Do SEC’s 10b5-1 Safe Harbor Rules Need To Be Rewritten?

We examine the profitability of insider trading under SEC Rule 10b5-1 plans. The plans do work to prevent some informed trading. However, on average, insider trading under the safe harbor plans appears to be motivated by material non-public information. We propose some policy changes to tighten the rule and enable separation of informed and uninformed insider trading

Dynamic Transitions for Quasilinear Systems and Cahn-Hilliard equation with Onsager mobility

The main objectives of this article are two-fold. First, we study the effect of the nonlinear Onsager mobility on the phase transition and on the well-posedness of the Cahn-Hilliard equation modeling a binary system. It is shown in particular that the dynamic transition is essentially independent of the nonlinearity of the Onsager mobility. However, the nonlinearity of the mobility does cause substantial technical difficulty for the well-posedness and for carrying out the dynamic transition analysis. For this reason, as a second objective, we introduce a systematic approach to deal with phase transition problems modeled by quasilinear partial differential equation, following the ideas of the dynamic transition theory developed recently by Ma and Wang

A Rare Devastating Complication of Lasik: Bilateral Fungal Keratitis

Purpose. To report an unusual case of severe bilateral fungal keratitis following laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK). Method. A 48-year-old man developed bilateral diffuse corneal infiltration two weeks after LASIK. The corneal scrapings revealed fungal filaments but cultures were negative. Results. The corneal ulceration was improved on the left eye whereas spontaneous perforation occurred and finally evisceration was needed on the right eye despite topical and systemic antifungal treatment. Conclusions. Fungal keratitis, especially with bilateral involvement, is a very rare and serious complication of LASIK surgery. Clinical suspicion is crucial because most of fungal keratitis are misdiagnosed as bacterial keratitis and can lead serious visual results, even eye loss

