bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An ANN‐based DSS system for quality assurance in production network
Authors: Chung Walter W.C. , Wong Kevin C.M. , Soon Paul T.K. 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose an integrated model of decision support system (DSS), artificial neural network, information and communication technologies and statistical process control (SPC) to facilitate agreement by different stakeholders with special interests to commit to the decision that will be taken to stop the production line when something goes wrong somewhere in a supplier network environment.Design/methodology/approachA DSS is proposed to capture exceptional signals from source on deterioration of product quality to alert preventive actions needed before the problems are getting out of hand. The supervisors are given a set of guidelines to support making the decision. Real‐time SPC and rule‐based decision support procedures are used to trigger pre‐defined exceptional signals for forwarding to the most appropriate person (the knowledge holder in the problem domain) to make a decision to stop the line. All servers in all remote sites are internet‐connected and provide real‐time quality data to the regional supply chain manager. A case study is described to show how this is implemented in a lens manufacturing company.FindingsA significant improvement in quality level can be achieved by holding the knowledge worker accountable for making the decision to stop the production line rather than made by default as is with most traditional operations.Practical implicationsTo provide a concept to structure activities for decision support so that the persons responsible for making the decision to stop the production line is held accountable by all stakeholders.Originality/valuePractitioners can replicate the approach used in this paper to their own situations involving decisions to be made to address un‐structured problems and unclear responsibilities.
The aggregation for enterprise distributed databases
Authors: Chiu Ruey‐Kei , Lenny Koh S.C. , Chang Chi‐Ming 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a data framework to support the incremental aggregation of, and an effective data refresh model to maintain the data consistency in, an aggregated centralized database.Design/methodology/approachIt is based on a case study of enterprise distributed databases aggregation for Taiwan's National Immunization Information System (NIIS). Selective data replication aggregated the distributed databases to the central database. The data refresh model assumed heterogeneous aggregation activity within the distributed database systems. The algorithm of the data refresh model followed a lazy replication scheme but update transactions were only allowed on the distributed databases.FindingsIt was found that the approach to implement the data refreshment for the aggregation of heterogeneous distributed databases can be more effectively achieved through the design of a refresh algorithm and standardization of message exchange between distributed and central databases.Research limitations/implicationsThe transaction records are stored and transferred in standardized XML format. It is more time‐consuming in record transformation and interpretation but it does have higher transportability and compatibility over different platforms in data refreshment with equal performance. The distributed database designer should manage these issues as well assure the quality.Originality/valueThe data system model presented in this paper may be applied to other similar implementations because its approach is not restricted to a specific database management system and it uses standardized XML message for transaction exchange.
Patient activation among Medicare beneficiaries
Authors: Williams Sunyna S. , Heller Amy 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to identify audience segments of Medicare beneficiaries, for the development of targeted and tailored communication activities to promote informed health care decision making.Design/methodology/approachSecondary analysis was conducted on data from the 2001 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey. The 9,520 Medicare beneficiaries who had complete data on key variables constituted the analytic sample.FindingsCluster analysis identified four audience segments that varied separately with regard to health care decision‐making skills and motivation. Those in the active segment are skilled and motivated. Those in the passive segment are unskilled and unmotivated. Those in the high effort segment are motivated, but unskilled. And those in the complacent segment are skilled, but unmotivated. Additional analyses showed that the segments also varied on several additional variables of interest, such as knowledge, income, education, health behavior, health status, and preferred information sources. And finally, the segmentation screening tool was developed and shown to function adequately as a simple method to conduct segmentation in the field.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research should further examine the reliability and validity of the segmentation scheme.Originality/valueThis research identified four segments of Medicare beneficiaries that vary with regard to health care decision‐making skills and motivation, and developed a simple tool to conduct segmentation.
