Main Sponsor Research Articles

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American Journal of Gastroenterology is pleased to publish notices of educational events relating to topics covered in the Journal. Announcements in this column are limited to the dates, title, location, and main sponsor of the course; and the name, address, and telephone and fax numbers for further information.

Calendar of Courses, Symposiums, and Conferences

American Journal of Gastroenterology is pleased to publish notices of educational events relating to topics covered in the Journal. Announcements in this column are limited to the dates, title, location, and main sponsor of the course; and the name, address, and telephone and fax numbers for further information.

The Influence of the Adult Entertainment Industry on Technology Standards for Computer, Video, and Smartphone Applications

The proliferation and diffusion of products that are based on technological standards, such as digital video discs, depends on gathering co‐sponsors who provide complementary goods (such as films and games in the case of digital video discs) that are valued by the end users. Previous studies have documented how complementary goods are delivered through the creation of business ecosystems, informal agreements, and strategic alliances. Few of those studies, however, have addressed the nature of the complementary goods that are offered, or sponsors’ attitudes toward them. This study, which focuses on the impact of the adult entertainment industry on the spread of new technological standards, highlights the extent to which the sponsor of a new technological standard is willing to go to reach an agreement with a co‐sponsor, despite the controversial nature of the goods being produced. A review of three case studies involving adult entertainment content for online, video, and smartphone applications shows that the main technology sponsor often has difficulty deciding how to deal with the availability of certain complementary goods. It also sheds light on how providers of complementary goods in any industry can gain acceptance from the main sponsor of a new technological standard. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

CALENDAR OF COURSES, SYMPOSIUMS, AND CONFERENCES

American Journal of Gastroenterology is pleased to publish notices of educational events relating to topics covered in the Journal. Announcements in this column are limited to the dates, title, location, and main sponsor of the course; and the name, address, and telephone and fax numbers for further information.

Mensuração da Consciência de Patrocínio em um Evento B2B

Este estudo prope investigar a conscincia de patrocnio, com o objetivo de verificar como as marcas dos patrocinadores so lembradas e associadas pelos participantes aps a realizao de um evento no ambienteBusiness-to-Business,com base na proposta deMeenaghan e O'Sullivan (2013). Utilizando anlise de contedo e anlise estatstica descritiva, estapesquisa exploratrio-descritiva verificou nveis relevantes de conscincia de patrocnio por parte dos respondentes. Vale ressaltar que, no caso do principal patrocinador, o alto nvel de conscincia pode ser explicado por um processo de associao semntica que relacionou o tema do evento a ele, uma empresa que comercializa e desenvolve softwares de gesto empresarial. Ao mesmo tempo, essa forte associao pode terdiminudo a ateno e memria em relao aos demais patrocinadores.Verificou-se tambm que oambushing(uma associao que um indivduo faz entre um evento e uma marca, quando esta no est, de fato, patrocinando o referido evento) esteve presente de maneira acentuada na mensurao de memria induzida, quando comparada memria espontnea. Esses resultados evidenciam a importncia de uma ampla gesto do patrocnio, por promotores e patrocinadores de eventos, dada sua importncia enquanto ao estratgica de marketing para alavancar novos negcios, fidelizar clientes e incrementar a valorizao de suas marcas.

Calendar of Courses, Symposiums, and Conferences

American Journal of Gastroenterology is pleased to publish notices of educational events relating to topics covered in the Journal. Announcements in this column are limited to the dates, title, location, and main sponsor of the course; and the name, address, and telephone and fax numbers for further information.

Health services Research Faces New Challenges: Consequences for Definition and Concept

In Germany, Health Services Research (HSR) is undergoing rapid and impressive development. Starting from the translation of methods in individual health care (efficacy-effectiveness gap) and the social-scientific description as well as analysis of health care structures and processes, now it is the implementation of complex interventions on the organizational and system level that is the center of interest. This development is mainly triggered by the establishment of the so-called innovation funds by means of legislation in 2015, which has the task to evaluate structural changes and reforms in outpatient and integrated health care. Moreover, benefit and improvement at patient and population level is getting attention. Against this background, in this paper the current definition of HSR is modified so that the term "intervention" is extended to include organizational and system interventions, the focus on population is added to the patient perspective, and the orientation to appropriateness of care and improvement is integrated. Parallel to this, the theoretical throughput model as established by Pfaff in 2003 is updated, including 4 aspects: (1) the input factors of first order (resources of stakeholders) are expanded by complex interventions and active context as input factors of second order, (2) both undergoing modulation during the following throughput, (3) the final outcome is expanded by the population perspective, and (4) feedback loops from output and outcome to input and throughput are established. The "double complexity" of intervention and context as well as their interaction during throughput is the central and most important issue, because the interventions are highly context-sensitive and the complex context is most potent and poorly anticipated at the same time. Improvement science and implementation research represent fields of research from the perspective of improvement and the translation of knowledge and change of attitude, respectively, which are of great importance for HSR. Insofar as HSR is dealing with improvement and translation of complex interventions, the health care politics constitute an important transfer factor itself. Considering that, in the present situation, the political level represents both the main sponsor and the main demander of HSR results, improving methodological standards and further expansion of research structures of HSR are urgently needed.

