Change Agent Competencies for Information Technology Project Managers.

In the past few years, the project management (PM) profession has grown exponentially. Yet recent studies in the information technology (IT) sector have found that the use of PM methodologies alone does not guarantee project success. In fact, IT project success is seen to rely on the ability of project managers to be agents of change (i.e., individuals who lead organizational change efforts), a traditional role of practitioners of organization development and change. This article identifies the knowledge, skills, and competencies that are common to organization development (OD) practitioners and project managers, as represented by 6 principles or competencies that OD and PM change methods snare: communication, teamwork, process management, leadership, training, and continuous learning. The importance of these 6 principles in developing professional project managers as effective agents of change is explored with the intent of finding means to improve upon current IT project success rates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing Interactive Causal Influence.

The discovery of conjunctive causes--factors that act in concert to produce or prevent an effect--has been explained by purely covariational theories. Such theories assume that concomitant variations in observable events directly license causal inferences, without postulating the existence of unobservable causal relations. This article discusses problems with these theories, proposes a causal-power theory that overcomes the problems, and reports empirical evidence favoring the new theory. Unlike earlier models, the new theory derives (a) the conditions under which covariation implies conjunctive causation and (b) functions relating observable events to unobservable conjunctive causal strength. This psychological theory, which concerns simple cases involving 2 binary candidate causes and a binary effect, raises questions about normative statistics for testing causal hypotheses regarding categorical data resulting from discrete variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of paints and moisture content on the indoor air emissions from pinewood (Pinus sylvestris) boards

The emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from building materials may significantly contribute to indoor air pollution, and VOCs have been associated with odor annoyance and adverse health effects. Wood materials together with coatings are commonly used indoors for furniture and large surfaces such as walls, floors, and ceilings. This leads to high surface-to-volume ratios, and therefore, these materials may participate remarkably to the VOC levels of indoor environment. We studied emissions of VOCs and carbonyl compounds from pinewood (Pinus sylvestris) boards of 10% and 16% moisture contents (MC) with three paints using small-scale test chambers (27 L). The emissions from uncoated pinewood and paints (on a glass substrate) were tested as references. The 28-day experiment showed that the VOC emissions from uncoated pinewood were lower from sample with 16% MC. Painted pinewood samples showed lower emissions compared to paints on glass substrate. Additionally, paints on 16% MC pinewood exhibited lower emissions than on drier 10% MC wood. The emissions from painted pinewood samples were dominated by paint-based compounds, but the share of wood-based compounds increased over time. However, we noticed differences between the paints, and wood-based emissions were clearly higher with the most permeable paint.     

Formation of oxidising species and their role in the viscosity loss of cereal beta-glucan extracts

The aim of this study was to determine the role of the formation of radicals and hydrogen peroxide in the viscosity loss of beta-glucan extracts from oat and barley. Radicals derived from endogenous H₂O₂ were formed spontaneously in all extracts. The decomposition of H₂O₂ by catalase had little or no effect on the viscosity, and the radical formation detected and measured by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy did not predict the shelf life of crude beta-glucan extracts. The addition of FeSO₄ accelerated the radical formation and viscosity loss, revealing the sensitivity of the extract viscosity towards catalysts for oxidation. Using 50% cadoxen in the extracts slowed down the viscosity loss in all extracts but still led to a 10–70% decrease of the initial viscosities during 4 weeks of storage. The results suggest that the viscosity loss may be a result from multiple mechanisms including chemical reactions during storage as well as aggregation and conformational changes.     

Clotrimazole-loaded Eudragit® RS100 nanocapsules: Preparation,characterization and in vitro evaluation of antifungal activity against Candida species

Clotrimazole is a common choice for the treatment of vulvovaginal infections, but its low solubility and some side effects pose a challenge to its application. This work evaluated the feasibility to formulate clotrimazole-loaded cationic nanocapsules using Eudragit® RS100 and medium chain triglycerides as polymer and oily core, respectively, by the method of interfacial deposition of a preformed polymer. The physicochemical characteristics of nanocapsule formulations were evaluated at 0 day and 60 days after preparation. Particle size, zeta potential, polydispersity index, pH and drug content were stable during this period. In addition, nanocapsules were able to protect clotrimazole from photodegradation under UV radiation. By the dialysis bag diffusion technique, the nanosized formulations showed prolonged release of clotrimazole by anomalous transport and first order kinetics. A microbiological study was carried out by the microdilution method and showed that nanocapsules (mean size: 144 nm; zeta potential: + 12 mV) maintained the antifungal activity of clotrimazole against Candida albicans and Candida glabrata strains susceptible and resistant to fluconazole.     