The new Dutch health insurance system and its implications for pharmaceutical innovation
Authors: Cohen Joshua 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide commentary on the state of affairs regarding implementation of Dutch health insurance reform, focusing on whether such reform is conducive to pharmaceutical innovation.Design/methodology/approachThe general characteristics of the Dutch healthcare system is outlined, together with a brief synopsis of the 2006 health insurance reform initiative. This is followed by a description of the four market intervention mechanisms and their implications for pharmaceutical innovation. Finally, these implications and the potential for policy transfer to other European countries are discussed.FindingsThe new Dutch health insurance system represents a novel approach that closely follows Enthoven's managed competition model. Certain features of the new system are conducive to pharmaceutical innovation. These positive features include more flexibility on the part of private insurers to deviate from the national formulary, speedier reimbursement appraisals, and more earmarked funding for certain highly innovative pharmaceutical products. Other features, however, appear detrimental to drug innovation. These include direct price controls, reference pricing, and the still highly centralized nature of decision making with respect to drug reimbursement. On the whole, one could say that, despite many challenges, Dutch health insurance reform is a step in the right direction that may prove to be a boon to biopharmaceutical innovation if further steps are taken to remove obstacles.Research limitations/implicationsIt is premature to draw firm conclusions on whether Dutch health insurance reform is conducive to pharmaceutical innovation. The new system is at an early stage in its evolution. Further, one should be cautious about the extent to which lessons can be drawn from the new Dutch system for other European countries, given the limited size of the Dutch biopharmaceutical industry relative to some of its European neighbors.Originality/valueWhile much is known about how changes in the drug regulatory framework impact pharmaceutical innovation, very little is known about how changes in health care insurance impact pharmaceutical innovation. This paper aims to fill that void by examining the impact of the new Dutch health insurance system on drug innovation.
Web‐enabled product ID system as a tool in pharmaceutical marketing
Authors: Browe Christopher , Lu Wang Cheng 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how a web‐enabled product ID system can be applied to pharmaceutical marketing and consumer relationship management.Design/methodology/approachAs a technical paper, it first introduces and describes the product ID system and then explores various marketing applications of this interactive communication tool in the pharmaceutical industry. Finally, it concludes with managerial implications and caveats.FindingsThe web‐based product ID system is able to provide a means for product validation and database marketing, facilitate interactive marketing communication and viral marketing, and collect customer information and feedback for research activities.Research limitations/implicationsThe perceived lack of security of public networks and customer confidence about drug sourcing are always concerns when applied to online technology in pharmaceutical marketing. Caveats about building such a system of coded ID product are discussed.Practical implicationsThe use of uniquely coded packaging would impact marketing research activities, enhance consumer promotions, allow end‐users to authenticate a drug's validity, provide a means for early reporting of unforeseen risks or benefits, and build/maintain customer relationship.Originality/valueThe proposed web‐based product ID system is an innovative concept that can have important marketing implications in the pharmaceutical industry.
The marketing concept, patient dumping and EMTALA
Authors: Bonnici Joseph 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show that in the presence of the marketing concept something is fundamentally wrong in our national health care system where patients are denied emergency medical treatment or are prematurely transferred from one hospital to another because they cannot guarantee payment.Design/methodology/approachA viewpoint is discussed citing supporting literature.FindingsThe literature suggests an adverse relationship between the marketing concept and the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) and further suggests that the two are failing indigent patients. The marketing concept as a driving business philosophy is too simplistic and commercially oriented to befit an emergency setting. At the same time, EMTALA suffers from serious shortcomings, shackles hospitals' freedom of contract and threatens the economics of health care.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper lacks quantitative research to back its position.Practical implicationsIt is not enough to coin positively sounding theories within healthcare marketing when these theories are inadequate in addressing the stark realities behind supply and demand. EMTALA as a remedial measure falls short in correcting the situation and a fresh outlook at the problem is warranted.Originality/valueThe paper taps into marketing and legal expertise in bringing together the marketing concept and EMTALA, two subjects that have never been twinned before in the literature. The subjects are of special interest in understanding the treatment of indigent patients.
Healthcare marketing: what is salient?
Authors: Kay Mark J. 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a perspective on what is “salient” or critical to the discipline of healthcare marketing by analyzing and contrasting the consumer (or patient) perspective with the institutional (or organizational) perspective. This “salience issue” is complicated by the structural problems in healthcare such as societal service systems, advances in medical technology, and the escalating costs of care. Reviewing selected studies, the paper examines how consumers face increasingly difficult health choices.Design/methodology/approachThe paper examines the different priorities and goals for marketing that are implied by both patient and organizational perspectives in healthcare, focusing primarily on the excesses of the more “market‐based” US healthcare system.FindingsHealthcare organizations need to better utilize marketing tools to inform consumers and assist their healthcare decisions. This effort needs to be balanced by healthcare organizations that can support the demand to improve quality and increase accessibility of care.Originality/valueThe perspective on the consumer (or patient) often becomes clouded amid the operation of increasingly complex and convoluted healthcare systems. A new perspective on healthcare marketing needs to be considered. Greater consumer access to healthcare information could improve patient decision making. To accomplish this, greater institutional diffusion of evidence‐based healthcare practices is needed to improve organizational performance.
