Evaluation of Computerized information systems of small business Organizations

Computer is an important tool in which business organizations use in financial reporting and operational methods to obtain data recording systems as well as computer literacy is treated as an important asset in the modern business world. The study described the computer literacy of Small business staff and owners, the level of usefulness and seriousness of problems encountered in using computers. Further, the study determined the significant difference among the level of literacy, usefulness and seriousness of problems encountered by small business staff and owners in using computers. Rejecting the hypothesis, there is significant difference on the responses of Small business staff and Small business owners as to literacy, usefulness, and seriousness of problems being encountered by respondents in performing their work with the use of computer. Based on the findings, the extent of literacy on computer especially on the context of information systems that are present in the computer is very much literate. The level of usefulness of computer especially on the information systems in making financial reports according to the response of Small business staff is moderately useful. While for Small business owners, it is very much useful. The respondents commonly experience problems with their advancement using computerized information system. It implies that there are no serious problems being encountered by respondents in dealing with the aid of computer. The researcher recommends that Small business organizations (SBOs) should develop a different approach especially designed for the respondents. This could be done in coordination to multi-agency to provide adequate knowledge in utilizing the information systems that are being installed in the computer

Factors Affecting Consumer Satisfaction to Online Shopping

Most companies are expanding their network through an online platform. Under various scenarios (e.g. pandemic situations), market vendors should be versatile and adaptable to different types of distribution channels. This paper described the factors affecting consumer satisfaction to online shopping such as reliability and responsiveness, assurance and empathy, and tangibility. This paper determined the significant difference between the sex of respondents and the factors affecting consumer satisfaction to online shopping. This paper used a descriptive method, a total of 487 online consumers (219 Male and 268 Female) within Cabanatuan City were involved in this study using adopted questionnaire with adopted likert-scale responses. Based on the gathered data, the researchers drew four conclusions. First, the respondents have a strong degree of confidence in their respective website/application for online shopping. Hence, it is recommended that owners of online shopping website/application should work on improving their order cancelation and returns. Second, the respondents trusted online shopping websites/applications because of their marketing tactics, such as word of mouth, to boost their credibility. Hence, it is highly suggested that the owners of online shopping website/application should track the problems involving product delivery. Third, respondents have been literate in using and searching online shopping websites/applications. Hence, it is recommended that the owners of the online shopping website/application continuously improve their system to keep their consumers satisfied. Finally, the null hypothesis is retained. It implies that sex does not affect the consumer satisfaction to online shopping factors. Thus, it is suggested to look for other variables that may affect consumer satisfaction

Unilateral pulmonary vein atresia: A rare case of hemoptysis

AbstractWe present a rare case of hemoptysis secondary to isolated unilateral pulmonary vein atresia. Isolated pulmonary vein atresia is a rare condition in which patients typically acquire a diagnosis in infancy and early childhood [Mataciunas et al.; Pourmoghadam et al.]. Our patient presented during puberty with several previous episodes of hemoptysis prior to her admission and diagnosis. The initial diagnosis was suspected in our patient from chest computerized tomography (CT), and confirmed with cardiac catheterization and pulmonary angiography. Treatment aim is to preserve lung function and minimize irreversible pulmonary remodeling [Pourmoghadam et al.; Harrison et al.]. Conservative monitoring can be considered with milder or asymptomatic cases, while others may require preoperative collateral artery banding, surgical anastomosis between the pulmonary vein (PV) & left atrium (LA) and even pneumonectomy [Pourmoghadam et al.]

ISSI IS46DR16640B-25DBA25 DDR2 SDRAM Total Ionizing Dose Characterization Test Report

The purpose of this testing is to characterize the ISSI IS46DR16640B-25DBA25 parameter degradation for total dose response. This tests purpose is to evaluate and compare lot date codes for sensitivity. In the test, the device is exposed to both low dose and high dose rate (HDR) irradiations using gamma radiation. Device parameters such as leakage currents, quantity of upset bits or addresses, and overall chip and die health are investigated to determine which lot is more robust. These parameters directly affect the functionality of the memory within a system and may determine thresholds necessary to mitigate failure

Methodological Bias in Estimates of Strain Composition and Straying of Hatchery‐Produced Steelhead in Lake Michigan Tributaries

Steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss were first introduced into the Great Lakes in the late 1800s. Subsequently, natural recruitment of steelhead from spawning runs in streams across the basin has been regularly supplemented by hatchery production of strains derived from widely dispersed locales within the species’ native range. Estimates of hatchery contributions to the spawning runs of naturalized populations may be underrepresented by observations of marked fish, as not all hatchery fish are marked prior to release. To assess the potential bias in estimates of the hatchery contribution to steelhead spawning runs in four major rivers in Michigan, we used scale pattern analysis (SPA) to identify nonmarked hatchery fish and multilocus genotypes to estimate the proportional contributions of each hatchery strain to spawning runs. The four hatchery strains currently stocked are significantly genetically distinct (mean FST = 0.077), making it possible to identify specific strains by use of likelihood‐based assignment tests. The differences between direct (mark observations) and indirect (SPA and genetic analysis) estimates of hatchery contribution were mainly due to variations in the percentage of hatchery fish marked by states prior to release and the potential for confusion between certain marks and injuries. By combining direct and indirect assessment methodologies, we estimated that the percentage of hatchery fish returning to the four rivers ranged from 13% to 31% of total spawning runs. The large contribution of hatchery fish to nonstocked rivers differed significantly from expectations of strain‐specific stocking rates across the Lake Michigan basin and for individual streams, indicating high amounts of straying into Michigan streams.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141020/1/nafm1288.pd

Energy scales in a stabilized brane world

Brane world gravity looks different for observers on positive and negative tension branes. First we consider the well-known RS1 model with two branes embedded into the AdS_5 space-time and recall the results on the relations between the energy scales for an observer on the negative tension brane, which is supposed to be "our" brane. Then from the point of view of this observer we study energy scales and masses for the radion and graviton excitations in a stabilized brane world model. We argue that there may be several possibilities leading to scales of the order 1-10 TeV or even less for new physics effects on our brane. In particular, an interesting scenario can arise in the case of a "symmetric" brane world with a nontrivial warp factor in the bulk, which however takes equal values on both branes.Comment: 15 pages, corrected typos, enlarged conten

MRI radiomic features are independently associated with overall survival in soft tissue sarcoma

Purpose: Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) represent a heterogeneous group of diseases, and selection of individualized treatments remains a challenge. The goal of this study was to determine whether radiomic features extracted from magnetic resonance (MR) images are independently associated with overall survival (OS) in STS. Methods and Materials: This study analyzed 2 independent cohorts of adult patients with stage II-III STS treated at center 1 (N = 165) and center 2 (N = 61). Thirty radiomic features were extracted from pretreatment T1-weighted contrast-enhanced MR images. Prognostic models for OS were derived on the center 1 cohort and validated on the center 2 cohort. Clinical-only (C), radiomics-only (R), and clinical and radiomics (C+R) penalized Cox models were constructed. Model performance was assessed using Harrell\u27s concordance index. Results: In the R model, tumor volume (hazard ratio [HR], 1.5) and 4 texture features (HR, 1.1-1.5) were selected. In the C+R model, both age (HR, 1.4) and grade (HR, 1.7) were selected along with 5 radiomic features. The adjusted c-indices of the 3 models ranged from 0.68 (C) to 0.74 (C+R) in the derivation cohort and 0.68 (R) to 0.78 (C+R) in the validation cohort. The radiomic features were independently associated with OS in the validation cohort after accounting for age and grade (HR, 2.4; Conclusions: This study found that radiomic features extracted from MR images are independently associated with OS when accounting for age and tumor grade. The overall predictive performance of 3-year OS using a model based on clinical and radiomic features was replicated in an independent cohort. Optimal models using clinical and radiomic features could improve personalized selection of therapy in patients with STS

Health-related quality of life in KEYNOTE-010 : a phase II/III study of pembrolizumab versus docetaxel in patients with previously treated advanced, programmed death ligand 1-expressing NSCLC

Introduction: In the phase II/III KEYNOTE-010 study (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01905657), pembrolizumab significantly prolonged overall survival over docetaxel in patients with previously treated, programmed death ligand 1-expressing (tumor proportion score >= 1%), advanced NSCLC. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) results are reported here. Methods: Patients were randomized 1:1:1 to pembrolizumab 2 or 10 mg/kg every 3 weeks or docetaxel 75 mg/m(2) every 3 weeks. HRQoL was assessed using European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLC) Core 30 (C30), EORTC QLQ-Lung Cancer 13 (LC13), and EuroQoL-5D. Key analyses included mean baseline-to-week-12 change in global health status (GHS)/quality of life (QoL) score, functioning and symptom domains, and time to deterioration in a QLQ-LC13 composite endpoint of cough, dyspnea, and chest pain. Results: Patient reported outcomes compliance was high across all three instruments. Pembrolizumab was associated with better QLQ-C30 GHS/QoL scores from baseline to 12 weeks than docetaxel, regardless of pembrolizumab dose or tumor proportion score status (not significant). Compared with docetaxel, fewer pembrolizumab-treated patients had "deteriorated" status and more had "improved" status in GHS/QoL. Nominally significant improvement was reported in many EORTC symptom domains with pembrolizumab, and nominally significant worsening was reported with docetaxel. Significant prolongation in true time to deterioration for the QLQ-LC13 composite endpoint emerged for pembrolizumab 10 mg/kg compared to docetaxel (nominal two-sided p = 0.03), but not for the 2-mg/kg dose. Conclusions: These findings suggest that HRQoL and symptoms are maintained or improved to a greater degree with pembrolizumab than with docetaxel in this NSCLC patient population. (C) 2019 International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.