The purpose of this study is to examine the role of political skills in entrepreneurship education and the impact of social network, tacit knowledge, and innovation constructs. This study sought to ...investigate the conceptual relationship between political skills and tacit knowledge, social network and tacit knowledge, as well as innovation and tacit knowledge. The existence of the three construct and their effect on entrepreneur skill has been reviewed and discussed. This has been corroborated across studies that sought to establish the role of social networks, tacit knowledge, and innovation in influencing entrepreneurship. The performance of enterprise has closely being linked on the ability of individuals to take advantage of the social network and the individual as well as collective tacit knowledge to understand the business environment and come up with practical skills to counter the potential entrepreneurship risks. This study also addresses the impact of tacit knowledge on innovation. Tacit knowledge has both negative and positive effects on innovation, emanating from the transferability of innovations across individuals and firms.
Does generalized trust lead to democratic transitions? Despite the voluminous literature on trust and democracy, very little examines the link between trust and democratic regime change. We theorize ...that generalized trust should lead to support for the status quo rather than support
for regime change. In democracies, this means that citizens in effect support the democratic regime. However, in autocracies this status quo bias means that trusting individuals support the autocracy. We test this argument using data from the Asian Barometer Survey. Our simultaneous
equation model shows that generalized trust has a negative impact on support for regime change regardless of regime type. This suggests that generalized trust-if anything-constitutes a headwind against democratic regime change rather than a facilitating factor.
Objectives/Hypothesis
To elucidate the associations among the immunohistochemical expression of tumor markers, clinicopathological variables, and disease‐free survival (DFS) in patients with ...early‐stage glottic squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) who underwent transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) as the primary treatment.
Study Design
Retrospective chart review.
Methods
The records of consecutive patients with Tis‒T2N0 glottic SCC who underwent TLM between August 1, 2012 and October 31, 2015 were reviewed. Expression of Bcl‐2, pRB, p16INK4A, p53, c‐Myc, E‐cadherin, and EGFR was examined using tissue microarrays containing tumor specimens through immunohistochemistry. Three‐year DFS rates were calculated.
Results
A total of 65 consecutive patients were identified, of which 28 were excluded due to insufficient tissue (n = 22) and low biomarker quality (n = 6). Therefore, 37 patients with complete records were included. The included patients were significantly older and had a more advanced type of cordectomy than did the excluded patients (P = .015 and .009, respectively). According to the findings of univariate analysis, age, betel quid chewing, type of cordectomy, BCL‐2 expression, and pRB expression significantly predicted 3‐year DFS. According to the findings of multivariate analysis, age (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.88‐1.00), betel quid chewing (adjusted hazard ratio: 5.07, 95% CI: 1.32‐19.44), and pRB expression (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.02, 95% CI: 0.00‐0.28) were independent predictors of 3‐year DFS.
Conclusions
Low pRB expression is a potential biomarker for predicting disease relapse after primary TLM for early‐stage glottic SCC and may help to identify high‐risk patients who can subsequently undergo intensive management.
Level of Evidence
4
Laryngoscope, 129:E220–E226, 2019
Objective
This study was designed to examine the comparative effectiveness of oromandibular defect reconstruction via anterolateral thigh flap and bridging plate (ALT only) versus simultaneous soft ...tissue and vascularized bone flap (DFF), with regards to long-term plate exposure and complications.
Methods
A propensity score-matched analysis of patients with an oncologic head and neck defect who underwent microvascular reconstruction was performed. Two surgical groups, i.e., ALT only and DFF, were created. Incidence and subsequent management strategies for postoperative plate exposure were evaluated along with complications, overall survival, and postoperative quality of life (QoL).
