The Impact of Training and Development Activities on Small Technology Oriented Entrepreneurial Firm Performance

Based on prior research in training and development , planning and performance, and entrepreneurship, it was predicted that formal training and development would play an important role in shaping the strategic planning process and subsequent entrepreneurial firm performance. Data from  73 founder/managers of technology oriented  electronic  businesses were collected and analyzed to determine the impact of T & D on firm performance. More specifically the study investigated  the relationships between training and development, the perceived  benefits of training and development , and the sophistication of a firm' s strategic orientation to planning . Preliminary  results indicate that training and development are related to firm  performance

A New Wolf-Rayet Star and its Ring Nebula: PCG11

In a search for new Galactic planetary nebulae from our systematic scans of the Anglo-Australian Observatory/United Kingdom Schmidt Telescope (AAO/UKST) Halpha survey of the Southern Galactic Plane, we have identified a Pop I Wolf-Rayet star of type WN7h associated with an unusual ring nebula that has a fractured rim. We present imagery in Halpha, the 843-MHz continuum from the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST), the mid-infrared from the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX), and confirmatory optical spectroscopy of the character of the nebula and of its central star. The inner edge of the Halpha shell shows gravitational instabilities with a well-defined wavelength around its complete circumference.Comment: 13 pages, LaTeX (mn2e.cls), incl. 9 PostScript (ps or eps) figures and 3 tables. Accepted by MNRA

3-Year Follow-Up of the SISR (Sirolimus-Eluting Stents Versus Vascular Brachytherapy for In-Stent Restenosis) Trial

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to evaluate long-term outcome of patients treated for in-stent restenosis of bare-metal stents (BMS).BackgroundTreatment of restenosis of BMS is characterized by high recurrence rates. Vascular brachytherapy (VBT) improved outcome although late catch-up events were documented. Drug-eluting stents tested against VBT in this setting were found superior for at least the first year; superiority at longer follow-up is uncertain.MethodsWe evaluated 3-year outcome of the multicenter SISR (Sirolimus-Eluting Stents Versus Vascular Brachytherapy for In-Stent Restenosis) trial, which randomized patients with restenosis of BMS to either a sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) or VBT.ResultsTarget vessel failure (cardiac death, infarction, or target vessel revascularization [TVR]) at 9 months as previously reported was significantly improved with SES. Kaplan-Meier analysis at 3 years documented that survival free from target lesion revascularization (TLR) and TVR continues to be significantly improved with SES: freedom from TLR 81.0% versus 71.6% (log-rank p = 0.018), and TVR 78.2% versus 68.8% (log-rank p = 0.022), SES versus VBT. At 3 years, target vessel failure and major adverse cardiac events (death, infarction, emergency coronary artery bypass grafting, or repeat TLR) remained improved with SES, but did not reach statistical significance. There was no statistically significant difference in definite or probable stent thrombosis (3.5% for SES, 2.4% for VBT; p = 0.758).ConclusionsAt 3 years of follow-up, after treatment of in-stent restenosis of BMS, patients treated with SES have improved survival free of TLR and TVR compared with patients treated with VBT. Stent thrombosis rates are not different between the 2 groups but are higher than reported in trials of treatment of de novo lesions

The 3-D Structure of SN 1987A's inner Ejecta

Twenty years after the explosion of SN 1987A, we are now able to observe the three-dimensional spatially resolved inner ejecta. Detailed mapping of newly synthesised material and its radioactive decay daughter products sheds light on the explosion mechanism. This may reveal the geometry of the explosion and its connection to the equatorial ring and the outer rings around SN 1987A. We have used integral field spectroscopy to image the supernova ejecta and the equatorial ring in the emission lines of [Si I]+[Fe II] and He I. The spectral information can be mapped into a radial velocity image revealing the expansion of the ejecta both as projected onto the sky and perpendicular to the sky plane. The inner ejecta are spatially resolved in a North-South direction and are clearly asymmetric. We argue that the bulk of the ejecta is situated in the same plane as defined by the equatorial ring and does not form a bipolar structure as has been suggested. The exact shape of the ejecta is modelled and we find that an elongated triaxial ellipsoid fits the observations best. From our spectral analyses of the ejecta spectrum we find that most of the He I, [Si I] and [Fe I-II] emission originates in the core material which has undergone explosive nucleosynthesis. The He I emission may be the result of alpha-rich freeze-out if the positron energy is deposited locally. Our observations clearly indicate a non-symmetric explosion mechanism for SN 1987A. The elongation and velocity asymmetries point towards a large-scale spatial non-spherical distribution as predicted in recent explosion models. The orientation of the ejecta in the plane of the equatorial ring argues against a jet-induced explosion through the poles due to stellar rotation.Comment: Above abstract is abridged. 11 pages, 9 figures. Accepted July 1st 2010 by Astronomy and Astrophysic

Psychiatric intensive care units: A literature review

Background: Psychiatric Intensive Care Units (PICU) have been part of most inpatient psychiatric services for some time, however information about their functioning and outcome has not previously been collated. Aim: To conduct a systematic literature review to assess the current state of knowledge about such services. Method: A search of electronic databases was undertaken, followed by obtaining additional references from items obtained. Results: Over 50 papers in English containing some empirical data were identified. Most studies were retrospective. Typical PICU patients are: male; younger; single; unemployed; suffering from schizophrenia or mania; from a black Caribbean or African background; legally detained; with a forensic history. The most common reason for admission is for aggression management, and most patients stay a week or less. Evidence of the efficacy of PICU care is very poor. Conclusions: Most research so far has been small scale, and more substantial work using better methodologies is clearly required

