Internal Mix Research Articles

The Influence of Corporate Branding on Students' University Choice in Kenya

This article presents an exploratory study investigating the influence of corporate branding on the university choice of postgraduate students in selected universities in Kenya. The purpose of the research was to understand how internal, external, and service mix branding strategies shape students' perceptions and decisions. This study was significant as it sought to offer insights into the critical role of branding in the competitive higher education sector in Kenya. The study analyzed various branding strategies employed by universities, focusing on their effectiveness in shaping students’ perceptions of academic excellence, reputation, facilities, and overall value proposition. Data was collected through surveys with postgraduate students, providing a comprehensive view of the branding landscape. The findings highlighted that effective corporate branding significantly enhances the perceived academic strengths and unique programs of universities. The correlation between strong branding and perceptions of prestige was largely positive, as it required careful management to ensure that the emphasis on branding complements and enhances the actual quality and inclusiveness of the education provided. The promotion of state-of-the-art facilities and comprehensive branding that communicated the overall value and benefits of attending the university, including career prospects and alumni success, positively impacted students' choices. The study concluded that corporate branding substantially influences students' university choices in Kenya. It recommends that universities invest in robust and consistent branding strategies that clearly communicate their strengths and unique offerings. The study recommends that universities use both traditional and digital media to enhance their brand presence and engage with prospective students. It suggests that universities continuously assess and adapt their branding strategies to stay competitive in the dynamic educational environment in Kenya.

Fast and reliable method for analysis of derivatized plasma amino acids by liquid chromatography-single quadrupole-mass spectrometry

The pool of free, genetically encoded AA in plasma plays an essential role not only as substrate for every protein synthesized in the body but also as signaling molecules that regulate a wide range of physiological processes. Here we present a method for the analysis of 19 of the 20 encoded AA (except Cys) in dairy cow plasma. Isolated plasma or standards for the 19 AA were gravimetrically mixed with an internal standard mix consisting of 13C isotopes of each AA. Plasma proteins were precipitated on acetonitrile and supernatants transferred to glass vials. For pre-column derivatization, plasma supernatants were buffered with sodium borate (pH 9.5 −10), and AA were derivatized with 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) chloride. Analytes were isolated by solid-phase extraction using a strong-anionic ion exchange column and dry eluates were reconstituted in mobile phase consisting of 70% water solution of ammonium formate and 30% acetonitrile. Amino acid derivatives were separated by reverse phase liquid chromatography over 17.5 min with a C18 column in which acetonitrile increased to 80% over the first 11 min of the method, before returning to initial levels. Electrospray ionization on negative mode was used for most AA, except Arg and Pro, for which positive mode yielded superior results. Single or double (only Lys) derivatives were measured by single quadrupole mass spectrometry. We hypothesized that pre-column Fmoc derivatization would yield optimal resolution for quantitative analysis of the 19 targeted AA and their respective 13C internal standards, with limits of quantitation beyond physiological ranges. All the 19 AA were detected with minimal background noise. An 11-point standard curve was developed for each AA. Limits of quantitation were beyond concentrations observed in plasma samples of lactating dairy cows, except for Gly that upper curve points had to be removed to maintain linearity, limiting quantitation to the upper range of physiological concentration. After removing the 4 highest concentrations from the Gly standard curve, coefficients of determination were greater than 0.999 for all the AA. Recovery of spiked AA from plasma samples ranged from 89.9% for Phe to 100.3% for Trp. Instrument repeatability averaged 0.91 and ranged from 0.33 for Val to 2.29 for Arg. Meanwhile, sample preparation method repeatability averaged 2.02 and ranged from 1.14 for Tyr to 3.34 for Arg. While robust methods have been developed, they depend on either availability of sophisticated instruments, mostly limited to core facilities (i.e., tandem MS methods), long and expensive chromatography without specific internal standards for each AA (i.e., HPLC-UV and HPLC-FLD), or unstable derivatization (GC-MS). Here we describe a method with high throughput, stable derivatization, high precision and recovery, and potentially more affordable than most existing methods. This method could help dairy nutritionists to consider plasma AA information for diet formulation strategies, potentially reducing feeding costs and N emissions.

