Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
TIME TO CUSUM: SIMPLIFIED REPORTING OF OUTCOMES IN COLORECTAL SURGERY

Surgical audit has added value when outcomes can be compared and individual surgeons receive feedback. It is expected that surgeons compare their results with others in similar local practice, the published work, or peers from a craft group audit. Although feedback and comparison are worthy aims, for many surgeons the standards have not been agreed nor is there a craft group audit. The aim of this paper was to develop a reporting format for surgeons carrying out colorectal surgery in a regional hospital. The performance of 13 individual surgeons was analysed using a comprehensive colorectal audit with more than 600 cases. Feedback included caseload and type. Risk stratification of outcomes included; operation urgency, age and Physiological and Operative Severity Score for enUmeration of Mortality and Morbidity. Outcome measures were anastomotic leaks, end stoma rates, unplanned reoperations and mortality. Visual feedback included cumulative summation graphs for elective leaks, mortality and unplanned reoperations. A single A4 page of an individuals performance could be prepared that allowed comparison to the groups data overall. Alerts were set at 2–5% elective leaks, 4–7.5% mortality and 4–11% unplanned return to theatre. Cumulative summation graphs added to this allowed a visual guide to the key performance indicators. Surgeons need to determine how they will review their individual and collective results. These are equally important to the reported work. Detailed analysis of risk‐stratified data should occur. Binary outcomes such as leak, mortality and unplanned reoperations may be followed by cumulative summation graphs. This provides a continually updated method of feedback, enabling immediate visual feedback of a surgeon’s performance.
Developing a quality measure for clinical inertia in diabetes care.

OBJECTIVE To develop a valid quality measure that captures clinical inertia, the failure to initiate or intensify therapy in response to medical need, in diabetes care and to link this process measure with outcomes of glycemic control. DATA SOURCES Existing databases from 13 Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals between 1997 and 1999. STUDY DESIGN Laboratory results, medications, and diagnoses were collected on 23,291 patients with diabetes. We modeled the decision to increase antiglycemic medications at individual visits. We then aggregated all visits for individual patients and calculated a treatment intensity score by comparing the observed number of increases to that expected based on our model. The association between treatment intensity and two measures of glycemic control, change in HbA1c during the observation period, and whether the outcome glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was greater than 8 percent, was then examined. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Increases in antiglycemic medications occurred at only 9.8 percent of visits despite 39 percent of patients having an initial HbA1c level greater than 8 percent. A clinically credible model predicting increase in therapy was developed with the principal predictor being a recent HbA1c greater than 8 percent. There were considerable differences in the intensity of therapy received by patients. Those patients receiving more intensive therapy had greater improvements in control (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS Clinical inertia can be measured in diabetes care and this process measure is linked to patient outcomes of glycemic control. This measure may be useful in efforts to improve clinicians management of patients with diabetes.
Things to Know When Implementing Lpo

The Lexicographic Path Ordering (LPO) poses an interesting problem to the implementor: How to achieve a version that is both efficient and correct? The method of program transformation helps us to develop an efficient version step-by-step, making clear the essential ideas, while retaining correctness. By theoretical analysis we show that the worst-case behavior is thereby changed from exponential to polynomial. Detailed measurements show the practical improvements of the different variants. They allow us to assess experimentally various optimizations suggested for LPO.
In Europe we trust? Exploring three logics of trust in the European Union

This study develops and tests three explanations of trust in the European Union. Following the logic of rationality, trust originates from evaluations about the (actual and perceived) performances and procedures of the European Union. Trust within the logic of identity trust depends on citizens’ emotional attachments to the European Union. According to the logic of extrapolation, trust is an extension of national trust and therefore unrelated to the European Union itself. We test these explanations and their interrelations in a multilevel analysis of Eurobarometer 71.3 and conclude that the logic of extrapolation is the strongest predictor of trust in the European Union. Although we also find some evidence to suggest that rational calculus matters, by-and-large, citizens seem to trust or distrust the European Union for reasons that are largely distinct from the Union itself.
User Centred Quality Health Information Provision: Benefits and Challenges

