The Comparative Efficiency of Small-Firm Bankruptcies: A Study of the US and Finnish Bankruptcy Codes

We use a sample of small firms to compare efficiency aspects of the creditor oriented old (pre-1993) Finnish bankruptcy code and the debtor oriented US code. We find that although the same economic factors affect liquidations in both the US and Finland, under the Finnish code firms are somewhat more likely to be liquidated piecemeal. We also find that the costs of going concern sales and of liquidations under the Finnish code tend to go toward the higher end of the range found in US studies; and that payments to creditors in the US reorganizations are higher than the payoffs under the Finnish bankruptcy regime

Ethical issues related to the use of gerontechnology in older people care: A scoping review

Background:Demographic trends indicate growth of population aged 65 and older in Western countries. One of the greatest challenges is to provide high-quality care for all. Technological solutions designed for older people, gerontechnology, can somewhat balance the gap between resources and the increasing demand of healthcare services. However, there are also ethical issues in the use of gerontechnology that need to be pointed out.Purpose:To describe what ethical issues are related to the use of gerontechnology in the care of community-dwelling older people.Methods:A scoping review was performed to identify and analyse studies concerning ethical issues when using gerontechnology in the home care of older people. The literature search was limited to studies published after 1990 and addressed to the electronic databases CINAHL, PubMed, Cochrane, Medic, IEEE Explore and Web of Science. The search was performed in July−August 2018. Data from empirical studies were analysed using thematic analysis.Ethical considerations:This scoping review was conducted in accordance with good scientific practice. The work of other researchers was respected and cited appropriately.Results:A total of 17 studies were identified. Two main themes were found. ‘Balancing between the benefits of using gerontechnology and the basic rights of older people’, consisted of the subthemes safety, privacy and autonomy. The other main theme, ‘Gerontechnology as a risk of insecurity for older people’, included the subthemes fear of losing human contact and concern and fear. Surveillance and monitoring technologies were mainly studied.Conclusion:These results suggest that there may be ethical issues related to the use of gerontechnology and they must therefore be taken into consideration when implementing technology in the care of community-dwelling older people.</div

Bonding mechanism in the nitrides Ti2AlN and TiN: an experimental and theoretical investigation

The electronic structure of nanolaminate Ti2AlN and TiN thin films has been investigated by bulk-sensitive soft x-ray emission spectroscopy. The measured Ti L, N K, Al L1 and Al L2,3 emission spectra are compared with calculated spectra using ab initio density-functional theory including dipole transition matrix elements. Three different types of bond regions are identified; a relatively weak Ti 3d - Al 3p bonding between -1 and -2 eV below the Fermi level, and Ti 3d - N 2p and Ti 3d - N 2s bonding which are deeper in energy observed at -4.8 eV and -15 eV below the Fermi level, respectively. A strongly modified spectral shape of 3s states of Al L2,3 emission from Ti2AlN in comparison to pure Al metal is found, which reflects the Ti 3d - Al 3p hybridization observed in the Al L1 emission. The differences between the electronic and crystal structures of Ti2AlN and TiN are discussed in relation to the intercalated Al layers of the former compound and the change of the materials properties in comparison to the isostructural carbides.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures; http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevB.76.19512

Low-Energy Electron Microscopy Studies of Interlayer Mass Transport Kinetics on TiN(111)

In situ low-energy electron microscopy was used to study interlayer mass transport kinetics during annealing of three-dimensional (3D) TiN(111) mounds, consisting of stacked 2D islands, at temperatures T between 1550 and 1700 K. At each T, the islands decay at a constant rate, irrespective of their initial position in the mounds, indicating that mass is not conserved locally. From temperature-dependent island decay rates, we obtain an activation energy of 2.8+/-0.3 eV. This is consistent with the detachment-limited decay of 2D TiN islands on atomically-flat TiN(111) terraces [Phys. Rev. Lett. 89 (2002) 176102], but significantly smaller than the value, 4.5+/-0.2 eV, obtained for bulk-diffusion-limited spiral step growth [Nature 429, 49 (2004)]. We model the process based upon step flow, while accounting for step-step interactions, step permeability, and bulk mass transport. The results show that TiN(111) steps are highly permeable and exhibit strong repulsive temperature-dependent step-step interactions that vary between 0.003 and 0.076 eV-nm. The rate-limiting process controlling TiN(111) mound decay is surface, rather than bulk, diffusion in the detachment-limited regime.Comment: 26 pages, 5 figure

