University business incubators: an institutional demand side perspective on value adding features

Objective: The purpose of this article is to investigate differing demands for university business incubator's value adding features. It introduces an institution based perspective to guide the argumentation. A framework has been developed, which is grounded in recent entrepreneurship theory and studies related to business incubator development. Research Design & Methods: An exploratory empirical study has been conducted to test the framework using participants from the United Arab Emirates and Thailand. The survey questionnaire was developed and tested before applying to the empirical study. Findings: The findings indicate variation in demands for incubator features in particular related to infrastructure and networking services. In line with the expectations, no differences have been found for the business support services. We also found that a more general strategy and goals seem to be preferred over a more narrow industry focus. Implications & Recommendations: The framework and our empirical findings suggest that university business incubators should take into consideration institutional differences between the countries in order to increase acceptance of the incubator concept, especially in developing countries. Contribution & Value Added: The study addresses a research gap, identifying cross-country differences in the demand of potential entrepreneurs for value adding features provided in University Business Incubators (UBI)

Effects of Food and Nutrition Literacy Program on Food Consumption Behaviors among Junior High School Students at Wang Sai Phun District, Phichit Province

บทคัดย่อ วัตถุประสงค์: ศึกษาผลของโปรแกรมความรอบรู้ด้านสุขภาพเกี่ยวกับการบริโภคอาหารของนักเรียนชั้นมัธยมศึกษาปีที่ 1 – 3  วิธีการศึกษา: การวิจัยกึ่งทดลอง ประชากรที่ใช้ในการวิจัยได้แก่นักเรียนชั้นมัธยมศึกษาปีที่ 1-3 อำเภอวังทรายพูน จังหวัดพิจิตร กลุ่มตัวอย่างแบ่งเป็น 2 กลุ่มๆ ละ 30 คน คือ กลุ่มทดลองและกลุ่มควบคุม สุ่มตัวอย่างโดยวิธีการสุ่มแบบสองขั้นตอน (two-stage sampling) เครื่องมือที่ใช้ในการวิจัยได้แก่ 1) โปรแกรมความรอบรู้ด้านสุขภาพเกี่ยวกับการบริโภคอาหารโดยประยุกต์ใช้ทฤษฏีการเรียนรู้เพื่อการเปลี่ยนแปลงของเมซิโรว์oko 12 สัปดาห์ และ 2) แบบสอบถามพฤติกรรมการบริโภคอาหารซึ่งมีความเชื่อมั่นระดับยอมรับได้ (Conbrach’s alpha coefficient เท่ากับ 0.75) การวิเคราะห์ข้อมูลใช้ สถิติเชิงพรรณนา ได้แก่ ความถี่ ร้อยละ ค่าเฉลี่ย และส่วนเบี่ยงเบนมาตรฐาน และสถิติอ้างอิง ได้แก่ paired t-test และ independent t-test ผลการศึกษา: พบว่าพฤติกรรมการบริโภคอาหารของกลุ่มทดลองหลังได้รับโปรแกรมความรอบรู้ด้านสุขภาพเกี่ยวกับการบริโภคอาหารสูงกว่าก่อนทดลอง (P-value = 0.044) และสูงกว่ากลุ่มควบคุม (P-value < 0.001) สรุป: โปรแกรมความรอบรู้ด้านสุขภาพเกี่ยวกับการบริโภคอาหารทำให้พฤติกรรมการบริโภคอาหารดีขึ้น จึงสามารถนำโปรแกรมไปประยุกต์ใช้ในนักเรียนกลุ่มอื่น ๆ ต่อไปคำสำคัญ: โปรแกรมความรอบรู้ด้านสุขภาพเกี่ยวกับการบริโภคอาหาร, พฤติกรรมการบริโภคอาหาร, ทฤษฎีการเรียนรู้เพื่อการเปลี่ยนแปลง, นักเรียนชั้นมัธยมศึกษาตอนต้นAbstract Objective: To examine effects of the food and nutrition literacy program on food consumption behaviors in junior high school students. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, junior high school students (grade 1 – 3) of Wang Sai Phun District, Phichit Province were recruited with 30 students each in the experimental and control groups. Students were selected by two-stage sampling. Instruments included 1) 12-week food and nutrition literacy program based on the transformative learning theory of Mezirow and 2) questionnaire on food and nutrition consumption behavior. The questionnaire had an acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.75). Data analysis used descriptive statistics (mean with standard deviation and frequency with percentage) and inferential statistics (paired t-test and independent t-test). Results: Score of food consumption behavior of the experimental group at post-program was significantly higher than that at pre-program (P-value = 0.044) and that of the control group at post-progrsm (P-value < 0.001). Conclusion: The food and nutrition literacy program improved food consumption behaviors in junior high school students. The program should be applied in other groups of students. Keywords: food and nutrition literacy program, food consumption behaviors, transformative learning theory, junior high school students

