Hybridization And Sexual Reproduction In The Invasive Alien Fallopia (Polygonaceae) Complex In Belgium

peer reviewed† Background and Aims The knotweed complex, Fallopia spp. (Polygonaceae), belongs to the most troublesome invasive species in Europe and North America. Vegetative regeneration is widely recognized as the main mode of reproduction in the adventive regions. However, the contribution of sexual reproduction to the success of these invasive species has only been detailed for the British Isles. An examination was made as to how hybridization may influence the sexual reproduction of the complex in Belgium and to determine how it may contribute to the dispersal of the species. † Methods Studies were made of floral biology, reproductive success, seed rain, seed bank, germination capacity, seedling survival and dispersal capacity in order to characterize the reproductive biology of the species. Moreover, chromosome counts and flow cytometry were used to assess the hybrid status of seedlings produced by sexual reproduction. † Key Results In the area investigated, extensive sexual reproduction by hybridization within the complex, including one horticultural species, was demonstrated. A small percentage of seeds may be dispersed outside the maternal clone (.16 m) allowing the formation of genetically differentiated individuals. Seed germination was possible even after a winter cold period. †Conclusions The extensive sexual reproduction by hybridization could further contribute to the dramatic invasive success of knotweeds in Belgium and should not be underestimated when considering control and management measures

Letter to the Editor: Critical analysis of the published literature about the effects of narghile use on oral health

No Abstrac

Impact of Total Quality Management (TQM) practices on Sustainability and Organisational Performance

[EN] Total quality management (TQM) has been identified as a key driver of organizational performance in public and private organizations. Organizational culture, along with TQM and sustainability has been investigated to understand its contributions to organizational performance. TQM has become a crucial pillar for growth and development due to the growing expansion of manufacturing sectors of the world. TQM practices, which may differ in manufacturing firms, are said to be important for effective TQM adoption. However, it was found that organizational performance can be achieved if TQM practices in manufacturing businesses are well managed. Therefore, this study is carried out and the purpose of the study is to propose a conceptual model to investigate the relationship between TQM practices, sustainability, and organizational performance and to demonstrate the impact on organizational performance. The data underlying this study was collected by using a questionnaire survey in the manufacturing industries. The tool of analysis was used for the study through Factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The findings of the study revealed that total quality management and sustainability are the most important approaches to the success of the performance of manufacturing industries. The results show that TQM and sustainability have a positive impact on organizational performance. In the radiance of these outcomes, a framework was created in view of relationship between significant practices of TQM, sustaibanility and organistaional performance. Generally, it is accepted that total quality management can produce a sustainable competitive benefits in organisational performance.Wassan, AN.; Memon, MS.; Mari, SI.; Kalwar, MA. (2022). Impact of Total Quality Management (TQM) practices on Sustainability and Organisational Performance. Journal of Applied Research in Technology & Engineering. 3(2):93-102. https://doi.org/10.4995/jarte.2022.17408931023

Chemical characteristics and cancer risk assessment of smokeless tobacco used in Tunisia (neffa)

Introduction: neffa, a form of air-dried smokeless tobacco used in North Africa, is spuriously perceived as a lower risk alternative to smoking. The objective of this study was to provide information on some harmful constituents of neffa and to use them for cancer risk assessment. Methods: a high-performance liquid chromatography method coupled with fluorescence detector was used to determine polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in one sample of neffa. An atomic absorption spectrometry was performed to determine the concentrations of lead and cadmium in three samples of neffa. The levels of toxicants found in neffa were used to assess for lifetime cancer risk as advocated by the US Environment Protection Agency. Results: the determination of PAHs in neffa allowed the identification of phenanthrene and anthracene. However, the higher molecular weight PAHs such as Benzo(a)Pyrene (B(a)P) were not detected. The concentrations of cadmium and lead varied between 1.3 to 2.8μg/g and 1.7 to 4.6μg/g respectively. Cancer risk for cadmium and lead varied between 4.2E-03 to 9.3E-03 and 2.5E-06 to 6.4E-06 respectively. Cancer risk for Cd exceeded the range of 10E-04 to 10E-06 of an acceptable risk. Conclusion: neffa is not a healthy alternative for overcoming smoking addiction. It contains mineral and organic pulmonary toxicants. This study could serve as a scientific basis to inform consumers about the products´ toxicity and help them to quit smokeless tobacco (SLT) use

Analysis of Traceability Optimization and Shareholder’s Profit for Efficient Supply Chain Operation under Product Recall Crisis

