The Relationship of Corporate Financial Performance and Innovation among Manufacturing Industries

Innovation is becoming a critical determinant of the survival and advancement of firms. Despite this realization, there is a dearth of literature that tackles the subject matter and its specific role in corporate settings remains vague. Using corporate data on East and Southeast Asian manufacturing firms from 2008 to 2013, this study aims to identify the impact of corporate financial performance on research and development (R&D) expenditure as a measure of innovation. On the whole, the researchers utilized random effects (REM) and fixed effects (FEM) models to establish the relationship between R&D and corporate performance. The researchers, then, identified the factors that affected R&D. The researchers found that sales, profitability, and cash flow have positive relationships with R&D. Moreover, when firm size is considered, the researchers discovered that R&D determinants for large manufacturing firms were different - total profitability and liabilities and debt - from those of SMEs - number of employees and sales for SMEs

±0.3V Bulk-Driven Fully Differential Buffer with High Figures of Merit

A high performance bulk-driven rail-to-rail fully differential buffer operating from ±0.3V supplies in 180 nm CMOS technology is reported. It has a differential–difference input stage and common mode feedback circuits implemented with no-tail, high CMRR bulk-driven pseudo-differential cells. It operates in subthreshold, has infinite input impedance, low output impedance (1.4 kΩ), 86.77 dB DC open-loop gain, 172.91 kHz bandwidth and 0.684 μW static power dissipation with a 50-pF load capacitance. The buffer has power efficient class AB operation, a small signal figure of merit FOMSS = 12.69 MHzpFμW−1, a large signal figure of merit FOMLS = 34.89 (V/μs) pFμW−1, CMRR = 102 dB, PSRR+ = 109 dB, PSRR− = 100 dB, 1.1 μV/√Hz input noise spectral density, 0.3 mVrms input noise and 3.5 mV input DC offset voltage.Junta de Andalucía - Consejería de Economía, Conocimiento, Empresas y Universidades P18-FR-4317Agencia Estatal de Investigación - FEDER PID2019-107258RB-C3

Early intervention in acute upper respiratory tract infections

Upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) are one of the most common diagnoses in the primary care setting across the world,1 with more than 18.8 billion cases2 occurring worldwide every year. Most adults will have 2–4 episodes of acute URTI each year, while children have an average of 6–10 episodes.http://www.specialistforum.co.zaam2022Pharmacolog

On the use of stochastic spectral methods in deep excavation inverse problems

The back analysis or inverse analysis of the field instrumentation data is a common technique to ascertain the design parameter validity in deep excavation projects. That analysis is a process full of uncertainties and relies greatly on the expert judgement. Furthermore, deep excavation geotechnical models tend to be computationally very expensive making the inverse analysis a very lengthy process. In this paper, a Bayesian-type methodology to solve inverse problems which relies on the reduction of the numerical cost of the forward simulation through stochastic spectral surrogate models is presented. The proposed methodology is validated with three calibration examples.Canavate-Grimal, A.; Falcó, A.; Calderón García, PA.; Paya-Zaforteza, I. (2015). On the use of stochastic spectral methods in deep excavation inverse problems. Computers and Structures. 159:41-60. doi:10.1016/j.compstruc.2015.06.009S416015

Projecting Temperature-Attributable Mortality and Hospital Admissions due to Enteric Infections in the Philippines

Background: Enteric infections cause significant deaths, and global projection studies suggest that mortality from enteric infections will increase in the future with warmer climate. However, a major limitation of these projection studies is the use of risk estimates derived from nonmortality data to project excess enteric infection mortality associated with temperature because of the lack of studies that used actual deaths.Objective: We quantified the associations of daily temperature with both mortality and hospital admissions due to enteric infections in the Philippines. These associations were applied to projections under various climate and population change scenarios.Methods: We modeled nonlinear temperature associations of mortality and hospital admissions due to enteric infections in 17 administrative regions of the Philippines using a two-stage time-series approach. First, we quantified nonlinear temperature associations of enteric infections by fitting generalized linear models with distributed lag nonlinear models. Second, we combined regional estimates using a meta-regression model. We projected the excess future enteric infections due to nonoptimal temperatures using regional temperature–enteric infection associations under various combinations of climate change scenarios according to representative concentration pathways (RCPs) and population change scenarios according to shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) for 2010–2099.Results: Regional estimates for mortality and hospital admissions were significantly heterogeneous and had varying shapes in association with temperature. Generally, mortality risks were greater in high temperatures, whereas hospital admission risks were greater in low temperatures. Temperature-attributable excess deaths in 2090–2099 were projected to increase over 2010–2019 by as little as 1.3% [95% empirical confidence intervals (eCI): −3.1%, 6.5%] under a low greenhouse gas emission scenario (RCP 2.6) or as much as 25.5% (95% eCI: −3.5%, 48.2%) under a high greenhouse gas emission scenario (RCP 8.5). A moderate increase was projected for temperature-attributable excess hospital admissions, from 0.02% (95% eCI: −2.0%, 1.9%) under RCP 2.6 to 5.2% (95% eCI: −12.7%, 21.8%) under RCP 8.5 in the same period. High temperature-attributable deaths and hospital admissions due to enteric infections may occur under scenarios with high population growth in 2090–2099.Discussion: In the Philippines, futures with hotter temperatures and high population growth may lead to a greater increase in temperature-related excess deaths than hospital admissions due to enteric infections. Our results highlight the need to strengthen existing primary health care interventions for diarrhea and support health adaptation policies to help reduce future enteric infections. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP932

