analysed in this study are European; further studies are advisable to better investigate non-European smart city contexts.Practical implications– The paper suggests that the knowledge management, project portfolio management and network management approaches are crucial to better support managerial practices in smart city organizations.Originality/value– The SC-IC framework allows for a clear definition of the smart city organization, as a new knowledge-based, project-oriented, network-shaped type of organization. Therefore, the SC-IC framework provides smart city research with a consistent rooting in management studies. Further, this paper contributes to the fourth stage of IC research.
The relational capital of the IT department
Authors: Zardini Alessandro , Ricciardi Francesca , Rossignoli Cecilia 
Published: October 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how the relational capital of the information technology (IT) department creates value in organizations. In addition, the paper presents a multi-dimensional scale to measure and manage relational capital in the IT department.Design/methodology/approach– In the first, explorative phase of the study, interviews and focus groups were conducted in order to develop a new measurement scale, which was subsequently tested through a survey questionnaire (212 respondents).Findings– This research suggests that the relational capital of the IT department is a very important resource for the creation of strategic value. The statistical analysis conducted for this study confirmed the validity and reliability of the novel scale developed to measure this resource. Finally, thanks to factor analysis, five dimensions for the scale were identified.Research limitations/implications– Data were collected in northern Italy only. Further studies are advisable to confirm the validity of the constructs and scale.Practical implications– The questionnaire presented in this study can be used to monitor the effectiveness of the interactions between the IT department and the other key actors involved in IT-enabled innovation. The adoption of this scale and its possible adaptation to specific, evolving business contexts may enhance the practitioner’s understanding of the role of relational capital in the value creation process.Originality/value– The paper contributes to the “third stage” of intellectual capital research by concentrating on an intra-organizational level of analysis, which has been overlooked in the literature to date.
Understanding the importance of small patches of habitat for conservation
Authors: Tulloch Ayesha I. T. , Barnes Megan D. , Ringma Jeremy , Fuller Richard A. , Watson James E. M. 
Published: October 2015

Summary

Conservation activities in fragmented landscapes have largely focused on keeping remaining large patches intact, often disregarding the increasingly important role of smaller patches in the conservation of remaining vegetation. As habitat loss proceeds in fragmented landscapes, there is an increasing need to measure the relative contribution of all patches (large and small) to overall ecosystem persistence, in a way that helps deliver effective conservation strategies aimed at preventing the death of ecosystems by a thousand cuts.

Using Australian vegetation communities as a case study, we calculated the historical change in the contribution of patches below different sized thresholds to overall extent. We introduced a new patch assessment metric based on the Gini coefficient that indicates how unequal the distribution of patch sizes is relative to historical distributions.

At least 22% of major vegetation communities in Australia have >50% of their remaining extent in patches <1000 ha. Loss does not always match fragmentation status: though some vegetation communities are exposed to the double jeopardy of high loss and high fragmentation, others are far more affected by fragmentation than loss of extent.

For some communities, actions focused on protecting large patches are critical but for many others, protecting and managing small patches is crucial for community persistence.

Synthesis and applications. Arbitrary patch size thresholds for permitting native vegetation clearing are dangerous for ecosystems whose distribution is now restricted to small patches. We recommend that clearing thresholds be scaled to reflect the fact that some ecosystems are more dominated by small patches than others. With a renewed focus on formally assessing the threat status of ecosystems as well as species, ecosystem accounts such as those demonstrated in this study are the first step to reliably assessing vulnerability. Measures of ecosystem vulnerability that only consider the extent of vegetation loss and not the size of remaining patches are likely to be ineffective for impact assessment, conservation planning and preventing ecosystem loss.
A 3–year follow‐up after anterior colporrhaphy compared with collagen‐coated transvaginal mesh for anterior vaginal wall prolapse: a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Rudnicki M , Laurikainen E , Pogosean R , Kinne I , Jakobsson U , Teleman P 
Published: September 2015

