Novel hybrid flax reinforced supersap composites in automotive applications

Flax fibre bio-epoxy composites have not found many commercial uses in structural applications on account of their lack of cost efficiency and high susceptibility to environmental changes. Non-woven flax mats were subjected to alkali, acetylation, silane and enzymatic treatment, and then combined with untreated unidirectional (UD) flax fabrics to make hybrid flax bio-epoxy composites. Mechanical and environmental resistance (aging) tests were performed on the treated flax fibres. The glass transition temperature was detected at about 75 °C with little effect of treatments. Untreated composites were found to have a tensile strength of 180 MPa while no significant improvement was observed for any of the treatments, which are also not environmentally friendly. The amiopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) composites after Xenon aging, retained the tensile strength of 175 MPa and a modulus of 11.5 GPa, while untreated composites showed 35% reduction in elastic modulus

Replacing Project Manager: Reasons of Replacement Interpreted through the Activity Theory

In this study the reasons for replacing a project manager (RPM) during an ongoing IT project are classified. We give an interpretation on a project through the lens of Activity Theory (AT) and examine the tensions leading to RPM through the principle of contradiction in AT. We interviewed four experienced supervisors of three large project-based companies in the IT field, reviewed a previous study on RPM, and used the concept of contradiction to interpret the types of RPM. We found six types of reasons for RPM (e.g., the project manager has not achieved the defined objectives) and underlying the contradictions we identified interests of the client, the company and project manager which all affect to the emergence of RPM. Our results entail implications for research and practice on RPM

Screening for Beta Thalassemia Trait

Background : To evaluate the prevalence of beta thalassemia trait (BTT) among the students of schools, colleges and universities of Nawabshah city.Methods: In this descriptive cross sectional study students of schools, colleges and universities of Nawabshah were selected. The blood samples from these subjects were tested for complete blood count, and red cell indices. The microscopic examination of peripheral blood smears stained with Field’s stain was performed for the morphology of red blood cells. Serum ferritin and automated haemoglobin electrophoresis at cellulose acetate alkaline pH was performed. Subjects with microcytic hypochromic blood picture and low ferritin level were not subjected to haemoglobin electrophoresis.Results: In total of 521 subjects 65.4% were females, with female to male ratio of 1.8:1. Mean age was 17.5 years. On screening diagnosis of beta thalassemia trait was made in 4.9% cases and haemoglobin electrophoresis showed mean haemoglobin A2 of 5.8% in these cases. The microscopic examinations of peripheral blood smears among the subjects with BTT showed microcytic hypochromic red blood cells with presence of target cells.Conclusion: The prevalence of beta thalassemia BTT was 4.9%

Iter Community: Prototyping an Environment for Social Knowledge Creation and Communication

This article focuses on the features and challenges of Iter Community (IC), a new collaborative research environment which aims to aid social knowledge creation for the communities that have formed around Iter’s discovery tools and publication platforms. The underlying vision of IC as a flexible environment for communication, exchange, and collaboration is explained via the history and conceptual framework of IC, preliminary details concerning its infrastructure and features, and a brief examination of the Social Edition of the Devonshire Manuscript as an IC pilot project

Replacement of Project Manager during IT Projects – A Research Agenda

Replacing the project manager (RPM) during IT project is a known phenomenon, but surprisingly, few studies have investigated the issue. To improve understanding of the situation in the IT field, we propose a research agenda that aims to provide IT professionals the means to sustainably manage RPM in IT projects. The research agenda is structured in line with the goals of theories in Gregor’s taxonomy of IS theories, and with the agenda, substantive theories on RPM in IT projects are to be developed. There are four major research questions: i) How is RPM in IT projects experienced? ii) When RPM occurs in IT projects, what happens and why, and how does it affect stakeholders? iii) How can RPM in IT projects be predicted? iv) How to manage RPM in IT projects? The research agenda is discussed and evaluated

Propuesta de diseño de un sistema de control interno para mejorar la gestión operativa de la entidad yallegue.com dedicada al comercio electrónico de productos diversos en el periodo 2013-2014

Esta investigación se enfoca en la elaboración de un sistema de control interno para mejorar la gestión operativa de la empresa “Yallegue.com” dedicada al comercio electrónico de productos diversos, a través de un estudio profundo, basado en un análisis real, el mismo que permitirá tomar las decisiones más acertadas a favor de la empresa. A lo que se quiere llegar desarrollando esta tesis es a elaborar una propuesta por la cual la empresa “YaLLegue.com” pueda detectar las distintas carencias con la cuenta y darle la solución de cada una de ellas. Por lo que se necesitara elaborar flujogramas, la estructura organizativa de la empresa, el análisis foda y el cuestionario de control interno bajo un análisis profundo de la situación de la empresa. Teniendo en cuenta que el comercio electrónico es una herramienta que va evolucionando y generando más tecnología lo cual conlleva a un gran número de clientes que compran vía website

Rakenteisen kirjaamisen erityiskysymykset iäkkäiden palvelutehtävässä, 3. porras

Esityksen sisältö: Johdanto Kirjaamisen merkityksestä Asiakasasiakirjat ja asiankäsittely iäkkäiden palveluissa Neljä näkökulmaa kirjaamiseen iäkkäiden palveluissa Kalevin asiakasasiakirjoja: case-esimerkki Lopuksi </ul

NRF3 Decreases during Melanoma Carcinogenesis and Is an Independent Prognostic Marker in Melanoma

The prognostic significance of the major redox regulator, nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (NRF2), is recognized in many cancers, but the role of NRF3 is not studied. Analysis from the Gene Expression Omnibus datasets showed that NRF3 mRNA levels increased from benign to dysplastic naevi (p = 0.04). We characterized the immunohistochemical expression of NRF3 in 81 naevi, 67 primary skin melanomas, and 51 lymph node metastases. The immunohistochemical expression of cytoplasmic NRF3 decreased from benign to dysplastic naevi (p < 0.001) and further to primary melanomas (p < 0.001). High cytoplasmic NRF3 protein expression in pigment cells of the primary melanomas associated with worse melanoma-specific survival in multivariate analysis, specifically in the subgroup of patients with the lymph node metastases at the time of diagnosis (hazard ratio 3.179; 95% confidence interval 1.065-9.493; p = 0.038). Intriguingly, we did not observe associations between NRF3 and the traditional prognostic factors such as Breslow thickness, ulceration, or stage. Together, this data represents the primary description about the role of NRF3 in pigment tumours that is worthy of further explorations.Peer reviewe

Towards recycling of challenging waste fractions: Identifying flame retardants in plastics with optical spectroscopic techniques

The use of plastics is rapidly rising around the world causing a major challenge for recycling. Lately, a lot of emphasis has been put on recycling of packaging plastics, but, in addition, there are high volume domains with low recycling rate such as automotive, building and construction, and electric and electronic equipment. Waste plastics from these domains often contain additives that restrict their recycling due to the hazardousness and challenges they bring to chemical and mechanical recycling. As such, the first step for enabling the reuse of these fractions is the identification of these additives in the waste plastics. This study compares the ability of different optical spectroscopy technologies to detect two different plastic additives, fire retardants ammonium polyphosphate and aluminium trihydrate, inside polypropylene plastic matrix. The detection techniques near-infrared (NIR), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy as well as hyperspectral imaging (HSI) in the short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) and mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) range were evaluated. The results indicate that Raman, NIR and SWIR HSI have the potential to detect these additives inside the plastic matrix even at relatively low concentrations. As such, utilising these methods has the possibility to facilitate sorting and recycling of as of yet unused plastic waste streams, although more research is needed in applying them in actual waste sorting facilities