NATIONAL INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKS AND THE HYBRIDIZATION OF ENTREPRENEURIAL BUSINESS MODELS: THE GERMAN AND UK BIOTECHNOLOGY SECTORS

Given what institutional scholars have described as an inhospitable institutional climate for entrepreneurial business, why has the German biotechnology industry suddenly taken off, while in the UK, where a ''correct'' institutional architecture exists, has the industry shown signs of stagnation? To explain these trends the article develops a firm-centered approach, recognizing that firms work with institutional frameworks - often with help from public policies - to create new business strategies. The argument is developed that such processes are associated with the ''hybridization'' of business strategies at the micro level, combined with the generation of new constellations of particular institutional frameworks within relatively stable national models.     

Biographical data in employment selection: Can validities be made generalizable?

The hypothesis was examined that organizational specificity of biodata validity results from the methods typically used to select and key items. In this study, items were initially screened for job relevance, keying was based on large samples from multiple organizations, and items were retained only if they showed validity across organizations. Cross-validation was performed on approximately 11,000 first-line supervisors in 79 organizations. The resulting validities were meta-analyzed across organizations, age levels, sex, and levels of education, supervisory experience, and company tenure. In all cases, validities were generalizable. Validities were also stable across time and did not appear to stem from measurement of knowledge, skills, or abilities acquired through job experience. Finally, these results provide additional evidence against the hypothesis of situational specificity of validities, the first large-sample evidence in a noncognitive domain. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Electrical field measurements on an EPRI two-pole, 20-hp WrittenPole motor

The recent introduction of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) single-phase Written Pole soft-start motor may open new possibilities and marketing opportunities for rural electric cooperatives. The new single-phase high-efficiency AC motor technology promises soft-start capabilities that allow designs and application of up to 60 hp 240 V motors. This paper summarizes some of the technical aspects of the new single-phase motor technology. An actual field test and application of a Written Pole motor is also be used to compare motor starting currents and line flicker with manufacturer's literature and specifications     

Discovery of Quinoline‐Derived Trifluoromethyl Alcohols,Determination of Their in vivo Toxicity and Anticancer Activity in a Zebrafish Embryo Model

In this study the rational design, synthesis, and anticancer activity of quinoline‐derived trifluoromethyl alcohols were evaluated. Members of this novel class of trifluoromethyl alcohols were identified as potent growth inhibitors in a zebrafish embryo model. Synthesis of these compounds was carried out with an sp³‐C?H functionalization strategy of methyl quinolines with trifluoromethyl ketones. A zebrafish embryo model was also used to explore the toxicity of ethyl 4,4,4‐trifluoro‐3‐hydroxy‐3‐(quinolin‐2‐ylmethyl)butanoate ( 1 ), 2‐benzyl‐1,1,1‐trifluoro‐3‐(quinolin‐2‐yl)propan‐2‐ol ( 2 ), and trifluoro‐3‐(isoquinolin‐1‐yl)‐2‐(thiophen‐2‐yl)propan‐2‐ol ( 3 ). Compounds 2 and 3 were found to be more toxic than compound 1 ; apoptotic staining assays indicated that compound 3 causes increased cell death. In vitro cell proliferation assays showed that compound 2 , with an LC₅₀ value of 14.14 μm , has more potent anticancer activity than cisplatin. This novel class of inhibitors provides a new direction in the discovery of effective anticancer agents.     

Cover Image,Volume 97, Issue 11

The cover image, by Hannah C Wells et al., is based on the Research Article Deer leather: analysis of the microstructure affecting pebble, DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.8199 .

     

Kinetic analysis of cellular internalization and expulsion of unstructured D-chirality cell penetrating peptides

Most cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) are unstructured and susceptible to proteolytic degradation. One alternative is to incorporate D-chirality amino acids into unstructured CPPs to allow for enhanced uptake and intracellular stability. This work investigates CPP internalization using a series of time, concentration, temperature, and energy dependent studies, resulting in a three-fold increase in uptake and 50-fold increase in stability of D-chirality peptides over L-chirality counterparts. CPP internalization occurred via a combination of direct penetration and endocytosis, with a percentage of internalized CPP expelling from cells in a time-dependent manner. Mechanistic studies identified that cells exported the intact internalized D-chirality CPPs via an exocytosis independent pathway, analogous to a direct penetration method out of the cells. These findings highlight the potential of a D-chirality CPP as bio-vector in therapeutic and biosensing applications, but also identify a new expulsion method suggesting a relationship between uptake kinetics, intracellular stability, and export kinetics.     

Quantitative determination of sterols and other alcohols in overland flow from grazing land and possible source materials

Organic marker compounds (biomarkers) can be used to identify the sources of waterborne pollutants. This paper examines sterols and other alcohols in overland flow from pasture-based grazing systems, possible agricultural source materials and water extracts of these source materials as a preliminary step to developing chemical profiles that can be used for tracing pollutants. The biomarkers were quantified using gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques. Analyses of plant material show that some pasture species contain unique compounds, enabling their identification. For example, Arctotheca calendula (capeweed) contains an as yet unidentified compound (Arctotheca m/z 163). Other pasture species that do not contain unique compounds do contain unique ratios of phytol, hexacosanol, octacosanol and 24-ethylcholesterol, enabling their identification. Analyses of faecal samples show that the ratios of sterols to stanols enable faeces to be distinguished from the pasture species, e.g. the ratio of 24-ethylcholesterol to 24-ethylcoprostanol was <1, generally <0.25 for faeces, while for most pasture species this ratio was >4. Using this ratio, qualitative apportioning of the sources of pollutants in overland flow to vegetation or faeces could be performed, but only in extreme cases (i.e. when the ratio <1 or >4). Decaying organic matter and surface soil appear to contain a composite of plant and faecal sterols. Sterols, being sparingly soluble in water and surface active, were not expected to be present in overland flow samples. Surprisingly, cholesterol and 24-ethylcoprostanol were found in both the particulate and filtrate fractions of most overland flow and water extracts of most source materials. Using the ratios of sterols to stanols, particulate organic material in water could be traced back to its broader source, i.e. vegetation or faeces.     

Systemic Delivery of a STING Agonist-Loaded Positively Charged Liposome Selectively Targets Tumor Immune Microenvironment and Suppresses Tumor Angiogenesis

Although stimulator of interferon genes (STING) agonists has shown great promise in preclinical studies, the clinical development of STING agonist therapy is challenged by its limited systemic delivery. Here, positively charged fusogenic liposomes loaded with a STING agonist (PoSTING) are designed for systemic delivery and to preferentially target the tumor microenvironment. When PoSTING is administered intravenously, it selectively targets not only tumor cells but also immune and tumor endothelial cells (ECs). In particular, delivery of STING agonists to tumor ECs normalizes abnormal tumor vasculatures, induces intratumoral STING activation, and elicits robust anti-tumor T cell immunity within the tumor microenvironment. Therefore, PoSTING can be used as a systemic delivery platform to overcome the limitations of using STING agonists in clinical trials.     

Retraction Note: Tolerance rough set firefly-based quick reduct

Neural Computing and Applications -