bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessment of e‐procurement auction with a balanced scorecard
Authors: Rotchanakitumnuai Siriluck 
Published: May 2013

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to assess success factors associated with e‐procurement auctions. The impacts of e‐procurement auction success factors on the four indicators of the balanced scorecard are investigated.Design/methodology/approachA survey approach is used to measure the constructs in the proposed model. Respondents were selected from three sectors: private, public, and government organizations using judgment sampling. Data are collected from at least two respondents from purchasing personnel in the e‐procurement user firms. At least one of the respondents is in a managerial position. The sample size is 186, representing 20.4 percent from private enterprises, 33.3 percent from public enterprises, and 46.3 percent from government agencies.FindingsThe survey results show that organizational learning of e‐procurement is influenced by service capability, good governance intention, management support policy, and organizational readiness factors. Service capability and organization learning of e‐procurement influence e‐procurement process improvement. Employee satisfaction can be determined by management support policy and e‐procurement process improvement. Employee satisfaction has the strongest positive impact on financial cost improvement. Management support policy has a negative impact on financial performance improvement. Trust in e‐procurement online intermediaries has no impact on the four measures of the balanced scorecard.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the literature by using the four balanced scorecard indicators to measure the success of e‐procurement to assist organizations to assess performance in terms of organizational learning, internal process improvement, employee satisfaction, and the financial benefit of e‐procurement.
An examination of the causes for retail stockouts
Authors: Ehrenthal Joachim C.F. , Stölzle Wolfgang 
Published: May 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to increase our understanding of the causes for stockouts in retailing.Design/methodology/approachMixed methods study, using instore observations, interviews with key informants in consumer goods and retailing, and a field study of stockouts and their causes in multiple wholesale stores over two years.FindingsThe results indicate that the causes for stockouts are specific to retailer, store, category and item. Improvements to store operations and the coordination of store delivery and shelf replenishment are most effective in reducing stockouts. Manual audits of stockouts and their causes benefit instore execution and provide the level of detail necessary for management to prioritize areas of improvement.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research may investigate the operational and cost impact of incorporating demand seasonality in shelf replenishment that may lead to an improved coordination of replenishment and demand cycles.Practical implicationsA procedure is proposed to help store managers reduce stockouts well below the global average of 8.3 percent.Originality/valueThe paper extends the literature by providing a comprehensive set of itemized causes of retail stockouts and reflects implications for sales‐data driven research. It adds to the emergent research that applies service‐dominant logic to retail stockout research.
driftsel: an R package for detecting signals of natural selection in quantitative traits
Authors: Karhunen M. , Merilä J. , Leinonen T. , Cano J. M. , Ovaskainen O. 
Published: May 2013

AbstractApproaches and tools to differentiate between natural selection and genetic drift as causes of population differentiation are of frequent demand in evolutionary biology. Based on the approach of Ovaskainen et al. (2011), we have developed an R package (driftsel) that can be used to differentiate between stabilizing selection, diversifying selection and random genetic drift as causes of population differentiation in quantitative traits when neutral marker and quantitative genetic data are available. Apart from illustrating the use of this method and the interpretation of results using simulated data, we apply the package on data from three‐spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) to highlight its virtues. driftsel can also be used to perform usual quantitative genetic analyses in common‐garden study designs.
A resource of genome‐wide single‐nucleotide polymorphisms generated by RAD tag sequencing in the critically endangered European eel
Authors: Pujolar J. M. , Jacobsen M. W. , Frydenberg J. , Als T. D. , Larsen P. F. , Maes G. E. , Zane L. , Jian J. B. , Cheng L. , Hansen M. M. 
Published: May 2013

AbstractReduced representation genome sequencing such as restriction‐site‐associated DNA (RAD) sequencing is finding increased use to identify and genotype large numbers of single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in model and nonmodel species. We generated a unique resource of novel SNP markers for the European eel using the RAD sequencing approach that was simultaneously identified and scored in a genome‐wide scan of 30 individuals. Whereas genomic resources are increasingly becoming available for this species, including the recent release of a draft genome, no genome‐wide set of SNP markers was available until now. The generated SNPs were widely distributed across the eel genome, aligning to 4779 different contigs and 19 703 different scaffolds. Significant variation was identified, with an average nucleotide diversity of 0.00529 across individuals. Results varied widely across the genome, ranging from 0.00048 to 0.00737 per locus. Based on the average nucleotide diversity across all loci, long‐term effective population size was estimated to range between 132 000 and 1 320 000, which is much higher than previous estimates based on microsatellite loci. The generated SNP resource consisting of 82 425 loci and 376 918 associated SNPs provides a valuable tool for future population genetics and genomics studies and allows for targeting specific genes and particularly interesting regions of the eel genome.
Burrow‐dwelling ecosystem engineers provide thermal refugia throughout the landscape
Authors: Pike D. A. , Mitchell J. C. 
Published: May 2013

