bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Detection of predator cues alters mating tactics in male wolf spiders
Authors: Wilgers Dustin J. , Wickwire Daniel , Hebets Eileen A. 
Published: March 2014

Males of the wolf spider, Rabidosa punctulata, exhibit condition-dependent alternative mating tactics, whereby small, poor condition males engage in multimodal courtship while large, good condition males adopt a direct mount tactic that forgoes courtship. This study explores the possibility that tactic-specific costs can help explain this unintuitive pattern of mating tactic expression. Specifically, we hypothesize that courtship signaling is costly with respect to eavesdropping by predators and that males can alter their tactic expression based upon the perceived environmental predation risk. We test this by first examining the risk of predation associated with different mating tactics. We use a co-occurring predatory heterospecific, R. rabida as our predator. We found support for the prediction that courting R. punctulata males tended to be attacked more often than non-courting males, and the likelihood of being attacked was best predicted by courtship activity. Given this documented cost, we hypothesized that R. punctulata males would adjust their mating tactic based upon perceived predation risk. In a second experiment, we manipulated perceived predation risk by providing R. punctulata males with different female silk cues (conspecific; predatory heterospecific; conspecific + predatory heterospecific) and examined mating tactic expression. In support of our hypothesis, males were more likely to adopt the direct mount tactic in the presence of predatory heterospecific or mixed silk cues and were more likely to court in the presence of conspecific cues. These results support the hypothesis that the cost of predation from eavesdroppers may influence the evolution and expression of male alternative mating tactics in R. punctulata.
Chronic exposure to 17α-ethinylestradiol reduces behavioral consistency in male Siamese fighting fish
Authors: Dzieweczynski Teresa L. , Hentz Kimberly B. , Logan Brittney , Hebert Olivia L. 
Published: March 2014

Both acute and chronic exposure to 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), one of the primary active ingredients of birth control pills, decreases courtship and aggression in males of aquatic species. However, how exposure affects behavioral consistency over time is not commonly addressed. To examine the effects of chronic EE2 exposure on behavioral consistency, adult male Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens, received multiple trials with a dummy male and dummy female presented simultaneously both before and after chronic exposure to a nominal dose (10 ng/l) of EE2. The responses of exposed males were compared before and after exposure and against those of a group of unexposed, control males. Male-directed and female-directed behaviors were reduced after 28 days of EE2 exposure. More importantly, chronic EE2 exposure had dramatic effects on consistent individual differences in female-directed and male-directed behaviors. Repeatability values were markedly lower and level of response was less correlated in the EE2 group, suggesting that exposure disrupts both between-individual variation and behavioral consistency. These results cannot be explained by a temporal effect as they were not found in the control group of unexposed males. This study demonstrates that EE2 exposure may have effects beyond a reduction in overall response. It also demonstrates the importance of studying the effects of chemical exposure on multiple time scales as acute exposure to EE2 affects the consistency of only female-directed behaviors in this species whereas chronic exposure affects consistency of both female-directed and male-directed behavior. Finally, this study suggests that males in this species may differ in their sensitivity, an important area for future research.
What are the dynamics of organizational identification in the course of modernization processesAnalysis of a Belgian administration
Authors: Rondeaux Giseline 
Published: March 2014

In the course of reform, organizational identity emerges as a prominent issue. While the process of modernizing the administration sets out to redefine this identity, how is this experienced by its members? What are the identity dynamics at work in terms of their perception of changes in their environment? By analysing the Copernic reform in Belgium, we inductively developed a typology of identity rationales and profiles (Rondeaux, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010). On this basis, we conducted a questionnaire survey in a regional administration engaged in reform. Our analysis highlights the coexistence of different identity rationales and diverse perceptions of the environment, which are congruent or dissonant with them. The results underline the importance of the environment and of its perception in organizational identification processes and confirms the hypothesis of identity hybridization, providing also an empirical basis for the integrative approach of Ravasi and Schultz (2006). Points for practitioners This article proposes an identity interpretive framework for reform processes, considering both the institutionalized organizational identity, at the heart of the modernization project and various alternative rationales contributed by the civil servants. Our analysis highlights the diverse perceptions of the environment in the light of the identities present and underlines the practical implications of such an approach in terms of change management.
The measures adopted to increase the accountability of Belgium's senior civil servants: strategic analysis of the political-administrative system at federal level
Authors: Göransson Marie 
Published: March 2014

