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Jasdeep Saini,1 Alessandro Faroni,2,3 Marwah Abd Al Samid,1 Adam J Reid,2,3 Adam P Lightfoot,1 Kamel Mamchaoui,4 Vincent Mouly,4 Gillian Butler-Browne,4 Jamie S McPhee,5 Hans Degens,1,6,7 Nasser Al-Shanti1 1Musculoskeletal Science & Sports Medicine Research Centre, School of Healthcare Science, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK; 2Blond McIndoe Laboratories, Division of Cell Matrix Biology and Regenerative Medicine, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, UK; 3Department of Plastic Surgery & Burns, University Hospitals of South Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, UK; 4Center for Research in Myology, Sorbonne Université–INSERM, Paris, France; 5Department of Sport and Exercise Science, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK; 6Institute of Sport Science and Innovations, Lithuanian Sports University, Kaunas, Lithuania; 7University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Targu Mures, Targu Mures, Romania Background: Neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) consist of the presynaptic cholinergic motoneuron terminals and the corresponding postsynaptic motor endplates on skeletal muscle fibers. At the NMJ the action potential of the neuron leads, via release of acetylcholine, to muscle membrane depolarization that in turn is translated into muscle contraction and physical movement. Despite the fact that substantial NMJ research has been performed, the potential of in vivo NMJ investigations is inadequate and difficult to employ. A simple and reproducible in vitro NMJ model may provide a robust means to study the impact of neurotrophic factors, growth factors, and hormones on NMJ formation, structure, and function. Methods: This report characterizes a novel in vitro NMJ model utilizing immortalized human skeletal muscle stem cells seeded on 35 mm glass-bottom dishes, cocultured and innervated with spinal cord explants from rat embryos at ED 13.5. The cocultures were fixed and stained on day 14 for analysis and assessment of NMJ formation and development. Results: This unique serum- and trophic factor-free system permits the growth of cholinergic motoneurons, the formation of mature NMJs, and the development of highly differentiated contractile myotubes, which exhibit appropriate configuration of transversal triads, representative of in vivo conditions. Conclusion: This coculture system provides a tool to study vital features of NMJ formation, regulation, maintenance, and repair, as well as a model platform to explore neuromuscular diseases and disorders affecting NMJs. Keywords: neuromuscular junction, NMJ, coculture, myoblast, myotube, motor neuron, motoneuron

Marwah Abd Al Samid,1 Jamie S McPhee,2 Jasdeep Saini,1 Tristan R McKay,1 Lorna M Fitzpatrick,1 Kamel Mamchaoui,3 Anne Bigot,3 Vincent Mouly,3 Gillian Butler-Browne,3 Nasser Al-Shanti1 1Healthcare Science Research Institute, School of Healthcare Science, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK; 2Department of Sport and Exercise Science, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK; 3Center for Research in Myology, Sorbonne Université-INSERM, Paris, France Background: Although considerable research on neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) has been conducted, the prospect of in vivo NMJ studies is limited and these studies are challenging to implement. Therefore, there is a clear unmet need to develop a feasible, robust, and physiologically relevant in vitro NMJ model. Objective: We aimed to establish a novel functional human NMJs platform, which is serum and neural complex media/neural growth factor-free, using human immortalized myoblasts and human embryonic stem cells (hESCs)-derived neural progenitor cells (NPCs) that can be used to understand the mechanisms of NMJ development and degeneration. Methods: Immortalized human myoblasts were co-cultured with hESCs derived committed NPCs. Over the course of the 7 days myoblasts differentiated into myotubes and NPCs differentiated into motor neurons. Results: Neuronal axon sprouting branched to form multiple NMJ innervation sites along the myotubes and the myotubes showed extensive, spontaneous contractile activity. Choline acetyltransferase and βIII-tubulin immunostaining confirmed that the NPCs had matured into cholinergic motor neurons. Postsynaptic site of NMJs was further characterized by staining dihydropyridine receptors, ryanodine receptors, and acetylcholine receptors by α-bungarotoxin. Conclusion: We established a functional human motor unit platform for in vitro investigations. Thus, this co-culture system can be used as a novel platform for 1) drug discovery in the treatment of neuromuscular disorders, 2) deciphering vital features of NMJ formation, regulation, maintenance, and repair, and 3) exploring neuromuscular diseases, age-associated degeneration of the NMJ, muscle aging, and diabetic neuropathy and myopathy. Keywords: motor unit, neuromuscular junctions, human embryonic stem cells, neuronal progenitor cells, human myoblasts

