bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of privacy concern in social networking web sites
Authors: Tan Xin , Qin Li , Kim Yongbeom , Hsu Jeffrey
Published: March 2012

Purpose

This study aims to understand the impact of users' privacy concerns on their acceptance of social networking web sites (SNWs).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper develops two research models, with privacy concern conceptualized either as an antecedent of acceptance intention, or as a moderator of the relationships in the technology acceptance model (TAM). Using a survey questionnaire, empirical data were collected from 428 undergraduate college students. Structured equation modeling was used to test the validity of the proposed research models.

Findings

The privacy concerns of the research respondents were found to be statistically significant. However, they did not directly affect users' acceptance of social networking web sites. Instead, privacy concerns did moderate the effects of perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use, on users' intention to continue to use SNWs.

Research limitations/implications

The study identifies the theoretical foundations of privacy and privacy concerns in the context of SNWs. This empirical study, based on an established theoretical foundation, will help the research community to gain a deeper understanding of the impacts of privacy concern in the context of social networking.

Practical implications

The findings of this study can provide SNW operators with useful strategies and tactics to enhance users' acceptance depending on their level of privacy concern.

Originality/value

With the worldwide rapid growth of SNWs, there have been ongoing concerns about how users' private information is viewed or used by others. This study provides much needed empirical evidence about the impact of privacy concerns on users' acceptance of SNWs.
A structural approach to examine the quality attributes of e‐shopping malls using the Kano model
Authors: Oh Jong‐Chul , Yoon Sung‐Joon , Park Byung‐il
Published: March 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the characteristics of e‐shopping malls by using Kano's two‐dimensional quality model; also to determine the salient quality attributes, including those attributes that increase customer satisfaction and technological characteristics that are essential for the use of e‐shopping malls, to provide important strategic implications.

Design/methodology/approach

In this regard, the paper is divided into Study 1 and Study 2. Study 1 uses Kano's two‐dimensional quality model to determine the characteristics of e‐shopping malls, whereas Study 2 analyzes the relationship among e‐shopping malls' characteristics, customer satisfaction, flow experience, and trust.

Findings

According to the results of Study 1, communication quality and marketing activity reflected one‐dimensional quality attributes. In addition, brand recognition was an attractive quality attribute, whereas interface quality, system security, and information quality were must‐be quality attributes. According to the results of Study 2, communication‐related attributes of e‐shopping malls did not have significant effects on customer satisfaction, whereas other attributes such as brand recognition, marketing activity, interface quality, system security, and information quality directly influenced customer satisfaction.

Practical implications

The results also have important implications for researchers. First, the quality dimensions of e‐shopping malls can be identified through an empirical analysis based on Kano's model. This indicates that the quality attributes of e‐shopping malls can be better examined by using a two‐dimensional quality model than by using a one‐dimensional quality model. Second, the authors not only extracted the quality dimensions based on Kano's model but also examined customer satisfaction, flow experience and trust to verify their relationships, providing a better understanding of the effective quality management of e‐shopping malls.

Originality/value

Previous studies considering various types of e‐shopping malls have focused on the design and functions of e‐shopping mall web sites; the elements that vitalize e‐commerce and the key factors influencing the success of e‐commerce; and the factors influencing customer satisfaction and purchase intentions. Most of the literature on e‐shopping malls have typically approached this topic by using a one‐dimensional method relying on whether the physical/technological attributes of e‐shopping malls are fulfilled. This paper expands the horizon by incorporating a systematic approach to web service qualities using Kano model, which is a multi‐dimensional model.
An integrated view of knowledge management for performance
Authors: Lee Sangjae , Gon Kim Byung , Kim Hoyal
Published: March 2012

Purpose

This study aims to analyze the relationship between KM infrastructures, knowledge process capabilities, creative organizational learning, and organizational performance. The primary research focus is on the relationships between the KM infrastructure, which includes cultural, structural, management, and technology related factors, and the knowledge process capability by elaborating on the significance of knowledge processes as the determinants of organizational performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The unit of analysis is a company that has adopted a KMS. A mail survey was used to collect the data and an internet‐based survey was also used to provide more convenience in the response. The response sample included 120 responses. The structural relations among variables were tested using the partial least squares (PLS) method.

Findings

The results of this study indicate that collaboration, learning culture, top management support, and IT support affect the knowledge process capabilities. Knowledge process capabilities and creative organizational learning in turn mediate the relationship between KM infrastructure and organizational performance, which demonstrate the relevance of KM infrastructure for organizational performance.

