Virtual R&D teams in small and medium enterprises: a literature review

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the driving engine behind economic growth. While SMEs play a critical role in generating employment and supporting trade, they face numerous challenges, the prominent among them are the need to respond to fasting time-to-market, low-cost and rapid solutions to complex organizational problems. Towards that end, research and development (R & D) aspect deserves particular attention to promote and facilitate the operations of SMEs. Virtual R & D team could be a viable option. However, literature shows that virtual R & D teaming in SMEs is still at its infancy. This article provides a comprehensive literature review on different aspects of virtual R & D teams collected from the reputed publications. The purpose of the state-of-the-art literature review is to provide an overview on the structure and dynamics of R & D collaboration in SMEs. Specifying the foundation and importance of virtual teams, the relationship between virtual R & D team and SMEs has been examined. It concludes with the identification of the gaps in the existing literature's and calls for future research. It is argued that setting-up an infrastructure for virtual R & D team in SMEs still requires a large amount of engineering efforts and deserves consideration at top level management

Virtual teams for new product development: an innovative experience for R&D engineers

New interaction tools such as internet allow companies to gain valuable input from research and development (R\&D) engineers via virtual teams. Consequently, engineers also get more expertise in diminutive time frames. Virtual R\&D teams present the key impetus to the technology acquisition process. The present knowledge-economy era is characterized by short product life-cycles. Virtual R&D teams may reduce time-to-market, make available a large pool of new product know-how and provide greater flexibilities, which are the key success factors in a competitive market. This comprehensive review contains almost 100 references and covers the recent literature with emphasis on the topic. The review has focused on authentic and reputed publications and extracts the results. This article presents the type of virtual teams and their main features and explains how virtual R&D team can play a prominent role in developing new products. The article is evolved future study guideline and also illustrates how to apply virtual interaction tools and integrate engineers into the innovation process. Management of virtual R&D teams in new product development (NPD) processes in an innovative, effective and efficient is of a high importance, but the issue has been poorly addressed in the previous studies. Findings show that virtual R&D team provides valuable input for new product development and R&D engineers are able to attain virtual experience

SMEs and virtual R&D teams: a motive channel for relationship between SMEs

In today?s dynamic marketplace, manufacturing companies are under strong pressure to introduce new products for long-term survival with their competitors. Nevertheless, every company cannot cope up progressively or immediately with the market requirements due to knowledge dynamics being experienced in the competitive milieu. Increased competition and reduced product life cycles put force upon companies to develop new products faster. In response to these pressing needs, there should be some new approach compatible in flexible circumstances. This paper presents a solution based on the popular Stage-Gate system, which is closely linked with virtual team approach. Virtual teams can provide a platform to advance the knowledge-base in a company and thus to reduce time-to-market. This article introduces conceptual product development architecture under a virtual team umbrella. The paper describes all the major aspects of new product development (NPD), NPD process and its relationship with virtual teams, Stage-Gate system finally presents a modified Stage-Gate system to cope up with the changing needs. It also provides the guidelines for the successful implementation of virtual teams in new product development

WCDMA Uplink Capacity of a Long Tunnel Cigar-shaped Microcells for Underground Train Service

In this paper, the capacity and the interference statistics of the sectors of the cigar-shaped WCDMA microcells are studied using the hybrid model of propagation. A model of nine microcells in a metro tunnel is used to analyze the uplink capacity and the interference statistics. The capacity and the interference statistics of the microcells in metro tunnels are studied in this work for different propagation parameters, antenna side lobe levels, sector ranges and bends losses

The Effect of Breakfast on Academic Performance among High School Students in Abu Dhabi

Background: The claim that breakfast is the most important meal of the day has an abundance of sound science behind it. Breakfast is continually suggested to be a critical feature of eating regimens since it is associated with a healthier intake of nutrients, BMI and lifestyle. Several studies have shown the importance of having breakfast to the body's performance. Moreover, recent studies have demonstrated that breakfast enhances intellectual capacity, concentration, attention and academic performance. However, there is a paucity of studies which examine the relationship between breakfast consumption and academic performance in the UAE, a gap this study is designed to address. Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the effect of breakfast intake on the academic performance of young female students in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Methods: Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire from 130 female students aged 15-19 years, who were selected from two private schools in Abu Dhabi. The questionnaire was used to explore the students’ breakfast consumption habits. The data collected was analyzed to examine the association between breakfast intake and academic performance. Academic performance was assessed according to the average grade for all subjects in the final exam. Results: Sixty-two percent of the 130 students eat breakfast regularly. Breakfast consumption is associated with increased academic performance among high school female students. The association of breakfast intake was found to be statistically significant (p=0.00). Conclusion: The findings of the current study indicate that there is a positive correlation between breakfast intake and the students’ scores. Regular breakfast consumption improves students' academic performance, whereas the performance of students who frequently skip breakfast is lower

Primary HIV-1 Infection Among Infants in sub-Saharan Africa: HPTN 024.

