The Impact of Corporate Governance in Achieving Competitive Advantage- A Field Study of Jordanian Pharmaceutical Companies

The study aimed to identify the impact of corporate governance in achieving competitive advantage for the employees working in Jordanian pharmaceutical companies.In order to achieve the objectives of the study a questionnaire was developed to collect data by distributing it on a sample consisted of 135 individuals. The most important finding of the study is that: There is an impact of the dimensions of corporate governance in achieving competitive advantage in Jordanian pharmaceutical companies. The study recommends that: It is necessary to enhance the concept of corporate governance and the concept of competitive advantage to the workers in Jordanian pharmaceutical companies. It is necessary to benefit from the experiences of other companies in the subject of corporate governance and competitive advantage. Keywords: corporate governance, competitive advantage, Jordanian pharmaceutical companies

Gas-Grain Simulation Facility (GGSF). Volume 2: Conceptual design definition

This document is Volume 2 of the Final Report for the Phase A Study of the Gas-Grain Simulation Facility (GGSF), and presents the GGSF Conceptual Design. It is a follow-on to the Volume 1 Facility Definition Study, NASA report CR 177606. The development of a conceptual design for a Space Station Freedom (SSF) facility that will be used for investigating particle interactions in varying environments, including various gas mixtures, pressures, and temperatures is delineated. It's not possible to study these experiments on earth due to the long reaction times associated with this type of phenomena, hence the need for extended periods of microgravity. The particle types will vary in composition (solids and liquids), sizes (from submicrons to centimeters), and concentrations (from single particles to 10(exp 10) per cubic centimeter). The results of the experiments pursued in the GGSF will benefit a variety of scientific inquiries. These investigations span such diverse topics as the formation of planets and planetary rings, cloud and haze processes in planetary atmospheres, the composition and structure of astrophysical objects, and the viability of airborne microbes (e.g., in a manned spacecraft)

AN OVERVIEW SMART ASSISTANT SYSTEM FOR OLD PEOPLE USING INTERNET OF THINGS

The Internet of Things is a technology that applied in the field of healthcare, especially elderly patients, and allows patients to be tracked without the need for direct physical interaction with patients. Diseases and other consequences can be recognized early, especially those who are more likely to have a disorder in their physiological data. It is critically necessary to create new approaches and technology in order to improve health care for the aged population at a price that is more cheap and in a form that is simpler to use. In addition, patients and members of their families get a sense of peace when they are aware that they are being observed and will be assisted in the event that any complications emerge. This study uses a literature review to explore the ideas behind healthcare system components, in addition this study examines the characteristics, requirements, and definitions of internet of things. The primary purpose of this study is to introduce the reader to the various sensors and other healthcare system components utilised for the purpose of monitoring the elderly. However, this work will help future researchers who desire to do study in this field of healthcare systems and assist efficient knowledge acquisition by providing a solid foundation

Performance simulation of passive Q-switched laser system with intracavity Raman conversion medium

The system performance of intra-cavity Stimulated Raman Scattering SRS with passive Q-switching has been simulated.  Neodymium  :Gadolinium  Vanadium  ( Nd:GdVO4), Chromium : Yttrium Aluminum Garnet( Cr+4:YAG),  and Barium Nitrate Ba(NO3)2 are utilizing as a active medium(AM), saturable absorber material (SAM), and Raman medium (RM) respectively. Mathematical model of rate equations has been formulated in this study. The model solved numerically by  Rung –Kutta- Fehalberg method. Significant passive Q-switching and Stokes pulses to be simulated, also the effect of optical length on characteristics(duration and energy) of these pulses has been investigated. The study conclude that the power decrease while the optical length increase. Keyword: Physics, Laser, passive Q- switching , Raman conversio

Lack of protective effect of tiotropium vs induced dynamic hyperinflation in moderate COPD

SummaryStudy objectiveNovel evaluation of protective effect of tiotropium against induced dynamic hyperinflation (DH) during metronome paced hyperventilation (MPH) in moderate COPD.MethodsProspective, randomized, double-blind, placebo control, crossover study. Lung function measured pre/post MPH at 30 breaths/min for 20 s in 29 (18M) COPD patients (GOLD Stage 2) age 70 ± 9 yr (mean ± SD) before and after 30 days of 18 μg tiotropium bromide vs placebo. Lung CT scored for emphysema (ES).ResultsAt baseline post 180 μg aerosolized albuterol sulfate, FEV1: 1.8 ± 0.6 L (69 ± 6%pred) and ≥60% predicted in all, and 14 of 29 had FEV1 (L) ≥70% predicted with FEV1/FVC 58 ± 8%. After 29 days + 23 h post tiotropium (trough) there was significant decrease only in FRC/TLC% (p = 0.04); after 30 days + 2 h post tiotropium (peak) significant increase only in FEV1 (L) (p = 0.03) compared to placebo. Results post MPH induced DH at baseline and after 30 days and 2 h post placebo or tiotropium were similar with decrease in IC 0.44 ± 0.06 L (p < 0.001). Correlation between ES and increased FEV1 (L) at peak tiotropium: r = 0.19, p = 0.96 and decreased FRC/TLC% at trough tiotropium: r = −0.26, p = 0.36.ConclusionIn moderate COPD, tiotropium did not reduce MPH induced DH and reduction in IC. However, at peak tiotropium, there was significant bronchodilation in FEV1 (L) and at trough a decrease in FRC/TLC% compared to placebo despite varying emphysema