Recent research indicates people are increasingly looking to the Internet for health information. Equally however, there is increasing frustration with the sheer volume, lack of relevance and at times dubious quality of information retrieved. The Breast Cancer Knowledge Online project sought to build a user sensitive portal to assist women with breast cancer and their families overcome these problems and to facilitate the retrieval of information which would better meet the individual and changing needs of users. The research outcomes discussed in this paper describe the approach taken to building the metadata-driven portal, the outcome of usability testing of the portal, and the limitations of such an ambitious project.
Balancing work and caregiving for children, adults, and elders

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION Dependent Care as a Corporate, Family, and Community Concern Conceptual Framework and Methodology PART TWO: RESEARCH Employees Who Have Children Employees Who Care for Adults with Disabilities Employees Who Care for Elderly Persons Employees with Multiple Caregiving Roles Synthesis of Research Findings Comparison of Child, Adult, Elder, and Multiple Caregiving Roles PART THREE: POLICIES, BENEFITS, AND SERVICES IN THE WORKPLACE Employer Responses to Employees' Dependent-Care Responsibilities Policies and Benefits Employer Responses to Employees' Dependent-Care Responsibilities Services Assessing Employee Needs PART FOUR: IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Where Do We Go From Here Suggestions for Practice, Policy, and Research
Regulatory capital and risk of Indian banks: a simultaneous equation approach

Purpose - – This paper aims to examine the association between regulatory capital and risk of Indian commercial banks and the impacts of other relevant variables on them. Design/methodology/approach - – The study is based on a secondary data set on Indian commercial banks collected from “Capitaline Plus” corporate database and annual reports of the respective banks. Total 41 major Indian banks (21 public and 20 private sector banks) are considered in this study. Here absolute values of capital and risk are used as dependent variables along with some relevant bank specific explanatory variables in a system of a two-equation model. Based on the nature of interrelationship and identifiability of the equations, three-stage least squares (3SLS) technique is used to estimate the relationship. Findings - – Risk and capital of Indian commercial banks are inversely associated. The influence of profitability on both capital and risk is significantly positive. Moreover, human capital efficiency is negatively associated with the undertaking of risk by the banks. In this respect, Indian private sector banks are found to be more efficient in utilizing human capital for reducing credit risk. Originality/value - – It is the first comparative study in India examining the relationship between capital and risk of Indian public and private sector commercial banks covering both Basel I and II periods. Further, the role of human resource in managing risk is considered as a relevant variable in this study.
Exploring the Gender Gap in the Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism

The “ gender gap ” on various physics conceptual evaluations has been extensively studied. Men ’ s average pretest scores on the Force Concept Inventory and Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation are 13% higher than women ’ s, and post-test scores are on average 12% higher than women ’ s. This study analyzed the gender differences within the Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM) in which the gender gap has been less well studied and is less consistent. In the current study, data collected from 1407 students (77% men, 23% women) in a calculus-based physics course over ten semesters showed that male students outperformed female students on the CSEM pretest (5%) and post-test (6%). Separate analyses were conducted for qualitative and quantitative problems on lab quizzes and course exams and showed that male students outperformed female students by 3% on qualitative quiz and exam problems. Male and female students performed equally on the quantitative course exam problems. The gender gaps within CSEM post-test scores, qualitative lab quiz scores, and qualitative exam scores were insignificant for students with a CSEM pretest score of 25% or less but grew as pretest scores increased. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that a latent variable, called Conceptual Physics Performance/Non-Quantitative (CPP/NonQnt), orthogonal to quantitative test performance was useful in explaining the differences observed in qualitative performance; this variable was most strongly related to CSEM post-test scores. The CPP/NonQnt of male students was 0.44 standard deviations higher than female students. The CSEM pretest measured CPP/NonQnt much less accurately for women ( R 2 ¼ 4% ) than for men ( R 2 ¼ 17% ). The failure to detect a gender gap for students scoring 25% or less on the pretest suggests that the CSEM instrument itself is not gender biased. The failure to find a performance difference in quantitative test performance while detecting a gap in qualitative performance suggests the qualitative differences do not result from psychological factors such as science anxiety or stereotype threat. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.13. 020114
Dancing to sustainable tunes: an exploration of music festivals and sustainable practices in Aotearoa

