Prior elicitation of the efficacy and tolerability of Methotrexate and Mycophenolate Mofetil in Juvenile Localised Scleroderma

Background Evidence is lacking for safe and effective treatments for juvenile localised scleroderma (JLS). Methotrexate (MTX) is commonly used first line and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) second line, despite a limited evidence base. A head to head trial of these two medications would provide data on relative efficacy and tolerability. However, a frequentist approach is difficult to deliver in JLS, because of the numbers needed to sufficiently power a trial. A Bayesian approach could be considered. Methods An international consensus meeting was convened including an elicitation exercise where opinion was sought on the relative efficacy and tolerability of MTX compared to MMF to produce prior distributions for a future Bayesian trial. Secondary aims were to achieve consensus agreement on critical aspects of a future trial. Results An international group of 12 clinical experts participated. Opinion suggested superior efficacy and tolerability of MMF compared to MTX; where most likely value of efficacy of MMF was 0.70 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.34-0.90) and of MTX was 0.68 (95% CI 0.41-0.8). The most likely value of tolerability of MMF was 0.77 (95% CI 0.3-0.94) and of MTX was 0.62 (95% CI 0.32-0.84). The wider CI for MMF highlights that experts were less sure about relative efficacy and tolerability of MMF compared to MTX. Despite using a Bayesian approach, power calculations still produced a total sample size of 240 participants, reflecting the uncertainty amongst experts about the performance of MMF. Conclusions Key factors have been defined regarding the design of a future Bayesian approach clinical trial including elicitation of prior opinion of the efficacy and tolerability of MTX and MMF in JLS. Combining further efficacy data on MTX and MMF with prior opinion could potentially reduce the pre-trial uncertainty so that, when combined with smaller trial sample sizes a compelling evidence base is available.

Political state and the dilemma of dignity, equality and freedom: Evidence from a sovereign state

Purpose: This study discusses the idea of political redefinition and its connection to dignity, freedom and equality in a sovereign state. This article concludes by briefly touching on some serious issues about sovereign communities that arise as a result of the fundamental dignity, freedom, and equality ideals of the sovereign state. Research methodology: The author decided to conduct theoretical research in a qualitative format using conceptual analysis as well as critical and rational argumentation. A deductive approach is used in reaching a prior opinion. Results: The sovereign state itself became the judge and restricted human dignity, equality and the freedom to contract by forcing citizens to make transfers they did not consent to and prohibiting certain private transactions on the sole pretext. Limitations: There are shortcomings in theoretical research, as the author used a deductive approach to conclude. Contribution: This study conceptualizes the proponents of a sovereign state to be drawn into the dilemma of dignity, freedom and equality.

Financial Condition and Government Accounts: An Analysis in the Municipalities of the State of Rio de Janeiro (2009 to 2015)

This research sought to analyze whether the opinion of government accountability of the municipalities of Rio de Janeiro by the Court of Accounts of the State of Rio de Janeiro (TCE-RJ), in the period from 2009 to 2015, considers the financial condition of these municipalities. The financial condition was measured based on the methodology created by the Canadian Institute Chartered Accountants and adapted to the reality of the Brazilian institutional and regulatory environment. Factor analysis was used to select and group the determinants of municipal financial health and the logistic regression analysis to assess whether the result of the opinion of the municipal accounts by the TCE-RJ considered the municipal financial condition. The results were conclusive in relation to the analysis of the accountability of municipal government accounts considering the financial condition factor that deals with the collection, as well as the opinion of the TCE-RJ indicated that it is related to the technical analysis of external control. It was not possible to conclude whether there is political influence from the governor in issuing the prior opinion of the plenary.

Pengaruh Reputasi Kantor Akuntan Publik, Keberadaan Komite Audit, dan Prior Opinion Terhadap Pemberian Opini Audit Going Concern Pada Perusahaan Manufaktur di Bursa Efek Indonesia

Going Concern audit opinion are opinion was published by auditor to give due consideration about the ability of entity to hold on the business for the next year. The purpose of this study is to determine and analysis (1) The effect of The Public Accounting Firm’s Reputation against the giving of going concern audit opinion, (2) The effect of Existence Audit Committee against the giving of going concern audit opinion, and (3) The effect of Prior Opinion against the giving of going concern audit opinion. The sample were obtained using purposive sampling method. Sample in this study only 52 companies over five years with 260 observation data. The data analysis technice which is used in the research is logistic regression. The result of this research show (1) The Public Accounting Firm’s reputation have positive effect to the giving of going concern audit opinion, (2) The Existence Audit Committee have negative effect to the giving of going concern audit opinion, and (3) The Prior Opinion have positive effect to the giving of going concern audit opinion.

