Rating defence major project success: The role of personal attributes and stakeholder relationships

In this paper we develop and test a model of the associations between major project managers' personal attributes and project success in the context of the Australian Defence industry. In our model, emotional intelligence, cognitive flexibility and systemic thinking were hypothesised to relate to project success, mediated by internal and external stakeholder relationships. The model was tested in an online survey with 373 major project managers. Emotional intelligence and cognitive flexibility were found to be related to the development, quality and effectiveness of major project managers' relationships with both internal and external stakeholders; and these in turn were associated with their ratings of project success. Systemic thinking, however, had no relationship with either stakeholder relationships or project success. Additional research is needed to examine the contribution of a wider range of personal attributes to stakeholder relationships and project success, and to assess whether this model is applicable in other industries and types of projects.     

Photosensitized degradation in water of the phenolic pesticides bromoxynil and dichlorophen in the presence of riboflavin, as a model of their natural photodecomposition in the environment

Within the context of environmentally friendly methods for the elimination of surface-water pollutants, the photodegradation of the phenolic pesticides bromoxynil (BXN) and dichlorophen (DCP) under simulated natural conditions has been studied. The work was done in the presence of the visible-light absorber photosensitizer riboflavin (Rf), usually present in trace quantities in natural waters. Under aerobic conditions, an efficient photooxidation of both pesticides was observed. The relatively intricate photochemical mechanism involves pesticide and oxygen consumption and, to a lesser extent, Rf degradation. The kinetic and mechanistic study supports that both H(2)O(2) and singlet molecular oxygen, O(2)((1)Δ(g)), are involved in the process. Kinetic data for the O(2)((1)Δ(g))-mediated oxidation indicate that BXN and DCP are photodegraded with this species faster than the parent compound phenol, very frequently employed as a model for aquatic contaminants, likely due to their lower pK(a) values. This observation allows the design of phenolic pesticides with different photodegradation rates under environmental conditions.     

Bactericidal effect of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) on Salmonella enterica during storage

The presence of pathogenic bacteria in spices represents a public health risk as a possible cause of food contamination. Salmonella has been found in several spices and it has been involved in food-borne outbreaks, but this bacterium has not been reported as a contaminant of saffron (Crocus sativus L.). We examined a possible antibacterial effect of saffron using samples from Iran, Greece and Spain which were artificially contaminated with clinical isolates belonging to five different serovars of Salmonella. We detected a loss of viability during the room-temperature storage of the saffron samples, with bacteria being undetectable at day 16 except in the case of the DT104 strain of the Typhimurium serovar, in all of the samples, and of the Hadar serovar in the Iranian sample, both of which gave negative culture at day 32. The laboratory strain LT2 of the Typhimurium serovar was undetectable at day 4. To gain an insight into the basis for this bactericidal effect, we measured the inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations of safranal and crocin, the main compounds responsible for the flavouring and colouring capabilities of saffron. They were in the order of 8–16 mg/mL and 64–128 mg/mL for safranal and crocin, respectively. These data suggest that these compounds, and probably their chemical relatives, are involved in the antibacterial activity of saffron, and that this effect can significantly reduce the risk of food contamination with Salmonella by this spice.     

Plant food supplement (PFS) market structure in EC Member States, methods and techniques for the assessment of individual PFS intake

The popularity of herbal products, especially plant food supplements (PFS) and herbal medicine is on the rise in Europe and other parts of the world, with increased use in the general population as well as among specific subgroups encompassing children, women or those suffering from diseases such as cancer. The aim of this paper is to examine the PFS market structures in European Community (EC) Member States as well as to examine issues addressing methodologies and consumption data relating to PFS use in Europe. A revision of recent reports on market data, trends and main distribution channels, in addition an example of the consumption of PFS in Spain, is presented. An overview of the methods and administration techniques used to assess individual food consumption as a starting point, including their uses and limitations, as well as some examples of studies that collect Food Supplement (FS) information, including herbal/botanical/plant-derived products are also discussed. Additionally, the intake estimation process of food nutrients is described and used to propose the PFS ingredients intake estimation process. Nationally representative PFS consumption data is scarce in Europe. The majority of studies have been conducted in Scandinavia and the UK. However the heterogeneity of definitions, study design and objectives make it difficult to compare results and extrapolate conclusions.     

