A review on quality management systems maintenance framework based on process based management, knowledge quality and knowledge self-efficacy

The Quality Management Systems (QMS) maintenance issue during post certification of ISO9001:2008 is an important issue to the business community. There are many certificates which have been withdrawn by the certification body from the ISO9001:2008 certified companies. This situation has initiated interest amongst academicians and industry practitioners to develop the QMS maintenance framework. An extensive literature review conducted on research work in QMS field has shown that there are deficiencies in the current QMS maintenance frameworks. The deficiencies shed light to improve the current QMS frameworks by integrating Knowledge Management (KM) element and indirectly address their limitation. This paper reviews the existing QMS maintenance framework and proposes new elements to the framework. Based on the literature review, new variables which are knowledge quality (KQ), knowledge self-efficacy (KSE) and process based management effectiveness (PBME) are potential elements that can be introduced in the framework

Alkaline Sulfite Anthraquinone and Methanol (ASAM) Pulping Process of Tropical Bamboo (Gigantochloa scortechinii)

This chapter explores the characteristic potentials of alkaline sulfite anthraquinone and methanol (ASAM) pulping of bamboo culms (Gigantochloa scortechinii) in the industrial production of pulp and paper for packaging. The biometric characterization results of the bamboo culms show that bamboo has fiber length of 1980–4000 μm, Runkel ratio of 0.86, and flexibility ratio of 50.19, while the chemical compositions of the bamboo contain 47.67% cellulose, 68.33% holocellulose, 26% lignin, and 3.69% solvent extractive, which give good paper quality fiber and also falls within the range of wood from softwoods species. The study revealed that the optimum ASAM pulping parameters was at 16% NaOH and 90 min cooking time, resulting in Kappa number of 14.17 and pulp yield of 49.06%, while the paper tensile index of 20.86 Nm/g, tear index of 22.64 mN.m2/g, and brightness of 39.32% were obtained. The biometric and chemical characterizations of the ASAM pulped bamboo have shown that ASAM pulped bamboo produces high-quality pulp and paper suitable for packaging and printing paper. Hence, the use of bamboo materials can reduce the burden on the forest, due to the increasing demand for paper and paper products, while supporting the natural biodiversity

Facile Synthesis of Copper Oxide Nanoparticles via Electrospinning

A novel approach for synthesizing copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles (NPs) through electrospinning is reported. The approach is based on producing rough and discontinuous electrospun nanofibers from a precursor based on copper acetate salt and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polymer. Selectively removing the polymeric phase from the fibers produced highly rough CuO nanofibers, which were composed of NPs that are weakly held together in a one-dimensional (1D) manner. Sonication in a suitable liquid under controlled conditions completely disintegrated the nanofibers into NPs, resulting in the formation of uniform CuO NPs suspension. Aberration corrected high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) showed that the obtained NPs are highly crystalline and nearly sphere-like with a diameter of 30 to 70 nm. Thus, electrospinning, which is a low cost and industrially scalable technique, can also be employed for economic and large scale synthesis of NPs

Recent Advancement in Physico-Mechanical and Thermal Studies of Bamboo and Its Fibers

Bamboo has its own role in the development of society. It is widely used as a support tools for sustainable farming and being exceptional resource for variety of income and employment-generating systems. This overlooked biomass provides food, raw material, shelter, medicine for large part of world’s population. Bamboo has given a great support to mankind by providing building materials that are extensively used for household products. It has found a good place for industrial applications due to advances in processing technology and increased market demand. Numerous fundamental studies were carried out to highlight their fundamental characteristics prior to industrial exploitation or high end bamboo-based biomaterials. The mechanical and physical properties of bamboo have noteworthy effects on their durability and strength. Thermogravimetry is one of the key sensitive technique that characterizes the mechanical responses of materials by monitoring property changes with respect to the temperature. Comprehensive review and study on thermal analysis are useful for quantitative determination of the degradation behaviour and the composition of the material. The magnitude and location of the derivative thermogravimetric curve also provides information of the interaction between the material components at various temperature scales. Therefore, these studies can be focused to evaluate the basic fundamental problems faced and thus, a well-designed research and development towards sustainability can be achieved

