DMTs and Covid-19 severity in MS: a pooled analysis from Italy and France

We evaluated the effect of DMTs on Covid-19 severity in patients with MS, with a pooled-analysis of two large cohorts from Italy and France. The association of baseline characteristics and DMTs with Covid-19 severity was assessed by multivariate ordinal-logistic models and pooled by a fixed-effect meta-analysis. 1066 patients with MS from Italy and 721 from France were included. In the multivariate model, anti-CD20 therapies were significantly associated (OR = 2.05, 95%CI = 1.39–3.02, p < 0.001) with Covid-19 severity, whereas interferon indicated a decreased risk (OR = 0.42, 95%CI = 0.18–0.99, p = 0.047). This pooled-analysis confirms an increased risk of severe Covid-19 in patients on anti-CD20 therapies and supports the protective role of interferon

Air Afrique: The demise of a continental icon

Although the rationale for multi-flag airlines' formation is rooted in contemporary strategic thinking, our understanding of their emergence and subsequent mass disappearances in the twentieth century remains an elusive issue. This article seeks to fill this void by examining the emergence, ascendency and demise of Air Afrique, an airline once seen as a symbol of regional integration in Africa. This examination takes a historical perspective and covers the period from 1961 to 2002. On the basis of this historical analysis, five distinct stages have been identified reflecting the firm's glorious days, precipitous decline and subsequent collapse. These are: the golden age; Africanisation; escalating indecision, escalating commitment and dissolution phases. Each phase provides insights into the deterministic and voluntaristic perspectives of organisational failure. The implications of the findings of this research for theory and practice are discussed. © 2013 Taylor & Francis

Concurrent engineering: effective deployment strategies

This paper provides a comprehensive insight into current trends and developments in Concurrent Engineering for integrated development of products and processes with the goal of completing the entire cycle in a shorter time, at lower overall cost and with fewer engineering design changes after product release. The evolution and definition of Concurrent Engineering are addressed first, followed by a concise review of the following elements of the concurrent engineering approach to product development: Concept Development: The Front-End Process, identifying Customer Needs and Quality Function Deployment, Establishing Product Specifications, Concept Selection, Product Architecture, Design for Manufacturing, Effective Rapid Prototyping, and The Economics of Product Development. An outline of a computer-based tutorial developed by the authors and other graduate students funded by NASA ( accessible via the world-wide-web ). is provided in this paper. A brief discussion of teamwork for successful concurrent engineering is included, t'ase histories of concurrent engineering implementation at North American and European companies are outlined with references to textbooks authored by Professor Menon and other writers. A comprehensive bibliography on concurrent engineering is included in the paper