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The article deals with the delivery of contrast agents as office supplies by a pharmaceutical wholesaler. The wholesaler is entitled to compensation for the delivered contrast agents, which were delivered directly to contract doctor's practices. Framework agreements with other suppliers do not exclude the wholesaler's entitlement to compensation. The Federal Social Court has ruled that the wholesaler is entitled to compensation. The supplier's invoice must be submitted with the medical prescription and the costs must be itemized. The examination of cost-effectiveness is carried out by the Joint Examination Facility. It is determined that wholesalers have a direct entitlement to compensation from health insurance companies when they deliver contrast agents directly to contract doctor's practices. The office supply agreements in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland contain corresponding provisions. The Federal Social Court has ruled that pharmaceutical wholesalers are to be considered as other service providers within the meaning of § 69 (1) sentence 1 SGB V. The delivery of contrast agents to contract doctor's practices as office supplies by wholesalers is part of medical care and is subject to the billing regulations of health insurance companies. The interpretation of the office supply agreements does not establish a separate entitlement to compensation for wholesalers from health insurance companies. The framework agreements concluded by the health insurance company with other suppliers do not exclude the wholesaler's entitlement to compensation. The article also deals with the suspensive effect of an objection against a recovery notice in connection with target value regressions for contract doctors. An objection has a suspensive effect and the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians can issue a recovery notice to recover regression amounts. The regulation in § 52 (2) sentence 2 BMV-Ä is not applicable in this case. The recovery notice has a suspensive effect according to § 86a (1) sentence 1 SGG. [Extracted from the article]

The article offers information on Joan Lyons's artistic exploration of the Haloid Xerox Standard Equipment from 1948, which she retrieved in 1969. Located in Rochester, New York, the birthplace of Xerox, Lyons repurposed this outdated, multistep manual copier, originally designed for administrative tasks, into a creative tool in her home studio.

Cerumen lubricates and protects the external auditory canal, but excess accumulation can lead to ear fullness, itching, otalgia, discharge, hearing loss, and tinnitus. Cerumen should be treated whenever symptoms are present or if it limits diagnosis by preventing a needed otoscopic examination. Clinicians should evaluate for cerumen impaction in those using hearing aids and patients with intellectual disability. Cerumen impaction can be treated with cerumenolytics, ear irrigation, and manual removal with instrumentation. Aural foreign bodies can cause ear fullness, otalgia, discharge, and hearing loss. They are more common in children than adults. The most common type of aural foreign bodies in children is jewelry, followed by paper products, parts of pens or pencils, desk supplies (eg, erasers), BBs or pellets, and earplugs or earphones. In adults, the most common aural foreign bodies are cotton swabs or cotton, followed by hearing aid parts and jewelry or ear accessories. Patients should avoid using cotto tip applicators in the external auditory canal. Alligator forceps, small right angle hooks, and ear irrigation commonly are used to remove aural foreign bodies in an outpatient clinic setting, but the choice depends on the type of foreign body. Soft and irregularly shaped objects can be removed without referral to an otolaryngologist. Patients with hard, spherical, or cylindrical objects should be referred to an otolaryngologist if previous removal attempts have failed or if there is ear trauma to avoid worsening its position in the ear canal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Projekt-Management Aktuell is the property of Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH & Co.KG and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article "Mourning Goes Well with Zite" by Gian Carlo Fusco provides a glimpse into life in Rome and Milan during Italy's economic boom years in the late 1950s and 1960s. The excerpt mentioned is set in Milan in 1940 and discusses the impact of war and the accidental death of Italo Balbo, the Governor of Libya. The text focuses on the daily routine and interests of an individual referred to as "the Maestro," who initially supports Fascism but later becomes enamored with Balbo. The Maestro receives news of Balbo's death and reacts with despair, but eventually resumes his lunch without further comment. [Extracted from the article]

We conducted an online survey of National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP) members in the higher education research enterprise to identify trends in work modes and expand insights into how the current workforce is shaping the profession. We find: (1) Hybrid work has emerged as a dominant work mode and likely is here to stay; (2) Flexibility, communication, and expectations around RD work is critical for successful teamwork as RD professionals need to connect with leadership and investigators and meet their varying expectations; (3) Remote workers have the highest rated rates of personal productivity and personal well-being; (4) In-person workers perceived their work mode as the most permanent. Remote workers are unlikely to consider fully in-person roles in future; and (5) While institutions have done well in terms of providing basic technology support (laptop, monitors), they have neglected to provide resources for their remote workers (e.g., coverage for internet, phone and office supplies). With this first of its kind study in the RD field, our goals are to share the potential of work modes and empower our colleagues to either leverage these results into their