ObjectiveTo compare the 1–year (previously published) and 3–year objective and subjective cure rates, and complications, related to the use of a collagen‐coated transvaginal mesh for anterior vaginal wall prolapse against a conventional anterior repair.DesignRandomised controlled study.SettingSix departments of obstetrics and gynaecology in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark.PopulationA total of 138 women, of 55 years of age or older, admitted for stage ≥2 anterior vaginal wall prolapse.MethodsThe women scheduled for primary anterior vaginal wall prolapse surgery were randomised between conventional anterior colporrhaphy and surgery with a collagen‐coated prolene mesh. All patients were evaluated using the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP–Q) assessment before and after surgery. Symptoms related to pelvic organ prolapse were evaluated using the Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire (PFIQ–7) and the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory (PFDI–20).Main outcome measuresObjective cure, defined as POP–Q stage <2 prolapse at the 1‐ and 3–year follow‐ups. Furthermore, mesh exposure and dyspareunia were also recorded.ResultsIn total, 138 patients (70 from the mesh group versus 68 from the conventional anterior colporrhaphy group) out of 160 (86.3%) participated in the 3–year follow‐up. POP–Q revealed an objective anatomic cure for 88.1 and 91.4%, respectively, in the mesh group at the 1‐ and 3–year follow‐ups, compared with 39.9 and 41.2% in the colporrhaphy group. No difference between the groups was observed regarding PFIQ–7, PFDI–20, and Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire (PISQ–12) scores. The number of mesh exposures did not change during the study period and all exposures were minor.ConclusionOur study demonstrates that although the objective outcome was superior in the mesh group, the use of mesh had no impact on the subjective outcome.Tweetable abstractPOP–Q deteriorates after anterior prolapse surgery but remains stable in women with mesh implantation.
Appropriateness of Prostate Cancer Imaging among Veterans in a Delivery System without Incentives for Overutilization
Authors: Makarov Danil V. , Hu Elaine Y. C. , Walter Dawn , Braithwaite R. Scott , Sherman Scott , Gold Heather T. , Zhou Xiao‐Hua Andrew , Gross Cary P. , Zeliadt Steven B. 
Published: October 2015

ObjectiveTo determine the frequency of appropriate and inappropriate prostate cancer imaging in an integrated health care system.Data Sources/Study SettingVeterans Health Administration Central Cancer Registry linked to VA electronic medical records and Medicare claims (2004–2008).Study DesignWe performed a retrospective cohort study of VA patients diagnosed with prostate cancer (N = 45,084). Imaging (CT, MRI, bone scan, PET) use was assessed among patients with low‐risk disease, for whom guidelines recommend against advanced imaging, and among high‐risk patients for whom guidelines recommend it.Principal FindingsWe found high rates of inappropriate imaging among men with low‐risk prostate cancer (41 percent) and suboptimal rates of appropriate imaging among men with high‐risk disease (70 percent). Veterans utilizing Medicare‐reimbursed care had higher rates of inappropriate imaging [OR: 1.09 (1.03–1.16)] but not higher rates of appropriate imaging. Veterans treated in middle [OR: 0.51 (0.47–0.56)] and higher [OR: 0.50 (0.46–0.55)] volume medical centers were less likely to undergo inappropriate imaging without compromising appropriate imaging.ConclusionsOur results highlight the overutilization of imaging, even in an integrated health care system without financial incentives encouraging provision of health care services. Paradoxically, imaging remains underutilized among high‐risk patients who could potentially benefit from it most.
The Cost of Foreclosure Delay
Authors: Cordell Larry , Geng Liang , Goodman Laurie S. , Yang Lidan 
Published: October 2015

We measure the cost of foreclosure delay by estimating time‐related foreclosure costs using a large national sample of residential mortgages before, during, and after the recent U.S. housing crisis. The large volume of foreclosures, coupled with an unprecedented series of government interventions in mortgage servicing practices, significantly extended foreclosure timelines during and after the crisis. Costs were especially pronounced in judicial review states, which saw average foreclosure costs go up 15 percentage points, 24 percentage points in the highest cost state. Cost increases of this magnitude are likely to have consequences for servicing practices and mortgage credit availability.
Mitochondrial capture enriches mito‐DNA 100 fold, enabling PCR‐free mitogenomics biodiversity analysis
Authors: Liu Shanlin , Wang Xin , Xie Lin , Tan Meihua , Li Zhenyu , Su Xu , Zhang Hao , Misof Bernhard , Kjer Karl M. , Tang Min , Niehuis Oliver , Jiang Hui , Zhou Xin 
Published: October 2015

