bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The effectiveness of a contingent financial incentive to improve trial follow up; a randomised study within a trial (SWAT)
Authors: Arundel Catherine , Coleman Elizabeth , Fairhurst Caroline , Peckham Emily , Bailey Della , Gilbody Simon
Published: July 2020

Objectives

To evaluate the effectiveness of a contingent financial incentive (£10 note in addition to a routinely provided £10 voucher) versus no contingent financial incentive, on improving the retention rate in a randomised controlled trial (RCT).

Methods

A two arm ‘Study within a Trial’ (SWAT) embedded within a host RCT (SCIMITAR+). Participants were randomised to the SWAT using a 2:1 (intervention:control) allocation ratio. The primary outcome measure was the proportion of participants completing a CO breath measurement at the first SCIMITAR+ follow up time point (6 months). Secondary outcomes were withdrawing from follow-up after contact and time from assessment due date to completion.  Analyses were conducted using logistic or Cox Proportional Hazards regression as appropriate.

Results

A total of 434 participants were randomised into this SWAT. Completion of the CO breath measurement at 6 months was 88.5% (n=247) in the intervention arm of the SWAT and 85.4% (n=123) in the control arm (Difference 3.1%, OR 1.29, 95% CI 0.71-2.33, p=0.41). There was also no evidence of a difference in the proportion of participants withdrawing from follow-up after contact (intervention n=7 (2.5%), control n=5 (3.5%); OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.23-2.44, p=0.64), nor in terms of proximity of 6-month visit completion to due date (HR 1.07, 95% CI 0.86-1.33, p=0.55).

Conclusion

It is unclear if contingent financial incentives increased rates of face-to-face follow-up completion within the SCIMITAR+ trial population. However, the sample size of this SWAT was constrained by the size of the host trial and power was limited. This SWAT adds to the body of evidence for initiatives to increase response rates in trials.
The Behavioral Promise and Pitfalls in Compensating Store Managers
Authors: Li Shan , Chen Kay-Yut , Rong Ying
Published: July 2020

Compensation systems have rapidly been shifting away from a fixed wage contractual payment basis. Many companies today are creating incentive compensation contracts to reward hard-working employees for jobs done well. Profit sharing (“sharing compensation contract”) and target with bonus (“target compensation contract”) are two common performance-based compensation contracts prevalent in business. We theoretically and behaviorally study the sharing and target compensation contracts in an operational context where a firm sets the parameters of the compensation contracts and a store manager, after observing the compensation contract offered to him, chooses his effort level (unobservable by the firm) and makes ordering decisions for the store. Our experimental data suggest systematic deviations from the theoretical benchmark and reveal behavioral promise and pitfalls under the two compensation contracts. In particular, the store manager is more willing to exert high effort under the target contract all else being equal. However, the store manager is also more likely to punish the firm for perceived “unfair” offers by submitting an extremely low order quantity. We find that bounded rationality plays an important role in driving a higher effort rate under the target contract than the sharing contract. We introduce a new formulation of the fairness concerns, which is referred to as by-state fairness, where individuals, rather than considering whether the expected profits received are fair, consider the fairness in the potential realized outcomes. This new formulation explains why managers are more likely to order very little to punish the firm under the target contract. In addition, we conduct validation experiments to verify our behavioral explanation.

This paper was accepted by Jayashankar Swaminathan, operations management.
Os pais como pilares para a segurança do paciente em unidade neonatal
Authors: Moura Leila Patrícia de , Moura Gisela Maria Schebella Souto de , Wegner Wiliam , Hoffmeister Louise Viecili
Published: July 2020

Objetivo: conhecer a experiência dos pais como estratégia de avaliação da qualidade da assistência de enfermagem. Método: pesquisa descritiva com abordagem qualitativa, desenvolvida na Unidade Neonatal de um Hospital do sul do Brasil. A coleta de dados foi realizada através de entrevistas, utilizando a técnica do incidente crítico (TIC), com 18 pais que estavam com seus filhos internados por 20 dias ou mais e que tinham previsão e plano de alta hospitalar. Após, os dados foram submetidos à análise de conteúdo. Resultados: a análise revelou fragilidades no cuidado prestado pela equipe de enfermagem em relação à administração de medicamentos, ao uso de equipamentos, à monitorização e ao posicionamento dos bebês, aos cuidados com a pele e à higiene de mãos. Conclusão: a experiência dos pais revelou elementos que integram a avaliação da assistência em enfermagem, destacando-os como pilares para a segurança do paciente.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical education
Authors: Samaraee Ahmad Al
Published: July 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has caused major disruption of systems worldwide, including education and health services. The duration and scale of the impact is yet to be established. The effect of the pandemic on medical education should be managed on the basis of early response, alternative education options and future changes and actions.
Potato Bud Detection with Improved Faster R-CNN
Authors: Xi Rui , Hou Jialin , Lou Wei
Published: July 2020

Highlights

A series of strategies including feature concatenation, tweaks of ResNet50, and modification of the default anchors with the chaos optimization-based
k
-means algorithm were proposed to improve the detection performance of the original Faster R-CNN.

The improved Faster R-CNN achieved an average precision of 97.71%, which is 5.98% higher than that of the original Faster R-CNN and 14.38% higher than that of YOLOv2.

The improved Faster R-CNN greatly boosted the detection performance for potato buds without incurring any noticeable additional computational overhead.

