A theory of optimal random crackdowns

An incentives based theory of policing is developed which can explain the phenomenon of random “crackdowns,” i.e., intermittent periods of high interdiction/surveillance. For a variety of police objective functions, random crackdowns can be part of the optimal monitoring strategy. We demonstrate support for implications of the crackdown theory using traffic data gathered by the Belgian Police Department and use the model to estimate the deterrence effectof additional resources spent on speeding interdiction.

Importância De Informação Contabilística Na Determinação Da Matéria Colectavél, Caso Polar Lda.

Resumo Com o objectivo de modernizar o sistema contabilístico de Cabo-Verde foi introduzido em Janeiro de 2009, em substituição do Plano Nacional de Contabilidade (PNC), um novo sistema de normalização contabilística através do Decreto-Lei n.º 5/2008, de 5 de Fevereiro. O novo normativo por se tratar de um modelo de normalização assente mais em princípios do que em regras explicitas, faz com que os dirigentes das empresas elaborem as suas demonstrações financeiras de acordo com as necessidades de gestão e consequentemente independente das regras fiscais. Contudo, a determinação da matéria colectável é feita com base nas informações contabilísticas produzidas, de acordo com SNCRF, pelos dirigentes das empresas. O que se pretende com o presente trabalho é analisar a importância das informações contabilísticas ou demonstrações financeiras, elaboradas no âmbito do SNCRF, na determinação da matéria colectável de um contribuinte de verificação pela administração fiscal. A metodologia utilizada para a concretização desta pesquisa tendo em conta os objectivos traçados foram exploratória e a descritiva, através do qual conseguiu-se descrever aspectos teóricos relacionado ao termo contabilidade e fiscalidade, realizou-se ainda um caso prático na Agência Polar, com o fim de se conhecer na prática os procedimentos inerentes a determinação da matéria colectável e qual o papel da informação contabilística nesse processo. Com intuito de responder o problema da pesquisa optou-se por análise de processos da Polar, em arquivo nas repartições de finanças, referente ao ano 2009 e 2010. Para as citações bibliográficas foi utilizado American Psychological Association (APA

Ética na Administração Pública em Cabo Verde. O Papel do Tribunail de Contas de Cabo Verde como Autarquia do Estado para Accountability

Actualmente, na nossa sociedade apresenta desafios, está continuamente em busca de padrões éticos para uma melhoria da sociedade, é um padrão de grande importância para crescimento e desenvolvimento da Administração Publica cabo-verdiana (APCV). A gestão da coisa Pública é um dos fundamentos de” boa governação”. De acordo com os dados da pesquisa, a ética na APCV é um dos padrões que pouco se poem em pratica. Neste sentido o presente trabalho visa analisar” Ética na Administração Publica”, tendo como estudo de caso o Tribunal de Contas de Cabo Verde (TCCV). Para alcançar o objectivo deste trabalho, fez-se uma pesquisa bibliográfica sobre a ética na Administração Publica e sobre teorias relacionadas com a ética nas organizações. Utilizou-se o método inquisitivo baseado em questionários com perguntas abertas e fechadas para obter as percepçoes dos dirigentes públicos. O tratamento de dados foi feito recorrendo o Software SPSS versão 17 e Excel. Portanto na realização deste estudo foi utilizado o modelo American Psychological Association (APA) no que refere as citações e referências bibliográficas. Os resultados do estudo demonstraram que a ética é um dos instrumentos de extrema relevância para gestão da coisa pública.

