This comprehensive and engaging Research Handbook provides a full examination of the modes and mechanisms of international knowledge transfer. Furthermore, it also provides in-depth insights into international knowledge transfer related challenges faced by multinational enterprises (MNEs). Chapters written by well-respected contributors provide extensive insights into the economic, technological, social, cultural and organizational aspects of knowledge transfer in international business and management. They also highlight the contextual influences imposed by the industrial sectors and countries that MNEs are associated with. Organised into three thematic parts, this Research Handbook provides interesting and important directions for future research within each chapter giving readers an opportunity to pursue these in greater depth. This timely Research Handbook will be an invaluable resource for scholars and researchers of international business and knowledge management. The practical case studies will provide a greater understanding of the topic and its challenges for managers of MNEs.

This two-volume set (LNAI 11055 and LNAI 11056) constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Collective Intelligence, ICCCI 2018, held in Bristol, UK, in September 2018 The 98 full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 240 submissions. The conference focuses on knowledge engineering and semantic web, social network analysis, recommendation methods and recommender systems, agents and multi-agent systems, text processing and information retrieval, data mining methods and applications, decision support and control systems, sensor networks and internet of things, as well as computer vision techniques.

This two-volume set (LNAI 11055 and LNAI 11056) constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Collective Intelligence, ICCCI 2018, held in Bristol, UK, in September 2018 The 98 full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 240 submissions. The conference focuses on knowledge engineering and semantic web, social network analysis, recommendation methods and recommender systems, agents and multi-agent systems, text processing and information retrieval, data mining methods and applications, decision support and control systems, sensor networks and internet of things, as well as computer vision techniques.

Neem is the common name given to the different species of large, evergreen, glabrous shady trees, grown in semi-arid regions of the world. In Pakistan and India the common neem tree, also popularly known as Margosa is Azadirachata indica A. Juss. Neem products isolated from the neem tree were nimbinin, nimbin and nimbidin. Siddiqui (1942) was the first scientist to isolate and purify the neem constituents of its extract. In the present study, effects of Cypermethrin and two crude ethanolic neem extract RB-a and RB-b on the activity of enzymes (GOT, GPT, LDH and cholinesterase) against the 3rd instar larvae of Aedes aegypti. Based on present study results, it was concluded that the neem extract RB-a and RB-b is a moderately toxic substance that shows the toxic effects and morality at high concentrations. Basically it is an IGR that does not kill the insect directly by its poisoning effect rather kill them by interfering the physiological activities. The research techniques and information are helpful for graduate and research students of Biological Sciences and Environmental toxicology.

Our earth's crust is the ultimate source of all metallic elements present in the ecosystem. Globally there are 35 metals that concern us because of residential or occupational exposure; 23 of these are the heavy metals. In this study, the level of heavy metals pollution in poultry chicken (Gallus domesticus) at Karachi, Hyderabad and Thatta were investigated during the year 2007-9. A total 200 random poultry organs (liver, brain and heart) of same aged groups of chickens were collected from poultry shops of 6 selected locations, and 4 heavy metals Cd, Ni, Cu and Pb were analyzed. Based on results that all chickens samples were contaminated with Cadmium (Cd), Nickel (Ni), Copper (Cu) and Lead (Pb). Copper has been recorded as highest level contamination as compared to three other metals Cd, Ni, and Pb. During the study on the basis of feeds samples analyzing, metals may be have been transferred via poultry feeds to poultry chickens. The research techniques and results are helpful for graduate and research students of Biological Sciences, Environmental Science and Poultry Science students.

The use of pesticides and fertilizers has increased rapidly in Pakistan. Pesticide use in Pakistan increased seven-fold in quantity between 1981 and 1992, from 915 million tons to 6,865 million tons of which 80% were organophosphate. Several studies have reported the toxicological issues and adverse effects of pesticides in aquatic biodiversity. The present study included the effects of cypermethrin on cholinesterase activity and protein content against Rana tigrina. After preliminary experiments of the under test compound, two different doses were selected for the studies. It was observed that at the dose of 1% and 0.1% cypermethrin treated frogs, a total reduction in protein contents was found to be 79, 69% in kidney and 76, 44% in liver respectively, as compared to the control. The cholinesterase was found to be inhibited by 36, 35% in kidney and 52 and 47%in liver respectively, when frog were treated with cypermethrin at aforesaid doses. Based on results it is concluded that cypermethrin has reduced protein contents and cholinesterase activity in Rana tigrina. The research techniques and information are helpful for graduate and research students of Biological Sciences.

