Trust and conflict within virtual inter-organizational alliances: a framework for facilitating knowledge sharing

Trust and conflict are inherent issues of any organizational arrangement and central for knowledge sharing; yet they have received limited attention in the literature. In this paper, we undertake an investigation of both phenomena within the context of virtual alliances. A generic framework for understanding the dynamics of trust and conflict within the context of virtual inter-organizational arrangements is presented, followed by an examination of three distinct structural forms of virtual alliances, and strategies for generating trust and minimizing dysfunctional conflict. The paper concludes with an identification of avenues for further research.     

Electrical properties of ferromagnetic Gd3−xS4 near its Curie temperature

Nonstoichiometric $\text{Gd}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>3?</mtext><mtext>x</mtext>}}\text{S}{}_4\text{(0 <}\text{x}\text{<}\text{1}\text{3}\text{)}$, which exhibits a metallic behavior, was obtained by heating an insulating Gd₂S₃ at various temperatures under a vacuum. Electrical and magnetic properties of the samples obtained have been investigated from 4.2 K to 300 K. A maximum in resistivity was observed in the curve of resistivity vs. temperature. The temperature T_P, at which the maximum emerged, was very close to the Curie temperature T_C for the sample. An increase in resistivity at T_P, Δ_?, is proportional to ?_P exp ($\text{E}\text{k}{}_{\mathrm{B}}\text{T}{}_{\mathrm{P}}$), where ?_P is the resistivity obtained by the extrapolation from the linear portion to T_P in the ? vs. T curve. Using the relationship obtained, a model based on the formation of magnetic polaron was proposed for this system.     

Factors associated with distressing electronic harassment and cyberbullying

Electronic harassment and cyberbullying can take various forms and involve a range of perpetrators. This study utilised survey results from 1673 New Zealand students aged 12–19 years to explore electronic harassment on the internet and mobile phones and the distress associated with it. Overall, a third of participants reported electronic harassment in the prior year, with half (53.7%) rating it as distressing. Specific hypotheses and findings were that: mobile phone harassment would be more common and distressing than internet harassment, this was supported with 7% more participants reporting mobile phone harassment and 5.5% more reporting distress from it compared to internet harassment; females would report more harassment than males, this was supported for mobile phone harassment as females’ odds of harassment was approximately twice that of males (however the hypothesis did not hold for internet harassment); females would report more distress from harassment, this was supported for both internet and mobile phone harassment, with females’ odds of distress approximately twice as high as males; that some forms and perpetrators would be associated with more distress than others, again this was supported with the most distressing form of mobile phone harassment being direct verbal aggression and for harassment on the internet being rumour spreading. The study also found a preponderance of harassment from school peers. As predicted there were multiple interactions between the harassment forms and perpetrators and gender. These results highlight important differences in how harassment is delivered and experienced across the mobile phone and internet modalities. The findings point to the need to explicitly consider mobile phone harassment, as well as better ways to tailor interventions to address distressing harassment. Schools are well placed to address electronic harassment alongside other bullying interventions.     

Gas entrainment rate and flow pattern of vertical plunging liquid jets

For a vertical plunging liquid jet system using various liquids, the effects of the operating conditions including the nozzle length-to-diameter ratio on the gas entrainment rate Q_g were evaluated experimentally. The differences in Q_g were related to the changes in the jet shape before plunging and the velocity of the plunging liquid jet at the point where the gas sheath breaks up. Empirical relationships were also presented to predict the maximum depth Z of bubbles entrained by the diffusing jet. The changes of Z were further discussed in terms of the downward liquid velocity distribution in the submerged two-phase region, which depends mainly on the size of entrained bubbles.     

Fumonisin contamination of maize in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

Maize throughout the world is frequently contaminated with a family of mycotoxins, the fumonisins, produced by species of Fusaria. The study investigated the level of fumonisin contamination of maize samples from village farms and large market traders in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Maize samples (5 kg) from each of five to six large storage barns from farms in five villages in the district of N'Dorola, Kénédougou province, western Burkina Faso, were sampled (n = 26) in Jan 1999 (> 1 year storage), and a further 26 maize samples from the same farms were collected directly from the field in October 1999. In addition, 72 maize samples were obtained in July 1999 from large markets in Bobo Dioulasso. Fumonisins were extracted from dried maize, derivatized with o-phthaldialdehyde and quantified by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. All 26 samples from the first (mean 1170 microg kg(-1), range 110-3120 microg kg(-1)) and from the second (mean 130 microg kg(-1), range 10-450 microg kg(-1)) village collection were fumonisin positive. All 72 maize samples from the large markets were also positive for fumonisins, and had the highest levels of contamination (mean 2900 microg kg(-1), range 130-16,040 microg kg(-1)). As fumonisins were a ubiquitous contaminant of maize and given that this crop is a dietary staple in this region, chronic exposure is likely.     

