Sustainable supply and demand chain integration within global manufacturing industries

Given the emerging industrial management strategies considering three pillars of sustainability in particular, there is a vital need to determine the differences of sustainability practices within both supply and demand distribution systems through global manufacturing environments providing with the successful global trade and logistics. This research paper aims to explore the interactions and advantages of sustainability applications within both supply and demand chain management. The research framework adopted consists of survey questionnaire method which is conducted within a global tyre manufacturing company. The research results and analysis justify the need for the application of ethical codes, supply chain transformation and the effective association of industry executives, professional bodies and the government. The research study also identifies that the vital incentive factors for the organisation towards sustainable supply demand chain (SSDC) are mostly the financial benefits of doing so and therefore, a positive mind-set shift towards greening practices is required

Achieving strategic growth in microenterprises through information technology: UK micro enterprise case study

Technology is a powerful tool that aims to assist efficient and effective use of resources within businesses. The paper examines to provide an understanding on the use of Information Technology tools and its influence on a UK microenterprise. It aims to explore further understanding on the strategic growth of any microenterprise firms. Through research findings and that of the analysis, it develops reasons and factors towards achieving greater time efficient practices with the use of information technology tools to achieve strategic growth for the business in the challenging economic markets. The paper presents the preliminary case study of UK microenterprise through observational findings examining general business processes, the challenges and drawbacks within the working environments and that of the use of technological tools. The findings of this case study will further enable the researchers to develop a novel framework to assist and enable any microenterprise in achieving overall strategic growth

The effect of metoclopramide addition to lidocaine on pain of patients with grades II and III post-episiotomy repair

Episiotomy is the most common procedure used for dilatation of the vaginal opening for giving birth. Although episiotomy is associated with benefits for the mother, it may lead to short term and long term disabilities, including postpartum perineal pain that is secondary to perineal tearing. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of subcutaneous lidocaine compared with lidocaine and metoclopramide on pain after episiotomy. Materials and Methods: In this clinical trial study, the patients (83 for control group and 83 for case group) with episiotomy Grades II and III were enrolled and were asked to express their postpartum episiotomy pain as a number, from zero (no pain) to 10 (severest pain) Visual Analogue Scale (VAS score) at 0, 30 minute, 1 hour, 2 hour, 4 hour, 6 hour and 12 hour postpartum. Patients at the second stage of labour (crowning) were assigned to two groups: In the control group, 5 cc lidocaine 2% and in the case group, 5 cc lidocaine + 10 mg metoclopramide was injected for episiotomy. Then, the pain score was compared between the two groups. The data were analyzed by t-test and chi-square test with software SPSS version 20.0. Results: Mean age of the women was 23.19±0.46 years in the control group and 23.96±0.58 years in the case group with no significant difference between the two groups (p<0.05). The mean pain score in the control group was 3.54±0.71 and in the case group 2.93±0.91 at 30 minutes after the injection, with a statistically significant difference. At other intervals, postnatal pain scores in the case group was lower than those of the control group (p<0.05). Conclusion: Injection of metoclopramide with lidocaine is more effective than lidocaine alone for relieving the pain after episiotom

Higher-order approximation of cubic–quintic duffing model

We apply an Artificial Parameter Lindstedt-Poincaré Method (APL-PM) to find improved approximate solutions for strongly nonlinear Duffing oscillators with cubic–quintic nonlinear restoring force. This approach yields simple linear algebraic equations instead of nonlinear algebraic equations without analytical solution which makes it a unique solution. It is demonstrated that this method works very well for the whole range of parameters in the case of the cubic-quintic oscillator, and excellent agreement of the approximate frequencies with the exact one has been observed and discussed. Moreover, it is not limited to the small parameter such as in the classical perturbation method. Interestingly, This study revealed that the relative error percentage in the second-order approximate analytical period is less than 0.042% for the whole parameter values. In addition, we compared this analytical solution with the Newton– Harmonic Balancing Approach. Results indicate that this technique is very effective and convenient for solving conservative truly nonlinear oscillatory systems. Utter simplicity of the solution procedure confirms that this method can be easily extended to other kinds of nonlinear evolution equations

