bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Entrepreneurial experiences of women in Canadian high technology
Authors: Ezzedeen Souha R. , Zikic Jelena 
Published: March 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how women entrepreneurs experience entrepreneurship in the Canadian technology sector and the types of obstacles posed by the field's male‐dominated character.Design/methodology/approachThe authors' research purpose called for an inductive approach. Interviews with a sample of women technology entrepreneurs allowed for in‐depth exploration of their subjective experiences and the contexts in which these were situated.FindingsThe research subjects encountered persistent gender stereotypes, a paucity of female role models, resistance from associates within and outside of their organizations, and societal pressures to maintain appropriate levels of work‐family balance.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough exploratory and preliminary in nature, the findings indicate that women entrepreneurs do not experience “glass ceilings” as much as they experience “labyrinth walls” and what the authors identify as “thorny floors”, meaning opposition and sabotage from male subordinates.Social implicationsWomen considering entrepreneurship should expect to encounter resistance to their leadership, albeit manifested in different forms than in corporate settings. Male‐dominated fields such as technology involve industry‐level resistance as well as opposition from within the organization. Nevertheless, women perceived the field as merit‐driven whereby they gained acceptance once they had established themselves as credible competitors.Originality/valueThis study is one of few to elucidate the multiple levels of opposition to women's entrepreneurship in male‐dominated settings and introduces the concept of “thorny floors” to research on women's advancement and entrepreneurship.
Gender differences of business owners in technology‐based firms
Authors: Dautzenberg Kirsti 
Published: March 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to disclose the commonalities and differences among business owners of technology‐based firms in Germany. The paper addresses both single entrepreneurs as well as entrepreneurial teams regarding gender.Design/methodology/approachThe paper examines firm characteristics and firm success variables in light of gender. Data were sourced from 593 firms in very‐high‐tech‐manufacturing, 886 firms in high‐tech manufacturing, and 4.822 firms in technology‐based service industries.FindingsResults confirm the supposed gender gap in the technology industry. Whereas firm characteristics such as firm size, number of employees, and revenues are correlated to gender, firm success appears to be independent of these.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper focuses on the analysis of firm characteristics and gender variables. Due to the data sample, it contributes to the understanding of gender, as well as firm success and characteristics of German technology‐based firms.Originality/valueThe quantitative nature of this study contributes to reducing the scarcity of existing studies in the field of women entrepreneurship in technology‐based industries in Germany. It offers insights into the gender and entrepreneurial team characteristics of these firms.
Improving marketing process using Six Sigma techniques (case of Saman Bank)
Authors: Oliya Ebrahim , Saleh Owlia Mohammad , Dehdashti Shahrokh Zohreh , Olfat Laya 
Published: March 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to highlight the significance of improvement of marketing process using Six Sigma methodology, in the context of a banking environment.Design/methodology/approachBased on Six Sigma's DMAIC model, the paper uses Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control phases to study marketing process improvement in Saman Bank.FindingsResearch states the way concepts of marketing performance management relates to the improvement of a bank marketing process using Six Sigma. Low quality was observed in the process and then regarding customer relations as one of the main priorities, improvement actions were planned. A major marketing failure for the bank was decline of online banking usage, which justifies the importance of loyal online banking customers in marketing plans.Practical implicationsThis paper helps marketing departments in financial institutions to analyze their current performance and execute improvement actions to optimize their process. One fact in designing marketing improvement actions for banks is effectively using related information systems to organize the high amount of marketing data and to respond quickly to customer needs.Originality/valueMarketing performance measurement is done in a new way as the research describes how a general marketing process can adopt Six Sigma tools to have stronger customer relations, reduced marketing costs and how to prioritize improvement actions systematically.
Innovative lean: work practices and product and process improvements
Authors: Angelis Jannis , Fernandes Bruno 
Published: March 2012

PurposeInnovation is a key source of competitiveness in the knowledge economy, and continuous improvement (CI) is a key element of such corporate pursuit. The purpose of this paper is to explore links to prevalent shop floor conditions which support or prohibit the effective realisation of CI. Lean is a globally competitive standard for product assembly of discreet parts. Successful Lean application is conditioned by an evolutionary problem‐solving ability of the rank and file. This is in itself contingent on employee involvement in improvement programs and the implementation of appropriate practices. But the challenge of operating innovative Lean systems lacks statistically valid guidance.Design/methodology/approachThis empirical study is based on 294 worker responses from 12 manufacturing sites in four industry sectors.FindingsThe study identifies particular practices that impact employee participation in improvement activities and their performance outcomes. Process suggestions are driven by a combination of difficult working conditions that the workers seek to improve and team‐based work. However, for suggestions on product improvements, significant practices are worker favorable industrial relations and human resource practices.Research limitations/implicationsTo test work practices, work practice variables were measured with single items, trading lower measurement reliability for increased scope. Also, there is a moderate sample size, if addressed by selecting sites with a variety of practices.Practical implicationsThe results indicate that the main business benefit is in enhanced product quality through process, rather than product, improvements, suggesting that management should pursue worker involvement on continuous process improvements, and employ designated design teams for product improvements.Originality/valueThe paper empirically identifies the relationship between particular work practices and product and process improvement in a Lean setting.
Quantitative trait loci segregating in crosses between New Hampshire and White Leghorn chicken lines: II. Muscle weight and carcass composition
Authors: Nassar M. K. , Goraga Z. S. , Brockmann G. A. 
Published: March 2012

