An evaluation of cross-efficiency methods: With an application to warehouse performance

Cross-efficiency measurement is an extension of Data Envelopment Analysis that allows for tie-breaking ranking of the Decision Making Units (DMUs) using all the peer evaluations. In this article we examine the theory of cross-efficiency measurement by comparing a selection of methods popular in the literature. These methods are applied to performance measurement of European warehouses. We develop a cross-efficiency method based on a rank-order DEA model to accommodate the ordinal nature of some key variables characterizing warehouse performance. This is one of the first comparisons of methods on a real-life dataset and the first time that a model allowing for qualitative variables is included in such a comparison. Our results show that the choice of model matters, as one obtains statistically different rankings from each one of them. This holds in particular for the multiplicative and game-theoretic methods whose results diverge from the classic method. From a managerial perspective, focused on the applicability of the methods, we evaluate them through a multidimensional metric which considers their capability to rank DMUs, their ease of implementation, and their robustness to sensitivity analyses. We conclude that standard weight-restriction methods, as initiated by Sexton et al. [48], perform as well as recently introduced, more sophisticated alternativesSpanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación), the State Research Agency (Agencia Estatal de Investigación) and the European Regional Development Fund (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional) under grants EIN2020-11226

Machine-learned cloud classes from satellite data for process-oriented climate model evaluation

Clouds play a key role in regulating climate change but are difficult to simulate within Earth system models (ESMs). Improving the representation of clouds is one of the key tasks towards more robust climate change projections. This study introduces a new machine-learning based framework relying on satellite observations to improve understanding of the representation of clouds and their relevant processes in climate models. The proposed method is capable of assigning distributions of established cloud types to coarse data. It facilitates a more objective evaluation of clouds in ESMs and improves the consistency of cloud process analysis. The method is built on satellite data from the MODIS instrument labelled by deep neural networks with cloud types defined by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), using cloud type labels from CloudSat as ground truth. The method is applicable to datasets with information about physical cloud variables comparable to MODIS satellite data and at sufficiently high temporal resolution. We apply the method to alternative satellite data from the Cloud\_cci project (ESA Climate Change Initiative), coarse-grained to typical resolutions of climate models. The resulting cloud type distributions are physically consistent and the horizontal resolutions typical of ESMs are sufficient to apply our method. We recommend outputting crucial variables required by our method for future ESM data evaluation. This will enable the use of labelled satellite data for a more systematic evaluation of clouds in climate models.Comment: Main Paper 16 pages, 11 figures. Supporting material 7 Pages, 8 figures. This work has been submitted to the IEEE for possible publication. Copyright may be transferred without notice, after which this version may no longer be accessibl

Airline Unions Since Deregulation: The Views of Selected Airline Unions

The airline industry in the United States has passed through a crucial period of post-deregulation adjustments. One of those adjustments has been in its relationship with the unions representing a large portion of the industry employees. One view of this situation that is commonly presented is that unions are “losers” in this post deregulation period. The common wisdom in the U.S. airline industry is that labor unions are the biggest losers from deregulation and the dash into consolidation. Certainly there is plenty of evidence for this view. Deregulation spawned split wage scales, futile strikes at United and Pan American, Chapter 11 bankruptcies, and the emergence of a handful of super-carriers which, on the surface at least, handed management oligopolistic bargaining powers\u27 (Gaudin). This is certainly a negative view of how unions have weathered the storm of deregulation, but is it well-founded, and is it a view shared by the airlines unions, themselves? The direction of this study is to describe the airline union viewpoint, the impact deregulation has had on their viability and on their future attitudes toward bargaining issues

Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy Monitors the Fate of Degradable Nanocarriers in the Blood Stream

[Image: see text] The use of nanoparticles as carriers to deliver pharmacologically active compounds to specific parts of the body via the bloodstream is a promising therapeutic approach for the effective treatment of various diseases. To reach their target sites, nanocarriers (NCs) need to circulate in the bloodstream for prolonged periods without aggregation, degradation, or cargo loss. However, it is very difficult to identify and monitor small-sized NCs and their cargo in the dense and highly complex blood environment. Here, we present a new fluorescence correlation spectroscopy-based method that allows the precise characterization of fluorescently labeled NCs in samples of less than 50 μL of whole blood. The NC size, concentration, and loading efficiency can be measured to evaluate circulation times, stability, or premature drug release. We apply the new method to follow the fate of pH-degradable fluorescent cargo-loaded nanogels in the blood of live mice for periods of up to 72 h