In the present study, the effects of environmental pollution on aquatic vertebrate biodiversity were studied and inventory of vertebrate fauna of Hub Dam was prepared. During the study, no adverse effects of environmental pollution were found on the aquatic biodiversity except for some minor toxic effects due to trace metals in water. As many as 16 species of mammals, 160 species of birds, 23 species of reptiles, 03 species of amphibians, 29 species of fishes, and 25 species of plants were recorded from the Hub Dam area. There are no serious effects of pollution on the vertebrate biodiversity of the wetland. All the physico - chemical parameters were recorded as per limits of WHO Standard. There is a serious decline in water bird population but these are mainly due to social disturbances. Areas near spillway, main dam area, agriculture land/ shallow water, and Hub Canal are the prime habitats of birds in the wetland. The research techniques and information are helpful for graduate and research students of Biological Sciences, Environment and wetlands managers.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of pesticide permethrin against frog Rana tigrina. After preliminary experiments of the under test compound, two different doses were selected for the studies. These were 1 and 0.1%. Mortality count was made at 24 hours of post-treatment, untreated frogs was also kept as well. Estimation of protein content and cholinesterase has been carried out in treated frogs and compared with untreated. It was observed that at the dose of 1 and 0.1% permethrin treated frogs, a total reduction in protein contents was found to be 61, 16% in kidney and 89 and 87% in liver, respectively. While cholinesterase was found to be inhibited by 35 and 6.76% in kidney and 29 and 23% in liver, respectively, when frog were treated with permethrin at aforesaid doses. On the basis of present study, it is concluded that the permethrin reduced protein contents and enzyme cholinesterase activity after 24 hours treatment in the liver and kidney frog Rana tigrina. The research techniques and information are helpful for graduate and research students of Biological Sciences and wildlife.

Amphibians are important to the overall ecosystem balance. The large biomass of these amphibians makes them significant prey for other animals. The pesticides are widely used and have a variety of lethal and sublethal effects on non-target wildlife species. The present studies investigate the induced effects of two selected pesticide Lambda cyhalothrin (pyrethroid) and Monocrotophos (organophosphate) against frog Rana cyanophlyctis (Common Skittering Frog). After preliminary experiments of each under test compound, two different doses i.e. 0.1 and 1% were used and cholinesterase activity was noted in liver, kidney and brain of treated frogs. It was reduced upto 34.6 and 46.3% in liver, 25.08 and 57.1% in kidney and 31.64 and 50.7% in brain under the effect of lamda cyhalothrin. While under the effect of monocrotophos, cholinesterase decreased upto 37.7 and 57.7% in liver, 57.5 and 67.5% in kidney and 47.6 and 65.9% in brain, respectively. Based on present studies it is concluded that both pesticides are reduced the cholinesterase activities. The research techniques and information are helpful for graduate and research students of Environmental and Biological Sciences.

In the present study, the effects of environmental pollution on aquatic vertebrates of two Ramsar Sites viz. Haleji and Keenjhar Lakes were noted and inventories of the vertebrate fauna were prepared. In the water samples taken from Haleji Lake, the pesticides of organophosphate (OP) and organochlorine (OC) groups were estimated above the Maximum Acceptable Concentrations (MAC). These concentrations were much higher in muscles and fat contents than other tissues of birds. All water samples from Keenjhar Lake contained pesticides below the MAC level. A total of 22 species of mammals, 228 species of birds, 32 species of reptiles, 2 species of amphibia, 37 species of fishes and 33 species of plants were recorded from Haleji Lake, while, 25 species of mammals, 121 species of birds, 29 species of reptiles, 2 species of amphibia, 54 species of fishes and 258 floral species were recorded from the Keenjhar Lake. The research techniques and information are helpful for graduate and research students of Biological Sciences, Environment Science and wetlands managers.

The present study included the impact of habitat destruction on the population of amphibians with reference to status of frogs and toads in Karachi and Thatta districts of Sindh. Four species of frogs, Common Skittering Frog, Tiger Frog, Indian Burrowing Frog and Indian Cricket Frog, and two toad species, Marbled Toad and Common Asian Toad were recorded. On the basis of present study, it is concluded that the permanent habitat alternation, destruction of habitat, use of indiscriminate toxic material such as pesticides, chemical fertilizers and increase of human population, three species Hoplobatrachus tigerinus, Tomopterna breviceps and Limnonectes limnocharis are declined and rated as threatened species in Thatta district, while two species Hoplobatrachus tigerinus and Tomopterna breviceps were rated as rare in Karachi district. The research techniques and information are helpful for graduate and research students of wildlife, National Parks managers, wildlife biologists, wildlife conservation organizations etc.

Amphibians and reptiles are important elements of our natural biological heritage and known to be vulnerable to pesticides that are cholinesterase inhibitors. Several studies have reported that some pesticides reduce cholinesterase (ChE) activity in the frogs. Since the 1970s, significant decline in amphibian populations have been observed throughout the world including Pakistan, due to environmental pollution and some other factors. The amphibians and reptiles are considered to be good indicators of general environmental health. In Pakistan 29 species of amphibians have been recorded, including frog and toad. In this study, Rana cyanophlyctis was exposed to three selected xenobiotics; cypermethrin, endosulfan and oxytetracyclin in the laboratory experiments. Two different concentrations were used, and cholinesterase activity was observed in brain, liver and kidney of R. cyanophlyctis. On the basis of present findings it is concluded that xenobiotics chemicals cypermethrin, endosulfan and oxyterracyclin are harmful for amphibians. The research techniques and information are helpful for graduate and research students of Biological Sciences, Environment and wildlife managers.

