Business Process Outsourcing: Lessons From Case Studies In India, Poland, And Canada

The objective of this article is to study the effectiveness of the company-partner relationship when outsourcing business processes in a large aerospace company. The intent is to supplement existing anecdotal evidence with data collected through a structured methodology in an effort to highlight process inefficiencies that may lead to hidden costs. Recommendations are provided to management as a means of addressing the process gaps to improve productivity. A literature review was conducted and a selection of findings from relevant papers and studies were retained as best practices for a successful outsourcing venture. These findings were then used to generate questions as part of a survey. The latter was distributed to 90 employees and managers from both the company and the vendor with the purpose of identifying gaps with the literature. A mismatch between the survey results and the literature would signal an improvement opportunity requiring management of attention. Although the overall health of the outsourcing process is satisfactory, several aspects of the working relationship were found to be deficient and the cause of inefficiencies (i.e. loss time, frustration, increased cost …). In particular, employees from both sides found a lack in upfront planning, communication of expectations, and information sharing. Furthermore, both employees and managers expressed concern about the need for training to better deal with cultural differences and motivation

Estimation of the solubility parameters of model plant surfaces and agrochemicals: a valuable tool for understanding plant surface interactions

Background Most aerial plant parts are covered with a hydrophobic lipid-rich cuticle, which is the interface between the plant organs and the surrounding environment. Plant surfaces may have a high degree of hydrophobicity because of the combined effects of surface chemistry and roughness. The physical and chemical complexity of the plant cuticle limits the development of models that explain its internal structure and interactions with surface-applied agrochemicals. In this article we introduce a thermodynamic method for estimating the solubilities of model plant surface constituents and relating them to the effects of agrochemicals. Results Following the van Krevelen and Hoftyzer method, we calculated the solubility parameters of three model plant species and eight compounds that differ in hydrophobicity and polarity. In addition, intact tissues were examined by scanning electron microscopy and the surface free energy, polarity, solubility parameter and work of adhesion of each were calculated from contact angle measurements of three liquids with different polarities. By comparing the affinities between plant surface constituents and agrochemicals derived from (a) theoretical calculations and (b) contact angle measurements we were able to distinguish the physical effect of surface roughness from the effect of the chemical nature of the epicuticular waxes. A solubility parameter model for plant surfaces is proposed on the basis of an increasing gradient from the cuticular surface towards the underlying cell wall. Conclusions The procedure enabled us to predict the interactions among agrochemicals, plant surfaces, and cuticular and cell wall components, and promises to be a useful tool for improving our understanding of biological surface interactions

Attention deficit hyperactivity symptoms predict problematic mobile phone use

Attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed childhood disorder characterised by inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, or both. Some of the key traits of ADHD have previously been linked to addictive and problematic behaviours. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between problematic mobile phone use, smartphone addiction risk and ADHD symptoms in an adult population. A sample of 273 healthy adult volunteers completed the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS), the Mobile Phone Problem Usage Scale (MPPUS), and the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS). A significant positive correlation was found between the ASRS and both scales. More specifically, inattention symptoms and age predicted smartphone addiction risk and problematic mobile phone use. Our results suggest that there is a positive relationship between ADHD traits and problematic mobile phone use. In particular, younger adults with higher level of inattention symptoms could be at higher risk of developing smartphone addiction. The implication of our findings for theoretical frameworks of problematic mobile phone use and clinical practice are discussed

Financially incentivized knowledge assessments to improve provider compliance with treatment guidelines: a cluster-randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Despite increasing access to health care, under-5 mortality remains high in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. Interventions to improve quality of care have mostly focused on additional training for medical staff, but generally shown little impact. We will assess the impact of financially incentivized quarterly provider knowledge assessment on compliance with Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) protocols in Congo, DRC. METHODS: Out of a total of 1738 facilities currently receiving results-based financing under an ongoing health financing program, 110 facilities were chosen for this study. All health care workers providing outpatient services to children under age 5 in these facilities will be included in the study. Facilities were randomized with equal probability to control and treatment. Treatment facilities will receive quarterly medical staff knowledge assessments using interactive vignettes. Performance on these vignettes will be rewarded through financial bonus payments to facilities. A baseline survey of health worker knowledge was conducted in 2018. An endline assessment is scheduled to start in the second half of 2021. The primary outcome of interest is health worker compliance with Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) guidelines. Compliance will be verified through direct observation of medical staff-patient interactions. DISCUSSION: This is to our knowledge the first trial assessing whether linking health financing to health care worker performance on knowledge assessments can increase compliance with under-5 case management protocols. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04634019 . Registered on November 18, 2020

