The history of healthcare facilities management services: a UK perspective on infection control

© 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: The history of the development of non-clinical services in infection control (IC) dates back to the pre-modern era. There is evidence of health-care facility management (HFM) services in Roman military hospitals. With the fall of the Roman Empire, Christian beliefs and teaching shaped the development of HFM in monastic hospitals. It was not until the late Victorian era that the link between HFM services and diseases caused by “miasma”, or bad air, became established. The discovery of bacteria in the modern scientific era reduced the level of importance previously attached to non-clinical causes of infections. Today, in the NHS, HFM services continue to be treated as though they had no real role to play in IC. This paper aims to collate historical and epidemiological evidence to show the link between HFM and IC. Design/methodology/approach: The evidence gathered in this research paper is primarily based on an in-depth review of research from a wide range of sources. A “within-study literature analysis” was conducted to synthesise the research materials. This involved the application of “between-source triangulation” to verify the quality of the information contained in the studies, and “between-source complementarity” to provide an in-depth elaboration of the historical facts. Findings: Historical and epidemiological evidence shows that HFM services such as cleaning, waste management, catering, laundry and maintenance continue to play a crucial role in IC. This is corroborated by evidence gathered from the work of renowned pioneers in the field of IC. However, reforms in the NHS have failed to consider this, as HFM services have been largely fragmented through different partnership arrangements. Practical implications: Among many other things, this research raises the profile of HFM staff in relation to the issue of IC in hospitals. It presents convincing evidence to show that the relationship between the clinical and non-clinical domains in controlling infections in hospitals has a long history. The findings of this research give HFM staff invaluable information about the significant role of their profession in the control of infections in hospitals. Originality/value: This is one of the few studies examining the historical development of HFM services, as well as their contribution to IC. Other work in this area has mainly been framed from a clinical health-care perspective

Empirical Study of Project Governance among Chinese Project Management Professionals

Project governance (PG) represents a direct and control function for a project based organization (PBO). Operational approaches to PG have rarely been explored and structured. Based on a face-to-face questionnaire survey of project management professionals in China, this study produces an ontology of PG “direct and control” measures at the operational level. Mean value analysis confirms positive agreement among the research data and exploratory factor analysis indicates that four control subsystems predominate: normative management control; belief system; incentive mechanism; and risk governance. Confirmatory factor analysis validates these findings. Results serve as a foundation for future development of an operationally oriented PG model

Enhancement of finger vein image using multifiltering algorithm

Finger vein images are prone to various noise due to imperfect capturing device used. As a result of transmission errors, pixel elements in the capturing sensors malfunction, memory location fault and analog-to-digital conversion time errors, noise could also occur. Using single filtering method cannot give a satisfactory result of the vein image. Hence, this paper proposed a multifilter algorithm that's capable of locating the region of interest of the vein and de-noise the image from corrupted noises while the edges of the image are kept intact. The algorithm does not need to have prior knowledge of the image and the corrupted noise. The fusion of simple mask filter algorithm and mixed filter algorithm of Median and Wiener filters is used. Experimental results coded in MATLAB using SDUMLA-HMT finger vein database show that the proposed algorithm is feasible and efficient

Procurement push and marketing pull in supply chain management: the conceptual contribution of relationship marketing as a driver in project financial performance

? The agenda for supply management practices on construction projects originated from clients. It is largely procurement driven, the dominant strategy of contractors being to emulate the client approach, and hence push the procurement model along the chain.? This procurement push along the supply chain translates the intrinsic client interest in value into a contractor interest in repeat business from the same client or through referral markets, the consequence being: (i) loss of interest in adding further value along the chain, (ii) continuous improvement prematurely reaches the law of diminishing returns through a primary cost reduction focus, (iii) supply chains may be rationalised in terms of the number of suppliers for each link in the chain, yet the procurement push increases chain length in order to squeeze the lowest costs possible, hence those doing the work at the bottom of the chain will not have the resources to add value nor necessarily be aware of the strategic principles at the top of the chain. ? Marketing is the other side of the same ?procurement coin?; relationship marketing (RM) soliciting a pull in the supply chain, potentially adding value for continuous improvement. ? Finally, the RM approach will be related to the theoretical and actual decoupling point for construction, with the potential to move the point towards the start of the chain, hence increasing the potential for agile manufacturing

Analysis of tender sum forecasting by quantity surveyors and contractors in South Africa

Although extensive research has been undertaken on the accuracy of quantity surveyors' tender price forecasts, very little of this research contains information relating to the factors affecting tender sum forecasting by quantity surveyors and contractors. The primary objective of this empirical study was to gain insight into the factors influencing both quantity surveyors' and contractors' tender price forecasts. This was achieved through an analysis of tender information relating to 278 projects for a fifteen-year period and collected from 30 quantity-surveying practices and MBATA tender records. The analysis of South African tender information reported in this article indicates an average forecast performance by quantity surveyors of 8.33% (std dev (standard deviation) = 11,183, CV (coefficient of variation) = 134,2%). The variability of contractors' tenders ranged from 0,37% to 46,53%, with a mean of 5,65% (std dev = 5,22, SE (standard error) = 0,313). Furthermore, there is no evidence to suggest that forecast performance is dependent on type of project, client, function of project, size of project, location of project and number of bidders. The contractor's results suggest that local authority projects are associated with high variability of their tender sum forecasts. The only factor, which shows significance for quantity surveyors, is the date of tender which may tend to point to the importance of market conditions and economic cycle in the tender sum forecast performance of South African quantity surveyors

