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PurposeLeague expansion involves a significant investment of time, money and resources. Therefore, ensuring the success of new franchises is imperative to the commercial health of a competition; however, there is an absence of studies examining the establishment process of franchises. In 2020, Super Rugby announced that it would expand in 2022 with the inclusion of two new franchises, Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika. The article explores what implementation challenges Drua and Pasifika faced during franchise establishment.Design/methodology/approachFollowing a qualitative case study methodology, data were collected via newspaper, website and document repository ‘Nexis’, and triangulated against interviews with five expert individuals involved in franchise establishment. Applying mixed-coding, thematic analysis using Redmond's franchise expansion factors framework, six deductive and two inductive themes were generated.FindingsIn accordance with Redmond's franchise expansion factors framework, financial sustainability, competitive balance and labour market challenges were identified as internal challenges, whilst media relationships, market competition and community engagement were highlighted as external challenges. Additionally, two new factors, infrastructure and business operations and youth development, were inductively identified as issues during franchise establishment extending Redmond's model.Originality/valueThe study offers strategic guidance to practitioners on franchise establishment and provides insight into cross-border expansion processes. Theoretically, the research supports and extends the applicability of Redmond's expansion factors framework for future research.

An Electronic Laboratory Notebook (ELN) combining features, including data archival, collaboration tools, and green and sustainability metrics for organic chemistry, is presented. AI4Green is a web-based application, available as open-source code and free to use. It offers the core functionality of an ELN, namely the ability to store reactions securely and share them among different members of a research team. As users plan their reactions and record it in the ELN, green and sustainable chemistry is encouraged by automatically calculating green metrics and color-coding hazards, solvents, and reaction conditions. The interface links a database constructed from data extracted from PubChem, enabling the automatic collation of information for reactions. The application's design facilitates the development of auxiliary sustainability applications, such as our Solvent Guide. As more reaction data is captured, subsequent work will include providing "intelligent" sustainability suggestions to the user.

This work demonstrates a new pathway to the direct on-surface fabrication of a superhydrophobic surface coating on mild steel. The coating was formed using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma to convert a liquid small-molecule precursor (1,2,4-tricholorobenzene) to a solid film via plasma-assisted on-surface polymerization. Plasma treatments were performed under a nitrogen atmosphere with a variety of power levels and durations. Samples were analysed by optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF–SIMS), Raman spectroscopy, optical profilometry, contact angle measurement, and potentiodynamic polarisation tests. Wettability of the films varied with the plasma parameters, and through the inclusion of graphene nanoplatelets in the precursor. High-dose plasma exposures of the nanoplatelet-containing precursor created superhydrophobic films with water contact angles above 150°. Potentiodynamic polarisation tests revealed that the superhydrophobic coating provided little or no corrosion protection.

Whole body contrast-enhanced multidetector CT (WB-CE MDCT) is integral to the assessment of the severely injured patient with stable haemodynamic parameters or in those who respond to resuscitation with blood products. WB-CE MDCT is able to identify the number and severity of injuries sustained by the patient and enable time critical intervention. In this narrative review article we discuss how communication within the trauma team, including the radiologists and appropriate clinicians is crucial in optimizing the effectiveness of WB-CE MDCT. We review the time critical imaging findings and their clinical relevance, which should be included in a succinct CT primary survey report. We also discuss the process through which the effectiveness of the trauma report may be maximised and how non technical factors including teamwork may be optimised to facilitate decision making in this high pressure environment.

Machine learning models were developed to predict product formation from time-series reaction data for ten Buchwald-Hartwig coupling reactions. The data was provided by DeepMatter and was collected in their DigitalGlassware cloud platform. The reaction probe has 12 sensors to measure properties of interest, including temperature, pressure, and colour. Colour was a good predictor of product formation for this reaction and machine learning models were able to learn which of the properties were important. Predictions for the current product formation (in terms of % yield) had a mean absolute error of 1.2%. For predicting 30, 60 and 120 minutes ahead the error rose to 3.4, 4.1 and 4.6%, respectively. The work here presents an example into the insight that can be obtained from applying machine learning methods to sensor data in synthetic chemistry.

:In the framework of economic development, we argue that privatization of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) is unarguably one of the gateways to succeeding in economic growth. It provides the basis for perfect market competition, promoting employment, reducing government expenditure burden on its budget, promoting employment growth and provides efficient services, boost innovation and the technological revolution of especially developing countries which is an undisputable evidence for economic growth seen for example in Asia and China to be specific. China and a good number of countries with perfect market structures, early economic successes can be largely accredited to privatization of their underperforming SOEs model of promoting economic growth. In this article, we will attempt to draw the attention of readers on the conjectural background of privatization of SOEs, its effects in promoting economic growth and strategies of its implementation drawing from the experiences of other countries. We used descriptive analysis approach to describe the facts and effects about the significance of privatization of SOEs in economies that are opening up or still moving up the economic development ladder. The paper also draws lessons from developed economies like the US where privatization is a symbol of a capitalist and free market society, although focusing on developing countries with specific reference to Sierra Leone, bench marking the case of China. We discovered that privatization helps government save more and improve efficiency largely through competition that motivates development as well as innovation.

