Transparent Criteria Research Articles

Efficacy of Different Reagents to Prepare Transparent Tooth Model for Three Dimensional View of the Root Canal System- An Invitro Study

Introduction: There are certain common as well as atypical characteristics in the root canal anatomy of each tooth. Simultaneous understanding of both can be the key to successful endodontics. Various methods have been used till date for visualisation of root canal morphology with variable success rates like magnification, radiography, CBCT, digital imaging and clearing. Clearing technique provides a three-dimensional view of the root canal anatomy from outsidewhile maintaining the original form and relationship of canals as minimal instrumentation is required in the procedure. It is a simple and inexpensive technique which involves decalcification of tooth structure, dehydration in alcohol and clearing by immersing in clearing agents. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of two decalcifying agents (nitric acid and trichloroacetic acid) and two clearing agents (methyl salicylate and eugenol) in the preparation of transparent tooth model for viewing the root canal system. Materials and Methods: The in-vitro research study from August 2, 2019 to August 27, 2019 included 40 freshly extracted teeth (18 maxillary and 22 mandibular) which were randomly divided in two groups (n=20); group A (decalcification done in 5% nitric acid) and group B (decalcification done in 10% trichloroacetic acid). Then, the teeth were dehydrated in isopropyl alcohol. Each group was subdivided in two subgroups depending on the clearing agent used (methyl salicylate or eugenol). Afterwards they were graded for transparency and haziness criteria, and data analysis was done using chi-square test, value of significance at p<0.05. Results: The results showed that nitric acid took lesser time for decalcification than trichloroacetic acid. The subgroup 1 (NA/MS) showed better transparency level in 90% of the samples when compared with other subgroups; however the results were not significant with p-value 0.121. Haziness was present in all samples. The subgroup 4 (TCA/E) showed 100% haziness which was statistically significant among all the subgroups with p-value 0.002. Methyl salicylate showed better transparency, less haziness and good root canal morphology when compared with eugenol. Conclusion: Nitric acid when used in combination with methyl salicylate prepared the best transparent tooth model. Trichloroacetic acid showed average transparency and haziness was present in almost all the samples irrespective of the clearing agents used.

Transparency Assessment of COVID-19 Models

As the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major societal unrest, modelers have worked to project future trends of COVID-19 and predict upcoming challenges and impacts of policy action. These models, alone or in aggregate, are influential for decision-makers at every level. Therefore, the method and documentation of COVID-19 models must be highly transparent to ensure that projections and consequential policies put forth have sound epistemological grounds. We evaluated 29 COVID-19 models receiving high attention levels within the scientific community and/or informing government responses. We evaluated these models against 27 transparency criteria. We found high levels of transparency in model documentation aspects such as reporting uncertainty analysis; however, about half of the models do not share code and a quarter do not report equations. These discrepancies underscore the need for transparency and reproducibility to be at the forefront of researchers’ priorities, especially during a global health crisis when stakes are critically high.

The Effect of Disclosure and Transparency Criteria In Saudi Banks on The Financial Ratios Indicators

The study aimed to measure the effect of applying the disclosure and transparency standards criteria adopted by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority on improving performance indicators in the Saudi banking sector, by measuring the extent of the impact of the bank's financial indicators represented by liquidity, profitability and return on assets in Saudi banks by applying the criteria of disclosure and transparency, which is one of the Main principles in the list of governance, which was approved by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority. The analytical approach was followed to achieve the goal of the study, as the financial statements of Saudi banks were analyzed during a period of 8-year to test four hypotheses related to measuring the presence of statistically significant differences between the performance indicators of banks before and after applying the disclosure and transparency standards imposed on Saudi banks. The results of the research confirmed the existence of an inverse relationship between the bank’s liquidity and the percentage of Saudi banks ’profits. The more liquidity, the lower the profitability level of banks, which indicates that the high liquidity in Saudi banks has led to a low profitability in this time period, and the study recommended that The need to pay attention to the concept of disclosure and transparency among all related parties in Saudi banks, and banks should find a balance between liquidity and profitability

