A framework to move forward on the path to eco-innovation in the construction industry: implications to improve firms´ sustainable orientation

This paper examines key aspects in the innovative behavior of the construction firms that determine their environmental orientation while innovating. Structural equation modeling was used and data of 222 firms retrieved from the Spanish Technological Innovation Panel (PITEC) for 2010 to analyse the drivers of environmental orientation of the construction firms during the innovation process. The results show that the environmental orientation is positively affected by the product and process orientation of construction firms during the innovation process. Furthermore, the positive relation between the importance of market information sources and environmental orientation, mediated by process and product orientation, is discussed. Finally, a model that explains these relations is proposed and validated. Results have important managerial implications for those companies worried about their eco-innovative focus as the types of actions and relations within firms most suitable for improving their eco-innovative orientation are highlighted.The authors would like to thank the Spanish Economy and Competitiveness Ministry for its support through the research project (EC02011-27369) and also the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (SP20140647).Segarra Oña, MDV.; Peiró Signes, A.; Cervelló Royo, RE. (2015). A framework to move forward on the path to eco-innovation in the construction industry: implications to improve firms´ sustainable orientation. Science and Engineering Ethics. 21(6):1469-1484. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-014-9620-2S14691484216Amara, N., & Landry, R. (2005). Sources of information as determinants of novelty of innovation in manufacturing firms: evidence from the 1999 statistics Canada innovation survey. Technovation, 25(3), 245–259.Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W. 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Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

Stressed out symbiotes:hypotheses for the influence of abiotic stress on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Abiotic stress is a widespread threat to both plant and soil communities. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi can alleviate effects of abiotic stress by improving host plant stress tolerance, but the direct effects of abiotic stress on AM fungi are less well understood. We propose two hypotheses predicting how AM fungi will respond to abiotic stress. The stress exclusion hypothesis predicts that AM fungal abundance and diversity will decrease with persistent abiotic stress. The mycorrhizal stress adaptation hypothesis predicts that AM fungi will evolve in response to abiotic stress to maintain their fitness. We conclude that abiotic stress can have effects on AM fungi independent of the effects on the host plant. AM fungal communities will change in composition in response to abiotic stress, which may mean the loss of important individual species. This could alter feedbacks to the plant community and beyond. AM fungi will adapt to abiotic stress independent of their host plant. The adaptation of AM fungi to abiotic stress should allow the maintenance of the plant-AM fungal mutualism in the face of changing climates. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00442-016-3673-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover.

Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors. Urban-rural gradients were associated with the evolution of clines in defense in 47% of cities throughout the world. Variation in the strength of clines was explained by environmental changes in drought stress and vegetation cover that varied among cities. Sequencing 2074 genomes from 26 cities revealed that the evolution of urban-rural clines was best explained by adaptive evolution, but the degree of parallel adaptation varied among cities. Our results demonstrate that urbanization leads to adaptation at a global scale

EPIdemiology of Surgery-Associated Acute Kidney Injury (EPIS-AKI) : Study protocol for a multicentre, observational trial

More than 300 million surgical procedures are performed each year. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication after major surgery and is associated with adverse short-term and long-term outcomes. However, there is a large variation in the incidence of reported AKI rates. The establishment of an accurate epidemiology of surgery-associated AKI is important for healthcare policy, quality initiatives, clinical trials, as well as for improving guidelines. The objective of the Epidemiology of Surgery-associated Acute Kidney Injury (EPIS-AKI) trial is to prospectively evaluate the epidemiology of AKI after major surgery using the latest Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) consensus definition of AKI. EPIS-AKI is an international prospective, observational, multicentre cohort study including 10 000 patients undergoing major surgery who are subsequently admitted to the ICU or a similar high dependency unit. The primary endpoint is the incidence of AKI within 72 hours after surgery according to the KDIGO criteria. Secondary endpoints include use of renal replacement therapy (RRT), mortality during ICU and hospital stay, length of ICU and hospital stay and major adverse kidney events (combined endpoint consisting of persistent renal dysfunction, RRT and mortality) at day 90. Further, we will evaluate preoperative and intraoperative risk factors affecting the incidence of postoperative AKI. In an add-on analysis, we will assess urinary biomarkers for early detection of AKI. EPIS-AKI has been approved by the leading Ethics Committee of the Medical Council North Rhine-Westphalia, of the Westphalian Wilhelms-University Münster and the corresponding Ethics Committee at each participating site. Results will be disseminated widely and published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at conferences and used to design further AKI-related trials. Trial registration number NCT04165369

Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover

Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors. Urban-rural gradients were associated with the evolution of clines in defense in 47% of cities throughout the world. Variation in the strength of clines was explained by environmental changes in drought stress and vegetation cover that varied among cities. Sequencing 2074 genomes from 26 cities revealed that the evolution of urban-rural clines was best explained by adaptive evolution, but the degree of parallel adaptation varied among cities. Our results demonstrate that urbanization leads to adaptation at a global scale

La fibra en nutrición enteral: revisión sistemática de la literatura

Se ha sugerido que añadir fibra a las fórmulas de nu-trición enteral (NE) consigue una normalización del funcionamiento del tracto gastrointestinal, disminuyen-do la incidencia de diarrea y de estreñimiento. Sin em-bargo, esta suposición está basada en el efecto demos-trado de la fibra en la alimentación natural. Hasta la fecha no existen recomendaciones firmes sobre el uso, la cantidad ni el tipo de fibra más aconsejable en NE. Objetivo: Establecer la evidencia científica que existe sobre el beneficio de la adición de fibra a las fórmulas de NE comparado con el uso de fórmulas sin fibra. Material y métodos: Búsqueda bibliográfia en Pub-Med, en el registro de Estudios Prospectivos Aleatoriza-dos (EPA) de la Biblioteca Cochrane y búsqueda manual. Criterio de inclusión: EPA que comparen fór-mulas sin fibra con fórmulas isocalóricas e isonitrogena-das con fibra en NE total. Cuatro revisores indepen-dientes revisan las referencias seleccionadas. Para el análisis de los datos se utiliza el programa RevMan 4.1 de la Biblioteca Cochrane. Resultados: De 286 referencias 25 cumplen el criterio de inclusión. Los datos se agrupan por población y por variable de resultado. La adición de fibra fermentable a las fórmulas de NE tiende a disminuir la incidencia de diarrea en pacientes críticos y postquirúrgicos (OR = 0,66; IC 95% 0,46-0,95; p = 0,19). El uso de fórmulas con fibra insoluble parece aumentar la frecuencia de de-posiciones y disminuir la necesidad de laxantes en pa-cientes inmovilizados con NE a largo plazo pero los da-tos son insuficientes. En personas con función gastrointestinal normal la frecuencia de las deposiciones es similar usando fórmulas con y sin fibra (DPM = -0,07; IC 95% -0,12-0,02, p < 0,0001). Conclusión: En la actualidad no existe suficiente evi-dencia para recomendar el uso sistemático de fórmulas con fibra en NE total. No obstante, en pacientes críticos y postquirúrgicos la utilización de fórmulas con fibra fermentable tiende a reducir la incidencia de diarrea. Aunque todavía faltan datos, las fórmulas con fibra in-soluble parecen disminuir el estreñimiento en NE cróni-ca, mientras que en otras situaciones, cuando el tubo di-gestivo funciona adecuadamente, no se ha demostrado beneficio. Es necesario aumentar el número y calidad de los estudios antes de poder establecer recomendaciones firmes sobre el uso de fórmulas de NE con fibra

Calcium phosphate grafts produced by rapid prototyping based on laser cladding

Rapid prototyping based on laser cladding by powder injection has been used to produce calcium phosphate three-dimensional grafts without using molds. Precursor material comprising of hydroxyapatite (HA) powder was irradiated by means of an infrared Nd:YAG laser. The processing parameters and the thermal history of the processed material have been assessed and the process has been optimized to obtain solid parts. Processing by laser cladding lead to complete dehydroxylation of the precursor HA, the obtained microstructure is composed by an alpha-tricalcium phosphate ( -TCP) matrix with nucleated tetracalcium phosphate (TTCP) grains, in coexistence with oxyapatite and amorphous calcium phosphate. The produced bioceramic grafts were observed to be bioactive, leading to calcium-deficient hydroxyapatite precipitation and promoting pre-osteoblastic cell attachment and proliferation during “in vitro” cell culture test.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación | Ref. MAT2006-10481Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte | Ref. AP2006-03500Xunta de Galici