bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Offshoring knowledge and service work: A conceptual model and research agenda
Authors: Youngdahl William , Ramaswamy Kannan 
Published: March 2007

AbstractThis paper presents two complementary conceptual models that help shed light on the complexities of offshoring service and knowledge work. In developing the model, we draw upon existing literature in the realm of service operations and delivery and build on insights from allied areas such as management and practice. The models offer a simple yet powerful way to conceptualize offshoring of knowledge and service work and to identify the inherent challenges that such strategies entail. The evolutionary model of offshoring parallels well‐established work in the manufacturing literature to present a sequential view of building organizational competence in offshoring. The implications of the conceptual models have been discussed in a range of propositions that can be viewed as foundations for new inquiry in this research stream.
Transformational offshore outsourcing: Empirical evidence from alliances in China
Authors: Li Yuan , Liu Yi , Li Mingfang , Wu Haibin 
Published: March 2007

AbstractAdopting a transformational offshore outsourcing perspective, we examine empirically the relationship among the motive to acquire tacit knowledge from outsourcing partners, formal and social control mechanisms, and innovation outcomes among Sino‐foreign as well as local alliances. We constructed our theoretical model incorporating knowledge management, social exchange, and alliance risk perspectives, and hypothesized that motives to acquire partners’ tacit knowledge through offshore outsourcing will affect firm innovation via two forms of control, namely social control and formal control. Our empirical testing, utilizing two sub‐samples composed of Sino‐foreign offshore outsourcing alliances and local outsourcing alliances, respectively, reveals that the motive to acquire outsourcing partner's tacit knowledge and different control mechanisms are significant predictors of incremental and radical innovation outcomes, and that there are some intriguing differences between the Sino‐foreign alliances and local alliances.
Do characteristics of patients with major depressive disorder differ between primary and psychiatric care?
Authors: VUORILEHTO MARIA S. , MELARTIN TARJA K. , RYTSÄLÄ HEIKKI J. , ISOMETSÄ ERKKI T. 
Published: March 2007

Background. Despite the need for rational allocation of resources and cooperation between different treatment settings, clinical differences in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) between primary and psychiatric care remain obscure. We investigated these differences in representative patient populations from primary care versus secondary level psychiatric care in the city of Vantaa, Finland.Method. We compared MDD patients from primary care in the Vantaa Primary Care Depression Study (PC-VDS) (n=79) with psychiatric out-patients (n=223) and in-patients (n=46) in the Vantaa Depression Study (VDS). DSM-IV diagnoses were assigned by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I disorders (SCID-I in PC-VDS) or Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN in VDS), and SCID-II interviews. Comparable information was collected on depression severity, Axis I and II co-morbidity, suicidal behaviour, preceding clinical course, and attitudes towards and pathways to treatment.Results. Prevalence of psychotic subtype and severity of depression were highest among in-patients, but otherwise few clinical differences between psychiatric and primary care patients were detected. Suicide attempts, alcohol dependence, and cluster A personality disorder were associated with treatment in psychiatric care, whereas cluster B personality disorder was associated with primary care treatment. Patients' choice of the initial point of contact for current depressive symptoms seemed to be independent of prior clinical history or attitude towards treatment.Conclusions. Severe, suicidal and psychotic depression cluster in psychiatric in-patient settings, as expected. However, MDD patients in primary care or psychiatric out-patient settings may not differ markedly in their clinical characteristics. This apparent blurring of boundaries between treatment settings calls for enhanced cooperation between settings, and clearer and more structured division of labour.
Remission and relapse after the first hospital admission in psychotic depression: a 4-year naturalistic follow-up
Authors: NAZ BUSHRA , CRAIG THOMAS J. , BROMET EVELYN J. , FINCH STEPHEN J. , FOCHTMANN LAURA J. , CARLSON GABRIELLE A. 
Published: March 2007

