Deciphering microRNA code in pain and inflammation: lessons from bladder pain syndrome

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a novel class of molecules regulating gene expression, have been hailed as modulators of many biological processes and disease states. Recent studies demonstrated an important role of miRNAs in the processes of inflammation and cancer, however, there are little data implicating miRNAs in peripheral pain. Bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) is a clinical syndrome of pelvic pain and urinary urgency/frequency in the absence of a specific cause. BPS is a chronic inflammatory condition that might share some of the pathogenetic mechanisms with its common co-morbidities inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), asthma and autoimmune diseases. Using miRNA profiling in BPS and the information about validated miRNA targets, we delineated the signaling pathways activated in this and other inflammatory pain disorders. This review projects the miRNA profiling and functional data originating from the research in bladder cancer and immune-mediated diseases on the BPS-specific miRNAs with the aim to gain new insight into the pathogenesis of this enigmatic disorder, and highlighting the common regulatory mechanisms of pain and inflammation.     

Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Nurses in Turkish Hospitals

Electronic medical records (EMR) are generally used by nurses in hospitals. However, studies investigating views on and evaluations of EMR by nurses are limited in Turkey and in other countries around the world. In this study, nurses’ views on EMR systems were investigated in terms of “Nursing care management”, “Order entry”, “Information Management”, “Information quality”, “Service quality”, “Impact of EMR system on clinical care”. The purpose of this study was to investigate the views/perceptions on EMR used by nurses working at hospital clinics in Turkey. The research questions were: (a) What are nurses’ perceptions on EMR? (b) Were there relationships among nurses’ perceptions on EMR? (c) Were there differences among nurses’ perceptions on EMR according to hospitals in Turkey. This study is composed of field research conducted using questionnaires. To prepare the data-measuring instrument, the literature on EMR was reviewed. A Likert scale type was used in this questionnaire. The study was planned and conducted on nurses working at inpatient care units at four Turkish hospitals. At the end of this study, the questionnaire had been conducted on 517 nurses. Total response rate is 66.70 %. We found that the Information quality of EMR, impact of EMR system on clinical care and service quality were high level. Information quality has the highest mean score. EMR system is an important system for nurses’ hospital has the highest mean score in this study. Nurses feel about impact of EMR system on clinical care that generally ‘EMR system’s usefulness’, ‘improving quality of information due to EMR system’, ‘improving quality of nurses’ work’, ‘improving quality of information due to EMR system’. All of the six subscales of EMR were positively correlated with each other. This study revealed that there are significant differences among the mean scores for six subscales according to the ownership of hospitals. EMR systems were not well integrated into their workflow. In addition, half of all respondents had not been trained in using EMR systems. This study will added to evaluation views and assessments of nurses about EMR literature. The results will assist in determining “Information quality”, “Service quality”, of EMR, and “Impact of EMR system on clinical for nurses in Turkish health system”. This survey suggests that nurses favor the use of an EMR and suggests opportunities for EMR enhancement.     

随机收益下企业群体协同的存在性

该文针对企业群体协同建模及存在性问题,从概率意义出发,假设成员企业以最大化自身收益达到满意的概率为目标给出了企业群体最优协同解的形式化定义,并应用等价激励值理论证明了最优协同解的存在性。在实际应用时,该文进一步分析了等价激励值的选取问题,认为优先选择取值较小者作为成员企业的个体满意目标,有利于企业群体最优协同的实现。     

Scenario planning: An investigation of the construct and its measurement

Scenario‐planning academicians and practitioners have been observing for more than three decades the importance of this method in dealing with environmental uncertainty. However, there has been no valid scale that may help organizational leaders to act in practice. Our review of prior studies identifies some problems related to conceptualization, reliability, and validity of this construct. We address these concerns by developing and validating a measure of scenario planning based on Churchill's paradigm (Journal of Marketing Research, 1979, 16, 64–73). Our data analysis follows from a sample of 133 managers operating in the healthcare field in France. To validate our scale, we used three approaches: first, an exploratory factor analysis; second, an examination of psychometric proprieties of all dimensions; and third, a confirmatory factor analysis. The results of this study indicate that scenario planning is a multidimensional construct composed of three dimensions: information acquisition, knowledge dissemination, and scenario development and strategic choices.     

Complete genome sequence of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium LT2.

