Kolmogorov-Smirnov method for the determination of signal time-shifts

A new method for the determination of electric signal time-shifts is introduced. As the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, it is based on the comparison of the cumulative distribution functions of the reference signal with the test signal. This method is very fast and thus well suited for on-line applications. It is robust to noise and its performances in terms of precision are excellent for time-shifts ranging from a fraction to several sample durations. PACS. 29.40.Gx (Tracking and position-sensitive detectors), 29.30.Kv (X- and -ray spectroscopy), 07.50.Qx (Signal processing electronics)Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Fast analytical methods for the correction of signal random time-shifts and application to segmented HPGe detectors

Detection systems rely more and more on on-line or off-line comparison of detected signals with basis signals in order to determine the characteristics of the impinging particles. Unfortunately, these comparisons are very sensitive to the random time shifts that may alter the signal delivered by the detectors. We present two fast algebraic methods to determine the value of the time shift and to enhance the reliability of the comparison to the basis signals.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure

A influência da diferenciação das relações líder-membro no comprometimento com a unidade de trabalho: o papel mediador do clima de apoio

We investigated whether the influence of LMX differentiation (the extent to which the quality of the leader-member relationships within a work unit varies) on work unit commitment is mediated by support climate. We tested this mediated relationship in a sample composed of 30 health care units. The results obtained showed that LMX differentiation measured at Time 1 was negatively related to work unit support climate measured one year later (Time 2), which in turn was positively related to work unit commitment measured at Time 2. The negative indirect effect of LMX differentiation on work unit commitment through support climate was statistically significant. Our study contributes to having a better understanding of the role of LMX differentiation in work unit functioning.Investigámos se a influência da diferenciação de LMX (o quanto a qualidade das relações de líder-membro dentro de uma unidade de trabalho varia) no comprometimento com a unidade de trabalho é mediada pelo clima de apoio. Testámos essa relação mediada em uma amostra composta por 30 unidades de saúde. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que a diferenciação da LMX medida no Tempo 1 foi negativamente relacionada ao clima de suporte da unidade de trabalho medido um ano depois (Tempo 2), que por sua vez foi positivamente relacionado ao comprometimento com a unidade de trabalho medido no Tempo 2. O efeito indireto negativo da diferenciação da LMX no comprometimento com a unidade de trabalho por meio do clima de apoio foi estatisticamente significativo. O nosso estudo contribui para uma melhor compreensão do papel da diferenciação do LMX no funcionamento da unidade de trabalho

Sustainable employability, technology acceptance and task performance in workers collaborating with cobots:a pilot study

Sustainable Employability (SE) and task performance of workers-collaborating-with-cobots is challenged. Whether SE policies can impact workers’ task performance in digitalized workplaces is still unknown. Drawing on two SE models, this study aims to ascertain whether the relationship between SE policies and task performance is mediated by health and productive capabilities, and whether this effect is moderated by the levels of User Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) predictors. 88 employees collaborating with cobots, or expected to do so in the near future, answered a cross-sectional survey. SE policies were positively related to task performance via health and productive capabilities. This indirect effect was moderated by the levels of UTAUT predictors, being significant only at low or medium levels of the moderators. SE policies contribute to employee capabilities, and in turn to workers’ task performance. Fostering health and productive capabilities is fundamental when employee levels of cobots’ acceptance are not high yet.</p

5-(Hy­droxy­meth­yl)furan-2-carbaldehyde

The title compound (HMF), C6H6O3, is one of the products of acid-catalyzed dehydration of high-fructose corn syrup, and has been shown to be toxic to honey bees. The compound was crystallized at 276 K, and it was found that the two independent mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit form an infinite O—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding chain that is linked into a three-dimensional network structure by weak inter­molecular C—H⋯O contacts

Assessing the artificially intelligent workplace:an ethical framework for evaluating experimental technologies in workplace settings