Originality/value

Previous studies on KM have been fragmented in that they have explained some aspects of KM performance but have not provided a holistic view of a KM performance framework. Using a holistic view of the KM performance framework, this study has provided insights to KM for researchers because it explains the integrated aspects of KM performance by examining the relationships between the KM infrastructure, knowledge process capabilities, and organizational outcomes.
Knowledge management and its critical factors in social economy organizations
Authors: Cardoso Leonor , Meireles Andreia , Ferreira Peralta Carlos
Published: March 2012

Purpose

This research aims to present and empirically validate a conceptual model for social economy organizations that includes organizational commitment, knowledge‐centered culture, and training as critical variables for the success of formal and informal knowledge management practices.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is a cross‐sectional study and involved collection of quantitative data. The sample is made up of Portuguese organizations belonging to the social economy sector. The survey consisted of 205 employees. Path analysis was applied, using maximum‐likelihood estimation procedures.

Findings

Path analysis results show that the proposed model has a good fit with the data. Training and knowledge management practices are a function of knowledge‐centered culture and organizational commitment.

Research limitations/implications

The research is focused on social economy organizations, therefore generalization of results to other sectors must be cautious. Although a comprehensible model is presented, it does not cover an exhaustive list of critical factors for knowledge management. Additionally, this research is of a cross‐sectional nature, which does not capture dynamic changes.

Practical implications

The research contributes to the existing literature about the critical factors of knowledge management. Social economy organizations that are developing knowledge management practices should attend to the predominant type of organizational commitment and should base their training policies on a knowledge‐centered culture.

Originality/value

Empirical evidence obtained in this study will be of use not only to social economy organizations wanting to become knowledge management ones, but also to researchers wanting to develop a more comprehensive framework of factors that influence (positively or negatively) knowledge management, specifically within social economy organizations.
Knowledge sharing in cross‐functional teams: a coopetitive model
Authors: Ghobadi Shahla , D'Ambra John
Published: March 2012

Purpose

This study aims to present a model that can be used for predicting effective knowledge sharing behaviors in cross‐functional project teams.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawn from the extant literature, a coopetitive model of knowledge sharing is postulated. Data from 115 project managers are used to test the proposed model, using partial least squares (PLS).

Findings

The findings confirm the applicability and predictive power of the proposed model. Three dimensions of cross‐functional cooperation (cooperative task orientation, cooperative communication, and cooperative interpersonal relationships) were proved to directly drive effective knowledge sharing behaviors. The results show that competition affects effective knowledge sharing behaviors through influencing cooperative behaviors. In addition, this study shows that different dimensions of competition generate mixed impacts. Competition for tangible resources was found to positively affect cooperative communication of individuals, whereas competition for intangible resources (political competition) had negative impacts on cooperative communication and task orientations.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to the extant literature by presenting a model that predicts effective knowledge sharing practices in cross‐functional projects. In addition, the results advance the current understanding of the concept and modeling of coopetitive knowledge sharing.

Practical implications

The proposed model of this study can be used by managers in order to facilitate problematic knowledge sharing processes within cross‐functional teams.

Originality/value

This study stands as one of the first attempts in providing a model that explains the forces behind effective knowledge sharing behaviors in cross‐functional teams. The model explores coopetition effect in a systematic way, which has not been previously studied.
Tacit knowledge: review and possible research directions
Authors: Venkitachalam Krishna , Busch Peter
Published: March 2012

Purpose

Tacit knowledge is often difficult to define, given its inexpressible characteristics. Literature review highlights the impact of tacit knowledge on certain knowledge management topics and these include organizational learning, intellectual capital, knowledge management strategy and so forth, but some research gaps remain. The paper aims to propose directions for future research in this domain of discourse.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of existing studies highlights some gaps in the literature on the role of tacit knowledge, which is followed by questions for future research.

Findings

Given the richness of tacit knowledge discourse, the authors believe that the proposed questions offer avenues for scholars to explore and develop greater understanding of the role of tacit know‐how in certain knowledge management topics.

Research limitations/implications

The authors acknowledge that there are certain limitations to this paper, namely, focusing on the review of tacit knowledge and not on other forms of knowledge. The review presents the role of tacit knowledge and its use in the context of knowledge management related topics. Finally this study proposes only future research directions that are far from being exhaustive, rather than presenting field study results.

Originality/value

This paper reviews the existing literature on how tacit knowledge is perceived and used in certain knowledge management areas. Reviewing the current literature uncovers a number of gaps regarding the role of tacit knowledge.
A survey on predicting personal mobility
Authors: Burbey Ingrid , Martin Thomas L.
Published: March 2012

Purpose

Location‐prediction enables the next generation of location‐based applications. The purpose of this paper is to provide a historical summary of research in personal location‐prediction. Location‐prediction began as a tool for network management, predicting the load on particular cellular towers or WiFi access points. With the increasing popularity of mobile devices, location‐prediction turned personal, predicting individuals' next locations given their current locations.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper includes an overview of prediction techniques and reviews several location‐prediction projects comparing the raw location data, feature extraction, choice of prediction algorithms and their results.

