Risk-based analytical modelling of managerial processes in shipping business

Gemi işletmeciliği faaliyetleri uluslararası platformda, yüksek rekabet koşulları altında ve her geçen gün yükselen öz-denetim olgusu gibi kısıtlar altında yürütülmektedir. Bu tür kısıtlar, gemi işletmeciliğinde profesyonel anlayışa geçişe ve yenilikçi yürütme faaliyetlerine sürekli gelişim hedefi ile yönelimi tetikler. Son yıllarda, sertifikalandırma kuruluşları ve denizcilik danışmanlık grupları gemi işletmeciliği idarecilerine Entegre Yönetim Sistemini (EYS) ileri bir çözüm aracı olarak önermektedir. Gemi işletmeciliğinde EYS uygulamalarının kapsamı uluslararası tanınmış standartların gemi güvenliği ve gemilerden kaynaklanan kirliliğin önlenmesi ile ilgili zorunlu denizcilik kurallarıyla birleştirilmesi esası üzerinedir. Bu noktada, standart gereksinimlerinin uyumluluğu ve ilgili kuralların gemi işletmeciliği yönetim organizasyonuna entegrasyonu iki temel sorun olarak ortaya çıkmaktadır. Bu araştırma ile Bulanık Bilgi Aksiyomu (BBA), Hata Ağacı Analizi (HAA), Analitik Ağ Süreci (AAS) ve diğer başlıca Çok Ölçütlü Karar Verme (ÇÖKV) yöntemlerini de içeren bir Risk Bütünleşik Karar Destek Sistemi (RBKDS) geliştirildi. RBKDS, Veri Tabanlı Yönetim Sistemi (VTYS), Model Esaslı Yönetim Sistemi (MEYS), BBA esaslı Model Seçim Arayüzü (BBA-MSA), Entegre Süreç Yönetim Modülü (ESYM), İdari Karar Verme Modülü (IKVM) ve Risk Kontrol Ve Yönetim Modülü (RKYM) gibi unsurların bütünleştirilmesi ile oluşmuştur. Tamamlanan prototip uygulama ile RBKDS’ın EYS’nin süreç temelli entegrasyonu ve gemi işletmeciliğinde yönetimsel süreçlerin risk temelli analitik çözümü konusunda gemi işletmeciliği idarecilerini destekleyen nitel çıktılar ortaya koyduğu görülmüştür. Süreç idaresi prosedürlerinin yeniden tasarımına karar desteğinin yanı sıra, RBKDS, ayrıca farklı standartlar arası uyumsuzluk risklerini de göz önünde bulundurarak yönetimsel süreçler üzerine etkin karar vermeyi sağlamaktadır.   Anahtar Kelimeler: Gemi işletmeciliği, karar destek sistemi, entegre yönetim sistemi.Relevance to legislation in shipping business cycle, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) principally governs the safety and environmental protection via Flag State Implementation (FSI) and regional Port State Control (PSC) authorities in accordance with the designated Memorandum Of Understandings (MOUs). Although the IMO has adopted various conventions, mainly concerning marine safety, security, pollution prevention, and other relevant issues, enforcement of the international commitments and standards in trading activities of ships necessitate the involvement of maritime stakeholders. The IMO declared that there are now enough regulations in place and the problem is one of implementation and enforcement. In accordance with the recent trends in international maritime legislation, the implementation process of regulatory regime has become a competitive factor for the market players to achieve the sustainable development target in maritime transportation industry. Industrial response to this trend recalls the self-regulation. It is appeared as relatively a new regime for shipping business initiatives in maritime transportation industry. Extensively, the self-regulation dominates the industry and it mainly enforces the maritime stakeholders involvement in enhancement of the safety/environmental aspects for shipping business. Beside safety and environmental contributions, the self-regulation spontaneously ensures legislative performance of the relevant organizations such as classification societies, insurers, cargo owners, shippers, shipbrokers, ship managers, terminal operators and, ship financiers in trading activities satisfactorily. Implementation of an Integrated Management System (IMS) is one of the most effective and concrete instruments of managing the self-regulation phenomenon in order to respond to increasing demands from maritime society. In principle, the concept of IMS practices in shipping business is based on combining internationally recognized voluntary standards with the mandatory maritime 8regulations that are mainly concern with ship safety and the prevention of pollution from ships. In the early design phase of an IMS, cooperative efforts of maritime consultancies and relevant shipping executives targets to enable maximum improvement in managerial processes while reducing the costs and excessive bureaucracy in implementation of redesigned procedures. As potential clients, the third party groups such as cargo owners and contracted charterers have closely monitored the performance effects of IMS integration into professional shipping companies. Therefore, the managerial efforts are extremely valuable for the purpose of benefit from IMS implementations, which increase the reputation of ship management companies and provide an enormous trading advantage in maritime transportation industry. This research develops a Risk Integrated Decision Support System (RIDSS) based on a multi-methodological background includes Fuzzy Axiomatic Design (FAD) and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), as well as Analytic Network Process (ANP) and other principal MCDM methods. The initial focus of the RIDSS is to reveal quantitative outcomes in order to encourage relevant shipping executives towards process-based integration of an IMS also to enhance risk-based analytical modelling of managerial processes in shipping business. The RIDSS consists of various modules such as Database Management System (DBMS), Model Base Management System (MBMS), FAD-based Model Selection Interface (FAD-MSI), Integrated Process Management Module (IPMM), Executive Decision-Making Module (EDMM), and Risk Control And Management Module (RCMM) with a high level of integrity. To demonstrate the proposed RIDSS, the mostly encountered managerial processes in commercial, technical, and operational levels of shipping business are then addressed and modelled. Specifically, the prototype application of the RIDSS incorporates the following process:(i) shipboard personnel recruitment, (ii) familiarization and training, (iii) performance appraisals of marine suppliers, (iv) marine equipment/spare purchasing, (v) fleet maintenance planning, (vi) accident analysis and prevention, (vii) Ship docking operations management, (viii) performance measurement for emergency drills. Besides decision aid to redesigning of process execution procedures through IMS requirements, the RIDSS also enables an effective decision-making on managerial processes even considering the potential risks of regulatory incompliance.  Keywords: Shipping business, decision support system, integrated management system.