Photo-Crosslinked Alginate Hydrogels Support Enhanced Matrix Accumulation by Nucleus Pulposus Cells in Vivo

Objective Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is a major health concern in the United States. Replacement of the nucleus pulposus (NP) with injectable biomaterials represents a potential treatment strategy for IVD degeneration. The objective of this study was to characterize the extracellular matrix (ECM) assembly and functional properties of NP cell-encapsulated, photo-crosslinked alginate hydrogels in comparison to ionically crosslinked alginate constructs. Methods Methacrylated alginate was synthesized by esterification of hydroxyl groups with methacrylic anhydride. Bovine NP cells were encapsulated in alginate hydrogels by ionic crosslinking using CaCl2 or through photo-crosslinking upon exposure to long-wave UV light in the presence of a photoinitiator. The hydrogels were evaluated in vitro by gross and histological analysis and in vivo using a murine subcutaneous pouch model. In vivo samples were analyzed for gene expression, ECM localization and accumulation, and equilibrium mechanical properties. Results Ionically crosslinked hydrogels exhibited inferior proteoglycan accumulation in vitro and were unable to maintain structural integrity in vivo. In further studies, photo-crosslinked alginate hydrogels were implanted for up to 8 weeks to examine NP tissue formation. Photo-crosslinked hydrogels displayed temporal increases in gene expression and assembly of type II collagen and proteoglycans. Additionally, hydrogels remained intact over the duration of the study and the equilibrium Young\u27s modulus increased from 1.24 ± 0.09 kPa to 4.31 ± 1.39 kPa, indicating the formation of functional matrix with properties comparable to those of the native NP. Conclusions These findings support the use of photo-crosslinked alginate hydrogels as biomaterial scaffolds for NP replacement

New Technologies: Catalysts for Business Models and Finance Function

To bridge performance gap, improve operational efficiency, enhance competitive advantage and secure corporate assets, business entities have continued to embrace new technologies with profound positive impact on their bottom-line.As new technologies replace humans through automation in the emerging business models, the demand for professionals, including chartered accountants, who are not IT-savvy is fast declining, taking with it, wages, salaries and a high percent of income taxes. These problems are compounded by the huge costs of technology acquisition and inevitable investment inhuman capacity building in the face of increasingly mobile staff.Using secondary information, the study observed that many professional accountants dread the transition from manual to automation as it would eliminate repetitive finance-related jobs in the midst of high unemployment rate in the country, dissuade new entrants into the accounting profession and alter the human side of enterprise.It therefore recommends that the training curricula of professional accountancy organisations should be rejigged and skewed towards technology while existing professional accountants should hone their IT skills to leverage technology to deliver value online, real time to their diverse stakeholders. Keywords: Technology, Internet of things, automation, business models, artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning, finance function

Ameloblastoma: Current Etiopathological Concepts and Management

Ameloblastoma is a benign odontogenic tumor of epithelial origin. It is locally aggressive with unlimited growth capacity and has a high potential for malignant transformation as well as metastasis. Ameloblastoma has no established preventive measures although majority of patients are between ages 30 and 60 years. Molecular and genetic factors that promote oncogenic transformation of odontogenic epithelium to ameloblastoma are strongly linked to dysregulation of multiple genes associated with mitogen-activated protein kinase, sonic hedgehog, and WNT/β-catenin signaling pathways. Treatment of ameloblastoma is focused on surgical resection with a wide margin of normal tissue because of its high propensity for locoregional invasion; but this is often associated with significant patient morbidity. The relatively high recurrence rate of ameloblastoma is influenced by the type of molecular etiological factors, the management approach, and how early the patient presents for treatment. It is expected that further elucidation of molecular factors that orchestrate pathogenesis and recurrence of ameloblastoma will lead to new diagnostic markers and targeted drug therapies for ameloblastoma. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Lt

Attitudes and perceptions regarding entrepreneurship around the world : a cluster analysis approach

Nowadays it is believed that entrepreneurship could be a driving force in growth and develop-ment. For the achievement of a relevant national entrepreneurship rate the social and economic business environment can be crucial. However, despite the international attention given to entrepreneurship, it is not known if it is a global phenomenon or if there are particular regions where the entrepreneurial activity is specially recognized by society. Applying cluster analysis statistical techniques to a dataset gathered by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and that includes, in 2010, 59 countries this paper intends to identify groups of countries with the same population attitude and perception regarding entrepreneurship