Role of Effective Leadership on Empowerment, Effective Communication, and Motivation in Customer Service

Customer service is the act of supporting customers of a business that can break a business or generate profit in the competitive environment with growing customers’ expectations. Regarding the critical role of customer service to differentiate between businesses, it is considered as one of the top considerations in businesses. However, there is a range of key factors that are tied to the success of a customer service provider in offering quality customer service that will eventually lead the business through exceeding or falling short in responding to customers’ expectations. Besides, businesses are prone to face some challenges in the employment of customer services that are required to be addressed. This paper aims to discuss the importance of customer service and the establishment of an efficient customer service strategy in business considering different influential factors that affect offering quality customer services. It also explains challenges that businesses may face in providing amazing customer services and how to address them

Differential regulation of cell motility and invasion by FAK

Cell migration and invasion are fundamental components of tumor cell metastasis. Increased focal adhesion kinase (FAK) expression and tyrosine phosphorylation are connected with elevated tumorigenesis. Null mutation of FAK results in embryonic lethality, and FAK−/− fibroblasts exhibit cell migration defects in culture. Here we show that viral Src (v-Src) transformation of FAK−/− cells promotes integrin-stimulated motility equal to stable FAK reexpression. However, FAK−/− v-Src cells were not invasive, and FAK reexpression, Tyr-397 phosphorylation, and FAK kinase activity were required for the generation of an invasive cell phenotype. Cell invasion was linked to transient FAK accumulation at lamellipodia, formation of a FAK–Src-p130Cas–Dock180 signaling complex, elevated Rac and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase activation, and increased matrix metalloproteinase expression and activity. Our studies support a dual role for FAK in promoting cell motility and invasion through the activation of distinct signaling pathways

Acute kidney disease and renal recovery : consensus report of the Acute Disease Quality Initiative (ADQI) 16 Workgroup

Consensus definitions have been reached for both acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) and these definitions are now routinely used in research and clinical practice. The KDIGO guideline defines AKI as an abrupt decrease in kidney function occurring over 7 days or less, whereas CKD is defined by the persistence of kidney disease for a period of > 90 days. AKI and CKD are increasingly recognized as related entities and in some instances probably represent a continuum of the disease process. For patients in whom pathophysiologic processes are ongoing, the term acute kidney disease (AKD) has been proposed to define the course of disease after AKI; however, definitions of AKD and strategies for the management of patients with AKD are not currently available. In this consensus statement, the Acute Disease Quality Initiative (ADQI) proposes definitions, staging criteria for AKD, and strategies for the management of affected patients. We also make recommendations for areas of future research, which aim to improve understanding of the underlying processes and improve outcomes for patients with AKD

A white paper on future NJIT research for the new president of NJIT from the NJIT Faculty Senate Research Committee

The NJIT Faculty Senate Committee on Research, Scholarship, and Creative Academic Activities (Research Committee) drafted a white paper on recommendations for Future NJIT Research that represents the consensus of the Research Committee. It was approved unanimously by the Faculty Senate and sent to the new president of NJIT. There are three main sections 1) Faculty Governance - where we recommend a) decentralizing both authority and responsibility in support of increased innovation and productivity based on Transparency, Communication, and Equity and b) eliminating the disconnect between the Institute’s vision and mission and the P&T process to strengthen interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary research; 2) Graduate Students & Postdocs – where we recommend increasing the number of PhD students and postdoc researchers, and; 3) Resources – where we recommend enhancing and efficiently utilizing resources for research, including efficient allocation of space, TA lines, support staff, equipment, etc

Publisher Correction:COVID-19-associated acute kidney injury: consensus report of the 25^th Acute Disease Quality Initiative (ADQI) Workgroup (Nature Reviews Nephrology, (2020), 10.1038/s41581-020-00356-5)

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper

Evidence for inhomogeneous reionization in the local Universe from metal-poor globular cluster systems