Findings

A new trend has emerged, that of employing additional context to improve or expand predictions. Incorporating temporal information enables location‐predictions farther out into the future. Appending place types or place names can improve predictions or develop prediction applications that could be used in any locale. Finally, the authors explore research into diverse types of context, such as people's personal contacts or health activities.

Originality/value

This overview provides a broad background for future research in prediction.
Ownership structure, earnings management and acquiring firm post‐merger market performance
Authors: Francoeur Claude , Ben Amar Walid , Rakoto Philémon
Published: March 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the link between ownership structure, earnings management (EM) preceding mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and the acquiring firm's subsequent long‐term market performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors measure the magnitude of discretionary current accruals using two methodologies, that of Teoh et al. and that of Kothari et al. The latter methodology is used to control for the presence of extreme performance prior to the event. The calendar‐time Fama‐French three‐factor model was used to evaluate long‐term stock performance and to minimize potential problems related to the cross‐sectional dependence of the returns.

Findings

It was found that firms using stock as a financing medium exhibit significant positive discretionary accruals during the year preceding the M&A and during the year of the acquisition. It was also documented that voting right concentration and control‐enhancing mechanisms are not associated with any significant level of earnings management. Finally, a negative association was found between EM and abnormal stock returns over a three‐year period following the acquisition.

Research limitations/implications

These results suggest that the concentrated ownership alignment effect dominates the entrenchment motives and acts as a deterrent mechanism to prevent controlling shareholders from managing earnings in stock‐financed M&A.

Practical implications

The authors’ results highlight the importance of maintaining good legal and extra‐legal protection of minority shareholders. Regulators can play an important role in preventing dominant shareholders from engaging in opportunistic EM in stock‐financed M&A.

Originality/value

The paper extends prior literature by taking a closer look at dominant shareholders’ motivations to manage earnings in stock‐financed M&A. Large shareholders have strong incentives to manage earnings upward prior to stock‐financed transactions to limit the dilution of their controlling position.
Research of SMEs' technology innovation model from multiple perspectives
Authors: Bo Zhang , Qiuyan Tao
Published: March 2012

Purpose

Small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) have long been the main carrier of technology innovation and technology transformation in China, and the main force of technological innovation. The “Twelfth Five‐Year” plan puts forward the necessity of stimulating SMEs' innovation vigor. Thus, whether from the subjective desire for upgrading the industry level, or from the objective needs of the market, technological innovation has become an important impetus for restructuring and upgrading many SMEs, and for enhancing their core competitiveness. The purpose of this paper is to study technology innovation models from multiple perspectives such as growth stage of SMEs, the environmental features in the enterprises' locations, competitive characteristics of the industries and the enterprises' innovation ability.

Design/methodology/approach

This research topic is designed to study the SMEs' innovation ability and characteristics in the different stages of development and in different industrial and development environments. On this basis, this paper puts forwards a dynamic multi‐dimensional technology innovation model, combines SMEs' innovation practice to continuously improve their technology innovation model and establish the innovation system, thereby enhancing the innovative capability of SMEs and strengthening their core competitiveness.

Findings

Through data analysis and research, the paper researches the SMEs' technological innovation factors, and finds the development law of technological innovation; various different modes of SMEs' technological innovation are analyzed from multiple perspectives to construct a multi‐dimensional dynamic model of technological innovation.

Originality/value

This is of great practical significance to China's economic construction and social harmonious development; the study of this topic will form the theory and methodology with regard to the SME's technology innovation model.
Trusting relationships of CTO‐CEO and CTO's participation in technology strategy
Authors: Zhen Tang , Xuan Yin , Jing Zhang
Published: March 2012

Purpose

Drawing on the literature of chief technology officer (CTO) and trusting relationship theory, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of trusting relationship of CTO‐chief executive officer (CEO) on the CTO's participation in technology strategy, based on empirical study of Chinese high‐tech firms, in order to maximize CTO's strategic decision‐making role. Taking into account the weight of power in Chinese culture, this study takes CTO's power distribution as moderator, to study whether it strengthens the impact of trusting relationship of CTO‐CEO on CTO's participation in technology strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

CTOs of high‐tech firms from Shanghai, Jiangsu, Shenzhen, Zhejiang and Beijing are taken as samples. A questionnaire survey is conducted by using random sampling method.

Findings

The results show that trusting relationships of CTO‐CEO has a significant positive impact on CTO's participation in technology strategy. The two dimensions of trusting relationships of CTO‐CEO, cognitive trust and emotional trust also have a significant positive impact on CTO's participation in technology strategy and each dimension of CTO's power distribution has a significant moderating effect on partial paths.

