Locus specific databases: integrating sequence, structural and clinical analysis in relation to disorders of the coagulation and complement systems.

Following the success of the Human Genome Mutation Database, increasing numbers of locus-specific mutation databases are being compiled in order to present more detailed descriptions of the mutations in specific proteins and diseases. However, until now, many coagulation or complement disorders have no up-to-date, accurate repository of information. Structural analyses of disease-associated mutations can provide important new tools for identifying the underlying biochemical defect of disease. Type I mutations may affect the correct folding, secretion, expression or degradation of the protein. Alternatively, Type II mutations can disrupt the catalytic or substrate-binding functional site of the protein. Alternatively, mutations may not be the causative factor for disease. Including sequence and structural information to propose consensus domain structures can unravel these effects of mutations. Central repositories of data that combine structural, sequence and phenotypic information on mutations and proteins can facilitate the diagnosis and understanding of the associated diseases, and define the molecular consequences of disease. This thesis describes interactive web databases of genotypic, phenotypic, clinical and structural information on mutations associated with complement Factor H (FH) and coagulation Factor XI (FXI). Mutations within FH are associated with aHUS (atypical Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome), MPGN (Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis) and AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration), whereas mutations within FXI are associated with a FXI deficiency bleeding disorder. The methods used within the FH and FXI databases were extended and combined with a database management system to design a mutation database for the five Vitamin K dependent serine proteases of coagulation in order to study the effects of mutations within conserved domains. The database management system incorporates new tools that have been designed to automatically scan full length references to find text describing mutations. This significantly reduces the time and expertise required to maintain the databases

Talented suppliers? Strategic change and innovation in the UK aerospace industry

The 1990s marked the start of extensive re-structuring in the aerospace industry throughout the world. While the ensuing consolidation among prime contractors has been widely researched, the changes affecting the aerospace supply chain have received less attention. This study focuses on the re-structuring taking place within the supply chain of the UK aerospace industry. The findings point to extensive re-structuring. Unlike most earlier studies the lean supply model was found to be a powerful influence, with suppliers moving away from subcontractor status and instead taking on the mantle of ‘talented’ suppliers. While some of the implications of lean supply, in terms of the dynamics of innovation, were not apparent, there were modest signs of increased process innovation on the part of some suppliers

Manageable creativity

This article notes a perception in mainstream management theory and practice that creativity has shifted from being disruptive or destructive to 'manageable'. This concept of manageable creativity in business is reflected in a similar rhetoric in cultural policy, especially towards the creative industries. The article argues that the idea of 'manageable creativity' can be traced back to a 'heroic' and a 'structural' model of creativity. It is argued that the 'heroic' model of creativity is being subsumed within a 'structural' model which emphasises the systems and infrastructure around individual creativity rather than focusing on raw talent and pure content. Yet this structured approach carries problems of its own, in particular a tendency to overlook the unpredictability of creative processes, people and products. Ironically, it may be that some confusion in our policies towards creativity is inevitable, reflecting the paradoxes and transitions which characterise the creative process

"Author! Author!" : Shakespeare and biography

Original article can be found at: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t714579626~db=all Copyright Informa / Taylor & Francis Group. DOI: 10.1080/17450910902764454Since 1996, not a year has passed without the publication of at least one Shakespeare biography. Yet for many years the place of the author in the practice of understanding literary works has been problematized, and even on occasions eliminated. Criticism reads the “works”, and may or may not refer to an author whose “life” contributed to their meaning. Biography seeks the author in the works, the personality that precedes the works and gives them their characteristic shape and meaning. But the form of literary biography addresses the unusual kind of “life” that puts itself into “works”, and this is particularly challenging where the “works” predominate massively over the salient facts of the “life”. This essay surveys the current terrain of Shakespeare biography, and considers the key questions raised by the medium: can we know anything of Shakespeare's “personality” from the facts of his life and the survival of his works? What is the status of the kind of speculation that inevitably plays a part in biographical reconstruction? Are biographers in the end telling us as much about themselves as they tell us about Shakespeare?Peer reviewe

Markets and marketing research on poverty and its alleviation: Summarizing an evolving logic toward human capabilities, well-being goals and transformation

Marketing practitioners and business scholars now view some of the world’s poorest communities as profitable growth markets. Hence a market-based approach to poverty alleviation has gathered momentum. This article traces the evolution of such a market-based approach over four decades and highlights a gradual trend away from a deficit-reduction approach (focused on constraints and justice) towards an opportunity-expansion approach (focused on capabilities and well-being). This trend is summarized in an analytical framework of human capabilities, well-being goals and transformative impact evolved from the literature. The framework is then used to analyse the practice of sanitation marketing, which has emerged as a key method in one of the highest priority domains in international development discourse – sanitation. The article concludes with a discussion of how contemporary work can further take forward the key tenets of the framework and guide the development of ‘good markets’ for the poor

