Draft Genome Sequence of the Methane-Oxidizing Bacterium “Candidatus Methylomonas sp. LWB” Isolated from Movile Cave

We describe the draft genome sequence of “Candidatus Methylomonas sp. LWB” isolated from Movile Cave microbial mat samples. The genome contains both the soluble and particular methane monooxygenase; however, one of the putative particulate methane monooxygenase gene clusters is ordered pmoABC rather than in the canonical gene arrangement of pmoCAB

Sexual Dysfunctions in Psoriatic Patients

Psoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated disorder with a worldwide occurrence characterized by well-defined infiltrated erythematous papules and plaques, covered by silvery white or yellowish scales. It is a physically, socially and emotionally invalidating disorder that affects 1-2% of the population. Sexual health is an important part of general health and sexual dysfunctions can negatively affect self-esteem, confidence, interpersonal relationships and the quality of life. Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Psoriasis Disability Index (PDI) and the Impact of Psoriasis on Quality of Life (IPSO) questionnaire are all questionnaires used to assess the quality of life of patients with psoriasis and each has one question regarding sexual dysfunction. Several scales were also designed to particularly assess sexual satisfaction in men and women. The aim of this paper is to perform an overview of the existing studies on sexual dysfunction in psoriatic patients

The adoption of social enterprise software

Social enterprise software is a highly promising software application for firms, though it is still in an infancy state. It offers rapid real-time information transfer based on business collaboration tools or instant messaging. The software collects and processes customer data from surveys, consumer feedback, reviews, blogs or social networks. This enables firms to build up detailed customer profiles potentially anticipating upcoming trends. We analyze the determinants of social enterprise software adoption based on the literature on the adoption of new technologies. In our analysis, we control for factors like firm size, intensity of information and communication technology, human capital and international competitive situation. Exploiting recent German firm-level data and a model controlling for sample selection, the results reveal that firms with highly qualified workers, a large share of young employees and international business activity are more likely to adopt social enterprise software. Larger and more ICT-intensive firms and recent innovators also have a higher propensity to use social enterprise software. In addition, firms belonging to the service sector are more eager to implement social enterprise software applications than manufacturing firms. --enterprise software,social software,social enterprise software

Preconditioning for Allen-Cahn variational inequalities with non-local constraints

The solution of Allen-Cahn variational inequalities with mass constraints is of interest in many applications. This problem can be solved both in its scalar and vector-valued form as a PDE-constrained optimization problem by means of a primal-dual active set method. At the heart of this method lies the solution of linear systems in saddle point form. In this paper we propose the use of Krylov-subspace solvers and suitable preconditioners for the saddle point systems. Numerical results illustrate the competitiveness of this approach

The Necessity of Implementing a Quality Management System in the Romanian Medical Units. An Approach from the Patients Point of View

The medical services organizations activate in a specific featured environment, extremely sensitive, dynamic and most of the times unpredictable. In order to develop their activity at a high qualitative level, medical units must possess the ability of accepting the changes that might occur, of identifying and valorizing the possible opportunities and, at the same time, they must have the ability of avoiding risks as much as possible. The medical field considers quality a variable which is hard to quantify and which could be perceived as the result of the comparison between the medical service desired/requested by the client and the provided health service or the extent to which the provided service corresponds to the client’s expectations. The current paper refers to the growing problems of the Romanian health system and it also takes into consideration the deficiencies which influence the quality of the provided services. The approach manner of this particular theme is realized by taking into account the quality management system. At the same time, there is made an analysis of the consumer’s perception regarding both the quality of health services and the necessity of implementing a quality management system in all units providing health services. The research is based on a rich study of the professional literature, on articles and scientific papers in this field of activity. The data was collected by applying a questionnaire to the population which has been provided medical services over the past year.quality management system, medical units, health services, quality, quality standards

Preconditioning for Allen-Cahn variational inequalities with non-local constraints

The solution of Allen-Cahn variational inequalities with mass constraints is of interest in many applications. This problem can be solved both in its scalar and vector-valued form as a PDE-constrained optimization problem by means of a primal-dual active set method. At the heart of this method lies the solution of linear systems in saddle point form. In this paper we propose the use of Krylov-subspace solvers and suitable preconditioners for the saddle point systems. Numerical results illustrate the competitiveness of this approach

Gay-Related Smartphone Applications: Potential and Risk- A Review of the Medical Literature in the Field

In the setting of difficulty in finding inter-relational partners for the individuals belonging to the LGBT community, a number of mobile phone applications provided with geo-tracking system have appeared in the last years, facilitating communication between gay individuals located in the nearby geographic areas, free applications which protect the identity of the users and indicate the relative distance between users and allow the sharing of information regarding physical characteristics (age, height, weight) as well as image-type files. At present, it is worth acknowledging that all those applications addressed to the LGBT persons in search for partners are sex-specific, being polarized (applications for MSM/lesbians). Among those the most successful and renowned are Grindr, Planet Romeo (homosexuals, MSM) and, respectively, Brenda (lesbians). In the medical literature there are recent studies that assess the STI risk-specific profile of these users, as well as the opportunities of behavioral study that these applications are presenting to the scientists, through the accessibility of interviewing gay persons and targeting them in HIV prevention programs. The present paper aims to look over the medical studies published to date which involved these types of internet type social networks, emphasizing on the potential represented by these applications and on the behavioral and risk profile of the users

Determinants of flexible work arrangements

Flexible work arrangements such as allowing employees to work at home are used in firms, especially since information and communication technologies have become so widespread. Using individual-level data from 10,884 German employees, this paper analyses the determinants of working at home as a form of flexible work arrangements. The analysis is based on descriptive analyses and a discrete choice model using a probit estimation approach. The results reveal that men have a higher probability to work at home but women are more likely to work at home intensively. Education, tenure and the use of computers increase the probability of working at home while firm size and a young age of employees reduce it. Having children less than six years old, overtime and work time have a positive impact on both working at home and on working at home intensively

Primal-dual active set methods for Allen-Cahn variational inequalities

This thesis aims to introduce and analyse a primal-dual active set strategy for solving Allen-Cahn variational inequalities. We consider the standard Allen-Cahn equation with non-local constraints and a vector-valued Allen-Cahn equation with and without non-local constraints. Existence and uniqueness results are derived in a formulation involving Lagrange multipliers for local and non-local constraints. Local Convergence is shown by interpreting the primal-dual active set approach as a semi-smooth Newton method. Properties of the method are discussed and several numerical simulations in two and three space dimensions demonstrate its efficiency. In the second part of the thesis various applications of the Allen-Cahn equation are discussed. The non-local Allen-Cahn equation can be coupled with an elasticity equation to solve problems in structural topology optimisation. The model can be extended to handle multiple structures by using the vector-valued Allen-Cahn variational inequality with non-local constraints. Since many applications of the Allen-Cahn equation involve evolution of interfaces in materials an important extension of the standard Allen-Cahn model is to allow materials to exhibit anisotropic behaviour. We introduce an anisotropic version of the Allen-Cahn variational inequality and we show that it is possible to apply the primal-dual active set strategy efficiently to this model. Finally, the Allen-Cahn model is applied to problems in image processing, such as segmentation, denoising and inpainting. The primal-dual active set method proves exible and reliable for all the applications considered in this thesis