NATURE OF THE FIRM: A STUDY ON DEVELOPERS IN CHINA AND HONG KONG

In Hong Kong, dwellings are fitted with neat and tidy paintings, well decorated floor and wall tiles. Equipped with world�renowned kitchen and bathroom appliance, housing owners can move in with a bag of cloths. Builders in China, however, only provide fundamental elements such as windows, doors, ironmongery and grayish wall. By the time home purchasers receive their dwellings, they need to do a lot of shopping before they can move in. They need to buy water closet, tiles, towel rings and so on. Scope of services provided by Hong Kong developers is much wider than those in China�s. Ronald Coase, Nobel economist 1991 addresses two questions in his 1937 paper: why firms exist and what determines their scale and scope. What are the major determining factors which affect the size of the developers and their scope of services? Few or even no paper has studied this issue. This paper reviews that unpredictable rules and regulations couple with poor law drafting decrease firms� incentive in vertical integration.firm, developers, Hong Kong, China

Insights into the Control of Growth and Axon Guidance by the Drosophila Insulin Receptor

The Drosophila insulin receptor (DInR) regulates a diverse array of biological processes, including growth, axon guidance, and sugar homeostasis. Growth regulation by DInR is mediated by the adaptor protein Chico, the Drosophila homolog of vertebrate Insulin-Receptor-Substrate (IRS) proteins. In contrast, DInR regulation of photoreceptor axon guidance in the developing visual system is mediated by the SH2/SH3 domain adaptor protein Dreadlocks (Dock). In vitro studies by others suggested that different parts of DInR interact with different adaptor proteins: five NPXY motifs, one situated in the juxtamembrane region and four in the signaling C-terminal tail (C-tail), were important for interaction with Chico. Yeast two-hybrid assays suggested that a different region in the DInR C-tail interacts with Dock. To test whether these sites are required for growth or axon guidance in the animal, in vivo add-back type experiments were conducted. A panel of DInR proteins, in which the putative Chico and Dock interaction sites had been mutated individually or in combination, were tested for their ability to rescue viability, growth, and axon guidance defects of dinr mutant flies. Sites important for viability were identified. In addition, mutation of all five NPXY motifs drastically decreased growth in both male and female adult flies, but did not affect photoreceptor axon guidance, showing that different binding sites on DInR control growth and axon guidance. Unexpectedly, mutation of both putative Dock binding sites, either individually or in combination, did not lead to defects in photoreceptor axon guidance. Finally, none of the seven putative ligands for DInR, the Drosophila insulin-like peptides (dilps), was required for directing photoreceptor axon guidance, although we found that dilp1, -2, -3, -4, and/or -5 are required for controlling whole animal allometry. Importantly, we showed that the developmental delay exhibited by dinr mutants is not a factor underlying their photoreceptor axon guidance defects. Together, these studies confirmed the role of Chico-interacting regions of DInR in regulation of growth in vivo. They demonstrated that DInR is necessary to control axon guidance in vivo and showed that this role is not simply a function of developmental timing. However, they leave open the mechanisms activating DInR in regulating axon targeting

Electronic structure of self-assembled InAs/InP quantum dots: A Comparison with self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots

We investigate the electronic structure of the InAs/InP quantum dots using an atomistic pseudopotential method and compare them to those of the InAs/GaAs QDs. We show that even though the InAs/InP and InAs/GaAs dots have the same dot material, their electronic structure differ significantly in certain aspects, especially for holes: (i) The hole levels have a much larger energy spacing in the InAs/InP dots than in the InAs/GaAs dots of corresponding size. (ii) Furthermore, in contrast with the InAs/GaAs dots, where the sizeable hole $p$, $d$ intra-shell level splitting smashes the energy level shell structure, the InAs/InP QDs have a well defined energy level shell structure with small $p$, $d$ level splitting, for holes. (iii) The fundamental exciton energies of the InAs/InP dots are calculated to be around 0.8 eV ($\sim$ 1.55 $\mu$m), about 200 meV lower than those of typical InAs/GaAs QDs, mainly due to the smaller lattice mismatch in the InAs/InP dots. (iii) The widths of the exciton $P$ shell and $D$ shell are much narrower in the InAs/InP dots than in the InAs/GaAs dots. (iv) The InAs/GaAs and InAs/InP dots have a reversed light polarization anisotropy along the [100] and [1$\bar{1}$0] directions

