Benefits and limitations of laboratory diagnostic pathways

Diagnosis ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 269-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg Hoffmann ◽  
Johannes Aufenanger ◽  
Manuela Födinger ◽  
Janne Cadamuro ◽  
Arnold von Eckardstein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Pathways ◽  
Logical Consequence ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Medical Decision ◽  
Diagnostic Process ◽  
Major Drawback ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
Medical Needs ◽  
The One ◽  
Diagnostic Pathways

AbstractDiagnostic pathways are an essential subset of clinical pathways and a logical consequence of DRG-based reimbursement. They combine the principle of stepwise reflex and reflective testing with a management concept that helps to fulfill medical needs with organizational and economic efficacy. The two most common formats describing diagnostic pathways are graphical decision trees on paper and “if…then…else” rules on computers. From a laboratory point of view, diagnostic pathways represent “smart” test profiles, which – in contrast to conventional (inflexible) profiles – are not necessarily worked off completely, but just to a point, where a diagnostic decision can be made. This improves the cost-effectiveness of laboratory testing, while making sure that no essential tests are missed. The paper describes benefits and limitations of diagnostic pathways from a medical, organizational, and economic point of view. Their major advantage is also their major drawback, since they make the diagnostic process on the one hand extremely straight-forward and transparent, while on the other hand oversimplifying the underlying medical decision principles. This may provoke the abuse of their primarily medical intentions for mere economic purposes.

scholarly journals Sostenibilidad económica y situación financiera de las estaciones de esquí alpino del Pirineo catalán

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Sánchez Pulido ◽  
Natalia Daries Ramón ◽  
Eduard Cristóbal Fransi
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Public Administrators ◽  
Territorial Development ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
Financial Situation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ski Resorts ◽  
Positive Externalities ◽  
The One ◽  
Implementing Strategies

Purpose: The present work seeks analyze the profitability and the financial situation of the main Catalan alpine ski resorts, with the objective to check if these are sustainable from an economic point of view, taking into account the external factors that affect him.Design/methodology: With the objective to carry out the study of profitability and financial situation, we obtained the financial states of the main Alpine ski resorts of the Catalan Pyrenees: Baqueira-Beret, Masella, Boí Taüll, Vallter 2000, La Molina, Vall de Núria and Espot Ski-Port Ainé, for the periods comprised between 2011-2015 and we proceeded to apply a series of economical and structural ratios with the purpose of establish a diagnostic on his situation.Findings: The results show that the Baqueira-Beret and Masella resorts are the only that obtain profits, whereas the rest of resorts obtain losses in all the periods analyzed. With regard to the financial situation, the results reveal that the level of indebtedness of the resorts is, in general reduced, arriving to the conclusion that the majority of them are not sustainable from a strictly economic point of view.Research limitations/implications: The main limitations of this work are on the one hand that the conclusions are obtained from a period of analysis of five years (2011-2015), and the second, they are circumscribed to a determinate region.Practical implications: The results of this work can help to take decisions so much to the ski resorts managers as to the public administrators for implementing strategies to achieve diversify the offer and improve the results.Social implications: Nowadays the majority of the ski resorts have been rescued or purchased by the Administration. We can deduce that it keeps by the incomes that generate his existence. That is to say, by the positive externalities that generates in the territory where they are situate.Originality/value: The present research focuses in the financial study of a little studied sector as they are the ski resorts and the snow tourism with the enormous importance that has in the economy of the region and in the territorial development. The agents interested are so much the public administrations like the managers of this type of firms.

