If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -Building a strong brand is an important way to build a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Brand-oriented companies regard their brands as strategic resources, and they create value and increase competitiveness by building a strong brand. However, studies on how companies become brand-oriented and how brand orientation influences brand performance are still rather limited. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to propose a theoretical model explaining what factors contribute to brand orientation, as well as the impact of brand orientation. Design/methodology/approach -Questionnaire surveys were distributed to branding companies in Taiwan. The sample data of 106 branding companies were collected in order to test the theoretical model using partial least squares (PLS). Findings -The empirical results showed that organizational resources (product differentiation capability), organizational structure (cross-function departmental integration), and organizational culture (members' organizational identification and long-term remuneration criteria) could facilitate the building of brand-oriented companies. It was also found that a higher level of brand orientation contributed to better brand performance. Practical implications -According to this research, corporate managers can understand how to build brand-oriented companies by shaping their organizational context. In other words, if companies want to become brand-oriented, they should build product differentiation capabilities, promote cross-functional integration among departments, and develop an organizational culture with high organizational members' identification and long-term remuneration criteria. Originality/value -This paper is the first study to propose some antecedents of brand-oriented companies based on the organizational context perspective. The empirical results of this study illustrate how companies can become brand-oriented by arranging their organizational context, as well as the impact of brand orientation on brand performance.

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We have investigated the anticancer effects of the dietary isothiocyanate sulforaphane (SFN) on colorectal cancer (CRC), using primary cancer cells lines isolated from five Taiwanese colorectal cancer patients as the model for colorectal cancer. SFN-treated cells accumulated in metaphase (SFN 6.25 μM) and subG1 (SFN 12.5 and 25 μM) as determined by flow cytometry. In addition, treated cells showed nuclear apoptotic morphology that coincided with an activation of caspase-3, and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm). Incubations at higher SFN doses (12.5 and 25 μM) resulted in cleavage of procaspase-3 and elevated caspase-2, -3, -8, and -9 activity, suggesting that the induction of apoptosis and the sulforaphane-induced mitosis delay at the lower dose are independently regulated. Daily SFN s.c. injections (400 micromol/kg/d for 3 weeks) in severe combined immunodeficient mice with primary human CRC (CP1 to CP5) s.c. tumors resulted in a decrease of mean tumor weight by 70% compared with vehicle-treated controls. Our findings suggest that, in addition to the known effects on cancer prevention, sulforaphane may have antitumor activity in established colorectal cancer.

Absolute instabilities in the gyrotron traveling wave amplifier are investigated with a simulation approach which models electron and wave dynamics in the sever and distributed-loss section. Distributed wall losses are shown to be far more effective than the sever in stabilizing these instabilities. Physical interpretations are given and theoretical predictions are verified by a K"-band experiment which achieved 62 kW peak power with 12% bandwidth, 21% efficiency, and 33 dB saturated gain through the use of a mechanically adjustable magnetron injection gun.PACS numbers: 42.52.+x, 85.10.Jz The gyrotron traveling wave tube amplifier (gyro-TWT) promises a new generation of high power, broadband, millimeter-wave amplifiers.

Our new oropharyngeal intubation wedge made from a plastic 3-ml syringe has been used successfully for the expansion of the oropharyngeal cavity and visualization of vocal cords for endotracheal intubation in the rat. All the animals we used tolerated the intubation and ventilation procedures in a series of experiments. After the proper setting of the respirator, vital signs were maintained within normal range. The postmortem examination and measurements in the upper airway confirmed that the endotracheal tube was properly sited and also demonstrated the precise size of the device that should be used. The main advantages of this method include low cost, simplicity, and reliability. Furthermore, because no expensive, elaborate, difficult-to-operate, or hard-to-get special equipment is needed, this technique can be used in every laboratory.

Biotransformation of 8-hydroxydaidzein by recombinant Escherichia coli expressing O-methyltransferase (OMT) SpOMT2884 from Streptomyces peucetius was investigated. Two metabolites were isolated and identified as 7,4′-dihydroxy-8-methoxy-isoflavone (1) and 8,4′-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-isoflavone (2), based on mass, 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and 13C-NMR spectrophotometric analysis. The maximum production yields of compound (1) and (2) in a 5-L fermenter were 9.3 mg/L and 6.0 mg/L, respectively. The two methoxy-isoflavones showed dose-dependent inhibitory effects on melanogenesis in cultured B16 melanoma cells under non-toxic conditions. Among the effects, compound (1) decreased melanogenesis to 63.5% of the control at 25 μM. This is the first report on the 8-O-methylation activity of OMT toward isoflavones. In addition, the present study also first identified compound (1) with potent melanogenesis inhibitory activity.

This study investigated the negative bias temperature instability of rf-sputtered bottom-gate Mg 0.05 Zn 0.95 O active layer thin-film transistors (TFTs) annealed at 200 • C for 5 h and 350 • C for 30 min. The TFT devices initially exhibited similar electrical characteristics. When TFTs were stressed at room temperature, the TFTs (in both annealing conditions) showed typical negative shift of threshold voltage ( V th ). When TFTs were stressed at 80 • C, a turnaround of V th appeared for the 200 • C-annealed TFTs; the V th shifted toward a negative direction initially and consequently turned positive. The turnaround phenomenon should result from the competing charge trapping and defect creation. On the other hand, the 350 • C-annealed TFTs still showed typical negative shift of threshold voltage when stressed at 80 • C.

In addition to the widely adopted method of controlling cell attachment for cell patterning, pattern formation via cell proliferation and differentiation is demonstrated using precisely defined interface chemistry and spatial topology. The interface platform is created using a maleimide-functionalized parylene coating (maleimide-PPX) that provides two routes for controlled conjugation accessibility, including the maleimide-thiol coupling reaction and the thiol-ene click reaction, with a high reaction specificity under mild conditions. The coating technology is a prime tool for the immobilization of sensitive molecules, such as growth factor proteins. Conjugation of fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP-2) was performed on the coating surface by elegantly manipulating the reaction routes, and confining the conjugation reaction to selected areas was accomplished using microcontact printing (μCP) and/or UV irradiation photopatterning. The modified interface provides chemically and topologically defined signals that are recognized by cultured murine preosteoblast cells for proliferation (by FGF-2) and osteogenesis (by BMP-2) activities in specific locations. The reported technique additionally enabled synergistic pattern formation for both osteogenesis and proliferation activities on the same interface, which is difficult to perform using conventional cell attachment patterns. Because of the versatility of the coating, which can be applied to a wide range of materials and on curved and complex devices, the proposed technology is extendable to other prospective biomaterial designs and material interface modifications.