Flying academics - examining short-term international teaching assignments impact on academics' career success and work-life balance

This thesis explores the views and experiences of academics involved in short-term international teaching assignments and the specific strategies employed by universities to manage and support their career success and work-life balance. Accordingly, this thesis examines the challenges faced, and the type and quality of support that might be deemed as appropriate for academics. The present thesis involves two interrelated studies (Study 1 & Study 2), utilizing a sequential exploratory design characterized by a qualitative investigation prior to quantitative data collection and analysis. Study 1 demonstrates the inter relationships between perceived organisational support, career success, and work-life balance; explicating why these relationships are important for academics engaged in short-term international teaching assignments. Study 2 extends the proposed model formulated in Study 1, aiming to prioritize support factors involved in short-term international teaching assignments. Specifically, findings suggest that academics who perceive their organisation as career-supportive experience enhanced levels of career satisfaction and career development. Findings also suggest that employees’ career success appear to be related strongly to work-life balance. These findings point to the all-round benefits that can result when universities reward their academics and capitalize on their offshore teaching experience. Such affirmative action would appear to acknowledge offshore teaching experience as being both important and integral to academics’ career development

Prediction of Soil Anisotropic Stress-Strain Behaviour Incorporating Shear Strength Using Improvise Normalised Stress-Strain Method

Currently the soil anisotropic stress-strain behaviour can be predicted accurately at any effective stress using the Rotational Multiple Yield Surface Framework. This framework incorporates the developed of mobilised shear strength within the body of the soil mass whenever the soil is subjected to anisotropic compression. However the accuracy of the framework can be improvised since the failure axial strain is not unique but increases as the effective stress increases. This improved method s call normalised strain method. This method is applied to predict the stress-strain behaviour of granitic residual soil grade V from Kuala Kubu Baharu. The improve accuracy of this method will be presented in comparison with the conventional method

Biofilter aquaponic system for nutrients removal from fresh market wastewater

Aquaponics is a significant wastewater treatment system which refers to the combination of conventional aquaculture (raising aquatic organism) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment. This system has a high ability in removing nutrients compared to conventional methods because it is a natural and environmentally friendly system (aquaponics). The current chapter aimed to review the possible application of aquaponics system to treat fresh market wastewater with the intention to highlight the mechanism of phytoremediation occurs in aquaponic system. The literature revealed that aquaponic system was able to remove nutrients in terms of nitrogen and phosphorus

Atrial Tachycardias Arising from Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation: A Proarrhythmic Bump or an Antiarrhythmic Turn?

The occurrence of atrial tachycardias (AT) is a direct function of the volume of atrial tissue ablated in the patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Thus, the incidence of AT is highest in persistent AF patients undergoing stepwise ablation using the strategic combination of pulmonary vein isolation, electrogram based ablation and left atrial linear ablation. Using deductive mapping strategy, AT can be divided into three clinical categories viz. the macroreentry, the focal and the newly described localized reentry all of which are amenable to catheter ablation with success rate of 95%. Perimitral, roof dependent and cavotricuspid isthmus dependent AT involve large reentrant circuits which can be successfully ablated at the left mitral isthmus, left atrial roof and tricuspid isthmus respectively. Complete bidirectional block across the sites of linear ablation is a necessary endpoint. Focal and localized reentrant AT commonly originate from but are not limited to the septum, posteroinferior left atrium, venous ostia, base of the left atrial appendage and left mitral isthmus and they respond quickly to focal ablation. AT not only represents ablation-induced proarrhythmia but also forms a bridge between AF and sinus rhythm in longstanding AF patients treated successfully with catheter ablation

Direct Observation of Propagating Gigahertz Coherent Guided Acoustic Phonons in Free Standing Single Copper Nanowires

We report on gigahertz acoustic phonon waveguiding in free-standing single copper nanowires studied by femtosecond transient reflectivity measurements. The results are discussed on the basis of the semianalytical resolution of the Pochhammer and Chree equation. The spreading of the generated Gaussian wave packet of two different modes is derived analytically and compared with the observed oscillations of the sample reflectivity. These experiments provide a unique way to independently obtain geometrical and material characterization. This direct observation of coherent guided acoustic phonons in a single nano-object is also the first step toward nanolateral size acoustic transducer and comprehensive studies of the thermal properties of nanowires

