Towards an Equilibrium of Cultural Synergy: Evaluating Anticipated and Experienced Cultural Distance Differences in Expatriate-Local Employee Relational Dynamics

Extensive research has considered cross-cultural difference at the national level. However, little research has explored the relational manifestation of cross-cultural differences through the context of the multinational organization setting. This study considers the frequently-utilized global strategy model of expatriates within the broader organizational culture at the subsidiary. Through this model, we consider the differences between the experienced and anticipated cultural distance between an individual employee and expatriate of two different countries. Specifically, we consider the moderating and downstream effects of the expatriate and subsidiary employees’ individual behaviors on the multinational organization’s effectiveness. We propose four cultural outcomes: cultural standstills, cultural authenticity, cultural facades, and cultural synergy. We suggest that unilateral or bilateral accommodations bring the expatriate and local employees’ cultures closer to an equilibrium of ‘cultural synergy,’ in which the subsidiary’s culture is convergent and shared between the individual employees and the expatriate. Further, we discuss the various manifestations of cultural synergy, which have both, positive and negative long-term implications on the firm. Finally, we discuss the practical implications of such moderators and consequences in global strategy decisions for management executives and human relations decision-makers

Development of enclosed life support system for underground rescue employing a photocatalytic metal oxide thin film to generate oxygen from water and reduce carbon dioxide

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2006.Includes bibliographical references (p. 35-36).Despite major improvements in technology and safety regulations, coal mining continues to be a hazardous industry. Catastrophic accidents, related largely to underground explosions and generation of toxic gases, commonly result in the trapping of miners without oxygen for an extended period of time. As an example, in January 2006, an accident at the Sago Mine in West Virginia trapped 12 coal miners underground for 41 hours and resulted in the deaths of all but one. According to the account of the sole survivor, four of the emergency oxygen sources, or "air packs," failed. While devices capable of supplying oxygen to miners trapped underground exist, these systems are limited by the need for an exogenous gas supply, the large size of the devices, and unreliability. We propose here the design of an enclosed life support system functional for up to 12 hours, which employs photocatalytic mechanisms to generate oxygen from water and provides chemical reduction, or "fixation", of carbon dioxide. Oxygen is generated through a photolytic reaction involving the interaction of UV light and a titanium dioxide thin film, resulting in the generation of oxygen gas at a rate of 0.0507 L 02 / min per m2 of photolytic surface.(cont.) Exhaled carbon dioxide is mechanically segregated from the oxygen and then fixed to a 5 carbon sugar molecule, ribulose, through a mechanism that includes the addition of carbon dioxide and water, the cleavage of the C2-C3 bond, and the ultimate generation of glyceric acid and its unlit. We contend that the system proposed here has the ability to significantly exceed the capacity of current emergency life support systems employed underground, and thereby improve the safety of coal miners and the overall productivity of the coal mining industry.by Meghna S. Trivedi.S.B

A Study on Impact of Dividend Policy on Initial Public Offering Price Performance

This study examines the impact of dividend policy on the performance of initial public offerings in India. The period of study is from the year 2011-2014. Monthly returns of the IPOs issued in the considered period and the Indian Stock Market Index (Nifty 50) were considered for the long-run performance study. The methodological tools used are long-run performance statistics and the GARCH model. The Dummy variable was used to measure the effect of dividends on the IPOs. The study reveals that the dividend policy has no significant effect on the stock prices of IPO.Comment: 7 PAGES 6 FIGURES 6 TABLES PUBLISHED IN Journal of Engineering and Applied Science

Prospecting for scarabid specific Bacillus thuringiensis crystal toxin cry8 gene in sugarcane ecosystem of Tamil Nadu, India

In the present study, we report the occurrence of cry8 positive isolates of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) in selected white grub, Holotrichia serrata F. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), endemic soils of sugarcane ecosystem and other places in Tamil Nadu. Out of the 66 soil samples collected and screened for white grub specific Bt, 74 isolates of the bacterium, all containing only spherical crystal toxin, were identified. PCR screening of these isolates with cry8 gene universal primer revealed six isolates to be positive. Further, the amplicon of a 370 bp band, amplified with another set of degenerate primer designed based on the conserved sequence of cry8 genes, was sequenced from four isolates. Multiple sequence alignment revealed the gene sequences to be the same for all the isolates. The present report of the availability of cry8 positive Bt isolates opens the avenue for controlling white grubs through transgenic research

Evaluation of intravenous clonidine as a hypotensive agent as part of balanced anaesthetic technique in functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS)

