Designing the Business Model of Herbal Pharmaceutical Knowledge based Companies

Today, research has indicated Knowledge based companies as a potential area in promoting knowledge economy, and due to the substantial added-value they make in the knowledge economy of the countries, these companies play a pivotal role in producing national income. Considering the novelty of the field of designing business models for herbal pharmaceutical Knowledge based companies and the importance of these companies among Knowledge based companies on the one hand, and the lack of academic research on exploring these companies on the other hand, the need for a comprehensive business model to help understand the components of herbal pharmaceutical Knowledge based companies seems urgent. This study aimed at identifying and prioritizing the components of business models and also structuring a business model of herbal pharmaceutical Knowledge based companies around these components. The Friedman test was used to prioritize the importance of the components of Knowledge based companies' business models. The statements of the present study's questionnaire were collected from the literature and the experts' opinions, too. Out of the 130 distributed questionnaires, 119 were collected which were analyzed by employing the Cochran test of the SPSS Statistics software. The components of key activities with the mean ranking of 6.76, cost structure with 6.09, and key resources with 6.06 were the most important components and customer relationships with 5.67, value propositions with 5.45, key partnerships with 4.10, distribution channels with 4.04, customer segment with 3.60, and revenue streams with 3.24 were the least important ones. Research paper Keywords: Business model, Knowledge based companies, Herbs, Friedman’s test Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Asadnezhad, M., Hejazi, R., Akbari, M. & Hadizadeh, E. (2017). Designing the Business Model of Herbal Pharmaceutical Knowledge based Companies, Journal of Entrepreneurship, Business and Economics, 5(2), 47–63

A novel 355-357delGAG mutation and frequency of connexin-26 (GJB2) mutations in Iranian patients

The common form of autosomal recessive non-syndromic deafness is caused by the mutation in gap junction beta 2 (GJB2) gene (GenBank M86849, OMIM# 121011) which is located at the DFNB1 locus at 13q11. GJB2 is a small gene about 5500-bp length with two exons, of which only one contains the coding region (Kelley et al. 2000). The sequence of the coding region consists of 681 bp, encoding a gap-junction protein with 226 amino acids (Schrijver 2004). The genetics of hearing loss is highly heterogeneous and more than 100 mutations in connexin 26 (GJB2) genes are reported to be responsible for 30%–40% of hereditary hearing loss in deaf subjects (Ballana et al. 2001; Schrijver 2004). The most frequent mutation 35delG has been detected in different populations; especially in European countries where it is established to be due to founder effect (Van Laer et al. 2001; Rothrock et al. 2003). In this study, we performed mutation screening in 33 families who met clinical criteria of non-syndromic hereditary hearing loss (NSHHL) to evaluate the type and frequency of GJB2 mutations in Iranian population

Association study of rs7192 polymorphism of HLA-DRA gene with male infertility occurrence in Isfahan province of Iran

Background and aims: One third of male factors related to infertilities are basically unknown and it has been predicted to be most of the unknown infertilities based on genetic abnormalities. On the other hands, the effect of HLA-DRA genes on spermatogenesis has been shown recently. So, this study was aimed to assess the association of rs7192 polymorphic site of HLA-DRA gene on male infertility in Isfahan province of Iran. Methods: 100 infertile men with azoospermia or severe oligozoospermia as case group and equal numbers of fertile men as control individuals were selected. Genomic DNA of peripheral blood was extracted after the written consent was taken. rs7192 polymorphic site has been analyzed by ARMS-PCR method in the case and control groups. Results: According to the results, the frequency of G allele was higher in infertile men than the T allele; but, allele frequency differences was not significant between the case and control groups (OR=0.86, P=0.47). However, it has been shown that GG homozygous in comparison to TT homozygous show an increased risk of male infertility but it was not statistically significant (OR=1.47, P=0.4). In parallel, comparison of GG + GT genotypes to TT ones was not also statistically significant between infertile and fertile men (OR=1.43, P=0.4). Conclusion: Association study of polymorphic rs7192 did not show any significant relationship among men infertile with azoospermia or severe oligozoospermia in Isfahan province of Iran

