Towards A System-Based Model For Overall Performance Evaluation In A Supply Chain Context

International audienceThe paper deals with the wide issue of overall performance expression of a system made of interacting entities. Formal aspects of overall performance expression are considered as a first step of this reflection in the context of supply chains (SC's). Indeed, a SC being a network of interconnected business entities, it is proposed to consider it as a system of systems. Because system behavior depends on process dynamics, the performance of any company of the SC highly depends on the performance of its processes. However, while process performance is clearly defined in the literature, performance of complex systems or systems of systems is more difficult to assess due to process interactions. The overall performance concept is usually unsatisfactory either for each company or for the whole SC. To express such performance in SC's, recent proposals have focused on the performance of the prime manufacturer. This performance being linked to the ones of the suppliers, the impact of supplier performances on the prime manufacturer performance has to be integrated. It is therefore proposed to respectively use the SCOR model for describing the involved sub-system processes and, from a computational point of view, to use the MAUT (Multi Attribute Utility Theory) MACBETH methodology to consistently compute the expected performances. More specifically, the Choquet integral is used as the aggregation operator to handle interactions between systems and processes. The case of a bearings manufacturer is used to illustrate the proposal for a supplier selection problem

Le phéochromocytome surrénalien bilatéral: à propos d'un cas

Les phéochromocytomes de localisation bilatérale sont rares. Ils s'intègrent le plus souvent dans le cadre d'une maladie familiale. Néanmoins des formes bilatérales sporadiques peuvent être observées. Ainsi, chez tout patient présentant des masses surrénaliennes bilatérales, un phéochromocytome bilatéral doit être suspecté et son caractère familial ou sporadique doit être déterminé devant le risque de récidive tumorale. A ce propos, nous rapportons l'observation d'une patiente âgée de 22 ans qui a été hospitalisée pour exploration d'une hypertension artérielle de découverte récente. L'association à des céphalées, sueurs et palpitations a orienté vers le diagnostic de phéochromocytome. Les taux urinaires des dérivés méthoxylés étaient très élevés. L'échographie et l'IRM abdominales ont noté la présence de deux masses surrénaliennes bilatérales. La scintigraphie au MIBG a montré une hyperfixation au niveau des deux surrénales, sans autres localisations. L'enquête à la recherche d'une néoplasie endocrinienne multiple ou d'une phacomatose était négative. Le traitement a consisté en une surrénalectomie bilatérale par   voie coelioscopique. L'évolution sous traitement substitutif par hydrocortisone était favorable avec une normalisation des chiffres tensionnels

An intrinsic circadian clock of the pancreas is required for normal insulin release and glucose homeostasis in mice

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Loss of circadian clocks from all tissues causes defective glucose homeostasis as well as loss of feeding and activity rhythms. Little is known about peripheral tissue clocks, so we tested the hypothesis that an intrinsic circadian clock of the pancreas is important for glucose homeostasis. METHODS: We monitored real-time bioluminescence of pancreas explants from circadian reporter mice and examined clock gene expression in beta cells by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridisation. We generated mice selectively lacking the essential clock gene Bmal1 (also known as Arntl) in the pancreas and tested mutant mice and littermate controls for glucose and insulin tolerance, insulin production and behaviour. We examined islets isolated from mutants and littermate controls for glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and total insulin content. RESULTS: Pancreas explants exhibited robust circadian rhythms. Clock genes Bmal1 and Per1 were expressed in beta cells. Despite normal activity and feeding behaviour, mutant mice lacking clock function in the pancreas had severe glucose intolerance and defective insulin production; their isolated pancreatic islets had defective glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, but normal total insulin content. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: The mouse pancreas has an autonomous clock function and beta cells are very likely to be one of the pancreatic cell types possessing an intrinsic clock. The Bmal1 circadian clock gene is required in the pancreas, probably in beta cells, for normal insulin secretion and glucose homeostasis. Our results provide evidence for a previously unrecognised molecular regulator of pancreatic glucose-sensing and/or insulin secretion

Does Pulsed Magnetic Field Therapy Influence Nerve Regeneration in the Median Nerve Model of the Rat?