Massive symptomatic subependymoma of the lateral ventricles: case report and review of the literature

Subependymomas are benign intraventricular tumors with an indolent growth pattern, which are usually asymptomatic, and most commonly occur in the fourth and lateral ventricles. When symptomatic, subependymomas often obstruct critical portions of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pathway, causing hydrocephalus, and range from 3 cm to 5 cm in size. We report a case of an unusually massive subependymoma of the lateral ventricles treated with subtotal resection, ventriculoperitoneal shunt, and post-surgical radiation. The clinical course, radiographic and pathologic characteristics of this massive intraventricular subependymoma are discussed, as well as the differential diagnosis of lateral ventricular masses and a review of the literature concerning subependymomas.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46667/1/234_2005_Article_1342.pd

Brain myoinositol as a potential marker of amyloid-related pathology: A longitudinal study

Objective To investigate the association between longitudinal changes in proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) metabolites and amyloid pathology in individuals without dementia, and to explore the relationship between MRS and cognitive decline. Methods In this longitudinal multiple time point study (a subset of the Swedish BioFINDER), we included cognitively healthy participants, individuals with subjective cognitive decline, and individuals with mild cognitive impairment. MRS was acquired serially in 294 participants (670 individual spectra) from the posterior cingulate/precuneus. Using mixed-effects models, we assessed the association between MRS and baseline β-amyloid (Aβ), and between MRS and the longitudinal Mini-Mental State Examination, accounting for APOE, age, and sex. Results While baseline MRS metabolites were similar in Aβ positive (Aβ+) and negative (Aβ−) individuals, in the Aβ+ group, the estimated rate of change was +1.9%/y for myo-inositol (mI)/creatine (Cr) and −2.0%/y for N-acetylaspartate (NAA)/mI. In the Aβ− group, mI/Cr and NAA/mI yearly change was −0.05% and +1.2%; however, this was not significant across time points. The mild cognitive impairment Aβ+ group showed the steepest MRS changes, with an estimated rate of +2.93%/y (p = 0.07) for mI/Cr and −3.55%/y (p < 0.01) for NAA/mI. Furthermore, in the entire cohort, we found that Aβ+ individuals with low baseline NAA/mI had a significantly higher rate of cognitive decline than Aβ+ individuals with high baseline NAA/mI. Conclusion We demonstrate that the longitudinal change in mI/Cr and NAA/mI is associated with underlying amyloid pathology. MRS may be a useful noninvasive marker of Aβ-related processes over time. In addition, we show that in Aβ+ individuals, baseline NAA/mI may predict the rate of future cognitive decline

Do Binucleate Cardiomyocytes Have A Role in Myocardial Repair? Insights Using Isolated Rodent Myocytes and Cell Culture

Neonatal and adult cardiomyocytes were isolated from rat hearts. Some of the adult myocytes were cultured to allow for cell dedifferentiation, a phenomenon thought to mimic cell changes that occur in stressed myocardium, with myocytes regressing to a fetal pattern of metabolism and stellate neonatal shape

Diffusion and perfusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging for tumor volume definition in radiotherapy of brain tumors

Abstract Accurate target volume delineation is crucial for the radiotherapy of tumors. Diffusion and perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can provide functional information about brain tumors, and they are able to detect tumor volume and physiological changes beyond the lesions shown on conventional MRI. This review examines recent studies that utilized diffusion and perfusion MRI for tumor volume definition in radiotherapy of brain tumors, and it presents the opportunities and challenges in the integration of multimodal functional MRI into clinical practice. The results indicate that specialized and robust post-processing algorithms and tools are needed for the precise alignment of targets on the images, and comprehensive validations with more clinical data are important for the improvement of the correlation between histopathologic results and MRI parameter images