The social car : new interactive vehicular applications derived from social media and urban informatics

Digital information that is place- and time-specific, is increasingly becoming available on all aspects of the urban landscape. People (cf. the Social Web), places (cf. the Geo Web), and physical objects (cf. ubiquitous computing, the Internet of Things) are increasingly infused with sensors, actuators, and tagged with a wealth of digital information. Urban informatics research explores these emerging digital layers of the city at the intersection of people, place and technology. However, little is known about the challenges and new opportunities that these digital layers may offer to road users driving through today’s mega cities. We argue that this aspect is worth exploring in particular with regards to Auto-UI’s overarching goal of making cars both safer and more enjoyable. This paper presents the findings of a pilot study, which included 14 urban informatics research experts participating in a guided ideation (idea creation) workshop within a simulated environment. They were immersed into different driving scenarios to imagine novel urban informatics type of applications specific to the driving context.

Ionic liquid pre-treatment and fractionation of sugarcane bagasse for the production of bioethanol

Pretretament is an essential and expensive processing step for the manufacturing of ethanol from lignocellulosic raw materials. Ionic liquids are a new class of solvents that have the potential to be used as pretreatment agents. The attractive characteristics of ionic liquid pretreatment of lignocellulosics such as thermal stability, dissolution properties, fractionation potential, cellulose decrystallisation capacity and saccharification impact are investigated in this thesis. Dissolution of bagasse with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C4mim]Cl) at high temperatures (110 �‹C to 160 �‹C) is investigated as a pretreatment process. Material balances are reported and used along with enzymatic saccharification data to identify optimum pretreatment conditions (150 �‹C for 90 min). At these conditions, the dissolved and reprecipitated material is enriched in cellulose, has a low crystallinity and the cellulose component is efficiently hydrolysed (93 %, 3 h, 15 FPU). At pretreatment temperatures < 150 �‹C, the undissolved material has only slightly lower crystallinity than the starting. At pretreatment temperatures . 150 �‹C, the undissolved material has low crystallinity and when combined with the dissolved material has a saccharification rate and extent similar to completely dissolved material (100 %, 3h, 15 FPU). Complete dissolution is not necessary to maximize saccharification efficiency at temperatures . 150 �‹C. Fermentation of [C4mim]Cl-pretreated, enzyme-saccharified bagasse to ethanol is successfully conducted (85 % molar glucose-to-ethanol conversion efficiency). As compared to standard dilute acid pretreatment, the optimised [C4mim]Cl pretreatment achieves substantially higher ethanol yields (79 % cf. 52 %) in less than half the processing time (pretreatment, saccharification, fermentation). Fractionation of bagasse partially dissolved in [C4mim]Cl to a polysaccharide rich and a lignin rich fraction is attempted using aqueous biphasic systems (ABSs) and single phase systems with preferential precipitation. ABSs of ILs and concentrated aqueous inorganic salt solutions are achievable (e.g. [C4mim]Cl with 200 g L-1 NaOH), albeit they exhibit a number of technical problems including phase convergence (which increases with increasing biomass loading) and deprotonation of imidazolium ILs (5 % - 8 % mol). Single phase fractionation systems comprising lignin solvents / cellulose antisolvents, viz. NaOH (2M) and acetone in water (1:1, volume basis), afford solids with, respectively, 40 % mass and 29 % mass less lignin than water precipitated solids. However, this delignification imparts little increase in saccharification rates and extents of these solids. An alternative single phase fractionation system is achieved simply by using water as an antisolvent. Regulating the water : IL ratio results in a solution that precipitates cellulose and maintains lignin in solution (0.5 water : IL mass ratio) in both [C4mim]Cl and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([C2mim]OAc)). This water based fractionation is applied in three IL pretreatments on bagasse ([C4mim]Cl, 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium chloride ([C2mim]Cl) and [C2mim]OAc). Lignin removal of 10 %, 50 % and 60 % mass respectively is achieved although only 0.3 %, 1.5 % and 11.7 % is recoverable even after ample water addition (3.5 water : IL mass ratio) and acidification (pH . 1). In addition the recovered lignin fraction contains 70 % mass hemicelluloses. The delignified, cellulose-rich bagasse recovered from these three ILs is exposed to enzyme saccharification. The saccharification (24 h, 15 FPU) of the cellulose mass in starting bagasse, achieved by these pretreatments rank as: [C2mim]OAc (83 %)>>[C2mim]Cl (53 %)=[C4mim]Cl(53%). Mass balance determinations accounted for 97 % of starting bagasse mass for the [C4mim]Cl pretreatment , 81 % for [C2mim]Cl and 79 %for [C2mim]OAc. For all three IL treatments, the remaining bagasse mass (not accounted for by mass balance determinations) is mainly (more than half) lignin that is not recoverable from the liquid fraction. After pretreatment, 100 % mass of both ions of all three ILs were recovered in the liquid fraction. Compositional characteristics of [C2mim]OAc treated solids such as low lignin, low acetyl group content and preservation of arabinosyl groups are opposite to those of chloride IL treated solids. The former biomass characteristics resemble those imparted by aqueous alkali pretreatment while the latter resemble those of aqueous acid pretreatments. The 100 % mass recovery of cellulose in [C2mim]OAc as opposed to 53 % mass recovery in [C2mim]Cl further demonstrates this since the cellulose glycosidic bonds are protected under alkali conditions. The alkyl chain length decrease in the imidazolium cation of these ILs imparts higher rates of dissolution and losses, and increases the severity of the treatment without changing the chemistry involved.

