Validation and Performance Comparison of Two Scoring Systems Created Specifically to Predict the Risk of Deep Sternal Wound Infection after Bilateral Internal Thoracic Artery Grafting

Background: The Gatti and the bilateral internal mammary artery (BIMA) scores were created to predict the risk of deep sternal wound infection (DSWI) after bilateral internal thoracic artery (BITA) grafting. Methods: Both scores were evaluated retrospectively in two consecutive series of patients undergoing isolated multi-vessel coronary surgical procedures - i.e., the Trieste (n = 1,122; BITA use, 52.1%; rate of DSWI, 5.7%) and the Besan\ue7on cohort (n = 721; BITA use, 100%; rate of DSWI, 2.5%). Baseline patient characteristics were compared between the two validation samples. For each score, the accuracy of prediction and predictive power were assessed by the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) and the Goodman-Kruskal gamma coefficient, respectively. Results: There were significant differences between the two series in terms of age, gender, New York Heart Association functional class, chronic lung disease, left ventricular function, surgical priority, and the surgical techniques used. In the Trieste series, accuracy of prediction of the Gatti score for DSWI was higher than that of the BIMA score (AUC, 0.729 vs. 0.620, p = 0.0033). The difference was not significant, however, in the Besan\ue7on series (AUC, 0.845 vs. 0.853, p = 0.880) and when only BITA patients of the Trieste series were considered for analysis (AUC, 0.738 vs. 0.665, p = 0.157). In both series, predictive power was at least moderate for the Gatti score and low for the BIMA score. Conclusions: The Gatti and the BIMA scores seem to be useful for pre-operative evaluation of the risk of DSWI after BITA grafting. Further validation studies should be performed

The effect of consensuality on metacognitive judgments in syllogistic reasoning

The aim of this study was to examine the relation of the consensuality of answers in syllogistic reasoning problems to metacognitive judgments and response times. In two experiments, participants (N=126) solved syllogistic problems and made metacognitive judgments (judgment of confidence in the correctness of the answer and judgment of task difficulty), after or before solving each problem. Intraindividual correlation coefficients (Goodman-Kruskal gamma coefficient) between reasoning accuracy and metacognitive judgments and between answer consensuality and metacognitive judgments were computed from the joint data of both experiments. Mean gamma coefficients were higher for consensuality than for reasoning accuracy both for judgments of confidence and judgments of task difficulty. Also, consensual answers were given more quickly than nonconsensual answers. The results indicate that reasoners, instead of monitoring their actual performance, seem to rely on different type of cues while making metacognitive judgments in syllogistic reasoning. Both consensuality and its relation to metacognitive judgments could be the outcome of processes of the generation of possible answers while solving syllogistic reasoning problems

Is there a close association between "soils" and "vegetation"? : A case study from central western New South Wales

The assumption that ‘soils’ and ‘vegetation’ are closely associated was tested by describing soils and vegetation along a Travelling Stock Reserve west of Grenfell, New South Wales (lat 33° 55’S, long 147° 45’E). The transect was selected on the basis of (a) minimising the effects of non-soil factors (human interference, climate and relief) on vegetation and (b) the presence of various soil and vegetation types as indicated by previous mapping. ‘Soils’ were considered at three levels: soil landscapes (a broad mapping unit widely used in central western NSW), soil types (according to a range of classifications) and soil properties (depth, pH, etc.). ‘Vegetation’ was considered in three ways: vegetation type (in various classifications), density/floristic indices (density of woody species, abundance of native species, etc.) and presence/absence of individual species. Sites along the transect were grouped according to soil landscapes or soil types and compared to vegetation types or indices recorded at the sites. Various measures indicated low associations between vegetation types and soil landscapes or soil types. Except for infrequent occurrences of a soil type or landscape, any one soil type or landscape was commonly associated with a number of vegetation types and any one vegetation type was associated with a number of soil landscapes or soil types. However, significant associations between some vegetation indices, mainly density or numbers of woody species, and some soil landscapes and soil types were evident. Although many species were relatively ubiquitous, some groups of species that were restricted to one or two soil types were identified. Canonical Correspondence Analysis provided some suggestions as to which properties (e.g. texture) of these soils were associated with the presence of particular species