institutions or advance the research by expanding the survey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the literature, all aspects of data visualization do not guarantee anomaly detection and practical forecasting recommendations. To fill this gap in the literature, this research aims at explaining data visualization characteristics (visibility, mass notification, information sharing, emergency management, and accessibility) combined with regression methods that allow organizations to detect anomalies and make forecasting. This research revisits and provides new insights into regression analysis because of the advent of the characteristics of data visualization. A database containing 9994 records was used to test the regression model to detect anomalies using data visualization. The regression model for data visualization focused on the relationships between sales and profits. An anomaly was detected because the furniture and office supplies sold in the central region had negative profits. To further visualize, the forecast model showed that sales and profit values seemed to go much higher just before the end of each year. Discussion and conclusion were offered. This research contributes to the data visualization literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sara, a math teacher, is relocated to Lugenheimer Hall, also known as the "Pasture," due to the efforts of the department chair, Vince Darden, to encourage older faculty to retire. Sara is joined by Hugo, a former superstar researcher, and Baxa, who was sent to the Pasture for refusing to change a grade. During a colloquium by Fields Medalist Armond Viglio, Sara, Hugo, and Baxa notice a flaw in Viglio's work. They confront Viglio, who admits the mistake and asks for their help in fixing it. They collaborate and publish a paper together, which is well-received by the math community. Despite being offered a prestigious position, Sara chooses to stay at the Pasture to continue her research. [Extracted from the article]

In order to solve the problem that traditional office products cannot adapt to the personalized needs of SOHO users in the new era, the priority of user needs was studied based on fuzzy KANO-IPA analysis method in this paper. The needs of SOHO users were collected through literature review, questionnaire survey, and user interview, and then the current situation of SOHO desks was sort out. A fuzzy KANO questionnaire survey was conducted according to the collected demand points, and the functional attributes were screened. According to the IPA analysis method, the functional requirements were prioritized.The SOHO desk design elements that meet the users' requirements were also obtained, which could provide guidance for design. Taking SOHO multi-function desk as an example, the effectiveness of the model was verified. The results showed that the integration of fuzzy KANO-IPA analysis model can accurately refine user needs, facilitate designers to understand and determine design priorities, and also provide reference for relevant designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the Office for National Statistics' delineation of the scope of the digital economy industry, this paper selects indicators from five industrial dimensions: digital product manufacturing, digital product service, digital technology application, digital factor drive and digital efficiency improvement, and constructs an evaluation system to measure the development level of China's digital economy at the provincial level. It is found that there is a wide gap in the development of China's provincial digital economy, with the eastern coastal provinces and cities having a high level of digital economy development. The coupling and coordination model was then applied to examine the interrelationships between the five industrial dimensions of the digital economy, and it was found that most of the coupling and coordination relationships of the five industrial dimensions are at the stage of medium-high coupling and low coupling and coordination, and each province and city has different coupling and coordination characteristics. The numerical evaluation results provide an intuitive understanding of the differences and deficiencies in the development of the digital economy in different regions, and serve as a reference for the medium and long-term digital economy development planning of provinces and municipalities as well as the whole country. In the future, the state should invest more in the digital economy in the central and western regions, and each province should cultivate and develop the digital economy in accordance with its own local conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intelligent technology has had a profound impact on working patterns and the needs of office workers. The corresponding office environments have also changed to some extent. As more and more intelligent functions are integrated, a question as to whether the intelligent office environment really meets needs of office workers needs to be considered. In this study, a methodology that is applicable to improve biophilic and intelligent designs simultaneously in office environments was developed according to the needs of office workers. The observations of office environments, interviews, and questionnaires of an office group were performed. The physical and psychological health needs of office workers, as well as the correlations between six office environmental factors and six intelligent functions were discussed using the data of 211 office workers. Then, 12 patterns of biophilic design were addressed from existing biophilic theory, and the results of a user study, as well as the corresponding design framework of intelligent office products, which are the carriers of intelligent functions, were described. The feasibility and the positive influence in the office have been illustrated through a design case and its evaluation in real office environments. This study mainly explores the design of office environments from the perspective of humans with the hope to provide helpful guidance