Experiencing and imagining new ways of becoming TESOL teachers

The question has been asked "Can we shape an imaginative teacher identity?" (Garrod 2005). This research explores how participating in an overseas school experience can contribute to developing TESOL teachers' professional identities. The particular context for this research is the experiences of a group of Hong Kong pre-service TESOL teachers attending a short language immersion program at a university in Australia. As part of this program, the teachers are attached to a local school, where they observe and interact with the school community. This research tracks the teachers' perceptions of how this experience has contributed to their understandings of what it means to be a TESOL teacher and to their own developing sense of professional identity. It is suggested that engaging in critical reflection on this intercultural experience can develop teacher knowledge, practice and sense of self. Recent research (Swain, in press) posits that verbal protocols, such as 'stimulated recall' are part of the learning process rather than mere data collection techniques. How can this potential of 'stimulated recall' be realized as part of the learning processes in TESOL teacher education?

Making Arrangements : Remote proposal sequences and attendant structural phenomena in social interaction

In this thesis, I contribute to the study of how arrangements are made in social interaction. Using conversation analysis, I examine a corpus of 375 telephone calls between employees and clients of three Community Home Care (CHC) service agencies in metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. My analysis of the CHC data corpus draws upon existing empirical findings within conversation analysis in order to generate novel findings about how people make arrangements with one another, and some of the attendant considerations that parties to such an activity can engage in: Prospective informings as remote proposals for a future arrangement – Focusing on how employees make arrangements with clients, I show how the employees in the CHC data corpus use ‘prospective informings’ to detail a future course of action that will involve the recipient of that informing. These informings routinely occasion a double-paired sequence, where informers pursue a response to their informing. This pursuit often occurs even after recipients have provided an initial response. This practice for making arrangements has been previously described by Houtkoop (1987) as ‘remote proposing.’ I develop Houtkoop’s analysis to show how an informing of a future arrangement can be recompleted, with response solicitation, as a proposal that is contingent upon a recipient’s acceptance. Participants’ understanding of references to non-present third parties – In the process of making arrangements, references are routinely made to non-present third parties. In the CHC data corpus, these third parties are usually care workers. Prior research (e.g., Sacks & Schegloff, 1979; Schegloff, 1996b) explains how the use of ‘recognitional references’ (such as the bare name ‘Kerry’), conveys to recipients that they should be able to locate the referent from amongst their acquaintances. Conversely, the use of ‘non-recognitional references’ (such as the description ‘a lady called Kerry’), conveys that recipients are unacquainted with the referent. I examine instances where the selection of a recognitional or non-recognitional reference form is followed by a recipient initiating repair on that reference. My analysis provides further evidence thatthe existing analytic account of these references corresponds to the way in which participants themselves make sense of them. My analysis also advances an understanding of how repair can be used, by recipients, to indicate the inappositeness of a prior turn. Post-possible-completion accounts – In a case study of a problematic interaction, I examine a misunderstanding that is not resolved within the repair space, the usual defence of intersubjectivity in interaction (cf. Schegloff, 1992b). Rather, I explore how the source of trouble is addressed, outside of the sequence of its production, with a ‘post-possible-completion account.’ This account specifies the basis of a misunderstanding and yet, unlike repair, does so without occasioning a revised response to a trouble-source turn. By considering various aspects of making arrangements in social interaction, I highlight some of the rich order that underpins the maintenance of human relationships across time. In the concluding section of this thesis I review this order, while also discussing practical implications of this analysis for CHC practice.

