Early Identification of Technology Leaders in Organizations

Following the work of Spreitzer and colleagues in which they identified aspects of personality and skills necessary to make a successful executive, the authors of this study hope to explore what traits are shared between international executives (as used in Spreitzer’s study) and technology leaders of organizations. The authors will also attempt to discover traits or skills that would be equally important in determining an effective technology leader. Important traits have been documented in both practitioner and academic research and have been presented in the following paper. A Delphi study will be conducted to find if these traits truly capture the facets of the technology leader

Cryptosporidium, Enterocytozoon, and Cyclospora Infections in Pediatric and Adult Patients with Diarrhea in Tanzania.

Cryptosporidiosis, microsporidiosis, and cyclosporiasis were studied in four groups of Tanzanian inpatients: adults with AIDS-associated diarrhea, children with chronic diarrhea (of whom 23 of 59 were positive [+] for human immunodeficiency virus [HIV]), children with acute diarrhea (of whom 15 of 55 were HIV+), and HIV control children without diarrhea. Cryptosporidium was identified in specimens from 6/86 adults, 5/59 children with chronic diarrhea (3/5, HIV+), 7/55 children with acute diarrhea (0/7, HIV+), and 0/20 control children. Among children with acute diarrhea, 7/7 with cryptosporidiosis were malnourished, compared with 10/48 without cryptosporidiosis (P < .01). Enterocytozoon was identified in specimens from 3/86 adults, 2/59 children with chronic diarrhea (1 HIV+), 0/55 children with acute diarrhea, and 4/20 control children. All four controls were underweight (P < .01). Cyclospora was identified in specimens from one adult and one child with acute diarrhea (HIV-). Thus, Cryptosporidium was the most frequent and Cyclospora the least frequent pathogen identified. Cryptosporidium and Enterocytozoon were associated with malnutrition. Asymptomatic fecal shedding of Enterocytozoon in otherwise healthy, HIV children has not been described previously

A Literature Review on Cloud Computing Adoption Issues in Enterprises

Part 3: Creating Value through ApplicationsInternational audienceCloud computing has received increasing interest from enterprises since its inception. With its innovative information technology (IT) services delivery model, cloud computing could add technical and strategic business value to enterprises. However, cloud computing poses highly concerning internal (e.g., Top management and experience) and external issues (e.g., regulations and standards). This paper presents a systematic literature review to explore the current key issues related to cloud computing adoption. This is achieved by reviewing 51 articles published about cloud computing adoption. Using the grounded theory approach, articles are classified into eight main categories: internal, external, evaluation, proof of concept, adoption decision, implementation and integration, IT governance, and confirmation. Then, the eight categories are divided into two abstract categories: cloud computing adoption factors and processes, where the former affects the latter. The results of this review indicate that enterprises face serious issues before they decide to adopt cloud computing. Based on the findings, the paper provides a future information systems (IS) research agenda to explore the previously under-investigated areas regarding cloud computing adoption factors and processes. This paper calls for further theoretical, methodological, and empirical contributions to the research area of cloud computing adoption by enterprises

Effect of Different Factors on Proliferation of Antler Cells, Cultured In Vitro

Antlers as a potential model for bone growth and development have become an object of rising interest. To elucidate processes explaining how antler growth is regulated, in vitro cultures have been established. However, until now, there has been no standard method to cultivate antler cells and in vitro results are often opposite to those reported in vivo. In addition, many factors which are often not taken into account under in vitro conditions may play an important role in the development of antler cells. In this study we investigated the effects of the antler growth stage, the male individuality, passaged versus primary cultures and the effect of foetal calf serum concentrations on proliferative potential of mixed antler cell cultures in vitro, derived from regenerating antlers of red deer males (Cervus elaphus). The proliferation potential of antler cells was measured by incorporation of 3H thymidine. Our results demonstrate that there is no significant effect of the antler growth stage, whereas male individuality and all other examined factors significantly affected antler cell proliferation. Furthermore, our results suggest that primary cultures may better represent in vivo conditions and processes occurring in regenerating antlers. In conclusion, before all main factors affecting antler cell proliferation in vitro will be satisfactorily investigated, results of in vitro studies focused on hormonal regulation of antler growth should be taken with extreme caution

Circulating Levels of Adiponectin, Leptin, Fetuin-A and Retinol-Binding Protein in Patients with Tuberculosis: Markers of Metabolism and Inflammation

