An Analysis of Literature on Consumer Adoption and Diffusion of Information System/Information Technology/Information and Communication Technology

This paper provides a comprehensive and systematic review of literature pertaining to consumer/household/residential adoption and diffusion issues in relation to ICT/IT/IS to ascertain the current “state of play” within the field along a number of dimensions. Eighty articles on the adoption, acceptance and diffusion of ICT/IT/IS, published in 54 peer reviewed journals between 1998 and 2008, were reviewed, from which information on a series of variables were extracted. The subsequent findings suggest that the positivist paradigm, empirical and quantitative research, the survey method and the TAM theory were predominantly used when investigating the topics of the adoption and diffusion of technology within the consumer/household/residential context.

Management of devastating ocular trauma--experience of maxillofacial surgeons deployed to a forward field hospital

Combat-related eye injuries continue to increase in frequency and are generally secondary to Improvised Explosive Devices. Many ocular injuries are potentially preventable by the wearing of ballistic eye protection. The management of penetrating eye trauma is normally outside the routine practice of maxillofacial surgeons in the UK. The aim of this paper is to describe the surgical techniques used in the modern management of devastating ocular trauma including selected case examples managed by British military maxillofacial surgeons deployed to Afghanistan.

Guest editorial on cultural issues in global e-commerce diffusion, adoption and use

It gives us great pleasure to welcome you to this special issue of DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems, the focus of which is on "Cultural Issues in Global E-commerce Diffusion, Adoption and Use."

Electronic (e)-commerce is expanding at a rapid rate, with the online population approaching almost one and a half billion, and global online revenues being measured in trillions of dollars. This global expansion of e-commerce represents growth opportunities for businesses worldwide. However, one of the obstacles for companies attempting to extend their e-business internationally is to understand global consumers and overcome cultural barriers and language differences on the web (Singh and Pereira, 20051; Violino, 20012). Many companies are realizing that building an e-commerce website to suit an international audience is a more complex endeavor than they expected (Sheldon and Strader, 20023). As companies set up their global e-businesses, it is important for them to understand, what global trends are facilitating the rise of the web, what cultural factors influence consumer use of international websites, what motivates global consumers to make purchases at international websites, and what cultural barriers exist to diffusion and adoption of e-commerce.

This Special Issue of DATA BASE aims to advance the knowledge on the role of national culture in global e-commerce expansion. More specifically, it aims to address issues related to the impact of national culture on macro-level issues related to diffusion and adoption of ecommerce, and micro-level issues related to web site localization, international web site usage, and global online consumer behavior. The Special Issue has solicited theoretical, conceptual, and empirical studies that are inter-disciplinary in nature, as global e-commerce research is not just emerging as an important area of study in the information systems domain, but also in marketing, international business, linguistics and other disciplines.

Biologic therapy in Crohn's disease

Crohn's disease is a complex disease process causing transmural inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, which produces a constellation of symptoms including abdominal pain, frequent loose stools, fistula formation, and extraintestinal manifestations. Biologic therapy, including tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors, are a growing class of agents, which have demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of moderate to severe Crohn's disease. Their indications for use have grown, as has the understanding of their associated safety concerns.

Compressing the free energy range of substructure stabilities in iso-1-cytochrome c

Evolutionary conservation of substructure architecture between yeast iso-1-cytochrome c and the well-characterized horse cytochrome c is studied with limited proteolysis, the alkaline conformational transition and global unfolding with guanidine-HCl. Mass spectral analysis of limited proteolysis cleavage products for iso-1-cytochrome c show that its least stable substructure is the same as horse cytochrome c. The limited proteolysis data yield a free energy of 3.8 +/- 0.4 kcal mol(-1) to unfold the least stable substructure compared with 5.05 +/- 0.30 kcal mol(-1) for global unfolding of iso-1-cytochrome c. Thus, substructure stabilities of iso-1-cytochrome c span only approximately 1.2 kcal mol(-1) compared with approximately 8 kcal mol(-1) for horse cytochrome c. Consistent with the less cooperative folding thus expected for the horse protein, the guanidine-HCl m-values are approximately 3 kcal mol(-1)M(-1) versus approximately 4.5 kcal mol(-1)M(-1) for horse versus yeast cytochrome c. The tight free energy spacing of the yeast cytochrome c substructures suggests that its folding has more branch points than for horse cytochrome c. Studies on a variant of iso-1-cytochrome c with an H26N mutation indicate that the least and most stable substructures unfold sequentially and the two least stable substructures unfold independently as for horse cytochrome c. Thus, important aspects of the substructure architecture of horse cytochrome c, albeit compressed energetically, are preserved evolutionally in yeast iso-1-cytochrome c.

