bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Improving Upward Communication Through Open-Door Policies
Authors: Shenhar Aaron
Published: December 2019

This article reviews the question of open-door policies used by organizations as a way to improve communication with employees. As organizations tend today to adopt a more human way of management, this question becomes even more relevant, particularly for high-technology firms which employ extensive numbers of highly educated professionals. A genuine open-door policy can be most beneficial for organizations, though many difficulties may exist. The organizational advantages of open-door policies are discussed, together with dysfunctional and cost aspects. Finally, the paper suggests avenues for additional research, which seems to be needed for a better understanding of the nature of open-door policies, and for helping derive more effective forms of such policies.
Systemic Aspects of Hyperinflation in Argentina
Authors: Herrscher Enrique G. , Herrscher Roberto M.
Published: December 2019

The hyperinflation in Argentina cannot be explained by economic consideration alone. Causal loops including economic, cultural, social, political, geographic and historical factors are discussed in this article.
Is Guanxi still working, while Chinese MNCs go global? The case of Taiwanese MNCs in the UK
Authors: Chen I Chun Lisa , Easterby-Smith Mark
Published: December 2019

Guanxi has been well studied in Chinese management as a vital factor associated with business strategy and HRM in Chinese communities. However, Guanxi may not be crucial anymore, because Chinese MNCs are rapidly becoming global players since they have started to merge with and acquire Western MNCs, but not through the guanxi related to international strategy. Recently, “a Chinese company bought IBM Personal Computers lock, stock and barrel. Chinese corporations have bought Thomson and RCA televisions, Dirt Devil etc.” (James Dyson, 2005). This paper investigates Taiwanese MNCs pursuing an internationalisation strategy, and discusses implications for the way third world MNCs manages their international employees. Interview data from twenty four Taiwanese-owned companies are used to identify how the Chinese cultural value of guanxi, underpins their management style in the British context. The paper finds that there are sectoral differences between the IT and financial service industries in terms of the way guanxi affects recruitment and company location decisions. It is concluded that national culture is still an important factor to influence the international strategy and HRM practice in MNCs of third world origin.
Innovative processes and procedural rationality. Innovations as outcomes of a sequence of strategic actions
Authors: Mistri Maurizio
Published: December 2019

The aim of this paper is to frame the process and/or product innovation phenomenon in the perspective of the relationship between economic decisions and cognition. The author believes that the best way to interpret this relationship is to make use of Herbert Simon's procedural rationality approach. In fact, this approach is framed within the more general approach of bounded rationality that is here used to emphasize how innovations have the task of responding to issues of environmental uncertainty and computational complexity that businesses have to face.
Barriers to e-texts usage and what prevents mass customization of texts and teaching materials
Authors: Alkadi Ihssan , Johnson Jason Matthew
Published: December 2019

In 2005, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) delivered a report to Congress on the landscape of higher education. The study answered several questions, among which were: how has the cost of college changed over recent years and what factors have contributed to those changes. The GAO found that textbook prices have increased at twice the rate of inflation for the past two decades. In an attempt to expound on the findings in the study and to explore the potential impact an expanded utilization of e-textbooks on the cost of a college education, this paper will examine the current and future use of e-textbooks in addressing the ever increasing costs of a college education.
Leading cost accounting students on a journey from naïve analysis to realistic analysis – A probabilistic systems thinking
Authors: Kumar Sameer , Polejewski Shirley A. , Ressler Thomas H.
Published: December 2019

This paper is intended to meet two objectives. First, we believe the current financial crisis demands that we assess how effectively our current curriculum develops our cost accounting students’ ability to think probabilistically and assess risk. This requires a paradigm shift in how they are taught probabilistic thinking. And second, we share exercises authors have used to expand cost accounting students’ ability to think probabilistically. In the current paradigm, cost accounting students are taught to think of cost and forces affecting costs with certainty. There is no probabilistic analysis of the risks and uncertainty in these costs estimates. Students have learned to do sensitivity analyses. However, this paper explores Simulation Modeling, in which cost and the forces influencing costs are treated as random variables. The student learns to think probabilistically. The resulting cost estimate is a distribution, which exposes the risks and uncertainty in this cost to a much greater degree than sensitivity analysis does.
The effect of e-mail use and adoption on organisational participation: The case of a public administration
Authors: Sammarra Alessia , Dandi Roberto , Muzzi Caterina , Biggiero Lucio
Published: December 2019

Improving organisational participation is becoming more and more important as organisations are trying to shift from a bureaucratic model based on work specialisation and division of labour towards knowledge-intensive organisations built on competence sharing and team working. The aim of this paper is to investigate participation in decision making mediated by e-mail (e-PDM) among organisational members that are in similar hierarchical positions. The conceptual background of the study integrates the organisational theories on PDM and the computer-mediated communication (CMC) literature. Data analysis, based on an empirical research conducted in an Italian governmental agency, investigates the factors that affect the adoption of horizontal e-PDM in the workplace and to what extent this is mediated by the interplay between technology and social context. Our results suggest that social structuration of technology and social processes in organisations do have an impact on e-mail use for participative purposes, and that, along with group characteristics, leadership plays a major role in enabling work group members to increase horizontal e-PDM.
Idea adaption, social interactions and small world networks: An Australian study
Authors: Joham Carmen , Metcalfe Mike , Talukder Majharul
Published: December 2019

