bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Developing a model for technology and cultural factors in knowledge management: a factor analysis
Authors: Moffett Sandra , McAdam Rodney , Parkinson Stephen 
Published: November 2002

AbstractContinual development in the field of Knowledge Management (KM) has led to a number of critical factors being highlighted in the literature. These issues include the macro‐environment, organizational climate, technological, informational, cultural and people factors. Understanding of these issues is currently limited by a paucity of systematic empirical research addressing the relationship between the cultural and technological aspects of Knowledge Management. This paper describes the development of a conceptual model for Knowledge Management implementation, which is based on a university/industry partnership and a successful PhD study. Moreover, the paper covers theory‐testing and refinement of the model using large survey empirical analysis. It is concluded that the model can be used across a wide spectrum of organizations to show how cultural and technological aspects of Knowledge Management can be systematically integrated into organizations. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Integrating information technologies and knowledge‐based systems: a theoretical approach in action for enhancements in production and inventory control
Authors: Reyes Pedro , Raisinghani Mahesh S. 
Published: November 2002

AbstractThe heightened focus of global competition has increased the necessity of manufacturing in combination with information technologies to continuously improve production flexibility and product quality, delivery and cost. Coupled with uncertainty and delays in information transmission lags, this increased focus has also created confusion and difficulties in production and inventory control management. Many manufacturers have abandoned the simple make‐to‐stock environments in favor of more complex make‐to‐order, configure‐to‐order, and engineer‐to‐order. At the heart of this range of options is the information technology (IT) that makes it all possible. Of the most popular new technologies for supporting production and inventory control (PIC) are solver technologies, intelligent decision support systems, and knowledge‐based systems. This paper discusses the integration of IT and knowledge management (KM) and the future trends in KM that are likely to impact PIC. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
E‐improvisation: collaborative groupware technology expands the reach and effectiveness of organizational improvisation
Authors: McKnight Brent , Bontis Nick 
Published: November 2002

AbstractWith today's increasing pace of change, managers who are struggling to continuously adapt and survive are turning to an emerging management technique known as organizational improvisation. This field of management science draws from a metaphor based in improvisational theatre and jazz music and is defined as: The ability to spontaneously recombine knowledge, processes and structure in real time, resulting in creative problem solving that is grounded in the realities of the moment.As part of these changes, organizations are working across great distances and in groups that include diverse constituents such as suppliers, partners and customers. The distance separating these team members poses a problem for improvisation as improvisation relies heavily on interpersonal communication between group members. The collaborative wealth of creativity, innovation and productivity flows in part from this real‐time interaction. The increasing distance between group members hampers the effective reach of organizational improvisation. The proposed concept of e‐improvisation suggests that the adoption of groupware collaborative software, in particular a peer‐to‐peer offering called Groove, can extend the reach of improvisation and enhance its effectiveness. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The knowledge‐intensive company and the economy of sharing: rethinking utility and knowledge management
Authors: Styhre Alexander 
Published: November 2002

AbstractKnowledge‐intensive organizations are based on their capability of making use of intangible, intellectual resources and assets. As opposed to preceding economic regimes, the post‐ industrial society is to a lesser extent dependent on production factors that are subject to scarcity. Instead, knowledge tends to grow rather than being consumed as it is shared with others. When examining the practices of knowledge‐intensive companies, an ethics of sharing underlying to the use of all knowledge needs to be recognized. Rather than conceiving of knowledge as being an organizational resource that is derived from previous economic regimes, the analysis of knowledge needs to be grounded in a different perspective. This paper is an attempt to formulate such a perspective on knowledge‐intensive organizations as being based on sharing rather than exploitation. The argument is supported by an empirical study of a pharmaceutical company wherein the distribution of knowledge across project teams, communities of practice and individuals was of key strategic interest. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cryo‐survival and development of bovine blastocysts are enhanced by culture with recombinant albumin and hyaluronan
Authors: Lane Michelle , Maybach Jeffrey M. , Hooper Kathy , Hasler John F. , Gardner David K. 
Published: November 2002

