Knowledge and capabilities for products/services development: the UK spin-off firms context

Purpose – This article explores and investigates the skills and capabilities required in developing products and services within UK university spin-offs (USOs) by considering the model of products/services development (Verona, 1999). Design/methodology approach – mixed methods of 20 in-depth interviews and questionnaire survey with 204 founders of USOs. Findings – The findings contribute in filling the literature gap by demonstrating key knowledge and capabilities required to develop products/services within the unique and non-commercial context, in which USOs are created by academics who do not necessarily have entrepreneurial or business experience. Originality/value – This research contributes to studies of product/service development by adapting and modifying elements within the existing theoretical model to be applicable to the specific firm and country context, such as USOs in the UK. Further, the study extends knowledge on the interplay between knowledge management and product development. The applications of the findings are that they can inform academic entrepreneurs on the capabilities significant in the development process. They can also act as indicators to Technology Transfer Office (TTOs) in what is needed for the provision of appropriate support and training to academic founders/entrepreneurs in order to foster and enhance other entrepreneurial activities

Key driving factors for product and service innovations in UK university spinoffs

University spin-offs (USOs) are a vital firm class since they are an economically important sub-group of high-tech start-up firms. They have engendered a high volume of academic studies. However, what the firms deliver by way of innovation in the form of new products and services has largely been missing from the academic entrepreneurship literature. By adopting mixed research methodology of in-depth interviews and survey, this study demonstrates the important factors associated with the success of products and services development by university spin-off firms in the UK, such as understanding needs of customers, networks, clear market analysis, application of technology, and vision, mission and value of the company. The findings resonate with various studies in innovation management on the key elements of the products and services performance predictors. It also contributes to filling a gap in the academic entrepreneurship literature by providing an understanding beyond the success factors in setting up USOs. This can raise awareness and benefit actors at different levels, e.g., academic entrepreneurs and Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) on the provision of actions and skills required to successfully develop products/services

Gender differences and age-specific associations between Body Mass Index and other cardiovascular risk factors in CMV infected and uninfected people

Recent studies have highlighted Body Mass Index (BMI) as an important parameter associated with cardiovascular risk and cancer. Here we have explored the relationship between BMI and other cardiovascular risk factors such as white blood count (WBC) and mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) in young (20-35 years) and older (60-85 years) healthy donors stratified by gender and CMV IgG serostatus. We found a positive correlation between BMI and WBC in young women, which was significant in CMV+ women. Interestingly, there was a non-significant opposite trend in young men. In older women the positive trend was preserved in the presence of CMVinfection, but no clear trend was seen in older men. Gender differences were also observed by opposite trends regarding an association between MAP and WBC (positive in young women, negative in young men). These associations were not observed at older ages. However, in CMV+ older men, there was a significant association between MAP and WBC as well as neutrophil count (NC). CRP values were only available in older participants, and interestingly, correlated with WBC and NC only in women, and more closely in CMVwomen. This study reveals that the correlations between common inflammatory markers/cardiovascular risk factors depend on age, gender, and CMV infection status in a complex fashion. Our findings support the need to evaluate risk factors independently in men and women and to take into account CMV infection status. More focused studies will be required to shed light on these novel findings

We remember… Elders’ memories and perceptions of sleeping sickness control interventions in West Nile, Uganda

The traditional role of African elders and their connection with the community make them important stakeholders in community-based disease control programmes. We explored elders’ memories related to interventions against sleeping sickness to assess whether or not past interventions created any trauma which might hamper future control operations. Using a qualitative research framework, we conducted and analysed twenty-four in-depth interviews with Lugbara elders from north-western Uganda. Participants were selected from the villages inside and outside known historical sleeping sickness foci. Elders’ memories ranged from examinations of lymph nodes conducted in colonial times to more recent active screening and treatment campaigns. Some negative memories dating from the 1990s were associated with diagnostic procedures, treatment duration and treatment side effects, and were combined with memories of negative impacts related to sleeping sickness epidemics particularly in HAT foci. More positive observations from the recent treatment campaigns were reported, especially improvements in treatment. Sleeping sickness interventions in our research area did not create any permanent traumatic memories, but memories remained flexible and open to change. This study however identified that details related to medical procedures can remain captured in a community’s collective memory for decades. We recommend more emphasis on communication between disease control programme planners and communities using detailed and transparent information distribution, which is not one directional but rather a dialogue between both parties

