International Accounting Rate Reform in Telecommunications

Twenty European countries came together in 1865 to form an organisation, the predecessor to the International Telecommunications Union and to arrive at mechanisms and agree upon a methodology of distributing the revenues from the international telegraph service. The current accounting rate system is a modified version of the then developed methodology for the International telegraph. This international settlement regime based on accounting rates has long been under attack by economists, policy-makers in developed countries and international trade organisations. The ITU, the OECD, the FCC and other regulatory bodies are pursuing various initiatives to reform or replace the existing accounting rate system. These regulatory initiatives are aimed at reducing the current pricing distortions embedded in the accounting rate system. In the wake of the WTO agreement, a system of traffic compensation that is not ‘cost oriented’ is not only unsustainable, it is also in violation of the regulatory principles set out in the WTO reference paper. The FCC has been at the forefront of the move to decrease accounting rates. In August 1997, the FCC adopted “benchmark” accounting rates for different groups of countries, which it considered more closely related to the actual costs of providing international service between those countries and the US. The benchmark rates range from $0.15-$.23 per minute, and are far below those currently in practice, particularly for most of the developing countries which are sometimes in excess of $1.00 per minute. If implemented, these rates would significantly reduce international calling revenues of these countries. While the FCC obviously has no direct regulatory jurisdiction outside of the US, it has threatened to deny access to the US market to PTOs from other countries that do not reduce their accounting rates to the benchmark levels. While the future of the existing accounting rate system is being debated in regulatory circles, an increasing proportion of international traffic is bypassing this traditional system of compensation. Facilitated by the global trend towards the liberalisation of telecommunications markets, new technological means for bypassing the accounting rate system are also developing rapidly.

International Accounting Rate Reform in Telecommunications

Twenty European countries came together in 1865 to form an organisation, the predecessor to the International Telecommunications Union and to arrive at mechanisms and agree upon a methodology of distributing the revenues from the international telegraph service. The current accounting rate system is a modified version of the then developed methodology for the International telegraph. This international settlement regime based on accounting rates has long been under attack by economists, policy-makers in developed countries and international trade organisations. The ITU, the OECD, the FCC and other regulatory bodies are pursuing various initiatives to reform or replace the existing accounting rate system. These regulatory initiatives are aimed at reducing the current pricing distortions embedded in the accounting rate system. In the wake of the WTO agreement, a system of traffic compensation that is not ‘cost oriented’ is not only unsustainable, it is also in violation of the regulatory principles set out in the WTO reference paper

Comparison of Frequency of Recurrence after Burr Hole Evacuation of Chronic Subdural Hematoma with or without Subdural Drain.

Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is known to have a significant recurrence rate. The rate of recurrence of chronic subdural hematoma after surgery ranges from roughly 5% to 30%.  Burr hole evacuation without drainage is performed as a first line of treatment for CSDH. As there is controversy in literature regarding the use of drainage after burr hole evacuation, the results of my study may be helpful for selecting a proper treatment modality as a first line of treatment for CSDH in terms of recurrence. The objective of this study was to compare the frequency of recurrence after burr hole evacuation of CSDH with and without subdural drain. It was a randomized controlled trial conducted in Department of Neurosurgery, Allied hospital, Faisalabad form Aug 2016 to Aug 2018 RESULTS:In our study, out of 130 cases(65 in each group). 84.62%(n=55) in Group-A and 76.92%(n=50) in Group-B were between above 40 years of age whereas 15.38%(n=10) in Group-A and 23.08%(n=15) were between 18-40 years of age, mean+sd was calculated as  64.03+7.61 years in Group-A and 62.28+7.83 years in Group-B, 78.46%(n=51) in Group-A and 72.31%(n=47) in Group-B were male while 21.54%(n=14) in Group-A and 27.69%(n=18) in Group-B were females, comparison of frequency of recurrence after burr hole evacuation of CSDH with and without subdural drain shows 10.77%(n=7) in Group-A and 27.69%(n=18) in Group-B, p value was 0.01 showing a significant difference. CONCLUSION: We concluded that the frequency of recurrence after burrhole evacuation of CSDH is significantly lower with drain when compared without subdural drain

Effect of APOB polymorphism rs562338 (G/A) on serum proteome of coronary artery disease patients:a “proteogenomic” approach

