THE SYNERGY BETWEEN SUBSECTOR COMPETITIVENESS AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF TURKEY AND THE TOMATO SUBSECTOR

Abstract This study develops a conceptual model of the institutions and key factors that facilitate competitiveness on the national and subsector level and then determines how linkages between the factors that enhance competitiveness and regional development can be created. Turkey and the Turkish tomato subsector provided the case to test this model.Regional development, sustainable competitiveness, tomato processing industry, Turkey, industry clusters, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Pancreatic Cancer and Diet: What Can I Eat?

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A Survey to Guide the Emerging Role of Allied Health Teams in a Regional Tertiary Hospital Emergency Department

ABSTRACT Purpose: A multidisciplinary allied health team has worked in The Townsville Hospital Emergency Department for seven years. Patients are referred to the allied health team by medical and nursing staff with the aim of reducing patient admission and improving patient outcomes. However, the type and number of referrals received by the allied health team suggest there is a lack of detailed interdisciplinary knowledge by the referrers. Therefore, the Emergency Department Allied Health Team surveyed other emergency department health professionals to ascertain their knowledge of allied health roles. The results will be used to develop education sessions to fill gaps in knowledge. Methods: A cross-sectional survey consisting of 22 true/false statements and demographic questions was developed by the Emergency Department Allied Health Team. Questions described some of the common triggers for referral to physiotherapy, occupational therapy, social work, and pharmacy staff in the emergency department at the Townsville Hospital. The survey was distributed opportunistically to nursing, medical and physician assistant staff at handover or education sessions. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the data and comparisons used chi squared tests. Results: The response rate for the survey was 63% (n=154), including 52 doctors (65%), 95 (59%) nursing staff, 3 physician assistants (100%), and 4 who did not state their discipline. Preferred responses were low for questions about occupational therapy’s ability to do home visits up to four weeks post emergency department discharge (37.7%), physiotherapists’ necessity to perform mobility assessments (24.7%), identifying APINCH acronym as mnemonic for high risk drugs (35.7%) and the correct application of “close the gap” prescriptions (27.9%). Staff with more experience and prescribers were more likely to give the preferred response. Conclusions: Some gaps exist in doctors’, nurses’, and physician assistants’ knowledge of the roles of allied health in an emergency department. The knowledge gap decreases as staff experience in emergency departments increases. Therefore, for the allied health team in our emergency department to work at full scope of practice, these knowledge gaps need to be addressed. Our challenge now is to provide sustainable education on the role of allied health in a busy emergency department full of shift working and rotating staff being pulled by a myriad of contrasting priorities

A Computational Simulation Study of Benzamidine Derivatives Binding to Arginine-Specific Gingipain (HRgpA) from Periodontopathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis

We have shown that the binding free energy calculation from molecular dynamics can be adapted successfully to cysteine proteinases, such as arginine-specific gingipain (HRgpA) from Porphyromonas gingivalis. The binding free energy obtained is in good agreement with the available experimental data for eight benzamidine derivatives including urea and ether linker. The calculations showed that the electrostatic energies between HRgpA and inhibitors were important in determining the relative affinities of the inhibitors to the HRgpA, with an average binding free energy of about −5 kcal/mol. The average structures of the eight complexes suggest that benzamidine inhibitors interact with Asp387, His435, and Cys468 by hydrogen bonding and with Trp508 by hydrophilic interactions that are essential for the activities of benzamidine inhibitors. It can therefore be expected that the method provides a reliable tool for the investigation of new HRgpA inhibitors. This finding could significantly benefit the future design of HRgpA inhibitors

High-throughput functional analysis of autism genes in zebrafish identifies convergence in dopaminergic and neuroimmune pathways

Advancing from gene discovery in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) to the identification of biologically relevant mechanisms remains a central challenge. Here, we perform parallel in vivo functional analysis of 10 ASD genes at the behavioral, structural, and circuit levels in zebrafish mutants, revealing both unique and overlapping effects of gene loss of function. Whole-brain mapping identifies the forebrain and cerebellum as the most significant contributors to brain size differences, while regions involved in sensory-motor control, particularly dopaminergic regions, are associated with altered baseline brain activity. Finally, we show a global increase in microglia resulting from ASD gene loss of function in select mutants, implicating neuroimmune dysfunction as a key pathway relevant to ASD biology

Internationally trained pharmacists in Great Britain: what do registration data tell us about their recruitment?

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Ancestry reported by white adults with cutaneous melanoma and control subjects in central Alabama

BACKGROUND: We sought to evaluate the hypothesis that the high incidence of cutaneous melanoma in white persons in central Alabama is associated with a predominance of Irish and Scots descent. METHODS: Frequencies of country of ancestry reports were tabulated. The reports were also converted to scores that reflect proportional countries of ancestry in individuals. Using the scores, we computed aggregate country of ancestry indices as estimates of group ancestry composition. HLA-DRB1*04 allele frequencies and relationships to countries of ancestry were compared in probands and controls. Results were compared to those of European populations with HLA-DRB1*04 frequencies. RESULTS: Ninety evaluable adult white cutaneous melanoma probands and 324 adult white controls reported countries of ancestry of their grandparents. The respective frequencies of Ireland, and Scotland and "British Isles" reported countries of ancestry were significantly greater in probands than in controls. The respective frequencies of Wales, France, Italy and Poland were significantly greater in controls. 16.7% of melanoma probands and 23.8% of controls reported "Native American" ancestry; the corresponding "Native American" country of ancestry index was not significantly different in probands and controls. The frequency of HLA-DRB1*04 was significantly greater in probands, but was not significantly associated with individual or aggregate countries of ancestry. The frequency of DRB1*04 observed in Alabama was compared to DRB1*04 frequencies reported from England, Wales, Ireland, Orkney Island, France, Germany, and Australia. CONCLUSION: White adults with cutaneous melanoma in central Alabama have a predominance of Irish, Scots, and "British Isles" ancestry and HLA-DRB1*04 that likely contributes to their high incidence of cutaneous melanoma

Recent trends in breast cancer incidence in US white women by county-level urban/rural and poverty status

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Unprecedented declines in invasive breast cancer rates occurred in the United States between 2001 and 2004, particularly for estrogen receptor-positive tumors among non-Hispanic white women over 50 years. To understand the broader public health import of these reductions among previously unstudied populations, we utilized the largest available US cancer registry resource to describe age-adjusted invasive and <it>in situ </it>breast cancer incidence trends for non-Hispanic white women aged 50 to 74 years overall and by county-level rural/urban and poverty status.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We obtained invasive and <it>in situ </it>breast cancer incidence data for the years 1997 to 2004 from 29 population-based cancer registries participating in the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries resource. Annual age-adjusted rates were examined overall and by rural/urban and poverty of patients' counties of residence at diagnosis. Joinpoint regression was used to assess trends by annual quarter of diagnosis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Between 2001 and 2004, overall invasive breast cancer incidence fell 13.2%, with greater reductions among women living in urban (-13.8%) versus rural (-7.5%) and low- (-13.0%) or middle- (-13.8%) versus high- (-9.6%) poverty counties. Most incidence rates peaked around 1999 then declined after second quarter 2002, although in rural counties, rates decreased monotonically after 1999. Similar but more attenuated patterns were seen for <it>in situ </it>cancers.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Breast cancer rates fell more substantially in urban and low-poverty, affluent counties than in rural or high-poverty counties. These patterns likely reflect a major influence of reductions in hormone therapy use after July 2002 but cannot exclude possible effects due to screening patterns, particularly among rural populations where hormone therapy use was probably less prevalent.</p