Total metabolic tumor volume as a survival predictor for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in the GOYA study

This retrospective analysis of the phase III GOYA study investigated the prognostic value of baseline metabolic tumor volume parameters and maximum standardized uptake values for overall and progression-free survival (PFS) in treatment-naïve diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Baseline total metabolic tumor volume (determined for tumors >1 mL using a threshold of 1.5 times the mean liver standardized uptake value +2 standard deviations), total lesion glycolysis, and maximum standardized uptake value positron emission tomography data were dichotomized based on receiver operating characteristic analysis and divided into quartiles by baseline population distribution. Of 1,418 enrolled patients, 1,305 had a baseline positron emission tomography scan with detectable lesions. Optimal cut-offs were 366 cm3 for total metabolic tumor volume and 3,004 g for total lesion glycolysis. High total metabolic tumor volume and total lesion glycolysis predicted poorer PFS, with associations retained after adjustment for baseline and disease characteristics (high total metabolic tumor volume hazard ratio: 1.71, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.352.18; total lesion glycolysis hazard ratio: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.15-1.86). Total metabolic tumor volume was prognostic for PFS in subgroups with International Prognostic Index scores 0-2 and 3-5, and those with different cell-of-origin subtypes. Maximum standardized uptake value had no prognostic value in this setting. High total metabolic tumor volume associated with high International Prognostic Index or non-germinal center B-cell classification identified the highest-risk cohort for unfavorable prognosis. In conclusion, baseline total metabolic tumor volume and total lesion glycolysis are independent predictors of PFS in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma after first-line immunochemotherapy

End-of-treatment PET/CT predicts PFS and OS in DLBCL after first-line treatment: results from GOYA

GOYA was a randomized phase 3 study comparing obinutuzumab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP) vs standard-of-care rituximab plus CHOP in patients with previously untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). This retrospective analysis of GOYA aimed to assess the association between progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) with positron emission tomography (PET)-based complete response (CR) status. Overall, 1418 patients were randomly assigned to receive 8 21-day cycles of obinutuzumab (n 5 706) or rituximab (n 5 712) plus 6 or 8 cycles of CHOP. Patients received a mandatory fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose-PET/computed tomography scan at baseline and end of treatment. After a median follow-up of 29 months, the numbers of independent review committee-assessed PFS and OS events in the entire cohort were 416 (29.3%) and 252 (17.8%), respectively. End-of-treatment PET CR was highly prognostic for PFS and OS according to Lugano 2014 criteria (PFS: hazard ratio [HR], 0.26; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.19-0.38; P , .0001; OS: HR, 0.12; 95% CI, 0.08-0.17; P , .0001), irrespective of international prognostic index score and cell of origin. In conclusion, the results from this prospectively acquired large cohort corroborated previously published data from smaller sample sizes showing that end-of-treatment PET CR is an independent predictor of PFS and OS and a promising prognostic marker in DLBCL. Long-term survival analysis confirmed the robustness of these data over time. Additional meta-analyses including other prospective studies are necessary to support the substitution of PET CR for PFS as an effective and practical surrogate end point

Molecular Analysis of Echovirus 13 Isolates and Aseptic Meningitis, Spain

Echovirus 13 (EV13), considered rare, was reported worldwide in 2000, mostly related to aseptic meningitis outbreaks. In Spain, 135 EV13 isolates were identified. The genetic relationships between 64 representative strains from Spain and other reported isolates from the United States, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Sweden were described by analyzing the partial sequence of the major capsid protein (VP1) gene. The strains from Spain were clearly identified as EV13 (79.5% similarity with the EV13 reference strain) and were grouped phylogenetically into two different clusters (by origination on either the Iberian Peninsula or Canary Islands). Isolates from Germany from 2000 clustered with the Canary Islands group. The isolates from other countries obtained before 2000 were genetically distant. Changes in EV13 coding sequence involved several differences in the C-terminal extreme of the VP1 protein. Part of the neutralizing antigenic site III has been described in this genome region in poliovirus and swine vesicular disease virus