Results
Sixty-two patients were 1:1 propensity matched (31 per group). The DFF group had a significantly larger soft tissue and bone defect than the single-flap group. The 5-year probability of not having a plate exposure was 45.5 and 47.4% for the double-flaps and single-flap groups, respectively (
p
= 0.186). The ALT-only group had a significantly higher rate of wound infections (38.7% vs. 12.9%,
p
= 0.02). The incidence of flap loss, reexploration, inpatient mortality, plate fracture, medical complications, and overall survival were not significantly different. Although mean score for pain was significantly worse in the ALT-only group (75.2 vs. 88.5,
p
< 0.001), the remainder of our QoL assessments (cosmesis, swallow, employment, and speech) were comparable.
Conclusions
The utilization of an ALT with plate strategy is associated with competitive rates of plate exposure and overall survival relative to DFF but higher wound infections and long-term pain. These results have considerable salience for patient-counseling regarding expectations for functional and clinical outcomes.
Head and neck cancer (HNC) ranks among the top ten prevalent cancers worldwide. Radiotherapy stands as a pivotal treatment component for HNC; however, radioresistance in cancerous cells often leads ...to local recurrence, becoming a substantial factor in treatment failure. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are compact, non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression by targeting mRNAs to inhibit protein translation. Although several studies have indicated that the dysregulation of miRNAs is intricately linked with malignant transformation, understanding this molecular family's role in radioresistance remains limited. This study determined the role of miR-630 in regulating radiosensitivity in HNC. We discovered that miR-630 functions as an oncomiR, marked by its overexpression in HNC patients, correlating with a poorer prognosis. We further delineated the malignant function of miR-630 in HNC cells. While it had a minimal impact on cell growth, the miR-630 contributed to radioresistance in HNC cells. This result was supported by decreased cellular apoptosis and caspase enzyme activities. Moreover, miR-630 overexpression mitigated irradiation-induced DNA damage, evidenced by the reduced levels of the γ-H2AX histone protein, a marker for double-strand DNA breaks. Mechanistically, the overexpression of miR-630 decreased the cellular ROS levels and initiated Nrf2 transcriptional activity, resulting in the upregulation of the antioxidant enzyme GPX2. Thus, this study elucidates that miR-630 augments radioresistance by inducing an anti-apoptotic effect via the Nrf2-GPX2 molecular axis in HNC. The modulation of miR-630 may serve as a novel radiosensitizing target for HNC.
Solution-processed optoelectronic devices are attractive because of the potential low-cost fabrication and the compatibility with flexible substrate. However, the utilization of toxic elements such ...as lead and cadmium in current optoelectronic devices on the basis of colloidal quantum dots raises environmental concerns. Here we demonstrate that white-light-emitting diodes can be achieved by utilizing non-toxic and environment-friendly gold nanoclusters. Yellow-light-emitting gold nanoclusters were synthesized and capped with trioctylphosphine. These gold nanoclusters were then blended with the blue-light-emitting organic host materials to form the emissive layer. A current efficiency of 0.13 cd/A was achieved. The Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage chromaticity coordinates of (0.27, 0.33) were obtained from our experimental analysis, which is quite close to the ideal pure white emission coordinates (0.33, 0.33). Potential applications include innovative lighting devices and monitor backlight.
Oral cavity squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) are aggressive tumors, and their recurrence leads to poor prognosis and reduced survival rates. This study aimed to identify therapeutic targets and to ...evaluate the efficacy of targeted inhibitors in OSCC patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. Herein, we reported that OSCC PDXs recapitulated the genomic signatures of their paired primary tumors and the expression of CHEK1, PIK3CA, and PIK3CD was significantly upregulated in OSCC. The antitumor efficacy of CHK1 inhibitors (PF477736, AZD7762, LY2606368) and PI3K inhibitors (BYL719, GDC0941, GSK1059615) was investigated in OSCC cell lines and PDX models. Targeting either CHK1 or PI3K effectively inhibited cell proliferation and colony formation by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in in vitro cell-based assays. Cisplatin-based chemotherapy combined with CHK1 inhibitor treatment synergistically inhibited cell proliferation by suppressing CHK1 phosphorylation and inducing PARP cleavage. Furthermore, compared with monotherapy, cotreatment with CHK1 and PI3K inhibitors exerted synergistic anticancer effects by suppressing CHK1, AKT, and 4E-BP1 phosphorylation. In summary, our study identified CHK1 and PI3K as promising targets, especially in a dual treatment strategy combining a CHK1 inhibitor with cisplatin or a PI3K inhibitor as a novel therapeutic approach for OSCC patients with aberrant cell cycle regulation and PI3K signaling activation.
