IP protection: Detecting Email based breaches of confidence

In this paper we discuss the ease with which email can be used to breach confidence by the propagation of corporate secrets and intelligence, and propose an intelligent filtering system for outgoing emails aimed at preventing disclosures. We report on a number of experiments undertaken with a corpus of over half a million Enron emails and the use of a variety of techniques from the field of Corpus Linguistics for reducing the number of false alarms produced by naïve keyword filtering systems, and discuss the results in detail. We also give due consideration to the danger of missing messages that should have been prevented from propagation. © 2007 IEEE

Cardiorespiratory requirements of the 6-min walk test in patients with left ventricular systolic disfunction and no major structural heart disease

The six-minute walk test (6-MWT) is widely used to assess functional status in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). The aims of the present study were: (1) to compare metabolic gas exchange during the 6-MWT in older patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) and in breathless patients with no major structural heart disease (MSHD); (2) to determine the exercise intensity of the 6-MWT relative to peak oxygen uptake; (3) to establish the accuracy and reproducibility of the Metamax 3B ergospirometer during an incremental workload. Twenty four older patients with LVSD (19 male; age 76 ± 5 years; BMI 27 ± 4), and 18 patients with no MSHD (12 male; age 75 ± 8 years; BMI 27 ± 4) attended on consecutive days at the same time. Patients completed a 6-MWT with metabolic gas exchange measurements using the Metamax 3B portable ergospirometer, and an incremental cycle ergometry test using both the Metamax 3B and Oxycon Pro metabolic cart. Patients returned and performed a second 6-MWT and an incremental treadmill test, metabolic gas exchange was measured with the Metamax 3B. In patients with LVSD, the 6-MWT was performed at a higher fraction of maximal exercise capacity (p = 0.02). The 6-MWT was performed below the anaerobic threshold in patients with LVSD (83 %) and in patients with no MSHD (61 %). The Metamax 3B showed satisfactory to high accuracy at 10 W and 20 W in patients with LVSD (r = 0.77 - 0.97, p < 0.05), and no MSHD (r = 0.76 - 0.94, p < 0.05). Metabolic gas exchange variables measured during the 6-MWT showed satisfactory to high day-to-day reproducibility in patients with LVSD (ICC = 0.75 - 0.98), but a higher variability was evident in participants with no MSHD (ICC = 0.62 - 0.97). The Metamax 3B portable ergospirometer is an accurate and reproducible device during submaximal, fixed rate exercise in older patients with LVSD and no MSHD. In elderly patients with LVSD and no MSHD, the 6-MWT should not be considered a maximal test of exercise capacity but rather a test of submaximal exercise performance. Our study demonstrates that the 6-MWT takes place at a higher proportion of peak oxygen uptake in patients with LVSD compared to those with no MSHD, and may be one reason why fatigue is a more prominent symptom in these patients

Recommendations for HER2 testing in the UK

Determining the HER2 status of breast carcinomas is a prerequisite for the use of the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin(R)), which has recently been licensed for the treatment of metastatic disease. This necessitates a test based on archival material. The preferred analyses are immunohistochemistry with fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) as a follow up test for ambiguous results. Guidelines have been developed for standardised, well controlled procedures for the provision of reliable results. A group of three reference laboratories has been established to provide advice, quality assurance, and materials, where needed

A system analysis of a suboptimal surgical experience

© 2009 Lee et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Labour regimes and the labour problem in Asia

Our presentation is about work, employment and labour relations in the seven East/South-East Asian countries of Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, and in China. Following an account of the key features of the labour problem in each country, including the converging industrial relations of China and Vietnam, we conclude that the interface between industrial democracy and economic development remains a useful heuristic for understanding labour in the region

Agri-food trade in GTAP-HET: Returns to scale in agriculture, and the Melitz model

Agricultural protection is almost always a highly sensitive issue in bi- and multi-lateral trade negotiations. The reasons for this are usually political, but it always means there is a high demand among policy makers for analytical tools which can assess the often complex impacts of liberalisation on farm viability, land use change, and consumer food prices. Since their inception, Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models have made a rich contribution to this analysis. However, when standard assumptions of constant returns to scale and perfect competition are used, this can limit the ability of such models to answer the questions being asked by policy makers. Put simply, these questions often amount to “what are the opportunities, and what are the threats?” If returns to scale are not constant, or if other sources of productivity variation are present in a domestic farming system, the same liberalising policy may represent an opportunity to one farmer, and a threat to another, even if the two are producing the same commodity in the same country. Combining the macroeconomic width and rigour of a CGE model with the heterogeneity of domestic farm systems represents an exciting frontier in agri-food trade policy analysis. This paper will present the current evidence on returns to scale in agricultural sectors in selected countries – drawing on fixed and variable cost share data from the USDA, and European national Farm Business Surveys collated in the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN). Where the evidence for increasing returns to scale is clear, it follows that there is a clear case for the importance of making use of the Melitz model, or some alternative to the standard constant returns to scale assumption

Industrial relations in South-East Asia: a cross-examination

Our presentation is based upon the Editorial exposé of a special issue on industrial relations in Asia recently published by the Chronique Internationale de l’IRES (Delahaie and Le Queux 2016). Contributions were drawing on original research work and covered up to seven countries from the South-East Asian region (Taiwan, The Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore) plus China. Three streams were under scrutiny: 1) Low wages and decent work; 2) Migrant workers and informal labour; 3) Industrial conflict, and the way labour organisations (or the State) dealt with it. Contributions on Indonesia and Thailand touched upon decent work in low-wage economies, and the one on The Philippines on precarious employment more particularly; those on Singapore and Taiwan addressed the challenges and contradictions of maintaining a productivist agenda under tight corporatist regimes. The one on Malaysia focused on migrant labour and informal work. Contributions on China and Vietnam reflected on the nature and modality of industrial disputes and how these came to challenge established Communist labour institutions. China and Vietnam were given additional attention as they provided ground for a comparative analysis. Observations are congruent with the literature: States still play a dominant role of 'pacification' of industrial relations, with capitalist accumulation’ being the primary motive (Ford and Gillan 2016); international pressures are indispensable yet commitment to the enforcement of workers' rights remains problematic; echoing a long-lasting assessment (Deyo 1981; Leggett 1999), the overarching conclusion is that the interface between development and industrial democracy is a key determinant in the region