Engineering an Antibiotic to Fight Cancer: Optimization of the Novobiocin Scaffold to Produce Anti-Proliferative Agents

Development of the DNA gyrase inhibitor, novobiocin, into a selective Hsp90 inhibitor was accomplished through structural modifications to the amide side chain, coumarin ring, and sugar moiety. These species exhibit ~700-fold improved anti-proliferative activity versus the natural product as evaluated by cellular efficacies against breast, colon, prostate, lung, and other cancer cell lines. Utilization of structure–activity relationships established for three novobiocin synthons produced optimized scaffolds, which manifest mid-nanomolar activity against a panel of cancer cell lines and serve as lead compounds that manifest their activities through Hsp90 inhibition

Structure-guided design of an Hsp90â N-terminal isoform-selective inhibitor

The 90 kDa heat shock protein (Hsp90) is a molecular chaperone responsible for folding proteins that are directly associated with cancer progression. Consequently, inhibition of the Hsp90 protein folding machinery results in a combinatorial attack on numerous oncogenic pathways. Seventeen small-molecule inhibitors of Hsp90 have entered clinical trials, all of which bind the Hsp90 N-terminus and exhibit pan-inhibitory activity against all four Hsp90 isoforms. pan-Inhibition of Hsp90 appears to be detrimental as toxicities have been reported alongside induction of the pro-survival heat shock response. The development of Hsp90 isoform-selective inhibitors represents an alternative approach towards the treatment of cancer that may limit some of the detriments. Described herein is a structure-based approach to design isoform-selective inhibitors of Hsp90β, which induces the degradation of select Hsp90 clients without concomitant induction of Hsp90 levels. Together, these initial studies support the development of Hsp90β-selective inhibitors as a method to overcome the detriments associated with pan-inhibition

Evidence that a very brief psychological intervention boosts weight loss in a weight loss program

Reducing morbidity and mortality associated with being overweight is a crucial public health goal. The aim of the present research was to test the efficacy of a very brief psychological intervention (a volitional help sheet) that could be used as an adjunct to standard weight loss programs to support increased weight loss in an overweight sample. Seventy-two overweight participants currently participating in a weight loss program were randomly allocated to either an intervention (volitional help sheet) condition or a control (distracter task) condition. The main outcome measure was weight at 1-month follow-up. Participants in both conditions lost significant amounts of weight, but those in the intervention condition lost significantly more than those in the control condition (d = 0.66). The findings support the efficacy of the volitional help sheet to promote additional weight loss in an overweight sample engaged in a weight loss program. The volitional help sheet therefore represents a very brief, low-cost intervention that could be used to supplement ongoing weight-loss programs

Faint High-Latitude Carbon Stars Discovered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: An Initial Catalog

A search of more than 3,000 square degrees of high latitude sky by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey has yielded 251 faint high-latitude carbon stars (FHLCs), the large majority previously uncataloged. We present homogeneous spectroscopy, photometry, and astrometry for the sample. The objects lie in the 15.6 < r < 20.8 range, and exhibit a wide variety of apparent photospheric temperatures, ranging from spectral types near M to as early as F. Proper motion measurements for 222 of the objects show that at least 50%, and quite probably more than 60%, of these objects are actually low luminosity dwarf carbon (dC) stars, in agreement with a variety of recent, more limited investigations which show that such objects are the numerically dominant type of star with C_2 in the spectrum. This SDSS homogeneous sample of ~110 dC stars now constitutes 90% of all known carbon dwarfs, and will grow by another factor of 2-3 by the completion of the Survey. As the spectra of the dC and the faint halo giant C stars are very similar (at least at spectral resolution of 1,000) despite a difference of 10 mag in luminosity, it is imperative that simple luminosity discriminants other than proper motion be developed. We use our enlarged sample of FHLCs to examine a variety of possible luminosity criteria, including many previously suggested, and find that, with certain important caveats, JHK photometry may segregate dwarfs and giants.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 127, May 2004, 37 pages, 12 figure

Next-generation sequencing using microfluidic PCR enrichment for molecular autopsy.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to determine the mutation yield and clinical applicability of "molecular autopsy" following sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS) by validating and utilizing low-cost high-throughput technologies: Fluidigm Access Array PCR-enrichment with Illumina HiSeq 2000 next generation sequencing (NGS). METHODS: We validated and optimized the NGS platform with a subset of 46 patients by comparison with Sanger sequencing of coding exons of major arrhythmia risk-genes (KCNQ1, KCNH2, SCN5A, KCNE1, KCNE2, RYR2). A combined large multi-ethnic international SADS cohort was sequenced utilizing the NGS platform to determine overall molecular yield; rare variants identified by NGS were subsequently reconfirmed by Sanger sequencing. RESULTS: The NGS platform demonstrated 100% sensitivity for pathogenic variants as well as 87.20% sensitivity and 99.99% specificity for all substitutions (optimization subset, n = 46). The positive predictive value (PPV) for NGS for rare substitutions was 16.0% (27 confirmed rare variants of 169 positive NGS calls in 151 additional cases). The overall molecular yield in 197 multi-ethnic SADS cases (mean age 22.6 ± 14.4 years, 68% male) was 5.1% (95% confidence interval 2.0-8.1%), representing 10 cases carrying pathogenic or likely pathogenic risk-mutations. CONCLUSIONS: Molecular autopsy with Fluidigm Access Array and Illumina HiSeq NGS utilizing a selected panel of LQTS/BrS and CPVT risk-genes offers moderate diagnostic yield, albeit requiring confirmatory Sanger-sequencing of mutational variants