Turgot, the Fondations and the questionv of social needs

2021 ◽  
pp. 73-95
Author(s):  
Fiorenza Manzalini
Keyword(s):  
Social Order ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Public Utility ◽  
Free Enterprise ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
The One ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Sole Criterion

This paper focuses on the entry Fondation, compiled by Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot and published in 1757 in the Encyclopédie. Turgot analyzes the phenome-non of fondations from the socio-economic point of view. In order to assess whether these ancient institutions were suitable for a society moving towards modernity, he uses public utility as the sole criterion of assessment. According to Turgot, the fondations were an obstacle to free enterprise and free market, as on the one hand they accumulated and immobilized capital by subtracting it from productive and profitable investments and, on the other hand, they provided assis-tance and charity without adequate labour promotion by encouraging idleness. Also for these reasons Turgot is in favour of the suppression of these ancient institutions and he prefers the figure of the individual, active and responsible, or free associations of individuals. However, Turgot's attack on fondations seems only one aspect of his broader criticism of all the institutions that were supporting the ancient social order.

Taxonomy of Payment Structures and Economic Incentive Schemes in Internet

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 150-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brij B. Gupta ◽  
Prachi Gulihar
Keyword(s):  
Economic Incentive ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Pricing Strategy ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
Collective Interest ◽  
Framework Design ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
The One ◽  
Security Standards

Recently the study of economics of internet has emerged as an emerging field of study. The workstations being distributed across the network along with the users having varied interests has made this study very important from an information security and policy designing point of view. The main purpose of any framework design is to keep up with the security standards of confidentiality, integrity and availability without being an overburden on the deployer. The same goes for the users, the Quality of Service (QoS) should be in accordance with what they pay for. The concept of “tragedy of commons” plays an important role in distributing the limited resources of the internet. In this, the users because of their own self-interest destroy the collective interest of a community sharing the resource. A sustainable pricing strategy is the one which is able to cater to the competitive advantage of different network providers offering the same set of services but on varied prices. A pricing mechanism will help in differentiating the services offered to the users, but another important task is of fixing the incentives. The pricing strategy plays a very important role in facilitating varied kinds of QoS requirements. Security professionals have realized that while designing any security mechanism it is vital to keep in consideration the “theory of mind” which explains the way the attackers and benign users take decision to deceive of remain loyal to the system. So, studying the incentive and payment structure from economic point of view is important.

scholarly journals About Some Features of the Ability of Flowering Specials Crocus reticulatus in Various Elements of the Mesorelief of Beams in the Southern of the Middle Russian Hill

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-163
Author(s):  
V.I. Cherniavskih ◽  
◽  
T.N. Glubscheva ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Variance Analysis ◽  
Natural Conditions ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
Factor B ◽  
Slope Factor ◽  
The One ◽  
Number Of Individuals ◽  
Two Populations ◽  
Productive Trait

The article presents the results of a three-year study of two populations of Crocus reticulatus, in the conditions of the beams of the Veidelevsky district of the Belgorod region. We studied the abundance of flowering individuals (potentially reproductive abundance) of C. reticulatus in two model populations and their distribution in different elements of the beam mesorelief along the gradient: the upper part of the slope – the base of the slope – the bottom of the beam. Comprehensive stationary monitoring studies were carried out in 2018-2020. in key areas in accordance with the program and methodology of biogeocenotic studies by the method of randomized repetition with the allocation of organized factors: Factor A – «habitat» and Factor B – «gradient of the slope». The results of the variance analysis of the one-factor complex in some years showed that the influence of the «gradient of the slope» factor on the productive trait «the abundance of flowering individuals» in key plot N 1 ranged from 98.4 % in 2020 to 99.6 % in 2018, in the key plot N 2 - from 98.5 % in 2019 to 99.5 % in 2020. On average, over 3 years of research in key area No. 1, an abundance of 336.2 ind./100 m2 was observed at Cv = 179.6 % in the gradient of the slope. An abundance of 237.4 ind./100 m2 at Cv = 101.1 % along the gradient of the slope was noted at key area N 2. The maximum number of flowering individuals was noted in the narrow ecotone part of the transition of the slope to the bottom of the beam (transects I): in plot N 1 – 1,890 ind./100 m2, and in plot No 2 – 856.7 ind./100 m2. An analysis of the share of the influence of organized factors by the method of variance analysis of two-factor complexes on average for 2018-2019 showed that the factor B, “gradient of the slope”, h2x = 79.5 %, exerted the greatest influence on the resultant trait “abundance of flowering individuals”. The factor “habitat of the population” and the interaction of factors had a significantly smaller effect on the number of individuals – 1.2 and 17.0 %, respectively. It is concluded that the study of the potentially reproductive abundance of C. reticulatus in natural conditions can contribute to the process of creating narrow-local artificial populations with a number of specific features, including those useful from an economic point of view for introduction into culture and breeding.

