Search

Background: Despite many publications on rehabilitation after repair of flexor tendon injuries of the hand, there is no consensus as to which method is superior. It is clear that nonadherence to postoperative therapy adversely affects the outcome after flexor tendon surgery. In the context of a developing country, the most important factor associated with poor outcome is late onset of rehabilitation therapy. An autonomous rehabilitation program is proposed, with the use of a low-cost splint and based on an online illustrative video with the expectation to improve adherence and patient compliance, thus ensuring satisfactory outcome. Methods: Twenty-two consecutive digits of 14 patients after flexor tendon repair in zone II were included. Autonomous early passive mobilization physical therapy and splinting started shortly after surgery, supported by an online available video depicting prescribed exercises; follow-up was continued until postoperative week 20. Patients were evaluated regarding range of motion, grip strength, and the Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (QuickDASH) disability scale. Results: Range of motion after 20 weeks according to the scoring system of the American Society of Surgery of Hand was excellent in 4, good in 11, and fair in 4 fingers. The mean total active motion score was 86% (95% confidence interval, 78%-93%). The mean grip strength at final follow-up was 86% of the contralateral hand. The mean QuickDASH score was 12.5 (2.3-31.8). Conclusion: This protocol achieves good results in range of motion and early return of function of the hand. We propose this simple, nonexpensive method to developing countries with less than optimal availability of health care.

Emilia Barreto-Duran,1 Claudia Camila Mejia-Cruz,1 Luis Fernando Jaramillo-Garcia,2 Efrain Leal-Garcia,3 Alfonso Barreto-Prieto,1 Viviana Marcela Rodriguez-Pardo1 1Grupo de Inmunobiología y Biología Celular, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá D.C., Colombia (South America); 2Departamento de Patología, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana., Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Bogotá D.C., Colombia (South America); 3Departamento de Ortopedia y Traumatología, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana., Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Bogotá D.C., Colombia (South America)Correspondence: Viviana Marcela Rodriguez-Pardo Email vivianar@javeriana.edu.coIntroduction: The human bone marrow microenvironment is composed of biological, chemical and physical factors that act in a synergistic way to modulate hematopoietic stem cell biology, such as mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), endothelial cells (ECs) and low oxygen levels; however, it is difficult to mimic this human microenvironment in vitro.Methods: In this work, we developed 3D multicellular spheroid (3D-MS) for the study of human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) with some components of perivascular niche. HSCs were isolated from umbilical cord blood, MSCs were isolated from human bone marrow and a microvasculature EC line (CC-2811, Lonza®) was used. For the formation of a 3D structure, a magnetic levitation culture system was used. Cultures were maintained in 21%, 3% and 1% O2 for 15 days. Culture volume, sphericity index and cell viability were determined. Also, human HSC proliferation, phenotype and production of reactive oxygen species were evaluated.Results: After 15 days, 3D-MS exhibited viability greater than 80%. Histology results showed structures without necrotic centers, and higher cellular proliferation with 3% O2. An increase in the expression of the CD34 antigen and other hematopoietic antigens were observed to 1% O2 with MSCs plus ECs and low ROS levels.Conclusion: These findings suggest that 3D-MS formed by MSCs, ECs and HSCs exposed to low concentrations of oxygen (1– 3% O2) modulate human HSC behavior and mimics some features of the perivascular niche, which could reduce the use of animal models and deepen the relationship between the microenvironment of HSC and human hematological diseases development.Keywords: hematopoietic stem cells, niche, bone marrow, microenvironment, 3D culture

Ongoing and future hydroclimatic changes have large environmental and societal impacts. In terrestrial ecosystems, these changes are usually described with the terms ‘wetter’ and ‘drier’, which refer to the change in the quantity and/or presence of water, either as water fluxes or stocks. We conducted a literature review of almost 500 recent climate change studies to quantitatively investigate the consistency of the use of these terms across disciplines, regarding the hydroclimatic variables they are related to. We found that although precipitation is prevalently used to describe ‘wetter’ and ‘drier’ conditions, many other variables are also used to refer to changes in water availability between research fields, pointing to a varied perspective on the use of these terms. Some studies do not define the terms at all. In order to facilitate meta-analyses across disciplines, we therefore highlight the need to explicitly state which hydroclimatic variables authors are referring to. In this way, we hope that the terms ‘wetter’ and ‘drier’ used in scientific studies are easier to relate to hydroclimatic processes, which should facilitate the application by authorities and policy makers.

A new probabilistic conceptual model, named the Assessment Model of Human Impact on Runoff Based on Stationarity Hypothesis (AMHIRBSH), was developed to attribute runoff variations to human activit...

