Operator stress and monitoring practices

This study attempted to identify the major sources of work-related stress among telephone operators, with special emphasis on computer monitoring and telephone surveillance. A cross-sectional random sample of over 700 telephone operators participated in a questionnaire survey (response rate = 88%). The survey included items designed to measure perceived stress, management practices, specific job stressors and monitoring preferences. Call-time pressure items were most strongly linked to job stress by operators, with 70% reporting that difficulty in serving a customer well and still keeping call-time down contributed to their feelings of stress to a large or very large extent. About 55% of operators reported that telephone monitoring contributed to their feelings of job stress. If given the opportunity, 44% of operators stated they would prefer not to be monitored by telephone at all, while 23% stated they would prefer some monitoring; 33% had no preference. The setting of inappropriate individual-call-time objectives, which may be consistently unachievable for some operators and which create conflict between management demands for quantity and quality and also between workers values concerning quality and productivity demands, appears to be the most stress-inducing aspect of the job. In terms of telephone surveillance, the issues of timeliness and specificity of feedback appear to be less important than call-time pressure.     

Metallic Nanoparticles in Heterogeneous Catalysis

Catalysis Letters - Heterogeneous catalysis is a chemical process achieved at solid–gas or solid–liquid interfaces. Many factors including the particle size, shape and metal-support...     

Differentiation of Cancer Stem Cells by Using Synthetic Small Molecules: Toward New Therapeutic Strategies against Therapy Resistance

Despite the existing arsenal of anti-cancer drugs, 10 million people die each year worldwide due to cancers; this highlights the need to discover new therapies based on innovative modes of action against these pathologies. Current chemotherapies are based on the use of cytotoxic agents, targeted drugs, monoclonal antibodies or immunotherapies that are able to reduce or stop the proliferation of cancer cells. However, tumor eradication is often hampered by the presence of resistant cells called cancer stem-like cells or cancer stem cells (CSCs). Several strategies have been proposed to specifically target CSCs such as the use of CSC-specific antibodies, small molecules able to target CSC signaling pathways or drugs able to induce CSC differentiation rendering them sensitive to classical chemotherapy. These latter compounds are the focus of the present review, which aims to report recent advances in anticancer-differentiation strategies. This therapeutic approach was shown to be particularly promising for eradicating tumors in which CSCs are the main reason for therapeutic failure. This general view of the chemistry and mechanism of action of compounds inducing the differentiation of CSCs could be particularly useful for a broad range of researchers working in the field of anticancer therapies as the combination of compounds that induce differentiation with classical chemotherapy could represent a successful approach for future therapeutic applications.     

Superabsorbent hydrogel based on modified polysaccharide for removal of Pb2+ and Cu2+ from water with excellent performance

This contribution describes the absorption percentage of Pb²⁺ and Cu²⁺ from water by a superabsorbent hydrogel matrix (SH) made from an anionic polysaccharide copolymerized with acrylic acid (AAc) and acrylamide (AAm). Metal‐absorption tests, upon sequential pH variation, indicated that the SH has pH‐sensitivity for the absorption of both metals from solution, attributed to the functional ionic groups (? COOH) present in the AAc and arabic gum (AG) segments. At the pH 5.0, the SH exhibited good absorption capacity: 73.10% for Pb²⁺, 81.99% for Cu²⁺ in water and 63.64% for Pb²⁺, and 76.67% for Cu²⁺ in saline water with 0.1 mol kg^?1 ionic strength. A replicated 2² full factorial design with a central point was built to evaluate the maximum absorption capacity of the metals into the SH. It was found that both the interaction and main effects of the pH and the initial concentration of metal solution on absorption percentage of the metals were statistically significant. Surface response plots indicated that the absorption capacity of both metals into the SH may be appreciably improved by using the solutions with lower initial concentration of metal and with higher pH values. Metal‐absorption results demonstrated that the SH is a convenient material for absorption of Pb²⁺ and Cu²⁺ from pure aqueous and saline aqueous environments. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Ethylene-propylene copolymers by a supported Ziegler-Natta catalyst based on TiCl4/MgCl2

