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Database Consisting (database + consisting)
Selected AbstractsIS CORPORATE R&D INVESTMENT IN HIGH-TECH SECTORS MORE EFFECTIVE?CONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 3 2010RAQUEL ORTEGA-ARGILÉS This paper discusses the link between R&D and productivity across the European industrial and service sectors. The empirical analysis is based on both the European sectoral OECD data and on a unique micro-longitudinal database consisting of 532 top European R&D investors. The main conclusions are as follows. First, the R&D stock has a significant positive impact on labor productivity; this general result is largely consistent with previous literature in terms of the sign, the significance, and the magnitude of the estimated coefficients. More interestingly, both at sectoral and firm levels the R&D coefficient increases monotonically (both in significance and magnitude) when we move from the low-tech to the medium- and high-tech sectors. This outcome means that corporate R&D investment is more effective in the high-tech sectors and this may need to be taken into account when designing policy instruments (subsidies, fiscal incentives, etc.) in support of private R&D. However, R&D investment is not the sole source of productivity gains; technological change embodied in gross investment is of comparable importance on aggregate and is the main determinant of productivity increase in the low-tech sectors. Hence, an economic policy aiming to increase productivity in the low-tech sectors should support overall capital formation. [source] More power to the European Parliament?ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 35 2002Abdul G. Noury SUMMARY Many observers have expressed scepticism about granting more power to the European Parliament. The sceptics believe that Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) do not vote in a disciplined way and that they vote more often with their country group than with their European Party. Using a unique database consisting of all roll call votes by each individual MEP between 1989 and 1999 (over 6000 votes by over 1000 different MEPs), we show that the sceptics are wrong. Our data shows clearly that MEPs vote more along party lines than along country lines. Party cohesion is comparable to that of the US Congress and is increasing over time whereas country cohesion is low and declining. In short, politics in the European Parliament generally follows the traditional left,right divide that one finds in all European nations. These findings are valid across issues, even on issues like the structural and cohesion funds where one would expect country rather than party cohesion. In votes where the EP has the most power , those held under the so-called co-decision procedure , MEPs participate more and are more party-cohesive. In our opinion, this unique empirical analysis provides grounds for justifying a generalization of the co-decision procedure. [source] Reversibility of hepatic fibrosis in treated genetic hemochromatosis: A study of 36 cases,HEPATOLOGY, Issue 2 2006Ludivine Falize The current study was undertaken to assess whether fibrosis could regress under venesection therapy in patients with C282Y homozygous genetic hemochromatosis. The 36 patients studied were recruited from a subfile of our database consisting of 125 C282Y homozygotes with either severe fibrosis or cirrhosis (F3 or F4 fibrosis stage, respectively, according to the METAVIR grading system). The second liver biopsy was performed for management of liver cancer, extrahepatic surgery, or assessment of liver fibrosis. All paired biopsies were reviewed by two pathologists without knowledge of clinical data. Among the 13 patients who had F3 fibrosis on their initial liver biopsy, 3 had F0, 6 had F1, and 2 had F2 on their second liver biopsy. Among the 23 patients with cirrhosis on their initial liver biopsy, 1 had F0, 4 had F1, 3 had F2, and 2 had F3 on their second liver biopsy. When defining regression of fibrosis as a decrease of at least 2 METAVIR units, fibrosis regressed in 9 of 13 (69%) F3 and in 8 of 23 (35%) F4. When the ratio of gammaglobulins (g/L) to (platelets [n/mm3] × prothrombin activity [%]) was greater than 7.5, fibrosis never regressed. In conclusion, these data extend the concept of regression of fibrosis to patients with treated genetic hemochromatosis and suggest that some simple biochemical tests would be predictive of further regression of fibrosis as a result of venesection therapy. If confirmed on larger series, this could modify the ultrasound screening policy of hepatocellular carcinoma in genetic hemochromatosis. (HEPATOLOGY 2006;44:472,477.) [source] Evaluation and economic impact analysis of different treatment options for ankle distortions in occupational accidentsJOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 5 2010Amaryllis Audenaert Grad Eng PhD Abstract Rationale, aims and objectives, Appropriate use of diagnostic and treatment modalities are essential for rational use of resources. The aim of this study is to evaluate the use of diagnostic modalities and different treatment options and their economic impacts following an acute ankle distortion resulting from an occupational accident. We evaluated the type-of-treatment impact on the victims' course of recovery as well as its impact on the associated accident costs. Research was carried out in Belgium. Methods, An ankle distortion victims' database consisting of 200 cases of (Belgian) occupational accidents during the period 2005,2007 was analysed. Results, Patients who were prescribed immobilization or the use of adjuvant support or physical therapy (118 cases) were not employed during a period of 37 days on average, with a mean total cost of 3140.14 Euros caused by the ankle sprain. Patients without any adjuvant therapy (82 cases) were characterized by an unemployment rate of 15 days on average, and a total cost of 1077.86 Euros. Cast immobilization, although its application is not supported by evidence-based literature, was still applied in 36% of the population studied and resulted in the longest average absence of work of 42 days with an obvious significant increase in medical and total costs. Conclusions, Our results show a high rate of inappropriate use of cast immobilizations for ankle distortions. From an economic point of view and for the same clinical endpoint (being full resumption of the occupational activities), simple conventional treatment, consisting of rest, ice, compression and elevation at diagnosis with allowance of early weight bearing in the further clinical course, leads to the quickest full resumption of activities in combination with the lowest medical costs, if compared with any other kind of treatment. [source] Detecting dyads of related individuals in large collections of DNA-profiles by controlling