5,115 research outputs found
Colour deconvolution: stain unmixing in histological imaging
Full text linkMOTIVATION: Microscopy images of stained cells and tissues play a central role in most biomedical experiments and routine histopathology. Storing colour histological images digitally opens the possibility to process numerically colour distribution and intensity to extract quantitative data. Among those numerical procedures is colour deconvolution, which enables decomposing an RGB image into channels representing the optical absorbance and transmittance of the dyes when their RGB representation is known. Consequently, a range of new applications become possible for morphological and histochemical segmentation, automated marker localisation and image enhancement.AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: Colour deconvolution is presented here in two open-source forms: a MATLAB program/function and an ImageJ plugin written in Java. Both versions run in Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX-based systems under the respective platforms. Source code and further documentation are available at: https://blog.bham.ac.uk/intellimic/g-landini-software/colour-deconvolution-2/.SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online
Corporate hierarchies and workplace voice
Full text linkWe investigate whether workplace voice through institutionalized forms of employee representation (ER) affects the design of firm hierarchies. We look at the role of ER within a knowledge-based view of hierarchies, where the firm's choice of hierarchical layers depends on the trade-off between communication and knowledge acquisition costs. Using a sample of more than 20,000 private-sector firms in 32 countries, we find that the presence of ER is positively associated with the number of organizational layers, though the relationship is tempered by firm size. ER positively correlates with job training, skill development and enhanced internal communication via staff meetings. The analysis of managers' perceptions suggests the higher frequency of meetings in firms with ER does not lead to more delays in the implementation of organizational changes. Taken together, our findings point to ER as facilitating the flow of information to top decision-makers and hence reducing communication costs. This may enable the firm to economize scarce cognitive resources without retarding the accumulation of new shop-floor capabilities. We contribute to recent literature on organizational design by suggesting ER institutions as possibly relaxing the trade-off between communication and knowledge acquisition costs within firms. Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Millennium Economics Lt
Nuclear morphometry and ploidy of normal and neoplastic haemocytes in mussels
Full text linkHaemic neoplasia (HN) in bivalves has been reported in association with mass mortality events in various species of molluscs. The aim of this work was to quantify the nuclear morphometry and DNA content of neoplastic cells of mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis affected by HN using nuclear densitometry in Feulgen-stained preparations. The results were also compared with a population of normal mussel haemocytes. We captured 256 images of 3 different neoplasia stages and 120 images of normal haemocytes; thus, a total of 120,166 nuclei were analysed. We extracted 21 morphological parameters from normal and neoplastic nuclei. Eighteen of these parameters were different (P<0.05). Among those (expressed in pixel units-inter-pixel distance of 0.45 micrometres-as: normal vs. neoplastic) nuclear area (117.1±94.1 vs. 423.1±226.9), perimeter (44.9±14.0 vs. 79.0±21.3) and (IOD) integrated optical density (13.47±34.5 vs. 177.1±150.8) were relevant features to discriminate between normal and neoplastic cells. Those differences allowed identifying two distinctive populations of neoplastic nuclei, occasionally in the same individuals at a given phase of the disease. Moreover, neoplastic haemocytes in less extended lesions showed a ploidy value of 6.2 n along with the presence of a second population of circulating cells with a DNA content of 10.7n. In samples with moderate disease only one peak at 7n was observed. Finally, in more severe conditions, a further ploidy peak of 7.8n was recorded, accompanied by a shallow but broad peak of 31n. This latter extreme value is thought to be due to the presence of giant multinucleated cells where individual nuclei overlap in space and cannot be discerned individually. Computer-based imaging allowed the direct visualization of the cell populations and simultaneous collection of ploidy data as well as morphological features of nuclei
Advanced Technologies and Worker Voice