Ethylene-propylene copolymers have been prepared by using Ziegler-Natta catalysts based on TiCl₄, MgCl₂, PCl₃ and (n-Bu)₃PO₄. The catalysts TiCl₄/MgCl₂/PCl₃ and TiCl₄/MgCl₂/(n-Bu)₃PO₄ were prepared by reacting TiCl₄ with pretreated MgCl₂. The support was prepared by ball milling of MgCl₂ with varied amounts of PCl₃ or (n-Bu)₃PO₄. The addition of PCl₃ has remarkably increased the MgCl₂ surface area in comparison with (n-Bu)₃PO₄. The effects of PCl₃ and (n-Bu)₃PO₄ on ethylene homopolymerization, ethylene-propylene copolymerization and on copolymer properties were evaluated. The catalyst system containing PCl₃ permitted to synthesize propylene-ethylene copolymers with up to 75% (w/w) of propylene and provided control of copolymer crystallinity. The reduction of the copolymer molecular weight distribution suggested that PCl₃ acted as an internal donor, poisoning some active catalytic sites. Received: 2 April 1997/Revised: 6 June 1997/Accepted: 18 June 1997     

Theory and application of Agricultural Innovation Platforms for improved irrigation scheme management in Southern Africa

Abstract

Many small-scale irrigation systems are characterized by low yields and deteriorating infrastructure. Interventions often erroneously focus on increasing yields and rehabilitating infrastructure. Small-scale irrigation systems have many of the characteristics of complex socio-ecological systems, with many different actors and numerous interconnected subsystems. However, the limited interaction between the different subsystems and their agents prevents learning and the emergence of more beneficial outcomes. This article reports on using Agricultural Innovation Platforms to create an environment in which irrigation scheme actors can engage, experiment, learn and build adaptive capacity to increase market-related offtake and move out of poverty.     

Gaussian,Lobatto and Radau positive quadrature rules with a prescribed abscissa

For a given $\theta \in (a,b)$ , we investigate the question whether there exists a positive quadrature formula with maximal degree of precision which has the prescribed abscissa $\theta $ plus possibly $a$ and/or $b$ , the endpoints of the interval of integration. This study relies on recent results on the location of roots of quasi-orthogonal polynomials. The above positive quadrature formulae are useful in studying problems in one-sided polynomial $L_1$ approximation.     

Application of the classical levels of intelligence to structuring the control system in an automated distribution centre

Traditional management and control models can benefit from added levels of intelligence to increase their capability to adapt to the continuous changes in global markets. After reviewing the classical definition of intelligence and its levels, this paper provides a new approach to help increase the responsiveness of management and control to changes and disturbances in the manufacturing supply chain. The ancient concept of the “Tertium Quid” has inspired a three-level community of agents (MAS-TRIO) that is proposed to improve the coordination of all actors involved. The proposed model combines Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) with Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) to make possible a certain level of Autonomous Intelligence in the decision-taking process. This paper analyses how these levels of intelligence can be applied to management and control, and the performance of the proposed model has been tested at low and mid-levels on an experimental platform representing the facilities of a distribution centre controlled by a network of programmable logic controllers (PLCs).     

(CO2 + 2‐propanol) mixture as a foaming agent for polystyrene: A simple thermodynamic model for the high pressure VLE‐phase diagrams taking into account the foam vitrification

The equation of state model developed by Lacombe and Sanchez (J Phys Chem 1976, 80, 2352) is used in the form proposed later by Sanchez and Stone (Polymer Blends, Vol. 1: Formulation, 2000; Chapter 2) to correlate experimental vapor‐liquid equilibrium (VLE) data for the three binaries and the ternary systems. Experimental data from the binary systems carbon dioxide‐isopropyl alcohol (CO₂‐IPrOH), isopropyl alcohol‐polystyrene (IPrOH‐PS), and carbon dioxide‐polystyrene (CO₂‐PS) are used to calculate VLE properties for the ternary system CO₂‐IPrOH‐PS. Two‐dimensional VLE‐phase diagrams were calculated and used to describe from a thermodynamic point of view the pressure, volume, and temperature values that characterize a thermoplastic foam evolution process, from the extruder to the foaming die. For different initial mixture CO₂ + IPrOH concentrations, pressure reduction produces liquid foaming until the vitrification curve arrests the final foam volume expansion. The dependence of the vitreous transition with the system CO₂ + IPrOH concentration while foaming is represented by the Chow (Macromolecules 1980, 13, 362) equation. The calculation procedure is proposed as a design tool to reduce the amount of experimental data usually needed as a requirement previous to the design stage. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 2663–2671, 2007