Analysis of Grain Supply Chain Performance Based on Relative Impact of Channel Coordinator's Objectives on Firm Level Objectives

A fuzzy multi-objective programming model is used to analyze the optimal decisions in a multi-objective grain supply chain in which the firm-level firm goals are conflicting with the channel coordinator's goals. The relative impact of the channel coordinator's goals on performance of the supply chain is determined through a linear weighting method. The study finds that prioritizing the channel coordinator's goals enhances the overall performance of the system.Industrial Organization,

Comparative Evaluation of the Performance of Spans of Control Designs in Grain Supply Chains

A fuzzy multi-objective linear programming model is used to analyze the performances of three spans of control designs that are observed in the U.S grain industry. Performance of the grain supply chain increases with amount of control and compromise.Crop Production/Industries,

Beta-adrenergic antagonist tolerance in amyloid cardiomyopathy

Background: Beta-adrenergic antagonists or blockers (BB) are a cornerstone of cardiac therapy for multiple indications. However, BB are considered relatively contraindicated in amyloid cardiomyopathy due to poor tolerance. This intolerance is hypothesized to be due to concomitant neuropathy and significant restrictive cardiomyopathy. This study analyzes the incidence and characteristics of BB tolerance in patients with amyloid cardiomyopathy. Methods: Through a single-center retrospective chart review, patients with amyloid cardiomyopathy, confirmed by endomyocardial biopsy or technetium-99 pyrophosphate scan, were identified and clinical data was collected. Statistical methods included Chi-square test and two sample Results: Of 135 cardiac amyloidosis patients, 27 patients (20.0%) had no BB use, 56 patients (41.5%) were current BB users, and 52 patients (38.5%) were prior BB users. The most frequent indications for BB use were heart failure, hypertension, coronary artery disease, and arrhythmia. The most common reason for stopping BB therapy was hypotension (62.8%) followed by fatigue, bradycardia, and orthostasis. Neurologic symptoms at the initial BB prescription or most recent evaluation were not significantly different between current and prior BB users. Their cardiovascular profiles were similar by ejection fraction, wall thickness, troponin I, and brain natriuretic peptide. There was no association for BB discontinuation based on amyloid subtype, sex, or race. Conclusion: The majority of patients with amyloid cardiomyopathy were prescribed BB, and over half of these patients still tolerated BB therapy. Current and prior BB users had similar profiles from a cardiovascular and neurologic perspective, with no association identified to predict BB discontinuation

CC chemokine receptor 4 modulates Toll-like receptor 9-mediated innate immunity and signaling

The present study addressed the modulatory role of CC chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4) in Toll-like receptor (TLR) 9-mediated innate immunity and explored the underlying molecular mechanisms. Our results demonstrated that CCR4-deficient mice were resistant to both septic peritonitis induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) and CpG DNA/D-galactosamine-induced shock. In bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMφ) from CLP-treated CCR4-deficient mice, TLR9-mediated pathways of MAPK/AP-1, PI3K/Akt, and IκB kinase (IKK)/NF-κB were impaired compared to wild-type (WT) cells. While TLR9 expression was not altered, the intensity of internalized CpG DNA was increased in CCR4-deficient macrophages when compared to WT macrophages. Pharmacological inhibitor studies revealed that impaired activation of JNK, PI3K/Akt, and/or IKK/NF-κB could be responsible for decreased proinflammatory cytokine expression in CCR4-deficient macrophages. Interestingly, the CCR4-deficient BMMφ exhibited an alternatively activated (M2) phenotype and the impaired TLR9-mediated signal transduction responses in CCR4-deficient cells were similar to the signaling responses observed in WT BMMφ skewed to an alternatively activated phenotype. These results indicate that macrophages deficient in CCR4 impart a regulatory influence on TLR9-mediated innate immunity.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60468/1/2290_ftp.pd

Modeling and Analysis in Supply Chain Design: Span of Control, Stochastic Dissimilarities, and Fuzzy Optimization

180 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2004.The major findings are: (A) under simultaneous and sequential analysis, performance increased with span of control. (B) Sequential results outperformed the simultaneous results at all performance measures. (C) Production level profit is highest under exponential membership function, storage level under linear membership function, and processing level under hyperbolic membership function. (D) Supply chain performance is enhanced but not significantly when the product quality, supply reliability, and transaction costs are prioritized to reflect relative importance.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD

Analysis of Grain Supply Chain Performance Based on Relative Impact of Channel Coordinator's Objectives on Firm Level Objectives

A fuzzy multi-objective programming model is used to analyze the optimal decisions in a multi-objective grain supply chain in which the firm-level firm goals are conflicting with the channel coordinator's goals. The relative impact of the channel coordinator's goals on performance of the supply chain is determined through a linear weighting method. The study finds that prioritizing the channel coordinator's goals enhances the overall performance of the system

Comparative Evaluation of the Performance of Spans of Control Designs in Grain Supply Chains

A fuzzy multi-objective linear programming model is used to analyze the performances of three spans of control designs that are observed in the U.S grain industry. Performance of the grain supply chain increases with amount of control and compromise

Attitudes of secondary school students toward home economics according to FHA membership

There is no abstract available for this thesis.Thesis (M.S.)Department of Home Economic