Is Past Performance a Good Predictor of Future Potential?

Both assessment centres and 360 degree feedback have become very popular new era HR tools. With human resources gaining strategic importance combined with raising costs of talented managers and their scarce availability, organizations are left with no alternatives than identifying and grooming talent from within. This has led to the increased use of assessment centres and 360 degree tools for developing leadership competencies. Some times 360 degree feedback is used as tool for career development and succession planning. Sometimes assessment centres are used as predictors of fast track managers. However research on the predictive ability of ACs or 360 degree feedback is scant. This study is based on data gathered from three organizations that have conducted assessment centres as well as 360 degree feedback. In all three organizations ACs and 360 degree feedback were used as development tools. In all these organizations competency mapping was done and common competencies were identified using behaviour indicators. Competencies were assessed by external assessors and by their seniors, juniors, and colleagues on the same competency model. Results showed no definite patterns and lead to the conclusion that past performance as assessed by 360 degree feedback predictor of future potential as assessed by the assessment centres. The findings seem to be valid irrespective of the nature of competencies assessed and across various categories of employees. Given the lack of correlation, caution is necessary while using the data for promotion and succession planning exercises.

Beaconless position based routing with guaranteed delivery for wireless ad-hoc and sensor networks

Existing position-based routing algorithms, where packets are forwarded in the geographic direction of the destination, normally require that the forwarding node knows the positions of all neighbors in its transmission range. This information on direct neighbors is gained by observing beacon messages that each node sends out periodically. Several beaconless greedy routing schemes have been proposed recently. However, none of the existing beaconless schemes guarantee the delivery of packets. Moreover, they incur communication overhead by sending excessive control messages or by broadcasting data packets. In this paper, we describe how existing localized position based routing schemes that guarantee delivery can be made beaconless, while preserving the same routes. In our guaranteed delivery beaconless routing scheme, the next hop is selected through the use of control RTS/CTS messages and biased timeouts. In greedy mode, neighbor closest to destination responds first. In recovery mode, nodes closer to the source will select shorter timeouts, so that other neighbors, overhearing CTS packets, can eliminate their own CTS packets if they realize that their link to the source is not part of Gabriel graph. Nodes also cancel their packets after receiving data message sent by source to the selected neighbor. We analyze the behavior of our scheme on our simulation environment assuming ideal MAC, following GOAFR+ and GFG routing schemes. Our results demonstrate low communication overhead in addition to guaranteed delivery.1st IFIP International Conference on Ad-Hoc NetWorkingRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Correlation of longitudinal changes that occur in fetal middle cerebral artery-peak systolic velocity with middle cerebral artery-pulsatility index in late onset intrauterine growth restriction cases

Background: Fetal blood flow can be studied by Doppler patterns which follow a longitudinal trend with sequential changes in umbilical artery, middle cerebral artery followed by other peripheral arteries. Though FGR cannot be treated but morbidity and mortality can be decreased by studying longitudinal changes in MCA-PI (middle cerebral artery-pulsatility index) and MCA-PSV (middle cerebral arterial-peak systolic velocity) and terminating the pregnancy at appropriate time.Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted from 2018 to 2019 on 29 antenatal patients with suspicion of fetal growth restriction at ≥32 weeks gestation. Patients with late onset FGR by Delphi procedure with singleton pregnancy and confirmed gestational age were included. Patients with gross congenital anomaly or multiple pregnancy were excluded. Peak systolic velocity, resistance index and PI in middle cerebral artery were recorded in absence of fetal movements. MCA-PSV >95th percentile and MCA-PI 0.05). The sensitivity of MCA-PSV fall in predicting the perinatal mortality was 80% and specificity was 91.76%.Conclusions: MCA-PSV not only complements MCA-PI but also provides more accurate information than does MCA-PI alone and should be used along with MCA-PI for optimizing fetomaternal outcome

Atypical presentation of primary renal squamous cell cancer: a case report

Renal squamous cell cancer is one of the rare primary urothelial tumors with only a handful of cases reported in literature. Because of high grade, advanced and late presentation, they herald a grave prognosis. They are frequently associated with calculus disease, smoking, phenacetin consumption and foci of squamous metaplasia due to chronic irritation. Nephroureterectomy is the treatment of choice for such tumors. We hereby present a case of 59 year old female who presented with squamous cell cancer of renal pelvis. The case presented here is different from what has already been reported in literature, as the patient had no antecedent risk factors for renal squamous cell carcinoma.-------------------------------------------------Cite this article as: Pahwa M, Pahwa AR, Girotra M, Chawla A. Atypical presentation of primary renal squamous cell cancer: a case report. Int J Cancer Ther Oncol 2014; 2(1):02015.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14319/ijcto.0201.

