Use of information technology to increase economic efficiency and credibility in public administration in the context of digitization

Purpose: The article analyzes the use of information technologies to increase the level of economic efficiency and trust in public administration in Ukraine. Design/Methodology/Approach: We use the concept of digital management for the purpose of integrated interaction of municipal and state structures with business, civil society institutions and the population. Findings: The conducted research concludes the active digital transformation of public administration in Ukraine. The following trends in the use of information technology are identified: the development of institutional support; the creation of analytical portals for ensuring public control; the level of accountability, transparency, accountability of the activity of civil servants; the implementation of e-government projects; the changing philosophy of development of electronic services. Practical Implications: The concept of state policy in the field of digital infrastructure was developed on the basis of a multi-stakeholder approach according to which the main purpose of the state bodies is to identify, prioritize, harmonize and satisfy the stakeholders. Originality/Value: In this article, we show the level of individual regions in Ukraine where there is uneven implementation and use of e-learning tools management.peer-reviewe

Institutions versus location of new firms: does distance matter? Evidence from the Polish economy

The research aim was to identify the effects of the institutional environment-supporting business activity on new firms’ location. Using a series of negative binomial models, coupled with Hausman-Taylor estimations and Granger causality tests we studied the role of quality of institutions and distances to various types of institutions on the spatial distribution of new firms. The analysis also takes into consideration other location criteria, arising from the geographical location and socio-economic conditions in Poland’s smallest administrative division unit, i.e., a municipality. The results revealed a positive role in the quality of institutions as firms’ location criteria. Furthermore, the distance of firms to different institutions tended to be significant, albeit depending on these institutions’ type. In this regard, the distance of numerous local institutions performing a broader spectrum of activities was a significant location criterion, while the distance to institutions focusing on a narrow range of activities (e.g., supporting innovations, R&D), dedicated to selected or supra-regional groups of clients, more frequently proved to be insignificant. Implications arising from the research can help local authorities, which take measures to improve the institutional environment supporting firms

Parameterised Geant4 simulation for total body PET research

Total-body positron emission tomography (PET) imaging has the potential to transform medical care of a number of diseases and augment our knowledge of systems biology. Various detector designs and geometries are currently under development for total-body PET imaging of humans. This variety, in particular the variation in axial field-of-view (aFOV), motivates a need to compare the performance of these devices in a consistent simulated environment. We present an open-source Geant4 simulation package that allows variation of relevant parameters such as the detector aFOV and the tracer radioisotope from the command line. Two simplified detector geometries based on the Siemens Biograph Vision Quadra and United Imaging uEXPLORER models are supported with variable granularity. The intrinsic radioactivity of the detector crystals is fully simulated. The simulation can be viewed with the built-in GUI, and the results are saved in a plain text format for easy analysis. Example Python analysis code is provided with the simulation, demonstrating calculation of the noise equivalent count rate (NECR) figure of merit using an approximation to the NEMA NU 2-2012 standard method. A good agreement between the simulated count rate performance and experimental data is observed for both geometries. The differences in results are attributed to simplifications in the simulation code, namely not accounting for the light-collection efficiency or readout dead-time. We demonstrate the importance of assessing the scanner performance using appropriate phantom length which significantly affects the obtained results. A dependence between the detector aFOV and the length of the source, with peak NECR plateauing as the detector extends beyond the region of interest is also presented.Comment: 13 pages in total, 6 figure

Strontium optical lattice clocks for practical realization of the metre and secondary representation of the second

We present a system of two independent strontium optical lattice standards probed with a single shared ultra-narrow laser. The absolute frequency of the clocks can be verified by the use of Er:fiber optical frequency comb with the GPS-disciplined Rb frequency standard. We report hertz-level spectroscopy of the clock line and measurements of frequency stability of the two strontium optical lattice clocks.Comment: This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication in Meas. Sci. Technol. The publisher is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at doi:10.1088/0957-0233/26/7/07520

Peroxisomes, lipid droplets, and endoplasmic reticulum "hitchhike" on motile early endosomes

