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Background: In the SPOTLIGHT trial (Spot Sign Selection of Intracerebral Hemorrhage to Guide Hemostatic Therapy), patients with a computed tomography (CT) angiography spot-sign positive acute intracerebral hemorrhage were randomized to rFVIIa (recombinant activated factor VIIa; 80 μg/kg) or placebo within 6 hours of onset, aiming to limit hematoma expansion. Administration of rFVIIa did not significantly reduce hematoma expansion. In this prespecified analysis, we aimed to investigate the impact of delays from baseline imaging to study drug administration on hematoma expansion. Methods: Hematoma volumes were measured on the baseline CT, early post-dose CT, and 24 hours CT scans. Total hematoma volume (intracerebral hemorrhage+intraventricular hemorrhage) change between the 3 scans was calculated as an estimate of how much hematoma expansion occurred before and after studying drug administration. Results: Of the 50 patients included in the trial, 44 had an early post-dose CT scan. Median time (interquartile range) from onset to baseline CT was 1.4 hours (1.2–2.6). Median time from baseline CT to study drug was 62.5 (55–80) minutes, and from study drug to early post-dose CT was 19 (14.5–30) minutes. Median (interquartile range) total hematoma volume increased from baseline CT to early post-dose CT by 10.0 mL (−0.7 to 18.5) in the rFVIIa arm and 5.4 mL (1.8–8.3) in the placebo arm ( P =0.96). Median volume change between the early post-dose CT and follow-up scan was 0.6 mL (−2.6 to 8.3) in the rFVIIa arm and 0.7 mL (−1.6 to 2.1) in the placebo arm ( P =0.98). Total hematoma volume decreased between the early post-dose CT and 24-hour scan in 44.2% of cases (rFVIIa 38.9% and placebo 48%). The adjusted hematoma growth in volume immediately post dose for FVIIa was 0.998 times that of placebo ([95% CI, 0.71–1.43]; P =0.99). The hourly growth in FFVIIa was 0.998 times that for placebo ([95% CI, 0.994–1.003]; P =0.50; Table 3). Conclusions: In the SPOTLIGHT trial, the adjusted hematoma volume growth was not associated with Factor VIIa treatment. Most hematoma expansion occurred between the baseline CT and the early post-dose CT, limiting any potential treatment effect of hemostatic therapy. Future hemostatic trials must treat intracerebral hemorrhage patients earlier from onset, with minimal delay between baseline CT and drug administration. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT01359202.

With global specialization of work units within organizations, interdisciplinary work practices comprised of collaborative efforts between technical and business teams are increasingly common in today's workplace. While higher education has responded by creating opportunities for remote teams to learn from collaborative work, occasions for interaction between remotely situated significantly diverse teams such as business and engineering are few. This study describes a pedagogical offering between U.S.-based business teams and U.K.-based engineering teams that delivers such an experience around mutually dependent, socially responsible projects. Results from student surveys and reflections confirm that the pedagogical design is able to generate perceived interdependence between these diverse teams. Student responses to surveys also suggest that the collaboration is effective in raising student confidence in interdisciplinary and remote team work among students. The study concludes with recommendations for transferability and actualization of interdisciplinary collaboration.

Almost every knowledge worker can relate to feelings of Information Overload (IO), but in reality the phenomenon is not well understood. IO can be critical for individuals and organizations. Despite intensive research during the last decades this complex scientific discipline lacks comprehensive research for parts of the possible impact factors. This research presents a conceptual framework and some variables to the type of information. A case study approach has been conducted to examine the relationship between bad-, irrelevant- and relevant information with IO. The research found out that too much bad information as well as relevant information has a positive effect on IO. The contribution to the field of IO research is a better understanding of the concept and the impact of the type of information to IO.

This paper paints a textual picture of two old economy firms in Scotland over a five-year period. It offers a longitudinal qualitative analysis into the processes and functions of the firms. The study draws on business development and knowledge transfer literature to provide research frameworks and underpin the analysis. The fundamental aim of the study was to understand how these businesses operate. The results give a narrow but essentially deep insight into important current issues affecting the development of such firms. Small and medium-sized, “old economy” firms, mainly family-owned, represent the vast majority of business organizations in the UK and are particularly vulnerable to economic events, political decisions, policy change and natural disasters. Their ability to adapt and transform will hold the key to economic growth and competitiveness. This paper shows clearly the challenges facing the small or medium-sized “old economy” firms, which are restructuring for growth and development in the 21st Century.

This paper delineates workplace and work based learning before going on to discuss in detail the application of workplace learning, based on experience gained from a number of case studies. The rationale, operational aspects and quality assurance requirements are described, before attention is turned to delivery methods, project management and financial considerations. The paper identifies the problems and opportunities associated with adopting this form of academic delivery for an existing university programme, and provides suggestions for likely future development.

Industrial consolidation is a global trend that evolved during the last three decades. Market liberalisation and privatisation represent initial key transformation processes for this phenomenon in the energy sector. The energy sector moved over to common interest during the last years: The number and volume of international large-scale mergers increased, and new multinational super-utility champions gained momentum (Graeme 2002). For example, the bid for the Spanish Endesa in 2006 included the second largest cash offer with an amount of nearly US$ 66 billion by Eon in history of Mergers and Acquisitions (MA Chandler 1990). This empiric study analyzes the M&A activities in Latin America’s energy market with focus on Argentina, Brazil and Chile. The specific characteristics and motives for utilities’ M&A activities in these three countries serve as a good model how diverse industrial consolidation took place after the liberalisation and privatisation in Latin America during the 90’s. Furthermore, the study provides an analysis about the corporate strategies. The study is structured as follows: After the abstract, the second section gives a brief overview and background information about the objectives and differences in the implementation of the transformation processes in Argentina, Brazil and Chile before privatisation. The third section explains the research methodology of the empiric study. The fourth section illustrates the research findings and results on industrial consolidation in the Latin American markets. The fifth section addresses the conclusions. The final section gives an outlook for further development in those countries.

The International Material Data System (IMDS) is an internet-based application for the global collection of material data within the automobile supply chain. As outlined in the EU Directive 2000/53/EC concerning End-of-life vehicle management the data for future recycling has to be gathered before 2015. Eight automobile manufacturers together with the IT service provider Electronic Data Systems (EDS) developed and implemented the system in 2000. Subsequently, other car manufacturers have also joined and the participation of more companies is being negotiated.