Thyroid function and the natural history of depression: findings from the Caerphilly Prospective Study (CaPS) and a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

Low thyroid function has been associated with depression in clinical populations. We have examined whether thyroid function in the normal range is associated with minor psychiatric morbidity.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study of 2269 middle aged men (45-59 years) with thyroid function (total T(4) only, TSH unavailable) measured between 1979 and 1983 and with repeat measures of minor psychiatric morbidity (GHQ-30) over a mean of 12.3 years follow-up. We also undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis of population-based studies examining thyroid function and mood.

RESULTS

There was a positive association between total T(4) and chronic psychiatric morbidity (odds ratio 1.21, 95% CI 1.02-1.43, P= 0.03), but this was consistent with chance after adjusting for social class, alcohol and smoking behaviours. The association with incident and recovery from psychiatric morbidity was weaker and consistent with chance. We identified seven eligible studies, from our systematic review and included six studies, including our own, in a meta-analysis. The pooled estimate showed a positive association (odds ratio 1.12, 95% CI 1.02-1.22, P-value = 0.01) between depression and T(4) and an inverse association with TSH (odds ratio 0.92, 95% CI 0.88-0.97, P= 0.0007) with no evidence of heterogeneity or publication bias.

CONCLUSION

The results from CaPS and our meta-analysis are consistent and suggest that, if anything, higher levels of thyroxine in the normal range are associated with increased risk of depression. The effects of thyroid hormone on mood may differ in normal populations and patients with clinical thyroid dysfunction.

A comparative study of anticoagulant control in patients on long-term warfarin using home and hospital monitoring of the international normalised ratio

BACKGROUND

Capillary whole-blood point-of-care prothrombin-INR (PT-INR) testing at home is an alternative to hospital-based monitoring for patients on lifelong warfarin.

AIM

To retrospectively assess the safety and efficacy of home point-of-care testing for children on long-term warfarin.

METHOD

All patients who had been on point-of-care home monitoring for at least 6 months were included in the study. Their warfarin control was assessed while on home monitoring and compared to that achieved in a similar period before changing from hospital monitoring.

RESULTS

Thirty-seven patients were studied for a mean of 1.0 year on clinic monitoring and 1.07 years on home monitoring. The clinic monitoring tests were within a therapeutic range for a median 70.0 (inter-quartile range 34.5) and the home monitoring were within range for median 75.0 (inter-quartile range 44.5). There were no major haemorrhagic or thrombotic complications in either group during the study period. Only 2.3% of all tests had an INR greater than 6.0 with no statistical differences seen between the clinic and home monitoring groups.

CONCLUSION

Home point-of-care testing in children on lifelong warfarin is safe, effective and offers a number of advantages to the child and family. Ongoing training and support for the families is essential for this service.

Parotid gland oncocytosis: CT findings with histopathologic correlation

Oncocytic neoplasms result from metabolically altered cells that accumulate abundant mitochondria within their cytoplasm by oncocytic metaplasia. In this report, the CT findings are described and correlated with the histopathologic features of a case of oncocytoma involving the parotid gland that arose in a background of nodular oncocytic hyperplasia. When imaging demonstrates multiple small nodules in the parotid gland with a large, solid, or cystic mass, the diagnosis of oncocytic neoplasia should be considered.

Early factor VIII exposure and subsequent inhibitor development in children with severe haemophilia A

Recent reports have suggested that the incidence of inhibitors in haemophilia is the highest in those first exposed to factor VIII under 6 months of age. In this study, we investigated inhibitor development in children first exposed to FVIII as neonates and also examined the effect of other genetic and environmental variables. Three hundred and forty-eight children with severe haemophilia A were investigated. Inhibitors developed in 68 of 348 (20%), with 34 of 348 (10%) high titre inhibitors. The incidence in relation to initial FVIII exposure was: <1 month nine of 35 (26%), 1-6 months 13 of 51 (25%), 6-12 months 27 of 130 (21%), 12-18 months 13 of 66 (20%) and >18 months six of 66 (9%). While we observed a significant difference in inhibitor development and age at first exposure across all age groups (P = 0.018), no significant difference was observed in children treated at different time points during the first year of life (P = 0.44). Similar results were obtained for high titre inhibitors. There was also no difference in the incidence of inhibitors in relation to initial FVIII exposure in a subgroup of 144 children with the intron 22 mutation. Inhibitors developed more frequently in those initially treated with recombinant when compared with plasma-derived FVIII (P = 0.006) and in those with a major molecular defect (P = 0.009). In this study, exposure to FVIII during the neonatal period was not associated with a higher incidence of inhibitors than those treated later during the first year of life. Initial treatment with recombinant FVIII and the presence of a major molecular defect were the most important variables affecting inhibitor development.

