19672 research outputs found
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Relationship between building maintenance sourcing strategy selection factors and performance
No full textPurpose: The building maintenance management becomes more complicated nowadays, with several sourcing strategies springing up for building maintenance work provisions. Various studies demonstrate that the selection factors and performance measurements are both essential aspects in determining and evaluating the sourcing strategy for building maintenance management. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between the selection factors and performance measurements of sourcing strategy. Design/methodology/approach: The paper targeted to evaluate and analyse the perceptions of the building maintenance practitioners regarding the degree of importance of selection factors and performance measurements. Through quantitative approach, the paper adopted stratified random sampling to distribute the questionnaires to the building maintenance practitioners operating in both private and government high-rise office buildings in Kuala Lumpur. Findings: The findings highlighted the quality factors as the most important selection group factors; meantime, the ability to fulfil client’s need and requirement as well as the ability to deliver the service with reasonable reliability and predictability are identically important performance measurements. There is a significant relationship between the selection factors and performance measurement of sourcing strategy. Originality/value: This paper provides an impetus research which uncovered the sourcing practices in the industry and guided the sourcing process in determining the appropriate sourcing strategy. © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited
JectOS® versus PMMA vancomycin-loaded cement: The biomechanical and antimicrobial properties
No full textPurpose: Bone cement is commonly used as a void filler for bone defects. Antibiotics can be added to bone cement to increase local drug delivery in eradicating infection. After antibiotic elution, nonbiodegradable material becomes an undesirable agent. The purpose of this study was to evaluate effects of addition of vancomycin on the compressive strength of injectable synthetic bone substitute, JectOS ® . JectOS, a partially biodegradable cement that over time dissolves and is replaced by bone, could be potentially used as a biodegradable antibiotic carrier. Methods: Vancomycin at various concentrations was added to JectOS and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). Then, the cement was molded into standardized dimensions for in vitro testing. Cylindrical vancomycin–JectOS samples were subjected to compressive strength. The results obtained were compared to PMMA-vancomycin compressive strength data attained from historical controls. The zone of inhibition was carried out using vancomycin-JectOS and vancomycin-PMMA disk on methicillin-resistant strain culture agar. Results: With the addition of 2.5%, 5%, and 10% vancomycin, the average compressive strengths reduced to 8.01 ± 0.95 MPa (24.6%), 7.52 ± 0.71 MPa (29.2%), and 7.23 ± 1.34 MPa (31.9%). Addition of vancomycin significantly weakened biomechanical properties of JectOS, but there was no significant difference in the compressive strength at increasing concentrations. The average diameters of zone of inhibition for JectOS-vancomycin were 24.7 ± 1.44 (2.5%) mm, 25.9 ± 0.85 mm (5%), and 26.8 ± 1.81 mm (10%), which outperformed PMMA. Conclusion: JectOS has poor mechanical performance but superior elution property. JectOS-vancomycin cement is suitable as a void filler delivering high local concentration of vancomycin. We recommended using it for contained bone defects that do not require mechanical strength. © The Author(s) 2019
Idiopathic Thyroid Abscess – A Rare Occurrence
No full textThyroid abscesses are rare as the gland has a rich blood supply, well-developed capsule and is high in iodine. However, clinicians must be aware of this fact and make an early diagnosis as it can lead to serious morbidity if left untreated. Infection may involve one or both lobes of the thyroid gland, although the left lobe is more often affected and is successfully treated with surgery and antibiotics. This case study involves a 22-year-old woman with a history of painful swelling over the neck accompanied by low-grade fever without any underlying cause. Both the ultrasound and computed tomography revealed a heterogeneous mass within the left lobe of the thyroid gland. Fine needle aspiration revealed an abscess collection and culture Staphylococcus aureus had grown. She was successfully treated with intravenous and oral amoxicillin clavulanate and no surgical treatment was carried out. In conclusion, thyroid abscesses are rare as the gland is resistant to infection and must be differentiated from an infected branchial cleft cyst or sinus, infected thyroid tumour or lymphadenitis in the region of the thyroid in order to avoid serious morbidity if left untreated. © 2019 Societa Editrice Universo. All rights reserved
A cross-cultural study of staying reasons of American brands
No full textPurpose: Although researchers have investigated thoroughly the consumer’s brand switching behaviour, the probability of confusion regarding “brand switching” is a less travelled road so far. Therefore, the purpose of current study is to investigate and highlight the underlying convincing parameters in relation to not switching from American brands within the context of millennial Muslim consumers in Pakistan and Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 704 consumers living in two divergent cultures, who were asked about American brands. Two categories of “reasons to stay” were examined: switching barriers and affirmatory factors. Findings: The main discovery was that staying reasons for specific brands could be different in two different cultures, but they influence the ultimate brand switching behaviour. Practical implications: This study is important for those firms who have many prospective switchers because it is important to understand why these customers stay and discover to what extent such firms can discourage such consumers from leaving, in both positive and negative ways. Originality/value: This is the first paper of its kind that examines the brand switching behaviour of millennial Muslim consumers. © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited
Carnosine exhibits significant antiviral activity against Dengue and Zika virus
