MIS 430 Business Simulation and Modeling

Course syllabus for MIS 430A Business Simulation and Modeling Course description: Introduction to the use of computers in creating models of business systems. Deals with the methodology for designing and conducting computer simulation experiments using models of enterprises and socioeconomic systems. The course will expose students to the basic concepts of model choice and formulation including heuristic models and management games. Provides an introduction to selected simulation languages (e.g., SIMAN, GPSS and DYNAMO). Basic statistical tools and techniques required for simulation will also be covered. Approximately 50% of the course time will be devoted to the methodology and practice of simulation and the remaining time (50%) in lab sessions to gain a working knowledge of SIMAN IV and GPSS/PC, to design and develop PC based business simulations. Students will also be required to develop simulation models using BASIC and spreadsheets (LOTUS 1-2-3 and/or Quattro Pro). Emphasis will be placed on the interpretation of simulation outputs

The customs associated with joy on Chanukah and their more obscure sources

In previous posts we have discussed some of the customs relating to Chanukah, in this post I wanted to address those customs connected to Simcha (joy) and do so by highlighting some rather unknown sources. Amongst the topics I will discuss are eating a seudah, dairy products, sefuganiot, playing cards and dreidel

SNTF immunostaining reveals previously undetected axonal pathology in traumatic brain injury

Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) is a common feature of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and may also be a predominant pathology in mild TBI or “concussion”. The rapid deformation of white matter at the instant of trauma can lead to mechanical failure and calcium-dependent proteolysis of the axonal cytoskeleton in association with axonal transport interruption. Recently, a proteolytic fragment of alpha-II spectrin, “SNTF”, was detected in serum acutely following mild TBI in patients and was prognostic for poor clinical outcome. However, direct evidence that this fragment is a marker of DAI has yet to be demonstrated in either humans following TBI or in models of mild TBI. Here, we used immunohistochemistry (IHC) to examine for SNTF in brain tissue following both severe and mild TBI. Human severe TBI cases (survival <7d; n = 18) were compared to age-matched controls (n = 16) from the Glasgow TBI archive. We also examined brains from an established model of mild TBI at 6, 48 and 72 h post-injury versus shams. IHC specific for SNTF was compared to that of amyloid precursor protein (APP), the current standard for DAI diagnosis, and other known markers of axonal pathology including non-phosphorylated neurofilament-H (SMI-32), neurofilament-68 (NF-68) and compacted neurofilament-medium (RMO-14) using double and triple immunofluorescent labeling. Supporting its use as a biomarker of DAI, SNTF immunoreactive axons were observed at all time points following both human severe TBI and in the model of mild TBI. Interestingly, SNTF revealed a subpopulation of degenerating axons, undetected by the gold-standard marker of transport interruption, APP. While there was greater axonal co-localization between SNTF and APP after severe TBI in humans, a subset of SNTF positive axons displayed no APP accumulation. Notably, some co-localization was observed between SNTF and the less abundant neurofilament subtype markers. Other SNTF positive axons, however, did not co-localize with any other markers. Similarly, RMO-14 and NF-68 positive axonal pathology existed independent of SNTF and APP. These data demonstrate that multiple pathological axonal phenotypes exist post-TBI and provide insight into a more comprehensive approach to the neuropathological assessment of DAI

Simultaneous Analysis in S-PLUS: The SimultAn Package

In this paper we describe the SimultAn package dedicated to simultaneous analysis. Simultaneous analysis is a new factorial methodology developed for the joint treatment of a set of several data tables. Since the first stage of simultaneous analysis requires a correspondence analysis of each table the package comprises two parts, one for correspondence analysis and one for simultaneous analysis. The package can be used to perform classical correspondence analysis of frequency/contingency tables as well as to perform simultaneous analysis of a set of frequency/contingency tables. In this package, functions for computation, summaries and graphical visualization in two dimensions are provided, including options to display partial rows and supplementary points.