External Two Stage DEA Analysis of Bank Efficiency in West Balkan Countries

Since the beginning of the application of the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model in various areas of the economy, it has found its wide application in the field of finance, more specifically banks, in the last few years. The focus of this research was to determine the sustainability of the intermediate function of banks, especially in recent years when interest rates on deposits have been at a minimum level. The research was divided into two parts, wherein the first part determined the efficiency of the intermediate function of banks in the countries of the Western Balkans in the period from 2015 to 2019. The second part approached the regression analysis in which we determined the influence of the bank size, type of bank, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity on the defined efficiency. In the first stage we applied the output-oriented DEA model using deposits, labor costs, and capital as input variables; on the other side, we used loans and investments as output variables. We used data from the revised financial statements of the banks operating in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Albania. The results of our study showed that there is a difference in efficiency levels between countries and within countries in the considered time period. Furthermore, Tobit regression analysis showed a significant and negative influence of the bank type and M&A on relative technical efficiency of banks, and a positive and significant relationship between bank size and relative efficiency. These findings suggest that large commercial banks can sustain on the West Balkan market. It is to be expected that less efficient small banks will be taken over by large and more efficient banks.

P-BN43 Giant Hiatus Hernia Repair Significantly Improves Quality of Life

Background Giant hiatus hernias (GHH), defined as more than 30% of the stomach herniating into the chest cavity accounts for 5%-10% of all hiatus hernias. GHH repair is undertaken electively in symptomatic patients, to prevent complications such as volvulus of the stomach with resultant mortality. Advances in laparoscopy and perioperative care have reduced the risk of operation, and improvement in quality of life (QoL) has become an important outcome measure. “Quality of Life in Reflux and Dyspepsia” (QOLRAD) questionnaire is a disease specific validated tool used to assess QoL. We present our prospective data assessing change in QoL following GHH repair. Methods Symptomatic patients undergoing elective repair of GHH, by a single surgical team, between January 2010 and June 2021 were identified from a prospectively kept database. Demographic data and operative details were recorded from patient notes. From 2015 onwards the QOLRAD questionnaire was introduced. Patients who underwent GHH repair completed the questionnaire pre-operatively and then at 6 weeks, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years post-operatively. Patients, who were not operated on, completed the questionnaire at 6 month intervals over 2 years. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare QOLRAD scores between hernia size, type and symptomatology. Results Sixty-eight patients underwent GHH repair from 2010 to 2014. Statistically significant(p < 0.001) improvement in QoL was only seen in patients with ‘heartburn’ symptoms. Thirty patients were included in the post 2015 group. Statistically significant improvement in all QOLRAD domains was observed as demonstrated the table below. Conclusions GHH repair is a safe operation in symptomatic patients that results in an improvement in QoL across all QOLRAD domains and may prevent deterioration in QoL.

Specific Features of Protection Against Computer-Aided Criminal Infringements on Cashless (Electronic) Funds in Contemporary Criminal Legislations of Belarus and Russia

The dominance of a distance form of interactions in modern conditions resulted in an increase in operations with cashless (electronic) funds, which led to a growth of the number of acquisitive cybercrimes. The author examines criminal law measures of protecting cashless (electronic) funds against criminal infringements in the cybersphere and conducts legal analysis of regulations on acquisitive crimes against property and information security reflected in criminal legislations of Belarus and Russia. Special attention is paid to the characteristic features of protection measures against acquisitive cybercrimes involving cashless (electronic) funds in modern criminal legislations of Belarus and Russia. Current Belarus legislation differentiates criminal liability using unified criteria (method and property size) within the same corpus delicti of three crimes in Ch. 24 and 31 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus. In the Russian legislation, the differentiation of criminal liability is based on three criteria (size, type of money or method) within five corpora delicti in Ch. 21 and 28 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The author specifically states that the use of such a differentiation approach in determining liability for online theft of cashless money in the norms of Russian criminal law leads, firstly, to considerable difficulties in determining the forms and specific criteria of such theft and, secondly, to the application of more (or less) severe measures of punishment for identical crimes. Using a detailed comparative analysis of modern criminal legislations of Belarus and Russia regarding online criminal infringements against cashless (electronic) money, the author draws a conclusion on the use of regulations in the Russian law that would make it possible to fully take into account various specific features of online infringements on cashless (electronic) money and to apply unified criteria for the differentiation of criminal liability within one corpus delicti, for example, in the form of theft in the sphere of computer information whose modus operandi is thoroughly described in one of the norms on computer crimes in Art. 159.6 of the Criminal Code of Russia.

