Supply chain management problems at South African automotive component manufacturers

The problems that automotive component manufacturers(ACMs) experience in automotive supply chains is an importantcontemporary issue. The role of ACMs in the competitiveness andsurvival of the automotive industry has never been as pronounced.Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs, also known as automotiveassemblers) face pressure from government to drastically increaselocal content (components and services they purchase from localACMs). The problem is that local ACMs are not as competitive assuppliers from India and China. The improvement and extension ofthe local ACM supplier base is therefore important. The purposeof this article is to report on a study that investigated supply chainmanagement problems of ACMs and the extent of these problems.Supply chain problems may cause ineffi ciencies that impact on thecompetitiveness of ACMs. The study was exploratory in nature,and consisted mainly of a survey among ACMs in South Africa. Itwas found that of the 75 identifi ed problems, the most signifi cantproblems were internal process problems, followed by customerrelatedproblems. The most signifi cant problems lie in the demandmanagement area in the supply chain

The 12-item WHO Disability Assessment Schedule II as an outcome measure for treatment of common mental disorders.

BACKGROUND: Common mental disorders (CMD) are among the most significant contributors to disability worldwide. Patient-reported disability outcomes should be included as a key metric in the comparative assessment of value across global mental health interventions. This study aims to evaluate the validity of a widely used, cross-cultural tool - the 12-item World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule II (WHODAS) - as a functional outcome measure for CMD treatment. METHODS: The study population includes 1024 participants with CMD enrolled in the MANAS trial in India. CMD was assessed using the Revised Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS-R). Disability was assessed using the 12-item WHODAS II plus a measure of disability days. This analysis presents the correlations between these disability items and CMD symptom severity at 2 months after enrollment (convergent validity) and the items' associations with CMD recovery 4 months later (external responsiveness). RESULTS: All items showed a positive correlation of disability with CMD symptom severity (p < 0.001). The WHODAS items of 'standing,' 'household responsibilities,' and 'emotional disturbance' explained the most variance in CMD symptom severity. Improvements in 'disability days,' 'emotional disturbance,' 'standing,' 'household responsibilities,' 'day-to-day work,' and 'concentrating' were significantly associated with CMD recovery over follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Further research is recommended on a CMD-specific WHODAS subscale comprised of the six WHODAS items found to be most strongly associated with CMD severity and recovery. This shorter, CMD-specific disability subscale would critically serve as a common metric to compare intervention impact on patient-centered outcomes and, in turn, to allocate global mental health resources efficiently

Focus on paediatrics: 2017

“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly, one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts” observed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The scarcity of data available for Paediatric Intensivists means that, unlike Sherlock Holmes, we often have to act without evidence [1]. Here, we review the recent contributions to PICU evidence from Intensive Care Medicine (ICM)

A speed-of-play limit reduces gambling expenditure in an online roulette game: Results of an online experiment

UK online casino games are presently not subject to any limitations on speed-of-play or stakes. One recent policy proposal is to ensure that no online casino game can be played faster than its in-person equivalent. Another policy proposal is to limit the maximum stakes on online casino games to £2, to match the current stake limit on electronic gambling machines. This research experimentally investigated the speed-of-play proposal subject to a £2 stake limit, in an online experiment using incentivized payouts based on £4 endowments and a commercial online roulette game, which was slowed-down in one condition to enforce a speed-of-play limit of one spin every 60 seconds. UK residents, aged 18 years and over and with experience in playing online roulette (N = 1,002), were recruited from an online crowdsourcing panel. In the slowed-down condition there was a credible reduction in the amount gambled. This effect occurred via a credible reduction in the mean number of spins which outweighed any potential increases in bet sizes. Speed-of-play limits may be effective in reducing gambling expenditure for online roulette

A genome-wide linkage and association scan reveals novel loci for autism

Although autism is a highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorder, attempts to identify specific susceptibility genes have thus far met with limited success. Genome-wide association studies using half a million or more markers, particularly those with very large sample sizes achieved through meta-analysis, have shown great success in mapping genes for other complex genetic traits. Consequently, we initiated a linkage and association mapping study using half a million genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a common set of 1,031 multiplex autism families (1,553 affected offspring). We identified regions of suggestive and significant linkage on chromosomes 6q27 and 20p13, respectively. Initial analysis did not yield genome-wide significant associations; however, genotyping of top hits in additional families revealed an SNP on chromosome 5p15 (between SEMA5A and TAS2R1) that was significantly associated with autism (P = 2 x 10(-7)). We also demonstrated that expression of SEMA5A is reduced in brains from autistic patients, further implicating SEMA5A as an autism susceptibility gene. The linkage regions reported here provide targets for rare variation screening whereas the discovery of a single novel association demonstrates the action of common variants