An Application of Pareto Analysis and Cause-and-Effect Diagram (CED) for Minimizing Rejection of Raw Materials in Lamp Production Process

Flange tube, Glass shell, Lead in Wire (LIW), Filament (Coil) and Cap are the most important raw materials in case of Lamp Production Process. Manufacturing processes tend to produce operational wastages due to various reasons, which can be reduced by identifying and eliminating those reasons. It has been a very challenging engineering problem particularly in a multistage manufacturing, where maximum number of processes and activities are performed. With the help of Pareto diagrams, which are mostly used to identify critical areas, the manufacturing process defects in the each stage of the production belt have been prioritized by arranging them in decreasing order of importance. Then cause and effect diagram is being applied to explore possible causes/factors of defects and to determine the causes/factors, which has the greatest effect. Key words: Lamp production process; Multistage manufacturing; Pareto diagrams; Production belt; Cause and effect diagra

Exploring the travel behavior changes caused by the COVID-19 crisis:A case study for a developing country

This study aims to examine the extent to which SARS-Cov-2 and associated governmental interventions to mitigate virus transmission has affected daily travel decisions in Bangladesh. A questionnaire survey was used to record opinions of respondents hailing from diverse socio-economic backgrounds on trip number and mode preferences for a variety of trip purposes for “before” and “during” COVID-19 situation. This was used to assess changes in (i) trip frequencies, and (ii) travel mode preferences using contingency tables, ordinal logistic regression and Sankey diagrams. Analyses revealed that COVID-19 caused large variation in mode preferences but small variation in trip frequencies. Males still go outside for work and shopping, putting them at greater risk than females. COVID-19 has drastically cut recreational trips, but not so many work trips. Although online work or education (950%) and shopping (170%) has risen, this seems to be limited to urban areas. Besides, buses continue to be preferred the most during pandemic for trips involving short distance recreation (26.75%), markets (43.18%), and long distance recreation (35.66%). Results suggest the lack of online penetration in rural and suburban areas have prevented worktrip reductions in those places, putting the inhabitants at heightened risk from virus. Moreover, majority of the people continue to use buses at the expense of their health for lack of cheaper alternatives. Results imply that the government needs to ensure proper hygiene practices in public transit and non-motorised paratransit vehicles. Moreover, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), pedestrian and bicycle facilities need to be improved

The Aspiration for Happy Train Journey: Commuters’ Perception of the Quality of Intercity Rail Services

This paper assesses the perception of intercity rail passengers on station facilities at Joydebpur Railway Station in Bangladesh. The ordinal logistic regression (OLR) tool was applied to analyze 1000 responses of rail passengers on 24 selected service and 5 demographic parameters. Critical consideration from the perspective of a developing country revealed six unique factors, namely Level crossing facility, Illegal establishments, Illegal shops, Floating people, Arrival performance, and Departure performance, which have never been explored in any previous studies. The regression analysis identified that 13 service quality factors significantly affected commuters’ satisfaction level, particularly the Food and drinks, Road connectivity, Sanitation, and Waiting room facility at the station. Among the five demographic factors, age, occupation, and travel frequency significantly influenced overall passenger satisfaction (OPS). The model results have also been validated through a second survey at Kamalapur Railway Station, Bangladesh. The results suggest that policymakers should focus on the elderly, financially solvent people, and frequent travelers. Additionally, refreshment facilities, road connectivity, sanitation, and waiting room facilities should be given priority, as these will heavily impact passenger satisfaction according to this study. Subsequent attributes can then be prioritized as per the attributes ranked and according to budget considerations of the authority

Overlapping of Serotonin Syndrome with Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome due to Linezolid-Fluoxetine and Olanzapine-Metoclopramide Interactions: A Case Report of Two Serious Adverse Drug Effects Caused by Medication Reconciliation Failure on Hospital Admission

Antipsychotic and antidepressant are often used in combination for the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. The concomitant use of antipsychotic and/or antidepressant with drugs that may interact can lead to rare, life-threatening conditions such as serotonin syndrome and neuroleptic malignant syndrome. We describe a patient who has a history of taking two offending drugs that interact with drugs given during the course of hospital treatment which leads to the development of serotonin syndrome overlapped with neuroleptic malignant syndrome. The physician should be aware that both NMS and SS can appear as overlapping syndrome especially when patients use a combination of both antidepressants and antipsychotics

A comparative study of the in vitro antimicrobial and synergistic effect of essential oils from Laurus nobilis L. and Prunus armeniaca L. from Morocco with antimicrobial drugs: new approach for health promoting products