Structure of a designed, right‐handed coiled‐coil tetramer containing all biological amino acids
Authors: Sales Mark , Plecs Joseph J. , Holton James M. , Alber Tom 
Published: September 2007

AbstractThe previous design of an unprecedented family of two‐, three‐, and four‐helical, right‐handed coiled coils utilized nonbiological amino acids to efficiently pack spaces in the oligomer cores. Here we show that a stable, right‐handed parallel tetrameric coiled coil, called RH4B, can be designed entirely using biological amino acids. The X‐ray crystal structure of RH4B was determined to 1.1 Å resolution using a designed metal binding site to coordinate a single Yb2+ ion per 33‐amino acid polypeptide chain. The resulting experimental phases were particularly accurate, and the experimental electron density map provided an especially clear, unbiased view of the molecule. The RH4B structure closely matched the design, with equivalent core rotamers and an overall root‐mean‐square deviation for the N‐terminal repeat of the tetramer of 0.24 Å. The clarity and resolution of the electron density map, however, revealed alternate rotamers and structural differences between the three sequence repeats in the molecule. These results suggest that the RH4B structure populates an unanticipated variety of structures.
The rigid connecting loop stabilizes hairpin folding of the two helices of the ATP synthase subunit c
Authors: Dmitriev Oleg Y. , Fillingame Robert H. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractWe have tested the role of the polar loop of subunit c of the Escherichia coli ATP synthase in stabilizing the hairpin structure of this protein. The structure of the c32–52 peptide corresponding to the cytoplasmic region of subunit c bound to the dodecylphosphocholine micelles was solved by high‐resolution NMR. The region comprising residues 41–47 forms a well‐ordered structure rather similar to the conformation of the polar loop region in the solution structure of the full‐length subunit c and is flanked by short α‐helical segments. This result suggests that the rigidity of the polar loop significantly contributes to the stability of the hairpin formed by the two helices of subunit c. This experimental system may be useful for NMR studies of interactions between subunit c and subunits γ and ε, which together form the rotor of the ATP synthase.
The crystal structure of the ligand‐binding module of human TAG‐1 suggests a new mode of homophilic interaction
Authors: Mörtl Mario , Sonderegger Peter , Diederichs Kay , Welte Wolfram 
Published: September 2007

AbstractHuman TAG‐1 is a neural cell adhesion molecule that is crucial for the development of the nervous system during embryogenesis. It consists of six immunoglobulin‐like and four fibronectin III‐like domains and is anchored to the membrane by glycosylphosphatidylinositol. Herein we present the crystal structure of the four N‐terminal immunoglobulin‐like domains of TAG‐1 (TAG‐1Ig1–4), known to be important in heterophilic and homophilic macromolecular interactions. The contacts of neighboring molecules within the crystal were investigated. A comparison with the structure of the chicken ortholog resulted in an alternative mode for the molecular mechanism of homophilic TAG‐1 interaction. This mode of TAG‐1 homophilic interaction is based on dimer formation rather than formation of a molecular zipper as proposed for the chicken ortholog.
Solution structure of the hypothetical protein TA0095 from Thermoplasma acidophilum: A novel superfamily with a two‐layer sandwich architecture
Authors: León Esther , Yee Adelinda , Ortíz Angel R. , Santoro Jorge , Rico Manuel , Jiménez M. Angeles 
Published: September 2007

AbstractTA0095 is a 96‐residue hypothetical protein from Thermoplasma acidophilum that exhibits no sequence similarity to any protein of known structure. Also, TA0095 is a member of the COG4004 orthologous group of unknown function found in Archaea bacteria. We determined its three‐dimensional structure by NMR methods. The structure displays an α/β two‐layer sandwich architecture formed by three α‐helices and five β‐strands following the order β1‐α1‐β2‐β3‐β4‐β5‐α2‐α3. Searches for structural homologs indicate that the TA0095 structure belongs to the TBP‐like fold, constituting a novel superfamily characterized by an additional C‐terminal helix. The TA0095 structure provides a fold common to the COG4004 proteins that will obviously belong to this new superfamily. Most hydrophobic residues conserved in the COG4004 proteins are buried in the structure determined herein, thus underlying their importance for structure stability. Considering that the TA0095 surface shows a large positively charged patch with a high degree of residue conservation within the COG4004 domain, the biological function of TA0095 and the rest of COG4004 proteins might occur through binding a negatively charged molecule. Like other TBP‐like fold proteins, the COG4004 proteins might be DNA‐binding proteins. The fact that TA0095 is shown to interact with large DNA fragments is in favor of this hypothesis, although nonspecific DNA binding cannot be ruled out.
