The Effectiveness of Incentive Schemes in the Presence of Implicit Effort Costs

Agents' decisions to exert effort depends on the provided incentives as well as the potential costs for doing so. So far most of the attention has been on the incentive side. However, our lab experiments underline that both the incentive and cost side can be used separately to shape work performance. In our experiment, subjects work on a real-effort task. Between treatments, we vary the incentive scheme used for compensating workers. Additionally, by varying the available outside options, we explore the role of implicit costs of effort in determining workers' performance. We observe that incentive contracts and implicit costs interact in a non-trivial manner. Performance reacts significantly to changes in implicit effort costs under low-powered piece-rate and target-based bonus contracts, but not under a high piece rate contract. In addition, comparisons between the incentive schemes depend crucially on the implicit costs

Guidance on Conducting and REporting DElphi Studies (CREDES) in palliative care:Recommendations based on a methodological systematic review

BACKGROUND: The Delphi technique is widely used for the development of guidance in palliative care, having impact on decisions with relevance for patient care. AIM: To systematically examine the application of the Delphi technique for the development of best practice guidelines in palliative care. DESIGN: A methodological systematic review was undertaken using the databases PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, Academic Search Complete and EMBASE. DATA SOURCES: Original articles (English language) were included when reporting on empirical studies that had used the Delphi technique to develop guidance for good clinical practice in palliative care. Data extraction included a quality appraisal on the rigour in conduct of the studies and the quality of reporting. RESULTS: A total of 30 empirical studies (1997-2015) were considered for full-text analysis. Considerable differences were identified regarding the rigour of the design and the reporting of essential process and outcome parameters. Furthermore, discrepancies regarding the use of terms for describing the method were observed, for example, concerning the understanding of a 'round' or a 'modified Delphi study'. CONCLUSION: Substantial variation was found concerning the quality of the study conduct and the transparency of reporting of Delphi studies used for the development of best practice guidance in palliative care. Since credibility of the resulting recommendations depends on the rigorous use of the Delphi technique, there is a need for consistency and quality both in the conduct and reporting of studies. To allow a critical appraisal of the methodology and the resulting guidance, a reporting standard for Conducting and REporting of DElphi Studies (CREDES) is proposed

Исследование ресурса работы зондов для электроимпульсной литотрипсии

В данной статье представлена оценка ресурса работы зондов различных конструкций для электроимпульсной литотрипсии, выявлены наиболее часто возникающие дефекты. Сделаны выводы о перспективах применения и дальнейшего усовершенствования конструкций

Выбор материала фильтра на основе СВС-механокомпозитов для рафинирования кремния

Работа посвящена подбору материала фильтра, получаемого с применением технологий механической активации и самораспространяющегося высокотемпературного синтеза (СВС), а также установлению возможности протекания реакции в режиме СВС между выбранными компонентами.The work is devoted to the selection of the filter material obtained with the use of the technologies of mechanical activation and self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS), as well as the establishment of the possibility of the reaction in the SHS mode between the selected components

Low-Density Granulocytes Are a Novel Immunopathological Feature in Both Multiple Sclerosis and Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder

Objective: To investigate whether low-density granulocytes (LDGs) are an immunophenotypic feature of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) or neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Methods: Blood samples were collected from 20 patients with NMOSD and 17 patients with MS, as well as from 15 patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and 23 Healthy Donors (HD). We isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with density gradient separation and stained the cells with antibodies against CD14, CD15, CD16, and CD45, and analyzed the cells by flow cytometry or imaging flow cytometry. We defined LDGs as CD14-CD15(high) and calculated their share in total PBMC leukocytes (CD45+) as well as the share of CD16(hi) LDGs. Clinical data on disease course, medication, and antibody status were obtained. Results: LDGs were significantly more common in MS and NMOSD than in HDs, comparable to SLE samples (median values HD 0.2%, MS 0.9%, NMOSD 2.1%, SLE 4.3%). 0/23 of the HDs, but 17/20 NMOSD and 11/17 MS samples as well as 13/15 SLE samples had at least 0.7 % LDGs. NMOSD patients without continuous immunosuppressive treatment had significantly more LDGs compared to their treated counterparts. LDG nuclear morphology ranged from segmented to rounded, suggesting a heterogeneity within the group. Conclusion: LDGs are a feature of the immunophenotype in some patients with MS and NMOSD

