Sustainability of supply chains in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2) pandemic:lessons and trends

Purpose The purpose of this article is to address the prioritisation and focus of supply chain managers subsequent to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)/severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the great lockdown of 2020. Design/methodology/approach In this article, concepts and trends on resilient and sustainable supply chains are systematized. Main trends in sustainability of supply chains in the wake of COVID-19 are presented. Findings Guidelines on building smarter and more resilient supply chains are provided and future tendencies, which includes the increase of a sustainable consumption perspective, are highlighted. Originality/value This is a conceptual article blended with a practical approach aiming to propose guidelines for managers and scholars on how to address supply chain management challenges after the coronavirus pandemic

Uso de práticas integrativas e complementares no tratamento de estresse ocupacional: uma revisão integrativa

Objective: To synthesize the knowledge production related to the use of Integrative and Complementary Practices (PIC) in the treatment of occupational stress.Method: Integrative Review, which had as its guiding question: what is the production of knowledge related to the use of PIC in the treatment of occupational stress published between 2003 and 2013?. The data was collected in the Lilacs and Medline databases using combinations of the following descriptors: "stress" with "complementary therapies", "floral medicines", "mind-body therapies", "sensory therapies through arts", "spiritual therapies, and "therapies under study".Results: 48 articles were selected. The sorting of titles, summaries, reading assessment, and evaluation of complete texts were subsequently performed in stages. Out of all selected articles, 07 articles were analyzed and the following categories built: PIC as stress reducing therapies and other diseases; the use of PIC in the treatment of occupational stress; and Credibility in the use of PIC.Conclusions: The integrative complementary practices have been used not only to reduce stress but also in reducing levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms, and relief of pain and binge eating. The main PIC mentioned were: MSBR, CBRS, Kouk Sun Do, acupuncture, meditation, controlled breathing, yoga, and polarity therapy. The major cited reasons for its use were: reaching spiritual well-being and serenity, mood and sleep improvement, and compassion for others.Objetivo: Sintetizar la producción de conocimiento relacionado al uso de Prácticas Integradas y Complementarias (PIC) en el tratamiento del estrés laboral.Método: Revisión integradora, que tuvo como pregunta guía: ¿cuál es la producción del conocimento de las PIC relacionada al tratamiento del estrés laboral en el período de 2003 a 2013?. Para recolectar los datos se utilizaron las bases de datos Lilacs y Medline, utilizando la combinación de los descriptores "estrés" con "terapias complementarias", "medicamentos florales", "terapias mente-cuerpo", "terapias sensoriales a través de las artes", "terapia espiritual" y "terapias en estudio."Resultados: Se seleccionaron 48 artículos. Posteriormente se realizó por etapas la selección por los títulos de los artículos, evaluación de los resúmenes y el análisis y lectura de los textos completos. Del total, 07 artículos fueron analizados y construídas las categorías: Las PIC como tratamientos para reducir el estrés y otras enfermedades; El uso de las PIC en el tratamiento del estrés y La credibilidad en el uso de las PIC.Conclusiones: Las PIC vienen siendo utilizadas no sólo para reducir el estrés, sino también en la reducción de los niveles de ansiedad, síntomas depresivos, alivio del dolor y en la compulsión alimentaria. Las principales PIC mencionado fueron: MSBR, CBRS, Kouk Sun Do, la acupuntura, la meditación, respiración controlada, el yoga y la terapia de polaridad. Citadas como las principales razones de su uso: el alcance del bienestar espiritual, serenidad, mejor estado de ánimo, la compasión por los demás y para mejorar el sueño.Objetivo: Sintetizar a produção do conhecimento relacionada à utilização das Práticas Integrativas e Complementares (PIC) no tratamento de estresse ocupacional.Método: Revisão integrativa, que teve como questão norteadora: qual é a produção do conhecimento relacionada à utilização das PIC no tratamento de estresse ocupacional no período 2003 a 2013?. Para a coleta de dados utilizou-se as bases de dados: Lilacs e Medline, utilizando a combinação dos descritores “estresse” com “terapias complementares”, “medicamentos florais”, “terapias mente-corpo”, “terapias sensoriais através das artes”, “terapias espirituais” e “terapias em estudo”.Resultados: 48 artigos foram selecionados. Posteriormente realizada, por etapas, a triagem dos títulos dos artigos, a avaliação dos resumos e a leitura e avaliação dos textos completos. Do total, 07 artigos foram analisados e construídas as categorias: As PIC como terapias redutoras de estresse e outras doenças; O uso das PIC no tratamento de estresse ocupacional e a Credibilidade no uso das PIC.Conclusões: As práticas integrativas complementares vêm sendo utilizadas não só na redução do estresse, mas também na redução dos níveis de ansiedade, de sintomas depressivos, do alivio da dor e da compulsão alimentar. As principais PIC mencionadas foram: MSBR, CBRS, Kouk Sun Do, acupuntura, meditação, respiração controlada, yoga, e a terapia da polaridade. Foram citadas como principais motivos para sua utilização: o alcance do bem-estar espiritual, da serenidade, da melhora do humor, da compaixão pelo próximo e da melhoria do sono

