A Global Challenge: Sustainability of Submicrometer PEO and PVP Fiber Production

The field of submicrometer polymeric production currently has a predominant research focus on morphology and application. In comparison, the sustainability of the manufacture of submicrometer polymeric fibers, specifically the energy efficiency, is less explored. The principles of Green Chemistry and Green Engineering outline frameworks for the manufacture of “greener” products, where the most significant principles in the two frameworks are shown to be centered on energy efficiency, material wastage, and the use of non-hazardous materials. This study examines the power consumption during the production of Polyethylene oxide (PEO) and Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) submicrometer fibers under magnitudes of the key forming parameters to generate fibers via pressure spinning. The energy consumption, along with the fiber diameter, and production rate during the manufacture of fibers is predominantly attributed to the characteristics of polymeric solutions utilized

The Effectiveness of Farmer Field School Extension Approach for Technology Transfer to Tea Smallholders in Sri Lanka

Although tea smallholders play a dominant role in the tea industry in Sri Lanka, they have faced many constraints such as poor adoption of technology, scarcity of skilled labor and inputs, low productivity, high cost of production, etc. In searching for a viable mechanism to address the technology adoption issues, this study designs to assess the effectiveness of the Farmer Field School (FFS) extension approach implemented in Kandy district in Sri Lanka to improve the adoption rate of cultural practices toward increasing productivity and profitability in tea smallholdings. The stratified purposive sampling technique was performed to select 50 tea smallholders who participated in FFS programs and another 50 tea smallholders who have not attended the same programs (NFFS Group) in eight Grama Niladhari Divisions in the Kandy district. A cross-sectional field survey using a pretested and validated survey instrument was administrated to collect primary data. Using the 5-point Likert scale, indices were developed to measure variables, and descriptive analysis and ordered logistic regression analysis were performed to analyze the data. The results show that there was a significant difference in the adoption of agricultural practices between FFS and NFFS tea smallholders (t %253D3.362, p lt%253B 0.001), the productivity of land (t %253D 1.991, p lt%253B 0.05), and cost of production (t %253D -3.976, p lt%253B 0.001). The results of the ordered logistic regression model revealed that the model was fitted significantly (p lt%253B 0.05) and confirmed that the degree of adoption of recommended cultural practices by tea smallholders was positively and significantly correlated with their educational level (p lt%253B 0.05), attitude on field practices (p lt%253B 0.1), knowledge of tea field technologies (p lt%253B 0.01), experience in tea cultivation (p lt%253B 0.1), tea land productivity (P lt%253B 0.05), and group dynamic interaction in the learning process of tea farm field school-extension related learning activities (p lt%253B 0.05). Hence, this study proved that the FFS approach is a useful agricultural innovation and dissemination platform for improving tea smallholders knowledge and changing their attitude toward the adoption of cultivation practices for improving tea smallholdings land productivity and profitability in Sri Lanka

The Role of Corporate Social Performance (CSP) on the Talent Attraction: A Conceptual Framework

AbstractTalent Management is found to significantly impact the organizational competitive performance and thus, has received increased research and practitioners’ attention over the past two decades. The shortage of talent has pushed the corporates to a war for talent which focuses on attracting, engaging and retaining the right talent over competitors. The strategies of attracting the right talent therefore have become the vital first step in Talent Management. The existing literature suggests Corporate Social Performance (CSP) to facilitate attracting the right talent. However, the literature emphasizes the need for context specific research to identify factors influencing talent attraction. Meantime, if and how CSP assists talent attraction in Sri Lankan context has received very limited attention.Against this backdrop, this paper focuses on understanding the role of CSP on talent attraction in the Sri Lankan context. The paper aims to develop a conceptual framework which will bring meaningful insights to investigate the relationships between organizations’ CSP, and their ability to attract the right talent. Drawing from the literature the paper first identifies different factors influencing talent attraction, the dimensions of CSP and the level of impact CSP has had on talent attraction in other contexts. Second, the conceptual framework is presented. Third, the paper suggests an experimental design which can be used in empirical studies along with recommendations for future research.Keywords: Corporate Social Performance, (CSP), Talent Attraction, Talent Managemen

ESTIMATION OF FARM LEVEL TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY AND ITS SOCIO-ECONOMIC DETERMINANTS IN VANILLA PRODUCTION IN KANDY DISTRICT, SRI LANKA

Vanilla is one of the economically important crops in Sri Lanka although it is mainly confined as a home garden crop grown in mid and low country wet zone. Farmer productivity is one of the most important concerns in vanilla cultivation. Thus, the productivity of Vanilla farmers can be raised by improvement in efficiency in the short run. As a result of the near absence of empirical information on farm-level technical efficiency in small scale Vanilla Production in the country generally and Kandy District in particular, a Stochastic Frontier function which incorporated inefficiency factors was estimated using a Maximum Likelihood technique to provide estimates of technical efficiency and its determinants using data obtained from 80 Vanilla farmers in Ganga Ihala Korale Divisional Secretariat division since it has one of the largest numbers of small-holder vanilla producers in the country. The results reveal that Vanilla farmers are not fully technically efficient and the mean technical efficiency estimated is 37.32%. Estimated results of the inefficiency model show that experience and educational level of the vanilla farmers significantly influence the farmers ‘efficiency positively whereas age of the farmers contributes to increase the inefficiency. The findings imply that policies that would encourage youth to engage in vanilla farming and improvement in human capital should be made and implemented.Keywords: Kandy District, Maximum Like hood estimation, Stochastic frontier model, Technical efficiency, Vanilla farmer