Robust response transformations based on optimal prediction

Nonlinear regression problems can often be reduced to linearity by transforming the response variable (e.g., using the Box-Cox family of transformations). The classic estimates of the parameter defining the transformation as well as of the regression coefficients are based on the maximum likelihood criterion, assuming homoscedastic normal errors for the transformed response. These estimates are nonrobust in the presence of outliers and can be inconsistent when the errors are nonnormal or heteroscedastic. This article proposes new robust estimates that are consistent and asymptotically normal for any unimodal and homoscedastic error distribution. For this purpose, a robust version of conditional expectation is introduced for which the prediction mean squared error is replaced with an M scale. This concept is then used to develop a nonparametric criterion to estimate the transformation parameter as well as the regression coefficients. A finite sample estimate of this criterion based on a robust version of smearing is also proposed. Monte Carlo experiments show that the new estimates compare favorably with respect to the available competitors.

Abnormal Lung Function and Risk for Heart Failure in the Elderly: The Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been associated with increased risk for heart failure (HF). The impact of subclinical abnormal spirometric findings on HF risk among older adults without history of COPD is not well elucidated. Methods: We evaluated 2125 participants (age 73.6±2.9 years; 50.5% men; 62.3% white; 45.6/9.4% past/current smokers; body mass index [BMI] 27.2±4.6 kg/m2) without prevalent COPD or HF who underwent baseline spirometry in the Health ABC Study. Abnormal lung function was defined either as forced vital capacity (FVC) below lower limit of normal (LLN) or forced expiratory volume in 1st sec (FEV1) to FVC ratio below LLN. Results: On follow-up (median, 9.4 years), 68 of 350 (19.4%) participants with abnormal lung function developed HF, as compared to 172 of 1775 (9.7%) participants with normal lung function (hazard ratio [HR], 2.31; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.74 -3.06; P<.001). This increased risk persisted after adjusting for all other independent predictors of HF in the Health ABC Study, BMI, incident coronary events, and several inflammatory markers (HR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.30 -2.54; P<.001), and remained constant over time. Baseline FVC and FEV1 had a linear association with HF risk (Figure). In adjusted models, HF risk increased by 21% (95% CI, 10 -36%) per 10% decrease in FVC and 18% (95% CI, 10 -28%) per 10% decrease in FEV1 (both P<.001); this association persisted among participants with normal lung function at baseline. Findings were consistent across sex, race, and smoking status. Conclusions: Subclinical abnormal spirometric findings are prevalent among older adults and are independently associated with risk for incident HF.

Traducción de documentos médicos pertenecientes al NorthShore University Health System

El presente trabajo consiste en la selección, análisis y traducción de 8 documentos con especialidad médica publicados por la institución sanitaria NorthShore University Health System. La elección de esta temática en la elaboración de este proyecto está vinculada al hecho de que en la actualidad trabajo como intérprete con especialidad en medicina para esta organización. Durante el año y medio que llevo en este organismo, he podido observar que existe un gran número de artículos, formularios, folletos informativos, consentimientos quirúrgicos y un largo etcétera que no están traducidos al castellano, cuestión que dificulta enormemente la comunicación, entendimiento y funcionamiento de las relaciones entre los pacientes, familiares y el equipo médico. El NorthShore University Health System tiene un Departamento de Interpretación con 12 intérpretes de castellano en plantilla, 3 intérpretes de ruso, 2 intérpretes de polaco, un intérprete de coreano y un intérprete de árabe. Lamentablemente, el NorthShore no posee un Departamento de Traducción para la traducción de los documentos destinados a los pacientes. El Departamento de Interpretación, bajo la dirección de la supervisora Erika Erdbeer, contrata a una agencia de traducción certificada por la American Translators Association para la traducción de estos documentos. Este proceso supone un alto costo para el Departamento de Interpretación en particular, y para la institución sanitaria en general. De igual modo, el volumen de documentos en necesidad de ser traducidos es sustancialmente más elevado que los recursos económicos disponibles para la traducción de los mismos, y esto supone que no haya presupuesto para traducir muchos de los textos esenciales. En términos generales, esta situación va en detrimento de los derechos e intereses de todos aquellos pacientes que tienen un conocimiento limitado del inglés.A su vez, la labor de los intérpretes se hace muy dificultosa debido al hecho de que en numerosas ocasiones tenemos que realizar traducciones a la vista (sight translate) de una variedad de permisos, formularios, documentos legales, hojas de consentimiento y un largo etcétera que deberían estar traducidos al castellano, y que dada la amplia carga de trabajo que tenemos, no podemos emplear el tiempo necesario para ofrecer al paciente una traducción oral de calidad. Por consiguiente, en un intento por mejorar esta situación, y con el propósito de ofrecer a la comunidad hispanoparlante que acude a esta institución unos servicios de calidad, hemos querido diseñar un proyecto basado en la selección y traducción de los documentos médicos más utilizados por los pacientes hispanoparlantes. Para el proceso de traducción hemos utilizado la herramienta de Traducción Asistida SDL Trados Studio 2009, con la intención de crear una memoria de traducción que pueda ser utilizada en futuros proyectos. Las traducciones realizadas en este trabajo serán publicadas y distribuidas en los pertinentes departamentos del NorthShore. Como paso previo a la publicación de estos documentos, Erika Erdbeer, supervisora del Departamento de Interpretación, enviará las traducciones a la agencia de traducción MetaPhrasis para ser corregidas y revisadas. Por motivos de responsabilidad legal, el NorthShore University Health System tiene la obligación de contratar traductores certificados por la American Translators Association. En la actualidad la autora de este proyecto se encuentra en el proceso de sacar dicha certificación, por lo que será necesario enviar las traducciones para que sean corregidas y revisadas a un traductor/a certificado. Tras la revisión y corrección de los documentos el NorthShore University Health System procederá a la publicación y distribución de los mismos tan pronto lo estime conveniente.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation in failed bioprosthetic surgical valves.

