The Concept of Networkability - How to Make Companies Competitive in Business Networks

Business networking - the management of ITenabled relationships between internal and external business partners - is one of the most important features of enterprises in the information age. Currently, business networking is moving into the center of business engineering and aims at preparing enterprises in becoming part of IT-based business networks and in exploiting new process efficiencies and business opportunities. In this paper we develop an idea for describing, measuring and managing an enterprise’s ability to succeed in business networks: the concept of networkability. We illustrate the design objects of networkability using an example from the logistics industry and apply coordination theory to derive mechanisms which help to strengthen a company’s networkability

CONSELHOS MUNICIPAIS DE EDUCAÇÃO: QUALIFICAÇÃO DA EDUCAÇÃO BÁSICA E GESTÃO DEMOCRÁTICA

O presente artigo realiza uma análise de entrevistas efetuadas em três Conselhos Municipais de Educação (CME) do Rio Grande do Sul a partir da sistematização de dissertações de mestrado sobre a estrutura e histórico de outros CMEs. É um estudo que objetiva avaliar o contexto e caracterização de cada proposta de ação educacional e o quão influente os Conselhos são em relação às políticas voltadas para o acompanhamento e melhoria dos resultados obtidos em provas de rendimento e índices da qualidade da educação

Salmonella enterica Typhimurium FljBA operon Sstability: implications regarding the origin of Salmonella enterica I 4,[5],12:i:-

FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIORSalmonella enterica subsp enterica serovar 4,5,12:i:- has been responsible for many recent Salmonella outbreaks worldwide. Several studies indicate that this serovar originated from S. enterica subsp enterica serovar Typhimurium, by the loss of the flagellar phase II gene (fljB) and adjacent sequences. However, at least two different clones of S. enterica 4,5,12:i:- exist that differs in the molecular events responsible for fljB deletion. The aim of this study was to test the stability of the fljBA operon responsible for the flagellar phase variation under different growth conditions in order to verify if its deletion is a frequent event that could explain the origin and dissemination of this serovar. In fact, coding sequences for transposons are present near this operon and in some strains, such as S. enterica Typhimurium LT2, the Fels-2 prophage gene is inserted near this operon. The presence of mobile DNA could confer instability to this region. In order to examine this, the cat (chloramphenicol acetyltransferase) gene was inserted adjacent to the fljBA operon so that deletions involving this genomic region could be identified. After growing S. enterica chloramphenicol-resistant strains under different conditions, more than 104 colonies were tested for the loss of chloramphenicol resistance. However, none of the colonies were sensitive to chloramphenicol. These data suggest that the origin of S. enterica serovar 4,5,12:i:- from Typhimurium by fljBA deletion is not a frequent event. The origin and dissemination of 4,5,12:i:- raise several questions about the role of flagellar phase variation in virulence.Salmonella enterica subsp enterica serovar 4,5,12:i:- has been responsible for many recent Salmonella outbreaks worldwide. Several studies indicate that this serovar originated from S. enterica subsp enterica serovar Typhimurium, by the loss of the flagel1441905719065FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIORFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR2009/15956-7; 2012/10608-3; 2012/05382-6; 2014/11280-7; 2013/11880-1308955/2012-9; 141629/2012-601P-04520-201

Trap Tree and Interception Trap Techniques for Management of Ambrosia Beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) in Nursery Production Get access Arrow

The majority of wood-boring ambrosia beetles are strongly attracted to ethanol, a behavior which could be exploited for management within ornamental nurseries. A series of experiments was conducted to determine if ethanol-based interception techniques could reduce ambrosia beetle pest pressure. In two experiments, trap trees injected with a high dose of ethanol were positioned either adjacent or 10–15 m from trees injected with a low dose of ethanol (simulating a mildly stressed tree) to determine if the high-dose trap trees could draw beetle attacks away from immediately adjacent stressed nursery trees. The high-ethanol-dose trees sustained considerably higher attacks than the low-dose trees; however, distance between the low- and high-dose trees did not significantly alter attack rates on the low-dose trees. In a third experiment, 60-m length trap lines with varying densities of ethanol-baited traps were deployed along a forest edge to determine if immigrating beetles could be intercepted before reaching sentinel traps or artificially stressed sentinel trees located 10 m further in-field. Intercept trap densities of 2 or 4 traps per trap line were associated with fewer attacks on sentinel trees compared to no traps, but 7 or 13 traps had no impact. None of the tested intercept trap densities resulted in significantly fewer beetles reaching the sentinel traps. The evaluated ethanol-based interception techniques showed limited promise for reducing ambrosia beetle pressure on nursery trees. An interception effect might be enhanced by applying a repellent compound to nursery trees in a push–pull strategy

Less than the sum of its parts : the dust-corrected Hα luminosity of star-forming galaxies explored at different spatial resolutions with MaNGA and MUSE