Salmonella enterica subspecies I, serovar Typhimurium (S. typhimurium), is a leading cause of human gastroenteritis, and is used as a mouse model of human typhoid fever. The incidence of non-typhoid salmonellosis is increasing worldwide, causing millions of infections and many deaths in the human population each year. Here we sequenced the 4,857-kilobase (kb) chromosome and 94-kb virulence plasmid of S. typhimurium strain LT2. The distribution of close homologues of S. typhimurium LT2 genes in eight related enterobacteria was determined using previously completed genomes of three related bacteria, sample sequencing of both S. enterica serovar Paratyphi A (S. paratyphi A) and Klebsiella pneumoniae, and hybridization of three unsequenced genomes to a microarray of S. typhimurium LT2 genes. Lateral transfer of genes is frequent, with 11% of the S. typhimurium LT2 genes missing from S. enterica serovar Typhi (S. typhi), and 29% missing from Escherichia coli K12. The 352 gene homologues of S. typhimurium LT2 confined to subspecies I of S. enterica-containing most mammalian and bird pathogens-are useful for studies of epidemiology, host specificity and pathogenesis. Most of these homologues were previously unknown, and 50 may be exported to the periplasm or outer membrane, rendering them accessible as therapeutic or vaccine targets.     

Size-manipulat ion, compacti on and electrical properties of barium manganite nanorods synthesized via the CHM method

A composite-hydroxide mediated method was employed to synthesize barium manganite nanorods.Diameter,surface smoothness and uniformity of these nanorods were optimized by varying reaction temperature and reaction time.The rods with an average diameter of 200 nm and length of1–1.5 μm were obtained at optimum conditions of 200 1C/48 h.The dielectric study of these rods reveals that they have higher value of dielectric constant at lower frequencies which was attributed to the interfacial and rotational type polarizations.Similarly,the increase in dielectric constant with temperature was attributed to the thermal activation of such polarizations.Furthermore,the analysis of ln(J) vs.E1/2characteristics in the temperature range of 300–400 K shows that possible operative conduction mechanism was of Poole–Frenkel type.The value of βexp was found to be 4.85 times greater than the expected theoretical value of feld lowering coeffcient with an internal feld enhancement factor ofα2 23.5.This high value of βexp may be due to some localized electric felds existing inside the sample.     

Exploring Options for Enhancement of Social Dialogue Between the Turkish and Greek Communities in Cyprus Using the Structured Dialogic Design Process

This paper summarizes results of a co-laboratory that took place 33 months after the negative outcome of the referendum on the UN’s proposal for the solution of the Cyprus problem, and which was a follow-up (3 months later) of a previous co-laboratory. The earlier co-laboratory explored factors contributing to the increasing gap between the two conflicting communities. The co-laboratory reported here engaged relevant stakeholders (peace pioneers, academics, business people, activists and others representing the Turkish and Greek speaking communities of Cyprus) to come up with options aiming to enhance the social dialogue between the two communities. The Structured Dialogic Design Process was used to structure 27 proposed options and develop an influence map. The deep drivers, i.e., most influential factors, determined decisions taken by the participating peace pioneers regarding their future interventions. The results are also discussed within the framework of current (analysis reflects the political situation during the period reported here) political developments.     

Zr-pillared montmoril lonite supported cobalt nanoparticles for Fischer – Tropsch synthesis

In this article Fischer–Tropsch(FT) synthesis was studied over cobalt nanoparticles supported on modifed Montmorillonite(Zr-PILC).Co-loaded/Zr-PILC catalysts were synthesized by hydrothermal methods and were characterized by XRD,XRF,BET,H2-TPR,TGA and SEM techniques.FT reactions were carried out in fxed bed microreactor(T 225 1C,260 1C and 275 1C,P 1,5 and 10 bars).The FT-products obtained over Co-loaded/Zr-PILC catalysts showed increased selectivity of C2–C12hydrocarbons and decreased selectivity towards CH4and higher molecular weight hydrocarbons(C21) at a TOS of 2–30 h as compared to the Co-loaded/NaMMT catalysts.With increase in reaction temperature from225 1C to 275 1C,CO-conversion and CH4selectivity increases while that of C5+hydrocarbons decreases.Decrease in CH4selectivity while increase in C5+hydrocarbons and CO-conversion were observed on increasing the pressure of reaction.