Mounier-Kuhn syndrome: A rare cause of severe bronchial dilatation with normal pulmonary function test: A case report

SummaryTracheobronchomegaly (TBM) (Mounier-Kuhn syndrome) is dilatation of the trachea and major bronchi because of atrophy or absence of elastic fibers and smooth muscle cells. We present a case of TBM with normal pulmonary function test (PFT).The patient was a 37-year-old man with increasing productive cough and without fever, wheezes, chest pain, weight loss or any respiratory disease. Chest helical computed tomography (CT) scan showed tracheomegaly with transversal diameters of the trachea of 44mm. CT scan showed collapse of the trachea. Few large diverticular out-pouching and openings in the trachea was seen in bronchoscopy. PFT results were normal.PFT in large airway disorders may be normal while abnormalities may indicate underlying small airway disorder. An underlying small airway disorders is responsible for abnormal reports in PFT of these patients. We may need to re-evaluate the role of PFT within follow-up of patients with large airway disorder

Transport Properties of the Gas Diffusion Layer of PEM Fuel Cells

Non-woven carbon paper is a porous material composed of carbon composite and is the preferred material for use as the gas diffusion layer (GDL) of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells. This material is both chemically and mechanically stable and provides a free path for diffusion of reactants and removal of products and is electrically conductive for transport of electrons. The transport of species in the GDL has a direct effect on the overall reaction rate in the catalyst layer. Numerical simulation of these transport phenomena is dependent on the transport properties associated with each phenomenon. Most of the available correlations in literature for these properties have been formulated for spherical shell porous media, sand and rock, which are not representative of the structure of the GDL. Hence, the objective of this research work is to investigate the transport properties (diffusion coefficient, thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, intrinsic and relative permeability and the capillary pressure) of the GDL using experimental and numerical techniques. In this thesis, a three-dimensional reconstruction of the complex, anisotropic structure of the GDL based on stochastic models is used to estimate its transport properties. To establish the validity of the numerical results, an extensive comparison is carried out against published and measured experimental data. It was found that the existing theoretical models result in inaccurate estimation of the transport properties, especially in neglecting the anisotropic nature of the layer. Due to the structure of the carbon paper GDL, it was found that the value of the transport properties in the in-plane direction are much higher than that in the through-plane direction. In the in-plane direction, the fibers are aligned in a more structured manner; hence, the resistance to mass transport is reduced. Based on the numerical results presented in this thesis, correlations of the transport properties are developed. Further, the structure of the carbon paper GDL is investigated using the method of standard porosimetry. The addition of Teflon was found have little effect on the overall pore volume at a pore radius of less than 3 micro meters. A transition region where the pore volume increased with the increase in pore radius was found to occur for a pore radius in the range 3<5.5 micro meters regardless of the PTFE content. Finally, the reduction of the overall pore volume was found to be proportional to the PTFE content. The diffusion coefficient is also measured in this thesis using a Loschmidt cell. The effect of temperature and PTFE loading on the overall diffusibility is examined. It was found that the temperature does not have an effect on the overall diffusibility of the GDL. This implies that the structure of the GDL is the main contributor to the resistance to gas diffusion in the GDL. A comparison between the measured diffusibility and that predicted by the existing available models in literature indicate that these models overpredict the diffusion coefficient of the GDL significantly. Finally, both the in-plane and through-plane thermal conductivity were measured using the method of monotonous heating. This method is a quasi-steady method; hence, it allows the measurement to be carried out for a wide range of temperatures. With this method, the phase transformation due to the presence of PTFE in the samples was investigated. Further, it was found that the through-plane thermal conductivity is much lower than its in-plane counterpart and has a different dependency on the temperature. Detailed investigation of the dependency of the thermal conductivity on the temperature suggests that the thermal expansion in the through-plane direction is positive while it is negative in the in-plane direction. This is an important finding in that it assists in further understanding of the structure of the carbon paper GDL. Finally, the thermal resistance in the through-plane direction due to fiber stacking was investigated and was shown to be dependent on both the temperature and compression pressure

Approximate electromagnetic cloaking of a conducting cylinder using homogeneous isotropic multi-layered materials

AbstractCloaking refers to hiding a body from detection by surrounding it with a coating consisting of an unusual anisotropic nonhomogeneous material. Its function is to deflect the rays that would have struck the object, guide them around the object, and return them to their original trajectory, thus no waves are scattered from the body. The permittivity and permeability of such a cloak are determined by the coordinate transformation of compressing a hidden body into a point or a line. Some components of the electrical parameters of the cloaking material (ɛ, μ) are required to have infinite or zero value at the boundary of the hidden object. Approximate cloaking can be achieved by transforming the cylindrical body (dielectric and conducting) virtually into a small cylinder rather than a line, which eliminates the zero or infinite values of the electrical parameters. The radially-dependent cylindrical cloaking shell can be approximately discretized into many homogeneous anisotropic layers; each anisotropic layer can be replaced by a pair of equivalent isotropic sub-layers, where the effective medium approximation is used to find the parameters of these two equivalent sub-layers. In this work, the scattering properties of cloaked perfectly conducting cylinder is investigated using a combination of approximate cloaking, together with discretizing the cloaking material using pairs of homogeneous isotropic sub-layers. The solution is obtained by rigorously solving Maxwell equations using angular harmonics expansion. The scattering pattern, and the back scattering cross section against the frequency are studied for both transverse magnetic (TMz) and transverse electric (TEz) polarizations of the incident plane wave for different transformed body radii