Small Members Research Articles

Experimental Study for Single-Angle Beam-Column Members Attached by one Leg

To obtain a better understanding of the behavior and load-carrying capacity of Q460 high-strength single-angle compression members bolted by one leg, using static loading way to 48 angles carried out experimental study. The experiments show test specimens produce biaxial bending, most small slenderness ratio members are controlled by local buckling, and slender specimens are controlled by overall buckling. In addition to these factors in model experiment, influences of residual stresses on ultimate load-carrying capacity were analyzed by finite element numerical simulation analysis, the results show the residual stresses affect the ultimate load-carrying capacity of angles by about 5％ or less. Comparison of the load-carrying capacity of experimental and theoretical results indicate the difference of experimental and finite element values ranges from -9.99％ to +9.76％, American Design of Latticed Steel Transmission Structure (ASCE10-1997) and Chinese Code for Design of Steel Structures (GB50017-2003) underestimate separately the experimental load-carrying capacity by about 2.34％～33.93％ and 1.18％～63.3％, and the agreement is somewhat good between experimental program and the finite element analysis. Based on model experiment and simulated experiment, the formula of stability coefficient of single-angle compression members was established. It provides basic data for spreading Q460 high-strength single-angles members attached by one leg.

Taking Stock: The UN Security Council and the Rule of Law

Dialogue with Member States on the Rule of Law at the International Level, Thursday, 28 October 2010, United Nations Headquarters: Keynote Address.It is now six years since we organized, working with the Austrian Mission to the UN, the first panel on the UN Security Council and the Rule of Law. The series of panels culminated in a report that summarized key findings and proposed concrete recommendations that would enhance the role of the Council in strengthening a rules-based international system.From the beginning, we decided that our work should be pragmatic and realistic. We decided not to consider proposals that would require amending the Charter (such as expanding the membership of the Council) or look narrowly at the foreign policy of specific states.We also attempted to take into account the interests of large and small states, permanent and non-permanent members of the Council, and those from the global South as well as the industrialized North.At the same time, the report that was produced in 2008 was intended to be the starting point for further, more concrete discussion to support the Council’s role in strengthening a rules-based international system and maintaining international peace and security under the rule of law.Today is a billed as a “stock-taking” exercise. I’m an academic, but I don’t think it’s appropriate to grade the performance of the Council in this area.Instead, what I would like to do is take the opportunity to look back at why we started this process; consider what has been happening in recent years, in particular since the report; and look forward at where we might be going.I will refer to these three parts of my presentation as “past”, “present”, and “future”.

The Asteroid Veritas: An intruder in a family named after it?

The Veritas family is located in the outer main belt and is named after its apparent largest constituent, Asteroid (490) Veritas. The family age has been estimated by two independent studies to be quite young, around 8 Myr. Therefore, current properties of the family may retain signatures of the catastrophic disruption event that formed the family. In this paper, we report on our investigation of the formation of the Veritas family via numerical simulations of catastrophic disruption of a 140-km-diameter parent body, which was considered to be made of either porous or non-porous material, and a projectile impacting at 3 or 5 km/s with an impact angle of 0° or 45°. Not one of these simulations was able to produce satisfactorily the estimated size distribution of real family members. Based on previous studies devoted to either the dynamics or the spectral properties of the Veritas family, which already treated (490) Veritas as a special object that may be disconnected from the family, we simulated the formation of a family consisting of all members except that asteroid. For that case, the parent body was smaller (112 km in diameter), and we found a remarkable match between the simulation outcome, using a porous parent body, and the real family. Both the size distribution and the velocity dispersion of the real reduced family are very well reproduced. On the other hand, the disruption of a non-porous parent body does not reproduce the observed properties very well. This is consistent with the spectral C-type of family members, which suggests that the parent body was porous and shows the importance of modeling the effect of this porosity in the fragmentation process, even if the largest members are produced by gravitational reaccumulation during the subsequent gravitational phase. As a result of our investigations, we conclude that it is very likely that the Asteroid (490) Veritas and probably several other small members do not belong to the family as originally defined, and that the definition of this family should be revised. Further investigations will be performed to better constrain the definitions and properties of other asteroid families of different types, using the appropriate model of fragmentation. The identification of very young families in turn will continue to serve as a tool to check the validity of numerical models.