Improving in-season wheat yield prediction using remote sensing and additional agronomic traits as predictors

The development of accurate grain yield (GY) multivariate models using normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) assessments obtained from aerial vehicles and additional agronomic traits is a promising option to assist, or even substitute, laborious agronomic in-field evaluations for wheat variety trials. This study proposed improved GY prediction models for wheat experimental trials. Calibration models were developed using all possible combinations of aerial NDVI, plant height, phenology, and ear density from experimental trials of three crop seasons. First, models were developed using 20, 50 and 100 plots in training sets and GY predictions were only moderately improved by increasing the size of the training set. Then, the best models predicting GY were defined in terms of the lowest Bayesian information criterion (BIC) and the inclusion of days to heading, ear density or plant height together with NDVI in most cases were better (lower BIC) than NDVI alone. This was particularly evident when NDVI saturates (with yields above 8 t ha-1) with models including NDVI and days to heading providing a 50% increase in the prediction accuracy and a 10% decrease in the root mean square error. These results showed an improvement of NDVI prediction models by the addition of other agronomic traits. Moreover, NDVI and additional agronomic traits were unreliable predictors of grain yield in wheat landraces and conventional yield quantification methods must be used in this case. Saturation and underestimation of productivity may be explained by differences in other yield components that NDVI alone cannot detect (e.g. differences in grain size and number).This study was funded by the projects AGL2015-65351-R, PID2019-109089RB-C31 and TED2021-131606B-C21 of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. AG-R was funded by a Margarita Salas post-doctoral contract from the Spanish Ministry of Universities affiliated to the Research Vice-Rector of the University of Barcelona. VRRY was funded by a pre-doctoral contract from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (PRE2020-092369). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or manuscript preparation.The authors acknowledge the contribution of the CERCA Program (Generalitat de Catalunya). The authors acknowledge Andrea Lopez, Ezequiel Arqué, Jordi Companys, and Josep Millera for their technical contributions to the experimental setup of field trials.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The APOGEE-2 Survey of the Orion Star Forming Complex: I. Target Selection and Validation with early observations

The Orion Star Forming Complex (OSFC) is a central target for the APOGEE-2 Young Cluster Survey. Existing membership catalogs span limited portions of the OSFC, reflecting the difficulty of selecting targets homogeneously across this extended, highly structured region. We have used data from wide field photometric surveys to produce a less biased parent sample of young stellar objects (YSOs) with infrared (IR) excesses indicative of warm circumstellar material or photometric variability at optical wavelengths across the full 420 square degrees extent of the OSFC. When restricted to YSO candidates with H < 12.4, to ensure S/N ~100 for a six visit source, this uniformly selected sample includes 1307 IR excess sources selected using criteria vetted by Koenig & Liesawitz and 990 optical variables identified in the Pan-STARRS1 3$\pi$ survey: 319 sources exhibit both optical variability and evidence of circumstellar disks through IR excess. Objects from this uniformly selected sample received the highest priority for targeting, but required fewer than half of the fibers on each APOGEE-2 plate. We fill the remaining fibers with previously confirmed and new color-magnitude selected candidate OSFC members. Radial velocity measurements from APOGEE-1 and new APOGEE-2 observations taken in the survey's first year indicate that ~90% of the uniformly selected targets have radial velocities consistent with Orion membership.The APOGEE-2 Orion survey will include >1100 bona fide YSOs whose uniform selection function will provide a robust sample for comparative analyses of the stellar populations and properties across all sub-regions of Orion.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ

Fostering low-carbon production and logistics systems: framework and empirical evidence

