A proposed analytic framework for determining the impact of an antimicrobial resistance intervention

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yrjo T. Grohn ◽  
Carolee Carson ◽  
Cristina Lanzas ◽  
Laura Pullum ◽  
Michael Stanhope ◽  
...  

AbstractAntimicrobial use (AMU) is increasingly threatened by antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The FDA is implementing risk mitigation measures promoting prudent AMU in food animals. Their evaluation is crucial: the AMU/AMR relationship is complex; a suitable framework to analyze interventions is unavailable. Systems science analysis, depicting variables and their associations, would help integrate mathematics/epidemiology to evaluate the relationship. This would identify informative data and models to evaluate interventions. This National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis AMR Working Group's report proposes a system framework to address the methodological gap linking livestock AMU and AMR in foodborne bacteria. It could evaluate how AMU (and interventions) impact AMR. We will evaluate pharmacokinetic/dynamic modeling techniques for projecting AMR selection pressure on enteric bacteria. We study two methods to model phenotypic AMR changes in bacteria in the food supply and evolutionary genotypic analyses determining molecular changes in phenotypic AMR. Systems science analysis integrates the methods, showing how resistance in the food supply is explained by AMU and concurrent factors influencing the whole system. This process is updated with data and techniques to improve prediction and inform improvements for AMU/AMR surveillance. Our proposed framework reflects both the AMR system's complexity, and desire for simple, reliable conclusions.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ismail Badraoui ◽  
Ivo van der Lans ◽  
Youssef Boulaksil ◽  
Jack G.A.J. van der Vorst

PurposeThis study investigates the impact of agri-food supply chains (AFSCs) characteristics on the antecedents of horizontal logistics collaboration (HLC). Specifically, the study compares the relationship between collaboration activities and outcomes for companies in and outside AFSCs.Design/methodology/approachFirst, a survey was used to collect data from different industries. Second, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were applied to compare the measurement and structural models from different industry categories.FindingsThe results support the premise that collaboration improves trust and commitment in the relationship, which in turn enhance satisfaction. The results also show the existence of a minor influence of AFSCs characteristics on HLC antecedents, in the form of an indirect impact of dedicated investments on commitment.Practical implicationsThe factors having a significant influence on the collaboration outcomes and their respective effects are generally similar across food and nonfood supply chains, providing opportunities for interdisciplinary and collaboration experiences.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the body of knowledge on interfirm collaboration by considering the specificities of HLC. It also highlights the importance of conducting contingency research on collaborative experiences, as firms from different industry contexts operate under distinct operational conditions.


2002 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 228-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Grace ◽  
J. Scheibel

Project developers, insurers, financiers, and maintenance organizations have an interest in quantifying technical risks and evaluating risk mitigation alternatives for combustion turbine (CT) power plants. By identifying exposure to risk early in the project development process, optimal procurement decisions, and mitigation measures can be adopted for improved financial returns. This paper describes a methodology used to quantify all nonfuel O&M costs, including scheduled and unplanned maintenance, and business interruption costs due to unplanned outages. The paper offers examples that demonstrate the impact of technical risk on project profitability. An overview of activities required for addressing technical risk as part of the equipment selection and procurement process is provided, and areas of technical improvements for reducing life cycle costs are described.


Trials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Silke van Koningsbruggen-Rietschel ◽  
Fiona Dunlevy ◽  
Veerle Bulteel ◽  
Kate Hayes ◽  
Anne Verbrugge ◽  
...  

AbstractThe SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has disrupted clinical trials worldwide. The European Cystic Fibrosis Society-Clinical Trials Network (ECFS-CTN) has tracked clinical trial disruption by surveying its 58 trial sites across 17 European countries and collated information on measures to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and ensure trial continuity. Here, we present recommendations on how to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure to patients and trial staff by implementing remote trial visits where possible, using home assessments, video and phone calls, electronic consent, and home delivery of study drugs. We discuss the practicalities of remote source data verification, protocol amendments, changing trial site location, and staff absences and home working. We outline recommendations on how to protect trial outcomes, including home assessments, safety reporting, protocol deviations, and recruitment challenges. Finally, we discuss the importance of continued access to study drugs via extension trials for some patients. This guidance was co-created from the shared knowledge and experience of sites in our network and was re-distributed directly to all ECFS-CTN sites to help mitigate the impact of further waves of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We will also use this guidance to assist companies, academia, and consortia with future protocol design and risk mitigation plans. This guidance can be applied to clinical trials in other diseases and could help sites that are not supported by clinical trial networks.


Author(s):  
Simone Frigerio ◽  
Luca Schenato ◽  
Giulia Bossi ◽  
Matteo Mantovani ◽  
Gianluca Marcato ◽  
...  

