Agile Parameter Affecting Supply Chain Management Strategy

The aim of this paper is to summarize Supply Chain Management (SCM) strategies which are getting affected by the agile parameters. Agile parameters are classified into Capabler, Driver, and Enabler may help an expert to take a decision in an agile environment for accepting changes. Agile development affects the working style of the modules in SCM. This paper shows business process agility defined by the number of the parameter affecting the working style of the SCM modules. The study includes a causal analysis of SCM modules based on the review of a number of research papers and books. SCM based case study of inventory management of swatches is studied with the strategy mapping in different modules based on agile parameters. Set of parameters is studied as per the case study of swatch inventory management in agile development. Mapping agile parameters at different strategies in the changing environment makes a system to understand the impact and future of the agile parameters at different levels of SCM modules. Finding the different type of agility and amount of agility in the SCM system can be an enhancement of this paper

Inspiratory muscle training reduces blood lactate concentration during volitional hyperpnoea

Although reduced blood lactate concentrations ([lac−]B) have been observed during whole-body exercise following inspiratory muscle training (IMT), it remains unknown whether the inspiratory muscles are the source of at least part of this reduction. To investigate this, we tested the hypothesis that IMT would attenuate the increase in [lac−]B caused by mimicking, at rest, the breathing pattern observed during high-intensity exercise. Twenty-two physically active males were matched for 85% maximal exercise minute ventilation (V˙Emax) and divided equally into an IMT or a control group. Prior to and following a 6 week intervention, participants performed 10 min of volitional hyperpnoea at the breathing pattern commensurate with 85% V˙Emax

Molecular Basis of ß-­arrestin Coupling to Formoterol-­Bound ß1-­adrenoceptor

The β1-adrenoceptor (β1AR) is a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that couples1 to the heterotrimeric G protein Gs. G-protein-mediated signalling is terminated by phosphorylation of the C terminus of the receptor by GPCR kinases (GRKs) and by coupling of β-arrestin 1 (βarr1, also known as arrestin 2), which displaces Gs and induces signalling through the MAP kinase pathway2. The ability of synthetic agonists to induce signalling preferentially through either G proteins or arrestins-known as biased agonism3-is important in drug development, because the therapeutic effect may arise from only one signalling cascade, whereas the other pathway may mediate undesirable side effects4. To understand the molecular basis for arrestin coupling, here we determined the cryo-electron microscopy structure of the β1AR-βarr1 complex in lipid nanodiscs bound to the biased agonist formoterol5, and the crystal structure of formoterol-bound β1AR coupled to the G-protein-mimetic nanobody6 Nb80. βarr1 couples to β1AR in a manner distinct to that7 of Gs coupling to β2AR-the finger loop of βarr1 occupies a narrower cleft on the intracellular surface, and is closer to transmembrane helix H7 of the receptor when compared with the C-terminal α5 helix of Gs. The conformation of the finger loop in βarr1 is different from that adopted by the finger loop of visual arrestin when it couples to rhodopsin8. β1AR coupled to βarr1 shows considerable differences in structure compared with β1AR coupled to Nb80, including an inward movement of extracellular loop 3 and the cytoplasmic ends of H5 and H6. We observe weakened interactions between formoterol and two serine residues in H5 at the orthosteric binding site of β1AR, and find that formoterol has a lower affinity for the β1AR-βarr1 complex than for the β1AR-Gs complex. The structural differences between these complexes of β1AR provide a foundation for the design of small molecules that could bias signalling in the β-adrenoceptors

Catastrophizing mediates the relationship between the personal belief in a just world and pain outcomes among chronic pain support group attendees

Health-related research suggests the belief in a just world can act as a personal resource that protects against the adverse effects of pain and illness. However, currently, little is known about how this belief, particularly in relation to one’s own life, might influence pain. Consistent with the suggestions of previous research, the present study undertook a secondary data analysis to investigate pain catastrophizing as a mediator of the relationship between the personal just world belief and chronic pain outcomes in a sample of chronic pain support group attendees. Partially supporting the hypotheses, catastrophizing was negatively correlated with the personal just world belief and mediated the relationship between this belief and pain and disability, but not distress. Suggestions for future research and intervention development are made

Quantum Simulation of Tunneling in Small Systems

A number of quantum algorithms have been performed on small quantum computers; these include Shor's prime factorization algorithm, error correction, Grover's search algorithm and a number of analog and digital quantum simulations. Because of the number of gates and qubits necessary, however, digital quantum particle simulations remain untested. A contributing factor to the system size required is the number of ancillary qubits needed to implement matrix exponentials of the potential operator. Here, we show that a set of tunneling problems may be investigated with no ancillary qubits and a cost of one single-qubit operator per time step for the potential evolution. We show that physically interesting simulations of tunneling using 2 qubits (i.e. on 4 lattice point grids) may be performed with 40 single and two-qubit gates. Approximately 70 to 140 gates are needed to see interesting tunneling dynamics in three-qubit (8 lattice point) simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Effect of restricting silage feeding prepartum on time of calving, dystocia and stillbirth in Holstein-Friesian cows

A study was carried out to investigate the effect of restricting silage feeding on time of calving and calving performance in Holstein-Friesian cows. In the treatment group (n = 1,248 cows, 12 herds) silage feeding commenced in the evening (17:00 to 20:00 h), after a period of restricted access (2 to 10 h) while in the control group ad-libitum access to silage was provided over the 24 h period (n = 1,193 cows, 12 herds). Daytime and nighttime calvings were defined as calvings occurring between the hours of 06:30 and 00:29 and between 00:30 and 06:29, respectively. Restricting access to silage resulted in less calvings at night compared to cows with ad-libitum access to silage (18 vs 22%, P < 0.05). Cows with restricted access to silage had a higher percentage of difficult calvings (11 vs 7%, P < 0.001) and stillbirths (7 vs 5%, P < 0.05) compared to cows in the control group. The percentage of calvings at night was lower (13%) when access to silage was restricted for 10 h compared to 2, 4 or 6 h (22, 18, 25%, respectively) (P < 0.001). Calf sire breed, calf gender or cow parity did not influence time of calving. In conclusion, offering silage to pregnant Holstein-Friesian cows in the evening, after a period of restricted access, reduced the incidence of nighttime calvings, but increased the incidence of dystocia and stillbirth

To what extent do site-based training, mentoring, and operational research improve district health system management and leadership in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review protocol

District health managers play a key role in the effectiveness of decentralized health systems in low- and middle-income countries. Inadequate management and leadership skills often hamper their ability to improve quality of care and effectiveness of health service delivery. Nevertheless, significant investments have been made in capacity-building programmes based on site-based training, mentoring, and operational research. This systematic review aims to review the effectiveness of site-based training, mentoring, and operational research (or action research) on the improvement of district health system management and leadership. Our secondary objectives are to assess whether variations in composition or intensity of the intervention influence its effectiveness and to identify enabling and constraining contexts and underlying mechanisms

Currency Unions

A currency union is when several independent sovereign nations share a common currency. This has been a recurring phenomenon in monetary history. In this article I study the theoretical foundations of such unions, and discuss some important currency unions in history, most notably the case of the US. Finally I contrast the design of the EMU with economic theories and historical experiences of currency unions