Optional Instrument Research Articles

Clinical characteristics of Dieulafoy’s lesion in the small bowel diagnosed and treated by double-balloon endoscopy

BackgroundObscure gastrointestinal bleeding refers to bleeding for which the source cannot be ascertained even through balloon-assisted endoscopy. In certain instances, Dieulafoy’s lesion in the small bowel is presumed to be the underlying cause.AimThis retrospective study aimed to elucidate the clinical characteristics of Dieulafoy’s lesion in the small bowel as diagnosed via double-balloon endoscopy while also exploring the feasibility of predicting bleeding from Dieulafoy’s lesion prior to endoscopy in cases of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding.MethodsA comprehensive analysis of our database was conducted, identifying 38 patients who received a diagnosis of Dieulafoy’s lesion and subsequently underwent treatment via double-balloon endoscopy. The clinical background, diagnosis, and treatment details of patients with Dieulafoy’s lesion were carefully examined.ResultsThe median age of the 38 patients was 72 years, and 50% of the patients were male. A total of 26 (68%) patients exhibited a high comorbidity index. The upper jejunum and lower ileum were the most frequently reported locations for the occurrence of Dieulafoy’s lesion in the small bowel. The detected Dieulafoy’s lesions exhibited active bleeding (n = 33) and an exposed vessel with plaque on the surface (n = 5). Rebleeding after endoscopic treatment occurred in 8 patients (21%, median period: 7 days, range: 1-366 days). We conducted an analysis to determine the definitive nature of the initial double-balloon endoscopy diagnosis. Multivariate analysis revealed that hematochezia of ≥ 2 episodes constituted the independent factor associated with ≥ 2 double-balloon endoscopy diagnoses. Additionally, we explored factors associated with rebleeding following endoscopic treatment. Although the number of hemoclips utilized displayed a likely association, multivariate analysis did not identify any independent factor associated with rebleeding.ConclusionIf a patient encounters multiple instances of hematochezia, promptly scheduling balloon-assisted endoscopy, equipped with optional instruments without delay is advised, after standard endoscopic evaluation with esophagogastroduodenoscopy and colonoscopy is unrevealing.

Performance of Conventional and Sharia Mutual Funds Using Sharpe, Treynor and Jensens Methods

Mutual funds is an instrument investment which is the best recommendation for beginner investor or an alternative investment that more safe and eficient. Investing growth give an opportunity to economic growth and to agregat growth of a country macro economic. That things were positive impacted to many factors for harmony and prospery. Research purpose - Indonesia is a country with the majorities moeslims citizen, to know how money market conventional and sharia mutual funds performances that can become a scient or subject to inform the investors of optional instrument investment it is does not depends to any religion. Using the portofolio method performance there are Sharpe Index, Treynor Index, and Jensen Alpha. And the variables using net asset value of money market mutual funds, risk free BI-7DRR, JKSE, and JII periode time 2017-2021. This research can show that mutual funds is a sustainable investment caused both of risk and return are the same. Research result In 2020 pandemic covid-19 hitten Indonesia and streamed untill 2022 but in the fact investment popularity doing hightly, a lot of campaign and promoting influencer to pull on teenegers become a new investor. Money market mutual fund is a suitable recommendation for investor beginner according with increased of under asset management value of money market mutual funds during pandemic. On the practice there are more options of mutual funds with two principle are conventional and sharia mutual funds.

Primary Experiences with Robot-assisted Navigation-based Frameless Stereo-electroencephalography: Higher Accuracy than Neuronavigation-guided Manual Adjustment.