Our objectives were to assess clinical signs and diagnoses associated with primary HIV-1 infection among infants. We analyzed data from a clinical trial (HIV Prevention Trials Network Protocol 024) in sub-Saharan Africa. Study visits were conducted at birth, at 4-6 weeks, and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. The study population comprised live born, singleton, first-born infants of HIV-1-infected women with negative HIV-1 RNA assays who were still breastfeeding at 4-6 weeks. Of 1317 HIV-1-exposed infants, 84 became HIV-1 infected after 4-6 weeks and 1233 remained uninfected. There were 102 primary and 5650 nonprimary infection visits. The most common signs were cough and diarrhea, and the most common diagnoses were malaria and pneumonia. Primary infection was associated with significantly increased odds of diarrhea [odds ratio (OR) = 2.4], pneumonia (OR = 3.5), otitis media (OR = 3.1), and oral thrush (OR = 2.9). For the clinical signs and diagnoses evaluated, sensitivity was low (1%-16.7%) and specificity was high (88.2%-99%). Positive predictive values ranged from 0.1%-1.4%. Negative predictive values ranged from 28.0%-51.1%. Certain clinical signs and diagnoses, although more common during primary HIV-1 infection, had low sensitivity and high specificity. Efforts to expand access to laboratory assays for the diagnosis of primary HIV-1 infection among infants of HIV-1-infected women should be emphasized

Élimination des cations métalliques divalents : complexation par l'alginate de sodium et ultrafiltration

Depuis quelques années la pollution par les métaux lourds et devenue un problème important pour la protection de l'environnement et de nombreuses méthodes ont été développées pour éliminer les métaux toxiques présents dans l'eau.Parmi les différents procédés utilisés, la complexation-ultrafiltration est bien connue et de nombreuses études sur ce sujet sont décrites dans la littérature. Cependant, le choix de nouveaux macroligands hydrosolubles demeure important pour développer cette technologie.L'un des objectifs de ce travail était de montrer que dans ce procédé un biopolymère peut remplacer un macroligand de synthèse. Les expériences ont été menées avec de l'alginate de sodium, polysaccharide extrait des algues brunes, et porteur de groupements carboxyliques et hydroxydes capables de complexer les cations.Notre étude se divise en trois parties. Après avoir décrit, dans la première, le matériau et les méthodes utilisées, nous étudions dans la seconde les conditions de l'ultrafiltration (seuil de coupure, pression appliquée, pH, concentration ), avant de discuter dans la troisième les résultats obtenus dans le traitement de solutions contenant Cd2+, Cu2+, Mn2+ and Pb2+.For some years past, pollution by heavy metals has become one of the main problems for environmental protection. A number of methods have been developed to remove toxic metals from water. Among the various processes used, complexation-ultrafiltration is well known and numerous studies on this subject are described in the literature. However, the choice of new water-soluble macroligands remains important for developing this technology.One aim of the present work was to prove that biopolymers can replace synthetic macroligands in the process. The experiments have been conducted with sodium alginate, a polysaccharide extracted from brown seaweeds and containing carboxylic and hydroxyl groups able to complex heavy cations. Filtration experiments were performed with a frontal system, equipped with a polysulfone membrane with a 20000 Daltons cut-off . The solutions studied were prepared by diluting in demineralized water either sodium alginate or "Titrisol Merck" for cations. Before filtration the two solutions were mixed and stirred for 20 min. The pH of the feed solutions was adjusted with HCl (or HNO3 for Pb) or NaOH and determined accurately using a calibrated probe.The molecular weight of sodium alginate was determined by liquid chromatography and the viscosity was measured with either a viscosimeter for low values or a capillary method for concentrated solutions. Cation concentrations were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometryBoth permeate and retentate macroligands concentrations were estimated from measurements of total organic carbon (TOC). Following each experiment, chemical cleaning was performed by filtration of HCl, NaOH and water. This procedure was followed by demineralized water filtration, to ensure that the initial permeability was restored.In the first part of the work the ultrafiltration of sodium alginate solutions for different concentrations and various pressures was studied. Experimental results for macroligand retention, deduced from the TOC values, show a total rejection. All the curves, permeate flux versus time, present the same profile which indicates a significant concentration polarization. According to the obtained results we chose the value of 5 10-2 g L-1 for the ligand concentration and one bar for the applied pressure.In the second part of the study, the retention of cations (Cd2+, Cu2+, Mn2+ and Pb2+) was investigated. The observed results show that the removal rates are close to 100%. These values depend both on the total concentration of cation and on the pH value. The retention of cations is shown to depend strongly on pH: a variation of pH between 3 and 5 leads to changes in retention efficiency from 0 to 100%. This can be explained by the dissociation of alginic acid as a function of pH. For lower pH values the macroligand is in a molecular form and the metallic cation remains free; for higher values metal complexation is possible, increasing the rejection. If coordination number, rejection rate and pH are known, the various association constants can be determined using a graphical method. It can be seen from the results that the stability of the complexes formed decreases in the sequence Pb>Cu>Mn>Cd.In order to investigate the retention of these cations in a fresh water, the influence of calcium hardness was studied. The results indicate that cation removal decreases when the calcium concentration increases. This observation is an important restriction for fresh water treatment but does not affect the elimination of metals from a solution or an industrial waste containing cations