SummaryIn order to identify genetic factors influencing muscle weight and carcass composition in chicken, a linkage analysis was performed with 278 F2 males of reciprocal crosses between the extremely different inbred lines New Hampshire (NHI) and White Leghorn (WL77). The NHI line had been selected for high meat yield and the WL77 for low egg weight before inbreeding. Highly significant quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling body weight and the weights of carcass, breast muscle, drumsticks–thighs and wings were identified on GGA4 between 151.5 and 160.5 cM and on GGA27 between 4 and 52 cM. These genomic regions explained 13.7–40.2% and 5.3–13.8% of the phenotypic F2 variances of the corresponding traits respectively. Additional genome‐wide highly significant QTL for the weight of drumsticks–thighs were mapped on GGA1, 5 and 7. Moreover, significant QTL controlling body weight were found on GGA2 and 11. The data obtained in this study can be used for increasing the mapping resolution and subsequent gene targeting on GGA4 and 27 by combining data with other crosses where the same QTL were found.
Nanomodification of mineral trioxide aggregate for enhanced physiochemical properties
Authors: Saghiri M. A. , Asgar K. , Lotfi M. , Garcia‐Godoy F. 
Published: March 2012

Saghiri MA, Asgar K, Lotfi M, Garcia‐Godoy F.Nanomodification of mineral trioxide aggregate for enhanced physiochemical properties.International Endodontic Journal., 45, 979–988, 2012.AbstractAim To analyse the physicochemical properties of a Nano white mineral trioxide aggregate (NWMTA) and compare it with white mineral trioxide aggregate (WMTA).Methodology White mineral trioxide aggregate and NWMTA were prepared and mixed according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Surface area of powder before hydration, setting time, X‐ray diffraction and microhardness at pH values of 4.4 and 7.4 were evaluated by Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, ISO Specification no.6876, Vickers microhardness, and energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy equipped with X‐ray colour (dot) map for both cements.anovaand Mann–Whitney were used for statistical analysis at a significance level of 0.5.Results The mean ± SD of surface area and setting time were 1.8 ± 0.2 m2g−1and 43 ± 2 min for WMTA and 7.8 ± 1.2 m2 g−1and 6 ± 1 min for NWMTA, respectively. Mean ± SD of Microhardness were 16 ± 2, 51 ± 1, 69 ± 1 and 81 ± 2 for WMTA at pH values of 4.4 and 7.4 and for NWMTA correspondingly. Numbers of open porosity over the surface were 88 ± 24 and 44 ± 13 for WMTA and NWMTA, respectively. Statistical tests revealed significant differences between the groups (P < 0.001) in surface area, setting time and surface hardness for both cements. Uniform distribution of strontium was only observed in NWMTA. However, other compounds were not significantly different.Conclusion Increasing surface area of powder can reduce setting time and increase microhardness even at lower pH values after hydration.
The health status of postpartum immigrant women in Taiwan
Authors: Hung Chich‐Hsiu , Wang Hsiu‐Hung , Chang Su‐Hong , Jian Shu‐Yuan , Yang Yung‐Mei 
Published: March 2012

Aims.  This study aims to contribute to the current body of literature by examining immigrant women’s postpartum health in the context of Taiwan, in particular, their experience with postpartum stress and depression as well as the levels of social support available to them. This study also aims to identify predictors of their postpartum health status.Background.  While there has been considerable research on the risk factors for poor postpartum health in the general population, research on the factors influencing immigrant women’s postpartum health has been limited.Design.  A non‐experimental research design.Methods.  We collected data from a sample of 340 immigrant postpartum women who could speak Mandarin Chinese, recruited from 10 general hospitals and one obstetric clinic in Taiwan from March 2005 – September 2006. The Hung Postpartum Stress Scale, Beck Depression Inventory‐II, Social Support Scale and Chinese Health Questionnaire were used in this study.Results.  We found that immigrant women’s postpartum health status differed significantly in relation to their key helpers, depression status, levels of postpartum stress and social support. The logistic regression analysis showed that a one‐point increase in immigrant women’s postpartum stress increased the probability of suffering from minor psychiatric morbidity by 1·04 times.Conclusions.  These findings suggest that health care professionals should pay attention not only to immigrant postpartum women’s basic financial and support needs but also to their postpartum stress and stressors.Relevance to clinical practice.  The use of trained community health advocates in partnership with registered nurses can help meet the needs of postpartum women and improve maternal and infant health through their home visits. These nursing interventions should be tailored specifically to decrease immigrant Asian women’s postpartum stress and improve their overall health status and well‐being.
Identification of Leishmania infantum chagasi proteins in urine of patients with visceral leishmaniasis: a promising antigen discovery approach of vaccine candidates
Authors: KASHINO S. S. , ABEIJON C. , QIN L. , KANUNFRE K. A. , KUBRUSLY F. S. , SILVA F. O. , COSTA D. L. , CAMPOS D. , COSTA C. H. N. , RAW I. , CAMPOS‐NETO A. 
Published: March 2012

SummaryVisceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a serious lethal parasitic disease caused by Leishmania donovani in Asia and by Leishmania infantum chagasi in southern Europe and South America. VL is endemic in 47 countries with an annual incidence estimated to be 500 000 cases. This high incidence is due in part to the lack of an efficacious vaccine. Here, we introduce an innovative approach to directly identify parasite vaccine candidate antigens that are abundantly produced in vivo in humans with VL. We combined RP‐HPLC and mass spectrometry and categorized three L. infantum chagasi proteins, presumably produced in spleen, liver and bone marrow lesions and excreted in the patients’ urine. Specifically, these proteins were the following: Li‐isd1 (XP_001467866.1), Li‐txn1 (XP_001466642.1) and Li‐ntf2 (XP_001463738.1). Initial vaccine validation studies were performed with the rLi‐ntf2 protein produced in Escherichia coli mixed with the adjuvant BpMPLA‐SE. This formulation stimulated potent Th1 response in BALB/c mice. Compared to control animals, mice immunized with Li‐ntf2+ BpMPLA‐SE had a marked parasite burden reduction in spleens at 40 days post‐challenge with virulent L. infantum chagasi. These results strongly support the proposed antigen discovery strategy of vaccine candidates to VL and opens novel possibilities for vaccine development to other serious infectious diseases.
Elevational Variation in Diversity of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae in South‐West China
Authors: Chen Xiao L. , Yu Lei , Gao Ling L. , Jiang Tao , Li Qing Y. , Huang Qiong 
Published: March 2012

AbstractVirulence analysis and two polymerase chain reaction–based assays were used to evaluate the population structure of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) from different elevations ranging from 150 to 2600 m in south‐west China. Among the 218 isolates of Xoo, 18 pathotypes were identified using six near‐isogenic rice lines, each containing a single resistance gene. Among them, pathotype 9 predominated in low and mid‐elevations was virulent to all resistance genes, including Xa2, Xa3, xa5, xa13, Xa14 and Xa18. However, pathotype 2 was predominant at high elevation and was virulent to Xa18 only. The 18 pathotypes were grouped into four clusters. Isolates belonging to cluster 1 were mainly found at high and mid‐elevations, while those of cluster 4 were mainly found at low elevations. There were significant trends of virulence of isolates from low to high with the elevation from high to low. The ERIC and J3 primers were used to screen the genomes of 218 isolates, and 56 molecular haplotypes were found. Multiple correspondence analyses revealed that 56 haplotypes were divided into four putative genetic lineages. Lineage 2 was the most frequently detected from 150 to 2600 m; it was clearly shown that isolates from high elevation with 80% is much more than from low and mid‐elevation in the lineage. It is intriguing that genetic variation of Xoo is restricted by physical geographical barriers of elevations. This is the first report on the relationship of pathotypic and genotypic diversity of Xoo at different elevations.
Predictors of dropout among personality disorders in a specialist outpatients psychosocial treatment: A preliminary study
Authors: Martino Francesca , Menchetti Marco , Pozzi Euro , Berardi Domenico 
Published: March 2012

Aim:  The aim of this study was to identify factors that may affect treatment retention in a 1‐year psychosocial program for adult personality disorders.Methods:  The sample consists of patients admitted to the Adult Personality Disorder Outpatient Programme of the Bologna Community Mental Health Centre in the period 2003–2008. At the beginning of the program, patients were evaluated through a comprehensive assessment including sociodemographic form, diagnostic interviews and self‐report questionnaires. Patients who dropped out from treatment were retrospectively compared with patients who completed the program.Results:  Out of 39 patients enrolled in the program, 20 (51.3%) dropped out and 19 (48.7%) completed the treatment. Out of 20 patients who dropped out, 14 terminated the treatment within the first 2 months. The dropout group and the group which remained showed significant differences in diagnosis (borderline personality disorder [BPD]), demographic data (age, time from first contact with psychiatric services), clinical variable (impulsiveness) and subjective experience (motivation, treatment expectation, therapeutic relation perception and barriers to access). BPD and subjective evaluation were found to be predictors of premature termination in the sample. In detail, BPD patients who experienced a less satisfactory therapeutic relationship and reported many external problems were more likely to drop out of the program.Conclusion:  Important factors contributing to dropout were identified, with potential implication for clinical practice. Further efforts need to be made to find ways to retain BPD patients who find the first subjective experience of the service more problematic.
Changes in oxidative stress and cellular immunity serum markers in attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder
Authors: Ceylan Mehmet Fatih , Sener Sahnur , Bayraktar Aslihan Cavunt , Kavutcu Mustafa 
Published: March 2012