Trading Arguments: Opinion Updating in the Context of International Trade Agreements

Public opinion can often become a key challenge to international cooperation efforts. In their attempt to garner support for their position, stakeholders fight for the hearts and minds of the public based on arguments about the consequences of different policy options. But to what extent do individuals’ preferences change when exposed to such information? And how does this depend on the information being congruent or contradictory to pre-existing preferences? We address these questions in the context of the negotiations on the potentially largest regional trade agreement in history: the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Based on a two-waves-panel-survey-experiment fielded in Germany and the United States, we examine how individuals’ prior opinion influences the way they process new information. We argue that individuals’ existing priors about how they generally think about economic openness interact with new information to inform their opinion about the specific policy proposal at hand. Our experimental results show that while prior opinion constrains opinion updating to some degree, overall, citizens update their existing beliefs in line with new information. This updating process can even result in respondents changing their opinion, although only in one direction: namely to turn from a TTIP supporter to a TTIP opponent.

The Opinion procedure under Article 218(11) TFEU: Reflections in the light of Opinion 1/17

This paper explores aspects of Opinion 1/17, handed down by the Court of Justice on 30 April 2019, as an example of the specific procedure of Article 218(11) TFEU and the Court’s evolving practice. The prior Opinion procedure serves to prevent the complications that would arise, both internally and externally, if an international treaty were concluded by the EU and then subsequently found to be incompatible with primary EU law. Opinion 1/17 raised issues of institutional and substantive compatibility, in the form of the principle of autonomy and compliance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights. In handling both, the Court’s approach was characterised by its insistence on the reciprocal nature of the CETA relationship, the separation of the CETA system from EU law, the ability of the EU to engage with such independent and reciprocal dispute settlement processes, and its assessment of the way in which the agreement would be implemented. The Opinion represents an example of the explanatory or didactic form of reasoning typical of recent Opinions, as well as breaking new ground in its conception of an ‘envisaged’ agreement.

The Effect of Prior Opinion and Potency of Financial Distress on Going Concern Audit Opinion

This study aims to obtain empirical evidence of the influence of prior opinion and the potential of financial distress on going concern opinion. Going concern opinion happened because the indicated of the company is no longer able to live the life to work. The results of previous studies get inconsistent results in terms of the effect of potential financial distress on the going concern opinion. The other indicators that can influence the existence of a going concern opinion is prior opinions which are previous opinions by an auditor. This study uses secondary data in manufacturing industries that listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in the period 2012-2018 become the population in this study with a total sample of 77 samples selected by purposive sampling technique.

Open-Minded Cognition and Political Thought

Dogmatic or closed-minded cognition is directionally biased; a tendency to select, interpret, and elaborate upon information in a manner that reinforces the individual’s prior opinion or expectation. Open-minded cognition is directionally unbiased; a tendency to process information in a manner that is not biased in the direction of the individual’s prior opinion or expectation. It is marked by a tendency to consider a variety of intellectual perspectives, values, attitudes, opinions, or beliefs—even those that contradict the individual’s prior opinion. Open-Minded Cognition is assessed using measures that specifically focus on the degree to which individuals process information in a directionally biased manner. Open-Minded Cognition can function as an individual difference characteristic that predicts a variety of social attitudes and political opinions. These include attitudes toward marginalized social groups (e.g., racial and ethnic minorities), support for democratic values, political ideology, and partisan identification. Open-Minded Cognition also possesses a malleable component that varies across domains and specific situations. For example, Open-Minded Cognition is higher in the political domain than religious domain. In addition, Open-Minded Cognition is prevalent in situations where individuals encounter plausible arguments that are compatible with conventional values, but is less evident when individuals encounter arguments that are extremely implausible or that contradict conventional values. Within a situation, Open-Minded Cognition also varies across social roles involving expertise. Because political novices possess limited political knowledge, social norms dictate that they should listen and learn in an open-minded fashion. In contrast, because political experts possess extensive knowledge, social norms dictate that they are entitled to adopt a more dogmatic cognitive orientation when listening to a political communication.

Pengaruh Debt Default , Firm Size , Dan Prior Opinion Terhadap Penerimaan Opini Going Concern

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of debt default, firm size, prior opinion onacceptance of going concern audit opinion on companies listing on BEI. This type of research isassociative. The types and sources of data in this study are secondary data and Indonesia StockExchange. Technique of taking data is done with documentation. The result of this research isDebt Default have positive effect to the acceptance of going concern opinion, firm size does nothave an effect on the acceptance of going concern opinion, prior opinion has an effect on acceptance of going concern opinion.Keywords: debt default, firm size, prior opinion, going concern opinion