Calendar of Courses, Symposiums, and Conferences

American Journal of Gastroenterology is pleased to publish notices of educational events relating to topics covered in the Journal. Announcements in this column are limited to the dates, title, location, and main sponsor of the course; and the name, address, and telephone and fax numbers for further information.

The Regeni case and Italy’s Mediterranean policy: a turning point?

ABSTRACTThe Regeni case has called into question the traditional Italian foreign policy in the Mediterranean, which has been based on a business-oriented approach and an overall friendly attitude towards the existing governments. Under the pressure of public opinion, Renzi’s executive has been pushed to rethink its current relations to Egypt, traditionally a close partner of Italy, thus weakening the once strong economic, political, and security partnership. This decision has had consequences for the role of Italy in the Libyan crisis, where Egypt supports General Haftar in the East and Italy is the main sponsor of the National Unity Government in the West. The paper argues that the Regeni case had an impact on the overall Italian Mediterranean strategy in the short term. However, it also states that, given that the current transformation has not yet been followed by a radical rethink of the cornerstones of Italian policy in the area, it is unlikely that it will mark the beginning of a fundamental review of Rome’s strategy in the Mediterranean region in the coming years.

Calendar of Courses, Symposiums, and Conferences

American Journal of Gastroenterology is pleased to publish notices of educational events relating to topics covered in the Journal. Announcements in this column are limited to the dates, title, location, and main sponsor of the course; and the name, address, and telephone and fax numbers for further information.

Calendar of Courses, Symposiums, and Conferences

American Journal of Gastroenterology is pleased to publish notices of educational events relating to topics covered in the Journal. Announcements in this column are limited to the dates, title, location, and main sponsor of the course; and the name, address, and telephone and fax numbers for further information.

Calendar of Courses, Symposiums, and Conferences

American Journal of Gastroenterology is pleased to publish notices of educational events relating to topics covered in the Journal. Announcements in this column are limited to the dates, title, location, and main sponsor of the course; and the name, address, and telephone and fax numbers for further information.

PWE: 8th National Scientific Conference Advances in Electrotechnology (Postępy w Elektrotechnologii)

The 8th Advances in Electrotechnology Conference was held in Jamrozowa Polana - Lower Silesia Poland.The Conference was organized jointly by: • Wroclaw Division of Electrotechnical Institute, • Wroclaw University of Technology - Department of Electrical Engineering Fundamentals and Electrotechnology.With the co-organizers’ support of: • Polish Committee of Electrical Engineering - Polish Academy of Science, • Wroclaw Branch of the Association of Polish Association of Electrical Engineers, • Polish Committee of Electrotechnical Materials of Polish Association of Electrical Engineers, • Polish Association for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells.Science Patron were: • Polish Academy of Science, • Polish Committee on Large Electric Systems - CIGRE, • Polish Association of Electrical Engineers.The main sponsor of the Conference was the Polish Academy of Science.Wroclaw Branch of the Association of Polish Electrical Engineers sponsored the Competition for the Best Presentation which was organized for young researchers - graduate students.62 participants arrived at Jamrozowa Polana (near Duszniki Zdroj), which is a famous and well-known centre of winter sports. The conference was attended by representatives (authors) of the following Technical Universities: Poznan, Wroclaw, Lodz, Szczecin, Gdansk, Warsaw and the Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery Polish Academy of Science from Gdansk, the Institute of Power Engineering of Warsaw, the Institute of Nonferrous Metals as well as representatives of the main organizers - the Electrotechnical Institute from Warsaw and Wroclaw.Among the participants there were representatives of the enterprises, i.e. Impact Clean Power Technology S.A, ABB Sp. z o.o. and NTI Pte o.o.The main topics of the conference were as follows: • electrotechnical materials and technologies, • technologies and distributed energy systems, • electrical energy storages, • fuel and solar cells, • nanocomposites - technology and application, • biomimetic materials, • plasma technology, • magnetic and superconducting materials and their application, • electroconductive polymers, • surge arresters and varistors.

Calendar of Courses, Symposiums, and Conferences

American Journal of Gastroenterology is pleased to publish notices of educational events relating to topics covered in the Journal. Announcements in this column are limited to the dates, title, location, and main sponsor of the course; and the name, address, and telephone and fax numbers for further information.

