9 research outputs found
Studying sulphur functional groups in Norway spruce year rings using S L-edge total electron yield spectroscopy
No full textGenetic association study of QT interval highlights role for calcium signaling pathways in myocardial repolarization.
No full textThe QT interval, an electrocardiographic measure reflecting myocardial repolarization, is a heritable trait. QT prolongation is a risk factor for ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death (SCD) and could indicate the presence of the potentially lethal mendelian long-QT syndrome (LQTS). Using a genome-wide association and replication study in up to 100,000 individuals, we identified 35 common variant loci associated with QT interval that collectively explain ∼8-10% of QT-interval variation and highlight the importance of calcium regulation in myocardial repolarization. Rare variant analysis of 6 new QT interval-associated loci in 298 unrelated probands with LQTS identified coding variants not found in controls but of uncertain causality and therefore requiring validation. Several newly identified loci encode proteins that physically interact with other recognized repolarization proteins. Our integration of common variant association, expression and orthogonal protein-protein interaction screens provides new insights into cardiac electrophysiology and identifies new candidate genes for ventricular arrhythmias, LQTS and SCD
Resilient places? The healthcare gardens and the Maggie's Centres
No full textThis thesis takes as its focus the Maggie’s Cancer Centres exploring for the first time the impact of their designed gardens. This research is situated within the immediate context of Maggie’s ambitions as an organisation and looks closely at their design process. It is also set within the wider debates about the effects of green space on health and the historical context of the restorative garden. By exploring both historical and contemporary examples, it argues that a healthcare garden may be a space for transformation.
Using four different Maggie’s gardens as case studies, the research seeks to investigate the role of these outdoor spaces and their impact on users. Through ethnographic and sensory methods, each garden is considered and mapped. It looks at the design brief and the intentions of the designers’, but the core work is an exploration of the experiences of staff and visitors. The focus is on the everyday use of these gardens as well as the design historiography. The experiences of gardens within healthcare are examined in order to expose the ways in which gardens, people, health and care are entwined.
Through the qualitative research process this thesis develops a new hypothesis as to how healthcare gardens may operate – offering a new definition for them as “resilient places”. Careful analysis of the data reveals the specific networks and affordances presented by these gardens. The thesis argues, based on the evidence of users, that healthcare gardens can uniquely embrace certain “essences” where essence is defined as conveying a quality or attribute. These garden essences are identified as thresholds, sensory richness, the density of time and homeliness. The thesis also argues that a healthcare garden can provide specific and unique opportunities for care and this, in turn, can enhance the healing ethos of an organisation such as Maggie’s
Helping Families Change Childhood Obesity
No full textThe prevalence of childhood obesity is increasing at an alarming rate and is implicated in the onset of serious and life threatening health problems of both a physical and psychological nature. The current research comprised of three main components. Firstly, the reliability of a readiness to change questionnaire was examined, which had been completed by parents of obese children enrolled in the Bodywise childhood obesity programme. Secondly, an analysis of outcome data from 36 families who completed the above programme was also undertaken in order to determine if the data identified their stage of change, as defined by the questionnaire Thirdly, four semi-structured interviews were conducted with families involved with the Bodywise programme. These parents provided information related to their experiences of lifestyle change, including what initiated change, what assisted change, and what barriers to change they had encountered. Findings revealed that in accordance with the transtheoretical model the readiness to change questionnaire was a reasonably reliable instrument for indentifying parents' readiness to change their child's eating patterns and physical activity levels. Analysis of the outcome data from the 36 families revealed individuals in the action stage of change for both eating and physical activity made more rapid change at the outset of the programme than individuals in earlier stages of change. In addition, information derived from the interviews with families identified several promoters and barriers to change, many of which were similar across families. Until now no studies have examined the application of the transtheoretical model to an intervention for childhood obesity. Previous research has shown support for the model's use with other health problems. Overall this study lends support for the utility of the transtheoretical model in childhood obesity intervention
