1,135 research outputs found
Long-Term Reward Patterns Contribute to Personal Goals at Work Among Finnish Managers
The research addresses the impact of long-term reward patterns on contents of personal work goals among young Finnish managers (N = 747). Reward patterns were formed on the basis of perceived and objective career rewards (i.e., career stability and promotions) across four measurements (years 2006 –2012). Goals were measured in 2012 and classified into categories of competence, progression, well-being, job change, job security, organization, and
financial goals. The factor mixture analysis identified a three-class solution as the best model of reward patterns: High rewards (77%); Increasing rewards (17%); and Reducing rewards (7%). Participants with Reducing rewards reported more progression, well-being, job change and financial goals than participants with High rewards as well as fewer competence and organizational goals than participants with Increasing rewards. Workplace resources can be in a key role in facilitating goals towards building competence and organizational performance
Wireless capsule endoscopy for the detection of small bowel diseases in HIV-1-infected patients
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background and Aims</p> <p>In HIV-infected patients, manifestations of the disease are common in the gastrointestinal tract. The objective of our study was to evaluate the diagnostic yield of the Given<sup>® </sup>Video Capsule System (Given Imaging, Yoqneam, Israel) in these patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>After exclusion of GI-tract stenosis by anamnestic exploration, 49 patients were included into the study. Stratification: Group A (n = 19): HIV-positive, CD<sub>4 </sub>cell count < 200/μl, gastrointestinal symptoms present. Group B: HIV-positive, CD<sub>4 </sub>< 200/μl, without gastrointestinal symptoms (n = 19 Group) C: healthy volunteers (n = 11).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In group A there was a total of 30 pathological findings, 15 of which with therapeutic implications. In group B, there was a total of 22 pathological findings, 5 relevant for therapy. In group C there was a total of 13 pathological findings, 3 with therapeutic relevance. In 89% (group A) vs. 26% (group B), pathological findings were detected distal the ligament of Treitz (p = 0.001). All capsules were recovered without complications after 12 to 96 h from the stool.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Wireless capsule endoscopy of the small intestine should be considered for HIV-infected patients with marked immunosuppression and gastrointestinal symptoms.</p
Impaired autoregulation of the glomerular filtration rate in patients with nondiabetic nephropathies
Impaired autoregulation of the glomerular filtration rate in patients with nondiabetic nephropathies.BackgroundThe ability of the kidney to maintain constancy of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) over a wide range of renal perfusion pressures is termed autoregulation. Defective autoregulation of GFR has been demonstrated in diabetic nephropathy. Whether this is also the case in patients with nondiabetic nephropathies is not known.MethodsWe investigated the effect of acute lowering of blood pressure (BP) on GFR in 16 (8 males and 8 females) albuminuric subjects suffering from different nondiabetic nephropathies and in 14 (7 males and 7 females) controls matched with respect to sex, age, BP, and baseline GFR. The subjects received in random order an intravenous injection of either clonidine (150 to 225 μg) or saline (0.154 mmol/liter) within two weeks. We measured GFR ([51Cr]-EDTA), albuminuria (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; ELISA), and BP (Takeda TM-2420).ResultsClonidine induced similar reductions in mean arterial BP 17 (2) versus 19 (2) mm Hg [mean (SE)] in patients with nephropathy and in controls, respectively. GFR diminished in average from 89 (6) to 82 (5) ml/min/1.73 m2 (P < 0.05), and albuminuria declined from a geometric mean of 1218 (antilog SE 1.3) μg/min to 925 (1.3) in the patients with nondiabetic nephropathies (P < 0.05), whereas these variables remained unchanged in the control group. The mean difference between changes in GFR (95% confidence interval) between the nondiabetic macroalbuminuric and control subjects was 6.1 (-0.03 to 12.21) ml/min/1.73 m2 (P = 0.051).ConclusionOur study suggests that albuminuric patients with nondiabetic nephropathies frequently suffer from impaired autoregulation of GFR
A conceptual framework for SPI evaluation
Software Process Improvement (SPI) encompasses the analysis and modification
of the processes within software development, aimed at improving key areas that
contribute to the organizations' goals. The task of evaluating whether the
selected improvement path meets these goals is challenging. On the basis of the
results of a systematic literature review on SPI measurement and evaluation
practices, we developed a framework (SPI Measurement and Evaluation Framework
(SPI-MEF)) that supports the planning and implementation of SPI evaluations.
