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Great Benefit (great + benefit)
Selected AbstractsDoes nutritional intervention for patients with hip fractures reduce postoperative complications and improve rehabilitation?JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 9 2009Anna-Karin Gunnarsson Aims and objectives., The aims were to investigate whether there were any differences between patients receiving nutritional intervention preoperatively and over five days postoperatively and patients who did not, in terms of postoperative complications, rehabilitation, length of stay and food and liquid intake. Background., Patients with hip fractures are often malnourished at admission to hospital and they typically do not receive the energy and calories needed postoperatively. Design., The design was a quasi-experimental, pre- and post-test comparison group design without random group assignment. Methods., One hundred patients with hip fractures were consecutively included. The control group (n = 50) received regular nutritional support. The intervention group (n = 50) received nutrition according to nutritional guidelines. The outcome measures used were risk of pressure ulcer, pressure ulcers, weight, nosocomial infections, cognitive ability, walking assistance and functional ability, collected preoperatively and five days postoperatively. Each patient's nutrient and liquid intake were assessed daily for five days postoperatively. Results., Significantly fewer (p = 0·043) patients in the intervention group (18%) had pressure ulcers five days postoperatively compared with the control group (36%). Nutrient and liquid intake was significantly higher (p < 0·001) in the intervention group. Median length of stay decreased from nine to seven days (p = 0·137), as did nosocomial infections, from 18,8·7% (p = 0·137). Conclusion., Patients with hip fractures receiving nutrition according to nutritional guidelines developed fewer pressure ulcers. This is invaluable to patients' quality of life and a major economic saving for society. Relevance to clinical practice., Great benefits can be gained for the patients through modest efforts by nurses and physicians such as nutritional intervention. [source] A global view on prophylaxis: possibilities and consequencesHAEMOPHILIA, Issue 2003A. D. Shapiro Summary., Prophylactic infusion therapy, both primary and secondary, has proven of great benefit to patients with haemophilia, specifically those with severe disease or bleeding episodes and patterns that have lead to development of arthropathy. At this time, optimal outcome in patients with severe haemophilia has been proven achievable with primary prophylaxis initiated at an early age in a regimen of three times weekly or every other day for patients with factor VIII deficiency, and twice weekly for those with factor IX deficiency. Despite the demonstrated benefit of primary prophylaxis, this treatment regimen has not been uniformly adopted into clinical practice even in developed countries. In developing countries, where issues of allocation of precious health care resources are of paramount importance, access to adequate treatment for persons with haemophilia on a programme of on-demand therapy is not commonly available; the cost of primary prophylaxis, even with intermediate purity plasma-derived factor concentrates or plasma fractions such as cryoprecipitate, renders this treatment the exception rather than the rule. [source] Reproductive stem cell research and its application to urologyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF UROLOGY, Issue 2 2008Takehiko Ogawa Abstract: Germ cells are defined by their innate potential to transmit genetic information to the next generation through fertilization. Males produce numerous sperm for long periods to maximize chances of fertilization. Key to the continuous production of large numbers of sperm are germline stem cells and their immediate daughter cells, functioning as transit amplifying cells. Recently, it has become possible to expand germline stem cells of rodents in vitro. In addition, multipotent stem cells, which are functionally the same as embryonic stem cells, have been established from neonatal mouse testes. These stem cells derived from the testis should contribute to biological research and technologies. On the other hand, the nature of human spermatogenesis is largely unknown due to the lack of an appropriate experimental system. However, the prevailing testicular sperm extraction procedure unraveled hitherto unknown facets of human spermatogenesis. The establishment of a culturing method for human spermatogonial stem cells in hopefully the near future would be a great benefit for achieving further insight into human spermatogenesis and should lead to more sophisticated diagnostic and therapeutic clinical measures for male infertility. [source] Indices of Drought Tolerance in Wheat Genotypes at Early Stages of Plant GrowthJOURNAL OF AGRONOMY AND CROP SCIENCE, Issue 1 2004S. S. Dhanda Abstract Thirty diverse genotypes of bread wheat were evaluated for seed vigour index, germination percentage, root length, shoot length, root-to-shoot length ratio, coleoptile length