The Prevalence of Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus in Wild Rodents Captured in Tick-Borne Encephalitis Foci in Highly Endemic Lithuania.

Wild rodents are considered to be one of the most important TBEV-amplifying reservoir hosts; therefore, they may be suitable for foci detection studies. To investigate the effectiveness of viral RNA detection in wild rodents for suspected TBEV foci confirmation, we trapped small rodents (n = 139) in various locations in Lithuania where TBEV was previously detected in questing ticks. Murine neuroblastoma Neuro-2a cells were inoculated with each rodent sample to maximize the chances of detecting viral RNA in rodent samples. TBEV RNA was detected in 74.8% (CI 95% 66.7-81.1) of the brain and/or internal organ mix suspensions, and the prevalence rate increased significantly following sample cultivation in Neuro-2a cells. Moreover, a strong correlation (r = 0.88; p < 0.05) was found between the average monthly air temperature of rodent trapping and the TBEV RNA prevalence rate in cell culture isolates of rodent suspensions, which were PCR-negative before cultivation in cell culture. This study shows that wild rodents are suitable sentinel animals to confirm TBEV foci. In addition, the study results demonstrate that sample cultivation in cell culture is a highly efficient method for increasing TBEV viral load to detectable quantities.

Lieb-Schultz-Mattis anomalies and web of dualities induced by gauging in quantum spin chains

Lieb-Schultz-Mattis (LSM) theorems impose non-perturbative constraints on the zero-temperature phase diagrams of quantum lattice Hamiltonians (always assumed to be local in this paper). LSM theorems have recently been interpreted as the lattice counterparts to mixed ’t Hooft anomalies in quantum field theories that arise from a combination of crystalline and global internal symmetry groups. Accordingly, LSM theorems have been reinterpreted as LSM anomalies. In this work, we provide a systematic diagnostic for LSM anomalies in one spatial dimension. We show that gauging subgroups of the global internal symmetry group of a quantum lattice model obeying an LSM anomaly delivers a dual quantum lattice Hamiltonian such that its internal and crystalline symmetries mix non-trivially through a group extension. This mixing of crystalline and internal symmetries after gauging is a direct consequence of the LSM anomaly, i.e., it can be used as a diagnostic of an LSM anomaly. We exemplify this procedure for a quantum spin-1/2 chain obeying an LSM anomaly resulting from combining a global internal \mathbb{Z}^{\,}_{2}×\mathbb{Z}^{\,}_{2}ℤ2×ℤ2 symmetry with translation or reflection symmetry. We establish a triality of models by gauging a \mathbb{Z}^{\,}_{2}\subset\mathbb{Z}^{\,}_{2}×\mathbb{Z}^{\,}_{2}ℤ2⊂ℤ2×ℤ2 symmetry in two ways, one of which amounts to performing a Kramers-Wannier duality, while the other implements a Jordan-Wigner duality. We discuss the mapping of the phase diagram of the quantum spin-1/2 XYZXYZ chains under such a triality. We show that the deconfined quantum critical transitions between Neel and dimer orders are mapped to either topological or conventional Landau-Ginzburg transitions. Finally, we extend our results to \mathbb{Z}^{\,}_{n}ℤn clock models with \mathbb{Z}^{\,}_{n}×\mathbb{Z}^{\,}_{n}ℤn×ℤn global internal symmetry, and provide a reinterpretation of the dual internal symmetries in terms of \mathbb{Z}^{\,}_{n}ℤn charge and dipole symmetries.