Fruit crops, 1986: a summary of research

Influence of treatments at planting on trellised apple tree performance / David C. Ferree -- Influence of growth regulators on branching of young apple trees / David C. Ferree and John C. Schmid -- Influence of growth regulators on scarf skin of Rome Beauty apples / David C. Ferree and John C. Schmid -- Influence of fungicides on scarf skin on Gallia Beauty / David C. Ferree and Michael A. Ellis -- Little relationship between root pruning and winter injury / James R. Schupp and David C. Ferree -- Performance of two apple cultivars on MS and M9 interstems on Antonovka / D. C. Ferree, R. M. McConnell, and J. C. Schmid -- Air sprayer jet deflection by travel or wind: as predicted by computer / R. D. Fox, R. D. Brazee, and D. L. Reichard -- Measuring atmospheric water vapor / R. D. Brazee and R. D. Fox -- A prototypic pollination unit made from expanded polystyrene / James E. Tew and Dewey M. Caron -- Effects of gibberellic acid (GA3) and daminozide (Alar) on growth and fruiting of Himrod grapes / G. A. Cahoon, M. L. Kaps, and S. P. Pathak -- Development of an action threshold for meadow spittlebug on strawberries / Mark A. Zajac and Franklin R. Hall -- Long-term yield of selected blackberry cultivars and selections in southern Ohio / Craig K. Chandler, Donald A. Chandler, and Greg L. Brenneman -- Electronic information transfer / R. C. Funt. -- A summary of research on synthetic pyrethroids and mites in the apple orchard ecosystem / Franklin R. Hall -- Controlling apple collar rot: effects of fungicides, soil amendments, and depth of planting / M. A. Ellis, D. C. Ferree, and L. V. Madden -- Validation of an electronic unit for predicting apple scab infection periods / M. A. Ellis, L. V. Madden, and L. L. Wilson -- Epidemiology and control of strawberry leather rot / G. G. Grove, M. A. Ellis, and L. V. Madden -- Research on cane diseases of thornless blackberry in Ohio / M. A. Ellis, G. A. Kuter, and L. L. Wilso

Metal-insulator transition in the two-orbital Hubbard model at fractional band fillings: Self-energy functional approach

We investigate the infinite-dimensional two-orbital Hubbard model at arbitrary band fillings. By means of the self-energy functional approach, we discuss the stability of the metallic state in the systems with same and different bandwidths. It is found that the Mott insulating phases are realized at commensurate band fillings. Furthermore, it is clarified that the orbital selective Mott phase with one orbital localized and the other itinerant is stabilized even at fractional band fillings in the system with different bandwidths.Comment: 7 pages, 10 figure

CYGD: the Comprehensive Yeast Genome Database

The Comprehensive Yeast Genome Database (CYGD) compiles a comprehensive data resource for information on the cellular functions of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and related species, chosen as the best understood model organism for eukaryotes. The database serves as a common resource generated by a European consortium, going beyond the provision of sequence information and functional annotations on individual genes and proteins. In addition, it provides information on the physical and functional interactions among proteins as well as other genetic elements. These cellular networks include metabolic and regulatory pathways, signal transduction and transport processes as well as co-regulated gene clusters. As more yeast genomes are published, their annotation becomes greatly facilitated using S.cerevisiae as a reference. CYGD provides a way of exploring related genomes with the aid of the S.cerevisiae genome as a backbone and SIMAP, the Similarity Matrix of Proteins. The comprehensive resource is available under http://mips.gsf.de/genre/proj/yeast/

Intensidades da poda seca e do desbaste de cacho na composição da uva Cabernet Sauvignon.

A pesquisa foi realizada durante quatro anos, num vinhedo de Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.), em Bento Gonçalves-RS. O objetivo foi determinar o efeito das intensidades da poda seca e do desbaste de cacho em variáveis relacionadas aos componentes de produção da videira e à composição do mosto de uva. Os tratamentos consistiram em dois níveis de poda seca - curta e longa - e quatro de desbaste de cacho (%) - 0; 25; 50 e 75 -; com cinco repetições. O delineamento experimental foi o em blocos casualizados, com os tratamentos em parcelas subdivididas. Os resultados mostram que a poda seca e o desbaste de cacho tiveram efeito altamente significativo na produtividade do vinhedo que, na média dos quatro anos, variou de 10.971 kg/ha ? poda curta, 75% de desbaste ? a 32.819 kg/ha ? poda longa, 0% de desbaste. Houve, também, efeito significativo na produtividade por gema, peso de ramos podados por gema e por hectare, área foliar/peso fresco do fruto e produtividade/peso de ramos podados. Entretanto, o efeito nas variáveis relacionadas a açúcar e acidez do mosto da uva foi pouco expressivo. O componente 1 da análise de componentes principais discriminou o tratamento poda curta a 75% de desbaste de cacho dos tratamentos poda longa-0% de desbaste e poda longa-25% de desbaste

Membrane-Bound TNF Induces Protective Immune Responses to M. bovis BCG Infection: Regulation of memTNF and TNF Receptors Comparing Two memTNF Molecules

Several activities of the transmembrane form of TNF (memTNF) in immune responses to intracellular bacterial infection have been shown to be different from those exerted by soluble TNF. Evidence is based largely on studies in transgenic mice expressing memTNF, but precise cellular mechanisms are not well defined and the importance of TNF receptor regulation is unknown. In addition, memTNF activities are defined for a particular modification of the extracellular domain of TNF but a direct comparison of different mutant memTNF molecules has not been done in vivo