South African tax incentives to alleviate unemployment : lessons from United States of America approaches

A quarter of the labour force in South Africa is currently unemployed with the majority of the unemployed being unskilled youth. One of the major causes seems to be the commanding power of trades union resulting in a high minimum wage for unskilled workers, which results in a reduction in the demand for unskilled labour. To reduce the current unemployment rate in South Africa, policy decisions should be focused on youth employment with emphasis on skills development. Policy should also stimulate growth of small, medium and micro enterprises in order to stimulate job creation. A literature review indicates that current tax incentives in South Africa do not incentivise employers to hire unskilled youth labour, and are not applied on a wide enough scale to significantly impact the overall unemployment statistics. The proposed youth wage subsidy will increase the demand for unskilled labour by reducing the cost of labour. However, to have the desired impact, the participation rate must be high. The proposed subsidy was analysed against the successes and failures of subsidies implemented in the USA. It was found that many of the flaws identified in the USA have been avoided. Based on the above, the recommendation is that the proposed youth wage subsidy is plausible in a South African context and should be implemented. The main concern is that newly employed youth would replace workers who do not meet the qualifications of the subsidy. This would have to be taken into account by policy makers.http://www.cluteinstitute.com/am201

Comparison of canine urine specific gravity measurements between various refractometers in a clinical setting

BACKGROUND : Veterinary facilities might use multiple refractometers and individuals to measure urine specific gravity (USG). Previous comparison studies show conflicting results. Furthermore, the clinical significance of measurement differences and interobserver variabilities has not been assessed. OBJECTIVES : We aimed to determine statistically and clinically significant differences between four refractometers in measuring canine USG and subsequent categorization of urine concentrations and azotemia and determine the variability between different observers performing USG measurements. METHODS : Fifty‐nine specimens were included for the USG measurements with four refractometers by different observers. Each refractometer pair was compared using Spearman's rank correlation, Bland‐Altman difference plots, and Deming regression analyses. Calculated bias was compared to set performance goals. Interobserver agreement was evaluated, and intraclass correlation coefficients were used to determine differences in the categorization of urine concentrations and azotemia (prerenal or renal). RESULTS : There was excellent correlation (rs = .99‐1.00) between refractometers. All comparisons involving R4 showed significant constant and proportional biases. Mean bias met the clinical performance goals for all refractometers, except for comparisons with R4, where up to 17 results were outside the allowable bias. There was almost perfect agreement (rs = .999) between observers and excellent agreement (ICC = .96‐.99) for the classification of urine concentrations. In azotemic patients (22%), there was perfect agreement (ICC = 1.00) for the categorization of azotemia. CONCLUSIONS : In most cases, three of the refractometers evaluated in this study can be used interchangeably at all USG values, without affecting clinical decision‐making. Multiple observers did not significantly affect decision‐making.http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/vcp2021-08-31hj2020Companion Animal Clinical Studie