The effect of the pre-outfit and pre-pipe assemblies on shipyard efficiency

Çoğu endüstriyel alanda olduğu gibi, gemi inşa sektöründe de süreç iyileştirme çalışmaları son derece önemlidir. Günümüzde, tersanelerin rekabet avantajını sağlayabilmeleri ve varlıklarını devam ettirebilmeleri için üretim süreçlerini gözden geçirerek, çıktıyı artırabilecek iyileştirmeleri sağlamaları ve bunun sonucunda daha kısa sürede ürün teslimini gerçekleştirmeleri gerekmektedir. Ürün çevrim süresinin veya diğer bir ifadeyle imalat temin süresinin kısaltılması, tersanelerin yıllık üretim kapasitelerinin ve buna bağlı olarak pazar payının artmasına neden olacaktır. Bunların gerçekleştirilebilmesi için, tersanelerin, mevcut üretim sistemlerini detaylı bir biçimde analiz etmeleri ve sistem üzerinde çeşitli iyileştirmeleri yapması gerekmektedir. Bu çalışmada, bir iyileştirme süreci modeli belirlenmiş ve ele alınan bir çift dip bloğunun teçhiz ve boru montaj işlemlerinin tamamının blok montaj istasyonunda değil kısmen daha önceki istasyonlarda yapılması durumunda sistemin çıktı miktarının nasıl değiştiği izlenmiştir. Öncelikle, bir iyileştirme süreci modeli ortaya konulmuştur. İyileştirme süreci modeli, sürekli iyileştirme (Kaizen), darboğaz teorisi (OPT) ve Arena simülasyon gibi süreçleri içermektedir. Model içerisindeki adımlar, sırasıyla takip edilmiş ve mevcut üretim sisteminde, tamamı blok montaj sahasında yapılan teçhiz ve boru montaj işlemlerinin ön istasyonlarda yapılmasının sistemin çıktısına olan etkisi incelenmiştir. Çalışmanın sonunda, teçhiz ve boru montaj işlemlerinin daha önceki istasyonlarda yapılmasıyla ve mevcut durum üzerinde bazı ufak değişikliklerin yapılmasıyla birlikte sistemin belirli bir sürede ürettiği blok sayısının yani çıktı miktarının arttığı görülmüştür. Dolayısıyla, ön teçhiz ve ön boru montaj işlemlerinin tersane üretim sisteminin performansını artırdığı teorik olarak gösterilmiştir.  Anahtar Kelimeler: Sürekli iyileştirme, darboğaz ilkesi, Arena simülasyon, ön teçhizleme, ön boru montaj.In recent years, the competition is very hard in shipbuilding industry just like other industries. In this competitive environment, it is very important that the companies work efficiently. In shipbuilding industry, the production should be performed in effective way so that the shipyards keep their competitive power against their competitors. The most important and serious competitors are the far eastern shipyards.  The shipyards located in the far eastern countries have a serious competitive power. A ship can be launched in shorter time by the far eastern shipyards and also the costs are lower. By doing that, they meet the customer demands and sell a lot of ships and extend their market share. To keep competitive power, a shipyard needs to produce more ships in a given time or, in other words, reduce cycle time. To be able to produce a ship in shorter time and increase the system throughput, the first step is to analyze the current production system in detail and identify the processes. After the whole processes are identified, the activities which take long time and the unnecessary activities should be found. For doing this, all the activities should be investigated. The activities taking long time should be shortened and the unnecessary activities should be removed. As the processes and activities in the shipyard production system are investigated, it can be seen that a lot of shipyards perform their outfit and pipe works in block assembly area after the completion of the steel works. In other words, firstly, the steel works is completed, secondly, the outfit works and finally the pipe works are performed. All this works are carried out one after the other. So it takes a long time and the cycle time of a block is quite long. The longer the cycle times of blocks are, the longer the whole ship cycle time is. If the cycle time of a ship is long, then number of ships produced annually is lower. This, also, reduce the shipyard annual income. A double bottom block, a part of a container ship of 1150 TEU, was presented here as a sample case study. The block considered here covers almost all the work stations joining its production. Consequently, all the steel work activities in double bottom block production were taken into the process and the field of the study was extended. In this study, it is aimed to determine the effect of pre-outfit and pre-pipe assemblies on the system throughput. So, the whole of the outfit and pipe works weren?t performed in block assembly area, instead, some assembly works of outfits and pipes were performed in previous work stations. In this way, the effects of the pre-outfit and pre-pipe assemblies were seen. During this study, an improvement process model was proposed and applied. This model includes the continuous improvement process (Kaizen), bottleneck theory (OPT: Optimized Production Techniques) and Arena simulation. The steps in this model were followed one by one. In the model, the current case analysis was examined in detail and the parallel and serial work activities were determined. Considering these parallel and serial activities, the completion times of all work stations were found. Then, the current case was modeled in Arena simulation program and the data such as number of blocks produced in a given period and the waiting time were calculated. By using this data, it was seen that how many blocks the current system could produce and what work station in bottleneck situation.  As a result of the simulation study, the block assembly station was found as a bottleneck of the process. In the other step, considering the bottleneck theory, some improvement suggestions were identified on the bottleneck station. The suggestions were mainly based on pre-outfit and pre-pipe assemblies. Then the suggestions were applied on the current case and the new case was achieved. By modeling the new case in Arena simulation program, some data were taken from simulation and compared with the new case. In this comparison, in a same working period, it was seen that the new case could produce more blocks than that of the current case. In other words, in the new case, the cycle time of a block is shorter than the current one. As a result, by performing outfit and pipe assemblies in earlier work stations, a shipyard can increase its throughput considerably.  Approximate increase of 33% in block quantity in a given period was achieved. This is an important improvement rate and it gives a great competitive advantage to a shipyard. Keywords: Continuous improvement (Kaizen), bottleneck theory, Arena simulation, pre-outfit assembly, pre-pipe assembly

PLS3 sequencing in childhood-onset primary osteoporosis identifies two novel disease-causing variants

The Summary Altogether 95 children with primary bone fragility were screened for variants in PLS3, the gene underlying X-linked osteoporosis. Two children with multiple peripheral and spinal fractures and low BMD had novel disease-causing PLS3 variants. Children with milder phenotypes had no pathogenic variants. PLS3 screening is indicated in childhood-onset primary osteoporosis. Introduction The study aimed to determine the role of pathogenic PLS3 variants in children's bone fragility and to elucidate the associated phenotypic features. Methods Two cohorts of children with bone fragility were screened for variants in PLS3, the gene underlying X-linked osteoporosis. Cohort I comprised 31 patients with childhood-onset primary osteoporosis of unknown etiology. Cohort II comprised 64 children who had sustained multiple fractures but were otherwise healthy. Clinical and radiological data were reviewed. Peripheral blood DNA was Sanger sequenced for coding exons and flanking intronic regions of PLS3. Results In two patients of cohort I, where other common genetic causes had been excluded, we identified two novel disease-causing PLS3 variants. Patient 1 was a male with bilateral femoral fractures at 10 years, low BMD (Z-score -4.1; 18 years), and multiple vertebral compression fractures. He had a novel nonsense variant in PLS3. Patient 2 was a girl with multiple long bone and vertebral fractures and low BMD (Z-score -6.6 at 6 years). She had a de novo missense variant in PLS3; whole exome sequencing and array-CGH identified no other genetic causes. Iliac crest bone biopsies confirmed low-turnover osteoporosis in both patients. In cohort II, no pathogenic PLS3 variants were identified in any of the subjects. Conclusion Two novel disease-causing variants in PLS3 were identified in a boy and a girl with multiple peripheral and spinal fractures and very low BMD while no pathogenic variants were identified in children with less severe skeletal fragility. PLS3 screening is warranted in male and female patients with childhood-onset primary osteoporosis.Peer reviewe

