The integration between corporate social responsibilty and sustainable development goals

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is one of the modern concepts in the management field which become a catalyst in developing the future of the business sector. Several major academic and practical milestones have influenced the development of the concept of CSR. One of the most important milestones that shaped the future of CSR was the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). UNGC's missions and principles formed an application framework for integrating social and environmental approaches into corporate business activities. It has been proved through this paper the interrelationship between the principles of CSR theories and the principles of UNGC. Followed by an analysis of the effectiveness of the UNGC principles in adopting sustainable development goals and enhancing enterprise competitiveness

Can surgical simulation be used to train detection and classification of neural networks?

Computer-assisted interventions (CAI) aim to increase the effectiveness, precision and repeatability of procedures to improve surgical outcomes. The presence and motion of surgical tools is a key information input for CAI surgical phase recognition algorithms. Vision-based tool detection and recognition approaches are an attractive solution and can be designed to take advantage of the powerful deep learning paradigm that is rapidly advancing image recognition and classification. The challenge for such algorithms is the availability and quality of labelled data used for training. In this Letter, surgical simulation is used to train tool detection and segmentation based on deep convolutional neural networks and generative adversarial networks. The authors experiment with two network architectures for image segmentation in tool classes commonly encountered during cataract surgery. A commercially-available simulator is used to create a simulated cataract dataset for training models prior to performing transfer learning on real surgical data. To the best of authors' knowledge, this is the first attempt to train deep learning models for surgical instrument detection on simulated data while demonstrating promising results to generalise on real data. Results indicate that simulated data does have some potential for training advanced classification methods for CAI systems

Reconstruction of MIS 5 climate in the central Levant using a stalagmite from Kanaan Cave, Lebanon

Lying at the transition between the temperate Mediterranean domain and subtropical deserts, the Levant is a key area to study the palaeoclimatic response over glacial–interglacial cycles. This paper presents a precisely dated last interglacial (MIS 5) stalagmite (129–84 ka) from the Kanaan Cave, Lebanon. Variations in growth rate and isotopic records indicate a warm humid phase at the onset of the last interglacial at ~ 129 ka that lasted until ~ 125 ka. A gradual shift in speleothem isotopic composition (125–122 ka) is driven mainly by the δ18O source effect of the eastern Mediterranean surface waters during sapropel 5 (S5). The onset of glacial inception began after ~ 122 ka, interrupted by a short wet pulse during the sapropel 4 (S4) event. Low growth rates and enriched oxygen and carbon values until ~ 84 ka indicate a transition to drier conditions during Northern Hemisphere glaciation

Predictive Model for Human-Unmanned Vehicle Systems

Advances in automation are making it possible for a single operator to control multiple unmanned vehicles. However, the complex nature of these teams presents a difficult and exciting challenge for designers of human–unmanned vehicle systems. To build such systems effectively, models must be developed that describe the behavior of the human–unmanned vehicle team and that predict how alterations in team composition and system design will affect the system’s overall performance. In this paper, we present a method for modeling human–unmanned vehicle systems consisting of a single operator and multiple independent unmanned vehicles. Via a case study, we demonstrate that the resulting models provide an accurate description of observed human-unmanned vehicle systems. Additionally, we demonstrate that the models can be used to predict how changes in the human-unmanned vehicle interface and the unmanned vehicles’ autonomy alter the system’s performance.Lincoln Laborator

Development and Evaluation of a Trapping System for Anoplophora glabripennis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in the United States

Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), commonly known as the Asian longhorned beetle, is an invasive wood-boring pest that infests a number of hardwood species and causes considerable economic losses in North America, several countries in Europe, and in its native range in Asia. The success of eradication efforts may depend on early detection of introduced populations; however, detection has been limited to identification of tree damage (oviposition pits and exit holes), and the serendipitous collection of adults, often by members of the public. Here we describe the development, deployment, and evaluation of semiochemical-baited traps in the greater Worcester area in Massachusetts. Over 4 yr of trap evaluation (2009-2012), 1013 intercept panel traps were deployed, 876 of which were baited with three different families of lures. The families included lures exhibiting different rates of release of the male-produced A. glabripennis pheromone, lures with various combinations of plant volatiles, and lures with both the pheromone and plant volatiles combined. Overall, 45 individual beetles were captured in 40 different traps. Beetles were found only in traps with lures. In several cases, trap catches led to the more rapid discovery and management of previously unknown areas of infestation in the Worcester county regulated area. Analysis of the spatial distribution of traps and the known infested trees within the regulated area provides an estimate of the relationship between trap catch and beetle pressure exerted on the traps. Studies continue to optimize lure composition and trap placemen

A model for atomic and molecular interstellar gas: The Meudon PDR code

We present the revised ``Meudon'' model of Photon Dominated Region (PDR code), presently available on the web under the Gnu Public Licence at: http://aristote.obspm.fr/MIS. General organisation of the code is described down to a level that should allow most observers to use it as an interpretation tool with minimal help from our part. Two grids of models, one for low excitation diffuse clouds and one for dense highly illuminated clouds, are discussed, and some new results on PDR modelisation highlighted.Comment: accepted in ApJ sup

Energy and decay width of the pi-K atom

The energy and decay width of the pi-K atom are evaluated in the framework of the quasipotential-constraint theory approach. The main electromagnetic and isospin symmetry breaking corrections to the lowest-order formulas for the energy shift from the Coulomb binding energy and for the decay width are calculated. They are estimated to be of the order of a few per cent. We display formulas to extract the strong interaction S-wave pi-K scattering lengths from future experimental data concerning the pi-K atom.Comment: 37 pages, 5 figures, uses Axodra

A new analysis of πK\pi K scattering from Roy and Steiner type equations

With the aim of generating new constraints on the OZI suppressed couplings of chiral perturbation theory a set of six equations of the Roy and Steiner type for the $S$- and $P$-waves of the $\pi K$ scattering amplitudes is derived. The range of validity and the multiplicity of the solutions are discussed. Precise numerical solutions are obtained in the range E\lapprox 1 GeV which make use as input, for the first time, of the most accurate experimental data available at $E > 1$ GeV for both $\pi K\to\pi K$ and $\pi\pi\to K\bar{K}$ amplitudes. Our main result is the determination of a narrow allowed region for the two S-wave scattering lengths. Present experimental data below 1 GeV are found to be in generally poor agreement with our results. A set of threshold expansion parameters, as well as sub-threshold parameters are computed. For the latter, matching with the SU(3) chiral expansion at NLO is performed.Comment: 45 pages, 17 figures. v2: New title, minor correction