Clinical application of robotic orthopedic surgery: a bibliometric study

Objectives The present study aimed to evaluate the status and trends of robotic orthopedic surgery in a clinical setting using bibliometrics. Methods All relevant publications on the clinical use of robotic surgery in orthopedics were searched from the Web of Science database. Subsequently, data were analyzed using bibliometrics. Visualizing data of bibliographic coupling, co-citation, and co-occurrence analysis were performed using VOSviewer. Results In total, 224 clinical studies met the included standards between 2000 to 2019. Global publications presented an increasing annual trend, with the United States found to have the largest number of publications and robotic companies active in the field (n = 99), followed by China (n = 38), and the United Kingdom (n = 27). The institution with the most contributions was the Beijing Jishuitan Hospital in China (n = 15). The most productive scholars were Tian Wei and Mont Michael A, with 14 publications each. The top 30 most cited papers list showed 29 publications to be cited on more than 40 occassions. The journal with the most related and influential publications on robotic orthopedic surgery was the Journal of Arthroplasty. Fourteen types of robots were used, with the majority applied in knee and spinal surgery. MAKO was the most widely used robot in hip and knee surgery and Mazor in spinal surgery. Most studies were small sample populations of low-quality in this field. The top 20 most frequently used keywords were identified from 950 author keywords. Research on orthopedic robots were classified into two clusters by co-occurrence networks: spinal-related robotic surgery and joint-related robotic surgery. Conclusions The present bibliometric study summarizes the clinical research of orthopedic robots on study type, sample size, type of surgery, robot information, surgical site, most popular keywords, most cited papers, journals, authors, institutions, and countries. These findings may assist the scholars better understand the current status and research trends to guide future practice and directions.

Urological Manifestations of the Systemic Vasculitides—A Scoping Review

Background: Vasculitides are specific inflammations of the blood vessel wall that can take place in any organ system of the human body. They may occur as a primary process (primary systemic vasculitides, PSV) or may be secondary to another underlying disease. In general, in association with the specific type of vasculitis, affected vessels vary in size, type, and location. In the following scoping review, we present clinical characteristics and manifestations of PSV with reference to the genitourinary system. Materials and methods: A non-systematic search of the relevant literature was conducted using three electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science) up to 29 October 2021. Results: Urogenital manifestations of PSV are infrequent, with the most commonly reported findings as prostatic or testicular involvements. However, almost all other organs of the genitourinary system can be affected. Conclusions: Because of the clinical heterogeneity and non-specific symptoms, the proper diagnosis of PSV is often delayed and constricted. Fast identification of urological manifestations of vasculitides is essential in implementing appropriate therapy and avoiding unnecessary, harmful, and invasive surgery.

Agri-Entrepreneural Behaviour of King Chilli Growers Under Dimapur District, Nagaland

The present study was conducted with the objective to find out the socio economic profile, agri-entrepreneural behaviour and attitude of king chilli growers in Dimapur district of Nagaland and find out the constraints faced by the respondents and to obtain their suggestions. A total of one hundred twenty farmers were selected from 4 villages using proportionate random sampling procedure. Data was collected by using interview method using pre-structure D interview schedule and analyzed using appropriate statistical tools. The study revealed that majority of the respondents belonged to middle aged group, had medium level of annual income with medium size of land holding. Majority of them had medium year of farming experience and medium level of extension contact. On analyzing the entrepreneural behaviour level, highest number of respondents i.e. 65.83% were having medium level of entrepreneural behaviour followed by 25 % having high and 9.16% having low levels. In respect of correlation analysis between entrepreneural behaviour level and socio- economic profile of respondents it shows that annual income, extension contact, mass media exposure and social contact are positively significant. Whereas, age, education, family type, family size, type of house, land holding, and farming experience are non-significant. In respect of the correlation analysis, the annual income, extension contact, mass media exposure and social contact were positively significant at 0.05 % level related to attitude of the people whereas age, education, family type, family size, type of house, land holding, and farming experience were found to be non-significantly related to attitude of the respondents towards king chilli production respectively.

