Suchergebnisse

Black and white photograph. Artilleros en las calles de la Ciudad de Mexico. Febrero 18,1913. (Gunners in the streets of Mexico City) ; https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/cshepherd/1000/thumbnail.jpg

Government-held data are immensely valuable; as well as providing the information required to carry out tasks related to internal governance procedures, additional value may be generated by publishing and making accessible Open Government Data (OGD). The paper aims to identify the underlying factors that influence or are influenced by value creation, from the perspective of the OGD actors engaged in value-creating roles. A systematic literature review was conducted in order to study OGD value creation from the perspective of OGD actors engaged in value-creating roles. The findings of the metasynthesis approach indicate that the value-creating roles of the actors in the OGD ecosystem initiate the value co-creation necessary to turning data value into social and economic benefits for stakeholders, as the outcome of all actors' efforts and government commitment to OGD initiatives.

The telecommunications industry is growing and changing at a very high pace. To keep up with this high pace and fast changing technologies countries need strong legislation and an efficient regulatory system to promote fair competition in industry. In this paper a review of existing telecommunications' legislation and regulations in New Zealand (NZ) is conducted. The paper highlights the existing legislation in the country and discusses the organizations responsible for regulating the underlying laws. Finally, recommendations for changes of the existing legislation and regulations in NZ are provided which are based on the current and on-going demand for telecommunication services.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to adopt the dynamic capability (DC) view as a theoretical framework to empirically investigate the relationships among human resource (HR)-related quality management (QM) practices: new product development (NPD) as a specific DC, learning orientation, knowledge integration, and strategic flexibility. Learning orientation and knowledge integration represent two antecedents of strategic flexibility, and strategic flexibility is the developed ability that facilitates NPD.Design/methodology/approachTo empirically test the relationships, the authors used data from 236 European firms and performed structural equation modeling.FindingsResults indicate that HR-related QM practices contribute to creating a learning-oriented company, integrating knowledge, and supporting successful NPD. Furthermore, knowledge integration is positively related to NPD through strategic flexibility.Practical implicationsThis study is relevant for practitioners because it identifies key points in QM implementation that enable firms to be more strategically flexible and thus better able to regularly develop new products.Originality/valueWhen organizations must sustain their competitive positions by continuously adapting to environmental changes, it is important to study not only how QM implementation is positively related to the firm performance on which a significant portion of the QM literature has focused but also to study whether QM implementation is related to strategic variables and can make a contribution to strategic processes. To fill the void in the HR and QM literature, this study offers an integrated framework with empirical support that identifies the role of HR-related QM practices in learning orientation, knowledge integration, strategic flexibility, and NPD.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between quality ambidexterity (QAMB), competitive strategies (cost leadership, differentiation, and focus), and firm performance in Palestinian industry, and to analyze the combination of quality exploitation (QEI) and quality exploration (QER) (QAMB) associated with the different levels of each competitive strategy.Design/methodology/approachUsing data collected through a survey of 205 Palestinian industrial firms, the study conducted structural equation modeling to test the proposed relationships. Additional statistical analyses were applied to the combinations of QEI and QER for each competitive strategy.FindingsThe results show a positive and significant relationship between QAMB and three competitive strategies, and between competitive strategies and financial performance, focus strategy excepted. Balanced combination with similar levels of QEI and QER is found to be more suitable for higher levels of competitive strategies implementation, whereas an excess of QER over QEI is associated with lower levels of strategies implementation.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough Palestine has two regions, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, all survey respondents were from the West Bank. The data used in this study come from the industrial sector only.Originality/valueThis study is the first empirical test to examine the impact of QAMB on financial performance through competitive strategies. The study results may help managers to implement QEI and QER practices in order to allocate resources effectively and ultimately improve financial performance.

Magnetoelectric nanocomposite films composed of magnetostrictive CoFe2O4 nanoparticles with sizes between 35 and 55 nm embedded in P(VDF-TrFE) have been successfully prepared by a solvent casting method. The ferroelectric, piezoelectric, magnetic and magnetoelectric properties of the nanocomposite and their variation with the wt% of the ferrite filler, thickness of the composite and direction of the applied magnetic field have been investigated. Ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties are improved when small amount of ferrite nanoparticles were added to the polymeric matrix. Magnetic properties vary linearity with ferrite content. The highest magnetoelectric response of 41.3 mV/cmOe was found in the composite with 72wt% when a 2.5 kOe DC field was transversely applied to the sample surface. This value is among the highest reported in two phase particulate polymer nanocomposites. Thickness of the composite has no influence in the magnetoelectric response, allowing tailoring sensor thickness for specific applications. The good value of the magnetoelectric coefficient and the flexibility of the films make these composites suitable for applications in magnetoelectric smart devices. ; Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) (PTDC/CTM/69316/2006), (SFRH/BD/45265/2008). ; FEDER "Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade – COMPETE" (NANO/NMed-SD/0156/2007) ; Basque Government Industry Department - Project Actimat (ETORTEK-IE10-272) ; COST Action MP1003, 2010 - The "European Scientific Network for Artificial Muscles" ...