Organizations need a capacity to adapt new ideas and therefore require the means to visualize them. Idea adaptation is understood to be a social interaction process. This idea of adaption capacity might therefore be understood and managed by visualizing it using small world theory. This paper will explain how and why small world visualization can be used to represent idea adaption capability. The small world structure is preferred because it represents loose coupling and distinguishes the need for both discipline-specific knowledge (strong ties) and interaction with alternative ideas (structural holes, weak ties). Furthermore, it appears to be the evolved preferred natural networking structure for idea sharing. An illustration of how the small world structure might be visualized is provided by mapping the idea adapting networks of two loosely coupled organizations.
A multi-technique data mining approach to exploring consumer behaviors
Authors: Athappilly Kuriakose , Razi Muhammad A. , Tarn J. Michael
Published: December 2019

This research attempts to assist a very large retailer in the midwest of the United States in understanding its consumers’ buying patterns and behaviors by employing a multi-technique data mining approach. Three data mining techniques, including cluster analysis, predictive (neural networks) modeling, and market basket analysis methods, are reviewed for the purpose of comparing the prevalence of their use and effects. This applied multi-technique approach provides a comparative analysis between sales of infant items at the baby centers and non-baby centers, helps understand the buying patterns at these centers, and analyzes items that were most frequently purchased together by consumers. This paper concludes with the research results and recommendations as well as directions for future research.
SMEs as motor of growth: A review of China's SMEs development in thirty years (1978–2008)
Authors: Cunningham Li Xue
Published: December 2019

China's economic and enterprise reforms since 1978 have dramatically altered the structure and dynamics of its enterprises. One of the most remarkable changes during the entire reform process is the rapid growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By looking at its thirty-year development, the contribution provides a thorough review of China's SME since 1978. It illustrates that the development of Chinese SMEs followed a principle of pragmatism. It shows that while the progress has been strongly affected by government policies and regulations, the emergence and expansion of SMEs are closely linked with social and economic problems that occurred during economic transitions and institutional changes. The key factors that affect SME development are identified, especially relating to cultural and institutional influences. The opportunities and challenges for SMEs in the new economic environment are discussed with special focus on their integration in the global economy. The issues of management development in SMEs are examined generally and in the Chinese context. Although major problems may differ at each stage of the reforms, evidence shows an increasing importance of SMEs in China's transformation to both modernization and industrialization. Indeed, SMEs have become the driving power in China's socialist market economy.
Economic reform, ownership change and human resource management in formerly state-owned enterprises in the People's Republic of China: A case-study approach
Authors: Zhu Ying , Warner Malcolm , Zhao Wei
Published: December 2019

At the macro-level, economic reform in the PRC since 1978 has led to the implementation of a multi-ownership system. The consequent transformation of Chinese formerly state-owned enterprises (SOEs) has been a major way of improving efficiency and increasing competition. However, the restructuring process has been almost always accompanied by controversy, particularly vis a vis a balance between improving efficiency and competitiveness of businesses on the one hand, and developing harmonious labour-management relations on the other. This article exemplifies the evolution of SOEs from a human resource management (HRM) perspective by using a case-study approach with three illustrative examples of SOE transformation. Our main finding is that there was no ‘one-size-fits-all' solution to SOE reform and that there were alternative ‘strategic choices' vis a vis both ownership form, as well as HRM.
China in the domain of international business
Authors: Das Dilip K.
Published: December 2019

During the first decade of the 21st century, China emerged as an unprecedented driving force accountable for substantive transformations in international economy and business. Both its role and impact on international business have been and will be unique in many ways In a short time span, China became a force to reckon with in the domains of international trade, industrial output, international finance and international business. Business firms in the advanced industrial economies see China as the land of promise and opportunities on the one hand and as a serious rival to compete with on the other.
Cloud computing: A conceptual framework for knowledge management system
Authors: Liao Chin-Nung , Chih I-Liang , Fu Yan-Kai
Published: December 2019

Cloud computing is becoming an adoptable information technology (IT) for many businesses with its dynamic usage of virtualized resources as a service through the Internet. Cloud computing link knowledge management system (KMS) is a new concept. To our knowledge, no relate exploration study for this issue in the literature has been published. This study purposes to develop a conceptual framework of KMS architecture for knowledge management (KM) applications. The contributions of this model, is an organization can achieve its KM goal in a cost efficient method by using cloud computing for decision-making.
Achieving enterprise competitiveness through an effective management process
Authors: Phusavat Kongkiti , Haapasalo Harri , Lin Binshan
Published: December 2019

