bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Drotaverine hydrochloride vs. valethamate bromide in acceleration of labor
Authors: Sharma J.B. , Pundir P. , Kumar A. , Murthy N.S. 
Published: July 2002

AbstractObjectives: To compare the efficacy and safety of drotaverine hydrochloride and valethamate bromide in shortening the duration of labor. Methods: In a randomized controlled trial of 150 nulliparous women in established labor with cervical dilation of 4 cm, 50 women were given drotaverine (group I), 50 women were given valethamate (group II) and another 50 women were not given any medication (group III). Duration of labor, mode of delivery, side effects, and neonatal outcome were measured in all cases. Appropriate non‐parametric tests and χ2 tests were used for assessment of statistical significance. Results: In the three groups, 100%, 96% and 46% women delivered within 6 h, respectively. The injection‐to‐delivery interval was significantly reduced in the drotaverine group (193.96 min) in contrast to the valethamate group (220.68 min) and control group (412.84 min). The rate of cervical dilation was highest in the drotaverine group (2.04 cm/h) compared with the valethamate bromide group (1.86 cm/h) and control group (1.01 cm/h). There were no major maternal or fetal adverse effects in any group, but minor side effects were more common in the valethamate group. Conclusion: Both intramuscular drotaverine hydrochloride and valethamate bromide are effective in acceleration of labor; however, drotaverine accelerates labor more rapidly and is associated with less side effects.
A simplified fetal biophysical profile
Authors: Petrović O. , Škunca E. , Matejčić N. 
Published: July 2002

AbstractObjective: To modify the classic fetal biophysical profile (FBP) with the aim of obtaining rapid and accurate information about actual fetal condition in non‐compromised fetuses with a subsequent favorable outcome and to be suitable for a number of outclinic patients. Methods: Four‐hundred and ninety‐four fetuses from singleton pregnancies in two randomized groups were monitored by the modified FBP (mFBP) and 168 of them after the external vibratory acoustic stimulation (VAS/mFBP). The mFBP was characterized by two main characteristics: non‐stress test was excluded and the testing was finished at the moment when all of the three fetal biophysical activities became normal. The external VAS was applied only in cases with no evidence of fetal activity at the start of the FBP. Results: Of the examined fetuses, 326 fetuses in the control group were monitored by the mFBP and there were 316 (96.9%) favorable outcomes and 10 (3.1%) adverse perinatal outcomes. The sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values of the mFBP score in predicting adverse perinatal outcome were 60, 99, 66.7 and 98.7%, respectively. In the study group of 168 fetuses there were 165 (98.2%) favorable outcomes and three (1.8%) adverse perinatal outcomes. The sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values of the VAS/mFBP were 66.7, 100, 100 and 99.4%, respectively. The efficiency of the VAS/mFBP in predicting perinatal mortality alone was even higher. After the external VAS and the first 5 min of the modified testing approximately two‐fifths (41.8%) of healthy fetuses with a subsequent good outcome exhibited normal in all of the three biophysical activities and approximately two‐thirds (65.5%) of them after 10 min. In the VAS/mFBP group of healthy fetuses, during the same time periods, normal breathing movements were observed in 72% and 87% of fetuses, respectively. Conclusions: According to our results the mFBP and particularly the VAS/mFBP antenatal protocol as a new and rational variant of the FBP could improve fetal assessment allowing in cases of non‐compromised fetuses rapid and accurate information about actual fetal well‐being. Because of its high accuracy and a reduced testing time the antepartal method with observation of fetal breathing movements after VAS is becoming acceptable as a screening of fetal well‐being evaluation in outclinic conditions.
Enterprise logistics and supply chain structure: the role of fit
Authors: Stock Gregory N , Greis Noel P , Kasarda John D 
Published: July 2002

AbstractThe emergence of the extended manufacturing enterprise, a globally dispersed collection of strategically aligned organizations, has brought new attention to how organizations coordinate the flow of information and materials across their supply chains. This paper explores and develops the concept of enterprise logistics [Greis, N.P., Kasarda, J.D., 1997. Enterprise logistics in the information age. California Management Review 39 (3), 55–78] as a tool for integrating the logistics activities both within and between the strategically aligned organizations of the extended enterprise. Specifically, this paper examines the fit between an organization's enterprise logistics integration capabilities and its supply chain structure. Using a configurations approach, we test whether globally dispersed network organizations that adopt enterprise logistics practices are able to achieve higher levels of organizational performance. Results indicate that enterprise logistics is a necessary tool for the coordination of supply chain operations that are geographically dispersed around the world. However, for a pure network structure, a high level of enterprise logistics integration alone does not guarantee improved organizational performance. The paper ends with a discussion of managerial implications and directions for future research.
Exploring work system practices for time‐based manufacturers: their impact on competitive capabilities
Authors: Rondeau Patrick J , Vonderembse Mark A , Ragu‐Nathan T.S 
Published: July 2002