Taxonomy of asteroids in the Cybele region from the analysis of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey colors

In this paper we search for photometric data of asteroids in the outer region of the Hecuba gap in the Moving Object Catalogue of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to find the spectrophotometric characteristics of small members of this group. We found that the correlation between size and spectral slope previously identified for Cybele asteroids is correct only for large objects ( H V < 12 ) but it is not supported by data obtained for the small ones. This result argues against the scenario suggesting that D-type objects are more fragile than P-types, favoring disruptive collisions of precursors of the first type and resulting in a larger fraction of the smaller body population being collisional fragments from a few large D-type precursors. A statistical comparison of the spectral slope histograms of Cybeles and Hildas showed that it is not possible to reject the hypothesis that both samples were obtained from the same population at a confident limit of 90%. This result could be indicative of certain homogeneity in the taxonomic distributions of the outer belt populations due to a similar original composition and/or a similar resurfacing processes of these distant bodies. Despite the intrinsic limitations of the five band photometry of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the analysis presented is based mainly in the detection of spectral slopes thus providing sufficient indication of the taxonomic type of these asteroids and making us confident about our conclusions.

Building Democracy with Equality: The Participatory Experience in the Rural Province of Anta, Cusco, Peru

The province of Anta, in the region of Cusco, has been the site of an important process of political and social participation which has involved the increasing articulation of rural communities, traditionally excluded from the state political dynamics, with urban organisations and local governments. The process began in the district of Limatambo, where participatory governance measures were developed to engage small farmers and members of rural communities in a significant socialisation of power. The success of this experience led to the victory of the local political group in the provincial elections, the next level of government. Among the many different actors involved were political organisations, farm communities, neighbourhood associations, grass roots organisations and non‐governmental organisations (NGOs).

Selective mortality of larval Japanese seabass in Ariake Bay, Japan

This article describes the growth, mortality, and selection patterns in early larval stage of Japanese seabass Lateolabrax japonicus in Ariake Bay, Kyushu, Japan. Japanese seabass larvae were collected from the spawning ground in December 2007, and juveniles were collected from the nursery ground in March 2008. Otoliths were analyzed to produce back-calculated daily records of size-at-age and growth rate. Back-calculated growth rates and sizes were compared between larvae and juveniles to determine whether selective mortality occurred. A weight-specific growth coefficient (G) and instantaneous mortality coefficient (M) were computed, and the recruitment potential was evaluated from the ratio of M:G. Selection for fast-growing and bigger larvae was evident during the 5–14 days after hatching (DAH). Selective mortality acted to preferentially remove fish that were slow growing and/or relatively small members of the cohort at least during the period examined. Trends in the growth rate differences between larvae and juveniles suggested that the selection process continued beyond 14 DAH although the exact duration over which selective mortality occurred was unknown. Survivors of Japanese seabass exhibited traits consistent with all aspects of the ‘growth–mortality’ hypothesis: faster growth, larger size-at-age, and shorter larval stage duration (LSD), i.e., larvae with faster growth, bigger size-at-age and a shorter LSD selectively survived the larval period. Larvae had higher M (0.323) than G (0.159), resulting in the M:G ratio of >1.0 (M:G = 2.031), suggesting that the larval cohort was rapidly losing biomass. Future studies should look to determine the duration over which selective mortality occurs and the timing of transition between M and G (M = G) and accumulation of cohort biomass.

Structure-Activity Relationships of Low Molecular Weight Heparins Expose to the Risk of Achieving Inappropriate Targets in Patients with Renal Failure

