Primary prevention of sudden cardiac death in adults with transposition of the great arteries: A review of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator placement

Transposition of the great arteries encompasses a set of structural congenital cardiac lesions that has in common ventriculoarterial discordance. Primarily because of advances in medical and surgical care, an increasing number of children born with this anomaly are surviving into adulthood. Depending upon the subtype of lesion or the particular corrective surgery that the patient might have undergone, this group of adult congenital heart disease patients constitutes a relatively new population with unique medical sequelae. Among the more common and difficult to manage are cardiac arrhythmias and other sequelae that can lead to sudden cardiac death. To date, the question of whether implantable cardioverter-defibrillators should be placed in this cohort as a preventive measure to abort sudden death has largely gone unanswered. Therefore, we review the available literature surrounding this issue

Corporate social sustainability in supply chains: a thematic analysis of the literature

This paper maps out different research strands using thematic analysis on the literature pertaining to large companies’ efforts on social sustainability in their supply chains. The data corpus for this thematic analysis is a broad sample of the literature with articles from different journals and employing different research methodologies. Each of the high-level themes is identified at a level high enough to apply to research into not only social but also economic or environmental sustainability. These eight themes – stakeholder pressure; governance; contingencies; practices; partnerships; barriers and enablers; performance; and optimisation for performance improvement and trade-off – are then woven into a thematic map. We call this map the ‘4P’ model as it suggests that pressure and partnerships influence practices, which in turn impact performance. Researchers can use this thematic classification not only to position their research within the social sustainability literature but also to integrate research on economic, environmental and social sustainability

Optimal subsidies for development supply chains

Problem definition: When donors subsidize products for sale to low-income families, questions faced by the donor include who should be subsidized in the supply chain and to what extent, and whether retail competition, substitutable products, or demand uncertainty matter. Academic/practical relevance: By introducing and analyzing “development supply chains” in which transactions are commercial but subsidies are needed for affordability, we explore different supply chain structures, with product substitution and retail competition motivated by a field study in Haiti of supply chains of subsidized solar lanterns. Methodology: We incorporate product substitution, retail competition, and demand uncertainty in a three- echelon supply chain model with manufacturers, retailers and consumers. This model has transactions among the donor, manufacturers, retailers and consumers as a 4-stage Stackelberg game and we solve different variations of this game by using backward induction. Results: The donor can subsidize the manufacturer, retailer or the customer, as long as the total subsidy per unit across these echelons is at the optimal level. Having more product choice, especially with product- specific subsidies, and having more retail-channel choice can increase the number of beneficiaries adopting the products; this increase becomes more pronounced as demand becomes more uncertain. Managerial implications: Donors must coordinate across different programs along the entire supply chain; demand uncertainly only accentuates the need to do so. They must also encourage more retailers to enter the market, to sell a diverse set of substitutable products, and to offer product-specific subsidies

A robust and forward-Looking industrial production indicator

Against the backdrop of growing criticism of the index of industrial production, which provides information only about the past and sometimes fl uctuates wildly, this article seeks to provide a more robust and forward-looking economic indicator of industrial growth. Such an indicator, based on past IIP numbers, can also serve as a benchmark for future IIP numbers when they are released. Using data on the IIP's three sub-series - manufacturing, mining, and electricity - it seeks to isolate the "noise" from the "signal" in two steps, enabling predictions for the two past months and four months into the future using the latest available IIP numbers in any given month

An analysis of sources of risk in the consumer electronics industry

The consumer electronics industry is a $240 billion global industry with a small number of highly competitive global players. We describe many of the risks associated with any global supply chain in this industry. As illustration, we also list steps that Samsung Electronics and its subsidiary, Samsung Electronics UK, have taken to mitigate these risks. Our description of the risks and illustration of mitigation efforts provides the backdrop to identify areas of future research

Make Your Business Quantum-Ready Today

Quantum computing is a different way of computation that merges quantum mechanics with computer science and information theory, with a large enough payoff for managers to feel compelled to invest. At the same time, it is also uncertain when – if at all -- quantum computing will become widely available for mainstream business applications. Thus, managers will find themselves torn between 1) waiting for the technology to mature and risking competitors taking the lead and 2) investing now but with no sight of returns on this investment. This article provides a way out: Executives can invest today in quantum-inspired computing that emulates quantum computing on existing specialized digital computers. Any investment today will carry over to (true) quantum computing when it becomes available, and there are computational gains to be had right away for certain architectures and specific business applications. To get quantum ready, first, managers can use the information on providers and use cases in the existing computing ecosystem. Second, they should take stock of their companies’ needs for advanced computing to gauge the fit of quantum applications with their business requirements. Finally, they should try out pilot studies with quantum-inspired computing

