Drivers and Barriers of Adopting Interactive Dashboard Reporting in the Finance Sector: An Empirical Investigation

The finance sector has traditionally relied on static reporting methods for data analysis and presentation. With the advent of advanced data technologies, there has been a growing interest in interactive dashboard reporting. Interactive dashboards offer dynamic visualization and real-time data analysis, promising enhanced decision-making capabilities in financial contexts. Yet, the adoption of these advanced tools in the finance sector has been varied. The objective of this research was to empirically examine the drivers and barriers influencing the adoption of interactive dashboards as opposed to traditional static reporting in the finance sector. The study analyzed data collected from 381 professionals working in the finance sector, including roles such as financial analysts, data analysts, IT professionals, data engineers, finance managers, executives, and business intelligence professionals. The methodology of this study includes traditional regression methods and four machine learning algorithms: decision tree, random forest, support vector machine (SVM), and K-nearest neighbors (KNN). The target participants were categorized into three groups based on their adoption stance: not willing to adopt, undecided, and willing to adopt. Results from traditional regression methods indicated that enhanced data visualization and interactivity, real-time data analysis, and customization and flexibility positively impacted the willingness to adopt interactive dashboards. Conversely, age, cost implications, dependency on IT infrastructure and support, learning curve and training requirements, and organizational tenure were identified as significant barriers, negatively impacting adoption. Features such as improved collaboration and sharing, efficiency in reporting, scalability and integration with multiple data sources, data security and privacy concerns, cultural resistance to change, and performance issues with large datasets were found to have an insignificant impact on adoption decisions. In the machine learning analysis, SVM classification found to be the most accurate with a 93% accuracy rate, followed by decision tree (92%), random forest (91%), and KNN (90%). The most significant feature across all methods was age, consistently showing the highest importance. Other important features included organizational tenure and real-time data analysis, which were moderately important across most machine learning methods. Cultural resistance to change and dependency on IT infrastructure and support were also important in several methods. Customization and flexibility, along with enhanced data visualization and interactivity, were crucial in specific contexts, especially where data interpretation and user interaction are key. Less important features identified included learning curve and training requirements, performance issues with large datasets, and other context-specific factors such as collaboration and sharing, efficiency in reporting, scalability and integration, cost implications, and data security and privacy concerns. The findings of this study recommend the addressing of negative impacts such as age, cost, and IT dependency while utilizing positive aspects like enhanced visualization, real-time analysis, and customization to encourage the adoption of more dynamic and interactive reporting methods in the financial data analysis domain

Feasibility of quantitative ultrasonography for the detection of metabolic bone disease in preterm infants - systematic review.

Metabolic bone disease of prematurity is characterised by disordered bone mineralisation and is therefore an increased fracture risk. Preterm infants are especially at risk due to incomplete in utero bone accretion during the last trimester. Currently, diagnosing metabolic bone disease mainly relies on biochemistry and radiographs. Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and quantitative ultrasound (US) are used less frequently. However, biochemical measurements correlate poorly with bone mineralisation and although scoring systems exist for metabolic bone disease, radiographs are subjective and do not detect early features of osteopenia. Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry is the reference standard for determining bone density in older children and adults. However, challenges with this method include movement artefact, difficulty scanning small and sick infants and a lack of normative data for young children. Quantitative US has a relatively low cost, is radiation-free and portable, and may hence be suitable for assessing bone status in preterm infants. This review aims to provide an overview of the use of quantitative US in detecting metabolic bone disease in preterm infants

Comparison of prevalence and characteristics of fractures in term and preterm infants in the first 3 years of life

Background Preterm infants may be more vulnerable to fractures due to various factors, including metabolic bone disease, but an increased risk of fractures up to the age of 2 is unproven. Objective To compare fracture patterns in premature and full-term children in the first 3 years of life. Materials and methods A retrospective study was conducted. We excluded any child who returned with the same injury, with known metabolic bone disease, with any disease or condition known to reduce bone density, who received any medication known to affect Vitamin D metabolism within 3 months of enrollment or who had fractures post-surgery/resuscitation. Variables such as the number of fractures sustained each year, age of presentation to the Emergency Department and mechanism of injury were compared between the preterm and term groups using statistical analysis (χ2 and Fisher exact test for categorical variables and Student’s t-test for continuous variables). Simple linear regression was performed on the total number of fractures sustained by age 3. Results Forty-four children with fractures were included. Of these, none were born extremely preterm, 24 (55%) were preterm, and 20 (45%) were born at term. Mean gestational ages of the preterm and term groups were 32 weeks 3 days and 39 weeks 6 days, respectively. There were no extremely low birth weight or very low birth weight children. There was no significant difference in the number of fractures sustained yearly, the age of presentation to the Emergency Department or the site of fracture between preterm and term groups. Linear regression showed that the total number of fractures sustained by age 3 years was unrelated to prematurity status, gender or birth weight category. Conclusion No significant difference in fracture number or pattern was identified

Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy with Cardiac Conduction Block

Introduction: Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy refers to disorders that cause wasting and weakness of the muscles around the shoulders and hips with autosomal pattern of inheritance. Most common features are muscle weakness and atrophy, myoglobinuria, myotonia, elevated serum kinase, and cardiomyopathy in about 20% cases.Case Report: We report a sporadic case in an 18 year old male patient, who presented with complaints of difficulty in walking on toes, squatting, climbing stairs and breathlessness on exertion since 6 months. Examination revealed weakness of shoulder girdle and hip muscles bilaterally with achilles tendon contractures. Investigations revealed creatine kinase of 1870IU/L, normal blood counts, ESR and CRP. Thyroid profile was normal. MRI spine was normal. Nerve conduction study was normal. Electromyography showed short duration, low-amplitude motor unit potentials, increased proportion of polyphasic potentials, and early recruitment with a full interference pattern. ECG showed incomplete left bundle branch block. Echocardiography showed generalized hypokinesia with ejection fraction of 40%. Quadriceps muscle biopsy confirmed muscular dystrophy.Conclusion: Cardiac conduction abnormalities are rarely reported in cases of limb girdle muscular dystrophy. Automated LGMD Diagnostic Assistant (ALDA) suggests patient has medium probability and concordance of LGMD subtypes LGMD2G (36.90) and LGMD2I (23.92). Genetic study confirmed LGMD2G

Acute Pancreatitis and Diabetes Mellitus Caused by Dengue

In this article, an aramid of 4,4′-(1,3-phenylenedioxy)dianiline and terephthaloyl chloride was prepared. Afterwards, Nylon 6/6 and aramid were used to prepare sol-gel coated and non-coated blend fibers reinforced with nanodiamond (ND). In this way, four types of fibers were fabricated i.e. aramid/Nylon 6/6 fibers (Ar/N66) and aramid/Nylon 6/6/nanodiamond fibers (Ar/N66//ND) and sol-gel coated s-Ar/N66 and s-Ar/N66//ND fibers. The fibers were fabricated via Brabender single screw extruder at 200 °C. The Ar/N66 and Ar/N66//ND fibers were coated by means of simple dip-coating technique. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used for structural characterization. Scanning electron microscopic images of non-coated and sol-gel coated fibers were scanned for morphological comparison. Glass transition temperature of the sol gel s-Ar/N66 fibers increased up to 232 °C, while that of s-Ar/N66//ND was enhanced to 240 °C relative to neat fibers. Moreover, the sol-gel coated s-Ar/N66//ND (8.08%) fibers had higher water absorbing tendency than non-coated Ar/N66//ND (7.66 %)

Xanthogranulomatous hypophysitis: a rare and often mistaken pituitary lesion.

Xanthogranulomatous hypophysitis (XGH) is a very rare form of pituitary hypophysitis that may present both clinically and radiologically as a neoplastic lesion. It may either be primary with an autoimmune aetiology and can occur in isolation or as a part of autoimmune systemic disease or secondary as a reactive degenerative response to an epithelial lesion (e.g. craniopharyngioma (CP), Rathke's cleft cyst, germinoma and pituitary adenomas) or as a part of a multiorgan systemic involvement such as tuberculosis, sarcoidosis or granulomatosis. It may also present with a variation of symptoms in children and adults. Our case series compares the paediatric and adult presentations of XGH and the differential diagnoses considered in one child and two adult patients, highlighting the wide spectrum of this condition. Endocrine investigations suggested panhypopituitarism in all three patients and imaging revealed a suprasellar mass compressing the optic chiasm suggestive of CP or Rathke's cleft cyst in one patient and non-functioning pituitary macroadenoma in two patients. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated mixed signal intensities on T1- and T2-weighted sequences. Following endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery, histological analysis revealed necrotic material with a xanthogranulomatous reaction confirming XGH in two patients and a necrobiotic granulomatous chronic inflammatory infiltrate with neutrophils in one patient, which is not typical of current descriptions of this disorder. This case series describes the wide spectrum of XGH disease that is yet to be defined. Mixed signal intensities on T1- and T2-weighted MRI sequences may indicate XGH and diagnosis is confirmed by histology. Histological variation may indicate an underlying systemic process. LEARNING POINTS: XGH is a rare form of pituitary hypophysitis with a wide clinical and histological spectrum and can mimic a neoplastic lesion.XGH primarily presents with growth arrest in children and pubertal arrest in adolescents. In adults, the presentation may vary.A combination of hypopituitarism and mixed signal intensity lesion on MRI is suggestive of XGH and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of sellar lesions.Radical surgery is the treatment of choice and carries an excellent prognosis with no recurrence

Study of Topology Optimized Hammerhead Pier Beam Made with Novel Preplaced Aggregate Fibrous Concrete