The paper draws attention to the importance of a management process for enterprise competitiveness. By adapting the input-output analysis framework, a management system model is developed as a way to assess and evaluate a management process. Based on in-depth interviews with top executives, the model helps evaluate the effectiveness of a management process. This evaluation is based on a manufacturing firm with ISO 9001: 2008 and HACCP, and a service provider with numerous quality-related awards and an international accreditation. The findings essentially underline the significance of performance measurement in an effective management process and identify three roadblock for achieving this effectiveness. Finally, future research direction on management process is also suggested.
Crisis and transformation: On the corso and ricorso of human systems
Authors: Zeleny Milan
Published: December 2019

Advanced and mature societies are undergoing a fundamental transformation of their economic, political, technological and social lives. Developing countries are rapidly catching on and accelerating their participation in the transformation which is equally rapidly becoming global. Yet, at the same time, the process of globalization itself is exhibiting signs of a reversal towards relocalization, i.e. rebounding after the strong global outbound of the past fifty years. The change of paradigms and change of dominant business models accompany such transformations. Yet, transformations get naturally confounded with ongoing recessions and crises. Disentangling the phenomena of crisis from those of transformation remains a challenge, especially for politicians. In this paper we primarily address the issues of unemployment and the changing nature of employment in mature economies.
Green Supply Chain Management systems: A case study in the textile industry
Authors: Lai Robert S.Q. , Hsu Li-Ling , Chen Jason C.H.
Published: December 2019

The textile industry plays an important role in creating Taiwan's foreign exchange income. The vast majority of textile enterprises are traditional, labor-intensive small-medium enterprises (SMEs). Over the recent years, with the increasing consciousness of people's environmental protection around the globe and the pressure of competition on the international markets, many textile companies are forced to pay close attention to environmental friendly. In view of this trend, the textile industry hopes the implementation of the green information systems with supply chain focus help them to investigate the extent of business process improvement. We found that the business process is improved with a Web implementation on the ICT platform. A case study is employed in the research and the result shows that the green supply chain creates external effects including the promotion of corporate image, increase of customer value and loyalty, reduction of customer complaints and product conformity to global standards. It also generates internal effects with the increase of sales revenue, procurement efficiency and competitiveness.
The effect of one-child family on child nutrition in China
Authors: Qiu Haibin , Qiu Yu
Published: December 2019

This paper examines the determinants of child nutritional status in China, focusing specially on the only-child effect. Data are drawn from China Health and Nutrition Survey, 2000. The empirical relationship between nutritional status and only-child, on the one hand, and other effect factors like mother's height, maternal education, and location (urban vs. rural) is investigated. Ordinary least squares (OLS) and Match method are used respectively. In the preferred model — Match model where a two-step match was explored — we find that being an only-child can increase the height-for-age z-scores by 0.4 ~ 0.5.
The SiteSeeker Motif Discovery Tool
Authors: Ecker Klaus , Lichtenberg Jens , Welch Lonnie
Published: December 2019

In this paper we describe some utilizing conditions of a recently published tool that offers two basic functions for the classical problem of discovering motifs in a set of promoter sequences. For the first it is assumed that not necessarily all of the sequences possess a common motif of given length l. In this case, CHECKPROMOTER allows an exact identification of maximal subsets of related promoters. The purpose of this program is to recognize putatively co-regulated genes. The second, CHECKMOTIF, solves the problem of checking if the given promoters have a common motif. It uses a fast approximation algorithm for which we were able to derive non-trivial low performance bounds (defined as the ratio of Hamming distance of the obtained solution to that of a theoretically best solution) for the computed outputs. Both programs use a novel weighted Hamming distance paradigm for evaluating the similarity of sets of l-mers, and we are able to compute performance bounds for the proposed motifs. A set of At promoters were used as a benchmark for a comparative test against five known tools. It could be verified that SiteSeeker significantly outperformed these tools.
Remote Homology Detection Using a Kernel Method that Combines	Sequence and Secondary-Structure Similarity Scores
Authors: Wieser Daniela , Niranjan Mahesan
Published: December 2019

Distant evolutionary relationships between proteins with low sequence similarity are difficult to recognise by computational methods. Consequently, many sequences obtained from large-scale sequencing projects cannot be assigned to any known proteins or families despite being evolutionarily related. To boost sensitivity, various sequence-based methods have been modified to make use of the better conserved secondary structure. Most of these methods are instance-based or generative. Here, we introduce a kernel-based remote homology detection method that allows for a combination of sequence and secondary-structure similarity scores in a discriminative approach.

We studied the ability of the method to predict superfamily membership as defined by the SCOP database. We show that a kernel method that combined sequence similarity scores with predicted secondary-structure similarity scores performed similar to a classifier that used scores calculated from sequences and true secondary structures, but performed better than a sequence-only based classifier and achieved a better mean than recently published results on the same data-set.