AbstractManufacturing firms operating in a post‐industrial environment have customers who demand specialized products and short lead times. To meet these needs, organizations are adopting time‐based manufacturing practices to cut time and improve performance. The central tenet of this study is that time‐based manufacturers employ traditional work system practices including standardization, formalization, and routinization plus integration to improve competitiveness. This study measures the levels of time‐based manufacturing practices, work system practices, and competitive capabilities of 265 firms. The results indicate that firms with high levels of time‐based manufacturing practices tend to have high levels of standardization and formalization as well as integration. Firms with high levels of standardization and integration tended to have enhanced competitive capabilities.
Operations strategy in an emerging economy: the case of the Ghanaian manufacturing industry
Authors: Amoako‐Gyampah Kwasi , Boye Samuel S 
Published: July 2002

AbstractOperations strategy and its development have received a lot of attention in the operations management literature. However, as noted by Ward et al. (1995), an understanding of the factors that influence operations strategy development has not been widely studied. Further, how managers of firms in underdeveloped countries develop operations strategy has yet to receive any significant attention among researchers. This paper takes a look at the development of operations strategy in an underdeveloped economy, Ghana. Specifically, the paper examines the relationships between the business environment and the operations strategy choices made by firms in Ghana. The paper seeks to understand the influence that specific business environmental factors have on the operations strategy choices of low cost, quality, flexibility, and delivery dependability.A survey of manufacturing firms was carried out in 1998. The respondents (production managers in those firms) were asked to indicate the extent to which business costs, labor availability, competitive hostility, and environmental dynamism were of concern to them. They were also asked to indicate their extent of emphasis on the operations strategy choices of quality, cost, flexibility and delivery dependability. This paper presents the result of the analysis of the relationships between the environmental factors and the operations strategy choices. The data indicate that, among firms in Ghana, the two strongest factors that influence the degree of emphasis placed on operations strategy choices are perceived business costs and competitive hostility. Results are presented for both large and small firms, and for firms that are completely locally owned as well as for joint venture firms.
Assessing the impact of the manufacturing executive’s role on business performance through strategic alignment
Authors: Papke‐Shields Karen E. , Malhotra Manoj K. 
Published: July 2002

AbstractMany researchers over time have stressed the importance of incorporating the manufacturing perspective in the formulation of business strategy. Prior work in this area has tended to focus primarily on the involvement of the manufacturing executive in strategic decision making processes, while relatively little attention has been given to the level of influence enjoyed by the manufacturing executives. This study jointly examines the role of both influence and involvement in achieving better business performance, which we posit is expected to occur through alignment between the organizational and manufacturing strategies rather than directly. A research model based on procedural justice and strategic information management literature is proposed to represent this phenomenon. Structural equation modeling is used to empirically test the research model and its related hypothesis on the basis of data collected from 202 senior manufacturing executives representing mid to large sized firms from diverse industry groups across the US. In addition, interviews with a sub‐sample of respondents are used to further explore the contextual nature of these relationships. The results indicate that involvement and influence are indeed two different, but highly related, aspects of the manufacturing executive s role. The interviews revealed numerous differences between the two with respect to achieving each and individual benefits derived from them. As expected, both involvement and influence are important determinants of strategy alignment with influence appearing to play a more substantive role. More importantly, it is this alignment that affects business performance. Implications of our findings for improving manufacturing practice, along with possible avenues for future research directions in this area, are also provided.
The impact of time‐based manufacturing practices on mass customization and value to customer
Authors: Tu Qiang , Vonderembse Mark A , Ragu‐Nathan T.S 
Published: July 2002

AbstractMass customization capabilities enable firms to design, produce, and deliver a high volume of differentiated products that meet specific customer needs in a timely manner and at close to mass‐production prices. A critical part of mass customization is simultaneously achieving customer responsiveness, cost efficiency, and high volume production in the manufacturing system. This research describes mass customization and provides a framework to understand the relationships among time‐based manufacturing practices, mass customization, and value to the customer. It involves the development of an instrument to measure mass customization. Data were collected from 303 manufacturing firms of various size, location, and industry to develop the instrument and test the relationships in the framework. The primary research method was structural equation modeling using LISREL. The study indicates that firms with high levels of time‐based manufacturing practices have high levels of mass customization and value to the customer. Also, firms with high levels of mass customization have high levels of value to customer.
Generic manufacturing strategies: an empirical test of two configurational typologies
Authors: Devaraj Sarv , Hollingworth David G , Schroeder Roger G 
Published: July 2002

