Advantages of extended bottom-up proteomics using sap9 for analysis of monoclonal antibodies.

Despite the recent advances in structural analysis of monoclonal antibodies with bottom-up, middle-down, and top-down mass spectrometry (MS), further improvements in analysis accuracy, depth, and speed are needed. The remaining challenges include quantitatively accurate assignment of post-translational modifications, reduction of artifacts introduced during sample preparation, increased sequence coverage per liquid chromatography (LC) MS experiment, and ability to extend the detailed characterization to simple antibody cocktails and more complex antibody mixtures. Here, we evaluate the recently introduced extended bottom-up proteomics (eBUP) approach based on proteolysis with secreted aspartic protease 9, Sap9, for analysis of monoclonal antibodies. Key findings of the Sap9-based proteomics analysis of a single antibody include: (i) extensive antibody sequence coverage with up to 100% for the light chain and up to 99-100% for the heavy chain in a single LC-MS run; (ii) connectivity of complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) via Sap9-produced large proteolytic peptides (3.4 kDa on average) containing up to two CDRs per peptide; (iii) reduced artifact introduction (e. g., deamidation) during proteolysis with Sap9 compared to conventional bottom-up proteomics workflows. The analysis of a mixture of six antibodies via Sap9-based eBUP produced comparable results. Due to the reasons specified above, Sap9-produced proteolytic peptides improve the identification confidence of antibodies from the mixtures compared to conventional bottom-up proteomics dealing with shorter proteolytic peptides.

Psychiatrie sous double contrainte, enjeux de la planification en santé mentale [Psychiatry under double bind, issue of the planification in mental health]

Given the important modifications of the "Loi sur l'Assurance maladie (LAMal)", this article gives a contribution to the hospital planification by identifying the main factors that have determined the current organisation of the psychiatric care network. We notice a gap between the orientations of these networks and the funding scheme forecast in the framework of the LAMal. In order to preserve the progressions of these last years and to avoid the negative effects of a too restrictive funding act for the assignment of the public psychiatry, the planification must result in a consensus between the state, the insurances and the multiple actors of the mental health. Otherwise, this will be done to the detriment of the activities of secondary prevention, of coordination in the network, of support to the natural helpers, and of intervention to the vulnerable populations.

Individual reproductive success and effective population size in the greater white-toothed shrew Crocidura russula.

In order to investigate the determinants of effective population size in the socially monogamous Crocidura russula, the reproductive output of 44 individuals was estimated through genetic assignment methods. The individual variance in breeding success turned out to be surprisingly high, mostly because the males were markedly less monogamous than expected from previous behavioural data. Males paired simultaneously with up to four females and polygynous males had significantly more offspring than monogamous ones. The variance in female reproductive success also exceeded that of a Poisson distribution (though to a lesser extent), partly because females paired with multiply mated males weaned significantly more offspring. Polyandry also occurred occasionally, but only sequentially (i.e. without multiple paternity of litters). Estimates of the effective to census size ratio were ca. 0.60, which excluded the mating system as a potential explanation for the high genetic variance found in this shrew's populations. Our data suggest that gene flow from the neighbourhood (up to one-third of the total recruitment) is the most likely cause of the high levels of genetic diversity observed in this shrew's subpopulations.

Les limites de la performativité des énoncés économiques: les apports de John Searle

The problematic of performativity has recently produced several criticisms and debates about the status of the economic discourse. Indeed the affirmation that economist shapes the world by describing it could leads to the subjectivist idea that each theory can in fine be 'true' and each theory can perform the social world in his specific way. This work clarifies this problematic in connecting it with the institutional theory of John Searle. We define performativity as a particular type of assignment of function. Finally, this enables us to show that performativity is limited by two kinds of factors : brut facts and social facts.

