When and why entrepreneurial employees want to quit their job: Exploring two conflicting mechanisms

Past turnover research has posited personality traits as important antecedents to quit intentions. Nevertheless, previous literature has not investigated the relationship between employees’ entrepreneurial tendencies—a constellation of domain specific traits—and turnover. Drawing on dispositional trait theory and attraction‐selection‐attrition theory, we propose engagement and intentions to start a business as mediators of the relationship between entrepreneurial tendencies and quit intentions. We test our predictions in a sample of full‐time employees from the United Kingdom (N = 224). In line with our hypotheses, an inconsistent mediation is found, where both positive and negative links between entrepreneurial tendencies and turnover intentions were mediated by engagement and intentions to start a business respectively. Thus, entrepreneurial employees were more likely to be engaged, but at the same time also more likely to be considering starting their own business, leading to a conflicting relationship to turnover intentions. The current study informs the human resource management literature concerning the motivational mechanisms explaining turnover intentions among entrepreneurial employees. It also provides practical insights with regards to the effective management of this workforce

Investigation into the effect of season on oestrus in gilts over two years of climate adaptation

This study examined the changes in age at first oestrus, the weaning-to-oestrus interval (WEI), and duration of oestrus (DE) in a Yorkshire sow population during two years of adaptation from a northern (55°48′N, 9°13′W) European region to a southern (44°03′N, 23°35′W) one. The adaptation process induced a grouping effect of gilts around the mean age of the onset of puberty. Autumn and spring were characterized by the most enhanced gilt grouping effect at 201 to 210 days of age. The same effect was found for oestrus duration, which declined from a 12- to 96-hour range in the first year to an 18- to 90-hour range in the second year. The mean age of first oestrus was 0.8 days significantly lower in the second year compared with the first; the maximal lowering (1.7 days) occurred in the winter season. The WEI decreased significantly from the first to the second year in all four seasons, by a mean annual value of 0.88 days (15.9%). DE increased by 6.5 hours (significantly for all seasons) from the first year to the next. DE showed an ascending evolution from winter to spring and descending from summer to autumn, during each monitored year. Adaptation influences the oestrus in sows. The age to puberty and WEI tended to decrease, while DE tended to increase, with a simultaneous decrease in the variability of these oestrus parameters.Keywords: Age of puberty, climate conditions, length of oestrus, weaning to oestrus interva

Comparison of different definitions to classify remission and sustained remission: 1 year TEMPO results

To assess methods to calculate achieving and sustaining remission in a double blind randomised trial in patients with RA who received etanercept, methotrexate, or an etanercept/methotrexate combination. Remission was defined as DAS <1.6, DAS28 <2.6, and ACR70 response. Sustaining remission was analysed in three ways: (a) analysis of sustained DAS remission, DAS28 remission, or ACR70 response continuously for 6 months; (b) analysis of sustained remission appraised through a continuity rewarded scoring system, which is the weighted sum of all intervals in the study in which patients are in DAS or DAS28 remission; or (c) longitudinal modelling of remission odds using generalised estimating equations. Significantly more patients treated with the etanercept/methotrexate combination reached DAS remission (37%) than those treated with either methotrexate (14%) or etanercept (18%) alone (p <0.01). Results for DAS28 and for the ACR70 response were similar. Agreement between DAS remission and DAS28 remission was good, but agreement between either of these and the ACR70 response was less. Patients in DAS or DAS28 remission had a lower level of disease activity (fewer active joints, lower ESR) than those achieving ACR70 response; the converse was seen using pain VAS. The three methods were comparable for sustainability of remission and showed significant advantage for combination therapy, which increased the number and durability of remission periods. DAS and DAS28 remission results were similar for assessing achieving and sustaining remission in RA, frequently differing from patients classified as ACR70 responders. The three methods of examining duration of remission produced comparable result