BACKGROUND: Wasting is known as a prominent feature of tuberculosis (TB). To monitor the disease state, markers of metabolism and inflammation are potentially useful. We thus analyzed two major adipokines, adiponectin and leptin, and two other metabolic markers, fetuin-A and retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4). METHODS: The plasma levels of these markers were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays in 84 apparently healthy individuals (=no-symptom group) and 46 patients with active pulmonary TB around the time of treatment, including at the midpoint evaluation (=active-disease group) and compared them with body mass index (BMI), C-reactive protein (CRP), chest radiographs and TB-antigen specific response by interferon-γ release assay (IGRA). RESULTS: In the no-symptom group, adiponectin and leptin showed negative and positive correlation with BMI respectively. In the active-disease group, at the time of diagnosis, leptin, fetuin-A and RBP4 levels were lower than in the no-symptom group [adjusted means 2.01 versus 4.50 ng/ml, P<0.0001; 185.58 versus 252.27 µg/ml, P<0.0001; 23.88 versus 43.79 µg/ml, P<0.0001, respectively]. High adiponectin and low leptin levels were associated with large infiltrates on chest radiographs even after adjustment for BMI and other covariates (P=0.0033 and P=0.0020). During treatment, adiponectin levels increased further and then decreased. Leptin levels remained low. Initial low levels of fetuin-A and RBP4 almost returned to the normal reference range in concert with reduced CRP. CONCLUSIONS: Our data and recent literature suggest that low fat store and underlying inflammation may regulate these metabolic markers in TB in a different way. Decreased leptin, increased adiponectin, or this ratio may be a promising marker for severity of the disease independent of BMI. We should further investigate pathological roles of the balance between these adipokines

The complex relationship between human immunodeficiency virus infection and death in adults being treated for tuberculosis in Cape Town, South Africa

Background Despite recognised treatment strategies, mortality associated with tuberculosis (TB) remains significant. Risk factors for death during TB treatment have been described but the complex relationship between TB and HIV has not been fully understood. Methods A retrospective analysis of all deaths occurring during TB treatment in Cape Town, South Africa between 2009 and 2012 were done to investigate risk factors associated with this outcome. The main risk factor was HIV status at the start of treatment and its interaction with age, sex and other risk factors were evaluated using a binomial regression model and thus relative risks (RR) are reported. Results Overall in the 93,133 cases included in the study 4619 deaths (5 %) were recorded. Across all age groups HIV-positive patients were more than twice as likely to die as HIV-negative patients, RR = 2.19 (95 % CI: 2.03–2.37). However in an age specific analysis HIV-positive patients 15–24 and 25–34 years old were at an even higher risk of dying than HIV-negative patients, RR = 4.82 and RR = 3.76 respectively. Gender also modified the effect of HIV- with positive women having a higher risk of death than positive men, RR = 2.74 and RR = 1.94 respectively. Conclusion HIV carries an increased risk of death in this study but specific high-risk groups pertaining to the impact of HIV are identified. Innovative strategies to manage these high risk groups may contribute to reduction in HIV-associated death in TB patients

Association between diabetes mellitus and active tuberculosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The burgeoning epidemic of diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the major global health challenges. We systematically reviewed the published literature to provide a summary estimate of the association between DM and active tuberculosis (TB). We searched Medline and EMBASE databases for studies reporting adjusted estimates on the TB-DM association published before December 22, 2015, with no restrictions on region and language. In the meta-analysis, adjusted estimates were pooled using a DerSimonian-Laird random-effects model, according to study design. Risk of bias assessment and sensitivity analyses were conducted. 44 eligible studies were included, which consisted of 58,468,404 subjects from 16 countries. Compared with non-DM patients, DM patients had 3.59-fold (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.25-5.73), 1.55-fold (95% CI 1.39-1.72), and 2.09-fold (95% CI 1.71-2.55) increased risk of active TB in four prospective, 16 retrospective, and 17 case-control studies, respectively. Country income level (3.16-fold in low/middle-vs. 1.73-fold in high-income countries), background TB incidence (2.05-fold in countries with >50 vs. 1.89-fold in countries with ≤50 TB cases per 100,000 person-year), and geographical region (2.44-fold in Asia vs. 1.71-fold in Europe and 1.73-fold in USA/Canada) affected appreciably the estimated association, but potential risk of bias, type of population (general versus clinical), and potential for duplicate data, did not. Microbiological ascertainment for TB (3.03-fold) and/or blood testing for DM (3.10-fold), as well as uncontrolled DM (3.30-fold), resulted in stronger estimated association. DM is associated with a two- to four-fold increased risk of active TB. The association was stronger when ascertainment was based on biological testing rather than medical records or self-report. The burgeoning DM epidemic could impact upon the achievements of the WHO "End TB Strategy" for reducing TB incidence