AMT, Manufacturing Performance And Firm Performance

Dalam dunia era tcknologi canggih, organisasi perindllstrian menghadapi pc\bagai cabaran mengimbangi pcnyerapan teknologi dengan pcncapaian. Teknologi Perindustrian atau dikenali sebagai AMT merangkumi penyatuan sistem komputer berintcgrasi scperti robotik, CAD/CAM, FMS, kumpulan leknologi, ERP adalah sebahagian besar pelbagai teknologi yang digunakan untuk mcmpertingkatkan mutu rekaan, pentadbiran, operasi perindustrian serta mencapai keupayaan ungglli. Objektif pcnyclidikan ini ialah untuk mengkaji hubungan di an tara lahap penggunaan teknologi dengan pencapaian organisasi dan sama ada saiz dan umur mempengaruhi hubllngan tersebut. Seterus, ia mengkaji tentang perhubungan pencapaian perkiJangan dan pencapaian organisasi. Oleh demikian, populasi penyelidikan ini merangkumi organisasi-organisasi dalam Persekutllan Pekilangpekilang Malaysia 2002 edisi ke 33. In a world of advanced technology era, manufacturing organizations face challenges to balanc~ adoption of technology and performance. Advanced Manlll~lCtllring Technology (AMT) includes a group of integrated hardware and soltware based technologies such as robotics, CAD/CAM, FMS, group technology, MRP or ERP. represents a wide variety of modern advanced technologies devoted to enhance design, administration, manufacturing operations and gain competitive capabilities. The objective of this research is to examine the relationship between technology level used and the manufacturing performance. This study also would like to look whether size and age moderate the relationship between AMT and manufacturing performance. Further, it looks at how manufacturing performance relates to organizational perfom1ance. Hence, the targeted population was the manufacturing organization in Malaysia from those listed in Federation of Malaysian Manufacturer Directory of Malaysian Industries 2002

Ultra fast miniaturized real-time PCR: 40 cycles in less than six minutes

We have designed, fabricated and tested a real-time PCR chip capable of conducting one thermal cycle in 8.5 s. This corresponds to 40 cycles of PCR in 5 min and 40 s. The PCR system was made of silicon micromachined into the shape of a cantilever terminated with a disc. The thin film heater and a temperature sensor were placed on the disc perimeter. Due to the system's thermal constant of 0.27 s, we have achieved a heating rate of 175°C s−1 and a cooling rate of −125°C s−1. A PCR sample encapsulated with mineral oil was dispensed onto a glass cover slip placed on the silicon disc. The PCR cycle time was then determined by heat transfer through the glass, which took only 0.5 s. A real-time PCR sample with a volume of 100 nl was tested using a FAM probe. As the single PCR device occupied an area of only a few square millimeters, devices could be combined into a parallel system to increase throughput

Effect of Ridge Morphology on Guided Bone Regeneration Outcome: Conventional Tomographic Study

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141560/1/jper1231.pd

Switchable resolution in soft x-ray tomography of single cells.

The diversity of living cells, in both size and internal complexity, calls for imaging methods with adaptable spatial resolution. Soft x-ray tomography (SXT) is a three-dimensional imaging technique ideally suited to visualizing and quantifying the internal organization of single cells of varying sizes in a near-native state. The achievable resolution of the soft x-ray microscope is largely determined by the objective lens, but switching between objectives is extremely time-consuming and typically undertaken only during microscope maintenance procedures. Since the resolution of the optic is inversely proportional to the depth of focus, an optic capable of imaging the thickest cells is routinely selected. This unnecessarily limits the achievable resolution in smaller cells and eliminates the ability to obtain high-resolution images of regions of interest in larger cells. Here, we describe developments to overcome this shortfall and allow selection of microscope optics best suited to the specimen characteristics and data requirements. We demonstrate that switchable objective capability advances the flexibility of SXT to enable imaging cells ranging in size from bacteria to yeast and mammalian cells without physically modifying the microscope, and we demonstrate the use of this technology to image the same specimen with both optics

Impacts of Cultural Competency Training on Patient Outcomes

The collaborating provider is Malcolm Reed, OTR/L who works at an outpatient clinic with the Office of Veterans Affairs (VA) in Tacoma, WA. The outpatient clinic that Malcom practices in is a multidisciplinary rehabilitation setting that provides therapy services of PT, OT, SLP, and chiropractic care treating a wide variety of diagnoses. Mr. Reed believes there is a growing need for a strategy to provide effective culturally competent care at the VA, particularly for the African American population. The need to provide care to the increasingly diverse veteran population guided student researchers to conduct a literature review asking if cultural competency training for healthcare providers at the VA is associated with improved patient outcomes. Full text reviews of 10 journal articles revealed qualitative and quantitative data on patient’s perceptions of cultural competent care, 2 cultural competency training outcomes studies, and patient health outcomes related to MDD, diabetes, HIV, health behaviors, and medical adherence to treatment recommendations. Studies reveal that culturally competent practices can positively influence patient outcomes via the interaction between patient engagement in health promoting behaviors and provider interpersonal skills and sensitivity. Knowledge translation efforts consisted of synthesizing the data into a PowerPoint presentation to deliver to healthcare providers at a virtual interdisciplinary meeting at the Office of the VA in Tacoma, Washington. A live and recorded presentation disseminated results from the literature review and an infographic with evidence-based recommendations for best practice was provided to attendees and VA interdisciplinary email recipients. To quantify the efficacy of knowledge translation efforts, a pre- and post-survey was offered to attendees of the live presentation. Results indicate that participants improved in their understanding of the influence of culturally competent practices upon the healthcare outcomes in ethnically diverse populations. They expanded their definitions of cultural competency to include aspects of client factors not explicitly intertwined with identity, culture or background. Provider’s identified the role of interpersonal skills that build trust and improve communication as important elements of cultural competency. Providers expressed increased interest in accessing literature regarding the efficacy of cultural competency upon patient outcomes. Future recommendations include expanding studies that measure the efficacy of cultural competency trainings on patient outcomes in healthcare settings in and outside of the VA. Such studies should be large-scale and conducted on ethnically and culturally diverse populations. Effective knowledge translation efforts indicate that cultural competency trainings may improve provider confidence and stimulate provider interest in furthering their cultural competency knowledge and skills