We use a dynamic international trade model to analyse the implications of international trade for agents’ preferences and economic growth. This model is based on the home market effect with external habit formation (“catching up with the Joneses”) and “learning by doing” in production. We demonstrate the following: the historical composition of consumption in countries determines industrialization after trade; the preferences of agents converge after trade, independent of the economic results; and the welfare effects of trade may be positive or negative depending on trading partner characteristics. In some scenarios, autarky is strictly preferred to trade. Thus, international trade does not necessarily imply greater welfare, as is the typical result in a static context under CES preferences.

Drawing on the Job Demand-Resources (JD-R) theory, the present study investigates the underlying mechanisms through which capability control, a type of behavior-based control, influences salesperson turnover. Using a sample of 145 industrial salesperson–supervisor dyads from different industries, this study's findings reveal that capability control contributes to decreasing salesperson turnover intentions, both directly and indirectly. Specifically, management capability control reduces work overload and increases work meaning, thus lowering salesperson turnover intention. The findings also confirm that these effects are contingent on the complexity of a product. When product complexity is low, capability control increases work overload and decreases work meaning, which has a positive effect on salesperson turnover intention. This study discusses these findings' theoretical and managerial implications.

El objetivo de este estudio fue describir y analizar el proceso de certificación de muerte y nacimiento de un hospital docente en Bogotá en el año 2014, tanto en términos de flujo de información como de calidad de la causa de muerte asignada. Se diseñó una metodología para monitorear la calidad y cobertura de las estadísticas de nacimientos y muertes hospitalarias. Durante su práctica de salud pública, diecisiete estudiantes de noveno semestre de Medicina participaron en la recopilación de información sobre 511 registros clínicos de muertes no fetales, excluyendo las muertes por una causa externa que ocurrieron en 2014 (58 % de todas las muertes no fetales ocurridas en el hospital ese año). Los estudiantes, previamente entrenados, completaron los certificados de defunción, supervisados ​​por profesores de diferentes especialidades, de acuerdo con el diagnóstico, mediante el acceso a los registros médicos de los fallecidos. La causa básica de muerte asignada después de la revisión se comparó con la causa básica originalmente certificada por médicos del hospital, en el sistema de registro en línea en uso en Colombia: RUAF-ND. Se estimó el acuerdo en la identificación de la causa básica de muerte. Se obtuvo una concordancia bruta del 80 % y un acuerdo de Kappa entre el 57 % y el 95 %, todos superiores, estadísticamente, a cero, al agrupar las causas básicas de muerte por capítulos de la CIE10, con un 6 % de códigos inutilizables en las dos bases. Este estudio podría ser replicado en otros hospitales universitarios y así fortalecer la capacitación de estudiantes de medicina en estadísticas vitales mientras se monitorea la calidad del registro de nacimientos y muertes en hospitales docentes.

It has been observed in the academic and practitioner literature, a disconnect between the activities of salespeople and the sales strategy espoused by sales organizations. This study examines orga...

Cities are vital for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), but different local strategies to advance on the same SDG may cause different ‘spillovers’ elsewhere. Research efforts that support governance of such spillovers are urgently needed to empower ambitious cities to ‘account globally’ when acting locally on SDG implementation strategies.

Eutrophication in the Baltic Sea has been one of the major environmental issues during the last century partly due to extensive land-use change, loss of natural retention systems, and insufficient management. European legislation such as the Water Framework Directive (WFD) attempts to guide the recovery of good ecological status from freshwater to the sea, and suggests wetlands as ecosystems that can potentially contribute to achieving this goal. Wetlands are considered remarkable Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for improving water quality by diminishing the nutrient loads. This study aims to set a background context of the WFD implementation in Sweden, determine the status of constructed wetlands, and evaluate the stakeholders’ perspectives to identify the main administrative hurdles of wetland implementation in Sweden. For this purpose, we conducted a narrative review, database analysis, and semi-structured interviews with members of the institutions involved in water management. Our results show that it is essential to find synergies among the WFD and other directives to expand cross-sectoral cooperation, implement adjustments on the funding scheme that includes restoration and maintenance of natural wetlands, and increase compensation periods and cost ceiling. Likewise, it is crucial to perform significant improvements in the monitoring system, including more frequent data collection, as well as exploring new strategies to capture landowners’ interest in the implementation of NbS, such as the Catchment Officers program. Finally, we suggest paludiculture as a promising farming practice to increase proprietors’ attention on novel market alternatives, and in turn, to provide benefits for climate, water, and biodiversity.Keywords Wetlands management · Water Framework Directive · Nature-based Solutions · Eutrophication · Semi-structured interviews · Sweden