No full textDengue virus (DENV) and Zika virus (ZIKV) are flaviviruses transmitted to humans by their common vector, Aedes mosquitoes. DENV infection represents one of the most widely spread mosquito-borne diseases whereas ZIKV infection occasionally re-emerged in the past causing outbreaks. Although there have been considerable advances in understanding the pathophysiology of these viruses, no effective vaccines or antiviral drugs are currently available. In this study, we evaluated the antiviral activity of carnosine, an endogenous dipeptide (β-alanyl-l-histidine), against DENV serotype 2 (DENV2) and ZIKV infection in human liver cells (Huh7). Computational studies were performed to predict the potential interactions between carnosine and viral proteins. Biochemical and cell-based assays were performed to validate the computational results. Mode-of-inhibition, plaque reduction, and immunostaining assays were performed to determine the antiviral activity of carnosine. Exogenous carnosine showed minimal cytotoxicity in Huh7 cells and rescued the viability of infected cells with EC50 values of 52.3 and 59.5 μM for DENV2 and ZIKV infection, respectively. Based on the mode-of-inhibition assays, carnosine inhibited DENV2 mainly by inhibiting viral genome replication and interfering with virus entry. Carnosine antiviral activity was verified with immunostaining assay where carnosine treatment diminished viral fluorescence signal. In conclusion, carnosine exhibited significant inhibitory effects against DENV2 and ZIKV replication in human liver cells and could be utilized as a lead peptide for the development of effective and safe antiviral agents against DENV and ZIKV. © 2019 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Tungsten disulfide saturable absorber for nanosecond pulses generation
No full textWe fabricated tungsten disulfide (WS2) based saturable absorber (SA) and use this to passively mode-lock an Erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) and produce nanosecond pulses train. The SA was obtained by repeatedly dropping the WS2 solution onto microfiber to form a nanosheets layer after drying process. A stable nanoseconds pulses train operating at 1560 nm was successfully achieved by inserting the developed SA device into a 206.4 m long laser cavity. A stable 409 ns pulse is obtained at repetition rate of 965 kHz as the pump power was raised above the threshold of 150 mW pump power. The maximum pulse energy of 1.79 nJ was obtained at 193 mW pump power. The generated pulses are consistent and stable, which useful in many practical applications. ©2019 Old City Publishing, Inc
Generation of dark pulses in a bismuth tellurite based mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser
No full textWe report on the formation of dark pulses in a highly nonlinear fiber laser passively mode-locked by a Bistmuth Tellurite (Bi2Te3) based SA. The SA was fabricated by embedding Bi2Te3 powder into polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film by a solution casting technique. By inserting the SA into an EDFL cavity, stable mode-locked operation was achieved at 1592.68 nm with the maximum pulse energy up to 2.38 nJ by adjusting polarization controller. The laser operated at pulse repetition frequency of 1.0 MHz with a pulse width of 215 ns. These results suggested that Bi2Te3 could be developed as an effective SA for mode-locked dark pulses generation in a highly nonlinear cavity. © 2019, S.C. Virtual Company of Phisics S.R.L. All rights reserved
The potential of microphytobenthos in sediment biostabilisation of aquatic ecosystems: An overview
No full textMicrophytobenthos represents microscopic primary producers, primarily diatoms that often form heterogeneous biofilms on sediment surface. Microphytobenthos assemblages have been documented and reported to be closely linked with the biostabilisation of the sediment surface in the intertidal flat of Europe. Flood and ebb tides cause vertical movement of the benthic diatoms in the surface of the top sediment, which contributes to stabilizing the sediment. Light, salinity and other environmental stressors further initiate microphytobenthos to move up and down vertically in the surface of the top sediment. Diatoms produce and secrete extracellular polymeric substances in response to their locomotion, which favorably stabilize the sediment surface during high tide immersion. Frequent storms caused by climate change have intensified the erosion problem along coastlines. Unfortunately, structures such as wave breakers and breakwaters that are built along some coastlines have proven to worsen the erosion rate. More environmental and biological-friendly solutions are needed to tackle the erosion problem worldwide. The widely distributed tidal flats and mangrove forests along the coastlines must harbor the diatom species that have biostabilisation potential. This review presents data that supports the biostabilisation of sediment by diatoms, provides information on this process and initiates more studies regarding the potential of microphytobenthos in biologically reducing sediment erosion along the coastlines, rather than structurally. © 2019, BIOFLUX SRL. All rights reserved
Cultural Issues in Offshore Teams: A Categorization based on Existing Studies
No full textCultural and personal issues resulting from dispersed teams are considered to be serious barriers to form trust and organize effective agile teams. However, apart from separate, reported evidence of such issues from work experience, there has been no theoretical classification in literature. This paper provides a list and analysis of common challenges mainly resulting from cultural differences and barriers in Agile Software Development (ASD) offshore teams. The data source comprise Articles published in IEEE, mostly of conferences related to ASD. Among the Articles, papers with concrete evidence of Agile Methods (AM) implementation were selected. The results show that despite the relative significance of such issues, ASD adopters typically still rely on their own experience, and creativity rather than using well-defined methods. Moreover, this study reveals that the notion of trust, as discussed in the literature, mainly refers to maintaining the pace of communication, which is the focal point in ASD. © 2019 KSII
Building Networks to Harness Innovation Synergies: Towards an Open Systems Approach to Sustainable Development
No full textOpen innovation has become a popular approach, especially since 2003, as people began purposively managing, evolving and harnessing knowledge flows across organizational boundaries but through increasing connections with systemic knowledge nodes relevant to the innovation process. The creation and appropriation of such knowledge has evolved rapidly with digitalization and the proliferation of broadband networks. Individuals, firms and organizations now connect and coordinate to support innovations openly across innovation systems. This paper proposes an open systems model with institutional underpinnings to not only quicken knowledge flows and expand the networks to a wider range of socioeconomic agents, but also for their inclusive participation in shaping the processes of achieving sustainable development through environmental greening and egalitarian balancing of society. In doing so, using examples, the paper focuses on developments since Schumpeter's ground-breaking exposition of innovation to explain how individuals, firms, farms and organizations can participate actively in open innovation networks to connect productively with the critical knowledge nodes in society. © 2019 by the authors