211 research outputs found
THE EFFECT OF GOOD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND FOREIGN OWNERSHIP AS A MODERATING VARIABLES ON THE BOARD INTERLOCKING ON FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
The aims of this research is to analyze the effect of number of board interlocking, board size, family board participation, board independence, control variable such as firm size, firm age, and leverage, and moderate foreign ownership to number of board interlocking towards financial firm perfomance using ROA and Tobin’s Q as a proxy in non financial sector companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) in period 2014-2018. This research uses quantitative approach with two least square regression analysis model. The sample used in this research is firms which are listed on the non financial in Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) on 2014-2018 period. The number of final samples used in this study were 366 business entities with 1830 observations. The findings result of this research indicate that concurrent commissioner positions have positive and significant effect towards ROA in non financial sector companies BEI on the period 2014-2018, while independent commissioners, family of commissioners, board size, and the interaction of multiple positions of commissioners with foreign ownership have insignificant effect towards ROA in non financial sector companies BEI on the period 2014-2018. Then variables independent commissioners, board size of commissioners, and the interaction of multiple positions of commissioner with foreign ownership have positive and significant effect towards Tobin’s Q in non financial sector companies BEI on the period 2014-2018, while the family of commissioners and concurrent commissioner positions have insignificant effect towards ROA in non financial sector companies BEI on the period 2014-2018
Pregnancy and lactation, a challenge for the skeleton
In this review we discuss skeletal adaptations to the demanding situation of pregnancy and lactation. Calcium demands are increased during pregnancy and lactation, and this is effectuated by a complex series of hormonal changes. The changes in bone structure at the tissue and whole bone level observed during pregnancy and lactation appear to largely recover over time. The magnitude of the changes observed during lactation may relate to the volume and duration of breastfeeding and return to regular menses. Studies examining long-term consequences of pregnancy and lactation suggest that there are small, site-specific benefits to bone density, and that bone geometry may also be affected. Pregnancy- and lactation-induced osteoporosis (PLO) is a rare disease for which the pathophysiological mechanism is as yet incompletely known; here we discuss and speculate on the possible roles of genetics, oxytocin, sympathetic tone and bone marrow fat. Finally, we discuss fracture healing during pregnancy and lactation and the effects of estrogen on this process
High-resolution nerve ultrasound abnormalities in POEMS syndrome: a comparative study
Background: High-resolution nerve ultrasound (HRUS) has been proven to be a valuable tool in the diagnosis of immune-mediated neuropathies, such as chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP). POEMS syndrome (polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M-protein, skin changes) is an important differential diagnosis of CIDP. Until now, there have been no studies that could identify specific HRUS abnormalities in POEMS syndrome patients. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess possible changes and compare findings with CIDP patients. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed HRUS findings in three POEMS syndrome and ten CIDP patients by evaluating cross-sectional nerve area (CSA), echogenicity and additionally calculating ultrasound pattern scores (UPSA, UPSB, UPSC and UPSS) and homogeneity scores (HS). Results: CIDP patients showed greater CSA enlargement and higher UPSS (median 14 vs. 11), UPSA (median 11.5 vs. 8) and HS (median 5 vs. 3) compared with POEMS syndrome patients. However, every POEMS syndrome patient illustrated enlarged nerves exceeding reference values, which were not restricted to entrapment sites. In CIDP and POEMS syndrome, heterogeneous enlargement patterns could be identified, such as inhomogeneous, homogeneous and regional nerve enlargement. HRUS in CIDP patients visualized both increased and decreased echointensity, while POEMS syndrome patients pictured hypoechoic nerves with hyperechoic intraneural connective tissue. Discussion: This is the first study to demonstrate HRUS abnormalities in POEMS syndrome outside of common entrapment sites. Although nerve enlargement was more prominent in CIDP, POEMS syndrome patients revealed distinct echogenicity patterns, which might aid in its differentiation from CIDP. Future studies should consider HRUS and its possible role in determining diagnosis, prognosis and treatment response in POEMS syndrome
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How to specify healthcare process improvements collaboratively using rapid, remote consensus-building: a framework and a case study of its application.
