bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Simple and Powerful Risk-Adjustment Tool for 30-day Mortality Among Inpatients
Authors: Tremblay Douglas , Arnsten Julia H. , Southern William N. 
Published: July 2016

Background:
Risk adjustment for mortality is increasingly important in an era when hospitals and health care systems are being compared with respect to health outcomes and quality. A powerful predictive model has been developed to risk-adjust for 30-day mortality among inpatients, but it is complex and not widely used.

Objective:
To develop and validate a simpler model, with predictive power similar to more complex models.

Research Design:
This was a retrospective split-validation study. In a derivation cohort, a predictive model for 30-day mortality was developed using logistic regression with the Charlson comorbidity score, Laboratory-Based Acute Physiology Score, and age as the predictor variables. In the validation cohort, the performance and calibration of the model to predict 30-day mortality was examined.

Subjects:
All admissions to the medical service of 2 urban university-based teaching hospitals located in Bronx, New York, between July 1, 2002, and April 30, 2008.

Measures:
All-cause mortality was taken from the social security death registry. Predictor variables were constructed from demographic characteristics, laboratory and billing data extracted from a clinical data repository.

Results:
The study sample included 147 991 admissions and overall 30-day mortality was 5.4%. The model had excellent discrimination, with a c-statistics of 0.8585 in the derivation cohort and 0.8484 in the validation cohort. The model accurately predicts 30-day mortality in all risk deciles.

Conclusions:
This simple and powerful predictive model can be used by hospitals and health care systems as a risk-adjustment tool for quality and research purposes.
Testing the Quality Health Outcomes Model Applied to Infection Prevention in Hospitals
Authors: Gilmartin Heather M. , Sousa Karen H. 
Published: July 2016

Objective:
To test the Quality Health Outcomes Model to investigate the relationship between health care-associated infection (HAI) prevention interventions, organizational context, and HAI outcomes using structural equation modeling.

Methods:
Variables for adherence to the central line bundle, organizational context, and central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) were selected for this secondary data analysis from 614 US hospitals that participated in the Prevention of Nosocomial Infection and Cost-effectiveness-Refined study. One half of the dataset was used for exploration of the concepts, the second half for confirmation of the measurement models and testing of the structural model.

Results:
The final model resulted in a good fit to the data (χ2 (1215) = 1906.86, P < .00; comparative fit index = 0.94; root mean square of error of approximation = 0.04). A significant relationship was noted between adherence to the central line bundle interventions and organizational context (β = 0.23, P < .01), whereas the relationship between context and CLABSIs was not significant (β = −0.20, P = .78).

Conclusions:
This study supports a relationship between greater adherence to HAI interventions and higher levels of organizational context and highlights the complexity of measuring organizational context. Given the importance of preventing HAIs, ongoing research is needed to reveal the exact aspects of context that influence interventions and outcomes.
Efficacy of Repeated Intraperitoneal Administration of Levobupivacaine in Pain and Opioid Consumption After Elective Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: A Prospective Randomized Placebo-controlled Trial
Authors: Melidi Eleni , Papadima Artemisia , Pandazi Aggeliki , Zografos George 
Published: July 2016

Purpose:
To estimate the effect of intraperitoneal levobupivacaine on postoperative pain and analgesic requirements, during the first 24 hours after elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC).

Materials and Methods:
In this prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled study, 73 consecutive patients scheduled for LC were randomized into 2 groups. In the local anesthetic group 36 patients received 10 mL of 0.5% levobupivacaine intraperitoneally at the end of the LC and at 4 hours postoperatively, whereas in the placebo group 37 patients received 10 mL of 0.9% normal saline. Visual analog scale pain scores, analgesic consumption, side-effects, and vital signs were recorded for 24 hours postoperatively.

Results:
In the local anesthetic group lower visual analog scale pain scores were observed postoperatively, both at rest and at movement (P-values compared with placebo, 0.012 and <0.001, respectively). Fentanyl consumption was greater in the placebo group (P-value <0.001).

Conclusions:
Intraperitoneal administration of 10 mL 0.5% levobupivacaine after LC is effective in reducing postoperative pain and decreasing opioid consumption.
Inspiring change: humanities and social science insights into the experience and management of breathlessness
Authors: Oxley Rebecca , Macnaughton Jane 
Published: July 2016

Purpose of review
Breathlessness can be debilitating for those with chronic conditions, requiring continual management. Yet, the meaning of breathlessness for those who live with it is poorly understood in respect of its subjective, cultural, and experiential significance. This article discusses a number of current issues in understanding the experience of breathlessness.

Recent findings
Effective communication concerning the experience of breathlessness is crucial for diagnosis, to identify appropriate treatment, and to provide patients with the capacity to self-manage their condition. However, there is an evident disconnect between the way breathlessness is understood between clinical and lay perspectives, in terms of awareness of breathlessness, the way symptoms are expressed, and acknowledgement of how it affects the daily lives of patients.

Summary
The review highlights the need for integrated multidisciplinary work on breathlessness, and suggests that effective understanding and management of breathlessness considers its wider subjective and social significance.
A systematic literature review on the ethics of palliative sedation: an update (2016)
Authors: Henry Blair 
Published: July 2016

Purpose of review
Palliative sedation has been the subject of intensive debate since its first appearance in 1990. In a 2010 review of palliative sedation, the following areas were identified as lacking in consensus: inconsistent terminology, its use in nonphysical suffering, the ongoing experience of distress, and concern that the practice of palliative sedation may hasten death. This review looks at the literature over the past 6 years and provides an update on these outstanding concerns.

Recent findings
Good clinical guidelines and policies are still required to address issues of emotional distress and waylay concerns that palliative sedation hastens death.

Summary
The empirical evidence suggests some movement toward consensus on the practice of palliative sedation. However, a continued need exists for evidence-informed practice guidelines, education, and research to support the ethical practice of palliative sedation at the end of life. Until that time, clinicians are advised to adopt a framework or guideline that has been expert driven to ensure consistent and ethical use of palliative sedation at the end of life.
No child is an island: ethical considerations in end-of-life care for children and their families
Authors: Rapoport Adam , Morrison Wynne 
Published: July 2016

Purpose of review
Ethical challenges are commonly encountered when caring for children with life-threatening conditions.

Recent findings
Controversial end-of-life issues, such as physician-assisted death and medical futility, may also arise in children. The approach to these issues in children may be guided by the ‘adult’ medical literature; the age of the patient should not be a relevant factor in determining the morality of these acts. As such, the focus of this review is on ethical issues unique to children and adolescents by nature of their dependence on their parents. Appreciation that child well-being is best promoted when care aligns with parental beliefs, values and culture has given rise to the practice of family-centred care, which we prefer to call ‘family-partnered’ care. Occasionally, a family-partnered approach may challenge fundamental paediatric ethical principles, including best interests, developing autonomy, and the importance of honesty and truth-telling.

Summary
This article explores the challenges that may arise when there is disagreement between the child, the parents, and the healthcare providers about care at the end-of-life and provides suggestions to clinicians about how to help resolve these conflicts.
Tissue Resolved, Gene Structure Refined Equine Transcriptome
Authors: Mansour T. A. , Scott E. Y. , Finno C. J. , Bellone R. R. , Mienaltowski M. J. , Penedo M. C. , Ross P. J. , Valberg S. J. , Murray J. D. , Brown C. T. 
Published: July 2016

AbstractBackgroundTranscriptome interpretation relies on a good-quality reference transcriptome for accurate quantification of gene expression as well as functional analysis of genetic variants. The current annotation of the horse genome lacks the specificity and sensitivity necessary to assess gene expression especially at the isoform level, and suffers from insufficient annotation of untranslated regions (UTR). We built an annotation pipeline for horse and used it to integrate 1.9 billion reads from multiple RNA-seq data sets into a new refined transcriptome.ResultsThis equine transcriptome integrates eight different tissues from 59 individuals and improves gene structure and isoform resolution while providing considerable tissue-specific information. We utilized four levels of transcript filtration in our pipeline, aimed at producing several transcriptome versions that are suitable for different downstream analyses. Our most refined transcriptome includes 36,876 genes and 76,125 isoforms, with 6474 candidate transcriptional loci novel to the equine transcriptome.ConclusionsWe have employed a variety of descriptive statistics and figures that demonstrate the quality and content of the transcriptome. The equine transcriptomes that are provided by this pipeline show the best tissue-specific resolution of any equine transcriptome to date and can serve several types of downstream analyses.
Enhancing performance of oppositional BBO using the current optimum (COOBBO) for TSP problems
Authors: Xu Qingzheng , Wang Na , Wang Lei 
Published: July 2016

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to examine and compare the entire impact of various execution skills of oppositional biogeography-based optimization using the current optimum (COOBBO) algorithm.

Design/methodology/approach
– The improvement measures tested in this paper include different initialization approaches, crossover approaches, local optimization approaches, and greedy approaches. Eight well-known traveling salesman problems (TSP) are employed for performance verification. Four comparison criteria are recoded and compared to analyze the contribution of each modified method.

Findings
– Experiment results illustrate that the combination model of “25 nearest-neighbor algorithm initialization+inver-over crossover+2-opt+all greedy” may be the best choice of all when considering both the overall algorithm performance and computation overhead.

Originality/value
– When solving TSP with varying scales, these modified methods can enhance the performance and efficiency of COOBBO algorithm in different degrees. And an appropriate combination model may make the fullest possible contribution.
Apply neural network for improving production planning at Samarang petrol mine
Authors: Pham Quoc Trung , Phan Thi Kim Dung 
Published: July 2016

Purpose
– Artificial neural network (ANN) is considered a good solution for building non-linear relationship between input and output parameters, which is suitable for solving production back allocation, which is the most important step for production planning of petroleum mine. The purpose of this paper is to suggest a solution for solving production back allocation problem at Samarang petrol mine based on ANN approach.

Design/methodology/approach
– In this study, well operational parameters’ surveillance was conducted and ANN was used to build relationships between operation parameters and production rates. Experimental method is used for testing and evaluating the possibility of using ANN for supporting production planning at Samarang mine.

Findings
– Consequently, the proposed ANN solution can increase the accuracy of predicted values and could be used for supporting production planning at Samarang mine. Because ANN uses well test data for training and predicting (without adding new devices), it could be a feasible and cheap solution.

Research limitations/implications
– There is a need for applying other methods, such as: support machine vector, non-linear autoregressive models, etc. for better evaluation of ANN solution.

Practical implications
– The ANN models helped operation engineers to understand well production performance and make decision to improve production plan in timely manner. This solution could be generalized for the whole mine or to similar petroleum mines in practice.

Originality/value
– This paper aims to propose a solution based on ANN for solving production back allocation problem of petroleum industry. The solution is tested at Samarang mine.
The determinants of bank profitability: empirical evidence from European banking sector
Authors: Menicucci Elisa , Paolucci Guido 
Published: July 2016

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between bank-specific characteristics and profitability in European banking sector to find the role of internal factors in achieving high profitability.Design/methodology/approachA regression analysis is built on an unbalanced panel data set comprising 175 observations of 35 top European banks over the period 2009-2013. To this end, the empirical data are collected from Bankscope and a comprehensive set of internal characteristics is examined.FindingsAll the determinant variables included in the model have statistically significant impacts on European banks’ profitability. However, the effects are not uniform across profitability measures. Regression findings reveal that size and capital ratio are significant company-level determinants of bank profitability in Europe, while higher loan loss provisions result in lower profitability levels. Findings also suggest that banks with higher deposits and loans ratio tend to be more profitable but the effects on profitability are statistically insignificant in some cases.Practical implicationsThis study has considerable policy implications, as the performance of the European banking sector depends on its efficiency, profitability and competitiveness. In view of these findings, some suggestions may be functional for bank regulatory authorities to intensify and sustain robustness and stability of the banking sector.Originality/valueThe results provide interesting insights into the characteristics and practices of profitable banks in Europe. Few econometric studies have empirically explored the determinants of bank profitability in Europe so far, even though similar studies have been conducted in several developed countries. Therefore, this paper tries to close an important gap in the existing literature improving the understanding of bank profitability in Europe.
Anti-money laundering program and suspicious activity report filing requirements for registered investment advisors: practicalities and implications of FinCEN’s proposed new rule
Authors: Lopez Jonathan A. , Linn Courtney J. , Eisert Edward , Muldoon Lauren 
Published: July 2016

Purpose
To provide a summary and analysis of the Proposed Rulemaking published by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on September 1, 2015, which proposes to subject investment advisers to certain requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970.

Design/methodology/approach
The article discusses the proposed expansion of Bank Secrecy Act regulations to include investment advisers, including the history behind the rulemaking, proposed definition of “investment adviser” under the Act, the comments received in response to the proposed rulemaking, and the potential implications of the rule, should it be finalized.

Findings
This article concludes that FinCEN, in cooperation with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other agencies, is nearing completion of the proposed rule. Investment advisers that fall under the proposed definition of those subject to Bank Secrecy Act should prepare to implement anti-money laundering compliance programs.

Originality/value
This article contains valuable information about proposed regulations impacting investment advisers registered or required to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
AIFMD passport: Europe must try harder
Authors: Sims Stephen , Brandt Patrick , Norman Greg 
Published: July 2016

Purpose
To explain two papers published by the European Securities and Marketing Authority (ESMA) covering the application of the mar-keting “passport” under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD).

Design/methodology/approach
Explains ESMA’s first paper, containing an advice to the European Parliament, Council and Commission (collectively the Trilogue) on the potential application of the AIFMD passport to non-EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs) and Alternative in-vestment Funds (AIFs), and a second paper, containing ESMA’s opinion on the current functioning of the AIFMD (currently used by EU AIFMs marketing EU AIFs in the EU) and National Private Placement Regimes (NPPRs, used for marketing by non-EU AIFMs and non-EU AIFs).