This work proposes and empirically tests a new framework for evaluating the relationship between stakeholder pressures, the adoption of low-carbon operations practices and firms’ carbon performance. It seeks to expand upon stakeholder theory and the natural-resource-based view (NRBV) to understand further the role of operations management in a low-carbon environment. Our theoretical hypotheses were tested through the Partial Least Squares method with bias-corrected and accelerated (BCA) bootstrap confidence intervals. The key findings encapsulate a mixture of expected and unexpected research results: (i) stakeholder pressures influence both barriers and motivators for decarbonising operations management practices; (ii) a variety of barriers and motivators significantly affect the adoption of low-carbon operations management practices; (iii) developing positive relationships with stakeholders is important to overcome barriers from the external environment and enhance organisational competitiveness; (iv) low-carbon operations management has an overall effect on firms’ carbon performance; However, unexpectedly: (v) firms seem to face difficulties in understanding stakeholder pressures when developing low-carbon products and logistics, due to a lack of awareness of the sources of barriers to the adoption of low-carbon management practices; (vi) in terms of stakeholders, competitors tend to exert significant pressure towards the adoption of low-carbon operations, while government does not; (vii) more research is necessary to better understand the apparent weak link between low-carbon logistics and firms’ low-carbon performance

Peginterferon still has a place in the treatment of hepatitis C caused by genotype 3 virus

Despite recent advances in therapy for chronic hepatitis C (CHC), the disease caused by genotype 3 virus (GEN3) is still considered a treatment challenge in certain patient subgroups. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the peginterferon (Peg-IFN) and ribavirin (RBV) combination treatment for GEN3/CHC patients, and to evaluate sustained virological response (SVR) indicators and early treatment interruption due to serious adverse events (SAE). This was a retrospective observational study of GEN3/CHC patients, co-infected or not by HIV and treated with Peg-IFN/RBV in nine Brazilian healthcare centers. The study sample included 184 GEN3/CHC patients70 (38%) were co-infected with HIV. The overall SVR rate was 57.1% (95% CI 50-64). Among co-infected and mono-infected patients, the SVR rate was 51.4% (36/70) and 60.5% (69/114), respectively (p=0.241). Thirty-four (18.5%) patients experienced SAE and interrupted treatment. SVR was negatively associated with the use of Peg-IFN alpha 2b (PR 0.7595% CI 0.58-0.99p=0.045) and to early treatment interruption due to SAE (PR 0.3695% CI 0.20-0.68p=0.001). Early treatment interruption due to SAE was associated with age (PR 1.0695% CI 1.02-1.10p<0.001) and occurrence of liver cirrhosis (PR 2.0695% CI 1.11-3.83p=0.022). In conclusion, Peg-IFN/RBV might represent an adequate treatment option, mainly in young patients without advanced liver disease or when the use of direct-action drugs is limited to specific patient groups.Univ Sul Santa Catarina, Fac Med, Dept Ciencias Biol & Saude & Ciencias Sociais Apl, Disciplina Doencas Infecciosas, Av Pedra Branca 25, BR-88137270 Palhoca, SC, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Disciplina Infectol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Div Gastroenterol & Hepatol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Estado Rio de Janeiro, Dept Clin Med, Disciplina Gastroenterol, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Fed Espirito Santo, Serv Infectol, Vitoria, ES, SpainUniv Sao Paulo, Fac Med Ribeirao Preto, Div Gastroenterol, Ribeirao Preto, SP, BrazilInst Infectol Emilio Ribas, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Dept Doencas Infecciosas & Parasitarias, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilSecretaria Estadual Saude, Unidade Mista Saude, Unimista 508 509, Brasilia, DF, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo, Lab Virol, LIM 52, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Disciplina Infectol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers. These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30 to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components. The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy -- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above 4×10184{\times}10^{18} eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory

A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding $4{\times}10^{18}$ eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers with zenith angles greater than $60^{\circ}$ detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above $5.3{\times}10^{18}$ eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law $E^{-\gamma}$ with index $\gamma=2.70 \pm 0.02 \,\text{(stat)} \pm 0.1\,\text{(sys)}$ followed by a smooth suppression region. For the energy ($E_\text{s}$) at which the spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence of suppression, we find $E_\text{s}=(5.12\pm0.25\,\text{(stat)}^{+1.0}_{-1.2}\,\text{(sys)}){\times}10^{19}$ eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO