Clarifying the conceptual map of VUCA: A systematic review

Purpose – Over the last few decades, the environment for organisations has been frequently described using the acronym VUCA: a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environment. Despite the popularity of this acronym, it is not unusual to find some overlap concerning the meaning of those terms, as well as poor definitions of each in the literature. Consequently, the main aim of this paper was to conduct a systematic literature review to obtain a conceptual map of the components of VUCA and their relationships and to highlight some avenues for future research. Design/methodology/approach – We conducted a systematic review of various databases between 1999 and 2021. A total of 833 papers were identified and 26 of them met the inclusion criteria for the current study. Findings – The subsequent analysis revealed several overlaps and relationships between the four terms. Based on this analysis, we propose a conceptual map that could serve as a basis for future research and practice. Research limitations – Due to the exploratory nature of the study and the scarce number of empirical studies, the impact that the use of the VUCA framework has had on businesses could not be addressed. Originality – By clarifying the different components of VUCA and specifying the relationships between them with a comprehensive conceptual map, this paper may contribute to more rigorous empirical research, as well as help managers and executives more effectively deal with turbulent environments.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Inflammatory Cytokines Prime Adipose Tissue Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Enhance Malignancy of MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells via Transforming Growth Factor-beta 1

Mesenchymal stem cells from human adipose tissue (hASCs) are proposed as suitable tools for soft tissue engineering and reconstruction. Although it is known that hASCs have the ability to home to sites of inflammation and tumor niche, the role of inflammatory cytokines in the hASCs-affected tumor development is not understood. We found that interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and/or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) prime hASCs to produce soluble factors which enhance MCF-7 cell line malignancy in vitro. IFN-gamma and/or TNF-alpha-primed hASCs produced conditioned media (CM) which induced epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) of MCF-7 cells by reducing E-Cadherin and increasing Vimentin expression. Induced EMT was accompanied by increased invasion, migration, and urokinase type-plasminogen activator (uPA) expression in MCF-7 cells. These effects were mediated by increased expression of transforming growth factor-beta 1(TGF-beta 1) in cytokines-primed hASCs, since inhibition of type I TGF-beta 1 receptor on MCF-7 cells and neutralization of TGF-beta 1 disabled the CM from primed hASCs to increase EMT, cell migration, and uPA expression in MCF-7 cells. Obtained data suggested that IFN-gamma and/or TNF-alpha primed hASCs might enhance the malignancy of MCF-7 cell line by inducing EMT, cell motility and uPA expression in these cells via TGF-beta 1-Smad3 signalization, with potentially important implications in breast cancer progression

The induction of Maspin expression by a glucosamine-derivative has an antiproliferative activity in prostate cancer cell lines

Mammary serine protease inhibitor or Maspin has been characterized as a class II tumor suppressor gene in several cancer types, among them prostate cancer (CaP). Androgen ablation is an effective therapy for CaP, but with short-term effectiveness, thus new therapeutic strategies are actively sought. The present study is aimed to explore the effects of a glucosamine derivative, 2-(N-Carbobenzyloxy)L-phenylalanylamido-2-deoxy-β-D-glucose (NCPA), on two CaP cell lines, PC3 and LNCaP. In particular we analyzed the impact of NCPA on Maspin production, cell viability and cell cycle progression and apoptosis/necrosis pathway activation has been determined in PC3 and LNCaP cell lines. NCPA is able to stimulate Maspin production in PC3 and not in LNCaP cell lines. NCPA blocks the PC3 cell cycle in G1 phase, by inhibiting Cyclin D1 production and induces the apoptosis, therefore interfering with aggressiveness of this androgen-insensitive cell line. Moreover, NCPA is able to induce the expression of Maspin in LNCaP cell line treated with androgen receptor inhibitor, Bicalutamide, and in turn to stimulate the apoptosis of these cells. These findings suggest that NCPA, stimulating the endogenous production of a tumor suppressor protein, could be useful in the design of new therapeutic strategies for treatment of CaP

