A Bi-Directional Approach for Developing Data Warehouses in Public Sectors

Data warehouse is proclaimed as the latest decision support technology. As data warehouses require a significant amount of organizational resources to develop, more research have been devoted to identifying the critical success factors and the formulas for assured investment return from data warehouses. This study proposes a bi-directional development approach for data warehouses in public sectors. The primary rationale for the proposed approach is the fundamentally different organizational goals of public sector organizations from private sector organizations. Whereas the ultimate goal of private sector organizations is profit making, public sector organizations have a set of conflicting goals including different social and political objectives. The star schema as a dimensional data model for data warehouse is not totally suitable for data warehouses that demand the analyses of both quantitative and qualitative measures. Using the data warehouse in the College of Business Administration at the California State University, Sacramento as a case study, we illustrate how the QQ (Quantitative and Qualitative) data schema accommodates the need of capturing both quantitative and qualitative information. In addition, we show the bidirectional top-down/bottom-up initiative, the formal/informal information collection, and the enterprise data warehouse/subject data mart architecture for the data warehouse

The Hong Kong Reference Framework for Hypertension Care for adults in primary care settings - translating evidence into practice.

published_or_final_versio

The Hong Kong Reference Framework for Hypertension Care for adults in primary care settings - translating evidence into practice.

published_or_final_versio

Preliminary genetic analyses of important musculoskeletal conditions of thoroughbred racehorses in Hong Kong

A retrospective cohort study of important musculoskeletal conditions of Thoroughbred racehorses was conducted using health records generated over a 15 year period (n = 5062, 1296 sires). The prevalence of each condition in the study population was: fracture, 13%; osteoarthritis, 10%; suspensory ligament injury, 10%; and tendon injury, 19%. Linear and logistic sire and animal regression models were built to describe the binary occurrence of these musculoskeletal conditions, and to evaluate the significance of possible environmental risk factors. The heritability of each condition was estimated using residual maximum likelihood (REML). Bivariate mixed models were used to generate estimates of genetic correlations between each pair of conditions.<p></p> Heritability estimates of fracture, osteoarthritis, suspensory ligament and tendon injury were small to moderate (range: 0.01–0.20). Fracture was found to be positively genetically correlated with both osteoarthritis and suspensory ligament injury. These results suggest that there is a significant genetic component involved in the risk of the studied conditions. Due to positive genetic correlations, a reduction in prevalence of one of the correlated conditions may effect a reduction in risk of the other condition.<p></p&gt

Integrating the IT/IS Professional Community with IT/IS Academic Programs

Developing a successful IT/IS curriculum requires departments to understand the needs of their constituents, organizations that hire their graduates. As many recent studies have revealed, the success of an IT/IS graduate rests on the possession of both non-technical and technical skills. Furthermore, a greater understanding of how IT can be applied to solving organizational problems is sought. This study presents the findings of a recent national survey that asked respondents to rank the importance of certain skills and academic/profession community involvement. The results suggest IT/IS curricula should emphasize developing professional skills, such as work ethic, problem solving, and oral and team communication skills in students. By the same token, ways should be sought to integrate professional experiences into curricula for developing these skills

Having a family doctor is associated with some better patient-reported outcomes of primary care consultations

<b>Background</b> Hong Kong (HK) has pluralistic primary care that is provided by a variety of doctors. The aim of our study was to assess patient-reported outcomes of primary care consultations in HK and whether having a family doctor (FD) made any difference.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> We interviewed by telephone 3148 subjects from 5174 contacted households (response rate 60.8%) randomly selected from the general population of HK about the experience of their last primary care consultations in September 2007 and April 2008. We compared the patient-reported outcomes (PRO) and patient-centered process of care in those with a FD, those with other types of regular primary care doctors (ORD) and those without any regular primary care doctor (NRD). PRO included patient enablement, global improvement in health, overall satisfaction, and likelihood of recommending their doctors to family and friends. Patient-centered process of care indicators was explanations about the illness, and address of patient’s concerns.<p></p> <b>Results</b> One thousand one hundred fifty, 746, and 1157 reported to have FD, ORD, and NRD, respectively. Over 80% of those with FD consulted their usual primary care doctors in the last consultation compared with 27% of those with NRD. Compared with subjects having ORD or NRD, subjects with FD reported being more enabled after the consultation and were more likely to recommend their doctors to family and friends. Subjects with FD and ORD were more likely than those having NRD to report a global improvement in health and satisfaction. FD group was more likely than the other two groups to report receiving an explanation on the diagnosis, nature, and expected course of the illness, and having their concerns addressed. Patient enablement was associated with explanation of diagnosis, nature, and expected course of illness, and address of patient’s concerns.<p></p> <b>Conclusion</b> People with a regular FD were more likely to feel being enabled and to experience patient-centered care in consultations

The influence of surface morphology and wettability on the inflammatory response against poly(L-lactic acid):A semi-quantitative study with monoclonal antibodies