It can be concluded that SVM classifiers trained to predict homology between distantly related proteins, become more accurate, if a joint sequence/secondary-structure similarity score approach is used.
Amino-Acid Residue Association Models for Large Scale	Protein-Protein Interaction Prediction
Authors: Rao Raghuraj , Tun Kyaw , Makita Yuko , Lakshminarayanan Samavedham , Dhar Pawan K.
Published: December 2019

The computational prediction of protein-protein interactions (PPI) is an essential complement to direct experimental evidence. Traditional approaches rely on less available or computationally predicted surface properties, show database-specific performances and are computationally expensive for large-scale datasets. Several sensitivity and specificity issues remain. Here, we report a novel method based on 'Amino-acid Residue Associations' (ARA) among interacting proteins which utilizes the accurate and easily available primary sequence.

Large scale PPI datasets for six model species (from E. coli to human) were studied. The ARA method shows up to 73% sensitivity and 78% specificity. Furthermore, the method performs remarkably well in terms of stability and generalizability. The performance of ARA method benchmarked against existing prediction techniques shows performance improvement up to 25%. Ability of ARA method to predict PPI across species and across databases is also demonstrated. Overall, the ARA method provides a significant improvement over existing ones in correctly identifying large scale protein-protein interactions, irrespective of the data resource, network size or organism.
Forty-Five Years of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in The Netherlands
Authors: van den Bergen J.C. , Ginjaar H.B. , van Essen A.J. , Pangalila R. , de Groot I.J.M. , Wijkstra P.J. , Zijnen M.P. , Cobben N.A.M. , Kampelmacher M.J. , Wokke B.H.A. , de Coo I.F.M. , Fock J.M. , Horemans A.M.C. , van Tol M. , Vroom E. , Rijlaarsdam M.E.B. , Straathof C.S.M. , Niks E.H. , Verschuuren J.J.G.M.
Published: December 2019

Background: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a progressive muscle disease. No curative therapy is currently available, but in recent decades standards of care have improved. These improvements include the use of corticosteroids and mechanical ventilation. Objective: To present a detailed population based report of the DMD disease course in The Netherlands (1980–2006) and evaluate the effect of changes in care by comparing it with an historical Dutch DMD cohort (1961–1974). Methods: Information about DMD patients was gathered through the Dutch Dystrophinopathy Database using a standardized questionnaire and information from treating physicians. Results: The study population involved 336 DMD patients (70% of the estimated prevalence), of whom 285 were still alive. Mean age at disease milestones was: diagnosis 4.3 years, wheelchair dependence 9.7 years, scoliosis surgery 14 years, cardiomyopathy (fractional shortening <27%) 15 years, mechanical ventilation 17 years and death 19 years. Within our cohort, corticosteroid use was associated with an increased age of wheelchair dependence from 9.8 to 11.6 years (p < 0.001). When comparing the recent cohort to the historical cohort, mean survival improved from 17 to 27 years (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The current study gives detailed information about the disease course of DMD patients, provides evidence for the positive effect of steroid treatment and mechanical ventilation and supports the use of patient registries as a valuable resource for evaluating improvements in care.
Dystrophin Analysis in Clinical Trials
Authors: Aartsma-Rus Annemieke
Published: December 2019

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe muscle-wasting disease with unmet medical need. The disease is caused by mutations that disrupt the open reading frame of the dystrophin protein that is required to maintain muscle fiber stability during contraction. Lacking dystrophin patients' muscle fibers are continuously damaged eventually leading to replacement of muscle tissue by fibrotic and adipose tissues and loss of muscle function. Many therapeutic approaches aiming at dystrophin restoration are in development, and some have been or are being tested in clinical trials. For these approaches, showing dystrophin restoration or increased dystrophin expression could serve as a pharmacodynamic biomarker to confirm mechanism of action. This review provides an overview of methods currently in use to assess dystrophin in clinical trial muscle biopsies and discusses challenges of dystrophin quantification and using dystrophin as a biomarker in clinical trials.
Mutations in the Mitochondrial Citrate Carrier SLC25A1 are Associated with Impaired Neuromuscular Transmission
Authors: Chaouch Amina , Porcelli Vito , Cox Daniel , Edvardson Shimon , Scarcia Pasquale , De Grassi Anna , Pierri Ciro L. , Cossins Judith , Laval Steven H. , Griffin Helen , Müller Juliane S. , Evangelista Teresinha , Töpf Ana , Abicht Angela , Huebner Angela , von der Hagen Maja , Bushby Kate , Straub Volker , Horvath Rita , Elpeleg Orly , Palace Jacqueline , Senderek Jan , Beeson David , Palmieri Luigi , Lochmüller Hanns
Published: December 2019