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Intracellular transport is mediated by molecular motors that bind cargo to be transported along the cytoskeleton. Here, we report, for the first time, that peroxisomes (POs), lipid droplets (LDs), and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) rely on early endosomes (EEs) for intracellular movement in a fungal model system. We show that POs undergo kinesin-3- and dynein-dependent transport along microtubules. Surprisingly, kinesin-3 does not colocalize with POs. Instead, the motor moves EEs that drag the POs through the cell. PO motility is abolished when EE motility is blocked in various mutants. Most LD and ER motility also depends on EE motility, whereas mitochondria move independently of EEs. Covisualization studies show that EE-mediated ER motility is not required for PO or LD movement, suggesting that the organelles interact with EEs independently. In the absence of EE motility, POs and LDs cluster at the growing tip, whereas ER is partially retracted to subapical regions. Collectively, our results show that moving EEs interact transiently with other organelles, thereby mediating their directed transport and distribution in the cell.This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and FEDER/COMPETE (SFRH/BD/73532/2010 to S.C. Guimaraes) and CRUP/Treaty of Windsor (ACÇÕES INTEGRAD AS 2009, B-33/09 to G. Steinberg and M. Schuster). G. Steinberg acknowledges support from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Counc

Hook is an adapter that coordinates kinesin-3 and dynein cargo attachment on early endosomes.

This is the final version of the article. Available from Rockefeller University Press via the DOI in this record.Bidirectional membrane trafficking along microtubules is mediated by kinesin-1, kinesin-3, and dynein. Several organelle-bound adapters for kinesin-1 and dynein have been reported that orchestrate their opposing activity. However, the coordination of kinesin-3/dynein-mediated transport is not understood. In this paper, we report that a Hook protein, Hok1, is essential for kinesin-3- and dynein-dependent early endosome (EE) motility in the fungus Ustilago maydis. Hok1 binds to EEs via its C-terminal region, where it forms a complex with homologues of human fused toes (FTS) and its interactor FTS- and Hook-interacting protein. A highly conserved N-terminal region is required to bind dynein and kinesin-3 to EEs. To change the direction of EE transport, kinesin-3 is released from organelles, and dynein binds subsequently. A chimaera of human Hook3 and Hok1 rescues the hok1 mutant phenotype, suggesting functional conservation between humans and fungi. We conclude that Hok1 is part of an evolutionarily conserved protein complex that regulates bidirectional EE trafficking by controlling attachment of both kinesin-3 and dynein.This work was supported by Wellcome Trust (097835/Z/11/Z) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/J009903/1)

An Overview of the Canadian Health Care System

The Canadian health care system is a publicly financed system administered by ten provincial and three territorial governments. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the universal health care system in Canada, including its history, the health status of Canadians, health care funding and spending, and health research and data collection. Health care spending in Canada amounts to 11.6% of the country’s gross domestic product and is estimated to have been $200.5 billion Canadian dollars in 2011. Hospitals account for the largest source of health care spending (29%), followed by drugs (16%) and physician spending (14%). Of the total health care spending, 70% is paid for by the public system. Due to the Canadian population being covered by the universal health care system, health data are being collected and can be used to monitor the health care system and inform evidence-based medicine

A glucuronoxylomannan epitope exhibits serotype-specific accessibility and redistributes towards the capsule surface during Titanisation of the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans.

Disseminated infections with the fungal species Cryptococcus neoformans or, less frequently, C. gattii, are an important cause of mortality in immunocompromised individuals. Central to the virulence of both species is an elaborate polysaccharide capsule that consists predominantly of glucuronoxylomannan (GXM). Due to its abundance, GXM is an ideal target for host antibodies, and several monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have previously been derived using purified GXM or whole capsular preparations as antigen. In addition to their application in the diagnosis of cryptococcosis, anti-GXM mAbs are invaluable tools for studying capsule structure. In this study, we report the production and characterisation of a novel anti-GXM mAb, Crp127, that unexpectedly reveals a role for GXM remodelling during the process of fungal Titanisation. We show that Crp127 recognises a GXM epitope in an O-acetylation dependent, but xylosylation-independent, manner. The epitope is differentially expressed by the four main serotypes of Cryptococcus neoformans and gattii, is heterogeneously expressed within clonal populations of C. gattii serotype B strains and is typically confined to the central region of the enlarged capsule. Uniquely, however, this epitope redistributes to the capsular surface in Titan cells, a recently characterised morphotype where haploid 5 μm cells convert to highly polyploid cells >10 μm with distinct but poorly understood capsular characteristics. Titans are produced in the host lung and critical for successful infection. Crp127 therefore advances our understanding of cryptococcal morphological change and may hold significant potential as a tool to differentially identify cryptococcal strains and subtypes

Treatment challenges in and outside a specialist network setting: Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours

Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Neoplasms comprise a group of rare tumours with special biology, an often indolent behaviour and particular diagnostic and therapeutic requirements. The specialized biochemical tests and radiological investigations, the complexity of surgical options and the variety of medical treatments that require individual tailoring, mandate a multidisciplinary approach that can be optimally achieved through an organized network. The present study describes currents concepts in the management of these tumours as well as an insight into the challenges of delivering the pathway in and outside a Network