Toward Integrated Fuzzy Front-end Decision Support Systems for New Product Development

Innovation and new product introduction have become key challenges facing companies entering emerging markets. Most of the existing quantitative or economic models proposed for New Product front-end decision making are deficient in the way they handle the decision maker’s subjective judgment, while the empirical ones are constrained by the need for gathering field data for diverse business types. Expert systems that have been proposed are limited in scope due to the difficulty involved in capturing rules from experts for each business situation and deficiency in handling uncertainties. The emerging paradigm of soft computing combines heuristics, powerful optimization algorithms and learning techniques, to realize analytically sound systems that also capture the human subjectivity in decision making. Fuzzy measures exemplified by the Dempster-Shafer belief measures and the possibility measures of Zadeh are now being increasingly accepted by researchers as powerful tools for semantic modeling and uncertainty representation. The aim of this dissertation is to develop a fuzzy measure theoretical model of new product screening, translate the conceptual model to an executive decision process model and use fuzzy rule bases and fuzzy inferencing to derive business strategies from expert evaluation of critical success factors. New product managers of several American firms whom we interviewed have been receptive to the idea of testing a prototype of the proposed system to aid in their business decisions involving new product development. We intend to validate the prototype in a real business setting involving decisions to launch telecommunication products on a global scale

Deep Convolutional Neural Networks for MultilabelPrediction Using RGBD Data

Robotics relies heavily on the system's ability to perceive the world around the robot accurately and quickly. In a narrow setting as in manufacturing this goal is relatively simple. To make robotics feasible in more dynamic settings we must handle more objects, more attributes, and events that may be out of the scope of what a system has been exposed to previously. To this end, the present work focuses on automatic feature formation from RGB-D data, using deep convolutional neural networks, in order to recognize, not only objects but also attributes which are more applicable across objects, including those objects which have not been seen previously. Progress is shown in relation to more standard systems and near real-time classification of multiple targets is achieved

Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Shellfish Safety

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is one of the leading causes of foodborne illness associated with seafood consumption worldwide. V. parahaemolyticus is a native bacterium to Salish Sea coastal waters and present in higher quantities during summer months. Humans who consume raw or undercooked shellfish, most commonly oysters, containing V. parahaemolyticus can develop a gastrointestinal illness. Typically self-limiting, V. parahaemolyticus infections can also lead to life-threatening skin infections or septicemia, particularly in individuals with weakened immune systems. The Washington State Department of Health (Health) manages V. parahaemolyticus through regular environmental sampling during summer months, implementing a V. parahaemolyticus Control Plan for the commercial shellfish industry, and issuing health advisories for recreational harvesters. Even with these measures in place, the numbers of V. parahaemolyticus illnesses have not declined in Washington and nationally V. parahaemolyticus-related illnesses are on the rise. V. parahaemolyticus is a highly temperature-dependent bacterium, with doubling rates of about 1.5 hours at 80⁰F. Understanding how shellfish exposure to high temperatures in intertidal areas influences the illness-causing potential of V. parahaemolyticus is a key component of Health’s Vibrio Program. The need for this data is made more critical by the potential for illness reports to increase with warming waters. As we experience climate change, it is essential to gain a more thorough understanding of how V. parahaemolyticus interacts with the dynamic Salish Sea ecosystem. V. parahaemolyticus will likely thrive with warmer water temperatures as well as warmer air temperatures with a greater number of sunny days in the summer months. Although lacking long-term datasets, recent annual variability in conditions such as the record-breaking weather in the summer of 2013 may provide a glimpse of things to come and valuable insights into how shellfish managers, harvesters, and consumers may need to adapt to a changing marine environment

The effect of benzalkonium chloride exposure on the minimum inhibitory concentration, and the spread of resistance to tetracycline in a laboratory-scale sludge reactor

With the increased use of disinfectants due to the Covid-19 pandemic an increased understanding of their effect on antimicrobial resistance is of paramount importance. This study looks at the effect low concentrations of the disinfectant benzalkonium chloride (BAC) have on the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of antibiotic tetracycline (TEC). A laboratory-scale sludge reactor was used to investigate if there is a correlation between low concentrations of benzalkonium chloride and the minimum inhibitory concentration of both tetracycline and benzalkonium chloride. During two experiments, two aerobic sludge reactors were maintained for 4 weeks, one containing low levels of BAC and the second one functioning as a control reactor. During the first experiment, a concentration of 2,0 mg/L BAC was added to the test reactor. In the second experiment, this concentration got raised to 10 mg/L. The effects of BAC on the MIC and microbial populations were examined. The effect on the microbial community was determined using total suspended solids (TSS) and volatile suspended solids (VSS). Both the MIC values and the results from the TSS and VSS suggest that subinhibitory levels of benzalkonium chloride led to a higher resistance to benzalkonium chloride. The MIC value for tetracycline resistance however indicate that benzalkonium chloride did not affect the resistance of the microbial community. The MIC values for tetracycline seemed to be stable and didn’t get influenced through the expose to benzalkonium chloride. These results indicate that overuse of a disinfectant can lead to resistance to these products leading to a decrease in their effectiveness. Despite the fact that in this study disinfectant use did not affect the resistance to tetracycline, more research needs to be conducted to obtain a better understanding of the effect of disinfectants on antibiotic resistance

The effect of implant placement and simultaneous soft tissue augmentation in the esthetic zone using either connective tissue autograft or acellular dermal matrix allograft on peri-implant hard and soft tissue healing.

