Designing the Business Model of Herbal Pharmaceutical Knowledge based Companies

Today, research has indicated Knowledge based companies as a potential area in promoting knowledge economy, and due to the substantial added-value they make in the knowledge economy of the countries, these companies play a pivotal role in producing national income. Considering the novelty of the field of designing business models for herbal pharmaceutical Knowledge based companies and the importance of these companies among Knowledge based companies on the one hand, and the lack of academic research on exploring these companies on the other hand, the need for a comprehensive business model to help understand the components of herbal pharmaceutical Knowledge based companies seems urgent. This study aimed at identifying and prioritizing the components of business models and also structuring a business model of herbal pharmaceutical Knowledge based companies around these components. The Friedman test was used to prioritize the importance of the components of Knowledge based companies' business models. The statements of the present study's questionnaire were collected from the literature and the experts' opinions, too. Out of the 130 distributed questionnaires, 119 were collected which were analyzed by employing the Cochran test of the SPSS Statistics software. The components of key activities with the mean ranking of 6.76, cost structure with 6.09, and key resources with 6.06 were the most important components and customer relationships with 5.67, value propositions with 5.45, key partnerships with 4.10, distribution channels with 4.04, customer segment with 3.60, and revenue streams with 3.24 were the least important ones. Research paper Keywords: Business model, Knowledge based companies, Herbs, Friedman’s test Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Asadnezhad, M., Hejazi, R., Akbari, M. & Hadizadeh, E. (2017). Designing the Business Model of Herbal Pharmaceutical Knowledge based Companies, Journal of Entrepreneurship, Business and Economics, 5(2), 47–63

Research Paper: Effectiveness of Corticosteroid Therapy for Caustic Esophageal Injury

Background: Delayed caustic injury complications are common, especially in developing countries, and several treatments have been proposed to prevent the resulting esophageal strictures so far. Although inflammatory nature of caustic injury makes the anti-inflammatory agents a viable option, few studies have investigated these agents. High-dose corticosteroids therapy for reduction of stricture formation in the esophagus after the ingestion of caustic material is still a controversial topic. In this regard, this study aimed to determine the impact of high doses of methylprednisolone in preventing esophageal stricture.Methods: A total of 112 patients with grade II esophageal caustic injury, diagnosed by esophagogastroscopy within 24 hours of injury, were enrolled in our study. The treatment group (n=44) received methylprednisolone (1 g/d for 3 days), pantoprazole, ceftriaxone, and metronidazole and the control group (n=58) received the same regimen excluding methylprednisolone. Endoscopic and radiologic findings were used to compare the severity of the damage to the esophagus and stomach between the two groups.Results: After 8 months of follow-up, stricture development was observed in 3 (5.6%) patients in the treatment group and in 11 (19%) patients in the control group. The difference was statistically significant (P=0.038). The gastric outlet obstruction was observed in 4 (7.4%) patients in the treatment group and in 19 (32.7%) patients in the control group. Again, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). There were not any side effects due to the high doses of methylprednisolone in the study group.Conclusion: High doses of methylprednisolone can prevent the development of esophageal stricture in grade II of caustic injury

Diagnostic Accuracy of Computed Tomography Scan in Detection of Upper Gastrointestinal Tract Injuries Following Caustic Ingestion

Introduction: Endoscopy is an invasive procedure and finding noninvasive alternative tools in detection of probable upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract injuries following caustic ingestion is an area of interest. The present study aimed to evaluate the screening performance characteristics of thoraco-abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan in this regard.Methods: This prospective cross sectional study was conducted on patients presenting to emergency department following acute caustic ingestion. The findings of CT scan and endoscopy regarding the presence of upper GI tract damage were compared and screening performance characteristics of CT scan were calculated using MedCalc software.Results: 34 patients with the mean age of 35.38±13.72 years were studied (58.8% male). The agreement rate between CT scan and endoscopy regarding the grade of esophageal and gastric injuries was moderate (K= 0.38; p = 0.001) and fair (K= 0.17; p = 0.038), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of CT scan in detection of esophageal damage were 96.29) 79.11- 99.80) and 57.14 (20.23 - 88.19), respectively. These measures were 89.65 (71.50 - 97.28) and 40.00 (7.25 - 82.95), respectively for gastric damage. The area under the ROC curve of CT scan in detection of esophageal and gastric damages was 0.76 (95% CI: 0.52 – 1.00) and 0.64 (95% CI: 0.35 – 0.94), respectively.Conclusion: Based on the findings of the present study, CT scan could be considered as a sensitive tool in ruling out upper gastrointestinal mucosal injuries following acute caustic ingestions. However, the correlation between endoscopy and CT scan findings regarding the grading of injury is not high enough to eliminate the need for endoscopy.

