Multi-level project governance: Trends and opportunities

© 2014 Elsevier Ltd and International Project Management Association. Project governance is important in ensuring successful project delivery. In this article we conduct a systematic investigation of previous research to provide a content-driven review of the literature, and to provide future research direction. We use the textual data mining software Leximancer to identify dominant concepts and themes underlying project governance research. Our findings indicate that agency and stakeholder theories have been adapted to the project governance context to a greater extent than other theories. Furthermore, we find differences in project governance research, published in project management journals compared to general management, IT and engineering journals. We conclude the paper by presenting a framework that links governance theories to the multiple organizational levels relevant to project governance

Acute Care Surgery Models Worldwide: A Systematic Review

Background: The Acute Care Surgery (ACS) model was developed as a dedicated service for the provision of 24/7 nontrauma emergency surgical care. This systematic review investigated which components are essential in an ACS model and the state of implementation of ACS models worldwide. Methods: A literature search was conducted using PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane library, and Web of Science databases. All relevant data of ACS models were extracted from included articles. Results: The search identified 62 articles describing ACS models in 13 countries. The majority consist of a dedicated nontrauma emergency surgical service, with daytime on-site attending coverage (cleared from elective duties), and 24/7 in-house resident coverage. Emergency department coverage and operating room access varied widely. Critical care is fully embedded in the original US model as part of the acute care chain (ACC), but is still a separate unit in most other countries. While in most European countries, ACS is not a recognized specialty yet, there is a tendency toward more structured acute care. Conclusions: Large national and international heterogeneity exists in the structure and components of the ACS model. Critical care is still a separate component in most systems, although it is an essential part of the ACC to provide the best pre-, intra- and postoperative care of the physiologically deranged patient. Universal acceptance of one global ACS model seems challenging; however, a global consensus on essential components would benefit any healthcare system

Cocaine influences alcohol-seeking behavior and relapse drinking in alcohol-preferring (P) rats

BACKGROUND: The results of several studies suggest that there may be common neurocircuits regulating drug-seeking behaviors. Common biological pathways regulating drug-seeking would explain the phenomenon that seeking for 1 drug can be enhanced by exposure to another drug of abuse. The objective of this study was to assess the time course effects of acute cocaine administration on ethanol (EtOH) seeking and relapse. METHODS: Alcohol-preferring (P) rats were allowed to self-administer 15% EtOH and water. EtOH-seeking was assessed through the use of the Pavlovian spontaneous recovery (PSR) model, while EtOH-relapse drinking was assessed through the use of the alcohol-deprivation effect. RESULTS: Cocaine (0, 1, or 10 mg/kg), injected immediately, 30 minutes, or 4 hours prior to the first PSR testing session, dose-dependently increased responding on the EtOH lever compared to extinction responses and responding by saline controls. Under relapse conditions, cocaine given immediately prior to the relapse session had no effect (1 mg/kg) or reduced responding (10 mg/kg). In contrast, cocaine given 4 hours prior to the relapse session markedly enhanced EtOH responding compared to saline. CONCLUSIONS: The enhanced expression of EtOH-seeking and EtOH-relapse behaviors may be a result of a priming effect of cocaine on neuronal circuits mediating these behaviors. The effect of cocaine on EtOH-relapse drinking is indicative of the complex interactions that can occur between drugs of abuse; production of conflicting behaviors (immediate), and priming of relapse/seeking (4-hour delay)

D1 receptors in the nucleus accumbens-shell, but not the core, are involved in mediating ethanol-seeking behavior of alcohol-preferring (P) rats

Clinical and preclinical research suggest that activation of the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system is involved in mediating the rewarding actions of drugs of abuse, as well as promoting drug-seeking behavior. Inhibition of DA D1 receptors in the nucleus accumbens (Acb) can reduce ethanol (EtOH)-seeking behavior of non-selective rats triggered by environmental context. However, to date, there has been no research on the effects of D1 receptor agents on EtOH- seeking behavior of high alcohol-preferring (P) rats following prolonged abstinence. The objective of the present study was to examine the effects of microinjecting the D1 antagonist SCH 23390 or the D1 agonist A-77636 into the Acb shell or Acb core on spontaneous recovery of EtOH-seeking behavior. After 10 weeks of concurrent access to EtOH and water, P rats underwent seven extinction sessions (EtOH and water withheld), followed by 2 weeks in their home cages without access to EtOH or operant sessions. In the 2nd week of the home cage phase, rats were bilaterally implanted with guide cannula aimed at the Acb shell or Acb core; rats were allowed 7d ays to recover before EtOH-seeking was assessed by the Pavlovian Spontaneous Recovery (PSR) model. Administration of SCH23390 (1μg/side) into the Acb shell inhibited responding on the EtOH lever, whereas administration of A-77636 (0.125μg/side) increased responding on the EtOH lever. Microinfusion of D1 receptor agents into the Acb core did not alter responding on the EtOH lever. Responses on the water lever were not altered by any of the treatments. The results suggest that activation of D1 receptors within the Acb shell, but not Acb core, are involved in mediating PSR of EtOH-seeking behavior of P rats