In this study, the influence of surface morphology and wettability of both degradable and nondegradable polymer films on the inflammatory response after subcutaneous implantation in the rat was investigated. Degradable nonporous, porous, and combi (porous with a nonporous layer on one side) poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) films and nondegradable polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and (porous) expanded PTFE (e-PTFE) were used. Contact angles measurements indicate that PLLA is more hydrophillic than PTFE. Assessment of the inflammatory response was performed after various periods of implantation (up till 180 days), with both conventional light microscopy and immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). The inflammatory response observed initially can largely be considered as part of the wound healing reaction, and up till day 40 the inflammatory response against PLLA was minimally more intense than against PTFE (porous as well as nonporous). From day 40 on, the PLLA films provoke a more intense inflammatory response as compared to the PTFE films. Both porous PLLA and the porous side of the combi PLLA film provoke a more intense inflammatory response than nonporous PLLA and the nonporous side of the combi PLLA film, respectively. In general, PTFE and e-PTFE films provoke an inflammatory response which is minimally more intense than the one provoked by the sham operation. Almost no ingrowth of tissue was observed in the porous e-PTFE films. In contrast, there was abundant tissue ingrowth in and an inflammatory response against porous PLLA. It can be concluded that biodegradable PLLA films provoke a more intense inflammatory response than nondegradable PTFE films. Also, porosity enhances the inflammatory response. However, porosity enhances the inflammatory response only when the wettability of a biomaterial permits cellular ingrowth

Biodegradation of porous versus non-porous poly(L-lactic acid) films

The influence of porosity on the degradation rate of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) films was investigated in vitro and in vivo. Non-porous, porous and “combi” (porous with a non-porous layer) PLLA films were used. Changes in Mw, Mn, polydispersity (Mw/Mn) ratio, melting temperature (Tm), heat of fusion, tensile strength, E-modulus, mass and the remaining surface area of cross-sections of the PLLA films were measured. In general, during the degradation process, the porous film has the highest Mw, Mn, Mw/Mn ratio and Tm, while the non-porous film has the lowest. In contrast, the highest heat of fusion values were observed for the non-porous film, indicating the presence of relatively smaller molecules forming crystalline domains more easily. The tensile strength and E-modulus of the non-porous film decrease faster than those of the porous and the combi film. None of the three types of films showed massive mass loss in vitro nor a significant decrease in remaining polymer surface area in light microscopical sections in vitro and in vivo. Heavy surface erosion of the non-porous layer of the combi film was observed after 180 days, turning the combi film into a porous film. This is also indicated by the changes in tensile strength, Mw, Mw/Mn, Tm and heat of fusion as a function of time. It is concluded that non-porous PLLA degrades faster than porous PLLA. Thus, in our model, porosity is an important determinant of the degradation rate of PLLA films

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves colorectal anastomotic healing

Purpose: Hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) has been found to improve the healing of poorly oxygenated tissues. This study aimed to investigate the influence of HBOT on the healing in ischemic colorectal anastomosis. Methods: Forty Wistar rats were randomly divided into a treatment group that received HBOT for 10 consecutive days (7 days before and 3 days after surgery), or in a control group, which did not receive the therapy. Colectomy with an ischemic anastomosis was performed in all rats. In each group, the rats were followed for 3 or 7 days after surgery to determine the influence of HBOT on anastomotic healing. Results: Five rats from each group died during follow-up. No anastomotic dehiscence was seen in the HBOT group, compared to 37.5 % and 28.6 % dehiscence in the control group on postoperative day (POD) 3 and 7, respectively. The HBOT group had a significantly higher bursting pressure (130.9 ± 17.0 mmHg) than the control group (88.4 ± 46.7 mmHg; p = 0.03) on POD 3. On POD 3 and POD 7, the adhesion severity was significantly higher in the control groups than in the HBOT groups (p < 0.005). Kidney function (creatinine level) of the HBOT group was significantly better than of the control group on POD 7 (p = 0.001). Interestingly, a significantly higher number of CD206+ cells (marker for type 2 macrophages) was observed in the HBOT group at the anastomotic area on POD 3. Conclusion: Hyperbaric oxygen enhanced the healing of ischemic anastomoses in rats and improved the postoperative kidney function

B-cell dysregulation in Crohn's disease is partially restored with infliximab therapy

Background: B-cell depletion can improve a variety of chronic inflammatory diseases, but does not appear beneficial for patients with Crohn's disease. Objective: To elucidate the involvement of B cells in Crohn's disease, we here performed an 'in depth' analysis of intestinal and blood B-cells in this chronic inflammatory disease. Methods: Patients with Crohn's disease were recruited to study B-cell infiltrates in intestinal biopsies (n = 5), serum immunoglobulin levels and the phenotype and molecular characteristics of blood B-cell subsets (n = 21). The effects of infliximab treatment were studied in 9 patients. Results: Granulomatous tissue showed infiltrates of B lymphocytes rather than Ig-secreting plasma cells. Circulating transitional B cells and CD21low B cells were elevated. IgM memory B cells were reduced and natural effector cells showed decreased replication histories and somatic hypermutation (SHM) levels. In contrast, IgG and IgA memory B cells were normally present and their Ig gene transcripts carried increased SHM levels. The numbers of transitional and natural effector cells were normal in patients who responded clinically well to infliximab. Conclusions: B cells in patients with Crohn's disease showed signs of chronic stimulation with localization to granulomatous tissue and increased molecular maturation of IgA and IgG. Therapy with TNFα-blockers restored the defect in IgM memory B-cell generation and normalized transitional B-cell levels, making these subsets candidate markers for treatment monitoring. Together, these results suggest a chronic, aberrant B-cell response in patients with Crohn's disease, which could be targeted with new therapeutics that specifically regulate B-cell function