Drawing Lines, Spanning Boundaries: Managerial Perceptions of Innovation Value in Public and Nonprofit Organizations

Despite the large and varied selection of literature on innovation, questions about the diverse organizational aspects of innovation and the differences of innovation in public and nonprofit organizations still remain. This study compares public and nonprofit organizations on their perceived innovativeness and analyzes the environmental factors and organizational practices that are presumably related to innovation. This paper uses survey data from the National Administrative Studies Project III (NASP-III) that surveyed managers in public and nonprofit organizations in Georgia and Illinois over a three wave, 10-month span, on a variety of organizational topics. Using multinomial logistic regression, the findings show that variables such as flexibility, the ability to serve the public interest, and incentives are positively related to innovation in both public and nonprofit organizations. Variables such as employee and managerial risk aversion, and red tape negatively affect innovation. Other variables, including job security, organizational pride and performance-based promotion vary by sector.LBJ School of Public Affair

mHealth Geographies: Mobile Technologies and Health in the Global South

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Routledge via the URL in this record

Senior-Løken syndrome: a syndromic form of retinal dystrophy associated with nephronophthisis

pre-printSenior-Løken syndrome (SLS) is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by development of a retinitis (RP)- or Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA)-like retinal dystrophy and a medullary cystic kidney disease, nephronophthisis. Mutations in several genes (called nephrocystins) have been shown to cause SLS. The proteins encoded by these genes are localized in the connecting cilium of photoreceptor cells and in the primary cilium of kidney cells. Nephrocystins are thought to have a role in regulating transport of proteins bound to the outer segment/primary cilium; however, the precise molecular mechanisms are largely undetermined. This review will survey the biochemistry, cell biology and existing animal models for each of the nephrocystins to understand the photoreceptor biology and the pathogenesis of retinal degeneration

Effects of weather and other factors on milk production in the Churra dairy sheep breed

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of meteorological and other factors on the quality and quantity of milk of the Spanish Churra sheep breed, based on an analysis of 359, 808 milk controls from 9, 904 ewes on 15 farms in 8 years. Daily milk yield (DMY), fat, protein, and lactose (%), and somatic cell count (SCC) data were obtained from monthly alternating milk controls. Mean, maximum, and minimum temperatures (T) (°C), mean relative humidity (RH) (%), wind speed (WS, m/s), mean solar radiation (SR, MJ/m2), and total rainfall (RF, mm) on the day before each milk control day were documented. Year, farm, number of lambing and stage of lactation, and all of the meteorological factors had a significant (P < 0.0001) effect on DMY and milk quality. DMY and SCC differed among seasons (P < 0.001), and maximum DMY and minimum SCC occurred in spring, and minimum DMY and maximum SCC occurred in autumn. Fat, protein, and lactose content differed significantly (P < 0.001) among seasons, and fat and protein contents were highest in autumn. DMY was highest in the second lambing of the ewe and steadily declined in subsequent lambings. SCC increased significantly from the first to the 10th lambing of the ewe. DMY, SCC, and fat content differed significantly (P < 0.001) among years. In conclusion, meteorological conditions had a significant effect on milk quality and production in Churra sheep conditions in a season-dependent manner such that factors such as temperature had the opposite effect on milk production in hot and cold seasons

Delayed-Onset Transient Light Sensitivity Syndrome after Corneal Collagen Cross-Linking: A Case Series

In this case series, we report a potentially novel association of corneal collagen crosslinking (CCL) with the development of photophobia symptoms in a series of patients at a tertiary ophthalmology clinic and describe their clinical course. Photosensitivity is a rare and seemingly unpredictable complication of refractive surgery but can present as a disabling, bilateral ocular pain that requires immediate treatment. This complication, termed transient light-sensitivity syndrome (TLSS), can have a substantially delayed presentation after ocular procedures and is associated with inflammation of structures in the anterior chamber that can be imperceptible on slit-lamp examination. Traditionally, exposure to high-energy femtosecond lasers is hypothesized to create stromal gas bubbles powering postoperative inflammatory reactions. TLSS-like symptoms after CCL may be due to a secondary inflammatory response involving activated keratocytes and cytokine release. However, free radical damage from the interaction of riboflavin and ultraviolet in CCL may also drive this inflammatory process

