Effects of influential factors on entrepreneurial intention of postgraduate students in Malaysia

Entrepreneurship leads to massive economic benefits, such as economic growth, reduction in unemployment, and development of economies. Understanding the factors that impact on entrepreneurial intention is the primary and critical step towards predicting and developing entrepreneurial activities. Due to economic and social developments, entrepreneurial intention is gaining more importance in developing countries like Malaysia. The aim of this study is twofold; first, to find out the relationship between respondents' attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, education, previous experience and age with intention to own a business; and second, to examine what particular factors are more influential on entrepreneurial intentions of postgraduate students in Malaysia. The study was carried out with master students. Data was collected from 380 male and female master students in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) who were in their final year of study and were considered appropriate for a decision in entrepreneurship. The analysis of the results showed that, firstly, attitude has direct effect on entrepreneurial intention but age has inverse effect. Secondly, it was concluded that these two variables were more important than others in modeling and predicting entrepreneurial intention among postgraduate students in Malaysia

Nanotechnology markets in global competition: a review

Nowadays, nanotechnology is as a main way of in international competitiveness that is due to science and technology. Hence, nanotechnology is known as a new industry or science in the global market competition topics. Also, developed or developing countries would trend to acquire portions for future markets through the investment in nanotechnology (R&D) because of profitable products and services in the future which are consistency environmentally and green. The products or services of nanocan be supplied in different markets e.g. energy, industry, medicine, and so on. Moreover, each of them depends upon innovation in producing new features or materials for the future that can be considered as important factors for different solutions for problems of life and humanity. Most of big companies pursue nanotechnology business in the global market from different products and services through the intensive competitions especially energy sector in the future. Although it can be accounted as new business in the future, there are some weakness of the firms in competitiveness i.e. weakness in strategies, capabilities, assets and knowledge. Hence, the aim of this study is to understand variety of issues in the literature of nanotechnology and strategies from managerial views

Effects of competitive advantage on companies superiority in the global market

Strategy is an organization's action plan to achieve the mission. Each strategy provides an opportunity for operations managers to achieve Competitive Advantage (CA). CA implies the creation of a system that has a unique advantage over competitors. Improving researches, economic prosperity and quality of products can be considered as CA abilities through each company. CA is used for acquiring superior position in the world from different angles of science, economics and technologies. Generally, CA considered as strategic management or paradigm management. Hence, the performances of organizations or manufactures are pertained to the relevant theories from CA that is crucial points to compete and take advantage from the new technology. Since competitiveness is accounted as a fundamental role in industrial activities for achieving goals. Moreover, successfully growing a business is often dependent upon a strong competitive edge. The aim of this study is to collect information from the literature to seek the best strategy as CA for reducing cost, differentiating company and increasing efficiency

A Neural Network Classifier Model for Forecasting Safety Behavior at Workplaces

The construction industry is notorious for having an unacceptable rate of fatal accidents. Unsafe behavior has been recognized as the main cause of most accidents occurring at workplaces, particularly construction sites. Having a predictive model of safety behavior can be helpful in preventing construction accidents. The aim of the present study was to build a predictive model of unsafe behavior using the Artificial Neural Network approach. A brief literature review was conducted on factors affecting safe behavior at workplaces and nine factors were selected to be included in the study. Data were gathered using a validated questionnaire from several construction sites. Multilayer perceptron approach was utilized for constructing the desired neural network. Several models with various architectures were tested to find the best one. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to find the most influential factors. The model with one hidden layer containing fourteen hidden neurons demonstrated the best performance (Sum of Squared Errors=6.73). The error rate of the model was approximately 21 percent. The results of sensitivity analysis showed that safety attitude, safety knowledge, supportive environment, and management commitment had the highest effects on safety behavior, while the effects from resource allocation and perceived work pressure were identified to be lower than those of others. The complex nature of human behavior at workplaces and the presence of many influential factors make it difficult to achieve a model with perfect performance

Molecular Investigation of Glutaric Aciduria Type1 in Iran

Glutaric Acidemia, Type I (GA I), was first described in 1975. The disease is caused by a genetic deficiency of the enzyme, Glutaryl-CoA Dehydrogenase (GCD), which leads to the buildup of Glutaric acid in the tissues and its excretion in the urine of affected patients. GCD is involved in the catabolism of the amino acids, Lysine, Hydroxylysine, and Tryptophan. Over 200 cases of GA I have been reported in the medical literature. GA I is one of the most common organic acidemias and has an estimated incidence of about 1 in 50,000 live births.Because of the initial slow progression of clinical symptoms, GA I is frequently undiagnosed until an acute metabolic crisis occurs. A total of 25 unrelated patients suspected to GA1 were investigated in our study. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood cells of the 25 probands whom were biochemically and/or clinically and/or neuro-radiologically suspected to GA1. 15 of them had elevated glutaric acid in the urine organic acid test.PCR and direct sequencing of all 11 exons and their flanking region of the GCDH gene were examined.Some of them were investigated for known mutation in the other their family members. Fifteen patients had homozygous mutations and 10 patients were normal for GCDH gene. Our Results Showed:• 60% Known mutation were found in our 15 patients• 80% can be detected by 4 exons sequencing so for molecular investigatins exon 6, 7, 8, 10 are good choice for beginning of analysis• 33% was mutation in exon 7, so because of the cost of genetic diagnosis we suggest that investigation begin with this exon.• Pro 348 Leu was most detected 20%.• 40% are new mutations wich will be investigated for phenotype Genotype Correlations

