The Role of Knowledge in Leadership Management

Strategic planning, an umbrella term used to include and summarize such activities as planning, performance measurement, program budgeting, and the like, has proven to be very useful but limited. It is a technical fix that gets at only part of the question of organizational effectiveness and only deals with some of the dilemmas organizations face. The efforts of public administrators to control organizational endeavours are essential, necessary, and aligned with current best practices. But the control mechanisms ultimately prove to be only part of the puzzle. In the face of such realities, the notion of strategic thinking emerges to fill the gaps and overcome the limitations that experience with strategic planning has proven to exhibit. This paper presents an integration of leadership ideas, strategic thinking and traditional planning activities in an effort to make important connections and important distinctions. The result is an outline of the foundations of strategic thinking. Keywords: Leadership, Strategic Planning, Strategic Thinking, Organizational Philosophy, Managemen

Perspectivas del perfil de ácidos grasos y la composición de lípidos bioactivos de semillas en la discriminación de variedades de manzana mediante quimiometría

The extracted oils from four apple seed varieties (Royal Gala, Red Delicious, Pyrus Malus and Golden Delicious) from Pakistan were investigated for their fatty acid profiles and lipid biactives by GC-MS. The oil contents in the seeds of the apple varieties ranged from 26.8-28.7%. The results revealed that linoleic acid (40.5-49.6%) was the main fatty acid in the Royal Gala, Red Delicious and Pyrus Malus seeds, and oleic acid (38.7-45.5%) was the main fatty acid in the Golden Delicious seeds. Palmitic acid (6.1-7.4%) and stearic acid (2.0-3.1%) were the dominant saturated fatty acids, besides the small amount of palmitoleic, heptadecanoic, linolenic, archidic, eicosanoic, and behenicacids. Sterols, tocopherols, hydrocarbons and some other minor components were also identified from the unsaponifiable lipid fraction. The variation among the results of both fatty acids and lipid bioactives for the four different varieties was assessed by principal component analysis, discriminant analysis and cluster analyses. The results conclude that both oil fractions could be applied as a useful tool to discriminate among the apple seed varieties.Se ha estudiado el perfil de ácidos grasos y lípidos biactivos mediante GC-MS del aceite extraído de semillas de cuatro variedades de manzanas de Pakistán (Royal Gala, Red Delicious, Pyrus Malus y Golden Delicious). El contenido de aceite en las semillas de las variedades de manzanas estudiadas oscilaron desde 26,8 hasta 28,7%. Los resultados mostraron que el ácido linoleico (40.5-49.6%) fue el principal ácido graso de las semillas de las variedades Royal Gala, Red Delicious y Pyrus Malus, y el ácido oleico (38,7-45,5%) fue el principal ácido graso de Golden Delicious. Los ácidos palmítico (6.1-7.4%) y esteárico (2,0-3,1%) fueron los ácidos grasos saturados predominantes, las semillas contenían también pequeñas cantidades de palmitoleico, heptadecanoico, linolénico, araquídico, eicosanoico, y behénico. Esteroles, tocoferoles, hidrocarburos, y otros componentes menores también fueron identificados a partir de la fracción insaponificable. La variación de los resultados de ambos, ácidos grasos y lípidos bioactivos, de cuatro variedades diferentes se evaluó mediante análisis de componentes principales, análisis discriminante y análisis de cluster. Los resultados concluyen que las dos fracciones lipídicas de semillas de manzanas podrían aplicarse como una herramienta útil para distinguir variedades

Characteristics of micro-propagated banana (Musa spp.) cultures stressed with NaCl and polyethylene glycol

The effect of NaCl and PEG was assessed on plant micro-propagation rate in banana (Musa spp.) cv., Basrai. Well micro-propagated plantlets were cultured on four different stresses of NaCl and PEG-4000 including control level: MS2b (MS0 + 3.0 mg l-1 BAP), MS2c (MS0 + 100 mol m-3 NaCl), MS2d (MS0 + 5% PEG) and MS2e (MS0 + 100 mol m-3 NaCl + 5 % PEG) for 6-weeks. Efficiency of plant micro-propagation was reduced significantly among the stressed cultures. Similarly, photosynthetic pigments like chl a was decreased non-significantly but chl b, chl ab were decreased significantly. Total carotenoids were increased in the saline as well as PEG stressed cultures. Cell size of epidermis and aerenchyma was increased (p < 0.05), while parenchyma decreased. Proline and glycinebetain contents were increased (p < 0.05) in each stressed culture but were high in MS2 than in MS3 and MS4 cultures. Meanwhile, proteins, sugars, phenolics and nitrates were observed to be in the reversed (p < 0.05) phenomena. In conclusion, NaCl treatment was observed to be most toxic than the PEG or PEG with NaCl on the banana micro-propagation.Key words: Musa spp., micro-propagation, NaCl (sodium chloride), PEG (polyethylene glycol), chlorophyll contents, proline, reducing sugars

