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Business ethics educators strive to produce graduates who not only grasp the principles of ethical decision-making, but who can apply that business ethics education when faced with real-world challenges. However, this has proven especially difficult, as good intentions do not always translate into ethical awareness and action. Complementing a behavioral ethics approach with insights from social psychology, we developed an interventional class module with both online and in-class elements aimed at increasing students' awareness of their own susceptibility to unconscious biases and, consequently, unethical behaviors. We deployed this intervention within a problem-based learning course (137 undergraduate students), in which students completed real-world projects for actual business clients. Our results suggest that although students appeared universally aware of the importance of ethical issues in business and generally espoused intentions to act ethically, those who received the intervention were significantly more likely to recognize their own susceptibility to perpetuating unethical business behavior and to identify ethical issues specific to their real-world projects. These results have important implications for behavioral ethics pedagogy and provide a de-biasing interventional approach for bridging classroom knowledge with real-world skills.

The degradation of particulate organic matter in the ocean is a central process in the global carbon cycle, the mode and tempo of which is determined by the bacterial communities that assemble on particle surfaces. Here, we find that the capacity of communities to degrade particles is highly dependent on community composition using a collection of marine bacteria cultured from different stages of succession on chitin microparticles. Different particle degrading taxa display characteristic particle half-lives that differ by ~170 h, comparable to the residence time of particles in the ocean’s mixed layer. Particle half-lives are in general longer in multispecies communities, where the growth of obligate cross-feeders hinders the ability of degraders to colonize and consume particles in a dose dependent manner. Our results suggest that the microscale community ecology of bacteria on particle surfaces can impact the rates of carbon turnover in the ocean. Particle-attached bacteria play a key ecosystem role by degrading complex organic materials in the ocean. Here, the authors use model marine microbial communities to show that community composition and interspecies interactions can significantly slowdown the rates of particle turnover in the environment.

Residence-time-distribution (RTD)-based models are key to understanding the mixing dynamics of continuous manufacturing systems. Such models can allow for material traceability throughout the process and can provide the ability for removal of non-conforming material from the finished product. These models have been implemented in continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing mainly for monitoring purposes, not as an integral part of the control strategy and in-process specifications. This paper discusses the steps taken to develop an RTD model design space and how the model was statistically incorporated into the product’s control strategy. To develop the model, experiments were conducted at a range of blender impeller speeds and total system mass flow rates. RTD parameters were optimized for each condition tested using a tank-in-series-type model with a delay. Using the experimental RTD parameters, an equation was derived relating the mean residence time to the operating conditions (i.e., blender impeller speed and mass flow rate). The RTD parameters were used in combination with real-time upstream process data to predict downstream API concentration, where these predictions allowed validation across the entire operating range of the process by comparison to measured tablet assay. The standard in-process control limits for the product were statistically tightened using the validation acceptance criteria. Ultimately, this model and strategy were accepted by regulatory authorities.

Powder deposition and accumulation on walls of spray drying chamber has been known to impact spray drying processes, resulting in lower yield, frequent shutdowns, and downtimes. Critical factors that impact the extent and rate of wall deposition have been studied extensively in the chemical and food industry. In this paper, we present an atypical process yield issue wherein acceptable yield is obtained during the first batch of spray drying but undergoes significant yield loss in consecutive batches. Through understanding the interplay of the process, material properties, and equipment, we identify key mechanisms that are playing a role in causing the process yield issue. These mechanisms include surface roughness of the inner wall of the spray dryer, variation in gas flow due to the introduction of process analytical technology, start-up and shutdown operating parameters that expose the wall deposited powder from the prior batch to temperatures close to the onset of glass transition temperature and cause depression of its glass transition temperature. These factors result in more wall accumulation and impact the yield in subsequent batches. By correcting for most of these factors, the yield reduction issue was mitigated, and processing efficiency was improved.