AbstractBiodiversity analyses based on next‐generation sequencing (NGS) platforms have developed by leaps and bounds in recent years. A PCR‐free strategy, which can alleviate taxonomic bias, was considered as a promising approach to delivering reliable species compositions of targeted environments. The major impediment of such a method is the lack of appropriate mitochondrial DNA enrichment ways. Because mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) make up only a small proportion of total DNA, PCR‐free methods will inevitably result in a huge excess of data (>99%). Furthermore, the massive volume of sequence data is highly demanding on computing resources. Here, we present a mitogenome enrichment pipeline via a gene capture chip that was designed by virtue of the mitogenome sequences of the 1000 Insect Transcriptome Evolution project (1KITE, www.1kite.org). A mock sample containing 49 species was used to evaluate the efficiency of the mitogenome capture method. We demonstrate that the proportion of mitochondrial DNA can be increased by approximately 100‐fold (from the original 0.47% to 42.52%). Variation in phylogenetic distances of target taxa to the probe set could in principle result in bias in abundance. However, the frequencies of input taxa were largely maintained after capture (R2 = 0.81). We suggest that our mitogenome capture approach coupled with PCR‐free shotgun sequencing could provide ecological researchers an efficient NGS method to deliver reliable biodiversity assessment.
DNA barcodes from century‐old type specimens using next‐generation sequencing
Authors: Prosser Sean W. J. , deWaard Jeremy R. , Miller Scott E. , Hebert Paul D. N. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractType specimens have high scientific importance because they provide the only certain connection between the application of a Linnean name and a physical specimen. Many other individuals may have been identified as a particular species, but their linkage to the taxon concept is inferential. Because type specimens are often more than a century old and have experienced conditions unfavourable for DNA preservation, success in sequence recovery has been uncertain. This study addresses this challenge by employing next‐generation sequencing (NGS) to recover sequences for the barcode region of the cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene from small amounts of template DNA. DNA quality was first screened in more than 1800 century‐old type specimens of Lepidoptera by attempting to recover 164‐bp and 94‐bp reads via Sanger sequencing. This analysis permitted the assignment of each specimen to one of three DNA quality categories – high (164‐bp sequence), medium (94‐bp sequence) or low (no sequence). Ten specimens from each category were subsequently analysed via a PCR‐based NGS protocol requiring very little template DNA. It recovered sequence information from all specimens with average read lengths ranging from 458 bp to 610 bp for the three DNA categories. By sequencing ten specimens in each NGS run, costs were similar to Sanger analysis. Future increases in the number of specimens processed in each run promise substantial reductions in cost, making it possible to anticipate a future where barcode sequences are available from most type specimens.
Type 5 adenylyl cyclase disruption leads to enhanced exercise performance
Authors: Vatner Dorothy E. , Yan Lin , Lai Lo , Yuan Chujun , Mouchiroud Laurent , Pachon Ronald E. , Zhang Jie , Dillinger Jean‐Guillaume , Houtkooper Riekelt H. , Auwerx Johan , Vatner Stephen F. 
Published: October 2015

SummaryThe most important physiological mechanism mediating enhanced exercise performance is increased sympathetic, beta adrenergic receptor (β‐AR), and adenylyl cyclase (AC) activity. This is the first report of decreased AC activity mediating increased exercise performance. We demonstrated that AC5 disruption, that is, knock out (KO) mice, a longevity model, increases exercise performance. Importantly for its relation to longevity, exercise was also improved in old AC5 KO. The mechanism resided in skeletal muscle rather than in the heart, as confirmed by cardiac‐ and skeletal muscle‐specific AC5 KO's, where exercise performance was no longer improved by the cardiac‐specific AC5 KO, but was by the skeletal muscle‐specific AC5 KO, and there was no difference in cardiac output during exercise in AC5 KO vs. WT. Mitochondrial biogenesis was a major mechanism mediating the enhanced exercise. SIRT1, FoxO3a, MEK, and the anti‐oxidant, MnSOD were upregulated in AC5 KO mice. The improved exercise in the AC5 KO was blocked with either a SIRT1 inhibitor, MEK inhibitor, or by mating the AC5 KO with MnSOD hetero KO mice, confirming the role of SIRT1, MEK, and oxidative stress mechanisms. The Caenorhabditis elegans worm AC5 ortholog, acy‐3 by RNAi, also improved fitness, mitochondrial function, antioxidant defense, and lifespan, attesting to the evolutionary conservation of this pathway. Thus, decreasing sympathetic signaling through loss of AC5 is not only a mechanism to improve exercise performance, but is also a mechanism to improve healthful aging, as exercise also protects against diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease, which all limit healthful aging.
Interactions Between Chronic Ethanol Consumption and Thiamine Deficiency on Neural Plasticity, Spatial Memory, and Cognitive Flexibility
Authors: Vedder Lindsey C. , Hall Joseph M. , Jabrouin Kimberly R. , Savage Lisa M. 
Published: September 2015

