Strategic motivators and expected benefits from e-Commerce in traditional organisations

This paper aims to identify the strategic motivators and expected benefits related to the implementation of e-commerce infrastructures in traditional “brick and mortar” organisations. Despite the fact that the clearest benefit from e-commerce might be expected to come from contribution to corporate profits, either from an increase of sales or reduction of costs, but this may not be the case. The literature suggests that there are different ways in which the potential benefits can be assessed. These ways are directly related to the evolution of e-commerce. This research has chosen six representative organisations from different sectors to explore their rationales for their e-commerce strategies. One of the main benefits reported is to increase the focus on the customer and improving internal communications. Additionally, obtaining competitive advantage was found to be a powerful motivator, despite the fact that the recent academic literature suggests that this is very difficult to achieve

Cortical activity evoked by inoculation needle prick in infants up to one-year old

Inoculation is one of the first and most common experiences of procedural pain in infancy. However, little is known about how needle puncture pain is processed by the central nervous system in children. In this study, we describe for the first time the event-related activity in the infant brain during routine inoculation using electroencephalography. Fifteen healthy term-born infants aged 1 to 2 months (n = 12) or 12 months (n = 5) were studied in an outpatient clinic. Pain behavior was scored using the Modified Behavioral Pain Scale. A distinct inoculation event-related vertex potential, consisting of 2 late negative-positive complexes, was observable in single trials after needle contact with the skin. The amplitude of both negative-positive components was significantly greater in the 12-month group. Both inoculation event-related potential amplitude and behavioral pain scores increased with age but the 2 measures were not correlated with each other. These components are the first recordings of brain activity in response to real-life needle pain in infants up to a year old. They provide new evidence of postnatal nociceptive processing and, combined with more traditional behavioral pain scores, offer a potentially more sensitive measure for testing the efficacy of analgesic protocols in this age group

Polarized Magnetic Wire Induced by Tunneling Through a Magnetic Impurity

Using the zero mode method we compute the conductance of a wire consisting of a magnetic impurity coupled to two Luttinger liquid leads characterized by the Luttinger exponent $\alpha(\leq 1)$. We find for resonance conditions, in which the Fermi energy of the leads is close to a single particle energy of the impurity, the conductance as a function of temperature is $G \sim \frac{e^2}{h} (T/T_F)^{2(\alpha-2)}$, whereas for off-resonance conditions the conductance is $G \sim \frac{e^2}{h} (T/T_F)^{2(\alpha-1)}$. By applying a gate voltage and/or a magnetic field, one of the spin components can be in resonance while the other is off-resonance causing a strong asymmetry between the spin-up and spin-down conductances.Comment: 8 pages, submitted to PR

Does Antiretroviral Treatment Reduce Case Fatality Among HIV-Positive Patients with Tuberculosis in Malawi?

SETTING: Thyolo district, Malawi. OBJECTIVES: To report on 1) case fatality among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive tuberculosis (TB) patients while on anti-tuberculosis treatment and 2) whether antiretroviral treatment (ART) initiated during the continuation phase of TB treatment reduces case fatality. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort analysis. METHODS: Comparative analysis of treatment outcomes for TB patients registered between January and December 2004. RESULTS: Of 983 newly registered TB patients receiving diagnostic HIV testing, 658 (67%) were HIV-positive. A total of 132 (20%) patients died during the 8-month course of anti-tuberculosis treatment, of whom 82 (62%) died within the first 2 months of treatment when ART was not provided (cumulative incidence 3.0, 95%CI 2.5-3.6 per 100 person-years). A total of 576 TB patients started the continuation phase of anti-tuberculosis treatment, 180 (31%) of whom were started on ART. The case-fatality rate per 100 person-years was not significantly different for patients on ART (1.0, 95%CI 0.6-1.7) and those without ART (1.2, 95%CI 0.9-1.7, adjusted hazard ratio 0.86, 95%CI 0.4-1.6, P = 0.6) CONCLUSIONS: ART provided in the continuation phase of TB treatment does not have a significant impact on reducing case fatality. Reasons for this and possible measures to reduce high case fatality in the initial phase of TB treatment are discussed

Longitudinal Monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG Seropositivity to Detect COVID-19.

BackgroundSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a novel beta-coronavirus that has recently emerged as the cause of the 2019 coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based tests are optimal and recommended for the diagnosis of an acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Serology tests for viral antibodies provide an important tool to diagnose previous exposure to the virus. Here we evaluate the analytical performance parameters of the Diazyme SARS-CoV-2 IgM/IgG serology assays and describe the kinetics of IgM and IgG seroconversion observed in patients with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 who were admitted to our hospital.MethodsWe validated the performance of the Diazyme assay in 235 presumed SARS-CoV-2 negative subjects to determine specificity. Subsequently, we evaluated the SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG seroconversion of 54 PCR-confirmed COVID-19 patients and determined sensitivity of the assay at three different timeframes.ResultSensitivity and specificity for detecting seropositivity at ≥15 days following a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR result, was 100.0% and 98.7% when assaying for the panel of IgM and IgG. The median time to seropositivity observed for a reactive IgM and IgG result from the date of a positive PCR was 5 days (IQR: 2.75-9 days) and 4 days (IQR: 2.75-6.75 days), respectively.ConclusionsOur data demonstrate that the Diazyme IgM/IgG assays are suited for the purpose of detecting SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM in patients with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infections. For the first time, we report longitudinal data showing the evolution of seroconversion for both IgG and IgM in a cohort of acutely ill patients in the United States. We also demonstrate a low false positive rate in patients who were presumed to be disease free

A comparison of techniques to optimize measurement of voltage changes in electrical impedance tomography by minimizing phase shift errors

In electrical impedance tomography, errors due to stray capacitance may be reduced by optimization of the reference phase of the demodulator. Two possible methods, maximization of the demodulator output and minimization of reciprocity error have been assessed, applied to each electrode combination individually, or to all combinations as a whole. Using an EIT system with a single impedance measuring circuit and multiplexer to address the 16 electrodes, the methods were tested on resistor-capacitor networks, saline-filled tanks and humans during variation of the saline concentration of a constant fluid volume in the stomach. Optimization of each channel individually gave less error, particularly on humans, and maximization of the output of the demodulator was more robust. This method is, therefore, recommended to optimize systems and reduce systematic errors with similar EIT systems

Theory and Simulation of the diffusion of kinks on dislocations in bcc metals

Isolated kinks on thermally fluctuating (1/2) screw, edge and (1/2) edge dislocations in bcc iron are simulated under zero stress conditions using molecular dynamics (MD). Kinks are seen to perform stochastic motion in a potential landscape that depends on the dislocation character and geometry, and their motion provides fresh insight into the coupling of dislocations to a heat bath. The kink formation energy, migration barrier and friction parameter are deduced from the simulations. A discrete Frenkel-Kontorova-Langevin (FKL) model is able to reproduce the coarse grained data from MD at a fraction of the computational cost, without assuming an a priori temperature dependence beyond the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. Analytic results reveal that discreteness effects play an essential r\^ole in thermally activated dislocation glide, revealing the existence of a crucial intermediate length scale between molecular and dislocation dynamics. The model is used to investigate dislocation motion under the vanishingly small stress levels found in the evolution of dislocation microstructures in irradiated materials

Products Liability

The authors discuss recent developments in Florida law in the area of products liability. The distinctions between the three theories of recovery in products liability actions, negligence, implied warranty and strict liability, are clarified through close and detailed analysis. The authors prefer strict liability to the other two causes of action because of its lessened burden of proof on plaintiffs and its less intricate analysis. The examination of case law, however, leads the authors to conclude that the courts are often applying the strict liability doctrine incorrectly

Morphological and molecular characterisation of a mixed Cryptosporidium muris/Cryptosporidium felis infection in a cat

To date Cryptosporidium muris has been identified by microscopy and genotyping in cats in two studies. We report morphological and genetic evidence of a mixed C. muris and C. felis infection in a cat and provide the first histological, immunohistochemical, in situ hybridisation and genetic confirmation of a C. muris infection in the stomach of a cat. The cat suffered persistent diarrhoea after the initial consultation, which remained unresolved, despite several medical interventions. Further studies are required to determine the range, prevalence and clinical impact of Cryptosporidium species infecting cats

Implementation of the Crisis Resolution Team model in adult mental health settings: a systematic review.

Crisis Resolution Teams (CRTs) aim to offer an alternative to hospital admission during mental health crises, providing rapid assessment, home treatment, and facilitation of early discharge from hospital. CRTs were implemented nationally in England following the NHS Plan of 2000. Single centre studies suggest CRTs can reduce hospital admissions and increase service users' satisfaction: however, there is also evidence that model implementation and outcomes vary considerably. Evidence on crucial characteristics of effective CRTs is needed to allow team functioning to be optimised. This review aims to establish what evidence, if any, is available regarding the characteristics of effective and acceptable CRTs