Existing studies on disaster relief operations (DRO) pay limited attention to acts of spontaneous volunteerism by local citizens in the aftermath of disasters. The purpose of this paper is to explore how social preferences motivate citizens to help during post-disaster situations; above and beyond their own self-regarding interests. The paper begins by synthesizing the literature on social preferences from the field of behavioral economics and social psychology with the discourse surrounding behavioral operations management and humanitarian operations management (HOM). By doing so, we identify the motivators, enablers and barriers of local citizen response during disaster relief operations. These factors inform a theoretical framework of the social preferences motivating spontaneous volunteerism in post-disaster situations. We evidence facets of the framework using archival and unstructured data retrieved from Twitter feeds generated by local citizens during the floods that hit Chennai, India in 2015. Our model highlights the importance of individual level action during disaster relief operations and the enabling role of social media as a coordination mechanism for such efforts.
Different generations (G1, G2 and G3) of polyamidoamine dendrimers (PAMAM) were synthesized and co-spray dried with rifampicin to produce inhalable microspheric particles for pulmonary delivery. The particle size distribution, morphology and density of the designed formulations were characterized by laser diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and helium densitometer, respectively. The aerosolization performance of these formulations was investigated using an Andersen cascade impactor. The formulations were efficient aerosols having favorable fine particle fraction (FPF) and emitted fraction (EF), suggesting that the powders were suitable for inhalation. The absorptions of rifampicin following pulmonary administration of different formulations were also examined using an in situ pulmonary absorption method. The pharmacokinetic profiles of different rifampin formulations were studied following intrapulmonary administrations for 60 h. The pharmacokinetics parameters such as Cmax, tmax, t1/2, mean residence time (MRT) and the AUC were calculated separately. It was evident that the tmax value of the formulations was decreased while Cmax value was increased followed by PAMAM dendritic generations increased from G1 to G3. The lower generation PAMAM microspheres were found to have significant impact on the pharmacokinetics parameters of rifampicin and ultimately drug bioavailability. In this study, PAMAM G3 dendritic microsphere was identified as suitable drug carriers for the pulmonary delivery of rifampicin into lung tissues.
Eugenol is the main constituent of clove oil with anti-inflammatory properties. In this work, for the first time, O/W nanoemulsion of eugenol was designed for the evaluation of anti-inflammatory effects as a topical delivery system. Topical formulations containing 1%, 2% and 4% of eugenol as well as a nanoemulsion system containing 4% eugenol and 0.5% piroxicam were prepared. Further to physicochemical examinations, such as determination of particle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential and physical stability, anti-inflammatory activity was examined in carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats. The optimum formulation was found to contain 2% eugenol (oil phase), 14% Tween 20 (surfactant) and 14% isopropyl alcohol (co-surfactant) in water. Nanoemulsion with polydispersity index of 0.3 and median droplet diameter of 24.4 nm (d50) was obtained. Animal studies revealed that the nanoemulsions exhibited significantly improved anti-inflammatory activity after 1.5 h, compared with marketed piroxicam gel. Additionally, it was shown that increasing the concentration of eugenol did not show higher inhibition of inflammation. Also, the nanoemulsion having piroxicam showed less anti-inflammatory properties compared with the nanoemulsion without piroxicam.
In recent years, many experiments have been conducted for the production and evaluation of anticancer glycoconjugated vaccines in developed countries and many achievements have been accomplished with Globo H derivatives. In the current experiment, a new chemically designed triplicate version of (Globo H)3–diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA)–KLH antigen was synthesized and characterized. Immunization with (Globo H)3-DTPA-KLH, a hexasaccharide that is a member of a family of antigenic carbohydrates that are highly expressed in various types of cancers conjugated with DTPA and KLH protein, induced a high level of antibody titer along with an elevated level of IL-4 in mice. Treatment of tumors with the collected sera from immunized mice decreased the tumor size in nude mice as well. None of the immunized mice illustrated any sign of tumor growth after injection of MCF-7 cells compared to the control animals. These findings, based on the newly presented structure of the Globo H antigen, lend exciting and promising evidence for clinical advancement in the development of a therapeutic vaccine in the future.
The purpose of this paper is to extend operations management theory concerning efficiency and flexibility trade-offs to the emergent phenomenon of redistributed manufacturing (RDM). The study adopts a multiple case design including five small and five large pharmaceutical firms. By synthesising the research findings and extant literature we propose organisations can gain the efficiency benefits of centralised manufacturing and the flexibility advantages of RDM by building an ambidexterity capability. To build such a capability, large firms can structurally partition their manufacturing and supply management functions, with one sub-unit managing centralised production and the other RDM. Small and medium enterprises can build an ambidexterity capability by creating the right organisational context, one in which a multi-skilled workforce switches between efficient and flexible tasks. This paper contributes to theory by explaining the emergence of RDM using an organisational ambidexterity lens, laying the groundwork for new theory development in the field. The paper contributes to managerial thinking by providing practical examples of how managers can build an ambidexterity capability to realise flexibility and efficiency advantages.