PLS-Based Model Selection: The Role of Alternative Explanations in Information Systems Research

Exploring theoretically plausible alternative models for explaining the phenomenon under study is a crucial step in advancing scientific knowledge. This paper advocates model selection in information systems (IS) studies that use partial least squares path modeling (PLS) and suggests the use of model selection criteria derived from information theory for this purpose. These criteria allow researchers to compare alternative models and select a parsimonious yet well-fitting model. However, as our review of prior IS research practice shows, their use—while common in the econometrics field and in factor-based SEM—has not found its way into studies using PLS. Using a Monte Carlo study, we compare the performance of several model selection criteria in selecting the best model from a set of competing models under different model set-ups and various conditions of sample size, effect size, and loading patterns. Our results suggest that appropriate model selection cannot be achieved by relying on the PLS criteria (i.e., R2, Adjusted R2, GoF, and Q2), as is the current practice in academic research. Instead, model selection criteria—in particular, the Bayesian information criterion (BIC) and the Geweke-Meese criterion (GM)—should be used due to their high model selection accuracy and ease of use. To support researchers in the adoption of these criteria, we introduce a five-step procedure that delineates the roles of model selection and statistical inference and discuss misconceptions that may arise in their use

Eliminating Recursion from Monadic Datalog Programs on Trees

We study the problem of eliminating recursion from monadic datalog programs on trees with an infinite set of labels. We show that the boundedness problem, i.e., determining whether a datalog program is equivalent to some nonrecursive one is undecidable but the decidability is regained if the descendant relation is disallowed. Under similar restrictions we obtain decidability of the problem of equivalence to a given nonrecursive program. We investigate the connection between these two problems in more detail

Patient-initiated second medical consultations: patient characteristics and motivating factors, impact on care and satisfaction: A systematic review

Objectives: To review the characteristics and motivations of patients seeking second opinions, and the impact of such opinions on patient management, satisfaction, and cost-effectiveness. Data sources: Embase, Medline, PsycINFO and HMIC databases. Study design: A systematic literature search was performed for terms related to second opinion and patient characteristics. Study quality was assessed using the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. Data collection / Extraction methods: We included articles focused on patient-initiated second opinions, which provided quantitative data on their impact on diagnosis, treatment, prognosis or patient satisfaction, described the characteristics or motivating factors of patients who initiated a second opinion, or the cost-effectiveness of patient-initiated second opinions. Principal findings: Thirty-one articles were included in the review. 27 studies considered patient characteristics, 18 patient motivating factors, 10 patient satisfaction, and 17 clinical agreement between the first and second opinion. Seeking a second opinion was more common in women, middle age patients, more educated patients; and in people having a chronic condition, with higher income or socioeconomic status or living in central urban areas. Patients seeking a second opinion sought to gain more information or reassurance about their diagnosis or treatment. While many second opinions confirm the original diagnosis or treatment, discrepancies in opinions had a potential major impact on patient outcomes in up to 58% of cases. No studies reporting on the cost-effectiveness of patient initiated second opinions. Conclusions: Seeking a second opinion was more common in women, middle-age patients, and more educated patients, and in people having a chronic condition, with higher income or socioeconomic status or living in central urban areas. Patients seeking a second opinion sought to gain more information or reassurance about their diagnosis or treatment

Gadolinium-Enhanced Magnetic Susceptibility Contrast Is Reduced in the Corpus Callosum of a Mouse Model of Tauopathy

Alterations to white matter have been implicated in a number of neurodegenerative diseases. In this work we investigate the sensitivity of MRI magnetic susceptibility mapping to these changes using a mouse model of Tauopathy. A non-rigid registration of contrast enhanced, high resolution ex vivo mouse brain images is used to transform susceptibility maps into a common space and a voxel-wise group comparison is performed. Significant differences were observed that may indicate disruption to the tissue of the corpus callosum

The contribution of myelin to magnetic susceptibility-weighted contrasts in high-field MRI of the brain

