The construction and operation of a nuclear magnetic resonance probe

LD2668 .T4 1962 P7

Intraflagellar transport delivers tubulin isotypes to sensory cilium middle and distal segments.

Sensory cilia are assembled and maintained by kinesin-2-dependent intraflagellar transport (IFT). We investigated whether two Caenorhabditis elegans α- and β-tubulin isotypes, identified through mutants that lack their cilium distal segments, are delivered to their assembly sites by IFT. Mutations in conserved residues in both tubulins destabilize distal singlet microtubules. One isotype, TBB-4, assembles into microtubules at the tips of the axoneme core and distal segments, where the microtubule tip tracker EB1 is found, and localizes all along the cilium, whereas the other, TBA-5, concentrates in distal singlets. IFT assays, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching analysis and modelling indicate that the continual transport of sub-stoichiometric numbers of these tubulin subunits by the IFT machinery can maintain sensory cilia at their steady-state length

The influence of dogs on the physical activity and social network of the owners: A qualitative study.

The effect of dog ownership on the physical activity and social network of the owners is getting more attention nowadays. Dogs may be able to positively influence risk factors for preventing non-communicable diseases. The basis for this qualitative study is mainly established on a literature study and the data gathered is derived from two focus group interviews followed by six detailed individual interviews. From the gathered data it can be concluded that the influence of dogs on the physical activity and social network needs to be viewed from a comprehensive framework based on three environments: the social, physical and policy environment. Besides the main environmental structures, a more in depth structure can be seen to influence the intention to walk and social network. The characteristics of the dog, the characteristics of the owner, the personal beliefs and the bond between owner and dog, are mentioned to influence the key perceptions. These key perceptions are the motivation and obligation to walk with the dog, the social support provided by the dog and the perceived barriers and benefits. Dogs are said to be able to positively influence these perceptions of the owner, which enables dogs to maintain the owners’ walking behavior. The point that dogs can positively influence some key factors of current mental and physical health problems, raises the possibility to develop a dog intervention. Both owners and non-owners may benefit from dog interventions. However before starting with the development of an intervention, it is important to examine the needs of the population. A needs assessment study would be a good first step in the development process of a dog intervention and if the results are positive, a concrete plan for a dog intervention can be made

Essays on Innovation Process Design

This dissertation examines how firms can improve innovation outcomes through the deliberate and strategic design of their innovation processes. It consists of three essays, each addressing a different but complementary aspect of managing new product development.The first essay introduces a comprehensive framework for innovation generation, structured around the what, who, and how of innovation. It distinguishes between four types of innovation (product, service, process, and business model), identifies various sources (e.g., top-down, grassroots, lead user, open innovation), and discusses several process models, including stage-gate, lean, and design thinking. This overview helps firms make informed choices about how to configure their innovation processes.The second essay investigates how performance metrics are used in new product development and which types are most strongly linked to innovation success. It categorizes metrics into financial, customer, internal process, and innovation &amp; learning, and shows that their effectiveness depends on organizational context and level of measurement (project vs. portfolio).The third essay focuses on analogical thinking as a structured method to inspire innovation. It finds that documenting, translating, and validating insights from prior cases improves new product development performance, especially in firms with a strong focus on learning from failure.Together, the essays demonstrate that innovation success is shaped not only by ideas and capabilities but also by how the innovation process itself is designed and managed. This positions process design as a strategic and actionable lever in innovation management.<br/

Essays on Innovation Process Design

This dissertation examines how firms can improve innovation outcomes through the deliberate and strategic design of their innovation processes. It consists of three essays, each addressing a different but complementary aspect of managing new product development.The first essay introduces a comprehensive framework for innovation generation, structured around the what, who, and how of innovation. It distinguishes between four types of innovation (product, service, process, and business model), identifies various sources (e.g., top-down, grassroots, lead user, open innovation), and discusses several process models, including stage-gate, lean, and design thinking. This overview helps firms make informed choices about how to configure their innovation processes.The second essay investigates how performance metrics are used in new product development and which types are most strongly linked to innovation success. It categorizes metrics into financial, customer, internal process, and innovation &amp; learning, and shows that their effectiveness depends on organizational context and level of measurement (project vs. portfolio).The third essay focuses on analogical thinking as a structured method to inspire innovation. It finds that documenting, translating, and validating insights from prior cases improves new product development performance, especially in firms with a strong focus on learning from failure.Together, the essays demonstrate that innovation success is shaped not only by ideas and capabilities but also by how the innovation process itself is designed and managed. This positions process design as a strategic and actionable lever in innovation management.<br/