Background and Objective: Congenital myasthenic syndromes are rare inherited disorders characterized by fatigable weakness caused by malfunction of the neuromuscular junction. We performed whole exome sequencing to unravel the genetic aetiology in an English sib pair with clinical features suggestive of congenital myasthenia. Methods: We used homozygosity mapping and whole exome sequencing to identify the candidate gene variants. Mutant protein expression and function were assessed in vitro and a knockdown zebrafish model was generated to assess neuromuscular junction development. Results: We identified a novel homozygous missense mutation in the SLC25A1 gene, encoding the mitochondrial citrate carrier. Mutant SLC25A1 showed abnormal carrier function. SLC25A1 has recently been linked to a severe, often lethal clinical phenotype. Our patients had a milder phenotype presenting primarily as a neuromuscular (NMJ) junction defect. Of note, a previously reported patient with different compound heterozygous missense mutations of SLC25A1 has since been shown to suffer from a neuromuscular transmission defect. Using knockdown of SLC25A1 expression in zebrafish, we were able to mirror the human disease in terms of variable brain, eye and cardiac involvement. Importantly, we show clear abnormalities in the neuromuscular junction, regardless of the severity of the phenotype. Conclusions: Based on the axonal outgrowth defects seen in SLC25A1 knockdown zebrafish, we hypothesize that the neuromuscular junction impairment may be related to pre-synaptic nerve terminal abnormalities. Our findings highlight the complex machinery required to ensure efficient neuromuscular function, beyond the proteomes exclusive to the neuromuscular synapse.
Genetic Modifiers for Neuromuscular Diseases
Authors: Lamar Kay-Marie , McNally Elizabeth M.
Published: December 2019

Neuromuscular diseases, which encompass disorders that affect muscle and its innervation, are highly heritable. Genetic diagnosis now frequently pinpoints the primary mutation responsible for a given neuromuscular disease. However, the results from genetic testing indicate that neuromuscular disease phenotypes may vary widely, even in individuals with the same primary disease-causing mutation. Clinical variability arises from both genetic and environmental factors. Genetic modifiers can now be identified using candidate gene as well as genomic approaches. The presence of genetic modifiers for neuromuscular disease helps define the clinical outcome and also highlights pathways of potential therapeutic utility. Herein, we will focus on single gene neuromuscular disorders, including muscular dystrophy, spinal muscular atrophy, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and the methods that have been used to identify modifier genes. Animal models have been an invaluable resource for modifier gene discovery and subsequent mechanistic studies. Some modifiers, identified using animal models, have successfully translated to the human counterpart. Furthermore, in a few instances, modifier gene discovery has repetitively uncovered the same pathway, such as TGFβ signaling in muscular dystrophy, further emphasizing the relevance of that pathway. Knowledge of genetic factors that influence disease can have direct clinical applications for prognosis and predicted outcome.
The Epidemiology of Neuromuscular Disorders: A Comprehensive Overview of the Literature
Authors: Deenen Johanna C.W. , Horlings Corinne G.C. , Verschuuren Jan J.G.M. , Verbeek André L.M. , van Engelen Baziel G.M.
Published: December 2019

Background: In 1991, the first world survey of neuromuscular disorders (NMDs) was published in the peer reviewed literature. Since then, diagnostics have been greatly improved through genetic confirmation and consensus on criteria. This prompted us to search the scientific literature since 1990 for the epidemiology of NMDs. Objectives: To study occurrence rates, gender and age distribution. Methods: Pubmed was searched for ‘epidemiology’, ‘incidence’ and ‘prevalence’ regarding thirty NMDs for peer reviewed literature from 1990–2014. Results: We found incidence rates for ten disorders, ranging from 0.05 to 9 per 100,000/yr. Most NMDs showed prevalence rates between 1 and 10 per 100,000 population, except for multifocal motor neuropathy, Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome, Emery-Dreifuss dystrophy, oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy, and congenital muscular dystrophies, which were <1/100,000. Post-polio syndrome and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease revealed prevalences >10/100,000. Information regarding incidence, prevalence, age distribution and gender was complete for eight disorders. No data were found for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, neuralgic amyotrophy, progressive spinal muscular atrophy, McArdle's and Pompe's disease. For the 17 remaining disorders, information was partially available. Conclusions: Compared to 1991, prevalence rates of Becker muscular dystrophy, facioscapulohumeral dystrophy, myotonic dystrophy and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease showed increase, yet with highly overlapping ranges with the exception of myotonic dystrophy. The sum of the available prevalence rates comprises only the tip of the iceberg, but is already in range with the prevalence of Parkinson's disease. Although individual NMDs are rare, as a group they are not.
Cardiac function in muscular dystrophy associates with abdominal muscle pathology
Authors: Gardner Brandon B. , Swaggart Kayleigh A. , Kim Gene , Watson Sydeaka , McNally Elizabeth M.
Published: December 2019

