bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A model for conducting experimental environmental accounting research
Authors: Alewine Hank C. 
Published: October 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to survey the research methods employed in the extant environmental accounting literature, finding few experimental studies. The need for more experimentation in the literature is discussed, as well as how experiments' unique methodological advantages can help address important environmental accounting issues. These issues culminate in a proposed model for conducting experimental environmental accounting research.Design/methodology/approachA synthesis of the environmental accounting literature emphasizes the research methods, and, advantages and disadvantages of each method, as well as why and how experimental designs can contribute to the environmental accounting literature. Finally, the paper proposes and analyzes a framework for conducting environmental accounting experiments.FindingsExperiments can provide unique contributions to the environmental accounting literature. Relative to traditional accounting information, environmental accounting information comprises lower levels of user familiarity which may hinder effective processing of these non‐traditional data. These characteristics make the organizational display of these data, and their combination with non‐environmental metrics, a particular and unique concern. The proposed model considers the impact of environmental strategy on the implementation of environmental information systems, which in turn influences evaluation effectiveness of decisions based on environmental accounting information. Stakeholder influences, management communication of environmental issues, and evaluation scales also influence these relationships.Research limitations/implicationsThe model assumes environmental information generates from within the entity (i.e. private firms, public agencies, etc.). Future research can enhance and/or modify the framework to include information design and capture from non‐entity end‐users (e.g. stakeholders), as well as empirically test the model's relationships.Practical implicationsThe framework provides factors to consider to design more effective environmental accounting information systems. Also, the model's factors should aid researchers in developing robust experimental designs for environmental accounting studies.Originality/valueThis is the first paper to propose a framework for conducting experimental environmental accounting research.
Collaboration, connections and change
Authors: Adams Carol , Petrella Liliana 
Published: October 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report on the highlights of the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit, the Principles for Responsible Management Education Global Forum and the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative General Assembly held in New York and Boston in June 2010. It discusses the potential of the connections and collaborations between these organisations and others to lead to change.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws out key themes of these concurrent events; connections and collaborations between these initiatives and others; and considers the potential of further collaborations to facilitate change.FindingsThere is an acceptance on the part of business of the need to be more socially and environmentally responsible, but a lack of technical know‐how and leadership capacity. Universities generally, and business schools in particular, need to do more to develop graduates for a changing business context with specific reference to the overarching challenge of the twenty‐first century to achieve global environmental sustainability and social justice.Practical implicationsFurther collaboration between these organisations is important to drive change through, e.g. sustainability performance management at universities; accreditation processes; and, partnerships between business schools, business and civil society organisations.Originality/valueThe originality and value of this paper is in summarising the highlights of three key interconnected events, the collaborations that led to them, the connections that are strengthening between the organisations and potential of those connections to facilitate change.
Concomitant occurrence of patch granuloma annulare and classical granuloma annulare
Authors: TSURUTA Daisuke , SOWA Junko , HIROYASU Sho , ISHII Masamitsu , KOBAYASHI Hiromi 
Published: November 2010

AbstractGranuloma annulare (GA) is characterized clinically as annularly‐distributed, erythematous papules on the extremities in children and adolescents. GA is recognized histologically as palisading granulomas with central degenerated collagen and mucin deposits. Here, we present a case of concomitant occurrence of patch GA (PGA), the most rare type of GA, and classical GA in a patient. A 60‐year‐old man was referred to our hospital for asymptomatic eruptions on the upper arms, forearms, right flank and right lateral chest. Clinical examination revealed annular erythematous plaques composed of numerous small papules on bilateral upper arms and forearms. Moreover, an indurative, exudative erythematous to violaceous plaque was present on the right lateral chest and right flank. Histopathology of the former was compatible with palisade‐type GA, and the latter interstitial‐type GA. This is the first report of PGA concomitant with “classical” annular papular lesions.
The effects of different oral care protocols on mucosal change in orally intubated patients from an intensive care unit
Authors: Hsu Shu‐Pen , Liao Chao‐Sheng , Li Chung‐Yi , Chiou Ai‐Fu 
Published: November 2010

Aim.  To compare the effectiveness of three different oral care protocols in intubated patients.Background.  Although oral care is important to improve the oral mucosa integrity in intubated patients, there are few evidence‐based nursing protocols to deal with this problem in critical care units.Design.  A quasi‐experimental design was employed for this study.Methods.  Eighty‐one orally intubated patients recruited from the intensive care unit of a medical centre in northern Taiwan were employed in this study. Patients were divided into three treatment groups: a control group (n = 27), green tea group (n = 29) and boiled water group (n = 25). Oral mucosal status was monitored using a rating scale for 14 days. All data were analysed by the sas software (version 8.2; SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA) using descriptive statistics, the Kruskal–Wallis H test and generalised estimating equation regression models.Results.  Severity of mucosal change was significantly less on six subscales (labial mucosa, tongue mucosa, gingival colour, gingivitis, salivary status and amount of dental plaque) in the boiled water group than the control group (p < 0·05). In addition, severity was significantly less on two subscales (salivary status and amount of dental plaque) in the green tea group than the control group (p < 0·05).Conclusions.  Both boiled water and green tea oral care protocols may improve mucosal status of orally intubated patients. Mucosal status was significantly more improved by oral care with boiled water than by oral care with green tea.Relevance to clinical practice.  Because oral care plays an important role in improving mucosal status, nurses are urged to find new effective oral care methods to further reduce the occurrence of oropharyngeal colonisation and ventilator‐associated pneumonia in intubated patients.
Sexual differences in reproductive characters and pollinator attractiveness in gynodioecious Glechoma longituba (Lamiaceae)
Authors: BAI YUN‐PENG , ZHANG YAN‐WEN , GITURU ROBERT W. , ZHAO JI‐MIN , LI JIAN‐DONG 
Published: November 2010

AbstractWe quantified the differences in floral characters and attractiveness to flower visitors under natural conditions between the sexual types in the gynodioecious plant Glechoma longituba. We also manipulated flowers by altering corolla size or nectar volume, or by removing anthers, to examine the effect of these primary and secondary attractants (i.e. rewards and advertisements) on attractiveness. A change in corolla size and shape reduced visiting frequency and pollen load. Removal of anthers did not affect visiting rates, but significantly reduced pollination rates and stigmatic pollen load. A decrease in the nectar volume of a flower was associated with a reduction in handling time and pollen loads on stigmas. These results show that corolla size is an important advertisement to pollinators (particularly at greater distance), which associate hermaphrodite flowers with a larger corolla and a larger volume of nectar than female flowers. We found that artificial changes in population structure affected the behavior of pollinators as well as the pollination rates of flowers. We suggest that the pattern of distribution of hermaphrodite and female clones in a population may serve to avoid pollen limitation in a female clone or patch. This effect may ensure female reproductive success and allow for the maintenance of female individuals in natural populations of this gynodioecious plant.
Lexical stress and phonetic processing in word learning in20‐ to 24‐month‐old English‐learning children
Authors: Floccia Caroline , Nazzi Thierry , Austin Keith , Arreckx Frédérique , Goslin Jeremy 
Published: November 2010

AbstractTo investigate the interaction between segmental and supra‐segmental stress‐related information in early word learning, two experiments were conducted with 20‐ to 24‐month‐old English‐learning children. In an adaptation of the object categorization study designed by Nazzi and Gopnik (2001), children were presented with pairs of novel objects whose labels differed by their initial consonant (Experiment 1) or their medial consonant (Experiment 2). Words were produced with a stress initial (trochaic) or a stress final (iambic) pattern. In both experiments successful word learning was established when the to‐be‐remembered contrast was embedded in a stressed syllable, but not when embedded in unstressed syllables. This was independent of the overall word pattern, trochaic or iambic, or the location of the phonemic contrast, word‐initial or ‐medial. Results are discussed in light of the use of phonetic information in early lexical acquisition, highlighting the role of lexical stress and ambisyllabicity in early word processing.
Thatcherism delayed? The Irish crisis and the paradox of social partnership
Authors: McDonough Terrence , Dundon Tony 
Published: November 2010

ABSTRACTThis article reviews the state of Irish industrial relations in light of the current economic crisis. It argues that social partnership, paradoxically, was rooted in the continuation of a tradition of permissive voluntarism with minimal employment rights with both direct and indirect implications for the current Irish economic crisis. As such, Irish industrial relations cannot be understood in isolation from a broader analysis of the rise and fall of social structures of capitalist accumulation. The discussion considers the prognosis for social partnership post‐economic crisis.
US foreign direct investment, macro markets and labour relations: the case of enlarged Europe
Authors: Brandl Bernd , Strohmer Sonja , Traxler Franz 
Published: November 2010

ABSTRACTThe rise of macro markets such as the European Single market recalibrates the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and national locations. Previous research has ignored the impact of macro markets theoretically and empirically. The article therefore challenges conventional wisdom on the impact of national properties on FDI.
Geochemistry of H2‐ and CH4‐enriched hydrothermal fluids of Socorro Island, Revillagigedo Archipelago, Mexico. Evidence for serpentinization and abiogenic methane
Authors: TARAN Y. A. , VARLEY N. R. , INGUAGGIATO S. , CIENFUEGOS E. 
Published: November 2010

AbstractSocorro Island is the exposed part of an approx. 4000‐m‐high volcanic edifice rising from the oceanic floor to approx. 1000 m asl at the northern part of the Mathematician Ridge, Eastern Pacific. The volcano is active, with the most recent basaltic eruption in 1993. Moderate fumarolic activity and diffuse degassing with a total CO2 flux of approx. 20 total day−1 are concentrated in the summit region of the volcano composed of a group of rhyolite domes. Low‐temperature, boiling point, fumaroles discharge gas with high H2 (up to 20 mol% in dry gas) and CH4 (up to 4 mol%). Both carbon and He isotopic ratios and abundances correspond to those in MORB fluids (δ13≈−5‰; 3He/4He = 7.6 Ra, CO2/3He = (2–3) × 109, where Ra is the atmospheric ratio 3He/4He of 1.4 × 10−6). Light hydrocarbons (CH4, C2H6, C3H8, and C4H10) are characterized by a high C1/C2+ ratio of approx. 1000. Methane is enriched in 13C (δ13 from −15 to −20‰) and 2H (δ2H from −80 to −120‰), and hydrocarbons show an inverse isotopic trend in both δ13C and δ2H (ethane is isotopically lighter than methane). These isotopic and concentration features of light hydrocarbons are similar to those recently discovered in fluids from ultramafic‐hosted spreading ridge vents and may be related to the serpentinization processes: H2 generation and reduction of CO2 to CH4 within high‐temperature zone of volcano‐seawater hydrothermal system hosted in basaltic and ultramafic rocks beneath a volcano edifice. The thermodynamic analysis of this unusual composition of the Socorro fluids and the assessment of endmember compositions are complicated by the near‐surface cooling, condensation and mixing with meteoric water.
Optimization of a dual‐energy contrast‐enhanced technique for a photon‐counting digital breast tomosynthesis system: II. An experimental validation
Authors: Carton Ann‐Katherine , Ullberg Christer , Maidment Andrew D. A. 
Published: November 2010

Purpose:Previously, the authors developed a dual‐energy (DE) acquisition technique for a photon‐counting digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) imaging system. Low‐energy (LE) and high‐energy (HE) images are acquired in a single scan by covering alternate slits of a multislit prepatient collimator with Sn and Cu, respectively. A theoretical model was used to optimize the technique. In this article, an experimental validation of this technique is presented.Methods:Experiments were performed on a prototype DBT system. LE and HE projection images were acquired sequentially; either a Sn or a Cu filter was positioned in the filter holder at the exit window of the x‐ray tube. Sn filters from 0.113 to 0.242 mm thick and Cu filters from 0.103 to 0.267 mm were used. The images were acquired with a W target at 49 kV. Tomographic images, hereafter referred to as DBT images, were reconstructed using a shift‐and‐add algorithm. DE‐DBT images were obtained by weighted logarithmic subtraction of the LE and HE images. Weighting factors that optimally cancel breast tissues with two different glandularities were assessed for 20–80 mm thick phantoms with 0%, 50%, and 100% glandularity. The mean and standard deviation in the per‐pixel signal intensity (SI) were calculated in the DBT images. These data were used to calculate signal‐difference‐to‐noise ratios (SDNRs) between iodine enhanced and nonenhanced polymethyl methacrylate backgrounds. To illustrate the feasibility of the technique, DE‐DBT images of a structured phantom containing iodine disks were assessed. The experimental results were compared against the values obtained from a theoretical model of the imaging system.Results:The average difference between theoretical and experimental was found to range from 8% to 21%. Experimental values increase with phantom thickness and Cu thickness, depend somewhat on Sn thickness, and vary more as a function of breast composition in thick breasts than in thin breasts. Theoretical and experimental mean and standard deviation in the per‐pixel SI differ by −7% to 10% and by −3% to 4%. Theoretical and experimental SDNR values differ, on average, by 1.5%. Iodine concentrations can be predicted from SDNR; the relationship can be accurately fit to a quadratic. In the images of the structured phantom, iodine concentrations of and larger are discernable.Conclusions:The strong agreement between experimental and theoretical results in this article indicates that the authors' computer model is accurate.
In‐plane visibility of lesions using breast tomosynthesis and digital mammography
Authors: Timberg P. , Båth M. , Andersson I. , Mattsson S. , Tingberg A. , Ruschin M. 
Published: November 2010

