Supply chain security: the need for continuous assessment

Ease of Internet accessibility has offered business the opportunity to incorporate this electronic infrastructure technology into establishing electronic-based supply chains. With the improved efficiency that this brings to the management and functionality of the supply chain, there are also security considerations that should be taken into account for protecting the integrity of the electronic supply chain, not only within each business node, but also across the entire supply chain. Such security vulnerabilities can be negated with the implementation of security measures and policies, however these need to be consistent throughout the supply chain and regularly assessed against security benchmarks in order to ensure they meet dequate security standards.

Construction supply chain economics

Introducing the new topic of supply chain economics, this comprehensive title combines theory and practice - including real-world case studies - to bring new methodology and models for mapping the construction sector.

The harm chain : a public policy development and stakeholder perspective

This paper introduces the concept of a ‘harm chain’ as a mechanism to further broaden the way in which firms and public policy makers consider potential negative outcomes from marketing activities. The purpose of conceptualizing a ‘harm chain’ is to examine specifically the creation of harm within networks of marketing exchanges that might occur throughout preproduction, production, consumption and post-consumption activities. The authors suggest that addressing issues where harm occurs allows both firms and policy makers to identify whether exchanges bring about harm, how relevant parties can address the core cause of harm, as well as how those who are harmed can be protected.

Exploring the opportunities for sustainable food labelling : a supply chain perspective

This study examines supply chain members’ beliefs regarding the opportunities to develop foods produced under an 'eco-friendly' label. The study involved in-depth interviews with 17 Australian senior managers in food organisations who have marketing responsibilities and who have expert product and consumer knowledge (c.f. Clift and Wright 2000, Peattie 2000). The findings suggest that respondents have widely different beliefs regarding the meaning of 'eco-friendly' and believe that claims regarding 'eco-friendly' characteristics are difficult to substantiate. They further suggested that 'eco-friendly' considerations are not a major influencer of consumer food purchase decisions at present and thus 'eco-friendly' production was not a strategic focus of their companies. Respondents felt that 'eco-friendly' labelling would not be successful until consumers’ value 'eco-friendly' food attributes.

Child labour and supply chain : profitability or (mis)management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a realistic assessment, with an historical perspective, of the current practises and progress made by organisations towards elimination of child labour in global supply chains.

Design/methodology/approach – Literature review in the area of use of child labour within the global supply chain was combined with additional information obtained from the company searches of the GRI database, company ranking tables, and other sources.

Findings – Child labour is one of a number of areas of concern in global supply chains. Continued exploitation of child labour indicates an imbalanced state and consequently forces can be unleashed through standardization, collaboration and communication amongst all stakeholders to ensure protection of the vulnerable. This paper is part of the broader analysis informing incremental changes to supply chain management to preserve the rights and welfare of children in the present and future generations. Research/limitations/implications – The analysis is based on secondary data sources and further research is thus needed to verify the individual weightings of the criteria used in the primary ranking of the companies.

Practical implications – The findings provide encouragement for policy and decision makers to implement incremental changes to global supply chains in order to protect the rights and welfare of children, according to the standards of Social Accountability (SA) 8000, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and other world trade stakeholders.

Originality/value – This paper questions the view that child labour incidences have diminished proportional to economic development. A swinging fulcrum with hidden traps for developed and developing nations in light of cross border transactions through supply chains has been proposed.

Challenges relating to RFID implementation within the electronic supply chain management - a practical approach

The use of RHFID (Radio Frequency ldentification) technology can be employed for not only reducing companies management costs but also to track uniquely each shipping container, pallet, case, and product being manufactured, shipped and sold, to increase visibility and accountability in the supply chain. RFID technology connects the supply chain players (i.e., suppliers, manifacturers, distributors, retailers and customers) and allows them to exchange data and product information. Despite these potential benefits, there are challenges and obstacles with the deployment of a RFID-enabled system in the global supply chain. The paper outlines the major RFID issues faced by supply chain management. In this paper, we also present a case study on pharmaceutical supply chain management (SCM) applications by addressing and examining the issues of RFID implementation in a SCM system.

No effect of n - 3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (EPA and DHA) supplementation on depressed mood and cognitive function : a randomised controlled trial

Low dietary intakes of the n-3 long-chain PUFA (LCPUFA) EPA and DHA are thought to be associated with increased risk for a variety of adverse  outcomes, including some psychiatric disorders. Evidence from  observational and intervention studies for a role of n-3 LCPUFA in depression is mixed, with some support for a benefit of EPA and/or DHA in major depressive illness. The present study was a double-blind randomised controlled trial that evaluated the effects of EPA+DHA supplementation (1.5 g/d) on mood and cognitive function in mild to moderately depressed  individuals. Of 218 participants who entered the trial, 190 completed the planned 12 weeks intervention. Compliance, confirmed by plasma fatty acid concentrations, was good, but there was no evidence of a difference between supplemented and placebo groups in the primary outcome - namely, the depression subscale of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales at 12 weeks. Mean depression score was 8.4 for the EPA+DHA group and 9.6 for the placebo group, with an adjusted difference of - 1.0 (95 % CI - 2.8, 0.8; P = 0.27). Other measures of mood, mental health and cognitive function, including Beck Depression Inventory score and attentional bias toward threat words, were similarly little affected by the intervention. In conclusion, substantially increasing EPA+DHA intake for 3 months was found not to have beneficial or harmful effects on mood in mild to moderate depression. Adding the present result to a meta-analysis of previous relevant randomised controlled trial results confirmed an overall negligible benefit of n-3 LCPUFA supplementation for depressed mood.

