A translational energy spectrometer to probe interatomic potentials: dissociation dynamics of CO<SUB>2</SUB><SUP>+ </SUP>ions

A new ion translational energy spectrometer has been developed to carry out low-energy, gas-phase ion-molecule collision experiments which aim to probe molecular potential energy surfaces. The collisional technique employed relates small changes in the kinetic energy of a projectile ion after it has undergone collision with a static neutral atom/molecule to changes in the overall potential energy of the collision system; information can be furnished about the interaction potential between the projectile and the target. First measurements are reported of a high resolution target excitation spectrum obtained in 1.8 keV collisions of H2+ ions with N2. New results pertaining to collision-induced dissociation of CO2 + ions are presented and discussed in terms of potential functions of low-lying electronic states of the molecular ion

Should COVID-19 Patients \u3e 75 Years be Ventilated? An Outcome Study.

Background Elderly patients with COVID-19 disease are at increased risk for adverse outcomes. Current data regarding disease characteristics and outcomes in this population is limited. Aim To delineate the adverse factors associated with outcomes of COVID- 19 patients ≥75 years of age. Design Retrospective cohort study. Methods Patients were classified into mild/moderate, severe/very severe, and critical disease (intubated) based on oxygen requirements. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Results 355 patients aged ≥75 years hospitalized with COVID-19 between March 19th and April 25th, 2020 were included. Mean age was 84.3 years. One-third of the patients developed critical disease. Mean length of stay was 7.10 days. Vasopressors were required in 27%, with the highest frequency in the critical disease group (74.1%). Overall mortality was 57.2%, with a significant difference between severity groups (mild/moderate disease : 17.4%, severe/very severe disease : 71.3%, critical disease: 94.9%, p \u3c 0.001). Increased age, dementia, and severe/very severe and critical disease groups were each significantly associated with increased odds for mortality while diarrhea was associated with decreased odds for mortality (OR : 0.12, 95% CI : 0.02-0.60, p \u3c 0.05)]. None of the cardiovascular comorbidities were significantly associated with mortality. Conclusion Age and dementia are associated with increased odds for mortality in patients ≥75 years of age hospitalized with COVID-19. Those who require intubation have the greatest odds for mortality. Diarrhea as a presenting symptom was associated with lower odds for mortality

Frequencies of board meetings on various topics and corporate governance: evidence from China

This paper examines the relationship between number of topic-specific board meetings and quality of corporate governance. The quality of corporate governance is estimated by CEO turnover-performance and compensation-performance sensitivities. Information about topic-specific meetings is collected from the reports of independent directors of Chinese listed firms. We find that more frequent discussions of growth strategies related to the use of IPO proceeds, investment and acquisitions increase CEO compensation-performance sensitivity. By contrast, more discussions about the nomination of directors and top management are likely to reduce the sensitivities of both CEO turnover and compensation to performance. Our findings shed light on what makes boards efficient, and how board monitoring of assorted decisions modifies the relationship between CEO interests and firm performance

Postdigital Dialogue

This article is a multi-authored experimental postdigital dialogue about postdigital dialogue. Fourteen authors were invited to produce their sections, followed by two author-reviewers who examined the article as a whole. Authors were invited to reflect on Petar Jandric’s book Learning in the age of digital reason (2017) or to produce completely new insights. The article also contains a summary of book symposium on Learning in the age of digital reason held at the 2017 American Educational Research Conference (AERA). The authors are tentatively confident that this article produces more knowledge than the arithmetic sum of its constituent parts. However, they are also very aware of its limits and insist that their conclusions are not consensual or homogenous. As traditional forms of research increasingly fail to describe our current reality, they present this article as an experiment and a possible starting point for developing new dialogical research approaches fit for our postdigital reality

Low-Cost Investigation into Sources of PM2.5 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

peer reviewe

Should COVID-19 patients \u3e75 years be Ventilated? An Outcome Study

Background: Elderly patients with COVID-19 disease are at increased risk for adverse outcomes. Current data regarding disease characteristics and outcomes in this population are limited. Aim: To delineate the adverse factors associated with outcomes of COVID-19 patients ≥ 75 years of age. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Patients were classified into mild/moderate, severe/very severe and critical disease (intubated) based on oxygen requirements. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Results: A total of 355 patients aged ≥ 75 years hospitalized with COVID-19 between 19 March and 25 April 2020 were included.Mean age was 84.3 years. One-third of the patients developed critical disease. Mean length of stay was 7.10 days. Vasopressors were required in 27%, with the highest frequency in the critical disease group (74.1%). Overall mortality was 57.2%, with a significant difference between severity groups (mild/moderate disease: 17.4%, severe/very severe disease: 71.3%, critical disease: 94.9%, P \u3c 0.001).Increased age, dementia, and severe/very severe and critical disease groups were in- dependently associated with increased odds for mortality while diarrhea was associated with decreased odds for mortality (OR: 0.12, 95% CI: 0.02–0.60, P \u3c 0.05). None of the cardiovascular comorbidities were significantly associated with mortality. Conclusion: Age and dementia are associated with increased odds for mortality in patients ≥ 75 years of age hospitalized with COVID-19. Those who require intubation have the greatest odds for mortality. Diarrhea as a presenting symptom was associated with lower odds for mortality

The Role of Information and Financial Reporting in Corporate Governance and Debt Contracting

We review recent literature on the role of financial reporting transparency in reducing governance-related agency conflicts among managers, directors, and shareholders, as well as in reducing agency conflicts between shareholders and creditors, and offer researchers some suggested avenues for future research. Key themes include the endogenous nature of debt contracts and governance mechanisms with respect to information asymmetry between contracting parties, the heterogeneous nature of the informational demands of contracting parties, and the heterogeneous nature of the resulting governance and debt contracts. We also emphasize the role of a commitment to financial reporting transparency in facilitating informal multiperiod contracts among managers, directors, shareholders, and creditors