A voyage planning tool for ships sailing between Europe and Asia via the Arctic

The Arctic is rapidly transforming into a navigable ocean because of global warming reducing the extent of sea ice. As a consequence, a large percentage of the sailing distance between Europe and Asia could be saved by alternatively sailing through the Arctic rather than the traditional route via the Suez Canal. However, taking Arctic routes is fraught with risks and additional costs due to sea ice. The major purpose of this study is to develop a voyage planning tool to improve the safety and fuel efficiency of commercial ships sailing between Europe and Asia via the Arctic, which is achieved by voyage optimization through frequently updated meteorological, oceanographic and ice forecasting. This tool is characterized by route planning for the entire voyage, inclusive of the Arctic passage and the open water legs in Asia and Europe. A single-objective optimization for minimizing fuel consumption under various environmental and operational conditions is established. The resistance model accounts for both ice thickness and ice concentration of unconsolidated Arctic sea ice in the summer. Ice related risks defined in the Polar Operational Limit Assessment Risk Indexing System (POLARIS) are dealt as constraint. Other constraints such as avoidance of land and shallow water are also included. These functions are demonstrated by the two case study vessels sailing between Rotterdam and Shanghai via both the Arctic and the traditional routes

Smertebehandling av rusmisbrukere innlagt i sykehus

Bakgrunn: Smertebehandling til opioidavhengige er krevende fordi opioidavhengighet stimulerer nevropsykologiske, atferdsmessige og sosiale responser, som igjen forsterker smerteopplevelsen og kompliserer adekvat smertelindring. Helsepersonells kunnskaper, rutiner og holdninger er faktorer som kan påvirke smertebehandling til opioidavhengige. Hensikt: Kartlegge helsepersonells handlinger, kunnskaper og holdninger til opioidavhengige med smerte innlagt i norske sykehus. Metode: Beskrivende tverrsnittsdesign basert på en survey med et hensiktsmessig utvalg. Av 435 utsendte spørreskjema ble 312 besvart (72 prosent). Utvalget besto av sykepleiere og leger ved kirurgisk, medisinsk, intensiv- og anestesiavdelinger ved fire sykehus. Resultater: Et mindretall (38 prosent) av respondentene oppga at de kartla pasientenes rusmisbruk. Om lag halvparten (47 prosent) svarte at de ga pasientene opioidsubstitusjon for å forhindre abstinenser. Femtito prosent anvendte aldri smertekartleggingsverktøy. Resultatene viste et egenvurdert kunnskapsnivå på under 3,0 (fempunktsskala med 5 som høyeste verdi). Flertallet (56,1 prosent) av sykepleierne og en sjettedel (15,8 prosent) av legene følte seg manipulert av opioidavhengige pasienter. Et mindretall (20,8 prosent av sykepleierne og 26,3 prosent av legene) trodde på pasientens smerteformidling. Godt over halvparten av respondentene (55,7 prosent av sykepleierne og 73,7 prosent av legene) var enige i påstanden om at opioidavhengighet er en sykdom. Konklusjon: Fordi helsepersonells holdninger til en viss grad synes å trekke pasientens troverdighet i tvil, er det behov for videre studier for å undersøke om opoidavhengige pasienter faktisk får adekvat smertebehandling når de er innlagt i sykehus

The risk of hospitalization and modality failure with home dialysis

While home dialysis is being promoted, there are few comparative effectiveness studies of home-based modalities to guide patient decisions. To address this, we matched 1116 daily home hemodialysis (DHD) patients by propensity scores to 2784 contemporaneous USRDS patients receiving home peritoneal dialysis (PD), and compared hospitalization rates from cardiovascular, infectious, access-related or bleeding causes (prespecified composite), and modality failure risk. We performed similar analyses for 1187 DHD patients matched to 3173 USRDS patients receiving in-center conventional hemodialysis (CHD). The composite hospitalization rate was significantly lower with DHD than with PD (0.93 vs. 1.35/patient-year, hazard ratio=0.73 (95% CI=0.67–0.79)). DHD patients spent significantly fewer days in hospital than PD patients (5.2 vs. 9.2 days/patient-year), and significantly more DHD patients remained admission-free (52% DHD vs. 32% PD). In contrast, there was no significant difference in hospitalizations between DHD and CHD (DHD vs. CHD: 0.93 vs. 1.10/patient-year, hazard ratio 0.92 (0.85–1.00)). Cardiovascular hospitalizations were lower with DHD than with CHD (0.68 (0.61–0.77)), while infectious and access hospitalizations were higher (1.15 (1.04–1.29) and 1.25 (1.08–1.43), respectively). Significantly more PD than DHD patients switched back to in-center HD (44% vs. 15%; 3.4 (2.9–4.0)). In this prevalent cohort, home DHD was associated with fewer admissions and hospital days than PD, and a substantially lower risk of modality failure

Towards a Pattern Language for the Design of Collaborative Interactive Systems

Nowadays, the design of interactive systems addresses diverse communities of end users, each belonging to a certain culture, having a role in the context/domain and using a specific digital platform. More than often, they come together and collaborate in performing their work tasks and need to be supported by virtual interactive systems. This brings a set of challenges and design problems to be faced by interaction designers focused on the design of collaborative interactive systems. The present paper focuses on one approach to overcome these challenges – by making available the knowledge and wisdom within a team of designers to each and every designer in the team by the definition of pattern languages, organized as sets of multimedia, multimodal documents accessible and manageable in the Web. A design pattern language comprises a set of inter-related design patterns able to address interaction design problems and to allow the accumulation and use of knowledge within a team of designers. This paper identifies and describes a set of design patterns addressing the design of collaborative interactive systems together with the possible relationships among them and the operations made available to designers for managing and using the patterns

