Maritime Logistics and Global Supply Chains: Towards a Research Agenda

The derived demand for maritime transport has evolved from a demand for the possession of goods to an integrated demand for the possession of goods that have been added value, timely, reliably and cost-efficiently. This has given rise to the concept of maritime logistics, which represents the theme of the special issue of Maritime Economics and Logistics. This paper discusses the evolution of the maritime logistics concept, reviews the contributions in maritime logistics made by the best papers on the topic presented at the International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME) 2005 Conference and highlights areas for further research. Maritime Economics & Logistics (2006) 8, 3–18. doi:10.1057/palgrave.mel.9100147

The motivations and methodology for high-throughput PET imaging of small animals in cancer research.

Item does not contain fulltextOver the last decade, small-animal PET imaging has become a vital platform technology in cancer research. With the development of molecularly targeted therapies and drug combinations requiring evaluation of different schedules, the number of animals to be imaged within a PET experiment has increased. This paper describes experimental design requirements to reach statistical significance, based on the expected change in tracer uptake in treated animals as compared to the control group, the number of groups that will be imaged, and the expected intra-animal variability for a given tracer. We also review how high-throughput studies can be performed in dedicated small-animal PET, high-resolution clinical PET systems and planar positron imaging systems by imaging more than one animal simultaneously. Customized beds designed to image more than one animal in large-bore small-animal PET scanners are described. Physics issues related to the presence of several rodents within the field of view (i.e. deterioration of spatial resolution and sensitivity as the radial and the axial offsets increase, respectively, as well as a larger effect of attenuation and the number of scatter events), which can be assessed by using the NEMA NU 4 image quality phantom, are detailed.1 september 201

Total Factor Productivity Growth: Indian Ports in the Era of Globalisation

Globalisation has led to the increasing importance of port performance. Productivity and efficiency are the two important concepts in measuring performance. The present study aims to assess the total factor productivity (TFP) growth of the Indian port sector. TFP is a measure of technological change in industry. This study shows that ports in India are becoming more capital intensive in the post-liberalisation period, and except one, the rest of all Indian ports came out with statistically significant TFP changes in last quarter century. The study also finds that, contrary to popular belief, the economic climate in post-reform period has yet to make any substantial impact on the performance of Indian ports in terms of the most popular measure of performance, TFP. Maritime Economics & Logistics (2006) 8, 366–386. doi:10.1057/palgrave.mel.9100164

Women, motherhood, and living with HIV/AIDS : an introduction

This chapter sets the scene of this book. It provides a background understanding about women living with HIV/AIDS. It discusses salient issues concerning women who are mothers and the essence of having children as well as infant feeding practises. A gender lens perspective is also introduced as all chapters in the volume are argued to be situated within this approach. The chapter also introduces the book and it outlines details of all chapters which are included in the volume