Aims:  Attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder with an etiopathogeny not fully understood. According to the prevailing view, the main factors contributing to the disorder are prefrontal dopamine deficiency and central dopaminergic dysfunction, but the factors/mechanisms involved in the brain dysfunction and its consequences are not well known. We suggest that changes in oxidative metabolism and cellular immunity may be involved. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether there are associations between ADHD and changes in serum levels of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), xanthine oxidase (XO), glutathione S‐transferase (GST) and paraoxonase‐1 (PON‐1) activities, which are important markers of oxidative stress, and adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity, marker of cellular immunity.Methods:  The study sample consisted of 35 child or adolescent patients diagnosed with ADHD according to DSM‐IV‐TR criteria. Thirty‐five healthy subjects were also included in the study as controls. Venous blood samples were collected, and NOS, XO, GST, PON‐1 and ADA activities were measured.Results:  NOS, XO and ADA activities of the patients were significantly higher than those of the controls. GST and PON‐1 activities of the patients were significantly lower than those of the controls.Conclusions:  Changes in oxidative metabolism and cellular immunity may have a role in the etiopathogenesis of ADHD.
Correlation between optic nerve head parameters and retinal nerve fibre layer thickness measured by spectral‐domain optical coherence tomography in myopic eyes
Authors: Hwang Young H , Kim Yong Y 
Published: March 2012

AbstractBackground:  To evaluate the correlation between optic nerve head parameters and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness measured by Cirrus HD spectral‐domain optical coherence tomography (Cirrus HD‐OCT; Carl Zeiss Meditec) in healthy myopic eyes.Design:  Cross‐sectional study.Participants:  One hundred and sixty‐one right eyes from 161 healthy young myopic subjects.Methods:  Optic nerve head parameters and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness were measured with the Cirrus HD‐OCT. The distance between optic disc margin and scan circle (disc margin‐to‐scan distance) was measured on the Cirrus HD‐OCT en‐face optic nerve head image with aid of National Institutes of Health ImageJ image‐analysis software (developed by Wayne Rasbands, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD).Main Outcome Measures:  The correlations among optic nerve head parameters, retinal nerve fibre layer thickness and the disc margin‐to‐scan distance were evaluated with and without adjustment of the magnification effect.Results:  Without correction of the magnification effect, the thicker average retinal nerve fiber layer was correlated with greater rim area and lower degree of myopia (P < 0.001). When the magnification effect was corrected, thicker average retinal nerve fibre layer was associated with greater disc area and greater rim area in univariate and multivariate analyses (P ≤ 0.028); however, degrees of myopia and the disc margin‐to‐scan distance were not significantly associated with average RNFL thickness (P ≥ 0.104).Conclusions:  Thicker average retinal nerve fibre layer thickness was associated with greater rim and disc areas. Disc margin‐to‐scan distance was not significantly correlated with average retinal nerve fibre layer thickness in healthy myopic eyes.
Horseshoe tract of anal fistula: bad luck or an avoidable extension? Lessons from 82 cases
Authors: de Parades V. , Fathallah N. , Blanchard P. , Zeitoun J.‐D. , Bennadji B. , Atienza P. 
Published: March 2012

AbstractAim  The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of horseshoe tract formation in anal fistula.Method  We retrospectively analysed the data from all consecutive patients who underwent surgery for an anal fistula from November 2004 to March 2011. A horseshoe tract was defined as a circumferential extension connecting both sides of the anorectum.Results  During the period of analysis, 1876 patients were operated on for a fistula. Of these, 82 (4.4%) had a horseshoe extension. The majority (72%) were male and the median age was 46 (17–84) years. The primary tract was high transsphincteric in 90% of cases and the primary opening was posterior in 65% of cases. The location of the horseshoe extension was posterior in 66% of cases with spread in the deep perianal space in 62%. In all, 71% were cryptoglandular and 24% were seen in Crohn’s disease (20). Of the 62 non‐Crohn’s patients previous treatment was common and included surgery (42), antibiotics alone (41) and non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (21).Conclusion  Horseshoe extension in anal fistula is uncommon. With Crohn’s disease excepted, the majority had had previous treatment.