AbstractThe need to empirically test and validate typologies and frameworks that are derived deductively has been echoed repeatedly in the operations management literature. This paper reports on an empirical comparison of two configuration‐based typologies: the Product–process matrix and the more recent generic manufacturing strategies model. Since there is substantial conceptual overlap between these models, a simultaneous examination provides insights about both models, and in particular, about the value‐added of the generic manufacturing strategies model.We examine hypotheses derived from these typologies using data from manufacturing plants in the United States, Italy, United Kingdom, Japan, and Germany; and from the automotive, machinery, and electronics industries. The data were analyzed using multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) and hierarchical regression techniques. Our results indicate support for the Product–process matrix — lending further strength to a growing base of empirical research on this model. Our findings also provide support for the generic manufacturing strategies model with respect to various measures of cost, cycle time/inventory, quality, and innovation performance. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the generic manufacturing strategies model is a useful augmentation to the Product–process matrix. These findings suggest that the generic manufacturing strategy model has merit but deserves further empirical and theoretical attention.
An empirical investigation of the antecedents and consequences of manufacturing goal achievement in North American, European and Pan Pacific firms
Authors: Narasimhan Ram , Jayaram Jayanth 
Published: July 2002

AbstractDescriptions of the content of manufacturing goals, and in particular, the variations in the professed goals of manufacturing among firms are abundant in the manufacturing strategy literature. However, few empirical studies have addressed the process (i.e., causal linkages pertaining to and among supply management, process improvements, and information systems) relating to and affecting the degree of manufacturing goal achievement. The major objectives pursued in this study are: 1) To propose a conceptual model that examines the antecedents and consequences of manufacturing goal achievement and test its empirical validity; and 2) To verify whether the conceptual model is valid across North American, European and Pan Pacific regions using the GMRG database. This study examines relationships among supply management, process improvements, information systems, manufacturing goals, customer responsiveness, and firm performance across a sample of 576 manufacturing firms competing in the global arena, and tests the posited structural equation model. The results consistently support the validity of the proposed conceptual model in all three regions. The results also provide empirical support for the conclusion that manufacturing firms in the three geographical regions examined in this study emphasize different manufacturing goals. The results suggest that this differential emphasis on manufacturing goals leads firms to mobilize a different set of resources suggesting differences in manufacturing strategy. The paper suggests additional research issues that can be pursued.
Distribution of smooth muscle actin‐containing cells in the human meniscus
Authors: Ahluwalia S. , Fehm M. , Murray M. Meaney , Martin S. D. , Spector M. 
Published: July 2002

AbstractThis is the first report of a contractile actin isoform, α‐smooth muscle actin (SMA), in the cells of the human meniscus that lacked meniscal tears based on gross anatomical appearance. Approximately 25% of the cells in the tissue contained SMA by immunohistochemistry. Most of the SMA‐positive cells were chondrocytic in morphology. © 2001 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Cell formation in the cortical layers of the developing human cerebellum
Authors: Ábrahám Hajnalka , Tornóczky Tamás , Kosztolányi György , Seress László 
Published: July 2002

AbstractCell proliferation has been studied in the human cerebellar cortex between the 24th gestational week and the 12th postnatal month. Intensive cell formation has been found in the external granular layer (EGL) of the human cerebellum, where the highest cell proliferation rate occurs between the 28th and 34th gestational weeks. This is followed by a gradual decrease that lasts up to the eighth postnatal month. As late in development as the fifth postnatal month, still 30% of cells of the EGL are labeled with the monoclonal antibody Ki‐67, which is specific for dividing cells. The width of the EGL remained unchanged from the 28th gestational week to the end of the first postnatal month, when it starts to decrease and completely disappears by the 11th postnatal month. Large number of Ki‐67 labeled cells occurs in the internal granular layer (IGL) between the 24th and 28th gestational weeks. From the 36th week onwards, the labeling index is less than 1%, although a few labeled cells have always been found in this layer even in the late postnatal period. Labeled cells are distributed in the entire width of the IGL. However, from the 34th gestational week, almost all labeled cells are found among and directly below the Purkinje cells. Their position, the nuclear features, and their occasionally stained cell processes suggest that those are Bergmann glial cells. There are few Ki‐67 labeled cells in the molecular layer (ML) and in the white matter (WM) of the cerebellum throughout the examined period. It is likely that most of these are glial cells. Pyknotic index has been found to be small in all layers of the cerebellum during the examined period.
A historical cohort study of kidney damage in long-term lithium patients: continued surveillance needed
Authors: Bendz H. , Aurell M. , Lanke J. 
Published: July 2002