Exact Solution of Photon Equation in Stationary G\"{o}del-type and G\"{o}del Space-Times

In this work the photon equation (massless Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau equation) is written expilicitly for general type of stationary G\"{o}del space-times and is solved exactly for G\"{o}del-type and G\"{o}del space-times. Harmonic oscillator behaviour of the solutions is discussed and energy spectrum of photon is obtained.Comment: 9 pages,RevTeX, no figure, revised for publicatio

International recommendations for an effective control of head louse infestations

Head louse infestations continue to be a concern of public health in most countries, including the most developed ones. The present recommendations are intended to inform and stress the role and impact of the different authorities, institutions, industry, and the public in the control of head lice in order to reduce the prevalence of this parasite. We encourage health authorities to pursue more effective methods to correctly identify such infestations, and evaluate existing and new pediculicides, medical devices, louse repellents, and louse- and nit-removal remedies. Pediculicides and medical devices must have verifiable claims in the instructions for use and should be tested periodically to document current levels of resistance by lice to the active ingredients and to the formulated products. Where the prevalence of lice is claimed to be epidemic, children should be periodically evaluated objectively to document the actual level of prevalence. Continuing education for health providers and the general population promises to correct misinformation regarding the biology, prevention, and management of lice. Parents should regularly inspect their children for head lice and treat as necessary. Health authorities are encouraged to eliminate policies and practices that rely upon school exclusion as a means to reduce incidence and prevalence, e.g., the ‘no-nit’ policy which lacks scientific justification, and are counterproductive to the health and welfare of childrenFil: Mumcuoglu, Kosta Y.. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; IsraelFil: Pollack, Richard J.. Harvard University; Estados UnidosFil: Reed, David L.. University Of Florida. Florida Museum Of History; Estados UnidosFil: Barker, Stephen C.. University of Queensland; AustraliaFil: Gordon, Shirley. Florida Atlantic University; Estados UnidosFil: Toloza, Ariel Ceferino. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas para la Defensa. Centro de Investigación de Plagas e Insecticidas; ArgentinaFil: Picollo, Maria Ines. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas para la Defensa. Centro de Investigación de Plagas e Insecticidas; ArgentinaFil: Taylan Ozkan, Aysegul. Hitit University; Turquía. Near East University; ChipreFil: Chosidow, Olivier. Hôpital Henri Mondor; FranciaFil: Habedank, Birgit. German Environment Agency; AlemaniaFil: Ibarra, Joanna. Community Hygiene Concern; Reino UnidoFil: Meinking, Terri L.. Global Health Associates of Miami; Estados UnidosFil: Vander Stichele, Robert H.. Heymans Institute of Pharmacology; Bélgic

Razvoj i vrednovanje dvoslojnih tableta propranolol hidroklorida

The objective of the present research was to develop a bilayer tablet of propranolol hydrochloride using superdisintegrant sodium starch glycolate for the fast release layer and water immiscible polymers such as ethyl cellulose, Eudragit RLPO and Eudragit RSPO for the sustaining layer. In vitro dissolution studies were carried out in a USP 24 apparatus I. The formulations gave an initial burst effect to provide the loading dose of the drug followed by sustained release for 12 hrs from the sustaining layer of matrix embedded tablets. In vitro dissolution kinetics followed the Higuchi model via a non-Fickian diffusion controlled release mechanism after the initial burst release. FT-IR studies revealed that there was no interaction between the drug and polymers used in the study. Statistical analysis (ANOVA) showed no significant difference in the cumulative amount of drug release after 15 min, but significant difference (p 0.005) in the amount of drug released after 12 h from optimized formulations was observed.U radu je opisan razvoj dvoslojnih tableta propranolol hidroklorida, koristeći superdezintegrator škrob glikolat natrij u sloju za brzo oslobađanje i polimere koji se ne miješaju s vodom (etil celuloza, Eudragit RLPO i Eudragit RSPO) u sloju za usporeno oslobađanje. In vitro oslobađanje praćeno je u USP aparatu I te je uočeno početno naglo oslobađanje ljekovite tvari iza kojeg slijedi polagano oslobađanje tijekom 12 sati. In vitro kinetika oslobađanja prati Higouchijev model, dok mehanizam kontroliranog oslobađanja ne slijedi Fickov zakon poslije početnog naglog oslobađanja. FT-IR studije ukazuju da nema interakcije između ljekovite tvari i polimera upotrebljenih u oblikovanju. Statistička analiza (ANOVA) nije pokazala značajne razlike u kumulativnoj količini oslobođenog lijeka iz optimiranih formulacija poslije 15 minuta i polije 12 h