Pharmacokinetic and clinical profile of a novel formulation of bosentan in children with pulmonary arterial hypertension: the FUTURE-1 study

center dot Exposure to bosentan was lower in paediatric pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients treated with the marketed adult formulation at a dose of about 2 mg kg-1 when compared with adult PAH patients. center dot In healthy adult subjects, bosentan pharmacokinetics are less than dose-proportional at doses of >= 500 mg. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS center dot The pharmacokinetics of a new paediatric bosentan formulation were characterized in paediatric PAH patients. center dot The level of exposure to bosentan as observed in adult PAH patients cannot be reached in paediatric patients with b.i.d. dosing. center dot In paediatric PAH patients, nondose-proportional pharmacokinetics of bosentan occur at lower doses when compared with healthy adult subjects. AIM To show equivalent bosentan exposure in paediatric patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) when compared with a cohort of historical controls of adult PAH patients using a newly developed paediatric formulation. METHODS Thirty-six paediatric PAH patients were enrolled in this multicentre, prospective, open-label, noncontrolled study and treated for 4 weeks with bosentan 2 mg kg-1 b.i.d. and then for 8 weeks with 4 mg kg-1 b.i.d. Blood samples were taken for pharmacokinetic purposes. Exploratory efficacy measurements included World Health Organization (WHO) functional class and parent's and clinician's Global Clinical Impression scales. RESULTS Comparing children with a historical group of adults, the geometric mean ratio (90% confidence interval) of the area under the plasma concentration-time curve was 0.54 (0.37, 0.78), i.e. children had lower exposure to bosentan than adults. Bosentan concentrations following doses of 2 and 4 mg kg-1 were similar. Improvements in WHO functional class and the Global Clinical Impression scales occurred mainly in bosentan-naive patients, whereas the rare worsenings occurred in patients already on bosentan prior to study initiation. The paediatric formulation was well accepted and bosentan well tolerated in this study. No cases of elevated liver enzymes or anaemia were reported. CONCLUSIONS Exposure to bosentan, as shown comparing the results from this study with those from a study in adults, was different in paediatric and adult PAH patients. Since FUTURE-1 and past studies suggest a favourable benefit-risk profile for bosentan at 2 mg kg-1 b.i.d., this dose is recommended for children with PAH. The new paediatric formulation was well tolerate

Serous cystic neoplasm of the pancreas: A multinational study of 2622 patients under the auspices of the International Association of Pancreatology and European Pancreatic Club (European Study Group on Cystic Tumors of the Pancreas)

OBJECTIVES: Serous cystic neoplasm (SCN) is a cystic neoplasm of the pancreas whose natural history is poorly known. The purpose of the study was to attempt to describe the natural history of SCN, including the specific mortality. DESIGN: Retrospective multinational study including SCN diagnosed between 1990 and 2014. RESULTS: 2622 patients were included. Seventy-four per cent were women, and median age at diagnosis was 58\u2005years (16-99). Patients presented with non-specific abdominal pain (27%), pancreaticobiliary symptoms (9%), diabetes mellitus (5%), other symptoms (4%) and/or were asymptomatic (61%). Fifty-two per cent of patients were operated on during the first year after diagnosis (median size: 40\u2005mm (2-200)), 9% had resection beyond 1\u2005year of follow-up (3\u2005years (1-20), size at diagnosis: 25\u2005mm (4-140)) and 39% had no surgery (3.6\u2005years (1-23), 25.5\u2005mm (1-200)). Surgical indications were (not exclusive) uncertain diagnosis (60%), symptoms (23%), size increase (12%), large size (6%) and adjacent organ compression (5%). In patients followed beyond 1\u2005year (n=1271), size increased in 37% (growth rate: 4\u2005mm/year), was stable in 57% and decreased in 6%. Three serous cystadenocarcinomas were recorded. Postoperative mortality was 0.6% (n=10), and SCN's related mortality was 0.1% (n=1). CONCLUSIONS: After a 3-year follow-up, clinical relevant symptoms occurred in a very small proportion of patients and size slowly increased in less than half. Surgical treatment should be proposed only for diagnosis remaining uncertain after complete workup, significant and related symptoms or exceptionally when exists concern with malignancy. This study supports an initial conservative management in the majority of patients with SCN

A critical review of adverse effects to the kidney: mechanisms, data sources and in silico tools to assist prediction

Introduction: The kidney is a major target for toxicity elicited by pharmaceuticals and environmental pollutants. Standard testing which often does not investigate underlying mechanisms has proven not to be an adequate hazard assessment approach. As such, there is an opportunity for the application of computational approaches that utilise multi-scale data based on the Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) paradigm, coupled with an understanding of the chemistry underpinning the molecular initiating event (MIE) to provide a deep understanding of how structural fragments of molecules relate to specific mechanisms of nephrotoxicity. The aim of this investigation was to review the current scientific landscape related to computational methods, including mechanistic data, AOPs, publicly available knowledge bases and current in silico models, for the assessment of pharmaceuticals and other chemicals with regard to their potential to elicit nephrotoxicity. A list of over 250 nephrotoxicants enriched with, where possible, mechanistic and AOP-derived understanding was compiled. Expert opinion: Whilst little mechanistic evidence has been translated into AOPs, this review identified a number of data sources of in vitro, in vivo and human data that may assist in the development of in silico models which in turn may shed light on the inter-relationships between nephrotoxicity mechanisms