Background: The muscular dystrophies target muscle groups differentially. In mouse models of muscular dystrophy, notably the mdx model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, the diaphragm muscle shows marked fibrosis and at an earlier age than other muscle groups, more reflective of the histopathology seen in human muscular dystrophy. Methods: Using a mouse model of limb girdle muscular dystrophy, the Sgcg mouse, we compared muscle pathology across different muscle groups and heart. A cohort of nearly 200 Sgcg mice were studied using multiple measures of pathology including echocardiography, Evans Blue dye uptake and hydroxyproline content in multiple muscle groups. Spearman rank correlations were determined among echocardiographic and pathological parameters. Findings: The abdominal muscles were found to have more fibrosis than other muscle groups, including the diaphragm muscle. The abdominal muscles also had more Evans blue dye uptake than other muscle groups. The amount of diaphragm fibrosis was found to correlate positively with fibrosis in the left ventricle, and abdominal muscle fibrosis correlated with impaired left ventricular function. Fibrosis in the abdominal muscles negatively correlated with fibrosis in the diaphragm and right ventricles. Together these data reflect the recruitment of abdominal muscles as respiratory muscles in muscular dystrophy, a finding consistent with data from human patients.
A prospective study of highly active antiretroviral therapy in Indian human immunodeficiency virus positive patients
Authors: Rajesh Radhakrishnan , Vidyasagar Sudha , Varma Danturulu Muralidhar , Naik Anand , Hegde Brahmavar Mohandas , Guddattu Vasudeva , Kamath Asha
Published: December 2019

BACKGROUND: There are no studies performed in India on the safety of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) combinations which focus on the base-line CD4+ T-cell count. Further, no data on risk factors for Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to HAART and there is a lack of data on CD4+ T-cell count recovery after HAART. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess risk factors for ADRs to HAART. We also compared the efficacy of HAART combinations with respect to base-line CD4+ T-cell count and CD4+ T-cell counts recovery in Indian HIV positive patients. METHODS: A prospective active surveillance study was adopted at the Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) Centre, District Government Hospital, Udupi, India. HIV-infected patients were intensively monitored to identify risk factors associated with ADRs to HAART from August 2009 to May 2012. The study protocol was approved by the University ethics committee. Baseline CD4+ T-cell count before initiation of HAART and thereafter at every six months of regular follow-up up to 24 months duration was included for comparison. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of high risk factors of ADRs. CD4+ T-cell count recovery after HAART from base-line CD4+ T-cell count in different HAART groups was analyzed by test of between-subject effects. P-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. RESULTS: A total of 1982 HIV positive patients were enrolled with 1181 (59.6%) males, and 801 (40.4%) females. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, four factors were found to be predictors of high-risk factors for ADRs to HAART: 1) CD4+ T-cell counts, 2) female gender, 3) polypharmacy and 4) opportunistic infections. Between HAART groups, a mean increase of 98 cells/μl of CD4+ T-cell counts recovery was seen in the 3TC + NVP + D4T group (p < 0.001) at 24 months of regular follow-up. CONCLUSION: In India, Clinician should take into consideration all possible risk factors associated with the use of HAART in order to avoid and minimize ADRs. As initial CD4+ T-cell count and age of patient decides the rise of CD4+ T-cell counts with HAART. HAART should be initiated at the earliest age in order to attain maximum CD4+ T-cell counts recovery.
Evaluation of incidence of zidovudine induced anemia in Indian human immunodeficiency virus positive patients in comparison with stavudine based highly active antiretroviral therapy
Authors: Rajesh Radhakrishnan , Vidyasagar Sudha , Varma Danturulu Muralidhar , Mohiuddin Shabaz , Noorunnisa
Published: December 2019

Objectives: In patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), zidovudine has been known to cause a severe anemia that resolves promptly when the drug is stopped. The study was aimed to assess the incidence, the pattern of occurrence of zidovudine induced anemia, causality, severity, predictability, preventability and to identify risk factors for zidovudine induced anemia in Indian HIV positive patients in comparision with stavudine based highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Methods: This was a prospective observational study conducted over a period of 6 months by clinical pharmacists. Enrolled HIV positive patients were intensively monitored for zidovudine and stavudine induced anemia. zidovudine and stavudine fixed dose drug combinations of antiretroviral therapy (ART) were only included. The World Health Organization (WHO)/AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) definition of a severity grading of anemia was adopted. Each reported case of zidovudine and stavudine induced anemia was assessed for its causality by using the WHO probability scale and also with Naranjo's algorithm. Preventability was assessed using Schumock and Thornton criteria and severity was assessed using the modified Hartwig and Siegel scale. Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate the influence of zidovudine induced anemia. P-value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Monitoring of ninety eight HIV positive patients with fixed dose highly active antiretroviral therapy identified 19 cases of zidovudine induced anemia and 2 cases of stavudine induced anemia from 55 and 43 patients respectively. Incidence of zidovudine induced anemia in intensively monitored HIV positive patients was found to be 34.5%. Chi Square tests identified statistically significant incidence differences of anemia (p < 0.05) between the zidovudine group and the stavudine group. Grade 2 and grade 4 anemia accounted for 42.1%. Causality was ‘probable’ by WHO probability scale and ‘definite’ and ‘probable’ by Naranjo's algorithm. The Majority (89.4%) of zidovudine induced anemias were ‘moderate’ in severity. A total of 94.8% zidovudine induced anemias were probably preventable. Low baseline hemoglobin concentration less than 10.5 g/dl was observed as a risk factor for zidovudine induced anemia by multivariate logistic regression. Conclusion: With the increasing access to zidovudine usage in India, clinicians must focus to avoid zidovudine based HAART regimens if baseline hemoglobin concentration is low, (i.e. less than 8 g/dl) thereby avoiding the occurrence of zidovudine induced anemia. Frequent monitoring of complete blood count (CBC) is important in patients on zidovudine therapy to prevent zidovudine induced anemia.
Science, rhetoric and the causality of adverse events
Authors: Healy David
Published: December 2019