Heparins are used in "therapeutic doses" for systemic anticoagulation to treat patients who have confirmed venous thromboembolism, or in "prophylactic doses "for the prevention of venous thromboembolism: they are generally lower doses and are employed once a day. Structure-function relationships are strongly influenced by the chain length of the molecules. In fact, unfractionated heparin (UFH) binds to ATIII lysine site leading to a conformational change of the ATIII arginine reactive centre able to create a covalent binding to the active centre serine of thrombin in a ternary complex formation composed by heparin, ATIII and thrombin. On the other side, low molecular weight heparins (LMWHs) are too short to be able to form this ternary complex, and mainly exert their anticoagulant effect by binding the factor Xa, always via ATIII. Lastly, the short unique pentasaccharidic sequence which is crucial for heparin's activity and has been recently synthesized as Fondaparinux, only acts via the formation of the high affinity ternary complex with ATIII-factor Xa. Due to their structure-function relationships, LMWHs cannot be monitored by conventional coagulation test used for monitoring UFH and need more specific anti-factor Xa activity determinations, but monitoring has been considered unnecessary in the general population due to a predictable dose/effect ratio. However, a disturbing rise of bleeding complications in patients with renal failure treated with LMWH has been published in the last years, that is explained by the accumulation of LMWHs in this setting, due the consequences of structure-metabolisms relationships of the small members of the heparin's family. In this context, physicians are often left to a "best guess" method of empiric dose adjustment, which is at risk of achieving inappropriate targets, with a percentage of values above and below target of 51% and 34%, respectively, depending on LMWHs dosage, body mass index and renal function. Without anti-Xa activity monitoring, the quality of care delivered in the setting of renal failure is poor, as over-prophylaxis can result in potentially dangerous anticoagulation, while under-prophylaxis can result in life-threatening thrombosis.

An expressed sequence tag analysis of the intertidal brown seaweeds Fucus serratus (L.) and F. vesiculosus (L.) (Heterokontophyta, Phaeophyceae) in response to abiotic stressors.

In order to aid gene discovery and uncover genes responding to abiotic stressors in stress-tolerant brown algae of the genus Fucus, expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were studied in two species, Fucus serratus and Fucus vesiculosus. Clustering of over 12,000 ESTs from three libraries for heat shock/recovery and desiccation/rehydration resulted in identification of 2,503, 1,290, and 2,409 unigenes from heat-shocked F. serratus, desiccated F. serratus, and desiccated F. vesiculosus, respectively. Low overall annotation rates (18-31%) were strongly associated with the presence of long 3' untranslated regions in Fucus transcripts, as shown by analyses of predicted protein-coding sequence in annotated and nonannotated tentative consensus sequences. Posttranslational modification genes were overrepresented in the heat shock/recovery library, including many chaperones, the most abundant of which were a family of small heat shock protein transcripts, Hsp90 and Hsp70 members. Transcripts of LI818-like light-harvesting genes implicated in photoprotection were also expressed during heat shock in high light. The expression of several heat-shock-responsive genes was confirmed by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. However, candidate genes were notably absent from both desiccation/rehydration libraries, while the responses of the two species to desiccation were divergent, perhaps reflecting the species-specific physiological differences in stress tolerance previously established. Desiccation-tolerant F. vesiculosus overexpressed at least 17 ribosomal protein genes and two ubiquitin-ribosomal protein fusion genes, suggesting that ribosome function and/or biogenesis are important during cycles of rapid desiccation and rehydration in the intertidal zone and possibly indicate parallels with other poikilohydric organisms such as desiccation-tolerant bryophytes.

Ablation of p120-Catenin Altering the Activity of Small GTPase in Human Lung Cancer Cells.

p120-catenin (p120(ctn)), a member of the Armadillo gene family, has emerged as an important modulator of small GTPase activities. Therefore, it plays novel roles in tumor malignant phenotype, such as invasion and metastasis, whose mechanism are not well clarified yet. The aim of this study is to explore the roles of p120ctn on the regulation of small GTP family members in lung cancer and the effects to lung cancer invasions and metastasis. After p120(ctn) was knocked down by siRNA, in vivo and in vitro analysis was applied to investigate the role and possible mechanism of p120(ctn) in lung cancer, such as Western Blot, pull-down analysis, and nude mice models. p120(ctn) depletion inactivated RhoA, with the the activity of Cdc42 and Rac1 increased, the invasiveness of lung cancer cells was promoted both in vitro and in vivo. p120(ctn) gene knockdown enhances the metastasis of lung cancer cells, probably by altering expression of small GTPase, such as inactivation of RhoA and activation of Cdc42/Rac1.

