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This article builds on existing analyses of coopetition strategy as practice by exploring coopetition as a social-structural and relational phenomenon. We draw on social practice theory to present an analysis of coopetition in a cluster of small informal businesses in Accra, Ghana. In so doing, we adopt a comprehensive socio-cultural perspective enabling us to account for a wider range of antecedents, drivers and both intended and unintended outcomes for individuals, firms, clusters and wider institutions. We show how immersive cooperation among competing firms became a naturalised practice in the cluster, embedded as a cultural assumption. Following this, we develop a conceptual framework that shows how the actions of individuals (agency) and strength of institutional and societal (structure) influences may lead to different forms of small business coopetition strategy.

Understanding children’s emotional perceptions of creative tasks can contribute to the optimal design of music programs. Little is known of how young children perceive vocal tasks, and whether music training changes their emotional perceptions. This research examined children’s facial expressions while performing vocal imitation and improvisation tasks before and after music training. Young children ( N=79) aged four to six years were randomly assigned to a multimodal music program, Lego training, or a no-treatment control group. Their facial expressions while performing the tasks were analyzed, and learning outcomes were assessed by measuring participants’ pitch accuracy and improvisation skills at pre-and post-training. The results yielded no significant differences among the groups’ facial expressions. There was, however, a significant main effect of time such that participants showed more Surprise while performing vocal improvisation tasks. While participants in the multimodal music program scored higher on measures of pitch accuracy and improvisation skill, it may be necessary to increase the duration of early childhood music programs to reduce their feelings of apprehension when performing vocal improvisation tasks.

BACKGROUND The Atlantic horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, is valuable to fishing and biomedical industries, for education in public aquaria, and of ecological importance because the eggs provide a critical food source for migratory shorebirds. While hematologic and biochemical analyses are fundamental tools for health assessment, reports are limited for the four extant species of horseshoe crabs; L polyphemus (East Coast North America), Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda (mangrove horseshoe crab Southeast Asia), Tachypleus gigas, and Tachypleus tridentatus (Southeast and East Asia). OBJECTIVES This prospective study measured hemolymph values to determine RIs from free-ranging horseshoe crabs during the annual breeding aggregation in Delaware Bay, USA. METHODS Near-shore animals were briefly manually restrained for hemolymph collection from the cardiac sinus. Hematologic samples (25 males, 25 females) were collected for hemocytometer counts using the Natt and Herrick method. A second set of 50 animals (25 males, 25 females) was sampled for biochemistry measurands, including copper concentration by spectrophotometer, osmolality by vapor pressure osmometer, and protein electrophoresis. RESULTS Total hemocyte counts varied widely (RI 6600-44 300/µL). Electrolytes were consistent with osmoconformers living in seawater. There was a marked difference in sexes, with females showing much lower protein, glucose, and copper levels. Eleven females had multiple outliers, and all data were excluded from RI calculations. CONCLUSIONS Further studies of this species outside of spawning season are needed. Expanding our knowledge of horseshoe crab health is important to decreasing morbidity and mortality in research applications and maximizing longevity and overall health in display settings.

O livro, publicado em 2019 pela representação da UNESCO no Brasil em cooperação com a Fundação Carlos Chagas e com o Ministério da Educação, analisa as ações políticas para a formação de professores da última década. Para isso, utiliza-se de um grande volume de dados estatísticos para compreender quem são os estudantes dos cursos de licenciatura e seus professores formadores. Trata-se de uma obra com possibilidades de nortear os caminhos daqueles que pesquisam a formação de professores no Brasil. O livro é composto de nove capítulos. No primeiro, “História e contemporaneidade: formação e trabalho de professores e professoras”, é situada historicamente a questão da formação de professores no Brasil; como consequência, desvela-se também a própria escolarização dos brasileiros até os dias atuais. As autoras ressaltam que, as improvisações presentes nas ações públicas voltadas para a formação de professores, buscaram e buscam suprir a demanda por novos professores conforme as necessidades do momento.