and osmotic membrane stability under laboratory conditions. Considerable variation was observed for all the characters. Discrimination among the genotypes on the basis of mean values was better under normal than under moisture stress conditions, indicating suppression of variability under moisture stress conditions. Comparison of mean performance under normal and osmotic stress conditions indicated that the seed vigour index was the most sensitive trait, followed by shoot length, germination percentage and root length. The root-to-shoot length ratio, however, increased under osmotic stress. The magnitude of genetic components of variance and heritability were, in general, lower under osmotic stress than under normal conditions. All the characters except germination percentage, shoot length and coleoptile length showed considerable genetic variability. Heritability in the broad sense was also moderate to high for all the characters under both environments. Due to high heritability and genetic advance great benefit from selection can be expected for the osmotic membrane stability of leaf segments and root-to-shoot length ratio. Moderate progress can be expected from root length and seed vigour index. Correlation studies indicated that the osmotic membrane stability of the leaf segment was the most important trait, followed by root-to-shoot ratio and root length on the basis of their relationships with other traits. [source] Alternative concept for SOFC with direct internal reforming operation: Benefits from inserting catalyst rodAICHE JOURNAL, Issue 6 2010Pannipha Dokamaingam Abstract Mathematical models of direct internal reforming solid oxide fuel cell (DIR-SOFC) fueled by methane are developed using COMSOL® software. The benefits of inserting Ni-catalyst rod in the middle of tubular-SOFC are simulated and compared to conventional DIR-SOFC. It reveals that DIR-SOFC with inserted catalyst provides smoother temperature gradient along the system and gains higher power density and electrochemical efficiency with less carbon deposition. Sensitivity analyses are performed. By increasing inlet fuel flow rate, the temperature gradient and power density improve, but less electrical efficiency with higher carbon deposition is predicted. The feed with low inlet steam/carbon ratio enhances good system performances but also results in high potential for carbon formation; this gains great benefit of DIR-SOFC with inserted catalyst because the rate of carbon deposition is remarkably low. Compared between counter- and co-flow patterns, the latter provides smoother temperature distribution with higher efficiency; thus, it is the better option for practical applications. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2010 [source] Extracorporeal photochemotherapy in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma: is clinical response predictable?JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY & VENEREOLOGY, Issue 9 2006V Rao Abstract Background, Extracorporeal photochemotherapy (ECP) has been accepted as a standard therapy in cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCL), a category of lymphomas mainly resistant to conventional therapies. Approximately one half of patients demonstrate a reduction in skin affliction by at least 50% within 12 months of therapy and are categorized as responders to ECP. Predictive criteria for selecting patients who will respond to ECP are lacking. Such criteria would however, be of great benefit. Objectives, This study compared T-cell clonality and serum levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R), lactate dehydrogenase (LD), neopterin, beta2-microglobulin (,2 -M) and granzyme B in CTCL patients in order to evaluate their potential usefulness as predictive markers. Patients/methods, Serum and T lymphocytes obtained from 16 patients with CTCL receiving ECP treatment were evaluated in an open retrospective study. Results, We found no evident correlation between detected T-cell clonality and response to ECP. The non-responding group had on average a higher level of serum sIL-2R. This difference was significant after 6 and 12 months of therapy, but not pretreatment. An individual reduction in serum sIL-2R, neopterin and ,2 -M during a 6-month course of ECP was well correlated to clinical remission. Conclusions, Seven out of 16 patients were classified as responders. Neither T-cell clonality nor any of the serum markers assessed pretreatment could reliably predict the response to ECP treatment. However, the individual relative changes in sIL-2R, neopterin and ,2 -M during 6 months of ECP treatment coherently displayed correlation to the clinical response, as assessed after 12 months of ECP treatment. [source] Trichothiodystrophy-like Hair Abnormalities in a Child with Keratitis Ichthyosis Deafness SyndromePEDIATRIC DERMATOLOGY, Issue 4 2008L. De Raeve M.D., Ph.D. It appears to be genetically heterogeneous and may be caused by mutations in the connexin 26 (Cx26) gene (GJB2) or in the connexin 30 gene. It is characterized by the association of ichthyosis-like skin lesions, hearing loss, and vascularizing keratitis. We report the clinical and molecular findings in a 5-year-old