Background A clinical trial management system (CTMS) is a suite of specialized productivity tools that manage clinical trial processes from study planning to closeout. Using CTMSs has shown remarkable benefits in delivering efficient, auditable, and visualizable clinical trials. However, the current CTMS market is fragmented, and most CTMSs fail to meet expectations because of their inability to support key functions, such as inconsistencies in data captured across multiple sites. Blockchain technology, an emerging distributed ledger technology, is considered to potentially provide a holistic solution to current CTMS challenges by using its unique features, such as transparency, traceability, immutability, and security. Objective This study aimed to re-engineer the traditional CTMS by leveraging the unique properties of blockchain technology to create a secure, auditable, efficient, and generalizable CTMS. Methods A comprehensive, blockchain-based CTMS that spans all stages of clinical trials, including a sharable trial master file system; a fast recruitment and simplified enrollment system; a timely, secure, and consistent electronic data capture system; a reproducible data analytics system; and an efficient, traceable payment and reimbursement system, was designed and implemented using the Quorum blockchain. Compared with traditional blockchain technologies, such as Ethereum, Quorum blockchain offers higher transaction throughput and lowers transaction latency. Case studies on each application of the CTMS were conducted to assess the feasibility, scalability, stability, and efficiency of the proposed blockchain-based CTMS. Results A total of 21.6 million electronic data capture transactions were generated and successfully processed through blockchain, with an average of 335.4 transactions per second. Of the 6000 patients, 1145 were matched in 1.39 seconds using 10 recruitment criteria with an automated matching mechanism implemented by the smart contract. Key features, such as immutability, traceability, and stability, were also tested and empirically proven through case studies. Conclusions This study proposed a comprehensive blockchain-based CTMS that covers all stages of the clinical trial process. Compared with our previous research, the proposed system showed an overall better performance. Our system design, implementation, and case studies demonstrated the potential of blockchain technology as a potential solution to CTMS challenges and its ability to perform more health care tasks.
Background: Based on the routine inspection of 637 simple-support bridges in a severe cold region in northeast China, the technical condition data were collected and analyzed according to China’s bridge condition evaluation code. Results and Discussion: The results indicate that the appraisal rating of the bridges decreases with service time gradually. For bridges with a service life of 3-5years, 7 years and more than 15 years, the proportion of rating of “poor condition” is 14%, 22% and 43%, respectively. Besides, the inspection results show that cracking, concrete scaling, and corrosion of reinforcement are the major damage types of the bridges, and the freeze-thaw and salt induced corrosion are the main deterioration causes. It is recommended based on the inspection results that timely drainage of water is very important in reducing bridge damages in severe cold regions. Meanwhile, protective measures of durability should be specially considered in the design and construction stages.
Logistics Finance don't only bring new opportunities, but also more risks and challenges to the financial institutions. In the process of developing Logistics Finance, building and maintaining a good cooperative relationship with logistics companies is of extreme importance to financial institutions. In this paper, the principal-agent model and the game decision-making model between the financial institutions and logistics companies is established. And then, the factors which affect the behavior can be got through the two models. This paper aims at providing reference for decision making in the process of developing the Logistics Finance in order to promoting sustainable and healthy development of Logistics Finance.Keywords Financial institution Á Game theory Á Logistics finance Á Principalagent theory IntroductionLogistics Finance is a new kind of composite business which derives from the dynamic integration between the financial industry and the logistics industry (Biederman 2004). Based on the movable property, order form and accounts receivable and so on, the financial institution provide financial service which include the financing, insurance and evaluation of assets and so on for the logistics companies. Through regulating and organizing the currency and capital of the supply chain effectively, the logistics financial don't only meet the demand of improving the utilization of company's capital, but also expand the scope of business and reduce the credit risk of the financial institution. Meanwhile, the logistics financial provide new revenue growth opportunities for the logistics companies.
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