SPI-MEF guides the practitioner in scoping the evaluation, determining
measures, and performing the assessment. SPI-MEF does not assume a specific
approach to process improvement and can be integrated in existing measurement
programs, refocusing the assessment on evaluating the improvement initiative's
outcome. Sixteen industry and academic experts evaluated the framework's
usability and capability to support practitioners, providing additional
insights that were integrated in the application guidelines of the framework
Evaluation and Measurement of Software Process Improvement -- A Systematic Literature Review
BACKGROUND: Software Process Improvement (SPI) is a systematic approach to
increase the efficiency and effectiveness of a software development
organization and to enhance software products. OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to
identify and characterize evaluation strategies and measurements used to assess
the impact of different SPI initiatives. METHOD: The systematic literature
review includes 148 papers published between 1991 and 2008. The selected papers
were classified according to SPI initiative, applied evaluation strategies, and
measurement perspectives. Potential confounding factors interfering with the
evaluation of the improvement effort were assessed. RESULTS: Seven distinct
evaluation strategies were identified, wherein the most common one, "Pre-Post
Comparison" was applied in 49 percent of the inspected papers. Quality was the
most measured attribute (62 percent), followed by Cost (41 percent), and
Schedule (18 percent). Looking at measurement perspectives, "Project"
represents the majority with 66 percent. CONCLUSION: The evaluation validity of
SPI initiatives is challenged by the scarce consideration of potential
confounding factors, particularly given that "Pre-Post Comparison" was
identified as the most common evaluation strategy, and the inaccurate
descriptions of the evaluation context. Measurements to assess the short and
mid-term impact of SPI initiatives prevail, whereas long-term measurements in
terms of customer satisfaction and return on investment tend to be less used
Elimination and degradation of glucagon-like peptide-1 and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide in patients with end-stage renal disease
Early phase of massive star formation: A case study of Infrared dark cloud G084.81-01.09
We mapped the MSX dark cloud G084.81-01.09 in the NH3 (1,1) - (4,4) lines and
in the J = 1-0 transitions of 12CO, 13CO, C18O and HCO+ in order to study the
physical properties of infrared dark clouds, and to better understand the
initial conditions for massive star formation. Six ammonia cores are identified
with masses ranging from 60 to 250 M_sun, a kinetic temperature of 12 K, and a
molecular hydrogen number density n(H2) ~ 10^5 cm^-3. In our high mass cores,
the ammonia line width of 1 km/s is larger than those found in lower mass cores
but narrower than the more evolved massive ones. We detected self-reversed
profiles in HCO+ across the northern part of our cloud and velocity gradients
in different molecules. These indicate an expanding motion in the outer layer
and more complex motions of the clumps more inside our cloud. We also discuss
the millimeter wave continuum from the dust. These properties indicate that our
cloud is a potential site of massive star formation but is still in a very
early evolutionary stage
An Automated Method for the Detection and Extraction of HI Self-Absorption in High-Resolution 21cm Line Surveys
We describe algorithms that detect 21cm line HI self-absorption (HISA) in
large data sets and extract it for analysis. Our search method identifies HISA
as spatially and spectrally confined dark HI features that appear as negative
residuals after removing larger-scale emission components with a modified CLEAN
algorithm. Adjacent HISA volume-pixels (voxels) are grouped into features in
(l,b,v) space, and the HI brightness of voxels outside the 3-D feature
boundaries is smoothly interpolated to estimate the absorption amplitude and
the unabsorbed HI emission brightness. The reliability and completeness of our
HISA detection scheme have been tested extensively with model data. We detect
most features over a wide range of sizes, linewidths, amplitudes, and
background levels, with poor detection only where the absorption brightness
temperature amplitude is weak, the absorption scale approaches that of the
correlated noise, or the background level is too faint for HISA to be
distinguished reliably from emission gaps. False detection rates are very low
in all parts of the parameter space except at sizes and amplitudes approaching
those of noise fluctuations. Absorption measurement biases introduced by the
