IT Agility: Current State, Organizational Contingencies, and Future Research Avenues

Recent years increase in organizations’ dependence on information technology has ushered in changing roles for IT departments and IT governance alike. Instead of being primarily focused on the continuous and cost efficient maintenance and support of existing resources, there is a need for a more balanced take on IT Governance which calls for an ambidextrous approach. This involves an increased focus on agility in terms of achieving both economies of scale and scope. This paper reports on a recent quantitative assessment of IT agility in Swedish Firms. Informed by contingency theory, the results are analyzed and discussed in relation to future research for IT agility. Our findings lead to six organizational contingencies expressed as six hypotheses that should be addressed within future IT agility research

Assessing the Quality of Annotations in Asthma Gene Expression Experiments

Background: The amount of data deposited in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) has expanded significantly. It is important to ensure that these data are properly annotated with clinical data and descriptions of experimental conditions so that they can be useful for future analysis. This study assesses the adequacy of documented asthma markers in GEO. Three objective measures (coverage, consistency and association) were used for evaluation of annotations contained in 17 asthma studies. Results: There were 918 asthma samples with 20,640 annotated markers. Of these markers, only 10,419 had documented values (50% coverage). In one study carefully examined for consistency, there were discrepancies in drug name usage, with brand name and generic name used in different sections to refer to the same drug. Annotated markers showed adequate association with other relevant variables (i.e. the use of medication only when its corresponding disease state was present). Conclusions: There is inadequate variable coverage within GEO and usage of terms lacks consistency. Association between relevant variables, however, was adequate

367 Googling acne: Analyzing ingredients and price of over the counter acne products

Introduction: Given the convenience of the over-the-counter (OTC) market, many individuals trial OTC products as a means to combat their acne. Within the OTC acne market, there is great heterogeneity in ingredients and price. Herein, we analyze the distribution of ingredients and price among OTC acne products in top Google searches, which the public may encounter when performing an online search. Methods: Google searches for key terms “acne”, “acne treatment”, “top acne treatment”, and “best acne regimen” were performed. Unique acne products for the first 100 websites for each term were collected. Summary statistics for median, range, mean, and standard deviation for price per topical therapy were analyzed. A factorial ANOVA was performed assessing effect of ingredient on price. Results: A total of 272 unique products were collected out of the 400 websites analyzed. The mean price per ounce of all products was $24.79 (standard deviation of$31.84) and median[range] was $10.40 [ Conclusion: Providers play an important role in educating and helping patients to navigate the OTC market. Based on efficacy and affordability, benzoyl peroxide and adapalene should remain the active ingredient of choice when turning to the OTC market. Given the heterogeneity of the OTC market, patients should carefully evaluate OTC products and be aware that not all products will have ingredients containing a grade A strength of recommendation and know that products with the same topical therapy can vary dramatically in price

A probabilistic approach for the optimisation of ultrasonic array inspection techniques

AbstractUltrasonic arrays are now used routinely for the inspection of engineering structures in order to maintain their integrity and assess their performance. Such inspections are usually optimised manually using empirical measurements and parametric studies which are laborious, time-consuming, and may not result in an optimal approach. In this paper, a general framework for the optimisation of ultrasonic array inspection techniques in NDE is presented. Defect detection rate is set as the main inspection objective and used to assess the performance of the optimisation framework. Statistical modelling of the inspection is used to form the optimisation problem and incorporate inspection uncertainty such as crack type and location, material properties and geometry, etc. A genetic algorithm is used to solve the global optimisation problem. As a demonstration, the optimisation framework is used with two objective functions based on array signal amplitude and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The optimal use of plane B-scan and total focusing method imaging algorithms is also investigated. The performance of the optimisation scheme is explored in simulation and then validated experimentally. It has been found that, for the inspection scenarios considered, TFM provides better detectability in a statistical sense than plane B-scan imaging in scenarios where uncertainty in the inspection is expected

“Register and Roll”: A Novel Initiative to Improve First Door-to-Balloon Time in ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Objective. We examined the cause of transfer delay in patients with an acute ST-segment myocardial infarction (STEMI) from non percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) capable to PCI capable hospitals. We then implemented a novel, simple, and reliable initiative to improve the transfer process. Background. Guidelines established by the ACC/AHA call for door-to-balloon times of ≤90 minutes for patients with STEMI. When hospital transfer is necessary, this is only met in 8.6% of cases. Methods. All patients presenting with STEMI to a non-PCI capable hospital from April 2006 to February 2009 were analyzed retrospectively. After identifying causes of transfer delay the “Register and Roll” initiative was developed. An analysis of effect was conducted from March 2009 to July 2011. Results. 144 patients were included, 74 pre-initiative and 70 post- initiative. Time to EMS activation was a major delay in patient transfer. After implementation, the EMS activation time has significantly decreased and time to reperfusion approaches recommended goal (Median 114 min versus 90 min, ), with 55% in <90 minutes. Conclusion. “Register and Roll” streamlines the triage process and improves hospital transfer times. This initiative is easily instituted and reliable in a community hospital setting where resources are limited

Imaging, Treatment Options, Patient Selection, and Outcome Considerations for Patients With Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement has emerged as a safe and effective alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement for patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis across the spectrum of surgical risks based on a series of foundational randomized clinical trials. Of note, patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) disease were excluded from all these pivotal randomized trials, leaving a significant knowledge gap because BAVs are commonly encountered in patients referred for aortic valve surgery or intervention. In this comprehensive review, we aim to provide heart teams with a detailed insight into how to approach patients with BAV disease, focusing on imaging and characterization of bicuspid valves, an overview of surgical approaches, and an understanding of the current data behind the role of transcatheter aortic valve replacement for patients with BAV disease