A Review on Salivary Genomics and Proteomics Biomarkers in Oral Cancer

Oral cancer has emerged as an alarming public health problem with increasing incidence and mortality rates all over the world. Therefore, the implementation of newer screening and early detection approaches are of utmost importance which could reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with this disease. Sensitive and specific biomarkers for oral cancer are likely to be most effective for screening, diagnosis, staging and follow-up for this dreaded malignancy. Unlike other deep cancers, oral cancer is located in oral cavity. Hence, the direct contact between saliva and oral cancer lesion makes the measurement of tumor markers in saliva an attractive alternative to serum and tissue testing. The DNA, RNA and protein molecules derived from the living cancer cells can be conveniently obtained from saliva. Thus, salivary biomarkers, a non-invasive alternative to serum and tissue-based biomarkers may be an effective modality for early diagnosis, prognostication and monitoring post therapy status. In the current post-genomic era, various technologies provide opportunities for high-throughput approaches to genomics and proteomics; which have been used to evaluate altered expressions of gene and protein targets in saliva of oral cancer patients. The emerging field of salivary biomarkers has great potentials to prove its clinical significance to combat oral cancer. Hence, we have reviewed importance of several salivary genomics and proteomics biomarkers for oral cancer.     

Are we using Thyroid Function Tests Appropriately?

Thyroid function tests are very important for the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with thyroid dysfunction. The guidelines recommend serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) as the single most reliable test to diagnose all common forms of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. The aim of this study was to analyze the ordering pattern for thyroid function tests by physicians and the analysis of results based on the clinical history. The mean age of the patients was 32.5 ± 6.5 years. Majority of samples (87.7% of total) were received from the departments of Medicine and Gynae. Thyroid profiles (47.5%) were ordered more frequently as compared to TSH only (46%). There was no significant difference in the percentage of normal reports for both types of tests. 77.8% of TFT and 76.6% of TSH samples had results within the reference range. The percentage of abnormal results was 13.7% in the patients who were screened for thyroid disorders. There is a need to redefine the case definition for thyroid dysfunction and order the appropriate test in a rational and cost effective manner.     

Application of Sigma Metrics for the Assessment of Quality Assurance in Clinical Biochemistry Laboratory in India: A Pilot Study

Ensuring quality of laboratory services is the need of the hour in the field of health care. Keeping in mind the revolution ushered by six sigma concept in corporate world, health care sector may reap the benefits of the same. Six sigma provides a general methodology to describe performance on sigma scale. We aimed to gauge our laboratory performance by sigma metrics. Internal quality control (QC) data was analyzed retrospectively over a period of 6 months from July 2009 to December 2009. Laboratory mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation were calculated for all the parameters. Sigma was calculated for both the levels of internal QC. Satisfactory sigma values (>6) were elicited for creatinine, triglycerides, SGOT, CPK-Total and Amylase. Blood urea performed poorly on the sigma scale with sigma <3. The findings of our exercise emphasize the need for detailed evaluation and adoption of ameliorative measures in order to effectuate six sigma standards for all the analytical processes.     

Entrepreneurial effectiveness of European universities: An empirical assessment of antecedents and trade-offs

The phenomenon of entrepreneurial universities has received considerable attention over the last decades. An entrepreneurial orientation by academia might put regions and nations in an advantageous position in emerging knowledge-intensive fields of economic activity. At the same time, such entrepreneurial orientation requires reconciliation with the scientific missions of academia. Large-scale empirical research on antecedents of the entrepreneurial effectiveness of universities is scarce. This contribution examines the extent to which scientific productivity affect entrepreneurial effectiveness, taking into account the size of universities and the presence of disciplines, as well as the R&D intensity of the regional business environment (BERD). In addition, we assess the occurrence of trade-offs between different transfer mechanisms (contract research, patenting and spin off activity). The data used pertain to 105 European universities. Our findings reveal that scientific productivity is positively associated with entrepreneurial effectiveness. Trade-offs between transfer mechanisms do not reveal themselves; on the contrary, contract research and spin off activities tend to facilitate each other. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.     