Originality/value

The results are analyzed from both the data level and theoretical level. Conclusions on the management inspiration of CEO and CTO in high‐tech firms are drawn.
Preliminary investigation of employee's dog presence on stress and organizational perceptions
Authors: Barker Randolph T. , Knisely Janet S. , Barker Sandra B. , Cobb Rachel K. , Schubert Christine M.
Published: March 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a preliminary study of the effect of the presence at work of employees' dogs on stress and organizational perceptions.

Design/methodology/approach

A pre‐post between‐group design with repeated measures was used to compare differences between employees who bring their dogs to work (DOG group), employees who do not bring their dogs to work (NODOG group), and employees without pets (NOPET group) on physiological and perceived stress, perceptions of job satisfaction, organizational affective commitment, and perceived organizational support.

Findings

Combined groups scored significantly higher on multiple job satisfaction subscales than the reference norm group for these scales. No significant differences were found between the groups on physiological stress or perceived organizational support. Although perceived stress was similar at baseline; over the course of the day, stress declined for the DOG group with their dogs present and increased for the NODOG and NOPET groups. The NODOG group had significantly higher stress than the DOG group by the end of the day. A significant difference was found in the stress patterns for the DOG group on days their dogs were present and absent. On dog absent days, owners' stress increased throughout the day, mirroring the pattern of the NODOG group.

Originality/value

This paper provides the first quantitative exploratory study of the effects of pet dogs in the workplace setting on employee stress and perceptions of satisfaction, support and commitment.
IT project management resources and capabilities: a Delphi study
Authors: Hadaya Pierre , Cassivi Luc , Chalabi Chahinaze
Published: March 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the most important IT project management resources and capabilities, and rank them according to the extent to which they are valuable, rare and inimitable.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a Delphi methodology, the data collection process was conducted with the collaboration of members of academia and professionals with expertise in IT project management.

Findings

The top ten most important resources/capabilities in IT project management were identified, the majority of which were capabilities; 80 per cent of the identified resources/capabilities were the same in the panel comprised of members of academia and the panel of professionals. Results showed that the two most valuable, rare and inimitable IT project management resources/capabilities were: the capability to understand and manage the needs, expectations, priorities and interests of project stakeholders; and the firm's capability to align IT projects to the strategy and business objectives of the organization.

Practical implications

This research guides managers in the development of key IT project management intangible resources/capabilities.

Originality/value

By simultaneously identifying a bundle of important IT project management resources/capabilities, evaluating the extent to which each resource/capability is valuable, rare and inimitable as well as displaying coherence between the results from the different steps of the Delphi method, the resources/capabilities identified in this study are likely to be those few that actually can influence the competitive advantage of the firm. Also, by demonstrating the less important role played by IT resources/capabilities, this study demonstrates that project management is a field of its own.
The paradox of risk management; a project management practice perspective
Authors: Besner Claude , Hobbs Brian
Published: March 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the interplay between risk management and uncertainty and the contextual variability of risk management practice. More precisely, the research empirically measures the relation between the extent of use of risk management and the level of project uncertainty.

Design/methodology/approach

The research defines risk management from an empirical perspective., i.e. from an empirically‐identified set of tools that is actually used to perform risk management. This toolset is derived from the results of an ongoing major worldwide survey on what experienced practitioners actually do to manage their projects. This paper directly relates uncertainty to the degree of project definition. It uses a sample of 1,296 responses for which the interplay between risk management and uncertainty could be measured.

Findings

The results are very coherent. They verify and empirically validate many of the propositions drawn from a review of the literature. But results challenge some of the propositions found in the conventional project management literature and some commonly held views. The research shows that the use of risk management practices and tools is negatively related to the degree of project uncertainty. This somewhat counter‐intuitive result is consistent with a general tendency for all project management tools and techniques to be used more intensively in better defined contexts.

Practical implications

The empirical investigation of actual risk practices and their contextual variability can help better understand risk management practice and manage risks better. The research also clarifies the concepts of uncertainty, risk and risk management.

Originality/value

The results confirm some well‐known assumptions about practices, but at the same time produced unexpected results that can stimulate the development of new practices adapted to highly uncertain contexts. The project management field needs to develop new responses for specific contexts for which it was not primarily developed. The results of this research point in the direction of such a need for ill‐defined projects and highly uncertain contexts.
Value for money in project alliances
Authors: MacDonald Charles , Walker Derek H.T. , Moussa Neveen
Published: March 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report on findings from a doctoral thesis examining value for money in alliance projects. It provides a summary of the thesis findings, explains the thesis author's doctoral journey and the context of both the thesis and the university program.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology of the thesis reported upon here utilised a combination of interviews with domain experts, reflection on practice and a Delphi panel to develop and refine a value for money/best value outcome model for alliance projects. The thesis research approach is described in this paper.

Findings

Results from the thesis indicate that a robust model for demonstrating value for money in an alliance project is feasible and the model was both developed and tested through the Delphi panel.

