Examining the Influencing Factors of Cross-Project Knowledge Transfer: An Empirical Study of IT Service Firms

Despite the significance of knowledge transfer in IT service industry, our understanding of knowledge transfer between projects remains limited. Different from the existing studies mainly examining knowledge transfer at organizational level or at individual level within the same project team, this study examines the factors that influence cross-project knowledge transfer in IT service firms. Based on the process logic of knowledge transfer, we develop an integrated theoretical model that posits that cross-project knowledge transfer is influenced by knowledge, transfer activities, project teams’ transfer capabilities, project team context and project task context. We use the recipient IT project implementation performance to measure the effectiveness of cross-project knowledge transfer. Results of the preliminary test show that the designed questionnaires have scalability for the latent constructs, and the theoretical model has its rationality to some extent. To fully assess our proposed research model, we will collect large data set and perform a complete data analysis to test our model. Our study contributes to existing research by focusing on cross-project knowledge transfer and empirically investigating the performance effect of project-related factors. Results of the study will have important implications for IT practitioners

One-stop stroke management platform reduces workflow times in patients receiving mechanical thrombectomy

Background and purposeClinical outcome in patients who received thrombectomy treatment is time-dependent. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the one-stop stroke management (OSSM) platform in reducing in-hospital workflow times in patients receiving thrombectomy compared with the traditional model.MethodsThe data of patients who received thrombectomy treatment through the OSSM platform and traditional protocol transshipment pathway were retrospectively analyzed and compared. The treatment-related time interval and the clinical outcome of the two groups were also assessed and compared. The primary efficacy endpoint was the time from door to groin puncture (DPT).ResultsThere were 196 patients in the OSSM group and 210 patients in the control group, in which they were treated by the traditional approach. The mean DPT was significantly shorter in the OSSM group than in the control group (76 vs. 122 min; P < 0.001). The percentages of good clinical outcomes at the 90-day time point of the two groups were comparable (P = 0.110). A total of 121 patients in the OSSM group and 124 patients in the control group arrived at the hospital within 360 min from symptom onset. The mean DPT and time from symptom onset to recanalization (ORT) were significantly shorter in the OSSM group than in the control group. Finally, a higher rate of good functional outcomes was achieved in the OSSM group than in the control group (53.71 vs. 40.32%; P = 0.036).ConclusionCompared to the traditional transfer model, the OSSM transfer model significantly reduced the in-hospital delay in patients with acute stroke receiving thrombectomy treatment. This novel model significantly improved the clinical outcomes of patients presenting within the first 6 h after symptom onset

Nanomaterial-Assisted Signal Enhancement of Hybridization for DNA Biosensors: A Review

Detection of DNA sequences has received broad attention due to its potential applications in a variety of fields. As sensitivity of DNA biosensors is determined by signal variation of hybridization events, the signal enhancement is of great significance for improving the sensitivity in DNA detection, which still remains a great challenge. Nanomaterials, which possess some unique chemical and physical properties caused by nanoscale effects, provide a new opportunity for developing novel nanomaterial-based signal-enhancers for DNA biosensors. In this review, recent progress concerning this field, including some newly-developed signal enhancement approaches using quantum-dots, carbon nanotubes and their composites reported by our group and other researchers are comprehensively summarized. Reports on signal enhancement of DNA biosensors by non-nanomaterials, such as enzymes and polymer reagents, are also reviewed for comparison. Furthermore, the prospects for developing DNA biosensors using nanomaterials as signal-enhancers in future are also indicated

In-situ monitoring of active crack in steel structure using acoustic emission technique

The paper introduces a non-destructive testing (NDT) method-Acoustic Emission (AE) technique to detect active crack in steel structure of large lifting machinery used in hydropower stations. A test apparatus has been established, in which a beam with seeded cracks was loaded using a press machine. AE signals were collected during the test. Due to the complexity of the AE signals, Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) has been exploited to decompose them. The results have demonstrated that the frequency feature band is low in the crack initiation. With the crack growth, the frequency feature band becomes higher. The total frequency range of the crack propagation is 25 KHz-160 KHz. The research work has laid a theoretical foundation to application of the AE technology for safety evaluation of steel structures in lifting machinery. It also demonstrates that AE technique is an effective method for in-situ monitoring of the steel structures

ANALYSIS ON THE FATIGUE FRACTURE CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPOSITE INSULATOR CORE ROD

In order to analyze the fatigue fracture surface characteristics of composite insulator core rod, the fatigue damage process of insulators under different amplitude/torsion angle conditions was simulated by dynamic load fatigue test. The surface morphology of insulator fracture was observed by using an super deep scene 3 D microscope, and combined with fatigue loads and the number of stress cycles, the formation mechanism of the fracture surface was analyzed. The fractal geometry theory was used to describe the complexity of the fracture morphology in quantitatively and discussed the relationship between the fractal dimension and the fatigue loads. The results show that the fatigue fracture process of core rod is actually a stress corrosion process, which means that under the action of stress, the crack of the fiber gradually deepens until it breaks. The deformation and abrasion caused by the cyclic stress all determined the fracture surface morphology. The fractal dimension of the fracture surface is between 2 and 3, and the linear regression correlation coefficient is above 0.99, the strong correlation shows that the fracture surface of the insulator has obvious fractal characteristics. The formation of the fracture surface is not only related to the deformation, but also related to the number of stress cycles. The fractal dimension of the fracture surface is positively correlated with the loads and negatively correlated with the number of load cycles

