PRIORITY ROUTING OF SHIPMENT USING IOT SENSOR DATA FROM SHIPMENT PACKAGES

Techniques are provided to prioritize shipping containers using sensor data by monitoring the health of the package being shipped. Based on smart contract terms, the priority of the shipment is dynamically elevated and the package is shipped faster

Does FX derivative usage improve firm value? An investigation of non-financial UK firms

This paper investigates whether FX derivative usage improves firm value using a sample of 370 non-financial UK firms for the period of 2015 to 2016. In univariate tests, we find that, on average, the firm value of FX derivative users is marginally greater than non-users, but ultimately this difference is not statistically significant. In our initial pooled OLS specification, we find that FX derivative usage covets an economically and statistically significant value premium, which suggests that on average, an FX derivative user has a 5.35% greater firm value when compared to a non-user, ceteris paribus. However, we find that this value premium is sensitive to the effect of outliers and when addressing key elements of omitted variable endogeneity by controlling for the effect of industry and firm fixed effects in further analysis, we find that significance of this premium dissipates. This suggests that the value contribution of FX derivative usage is rather a noisy proxy for the effect of omitted factors such as managerial quality, which could feasibly drive both FX derivative usage and firm value. Therefore, in this analysis, we find insubstantial evidence to support the notion that FX derivative usage improves firm value

Supply Chain Cost Reduction using Mitigation & Resilient Strategies in the Hypermarket Retail Business

Retail businesses have become more challenging owing to the external and internal forces due to the ever evolving nature of the environment. Various measures are being taken to address the need to manage cost. The supply chain factors must not be ignored as the entire link along the retail supply chain play vital roles. This article is an attempt at presenting an overview of the current situation of the retail environment particularly in the hypermarket sector and the forces affecting their business cost which include knowledge, forecasting, procurement, and sourcing. The paper concludes through literature review that recognizes risks associated with each force that could potentially determine the cost of business for the hypermarkets. As such, an empirical study is to follow this conceptual study to analyse the hypotheses developed and to significantly identify the factors and strategies that retailers could use to reduce the impact of supply chain disruptions to their overall cost

Jet-powered Outflows in Supermassive Black Hole Binary Candidate SDSS J1048+0055

The search and study of close pairs of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) is important in the study of galaxy mergers which can possibly trigger active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity, and in the context of their evolution into the gravitational wave emitting regime. The quasar SDSS~J1048+0055 was identified as a SMBH binary candidate based on the observed double-peaked \OIII$\lambda\lambda$4959,5007 emission lines and two distinct radio components separated by $\sim 20$~pc \citep{2004ApJ...604L..33Z}. To ascertain the binary nature of this source, we analyzed multi-frequency, multi-epoch very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) data to investigate its pc-scale radio properties. The source shows double components with the western feature being brighter than the eastern one. This brighter component has a brightness temperature of $\sim 10^{10}$~K, spectral index of $\alpha = -0.09 \pm 0.09$ (flat) and is indicative of mildly relativistic beaming. In contrast, the faint component has a lower brightness temperature of $\sim 10^{8-9}$~K and steep spectrum. These clues are consistent with a core--jet structure, moreover, the apparent separation speed between the two components is much higher than the expected orbital motion in a binary SMBH. Thus the present study excludes the association of the two VLBI components with the cores of a SMBH binary, although the SMBH binary possibility (e.g., a pair of radio-loud and radio-quiet AGNs) is not fully ruled out. In the single active galactic nucleus (AGN) scenario, the double-peaked optical emission lines can originate from the jet interacting with the narrow-line region as indicated by a change in the jet direction at $\sim$ 140 pc.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. (13 pages, 2 figures, and 2 tables

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION BASED QUIC TRAFFIC STEERING IN A SECURE INTERNET GATEWAY (SIG)

The Quick User Datagram Protocol (UDP) Internet Connection (QUIC) protocol is slated to become the next (third) major version of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) – i.e., HTTP/3. As applications transition to QUIC for web traffic, a Secure Internet Gateway (SIG) needs to effectively load balance, proxy, and classify QUIC traffic. Techniques are presented herein that make use of a custom Connection ID (CID) artifact to allow a load balancer to determine, with minimal processing, a target server, and potentially the application that the QUIC flow is serving, in support of steering traffic to the appropriate upstream services. Additionally, techniques are presented herein that leverage an exchange of data over an out-of-band channel in support of the enforcement of Quality of Service (QoS) requirements on an enterprise gateway

