How can an enterprise survive competition? Information management requirements

Otoczenie organizacji stanowi szczególne wyzwanie dotyczące komunikacji i przepływu informacji zarówno wewnątrz, jak i na zewnątrz. Świat staje się coraz bardziej międzynarodowy i to powoduje, że sieć informacji o światowym zasięgu musi zostać stworzona. Usługom musi towarzyszyć wysokiej jakości informacja. Również uczenie się będzie rozumiane jako zadanie na całe życie. Żeby sprostać tym potrzebom rozwoju społeczeństwa, musi nastąpić zmiana w zarządzaniu, szczególnie jeśli chodzi o sprzedawcę i konsumenta. Artykuł przedstawia wpływ warunków otoczenia na przetrwanie organizacjiThe surrounding conditions of an organization are a special challenge regarding communication and information flow both internal and external. By becoming more and more international, a world wide communication network has to be established. Services have to be accompanied by a high standard of information. Learning will be regarded as a life time task. To meet the need of the vitality of society, a change in management has to be established, especially from salesman to consumer. This paper presents the impact of the surrounding conditions on the survival of a compan

The Comparison of Interleukin-17 and Interleukin-10 with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity

AIM: This study was conducted to compare means of interleukin-17 (IL-17) (Th17 cytokines) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) (T-regulatory cytokines) as pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine with disease activity of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to investigate correlation between IL-17 cytokine serums with IL-10 in SLE patients. METHODS: This study recruited total of 68 SLE patients which included 34 active and 34 inactive patients based on MEX-SLEDAI as disease activity tool measurement and subjects were selected using consecutive sampling method. Blood samples were taken from subjects and IL-17 and IL-10 were measured using ELISA method. Data were analyzed with SPSS 26 software. RESULTS: Mean IL-17 was 19.67 ± 1.299 pg/ml in active SLE group and 19.78 ± 1.187 pg/ml in inactive group. Median of IL-10 in active group was 3.63 pg/ml and in inactive group was 2.52 pg/ml, respectively. No significant mean differences were found of IL-17 and IL-10 between active and inactive SLE patients (p > 0.005). We found significant positive correlation between IL-17 and IL-10 (p < 0.005; r = 0.529). CONCLUSION: There were no significant mean differences of IL-17 and IL-10 between active and inactive SLE patients. However, we found elevated result of IL-10 in active SLE than inactive. There was positive correlation between IL-17 and IL-10

Evaluación del control interno y el desarrollo organizacional en la Dirección Sub Regional de Salud Chota, 2022

El Informe COSO I define el control interno como un proceso ejecutado por el consejo de administración, la dirección y miembros de una entidad para brindar confianza en la realización de objetivos en eficacia operativa, integridad financiera y cumplimiento normativo. (Carmona & Barrios, 2007, p. 4) Este estudio busca identificar la relación que existe entre el control interno con el desarrollo organizacional en la Dirección Sub Regional de Salud Chota. Se propusieron objetivos específicos: evaluar el estado actual del control interno, y analizar la relación entre ambiente de control, información y comunicación, evaluación de riesgos, actividades de control y supervisión, en relación con el desarrollo organizacional. La investigación se limitó al periodo 2022. Metodológica: Se lleva a cabo un estudio transversal aplicado sobre control interno, utilizando encuestas para recolectar datos de una muestra de 60 colaboradores. La información recopilada se procesa en una hoja de cálculo Excel. Resultados: Los resultados obtenidos indican que la relación entre el ambiente de control (r)=0.674; Información y comunicación (r)= 0.799; Evaluación de riesgos (r)=0.758; Actividades de control (r)=0.464 y Supervisión con el desarrollo organizacional en la Dirección Sub Regional de Salud Chota, todas estas relaciones son directas, con un coeficiente de Pearson de 0.526. Conclusión: Los resultados evidencian que la relación que existe entre el control interno y el desarrollo organizacional en la Dirección Sub Regional de Salud Chota es directa y significativa, con un coeficiente de Pearson de 0.864

Atonal Music: Can Uncertainty Lead to Pleasure?

In recent years, the field of neuroaesthetics has gained considerable attention with music being a favored object of study. The majority of studies concerning music have, however, focused on the experience of Western tonal music (TM), which is characterized by tonal hierarchical organization, a high degree of consonance, and a tendency to provide the listener with a tonic as a reference point during the listening experience. We argue that a narrow focus on Western TM may have led to a one-sided view regarding the qualities of the aesthetic experience of music since Western art music from the 20th and 21st century like atonal music (AM) – while lacking a tonal hierarchical structure, and while being highly dissonant and hard to predict – is nevertheless enjoyed by a group of avid listeners. We propose a research focus that investigates, in particular, the experience of AM as a novel and compelling way with which to enhance our understanding of both the aesthetic appreciation of music and the role of predictive models in the context of musical pleasure. We use music theoretical analysis and music information retrieval methods to demonstrate how AM presents the listener with a highly uncertain auditory environment. Specifically, an analysis of a corpus of 100 musical segments is used to illustrate how tonal classical music and AM differ quantitatively in terms of both key and pulse clarity values. We then examine person related, extrinsic and intrinsic factors, that point to potential mechanisms underlying the appreciation and pleasure derived from AM. We argue that personality traits like “openness to experience,” the framing of AM as art, and the mere exposure effect are key components of such mechanisms. We further argue that neural correlates of uncertainty estimation could represent a central mechanism for engaging with AM and that such contexts engender a comparatively weak predictive model in the listener. Finally we argue that in such uncertain contexts, correct predictions may be more subjectively rewarding than prediction errors since they signal to the individual that their predictive model is improving

Dermoscopic Ulceration is a Predictor of Basal Cell Carcinoma Response to Imiquimod: A Retrospective Study