Experimental technologies, including AI and robots, are revolutionising many types of work. For example, the logistics warehouse sector is witnessing a wave of new technologies, such as automated picking tools, collaborative robots and exoskeletons, affecting jobs and employees. Notably, it is not always possible to predict the effects of such new technologies, since they have inherent uncertainties and unintended consequences. Hence, their introduction into workplaces can be conceived as a social experiment. This paper aims to sketch a set of ethical guidelines for introducing experimental technologies into workplaces. It builds on Van de Poel's general framework for assessing new experimental technologies and translates that framework into a more specific context of work. We discuss its five principles: non-maleficence, beneficence, responsibility, autonomy, and justice. Each of these principles is applied to workplaces in general, and specifically to the logistics warehouse setting as a case study. A particular focus in our discussion is put on the distinctive potential harms and goods of work

Factory Gate Pricing: An Analysis of the Dutch Retail Distribution

Factory Gate Pricing (FGP) is a relatively new phenomenon in retail distribution. Under FGP, products are no longer delivered at the retailer distribution center, but collected by the retailer at the factory gates of the suppliers. Owing to both the asymmetry in the distribution networks (the supplier sites greatly outnumber the retailer distribution centers) and the better inventory and transport coordination mechanisms, this is likely to result in high savings. A mathematical model was used to analyze the benefits of FGP for a case study in the Dutch retail sector. Extensive numerical results are presented to show the effect of the orchestration shift from supplier to retailer, the improved coordination mechanisms, and sector-wide cooperation

Immunomodulation by Mesenchymal Stem Cells : A Potential Therapeutic Strategy for Type 1 Diabetes

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are pluripotent stromal cells that have the potential to give rise to cells of diverse lineages. Interestingly, MSCs can be found in virtually all postnatal tissues. The main criteria currently used to characterize and identify these cells are the capacity for self-renewal and differentiation into tissues of mesodermal origin, combined with a lack in expression of certain hematopoietic molecules. Because of their developmental plasticity, the notion of MSC-based therapeutic intervention has become an emerging strategy for the replacement of injured tissues. MSCs have also been noted to possess the ability to impart profound immunomodulatory effects in vivo. Indeed, some of the initial observations regarding MSC protection from tissue injury once thought mediated by tissue regeneration may, in reality, result from immunomodulation. Whereas the exact mechanisms underlying the immunomodulatory functions of MSC remain largely unknown, these cells have been exploited in a variety of clinical trials aimed at reducing the burden of immune-mediated disease. This article focuses on recent advances that have broadened our understanding of the immunomodulatory properties of MSC and provides insight as to their potential for clinical use as a cell-based therapy for immune-mediated disorders and, in particular, type 1 diabetes

Second-generation antihistamines: a study of poisoning in children

The toxicity of second-generation antihistamines after an overdose by a child is still unknown. The objective of this study is to use data from Poisons Centres in France to describe the toxicity profile of second-generation antihistamines for children and to compare the severity of poisoning observed from these with a first-generation antihistamine. This was a retrospective, multi-centre and observational study focusing on human cases of single-substance exposure to a second-generation antihistamine and to mequitazine, reported between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2016 in Poisons Centres in France. From a total of 9403 children included, 5980 were exposed to a second-generation antihistamine and 3423 were exposed to mequitazine. The severity of exposure to second-generation antihistamines in children is low: among the children followed until a known outcome, 9% of children were symptomatic and in 97% of cases, the symptoms shown were of a minor-level severity (primarily drowsiness or restlessness). Depending on the substance, children who ingested doses 16 to 69 times the maximum recommended therapeutic dose remained asymptomatic. No deaths or severe symptoms were observed. No cases of lengthening of the QT interval or arrhythmias were identified. Mequitazine led to more symptoms than other substances (14.8% symptomatic children vs. 7.5%, Odd ratio (OR): 2.3 (2.0-2.6), p &lt; 0.0001), more symptoms of moderate intensity (1.4 vs. 0.2%, OR: 8.3 (4.1-18.5), p &lt; 0.0001) and more hospitalisation (19.1 vs. 8.7%, OR: 2.5, 95% CI: (2.2-2.8), p &lt; 0.0001). The severity of poisoning from second-generation antihistamines appears to be low among children and considerably lower than poisoning caused by mequitazine