The use of robot-assisted frameless stereotactic electroencephalography (SEEG) is becoming more common. Among available robotic arms, Stealth Autoguide (SA) (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA) functions as an optional instrument of the neuronavigation system. The aims of this study were to present our primary experiences with SEEG using SA and to compare the accuracy of implantation between SA and navigation-guided manual adjustment (MA). Seventeen electrodes from two patients who underwent SEEG with SA and 18 electrodes from four patients with MA were retrospectively reviewed. We measured the distance between the planned location and the actual location at entry (De) and the target (Dt) in each electrode. The length of the trajectory did not show a strong correlation with Dt in SA (Pearson's correlation coefficient [r] = 0.099, p = 0.706) or MA (r = 0.233, p = 0.351). De and Dt in SA were shorter than those in MA (1.99 ± 0.90 vs 4.29 ± 1.92 mm, p = 0.0002; 3.59 ± 2.22 vs 5.12 ± 1.40 mm, p = 0.0065, respectively). SA offered higher accuracy than MA both at entry and target. Surgical times per electrode were 38.9 and 32 min in the two patients with SA and ranged from 51.6 to 88.5 min in the four patients with MA. During the implantation period of 10.3 ± 3.6 days, no patients experienced any complications.

The Principles of Reinsurance Contract Law: an optional instrument of transnational reinsurance law

The Principles of Reinsurance Contract Law: an optional instrument of transnational reinsurance law

Optional Payments of the First Pillar Under Cap Vs the Average Amount of Support Per Farm

Summary Subject and purpose of work: The article analyses the influence of optional instruments applied in Poland as part of the first pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy on the average support provided to farms in individual provinces. Materials and methods: The study was based on data from the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture as well as quantitative and analytical methods, especially simulations and comparative variant analysis. Results: The optional instruments applied in Poland increased the average support provided to farms in central and eastern Poland. The average amount of support paid per farm would have been bigger in northern, western and southern provinces if optional instruments had not been implemented. Primarily, the introduction of both redistributive payment and production-related support (all forms of this support taken together) resulted in a decrease in the average aid per holding in the same group of provinces and at the same time an increase in this size in other provinces (compared to the situation in which the amounts for financing these instruments would be distributed under the single area payment). Conclusions: The analysis of the influence of redistributive payment and coupled support on the average amount of financial aid per farm in individual provinces shows that the consequences of using these instruments were very similar to each other in their effect on the variable under study.

The Effectiveness of Multimedia Application on Students Listening Comprehension

Listening comprehension is a complex skill particulaly in mastered by non-native speaker settings. This researchaimed atfinding out the effect of multimedia application on students’ listening. The research design is experimental, with a t-test. The population is the sixth semester of HKBP Nommensen University at the academic year of 2016/2017, six classes of listening comprehension, 3 classes for experiemnts and the other for control, each class of 20 students. The findings states that the Tcount = 14.68 > Ttable = 2.02 in α significance 0.05 and degree of freedom 38. It means that, multimedia aplication is effective than conventinal media. Multimeadi in this study can be used by other lecturer or teacher as the optional instrument in teaching listening comprehension.

Book Review: Optional Instruments of the European Union, by William Bull. (Antwerp: Intersentia, 2016)

Book Review: <i>Optional Instruments of the European Union</i>, by William Bull. (Antwerp: Intersentia, 2016)

Group Insurance and Reinsurance Business in the Legal Relations with an International Element

Summary Currently, no internationally unified legal regulation of group insurance contracts and reinsurance contracts is available. As a result, a national legal regulation determined according to conflict-of-law rules is applied to both types of contracts in legal relations with an international element. The differences between national legal regulations could be overcome through the application of optional instruments, namely the Principles of the European Insurance Contract Law and the Principles of Reinsurance Contract Law.

Who Would Use the Common European Sales Law? An Empirical Analysis of Cross-Border Consumer Contracts in the European Internal Market

On October 11th 2011 the European Commission proposed a Common European Sales Law (CESL) for the European Union. One of the main aims of this optional instrument is to help businesses to avoid the complexity associated with dealing with multiple mandatory provisions of their customers’ home jurisdictions. In this study I used one of the datasets published by the European Commission to predict the characteristics of businesses that would have benefited from the introduction of the CESL. I also test whether the CESL would be an effective measure for addressing some of the legal barriers that the Commission intends to overcome. My results provide support for the Commission’s claim that the adoption of a Common European Sales Law would benefit some businesses and that it would allow them to improve their operations on the European internal market. However, the CESL may not be effective as a measure for overcoming all of the legal barriers that the Commission intended to address with its proposal.