A cross‐strand Trp–Trp pair stabilizes the hPin1 WW domain at the expense of function
Authors: Jäger Marcus , Dendle Maria , Fuller Amelia A. , Kelly Jeffery W. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractUsing the human Pin1 WW domain (hPin1 WW), we show that replacement of two nearest neighbor non‐hydrogen‐bonded residues on adjacent β‐strands with tryptophan (Trp) residues increases β‐sheet thermodynamic stability by 4.8 kJ mol−1 at physiological temperature. One‐dimensional NMR studies confirmed that introduction of the Trp–Trp pair does not globally perturb the structure of the triple‐stranded β‐sheet, while circular dichroism studies suggest that the engineered cross‐strand Trp–Trp pair adopts a side‐chain conformation similar to that first reported for a designed “Trp‐zipper” β‐hairpin peptide, wherein the indole side chains stack perpendicular to each other. Even though the mutated side chains in wild‐type hPin1 WW are not conserved among WW domains and compose the β‐sheet surface opposite to that responsible for ligand binding, introduction of the cross‐strand Trp–Trp pair effectively eliminates hPin1 WW function as assessed by the loss of binding affinity toward a natural peptide ligand. Maximizing both thermodynamic stability and the domain function of hPin1 WW by the above mentioned approach appears to be difficult, analogous to the situation with loop 1 optimization explored previously. That introduction of a non‐hydrogen‐bonded cross‐strand Trp–Trp pair within the hPin1 WW domain eliminates function may provide a rationale for why this energetically favorable pairwise interaction has not yet been identified in WW domains or any other biologically evolved protein with known three‐dimensional structure.
The dominant‐negative effect of the Q218K variant of the prion protein does not require protein X
Authors: Lee Cheng I. , Yang Qingyuan , Perrier Veronique , Baskakov Ilia V. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractPrevious studies identified several single‐point mutants of the prion protein that displayed dominant‐negative effects on prion replication. The dominant‐negative effect was assumed to be mediated by protein X, an as‐yet‐unknown cellular cofactor that is believed to be essential for prion replication. To gain insight into the mechanism that underlies the dominant‐negative phenomena, we evaluated the effect of the Q218K variant of full‐length recombinant prion protein (Q218K rPrP), one of the dominant‐negative mutants, on cell‐free polymerization of wild‐type rPrP into amyloid fibrils. We found that both Q218K and wild‐type (WT) rPrPs were incorporated into fibrils when incubated as a mixture; however, the yield of polymerization was substantially decreased in the presence of Q218K rPrP. Furthermore, in contrast to fibrils produced from WT rPrP, the fibrils generated in the mixture of WT and Q218K rPrPs did not acquire the proteinase K‐resistant core of 16 kDa that was shown previously to encompass residues 97–230 and was similar to that of PrPSc. Our studies demonstrate that the Q218K variant exhibits the dominant‐negative effect in cell‐free conversion in the absence of protein X, and that this effect is, presumably, mediated by physical interaction between Q218K and WT rPrP during the polymerization process.
Interactions between homopolymeric amino acids (HPAAs)
Authors: Oma Yoko , Kino Yoshihiro , Toriumi Kazuya , Sasagawa Noboru , Ishiura Shoichi 
Published: September 2007

AbstractMany human proteins contain consecutive amino acid repeats, known as homopolymeric amino acid (HPAA) tracts. Some inherited diseases are caused by proteins in which HPAAs are expanded to an excessive length. To this day, nine polyglutamine‐related diseases and nine polyalanine‐related diseases have been reported, including Huntington's disease and oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy. In this study, potential HPAA–HPAA interactions were examined by yeast two‐hybrid assays using HPAAs of ∼30 residues in length. The results indicate that hydrophobic HPAAs interact with themselves and with other hydrophobic HPAAs. Previously, we reported that hydrophobic HPAAs formed large aggregates in COS‐7 cells. Here, those HPAAs were shown to have significant interactions with each other, suggesting that hydrophobicity plays an important role in aggregation. Among the observed HPAA–HPAA interactions, the Ala28–Ala29 interaction was notable because polyalanine tracts of these lengths have been established to be pathogenic in several polyalanine‐related diseases. By testing several constructs of different lengths, we clarified that polyalanine self‐interacts at longer lengths (>23 residues) but not at shorter lengths (six to ∼23 residues) in a yeast two‐hybrid assay and a GST pulldown assay. This self‐interaction was found to be SDS sensitive in SDS‐PAGE and native‐PAGE assays. Moreover, the intracellular localization of these long polyalanine tracts was also observed to be disturbed. Our results suggest that long tracts of polyalanine acquire SDS‐sensitive self‐association properties, which may be a prerequisite event for their abnormal folding. The misfolding of these tracts is thought to be a common molecular aspect underlying the pathogenesis of polyalanine‐related diseases.