Serum human hepatocyte growth factor (hHGF) is elevated in patients with metastatic gastric carcinoma

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a stromally derived protein growth factor that modulates epithelial cell proliferation and motility. HGF may therefore be involved in tumor progression. METHODOLOGY: We measured the immunoreactive (ir)-HGF concentration in the sera of 56 patients with human gastric carcinoma, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and evaluated its association with clinical and histopathologic factors. Clinical stages were classified in accordance with The General Rules for TNM Classification (International Union Against Cancer). RESULTS: The serum hHGF concentrations from patients with gastric carcinoma significantly increased with increasing pathologic tumor grades. Also, there were significantly higher concentrations in patients with nodal metastasis compared to patients without metastasis. The serum hHGF concentrations in patients with liver metastasis were significantly higher than in patients without liver metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: These data show that the serum hHGF concentration is elevated in gastric carcinoma patients with liver and nodal metastasis. In multivariate analysis, the serum hHGF concentration was found to be the most important independent factor in predicting overall survival. Thus, the current results suggest that HGF may be important in the progression and metastasis of gastric carcinoma.     

Corrosion and protection of carbon steel in low enthalpy geothermal fluids. The case of SOUSAKI IN Greece

This experimental work is aimed at evaluating first, the effect of a solution simulating the geothermal fluid of the field in Sousaki, New Korinthia, on the corrosion of bare steel, and, second, the protective performance that certain combinations of organic coatings provide. This evaluation resulted from corrosion potential measurements, mass loss measurements, corrosion rate estimates by the Tafel method, and visual ranking of the degree of rusting and blistering. Six combinations of organic coatings were tested. Four of them consisted of water-based paints as primer, as well as intermediate and topcoat. Of the two remaining combinations, the first comprised a water-based primer, including dispersed tannin and a two-component epoxy resin topcoat, while the second consisted of a two-component acrylic primer, containing chromate pigments and the same epoxy resin topcoat as above. All coating combinations tested exhibited protective performance. The results of the water-based coatings were less satisfactory than those of the two combinations containing the epoxy resin topcoat.     

Determination of Carbohydrate‐Binding Preferences of Human Galectins with Carbohydrate Microarrays

Galectins are a class of carbohydrate‐binding proteins named for their galactose‐binding preference and are involved in a host of processes ranging from homeostasis of organisms to immune responses. As a first step towards correlating the carbohydrate‐binding preferences of the different galectins with their biological functions, we determined carbohydrate recognition fine‐specificities of galectins with the aid of carbohydrate microarrays. A focused set of oligosaccharides considered relevant to galectins was prepared by chemical synthesis. Structure–activity relationships for galectin–sugar interactions were determined, and these helped in the establishment of redundant and specific galectin actions by comparison of binding preferences. Distinct glycosylations on the basic lactosyl motifs proved to be key to galectin binding regulation—and therefore galectin action—as either high‐affinity ligands are produced or binding is blocked. High‐affinity ligands such as the blood group antigens that presumably mediate particular functions were identified.     

Evaluation of Lipophilic Antioxidant Efficacy in Vivo by the Biomarkers Hydroxyoctadecadienoic Acid and Isoprostane

The evaluation of antioxidant activity in vivo is difficult. In this study, the effects of dietary natural and synthetic antioxidants on the lipid peroxidation in mice were assessed using a biomarker, total hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid (tHODE). Biological samples such as plasma, erythrocytes, and tissues were first reduced and then saponified to convert various oxidation products of linoleates to tHODE. Subsequently, the absolute concentration of tHODE and its stereoisomer ratio, [9- and 13-(Z,E)-HODE)/[9- and 13-(E,E)-HODE], which is a measure of the hydrogen donor capacity of antioxidants, were determined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analyses. These were then compared with total 8-iso-prostaglandin F_2α (t8-iso-PGF_2α) which was also assessed after reduction and saponification. Remarkable increases in tHODE and t8-iso-PGF_2α levels were observed in the plasma, erythrocytes, liver, and brain of mice that were fed an α-tocopherol (αT)-stripped (E-free) diet for 1 month when compared with those of mice that were fed a standard diet (αT = 0.002 wt%). When mice were fed for 1 month on an E-free diet supplemented with a lipophilic antioxidant (0.04 wt%), namely, αT, α-tocotrienol (αT3), γ-tocopherol (γT), or 2,3-dihydro-5-hydroxy-4,6-di-tert-butyl-2,2-dipentylbenzofuran (BO-653), a potent synthetic antioxidant, the increases of tHODE and t8-iso-PGF_2α in the plasma, erythrocytes, liver, and brain were suppressed to the levels lower than those of mice fed a standard diet. The (Z,E/E,E) HODE ratio was decreased in the plasma and erythrocytes of mice fed the E-free diet when compared with that in mice fed the standard diet. This stereo-isomeric ratio was significantly recovered by the addition of αT and BO-653. These results show that the tHODE level and the (Z,E/E,E) HODE ratio are useful biomarkers for the assessment of antioxidant capacity in vivo and that the antioxidant capacity decreased in the order: BO-653 > αT3 ≧ αT, γT, as assessed by tHODE levels from blood, liver, and brain.