Probing the Production of Actinides under Different r-process Conditions

Several extremely metal-poor stars are known to have an enhanced thorium abundance. These actinide-boost stars have likely inherited material from an r-process that operated under different conditions than the r-process that is reflected in most other metal-poor stars with no actinide enhancement. In this article, we explore the sensitivity of actinide production in r-process calculations to the hydrodynamical conditions as well as the nuclear physics. We find that the initial electron fraction Y e is the most important factor determining the actinide yields and that the abundance ratios between long-lived actinides and lanthanides like europium can vary for different conditions in our calculations. In our setup, conditions with high entropies systematically lead to lower actinide abundances relative to other r-process elements. Furthermore, actinide-enhanced ejecta can also be distinguished from the "regular" composition in other ways, most notably in the second r-process peak abundances.Peer reviewe

Mining Small Routine Clinical Data: A Population Pharmacokinetic Model and Optimal Sampling Times of Capecitabine and its Metabolites

Purpose: The present study was performed to demonstrate that small amounts of routine clinical data allow to generate valuable knowledge. Concretely, the aims of this research were to build a joint population pharmacokinetic model for capecitabine and three of its metabolites (5-DFUR, 5-FU and 5-FUH2) and to determine optimal sampling times for therapeutic drug monitoring. Methods: We used data of 7 treatment cycles of capecitabine in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. The population pharmacokinetic model was built as a multicompartmental model using NONMEM and was internally validated by visual predictive check. Optimal sampling times were estimated using PFIM 4.0 following D-optimality criterion. Results: The final model was a multicompartmental model which represented the sequential transformations from capecitabine to its metabolites 5-DFUR, 5-FU and 5-FUH2 and was correctly validated. The optimal sampling times were 0.546, 0.892, 1.562, 4.736 and 8 hours after the administration of the drug. For its correct implementation in clinical practice, the values were rounded to 0.5, 1, 1.5, 5 and 8 hours after the administration of the drug. Conclusions: Capecitabine, 5-DFUR, 5-FU and 5-FUH2 can be correctly described by the joint multicompartmental model presented in this work. The aforementioned times are optimal to maximize the information of samples. Useful knowledge can be obtained for clinical practice from small databases

A one-point increase in the Damage Index for Antiphospholipid Syndrome (DIAPS) predicts mortality in thrombotic antiphospholipid syndrome

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether early damage and its kinetics measured by the Damage Index for Antiphospholipid Syndrome (DIAPS) predicts mortality. METHODS: We carried out a single-centre retrospective analysis of thrombotic APS patients (2006 Sydney criteria), using the DIAPS for damage assessment. Early damage was considered to be at six months after disease onset; early damage increase (delta-DIAPS) was deemed to be at least a one-point rise in DIAPS within the first five years of illness. Groups were compared using appropriate statistical tests. Survival was analysed by the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox regression analysis was performed to investigate predictors of mortality. RESULTS: A total of 197 patients (71.1% female; 65.9% primary APS; 72.4% Caucasian) were followed for up to 43 years (median 10). Damage developed in 143 (73.6%) patients. Twenty-three patients (12%) died. Secondary APS (HR 3.07, 95%CI 1.32-7.12, p=0.009), male sex (HR 3.14, 95%CI 1.35-7.33, p=0.008) and age at APS onset ≥40 years (HR 5.34, 95%CI 1.96-14.53, p=0.001) were risk factors for death. Early damage (n=69, 35.0%) was not associated with death (p=0.231). Having a first arterial event was associated with early damage (p<0.001), but not with delta-DIAPS (p=0.539) nor with the risk of death (p=0.151). Delta-DIAPS (n=53/181, 29.3%) predicted mortality (HR 5.40, 95%CI 2.33-12.52, p<0.001), even after adjusting individually for APS category (secondary), sex (male), early damage and age at APS onset (≥40 years) (all p<0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Evolving damage in the first five years of illness, but not early damage, predicted mortality regardless of the nature of the first thrombotic event, sex, APS category and age

Behavioral accounting theory in the scope of financial reporting and auditing applications

Psikoloji bilimi ile finansın kesişimi olarak nitelendirilebilecek olan davranışsal finans uzun yıllardır finans literatüründe yer almasına ve oldukça çok sayıda akademik çalışmaya konu olmasına rağmen davranışsal muhasebe bu bağlamda daha geride kalmıştır. Oysa ki Amerika Muhasebe Birliği’nin (AAA) muhasebe eğitiminde psikoloji ile ilgili konuları dahil etme yönündeki çağrısı 1970’li yıllara kadar geriye gitmektedir. Finansal raporları hazırlayan muhasebecilerin sıklıkla mesleki yargılarına göre karar vermek durumunda kalmaları ve raporların bu doğrultuda şekillenmesinin yanı sıra bu raporları denetleyenlerin mesleki şüphecilik ile hareket ediyor oluşu davranışsal muhasebenin etki alanını ortaya koymaktadır. Çalışmanın amacı davranışsal muhasebenin teorik altyapısını ve ilgili olduğu teorileri ortaya koymak ve finansal raporlama ve denetim uygulamalarındaki yansımalarını incelemektir. Bu doğrultuda ilgili finansal raporlama ve denetim standartları da ele alınmaktadır.Although behavioral finance, that can be described as the intersection of psychology and finance, has been in the financial literature for many years and is subject to a great number of academic studies, behavioral accounting has lagged behind in this context despite the call of the American Accounting Association (AAA) to include psychology-related issues in accounting education goes back to the 1970s. Accountants who prepare financial reports frequently make decisions according to professional judgment so they shape the financial reports accordingly; auditors of these reports are acted with professional skepticism. These two facts reveals the domain of behavioral accounting. The aim of the current study is to demonstrate the theoretical background of behavioral accounting and other theories linked and to examine the implications of financial reporting & auditing practices. In this respect, related financial reporting and auditing standards are also addressed.Publisher's Versio