The aim of the present study was to propose a strategy for the implementation of a Process Analytical Technology system in freeze-drying processes. Mannitol solutions, some of them supplied with ...NaCl, were used as models to freeze-dry. Noninvasive and in-line Raman measurements were continuously performed during lyophilization of the solutions to monitor real time the mannitol solid state, the end points of the different process steps (freezing, primary drying, secondary drying), and physical phenomena occurring during the process. At-line near-infrared (NIR) and X-ray powder diffractometry (XRPD) measurements were done to confirm the Raman conclusions and to find out additional information. The collected spectra during the processes were analyzed using principal component analysis and multivariate curve resolution. A two-level full factorial design was used to study the significant influence of process (freezing rate) and formulation variables (concentration of mannitol, concentration of NaCl, volume of freeze-dried sample) upon freeze-drying. Raman spectroscopy was able to monitor (i) the mannitol solid state (amorphous, α, β, δ, and hemihydrate), (ii) several process step end points (end of mannitol crystallization during freezing, primary drying), and (iii) physical phenomena occurring during freeze-drying (onset of ice nucleation, onset of mannitol crystallization during the freezing step, onset of ice sublimation). NIR proved to be a more sensitive tool to monitor sublimation than Raman spectroscopy, while XRPD helped to unravel the mannitol hemihydrate in the samples. The experimental design results showed that several process and formulation variables significantly influence different aspects of lyophilization and that both are interrelated. Raman spectroscopy (in-line) and NIR spectroscopy and XRPD (at-line) not only allowed the real-time monitoring of mannitol freeze-drying processes but also helped (in combination with experimental design) us to understand the process.
The present study was aimed at answering the question why feeding rats an oligofructose (OFS) supplemented diet could cause a significant reduction in plasma lipid levels. Daily administration of a ...10% (w/w) OFS-containing diet to normolipidemic male rats resulted in a decrease in plasma triglycerides, phospholipids and cholesterol. The triglyceride-lowering effect was observed after one week and lasted for at least 16 wk and was associated with a reduction in plasma very low density lipoproteins, indicating that the hypolipidemic effect of OFS may be due to changes in liver lipid metabolism. We therefore tested whether OFS feeding modified the capacity of the liver to synthesize triglycerides from free fatty acids. Hepatocytes isolated from livers of control and OFS-fed rats were incubated in the presence of 1-14Cpalmitate, and both intracellular and extracellular 14Ctriglyceride formation were quantified. We found that chronic feeding of an OFS-supplemented diet to rats significantly reduced the capacity of isolated hepatocytes to synthesize triglycerides from palmitate. The results suggest that, like other soluble dietary fibers, OFS significantly alters liver lipid metabolism, resulting over time in a significant reduction in plasma triglyceride, phospholipid and cholesterol levels.
► We analyze the perceived student satisfaction in two educational institutions. ► Data mining was explored using a generic methodology applicable to other domains. ► Results indicate that a concise ...set of constructs are key to student satisfaction.
As a consequence of the heightened competition on the education market, the management of educational institutions often attempts to collect information on what drives student satisfaction by e.g. organizing large scale surveys amongst the student population. Until now, this source of potentially very valuable information remains largely untapped. In this study, we address this issue by investigating the applicability of different data mining techniques to identify the main drivers of student satisfaction in two business education institutions. In the end, the resulting models are to be used by the management to support the strategic decision making process. Hence, the aspect of model comprehensibility is considered to be at least equally important as model performance. It is found that data mining techniques are able to select a surprisingly small number of constructs that require attention in order to manage student satisfaction.
A survey of 245 French e-grocery customers reveals their views on the unattended delivery model, including statistically significant differences across age groups but not between genders in terms of ...interest in unattended grocery delivery and intentions to buy groceries online. Some customer groups expect to adopt e-grocery if home delivery becomes possible, but their willingness to pay for delivery is low. Moreover, the analysis reveals that willingness to pay is not related to distance from the store, shopping duration, or shopping pleasure, such that could help grocers cover the costs. Thus French grocers will have difficulty moving to a complete e-commerce model.
Today many companies rely on third party applications and application services for (part of) their information systems. When applications from different parties are used together, an integration ...problem arises. Similarly, cross-organisational application integration requires the coordination of distributed processing across several autonomous applications. In this paper, we describe an integration approach based on an
event-based coordination paradigm. Interaction is based on atomic units of interaction called “business events”. Each business event mirrors some event in the real world that requires the coordination of actions within a number of components. The coordination between applications is achieved by having applications specify preconditions for business events. As a result, a business event becomes a small scale contract between involved applications: each application can insert its own clauses into the contract by specifying preconditions. Moreover, a formal method for
contract analysis is proposed, to verify whether the contract is free from contradictions and inconsistencies. Finally, in addition to its contracting aspect, the event-based communication paradigm entails a
dispatching and coordination mechanism, which offers the additional advantage of a complete separation of the coordination aspects from the functionality aspects. The paper discusses different alternative architectures for event-based coordination, with particular emphasis on distributed, loosely coupled environments such as web services.
Integrating and coordinating COTS software requires appropriate analysis and architectural design. Most integration architectures use message-oriented middleware for the interaction between COTS ...applications. However, the abstraction level of these one-to-one message exchanges is too low to aptly design the integration architecture's coordination aspects. The authors' approach, called BECO (business event-based coordination), improves organizational fit and flexibility by introducing an additional abstraction layer in the interaction stack. Business events are introduced as higher-level, many-to-many coordination units, which enforce consistent processing in multiple applications. Underneath, existing one-to-one communication technologies can be reused for event notification. Furthermore, business processes can be designed and enacted concisely as sequences of business events. The result is a consistent, flexible integration approach that can be layered entirely on top of existing technologies.
Most business education institutions (BEIs) try to hire good researchers for teaching. However, it is controversial to say that excellent researchers are always excellent instructors. This paper ...explores the students’ perception of the teaching delivered by both researchers and non‐researchers. Our data suggests that the pure possession of a PhD is negatively related to measured aspects of students’ satisfaction with classes. However, the instructor's publication record is positively related to most – but not all – aspects. Having more teaching experience, another element that is typically considered in an instructor's job interview, is not positively related to the students’ satisfaction, but rather it is the specific teaching experience in that specific BEI that counts. Moreover, smaller group sizes, a key element in a BEI's cost structure, are appreciated by students. Finally, compulsory and optional classes are perceived to be equally useful, although the latter seem to overall better satisfy and entertain students.
Differences in e-commerce behavior between neighboring countries Goethals, Frank G.; Carugati, Andrea; Leclercq, Aurélie
ACM SIGMIS Database: the DATABASE for Advances in Information Systems,
11/2009, Letnik:
40, Številka:
4
Journal Article, Trade Publication Article
Recenzirano
It is often (implicitly) assumed that e-commerce behavior is similar in countries with a similar culture in terms of Hofstede's dimensions. Through a study of e-commerce behavior of 969 private ...consumers and company representatives on 50 products, this paper proves there are actually significant differences in e-commerce behavior (information finding, suppler selection, and purchase) between people from two neighboring, culturally similar countries: Belgium and France. Furthermore, contrary to what was found in various US studies, very few differences in e-commerce behavior were detected between men and women in these two countries. Furthermore, clear differences were detected between age groups for product information finding and supplier selection but not for product purchase. Finally, to a big extent differences in e-commerce behavior between private consumers of two countries also exist between company representatives of the two countries.