BackgroundPractical methods for facilitating process improvement are needed to support high quality, safe care. How best to specify (identify and define) process improvements - the changes that need to be made in a healthcare process - remains a key question. Methods for doing so collaboratively, rapidly and remotely offer much potential, but are under-developed. We propose an approach for engaging diverse stakeholders remotely in a consensus-building exercise to help specify improvements in a healthcare process, and we illustrate the approach in a case study.MethodsOrganised in a five-step framework, our proposed approach is informed by a participatory ethos, crowdsourcing and consensus-building methods: (1) define scope and objective of the process improvement; (2) produce a draft or prototype of the proposed process improvement specification; (3) identify participant recruitment strategy; (4) design and conduct a remote consensus-building exercise; (5) produce a final specification of the process improvement in light of learning from the exercise. We tested the approach in a case study that sought to specify process improvements for the management of obstetric emergencies during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a brief video showing a process for managing a post-partum haemorrhage in women with COVID-19 to elicit recommendations on how the process could be improved. Two Delphi rounds were then conducted to reach consensus.ResultsWe gathered views from 105 participants, with a background in maternity care (n = 36), infection prevention and control (n = 17), or human factors (n = 52). The participants initially generated 818 recommendations for how to improve the process illustrated in the video, which we synthesised into a set of 22 recommendations. The consensus-building exercise yielded a final set of 16 recommendations. These were used to inform the specification of process improvements for managing the obstetric emergency and develop supporting resources, including an updated video.ConclusionsThe proposed methodological approach enabled the expertise and ingenuity of diverse stakeholders to be captured and mobilised to specify process improvements in an area of pressing service need. This approach has the potential to address current challenges in process improvement, but will require further evaluation
X-ray Variability and Hardness of ESO 243-49 HLX-1: Clear Evidence for Spectral State Transitions
The ultra-luminous X-ray (ULX) source ESO 243-49 HLX-1 currently provides the
strongest evidence for the existence of intermediate mass black holes. We
conduct an ongoing monitoring campaign with the Swift X-ray Telescope and found
that HLX-1 showed two fast rise and exponential decay with increases in the
count rate of a factor ~40 separated by 375+/-13 days. We obtained new
XMM-Newton and Chandra dedicated pointings that were triggered at the lowest
and highest luminosities, respectively. The unabsorbed luminosities ranged from
1.9x10^40 to 1.25x10^42 erg/s. We confirm here the detection of spectral state
transitions from HLX-1 reminiscent of Galactic black hole binaries: at high
luminosities, the X-ray spectrum showed a thermal state dominated by a disk
component with temperatures of 0.26 keV at most, and at low luminosities the
spectrum is dominated by a hard power law with a photon index in the range
1.4-2.1, consistent with a hard state. The source was also observed in a steep
power law state. In the thermal state, the luminosity of the disk component
appears to scale with the fourth power of the inner disk temperature which
supports the presence of an optically thick, geometrically thin accretion disk.
The low fractional variability (rms of 9+/-9%) in this state also suggests the
presence of a dominant disk. The spectral changes and long-term variability of
the source cannot be explained by variations of the beaming angle and are not
consistent with the source being in a super-Eddington accretion state. HLX-1 is
thus an unusual ULX as it is similar to Galactic black hole binaries, which
have non-beamed and sub-Eddington emission, but with luminosities 3 orders of
magnitude higher. In this picture, a lower limit on the mass of the black hole
of >9000 M_sun can be derived, and the disk temperature in the thermal state
also suggests the presence of a black hole of a few 10^3 M_sun.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ (October 10, 2011, v740-1); 11
figures, 13 pages with emulateapj styl
Performance of a cryogenic test facility for 4 K interferometer delay line investigations
The next generation of space-borne instruments for far infrared astronomical spectroscopy will utilize large diameter, cryogenically cooled telescopes in order to achieve unprecedented sensitivities. Low background, ground-based cryogenic facilities are required for the cryogenic testing of materials, components and subsystems. The University of Lethbridge Test Facility Cryostat (TFC) is a large volume, closed cycle, 4 K cryogenic facility, developed for this purpose. This paper discusses the design and performance of the facility and associated metrology instrumentation, both internal and external to the TFC. Additionally, an apparatus for measuring the thermal and mechanical properties of carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers is presented
Generation of specific inhibitors of SUMO-1– and SUMO-2/3–mediated protein-protein interactions using Affimer (Adhiron) technology
Because protein-protein interactions underpin most biological processes, developing tools that target them to understand their function or to inform the development of therapeutics is an important task. SUMOylation is the posttranslational covalent attachment of proteins in the SUMO family (SUMO-1, SUMO-2, or SUMO-3), and it regulates numerous cellular pathways. SUMOylated proteins are recognized by proteins with SUMO-interaction motifs (SIMs) that facilitate noncovalent interactions with SUMO. We describe the use of the Affimer system of peptide display for the rapid isolation of synthetic binding proteins that inhibit SUMO-dependent protein-protein interactions mediated by SIMs both in vitro and in cells. Crucially, these synthetic proteins did not prevent SUMO conjugation either in vitro or in cell-based systems, enabling the specific analysis of SUMO-mediated protein-protein interactions. Furthermore, through structural analysis and molecular modeling, we explored the molecular mechanisms that may underlie their specificity in interfering with either SUMO-1–mediated interactions or interactions mediated by either SUMO-2 or SUMO-3. Not only will these reagents enable investigation of the biological roles of SUMOylation, but the Affimer technology used to generate these synthetic binding proteins could also be exploited to design or validate reagents or therapeutics that target other protein-protein interactions
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy mutations in the calponin-homology domain of ACTN2 affect actin binding and cardiomyocyte Z-disc incorporation
α-Actinin-2 (ACTN2) is the only muscle isoform of α-actinin expressed in cardiac muscle. Mutations in this protein have been implicated in mild to moderate forms of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). We have investigated the effects of two mutations identified from HCM patients, A119T and G111V, on the secondary and tertiary structure of a purified actin binding domain (ABD) of ACTN2 by circular dichroism and X-ray crystallography, and show small but distinct changes for both mutations. We also find that both mutants have reduced F-actin binding affinity, although the differences are not significant. The full length mEos2 tagged protein expressed in adult cardiomyocytes shows that both mutations additionally affect Z-disc localization and dynamic behaviour. Overall, these two mutations have small effects on structure, function and behaviour, which may contribute to a mild phenotype for this disease
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