Predicting mobile network operators users m-payment intention

Purpose – This study aims to investigate the intention of using mobile payment (m-payment) services in Sarawak, Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 194 online payment users were selected to respond to the structured questionnaire. The partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the data by assessing the measurement and model. Findings – Perceived usefulness(PU)and perceived ease of use mediated the relationship between perceived compatibility(PC) and the intention to use the mobile payment for mobile network operators’ services. Research limitations/implications – The analysis provides insights that PC is considered as a significant determinant for mobile payment of mobile network operators’ services. Practical implications – The operators can consider factors such as PC in the design of their mobile applications and the potential to expand them-payment services too theirs e-wallet such as Sarawak e-wallet. The model possesses medium prediction power, which suggests that other variables such as perceived security and personal innovativeness also can be used to predict the usage behavior of mobile payment for the mobile network services. Originality/value – The present study contributes to them-payment users’ behavior intention literature by investigating the mobile-based predictors of using m-payment technology in an emerging digital economy state in Sarawak, Malaysia. This study also extends the knowledge of technology acceptance model by introducing the mediation effect of PU and ease of use between the mobile-based predictors and m-payment intention

Ultrasonography for Proper Endotracheal Tube Placement Confirmation in Out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest Patients: Two-center Experience

A secure airway and effective ventilation are key components of resuscitation. Real-time airway sonographic approaches could enhance physician confidence and decision-making in relation to tracheal tube placement. This study aims to evaluate the accuracy of tracheal ultrasonography for assessing endotracheal tube position in patients at two medical centers who have undergone cardiac arrest. Patients and methods: We performed a prospective two-center observational study for adult patients with cardiac arrest from July 2012 to June 2013. Real-time tracheal ultrasonography was performed during the intubation. The endotracheal tube position was defined as endotracheal if single air-mucosa interface with comet-tail artefact was observed. Esophageal intubation was defined if a second air-mucosa interface appeared. The gold standard of correct endotracheal intubation was the combination of clinical auscultation and quantitative waveform capnography. The main outcome was the accuracy of tracheal ultrasonography in assessing endotracheal tube position during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Results: Among the 96 patients enrolled, 7 (7.3%) had esophageal intubations. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of tracheal ultrasonography were 98.9% [95% confidence interval (CI): 94.0–99.8%], 100% (95% CI: 61–100.0%), 100% (95% CI: 95.9–100.0%), and 85.7% (95% CI: 48.7–97.4%), respectively. Positive and negative likelihood ratios were 7.0 (95% CI: 1.1–43.0) and 0.0, respectively. Additionally, subgroup analysis was performed based on the hospital. However, no significant difference existed in the accuracy of tracheal ultrasonography and patient characteristics. Conclusion: Real-time tracheal ultrasonography is an accurate method for identifying endotracheal tube position during cardiopulmonary resuscitation without the need for interruption of chest compression

Correlation of Body Mass Index with Oncologic Outcomes in Colorectal Cancer Patients: A Large Population-Based Study

It has been acknowledged that excess body weight increases the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC); however, there is little evidence on the impact of body mass index (BMI) on CRC patients’ long-term oncologic results in Asian populations. We studied the influence of BMI on overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and CRC-specific survival rates in CRC patients from the administrative claims datasets of Taiwan using the Kaplan–Meier survival curves and the log-rank test to estimate the statistical differences among BMI groups. Underweight patients (<18.50 kg/m2) presented higher mortality (56.40%) and recurrence (5.34%) rates. Besides this, they had worse OS (aHR:1.61; 95% CI: 1.53–1.70; p-value: < 0.0001) and CRC-specific survival (aHR:1.52; 95% CI: 1.43–1.62; p-value: < 0.0001) rates compared with those of normal weight patients (18.50–24.99 kg/m2). On the contrary, CRC patients belonging to the overweight (25.00–29.99 kg/m2), class I obesity (30.00–34.99 kg/m2), and class II obesity (≥35.00 kg/m2) categories had better OS, DFS, and CRC-specific survival rates in the analysis than the patients in the normal weight category. Overweight patients consistently had the lowest mortality rate after a CRC diagnosis. The associations with being underweight may reflect a reverse causation. CRC patients should maintain a long-term healthy body weight

Data on evaluation of proficiency for the US-CAB curriculum

Data presented in this article relates to the research article entitled “US-CAB protocol for ultrasonographic evaluation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation: validation and potential impact” (Lien et al., in press). The article provides data regarding proficiency of the 10 emergency residents attending the US-CAB curriculum. Assessments included immediate evaluation at the end of training and re-evaluation 6 months later. A written test, and the ultrasound image acquisition were required in the immediate evaluation The re-evaluation included the written test and performance on the same healthy volunteer