A transparência ativa das IFES brasileiras que ofertam a graduação em Arquivologia

Analisa-se os portais eletrônicos de 13 Instituições Federais de Ensino Superior que ofertam o curso de Graduação em Arquivologia, considerando 17 requisitos de transparência informacional ativa, estabelecidos nos artigos 7° e 8° do Decreto n° 7.724/2012 que regulamenta a Lei de Acesso à Informação brasileira. Tais instituições podem contar com cursos de Arquivologia que incidam na implantação da transparência informacional, uma vez que são formadoras de profissionais arquivistas, os quais estão intimamente interligados com a disponibilização do acesso informacional e da transparência pública. Desenvolve-se um estudo de natureza exploratória, quali-quantitativa e comparativa, mediante a identificação e análise dos critérios de transparência ativa. Os resultados demonstram que os cursos de Arquivologia que ofertam componentes curriculares direcionados ao acesso e à transparência fazem parte das IFES que contemplaram totalmente o maior número de requisitos. Ademais, a transparência ativa vem ocorrendo, embora não em sua totalidade.

Pricing efficiency and market efficiency of two bitcoin funds

ABSTRACT This study explores whether pricing inefficiency, or imperfect tracking in the market value of shares of a bitcoin fund of the fund’s net asset value (NAV), makes a significant impact on the fund’s market efficiency relative to the retail bitcoin market. Two bitcoin funds whose shares are traded at the exchanges which impose more stringent criteria for transparency compared to cryptocurrency exchanges are considered. The fund whose shares have been trading without significant premium or a discount relative to its NAV is found as weak-form efficient. The fund, whose shares have been trading at a significant premium over its NAV is found inefficient due to the presence of persistent and strong positive autocorrelation in its returns. Trading of shares in the inefficiently priced fund appears to be even more emotion-driven than the already volatile and emotional trading of bitcoin and exhibits a strong herding behaviour.

ПРОБЛЕМИ РЕФОРМУВАННЯ ФІСКАЛЬНО-ПОДАТКОВОЇ СИСТЕМИ УКРАЇНИ У КОНТЕКСТІ ДЕОФШОРИЗАЦІЇ

The peculiarities of implementation of the Minimum Standard of the BEPS Action Plan in Ukraine, the MLI Multilateral Convention, which provides for separate actions of the BEPS Action Plan, taxation rules of controlled foreign companies (CFC) as well as rules for automatic exchange of information under the CRS standard, are investigated. It was found that rising the effectiveness of existing Ukrainian fiscal-tax system according the de-offshorization of the national economy, double tax treaties with offshore jurisdictions is only possible under the OECD criteria for information transparency of the Ukrainian tax system. The article analyzes the implementation of the concept of CFC into national legislation in connection with the objective need to eliminate the negative consequences of using business offshore schemes. The relationship between national tax and international tax law principles is analyzed on the basis of the ratio of CFC rules, both to the provisions of international tax agreements and to the norms of international legal restrictions. The levels of development of national tax and financial instruments were determined on the basis of international methodological and regulatory approaches to determining the balance between liberalization of national capital markets and systemic financial risks, between optimizing the economic tools for controlling taxation of residents and attracting foreign investors and capital owners, are investigated too. The article analyzes the conditions under which the CFCs are exempt from profit taxation when double taxation treaties are concluding, ensuring timely and complete exchange of tax and financial information between the national fiscal departments. The ways that Ukrainian companies use in low tax zones to restructure their businesses and protect their assets that are not declared in Ukraine are identified. It is about the endorsement by Ukraine of the double taxation treaties for «double tax evasion» (in fact, they do not pay taxes in any of the jurisdictions). The peculiarities of the implementation of the CFC rules as a fiscal component (budget replenishment) and as a regulatory tool to protect and encourage inward investment are investigated separately. Particular attention was paid to the problem of ensuring business security in the context of confidentiality and protection of information while sharing it with other countries in the process of implementing the BEPS plan. It is proved that today the new standards of compliance with the requirements of financial motivate Ukrainian beneficiaries of foreign companies to conduct business under more transparent rules (including the protection of confidentiality of the received information), identify and strengthen weaknesses of business models.