Abstract.
This article proposes an improved Faster R-CNN model to achieve better detection performance for potato buds, with the goal of preparing for the automated cutting of seed potatoes. Detection results of Faster R-CNNs with eight pretrained networks were compared, and ResNet50 was adopted as the backbone network in Faster R-CNN. On this basis, three model strategies, including feature concatenation, tweaks of ResNet50, and modification of the default anchors with the chaos optimization-based k-means algorithm, were proposed to improve the detection performance for potato buds. Experimental results on the test set demonstrated that the improved Faster R-CNN achieved an average precision (AP) of 97.71%, which is 5.98% higher than that of the original Faster R-CNN and 14.38% higher than that of YOLOv2. In addition, the average running time per image with the improved Faster R-CNN was 0.166 s, the same as that of the original Faster R-CNN. In other words, the improved Faster R-CNN greatly boosted the detection performance for potato buds without incurring any noticeable additional computational overhead, thus satisfying the requirements for real-time processing. Consequently, the improved Faster R-CNN can provide a solid foundation for the automated cutting of seed potatoes. Keywords: Chaos optimization-based k-means, Default anchors, Faster R-CNN, Feature concatenation, Potato bud detection, Tweaks of ResNet50.
Fabry–Perot-resonator-coupled metal pattern metamaterial for infrared suppression and radiative cooling
Authors: Liu Dachuan , Xu Yuanpei , Xuan Yimin
Published: July 2020

The most intuitive approach for infrared stealth, namely, the indiscriminate suppression of thermal radiation, is often at the risk of overheating the target. Spectrally selective metamaterials may solve this problem by satisfying radiative cooling as well as infrared suppression. Therefore, we have designed and fabricated a broadband metamaterial by depositing a Fabry–Perot (F-P) resonator on top of a metal pattern. The composite structure has two absorption peaks, one originating from F-P resonance, the other from the magnetic resonance of the metal pattern, and they can be merged into the 5∼8 µm range through optimization. According to Kirchhoff’s law, this results in high emissivity in the 5∼8 µm range (the best choice of nonatmospheric-window ranges) and low emissivity in the 3∼5 µm and 8∼14 µm ranges (the two atmospheric windows), satisfying both infrared suppression and radiative cooling. Energy dissipation distributions indicate apparent coupling of F-P resonance and magnetic resonance, but these two resonances are stronger at their respective intrinsic wavelengths. This paper reveals an alternative method for infrared suppression with radiative cooling, which is also meaningful in the design of broad/multiband absorbers.
Structured metal double-blazed dispersion grating for broadband spectral efficiency achromatization
Authors: Sandfuchs Oliver , Kraus Matthias , Brunner Robert
Published: July 2020

The majority of spectrometers use reflective dispersion gratings with a metal-coated blazed grating profile for spectral decomposition. They achieve high diffraction efficiency at the design wavelength, which decays considerably in the adjacent longer and shorter wavelength ranges. We introduce a structured metal double-blazed grating with a high diffraction efficiency for a broadband spectral range, consisting of a sawtooth-like structured metal surface filled with a first dielectric transparent material. The planarized upper surface is covered with a second blazed profile of a different transparent material. We present a systematical theoretical analysis of the diffraction efficiency in reflection geometry, based on a scalar approach involving fundamental dispersion parameters such as Abbe numbers and relative partial dispersions of the materials. We find material combinations reducing the profile heights down to 1–2 µm.
Numerical analysis of the transmission function of the NPE-based saturable absorber in a mode-locked fiber laser
Authors: Bednyakova A. E. , Kharenko D. S. , Yarovikov A. P.
Published: July 2020

We report on a detailed investigation of two approaches to the modeling of the nonlinear polarization evolution (NPE) effect, forming part of an effective artificial saturable absorber. Comparison of scalar and hybrid models was performed on an example of an all fiber laser, generating highly chirped dissipative solitons at 1.55 µm. It was shown that distributed action of this type of saturable absorber in the specially designed cavity can be reduced to the point action and described in terms of critical power, modulation depth, and phase shift of the sinusoidal transmission function. Its parabolic approximation gives a large area with less than 15% difference between the energies and durations of the pulses in the considered models. Qualitative relations between the physical cavity parameters and parameters of the transmission function have been established.
Silicon photonic chip for 16-channel wavelength division (de-)multiplexing in the O-band
Authors: Davis Jordan A. , Li Ang , Alshamrani Naif , Fainman Yeshaiahu
Published: July 2020

We experimentally demonstrate a silicon photonic chip-scale 16-channel wavelength division multiplexer (WDM) operating in the O-band. The silicon photonic chip consists of a common-input bus waveguide integrated with a sequence of 16 spectral add-drop filters implemented by 4-port contra-directional Bragg couplers and resonant cladding modulated perturbations. The combination of these features reduces the spectral bandwidth of the filters and improves the crosstalk. An apodization of the cladding modulated perturbations between the bus and the add/drop waveguides is used to optimize the strength of the coupling coefficient in the propagation direction to reduce the intra-channel crosstalk on adjacent channels. The fabricated chip was validated experimentally with a measured intra-channel crosstalk of ∼−18.9 dB for a channel spacing of 2.6 nm. The multiplexer/demultiplexer chip was also experimentally tested with a 10 Gbps data waveform. The resulting eye-pattern indicates that this approach is suitable for datacenter WDM-based interconnects in the O-band with large aggregate bandwidths.
Numerical analysis of an ultra-wideband metamaterial absorber with high absorptivity from visible light to near-infrared
Authors: Liu Jing , Ma Wen-Zhuang , Chen Wei , Yu Gao-Xiang , Chen Yu-Shan , Deng Xu-Chu , Yang Cheng-Fu
Published: July 2020

