476 research outputs found

    An analysis of supply chain related graduate programmes in Europe

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    This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version of the Article can be accessed from the links below. Copyright @ 2013 Emerald Group Publishing Limited.Purpose – Motivated by a lack of studies in graduate level supply chain education, this research aims to explore trends in supply chain-related graduate programmes in Europe and to propose a framework for designing such programmes. Design/methodology/approach – The authors determine “knowledge” and “skills” areas applicable to supply chain management (SCM) education and analyse supply chain-related graduate programmes published by the European Logistics Association in 2004. They revisit the same programmes in 2011 to determine the recent situation and the trends. The authors use cluster analysis to reveal the similarities and differences among these programmes. Findings – The authors find two distinct clusters: focused and diversified. Focused programmes offer modules in knowledge and skills areas apart from SCM at a negligible level and place more emphasis on SCM in 2011 when compared to 2004. Diversified programmes show a similar increase in the emphasis on SCM with more variety in the knowledge and skills areas. Research limitations/implications – The authors' findings are based on SCM programmes delivered in Europe and over two discrete time periods. Future research should seek to extend this analysis to other continents with larger samples and incorporate the industry perspective to determine the potential gap between what programmes offer and what industry requires. Practical implications – SCM-related graduate programmes continue to redefine themselves. Clustering predominantly serves the universities in re-assessing and re-engineering their programmes, helps prospective graduates in their selection process and assists managers in their recruitment practices. Originality/value – This paper establishes a baseline for assessing SCM-related graduate programmes with respect to the knowledge and skills they offer and introduces a framework that may serve as a starting point for the design and positioning of such programmes

    Multimodality imaging for pre-clinical assessment of Fabry's cardiomyopathy

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    Anderson Fabry's disease (AFD) is a rare but underdiagnosed intracellular lipid disorder which can cause left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Pre-clinical diagnosis of Fabry's disease is important as it permits early stratification for enzyme replacement therapy, improving the patient's long-term prognosis, avoiding progression to irreversible fibrosis, and preventing cardiovascular complications.Combinations of imagingmodalities that integrate the strengths of each modality and at the same time eliminate weaknesses of an individual modality can offer improved diagnostics, therapeutic monitoring, and pre-clinical assessment of Fabry's disease. This reviewdiscusses the advantages and challenges in developingmultimodality imaging systems of Fabry's cardiomyopathy, highlights somesuccessful combinations that are nowroutinely used in the clinic and in research, and discusses recent advances in multimodality instrumentation that may offer new opportunities for pre-clinical assessment of this disease

    Electrical plasticity and cardioprotection in myocardial ischemia - Role of selective sodium channel blockers

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    The concept of electrical protection of the ischemic myocardium is in constant evolution and has recently been supported by experimental and clinical studies. Historically, antiplatelet agents, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, β-blockers, and statins have been all proposed as drugs conferring anti-ischemic cardioprotection. This was supported by the evidence consistently indicating that all these drugs were capable of reducing mortality and the risk of repeat myocardial infarction. The electrical plasticity paradigm is, however, a novel concept that depicts the benefits of improved sodium channel blockade with drugs such as ranolazine and cariporide. Although it has been hypothesized that the protective role of ranolazine depends on decreased fatty acid β-oxidation affecting preconditioning, we speculate against such a hypothesis, because inhibition of β-oxidation requires higher concentrations of the drug, above the therapeutic range. Rather, we discuss the key role of calcium overload reduction through inhibition of the late sodium current (INa). Mechanisms driving cardioprotection involve the block of a cascade of complex ionic exchanges that can result in intracellular acidosis, excess cytosolic calcium, myocardial cellular dysfunction, and eventually cell injury and death. In this review we discuss the studies that demonstrate how electrical plasticity through sodium channel blockers can promote cardioprotection against ischemia in coronary heart disease. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

    Left ventricular assist devices and gastrointestinal bleeding: A narrative review of case reports and case series

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    Background: The use of left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) has become a state-of-the-art therapy for advanced cardiac heart failure; however, multiple reports in the literature describe an increased risk for gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding in these patients. We characterized this association by reviewing recent studies on this topic. Hypothesis: GI bleeding occurs frequently in patients with LVADs, especially with devices with nonpulsatile flow patterns. Methods: We performed a comprehensive literature review to identify articles that reported GI bleeding in patients with LVADs. Databases used included PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Knowledge, and Ovid. Baseline and outcome data were then ed from these reports. Results:Weidentified 10 case reports and 22 case series with 1543 patients. The mean agewas 54.2 years.Most patients had nonpulsatile LVADs (1316, 85.3%). Three hundred and seventeen patients (20.5%) developed GI bleeding; this occurred more frequently in patients with nonpulsatile LVADs. Multiple procedures were performed without complications but often did not identify a definite bleeding site. Suspect lesions occurred throughout the GI tract but were more frequent in the upper GI tract. Many patients had arteriovenous malformations. All patients received medical therapy. None of the patients had their LVAD replaced. The use of anticoagulation did not appear to predispose these patients to more GI bleeding episodes. Conclusions: Patients with LVADs have frequent GI bleeds, especially from arteriovenous malformations, which can occur throughout the GI tract. Most diagnostic and therapeutic interventions can be used safely in these patients. The pathogenesis of the GI bleeding in these patients may involve the use of anticoagulant medications, the formation of arteriovenousmalformations, loss of von Willebrand factor activity, andmucosal ischemia. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

    New formulae for Zagreb indices

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    International Conference on Numerical Analysis and Applied Mathematics (ICNAAM) -- SEP 19-25, 2016 -- Rhodes, GREECEIn this paper, we study with some graph descriptors also called topological indices. These descriptors are useful in determination of some properties of chemical structures and preferred to some earlier descriptors as they are more practical. Especially the first and second Zagreb indices together with the first and second multiplicative Zagreb indices are considered and they are calculated in terms of the smallest and largest vertex degrees and vertex number for some well-known classes of graphs.Uludag UniversityUludag University [F-2015/17, F-2015/23]; Selcuk UniversitySelcuk UniversityThe first author was supported by the Research Fund of Uludag University project no: F-2015/17, F-2015/23. The last author is supported by Selcuk University Research Fund
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