Sociocultural animation

The emergence of global computer networks and the ubiquitous availability of advanced information and communication technology (ICT) since the mid Nineties has given rise to the hope that the traditional disadvantages faced by regional economies and regional communities could be elevated easily and swiftly. Yet, the experience of both community informatics and community development researchers and practitioners tells a different tale. Although the potential of ICT is in fact realised in some situations and locations and does provide means to ensure sustainability in some regional communities, elsewhere it has not been taken up or has not been able to elicit change for the promised better. Too many communities are still faced by a centralised structure in the context of commerce, service provision or governance and by various degrees of digital divides between connected and disconnected, between media literate and illiterate, between young and old, and between urban and rural. Many attempts to close or bridge the digital divide have been reported with various degrees of success (cf. Menou, 2001; Servon, 2002). Most of these accounts echo a common voice in that they report similar principles of action, and they reflect – in most cases unconsciously – practices of sociocultural animation. This article seeks to shed light onto the concept of sociocultural animation which is already commonplace in various forms in the arts, in education and professional development, youth work, sports, town planning, careers services, entrepreneurship and tourism. It starts by exploring the origins of sociocultural animation and draws parallels to the current state of research and practice. It unpacks the foundation of sociocultural animation and briefly describes underlying principles and how they can be applied in the context of community informatics and developing regional communities with ICT. Finally, further areas of investigation are being proposed.

The most private private education : home education in Australia

In Australia, the decision to home educate is becoming increasingly popular (cf. Townsend, 2012). The popularity of home education is in spite of a large number of publically funded, financially affordable private and public schools that offer a range of educational alternatives to parents (cf. English, 2009). In spite of its increasing popularity, the reasons home education is chosen by Australian families is under-researched (cf. Jackson & Allan, 2010). This paper reports on a case study that set out to explore the reasons Australian parents choose to home educate and whether this decision is related to the choice of a private school in Australia. In-depth, qualitative interviews were conducted with a group of home education families in one of Australia’s most populated cities. Data were thematically analysed. The analysis revealed that there were similarities between the discourses of parents who privately educate and parents who home educate. In particular, it reveals the parents’ fears about schools, their negative experiences of schools and their hopes for their children’s futures.

High resolution melt analysis : a novel method for studying the genetic relatedness of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from clinical and environmental sources

A novel method was developed for studying the genetic relatedness of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from clinical and environmental sources. This bacterium is ubiquitous in the natural environment and is an important pathogen known to infect Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients. The transmission route of strains has not yet been defined; current theories include acquisition from an environmental source or through patient-to-patient spread. A highly discriminatory, bioinformatics based, DNA typing method was developed to investigate the relatedness of clinical and environmental isolates. This study found a similarity between the environmental and several CF clonal strains and also highlighted occurrence of environmental P. aeruginosa strains in CF infections.

Antibiotics for bronchiectasis exacerbations in children: rationale and study protocol for a randomised placebo-controlled trial

Background Despite bronchiectasis being increasingly recognised as an important cause of chronic respiratory morbidity in both indigenous and non-indigenous settings globally, high quality evidence to inform management is scarce. It is assumed that antibiotics are efficacious for all bronchiectasis exacerbations, but not all practitioners agree. Inadequately treated exacerbations may risk lung function deterioration. Our study tests the hypothesis that both oral azithromycin and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid are superior to placebo at improving resolution rates of respiratory exacerbations by day 14 in children with bronchiectasis unrelated to cystic fibrosis. Methods We are conducting a bronchiectasis exacerbation study (BEST), which is a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled, parallel group trial, in five centres (Brisbane, Perth, Darwin, Melbourne, Auckland). In the component of BEST presented here, 189 children fulfilling inclusion criteria are randomised (allocation-concealed) to receive amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (22.5 mg/kg twice daily) with placebo-azithromycin; azithromycin (5 mg/kg daily) with placebo-amoxicillin-clavulanic acid; or placebo-azithromycin with placebo-amoxicillin-clavulanic acid for 14 days. Clinical data and a paediatric cough-specific quality of life score are obtained at baseline, at the start and resolution of exacerbations, and at day 14. In most children, blood and deep nasal swabs are also collected at the same time points. The primary outcome is the proportion of children whose exacerbations have resolved at day 14. The main secondary outcome is the paediatric cough-specific quality of life score. Other outcomes are time to next exacerbation; requirement for hospitalisation; duration of exacerbation; and spirometry data. Descriptive viral and bacteriological data from nasal samples and blood markers will also be reported. Discussion Effective, evidence-based management of exacerbations in people with bronchiectasis is clinically important. Yet, there are few randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in the neglected area of non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis. Indeed, no published RCTs addressing the treatment of bronchiectasis exacerbations in children exist. Our multicentre, double-blind RCT is designed to determine if azithromycin and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, compared with placebo, improve symptom resolution on day 14 in children with acute respiratory exacerbations. Our planned assessment of the predictors of antibiotic response, the role of antibiotic-resistant respiratory pathogens, and whether early treatment with antibiotics affects duration and time to the next exacerbation, are also all novel.