Birthing practices of traditional birth attendants in South Asia in the context of training programmes

Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA) training has been an important component of public health policy interventions to improve maternal and child health in developing countries since the 1970s. More recently, since the 1990s, the TBA training strategy has been increasingly seen as irrelevant, ineffective or, on the whole, a failure due to evidence that the maternal mortality rate (MMR) in developing countries had not reduced. Although, worldwide data show that, by choice or out of necessity, 47 percent of births in the developing world are assisted by TBAs and/or family members, funding for TBA training has been reduced and moved to providing skilled birth attendants for all births. Any shift in policy needs to be supported by appropriate evidence on TBA roles in providing maternal and infant health care service and effectiveness of the training programmes. This article reviews literature on the characteristics and role of TBAs in South Asia with an emphasis on India. The aim was to assess the contribution of TBAs in providing maternal and infant health care service at different stages of pregnancy and after-delivery and birthing practices adopted in home births. The review of role revealed that apart from TBAs, there are various other people in the community also involved in making decisions about the welfare and health of the birthing mother and new born baby. However, TBAs have changing, localised but nonetheless significant roles in delivery, postnatal and infant care in India. Certain traditional birthing practices such as bathing babies immediately after birth, not weighing babies after birth and not feeding with colostrum are adopted in home births as well as health institutions in India. There is therefore a thin precarious balance between the application of biomedical and traditional knowledge. Customary rituals and perceptions essentially affect practices in home and institutional births and hence training of TBAs need to be implemented in conjunction with community awareness programmes

“It’s my dream to work with Olympic athletes”: Neophyte sport psychologists’ expectations and initial experiences regarding service delivery

We examined trainee practitioners' initial experiences of applied sport psychology practice. Semi-structured interviews (4) were conducted over 6 months with 7 full-time MSc students before, during, and after the applied sport psychology module, when they were working with clients. Participants also kept reflective diaries over an 8-week period whilst working with clients. Findings included: (a) motivations and expectations of an ASP practice career, (b) perceptions of service delivery, (c) emotional demands, and (d) pivotal experiences. Findings extend previous literature on the initial stages of practitioner development, providing micro-level detail on aspects of the intense development process during this pivotal perio

IL-36 Promotes Systemic IFN-I Responses in Severe Forms of Psoriasis

Psoriasis is an immune-mediated skin disorder associated with severe systemic comorbidities. Whereas IL-36 is a key disease driver, the pathogenic role of this cytokine has mainly been investigated in skin. Thus, its effects on systemic immunity and extracutaneous disease manifestations remain poorly understood. To address this issue, we investigated the consequences of excessive IL-36 activity in circulating immune cells. We initially focused our attention on generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP), a clinical variant associated with pervasive upregulation of IL-36 signaling. By undertaking blood and neutrophil RNA sequencing, we demonstrated that affected individuals display a prominent IFN-I signature, which correlates with abnormal IL-36 activity. We then validated the association between IL-36 deregulation and IFN-I over-expression in patients with severe psoriasis vulgaris (PV). We also found that the activation of IFN-I genes was associated with extracutaneous morbidity, in both GPP and PV. Finally, we undertook mechanistic experiments, demonstrating that IL-36 acts directly on plasmacytoid dendritic cells, where it potentiates toll-like receptor (TLR)-9 activation and IFN-α production. This effect was mediated by the upregulation of PLSCR1, a phospholipid scramblase mediating endosomal TLR-9 translocation. These findings identify an IL-36/ IFN-I axis contributing to extracutaneous inflammation in psoriasis.</p

Promiscuous binding of extracellular peptides to cell surface class I MHC protein