Corylus avellana L. Husks an Underutilized Waste but a Valuable Source of Polyphenols
No full text[EN] Bioactive potential of hazelnut husks was determined as a function of their cultivar source and extraction solvent. Hazelnut husks from four hazelnut cultivars (Butler, Grada de Viseu, Lansing and Morell) were picked in a hazelnut orchard at harvest and extracted with five solvents with different polarity: water, methanol, acetone, ethyl acetate and hexane. Phenolics were identified by HPLC-DAD and antioxidant activity was determined by three complementary methods: DPPH, FRAP and inhibition of lipid peroxidation. A total of 11 phenolics were identified in studied cultivars and grouped in five main classes namely, ellagitannin (ellagic acid), benzoic acids (gallic acid, protocatechuic acid and vanillic acid), flavonols (kaempferol-3,7-O-diglucoside, kaempferol-3-O-[6-acetylglucoside]-7-O-glucoside, kaempferol-3-O-[6acetylglucoside]-7-O-rhamnoside and quercetin-3-O-rutinoside), flavone (luteolin-7-O-rutinoside) and flavan-3-ol (epicatechin). Cultivar and extraction solvent influenced significantly (p < 0.001) the extraction yield. 'Grada de Viseu' husks presented the highest content of individual phenolics identified, particularly in methanol extracts whilst 'Lansing' showed the lowest levels. Similar pattern was found for antioxidant activities. Methanolic husk extracts exhibited the greatest antioxidant potentials followed by water and acetone. The valorization of hazelnuts by-products gives an important contribution for the isolation and purification of bioactive molecules that can be used for both medicinal and industrial purposes.The author Sandra Cabo acknowledges the financial support by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (PB/BD/113615/2015) under the Doctoral Programme "Agricultural Production Chains-from fork to farm" (PD/00122/2012). The authors also acknowledge the financial support provided by National Funds from FCT, under the project UID/AGR/04033/2019. The authors acknowledge the financial support of INTERACT project "Integrative Research in Environment, Agro-Chains and Technology", no. NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000017, in its line of research entitled ISAC, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through NORTE 2020 (North Regional Operational Program 2014/2020) and Project IBERPHENOL, Project Number 0377_IBERPHENOL_6_E, co-financed by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through POCTEP 2014-2020.Cabo, S.; Aires, A.; Carvalho, R.; Pascual-Seva, N.; Silva, AP.; Gonçalves, B. (2021). Corylus avellana L. Husks an Underutilized Waste but a Valuable Source of Polyphenols. Waste and Biomass Valorization. 12(7):3629-3644. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-020-01246-4S36293644127Molnar, T.J., Goffreda, J.C., Funk, C.R.: Developing hazelnuts for the eastern United States. Acta Hortic. 686, 609–618 (2005)Lopez-Calleja, I.M., Cruz, S.D., La Pegels, N., Gonzalez, I., Garcia, T., Martin, R.: High resolution TaqMan real-time PCR approach to detect hazelnut DNA encoding for ITS rDNA in foods. Food Chem. 141, 1872–1880 (2005)Shahidi, F., Alasalvar, C., Liyana-Pathirana, C.M.: Antioxidant phytochemicals in hazelnut kernel (Corylus avellana L.) and hazelnut byproducts. J. Agric. Food Chem. 55, 1212–1220 (2007)Bacchetta, L., Rovira, M., Tronci, C., Aramini, M., Drogoudi, P., Silva, A.P., Solar, A., Avanzato, D., Botta, R., Valentini, N., Boccacci, P.: A multidisciplinary approach to enhance the conservation and use of hazelnut Corylus avellana L. genetic resources. Genet. Resour. Crop Evol. 62, 649–663 (2005)FAO. Agricultural Production Crops—Hazelnut. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Access online: https://faostat.fao.org. (2016)Uzuner, S., Cekmecelioglu, D.: Hydrolysis of hazelnut shells as a carbon source for bioprocessing applications and fermentation. Int. J. Food Eng. 10, 799–808 (2014)Çöpür, Y., Güler, C., Akgül, M., Taşçioǧlu, C.: Some chemical properties of hazelnut husk and its suitability for particleboard production. Build. Environ. 42, 2568–2572 (2007)Guney, M.S.: Utilization of hazelnut husk as biomass. Sustain. Energy Technol. Assess. 