This paper outlines aspects of the interface between law and science in the domain of treatment induced injury, using examples drawn from litigation on SSRIs. In the face of claims that randomized controlled trials provide uniquely appropriate evidence and that there should be a statistically significant doubling of the risks on treatment, the examples used demonstrate that the methods of assessing the possibility of causal links between treatment and injuries must necessarily be tailored to both the injury and the treatment.
Quality of evidence in drug compendia supporting off-label use of typical and atypical antipsychotic medications
Authors: Paczynski Richard P. , Alexander G. Caleb , Chinchilli Vernon M. , Kruszewski Stefan P.
Published: December 2019

Public and private payers use drug compendia to make coverage determinations, yet the quality of evidence they contain has received little scrutiny. We examined compendia citations regarding antipsychotic drugs, an important drug class given their substantial costs and widespread use. Nearly three-fold as many off-label indications were recommended for atypical as for typical agents, a difference that did not appear to be due to differences in quality of evidence for typical and atypical off-label indications. Given the important role that compendia play in evidence synthesis, coverage decisions, and ultimately, prescription utilization, these data suggest greater efforts are needed to improve the quality of evidence and transparency of evidence evaluations compendia contain.
Potentiometric studies of mixed ligand complexes of Sc(III), Y(III) and La(III)
Authors: Çam Tülay , İrez Gazi
Published: December 2019

In this study, the composition and stability constants of a mixed ligand complex of Sc(III), Y(III) and La(III) ion by using NTA (H3B) (Nitrilotriacetic acid) and HEDTA (H3B) (N-(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenedinitrilotriacetic acid) as a primary ligand and 2,3-DHBA (H3A) (2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid) as secondary ligand have been determined by using a potentiometric method and the BEST computer programme at 25°C, in a 0.1 M NaCl ionic medium. The complex stability was found to follow the trend Sc(III) > Y(III) > La(III) based on the ionic radius of the metal ions.
Ab initio calculations on the hydrogen bonding interactions among	pseudoephedrinium cation isomers and methacrylic acid
Authors: Shariatinia Zahra , Arabzadeh Naghmeh , Abdous Majid
Published: December 2019

The hydrogen bonding interactions between both 1R-2R and 1S-2S isomers of pseudoephedrinium cation (Drug) and methacrylicacid (MAA) were calculated using Gaussian 98 software. Eight possible forms for the H-bond interactions were computed at HF and B3LYP levels of theory with 6-31G(d) and 6-31+G(d,p) basis sets and for all of the molecules the B3LYP/6-31G* provides the highest stabilization energies. The hydrogen bonding energies, E $_{(H-bond)}$ , were obtained from the equation E $_{(H-bond)}$ =E $_{(complex)}$ – [E $_{(Drug}}$ + E $_{(MAA)}$ ] and among four computational methods, B3LYP/6-31G(d) provides the highest hydrogen bonding energy for all of the complexes. The nuclear quadrupole coupling constants (χ) for $^{17}$ O, tetrahedral $^{14}$ N nuclei were calculated about 10.0, 0.5–1.0 MHz and for $^{2}$ H atoms varied from nearly 150.0 kHz to almost 350.0 kHz.
Differential regulation of apoptosis-associated genes by estrogen receptor alpha in human neuroblastoma cells
Authors: Brendel Alexander , Felzen Vanessa , Morawe Tobias , Manthey Dieter , Behl Christian
Published: December 2019

Purpose: The neuroendocrinology of female sex hormones is of great interest for a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. In fact, estrogens and estrogen receptors (ERs) exert neuromodulatory and neuroprotective functions. Here we investigated potential targets of the ER subtype alpha that may mediate neuroprotection and focused on direct modulators and downstream executors of apoptosis. Methods: We employed subclones of human neuroblastoma cells (SK-N-MC) stably transfected with one of the ER subtypes, ERalpha or ERbeta. Differences between the cell lines regarding the mRNA expression levels were examined by qPCR, changes on protein levels were examined by Western Blot and immunocytochemistry. Differences concerning apoptosis induction were analysed by cell survival assays which included primary rat neurons. Results: In this report we show a potent protection against apoptosis-stimuli in ERalpha expressing cells compared to controls lacking ERalpha. In fact, almost a complete silencing of Caspase 3 expression in SK-ERalpha cells compared to SK-01 control transfected cells was observed. In addition, prosurvival bcl2, bag1 and bag3 expression was highly up-regulated in the presence of ERalpha. Conclusion: Taken together, we identified Caspase 3, BAG1 and BAG3 as key targets of ERalpha in neuronal cells that may play a role in ERalpha-mediated neuroprotection.
Rehabilitation training of homonymous visual field defects in patients with postgeniculate damage of the visual system
Authors: Pommerenke Klaus , Markowitsch Hans J.
Published: December 2019