There is evidence that the toll of death and destruction caused by natural hazards is rising. This is often ascribed to the impact of climate change that resulted in an increased frequency of extreme meteorological events. As a consequence, it is realistic to expect that the casualties and damages caused by floods will increase in the near future. Advanced weather forecast is a fundamental tool to predict the occurrence of floods and structural mitigation measures are crucial for flood protection. However, these strategies should be associate with tools to promote and increase natural-disaster awareness and nonstructural mitigation measures in the exposed population. To bridge this gap, we coupled innovative, ICT-based technologies with crowdsourcing. The idea is to exploit geospatial data gathered by citizens and volunteers with their own devices such as mobile phones to provide authorities with relevant information in case of flood emergencies. This paper describes the design and testing of an Android application named MAppERS (Mobile Applications for Emergency Response and Support), thought to enhance active participation and response of the population in territorial and flood-risk mitigation in Frederikssund, Denmark. The results of the piloting fully validate MAppERS as an effective tool to support the decision-making process during a crisis and to improve the awareness of the community and their disaster resilience.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
LAYTH A KRAIDI ◽  
Raj Shah ◽  
Wilfred Matipa ◽  
Fiona Fiona Borthwick

The aim of this paper is to present the design and specifications of an integrated Delay Analysis Framework (DAF), which could be used to quantify the delay caused by the Risk Factors (RFs) in Oil and Gas Pipelines (OGPs) projects in a simple and systematic way. The main inputs of the DAF are (i) the potential list of RFs in the projects and their impact levels on the projects and the estimated maximum and minimum duration of each task. Monte Carlo Simulation integrated within @Risk simulator was the key process algorithm that used to quantify the impact of delay caused by the associated RFs. The key output of the DAF is the amount of potential delay caused by RFs in the OGP project. The functionalities of the developed DAF were evaluated using a case study of newly developed OGP project, in the south of Iraq. It is found that the case study project might have delayed by 45 days if neglected the consideration of the RFs associated with the project at the construction stage. The paper concludes that identifying the associated RFs and analysing the potential delay in advance will help in reducing the construction delay and improving the effectiveness of the project delivery by taking suitable risk mitigation measures.  


Author(s):  
Sandy Bond

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate residents’ perceptions of risk towards owning and living in residential property in Christchurch subsequent to the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes to identify how these perceptions impact on the price residents are willing to pay for affected property. Such market behaviour can motivate homeowners to adopt risk mitigation measures. Design/methodology/approach – An online survey was developed and the Web link distributed to Canterbury residents via the media. This method of distribution was adopted, as a postal survey was not possible due to the number of homes that had been destroyed by the earthquakes and the highly transient nature of the community as a result. Findings – The results indicate that with the recent earthquake experience, residents are demonstrating risk mitigation behaviours through an aversion to investing in properties affected by, or with a risk of, liquefaction. Specifically, the majority of respondents had strong reservations about buying Technical Category 3 property, and would be prepared to pay 20 per cent (or > 20 per cent) less for it, indicating some stigma towards affected property. Further, most respondents would now prefer the construction of their home to be of a type that fared better in the earthquakes: lightweight, single-storey, with a concrete slab foundation. These housing preferences will likely drive the market towards the adoption of risk mitigation measures in the retrofit of existing homes as well as in the design and construction of new homes. Research limitations/implications – Due to the number of homes that had been destroyed by the earthquakes and the highly transient nature of the community as a result, probability sampling was not possible. This, together with the low response rate, means that the respondents surveyed may not be representative of the Christchurch population. Practical implications – The outcomes of this research will be of interest not only to homeowners wanting to know how their home’s value has been impacted by market perceptions towards earthquake and liquefaction damage, particularly in the worst-affected areas, but also the rating valuers tasked with assessing property values for rating purposes. Property developers and builders involved in the repair of existing homes and construction of new homes will also want to know current market preferences. Government bodies will find the results informative of how the media has, and can be used, to motivate market behaviour towards risk mitigation, particularly in regard to “material risk” (as described in Solberg et al., 2010), that is risk from a scientific and technical viewpoint of probability of future risk, and as related to what has become known about these risks in terms of building structure, height, age, soil type/land categories and flood zones. Further, the results provide a gauge of how the community perceived the handling of the recovery process, so that the weaknesses highlighted can be addressed, which will help restore community trust. Originality/value – This study fills a research void on the impact of residents’ perceptions of risk towards home ownership in a city impacted by significant earthquakes and resulting liquefaction.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 705-726
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Boon Hui Yap ◽  
Sin Yi Cheah