Introduction: Streaming low-acuity patients to alternative services is a common strategy with the aim to reduce pressure on ED. Objective: To examine qualitative research regarding patient experience and perspectives of streaming-style interventions aimed at patients deemed clinically low-acuity. Methods: A qualitative evidence synthesis following the SPICE protocol. Findings: There are few qualitative articles exploring patient experiences of streaming. However, patient-centric streaming or navigation services emerge as a mark of quality that may conceivably support patients to gain timely and appropriate access to care.

This paper documents a cross-sectional look at L1 transfer and L2 contact for learners of English in a UK study abroad (SA) context. The study employed an instructional experimental design over a 6-month period with 34 Chinese students assigned to either an explicitly instructed group or a control group receiving no instruction. Instruction took place prior to departure for the UK and performance was measured based on a pretest-posttest design using an oral computer-animated production test (CAPT). This paper explores the data in two specific ways. Firstly, the request data were analysed at the pre-and delayed test stages (six months into the study abroad period) to analyse the extent to which participants’ reliance on L1 request strategies and language changes over time. Secondly, we measured the amount and type of contact with English which participants reported prior to and six months into the study abroad period. Results show that instruction facilitated development of pragmatically appropriate request language over time, with instructed learners showing significantly less reliance on L1 transfer than non-instructed learners. Contact with English increased significantly for both groups on all measures of language production but not all receptive contact with English. When compared, there was no significant difference between the groups’ contact with English at each stage, suggesting that instruction did not result in significantly more interaction with English during the study abroad period.

Objective Ultrasound-guided thread release (USGTR) is a minimally invasive technique with excellent clinical outcomes currently used in clinical practice to divide the transverse carpal ligament in carpal tunnel syndrome. The purpose of this study is to determine whether this technique can be modified for use in large anatomical compartments in soft embalmed cadaveric models. Materials and methods Two operators adapted the USGTR technique for use in muscular compartments of the forearms and legs in a single soft embalmed cadaver. An iterative approach was used to adapt and improve the technique for use in large compartments, using equipment readily available in most radiology departments. Results The USGTR technique was successfully modified and both operators were able to accurately divide fascial layers over distances of up to 30 cm using the modified technique. Fascial division was confirmed with ultrasound and dissection. Conclusions This adapted technique can successfully be used to divide fascial planes over longer distances than is currently achieved in clinical practice. The improved outcomes associated with USGTR at the carpal tunnel may therefore also be achievable in fasciotomy procedures in larger anatomical compartments. Further study is required to investigate the effects of this modified USGTR technique on intracompartmental pressure. Publisher PDF

Ships require regular inspection and maintenance for corrosion defects that appear due to the failure of protective coatings in corrosive environments. However, maintenance planning is inhibited by the fact that coating failures (i.e. arrival of corrosion defects) are random and physical models for coating degradation and subsequent corrosion progression require data that is usually unavailable. In this paper, the maintenance history of frigates in the Royal Australian Navy is used to estimate the parameters of a Non-Homogeneous Poisson Process that describes the statistical properties of the coating failures in specific compartments of a vessel. A grouping heuristic is developed for fleet-wide data aggregation and parameter estimation. Finally, the predictions from these models are used to optimise the inspection and maintenance plan to simultaneously minimise the defect backlog and the unavailability of the ship due to repairs (since detailed cost data is unavailable). A case study is presented using data from a real fleet of eight ships and results show that 1) the grouping can slightly improve the generalization of the compartment models and 2) the trade-off between the defect backlog and the ship unavailability is clearly displayed as the set of Pareto-optimal solutions of the bi-objective optimisation.