for intelligent offices and related workspace design in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of bāb Journal of FSMVU Faculty of Architecture & Design is the property of bab Journal of FSMVU Architecture & Design and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Single-phase asynchronous motors have an irreplaceable role in small production fields such as household appliances and office equipment. However, due to the existence of small single-phase asynchronous motors with low power factor, low efficiency, vibration and noise, and other problems, the performance of a single-phase asynchronous motor, including efficiency, power factor, and vibration noise has been unable to meet the increasing needs of people. In this paper, a single-phase line-starting permanent magnet synchronous motor (SPLSPMSM) for air compressor is designed with the core size of Y series three-phase asynchronous motor for reference. The operating capacitance, the number of turns of the main stator winding, the turns ratio of the main and auxiliary windings, and the permanent magnet size are selected as optimization variables, and the efficiency, power factor, and starting torque are the optimization objectives. A regression model was developed by the response surface method (RSM) to optimize the performance of the motor, and the reliability of the response surface experiment was verified. The results show that the performance of the optimized motor is improved in terms of rated operation and starting performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a platform that manages daily life tasks to establish an interaction between things and humans. One of its applications, the smart office that uses the Internet to monitor electrical appliances and sensor data using an automation system, is presented in this study. Some of the limitations of the existing office automation system are an unfriendly user interface, lack of IoT technology, high cost, or restricted range of wireless transmission. Therefore, this paper presents the design and fabrication of an IoT-based office automation system with a user-friendly smartphone interface. Also, real-time data monitoring is conducted for the predictive maintenance of sensor nodes. This model uses an Arduino Mega 2560 Rev3 microcontroller connected to different appliances and sensors. The data collected from different sensors and appliances are sent to the cloud and accessible to the user on their smartphone despite their location. A sensor fault prediction model based on a machine learning algorithm is proposed in this paper, where the k-nearest neighbors model achieved better performance with 99.63% accuracy, 99.59% F1-score, and 99.67% recall. The performance of both models, i.e., k-nearest neighbors and naive Bayes, was evaluated using different performance metrics such as precision, recall, F1-score, and accuracy. It is a reliable, continuous, and stable automation system that provides safety and convenience to smart office employees and improves their work efficiency while saving resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, electrophotographic printing and inkjet printing systems were applied to some commercial A4 office papers and their effects on print quality were determined. It is to evaluate the print quality by determining the test parameters that measure the print quality by applying electrophotographic printing and inkjet printing systems to some commercial office papers that have determined the surface properties and optical properties supplied from the market. Print quality was measured by testing with parameters such as delta gloss 60°, print lightness, print chroma, print density. As a result of the tests determined for print quality; print density values were low in A4 office papers with high roughness and porosity values, and the specular gloss values of the samples decreased in both printing applications. In electrophotographic printing; it was determined that darker colors formed with print lightness parameter, and the color scale increases in two-sided printing with print chroma values. It was determined that the color scale of print chroma values increased in two-sided prints. It was determined that mostly some commercial office papers were positively affected by printing on one side in inkjet printing and by printing on two-sided in electrophotographic printing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By the year 2050, 67% of the global population will be living in cities where water demand is projected to outstrip supply. This shortage calls for identifying ways through which urban residents and commercial interests can adapt to water stress. As commercial buildings contribute significantly to water consumption in cities, building facilities managers (BFMs) have a significant role in formulation and implementation of the adaptation approaches. Their perceptions of alternative water sources, including reclaimed water, are, therefore, important. In this study, the perceptions of 40 BFMs on reclaimed water use in buildings were analyzed using Q‐methodology. Analysis correlated the responses of different people, factoring out the groups of people who hold similar viewpoints. Results showed that participants could be categorized under four factors. Participants in Factor 1 perceived reclaimed water as being healthy and a worthy investment. Those in Factor 2, however, had negative perceptions and did not trust local governments to appropriately manage the treatment process, thus presenting health concerns. They also found reclaimed water repulsive. Participants in Factor 3 were also less willing to adopt reclaimed water, but felt that its use for non‐potable purposes would be acceptable. The final group, those in Factor 4 focused more on the cost efficiency and sustainability of reclaimed water, finding it acceptable on those grounds. However, they thought that decisions on its use should be the building owners' prerogative rather than the BFMs. The implications of these findings with respect to encouraging reclaimed water use in commercial