Toward a model of socializing project team members: An integrative approach

Project work is becoming more and more important in everyday business, as is staffing the right newcomers for the project. Recognizing that not all new project team workers possess equally important specific knowledge, skills and abilities for the success of projects, we draw on project management, human resource management, and organizational socialization literature to develop a framework on how new project team members might be socialized, depending on their strategic value for the project. We specifically draw on the socialization tactics literature and propose how four categories of new employees – Internal specialists, External specialists, External generalists and Internal generalists; based on two dimensions – work task complexity and employment mode, can be socialized more effectively. Implications for theory and practice are discussed as well.     

Physico-chemical properties and antibacterial activity of modified egg white—lysozyme

Lysozyme (N-acetyl-muramyl-hydrolase E.C. 3.2.1.17) is a low-molecular enzyme (14,400 Da) found in body secretions, systemic fluids and tissues of humans and animals. Antibacterial activity of lysozyme monomer is limited first of all to Gram-positive bacteria, which is connected with the structure of the cell wall. This enzyme catalyzes hydrolysis of β-glycoside bonds (1–4), releasing N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid. The spectrum of antibacterial activity of lysozyme may be extended thanks to modifications of the enzyme. The aim of the study was to assess antibacterial activity, hydrolytic activity and surface hydrophobicity of different forms of lysozyme. Chemical and thermo-chemical modification of lysozyme was performed, and the antibacterial action of lysozyme monomer and modified preparations were compared. It was found that in comparison with monomer and the control, all modified preparations exhibit effective action against Gram (−) bacteria Pseudomonas fluorescens. A particularly effective action was found in case of lysozyme subjected to thermo-chemical modification, which was characterized by the highest proportion of oligomeric forms and the highest hydrophobicity.     

Adsorption of Cu, Cd, and Ni on goethite in the presence of natural groundwater ligands

The adsorption of copper, cadmium, and nickel on goethite was examined in natural groundwater samples from an infiltration site of the river Glatt at Glattfelden (Switzerland). Unfractionated dissolved organic matter was used at its natural concentrations. Metal concentrations were close to environmental conditions. Cu, Cd, and Ni presented the typical pH adsorption edge of cations. The major influence on metal adsorption was due to a strong organic ligand L(I), which inhibited adsorption of Cu, Cd, and Ni in the alkaline pH region. Complexation of Cu, Cd, and Ni by the natural organic ligands was described with a model defining a minimum number of discrete ligands: a strong ligand L(I) at low concentration and additional weaker ligands with higher concentrations. The adsorption of Cu, Cd, and Ni on the goethite surface in the presence of the natural organic ligands was adequately described by considering only surface complexation and complexation in solution by organic ligands. No ternary complexes had to be invoked in the model. The major effect was complexation by the strongest ligand, whereas interactions with other cations and anions had only a minor influence. Competition reactions between Cu and Ni for complexation with the same strong ligand L(I) were observed.     

Estimation of generalized entropies with sample spacing

In addition to the well-known Shannon entropy, generalized entropies, such as the Renyi and Tsallis entropies, are increasingly used in many applications. Entropies are computed by means of nonparametric kernel methods that are commonly used to estimate the density function of empirical data. Generalized entropy estimation techniques for one-dimensional data using sample spacings are proposed. By means of computational experiments, it is shown that these techniques are robust and accurate, compare favorably to the popular Parzen window method for estimating entropies, and, in many cases, require fewer computations than Parzen methods.     

A mathematical model for the transmission of Salmonella Typhimurium within a grower-finisher pig herd in Great Britain

In a study of pigs slaughtered at British abattoirs, approximately 23% carried Salmonella in their cecal (large intestine) contents. The most frequent serotype was Salmonella Typhimurium (STM), which was the second most common cause of human salmonellosis in Great Britain. A pig industry-monitoring program was developed to reduce Salmonella infection on British farms. The control of STM infection on the farm requires an understanding of STM transmission dynamics within the herd, and a mathematical model has been developed for an infected grower-finisher farm. The model estimates the probability of a random pig being infected with STM. There are three broad categories of STM infection in pigs: pigs that are infected but unable to transmit the infection (latent); pigs that are infectious, i.e., able to transmit the infection (shedders); and pigs that have stopped shedding but harbor STM in their internal organs (carriers). The model estimates that 21.0% (5th and 95th percentiles, 0.05 to 77.5%) of slaughter-age pigs on an infected farm are likely to be shedding STM. Although this range is wide, it is biologically plausible. Sensitivity analysis of the total number of infected pigs revealed that the most significant input parameters are the probability of effective contact between a specific infectious and susceptible pig and the duration of shedding. The model predicted that 11.5% of pigs would be shedding STM at slaughter age. This value is close to the estimate obtained from a British abattoir survey that 11. 1% of pigs carried STM in their ceca, indicating that the model has reasonable validity.     

