The neurological severity of a spinal cord injury (SCI) is commonly classified according to the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale (AIS). The aim of this study was to assess the course of the AIS following a SCI, and to discern the nature of any changes in the classification that occur. Assessments were performed in a European cohort of SCI patients within two weeks and at one, three, six and twelve months after the initial injury. Overall, about 70% of the patients initially diagnosed as AIS A did not convert, as did 90% of the AIS D patients. When only evaluating patients with complete datasets, 68% did not convert, while the AIS category improved in 30% of patients and deteriorated in 2% of patients. A change in the last sacral segments (40%), motor improvement (31%), sensory improvement (19%) and a change in the neurological level of the SCI (10%) contributed to or accompanied the AIS conversion. When the AIS remained unchanged between successive assessment points, there was no change in the number of muscles graded three or more (NMG3+) in 73% of the transitions. An improvement in AIS was associated with a gain in NMG3+ in 49% of the transitions, while an aggravation in AIS was accompanied by a loss in NMG3+ in 10% of the transitions. These results, documenting a substantial amount of spontaneous AIS conversions, should be taken into consideration when designing clinical trials to assess the effects of potential new treatments for SCI. This article has been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication, but has yet to undergo copyediting and proof correction. The final published version may differ from this proof. 2 AbstractThe neurological severity of a spinal cord injury (SCI) is commonly classified according to the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale (AIS).The aim of this study was to assess the course of the AIS following a SCI, and to discern the nature of any changes in the classification that occur. Assessments were performed in a European cohort of SCI patients within two weeks and at one, three,

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This paper suggests a new way of comparing and analyzing causal theories. The main contribution is a meta-model that represents causal theories and a taxonomy of inter-theory relationships. The intertheory relationships can be automatically calculated for two theories that are described with the metamodel. Two visualizations are presented with which to analyze set of theories: the inter-theory relationship matrix and the theory evolution graph. An exemplary application of the approach is shown for a small set of information systems theories. The proposed approach should help researchers improve their understanding of the contribution and evolution of theories.

Designerly innovation tools, such as canvases, are widely used for facilitating team and collaboration processes. This paper outlines the potential design space of such innovation canvases. Based on a systematic analysis of 123 existing canvases we developed a morphological box that distinguishes between six different parameters identified as relevant: (1) addressed process step, (2) involved media, (3) sequence of use, (4) available instructions, (5) number of elements, and (6) design specifics, as well as possible choices among them. The analysis also yielded several research gaps. Furthermore, we present an in-depth discussion of the possible theoretical underpinnings of innovation canvases and summarize them in a theoretical framework. The results of this paper provide references for other researchers and practitioners to better understand working mechanisms and fields of application of existing canvases and for developing such visual innovation tools for their own purposes.

New products and services increasingly follow a data-driven strategy, creating the need for designers, product developers, and teams of individuals to develop products and services with data in mind. This paper provides a data-informed ontology for visual collaboration tools. It presents a prototype of a canvas that could be used during data-oriented design thinking workshops. Using action design research, the Data Innovation Board is tested through iterative cycles of building, intervention, and evaluation and the results are analyzed using triangulation. The suggested datainformed ontology and the proposed canvas facilitate the development of data-driven products and services. The canvas helps teams sharpen their perspective on data challenges from the start and presents a more holistic view on data projects.

Work and study environments that facilitate creative design processes-so called creative spaces-have gained an increased interest in the past years. This paper contributes to this emerging field by providing a set of guidelines for creating such environments. We developed a set of 49 abstracted design principles (patterns) that are empirically developed, embedded in the broader system of creative spaces, and supplemented by examples. The suggested principles provide concrete, yet adaptable, guidelines for designers, educators, and spatial planners who want to redesign their creative environments.

Lactate metabolism variations are frequently encountered in mammalian cell culture processes, especially during process scale-up. In this study, we took a multipronged approach to investigate the impact of pH, pCO , osmolality, base addition, and mixing conditions on the observed lactate variations in a Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) fed-batch process at 2,000 L scale. Two cultivating methods, CO -controlled and pH-controlled, were used to decouple the individual and synergistic effects from those factors. The individual effects from pH, pCO , and osmolality on lactate consumption/reproduction in the stationary phase were insignificant in the ranges studied though the initial lactate production rates varied. In contrast, lactate metabolism was found to be impacted by an interaction between mixing conditions and CO accumulation. High CO accumulation and poor mixing led to lactate reproduction, whereas either low CO or improved mixing were sufficient to result in lactate consumption. Base addition was not required for pH control in the low CO conditions, and therefore lactate reproduction was correlated with base addition under poor mixing conditions. Under good mixing conditions, CO -triggered base addition did not significantly impact lactate reproduction. It is reasonable to postulate that increased mixing times further promoted lactate production during base addition. As lactate reproduction results in more base addition to maintain pH, a cycle could be formed between lactate production and base addition. As a remediation, we showed that such lactate reproduction could be eliminated by improving CO removal at 2,000 L scale. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 34:756-766, 2018.