The association between maternal use of folic acid supplements during pregnancy and risk of autism spectrum disorders in children: a meta-analysis

Abstract Previous reviews have been conducted to evaluate the association between maternal use of folic acid supplements during pregnancy and risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children, with no definitive conclusion. We therefore conducted a more comprehensive meta-analysis to reassess the relationship between folic acid and the risk of ASD. The electronic databases PubMed, Web of Knowledge, and Wanfang Data were carefully searched to find eligible studies as recent as March 2017. A random effects model was used to combine the relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Sensitivity analysis and publication bias were conducted. A total of 12 articles with 16 studies comprising 4514 ASD cases were included in this report. It was found that supplementation with folic acid during pregnancy could reduce the risk of ASD [RR = 0.771, 95% CI = 0.641–0.928, I 2  = 59.7%, P heterogeneity = 0.001] as compared to those women without folic acid supplementation. The associations were significant among Asian, European, and American populations. In summary, this comprehensive meta-analysis suggested that maternal use of folic acid supplements during pregnancy could significantly reduce the risk of ASD in children regardless of ethnicity, as compared to those women who did not supplement with folic acid

Fatigue Damage Analysis of Composite Insulator Cor Rod/sheath Interface

A self-made fatigue testing machine was used to simulate the damage process of the insulator interface under working conditions and the damage degree is evaluated by the compressive shear test. The improved interface adhesion model reflects the interface debonding process under different fatigue loads by introducing the damage coefficient χ, migration coefficient α and the debonding coefficient μ. The relationship of fatigue loads and interface damage is established by the peeling force, the unit interface separation work and the peeling time. The test demonstrates that the interface damage near the bottom of the insulator is worse than that near the middle part. The result of this analysis will be beneficial in easily finding damaged places of the insulator, and so as to reduce the power breakdown

Comparative pharmacokinetic study of PEGylated gemcitabine and gemcitabine in rats by LC-MS/MS coupled with pre-column derivatization and MS technique

Gemcitabine is a small molecular antitumor compound used to treat many types of solid tumors. The clinical application of gemcitabine is limited by its short biological half-life, rapid metabolism and poor tumor tissue targeting. The covalent attachment of polyethylene glycol to gemcitabine is a promising technique to overcome these limitations. After PEGylation, PEGylated gemcitabine could be metabolized into gemcitabine and its metabolites in vivo. Due to the scale effect of PEGylated gemcitabine, the DMPK process of the original drug is greatly changed. Therefore, understanding the pharmacokinetic behavior of PEGylated gemcitabine, gemcitabine and the metabolite dFdU in vivo is really important to clarify the antitumoral activity of these compounds. It would also guide the development of other PEGylated drugs. Due to the complex structure and diverse physiochemical property of PEG, direct quantification analysis of PEGylated gemcitabine presented many challenges in terms of assay sensitivity, selectivity, and robustness. In this article, a data-independent acquisition method, MSALL-based approach using electrospray ionization (ESI) coupled quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (MS), was utilized for the determination of PEGylated gemcitabine in rat plasma. The technique consists of a Q1 mass window through all the precursor ions, fragmenting and recording all product ions. PEGylated gemcitabine underwent dissociation in collision cell to generate a series of PEG related ions at m/z 89.0604, 133.0868, 177.1129 of 2, 3, 4 repeating ethylene oxide subunits and PEGylated gemcitabine related ions at m/z 112.0514. PEGylated gemcitabine was detected by the high resolution extracted ions based on the specific compound. For gemcitabine and dFdU, the study used derivatization of these high polarity compounds with dansyl chloride to improve their chromatographic retention. This paper describes comparative pharmacokinetic study of PEGylated gemcitabine and gemcitabine in rats by LC-MS/MS coupled with pre-column derivatization and MSALL technique. The results show that PEGylation could reduce the drug clearance of the conjugated compounds and increase the drug plasma half-life. After administration of PEGylated gemcitabine, the exposure of the free gemcitabine in vivo is lower than administration of gemcitabine, which means that PEGylated gemcitabine possesses lower toxicity compared with gemcitabine.National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaNational Natural Science Foundation of China [81703607, 81430087, 81603182, 81673396, 81872831, 81773692]; Jilin Province Science and Technoligy Development plan project [20190103082JH]; Science and Technology Major Specialized Projects for "significant new drugs creation" of the 12th five-year plan [2012ZX09303-015, 2014ZX09303303]; National Key Technology R&D Program of the Ministry of Science and TechnologyNational Key Technology R&D Program [2012BA130B00]; CERS-China Equipment and Education Resources System [CERS-1-70]24 month embargo; published online: 27 July 2019This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]