The effect of Outside Consultants Involvement over the Success of BPR Projects

Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is a radical, Information Technology based redesign of workflows and processes within and between organizations. Since the publication of the fundamental concepts of BPR (Davenport and Short, 1990 and Hammer, 1990), a steady stream of publicationshas reported on BPR implementations and the dramatic benefits it brought to the implementing organizations. The fundamental concepts of BPR have emerged from the consulting rather than the academic domain. Today, consultants are frequently involved in the implementation of BPR projects. Their considerable role is reflected in current research. Their views on BPR implementations is the basis for a research stream on preconditions for BPR success (Bashein et al., 1994). But does the use of consultants result in more successful BPR projects? By addressing this question, this paper aims at complementing the existing body of research on BPR

Numerical study of the noninertial systems: applicationto train coupler systems

Car coupler forces have a significant effect on the longitudinal train dynamics and stability. Because the coupler inertia is relatively small in comparison with the car inertia; the high stiffness associated with the coupler components can lead to high frequencies that adversely impact the computational efficiency of train models. The objective of this investigation is to study the effect of the coupler inertia on the train dynamics and on the computational efficiency as measured by the simulation time. To this end, two different models are developed for the car couplers; one model, called the inertial coupler model, includes the effect of the coupler inertia, while in the other model, called the noninertial model, the effect of the coupler inertia is neglected. Both inertial and noninertial coupler models used in this investigation are assumed to have the same coupler kinematic degrees of freedom that capture geometric nonlinearities and allow for the relative translation of the draft gears and end of car cushioning (EOC) devices as well as the relative rotation of the coupler shank. In both models, the coupler kinematic equations are expressed in terms of the car body and coupler coordinates. Both the inertial and noninertial models used in this study lead to a system of differential and algebraic equations that are solved simultaneously in order to determine the coordinates of the cars and couplers. In the case of the inertial model, the coupler kinematics is described using the absolute Cartesian coordinates, and the algebraic equations describe the kinematic constraints imposed on the motion of the system. In this case of the inertial model, the constraint equations are satisfied at the position, velocity, and acceleration levels. In the case of the noninertial model, the equations of motion are developed using the relative joint coordinates, thereby eliminating systematically the algebraic equations that represent the kinematic constraints. A quasistatic force analysis is used to determine a set of coupler nonlinear force algebraic equations for a given car configuration. These nonlinear force algebraic equations are solved iteratively to determine the coupler noninertial coordinates which enter into the formulation of the equations of motion of the train cars. The results obtained in this study showed that the neglect of the coupler inertia eliminates high frequency oscillations that can negatively impact the computational efficiency. The effect of these high frequencies that are attributed to the coupler inertia on the simulation time is examined using frequency and eigenvalue analyses. While the neglect of the coupler inertia leads, as demonstrated in this investigation, to a much more efficient model, the results obtained using the inertial and noninertial coupler models show good agreement, demonstrating that the coupler inertia can be neglected without having an adverse effect on the accuracy of the solutio

Rational Finite Elements and Flexible Body Dynamics

The goal of this study is to develop the dynamic differential equations of the first finite element based on the rational absolute nodal coordinate formulation (RANCF

DETC2005-84524 CROSS-SECTION DEFORMATION IN THE ABSOLUTE NODAL COORDINATE FORMULATION

ABSTRACT In this investigation, the deformation modes defined in the finite element absolute nodal coordinate formulation using several strain definitions are discussed. In order to accurately define strain components that can have easy physical interpretation, a material coordinate system is introduced to define the material element rotation and deformation. The results obtained in this study clearly show cross-section deformation modes eliminated when the number of the finite element nodal coordinates is systematically and consistently reduced. Using the procedure discussed in this paper, one can obtain a reduced order dynamic model, eliminate position vector gradients that introduce high frequencies to the solution of some problems, achieve the continuity of the remaining gradients at the nodal points, and obtain a formulation that automatically satisfies the principle of work and energy

Chemical Analysis and Biological Activities of Salvia lavandulifolia Vahl. Essential Oil

Genus Salvia is one of important genera belonging to family lamiaceae. Most of reported biological activities of Salvia usually attributed to its volatile oil. The chemical composition of essential oil from Salvia lavandulifolia was analyzed by GC/MS. A total of sixty seven components were identified in the oil of S. lavandulifolia representing 95.78% of the total oil. β-caryophyllene (11.87%), spathulenol (8.13%), neomenthol (7.75%), pulegone (6.97%), hexadecanoic acid (6.85%), germacrene-D (5.70%), bicyclogermacrene (4.53%), caryophyllene oxide (3.97%) and humulene (3.29%) were found to be the major constituents. The oil showed no antimicrobial and antileishmanial activities in a concentration up to 200 and20 µg/mL, respectively. It displayed a weak antimalarial activity (47 % inhibition) against P. flaciparium.The oil exhibited anti-inflammatory activity adopting iNOS inhibition assay with IC50of 30 µg/mL, but there is no cytotoxicity demonstrated by the oil at tested concentration of 100 µg/mL. Keywords: S. lavandulifolia, essential oil, antimalaria, antimicrobial, antiinflammtory, anticancer

