Supply chain management in construction and engineer-to-order industries

The construction industry is a key sector of every country and the application of supply chain-related techniques holds much promise to improve performance of construction firms in many ways. According to an extended view, which encompasses the construction of industrial and residential buildings, of civil engineering and infrastructure projects, there is a number of major actors that must be coordinated in some way to reach ETO decisions, leading to performance outcomes and metrics. The need to co-ordinate information across the supply chain is a persistent and pressing challenge for ETO companies. Procurement helps to establish the conditions for the supply chain to function effectively. New technologies such as product configurators or cloud manufacturing are being applied. Planning and decision making is a critical driver. In the future, the challenges of applying supply chain management techniques to a construction environment, will require more quantitative studies, to cast light on some potential gains from better information management and use of digital technologies. Then there is also an opportunity to integrate clear upfront planning and procurement with the project delivery processes, and choose the right configurations, focus and relational types. Finally, there is much potential to harness the innovation potential of SMEs

The Relationship between Competition and Risk Taking Behavior of Indian Banks

Under the traditional franchise value paradigm, competition in banking markets is considered to be risk enhancing because of its tendency to raise interest rates on deposits. Taking a contrarian view, Boyd and De Nicolo (2005) have argued that competition in the loan market can lead to lower interest rates and hence, reduce bank risk taking. Following these theoretical results, the empirical evidence on the relationship between risk and competition in banking has also been mixed. This paper analyzes the competition-stability relationship for the Indian banking sector for the period 1999-2000 to 2012-2013. Banking competition is measured using structural measures of concentration viz. 5-bank concentration ratios and the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index as well as a non-structural measure of competition- the Panzar-Rosse H-Statistic. Our results show that while concentration leads to lower levels of default, market and asset risks, it exacerbates the levels of capital and liquidity risks. These results have interesting implications for banking sector policy in emerging economies

INTERACIONISMO NO CURSO DE PEDAGOGIA A DISTANCIA DA UFRGS: PRÁTICA OU RETÓRICA?

O presente artigo busca identificar e classificar a presença das teorias de aprendizagem existentes em entrevistas realizadas com tutores do curso de Pedagogia a Distância da UFRGS (PEAD-UFRGS) quando questionados sobre suas percepções e práticas no exercício de tutoria. Adotou-se, como metodologia, o uso de questionários semi-estruturados. Posteriormente, foi realizada análise das respostas por categorização. Foi possível observar a correspondência entre a proposta teórica do curso, fortemente inspirada em bases interacionistas, e a execução de sua prática. A pesquisa possibilitou relacionar a importância da elaboração de um projeto que seja, realmente, posto em prática, visando o sucesso no processo de ensino-aprendizagem

Prevalence of hepatic steatosis in patients with type 2 diabetes and response to glucose-lowering treatments. A multicenter retrospective study in Italian specialist care

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a risk factor for metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), which is becoming the commonest cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. We estimated MAFLD prevalence among patients with T2D using the hepatic steatosis index (HSI) and validated it against liver ultrasound. We also examined whether glucose-lowering medications (GLM) beneficially affected HSI

Similar effectiveness of dapagliflozin and GLP-1 receptor agonists concerning combined endpoints in routine clinical practice: A multicentre retrospective study

Aims According to cardiovascular outcome trials, some sodium-glucose contransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) are recommended for secondary cardiovascular prevention in type 2 diabetes (T2D). In this real-world study, we compared the simultaneous reductions in HbA1c, body weight and systolic blood pressure after initiation of dapagliflozin or GLP-1RA as second or a more advanced line of therapy. Materials and methods DARWIN-T2D was a retrospective multi-centre study conducted at diabetes specialist clinics in Italy that compared T2D patients who initiated dapagliflozin or GLP-1RA (exenatide once weekly or liraglutide). Data were collected at baseline and at the first follow-up visit after 3 to 12 months. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients achieving a simultaneous reduction in HbA1c, body weight and systolic blood pressure. To reduce confounding, we used multivariable adjustment (MVA) or propensity score matching (PSM). Results Totals of 473 patients initiating dapagliflozin and 336 patients initiating GLP-1RA were included. The two groups differed in age, diabetes duration, HbA1c, weight and concomitant medications. The median follow-up was 6 months in both groups. Using MVA or PSM, the primary endpoint was observed in 30% to 32% of patients, with no difference between groups. Simultaneous reduction of HbA1c, BP and SBP by specific threshold, as well as achievement of final goals, did not differ between groups. GLP-1RA reduced HbA1c by 0.3% more than the reduction achieved with dapagliflozin. Conclusion In routine specialist care, initiation of dapagliflozin can be as effective as initiation of a GLP-1RA for attainment of combined risk factor goals

High–temporal resolution profiling reveals distinct immune trajectories following the first and second doses of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines

Knowledge of the mechanisms underpinning the development of protective immunity conferred by mRNA vaccines is fragmentary. Here, we investigated responses to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mRNA vaccination via high–temporal resolution blood transcriptome profiling. The first vaccine dose elicited modest interferon and adaptive immune responses, which peaked on days 2 and 5, respectively. The second vaccine dose, in contrast, elicited sharp day 1 interferon, inflammation, and erythroid cell responses, followed by a day 5 plasmablast response. Both post-first and post-second dose interferon signatures were associated with the subsequent development of antibody responses. Yet, we observed distinct interferon response patterns after each of the doses that may reflect quantitative or qualitative differences in interferon induction. Distinct interferon response phenotypes were also observed in patients with COVID-19 and were associated with severity and differences in duration of intensive care. Together, this study also highlights the benefits of adopting high-frequency sampling protocols in profiling vaccine-elicited immune responses