Managerial Efficiency in the Food and Beverage Industry in Taiwan

This study evaluates the managerial efficiency of food and beverage companies by employing the output-oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach. Consequently, the input and output variables of ten Taiwanese listed food and beverage companies were collected from 2011 to 2014. Then the Mann-Whitney U test was used to examine the difference in efficiency between restaurant companies and beverage and dessert companies. The major findings are as follows: (1) An inverse relationship exists between the scale and managerial efficiencies of the food and beverage industry. (2) The Mann-Whitney U test shows that the beverage and dessert companies are statistically more efficient. The results not only offer different managerial insights into the food and beverage industry’s operating efficiency but also determine which factors have a significant and direct impact on these restaurants’ or beverage and dessert shops’ success or failure, which is the considerable contribution of this study for the service industry

Development of a Composite Technique for Preconditioning of 41Cr4 Steel Used as Gear Material: Examination of Its Microstructural Characteristics and Properties

Commercial 41Cr4 (ISO standard) steel was treated by a composite technique. An intermediate layer was introduced firstly at the 41Cr4 steel surface by traditional carburizing and nitriding. Then a hard Cr coating was brush-plated on the intermediate layer. Finally, the coating layer was modified by high current pulsed electron beam (HCPEB), followed by quenching and subsequent tempering treatment. The microstructure, mechanical properties, and fracture behavior were characterized. The results show that a nanocrystalline Cr coating is formed at the 41Cr4 steel surface by the treatment of the new composite technique. Such nanocrystalline Cr coating has acceptable hardness and high corrosion resistance performance, which satisfies the demands of the gears working under high speed and corrosive environment. The composite process proposed in this study is considered as a new prospect method due to the multifunction layer design on the gear surface

PS1485 TRAMETINIB RESTORES IMMUNE TOLERANCE IN ITP PATIENTS BY MODULATING IRF4-MEDIATED TH1 AND TREG CELLS

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Increased Number of Tc17 and Correlation with Th17 Cells in Patients with Immune Thrombocytopenia

BACKGROUND: IL-17-secreting CD8+ T cells (Tc17 subset) have recently been defined as a subpopulation of effector T cells implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. The role of Tc17 and correlation with Th17 cells in the pathophysiology of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) remain unsettled. DESIGN AND METHODS: We studied 47 ITP patients (20 newly-diagnosed and 27 with complete response) and 34 healthy controls. IL-17-producing CD3+CD8+ cells (Tc17) and IL-17-producing CD3+CD8- cells (Th17) were evaluated by flow cytometry and expressed as a percentage of the total number of CD3+ cells. Specific anti-platelet glycoprotein (GP) GPIIb/IIIa and/or GPIb/IX autoantibodies were measured by modified monoclonal antibody specific immobilization of platelet antigens. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells of ITP patients were isolated, incubated in the presence of 0, 0.25, 0.5, or 1 µmol/L of dexamethasone for 72 h, and collected to detect Tc17 and Th17 cells by flow cytometric analysis. RESULTS: IL-17 was expressed on CD3+CD8- and CD3+CD8+ T cells. The percentages of Tc17 and Th17 cells in newly-diagnosed patients were significantly elevated compared to controls, and Tc17 was decreased after clinical treatment. The Th17∶Tc17 ratio was significantly lower in newly-diagnosed patients compared with controls, and was increased in patients who had complete response. There was a significantly positive correlation between Tc17 and Th17 cells in the control group, but not in the ITP patients. A positive correlation existed between Tc17 and the CD8∶CD4 ratio, as well as CD8+ cells in patients with ITP. The frequencies of Tc17 were marginally higher in autoantibody-negative patients than autoantibody-positive patients. Moreover, both Tc17 and Th17 cell percentages decreased as the concentration of dexamethasone in the culture media increased in ITP patients. CONCLUSIONS: Tc17 and the Th17 subset are involved in the immunopathology of ITP. Blocking the abnormally increased number of Tc17 may be a reasonable therapeutic strategy for ITP