Shifts in species and phylogenetic diversity between sapling and tree communities indicate negative density dependence in a lowland rain forest

1. As trees in a given cohort progress through ontogeny, many individuals die. This risk of mortality is unevenly distributed across species because of many processes such as habitat filtering, interspecific competition and negative density dependence. Here, we predict and test the patterns that such ecological processes should inscribe on both species and phylogenetic diversity as plants recruit from saplings to the canopy. 2. We compared species and phylogenetic diversity of sapling and tree communities at two sites in French Guiana. We surveyed 2084 adult trees in four 1-ha tree plots and 943 saplings in sixteen 16-m2 subplots nested within the tree plots. Species diversity was measured using Fisher's alpha (species richness) and Simpson's index (species evenness). Phylogenetic diversity was measured using Faith's phylogenetic diversity (phylogenetic richness) and Rao's quadratic entropy index (phylogenetic evenness). The phylogenetic diversity indices were inferred using four phylogenetic hypotheses: two based on rbcLa plastid DNA sequences obtained from the inventoried individuals with different branch lengths, a global phylogeny available from the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, and a combination of both. 3. Taxonomic identification of the saplings was performed by combining morphological and DNA barcoding techniques using three plant DNA barcodes (psbA-trnH, rpoC1 and rbcLa). DNA barcoding enabled us to increase species assignment and to assign unidentified saplings to molecular operational taxonomic units. 4. Species richness was similar between saplings and trees, but in about half of our comparisons, species evenness was higher in trees than in saplings. This suggests that negative density dependence plays an important role during the sapling-to-tree transition. 5. Phylogenetic richness increased between saplings and trees in about half of the comparisons. Phylogenetic evenness increased significantly between saplings and trees in a few cases (4 out of 16) and only with the most resolved phylogeny. These results suggest that negative density dependence operates largely independently of the phylogenetic structure of communities. 6. Synthesis. By contrasting species richness and evenness across size classes, we suggest that negative density dependence drives shifts in composition during the sapling-to-tree transition. In addition, we found little evidence for a change in phylogenetic diversity across age classes, suggesting that the observed patterns are not phylogenetically constrained.

TV taskussa - tänään ja tulevaisuudessa

The objective of my thesis was to find out how mobile TV service will influence TV consumption behaviour of the Finns. In particular the study focuses on the consumption behaviour of a well educated urban people. For my thesis, I provided a detailed analysis of the study results of a large scale questionnaire research FinPilot from the year 2005 based on an assignment of Nokia Ltd. In order to deepen the study results, I focused on the above mentioned group of young people with good education. The goal of the FinPilot research was to give answers to the following questions: what kind of programs, in what kind of circumstances, and for which reasons are they watched when using the mobile television service. The results of the research consisted mainly of data like figures, graphics etc. The data was explaned from the helicopter perspective, for it gave additional value to the research and consequently to my own thesis. My study offered complementary, unique information about their needs as it was based on questionnaires supplemented by individual interviews of the group members, their free comments as well as group discussions. The study results proved that mobile TV service did not increase the total TV consumption time. The time used for watching the mobile TV was significantly shorter than the time for watching the traditional TV. According to my study, the young urban people with good education are more interested to adapt the mobile TV service than the average Finns. Being eager to utilize the added value offered by the mobile TVs they are a potential target group in launching and marketing processes. On the basis of the outcome of the thesis, the future of mobile TV service seems very promising. The content and the pricing, however, have to match the user's needs and expectations. All the study results prove that there exists a social order for mobile TV service.

Putkistosuunnittelun tunnusluvut

Tässä insinöörityössä tutkittiin Neste Jacobsin toimeksiantamia laitossuunnitteluprojekteja ja tarkemmin niiden yleis- ja putkistosuunnittelua ja siinä yleisimmin käytettäviä tunnuslu-kuja. Tunnuslukujen selvittämistä varten valittiin neljä projektia, jotka olivat tyypillisiä teollisia investointiprojekteja, ja joista saadut tekniset tiedot olivat tuoreita. Valittujen projektien suunnittelutyö oli joko valmis tai valmistumassa tietojenkeruuhetkellä. Työssä tutkittiin projektien tunnuslukujen eroja ja niiden syitä. Projektien tekniset tiedot kerättiin niiden suunnittelutyössä mukana olleilta yrityksiltä. Alkutietojen hyväksymisen jälkeen niiden pohjalta laskettiin projektikohtaiset tunnusluvut Tunnuslukutietojen keräämisen tuli olla huolellista ja pitkäjänteistä, koska niistä saatuja tietoja käytetään tulevien projektien laajuuksien ja kustannuksien arviointiin. Työn tärkeimpiä tuloksia olivat yleisimmin käytettyjen tunnuslukujen saanti jokaisesta pro-jektista ja tietojen kokoaminen helposti luettavaan taulukkoon. Saatuja tuloksia voidaan pitää luotettavina ja niitä voidaan käyttää jatkossa arvioitaessa projektien laajuuksia.