Inflammatory mechanisms of diabetic complications

Activation of inflammatory processes may contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. In addition, inflammation appears to be a major mechanism responsible for vascular damage leading to the clinically well-recognized complications of diabetes. Inflammatory cytokine and chemokine mediators released from visceral fat contribute to atherosclerotic plaque formation and increased risk for myocardial infarction and stroke. Activation of growth factors and adhesion molecules may promote the movement of inflammatory cells into the renal microvasculature, predisposing to the development of diabetic nephropathy. Emerging evidence also indicates that markers of inflammation are associated with the more severe forms of diabetic retinopathy. Future approaches to the treatment of diabetic complications may involve regulation of inflammatory processes, specifically targeting factors that contribute to vascular damage.

Recognition distance of pedestrian traffic signals by individuals with low vision

Forty-one individuals with moderate-to-severe vision loss participated in a study to determine the minimum distance they required to correctly identify three different pedestrian traffic icon symbols, one of which was presented with an augmented light source. We found that subjects could identify the WALK icon without the augmented light source information, or animated eyes, from farther away than either the WALK icon with the augmented light source information or the DON'T WALK icon. These results differ from those of a previous study, which found that subjects could correctly identify the WALK icon with the augmented light source from a greater distance than the WALK or DON'T WALK icons without the augmented light source.

Sonographically Guided Core Biopsy of A Parotid Mass

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of sonographically guided core biopsy in the evaluation of parotid masses.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Between 1998 and 2004, 135 patients consecutively presenting with a parotid mass were prospectively enrolled into this study. A single operator performed initial diagnostic sonography and then sonographically guided core biopsy using local anesthesia. Biopsy was performed with an 18- or 20-gauge needle and a spring-loaded biopsy gun with a mean of two passes per patient. Outcome measures were accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of sonographically guided core biopsy compared with the final pathologic diagnosis in the surgical group. In the nonsurgical group, final diagnosis was established on the basis of histologic findings after adequate core biopsy and clinical follow-up.

RESULTS

All sonographically guided core biopsy specimens were considered satisfactory for histologic evaluation. Overall there were 71 benign tumors, 35 malignant tumors, and 29 miscellaneous, nonneoplastic lesions. In 76 (56%) of the 135 patients who underwent surgery, sonographically guided core biopsy and surgical histologic findings were correlated for 74 patients. In two cases sonographically guided core biopsy and surgical histologic findings did not correlate. In one case, the sonographically guided core biopsy finding was mucoepidermoid carcinoma, but the final diagnosis was squamous cell carcinoma. In the other case, the finding at sonographically guided core biopsy was squamous cell carcinoma, but the final diagnosis was mucoepidermoid carcinoma. The treatment of these patients was not affected. Fifty-nine (44%) of the 135 patients avoided surgery. In differentiation of benign from malignant disease, sonographically guided core biopsy had a sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of 100%. Sonographically guided core biopsy also had positive and negative predictive values of 100% in the diagnosis of malignancy. There were no significant complications of sonographically guided core biopsy.

CONCLUSION

Sonographically guided core biopsy is a highly accurate technique for evaluation of parotid lesions and can be safely performed as an outpatient procedure. Sonographically guided core biopsy has potential advantages over fine-needle aspiration cytologic examination, particularly in the typing and grading of lymphoma and carcinoma and in improved differentiation of reactive nodal hyperplasia from lymphoma. The use of sonographically guided core biopsy may help reduce the need for surgical biopsy and facilitates prompt referral to the appropriate clinical team.

A review of inherited platelet disorders with guidelines for their management on behalf of the UKHCDO

The inherited platelet disorders are an uncommon cause of symptomatic bleeding. They may be difficult to diagnose (and are likely to be under-diagnosed) and pose problems in management. This review discusses the inherited platelet disorders summarising the current state of the art with respect to investigation and diagnosis and suggests how to manage bleeding manifestations with particular attention to surgical interventions and the management of pregnancy.