AbstractRecombinant albumin can be used to supplement culture medium for the maturation and fertilization of bovine oocytes and subsequent embryo development to the blastocyst stage. Recombinant albumin was able to support blastocyst development at rates equivalent to that of bovine serum albumin (BSA) supplemented media. Supplementation of media containing recombinant albumin and citrate stimulated blastocyst expansion. Culture with recombinant albumin and citrate significantly increased the ability of the resultant blastocysts to re‐expand and hatch following cryopreservation. The further addition of the glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan to the culture medium containing either BSA or recombinant albumin also increased the ability of blastocysts to survive cryopreservation. Inclusion of recombinant albumin and hyaluronan in culture media facilitates the development of physiological defined culture conditions. For bovine embryos this has implications for both research and commercial applications where defined reproducible conditions are desirable. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 64: 70–78, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Interferon‐τ in bovine blastocysts following parthenogenetic activation of oocytes: Pattern of secretion and polymorphism in expressed mRNA sequences
Authors: Kubisch H. Michael , Rasmussen Terri A. , Johnson Kelly M. 
Published: November 2002

AbstractA series of experiments were conducted to examine the pattern of production and secretion of interferon‐τ (IFN‐τ) by blastocysts following parthenogenetic activation of bovine oocytes. In the first experiment, 36.8, 24.1, and 33.2% of IVF‐derived and parthenogenetically activated oocytes cultured in the presence or absence of a monolayer of buffalo rat liver cells, respectively, reached the blastocyst stage. Following individual culture of blastocysts, IFN‐τ concentration in medium droplets was similar among the three groups, although IVF‐derived blastocysts contained significantly more cells. In the second experiment, 156 IVF‐derived blastocysts were sexed by PCR with 75 and 81, respectively, being male and female. IFN‐τ secretion of these was compared to that of 70 parthenogenetic blastocysts. Female and parthenogenetic blastocysts produced significantly more IFN‐τ than their male counterparts. In the third experiment, the ability of hatched blastocysts to form outgrowths and the pattern of their IFN‐τ secretion were examined. Of the 48 IVF‐derived blastocysts, 44 formed outgrowths compared to 41 of the 42 hatched parthenotes. Parthenogenetic outgrowths were significantly larger after 7 days, but this difference had disappeared after 14 days. IFN‐τ secretion did not differ between the two groups. Lastly, sequence analyses of expressed mRNA from individual parthenogenetic blastocyst outgrowths showed four different transcript types which, based on their predicted amino acid sequence, belong to two subgroups, IFN‐τ1 and IFN‐τ3. In addition, one new transcript sequence was identified, encoding a new protein isoform. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 64: 79–85, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Glycogen synthase kinase‐3 regulates mouse oocyte homologue segregation
Authors: Wang Xia , Liu Xiao‐Tie , Dunn Rodney , Ohl Dana A. , Smith Gary D. 
Published: November 2002

AbstractIntracellular regulation of oocyte meiosis is not completely understood. However, reversible phosphorylation, which involves serine/threonine protein kinases and phosphatases (PP), is an important mediator. Glycogen synthase kinase‐3 (GSK‐3) is a highly conserved serine/threonine protein kinase. Currently no reports exist on presence or function of GSK‐3 in mammalian oocytes. The aim of this study was to determine GSK‐3 presence/absence, transcript and protein expression, intracellular protein distribution, and to investigate the functional importance of GSK‐3 in mouse oocyte meiosis. Germinal vesicle‐intact (GVI) oocytes contained both GSK‐3 transcript and protein. Although GSK‐3 β‐isoform is the only transcript identifiable in GVI oocytes, both α‐ and β‐isoforms were recognized by Western blot analysis. In growing, meiotic‐incompetent oocytes GSK‐3 was present, diffusely located throughout the cytoplasm and absent in the nucleus, whereas in meiotic‐competent oocytes this cytoplasmic GSK‐3 displays a predominant peri‐oolemma staining. Treatment of mouse GVI oocytes with lithium chloride (LiCl), which inhibits both inositol monophosphatase (IMPase) and GSK‐3, had no significant influence on oocyte viability, morphology, or development to metaphase II (MII). However, LiCl caused abnormal spindle formation and significantly increased incidence of abnormal homologue segregation during the first meiotic division. L690,330, which is a specific IMPase inhibitor, had no significant effect on oocyte viability, morphology, MII development, or homologue segregation. This is the first report of GSK‐3 in mammalian oocytes. LiCl inhibition of mouse oocyte GSK‐3 modified organization of microtubules and/or function of meiotic spindles thus compromising segregation of condensed bivalent chromosomes. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 64: 96–105, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Glutathione (GSH) concentrations vary with the cell cycle in maturing hamster oocytes, zygotes, and pre‐implantation stage embryos
Authors: Zuelke Kurt A. , Jeffay Susan C. , Zucker Robert M. , Perreault Sally D. 
Published: November 2002