A survey of scientists and engineers in research and educational institutions in India investigated the strengths and weaknesses of the existing system of administering research and development (R&D) projects. Topics addressed include proposal submission, peer review, project reporting, budgeting, interagency interaction, and project evaluation. (Author/MSE)

A review of the extant scholarly literature reveals that ethnographic methods have seldom been employed in the study of the behaviour of small businesses. This perhaps derives from the impression, belied by published ethnographies, that insofar as small businesses are often run by a single person or a very small group of individuals who try on various hats and fill various roles, they have little or no time for a fieldworker. Besides, the size of small businesses stands in inverse relation to their number, thus tending to accentuate concerns about the generalizability and external validity of the findings that are engendered by fieldwork-intensive ethnographies of single settings. Our objective in this report has been to make an empirical case for injecting qualitative research methods, specifically participant observation, for studying small business behaviour. We consider two radically different contexts: (i) small, neighbourhood outlets that retail groceries and (ii) small businesses that are spawned by government privatisation. With regard to the former, we draw upon secondary ethnographic data to build a rich theory of financial success that features less obvious antecedents such as the control over shoplifting as well as associated tactics. In relation to the latter context, we elucidate patterns of behaviour that deviate from the norm of 'simple ' structures. Specifically, such businesses can manifest not-so-simple structures owing to a reversion by members to prior statuses and divisions of labour that obtained in the parent government organisation., Introduction In the tradition of cultural anthropology, ethnography is the systematic, organized, and detailed description of a particular culture and includes the procedures through which such information is collected. In [...]

The authors examine the emotion of envy as it relates to peer groups and social interaction. Topics include group scapegoating, psychological aspects of group interaction, and the tall poppy syndrome.

We discuss several issues related to the study of an international setting that is marked by severe conflict between superiors and subordinates. The discussion is based on our experiences during fieldwork conducted in an Indian R&D team which manifested such conflict. We also relate our discussion to the reports of other researchers who have studied similar settings. We first argue that for studying such a conflictive setting, a multi-method, qualitative approach (incorporating participant observation, informal interviews, etc.) is more effective in important aspects than a survey mode of inquiry involving the one-off administration of questionnaires and formal interviews. We then discuss several problematic issues in doing fieldwork successfully in a conflictive setting. These include having to establish rapport with organizational members, maintain confidentiality of the identities of key informants, remain neutral, and conduct informal interviews discreetly in the setting. We conclude with a brief discussion of the implications of the field experience for future researchers of conflictive settings. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.), Abstract We discuss several issues related to the study of an organizational setting that is marked by severe conflict between superiors and subordinates. The discussion is based on our experiences [...]

Human satellite cells derived from quadriceps and masseter muscles do not express fast and slow myosin heavy chains (MHCs). However, fused muscle cell cultures express matured fast and slow MHCs along with fetal and embryonic isoforms. The fast and slow MHCs are coexpressed in the same myotubes with the slow MHCs limited to the nuclear region.

The comparative analysis of the research methodologies adopted by an in-house research and development team at a private company and a research team at a public institute in India is presented.

Byline: Ljiljana Erakovic, Thomas Hamilton Forster, V. Suchitra Mouly This paper summarises the key insights from two studies of organisational and industrial change using qualitative inquiry. In both studies, qualitative research served to reveal dynamic/ongoing processes of change in a variety of settings, in each of which change arose from the corporatisation/privatisation of state-owned enterprises and industries in the wake of economic liberalisation. The first study investigated changes in organisational design of sixteen New Zealand corporatised and privatised organisations. The second study examined the content and process of change associated with the deregulation of the electricity industries in a developed country (New Zealand) and a developing country (The Gambia).

Timing the formation of a small business is identified as a predictor of its success. Data are drawn from two New Zealand firms spun off from federal service agencies. The firm that formed while the agency's demise was apparent but not concluded survived the transition, while the one that formed after the agency closed did not.