Prior research concerning IT business value has established a link between firm-level IT investment and tangible returns such as output productivity. Research also suggests that IT is vital to ...intermediate processes such as those that produce intangible output. Among these, the use of IT in innovation and knowledge creation processes is perhaps the most critical to a firm's long-term success. However, little is known about the relationship between IT, knowledge creation, and innovation output. In this study, we contribute to the literature by comprehensively examining the contribution of IT to innovation production across multiple contexts using a quality-based measure of innovation output. Analyzing annual information from 1987 to 1997 for a panel of large U.S. manufacturing firms, we find that a 10% increase in IT input is associated with a 1.7% increase in innovation output for a given level of innovation-related spending. This relationship between IT, research and development (R&D), and innovation production is robust across multiple econometric methodologies and is found to be particularly strong in the mid to late 1990s, a period of rapid technological innovation. Our results also demonstrate the importance of IT in creating value at an intermediate stage of production, in this case, through improved innovation productivity. However, R&D and its related intangible factors (skill, knowledge, etc.) appear to play a more crucial role in the creation of breakthrough innovations.
In recent years, chief information officers have begun to report exponential increases in the amounts of raw data captured and retained across the organization. Managing extreme amounts of data can ...be complex and challenging at a time when information is increasingly viewed as a strategic resource. Since the dominant focus of the information technology (IT) governance literature has been on how firms govern physical IT artifacts (hardware, software, networks), the goal of this study is to extend the theory of IT governance by uncovering the structures and practices used to govern information artifacts. Through detailed interviews with 37 executives in 30 organizations across 17 industries, we discover a range of structural, procedural, and relational practices used to govern information within a nomological net that includes the antecedents of these practices and their effects on firm performance. While some antecedents enable the speedy adoption of information governance, others can delay or limit the adoption of information governance practices. Once adopted, however, information governance can help to boost firm performance. By incorporating these results into an extended theory of IT governance, we note how information governance practices can unlock value from the ever-expanding mountains of data currently held within organizations.
Oncogenic KRASG12D (KRAS∗) is critical for the initiation and maintenance of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and is a known repressor of tumor immunity. Conditional elimination of KRAS∗ in ...genetic mouse models of PDAC leads to the reactivation of FAS, CD8+ T cell-mediated apoptosis, and complete eradication of tumors. KRAS∗ elimination recruits activated CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and promotes the activation of antigen-presenting cells. Mechanistically, KRAS∗-mediated immune evasion involves the epigenetic regulation of Fas death receptor in cancer cells, via methylation of its promoter region. Furthermore, analysis of human RNA sequencing identifies that high KRAS expression in PDAC tumors shows a lower proportion of CD8+ T cells and demonstrates shorter survival compared with tumors with low KRAS expression. This study highlights the role of CD8+ T cells in the eradication of PDAC following KRAS∗ elimination and provides a rationale for the combination of KRAS∗ targeting with immunotherapy to control PDAC.
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•KRASG12D elimination upregulates Fas death receptor on cancer cells•KRASG12D elimination increases activated CD4+ and CD8+ T cell infiltrates in PDAC•CD8+ T cells expressing FASL mediate PDAC regression following KRASG12D elimination
Mahadevan et al. report that KG12D epigenetically upregulates FAS death receptors in pancreatic cancer cells, with KRASG12D depletion enabling FASL-expressing CD8+ T cells to eradicate tumors. Another study using an inhibitor against KRASG12D in multiple PDAC models, by Mahadevan et al. in Cancer Cell, shows similar mechanisms of tumor regression.
Acromyrmex subterraneus molestans (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is a leaf‐cutting ant species found in the Brazilian Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest and causes serious damages to cultivated plants. ...Knowledge about its foraging activity could help to improve the integrated pest management of this species and to better understand its ecology. The relationship between ambient temperature and the biomass collected by individuals of one Ac. subterraneus molestans colony was studied in the laboratory. The colony remained in an experimental room at 24°C and its foragers had access to an arena in an incubator set at six different temperatures (10, 16, 22, 28, 34 or 40°C). Fresh leaves of Hibiscus sp. were put in the arena and the flow of ants leaving and returning to the nest, the proportion of ants returning to the nest with a leaf fragment, as well as the dry mass of these fragments, were evaluated during 1 h for each temperature. The head width of foraging ants (laden and unladen) and their running speed were also measured. The rate of biomass collected was almost null at 10°C, increased from 16 to 34°C, and decreased abruptly at 40°C. The size of the workers did not vary across temperatures, and the running speed increased with increasing temperatures but more rapidly for unloaded ants than for loaded ones. The lower flow intensity at 28 and 40°C was somewhat compensated at the individual level by the selection of larger leaf fragments or by an increase in the probability to return loaded to the nest, respectively. The results obtained in this study could improve the management of these ants, allowing to target the most favourable meteorological conditions to apply toxic baits, increase the probability for the baits to be carried to the nest, in addition to reducing their availability to nontarget organisms. Furthermore, they could be used to make predictions on the effects of global warming on the foraging activity of this species.