Manufacturing Jobs: Fear and Loathing in the Midwest

Many Midwestern communities are engaging in regional industrial targeting and cluster development strategies, often with a focus on their existing manufacturing strengths. However, local economic development officials are understandably nervous about investing more resources into a sector whose future growth prospects are unknown. This research describes a practical risk assessment tool for measuring a region's vulnerability to near-term manufacturing job loss. Such a tool might be used to inform or prioritize regional strategic planning and industrial targeting efforts. As an additional benefit, the tool might help bridge the gaps between local expertise and regional understanding

Competitors and Cooperators: A Micro‐Level Analysis of Regional Economic Development Collaboration Networks

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90044/1/j.1540-6210.2011.02501.x.pd

JOLer: Una aplicación Java de escritorio para simular el modelo de juicios de aprendizaje de Weaver y Kelemen.

To assess judgment of learning (JOL) accuracy in metamemory, researchers have to measure how much the metamemory judgments adjust to the participant's memory-test performance. Absolute accuracy or calibration is the average correspondence between JOL and memory performance. Metamemory relative accuracy or resolution is a measure of how sensitive a participant is to the differential recallability between two studied items. Unfortunately, factors altering both calibration and resolution very often change also the distribution of JOL on the available scale for judgment. The problem with these effects on JOL distribution is that they could yield an altered resolution estimation due to the way in which its usual estimate is computed. JOLer simulates the behavior of participants in a typical metamemory procedure. The application is offered as a tool for metamemory researchers: it affords the opportunity to check whether, maintaining calibration parameters but changing JOL distributions between conditions, a different (and somewhat spurious) resolution estimate would be obtained.Para calcular la precisión de los juicios de aprendizaje (JJAA) en metamemoria los investigadores tienen que estimar en qué medida los juicios de un participante se ajustan a su rendimiento en una prueba de memoria. La precisión absoluta o calibración es la correspondencia media entre JA y rendimiento en memoria. La precisión relativa de metamemoria o resolución nos dice el grado de sensibilidad de un participante respecto a un diferencial de recuperabilidad entre dos ítems estudiados. Por desgracia, los factores que alteran la calibración y la resolución con frecuencia cambian también la distribución de JJAA a lo largo de la escala de juicio. El problema de estos efectos sobre la distribución de JJAA es que pueden dar lugar a una estimación de resolución distorsionada debido al modo en que se calcula el estimador habitual. JOLer simula el comportamiento de unos participantes en un procedimiento típico de metamemoria. La aplicación se presenta como una herramienta para investigadores de la metamemoria: ofrece la oportunidad de comprobar si, manteniendo los parámetros de calibración pero cambiando la distribución de JJAA entre condiciones, se obtendría una resolución estimada distinta (y en cierto grado artificial)

A Study of the Relationship between Economic Development and Environmental Condition of Countries in the 21st Century

This project focuses on the relationship between economic status and environment conditions for countries in the 20th century. The data used is extracted from the world development indicator information, published in the World Bank website. There are two parts of analysis in this project. The first part focuses on economic status and threatened species in two research questions: Is there any association between threatened species levels and GDP levels? Does the country with better economic status have better environment condition? The methods used for these two questions are mosaic plots, chi-square independent test, Goodman-Kruskal gamma, and cluster analysis, to find associations. For the second part, this project studies the threatened species along with both natural environmental indicators and economic developmental indicators in one research question. The method is multiple regression analysis. There are two significant results in this project: First, there is statistical evidence supporting that the countries with high economic status tend to have better environment condition (fewer threatened species) than countries with low economic status; Second, it terns out that the natural environment did not affect the number of threatened species very much, no matter whether the economic developmental indicators are present or not

Enrollment Trends at the College at Brockport

We have analyzed enrollment patterns at the College at Brockport, State University of New York, between 2008 and 2013. The percentages of students attending mapped by SAT score and high-school GPA over time shows a shift in the composition of our freshman cohort. The college has concentrated its efforts to improve enrollment rates through financial leveraging. Because the purpose of our analysis is to guide the College in its enrollment and marketing efforts to accepted students, we evaluate pre-enrollment variables as predictors of one-year retention of first-time students. Information about family background (parental education and socioeconomics), individual attributes (academic ability, race and gender), characteristics of the student’s high school, and high school academic records are incorporated in our model