ISBS 2018 AUCKLAND CONFERENCE KIWIANA & INDUSTRY PARTNER PLAYING FIELD OPENING RECEPTION - ORDER OF PROCEEDINGS

The aim of the Kiwiana and Industry Partner Playing Field Opening Reception is to enable conference delegates to meet colleagues, make new acquaintances, learn about New Zealand (NZ) culture, experience quality NZ cuisine, and interact with new digital technology. The informative speeches (e.g. wine and food matching, cloudy bay clam research, Kiwiana research), thematic food stations (i.e. beach bach, farm, modern Kiwiana), interactive “ice-breaking” activities and competitions (e.g. jig saw building, gum boot throwing, number 8 wire sculpture, fishing), and social media photo opportunities (e.g. Kiwiana photo booth with VUTA) have been designed to help delegates achieve these goals. Native bird songs play while delegates walk into the fern and flax adorned atrium after the official opening. Delegates will receive a bubbly, beer, juice or mineral water on entry. Mr Kelly Sheerin, as the coordinator of the ISBS 2018 Conference industry partnership engagement programme, will outline the evening’s fun activities in the “Industry Playing Field” interactive events, and opportunities to win prizes. Dr Sarah-Kate Millar will provide the Karakia—blessing of the food. AUT Group Chef Matthew Farley, AUT Hospitality Services will explain the food and the Sileni wine for the evening. There are three savoury and two sweet canapés from cookbooks written by lecturers at AUT’s School of Hospitality and Tourism. Food is available from the Beach Bach, Farm, and Kiwiana themed areas. Lindsay Neill, kiwiana and Kiwi identity researcher, School of Hospitality, Tourism and Events, will outline the importance of kiwiana to New Zealand. His showcase will include the famous Buzzy Bee and findings from his latest research on kiwiana. Lindsay will highlight the uses of beetroot, tomato sauce, chocolate fish, Tip Top ice cream, and hokey pokey – regular food items for many NZers! We are really excited to showcase a special modern kiwiana food station with finger food adapted from books by AUT School of Hospitality, Tourism and Events staff. Students from the School’s culinary programmes are assisting to prepare and serve the food for your enjoyment including: Cured salmon, rice cracker, pickled ginger, spring onion; Corn fritters; Suqaar Digaag Somali chicken; White chocolate tart with chocolate cremeux and Swiss merengue; Misiluki banana pudding with Siamu Popo. Professor Lindsay White, Cloudy Bay Clams researcher, School of Applied Sciences, will outline the research behind producing Cloudy Bay Clams. His showcase will provide tastings of fresh seafood. Surf clams is the collective term for seven commercially harvested molluscs that live on almost all of NZ sandy, high wave energy beaches. They live buried in the sand, just in or behind the breaking waves. Regional small-scale studies indicate that surf clams have the potential to be NZ’s most valuable fishery resource, but a lack of scientific knowledge about these species allows only a tiny fraction of the sustainable harvest to be currently harvested. Our research to date has had a huge impact on the national fishery, more than doubling the total catch of surf clams, which equates to increases in annual export earnings of over $27 million. Based on this work, in 2013 we jointly won the Kiwi Supreme Prize for Commercialisation of Research. Tim Davison’s team will introduce the interactive virtual AUTer (VUTA). VUTA is the virtual MC for the Opening Kiwiana event alongside Kelly Sheerin as the in-the-flesh MC! Tim will explain how delegates can interact with VUTA by scanning the code in messenger. VUTA can make announcements, answer questions, display messages, greet people, and move around. Tim has been able to customise her to do just about anything. Samsung flip screens (https://displaysolutions.samsung.com/digital-signage/e-board/flip) are used for directional information and Tim’s VUTA. Thanks to Industry partner Samsung for providing the hardware to enable VUTA to come to life. Professor Len Gillman, School of Applied Sciences - Conference Sustainability—ecological responsibility, will explain the food and waste compositing, no single use plastics, and vegan options for the conference. Len and Professor Thomas Neitzert (School of Engineering) have calculated the carbon footprint for international delegates flying to NZ for the conference is 186.5 tonnes of carbon! Therefore 1.86 hectares (4.6 acres) will need to be planted to offset the conference travel. Strategies undertaken by the ISBS 2018 conference organising committee to help offset the carbon cost include the planting of native trees, promotion of recycling of bottles and compositing of food during the conference, vegan meal options, use of low energy LED lights and solar lights, minimised use of plastic products with no single-use plastic, digital posters rather than printing posters, and puffer jackets as the ‘conference bag’ as a useful reusable item. Lindsey du Preez is the AUT Sustainability Officer. Lindsey has worked with the AUT Hospitality Services team to provide initiatives that have a strong focus on sustainability for the conference. Some of the key initiatives are: This is a paperless conference and all material is digital including conference proceedings and posters; AUT is working towards eliminating ‘single use plastic’, so this is avoided wherever possible. Water will be provided in jugs with glass containers, and unpacked teabags and chocolates have been sourced directly from suppliers to reduce unnecessary packaging; Reusable cutlery and crockery will be provided to avoid unnecessary waste; Serviettes are compostable; 25% of the food provided is vegetarian and food is sourced locally wherever possible; three bin-system will be provided for rubbish, mixed recycling (plastic bottles types 1 & 2, essentially milk bottles and drink bottles, glass, cans) and organic waste; All leftover food will be composted, and every effort made to avoid over catering; Support of Fair Trade and all coffee is Fair Trade; The conference is next to a major bus terminus for easy access to public transport. The Kiwiana interactive showcase photo competition will be run by Kylie Robinson. Post the best photo of you and fellow delegates in the Kiwiana interactive showcase photo booth that includes jandals, flora (flax, punga ferns), fauna (Tui, Kiwi, geko, pukeko, kea), paua, a rugby ball, NZ sliver fern, flags, sheep, swandri, gumboots, #8 wire, L&P bottle, chocolate fish, tomato sauce bottle, buzzy bee, kiwi fruit. Thanks to AMTI for the chocolate fish. We have taken a different approach to our “sponsors” for the conference, preferring to have engaged industry partners. Industry Partners are treated like any other conference delegates in terms of registration, with an expectation that there is active engagement and preparation of a workshop, applied session or industry partner playing field event – just like a delegate would prepare an oral podium or a poster pitch and digital poster. Our industry partners have adapted to this new format with enthusiasm. We hope that delegates take up the opportunity to interact with the Industry Partner delegates, particularly in the playing field sessions where there are participatory games. Aerobe will be demonstrating their simple to use active marker technology Codamotion system to track the knee and ankle joints during a series of jump activities. Thanks to the industry partners who have participated in the industry partner programme. Platinum industry partner VICON are providing the ISBS 2018 conference puffer jackets to those who registered by the standard registration date. Vicon are also providing beverages for conference events. Diamond industry partner SILENI are providing amazing wines for all the conference events. We have a large selection from the Sileni range including Marlborough Sauvignon blanc, pinot gris, pinot noir, sparkling cuvee brut, merlot etc. Diamond industry partner SAMSUNG are providing new FLIP technology screens, 55” screens for the digital poster sessions, and the Note9 and DeX station for social media interaction and prizes. Gold industry partner ACC is supporting the Keynote panel speakers and a round table luncheon. Gold industry partner KISTLER are supporting two round table luncheons, and Olympic athletes at the AUT Millennium event. Gold industry partners QUALISYS and NORAXON are providing workshops and AUT Millennium applied sessions. Gold industry partner AMTI are supporting the chocolate box stations and the student evening at the marae. Silver industry partner FORCEDECKS are supporting the Commercialisation and Funding Monday workshop. Bronze industry partner CHANUI are providing tea and biscuits for breaks. Bronze industry partner AEROBE are supporting the Wise Wizards keynote panel. Bronze industry partner TEKSCAN are supporting the Sports Technology long table luncheon. Bronze industry partner STT Systems are supporting the fruit baskets. Bronze industry partner ASICS are providing shoes for social media prizes and a chill-out zone. Bronze industry partner SIMI are showcasing their technology at an industry booth

