Эффективность функционирования торгового предприятия как основа формирования его конкурентоспособности

У статті проаналізовано взаємозв’язок між категоріями «ефективність функціонування підприємства» і «конкурентоспроможність підприємства». Виділено чинники, які на них впливають. Визначено основні положення, які необхідно враховувати при оцінці конкурентоспроможності підприємства.The interrelation between categories «efficiency of functioning of the enterprise» and «competitiveness of the enterprise» is investigated in the article. Factors which influence these economic categories are allocated. The basic provisions which must be taken into account at the estimation of competitiveness of enterprise are defined.В статье проанализирована взаимосвязь между категориями «эффективность функционирования предприятия» и «конкурентоспособность предприятия». Выделены факторы, которые на них влияют. Определены основные положения, которые необходимо учитывать при оценке конкурентоспособности предприятия

Estimating the effect of a scanner upgrade on measures of grey matter structure for longitudinal designs

Longitudinal imaging studies are crucial for advancing the understanding of brain development over the lifespan. Thus, more and more studies acquire imaging data at multiple time points or with long follow-up intervals. In these studies changes to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners often become inevitable which may decrease the reliability of the MRI assessments and introduce biases. We therefore investigated the difference between MRI scanners with subsequent versions (3 Tesla Siemens Verio vs. Skyra) on the cortical and subcortical measures of grey matter in 116 healthy, young adults using the well-established longitudinal FreeSurfer stream for T1-weighted brain images. We found excellent between-scanner reliability for cortical and subcortical measures of grey matter structure (intra-class correlation coefficient > 0.8). Yet, paired t-tests revealed statistically significant differences in at least 67% of the regions, with percent differences around 2 to 4%, depending on the outcome measure. Offline correction for gradient distortions only slightly reduced these biases. Further, T1-imaging based quality measures reflecting gray-white matter contrast systematically differed between scanners. We conclude that scanner upgrades during a longitudinal study introduce bias in measures of cortical and subcortical grey matter structure. Therefore, before upgrading a MRI scanner during an ongoing study, researchers should prepare to implement an appropriate correction method for these effects

Elecsys CSF biomarker immunoassays demonstrate concordance with amyloid-PET imaging

Background: β-amyloid (Aβ) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging is currently the only Food and Drug Administration-approved method to support clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD). However, numerous research studies support the use of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers, as a cost-efficient, quick and equally valid method to define AD pathology. Methods: Using automated Elecsys® assays (Roche Diagnostics) for Aβ (1-42) (Aβ42), Aβ (1-40) (Aβ40), total tau (tTau) and phosphorylated tau (181P) (pTau), we examined CSF samples from 202 participants of the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) study of ageing cohort, to demonstrate the concordance with pathological AD via PET imaging. Results: Ratios Aβ42/Aβ40, tTau/Aβ42 and pTau/Aβ42 had higher receiver operator characteristic - area under the curve (all 0.94), and greater concordance with Aβ-PET (overall percentage agreement ~ 90%), compared with individual biomarkers. Conclusion: Strong concordance between CSF biomarkers and Aβ-PET status was observed overall, including for cognitively normal participants, further strengthening the association between these markers of AD neuropathological burden for both developmental research studies and for use in clinical trials. © 2020 The Author(s)

Culturing Aerobic and Anaerobic Bacteria and Mammalian Cells with a Microfluidic Differential Oxygenator

In this manuscript, we report on the culture of anaerobic and aerobic species within a disposable multilayer polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic device with an integrated differential oxygenator. A gas-filled microchannel network functioning as an oxygen−nitrogen mixer generates differential oxygen concentration. By controlling the relative flow rate of the oxygen and nitrogen input gases, the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration in proximal microchannels filled with culture media are precisely regulated by molecular diffusion. Sensors consisting of an oxygen-sensitive dye embedded in the fluid channels permit dynamic fluorescence-based monitoring of the DO concentration using low-cost light-emitting diodes. To demonstrate the general utility of the platform for both aerobic and anaerobic culture, three bacteria with differential oxygen requirements (E. coli, A. viscosus, and F. nucleatum), as well as a model mammalian cell line (murine embryonic fibroblast cells (3T3)), were cultured. Growth characteristics of the selected species were analyzed as a function of eight discrete DO concentrations, ranging from 0 ppm (anaerobic) to 42 ppm (fully saturated)

First amyloid β1-42 certified reference material for re-calibrating commercial immunoassays

INTRODUCTION: Reference materials based on human cerebrospinal fluid were certified for the mass concentration of amyloid beta (Aβ)1-42 (Aβ42 ). They are intended to be used to calibrate diagnostic assays for Aβ42 . METHODS: The three certified reference materials (CRMs), ERM-DA480/IFCC, ERM-DA481/IFCC and ERM-DA482/IFCC, were prepared at three concentration levels and characterized using isotope dilution mass spectrometry methods. Roche, EUROIMMUN, and Fujirebio used the three CRMs to re-calibrate their immunoassays. RESULTS: The certified Aβ42 mass concentrations in ERM-DA480/IFCC, ERM-DA481/IFCC, and ERM-DA482/IFCC are 0.45, 0.72, and 1.22 μg/L, respectively, with expanded uncertainties (k = 2) of 0.07, 0.11, and 0.18 μg/L, respectively. Before re-calibration, a good correlation (Pearson's r > 0.97), yet large biases, were observed between results from different commercial assays. After re-calibration the between-assay bias was reduced to < 5%. DISCUSSION: The Aβ42 CRMs can ensure the equivalence of results between methods and across platforms for the measurement of Aβ42