Product recall gains considerable importance in recent times; the reason may be the huge losses faced by manufacturers because of product recall issues. Furthermore, the revenue of the firm is immensely affected as a result of product recall, which may lead to serious outcomes. Huge recall cost (such as repairing or destroying the recalled products and cost of notification) occurs as a result of large recall. Therefore, in order to minimize the quantity and probability of recalls the traceability systems are widely used and considered as a necessary part of product safety strategies. However, from literature it is clear that manufacturers are still struggling to obtain the significant results. This study helps the managers to understand the importance of recall cost by analysing its impact on shareholders profit. Keeping in view the importance of problem, the paper proposed an integrated optimization model to minimize the expected loss to shareholders in recall crisis using batch dispersion methodology. The analysed results show that reduction in traceability level increases the expected shareholders losses while decreasing the operational costs. This will help managers to optimally set the production batch sizes in order to reduce the product recall impact

Analysis of Traceability Optimization and Shareholder's Profit for Efficient Supply Chain Operation under Product Recall Crisis

Product recall gains considerable importance in recent times; the reason may be the huge losses faced by manufacturers because of product recall issues. Furthermore, the revenue of the firm is immensely affected as a result of product recall, which may lead to serious outcomes. Huge recall cost (such as repairing or destroying the recalled products and cost of notification) occurs as a result of large recall. Therefore, in order to minimize the quantity and probability of recalls the traceability systems are widely used and considered as a necessary part of product safety strategies. However, from literature it is clear that manufacturers are still struggling to obtain the significant results. This study helps the managers to understand the importance of recall cost by analysing its impact on shareholders profit. Keeping in view the importance of problem, the paper proposed an integrated optimization model to minimize the expected loss to shareholders in recall crisis using batch dispersion methodology. The analysed results show that reduction in traceability level increases the expected shareholders losses while decreasing the operational costs. This will help managers to optimally set the production batch sizes in order to reduce the product recall impact

A Three-level Sustainable and Resilient Supply Chain Network Design under Disruption

oday supply chain management is emerging in a new dimension by having the sustainability as its primary focus, but in reality, however, facilities and the links connecting them, disrupt from time to time due to poor weather, natural or man-made disasters, or a combination of any other factors. Due to these unexpected disruptions, supply chain system drop its sustainability while coping with them. Now, the new challenges for the supply chain managers are to design an efficient and effective supply chain network that will be resilient enough to bounce back from any disruption and also should have sufficient vigilance to offer same sustainability under disruption state. Out of three pillars of sustainability namely ecological, social and economic sustainability, this paper is focusing more on the ecological sustainability because environmental focus in supply chain system is more important and also link with other pillars as the products need to be produced, packed and transported in an ethical way which should not harm social balance and environment. Owing to importance of the issue, this paper attempts to introduce network optimization model for sustainable and resilient supply chain network. The proposed goal programming (GP) model optimizes the total cost while considering the resilience and sustainability of the supply chain network

Higher infused CD34+ cell dose and overall survival in patients undergoing in vivo T-cell depleted, but not t-cell repleted, allogeneic peripheral blood hematopoietic cell transplantation

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVESUnderstanding the effect of cellular graft composition on allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (AHCT) outcomes is an area of great interest. The objective of the study was to analyze the correlation between transplant-related outcomes and administered CD34+, CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+ cell doses in patients who had undergone peripheral blood, AHCT and received either in vivo T-cell depleted or T-cell replete allografts.DESIGN AND SETTINGComparison of consecutive patients who underwent peripheral blood AHCT in our institution between January 2003 and December 2009.PATIENTS AND METHODSThe cohort of 149 patients was divided into two groups; non T-cell depleted (NTCD) (n=54) and T-cell depleted (TCD) (n=95). Study endpoints were overall survival (OS), progression free survival (PFS), engraftment kinetics (neutrophil and platelet recovery), incidence of acute graft versus host disease (acute GVHD), chronic GVHD, non relapse mortality (NRM) and disease relapse.RESULTSMultivariate analysis showed that higher infused CD34+ cell dose improved OS (relative risk 0.58, 95% CI 0.34-0.98, P=.04), PFS (relative risk 0.59, 95% CI 0.35-1.00, P=.05) and NRM (relative risk 0.49, 95% CI 0.24-0.99, P=.048) in the TCD group. By multivariate analysis, there was no difference in engraftment, grades II-IV acute GVHD, extensive chronic GVHD and relapse in the two groups relative to the infused cell doses. There was a trend towards improved OS (relative risk 0.54, 95% CI 0.29-1.01, P=.05) with higher CD3+ cell dose in the TCD group.CONCLUSIONOur findings suggest that higher CD34+ cell dose imparts survival benefit only to in vivo TCD peripheral blood AHCT recipients