Completing a PhD in business and management: a brief guide to doctoral students and universities

Purpose – Despite the ever-growing number of PhD students all over the world, there remain significant doubts about whether entering students in business and management disciplines fully understand the process of producing a PhD thesis, defending it and developing a coherent publication strategy. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to offer some guidance on what it takes to successfully complete a doctoral research thesis. Design/methodology/approach – The arguments and guidance presented in this viewpoint paper are drawn on the authors’ collective supervision and doctoral examination experiences. Findings – The paper presents guidelines on three key issues related with the doctoral completion: choosing a research problem; demonstrating rigour and quality; developing a publication strategy. Originality/value – The content presented in this paper would be valuable aide to those pursuing doctoral research

Mycobacterium tuberculosis NAD(+)-dependent DNA ligase is selectively inhibited by glycosylamines compared with human DNA ligase I

DNA ligases are important enzymes which catalyze the joining of nicks between adjacent bases of double-stranded DNA. NAD(+)-dependent DNA ligases (LigA) are essential in bacteria and are absent in humans. They have therefore been identified as novel, validated and attractive drug targets. Using virtual screening against an in-house database of compounds and our recently determined crystal structure of the NAD(+) binding domain of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis LigA, we have identified N(1), N(n)-bis-(5-deoxy-α-d-xylofuranosylated) diamines as a novel class of inhibitors for this enzyme. Assays involving M.tuberculosis LigA, T4 ligase and human DNA ligase I show that these compounds specifically inhibit LigA from M.tuberculosis. In vitro kinetic and inhibition assays demonstrate that the compounds compete with NAD(+) for binding and inhibit enzyme activity with IC(50) values in the µM range. Docking studies rationalize the observed specificities and show that among several glycofuranosylated diamines, bis xylofuranosylated diamines with aminoalkyl and 1, 3-phenylene carbamoyl spacers mimic the binding modes of NAD(+) with the enzyme. Assays involving LigA-deficient bacterial strains show that in vivo inhibition of ligase by the compounds causes the observed antibacterial activities. They also demonstrate that the compounds exhibit in vivo specificity for LigA over ATP-dependent ligase. This class of inhibitors holds out the promise of rational development of new anti-tubercular agents

In-vitro lymphocyte toxicity to a phenytoin metabolite in phenytoin induced cutaneous adverse drug eruptions

BACKGROUND: Phenytoin, one of the most commonly used antiepileptic drug, is associated with a wide spectrum of adverse drug eruptions. It is metabolized by the hepatic microsomal enzymes. The intermediate metabolites are arene oxides which accumulate due to deficiency of the enzyme epoxide hydrolase. These are postulated to be associated with phenytoin induced hepatotoxicity and antiepileptic hypersensitivity syndrome. AIM: We tried to correlate the in vitro lymphocyte toxicity of arene oxide metabolites with phenytoin induced drug eruptions and hence develop it as a predictive test for the same. METHODS: Clinically diagnosed cases of phenytoin induced drug eruptions were selected in this hospital based study. Lymphocytes from the subjects and controls were exposed to the phenytoin metabolites generated by a murine hepatic microsomal system. The toxicity was assayed by trypan blue dye exclusion test. The results were analyzed by a linear orthogonal curve and were compared for the subject and control. RESULTS: The results showed increased toxicity to lymphocytes from the patients when compared to those from controls. The toxicity was directly proportional to the severity of the drug eruption. CONCLUSION: In vitro lymphocyte cytotoxicity to phenytoin metabolites tested in this animal system could possibly predict phenytoin induced drug eruptions

Research on information systems failures and successes: status update and future directions

Information systems success and failure are among the most prominent streams in IS research. Explanations of why some IS fulfill their expectations, whereas others fail, are complex and multi-factorial. Despite the efforts to understand the underlying factors, the IS failure rate remains stubbornly high. A Panel session was held at the IFIP Working Group 8.6 conference in Bangalore in 2013 which forms the subject of this Special Issue. Its aim was to reflect on the need for new perspectives and research directions, to provide insights and further guidance for managers on factors enabling IS success and avoiding IS failure. Several key issues emerged, such as the need to study problems from multiple perspectives, to move beyond narrow considerations of the IT artifact, and to venture into underexplored organizational contexts, such as the public sector. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