EVALUATION OF A HAEMOSTATIC AGENT IN RABBITS

Topical hemostatic agents are applied locally to areas of injured vascular endothelium to control local bleeding. Ankaferd Blood Stopper (ABS) has gained approval in Turkey and Bosnia-Herzegovina as a topical haemostatic agent for external post-surgical and post-dental surgery bleeding. The safety of topical use of ABS has been demonstrated in numerous in vitro and in vivo animal models, as well as in a clinical Phase I trial in humans. ABS, besides its haemostatic activity, also has in vitro anti-infectious and anti-neoplastic effects. To assess potential detrimental effects of intravenous administration of ABS into intact systemic circulation in a rabbit experimental model, one milliliter of ABS was administered intravenously into the systemic circulation of twelve rabbits which were included in the study via the marginal ear vein. Animals were observed for 1 hr before euthanasia was performed by administering 40 mg of intracardiac suxamethonium chloride. In the event of death (cardiopulmonary arrest) before the end of the planned observation period of 60 minutes, time of death was recorded and histopathological examination of the liver and spleen was commenced. Ten rabbits were alive by the end of the planned observation period, without showing any clear signs of discomfort, whereas two animals died within five minutes after systemic administration of intravenous ABS. Postmortem histopathological examination of the livers and spleens of all animals’ revealed findings consistent with hepatic venous outflow obstruction. Systemic intravascular administration of ABS into intact vascular endothelium should never be performed in any setting. Further experimental and clinical studies on this liquid hemostatic agent should proceed by accepting ABS as purely a topical haemostatic agent, to be applied solely to areas of injured vascular endothelium