OR33-03 Circadian Analysis Of Nuclear Receptor Protein Expression In Mouse Liver Reveals Peak COUP-TFII, EAR2, LXRa, LXRb And TR4 Expression At The End Of The Mouse Active Cycle ZT0

Abstract Disclosure: M.F. Saikali: None. J. Li: None. C.L. Cummins: None. Nuclear Receptors (NRs) are a family of ligand-mediated transcription factors that control the expression of genes involved in a wide range of physiological processes. The ability to study NRs quantitatively at the protein level has been hindered by the poor quality of available antibodies, as well as the lack of available high throughput methods to study more than a few receptors at a time. To address this need, we have developed a mass spectrometry based targeted proteomic assay to quantify the absolute amounts of NR protein in mouse livers over a circadian period. C57Bl6 mice were sacrificed at 12 weeks every 4 hours from zeitgeber time ZT0 to ZT20. Their livers were processed using a transcription factor extraction protocol1. For each sample, 100 µg nuclear protein was processed using the NR assay described previously2. Briefly, the lysate is digested following the Multi-Enzyme Digestion Filter Aided Sample Preparation protocol. The sample is then spiked with 50 fmol of our internal standard mix. This mix is composed of 66 carefully selected peptides that account for 49 NRs, 11 histone peptides, and 6 circadian clock proteins. The resulting digest that contains the internal standards is desalted on C18 tips, followed by separation on an EASY-Spray C18 column (75 um x 50 cm, 3Å), and analyzed on a Thermo QExactive HF mass spectrometer in parallel reaction monitoring mode. We used this assay to quantify the changes in NR protein expression in mouse livers for 9 receptors; RORα, CAR, COUP-TFII, EAR2, GR, LXRα, LXRβ, PPARα, and TR4. RORα showed peak nuclear expression at ZT0, with a peak-to-trough change of 2.2-fold. COUP-TFII, EAR2, LXRα, LXRβ, and TR4 also showed peak expression at ZT0 (the end of the active phase) with changes of 3.3, 2.4, 1.7, 2.0, and 1.6-fold respectively. GR showed peak nuclear expression at ZT12 with a 1.8-fold change. CAR showed 2.3-fold peak expression at ZT16. COUP-TFII, EAR2, and TR4 are considered orphan receptors with no known endogenous ligands. These data will be used to uncover endogenous tissue-specific ligands by analyzing extracts isolated at the zeitgeber time that the receptor is maximally expressed. Sources of Research Support: This project has been supported by the J. P. Bickell Foundation and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Frontiers Research Fund and International Development Research Fund. 1.Gillespie, M. A. et al. Absolute Quantification of Transcription Factors Reveals Principles of Gene Regulation in Erythropoiesis. Mol Cell (2020) doi:10.1016/j.molcel.2020.03.031.2.Saikali, M. F. &amp; Cummins, C. L. Quantifying the Protein Levels of All Nuclear Hormone Receptors by Mass Spectrometry. J Endocr Soc5, (2021). Presentation: Sunday, June 18, 2023

Identifying Karst Aquifer Recharge Area Using Environmental Stable Isotopes and Hydrochemical Data: A Case Study in Nusa Penida Island

Identifying the recharge area of karst aquifers is scientifically challenging due to the complexity of karst groundwater flow characteristics. It is essential to identify the recharge zones to conserve the groundwater resources contained within these aquifers. This paper proposes a combined methods for identifying recharge area of karst aquifers on Nusa Penida Island using stable isotopes (18O and 2H) and a hydrogeochemical approach. Based on the analysis of δ18O and δ2H values and their spatial distribution, it is possible to retrace karst aquifer recharge areas using average isotope elevations. In the meantime, groundwater facies will be determined in the karst region of Nusa Penida using the hydrogeochemical approach with the Piper diagram. According to the calculation of water stable isotope results, the average elevation of the groundwater recharge area at the study site is between 62 - 450 meters. If applied to the location of the study, the recharge area is almost entirely distributed across Nusa Penida. In addition, based on the hydrogeochemical analysis, the groundwater type at the study site can be divided into three categories: Na-Cl, mixed, and Mg-HCO3. The water types indicate that the groundwater in Nusa Penida comes from a combination of old water stored from its internal geological formations and mix with modern rainwater.&#x0D;

Utility of detecting fentanyl analogs during LC-MS/MS confirmation for positive fentanyl urine drug screens