Research on information systems failures and successes: Status update and future directions

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10796-014-9500-yInformation systems success and failure are among the most prominent streams in IS research. Explanations of why some IS fulfill their expectations, whereas others fail, are complex and multi-factorial. Despite the efforts to understand the underlying factors, the IS failure rate remains stubbornly high. A Panel session was held at the IFIP Working Group 8.6 conference in Bangalore in 2013 which forms the subject of this Special Issue. Its aim was to reflect on the need for new perspectives and research directions, to provide insights and further guidance for managers on factors enabling IS success and avoiding IS failure. Several key issues emerged, such as the need to study problems from multiple perspectives, to move beyond narrow considerations of the IT artifact, and to venture into underexplored organizational contexts, such as the public sector. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

Identification of trait-specific germplasm and developing a mini core collection for efficient use of foxtail millet genetic resources in crop improvement

Foxtail millet is an important staple crop in some parts of China, India and Japan, and a potential bioenergy source. The grains are rich source of protein, fiber, minerals and vitamins. We had earlier reported the development of a core collection (155 accessions) of foxtail millet. This study was initiated to identify trait-specific germplasm for agronomic and nutritional traits, and to develop a mini core through multilocational evaluation of the foxtail millet core collection. One hundred and fifty-five accessions together with five controls (four common and one location-specific control) were evaluated for 21 descriptors at five agro-ecologically diverse locations in India during the 2008 rainy season. The experiment was conducted in an alpha design with three replications at Patancheru, and in an augmented design with one of the five controls repeated after every nine-test entries at other locations. A number of diverse germplasm accessions with agronomically (earliness and high grain yield) and nutritionally (high seed protein, calcium, iron and zinc) superior traits were identified for use in foxtail millet breeding. The hierarchical cluster analysis of data using phenotypic distances resulted in 25 clusters, from each cluster, ∼10% or a minimum of one accession was selected to form a mini core, which comprised of 35 accessions. The comparison of mean, variance, frequency distribution, diversity (H’) and phenotypic correlations revealed that the mini core indeed captured adequate variability from the core collection. This mini core collection is an ideal pool of diverse germplasm for studying population structure and diversity, and identifying new sources of variation for use in breeding and genomics studies in foxtail millet

Developing a Mini-Core Collection in Finger Millet Using Multilocation Data

Finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.], among small millets, is the most important food crop in some parts of Asia and Africa. The grains are a rich source of protein, fi ber, minerals, and vitamins. A core collection of 622 accessions was developed. The aim of this study was to develop a mini-core collection using multilocational evaluation data of the core collection. Six hundred and twenty-two accessions together with six controls (four common and two location-specifi c) were evaluated for 20 morphological descriptors at fi ve agroecologically diverse locations in India during the 2008 rainy season. The experiment was conducted in α design with two replications at Patancheru and in augmented design with one of the six controls repeated after every nine-test entry at other locations. The hierarchical cluster analysis of data using phenotypic distances resulted in 40 clusters. From each cluster, ~10% or a minimum of 1 accession was selected to form a mini-core, which was comprised of 80 accessions. The comparison of means, variances, frequency distribution, Shannon–Weaver diversity index (H`), and phenotypic correlations revealed that the mini-core captured the entire diversity of the core collection. This mini-core collection is an ideal pool of diverse germplasm for identifying new sources of variation and enhancing the genetic potential of fi nger millet

Re-examining the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT): Towards a Revised Theoretical Model

YesBased on a critical review of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), this study first formalized an alternative theoretical model for explaining the acceptance and use of information system (IS) and information technology (IT) innovations. The revised theoretical model was then empirically examined using a combination of meta-analysis and structural equation modelling (MASEM) techniques. The meta-analysis was based on 1600 observations on 21 relationships coded from 162 prior studies on IS/IT acceptance and use. The SEM analysis showed that attitude: was central to behavioural intentions and usage behaviours, partially mediated the effects of exogenous constructs on behavioural intentions, and had a direct influence on usage behaviours. A number of implications for theory and practice are derived based on the findings

Relatório de estágio em farmácia comunitária

Relatório de estágio realizado no âmbito do Mestrado Integrado em Ciências Farmacêuticas, apresentado à Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Coimbr