Full text linkThe interplay between labour institutions and firm-level adoption of new technologies such as robotics andother advanced digital tools remains poorly understood. Using a cross-sectional sample of more than 20,000European establishments, we document a positive association between shop-floor employee representation (ER)and utilization of emerging technologies. We explore mechanisms driving this correlation by exploiting richinformation on the role played by ER in relation to well-defined decision areas of management, such as workorganization, dismissals, training and working time. In addition, we conduct a quantitative case study usinga panel of Italian firms and exploiting size-contingent policy rules governing the operation of ER bodies inthe context of a local-randomization regression discontinuity design. The analysis suggests a positive effectof ER on investments in advanced technologies around the firm size cut-off, although results are sensitiveto type of technology and specification choices. We also document positive effects on training and processinnovation, and no evidence of changes in composition of employment. Our findings cast doubt on the ideathat ER discourages technology adoption. Rather, ER seems to influence workplace practices that enhance thecomplementarity between labour and new advanced technologies
The hidden benefits of abstaining from control
Full text linkThis paper studies the role of negative reciprocity, positive reciprocity and preferences for autonomy in explaining agents’ reactions to control in experimental principal-agent games. While most of the social psychology literature emphasizes the role of autonomy, recent economic research has provided an alternative explanation based on reciprocity. To understand the behavioral mechanisms underlying such reactions, we conduct an experiment in which we compare two treatments: one in which control is exerted directly by the principal; and the other in which it is exerted by a third party enjoying no residual claimancy rights (third-party control). The results indicate that when either the principal or a third party decides to control the average level of effort that is selected by the agents is similar. What changes remarkably are the agents’ reactions to the decision of the other participants not to control. When the principal decides not to control, then the agent exerts greater effort relative to the case when the third party decides not to control. Agents seem to reward principals who abstain from control for their trust, rather than punish controlling ones for their distrust
Third-party vs. second-party control: disentangling the role of autonomy and reciprocity
No full textGabriel Ajak Lat
Full text linkabstract: Gabriel was ten years old when he left his village.
“Lost Boys Found” is an ongoing, interdisciplinary project that is collecting, recording and archiving the oral histories of the Lost Boys/Girls of Sudan. The collection is a work-in-progress, seeking to record the oral history of as many Lost Boys/Girls as are willing, and will be used in a future book.Age: 27Region: Bahr al GhazalThis picture and bio was donated to the Lost Boys Found project from The Arizona Lost Boys Cente
The hidden benefits of abstaining from control
Full text linkThis paper studies the role of negative reciprocity, positive reciprocity and preferences for autonomy in explaining agents’ reactions to control in experimental principal-agent games. While most of the social psychology literature emphasizes the role of autonomy, recent economic research has provided an alternative explanation based on reciprocity. To understand the behavioral mechanisms underlying such reactions, we conduct an experiment in which we compare two treatments: one in which control is exerted directly by the principal; and the other in which it is exerted by a third party enjoying no residual claimancy rights (third-party control). The results indicate that when either the principal or a third party decides to control the average level of effort that is selected by the agents is similar. What changes remarkably are the agents’ reactions to the decision of the other participants not to control. When the principal decides not to control, then the agent exerts greater effort relative to the case when the third party decides not to control. Agents seem to reward principals who abstain from control for their trust, rather than punish controlling ones for their distrust
Contested Transparency: Digital Monitoring Technologies and Worker Voice
Full text linkAdvances in artificial intelligence and data analytics have notably expanded employers’
monitoring and surveillance capabilities, facilitating the accurate observability of work
effort. There is an ongoing debate among academics and policymakers about the
productivity and broader welfare implications of digital monitoring (DM) technologies. In
this context, many countries confer information, consultation and codetermination rights
to employee representation (ER) bodies on matters related to the workplace governance
of these technologies. Using a cross-sectional sample of more than 21000 European
establishments, we document a positive association between ER and the utilization of DM
technologies. We also find a positive effect of ER on DM utilization in the context of a localrandomization regression discontinuity analysis that exploits size-contingent policy rules
governing the operation of ER bodies in Europe. Finally, in an exploratory analysis, we find
a positive association between DM and process innovations, particularly in establishments
where ER bodies are present and a large fraction of workers perform jobs that require
finding solutions to unfamiliar problems. We interpret these findings through the lens of
a labor discipline model in which the presence of ER bodies affect employer’s decision to
invest in DM technologies
- …