The laden ants flow Acromyrmex subterraneus molestans is higher in mean temperatures than in higher or low temperatures.
The leaf‐cutter ant Ac. subterraneus molestans carried heavy fragments in mean temperatures than higher or low temperatures.
The walking speed of Ac. subterraneus molestans increases with increasing air temperature and laden ants are faster than unladen ones.
Leaf‐cutting ants change the walking speed, laden ants flow and weight of the fragments loaded, depending on weather conditions
Surgical site infection (SSI) remains the most common complication of surgery around the world. WHO does not make recommendations for changing gloves and instruments before wound closure owing to a ...lack of evidence. This study aimed to test whether a routine change of gloves and instruments before wound closure reduced abdominal SSI.
ChEETAh was a multicentre, cluster randomised trial in seven low-income and middle-income countries (Benin, Ghana, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa). Any hospitals (clusters) doing abdominal surgery in participating countries were eligible. Clusters were randomly assigned to current practice (42) versus intervention (39; routine change of gloves and instruments before wound closure for the whole scrub team). Consecutive adults and children undergoing emergency or elective abdominal surgery (excluding caesarean section) for a clean–contaminated, contaminated, or dirty operation within each cluster were identified and included. It was not possible to mask the site investigators, nor the outcome assessors, but patients were masked to the treatment allocation. The primary outcome was SSI within 30 days after surgery (participant-level), assessed by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria and on the basis of the intention-to-treat principle. The trial has 90% power to detect a minimum reduction in the primary outcome from 16% to 12%, requiring 12 800 participants from at least 64 clusters. The trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03700749.
Between June 24, 2020 and March 31, 2022, 81 clusters were randomly assigned, which included a total of 13 301 consecutive patients (7157 to current practice and 6144 to intervention group). Overall, 11 825 (88·9%) of 13 301 patients were adults, 6125 (46·0%) of 13 301 underwent elective surgery, and 8086 (60·8%) of 13 301 underwent surgery that was clean–contaminated or 5215 (39·2%) of 13 301 underwent surgery that was contaminated–dirty. Glove and instrument change took place in 58 (0·8%) of 7157 patients in the current practice group and 6044 (98·3%) of 6144 patients in the intervention group. The SSI rate was 1280 (18·9%) of 6768 in the current practice group versus 931 (16·0%) of 5789 in the intervention group (adjusted risk ratio: 0·87, 95% CI 0·79–0·95; p=0·0032). There was no evidence to suggest heterogeneity of effect across any of the prespecified subgroup analyses. We did not anticipate or collect any specific data on serious adverse events.
This trial showed a robust benefit to routinely changing gloves and instruments before abdominal wound closure. We suggest that it should be widely implemented into surgical practice around the world.
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinician Scientist Award, NIHR Global Health Research Unit Grant, Mölnlycke Healthcare.
Research at the nexus of operations management and information systems suggests that manufacturing plants may benefit from the utilization of information systems for collaborating and transacting ...with suppliers and customers. The objective of this study is to examine the extent to which value generated by information systems for collaborating versus transacting is contingent upon demand volatility. We analyze a unique dataset assembled from non-public U.S. Census Bureau data of manufacturing plants. Our findings suggest that when faced with volatile demand, plants employing information systems for collaborating with suppliers and customers experience positive and significant benefits to performance, in terms of both labor productivity and inventory turnover. In contrast, results suggest that plants employing information systems for transacting in volatile environments do not experience such benefits. Further exploratory analysis suggests that in the context of demand volatility, these two distinct dimensions of IT-based integration have differing performance implications at different stages of the production process in terms of raw-materials inventory and finished-goods inventory, but not in terms of work-in-process inventory. Taken together, our study contributes to theoretical and managerial understanding of the contingent value of information systems in volatile demand conditions in the supply chain context.
Since the end of the Cold War, health has gone from a peripheral concern in foreign policy negotiations to a prominent place on the global political agenda. While the rise of health onto the foreign ...policy agenda is by now old news, the driving forces behind its expansion into new political spheres remain understudied and undertheorized. This article builds on empirical findings from a four-country study of the integration of health into foreign policy, and proposes a conceptual approach to GHD to improve understanding of the conditions under which health is successfully positioned on the foreign policy agenda. Our approach consists of three dimensions: features of institutions and the interest various actors represent in GHD; the ideational environment in which GHD operates; and issue characteristics of the specific health concern entering foreign policy. Within each dimension, we identify specific variables that, in combination, make up the explanatory power of the proposed approach. The proposed approach does not relate to, or build upon, a single social sciences, public health, or international relations (IR) theory, but can be seen as a heuristic device to identify dimensions and variables that may shape why certain health issues rise onto the foreign policy agenda.
Abstract
Background
The Bluebelle Wound Healing Questionnaire (WHQ) is a universal-reporter outcome measure developed in the UK for remote detection of surgical-site infection after abdominal ...surgery. This study aimed to explore cross-cultural equivalence, acceptability, and content validity of the WHQ for use across low- and middle-income countries, and to make recommendations for its adaptation.
