Building E-Service Systems:From Planning to Implementation

For building e-service systems, this paper discusses the difference between traditional system integration and e-service system integration. First, e-service systems should be planed by more than two companies who have different core competences. Second, project manager who builds an e-service system should integrate not only hardware nor software but also digital contents. Third, e-service systems are developed not for cost reduction but for customers’ satisfaction. Paying attention to these points, this paper presents components, risks, building procedure, and office role for building e-service systems, and reviews our experiences

Quantitative estimation of renal blood flow by power Doppler ultrasonography in renovascular hypertensive dogs

Quantitative estimation of renal blood flow by power Doppler ultrasonography in renovascular hypertensive dogs.BackgroundWe estimated the value of power Doppler (PD) imaging analysis for the quantitative assessment of renal cortical blood flow (RCBF) in chronic two-kidney, one-clip (2K-1C) hypertensive dogs.MethodsTo evaluate the correlation between RCBF and PD signals, RCBF and the mean pixel intensity (MPI) of PD signals were simultaneously obtained at same region in renal cortex under progressive constriction of left main renal artery in five mongrel dogs. RCBF was measured by electrolytic hydrogen gas clearance method, and PD images were transferred to computer and analyzed by the image-analysis software Openlab®. To assess the value of quantitative PD imaging analysis on RCBF in renovascular hypertension, in six mongrel dogs with chronic 2K-1C hypertension, PD images in both of clipped kidneys (CK) and non-clipped kidneys (NK) were obtained and analyzed before and 60 minutes after the intravenous infusion of captopril or sodium nitroprusside at 10-minute intervals.ResultsThere was a linear correlation between RCBF and MPI (r = 0.878, P < 0.0001). MPI in both CK and NK significantly increased after the infusion of captopril, while no significant change was observed in both CK and NK after the infusion of sodium nitroprusside, despite similar reduction of mean arterial blood pressure.ConclusionOur data suggest that the acute inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme increased RCBF in both CK and NK of chronic 2K-1C dogs. The quantitative analysis of PD flow signals in kidney is noninvasive and a useful method to evaluate regional changes of renal tissue blood flow in various renal diseases

Detection of negative strand RNA of hepatitis C virus in infected liver and serum.

The negative strand RNA of hepatitis C virus, supposed to be a replicative intermediate of the virus appears to indicate viral replication. In this study, we detected the negative strand RNA by using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction with RNase A digestion to degrade the remaining positive strand genomic sequence of the virus after complementary DNA (cDNA) synthesis. In vitro transcribed positive-stranded mutant RNA was not detected by this method. Sample sera and liver tissues of 16 patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection (liver fibrosis, 1; chronic hepatitis, 13; liver cirrhosis, 2) were analysed for negative strand RNA of hepatitis C virus. The negative strand RNA sequence was detected in 15 (93%) of 16 liver tissues and in 11 (78%) of 14 sera. The study demonstrated that negative strand RNA of hepatitis C virus in serum and liver tissue could be specifically detected.</p

Capability Leapfrogging in the Japanese IT Services Industry

The focal question that we address is about how firms transition their IT product capabilities to the IT services capabilities. In particular, we were interested in exploring the unexpected observation that some incumbent firms in the Japanese IT industry were able to leapfrog capability development for transitioning to the IT services model, while others struggled to do so. We use a multi-method (Mingers 2001) approach consisting of four complementary stages for addressing the research question: (a) multiple case studies in eleven leading Japanese IT firms, (b) a large scale survey of division managers in 208 firms in Japan, (c) quantitative sequence analysis of archival product development logs for over 1,800 IT products in 208 Japanese firms during the ongoing transition, and (d) a Monte Carlo simulation of a subset of the insights obtained in the preceding stages

Reliability and validity of ADHD diagnostic criteria in the Assessment System for Individuals with ADHD (ASIA): a Japanese semi-structured diagnostic interview

Background: With reports of a high prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults, publication of ADHD diagnostic criteria in DSM-5, and the urgent need for a relevant diagnostic instrument conforming to DSM-5, we developed the Assessment System for Individuals with ADHD (ASIA), a Japanese semi-structured diagnostic interview. We report here the reliability and validity of ASIA ADHD diagnostic criteria. Methods: ASIA ADHD criterion A corresponds to DSM-5 ADHD criterion A and has 144 original questions assessing nine inattention symptoms and nine hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms, each having four childhood and four adulthood questions. The 144 questions are evaluated on a 3-point frequency scale. ASIA ADHD criteria B to E correspond to DSM-5 ADHD criteria B to E and are evaluated on a 2-point scale. ASIA was administered to 60 adults (mean age, 29.9 ± 9.0 years; 28 males; 36 ADHD and 24 non-ADHD participants diagnosed by consensus of two experts). Results: For ASIA ADHD criterion A, values of Cronbach's aα for the adulthood and childhood inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms ranged from 0.64 to 0.90. Values of κ for two independent raters ranged from 0.98 to 1.00 for the 144 questions and raw agreement rates ranged from 0.97 to 1.00 for criteria B, C, D, and E. The consensus DSM-5 diagnoses endorsed 59 of the 60 ASIA diagnoses (ADHD and non-ADHD). The ADHD group scored significantly higher on 125 of the 144 questions for criterion A than the non-ADHD group. Correlations between ASIA total and subscale scores in adulthood and corresponding scores on the Japanese version of the Conners' Adult ADHD Scales-Self Report were high. Conclusions: ASIA ADHD criteria showed acceptable psychometric properties, although further investigation is necessary. The use of ASIA ADHD criteria could facilitate clinical practice and research into adult ADHD in Japan