office buildings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigated the exergy enhancement performance of a hybrid radiant cooling system adapting to a hot and humid summer conditions through comparative case studies and analyses. This study suggested three cooling systems: a general all-air system (AAS), a conventional radiant cooling system (CRCS), and a hybrid radiant cooling system (HRCS). As a case study, an office building with cooling systems was examined in the summer season in four different cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Guangzhou, China. This study utilized the building energy performance simulation program to analyze the cooling loads of office space in a building with numerical approaches. The comparison analysis using the four different weather datasets showed simple and rational exergy efficiency and the overall impact ratio. According to the results, the ambient conditions, i.e., the surrounding temperature and the humidity ratio, significantly impacted the cooling systems' exergy efficiency ratio. On the basis of the calculated energetic and exergetic performance, the HRCS had a higher exergy efficiency and a higher overall impact ratio. The HRCS system released an additional 20–30% of cooling output, and it could adapt well in extreme hot and humid weather conditions compared to the AAS and the CRCS system. The overall cooling impact ratio of the HRCS with an airbox convector was approximately 185% higher than that of the AAS and 8.5% higher than that of the CRCS. This study can provide the design references for the hybrid radiant cooling system and other cooling systems in hot and humid summer conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Met Office operational wave modelling system is an operational forecast system run four times daily at the Met Office to provide global and regional forecasts up to 7 days ahead. The underpinning model uses a recent development branch the spectral wave model WAVEWATCH III® (version 7.12) that includes a number of updates developed at the Met Office. Code contributions include the Spherical Multiple-Cell (SMC) grid, rotated pole grid formulation for mid latitudes, enhancements to OASIS coupling and updates to the netCDF postprocessing. Here we document and describe the technical details behind the Met Office operational system of WAVEWATCH III® configurations with a view to further development. These include a global forecast deterministic model (GS512L4EUK) and two regional models nested one-way covering the Northwest (NW) European shelf and UK waters (AMM15SL2) as well as an Atlantic wave ensemble (AS512L4EUK). GS512L4EUK and AS512L4EUK are based on a four-tier SMC 25-12-6-3km grid refinement where currents are not included. AMM15SL2 is run operationally both as a standalone forced model and as the wave component of a two-way ocean-wave coupled operational system FOAM-AMM15. The AMM15SL2 baseline configuration is based on a two-tier SMC grid that focuses on the shelf seas around the United Kingdom (3km resolution) where coastal cells have 1.5km resolution and wavecurrent interaction is included. Results from a 2-year hindcast demonstrate the ability of the baseline configurations to reproduce both in-situ and satellite wave observations. Model-observations correlation is above 0.94-0.96 with standard deviations of differences that correspond to maximum 13-25% of the observed mean bulk wave diagnostics, demonstrating quality and accuracy of the system. Evidence of resolution dependent differences in wave growth was observed, leading slightly overestimated significant wave heights when replicating coastal mid-range conditions by AMM15SL2, and better suited to replicate the extremes. Additionally, the inclusion of wave-current interaction in AMM15SL2 tends to larger spread the observation-model differences. Hence, although a positive impact of the surface currents is not always shown in the overall statistics of the significant wave height, the addition of currents helps to significantly improve the prediction of the wave direction and period near the coast (>20% improvement), which has implications in beach safety, risk to coastal overtopping and shoreline evolution. Future system developments such as the use of sea point wind forcing, the optimisation the models in line with model resolution, the utilisation of SMC multigrid and data assimilation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The point of every venture is to accomplish big time salary from the business and to stay in a raised spot from their adversaries. To report major association, pay and raised place from contenders the requirements of the understanding of the business clients is a huge one. In any event, firm business is subject to the clients the valuable evaluation of purchasers inside the undertakings makes to accomplish the business to a raised spot. For play out a strong purchaser assessment, in this review different computer-based intelligence is mulled over and tried. ML classifiers make to sort out completely assessment about the purchaser information and further connects with to design wise choice frameworks to additionally foster the business pay and buyer fulfilment sagaciously. The utilization of various ML classifiers is to find how the client supposition result variations fittingly to the Machine Learning classifier is implemented. The primer technique is performed utilizing different ML classifiers and the result accomplished is gotten and projected utilizing different valid scores. The observational outcomes address the AI model accomplishes better accuracy supposition veer from other ML classifiers and separated and the time-based eccentrics NB modelling performs beneficially with passing time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Office of combination products OCP, an agency to regulate the combination products under the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released the final guidance on the combination products for its approval which is named "Principles of Premarket Pathways for Combination Drugs," which