Searching for ‘pockets of effectiveness’ in weak governance states: Preliminary examination of the securities and exchange commission of Myanmar

AbstractAfter decades of military rule, internal conflict, and international isolation, Myanmar has embarked on a course of institution building. In light of Myanmar's low rating on the World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators (World Bank Group), the nation faces an enormous challenge in developing public institutions that meet its needs and expectations. This challenge includes development of institutional capacity that will allow Myanmar to participate in international economic affairs. A step in this direction involves the creation of a securities exchange market mechanism. The current study considers the establishment of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Myanmar (SECM) to support securities regulation. It applies a novel organization level of analysis strategy that considers SECM as a ‘pocket of effectiveness’ (POE) in the context of a low‐performing public institutional setting in terms of the good governance criteria of responsiveness, accountability, and transparency (RAT). While the study finds evidence of progress in building Myanmar's securities regulation, it also finds limits in RAT development that challenges the SECM's potential designation as a ‘POE’. Based on feedback from proximate stakeholders in the daily work of the SECM, recommendations are offered for revised policies and practices in order to resolve them.

Real-World Data of High-Grade Lymphoma Patients Treated with CD19 CAR-T in England

Real-World Data of High-Grade Lymphoma Patients Treated with CD19 CAR-T in England

Strategi Desain Sentra Lokakarya dan Taman Evokatif Guna Meningkatkan Tingkat Perekonomian di Kabupaten Wonosobo

<p><em>The workshop center and the evocative park is training, developing, and marketing space for the regional economic industry’s product innovation to raise the level of regional economy. Wonosobo is a region in Indonesia with low economic level and high poverty rates. Even though Wonosobo has a lot of potential regional economic industries but local people tend to choose to look for economic opportunities in urban areas. In order to be able to attract local people to develop regional economic industries and evoke consumers to come and buy, the workshop center and evocative park must have an optimal level of transparency to provide a comfortable working environment and apply consumer behavior criteria to evoke the feeling of consumers. The optimal level of transparency can be shown in the selection of building materials and spatial organization. While criteria for consumer behavior can be shown in the spatial circulation. The method is to make a focus group discussion to make a mapping of potentials and problems in the Selomerto subdistrict in order to get potential regional economic industries to be developed and apply transparency and consumer behavior criteria to make a comfortable working environment and evoke consumers</em><em>. </em></p>

1657P - The new mutational model in oncology. What changes in welfare, clinical practice, research, and regulatory procedures?

BackgroundThe diffusion of next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based tests for comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP), the development of new drugs matching specific genetic alterations, and the recent “agnostic approval” processes of anti-cancer agents represent an important innovation that favors the development of Precision Oncology. This “mutational model” supports and integrates the traditional approach to cancer therapy based on histology. Nevertheless, an uncontrolled use of CGP tests and of mutation-driven drugs can compromise their appropriateness, and put the sustainability of the health system at risk. MethodsA group of experts in pathology, molecular biology, medical oncology, organization of health systems and health economics has developed an organizational model for precision oncology based on multidisciplinarity, on the careful selection of patients to be submitted to CGP tests and on access to off-label drugs in the context of a regulatory framework. ResultsA network of Molecular Tumor Board (MTB) accredited by the Italian Drug Agency (AIFA) according to transparent criteria with regard to composition, activities, traceability, and processing of data can represent the very new tool for managing the mutational model in clinical practice. The multidisciplinary MTBs meet regularly to select patients to be analyzed with CGP tests in order to ensure the appropriateness of the test. The MTBs also discuss therapeutic options on information deriving from NGS analyses. When no clinical trials matching the genetic alterations are available and an off-label drug is recommended, this therapy will be authorized by the Italian Drug Agency and data on the outcome of the patients will be stored in a national registry. ConclusionsThe increasing availability of CGP tests and of possibly active targeted-based agents represents an important opportunity of cancer patients to access to new drugs. The proposed model will allow access of Italian patients to possibly active treatments and at the same time will contribute to ensure the sustainability of this new approach and to increase the knowledge on the activity of target-based agents in specific subgroups of patients. Legal entity responsible for the studyThe authors. FundingFondazione Ricerca&Salute. DisclosureAll authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