The short arm of the law: judicial institutions and local governance in Brazil

This paper estimates the effect of judicial institutions on governance at the local level in Brazil. Our estimation strategy exploits a unique institutional feature of state judiciary branches which assigns prosecutors and judges to the most populous among contiguous counties forming a judiciary district. As a result of this assignment mechanism there are counties with nearly identical populations, some with and some without local judicial presence, which we exploit to impute counterfactual outcomes. Conditional on observable county characteristics, offenses per civil servant are about 35% lower in counties that have a local seat of the state judiciary. The lower incidence of infractions stems mostly from fewer violations of financial management regulations by local administrators, fewer instances of problems in project execution and project managment, fewer cases of non-existent or ineffective civil society oversight and fewer cases of improper handling of remittances to local residents.

Performance assessment and league tables. Comparing like with like.

We formulate performance assessment as a problem of causal analysis and outline an approach based on the missing data principle for its solution. It is particularly relevant in the context of so-called league tables for educational, health-care and other public-service institutions. The proposed solution avoids comparisons of institutions that have substantially different clientele (intake).

Executive Order Number Forty Seven, March 29, 1993

Accepts offer of assignment of concurrent jurisdiction.

The 15-minute family interview: a family health strategy tool

The 15-minute family interview is a condensed form of the Calgary Family Assessment and Intervention Models (CFAM and CFIM) that aims to contribute to the establishment of a therapeutic relationship between nurses and family and to implement interventions to promote health and suffering relief, even during brief interactions. This study investigated the experience of nurses from the Family Health Strategy (FHS) who used the 15-minute interview on postpartum home. The qualitative research was conducted in three stages: participants' training program, utilization of the 15-minute family interview by participants, and interviews with nurses. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eight nurses. The thematic analysis revealed two main themes: dealing with the challenge of a new practice and evaluating the assignment. This work shows that this tool can be used to deepen relationships between nurses and families in the Family Health Strategy.

EBV+ cutaneous B-cell lymphoproliferation of the leg in an elderly patient with mycosis fungoides and methotrexate treatment.

A 77-year-old man with a 5-year history of mycosis fungoides (MF) who had received several lines of therapy, including intravenous courses of Methotrexate (MTX) for the past 2 years, went on to develop several ulcerated cutaneous nodules on the left leg. Biopsy revealed diffuse sheets of EBV-positive large B cells (CD20+ CD30 ± IgM Lambda), with an angiocentric distribution and a monoclonal IGH gene rearrangement. Although the pathological features were diagnostic for an EBV-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), several possibilities could be considered for assignment to a specific entity: EBV-positive DLBCL of the elderly, methotrexate-induced lymphoproliferative disorder (LPD), lymphomatoid granulomatosis, or the more recently described EBV-positive mucocutaneous ulcer. The development of EBV+ lymphoproliferations has been reported in two other patients with MF under MTX, and occurred as skin lesions of the leg in one of these and in the current case, which may question the relatedness to primary cutaneous DLCBL, leg-type.