Training-dependent improvement of visual behavior after postgeniculate damage of the visual system was studied in 10 patients. The patients, all with computer-tomographically proven damage and a lesion chronicity of 8 weeks to 4.7 years, were subjected to a special exploration training of at least 10 sessions or 1100 trials. Before and after training, extensive perimetric tests were performed to determine possible training-related visual changes. It was found that the training program improved visual exploration considerably and induced qualitative shifts in exploration strategy even for patients who had failed to adopt these strategies for more than 3 years postlesion. On the other hand, a training-based visual field enlargement was not supported when applying strict criteria. It is concluded that specific and systematic exploration training can be of significant help for improving visuo-spatial behavior in hemianopic patients, but that a reliable visual field enlargement is unlikely to occur in unselected patients trained and examined under standard conditions.
Specificity in regenerative outgrowth and target reinnervation by mammalian peripheral axons
Authors: Aldskogius Håkan , Molander Carl
Published: December 2019

There are indications that specific factors are present in the distal stump of transected nerves which preferentially attract axons of the corresponding proximal stump into the distal nerve stumps. However, the impact of these factors is unclear, since there is abundant evidence that numerous regenerating motor and sensory axons are topographically misdirected after nerve transection and repair. Topographic reinnervation is improved after fascicular repair of fasciculated nerves, and quite precise after nerve crush. The latter may not be true, however, for non-myelinated axons, which show a high degree of aberrant growth even after crush. In contrast, regenerative outgrowth appears to be topographically specific after neonatal nerve transection. Reinnervation of muscle fibers appears to be unspecific in adult mammals, but specific after neonatal injury under certain circumstances. Some preference for reinnervation of the appropriate sensory receptors seems to exist although this preference does not preclude reinnervation of receptors by ‘foreign’ sensory fibers. In conclusion, incorrect topographic and target reinnervation commonly occurs after peripheral regeneration in adult mammals, and most certainly explains some of the functional disturbances after peripheral nerve lesions. Topographic regeneration appears to be better after nerve injury in developing mammals indicating that mechanisms from the developmental period may persist and aid in accurate regenerative outgrowth.
Electrical stimulation and visual network plasticity
Authors: Antal Andrea , Paulus Walter , Nitsche Michael A.
Published: December 2019

The visual system has the most complex circuitry of all the sensory systems and it also possesses the ability to undergo induced and spontaneous neuroplastic changes. Most of what we know about the functional organization of the visual system is derived from animal experiments or by correlating circumscribed anatomical lesions in patients and their visual perceptual deficits or dysfunctions. However, in the past years, significant achievements have been made in characterizing visual information processing in the human using non-invasive neurophysiological techniques, such as electrical stimulation of the brain. Transcranial direct (tDCS) and alternating current stimulation (tACS) applied through the skull was shown to directly modulate the excitability of the motor and visual cortices in human subjects. This review article focuses on these stimulation methods and summarizes the latest results with regard to the application of these method over the visual areas in healthy subjects and clinical populations.
Transcranial direct current stimulation – update 2011
Authors: Nitsche Michael A. , Paulus Walter
Published: December 2019

Non-invasive brain stimulation with weak direct currents (transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)) has emerged as one of the major tools to induce neuroplastic cortical excitability alterations in humans since its (re-) introduction to the arsenal of plasticity-inducing brain stimulation tools. In this review, we gather newly emerged knowledge about the effect of tDCS on brain function in both, basic and applied research. This overview will deliver an update of the last two years of research, because especially during this time numerous important studies were published covering the above-mentioned fields.
GreenLight HPS 120-W laser vaporization versus transurethral	resection of the prostate for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia: A	prospective randomized trial
Authors: Xue Boxin , Zang Yachen , Zhang Yuanyuan , Yang Dongrong , Gao Jie , Sun Chuanyang , Cui Yong , Zhu Jin , Liu Xiaolong , Shan Yuxi
Published: December 2019

The most recent advance in laser treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the introduction of a high-performance system (HPS) 120-W laser. The HPS laser beam at a wavelength of 532~nm is highly absorbed by oxyhemoglobin in the tissue and maintains focus with negligible divergence up to 3 mm from the fiber and with limited divergence at 5 mm. This study is designed to evaluate the three-year clinical efficacy and safety of photoselective vaporization of the prostate (PVP, n=100 cases) with GreenLight HPS laser compared with transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP, n=100 cases) for treatment of BPH. The results showed that the mean operating time, catheterization time and admission time were significantly shorter in the PVP group, respectively. There were dramatic improvements in International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), quality of life (Qol), maximum flow rate (Qmax) and postvoid residual (PVR) compared with preoperative values and the degree of improvements was comparable in both groups. The intraoperative complications were lower in PVP group. In summary, PVP is an effective technique in patients with BPH, when compared to TURP, producing equivalent improvements in IPSS, Qmax, Qol and PVR with the advantages of markedly reduced catheterization time, admission time and adverse events.