The complexities of electronic services implementation and institutionalisation in the public sector

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Information & Management. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2013 Elsevier B.V.Electronic service implementation (ESI) in the public sector attempts to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of governmental departments. Despite having provided the necessary infrastructure and investment, many governments have struggled to realise such aims due to the various forces that challenge implementation and institutionalisation. Using institutional theory as a lens, we explored the forces influencing the implementation and institutionalisation of ESI in the public sector. While our results reinforced previous research in IT implementation and organisational transformation, they showed that the dynamic nature of technology poses unanticipated pressures, and that these can impede the implementation and institutionalisation process

An annular gap acceleration model for γ\gamma-ray emission of pulsars

If the binding energy of the pulsar's surface is not so high (the case of a neutron star), both the negative and positive charges will flow out freely from the surface of the star. The annular free flow model for $\gamma$-ray emission of pulsars is suggested in this paper. It is emphasized that: (1). Two kinds of acceleration regions (annular and core) need to be taken into account. The annular acceleration region is defined by the magnetic field lines that cross the null charge surface within the light cylinder. (2). If the potential drop in the annular region of a pulsar is high enough (normally the cases of young pulsars), charges in both the annular and the core regions could be accelerated and produce primary gamma-rays. Secondary pairs are generated in both regions and stream outwards to power the broadband radiations. (3). The potential drop in the annular region grows more rapidly than that in the core region. The annular acceleration process is a key point to produce wide emission beams as observed. (4). The advantages of both the polar cap and outer gap models are retained in this model. The geometric properties of the $\gamma$-ray emission from the annular flow is analogous to that presented in a previous work by Qiao et al., which match the observations well. (5). Since charges with different signs leave the pulsar through the annular and the core regions, respectively, the current closure problem can be partially solved.Comment: 11 pages 2 figures, accepted by Chinese Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysic

Constraints on the Dark Energy from the holographic connection to the small l CMB Suppression

Using the recently obtained holographic cosmic duality, we reached a reasonable quantitative agreement between predictions of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation at small l and the WMAP observations, showing the power of the holographic idea. We also got constraints on the dark energy and its behaviour as a function of the redshift upon relating it to the small l CMB spectrum. For a redshift independent dark energy, our constraint is consistent with the supernova results, which again shows the correctness of the cosmic duality prescription. We have also extended our study to the redshift dependence of the dark energy.Comment: accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.

Cross modal perception of body size in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris)

While the perception of size-related acoustic variation in animal vocalisations is well documented, little attention has been given to how this information might be integrated with corresponding visual information. Using a cross-modal design, we tested the ability of domestic dogs to match growls resynthesised to be typical of either a large or a small dog to size- matched models. Subjects looked at the size-matched model significantly more often and for a significantly longer duration than at the incorrect model, showing that they have the ability to relate information about body size from the acoustic domain to the appropriate visual category. Our study suggests that the perceptual and cognitive mechanisms at the basis of size assessment in mammals have a multisensory nature, and calls for further investigations of the multimodal processing of size information across animal species

Glue ear, hearing loss and IQ:an association moderated by the child's home environment

BACKGROUND: Glue ear or otitis media with effusion (OME) is common in children and may be associated with hearing loss (HL). For most children it has no long lasting effects on cognitive development but it is unclear whether there are subgroups at higher risk of sequelae. OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between a score comprising the number of times a child had OME and HL (OME/HL score) in the first four/five years of life and IQ at age 4 and 8. To examine whether any association between OME/HL and IQ is moderated by socioeconomic, child or family factors. METHODS: Prospective, longitudinal cohort study: the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). 1155 children tested using tympanometry on up to nine occasions and hearing for speech (word recognition) on up to three occasions between age 8 months and 5 years. An OME/HL score was created and associations with IQ at ages 4 and 8 were examined. Potential moderators included a measure of the child's cognitive stimulation at home (HOME score). RESULTS: For the whole sample at age 4 the group with the highest 10% OME/HL scores had performance IQ 5 points lower [95% CI -9, -1] and verbal IQ 6 points lower [95% CI -10, -3] than the unaffected group. By age 8 the evidence for group differences was weak. There were significant interactions between OME/HL and the HOME score: those with high OME/HL scores and low 18 month HOME scores had lower IQ at age 4 and 8 than those with high OME/HL scores and high HOME scores. Adjusted mean differences ranged from 5 to 8 IQ points at age 4 and 8. CONCLUSIONS: The cognitive development of children from homes with lower levels of cognitive stimulation is susceptible to the effects of glue ear and hearing loss

Pathological vertebral fracture after stereotactic body radiation therapy for lung metastases. Case report and literature review.