Polymerase Chain Reaction and Its Application in the Diagnosis of Infectious Keratitis

PCR involves a repeating cycle of replication to amplify small segments of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). A novel application of this technique is microbial identification in infectious keratitis, one of the leading causes of blindness in the world. PCR is more sensitive than biological stains and culture, which are considered the current gold standards for diagnosing infectious keratitis. The diagnosis and treatment of infectious keratitis cost the United States millions of dollars in health expenditure. PCR may help offset that cost by allowing for individualized disease management and screening for multiple antibiotic-resistant genes. While beneficial, PCR demonstrates lower specificity rates compared to culture and stain, indicating its shortcomings; this can be overcome by performing PCR after narrowing the pool of potential microorganisms. This article examines the clinical utility of PCR in cases of infectious keratitis by evaluating its reliability, validity, associated costs, and indications

Modulation of Severity of RPGR-associated Retinal Degeneration in Mice due to Mutations in RPGR-interacting Proteins

Purpose: In humans, over 80% of X- linked retinitis pigementosa (XLRP) is caused by mutations in RPGR. RPGR associated disease is clinically heterogeneous, indicating involvement of genes that can influence the associated phenotype. RPGR is known to interact with selected ciliary proteins including CEP290, RPGRIP1, NPHP1, NPHP4 and NPHP5. The purpose of this study is to assess the contribution of these RPGR-interacting proteins on the severity of RPGR-associated retinal degeneration in Rpgrko mice. Methods: Rpgrko female mice were bred with male Cep290rd16/rd16, Nphp1-/-, Nphp4nmf192, Nphp5-/-, Rpgrip1-/-. Males from F1 generation with genotype RpgrKO/Cep290+/rd16, Rpgrko/Nphp1+/-, Rpgrko/Nphp4nmf192/+, Rpgrko/Nphp5+/-, Rpgrko/Rpgrip1+/- were selected for further analysis. Structural and function studies were performed using Histology, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), immunofluorescence staining, and Electroretinopgraphy (ERG). Results: The Rpgrko mice exhibit degeneration of retina and relatively mild decrease in cone and rod function by 6 months of age. Our analysis of double mutant mice revealed that Rpgrko/Cep290+/rd16 exhibit accelerated retinal degeneration as compared to Rpgrko mice. TEM analysis of Rpgrko/Cep290+/rd16 retina showed vesicle accumulation at the base of the outer segments of photoreceptors, which were not detected in the Rpgrko mice. We also detected decreased cone-specific staining of M-opsin. No significant effect on the retina was observed in RpgrKO/Nphp1+/-, RpgrKO/Nphp4nmf192/+, Rpgrko/Nphp5+/-, Rpgrko/Rpgrip1+/- (n=3) mice up to 6 months of age, as compared to Rpgrko. Conclusions: Our studies suggest that mutations in CEP290 can potentially influence the severity of retinal phenotype due to mutations in RPGR. Further studies are in progress to assess the influence of additional RPGR-interacting proteins on RPGR-disease

Assessing Hospital Readmission Risk Factors in Heart Failure Patients Enrolled in a Telemonitoring Program

The purpose of this study was to validate a previously developed heart failure readmission predictive algorithm based on psychosocial factors, develop a new model based on patient-reported symptoms from a telemonitoring program, and assess the impact of weight fluctuations and other factors on hospital readmission. Clinical, demographic, and telemonitoring data was collected from 100 patients enrolled in the Partners Connected Cardiac Care Program between July 2008 and November 2011. 38% of study participants were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days. Ten different heart-failure-related symptoms were reported 17,389 times, with the top three contributing approximately 50% of the volume. The psychosocial readmission model yielded an AUC of 0.67, along with sensitivity 0.87, specificity 0.32, positive predictive value 0.44, and negative predictive value 0.8 at a cutoff value of 0.30. In summary, hospital readmission models based on psychosocial characteristics, standardized changes in weight, or patient-reported symptoms can be developed and validated in heart failure patients participating in an institutional telemonitoring program. However, more robust models will need to be developed that use a comprehensive set of factors in order to have a significant impact on population health