Immunogenicity and safety of Gardasil among mid-adult aged men (27–45 years)—The MAM Study

BackgroundThe quadrivalent (types 6/11/16/18) human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, Gardasil, has demonstrated efficacy against persistent HPV infection and associated anogenital disease in males. The goal of this Phase II trial was to establish the immunogenicity and safety of Gardasil among mid-adult men ages 27–45 years. MethodsOne hundred and fifty men from Tampa, FL, US, and Cuernavaca, Mexico who met eligibility criteria (male, 27–45 years old, completed four years of follow-up in the HPV Infection in Men (HIM) natural history study) were enrolled. Subjects completed four visits over seven months, with Gardasil administered at Day 1 and Months 2 and 6. Sera were collected at Day 1 (pre-vaccination) and Month 7 (one month post-dose three). Anti-HPV6, 11, 16, and 18 IgG levels were determined by competitive Luminex immunoassay. Findings100% of men seroconverted to each of the four HPV vaccine components, and the vaccine was generally well-tolerated. Antibody responses to vaccine did not differ by age group or sexual orientation, regardless of HPV type, and were significantly higher at Month 7 among men who entered the trial seropositive for HPV 6 or 11. InterpretationThe immune response to HPV vaccination in men ages 27–45 was comparable to that observed in younger men, in whom clinical efficacy was demonstrated. Further trials to assess the efficacy of HPV vaccines to prevent persistent HPV infections in mid-adult men are needed. FundingMerck & Co. Inc. was the main sponsor of this trial (IISP39256) and provided the study product.

Calendar of Courses, Symposiums, and Conferences

American Journal of Gastroenterology is pleased to publish notices of educational events relating to topics covered in the Journal. Announcements in this column are limited to the dates, title, location, and main sponsor of the course; and the name, address, and telephone and fax numbers for further information.

“En la ciudad de Dios” La advocación mariana de Miguel Suárez y las pinturas murales de la casa del fundador de Tunja. Nuevos documentos e interpretaciones

En este texto se exponen algunas fuentes documentales obtenidas en el Archivo Regional de Boyacá (ARB), que identifican la importancia de Miguel Suárez de Figueroa, hijo mayor y heredero de Gonzalo Suárez Rendón, fundador de la ciudad de Tunja, en la terminación y decoración de las techumbres de la Casa del Fundador y a su vez como patrocinador principal y fundador de la Capilla del Rosario, situada en la Iglesia de Santo Domingo. Además se ofrece una interpretación iconográfica del techo de la Sala Principal de la Casa del Fundador diferente a la expuesta por los historiadores Santiago Sebastián y José Miguel Morales Folguera.

The Nazi Threat in the United States: Imported or Homegrown?

Eric Lichtblau, The Nazis Next Door: How America Became A Safe Haven for Hitler's Men (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014), 256 pages, $28.00, hardcover.Fascism has come full circle…. The main sponsor of this regime this time is not Nazi Germany but Washington…. U.S. military adventures in the Middle East and Africa [and the] [r]esort to imperialist wars abroad also reflects growing social polarization at home, the hollowing out of U.S. liberal democracy as a result of the power of money, the gigantic expansion of the security and surveillance state, the spread of armed vigilantism, the intensification of racism, and the militarization of the U.S. police. … What we are likely witnessing is a situation in which it is no longer possible for the capitalist class in crisis to rule the people of the United States in the old way. A process is underway that involves the withering away of liberal democracy and the arrival of a not-so-friendly fascist order meant to bolster capitalism through a resort to authoritarian discipline. How far this process goes depends on political events and the effects of the ongoing economic crisis on public consciousness.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

Calendar of Courses, Symposiums, and Conferences

American Journal of Gastroenterology is pleased to publish notices of educational events relating to topics covered in the Journal. Announcements in this column are limited to the dates, title, location, and main sponsor of the course; and the name, address, and telephone and fax numbers for further information.

Investment Risks and Obstacles in Wind Energy Generation in Brazil

The planned short and medium term investments for the private sector in the construction and exploration of wind energy generation plants in Brazil are considered in this article. The objective is to lay out the investment demand projected by the government plan, aside from points of general and specific risks of the venture and operation of the main Brazilian financial sponsor, BNDES [Brazilian Development Bank]. The possible obstacles to planning, implementation and operation that investors come across with during the period prior and after the business’ contracting process were analyzed. In accordance with the results, we can conclude that the growth of generation in Brazilian wind energy, just as in the last two years, must be sustained above the national PIB [ Gross Domestic Product – GDP] up to at least the next five years.