International audience; Service businesses are increasingly facing more demanding customers as a result of a shift in power from the service providers' side to the customers' side. Related literature predominantly examines the negative side of this ongoing trend, while overlooking the positive side. The major aim of this paper is to examine how frontline employees — investment account managers — deal with the ongoing increase in customer demandingness. To address this, we draw on adaptability performance theory to test the facilitating effect of frontline employees' post-transaction service behaviors (SBs) — diligence, inducements, information communication, sportsmanship, and empathy — as a means of adaptation to higher levels of customer demand. Findings indicate that frontline employees adapt most of their SBs' intensities to match customers' demands. The results show that some SBs actually increase the effectiveness and efficiency of frontline employees' service performance, leading to an increase in customer value and satisfaction. Customer value is found as a mediator in some of the relationships between SBs and customer satisfaction. Contrary to the conception of the negative outcomes of customer demandingness, service firms need to consider taking advantage of customer demandingness by stressing the role of frontline employees in adapting to customers’ demands.

In order to increase the prevalence of wave energy converters (WECs), they must provide energy at competitive prices, especially when compared with other renewable energy sources. Thus, it is imperative to develop control system technologies that are able to maximize energy extraction from waves, such that the delivered energy cost is reduced. An important part of a model-based controller is the model that it uses. System identification techniques (SITs) provide methodologies to get accurate dynamic models from input-output data. However, even though these techniques are well developed in other application areas, they are seldom used in the context of WECs. This paper proposes several strategies based on SIT to get a linear time-invariant model for a three-body hinge-barge wave energy device using experimental data. The main advantage of the model obtained with this methodology, against other methods such as linear potential theory, is that this model remains valid even for relatively large waves and WEC displacements. Other advantages of this model are its simplicity and the low computational resources that it needs. Numerical simulations are carried out to show the validation of the obtained model against recorded experimental data.

El angiosarcoma cutáneo es un tumor poco frecuente con tendencia a localizarse en la cabeza y el cuello, en especial en el cuero cabelludo y la cara. Es considerado un tumor de rápido crecimiento y frecuentemente hace metástasis a distancia. Su tratamiento no está claramente definido y es basado en estudios retrospectivos y reportes de caso. Al parecer, la mejor opción de manejo es la cirugía con resección local amplia y, en lo posible, con bordes negativos; posteriormente, radioterapia adyuvante, debido a la alta tasa de recaída que presentan estos tumores. Se presenta el caso de un paciente de 91 años quien recibió manejo exclusivo con radioterapia hipofraccionada, quien presentó respuesta completa a los tres meses de finalizar y permaneció libre de enfermedad hasta la fecha de este reporte, 16 meses después de la radioterapia.

Purpose Mobile technologies have become indispensable in sales. However, there is a lack of agreement about whether mobile technology use facilitates the sales job or contributes to the salesperson’s stress and reduced job satisfaction. To address this controversy, this study aims to examine the effect of mobile technology use (smartphones, laptop computers and tablets) on salespeople’s role stress and job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach Hypotheses are tested using responses of 265 sales employees working for a broad range of industries in Spain. Findings This study shows that mobile technology use during working hours has a positive effect on job satisfaction through a mediating process that involves role stress. In addition, the impact of mobile technology use on role stress is strengthened by technological compatibility. Originality/value The current study extends previous research by moving beyond a focus on technology-centric outcomes (i.e. sales performance) to understanding broader, more psychological outcomes, namely, role stress and job satisfaction. Importantly, previous research reporting that salespeople feel “plugged in” to a device all day have not made the distinction about when the mobile device is used. One important difference in this study is that it exclusively focuses on mobile technology use during working hours.

Little information is apparently available regarding the nephrotoxic effects induced by pesticides. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of low doses of methyl parathion (MP) on the structure and function of the kidney of male Wistar rats. A corn oil (vehicle) was administered to control rats, whereas treated rats received MP at 0.56 mg/kg orally (1/25 of LD

Water management by the impoundment of reservoirs has been found to influence evapotranspiration not only locally but also at the basin scale. Highly regulated hydrological basins generally show the effect of a net increase in evapotranspiration accompanying the successive impoundment of reservoirs. However, understanding and isolating the effect from a particular single impounded reservoir remains a challenge due to the lack of long-term observation data required and the existence of many other drivers present at the basin scale. Focusing on the hydrological basin having the largest hydropower potential in China, we isolated in time and space and quantified the effects of a single impounded reservoir on evapotranspiration and the evaporative ratio (i.e., the ratio of actual evapotranspiration to precipitation) before and after the construction of the Ertan Dam in 1998. We find that the dam has increased evapotranspiration in the smallest subbasin by 46±15 mm/yr and the evaporative ratio by 0.05±0.015, from the period before impoundment (1983-1997) to that after impoundment (2000-2012). This increase is found only within the smallest differential subbasin holding the impounded reservoir and cannot be explained by other changes in land use or vegetation. We use this result from our hydrological basin-constrained approach to calculate the water footprint of the hydroelectric project as 16.5 m3/GJ, which accounts for additional hydroclimatic effects of the impoundment of the reservoir beyond the water surface. Hence, this study finds that when runoff data is available, the water consumption and the water footprint of hydropower projects can be calculated by water mass balance at the scale of their hydrological basins.