Cytologic scoring of equine exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage : performance of human experts and a deep learning-based algorithm

Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) is a relevant respiratory disease in sport horses, which can be diagnosed by examination of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cells using the total hemosiderin score (THS). The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and reproducibility of annotators and to validate a deep learning-based algorithm for the THS. Digitized cytological specimens stained for iron were prepared from 52 equine BALF samples. Ten annotators produced a THS for each slide according to published methods. The reference methods for comparing annotator’s and algorithmic performance included a ground truth dataset, the mean annotators’ THSs, and chemical iron measurements. Results of the study showed that annotators had marked interobserver variability of the THS, which was mostly due to a systematic error between annotators in grading the intracytoplasmatic hemosiderin content of individual macrophages. Regarding overall measurement error between the annotators, 87.7% of the variance could be reduced by using standardized grades based on the ground truth. The algorithm was highly consistent with the ground truth in assigning hemosiderin grades. Compared with the ground truth THS, annotators had an accuracy of diagnosing EIPH (THS of < or ≥ 75) of 75.7%, whereas, the algorithm had an accuracy of 92.3% with no relevant differences in correlation with chemical iron measurements. The results show that deep learning-based algorithms are useful for improving reproducibility and routine applicability of the THS. For THS by experts, a diagnostic uncertainty interval of 40 to 110 is proposed. THSs within this interval have insufficient reproducibility regarding the EIPH diagnosis.The Dres. Jutta and Georg Bruns-Stifung für innovative Veterinärmedizin.https://journals.sagepub.com/home/vetCompanion Animal Clinical Studie