In this study, we designed a novel ultra-wideband (UWB) absorber and numerically analyzed it to demonstrate that its light absorptivity was greater than 90% in the wavelength range of visible light and near-infrared (405-1505 nm). The structure of proposed novel UWB absorber consisted of four layers of films, including silica, titanium, magnesium fluoride, and aluminium, and the upper silica and titanium layers had rectangular cubes in them. For that, the excitations of propagating surface plasmon resonance (PSPR), local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), and the resonance of Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity were generated at the same time and combined to reach the effect of perfect absorption and ultra-wideband. The proposed absorber had an average absorptivity of 95.14% in the wavelength range of 405 ∼ 1505 nm when the light was under normal incidence. In addition, the UWB absorber was large incident angle insensitive and polarization-independent. The absorber proposed in the paper had great prospects in the fields of thermal electronic equipment, solar power generation, and perfect cloaking.
Impact analysis of a dense hole-assisted structure on crosstalk and bending loss in homogeneous few-mode multi-core fibers
Authors: Xie Yuheng , Pei Li , Zheng Jingjing , Zhao Qi , Ning Tigang , Li Jing
Published: July 2020

We present a novel dense hole-assisted structure (DHAS) in homogeneous few-mode multi-core fibers (FM-MCFs) for significantly suppressing inter-core crosstalk (XT) and bending loss while realizing a high spatial density in limited cladding diameter. The fabrication methods of DHAS FM-MCFs are illustrated and the equivalent model of DHAS is proposed. To point out the superiority, the XT of a DHAS 7-core 4-LP-mode fiber is investigated by an average power-coupling coefficients analytical expression in DHAS model and the equivalent model, respectively. A simple derived analytical expression for XT estimation in the trench-assisted homogeneous MCFs is introduced to verify the change of XT with fiber parameters in the equivalent model. The results imply that the XT obtained by the equivalent model is in good agreement with the one through DHAS model. Furthermore, the bending loss and chromatic dispersion dependences on DHAS are calculated by the finite element method (FEM). Through numerical simulations, we show that the DHAS has great contribution to meet the XT value requirement of lower than -30 dB/100km and make the bending loss values satisfy the ITU-T recommendations of G. 654 in a 7-core 4-LP-mode fiber with a 125-μm cladding diameter. The designed structure targets applications in space division multiplexing (SDM) fibers with independent transmission channels.
Reflective binary amplitude grating for soft x-ray shearing and Hartmann wavefront sensing
Authors: Goldberg Kenneth A. , Bryant Diane , Wojdyla Antoine , Helmbrecht Michael , Gullikson Eric
Published: July 2020

We demonstrate a reflective wavefront sensor grating suitable for the characterization of high-quality x-ray beamlines and optical systems with high power densities. Operating at glancing incidence angles, the optical element is deeply etched with a two-level pattern of shearing interferometry gratings and Hartmann wavefront sensor grids. Transverse features block unwanted light, enabling binary amplitude in reflection with high pattern contrast. We present surface characterization and soft x-ray reflectometry of a prototype grating array to demonstrate function prior to wavefront measurement applications. A simulation of device performance is shown.
Emprego do isolamento absoluto em Endodontia: uma análise da percepção do paciente e do cirurgião-dentista do noroeste do Paraná
Authors: Staut BRUNINI Sérgio Henrique , TOMAZINHO Luiz Fernando , Marques HOMEM Aron , Bertoncelo SANTANA Gabriel , da SILVA Letícia Flávia
Published: July 2020

O isolamento absoluto é um procedimento indispensável no tratamento odontológico, principalmente em Endodontia. Contudo, certos profissionais ainda relutam em usá-lo. Objetivo: O presente estudo teve como objetivo entrevistar profissionais, acadêmicos de Odontologia e pacientes, visando avaliar a percepção de cada grupo com relação à eficácia e segurança do lençol de borracha, por meio do percentual de respostas dadas às perguntas. Métodos: Foram elaborados questionários a serem respondidos por 50 acadêmicos do último ano do curso de Odontologia da UNIPAR, 50 cirurgiões-dentistas e 100 pacientes de clínicas particulares e da clínica odondológica da UNIPAR da cidade de Umuarama, no Paraná. Após a coleta de todos os questionários distribuídos, as respostas apresentadas foram tabuladas e analisadas. Resultados: 66% dos odontólogos e 74% dos estudantes de Odontologia entrevistados relataram que sempre fazem o uso do isolamento absoluto, citando como pontos negativos da sua utilização o tempo para aplicação, a intolerância a ele por parte do paciente, e a falta de treinamento. Ainda, 52% dos pacientes de clínicas particulares e 54% dos pacientes da clínica odontológica da UNI- PAR consideraram o isolamento absoluto desconfortável; porém, apenas 6% e 10%, respectivamente, assinalaram que não gostariam que o isolamento absoluto fosse utilizado na próxima consulta. Conclusões: O isolamento absoluto tem uma grande aprovação pelos profissionais, acadêmicos e pacientes. Uma maioria significativa de cirurgiões-dentistas e acadêmicos de Odontologia tem em- pregado o isolamento absoluto rotineiramente na prática endodôntica. Os pacientes consideram o isolamento absoluto desconfortável; apesar disso, preferem que se faça uso dele durante o tratamento odontológico.
Estudo in vitro da influência de diferentes plugs coronários sobre o remanescente da obturação, após preparo para pino, na retenção de pinos metálicos fundidos
Authors: Emerenciano BUENO Carlos Roberto , VALENTIM Diego , Sivieri ARAÚJO Gustavo , de Castilho JACINTO Rogerio , GOMES FILHO João Eduardo , Tavares Angelo CINTRA Luciano , DEZAN JUNIOR Eloi
Published: July 2020