Findings
The ESMA papers were disappointing because they gave far less guidance and encouragement than anticipated that AIFs located in major jurisdictions such as the US and the Cayman Islands will be any easier to market to EU professional investors in the near future.

Practical implications
AIFMs (both inside and outside the EU) who are already using, or intending to use, the NPPRs should take some comfort that it seems highly unlikely that these regimes will be removed in the near future.

Originality/value
Practical guidance from experienced financial services lawyers.
Interactive decision support for academic advising
Authors: Mohamed Abdallah 
Published: July 2016

Purpose
This paper aims to support academic advising, which plays a crucial role in student success and retention. The paper focuses on one of the most challenging tasks involved in academic advising: individual course scheduling. This task includes not only careful planning for different courses over several semesters according to students’ preferences and goals but also must conform to many student constraints and administrative regulations, some of which may rely on student-specific cases..

Design/methodology/approach
This paper introduces a novel approach that tries to provide meaningful support to decision makers involved in the course scheduling problem. The approach uses optimization algorithms to perform a pro-active analysis of the impact of different problem aspects and eventually suggests a balanced study plan that tries to satisfy both student preferences and advisor recommendations without violating any constraints.

Findings
An initial application of the proposed system is used to discuss its benefits.

Originality/value
The paper introduces a novel approach that uses optimization techniques to support making efficient decisions during the academic advising process.
Perceptions of higher education quality at three universities in Vietnam
Authors: Pham Huong Thi , Starkey Louise 
Published: July 2016

PurposeVietnam is experiencing rapid expansion in the provision of higher education that requires quality assurance appropriate for the Vietnamese-centralised Confucian cultural context. This paper aims to examine the concept of quality from the perspectives of academic leaders, quality assurance members and academics at three higher education institutions in Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachBased on an interpretative study, semi-structured interviews were used as a major research instrument augmented with document analysis across three case studies. Interviews were conducted with 35 participants from three groups of stakeholders.FindingsThe concept of quality was found to be under-conceptualised in this Vietnamese context. Quality was conceptualised as meeting societal needs across the case studies underpinned by the belief that the purpose of higher education is to prepare graduates for employment.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was conducted in similar disciplines at three state-owned universities in Vietnam in 2011. This provides insight within this context and timeframe that may not be generalised. It is suggested to extend this research to other disciplines, the private sector and other groups of stakeholders.Practical implicationsThe paper discusses the necessity of revisiting the philosophy of higher education and re-conceptualising quality in Vietnam that informs quality assurance processes that are relevant to the cultural context.Originality/valueThis paper provides a centralised Confucian perspective to the literature on quality assurance in higher education. How quality is perceived by academic leaders, quality assurance members and, in particular, academic staff can be used to inform policy. In a centralised country such as Vietnam, academic leaders and quality assurance members may indicate their “obedient” attitudes to policies, leading to the same view with what is centrally enacted, while the academic staff have a different perception of quality.
Bridging Ecological Stoichiometry and Nutritional Geometry with homeostasis concepts and integrative models of organism nutrition
Authors: Sperfeld Erik , Wagner Nicole D. , Halvorson Halvor M. , Malishev Matthew , Raubenheimer David 
Published: July 2016

Summary

The role of nutrition in linking animals with their environment is increasingly seen as fundamental to explain ecological interactions.

The two currently predominant frameworks for exploring questions in nutritional ecology – Nutritional Geometry (NG) and Ecological Stoichiometry (ES) – share common features, but also differ in their goals and origins. NG originates from behavioural ecology using terrestrial insects as model organisms in tightly controlled feeding experiments, while ES originates from biogeochemistry focusing on the transfer of key elements across trophic levels, mainly in aquatic environments.

Here, we review the history of these two complementary frameworks, emphasizing the key concepts defining their respective aims, methodologies and focal taxa to answer questions at different ecological scales.

We identify and explore homeostasis as a shared conceptual cornerstone of each framework that can be used to bridge knowledge gaps and for developing new hypotheses within nutritional ecology.

Expanding on the concept of homeostasis, we introduce dynamic energy budget (DEB) models as a general way to address homeostatic regulation at its fundamental level.

Specifically, we describe how a two‐reserve DEB model can be used to track metabolic pathways of nutrients as well as elements and suggest that multi‐reserve DEB models, when integrated and parameterized with NG and ES concepts, can form powerful components of agent‐based models to predict how animal nutrition influences individual and trophic interactions in food webs.