The Effects of Top Management Team National Diversity and Institutional Uncertainty on Subsidiary CSR Focus

This research investigates how top management team national diversity (TMTND) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) institutional uncertainty affect strategic CSR focus in foreign-owned subsidiaries. The paper develops a theoretical framework based on institutional theory and upper echelon perspectives to test a sample of MNE subsidiaries. Survey data were collected from subsidiaries in Thailand and Taiwan. Non-symmetric analysis suggests that while TMTND plays an important role in establishing a CSR focus, it is not conducive in itself to high-performance outcomes. Performance is measured by market share, sales growth, and profitability for each subsidiary. The results also show that there are notable differences between the subsidiaries located in Thailand and Taiwan as to what extent CSR strategic focus and top management team national diversity are relevant for high-performance outcomes. The study demonstrates that the links between CSR, TMTND, and subsidiary performance are much more complex than previously assumed

DIR/Floortime® Parent Training Intervention for Children with Developmental Disabilities: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: To determine whether adding a parent training program utilizing the Developmental Individual-difference Relationship-based (DIR/Floortime®) approach for children with developmental disabilities can improve their capacities for attention and initiation.  Methods: Forty-eight pairs of parents and their preschool children with developmental disabilities were randomly assigned to three 1-hour one on one DIR/Floortime® parent training sessions during a 4-month period or to a control group. Results: Between-group comparison demonstrated a significant difference in favor of the intervention group for attention (F(1, 46) = 34.52, p = .031,  ph2 = .099)  and initiation composite scores (F(1, 46) = 6.55, p = .014, ph2 = .127). Effect sizes were medium to large for the attention composite score (Cohen’s d = .526) and initiation composite score (Cohen’s d = .653) respectively. Conclusion: Adding a modest home-based DIR/Floortime® parent training approach may yield clinically meaningful improvements in attention and initiation for children with a range of developmental challenges

Development of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi-Organic Fertilizer Pellets Encapsulated with Alginate Film

A novel formulation consisting of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) spores mixed with sterilized organic fertilizer (AMF-F) encapsulated by an insoluble calcium alginate film was developed to enhance AMF efficacy and stability. The hardness of the pellets increased from 7–8 N to approximately 80 N by increasing the alginate concentration of the coating film from 1 to 3%. The AMF spore germination rate for the AMF and AMF-F pellets coated with calcium alginate films depended on the alginate concentration. A 2% sodium alginate formulation for the coating films resulted in optimal AMF spore germination rates and mechanical properties for handling, transport, and stability. The inclusion of a sterilized organic fertilizer in the encapsulated AMF-F pellets considerably induced AMF mycelial growth and helped prolong the shelf life of the pellets. In soil, the AMF-F pellets encapsulated with alginate initially degraded faster than the alginate-encapsulated AMF pellets. However, both types of pellets were fully degraded within 30 days. It was demonstrated that AMF and AMF-F could promote colonization and provided resistance to drought stress in maize potted plants

Investigation the impact of maximum control point on dose calculation in Eclipse treatment planning system for lung SBRT

Purpose: Choosing an appropriate parameter on the computerized treatment planning systems (TPSs) influences on the accuracy of dose calculation. Several dosimetric parameters have been studied to achieve a more accurate dose and qualitative plan. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of maximum control point on the dose calculation on Eclipse TPSs for lung Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) considering the plan quality, the computation time and the treatment file size.Methods: Dose distributions for the 8 lung SBRT plans with varying maximum control point of 64, 166, and 320 were calculated by Eclipse TPSs with flattening filter free (FFF) beam. The treatment dose was prescribed at 85% isodose level of 54 Gy to the planning target volume (PTV). The dosimetric impact can be evaluated from target coverage, conformity index (CI), homogeneity index (HI), and organ at risk (OAR) doses, while the computation time and the file storage space were compared with the recommended number of control point.Results: The use of 64 control points per subfields tended to increase the dose at PTV and OARs comparing with the 166 and 320 control point plans, while the HI and CI values were similar. The average increases of OARs doses including the spinal cord, heart, esophagus and total lung depended on the photon beam energy. The higher average control point (AVG) number leaded to increase the computation time and the file size for both 6X-FFF and 10X-FFF photon beams. The correlations between AVG and plan storaage space were observed in the same ratio as the computation time.Conclusion: Using the minimal number of control point, the quantitative analysis in the PTV and OARs showed no clinically significant variation in dose, therefore choosing an optimal number of fixed control points leaded to balance the plan quality, the computation time and the file size

HIV-associated extrapulmonary tuberculosis in Thailand: epidemiology and risk factors for death

SummaryBackgroundWe conducted a prospective, multicenter observational cohort study in Thailand to characterize the epidemiology of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in HIV-infected persons and to identify risk factors for death.MethodsFrom May 2005 to September 2006, we enrolled, interviewed, examined, and performed laboratory tests on HIV-infected adult TB patients and followed them from TB treatment initiation until the end of TB treatment. We conducted multivariate proportional hazards analysis to identify factors associated with death.ResultsOf the 769 patients, pulmonary TB only was diagnosed in 461 (60%), both pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB in 78 (10%), extrapulmonary TB at one site in 223 (29%), and extrapulmonary TB at more than one site in seven (1%) patients. Death during TB treatment occurred in 59 of 308 patients (19%) with any extrapulmonary involvement. In a proportional hazards model, patients with extrapulmonary TB had an increased risk of death if they had meningitis, and a CD4+ T-lymphocyte count <200 cells/μl. Patients who received co-trimoxazole, fluconazole, and antiretroviral therapy during TB treatment had a lower risk of death.ConclusionsAmong HIV-infected patients with TB, extrapulmonary disease occurred in 40% of the patients, particularly in those with advanced immune suppression. Death during TB treatment was common, but the risk of death was reduced in patients who took co-trimoxazole, fluconazole, and antiretroviral therapy

The role of Ce addition in catalytic activity enhancement of TiO2-supported Ni for CO2 methanation reaction

