TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES FOR SUPPORTING REVERSE LOGISTICS OPTIMIZATION: METHODOLOGY, CASE STUDY AND PROJECT PROPOSAL

The following research documentation focuses on building a network for reverse logistics of products that are taken back for disassembly and retrieval of reausable componets for manufacturing. The gol is to achieve optimization between the costs and the clustering. The paper outline also an innovative approach designed to support the estabilishment of a new socio-economical vision able to reduce produce manprin

Tools and Techniques for Supporting Reverse Logistics Optimization: Methodology, Case Study and Project Proposal

Abstract-The following research documentation focuses on building a network for reverse logistics of products that are taken back for disassembly and retrieval of reusable components for remanufacturing. The goal is to achieve optimization between the costs and the clustering. The paper outline also an innovative approach designed to support the establishment of a new socio-economical vision able to reduce products manprint

Integrate Clustering and Mathematical Programming for Supporting Reverse Logistics Optimization: Methodology and Case Study

The following research documentation focuses on building a network for reverse logistics of products that are taken back for disassembly and retrieval of reusable components for remanufacturing. The goal is to achieve optimization between the costs and the clustering

SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC DETERMINATION OF RHENIUM IN INDUSTRIAL-SAMPLES - A RAPID AND SIMPLE METHOD WITH HIGH SELECTIVITY

Müller A, PIPERAKI E, HESSRIECHMANN C. SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC DETERMINATION OF RHENIUM IN INDUSTRIAL-SAMPLES - A RAPID AND SIMPLE METHOD WITH HIGH SELECTIVITY. MONATSHEFTE FUR CHEMIE. 1989;120(3):219-223

Europeanizing the Balkans: rethinking the post-communist and post-conflict transition

This paper argues that the post-communist and post-conflict transition of the Balkans requires a methodological shift in line with globalization, which shapes political and economic transformation from within through transnational networks. As a specially tailored mechanism leading to the accession of the Balkans into the European Union, the Stabilization and Association Process (SAp) sets the framework for political and economic transformation of the region. The paper posits that the weakness of the EU's approach derives from the fact that it is informed by the dominant transition paradigm, which marginalizes the impact of globalization, and specifically the role of transnational actors. The paper provides a critique of the transition literature and its explanatory potential to account for the post-conflict and post-communist transition in the Balkans. It goes on to examine the Balkan transnational space and the role of transnational actors in the process of transition as an important additional explanation, while taking into account a double legacy: the domestic legacy, inherited from communism, and the transnational and post-communist legacy acquired during the conflict. It advances an argument that a weak state offers us a conceptual nexus for the study of democratic transition in the Balkans in the global age. We demonstrate that transnational networks benefit from a weak state and perpetuate the very weakness that sustains them. At the same time, these networks exploit multi-ethnicity and stir ethnic tensions, lest stabilization should limit their scope for action. As a result, state- and nation building appear as mutually enfeebling rather than reinforcing, thus subverting the existing EU mechanisms

DeepBreath—automated detection of respiratory pathology from lung auscultation in 572 pediatric outpatients across 5 countries

Abstract The interpretation of lung auscultation is highly subjective and relies on non-specific nomenclature. Computer-aided analysis has the potential to better standardize and automate evaluation. We used 35.9 hours of auscultation audio from 572 pediatric outpatients to develop DeepBreath : a deep learning model identifying the audible signatures of acute respiratory illness in children. It comprises a convolutional neural network followed by a logistic regression classifier, aggregating estimates on recordings from eight thoracic sites into a single prediction at the patient-level. Patients were either healthy controls (29%) or had one of three acute respiratory illnesses (71%) including pneumonia, wheezing disorders (bronchitis/asthma), and bronchiolitis). To ensure objective estimates on model generalisability, DeepBreath is trained on patients from two countries (Switzerland, Brazil), and results are reported on an internal 5-fold cross-validation as well as externally validated (extval) on three other countries (Senegal, Cameroon, Morocco). DeepBreath differentiated healthy and pathological breathing with an Area Under the Receiver-Operator Characteristic (AUROC) of 0.93 (standard deviation [SD] ± 0.01 on internal validation). Similarly promising results were obtained for pneumonia (AUROC 0.75 ± 0.10), wheezing disorders (AUROC 0.91 ± 0.03), and bronchiolitis (AUROC 0.94 ± 0.02). Extval AUROCs were 0.89, 0.74, 0.74 and 0.87 respectively. All either matched or were significant improvements on a clinical baseline model using age and respiratory rate. Temporal attention showed clear alignment between model prediction and independently annotated respiratory cycles, providing evidence that DeepBreath extracts physiologically meaningful representations. DeepBreath provides a framework for interpretable deep learning to identify the objective audio signatures of respiratory pathology

Evaluating the prevalence of the undeclared economy in Central and Eastern Europe: An institutional asymmetry perspective

This article examines the undeclared economy in general, and envelope wages more particularly, in 10 Central and East European countries, drawing on a 2013 Eurobarometer survey. The explanatory approach focuses on the asymmetry between the codified laws and regulations of the formal institutions and the unwritten socially shared rules of informal institutions. A strong association is revealed between the prevalence of envelope wage payments and the degree of asymmetry between formal and informal institutions at both the individual and country levels. We explore the implications for theorising and for tackling undeclared work practices