ABSTRACTBackgroundFew studies have examined the course of illness among severely depressed patients ascertained at first hospitalization. Using data from the Suffolk County Mental Health Project (SCMHP), we investigated the times to and predictors of the first full remission and the first relapse during a 4-year period in a first-admission cohort with major depressive disorder (MDD) with psychotic features.MethodThe cohort included 87 county-wide, first-admission patients with a longitudinal consensus diagnosis of MDD with psychotic features who were systematically followed over a 4-year period. We examined the associations of background, clinical and treatment factors, and time-varying indices of antidepressant (AD) and antipsychotic (AP) medication use to time to remission and relapse using Cox regression.ResultsBy the 4-year follow-up, 60 respondents (69·0%) had achieved a period of full remission (median time of 22 weeks among remitters and 54 weeks in the full sample). In the multivariable analysis, longer time to remission was associated with longer latency between initial episode and hospitalization, lower pre-hospital Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) score, and lack of insurance, but not use of medication. Twenty-six remitters (43·3%) relapsed (median time of 50 weeks among those who relapsed and 192 weeks among all remitters). None of the risk factors or time-varying medication variables was significantly associated with time to relapse.ConclusionOnly two-thirds of the sample had at least one full remission by 4 years, and almost half of them subsequently relapsed. Poorer pre-hospital resources predicted remission but not relapse. Medication use over the follow-up was not associated with remission or relapse.
Evidence for a revised dating of the anonymous fourteenth-century Italian treatise Capitulum de vocibus applicatis verbis
Authors: ABRAMOV-VAN RIJK ELENA 
Published: March 2007

Abstract.No bibliographical information has survived regarding the anonymous treatise Capitulum de vocibus applicatis verbis, the only treatise of the Trecento that provides a description of the musical genres of Italian secular music. The problem of dating the Capitulum is the more challenging for scholars, given the absence of unequivocal points of reference of known date (the presently accepted dating, since Debenedetti’s first description of the source in 1906, is ‘between the years 1313–1332’). The Capitulum and Antonio da Tempo’s Summa artis rithmici vulgaris dictaminis (1332), are connected by the phrase ‘nova sunt pulchritudine decorata’, which appears in the final section of the Capitulum and at the very beginning of da Tempo’s Summa. The original source of this phrase, which does not appear in any other medieval source, is the Constitutio Omnem, a letter written by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I (527–65) on 16 December 533. Antonio da Tempo, who was a judge in Padua, was evidently the first to extract this quotation (with a slight change in the word order) from Justinian’s Constitutio for use in his treatise on poetic forms. For his part, the author of the Capitulum, apparently a simple teacher of grammar and music, took the statement ‘nova sunt’ not directly from Justinian’s Constitutio, but verbatim from da Tempo’s Summa, a source that was closer to his field of professional activity. Therefore, it can be concluded that the Capitulum was compiled not at the beginning of the Trecento but after 1332, the year in which da Tempo completed his Summa.
‘S’en dirai chançonete’: hearing text and music in a medieval motet
Authors: CLARK SUZANNAH 
Published: March 2007

Abstract.The texts of thirteenth-century vernacular motets have held centre stage in many recent debates about this polytextual genre: the purported unintelligibility of the words in performance has led to questions about how motets were meant to be understood, especially by third-party listeners, both medieval and modern. The irony is that the purpose of the music has gone unheard in this debate. Using a single motet as point of focus, this article suggests various ways in which the music clarifies rather than obscures the meaning of the text in performance. These range from the use of simple musical devices, such as musical repetition or changes in texture that draw attention to significant moments in the text, to the exploitation of refrain melodies, which I argue carries out an ‘intersonic’ duty that serves as an interpretive companion to the more traditional ‘intertextual’ readings of recent scholarship.
Improving food provision in a Guyanese home for the elderly: a participatory approach
Authors: Hewitt Gillian , Draper Alizon , Ismail Suraiya , Patterson Sybil 
Published: March 2007

