The impact of Chrysalis on the spiritual formation of youth

https://place.asburyseminary.edu/ecommonsatsdissertations/1094/thumbnail.jp

Building Dynamic Capabilities with the Internet of Things

In this study, we propose internet of things (IoT) capabilities as dynamic capabilities through their effect on a firm’s competitive advantage. We argue that the importance of the IoT lies on its ability to identify new opportunities, address them, and reconfigure the existing and/or new technology assets in rapid technology change environments. Firms with strong IoT capabilities will be able to create, (re)shape, and transform their business ecosystems through innovation. Using data collected from 184 companies, the proposed framework was tested. The results show IoT capabilities, manifested in sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring capabilities, are positively associated with a firm’s competitive advantage. This study can help scholars and practitioners understand the elements of the IoT that may lead to competitive advantage from the dynamic capabilities perspective

Occupational (Im)mobility in the Global Care Economy: The Case of Foreign-Trained Nurses in the Canadian Context

The twenty-first century has witnessed a number of significant demographic and political shifts that have resulted in a care crisis. Addressing the deficit of care provision has led many nations to actively recruit migrant care labour, often under temporary forms of migration. The emergence of this phenomenon has resulted in a rich field of analysis using the lens of care, including the idea of the Global Care Chain. Revisions to this conceptualization have pushed for its extension beyond domestic workers in the home to include skilled workers in other institutional settings, particularly nurses in hospitals and long-term care settings. Reviewing relevant literature on migrant nurses, this article explores the labour market experiences of internationally educated nurses in Canada. The article reviews research on the barriers facing migrant nurses as they transfer their credentials to the Canadian context. Analysis of this literature suggests that internationally trained nurses experience a form of occupational (im)mobility, paradoxical, ambiguous and contingent processes that exploit global mobility, and results in the stratified incorporation of skilled migrant women into healthcare workplaces

In vivo monitoring of fetoplacental Vegfr2 gene activity in a murine pregnancy model using a Vegfr2-luc reporter gene and bioluminescent imaging

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR2) plays a pivotal role in angiogenesis by eliciting vascular endothelial cell growth when bound to VEGF, a powerful pro-angiogenic ligand. While Vegf and Vegfr2 are expressed throughout gestation, the latter third of gestation in mice is characterized by a marked increase in fetoplacental angiogenesis. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of monitoring fetoplacental Vegfr2 gene activity non-invasively using a Vegfr2-luc reporter transgenic mouse and bioluminescent imaging.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Imaging parameters were optimized using two wild-type (WT) females, bearing Vegfr2-luc fetuses. Then, seven WT females, bred to Vegfr2-luc males, were imaged from gestational day (GD) 12 to 18 to determine the usefulness of the Vegfr2-luc mouse as a model for studying fetoplacental Vegfr2 activity during pregnancy. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR of Vegfr2 was also performed on whole fetoplacental units during this time. Additionally, resultant neonates were imaged at postnatal day (PND) 7, 14 and 21 to monitor Vegfr2 activity during post-natal development.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Fetoplacental Vegfr2 gene activity was detected as light emissions beginning on GD 12 of gestation and increased throughout the imaging period (P < 0.05), and this paralleled the Vegfr2 mRNA data obtained from RT-PCR analysis. A decline in fetoplacental light emissions was associated with a poor pregnancy outcome in one pregnancy, indicating that this approach has potential use for studies monitoring pregnancy well being. Additionally, neonatal Vegfr2 activity was detected at PND 7, 14 and 21 but declined with time (P < 0.0001).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>In utero </it>fetoplacental Vegfr2 gene activity was monitored longitudinally in a quantitative manner using a luciferase reporter gene and bioluminescent imaging during the latter third of gestation. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using the Vegfr2-luc mouse to monitor late gestation fetoplacental angiogenic activity under normal and experimental conditions. Additionally, neonatal Vegfr2 gene activity was monitored for three weeks postpartum, allowing continuous monitoring of Vegfr2 activity during the latter third of gestation and postnatal development within the same animals.</p

Ocular and adnexal anomalies in craniofacial microsomia: a systematic review

Ocular anomalies may occur in craniofacial microsomia (CFM). The aim of this systematic review was to review the literature on ocular anomalies and their incidence, in order to estimate the need for ophthalmological screening in CFM patients. Online databases were searched, and data on the number of patients, type and incidence of ocular anomalies, and visual acuity were extracted. Four subgroups of ocular and adnexal anomalies were identified, to provide an overview of the different anomalies. Twenty-five papers analysing 1419 patients in total were included. Ocular anomalies were documented in 6.7–100% of patients. The most reported type I ocular anomalies were eyelid coloboma, lipodermoids, and orbital dystopia. The most reported type II ocular anomalies were epibulbar dermoid, microphthalmia, and anophthalmia. Ptosis