Abstract Introduction Fentanyl immunoassays have considerable crossreactvitiy with fentanyl derivatives such as acetylfentanyl, acrylfentanyl, furanyfentanyl and the primary fentanyl metabolite norfentanyl. This poses substantial analytical challenges to clinical laboratories that confirm fentanyl by mass spectrometry and may lead to false negative confirmations in patients that have analogs or primarily metabolites in their urine. As a result, some laboratories have developed targeted liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LS-MS/MS) methods to detect analogs and/or metabolites. However, there is no data in the literature demonstrating the frequency of analog detection in urine drugs screens, and the potential false positive immunoassay rate as a result of analogs and metabolites that are undetected is not known. Of note, acetyl-, acryl- and furanyl-fentanyl analogs have been confirmed in our testing region, and they cross-react with the Ark Fentanyl I and II immunoassays. Methods Results from 6,192 urine drugs screens positive for fentanyl by immunoassay [ARK I fentanyl assay and ARK II fentanyl immunoassays between January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021 performed on a Roche cobas c502 chemistry analyzer with confirmatory LC-MS/MS (Waters Xevo TLD) at the Barnes Jewish Hospital Laboratory (St. Louis, MO) were retrospectively extracted from the laboratory information system (Cerner). The confirmatory assay was clinically validated to detect fentanyl (0.3 ng/mL), norfentanyl (5 ng/mL), acetylfentanyl (1 ng/mL), acrylfentanyl (1 ng/mL), and furanylfentanyl (1 ng/mL). An internal standard mix was added to patient samples followed by vortexing, centrifugation, and separation of the supernatant over a 6min linear gradient using a 2.1 × 150 mm 1.8µm C18 column. Data were acquired in positive ion mode and resulted as positive if predefined criteria for relative retention time, product ion ratio, peak shape/resolution, and signal intensity were met. Results 84.8% of the samples (n= 5247) confirmed positive for fentanyl, norfentanyl or a fentanyl analog, whereas 15.2% (n=944) did not confirm by LC-MS/MS. Of the 5247 positive results, fentanyl alone was present in 1,279 (24.4%) specimens while norfentanyl alone was present in 235 (4.48%) specimens. Both fentanyl and norfentanyl were present in 3968 (75.6%) specimens. 239 (4.55%) specimens confirmed positive for acetylfentanyl, all of which (100%) had fentanyl and/or norfentanyl concurrently detected. Among 61 (1.16%) specimens which were positive for acrylfentanyl, fentanyl and/or norfentanyl were concurrently detected in 60 specimens, and 1 had neither fentanyl nor norfentanyl detected. Furanylfentanyl was undetected in all specimens. Conclusions The fentanyl analogs acetylfentanyl, acrylfentanyl, and furnaylfentanyl are infrequently detected in our patient population. Furthermore, the assessed analogs are almost exclusively detected in the presence of fentanyl and/or norfentanyl by LC-MS/MS confirmatory assays. This implies that fentanyl analogs may not be a common source of false positive results by fentanyl immunoassays.

New Analytical Method for Quantifying Flavoring Chemicals of Potential Respiratory Health Risk Concerns in e-Cigarette Liquids.

Numerous flavoring chemicals are added to e-cigarette liquids to create various flavors. Flavorings provide sensory experience to users and increase product appeal; however, concerns have been raised about their potential inhalation toxicity. Estimating potential health risk of inhaling these chemicals has been challenging since little is known about their actual concentrations in e-cigarette products. To date, a limited number of analytical methods exist to measure the concentrations of flavoring chemicals in e-cigarette products. We have developed an analytical method that accurately and precisely measures the concentrations of 20 flavoring chemicals of potential inhalation risk concerns: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine, acetoin, benzaldehyde, benzyl alcohol, butanoic acid, dl-limonene, ethyl maltol, ethyl salicylate, ethyl vanillin, eucalyptol, eugenol, furaneol, isovanillin, l-menthol, maltol, methyl salicylate, pulegone, trans-cinnamaldehyde, triacetin, and vanillin. Calibration and QC solutions were prepared in 50:50 propylene glycol (PG):vegetable glycerin (VG) and 5% H2O and flavoring concentrations ranging from 0.02 to 10.00 mg/ml. Samples of commercial e-cigarette liquids, calibration and QC solutions were combined with 30 µL of an internal standard mix (benzene-d6, pyridine-d5, chlorobenzene-d5, naphthalene-d8 and acenaphthene-d10; 1 mg/ml each) and were diluted 100-fold into methanol. Analysis was performed on an Agilent 7890B/7250 GC/Q-TOF using a DB-624UI column (30 m x 0.25 mmID x 1.4 μm film thickness), with a total runtime of 13.5 min. Calibration curves were fit using a weighted quadratic model and correlations of determination (r 2) values exceeded 0.990 for all chemicals. Bias and precision tests yielded values less than 20% and lower limits of quantitation (LLOQ) ranged from 0.02 to 0.63 mg/ml. Over 200 commercially available products, purchased or collected from adult e-cigarette users and spanning a range of flavor categories, were evaluated with this method. Concentrations of pulegone, a suspected carcinogen, varied from below limit of quantitation (BLOQ) to 0.32 mg/ml, while acetoin and vanillin, known precursors to more cytotoxic byproducts, ranged from BLOQ to 1.52 mg/ml and from BLOQ to 16.22 mg/ml, respectively. This method features a wide dynamic working range and allows for a rapid routine analysis of flavoring additives in commercial e-cigarette liquids.