Sphingolipid-Transporting Proteins as Cancer Therapeutic Targets

The understanding of the role of sphingolipid metabolism in cancer has tremendously increased in the past ten years. Many tumors are characterized by imbalances in sphingolipid metabolism. In many cases, disorders of sphingolipid metabolism are also likely to cause or at least promote cancer. In this review, sphingolipid transport proteins and the processes catalyzed by them are regarded as essential components of sphingolipid metabolism. There is much to suggest that these processes are often rate-limiting steps for metabolism of individual sphingolipid species and thus represent potential target structures for pharmaceutical anticancer research. Here, we summarize empirical and biochemical data on different proteins with key roles in sphingolipid transport and their potential role in cancer.Peer Reviewe

Quality of care for children with severe disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

BACKGROUND: Despite the almost universal adoption of Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of sick children under the age of five in low- and middle-income countries, child mortality remains high in many settings. One possible explanation of the continued high mortality burden is lack of compliance with diagnostic and treatment protocols. We test this hypothesis in a sample of children with severe illness in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). METHODS: One thousand one hundred eighty under-five clinical visits were observed across a regionally representative sample of 321 facilities in the DRC. Based on a detailed list of disease symptoms observed, patients with severe febrile disease (including malaria), severe pneumonia, and severe dehydration were identified. For all three disease categories, treatments were then compared to recommended case management following IMCI guidelines. RESULTS: Out of 1180 under-five consultations observed, 332 patients (28%) had signs of severe febrile disease, 189 patients (16%) had signs of severe pneumonia, and 19 patients (2%) had signs of severe dehydration. Overall, providers gave the IMCI-recommended treatment in 42% of cases of these three severe diseases. Less than 15% of children with severe disease were recommended to receive in-patient care either in the facility they visited or in a higher-level facility. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that adherence to IMCI protocols for severe disease remains remarkably low in the DRC. There is a critical need to identify and implement effective approaches for improving the quality of care for severely ill children in settings with high child mortality

Primary congenital anomalies of the coronary arteries and relation to atherosclerosis: an angiographic study in Lebanon

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Most coronary artery anomalies are congenital in origin. This study angiographically determined the prevalence of different forms of anomalous aortic origins of coronary anomalies and their anatomic variation in a selected adult Lebanese population. Correlation between these anomalies and stenotic coronary atherosclerotic disease was also investigated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>4650 coronary angiographies were analyzed for anomalous aortic origin. These anomalies were clustered in four main groups: anomalous left circumflex (LCX) coronary artery, anomalous right coronary artery, anomalous left main coronary artery and anomalous left anterior descending coronary artery.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty four patients had anomalous aortic origin of coronary arteries. Of these, anomalous LCX coronary artery was the most common (19 of 34 patients). The second most common anomaly was anomalous RCA origin (9 of 34 patients.) The incidence of coronary stenosis in non-anomalous vessels was 50%. However, a significantly smaller percentage (17.46%; 6 of 34 patients) of anomalous vessels exhibited significant stenosis, reminiscent of atherosclerotic disease. Of these six vessels, five were LCX coronary artery arising from right coronary sinus or from early branch of right coronary artery. The sixth was right coronary artery arising from left coronary sinus.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The incidence of congenital coronary anomalies in Lebanon is similar to other populations where the most common is the LCX coronary artery. Isolated congenital coronary anomalies do not increase the risk of developing coronary stenosis or atherosclerosis. Angiographic detection of these anomalies is clinically important for coronary angioplasty or cardiac surgery.</p