Evaluation of Research Diagnostic Criteria in Craniofacial Microsomia

Characteristics of patients with craniofacial microsomia (CFM) vary in type and severity. The diagnosis is based on phenotypical assessment and no consensus on standardized clinical diagnostic criteria is available. The use of diagnostic criteria could improve research and communication among patients and healthcare professionals. Two sets of phenotypic criteria for research were independently developed and based on multidisciplinary consensus: the FACIAL and ICHOM criteria. This study aimed to assess the sensitivity of both criteria with an existing global multicenter database of patients with CFM and study the characteristics of patients that do not meet the criteria. A total of 730 patients with CFM from were included. Characteristics of the patients were extracted, and severity was graded using the O.M.E.N.S. and Pruzansky-Kaban classification. The sensitivity of the FACIAL and ICHOM was respectively 99.6% and 94.4%. The Cohen's kappa of 0.38 indicated a fair agreement between both criteria. Patients that did not fulfill the FACIAL criteria had facial asymmetry without additional features. It can be concluded that the FACIAL and ICHOM criteria are accurate criteria to describe patients with CFM. Both criteria could be useful for future studies on CFM to create comparable and reproducible outcomes.</p

Correlation of Intracranial Volume With Head Surface Volume in Patients With Multisutural Craniosynostosis

Intracranial volume (ICV) is an important parameter for monitoring patients with multisutural craniosynostosis. Intracranial volume measurements are routinely derived from computed tomography (CT) head scans, which involves ionizing radiation. Estimation of ICV from head surface volumes could prove useful as 3D surface scanners could be used to indirectly acquire ICV information, using a non-invasive, non-ionizing method.Pre- and postoperative 3D CT scans from spring-assisted posterior vault expansion (sPVE) patients operated between 2008 and 2018 in a single center were collected. Patients were treated for multisutural craniosynostosis, both syndromic and non-syndromic. For each patient, ICV was calculated from the CT scans as carried out in clinical practice. Additionally, the 3D soft tissue surface volume (STV) was extracted by 3D reconstruction of the CT image soft tissue of each case, further elaborated by computer-aided design (CAD) software. Correlations were analyzed before surgery, after surgery, combined for all patients and in syndrome subgroups.Soft tissue surface volume was highly correlated to ICV for all analyses: r = 0.946 preoperatively, r = 0.959 postoperatively, and r = 0.960 all cases combined. Subgroup analyses for Apert, Crouzon-Pfeiffer and complex craniosynostosis were highly significant as well (P < 0.001).In conclusion, 3D surface model volumes correlated strongly to ICV, measured from the same scan, and linear equations for this correlation are provided. Estimation of ICV with just a 3D surface model could thus be realized using a simple method, which does not require radiations and therefore would allow closer monitoring in patients through multiple acquisitions over time

Three-dimensionalenvironment and vascularization induce osteogenic maturation of human adipose-derived stem cells comparable to that of bone-derived progenitors

While human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) are known to possess osteogenic differentiation potential, the bone tissues formed are generally considered rudimentary and immature compared with those made by bone-derived precursor cells such as human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) and less commonly studied human calvarium osteoprogenitor cells (hOPs). Traditional differentiation protocols have tended to focus on osteoinduction of hADSCs through the addition of osteogenic differentiation media or use of stimulatory bioactive scaffolds which have not resulted in mature bone formation. Here, we tested the hypothesis that by reproducing the physical as well as biochemical bone microenvironment through the use of three-dimensional (3D) culture and vascularization we could enhance osteogenic maturation in hADSCs. In addition to biomolecular characterization, we performed structural analysis through extracellular collagen alignment and mineral density in our bone tissue engineered samples to evaluate osteogenic maturation. We further compared bone formed by hADSCs, hBMSCs, and hOPs against mature human pediatric calvarial bone, yet not extensively investigated. Although bone generated by all three cell types was still less mature than native pediatric bone, a fibrin-based 3D microenvironment together with vascularization boosted osteogenic maturation of hADSC making it similar to that of bone-derived osteoprogenitors. This demonstrates the important role of vascularization and 3D culture in driving osteogenic maturation of cells easily available but constitutively less committed to this lineage and suggests a crucial avenue for recreating the bone microenvironment for tissue engineering of mature craniofacial bone tissues from pediatric hADSCs, as well as hBMSCs and hOPs

'Sending Dollars Shows Feeling' - Emotions and Economies in Filipino Migration

This paper analyses the conceptualization of gender, relationships, and emotions that underpin ‘care chains’ approaches to Filipino labour migration. In a case study of long‐distance intimacy and economic transfers in an extended Filipino family, I show how contextualizing migration within local understandings of emotion fractures expectations created by care chains accounts. This case instead reveals agency, diversity, and new forms of global subjectivity emerging through long‐distance emotional connections within the translocal field shaped by labour mobility