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the major challenges faced by Chinese international contractors (CICs) in the Malaysian construction industry. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory sequential mixed-methods research approach was adopted where following a detailed literature review and semi-structured interviews with local professionals, 20 prevalent challenges experienced by CICs are identified. Subsequently, a questionnaire survey was used to elicit the views of 100 construction practitioners. Descriptive statistics were used to prioritise the challenges, while exploratory factor analysis was conducted to uncover the underlying factors. Findings The five most crucial challenges identified relate to: changes of regulation, cost control, contract clauses, language barrier and quality control. Exploratory factor analysis revealed four major underlying dimensions of these challenges, in connection to financial and government policy management, organisational performance management, supplier relationship management and cross-cultural management. Research limitations/implications The challenges are considered primarily involving CICs in the context of Malaysia; further work can be extended to Western or other East Asian, such as Japanese and Korean, international contractors undertaking construction projects in Malaysia or selected developing countries around the region. Practical implications This study will benefit professionals involved with China-backed construction projects in countries sharing demographics and socio-economic characteristics akin to Malaysia. The outcome of the study is expected to facilitate project managers to devise proactive risk-mitigation measures to reduce the impact of these challenges and to improve project delivery. Originality/value The paper examined the challenges faced by CICs in the Malaysian context. This is a timely study, as China’s Belt and Road Initiative will provide considerable opportunities for Chinese companies in Malaysia.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silke van Koningsbruggen-Rietschel ◽  
Fiona Dunlevy ◽  
Veerle Bulteel ◽  
Kate Hayes ◽  
Anne Verbrugge ◽  
...  

Abstract The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has disrupted clinical trials worldwide. The European Cystic Fibrosis Society-Clinical Trials Network (ECFS-CTN) has tracked clinical trial disruption by surveying its 58 trial sites across 17 European countries and collated information on measures to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and ensure trial continuity. Here we present recommendations on how to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure to patients and trial staff by implementing remote trial visits where possible, using home assessments, video and phone calls, electronic consent and home delivery of study drug. We discuss the practicalities of remote source data verification, protocol amendments, changing trial site location, and staff absences and home working. We outline how to protect trial outcomes, including home assessments, safety reporting, protocol deviations and recruitment challenges. Finally, we discuss the importance of continued access to study drug via extension trials for some patients. This guidance was co-created from the shared knowledge and experience of sites in our network and was re-distributed directly to all ECFS-CTN sites to help mitigate the impact of further waves of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We will also use this guidance to assist companies, academia and consortia with future protocol design and risk mitigation plans.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
Yigit Kazancoglu ◽  
Melisa Ozbiltekin-Pala ◽  
Muruvvet Deniz Sezer ◽  
Banu Y. Ekren ◽  
Vikas Kumar

Recently, it has become an important issue to ensure sustainability, especially in food supply chains, against the rapidly growing population, increasing demand, and sudden disruptions caused by uncertain times such as that caused by COVID-19. Since food supply chains has vulnerable products and processes, it is critical to understand the sustainability factors of food supply chains especially in uncertain times such during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to determine sustainability factors of food supply chains. An Interpretive Structural Modelling method is used to state the relations between sustainability factors of food supply chains. As a result of the study, Information Sharing and Managerial Approaches are classified as driving factors; Food Safety and Security, Know-How Transfer, Logistics Networking, Risk Mitigation, Employee Commitment, Innovation, Traceability and Responsiveness are categorized as linkage factors. This article will be beneficial for managers in helping them develop sustainable food supply chains during uncertain times by focusing on traceability, information sharing, know-how transfer, food safety and security.


2010 ◽  
Vol 73 (10) ◽  
pp. 1849-1857 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. B. LUBRAN ◽  
R. POUILLOT ◽  
S. BOHM ◽  
E. M. CALVEY ◽  
J. MENG ◽  
...  

In order to improve the safety of refrigerated ready-to-eat food products prepared at retail deli departments, a better understanding of current practices in these establishments is needed. Food employees in deli departments at six chain and three independent retail establishments in Maryland and Virginia were observed, using notational analysis, as they prepared deli products for sale. The frequency of contact with objects and deli products before sale, hand washing and glove changing during preparation, and equipment, utensil, and surface cleaning and sanitizing was determined. Compliance with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's 2005 model Food Code recommendations, which must be adopted by the individual state and local jurisdictions that are responsible for directly regulating retail establishments, was also assessed. Observations indicated there were a large number of actions for which hand washing was recommended at independent and chain stores (273 recommended of 1,098 total actions and 439 recommended of 3,073 total actions, respectively). Moreover, 67% (295 of 439) of the actions for which hand washing was recommended at the chain stores and 86% (235 of 273) of those at the independent stores resulted from employees touching non–food contact surfaces prior to handling ready-to-eat food. Compliance with hand washing recommendations was generally low and varied depending on store type with independent stores exhibiting lower compliance than chain stores (5 instances of compliance for 273 recommended actions and 73 instances of compliance for 439 recommended actions, respectively). Potential risk mitigation measures that may reduce the frequency of hand washing actions needed during ready-to-eat food preparation in retail deli departments are discussed. More research is needed to determine the impact of such measures on food safety.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document