Expanding functions of lipoprotein receptors

Lipoprotein receptors are evolutionarily ancient proteins that are expressed on the surface of many cell types. Beginning with the appearance of the first primitive multicellular organisms, several structurally and functionally distinct families of lipoprotein receptors evolved. Originally, these cell surface proteins were thought to merely mediate the traffic of lipids and nutrients between cells and, in some cases, by functioning as scavenger receptors, remove other kinds of macromolecules, such as proteases and protease inhibitors from the extracellular space and the cell surface. Over the last decade, this picture has fundamentally changed. We now appreciate that many of these receptors are not mere cargo transporters; they are deeply embedded in the machinery by which cells communicate with each other. By physically interacting and coevolving with fundamental signaling pathways, lipoprotein receptors have occupied essential and surprisingly diverse functions that are indispensable for integrating the complex web of cellular signal input during development and in differentiated tissues.

Differential effects ofStaphylococcalenterotoxin B-mediated immune activation on intestinal defensins

In the small intestine members of both the alpha-defensin (DEFA5 and DEFA6) and beta-defensin (DEFB1 and DEFB2) family contribute to the anti-microbial barrier against infection. The aim of this study was to determine whether Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB)-mediated immune activation and proinflammatory cytokines play a role in the regulation of intestinal defensin expression. Defensin mRNA and peptide secretion was studied after ex vivo tissue culture of duodenal biopsies over 24 h. Immune (T cell and macrophage) activation was induced by SEB, and in separate experiments exogenous proinflammatory cytokines were added individually. Defensin mRNA levels were quantified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and peptide release into culture supernatants was quantified by immuno dot blot or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Increasing concentrations of SEB down-regulated DEFA5, DEFA6 and DEFB1 mRNA in a dose-dependent manner but increased DEFB2 simultaneously. The down-regulation of alpha-defensins was reversed by dexamethasone. DEFA5 and DEFB2 peptide secretion levels were altered in parallel with mRNA. Interferon-gamma and interleukin (IL)-1beta exhibited a dose-dependent down-regulation of alpha-defensin mRNA, IL-6 significantly down-regulated only DEFA6; in contrast, tumour necrosis factor-alpha and IL-4 had no significant effect. Immune cell activation and proinflammatory cytokines down-regulated the constitutively expressed DEFA5, DEFA6 and DEFB1 defensins, and up-regulated DEFB2 in intact human intestinal tissue explants in short-term culture. The effect of local immune activation on innate defence may explain the reduced alpha-defensin expression noted in inflammatory T cell-mediated enteropathies.

Taxonomical reappraisal of “ictitheres” (Mammalia, Carnivora) from the Late Miocene of Kenya

In 2003, Werdelin has identified three hyaenid species from the Late Miocene of Kenya (Lothagam Formation), including two “ictitheres” – a newly erected Ictitherium ebu Werdelin, 2003, and Hyaenictitherium cf. parvum. The present article discusses the published evidence on the Kenyan hyaenids and explores additional cranial and postcranial characters useful for differentiation between the true ictitheres (i.e., the genera of the subfamily Ictitheriinae Trouessart, 1897) and some small members of the subfamily Hyaeninae Gray, 1869.

Crosstalk between small GTPases and polarity proteins in cell polarization

Cell polarization is crucial for the development of multicellular organisms, and aberrant cell polarization contributes to various diseases, including cancer. How cell polarity is established and how it is maintained remain fascinating questions. Conserved proteins of the partitioning defective (PAR), Scribble and Crumbs complexes guide the establishment of cell polarity in various organisms. Moreover, GTPases that regulate actin cytoskeletal dynamics have been implicated in cell polarization. Recent findings provide insights into polarization mechanisms and show intriguing crosstalk between small GTPases and members of polarity complexes in regulating cell polarization in different cellular contexts and cell types.

Access to justice in the World Trade Organization: a case for a small claims procedure?

AbstractThe current dispute settlement system of the World Trade Organization (WTO) creates a particular challenge for WTO Members with limited exports since litigation costs are more or less independent of the commercial stakes involved in a dispute. Small Members with small trade stakes may therefore find it too costly to pursue legitimate claims. Reviewing the aims and practices of small claims procedures at the national and supranational level, we analyse whether a similar institution could be introduced at the WTO. While a strong empirical case can be made for such an innovation, the legal and political challenges should not be underestimated. As an initial step, we make a prima facie case that the current dispute settlement system effectively discriminates against small claims and hence owners of small claims, and thus, in particular, against least developed countries, small island economies and low income developing countries. This empirical task is carried out in Part 2. In Part 3 we explain what small claims procedures are at the national level, what purpose they serve, how they are organized in different jurisdictions involving alternative design features, and what challenges they have faced. Part 4 explores the issues raised by adding a small claims procedure in the WTO context, and indicates specific design features that could address them.