INTRODUCTION: Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) is a minimally invasive surgery of the paranasal sinuses. The main aim of FESS is to restore drainage and aeration of the paranasal sinuses preserving the normal anatomic structures and maintaining the natural mucociliary clearance mechanism. As with any other surgery, FESS can also lead to complications, which can be either related injury to the structures surrounding the paranasal sinuses or infection. These complications are rhino-oral fistulas, optic nerve injury, dural injury, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhoea, meningitis, orbital plate injury, orbital cellulitis etc. These complications tend to occur more in the presence of excessive bleeding during the surgery, which obscures the field of operation. A “bloodless field” would provide the surgeon with a clear field minimizing the risk of injury to the vital structures. This would also minimize the intraoperative blood loss as well as the surgical time. “Bloodless field” can be achieved by inducing controlled hypotension with various agents like inhalational anaesthetic agents, beta blockers, vasodilators like nitroglycerine (GTN) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and intravenous (IV) anaesthetic agent like propofol. When inhalational anaesthetic agents are used on their own, they can cause a delay in awakening, shivering etc during the recovery period, which is undesirable. Beta-blockers do not have analgesic or sedative properties. Propofol needs a continuous infusion throughout the surgery. It lacks analgesic effects and is relatively expensive. Clonidine (an alpha 2 agonist) has been used as an antihypertensive for many years. Out side anaesthesia, it has been used in hypertensive crisis. In addition to its antihypertensive effects, its sedative and analgesic properties have encouraged us to use it as an adjunct in anaesthetic practice. In anaesthesia, it has been used as a premedication to facilitate induced hypotension, to reduce the requirement of intravenous & volatile anaesthetics, to suppress pressor response during intubation and to induce hypotension with total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA). There have not been many studies to delineate its hypotensive effect with inhalational agent together with its other effects, for example analgesia and sedation especially in the Asian population. In this study we propose to evaluate the hypotensive effect of Clonidine when used as a part of a balanced anaesthetic technique in patients undergoing FESS. In this randomized double blind placebo controlled study, fentanyl and metoprolol have been used as rescue drugs to achieve target blood pressure. AIM AND OBJECTIVES: PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the hypotensive effect of Clonidine when used as a part of balanced anaesthetic technique in FESS. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: 1. To assess the reduction in the requirement of metoprolol & fentanyl to achieve hypotension. 2. To aim at ‘bloodless field’. 3. To assess blood loss. 4. To evaluate beneficial effects of Clonidine namely reduction in anaesthetic requirements and analgesia. 5. Assess incidence of side effects namely excessive sedation, hypotension & bradycardia. METHODOLOGY: This study is a randomized, double blind placebo controlled interventional trial. The study was cleared by the research and ethics committee of our institution. The sample size was calculated to detect a difference of 40% in hypotension between the study groups, sample size was calculated to be 30 in each group. Power of the study was assumed to be 80% & level of significance was fixed at 5%. The inclusion criteria being all adults (18years to 65years) ASA grade I and II patients undergoing limited or full FESS. The exclusion criteria were: • Hypertension on treatment. • Diabetes with autonomic dysfunction. • Patients on beta blocker or with contraindication for beta blockers. • Heart block of any degree / bradyarrhythmias. • Ischaemic heart disease. • Patients on pacemakers. • Patients already on clonidine / allergic to clonidine. • Pregnant mothers. 60 ASA I and II patients who were scheduled for FESS were enrolled in the study. A written consent was obtained from the patient on the night before the study. Pre-operatively, no sedative premedication was prescribed for the patients. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: All normally numerical variables were summarized using mean with SD(standard deviation). Variables with skewed distributions were described using median and range. The outcome variables were compared between the two study groups using chi-square test. All calculated p-values were two-sided. Analysis was done using STATA 10.0 (Statacorp, College station, TX, USA). CONCLUSIONS: Clonidine when used in a dose of 3mcg/kg intravenously 30 minutes prior to induction of anaesthesia in FESS. 1. Is effective in achieving controlled hypotension when used with balanced anaesthesia in FESS. 2. Is effective in reducing the intra-operative requirement of additional fentanyl and metoprolol. 3. Effectively reduces the intraoperative blood loss and offers a conducive operating field. 4. Provides good analgesia property. 5. Is devoid of serious hypotension, bradycardia and does not cause over sedation prolonging the recovery time

Is low amniotic fluid index an indicator of fetal distress and hence delivery?

