SUPPORTING PRODUCT INNOVATION THROUGH KNOWLEDGE AUDIT

Knowledge audit is considered as one of the first steps towards designing a knowledge management strategy for an organization. Knowledge audit opens up the eye of an organization in terms of understanding its current knowledge capabilities, future knowledge requirements and critical knowledge gaps.. This paper focuses on how various knowledge audit tools can be used as an effective mechanism for organizational innovation process, specially understanding market needs, assessing knowledge capability and partnerships with external knowledge networks thus contributing to the development of new products or services

2D Black Phosphorus: from Preparation to Applications for Electrochemical Energy Storage

Black phosphorus (BP) is rediscovered as a 2D layered material. Since its first isolation in 2014, 2D BP has triggered tremendous interest in the fields of condensed matter physics, chemistry, and materials science. Given its unique puckered monolayer geometry, 2D BP displays many unprecedented properties and is being explored for use in numerous applications. The flexibility, large surface area, and good electric conductivity of 2D BP make it a promising electrode material for electrochemical energy storage devices (EESDs). Here, the experimental and theoretical progress of 2D BP is presented on the basis of its preparation methods. The structural and physiochemical properties, air instability, passivation, and EESD applications of 2D BP are discussed systemically. Specifically, the latest research findings on utilizing 2D BP in EESDs, such as lithium‐ion batteries, supercapacitors, and emerging technologies (lithium–sulfur batteries, magnesium‐ion batteries, and sodium‐ion batteries), are summarized. On the basis of the current progress, a few personal perspectives on the existing challenges and future research directions in this developing field are provided

Oral toxicity of arjunolic acid on hematological, biochemical and histopathological investigations in female Sprague Dawley rats

Background: Arjunolic acid (AA) is a potent phytochemical with wider pharmacological activities. Despite potential medicinal properties on various in vitro and in vivo studies, there is still a dearth of scientific data related to its safety profile and toxicological parameters. The current study aimed to investigate acute toxicity of AA in normal female Sprague Dawley rats. Methods: In this study, AA was administered orally at an individual dose of 300 and 2000 mg/kg body weight to group 1 and 2 respectively, while group 3 served as normal control. All the animals were observed for 2 weeks to determine any behavioral and physical changes. On day 15, blood was collected for hematological and biochemical investigation, later animals from all the three groups were euthanized to harvest and store essential organs for histopathological analysis. Four different staining techniques; hematoxylin and eosin, Masson trichrome, Periodic acid Schiff and Oil O Red were used to investigate any alterations in different tissues through microscopical observation. Results: The results of the study showed no morbidity and mortality at two different dosage of AA treatment. Daily food &water intake, body weight, relative organ weight, hematological and biochemical parameters were detected to be normal with no severe alteration seen through microscopical investigation in the structure of harvested tissues. Our findings support the safety profile of AA, which was well tolerated at higher dose. Thus, an in-detail study on the subacute disease model is warranted. © 2019 Aamir et al

Thigh-length compression stockings and DVT after stroke

Controversy exists as to whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy improves survival in patients with invasive bladder cancer, despite randomised controlled trials of more than 3000 patients. We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effect of such treatment on survival in patients with this disease