An economic point of view of secondary compounds in halophytes

2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (9) ◽  
pp. 952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Buhmann ◽  
Jutta Papenbrock
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Synergistic Effects ◽  
Secondary Compounds ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Broad Variety ◽  
Valuable Compounds ◽  
The One ◽  
Species Specific

Salt tolerance of halophytes relies on several strategies, among them, the production of species-specific secondary metabolites. Chemically, a broad variety of secondary compounds of economic interest is present in halophytes. Several of these secondary compounds are restricted to halophytic species or are found in higher concentrations than in glycophytes. For their exploitation, optimal plant cultivation conditions and extraction, fractionation and isolation processes need to be identified. On the one hand, the function of single compounds can be more precisely determined and controlled; on the other hand the mixture of compounds in crude extracts might have synergistic effects. Also, different plant organs and plants in different developmental stages contain highly varying amounts and compositions of secondary compounds. Secondary compounds from halophytes have potential uses in various fields such as pharmacognosy, functional foods, nutraceuticals and technical implementations. Many of the potential applications are still in the research and development phase; some products are already on the market. We describe and evaluate the economic potential of several halophytes such as Salicornia spp. and Crithmum maritimum containing valuable compounds used in different applications.

scholarly journals Thermal Transmittance Measurements of the Historical Masonries: Some Case Studies

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2987 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianna Rotilio ◽  
Federica Cucchiella ◽  
Pierluigi De Berardinis ◽  
Vincenzo Stornelli
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Thermal Characteristics ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Experimental Investigations ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
Knowledge Database ◽  
Design Solutions ◽  
The One ◽  
Reference Knowledge

The background shows that intervention on historical walls highlights the difficulty of identifying design solutions that are effective and compatible due to the lack of specific data on the thermal characteristics of the specific contexts investigated. This determines the choice of design solutions that are frequently inadequate and unsustainable from an environmental and economic point of view. Starting from acquired data a methodology has been developed that is based on in situ experimental investigations able to return the most probable value of transmittance of the historical walls. The values measured on the samples analysed do not reflect the literature data. For some of the samples analysed, the measured transmittance is lower than the one recorded in literature of about 10–15%. For the remaining ones, there are no reference values. The importance of an in-depth knowledge of the real behaviour of an existing historical envelope of a building is therefore fundamental, given that any evaluation mistake can have serious consequences from both an economic and environmental point of view. Underestimating the transmittance of a wall implies a waste in the use of available resources but also the disposal of greater quantities of building materials in relation to the end of life. The developed methodology can be easily replicated in other contexts and extended to all building elements that make up the historical envelope. The study will be continued by analysing further samples in order to create a reference knowledge database accessible to researchers, professionals and organizations.

scholarly journals Risk Assessment in a Materials Recycling Facility: Perspectives for Reducing Operational Issues

Resources ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucian Cioca ◽  
Navarro Ferronato ◽  
Paolo Viotti ◽  
Elena Magaril ◽  
Marco Ragazzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
Packaging Waste ◽  
Mechanical Separation ◽  
Materials Recovery ◽  
Materials Recycling ◽  
The One ◽  
Operational Issues ◽  
Plastic Content