Demonstration of the histopathological and immunohistochemical effects of a novel hemostatic agent, ankaferd blood stopper, on vascular tissue in a rat aortic bleeding model

Background: Ankaferd Blood Stopper®(ABS) is a folkloric medicinal plant extract used as a hemostatic agent in traditional Turkish medicine. This experimental study investigated the histopathological and immunohistochemical effects of ABS on vascular tissue in a rat model of aortic bleeding.Methods: Four groups of 11 Wistar albino rats were used. The abdominal aortas of the rats were wounded; an ABS-soaked tampon was applied to rats in Groups 1 and 3, and a plain gauze tampon was applied to rats in Groups 2 and 4 until the bleeding stopped. The bleeding time was recorded. Immediately following sacrificing, the arteriotomy sites from Groups 1 and 2 were removed. The abdominal incisions in Groups 3 and 4 were closed following hemostasis. On Day 7 of the study, Group 3 and 4 rats were sacrificed and the abdominal aorta arteriotomy sites were removed for histopathological and immunohistochemical evaluation.Results: The mean bleeding time in 15 animals in Groups 2 and 4 was 4.9 ± 0.6 s, and in 22 animals in Groups 1 and 3 was 3.1 ± 0.6 s. Distal aortic occlusion was not observed on either Day 1 or 7 in any group. Significantly more widespread and dense endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) staining was observed in Group 1 animals than Group 2. On Days 1 and 7 after application of ABS, histopathological changes, consisting of necrosis, inflammation, and endothelial cell loss, in the rat abdominal aortas did not differ between Groups 1 and 2. The basophilic discoloration in the ABS group on the operation day was a result of a foreign body reaction and hemosiderin-loaded histiocyte accumulation, which occurred on Day 7.Conclusions: In this study, hemostasis was successfully achieved with ABS in rat abdominal aortas. No histopathological change was found in the rat abdominal aortas between the ABS and control groups on Days 1 and 7. Further studies on the long-term effects of foreign body reactions and hemosiderin-loaded histiocyte accumulation are required. © 2010 Kandemir et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Relationships between Levels of Serum IgE, Cell-Bound IgE, and IgE-Receptors on Peripheral Blood Cells in a Pediatric Population

Background: Elevated serum immunoglobulin (Ig) E is a diagnostic marker of immediate-type allergic reactions. We hypothesize that serum IgE does not necessarily reflect total body IgE because in vivo IgE can be bound to cell surface receptors such as FcεRI and FcεRII (CD23). The aim of this study was to analyze the relationships between levels of serum IgE, cell-bound IgE, and IgE-receptors on peripheral blood cells in a pediatric population. Methodology: Whole blood samples from 48 children (26 boys, 22 girls, mean age 10,3±5,4 years) were analyzed by flow cytometry for FcεRI, CD23, and cell-bound IgE on dendritic cells (CD11c+MHC class II+), monocytes (CD14+), basophils (CD123+MHC class II-) and neutrophils (myeloperoxidase+). Total serum IgE was measured by ELISA and converted into z-units to account for age-dependent normal ranges. Correlations were calculated using Spearman rank correlation test. Principal Findings: Dendritic cells, monocytes, basophils, and neutrophils expressed the high affinity IgE-receptor FcεRI. Dendritic cells and monocytes also expressed the low affinity receptor CD23. The majority of IgE-receptor positive cells carried IgE on their surface. Expression of both IgE receptors was tightly correlated with cell-bound IgE. In general, cell-bound IgE on FcεRI+ cells correlated well with serum IgE. However, some patients carried high amounts of cell-bound IgE despite low total serum IgE levels. Conclusion/Significance: In pediatric patients, levels of age-adjusted serum IgE, cell-bound IgE, and FcεRI correlate. Even in the absence of elevated levels of serum IgE, cell-bound IgE can be detected on peripheral blood cells in a subgroup of patients