In this work, various amounts of Ce were added to TiO2 to form a mixed oxide support; CexTi1−xO2 (x = 0, 0.003, 0.05, 0.10 and 0.15) and then those synthesized supports were impregnated by 10 wt% Ni to produce a catalysts. The 10 wt% Ni–CexTi1−xO2 (x = 0, 0.003, 0.05, 0.10 and 0.15) catalysts were tested for CO2 methanation reaction by using a fixed-bed reactor in the temperature range of 100–500 °C. The sample was pretreated at 450 °C under H2 and then a mixed feed gas of CO2 and H2 was switched into the reactor to start the reaction. The results showed that 10 wt% Ni–Ce0.003Ti0.997O2 catalyst (the lowest Ce content) exhibited the highest CO2 conversion and CH4 yield. Moreover, 10 wt% Ni–Ce0.003Ti0.997O2 showed highly stable during the stability test (50 h.). The results indicated that upon addition of small amount of Ce into TiO2-supported Ni, the surface, structural, electrical and redox properties of the catalyst were improved to the extent that these properties can promote the catalytic activities for CO2 methanation. The Ce addition can improve the CO2 methanation catalytic activity by several ways. First, higher dispersion of Ni on catalysts surface upon addition of Ce was observed which resulted in higher adsorption rate of H2 on this metal active site. Second, formation of a larger amounts of oxygen vacancies as well as basicity improvement upon addition of Ce were occurred which can increase the CO2 adsorption on catalyst surface. Third, incorporation of Ce resulted in improving of a starting reduction temperature of Ni2+ to Ni0 for TiO2-supported Ni catalyst which can indicate that the reducibility of Ce-doped TiO2-supported Ni catalyst was enhanced and then alter its catalytic activity. However, increasing of Ce content led to lowering of CO2 methanation activities which resulted from increasing of basicity by Ce addition. The excess amounts of adsorbed CO2 would lead to competitive adsorption to H2 and then lead to a decrease of catalytic activity. Therefore, an appropriate amount of H2 and CO2 adsorption ability on catalyst surface was a prominent factor to dominate the catalytic activity

Patient-Specific Quality Assurance in Pencil Beam Scanning by 2-Dimensional Array

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the characteristics of 2D ionization chamber array and the confidence limits of the gamma passing rate in pencil beam scanning proton therapy. Materials and Methods: The Varian ProBeam Compact spot-scanning system and the PTW OCTAVIUS 1500XDR array were used as a proton therapy system and detector, respectively. Our methods consisted of 2 parts: (1) the characteristics of the detector were tested and (2) patient-specific quality assurance was performed and evaluated by gamma analysis using dose-difference and distance-to-agreement criteria of 3% and 2 mm, respectively, with 123 treatment plans in head and neck, breast, chest, abdomen, and pelvic regions. Results: The PTW OCTAVIUS 1500XDR array had good reproducibility, uniformity, linearity, repetition rate, and monitor unit per spot within 0.1%, with accuracy, energy dependence, and measurement depth within 0.5%. The overall uncertainty of the PTW OCTAVIUS 1500XDR array was 2.49%. For field size and range shifter, using gamma analysis, the passing rate was 100%. The overall results of patient-specific quality assurance with the gamma evaluation were 98.9% ± 1.6% in 123 plans and confidence limit was 95.7%. Conclusion: The PTW OTAVIUS 1500XDR offered effective performance in pencil beam scanning proton therapy

A model-based study to estimate the health and economic impact of health technology assessment in Thailand

Objectives: Health technology assessment (HTA) plays a central role in the coverage and reimbursement decision-making process for public health expenditure in many countries, including Thailand. However, there have been few attempts to quantitatively understand the benefits of using HTA to inform resource allocation decisions. The objective of this research was to simulate the expected net monetary benefit (NMB) from using HTA-based decision criteria compared to a first-come, first-served approach using data from Thailand. Methods: A previously published simulation model was adapted to the Thai context which aimed to simulate the impact of using different decision-making criteria to adopt or reject health technologies for public reimbursement. Specifically, the simulation model provides a quantitative comparison between an HTA-based funding rule and a counterfactual (first-come, first-served) funding rule to make decisions on which health technologies should be funded. The primary output of the model was the NMB of using HTA-based decision criteria compared to the counterfactual approach. The HTA-based decision rule in the model involved measuring incremental cost-effectiveness ratios against a cost-effectiveness threshold. The counterfactual decision rule was a first-come, first-served (random) selection of health technologies. Results: The HTA-based decision rule was associated with a greater NMB compared to the counterfactual. In the investigated analyses, the NMB ranged from THB24,238 million (USD725 million) to THB759,328 million (USD22,719 million). HTA-based decisions led to fewer costs, superior health outcomes (more quality-adjusted life years). Conclusions: The results support the hypothesis that HTA can provide health and economic benefits by improving the efficiency of resource allocation decision-making