Impact of transportation lead-time variability on the economic and environmental performance of inventory systems

Storage and transportation of goods within global supply chains is a major cause of environmental damage in modern value added processes. Thus, in the past, theory and practice developed several approaches in order to decrease these negative environmental impacts that frequently counteract the traditional efficiency-oriented ambitions. However, in many cases the economic and environmental performance can be improved at the same time. As many activities in logistics and inventory management are related to the treatment of potential uncertainties in the system by establishing redundancies, the reduction of uncertainty has equally a positive impact on both performance measures. To investigate the interrelation between uncertainty and the economic and environmental performance of supply chains, a serial inventory system consisting of a manufacturer who works with overseas suppliers and a carrier is considered, whereas the carrier is able to reduce lead time uncertainty. The relationships between uncertainties and the economic and environmental performance of the considered inventory system are highlighted by a simulation study based on empirical data from an international container shipping supply chain

Supporting the Professional Development of Early Childhood Teachers in Head Start: A Case of Acquiring Technology Proficiency

The main purpose of this paper is to describe an exemplary professional development approach in technology learning and its outcomes for early childhood teachers in Head Start in the context of a technology project. The study utilized a collage of qualitative methods including case study, ethnography, and grounded theory. Research participants were selected using purposive sampling methods, and they include 23 people who participated in the technology project. Data collection techniques included multiple, face-to-face, telephone and focus group interviews, observations, and collection of documents and artifacts related to the technology project from the participants. NVIVO qualitative data management software was used for the analysis, and the coding procedures were applied that grounded theory offered. Findings suggest that the communities of learner model of professional development supported early childhood teachers’ technology learning in Head Start. The learning curve experienced by the teachers in emotional, cognitive and behavioral dimensions indicates the importance of nature of learners and supportive learning contexts in technology learning

Evaluation of spinal-paraspinal parameters to determine segmentation of the vertebrae

Purpose: We aimed to evaluate whether lumbar vertebrae can be correctly numbered using auxiliary parameters. Material and methods: Vertebra corpus shape, O’Driscoll classification, lumbosacral axis angle, last two square vertebra dimensions, orifice of right renal artery (RRA), orifice of celiac truncus (CT), orifice of superior mesenteric artery (SMA), vena cava inferior confluence (CVC), abdominal aorta bifurcation (AB), and iliolumbar ligament were evaluated in this study. Results: Lumbosacral transitional vertebrae (LSTV) were observed in 13 (9%) patients. The most common locations of the paraspinal parameters were: RRA: L1 vertebrae (45%), SMA: L1 vertebrae (66%), CT: T12 vertebrae (46%), AB: L4 vertebrae (63%), and CVC: L4 vertebrae (52%). Conclusions: According to the results of our study, no single parameter in the magnetic resonance imaging can accurately indicate the number of vertebrae without counting the levels. As a result, we believe that these parameters may be suspicious in terms of the presence of LSTV rather than the correct level

Machine-based classification of ADHD and nonADHD participants using time/frequency features of event-related neuroelectric activity

Objective Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most frequent diagnosis among children who are referred to psychiatry departments. Although ADHD was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century, its diagnosis is still confronted with many problems. Method A novel classification approach that discriminates ADHD and nonADHD groups over the time-frequency domain features of event-related potential (ERP) recordings that are taken during Stroop task is presented. Time-Frequency Hermite-Atomizer (TFHA) technique is used for the extraction of high resolution time-frequency domain features that are highly localized in time-frequency domain. Based on an extensive investigation, Support Vector Machine-Recursive Feature Elimination (SVM-RFE) was used to obtain the best discriminating features. Results When the best three features were used, the classification accuracy for the training dataset reached 98%, and the use of five features further improved the accuracy to 99.5%. The accuracy was 100% for the testing dataset. Based on extensive experiments, the delta band emerged as the most contributing frequency band and statistical parameters emerged as the most contributing feature group. Conclusion The classification performance of this study suggests that TFHA can be employed as an auxiliary component of the diagnostic and prognostic procedures for ADHD. Significance The features obtained in this study can potentially contribute to the neuroelectrical understanding and clinical diagnosis of ADHD. © 2017 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiolog

Cross-cultural Adaptation and Validation of Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire on Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients

OBJECTIVES: Inadequate adaptation to long-term treatment of chronic illnesses is the most common reason for the inability to obtain the benefits medications can provide. Treatment compliance is influenced by several factors. Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ) developed by Horne et al. in 1999 to evaluate the cognitive representation of medicines have many validation studies, which resulted in good psychometric properties. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the BMQ Turkish translation in patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifty asthma and 50 COPD patients participated in this methodological study. The scale was adapted to Turkish through translation, comparison with other language versions, back translation, and a pre-test. The structural validity was assessed using factor analysis. RESULTS: Similar to the original scale, factor analysis confirmed that BMQ had a four-factor structure that accounts for 58.23% of the total variance. The BMQ showed an acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient: specific-necessity, 0.832: specific-concerns, 0.722; general-harm, 0.792; and general-overuse, 0.682). The factor analysis revealed the same patterns for all questions between the Turkish and original scales. CONCLUSION: The psychometric properties of the BMQ were consistent with those reported in the original study. We found that the Turkish translation of BMQ is a valid and reliable tool for assessing medicine-related beliefs in patients with asthma and COPD

Turkish ultranationalists under review: a study of the Nationalist Action Party

This article aims to study the phenomenon of the Turkish National Party (MHP) by reference to the ongoing theoretical debates on the subject of extreme rightwing parties. This is instrumental in finding out whether the MHP displays similar characteristics to its counterparts in Europe, and whether it is an extreme right, a fascist or a centreright party. The primary hypothesis of this article is that the MHP features many similarities with its European counterparts and hence, is a member of the European extreme rightwing family. In order to test this hypothesis, firstly the historical development of the MHP is clarified. Secondly, the contemporary debates in the study of the extreme rightwing family and different approaches to it are presented. Finally, based on the common characteristics of the extreme rightwing parties in general, the aforementioned hypothesis is tested and verified. The main contention of this article is that the MHP shows all the characteristics of a European extreme rightwing party

Histochemical and biometric study of the gastrointestinal system of Hyla orientalis (Bedriaga, 1890) (Anura, Hylidae)

Abstract This study was carried out to assess the localization of hyaluronic acid (HA) and the distribution of glycoproteins in the gastrointestinal system of adult Hyla orientalis