Average Collection Time Research Articles

The influence of corona pandemic on stock returns of companies listed on the Palestine Stock Exchange

Purpose This study aims to explore and verify the influence of the corona pandemic on the stock returns of the Palestinian companies listed on the Palestine Exchange during the period 2020–2021. Design/methodology/approach The research makes use of secondary financial data from 52 companies in the industrial, investment, services, banking and insurance sectors. Many financial ratios are calculated to assess stock returns: current ratio, cash ratio and average collection time as liquidity measures; debt-to-equity ratio as an indication of leverage or solvency; and net profit margin as an indicator of profitability. The research examines ratios between the (2020 and 2021) precorona outbreak using the Wilcoxon signed rank test and financial ratio analysis during the corona pandemic. Findings The findings show that liquidity in the investment, banking, insurance and industrial sectors has decreased significantly, whereas liquidity in the service sector has improved. The statistics reveal a considerable growth in debt in the service sector, while it stays unchanged in the other sectors. However, there is no discernible change in profitability during and after the corona outbreak. Research limitations/implications The present research faced many limitations, such as the approach to gathering primary data, which depended heavily on disclosures, financial reports and secondary data, as well as only analyzing one context and one country. Practical implications The findings of this study can guide the Palestinian government and decision-makers to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak and must act quickly because strong short-term policies are more functional than long-term policy measures. In addition, the temporal discrepancy between their policy actions and financial regulations regarding the stage of the outbreak, integrating monetary treatment methods, strengthening their control over exchange rate fluctuations and extending the duration of financial participation measures that ensure stable exchange rates, such as attempting to restrict trade of the monetary system between countries was assessed to reduce the important monetary stimulation policy. Originality/value This study presents important facts and results for regulators and decision-makers regarding the investment, industry, banking, insurance and services sectors as sectors that are most affected by the corona pandemic as a sample for this study from the Palestinian companies listed in Palestine Stock Exchange due to the corona pandemic.

OPTIMIZING THE INTERNAL CELL STRUCTURE OF THE RADON MONITOR BASED ON ELECTROSTATIC COLLECTION METHOD.

As Rn-222 decays, an alpha particle is emitted and the residual polonium nucleus recoils in the opposite direction. At the end of the recoil path, 88% of the polonium atoms have a positive charge and 12% are neutral. The electric potential distribution in the 60ml hemispherical internal cell of the radon monitor based on electrostatic collection is studied for reducing the combined probability of the positively charged Po-218 and the OH- produced by the ionization of water vapour in the air. The COMSOL software is used to simulate the electric potential distribution in the internal cell of the radon monitor based on the electrostatic collection method at 27°C, a pressure of 0.1 Mpa. For improving the collection efficiency of Po-218 ions, the average collection time along vertical and oblique lines is calculated when the upper surface of the internal cell is plastic, uncharged metal and charged metal, respectively. Assuming that the gas in the internal cell is uniformly distributed, the results show that if the upper surface of the hemispherical internal cell is plastic or uncharged metal, the electric potential formed in the internal cell is more uniform, and it is beneficial to reduce the total collection time of the positively charged Po-218 ions, thereby improving collection efficiency. The simulation results can be used as an effective reference for optimizing the design of the internal cell structure of the radon monitor based on electrostatic collection method.

Path Planning for Robotic Training in Virtual Environments using Deep Learning

Reducing costs in the acquisition of industrial robots and their benefit in continuous production workdays have increased the number of investigations that expand the robot's action capabilities. This work proposes a trajectory planning system for a UR3 robot that is very usual in academic, research, and industrial applications. The system is presented based on a convolutional network training for regression tasks focused on learning the desired trajectory. A virtual environment has been developed to simulate different trajectories based on the interaction between UR3 robot and object detection and location through the convolutional network employed. This work exposes the network's training and the results of the transport of the object, where the robot can position itself on the desired tool (scissors and screwdriver), which is recognized by training a Faster network R-CNN and the re-localization of the tool in a conveyor band. For the trained trajectory’s, a ResNet-50 model is proposed, and the overall performance achieved was 92.63%, with a mean square error of 24.7 mm in the trained trajectory's repetition. Also, the boxplot of each ax in the trajectory is exposed since they show in a more detailed way the deviation of each of the points in the whole validation set. The average collection time, from when the system takes the workspace capture to its initial positioning after leaving the tool on the belt, was 51.3 seconds, enough for real-time applications.

