WOOLWORTHS AUSTRALIA AND WALMART US: BEST PRACTICES IN SUPPLY CHAIN COLLABORATION

This study analyses retail industries with the efforts of their supply chain collaboration (SCC) frommanufacturers to consumers. It also describes the ways of identifying collaboration partners and buildingpartnership for sharing information, thus representing the best practices in such efforts. The successof building the collaboration in terms of supply chain is described through the observation and analyseson the journey undertaken by both Walmart US, and Woolworths Australia. This is said to have enabledthe retailers to achieve greater organizational performance through driving common objectives in partnershipwith their supply network. For examples there some empirical successes as achieved by Woolworthssuch as saving of approximately AUD$75M within the first two years of project commencement,reduction in lead time of getting point-of-sale information from two weeks to every Monday morning forthe previous week, integration of information technology into supply chain management, and improvementin sales by AUD$7 billion. It can be generalized that through the sharing of knowledge, resources,information, profits and risks, the companies are able to position themselves in an advantageous spot,where operational efficiencies and financial cost savings are paramount

B cell receptor accessory molecule CD79α : characterisation and expression analysis in a cartilaginous fish, the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias)

Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Oncology Section EDGE Task Force on Urogenital Cancer Outcomes: Clinical Measures of Lymphedema—A Systematic Review

Background: Valid and reliable tools to assess lymphedema are necessary to accurately evaluate status and to objectively document and measure the results of interventions. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of each measure can inform the clinician\u27s choice of the appropriate tool to be used in the clinic or research setting. Purpose: To identify reliable and valid measurement techniques that are sensitive to change for assessing edema volume or soft tissue change in the lower extremities or genital region of patients with lymphedema. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted to assess the published psychometric properties and clinical feasibility of each method identified. Task Force members independently reviewed each measure using the Cancer EDGE Rating Form. Results: Both water displacement and circumferential measurement methods by tape measure were rated as Highly Recommended to quantify lower-extremity limb volume. Water displacement was determined to be the criterion standard by which all other assessments of volume are benchmarked. Both optoelectric volumetry and bioelectric impedance analysis were rated as Recommended, and ultrasound was rated Not Recommended. Conclusion: The Urogenital Cancer EDGE Task Force highly recommends water displacement and circumferential tape measurement for use as reliable methods for assessment and documentation of change of limb volume in this patient population. Early detection of subclinical lower-extremity lymphedema in this patient population remains challenging, as there is no “index” limb that can be proven to be uninvolved in a patient population with documented pelvic node dissection/irradiation. No articles were found to support valid and reliable genital lymphedema volume measurement

Body composition and morphological assessment of nutritional status in adults : a review of anthropometric variables

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: A. M. Madden, and S. Smith, ‘Body composition and morphological assessment of nutritional status in adults: a review of anthropometric variables’, Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, vol. 29 (1): 7-25, February 2016, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jhn.12278 . This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.Evaluation of body composition is an important part of assessing nutritional status and provides prognostically useful data and opportunity to monitor the effects of nutrition-related disease progression and nutritional intervention. The aim of this narrative review is to critically evaluate body composition methodology in adults, focusing on anthropometric variables. The variables considered include height, weight, body mass index and alternative indices, trunk measurements (waist and hip circumferences and sagittal abdominal diameter) and limb measurements (mid-upper arm and calf circumferences) and skinfold thickness. The importance of adhering to a defined measurement protocol, checking measurement error and the need to interpret measurements using appropriate population-specific cut-off values to identify health risks were identified. Selecting the optimum method of assessing body composition using anthropometry depends on the purpose, i.e. evaluating obesity or undernutrition, and requires practitioners to have a good understanding of both practical and theoretical limitations and to wisely interpret the results.Peer reviewe

Interactions between the extracellular and transmembrane domains of IG-alpha/beta heterodimer are required for BCR assembly and cell surface expression

The B cell antigen receptor (BCR) is expressed on the surface of B-lymphocytes where it binds antigen and transmits signals that regulate B cell activation, growth and differentiation. The BCR is composed of membrane IgM (mlgM) and two signaling proteins, Ig-α and Ig-β. If either of the signaling proteins is not expressed, the incomplete mlgM-containing BCR will not traffic to the cell surface. Our hypothesis is that specific protein:protein interactions between both the extracellular and transmembrane (TM) regions of Ig-α and Ig-β are necessary for receptor assembly, cell surface expression and effective signaling to support the proper development of B cells. While previous work has shown the importance of the T M region in BCR assembly, this study indicates that a heterodimer of the extracellular domains of Ig-α and Ig-β are also required for proper association with mlgM. Cell lines expressing mutated Ig-α proteins that did not heterodimerize with Ig-β in the extracellular and T M domains were unable to properly assemble the BCR. Conversely, an Ig-α mutant with an Ig-β cytoplasmic tail (Cβ (α/α/β)) was able to assemble with the rest of the BCR and traffic to the cell surface. Thus, both the extracellular and TM regions if the Ig-α/Ig-β must be properly associated in order for the BCR to assemble. Additionally, an Ig-α mutant with a truncated cytoplasmic domain (ΔαKVK (α/α/0)) was not able to associate with Ig-β, indicating that the cytoplasmic domain may play a role in BCR assembly. Further studies with truncation mutants are required to confirm this result. In the future additional Ig-α/Ig-β mutants will be expressed to better define the regions of protein:protein interactions.Science, Faculty ofZoology, Department ofGraduat