Information technology and performance management for build-to-order supply chains

En las siguientes líneas se plantea un artículo de reflexión que tiene en cuenta parte del marco teórico que sustenta la investigación titulada “Prácticas pedagógicas que promueven la competencia argumentativa escrita (CAE) en niños campesinos de los grados 4° y 5° del Centro Educativo Municipal La Caldera, Sede Principal de Pasto”, desarrollada en el año 2012. En él se contemplan los aportes de las ciencias del lenguaje y la comunicación, la teoría de la argumentación, la didáctica de la lengua escrita y los géneros discursivos, que dan cuenta de la necesidad de desarrollar la capacidad crítica en los estudiantes a través de la argumentación, lo cual implica transformar las prácticas pedagógicas para que se alejen de la transmisión de conocimientos y den paso a la comunicación, para que la palabra escrita sea apropiada de manera significativa

Information systems evaluation: Mini-track introduction

abreast of technological innovations. Yet, companies are becoming more aware that a competitive advantage can not be achieved, or even maintained by utilizing the latest technology. Indeed, it is becoming more apparent that a strategic competitive advantage will not be achieved through embraced technology alone but, in the way companies approach the evaluation, management and exploitation of their human, organizational and technology based assets and infrastructure. In support of this, Sohal et al. (2001) reported the results of a large-scale survey that demonstrated the limited Information Technology (IT) enabled business benefits resulting in service and manufacturing sectors. The survey highlighted that many of the benefits achieved through adopting IT/IS were limited to improvements in productivity and cost alone. Clearly, such results are surprising given the emphasis the normative literature has placed on the strategic benefits achievable from IT/IS. As a result of the far reaching conclusions reported by Sohal et al. (2001), many organisational have begun to question the scope and depth of those IT-enabled business benefits that are not achieved by those companies proactively adopting IT/IS

The use of information systems for logistics and supply chain management in South East Europe: Current status and future direction

This research aims to investigate the current status and future direction of the use of information systems for logistics and supply chain management (LSCM) in South East Europe. The objectives are threefold: (1) to identify major challenges and developments on the use of information systems for LSCM by enterprises, (2) to examine the actual level of satisfaction of current policy on LSCM, and (3) to reveal the actual need of enterprises in South East Europe on effective use of information systems for LSCM. Mixed methodology of literature review and questionnaire survey is adopted in this research. Data collected from 79 enterprises are analysed using descriptive analysis in SPSS. The findings suggest that enterprises in Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Romania, and Serbia and Montenegro, face similar challenges but all are in different stages of developments of LSCM. Their use of information systems explains their heavy focus on supply chain partnership and weakness in demand chain partnership. Major findings suggest that companies and governments alike in that region do not seem to be ready for playing a significant and demanding role in global supply chains. Current deficiencies, including limited abilities in building valuable forward relations, weak strategic planning and organisation, and infrastructural problems, are major obstacles for fast development in LSCM. At the same time though, traces of changing mentalities do exist, setting the ground for improved performance and ultimately for a better position in global business

A new enhancement of fingerprint classification for the damaged fingerprint with adaptive features

In this paper, we propose an new enhancement of the classification for damaged fingerprint database.It is based on the fact that damaged fingerprint image is composed of regular texture regions that can be successfully represents by co-occurrence matrices.So, we first extract the features based on certain characteristics and then we use these features to train a neural network for classifying fingerprints into five classes.The obtained results compared with existing approaches demonstrate the superior performance of our new enhancement

Testing and evaluation of reinforced concrete beam-column-slab joint

Eksperimentalno istraživanje seizmičkog ponašanja identičnih podsklopova greda-stup obavljeno je ispitivanjem dvaju modela spoja u mjerilu 1:2, pri čemu jedan model ima ploču, a drugi nema. Kvalitativni model kojim se simulira sudjelovanje međukatne ploče razvijen je uspostavljanjem obrazaca pojave pukotina u ploči (linija popuštanja) i stanja deformacije u armaturi ploče. Na bazi kontrolnih rezultata zaključeno je da model spoja dovodi do boljeg predviđanja seizmičkog ponašanja te da taj model omogućava eksplicitno ocjenjivanje djelovanja ploče na spoj.An experimental investigation of seismic behaviour of identical beam-column subassemblies was conducted by testing two half-scale joint models: one without a slab and the other with a slab. A qualitative model simulating participation of the floor slab was developed by establishing the slab crack patterns (yield lines) and the state of strain in slab bars. Based on the verification results, it was concluded that the joint model improves prediction of seismic behaviour, and that this model allows explicit evaluation of the slab effect on the joint

Crystal structure of 3-(morpholin-4-yl)-1-phenyl-3-(pyridin-2-yl)propan-1-one

Acknowledgements FMMA acknowledges the PG and Research Department of Chemistry and the Management of Jamal Mohamed College (Autonomous) for their kind support.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Determining Vitamin D Status: A Comparison Between Diabetic And Non-diabetic Women With Breast Cancer By RP-HPLC

Background: Suboptimal levels of Vitamin D, remains a common problem worldwide and its prevalence is high in India, ranging from 70-100%. Several molecular mechanisms have been found about the effects of Vitamin D in modulating glycemic levels and its protective nature in the development of breast cancer. Breast cancer in India is a common problem and studies regarding its association with Vitamin D levels among diabetics remain inconclusive. This study aims to find the association between Vitamin D status and breast cancer in diabetic and non-diabetic women. Materials and methods: 25 hydroxy vitamin D levels were estimated by RP-HPLC. A total of 25 serum samples were analysed (20 Breast cancer patients+5 normal). Results: Serum sample analysis report of breast cancer patients (irrespective of diabetic status) showed 50% low Vitamin D compared to normal individuals. Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency is very common among women suffering from breast cancer. Although diabetic breast cancer women have lower Vitamin D levels when compared to non-diabetic women, the results in this study are not statistically significant