provides the FDA's current strategies on the approval of combination products into the market. The final guideline, which is comparable to the draft notification issued in February 2019, emphasizes and specifies the five particular instances in which those techniques apply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The image on the cover of this journal represents the intersection of two important architectural and technological changes to American offices in the 1970s: the growth of the open-plan office and the transformation of corporate computing. This advertising image shows how manufacturer Herman Miller promoted its Action Office furniture system as a means of facilitating and supporting these twin developments, portraying the modern office as a verdant electronic garden. Through a close reading of the imagery, the author argues that the representation of people, plants, computers, and furniture is designed to convey both the humanizing qualities of the open-plan concept and the system's technical and aesthetic aspects. The image is a rich primary source that reveals important aspects of the rhetoric of Herman Miller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, an increasing number of offices have actively harvested daylight for the well‐being of occupants. However, if large windows are provided for daylight harvesting, the amount of solar heat gain increases, leading to poor energy efficiency and deteriorated indoor environment. Therefore, the objective of this study was to verify the radiant cooling effect of ceiling slits in an office building based on thermally activated building systems to achieve both daylight harvesting and solar removal through field measurements. In this study, the radiant cooling capacity of a slit ceiling and the indoor radiant environment were measured in a research facility in Fukui City, Japan, during spring (March 16–30) and summer (August 17–31) in 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: General practitioners are the main providers of primary care services. To better strengthen the important role of general practitioners in primary healthcare services, China is promoting the general practitioners' office system. There is a lack of well-accepted methods to measure the performance of general practitioner offices in China. We thus aim to develop a systematic and operable performance measurement system for evaluating the general practitioner's office.Methods: We establish an index pool of the performance measurement system of general practitioners' offices by a cross-sectional study and the literature research method and adopt the focus group method to establish the preliminary system. The Delphi method is then used to conduct three rounds of consultation to modify indices, which aims to form the final indicator system. We determine the weight of each index by the analytic hierarchy process method, which together with the final indicator system constitutes the final performance measurement system. Finally, we select three offices from three different cities in Sichuan Province, China, as case offices to conduct the case study, aiming to assess its credibility.Results: Our results show that the first office scored 958.5 points, the second scored 768.1 points, and the third scored 947.7 points, which corresponds to the reality of these three offices, meaning that the performance measurement system is effective and manoeuvrable.Conclusions: Our study provides support for standardizing the functions of China's general practitioner's office, improving the health service quality of generalists, and providing a theoretical basis for the standardization of the general practitioner's office. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to solve the problem of office automation, this paper proposes the design and implementation of office automation system based on Internet of things technology. This method is to carry out mobile office function through smart phones to realize business message exchange and real-time processing of process approval business. The system adopts b/s structure and adopts the form of front-end machine to realize information sharing between the mobile system and the original system. When users choose to send mail or reply to mail, the client can read the current user name as the sender by itself. The number of uploaded attachments is limited to three at most, and the total size of attachments is not greater than 100 m. Conclusion. This method effectively improves the work efficiency of employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The matrix-multiply assist (MMA) facility is the latest addition to IBM's power instruction set architecture and first shipped in the recently introduced POWER10 processor. MMA is designed to accelerate matrix–matrix operations, such as matrix multiplication and convolution, using instructions that compute the outer product of vector-register operands. Outer product computations have been used for decades in linear algebra libraries to deliver high-performance implementations of matrix operations. Such libraries use conventional single-instruction–multiple-data (SIMD) instructions to emulate outer product operations. MMA in POWER10 is the first hardware with direct support for outer product operations released in the market. MMA operates with the widest diversity of data types compared to any accelerator design currently announced. Unleashing the high-performance enabled by MMA requires careful code generation. Two key considerations for optimal MMA code performance are 1) the choice of accumulation layout when maximizing the using the accumulators and 2) the selection of matrix access order. This article shows that over 92% of peak performance in POWER10 with MMA can be achieved when the code generation makes the right choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. The chair is a standard piece of workstation equipment in an office. Previous studies showed that a suitable chair may reduce musculoskeletal symptoms. This review investigated the effect of chair intervention on lower back pain (LBP), discomfort and trunk muscle activation among office workers. Methods. Five electronic databases from 1980 to May 2020 were searched for relevant randomized and non-randomized controlled trials. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the 13-item Cochrane risk of bias tool. Quality of evidence was assessed and rated according to Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) guidelines. Results. Two randomized controlled trials, 10 repeated-measures studies and two prospective cohort studies were included in this review. Nine studies were rated as high quality. The results indicated very low-quality to low-quality evidence for the conflicting effect of chair intervention on pain and discomfort reduction as well as trunk muscle activation among office workers. When stratified by chair type, the level of evidence for health benefits derived from any type of chair was still of very low to low quality. Conclusion. Unless supplementary high-quality studies provide different evidence, chair interventions are not recommended to reduce LBP or discomfort and activate trunk muscles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People who sit incorrectly can have musculoskeletal disorders like cervical spondylosis and lumbar vertebra disease, but without the guidance of a health care professional, it is difficult for people to evaluate their posture and adopt a more appropriate posture. Therefore, to solve this problem, we established a multilevel sitting posture evaluation system by analyzing the parameters such as joint angle, joint torque, joint force, and muscle force. Use the analytic hierarchy process and entropy comprehensive weighting method to weight evaluation indicators. According to their evaluation standards, each parameter is given weight after quantization and normalization. Firstly, take several sitting postures that often appear in office work as examples and use the lower back analysis and joint and static pressure analysis tools in JACK software for simulation analysis. Then, the weights of various parameters such as joints and muscles of the human body were calculated using the hierarchy analysis and entropy weight method, and the quantitative evaluation system of office sitting comfort was constructed. We recruited 50 subjects for an office simulation experiment to verify the feasibility of the evaluation index. Finally, we classified the sitting posture and selected those commonly used in life for evaluation. The proposed sitting posture evaluation system can objectively and comprehensively reflect the quality of sitting posture and guide people to adopt what kind of sitting posture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, an intelligent and cost-efficient system has been proposed to detect the improper sitting posture of a person working at a desk, mostly in offices, using machine learning classification techniques. The current era demands to avoid the harms of an improper posture as it, when prolonged, is very painful and can be fatal sometimes. This study also includes a comparison of two arrangements. Arrangement 01 includes six force-sensitive resistor (FSR) sensors alone, and it is less expensive. Arrangement 02 consists of two FSR sensors and one ultrasonic sensor embedded in the back seat of a chair. The K-nearest neighbor (KNN), Naive Bayes, logistic regression, and random forest algorithms are used to augment the gain and enhanced accuracy for posture detection. The improper postures recognized in this study are backward-leaning, forward-leaning, left-leaning, and right-leaning. The presented results validate the proposed system as the accuracy of 99.8% is achieved using a smaller number of sensors that make the proposed prototype cost-efficient with improved accuracy and lower execution time. The proposed model is of a dire need for employees working in offices or even at the residential level to make it convenient to work for hours without having severe effects of improper posture and prolonged sitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investors increasingly use machine learning (ML) algorithms to support their early stage investment decisions. However, it remains unclear if algorithms can make better investment decisions and if so, why. Building on behavioral decision theory, our study compares the investment returns of an algorithm with those of 255 business angels (BAs) investing via an angel investment platform. We explore the influence of human biases and experience on BAs' returns and find that investors only outperformed the algorithm when they had extensive investment experience and managed to suppress their cognitive biases. These results offer novel insights into the role of cognitive limitations, experience, and the use of algorithms in early stage investing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many retailers are reducing store footprint and downsizing their assortments accordingly to improve store productivity. Some of the revenue for items removed from the assortment may be recouped by substitution, but also some of the revenue for items kept in the assortment may be lost due to basket abandonment. For a practical setting where baskets may contain any subset of items from thousands of products, estimating both substitution and basket effects is a challenge. To address this, we develop a demand model that combines a multinomial logit (MNL) model to estimate substitution within a subcategory and a purchase-incidence model to estimate basket retention. Using transaction and product availability data from 12 stores of an office supplies retail chain that were dramatically downsized from large- to small-format stores, we show that (i) storewide basket effects are substantial (our model with basket effects predicts out-of-sample transactions with mean absolute percent error (MAPE) of only 7% compared with 22% for a model with only substitution effects), (ii) poor service level can significantly exacerbate lost profit due to abandoned baskets at these stores, and (iii) consideration of the basket effect in assortment