Impact of product-related environmental regulations / voluntary requirements on Thai firms

The rules governing the trade of goods in global markets have shifted toward non-tariff measures related to environmental and chemical safety. Unlike traditional environmental/safety requirements, the scope of modern regulations covers products’ environmental performance and chemical safety. To comply with these modern regulations, production practices along the entire supply chain must be realigned to manage certain chemical substances incorporated into the final product. This paper examines the implications of product-related environmental and chemical safety regulations on different firms operating in Thailand.

Impact of product-related environmental regulations in Asia : descriptive statistics from a survey of firms in Penang, Malaysia

This paper summarizes the main results of a unique firm survey conducted in Penang, Malaysia in 2012 on product-related environmental regulations. The results show that firms receiving foreign-direct investment have adapted well to regulations but faced more rejections. Several research questions are addressed and examined by using the survey data. Major findings are as follows. First, adaptation involves changes in input procurement and market diversification, which potentially changes the structure of supply chains. Second, belonging to global supply chains is a key factor in compliance, but this requires firms to meet tougher customer requirements. Third, there is much room for government policy to play a role in assisting firms.

Impact of product-related environmental regulations in Asia : descriptive statistics from a survey of firms in Vietnam

This paper summarizes the main results of a unique firm survey conducted in Vietnam in 2011 on product-related environmental regulations (PRERs). The results of this survey are compared with the results of a corresponding survey of firms in Penang, Malaysia (Michida, et al. 2014b). The major findings are as follows. First, adaptation to PRERs involves changes in input procurement and results in market diversification, which potentially alters the structure of supply chains. This finding is consistent with the Malaysian survey result. Second, connections to global supply chains are key to compliance, but this requires firms to meet more stringent customer requirements. Third, government policy can play an important role in assisting firms to comply with PRERs.

Impact on Asian firms of product-related environmental regulations through global supply chains : a study of firms in Malaysia

This paper sheds light on the important role played by global supply chains in the adaptation to product-related environmental regulations imposed by importing countries, with a focus on chemicals management. By utilizing a unique data collected in Penang, Malaysia, we depict the supply chain structures and how differences among firms in participation to global supply chain link to differences in chemical management. We found that firms belonging to a supply chain are in a better position to comply with these regulations because information and requirements are transmitted through global supply chains. In contrast, those firms that are neither exporters nor a part of a global supply chain lack the knowledge and information channels relevant to chemical management in a product.

The policy impact of product-related environmental regulations in Asia

This paper focuses on EU chemical regulations, RoHS and REACH, and shows these EU regulations have driven Asian countries to introduce regulations that are similar yet modified versions to the EU regulations. Asia as the world manufacturing center has extensive production networks where parts and components of a final good are traded across borders. We discuss how product-related environmental regulations could impact on firms' activities then show that if Asian countries with complex supply chains introduce different product related chemical regulations without coordinating with neighboring countries, it could work as trade barrier for manufacturing activities in the region.

Detection of growth-related QTLs in turbot (Scophtalmus maximux)

Background The turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) is a highly appreciated European aquaculture species. Growth related traits constitute the main goal of the ongoing genetic breeding programs of this species. The recent construction of a consensus linkage map in this species has allowed the selection of a panel of 100 homogeneously distributed markers covering the 26 linkage groups (LG) suitable for QTL search. In this study we addressed the detection of QTL with effect on body weight, length and Fulton's condition factor. Results Eight families from two genetic breeding programs comprising 814 individuals were used to search for growth related QTL using the panel of microsatellites available for QTL screening. Two different approaches, maximum likelihood and regression interval mapping, were used in order to search for QTL. Up to eleven significant QTL were detected with both methods in at least one family: four for weight on LGs 5, 14, 15 and 16; five for length on LGs 5, 6, 12, 14 and 15; and two for Fulton's condition factor on LGs 3 and 16. In these LGs an association analysis was performed to ascertain the microsatellite marker with the highest apparent effect on the trait, in order to test the possibility of using them for marker assisted selection. Conclusions The use of regression interval mapping and maximum likelihood methods for QTL detection provided consistent results in many cases, although the high variation observed for traits mean among families made it difficult to evaluate QTL effects. Finer mapping of detected QTL, looking for tightly linked markers to the causative mutation, and comparative genomics are suggested to deepen in the analysis of QTL in turbot so they can be applied in marker assisted selection programs.

Identification of logically related heap regions

This paper introduces a novel technique for identifying logically related sections of the heap such as recursive data structures, objects that are part of the same multi-component structure, and related groups of objects stored in the same collection/array. When combined withthe lifetime properties of these structures, this information can be used to drive a range of program optimizations including pool allocation, object co-location, static deallocation, and region-based garbage collection. The technique outlined in this paper also improves the efficiency of the static analysis by providing a normal form for the abstract models (speeding the convergence of the static analysis). We focus on two techniques for grouping parts of the heap. The first is a technique for precisely identifying recursive data structures in object-oriented programs based on the types declared in the program. The second technique is a novel method for grouping objects that make up the same composite structure and that allows us to partition the objects stored in a collection/array into groups based on a similarity relation. We provide a parametric component in the similarity relation in order to support specific analysis applications (such as a numeric analysis which would need to partition the objects based on numeric properties of the fields). Using the Barnes-Hut benchmark from the JOlden suite we show how these grouping methods can be used to identify various types of logical structures allowing the application of many region-based program optimizations.

Relevance of motion-related assessment metrics in laparoscopic surgery

INTRODUCTION: Motion metrics have become an important source of information when addressing the assessment of surgical expertise. However, their direct relationship with the different surgical skills has not been fully explored. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relevance of motion-related metrics in the evaluation processes of basic psychomotor laparoscopic skills, as well as their correlation with the different abilities sought to measure. METHODS: A framework for task definition and metric analysis is proposed. An explorative survey was first conducted with a board of experts to identify metrics to assess basic psychomotor skills. Based on the output of that survey, three novel tasks for surgical assessment were designed. Face and construct validation study was performed, with focus on motion-related metrics. Tasks were performed by 42 participants (16 novices, 22 residents and 4 experts). Movements of the laparoscopic instruments were registered with the TrEndo tracking system and analyzed. RESULTS: Time, path length and depth showed construct validity for all three tasks. Motion smoothness and idle time also showed validity for tasks involving bi-manual coordination and tasks requiring a more tactical approach respectively. Additionally, motion smoothness and average speed showed a high internal consistency, proving them to be the most task-independent of all the metrics analyzed. CONCLUSION: Motion metrics are complementary and valid for assessing basic psychomotor skills, and their relevance depends on the skill being evaluated. A larger clinical implementation, combined with quality performance information, will give more insight on the relevance of the results shown in this study.