Deep-learning enhancement of large scale numerical simulations

Computational astrophysic

Comparative effectiveness of TNF inhibitors and tocilizumab with and without conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in a pan-European observational cohort of bio-naive patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Objectives To compare treatment effectiveness in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients naïve to biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) treated with tocilizumab (TCZ) or TNF-inhibitor (TNFi) with (-combo) or without (-mono) conventional synthetic DMARDs (csDMARDs). Methods Patients with RA across 7 European registries, naïve to bDMARDs who initiated treatment with TCZ or TNFi from 2009 to 2016 were included. Drug retention rate was analyzed using Kaplan–Meier and Cox models, and CDAI over time by mixed models. The proportions of patients reaching CDAI low disease activity (LDA) and remission after one year were corrected for attrition. Results 6713 TNFi-combo, 3762 TNFi-mono, 646 TCZ-combo and 384 TCZ-mono were eligible. Crude median retention was 3.67 years (95%CI 3.41-3.83) for TNFi-combo, 4.14 (3.77-4.62) for TNFi-mono, 2.98 (2.76-3.34) for TCZ-combo and 3.63 years (3.34-5.03) for TCZ-mono. After adjustment for covariates, country and year of treatment initiation stratification, hazards of discontinuation were lower for TCZ-mono (0.60, 95% CI 0.52-0.69) and TCZ-combo (0.66, 95% CI 0.54-0.81) compared to TNFi-combo. Adjusted CDAI evolution was not significantly different between groups. CDAI LDA and remission corrected for attrition were similar between TCZ with or without csDMARDs and TNFi-combo. Conclusion In routine care across 7 European countries, the adjusted drug retention, adjusted CDAI over time and attrition-corrected response proportion for RA patients were similar for bio-naïve patients if treated with TNFi-combo, TCZ-combo or TCZ-mono.Peer reviewe

Infliximab plus methotrexate is superior to methotrexate alone in the treatment of psoriatic arthritis in methotrexate-naive patients: the RESPOND study

Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of treatment with infliximab plus methotrexate with methotrexate alone in methotrexate-naive patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Methods: In this open-label study, patients 18 years and older with active PsA who were naive to methotrexate and not receiving disease-modifying therapy (N=115) were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either infliximab (5 mg/kg) at weeks 0, 2, 6 and 14 plus methotrexate (15 mg/week); or methotrexate (15 mg/week) alone. The primary assessment was American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 20 response at week 16. Secondary outcome measures included psoriasis area and severity index (PASI), disease activity score in 28 joints (DAS28) and dactylitis and enthesitis assessments. Results: At week 16, 86.3% of patients receiving infliximab plus methotrexate and 66.7% of those receiving methotrexate alone achieved an ACR20 response (p<0.02). Of patients whose baseline PASI was 2.5 or greater, 97.1% receiving infliximab plus methotrexate compared with 54.3% receiving methotrexate alone experienced a 75% or greater improvement in PASI (p<0.0001). Improvements in C-reactive protein levels, DAS28 response and remission rates, dactylitis, fatigue and morning stiffness duration were also significantly greater in the group receiving infliximab. In the infliximab plus methotrexate group, 46% (26/57) had treatment-related adverse events (AE) and two patients had serious AE, compared with 24% with AE (13/54) and no serious AE in the methotrexate-alone group. Conclusions: Treatment with infliximab plus methotrexate in methotrexate-naive patients with active PsA demonstrated significantly greater ACR20 response rates and PASI75 improvement compared with methotrexate alone and was generally well tolerated. This trial is registered in the US National Institutes of Health clinicaltrials.gov database, identifier NCT00367237

Current Treatment of Endolymphatic Sac Tumor of the Temporal Bone

An endolymphatic sac tumor (ELST) is a rare, indolent but locally aggressive tumor arising in the posterior petrous ridge. Patients present with sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus. As the tumor progresses, patients may experience vertigo, ataxia, facial nerve paresis, pain and otorrhea. Most patients present in their 4th or 5th decade with a wide age range. Patients with von Hippel–Lindau disease have an increased likelihood of developing ELST. Histologically, ELST is a low-grade adenocarcinoma. As it progresses, it destroys bone and extends into adjacent tissues. The likelihood of regional or distant metastases is remote. The optimal treatment is resection with negative margins. Patients with positive margins, gross residual disease, or unresectable tumor are treated with radiotherapy or radiosurgery. Late recurrences are common, so long follow-up is necessary to assess efficacy. The likelihood of cure depends on tumor extent and is probably in the range of 50–75%