Utilization of optional instrument sounds for simultaneous measurement of room impulse responses by ensemble music

We describe the influence of the separation accuracy via semi-blind source separation (semi-BSS) upon the measurement accuracy of the room impulse responses. Tatekura et al. had proposed a simultaneous measurement method of the room impulse responses with ensemble music. In this method, the room impulse responses were measured by separating ensemble music into each instrument sound reproduced from each loudspeaker. However, the influence of the separation accuracy via semi-BSS upon the measurement accuracy of the room impulse responses has not been clarified. Therefore, we evaluated the measurement accuracy of the room impulse responses and the separation accuracy by using the different instrument sounds. The room impulse responses were measured between two loudspeakers and a control point with 11 kinds of musical instrument sounds. From the result of the measurement accuracy, the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value was 10 dB. However, from the result of the separation accuracy, most of value held equivalent measurement accuracy. Therefore, under these measurement conditions, this method is expected to be able to measure the room impulse responses by optional instrument sounds.

Aggravation of Risk and Precautionary Measures in Non-Life Insurance: A Tricky Scope for the Insurer?

Abstract Aggravation of risk and failure to take precautionary measures are focal issues in non-life insurance in terms of potential partial or full release of the insurer from the duty to perform. Not infrequently, it is difficult to draw a line between the aggravation of risk on the one hand, and non-compliance with precautionary measures on the other, since a particular action by a policyholder may present both situations. At the same time, the legal remedies available to the insurer regarding these two situations are different in scope. The aggravation of risk and non-compliance with precautionary measures are precisely the bases on which insurers actually reduce indemnity or refuse to compensate for damages. This article explores the differences between insurance laws in the Baltic states—specifically, the Estonian Law of Obligations Act, the Latvian Insurance Contract Law and Lithuanian rules contained in the Civil Code and Insurance Law. The article explores the differences between the Baltic states’ insurance laws and the Principles of European Insurance Contract Law (PEICL) with regard to a policyholder’s duty in relation to aggravation of risk and precautionary measures, as the rights and obligations of policyholders do change where the optional instrument is applied. The article also includes comparisons to German, Finnish and Russian insurance law.

Achieving the Uniform Application of European Private Law

Abstract: As a consequence of the current fragmented state of the consumer law acquis in the European Union (EU), the European Commission has indicated its desire to move away from the harmonization effort that has been achieved through directives towards the realization of uniform law that can be provided by (optional) instruments. In this article, the cultural barriers to the uniform application of legal transfers within the EU are considered. Through using Japan as a case study, this contribution constructs a method that can both predict and explain the process that a legal transfer undergoes during its transplantation into a foreign legal order. The constructed model employs an interdisciplinary approach by fusing anthropological and legal theory in order to explain the aforementioned process and has, as its starting point, the role that cultural obstacles play on the mind and actions of those actors who are in the position to ensure or preclude the correct application of a transplanted legal rule. This article concludes that education is the linchpin in determining behaviour, and, consequently, which perspective among the three perspectives generated by the model shall be employed, be it enculturation of traditional cultural values or formal education received in schools, universities, and working life. Subsequently, it is argued that culture is only as powerful as the weight attributed to a concept within the mind of the actor, the deep structures of law, and its link with culture are largely irrelevant; therefore, cleavages in the uniform application of EU law will only

Prescription in the Proposal for a Common European Sales Law: Is Harmonization (of European Legal Traditions) Achieved?

