High prevalence of extrapyramidal signs and symptoms in a group of Italian dental technicians

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Changepoint analysis of gestational age and birth weight: proposing a refinement of Diagnosis Related Groups

Background: Although the complexity and length of treatment is connected to the newborn’s maturity and birth weight, most case-mix grouping schemes classify newborns by birth weight alone. The objective of this study was to determine whether the definition of thresholds based on a changepoint analysis of variability of birth weight and gestational age contributes to a more homogenous classification. Methods: This retrospective observational study was conducted at a Tertiary Care Center with Level III Neonatal Intensive Care and included neonate cases from 2016 through 2018. The institutional database of routinely collected health data was used. The design of this cohort study was explorative. The cases were categorized according to WHO gestational age classes and SwissDRG birth weight classes. A changepoint analysis was conducted. Cut-off values were determined. Results: When grouping the cases according to the calculated changepoints, the variability within the groups with regard to case related costs could be reduced. A refined grouping was achieved especially with cases of >2500 g birth weight. An adjusted Grouping Grid for practical purposes was developed. Conclusions: A novel method of classification of newborn cases by changepoint analysis was developed, providing the possibility to assign costs or outcome indicators to grouping mechanisms by gestational age and birth weight combined. © 2019, International Pediatric Research Foundation, Inc

/ PRIKAZ SLU^AJA UDK 616.718.5-001.5-057-089

Profesionalni traumatizam je jedan od naju~estaliji

Characterization of bread wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum L.) by glutenin proteins

Glutenin polymers composed of HMW and LMW subunits are important contributors to the wheat end-use properties. Twenty-six winter wheat cultivars differing in bread processing quality were collected at the experimental fields of the Agricultural Institute Osijek, Croatia and Institute of the Field and Vegetable Crops Novi Sad, Serbia, in 2008/2009 season. The HMW glutenins composition and glutenin proteins content were determined by SDS-PAGE and RP-HPLC, respectively, with aim to determine the relationship between glutenin protein fractions and wheat quality properties. Significant differences were found between Croatian and Serbian cultivars in several quality attributes (GI, WA, DDT, DS and R/EXT) as well as in the content of total glutenins and LMW glutenins and GLI/GLU ratio. The dominant HMW subunits in analyzed cultivars were 2*, 7 + 9/7 + 8 and 5 + 10. Principal component analysis (PCA) confirmed the presence of association between HMW glutenins composition and GI, dough E, R and R/EXT, while the glutenins quantitative data showed pronounced relation with P, DDT, DS, E, R and R/EXT. GLI/GLU ratio had the opposite effect on these parameters

Health technology assessment: what is it? Current status and perspectives in the field of electrophysiology.

Health technology assessment (HTA) is the multidisciplinary field of policy analysis that studies medical, social, ethical, and economic implications of the development, diffusion, and use of health technologies. Its worldwide diffusion needs to be understood in the context of evidence-based healthcare delivery policy, and it is strongly driven by the search for new cost-containment policies by the governments of universal healthcare systems. This article presents the three main pillars of HTA: evaluating comparative effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and organizational impact. While comparative analysis is more familiar to cardiologists, cost-effectiveness and organizational studies are less widely known because they expand the perspective of the evaluation to institutional settings and society at large and require significant inter-disciplinary work. Sound economic and organizational studies that extend comparative effectiveness studies may facilitate dialogue between medical science and policymaking