Cantharidin Poisoning due to Blister Beetle Ingestion in Children : Two case reports and a review of clinical presentations

Cantharidin is an intoxicant found in beetles in the Meloidae (Coleoptera) family. Ingestion may result in haematemesis, impaired level of consciousness, electrolyte disturbance, haematurea and renal impairment. Here, we report two paediatric cases of meloid beetle ingestion resulting in cantharidin poisoning and the clinical presentation of the ensuing intoxication

Efficacy of plant extracts in controlling wheat leaf rust disease caused by Puccinia triticina

AbstractThe efficacy of eight plant extracts (garlic, clove, garden quinine, Brazilian pepper, anthi mandhaari, black cumin, white cedar and neem) in controlling leaf rust disease of wheat was investigated in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, all treatments inhibited spore germination by more than 93%. Neem extract recorded 98.99% inhibition of spore germination with no significant difference from the fungicide Sumi-8 (100%). Under greenhouse conditions, seed soaking application in neem extract (at concentration of 2ml/L) resulted in 36.82% reduction in the number of pustules/leaf compared with the untreated control. Foliar spraying of plant extracts on wheat seedlings decreased the number of pustules/leaf. Foliar spraying of plant extracts four days after inoculation led to the highest resistance response of wheat plants against leaf rust pathogen. Spray application of wheat seedlings with neem, clove and garden quinine extracts, four days after inoculation with leaf rust pathogen completely prevented rust development (100% disease control) and was comparable with the fungicide Sumi-8. Foliar spray application of wheat plants at mature stage with all plant extracts has significantly reduced the leaf rust infection (average coefficient of infection, ACI) compared with the untreated control and neem was the most effective treatment. This was reflected on grain yield components, whereas the 1000-kernel weight and the test weight were improved whether under one- or two-spray applications, with two-spray application being more effective in this regard. Thus, it could be concluded that plant extracts may be useful to control leaf rust disease in Egypt as a safe alternative option to chemical fungicides

SOIL MODELS SURVEY AND VEHICLE SYSTEM DYNAMICS

ABSTRACT The mechanical behavior of soils may be approximated using different models that depend on particular soil characteristics and simplifying assumptions. For INTRODUCTION The characteristics of soils, as with any other material, depend on the loading and the soil conditions. The response of the soil model to loading conditions depends on the assumptions used in and the details captured by the specific model. Some models are based on simple discrete elastic models that do not capture the distributed elasticity and inertia if soil. More detailed soil models employ a continuum mechanics approach that captures the soil elastic and plastic behaviors. Continuum mechanics-based soil models can be implemented in finite element (FE) algorithms. Nonetheless, the integration of these FE soil models with multibody system (MBS) algorithms for modeling vehicle/soil interaction represents a challenging implementation and computational problem that has not been adequately covered in the literature. This integration is necessary in order to be able to develop more detailed and more accurate vehicle/terrain dynamic interaction models. Depending on the level of detail that needs to be considered in a soil investigation, the parameters that define the soil in a computer model can significantly vary. However, among the many different characteristics of soil behavior, ther

Synthesis of Breast Cancer Targeting Conjugate of Temporin-SHa Analog and its Effect on Pro- and Anti-Apoptotic Protein Expression in MCF-7 Cells

The frog natural product temporin-SHa (FLSGIVGMLGKLFamide) is a potent antimicrobial peptide, as is the analog [S3K]SHa. By solid-phase synthesis, we prepared temporin-SHa and several temporin-SHa analogs with one or more D-alanine residues incorporated. The natural product and the analog [G10a]SHa were found to be cytotoxic in mammalian cell lines and induce cell death. To achieve selectivity, we conjugated the analog [G10a]SHa with a breast cancer targeting peptide (BCTP). The resulting peptide temporin [G10a]SHa-BCTP conjugate was selectively active against the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line with no cytotoxicity in NIH-3T3 fibroblasts. Unlike the natural product or [G10a]SHa, the conjugated peptide induced apoptosis, down regulating the expression of Bcl-2 and survivin and up regulating Bax and caspase-3