T(2)*-weighted gradient-echo MRI images at high field (≥ 7T) have shown rich image contrast within and between brain regions. The source for these contrast variations has been primarily attributed to tissue magnetic susceptibility differences. In this study, the contribution of myelin to both T(2)* and frequency contrasts is investigated using a mouse model of demyelination based on a cuprizone diet. The demyelinated brains showed significantly increased T(2)* in white matter and a substantial reduction in gray-white matter frequency contrast, suggesting that myelin is a primary source for these contrasts. Comparison of in-vivo and in-vitro data showed that, although tissue T(2)* values were reduced by formalin fixation, gray-white matter frequency contrast was relatively unaffected and fixation had a negligible effect on cuprizone-induced changes in T(2)* and frequency contrasts

Tissue magnetic susceptibility mapping as a marker of tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease is connected to a number of other neurodegenerative conditions, known collectively as 'tauopathies', by the presence of aggregated tau protein in the brain. Neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in AD are associated with tau pathology and both the breakdown of axonal sheaths in white matter tracts and excess iron accumulation grey matter brain regions. Despite the identification of myelin and iron concentration as major sources of contrast in quantitative susceptibility maps of the brain, the sensitivity of this technique to tau pathology has yet to be explored. In this study, we perform Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) and T2* mapping in the rTg4510, a mouse model of tauopathy, both in vivo and ex vivo. Significant correlations were observed between histological measures of myelin content and both mean regional magnetic susceptibility and T2* values. These results suggest that magnetic susceptibility is sensitive to tissue myelin concentrations across different regions of the brain. Differences in magnetic susceptibility were detected in the corpus callosum, striatum, hippocampus and thalamus of the rTg4510 mice relative to wild type controls. The concentration of neurofibrillary tangles was found to be low to intermediate in these brain regions indicating that QSM may be a useful biomarker for early stage detection of tau pathology in neurodegenerative diseases

Seizure protein 6 controls glycosylation and trafficking of kainate receptor subunits GluK2 and GluK3

Seizure protein 6 (SEZ6) is required for the development and maintenance of the nervous system, is a major substrate of the protease BACE1 and is linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and psychiatric disorders, but its molecular functions are not well understood. Here, we demonstrate that SEZ6 controls glycosylation and cell surface localization of kainate receptors composed of GluK2/3 subunits. Loss of SEZ6 reduced surface levels of GluK2/3 in primary neurons and reduced kainate-evoked currents in CA1 pyramidal neurons in acute hippocampal slices. Mechanistically, loss of SEZ6 in vitro and in vivo prevented modification of GluK2/3 with the human natural killer-1 (HNK-1) glycan, a modulator of GluK2/3 function. SEZ6 interacted with GluK2 through its ectodomain and promoted post-endoplasmic reticulum transport of GluK2 in the secretory pathway in heterologous cells and primary neurons. Taken together, SEZ6 acts as a new trafficking factor for GluK2/3. This novel function may help to better understand the role of SEZ6 in neurologic and psychiatric diseases

Recent physician strike in Israel: a health system under stress?

In 2011, a series of physician strikes in Israel followed eight months of unsuccessful negotiations with the government (Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance). Strikes by physicians may be a warning that all is not well in a health system and protestors have claimed that they signify a system failure. In contrast, others argue that strikes have been a feature of the Israeli health system from its inception and should not be a cause for alarm. This paper analyses the Israeli health system from the perspective of the strikers' demands using the World Health Organisation's six health system building blocks as a framework, including: service delivery; health workforce; information; medical products, vaccines and technologies; leadership and governance; and financing. While we recognise that the immediate causes of the 2011 strikes were concerns about salaries and working conditions, we argue that a complex set of interacting factors underlie the strikers' demands, resonating with issues relating to five of the WHO building blocks. We argue that of the five, three are most significant and limit progress with all the others: a disgruntled health workforce, many of whom believe that striking is the only way to be heard; a lack of leadership by the government in understanding and responding to physicians' concerns; and a purported information insufficiency, manifest as a lack of critique and analysis that may have prevented those at the top from making a reliable diagnosis of the system's problems. This paper argues that there are cracks within the Israeli health system but that these are not irresolvable. The Israeli health system is a relatively new and popular health system, but there are no grounds for complacency