Effects of Acute Acid Loading on the Risk of Calcium Phosphate and Calcium Oxalate Crystallization in Urine

The aim of this study was to examine the risk of calcium phosphate and calcium oxalate crystallization during acute acid loading under controlled conditions. The effects of acute acid loading on rates of renal excretion of calcium, magnesium, phosphate, citrate, oxalate and urine pH were studied in healthy subjects. The risk of calcium phosphate and calcium oxalate crystallization were evaluated by estimates of the ion activity products of calcium phosphate [AP(CaP)-index] and calcium oxalate [AP(CaOx)-index] according to Tiselius. In addition, the risk of brushite [AP(Bru)-index] crystallization was estimated. An acute acid load administered as ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) produced increased urinary excretion of calcium, phosphate and oxalate, decreased urinary excretion of citrate, and a decrease in urine pH. Consequently, calcium-citrate-ratio in urine increased markedly in response to acid loading. AP(CaP)-index decreased markedly due to a fall in urine pH. AP(Bru)-index decreased slightly and remained low throughout the study. AP(CaOx)-index increased significantly, and acid loading is suggested as a risk factor for calcium oxalate stone formation

Birth outcome in women with breast cancer

We investigated whether maternal breast cancer affects birth outcome in a nationwide cohort study of 695 births from 1973 to 2002 of women with breast cancer with respect to preterm birth, low birth weight at term, stillbirth and congenital abnormalities as well as mean birth weight, compared with the outcomes of 33 443 births from unaffected mothers. There was no excess risk of adverse birth outcome for the 216 newborns of women with breast cancer before pregnancy. Stratification by mother's treatment did not change the results. For 37 newborns of women diagnosed during pregnancy, the prevalence ratio (PR) of preterm birth was 8.1 (95% confidence interval (CI): 3.8–17). However, 10 of the 12 preterm deliveries among these women were elective early deliveries. Among 442 births of women diagnosed in the 2 years from time of delivery, the PR of preterm birth was 1.4 (95% CI: 1.0–2.0), and the PR of low birth weight at term for boys was 2.9 (95% CI: 1.3–6.3). Overall, our results are reassuring regarding the risks of adverse birth outcome for breast cancer patients

Theoretical perspectives on organizations and organizing in a post-growth era

The fundamental assumption we base this Special Issue on is that narrow concepts of growth have become the ruling ideas of this age, entrenched both in everyday life and to a considerable extent in the theoretical thinking and traditions of research conducted by organization and management studies scholars. We explain how tacit (or overt) endorsement of unbridled economic growth (the growth imperative) has pernicious practical effects and how it tends to restrict the intellectual base of the field. We argue that notions of degrowth present scholars with challenges as well as opportunities to reframe core assumptions and develop new directions in theory and research. Envisioning a post-COVID 19 world where societies and organizations can flourish without growth is one of the most difficult tasks facing theorists. We approach this challenge first by discussing the hegemonic properties of growth ideology and second by sketching an alternative political economy as a context for reimagining social and economic relations within planetary capacities in a post-growth era. Drawing on degrowth literature in ecological economics, sociology and political ecology, we identify key principles relevant to processes of organizing for a more just and environmentally sustainable future: frugal abundance, conviviality, care, and open relocalization. We conclude by introducing the three articles we feature in this issue along with some thoughts about theorizing policy and regulatory changes needed to generate transformational change and a future research agenda

Hodgkin's disease and birth outcome: a Danish nationwide cohort study

In a Danish nationwide cohort study of 292 births from 1973 to 2002 in women with Hodgkin's disease (HD), we compared birth outcome with 14 042 births from a cohort of mothers without cancer. We found no substantially increased risk of preterm birth, low birth weight at term, or stillbirth and no difference in proportion of male newborns for 192 children of women with HD before pregnancy. The prevalence odds ratio (POR) for congenital abnormalities was 1.7 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.9–3.1). Among 15 newborns of mothers diagnosed during pregnancy, the POR of preterm birth was 26.6 (95% CI: 8.5–83.0), but five out of the eight preterm deliveries among these women were elective. We found no substantially increased risk of adverse birth outcome among 85 newborns of women diagnosed within 2 years postpartum, though effect estimates were imprecise. The overall findings are reassuring, they cannot exclude the possibility of an increased risk of congenital abnormalities for newborns of women diagnosed with HD before pregnancy

The Effect of Service on Research Performance: A Study on Italian Academics in Management

Academics all over the world are feeling the increasing pressure to attain satisfactory research performance. Since research is not the only activity required of academics, though, the debate on how it may be coupled with other knowledge transfer activities like teaching, patenting, and dissemination has been captivating scholars interested in higher education. Literature is surprisingly silent about the interplay between research performance and other roles and tasks that faculty are expected to carry out, namely academic citizenship, intended as the service that they provide to their institution, to the scientific community, and to the larger society. Through a negative binomial regression conducted on 692 Italian academics in management, this paper investigates both the direct and moderating effect exerted by academic citizenship on the relationship between research performance in two subsequent evaluation exercises, thus advancing our knowledge of the relationship between research and service. Findings show that institutional service acts as a pure moderator, discipline-based service is a quasi-moderator, while public service exerts only a direct negative effect on research performance. In light of the emergent interplay between research and service, the necessity to boost reflection on academic citizenship is discussed and suggestions for its acknowledgement and advancement are formulated

An Examination of the Importance of Aspects of Services to People with a Learning Disability

The present study examined the importance of some aspects of services received by individuals with a learning disability. All of the items were rated as important by over 85% of respondents. Only two significant differences were found among the participants in relation to (a) length of hospitalisation and (b) degree of learning disability, suggesting a consensus view. The relevance of evaluating the importance of aspects of service provision in relation to consumer satisfaction and quality of life research is discussed