Background: Amniotic fluid Index (AFI) is an indicator of fetal well-being. Low AFI is considered to be one of the indications for delivery as it may be associated with fetal distress and birth asphyxia. We sought to determine whether low AFI is an indicator of fetal compromise and an indication to deliver.Methods: This prospective, observational study was conducted at Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, KMC, Manipal University, India, between August 2013 and Aug 2014. A total of 150 subjects that had induced labor or direct caesarean section for various indications and also having low-normal (5-8) / low (<5) AFI, were recruited. Subjects with fetal anomalies were excluded. Outcome variables studied were, fetal distress in labor, thick meconium stained amniotic fluid, mode of delivery in induced labor, perinatal asphyxia, and respiratory distress syndrome.Results: Out of 150 subjects, 68 (45.4%) had low and 82 (54.6%) had low-normal AFI. Both the groups were matched for demographic characteristics and confounding factors for neonatal outcome. In low AFI group the incidence of Low APGAR (11.7%), perinatal asphyxia (11.7%) and RDS (16.1%) were significantly higher compared to those in low-normal group (3.6%, 1.2% and 2.4% respectively) p = 0.057, 0.006 and 0.002. There was no significant difference between the groups with respect to mode of delivery when labor was induced.Conclusions: Low AFI, especially when it is <5, is an indicator of fetal compromise and one may anticipate perinatal asphyxia and RDS. Hence it is prudent to contemplate delivery when the AFI is between 5 and 8

No-Load and Load Tests on 3 Phase Induction Motors used in Irrigation Pumping with Balanced and Unbalanced Supply

Agriculture is the major ocupation in villages and is backbone of India, where irrigated agriculture sector plays an important role in economic development and poverty alleviation of the nation. About 75% of present population of India obtains its livelyhood from the same. Iirrigation is harnessing of water resources for the crops by using motor pumps. Usually wells, tanks, perennial canal and multipurpose river valley projects are worked out. As electrical motors are very affordable and cheaper they are the usual choice to drive pumps. Due to the variation in supply to the pump motor the expected performance is not achieved and lead to variation in machine parameters. The operation of 3 phase motor on single phase supply leads to negative effects like overheating, insulation failure, torque pulsation, de rating and reduction in efficiency. In spite of these adverse effects on motor and irrigation power supply feeder, it is observed that farmers run their 3 phase motor on reduced voltage condition using capacitor splitter and other such. A study of operation of 3 phase motor on no-load and load is performed with balanced and unbalanced voltage condition. Simulation is performed in MATLAB/SIMULINK package for the comparison and justification

A novel mechanism for the establishment of sister chromatid cohesion by the ECO1 acetyltransferase

Cohesin complex mediates cohesion between sister chromatids, which promotes high-fidelity chromosome segregation. Eco1p acetylates the cohesin subunit Smc3p during S phase to establish cohesion. The current model posits that this Eco1p-mediated acetylation promotes establishment by abrogating the ability of Wpl1p to destabilize cohesin binding to chromosomes. Here we present data from budding yeast that is incompatible with this Wpl1p-centric model. Two independent in vivo assays show that a wpl1∆ fails to suppress cohesion defects of eco1∆ cells. Moreover, a wpl1∆ also fails to suppress cohesion defects engendered by blocking just the essential Eco1p acetylation sites on Smc3p (K112, K113). Thus removing WPL1 inhibition is insufficient for generating cohesion without ECO1 activity. To elucidate how ECO1 promotes cohesion, we conducted a genetic screen and identified a cohesion activator mutation in the SMC3 head domain (D1189H). Smc3-D1189H partially restores cohesion in eco1∆ wpl1∆ or eco1 mutant cells but robustly restores cohesion in cells blocked for Smc3p K112 K113 acetylation. These data support two important conclusions. First, acetylation of the K112 K113 region by Eco1p promotes cohesion establishment by altering Smc3p head function independent of its ability to antagonize Wpl1p. Second, Eco1p targets other than Smc3p K112 K113 are necessary for efficient establishment.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01GM092813

Measurement of electrical properties of electrode materials for the bakelite Resistive Plate Chambers

Single gap (gas gap 2 mm) bakelite Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) modules of various sizes from 10 cm \times 10 cm to 1 m \times 1 m have been fabricated, characterized and optimized for efficiency and time resolution. Thin layers of different grades of silicone compound are applied to the inner electrode surfaces to make them smooth and also to reduce the surface resistivity. In the silicone coated RPCs an efficiency > 90% and time resolution \sim 2 ns (FWHM) have been obtained for both the streamer and the avalanche mode of operation. Before fabrication of detectors the electrical properties such as bulk resistivity and surface resistivity of the electrode materials are measured carefully. Effectiveness of different silicone coating in modifying the surface resistivity was evaluated by an instrument developed for monitoring the I-V curve of a high resistive surface. The results indicate definite correlation of the detector efficiency for the atmospheric muons and the RPC noise rates with the surface resistivity and its variation with the applied bias voltage. It was also found that the surface resistivity varies for different grades of silicone material applied as coating, and the results are found to be consistent with the detector efficiency and noise rate measurements done with these RPCs.Comment: 9 Pages, 6 figure