Data mining: a tool for detecting cyclical disturbances in supply networks.

Disturbances in supply chains may be either exogenous or endogenous. The ability automatically to detect, diagnose, and distinguish between the causes of disturbances is of prime importance to decision makers in order to avoid uncertainty. The spectral principal component analysis (SPCA) technique has been utilized to distinguish between real and rogue disturbances in a steel supply network. The data set used was collected from four different business units in the network and consists of 43 variables; each is described by 72 data points. The present paper will utilize the same data set to test an alternative approach to SPCA in detecting the disturbances. The new approach employs statistical data pre-processing, clustering, and classification learning techniques to analyse the supply network data. In particular, the incremental k-means clustering and the RULES-6 classification rule-learning algorithms, developed by the present authors’ team, have been applied to identify important patterns in the data set. Results show that the proposed approach has the capability automatically to detect and characterize network-wide cyclical disturbances and generate hypotheses about their root cause

Effects of Outsourcing Food and Beverage Functions on Customers' Perceptions of Hotels' Service Quality in Dubai

The focus of this study is the customers’ perceptions of service quality in Dubai Hotel Industry. Dubai is one of the newest and most successful tourist destinations that build and develop itself in days of intense competition and globalization. Every well established International brand in Hospitality in today’s world is presented in this tourist destination. This fact has created great opportunities for hotels to link up with aspiring restaurateurs who can give individuality to their restaurants. Outsourcing has become an important strategic tool of hotel management, but as any tool of business it has its own advantages and disadvantages. In Dubai Hospitality industry it is very common to see food and beverage outlets that have been outsourced. The author believes that outsourcing of food and beverage function by hotels should have affected the service quality within the industry. To gain insights on this topic, the author explores the Gap Model of service quality (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, Berry, 1985) and attempts research by conducting amended SERVQUAL to twelve in-sourced and outsourced restaurants from ten randomly selected hotels in Dubai. The analysis of the collected data provided significant results. The most important to the customers in Dubai hotel restaurants is to keep their promises, particularly promises about the service outcomes and core service attributes, which is food and beverages quality. Food and beverage services are viewed by Dubai customers as an integral part of the hospitality product. Hotel restaurants support and steer the hotel’s image and are elements of the guests’ overall expected hotel experience. The hotels’ guests perceive outsourced restaurants as better service quality provider, which affects positively Hotels brand reputation, but Customer Gap is still identified. One of the most important quality dimensions to Dubai hotels guests is “Reliability”, which is the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. The customers’ perception toward “Empathy” quality dimension is not affected by outsourcing food and beverage function. Regardless the function is self-managed or outsourced, Dubai Hotels are facing major issue of low skilled staff with little or no qualification in F&B field that affects negatively the guests’ overall quality perception. At the end, the author summarizes the valuable conclusions of this study and suggests implications for management and further improvements of service quality in hotels

Mirror Therapy in Stroke Patients

Introduction. Diseases of the central nervous system are one of the major causes of motor and cognitive impairment in humans. The purpose of this article is to summarize data from various studies that have examined the effects of mirror therapy on improving limb function in stroke patients.Materials and Methods. The following databases were used: MEDLINE/PubMed, Google Scholar, Research Gate, and the Student Library at the Medical College of Trakia University at Stara Zagora.Results. According to the research from the various databases that we have reviewed, mirror treatment, in combination with other conventional methods of kinesiotherapy, can improve the condition of patients with hemiplegia.Conclusion. Data on the long-term effects of mirror therapy are not yet available due to insufficient long-term follow-up of patients

Damage of Bi-material Structures and Reinforced Composites with Different Industrial Applications

The present paper consists of two parts. In the first part the interface delamination of bi-material structures (unit cell of wind rotor blade) with different material properties under mechanical loading at physical conditions – electricity, temperature and moisture is under consideration. The investigation of the above mentioned structures are motivated by the importance for safety of devices used for energy industry applications. The second part is devoted to renovation of old buildings by using new and modern composite materials. The goal is to find via mathematical modelling the safety zone, the reliability of the structures considered and the detection of possible interface delamination as a function of geometrical, material and physical parameters as well as the pull-out force of modern composites used in building industry. The analysis provided in both parts is based on the modified shear lag method. The results obtained in the first and second parts of the paper are illustrated by tables and figures. Some recommendations and possible criterions are proposed, as well

Identification of a key residue for Oligomerisation and pore-formation of Clostridium perfringens NetB

Necrotic enteritis toxin B (NetB) is a β-pore-forming toxin produced by Clostridium perfringens and has been identified as a key virulence factor in the pathogenesis of avian necrotic enteritis, a disease causing significant economic damage to the poultry industry worldwide. In this study, site-directed mutagenesis was used to identify amino acids that play a role in NetB oligomerisation and pore-formation. NetB K41H showed significantly reduced toxicity towards LMH cells and human red blood cells relative to wild type toxin. NetB K41H was unable to oligomerise and form pores in liposomes. These findings suggest that NetB K41H could be developed as a genetic toxoid vaccine to protect against necrotic enteritis