A partir de quatro trajetórias de estudantes de Pedagogia provenientes de bairros periféricos e de famílias com baixa posse de capital cultural, analisa-se como esse grupo se relaciona com diferentes práticas culturais (cinema, literatura, música e artes visuais). Por meio de entrevistas semidiretivas, elaborou-se quatro perfis sociológicos que foram analisados tendo como referência a sociologia bourdieusiana e os conceitos de capital cultural e habitus. No decorrer do curso superior, as estudantes apresentaram dificuldades para a vivência no ambiente acadêmico. Suas práticas culturais possuem pontos de aproximação daquilo que é considerado legítimo (em música, literatura, dentre outros), ainda que ocorram de forma ocasional e não duradoura.

LONP1 is an AAA+ protease that maintains mitochondrial homeostasis by removing damaged or misfolded proteins. Elevated activity and expression of LONP1 promotes cancer cell proliferation and resistance to apoptosis-inducing reagents. Despite the importance of LONP1 in human biology and disease, very few LONP1 inhibitors have been described in the literature. Herein, we report the development of selective boronic acid-based LONP1 inhibitors using structure-based drug design as well as the first structures of human LONP1 bound to various inhibitors. Our efforts led to several nanomolar LONP1 inhibitors with little to no activity against the 20S proteasome that serve as tool compounds to investigate LONP1 biology.

African management theories and practices have received scant scholarly attention in organization and management literature. The recognition for vast opportunities for developing, adapting and exte...

Introduction Documentation is an important part of healthcare practitioners’ daily routine. The importance of documentation is well stress in the literature and by the GMC's good medical practice. Good documentation ensures patients receive the best possible clinical care. Recently, the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) published guidance aiming to improve the reported poor quality of operative documentation. Method The RCS operative notes guidelines were used as the audit criteria. These guidelines consisted of 19 domains and the adherence of the general surgery department operative documentation to each of these domains was measured. A 100% adherence to the RCS guidance was set as the audit standard. Data was collected during a period of four weeks from a set of General Surgery patients under the care of a random range of consultant surgeons. Results Data from 50 general surgery patients between 13/10/21 and 04/11/2021 were analysed. 47% of the 19 documentation domains stated by the RCS had 100% adherence. In addition, only 4% of the 50 patients’ operative notes had 100% adherence to all the 19 domains specified by the RCS. Conclusion Current operative notes documentation in the general surgery department does not meet the standards of this audit. However, possible areas of improvement are identified to bring current practice closer to the RCS operative notes guidance.

Aims Small bites (SBC) laparotomy closure (5mm fascial bites, 5mm apart) is thought to decrease incisional hernia rates compared to large bites (LBC) closure (1cm bites, 1cm apart). A colorectal surgeon in our centre changed practice following the STITCH trial. We aimed to assess whether this change affected outcomes. Methods All midline laparotomy patients immediately before and after the change in practice in 2017 were considered for inclusion. Data on demographics, co-morbidities, operation details, length of stay (LoS), complications and outcome were gathered from operation notes and electronic patient records. Follow up was censored at 12 months to make groups comparable. Results 80 patients were included (38 SBC; 42 LBC), undergoing laparotomy from August 2014-December 2020. Age, gender and ASA grade were comparable between groups. 58% SBC; 71% LBC were emergency cases. LoS was 7 days (range 3–166) for SBC; 11 (5–369) LBC. Overall wound complication rates were similar (23.7% SBC; 19% LBC, p=0.61). There were 4 (10.5%) burst abdomens following SBC and 2 (4.8%) following LBC (p=0.21). 1 (2.6%) SBC and 3 (7.1%) LBC developed incisional hernia at 12 months. Conclusions SBC did not result in decreased wound complications: although incisional hernia rate and LoS were reduced, there was a (non-significant) higher rate of burst abdomens in SBC. The latter may reflect a learning curve effect of a new technique. This study suggests SBC is feasible in a DGH, but long-term outcomes of SBC are yet to become apparent, which may have affected results in this cohort.