Practical implications

The paper's findings achieve two ends. First, the paper presents a summary of an important development in project alliancing practice; second, the paper adds to the body of knowledge surrounding the motivation and “lived experience” of mature professional doctoral candidates when balancing demanding careers and doctoral‐level study.

Originality/value

This research expands the conceptual view and practical assessment of value for money in project alliancing.
The association of osteopontin and LMX1A expression with World Health Organization grade in meningiomas and gliomas
Authors: Tsai Wen‐Chiuan , Lee Herng‐Sheng , Lin Chih‐Kung , Chen Ann , Nieh Shin , Ma Hsin‐I
Published: March 2012

Tsai W‐C, Lee H‐S, Lin C‐K, Chen A, Nieh S & Ma H‐I  (2012) Histopathology 61, 844–856

The association of osteopontin and LMX1A expression with World Health Organization grade in meningiomas and gliomas

Aims:  Osteopontin (OPN) and LIM homeobox transcription factor 1, alpha (LMX1A) are important factors related to tumour progression, invasion and metastasis in human cancers. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that expression of OPN and of LMX1A correlate with the World Health Organization (WHO) grading system of primary brain tumours.

Methods and results:  Immunohistochemical analyses of OPN and LMX1A expression were performed in 139 cases of brain tumour, including 65 meningiomas, 71 gliomas, and three central neurocytomas. More than 90% of WHO grade I meningiomas showed negative or weak staining for OPN and LMX1A. However, among all WHO grade II and III meningiomas, 100% and 66.7% showed moderate or strong staining for OPN and LMX1A, respectively. Similarly, higher percentages of WHO grade I and II gliomas than of WHO grade III and IV gliomas showed negative or weak staining for OPN. A higher intensity of immunoreactivity for LMX1A correlated with more advanced grade in WHO grade I–III gliomas, but not in WHO grade IV tumours.

Conclusions:  Higher immunostaining intensity for OPN and LMX1A correlated with WHO grades for meningiomas and some gliomas. Contrary to our expectations, LMX1A staining in WHO grade IV gliomas was shown to be weaker than in WHO grade III tumours.
Regulation of B‐cell responses by Toll‐like receptors
Authors: Browne Edward P.
Published: March 2012

The discovery of host‐encoded gene products that sense molecular patterns in infectious microbes, and the demonstration of their role in triggering innate and adaptive immune responses, has been a key milestone in our understanding of immunology. Twenty‐three years after Janeway first outlined the fundamental concepts of the ‘pattern recognition’ model, and 15 years since the identification of Toll‐like receptors (TLRs) as pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), new insights continue to be revealed, and questions remain. For example, innate immune responses to microbes that are mediated by PRRs have historically been viewed as the domain of innate immune cell populations such as dendritic cells and macrophages. New evidence, however, has pointed to the role of B‐cell‐intrinsic TLR activation in shaping antibody responses. These studies have revealed that TLRs regulate a complex transcriptional network that controls multiple steps in the development of antigen‐specific antibodies. This review covers these recent developments regarding the role of TLRs in B‐cell gene expression and function in vitro and in vivo, and highlights the remaining challenges in the field, with particular emphasis on the role of TLRs in antibody responses to viral infection. A more complete understanding of how TLRs regulate antibody responses will lead to improved vaccine design.
Knowledge, attitudes and practices surveys of blood donation in developing countries
Authors: Lownik E. , Riley E. , Konstenius T. , Riley W. , McCullough J.
Published: March 2012

Background and Objectives  Knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) surveys have been used in many countries to understand factors that influence blood donation and as the basis for communication and donor mobilization strategies.

Materials and Methods  A search was conducted of publically available databases, and studies with the following characteristics were selected: (1) the study was a knowledge, attitude and practice or KAP plus behaviour survey; (2) the subject of the survey was blood donation; (3) the survey was performed between 1995 and 2011; and (4) the survey was performed in countries classified as emerging and developing by the International Monetary Fund.

Results  Eighteen KAP studies conducted in seventeen developing countries were identified. There was considerable difference in the structure, population surveyed and conduct of the KAP studies. The common following themes emerged: misinformation about blood donation, fear of blood donation, willingness to donate for family and friends, concern about selling blood and a failure to transfer positive attitudes into actual blood donation.