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of pulsed magnetic field therapy on peripheral nerve regeneration after median nerve injury and primary coaptation in the rat. Both median nerves were surgically exposed and denervated in 24 female Wistar rats. A microsurgical coaptation was performed on the right side, whereas on the left side a spontaneous healing was prevented. The study group underwent a daily pulsed magnetic field therapy; the other group served as a control group. The grasping force was recorded 2 weeks after the surgical intervention for a period of 12 weeks. The right median nerve was excised and histologically examined. The histomorphometric data and the functional assessments were analyzed by t-test statistics and one-way ANOVA. One-way ANOVA indicated a statistically significant influence of group affiliation and grasping force (P=0.0078). Grasping strength was higher on a significant level in the experimental group compared to the control group permanently from the 9th week to the end of the study. T-test statistics revealed a significantly higher weight of the flexor digitorum sublimis muscle (P=0.0385) in the experimental group. The histological evaluation did not reveal any statistically significant differences concerning the histomorphometric parameters. Our results suggest that the pulsed magnetic field therapy has a positive influence on the functional aspects of neural regeneration. More studies are needed to precisely evaluate and optimize the intensity and duration of the application

Social competence in pediatric brain tumor survivors: application of a model from social neuroscience and developmental psychology.

Pediatric brain tumor (BT) survivors are at risk for psychosocial late effects across many domains of functioning, including neurocognitive and social. The literature on the social competence of pediatric BT survivors is still developing and future research is needed that integrates developmental and cognitive neuroscience research methodologies to identify predictors of survivor social adjustment and interventions to ameliorate problems. This review discusses the current literature on survivor social functioning through a model of social competence in childhood brain disorder and suggests future directions based on this model. Interventions pursuing change in survivor social adjustment should consider targeting social ecological factors

Left ventricular torsional mechanics in term fetuses and neonates

Objective Left ventricular (LV) torsion is an important aspect of cardiac mechanics and is fundamental to normal ventricular function. The myocardial mechanics of the fetal heart and the changes that occur during the transition to the neonatal period have not been explored previously. The aim of this study was to evaluate perinatal changes in LV torsion and its relationship with myocardial function. Methods This was a prospective study of 36 women with an uncomplicated term pregnancy. Fetal and neonatal conventional, spectral tissue Doppler and two‐dimensional (2D) speckle tracking echocardiography were performed a few days before and within hours after delivery to measure cardiac indices including LV rotational parameters derived from short‐axis views at the base and apex of the heart. Linear regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between LV rotational parameters and cardiac geometric and functional indices in term fetuses and neonates. Perinatal changes in LV rotational parameters were assessed. Results There were three patterns of LV twist in term fetuses: those with reversed‐apex‐type LV twist had the lowest median values of LV torsion (0.1°/cm), with higher values (1.6°/cm) in those with infant‐type LV twist and the highest values (4.4°/cm) in those with adult‐type LV twist. LV torsion was associated significantly with cardiac geometric and functional indices. Perinatal evaluation revealed a significant increase in LV torsion following delivery in fetuses exhibiting reversed‐apex‐type LV twist (increase of 2.8°/cm, P = 0.009) and a significant decrease in those with adult‐type LV twist (decrease of 3.2°/cm, P = 0.008). Conclusions This study demonstrates the feasibility of 2D speckle tracking imaging for accurate assessment of rotational cardiac parameters in term fetuses. There are unique perinatal patterns of LV twist that demonstrate different values of LV torsion, which was found to correlate with indices of ventricular geometry and myocardial function. Differences in patterns of LV twist may therefore reflect differences in compensatory myocardial adaptation to the physiological environment/loading conditions in late gestation in fetuses and postnatal cardiac adjustment to the acute loading changes that occur at delivery

Renal cell carcinoma in children: Case report and literature review

Renal cell carcinoma is infrequent in children; consequently it is important to communicate its diagnosis and follow up. The behaviour of this type of tumor is better characterized in adults and in this setting the treatment of choice is surgical resection. However, the place of chemo- and radiotherapy has not been well defined. Here, we present a 9-year-old boy with renal cell carcinoma demonstrating only hematuria without any pathological physical examination findings. The mass was described by abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography in the left kidney. After the left nephroureterectomy, the patient was given no adjuvant therapy

Recent Results for the Effects of Distortion in the Inter-Cluster Motion in Light Nuclei and Application to Nuclear Astrophysics

Deuteron induced quasi-free scattering and reactions have been extensively investigated in the past few decades. This was done not only for the study of the nuclear structure and processes but also for the important astrophysical implication (Trojan Horse Method, THM). In particular the width of the neutron momentum distribution in deuteron will be studied as a function of the transferred momentum. THM applications will also be discussed because the momentum distribution of the spectator particle inside the Trojan horse nucleus is a necessary input for this method. The impact of the width variation on the extraction of the astrophysical S(E)-factor is discussed as well as the relevance of the s and d wave component in the deuteron wave function