We study the single machine preemptive scheduling problem with both regular and overtime modes.The objective is to minimize the total tardiness and overtime costs.We propose a heuristic solution methodology for the problem.The efficiency of the heuristic is tested with upper bounds generated by the mathematical model. This paper studies the scheduling of a finite set of jobs on a single resource that operates under both regular and overtime capacity modes. Jobs, which can be preempted, have associated release and due dates. Limited overtime capacity can be utilized to reduce tardiness. However, since overtime is costly, justification of the overtime use depends on the trade-off between the tardiness and the overtime costs. The overall objective is to minimize the total cost of tardiness and overtime. To achieve this objective, we develop a holistic method composed of three-stages. We first provide a heuristic based on an effective priority rule for the base case where no overtime capacity is considered. This heuristic is later employed in the first-stage to produce a compact non-delay schedule built based on the assumption that overtime capacity incurs no additional cost. In the second stage, the overtime usage is reduced by shifting workload and generating a full-delay schedule without altering the tardiness of jobs produced in the first stage. The third stage improves the total costs by altering the tardiness of jobs in return for savings in overtime utilization. Using computational tests, we compare the performance of our heuristics to the upper bounds generated by the exact mixed-integer programming formulation. The results show that the proposed method is efficient in obtaining solutions that are considerably better than the generated upper bounds in significantly short times and as such, it can be quite useful as an effective solution approach especially for large size problems.

Purpose The aim of this study is to reveal the contribution that Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing has to scientific research and its most influential thematic work in B-to-B since its beginning in 1986 until 2015, in commemoration of the 30th anniversary. Design/methodology/approach The paper begins with a qualitative introduction: the emergence of the magazine, its origins, editorial and positioning. Subsequently, it is based on bibliometric methodologies to develop quantitative analysis. The distribution of annual publications is analyzed, the most cited papers, the keywords that are mostly used, the influence on the publishing industry and authors, universities and the countries that have the most publications. Findings The predominant role of the USA at all levels is highlighted. It also highlights the presence (given its size and population) of the countries of Northern Europe. There is great interest in appreciating the evolution of the number of publications that are always increasing which demonstrates the growing and sustained interest in these types of articles, with certain times of retreat (often coincide with economic crisis). Research limitations/implications The Scopus database gives one unit to each author, university or country involved in the paper, without distinguishing whether it was one or more authors in the study. Therefore, this may bring some deviations in the analysis. However, the study considers some figures with fractional counting to partially solve these limitations. Practical implications After observing the different perspectives of the journal’s production, it allows to give an objective view of the evolution that the Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing has had in the past 30 years. Originality/value It is part of the trend that several journals (Journal of Marketing, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Business Research) made special sections to show progress and contribution of these journals to scientific research.

This research investigates the effects of sales-service ambidexterity on salesperson role perceptions, behaviors, and customer satisfaction. Using a business-to-business, salesperson-customer sample, we build and test a model which highlights both the positive and negative consequences of this simultaneous goal pursuit. Specifically, while sales-service ambidexterity positively impacts adaptive selling behaviors, it also increases perceptions of role conflict among salespeople. Customer demandingness moderates these relationships. Taken together, the results provide insights for firms on how to manage their sales force to optimize both sales and service outcomes based on characteristics of their salespeople and customers.

In this short communication, we report on dissolved organic and inorganic carbon concentrations from a summer stream monitoring campaign at the main hydrological catchment of the Tarfala Research Station in northern Sweden. Further, we place these unique high-alpine observations in the context of a relevant subset of Sweden's national monitoring programme. Our analysis shows that while the monitoring programme (at least for total organic carbon) may have relatively good representativeness across a range of forest coverages, alpine/tundra environments are potentially underrepresented. As for dissolved inorganic carbon, there is currently no national monitoring in Sweden. Since the selection of stream water monitoring locations and monitored constituents at the national scale can be motivated by any number of goals (or limitations), monitoring at the Tarfala Research Station along with other research catchment sites across Fennoscandia becomes increasingly important and can offer potential complementary data necessary for improving process understanding. Research catchment sites (typically not included in national monitoring programmes) can help cover small-scale landscape features and thus complement national monitoring thereby improving the ability to capture hot spots and hot moments of biogeochemical export. This provides a valuable baseline of current conditions in high-alpine environments against which to gauge future changes in response to potential climatic and land cover shifts.