Social perceptions about a technological innovation for fuelwood cooking: Case study in rural Mexico

The widespread use of traditional biomass fuels in open fires in developing countries brings about serious health effects, besides high fuelwood consumption. A technological innovation—i.e., improved cookstoves—reduce fuel consumption and address the health effects of indoor air pollution. Implementation projects have been conducted worldwide, but have frequently faced very low success rates. Different demographic and socio-economic factors have been analysed to explain low rates but there are almost no studies that try to understand, from the users’ perspective, the factors involved when choosing among different cooking technologies. Through a qualitative methodological approach we documented the adoption of improved cookstoves through the implementation programme of a Mexican NGO. Results showed that although the programme raised public awareness, the improved cookstoves did not reach the poorest sector. The socioeconomic level was found positively correlated with the adoption of the improved cookstoves, but neither the age nor the educational levels were. Payment of the stove did not seem to be an adoption factor. Differences among individual users were more significant than differences between communities. Finally as men are the principal fuelwood harvesters, they should be considered as an important group in diffusion programs.     

Micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography of methylxanthines‐containing beverages: discussion of the molecular species involved

Micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MECC) experimental conditions were applied to 12 samples of methylxanthine‐containing infusions of different commercial brands of yerba mate, coffee, tea and cocoa as well as two cola drinks. The best resolution in this mode of automated high‐performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) was achieved here when using 15 kV voltage in an uncoated fused‐silica capillary of 45 cm length (40 cm effective length), 50 mM sodium dodecylsulfate, 90 mM pH 8.5 borate buffer and UV detection. Theobromine, caffeine and theophylline were separated, and the peak splitting due to tautomeric species was observed. Experimental conditions were controlled, keeping constant the size of the elution window in each analysis. The limit of detection was less than 1 mg l^?1, the limit of quantitation was 2.5 mg l^?1 and the work range was 2.5–300 mg l^?1. This HPCE–MECC system has proved suitable for the analysis/quality control of xanthines in beverages for consumption. Roles of various parameters as well as distinctly charged species of each xanthine and the origin of peak splitting in this MECC system are discussed. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Characterizing the viscoelastic properties of thin hydrogel-based constructs for tissue engineering applications.

We present a novel indentation method for characterizing the viscoelastic properties of alginate and agarose hydrogel based constructs, which are often used as a model system of soft biological tissues. A sensitive long working distance microscope was used for measuring the time-dependent deformation of the thin circular hydrogel membranes under a constant load. The deformation of the constructs was measured laterally. The elastic modulus as a function of time can be determined by a large deformation theory based on Mooney-Rivlin elasticity. A viscoelastic theory, Zener model, was applied to correlate the time-dependent deformation of the constructs with various gel concentrations, and the creep parameters can therefore be quantitatively estimated. The value of Young's modulus was shown to increase in proportion with gel concentration. This finding is consistent with other publications. Our results also showed the great capability of using the technique to measure gels with incorporated corneal stromal cells. This study demonstrates a novel and convenient technique to measure mechanical properties of hydrogel in a non-destructive, online and real-time fashion. Thus this novel technique can become a valuable tool for soft tissue engineering.     

Effect of Water Activity on Thermal Inactivation of Salmonella in Ground Turkey

Many factors, such as fat content and pH, are known to affect thermal inactivation of pathogens in meat products, and a few studies have suggested that the humidity of the cooking environment also affects thermal inactivation. However, the effect of process humidity has not been previously isolated from the effect of water activity on Salmonella inactivation. Therefore, the objective of this study was to directly test the effect of meat water activity on thermal inactivation of Salmonella. Ground turkey was dried to achieve water activities of 0.95 to 0.99, inoculated with an 8‐strain Salmonella cocktail, and heated isothermally (60 °C) in a water bath. The rate of thermal inactivation of Salmonella decreased 64% (P < 0.01) when decreasing meat water activity from 0.99 to 0.95. Inclusion of water activity improved the accuracy of a 1st‐order/Arrhenius‐type inactivation model from 1.94 log₁₀ to 0.8 log₁₀ (colony‐forming units [CFU]/g).