Bp

Outsourcing is a well debated phenomenon and it seems like many have the opinion if the firms shall be successful, it has to follow the trend of outsourcing. Outsourcing is something most industries practice, and certainly the petroleum industry. Outsourcing as part of a firm’s strategy seems to be highly established in the oil & gas industry. As the oil & gas industry established, it seems the frequency of outsourcing has matured along with it. The study evaluated the experiences that different oil and gas firms have had with outsourcing and also compared it with experiences from other industries. From the findings it is indicated that outsourcing in the oil and gas sector has been on the rise since early 1990’s. It is used as a formidable strategy to exert efficiency in operations and stay ahead of competition. The report concluded by asserting the importance of outsourcing as a prelude to higher performing enterprises in this sector. It recommends that the practice should be done within the acceptable frameworks such as allowing competitive bidding, outsourcing from credible providers, auditing the business processes, and benchmarking with other firms in the industry and beyond.

BP makes much of its commitment to CSR - or so one concludes from BP’s own corporate documentation and marketing. The voluntary nature of its reporting, which it has been actively involved in for a considerable amount of time, its investments in sustainable and safe business practices, and its charitable donations imply that BP’s profits are made while considering the impacts on people and the planet.

This paper examines that perception by asking:
1. What is meant by CSR and business ethics?
2. How does BP interpret CSR and business ethics?
3. What is the impact of BP’s approach on third parties?
4. How does BP’s investment in CSR and ethical business practices compare with its peers?

Response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) have been used to develop predictive models for simulation and optimization of reverse osmosis (RO) desalination process. Sodium chloride aqueous solutions were employed as model solutions for a RO pilot plant applying polyamide thin film composite membrane, in spiral wound configuration. The input variables were sodium chloride concentration in feed solution, C, feed temperature, T, feed flow-rate, Q, and operating hydrostatic pressure, P. The RO performance index, which is defined as the salt rejection factor times the permeate flux, has been considered as response. Both RSM and ANN models have been developed based on experimental designs. Two empirical polynomial RSM models valid for different ranges of feed salt concentrations were performed. In contrast, the developed ANN model was valid over the whole range of feed salt concentration demonstrating its ability to overcome the limitation of the quadratic polynomial model obtained by RSM and to solve non-linear problems. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) has been employed to test the significance of response surface polynomials and ANN model. To test the significance of ANN model, the estimation of the degree of freedom due to residuals has been detailed. Finally, both modeling methodologies RSM and ANN were compared in terms of predictive abilities by plotting the generalization graphs. The optimum operating conditions were determined by Monte Carlo simulations considering: (i) the four input variables, (ii) for typical brackish water with a fixed concentration of 6 g/L and (iii) for typical seawater with a fixed concentration of 30 g/L. Under the obtained optimal conditions maximum RO performance indexes have been achieved experimentally.▶ The highest factors interaction effects exists between the pressure and salt concentration. ▶ The feed flow rate has the smallest non-linear effect on the RO performance index. ▶ The effect of pressure is more significant at higher feed temperatures. ▶ The effect of the feed temperature is higher at higher operating pressures. ▶ The optimal conditions offered by ANN are better than those given by RSM.

Blood pressure (BP) is not constant throughout the day, on different days in a month and on different times of a cyclical event like menstrual cycle. Variation in BP during different phases of menstrual cycle can also be attributed to the effect of female sex hormones on cardiovascular function. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the variation in BP during different phases of menstrual cycle and whether these changes can warrant an increase or decrease in the dose of antihypertensive drugs in hypertensive women of reproductive age group. This study was conducted on a healthy female subject with regular menstrual cycle of 28 days duration using ambulatory BP monitor (TM-2430, A&D Co., Japan). 24-hour BP was recorded on alternate days for a period of 2 consecutive menstrual cycles. BP data was divided into four groups: menstrual phase (days 2 and 4), proliferative phase (days 6, 8, 10 and 12), ovulatory phase (day 14) and secretory phase (days 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 and 28). Though the differences were noted between different phases of menstrual cycle, they were not statistically significant. To conclude, cardiovascular homeostatic mechanisms are strong enough to correct the subtle BP changes brought about by the action of ovarian hormones on the cardiovascular system.

A novel synthetic 323-bp gene with the open reading frame of a multiple-epitope polypeptide has been assembled and cloned. The gene is engineered by contiguous alignment of selected epitopes and functional domains of the hepatitis B virus envelope proteins separated by pairs of glycine residues. High-level bacterial production of this 100-amino acid (approx. 10 kDa) protein has been achieved and the gene product is stable. ELISA and Western blot experiments using epitope-specific antisera confirm that the corresponding epitopes are present in the engineered protein.

Hypersensitivity reactions to β-lactam and non-β-lactam antibiotics are commonly reported. They can be classified as immediate or nonimmediate according to the time interval between the last drug administration and their onset. Immediate reactions occur within 1 hour after the last drug administration and are manifested clinically by urticaria and/or angioedema, rhinitis, bronchospasm, and anaphylactic shock; they may be mediated by specific IgE-antibodies. Nonimmediate reactions occur more than 1 hour after the last drug administration. The most common manifestations are maculopapular exanthems; specific T lymphocytes may be involved in this type of manifestation. The diagnostic evaluation of hypersensitivity reactions to antibiotics is usually complex. The patient's history is fundamental; the allergic examination is based mainly on in vivo tests selected on the basis of the clinical features and the type of reaction, immediate or nonimmediate. Immediate reactions can be asses...