Over the past decade, Belgium, like many OECD countries, has set out to modernize the management of its public affairs. In April 2000, the Belgian federal government adopted a far-reaching reform of the structures and functioning of the State: the Copernic Plan. One of the ambitions of the changes introduced by the reform is the accountability of senior civil servants. In line with this reform, various measures were developed, the results of which appear to be mixed. This article aims to analyse the outcome of these mechanisms through the behaviour of the stakeholders and their impacts on the regulation and practice of the mechanisms. To do this, the author uses the strategic analysis developed by Crozier and Friedberg (1977). In doing so, the interaction of the stakeholders in response to the measures introduced to increase accountability is highlighted in order to understand certain stand-offs still blocking the processes of modernization. Points for practitioners This contribution sets out to analyse the outcome of the measures introduced to increase the accountability of senior civil servants by the Belgian federal reform passed in 2000, the Copernic Plan. To do so, the author uses the strategic analysis developed by Crozier and Friedberg (1977) and therefore considers the political-administrative space in which the accountability measures are rolled out as a concrete action system. Within it, the resistance of the stakeholders involved in the development of the mechanisms and their implementation are studied, shedding light on the destruction of certain measures in the regulation and their hijacking in practice.
New public service performance management tools and public water governance: the main lessons drawn from action research conducted in an urban environment
Authors: Tabi Marie Tsanga , Verdon Dominique 
Published: March 2014

At a time when, in France, the central government is placing new hope in the principle of governance of its utilities by means of performance indicators, this article argues that governance through performance measurement and management tools alone, however sophisticated, is not enough to meet the current challenges facing public water governance. However, the debate triggered on the objectives of the performance measurement tools raises substantive issues relating to public water governance. These substantive issues touch as much on the (strategic and organizational) components of the model of governance as on its control system. This is demonstrated by the action research experiment conducted in conjunction with the water utility of Nantes Métropole (Urban Community of Nantes), where the introduction of a new performance measurement tool leads the actors within the system to focus on the question of the values ​​that the public water governance model must carry. These values, which relate to the very ‘public’ and multidimensional component of water, appear in the local governance system under construction as a cornerstone of the model of governance. Points for practitioners In the case of the water utilities where the legitimization of the systems of governance is based on a rationale of technical justification, managerial instrumentation and performance evaluation must contend with the strategic and political vacuum resulting from the weakness of expression of political choices. How, then, to take up the challenge of a dynamic and participatory governance? Putting the objectives of the new evaluation tools into the centre of the debate is a relevant approach to question the ultimate meaning of the action, whose content is inevitably associated with the values that should govern water governance.
New public management and the professions within cultural organizations: one hybridization may hide another
Authors: Kletz Frédéric , Hénaut Léonie , Sardas Jean-Claude 
Published: March 2014

With the introduction into public organizations of management methods borrowed from the private sector, ‘new public management’ often comes across as a factor that weakens professional autonomy. Cultural industry is no exception to this phenomenon, as demonstrated by the case of the facilitators or interpreters in France ( médiateurs culturels). However, a careful study of the development of this occupation does reveal that, rather than a strict opposition between a professional logic and managerial logic, hybridization is possible. Indeed, professional groups can benefit from the establishment of methods that structure their activity and that take on board the dynamics of knowledge and career pathways. Points for practitioners The research presented here raises the question of how to reconcile the streamlining of public activities (new public management approaches) with the challenges of preserving or developing professions. Practitioners can thus see, through a case study and the presentation of a generic grid analysis, the different ways of structuring and managing the professions, with the emphasis on adopting an approach that ensures coherence between the skills necessary for each activity and the skills defined and career paths offered to the players. Far from being at odds, this kind of articulation makes it possible to hybridize the organizational logic of the new public management with the professional logic of the professions .
Place marketing and citizen participation: branding as strategy to address the emotional dimension of policy making?
Authors: Eshuis Jasper , Klijn Erik-Hans , Braun Erik 
Published: March 2014

Place marketing is increasingly used by local governments to enhance the image of cities and achieve policy goals related to economic and spatial development. Place marketing has become part of local and regional governance processes. Critics have argued that place marketing is often applied in top-down ways that exclude citizens. Drawing on survey data this article empirically confirms this critique. But the article shows with a case study that citizen involvement in place branding can be used to enhance the quality of the brand and include citizens’ emotions in governance processes. Points for practitioners The influence of citizens on place marketing is generally low. Nonetheless, when citizens are given influence the effects of place marketing on spatial plans and other policies increases, according to respondents of this study. Place branding can be carried out interactively with citizens, and then be applied to include citizens’ emotions in governance processes. This may be used to enrich and locally embed governance processes, and prevent citizens’ protest.
The presence and growth of Legionella species in thermostatic shower mixer taps: an exploratory field study
Authors: van Hoof Joost , Hornstra Luc M , van der Blom Eric , Nuijten Oscar WW , van der Wielen Paul WJJ 
Published: March 2014