Clinical and surveillance testing for the SARS-CoV-2 virus relies overwhelmingly on RT-qPCR-based diagnostics, yet several popular assays require 2–3 separate reactions or rely on detection of a single viral target, which adds significant time, cost, and risk of false-negative results. Furthermore, multiplexed RT-qPCR tests that detect at least two SARS-CoV-2 genes in a single reaction are typically not affordable for large scale clinical surveillance or adaptable to multiple PCR machines and plate layouts. We developed a RT-qPCR assay using the Luna Probe Universal One-Step RT-qPCR master mix with publicly available primers and probes to detect SARS-CoV-2 N gene, E gene, and human RNase P (LuNER) to address these shortcomings and meet the testing demands of a university campus and the local community. This cost-effective test is compatible with BioRad or Applied Biosystems qPCR machines, in 96 and 384-well formats, with or without sample pooling, and has a detection sensitivity suitable for both clinical reporting and wastewater surveillance efforts.

Recipient of the 2019 Most Promising New Textbook Award from the Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA). \"The authors of Attainable Region Theory: An Introduction to an Choosing Optimal Reactor make what is a complex subject and decades of research accessible to the target audience in a compelling narrative with numerous examples of real-world applications.\" TAA Award Judges, February 2019 Learn how to effectively interpret, select and optimize reactors for complex reactive systems, using Attainable Region theory * Teaches how to effectively interpret, select and optimize reactors for complex reactive systems, using Attainable Region (AR) theory * Written by co-founders and experienced practitioners of the theory * Covers both the fundamentals of AR theory for readers new to the field, as we all as advanced AR topics for more advanced practitioners for understanding and improving realistic reactor systems * Includes over 200 illustrations and 70 worked examples explaining how AR theory can be applied to complex reactor networks, making it ideal for instructors and self-study * Interactive software tools and examples written for the book help to demonstrate the concepts and encourage exploration of the ideas

Current constructivist theorizing relies heavily on causal logics and, therefore, posits that entrepreneurs either pursue or abandon perceived opportunities shortly after their inception. However, findings from effectuation research illuminate less-direct processes involved in the establishment of entrepreneurial ventures. We describe how effectual and causal logics might be integrated by proposing a supplemented model of entrepreneurial opportunity production that features an alternative effectual pathway. In describing this model, we develop six propositions to explain the unique pattern of cognitions and behaviors found among entrepreneurs employing effectual logics. Our propositions suggest that these entrepreneurs are unlikely to rely on peer feedback to determine the viability of early stage opportunities. Instead, they delay the objectification and evaluation of opportunities because they recognize that predictions made in uncertain environments are unlikely to be correct. The employment of these alternate logics results in different pathways to commercialization and different consequences associated with failures.

This quasi-experimental study investigated the effect of cannabis intoxication on the ego equilibrium of recreational cannabis users (N = 30) in an attempt to coordinate the acute state phenomenology with stages in ego development. Ego equilibrium is defined as the predominant stages inhabited within the multistage constellation of ego functioning made observable by the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT). Participants completed the WUSCT for ego development at baseline and after intoxication was achieved. A paired samples t-test was conducted to evaluate the impact of cannabis intake on participants’ WUSCT summed scores. Results indicated a statistically significant increase in WUSCT summed scores from pre stage assessment (M = 160.83, SD = 19.35) to post stage assessment [M = 170.10, SD = 20.64, t(29) = -4.815, p < .0005]. The eta squared statistic (.44) indicated a large effect size, with substantial differences in before and after scores. There was sufficient evidence to indicate a statistically significant difference in pre and post stage responses as relates to the summed score derived from the WUSCT. A nonparametric Wilcoxon signed ranks test was utilized to assess the pre and post stage Total Protocol Ratings (TPR). The Z-value for the Wilcoxon signed ranks test demonstrated statistical significance (Z = -3.116, p = .002), indicating that the TPR post stage ratings (M = 4.83, SD = 1.21) were significantly higher than the pre stage TPR ratings (M = 4.37, SD = 1.16). Results demonstrated a statistically significant difference in pre and post stage responses as relates to the TPR derived from the WUSCT. The majority of the sample responded from moderately to significantly higher stages in psychological development when intoxicated than when sober. Findings suggest that cannabis intoxication affected ego equilibrium and subsequent functioning in a manner that temporarily enhanced the ego’s developmental constituents.