Internal Marketing and its Impact on the Organizational Commitment of Employees in Airlines

Internal Marketing (IM) is considered a sustainable management philosophy using a marketing-like approach to motivate employees and achieve long-term objectives such as increasing employee retention. This paper aims to investigate the effect of internal marketing mix elements (internal product, internal price, internal promotion, internal distribution, internal people, internal processes and internal physical evidence) on employee organizational commitment of the airlines in Egypt. Using a sample of 405 employees at different administrative levels in airlines. The questionnaire forms were used and distributed on paper and electronically in 18 airlines in Egypt. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and regression analysis were used to find the results. The paper found that the internal marketing elements (internal product, internal price, internal promotion, internal people, internal processes) have a statistically significant effect on the employee organizational commitment in airlines. Based on the study results, the researchers recommend the managers and decision makers of the airlines in Egypt to enhance the internal market research and segmentation, training programs, role fit and clarity, career advancement for all employees, financial rewards, internal communication, automating tasks, applying the delegating and supporting style of management, and improving their work environment. HR and Marketing should work together in the airlines to help the employees enjoying their job experiences, improving their quality of life and then increasing their organizational commitment.

Enantioselective multiple heart cutting online two-dimensional liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry of all proteinogenic amino acids with second dimension chiral separations in one-minute time scales on a chiral tandem column

In this work, we present a unique, robust and fully automated analytical platform technology for the enantioselective amino acid analysis using a multiple heart cutting RPLC-enantio/stereoselective HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS method. This 2D-LC method allows the full enantioselective separation of 20 proteinogenic AAs plus 5 isobaric analogues, namely allo-Threonine (aThr), homoserine (Hse), allo-isoleucine (aIle), tert-Leucine (Tle) and Norleucine (Nle), after pre-column derivatization with 6-aminoquinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate (AQC; AccQ). This N-terminal AA-derivatization method introduces on the one hand beneficial chromatographic properties for 1D RP-LC (stronger retention) and 2D chiral separation (better chiral recognition), and on the other hand favorable detection properties with its chromophoric, fluorophoric, and easily ionizable quinoline mass tag. The entire separation occurs within a total 2DLC run time of 45 min, which includes the 1D-RP run and the 68 s 2D chiral separations of 30 heart-cuts (from the 1D-RP-run) on a chiral quinine carbamate (core-shell QNAX/fully porous ZWIX) tandem column. This relatively short overall run time was only possible by utilizing the highly efficient “smart peak parking” algorithm for the heart cuts and the resulting optimized analysis order thereof. 1D retention time precisions of <0.21% RSD were a requirement for the time-based sampling mode and finally led to a robust, fully automated enantioselective amino acid analysis platform.This achiral-chiral 2DLC method was applied for the amino acid stereoconfiguration assignment of three peptides (aureobasidin A, a lipopeptide research sample, and octreotide) using an L-[u-13C15N] labelled internal AA standard mix spiked to each sample. The isotopically labelled L-AA standard allowed an easy and straightforward identification and configuration assignment, as well as the relative quantification of amino acids within the investigated peptides, allowing the direct determination of the number of respective amino acids and their chirality within a peptide.