Seasonal changes in supercooling point and cold tolerance in field collected larvae of the beet moth, Scrobipalpa ocellatella (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in Karaj, Iran

A part of population of the beet moth, Scrobipalpa ocellatella (Boyd) in severe winter condition overwinters as larvae. In order to study overwintering potential ofthe pest, last instar larvae were collected monthly from September 2011 to March 2012. Seasonal changes in cold hardiness indices such as supercooling point (SCP) and lower lethal temperature of the beet moth were studied. The mean supercooling points of field collected larvae varied from –15.0 ± 0.99 to –17.8 ± 0.92 °C. Samples collected in October exhibited about 50% mortality, after 24 h exposure to -12 °C. It was gradually decrease until January (no mortality was observed) in January. Lethal temperature for 50% mortality (LT50) decreased from -13.2 ºC in October to -16.4 ºC in January. Supercooling points of overwintering larvae thorough the winter did not change significantly; while during the gradual decrease in ambient temperature, cold tolerance of S. ocellatella is progressively increased

Plant-RNA in Extracellular Vesicles: The Secret of Cross-Kingdom Communication

The release of extracellular vesicles (EVs) is a common language, used by living organisms from different kingdoms as a means of communication between them. Extracellular vesicles are lipoproteic particles that contain many biomolecules, such as proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids. The primary role of EVs is to convey information to the recipient cells, affecting their function. Plantderived extracellular vesicles (PDEVs) can be isolated from several plant species, and the study of their biological properties is becoming an essential starting point to study cross-kingdom communication, especially between plants and mammalians. Furthermore, the presence of microRNAs (miRNAs) in PDEVs represents an interesting aspect for understanding how PDEVs can target the mammalian genes involved in pathological conditions such as cancer, inflammation, and oxidative stress. In particular, this review focuses on the history of PDEVs, from their discovery, to purification from various matrices, and on the functional role of PDEV-RNAs in cross-kingdom interactions. It is worth noting that miRNAs packaged in PDEVs can be key modulators of human gene expression, representing potential therapeutic agents

124-Color Super-resolution Imaging by Engineering DNA-PAINT Blinking Kinetics

Optical super-resolution techniques reach unprecedented spatial resolution down to a few nanometers. However, efficient multiplexing strategies for the simultaneous detection of hundreds of molecular species are still elusive. Here, we introduce an entirely new approach to multiplexed super-resolution microscopy by designing the blinking behavior of targets with engineered binding frequency and duration in DNA-PAINT. We assay this kinetic barcoding approach in silico and in vitro using DNA origami structures, show the applicability for multiplexed RNA and protein detection in cells, and finally experimentally demonstrate 124-plex super-resolution imaging within minutes.We thank Martin Spitaler and the imaging facility of the MPI of Biochemistry for confocal imaging support

Effect of rice husk ash on the swelling pressure of bentonite soil stabilized with lime in the presence or lack of sulfate

Lime is an effective substance to decrease the swelling of expansive soils. The effective use of lime as a stabilizing agent in the presence of sulfate under some circumstances has been questioned due to the formation of ettringite. In this research, the effect of the addition of rice husk ash (RHA) on the swelling pressure of a bentonite soil (B) modified with lime (L) and calcium sulfate or gypsum (G) was investigated. Nine groups of twin compacted samples, namely, bentonite soil (B), B + L (3% by dry weight), B+3%L+ 5%G, B+3%L+RHA (5, 10 and 15% by dry weight, respectively) and B+3%L+5%G+RHA (5,10 and 15%, respectively), were prepared and tested immediately for 1-D constant volume swelling pressure measurements. Similar groups of samples were prepared and tested after 7 and 28 days of curing. The results indicated the effect of RHA in decreasing the magnitude of swelling pressure in comparison with untreated and treated soil without RH