The influence of board director's characteristics and ownership structure on intellectual capital disclosure among Gulf Cooperation Council companies

Intellectual capital (IC) disclosure, recognised as a highly useful element for maintaining competitive advantage, attracting global investment and adding immense value to the interests of key stakeholders has been presented as an international research direction, especially in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) context. As such, this study addresses the key issue of examining voluntary disclosure of IC among top listed firms in the GCC countries. Specifically, it involves a thorough examination of 119 firms’ 2011 annual reports. Furthermore, it investigates whether the monitoring mechanisms of an effective board and audit committee, and ownership structures, influence IC disclosure. By using hierarchical regression, this study also estimates the moderating effect of the effectiveness of audit committees on the relationship between ownership (e.g. government, family, institutional) and IC disclosure. The multiple regression findings showed that the board size, board multiple directorships, board meeting, board committees and audit committee independence had a positive and significant relationship with IC disclosure when examined individually. However, when assessed at aggregate level using scores, it was found that the board effectiveness and family ownership had a significant relationship with IC disclosure in the GCC context. Additionally, this study provides evidence related to family and institutional ownership holding a majority of shares having a significant relationship with IC disclosure. Also, the results of this study showed that audit committee effectiveness moderates the relationship between the government ownership and IC disclosure. The result of this study contributes to the body of knowledge in IC-related studies, particularly with regards to monitoring mechanisms affecting IC disclosure. The findings will be beneficial to investors, regulators, policymakers and market participants as well as researchers

Thermal Analysis of Zinc Oxide-Eugenol Cements During Setting

Characteristic thermal transitions of zinc oxide and eugenol materials were compared with those of zinc eugenolate.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66654/2/10.1177_00220345710500025301.pd

Population dynamics and exploitation of Metapenaeus affinis in Kuwaiti waters

Length-frequency data of Metapenaeus affinis collected from the trawl catches of R/V Bahith in Kuwaiti waters from 1985 to 1989 were combined with estimates of monthly total catch by the commercial and small-scale fleets operating in Kuwait, and analyzed using the Compleat ELEFAN software package. A major recruitment pulse of M. affinis occurs in spring and a minor one in autumn. Optimum relative yield per recruit (Y'/R) is obtained with the length-at-first capture (L sub(c)) of 24.4 cm CL for females and < 17.6 m CL for males. Virtual population analysis results indicated that the biomasses have decreased during the last three-year period for which data were available

Hurwitz components of groups with socle PSL(3, q)

For a finite group G, the Hurwitz space Hinr,g(G) is the space of genus g covers of the Riemann sphere P1 with r branch points and the monodromy group G. In this paper, we give a complete list of some almost simple groups of Lie rank two. That is, we assume that G is a primitive almost simple groups of Lie rank two. Under this assumption we determine the braid orbits on the suitable Nielsen classes, which is equivalent to finding connected components in Hinr,g(G)

Clinical relevance of Salmonella enterica isolated from water and food in Eritrea

A total of 94 Salmonella isolates were collected from three catchments areas in Eritrea. These isolates were recovered from clinical and environmental sources. Biochemical tests using gelatin hydrolysis and tartrate utilization test were employed to differentiate between Salmonellasubspecies. All Salmonellaisolates were identified as Salmonellasubspecies I and were then subjected to molecular characterization. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) were employed to identify and establish possible relationships between the clinical isolates and environmental sources. Two sets of oligonucleotide primers specific for genes from S. Typhimurium and S. Enteritidis were used for the PCR reaction. Of the 94 Salmonellaisolates characterized only 6 were S. Typhimurium strains. To type the Salmonellaisolates AFLP was used. Clustering the AFLP patterns using the un-weighed pair-group method using arithmetic means (UPGMA) revealed 15 clusters. Of the 94 Salmonellaisolates collected, 48 (51%) strains were serologically identified. These serotypes include, 21 SalmonellaEmek (43.7%), 19 SalmonellaHeidelberg (39.5%), 7 of the 13, 22, 23; z undetermined serotype (14.5%), and 2 SalmonellaTyphimurium strains (4.1%). The AFLP data in the present study indicated a possible relationship between the clinical isolates and those obtained from environmental sources.Dissertation (MSc (Microbiology))--University of Pretoria, 2007.Microbiology and Plant Pathologyunrestricte

Implementation of Mobile Robot’s Navigation using SLAM based on Cloud Computing

This paper is concerned with the implementation of EKF-SLAM (Extended Kalman Filter- Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) algorithm using a cloud computing architecture based on ROS (Robot Operating System). The localization and mapping is essential step to navigate a mobile robot in unknown environment. The implemented EKF-SLAM has used a landmark that sensed using IR Emitter sensor provided by the Kinect camera to update a map of the environment and simultaneously estimate the robot’s position and orientation within the map. The implementation was done using three parts. The first one was the TurleBot Mobile robot with the Kinect camera, which was simulated in Gazebo environment. The second part was the EKF-SLAM running under the MATLAB to generate the Map and Location data. The third part was the ROS Master node, which runs on the cloud to enable part one and two to communicate using topics. The scan data from Kinect camera and the location data from the odometer is transferred from the first part to the second part through ROS Master node after impaired with zero mean Gaussian noise . Then the second part performs EKF-SLAM and transmit the corrections to the first part through the ROS Master node as well

The role of perceived value and green consumption attitude on purchase intention of eco-bag: a study on young consumers