Methods
This was a mixed-methods study within a trial (SWAT) embedded in an international randomized trial, conducted according to best practice guidelines, and co-produced with community and patient partners (TALON-1). Structured interviews and focus groups were used to gather data regarding cross-cultural, cross-contextual equivalence of the individual items and scale, and conduct a translatability assessment. Translation was completed into five languages in accordance with Mapi recommendations. Next, data from a prospective cohort (SWAT) were interpreted using Rasch analysis to explore scaling and measurement properties of the WHQ. Finally, qualitative and quantitative data were triangulated using a modified, exploratory, instrumental design model.
Results
In the qualitative phase, 10 structured interviews and six focus groups took place with a total of 47 investigators across six countries. Themes related to comprehension, response mapping, retrieval, and judgement were identified with rich cross-cultural insights. In the quantitative phase, an exploratory Rasch model was fitted to data from 537 patients (369 excluding extremes). Owing to the number of extreme (floor) values, the overall level of power was low. The single WHQ scale satisfied tests of unidimensionality, indicating validity of the ordinal total WHQ score. There was significant overall model misfit of five items (5, 9, 14, 15, 16) and local dependency in 11 item pairs. The person separation index was estimated as 0.48 suggesting weak discrimination between classes, whereas Cronbach’s α was high at 0.86. Triangulation of qualitative data with the Rasch analysis supported recommendations for cross-cultural adaptation of the WHQ items 1 (redness), 3 (clear fluid), 7 (deep wound opening), 10 (pain), 11 (fever), 15 (antibiotics), 16 (debridement), 18 (drainage), and 19 (reoperation). Changes to three item response categories (1, not at all; 2, a little; 3, a lot) were adopted for symptom items 1 to 10, and two categories (0, no; 1, yes) for item 11 (fever).
Conclusion
This study made recommendations for cross-cultural adaptation of the WHQ for use in global surgical research and practice, using co-produced mixed-methods data from three continents. Translations are now available for implementation into remote wound assessment pathways.
This mixed-methods study within the FALCON trial across six low-and middle-income countries used qualitative and state-of-the-art psychometric methods with Rasch analysis. The authors make recommendations for adaptation of a Wound Healing Questionnaire (originally published in BJS in 2019) to detect wound infections remotely after abdominal surgery over the telephone in global surgery research and practice. This tool can help to upscale telemedicine safely in low-resource environments.
Las TIC en el contexto educativo pueden verse conocidos como recursos transmisores de información que vincula al docente y al estudiante en la mejora de la enseñanza - aprendizaje adaptado a las ...necesidades y características de cada sujeto. Desde esta perspectiva se busca describir el estado de la producción científica Iberoamericana sobre la inclusión de las TIC en la disciplina educativa en el periodo 2010 al 2020. El estudio se basa en el análisis descriptivo retrospectivo de publicaciones recopiladas en revistas indizadas en Scopus. Se recolectó un total de n=1976 contribuciones. Se encontró que la producción aumentó en un 8,51%. España es el país Iberoamericano que contribuye con mayor producción científica, los autores con afiliación Iberoamericana suelen publicar a través de Artículos de conferencia, destacando ACM International Conference Proceeding Series. Frente a un análisis de madurez de conocimiento estamos ante un desarrollo de producción científica en proceso de crecimiento.
To summarize the effects of garlic on several cardiovascular-related factors and to note its adverse effects.
English and non-English citations were identified from 11 electronic databases, ...references, manufacturers, and experts from January 1966 through February 2000 (depending on the database searched). Reports of cardiovascular-related effects were limited to randomized controlled trials lasting at least 4 weeks. Reports of adverse effects were not limited by study design. From 1798 pertinent records, 45 randomized trials and 73 additional studies reporting adverse events were identified. Two physicians abstracted outcomes and assessed adequacy of randomization, blinding, and handling of dropouts. Standardized mean differences of lipid outcomes from placebo-controlled trials were adjusted for baseline differences and pooled using random effects methods.
Compared with placebo, garlic preparations may lead to small reductions in the total cholesterol level at 1 month (range of average pooled reductions, 0.03-0.45 mmol/L 1.2-17.3 mg/dL) and at 3 months (range of average pooled reductions 0.32-0.66 mmol/L 12.4-25.4 mg/dL), but not at 6 months. Changes in low-density lipoprotein levels and triglyceride levels paralleled total cholesterol level results; no statistically significant changes in high-density lipoprotein levels were observed. Trials also reported significant reductions in platelet aggregation and mixed effects on blood pressure outcomes. No effects on glycemic-related outcomes were found. Proven adverse effects included malodorous breath and body odor. Other unproven effects included flatulence, esophageal and abdominal pain, allergic reactions, and bleeding.
Trials suggest possible small short-term benefits of garlic on some lipid and antiplatelet factors, insignificant effects on blood pressure, and no effect on glucose levels. Conclusions regarding clinical significance are limited by the marginal quality and short duration of many trials and by the unpredictable release and inadequate definition of active constituents in study preparations.
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