How to assess the quality and transparency of energy scenarios: Results of a case study

The exploration and evaluation of strategies for decarbonizing the energy system is the subject of a series of national and international studies conducted by governmental, industrial and independent stakeholders. These studies play an important role in the energy policy debate on understanding and assessing different transformation paths of the energy system, technology options and their implications. They support strategic decisions on the type and scale of investments in the energy system under uncertain future conditions. However, in recent years the increasing complexity of these studies lead to a decreasing transparency even though their transparency and traceability is important for society, politics, research, and industry.In this article, three energy scenarios at different regional scales are reviewed according to their compliance with our pre-defined criteria of transparency. They are analysed in detail with regard to their objectives, methods, data used, results obtained and traceability. Our comparison shows that the results are often presented sufficiently in order to inform decision makers. However, the underlying model-based methods lack information on data exchange between the models, the transparent description of model couplings and a discussion on the rationality of method selection and the strengths and weaknesses of the applied approaches. Based on our findings, we present some general advice for energy scenario developers on how to ensure transparency and traceability in future energy scenario studies.

СТІЙКИЙ РОЗВИТОК ПІДПРИЄМСТВ М’ЯСОПЕРЕРОБНОЇ ПРОМИСЛОВОСТІ: ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ДЕРЖАВНОГО РЕГУЛЮВАННЯ

The article deals with the specificity and orientation of sustainable development of Ukrainian meat processing enterprises. Weaknesses in the state regulation of meat processing enterprises are identified. The necessity of forming a mechanism of state regulatory influence is substantiated within the framework of ensuring the sustainable development of the meat processing industry in Ukraine. The main directions of the state policy implementation are given in order to ensure sustainable development of the meat processing industry in Ukraine. The tool for sustainable growth of meat processing enterprises in Ukraine has been identified. The practical application of the proposed tools has its advantages, namely: producers of meat products receive the necessary credit resources as collateral for manufactured products; guarantee of a high-quality and effective system of raw material security, which enables to carry out operations under pre-regulated conditions that meet the criteria of relevance, transparency and objectivity; the possibility of regulating the financial and economic relations between meat producers and procurement organizations for wholesale and retail sales. Based on the conclusions drawn, it has been proved that the end result of the sale of meat products should be shared among all participants in the production and trade relations, depending on their costs. It is important to simultaneously and promptly adjust the financial and economic relations between the parties in the context of industrial-trade relations. At present, modern meat processing companies are experiencing significant difficulties due to the need to reduce production volumes and shortage of staff. As a result, much of the production capacity is half-force, which results in operating costs and, as a consequence, a significant increase in the price of final products. According to the study results, it is possible to achieve positive trends in the functioning of the meat processing industry as a whole and the socio-economic sustainability of the domestic industrial enterprises of the analyzed industry in particular by successfully implementing national, regulatory, financial, licensing, tariff and antitrust standards at the national level. Keywords: meat processing enterprises, directions of state regulation, mechanism of state regulatory influence, tools for sustainable growth of enterprises.