Objetivo: Avaliar a influência de diferentes plugs de proteção, acomodados sobre o remanescente da obturação após preparo para pino, na retenção de pinos metálicos fundidos. Métodos: Cinquenta dentes bovinos foram decoronados, manualmente instrumentados até a lima manual Kerr #80 e obturados. A desobturação parcial de 10mm do conduto foi realizada com uma broca Largo e os grupos foram divididos de acordo com os diferentes materiais utilizados como plugs (n=10): Grupo I (Controle, sem plug); Grupo II (plug de Coltosol®); Grupo III (plug, em consistência de massa, de Sealapex® + óxido de zinco); Grupo IV (plug de etil-cianoacrilato); e Grupo V (plug de fosfato de zinco). Uma camada de 1mm de espessura dos diferentes plugs (Grupos II, III, IV ou V) foi acomodada sobre a obturação remanescente. Os espécimes foram selados e armazenados em 100% de umidade, por 7 dias. Após moldagem do conduto, foram confeccionados pinos metálicos fundidos e cimentados com fosfato de zinco. Os espécimes permaneceram em câmara úmida por 45 dias antes do teste de tração, realizado em uma máquina universal de ensaios. Os valores foram expressos em Mega pascal (MPa) e submetidos aos testes ANOVA e Tukey (p<0,05). Resultados: O etilcianoacrilato diminuiu a retenção dos pinos metálicos fundidos (p<0,01). Não houve diferença entre os outros grupos (p>0,05), semelhante- mente ao controle. Conclusão: A proteção da obturação com plugs confeccionados com etil-cianoacrilato prejudica a retenção de pinos metálicos fundidos cimentados com fosfato de zinco, enquanto Sealapex® acrescido de óxido de zinco, fosfato de zinco endurecido ou Coltosol® não interferem na adesividade
Uso da tecnologia e cimento de silicato de cálcio na resolução de complicações no retratamento endodôntico: relato de caso
Authors: Mucke SILVA Ericke , Priori ALCALDE Murilo , Ricci VIVAN Rodrigo , POMINI Marcelo , Hungaro DUARTE Marco Antonio
Published: July 2020

Introdução: Acidentes e complicações podem acontecer em qualquer fase do tratamento endodôntico. Podem ocorrer devido a diversos fatores, como falhas dos instrumentos, dificuldades anatômicas e limitações do profissional, o que, muitas vezes, pode alterar o prognóstico de um caso. Objetivo: O presente relato de caso aborda uma situação em que uma paciente se apresentava com dois instrumentos fraturados e uma perfuração radicular em um dente molar inferior com periodontite apical. Relato do caso: Os fragmentos foram removidos por meio de técnica mecanizada e ultrassônica padronizada, e a perfuração foi tratada e selada com material à base de silicato de cálcio. Conclusão: O emprego de recursos tecnológicos atuais favoreceu a resolução do caso, melhorando seu prognóstico. O restabelecimento da condição de normalidade do dente e tecidos adjacentes foi confirmado por exames radiográficos e tomográficos.
The Contribution of Nutrition in Compression Therapy for Chronic Venous Disease
Authors: Yuwono Hendro Sudjono , Pratama Dedy
Published: July 2020

Compression therapy is an essential step for the treatment of chronic venous disease (CVD). It is a mechanical treatment against the venous wall's persistent pathological change and the CVD created by inner metabolic substances that damage the wall and valves. The damage is possible to prevent using flavonoid drug and daily nutrition intake, which support the mechanical therapy positively.
Positive Solutions for Resonant (p, q)-equations with convection
Authors: Liu Zhenhai , Papageorgiou Nikolaos S.
Published: July 2020

We consider a nonlinear parametric Dirichlet problem driven by the (p, q)-Laplacian (double phase problem) with a reaction exhibiting the competing effects of three different terms. A parametric one consisting of the sum of a singular term and of a drift term (convection) and of a nonparametric perturbation which is resonant. Using the frozen variable method and eventually a fixed point argument based on an iterative asymptotic process, we show that the problem has a positive smooth solution.
Late-onset cerebellar ataxia in an adult with a novel mutation in the CLN5 gene
Authors:   Department of Medical Genetics, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Sulaiman Raashda A. ,   College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wakil Salma Majid ,   Department of Genetics, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Boholega Saeed ,   Department of Neurosciences, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Published: July 2020

Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL) is a neurodegenerative disorder which mostly presents in early life and is associated with a premature death. Here, we report a 50-year-old Saudi male who presented with cerebellar ataxia and whole exome sequencing identified a previously undescribed, homozygous mutation in the CLN5 gene (c.562T>C; p.Phe188Leu). This mutation was predicted to be pathogenic based on bioinformatics tools scoring; PolyPhen-2 (1) and SIFT (0.0). He did not have a visual impairment, cortical atrophy or cognitive decline, which were reported in previous adult cases associated with CLN5 mutation. This case, therefore, further expands the molecular and clinical phenotype associated with CLN5 mutation. It also highlights the role of next-generation sequencing analysis in providing early insights and diagnosis of rare hereditary disorders.
Socioeconomic and clinical-epidemiological profile of people attended in an outpatient clinic for complex wounds
Authors: Cavalcante Viviane Mamede Vasconcelos , Alexandre Solange Gurgel , Silva Francisca Alexandra Araújo da , Santiago Jênifa Cavalcante dos Santos , Coelho Manuela de Mendonça Figueirêdo , Avelino Beatriz Moreira Alves , Costa Fabiano Andrade da
Published: July 2020

Objective: to characterize the socioeconomic and clinical-epidemiological profile of people attended in an outpatient clinic specialized in complex wounds. Methods: cross-sectional study with 69 people with wounds, through the application of a questionnaire. Data analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics. Results: most participants were male (55.1%), above 60 years old (55.1%), married (40.6%), income from one to three minimum wages (69.6%). Regarding clinical aspects, 50 (72.4%) had the injury for more than six months, 32 (46.4%) had a relative responsible wound dressing, 44 (63.8%) did not have difficulties in wound dressing. Regarding how long they had the wound, pain and arterial disease were statistically significant (p=0.042; p=0.026). Conclusion: most participants were male and above 60 years old. Pain and the presence of arterial diseases were significant with regards to people with chronic wounds.
Genotype–phenotype associations in PPGLs in 59 patients with variants in SDHX genes
Authors: Main Ailsa Maria , Rossing Maria , Borgwardt Line , Grønkær Toft Birgitte , Rasmussen Åse Krogh , Feldt-Rasmussen Ulla
Published: July 2020

Phaeochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs) are tumours of the adrenal medulla and extra-adrenal sympathetic nervous system which often secrete catecholamines. Variants of the SDHX (SDHA, -AF2, -B, -C, -D) genes are a frequent cause of familial PPGLs. In this study from a single tertiary centre, we aimed to characterise the genotype–phenotype associations in patients diagnosed with germline variants in SDHX genes. We also assessed whether systematic screening of family members resulted in earlier detection of tumours. The study cohort comprised all individuals (n = 59) diagnosed with a rare variant in SDHX during a 13-year period. Patient- and pathology records were checked for clinical characteristics and histopathological findings. We found distinct differences in the clinical and histopathological characteristics between genetic variants in SDHB. We identified two SDHB variants with distinct phenotypical patterns. Family screening for SDHB variants resulted in earlier detection of tumours in two families. Patients with SDHA, SDHC and SDHD variants also had malignant phenotypes, underlining the necessity for a broad genetic screening of the proband. Our study corroborates previous findings of poor prognostic markers and found that the genetic variants and clinical phenotype are linked and, therefore, useful in the decision of clinical follow-up. Regular tumour screening of carriers of pathogenic variants may lead to an earlier diagnosis and expected better prognosis. The development of a combined algorithm with clinical, genetic, morphological, and biochemical factors may be the future for improved clinical risk stratification, forming a basis for larger multi-centre follow up studies.
Fresh and cultured mouse islets differ in their response to nutrient stimulation
Authors: Morsi Mai , Schulze Torben , Früh Eike , Brüning Dennis , Panten Uwe , Rustenbeck Ingo
Published: July 2020

Observing different kinetics of nutrient-induced insulin secretion in fresh and cultured islets under the same condition we compared parameters of stimulus secretion coupling in freshly isolated and 22-h-cultured NMRI mouse islets. Stimulation of fresh islets with 30 mM glucose after perifusion without nutrient gave a continuously ascending secretion rate. In 22-h-cultured islets the same protocol produced a brisk first phase followed by a moderately elevated plateau, a pattern regarded to be typical for mouse islets. This was also the response of cultured islets to the nutrient secretagogue alpha-ketoisocaproic acid, whereas the secretion of fresh islets increased similarly fast but remained strongly elevated. The responses of fresh and cultured islets to purely depolarizing stimuli (tolbutamide or KCl), however, were closely similar. Signs of apoptosis and necrosis were rare in both preparations. In cultured islets, the glucose-induced rise of the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration started from a lower value and was larger as was the increase of the ATP/ADP ratio. The prestimulatory level of mitochondrial reducing equivalents, expressed as the NAD(P)H/FAD fluorescence ratio, was lower in cultured islets, but increased more strongly than in fresh islets. When culture conditions were modified by replacing RPMI with Krebs–Ringer medium and FCS with BSA, the amount of released insulin varied widely, but the kinetics always showed a predominant first phase. In conclusion, the secretion kinetics of fresh mouse islets is more responsive to variations of nutrient stimulation than cultured islets. The more uniform kinetics of the latter may be caused by a different use of endogenous metabolites.
No difference in the outcome of metastatic thyroid cancer patients when using recombinant or endogenous TSH
Authors: Campopiano Maria Cristina , Podestà Debora , Bianchi Francesca , Giani Carlotta , Agate Laura , Bottici Valeria , Cappagli Virginia , Lorusso Loredana , Matrone Antonio , Puleo Luciana , Valerio Laura , Viola David , Piaggi Paolo , Elisei Rossella , Molinaro Eleonora
Published: July 2020

Objective:

At present, recombinant TSH cannot be used for the treatment of metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate if the type of TSH stimulation, recombinant or endogenous, had an impact on the outcome of these patients.