On the minimum order of kk-cop win graphs

We consider the minimum order graphs with a given cop number. We prove that the minimum order of a connected graph with cop number 3 is 10, and show that the Petersen graph is the unique isomorphism type of graph with this property. We provide the results of a computational search on the cop number of all graphs up to and including order 10. A relationship is presented between the minimum order of graph with cop number $k$ and Meyniel's conjecture on the asymptotic maximum value of the cop number of a connected graph

Secretagogues Modulate the Calcium Concentration in the Endoplasmic Reticulum of Insulin-secreting Cells STUDIES IN AEQUORIN-EXPRESSING INTACT AND PERMEABILIZED INS-1 CELLS

The precise regulation of the Ca2+ concentration in the endoplasmic reticulum ([Ca2+]er) is important for protein processing and signal transduction. In the pancreatic beta-cell, dysregulation of [Ca2+]er may cause impaired insulin secretion. The Ca2+-sensitive photoprotein aequorin mutated to lower its Ca2+ affinity was stably expressed in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of rat insulinoma INS-1 cells. The steady state [Ca2+]er was 267 +/- 9 microM. Both the Ca2+-ATPase inhibitor cyclopiazonic acid and 4-chloro-m-cresol, an activator of ryanodine receptors, caused an almost complete emptying of ER Ca2+. The inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate generating agonists, carbachol, and ATP, reduced [Ca2+]er by 20-25%. Insulin secretagogues that raise cytosolic [Ca2+] by membrane depolarization increased [Ca2+]er in the potency order K+ >> glucose > leucine, paralleling their actions in the cytosolic compartment. Glucose, which augmented [Ca2+]er by about 25%, potentiated the Ca2+-mobilizing effect of carbachol, explaining the corresponding observation in cytosolic [Ca2+]. The filling of ER Ca2+ by glucose is not directly mediated by ATP production as shown by the continuous monitoring of cytosolic ATP in luciferase expressing cells. Both glucose and K+ increase [Ca2+]er, but only the former generated whereas the latter consumed ATP. Nonetheless, drastic lowering of cellular ATP with a mitochondrial uncoupler resulted in a marked decrease in [Ca2+]er, emphasizing the requirement for mitochondrially derived ATP above a critical threshold concentration. Using alpha-toxin permeabilized cells in the presence of ATP, glucose 6-phosphate did not change [Ca2+]er, invalidating the hypothesis that glucose acts through this metabolite. Therefore, insulin secretagogues that primarily stimulate Ca2+ influx, elevate [Ca2+]er to ensure beta-cell homeostasis

Impact of digital technologies on green economic growth

The rapid development and implementation of digital technologies, in particular in the manufacturing sector, at the global and European level have become strategic priorities for achieving the global goals for sustainable development. The introduction of new generations of digital technologies is seen as a key element and leading factor for achieving a sustainable, competitive and green economy in the coming decades. The report presents the policy of the EU (and Bulgaria as part of the Union) aimed at achieving the implementation of the global goals for sustainable development. The degree and readiness of the Bulgarian industry to benefit from digital technologies and the tools of Industry 4.0 in support of sustainable, green economic growth of our society has been studied

Case Report: Coexistence of bullous pemphigoid and psoriasis: Therapeutic challenge and IL17A-targeted parallel treatment strategy

Autoimmune blistering diseases of the skin have all been reported in patients with psoriasis, bullous pemphigoid (BP) being the most frequently observed. The pathophysiologic triggers for BP in psoriatic patients are unclear. Recent observational studies have suggested that chronic psoriatic inflammation may cause pathological changes to the basement membrane zone, thus inducing autoimmunity against BP antigens through cross reactivity and “epitope spreading.” The coexistence of BP and psoriasis poses challenging therapeutic dilemmas related to the incompatibility of their standard treatments. Considering the probable common immunologic mechanisms in the pathogenesis of these inflammatory skin disorders, a suitable treatment regimen should be applied for their parallel control. We report three patients, who developed BP in the course of preceding long-lasting psoriasis. Secukinumab was administered as first-line treatment with promising therapeutic effect for both skin disorders and long-term disease control in two of the cases. In the third case, parallel disease control was initially achieved with methotrexate. A few years later, secukinumab was used for the treatment of a relapse of both dermatoses but worsening of BP was observed and methotrexate was reintroduced. Our experience on the therapeutic potential of secukinumab in BP is supported by the data in the literature. Recently, it was demonstrated that the proinflammatory cytokine IL17A has a functional role in the process of skin inflammation in BP, similarly to psoriasis. IL17A inhibition has emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy in patients with extensive or refractory BP but paradoxical development of BP after secukinumab treatment for psoriasis has also been described. This controversy emphasizes the need for further investigation into the development of optimal treatment strategies and recommendations