Homogenous recycling of transuranium elements from irradiated fast reactor fuel by the EURO-GANEX solvent extraction process

The EURO-GANEX process was developed forco-separating transuranium elements from irradiatednuclear fuels. A hot flow-sheet trial was performed in acounter-current centrifugal contactor setup, using a genuinehigh active feed solution. Irradiated mixed (carbide,nitride) U80Pu20 fast reactor fuel containing 20 % Pu wasthermally treated to oxidise it to the oxide form which wasthen dissolved in HNO3. From this solution uranium wasseparated to >99.9 % in a primary solvent extraction cycleusing 1.0 mol/L DEHiBA (N,N-di(2-ethylhexyl)isobutyramidein TPH (hydrogenated tetrapropene) as the organicphase. The raffinate solution from this process, containing10 g/L Pu, was further processed in a second cycle of solventextraction. In this EURO-GANEX flow-sheet, TRU andfission product lanthanides were firstly co-extracted intoa solvent composed of 0.2 mol/L TODGA (N,N,N′,N′-tetran-octyl diglycolamide) and 0.5 mol/L DMDOHEMA (N,N′-dimethyl-N,N′-dioctyl-2-(2-hexyloxy-ethyl) malonamide)dissolved in Exxsol D80, separating them from most otherfission and corrosion products. Subsequently, the TRUwere selectively stripped from the collected loaded solventusing a solution containing 0.055 mol/L SO3-Ph-BTP(2,6-bis(5,6-di(3-sulphophenyl)-1,2,4-triazin-3-yl)pyridinetetrasodium salt) and 1 mol/L AHA (acetohydroxamicacid) in 0.5 mol/L HNO3; lanthanides were finally strippedusing 0.01 mol/L HNO3. Approximately 99.9 % of the TRUand less than 0.1 % of the lanthanides were found in theproduct solution, which also contained the major fractionsof Zr and Mo

Comprehension as social and intellectual practice: Rebuilding curriculum in low socioeconomic and cultural minority schools

This article reframes the concept of comprehension as a social and intellectual practice. It reviews current approaches to reading instruction for linguistically and culturally diverse and low socioeconomic students, noting an emphasis on comprehension as autonomous skills. The Four Resources model (Freebody & Luke, 1990) is used to make the case for the integration of comprehension instruction with an emphasis on student cultural and community knowledge, and substantive intellectual and sociocultural content in elementary school curricula. Illustrations are drawn from research underway on the teaching of literacy in primary schools in low SES communities

Ethanol and nicotine interaction within the posterior ventral tegmental area in male and female alcohol-preferring rats: evidence of synergy and differential gene activation in the nucleus accumbens shell

RATIONALE: Ethanol and nicotine are frequently co-abused. The biological basis for the high co-morbidity rate is not known. Alcohol-preferring (P) rats will self-administer EtOH or nicotine directly into the posterior ventral tegmental area (pVTA). OBJECTIVE: The current experiments examined whether sub-threshold concentrations of EtOH and nicotine would support the development of self-administration behaviors if the drugs were combined. METHODS: Rats were implanted with a guide cannula aimed at the pVTA. Rats were randomly assigned to groups that self-administered sub-threshold concentrations of EtOH (50 mg%) or nicotine (1 μM) or combinations of ethanol (25 or 50 mg%) and nicotine (0.5 or 1.0 μM). Alterations in gene expression downstream projections areas (nucleus accumbens shell, AcbSh) were assessed following a single, acute exposure to EtOH (50 mg%), nicotine (1 μM), or ethanol and nicotine (50 mg% + 1 μM) directly into the pVTA. RESULTS: The results indicated that P rats would co-administer EtOH and nicotine directly into the pVTA at concentrations that did not support individual self-administration. EtOH and nicotine directly administered into the pVTA resulted in alterations in gene expression in the AcbSh (50.8-fold increase in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), 2.4-fold decrease in glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), 10.3-fold increase in vesicular glutamate transporter 1 (Vglut1)) that were not observed following microinjections of equivalent concentrations/doses of ethanol or nicotine. CONCLUSION: The data indicate that ethanol and nicotine act synergistically to produce reinforcement and alter gene expression within the mesolimbic dopamine system. The high rate of co-morbidity of alcoholism and nicotine dependence could be the result of the interactions of EtOH and nicotine within the mesolimbic dopamine system