AbstractGlutathione (GSH) is thought to play critical roles in oocyte function including spindle maintenance and provision of reducing power needed to initiate sperm chromatin decondensation. Previous observations that GSH concentrations are higher in mature than immature oocytes and decline after fertilization, suggest that GSH synthesis may be associated with cell cycle events. To explore this possibility, we measured the concentrations of GSH in Golden Hamster oocytes and zygotes at specific stages of oocyte maturation and at intervals during the first complete embryonic cell cycle. Between 2 and 4 hr after the hormonal induction of oocyte maturation, GSH concentrations increased significantly (∼doubling) in both oocytes and their associated cumulus cells. This increase was concurrent with germinal vesicle breakdown and the condensation of metaphase I chromosomes in the oocyte. GSH remained high in ovulated, metaphase II (MII) oocytes, but then declined significantly, by about 50%, shortly after fertilization, as the zygote progressed back into interphase (the pronucleus stage). GSH concentrations then plummeted by the two‐cell embryo stage and remained at only 10% of those in MII oocytes throughout pre‐implantation development. These results demonstrate that oocyte GSH concentrations fluctuate with the cell cycle, being highest during meiotic metaphase, the critical period for spindle growth and development and for sperm chromatin remodeling. These observations raise the possibility that GSH synthesis in maturing oocytes is regulated by gonadotropins, and suggest that GSH is more important during fertilization than during pre‐implantation embryo development. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 64: 106–112, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Sorting specificity of spermatogenic cell specific region of mouse hexokinase‐s (mHk1‐s)
Authors: Nakamura Noriko , Komiyama Masatoshi , Fujioka Makio , Mori Chisato 
Published: November 2002

AbstractHexokinase is the first enzyme involved in the glycolysis process that produces glucose phosphorylate. Our previous study reported on our cloning of mouse Hk1‐s (mHk1‐s) cDNA, which were expressed only in testis cells, and noted that this cDNA has a spermatogenic cell‐specific region (SSR) that replaces the porin binding domain (PBD) in the Hk1of somatic cells. Although we know that PBD binds to the outer membrane of a mitochondrion, the role of the SSR is not yet understood. To investigate the intracellular localization of SSR, we constructed expression vectors with the epitope tag (GFP‐, HA‐), subcloned SSR, or PBD cDNA. We transfected these vectors in mouse fibroblast, NIH3T3 cells, after which we observed the localization of the SSR and PBD in the NIH3T3 cells. Our current study using the immunocytochemical method revealed that PBD is concentrated around the mitochondrion. However, the SSR could not be ascribed to the mitochondrion, ER, or nuclear colocalization. Moreover, subcellular fractionation analysis showed that PBD was detected in the mitochondrial fraction, and that SSR was detected in the cytosolic fraction. Our findings suggest that PBD of Hk1 targets mitochondrion, but the SSR of mHk1‐s targets some specific organellae. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 64: 113–119, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Progesterone induces acrosome reaction in stallion spermatozoa via a protein tyrosine kinase dependent pathway
Authors: Rathi R. , Colenbrander B. , Stout T.A.E. , Bevers M.M. , Gadella B.M. 
Published: November 2002