Trace element levels in pleural effusions.

Trace element levels in pleural effusions.

Can internal marketing activities save small and medium industrial enterprises in a tough economy Back to the basics approach

Recently, and due to the economic pressure in Jordan, several small and medium enterprises have filed for bankruptcy, or downsized their business leading to the layout of hundreds of employees, which will deepen the economic problems in Jordan and increase the circle of effect. Small and medium enterprises can follow other courses of actions to address such issue. This paper aims to understand the possible impact of internal marketing practices and activities during economic problems on the employees' productivity in small and medium industrial enterprises. In order to achieve this aim, a descriptive analytical methodology was used, quantitative approach through survey strategy was applied and electronically administrated questionnaires were utilised to collect the primary data from a representative stratified random sample of 490 small and medium industrial enterprises out of 2,291 registered local small and medium industrial enterprises. 345 filtered and screened questionnaires were analysed using SPSS, the main results of simple and multiple regression analyses indicate that internal marketing mix has a strong positive direct effect on employees' productivity, where internal promotion has the most effect followed by workplace, internal product and internal price respectively. Discussion, conclusion, and recommendations are provided based on the results of the study.

Numerical study on spray characteristic of double phases internal mix atomizer with Lagrangian approach

در این پژوهش، مطالعه عددی بر روی مشخصات افشانه یک انژکتور دوپایه ترکیب داخلی دو فاز به کمک روش لاگرانژی در فضای گسسته صورت گرفته­ است. برای بررسی انژکتور، معادلات اویلری برای جریان دوفازی داخل انژکتور و معادلات لاگرانژی برای مدلسازی جریان دوفازی خارج انژکتور به کار گرفته­شده و از روش توربولانسیK-ɛ برای تعیین انرژی توربولانس استفاده شده ­است. در این پژوهش آب به جای سوخت و نیتروژن به عنوان فاز گازی انتخاب شده و با تنظیم نسبت دبی جرمی نیتروژن به آب معادل32/0 و متعاقب آن بدست آمدن زاویه پاشش 26درجه، مشخصات قطرات بررسی شده و با نتایج روش ماکزیمم آنتروپی مورد مقایسه قرار گرفته ­است. سپس مشخصات ذرات با تغییر مقادیر ورودی فازهای مایع و گازی بررسی شده و بر اساس آن امکان بهینه­ سازی انژکتور برای شرایط راندمان حداکثری از منظر قطر قطرات، سرعت قطرات و میزان نفوذ با مدلسازی عددی و با نیاز حداقلی به نتایج تجربی فراهم شده است.

고객의 지각된 서비스 진정성과 고객 행복 및 종업원 행복의 순환적 관계에 관한 연구

The purpose of this study is to present implications of various perspectives on employees" authenticity. Internal marketing mix provided by the firm affects employee emotional labor, reward system and intercommunication. They have positive effects on decrease of emotional labor of employees. In addition, organizational authenticity has an important role in affecting employees" emotional labor. It is not only perceived by the relationship between the customer and the employee, but also the employee can perceive the authenticity of the internal marketing provided by the organization. As a result, organizational authenticity moderated effects of internal marketing mix on emotional labor and employee authenticity. In addition, employee authenticity has a positive effect on firm performance. As a result, employee authenticity has a positive relationship on employee happiness through customer happiness and job satisfaction.

Determination of organochlorine and organophosphorus residues in surface waters from the coffee zone in Quindío, Colombia