Development and characterization of bamboo fiber reinforced biopolymer films

A paradigm shift from petrochemical based packaging films for food packaging due to its non-renewable and waste disposal challenges has motivated research interest in development and characterization of biopolymer films. In this study, biocomposite films was prepared using bamboo fiber to reinforce modified and unmodified red seaweed SW Kappaphycus alvarezii, resulting in improved mechanical characteristics of 109.1 MPa tensile strength, 55.4 MPa Young's Modulus and 22.3% stretchability prior to breakage at the optimum value of 15% bamboo fibers loadings for unmodified biocomposite. There was general improvement in the fiber/matrix interface of the modified SW based composite films over the biopolymer films from unmodified SW bamboo reinforced films resulting in improved water vapour barrier as the fiber load increases up to Water vapour permeability value of 5.2 (g/s/m2/Pa)., while the contact angle as high as 91° was obtained. FTIR analysis validates the effective interaction of both the bamboo fibers and the seaweed matrix without any significant biochemical alteration of the seaweed within the frameworks of composite films. SEM characterization and contact angle measurement indicate that heterogeneous surface modification of the biopolymer film increases with the fiber loading. Results demonstrated the potential use of the renewable and biodegradable biopolymer composite films as packaging films useful in the food industry

Identification of candidate regions for a novel Usher syndrome type II locus

PURPOSE: Chronic diseases affecting the inner ear and the retina cause severe impairments to our communication systems. In more than half of the cases, Usher syndrome (USH) is the origin of these double defects. Patients with USH type II (USH2) have retinitis pigmentosa (RP) that develops during puberty, moderate to severe hearing impairment with downsloping pure-tone audiogram, and normal vestibular function. Four loci and three genes are known for USH2. In this study, we proposed to localize the gene responsible for USH2 in a consanguineous family of Tunisian origin. METHODS: Affected members underwent detailed ocular and audiologic characterization. One Tunisian family with USH2 and 45 healthy controls unrelated to the family were recruited. Two affected and six unaffected family members attended our study. DNA samples of eight family members were genotyped with polymorphic markers. Two-point and multipoint LOD scores were calculated using Genehunter software v2.1. Sequencing was used to investigate candidate genes. RESULTS: Haplotype analysis showed no significant linkage to any known USH gene or locus. A genome-wide screen, using microsatellite markers, was performed, allowing the identification of three homozygous regions in chromosomes 2, 4, and 15. We further confirmed and refined these three regions using microsatellite and single-nucleotide polymorphisms. With recessive mode of inheritance, the highest multipoint LOD score of 1.765 was identified for the candidate regions on chromosomes 4 and 15. The chromosome 15 locus is large (55 Mb), underscoring the limited number of meioses in the consanguineous pedigree. Moreover, the linked, homozygous chromosome 15q alleles, unlike those of the chromosome 2 and 4 loci, are infrequent in the local population. Thus, the data strongly suggest that the novel locus for USH2 is likely to reside on 15q. CONCLUSIONS: Our data provide a basis for the localization and the identification of a novel gene implicated in USH2, most likely localized on 15q

Prediction of low-dose aspirin-induced gastric toxicity using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy-based pharmacometabolomics in rats

Background: Low-dose aspirin (LDA) is the backbone for secondary prevention of coronary artery disease, although limited by gastric toxicity. This study aimed to identify novel metabolites that could predict LDA-induced gastric toxicity using pharmacometabolomics. Methods: Pre-dosed urine samples were collected from male Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats were treated with either LDA (10 mg/kg) or 1% methylcellulose (10 mL/kg) per oral for 28 days. The rats’ stomachs were examined for gastric toxicity using a stereomicroscope. The urine samples were analyzed using a proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Metabolites were systematically identified by exploring established databases and multivariate analyses to determine the spectral pattern of metabolites related to LDA-induced gastric toxicity. Results: Treatment with LDA resulted in gastric toxicity in 20/32 rats (62.5%). The orthogonal projections to latent structures discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) model displayed a goodness-of-fit (R2Y) value of 0.947, suggesting near-perfect reproducibility and a goodness-of-prediction (Q2Y) of −0.185 with perfect sensitivity, specificity and accuracy (100%). Furthermore, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) displayed was 1. The final OPLS-DA model had an R2Y value of 0.726 and Q2Y of 0.142 with sensitivity (100%), specificity (95.0%) and accuracy (96.9%). Citrate, hippurate, methylamine, trimethylamine N-oxide and alpha-keto-glutarate were identified as the possible metabolites implicated in the LDA-induced gastric toxicity. Conclusion: The study identified metabolic signatures that correlated with the development of a low-dose Aspirin-induced gastric toxicity in rats. This pharmacometabolomic approach could further be validated to predict LDA-induced gastric toxicity in patients with coronary artery disease