Avaliação de Desempenho no Sector Bancário em Cabo Verde

Presentemente, o controlo de gestão está vocacionado para agir antes de os factos indesejáveis ocorrerem, assegurando que os objectivos estabelecidos pela gestão são atingidos dentro do timing fixado. Além disso, o controlo de gestão deve ser o motor que permita alcançar as melhores performances nas áreas críticas da empresa, não só no domínio económico e financeiro, mas também nas áreas do crescimento, segurança e produtividade. Um dos mais importantes objectos das administrações actuais, é determinar se o desempenho da organização está de acordo com o que foi estabelecido previamente, ou seja, seus objectivos e metas. O meio através do qual se verificaria este desempenho seria a utilização de métodos e sistemas de avaliação de desempenho eficazes. Neste contexto, o presente estudo consiste em fazer um estudo exploratório descritivo identificando e averiguando de que forma as instituições bancárias de Cabo Verde efectuam a gestão de alguns aspectos, especialmente a avaliação de desempenho e o controlo estratégico, e que indicadores utilizam. Não obstante os objectivos específicos do trabalho serem outros, também damos especial atenção às características do mercado cabo-verdiano e à importância do sector bancário para a economia. Finalmente, apresentamos o Balanced Scorecard como uma ferramenta capaz de suprir as dificuldades da avaliação de desempenho e o conjunto de indicadores que vemos como o mais adequado. Neste ponto, concentramos nas quatro perspectivas básicas e no mapa estratégico, referindo o papel do Balanced Scorecard no alinhamento estratégico e na avaliação do desempenho organizacional. Para concluir, reforçamos o estudo, entrevistando um especialista (Director Financeiro) de um dos bancos da praça, cujo nome prometemos não publicar. Dessa forma, esperamos contribuir para uma melhor percepção da realidade em estudo, tanto do ponto de vista teórico, quanto da verificação das práticas no sector. Presently, the management control is oriented to act before the undesirable facts happen, assuring that the management established objectives are being achieved in the fixed timing. Besides, the management control must be an engine that permits to achieve the best performances at critical company areas, not only in the economic and financial areas, but at the growth, security and productivity areas too. One of the most important administration objects nowadays is to know if the organization performance is according to the fixed targets. The performance measurement could be done through effective methods and performance measurement systems. That’s why this assignment consists in doing an exploratory and descriptive study, identifying and investigating how the bank institutions of Cape Verde manage some things, particularly the performance measurement and the strategic control, and to know which indicators they use. Although the specific objectives of this assignment are others, we also give special attention to the Capeverdean market characteristics, and to the relevance of the banking industry to the economy of the country. Finally, we present the Balanced Scorecard as a competent tool to supply the measurement performance difficulties and a number of indicators that we find appropriate. In this point, we focus in the four basic perspectives and the strategic map, referring to the role of the Balanced Scorecard in the strategic alignment and organization performance measurement. We conclude this study with an interview to an expert (A Financial Manager) of a bank working in Cape Verde, whose name we promise to preserve. In this way, we hope to contribute to a better perception of this reality, in the theoretical point-of-view as much as in the practical check of this industry’s labour.

Heterogeneity as a coordination device

A model of directed search with a finite number of buyers and sellers is considered, where sellers compete in direct mechanisms. Buyer heterogeneity and Nash equilibrium results in perfect sorting. The restriction to complementary inputs, that the match value function Q is supermodular, in addition coordinates the sellers strategies. In that case, equilibrium implements positive assortative matching, which is efficient and consistent with the stable (cooperative equilibrium) outcome. This provides a non-cooperative and decentralizedsolution for the Assignment Game. Conversely, if buyers are identical, no such coordination is possible, and there is a continuum of equilibria, one of which exhibits price posting, another yields competition in auctions.

Doctors without borders: The returns to an occupational license for Soviet immigrant physicians in Israel

Re-licensing requirements for professionals that move across borders arewidespread. In this paper, we measure the returns to an occupationallicense using novel data on Soviet trained physicians that immigrated toIsrael. An immigrant re-training assignment rule used by the IsraelMinistry of Health provides an exogenous source of variation inre-licensing outcomes. Instrumental variables and quantile treatmenteffects estimates of the returns to an occupational license indicate excesswages due to occupational entry restrictions and negative selectioninto licensing status. We develop a model of optimal license acquisitionwhich suggests that the wages of high-skilled immigrant physicians in thenonphysician sector outweigh the lower direct costs that these immigrantsface in acquiring a medical license. Licensing thus leads to lower averagequality of service. However, the positive earnings effect of entry restrictionsfar outweighs the lower practitioner quality earnings effect that licensinginduces.