Design and methods:

We compared the outcome of two propensity score-matched groups of metastatic patients, stimulated by either only recombinant TSH (n = 43) or only endogenous TSH (n = 34).

Results:

As expected from the matching procedure, the clinical–pathological features and the cumulative 131-I activities administered to the two groups were very similar. After 4 years of follow-up, 4% of patients were cured, 3% had biochemical disease and 93% had structural disease. However, 91% of patients obtained a clinical benefit from this therapy in terms of stabilization of the disease or complete remission or partial response. When considering the two groups separately, we did not find any difference in their outcome. When considering the response to 131-I therapy of the single type of metastases, 8% of lymph node metastases and 8% of lung metastases disappeared but none of the bone metastases. The response to 131-I therapy of the single type of metastases was similar when we looked at the two groups separately.

Conclusions:

This study shows (i) an overall clinical benefit of the 131-I therapy, since the majority of patients remained affected but with a stable disease, and (ii) that the preparation with either recombinant or endogenous TSH has no impact on the 131-I therapy efficacy and the outcome of our two groups of patients.
Handelsrechtliche Rückstellungen für ungewisse Verbindlichkeiten - Der Dieselgate-Skandal
Authors: Rade Katja , Schöning Stephan
Published: July 2020

Die Lösung bezieht sich auf die in WiSt, Nr. 6/2020 , S. 56 ff. veröffentlichte Fallstudie. In Teil 2 werden zunächst die allgemeinen Kriterien der abstrakten Passivierungsfähigkeit in Verbindung mit dem Dieselgate-Skandal diskutiert und die daraus resultierenden unterschiedlichen Zahlungs- und Leistungsverpflichtungen der Volkswagen AG aufgezeigt. In der Lösung zum Aufgabenteil c) erfolgt die Prüfung der drei handelsrechtlichen Ansatzkriterien für Verbindlichkeitsrückstellungen nach § 249 Abs. 1 S. 1 HGB im Zeitablauf unter Verwendung des Phasenschemas des Dieselgate-Skandals in Tab. 1. Mögliche Unterschiede in der handels- und steuerrechtlichen Betrachtungsweise sind Gegenstand des Aufgabenteils d). Die Fallstudie schließt mit einer kritischen Würdigung der Ergebnisse, die auch die rechnungswesenbezogene Einbindung der Volkswagen AG in den Volkswagen Konzern umfasst.
Mehrdimensionales Wissensmanagement zur nachhaltigen Entscheidungsunterstützung
Authors: Fathi Madjid , Dornhöfer Mareike , Zenkert Johannes
Published: July 2020

Wissensbewertung stellt im Zeitalter immer größerer Datenmengen, technologischer Komplexität und zunehmender Bedeutung von Nachhaltigkeitsaspekten eine Herausforderung dar, die nicht trivial methodisch gelöst werden kann. Der hier vorgestellte Green KM Cube ermöglicht eine für die nachhaltige Entscheidungsunterstützung notwendige mehrdimensionale Wissensrepräsentation und -bewertung.
The knowledge function at EY
Authors: Bell Ragna , Hoffjan Andreas
Published: July 2020

EY is a global leader in assurance, advisory, tax and transaction services with more than 270.000 employees in 150 countries. EY’s knowledge function has been recognized with several Global Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise (MAKE) awards.
Unternehmensentwicklung bei der JOST Werke AG und ihre Unterstützung durch die Finanz- und Controllingfunktion
Authors: Terlinde Christian , Pedell Burkhard
Published: July 2020

JOST Werke ist ein Zulieferer für Nutzfahrzeuge, der sicherheitsrelevante Systeme und Kupplungen für Anhänger und Auflieger produziert. Das Produktspektrum ist in folgende drei Systeme unterteilt: Im Bereich Vehicle Interface liegt der Fokus auf Produkten, die für den Betrieb einer Nutzfahrzeugkombination aus Truck und Trailer benötigt werden, wie zum Beispiel Sattelkupplungen und Stützwinden. In diesem Bereich ist JOST Weltmarktführer. Der Bereich Handling Solutions umfasst Containertechnologie und hydraulische Zylinderprodukte. Zum Bereich Maneuvering gehören insbesondere Achsen für Sattelzugmaschinen (Trucks) und Sattelauflieger und Anhänger (Trailer) sowie Zwangslenkungssysteme. Mit einem globalen Vertriebsnetz und Produktionsstätten in dreizehn Ländern auf fünf Kontinenten hat JOST direkten Zugang zu allen großen Herstellern von Trucks und Trailern sowie zu allen relevanten Endkunden. JOST beschäftigt weltweit derzeit über 3.500 Mitarbeiter. Im Geschäftsjahr 2019 wurden ein Umsatz in Höhe von 736 Mio. Euro und ein EBIT in Höhe von 77 Mio. Euro erzielt. Seit dem 19.03.2018 ist JOST Werke im SDAX vertreten.
Integratives Risikomanagement
Authors: Gleißner Werner
Published: July 2020

Sämtliche unternehmerische Aktivitäten sind mit Chancen und Gefahren (Risiken) verbunden. Daher ist ein integrativer Risikomanagementansatz zu wählen, der Risikomanagement mit allen Unternehmensfunktionen verknüpft. Risikomanagement sollte in den Prozess der Vorbereitung „unternehmerischer Entscheidungen“ integriert werden; diskutiert wird daher die Verbindung zu Controlling und Interner Revision.
ТЕМА СТРАДАНИЯ КАК ЭЛЕМЕНТ ФОРМИРОВАНИЯ ОБРАЗА ЧЕЛОВЕКА
Authors: Vershyna Viktoriia A.
Published: July 2020

Актуальность исследования определена двумя ключевыми аспектами современной социокультурной ситуации, которая уже обозначена как «совершенно новая для человечества». Во-первых, это антропологически-экзистенциальный вопрос о сущности и природе самого человека, о ценностях, регулирующих жизнь индивида и общества, и смыслах, связывающих человека с миром и продуцируемых культурой. Другой аспект состоит в той радикальной переоценке традиционных норм, ценностей, форм и институтов культуры, которая происходит в последнее время.

Цель данной работы заключается в рассмотрении феномена страдания как одного из элементов образа человека в концептуальном аспекте.

Феномен страдания рассматривается как один из ключевых элементов формирования образа человека. Образ человека формируется в определенном контексте и поэтому всегда культурно опосредован. Он отражает объективные реалии бытия и поведения людей в определенном сообществе, а также задает некую общепризнанную модель, определяет нормативный идеал, к которому должно стремиться индивиду, определяет образцы, матрицы поведенческих предпочтений и реакций. В структурном отношении образ человека состоит из ряда устойчивых элементов, но вместе с тем их число и иерархия обусловлены контекстуально и подвижны. Поэтому, за исключением буддизма, страдание неизменно присутствует в образе человека, но роль, место и ценность страдания вариативны в культурных практиках и нормативны для индивидов каждого конкретного социума. Выделены два основных контекста оценки страдания и предлагаемых вариантов отношения к страданию, господствовавшие в истории культуры до начала эпохи Нового времени: философский и религиозный. Обозначены пути интерпретации страдания в античном философском дискурсе. Отмечена значимость, сложность, неоднозначность трактовки страдания христианским мировоззрением.
Ecological Compensation Method for Soil Polluted by Heavy Metals Based on Internet of Things
Authors: Shanshan Jia , Yanqing Zhou
Published: July 2020

The traditional ecological compensation method for soil polluted by heavy metals is complicated and consumes a lot of manpower and material resources, and cannot meet the real life needs, so take the area where the soil is polluted by heavy metals as an example. Increasing soil retention in this area is the specific target for ecological compensation, and compensation for polluted areas is based on the internet of things. The willingness of users to participate in the land heavy metal pollution control project was studied, and the pollution degree was calculated. Through radio frequency identification information sensing equipment, the soil heavy metal pollution area was connected with the Internet according to the agreed agreement, and the information exchange was carried out, so as to provide the basis for the ecological compensation standard of soil heavy metal pollution area. According to the content, changing trend and characteristics of pollutants in the study area, the best forest species were selected for this area, and the soil retention was increased to the maximum extent in order to realize the ecological compensation to the area polluted by heavy metals. The final results show that the ecological compensation method for soil polluted with heavy metals based on the internet of things is cost-effective and has great feasibility, which can be the important means for sustainable development of ecological construction.
Estimation of friction capacity of driven piles in clay using artificial Neural Network
Authors: Nguyen Thuy-Anh , Ly Hai-Bang , Jaafari Abolfazl , Pham Thai Binh
Published: July 2020

The load capacity of driven piles is a crucial mechanical property, and correctly determine the corresponding value is important in geotechnical engineering. Concerning piles driven in clay, the load capacity is mainly associated with the side resistance of the pile. The soil load capacity of conventional piles is determined by different methods and then reassessed by the static load test. Nonetheless, this method is time-consuming and costly. Therefore, the development of an alternative approach using machine learning techniques to solve this problem has been investigated recently. In this work, the backpropagation network model (ANN) with a 4-layer structure [4-8-6-1] was introduced to predict the frictional resistance of pile driven in clay. The dataset for the development of the ANN model consisted of 65 instances, extracted from the available literature. The performance of the proposed ANN algorithm was assessed by two statistical measurements, such as the Pearson correlation coefficient (denoted as R), and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). In addition to the original contribution, the present work conducted a step further toward a better knowledge of the role of inputs used in the prediction phase. Using partial independence plots (PDP), the results of this study showed that the effective vertical stress and the undrained shear strength were the prediction variables that had a significant influence on the friction capacity of driven piles.
Politica e Economia no Federalismo do Governo Geisel
Authors: SADDI FABIANA DA CUNHA
Published: July 2020

RESUMO O objetivo deste trabalho é estudar a dinâmica política da reconstrução do federalismo no Brasil durante o governo Geisel, no início da transição brasileira para a democracia. Essa análise começará em novembro de 1974, quando os resultados da eleição levaram o governo federal a começar a usar as relações econômicas e políticas do federalismo para conduzir e controlar dois projetos complementares: a liberalização política controlada e o Segundo Plano Brasileiro para o Desenvolvimento.
O segundo consenso de Washington e a quase-estagnação da economia brasileira
Authors: BRESSER-PEREIRA LUIZ CARLOS
Published: July 2020