Algorithms derived from measurements of short-peptide (8–10 mers) binding to class I MHC proteins suggest that the binding groove of a class I MHC protein, such as K[superscript b], can bind well over 1 million different peptides with significant affinity (<500 nM), a level of ligand-binding promiscuity approaching the level of heat shock protein binding of unfolded proteins. MHC proteins can, nevertheless, discriminate between similar peptides and bind many of them with high (nanomolar) affinity. Some insights into this high-promiscuity/high-affinity behavior and its impact on immunodominant peptides in T-cell responses to some infections and vaccination are suggested by results obtained here from testing a model developed to predict the number of cell surface peptide–MHC complexes that form on cells exposed to extracellular (exogenous) peptides.Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Undergraduate Research Opportunities Progra

A Novel Cytomegalovirus-Induced Regulatory-Type T-Cell Subset Increases in Size During Older Life and Links Virus-Specific Immunity to Vascular Pathology

Background. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection directly targets vascular endothelium and smooth muscle and at older ages is associated with accelerated vascular pathology and mortality. CMV-specific cellular immunity might directly contribute to this process. Methods. Conventional ex vivo activation–induced T-cell responses to 19 dominant CMV antigens, along with CMV-specific inducible regulatory-type CD4+ T cells (iTregs), were measured in healthy older people, using a novel protocol that included classic Treg markers alongside the activation marker CD134. Measurements were correlated with diastolic, systolic, and mean arterial blood pressure, a surrogate marker for arterial stiffness. Results. CMV-specific iTregs recognized the same antigens as conventional CD4+ T cells and were significantly more frequent at older ages. They suppressed antigen-specific and nonspecific proliferation and in large part expressed Foxp3. Frequencies of CMV-specific iTregs and CD8+ T cells (summated response) were significantly associated with diastolic and mean arterial pressures. Confounders, including age, body mass index, smoking, antihypertensive medication use, or C-reactive protein levels, did not explain these observations. Conclusions. A novel CMV-induced regulatory-type CD4+ T-cell subset is readily detectable in CMV-infected people and, like the aggregate CD8+ T-cell response to the most dominant CMV antigens, is quantitatively associated with arterial stiffness in older life. Whereas CD8+ effector T cells might directly cause vascular injury, iTregs may attenuate this response

A pragmatic, open-label, randomized controlled trial of Plasma-Lyte-148 versus standard intravenous fluids in children receiving kidney transplants (PLUTO)

Acute electrolyte and acid-base imbalance is experienced by many children following kidney transplant. This is partly because doctors give very large volumes of artificial fluids to keep the new kidney working. When severe, fluid imbalance can lead to seizures, cerebral edema and death. In this pragmatic, open-label, randomized controlled trial, we randomly assigned (1:1) pediatric kidney transplant recipients to Plasma-Lyte-148 or standard of care perioperative intravenous fluids (predominantly 0.45% sodium chloride and 0.9% sodium chloride solutions). We then compared clinically significant electrolyte and acid-base abnormalities in the first 72 hours post-transplant. The primary outcome, acute hyponatremia, was experienced by 53% of 68 participants in the Plasma-Lyte-148 group and 58% of 69 participants in the standard fluids group (odds ratio 0·77 (0·34 - 1·75)). Five of 16 secondary outcomes differed with Plasma-Lyte-148: hypernatremia was significantly more frequent (odds ratio 3·5 (1·1 - 10·8)), significantly fewer changes to fluid prescriptions were made (rate ratio 0·52 (0·40-0·67)), and significantly fewer participants experienced hyperchloremia (odds ratio 0·17 (0·07 - 0·40)), acidosis (odds ratio 0·09 (0·04 - 0·22)) and hypomagnesemia (odds ratio 0·21 (0·08 - 0·50)). No other secondary outcomes differed between groups. Serious adverse events were reported in 9% of participants randomized to Plasma-Lyte-148 and 7% of participants randomized to standard fluids. Thus, perioperative Plasma-Lyte-148 did not change the proportion of children who experienced acute hyponatremia compared to standard fluids. However fewer fluid prescription changes were made with Plasma-Lyte-148, while hyperchloremia and acidosis were less common