Abstract: The Draft Regulation on a Common European Sales Law (CESL) deals with prescription in Articles 178–186. This article discusses the level of legal harmonization achieved within the European Union (EU) concerning extinctive prescription. Reference is made to a number of significant inaccuracies that might substantially affect the effectiveness and implementation of the Optional Instrument, which would benefit from an amendment before becoming EU law. Résumé: La proposition de Règlement relative à un droit commun européen de la vente (DCEV) traite des dispositions des articles 178 à 186. Cet article examine le niveau d’harmonisation juridique atteint dans l’Union européenne concernant la prescription extinctive. Il est fait référence à un grand nombre d’inexactitudes significatives qui pourraient affecter considérablement l’efficacité et la mise en oeuvre de l’Instrument optionnel, lequel pourrait faire l’objet d’une modification avant de devenir une règle de droit européen. Zusammenfassung: Der Entwurf einer Verordnung über ein Gemeinsames Europäisches Kaufrecht (GEK bzw. CESL) befasst sich in den Artikeln 178-186 mit der Verjährung. Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht den Grad an gesetzlicher Harmonisierung innerhalb der Europäischen Union im Bereich der Verjährung. Es wird auf eine Reihe von erheblichen Ungenauigkeiten eingegangen, die wesentlichen Einfluss auf die Effektivität und Umsetzung eines optionalen Instruments haben können. Das optionale Instrument würde von einer entsprechenden Anpassung der Regelungen, bevor diese EU-Recht werden, profitierten.

When Law and Culture Collide: The Uniform Application of European Private Law

As a consequence of the current fragmented state of the consumer law acquis in the European Union, the European Commission has indicated its desire to move from away from the harmonisation effort that is achieved through directives towards the realisation of uniform law that can be provided by (optional) instruments. In this article, the cultural barriers to the uniform application of legal transfers within the European Union are considered. Through using Japan as a case study, this contribution constructs a method that can both predict and explain the process that a legal transfer undergoes during its transplantation into a foreign legal order. The constructed model employs an interdisciplinary approach by fusing anthropological and legal theory in order to explain the aforementioned process and has as its starting point the role that cultural obstacles play on the mind and actions of those actors who are in the position to ensure or preclude the correct application of a transplanted legal rule. The article concludes that education is the linchpin in determining behaviour and, consequently, which perspective of the three perspectives generate by the model shall be employed; be it enculturation of traditional cultural values or formal education received in schools, universities and working life. Subsequently it is argued that culture is only as powerful as the weight attributed to a concept within the mind of the actor, the deep structures of law and its link with culture are largely irrelevant; therefore, cleavages in the uniform application of Union law will only continue to transpire for as long as actors continue to perpetuate internalised biases.

Instrumentation on commercial aircraft for monitoring the atmospheric composition on a global scale: the IAGOS system, technical overview of ozone and carbon monoxide measurements

This article presents the In-service Aircraft of a Global Observing System (IAGOS) developed for operations on commercial long-range Airbus aircraft (A330/A340) for monitoring the atmospheric composition. IAGOS is the continuation of the former Measurement of OZone and water vapour on Airbus In-service airCraft (MOZAIC) programme (1994–2014) with five aircraft operated by European airlines over 20 yr. MOZAIC has provided unique scientific database used worldwide by the scientific community. In continuation of MOZAIC, IAGOS aims to equip a fleet up to 20 aircraft around the world and for operations over decades. IAGOS started in July 2011 with the first instruments installed aboard a Lufthansa A340-300, and a total of six aircraft are already in operation. We present the technical aircraft system concept, with basic instruments for O3, CO, water vapour and clouds; and optional instruments for measuring either NOy, NOx, aerosols or CO2/CH4. In this article, we focus on the O3 and CO instrumentation while other measurements are or will be described in specific papers. O3 and CO are measured by optimised but well-known methods such as UV absorption and IR correlation, respectively. We describe the data processing/validation and the data quality control for O3 and CO. Using the first two overlapping years of MOZAIC/IAGOS, we conclude that IAGOS can be considered as the continuation of MOZAIC with the same data quality of O3 and CO measurements.

Miniaturization of photoacoustic cell for smart endoscope to improve sensitivity.

Ultrathin endoscopes, such as transnasal endo-scopes, have been developed to alleviate discomfort during diagnosis and therapy. However, their application to optional diagnostics is limited since many optional diagnostic instruments are designed to fit through larger side channels. The aim of this study was to develop a smart endoscope that can obtain various diagnoses based on photoacoustic spectroscopy. The photoacoustic process comprises complex energy conversions involving optical, thermal, and elastic processes. This work focused on the scaling potential of photoacoustic sensors. Photoacoustic sensors with two different volumes were developed, and the amplitudes and frequency responses of the photoacoustic signals for silicone rubbers with six different Young's moduli were investigated. The results showed that photoacoustic signals can be enhanced by reducing the volumes of the sensors. Embedding a miniaturized photoacoustic sensor in an endoscope was confirmed to improve the sensitivity.