RESUMO Enquanto nos aspectos éticos e sociais o governo Cardoso (1995-2002) foi bem-sucedido, seus resultados econômicos foram frustrantes. Nesses oito anos, a taxa de investimento não aumentou e a renda per capita diminuiu, enquanto as dívidas pública e estrangeira aumentaram substancialmente. Esse fraco desempenho econômico pode ser explicado por três causas encadeadas: um erro na definição da agenda, a adoção do Segundo Consenso de Washington e a alienação das elites. A decisão de definir a inflação alta como o principal problema a ser enfrentado, em vez de alcançar o equilíbrio em contas estrangeiras, representou um grande erro macroeconômico, o que pode ser explicado pelo Segundo Consenso de Washington. Esse consenso propôs na década de 1990 que os países altamente endividados deveriam crescer contando com a poupança externa, embora essa não seja a experiência entre os países da OCDE. O resultado foi avaliar o real, o aumento artificial dos salários e do consumo, de modo que, em vez de crescimento, aumentamos o endividamento. Por que essa estratégia foi adotada? Os interesses dos países ricos não são difíceis de adivinhar. Por parte do Brasil, a única explicação é a alienação das elites brasileiras em relação ao interesse nacional do país. Como resultado final, o governo Cardoso termina com outra crise na balança de pagamentos.
As três dimensões do trabalho social e as três óticas de cálculo do valor adicionado
Authors: BÊRNI DUILIO DE AVILA
Published: July 2020

RESUMO O estudo do valor adicionado e das suas três formas de cálculo é geralmente tomado independentemente das três dimensões do trabalho social, de onde vem. O objetivo deste artigo é preencher as lacunas que partem da avaliação e classificação das diferentes dimensões assumidas pelo trabalho social, seus três circuitos de medição e a transição entre valor do trabalho e valor adicionado. Sua principal preocupação é tentar esclarecer essas relações, bem como servir como instrumento para continuar a discussão do programa de pesquisa associado à teoria dos valores.
The Brazilian Swindle and the Larger International Monetary Problem
Authors: GALBRAITH JAMES K.
Published: July 2020

ABSTRACT The IMF’s recent loan to Brazil is the best seen as a mechanism of political control rather than economic assistance, except in a very unsustainable short run. Thus hard choices between the priorities of Brazil’s working population and those of international creditors cannot be avoided. This essay explores policy options, and goes on to suggest that while the financial sector is certain to dominate American policy discussion in these matters, it would be wiser to view the larger national economic interest of the United States as aligned with those who advocate stable and sustainable national development in Brazil.
Removal of Reactive Black 5 from Polluted Solutions by Electrocoagulation: Modelling Experimental Data Using Artificial Neural Networks
Authors: OYAR Bediha , EREN Beytullah , ÖZDEMİR Abdil
Published: July 2020

The wide range of today's industry increases the diversity of pollutants in the wastewater characteristics. In particular, the wastewater of the textile industry is highly colored. Different techniques are used for color removal of dyes from wastewater. In this work, the removal efficiency of the textile dye (Reactive Black 5) at different current densities (48.5 A/m2, 97.18 A/m2, 194.36 A/m2, 291.5 A/m2, 388.7 A/m2) was investigated by electrocoagulation method. The dye concentration of wastewater prepared in the laboratory scale was adjusted to 100 mg/L. Two iron electrodes and 3 g NaCl were used in the electrocoagulation system. The samples which taken periodically were measured after the centrifugal processes with the UV spectrophotometer. The experimental results were also modelled with artificial neural networks (ANNs). As a result of the experiments, approximately 90-100% color removal efficiency was obtained. According to the modelling study, the ANNs can predict the color removal efficiency with coefficient of determination (R2) between the experimental and predicted output variable reached up to 0.99.
On Idempotent Units in Commutative Group Rings
Authors: KÜSMÜŞ Ömer
Published: July 2020

Special elements as units, which are defined utilizing idempotent elements, have a very crucial place in a commutative group ring. As a remark, we note that an element is said to be idempotent if r^2=r in a ring. For a group ring RG, idempotent units are defined as finite linear combinations of elements of G over the idempotent elements in R or formally, idempotent units can be stated as of the form id(RG)={∑_(r_g∈id(R))▒〖r_g g〗: ∑_(r_g∈id(R))▒r_g =1 and r_g r_h=0 when g≠h} where id(R) is the set of all idempotent elements [3], [4], [5], [6]. Danchev [3] introduced some necessary and sufficient conditions for all the normalized units are to be idempotent units for groups of orders 2 and 3. In this study, by considering some restrictions, we investigate necessary and sufficient conditions for equalities:i.V(R(G×H))=id(R(G×H)),ii.V(R(G×H))=G×id(RH),iii.V(R(G×H))=id(RG)×Hwhere G×H is the direct product of groups G and H. Therefore, the study can be seen as a generalization of [3], [4]. Notations mostly follow [12], [13].
Ancient Proteins Extraction Protocol v1
Authors: Scott Ashley , Warinner Christina
Published: July 2020

This is a protocol for extracting total proteins from archaeological dental calculus. It is based on the filter-aided sample preparation (FASP) protocol first published by Wisniewski et al. 2009. Specific modifications have been made to enable protein extraction from calcified material and to ensure recovery of ancient proteins.
SARS-CoV-2 Tailed Amplicon Illumina Sequencing v2
Authors: Gohl Daryl
Published: July 2020

This protocol outlines how to process RNA for SARS-CoV-2 sequencing using tailed primers to generate tiled amplicons using the method described here: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.11.088724v1. Best results are obtained for samples with N1 and N2 Ct values of <30 (based on the UMGC/MDL implementation of the CDC qRT-PCR diagnostic assay for SARS-CoV-2, see here: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.02.022186v1.full). For samples with N1 and N2 values between 30 and ~35, coverage and other sequencing metrics may be more variable and increased adapter dimer formation is expected.