4, 72–77 (2013)Masullo, M., Cerulli, A., Mari, A., de Souza, S.C.C., Pizza, C., Piacente, S.: LC-MS profiling highlights hazelnut (Nocciola di Giffoni PGI) shells as a byproduct rich in antioxidant phenolics. Food Res. Int. 101, 180–187 (2017)Yuan, B., Lu, M., Eskridge, K.M., Isom, L.D., Hanna, M.A.: Extraction, identification, and quantification of antioxidant phenolics from hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) shells. Food Chem. 244, 7–15 (2018)Li, A.N., Li, S., Zhang, Y.J., Xu, X.R., Chen, Y.M., Li, H.B.: Resources and biological activities of natural polyphenols. Nutrients 6, 6020–6047 (2014)Li, F., Li, S., Li, H.B., Deng, G.F., Ling, W.H., Wu, S., Xu, X.R., Chen, F.: Antiproliferative activity of peels, pulps and seeds of 61 fruits. J. Funct. Foods 5, 1298–1309 (2013)Bouayed, J., Bohn, T.: Exogenous antioxidants—double-edged swords in cellular redox state: health beneficial effects at physiologic doses versus deleterious effects at high doses. Oxid. Med. Cell Longev. 3, 228–237 (2010)Ignat, I., Volf, I., Popa, V.I.: A critical review of methods for characterisation of polyphenolic compounds in fruits and vegetables. Food Chem. 126, 1821–1835 (2011)Kottek, M., Grieser, J., Beck, C., Rudolf, B., Rubel, F.: World map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated. Meteorol. Z. 15(3), 259–263 (2006)John, K.M.M., Harnly, J., Luthri, D.: Influence of direct and sequential extraction methodology on metabolic profiling. J. Chromatogr. B 1073, 34–42 (2018)Singleton, V.L., Rossi, J.A.: Colorometry of total phenolics with phosphomolybdic-phosphotungstic acid reagents. Am. J. Enol. Vitic. 16, 144–158 (1965)Dewanto, V., Wu, X., Adom, K.K., Liu, R.H.: Thermal processing enhances the nutritional value of tomatoes by increasing total antioxidant activity. J. Agric. Food Chem. 50, 3010–3014 (2002)Lichtenthaler, H.K., Wellburn, A.R.: Determination of total carotenoids and chlorophylls a and b of leaf in different solvents. Biol. Soc. Trans. 11, 591–592 (1983)Aires, A., Carvalho, R., Rosa, E.A.S., Saavedra, M.J.: Phytochemical characterization and antioxidant properties of organic baby-leaf watercress produced under organic production system. CyTA-J. Food. 11, 343–351 (2013)Siddhraju, P., Becker, K.: Antioxidant properties of various solvents extracts of total phenolic constituents from three different agroclimatic origins of drumstick tree (Moringa oleifera Lam) leaves. J. Agric. Food Chem. 51, 2144–2155 (2003)Benzie, I.F.F., Strain, J.J.: The ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) as a measure of “antioxidant power”: the FRAP assay. Anal. Biochem. 239, 70–76 (1996)Ruberto, G., Baratta, M.T., Deans, S.G., Dorman, H.J.D.: Antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of Foeniculum vulgare and Crithmum maritimum essential oils. Planta Med. 66, 687–693 (2000)Shaidi, F., Alasalvar, C., Liyana-Pathirana, C.M.: Antioxidant phytochemicals in hazelnut kernel (Corylus avellana L.) and hazelnut byproducts. J. Agric. Food Chem. 55, 1212–1220 (2007)Rusu, M.E., Fizeșan, I., Pop, A., Gheldiu, A.-M., Mocan, A., Crișan, G., Vlase, L., Loghin, F., Popa, D.-S., Tomuta, I.: Enhanced recovery of antioxidant compounds from hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) involucre based on extraction optimization: phytochemical profile and biological activities. Antioxidants 8, 460 (2019)Boulekbache-Makhlouf, L., Medouni, L., Medouni-Adrar, S., Arkoub, L., Madani, K.: Effect of solvents extraction on phenolic content and antioxidant activity of the byproduct of eggplant. Ind. Crops Prod. 49, 668–674 (2013)Fanali, C., Tripodo, G., Russo, M., Della, P.S., Pasqualetti, V., De Gara, L.: Effect of solvent on the extraction of phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity of hazelnut kernel. Electrophoresis 39(13), 1683–1691 (2018)Aires, A.: Phenolics in foods: extraction, analysis and measurements. In: Soto-Hernandez, M., Tenango, M.P., Rosario Garcia-Mateos, M. (eds.) Phenolic Compounds—Natural Sources, Importance and Applications, pp. 61–88. IntechOpen, London, SE19SG-United Kingdom. ISBN 978-953-51-2958-5 (2017)Nobossé, P., Fombang, E.N., Mbofung, C.M.F.: Effects of age and extraction solvent on phytochemical content and antioxidant activity of fresh Moringa oleifera L. leaves. Food Sci. Nutr. 6, 2188–2198 (2018)Elfalleh, W., Kirkan, B., Sarikurkcu, C.: Antioxidant potential and phenolic composition of extracts from Stachys tmolea: an endemic plant from Turkey. Ind. Crops Prod. 27, 212–216 (2019)Chang, Y., Chou, D.-S., Sheu, J.-R., Chen, W.-F., Lin, K.-H., Hsieh, C.-Y., Lin, L.-J., Chang, C.-C.: Novel bioactivity of ellagic acid in inhibiting human platelet activation. Evid. Based Complement. Altern. Med. 2013, 1–9 (2013)Farbood, Y., Sarkaki, A., Dianat, M., Khodadadi, A., Haddad, M.K., Mashhadizadeh, S.: Ellagic acid prevents cognitive and hippocampal long-term potentiation deficits and brain inflammation in rat with traumatic brain injury. Life Sci. 124, 120–127 (2015)Punithavathi, V.R., Prince, P.S.M., Kumar, R., Selvakumari, J.: Antihyperglycaemic antilipid peroxidative and antioxidant effects of gallic acid on streptozotocin induced diabetic Wistar rats. Eur. J. Pharmacol. 