In recent decades, consumers have been eventually shifting towards responsive green consumption behaviour. This study will examine the role of the perceived value (social value, environmental value and economic value) on green consumption attitude and which, in turn, affects young consumers' purchase intention towards eco-bag. A conceptual model was adopted by developing hypotheses and analysed through structural equation modelling. The survey was performed where data were obtained from 373 young consumers from Chattogram, the commercial capital of Bangladesh. The empirical results suggest that economic value, social value and environmental value have a significant and positive influence on the green consumption attitude. Furthermore, green consumption attitude is also found to be a critical factor influencing the intention of young consumers for purchasing eco-bag. This research will help marketers, policymakers, and concerned stakeholders to create awareness among customers regarding eco-bag usage benefits and drive the industry towards sustainability and enhance green revolution to the competitive market structure

Synthesis, characterization, antimicrobial activity and molecular docking studies of combined pyrazol-barbituric acid pharmacophores

Purpose: To synthesize, and determine the antibacterial activity and binding mode of new pyrazolbarbituric acid derivatives in a search for new antimicrobial agents.Methods: One-pot multi-component reaction of aldehyde derivatives, barbituric acid and 3-methyl-1- phenyl-1H-pyrazol-5(4H)-one in the presence of NHEt2 to afford Michael adduct was carried out. The reaction was carried out in water and afforded new heterocycles in a one-step fashion, with expedient work-up and high yield without extraction and purification steps. The synthesized compounds were evaluated for antimicrobial activity using agar disc diffusion. Molecular docking approach via MOE-Dock program was applied to predict the binding interactions of some of the new pyrazol-barbituric acid derivatives against six different target proteins downloaded from Protein Data Bank.Results: A series of pyrazole-barbituric acid derivatives were successfully synthesized and characterized. The synthesized compounds showed moderate to very good antibacterial activity against S. aureus ATCC 29213 and E. faecalis ATCC29212, as well as also antifungal activity against Candida albicans ATCC 10400Conclusion: A series of pyrazole-barbituric acid derivatives has been synthesized and some of them display antimicrobial activities.Keywords: Pyrazole, Barbituric acid, Pyrazole-barbituric acid derivatives, Antimicrobial activity, Molecular dockin

Brucellosis, genital campylobacteriosis and other factors affecting calving rate of cattle in three states of Northern Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Reproductive diseases limit the productivity of cattle worldwide and represent an important obstacle to profitable cattle enterprise. In this study, herd brucellosis and bovine genital campylobacteriosis (BGC) status, and demographic and management variables were determined and related to predicted calving rate (PrCR) of cattle herds in Adamawa, Kaduna and Kano states, Nigeria. Serum samples, preputial scrapings, questionnaire data, trans-rectal palpation and farm records were used from 271 herds. The Rose-Bengal plate test and competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used for Brucella serology and culture and identification from preputial samples for BGC. A herd was classified as positive if one or more animals tested positive. The PrCR was determined as the number of calvings expected during the previous 6 and next 6 months as a percentage of the number of postpubertal heifers and cows in the herd. A multilevel linear regression model was used to estimate the herd-level effect of Brucella abortus seropositivity, Campylobacter fetus infection and other factors on calculated PrCR. RESULTS : The reproductive performance of the cattle herds was generally poor: Only 6.5% of the nursing cows were pregnant and 51.1% were non-pregnant and acyclic; the mean annual PrCR was 51.4%. Brucella abortus and C. fetus infection of herds were independently associated with absolute reduction in PrCR of 14.9% and 8.4%, respectively. There was also a strong negative association between within-herd Brucella seroprevalence and PrCR. Presence of small ruminants, animal introduction without quarantine and the presence of handling facilities were associated with lower PrCR, whereas larger herd size, supplementary feeding, routine mineral supplementation and care during parturition were associated with higher PrCR. CONCLUSIONS : Brucellosis and BGC may be largely responsible for the poor reproductive performance of indigenous Nigerian cattle. Farmer education and measures to improve the fertility of cattle herds are suggested.The partial funding by the Department of Production Animal Studies, University of Pretoria is appreciated.http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcvetresam201

Synergistic Catalytic Effects of Alloys of Noble Metal Nanoparticles Supported on Two Different Supports:Crystalline Zeolite Sn-Beta and Carbon Nanotubes for Glycerol Conversion to Methyl Lactate

Two multifunctional catalytic systems comprising Sn-based/doped crystalline zeolite Beta were synthesized, and they were employed as heterogeneous catalysts in the selective conversion of glycerol to methyl lactate. The first catalytic system, named Au-Pd-Sn-deAl-7.2-Beta-DP, was created through the post-synthesis dealumination of the parent zeolite Beta (Si/Al = 10) using 7.2 M HNO3. Subsequently, it was grafted with 27 mmol of SnCl4, resulting in Sn-deAl-7.2-Beta. Following this, Au and Pd nanoparticles were supported on this catalyst using the deposition–precipitation (DP) method. The second catalytic system was a physical mixture of Au and Pd nanoparticles supported on functionalized carbon nanotubes (Au-Pd-F-CNTs) and Sn-containing zeolite Beta (Sn-deAl-7.2-Beta). Both catalytic systems were employed in glycerol partial oxidation to methyl lactate under the following conditions: 140 °C for 4.5 h under an air pressure of 30 bar. The Au-Pd-Sn-deAl-7.2-Beta-DP catalytic system demonstrated 34% conversion of glycerol with a 76% selectivity for methyl lactate. In contrast, the physical mixture of Au-Pd-F-CNTs and Sn-deAl-7.2-Beta exhibited higher activity, achieving 58% glycerol conversion and a nearly identical selectivity for methyl lactate (77%). The catalytic results and catalyst structure were further analyzed using various characterization techniques, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 physisorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-vis spectroscopy, and pyridine Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). These analyses emphasized the significance of adjusting the quantity of active sites, particle size, and active sites proximity under the chosen reaction conditions.</p