Crowds in or crowds out? The effect of foreign direct investment on domestic investment in Chinese cities

This study investigates the empirical relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and domestic investment (DI) in China using a comprehensive city-level panel over the period from 2003 to 2011. System-generalized method-of-moment estimation reveals mixed results. At the national level, FDI neither crowds in nor crowds out DI, indicating a neutral FDI–DI nexus. However, when the full sample is segmented by geographical topology, a positive and significant FDI–DI nexus can be found in eastern and, to a lesser extent, central cities. A negative, although insignificant, association is reported among western cities. Further, the empirical nexus is conditional on several local absorptive capacities including human capital, financial development, and institutional quality. These findings suggest that a region-based FDI strategy in general and local governments should strengthen their absorptive capacities to fully internalize FDI spillovers

A global spectral library to characterize the world's soil

Soil provides ecosystem services, supports human health and habitation, stores carbon and regulates emissions of greenhouse gases. Unprecedented pressures on soil from degradation and urbanization are threatening agro-ecological balances and food security. It is important that we learn more about soil to sustainably manage and preserve it for future generations. To this end, we developed and analyzed a global soil visible-near infrared (vis-NIR) spectral library. It is currently the largest and most diverse database of its kind. We show that the information encoded in the spectra can describe soil composition and be associated to land cover and its global geographic distribution, which acts as a surrogate for global climate variability. We also show the usefulness of the global spectra for predicting soil attributes such as soil organic and inorganic carbon, clay, silt, sand and iron contents, cation exchange capacity, and pH. Using wavelets to treat the spectra, which were recorded in different laboratories using different spectrometers and methods, helped to improve the spectroscopic modelling. We found that modelling a diverse set of spectra with a machine learning algorithm can find the local relationships in the data to produce accurate predictions of soil properties. The spectroscopic models that we derived are parsimonious and robust, and using them we derived a harmonized global soil attribute dataset, which might serve to facilitate research on soil at the global scale. This spectroscopic approach should help to deal with the shortage of data on soil to better understand it and to meet the growing demand for information to assess and monitor soil at scales ranging from regional to global. New contributions to the library are encouraged so that this work and our collaboration might progress to develop a dynamic and easily updatable database with better global coverage. We hope that this work will reinvigorate our community's discussion towards larger, more coordinated collaborations. We also hope that use of the database will deepen our understanding of soil so that we might sustainably manage it and extend the research outcomes of the soil, earth and environmental sciences towards applications that we have not yet dreamed of

Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.]

First measurement of the Hubble Constant from a Dark Standard Siren using the Dark Energy Survey Galaxies and the LIGO/Virgo Binary–Black-hole Merger GW170814

International audienceWe present a multi-messenger measurement of the Hubble constant H 0 using the binary–black-hole merger GW170814 as a standard siren, combined with a photometric redshift catalog from the Dark Energy Survey (DES). The luminosity distance is obtained from the gravitational wave signal detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)/Virgo Collaboration (LVC) on 2017 August 14, and the redshift information is provided by the DES Year 3 data. Black hole mergers such as GW170814 are expected to lack bright electromagnetic emission to uniquely identify their host galaxies and build an object-by-object Hubble diagram. However, they are suitable for a statistical measurement, provided that a galaxy catalog of adequate depth and redshift completion is available. Here we present the first Hubble parameter measurement using a black hole merger. Our analysis results in , which is consistent with both SN Ia and cosmic microwave background measurements of the Hubble constant. The quoted 68% credible region comprises 60% of the uniform prior range [20, 140] km s−1 Mpc−1, and it depends on the assumed prior range. If we take a broader prior of [10, 220] km s−1 Mpc−1, we find (57% of the prior range). Although a weak constraint on the Hubble constant from a single event is expected using the dark siren method, a multifold increase in the LVC event rate is anticipated in the coming years and combinations of many sirens will lead to improved constraints on H 0