The impact of supply chain-related factors on the environmental performance of manufacturing firms in Turkey

This paper investigates the impact of supply chain-related factors on the adoption of proactive environmental strategies, and the impact of such strategies on environmental investments and environmental performance. Data were collected from 96 Turkish manufacturers using an online questionnaire. The model was tested with PLS, a structural equation modelling method. The results show that a proactive environmental strategy leads to higher environmental investments which in turn lead to higher environmental performance. The results also show that two supply chain-related factors, organizational commitment and collaboration with suppliers, positively impact proactivity, whereas customer pressure does not have any significant direct impact on proactivity but it does positively impact environmental investments

The role of thermal and lubricant boundary layers in the transient thermal analysis of spur gears

An improved convection heat-transfer model has been developed for the prediction of the transient tooth surface temperature of spur gears. The dissipative quality of the lubricating fluid is shown to be limited to the capacity extent of the thermal boundary layer. This phenomenon can be of significance in the determination of the thermal limit of gears accelerating to the point where gear scoring occurs. Steady-state temperature prediction is improved considerably through the use of a variable integration time step that substantially reduces computer time. Computer-generated plots of temperature contours enable the user to animate the propagation of the thermal wave as the gears come into and out of contact, thus contributing to better understanding of this complex problem. This model has a much better capability at predicting gear-tooth temperatures than previous models

The Performativity of IS implementation outcomes: the case of an Enterprise System Implementation at Ìwádí University

IS implementation failure is high, yet uptake of these systems is still on the rise. This inconsistency might be because of the rational and narrative approach which characterizes how IS implementation success and failure are currently assessed and defined in research. This study challenges these dominant approaches (rational and narrative) which views outcomes as static and fixed by adopting a performative view. Hence the question: How are the realities of IS Implementation outcomes performed? This study adopted a case study methodology and used Actor Network Theory (ANT) in reconstructing the implementation story and producing knowledge claims. Findings indicate that the realities of IS implementation outcomes are performed by and within the groups in which the IS implementation is assessed. In this study, the IS implementation was assessed in two different groups and performed concurrent competing realities of IS implementation outcomes. This study elicits how factors such as expectation management, organizational politics, market recognition and the conditions of possibility played a key role in the intra-actions that enacted the realities of IS implementation outcomes. These factors were not pre-given rather they were locally produced within the IS implementation actor network

Adiponectin and Cardiac Hypertrophy in Acromegaly

Background. Adiponectin is an adipocytes-derived hormone which has been shown to possess insulin-sensitizing, antiatherogenic, and anti-inflammatory properties. In acromegaly, the data on adiponectin is contradictory. The relationship between adiponectin levels and cardiac parameters has not been studied.Objectives. The aim of this study was to find out how adiponectin levels were affected in acromegalic patients and the relationship between adiponectin levels and cardiac parameters.Material and Methods. We included 30 subjects (15 male, 15 female), diagnosed with acromegaly and 30 healthy (10 male, 20 female) subjects. Serum glucose, insulin, GH, IGF-1 and adiponectin levels were obtained and the insulin resistance of the subjects was calculated. Echocardiographic studies of the subjects were performed.Results. We determined that adiponectin levels were significantly higher in the acromegalic group than the control group. In the acromegalic group, there was no statistically significant relation between serum adiponectin and growth hormone (GH), or insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels (p = 0.3, p = 0.1). We demonstrated that cardiac function and structure are affected by acromegaly. IVST, PWT, LVMI, E/A ratio, DT, ET, IVRT, VPR, and LVESV values were increased and the results were statistically significant. In the acromegalic group, adiponectin levels were positively related with left ventricle mass index (LVMI) but this correlation was found to be statistically weak (p = 0.03). In our study, there was a positive correlation between VAI and LVM. We also could not find any correlation between VAI and adiponectin levels.Conclusions. Although insulin resistance and high insulin levels occur in active acromegaly patients, adiponectin levels were higher in our study as a consequence of GH lowering therapies. Our study showed that adiponectin levels may be an indicator of the cardiac involvement acromegaly. However, the usage of serum adiponectin levels in acromegalic patients as an indicator of cardiac involvement should be supported with other, wide, multi-centered studies

Democratic Consolidation in Africa: The Ghanaian Paradigm

The ‘Third Wave\u27of democracy resulted in transition galore in Africa. Authoritarian governments abandoned authoritarianism fora reconstructed political society which mirrors the institutions and processes of liberal democracy. What is strange however, is the fact that most of the countries that transited to democratic rule in the region about three decades ago are not making significant progress towards consolidating their hard earned democracy. Electoral violence and some other anti-democratic practices have made the mantra of good governance a mere rhetoric, and kept democracy perpetually nascent in most of the countries in the region. But worthy of note is the reference being made to Ghana, by some observers of African politics, as a beacon of democracy in Africa. The crux of this paper therefore is to attempt a critical evaluation of Ghanaian\u27s democratic experience to determine the extent to which the country can be referred to as a consolidated democracy. Descriptive/qualitative method was used for data analysis. The paper discovered that Ghana indeed possesses some strikingly unique democratic experience which distinguish it from other African states. Although the countryis still struggling with some anti-democratic challenges like vote buying and executive recklessness, which if not properly addressed may erode any democratic gains recorded so far. Nevertheless, the impressive democratic credentials or the indices of democratic consolidation in the country as discovered by this research, can make one to conclude that Ghana is on the path of achieving democratic consolidation