Statins induce apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells through activation of JNK and enhancement of Bim expression

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death among all gynecological malignancies in Western countries. Although therapy for ovarian cancer has been greatly improved in the past 20 years, the overall survival for patients with advanced ovarian cancer has not changed significantly. The poor survival rates in patients with advanced ovarian cancer are due both to late diagnosis and to lack of effective drugs for the majority of patients who have a relapse and develop resistance to current chemotherapy agents used for ovarian cancer. Thus, developing and discovering effective novel drugs with different molecular structures from conventional chemotherapy agents have become an urgent clinical need. Ovarian cancer cells were treated with lovastatin and atorvastatin. Apoptosis in these cells and tumor formation in soft agar were determined. The molecular mechanism by which statins suppress ovarian cancer cell growth was evaluated. Both lovastatin and atorvastatin effectively induced apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells and suppressed anchorage-independent growth of these cells in soft agar. Further investigation of the molecular mechanism has revealed that the expression of Cdc42 and Rac1, small GTPase family members, was highly induced in the cells by these statins along with the activation of Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK). In addition, Bim, a proapoptotic protein, was significantly induced by these statins. Our findings provide new insight into the molecular mechanism by which statins induce apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells and may lead to novel therapies for advanced ovarian cancer.

Modification of papillomavirus E2 proteins by the small ubiquitin-like modifier family members (SUMOs)

Papillomavirus E2 proteins are critical regulatory proteins that function in replication, genome segregation, and viral transcription, including control of expression of the viral oncogenes, E6 and E7. Sumoylation is a post-translational modification that has been shown to target and modulate the function of many transcription factors, and we now demonstrate that E2 proteins are sumoylated. Both bovine and human papillomavirus E2 proteins bind to the SUMO conjugation enzyme, Ubc9, and using in vitro and E. coli sumoylation systems, these E2 proteins were readily modified by SUMO proteins. In vivo experiments further confirmed that E2 can be sumoylated by SUMO1, SUMO2, or SUMO3. Mapping studies identified lysine 292 as the principal residue for covalent conjugation of SUMO to HPV16 E2, and a lysine 292 to arginine mutant showed defects for both transcriptional activation and repression. The expression levels, intracellular localization, and the DNA-binding activity of HPV16 E2 were unchanged by this K292R mutation, suggesting that the transcriptional defect reflects a functional contribution by sumoylation at this residue. This study provides evidence that sumoylation has a role in the regulation of papillomavirus E2, and identifies a new mechanism for the modulation of E2 function at the post-translational level.

The Pleckstrin Homology Domain of the Arf6-specific Exchange Factor EFA6 Localizes to the Plasma Membrane by Interacting with Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-Bisphosphate and F-actin

The Arf6-specific exchange factor EFA6 coordinates membrane trafficking with actin cytoskeleton remodeling. It localizes to the plasma membrane where it catalyzes Arf6 activation and induces the formation of actin-based membrane ruffles. We have shown previously that the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain of EFA6 was responsible for its membrane localization. In this study we looked for the partners of the PH domain at the plasma membrane. Mutations of the conserved basic residues suspected to be involved in the binding to phosphoinositides redistribute EFA6-PH to the cytosol. In addition, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2) breakdown also leads to the solubilization of EFA6-PH. Direct binding measured by surface plasmon resonance gives an apparent affinity of approximately 0.5 microm EFA6-PH for PI(4,5)P2. Moreover, we observed in vitro that the catalytic activity of EFA6 is strongly increased by PI(4,5)P2. These results indicate that the plasma membrane localization of EFA6-PH is based on its interaction with PI(4,5)P2, and this interaction is necessary for an optimal catalytic activity of EFA6. Furthermore, we demonstrated by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching and Triton X-100 detergent solubility experiments that in addition to the phophoinositides, EFA6-PH is linked to the actin cytoskeleton. We observed both in vivo and in vitro that EFA6-PH interacts directly with F-actin. Finally, we demonstrated that EFA6 could bind simultaneously filamentous actin and phospholipids vesicles. Our results explain how the exchange factor EFA6 via its PH domain could coordinate at the plasma membrane actin cytoskeleton organization with membrane trafficking.