In the current study, APOB (rs1052031) genotype-guided proteomic analysis was performed in a cohort of Pakistani population. A total of 700 study subjects, including Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) patients (n = 480) and healthy individuals (n = 220) as a control group were included in the study. Genotyping was carried out by using tetra primer-amplification refractory mutation system-based polymerase chain reaction (T-ARMS-PCR) whereas mass spectrometry (Orbitrap MS) was used for label free quantification of serum samples. Genotypic frequency of GG genotype was found to be 90.1%, while 6.4% was for GA genotype and 3.5% was for AA genotypes in CAD patients. In the control group, 87.2% healthy subjects were found to have GG genotype, 11.8% had GA genotype, and 0.9% were with AA genotypes. Significant (p = 0.007) difference was observed between genotypic frequencies in the patients and the control group. The rare allele AA was found to be strongly associated with the CAD [OR: 4 (1.9–16.7)], as compared to the control group in recessive genetic model (p = 0.04). Using label free proteomics, altered expression of 60 significant proteins was observed. Enrichment analysis of these protein showed higher number of up-regulated pathways, including phosphatidylcholine-sterol O-acyltransferase activator activity, cholesterol transfer activity, and sterol transfer activity in AA genotype of rs562338 (G&gt;A) as compared to the wild type GG genotype. This study provides a deeper insight into CAD pathobiology with reference to proteogenomics, and proving this approach as a good platform for identifying the novel proteins and signaling pathways in relation to cardiovascular diseases.</p

Antiglycation, antiplatelets aggregation, cytotoxic and phytotoxic activities of Nepeta suavis

Nepeta suavis Stapf. (Lamiaceae), one of the ignored species for testing biological activities, was studied. In present research, the Nepeta suavis fractions: chloroform (FC), ethyl acetate (FE) and aqueous (FW) were evaluated for platelet aggregation, antiglycation, cytoxicity, and phytotoxicity. FE showed 65.60% antiglycation activity against the protein glycation while the other fractions showed less than 50% inhibitory potential. The FW inhibited arachidonic acid (AA) and platelet activating factor (acetyl-glyceryl-ether-phosphorylcholine, PAF) induced platelet aggregation. FE showed significant cytotoxicity against brine shrimp larvae with LD50 of 41.3 μg/ml. Phytotoxic studies of FC, FE and FW against Lemna minor showed 77.5-100% inhibitory effects at 1000 μg/ml. However, at lower concentration (10 μg/ml) enhancing effects were observed in FC and FE, as compared to control. FW remained in a uniform pattern of inhibitory effects in all three concentrations (10,100 and 1000 μg/ml). FE showed highest inhibitory activities against formation of glycation, while FW showed significant inhibitory effects against platelet aggregation and Lemna minor. Both of these fractions are recommended for further study to identify and isolate active chemical compounds.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

A Hybrid Tool for Visual Pollution Assessment in Urban Environments

With increasing focus on more nuanced aspects of quality of life, the phenomenon of urban visual pollution has been progressively gaining attention from researchers and policy makers, especially in the developed world. However, the subjectivity and complexity of assessing visual pollution in urban settings remain a challenge, especially given the lack of robust and reliable methods for quantification of visual pollution. This paper presents a novel systematic approach for the development of a robust Visual Pollution Assessment (VPA) tool. A key feature of our methodology is explicit and systematic incorporation of expert and public opinion for listing and ranking Visual Pollution Objects (VPOs). Moreover, our methodology deploys established empirical complex decision-making techniques to address the challenge of subjectivity in weighting the impact of individual VPOs. The resultant VPA tool uses close-ended options to capture the presence and characteristics of various VPOs on a given node. Based on these inputs, it calculates a point based visual pollution scorecard for the observation point. The performance of the VPA tool has been extensively tested and verified at various locations in Pakistan. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first such tool, both in terms of quantitative robustness and broad coverage of VPOs. Our VPA tool will help regulators in assessing and charting visual pollution in a consistent and objective manner. It will also help policy makers by providing an empirical basis for gathering evidence; hence facilitating evidence-based and evidence-driven policy strategies, which are likely to have significant impact, especially in the developing countries

Impact of magnetic field on the stability of the CMS GE1/1 GEM detector operation

The Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detectors of the GE1/1 station of the CMS experiment have been operated in the CMS magnetic field for the first time on the 7$^{th}$ of October 2021. During the magnetic field ramps, several discharge phenomena were observed, leading to instability in the GEM High Voltage (HV) power system. In order to reproduce the behavior, it was decided to conduct a dedicated test at the CERN North Area with the Goliath magnet, using four GE1/1 spare chambers. The test consisted in studying the characteristics of discharge events that occurred in different detector configurations and external conditions. Multiple magnetic field ramps were performed in sequence: patterns in the evolution of the discharge rates were observed with these data. The goal of this test is the understanding of the experimental conditions inducing discharges and short circuits in a GEM foil. The results of this test lead to the development of procedure for the optimal operation and performance of GEM detectors in the CMS experiment during the magnet ramps. Another important result is the estimation of the probability of short circuit generation, at 68 % confidence level, p$_{short}$$^{HV}$ $^{OFF}$ = 0.42$^{-0.35+0.94}$% with detector HV OFF and p$_{short}$$^{HV}$ $^{OFF}$ < 0.49% with the HV ON. These numbers are specific for the detectors used during this test, but they provide a first quantitative indication on the phenomenon, and a point of comparison for future studies adopting the same procedure

Study on discharge and short circuit generation in CMS GE1/1 triple-GEM detectors during Run 3

The installation of the new GE1/1 station of Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detectors in the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment was completed during the Long Shutdown 2 (LS2) phase of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The GE1/1 station has been operational in the CMS detector since the beginning of the Run-3 data-taking phase, and for the first time the GEM technology was deployed on a large scale, comprised of 144 chambers and tested in running conditions as integral part of the CMS data acquisition, reconstruction, and analysis chain. The deployment of the GEM detector required careful planning throughout the years, posing several challenges of practical and conceptual nature in integrating an entirely new subsystem in the existing CMS frame. Operations on the other hand provided a unique opportunity to test the GEM technology in never-before seen conditions, and an occasion to study their behavior during data taking. In describing some of the solutions to the posed challenges and the findings during the data-taking, the article will focus on the aspects related to power system management, including high-voltage and current monitoring, which is intrinsically related to the response of the chamber due to the workings of the GEM foil charge flow. To this end, this article will illustrate the operations of GE1/1 detectors in the first two years of Run-3, with a particular focus on the analysis of discharge occurrences, on the generation of short circuits in GE1/1 GEM foils and on the adopted mitigation strategies. The applied layout of the GEM detectors is thoroughly described, and detailed operating conditions of the detectors are discussed, along with the actions taken to mitigate these events

Infected pancreatic necrosis: outcomes and clinical predictors of mortality. A post hoc analysis of the MANCTRA-1 international study

: The identification of high-risk patients in the early stages of infected pancreatic necrosis (IPN) is critical, because it could help the clinicians to adopt more effective management strategies. We conducted a post hoc analysis of the MANCTRA-1 international study to assess the association between clinical risk factors and mortality among adult patients with IPN. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify prognostic factors of mortality. We identified 247 consecutive patients with IPN hospitalised between January 2019 and December 2020. History of uncontrolled arterial hypertension (p = 0.032; 95% CI 1.135-15.882; aOR 4.245), qSOFA (p = 0.005; 95% CI 1.359-5.879; aOR 2.828), renal failure (p = 0.022; 95% CI 1.138-5.442; aOR 2.489), and haemodynamic failure (p = 0.018; 95% CI 1.184-5.978; aOR 2.661), were identified as independent predictors of mortality in IPN patients. Cholangitis (p = 0.003; 95% CI 1.598-9.930; aOR 3.983), abdominal compartment syndrome (p = 0.032; 95% CI 1.090-6.967; aOR 2.735), and gastrointestinal/intra-abdominal bleeding (p = 0.009; 95% CI 1.286-5.712; aOR 2.710) were independently associated with the risk of mortality. Upfront open surgical necrosectomy was strongly associated with the risk of mortality (p &lt; 0.001; 95% CI 1.912-7.442; aOR 3.772), whereas endoscopic drainage of pancreatic necrosis (p = 0.018; 95% CI 0.138-0.834; aOR 0.339) and enteral nutrition (p = 0.003; 95% CI 0.143-0.716; aOR 0.320) were found as protective factors. Organ failure, acute cholangitis, and upfront open surgical necrosectomy were the most significant predictors of mortality. Our study confirmed that, even in a subgroup of particularly ill patients such as those with IPN, upfront open surgery should be avoided as much as possible. Study protocol registered in ClinicalTrials.Gov (I.D. Number NCT04747990)