A radio structure resolved at the deca-parsec scale in radio-quiet quasar PDS 456 with an extremely powerful X-ray outflow

Active galactic nuclei (AGN) accreting at rates close to the Eddington limit can host radiatively driven mildly relativistic outflows. Some of these X-ray absorbing but powerful outflows may produce strong shocks resulting in a significant non-thermal emission. This outflow-driven radio emission may be detectable in the radio-quiet quasar PDS 456 since it has a bolometric luminosity reaching the Eddington limit and a relativistic wide-aperture X-ray outflow with a kinetic power high enough to quench the star formation in its host galaxy. To investigate this possibility, we performed very-long-baseline interferometric (VLBI) observations of the quasar with the European VLBI Network (EVN) at 5 GHz. The EVN image with the full resolution reveals two faint and diffuse radio components with a projected separation of about 20 pc and an average brightness temperature of around two million Kelvin. In relation to the optical sub-mas-accuracy position measured by the Gaia mission, the two components are very likely on opposite sides of an undetected radio core. The VLBI structure at the deca-pc scale can thus be either a young jet or a bidirectional radio-emitting outflow, launched in the vicinity of a strongly accreting central engine. Two diffuse components at the hecto-pc scale, likely the relic radio emission from the past AGN activity, are tentatively detected on each side in the low-resolution EVN image.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in MNRA

A cosmic microscope to probe the Universe from Present to Cosmic Dawn - dual-element low-frequency space VLBI observatory

A space-based very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) programme, named as the Cosmic Microscope, is proposed to involve dual VLBI telescopes in the space working together with giant ground-based telescopes (e.g., Square Kilometre Array, FAST, Arecibo) to image the low radio frequency Universe with the purpose of unraveling the compact structure of cosmic constituents including supermassive black holes and binaries, pulsars, astronomical masers and the underlying source, and exoplanets amongst others. The operational frequency bands are 30, 74, 330 and 1670 MHz, supporting broad science areas. The mission plans to launch two 30-m-diameter radio telescopes into 2,000 km x 90,000 km elliptical orbits. The two telescopes can work in flexibly diverse modes: (i) space-ground VLBI. The maximum space-ground baseline length is about 100,000 km; it provides a high-dynamic-range imaging capacity with unprecedented high resolutions at low frequencies (0.4 mas at 1.67 GHz and 20 mas at 30 MHz) enabling studies of exoplanets and supermassive black hole binaries (which emit nanoHz gravitational waves); (ii) space-space single-baseline VLBI. This unique baseline enables the detection of flaring hydroxyl masers, and more precise position measurement of pulsars and radio transients at milli-arcsecond level; (iii) single dish mode, where each telescope can be used to monitor transient bursts and rapidly trigger follow-up VLBI observations. The large space telescope will also contribute in measuring and constraining the total angular power spectrum from the Epoch of Reionization. In short, the Cosmic Microscope offers astronomers the opportunity to conduct novel, frontier science.Comment: Accepted for publication in Chinese Journal of Space Science, 10 pages, 2 figure

Butorphanol for Post-Operative Analgesia - A Comparative Clinical Study with Ketorolac

Introduction: Butorphanol, an opioid derivative has been shown to have, in addition to its analgesic properties, several other advantageous effects like antistressor, sedative and anti-shivering action. The efficacy and safety profile of ketorolac, yet another widely used post-operative analgesic is well documented. This study aims to compare the two analgesics. Aims and objectives: This study was conducted to compare the analgesic efficacy and other effects of butorphanol and ketorolac, administered intramuscularly, in post-operative patients who have undergone lower abdominal and pelvic surgeries. Materials and methods: 50 patients undergoing lower abdominal and pelvic surgeries under general or spinal anaesthesia were randomly divided into two Groups (25 each). At a particular level of post-operative pain, the patients Groups I and II were administered intramuscular ketorolac 30mg and butorphanol 2mg respectively. The analgesic effect was studied using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the verbal category scale. Patients were monitored for the sedative action, respiratory status and other vital parameters for 300 minutes and for other adverse reactions over the next twelve hours. Observations: Butorphanol provided better analgesia within the first two hours of administration, while ketorolac was more effective at 4-5 hours. Better sedative action without any significant respiratory depressant effect was demonstrated with butorphanol. There were no clinically significant hemodynamic fluctuations or adverse reactions with butorphanol or ketorolac. Conclusions: Butorphanol provides better early analgesia as compared to ketorolac with a desirable and safe sedative effect in post-operative patients who have undergone lower abdominal and pelvic surgeries