We evaluated the association between epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT)‐derived markers and expression of proteins associated with cell proliferation and tumor growth, as well as their prognostic roles, in 61 patients (mean age 52 ± 10 years) with locally advanced cervical cancer, all of whom were treated with chemoradiation and intracavitary brachytherapy. We used immunohistochemical analysis to assess the expression of proteins targeted in our investigation. Various statistical analyses were then conducted to assess protein marker associations with survival outcomes. Forty‐six percent of the patients were positive for human papilloma virus. Median progression‐free survival (PFS) was 6.6 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.0–9.1, whereas overall survival (OS) was 30.0 months (95% CI: 11–48). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) (P = 0.002), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) (P = 0.001), and TWIST2 (P = 0.001) expression levels, as well as a tumor size

In this paper, an adaptive control scheme for maximum power point tracking of stand-alone PMSG wind turbine systems (WTS) is presented. A novel procedure to estimate the wind speed is derived. To achieve this, a neural network identifier (NNI) is designed in order to approximate the mechanical torque of the WTS. With this information, the wind speed is calculated based on the optimal mechanical torque point. The NNI approximates in real-time the mechanical torque signal and it does not need off-line training to get its optimal parameter values. In this way, it can really approximates any mechanical torque value with good accuracy. In order to regulate the rotor speed to the optimal speed value, a block-backstepping controller is derived. Uniform asymptotic stability of the tracking error origin is proved using Lyapunov arguments. Numerical simulations and comparisons with a standard passivity based controller are made in order to show the good performance of the proposed adaptive scheme.

In this exploratory study we use existing in situ qualitative and quantitative data on biophysical and social indicators to compare two contrasting Swedish farming systems (low intensity and high intensity) with regard to ecosystem service supply and demand of a broad suite of services. We show that the value (demand) placed on a service is not necessarily connected to the quantity (supply) of the service, most clearly shown for the services recreation, biodiversity, esthetic experience, identity, and cultural heritage. To better capture this complexity we argue for the need to develop portfolios of indicators for different ecosystem services and to further investigate the different aspects of supply and demand. The study indicates that available data are often ill-suited to answer questions about local delivery of services. If ecosystem services are to be included in policy, planning, and management, census data need to be formatted and scaled appropriately. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-014-0603-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The separate and combined effects of different drivers of change to water fluxes and resources onland (CWOL) remain difficult to distinguish and largely unknown, particularly at a global scale. Our ...

This chapter looks at the digital marketing strategies employed by high-end make-up brands in Colombia, Latin America, as well as the changes seen online and offline. To this end, dedicated social media were analyzed with and interviews with experts on luxury cosmetics brands and high-end make-up brands' managers with experience in online and offline markets were analyzed using ATLASti. Study findings reveal that users' purchase decision-making behavior differs when they shop online and in points of sale. They also show that access to brand information changes defining moments. In addition, the study has proven that digital marketing strategies seek the execution and development of multimedia, multisensory experiences.

We explore the role of agriculture in destabilizing the Earth system at the planetary scale, through examining nine planetary boundaries, or “safe limits”: land-system change, freshwater use, biogeochemical flows, biosphere integrity, climate change, ocean acidification, stratospheric ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosol loading, and introduction of novel entities. Two planetary boundaries have been fully transgressed, i.e., are at high risk, biosphere integrity and biogeochemical flows, and agriculture has been the major driver of the transgression. Three are in a zone of uncertainty i.e., at increasing risk, with agriculture the major driver of two of those, landsystem change and freshwater use, and a significant contributor to the third, climate change. Agriculture is also a significant or major contributor to change for many of those planetary boundaries still in the safe zone. To reduce the role of agriculture in transgressing planetary boundaries, many interventions will be needed, including those in broader food systems.

Introduction: cervical carcinoma is the second leading cause of cancer death among women in Colombia. Objective: to describe the prognostic value of microvascular density (MVD) and protein expression of several genes related to survival and proliferation of locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) treated with chemoradiation / intracavitary brachytherapy. We estimated the overall response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results: we included 61 women with a mean age of 52 ± 10 years; all were diagnosed with locally advanced cervical cancer (IIA 2.3% / IIB 47.5% / IIIA 4.9% / IIIB 37.7% / IVA 3.3% / 3.3% undefined ), with an average tumor volume of 6.4cm (SD ± 1.8cm) and HPV infection in 46% of cases. 58 subjects (95%) had a squamous pattern; two were adenocarcinomas and >50% had moderate or poorly differentiated neoplasms. All were treated with chemoradiation (temporary interruption of teletherapy due to toxicity, and other causes was documented in 19% and 21.4% respectively / mean of concomitant platinum cycles 4.8 ± 1.0) and brachytherapy (77% completed intracavitary treatment). The median PFS and OS was 6.6 months (4.0-9.1) and 30 months (11-48), respectively. None of the variables had an effect on the PFS, while multivariate analysis demonstrated that the levels of VEGF expression (p = 0.026), EGFR (p = 0.030), and tumor volume