Conclusion  Despite considerable differences in the culture and demographics of developing countries, several common themes emerged from different KAP surveys.
Anticancer Drug Vinblastine Sulphate Induces Transient Morphological Changes on the Olfactory Mucosa of the Rabbit
Authors: Kavoi B. M. , Makanya A. N. , Kiama S. G.
Published: March 2012

Vinblastine sulphate (VBS) is an anticancer drug that acts by disrupting microtubule dynamics of highly mitotic tissue cells. The consequences of VBS on the olfactory mucosa (OM), a tissue with high mitotic numbers, are not clearly understood. We used qualitative and quantitative methods to determine the structural changes that may be produced on the rabbit OM by VBS. Following a single dose (0.31 mg/kg) of this drug, the structure of the mucosa was greatly altered on the first 3–5 days. The alteration was characterized by disarrangement of the normal layering of nuclei of the epithelia, degeneration of axonal bundles, occurrence of blood vessels within the bundles, localized death of cells of Bowman's glands and glandular degeneration. Surprisingly on or after day 7 and progressively to day 15 post‐exposure, the OM was observed to regenerate and acquire normal morphology, and the vessels disappeared from the bundles. Relative to control values, bundle diameters, olfactory cell densities and cilia numbers decreased to as low as 53.1, 75.2 and 71.4%, respectively, on day 5. Volume density for the bundles, which was 28.6% in controls, decreased to a lowest value of 16.8% on day 5. In contrast, the volume density for the blood vessels was significantly lower in controls (19.9%) than in treated animals at day 2 (25.8%), day 3 (34.3%) and day 5 (31.5%). These findings suggest that the changes induced on the rabbit OM by VBS are transient and that regenerative recovery leads to the restoration of the normal structure of the mucosa.
PPAR agonists for the treatment of cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes
Authors: Wilding J. P. H.
Published: March 2012

Diabetes is a complex disease defined by hyperglycaemia; however, strong associations with abdominal obesity, hypertension and dyslipidaemia contribute to the high risk of cardiovascular disease. Although aggressive glycaemic control reduces microvascular complications, the evidence for macrovascular complications is less certain. The theoretical benefits of the mode of action of peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor (PPAR) agonists are clear. In clinical practice, PPAR‐α agonists such as fibrates improve dyslipidaemia, while PPAR‐γ agonists such as thiazolidinediones improve insulin resistance and diabetes control. However, although these agents are traditionally classed according to their target, they have different and sometimes conflicting clinical benefit and adverse event profiles. It is speculated that this is because of differing properties and specificities for the PPAR receptors (each of which targets specific genes). This is most obvious in the impact on cardiovascular outcomes—in clinical trials pioglitazone appeared to reduce cardiovascular events, whereas rosiglitazone potentially increased the risk of myocardial infarction. The development of a dual PPAR‐α/γ agonist may prove beneficial in effectively managing glycaemic control and improving dyslipidaemia in patients with type 2 diabetes. Yet, development of agents such as muraglitazar and tesaglitazar has been hindered by various serious adverse events. Aleglitazar, a balanced dual PPAR‐α/γ agonist, is currently the most advanced in clinical development and has shown promising results in phase II clinical trials with beneficial effects on glucose and lipid variables. A phase III study, ALECARDIO, is ongoing and will establish whether improvements in laboratory test profiles translate into an improvement in cardiovascular outcomes.
Disordered insulin secretion in the development of insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes
Authors: Schofield C. J. , Sutherland C.
Published: March 2012

Diabet. Med. 29, 972–979 (2012)

For many years, the development of insulin resistance has been seen as the core defect responsible for the development of Type 2 diabetes. However, despite extensive research, the initial factors responsible for insulin resistance development have not been elucidated. If insulin resistance can be overcome by enhanced insulin secretion, then hyperglycaemia will never develop. Therefore, a β‐cell defect is clearly required for the development of diabetes. There is a wealth of evidence to suggest that disorders in insulin secretion can lead to the development of decreased insulin sensitivity. In this review, we describe the potential initiating defects in Type 2 diabetes, normal pulsatile insulin secretion and the effects that disordered secretion may have on both β‐cell function and hepatic insulin sensitivity. We go on to examine evidence from physiological and epidemiological studies describing β‐cell dysfunction in the development of insulin resistance. Finally, we describe how disordered insulin secretion may cause intracellular insulin resistance and the implications this concept has for diabetes therapy. In summary, disordered insulin secretion may contribute to development of insulin resistance and hence represent an initiating factor in the progression to Type 2 diabetes.
Feasibility of the FINDRISC questionnaire to identify individuals with impaired glucose tolerance in Swedish primary care. A cross‐sectional population‐based study
Authors: Hellgren M. I. , Petzold M. , Björkelund C. , Wedel H. , Jansson P.‐A. , Lindblad U.
Published: March 2012

Diabet. Med. 29, 1501–1505 (2012)

Aim  To evaluate the performance of the FINDRISC questionnaire as a tool to recruit individuals with impaired glucose tolerance for lifestyle intervention programmes.

Methods  A cross‐sectional population‐based study in primary Health Care Centres in a middle‐sized Swedish town. All 9734 individuals, aged 35–75 years, living within a defined area, were invited by mail to fill in and return the FINDRISC questionnaire. Participants with a risk score ≥ 15 (n = 525) were invited to perform an oral glucose tolerance test while those with known diabetes were excluded.