Structural insights in mammalian sialyltransferases and fucosyltransferases: We have come a long way, but it is still a long way down

Funding Information: The APC was funded by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. M.C.: L.C. and A.R.S. acknowledge the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) for support. We thank Romina Oliva, University of Parthenope (Naples), for helpful comments. Thanks to the STEMskills Research and Education Lab team members for support.Mammalian cell surfaces are modified with complex arrays of glycans that play major roles in health and disease. Abnormal glycosylation is a hallmark of cancer; terminal sialic acid and fucose in particular have high levels in tumor cells, with positive implications for malignancy. Increased sialylation and fucosylation are due to the upregulation of a set of sialyltransferases (STs) and fucosyltransferases (FUTs), which are potential drug targets in cancer. In the past, several advances in glycostructural biology have been made with the determination of crystal structures of several important STs and FUTs in mammals. Additionally, how the independent evolution of STs and FUTs occurred with a limited set of global folds and the diverse modular ability of catalytic domains toward substrates has been elucidated. This review highlights advances in the understanding of the structural architecture, substrate binding interactions, and catalysis of STs and FUTs in mammals. While this general understanding is emerging, use of this information to design inhibitors of STs and FUTs will be helpful in providing further insights into their role in the manifestation of cancer and developing targeted therapeutics in cancer.publishersversionpublishe

Beaconless position based routing with guaranteed delivery for wireless ad-hoc and sensor networks

Existing position-based routing algorithms, where packets are forwarded in the geographic direction of the destination, normally require that the forwarding node knows the positions of all neighbors in its transmission range. This information on direct neighbors is gained by observing beacon messages that each node sends out periodically. Several beaconless greedy routing schemes have been proposed recently. However, none of the existing beaconless schemes guarantee the delivery of packets. Moreover, they incur communication overhead by sending excessive control messages or by broadcasting data packets. In this paper, we describe how existing localized position based routing schemes that guarantee delivery can be made beaconless, while preserving the same routes. In our guaranteed delivery beaconless routing scheme, the next hop is selected through the use of control RTS/CTS messages and biased timeouts. In greedy mode, neighbor closest to destination responds first. In recovery mode, nodes closer to the source will select shorter timeouts, so that other neighbors, overhearing CTS packets, can eliminate their own CTS packets if they realize that their link to the source is not part of Gabriel graph. Nodes also cancel their packets after receiving data message sent by source to the selected neighbor. We analyze the behavior of our scheme on our simulation environment assuming ideal MAC, following GOAFR+ and GFG routing schemes. Our results demonstrate low communication overhead in addition to guaranteed delivery.1st IFIP International Conference on Ad-Hoc NetWorkingRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

The 60 pc Environment of FRB 20180916B

Fast Radio Burst FRB 20180916B in its host galaxy SDSS J015800.28+654253.0 at 149 Mpc is by far the closest-known FRB with a robust host galaxy association. The source also exhibits a 16.35-day period in its bursting. Here we present optical and infrared imaging as well as integral field spectroscopy observations of FRB 20180916B with the WFC3 camera on the Hubble Space Telescope and the MEGARA spectrograph on the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias. The 60-90 milliarcsecond (mas) resolution of the Hubble imaging, along with the previous 2.3-mas localization of FRB 20180916B, allow us to probe its environment with a 30-60 pc resolution. We constrain any point-like star-formation or HII region at the location of FRB 20180916B to have an H$\alpha$ luminosity $L_\mathrm{H\alpha} \lesssim 10^{37}\,\mathrm{erg\,s^{-1}}$ and, correspondingly, constrain the local star-formation rate to be $\lesssim10^{-4}\,\mathrm{M_\odot\,yr^{-1}}$. The constraint on H$\alpha$ suggests that possible stellar companions to FRB 20180916B should be of a cooler, less massive spectral type than O6V. FRB 20180916B is 250 pc away (in projected distance) from the brightest pixel of the nearest young stellar clump, which is $\sim380$\,pc in size (full-width at half maximum). With the typical projected velocities of pulsars, magnetars, or neutron stars in binaries (60-750 km s$^{-1}$), FRB 20180916B would need 800 kyr to 7 Myr to traverse the observed distance from its presumed birth site. This timescale is inconsistent with the active ages of magnetars ($\lesssim10$ kyr). Rather, the inferred age and observed separation are compatible with the ages of high-mass X-ray binaries and gamma-ray binaries, and their separations from the nearest OB associations.Comment: Updated version: Updated Figure 2. 16 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Published in ApJ Letters. Comments welcom

Immunoinformatics-aided rational design of a multi-epitope vaccine targeting feline infectious peritonitis virus

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a grave and frequently lethal ailment instigated by feline coronavirus (FCoV) in wild and domestic feline species. The spike (S) protein of FCoV assumes a critical function in viral ingress and infection, thereby presenting a promising avenue for the development of a vaccine. In this investigation, an immunoinformatics approach was employed to ascertain immunogenic epitopes within the S-protein of FIP and formulate an innovative vaccine candidate. By subjecting the amino acid sequence of the FIP S-protein to computational scrutiny, MHC-I binding T-cell epitopes were predicted, which were subsequently evaluated for their antigenicity, toxicity, and allergenicity through in silico tools. Our analyses yielded the identification of 11 potential epitopes capable of provoking a robust immune response against FIPV. Additionally, molecular docking analysis demonstrated the ability of these epitopes to bind with feline MHC class I molecules. Through the utilization of suitable linkers, these epitopes, along with adjuvants, were integrated to design a multi-epitope vaccine candidate. Furthermore, the stability of the interaction between the vaccine candidate and feline Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) was established via molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation analyses. This suggests good prospects for future experimental validation to ascertain the efficacy of our vaccine candidate in inducing a protective immune response against FIP

Comprehensive Bayesian analysis of FRB-like bursts from SGR 1935+2154 observed by CHIME/FRB

The bright millisecond-duration radio burst from the Galactic magnetar SGR 1935+2154 in 2020 April was a landmark event, demonstrating that at least some fast radio burst (FRB) sources could be magnetars. The two-component burst was temporally coincident with peaks observed within a contemporaneous short X-ray burst envelope, marking the first instance where FRB-like bursts were observed to coincide with X-ray counterparts. In this study, we detail five new radio burst detections from SGR 1935+2154, observed by the CHIME/FRB instrument between October 2020 and December 2022. We develop a fast and efficient Bayesian inference pipeline that incorporates state-of-the-art Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques and use it to model the intensity data of these bursts under a flexible burst model. We revisit the 2020 April burst and corroborate that both the radio sub-components lead the corresponding peaks in their high-energy counterparts. For a burst observed in 2022 October, we find that our estimated radio pulse arrival time is contemporaneous with a short X-ray burst detected by GECAM and HEBS, and Konus-Wind and is consistent with the arrival time of a radio burst detected by GBT. We present flux and fluence estimates for all five bursts, employing an improved estimator for bursts detected in the side-lobes. We also present upper limits on radio emission for X-ray emission sources which were within CHIME/FRB's field-of-view at trigger time. Finally, we present our exposure and sensitivity analysis and estimate the Poisson rate for FRB-like events from SGR 1935+2154 to be $0.005^{+0.082}_{-0.004}$ events/day above a fluence of $10~\mathrm{kJy~ms}$ during the interval from 28 August 2018 to 1 December 2022, although we note this was measured during a time of great X-ray activity from the source.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables. To be submitted to Ap

A fast radio burst localized at detection to a galactic disk using very long baseline interferometry

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration, luminous radio transients of extragalactic origin. These events have been used to trace the baryonic structure of the Universe using their dispersion measure (DM) assuming that the contribution from host galaxies can be reliably estimated. However, contributions from the immediate environment of an FRB may dominate the observed DM, thus making redshift estimates challenging without a robust host galaxy association. Furthermore, while at least one Galactic burst has been associated with a magnetar, other localized FRBs argue against magnetars as the sole progenitor model. Precise localization within the host galaxy can discriminate between progenitor models, a major goal of the field. Until now, localizations on this spatial scale have only been carried out in follow-up observations of repeating sources. Here we demonstrate the localization of FRB 20210603A with very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) on two baselines, using data collected only at the time of detection. We localize the burst to SDSS J004105.82+211331.9, an edge-on galaxy at $z\approx 0.177$, and detect recent star formation in the kiloparsec-scale vicinity of the burst. The edge-on inclination of the host galaxy allows for a unique comparison between the line of sight towards the FRB and lines of sight towards known Galactic pulsars. The DM, Faraday rotation measure (RM), and scattering suggest a progenitor coincident with the host galactic plane, strengthening the link between the environment of FRB 20210603A and the disk of its host galaxy. Single-pulse VLBI localizations of FRBs to within their host galaxies, following the one presented here, will further constrain the origins and host environments of one-off FRBs.Comment: 40 pages, 13 figures, submitted. Fixed typo in abstrac