The discovery of male Caligus brevicaudatus Scott, 1901 (Copepoda: Caligidae) parasitic on tub gurnard, Chelidonichthys lucerna (Linnaeus) from the eastern Mediterranean

© Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre CAS. Folia Parasitologica is an open access journal since 2015, this article is published under the terms of a Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The file attached is the published version of the article

Effects of lagging projectification in the public sector on realizing infrastructure projects

The public sector in Germany lags behind the economy in terms of projectification, i.e., the prevalence of projects and experience in applying project management. This has significant implications for realizing complex infrastructure projects in which the public sector is involved as one of the main actors. Nowadays, projectification represents a particular way of thinking about how to embrace a series of dynamic and challenging changes, design them, and implement them effectively for the benefit of society. A quantitative study of projectification in society in Germany was the starting point for our research, the results of which we compared with data from earlier studies of projectification in the economy. Using an interpretative case study drawing on insights from the Berlin Airport, we analyzed the impact of lagging projectification in the public sector in Germany on realizing infrastructure projects to propose suitable approaches. The results of this case study reveal significant effects of lagging projectification in the public sector of Germany on realizing infrastructure projects. In the case of the Berlin BER Airport, an inadequate governance system led to a 9-year delay in the completion date and a 250% overrun of costs directly attributable to the project. This could have been avoided by involving the private construction industry more collaboratively, by building on previous experiences gained, and by a more cooperative way of project planning and implementation. To guide future research, hypotheses are derived that can be used to analyze the underlying problem in greater depth and to derive recommendations for action

Exploring the social legitimacy of urban road PPPs in Nigeria

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) have become an effective and efficient contractual agreement between the state and the private sector for providing infrastructure services. Yet, their social acceptance and legitimacy are questionable. Communities accept such changes to their social contract with the government only if the PPPs are perceived to be legitimate as public institutions are not trusted by the communities. As a result, the disappointments and controversial underperformance of PPPs in Nigeria, like most developing countries, have been generally associated with community opposition due to any agency or competence-related failure. Hence, the need for this study. Drawing on data from two urban road PPPs in Nigeria, we identify the following three deeply internalised shared beliefs that shape a community group’s perceptions and attitudes towards an infrastructure built by PPPs in their neighbourhood: the public services should be provided for free, PPPs are created mainly to serve perceived ‘corrupt’ politicians and public institutions are not effective and efficient in service delivery. These beliefs, combined with the community’s structural power, explain why some community groups oppose (or support) infrastructure PPPs within their proximity, and the growing legitimacy challenge PPPs face. Our paper in this regard provides a guidance for designing effective and targeted community engagement strategies for PPP projects and contributed to PPP stakeholder management and mainstream stakeholder management research

Evidence of increasing incidence of type 1 diabetes and ketoacidosis among children in the Republic of Srpska in period 2017–2022 with special focus on COVID-19 global pandemic years

Background and objectivesPrimary focus of the research was to determine the incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus in the period from 2017 to 2022, and whether COVID-19 had an impact on the increase in the number of newly diagnosed children with diabetes type 1 under the age of 15 in the Republic of Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina). In the period 2001–2016 the incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus was 11/100,000, with an annual increasing rate of 14.2%.MethodsAvailable data from pediatric endocrinology clinics, in the Republic of Srpska, on the number of newly diagnosed patients with diabetes mellitus in the period from January 1, 2017 until December 31, 2022 were used. A retrospective analysis was performed, and the capture-recapture method was used for the final assessment, and the obtained result corresponds to about 99% of the population.ResultsThe total number of children in the group of 0–14 years of age diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus in this period was 183, of which 96 (52.46%) were boys, and 87 (47.54%) were girls. The average age at which diabetes mellitus was diagnosed was 8.3 ± 3.9 years. Average incidence of diabetes in the period 2017–2022 was 19/100,000 (95% CI 13.1–25.0). The highest incidence was 28.7/100,000 in 2020, the first year of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Out of a total of 183 newly diagnosed cases in the period 2017–2022, 73 (39.9%) were diagnosed with ketoacidosis upon admission. The largest number of newly diagnosed children was recorded in the group of children aged 10–14 years.ConclusionIn the last 6 years, there has been a significant increase in the incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus in children under the age of 15. With an incidence of 19.4/100,000 in the Republic of Srpska, we entered the group of countries with high-risk for diabetes. Further steps must focus on the education of the entire society in order to recognize the symptoms of the disease in time and prevent the occurrence of ketoacidosis, which could significantly reduce the burden on health systems, especially in times of global pandemics, such as the COVID-19 pandemic

The balanced scorecard and EFQM working together in a performance management framework in construction industry

In the recent years the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and EFQM Excellence Model (EFQM) became very popular performance management (PMM) models. However, many studies showed their flaws, especially in communicating, integrating and aligning Key Performance Indicators (KPI) with strategy, setting targets and conducting benchmarking. BSC or EFQM have always been used alone and regarded as exclusive PMM tools. In contrast, this study introduces a novel PMM framework that relies on the strengths of both BSC and EFQM. The framework uses the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to connect these two models. At first, AHP is used for setting priorities among competitive strategic objectives and afterwards for selecting KPIs against SMARTER (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound, Encouraging and Rewarding) criteria. By verifying the framework on the construction industry we discovered that companies can integrate EFQM and BSC to conduct benchmarking, identify best practice, align strategy with the competitive surroundings and selecting strategy aligned KPIs. Using this framework, construction companies can thus achieve strategic control that otherwise by just using BSC could not be achieved. These findings are important because they bring a new perspective on managing organizations and confront many authors who have put EFQM and BSC against each other

Predicting sinusoidal obstruction syndrome after allogeneic stem cell transplantation with the EASIX biomarker panel

No biomarker panel is established for prediction of sinusoidal obstruction syndrome/veno-occlusive disease (SOS/VOD), a major complication of allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT). We compared the potential of the Endothelial Activation and Stress Index (EASIX), based on lactate dehydrogenase, creatinine, and thrombocytes, with that of the SOS/VOD CIBMTR clinical risk score to predict SOS/VOD in two independent cohorts. In a third cohort, we studied the impact of endothelium-active prophylaxis with pravastatin and ursodeoxycholic acid (UDA) on SOS/VOD risk. The cumulative incidence of SOS/VOD within 28 days after alloSCT in the training cohort (Berlin, 2013-2015, n=446) and in the validation cohort (Heidelberg, 2002-2009, n=380) was 9.6% and 8.4%, respectively. In both cohorts, EASIX assessed at the day of alloSCT (EASIX-d0) was significantly associated with SOS/VOD incidence (p<0.0001), overall survival (OS) and non-relapse mortality (NRM). In contrast, the CIBMTR score showed no statistically significant association with SOS/VOD incidence, and did not predict OS and NRM. In patients receiving pravastatin/UDA, the cumulative incidence of SOS/VOD was significantly lower at 1.7% (p<0.0001, Heidelberg, 2010-2015, n=359) than in the two cohorts not receiving pravastatin/UDA. The protective effect was most pronounced in patients with high EASIX-d0. The cumulative SOS/VOD incidence in the highest EASIX-d0 quartiles were 18.1% and 16.8% in both cohorts without endothelial prophylaxis as compared to 2.2% in patients with pravastatin/UDA prophylaxis (p<0.0001). EASIX-d0 is the first validated biomarker for defining a subpopulation of alloSCT recipients at high risk for SOS/VOD. Statin/UDA endothelial prophylaxis could constitute a prophylactic measure for patients at increased SOS/VOD risk

EFQM excellence model as the TQM model of the construction industry of southeastern Europe

Over the years the European Foundation for Quality Management Excellence model (EFQM) has become a popular performance management tool and representation of Total Quality Management (TQM) in Europe. Although the model has been tested and supported by many questionnaire surveys, EFQM has never been validated on real self-assessment scores obtained from companies. Therefore this study validates the model on scores from 34 construction companies in South Eastern Europe. The analysis shows that: a) there is an enabler excellence construct that is obtained by each enabler criteria; b) there is a result excellence construct that is obtained by each result criteria; and c) the EFQM model is most suitable for Contractor type organizations. Furthermore, we have found that the EFQM weights do not entirely correspond with the construction industry. Therefore we present new weights for the better use in the construction. Although this study proves EFQM to be a good representation of TQM in the construction industry, further improvements are needed. This is especially evident within investor and consultant type organization, where the criteria of Policy and Strategy, Leadership and Processes, People results and Client results showed certain limitations