Funding: NVA would like to thank the University of St Andrews for providing support during her visit. NVA acknowledges support of the Royal Society and the Newton Fund via the award of a Royal Society–Newton Advanced Fellowship (grant NAF\R1\180403), and of Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação de Santa Catarina (FAPESC) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq). AW acknowledges financial support from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) process number 2019/01768-6. MG receives funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovative programme (MagneticYSOs programme, grant agreement Nber 679937). EWP, RSK, SR, SCOG and DR acknowledge funding from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) via the Collaborative Research Center (SFB 881) ‘The Milky Way System (subprojects A1, B1, and B2) and from the Heidelberg Cluster of Excellence STRUCTURES in the framework of Germany’s Excellence Strategy (grant EXC-2181/1- 390900948).The Hα and Hβ emission line luminosities measured in a single integrated spectrum are affected in non-trivial ways by point-to-point variations in dust attenuation in a galaxy. This work investigates the impact of this variation when estimating global Hα luminosities corrected for the presence of dust by a global Balmer decrement. Analytical arguments show that the dust-corrected Hα luminosity is always underestimated when using the global Hα/Hβ flux ratio to correct for dust attenuation. We measure this effect on 156 face-on star-forming galaxies from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey. At 1–2 kpc spatial resolution, the effect is small but systematic, with the integrated dust-corrected Hα luminosity underestimated by 2–4 per cent (and typically not more than by 10 per cent), and depends on the specific star formation rate of the galaxy. Given the spatial resolution of MaNGA, these are lower limits for the effect. From Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) observations of NGC 628 with a resolution of 36 pc we find the discrepancy between the globally and the point-by-point dust-corrected Hα luminosity to be 14 ± 1 per cent, which may still underestimate the true effect. We use toy models and simulations to show that the true difference depends strongly on the spatial variance of the Hα/Hβ flux ratio, and on the slope of the relation between Hα luminosity and dust attenuation within a galaxy. Larger samples of higher spatial resolution observations are required to quantify the dependence of this effect as a function of galaxy properties.PostprintPeer reviewe

Prediction of grip and key pinch strength in 978 healthy subjects

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hand strength is an important independent surrogate parameter to assess outcome and risk of morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to determine the predictive power of cofactors and to predict population-based normative grip and pinch strength.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A representative population survey was used as the basis for prediction analyses (n = 978). Bivariate relationships between grip/pinch strengths of the dominate hand were explored by means of all relevant mathematical functions to maximize prediction. The resulting best functions were combined into a multivariate regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Polynoms (up to the third degree) were the best predictive functions. On the bivariate level, height was best correlated to grip (46.2% explained variance) and pinch strength (37.7% explained variance) in a linear relationship, followed by sex, age, weight, and occupational demand on the hand. Multivariate regression provided predicted values close to the empirical ones explaining 76.6% of the variance for grip strength and 67.7% for pinch strength.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The five easy-to-measure cofactors sex, age, body height, categorized occupational demand on the hand, and body weight provide a highly accurate prediction of normative grip and pinch strength.</p

Diagnostic criteria for constitutional mismatch repair deficiency syndrome: suggestions of the European consortium 'care for CMMRD' (C4CMMRD)

Constitutional mismatch repair deficiency (CMMRD) syndrome is a distinct childhood cancer predisposition syndrome that results from biallelic germline mutations in one of the four MMR genes, MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 or PMS2. The tumour spectrum is very broad, including mainly haematological, brain and intestinal tract tumours. Patients show a variety of non-malignant features that are indicative of CMMRD. However, currently no criteria that should entail diagnostic evaluation of CMMRD exist. We present a three-point scoring system for the suspected diagnosis CMMRD in a paediatric/young adult cancer patient. Tumours highly specific for CMMRD syndrome are assigned three points, malignancies overrepresented in CMMRD two points and all other malignancies one point. According to their specificity for CMMRD and their frequency in the general population, additional features are weighted with 1-2 points. They include multiple hyperpigmented and hypopigmented skin areas, brain malformations, pilomatricomas, a second childhood malignancy, a Lynch syndrome (LS)-associated tumour in a relative and parental consanguinity. According to the scoring system, CMMRD should be suspected in any cancer patient who reaches a minimum of three points by adding the points of the malignancy and the additional features. The diagnostic steps to confirm or refute the suspected diagnosis are outlined. We expect that application of the suggested strategy for CMMRD diagnosis will increase the number of patients being identified at the time when they develop their first tumour. This will allow adjustment of the treatment modalities, offering surveillance strategies for second malignancies and appropriate counselling of the entire family

Detection of Neutral MSSM Higgs Bosons at LEP-II and NLC

We study the possibility of detecting the neutral Higgs bosons predicted in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (h0, H0, A0), with the reactions e+ e- --> b b h0 (H0, A0), using the helicity formalism. We analyze the region of parameter space (m_A0-tan beta) where h0(H0, A0) could be detected in the limit when tan beta is large. The numerical computation is done for the energy which is expected to be available at LEP-II (sqrt{s} = 200 GeV) and for a possible Next Linear e+ e- Collider (sqrt{s}=500 GeV).Comment: To be published in Phys.Rev.