AbstractObjectivesTo conduct a needs assessment of all aspects of food provision in a residential home and to evaluate a subsequent nutrition intervention.DesignAn intervention study using a before and after design. A participatory approach was adopted and quantitative and qualitative methods used throughout. The intervention involved a revised menu, kitchen equipment, and establishing wholesale shopping and food donations.SettingA residential home for senior citizens in Guyana.ResultsMeals at the home were nutritionally inadequate and deeply unpopular with the residents. Intakes of fruits and vegetables were low and the home was heavily reliant on donated soya mince and rice. Meals were served within an eight-hour period to accommodate the staff's hours of work. Cutbacks in the food budget indicated that the financial state of the home explained some of the problems. The intervention was unable to address all problems identified, but led to substantial improvements in the nutritional adequacy of the food provided following the inclusion in the menu of a number of nutrient-dense foods such as chicken liver. The new menu was acceptable to the cooks and largely popular with the residents, although some problems persisted.ConclusionsThe results show that improvements in the nutrient profile of the diet could be achieved with a flexible, community-based, participatory approach that addressed all elements of a home's food provision system. The changes also proved largely popular with the residents, thus potentially contributing to their quality of life.
Dietary patterns and survival of older Europeans: The EPIC-Elderly Study (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition)
Authors: Bamia Christina , Trichopoulos Dimitrios , Ferrari Pietro , Overvad Kim , Bjerregaard Lone , Tjønneland Anne , Halkjær Jytte , Clavel-Chapelon Françoise , Kesse Emmanuelle , Boutron-Ruault Marie-Christine , Boffetta Paolo , Nagel Gabriele , Linseisen Jacob , Boeing Heiner , Hoffmann Kurt , Kasapa Christina , Orfanou Anastasia , Travezea Chrysoula , Slimani Nadia , Norat Teresa , Palli Domenico , Pala Valeria , Panico Salvatore , Tumino Rosario , Sacerdote Carlotta , Bueno-de-Mesquita H Bas , Waijers Patricia MCM , Peeters Petra HM , van der Schouw Yvonne T , Berenguer Antonio , Martinez-Garcia Carmen , Navarro Carmen , Barricarte Aurelio , Dorronsoro Miren , Berglund Göran , Wirfält Elisabet , Johansson Ingegerd , Johansson Gerd , Bingham Sheila , Khaw Kay-Tee , Spencer Elizabeth A , Key Tim , Riboli Elio , Trichopoulou Antonia 
Published: March 2007

AbstractObjectiveTo investigate the association of a posteriori dietary patterns with overall survival of older Europeans.Design and settingThis is a multi-centre cohort study. Cox regression analysis was used to investigate the association of the prevailing, a posteriori-derived, plant-based dietary pattern with all-cause mortality in a population of subjects who were 60 years or older at recruitment to the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Elderly cohort). Analyses controlled for all known potential risk factors.SubjectsIn total, 74 607 men and women, 60 years or older at enrolment and without previous coronary heart disease, stroke or cancer, with complete information about dietary intakes and potentially confounding variables, and with known survival status as of December 2003, were included in the analysis.ResultsAn increase in the score which measures the adherence to the plant-based diet was associated with a lower overall mortality, a one standard deviation increment corresponding to a statistically significant reduction of 14% (95% confidence interval 5–23%). In country-specific analyses the apparent association was stronger in Greece, Spain, Denmark and The Netherlands, and absent in the UK and Germany.ConclusionsGreater adherence to the plant-based diet that was defined a posteriori in this population of European elders is associated with lower all-cause mortality. This dietary score is moderately positively correlated with the Modified Mediterranean Diet Score that has been constructed a priori and was also shown to be beneficial for the survival of the same EPIC-Elderly cohort.
Possible role of spinal astrocytes in maintaining chronic pain sensitization: review of current evidence with focus on bFGF/JNK pathway
Authors: Ji Ru-Rong , Kawasaki Yasuhiko , Zhuang Zhi-Ye , Wen Yeong-Ray , Decosterd Isabelle 
Published: March 2007