A collaborative study to evaluate qualitatively powdered baby food validation samples artificially contaminated with Salmonella anatum

Nineteen laboratories participated in a collaborative study to evaluate the performance of validation samples consisting of powdered infant formula and cereal-based weaning food artificially contaminated with low levels of Salmonella anatum. The Standard method BS EN ISO 6579:2002 was to be followed for the trial. Salmonella counts in each baby food were around 10 CFU/25 g (low) or 10 CFU/g (high level). Trial participants received five samples of each sample type and five blank samples. All samples contained Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Lactobacillus spp. at concentrations between 10(4) and 10(5) CFU/g as background flora. Precision data for the powdered infant formula were similar for the solid selective plating-out medium xylose-lysine-deoxycholate (XLD) and a 2nd choice of agar suitable to isolate Salmonella spp. The sensitivity was 91.3%, accordance 82.5% and concordance 83.9% for the low and 100% for the high level in all cases. For the cereal-based weaning food, the precision data for the high level were similar for XLD and the 2nd choice medium (98.8%, 97.5% and 97.5%). A slight difference was observed for the low level where XLD obtained values of 82.5%, 73.8%, 70.6% for sensitivity, accordance and concordance and the second choice medium values of 81.5%, 72.5% and 69%. The specificity, accordance and concordance of blanks for the infant formula and cereal-based weaning food were 100%.     

Complexation of copper by zwitterionic aminosulfonic (good) buffers

Copper binding properties were investigated for several popular zwitterionic buffers. The two buffers 4-morpholinoethanesulfonic acid (MES) and 3-N-morpholinopropanesulfonic acid (MOPS) did not bind copper and would be good choices for metal speciation studies within their operational pH range. Conversely, 3-(N-morpholino)-2-hydroxypropanesulfonic acid (MOPSO) was observed to weakly bind copper directly (log Kc 2.02). Moreover, strong copper binding was observed for 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid (HEPES), 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine-1-propanesulfonic acid (HEPPS), and N-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine-N'-(2-hydroxypropanesulfonic acid) (HEPPSO). Log Kc values range from 7.04 to 7.68 and are indicative of strong copper binding ligands. The latter buffer also exhibited weak binding characteristics with a log Kc of 2.05. The strong Cu binding ligands were present in HEPES, HEPPS, and HEPPSO at much lower concentrations than the total buffer concentration. MES, HEPES, MOPSO, and HEPPSO were analyzed by electrospray-ionization quadrapole time-of-flight mass spectroscopy. The most prominent feature of the spectra for each buffer analyzed was the presence of multiple oligomers, indicating a propensity of interaction between buffer molecules. In addition, the presence of several contaminants was identified in the mass spectrum of the HEPES matrix, including a prominent contaminant (at m/z 131) present in levels similar to those obtained from the modeling of the copper titration data. Other contaminants were found in the other matrixes but were not identified as possible copper binding agents.     

Off‐line monitoring of butyl acrylate and vinyl acetate homopolymerization and copolymerization in toluene

A study of butyl acrylate (BA) and vinyl acetate (VAc) solution homopolymerization and copolymerization in toluene was carried out. The conversion and copolymer composition were monitored using traditional techniques (gravimetry and ¹H‐NMR spectroscopy) and attenuated total reflectance‐Fourier transform IR (ATR‐FTIR) spectroscopy with a diamond‐composite probe and light conduit technology. The peak height of the characteristic absorbances of the monomer(s) during the course of the reaction was used to calculate the conversion and copolymer composition for the ATR‐FTIR monitoring. The data obtained using a ReactIR? 1000 reaction analysis system in the off‐line mode showed very good agreement with data obtained using traditional techniques. The solvent effects on BA and VAc solution homopolymerizations and copolymerizations in toluene were also investigated. Improvement to model predictions was obtained by allowing the lumped constant (k_p/k) to vary with the solvent concentration. Experimental data and model predictions of the number‐ and weight‐average molecular weights for the investigated systems are also presented. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 82: 2958–2977, 2001     

Unified methodology of neural analysis in decision support systems built for pharmaceutical technology

The objective of this study was to create universal methodology of artificial neural networks (ANNs) application in construction of decision support systems designed for various dosage forms. Two different dosage forms (solid dispersions and microemulsions) were modeled with use of the same methodology, software and hardware environments. Completely different models prepared confirmed their generalization ability both for solid dosage forms (solid dispersions) and liquid dosage forms (microemulsions). ME_expert and SD_expert systems basing on the neural expert committees were created. In the pilot study their application allowed for appropriate choice of qualitative and quantitative composition of particular pharmaceutical formulation. It was also proposed that ME_expert and SD_expert might provide in silico formulation procedures. Unified methodology of neural modeling in pharmaceutical technology was confirmed to be effective in providing valuable tools for pharmaceutical product development.