The Existence of Transaction Costs as the Rationale for Maximum Harmonization of the European Common Sales Law

In recent years, an extensive debate on the need for harmonization of a European sales law has evolved. The existing diversity of contract laws in the Member States has been perceived as a barrier to trade and hence as burdensome for the European internal market. Moreover, recent impact assessment studies suggest that this diversity is a source of substantial transaction costs. The observed existence of such substantial transaction costs represents a per se overwhelming argument for the adoption of an optional instrument on the European Common Sales Law. The analysis and calculations of opportunity and transaction costs that have been made provide seemingly unbiased, unprecedented, empirical and affirmative answers. However, this paper challenges and critically analyses the results and shows that it might simply be impossible to calculate either the full transaction costs of legal diversity or costs of uniformity. This analysis also shows that: (1) calculations made by the EU Commission rely heavily on subjective observation and selectively biased data; (2) that the obtained results might be severely impaired and over conclusive; and finally (3) that those results merely generate an anecdotal evidence of the possible volume of transaction costs originating from that contract law's differences. In order to obtain a more affirmative answer on the actual amount of transaction costs, this paper provides a list of possible refinements and suggests a set of new quantitative measures that would permit more accurate cross-firm, cross-country and cross-industry comparisons.

The Proposal for a Common European Sales Law And the Convention on the International Sale of Goods: Friends or Foes?

This essay examines the relationship between the proposal for a Common European Sales Law and the Convention on the International Sale of Goods in B2B transactions and its future outcome on the law applicable to international commercial transactions: friends or foes? In order to do so, the analysis is comprised of six elements. The first section asks what threat the legal relationship between the two instruments poses. The second section evaluates how and to which extent business behaviour plays a role in the reliance on optional instruments. The next section inspects the level of achievement of the CISG from a diplomatic, legal and business perspective. Subsequently, the consequences of the European instrument on the legal environment are explored. Next, a series of examples illustrate whether the relationship between the two instruments is one of competition or of cooperation. Lastly, the future prospects for both instruments are looked at. In the end of this research, it is submitted that the CISG will enhance the chances of success of the CESL in the long term even though it is likely to affect its popularity for commercial transactions in the short term. Reversely, the CESL will pose a threat to the CISG in the beginning but it will progressively encourage the modernisation of international trade law instruments.

Optional law for firms and consumers: An economic analysis of opting into the Common European Sales Law

The European Commission has launched the Regulation Proposal on a Common European Sales Law as an optional instrument for European firms and consumers. Several critical opinions have been raised against the optional nature, characterizing it as an instrument for social dumping (i. e. lowering consumer protection standards, given that no set of rules with higher levels of protection would ever be chosen by firms), as depriving consumers of any meaningful choice, and emphasizing its futility. In this paper we present a simple model showing how these critiques present theoretical flaws, even if one does not rely on the efficiency gains that increasing cross border trade may bring in terms of having more efficient firms serving consumers in other national markets. The role of verification or compliance costs, and of the impact of legal diversity on firms' operating costs is crucial for understanding the effects of an optional instrument, and may make high levels of consumer protection, and consumer choice implementable. We also characterize how different levels of the standard may lead to complete replacement of national standards and to the joint use of European and national standards.

The questionable basis of the Common European Sales Law: The role of an optional instrument in jurisdictional competition

The Common European Sales Law is designed as an optional instrument that European parties engaged in cross-border transactions could choose for their transactions in preference to national law. The goal is to increase cross-border transactions and perhaps to enhance European identity. But the CESL is unlikely to achieve these goals. It raises transaction costs while producing few if any benefits; it is unlikely to spur beneficial jurisdictional competition; its consumer protection provisions will make it unattractive for businesses; and its impact on European identity is likely to be small.