Proposal of visual strength grading rules for Uruguayan pine timber

A previous database with bending and density data of 261 structural size specimens of currently produced Uruguayan slash pine and loblolly pine timber was adjusted to meet testing and characterization requirements of European standards. Visual parameters and mechanical properties for each specimen were evaluated and their relationship was statistically analyzed. Results suggested that all specimens can be grouped in one visual grade with engineered properties similar to those of European C14 strength class. Modulus of elasticity and characteristic bending strength were the defining properties for class assignation.     

Putative Circulating MicroRNAs Are Able to Identify Patients with Mitral Valve Prolapse and Severe Regurgitation

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) associated with severe mitral regurgitation is a debilitating disease with no pharmacological therapies available. MicroRNAs (miRNA) represent an emerging class of circulating biomarkers that have never been evaluated in MVP human plasma. Our aim was to identify a possible miRNA signature that is able to discriminate MVP patients from healthy subjects (CTRL) and to shed light on the putative altered molecular pathways in MVP. We evaluated a plasma miRNA profile using Human MicroRNA Card A followed by real-time PCR validations. In addition, to assess the discriminative power of selected miRNAs, we implemented a machine learning analysis. MiRNA profiling and validations revealed that miR-140-3p, 150-5p, 210-3p, 451a, and 487a-3p were significantly upregulated in MVP, while miR-223-3p, 323a-3p, 340-5p, and 361-5p were significantly downregulated in MVP compared to CTRL (p ≤ 0.01). Functional analysis identified several biological processes possible linked to MVP. In addition, machine learning analysis correctly classified MVP patients from CTRL with high accuracy (0.93) and an area under the receiving operator characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.97. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study performed on human plasma, showing a strong association between miRNAs and MVP. Thus, a circulating molecular signature could be used as a first-line, fast, and cheap screening tool for MVP identification.     

Simultaneous determination of neonicotinoid insecticides in sunflower-treated seeds (hull and kernel) by LC-MS/MS

A validated analytical method to determine seven neonicotinoids (dinotefuran, nitenpyram, thiamethoxam, clothianidin, imidacloprid, acetamiprid and thiacloprid) in sunflower seeds (hull and kernel) using HPLC coupled to electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) is presented. Sample clean-up based on a solid–liquid extraction, and the removal of lipid fraction, in the case of kernels, is proposed and optimised. Low limits of detection and quantification were obtained, ranging from 0.3 × 10^–3 to 1.2 × 10^–3 µg g^–1 and from 1.0 × 10^–3 to 4.0 × 10^–3 µg g^–1, with good precision, and recovery values ranged from 90% to 104% for hulls and kernels. The method was applied for the analysis of five thiamethoxam-dressed sunflower seeds and four non-treated seeds, where, besides thiamethoxam, residues of the other neonicotinoid, clothianidin, were also detected and confirmed via tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). Finally, the presence of residues of thiamethoxam and clothianidin in collected sunflower seeds (hulls) coming from coated seeds confirmed the translocation of these neonicotinoids through the plant up to these seeds.     

Nanoconfined mixed Li and Mg borohydrides as materials for solid state hydrogen storage

Several mixtures of LiBH₄ and Mg(BH₄)₂ borohydrides in different stoichiometric ratios (1:0, 2:1, 1:1, 1:2, 0:1), prepared by high energy ball milling, have been investigated with X-ray powder diffraction and thermal programmed desorption (TPD) volumetric analysis to test the dehydrogenation kinetics in correlation with the physical mixture composition. Afterwards mixed and unmixed borohydrides were dispersed on high specific surface area ball milled graphite by means of the solvent infiltration technique. BET and statistical thickness methods were used to characterize the support surface properties, and SEM micrographs gave a better understanding of the preparation techniques. It has been observed by TPD volumetric measurements that the confinement of the reactive borohydrides on the nanoporous supports leads to a lower dehydrogenation temperature compared to unsupported borohydrides. Moreover, a further decrease of the dehydrogenation temperature has been observed by increasing the specific surface area of the support and the pores volume and by using the prepared mixtures instead of pure materials. The dehydrogenation process seems to be favoured by the heterogeneous nucleation on the graphite surface of decomposition products or intermediate phases from melted liquid borohydrides.