Laurus nobilis L. (laurel, Lauraceae) and Prunus armeniaca L. (apricot, Rosaceae) are important industrial crops and display significant biological properties, including antimicrobial activity. In this work, essential oils (EOs) prepared from the leaves of both species from Morocco were evaluated for the first time for possible synergistic in vitro antibacterial and antifungal effects with some conventional antimicrobial drugs, namely fluconazole, ciprofloxacin and vancomycin. Samples were further evaluated for chemical composition by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The main volatile compounds detected in L. nobilis were eucalyptol (40.85%), α-terpinyl acetate (12.64%) and methyl eugenol (8.72%), while P. armeniaca was dominated essentially by (Z)-phytol (27.18%), pentacosane (15.11%), nonacosane (8.76%) and benzaldehyde (7.25%). Regarding antimicrobial activity, both EOs inhibited significantly all the microorganisms tested. The EO from L. nobilis had the highest activity, with minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranging from 1.39 to 22.2 mg/mL for bacteria and between 2.77 and 5.55 mg/mL for yeasts. Conversely, the combination of the studied EOs with ciprofloxacin, vancomycin and fluconazol resulted in a noteworthy decrease in their individual MICs. In fact, of the 32 interactions tested, 23 (71.87%) demonstrated total synergism and 9 (28.12%) a partial synergistic interaction. The EO from L. nobilis exhibited the highest synergistic effect with all the antibiotics used, with fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) index values in the range of 0.266 to 0.75 for bacteria, and between 0.258 and 0.266 for yeast. The synergistic interaction between the studied EOs and standard antibiotics may constitute promising anti-infective agents useful for treating diseases induced by antibiotic-resistant pathogens.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The potential of antagonistic moroccan Streptomyces isolates for the biological control of damping-off disease of pea (Pisum sativum L.) caused by Aphanomyces euteiches

Three hundred and fifty‐nine isolates of actinobacteria collected from different Moroccan soils were evaluated for their in vitro antimicrobial activity against the oomycete pathogen Aphanomyces euteiches, the causal agent of damping‐off of pea and other legumes. Eighty‐seven isolates (24%) had an inhibitory in vitro effect against A. euteiches. Fourteen bioactive isolates with the greatest inhibitory effect against A. euteiches and no inhibitory effect on plant beneficial rhizobia were tested for their ability to protect pea seeds and seedlings against the damping‐off disease using culture supernatants or spore suspensions as treatments. The two most protective isolates, OB21 and BA15, significantly reduced, compared to untreated control plants, damping‐off by 33% and 47%, respectively. The two bioactive isolates were classified as species of the genus Streptomyces based on 16S rDNA analysis and morphological and chemical characteristics

New insight into the chemical composition, antimicrobial and synergistic effects of the Moroccan endemic Thymus atlanticus (Ball) roussine essential oil in combination with conventional antibiotics

This study reported the volatile profile, the antimicrobial activity and the synergistic potential of essential oil (EO) from the Moroccan endemic Thymus atlanticus (Ball) Roussine, in combination with the antibiotics ciprofloxacin and fluconazole for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The EO chemical composition was determined by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis and the antimicrobial activity assessed by the disc diffusion method against three Gram positive (Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus) and three Gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and one clinical isolate, Klebsiella pneumonia). The antifungal activity was evaluated in four pathogenic yeasts (Candida albicans, C. glabrata, C. krusei and C. parapsilosis). The minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) and the synergistic effect with ciprofloxacin and fluconazole were determined by the two-fold dilution technique and checkerboard test, respectively. Twenty-one constituents were identified by GC-MS in the EO, including carvacrol (21.62%) and borneol (21.13%) as the major components. The EO exhibited a significant antimicrobial activity with inhibition zones ranging from 0.7 mm to 22 mm for P. aeruginosa and B. subtilis, respectively, and MIC values varying from 0.56 mg/mL to 4.47 mg/mL. The fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) values ranged from 0.25 to 0.50 for bacteria and from 0.25 to 0.28 for yeasts. The maximum synergistic effect was observed for K. pneumonia with a 256-fold gain of antibiotic MIC. Our results have suggested that EO from T. atlanticus may be used alone or in association with antibiotics as a new potential alternative to prevent and control the emergence of resistant microbial strains both in the medical field and in the food industry.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Expanding access to integrated family planning intervention packages for married adolescent girls in urban slums of Dhaka, Bangladesh

This research report describes an intervention study conducted among married adolescent girls aged 15–19 years in four urban slums of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Objectives of the study were to examine the acceptability and feasibility of forming married adolescent girls’ clubs, and involving community health volunteers (Shasthya Skebikas) and marriage registrars to increase access to family planning (FP) information and services, to promote the uptake of long-acting reversible contraceptive methods, and to provide FP information to newlywed couples at the time of marriage registration. The study findings revealed that a noteworthy number of married adolescent girls received FP-related information, mostly from the married adolescent girls’ clubs and Shasthya Skebikas, that had significant effects in their reproductive lives. Results indicated that the capability of the married adolescent girls that was developed through the study interventions can assist them to overcome family planning and unintended pregnancy-related knowledge and service gaps in the future

Factors influencing organizational attractiveness among millennial job seekers: a study on students in Malaysian research universities

This study aims to empirically examine the influence of corporate social responsibility, perceived work environment, individual value, organizational reputation on organizational attractiveness among entry-level millennial job seekers of Malaysian research universities. The present study employs a quantitative method and commences a cross-sectional data collection via an online questionnaire where the research instruments were adopted from literature. A total of 400 (91%) usable responses could be retained for further analysis. Using SPSS software for data analysis, descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and ANOVA findings were measured. This study bridges the literature gap on entry-level job-seeking millennials' perspectives in the Malaysian context. The study provides insight into organizational attractiveness amid the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, provisions understanding on employee's perception about the organization to managers and policymakers. The present study contributes theoretically to developing the conceptual model that can be further expanded and examined. Millennial job-seeking employee attraction in Malaysia is an under-explored research area that has been empirically tested in this study. The pandemic is likely to impact the employer branding concept from an employee's perspective. Therefore, the study finding provides preliminary insight to managers, policymakers, and government in proclaiming effective recruitment, employer branding, and talent acquisition policies accordingly