Mechanical separation of light packaging waste is a useful practice for improving the quality of the recyclable waste flows and its exploitation in a frame of the circular economy. Materials Recovery Facilities can treat from 3000 to 5000 tons per year of light packaging waste. Concerning the plastic content, this is divided in four flows: PET, HDPE, other plastics, and waste rejects. The last two are generally used for energy recovery. For improving the quality of the recyclable plastic waste, a manual separation is required for reducing the impurities detectable in the final products. However, this practice could enhance the risk at work of the operators, which should be constantly monitored. This article explores the main differences of a manual separation and of a mechanical separation, assessing the costs and the health risk for the workers. The analysis started from the situation in an Italian Materials Recovery Facility, generalizing the context; a future scenario with the application of a mechanical separation is theoretically introduced. The main results obtained suggest that the manual separation plant improves the quality of the material, though increasing the risk of the operators due to the possible contact with sharp waste, sanitary danger, and risk of injuries for the mismanagement of machines, among others. The mechanical separation can be considered a real advantage from an economic point of view, since the operating costs are lower and the investment could be recovered in around 10 years, in an Italian-like context. On balance, on the one hand, the article provides indications for the private sector for improving the management of a Materials Recovery Facility, while, on the other hand, it detects the main pros and cons of both methodologies.

Understanding functional illiteracy from a policy, adult education, and cognition point of view: Towards a joint referent framework

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-122
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Bulajić ◽  
Miomir Despotović ◽  
Thomas Lachmann
Keyword(s):  
Adult Education ◽  
Operational Definition ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Functional Illiteracy ◽  
Scale Levels ◽  
Components Of Reading ◽  
The One ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract. The article discusses the emergence of a functional literacy construct and the rediscovery of illiteracy in industrialized countries during the second half of the 20th century. It offers a short explanation of how the construct evolved over time. In addition, it explores how functional (il)literacy is conceived differently by research discourses of cognitive and neural studies, on the one hand, and by prescriptive and normative international policy documents and adult education, on the other hand. Furthermore, it analyses how literacy skills surveys such as the Level One Study (leo.) or the PIAAC may help to bridge the gap between cognitive and more practical and educational approaches to literacy, the goal being to place the functional illiteracy (FI) construct within its existing scale levels. It also sheds more light on the way in which FI can be perceived in terms of different cognitive processes and underlying components of reading. By building on the previous work of other authors and previous definitions, the article brings together different views of FI and offers a perspective for a needed operational definition of the concept, which would be an appropriate reference point for future educational, political, and scientific utilization.

Recommendations of The Ombudsman’s Dilemma: Between Law Enforcement Officials and Protection of Credibility

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Dyah Adriantini Sintha Dewi
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Law Enforcement Officials ◽  
Muslim Majority ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Government ◽  
The One ◽  
Oversight Body

The Ombudsman as an external oversight body for official performance, in Fikih Siyasah (constitutionality in Islam) is included in the supervision stipulated in legislation (al-musahabah al-qomariyah). Supervision is done so that public service delivery to the community is in accordance with the rights of the community. This is done because in carrying out its duties, officials are very likely to conduct mal administration, which is bad public services that cause harm to the community. The Ombudsman is an institution authorized to resolve the mal administration issue, in which one of its products is by issuing a recommendation. Although Law No. 37 of 2018 on the Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia states that the recommendation is mandatory, theombudsman's recommendations have not been implemented. This is due to differences in point of view, ie on the one hand in the context of law enforcement, but on the other hand the implementation of the recommendation is considered as a means of opening the disgrace of officials. Recommendations are the last alternative of Ombudsman's efforts to resolve the mal administration case, given that a win-win solution is the goal, then mediation becomes the main effort. This is in accordance with the condition of the Muslim majority of Indonesian nation and prioritizes deliberation in resolving dispute. Therefore, it is necessary to educate the community and officials related to the implementation of the Ombudsman's recommendations in order to provide good public services for the community, which is the obligation of the government.

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