Aims. The primary aims of this randomized, controlled, blinded clinical trial were to compare the hard and soft tissue response following either a connective tissue (CT) or acellular dermal matrix (ADM) graft placed simultaneously with a laser-grooved implant. Methods. Twenty-five patients received a single tooth implant in the maxillary anterior that was bordered by two teeth. Patients were randomly selected, using to coin toss, to receive either an ADM (test) or a CT (control) graft. At the 2-month appointment, the implant was uncovered and a lab-fabricated provisional was placed. At the 4-month appointment, following 2 months of tissue shaping, a fixture level impression was obtained to capture the emergence profile. The final restoration was constructed and placed. Subjective and objective evaluations of the implant esthetics were obtained at the 6-month follow-up. Results. Soft tissue thickness at the crest for the CT group and ADM groups at 4 months was 2.8 mm and 2.9 mm respectively. ADM showed a greater increase in thickness than CT, but the gain was not statistically significant. Facial recession at 6 months for the CT group was 0.3 ± 0.4 mm and ADM group was 0.5 ± 0.5 mm (p \u3e 0.05). Gingival margin harmony was 64% (9 of 14) for the CT group and 45% (5 of 11) for the ADM group. Papilla harmony was achieved in 36% (5 of 14) of cases in the CT group and 27% (3 of 11) for the ADM group. Using the Jemt papilla index, the ADM group had 2: 50% papilla fill in 100% of sites (22 of 22) while the CT group had 93% (26 of 28) of sites. Implant platform to osseous crest, at 6 months, for the CT group was -0.4 ± 0.4 mm for the mesial and -0.2 ± 0.3 mm for the distal (p \u3c 0.05). The ADM group was -0.3 ± 0.5 mm for the mesial (p \u3c 0.05) and -0.2 ± 0.4 mm for the distal. The Pink Esthetic Score was 11.6 ± 1.5 for the CT group and 11.7 ± 1.6 for the ADM group. The White Esthetic score was 8.2 ± 1.3 mm for the CT group and 8.7 ± 1.5 mm for the ADM group. Patient\u27s subjective esthetic scores showed patients were equally satisfied with both treatment groups. Conclusions. Facial recession and gingival margin harmony were similar for both treatment groups. Jemt papilla index scores and papilla harmony were similar for both groups. Loss of osseous crest on the mesial and distal of the implants was similar in both treatment groups and was greatest between times 2 to 6 months. Subjective patient assessment of esthetics using the Visual Analog Scale was similar for CT and ADM groups

ANALYSIS OF TUMOR SPECIFIC PROTEIN EXPRESSION IN GLIOBLASTOMA MULTIFORME (GBMs) TUMORS THROUGH IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY

GBM tumors are the most aggressive and, unfortunately, the most fatal form of brain cancer. GBM tumors with isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1) mutation being expressed, lead to higher survival rates in patients that also have full resection of the tumor and chemotherapy. Without this mutation, it is thought that tumors have a higher expression of the protein Basigin and O6-methylguanine-DNA-methyltrasnferase (MGMT) present, causing it to be more aggressive and less responsive to standard care. The objective of this study was to understand the correlation between IDH1 mutation presence and the expression of Basigin and MGMT. The expression of these proteins was observed in tissues sections from GBM tumors. Proteins were labeled with a fluorescent antibody and imaged with a confocal microscope. The tissue images were then analyzed using Imaris software. It was shown that there was a significant difference between the presence of the IDH1 mutation and Basgin, and also MGMT among all of the tissue blocks

A Conceptual Framework for B2B Electronic Contracting

Electronic contracting aims at improving existing business relationship paradigms and at enabling new forms of contractual relationships. To successfully realize these objectives, an integral understanding of the contracting field must be established. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework for business-to-business contracting support. The framework provides a complete view over the contracting field. It allows positioning research efforts in the domain, analysing them, placing their goals into perspective, and overseeing future research topics and issues. It is the basis for drawing conclusions about basic requirements to contracting systems

Combating antibiotic resistance: An approach to discover antimicrobial compounds

Objective: This study aims to test a cost-effective approach for discovery of novel molecular compounds with antimicrobial characteristics. Materials and methods: Thirteen randomly picked objects were swabbed in the area in and around Liverpool. They were further cultivated on BHI-agar plates, and then spread on top of several clinically relevant pathogenic indicator strains including C. albicans, C. auris, E. coli, M. luteus and MRSA. This system was incubated overnight and then analysed. Colonies which inhibit the growth of indicator strains, preferable more than one, were assessed suitable for further analysis. Results: From all the cultivated samples, no bacterial colonies showed antimicrobial activity against C. albicans, C. auris and E. coli. Multiple colonies demonstrated antimicrobial activity against M. luteus, and one clone against MRSA. Conclusion: Based on the result from thirteen samples were four of them demonstrate antimicrobial activity, the pipeline of such an approach to discover new antimicrobial molecules seems promising. It is cost-effective with great potential to detect novel antimicrobial compounds. More resources and time are required to investigate its fully potential