Clinical effectiveness of dolutegravir in the treatment of HIV/AIDS

Huda Taha,1 Archik Das,2 Satyajit Das1,3 1Integrated Sexual Health Service Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust, Coventry, 2School of Medicine, Birmingham University, Birmingham, 3Coventry University, Coventry, UK Abstract: Dolutegravir (DTG) is a second-generation integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI), which has now been licensed to be used in different countries including the UK. Earlier studies have demonstrated that DTG when used with nucleoside backbone in treatment-naïve and -experienced patients has been well tolerated and demonstrated virological suppression comparable to other INSTIs and superiority against other first-line agents, including efavirenz and boosted protease inhibitors. Like other INSTIs, DTG uses separate metabolic pathways compared to other antiretrovirals and is a minor substrate for CYP-450. It does not appear to have a significant interaction with drugs, which uses the CYP-450 system. Nonetheless, it uses renal solute transporters that may potentially inhibit the transport of other drugs and can have an effect on the elimination of other drugs. However, the impact of this mechanism appears to be very minimal and insignificant clinically. The side effect profiles of DTG are similar to raltegravir and have been found to be well tolerated. DTG has a long plasma half-life and is suitable for once daily use without the need for a boosting agent. DTG has all the potential to be used as a first-line drug in combination with other nucleoside backbones, especially in the form of a single tablet in combination with abacavir and lamivudine. The purpose of this review article is to present the summary of the available key information about the clinical usefulness of DTG in the treatment of HIV infection. Keywords: dolutegravir, integrase inhibitors, HIV, antiretroviral, treatmen

Efecto del grado de hidrólisis sobre las propiedades funcionales de proteínas de semillas oleaginosas

Hydrolyzing soybean, sesame, and ricebran meals with papain and bromelain enzymes under previously determined optimum conditions was accomplished. Aliquots were withdrawn from the bulk hydrolysates at different time intervals to determine the rate of enzymatic degradation,as well as the degree of hydrolysis of the hydrolysates at different time intervals. Twelve hydrolysates were then chosen with low and high degree of hydrolysis. They also represented hydrolysates from the three substrates hydrolysed with the two enzymes used. Some functional properties of the twelve hydrolysates were examined and then an attempt to correlate the functional properties with the degree of hydrolysis was done. The investigated functional properties included: wettability, dispersibility, flowability, bulk density,nitrogen solubility index,water absorption capacity, oil holding capacity, gelation, thermostability, emulsifying capacity and foam stability.Results showed a direct relation between increasing degree of hydrolysis and nitrogen solubility and dispersibility. Wettability, flowability and emulsifying capacity gave better results with low degree of hydrolysis.Se ha efectuado la hidrólisis de harinas de haba de soja, sésamo y germen de arroz con las enzimas papaina y bromelaina bajo condiciones óptimas previamente determinadas. Se sacaron alicuotas de los hidrolizados a diferentes intervalos de tiempo para determinar la velocidad de degradación enzimática, así como el grado de hidrólisis de los hidrolizados. Con estos datos se eligieron doce hidrolizados con bajo y alto grado de hidrólisis, que fueron representativos de los tres sustratos y los dos enzimas ensayados. Se examinaron algunas propiedades funcionales de estos doce hidrolizados y luego se llevó a cabo un intento de correlacionarlas con el grado de hidrólisis. Las propiedades funcionales investigadas incluyeron: humectabilidad, dispersabilidad, fluidez, densidad volumétrica, índice de solubilidad del nitrógeno, capacidad de absorción de agua, capacidad de retención de aceite, gelación, termoestabilidad, capacidad emulsionante y estabilidad espumante. Los resultados mostraron una relación directa entre el aumento del grado de hidrólisis y la solubilidad del nitrogéno y la dispersabilidad. La humectabilidad, la fluidez y la capacidad emulsionante dieron mejores resultados con un grado de hidrólisis bajo