AbstractProgesterone (P4) is a physiological inducer of the acrosome reaction (AR) in stallion spermatozoa. However, the capacitation‐dependent changes that enable progesterone binding, and the nature of the signaling cascade that is triggered by progesterone and results in induction of the AR, are poorly understood. The aim of the current study was, therefore, to investigate the protein kinase dependent signaling cascades involved in progesterone‐mediated induction of the AR in stallion spermatozoa. In addition, we aimed to determine whether bicarbonate, an inducer of sperm capacitation, acted via the same pathway as P4 or whether it otherwise synergized P4‐mediated induction of the AR. We examined the effect on AR progression of specific inhibitors and stimulators of protein kinase A (PKA), protein kinase C (PKC), protein kinase G (PKG), and protein tyrosine kinase (PTK), in the presence or absence of 15 mM bicarbonate and/or 1 μg/ml progesterone. Progression of the AR was assessed using the Pisum sativum agglutinin conjugated to fluorescein iso thiocyanate (PSA‐FITC) staining technique. Bicarbonate specifically activated a PKA‐dependent signaling pathway, whereas the effect of P4 was independent of PKA. Conversely, while P4‐mediated AR induction was dependent on PTK, the effects of bicarbonate were PTK‐independent. Finally, although the AR inducing effects of both P4 and bicarbonate were sensitive to staurosporin, a potent blocker of PKC activity at moderate (50 nM) concentrations, the effect of P4 was completely blocked at 50 nM staurosporin, whereas that of bicarbonate was only completely inhibited by much higher concentrations (2 μM) where staurosporin also inhibits PKA activity. In conclusion, P4‐mediated activation of the AR is dependent on a pathway that includes both PTK and PKC. While the effects of bicarbonate on the AR are mediated via a separate PKA‐dependent signaling pathway, P4 and bicarbonate have synergistic effects on the AR. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 64: 120–128, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Chromosomal location, structure, and temporal expression of the platelet‐activating factor receptor (PAFr) gene in porcine endometrium and embryos relative to estrogen receptor α gene expression
Authors: Yang Wensheng , Diehl John R. , Yerle Martine , Ford J. Joe , Christenson Ronald K. , Roudebush William E. , Plummer William E. 
Published: November 2002

AbstractAlthough platelet‐activating factor receptor (PAFr) gene was well characterized in the human, little was known about it in domestic animals. Porcine PAFr gene was mapped using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The structure of this gene was investigated using a 5′ rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) technique. Temporal expression of PAFr and estrogen receptor α genes (ER), and distribution of the PAFr transcripts in porcine endometrial and embryonic tissues on days 0, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 were analyzed using DNA competitors and reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). The porcine PAFr gene was mapped to SSC6q26‐27. Alternative splicing of primary transcripts of the PAFr gene produced two different transcripts. Transcript 1 was expressed in all tissues and cells, and transcript 2 was detected in all tissues but white blood cells. The temporal expression of the PAFr gene in endometrial (P > 0.05) and embryonic (P < 0.05) tissues of pregnant sows increased from day 10 to 16. The temporal expression of ER genes in endometrial tissues of pregnant sows decreased from day 10 to 18 (P < 0.05). In addition, ER expression was detectable in 20–60% of embryonic tissue samples, which generally decreased. In combination with previously obtained data on PAF and estradiol‐17β (E2) concentrations in pregnant uterine luminal fluids (pULF), endometrial and embryonic tissues, the present results indicated that the increasing PAFr transcripts were positively associated with increasing levels of PAF. Both ER transcripts and E2 found in pULF decreased correspondingly from day 13 to 16. These results indicate that via PAFr, PAF could play a dominant role in peri‐implantation development in pigs as compared to E2. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 64: 4–12, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Display of different modes of transcription by the promoters of an early embryonic gene, Zfp352, in preimplantation embryos and in somatic cells
Authors: Liu Tiffany Yi‐Chen , Chen Huang‐Hui , Lee Kun‐Hsiung , Choo Kong‐Bung 
Published: November 2002

