THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENT REGULATION ON FIRMS’ PRIVATE ACTION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY: CASE OF NON-ADOPTION OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES BY FOOD PROCESSING SECTOR IN SRI LANKA

The purpose of this study was to examine empirically extent to which the regulatory framework and the legal system on environment have an impact on firms‟ private action on environment quality using the case of Sri Lankan food processing firms‟ non-compliance to the 9 different solid waste management practices (SWMPs) recommended by the Ministry of Environment for a firm to adopt based on the production and processing activities it undertakes. The perceptions of managers of 160 firms that did not adopt a single SWMP were assessed by means of an index – “Environment Regulation Responsiveness Index” (ERRI) of which the values reflects the relative strength of the firm in concern perceived on the environmental regulation (i.e.  -1.0 the least to 1.0 the most responsive). The outcome of analysis highlights that the magnitude of ERRI of the majority of firms was relatively low (i.e. in between -0.5 to 0.5), especially for the small scale firms, suggesting that firms did not consider the government regulation as a promising factor to act on the environment. This calls for a critical revision and adjustments to the policy on environmental quality management both at the national and provincial level in order to promote voluntary action by firms

A multi-layered view of chemical and biochemical engineering

The contents of this article are based on the results of discussions the corresponding author has had since 2015 with the co-authors, who are members of academia and industry in Europe, on the scope and significance of chemical and biochemical engineering as a discipline. The result is a multi-layered view of chemical and biochemical engineering where the inner-layer deals with the fundamental principles and their application; the middle-layer deals with consolidation and expansion of the principles through a combination of science and engineering, leading to the development of sustainable technologies; and the outer-layer deals with integration of knowledge and collaboration with other disciplines to achieve a more sustainable society. Through this multi-layered view several important issues with respect to education, research and practice are highlighted together with current and future challenges and opportunities

Investigations into a putative role for the novel BRASSIKIN pseudokinases in compatible pollen-stigma interactions in Arabidopsis thaliana.

BACKGROUND: In the Brassicaceae, the early stages of compatible pollen-stigma interactions are tightly controlled with early checkpoints regulating pollen adhesion, hydration and germination, and pollen tube entry into the stigmatic surface. However, the early signalling events in the stigma which trigger these compatible interactions remain unknown. RESULTS: A set of stigma-expressed pseudokinase genes, termed BRASSIKINs (BKNs), were identified and found to be present in only core Brassicaceae genomes. In Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0, BKN1 displayed stigma-specific expression while the BKN2 gene was expressed in other tissues as well. CRISPR deletion mutations were generated for the two tandemly linked BKNs, and very mild hydration defects were observed for wild-type Col-0 pollen when placed on the bkn1/2 mutant stigmas. In further analyses, the predominant transcript for the stigma-specific BKN1 was found to have a premature stop codon in the Col-0 ecotype, but a survey of the 1001 Arabidopsis genomes uncovered three ecotypes that encoded a full-length BKN1 protein. Furthermore, phylogenetic analyses identified intact BKN1 orthologues in the closely related outcrossing Arabidopsis species, A. lyrata and A. halleri. Finally, the BKN pseudokinases were found to be plasma-membrane localized through the dual lipid modification of myristoylation and palmitoylation, and this localization would be consistent with a role in signaling complexes. CONCLUSION: In this study, we have characterized the novel Brassicaceae-specific family of BKN pseudokinase genes, and examined the function of BKN1 and BKN2 in the context of pollen-stigma interactions in A. thaliana Col-0. Additionally, premature stop codons were identified in the predicted stigma specific BKN1 gene in a number of the 1001 A. thaliana ecotype genomes, and this was in contrast to the out-crossing Arabidopsis species which carried intact copies of BKN1. Thus, understanding the function of BKN1 in other Brassicaceae species will be a key direction for future studies

Diverse Applications of Nanomedicine

The design and use of materials in the nanoscale size range for addressing medical and health-related issues continues to receive increasing interest. Research in nanomedicine spans a multitude of areas, including drug delivery, vaccine development, antibacterial, diagnosis and imaging tools, wearable devices, implants, high-throughput screening platforms, etc. using biological, nonbiological, biomimetic, or hybrid materials. Many of these developments are starting to be translated into viable clinical products. Here, we provide an overview of recent developments in nanomedicine and highlight the current challenges and upcoming opportunities for the field and translation to the clinic. \ua9 2017 American Chemical Society

Diverse Applications of Nanomedicine

© 2017 American Chemical Society.The design and use of materials in the nanoscale size range for addressing medical and health-related issues continues to receive increasing interest. Research in nanomedicine spans a multitude of areas, including drug delivery, vaccine development, antibacterial, diagnosis and imaging tools, wearable devices, implants, high-throughput screening platforms, etc. using biological, nonbiological, biomimetic, or hybrid materials. Many of these developments are starting to be translated into viable clinical products. Here, we provide an overview of recent developments in nanomedicine and highlight the current challenges and upcoming opportunities for the field and translation to the clinic

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Firms’ Private Action Towards Environmental Quality: Where Does Regulation Stand for Non-Adopters of Environment Management Practices?

This study examines the effects of regulatory framework and legal system on the private action towards environmental quality among food processing firms in Sri Lanka. An Environment Regulation Responsiveness Index, reflecting compliance to solid waste management practices, was used as the measure of firms perception on environment regulation. The results highlight that compliance by the majority of firms was relatively low, especially among the small scale firms, suggesting that the decision maker on environment quality did not consider government regulation as an impotant factor to act on the environment. This calls for a critical revision and adjustments to the policy on environmental quality management both at the national and provincial level in order to promote voluntary action by firms

LEADERSHIP IN THE CONTEXT OF PLANTATION SECTOR OF SRI LANKA: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION ON THE STYLE, BEHAVIOR AND PERSPECTIVES OF ESTATE MANAGERS

The style, behavior, perspectives of management practices and the types of management in practice in the plantation sector of Sri Lanka are considered unique from other businesses, in general, and agribusinesses, in particular. The reasons include, amongst the others, its years of exposure to various historical, geographical and cultural influences as well as the socio-economic and political dimensions to which this particular sector is linked with, but there is a paucity of literature that provides evidence to prove this phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to fill that gap in the management literature to be certain extent. The entire study was designed to complete in two phases running over eight months (April to October 2010). A qualitative review involving Focus Group Discussions and In-depth Interviews was carried out in Phase I with the senior administrators and expert stakeholders attached to the plantation sector, which led to the development of a validated structured questionnaire. This was used to gather data from the Senior Estate Managers (n = 65) with more than 10 years of experience and are attached to 8 Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) by means of a personal interview.The outcome of analysis substantiates that most managers believed the leadership style that prevails in their organizations showing “empowering” characteristics. The results further explored that these managers, yet,preferred a more “consensual” nature of leadership and a “proactive” organizational climate, as opposed to a “reactive” leadership style. These findings raise important managerial implications for the present success and future survival of the plantation industry. The primary elucidation is that the nature of leadership is beyond those firms within the “Colombo business circles” and secondly whether the style of management/leadership will need to change in line with changes within the organizational environment so as to create and sustain a competitive advantage.Key Words: Leadership Style, Managerial Perceptions, Organizational Behavior, Plantation Sector For full paper: [email protected]