Mineral Trioxide Aggregate Mixed with Normal Saline, Calcium Chloride or KY Jelly as Apical Plug in Simulated Open Apices: An In vitro Microleakage Study

Introduction: Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) mixed with normal saline has short working time, delayed setting time, and poor consistency when used as an apical plug. A preliminary study suggested that substituting normal saline with KY Jelly or 5% calcium chloride (CaCl2) as a vehicle expedites the setting time of MTA. The present in vitro study compared the microleakage of ProRoot MTA mixed with normal saline (MS) to that of ProRoot MTA mixed with KY Jelly and/or 5% CaCl2 in simulated canals with open apices. Materials and methods: Thirty six single-rooted extracted human teeth were cleaned and shaped with ProTaper rotary system to make 36 standardized artificially created open apices. Teeth were randomly divided into three experimental groups (n=10) and two control groups (n=3). In group 1, MTA was mixed with normal saline (MS) and placed into the canals to form 4 to 5 mm apical plugs. In group 2, MTA was mixed with 5% CaCl2 (MC) and in group 3, MTA was mixed with KY Jelly (MK). The other two groups served as positive and negative controls. The remaining canal spaces in the experimental groups were backfilled with thermoplasticized gutta-percha without sealer. Dye penetration and clearing was used to evaluate the sealing ability of each group. The samples were then examined under stereomicroscope to measure the microleakage of different MTA mixtures in mm. Data were statistically analyzed using One-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for determination of normal distribution and then by one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s tests to detect any significance. Results: Positive and negative controls responded as expected. The MS group showed the least mean dye penetration value. There was a significant difference between MS with other groups (P<0.05) but no difference was found between MC and MK groups. Conclusion: Within the limitations of this in vitro study, we can conclude that among these three vehicles, normal saline mixed with ProRoot MTA has the least amount of microleakage in canals with open apices

The Effect of Different Combination Doses of Intrathecal Hyperbaric Bupivacaine 0.5% and Sufentanil on the Hemodynamic Profile of Geriatric Patients Undergoing Hip Surgery under Spinal Anesthesia

Background: With the increasing number of elderly patients with fragile hemodynamic profiles undergoing lower limb surgery, avoiding hypotension in this population is of great importance. We intended to study the effect of different combination doses of intrathecal hyperbaric bupivacaine 0.5% and sufentanil on the hemodynamic profile of geriatric patients undergoing lower limb surgery.Methods: A total of 60 patients aged over 70, candidates for lower limb surgery under spinal anesthesia were enrolled in this study. The patients were randomly allocated into three groups. Group 1 (G1: 5 mg bupivacaine plus 10 µg sufentanil intrathecally), Group 2 (G2: 10 mg bupivacaine plus 5 µg sufentanil intrathecally), and Group 3 (G3: 15 mg bupivacaine intrathecally). Non-invasive automated blood pressure was checked every 1 minute for the first 5 minutes, and every 5 minutes for 25 minutes and every 15 minutes for 30 minutes during surgery. Heart rate (HR) was recorded at the same intervals. The quality of the blocks was also compared.Results: A total of 60 patients met the inclusion criteria and were enrolled in the study. Five patients had failed spinal anesthesia whom were replaced with new patients. There was no difference between the groups in their baseline characteristics. Mean arterial pressure after 1 minute in Groups 2 and 3 was significantly lower than Group 1 (86.0 ± 9.0, 87.3 ± 11.0, 92.2 ± 13.0, P = 0.001). No statistically significant difference in HR was observed in between the three groups. The degree of motor and sensory block was adequate in all three groups, and no patients required any additional analgesics. 15 (75%) patients in Group 3 received ephedrine in comparison to 11 (55%) patients in Group 2. 3 (15%) patients in group one needed ephedrine.Conclusions: In conclusion, adding sufentanil as an adjuvant and decreasing the dose of intrathecal hyperbaric bupivacaine may help maintain a stable hemodynamic during lower limb surgery in the elderly

Evaluating the Reliability of Anatomic Landmarks in Safe Lumbar Puncture Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Does Sex Matter?

Aim. To determine the level of the conus medullaris-Tuffier's line, and conus medullaris-Tuffier's line distance using imaging and evaluate their relation to age and gender. Methods. We performed a cross-sectional study of 189 adult participants, who underwent MR imaging of lumbosacral spine. Each vertebra was divided into 3 equal segments (upper, middle, and lower), and intervertebral disc space was also assumed as one segment. All segments from T12 upper segment to L5S1 intervertebral disc were numbered consecutively. The position of conus medullaris and Tuffier's line was determined by the vertebral segment or intervertebral disc space at the same level. The patients were stratified into high/low conus medullaris position (cutpoint: L1 middle segment) and short/long conus-Tuffier's distance (cutpoint: 14 segments). Results. Women with low conus were significantly more than men, in patients older than 50 years old (72.7% in females versus 55.3% in males; P < .05), whereas there was not such a sexual dimorphism in patients younger than 50 years old. Similarly, short conus-Tuffier's distance was more frequent among women than men in patients older than 50 years old (59.7% in females versus 39.5% in males; P < .05), whereas there was not any gender difference in patients younger than 50 years old. Conus-Tuffier's distance was negatively correlated with age (r = −0.32, P < .001) in all studied population. Conclusion. Anatomical landmarks vary according to age and gender, with a lower end of conus medullaris in women, so clinicians should use more caution on the identification of the appropriate site for lumbar puncture, particularly in elderly women