Bronchiectasis exacerbation study on azithromycin and amoxycillin-clavulanate for respiratory exacerbations in children (BEST-2) : study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background Bronchiectasis unrelated to cystic fibrosis (CF) is being increasingly recognized in children and adults globally, both in resource-poor and in affluent countries. However, high-quality evidence to inform management is scarce. Oral amoxycillin-clavulanate is often the first antibiotic chosen for non-severe respiratory exacerbations, because of the antibiotic-susceptibility patterns detected in the respiratory pathogens commonly associated with bronchiectasis. Azithromycin has a prolonged half-life, and with its unique anti-bacterial, immunomodulatory, and anti-inflammatory properties, presents an attractive alternative. Our proposed study will test the hypothesis that oral azithromycin is non-inferior (within a 20% margin) to amoxycillin-clavulanate at achieving resolution of non-severe respiratory exacerbations by day 21 of treatment in children with non-CF bronchiectasis. Methods This will be a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled, parallel group trial involving six Australian and New Zealand centers. In total, 170 eligible children will be stratified by site and bronchiectasis etiology, and randomized (allocation concealed) to receive: 1) azithromycin (5 mg/kg daily) with placebo amoxycillin-clavulanate or 2) amoxycillin-clavulanate (22.5 mg/kg twice daily) with placebo azithromycin for 21 days as treatment for non-severe respiratory exacerbations. Clinical data and a parent-proxy cough-specific quality of life (PC-QOL) score will be obtained at baseline, at the start and resolution of exacerbations, and on day 21. In most children, blood and deep-nasal swabs will also be collected at the same time points. The primary outcome is the proportion of children whose exacerbations have resolved at day 21. The main secondary outcome is the PC-QOL score. Other outcomes are: time to next exacerbation; requirement for hospitalization; duration of exacerbation, and spirometry data. Descriptive viral and bacteriological data from nasal samples and blood inflammatory markers will be reported where available. Discussion Currently, there are no published randomized controlled trials (RCT) to underpin effective, evidence-based management of acute respiratory exacerbations in children with non-CF bronchiectasis. To help address this information gap, we are conducting two RCTs. The first (bronchiectasis exacerbation study; BEST-1) evaluates the efficacy of azithromycin and amoxycillin-clavulanate compared with placebo, and the second RCT (BEST-2), described here, is designed to determine if azithromycin is non-inferior to amoxycillin-clavulanate in achieving symptom resolution by day 21 of treatment in children with acute respiratory exacerbations. Trial registration Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register (ANZCTR) number ACTRN12612000010897. http://www.anzctr.org.au/trial_view.aspx?id=347879

Is foot ulcer simulation training (FUST) really effective? Participants’ supervisors speak out

Background Foot ulcers are a common reason for diabetes-related hospitalisation. Foot ulcer simulation training (FUST) programs have increased podiatry participants self-confidence to manage foot ulcers. However, supervisors’ perspectives on their participants attending these simulation programs have not been investigated. This mixed method (quantitative and qualitative) study aimed to investigate home clinical supervisors’ perspectives on any changes to their participants’ competence and practice following FUST. Methods Clinical supervisors of fifteen podiatrists, who participated in a two-day Foot Ulcer Simulation Training (FUST) course, were recruited. Supervisors completed quantitative surveys evaluating their participants’ foot ulcer competence pre-FUST and 6-months post-FUST, via a purposed designed 21-item survey using a five-point Likert scale (1=Very limited, 5=Highly competent). Supervisors also attended a semi-structured qualitative group interview to investigate supervisors’ perspectives on FUST. Results Supervisors surveys returned were pre-FUST (n=10) and post-FUST (n=12). Significant competence improvements were observed at the 6-month survey (mean scores 2.84 cf. 3.72, p < 0.05). Five supervisors attended the group interview. Five sub-themes emerged: i) FUST provided a good foundation for future learning, ii) FUST modelled good clinical behaviour, iii) clinical practice improvement was evident in most participants, iv) clinical improvements were dependent on participant’s willingness to change and existing workplace culture, v) FUST needs to be reinforced back in the home clinic. Conclusion Overall, supervisors of FUST participants indicated that the course improved their participants’ competence and clinical practice. However, the degree of improvement appears dependant on the participants’ home workplace culture and willingness to embrace change.