Evaluation of platelet concentrates prepared from whole blood donations with collection times between 12 and 15 min: The BEST Collaborative study.

In many countries, whole blood (WB) donations with collection times between 12 and 15 min are not allowed to be used for platelet concentrates (PC). Since the development of guidelines, many process-related changes have been introduced. We aimed to determine the effect of WB with long collection times on PC quality. Five participating centres tested buffy coat (BC)-derived PC in platelet additive solution type E prepared from only WB collections lasting <12 min (control) versus similar PC including one BC from a collection lasting >12 min (study group, n= 8). One centre produced platelet-rich plasma (PRP)-derived PC from single donations (<10 or >12 min). All PC were stored at 22 ± 2°C and sampled on Days 1, 6 and 8 post-collection for in vitro quality determination. Average collection time was significantly longer in the study group compared to controls (8.9 ± 2.6 vs. 7.3 ± 1.3min, p < 0.001). There were no differences in volume, platelet concentration, basal CD62P expression, soluble-CD62P and CCL5 levels, or nucleotide content between the groups. Stimulation with TRAP-6 resulted in comparable levels of cell surface CD62P. On Day 8, all PC fulfilled requirements for pH. The findings from single PRP-derived PC centre were similar. PC with one BC and single PRP derived from collections lasting >12 min had equivalent in vitro quality to controls during storage. This study provides evidence that 12-15 min donations should not be excluded for PC preparation and justifies to readdress the guidelines to <15 min instead of <12 min of collection in line with current practice in some countries.

A Device for Collecting Thrips1 from Medium- and Tall-Sized Trees

Monitoring is a key activity in management of pests such as phytophagous thrips (Thysanoptera). Sampling thrips on medium and tall trees has been difficult without appropriate tools. The study compared the number of thrips collected and collection time by a new method of top-canopy spraying with an original device that is more efficient and practical versus two other collection methods, beating and conventional spraying. Design, construction, and validation of the thrips-collecting device for sampling top strata of orchard trees such as avocado (Persea americana Mill.) are presented. Similar numbers of thrips were collected with conventional methods and the new collecting device. Average collection time between spraying and beating methods was reduced 48 and 67%, respectively. Using the device to collect thrips at top strata of trees resulted in less risk to collectors in an effortless way. Use of the thrips-collecting device for the top part of the canopy and the conventional spraying method for the lower part could improve detection of phytophagous thrips, and might enhance efficiency of control methods by implementing them in a timely way.

Abstract B083: Disease marker-specific disseminated tumor cells in bone are rare at the time of radical prostatectomy