Prevalence of malnutrition among settled pastoral Fulani children in Southwest Nigeria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is a dearth of information on the health of pastoral Fulani children living in southwestern Nigeria. These are fully settled pastoralists whose economy are centred on cattle and farming. In other to monitor and plan appropriate nutritional intervention for their children, a cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the prevalence of malnutrition of pastoral Fulani children.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Fulani's children aged 6 months to 15 years, living in 61 settlements in Kwara, Ogun and Oyo States in Southwestern Nigeria participated in the study. Heights and weights of 164 girls and 167 boys were measured. Their anthropometric indices, height-for-age (HA), weight-for-height (WH), and weight-for-age (WA) Z-scores determined. The prevalence of stunting (HAZ < -2), wasting (WHZ < -2) and underweight (WAZ < -2) was 38.7%, 13.6%, and 38.7%, respectively when compared to the reference NCHS/WHO standard used for defining stunting, wasting and underweight. Boys were more malnourished than the girls were, but this was not significant (stunting: χ²= 0.36; df = 1; P = 0.54); (underweight: χ²= 1.10; df = 1; P = 0.29); and (wasting: χ²= 0.00; df = 1; P = 0.98) The mean of Z-scores of Height-for-age, Weight-for-age and Weight-for-height in children were -1.502, -1.634 and -0.931 respectively. The SD was 1.52, 1.09 and 1.20 respectively. Using WHO Malnutrition Classification systems, 38.7% of the children were found to be malnourished.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results indicate high prevalence of malnutrition among settled pastoral Fulani children, possibly due to changes in food habits and lifestyle occasion by the transition from nomadic to sedentary living. We suggest the inclusion of Fulani's settlements in nutritional intervention for these areas.</p

2D layered transport properties from topological insulator Bi2_2Se3_3 single crystals and micro flakes

Low-field magnetotransport measurements of topological insulators such as Bi$_2$Se$_3$ are important for revealing the nature of topological surface states by quantum corrections to the conductivity, such as weak-antilocalization. Recently, a rich variety of high-field magnetotransport properties in the regime of high electron densities ($\sim10^{19}$ cm$^{-3}$) were reported, which can be related to additional two-dimensional layered conductivity, hampering the identification of the topological surface states. Here, we report that quantum corrections to the electronic conduction are dominated by the surface states for a semiconducting case, which can be analyzed by the Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka model for two coupled surfaces in the case of strong spin-orbit interaction. However, in the metallic-like case this analysis fails and additional two-dimensional contributions need to be accounted for. Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations and quantized Hall resistance prove as strong indications for the two-dimensional layered metallic behavior. Temperature-dependent magnetotransport properties of high-quality Bi$_2$Se$_3$ single crystalline exfoliated macro and micro flakes are combined with high resolution transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, confirming the structure and stoichiometry. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy proves a single-Dirac-cone surface state and a well-defined bulk band gap in topological insulating state. Spatially resolved core-level photoelectron microscopy demonstrates the surface stability.Comment: Sci. Rep. (2016

Virus in Water. II. Evaluation of Membrane Cartridge Filters for Recovering Low Multiplicities of Poliovirus from Water

The efficiency of a Millitube MF cartridge filter, a membrane filter, for recovery of poliovirus from 100-gal volumes of both fresh (tap) and estuarine water was determined. In the high multiplicity of virus input-output experiments, recovery of 97% or greater of input virus was achieved in both types of water when the final concentration of divalent cation as Mg2+ was 1,200 μg/ml and the pH was 4.5. Virus was effectively eluted from the membrane cartridge with 5× nutrient broth in 0.05 M carbonate-bicarbonate buffer at pH 9.0. Four elutions of 250 ml each were used. In the low multiplicity of virus input-output experiments under the same cationic and pH conditions, up to 67% of the input virus was recovered when the virus was further concentrated from the eluates by the aqueous polymer two-phase separation technique. The volume reduction was 126,000-190,000 to 1. The use of the combined techniques, i.e., membrane adsorption followed by aqueous polymer two-phase separation, provided a highly sensitive, simple, and remarkably reliable sequential methodology for the quantitative recovery of poliovirus occurring at multiplicities as low as 1 to 2 plaque-forming units per 5 gal of water