Demonstration of a solid deuterium source of ultra-cold neutrons

Ultra-cold neutrons (UCN), neutrons with energies low enough to be confined by the Fermi potential in material bottles, are playing an increasing role in measurements of fundamental properties of the neutron. The ability to manipulate UCN with material guides and bottles, magnetic fields, and gravity can lead to experiments with lower systematic errors than have been obtained in experiments with cold neutron beams. The UCN densities provided by existing reactor sources limit these experiments. The promise of much higher densities from solid deuterium sources has led to proposed facilities coupled to both reactor and spallation neutron sources. In this paper we report on the performance of a prototype spallation neutron-driven solid deuterium source. This source produced bottled UCN densities of 145 +/-7 UCN/cm3, about three times greater than the largest bottled UCN densities previously reported. These results indicate that a production UCN source with substantially higher densities should be possible

What Does It Mean to Follow? An Exploration of a Followership Profile in Hospitality and Tourism

Although leadership has received considerable attention from many scholars, much less research has focused on those who follow leaders; yet, followers contribute much to the success of an organization. This study explored the followership profiles of stakeholders in hospitality and tourism education. The findings summarize the followership dimensions of a sample of hospitality students, educators, and industry professionals. For each of the five followership dimensions the mean scores for industry professionals were rated higher when compared with students and educators, with courage to participate in transformation being the highest rated among all three groups. Implications for hospitality education are presented

Tenure, gender and household structure

Starting with a review of recent literature on gender and housing, this paper goes on to develop a new theory of household structure, in which concepts of gender and generation play a key role. The utility of this theory is then demonstrated in the analysis of data from a survey of households in the City of Salford

Diving into the vertical dimension of elasmobranch movement ecology

Knowledge of the three-dimensional movement patterns of elasmobranchs is vital to understand their ecological roles and exposure to anthropogenic pressures. To date, comparative studies among species at global scales have mostly focused on horizontal movements. Our study addresses the knowledge gap of vertical movements by compiling the first global synthesis of vertical habitat use by elasmobranchs from data obtained by deployment of 989 biotelemetry tags on 38 elasmobranch species. Elasmobranchs displayed high intra- and interspecific variability in vertical movement patterns. Substantial vertical overlap was observed for many epipelagic elasmobranchs, indicating an increased likelihood to display spatial overlap, biologically interact, and share similar risk to anthropogenic threats that vary on a vertical gradient. We highlight the critical next steps toward incorporating vertical movement into global management and monitoring strategies for elasmobranchs, emphasizing the need to address geographic and taxonomic biases in deployments and to concurrently consider both horizontal and vertical movements

De Fábrica 'fundo de quintal' a empresa multinacional: o caso de uma aliança ítalo-brasileira sob o enfoque da abordagem estruturacionista da estratégia como prática

O objetivo deste artigo é investigar indícios estruturacionistas, decorrentes de uma aliança estratégica interorganizacional, que possam ter resultado na mudança de uma fábrica fundo de quintal para uma empresa multinacional. Atingiu-se esse objetivo realizando um estudo de caso na empresa subsidiária brasileira do setor de máquinas e componentes para móveis, atual líder do mercado. Atentou-se para as considerações de Johanson e Vahlne (2006), com relação às implicações dos relacionamentos interorganizacionais em termos de aprendizagem e oportunidades. Concordando com as crescentes exigências para elucidar a prática estratégica no cotidiano das empresas, adotou-se a abordagem de estratégia como prática em complementaridade com a teoria da estruturação para balizar o exame à indispensável ligação entre pessoas, atividades e o contexto mais amplo. Os resultados destacam diversas alterações nas atividades da empresa filial permeando as seguintes etapas da aliança: (i) pré-aliança; (ii) durante a parceria; e (iii) após a joint-venture. Para ilustrar como os elementos de práxis, práticas e praticantes estariam relacionados nessas diferentes fases do relacionamento interorganizacional, uma adaptação do gráfico de Whittington (2006) é proposta. Conclui-se apresentando um quadro com as principais atividades e ferramentas envolvidas na adaptação da empresa ao longo da aliança, entre as quais se enfatizam as práticas de mobilidade dos funcionários e do compromisso de relacionamento. Para melhor entender a forma como as alianças estratégicas afetam as empresas de bens de capital e verificar se há um padrão recorrente em termos do envolvimento de práticas, práxis e praticantes nas etapas de relacionamento, semelhante ao que está se propondo, considera-se apropriado realizar um trabalho comparativo. Dessa forma, poder-se-ia fazer inferências sobre as condições de escopo e transferibilidade