650, 465–471 (2011)Huang, W.W., Tsai, S.C., Peng, S.F., Lin, M.W., Chiang, J.H., Chiu, Y.J., Fushiya, S., Tseng, M.T., Yang, J.S.: Kaempferol induces autophagy through AMPK and AKT signalling molecules and causes G 2/M arrest via downregulation of CDK1/cyclin B in SK-HEP-1 human hepatic cancer cells. Int. J. Oncol. 42, 2069–2077 (2013)Kashafi, E., Moradzadeh, M., Mohamadkhani, A., Erfanian, S.: Kaempferol increases apoptosis in human cervical cancer HeLa cells via PI3K/AKT and telomerase pathways. Biomed. Pharmacother. 89, 573–577 (2017)Labbé, D.P., Zadra, G., Ebot, E.M., Mucci, L.A., Kantoff, P.W., Loda, M., Brown, M.: Role of diet in prostate cancer: the epigenetic link. Oncogene 34, 4683–4691 (2015)Yap, S.: Reversing breast cancer in a premenopausal woman: a case for phyto-nutritional therapy. Int. J. Biotechnol. Wellness Ind. 4, 25–39 (2015)Esposito, T., Sansone, F., Franceschelli, S., Del Gaudio, P., Picerno, P., Aquino, R.P., Mencherini, T.: Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) shells extract: phenolic composition, antioxidant effect and cytotoxic activity on human cancer cell lines. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 18, 392 (2017)Tungmunnithum, D., Thongboonyou, A., Pholboon, A., Yangsabai, A.: Flavonoids and other phenolic compounds from medicinal plants for pharmaceutical and medical aspects: an overview. Medicines (Basel, Switzerland) 5, 93 (2018
Allergic rhinitis and its impact on asthma (ARIA): achievements in 10 years and future needs
No full textAllergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma represent global health problems for all age groups. Asthma and rhinitis frequently coexist in the same subjects. Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) was initiated during a World Health Organization workshop in 1999 (published in 2001). ARIA has reclassified AR as mild/moderate-severe and intermittent/persistent. This classification closely reflects patients' needs and underlines the close relationship between rhinitis and asthma. Patients, clinicians, and other health care professionals are confronted with various treatment choices for the management of AR. This contributes to considerable variation in clinical practice, and worldwide, patients, clinicians, and other health care professionals are faced with uncertainty about the relative merits and downsides of the various treatment options. In its 2010 Revision, ARIA developed clinical practice guidelines for the management of AR and asthma comorbidities based on the Grading of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system. ARIA is disseminated and implemented in more than 50 countries of the world. Ten years after the publication of the ARIA World Health Organization workshop report, it is important to make a summary of its achievements and identify the still unmet clinical, research, and implementation needs to strengthen the 2011 European Union Priority on allergy and asthma in children
Discernment of relevation in the Gospel of Matthew
No full textEThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo
A genome-wide gene-environment interaction study of breast cancer risk for women of European ancestry
No full textFunding Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. BCAC is funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (grant numbers 634935 and 633784 for BRIDGES and B-CAST respectively), and the PERSPECTIVE I&I project, funded by the Government of Canada through Genome Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Ministère de l’Économie et de l'Innovation du Québec through Genome Québec, the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation. The EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme funding source had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation or writing of the report. Additional funding for BCAC is provided via the Confluence project which is funded with intramural funds from the National Cancer Institute Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health. Genotyping of the OncoArray was funded by the NIH Grant U19 CA148065, and Cancer Research UK Grant C1287/A16563 and the PERSPECTIVE project supported by the Government of Canada through Genome Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (grant GPH-129344) and, the Ministère de l’Économie, Science et Innovation du Québec through Genome Québec and the PSRSIIRI-701 grant, and the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation. Funding for iCOGS came from: the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement n° 223175 (HEALTH-F2-2009–223175) (COGS), Cancer Research UK (C1287/A10118, C1287/A10710, C12292/A11174, C1281/A12014, C5047/A8384, C5047/A15007, C5047/A10692, C8197/A16565), the National Institutes of Health (CA128978) and Post-Cancer GWAS initiative (1U19 CA148537, 1U19 CA148065 and 1U19 CA148112—the GAME-ON initiative), the Department of Defence (W81XWH-10–1-0341), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for the CIHR Team in Familial Risks of Breast Cancer, and Komen Foundation for the Cure, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. The BRIDGES panel sequencing was supported by the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program BRIDGES (grant number, 634935) and the Wellcome Trust (v203477/Z/16/Z). The Australian Breast Cancer Family Study (ABCFS) was supported by grant UM1 CA164920 from the National Cancer Institute (USA). The content of this manuscript does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the National Cancer Institute or any of the collaborating centers in the Breast Cancer Family Registry (BCFR), nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the USA Government or the BCFR. The ABCFS was also supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, the New South Wales Cancer Council, the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (Australia) and the Victorian Breast Cancer Research Consortium. J.L.H. is a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Senior Principal Research Fellow. M.C.S. is a NHMRC Senior Research Fellow. The ABCS study was supported by the Dutch Cancer Society [grants NKI 2007–3839; 2009 4363]. The Australian Breast Cancer Tissue Bank (ABCTB) was supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, The Cancer Institute NSW and the National Breast Cancer Foundation. The AHS study is supported by the intramural research program of the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute (grant number Z01-CP010119), and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (grant number Z01-ES049030). The work of the BBCC was partly funded by ELAN-Fond of the University Hospital of Erlangen. The BCEES was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia and the Cancer Council Western Australia and acknowledges funding from the National Breast Cancer Foundation (JS). For the BCFR-NY, BCFR-PA, BCFR-UT this work was supported by grant UM1 CA164920 from the National Cancer Institute. The content of this manuscript does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the National Cancer Institute or any of the collaborating centers in the Breast Cancer Family Registry (BCFR), nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the US Government or the BCFR. The BCINIS study is supported in part by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). The BREast Oncology GAlician Network (BREOGAN) is funded by Acción Estratégica de Salud del Instituto de Salud Carlos III FIS PI12/02125/Cofinanciado and FEDER PI17/00918/Cofinanciado FEDER; Acción Estratégica de Salud del Instituto de Salud Carlos III FIS Intrasalud (PI13/01136); Programa Grupos Emergentes, Cancer Genetics Unit, Instituto de Investigacion Biomedica Galicia Sur. Xerencia de Xestion Integrada de Vigo-SERGAS, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain; Grant 10CSA012E, Consellería de Industria Programa Sectorial de Investigación Aplicada, PEME I + D e I + D Suma del Plan Gallego de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación Tecnológica de la Consellería de Industria de la Xunta de Galicia, Spain; Grant EC11-192. Fomento de la Investigación Clínica Independiente, Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad, Spain; and Grant FEDER-Innterconecta. Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Xunta de Galicia, Spain. CBCS is funded by the Canadian Cancer Society (grant # 313404) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. CCGP is supported by funding from the University of Crete. The CECILE study was supported by Fondation de France, Institut National du Cancer (INCa), Ligue Nationale contre le Cancer, Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire, de l'Alimentation, de l'Environnement et du Travail (ANSES), Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR). The CGPS was supported by the Chief Physician Johan Boserup and Lise Boserup Fund, the Danish Medical Research Council, and Herlev and Gentofte Hospital. The CNIO-BCS was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, the Red Temática de Investigación Cooperativa en Cáncer and grants from the Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer and the Fondo de Investigación Sanitario (PI11/00923 and PI12/00070). The American Cancer Society funds the creation, maintenance, and updating of the CPS-II cohort. The California Teachers Study (CTS) and the research reported in this publication were supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under award number U01-CA199277; P30-CA033572; P30-CA023100; UM1-CA164917; and R01-CA077398. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Cancer Institute or the National Institutes of Health. The collection of cancer incidence data used in the California Teachers Study was supported by the California Department of Public Health pursuant to California Health and Safety Code Sect. 103885; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Program of Cancer Registries, under cooperative agreement 5NU58DP006344; the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program under contract HHSN261201800032I awarded to the University of California, San Francisco, contract HHSN261201800015I awarded to the University of Southern California, and contract HHSN261201800009I awarded to the Public Health Institute. The opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the State of California, Department of Public Health, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or their Contractors and Subcontractors, or the Regents of the University of California, or any of its programs. The coordination of EPIC is financially supported by the European Commission (DG-SANCO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The national cohorts are supported by: Ligue Contre le Cancer, Institut Gustave Roussy, Mutuelle Générale de l’Education Nationale, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) (France); German Cancer Aid, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (Germany); the Hellenic Health Foundation, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (Greece); Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro-AIRC-Italy and National Research Council (Italy); Dutch Ministry of Public Health, Welfare and Sports (VWS), Netherlands Cancer Registry (NKR), LK Research Funds, Dutch Prevention Funds, Dutch ZON (Zorg Onderzoek Nederland), World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), Statistics Netherlands (The Netherlands); Health Research Fund (FIS), PI13/00061 to Granada, PI13/01162 to EPIC-Murcia, Regional Governments of Andalucía, Asturias, Basque Country, Murcia and Navarra, ISCIII RETIC (RD06/0020) (Spain); Cancer Research UK (14136 to EPIC-Norfolk; C570/A16491 and C8221/A19170 to EPIC-Oxford), Medical Research Council (1000143 to EPIC-Norfolk, MR/M012190/1 to EPIC-Oxford) (United Kingdom). The ESTHER study was supported by a grant from the Baden Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and Arts. Additional cases were recruited in the context of the VERDI study, which was supported by a grant from the German Cancer Aid (Deutsche Krebshilfe). PROCAS thank NIHR for funding. The GENICA was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) Germany grants 01KW9975/5, 01KW9976/8, 01KW9977/0 and 01KW0114, the Robert Bosch Foundation, Stuttgart, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), Heidelberg, the Institute for Prevention and Occupational Medicine of the German Social Accident Insurance, Institute of the Ruhr University Bochum (IPA), Bochum, as well as the Department of Internal Medicine, Johanniter GmbH Bonn, Johanniter Krankenhaus, Bonn, Germany. The GESBC was supported by the Deutsche Krebshilfe e. V. [70492] and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). The KARMA study was supported by Märit and Hans Rausings Initiative Against Breast Cancer. The KBCP was financially supported by the special Government Funding (VTR) of Kuopio University Hospital grants, Cancer Fund of North Savo, the Finnish Cancer Organizations, and by the strategic funding of the University of Eastern Finland. kConFab is supported by a grant from the National Breast Cancer Foundation, and previously by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the Queensland Cancer Fund, the Cancer Councils of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, and the Cancer Foundation of Western Australia. Financial support for the AOCS was provided by the United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command [DAMD17-01–1-0729], Cancer Council Victoria, Queensland Cancer Fund, Cancer Council New South Wales, Cancer Council South Australia, The Cancer Foundation of Western Australia, Cancer Council Tasmania and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC; 400413, 400281, 199600). G.C.T. and P.W. are supported by the NHMRC. RB was a Cancer Institute NSW Clinical Research Fellow. LMBC is supported by the 'Stichting tegen Kanker'. DL is supported by the FWO. The MARIE study was supported by the Deutsche Krebshilfe e.V. [70–2892-BR I, 106332, 108253, 108419, 110826, 110828], the Hamburg Cancer Society, the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) Germany [01KH0402]. The MCBCS