A conceptual model for action and design research

Organizational research has a pattern of special characteristics which make a clear distinction from other research paradigms. When using these approaches – based on Action and Design – the Interpretivist, Constructivist, and Participatory perspectives dominate. They have already proven to have strong foundations, which turn these paradigmatic approaches into effective ways for getting knowledge, doing things, and promoting change within organizational settings. It combines the traditional scientific, engineering, and organization development approaches, depicting how an organization can, simultaneously, solve multidimensional problems and produce actionable knowledge, effective change and useful artifacts. It has been developed using a Design Science Research approach, tested in a major organizational change program (Henriques, 2015; Henriques & ONeill, 2014), and successfully used to teach research methods essentials to Master and DBA students.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A meta-analysis of long-term effects of conservation agriculture on maize grain yield under rain-fed conditions

Conservation agriculture involves reduced tillage, permanent soil cover and crop rotations to enhance soil fertility and to supply food from a dwindling land resource. Recently, conservation agriculture has been promoted in Southern Africa, mainly for maize-based farming systems. However, maize yields under rain-fed conditions are often variable. There is therefore a need to identify factors that influence crop yield under conservation agriculture and rain-fed conditions. Here, we studied maize grain yield data from experiments lasting 5 years and more under rain-fed conditions. We assessed the effect of long-term tillage and residue retention on maize grain yield under contrasting soil textures, nitrogen input and climate. Yield variability was measured by stability analysis. Our results show an increase in maize yield over time with conservation agriculture practices that include rotation and high input use in low rainfall areas. But we observed no difference in system stability under those conditions. We observed a strong relationship between maize grain yield and annual rainfall. Our meta-analysis gave the following findings: (1) 92% of the data show that mulch cover in high rainfall areas leads to lower yields due to waterlogging; (2) 85% of data show that soil texture is important in the temporal development of conservation agriculture effects, improved yields are likely on well-drained soils; (3) 73% of the data show that conservation agriculture practices require high inputs especially N for improved yield; (4) 63% of data show that increased yields are obtained with rotation but calculations often do not include the variations in rainfall within and between seasons; (5) 56% of the data show that reduced tillage with no mulch cover leads to lower yields in semi-arid areas; and (6) when adequate fertiliser is available, rainfall is the most important determinant of yield in southern Africa. It is clear from our results that conservation agriculture needs to be targeted and adapted to specific biophysical conditions for improved impact

The VICI-trial: high frequency oscillation versus conventional mechanical ventilation in newborns with congenital diaphragmatic hernia: an international multicentre randomized controlled trial

Background: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a severe congenital anomaly of the diaphragm resulting in pulmonary hypoplasia and pulmonary hypertension. It is associated with a high risk of mortality and pulmonary morbidity. Previous retrospective studies have reported high frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFO) to reduce pulmonary morbidity in infants with CDH, while others indicated HFO to be associated with worse outcome. We therefore aimed to develop a randomized controlled trial to compare initial ventilatory treatment with high-frequency oscillation and conventional ventilation in infants with CDH.Methods/design: This trial is designed as a multicentre trial in which 400 infants (200 in each arm) will be included. Primary outcome measures are BPD, described as oxygen dependency by day 28 according to the definition of Jobe and Bancalari, and/or mortality by day 28. All liveborn infants with CDH born at a gestational age of over 34 weeks and no other severe congenital anomalies are eligible for inclusion. Parental informed consent is asked antenatally and the allocated ventilation mode starts within two hours after birth. Laboratory samples of blood, urine and tracheal aspirate are taken at the first day of life, day 3, day 7, day 14 and day 28 to evaluate laboratory markers for ventilator-induced lung injury and pulmonary hypertension.Discussion: To date, randomized clinical trials are lacking in the field of CDH. The VICI-trial, as the first randomized clinical trial in the field of CDH, may provide further insight in ventilation strategies in CDH patient. This may hopefully prevent mortality and morbidity.Trial registration: Netherlands Trial Register (NTR): NTR1310

