Application of the sales and operations planning (S&OP) process at Douglas Pharmaceuticals Limited : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Applied Science in Logistics and Supply Chain Management at Massey University

To be successful in today's fast paced, demanding markets, companies must be poised to support changeable market demand while maintaining operational efficiencies. Recognising the need to coordinate and communicate details of supply and demand across multiple divisions, successful companies have adopted a process that has become widely known as sales and operations planning (S&OP). When implemented effectively, S&OP can provide many benefits including improved customer service, stability in production plans, improved forecast accuracy and reduced inventories. This report analyses S&OP processes operating at three successful companies and outlines the benefits these companies are achieving with S&OP. The report identifies the critical success factors in S&OP and how S&OP can be operated effectively. The report also presents a generic executive S&OP meeting format based on the formats operating at these companies and includes key performance metrics that should be presented as part of the S&OP process. The report analyses the S&OP process that has been operating at Douglas Pharmaceuticals Ltd since May 2000 and finds it to be lacking in several key areas. The report concludes that the main barriers to successful implementation of S&OP at Douglas were a lack of knowledge about the process at middle management level and a lack of buy-in and participation at senior management level. As a consequence, the current S&OP process at Douglas Pharmaceuticals is limited. There are major shortfalls in the reports used, the key performance metrics presented and accountability for key metrics such as forecast accuracy results. This report provides detailed recommendations on how Douglas Pharmaceuticals can substantially improve its S&OP process

Spelling instruction through etymology: A method of developing spelling lists for older students

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether an approach to developing word lists centred on etymological roots would improve the spelling performance of older primary school students. Participants were 46 students in the last year of primary school in south-east Queensland (31 girls and 15 boys) across three classes, with two classes being assigned to control conditions. Students were evaluated pre- and post-intervention on three dependent measures: British Spelling Test Series spelling, spelling in writing and writing. The results of this intervention revealed improvements in spelling for girls but not for boys. The implications for improved teaching methods are discussed

Flap Endonuclease Disengages Dna2 Helicase/Nuclease from Okazaki Fragment Flaps

Okazaki fragments contain an initiator RNA/DNA primer that must be removed before the fragments are joined. In eukaryotes, the primer region is raised into a flap by the strand displacement activity of DNA polymerase {delta}. The Dna2 helicase/nuclease and then flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) are proposed to act sequentially in flap removal. Dna2 and FEN1 both employ a tracking mechanism to enter the flap 5' end and move toward the base for cleavage. In the current model, Dna2 must enter first, but FEN1 makes the final cut at the flap base, raising the issue of how FEN1 passes the Dna2. To address this, nuclease-inactive Dna2 was incubated with a DNA flap substrate and found to bind with high affinity. FEN1 was then added, and surprisingly, there was little inhibition of FEN1 cleavage activity. FEN1 was later shown, by gel shift analysis, to remove the wild type Dna2 from the flap. RNA can be cleaved by FEN1 but not by Dna2. Pre-bound wild type Dna2 was shown to bind an RNA flap but not inhibit subsequent FEN1 cleavage. These results indicate that there is a novel interaction between the two proteins in which FEN1 disengages the Dna2 tracking mechanism. This interaction is consistent with the idea that the two proteins have evolved a special ability to cooperate in Okazaki fragment processing

A 50 year old with a rapid neuropsychiatric deterioration and choreaform movements

A 50-year-old man presented acutely to the hospital with behavioural disturbance, choreiform movements and profound nihilistic delusions. He reported recent drug and alcohol abuse, and also apparent involvement in several recent criminal activities, for which he felt he should be punished. He arrived alone at the hospital after a concerned neighbour had called an ambulance. His initial level of agitation prevented formal cognitive testing. However, he was alert, verbally responsive and could obey commands. He was afebrile with normal observations and normal plasma glucose. Although his examination was challenging, the only abnormal neurological findings were bilateral choreiform upper limb movements

Archaeological predictive model of southwestern Kansas

Knowledge on the archaeological condition of southwestern Kansas is anomalously low, therefore a high-resolution archaeological predictive model has been constructed for the High Plains region of southwestern Kansas. Using quantitative data about the environment as independent variables, the model was constructed using a combination of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and statistical software. The location of sites was quantitatively related to the environment through a binary logistic regression analysis. The derived regression equation was used to create a unique probability score for each of the 20 million land parcels in the study area. Analysis indicates the model offers a significant increase (30%) over a random classification. 85% of known site locations and 60% of known non-site locations are accurately predicted. In total, the area predicted as site-present comprises 41% of the total study area; within which, the chances of finding a site are 2.15 times as likely as random

Dynamic removal of replication protein A by Dna2 facilitates primer cleavage during Okazaki fragment processing in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Eukaryotic Okazaki fragments are initiated by an RNA/DNA primer, which is removed before the fragments are joined. Polymerase d displaces the primer into a flap for processing. Dna2 nuclease/helicase and flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) are proposed to cleave the flap. The single-stranded DNA binding protein, replication protein A (RPA), governs cleavage activity. Flap-bound RPA inhibits FEN1. This necessitates cleavage by Dna2, which is stimulated by RPA. FEN1 then cuts the remaining RPA-free flap to create a nick for ligation. Cleavage by Dna2 requires that it enter the 5'-end and track down the flap. Since Dna2 cleaves the RPA-bound flap, we investigated the mechanism by which Dna2 accesses the protein-coated flap for cleavage. Using a nuclease-defective Dna2 mutant, we showed that just binding of Dna2 dissociates the flap-bound RPA. Facile dissociation is specific to substrates with a genuine flap, and will not occur with an RPA-coated single strand. We also compared the cleavage patterns of Dna2 with and without RPA to better define RPA stimulation of Dna2. Stimulation derived from removal of DNA folding in the flap. Apparently, coordinated with its dissociation, RPA relinquishes the flap to Dna2 for tracking in a way that does not allow flap structure to reform. We also found that RPA strand melting activity promotes excessive flap elongation, but it is suppressed by Dna2-promoted RPA dissociation. Overall, results indicate that Dna2 and RPA coordinate their functions for efficient flap cleavage and preparation for FEN1

Imagery to the Crowd, MapGive, and the CyberGIS: Open Source Innovation in the Geographic and Humanitarian Domains

The MapGive initiative is a State Department project designed to increase the amount of free and open geographic data in areas either experiencing, or at risk of, a humanitarian emergency. To accomplish this, MapGive seeks to link the cognitive surplus and good will of volunteer mappers who freely contribute their time and effort to map areas at risk, with the purchasing power of the United States Government (USG), who can act as a catalyzing force by making updated high resolution commercial satellite imagery available for volunteer mapping. Leveraging the CyberGIS, a geographic computing infrastructure built from open source software, MapGive publishes updated satellite imagery as web services that can be quickly and easily accessed via the internet, allowing volunteer mappers to trace the imagery to extract visible features like roads and buildings without having to process the imagery themselves. The resulting baseline geographic data, critical to addressing humanitarian data gaps, is stored in the OpenStreetMap (OSM) database, a free, editable geographic database for the world under a license that ensures the data will remain open in perpetuity, ensuring equal access to all. MapGive is built upon a legal, policy, and technological framework developed during the Imagery to the Crowd phase of the project. Philosophically, these projects are grounded in the open source software movement and the application of commons-based peer production models to geographic data. These concepts are reviewed, as is a reconception of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) called GIS 2.0