Results  In total, 5452 questionnaires (58%) were returned and revealed a mean risk‐score of 8.5 ± 4.5 (mean ± SD). We found that 525 participants had a risk‐score ≥ 15 and 302 (58%) were further examined with an oral glucose tolerance testing (OGTT). Among them we detected 11% with previously undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes, 16% with impaired glucose tolerance and 29% with impaired fasting glucose. A FINDRISC score ≥ 15 was associated with a positive predictive value of 55% for impaired glucose metabolism (impaired fasting glucose + impaired glucose tolerance + Type 2 diabetes) and of 16% for impaired glucose tolerance, respectively. The positive predictive value for impaired glucose tolerance did not increase to more than 17% when choosing the cut‐point 17, while there was a significant increase in the positive predictive value for impaired glucose metabolism (70%).

Conclusions  The FINDRISC questionnaire is a useful instrument for identification of individuals with impaired glucose metabolism but seems less effective for detection of individuals with impaired glucose tolerance. Strategies to find individuals with impaired glucose tolerance for implementation of lifestyle changes in primary care should therefore be developed further.
The role of obesity‐related genetic loci in insulin sensitivity
Authors: Fall T. , Ärnlöv J. , Berne C. , Ingelsson E.
Published: March 2012

Diabet. Med. 29, e62–e66 (2012)

Aims  Despite rapid advancements and many new diabetes susceptibility loci found in the past few years, few genetic variants associated with insulin sensitivity have been described, potentially attributable to the lack of larger cohorts examined with gold standard methods for insulin sensitivity assessment. There is a strong link between obesity and insulin sensitivity, and we hypothesized that known obesity susceptibility loci may act via effects on insulin sensitivity.

Methods  A cohort of 71‐year‐old men without diabetes (Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men) underwent a euglycaemic–hyperinsulinaemic clamp and genotyping for genetic variants representing 32 loci recently reported to be associated with BMI (n = 926). The effect of these loci on the insulin sensitivity index (M/I ratio) was examined using linear regression. An in silico replication was performed in publically available data for the three top single‐nucleotide polymorphisms from the Meta‐Analyses of Glucose and Insulin‐related traits Consortium analyses of homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (n = 37 037).

Results  Three loci (SH2B1, MTCH2 and NEGR1) were associated with decreased insulin sensitivity at a nominal significance (P ≤ 0.05) after adjustment for BMI, but did not hold for multiple comparison correction. SH2B1 rs7359397 was also associated with homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance in the Meta‐Analyses of Glucose and Insulin‐related traits Consortium data set (P = 3.9 × 10–3).

Conclusions  Our study supports earlier reports of SH2B1 to be of importance in insulin sensitivity and, in addition, suggests potential roles of NEGR1 and MTCH2.
Making sense of drinking: the role of techniques of neutralisation and counter‐neutralisation in negotiating alcohol consumption
Authors: Piacentini Maria G. , Chatzidakis Andreas , Banister Emma N.
Published: March 2012

This article contributes to the understanding of how students neutralise potential feelings of guilt and stigmatisation regarding their alcohol consumption. We report findings from two qualitative studies with students at a UK university. The aim of the research was to uncover the range and ways in which neutralisation and counter‐neutralisation techniques are used by drinkers and abstainers/near‐abstainers in managing their alcohol position. Study 1 consisted of five focus groups with heavy drinkers and Study 2 comprised nine one‐to‐one interviews with abstainers and near‐abstainers. Analysis highlights the importance of alcohol consumption in students’ lifestyles, but also the potential identity conflicts experienced by all drinkers, regardless of the amount consumed. Heavy drinkers primarily employ neutralisation techniques as a means to rationalise the negative impacts of their actions, whereas abstainers and near‐abstainers mainly use counter‐neutralisation techniques as a means to reinforce their commitment to lifestyles which run counter to mainstream student life expectations. However, regardless of the amount of alcohol consumed, all participants employed neutralising and counter‐neutralising arguments in some social situations. The article discusses the usefulness of neutralisation theory to account for the adoption of risky health behaviours, such as excessive alcohol consumption, and the potential implications for public health interventions.
Risk, ritual and health responsibilisation: Japan’s ‘safety blanket’ of surgical face mask‐wearing
Authors: Burgess Adam , Horii Mitsutoshi
Published: March 2012