The Relationship between Impulsive Choice and Impulsive Action: A Cross-Species Translational Study

Maladaptive impulsivity is a core symptom in various psychiatric disorders. However, there is only limited evidence available on whether different measures of impulsivity represent largely unrelated aspects or a unitary construct. In a cross-species translational study, thirty rats were trained in impulsive choice (delayed reward task) and impulsive action (five-choice serial reaction time task) paradigms. The correlation between those measures was assessed during baseline performance and after pharmacological manipulations with the psychostimulant amphetamine and the norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor atomoxetine. In parallel, to validate the animal data, 101 human subjects performed analogous measures of impulsive choice (delay discounting task, DDT) and impulsive action (immediate and delayed memory task, IMT/DMT). Moreover, all subjects completed the Stop Signal Task (SST, as an additional measure of impulsive action) and filled out the Barratt impulsiveness scale (BIS-11). Correlations between DDT and IMT/DMT were determined and a principal component analysis was performed on all human measures of impulsivity. In both rats and humans measures of impulsive choice and impulsive action did not correlate. In rats the within-subject pharmacological effects of amphetamine and atomoxetine did not correlate between tasks, suggesting distinct underlying neural correlates. Furthermore, in humans, principal component analysis identified three independent factors: (1) self-reported impulsivity (BIS-11); (2) impulsive action (IMT/DMT and SST); (3) impulsive choice (DDT). This is the first study directly comparing aspects of impulsivity using a cross-species translational approach. The present data reveal the non-unitary nature of impulsivity on a behavioral and pharmacological level. Collectively, this warrants a stronger focus on the relative contribution of distinct forms of impulsivity in psychopathology

Endpoints in pediatric pain studies

Assessing pain intensity in (preverbal) children is more difficult than in adults. Tools to measure pain are being used as primary endpoints [e.g., pain intensity, time to first (rescue) analgesia, total analgesic consumption, adverse effects, and long-term effects] in studies on the effects of analgesic drugs. Here, we review current and promising new endpoints used in pediatric pain assessment studies

Similarities in drinking behavior of twin's friends: moderation of heritability of alcohol use

Previous research has indicated that friends' drinking may influence alcohol use in adolescents and young adults. We explored whether similarities in the drinking behavior of friends of twins influence the genetic architecture of alcohol use in adolescence and young adulthood. Survey data from The Netherlands Twin Register were available for 1,526 twin pairs aged 16-25 years. We categorized the twin pairs as concordant (both report similar alcohol use in their friends) or discordant for the alcohol use of their friends. Genetic moderator models were tested by carrying out multi-group analyzes in Mplus. Findings showed a significant moderation effect. Genetic factors were more and common environment less important in the explanation of variation in alcohol use in twins discordant for alcohol use of friends than in twins concordant for alcohol use of friend

The Kolumbo submarine volcano of Santorini island is a large pool of bacterial strains with antimicrobial activity

Microbes in hydrothermal vents with their unique secondary metabolism may represent an untapped potential source of new natural products. In this study, samples were collected from the hydrothermal field of Kolumbo submarine volcano in the Aegean Sea, in order to isolate bacteria with antimicrobial activity. Eight hundred and thirty-two aerobic heterotrophic bacteria were isolated and then differentiated through BOX-PCR analysis at the strain level into 230 genomic fingerprints, which were screened against 13 different type strains (pathogenic and nonpathogenic) of Gram-positive, Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. Forty-two out of 176 bioactive-producing genotypes (76 %) exhibited antimicrobial activity against at least four different type strains and were selected for 16S rDNA sequencing and screening for nonribosomal peptide (NRPS) and polyketide (PKS) synthases genes. The isolates were assigned to genus Bacillus and Proteobacteria, and 20 strains harbored either NRPS, PKS type I or both genes. This is the first report on the diversity of culturable mesophilic bacteria associated with antimicrobial activity from Kolumbo area; the extremely high proportion of antimicrobial-producing strains suggested that this unique environment may represent a potential reservoir of novel bioactive compounds