Multi-module based CVAE to predict HVCM faults in the SNS accelerator

We present a multi-module framework based on Conditional Variational Autoencoder (CVAE) to detect anomalies in the power signals coming from multiple High Voltage Converter Modulators (HVCMs). We condition the model with the specific modulator type to capture different representations of the normal waveforms and to improve the sensitivity of the model to identify a specific type of fault when we have limited samples for a given module type. We studied several neural network (NN) architectures for our CVAE model and evaluated the model performance by looking at their loss landscape for stability and generalization. Our results for the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) experimental data show that the trained model generalizes well to detecting multiple fault types for several HVCM module types. The results of this study can be used to improve the HVCM reliability and overall SNS uptim

A Framework for Enhancing Contractor-Subcontractor Relationships in Construction Projects in Nigeria

The delivery capability of main contractors depends largely on the quality of their subcontractors and the harmonious relationships that exist between them. Research work was therefore conducted to identify the mechanisms to facilitate the understanding between these pairs and also develop a model that puts emphasis on the factors. To achieve this aim, one hundred questionnaires each were administered randomly to main contractors and labor-only subcontractors in the study area. Seventy-five and eighty-eight questionnaires were respectively filled and returned in this regard. The application of total weight value and rating index techniques shows that type of contract, scope of contract, payment terms, cooperative attitudes, third-party involvement are the main factors that influence this relationship and this was further validated by a model. The paper concludes that this methodology could culminate into a useful decision making tool for both main contractors and subcontractors during the development and execution stages of construction projects in the study area

BI-69A11 enhances susceptibility of colon cancer cells to mda-7/IL-24-induced growth inhibition by targeting Akt

Background: Akt and its downstream signalling pathways contribute to the aetiology and progression of Colorectal Carcinoma (CRC). Targeting the Akt pathway is an attractive strategy but few chemotherapeutic drugs have been used to treat CRC with only limited success. BI-69A11, a small molecule inhibitor of Akt, efficiently inhibits growth in melanoma cells. Melanoma differentiation associated gene-7 (mda-7)/interleukin-24 promotes cancer-selective apoptosis when delivered by a tropism-modified replication incompetent adenovirus (Ad.5/3-mda-7). However, Ad.5/3-mda-7 displays diminished antitumour efficacy in several CRC cell lines, which correlates with the expression of K-RAS. Methods: The individual and combinatorial effect of BI-69A11 and Ad.5/3-mda-7 in vitro was studied by cell viability, cell cycle, apoptosis and invasion assays in HT29 and HCT116 cells containing wild type or mutant K-ras, respectively. In vivo HT29 tumour xenografts were used to test the efficacy of the combination treatment. Results: BI-69A11 inhibited growth and induced apoptosis in CRC. However, combinatorial treatment was more effective compared with single treatment. This combination showed profound antitumour and anti angiogenic effects in vitro and in vivo by downregulating Akt activity. Conclusions: BI-69A11 enhances the antitumour efficacy of Ad.5/3-mda-7 on CRC overexpressing K-RAS by inducing apoptosis and regulating Akt activity thereby warranting further evaluation in treating CRC

ERR2 and ERR3 promote the development of gamma motor neuron functional properties required for proprioceptive movement control

The ability of terrestrial vertebrates to effectively move on land is integrally linked to the diversification of motor neurons into types that generate muscle force (alpha motor neurons) and types that modulate muscle proprioception, a task that in mammals is chiefly mediated by gamma motor neurons. The diversification of motor neurons into alpha and gamma types and their respective contributions to movement control have been firmly established in the past 7 decades, while recent studies identified gene expression signatures linked to both motor neuron types. However, the mechanisms that promote the specification of gamma motor neurons and/or their unique properties remained unaddressed. Here, we found that upon selective loss of the orphan nuclear receptors ERR2 and ERR3 (also known as ERR beta, ERR gamma or NR3B2, NR3B3, respectively) in motor neurons in mice, morphologically distinguishable gamma motor neurons are generated but do not acquire characteristic functional properties necessary for regulating muscle proprioception, thus disrupting gait and precision movements. Complementary gain-of-function experiments in chick suggest that ERR2 and ERR3 could operate via transcriptional activation of neural activity modulators to promote a gamma motor neuron biophysical signature of low firing thresholds and high firing rates. Our work identifies a mechanism specifying gamma motor neuron functional properties essential for the regulation of proprioceptive movement control