method are generally small and appear to arise from cases of incomplete HISA
detection. This paper is the third in a series examining HISA at high angular
resolution. A companion paper (Paper II) uses our HISA search and extraction
method to investigate the cold atomic gas distribution in the Canadian Galactic
Plane Survey.Comment: 39 pages, including 14 figure pages; to appear in June 10 ApJ, volume
626; figure quality significantly reduced for astro-ph; for full resolution,
please see http://www.ras.ucalgary.ca/~gibson/hisa/cgps1_survey
Long-term follow-up of renal function in patients treated with migalastat for Fabry disease
The effect of migalastat on long-term renal outcomes in enzyme replacement therapy (ERT)–naive and ERT-experienced patients with Fabry disease is not well defined. An integrated posthoc analysis of the phase 3 clinical trials and open-label extension studies was conducted to evaluate long-term changes in renal function in patients with Fabry disease and amenable GLA variants who were treated with migalastat for ≥2 years during these studies. The analysis included ERT-naive (n = 36 [23 females]; mean age 45 years; mean baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), 91.4 mL/min/mL/1.73 m2) and ERT-experienced (n = 42 [24 females]; mean age, 50 years; mean baseline eGFR, 89.2 mL/min/1.73m2) patients with amenable variants who received migalastat 123 mg every other day for ≥2 years. The annualized rate of change from baseline to last observation in estimated glomerular filtration rate using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation (eGFRCKD-EPI) was calculated by both simple linear regression and a random coefficient model. In ERT-naive patients, mean annualized rates of change from baseline in eGFRCKD-EPI were − 1.6 mL/min/1.73 m2 overall and − 1.8 mL/min/1.73 m2 and − 1.4 mL/min/1.73 m2 in male and female patients, respectively, as estimated by simple linear regression. In ERT-experienced patients, mean annualized rates of change from baseline in eGFRCKD-EPI were − 1.6 mL/min/1.73 m2 overall and − 2.6 mL/min/1.73 m2 and − 0.8 mL/min/1.73 m2 in male and female patients, respectively. Mean annualized rate of change in eGFRCKD-EPI in ERT-naive patients with the classic phenotype (defined by white blood cell alpha galactosidase A [α-Gal A] activity of <3% of normal and multiorgan system involvement) was −1.7 mL/min/1.73 m2. When calculated using the random coefficient model, which adjusted for sex, age, and baseline renal function, the annualized eGFRCKD-EPI change was minimal (mean: −0.1 and 0.1 mL/min/1.73 m2 in ERT-naive and ERT-experienced patients, respectively). In conclusion, patients with Fabry disease and amenable GLA variants receiving long-term migalastat treatment (≤8.6 years) maintained renal function irrespective of treatment status, sex, or phenotype
Long-term efficacy and safety of migalastat treatment in Fabry disease: 30-month results from the open-label extension of the randomized, phase 3 ATTRACT study
Results from the 18-month randomized treatment period of the phase 3 ATTRACT study demonstrated the efficacy and safety of oral migalastat compared with enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) in patients with Fabry disease who previously received ERT. Here, we report data from the subsequent 12-month, migalastat-only, open-label extension (OLE) period. ATTRACT (Study AT1001–012; NCT01218659) was a randomized, open-label, active-controlled study in patients aged 16–74 years with Fabry disease, an amenable GLA variant, and an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥30 mL/min/1.73 m2. During the OLE, patients who received migalastat 150 mg every other day (QOD) during the randomized period continued receiving migalastat (Group 1 [MM]); patients who received ERT every other week discontinued ERT and started migalastat treatment (Group 2 [EM]). Outcome measures included eGFR, left ventricular mass index (LVMi), composite clinical outcome (renal, cardiac or cerebrovascular events), and safety. Forty-six patients who completed the randomized treatment period continued into the OLE (Group 1 [MM], n = 31; Group 2 [EM], n = 15). eGFR remained stable in both treatment groups. LVMi decreased from baseline at month 30 in Group 1 (MM) in patients with left ventricular hypertrophy at baseline. Only 10% of patients experienced a new composite clinical event with migalastat treatment during the OLE. No new safety concerns were reported. In conclusion, in patients with Fabry disease and amenable GLA variants, migalastat 150 mg QOD was well tolerated and demonstrated durable, long-term stability of renal function and reduction in LVMi
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