BackgroundMany alcoholics display moderate to severe cognitive dysfunction accompanied by brain pathology. A factor confounded with prolonged heavy alcohol consumption is poor nutrition, and many alcoholics are thiamine deficient. Thus, thiamine deficiency (TD) has emerged as a key factor underlying alcohol‐related brain damage (ARBD). TD in humans can lead to Wernicke Encephalitis that can progress into Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome and these disorders have a high prevalence among alcoholics. Animal models are critical for determining the exact contributions of ethanol (EtOH)‐ and TD‐induced neurotoxicity, as well as the interactions of those factors to brain and cognitive dysfunction.MethodsAdult rats were randomly assigned to 1 of 6 treatment conditions: chronic EtOH treatment (CET) where rats consumed a 20% v/v solution of EtOH over 6 months; severe pyrithiamine‐induced TD (PTD‐moderate acute stage); moderate PTD (PTD‐early acute stage); moderate PTD followed by CET (PTD‐CET); moderate PTD during CET (CET‐PTD); and pair‐fed (PF) control. After recovery from treatment, all rats were tested on spontaneous alternation and attentional set‐shifting. After behavioral testing, brains were harvested for determination of mature brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and thalamic pathology.ResultsModerate TD combined with CET, regardless of treatment order, produced significant impairments in spatial memory, cognitive flexibility, and reductions in brain plasticity as measured by BDNF levels in the frontal cortex and hippocampus. These alterations are greater than those seen in moderate TD alone, and the synergistic effects of moderate TD with CET lead to a unique cognitive profile. However, CET did not exacerbate thalamic pathology seen after moderate TD.ConclusionsThese data support the emerging theory that subclinical TD during chronic heavy alcohol consumption is critical for the development of significant cognitive impairment associated with ARBD.
Unfree Radicals: Geoscientists, the Anthropocene, and Left Politics
Authors: Castree Noel 
Published: October 2015

AbstractNeil Smith's writings about capitalism and what we call “nature” were insightful and influential. This paper asks what Smith would make of the “radical turn” today occurring in the world of international geoscience. If we “think with” Smith, how should we view Naomi Klein's recent statement that geoscientists can act as fifth columnists calling the capitalist way of life into question? In the first half of the essay I address these questions. I summarise and apply the insights of Smith's writings to recent developments in international geoscience. Smith wrote about science in most of his published statements about capitalist ecology and I show that he would ultimately have regarded Klein as hopeful, even naïve. I then go on, in the second half of the essay, to “think against” Smith. I suggest his views on science bespeak a wider, unhelpful separation between Left scholarship in the social sciences and humanities and the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and medicine). Recalling earlier attempts to radicalise science politically, and highlighting the radical potentials of geoscience today, I make the case for forms of interdisciplinarity that might render geoscience more political. Though this case opens space for perspectives beyond the Marxism Smith did so much to develop, he would—I hope—see it as a legitimate part of the Left's long war against capitalism's rule over society and environment.
Colectomy for constipation: time trends and impact based on the US Nationwide Inpatient Sample, 1998–2011
Authors: Dudekula A. , Huftless S. , Bielefeldt K. 
Published: October 2015

SummaryBackgroundCurrent guidelines include subtotal colectomy as treatment for refractory slow transit constipation.AimTo use the US Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) (1998–2011) and longitudinal data from the State Inpatient Database (2005–2011), comparable to NIS, to examine colectomy rates, in‐hospital morbidity and emergency department (ED) visits or readmissions among patients treated for constipation.MethodsColectomies for any reason were identified based on the primary procedural code (ICD‐9‐CM 45.8x). Index hospitalisations were defined by the primary diagnosis of constipation (ICD‐9‐CM 564.x) associated with the primary procedural code for colectomy (ICD‐9‐CM45.8x) after exclusion of other diseases associated with colectomy. Demographic variables, comorbidities, complications and adverse events during the hospitalisation were captured, and ED visits and admissions were recorded for periods before and after colectomy.ResultsNationally, colectomies for constipation rose from 104 procedures in 1998 (1.2% of annual colectomies) to 311 in 2011 (2.4% of annual colectomies). While there were no perioperative deaths, perioperative complications occurred in 42.7% of patients during the index hospitalisation. Longitudinal data were analysed for 181 patients, with similar perioperative complications and a readmission rate of 28.9% within the first 30 days after the index hospitalisation. Resource utilisation was tracked for a median time of 630 (0–2386) before and 463 (0–2204) days after colectomy with unchanged ED visits (median: 2 vs. 2, P = 0.21), but increased hospitalisations (median: 1 vs. 2, P = 0.003).ConclusionsColectomy rates for constipation are rising, are associated with significant morbidity and do not decrease resource utilisation, raising questions about the true benefit of surgery for slow transit constipation.