Essays on Innovation Process Design

This dissertation examines how firms can improve innovation outcomes through the deliberate and strategic design of their innovation processes. It consists of three essays, each addressing a different but complementary aspect of managing new product development.The first essay introduces a comprehensive framework for innovation generation, structured around the what, who, and how of innovation. It distinguishes between four types of innovation (product, service, process, and business model), identifies various sources (e.g., top-down, grassroots, lead user, open innovation), and discusses several process models, including stage-gate, lean, and design thinking. This overview helps firms make informed choices about how to configure their innovation processes.The second essay investigates how performance metrics are used in new product development and which types are most strongly linked to innovation success. It categorizes metrics into financial, customer, internal process, and innovation &amp; learning, and shows that their effectiveness depends on organizational context and level of measurement (project vs. portfolio).The third essay focuses on analogical thinking as a structured method to inspire innovation. It finds that documenting, translating, and validating insights from prior cases improves new product development performance, especially in firms with a strong focus on learning from failure.Together, the essays demonstrate that innovation success is shaped not only by ideas and capabilities but also by how the innovation process itself is designed and managed. This positions process design as a strategic and actionable lever in innovation management.<br/

The auto industry: slowdown in sales, stall in jobs

Automobile industry and trade ; Unemployment

Differential item functioning of the Functional Independence Measure in higher performing neurological patients

OBJECTIVE: When comparing outcomes of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM ) between patient groups, item characteristics of the FIM should be consistent across groups. The purpose of this study was to compare item difficulty of the FIM in 3 patient groups with neurological disorders. SUBJECTS: Patients with stroke (n=295), multiple sclerosis (n=150), and traumatic brain injury (n=88). METHODS: FIM scores were administered in each group. The FIM consists of a motor domain (13 items) and a cognitive domain (5 items). Rasch rating scale analysis was performed to investigate differences in item difficulty (differential item functioning) between groups. RESULTS: Answering categories of the FIM items were reduced to 3 (from the original 7) because of disordered thresholds and low answering frequencies. Two items of the motor domain ("bladder" and "bowel") did not fit the Rasch model. For 7 out of the 11 fitting motor items, item difficulties were different between groups (i.e. showed differential item functioning). All cognitive items fitted the Rasch model, and 4 out of 5 cognitive items showed differential item functioning. CONCLUSION: Differential item functioning is present in several items of both the motor and cognitive domain of the FIM. Adjustments for differential item functioning may be required when FIMdata will be compared between groups or will be used in a pooled data analysi

The drive to improve : a quantitative study of the relationship between professional learning communities and teacher motivation

"July 2014."Dissertation Supervisor: Dr. Cynthia MacGregor.Includes vita.This paper explored the perceived level of Professional Learning Community (PLC) implementation in secondary schools in Missouri who participate in the State Professional Learning Communities Project (PLCP) based upon a quantitative survey given to teachers. The components studied were derived from the work of Oliver, Hipp, and Huffman (2003) and further refined by Guerin (2008). It also quantitatively explored teachers' self-perceived level of motivation when viewed through Pink's (2009) conceptual framework of intrinsic motivation which includes autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Finally, the research looked for correlations between the perceived implementation of PLC components and teacher motivation and used multiple regression techniques to determine a predictive model to show which component of PLCs can be expected to produce the highest levels of teacher motivation. The research determined that teachers who participated in the study rated the PLC components of Supportive Conditions--Structures the highest and Shared Personal Practice the lowest based upon their mean scores. The motivational factors of mastery and purpose were rated similarly while autonomy was determined to be significantly lower. Correlational analysis determined that the PLC component of Supportive Conditions--Relationships was most highly correlated with each of the motivational subscales. Further, Supportive Conditions--Relationships was also found in each of the regression models used to predict autonomy, mastery, and purpose. These findings support previous research related to the decreasing levels of autonomy found in the education profession. Further, the significance of professional relationships was supported by this research. School leaders could interpret these findings as evidence for the importance of allowing teachers choice (autonomy) when possible in order to facilitate their level of motivation. One could also interpret the results of this study as an indication to spend the necessary time to invest in professional relationIncludes bibliographical references (pages 127-136)

DNA packaging by molecular motors: from bacteriophage to human chromosomes

Dense packaging of genomic DNA is crucial for organismal survival, as DNA length always far exceeds the dimensions of the cells that contain it. Organisms, therefore, use sophisticated machineries to package their genomes. These systems range across kingdoms from a single ultra-powerful rotary motor that spools the DNA into a bacteriophage head, to hundreds of thousands of relatively weak molecular motors that coordinate the compaction of mitotic chromosomes in eukaryotic cells. Recent technological advances, such as DNA proximity-based sequencing approaches, polymer modelling and in vitro reconstitution of DNA loop extrusion, have shed light on the biological mechanisms driving DNA organization in different systems. Here, we discuss DNA packaging in bacteriophage, bacteria and eukaryotic cells, which, despite their extreme variation in size, structure and genomic content, all rely on the action of molecular motors to package their genomes