Exploiting a fundamental characteristic of galaxy assembly in the {\Lambda}CDM paradigm, the observed spatial biasing and kinematics of metal-poor globular star clusters are used to constrain the local reionization epoch around individual galaxies. Selecting three galaxies located in different environments, the first attempt at constraining the environmental propagation of reionization in the local Universe is carried out. The joint constraint from the three galaxies (z_reion = 10.5^{+1.0}_{-0.9}) agrees remarkably well with the latest WMAP constraint on z_reion for a simple instantaneous reionization model. More importantly, the range of z_reion values found here are consistent with the global range of z_reion estimates from other observations. We furthermore find a 1.7{\sigma} indication that reionization completed in low-density environments before the intergalactic medium in high-density environments was reionized. This is consistent with certain theoretical models that predict that reionization was globally prolonged in duration, with neutral hydrogen pockets surviving in high-density environments, even after the surrounding regions were reionized. More generally, this work provides a useful constraint on the formation history of galaxy stellar halos.Comment: MNRAS in pres

Role of Personal Networks in the Growth of Entrepreneurship Ventures of Ethnic Minority Female Entrepreneurs

The main objective of the paper is to explore and explain the differences/similarities in personal networks of, and their use by, immigrant and British born Pakistani female entrepreneurs for business growth.A broad range of studies has explored the social context of ethnic minority and immigrant entrepreneurship by assuming all minority entrepreneurs as a cohesive group without taking into account intergroup (geographical categorisation) and intra-group (generational) differences. These differences are explained by socio-economic and cultural factors such as family background and support, ethnicity, religion, education, and more importantly personal network (Metcalf et. al., 1996; Basu, 1998). The blend of culture and religion depicted in entrepreneurial practices of Pakistani entrepreneurs is an interesting but under-researched area. Our particular interest is to explore the scope, depth, variations and limitations of the personal networks of Pakistani female entrepreneurs in their effort to grow their business

Apolipoprotein A-I Attenuates Palmitate-Mediated NF-κB Activation by Reducing Toll-Like Receptor-4 Recruitment into Lipid Rafts

While high-density lipoprotein (HDL) is known to protect against a wide range of inflammatory stimuli, its anti-inflammatory mechanisms are not well understood. Furthermore, HDL's protective effects against saturated dietary fats have not been previously described. In this study, we used endothelial cells to demonstrate that while palmitic acid activates NF-κB signaling, apolipoprotein A–I, (apoA-I), the major protein component of HDL, attenuates palmitate-induced NF-κB activation. Further, vascular NF-κB signaling (IL-6, MCP-1, TNF-α) and macrophage markers (CD68, CD11c) induced by 24 weeks of a diabetogenic diet containing cholesterol (DDC) is reduced in human apoA-I overexpressing transgenic C57BL/6 mice compared to age-matched WT controls. Moreover, WT mice on DDC compared to a chow diet display increased gene expression of lipid raft markers such as Caveolin-1 and Flotillin-1, and inflammatory Toll-like receptors (TLRs) (TLR2, TLR4) in the vasculature. However apoA-I transgenic mice on DDC show markedly reduced expression of these genes. Finally, we show that in endothelial cells TLR4 is recruited into lipid rafts in response to palmitate, and that apoA-I prevents palmitate-induced TLR4 trafficking into lipid rafts, thereby blocking NF-κB activation. Thus, apoA-I overexpression might be a useful therapeutic tool against vascular inflammation

Green supply chain practices and environmental performance in Brazil: Survey, case studies, and implications for B2B

This article examines whether or not customers cooperate in organisations' environmental performance, in what circumstances it happens; and how customers can collaborate with organisations in order to they improve their environmental performance. This research uses both the Ecological Modernisation (EM) and the Resource Dependence Theory (RDT) to analyse the effects of external Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) practices, namely, ‘Cooperation with Customers’ (CC) and ‘Green Purchasing’ (GP) on the Environmental Performance (EP) of organisations. A multi-method research is used, combining a survey and multiple-case studies of Brazilian organisations. The main results and contributions of this research include: (a) the Brazilian setting, in the context of EM, provides incentives for adopting GSCM practices, especially CC practices; (b) Brazilian organisations depend more on customers than on suppliers to improve EP; and (c) an original matrix for a better understanding of the roles of suppliers and customers to achieve a better EP through a GSCM approach is proposed. This paper provides an extension to EM and RDT theories applied to green operations management by showing that external GSCM can improve EP and such process depends more on CC than GP. Implications for B2B are highlighted. © 2017 Elsevier Inc