Living sustainable lifestyles that meet the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs has become a driving force for social change. Music festivals are contextualized within this setting and can provide both a site to encourage environmentally responsible behaviours and a place for communities of likeminded people to meet. A sense of community and freedom, efficient festival organization, good music, and being in the outdoors are all aspects of positive festival experiences, but so too does caring for the local environment and community. This paper discusses a qualitative research project that investigates the extent and impact of sustainability-related social and environmental aspects of music festival experiences. Tentative conclusions suggest that the way festival organizers plan for social and environmental impacts directly influences the experience of those attending, but also has the potential to instigate social and environmental change in ways which at present are largely untapped.
Estimating export demand equations in selected Asian countries

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to utilize the new specification proposed by Rao and Singh to estimate export demand equations for Asian developing countries, Design/methodology/approach - The augmented Dicky-Fuller method is applied to test the time-series properties of the variables. The time-series techniques of Phillip-Hansen's fully modified ordinary least squares and Johansen's maximum likelihood are used with annual data from 1970 to 2007. The Granger causality test determines the causality direction between income, relative prices and exports. Findings - The paper confirms that there exists a long-run cointegrating relationship between real exports, real income of trading partners and relative prices. The long-run income elasticities range between 1 and 1.3 and the relative price elasticities range between -1 and -1.4. Our Granger causality results imply that in the long-run income and relative prices Granger cause exports in these countries. Research limitations/implications - Structural breaks and trade shock analysis were ignored. Practical implications - The results imply that exports should be treated as an engine of growth in the Asian developing countries and the export promotion policies such as subsidies, special credits and tax concessions should be encouraged. The relative price elasticities imply that exports are competitive in the international market and these countries have the option to devalue their currency to enhance export earnings. Although the real devaluation of the currencies will push import costs high, eventually this motivates the local firms to undertake alternative options, for instance, import substitution. Further, the gains resulting from the export growth policies will be attractive. Originality/value - The paper assesses the magnitudes of export elasticities with a specification that includes exchange rate in relative price variable.
Long-term functional outcome of repair of large and massive chronic tears of the rotator cuff.

BACKGROUND There have been conflicting reports regarding the effect of the size of a tear of the rotator cuff on the ultimate functional outcome after repair of the rotator cuff. While some authors have reported that the size of the tear does not adversely affect the overall result of repair, others have reported that the outcome is less predictable after repair of a large tear than after repair of a small tear. The purpose of the present study was to examine the long-term functional outcome and the recovery of strength in thirty consecutive patients who had had repair of a large or massive tear of the rotator cuff. METHODS Thirty consecutive patients who had operative repair of a large or massive chronic tear of the rotator cuff had a comprehensive isokinetic assessment of the strength of the shoulder preoperatively, twelve months postoperatively, and a mean of sixty-five months (range, forty-six to ninety-three months) postoperatively. The functional outcome was assessed with the University of California at Los Angeles shoulder score. RESULTS All patients reported that they were satisfied with the result and had increased strength compared with preoperatively. There was a significant decrease in pain (p < 0.01) and significant improvements in function (p < 0.01) and the range of motion (p < 0.01). The mean University of California at Los Angeles shoulder score increased significantly from 12.3 points preoperatively to 31.0 points at the most recent follow-up examination (p < 0.01). The mean peak torque in flexion, abduction, and external rotation increased significantly to 80 percent (p < 0.01), 73 percent (p < 0.01), and 91 percent (p < 0.01), respectively, of that of the uninvolved shoulder by the time of the most recent follow-up examination. CONCLUSIONS Repair of a large or massive tear of the rotator cuff can have a satisfactory long-term outcome. The results of the present study suggest that more than one year is needed for complete restoration of strength. The strength of the affected shoulders still did not equal that of the unaffected, contralateral shoulders by the time of the long-term follow-up.
The Intra-household Allocation of Time

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Global views on integrating Six Sigma and ISO 9001 certification

During the past three decades, ISO 9001 certifications have facilitated contemporary organisations to systematically achieve continual quality improvement. In the same period, Six Sigma has propelled organisations towards achieving zero defect manufacturing. Though these objectives are closely coinciding, the synergy of implementing ISO 9001 standard and Six Sigma has been eluding the contemporary organisations. This situation creates a need to globally view the development that has been occurring in the direction of integrating ISO 9001 certification and Six Sigma. This study reports a literature review conducted in this context. The result of this literature review indicated that, very little work on integrating Six Sigma and ISO 9001 standard has so far been carried out. Hence, it is concluded that the recent most version, namely ISO 9001:2008 standard is to be amended with the ideals of Six Sigma. In order to carry out this task, a roadmap is contributed in this paper.
StixelNet: A Deep Convolutional Network for Obstacle Detection and Road Segmentation