AbstractWe have previously reported a Krupple‐like finger protein gene, Zfp352, which is expressed temporarily in two‐ to eight‐cell mouse embryos. The Zfp352 gene is intron‐less in the coding region but carries a solitary 4.3‐kb intron in the 5′‐untranslated region. In this study, we have analyzed the Zfp352 promoter activity in early embryos and in somatic cells. We determined that the major Zfp352 promoter, designated P1 and located upstream of exon 1, is utilized in both early embryos and in somatic cells. A TATA‐like box and a transcription initiator element are discernible in the P1 promoter. We uncovered an alternative promoter, designated P2, in the intron. 5′‐Rapid amplification of cDNA ends and real‐time RT‐PCR experiments indicated that the P2 promoter is weak and is probably fortuitous in early embryos. In somatic cells, however, transfection experiments showed that P2 is as active as P1 as a promoter. Furthermore, P2 appears to be composed of two different subdomains used differentially for transcription initiation in embryos and in somatic cells. Our observations may bear relevance in explaining developmental deficiencies associated with somatic cell cloning experiments. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 64: 52–60, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Epidermal growth factor regulation of connexin 43 in cultured granulosa cells from preantral rabbit follicles
Authors: Kennedy Katie L. , Floyd Anthony A. , Clarkson Alison M. , Lee Vaughan H. 
Published: November 2002

AbstractConnexin 43 (Cx43), a gap junction protein expressed in differentiated granulosa cells, is necessary for normal follicular development. Cx43 expression and regulation by epidermal growth factor (EGF) were characterized in immature rabbit granulosa cells. Cx43 mRNA was expressed in the granulosa cells of primary follicles, but was undetectable in primordial follicles. Abundant expression of Cx43 mRNA was maintained in the granulosa cells of growing follicles through maturity. Granulosa cells were isolated from early preantral follicles and maintained in monolayer cultures for 72 hr. After the first 24 hr of culture, they were maintained for 48 hr in serum‐free medium supplemented with 0, 1, 5, or 10 ng/ml of mouse EGF. Granulosa cell proteins were isolated, solubilized, and evaluated for Cx43 by Western blot analysis using antibodies to rat Cx43. Relative amounts of Cx43 protein (both phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated) were increased (P < 0.05) by EGF in a dose‐dependent manner. Northern blot analysis of RNA from cultured granulosa cells demonstrated increased amounts of Cx43 mRNA in the EGF treated cultures (10 ng EGF/ml) relative to controls (P < 0.03). In summary, Cx43 gap junctions are synthesized in granulosa cells following the onset of folliculogenesis in vivo and their expression is enhanced by EGF in vitro. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 64: 61–69, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
HE6, a two‐subunit heptahelical receptor associated with apical membranes of efferent and epididymal duct epithelia
Authors: Obermann Heike , Samalecos Annemarie , Osterhoff Caroline , Schröder Barbara , Heller Raoul , Kirchhoff Christiane 
Published: November 2002

AbstractHuman Epididymis‐specific protein 6 [HE6 (GPR64)] is a highly conserved, tissue‐specific seven‐transmembrane receptor of the human epididymis. The rodent counterparts were cloned and 5′‐inverse PCR employed to confirm that the cDNA sequences were full length. Downstream from the highly conserved signal peptide‐coding sequence, the 5′‐regions contained at least six mini‐exons of less than 50 nucleotides. Multiple splice variants involving these mini‐exons were cloned in the human, the majority of which was also found in rodents. Northern blot analysis showed that the tissue distribution of the mRNA was very similar in human and rodents. The human HE6 gene was assigned to the X chromosome in a region, which is syntenic to the mouse. The HE6 sequence predicted a two‐subunit receptor of the LNB‐TM7 subfamily. A membrane preparation and protein solubilization method was adopted to identify the endogenous epididymal proteins. Two sets of peptides were chosen for antibody production, assuming that protein scission had occurred within the conserved GPS‐motif. Western blot analysis revealed abundant two‐subunit proteins in human and rodents, comprising an approximately 180 kDa hydrophilic ectosubunit and a <40 kDa hydrophobic endosubunit. Deglycosylation experiments showed that the large ectosubunits were highly glycosylated, the carbohydrate side chains dramatically increasing the apparent molecular mass. Immunohistochemical studies revealed that both subunits were associated with apical membranes of efferent ductule and proximal epididymal duct epithelia. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 64: 13–26, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.