AbstractAlthough pain is regarded traditionally as neuronally mediated, recent progress shows an important role of spinal glial cells in persistent pain sensitization. Mounting evidence has implicated spinal microglia in the development of chronic pain (e.g. neuropathic pain after peripheral nerve injury). Less is known about the role of astrocytes in pain regulation. However, astrocytes have very close contact with synapses and maintain homeostasis in the extracellular environment. In this review, we provide evidence to support a role of spinal astrocytes in maintaining chronic pain. In particular, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) is activated persistently in spinal astrocytes in a neuropathic pain condition produced by spinal nerve ligation. This activation is required for the maintenance of neuropathic pain because spinal infusion of JNK inhibitors can reverse mechanical allodynia, a major symptom of neuropathic pain. Further study reveals that JNK is activated strongly in astrocytes by basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), an astroglial activator. Intrathecal infusion of bFGF also produces persistent mechanical allodynia. After peripheral nerve injury, bFGF might be produced by primary sensory neurons and spinal astrocytes because nerve injury produces robust bFGF upregulation in both cell types. Therefore, the bFGF/JNK pathway is an important signalling pathway in spinal astrocytes for chronic pain sensitization. Investigation of signaling mechanisms in spinal astrocytes will identify new molecular targets for the management of chronic pain.
Influence of cover crops and soil amendments on okra (Abelmoschus esculentusL.) production and soil nematodes
Authors: Wang Qingren , Li Yuncong , Klassen Waldemar , Handoo Zafar 
Published: March 2007

AbstractA pot experiment to determine the effects of summer cover crops and soil amendments on okra yields and population densities of various soil nematode taxa was conducted in two consecutive growing seasons in a subtropical region. Two cover crops, sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea) and sorghum sudangrass (Sorghum bicolor×S. bicolorvar. sudanense), were grown and returned to the soil with fallow as a control. As soon as these cover crops were harvested, they were soil-incorporated together with one of several organic amendments. These organic amendments were biosolids, N-Viro soil (a 1:1 mixture of coal ash and biosolids), coal ash, co-compost (a 3:7 mixture of biosolids and yard wastes), and yard waste compost compared with a control (no additional amendment). Other treatments were fumigation with MC-33 (a mixture of 33% of methyl bromide and 67% of chloropicrin) and cover crop removal (harvested and removed cover crops and their residues from the soil). A nematode-susceptible vegetable crop, okra (Abelmoschus esculentusL.), was grown under these treatments. Among organic amendments, the application of biosolids produced the highest okra yield and biomass, and greatly suppressed root-knot nematodes,Meloidogyne incognita, in the soil. Between these two cover crops, sunn hemp was superior to sorghum sudangrass in improving okra production and in suppressing root-knot nematodes. The result indicates that growing sunn hemp as a cover crop and applying certain organic amendments can improve okra production and suppress root-knot nematodes, which are very damaging to okra plants. Such combined practices show a significant potential for application in organic farming and sustainable agriculture systems in a tropical or subtropical region.
Consumer interactions and influences on farmers' market vendors
Authors: Hunt Alan R. 
Published: March 2007

AbstractConsumers interact with each other and vendors on a social level at farmers' markets. Some consumer social interactions, such as enjoying the market, talking with farmers about seasonal products and making a trip to the market a family event, are significant and positive influences on spending at farmers' markets as identified through a survey of 216 shoppers at eight farmers' markets in Maine. Vendors at these markets were also surveyed, with 65 of the 81 vendors being farmers. Through direct farmer/consumer relations, farmers indicated a willingness to reduce chemical inputs to meet customer demands, suggesting that customer interaction has the potential to affect environmental quality. By examining the linkages between producers and consumers at a direct market—often embedded with a sense of local identity—there is the potential to better understand social interactions that can support the economic and environmental sustainability of local agriculture.
Erythropoietin involves the phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase pathway, 14‐3‐3 protein and FOXO3a nuclear trafficking to preserve endothelial cell integrity
Authors: Chong Z Z , Maiese K 
Published: March 2007