Investigation on The Factors Affecting Lifestyle of Professionals in The Construction Industries (Kerala and Tamil Nadu)

One of the vital assets of any industry is human resources. In general, the majority of works are carried out by humans in the construction industries. Study on the assessment of quality of civil engineering construction professionals’ lifestyle is very limited and hence the motto of this study is to understand the lifestyle of construction professionals and to assess the various factors affecting the lifestyle of them. To analyze the effects of societal behavior and to develop a model to study the impact of various factors in a construction professional’s lifestyle; a mixed approach had been adopted in this study. The instrument used in the study was a questionnaire survey conducted from 180 construction professionals working in different firms in Kerala and Tamil Nadu states of India and these were analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques. Factors affecting the construction professional’s lifestyle are: financial factors, organizational factors, quality, health and environmental factors, work-related factors, and social factors. Hence by foreseeing the factors and adopting favorable changes in a construction professional’s life, they may attain a better lifestyle. This study recommends the strategy to be considered for the improvements of lifestyle of the construction professional especially for “Civil Engineersâ€

Comparative study between fine needle aspiration cytology and histopathological examination in common surgical conditions

INTRODUCTION: FNAC is the first choice for the initial investigation and diagnosis of both superficial and deep lesions though core needle biopsy is extremely valuable in selected cases. FNAC is not only limited to neoplastic conditions, but FNAC is valuable in the diagnosis of inflammatory, infectious and degenerative conditions. It is relatively painless and produces a speedy result. It is cost effective. Its accuracy in many situations can approach that of histopathology in providing an unequivocal diagnosis in the experienced hands. It is applicable when the lesions are easily palpable. The risk of needle tract seeding is extremely low, when truly fine needles of twenty two gauge or less are used. The success of FNAC depends on the representativeness, adequacy of sample and high quality of preparation. At the community level, FNAC may be regarded as a simple screening test for serious disease, which needs further investigation and referral to a specialist. In the majority of the hospitals, it is an essential component of the final preoperative or pretreatment investigations on which the management of the problem is based. There would be little danger in extracting a small quantity of tissue from an obscure growth by the aid of a needle, trocar or cannula. So, little substance is necessary for the microscope that the diagnosis of cancer would no longer be equivocal or vague. AIM OF THE STUDY: 1. To assess the cytological grading in fine needle aspiration cytology smears of common surgical swellings. 2. To compare the cytological grade with a histopathological grade in surgical specimens and biopsies of common surgical swellings. The most common surgical conditions included in this study are: 1. Salivary Gland Swellings, 2. Lymph node Swellings, 3. Thyroid Gland Swellings, 4. Breast Lumps, 5. Soft Tissue Swellings. METHODOLOGY: Cytologically confirmed surgical swellings cases with respective specimens received in the department of pathology, Thanjavur Medical College and Hospital, Thanjavur was studied over a period from August 2011 to Nov 2012. MATERIALS: 1. Disposable hypodermic needles of size 23-24 and of length between 1-1. Inches. 2. Disposable sterile 5 ml syringe .The pistol syringe holder is preferred. But here it is not used. 3. Swabs with spirit or skin sterilizing solutions. 4. Several 76 X 26 mm size microscope slides are suitably labeled and numbered. 5. Koplin jar for keeping the smeared slides in the fixative, the fixative being isopropyl alcohol. Statistical analysis: Data were analyzed by using Spearman’s correlation coefficient (r value) for correlation of cytological grading with histological grading. Also statistical test was applied to determine the p value to find the association between two grading systems. CONCLUSION: 1. FNAC is highly sensitive in diagnosing neoplasms of breast, Thyroid and Parotid. 2. Lymphomas can be found out by FNAC but typing of Lymphoma needs excision biopsy. 3. Benign swelling of the breast (Fibroadenoma), Parotid (Pleomorphic Adenoma), soft tissue (lipoma) can be diagnosed with high accuracy by FNAC. 4. FNAC is useful in conjunction with clinical radiological findings to provide best possible initial assessment. 5. The diagnostic accuracy not only depends on responsiveness of the aspirate but also on the quality of cytological preparation. 6. Repeat FNAC sampling over a period of time reduces the false negative rates

Yield and quality improvement in Bt cotton through foliar application of trifloxystrobin and tebuconazole

In agriculture, fungi can cause serious damage, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality and profit. Fungicides help in reducing the damage caused by fungus, reduce the yield loss and play a major role in quality improvement. The present investigation was carried out at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University to evaluate the influence of trifloxystrobin 50% + tebuconazole 25% (Nativo 75WG) on the yield and quality improvement on Bunny hybrid Bt cotton.  Nativo 75WG was applied on the leaves of cotton plants at 40-60 (DAS) and 60-80 (DAS) at the concentration of 250, 300, 350 g/ha and Carbendazim @ 500 g/ha.  The observations recorded were related to yield and quality attributes in all treatments. The application of Nativo @ 300 g/ha showed a significant increase in boll weight (4.86 g), lint yield per boll (3.86 g boll-1) and lint per plant (138.48 g plant -1) than other treatments. With respect to seed cotton yield and harvest index (0.37 %), the Nativo @ 300 g/ha registered a higher yield (20.2 %) and HI than control under the irrigated situation. Foliar application of treatments during the flowering stage (40-60 DAS) and boll formation stages (60-80 DAS) had increased the quality parameters such as fiber length (2.5% staple length, 50 % staple length) and fiber strength. Further, the foliar spray of  Nativo @ 300 g/ha applied to bunny hybrid Bt cotton had resulted in a higher yield (2920.15 kg ha-1) due to an increase in leaf area index, greenness of leaf and higher dry matter production of the plant