Objectives The investigation of the evolution of cultural and genetic traits and how they interact represents a vibrant area of research in evolutionary genetics, whose dynamics are particularly relevant for our species. One of the key assumptions of the “gene–culture coevolution” framework is the coinheritance of cultural and genetic traits. A corollary of the model is that culturally defined groups with a unique (or a limited number of) common origin(s) whose membership is inherited only through the male or female line are expected to show a relatively low intragroup variation for genetic markers similarly transmitted. Across human societies this is expected to be the case for cultural toponymies and family names within patrilineal and matrilineal groups considered in association with the nonrecombining region of the Y chromosome (NRY) and the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) portion of the genome, respectively. This study aims at exploring the degree of correlation between culture and genetics by investigating the genetic variation of culturally and geographically defined groups. Methods We analyzed the genetic variation at NRY and mtDNA in 181 individuals from the Basotho, a Southern African patrilineal population from Lesotho, in combination with information about group membership and geographic origin. Results Our results show that (a) the genetic distance between individuals belonging to the same culturally defined group is lower than the population as a whole when NRY markers are considered; (b) cultural traits have a bigger impact than geography for the within-group variation of Y chromosome, but not mtDNA; and (c) within-group genetic variation is compatible with a more homogeneous origin for less common groups. Conclusions Our results provided additional evidence for the relevance of the dual inheritance model (culture and genetics) in understanding the patterns of human genetic variation, as implied by gene–culture coevolution theory. Am J Phys Anthropol 160:156–161, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Graphical abstract, The natural selection of anticoagulant resistant rats has resulted in a need for an alternative to anticoagulant rodenticides which differs in both active ingredient and in the method of dosing. Cholecalciferol toxicity to rodents using the dermal route is demonstrated using a variety of penetration enhancing formulations in two in-vitro models and finally in-vivo. A 1 ml dose of 50/50 (v/v) DMSO/ethanol containing 15% (v/v) PEG 200 and 20% (w/v) cholecalciferol was judged as ‘sufficiently effective’ in line with the European Union’s Biocidal Products Regulation (No. 528/2012) during in-vivo studies. This dose was found to cause 100% mortality in a rat population in 64.4 h (±22 h).

Aortic aneurysms remain a significant problem in the population, and there is a concerted effort to identify, define, image, and treat these conditions to ultimately improve outcomes. The rapid development of diagnostic modalities, operative strategies, and endovascular techniques within the realm of this aortic disease has transformed the field and broadened the spectrum of patients that can be treated with minimally invasive techniques. This investigation has a broad spectrum of normal expected findings that must be differentiated from early or late complications in which intervention is required. In this article, normal and abnormal postoperative and post-TEVAR/EVAR MDCT findings are described.

Objective To audit the records of a group of patients who had previously benefited from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for dental phobia.Aim To ascertain if they had returned to the use of intravenous (IV) sedation to facilitate dental treatment. Ten years ago these patients were routinely requiring IV sedation to facilitate dental treatment due to severe dental phobia.Method Sixty patients entered the original pilot project. Of those, 30 were offered CBT and 21 attended. Twenty of those patients (95.2%) were subsequently able to have dental treatment without IV sedation. In this follow-up study the electronic records of 19 of the 20 patients who had originally been successful with CBT were re-audited. Our purpose was to see if there was any record of subsequent IV sedation administration in the intervening ten years.Results Of the 19 successful CBT patients available to follow-up, 100% had not received IV sedation since the study ten years ago. This may suggest the initial benefit of CBT has endured over the ten-year period.Conclusion This study indicates that the use of CBT for patients with dental phobia proves beneficial not only in the initial treatment but that the benefits may endure over time. This results in a significant reduction in health risks to the patient from repeated IV sedation. It may also translate into significant financial savings for dental care providers. Our evidence for CBT as treatment for dental phobia suggests dental services should be implementing this approach now rather than pursuing further research. © 2011 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

The investigation of the evolution of cultural and genetic traits and how they interact represents a vibrant area of research in evolutionary genetics, whose dynamics are particularly relevant for our species. One of the key assumptions of the "gene-culture coevolution" framework is the coinheritance of cultural and genetic traits. A corollary of the model is that culturally defined groups with a unique (or a limited number of) common origin(s) whose membership is inherited only through the male or female line are expected to show a relatively low intragroup variation for genetic markers similarly transmitted. Across human societies this is expected to be the case for cultural toponymies and family names within patrilineal and matrilineal groups considered in association with the nonrecombining region of the Y chromosome (NRY) and the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) portion of the genome, respectively. This study aims at exploring the degree of correlation between culture and genetics by investigating the genetic variation of culturally and geographically defined groups.We analyzed the genetic variation at NRY and mtDNA in 181 individuals from the Basotho, a Southern African patrilineal population from Lesotho, in combination with information about group membership and geographic origin.Our results show that (a) the genetic distance between individuals belonging to the same culturally defined group is lower than the population as a whole when NRY markers are considered; (b) cultural traits have a bigger impact than geography for the within-group variation of Y chromosome, but not mtDNA; and (c) within-group genetic variation is compatible with a more homogeneous origin for less common groups.Our results provided additional evidence for the relevance of the dual inheritance model (culture and genetics) in understanding the patterns of human genetic variation, as implied by gene-culture coevolution theory.