Designing the Business Model of Herbal Pharmaceutical Knowledge based Companies

Today, research has indicated Knowledge based companies as a potential area in promoting knowledge economy, and due to the substantial added-value they make in the knowledge economy of the countries, these companies play a pivotal role in producing national income. Considering the novelty of the field of designing business models for herbal pharmaceutical Knowledge based companies and the importance of these companies among Knowledge based companies on the one hand, and the lack of academic research on exploring these companies on the other hand, the need for a comprehensive business model to help understand the components of herbal pharmaceutical Knowledge based companies seems urgent. This study aimed at identifying and prioritizing the components of business models and also structuring a business model of herbal pharmaceutical Knowledge based companies around these components. The Friedman test was used to prioritize the importance of the components of Knowledge based companies' business models. The statements of the present study's questionnaire were collected from the literature and the experts' opinions, too. Out of the 130 distributed questionnaires, 119 were collected which were analyzed by employing the Cochran test of the SPSS Statistics software. The components of key activities with the mean ranking of 6.76, cost structure with 6.09, and key resources with 6.06 were the most important components and customer relationships with 5.67, value propositions with 5.45, key partnerships with 4.10, distribution channels with 4.04, customer segment with 3.60, and revenue streams with 3.24 were the least important ones. Research paper Keywords: Business model, Knowledge based companies, Herbs, Friedman’s test Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Asadnezhad, M., Hejazi, R., Akbari, M. & Hadizadeh, E. (2017). Designing the Business Model of Herbal Pharmaceutical Knowledge based Companies, Journal of Entrepreneurship, Business and Economics, 5(2), 47–63

Frequency of the common mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations in non-syndromic hearing impairment in southwest subpopulations of Iran

زمینه و هدف: اگرچه اکثر ناشنوایی های غیر سندرومی ارثی به علت جهش در ژن های هسته ای می باشند، در سال های اخیر مشارکت مهم جهش های DNA میتوکندریایی (mtDNA) واضح تر شده است. مطالعه حاضر با هدف غربالگری جهش های شایع mtDNA شامل A1555G، C1494T، A3243G و A7445G در ناشنوایان اکتسابی و غیرسندرومی مغلوب اتوزومی پیش از زبان باز کردن در استان چهارمحال و بختیاری و ناشنوایان غیرسندرومی پس از زبان باز کردن در استان بوشهر انجام شده است. روش بررسی: در این مطالعه توصیفی-آزمایشگاهی 150 ناشنوای اکتسابی و مغلوب اتوزومی پیش از زبان باز کردن از استان چهارمحال و بختیاری و 46 پروباند غیر خویشاوند با ناشنوایی غیرسندرومی پس از زبان باز کردن از استان بوشهر (با نتیجه منفی برای جهش های GJB2) به روش آسان انتخاب شدند. نمونه ها با روش PCR –RFLP برای جهش های شایع mtDNA غربالگری شدند. جهش های مشاهده شده، برای تایید تعیین توالی گردیدند. یافته ها: هیچکدام از جهش ها در ناشنوایان اکتسابی و غیرسندرومی مغلوب اتوزومی پیش از زبان باز کردن در استان چهارمحال و بختیاری یافت نشدند، لیکن جهشA1555G با فراوانی 35/4 در ناشنوایان غیر سندرومی پس از زبان باز کردن در استان بوشهر مشاهده شد. نتیجه گیری: این بررسی نشان می دهد که جهش های میتوکندریایی نقش برجسته تری در منشاء ناشنوایی غیر سندرومی پس از زبان باز کردن در مقایسه با پیش از زبان باز کردن در جمعیت مورد مطالعه را ایفاء می کنند

Combination therapy with everolimus and tacrolimus in kidney transplantation recipients: A systematic review

Background and aims: Immunosuppressive regimens are a key component for successful kidney transplantation. This systematic review aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of combination therapy of everolimus with tacrolimus in kidney transplantation recipients. Methods: Results were limited to English-language articles. Trials where recipients received another regimen were excluded. The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and MEDLINE were searched via the optimally sensitive strategies for the identification of randomized trials, combined with the following MeSH headings and text words: Everolimus, Certican, Zortress, tacrolimus, prograf, and kidney transplantation. Results: Five relevant studies of everolimus in combination with tacrolimus were identified and results of them were interpreted. Two trials investigated Fix dose of everolimus in combination with low (1.5-3 mg) versus standard dose of tacrolimus (4-7 mg). One trial investigated variable doses of everolimus (1.5 mg/day or 3 mg/day) in combination with fix dose of tacrolimusand two trials compared fix dose of everolimus versus reduction or elimination of tacrolimus. Sample size of RCTs ranged from 20 to 398 and the follow up time ranged from six to 24 months. The quality score on the Jadad score was 3 in all five trials indicating moderate quality. Conclusion: Immune suppressive regimens including everolimus in combination with tacrolimus therapy show better safety and efficacy compared with single-mode but these differences were not significant in overall studies. In general, compared with a regimen without combination of everolimus with tacrolimus, the newer immunosuppressive regimen consistently reduced the incidence of short-term biopsy-proven acute rejection. However, evidence about impact on side-effects, long term graft loss, compliance and overall health-related quality of life is limited