Occupational Heat Exposure and Breast Cancer Risk in the MCC-Spain Study

[EN] Background: Mechanisms linking occupational heat exposure with chronic diseases have been proposed. However, evidence on occupational heat exposure and cancer risk is limited. Methods: We evaluated occupational heat exposure and female breast cancer risk in a large Spanish case-control study. We enrolled 1,738 breast cancer cases and 1,910 frequency-matched population controls. A Spanish job-exposure matrix, MatEmEsp, was used to assign estimates of the proportion of workers exposed (P >= 25% for at least 1 year) and work time with heat stress (wet bulb globe temperature ISO 7243) for each occupation. We used three exposure indices: ever versus never exposed, lifetime cumulative exposure, and duration of exposure (years). We estimated ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CI), applying a lag period of 5 years and adjusting for potential confounders. Results: Ever occupational heat exposure was associated with a moderate but statistically significant higher risk of breast cancer (OR 1.22; 95% CI, 1.01-1.46), with significant trends across categories of lifetime cumulative exposure and duration (P-trend = 0.01 and 0.03, respectively). Stronger associations were found for hormone receptor-positive disease (OR ever exposure = 1.38; 95% Cl, 1.12-1.67). We found no confounding effects from multiple other common occupational exposures; however, results attenuated with adjustment for occupational detergent exposure. Conclusions: This study provides some evidence of an association between occupational heat exposure and female breast cancer risk.SIThis study was partially funded by the “Accion Transversal del Cancer,” approved by the Spanish Ministry Council on October 11, 2007; the Instituto de Salud Carlos III-FEDER (PI08/1770, PI08/1359, PI09/00773, PI09/01286, PI09/01903, PI09/02078, PI09/01662, PI11/01403, PI11/01889, and PI12/00265); the Fundación Marqués de Valdecilla (API 10/09); the Junta de Castilla y León (LE22A10-2); the Consejería de Salud of the Junta de Andalucía (2009-S0143); the Conselleria de Sanitat of the Generalitat Valenciana (AP_061/10); the Recercaixa (2010ACUP 00310); the Regional Government of the Basque Country; the Consejería de Sanidad de la Región de Murcia; the European Commission grants FOOD-CT-2006–036224-HIWATE; the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) Scientific Foundation; the Catalan Government DURSI grant 2014SGR647; the Secretariat for Universities and Research of the Ministry of Business and Knowledge of the Government of Catalonia (2017SGR1085); the Fundación Caja de Ahorros de Asturias; and the University of Oviedo. M.C. Turner is funded by a Ramón y Cajal fellowship (RYC-2017-01892) from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and co-funded by the European Social Fund. The authors acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the “Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2019–2023” Program (CEX2018-000806-S) and support from the Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA Program. Statistical assistance provided by Ana Espinosa Morano was greatly appreciated

Gastrointestinal cytomegalovirus disease in a patient with pemphigus vulgaris treated with corticosteroid and mycophenolate mofetil

Pemphigus vulgaris is an autoimmune disease characterized by the formation of suprabasal intra-epidermal blisters on the skin and mucosal surfaces. Infectious diseases are the main cause of death in patients with pemphigus due to the disrupture of the physiological skin barrier, immune dysregulation, and the use of immunosuppressive medications leaving the patient prone to acquire opportunistic infections. We report the case of a 67-year-old woman diagnosed with pemphigus vulgaris, who was irregularly taking prednisone and mycophenolate mofetil. She was hospitalized because of a 1-month history of watery diarrhea and oral ulcers. Unfortunately, the patient died suddenly on the ward. The autopsy revealed a bilateral saddle pulmonary embolism, Gram-positive cocci bronchopneumonia, and gastrointestinal cytomegalovirus infection, causing extensive gastrointestinal mucosal ulcer

Integral refinable operators exact on polynomials

AbstractWe study integral refinable operators of integral type exact on polynomials of even degree constructed by using refinable B-bases of GP type. We prove a general theorem of existence and uniqueness. Then we study the Lp-norm of these operators and we give error bounds in approximating functions and their derivatives belonging to suitable classes. Numerical results and comparisons with other quasi-interpolatory operators having the same order of exactness on polynomial reproduction are presented

Boletín oficial de la provincia de León: Num. 201 (03/11/1926)

Copia digital. Valladolid : Junta de Castilla y León. Consejería de Cultura y Turismo, 2011-201

Boletín oficial de la provincia de León: Num. 201 (03/11/1926)

Copia digital. Valladolid : Junta de Castilla y León. Consejería de Cultura y Turismo, 2011-201

Boletín oficial de la provincia de León: Num. 186 (15/10/1926)

Copia digital. Valladolid : Junta de Castilla y León. Consejería de Cultura y Turismo, 2011-201

The Name of the Game: Utilizing Experiential Learning in the Classroom to Engage, Empower and Reflect on Student Learning and Assessment

In the modern post-secondary classroom, there is a push for more experiential and active learning activities for students. A variety of benefits such as engagement, improved learning and self regulated learning have ensued with these different types of learning. Studies regarding these benefits have mostly centered on experiences carefully orchestrated by instructors, rather than experiences that were created by students under the guidance of instructors. Herein is a study of the benefits and efficiency, of the latter type of activity, which requires students to generate chemical puzzles in a large post-secondary classroom. The authors determined that not only is a puzzle generation activity possible, but students’ reflections on instructor examples highlights the potential for learning and for a new form of assessment. Going forward, however, the study also shows more support and examples are required in future iterations of the puzzle framework, to help students create a meaningful experience