Imiquimod is considered one of the treatments of choice for low-risk superficial basal cell carcinoma (sBCC) and an alternative option for non-superficial tumours when surgery is contraindicated or not feasible (1\u20133). In addition to its well-known value in the diagnosis of BCC, dermoscopy has recently been shown to provide valid information about the histopathological subtype or the presence of clinically undetectable pigmentation (4\u20136). The aim of the present study was to investigate whether dermoscopic criteria (especially ulceration) of the primary tumour can predict a favourable response of BCC to imiquimod

Prediction Under Uncertainty: Dissociating Sensory from Cognitive Expectations in Highly Uncertain Musical Contexts

Predictive models in the brain rely on the continuous extraction of regularities from the environment. These models are thought to be updated by novel information, as reflected in prediction error responses such as the mismatch negativity (MMN). However, although in real life individuals often face situations in which uncertainty prevails, it remains unclear whether and how predictive models emerge in high-uncertainty contexts. Recent research suggests that uncertainty affects the magnitude of MMN responses in the context of music listening. However, musical predictions are typically studied with MMN stimulation paradigms based on Western tonal music, which are characterized by relatively high predictability. Hence, we developed an MMN paradigm to investigate how the high uncertainty of atonal music modulates predictive processes as indexed by the MMN and behavior. Using MEG in a group of 20 subjects without musical training, we demonstrate that the magnetic MMN in response to pitch, intensity, timbre, and location deviants is evoked in both tonal and atonal melodies, with no significant differences between conditions. In contrast, in a separate behavioral experiment involving 39 non-musicians, participants detected pitch deviants more accurately and rated confidence higher in the tonal than in the atonal musical context. These results indicate that contextual tonal uncertainty modulates processing stages in which conscious awareness is involved, although deviants robustly elicit low-level pre-attentive responses such as the MMN. The achievement of robust MMN responses, despite high tonal uncertainty, is relevant for future studies comparing groups of listeners’ MMN responses to increasingly ecological music stimuli

Micro-patterns of gold nanoparticles assembled by photovoltaic optoelectronic tweezers: application to plasmonic fluorescence enhancement

Noble metal nanostructures are well-known for their ability to increase the efficiency of different optical or physical phenomena due to their plasmonic behavior. This work presents a simple strategy to obtain Au plasmonic patterns by optically induced nanoparticle assembly and its application as fluorescence enhancement platforms. This strategy is based on the so-called photovoltaic optoelectronic tweezers (PVOT) being the first time they are used for fabricating Au periodic micro-patterns. Fringe patterns with a sub-structure of aggregates, assembled from individual spherical nanoparticles of 3.5 or 170 nm diameters, are successfully obtained. The spatial distribution of the aggregates is controlled with micrometric accuracy and the patterns can be arranged over large-scale active areas (tens of mm2). The outcome for the ultra-small (3.5 nm) particles is particularly relevant because this diameter is the smallest one manipulated by PVOT so far. Testing experiments of plasmonic fluorescence enhancement show that the 170-nm patterns present a much better plasmonic behavior. For the 170-nm platform they reveal a 10-fold enhancement factor in the fluorescence of Rhodamine-B dye molecules and a 3-fold one for tagged DNA biomolecules. Hence, the results suggest that these latter plasmonic platforms are good candidates for efficient bio-imaging and biosensing techniques, among other applications

Reproductive investment of the pen shell Pinna nobilis Linnaeus, 1758 in Cabrera National Park (Spain)

The spawning period can be a period of particular vulnerability for a species. In hermaphroditic species like the long-lived pen shell Pinna nobilis different costs could be associated with female, male or hermaphrodite stages. Here we evaluate gonad development in a population with few anthropogenic pressures and describe the timing and succession of developmental stages, determine the ratio of the sexes and the condition of the animals. We assess resource mobilisation and associated costs through the relationship between stable isotopes and condition indexes with reproductive parameters and evaluate the role of the adductor muscle as storage organ used in gonad maturation. In our study area only one spawning season is observed, starting in May and peaking in June-July. The onset of spawning coincides with water temperatures of 20 °C. Condition indexes drop during the spawning period and recover afterwards to reach pre-spawning values in November. Stable isotope signals are negatively related to the gonadal condition index, while the CN ratio shows a positive correlation with the same index. Additionally, the muscle condition index sharply decreases after the start of the spawning season, which suggests that P. nobilis uses the reserves stored in the adductor muscle for reproduction as in other Pinnidae species. Reproductive indices and stable isotopes ratios indicate ‘capital breeding’ as reproductive strategy of the pen shell. Decreased muscle force could mean a higher vulnerability during the summer period, coinciding with the peak in recreational activities involving poaching and anchoringVersión del edito

Early Nutrition and Later Excess Adiposity during Childhood: A Narrative Review

Background: Studies on childhood obesity mainly focus on the genetic component and on the lifestyle that may be associated with the development of obesity. However, the study of perinatal factors in their programming effect toward future obesity in children or adults is somewhat more recent, and there are still mechanisms to be disentangled. Summary: In this narrative review, a comprehensive route based on the influence of some early factors in life in the contribution to later obesity development is presented. Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain have been pointed out as independent determinants of infant later adiposity. Lifestyle interventions could have an impact on pregnant mothers through epigenetic mechanisms capable of redirecting the genetic expression of their children toward a future healthy weight and body composition and dietary-related microbiome modifications in mothers and newborns might also be related. After birth, infant feeding during the first months of life is directly associated with its body composition and nutritional status. From this point of view, all the expert committees in the world are committed to promote exclusive breastfeeding up to 6 months of age and to continue at least until the first year of life together with complementary feeding based on healthy dietary patterns such as Mediterranean Diet