Careers in family business: New avenues for careers and family business research in the 21st century

The purpose of our special issue is to demonstrate how a careers perspective can contribute to the study of family businesses and bring to light how the family business context extends and challenges career theories and concepts. Inspired by the studies in our special issue and our review of previous research, we propose a conceptual model that leverages the concept of family embeddedness and intertwines it with career processes and outcomes. Building on the family embeddedness perspective, we propose several avenues for future research for family business and career scholars

Magnetic granularity in pulsed laser deposited YBCO films on technical templates at 5 K

The manifestation of granularity in the superconducting properties of pulsed laser deposited YBCO films on commercially available metallic templates was investigated by scanning Hall probe microscopy at 5 K and was related to local orientation mapping of the YBCO layer. The YBCO films on stainless steel templates with a textured buffer layer of yttrium stabilized ZrO2 grown by alternating beam assisted deposition have a mean grain size of less than with a sharp texture. This results in a homogeneous trapped field profile and spatial distribution of the current density. On the other hand, YBCO films on biaxially textured NiW substrates show magnetic granularity that persists down to a temperature of 5 K and up to an applied magnetic field of 4 T. The origin of the granular field profile is directly correlated to the microstructural properties of the YBCO layer adopted from the granular NiW substrate which leads to a spatially inhomogeneous current density. Grain-to-grain in-plane tilts lead to grain boundaries that obstruct the current while out-of-plane tilts mainly affect the grain properties, resulting in areas with low . Hence, not all grain boundaries cause detrimental effects on since the orientation of individual NiW grains also contributes to observed inhomogeneity and granularity

Abnormal activity in the precuneus during time perception in Parkinson’s disease: An fMRI study

Background Parkinson's disease (PD) patients are deficient in time estimation. This deficit improves after dopamine (DA) treatment and it has been associated with decreased internal timekeeper speed, disruption of executive function and memory retrieval dysfunction. Methodology/Findings The aim of the present study was to explore the neurophysiologic correlates of this deficit. We performed functional magnetic resonance imaging on twelve PD patients while they were performing a time reproduction task (TRT). The TRT consisted of an encoding phase (during which visual stimuli of durations from 5s to 16.6s, varied at 8 levels were presented) and a reproduction phase (during which interval durations were reproduced by a button pressing). Patients were scanned twice, once while on their DA medication (ON condition) and once after medication withdrawal (OFF condition). Differences in Blood-Oxygenation-Level-Dependent (BOLD) signal in ON and OFF conditions were evaluated. The time course of activation in the brain areas with different BOLD signal was plotted. There were no significant differences in the behavioral results, but a trend toward overestimation of intervals ≤11.9s and underestimation of intervals ≥14.1s in the OFF condition (p<0.088). During the reproduction phase, higher activation in the precuneus was found in the ON condition (p<0.05 corrected). Time course was plotted separately for long (≥14.1s) and short (≤11.9s) intervals. Results showed that there was a significant difference only in long intervals, when activity gradually decreased in the OFF, but remained stable in the ON condition. This difference in precuneus activation was not found during random button presses in a control task. Conclusions/Significance Our results show that differences in precuneus activation during retrieval of a remembered duration may underlie some aspects of time perception deficit in PD patients. We suggest that DA medication may allow compensatory activation in the precuneus, which results in a more accurate retrieval of remembered interval duration

A randomized, double blind, cross-over, placebo-controlled clinical trial to assess the effects of Candesartan on the insulin sensitivity on non diabetic, non hypertense subjects with dysglyce mia and abdominal obesity. "ARAMIA"

BACKGROUND: The raising prevalence of type-2 diabetes mellitus and obesity has been recognized as a major problem for public health, affecting both developed and developing countries. Impaired fasting plasma glucose has been previously associated with endothelial dysfunction, higher levels of inflammatory markers and increased risk of developing insulin resistance and cardiovascular events. Besides life-style changes, the blockade of the renin-angiotensin system has been proposed as a useful alternative intervention to improve insulin resistance and decrease the number of new type-2 diabetes cases. The aim of this clinical trial is to study the effect of the treatment with Candesartan, an angiotensin II receptor antagonist, on the insulin resistance, the plasma levels of adipoquines, oxidative stress and prothrombotic markers, in a group of non diabetic, non hypertensive, dysglycemic and obese subjects. METHODS AND DESIGN: A randomized, double blind, cross-over, placebo-controlled, clinical trial was designed to assess the effects of Candesartan (up to 32 mg/day during 6 months) on the Homeostasis Model Assessment (HOMA) index, lipid profile, protrombotic state, oxidative stress and plasma levels of inflammatory markers. The participants will be recruited in the "Fundación Cardiovascular de Colombia". Subjects who fullfil selection criteria will receive permanent educational, nutritional and exercise support during their participation in the study. After a 15 days-run-in period with placebo and life-style recommendations, the patients who have a treatment compliance equal or greater than 80% will be randomlly assigned to one of the treatment groups. Group A will receive Candesartan during 6 months and placebo during 6 months. Group B will receive placebo during the first 6 months, and then, Candesartan during the last 6 months. Control visits will be programed monthly and all parameters of interest will be evaluated every 6 months. HYPOTHESIS: Treatment with Candesartan, could improve the HOMA index, the response to the oral glucose tolerance test and reduce the plasma levels of adipoquines, oxidative stress and prothrombotic markers, in non diabetic, non hypertense subjects with dysglycemia and abdominal obesity, recruited from a population at high risk of developing insulin resistance. These effects are independent of the changes in arterial blood pressure. Trial registration: NCT0031920

Family routines and next-generation engagement in family firms

By focusing on the impact of different types of family routines and how they change, this commentary builds on concepts regarding the influence of perceived parental support and psychological control on next-generation engagement in family firms. Drawing on the organizational routines literature and the family studies literature, I propose that attention to family routines, and how these routines change (or not) over time can reveal additional insights regarding next-generation engagement in the family business

Prediction of transient tumor enlargement using MRI tumor texture after radiosurgery on vestibular schwannoma

Purpose: Vestibular schwannomas (VSs) are uncommon benign brain tumors, generally treated using Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS). However, due to the possible adverse effect of transient tumor enlargement (TTE), large VS tumors are often surgically removed instead of treated radiosurgically. Since microsurgery is highly invasive and results in a significant increased risk of complications, GKRS is generally preferred. Therefore, prediction of TTE for large VS tumors can improve overall VS treatment and enable physicians to select the most optimal treatment strategy on an individual basis. Currently, there are no clinical factors known to be predictive for TTE. In this research, we aim at predicting TTE following GKRS using texture features extracted from MRI scans. Methods: We analyzed clinical data of patients with VSs treated at our