Designing the Business Model of Herbal Pharmaceutical Knowledge based Companies

Today, research has indicated Knowledge based companies as a potential area in promoting knowledge economy, and due to the substantial added-value they make in the knowledge economy of the countries, these companies play a pivotal role in producing national income. Considering the novelty of the field of designing business models for herbal pharmaceutical Knowledge based companies and the importance of these companies among Knowledge based companies on the one hand, and the lack of academic research on exploring these companies on the other hand, the need for a comprehensive business model to help understand the components of herbal pharmaceutical Knowledge based companies seems urgent. This study aimed at identifying and prioritizing the components of business models and also structuring a business model of herbal pharmaceutical Knowledge based companies around these components. The Friedman test was used to prioritize the importance of the components of Knowledge based companies' business models. The statements of the present study's questionnaire were collected from the literature and the experts' opinions, too. Out of the 130 distributed questionnaires, 119 were collected which were analyzed by employing the Cochran test of the SPSS Statistics software. The components of key activities with the mean ranking of 6.76, cost structure with 6.09, and key resources with 6.06 were the most important components and customer relationships with 5.67, value propositions with 5.45, key partnerships with 4.10, distribution channels with 4.04, customer segment with 3.60, and revenue streams with 3.24 were the least important ones. Research paper Keywords: Business model, Knowledge based companies, Herbs, Friedman’s test Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Asadnezhad, M., Hejazi, R., Akbari, M. & Hadizadeh, E. (2017). Designing the Business Model of Herbal Pharmaceutical Knowledge based Companies, Journal of Entrepreneurship, Business and Economics, 5(2), 47–63

An Experimental Investigation into the Effect of Asphalt Binder Modified with SBR Polymer on the Moisture Susceptibility of Asphalt Mixtures

There are several experimental methods for improving the moisture strength of asphalt mixtures. Utilization of anti-stripping materials is the most prevalent method. In the present paper, the influence of polymer materials on asphalt binder was investigated using repetitive loading test in wet and dry conditions along with thermodynamic parameters based on the Surface Free Energy components of asphalt binder and aggregates. The results obtained from the present study indicated that using Styrene Butadiene Rubber polymer has improved the asphalt mixtures strength against the moisture damage, especially in the specimens made of granite aggregates. Also, Styrene Butadiene Rubber polymer increased the cohesion free energy and reduced the energy released by the system during the stripping event, which represented a decrease in the tendency for stripping. The stripping percentage index, which is obtained by a combination of the results of the repetitive loading test in wet and dry conditions along with the results of thermodynamic parameters, represented that the specimens made of controlled asphalt binder in the loading cycles under wet conditions had a higher stripping rate. It was also concluded that the modulus loss rate in the control asphalt mixtures was faster than the modified specimens

Investigating the Effect of Using Waste Ultra-high-molecular-weight Polyethylene on the Fatigue Life of Asphalt Mixture

One of the effective parameters in the occurrence of fatigue cracking distress is the asphalt binder properties used, which must be controlled by appropriate asphalt binder or additives. In this study, the effect of using Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) was investigated on the fatigue cracking potential of asphalt mixtures. Two types of aggregates, asphalt binder performance grade (PG) 64-16, and UHMWPE additive in two percent of the asphalt binder were used in this study, which were tested at two temperatures and five different stress levels. Marshall mix design and indirect tensile fatigue test (ITFT) were used to determine the optimum content of the asphalt binder and the fatigue life of asphalt mixtures, respectively. The results of this study indicated that the application of polymer additives increased the fatigue life of the asphalt mixtures. The fatigue life of specimens made with granite aggregates was longer than those made with limestone aggregates, and the increased life due to the use of UHMWPE was longer in samples made with granite aggregates. As expected, increasing in temperature and stress levels reduced the fatigue life of the asphalt mixtures. This decrease was much lower in samples made of asphalt binder modified with polymeric materials than in control samples

A Family of Affine Projection Adaptive Filtering Algorithms With Selective Regressors

In this paper we present a general formalism for the establishment of the family of selective regressor affine projection algorithms (SR-APA). The SR-APA, the SR regularized APA (SR-RAPA), the SR partial rank algorithm (SR-PRA), the SR binormalized data reusing least mean squares (SR-BNDR-LMS), and the SR normalized LMS with orthogonal correction factors (SR-NLMS-OCF) algorithms are established by this general formalism. We demonstrate the performance of the presented algorithms through simulations in acoustic echo cancellation scenario