Fish communities associated with cold-water corals vary with depth and substratum type

AbstractUnderstanding the processes that drive the distribution patterns of organisms and the scales over which these processes operate are vital when considering the effective management of species with high commercial or conservation value. In the deep sea, the importance of scleractinian cold-water corals (CWCs) to fish has been the focus of several studies but their role remains unclear. We propose this may be due to the confounding effects of multiple drivers operating over multiple spatial scales. The aims of this study were to investigate the role of CWCs in shaping fish community structure and individual species-habitat associations across four spatial scales in the NE Atlantic ranging from “regions” (separated by >500km) to “substratum types” (contiguous). Demersal fish and substratum types were quantified from three regions: Logachev Mounds, Rockall Bank and Hebrides Terrace Seamount (HTS). PERMANOVA analyses showed significant differences in community composition between all regions which were most likely caused by differences in depths. Within regions, significant variation in community composition was recorded at scales of c. 20–3500m. CWCs supported significantly different fish communities to non-CWC substrata at Rockall Bank, Logachev and the HTS. Single-species analyses using generalised linear mixed models showed that Sebastes sp. was strongly associated with CWCs at Rockall Bank and that Neocyttus helgae was more likely to occur in CWCs at the HTS. Depth had a significant effect on several other fish species. The results of this study suggest that the importance of CWCs to fish is species-specific and depends on the broader spatial context in which the substratum is found. The precautionary approach would be to assume that CWCs are important for associated fish, but must acknowledge that CWCs in different depths will not provide redundancy or replication within spatially-managed conservation networks

Why Are Outcomes Different for Registry Patients Enrolled Prospectively and Retrospectively? Insights from the Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF).

Background: Retrospective and prospective observational studies are designed to reflect real-world evidence on clinical practice, but can yield conflicting results. The GARFIELD-AF Registry includes both methods of enrolment and allows analysis of differences in patient characteristics and outcomes that may result. Methods and Results: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and ≥1 risk factor for stroke at diagnosis of AF were recruited either retrospectively (n = 5069) or prospectively (n = 5501) from 19 countries and then followed prospectively. The retrospectively enrolled cohort comprised patients with established AF (for a least 6, and up to 24 months before enrolment), who were identified retrospectively (and baseline and partial follow-up data were collected from the emedical records) and then followed prospectively between 0-18 months (such that the total time of follow-up was 24 months; data collection Dec-2009 and Oct-2010). In the prospectively enrolled cohort, patients with newly diagnosed AF (≤6 weeks after diagnosis) were recruited between Mar-2010 and Oct-2011 and were followed for 24 months after enrolment. Differences between the cohorts were observed in clinical characteristics, including type of AF, stroke prevention strategies, and event rates. More patients in the retrospectively identified cohort received vitamin K antagonists (62.1% vs. 53.2%) and fewer received non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (1.8% vs . 4.2%). All-cause mortality rates per 100 person-years during the prospective follow-up (starting the first study visit up to 1 year) were significantly lower in the retrospective than prospectively identified cohort (3.04 [95% CI 2.51 to 3.67] vs . 4.05 [95% CI 3.53 to 4.63]; p = 0.016). Conclusions: Interpretations of data from registries that aim to evaluate the characteristics and outcomes of patients with AF must take account of differences in registry design and the impact of recall bias and survivorship bias that is incurred with retrospective enrolment. Clinical Trial Registration: - URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier for GARFIELD-AF (NCT01090362)

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

Improved risk stratification of patients with atrial fibrillation: an integrated GARFIELD-AF tool for the prediction of mortality, stroke and bleed in patients with and without anticoagulation.