Metrics for Understanding Communication on Twitter

As the systematic investigation of Twitter as a communications platform continues, the question of developing reliable comparative metrics for the evaluation of public, communicative phenomena on Twitter becomes paramount. What is necessary here is the establishment of an accepted standard for the quantitative description of user activities on Twitter. This needs to be flexible enough in order to be applied to a wide range of communicative situations, such as the evaluation of individual users’ and groups of users’ Twitter communication strategies, the examination of communicative patterns within hashtags and other identifiable ad hoc publics on Twitter (Bruns & Burgess, 2011), and even the analysis of very large datasets of everyday interactions on the platform. By providing a framework for quantitative analysis on Twitter communication, researchers in different areas (e.g., communication studies, sociology, information systems) are enabled to adapt methodological approaches and to conduct analyses on their own. Besides general findings about communication structure on Twitter, large amounts of data might be used to better understand issues or events retrospectively, detect issues or events in an early stage, or even to predict certain real-world developments (e.g., election results; cf. Tumasjan, Sprenger, Sandner, & Welpe, 2010, for an early attempt to do so).

Neutrophil oxidative burst is primed by supernatant from stored red cells : implications for Transfusion-Related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI)

Aim/Background: Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) is a potentially fatal adverse transfusion reaction. It is hypothesised to occur via a two-insult mechanism: the recipient’s underlying co-morbidity in addition to the transfusion of blood products activate neutrophils in the lung resulting in damaged endothelium and capillary leakage. Neutrophil activation may occur by antibody or non-antibody related mechanisms, with the length of storage of cellular blood products implicated in the latter. This study investigated non-antibody mediated priming and/or activation of neutrophil oxidative burst. Methods: A cytochrome C reduction assay was used to assess priming and activation of neutrophil oxidative burst by pooled supernatant (SN) from day 1 (D1; n=75) and day 42 (D42; n=113) packed red blood cells (PRBC). Pooled PRBC-SN were assessed in parallel with PAF (priming), fMLP (activating), PAF + fMLP (priming + activating) and buffer only (negative) controls. Cytochrome C reduction was measured over 30min at 37oC (inclusive of 10min priming). Neutrophil activation by PRBC-SN was assessed cf. buffer only and neutrophil priming by PRBC-SN was assessed by co-incubation with fMLP cf. fMLP alone. One-way ANOVA; Newman-Keuls post-test; p<0.05; n=10 independent assays. Results: Neither D1- nor D42- PRBC-SN alone activated neutrophil oxidative burst. In addition, D1-PRBC-SN did not prime fMLP-activated neutrophil oxidative burst. D42-PRBC-SN did, however, prime neutrophils for subsequent activation of oxidative burst by fMLP, the magnitude of response being similar to PAF (a known neutrophil priming agonist). Conclusion: These findings are consistent with the two-insult mechanism of TRALI. Factors released into the SN during PRBC storage contributed to neutrophil priming synergistically with other neutrophil stimulating agonists. This implicates PRBC storage duration as a key factor contributing to non-immune neutrophil activation in the development of TRALI in patients with pre-disposing inflammatory conditions.

Stored blood products augment inflammation in a two-event model of Transfusion Related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI)

