Role of miR-10b in breast cancer metastasis

Ninety percent of cancer-related mortality is caused by metastasis. Current cancer treatments can control many primary tumors but rarely stop the metastatic spread. Accumulating evidence demonstrates that miRNAs are involved in cancer initiation and progression. Furthermore, several miRNAs have been found to regulate metastasis. In particular, recent studies provide the first functional evidence that overexpression of a specific miRNA, miR-10b, can contribute to the development of metastasis, which can be exploited therapeutically in treating breast cancer metastasis in mice. Further in-depth analysis should provide more precise evaluation of the roles, mechanisms, and therapeutic utility of this miRNA in breast cancer

Business Marketing Strategy : Concepts and Applications

X, 354 tr.; 23 cm

The value of multi-channel distribution systems in the financial services sector

An examination of the use of multiple distribution channels in the marketing of financial products in the UK is conducted. A cluster analysis of 153 new financial products shows that 85 per cent of the products belong in one of three multi-channel distribution channels: a ‘Balanced’ strategy draws on all the distribution routes; ‘Network’ strategies utilise a network of outlets; ‘Arm's Length’ strategies employ those channels such as direct mail, direct response advertising or intermediaries that do not involve direct contact between company staff and customers. Finally, an association between the use of multiple channels, especially if they are used intensively, and success is demonstrated. Success is estimated both on a single overall scale but also on a number of sub-dimensions

Executive insights: Corporate culture and market orientation: Comparing Indian and Japanese firms

The authors examine how organizational dimensions, including corporate culture and market orientation, affect peformance in major Indian firms. The research uses a framework (the universal high performance model) developed in the United States and first tested in Japan to assess Indian organizational business-to-business relationships. Although there are some intuitively obvious substantive differences between Indian and Japanese companies, the general pattern of how various factors drive business performance is similar in both countries despite the different economic environments in India and Japan

The disproportionate economic burden associated with severe and complicated obesity: a systematic review

Burden of disease studies typically classify individuals with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg m<sup>−2</sup> as a single group (‘obese’) and make comparisons to those with lower BMIs. Here, we review the literature on the additional economic burden associated with severe obesity or classes 3 and 4 obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg m<sup>−2</sup>), the fastest growing category of obesity, with the aim of exploring and disaggregating differences in resource use as BMI increases beyond 40 kg m<sup>−2</sup>. We recognize the importance of comparing classes 3 and 4 obesity to less severe obesity (classes 1 and 2) as well as quantifying the single sub-class impacts (classes 3 and 4). Although the latter analysis is the aim of this review, we include results, where found in the literature, for movement between the recognized subclasses and within classes 3 and 4 obesity. Articles presenting data on the economic burden associated with severe obesity were identified from a search of Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, EBSCO CINAHL and Cochrane Library databases. Data were extracted on the direct costs, productivity costs and resource use associated with severe obesity along with estimates of the multiplier effects associated with increasing BMI. Fifteen studies were identified, of which four disaggregated resource use for BMI ≥ 40 kg m<sup>−2</sup>. The multiplier effects derived for a variety of different types of costs incurred by the severely obese compared with those of normal weight (18.5 kg m<sup>−2</sup> < BMI < 25 kg m<sup>−2</sup>) ranged from 1.5 to 3.9 for direct costs, and from 1.7 to 8.0 for productivity costs. There are few published data on the economic burden of obesity disaggregated by BMI ≥ 40 kg m<sup>−2</sup>. By grouping people homogenously above a threshold of BMI 40 kg m<sup>−2</sup>, the multiplier effects for those at the highest end of the spectrum are likely to be underestimated. This will, in turn, impact on the estimates of cost-effectiveness for interventions and policies aimed at the severely obese

Organizational multichannel differentiation : an analysis of its impact on channel relationships and company sales success

This article examines whether and how a company's division of segment- and task-related responsibilities among multiple sales channels affects the relationships in the multichannel (MC) system and, ultimately, the company's sales success. Building on open systems theory, the authors develop an overarching framework of organizational MC differentiation that distinguishes between two generic approaches: segment differentiation and task differentiation. They predict that these two approaches affect key relationship and performance outcomes of an MC system, but do so differently and contingent on key characteristics of the company's customers. Drawing on a multi-informant survey in a business-to-business context as well as on objective performance data, the authors find that segment differentiation tends to mitigate horizontal conflict and inhibit cooperation, while task differentiation reduces primarily vertical conflict and promotes cooperation. Moreover, depending on customer characteristics, segment differentiation may damage channel relationships overall and, in turn, limit company sales success, whereas task differentiation unambiguously promotes channel relationships and thus drives company sales success. These findings offer novel insights into the relationship and performance impact of MC systems’ organizational structure and provide useful guidance on how managers should allocate segment- and task-related responsibilities among multiple sales channels