General obstacle detection is a key enabler for obstacle avoidance in mobile robotics and autonomous driving. In this paper we address the task of detecting the closest obstacle in each direction from a driving vehicle. As opposed to existing methods based on 3D sensing we use a single color camera. The main novelty in our approach is the reduction of the task to a column-wise regression problem. The regression is then solved using a deep convolutional neural network (CNN). In addition, we introduce a new loss function based on a semi-discrete representation of the obstacle position probability to train the network. The network is trained using ground truth automatically generated from a laser-scanner point cloud. Using the KITTI dataset, we show that the our monocularbased approach outperforms existing camera-based methods including ones using stereo. We also apply the network on the related task of road segmentation achieving among the best results on the KITTI road segmentation challenge.
Comparative Statics and Welfare in Heterogeneous Contests: Bribes, Caps, and Performance Thresholds

Comparative statics for contests with two privately informed and ex ante heterogeneous contestants are analyzed. Strategies and payoffs are examined and it is shown that total effort may increase when one contestant becomes weaker. The second part of the paper considers dynamic contests in which one bidder may endogenously be revealed to be weak. For example, the first contestant has the possibility of preempting the contest by paying a bribe or taking some other action. If the bribe is not paid the second contestant infers the first contestant is relatively weak or uninterested. Adding the possibility of paying a preemptive bribe decreases expected payoff for a set of types of at least one of the contestants, possibly the contestant who is ostensibly advantaged by the option to preempt the contest. However, the payoff of the recipient of the effort and the ex ante payoff of both contestants may improve.
Are Jumps Contagious? An Empirical Investigation of Jumps Transmission Mechanisms in the Nasdaq Sector Indexes

This article relies on the comparison of the realized variance and the realized bipower variation to provide a nonparametric extraction of jumps in Nasdaq sector indexes. It proceeds with their empirical analysis along two directions: intensity and size. Whereas the jump intensity appears to be sector-specific, the average jump contribution to the total variance is approximately constant across sectors. Moreover, unlike volatility, jumps do not cluster through time. A multivariate analysis reveals that jump arrivals are significantly linked even though the contemporaneous occurrence of discontinuities does not increase the average jump size. Finally, despite their interdependence, jumps do not seem to be very contagious and few spillover effects can be observed.
The Influence of Price Presentation Order on Consumer Choice

Existing theory and prior research suggest that consumers perceive purchase prices more/less favorably when they are preceded by higher/lower prices. However, to date, researchers have found these effects in contexts in which the product, and thus perceived quality, is held constant. Given that consumers commonly believe price and quality are positively correlated and that price–quality perceptions have been shown to influence price evaluations and willingness to pay, the generalizability of existing research to commonly encountered contexts is questionable. In this research, the authors examine the influence of price order on consumer choice across differing brands in contexts in which consumer quality perceptions are free to covary with price and they are manipulated to be correlated or uncorrelated with price. Using reference dependence theory as a framework, they find that when differing brand options are presented in descending price order, consumers tend to choose higher-price options; when they are presented in ascending price order, consumers tend to choose lower-priced options (the price order effect). In addition, the authors show that consumers' price–quality perceptions are a necessary condition for this effect.
The Relational Perspective as a Business Mindset: Managerial Implications for East and West

Executive Overview Borrowing from classical Eastern philosophy and Chinese culture, this paper draws lessons in leadership, strategy, and organization for today's managers. It begins by articulating the relational philosophy, in particular the Chinese tradition of thought in which all entities are conceived to exist within the context of one another and in which integration, balance, and harmony are sought over distinction and comparison. It examines how this relational mindset shapes interpersonal relationships, communication, and temporal considerations. Lessons are then drawn for leadership, strategy, and organization for both Eastern and Western businesses. We argue that the shortcomings of many Western companies stem from too little attention to relational considerations, while those of many Eastern companies are caused by excesses and distortions of the relational perspective. The relational approach provides an ideal path toward an “ambicultural” mode of management, one that avoids dangerous extrem.