This article begins to develop an understanding of surgical mask‐wearing in Japan, now a routine practice against a range of health threats. Their usage and associated meanings are explored through surveys conducted in Tokyo with both mask wearers and non‐mask wearers. It contests commonly held cultural views of the practice as a fixed and distinctively Japanese collective courtesy to others. A historical analysis suggests that an originally collective, targeted and science‐based response to public health threats has dispersed into a generalised practice lacking a clear end or purpose. Developed as part of the biomedical response to the Spanish flu of 1919, the practice resonated with folk assumptions as making a barrier between purity and pollution. But mask‐wearing became socially embedded as a general protective practice only from the 1990s through a combination of commercial, corporate and political pressures that responsibilised individual health protection. These developments are usefully understood amidst the uncertainty created by Japan’s ‘second modernity’ and the fracturing of her post‐war order. Mask‐wearing is only one form of a wider culture of risk; a self‐protective risk ritual rather than a selfless collective practice.
When ancestral heritage is a source of discomfort: culture, pre‐object relatedness, and self‐alienation
Authors: Kradin Richard L.
Published: March 2012

Abstract:  The ancestral claims on an individual can evoke mental conflict when they involve separating from an ethnic group whose beliefs and customs are devalued by the dominant culture. However, these claims are engraved on the psyche early in development by caretakers to the level of pre‐object relatedness, where contents and affect tones are implicit and may be unavailable for later psychoanalytical interventions. In addition, as the anthropologist Clifford Geertz notes, one's culture of origin precedes the development of psyche and creates its own set of claims that must be renegotiated when one encounters a different domain of cultural symbols, a confrontation that can produce psychological dissonance and self‐alienation. In this paper, three cases are examined in which mental conflicts were evoked by attempts at divesting ancestral claims in response to conscious efforts to assimilate into the dominant culture. These patients suffered from separation guilt and unstable self‐esteem and reported dream imagery suggesting psychological imbalance. The requirement to carefully delineate the ancestral claims on psyche as well as those contents and affects that may not be accessible to therapeutic intervention is emphasized, and the importance of compromise and acceptance with respect to the psychological demands of the unconscious are considered.
Gain of function by phosphorylation in Presenilin 1‐mediated regulation of insulin signaling
Authors: Maesako Masato , Uemura Kengo , Kuzuya Akira , Sasaki Kazuki , Asada Megumi , Watanabe Kiwamu , Ando Koichi , Kubota Masakazu , Akiyama Haruhiko , Takahashi Ryosuke , Kihara Takeshi , Shimohama Shun , Kinoshita Ayae
Published: March 2012

J. Neurochem. (2012) 121, 964–973.

We have recently reported that Presenilin 1 (PS1), a causative gene of familial Alzheimer disease (AD), down‐regulates the expression level of insulin receptor (IR) as well as its signaling through a γ‐secretase‐independent pathway. PS1 is phosphorylated by glycogen synthase kinase 3 β at the serine 353 and 357 residues. The main purpose of the present study was to clarify the effect of PS1 phosphorylation on IR/insulin signaling. Here, we demonstrate that the pseudo‐phosphorylation mutant of PS1 inhibited IR transcription and reduced IR expression compared with wild‐type PS1. Importantly, there was a decrease in expression of IR in AD brains, and the phosphorylation ratio of PS1 was negatively correlated with IR level in human brain samples. In the data from mouse models of AD, IR reduction was not observed at the pre‐Aβ deposition stage but became apparent in that of post‐Aβ deposition. Together with our previous reports, these results suggest that phosphorylated PS1 can promote the down‐regulation of insulin signaling, which may be a positive feed‐forward mechanism inhibiting insulin signaling. As insulin resistance is reported to be a risk factor for sporadic AD, this PS1‐mediated regulatory mechanism of brain insulin signaling may be causally associated with AD pathology.
DINOPHYSIS CAUDATA (DINOPHYCEAE) SEQUESTERS AND RETAINS PLASTIDS FROM THE MIXOTROPHIC CILIATE PREY MESODINIUM RUBRUM1
Authors: Kim Miran , Nam Seung Won , Shin Woongghi , Coats D. Wayne , Park Myung Gil
Published: March 2012

“Phototrophic”Dinophysis Ehrenberg species are well known to have chloroplasts of a cryptophyte origin, more specifically of the cryptophyte genus complex Teleaulax/Geminigera. Nonetheless, whether chloroplasts of “phototrophic”Dinophysis are permanent plastids or periodically derived kleptoplastids (stolen chloroplasts) has not been confirmed. Indeed, molecular sequence data and ultrastructural data lead to contradictory interpretations about the status of Dinophysis plastids. Here, we used established cultures of D. caudata strain DC‐LOHABE01 and M. rubrum strain MR‐MAL01 to address the status of Dinophysis plastids. Our approach was to experimentally generate D. caudata with “green” plastids and then follow the ingestion and fate of “reddish‐brown” prey plastids using light microscopy, time‐lapse videography, and single‐cell TEM. Our results for D. caudata resolve the apparent discrepancy between morphological and molecular data by showing that plastids acquired when feeding on M. rubrum are structurally modified and retained as stellate compound chloroplasts characteristic of Dinophysis species.