Improving teaching by teaching feedback

Context and setting An interprofessional, international cohort of clinician educators participating in an intensive year-long faculty fellowship programme designed a group project (as part of the programme) on the skills involved in providing feedback. The outcome was a workshop that is still being presented 2 years after the programme’s end. Why the idea was necessary Reflecting on their own teaching responsibilities, the teaching scholars observed that providing feedback to learners was a communication skill essential to their effectiveness, but fraught with challenges. The group reviewed the work of others in the medical literature and in previous workshop formats, and constructed a workshop that allowed participants the opportunity to practise feedback skills. What was done A flexible-format workshop curriculum was developed. It included a didactic component on distinguishing feedback from evaluation, noting barriers and challenges to giving feedback, describing the value of giving feedback in a teaching setting and teaching the following rubric: Ask (to encourage reflection)−Tell (to give targeted feedback)−Ask (to assess understanding)−Act (to plan for future scenarios). Cases were developed to promote practise with the rubric. Small groups of participants observed while a pair within the group role-played an authentic, audience-specific feedback situation. The small group members offered their own feedback about the Ask−Tell−Ask−Act paradigm. As a large group, workshop participants discussed their initial barriers to feedback and identified those that were overcome and those that remained. The Ask−Tell−Ask−Act rubric was reinforced. Evaluation of results and impact Participants identified barriers to giving feedback, which were remarkably similar across medical specialties and professions. The most frequent barrier was the amount of time it takes to give feedback, especially in busy clinical situations. Additional barriers to feedback included a reluctance to give negative feedback, a fear of retribution for negative feedback, and a belief that feedback doesn’t influence student behaviour. By the end of the workshop, participants indicated that their reticence about giving feedback could be overcome through skills training and establishing new group norms about feedback. The innovational element of this workshop lies in its emphasis on behavioural learning by the practise of skills and focused training using scenarios relevant to the participants. Participants rated this portion of the workshop highly, regardless of their varied backgrounds (e.g. medical educators, anaesthesiologists, physician assistant faculty staff, undergraduate and graduate medical faculty in family medicine in Israel). Each group asked that more time should be devoted to role-play. There was also consensus that the simplicity of the Ask−Tell−Ask−Act rubric made it more likely they would use feedback in everyday teaching. Participants suggested that the scenarios include more specific examples about how to give negative feedback. Post-workshop evaluations were not noticeably different by specialty or between US and Israeli audiences in their acceptance of role-play and their desire to spend more time practising in small groups. Follow-up with workshop participants is planned to assess the session’s longterm impact including use of the rubric, the frequency of giving feedback and changes in perceptions of barriers to giving effective feedback.

Developing Countries and Enforcement of Trade Agreements: Why Dispute Settlement is Not Enough

Poor countries are rarely challenged in formal World Trade Ogranization (WTO) trade disputes for failing to live up to commitments, reducing the benefits of their participation in international trade agreements. This article examines the political-economic causes of the failure to challenge poor countries and discusses the static and dynamic costs and externality implications of this failure. Given the weak incentives to enforce WTO rules and disciplines against small and poor Members, bolstering the transparency function of the WTO is important to make trade agreements more relevant to trade constituencies in developing countries. While our focus is on the WTO system, our arguments also apply to reciprocal North–South trade agreements.

Relationship characteristics within the supply chain of Small and Medium-Sized Construction Enterprises in Thailand

The Small and Medium-sized construction Enterprises (construction SMEs) in Thailand face challenges like high fragmented structure and low productivity. Many industries improved their business performance using the supply chain integration. This research was conducted by interviewing 14 small and medium Thai building contractors to understand the features and relationship characteristics of the supply chain of construction SMEs. The study reveals that the linkages between the small and medium general contractors and other supply chain members are based on personal trust rather than contract laws, there is no systematic procedure to manage the relationship with clients during the project execution, and social connections help to maintain long-term relationship with clients. Based on the working behaviour and commitment to long-term relationship, six forms of relationship with supply side members are proposed. Finally, improvement measures for the supply chain integration of the construction SMEs in Thailand are presented.