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is a radiation technique used in patients with oligometastatic lung disease. Lung and chest wall toxicities have been described in the patients but pathological vertebral fracture is an adverse effect no reported in patients treated with SBRT for lung metastases.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 68-year-old woman with the diagnosis of a recurrence of a single lung metastatic nodule of urothelial carcinoma after third line of chemotherapy. The patient received a hypo-fractionated course of SBRT.A 3D-conformal multifield technique was used with six coplanar and one non-coplanar statics beams. A total dose of 48 Gy in three fractions over six days was prescribed to the 95% of the CTV. Ten months after the SBRT procedure, a CT scan showed complete response of the metastatic disease without signs of radiation pneumonitis. However, rib and vertebral bone toxicities were observed with the fracture-collapse of the 7^thand 8^thvertebral bodies and a fracture of the 7^thand 8^thleft ribs. We report a unique case of pathological vertebral fracture appearing ten months after SBRT for an asymptomatic growing lung metastases of urothelial carcinoma.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Though SBRT allows for minimization of normal tissue exposure to high radiation doses SBRT tolerance for vertebral bone tissue has been poorly evaluated in patients with lung tumors. Oncologists should be alert to the potential risk of fatal bone toxicity caused by this novel treatment. We recommend BMD testing in all woman over 65 years old with clinical risk factors that could contribute to low BMD. If low BMD is demonstrated, we should carefully restrict the maximum radiation dose in the vertebral body in order to avoid intermediate or low radiation dose to the whole vertebral body.</p

Tissue-Specific Orchestration of Gilthead Sea Bream Resilience to Hypoxia and High Stocking Density

Two different O-2 levels (normoxia: 75-85% O-2 saturation; moderate hypoxia: 42-43% O-2 saturation) and stocking densities (LD: 9.5, and HD: 19 kg/m(3)) were assessed on gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) in a 3-week feeding trial. Reduced O-2 availability had a negative impact on feed intake and growth rates, which was exacerbated by HD despite of the improvement in feed efficiency. Blood physiological hallmarks disclosed the enhancement in O-2-carrying capacity in fish maintained under moderate hypoxia. This feature was related to a hypo-metabolic state to cope with a chronic and widespread environmental O-2 reduction, which was accompanied by a differential regulation of circulating cortisol and growth hormone levels. Customized PCR-arrays were used for the simultaneous gene expression profiling of 34-44 selected stress and metabolic markers in liver, white skeletal muscle, heart, and blood cells. The number of differentially expressed genes ranged between 22 and 19 in liver, heart, and white skeletal muscle to 5 in total blood cells. Partial Least-Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) explained [R2Y(cum)] and predicted [Q2Y(cum)] up to 95 and 65% of total variance, respectively. The first component (R2Y = 0.2889) gathered fish on the basis of O-2 availability, and liver and cardiac genes on the category of energy sensing and oxidative metabolism (cs, hif-1 alpha, pgc1 alpha, pgc1 beta, sirts 1-2-4-5-6-7), antioxidant defense and tissue repair (prdx5, sod2, mortalin, gpx4, gr, grp-170, and prdx3) and oxidative phosphorylation (nd2, nd5, and coxi) highly contributed to this separation. The second component (R2Y = 0.2927) differentiated normoxic fish at different stocking densities, and the white muscle clearly promoted this separation by a high over-representation of genes related to GH/IGF system (ghr-i, igfbp6b, igfbp5b, insr, igfbp3, and igf-i). The third component (R2Y = 0.2542) discriminated the effect of stocking density in fish exposed to moderate hypoxia by means of hepatic fatty acid desaturases (fads2, scd1a, and scd1b) and muscle markers of fatty acid oxidation (cpt1a). All these findings disclose the different contribution of analyzed tissues (liver >= heart > muscle > blood) and specific genes to the hypoxic- and crowding stress-mediated responses. This study will contribute to better explain and understand the different stress resilience of farmed fish across individuals and species

Environmental and Parental Influences on Offspring Health and Growth in Great Tits (Parus major)

PMCID: PMC3728352This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Evaluation of dog owners' perceptions concerning radiation therapy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>External radiation therapy (RT) has been available for small animals in Sweden since 2006. This study was designed to obtain information on owner experiences and perceptions related to RT of cancer in their dogs. Another survey was used to determine the attitudes about use of RT in a group of Swedish veterinarians. Their responses were analyzed and compared to their level of knowledge of oncology and RT.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Owners of all dogs (n = 23) who had undergone RT for malignancy at Jönköping Small Animal Hospital between March 2006 to September 2007 were interviewed. A questionnaire was given to a selected group of veterinarians.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All 23 owners responded. All owners thought that their dog did well during RT and most that their dog was also fine during the following phase when acute RT-related skin reactions occur and heal. Three owners stated that their dog had pain that negatively impacted quality of life because of radiation dermatitis. Five owners reported that RT positively impacted quality of life of the dog during the first weeks after RT because palliation was achieved. The owners were not disturbed by the efforts required of them. All but one owner (22 of 23) stated that they would make the same decision about RT again if a similar situation occurred. The most important factor for this decision was the chance to delay occurrence of tumour-related discomfort. The chance for cure was of less importance but still essential, followed by expected side effects. Time commitments, travel, number of treatments required and financial cost; all had low impact. The veterinarian survey showed that less background knowledge of small animal oncology/RT was associated with more negative expectations of RT for small animals.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results show that for these owners, RT was a worthwhile treatment modality and that the discomfort for the dog was manageable and acceptable relative to the benefits. Improved continuing education about small animal RT in Sweden will likely result in increased evidence-based and positive treatment recommendations concerning RT by veterinarians.</p