ABSTRACTThis study examines factors associated with graduating dental students' motivation to deliver services to special care patients. We investigated community context and student characteristics, which would influence potential behavior. Higher percentages of older adults and low‐income residents in the community were positively correlated with interest in serving special care populations. Factors which correlated with individual student characteristics included having a father with at least a college education, a higher number of weeks spent in extramural clinical rotations, preparedness to provide care to disabled patients, and service orientation and socially conscious attitudes. Frail elderly and disabled persons have limited access to dental care, which is compounded by a shortage of skilled dental professionals who are willing to treat these populations. Our findings suggest that interest in special care dentistry is partly conditioned by the dental school's demographic and dental market context. This study is important to dental educators and poli‐cymakers because the challenge of providing care to the "special patient" will increase in the future.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a novel human coronavirus that emerged in 2012, causing severe pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), with a case fatality rate of ~36%. When expressed in isolation, CoV accessory proteins have been shown to interfere with innate antiviral signaling pathways. However, there is limited information on the specific contribution of MERS-CoV accessory protein 4b to the repression of the innate antiviral response in the context of infection. We found that MERS-CoV 4b was required to prevent a robust NF-κB dependent response during infection. In wild-type virus infected cells, 4b localized to the nucleus, while NF-κB was retained in the cytoplasm. In contrast, in the absence of 4b or in the presence of cytoplasmic 4b mutants lacking a nuclear localization signal (NLS), NF-κB was translocated to the nucleus leading to the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. This indicates that NF-κB repression required the nuclear import of 4b mediated by a specific NLS. Interestingly, we also found that both in isolation and during infection, 4b interacted with α-karyopherin proteins in an NLS-dependent manner. In particular, 4b had a strong preference for binding karyopherin-α4 (KPNA4), which is known to translocate the NF-κB protein complex into the nucleus. Binding of 4b to KPNA4 during infection inhibited its interaction with NF-κB-p65 subunit. Thereby we propose a model where 4b outcompetes NF-κB for KPNA4 binding and translocation into the nucleus as a mechanism of interference with the NF-κB-mediated innate immune response. ; This work was supported by grants from the Government of Spain (BIO2013-42869-R and BIO2016-75549-R AEI/FEDER, UE), the European Zoonotic anticipation and preparedness initiative ZAPI (IMI_115760), and U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) (contract #0258-3413/ HHSN266200700010C (LE), 2P01 AI060699 (LE and SP), and R01 AI129269 (SP). JC received a contract from the Government of Spain (BIO2013- 42869-R). ARF was supported by institutional NRSA training grant T32-AI007260 and an individual NIH NRSA grant (F32-AI113973).

As telehealth plays an even greater role in global health care delivery, it will be increasingly important to develop a strong evidence base of successful, innovative telehealth solutions that can lead to scalable and sustainable telehealth programs. This paper has two aims: (1) to describe the challenges of promoting telehealth implementation to advance adoption and (2) to present a global research agenda for personalized telehealth within chronic disease management. Using evidence from the United States and the European Union, this paper provides a global overview of the current state of telehealth services and benefits, presents fundamental principles that must be addressed to advance the status quo, and provides a framework for current and future research initiatives within telehealth for personalized care, treatment, and prevention. A broad, multinational research agenda can provide a uniform framework for identifying and rapidly replicating best practices, while concurrently fostering global collaboration in the development and rigorous testing of new and emerging telehealth technologies. In this paper, the members of the Transatlantic Telehealth Research Network offer a 12-point research agenda for future telehealth applications within chronic disease management.

Viroporins are viral proteins with ion channel (IC) activity that play an important role in several processes, including virus replication and pathogenesis. While many coronaviruses (CoVs) encode two viroporins, severe acute respiratory syndrome CoV (SARS-CoV) encodes three: proteins 3a, E, and 8a. Additionally, proteins 3a and E have a PDZ-binding motif (PBM), which can potentially bind over 400 cellular proteins which contain a PDZ domain, making them potentially important for the control of cell function. In the present work, a comparative study of the functional motifs included within the SARS-CoV viroporins was performed, mostly focusing on the roles of the IC and PBM of E and 3a proteins. ; This work was supported by grants from the Government of Spain (BIO2013-42869-R and BIO2016-75549-R AEI/FEDER, UE), the European Zoonotic Anticipation and Preparedness Initiative (ZAPI) (IMI_JU_115760), and the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) (0258-3413/HHSN266200700010C awarded to L.E., 2P01AI060699 awarded to L.E. and S.P., and R01 AI129269 awarded to S.P.). V.M.A. and M.Q.M. are grateful for the support of the Government of Spain (FIS2013-40473-P and FIS2016-75257-P AEI/FEDER, UE) and Universitat Jaume I (P1.1B2015-28). C.C.R. received a contract from Fundación La Caixa.

Germination of broccoli seeds exposed to UV-C radiation (priming) for a 30-minute period and tolerance to water stress was evaluated. These findings suggest that the adverse effect of drought on the germination rate can be circumvented by seeds primed with a UV-C radiation at a wavelength of 254 nm during 30 min.