was supported by the NIH grants R35CA253187, R01CA192393, R01CA116167, R01CA176785 a NIH Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Breast Cancer [P50CA116201], and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study (MCCS) cohort recruitment was funded by VicHealth and Cancer Council Victoria. The MCCS was further augmented by Australian National Health and Medical Research Council grants 209057, 396414 and 1074383 and by infrastructure provided by Cancer Council Victoria. Cases and their vital status were ascertained through the Victorian Cancer Registry and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, including the National Death Index and the Australian Cancer Database. The MEC was supported by NIH Grants CA63464, CA54281, CA098758, CA132839 and CA164973. The MISS study was supported by funding from ERC-2011-294576 Advanced grant, Swedish Cancer Society CAN 2018/675, Swedish Research Council, Local hospital funds, Berta Kamprad Foundation FBKS 2021–19, Gunnar Nilsson. The MMHS study was supported by NIH grants CA97396, CA128931, CA116201, CA140286 and CA177150. MSKCC is supported by grants from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Robert and Kate Niehaus Clinical Cancer Genetics Initiative. The NBHS was supported by NIH grant R01CA100374. Biological sample preparation was conducted the Survey and Biospecimen Shared Resource, which is supported by P30 CA68485. The Northern California Breast Cancer Family Registry (NC-BCFR) and Ontario Familial Breast Cancer Registry (OFBCR) were supported by grant U01CA164920 from the USA National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health. The content of this manuscript does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the National Cancer Institute or any of the collaborating centers in the Breast Cancer Family Registry (BCFR), nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the USA Government or the BCFR. The Carolina Breast Cancer Study (NCBCS) was funded by Komen Foundation, the National Cancer Institute (P50 CA058223, U54 CA156733, U01 CA179715), and the North Carolina University Cancer Research Fund. The NHS was supported by NIH grants P01 CA87969, UM1 CA186107, and U19 CA148065. The NHS2 was supported by NIH grants UM1 CA176726 and U19 CA148065. The PBCS was funded by Intramural Research Funds of the National Cancer Institute, Department of Health and Human Services, USA. Genotyping for PLCO was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health, NCI, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics. The PLCO is supported by the Intramural Research Program of the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics and supported by contracts from the Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. The SASBAC study was supported by funding from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research of Singapore (A*STAR), the US National Institute of Health (NIH) and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The SBCS was supported by Sheffield Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre and Breast Cancer Now Tissue Bank. SEARCH is funded by Cancer Research UK [C490/A10124, C490/A16561] and supported by the UK National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at the University of Cambridge. The University of Cambridge has received salary support for PDPP from the NHS in the East of England through the Clinical Academic Reserve. The Sister Study (SISTER) is supported by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (Z01-ES044005 and Z01-ES049033). The SMC is funded by the Swedish Cancer Foundation and the Swedish Research Council (VR 2017–00644) grant for the Swedish Infrastructure for Medical Population-based Life-course Environmental Research (SIMPLER). The USRT Study was funded by Intramural Research Funds of the National Cancer Institute, Department of Health and Human Services, USA. The WHI program is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the US National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHSN268201100046C, HHSN268201100001C, HHSN268201100002C, HHSN268201100003C, HHSN268201100004C and HHSN271201100004C). This work was also funded by NCI U19 CA148065-01.Peer reviewe
The use of corporate reputation in the development of brand image strategy in the Taiwanese pharmaceutical industry
No full textThis thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This doctoral research aims to investigate the reputation building process of companies and to examine the applicability of western-developed theories about the uses of corporate reputation in a non-western context. It is the first study that synthesises three theories (value creation, strategic resources and corporate communication) to examine the strategic consequences of the uses of corporate reputation.