This study aims to study topology Optimized Hammerhead Pier Beam (TOHPB) designed with a density-based technique. TOHPB is made with Preplaced Aggregate Fibrous Concrete (PAFC), which comprises two main preparation processes. First, the fibers and coarse aggregates filled into empty formwork to develop a skeletal system. Second, voids in the skeletal system are filled with cement grout; hence a type of PAFC was obtained. Besides, alleviating the self-weight of the concrete beam is a top priority of design engineering without compromising its strength and durability. The effect of topology optimization in association with the safety of factors and elastic design case is considered in this study. Explicitly, (i) compliance is scaled down to a minimum under a perimeter on the utilized material (ii) the principle Drucker-Prager is employed to impose the stress limitations even though utilization of material is minimized. The problem is designed with imposed stress limitation and generates keys that involve an essential part of post-processing before fabrication. In total, ten TOHPB were prepared with and without the combined shape of crimped-hooked end steel fiber. Two different types of fiber reinforcement schemes were used; first, the fibers were reinforced to full beam cross-section; then, the fibers were reinforced to the top half of the beam cross-section. Results revealed that the TOHPB beam reinforced full cross-section exhibited better ultimate load performance than that of the beam with half reinforced cross-section

Maternal pregnancy vitamin D supplementation increases offspring bone formation in response to mechanical loading : findings from a MAVIDOS trial sub-study

The Maternal Vitamin D Osteoporosis (MAVIDOS) trial reported higher total body bone mineral content in winter-born infants of mothers receiving vitamin D supplementation [1000 IU/day cholecalciferol] compared with placebo from 14 weeks gestation until delivery. This sub-study aimed to determine whether antenatal vitamin D supplementation altered postnatal bone formation in response to mechanical stimulation. Thirty-one children born to MAVIDOS participants randomised to either placebo (n=19) or cholecalciferol (n=12) were recruited at age 4-5 years. Children received whole body vibration (WBV) for 10 minutes on 5 consecutive days. Fasting blood samples for bone homeostasis, 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD), parathyroid hormone (PTH), and bone turnover markers (Pro-collagen Type 1 N-terminal propeptide, P1NP; Cross-linked C-telopeptide of Type I Collagen, CTX) were collected pre-WBV and on day 8 (D8). Mean changes (D) in P1NP (ng/ml) between baseline and D8 in the vitamin-D intervention and placebo groups were 40.6 and -92.6 respectively and mean changes (Δ) in CTX (ng/ml) were 0.034 (intervention) and -0.084 (placebo) respectively. Between-group DP1NP difference was 133.2ng/ml [95% CI 0.4, 266.0; p=0.049] and ΔCTX 0.05ng/ml (95% CI -0.159, 0.26ng/mL; p=0.62). Antenatal vitamin-D supplementation resulted in increased P1NP in response to WBV, suggesting early life vitamin D supplementation increases the anabolic response of bone to mechanical loading in children

Effect of vitamin D supplementation on free and total vitamin D: A comparison of Asians and Caucasians

ObjectivesIt is well established that UK Asians typically have lower vitamin D levels than Caucasians. It is also known that vitamin D binding protein (DBP) is lower in some races than Caucasians. To investigate how ethnicity, skin colour and genetic variation affect the response to vitamin D (15000 IU) administered to young Asian and Caucasian men.DesignProspective, single?centre clinical trial.ParticipantsSixty young men (18?25 year) of Asian (n = 30) and Caucasian (n = 30) origin.MeasurementsWe measured serum calcium, phosphate, magnesium, alkaline phosphatase, albumin, parathyroid hormone; total 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD); calculated and directly measured free 25OHD; DBP at baseline and 4 weeks; DBP genotype, skin colour (Fitzpatrick scale), dietary vitamin D and calcium intake at baseline; and urine calcium:creatinine ratio at baseline, 1 and 4 weeks.ResultsAt baseline, Asians had lower serum total 25OHD (26.4 [13.7] vs 34.1 [12.3] nmol/L P = 0.0272) and DBP (6.7 [3.4] vs 9.6 [4.4] nmol/L; P = 0.0065) but similar free 25OHD (16.7 [10.4] vs 17.8 [7.5] pmol/L P = 0.6530). After dosing, total 25OHD rose similarly in each group (?56 nmol/L), but measured free 25OHD rose more in Asians (18.1 [9.4] vs 12.2 [13.3] pmol/L P = 0.0464). Lower DBP at baseline, possibly reflecting genotype differences, was associated with a greater change in measured free 25OHD in Caucasians, but not in Asians.ConclusionsAsian compared with Caucasian males had a larger increment in measured free 25OHD following 150 000 units vitamin D3, possibly reflecting differences in DBP affinity for 25OHD. Ethnicity should be considered when devising guidelines for the treatment of vitamin D deficiency