THE ROLE OF ENFORCING TRANSPARENCY, COMPETITION AND OBJECTIVE CRITERIA IN DECISION MAKING IN SUPPORT OF THE WEAK PARTY OF GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

The special features of government contracts, such as the accession of these transactions and the prioritization of public interest over private interests, create a situation that undermines the principle of equality of the parties and their free will and weakens the private side of these contracts. The weaknesses on the private side of the contract are not always in the public interest, and exacerbating this situation can lead to a weakening of the private sector and ultimately to the general economy of countries. Therefore, lawyers and economists have come up with ways to protect it from the weak side of government contracts. The fruit of weak support in government transactions is to balance the benefits of executing and executing these contracts and thereby achieve public goals while strengthening and safeguarding the interests of the private sector. One of the most effective ways of supporting the weak side is to create a framework that compensates for non-compliance with the principle of equity in government transactions and provides grounds for fair private sector growth and development. The most important of these contexts are the implementation of the principles of transparency, competition and objective criteria in decision making. In this article, while outlining these principles in relation to government contracts, we will study the role of adherence to each of these principles in protecting the weak side in government contracts.

How can we improve priority-setting for investments in health research? A case study of tuberculosis

BackgroundAlthough enhanced priority-setting for investments in health research for development is essential to tackling inequalities in global health, there is a lack of consensus on an optimal priority-setting process. In light of the current surge in tuberculosis (TB) research investment, we use TB as a case study.MethodsWe investigated two critical aspects of a research prioritisation process, namely the criteria that should be used to rank alternative research options and which stakeholders should be involved in priority-setting. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 key informants purposively selected from four distinct groups – academia, funding bodies, international policy or technical agencies, and national disease control programmes. Interview transcripts were analysed verbatim using a framework approach. We also performed a systematic analysis of seven diverse TB research prioritisation processes.ResultsThere was consensus that well-defined and transparent criteria for assessing research options need to be agreed at the outset of any prioritisation process. It was recommended that criteria should select for research that is likely to have the greatest public health impact in affected countries rather than research that mainly fills scientific knowledge gaps. Some interviewees expressed strong views about the need – and reluctance – to make politically challenging decisions that place some research areas at a lower priority for funding. The importance of taking input from stakeholders from countries with high disease burden was emphasised; such stakeholders were notably absent from the majority of prioritisation processes we analysed.ConclusionsThis study indicated two critical areas for improvement of research prioritisation processes such that inequalities in health are better addressed – the need to deprioritise some research areas to generate a specific and meaningful list for investment, and greater involvement of experts working in high disease-burden countries.

Identifying Gender Disparities and Barriers to Measuring the Status of Female Faculty: The Experience of a Large School of Medicine.

Background: Women in academic medicine are not attaining parity with men in several domains. This issue is not only one of fairness; some funding agencies are requesting data on gender benchmarking. However, most published reports on gender disparities have not included examination of trends or actionable recommendations to address them. Materials and Methods: The Dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine charged the Committee on the Status of Women (CSW) with conducting a comprehensive review of gender equity. In 2014, the CSW identified key domains important for academic success and created a sustainable framework to monitor trends by gender. Utilizing data from multiple key sources, the CSW measured differences in the domains of academic promotion, leadership, and satisfaction. Results: Gender differences were present in each domain. Data were not centralized and not readily available for most domains. The CSW recommended strategies to address gender disparities and created a set of measurable recommendations to monitor progress. The recommendations include requiring detailed descriptions of departmental organizational leadership charts; diverse compositions of both search committees and applicant pools; increased proportion of female faculty in top-tier leadership positions; and transparent departmental promotions criteria and processes. Conclusions: To maintain progress, we recommend that data be readily and easily accessible from a central institutional registry rather than come from multiple sources, that data be analyzed on a regular basis, and that results be shared across the institution to ensure transparency and accountability.

The legitimacy of environmental governance based on consultation with indigenous people: insights from Mexico's REDD+ readiness process in the Yucatan Peninsula

To what extent does consulting with indigenous communities improve the legitimacy of environmental governance? This question was addressed by analysing the consultation process organised within the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) readiness phase in Mexico. Criteria to assess governance legitimacy were compiled from scientific literature and compared with those adopted by international indigenous rights agreements. The extent to which these criteria were met and how they were implemented in two indigenous communities in the Yucatan Peninsula was assessed through documents and interviews analyses. Results show that, despite the progress that Mexico's consultation protocol represents, it did not include an intra-community representation criterion; transparency, accountability and deliberation criteria were not completely reached in practice; there was discordance between official and local participants' understanding of consultation objectives; and no agreement or consent were sought from the participants. These findings provide lessons for other governance projects implemented through consultation with local communities both in Mexico and elsewhere.

