An updated evaluation of the implementation of the sigmoid take-off landmark 1 year after the official introduction in the Netherlands

PURPOSE: The definition of rectal cancer based on the sigmoid take-off (STO) was incorporated into the Dutch guideline in 2019, and became mandatory in the national audit from December 2020. This study aimed to evaluate the use of the STO in clinical practice and the added value of online training, stratified for the period before (group A, historical cohort) and after (group B, current cohort) incorporation into the national audit.METHODS: Participants, including radiologists, surgeons, surgical and radiological residents, interns, PhD students, and physician assistants, were asked to complete an online training program, consisting of questionnaires, 20 MRI cases, and a training document. Outcomes were agreement with the expert reference, inter-rater variability, and accuracy before and after the training.RESULTS: Group A consisted of 86 participants and group B consisted of 114 participants. Familiarity with the STO was higher in group B (76% vs 88%, p = 0.027). Its use in multidisciplinary meetings was not significantly higher (50% vs 67%, p = 0.237). Agreement with the expert reference was similar for both groups before (79% vs 80%, p = 0.423) and after the training (87% vs 87%, p = 0.848). Training resulted in significant improvement for both groups in classifying tumors located around the STO (group A, 69-79%; group B, 67-79%, p &lt; 0.001).CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study show that after the inclusion of the STO in the mandatory Dutch national audit, the STO was consequently used in only 67% of the represented hospitals. Online training has the potential to improve implementation and unambiguous assessment.</p

Same data, different conclusions: Radical dispersion in empirical results when independent analysts operationalize and test the same hypothesis

In this crowdsourced initiative, independent analysts used the same dataset to test two hypotheses regarding the effects of scientists’ gender and professional status on verbosity during group meetings. Not only the analytic approach but also the operationalizations of key variables were left unconstrained and up to individual analysts. For instance, analysts could choose to operationalize status as job title, institutional ranking, citation counts, or some combination. To maximize transparency regarding the process by which analytic choices are made, the analysts used a platform we developed called DataExplained to justify both preferred and rejected analytic paths in real time. Analyses lacking sufficient detail, reproducible code, or with statistical errors were excluded, resulting in 29 analyses in the final sample. Researchers reported radically different analyses and dispersed empirical outcomes, in a number of cases obtaining significant effects in opposite directions for the same research question. A Boba multiverse analysis demonstrates that decisions about how to operationalize variables explain variability in outcomes above and beyond statistical choices (e.g., covariates). Subjective researcher decisions play a critical role in driving the reported empirical results, underscoring the need for open data, systematic robustness checks, and transparency regarding both analytic paths taken and not taken. Implications for organizations and leaders, whose decision making relies in part on scientific findings, consulting reports, and internal analyses by data scientists, are discussed

Modern Control Mechanisms in Egg Production

The implementation of plans normally results in deviations between actual performance and budgeted expectations. Changes in the environment and new information make adjustments to the plan through time necessary for expansion or contraction of the size of a business or parts of it. This is necessary to survive or grow to reach the objectives of the organisation. This paper discusses an integrated control system on an intensive egg production unit. Advanced monitoring techniques such as a global positioning system (GPS), a computerised grading and monitoring (control) system, etc. are discussed in this paper

Pretoriana, no. 032 & 033, April-Aug. 1960

Ons vier = We rejoice / G.W. Eybers -- 'n Leemte in die geskiedskrywer se benadering van ons geskiedenis = A defect in the historians approach to our history / J.C. Otto -- Woord van waardering aan Dr. Spies / W. Punt -- How Pretoria became seat of Government of the South African Republic in 1860 and administrative capital of the Union of South Africa in 1910 / J.D. Bodel -- Die stigting van Pretoria en die voorsiening van gewone en godsdiensonderwys tot 1 November 1859 -- Pretoria's first government school / J. Ploeger -- When the wild cat was hunted on Church Square / W.J. de Kock -- Die munisipale bestuursreëlings van Pretoria voor 1877 / J.J.N. Cloete -- Die aandeel van Willem Skinner in die ontwikkeling van Pretoria / S.G. Roos -- Charles John Beanes / R.E. Kuiper -- Church Square / C.J. Beanes -- Burgerspark / J.P. Engelbrecht -- John Hunter McLea, Pretoria se eerste Direkteur van Parke / H.M. Rex -- Meester Wessel Louis se skool in Pretoria / S.J. Bezuidenhout -- Die Staatsbiblioteek , 1883-1900 / Steph. J. Schoeman -- Die Staatsmodelskool is 'n sieraad van die 19e eeuse argitektuur / F.C. Calitz -- Die Staatsmodelskool as historiese gedenkwaardigheid geproklameer -- Die Staatsmodelskool / C.H.B. Naudé -- Sir Winston Churchill and Pretoria sixty years ago / A.M. Davey -- Die glasblasery op Eerste Fabrieken / J. Ploeger -- Uit die briewe van Arnold Theiler V / F.J. du T. Spies -- 'n Historiese skildery in die Ou Museum / P.J. Nell -- Voortrekkerhoogte : 'n geskiedkundige oorsig / J.C.D. Lamprecht -- Pretoria se eerste Uniedag / F.J. du T. Spies -- Die Uniegebou / A.L. Meiring -- Die Pretoriase stadsaal / W.J. Erasmus -- Bekende Helde-akker van Suid-Afrika / W.J. de Kock -- 'n Voorstel vir die uitleg van 'n wandelterrein in Pretoria / T.H. le Roux -- 'n Wandelterrein vir die stad Pretoria / Franz J. Wepener -- John or Jahn Street in Muckleneuk? / A.M. Davey -- Gelukwensings=Congratulations -- 'n Woord van dankOriginal copy bound without p. 111-112 ; p. 109-110 duplicate

Convergence of Insurance and Financial Markets: Hybrid and Securitized Risk-Transfer Solutions

One of the most significant economic developments of the past decade has been the convergence of the financial services industry, particularly the capital markets and (re)insurance sectors. Convergence has been driven by the increase in the frequency and severity of catastrophic risk, market inefficiencies created by (re)insurance underwriting cycles, advances in computing and communications technologies, the emergence of enterprise risk management, and other factors. These developments have led to the development of hybrid insurance/financial instruments that blend elements of financial contracts with traditional reinsurance as well as new financial instruments patterned on asset-backed securities, futures, and options that provide direct access to capital markets. This article provides a survey and overview of the hybrid and pure financial markets instruments and provides new information on the pricing and returns on contracts such as industry loss warranties and Cat bonds. Copyright (c) The Journal of Risk and Insurance, 2009.