3PL Implementing Corporate Social Responsibility in A Closed-loop Supply Chain : A Conceptual Approach

The responsibility of todays's reputable company are not only financial, but also corporate social responsibility(CSR). With regards to the environmental aspect, the public expects green logistics solutions. This paper focuses on how a third party logistics provider(3PL) might provide green logisticsservices through actions that foster sustainability. The methodology used is an in-depth interviewing approach, which described green logistics through the key drivers using depth interviews. An existing conceptual model is used to support our concepts and ideas. Finally, we discuss out the key factors from respondent regarding how to maintain sustainability through action, from 3PL's perspective. We also discuss the benefits and challenges to green logistics in future

Developing Theoretic Strategies of Sharing Corporate Social Responsibility Conduct in a Closed-loop Supply Chain System

Due to the environmental impacts and economic benefits, establishment of business strategies for sustainable development is getting increasing attention both in industry as well as in academia. In order to improve the coporate social responsibility (CSR), we develop an Extend Producer Responsibility (EPR) model which refers to original equipment manufacturer (OEM) takeback in a closed-loop supply chain system under incentive-dependent demand and return. The performance analysis of the system dynamics simulation model will indicate that the inclusion of incentive offer enhances the demand, collection and remanufacturing process. A numerical example and sensitivity analysis on the optimal results are presented to validate the proposed model

An Integrated distribution system for Deteriorating Items via an Artificial Intelligence Method

This paper proposes a n-manufacturer-one- distributor-n-retailer single-period inventory model for deteriorating items that integrates three levels of distribution system. In order to achieve long-term benefits and global optimum of the system, the different facilities develop their partnership through information sharing and strategic alliances. The mathematical model describes how the integrated approach to decision making can achieve global optimum. Due to the complexity of the non-linear problems, it is not possible to find the global optimum analytically. Annealing is the physical process of heating up a solid until it melts followed by cooling it down until it crystallizes into a state with perfect lattice. Following this physical phenomenon, a Artificial Intelligence methodSimulated Annealing (SA), has been developed to find the global optimum for a complex cost surface through stochastic search process. A computer program in C-language has been developed for this purpose and is implemented to derive the optimum decision for the decision maker. Numerical examples and a sensitivity analysis are given to validate the results of the system. The proposed model has potential application in product distribution inventory systems

Using GA Approach to Solve a Deteriorating Inventory Model in a normal Marketing Channel

This study discusses how to use integrated marketing channel in order to reach the marketplace with lower cost or more profit, and how a framework for analysis can improve the channel decision made by an executive acting as a channel manager or designer. This paper also proposes a manufacturer-distributor-retailer deteriorating inventory system that contains three levels of normal marketing channel. In order to achieve long-term benefits and global optimum of the system, the different facilities should develop their partnership through information sharing or stratgic alliances. The mathematical model describes how the integrated approach to decision making can achieve global optimum by Genetic Algorithm(GA) method

Molecular Genetics of Keratoconus: Clinical Implications

Occurrence of keratoconus is pan-ethnic with reported prevalence ranging widely from 1:400 to about 1:8000, higher in Asian than Western populations. Its genetics is complex with undefined pattern of inheritance. Familial traits are also known. More than 50 gene loci and 200 variants are associated with keratoconus, some through association studies with quantitative traits of cornea features including curvature and central thickness. Environmental, behavioral, and epigenetic factors are also involved in the etiology, likely interactively with genetic susceptibility. Regardless of sex and age of disease onset, clinical courses and responses to treatment vary. Keratoconus is a major cause of cornea transplantation and is potentially blinding. Currently collagen cross-linking provides effective treatment although responses from some patients can be unpredictable with complications. Early diagnosis is vital to obtain good treatment outcome, but in many patients early signs and symptoms are not obvious. While there are potential biomarkers, reliable pre-symptomatic detection and prediction of treatment response may require multitude of gene variants, cornea properties, and external risk factors

Theoretical investigation of bridge seismic responses with pounding under near-fault vertical ground motions

Vertical earthquake loading is normally regarded not as important as its horizontal components and are not explicitly considered in many seismic design codes. However, some previous severe near-fault earthquakes reveal that the vertical ground motion component can be much larger than the horizontal components and may cause serious damage to the bridge structures. This paper theoretically investigates the vertical pounding responses of a two-span continuous bridge subjected to the severe near-fault vertical ground motions. The bridge is simplified as a continuous beam-spring-rod model. The structural wave effect and the vertical pounding between the bridge girder and the supporting bearing are considered, and the theoretical solutions of bridge seismic responses are derived from the expansion of transient wave functions as a series of eigenfunctions. The effects of vertical earthquake and vertical pounding on the bridge bearing, girder and pier are investigated. The numerical results show that the severe vertical earthquake loading may cause the bridge girder to separate from the supporting bearing and hence result in vertical poundings between them when they are in contact again. These vertical poundings can significantly alter the seismic responses of the bridge structure and may cause severe damage to the bridge components such as bridge girder, supporting bearing and bridge pier. Neglecting the influence of vertical earthquake loading may lead to inaccurate estimation of seismic responses of bridge structures, especially when they are subjected to near-fault earthquake with relatively large vertical motion

Exceptional Collections and del Pezzo Gauge Theories

Stacks of D3-branes placed at the tip of a cone over a del Pezzo surface provide a way of geometrically engineering a small but rich class of gauge/gravity dualities. We develop tools for understanding the resulting quiver gauge theories using exceptional collections. We prove two important results for a general quiver gauge theory: 1) we show the ordering of the nodes can be determined up to cyclic permutation and 2) we derive a simple formula for the ranks of the gauge groups (at the conformal point) in terms of the numbers of bifundamentals. We also provide a detailed analysis of four node quivers, examining when precisely mutations of the exceptional collection are related to Seiberg duality.Comment: 26 pages, 1 figure; v2 footnote 2 amended; v3 ref adde

Drag force in SYM plasma with B field from AdS/CFT

We investigate drag force in a thermal plasma of N=4 super Yang-Mills theory via both fundamental and Dirichlet strings under the influence of non-zero NSNS $B$-field background. In the description of AdS/CFT correspondence the endpoint of these strings correspondes to an external monopole or quark moving with a constant electromagnetic field. We demonstrate how the configuration of string tail as well as the drag force obtains corrections in this background.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures, more discussion and reference adde

Inflation on an Open Racetrack

We present a variant of warped D-brane inflation by incorporating multiple sets of holomorphically-embedded D7-branes involved in moduli stabilization with extent into a warped throat. The resultant D3-brane motion depends on the D7-brane configuration and the relative position of the D3-brane in these backgrounds. The non-perturbative moduli stabilization superpotential takes the racetrack form, but the additional D3-brane open string moduli dependence provides more flexibilities in model building. For concreteness, we consider D3-brane motion in the warped deformed conifold with the presence of multiple D7-branes, and derive the scalar potential valid for the entire throat. By explicit tuning of the microphysical parameters, we obtain inflationary trajectories near an inflection point for various D7-brane configurations. Moreover, the open racetrack potential admits approximate Minkowski vacua before uplifting. We demonstrate with a concrete D-brane inflation model where the Hubble scale during inflation can exceed the gravitino mass. Finally, the multiple sets of D7-branes present in this open racetrack setup also provides a mechanism to stabilize the D3-brane to metastable vacua in the intermediate region of the warped throat.Comment: 29 pages, 15 figures, pre-print number and references adde