The indiscriminate use of pesticides is considered one of the important factors that change the environment by causing imbalances in the ecosystem. According to IUCN (2009), there are now 1,677 reptiles species have been included on the IUCN Red List, with 293 added in 2009. In total, 469 are threatened with extinction and 22 are already Extinct or Extinct in the wild. The present studies included the induced effects of two pesticides cypermethrin (pyrethroid) and malathion (organophosphate) on Agama lizard. It was observed that under the effects of cypermethrin and malathion the enzyme activities were found to be significantly inhibited in liver, kidney and brain tissues of treated lizards. On the basis of present findings it is concluded that cypermethrin and malathion both pesticides are harmful for agama lizards. The research techniques and results are helpful for graduate and research students of Biological Sciences, Environmental Science and wetland managers.

Surgical Instrument and Sterilization Guidebook is a comprehensive manual which tries to cover information related to areas such as history of surgical instruments, manufacturing process, various varieties of steel used, anatomy of a typical surgical instrument, the general classification schemes used and the uses of various classes of surgical instruments. Besides these, this book also gives details about the key quality assurance measures used for assessing the performance of such instruments along with the constituents of various surgical trays being used in a typical Operation theater. Finally this guidebook furnishes an overview of the standard Sterilization process, with details on each step.This guidebook can be effectively used in orienting untrained operation theater staff so that they can have a basic understanding of the various surgical instruments used in OT and the sterilization proces

The decline of amphibian population is a major environmental issue. Pollution in the aquatic ecosystem by pesticides is considered critical in the conservation of biodiversity. Several studies have reported the toxicological issues and adverse effects of pesticides in aquatic environment and biodiversity. The indiscriminate use of pesticides is considered one of the important factors that change the environment by causing imbalances in the ecosystem, especially in biota of the aquatic system. The present study was done to investigate the effects of two selected pesticide group organophosphate (Sandaphos, Chlorpyrifos) and pyrethroid ( -Cypermethrin and Dathrin) on enzyme cholinesterase and alkaline phosphatase in the liver, kidney and brain tissues of skittering frog Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis. It was observed that under the effects of Sandaphos, Chlorpyrifos, - Cypermethrin and Dathrin the enzyme activities were found to be significantly inhibited in liver, kidney and brain tissues of treated frogs. The research techniques and results are helpful for graduate and research students of Biological Sciences, Environmental Science and wetland managers.

Pesticides have harmful effects on biodiversity. The present study was included the induced effects of permethrin and Biosal, against Agama lizard. It was observed that at the dose of 0.1% and 1% permethrin treated lizards, a total reduction in protein contents was found to be 42, 53% in kidney and 7.4, 10% in liver respectively. In the case of Biosal, animals were treated with 25 and 50% concentration and 0.36, 3.56% in kidney and 1.68, 2.2% in liver, protein content reduction was observed respectively, as compared to the control. The cholinesterase was found to be inhibited by 17, 19% in kidney and 18, 24% in liver, respectively, when the animals were treated with permethrin at aforesaid doses. In the case of biosal, inhibition of cholinesterase was found as13.6, 18% in kidney and 39.52, 56.21% in liver, respectively. The permethrin and biosal are toxic to lizards. It is therefore, suggested that biosal could be a better pesticide if used at lower doses as compared to permethrin. The research techniques and information are helpful for graduate and research students of Biological Sciences, Environment and wildlife managers.

Rodents represent the largest order of mammals and are spread all over the globe. They are notorious of being major pests of agriculture, stored products and in urban environments. They are also carrier of more than 32 rodent borne diseases. Among several methods being practised worldwide to combat effectively, the poison baiting is considered the most effective method. However, the palatability of poison bait plays a vital role in successfully controlling rodent population. If the bait is not well accepted, there will be poor rodent kill resulting in wastage of money, labour and time. Unpalatable bait may lead to bait shyness in rodents. During the present study, six taste additives were incorporated 3% and 5% in bait in selected urban and field rodent pest species under laboratory and afterwards in field situation. It is concluded from the study that egg additive 3% in poison bait has more potential in enhancing bait acceptance, thus achieving successful control against urban and field rodent pests of economic importance. The information is very helpful for students of applied Zoology, Practitioners in pest management and farmers.

It is envisaged that environments that adopt the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) model of computing are increasingly becoming the de facto environment for executing business processes represented by their visual models. However, it is not straightforward to use application domain specific web or grid services to enact or execute business processes without translating them into executable programmes. This suggests the need for a generic approach to perform these translations in a structured manner. This work is an attempt to bridge the gap between business process models and service-oriented environments with reference to RAD (Role Activity Diagramming) business process models and grid-aware service-oriented environments. In this context, a novel architectural framework, namely BPMSOA, has been presented with pi-ADL as the underlying process execution language utilising its key characteristics of channel mobility, channel unification, and abstraction composition. The role-based instantiation of the BPMSOA is applied on selected digital library processes which reveals that it is possible to enact role-based process models in service-oriented environments with some limitations.