OBJECTIVES: To provide an accurate, web-based tool for stratifying patients with atrial fibrillation to facilitate decisions on the potential benefits/risks of anticoagulation, based on mortality, stroke and bleeding risks. DESIGN: The new tool was developed, using stepwise regression, for all and then applied to lower risk patients. C-statistics were compared with CHA2DS2-VASc using 30-fold cross-validation to control for overfitting. External validation was undertaken in an independent dataset, Outcome Registry for Better Informed Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation (ORBIT-AF). PARTICIPANTS: Data from 39 898 patients enrolled in the prospective GARFIELD-AF registry provided the basis for deriving and validating an integrated risk tool to predict stroke risk, mortality and bleeding risk. RESULTS: The discriminatory value of the GARFIELD-AF risk model was superior to CHA2DS2-VASc for patients with or without anticoagulation. C-statistics (95% CI) for all-cause mortality, ischaemic stroke/systemic embolism and haemorrhagic stroke/major bleeding (treated patients) were: 0.77 (0.76 to 0.78), 0.69 (0.67 to 0.71) and 0.66 (0.62 to 0.69), respectively, for the GARFIELD-AF risk models, and 0.66 (0.64-0.67), 0.64 (0.61-0.66) and 0.64 (0.61-0.68), respectively, for CHA2DS2-VASc (or HAS-BLED for bleeding). In very low to low risk patients (CHA2DS2-VASc 0 or 1 (men) and 1 or 2 (women)), the CHA2DS2-VASc and HAS-BLED (for bleeding) scores offered weak discriminatory value for mortality, stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding. C-statistics for the GARFIELD-AF risk tool were 0.69 (0.64 to 0.75), 0.65 (0.56 to 0.73) and 0.60 (0.47 to 0.73) for each end point, respectively, versus 0.50 (0.45 to 0.55), 0.59 (0.50 to 0.67) and 0.55 (0.53 to 0.56) for CHA2DS2-VASc (or HAS-BLED for bleeding). Upon validation in the ORBIT-AF population, C-statistics showed that the GARFIELD-AF risk tool was effective for predicting 1-year all-cause mortality using the full and simplified model for all-cause mortality: C-statistics 0.75 (0.73 to 0.77) and 0.75 (0.73 to 0.77), respectively, and for predicting for any stroke or systemic embolism over 1 year, C-statistics 0.68 (0.62 to 0.74). CONCLUSIONS: Performance of the GARFIELD-AF risk tool was superior to CHA2DS2-VASc in predicting stroke and mortality and superior to HAS-BLED for bleeding, overall and in lower risk patients. The GARFIELD-AF tool has the potential for incorporation in routine electronic systems, and for the first time, permits simultaneous evaluation of ischaemic stroke, mortality and bleeding risks. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier for GARFIELD-AF (NCT01090362) and for ORBIT-AF (NCT01165710)

Two-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation: results from GARFIELD-AF.

AIMS: The relationship between outcomes and time after diagnosis for patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) is poorly defined, especially beyond the first year. METHODS AND RESULTS: GARFIELD-AF is an ongoing, global observational study of adults with newly diagnosed NVAF. Two-year outcomes of 17 162 patients prospectively enrolled in GARFIELD-AF were analysed in light of baseline characteristics, risk profiles for stroke/systemic embolism (SE), and antithrombotic therapy. The mean (standard deviation) age was 69.8 (11.4) years, 43.8% were women, and the mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was 3.3 (1.6); 60.8% of patients were prescribed anticoagulant therapy with/without antiplatelet (AP) therapy, 27.4% AP monotherapy, and 11.8% no antithrombotic therapy. At 2-year follow-up, all-cause mortality, stroke/SE, and major bleeding had occurred at a rate (95% confidence interval) of 3.83 (3.62; 4.05), 1.25 (1.13; 1.38), and 0.70 (0.62; 0.81) per 100 person-years, respectively. Rates for all three major events were highest during the first 4 months. Congestive heart failure, acute coronary syndromes, sudden/unwitnessed death, malignancy, respiratory failure, and infection/sepsis accounted for 65% of all known causes of death and strokes for <10%. Anticoagulant treatment was associated with a 35% lower risk of death. CONCLUSION: The most frequent of the three major outcome measures was death, whose most common causes are not known to be significantly influenced by anticoagulation. This suggests that a more comprehensive approach to the management of NVAF may be needed to improve outcome. This could include, in addition to anticoagulation, interventions targeting modifiable, cause-specific risk factors for death. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362