Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SUPPLIER EVALUATION IN A DYADIC RELATIONSHIP: AN ACTION RESEARCH APPROACH

This article describes an Action Research (AR) framework applied to the supplier evaluation environment of a telecommunication company. Within this AR framework, data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used because the methodology can successfully delineate evaluation problems and then outline a desirable path. This leads management to continuously review and improve complex systems or processes. The DEA methodology coordinates the supplier evaluation inputs and reconciles what can be very diverse performance measures and even more diverse weights applied by evaluation team members. Finally, dyadic interdependence can be demonstrated by identifying the impact of changes in buyer performance attributes on each supplier's capacity to accommodate and adjust.
How to perform a transseptal puncture

The left atrium (LA) is the most difficult cardiac chamber to access percutaneously. Although it can be reached via the left ventricle and mitral valve, manipulation of catheters that have made two 180° turns is cumbersome. The transseptal puncture permits a direct route to the LA via the intra-atrial septum and systemic venous system. Previously the technique was used infrequently by cardiologists for mitral valvuloplasty and ablation in the left heart; however, the explosion of interest in catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) has meant the transseptal puncture is a routine skill of the modern cardiac electrophysiologist. This article looks at the practical aspects of this important procedure, particularly as applied to the cardiac electrophysiologist. The transseptal puncture was developed by Ross, Braunwald and Morrow at the National Heart Institute (now the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute), Bethseda in the late 1950s to allow left heart catheterisation, principally for the evaluation of valvular heart disease.1 Early problems were difficulty cannulating the left ventricle, injecting sufficient volume of contrast for imaging, and inadvertent aortic puncture. Important refinements were made to the needle and catheter such that Brockenbrough’s description of the technique in 1962 differs little from that used now.2 Mullins developed a combined catheter and dilator set designed precisely to fit over the Brockenbrough needle, which gives a smooth taper from the tip of the needle, over the dilator to the shaft of the sheath.3 The terms Brockenbrough needle and Mullins sheath are often used by operators generically when referring to transseptal needles and sheaths, respectively; however, there is a range of equipment available from several manufacturers, often designed for specific applications—for example, catheter ablation of AF. Access to the LA is needed for catheter ablation, percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty, and occasionally left heart catheterisation where an accurate …
A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF FOOD PANTRY CLIENTS IN SALT LAKE COUNTY

In 2007, 13 million U.S. households were food insecure. The 2005-2007 household food insecurity average in Utah was 12.5%. The Food Stamp Program and community food pantries are two programs that food insecure households use to meet their food needs. The primary purpose of the study was to assess food security among food pantry users who received food from pantries located in Salt Lake County. The second purpose of the study was to describe the characteristics of those who received food from food pantries. Finally, data were collected with regard to other types of food assistance food pantry users received. Food pantry users in Salt Lake County were found to be overwhelmingly food insecure. Based on the participants' responses, the average food pantry user in Salt Lake County was living in poverty, was food insecure, and was seemingly eligible for food stamps and other food assistance programs but was not participating in these programs. Less than half of the participants were employed but still living in poverty, whereas the other half of the participants received some form of social security or retirement income—indicating that they were disabled or elderly. Many households were also faced with the stress of choosing between buying food and paying household expenses. For participants who received food f lf e-indi stamps, a majority stated that the food stamps were spent before the end of the month. v sta ps. a ajority stated that the food sta ps ere spent before the end of t e onth.
MnSOD expression inhibited by electromagnetic pulse radiation in the rat testis

Male Sprague Dawley rats were exposed to EMP irradiation of 100 kV/m peak-to-peak e-field intensity and different numbers of pulses. Rat sperm samples were prepared for analysis of sperm qualities; Testes were assessed by transmission electron microscopy and serum hormone concentrations were examined by radioimmunoassay; Enzymatic activities of Total-superoxide dismutase(T-SOD) and manganese-superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), the mRNA levels of MnSOD and cuprozinc-superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD), and the density of malondialdehyde (MDA) were also determined. EMP irradiation did not affect spermatozoon morphology, micronucleus formation rate, sperm number or viability, but the acrosin reaction rate decreased at 24 h and 48 h and recovered by 72 h after irradiation as compared to the controls. The ultrastructure of rat testis displayed more serious damage at 24 h than at other time points (6 h, 12 h, 48 h). Serum levels of luteotrophic hormone (LH) and testosterone (T) were elevated in irradiated rats as compared to controls. After irradiation, enzymatic activities of T-SOD and MnSOD were reduced by 24 h, consistent with the changes observed in MnSOD mRNA expression; MDA content increased at 6 h in turn. These studies have quantified the morphological damage and dysfunction in the rat reproductive system induced by EMP. The mechanism of EMP induced damage may be associated with the inhibition of MnSOD expression.
The role of early retinal lateral inhibition: More than maximizing luminance information