Abstract Introduction: In prostate cancer (PCa), DTCs are cells that have escaped the primary lesion and enter the metastatic site, most commonly the bone marrow (BM). The pelvis is a common metastatic site for prostate cancer metastases. However, it is unclear when PCa cells leave the prostate and travel to bone in clinically localized disease. Thus, we studied whether PCa DTCs can be detected at the time of radical prostatectomy (RP) by performing a bone marrow aspiration (BMA) from the anterior iliac crest (AIC) at the time of surgery. Methods: The study protocol was approved by the institutional review board at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Informed consent to perform BMA was obtained from 94 clinically localized PCa patients undergoing a robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP). In the supine position, patients underwent general anesthesia and were prepped and draped in a normal sterile fashion. Aspiration was performed by the attending surgeon prior to first incision and obtained percutaneously from the AIC using a BM biopsy needle (11G x 100 mm Hospital Trapsystem, HS Hospital Service S.p.A.). 8-20 mL of BM were aspirated into 1 or 2 10-mL syringes (BD) and transferred into collection tubes through an 18-gauge needle (PrecisionGlide, BD). Samples were distributed among 7 different principal investigators within 24 hours of collection for DTC analyses. One type of analysis included the AdnaTest, which first involved collecting 8 mL of BM from 43/77 (56%) patients. 5 mL of whole cell extract was then assayed with the AdnaTest ProstateCancerSelect kit (Qiagen) to enrich for epithelial-marker, EpCAM, positive cells using immunomagnetic beads. Reverse transcription (SensiScript RT kit, Qiagen) and real-time qPCR quantified the expression of RPL13A (control, ribosomal protein), EPCAM (epithelial), NKX3.1, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), androgen receptor full length (AR), and HOXB13 (prostate-specific). DTC detection was defined as positive prostate-specific marker expression in the BM. Quality control was performed with Sanger sequencing. Results: BM was successfully obtained from 77/94 (82%) patients. The median (range) age was 62 (43-76) years and the median (range) preoperative PSA was 6 (1.3-62.6) ng/mL. 8/77 (10%) patients had RP Gleason Score 6 disease, 37/77 (48%) were Gleason 3+4, 18/77 (23%) were 4+3, and 13/77 (17%) were Gleason 8-10. One patient had an undetermined RP Gleason due to effects from neoadjuvant chemotherapy. 65/77 (85%) had PSA &amp;lt;10, 8/77 (10%) had PSA 10-20, and 4/77 (5%) had PSA &amp;gt;20. 50/77 (65%) had pT2, 21/77 (27%) had pT3a, and 6/77 (8%) had pT3b diseases. 3/77 (4%) had lymph node metastasis as confirmed in their pathology. The average time to collect BM and transfer into tubes was 2.5 minutes. The median volume collected was 10.5 mL. RALP was performed without BMA-associated complication and there were no reports of BMA-induced postoperative complications including discomfort at the BMA site. Patients were discharged on postoperative day one. For the AdnaTest, 1/43 (2%) BM expressed PSA and 43/43 (100%) expressed EpCAM. Conclusions: We demonstrated an efficient percutaneous approach to BMA from the AIC with 77/94 (82%) successful attempts to obtain BMA and an average collection time of 2.5 minutes. This technique is feasible and safe with no BMA-associated surgical complications or patient discomfort postoperatively. Samples are utilized to study PCa dissemination to bone. Putative PSA positive DTCs can be identified at the time of RP. Citation Format: Emily A. Caruso, Stephanie Glavaris, Heather J. Chalfin, Kenneth C. Valkenburg, Mohamad E. Allaf, Misop Han, Kenneth Pienta. Disease marker-specific disseminated tumor cells in bone are rare at the time of radical prostatectomy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Prostate Cancer: Advances in Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research; 2017 Dec 2-5; Orlando, Florida. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(16 Suppl):Abstract nr B083.

Nutritional screening: Phlebotomist rounds to collect lifestyle factors in newly hospitalized patients; results available in laboratory reports. A feasibility trial

Summary Background & aims Although mandatory since 2006 performance and registration of screening for nutritional risk and lifestyle factors such as habitual diet, alcohol consumption, and smoking at Copenhagen University Hospital Gentofte is not optimal. The aim of the present study was to investigate feasibility and cost of having phlebotomists perform nutritional risk screening and registration of lifestyle factors on their rounds within 24 h of patient admittance and include results in the laboratory reports. Method Centralized registration of nutritional screening and lifestyle factors on admittance of in-patients during summer 2011. A weighing chair, height rod and paper forms were taken directly to the patient by the appointed staff. Results Of 822 patients, 33% were referred to nutritional screening and lifestyle factor registration. Information was lacking in the laboratory reports for 76% ( N = 623) due to transfer of patients, discharge etc. Average collection time was 12 (5–30) min and entering data took 9 (3–35) min, giving a total of 24 (8–55) min per patient. This results in a cost of approximately 10€ per patient. Conclusion We conclude the proposed setup of phlebotomist rounds and registration in laboratory reports cannot fulfil mandatory assessment of nutritional screening and lifestyle factors from all patients.