Neoplastic cell enrichment of tumor tissues using coring and laser microdissection for proteomic and genomic analyses of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND: The identification of differentially expressed tumor-associated proteins and genomic alterations driving neoplasia is critical in the development of clinical assays to detect cancers and forms the foundation for understanding cancer biology. One of the challenges in the analysis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the low neoplastic cellularity and heterogeneous composition of bulk tumors. To enrich neoplastic cells from bulk tumor tissue, coring, and laser microdissection (LMD) sampling techniques have been employed. In this study, we assessed the protein and KRAS mutation changes associated with samples obtained by these enrichment techniques and evaluated the fraction of neoplastic cells in PDAC for proteomic and genomic analyses. METHODS: Three fresh frozen PDAC tumors and their tumor-matched normal adjacent tissues (NATs) were obtained from three sampling techniques using bulk, coring, and LMD; and analyzed by TMT-based quantitative proteomics. The protein profiles and characterizations of differentially expressed proteins in three sampling groups were determined. These three PDACs and samples of five additional PDACs obtained by the same three sampling techniques were also subjected to genomic analysis to characterize KRAS mutations. RESULTS: The neoplastic cellularity of eight PDACs ranged from less than 10% to over 80% based on morphological review. Distinctive proteomic patterns and abundances of certain tumor-associated proteins were revealed when comparing the tumors and NATs by different sampling techniques. Coring and bulk tissues had comparable proteome profiles, while LMD samples had the most distinct proteome composition compared to bulk tissues. Further genomic analysis of bulk, cored, or LMD samples demonstrated that KRAS mutations were significantly enriched in LMD samples while coring was less effective in enriching for KRAS mutations when bulk tissues contained a relatively low neoplastic cellularity. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to bulk tissues, samples from LMD and coring techniques can be used for proteogenomic studies. The greatest enrichment of neoplastic cellularity is obtained with the LMD technique

Somatic BRCA2 Mutation-Positive Concurrent Accessory Male Breast Cancer (BC) and Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): Excellent Efficacy of Palbociclib, Fulvestrant and Leuprolide in Platinum-Exposed and Endocrine-Refractory BC Associated with Cyclin D1 and FGFR1 Amplification and of Carboplatin, Paclitaxel and Radiation in NSCLC.

Accessory male breast cancer (BC) is a rare entity and is associated with poor outcome. We report a 76-year-old patient who was diagnosed with concurrent accessory breast and primary lung cancer, both were positive for somatic BRCA-2 (E1593D) mutation. He received concurrent radiation and platinum-based chemotherapy for lung cancer with good response, but breast cancer progressed in about 8 months, and further progressed after single agent anastrozole in 10 months. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) of breast cancer was also positive for CCND1 (Cyclin D1) and FGFR1 amplifications. Despite a poor molecular profile of breast cancer, and progression following platinum-based chemotherapy and anastrozole, he was successfully treated with the Cyclin-dependent kinase (CKD) 4/6 inhibitor palbociclib, estrogen-receptor down-regulator fulvestrant and luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonist leuprolide with the duration of response of 21 months which has exceeded duration of response to prior treatments. This case is of interest given FDA expanded the approval of palbociclib in combination with AI or fulvestrant for male patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer in Apr. 2019 based on real-world data from electronic health records

Public Perceptions on Application Areas and Adoption Challenges of AI in Urban Services

Artificial intelligence (AI) deployment is exceedingly relevant to local governments, for example, in planning and delivering urban services. AI adoption in urban services, however, is an understudied area, particularly because there is limited knowledge and hence a research gap on the public's perceptions-users/receivers of these services. This study aims to examine people’s behaviors and preferences regarding the most suited urban services for application of AI technology and the challenges for governments to adopt AI for urban service delivery. The methodological approach includes data collection through an online survey from Australia and Hong Kong and statistical analysis of the data through binary logistic regression modeling. The study finds that: (a) Attitudes toward AI applications and ease of use have significant effects on forming an opinion on AI; (b) initial thoughts regarding the meaning of AI have a significant impact on AI application areas and adoption challenges; (c) perception differences between the two countries in AI application areas are significant; and (d) perception differences between the two countries in government AI adoption challenges are minimal. The study consolidates our understanding of how the public perceives the application areas and adoption challenges of AI, particularly in urban services, which informs local authorities that deploy or plan to adopt AI in their urban services. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2022-06-06-01 Full Text: PD