Clinicopathologic Factors Related to Post-Operative Outcome of Pituitary Adenoma: a Meta-Analysis

Purpose: About 30% to 40% of patients with pituitary adenoma require surgery. About 25% to 40% of those who have had surgery will have an aggressive outcome. The purpose of this study was to see if certain clinicopathologic factors such as size, type/subtype, invasiveness, proliferative (ki-67, mitotic rate, and p53), and grade influenced the aggressiveness of postoperative pituitary adenomas. Methods: The factors mentioned in the research objectives were examined as independent variables. Ten studies out of 736 were chosen. The 10 studies had 2727 participants and 632 cases. The monitoring lasted 3-11 years. The studies' quality ranged from fair to excellent. Results: The results of the meta-analysis were: size ≥10mm OR 1,79 (1,29-2,48), corticotroph OR 1,91 (1,41-2,58), invasive OR 3,67 (1,95-6,90), proliferative OR 4,78(3,61-6,32), Ki-67 ≥ 3% OR 4,13 (2,94-5,81), mitotic rate > 2 OR 3,91 (2,74-5,57), p53 positive OR 1,92 (1,28-2,90), and grade 2b OR 4,56 (3,0-6,91). Conclusions: Size, type/subtype, invasiveness, proliferative (ki-67, mitotic rate, and p53), and grade of postoperative pituitary adenoma influenced the postoperative aggressiveness outcome.

A Study on the Diagnostic Abilities of Ultrasound Scans in Assessing the Uterine Fibroids Against Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings in the Same Subject Population

Background: This study was designed to evaluate the matching percentage among findings of the ultrasound scans to the magnetic resonance imaging in women with fibroids in Bahrain.Methods: This descriptive, retrospective study was conducted from January 2016 to December 2018 including all the female patients referred from the Gynaecological Department to the Radiological Department in the Bahrain Defense Force Hospital for magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound scan for fibroid evaluation.The data collected included their age, parity and nationality. The StatsDirect software was used to analyze the fibroids according to the site, size, type and number. Results: The average age of the recruited 205 female patients for the study was 43 years, with 81.5%as Bahraini citizens and a mean parity of 2.3. Ultrasound scan findings matched the Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the posterior fibroid sites in 52.5% of cases, followed by anterior (38.1%) and fundal (21.8%). For fibroid size, Ultrasound scans matched Magnetic Resonance Imaging findings in 83.3% for fibroids between >5 to ≤ 10 cm, in 78.3% for fibroids between >2 to ≤ 5cm, and in 36.8% for fibroids sized ≤ 2 cm. Fibroids more than 10cm in size were in agreement for 33.33% of fibroids. Submucosal fibroids matched in just 29.4% of cases, but for the subserosal fibroids, it was 44.8%. The matching score for more than 4 fibroids was 61.8%, followed by single fibroids (54.8%) and lastly for two fibroids (34.8%).Conclusions: Fibroid site and size had the highest matching rates amongst all the categories.

Usefulness of Diagnostic Staging Laparoscopy for Advanced Gastric Cancer

Background For advanced gastric cancer (AGC), peritoneal metastasis is the most common determinant of unresectability, but accurate preoperative diagnosis for peritoneal metastasis is challenging. Staging laparoscopy (SL) can detect unsuspected peritoneal metastasis. This study retrospectively evaluated the utility of SL and its indication in patients with AGC. Methods In this study, we enrolled 114 patients with pathologically diagnosed gastric adenocarcinoma who underwent SL. Results Of the 114 patients, 43 (37.7%) had peritoneal metastasis (P1 or CY1). Higher age, larger tumor size, type 4 GC, deeper tumor depth, elevated CA125, and ascites findings in preoperative CT were found to be significant predictors of peritoneal metastasis. In multivariate analysis, peritoneal metastasis was associated with type 4 GC (odds ratio [OR]: 6.11; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.87-19.8; P < .01) and ascites in CT (OR: 4.25; 95% CI: 1.48-12.1; P < .01). Conclusions Staging laparoscopy is an effective tool to detect peritoneal metastasis from AGC. It can increase the curative resection rate and decrease unnecessary laparotomies.