Two new two-dimensional (2D) coordination polymers, Fe
II
(L)
2
{Pd
II
(SCN)
4
} (L
1
= 3-(9-anthracenyl)-pyridine (
1
) and L
2
= 4-(9-anthracenyl)-pyridine (
2
)), were constructed by employing ...square-planar Pd(SCN)
4
2−
building blocks. Compound
1
exhibits a complete spin-crossover (SCO) behaviour under normal atmospheric pressure, and represents the first SCO example in a 2D system containing Pd(SCN)
4
2−
units. In contrast, compound
2
only shows paramagnetic behaviour at measured temperatures. It is clear that the fine-tuning of the monodentate ligand can modulate the ligand field and packing fashions, which sheds light on developing new SCO materials.
The first spin-crossover example of a two-dimensional coordination polymer containing Pd(SCN)
4
2−
building blocks was explored.
Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the predominant histological type of the head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). By comparing the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in OSCC-TCGA ...patients with copy number variations (CNVs) that we identify in OSCC-OncoScan dataset, we herein identified 37 dysregulated candidate genes. Among these potential candidate genes, 26 have been previously reported as dysregulated proteins or genes in HNSCC. Among 11 novel candidates, the overall survival analysis revealed that melanotransferrin (MFI2) is the most significant prognostic molecular in OSCC-TCGA patients. Another independent Taiwanese cohort confirmed that higher MFI2 transcript levels were significantly associated with poor prognosis. Mechanistically, we found that knockdown of MFI2 reduced cell viability, migration and invasion via modulating EGF/FAK signaling in OSCC cells. Collectively, our results support a mechanistic understanding of a novel role for MFI2 in promoting cell invasiveness in OSCC.
Unilateral radiotherapy (RT) as a postoperative treatment for multiple ipsilateral lymph node (LN) metastases remains controversial. We investigated the efficacy of postoperative unilateral RT for ...buccal mucosa squamous cell carcinoma (BMSCC) with extranodal extensions (ENEs). We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of 186 patients with ENE+ BMSCC who received postoperative RT during 1997–2016. Propensity score matching was used to establish comparable cohorts. The endpoints were contralateral nodal control (CLNC), overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), local control (LC), and regional control (RC). After matching, 123 patients were selected for analysis; 45 (36.6%) and 78 (63.4%) patients underwent unilateral and bilateral RT, respectively. The median follow-up was 36.27 months. The survival outcomes in the unilateral and bilateral RT groups were similar: 3-year CLNC (85.6% vs. 89.1%, p = 0.748), OS (53.2% vs. 57.4%, p = 0.229), DFS (46.5% vs. 48.6%, p = 0.515), DMFS (70.7% vs. 72.0%, p = 0.499), LC (78.0% vs. 75.6%, p = 0.692), and RC (79.9% vs. 76.2%, p = 0.465). On multivariable Cox regression analysis, unilateral and bilateral RT showed comparable outcomes; the number of ENEs ≥ 4 was the only significant prognostic factor for all clinical outcomes. Using decision tree analysis, we classified our patients to have a low, intermediate, or high risk of contralateral failure based on three factors: number of ENEs, margin status, and tumor stage. In conclusion, postoperative unilateral RT did not worsen outcomes in patients with ENE+ BMSCC in this cohort. The decision tree model may assist physicians in optimizing and tailoring radiation fields.
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