AbstractEcosystem engineers play fundamental ecological roles by modifying habitats in ways that affect a multitude of other species and by creating refugia with novel microclimates. We hypothesize that burrow‐creating organisms may facilitate climate change adaptation by providing refugia from extreme and fluctuating temperatures found aboveground. We support this hypothesis by showing that large burrow‐dwelling tortoises, Gopherus polyphemus, likely depend upon burrows for thermoregulation. By exploiting the varied thermal conditions within burrows, tortoises avoided lethal temperatures and extreme fluctuations in body temperature, maintained moderate and stable body temperatures on hot days, and maintained relatively warm temperatures overnight. Climate change is predicted to increase maximum air temperatures throughout the geographic range of this species, with impacts most severe in Florida, US, where the range of future conditions could be above that of current maxima. This implies that environmental temperatures will be above lethal thermal limits more often, highlighting the importance of refugia from extreme conditions. Large burrowing animals (e.g. aardvarks, pocket gophers, rabbits, seabirds, tortoises, wombats) are widely distributed globally and could provide similar thermal refugia for countless commensal taxa. Burrows and the animals that create them are in urgent need of conservation, which will help ensure the widespread availability of refugia that offer protection from extreme temperatures under climate change.
Long‐term outcomes in patients with duodenal adenocarcinoma
Authors: Lee Sang Yeup , Lee Jae Hoon , Hwang Dae Wook , Kim Song Cheol , Park Kwang‐Min , Lee Young‐Joo 
Published: May 2013

AbstractBackgroundBecause of the rarity of duodenal adenocarcinoma, little is known regarding its natural history or prognostic factors for survival. We therefore evaluated surgical treatment, and prognostic factors for survival in patients with duodenal adenocarcinoma.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who were diagnosed with duodenal adenocarcinoma at Asan Medical Center between December 1999 and December 2009.ResultsOf the 76 patients, 47 (61%) underwent surgery with curative intent and 29 (39%) underwent palliative operation. Of the former, 25 underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD), 19 underwent pylorus‐preserving PD, 2 underwent segmental duodenectomy and 1 underwent transduodenal excision. The median survival of the 41 patients who achieved R0 resection was 25.1 months (range 4–134 months), with overall 1‐, 3‐ and 5‐year survival rates of 80.4%, 63.4% and 60.9%, respectively. Median survival was significantly longer in patients who underwent curative resection than in those who underwent palliative surgery (28.2 versus 6.6 months, P < 0.001). Univariate analysis showed that transfusion and lymph node metastasis were related to survival, and multivariate analysis revealed that lymph node metastasis was independently associated with survival (P = 0.036). Survival differences were observed between stages of the seventh edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system.ConclusionIn the absence of distant metastasis, curative resection enhances the long‐term survival of patients with duodenal adenocarcinoma. Lymph node metastasis is prognostic factor of overall survival.
Acquiring surgical skills: the role of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
Authors: Perry Richard E. , Oldfield Zaita 
Published: May 2013

AbstractContemporary surgeons are expected to develop and maintain competence across a range of skills far broader than that demanded of last century's surgeons. This is increasingly difficult to achieve in a competitive clinical environment in which the effectiveness of the traditional apprenticeship model can be compromised. New training paradigms must be found to ensure that the quality of surgical training is maintained and enhanced. Acquiring technical skills in the operating theatre is expensive, but training using simulations in the skills laboratory is gaining credibility and validity as a means to augment the clinical experience and accelerate training. The emerging role of surgical skills courses extends to training in behaviour and attitude. At the same time, there is a rapidly growing demand for training courses in technical surgical skills, particularly from prevocational trainees aspiring to enter surgical training. This group has been neglected by the new Surgical Education and Training programme, and re‐engagement with them is now a priority. Most skills courses rely on surgeons willing to teach pro bono, and paying tutors would impose a significant additional cost on surgical training. However, recruiting enough fellows to meet the demand for tutors remains a challenge. The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons is actively engaged in supporting and developing skills training courses and programmes to address the range of skills required for surgical competence.
Workplace‐based assessment in surgical training: experiences from the Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme
Authors: Eardley Ian , Bussey Maria , Woodthorpe Adrian , Munsch Chris , Beard Jonathan 
Published: May 2013