Revealing Hidden Potentials of the q-Space Signal in Breast Cancer

Mammography screening for early detection of breast lesions currently suffers from high amounts of false positive findings, which result in unnecessary invasive biopsies. Diffusion-weighted MR images (DWI) can help to reduce many of these false-positive findings prior to biopsy. Current approaches estimate tissue properties by means of quantitative parameters taken from generative, biophysical models fit to the q-space encoded signal under certain assumptions regarding noise and spatial homogeneity. This process is prone to fitting instability and partial information loss due to model simplicity. We reveal unexplored potentials of the signal by integrating all data processing components into a convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture that is designed to propagate clinical target information down to the raw input images. This approach enables simultaneous and target-specific optimization of image normalization, signal exploitation, global representation learning and classification. Using a multicentric data set of 222 patients, we demonstrate that our approach significantly improves clinical decision making with respect to the current state of the art.Comment: Accepted conference paper at MICCAI 201

Evolution of the zirconium alloy Zr-1Nb defect structure after cold rolling

Zirconium alloys are actively used in nuclear power engineering. During the operation of these alloys, it is necessary to know the change in structural, mechanical and physical characteristics when using material in corrosive environments. In this regard, it is necessary to study the occurrence of certain defects in the material and their effect. Such defects include dislocations. This study is aimed to study the processes of the appearance and distribution of dislocations in a material by positron annihilation spectroscopy. As a result of this work, the lifetime of positrons in the dislocation of zirconium was determined and the character of dislocation distribution at different degrees of deformation was presented

Allergy for a Lifetime?

ABSTRACTAs the key molecule of type-I-hypersensitivity, IgE provides specificity for the allergen and links it to the allergic effector functions. Antibodies are secreted by plasma cells and their precursors, the plasma blasts. The fate of plasma cells is a subject of controversy, with respect to their lifetime and persistence in the absence of allergen. In general, plasma cells were for a long time considered as short-lived end products of B-cell differentiation, and many of them are short-lived, although already for more than 20 years evidence has been provided that IgE-secreting plasma cells can persist over months. Today long-lived, "memory" plasma cells are considered to represent a distinct cellular entity of immunological memory, with considerable therapeutic relevance. Long-lived plasma cells resist current therapeutic and experimental approaches such as immunosuppression, e.g. cyclophosphamide, steroids, X-ray irradiation, anti-CD20 antibodies and anti-inflammatory drugs, while the chronic generation of short-lived plasma cells is sensitive to conventional immunosuppression. The seasonal variation in pollen-specific IgE can be suppressed by immunotherapy, indicating that component of the IgE response, which is stimulated with pollen allergen is susceptible to suppression. Targeting of the remaining long-lived, allergen-specific plasma cells, providing the stable IgE-titers, represents a therapeutic challenge.Here we discuss recent evidence suggesting, why current protocols for the treatment of IgE-mediated allergies fail: Memory plasma cells generated by inhalation of the allergen become long-lived and are maintained preferentially in the bone marrow. They do not proliferate, and are refractory to conventional therapies. Current concepts target plasma cells for depletion, e.g. the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib, BAFF and APRIL antagonists and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Участие кураторов академических групп в определении образовательной траектории обучения студентов первого курса

Context. The German Hospice and Palliative Care Evaluation (HOPE) is a national, long-term quality assurance project. Every year, German hospice and palliative care institutions document a core data set for their patients for a period of three months. Objectives. To validate the multidimensional symptom and problem checklist (HOPE-SP-CL) of the core data set and report details on reliability and validity. Methods. Data from yearly evaluation periods between 2002 and 2009 were used to calculate construct and convergent validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and documentation discipline and acceptance of the core documentation system. Results. The HOPE-SP-CL includes items on physical, nursing, psychological, and social symptoms and problems. Factor analysis extracted four low to moderately intercorrelating factors with eigenvalues greater than 1.0 explaining 56% of the total variance. Discriminant validity of the HOPE-SP-CL showed good properties in detecting patient groups with different symptom intensities and overall symptom burden using the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status and primary cancer diagnosis as external validation criteria. The global sum score of the HOPE-SP-CL correlated most closely with the Palliative Outcome Scale staff version (r = 0.750). Internal consistencies ranged between alpha = 0.768-0.801 at three different times of assessment. Test-retest coefficients showed moderate to high correlations at one-week intervals. Conclusion. Analyses of reliability and validity of the HOPE-SP-CL showed satisfactory to good psychometric properties; therefore, the HOPE-SP-CL can be recommended for standard implementation in German hospice and palliative care institutions. J Pain Symptom Manage 2012;43:593-605. (C) 2012 U.S. Cancer Pain Relief Committee. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved