Variational Monte-Carlo studies of Gossamer Superconductivity

We use a partially Gutzwiller projected BCS d-wave wavefunction with an antiferromagentic weighting factor to study the ground state phase diagram of a half filled Hubbard-Heisenberg model in a square lattice with nearest neighbor hopping $t$ and a diagonal hopping $t'$. The calculations are carried out by using variational Monte Carlo method which treats the Gutzwiller projection explicitly. At large on-site Coulomb interaction $U$, the ground state is antiferromagnetic. As $U$ decreases, the ground state becomes superconducting and eventually metallic. The phase diagram is obtained by extensive calculations. As compared to the strong effect of $U/t$, the phase boundaries turn out to be less sensitive to $t'/t$. The result is consistent with the phase diagram in layered organic conductors, and is compared to the earlier mean field result based on the Gutzwiller approximation.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

International sport federations’ commercialisation : a qualitative comparative analysis

Research question: This study examines the conditions and configurations that particularly influence International Federations’ (IFs) commercialisation. Research method: Crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis (csQCA) is used to determine the conditions that are related to an IFs’ commercialisation. Sixteen interviews were conducted in six Olympic IFs and one international sport umbrella organisation. Results and findings: The findings reveal a variety of high and low commercialisation configurations. Specialisation is a key condition in both high and low commercialisation, and social media engagement is central in high commercialisation. Strategic planning and low accountability have low degrees of overlap with high commercialisation outcomes. With 13 out of 22 IFs achieving high levels of commercialisation, the findings demonstrate that IFs are increasingly developing business-like behaviours. Implications: The findings highlight the importance of specialisation and social media engagement to achieve high commercialisation. However, when IFs assume a monetisation agenda, there are associated risks such as stakeholder legitimacy, mission drift, goal vagueness and adherence to good governance principles

High sensitivity troponin T and I reflect mitral annular plane systolic excursion being assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the association between high sensitivity troponins (hsTn) and mitral annular plane systolic excursion (MAPSE) in patients undergoing cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI). Methods: Patients undergoing cMRI were prospectively enrolled. Patients with right ventricular dysfunction(< 50%) were excluded. Blood samples for measurements of hsTn and amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) were collected at the time of cMRI. Results: 84 patients were included. Median left ventricular ejection fraction was 59% (IQR 51–64%). HsTn were correlated inversely with MAPSE within multivariable linear regression models (hsTnI: Beta − 0.19; T − 1.96; p = 0.05; hsTnT: Beta − 0.26; T − 3.26; p = 0.002). HsTn increased significantly according to decreasing stages of impaired MAPSE (p < 0.003). HsTn discriminated patients with impaired MAPSE < 11 mm (hsTnT: AUC = 0.67; p = 0.008; hsTnI: AUC = 0.64; p = 0.03) and < 8 mm (hsTnT: AUC = 0.79; p = 0.0001; hsTnI: AUC = 0.75; p = 0.001) and were still significantly associated in multivariable logistic regression models with impaired MAPSE < 11 mm (hsTnT: OR = 4.71; p = 0.002; hsTnI: OR = 4.22; p = 0.009). Conclusions: This study demonstrates that hsTn are able to reflect MAPSE being assessed by cMRI

Ischemic biomarker heart-type fatty acid binding protein (hFABP) in acute heart failure - diagnostic and prognostic insights compared to NT-proBNP and troponin I

Background: To evaluate diagnostic and long-term prognostic values of hFABP compared to NT-proBNP and troponin I (TnI) in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) suspected of acute heart failure (AHF). Methods: 401 patients with acute dyspnea or peripheral edema, 122 suffering from AHF, were prospectively enrolled and followed up to 5 years. hFABP combined with NT-proBNP versus NT-proBNP alone was tested for AHF diagnosis. Prognostic value of hFABP versus TnI was evaluated in models predicting all-cause mortality (ACM) and AHF related rehospitalization (AHF-RH) at 1 and 5 years, including 11 conventional risk factors plus NT-proBNP. Results: Additional hFABP measurements improved diagnostic specificity and positive predictive value (PPV) of sole NT-proBNP testing at the cutoff <300 ng/l to “rule out” AHF. Highest hFABP levels (4th quartile) were associated with increased ACM (hazard ratios (HR): 2.1–2.5; p = 0.04) and AHF-RH risk at 5 years (HR 2.8–8.3, p = 0.001). ACM was better characterized in prognostic models including TnI, whereas AHF-RH was better characterized in prognostic models including hFABP. Cox analyses revealed a 2 % increase of ACM risk and 3–7 % increase of AHF-RH risk at 5 years by each unit increase of hFABP of 10 ng/ml. Conclusions: Combining hFABP plus NT-proBNP (<300 ng/l) only improves diagnostic specificity and PPV to rule out AHF. hFABP may improve prognosis for long-term AHF-RH, whereas TnI may improve prognosis for ACM. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00143793

Effects of impurities and vortices on the low-energy spin excitations in high-Tc materials

We review a theoretical scenario for the origin of the spin-glass phase of underdoped cuprate materials. In particular it is shown how disorder in a correlated d-wave superconductor generates a magnetic phase by inducing local droplets of antiferromagnetic order which eventually merge and form a quasi-long range ordered state. When correlations are sufficiently strong, disorder is unimportant for the generation of static magnetism but plays an additional role of pinning disordered stripe configurations. We calculate the spin excitations in a disordered spin-density wave phase, and show how disorder and/or applied magnetic fields lead to a slowing down of the dynamical spin fluctuations in agreement with neutron scattering and muon spin rotation (muSR) experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted for SNS2010 conference proceeding

Comparative analysis of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I and T for their association with coronary computed tomography-assessed calcium scoring represented by the Agatston score

Background: This study evaluates the association between high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) and T (hs-cTnT) and coronary calcium concentration (CAC) detected by coronary computed tomography (CCT) and evaluated with the Agatston score in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods: Patients undergoing CCT during routine clinical care were enrolled prospectively. CCT was indicated for patients with a low to intermediate pretest probability for CAD. Within 24 h of CCT examination, peripheral blood samples were taken to measure cardiac biomarkers hs-cTnI and hs-cTnT. Results: A total of 76 patients were enrolled including 38% without detectable CAC, 36% with an Agatston score from 1 to 100, 17% from 101 to 400, and 9% with values ≥ 400. hs-cTnI was increasing alongside Agatston score and was able to differentiate between different groups of Agatston scores. Both hs-cTn discriminated values greater than 100 (hs-cTnI, AUC = 0.663; p = 0.032; hs-cTnT, AUC = 0.650; p = 0.048). In univariate and multivariate logistic regression models, hs-cTnT and hs-cTnI were significantly associated with increased Agatston scores. Patients with hs-cTnT ≥ 0.02 µg/l and hs-cTnI ≥ 5.5 ng/l were more likely to reveal values ≥ 400 (hs-cTnT; OR = 13.4; 95% CI 1.545–116.233; p = 0.019; hs-cTnI; OR = 8.8; 95% CI 1.183–65.475; p = 0.034). Conclusion: The present study shows that the Agatston score was significantly correlated with hs cardiac troponins, both in univariable and multivariable linear regression models. Hs-cTnI is able to discriminate between different Agatston values. The present results might reveal potential cut-off values for hs cardiac troponins regarding different Agatston values. Trial registration Cardiovascular Imaging and Biomarker Analyses (CIBER), NCT03074253 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/record/NCT0307425

Psychographische Verortung von Menschen mit Diabetes: Auswirkungen auf die Produktgestaltung und Kommunikation

Für den Erfolg eines Produktes oder einer Dienstleistung ist die umfassende Kenntnis der Bedürfnisse, Wahrnehmungs- und Entscheidungsfilter von Zielgruppen entscheidend. Nur eine zielgerichtete, zur Zielgruppe passende Produktentwicklung und -vermarktung kann Auf Dauer erfolgreich sein. Da soziodemographische Zielgruppendefinitionen heute alleine nicht valide genug sind, um Zielgruppen umfassend zu verstehen, werden im Marketing zu-nehmend psychographische Verortungen von Zielgruppen verwendet. Auch bei chronisch Kranken reichen rein soziodemographische und medizinische Kriterien nicht aus, um Produkte und Dienstleistungen passend zu gestalten. Psychographische Erkenntnisse können die klassischen Kriterien sinnvoll ergänzen. Am Beispiel von Menschen mit Diabetes wird in einer internationalen empirischen Studie gezeigt, dass sich Menschen mit Diabetes mit Hilfe eines neuropsychologisch fundierten, visuellen Testverfahrens (dem u.a. an der NORD-AKADEMIE entwickelten Visual Questionnaire, ViQ) eindeutig psychographisch verorten lassen. Die Implikationen und Anwendungsmöglichkeiten dieser psychographischen Erkenntnisse für die Produktentwicklung, Kommunikation, Vertrieb und Marketing bei Krankenkassen, medizinischem Personal und der Pharmabranche werden aufgezeigt und kritisch diskutiert

Professionalisation and governance in Swiss sports clubs – Establishing a club office

Introduction Sports clubs in Switzerland face increasing expectations and challenges from internal and external stakeholders. Therefore, more and more sports clubs professionalise their structures and processes, e.g., by establishing a club office with (part-time) employees. Since there is little knowledge in the sports management literature about the causes, forms and consequences of establishing a club office, this study answers the following research questions based on the multi-level framework from Nagel et al. (2015): Why and how do Swiss sports clubs establish a club office? What are the consequences of establishing a club office? Methods We selected five Swiss sports clubs in the context of a multiple case study design (Yin, 2014). Case selection aimed to include sports clubs of varying sizes, sports and professionalisation types. Data were collected through document analysis, expert interviews with decision-makers and focus groups with club members. Data were analysed using causation coding (Miles et al., 2014). Results Findings show different causes for establishing a club office. The main reason was to relieve volunteer board members. The various causes imply different roles and responsibilities of the established club office. While in some sports clubs, the club office is primarily responsible for administrative tasks, in others, it is also responsible for sponsorship. This circumstance explains why some sports clubs did not have to increase their membership fees to finance the club office because they could increase their sponsorship revenue. Although the club office staff is paid in all sports clubs, the volume of work varies. However, the paid staff often works more than agreed (“volunteer professionals”). Regarding the consequences, all sports clubs that established a club office are satisfied with their decision. Positive consequences are that a “place to go” was created for internal and external stakeholders, and many club processes are more efficient now. However, establishing a club office with (part-time) employees raises the question of strategic and operational responsibilities and decision-making power. Discussion/Conclusion The findings offer several implications for sports clubs that want to establish a club office. At the same time, the study provides further research perspectives. First, it might be insightful to analyse if there are any relevant differences in whether a sports club transforms its secretariat into a club office or establishes a club office for the first time. Second, there are further changes regarding the organisational structures and processes that are worth looking at when analysing the establishment of a club office, such as creating an executive/management board or employing a (paid) CEO. To conclude, it might be interesting to analyse sports clubs that have established a club office but shut it down after a while. References Miles, M. B., Hubermann, A. M., &amp; Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative Data Analysis. A Methods Sourcebook (3rd ed.). SAGE. Nagel, S., Schlesinger, T., Bayle, E., &amp; Giauque, D. (2015). Professionalisation of sport federations–A multi-level framework for analysing forms, causes and consequences. European Sport Management Quarterly, 15(4), 407–433. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2015.1062990 Yin, R. K. (2014). Case Study Research: Design and Methods (5th ed.). SAGE

Professionalization and organizational problems of sports clubs: Is there a relationship?

Sports clubs have been reporting several organizational problems in recent decades (e.g., recruitment and retention of members and volunteers). At the same time, certain sports clubs have professionalized their strategies, structures, processes, and staff. However, previous research has not analyzed whether the professionalization of sports clubs is related to their organizational problems. Therefore, this study conducts, in the first step, a cluster analysis based on three dimensions of professionalization to identify professionalization types among sports clubs. In the second step, it examines differences in organizational problems among the identified professionalization types. The main findings are that (1) sports clubs with paid staff report fewer problems with recruiting and retaining members but more problems with finances than sports clubs that rely on voluntary work, and (2) sports clubs with increased professionalization of human resources management (HRM) and strategy have fewer problems with recruiting and retaining board members and coaches than sports clubs with low professionalization of HRM and strategy. These results show that professionalized sports clubs have different, but not necessarily fewer, organizational problems