AbstractBackgroundThe Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme was launched in the United Kingdom in 2007. At its heart was the reliance upon clear, defined curricula, competence‐based training and the use of workplace‐based assessments to assess the competence. The principle assessments used were Case‐based Discussion, Procedure‐based Assessments (PBA), Direct Observation of Procedural Skills, and Clinical Evaluation Exercise and a Multisource Feedback tool.MethodsWe report the initial experience with that system, and most importantly, the experience with workplace‐based assessment.ResultsThemes include issues around faculty development, misuse of assessments, inappropriate timing of assessments, concerns about validity and reliability of the assessments and concerns about the actual process of workplace‐based assessments. Of the assessments, the PBA performed best.ConclusionsAs a consequence, there has been an increased focus upon faculty development, while some of the assessments have been redesigned in line with the PBA. A global rating scale has been introduced that uses clinical anchors. The rating scales have also been altered with a reduction in the number of ratings while an enhanced description of the complexity of the case has been introduced within the Case‐based Discussion and the Clinical Evaluation Exercise. A re‐evaluation will take place in the near future.
Lidocaine‐prilocaine (EMLA®) cream as analgesia in hysteroscopy practice: a prospective, randomized, non‐blinded, controlled study
Authors: Arnau Baldomero , Jovell Esther , Redón Stephanie , Canals Marta , Mir Vanessa , Jiménez Elena 
Published: May 2013

AbstractWe investigated the efficacy of 5% lidocaine 25 mg–prilocaine 25 mg/g cream (EMLA®) applied to the uterine cervix for reducing pain during diagnostic or operative hysteroscopy, using a visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain in a prospective randomized, non‐blinded, controlled study in 92 successive patients. Patients were randomized to either 3 mL of EMLA cream or 3 mL of ultrasound gel (placebo), placed endocervically and exocervically, 10 min before hysteroscopy. Intensity of pain was evaluated immediately after the procedure using a 10‐cm VAS. No differences were found between the two groups (p = 0.07). The number of women who wished to stop the procedure was significantly lower in the EMLA group compared with the control group (p = 0.013). We concluded that topical instillation of EMLA does not decrease pain during hysteroscopy, but does reduce a desire to abandon the procedure.
Pilot study: miscellaneous therapy is highly successful for Helicobacter pylori eradication
Authors: Sierra F. , Forero J. D. , Rey M. , Botero M. L. , Cárdenas A. 
Published: May 2013

SummaryBackgroundSuccess in H. pylori eradication with conventional therapies has decreased to unacceptable levels (≤80%). New schemes of combined treatment are currently needed.AimTo test a miscellaneous therapy for H. pylori eradication.Methods/patientsOpen‐label, pilot, single‐centre and prospective study. Patients received a 15‐day treatment scheme that consisted of 5 initial days of lansoprazole 30 mg b.d., amoxicillin 1 g b.d., and metronidazole 500 mg t.d.s.; days 6 to 10: lansoprazole 30 mg q.d.s. and metronidazole 500 mg t.d.s.; days 11 to 15: lansoprazole 30 mg b.d., clarithromycin 500 mg b.d. and metronidazole 500 mg t.d.s. Each patient underwent an upper endoscopy before treatment and a second follow‐up endoscopy at least 4 weeks after therapy. Success was defined on the basis of an eradication rate following a per‐protocol analysis ≥95%. Biopsies before and after therapy were obtained for histological evaluation and rapid urease test.ResultsOne hundred and twenty‐two patients were enrolled and 118 patients completed the study. The eradication rate for H. pylori with miscellaneous therapy was 94% (confidence Interval (CI) 95%, 90–98.3%) in the per‐protocol analysis (PP) and 91% (95% CI, 86–96%) in the intention‐to‐treat (ITT) analysis. Adherence to treatment was 96% (113 patients). Among patients who completed treatment, 55% presented adverse events, mainly nausea and abdominal pain.ConclusionA miscellaneous therapy, based on the combination of multiple medications in high doses for 2 weeks, and with gastric pH elevation, is a highly effective treatment as a first‐line therapy for the eradication of H. pylori.
Motion controllers for learners to manipulate and interact with 3D objects for mental rotation training
Authors: Yeh Shih‐Ching , Wang Jin‐Liang , Wang Chin‐Yeh , Lin Po‐Han , Chen Gwo‐Dong , Rizzo Albert 
Published: May 2013

AbstractMental rotation is an important spatial processing ability and an important element in intelligence tests. However, the majority of past attempts at training mental rotation have used paper‐and‐pencil tests or digital images. This study proposes an innovative mental rotation training approach using magnetic motion controllers to allow learners to manipulate and interact with three‐dimensional (3D) objects. Stereovision allows learners to perceive the spatial geometric form of a 3D object. This approach allows learners to perceive 3D objects in space through stereovision and make mental rotation visible from each intrinsic and invisible mental rotation step using motion‐interaction methods. This study examines the effects of user training performance and perceptions. The results indicate that the proposed approach can improve user mental rotation ability effectively. Learners expressed high degrees of concentration toward the mechanism that included direct control and immediate feedback. The results also suggest that female testers perceive greater degrees of playfulness toward the mechanism and improve more through training than male testers.
Bone metastases in germ cell tumours: lessons learnt from a large retrospective study
Authors: Jamal‐Hanjani Mariam , Karpathakis Anna , Kwan Amy , Mazhar Danish , Ansell Wendy , Shamash Jonathan , Harper Peter , Rudman Sarah , Powles Thomas , Chowdhury Simon 
Published: May 2013

Objective
To determine the characteristics of patients with germ cell cancer and bone metastases.
Patients and Methods
The case records of patients with known germ cell tumours (GCTs) within the Anglian Germ Cell Cancer Group database between January 2005 and March 2011 were reviewed retrospectively.
Data were collected for histopathology, presence of bone metastases at diagnosis or relapse, site of bone metastases and imaging method used to confirm bone metastases, treatment received, response to treatment and overall survival.
We present here the largest unselected cohort of bone metastases in patients with GCTs.
Results
In all, 2550 cases of GCTs were reviewed and there was bone involvement in 19 cases.
The primary site was either testicular (13/19), mediastinal (1/19) or unknown (5/19). Most cases were non‐seminomatous GCTs (11/19, 58%) and only three cases of seminomatous GCTs (3/19, 16%) with five cases in which diagnosis was based on clinical history and significantly raised GCT markers (5/19, 26%). In all of these five cases β‐human chorionic gonadotrophin was raised and in three α‐fetoprotein was raised, consistent with non‐seminomatous GCT.
There were bone metastases at diagnosis (0.51%, 13/2550) or at relapse (0.24%, 6/2550). The sites of bone metastases were the vertebrae (15/19, 79%), pelvis (3/19, 16%), ribs (3/19, 16%) and femur (2/19, 11%). Ten patients (53%) had solitary, and nine patients (47%) had multiple, sites of bone metastases. In patients presenting with bone metastases at diagnosis compared with relapse, the mortality rate was 23% (3/13) and 50% (3/6), respectively.
After receiving one line of chemotherapy, nine patients (47%) remained in remission not requiring further treatment, six (32%) required further chemotherapy due to subsequent relapse, three (16%) died after first‐line chemotherapy and one was lost to follow‐up.
At the time of data collection and based on the last clinic follow‐up, six patients (32%) had died with a median (interquartile range, IQR) follow‐up of 11.5 (4.3, 24.8) months and 10 (53%) remained alive with a median (IQR) follow‐up of 26 (13.5, 48) months Three patients were lost to follow‐up. Of the known patients alive, eight (42%) remained in remission and two (11%) had recurrent disease requiring further treatment.
Conclusion
Although bone disease in germ cell cancer is rare, awareness of this condition is important and there is a need for prospective evaluation of patient characteristics, treatment approaches and survival outcome in this group of patients.
New findings in ATP supply in rod outer segments: Insights for retinopathies
Authors: Calzia Daniela , Barabino Stefano , Bianchini Paolo , Garbarino Greta , Oneto Michele , Caicci Federico , Diaspro Alberto , Tacchetti Carlo , Manni Lucia , Candiani Simona , Ravera Silvia , Morelli Alessandro , Enrico Traverso Carlo , Panfoli Isabella 
Published: May 2013

Background InformationThe rod outer segment (OS) is the specialised organelle where phototransduction takes place. Our previous proteomic and biochemical analyses on purified rod disks showed the functional expression of the respiratory chain complexes I–IV and F1Fo‐ATP synthase in OS disks, as well as active soluble tricarboxylic acid cycle enzymes. Here, we focussed our study on the whole OS that contains the cytosol and plasma membrane and disks as native flattened saccules, unlike spherical osmotically intact disks.ResultsOS were purified from bovine retinas and characterised for purity. Oximetry, ATP synthesis and cytochrome c oxidase (COX) assays were performed. The presence of COX and F1Fo‐ATP synthase (ATP synthase) was assessed by semi‐quantitative Western blotting, immunofluorescence or confocal laser scanning microscopy on whole bovine retinas and bovine retinal sections and by immunogold transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of purified OS or bovine retinal sections. Both ATP synthase and COX are catalytically active in OS. These are able to consume oxygen (O2) in the presence of pyruvate and malate. CLSM analyses showed that rhodopsin autofluorescence and MitoTracker Deep Red 633 fluorescence co‐localise on rod OS. Data are confirmed by co‐localisation studies of ATP synthase with Rh in rod OS by immunofluorescence and TEM in bovine retinal sections.ConclusionsOur data confirm the expression and activity of COX and ATP synthase in OS, suggestive of the presence of an extra‐mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation in rod OS, meant to supply ATP for the visual transduction. In this respect, the membrane rich OS environment would be meant to absorb both light and O2. The ability of OS to manipulate O2 may shed light on the pathogenesis of many retinal degenerative diseases ascribed to oxidative stress, as well as on the efficacy of the treatment with dietary supplements, presently utilised as supporting therapies.