4582 research outputs found
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Agility and reverse logistics : a conceptual framework
No full textThe area of Reverse Logistics has become a growing concern for many organisations globally. The returns of products due to various reasons such as refurbishments, recycling, contaminations, or health and safety issues warrant an examination of the supply chain network. Many organisations are so accustomed to handling products in a traditional supply chain with forward logistics flow, that they often face difficulties and issues in managing product returns from downstream customers. Reverse logistics sometimes involve a different set of processes, resources and strategies or even a redesign of the supply chain. This paper proposes a framework for empirical investigation into the performance of supply chains in dealing with product recalls in Australia. Based on an extensive literature review, we identify the pertinent factors relating to supply chain agility in enabling the efficiency, effectiveness and differentiation strategies that can enhance logistics performance for organisations.
Achieving action to improve the framewolk for defence strategy and execution : a case study
No full textThis case study describes the initial phase of the development of a systems framework to enhance the pre-existing planning processes in a medium-sized defence department. The paper takes the form of a case study that describes the problem context, the transformation being sought, and the approach employed to win over the key stakeholders to the idea that a systemic intervention would be worthwhile. The approach described was devised for the Australian National Security and Defence planning environments and was successful in winning support for the development of an integrated strategic planning and strategy execution process that was subsequently developed as a result of this work.
A two-layer multi-dimensional trustworthiness metric for web service composition
No full textWeb service composition is a promising area to revolutionize the collaboration among heterogeneous applications. Trust is recognized as an important topic in this research area. In this paper, we propose a two-layer multi-dimensional metric to represent the trustworthiness of web service composition programs. We explored several dimensions for both composition level and service level and finalize the metric, as an indicator, to represent the trustworthiness of the automatic service composition. We also propose a method to transfer the multi-dimensional metric into a single value for comparison purpose. A simulation experiment shows that the proposed metric shows better results than the empirical judgement based on past experiences.
Upregulation of blood proBDNF and its receptors in major depression
No full textLimitations: More cases on both genders should be enrolled in our study. And further works on the mechanisms of how BDNF and its receptors are regulated in depression should also be carried out.
Reciprocal induction between α-synuclein and β-amyloid in adult rat neurons
No full textIn spite of definite roles for β-amyloid (Aβ) in familial Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the cause of sporadic AD remains unknown. Amyloid senile plaques and Lewy body pathology frequently coexist in neocortical and hippocampal regions of AD and Parkinson’s diseases. However, the relationship between Aβ and α-synuclein (α-Syn), the principle components in the pathological structures, in neuronal toxicity and the mechanisms of their interaction are not well studied. As Aβ and α-Syn accumulate in aging patients, the biological functions and toxicity of these polypeptides in the aging brain may be different from those in young brain. We examined the neurotoxicity influences of Aβ1-42 or α-Syn on mature neurons and the effects of Aβ1-42 or α-Syn on the production of endogenous α-Syn or Aβ1-40 reciprocally using a model of culture enriched with primary neurons from the hippocampus of adult rats. Treatment of neurons with high concentrations of Aβ1-42 or α-Syn caused significant apoptosis of neurons. Following Aβ1-42 treatment at sub apoptotic concentrations, both intra- and extra-cellular α-Syn levels were significantly increased. Reciprocally, the non-toxic levels of α-Syn treatment also increased intra- and extra-cellular Aβ1-40 levels. The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor LY294002, suppressed α-Syn-induced Aβ1-40 elevation, as well as Aβ1-42-induced α-Syn elevation. Thus, high concentrations of Aβ1-42 and α-Syn exert toxic effects on mature neurons; however, non-toxic concentration treatment of these polypeptides induced the production of each other reciprocally with possible involvement of PI3K pathway.
Phosphorus-arsenic interactions in variable-charge soils in relation to arsenic mobility and bioavailability
No full textHowever, care must be taken to minimize the leaching of As mobilized through the P-induced desorption, thereby resulting in groundwater and off site contamination.
Methodological challenges in using routinely collected health data to investigate long-term effects of medication use during pregnancy
No full textTo date, the investigation of teratogenic effects of medications has largely focused on physical alterations present at birth (i.e. malformations) as opposed to functional alterations (i.e. neurodevelopment, metabolic function) that may not be apparent at birth but could influence an individual’s health and risk of disease in later life. The use of routinely collected health data represents one approach to better identifying, quantifying, and understanding the long-term risks or benefits of medication use during pregnancy. As such, the objective of this review was to identify and explore opportunities and challenges associated with using routinely collected health data to examine long-term effects of medication use during pregnancy. Drawing on published research several key methodological issues associated with their use in investigating long-term outcomes are reviewed. While significant opportunities exist to make greater use of routinely collected health data, there are a number of key challenges. Identified challenges relate to aspects of study design and analysis, and include obtaining access to data, the ability to match records across datasets and over long periods of time, how medication exposures are ascertained and classified, issues around loss to follow-up how outcomes are ascertained and classified, and the careful interpretation of results in light of study and data limitations. Understanding key challenges associated with using routinely collected health data to investigate long-term effects of medication use during pregnancy is essential in supporting their appropriate use and interpretation, which will contribute to improving the quality of research undertaken and ensure the reliability of results obtained.
Access to safe justice in Australian courts : some reflections upon intelligence, design and process
No full textIn the last decade there have been great strides taken in making courts and judicial processes less intimidating for those who come into them, principally through the provision of CCTV (to enable evidence‐giving from remote rooms), volunteer court visitor information services, victim assistance programs, duty solicitors offering legal aid, and training of court staff. Good security science, too, has made courts more secure, physically, for those who visit them. Whether security services have been drawn from a sheriff’s department or have been contracted ‘in’, the end result has been a strong (and growing) emphasis upon risk management of courts and the safety of those who enter them. After all, governments and courts have a responsibility to protect those who work in, or who visit, court precincts, as visitors, as clients or as administrative or legal professionals. But the upshot of this is to paint a general picture of defendants as security risks. The question thus arises: to what extent is it possible to secure courtrooms to an optimal degree without jeopardising the important feature of curial ‘openness’? By examining the way in which courts now operate on a daily basis around Australia, and by looking at some new ideas regarding court structure and processes, this paper seeks to answer this enduring question.
Variation in PAH patterns in road runoff
No full textTwelve particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in the first flush regime of road runoff during nine events in Winterthur in Switzerland. The total PAH contents ranged from 17 to 62 μg/g. The PAH patterns measured at different time intervals during the first flush periods were very similar within each event irrespective of variation in suspended solids (SS) concentration within the first flush regime. However, the PAH patterns were different from event to event. This indicates that the environment plays an important role in PAH accumulation in SS. A toxicity identification evaluation approach using a toxicity equivalency factor (TEF) was applied to compare toxicities in the different events. The TEFs were found to be between 8 and 33 μg TEQ g 1 (TEQ: toxic equivalent concentration). In some cases, two events having similar total PAH contents showed two fold toxicity differences.