The international sales accelerator : a project management tool for improving sales performance in foreign target markets

There is a current research gap in the marketing and management literature regarding the setup of sales and distribution structures as well as the rollout in foreign target markets in order to establish countrywide presences. Due to this gap, we developed the International Sales Accelerator Model. The data collection and verification of the model took place during a thirdparty funds project with Baden-Württembergs business development agency, and environmental agency. The results reveal that the model represents a summary of best practices from different internationalization processes of very large companies. It is a seven-stage project management tool with the objective to improve the sales performance of companies entering foreign target markets

Predicting the response to sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma: where is the evidence for phosphorylated extracellular signaling-regulated kinase (pERK)?

The approval of sorafenib and active development of many other molecularly targeted agents in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have presented a challenge to understand the mechanism of action of sorafenib and identify predictive biomarkers to select patients more likely to benefit from sorafenib. The preclinical study by Zhang and celleagues published this month in BMC Medicine provides preliminary evidence that baseline phosphorylated extracellular signaling-regulated kinase (pERK) may be a relevant marker to reflect the level of constitutive activation of the RAF/mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK)/ERK signaling pathway and has the potential value in predicting response to sorafenib. The clinical data from the initial single arm phase II study and preliminary report from the randomized phase III study also suggest the correlation of baseline archived tumor pERK levels and time to tumor progression in HCC patients. Whether baseline pERK will prove to be a useful predictive biomarker of response and clinical benefits for sorafenib in HCC will need to be validated in future large prospective studies

The effect of Neuragen PN® on Neuropathic pain: A randomized, double blind, placebo controlled clinical trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A double blind, randomized, placebo controlled study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the naturally derived topical oil, "Neuragen PN^®" for the treatment of neuropathic pain.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sixty participants with plantar cutaneous (foot sole) pain due to all cause peripheral neuropathy were recruited from the community. Each subject was randomly assigned to receive one of two treatments (Neuragen PN^®or placebo) per week in a crossover design. The primary outcome measure was acute spontaneous pain level as reported on a visual analog scale.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was an overall pain reduction for both treatments from pre to post application. As compared to the placebo, Neuragen PN^®led to significantly (p < .05) greater pain reduction. Fifty six of sixty subjects (93.3%) receiving Neuragen PN^®reported pain reduction within 30 minutes. This reduction within 30 minutes occurred in only twenty one of sixty (35.0%) subjects receiving the placebo. In a break out analysis of the diabetic only subgroup, 94% of subjects in the Neuragen PN^®group achieved pain reduction within 30 minutes vs 11.0% of the placebo group. No adverse events were observed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This randomized, placebo controlled, clinical trial with crossover design revealed that the naturally derived oil, Neuragen PN^®, provided significant relief from neuropathic pain in an all cause neuropathy group. Participants with diabetes within this group experienced similar pain relief.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p><b>ISRCTN registered: </b>ISRCTN13226601</p

Determination of Malignant and Invasive Predictors in Branch Duct Type Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms of the Pancreas: A Suggested Scoring Formula

Prediction of malignancy or invasiveness of branch duct type intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (Br-IPMN) is difficult, and proper treatment strategy has not been well established. The authors investigated the characteristics of Br-IPMN and explored its malignancy or invasiveness predicting factors to suggest a scoring formula for predicting pathologic results. From 1994 to 2008, 237 patients who were diagnosed as Br-IPMN at 11 tertiary referral centers in Korea were retrospectively reviewed. The patients' mean age was 63.1 ± 9.2 yr. One hundred ninty-eight (83.5%) patients had nonmalignant IPMN (81 adenoma, 117 borderline atypia), and 39 (16.5%) had malignant IPMN (13 carcinoma in situ, 26 invasive carcinoma). Cyst size and mural nodule were malignancy determining factors by multivariate analysis. Elevated CEA, cyst size and mural nodule were factors determining invasiveness by multivariate analysis. Using the regression coefficient for significant predictors on multivariate analysis, we constructed a malignancy-predicting scoring formula: 22.4 (mural nodule [0 or 1]) + 0.5 (cyst size [mm]). In invasive IPMN, the formula was expressed as invasiveness-predicting score = 36.6 (mural nodule [0 or 1]) + 32.2 (elevated serum CEA [0 or 1]) + 0.6 (cyst size [mm]). Here we present a scoring formula for prediction of malignancy or invasiveness of Br-IPMN which can be used to determine a proper treatment strategy

Design and Synthesis of New Type I Bicontinuous Cubic Lyotropic Liquid Crystal Monomers Based on the Gemini Framework for Molecular-Size Separation Applications

The overall objective of this thesis research was the design and synthesis of new type I bicontinuous cubic (QI) phase-forming, gemini-shaped lyotropic liquid crystal (LLC) monomers for the preparation of nanoporous polymer membrane materials. These new QI -phase LLC monomers were designed to overcome several shortcomings of previously developed QI -phase LLC monomers in the Gin research group that include expensive and difficult synthesis, poor film processibility, and limited blendability with additives. The first method for obtaining this objective was the synthesis of six homologues of a new gemini ammonium LLC monomer, two of which exhibit a QI phase with water. Both of these LLCs form a robust QI phase such that a gel of these materials can be fully infused into a microporous support membrane and then cross-linked to maintain the LLC phase structure. The resulting QI -phase polymer film showed a uniform pore size of 0.86 nm in water nanofiltration and desalination experiments. This QI monomer platform is less costly and less rigorous to synthesize than previously synthesized phosphonium-based gemini QI LLC monomers. These new LLC monomers also have the ability to blend with the hydrophobic, commercially available cross-linkable elastomer vinyl-EPDM (v-EPDM) to form breathable composite barrier materials. In the appropriate composition, melt-infused gemini ammonium monomer/v-EPDM polymer membranes exhibit extremely high pure water vapor fluxes, and high rejection of toxic industrial chemical vapors. A new cross-linkable gemini LLC monomer based on charged imidazolium units was also developed that forms a QI phase with glycerol. This new LLC monomer can be solution-cast from MeOH and UV-irradiated to form cross-linked thin-film composite QI membranes with slightly larger effective pore size (0.96 nm) than the previous systems. A related goal of this thesis research was to develop methods for systematically tuning the effective pore size of nanoporous QI polymer-based materials by using glycerol-based LLC monomer/monomer blends. While a number of these LLC monomer/monomer blends exhibited potential QI phases in glycerol, the QI LLC phases formed were only relatively stable in the bulk state. Unfortunately, attempts to cross-link these QI phase monomer/monomer blends resulted in a small degree of phase disruption and phase separation