The Development and Use of the Probabilistic Financial Decision Model for a Company Expansion

In the United States, companies are expanding constantly. However, in an industrial equipment dealership expanding into a new state, it is important to understand the industry, new market, and costs associated with expanding. With using financial statements of data-backed percentages for growth, research seeks to set up a financial model to see if expansion for an industrial equipment dealership into the state of North Carolina will be a financially wise decision. Wesley Worldwide, an industrial equipment dealership, is moving forward with the investment of expanding into North Carolina. However, it is vital to understand the financial predictions for profit return on investment. The methodology for doing this was to collect all previous sales, gross profit, expense, and market data, and research to create a model to detect and predict the future markets and sales growth potential in North Carolina. Through all the previous data, three different forecasts were made. Not only does this mathematical model predict the success of expanding into North Carolina, but it also creates measuring points along the way for what needs to be improved or focused on the most while in the expansion period

Tyrosine Kinase Signaling in Cancer Metabolism: PKM2 Paradox in the Warburg Effect

The Warburg Effect, or aerobic glycolysis, is one of the major metabolic alterations observed in cancer. Hypothesized to increase a cell's proliferative capacity via regenerating NAD+, increasing the pool of glycolytic biosynthetic intermediates, and increasing lactate production that affects the tumor microenvironment, the Warburg Effect is important for the growth and proliferation of tumor cells. The mechanisms by which a cell acquires the Warburg Effect phenotype are regulated by the expression of numerous oncogenes, including oncogenic tyrosine kinases. Oncogenic tyrosine kinases play a significant role in phosphorylating and regulating the activity of numerous metabolic enzymes. Tyrosine phosphorylation of glycolytic enzymes increases the activities of a majority of glycolytic enzymes, thus promoting increased glycolytic rate and tumor cell proliferation. Paradoxically however, tyrosine phosphorylation of pyruvate kinase M2 isoform (PKM2) results in decreased PKM2 activity, and this decrease in PKM2 activity promotes the Warburg Effect. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that PKM2 is also able to act as a protein kinase using phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) as a substrate to promote tumorigenesis. Therefore, numerous recent studies have investigated both the role of the classical and non-canonical activity of PKM2 in promoting the Warburg Effect and tumor growth, which raise further interesting questions. In this review, we will summarize these recent advances revealing the importance of tyrosine kinases in the regulation of the Warburg Effect as well as the role of PKM2 in the promotion of tumor growth

An exploration of the voting behaviour of South African university youth : a study of a select group of university students

It is generally accepted that the youth are overall apathetic towards political activities and that such apathy is evidenced in low voter turnout during elections. Such conventional wisdom seems to be based mainly on findings in Western democracies and generates concern as to the future nature and resilience of democracy. When a significantly large proportion of the voting population shows apathetic attitudes towards the processes that enable participation of the public in democracy, it questions the extent to which a democracy can be consolidated. In the past the South African youth played an important role in the process of transformation to democracy and thereby possibly left a legacy of youth involvement. However, in the developing world, which includes South Africa, the youth seems to show the same sort of abstaining behaviour as their Western counterparts towards elections. This is problematic as the South African youth comprises a significantly large proportion of the voting population. This dissertation focuses on South African university youth and their political and voting behaviour. They have been chosen for the focus of this study as they are widely considered to be the future elite and leadership of South Africa. The aim of this study is to determine the extent to which Western scholarly explanations of youth voting behaviour can be applied to South African university youth. Western literature on voting behaviour identifies various models of voting behaviour (which comprise the Sociological Model, Michigan Model, Party Identification Model, Media/Dominant Ideology Model and Rational Choice Model) and age effects on voting behaviour (Cohort Effect, Individual Ageing Effect and Life Cycle Effect). Each of these seeks to explain voting behaviour and in order to determine how applicable they are to South African university youth, an analytical framework was developed in order to analyse and interpret the data gathered by means of questionnaires and focus group discussions. Ultimately it was found that most Western models and age effects are to some extent applicable in explaining the voting behaviour of South African university youth (albeit to a greater or lesser extent).Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012.Political Sciencesunrestricte

\u27Physical Activity 4 Everyone\u27 school-based intervention to prevent decline in adolescent physical activity levels: 12 month (mid-intervention) report on a cluster randomised trial

Background: Adolescence is a recognised period of physical activity decline, particularly among low-income communities. We report the 12-month (midpoint) effects of a 2-year multicomponent physical activity intervention implemented in disadvantaged secondary schools. Methods: A cluster randomised trial was undertaken in 10 secondary schools located in disadvantaged areas in New South Wales, Australia. Students in Grade 7 were recruited, with follow-up in Grade 8. The intervention was guided by socioecological theory and included seven physical activity strategies, and six implementation adoption strategies. The primary outcome was mean minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day assessed using Actigraph GT3X accelerometers. Outcome data were analysed using repeated measures linear mixed models. Results: At baseline, 1150 (93%) students participated in the data collection (mean age 12 years, 48% boys) and 1050 (79%) students participated at 12-month follow-up. By the 12-month follow-up, the six implementation adoption strategies had been used to support schools to deliver four of the seven physical activity elements. There was a significant group-by-time interaction for mean minutes of MVPA per day in favour of the intervention group (adjusted difference between groups at follow-up=3.85 min, 95% CI (0.79 to 6.91), p≤0.01), including significantly more vigorous physical activity (2.45 min, p≤0.01), equating to 27 min more MVPA per week. Summary: At 12-month follow-up, the intervention had reduced the decline in physical activity among adolescents from disadvantaged schools. The intervention may assist students to meet physical activity guidelines