Influencing citizen behavior: Experiences from multichannel marketing pilot projects

Information technology allows national and local governments to satisfy the needs of citizens in a cost effective way. Unfortunately, citizens still tend to prefer traditional, more costly channels, such as the front desk, phone and mail. Through pilot projects government agencies attempt to influence this behavior of citizens, directing them towards the online channel. With this paper we provide insight into the possibility to influence citizens’ behavior in the complex landscape of multi-channel service provision. The paper systematically compares five pilot projects using a framework that is based on organizational and marketing literature. The results show that socio-psychological factors are crucial in multi-channel management, much more than the technology itself. We conclude that citizens can be directed towards the online channel. However, not all projects are successful. Economic and legal instruments tend to sort more direct effects than communication or service instruments. Moreover, organizational factors such as bureaucracy often hinder eventual success. Choosing a smart and relatively small scope and strong project manager may help to evoke success in directing citizen online behavior.     

Fear and Loathing in the Fog: The Perceived (and Persistent) Vagaries of Tenure Standards Among Mass Communication Professors

Perhaps nothing strikes more fear into the hearts of all tenure-track professors than the process itself. Are four papers in this journal good enough? Are eight papers in another okay? What if someone doesn’t like me or my area of research? These issues have plagued academia since the first essay was penned by the first researcher hundreds of years ago. While personal bias and journal preference continue to infect honest tenure reviews, solutions exist. This does not mean we have a magic bullet to solve issues of bullying or elitism. However, if we are honest in our desire to improve the Academy, we should avail ourselves of every possible tool for improvement. This essay is based on a survey sent to 2,500 mass communication educators. Of the almost 500 respondents, roughly 10% took the time to express emotions that ranged from fear and confusion to outright rage and anger, all because what ought to be clear is not. The author offers 10 ideas of how academia can improve its evaluation of new faculty, as well as a few suggestions regarding the unnecessary inclusion of personal issues in a process that ought to be about creating better researchers and teachers.     

The Rise of Global Publishing and the Fall of the Dream of the Global Book: The Editing of Peter Carey

The article documents the editorial relationship between Peter Carey and his New York based editor for Knopf, Gary Fisketjon, who worked with Carey on his True History of the Kelly Gang. This account provides the basis for a discussion of how globalised publishing, while promising unity—a single text across all territories—has instead introduced a tension into the previously cohesive triad of author, editor, and the single authorized text. As Fisketjon’s experience lays bare, major contemporary texts that are published in multiple editions in different global centers may well proceed through competing or at least parallel editing processes with different presses, different editors, and in different publishing territories. The authorized single edition, even of major literary texts, has been replaced by competing editions. The single edit and editor have been replaced by competing “servant[s] of the writer” (to use Fisketjon’s phrase). Cohesion, while not quite giving way to disunity, gives way to multiplicity and plurality. The experience of the Kelly Gang book is cast against a longer narrative of Carey’s interactions with editors including the University of Queensland Press (UQP) from the 1970s and Faber from the 1980s.     

Student Attitudes and Behaviors Towards Digital Textbooks

The purpose of this article is to add to the collective body of knowledge on student behavior and attitudes relative to the adoption of digital textbooks. The article summarizes an ongoing research project that examines past, current and evolving behavior in the classroom related to digital textbooks and school. It includes students, faculty and administrative attitudes behaviors and perceptions. This research was undertaken at the Sawyer Business School of Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts. Student attitudes and behavior toward their use of digital textbooks (eTextbooks) in higher education was examined in an ongoing longitudinal study over two years at Sawyer Business School, Suffolk University. Students in the class were divided into six teams. Five of the teams were assigned an eTextbook device and the sixth team was given a paper textbook for use through the semester. The digital technologies examined were: Amazon Kindle, Sony eReader Touch, Apple iPad, enTourage eDGe, and CourseSmart. Student attitudes and behaviors were examined pre and post class by survey each semester, and during the semesters through quizzes, journals and classroom discussion. Differential learning was measured between the six teams. Student attitudes and behaviors are becoming more receptive to and accepting of using digital textbooks each year. There was no significant difference in learning between the eTextbook devices teams or between them and the paper textbook team.