The aim of this study was to identify organochlorine (OC) and organophosphorus (OP) pesticides levels in water samples collected in secondary water bodies in agricultural area planted with coffee and plantain. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out. A validated method for microwave-assisted extraction and gas chromatography with electron microcapture detector (MAE-GC-μECD) was used to analyze pesticide residues in samples. The determinations were based on certified reference material, Organochlorine Pesticide Mix AB #3, Canadian Drinking Organophosphorus Pesticides Mix, and pentachloronitrobenzene (ISTD) Internal Standard Mix 508.1. Pesticide residues were found in 81.3% of the samples, including OCs: 4.4′-DDT (38%), endosulfan II (19.7%), endosulfan sulfate, and endrin (11.7% and 8.8%), and others identified as 4.4′-DDE, Delta-HCB, parathion, chlorpyrifos, endrin aldehyde, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, endrin ketone, and methoxychlor. Parathion and/or chlorpyrifos were found in 5.8–8% of samples; the water bodies most heavily affected were those in Filandia and Quimbaya in which 100% of samples were contaminated, followed by those in Calarcá, Córdoba, Pijao, and Génova, with contamination found in over 75% of samples. The results indicated that surface waters from Quindío municipalities are contaminated with pesticide residues hazardous to human health, which are still in use despite being either restricted or prohibited.

A homologous series of internal standards for near universal application in the discovery LC-MS/MS bioanalytical laboratory

When using Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) to quantify In Vivo samples, an internal standard (ISTD) is key in correcting for variability within the sample extraction process and injection volume. Just as important is the ability of the internal standard to identify any matrix effects, which can artificially suppress or enhance the signal of the compound of interest. To properly do this, the internal standard should co-elute with the compound. A common source of potential matrix effects with In Vivo studies is from the excipient(s) used to formulate the compound for dosing. In the world of high-throughput discovery bioanalysis, a lab can quantitate over a hundred compounds each week, many of which are evaluated once, and rarely is a stable-isotope labeled (SIL) internal standard available (the industry gold standard). Finding a suitable and easy-to-use alternative LC–MS/MS method is important to providing high quality data. To overcome this challenge, a homologous series of compounds was synthesized to improve the chromatographic range for co-eluting ISTD’s. This novel mix of internal standards was shown to have key characteristics making it ideal for use as a near universal internal standard mix including but not limited to: they ionize in both positive and negative modes, they are susceptible to signal perturbation from common formulation excipients, and they cover a wide range of retention times.

Managing Internal Marketing Mix to Build Competitive Advantages In Companies - Study on a Sample of Algerian Private Health Institutions

The aim of this study to test the relationship of internal marketing mix management with build competitive advantages in the Algerian private health organizations companies. This study was conducted based on a psychometrically validated questionnaire, designed and distributed to a random sample of 176 managers of Algerian private medical and medical surgical companies. The response rate was 76% as 134 managers filled the questionnaire. The questionnaire included (44) questions. Statistical methods have been used to analyse the three hypotheses developed.&#x0D; In particularly, we found that: (a) there is statistically significant on the existence of internal marketing mix management in Algerian private health companies. (b) Internal marketing mix management is positively associated with build competitive advantages in Algerian private health companies. (C)There is a statistically significant relationship difference amongst Algerian private health companies toward “build competitive advantages by Internal marketing Mix Management” due to experience of company

호텔기업의 내부마케팅 요소가 종업원 진정성에 미치는 영향: 자기효능감과 시민행동의 조절효과

본 연구는 내부마케팅요소가 내부고객 만족을 통해 진정성에 미치는 영향에 대해 연구하였다. 본 연구를 위해 부산지역 호텔 3곳인 라발스, 롯데호텔, 웨스틴 조선 종업원을 표본으로 구성하였다. 자료수집결과 총 245명을 통해 설문을 진행하였으며 결과적으로 불성실한 자료 및 설문 문항에 대한 기록이 누락 된 자료 24부를 제외한 221부를 통계분석에 활용하였다. 내부마케팅이 내부고객만족에 미치는 영향을 분석하기 위해 내부마케팅은 5가지 하위 요소로 구성하였다. 그리고 전반적인 분석을 위해 구조방정식을 활용하였으며, 자기효능감과 시민행동의 조절효과 분석을 위해서는 PROCESS를 활용하였다. 내부마케팅이 내부고객만족에 미치는 영향을 분석한 결과 서비스 유연성과, 교육훈련, 보상시스템은 내부고객만족에 정(+)의 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 그리고 내부소통은 내부고객만족에는 유의한 영향을 미치지 못하였으나, 종업원 진정성에는 긍정적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 분석되었다. 그리고 내부고객만족이 진정성에 미치는 영향에 있어 종업원의 개인적 특성인 자기효능감의 조절효과를 검증한 결과 긍정적인 조절효과가 있는 것으로 분석되었다. 본 연구의 중요한 시사점은 내부마케팅의 각 요인이 진정성에 미치는 효과와 내부고객만족에 미치는 효과가 상이하다는 것이다. 내부마케팅요소 중 내부소통은 내부고객만족에는 중요하게 작용하지 않으나, 내부소통을 통해 감정노동의 정도를 낮추고 진정성 있는 서비스를 창출하는데 매우 중요한 역할을 하였다. 그리고 내부마케팅 요소 중 보상시스템은 내부고객만족에는 긍정적인 영향을 나타냈으나, 종업원 진정성에는 유의한 영향을 주지 못하였다.

