Relation of serum visfatin level and uterine artery Doppler to preeclampsia

Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is a significant cause of remarkable fetomaternal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Visfatin is 52 KDa novel adipokine, pre B cell colony enhancing factor (PBEF) which could be used as a biochemical marker predictor or a diagnostic tool for preeclampsia. Trans abdominal pulsed Doppler ultrasound (US) monitor the impedance to blood flow in the uterine arteries in pregnant females and those with preeclampsia. Visfatin has been implicated in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia with a limited contradictory. The aim of our study is to monitor the risky pregnant females through Visfatin level and transabdominal pulsed Doppler of the uterine artery.Methods: Assessment of the serum Visfatin levels in the maternal circulation of preeclamptic pregnant females wether mild or severe, and compared to those in the normal pregnant subjects as control through recruitment of cases of mild PE (n=40), severe PE (n=40), normal pregnant subjects (n=60) in a cross sectional study where the cases were of the patients hospitalized at El Shatby Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the control subjects were of referrals to the outpatient departments. Fasting blood samples were drawn, kept at -20 degree centigrades , enzyme linked immune sorbant assay (ELISA) Test was performed on them to determine the Visfatin level and recorded the uterine arteries pulsatility index through transabdominal doppler ultrasound. Lastly, the data were analysed using (F test) ANOVA statistical method.Results: Amongst the groups, Serum visfatin level was significantly higher in the severe preeclamptic group rather than the normal pregnant group and those with mild preeclampsia (p<0.001). Uterine artery pulsatility index was significantly higher in the severe preeclamptic group rather than the normal pregnant group and those with mild preeclampsia (p<0.001).Conclusions: Severe preeclamptic pregnant females were shown to represent higher circulating visfatin levels as one of the most recent biochemical markers of preeclampsia, higher uterine artery pulsatility index compared to normal pregnant and those with mild preeclamptic groups of women

Linking Coping Emotions to IT Events: A Conceptual Framework

Many studies in the IS field have been devoted to the emotional adoption of technology and its impact on the user’s selected coping strategy. However, research on which IT events trigger which emotions is seldom reported in existing literature. The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework that classifies IT events based on the emotions they trigger. Our research will potentially have two contributions. First, we would develop a framework that classifies IT events based on the emotions it triggers, which helps predict users selected coping strategy based on the IT event occurring. Second, by identifying which IT events trigger which emotions, we would extend existing cognitive-based models and help predict and explain the impact of different IT events

The Impact of Social Media Knowledge Acquisition on Innovation and Financial Performance of the Firm: A Mixed Methods Approach

Firms have been increasingly applying different social media initiatives for different organizational objectives, but which initiatives have an impact on which objectives is still not well understood. In this research, we empirically examine the impact of two social media initiatives - social media information collection and social media proactive market orientation- on innovation and financial performance at the firm level. We also examine the potential role of three mediators within these relationships: IT infrastructure, social capital, and organizational capital. To do so, this study follows a mixed methods approach, where both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analysed. The purpose of the quantitative data is to test the hypotheses and the developed conceptual model, while the purpose of the qualitative data is to triangulate the quantitative results. Data were collected through two surveys, one quantitative and one qualitative, from firms in the United States. Structural Equation Modelling was used to analyse the quantitative data, while thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. Our findings provide empirical evidence on the positive effects of both social media initiatives on innovation and financial performance, and on the roles of IT infrastructure, social capital, and organizational capital within these relationships

Formalization of BPMN Gateways using the DD-LOTOS Formal Language

Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN), is a standardized graphical language used for the graphical modeling of business processes. A BPMN model is composed of several small graphs called elements; these elements make it possible to describe the activities, the events, and the interactions between the components of a business process. Among the essential elements of BPMN are gateways, which control the flow of data. However, the big challenge of these gateways is the existence of several interpretations of the same BPMN model containing gateways; this is due to the informal and ambiguous definition. Several works have proposed the formalization of gateways using formal languages such as process algebras, Petri nets, etc. The purpose of this article is to propose a formalization of BPMN gateways using the formal language DD-LOTOS. DDLOTOS is defined on a semantics of true parallelism called maximality semantics and allows to support distribution and temporal constraints. We then propose the verification of certain properties using the UPPAAL model checker. Our approach has been validated through a case study representing the online purchasing process

Chromohysteroscopy after failed intracytoplasmic sperm injection

Background: ICSI is the injection of a single sperm directly into the cytoplasm of the oocyte (ICSI). The failure to achieve pregnancy after ICSI has been studied over many years to reach the possible and preventable causes to avoid another failure. The aim of this study was to assess the value of using Chromohysteroscopy as a part of the work up of cases with one or more failed ICSI. The Ultimate goal is to detect the possible endometrial abnormalities and /or endometritis.Methods: Prospective cohort study was carried out with total of 50 infertile women recruited from infertility clinic in Elshatby Maternity University Hospital, Alexandria University, Egypt. Cases were allocated in 2 groups with 25 cases in each group. The first group included cases that had a failed trial of ICSI. The second group included control cases who were seeking for fertility treatment with no previous history of ICSI or any uterine surgery or anatomical abnormalities. In the postmenstrual period, Chromohysteroscopy was done by the same surgeon and documentation of all findings in the cavity and presence of endometritis.Results: There was a significant increase in the incidence of endometritis among the study group 68% in comparison to 16% in the control group.Conclusions: In this study endometrial dying with methylene blue at hysteroscopy improve the detection of chronic endometritis

Disrupt through digital: a study on the challenges faced when digitalizing R&D

Data availability statement: Data are available from the authors with the permission of Unilever.Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Digitalization and automation represent potential sources of disruption to the organization and practice of research and development (R&D). Digitalization has the potential to revolutionize future R&D, as digitalized R&D may improve efficiency and minimize risk thus reducing cycle and development times. However, companies expect organizational challenges in their R&D organization when they start to implement and work with digital technologies. Through an in-depth case analysis, we investigate these organizational challenges at Unilever, one of the world's leading fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies. Three challenges were identified: (1) managerial challenges; (2) behavioral challenges; and (3) digital technology skills challenges. Based on the identified challenges within the context of digitalizing an R&D center, our study provides some practical advice to R&D managers.UK Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded Centre in Advanced Fluid Engineering for Digital Manufacturing (CAFE4DM) [EP/R00482X/1]