A genetic case-control study confirms the implication of SMAD7 and TNF locus in the development of proliferative vitreoretinopathy

PURPOSE: Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) is still the major cause of failure of retinal detachment (RD) surgery and although the risk for developing this complication is associated with some clinical characteristics, the correlation is far from absolute, raising the possibility of genetic susceptibility. The objective of this study was to analyze the genetic contribution to PVR in patients undergoing RD surgery, the Retina 4 Project. METHODS: A candidate gene association study was conducted in 2006 in a Spanish population of 450 patients suffering from primary rhegmatogenous RD. Replication was carried out in a larger population undergoing RD surgery at several European centers among 546 new patients. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of 30 genes known to be involved with inflammation were analyzed. For replication stage, those genes previously detected as significantly associated with PVR were genotyped. Distribution of allelic and haplotypic frequencies in case and control group were analyzed. Single and haplotypic analysis were assessed. The Rosenberg two-stage method was used to correct for single and multiple analyses. RESULTS: After correction for multiple comparisons, four genes were significantly associated with PVR: SMAD7 (P = 0.004), PIK3CG (P = 0.009), TNF locus (P = 0.0005), and TNFR2 (P = 0.019) In the European sample, replication was observed in SMAD7 (P = 0.047) and the TNF locus (P = 0.044). CONCLUSIONS: These results confirm the genetic contribution to PVR and the implication of SMAD7 and TNF locus in the development of PVR. This finding may have implications for understanding the mechanisms of PVR and could provide a potential new therapeutic target for PVR prophylaxis

Social sciences research in neglected tropical diseases 2: A bibliographic analysis

The official published version of the article can be found at the link below.Background There are strong arguments for social science and interdisciplinary research in the neglected tropical diseases. These diseases represent a rich and dynamic interplay between vector, host, and pathogen which occurs within social, physical and biological contexts. The overwhelming sense, however, is that neglected tropical diseases research is a biomedical endeavour largely excluding the social sciences. The purpose of this review is to provide a baseline for discussing the quantum and nature of the science that is being conducted, and the extent to which the social sciences are a part of that. Methods A bibliographic analysis was conducted of neglected tropical diseases related research papers published over the past 10 years in biomedical and social sciences. The analysis had textual and bibliometric facets, and focussed on chikungunya, dengue, visceral leishmaniasis, and onchocerciasis. Results There is substantial variation in the number of publications associated with each disease. The proportion of the research that is social science based appears remarkably consistent (<4%). A textual analysis, however, reveals a degree of misclassification by the abstracting service where a surprising proportion of the "social sciences" research was pure clinical research. Much of the social sciences research also tends to be "hand maiden" research focused on the implementation of biomedical solutions. Conclusion There is little evidence that scientists pay any attention to the complex social, cultural, biological, and environmental dynamic involved in human pathogenesis. There is little investigator driven social science and a poor presence of interdisciplinary science. The research needs more sophisticated funders and priority setters who are not beguiled by uncritical biomedical promises

Hybrid conferences in the new normal: reality in a resource restricted context

No abstract availabl

Improving pulse crops as a source of protein, starch and micronutrients

Pulse crops have been known for a long time to have beneficial nutritional profiles for human diets but have been neglected in terms of cultivation, consumption and scientific research in many parts of the world. Broad dietary shifts will be required if anthropogenic climate change is to be mitigated in the future, and pulse crops should be an important component of this change by providing an environmentally sustainable source of protein, resistant starch and micronutrients. Further enhancement of the nutritional composition of pulse crops could benefit human health, helping to alleviate micronutrient deficiencies and reduce risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes. This paper reviews current knowledge regarding the nutritional content of pea (Pisum sativum L.) and faba bean (Vicia faba L.), two major UK pulse crops, and discusses the potential for their genetic improvement

Population Dynamics of Aedes aegypti and Dengue as Influenced by Weather and Human Behavior in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Previous studies on the influence of weather on Aedes aegypti dynamics in Puerto Rico suggested that rainfall was a significant driver of immature mosquito populations and dengue incidence, but mostly in the drier areas of the island. We conducted a longitudinal study of Ae. aegypti in two neighborhoods of the metropolitan area of San Juan city, Puerto Rico where rainfall is more uniformly distributed throughout the year. We assessed the impacts of rainfall, temperature, and human activities on the temporal dynamics of adult Ae. aegypti and oviposition. Changes in adult mosquitoes were monitored with BG-Sentinel traps and oviposition activity with CDC enhanced ovitraps. Pupal surveys were conducted during the drier and wetter parts of the year in both neighborhoods to determine the contribution of humans and rains to mosquito production. Mosquito dynamics in each neighborhood was compared with dengue incidence in their respective municipalities during the study. Our results showed that: 1. Most pupae were produced in containers managed by people, which explains the prevalence of adult mosquitoes at times when rainfall was scant; 2. Water meters were documented for the first time as productive habitats for Ae. aegypti; 3. Even though Puerto Rico has a reliable supply of tap water and an active tire recycling program, water storage containers and discarded tires were important mosquito producers; 4. Peaks in mosquito density preceded maximum dengue incidence; and 5. Ae. aegypti dynamics were driven by weather and human activity and oviposition was significantly correlated with dengue incidence