Latin American Trans-ancestry INitiative for OCD genomics (LATINO): Study protocol

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating psychiatric disorder. Worldwide, its prevalence is ~2% and its etiology is mostly unknown. Identifying biological factors contributing to OCD will elucidate underlying mechanisms and might contribute to improved treatment outcomes. Genomic studies of OCD are beginning to reveal long-sought risk loci, but \u3e95% of the cases currently in analysis are of homogenous European ancestry. If not addressed, this Eurocentric bias will result in OCD genomic findings being more accurate for individuals of European ancestry than other ancestries, thereby contributing to health disparities in potential future applications of genomics. In this study protocol paper, we describe the Latin American Trans-ancestry INitiative for OCD genomics (LATINO, https://www.latinostudy.org). LATINO is a new network of investigators from across Latin America, the United States, and Canada who have begun to collect DNA and clinical data from 5000 richly phenotyped OCD cases of Latin American ancestry in a culturally sensitive and ethical manner. In this project, we will utilize trans-ancestry genomic analyses to accelerate the identification of OCD risk loci, fine-map putative causal variants, and improve the performance of polygenic risk scores in diverse populations. We will also capitalize on rich clinical data to examine the genetics of treatment response, biologically plausible OCD subtypes, and symptom dimensions. Additionally, LATINO will help elucidate the diversity of the clinical presentations of OCD across cultures through various trainings developed and offered in collaboration with Latin American investigators. We believe this study will advance the important goal of global mental health discovery and equity

The Physical Activity 4 Everyone Cluster Randomized Trial : 2-Year Outcomes of a School Physical Activity Intervention Among Adolescents

Acknowledgments The Physical Activity 4 Everyone intervention trial was funded by the New South Wales Ministry of Health through the New South Wales Health Promotion Demonstration Research Grants Scheme and conducted by Hunter New England Population Health (a unit of the Hunter New England Local Health District), in collaboration with the University of Newcastle and University of Wollongong. Infrastructure support was provided by Hunter Medical Research Institute. The research team acknowledges the importance of making research data publically available. Access to the accelerometer data from this study may be made available to external collaborators following the development of data transfer agreements. Further results arising from the study can be found at www.goodforkids.nsw.gov.au/high-schools/. No financial disclosures were reported by the authors of this paper.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

How accurately can other people infer your thoughts -- and does culture matter?

This research investigated how accurately people infer what others are thinking after observing a brief sample of their behaviour and whether culture/similarity is a relevant factor. Target participants (14 British and 14 Mediterraneans) were cued to think about either positive or negative events they had experienced. Subsequently, perceiver participants (16 British and 16 Mediterraneans) watched videos of the targets thinking about these things. Perceivers (both groups) were significantly accurate in judging when targets had been cued to think of something positive versus something negative, indicating notable inferential ability. Additionally, Mediterranean perceivers were better than British perceivers in making such inferences, irrespective of nationality of the targets, something that was statistically accounted for by corresponding group differences in levels of independently measured collectivism. The results point to the need for further research to investigate the possibility that being reared in a collectivist culture fosters ability in interpreting others’ behaviour

The prognostic value of nestin expression in newly diagnosed glioblastoma: Report from the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Nestin is an intermediate filament protein that has been implicated in early stages of neuronal lineage commitment. Based on the heterogeneous expression of nestin in GBM and its potential to serve as a marker for a dedifferentiated, and perhaps more aggressive phenotype, the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) sought to determine the prognostic value of nestin expression in newly diagnosed GBM patients treated on prior prospective RTOG clinical trials.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Tissue microarrays were prepared from 156 patients enrolled in these trials. These specimens were stained using a mouse monoclonal antibody specific for nestin and expression was measured by computerized quantitative image analysis using the Ariol SL-50 system. The parameters measured included both staining intensity and the relative area of expression within a specimen. This resulted into 3 categories: low, intermediate, and high nestin expression, which was then correlated with clinical outcome.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 153 of the 156 samples were evaluable for this study. There were no statistically significant differences between pretreatment patient characteristics and nestin expression. There was no statistically significant difference in either overall survival or progression-free survival (PFS) demonstrated, although a trend in decreased PFS was observed with high nestin expression (p = 0.06).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although the correlation of nestin expression and histologic grade in glioma is of considerable interest, the presented data does not support its prognostic value in newly diagnosed GBM. Further studies evaluating nestin expression may be more informative when studied in lower grade glioma, in the context of markers more specific to tumor stem cells, and using more recent specimens from patients treated with temozolomide in conjunction with radiation.</p