Structural injustice and the legitimacy of the state-centric system

ABSTRACT Catherine Lu’s seminal Justice and Reconciliation in World Politics is right to stress the enduring nature of some colonialist structural indignities. It is less clear, however, if structural injustices justify Lu’s demand for revolutionary changes of the global order. Before transforming the pluralist state-centric system, we need transparent criteria that help us agree on the severity of structural injustices. Considering Lu’s strong focus on the colonialist origins of contemporary injustices, one would also like to know if and how their historical background affects their present moral status. The essay concludes that, in a multicultural global society with diverse moral values, we should focus on tackling the most glaring injustices and on rectifying those where accountabilities are least controversial.

Dodržování etických pravidel ve vědeckém publikování v biomedicínských Open Access časopisech indexovaných v Journal Citation Reports

This study examined compliance with the criteria of transparency and best practice in scholarly publishing defined by COPE, DOAJ, OASPA and WAME in Biomedical Open Access journals indexed in Journal Citation Reports (JCR). 259 Open Access journals were drawn from the JCR database and on the basis of their websites their compliance with 14 criteria for transparency and best practice in scholarly publishing was verified. Journals received penalty points for each unfulfilled criterion when they failed to comply with the criteria defined by COPE, DOAJ, OASPA and WAME. The average number of obtained penalty points was 6, where 149 (57.5%) journals received 6 points and 110 (42.5%) journals 7 points. Only 4 journals met all criteria and did not receive any penalty points. Most of the journals did not comply with the criteria declaration of Creative Commons license (164 journals), affiliation of editorial board members (116), unambiguity of article processing charges (115), anti-plagiarism policy (113) and the number of editorial board members from developing countries (99). The research shows that JCR cannot be used as a whitelist of journals that comply with the criteria of transparency and best practice in scholarly publishing.

Transparency: Transitioning From Human–Machine Systems to Human-Swarm Systems

Swarm robotic systems are gaining in interest with the prospect of their use for various applications, including monitoring, tracking, infrastructure support, and protection. Prior human-swarm system research investigated transparency for these systems, but assumed perfect communication scenarios. Real-world human-swarm systems will not have perfect communication due to human processing limitations caused by a large number of individual entities, emergent behavior due to varying environments, and bandwidth issues. Factors that affect transparency or are influenced by transparency were identified from various human–machine system domains; however, understanding the relationship between factors can help designers identify what criteria can be implemented to achieve transparency for swarms. Challenges that may arise based on transparency criteria from human–machine systems are examined to identify improvements for spatial swarm systems.

Transparency and replicability in qualitative research: The case of interviews with elite informants

Research SummaryWe used interviews with elite informants as a case study to illustrate the need to expand the discussion of transparency and replicability to qualitative methodology. An analysis of 52 articles published in Strategic Management Journal revealed that none of them were sufficiently transparent to allow for exact replication, empirical replication, or conceptual replication. We offer 12 transparency criteria, and behaviorally‐anchored ratings scales to measure them, that can be used by authors as they plan and conduct qualitative research as well as by journal reviewers and editors when they evaluate the transparency of submitted manuscripts. We hope our article will serve as a catalyst for improving the degree of transparency and replicability of future qualitative research.Managerial SummaryIf organizations implement practices based on published research, will they produce results consistent with those reported in the articles? To answer this question, it is critical that published articles be transparent in terms of what has been done, why, and how. We investigated 52 articles published in Strategic Management Journal that reported interviewing elite informants (e.g., members of the top management team) and found that none of the articles were sufficiently transparent. These results lead to thorny questions about the trustworthiness of published research, but also important opportunities for future improvements about research transparency and replicability. We offer recommendations on 12 transparency criteria, and how to measure them, that can be used to evaluate past as well as future research using qualitative methods.