Lateral inhibition is one of the first and most important stages of visual processing. There are at least four theories related to information theory in the literature for the role of early retinal lateral inhibition. They are based on the spatial redundancy in natural images and the advantage of removing this redundancy from the visual code. Here, we contrast these theories with data from the retina's outer plexiform layer. The horizontal cells' lateral-inhibition extent displays a bell-shape behavior as function of background luminance, whereas all the theories show a fall as luminance increases. It is remarkable that different theories predict the same luminance behavior, explaining “half” of the biological data. We argue that the main reason is how these theories deal with photon-absorption noise. At dim light levels, for which this noise is relatively large, large receptive fields would increase the signal-to-noise ratio through averaging. Unfortunately, such an increase at low luminance levels may smooth out basic visual information of natural images. To explain the biological behavior, we describe an alternate hypothesis, which proposes that the role of early visual lateral inhibition is to deal with noise without missing relevant clues from the visual world, most prominently, the occlusion boundaries between objects.
Callus induction and plant regeneration from leaf explants of jojoba [ Simmondsia chinensis (Link) Schneider]

Sunil Kumar 1,2 , Manisha Mangal 3 , A K Dhawan 4 and Narender Singh 2 * Centre for Plant Biotechnology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University New Campus, Hisar 125 004, India Department of Botany, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra 136 119, India Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology, Ludhiana 141 001, India CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Regional Research Station, Karnal 132 001, India
Health Information Technology

Given the rising costs of health care, the current focus on improving patient safety, and the goals of reducing barriers to efficient healthcare access, there is a strong and rapid push towards the implementation of health information systems in a variety of health care contexts. This panel brings together individuals with experiences spanning human factors and system safety research, medical informatics, and clinical practice to provide a set of diverse but complementary viewpoints on what it will take to successfully, safely, and meaningfully design and implement health information systems.
Intercalation compounds of hydrotalcite-like anionic clays with anti-inflammatory agents, II: Uptake of diclofenac for a controlled release formulation

AbastractThe purpose of this study was to investigate whether hydrotalcite is able to intercalate diclofenac, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, and release it in a controlled manner. Layered Mg−Al hydrotalcite in the chloride form was used as a host, and the intercalation compound was prepared by Cl−/diclofenac anionic exchange. Drug release from the intercalation compound was performed in vitro in simulated intestinal fluid at pH 7.5 according to USP 24 and in a pH 7.0 solution designed to mimic the ionic conditions of the small intestine. Results from the intercalation process show that hydrotalcite is able to intercalate diclofenac with a simple procedure and with a good drug loading (55% wt/wt). The in vitro drug release was remarkably lower than that from the corresponding physical mixture at both pH 7.5 and pH 7.0. In the latter case, the release was not complete at 24 hours. The kinetic analysis shows the importance of the diffusion through the particle in controlling the drug release rate. The obtained results show that hydrotalcite may be used to prepare modified release formulations.
Consumers' Attitudes Toward Labelling of Ethical Products: The Case of Organic and Fair Trade Products

This article aims to investigate the factors that influence consumer attitudes to use labelling information in purchasing organic and Fair Trade products and to verify if labelling is a valid tool of direct shopping aid to consumers, with a view to derive inferences that may contribute to better strategic and tactical marketing decisions. A quantitative survey with a sample of 300 consumers living in south Italy was conducted to explore consumers' knowledge and attitudes toward labelling of organic and fair trade products. Data generated in this way were submitted to exploratory and segmentation analysis. The results indicate significant differences in consumer attitudes and behavior for ethical products and show the importance of new variables, other than demographics characteristics, that can influence the purchasing behavior and label information use.
A NEURAL NETWORK APPROACH TO PREDICT MARINE TRAFFIC

The marine traffic has been significantly rising fast during the last period of time. One of the most important problems for prediction of the marine traffic is to find certain patterns movements of particular vessels. Even the modern navigation devices could not ensure full maritime picture in narrow waterways because of geographical structures and various disturbances. Moreover, all vessels have could not use autopilot in straits for these reasons; they have to operated manually according to rules. In this paper, investigate the problem of maritime traffic prediction by artificial neural network.
Developing a Project Management Best Practice

Executives today are interested in developing a best practice around project management within their organizations. Some of this interest stems from the economy and the need to do more with less – reduced timelines to get a product/service to market to increase revenue, smaller budgets to get projects completed, and reduced project management staff due to layoffs and/or restructuring. However, exactly what a “best practice” means is different from organization to organization and in many situations, within the organization the definition of a “best practice” differs from department to department or business unit to business unit. Many organizations are unsure how to go about defining what a “best practice” means for their organization as a whole and how to effectively go about developing a best practice that works for their organization. This paper will focus on the importance of developing a project management mindset – and therefore a best practice – within an organization; including the steps necessary to take to reach the end goal and how to get buy-in from key players within the organization to ensure success.
Extending the Technology Acceptance Model Extending the Technology Acceptance Model and the Task and the Task-Technology Fit Model to Technology Fit Model to Consumer E Consumer E- -Commerce Commerce

The proliferation of business -to-consumer e-commerce activities has created a need to understand how and why people participate in e -commerce. This study treats consumer e-commerce as a technology adoption process and evaluates the suitability of two popular adoption models. This research supports the use of the technology acceptance model (TAM) to predict online shopping activity, both the intention to shop online and actual purchases. Two minor alterations are made to the traditional use of TAM—perceived ease of use is not linked to perceived usefulness, and perceived usefulness is directly linked to actual use. This research also finds that the task-technology fit (TTF) model is a valuable addition to TAM for online shopping tasks. A web-based survey of 263 undergraduates was used.
A Longitudinal Analysis of Moving Desires, Expectations and Actual Moving Behaviour

Residential mobility theory proposes that moves are often preceded by the expression of moving desires and expectations. Much research has investigated how individuals form these premove thoughts, with a largely separate literature examining actual mobility. Although a growing number of studies link premove thoughts to subsequent moving behaviour, these often do not distinguish explicitly between different types and combinations of premove thoughts. Using 1998–2006 British Household Panel Survey data, this study investigates whether moving desires and expectations are empirically distinct premove thoughts. Using multinomial regression models we demonstrate that moving desires and expectations have different meanings, and are often held in combination: the factors associated with expecting to move differ depending upon whether the move is also desired (and vice versa). Next, using panel logistic regression models, we show that different desire–expectation combinations have different effects on the probability of subsequent moving behaviour. The study identified two important groups generally overlooked in the literature: those who expect undesired moves and those who desire to move without expecting this to happen.
Adsorption of a cationic dye , Methylene Blue , ontoMoroccan Illitic Clay

In this study, Moroccan Illitic Clay (MIC) of Khemisset regionthat was characterised by X-ray diffraction has been used as a low cost adsorbent in the removal of a cationic dye, Methylene Blue(MB), from aqueous solution by a batch adsorption technique. The effects of various experimental parameters such as solution PH, initial dye concentration, contact time, temperature, adsorbent masses and stirring speed were investigated. The results showed that basic PH and high stirring speed were favourable for the adsorption of dye, and the adequate equilibrium time for the adsorption of Methylene Blue onto Moroccan Illitic Clay was 60min.The experimental data were analysed by the linear form of Langmuir, Frendlich, Temkin and Dubinine-Radushkevich isotherm models and showed a good fit with the Langmuir isotherm model. Adsorption kinetic and its mechanism were studied using pseudo first order kinetic equation, second order kinetic equation and intra-particle diffusion model. The adsorption kinetic followed the pseudo second order equation that involved two steps for the dye investigated in this work. Thermodynamic parameters were also evaluated and revealed that the adsorption of Methylene Blue onto Moroccan Illitic Clay was spontaneous, and exothermic in nature.
Outpatient-based physical rehabilitation for survivors of prolonged critical illness: A randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACT Introduction: The physical and psychological impact of critical illness is well documented. Recovery may take many months and is often incomplete. The optimal way of addressing these important sequelae following hospital discharge remains unclear. Methods: Single center, randomized controlled trial in patients invasively ventilated for ≥5 days. The treatment group (TG) underwent a 7-week, outpatient-based exercise and education program, with the control group (CG) receiving no intervention during the study period. Primary outcome measures were changes in functional capacity assessed using the cardiopulmonary exercise testing parameters, peak VO2, and anaerobic threshold (AT). Secondary outcome measures were changes in and health-related quality of life assessed using the Short Form 36 version 2 questionnaire. Assessors remained blinded to group allocation. Results: Sixty-three patients completed the study (target n = 90). Improvements in both peak VO2 and AT were seen in both TG and CG but no significant difference between groups was evident. AT improved by 11.7% in CG (baseline 10.3 ml O2 kg−1 min−1, follow-up 11.5 ml O2 kg−1 min−1), and by 14.6% in TG (baseline 10.3 ml O2 kg−1 min−1, follow-up 11.8 ml O2 kg−1 min−1; ANCOVA p = 0.74). Peak VO2 improved by 14.0% in CG (baseline 13.6 ml O2 kg−1 min−1, follow-up 15.5 ml O2 kg−1 min−1), and by 18.8% in TG (baseline 13.8 ml O2 kg−1 min−1, follow-up 16.4 ml O2 kg−1 min−1; ANCOVA p = 0.68). Significant improvements were seen in both groups for physical component summary scores (PCS) (TG 39.6 versus 31.0; CG 36.1 versus 32.6) and mental component summary scores (MCS) (TG 48.6 versus 38.4; CG 41.3 versus 37.0). The degree of improvement was significantly higher in the treatment group in comparison to control subjects (PCS p = 0.048; MCS p = 0.017). This improvement was most marked in the subgroup ventilated for >14 days. Conclusions: A 7-week, outpatient-based exercise and education program resulted in improved health-related quality of life scores but not improved exercise capacity.
DOTS for TB relapse in India: A systematic review