selection for the small stores can significantly improve basket retention and increase profits (by up to 16%) at these stores. This paper was accepted by Vishal Gaur, operations management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, two new geothermal energy-driven configurations of a solid desiccant air cooling system integrated with an air handling unit for space cooling and heating of a case office are proposed. The geothermal energy is extracted by the thermosiphon pipes and delivered to a two-level cascade heat exchanger. The first thermal level supports the regeneration demand of cooling system, and the heating unit receives its thermal demand from the second thermal level of the heat exchanger. The parametric study is performed to analyze the effect of the various operating parameters on the system's efficiency. The appropriate parameters, such as the temperature of regenerated air, the supplied air's mass flow rate, humidity ratio, and ambient temperature, are considered. Also, the performance of the cycle is analyzed from energy and exergy point of view according to the cooling and heating loads of the considered office building. So, the obtained results indicate that energy efficiency for the desiccant evaporative recirculation and desiccant evaporative ventilation systems is about 81.75% and 81.8%, respectively. The exergy efficiency for desiccant evaporative recirculation in the heating and cooling systems is about 50.2% and 5.42%, respectively, and these values for the desiccant evaporative ventilation system are about 34.8% and 11.6%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conceptual generalisation occurs when conditional responses generalise to novel stimuli from the same category. Past research demonstrates that physiological fear responses generalise across categories, however, conceptual generalisation of stimulus valence evaluations during fear conditioning has not been examined. We investigated whether conceptual generalisation, as indexed by electrodermal responses and stimulus evaluations, would occur, and differ after training with single or multiple conditional stimuli (CSs). Stimuli from two of four categories (vegetables, farm animals, clothing, and office supplies) were used as the CS+ (followed by an electric stimulus) or CS- (presented alone). Generalisation was assessed by presenting novel stimuli from the CS categories after acquisition, extinction, and reinstatement. One category exemplar was used as the CS+ and CS- in the single group, whereas three exemplars were used as the CS+ and CS- in the multiple group. Electrodermal responses generalised in acquisition and extinction but did not differ between groups. In the multiple group, CS evaluations generalised in acquisition and extinction, whereas generalisation was not evident in the single group. Training with multiple CSs also resulted in the extinction of stimulus valence. The current findings have implications for future research examining the generalisation of valence and for exposure-based treatments of anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utilization of 3D printing technologies in orthodontics is expanding on a daily basis. While much has been written about the technology, the costs and involvement to setup and implementation in the office has not had as much exposure. This article is intended to compare the costs of various printer setups and the associated degree of difficulty of assembly, setup, calibration, and maintenance of the machine in an orthodontic office. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system is a major energy consumer in office buildings, and its operation is critical for indoor thermal comfort. While previous studies have indicated that reinforcement learning control can improve HVAC energy efficiency, they did not provide enough information about end-to-end control (i.e., from raw observations to ready-to-implement control signals) for centralized HVAC systems in multizone buildings due to the limitations of reinforcement learning methods or the test buildings being single zones with independent HVAC systems. This study developed a model-free end-to-end dynamic HVAC control method based on a recently proposed deep reinforcement learning framework to control the centralized HVAC system of a multizone office building. By using the deep neural network, the proposed control method could directly take measurable parameters, including weather and indoor environment conditions, as inputs and control indoor temperature setpoints at a supervisory level. In some test cases, the proposed control method could successfully learn a dynamic control policy to reduce HVAC energy consumption by 12.8% compared with the baseline case using conventional control methods, without compromising thermal comfort. However, an over-fitting problem was noted, indicating that future work should first focus on the generalization of deep reinforcement learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the transformation of the Russian coercive apparatus (comprising security services and the military) after Vladimir Putin came to power. The different forces charged with ensuring domestic and external security of the state are one of the cornerstones of Putin’s presidency. The first stage of the changes saw them consolidated and brought under tighter control of the president’s camp, whilst during the second – following Putin’s re-election as president in 2012 – they were much expanded and modernised. Looking mainly at the normative acts from that period, the article discusses the scope and nature of these changes as well as their wider political context related to the development of a centralised, authoritarian power system in Russia. It also focuses on the parallel process of changes introduced in the prosecutor’s office and the justice system whose aim – like in the case of the coercive apparatus – was to extend the power of the president and strengthened the state’s control over society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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