Background and purpose:Clinical indications for erythropoietin (EPO) in the vascular system reach far beyond the treatment of anemia, but the development of EPO as a non‐toxic agent rests heavily upon the cellular pathways controlled by EPO that require elucidation.Experimental approach:We modulated gene activity and examined cellular trafficking of critical pathways during oxidative stress that may work in concert with EPO to protect primary cerebral endothelial cells (ECs) during oxidative stress, namely protein kinase B (Akt1), 14‐3‐3 protein, the Forkhead transcription factor FOXO3a.Key results:Here, we show that preservation of ECs by EPO during oxygen‐glucose deprivation (OGD) required the initial activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI‐3K) pathway through Akt1, since specific pharmacological blockade of Akt1 activity or gene silencing of Akt1 prevented EC protection by EPO. EPO subsequently involved a series of anti‐apoptotic pathways to activate STAT3, STAT5, and ERK 1/2. Furthermore, EPO maintained the inhibitory phosphorylation and integrity of the ‘pro‐apoptotic’ transcription factor FOXO3a, promoted the binding of FOXO3a to 14‐3‐3 protein and regulated the intracellular trafficking of FOXO3a. Additionally, gene silencing of FOXO3a during OGD significantly increased EC survival, but did not synergistically improve cytoprotection by EPO, illustrating that EPO relied upon the blockade of the FOXO3a pathway.Conclusions and implications:Our work defines a novel cytoprotective pathway in ECs that involves PI‐3 K, STAT3, STAT5, ERK 1/2, 14‐3‐3 protein and FOXO3a, which can be targeted for the development of EPO as a clinically effective and safe agent in the vascular system.British Journal of Pharmacology (2007) 150, 839–850. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0707161
Comparison of Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score with organ failure scores to predict hospital mortality
Authors: Ho K. M. , Lee K. Y. , Williams T. , Finn J. , Knuiman M. , Webb S. A. R. 
Published: March 2007

SummaryThis study compared the performance of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score with two organ failure scores in predicting hospital mortality of critically ill patients. A total of 1311 consecutive adult patients in a tertiary 22‐bed multidisciplinary intensive care unit (ICU) in Western Australia were considered. The APACHE II score had a better calibration and discrimination than the Max Sequential Organ Failure Score (Max SOFA) (area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve 0.858 vs 0.829), Admission SOFA (area under ROC 0.858 vs 0.791), and the first day or cumulative 5‐day Royal Perth Hospital Intensive Care Unit (RPHICU) organ failure score (area under ROC 0.858 vs 0.822 and 0.819, respectively) in predicting hospital mortality. The APACHE II score predicted hospital mortality of critically ill patients better than the SOFA and RPHICU organ failure scores in our ICU.
Ecological implications of intertidal mariculture: observed differences in bivalve community structure between farm and reference sites
Authors: WHITELEY JONATHAN , BENDELL‐YOUNG LEAH 
Published: March 2007

Summary

Despite recent growth in shellfish aquaculture in British Columbia, Canada, the impacts of common practices on non‐target species are poorly understood. Two practices employed on clam farms to increase production of the exotic clam Venerupis philippinarum include the addition of juvenile ‘seed’ clams to the sediment and covering seeded clam beds with protective netting, ostensibly to exclude large mobile epibenthic predators.
We expected the effects of predator exclusion to be most evident among other bivalves, which made up more than 80% of the infaunal macrobenthos at all sites surveyed. A field study across three regions collected infaunal bivalve density and biomass data. We compared species richness, composition and abundances of communities between clam farms and reference sites, paired on the basis of physical characteristics such as sediment type, slope and aspect.
Venerupis philippinarum was the only species found in higher abundance on farm sites in low intertidal areas (227 ± 241·6 clams m−2, P= 0·02; 872·9 ± 792·9 g m−2, P= 0·037). Farmed sites showed no difference in mid‐intertidal areas, nor in density of the other 25 bivalve species, although an increase would be expected if netting excluded important predators. Although statistically non‐significant, there were indications that biomass of species other than V. philippinarum may have been lower on farm sites.
Bivalve species composition was not significantly different between farm and reference sites. Nevertheless, farm sites were more similar to each other as a group than reference sites, leading to a loss of regional distinctness that was evident among reference sites.
Synthesis and applications. Our findings support the hypothesis that predation and competition play minor roles in structuring communities in soft‐bottomed environments. Given the potential for cumulative effects of seeding and netting at large scales, a precautionary approach is recommended in future development of intertidal clam aquaculture.