Multi-agent based supply chain management with dynamic reconfiguration capability

Supply chain management (SCM) has received increased attention in a globally challenging environment as companies face the necessity to improve customer service and maximize profit. Therefore, dynamic reconfiguration capability is vital for supply chain management to respond to changing customer requirements and operating environments. On the other hand, for its flexible and autonomous characteristics, multi-agent systems are a viable technology for SCM, and have been widely applied in SCM. To this end, dynamic reconfiguration in agent-based SCM systems is proposed from autonomy oriented computing point of view. The performance of agent-based SCM with dynamic reconfiguration is evaluated under a modified TAC SCM scenario. With a dynamic reconfigurable SCM system, new products and processes can be introduced with considerably less expense and ramp-up time.

Generation of mutant leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF)-IgG heavy chain fusion proteins as bivalent antagonists of LIF

Two leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) mutants, designated MH35-BD and LIF05, have been shown to have a capacity to inhibit the biological activities of not only human LIF (hLIF) but also other interleukin-6 (IL-6) subfamily cytokines such as human oncostatin M (hOSM). These cytokines share the same receptor complex in which the glycoprotein 130 (gp130) subunit is a common constituent. However, at low concentrations and in their monomeric forms, such molecules have a relatively short plasma half-life due to rapid clearance from the kidneys. Here, to prolong their serum half-lives, we have used a multi-step polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to fuse each of the LIF05 and MH35-BD cDNA fragments to a sequence encoding the Fc portion, and the hinge region, of the human immunoglobulin G (hIgG) heavy chain. The linking was achieved through an oligomer encoding a thrombin-sensitive peptide linker thus generating MH35-BD:Fc and LIF05:Fc, respectively. Both Fc fusion constructs were expressed in insect cell Sf21 and the proteins were purified by two successive affinity chromatography steps using nickel–nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni–NTA) agarose and protein A beads. The Ba/F3 cell-based proliferation assay was used to confirm that the proteins were biologically active. In addition, preliminary pharmacokinetics indicates that the Fc fusion constructs have a longer serum half-life compared to their non-fusion counterparts.

Integrated supply chain construction ecosystem management

Agenda 21 may be considered the most significant programme of action influencing environmental policy for the Australian development and construction industry. The industry has remained one of the most rapidly expanding sectors; yet, we have seen the gradual process of exhausting natural resources and irreversible environmental degradation. Even with the introduction of numerous new environmental policies, it remains questionable as to whether real improvements have occurred across the industry. Legislative mechanisms to direct on-site environmental management appear deficient; information flows between participants along the supply chain appear to impact upon environmental management performance; and industry fragmentation remains compounded by ill-defined external, non-contractual supply chain influences that directly impact on contractual systems. Limited research has considered construction supply chain theory and environmental management particularly in reference to policy. The literature highlighted a need to develop a supply chain model which seeks to integrate chain actors and government regulators through holistic information management. The model assumes that fundamental to industry change is statutory control to mandate construction environmental management plans. However, industry change and subsequent environmental management rely upon effective information dissemination. The next stage involves model refinement, investigating barriers and enablers to widespread diffusion of such an innovative integrated environmental management system.

Associations of maternal long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, methyl mercury, and infant development in the Seychelles Child Development Nutrition Study

Fish consumption during gestation can provide the fetus with long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) and other nutrients essential for growth and development of the brain. However, fish consumption also exposes the fetus to the neurotoxicant, methyl mercury (MeHg). We studied the association between these fetal exposures and early child development in the Seychelles Child Development Nutrition Study (SCDNS). Specifically, we examined a priori models of Ω-3 and Ω-6 LCPUFA measures in maternal serum to test the hypothesis that these LCPUFA families before or after adjusting for prenatal MeHg exposure would reveal associations with child development assessed by the BSID-II at ages 9 and 30 months. There were 229 children with complete outcome and covariate data available for analysis. At 9 months, the PDI was positively associated with total Ω-3 LCPUFA and negatively associated with the ratio of Ω-6/Ω-3 LCPUFA. These associations were stronger in models adjusted for prenatal MeHg exposure. Secondary models suggested that the MeHg effect at 9 months varied by the ratio of Ω-6/Ω-3 LCPUFA. There were no significant associations between LCPUFA measures and the PDI at 30 months. There were significant adverse associations, however, between prenatal MeHg and the 30-month PDI when the LCPUFA measures were included in the regression analysis. The BSID-II mental developmental index (MDI) was not associated with any exposure variable. These data support the potential importance to child development of prenatal availability of Ω-3 LCPUFA present in fish and of LCPUFA in the overall diet. Furthermore, they indicate that the beneficial effects of LCPUFA can obscure the determination of adverse effects of prenatal MeHg exposure in longitudinal observational studies.

α-Linolenic acid supplementation and conversion to n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in humans

Blood levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are considered biomarkers of status. Alpha-linolenic acid, ALA, the plant omega-3, is the dietary precursor for the long-chain omega-3 PUFA eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Studies in normal healthy adults consuming western diets, which are rich in linoleic acid (LA), show that supplemental ALA raises EPA and DPA status in the blood and in breast milk. However, ALA or EPA dietary supplements have little effect on blood or breast milk DHA levels, whereas consumption of preformed DHA is effective in raising blood DHA levels. Addition of ALA to the diets of formula-fed infants does raise DHA, but no level of ALA tested raises DHA to levels achievable with preformed DHA at intakes similar to typical human milk DHA supply. The DHA status of infants and adults consuming preformed DHA in their diets is, on average, greater than that of people who do not consume DHA. With no other changes in diet, improvement of blood DHA status can be achieved with dietary supplements of preformed DHA, but not with supplementation of ALA, EPA, or other precursors.