SummaryBackgroundInsufficient knowledge on the longitudinal fate of renal function in lithium patients incited this retrospective study of 149 patients.MethodMedical record review of a lithium cohort (N= 149), 8–12 years after an initial renal function study.ResultsTwenty-one patients had died, one from uremia probably not caused by lithium, and 42 had discontinued lithium. Reduced urinary concentrating capacity (Umax) or glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was not more frequent among deceased or off-lithium patients than among the 86 patients who were on lithium at follow-up. In 63 of the latter patients, Umax had been re-examined after the initial study, and GFR in 29 patients. Reduced Umax and GFR had become twice as common, and average Umax and GFR had decreased significantly. The reduction of GFR was associated with lithium treatment duration and age, and reduced Umax with treatment duration only.ConclusionsReduced renal function is not a major cause of treatment discontinuation but becomes increasingly common with treatment duration.
Crucial relationship between the privatized sector and the generic private sector in post-communist privatization Determinants of economic performance
Authors: Winiecki Jan 
Published: July 2002

This article looks at the issue — largely neglected in the transition literature — of the relative weights of the privatized sector and the generic private sector (of de novo private firms) in the emerging private sector of post-communist economies in transition. The present writer posits that the relative weight of each in the aggregate share of a private sector (generally expanding over time as transition progresses) strongly influences economic performance, both during correctional recession and during recovery and expansion period. Another, interrelated issue considered here is the interaction between the evolving institutional framework and the expansion of the generic private sector, that is the most dynamic one in the transition economy. It is true that the interaction between institutions and performance has been a staple of a very large number of books, articles, and papers.
However, this article concentrates on one component of a private sector only, that is the generic private sector. But at the same time it looks beyond the ‘Holy Trinity’ of transition (stabilization, liberalization, and privatization) towards a wider institutional framework of political liberty, law and order. The foregoing wider framework, and the emerging general trust, matters as much — if not more — for the present writer as the standard transition program.
It is the relative dynamics of both components of the private sector, affected by both standard transition programs and the above-mentioned wider institutional framework, that is of primary importance for the economic performance in post-communist transition. In the last part of the article I will try also to answer, tentatively, the question under which circumstances the wider institutional framework may emerge in the transition process.
A glossary of circulating cytokines in chronic heart failure
Authors: Adamopoulos Stamatis , Parissis John T. , Kremastinos Dimitrios Th. 
Published: July 2002

AbstractRecent studies have emphasized the importance of biologically active molecules, termed cytokines, in the development and progression of the syndrome of chronic heart failure. This article summarizes a glossary of major cytokines and other cytokine‐related inflammatory factors implicated in the pathophysiology of chronic heart failure, describing the source of their synthesis and factors regulating their secretion and analyzing their biologic effects on the cardiovascular system.
Chondroitin polymerizing factor promotes breast carcinoma cell proliferation, invasion and migration and affects expression of epithelial‐mesenchymal transition‐related markers
Authors: Li Yang , Gong Hui , Feng Lei , Mao Dan , Xiao Yujie , Wang Yunqi , Huang Lizhong 
Published: December 2020

Chondroitin polymerizing factor (CHPF) plays an important role in the development of certain malignant tumors. However, the role of CHPF in breast carcinoma (BRCA) and its underlying mechanism are still not fully elucidated. Expression profiles for CHPF in BRCA tissues were retrieved from The Cancer Genome Atlas database and used for prognostic analysis. Cell viability, invasion and migration were measured in vitro using MCF7 and MDA‐MB‐231 cell lines upon knockdown or over‐expression of CHPF. Bioinformatic analysis showed that CHPF was substantially upregulated in BRCA tissues, and a quantitative reverse transcriptase‐PCR was performed to confirm its upregulation in BRCA cells. High expression of CHPF was observed to be significantly associated with pathologic stage, metastasis and worse prognosis. We also observed that depletion of CHPF significantly inhibited cell proliferative, invasive and migratory abilities, whereas overexpression of CHPF exerted the opposite effects. Furthermore, analysis of the GEPIA database revealed that CHPF expression is positively correlated with the epithelial–mesenchymal transition‐related markers vimentin, Snail, Slug and motion‐related protein matrix metallopeptidase 2; these findings were confirmed via western blotting. Our data suggest that CHPF may contribute to BRCA progression by modulating epithelial–mesenchymal transition‐related markers and matrix metallopeptidase 2 expression.