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Identifying handovers is an important but difficult to achieve goal for companies as handovers have advantages allowing for specialisation in processes as well as disadvantages by creating erroneous interfaces.

Conceptualisation of a method based on theory and evaluation with company data using a process model repository.

The method allows to evaluate handovers from the perspective of roles in processes and grouping of employees in organisational units. It uses existing process model repositories connected with organisational chart information in companies to determine the density of handovers. The method is successfully evaluated using the example of a major telecommunications company with 1,010 process models in its repository.

Companies can determine on various levels, up to the overall organisational level, in which parts of the company efforts are best spent to manage handovers in an optimal way.

This paper is first in showing how handovers can be conceptualised and identified with a large-scale method.

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of olive cake (OC) on lipid peroxidation as well as antioxidant enzymes activities of serum, red blood cells (RBCs) and liver, in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced-diabetic rat fed cholesterol-enriched diet.

Hypercholesterolemic male rats were rendered diabetic (HC-D) by a single intraperitoneal injection dose of STZ (35 mg/kg BW). HC-D rats were divided into two groups fed for 28d a diet supplemented with OC at 7.5 percent (HC-D-OC) or not (HC-D). A control group (C) was submitted to standard diet containing 20 per cent casein for the same experimental period.

RBCs, serum and liver thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) contents were significantly increased in HC-D, compared to C group (p = 0.04, p = 0.02 and 0.03). These values were significantly decreased (48 per cent and 64 per cent; p = 0.02 and p = 0.0007) in serum and liver of HC-D-OC vs HC-D group. In RBCs, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities were, respectively, 1.5, 2- and 1.7-fold higher (p = 0.03, p = 0.008 and p = 0.03) in HC-D group compared to HC group. In serum and liver, SOD, CAT and GST activities were, respectively, 1.3-, 2.6- and 1.6-fold increased (p = 0.03, p = 0.007 and p = 0.02). In HC-D-OC compared to HC-D group, RBCs glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), CAT and GST activities were, respectively, 2.1-, 3.3- and 2.1-fold higher (p = 0.04, p = 0.0009 and p = 0.03). In serum, SOD and CAT activities were, respectively, 1.5- and 1.9-fold increased (p = 0.02, p = 0.02). In liver, SOD, GSH-PX, CAT and GST activities were significantly increased (p = 0.005, p = 0.03, p = 0.02 and p = 0.04).

In diabetic rats-fed cholesterol-enriched diet, OC was able to reduce oxidative stress by decreasing lipid peroxidation and increasing antioxidant enzymes activities in serum, RBCs and liver.

This study aims to investigate the association between vitamin D measured in serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and outcomes of COVID-19 patients in Bahrain. This paper hypothesized that lower serum 25(OH)D concentration in COVID 19 patients is associated with longer viral clearance time (VCT) and higher risk of admission to the intensive care unit (ICU).

This study used a retrospective cohort design of patients admitted to Salmaniya Medical Complex, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, from February to June 2020. This study included patients with positive, confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis made using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), World Health Organization diagnosis manual and local diagnostic guidelines. Primary outcome measures were: VCT measured as the time in days between the first positive RT-PCR test result and the first of two consecutive negative RT-PCR results on recovery and admission need to ICU.

A total of 450 patients were analyzed; mean age was 46.4 ± 12.4 years and 349 (78%) were men. Mean 25(OH)D concentration was 41.7 ± 23.7 nmol/L for the entire sample. Severe vitamin D deficiency (<25 nmol/L) was present in 20%, mild-to-moderate deficiency (25–50 nmol/L) in 55%, insufficiency (50 to <75 nmol/L) in 18% and sufficiency (=75 nmol/L) in 7%. The mean VCT was 12.9 ± 8.2 days. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that severe vitamin D deficiency was associated with longer VCT, with an average of three extra days after correction for age and sex (β = 3.1; p = 0.001). Multinomial regression analysis showed that vitamin D deficiency was associated with an 83% increased risk of admission to ICU after correction for age and sex (odds ratio = 1.8; p = 0.03).

The results showed that severe vitamin D deficiency was associated with longer recovery time from COVID-19. Low serum 25(OH)D is associated with increased need for critical care in an ICU. Large-scale randomized controlled trials are necessary to further investigate the complex association between vitamin D and COVID-19 infection.