The concept of customer orientation (CO) is a focal construct in marketing and sales literature. Saxe and Weitz introduced CO to contrast the traditional high-pressure approach to sales (selling orientation). This study synthesizes empirical evidence from 1982 to 2013 to provide insight into the antecedents and consequences of both CO and selling orientation (SO). A conceptual meta-analytic model based on research into interpersonal motive models is proposed and tested using effect sizes from 126,790 salesperson survey responses to advance theory development on our understanding of how SO and CO behaviours affect organizations. Findings show that adaptive selling mediates the impact of both SO and CO which has important practical implications for hiring and training salespeople. Furthermore, this study shows that goal orientations are antecedents of SO and CO and that the impact of SO on job performance varies by customer type.

El diagnóstico de carcinoma papilar (CP) de tiroides se realiza, en la gran mayoría de casos, teniendo en cuenta los hallazgos histopatológicos en hematoxilina eosina, pero cuando la morfología no es clara o la variante está encapsulada, se dificulta el diagnóstico; además, algunos cambios hiperplásicos floridos pueden confundir al patólogo y llevarlo a un diagnóstico erróneo. Diferentes estudios han demostrado que el uso de marcadores de inmunohistoquímica puede llegar a ser útil en casos en que el diagnóstico se dificulta. Se revisó la expresión de CK19, CD56 y p63 en CP y en lesiones foliculares neoplásicas no papilares y no neoplásicas. Se seleccionaron 29 casos de CP, incluidas diferentes variantes y 31 casos de patología tiroidea que no correspondieran a CP. El 100 % de los CP mostró positividad fuerte y difusa para CK19, y el 88 % mostró negatividad con CD56. Solo el 64 % de todos los CP mostraron positividad focal y selectiva nuclear con p63. El 100 % de los casos de patología tiroidea no CP mostró positividad fuerte y difusa para CD56 y negatividad con CK19. Con este estudio se corrobora lo encontrado en estudios previos: el uso de CK19 y CD56 es una herramienta útil en el diagnóstico de CP cuando la morfología no es clara.

Summary During the 20th century, Sweden underwent a persistent agricultural development. In this study, we use and combine historical hydroclimatic and agricultural data to investigate how this large scale change of land use, and subsequent intensification of crop production, affected regional hydrology in two adjacent Swedish drainage basins. We find a main increase of evapotranspiration (ET) as cultivated area and/or crop production increased during the period 1901–1940. Thereafter, ET stabilized at a new higher level. Comparison between the data given, water balance constrained ET quantification (ET wb ), and a range of different comparative estimates of purely climate driven ET (ET clim ) shows that only 31% of the steep 1901–1940 increase of ET wb can be explained by climate change alone. The remaining 69% of this ET wb shift, which occurred in both investigated drainage basins, is instead explainable to large degree by the regional land use conversion from seminatural grasslands to cultivated land and associated enhanced productivity of herbaceous species.

Objectives We determined the seroprevalence and correlates of Toxoplasma gondii infection in pregnant women in Aguascalientes City, Mexico. Design A cross-sectional survey. Setting Pregnant women were enrolled in the central Mexican city of Aguascalientes. Participants We studied 338 pregnant women who attended prenatal care in 3 public health centres. Primary and secondary outcome measures Women were examined for IgG/IgM antibodies to T. gondii by using commercially available enzyme immunoassays, and an avidity test. Multiple analyses were used to determine the association of T. gondii seropositivity with the characteristics of the pregnant women. Results Of the 338 pregnant women studied, 21 (6.2%) had IgG antibodies to T. gondii , and 1 (4.8%) of them was also positive for IgM antibodies to T. gondii . Avidity of IgG antibodies to T. gondii was high in the IgM-positive sample. Logistic regression analysis of sociodemographic, behavioural and housing variables showed that T. gondii seropositivity was associated with white ethnicity (OR=149.4; 95% CI 10.8 to 2054.1; p

Customer orientation is the central element of market orientation and a precursor of organizational success and performance. This manuscript demonstrates that salesperson’s empathy increases the positive impact of customer orientation on customer satisfaction and trust. The manuscript also shows that supplier customer orientation is a key factor in developing a relationship of quality with customers and a critical antecedent of customer loyalty. A conceptual model is tested using survey responses from 300 customers from two Chilean banks.