the false discovery rateMOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES, Issue 4 2010H. J. SKAUG Abstract The search for pairs (dyads) of related individuals in large databases of DNA-profiles has become an increasingly important inference tool in ecology. However, the many, partly dependent, pairwise comparisons introduce statistical issues. We show that the false discovery rate (FDR) procedure is well suited to control for the proportion of false positives, i.e. dyads consisting of unrelated individuals, which under normal circumstances would have been labelled as related individuals. We verify the behaviour of the standard FDR procedure by simulation, demonstrating that the FDR procedure works satisfactory in spite of the many dependent pairwise comparisons involved in an exhaustive database screening. A computer program that implements this method is available online. In addition, we propose to implement a second stage in the procedure, in which additional independent genetic markers are used to identify the false positives. We demonstrate the application of the approach in an analysis of a DNA database consisting of 3300 individual minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) each typed at ten microsatellite loci. Applying the standard procedure with an FDR of 50% led to the identification of 74 putative dyads of 1st- or 2nd-order relatives. However, introducing the second step, which involved additional genotypes at 15 microsatellite loci, revealed that only 21 of the putative dyads can be claimed with high certainty to be true dyads. [source] Training ACD/LogP with Experimental DataMOLECULAR INFORMATICS, Issue 7 2004Matthew Abstract The commercial physical property calculation software, ACD/Labs Physico-Chemical Laboratory, has the capability to accept experimental data for logP and pKa values which it can use to "train" its model to better predict un-represented structural classes. An attempt was made to produce a training set, called a "user database" by the software, based on Merck in-house data, which could be used to train the ACD/LogP model in order to achieve better predictivity on molecules of interest to Merck researchers. A user database consisting of a randomly selected 10% subset of the available Shake-Flask measured logP data was constructed and used to predict itself as well as the remaining 90% data set. The training produced a modest increase in accuracy of the model, with the R2 value of the prediction improving in the test set from 0.316 to 0.527. Narrowing the selection to a project-based, targeted subset of the in-house data in hopes of decreasing the diversity of the set, enhanced the coverage of the model but only produced an improvement in the R2 value from 0.350 to 0.537. Finally, training on a single, small representative of a structural class produced a sizable reduction in the bias of the prediction in a congeneric series of compounds, essentially confirming the original claim of the software developers. These improvements came with an increase in time and machine load to perform the calculation relative to the size of the training set. [source] Robust QT Interval Estimation,From Algorithm to ValidationANNALS OF NONINVASIVE ELECTROCARDIOLOGY, Issue 2009Joel Q. Xue Ph.D. Background: This article presents an effort of measuring QT interval with automatic computerized algorithms. The aims of the algorithms are consistency as well as accuracy. Multilead and multibeat information from a given segment of ECG are used for more consistent QT interval measurement. Methods: A representative beat is generated from selected segment of each lead, and then a composite beat is formed by the representative beats of all independent leads. The end result of the QT measure is so-called global QT measurement, which usually correlates with the longest QT interval in multiple leads. Individual lead QT interval was estimated by using the global measurement as a starting point, and then adapted to the signal of the particular lead and beat. In general, beat-by-beat QT measurement is more prone to noise, therefore less reliable than the global estimation. It is usually difficult to know if difference of beat-by-beat QT interval is due to true physiological change or noise fluctuation. Results: The algorithm was tested independently by a clinical database. It is also tested against action potential duration (APD) generated by a Cell-to-ECG forward-modeling based simulation signals. The modeling approach provided an objective test for the QT estimation. The modeling approach allowed us to evaluate the QT measurement versus APD. The mean error between the algorithm and cardiologist QT intervals is 3.95 ± 5.5 ms, based on the large clinical trial database consisting of 15,910 ECGs. The mean error between QT intervals and maximum APD is 17 ± 2.4, and the correlation coefficient is 0.99. Conclusions: The global QT interval measurement method presented in this study shows very satisfactory results against the CSE database and a large clinical trial database. The modeling test approach used in this study provides an alternative "gold standard" for QT interval measurement. [source] A Study on Variances in Multivariate Analyses of Oral Implant OutcomeCLINICAL IMPLANT DENTISTRY AND RELATED RESEARCH, Issue 1 2007Irene Herrmann LDS, Odont Lic ABSTRACT Background:, Elaborate studies have shown that interdependency exists between implants being placed in the same patient/jaw. Therefore, interdependency ought to be an important aspect to address, whenever performing statistical analyses of oral implant outcomes. A Jackknife method could be an option when conducting statistical evaluations of oral implant failure prognoses. Purpose:, The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a statistical difference can be detected by using the Jackknife method in conjunction with life table analyses and/or a log rank test of four different combinations of jaw density and quantity. Materials and Methods:, Four multicenter studies were pooled and adjusted in order to create a research database consisting of 486 patients and 1,737 implants in preparation for the Jackknife resampling method. Combinations of jaw shapes and bone qualities were constructed to select at-risk patients. Statistical Methods:, Life tables with confidence intervals were calculated and a log rank test was used to determine whether a statistical difference between the combinations could be established. Results:, Both statistical analyses, after the Jackknife resampling method, showed that patients with poor bone quality and resorbed jaws (combination IV) had a statistically higher risk of implant failure. Conclusion:, By rearranging data using the Jackknife method, standardized statistical tests seem to work well even when the study population tested was affected by interdependency. [source] | |||||||||||||