Corporate reputation is an attribute or a set of attributes ascribed to a firm and inferred from the firm’s past actions. It is the belief of market participants about a firm’s strategic character (Weigelt and Camerer, 1988). Also, corporate reputation is the public’s cumulative judgement of a firm over time (Roberts and Dowling, 2002).
The review of theoretical literature indicates the uses of corporate reputation by business organizations can be theorized along six dominant paradigmatic perspectives: 1-public relations; 2-marketing; 3-management, 4-economic; 5-sociological; 6-finance and accounting. The uses of corporate reputation in these six paradigms are comprehensively discussed. The objective of this study is to establish the use of corporate reputation in the development of brand image strategy. A review of the uses of the concept of corporate reputation is discussed in detail in chapter 2.
The review of the literature also identified a research gap by showing that scarce research has been conducted on how these three main functions (value creation, strategic resources and corporate communication) affect a company’s brand positioning strategy. The following research question thus is proposed: How do (Taiwanese pharmaceutical) companies use their corporate reputation to develop a brand image strategy?
The research hypotheses based on three theories (value-based theory, resource-based theory and integrated marketing communication theory) appear in Chapter 3. The research question is constructed theoretically, and then a conceptual model, which begins with three antecedents of corporate reputation and simultaneously illustrates the outcomes of their use, are discussed.
The construct of the uses of corporate reputation has three dimensions: value creation, strategic resources and corporate communication. Each of these three dimensions includes several items. The items were proposed based on the previous researchers’ summaries and the qualitative interview. The researcher will then depict the proposed research conceptual framework and a number of hypotheses that will be further investigated and tested.
Then the quantative study was completed by providing the data analysis and the results were explained. A multi-stage procedure was involved in this research. First, data examination and screening to prepare for subsequent quantitative analyses and then the descriptive statistics were presented. Second, a reliability test was performed on measurement scales to ensure that they achieve an acceptable level of reliability for further analysis. The resulting solutions were then re-assessed using confirmatory factor analysis. Finally, PLS (Partial Least Squares) was used to test the hypothesized relationships between the research constructs as postulated in the conceptual model, and to assess the overall goodness-of-fit between the proposed model and the collected data set.
The researcher then discusses the validation of the measurement model and the research findings. The findings are then further discussed in terms of the contribution to marketing theory and relevance to marketing managers. Then the items of adapted scales were subjected to several rounds of adjustments and were finally found to possess acceptable measurement properties. Reliability and construct validity tests indicated that all scales satisfied widely accepted criteria such as the minimum reliability of 0.7. The results of scale purification will be discussed. And an evaluation of the research hypotheses and their significance are summarized, the findings of all hypotheses testing will be reviewed and compared with previous research.
According to the research findings, the hypotheses that value creation, as one dimension of corporate reputation, has a positive impact on brand segmentation, brand differentiation and brand positioning are all accepted. The hypotheses that strategic resource, as one dimension of corporate reputation, has a positive impact on brand segmentation and brand differentiation are rejected. However, the hypothesis that strategic resource, as one dimension of corporate reputation, has a positive impact on brand positioning is accepted. The hypotheses that corporate communication, as one dimension of corporate reputation, has a positive impact on brand segmentation and brand differentiation are both accepted. The hypothesis that corporate communication, as one dimension of corporate reputation, has a positive impact on brand positioning is partially supported. Finally, the hypothesis that the (see in Table 5.18) moderating effect of price policy on corporate reputation has a positive impact on brand image strategy is partially but negatively supported.
This thesis makes a significant contribution to the study of corporate reputation of firms in the Taiwanese pharmaceutical industry from the robustness of the qualitative and quantitative data collection