Shifts in evapotranspiration are investigated for non-irrigated agriculture and hydropower, and compared to irrigated agriculture and deforestation, as used predominantly in previous studies. The increase in evapotranspiration from the combined results highlights the need for models to include different human uses of water as anthropogenic drivers of hydroclimatic change.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate why salespeople resist change and the impact of resistance to change on customer responsiveness and performance outcomes.Design/methodology/approachSurvey responses derived from 233 salespeople from three large financial institutions in Mexico are used to test relationships involving salespersons’ resistance to change.FindingsSalespeople are more likely to resist change if they believe that change increases their workload. They are less likely to resist change when they have higher levels of job autonomy and self‐efficacy. Resistance to change has a negative impact on customer responsiveness and salesperson's performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis study makes an important contribution to the literature by identifying factors that explain salesperson's resistance to change. Study findings rely on salesperson survey responses collected in one country and industry. Future research is needed to assess the generalizability of findings and causality of the proposed relationships.Practical implicationsResistance to change affects the salespersons’ capacity to respond to customer demands and ultimately undermines performance. Managers can help reduce resistance to change by providing salespeople with greater job autonomy and by explaining how change affects their workload.Originality/valueTo the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper linking salesperson resistance to change to job performance.

SUMMARY An estimator of the wind speed of a wind turbine coupled to a generator is proposed in this paper. Wind speed enters into the generator dynamics through a highly nonlinear function; hence, we are confronted with a difficult problem of estimation of a nonlinearly parameterized system. To solve this problem, we use the technique of immersion and invariance, recently introduced in the literature. It is assumed that the rotor speed and electrical torque of the generator are measured, which is the case for the machines typically used in this application. The result is of interest for the design of controllers of maximum power extraction, where the knowledge of the wind speed is necessary to express the control objective as a speed tracking problem. Detailed computer simulations are presented to assess the performance of the proposed estimator.Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This paper focuses on five critical, yet underresearched, areas vital to sales performance in a marketplace that is increasingly more complex, more demanding of customized solutions, and more relationship focused. The five topic areas addressed are the ability to marshal intraorganizational resources by salespeople, salesperson creativity, examining the buyer–seller interaction in terms of salesperson influence tactics behaviors and the importance of establishing credibility with buyers as a basis of influence, ethics relative to the buying and selling organization simultaneously, and selling teams. Research implications for each topic area are advanced.

PurposeThis research seeks to explore the role played by ethical reputation in amplifying the positive impact of value received by the customer on satisfaction with the supplier and ultimately loyalty.Design/methodology/approachSurvey responses derived from 299 customers, concerning two large financial institutions within Chile, are used to test relationships among ethical perceptions, customer value, satisfaction, and loyalty. Hypotheses are tested with a structural equation model.FindingsResults show that ethical perceptions about the organization amplify the impact of customer value on customer satisfaction and eventually loyalty.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to the existing literature by showing that ethical perceptions from customers can help financial institutions achieve higher levels of satisfaction and loyalty. Study findings rely on customer survey responses collected in one country and one industry. Generalizability of findings is yet to be tested.Practical implicationsEthical reputation helps financial institutions retain their customers.Originality/valueThis is the first study showing that customer perceptions about company ethics amplify the positive impact of customer value on customer satisfaction.

El síndrome antifosfolípido es una entidad que puede ocurrir de forma aislada o asociada a otras enfermedades. Una forma infrecuente es la manifestación con compromiso de las glándulas suprarrenales. Existen pocos casos en la literatura científica que describan este fenómeno. En el presente artículo, se presentan dos casos con comportamientos poco usuales.

Este estudio examina el desempeño de fondos de pensiones obligatorios y voluntarios en el periodo 2004-2008. El documento presenta una metodología fundamentada en la técnica de componentes principales que facilita el proceso de selección de fondos. También se analizan dos metodologías de optimización de portafolios para evaluar mejoras en el desempeño en un periodo de evaluación, la primera sugerida por Markowitz (1952) y la segunda sugerida por Revéiz y Leon (2008b). Aplicando diferentes metodologías, se evidenció un incremento en el nivel de riesgo de los fondos obligatorios y voluntarios colombianos. Se halló además un conjunto de fondos que caracterizan adecuadamente el movimiento común de los retornos de los fondos. No se encontraron ganancias significativas en términos económicos ni estadísticos al utilizar una metodología de optimización en particular. This study examines performance of mandatory and voluntary pension funds in the 2004 – 2008 period. Furthermore, we present a methodology based on principal components that can aid affiliates when selecting funds. Moreover, we examine two portfolio optimization methodologies to evaluate any performance improvements in an evaluation period when choosing a particular methodology. The first one suggested by Markowitz (1952) and the second by Reveiz and Leon (2008b). We find an increase in risk, using several metrics, of mandatory and voluntary pension funds as well as a set of funds that better characterize the common movement of funds’ returns. No evidence was found in regards to economically or statistically significant gains of applying either optimization methodology using several holding periods.

