Applied Science Private University

About: Applied Science Private University is a education organization based out in Amman, Jordan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Catalysis. The organization has 4124 authors who have published 5299 publications receiving 116167 citations.

The Impact of Supply Chain Management Practices on Supply Chain Performance in Jordan: The Moderating Effect of Competitive Intensity

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to test the impact of supply chain management practices on supply chain performance in terms of supply chain efficiency and supply chain effectiveness. Additionally, we investigate the moderating effect of competitive intensity on the relationship between supply chain management practices and supply chain performance. Data for this research were collected from 104 manufacturing companies in Jordan. Hierarchical regressions were used to test the hypothesized relationships. The results indicate that three supply chain management practices, internal integration, information sharing, and postponement, but not supplier integration and customer integration, significantly and positively affect supply chain efficiency performance. Competitive intensity moderates the relationship between each of internal integration, supplier integration, and customer integration, and supply chain efficiency performance. The results also show that three supply chain management practices, internal integration, customer integration, and postponement, but not supplier integration and information sharing, significantly and positively affect supply chain effectiveness performance. Competitive intensity moderates the relationship between each of customer integration and information sharing, and supply chain effectiveness performance.

Thermal relaxation of residual stress in laser shock peened Ti–6Al–4V alloy

Abstract: Laser shock peening (LSP) induced residual stresses in Ti–6Al–4V, and their thermal relaxation due to short-term exposure at elevated temperatures are investigated by an integrated modeling/simulation and experimental approach. A rate and temperature-dependent plasticity model in the form of Johnson–Cook (JC) has been employed to represent the nonlinear constitutive behavior under both LSP and thermal loads. By comparing the simulation results with experimental data, model parameters for Ti–6Al–4V are first calibrated and subsequently applied in analyzing the thermal stability of the residual stress in LSP-treated Ti–6Al–4V. The analysis shows that the magnitude of stress relaxation increases with the increase of applied temperature due to material softening. Most of stress relaxation occurs before 10 min to 20 min exposure in this study, and stress distribution becomes more uniform after thermal exposure. An analytical model based on the Zener–Wert–Avrami formula is then developed based on the simulation results. The activation enthalpy of the relaxation process for laser shock peened Ti–6Al–4V is determined to be in the range of 0.71 eV to 1.37 eV.

Quantification of random motility and chemotaxis bacterial transport coefficients using individual-cell and population-scale assays

Abstract: A number of individual-cell and population-scale assays have been introduced to quantify bacterial motility and chemotaxis. The transport coefficients reported in the literature, however, span several orders of magnitude, making it difficult to ascertain to what degree variations in bacterial species/strain, growth medium, growth and experimental conditions, and experiment type contribute to the reported differences in coefficient values. We quantified the random motility of Escherichia coli AW405 using the capillary assay, stopped-flow diffusion chamber (SFDC), and tracking microscope. We obtained good agreement for the random motility coefficient between these assays when using the same bacterial strain and consistent growth and experimental conditions. Chemotaxis of E. coli toward the attractant alpha-methylaspartate was quantified using the SFDC and capillary assay. Good agreement for the chemotactic sensitivity coefficient between the SFDC and the capillary assay was obtained across a limited attractant concentration range. Three different mathematical models were considered for analyzing capillary assay data to obtain a chemotactic sensitivity coefficient. These models differed by their treatment of the bacterial concentration in the chamber and the attractant concentration at the mouth. Results from our study indicate that the capillary assay, the most commonly used bacterial random motility and chemotaxis assay, can be used to accurately quantify bacterial transport coefficients over a limited range of attractant concentrations, provided experiments are performed carefully and appropriate mathematical models are used to interpret the experimental data.

Body habitus and coronary heart disease in men : A review with reference to methods of body habitus assessment

Abstract: Table 1 is a synopsis of the major findings from an extensive literature on the association between human body habitus and coronary heart disease. Whilst some studies have used quite sophisticated laboratory procedures to quantify body fat most have relied upon anthropometric measurements to determine some component of body habitus. Of these, body weight and height are the simplest measurements and are, therefore, well-suited to large-scale prospective studies. Height and weight are highly reproducible measurements, although in the short term, weight can have considerable physiological variation associated with gastric emptying and state of hydration. Less reliable measurements than height and weight are skinfolds and body circumferences, both of which have been used extensively in cross-sectional and prospective analyses. For skinfolds, both the inter and intra-observer variability is affected by the measurement technique, location of the skinfold site, the skinfold caliper used and skinfold compressibility. As measurement error has been shown to be a function of skinfold thickness, accurate and repeatable skinfold measurements are particularly difficult to make in the obese. In these subjects, it is not always possible to locate a specific anatomical bony landmark or to pull a parallel skinfold away from the underlying tissue. Furthermore, in the extremely obese it is sometimes possible for a skinfold to be thicker than the jaws of the currently available commercial calipers. Alternately, body circumferences are obtainable in all subjects and have greater reproducibility than skinfolds. They are, therefore, the preferred method in obese subjects. However, there is considerable work to be done to establish their association with body fatness. The evidence examined in this review suggests that body weight is a poor predictor of coronary heart disease. Some studies have reported no difference in the body weight of coronary heart disease patients compared to subjects free of the disease, others found the body weight of subjects with coronary heart disease to be slightly greater, and one found the body weight of cardiac patients to be less than controls. Height, however, is associated with coronary heart disease in prospective studies with long-term and shorter-term follow-up periods and case-control designs. Fetal, infant and childhood under-nutrition may link shorter adult height and susceptibility to cardiovascular disease. Many researchers have studied the relationship between overweight and coronary heart disease by using a surrogate measurement of body fatness such as relative weight or a weight-for-height index. In general, results produced by these studies suggest weight-for-height indices, particularly the often used body mass index, are not strong predictors of coronary heart disease. Indeed case-control designs have consistently failed to show a relationship between body mass index and coronary heart disease. Inconsistent results from prospective studies, however, are difficult to interpret. To further confuse the situation, the body mass index has been examined in relation to different coronary heart disease end-points and adjusted for different confounding variables. Explaining the inconsistent results on the basis of length of follow-up is also not straightforward. When follow-up periods exceed 20 years, and sample size is small, however, this closer association has not been found, even with a long follow-up period. Whilst some studies have found no association after 15, 13 and 12 years others have reported a relationship after 8.5, 10, 12, 10 and 7 years. The 22 year follow-up evidence from the Framingham Study shows the strongest 'independent' association between body mass index and coronary heart disease. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)