Converting From 3.6 and 4.5 Micron Fluxes to Stellar Mass

We use high spatial resolution maps of stellar mass and infrared flux of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) to calibrate a conversion between 3.6 and 4.5 micron fluxes and stellar mass, M_* = 10^{5.65} * F_{3.6}^{2.85} * F_{4.5}^{-1.85} * (D/0.05)^2 M_solar, where fluxes are in Jy and D is the luminosity distance to the source in Mpc, and to provide an approximate empirical estimate of the fractional internal uncertainty in M_* of 0.3*sqrt{N/10^6}, where N is the number of stars in the region. We find evidence that young stars and hot dust contaminate the measurements, but attempts to remove this contamination using data that is far superior than what is generally available for unresolved galaxies resulted in marginal gains in accuracy. The scatter among mass estimates for regions in the LMC is comparable to that found by previous investigators when modeling composite populations, and so we conclude that our simple conversion is as precise as possible for the data and models currently available. Our results allow for a reasonably bottom-heavy initial mass function, such as Salpeter or heavier, and moderately disfavor lighter versions such as a diet-Salpeter or Chabrier initial mass function.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, to be published in the Astronomical Journa

Variation in Periodontal Diagnosis and Treatment Planning Among Clinical Instructors

Consistency in clinical decision making may be necessary for reliable assessment of student performance and teaching effectiveness, yet little has been done to examine variation in periodontal diagnosis and treatment planning among dental school faculty. The purpose of this investigation was to examine variation among faculty in diagnosis and management of common periodontal diseases. Twenty-seven clinical instructors (periodontists, general dentists, dental hygienists, and first- and second-year periodontal graduate students) reviewed three web-based cases and answered a brief questionnaire focusing on radiographic interpretation, periodontal diagnosis, and treatment planning. Response rates for the three cases ranged from 62 percent to 70 percent. Clinical instructors’ rating of percent bone loss in the majority of cases varied between three descriptive categories for the same tooth. Greater consistency in periodontal diagnosis was noted within the graduate student group as compared to periodontal and dental hygiene faculty groups. Diagnoses offered for one of the three patients varied between gingivitis and chronic and aggressive periodontitis. Six to nineteen different treatment plans (many with subtle differences) were submitted for each of the three cases. Inter-rater variation was qualitatively more prevalent than intra-rater variation. To our knowledge, this is the first study to document substantial variation among instructors in radiographic interpretation, diagnosis, and treatment planning for common periodontal diseases. Qualitative judgments speculating on the impact of variability among dental school faculty on student performance and patient care can be made but as yet remain unknown. Consistent use of accepted practice guidelines and greater consensus-building opportunities may decrease variation among faculty and enhance dental education

Variation in Periodontal Diagnosis and Treatment Planning Among Clinical Instructors

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153684/1/jddj002203372005693tb03919x.pd

Biological predictors of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN): MASCC neurological complications working group overview.

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common and debilitating condition associated with a number of chemotherapeutic agents. Drugs commonly implicated in the development of CIPN include platinum agents, taxanes, vinca alkaloids, bortezomib, and thalidomide analogues. As a drug response can vary between individuals, it is hypothesized that an individual's specific genetic variants could impact the regulation of genes involved in drug pharmacokinetics, ion channel functioning, neurotoxicity, and DNA repair, which in turn affect CIPN development and severity. Variations of other molecular markers may also affect the incidence and severity of CIPN. Hence, the objective of this review was to summarize the known biological (molecular and genomic) predictors of CIPN and discuss the means to facilitate progress in this field

Expression of SMARCD1 interacts with age in association with asthma control on inhaled corticosteroid therapy.

BackgroundGlobal gene expression levels are known to be highly dependent upon gross demographic features including age, yet identification of age-related genomic indicators has yet to be comprehensively undertaken in a disease and treatment-specific context.MethodsWe used gene expression data from CD4+ lymphocytes in the Asthma BioRepository for Integrative Genomic Exploration (Asthma BRIDGE), an open-access collection of subjects participating in genetic studies of asthma with available gene expression data. Replication population participants were Puerto Rico islanders recruited as part of the ongoing Genes environments & Admixture in Latino Americans (GALA II), who provided nasal brushings for transcript sequencing. The main outcome measure was chronic asthma control as derived by questionnaires. Genomic associations were performed using regression of chronic asthma control score on gene expression with age in years as a covariate, including a multiplicative interaction term for gene expression times age.ResultsThe SMARCD1 gene (SWI/SNF-related matrix-associated actin-dependent regulator of chromatin subfamily D member 1) interacted with age to influence chronic asthma control on inhaled corticosteroids, with a doubling of expression leading to an increase of 1.3 units of chronic asthma control per year (95% CI [0.86, 1.74], p = 6 × 10- 9), suggesting worsening asthma control with increasing age. This result replicated in GALA II (p = 3.8 × 10- 8). Cellular assays confirmed the role of SMARCD1 in glucocorticoid response in airway epithelial cells.ConclusionFocusing on age-dependent factors may help identify novel indicators of asthma medication response. Age appears to modulate the effect of SMARCD1 on asthma control with inhaled corticosteroids