Aim/Background TRALI is hypothesised to develop via a two-event mechanism involving both the patieint's underlying morbidity and blood product factors. The storage of cellular products has been implicated in cases of non-antibody mediated TRALI, however the pathophysiological mechanisms are undefined. We investigated blood product storage-related modulation of inflmmatory cells and medicators involved in TRALI. Methods In an in vitro mode, fresh human whole blood was mixed with culture media (control) or LPS as a 1st event and "transfused" with 10% (v/v) pooled supernatant (SN) from Day 1 (d1, n=75) or Day 42 (D42, n=113) packed red blood cells (PRBCs) as a 2nd event. Following 6hrs, culture SN was used to assess the overall inflammatory response (cytometric bead array) and a duplicate assay containing protein transport inhibitor was used to assess neutrophil- and monocyte-specific inflmamatory responses using multi-colour flow cytometry. Panels: IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, IL-1, TNF, MCP-1, IP-10, MIP-1. One-way ANOVA 95% CI. Results In the absence of LPS, exposure to D1 or D42 PRBC-SN reduced monocyte expression of IL-6, IL-8 and Il-10. D42 PRBC-SN also reduced monocyte IP-10, and the overall IL-8 production was increased. In the presence of LPS, D1-PRBC SN only modified overall IP-10 levels which were reduced. However, cf LPS alone, the combination of LPS and D42 PRBC-SN resulted in increased neutrophil and monocyte productionof IL-1 and IL-8 as well as reduced monocyte TNF production. Additionally, LPS and D42 PRBC-SN resulted in overall inflmmatory changes: elevated IL-8,

Interleukin-1β stimulates human renal fibroblast proliferation and matrix protein production by means of a transforming growth factor-β-dependent mechanism

One of the hallmarks of progressive renal disease is the development of tubulointerstitial fibrosis. This is frequently preceded by macrophage infiltration, raising the possibility that macrophages relay fibrogenic signals to resident tubulointerstitial cells. The aim of this study was to investigate the potentially fibrogenic role of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), a macrophage-derived inflammatory cytokine, on cortical fibroblasts (CFs). Primary cultures of human renal CFs were established and incubated for 24 hours in the presence or absence of IL-1beta. We found that IL-1beta significantly stimulated DNA synthesis (356.7% +/- 39% of control, P <.003), fibronectin secretion (261.8 +/- 11% of control, P <.005), collagen type 1 production, (release of procollagen type 1 C-terminal-peptide, 152.4% +/- 26% of control, P <.005), transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) secretion (211% +/- 37% of control, P <.01), and nitric oxide (NO) production (342.8% +/- 69% of control, P <.002). TGF-beta (1 ng/mL) and the phorbol ester phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA, 25 nmol/L) produced fibrogenic effects similar to those of IL-1beta. Neither a NO synthase inhibitor (N(G)-methyl-l-arginine, 1 mmol/L) nor a protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor (bis-indolylmaleimide 1, 1 micromol/L) altered the enhanced level of fibronectin secretion or DNA synthesis seen in response to IL-1beta treatment. However, addition of a TGF-beta-neutralizing antibody significantly reduced IL-1beta-induced fibronectin secretion (IL-1beta + IgG, 262% +/- 72% vs IL-1beta + alphaTGF-beta 156% +/- 14%, P <.02), collagen type 1 production (IL-1beta + IgG, 176% +/- 28% vs IL-1beta + alphaTGF-beta, 120% +/- 14%, P <.005) and abrogated IL-1beta-induced DNA synthesis (245% +/- 49% vs 105% +/- 21%, P <.005). IL-1beta significantly stimulated CF DNA synthesis and production of fibronectin, collagen type 1, TGFbeta, and NO. The fibrogenic and proliferative action of IL-1beta on CF appears not to involve activation of PKC or production of NO but is at least partly TGFbeta-dependent.

High-growth firms : characteristics, job contribution and method observations

Largely as a result of mass unemployment problems in many European countries, the dynamics of job creation has in recent years attracted increased interest on the part of academics as well as policy-makers. In connection to this, a large number of studies carried out in various countries have concluded that SMEs play a very large and/or growing role as job creators (Birch, 1979; Baldwin and Picot, 1995; Davidsson, 1995a; Davidsson, Lindmark and Olofsson, 1993; 1994; 1995; 1997a; 1997b; Fumagelli and Mussati, 1993; Kirchhoff and Phillips, 1988; Spilling, 1995; for further reference to studies carried out in a large number of countries see also Aiginger and Tichy, 1991; ENSR, 1994; Loveman and Sengenberger, 1991; OECD, 1987; Storey and Johnson, 1987). While most researchers agree on the importance of SMEs, there is some controversy as regards whether this is mainly a result of many small start-ups and incremental expansions, or if a small minority of high growth SMEs contribute the lion’s share of new employment. This is known as the ‘mice vs. gazelles’ or ‘flyers vs. trundlers’ debate. Storey strongly advocates the position that the small group of high growth SMEs are the ‘real’ job creators (Storey, 1994; Storey & Johnson, 1987), whereas, e.g., the Davidsson et al research in Sweden (cf. above) gives more support for the ‘mice’ hypothesis.