Legislation in the Netherlands requires routine analysis of drinking water samples for cultivable Legionella species from high-priority installations. A field study was conducted to investigate the presence of Legionella species in thermostatic shower mixer taps. Water samples and the interior of ten thermostatic shower mixer taps were investigated for cultivable Legionella species. In seven cases, Legionella species was found in at least one of the samples. In four cases, Legionella species was detected in the biofilm on the thermostatic shower mixer taps interior, with the highest values on rubber parts, and in five cases in the cold supply water. These results show that thermostatic shower mixer taps can play a role in exceeding the threshold limit for cultivable Legionella species, but the cold supply water can also be responsible. Practical implications: This study showed that contamination of thermostatic shower mixer taps (TSMTs) with Legionella spp. was frequently observed in combination with contamination of the water system. Consequently, a combined focus is necessary to prevent the proliferation of cultivable Legionella spp. in TSMTs. In addition, the results also demonstrated that biofilms on rubbers inside the TSMT had high numbers of Legionella spp., probably because rubber contains relatively high concentrations of biodegradable substrates. Therefore, improvement of the rubber materials is necessary to reduce the proliferation of cultivable Legionella spp. in TSMTs.
Intraoperative tranexamic acid in pediatric bloodless cardiac surgery
Authors: Hasegawa Tomomi , Oshima Yoshihiro , Maruo Ayako , Matsuhisa Hironori , Tanaka Akiko , Noda Rei , Yokoyama Shinji , Iwasaki Kazutaka 
Published: March 2014

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical effects of intraoperative tranexamic acid administration in cardiac surgery without blood transfusion (bloodless cardiac surgery) in children. Methods Seventy-one consecutive patients weighing less than 20 kg, who underwent bloodless cardiac surgery for simple atrial or ventricular septal defects at Kobe Children’s Hospital from January 2011 to June 2013, were enrolled in this retrospective study. Tranexamic acid was administered during surgery from January 2012 (TXA group; n = 31), whereas it was not administered before January 2012 (control group; n = 40). Perioperative variables were compared between the TXA and control groups. Results There were no significant differences in patient characteristics or preoperative data between the 2 groups. Serial changes in perioperative hemoglobin and hematocrit levels, mixed venous oxygen saturation, and regional cerebral oxygenation during cardiopulmonary bypass were significantly higher in the TXA group compared to the control group. There were significant reductions in operative time, dopamine dose, peak serum lactate level, intubation time, chest tube drainage and duration, and hospital stay in the TXA group. Conclusions Intraoperative tranexamic acid administration was effective for blood conservation, and improved postoperative clinical outcomes in pediatric bloodless cardiac surgery.
Microanalysis of Senile Plaques Using Nuclear Microscopy
Authors: Landsberg Judith , McDonald Brendan , Grime Geoff , Watt Frank 
Published: March 2014

Silver-staining “senile” plaques occurring in the brain are a major part of the pathology of Alzheimer's disease. The elemental composition of these structures, and the possible presence of aluminum and silicon in these structures, has been the subject of an increasing research effort over the last decade. However, the results have often been contradictory. Using a scanning proton microprobe, the elemental composition of senile plaques has been determined. This instrument, similar to an electron probe, uses a focused beam of protons scanned across a sample to map the elements. The technique is absolutely quantitative and is sensitive down to the parts per million level. Tissue from six cases of clinically and pathologically characterized cases of Alzheimer's disease and two aged neurologically normal controls was scanned. It was found that aluminum and silicon occur at a level of 50 ppm or greater in the cores of 20% of senile plaques and that the total occurrence of aluminum or silicon in scans containing plaques was not above background. The major uncertainties affecting interpretation of results of this kind are discussed, and it is suggested that the least controllable factor is contamination in the reagents used to prepare and stain the tissue. This indicates that until plaques can be unambiguously identified and analyzed in untreated tissue, no conclusion can be reached on whether senile plaques contain aluminum and silicon.
P300 and Reaction Time in Parkinson's Disease
Authors: Toda Kazuo , Tachibana Hisao , Sugita Minoru , Konishi Kenzo 
Published: March 2014