Purpose:The purpose of this work was to evaluate the visibility of simulated lesions in 2D digital mammography (DM) and breast tomosynthesis (BT) images of patients.Methods:Images of the same women were acquired on both a DM system (Mammomat Novation, Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany) and a BT prototype system adapted from the same type of DM system. Using the geometrical properties of the two systems, simulated lesions were projected and added to each DM image as well as to each BT projection image prior to 3D reconstruction. The same beam quality and approximately the same total absorbed dose to the glandular tissue were used for each breast image acquisition on the two systems. A series of four‐alternative forced choice human observer experiments was conducted for each of five simulated lesion diameters: 0.2, 1, 3, 8, and 25 mm. An additional experiment was conducted for the 0.2 mm lesion in BT only at twice the dose level. Threshold signal was defined as the lesion signal intensity required for a detectability index of 2.5. Four medical physicists participated in all experiments. One experiment, consisting of 60 cases, was conducted per test condition (i.e., lesion size and signal combination).Results:For the smallest lesions (0.2 mm), the threshold signal for DM was 21% lower than for BT at equivalent dose levels, and was 26% lower than DM. For the lesions larger than 1 mm, the threshold signal increased linearly (in log space) with the lesion diameter for both DM and BT, with DM requiring around twice the signal as BT. The difference in the threshold signal between BT and DM at each lesion size was statistically significant, except for the 0.2 mm lesion between and DM.Conclusions:The results of this study indicate that low‐signal lesions larger than 1.0 mm may be more visible in BT compared to DM, whereas 0.2 mm lesions may be better visualized with DM compared to BT, when compared at equal dose.
A method to map errors in the deformable registration of 4DCT imagesa)
Authors: Vaman Constantin , Staub David , Williamson Jeffrey , Murphy Martin J. 
Published: November 2010

Purpose:To present a new approach to the problem of estimating errors in deformable image registration (DIR) applied to sequential phases of a 4DCT data set.Methods:A set of displacement vector fields (DVFs) are made by registering a sequence of 4DCT phases. The DVFs are assumed to display anatomical movement, with the addition of errors due to the imaging and registration processes. The positions of physical landmarks in each CT phase are measured as ground truth for the physical movement in the DVF. Principal component analysis of the DVFs and the landmarks is used to identify and separate the eigenmodes of physical movement from the error eigenmodes. By subtracting the physical modes from the principal components of the DVFs, the registration errors are exposed and reconstructed as DIR error maps. The method is demonstrated via a simple numerical model of 4DCT DVFs that combines breathing movement with simulated maps of spatially correlated DIR errors.Results:The principal components of the simulated DVFs were observed to share the basic properties of principal components for actual 4DCT data. The simulated error maps were accurately recovered by the estimation method.Conclusions:Deformable image registration errors can have complex spatial distributions. Consequently, point‐by‐point landmark validation can give unrepresentative results that do not accurately reflect the registration uncertainties away from the landmarks. The authors are developing a method for mapping the complete spatial distribution of DIR errors using only a small number of ground truth validation landmarks.
Multilevel learning‐based segmentation of ill‐defined and spiculated masses in mammograms
Authors: Tao Yimo , Lo Shih‐Chung B. , Freedman Matthew T. , Makariou Erini , Xuan Jianhua 
Published: November 2010

Purpose:A learning‐based approach integrating the use of pixel‐level statistical modeling and spiculation detection is presented for the segmentation of mammographic masses with ill‐defined margins and spiculations.Methods:The algorithm involves a multiphase pixel‐level classification, using a comprehensive group of features computed from regional intensity, shape, and textures, to generate a mass‐conditional probability map (PM). Then, the mass candidate, along with the background clutters consisting of breast fibroglandular and other nonmass tissues, is extracted from the PM by integrating the prior knowledge of shape and location of masses. A multiscale steerable ridge detection algorithm is employed to detect spiculations. Finally, all the object‐level findings, including mass candidate, detected spiculations, and clutters, along with the PM, are integrated by graph cuts to generate the final segmentation mask.Results:The method was tested on 54 masses (51 malignant and 3 benign), all with ill‐defined margins and irregular shape or spiculations. The ground truth delineations were provided by five experienced radiologists. Area overlapping ratio of 0.689 (±0.160) and 0.540 (±0.164) were obtained for segmenting entire mass and margin portion only, respectively. Williams index of area and contour based measurements indicated that the segmentation results of the algorithm agreed well with the radiologists' delineation.Conclusions:The proposed approach could closely delineate the mass body. Most importantly, it is capable of including mass margin and its spicule extensions which are considered as key features for breast lesion analyses.