In India, under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP), the percentage of smear-positive re-treatment cases is high. The causes of re-treatment include relapse of the disease after successful completion of treatment, treatment failure, and default in treatment. RNTCP does not follow up the patients for any period of time after successful completion of treatment to determine whether they relapse. Given the high cost of treatment for each patient under RNTCP and the potential for spread of disease from these patients, it is crucial for the success of the program and control of the disease in the country to find out more about the reasons behind this. T0 o conduct a systematic review of literature and determine evidence regarding recurrence of TB after its successful treatment with standard short course chemotherapy under DOTS guidelines. T0 en databases were searched including Medline, Cochrane database, Embase and others and reference lists of articles. 255 papers resulted from these searches. Seven studies were finally included in the review after applying the inclusion, exclusion and quality assessment criteria. R0 elapse rate is high (almost 10%) in India which is higher than international studies. Majority of relapse cases present soon after completion of treatment (first six months). Risk factors for relapse included drug irregularity, initial drug resistance, smoking and alcoholism Sex and weight were not risk factors in India. The outcome of relapse cases put on treatment is positive but less effective than new cases. There are sound arguments and sketchy evidence that DOTS Category 2 treatment may not be adequate for retreatment patients.
Representation-learning for anomaly detection in complex x-ray cargo imagery

Existing approaches to automated security image analysis focus on the detection of particular classes of threat. However, this mode of inspection is ineffectual when dealing with mature classes of threat, for which adversaries have refined effective concealment techniques. Furthermore, these methods may be unable to detect potential threats that have never been seen before. Therefore, in this paper, we investigate an anomaly detection framework, at X-ray image patch-level, based on: (i) image representations, and (ii) the detection of anomalies relative to those representations. We present encouraging preliminary results, using representations learnt using convolutional neural networks, as well as several contributions to a general-purpose anomaly detection algorithm based on decision-tree learning.
Minimax Distribution-Free Procedure for Mixture Inventory Model with Variable Lead Time and a Service Level Constraint by Reducing Order Cost

SYNOPTIC ABSTRACT As supply chains have become more extended in recent years, coordination and information sharing among supply chain members to improve system efficiency have attracted much interest. In order to achieve a higher degree of coordination and automation among the supply chain parties, the supply chain sometimes invests in reducing the ordering cost to streamline and speed up transactions via the application of information technology. If the ordering cost per order could be reduced effectively, then the total relevant cost per unit time could be automatically improved. In this study, we investigate a continuous review inventory model involving controllable lead time for the mixtures of distributions of the lead time demand, subject to a service level constraint in order to accommodate more practical features of the real inventory systems. Further, ordering cost can be reduced by an investment in which the optimal inventory control approach is shaped to account for the service level restriction. We assume that any mixture of distribution functions of the lead time demand gives only known finite, first two moments, but its probability distribution is unknown, and we apply a minimax distribution-free procedure to find the optimal solution. Moreover, a computational algorithm with the help of a computer code using the software MATLAB 7.0 is developed to solve the problem. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the theoretical results, and a sensitivity analysis is performed with respect to the various system parameters. Through sensitivity analysis, some observations and managerial implications are presented.