TRUST IN CROSS-CULTURAL B2B FINANCIAL SERVICE RELATIONSHIPS: THE ROLE OF SHARED VALUES

This is the accepted version of the following article: Houjeir, R. & Brennan, R. J, 'Trust in cross-cultural b2b financial service relationships: The role of shared values', Journal of Financial Services Marketing, June 2016, Vol 21(2): 90-102 The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/fsm.2016.4Trust in business-to-business supplier–customer relationships in financial services is an area of considerable research interest. The bulk of prior empirical research in this field has concentrated on trust in business relationships within a Western cultural context. However, shared values are acknowledged to be an important antecedent to trust. The premise of this study is that in circumstances where there are substantial cultural differences between parties to a supplier–customer relationship, these differences will be reflected in shared values, which will in turn be reflected in differences in the nature of trust. A qualitative study was conducted among business bankers and their corporate clients in the context of the United Arab Emirates. In all 170 respondents were interviewed; of these, 160 were paired respondents, that is, where a client and banker from the same business relationship were interviewed (yielding 80 interview dyads). Substantial differences with respect to trust were found between relationships that involved only Emiratis, those that involved Emiratis and non-Emiratis, and those that involved only non-Emiratis. For Emiratis mutual trust is substantially based on family and clan ties and exhibits strongly affective characteristics. For non-Emiratis trust is largely based on business considerations, and exhibits strongly cognitive characteristics.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Assessing the Psychometric Properties of the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) Among Lebanese College Students

Internet addiction is an emergent problem; yet, both a strong conception of the factors precipitating challenging activities and a gold standard tool for evaluating symptoms are deficient. The aim of this study was to carry out a psychometric analysis using the most commonly employed screening tool, the young Internet Addiction Test (IAT), comprising a sample of Lebanese University medical students. Two hundred and fifty-six undergraduate medical students from a university in Beirut, Lebanon were included in our IAT. Exploratory factor analysis was employed, and four factors were extracted. These four factors were named as Lack of Control, Social Withdrawal and Emotional Conflict, Time Management Problems, and Concealing Problematic Behavior. Furthermore, the selected factors explained 56.5% of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the internal reliability of the scale was found to be 0.91. For each subscale, the internal consistency score was approximated and detected as 0.76, 0.74, 0.69, and 0.63 for the first through fourth factor, respectively. Item total correlations were calculated and had a value range from 0.37 to 0.63 for the 20 items. IAT is a proper tool for evaluating internet addiction in Lebanese college students

Design, synthesis, antitumor activity and molecular docking study of novel 5-deazaalloxazine analogs

open access articleProtein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) are the most potential therapeutic targets for cancer. Herein, we present a sound rationale for synthesis of a series of novel 2-(methylthio), 2-(substituted alkylamino), 2-(heterocyclic substituted), 2-amino, 2,4-dioxo and 2-deoxo-5-deazaalloxazine derivatives by applying structure-based drug design (SBDD) using AutoDock 4.2. Their antitumor activities against human CCRF-HSB-2, KB, MCF-7 and HeLa have been investigated in vitro. Many 5-deazaalloxazine analogs revealed high selective activities against MCF-7 tumor cell lines (IC50: 0.17–2.17 µM) over HeLa tumor cell lines (IC50 > 100 µM). Protein kinase profiling revealed that compound 3h induced multi- targets kinase inhibition including −43% against (FAK), −40% against (CDKI) and −36% against (SCR). Moreover, the Annexin-V/PI apoptotic assay elucidate that compound 3h showed 33% and potentially 140% increase in early and late apoptosis to MCF-7 cells respectively, compared to the control. The structure-activity relationship (SAR) and molecular docking study using PTK as a target enzyme for the synthesized 7-deazaalloaxazine derivatives were investigated as potential antitumor agents. The AutoDock binding affinities of the 5deazaalloxazine analogs into c-kit PTK (PDB code: 1t46) revealed reasonable correlations between their AutoDock binding free energy and IC50