Higher Education Executives and Data-Driven Decision Making: A Phenomenological Study

Higher education organizations gather significant data from their constituents throughout student enrollment to graduation and beyond. This qualitative phenomenological study explored how college executives make decisions for their organizations. The Competing Values Framework (CVF) provided the conceptual framework for this study which focuses on how an organization relates to its environment. Eight executives consisting of five vice presidents, one enrollment executive, one dean, and one director, at higher education institutions accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges participated in this research study. Semistructured interviews, an open-ended questionnaire, and a review of participant college website data were the methods used to collect and analyze data for this study. Executives interviewed for this study revealed three primary areas within colleges for which they make decisions; these categories were the operational, functional and human element. Four prevalent themes aiding in the decisions these executives make emerged: collaboration, cooperation, communication, and data sharing. Results of the interviews, responses to questionnaires, and review of participant documents led to the concussion that these executives make methodical decisions when having time to consult the data gathered by their departments. When making snap decisions that may not necessarily require extensive data they rely on their “gut” and personal experiences. Future studies might examine the analytical process executives may take when making decisions on behalf of their organizations

Drug modification by nurses in Norwegian nursing homes : A cross-sectional study

Crushing and dividing pills among older patients in nursing homes appears to be a common yet not harmless practice. Because few updates exist regarding the role of nurses and their dispensing of drugs in nursing homes, this study sought to describe the occurrence, methods, and causes of nurses’ drug modification and to examine possible factors associated with drug modification in this context. A cross-sectional study of 273 dispensing episodes of solid oral drugs made by nurses, were observed during day and evening shifts. Modifications were made in 20.5% of the dispensing episodes, including 80.4% where alterations were made by crushing and 19.6% where alterations were made dividing. The most commonly reported reasons for modification were ‘swallowing difficulties’ (53.6%) and ‘lack of understanding by the patient’ (19.6%). The logistic regression analysis showed a significant association between the occurrence of drug modification and both cognitive impairment and administration method.publishedVersio

Integration von Qualitätsdaten für Produktionsanlagen

In automatisierten Produktionsanlagen werden mehr und mehr Sensorsysteme eingesetzt, um die produzierte Qualität zu überwachen und auf Basis gesammelter Prozessdaten sicherzustellen. Die Heterogenität der an unterschiedlichen Stellen im Prozess integrierten Sensoren erfordert einen Ansatz zur einfachen Integration. Ziel der Integration ist die für verschiedene Rollen aufbereitete Qualitätssicht, die auch ein Feedback zur Fehlerdeduktion beinhaltet. In diesem Erfahrungsbericht wird der im Projekt BridgeIT entwickelte Ansatz zur syntaktischen und semantischen Integration von Qualitätsdaten vorgestellt. Der Ansatz ermöglicht insbesondere eine einfache Anbindung neuer Sensorsysteme

Эффективность использования бюджетных средств в реализации функции МЧС (на примере ГУ МЧС России по г. Севастополю)

В выпускной квалификационной работе была проанализирована эффективность использования бюджетных средств (на примере ГУ МЧС России по г. Севастополю). Разработаны рекомендации относительно изменения состава анализа бюджетирования.In the final qualifying work, the effectiveness of the use of budgetary funds was analyzed (on the example of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for the city of Sevastopol). Recommendations have been developed for changing the composition of the budgeting analysis

Photoaffinity labeling of the lysosomal neuraminidase from bovine testis

Abstract ASA-NeuAc2en, a photoreactive arylazide derivative of sialic acid, is shown to be a powerful competitive inhibitor of lysosomal neuraminidase from bovine testis (Ki ≈ 21 μM). Photoaffinity labeling and partial purification of preparations containing this lysosomal neuraminidase activity result in specifically and non-specifically labeled polypeptides. Only labeling in a 55 kDa polypeptide is found to be specific, since it could be prevented by the competitive neuraminidase inhibitor NeuAc2en. We conclude that the 55 kDa polypeptide in the bovine testis β-galactosidase/neuraminidase/protective protein complex contains the catalytic site of neuraminidase

The effect of influenza and pneumococcal vaccination in the elderly on health service utilisation and costs: a claims data-based cohort study

Background: To date, cost-effectiveness of influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations was assumed in several health economic modelling studies, but confirmation by real-world data is sparse. The aim of this study is to assess the effects on health care utilisation and costs in the elderly using real-world data on both, outpatient and inpatient care. Methods: Retrospective community-based cohort study with 138,877 individuals aged ≥ 60 years, insured in a large health insurance fund in Thuringia (Germany). We assessed health care utilisation and costs due to influenza- or pneumococcal-associated diseases, respiratory infections, and sepsis in 2015 and 2016. Individuals were classified into four groups according to their vaccination status from 2008 to 2016 (none, both, or either only influenza or pneumococcal vaccination). Inverse probability weighting based on 236 pre-treatment covariates was used to adjust for potential indication and healthy vaccinee bias. Results: Influenza vaccination appeared as cost-saving in 2016, with lower disease-related health care costs of − €178.87 [95% CI − €240.03;− €117.17] per individual (2015: − €50.02 [95% CI − €115.48;€15.44]). Cost-savings mainly resulted from hospital inpatient care, whereas higher costs occurred for outpatient care. Overall cost savings of pneumococcal vaccination were not statistically significant in both years, but disease-related outpatient care costs were lower in pneumococci-vaccinated individuals in 2015 [− €9.43; 95% CI − €17.56;− €1.30] and 2016 [− €12.93; 95% CI − €25.37;− €0.48]. Although we used complex adjustment, residual bias cannot be completely ruled out. Conclusion: Influenza and pneumococcal vaccination in the elderly can be cost-saving in selective seasons and health care divisions. As cost effects vary, interpretation of findings is partly challenging.Peer Reviewe

Cul o 2 specific IgG3/5 antibodies predicted Culicoides hypersensitivity in a group imported Icelandic horses

Publisher's version (útgefin grein)Background: Culicoides hypersensitivity (CH) is induced in horses by salivary allergens of Culicoides midges. In Iceland, the causal Culicoides species for CH are not present. Previous epidemiological data indicated that Icelandic horses are more susceptible to CH when they are exported from Iceland and first exposed to Culicoides at adult age. Horses born in countries where Culicoides is endemic, develop the disease less frequently. Here, we established a longitudinal allergy model to identify predictive and diagnostic serological biomarkers of CH. Results: Sixteen adult Icelandic horses from Iceland were imported to the Northeastern United States (US) during the winter and were kept in the same environment with natural Culicoides exposure for the next two years. None of the horses showed clinical allergy during the first summer of Culicoides exposure. In the second summer, 9/16 horses (56%) developed CH. Allergen specific IgE and IgG isotype responses in serum samples were analysed using nine potential Culicoides allergens in a fluorescent bead-based multiplex assay. During the first summer of Culicoides exposure, while all horses were still clinically healthy, Cul o 2 specific IgG3/5 antibodies were higher in horses that developed the allergic disease in the second summer compared to those that did not become allergic (p = 0.043). The difference in Cul o 2 specific IgG3/5 antibodies between the two groups continued to be detectable through fall (p = 0.035) and winter of the first year. During the second summer, clinical signs first appeared and Cul o 3 specific IgG3/5 isotypes were elevated in allergic horses (p = 0.041). Cul o 2 specific IgG5 (p = 0.035), and Cul o 3 specific IgG3/5 (p = 0.043) were increased in late fall of year two when clinical signs started to improve again. Conclusions: Our results identified IgG5 and IgG3/5 antibodies against Cul o 2 and Cul o 3, respectively, as markers for CH during and shortly after the allergy season in the Northeastern US. In addition, Cul o 2 specific IgG3/5 antibodies may be valuable as a predictive biomarker of CH in horses that have been exposed to Culicoides but did not yet develop clinical signs.The importation and maintenance of the horses in this study were funded by research support from the Harry M. Zweig Memorial Fund for Equine Research at Cornell University. The equine isotype reagent described in this article were developed and characterized with funding from Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grants no. #2005–01812 (The US Veterinary Immune Reagent Network). The serological allergen multiplex analysis of the samples was supported by research funds provided by Boehringer Ingelheim.Peer Reviewe

Notes on the Third Law of Thermodynamics.I

We analyze some aspects of the third law of thermodynamics. We first review both the entropic version (N) and the unattainability version (U) and the relation occurring between them. Then, we heuristically interpret (N) as a continuity boundary condition for thermodynamics at the boundary T=0 of the thermodynamic domain. On a rigorous mathematical footing, we discuss the third law both in Carath\'eodory's approach and in Gibbs' one. Carath\'eodory's approach is fundamental in order to understand the nature of the surface T=0. In fact, in this approach, under suitable mathematical conditions, T=0 appears as a leaf of the foliation of the thermodynamic manifold associated with the non-singular integrable Pfaffian form $\delta Q_{rev}$. Being a leaf, it cannot intersect any other leaf $S=$ const. of the foliation. We show that (N) is equivalent to the requirement that T=0 is a leaf. In Gibbs' approach, the peculiar nature of T=0 appears to be less evident because the existence of the entropy is a postulate; nevertheless, it is still possible to conclude that the lowest value of the entropy has to belong to the boundary of the convex set where the function is defined.Comment: 29 pages, 2 figures; RevTex fil