Supply chain opportunities at the bottom of the pyramid

With fast-moving-consumer-goods and other companies in emerging economies like India seeking growth, the people in the so-called bottom of the pyramid (BoP) are potential consumers. However, some leading companies as well as entrepreneurs are looking for and finding suppliers, producers, distributors, and retailers in the BoP segment. However, these opportunities are not without challenges when it comes to building and operating supply chains that interact with the BoP segment. For supply chain scholars, these supply chains and how they interact with the BoP segment present many opportunities for research. This paper outlines such research and business opportunities

Determination of Antioxidant Capacity and Free Radical Scavenging Activity of Milk from Native Cows (Bos Indicus), Exotic Cows (Bos Taurus), and Riverine Buffaloes (Bubalus Bubalis) Across Different Lactation Stages

The aim of this study was to evaluate comparative changes in total antioxidant capacity and free radical scavenging activity of milk during lactation in different cattle types and buffaloes. Milk samples from a total of 96 healthy animals of Sahiwal cows (Indian native cattle), Karan Fries cows (Cross-bred), Holstein Frisian cows (exotic cattle) and Murrah buffaloes (Riverine buffaloes) were collected at different lactation stages; early lactation (5-15 days), peak (30-60 days), mid (100-140 days) and late lactation (>215 days). The total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of milk was measured by ferric reducing/antioxidant power assay (FRAP) and free radical scavenging activity was evaluated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals. TAC in milk was higher during early lactation. Similar results were observed for DPPH radical scavenging activity of the samples. The data suggested that milk during the early lactation period of dairy cows and buffaloes had higher content of antioxidants in comparison to other stages of lactation

Patološko-biokemijska istraživanja hepatotoksičnosti i nefrotoksičnosti nakon izlaganja pilenki klorpirifosu i imidaklopridu

The hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity of chlorpyrifos (CPF) and imidacloprid (IMC) insecticides were experimentally studied in layer chickens, taking into account the patho-biochemical alterations. The LD50 values estimated were 41 mg/kg bw and 104.1 mg/kg bw for CPF and IMC, respectively. The plasma cholineesterase enzyme was severely inhibited in chickens given a single dose of CPF at a rate of 55 mg/kg bw via oral gavage, while it remained unchanged in chickens given IMC at rate of 139 mg/kg bw via similar route. The activities of liver function enzymes viz. AKP, ALT and AST were significantly increased in chickens of CPF and IMC groups. Uric acid level was significantly increased and cholesterol level was only significantly reduced in the plasma of chickens administrated CPF. Plasma glucose values in chickens given CPF as well as in chickens given IMC were significantly increased at (P<0.01) and (P<0.05), respectively. Microscopically, liver tissue of CPF intoxicated chickens showed degeneration, coagulative necrosis and hemorrhages. The kidneys showed hemorrhages, vacuolar degeneration of tubular epithelial cells as well as focal coagulative necrosis. Microscopic lesions of a similar type were observed in chickens given IMC. The exposure to CPF and IMC produced histopathological changes that could be correlated with changes in the biochemical profile of layer chickens.Hepatotoksičnost i nefrotoksičnost insekticida klorpirifosa (CPF) i imidakloprida (IMC) istraživana je u pokusima na pilenkama uzimajući u obzir patološko-biokemijske promjene. Vrijednosti LD50 iznosile su 41 mg/kg tjelesne mase za CPF i 104,1 mg/kg tjelesne mase za IMC. Aktivnost kolinesteraze u plazmi bila je zakočena u pilenki kojima je peroralno bila primijenjena jedna doza CPF u količini od 55 mg/kg, dok je ostala nepromijenjena u pilenki koje su dobile IMC također peroralno u količini od 139 mg/kg. Aktivnosti enzima koji pokazuju jetrenu funkciju, tj. AKP, ALT and AST, bile su značajno povećane u pilenki obiju skupina. Razina mokraćne kiseline bila je značajno povećana, a razina kolesterola značajno smanjena u plazmi pilenki kojima je primijenjen samo CPF. Vrijednosti glukoze u plazmi pilenki koje su dobivale CPF bile su značajno veće (P<0,01), a također i u pilenki koje su dobivale IMC (P<0,05). U jetrenom tkivu pilenki kojima je bio primijenjen CPF mikroskopski je ustanovljena degeneracija, koaugulacijska nekroza i krvarenja. Povrh koagulacijske žarišne nekroze, u bubrezima su bila ustanovljena krvarenja i vakuolarna degeneracija tubularnih epitelnih stanica. Slična mikroskopska oštećenja bila su ustanovljena u pilenki kojima je primijenjen IMC. Izlaganje klorpirifosu i imidaklopridu dovelo je do patohistoloških promjena koje su usporedive s promjenama u biokemijskom nalazu pilenki