girl with keratitis ichthyosis deafness syndrome. DNA sequencing in our patient revealed a p.Ser17Phe mutation in GJB2. Besides the typical clinical features of keratitis ichthyosis deafness syndrome, a peculiar intriguing finding not previously described in the literature in this condition was that polarizing light microscopy of the scalp hair in our patient revealed striking bright and dark bands as seen in trichothiodystrophy. Amino acid analysis of the hair sample also disclosed a reduced cysteine index. We emphasize that it would be of great benefit to examine hair shafts in other patients with keratitis ichthyosis deafness syndrome for trichothiodystrophy-like abnormalities. [source] Food selection and nutritional ecology of woodlice in Central ChilePHYSIOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 1 2008TAMARA P. CATALÁN Abstract Phenotypic flexibility in food selection and digestive efficiency in response is examined in relation to variations in food quality in a detritivorous species of Mediterranean ecosystems, the woodlouse Porcellio laevis Latreille (Isopoda: Oniscidea). It is hypothesized that diet selection should show a positive correlation between diet quality and digestive efficiency. The studied plants are isocaloric but exhibit significant differences in terms of nitrogen, carbon and fibre content. The observations appear to support the hypothesis that these isopods show compensatory feeding behaviour when feeding on poor diets. Contrary to expectation, a dietary effect on relative growth rate is not observed. It is concluded that behavioural skills associated with diet selection and physiological flexibility may allow P.laevis to satisfy and maintain equivalent nutritional levels during exposure to different diet qualities. In general, it appears that physiological flexibility plays an important role in determining nutritional balance in P.laevis, which can be of great benefit in the highly seasonal environment that it inhabits. [source] Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for a rapid first-trimester prenatal diagnosisPRENATAL DIAGNOSIS, Issue 4 2004Carole Goumy Abstract Objectives Early diagnosis of unbalanced chromosomal abnormalities can be crucial in minimizing the trauma caused by an elective abortion. Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) can be performed from 9 weeks of gestation. However, two major problems are encountered in fetal karyotyping using cultured cells from chorionic villi: the relatively slow growth of these cells in culture, which delays the diagnosis, and the occurrence of maternal cell contamination (MCC). With FISH, a result can be obtained within 24 h, and, as no cell culturing is involved, the problem of MCC is minimized. Methods Thirty-two women undergoing CVS between 9 and 12 weeks of gestation were offered FISH analysis in addition to the standard chromosome analysis. Results FISH was informative in all of the cases tested. Eleven aneuploidies were detected in cases of hygroma or abnormal nuchal translucency and two out of four fetuses from parental translocation were unbalanced. The decision to perform early termination of these chromosomally abnormal pregnancies was based on FISH results and ultrasound abnormalities, without waiting for karyotype results. Conclusion The present study confirms that the association of FISH and CVS allows a rapid and early prenatal diagnosis, and emphasizes that this association is of great benefit in cases of known parental balanced translocation or when hygroma is detected by ultrasonography. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] ,Psy' research beyond late modernity: towards praxis-congruent researchPSYCHOTHERAPY AND POLITICS INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2010Richard House Abstract Lees and Freshwater's Practitioner-based Research is a significant intervention into the struggle for the ,research soul' of the psychological therapies. Positivistic notions beloved of the managerialist ,audit culture', centred on the totem of ,evidence-based practice', are increasingly colonizing psy research, creating a new ,regime of truth' that privileges ,standards', ,competencies' and ,quality assurance', and presages a shift in the locus of power away from practitioners' professional autonomy and towards managerialist bureaucracy. In arguing that no one (,scientific') paradigm should necessarily be assumed to be more ,valid' than a multiplicity of possible others, they advocate the practitioner's voice having at least equal validity to that of academics and bureaucrats, aiming to establish an ,epistemology of practice' that redresses a balance that has become too skewed towards uncritical, and in many ways anti-human, ,technical rationality'. This review article explores the rationale for this shift, and finds it compelling and convincing. It is also argued here that great benefit can be gained for the future flourishing of psy research from building bridges to other radical-critical research traditions and innovations in late-modern culture. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Neo-Adjuvant Hormonal TherapyTHE BREAST JOURNAL, Issue 3 2008Marcia Valenzuela MD Abstract:, Neo-adjuvant endocrine therapy has opened new alternatives for locally advanced breast cancer. Such therapy, which has permitted us to expand the treatment role of neo-adjuvant therapies, may be of great benefit to patient groups such as the elderly, those not suited for chemotherapy, and those whose response may not be optimal. This therapy also may be able to help us identify agents that could improve outcomes in the adjuvant setting as well as possible biologic predictors for outcome. The latest generation of endocrine therapy for breast cancer, aromatase inhibitors, has proved superior to tamoxifen in terms of toxicity and efficacy in the adjuvant setting and is currently being studied in other clinical trials. Current findings indicate that these agents are less toxic and better tolerated than neo-adjuvant chemotherapy and that third-generation anti-hormomal therapy offers improved tumor response compared with tamoxifen, which has resulted in increased breast conserving surgery. Biomarker findings of improved response in tumors that are both estrogen receptor positive and HER-2 positive as well as progesterone receptor positivity only will be important for planning future selective treatment and clinical trials. [source] Prison Drug Dealing and the Ethnographic LensTHE HOWARD JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, Issue 4 2006BEN CREWE Having detailed the way that the research project proceeded, it analyses prison drug dealing as an individually meaningful act that takes place within a broader context of cultural codes, social relations and institutional policies. It suggests that, to unpack these issues fully, and chart the terms of the internal economy which heroin dominates, a committed attendance in the prison establishment, and an approach that is broad and exploratory, is of great benefit. [source] Facilitating Emergency Care Research Networks: Integration into the Clinical Translational and Science Award (CTSA) InfrastructureACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 10 2009Judd E. Hollander MD Abstract Emergency care research (ECR) does not fit neatly into the traditional National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding model, because emergency research involves undifferentiated disease presentations involving multiple disciplines and time-sensitive interventions. A task force of emergency care researchers and other stakeholders was convened to discuss the present and future state of clinical research networks. Integration of ECR with the Clinical Translational and Science Award (CTSA) program through a multidisciplinary emergency care research network (ECRN) would obviate the duplication of research efforts by disease-specific or institute-specific multicenter networks and reduce startup and maintenance costs. Strategies to enhance integration must include the training of emergency physician investigators in biostatistical and epidemiologic methods, as well as educating collaborative investigators in emergency care,related methodologies. Thus, an ECRN would be of great benefit to CTSA awardees and applicants and should be considered a priority. [source] Modelling species distribution at multiple spatial scales: gibbon habitat preferences in a fragmented landscapeANIMAL CONSERVATION, Issue 3 2010T. N. E. Gray Abstract Conservation of Indochinese primates is hampered by a lack of knowledge of species ecology, habitat preferences and, locally, distribution. Predictive distribution and habitat suitability models, using predictors known to affect the distribution of similar species elsewhere, may, therefore be of great benefit to conservationists within the region. Yellow-cheeked crested gibbon Nomascus gabriellae is an IUCN-listed endangered primate distributed east of the Mekong River in Cambodia, southern Vietnam, and possibly southern Lao PDR. Within Cambodia, yellow-cheeked crested gibbon are naturally restricted to evergreen forest fragments within a landscape matrix of deciduous dipterocarp and semi-evergreen forests. During the 2008 dry season, auditory surveys for yellow-cheeked crested gibbon were conducted within Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary, Mondulkiri province, Cambodia. Predictive distribution models, in which variables were included at the scale at which they best explained gibbon occurrence (multi-grain models), were constructed to examine the species' habitat associations and tolerance of habitat fragmentation within the wildlife sanctuary. Gibbon occupancy (,) was higher in evergreen (0.43±0.26,0.62) than in semi-evergreen forest (0.21±0.09,0.4), with gibbon presence constrained by a critical amount of evergreen forest within 5 km radius of listening posts. Three patches of optimal habitat within Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary were identified. These, and connecting habitats, should be the target of increased enforcement effort to limit hunting and habitat conversion. Similar multi-grain models are likely to be valuable for conservationists within mosaic habitats as they can facilitate identification of the minimum suitable fragment size for species of conservation concern. [source] Size matters: the value of small populations for wintering waterbirdsANIMAL CONSERVATION, Issue 3 2004Sarah F. Jackson Protecting systematically selected areas of land is a major step towards biodiversity conservation worldwide. Indeed, the identification and designation of protected areas more often than not forms a core component of both national and international conservation policies. In this paper we provide an overview of those Special Protection Areas and Ramsar Sites that have been classified in Great Britain as of 1998/99 for a selection of wintering waterbird species, using bird count data from the Wetland Bird Survey. The performance of this network of sites is remarkable, particularly in comparison with published analyses of networks elsewhere in the world. Nevertheless, the current site-based approach, whilst having the great benefit of simplicity, is deliberately biased towards aggregating species at the expense of the more dispersed distribution species. To ensure that the network continues successfully to protect nationally and internationally important waterbird populations, efforts now need to concentrate on the derivation of species-specific representation targets and, in particular, the ways in which these can be incorporated into the site selection process. Although these analyses concern the performance of protected areas for waterbirds in Great Britain, the results have wide-ranging importance for conservation planning in general and the design of protected area networks. [source] A real reason for patients with pseudobulbar affect to smileANNALS OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 2 2007Howard J. Rosen MD Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is a dramatic disorder of emotional expression and regulation characterized by uncontrollable episodes of laughing and crying that often cause embarrassment, curtailment of social activities, and reduction in quality of life. The disorder occurs in patients with brain injury caused by many types of neurological disease, including stroke, tumors, and neurodegenerative gray and white matter disorders. Although the pathophysiology is unknown, PBA may relate to release of brainstem emotional control centers from regulation by the frontal lobes. Diagnosis of PBA can be difficult and relies on careful characterization of episodes and differentiation from depression. Although there are no US Food and Drug Administration,approved treatments for PBA, several agents have been shown to be effective, including tricyclic antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and a new agent containing dextromethorphan and quinidine. The growing number of treatment options, some of great benefit to patients, highlights the importance of accurate diagnosis of this disorder. Ann Neurol 2007 [source] Estrogen signaling pathway and its imaging in human breast cancerCANCER SCIENCE, Issue 10 2009Shin-ichi Hayashi Recent remarkable progress in hormonal therapy has provided great benefit to breast cancer patients, but it also evokes novel issues: how accurately can the efficacy of each hormonal therapy be predicted and how can hormonal therapy,resistant patients be treated? These clinically important issues must be closely related to the biological events in each cancer, such as the alteration of intracellular multiple estrogen signaling pathways and the estrogen-related cancer microenvironment, which has recently revealed by molecular biological studies on estrogen and its receptors. However, the estrogen signaling status in individual breast cancers has not been clarified yet. Here we present the context of these issues and introduce our study of new tools which enable the visualization of estrogen signals in individual cancers. The assessment of estrogen receptor (ER)-, activity in individual cancers or ER-activating ability of the cancer microenvironment in each breast cancer patient revealed several new findings and interesting observations. We hope that these approaches provide new clues about the estrogen-dependent mechanisms of breast cancer development, and will be useful to advance the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer patients. (Cancer Sci 2009; 100: 1773,1778) [source] Streamlining ,search and destroy': cost-effective surveillance for invasive species managementECOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 7 2009Cindy E. Hauser Abstract Invasive species surveillance has typically been targeted to where the species is most likely to occur. However, spatially varying environmental characteristics and land uses may affect more than just the probability of occurrence. Biodiversity or economic value, and the ease of detection and control are also likely to vary. We incorporate these factors into a detection and treatment model of a low-density invader to determine the surveillance strategy that minimizes expected management costs. Sites with a high probability of invader occurrence and great benefits associated with detection warrant intensive surveillance; however, the optimum investment is a nonlinear function of these factors. Environments where the invader is relatively easy to detect are prioritized for surveillance, although