The event-related potential and motor reaction time were simultaneously recorded in 35 patients with Parkinson's disease (26 nondemented and nine demented) and 15 age-matched neurologically normal control subjects during the performance of visual discrimination tasks. There were no significant differences in either the latency or amplitude of the P300 component between the nondemented patients and the control subjects, but the patients with nondemented Parkinson's disease had a significantly prolonged reaction time compared with the controls. In patients with demented Parkinson's disease, both P300 latency and reaction time were significantly prolonged compared with the normal controls. These results suggest that response selection and execution are impaired in patients with nondemented Parkinson's disease, although the stimulus evaluation process is largely preserved, whereas patients with demented Parkinson's disease have impairment of stimulus evaluation, go/no-go response selection, and execution.
Prevalence of Advance Directives and Guardianship in Nursing Home Patients
Authors: Janofsky Jeffrey S. , Rovner Barry W. 
Published: March 2014

The Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) now requires federally funded nursing homes to inform newly admitted patients of their right to determine their future medical care. Many nursing home patients may not be able to understand these rights, given the high prevalence of mental disorders, particularly dementia, in this population, and will need family members for assistance. Prior to the onset of the PSDA we surveyed the families of all residents of a large, proprietary nursing home to determine whether family members understood the concept of advance directives and guardianship. We also ascertained the rate of use of these instruments in the population studied. We found that the majority of family member respondents understood these concepts, but that substantial proportions of both competent and incompetent patients lacked surrogate decision-making authority, either in the form of a court-appointed guardian or a written advance-directive instrument. Informing newly admitted patients and their families about advance directives is warranted because many lack these plans. However, the high proportion of incompetent patients among nursing home patients indicates the need to encourage currently competent patients to formulate advance directives prior to nursing home placement.
Depression in Alzheimer's Disease: Receiver Operating Characteristic Analysis of the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia and the Hamilton Depression Scale
Authors: Vida Stephen , Des Rosiers Pascale , Carrier Louise , Gauthier Serge 
Published: March 2014

This study compares the performance of the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) and the Hamilton Depression Scale (HDS) in detecting Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) major depression in subjects with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD). Thirty-four subjects with this diagnosis and their caregivers were interviewed. The senior author conducted a diagnostic interview to determine RDC diagnosis. An investigator, blind to diagnosis, obtained demographic information and administered the Mini Mental State Examination, Global Deterioration Scale, CSDD and HDS. For each depression scale, the correlation with the RDC diagnosis of major depression was calculated, as were the sensitivity and specificity at various cutoff scores. Nonparametric receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to compare the performance of the two scales. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was .91 for the CSDD and .87 for the HDS. This differed from chance to a highly significant degree for both the CSDD and the HDS but the difference between the two scales was not statistically significant. Although the precision of the present study is limited by the small sample size, a cutpoint of 7 provided reasonable performance for both the CSDD and the HDS, yielding a sensitivity of .90 for both scales and a specificity of .75 for the CSDD and 0.63 for the HDS. Although the CSDD and the HDS are rating scales rather than diagnostic instruments, receiver operating characteristic analysis indicates that both demonstrate statistically significant discriminating ability for RDC major depression in mild to moderate, probable AD. Our data suggest that for most clinical purposes, a cutpoint of 7 may be suitable for the detection of RDC major depression in mild-to-moderate probable AD.
The Prevalence of White-Matter Lesions on Computed Tomography of the Brain in Demented and Nondemented 85-Year-Olds
Authors: Skoog Ingmar , Palmertz Bo , Andreasson Lars-Arne 
Published: March 2014

The prevalence of white-matter lesions on computed tomography was studied in a representative sample of 85-year-olds living in Gothenburg, Sweden. The study included a psychiatric examination, interview of a close informant, neuropsychological examination, physical examination, comprehensive laboratory tests, electrocardiogram, chest x-ray, computed tomography scan of the head, and cerebrospinal fluid analysis. The diagnoses of dementia and other mental disorders were made according to DSM-III-R criteria. The prevalence of white-matter lesions in demented subjects was 68.9%, and in nondemented, 33.8%. Their prevalence was not increased in any mental disorder other than dementia. All severities of dementia and the subtypes, Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, and other types of dementia, had a significantly higher prevalence of white-matter lesions than did nondemented subjects. The risk for dementia, but not its severity, increased with the severity of these lesions. A stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that both white-matter lesions and infarcts on computed tomography contributed independently to dementia. White-matter changes may be a contributing cause of dementia in the oldest old, or may represent a disease entity of its own. They are important to recognize since they may be potentially preventable, or even treatable.