Construction project organisation for 3D printing technology

Integracija tehnologije trodimenzionalnog (3D) ispisa u građevinske projekte potencijalno donosi mnoge prednosti kao što su smanjeni zahtjevi za radnom snagom na gradilištu, sigurnije upravljanje projektnim rokovima i budžetom te učinkovitije gospodarenje otpadom. Međutim, zamah tehnologije nije prema očekivanjima zbog nedostatka standardiziranih procesa i metodologija, ali i zbog izazova koje nameće nova tehnologija. Organizacijsku strukturu takvih projekata potrebno je sveobuhvatno proučiti. Ova studija nudi pregled postojećih studija i triju različitih studija slučaja u Njemačkoj, Ujedinjenome Kraljevstvu i Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama u cilju istraživanja primarne razlike između uloga, odgovornosti i interakcija ključnih sudionika projekta unutar organizacijske strukture građevinskih projekata u sklopu kojih se primjenjuje tehnologija 3D ispisa. Razmatraju se uloge i odgovornosti klijenata/investitora, voditelja projekta/voditelja izgradnje, arhitekata, građevinskih inženjera, nadzornog inženjera i izvođača/glavnih izvođača. Dakle, moraju se uskladiti sva obilježja uloge ključnih sudionika i odgovornosti stvorenih tom tehnologijom u nastajanju. U suprotnome će kombinacija nove tehnologije i konvencionalne organizacije smanjiti vrijednost koju stvara nova tehnologija. Ključne riječiThe integration of three-dimensional (3D) printing technology into construction projects potentially yields many benefits, such as reduced site labour requirements, safer manoeuvring of project deadlines and budgets, and more effective waste management. However, the momentum of technology is not as expected owing to the lack of standardised processes and methodologies, and challenges imposed by the new technology. The organisational structure of such projects must be comprehensively studied. Studies on construction projects using the 3D printing technology are lacking. This study reviews the existing studies and three different case studies in Germany, United Kingdom, and United States of America to explore the primary differences between the roles, responsibilities, and interactions of key project participants within the organisational structure of construction projects using the 3D printing technology. The roles and responsibilities of clients/investors, project manager/construction managers, architects, structural engineers, quantity surveyor/project supervisor, and contractors/main contractors have been considered. Therefore, all features of the role of key participants and responsibilities to the new momentum created by this emerging technology must be aligned; otherwise, the combination of new technology and conventional organisation will reduce the value created by the new technology

c-Abl mediated tyrosine phosphorylation of Aha1 activates its co-chaperone function in cancer cells

The ability of Heat Shock Protein 90 (Hsp90) to hydrolyze ATP is essential for its chaperone function. The co-chaperone Aha1 stimulates Hsp90 ATPase activity, tailoring the chaperone function to specific "client" proteins. The intracellular signaling mechanisms directly regulating Aha1 association with Hsp90 remain unknown. Here, we show that c-Abl kinase phosphorylates Y223 in human Aha1 (hAha1), promoting its interaction with Hsp90. This, consequently, results in an increased Hsp90 ATPase activity, enhances Hsp90 interaction with kinase clients, and compromises the chaperoning of non-kinase clients such as glucocorticoid receptor and CFTR. Suggesting a regulatory paradigm, we also find that Y223 phosphorylation leads to ubiquitination and degradation of hAha1 in the proteasome. Finally, pharmacologic inhibition of c-Abl prevents hAha1 interaction with Hsp90, thereby hypersensitizing cancer cells to Hsp90 inhibitors both in vitro and ex vivo

Donor Lymphocyte Infusions for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Relapsing after Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation: May We Predict Graft-versus-Leukemia Without Graft-versus-Host Disease?

AbstractDonor lymphocyte infusions (DLI) are an effective treatment for relapsed chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT). Leukemia resistance and secondary graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) are major obstacles to success with DLI. The aim of this study was to identify pre-DLI factors associated with prolonged survival in remission without secondary GVHD. We retrospectively analyzed 500 patients treated with DLI for CML relapse (16% molecular, 30% cytogenetic, and 54% hematological) after alloSCT. The overall probabilities of failure- and secondary GVHD–free survival (FGFS) were 29% and 27% at 5 and 10 years after DLI, respectively. The type of relapse was the major factor influencing FGFS (40% for molecular and/or cytogenetic relapse and 20% for hematological relapse at 5 years, P 50% at 5 years) when DLI were given beyond 1 year from alloSCT for molecular and/or cytogenetic CML relapse that was not preceded by chronic GVHD