Marine cyanobacteria are critical players in global nutrient cycles that crucially depend on trace metals in metalloenzymes, including zinc for CO2 fixation and phosphorus acquisition. How strains proliferating in the vast oligotrophic ocean gyres thrive at ultra-low zinc concentrations is currently unknown. Using Synechococcus sp. WH8102 as a model we show that its zinc-sensor protein Zur differs from all other known bacterial Zur proteins in overall structure and the location of its sensory zinc site. Uniquely, Synechococcus Zur activates metallothionein gene expression, which supports cellular zinc quotas spanning two orders of magnitude. Thus, a single zinc sensor facilitates growth across pico- to micromolar zinc concentrations with the bonus of banking this precious resource. The resultant ability to grow well at both ultra-low and excess zinc, together with overall lower zinc requirements, likely contribute to the broad ecological distribution of Synechococcus across the global oceans.

In 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated its guidance on test methods for cleaning validations for reusable medical devices. The changes include the condition and contamination of devices, test samples and controls, cleaning process performed during validation, extraction methods, and endpoints. This article reviews the FDA's changes to cleaning validations. Examples are presented using flexible endoscopes in order to provide a practical guide to performing cleaning validations.

Introducción: El síndrome de Joubert es una ciliopatía de transmisión autosómica recesiva. Las cilias primarias cumplen funciones en la proliferación neuronal, migración axonal en cerebelo y tallo cerebral. Marie Joubert y colaboradores en 1969 publicaron 4 casos con agenesia total o parcial del vermis cerebeloso y episodios de apnea-hiperpnea neonatal. desde edades tempranas las principales manifestaciones son: trastornos del patrón respiratorio, nistagmus, anormalidades en la deglución, hipotonía, la ataxia y discapacidad intelectual. Clasicamente se ha descrito que al crecer los pacientes mejoran de las alteraciones respiratorias. Caso clínico: Se describe el caso de un paciente de 39 años hombre adulto, con retardo mental e historia de desorden del movimiento de miembros inferiores al dormir, ronquidos, pausas respiratorias y somnolencia diurna. Segundo hijo, con embarazo a término, sin escolaridad, al examen físico: disartria, falla de memoria a corto plazo y semántica, escala de Epworth: 9/24. Con hallazgo en resonancia magnética cerebral (RMN) de hipoplasia del vermis cerebeloso y de los hemisferios formando el “signo del molar.” Además, con polisomnografía que demostró apnea central del sueño. Conclusión: Es fundamental visibilizar este tipo de síndromes para establecer el diagnóstico en edad prenatal o edades temprana, lo cual permite una consejería genética oportuna y una atención multidisciplinar temprana. El tratamiento adecuado de los trastornos del sueño que tienen los pacientes es crucial para una mejor calidad de vida. Introduction: The Joubert syndrome is an autosomal recessive disorder, classified as a ciliopathy. The primary cilia have a role in neuronal proliferation and axonal migration in the cerebellum and brainstem. Marie Joubert and colleagues in 1969 published four cases with partial or total agenesis of the cerebellar vermis and apnea-hyperpnea neonatal episodic disorder. From an early age the principal manifestations are: abnormal breathing pattern, nystagmus, swallowing alterations, hypotonia, ataxia and intellectual disability. Classically, the neonatal breathing disorder improve with age. Clinical case: A 39 years old, with intellectual disability and a history of a movement disorder involving a lower extremity, snoring, episodes of central apnea, hypotonia and nystagmus. He was the second child, with an uncomplicated, full-term gestation. In the clinical exam was found dysarthria, short term and semanticmemory loss, Epworth scale: 9/24. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed cerebellar vermis hypoplasia and elongation of the hemispheres as the “molar tooth sign.” Moreover, a polysomnography study found a central sleep apnea disorder. Discussion: It is fundamental to recognize this syndrome to establish a prenatal or an early age diagnosis, for a multidisciplinary approach and an early genetic counseling. The treatment of the sleep disorder in these patients is crucial for a better quality of life.