The Critical Success Factors For Public-Private Partnership Highway Construction Project in Malaysia

The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) approach has been widely used in the development of major infrastructure and building projects all over the world and is considered as one of the effective ways to achieve value-for-money procurement for the public sector. PPP usually requires public authorities and private contractors to collaborate through long-term concession contract where the latter has the obligation to provide the public services desired for the public sector. PPP has recently being introduced in Malaysia as a revised approach towards improving its existing privatization approach in the procurement of public sector projects. Thus, it is essential to determine the critical success factor (CSF) for public sector projects in Malaysia. The Butterworth Outer Ring Road (BORR), which is one of the PPP-oriented infrastructure projects currently operating in Malaysia, has been used as a case study in order to achieve this aim. An extensive interview and structured questionnaires have been used as data acquisition means to elicit the perception of public sector clients in regards to the CSF for the BORR project. As a result, effective communication system, good project governance, responsibility and commitment of public and private sectors, competitive procurement process and ability to delegate authority have been identified as the top five CSF for the BORR expressway in Malaysia

Comparative study of two different designs of partial over denture supported with distal implant for the treatment of mandibular Kennedy class II cases

AbstractThe objective of the present study was to compare between two mandibular implant overdentures of class II Kennedy classification. Material and methods: Fourteen male patients (30–45 years) were selected and divided into two equal groups. Group I received a mandibular removable partial over denture retained with implant abutment at the first molar region and with extra coronal attachment to the first premolar. Cross arch stabilization was made by using double Aker clasp on the first and second molars of the opposite side. Group II received a unilateral mandibular removable partial over denture retained with implant abutment at the first molar region and with extra coronal attachment to a splinted first premolar and canine. Patient satisfaction, clinical and radiographic evaluations were carried out at regular recall appointments up to one year from implant loading. Results: There was insignificant increase in the pocket depth and gingival recession and insignificant decrease in the perio test values and plaque index around implants and abutments. There was insignificant increase in the marginal bone loss around implants and abutments in both groups. All patients strongly disagreed the high cost of the treatment. Group II patients were more satisfied regarding aspects of the patients' comfort and phonetics. Conclusion: It is concluded that unilateral removable partial denture was more comfortable and better with speech. The use of dental implant as a distal abutment in class II Kennedy classification reduces all the movements of denture base and results in better healthy condition for the gingival and periodontium of the abutment tooth than when using conventional partial denture

Lepidoptera from the Pantepui. Part V. New Lycaenidae (Theclinae: Eumaeini)

Two new species of butterfly (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea, Lycaenidae) from the Pantepui (Venezuela) are described; Ocaria faurei Bálint, Attal & Costa, sp. nov. and Strymon auyana Bálint, Benmesbah & Viloria, sp. nov. (Lycaenidae: Theclinae: Eumaeini). Notes and data are provided on the representatives of the genera Ocaria Clench, 1970 and Strymon Hübner, 1818 found in the Pantepui and in its adjacent areas in southern Venezuela with a particular focus on endemism. Se describen dos nuevas especies de mariposas (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea, Lycaenidae) de diversas localidades del Pantepui (Venezuela): Ocaria faurei Bálint, Attal & Costa, sp. nov. y Strymon auyana Bálint, Benmesbah & Viloria, sp. nov. (Lycaenidae: Theclinae: Eumaeini). Se proveen datos y anotaciones sobre los representantes de los géneros Ocaria Clench, 1970 y Strymon Hübner, 1818 encontrados en el Pantepui y áreas adyacentes en el sur de Venezuela con particular enfoque en el endemismo

Phylogeography of the pharaoh cuttle Sepia pharaonis based on partial mitochondrial 16S sequence data

The pharaoh cuttle Sepia pharaonis Ehrenberg, 1831 (Mollusca: Cephalopoda: Sepiida) is a broadly distributed species of substantial fisheries importance found from east Africa to southern Japan. Little is known about S. pharaonis phylogeography, but evidence from morphology and reproductive biology suggests that Sepia pharaonis is actually a complex of at least three species. To evaluate this possibility, we collected tissue samples from Sepia pharaonis from throughout its range. Phylogenetic analyses of partial mitochondrial 16S sequences from these samples reveal five distinct clades: a Gulf of Aden/Red Sea clade, a northern Australia clade, a Persian Gulf/Arabian Sea clade, a western Pacific clade (Gulf of Thailand and Taiwan) and an India/Andaman Sea clade. Phylogenetic analyses including several Sepia species show that S. pharaonis sensu lato may not be monophyletic. We suggest that "S. pharaonis" may consist of up to five species, but additional data will be required to fully clarify relationships within the S. pharaonis complex

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

EHD stability of a viscid fluid cylinder surrounding by viscous/inviscid gas with fluid-particle mixture in permeable media

The article is concerned with Electrohydrodynamics (EHD) instability of an incompressible dielectric viscous fluid in a vertical cylinder that surrounds a dielectric viscous/inviscid gas. The incompressible packing has microscopic fine dust particles of a consistent size. An unchanged tangential electric field influences the system which is saturated in porous media. Given their importance in the stability picture, the fundamental equations that regulate the particle mixture are constructed. The linear stability approach is employed to analyze the system. The motivation for tackling this problem lies in the growing interest in a variety of practical physics and engineering disciplines. The profiles of velocity fields and pressure are evaluated by the conventional normalized approach. A transcendental dispersion relationship connects the rate of growth and the wave number of the wave propagation. The procedure produces several numbers of non-dimensional characteristics of the problem at hand. Appropriate findings have been yielded that match the existing results in the available literature

One-electron pseudo-potential investigation of NO(X 2 Π)–Ar n clusters ( n = 1,2,3,4)

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