only a moderate investment is necessary to ensure a high probability of detection. Intensive surveillance effort may be allocated to other sites if the probability of occurrence, budget and/or expected benefits is sufficiently high. [source] Queuing analysis of shared-buffer ATM switches with grouped output channelsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, Issue 3 2001Abdullah A. Abonamah Abstract Shared buffering and channel grouping are powerful techniques with great benefits in terms of both performance and implementation. Shared-buffer switches are known to have better performance and better utilization than input or output queued switches. With channel grouping, a cell is routed to a group of channels instead of a specific output channel. In this way, congestion due to output contention can be minimized and the switch performance can therefore be greatly improved. Although each technique is well known by itself in the traditional study of queuing systems, their combined use in ATM networks has not been much explored previously. In this paper, we develop an analytical model for a shared-buffer ATM switch with grouped output channels. The model is then used to study the switch performance in terms of cell loss probability, cell delay and throughput. In particular, we study the impact of the channel grouping factor on the buffer requirements. Our results show that grouping the output channels in a shared-buffer ATM switch leads to considerable savings in buffer space. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The potential reuse of biodegradable municipal solid wastes (MSW) as feedstocks in vermicompostingJOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 13 2010Edwin Yih Shyang Sim Abstract There is an urgent need globally to find alternative sustainable steps to treat municipal solid wastes (MSW) originated from mismanagement of urban wastes with increasing disposal cost. Furthermore, a conglomeration of ever-increasing population and consumerist lifestyle is contributing towards the generation of more MSW. In this context, vermicomposting offers excellent potential to promote safe, hygienic and sustainable management of biodegradable MSW. It has been demonstrated that, through vermicomposting, MSW such as city garbage, household and kitchen wastes, vegetable wastes, paper wastes, human faeces and others could be sustainably transformed into organic fertiliser or vermicompost that provides great benefits to agricultural soil and plants. Generally, earthworms are sensitive to their environment and require temperature, moisture content, pH and sometimes ventilation at proper levels for the optimum vermicomposting process. Apart from setting the optimum operational conditions for the vermicomposting process, other approaches such as pre-composting, inoculating micro-organisms into MSW and redesigning the conventional vermireactor could be introduced to further enhance the vermicomposting of MSW. Thus the present mini-review discusses the potential of introducing vermicomposting in MSW management, the benefits of vermicomposted MSW to plants, suggestions on how to enhance the vermicomposting of MSW as well as risk management in the vermicomposting of MSW. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry [source] The Role of Champions in the External Commercialization of Knowledge,THE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2009Ulrich Lichtenthaler Besides applying knowledge in their own products or services, firms may externally commercialize their knowledge assets (e.g., by means of outlicensing). The literature on champions, however, has focused on internal innovation. This gap in prior research is particularly remarkable as the potential for promoting external knowledge exploitation is high. Some pioneering firms realize great benefits, whereas most others experience major managerial difficulties. This paper tests five hypotheses regarding the emergence and impact of champions of external knowledge exploitation with data from 152 firms across industries. The results of the questionnaire-based study demonstrate the relevance of champions of external knowledge exploitation. Championing constitutes an essential success factor and has strongly contributed to the recent increase in external knowledge commercialization. These findings help to explain the discrepancies between the few successful and the majority of unsuccessful firms. Beyond existing insights, the emergence of champions is affected by external determinants in addition to internal determinants. There is an inverted U-shaped relationship between championing and the internal determinants, that is, organizational climate and active strategy. Moreover, there is a negative relationship between championing and market imperfection and an inverted U-shaped relationship between championing and competitive intensity, which both constitute external determinants of championing. In contrast to the traditional understanding, champions tend to emerge in supportive environments, in which internal and external barriers are relatively low. This surprising finding calls for rethinking the role and motivation of champions. [source] |