Market orientation of individuals : a study on the remisiers / Paul Niden Minjap

The purpose of this paper is to study the market orientation of services firms by looking specifically into the stockbroking companies in Malaysia. The focus will be in measuring the market-oriented behavior of the individuals namely, remisiers as being an agent in a stockbroking company. Most studies about market orientation of service firms rarely consider the contribution ofindividual employees to the realization of this orientation. More precisely, the main objective of this paper focuses on the level of individuals’ market orientation and the effect on work performance and future intentions, which definitely leads to customer satisfaction

Free surface flows emerging from beneath a semi-infinite plate with constant vorticity

The free surface flow past a semi-infinite horizontal plate in a finite-depth fluid is considered. It is assumed that the fluid is incompressible and inviscid and that the flow approaches a uniform shear flow downstream. Exact relations are derived using conservation of mass and momentum for the case where the downstream free surface is flat. The complete nonlinear problem is solved numerically using a boundary integral method and these waveless solutions are shown to exist only when the height of the plate above the bottom is greater than the height of the uniform shear flow. Interesting results are found for various values of the constant vorticity. Solutions with downstream surface waves are also considered, and nonlinear results of this type are compared with linear results found previously. These solutions can be used to model the flow near the stern of a (two-dimensional) ship

Translating lung function genome-wide association study (GWAS) findings: new insights for lung biology

Chronic respiratory diseases are a major cause of worldwide mortality and morbidity. Although hereditary severe deficiency of α1 antitrypsin (A1AD) has been established to cause emphysema, A1AD accounts for only ∼1% of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) cases. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been successful at detecting multiple loci harboring variants predicting the variation in lung function measures and risk of COPD. However, GWAS are incapable of distinguishing causal from noncausal variants. Several approaches can be used for functional translation of genetic findings. These approaches have the scope to identify underlying alleles and pathways that are important in lung function and COPD. Computational methods aim at effective functional variant prediction by combining experimentally generated regulatory information with associated region of the human genome. Classically, GWAS association follow-up concentrated on manipulation of a single gene. However association data has identified genetic variants in >50 loci predicting disease risk or lung function. Therefore there is a clear precedent for experiments that interrogate multiple candidate genes in parallel, which is now possible with genome editing technology. Gene expression profiling can be used for effective discovery of biological pathways underpinning gene function. This information may be used for informed decisions about cellular assays post genetic manipulation. Investigating respiratory phenotypes in human lung tissue and specific gene knockout mice is a valuable in vivo approach that can complement in vitro work. Herein, we review state-of-the-art in silico, in vivo, and in vitro approaches that may be used to accelerate functional translation of genetic findings

Soluble TNF Mediates the Transition from Pulmonary Inflammation to Fibrosis

BACKGROUND: Fibrosis, the replacement of functional tissue with excessive fibrous tissue, can occur in all the main tissues and organ systems, resulting in various pathological disorders. Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis is a prototype fibrotic disease involving abnormal wound healing in response to multiple sites of ongoing alveolar epithelial injury. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To decipher the role of TNF and TNF-mediated inflammation in the development of fibrosis, we have utilized the bleomycin-induced animal model of Pulmonary Fibrosis and a series of genetically modified mice lacking components of TNF signaling. Transmembrane TNF expression is shown to be sufficient to elicit an inflammatory response, but inadequate for the transition to the fibrotic phase of the disease. Soluble TNF expression is shown to be crucial for lymphocyte recruitment, a prerequisite for TGF-b1 expression and the development of fibrotic lesions. Moreover, through a series of bone marrow transfers, the necessary TNF expression is shown to originate from the non-hematopoietic compartment further localized in apoptosing epithelial cells. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest a primary detrimental role of soluble TNF in the pathologic cascade, separating it from the beneficial role of transmembrane TNF, and indicate the importance of assessing the efficacy of soluble TNF antagonists in the treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

The Acute Effects of Atelectasis on the Pulmonary Circulation

There is little doubt that pulmonary arterial blood flow is diverted away from chronically col-lapsed lung tissue. The earlier literature has been extensively reviewed by Berggren (1), and more recently other investigators have confirmed this finding (2-9). The effects of acute atelectasis on pulmonary blood flow are not, however, so well established (1, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11). Acute atelectasis has been induced by pneumothorax (1), by bron-chial occlusion with chest wall intact (4), and by bronchial occlusion with chest opened wide and lungs ventilated by intermittent positive pressure (5, 7, 10, 11). It is generally assumed that the pulmonary hemodynamic changes with acute atelectasis are similar regardless of the method of inducing atelectasis. However, each of the above methods for producing local collapse of lung tis-sue (segment, lobe, or one lung) produces dif-ferent "intrathoracic " pressure changes, different effects on left atrial pressure and on the non-collapsed lung tissue, and possibly noncomparable hemodynamic consequences. Since the early pul-monary vascular changes after endobronchial oc-clusion in the intact animal have not been well delineated, the following study was undertaken. The effects on the pulmonary circulation of acute atelectasis by endobronchial obstruction were in-vestigated in fourteen intact lightly anesthetized dogs breathing spontaneously and six innervated perfused dog lungs ventilated by means of a whole body negative pressure respirator. In addition, the hemodynamic response to local pulmonary hy-poxia and hypercapnea was contrasted with that of local collapse of lung tissue. * Submitted for publication July 17, 1963; accepte