The Effect of Cognitive-Behavioral Counseling on Maternal-Fetal Attachment among Pregnant Women with Unwanted Pregnancy: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Unwanted pregnancy is an event bringing about adverse effects on the mother, the baby and, ultimately, on the whole family. The establishment and enhancement of maternal-fetal attachment play a role in the promotion of emotional communication between the mother and the child in the future. This study aimed at investigating the effect of cognitive-behavioral counseling on maternal-fetal attachment among pregnant women with unwanted pregnancy. Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 60 eligible pregnant women with unwanted pregnancy and gestational age of 22-28 weeks who had referred to healthcare centers in Mashhad, a city in the northeast of Iran, were selected and they were through random block  assignment divided into two groups of counseling with the cognitive-behavioral approach (n = 30) and the control group (n = 30). In addition to the routine pregnancy care, the cognitive-behavioral counseling group received 4 group counseling sessions on a weekly basis, while the control group only received the routine pregnancy care from healthcare providers. Maternal-fetal attachment before and after intervention in the two groups was assessed through Cranley’s Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale. Comparison of mean scores within and between the two groups was performed using SPSS 21 through independent and paired t-tests. Results:  At the end of the study and after the intervention, the mean scores of maternal-fetal attachment in the intervention and control groups were  94.06±11.73 and 80.16 ± 10.09, respectively, and the difference between the groups was significant. Although the difference between the mean scores of each group at the beginning and the end of the study was significant, this difference between the two groups was also noticeable (21.56 ± 12.16 versus 7.40 ± 12.39) and statistically significant . Conclusion: Cognitive-behavioral counseling can be effective in enhancing the maternal-fetal attachment in unwanted pregnancies; therefore, it is recommended to be integrated into pregnant women's healthcare programs

Effect of sexual enrichment program on the sexual satisfaction of pregnant women in Iran: A randomized clinical trial

Background: To improve the sexual satisfaction of pregnant women, there needs to be a culturally appropriate sex education program. This study aimed at determining the effectiveness of a sexual enrichment program on the sexual satisfaction of pregnant women. Methods: This single-blind randomized clinical trial was conducted on 61 pregnant women aged 18 to 35 years old with low-risk pregnancies and gestational ages of 14 to 32 weeks, who had referred to three healthcare centers in Mashhad. The participants were randomly assigned to two groups of control (n = 31) and intervention (n = 30) based on a table of blocks of four. The intervention group, in addition to receiving routine pregnancy training, participated in six one-hour sessions of a sexual enrichment program held on a weekly basis, while the control group received only the routine pregnancy healthcare. Larson's sexual satisfaction questionnaire was used to assess the sexual satisfaction of pregnant women prior to the study and two weeks after the intervention. Comparison of mean scores between and within the two groups was performed using SPSS software (version 21) using independent and paired t-tests. Results: After the intervention, there was a significant difference between the mean sexual satisfaction scores of the two groups (p = 0.02). Comparison of the differences between the mean sexual satisfaction scores of the intervention group before and after the intervention indicated a significant change (p = 0.009), while in case of the control group this change was not significant (p = 0.46). Conclusion: A sexual enrichment program can be effective in improving the sexual satisfaction of pregnant mothers. Keywords: Sexual satisfaction, Pregnant women, Sexual enrichment program, Clinical tria

High-frequency ultrasound imaging in wound assessment: current perspectives

Non-invasive imaging modalities for wound assessment have become increasingly popular over the past two decades. The wounds can be developed superficially or from within deep tissues, depending on the nature of the dominant risk factors. Developing a reproducible quantitative method to assess wound-healing status has demonstrated to be a convoluted task. Advances in High-Frequency Ultrasound (HFU) skin scanners have expanded their application as they are cost-effective and reproducible diagnostic tools in dermatology, including for the measurement of skin thickness, the assessment of skin tumours, the estimation of the volume of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers, the visualisation of skin structure and the monitoring of the healing of acute and chronic wounds. Previous studies have revealed that HFU images carry dominant parameters and depict the phenomena occurring within deep tissue layers during the wound-healing process. However, the investigations have mostly focussed on the validation of HFU images, and few studies have utilised HFU imaging in quantitative assessment of wound generation and healing. This paper is an introductory review of the important studies proposed by the researchers in the context of wound assessment. The principles of dermasonography are briefly explained, followed by a review of the relevant literature that investigated the wound-healing process and tissue structures within the wound using HFU imaging