Model of daytime emissions of electronically-vibrationally excited products of O₃ and O₂ photolysis: application to ozone retrieval

The traditional kinetics of electronically excited products of O3 and O2 photolysis is supplemented with the processes of the energy transfer between electronically-vibrationally excited levels O2(a1&Delta;g, v) and O2(b1&Sigma;+g, v), excited atomic oxygen O(1D), and the O2 molecules in the ground electronic state O2(X3&Sigma;g&minus;, v). In contrast to the previous models of kinetics of O2(a1&Delta;g) and O2 (b1&Sigma;+g), our model takes into consideration the following basic facts: first, photolysis of O3 and O2 and the processes of energy exchange between the metastable products of photolysis involve generation of oxygen molecules on highly excited vibrational levels in all considered electronic states &ndash; b1&Sigma;+g, a1&Delta;g and X3&Sigma;g&minus;; second, the absorption of solar radiation not only leads to populating the electronic states on vibrational levels with vibrational quantum number v equal to 0 &ndash; O2(b1&Sigma;+g, v=0) (at 762 nm) and O2(a1&Delta;g, v=0) (at 1.27 &micro;m), but also leads to populating the excited electronic&ndash;vibrational states O2(b1&Sigma;+g, v=1) and O2(b1&Sigma;+g, v=2) (at 689 nm and 629 nm). The proposed model allows one to calculate not only the vertical profiles of the O2(a1&Delta;g, v=0) and O2(b1&Sigma;g, v=0) concentrations, but also the profiles of [O2(a1&Delta;g, v&le;5)], [O2 (b1&Sigma;+g , v=1, 2)] and O2(X3&Sigma;g&minus;, v=1&ndash;35). In the altitude range 60&ndash;125 km, consideration of the electronic-vibrational kinetics significantly changes the calculated concentrations of the metastable oxygen molecules and reduces the discrepancy between the altitude profiles of ozone concentrations retrieved from the 762-nm and 1.27-&micro;m emissions measured simultaneously

MIIP Report: A Case Study of Use and External Components of Social Costs that are Related to Municipal Infrastructure Rehabilitation

The Municipal Infrastructure Investment Planning (MIIP) project is a four-year collaborative project between the Institute for Research in Construction, six Canadian cities, three regional municipalities and the Department of National Defence. One of the project deliverables is research in the area of social costs. The main objective of this client report is to establish a general procedure to quantify user components of social costs related to municipal infrastructure rehabilitation and constructionprojects. User costs include travel delay costs, vehicle operating and maintenance costs, and cost of accidents. Existing user costs quantification models are identified and modified where necessary to represent Canadian urban environment.The proposed methodology is applied to actual infrastructure rehabilitation and construction projects carried out in the City of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada in summer 2006. It is identified that travel delay costs represent a major part of project's user costs. Effective mitigation strategies are proposed as a result of this research. These include scheduling work for off-peak hours such as evenings and weekends; clear and accurate marking of work zone and detours; coordinating with other work in close proximity; detours through industrial instead of residential areas.Le projet Planification de l?investissement dans les infrastructures municipales (PIIM) est un programme collaboratif de quatre ans qui rassemble l'Institut de recherche en construction, six villes canadiennes, trois municipalit\ue9s r\ue9gionales et le minist\ue8re de la D\ue9fense nationale. L?un des livrables de ce projet est d?effectuer des recherches sur les co\ufbts sociaux. L?objectif principal du rapport est d?\ue9tablir une m\ue9thodologie g\ue9n\ue9rale pour quantifier la part des co\ufbts sociaux relatifs aux projets de construction et de r\ue9novation des infrastructures municipales qui revient aux utilisateurs. Les co\ufbts attribu\ue9s aux utilisateurs comprennent les d\ue9penses engendr\ue9es par les retards, le fonctionnement et l'entretien des v\ue9hicules, ainsi que les accidents. Nous avons utilis\ue9 des mod\ue8les existants de quantification des co\ufbts des utilisateurs, en les modifiant lorsque n\ue9cessaire pour refl\ue9ter le milieu urbain du Canada. Nous avons appliqu\ue9 cette m\ue9thodologie \ue0 des chantiers de construction et de r\ue9novation d?infrastructures men\ue9s dans la ville de Regina (Saskatchewan, Canada) durant l'\ue9t\ue9 2006. Une part importante des co\ufbts engendr\ue9s par les utilisateurs de ces chantiers \ue9tant imputable aux retards, nous avons \ue9labor\ue9 des strat\ue9gies efficaces visant \ue0 r\ue9duire ces co\ufbts. Parmi ces strat\ue9gies, nous recommandons d?effectuer les travaux en dehors des heures de pointe, comme les soirs et les week-ends, de d\ue9limiter clairement et pr\ue9cis\ue9ment la zone des travaux et de bien fl\ue9cher les d\ue9viations, de coordonner les travaux avec ceux men\ue9s de proximit\ue9 et enfin, de d\ue9tourner la circulation vers les zones industrielles plut\uf4t que les zones r\ue9sidentielles.Peer reviewed: NoNRC publication: Ye