Towards A Semiformal Development Methodology for Embedded Systems

In recent days, the amount of functions has increased significantly in embedded products so that systems development methodologies play an important role to ensure the product’s quality, cost, and time. Furthermore, this complexity coupled with constantly evolving specifications, has led to propose a semiformal development methodology to support the building of embedded real-time systems. A platform-based design approach has been used to balance costs and time-to-market in relation to performance and functionality constraints. We performed three expressive case studies and we concluded that the proposed methodology significantly reduces design time and improves software modularity and reliability

Alien Registration- Meuse, Joe (Fort Fairfield, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/36452/thumbnail.jp

Nonverbal communication: Its importance in salesmanship

It has been common knowledge for decades that verbal skills are necessary in selling. Many authors stress the importance of verbal skills a successful salesperson must possess (Feldman, 1974; Jones & Healey, 1973; Perry, 1975; Townsend, 1966). In this study, however, we are concerned with the nonverbal skills a salesperson must possess. How vital are nonverbal skills to a salesperson\u27s performance? More specifically, are nonverbal skills even more important in sales success than verbal skills

Alien Registration- Meuse, Charles V. (Caribou, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/22678/thumbnail.jp

Facilitators and barriers to the use of economic evaluations in nutrition and public health

Aims: Interventions targeting diets have the potential to reduce a consistent fraction of the chronic disease burden. Economic evaluations of such interventions can be an important tool in guiding public health practitioners and decision makers at various levels, yet there are still not many economic evaluations in this area. This qualitative study explored facilitators and barriers in conducting and using economic analyses to inform decision makers in the field of public health nutrition. Methods: Data were collected through written, open-ended questionnaires administered to twenty-three participants (13 from academia and 10 from government) using purposive sampling and analysed through a conventional content analysis. Results: The analysis revealed two broad categories of barriers, which included: i) “Methodological challenges”, and; ii) “Barriers related to application of economic evaluations.” Two main categories of facilitators were also identified: i) “Facilitators to improving the methodology of economic evaluations”, with subcategories further detailing frameworks and methods to be applied, and; ii) “Facilitators to broaden the use of economic evaluations”, with most subcategories addressing science-into-policy translations. These barriers and facilitators to the use of economic evaluations in public health are perceived differently by researchers and policymakers, the former more focused on implementation aspects, the latter more concerned by methodological gaps. Conclusion: Public health nutrition policies seldom take into account data from formal economic evaluations. Economic evaluation methodologies can be improved to ensure their broader application to decision making. &nbsp

Examining Opposition Movements and Regime Stability in Tunisia and Jordan during the Arab Spring: A Political Opportunities Approach

By conducting a comparative case study of Tunisia and Jordan this essay seeks to add to the Arab Spring literature addressing why outcomes varied so significantly among countries in the region, especially given seemingly comparable demographic, socio-economic and political environments in the region as a whole. However, in contrast to most “bottom-up” scholarly approaches to understanding the Arab Spring to date, this essay concentrates on the role of mass mobilization in influencing divergent outcomes in the region, specifically through their interaction with top-down institutional factors

Measuring the Effectiveness of a Workplace Diversity Training Program: A Field Study

Although workplace diversity training has been a common practice in American companies for the past 15 years, little systematic assessment has been conducted. It appears that many organizational leaders and human resource professionals simply assume that the training activities had a positive effect. In the current study, a large manufacturing organization was interested in implementing a diversity program company-wide. However, before doing so, a pilot study was conducted with a critical layer of senior management to determine whether the training would be effective. The Workplace Diversity Survey was administered: (a) one week prior to the training, (b) the week immediately after the training was completed, and (c) three months later. The instrument measured the overall efficacy of the diversity training as well as five specific dimensions of participant perceptions. The results demonstrated that the program participants significantly increased both their overall and dimensional scores. This improvement was maintained throughout the period of study. Implications for the evaluation of diversity training and the use of executive management as a pilot group were discussed

The effect of downsizing on innovation outputs: The role of resource slack and constraints

Although the practice of downsizing is prevalent, its effects on organisational outcomes remain poorly understood. This article examines how and when downsizing affects organisational innovation. Using a unique data set of UK firms over a period of 22 years, we test the effect of downsizing on innovation outputs by considering the moderating role of resource slack and constraints. We argue and empirically demonstrate that downsizing has a dual effect on innovation, contingent on the firm’s level of resources. Our results reveal that downsizing affects innovation outputs positively in firms experiencing resource slack and negatively in firms experiencing resource constraints. We also show that the effect is more immediate in resource-constrained firms. Theoretical and managerial implications of these results are discussed

The Association between Antidepressant Medications and Coronary Heart Disease in Brazil: A Cross-Sectional Analysis on the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brazil)

Background: Recent studies have highlighted associations between use of antidepressant medications and coronary heart disease (CHD). Tricyclic antidepressants are not recommended in patients with CHD as they may increase morbidity and mortality. However, this class of antidepressants are freely prescribed in public health pharmacies, while access to other classes of antidepressants is restricted in Brazil. Here we examine the associations between antidepressant use and prevalent CHD in a large cohort from Brazil. Methods: Participants included 14,994 civil servants aged 35 to 74 from the baseline assessment of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil). CHD (n=710) included stable angina, myocardial infarction and coronary revascularization. Univariate (unadjusted) and multivariate (adjusted) logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate odds ratios and confidence intervals. Results: After full adjustment for covariates, tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) use (n=156) was associated with a 2-fold increase in prevalent CHD, relative to non-use (n=14,076). Additional sensitivity analysis revealed a three-fold association for myocardial infarction (OR: 2.962, 95% CI: 1.413-6.210) and coronary revascularization (OR: 2.915, 95% CI: 1.275-6.662). There were no significant associations between antidepressant use and stable angina pectoris. Conclusions: Findings highlight a strong association between TCA use and prevalent CHD. While the cross-sectional design is an important limitation of the present study, findings have important implications for the treatment of cardiac patients in Brazil

In vivo antiviral efficacy of prenylation inhibitors against hepatitis delta virus

Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) can dramatically worsen liver disease in patients coinfected with hepatitis B virus (HBV). No effective medical therapy exists for HDV. The HDV envelope requires HBV surface antigen proteins provided by HBV. Once inside a cell, however, HDV can replicate its genome in the absence of any HBV gene products. In vitro, HDV virion assembly is critically dependent on prenyl lipid modification, or prenylation, of its nucleocapsid-like protein large delta antigen. To overcome limitations of current animal models and to test the hypothesis that pharmacologic prenylation inhibition can prevent the production of HDV virions in vivo, we established a convenient mouse-based model of HDV infection capable of yielding viremia. Such mice were then treated with the prenylation inhibitors FTI-277 and FTI-2153. Both agents were highly effective at clearing HDV viremia. As expected, HDV inhibition exhibited duration-of-treatment dependence. These results provide the first preclinical data supporting the in vivo efficacy of prenylation inhibition as a novel antiviral therapy with potential application to HDV and a wide variety of other viruses