Whether the Policy Mix in the Brexit Process Is a Simple Accumulation of Short-Term Temporary Decisions or a Series of Long-Term Careful Considerations: A New Framework for Macroeconomic Policy Assessment

Previous studies and policymaker remarks suggest that whether the policy mix in a great crisis or a big event is a simple accumulation of short-term temporary decisions or a series of long-term careful considerations could even lead the great crisis or the big event in completely different directions under government intervention. The UK-EU Membership Referendum in Jun-2016 which has officially kicked off the Brexit process and been considered as one of the biggest events in the world economy and politics makes the above theoretical and practical themes on policy mix return to the forefront amid concerns. This study first builds two diagram frameworks on the basis of improved Mundell Assignment Rule and modified Swan Model to help define the theoretical optimal policy path as the comparison standard for empirically assessing various types of policy mix in the Brexit process, subsequently the searching of the unique theoretical optimal policy path with the least distance from the actual evolution path driven by policy mix is converted into a classical primal-dual optimization problem, which can be solved through the collaboration of the GRG (abbreviation for generalized reduced gradient) nonlinear algorithm and the evolutionary algorithm. The assessment results can be generally described as only “expenditure-changing policies minus external balance related components of monetary policies” and “mix of expenditure-changing policies and expenditure-switching policies” during the Brexit process are assessed to be more like a series of long-term careful considerations, while fiscal policies, monetary policies, expenditure-changing policies (as mix of fiscal policies and monetary policies), expenditure-switching policies plus external balance related components of monetary policies, internal balance related overall policy mix, external balance related overall policy mix, and overall policy mix during the Brexit process could only be evaluated to be more like a simple accumulation of short-term temporary decisions. However, these assessment results are sensitive to specific rules set by specific scenarios, assessment results under either the scenario “limited-size backward step allowed” or the scenario “backward step allowed but punished” are significantly better than those under the above original scenario “only step in the target direction allowed”, while assessment results under the scenario “different target directions for different periods” are only slightly better than those under the above original scenario.

Internal marketing, service quality and perceived customer satisfaction

PurposeThis study aims to explore the extent to which internal marketing influences employees’ perceived ability to deliver service quality in the Islamic banking industry in Oman. Additionally, the influence of perceived service quality on perceived customer satisfaction is established.Design/methodology/approachData was obtained from retail banking branch employees at the customer front line of Islamic banks in Oman using electronic and person-administered surveys, and 272 responses were deemed suitable for data analysis. The measurement and structural models were measured through structural equation modelling.FindingsThe findings show that internal promotion, internal process and internal purpose are enablers of employees’ perceived ability to deliver service quality in the Islamic banking industry of Oman. In addition, service quality was found to have a strong positive influence on perceived customer satisfaction in Islamic banks.Research limitations/implicationsThis study demonstrates that internal product, internal price, internal promotion, internal process and internal purpose are influencers of service quality, and the latter has a direct relationship with perceived customer satisfaction in Islamic banking.Practical implicationsThe findings can guide the Islamic banking sector in Oman on how internal marketing can foster service quality, ultimately leading to positive perceived customer satisfaction experiences.Originality/valueThe internal marketing mix model is predominately a Western model, which has been tested primarily in mature Western markets. This study reflects on ten internal marketing mix elements, which have been tested for the enablement of service quality and perceived customer satisfaction in Oman.