Over-the-counter (OTC) analgesics are among the most widely prescribed and purchased drugs around the world. Most analgesics, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and acetaminophen, are metabolized in the liver. The hepatocytes are responsible for drug metabolism and detoxification. Cytochrome P450 enzymes are phase I enzymes expressed mainly in hepatocytes and they account for approximate to 75% of the metabolism of clinically used drugs and other xenobiotics. These metabolic reactions eliminate potentially toxic compounds but, paradoxically, also result in the generation of toxic or carcinogenic metabolites. Cumulative or overdoses of OTC analgesic drugs can induce acute liver failure (ALF) either directly or indirectly after their biotransformation. ALF is the result of massive death of hepatocytes induced by oxidative stress. There is an increased interest in the use of natural dietary products as nutritional supplements and/or medications to prevent or cure many diseases. The therapeutic activity of natural products may be associated with their antioxidant capacity, although additional mechanisms may also play a role (e.g., anti-inflammatory actions). Dietary antioxidants such as flavonoids, betalains and carotenoids play a preventive role against OTC analgesics-induced ALF. In this review, we will summarize the pathobiology of OTC analgesic-induced ALF and the use of natural pigments in its prevention and therapy.

Much has been written about the importance of focusing on customers to drive organizational success. In this paper, aspects of manager–salesperson relationships are examined as drivers of deeper customer focus in salesperson–customer interactions. In particular, managers’ servant leadership, a leadership style emphasizing genuine concern for subordinate welfare, is examined as a catalyst of parallel concern by salespeople for their customers. Salesperson perceptions of managers’ servant leadership empirically relate to salesperson customer orientation, in turn driving adaptive selling behaviors, customer-directed extra-role behaviors, and sales performance outcomes. Other results and implications for management and sales leadership research are presented.

Since the inception of the concept, researchers have hypothesized that customer orientation plays a fundamental role in explaining sales performance. However, Franke and Park’s (2006) meta-analysis challenged this notion with findings of a nonsignificant effect of customer orientation on objective sales performance. This counterintuitive result was explained by noting that the impact of customer orientation on objective sales measures may be present in the long run. In this research note, we evaluate that notion by testing a model in which customer orientation is used to predict individual rates-of-change in sales performance over time. Longitudinal salesperson performance in dollars, from the database of a direct selling organization, is merged with survey responses and modeled using an emerging method called latent growth modeling (LGM). Results confirm Franke and Park’s findings that customer orientation has a nonsignificant direct effect on the static initial-level aspect of objective sales performanc...

A consensus notion in sales research is that superior performance requires high levels of effort. Studying the effect of individual and situational factors on effort has significant implications for managers and academics. This study shows that supportive leadership leads to higher salesperson effort directly and through a mediating process that involves intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy. Also, results indicate that the positive effect of supportive leadership on the salesperson’s intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy is amplified when serving demanding customers. Implications for sales managers and future research opportunities are discussed.

Relationship between cirrhosis and renal dysfunction is not yet fully understood. A model of cirrhosis with acute hepatic and renal damage (RF), produced by CCl 4 in rats, with hemodynamic and renal functional alterations, similar to those observed in decompensated cirrhosis (DC) in man, was used to study chemical nephrotoxicity in animals. We performed in male Wistar rats hepatic and renal functional and hemodynamic studies in control, cirrhotic and decompensated cirrhotic (DC) groups. Cirrhosis was induced with carbon tetrachloride by chronic administration. Association between liver and renal functional alterations was detected in rats with decompensated cirrhosis, showing fall in mean arterial pressure and reduction of glomerular filtration rate and filtration fraction. Renal hemodynamics did not change in cirrhotic rats, similarly to what occurs in compensated cirrhotic patients. However, DC rats exhibited increased sodium, glucose and phosphate urinary excretions and decreased ATP in renal cortex. DC animals had severe hypoglycemia. There was an extensive liver fibrosis. Glomeruli had hypercellularity and tubules showed extensive vacuolization in cirrhotic and DC rats. The present study suggests that in this model, damage typical of acute tubular necrosis ensues in cirrhotic rats. We describe functional and morphological damage in liver and kidney in a model of cirrhosis that might predispose to the development of acute renal failure when an individual with hepatic damage is exposed in acute way to chemical toxicants.

Leaders play a critical role in setting the tone for ethical climate in organizations. In recent years, there has been an increased skepticism about the role played by corporate executives in developing and implementing ethics in business practices. Sales and marketing practices of businesses, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry, have come under increased scrutiny. This study identifies a type of leadership style that can help firms develop an ethical climate. Responses from 333 salespeople working for a North American subsidiary of an international pharmaceutical company were used to analyze the impact of instrumental leadership on ethical climate. We also examined the effect of ethical climate on effort, satisfaction with the supervisor, and job satisfaction. Managerial implications are provided.