Facilitating Creativity in Corporate Culture

This work was developed with the premise that a creative corporate culture can be a competitive weapon in the world market today. It postulates that unique corporate cultures do exist and explores their development and characteristics from an anthropological point of view. This work investigates tools and methods created to help facilitate creativity in corporate cultures. Multiple examples of creativity within corporate cultures are presented against the background of twelve key causal factors. These creative episodes are all recognized by outside sources as unique and innovative, it\u27d fulfill the heuristic characteristics of creativity as defined by Amabile (1983). This work purports that, although there is no direct correlation between creativity and profitability, the creative corporation intuitively has an advantage in today\u27s marketplace. The levels of organizational culture examined include assumptions, beliefs and values, patterns of behavior and artifacts. These are cross-referenced with key elements of organizational culture such as heroes, jargon, and management practices. The results are presented in a typology of the socially constructed concept of corporate culture. Multiple tools to create a context from which to study and facilitate change in corporate culture are explored. Critical thinking is employed to understand the frame of reference in which each tool was created and to judge its value in facilitating change and creativity, in an existing environment. A number of intervention models are compared and contrasted and the merits of each is explored. The transition planning model (Beckhard, 1987) is chosen to study the content of other available tools and methods because it allows the opportunity to examine culture from multiple anthropological viewpoints. It seeks to understand culture so that action can be taken, and implies that culture can be managed. It also allows for unlimited creativity, in the critical ideation stage. Finally, using Beckhard\u27s model, available tools and methods are reviewed for understanding corporate culture and facilitating creativity,\u27 and innovation within that context

Stability of CART peptide expression in the nucleus accumbens in aging

Aging is accompanied by changes of several anorexigenic and orexigenic neuropeptides expressed in various brain areas that control food intake and these changes correlate with senescent anorexia. During aging expression of cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) peptide was reported to be reduced in the hypothalamic nuclei related to food intake. Although CART peptide is abundant in the nucleus accumbens that also plays a crucial role in the food intake regulation, no data is available about the CART peptide expression in this region through aging. In the present study, CART peptide immunoreactivity was compared in the nucleus accumbens of young adult (4- and 7-month-old) middle-aged (15-month-old) and aging (25–32-month-old) Long-Evans rats. The density of CART-immunoreactive cells and axon terminals in the nucleus accumbens was measured with computer-aided densitometry. CART-immunodensity was similar in the old rats and in the younger animals without significant difference between age groups. In addition, no gender-difference was observed when CART-immunoreactivities in the nucleus accumbens of male and female animals were compared. Our results indicate that CART peptide expression in the nucleus accumbens is stable in adults and does not change with age

Gambling Treatment Diversion Court: First in Nevada

The first Gambling Treatment Diversion Court was established in Las Vegas, Nevada in fall of 2018 following more than 25 years of effort by passionately concerned non-profit Executives, therapists, lawyers and judges. This panel represents one leader from each of those areas, including Judge Cheryl Moss, the first judge to open the Gambling Treatment Diversion Court (GTDC), Dayvid Figler, the first attorney to successfully represent a gambling client and refer her to the GTDC, Carol O\u27Hare, Executive Director of the non-profit Nevada Council on Problem Gambler with 25+ years leadership and advocacy for problem gamblers, Sydney Smith, M.A., Clinical Director of RISE treatment center in Las Vegas and nationally- and state-certified gambling counselor, and Denise F. Quirk, M.A., Clinical Director of the Reno Problem Gambling Center and nationally- and Nevada-certified problem gambling counselor and instructor at the University of Nevada, Reno. The panel will share the development of gambling diversion treatment, legal challenges and victories, the process of the GTDC, case studies of individuals with Gambling Disorder who have endured and succeeded in the legal process, and discussion relevant to the impact of the gambling diversion process at all levels of evaluation, advocacy, treatment and support for gamblers and communities

Különböző élelmiszerek és élelmianyagok hatásának klinikai minősítése egészséges és beteg emberekben

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Antibacterial effect of sprouts against human pathogens in vitro

Sprouts contain minerals, vitamins, and other compounds, which may have antimicrobial activity. Antimicrobial compounds are released from homogenized sprouts and diffuse into the culture medium inhibiting the growth of pathogenic bacteria. These antibacterial compounds may influence the multiplication of contaminating pathogens. In this study the antimicrobial effects of 55 different homogenized sprouts were investigated with agar well diffusion method on human pathogenic bacteria. Homogenizates of different radish, early kohlrabi, and red cabbage sprouts caused inhibitory zone around the wells on the surface of inoculated agar plates. Mustard, zucchini, medical (German) chamomile, spicy fenugreek, and adzuki bean sprouts had antimicrobial effect only against a few human pathogenic bacteria. Twenty-nine other spicy and vegetable sprouts had no antibacterial activity against the investigated human pathogens. The results suggest that a few sprouts have antimicrobial properties, but different cultivars of the same species have different effects against different bacterial strains. The sprouts of radish cultivars contained the most effective antibacterial compounds

Blockade of adenosine A2B receptors ameliorates murine colitis

Background and purpose: The adenosine 2B (A2B) receptor is the predominant adenosine receptor expressed in the colon. Acting through the A2B receptor, adenosine mediates chloride secretion, as well as fibronectin and interleukin (IL)-6 synthesis and secretion in intestinal epithelial cells. A2B receptor mRNA and protein expression are increased during human and murine colitis. However, the effect of the A2B receptor in the activation of the intestinal inflammatory response is not known. In this study, we examined the effect of A2B receptor antagonism on murine colitis. Experimental approach: Dextran sodium sulphate (DSS)-treated mice and piroxicam-treated IL-10/ mice were used as animal models of colitis. The A2B receptor-selective antagonist, ATL-801, was given in the diet. Key results: Mice fed ATL-801 along with DSS showed a significantly lower extent and severity of colitis than mice treated with DSS alone, as shown by reduced clinical symptoms, histological scores, IL-6 levels and proliferation indices. The administration of ATL-801 prevented weight loss, suppressed the inflammatory infiltrate into colonic mucosa and decreased epithelial hyperplasia in piroxicam-treated IL-10/ mice. IL-6 and keratinocyte-derived chemokine (KC) concentrations in the supernatants of colonic organ cultures from colitic mice were significantly reduced by ATL-801 administration. Conclusions and implications: Taken together, these data demonstrate that the intestinal epithelial A2B receptor is an important mediator of pro-inflammatory responses in the intestine and that A2B receptor blockade may be an effectiv