Ratings on things as diverse as the efficiency of electronic appliances and the sustainability of fishing methods are changing consumer behaviour and, therefore, the performance of suppliers.

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Higher-quality electrolytes can enhance battery performance by improving the efficiency of transporting electronic charges inside batteries.

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Rohack also called for efficiency measures such as electronic record-keeping to reduce administrative costs, as well as protection for doctors from excessive malpractice lawsuits.

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The federal government has tried to promote the switch from paper medical records to electronic ones in hopes of improving efficiency and bringing down health costs.

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By the same token, a Mossad source says that cloak-and-dagger operations still have their uses, even though ultra-modern electronic and biometric skills, used with surprising efficiency (in Israeli eyes) by Dubai's police, make such operations, involving wigged disguises and old-style skulduggery, harder to pull off.

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Nobody doubts that electronic trading has the potential greatly to enhance the efficiency of the bond market.

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And he introduced an electronic-trading platform that cut costs and boosted efficiency.

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Energy efficiency is the most significant challenge standing in the way of continued miniaturization of electronic systems, and miniaturization is the principal driver of the semiconductor industry.

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"In the near future, we would like to increase the efficiency of the polarizing organic photovoltaics, and eventually we hope to work with electronic manufacturers to integrate our technology into real products", Yang said.

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