IMPORTANCE: Owing to a considerable shift toward bioprosthesis implantation rather than mechanical valves, it is expected that patients will increasingly present with degenerated bioprostheses in the next few years. Transcatheter aortic valve-in-valve implantation is a less invasive approach for patients with structural valve deterioration; however, a comprehensive evaluation of survival after the procedure has not yet been performed. OBJECTIVE: To determine the survival of patients after transcatheter valve-in-valve implantation inside failed surgical bioprosthetic valves. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Correlates for survival were evaluated using a multinational valve-in-valve registry that included 459 patients with degenerated bioprosthetic valves undergoing valve-in-valve implantation between 2007 and May 2013 in 55 centers (mean age, 77.6 [SD, 9.8] years; 56% men; median Society of Thoracic Surgeons mortality prediction score, 9.8% [interquartile range, 7.7%-16%]). Surgical valves were classified as small (≤21 mm; 29.7%), intermediate (>21 and <25 mm; 39.3%), and large (≥25 mm; 31%). Implanted devices included both balloon- and self-expandable valves. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Survival, stroke, and New York Heart Association functional class. RESULTS: Modes of bioprosthesis failure were stenosis (n = 181 [39.4%]), regurgitation (n = 139 [30.3%]), and combined (n = 139 [30.3%]). The stenosis group had a higher percentage of small valves (37% vs 20.9% and 26.6% in the regurgitation and combined groups, respectively; P = .005). Within 1 month following valve-in-valve implantation, 35 (7.6%) patients died, 8 (1.7%) had major stroke, and 313 (92.6%) of surviving patients had good functional status (New York Heart Association class I/II). The overall 1-year Kaplan-Meier survival rate was 83.2% (95% CI, 80.8%-84.7%; 62 death events; 228 survivors). Patients in the stenosis group had worse 1-year survival (76.6%; 95% CI, 68.9%-83.1%; 34 deaths; 86 survivors) in comparison with the regurgitation group (91.2%; 95% CI, 85.7%-96.7%; 10 deaths; 76 survivors) and the combined group (83.9%; 95% CI, 76.8%-91%; 18 deaths; 66 survivors) (P = .01). Similarly, patients with small valves had worse 1-year survival (74.8% [95% CI, 66.2%-83.4%]; 27 deaths; 57 survivors) vs with intermediate-sized valves (81.8%; 95% CI, 75.3%-88.3%; 26 deaths; 92 survivors) and with large valves (93.3%; 95% CI, 85.7%-96.7%; 7 deaths; 73 survivors) (P = .001). Factors associated with mortality within 1 year included having small surgical bioprosthesis (≤21 mm; hazard ratio, 2.04; 95% CI, 1.14-3.67; P = .02) and baseline stenosis (vs regurgitation; hazard ratio, 3.07; 95% CI, 1.33-7.08; P = .008). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this registry of patients who underwent transcatheter valve-in-valve implantation for degenerated bioprosthetic aortic valves, overall 1-year survival was 83.2%. Survival was lower among patients with small bioprostheses and those with predominant surgical valve stenosis.

Directrius de biblioteques de presons: un estudi comparatiu

S'analitzen de manera comparativa les directrius de biblioteques de presons de l'IFLA, la Library Association (LA) i l'American Library Association (ALA). Després de fer un breu repàs del procés d'elaboració de cadascuna d'aquestes directrius, es comparen les tres propostes dividides en nou apartats: administració, pressupost, personal, localització i condicionament, serveis, col·lecció, catàleg, accessibilitat i promoció. A partir d'aquesta anàlisi, es fa una recomanació sobre quina directriu podria ser el punt de partida per desenvolupar un text similar que es pogués aplicar a les biblioteques de presons de Catalunya.

DSM-5: a collection of psychiatrist views on the changes, controversies, and future directions.

The recent release of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) by the American Psychiatric Association has led to much debate. For this forum article, we asked BMC Medicine Editorial Board members who are experts in the field of psychiatry to discuss their personal views on how the changes in DSM-5 might affect clinical practice in their specific areas of psychiatric medicine. This article discusses the influence the DSM-5 may have on the diagnosis and treatment of autism, trauma-related and stressor-related disorders, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, mood disorders (including major depression and bipolar disorders), and schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Carol A. Brey-Casiano: «Sí, podem fer-ho!»

Entrevista a Carol A. Brey-Casiano, presidenta de l'American Library Association. Es parla del paper de la biblioteca pública en poblacions amb molts immigrants, del bibliotecari als EUA, d'alguns projectes de promoció de biblioteques que hi tenen lloc, de l'ALA i els seus conflictes arran la promulgació de la Patriot act.

Inpatient diabetes care in a Swiss multi-site hospital: is there room for improvement?

Background and objective: Optimal care of diabetic patients (DPs) decreases the risk of complications. Close blood glucose monitoring can improve patient outcomes and shorten hospital stay. The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the treatment of hospitalized DPs according to the current standards, including their diabetic treatment and drugs to prevent diabetes related complications [=guardian drugs: angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) or Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (ARB), antiplatelet drugs, statins]. Guidelines of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) [1] were used as reference as they were the most recent and exhaustive for hospital care. Design: Observational pilot study: analysis of the medical records of all DPs seen by the clinical pharmacists during medical rounds in different hospital units. An assessment was made by assigning points for fulfilling the different criteria according to ADA and then by dividing the total by the maximum achievable points (scale 0-1; 1 = all criteria fulfilled). Setting: Different Internal Medicine and Geriatric Units of the (multi-site) Ho^pital du Valais. Main outcome measures: - Completeness of diabetes-related information: type of diabetes, medical history, weight, albuminuria status, renal function, blood pressure, (recent) lipid profile. - Management of blood glucose: Hb1Ac, glycemic control, plan for treating hyper-/hypoglycaemia. - Presence of guardian drugs if indicated. Results: Medical records of 42 patients in 10 different units were analysed (18 women, 24 men, mean age 75.4 ± 11 years). 41 had type 2 diabetes. - Completeness of diabetes-related information: 0.8 ± 0.1. Information often missing: insulin-dependence (43%) and lipid profile (86%). - Management of blood glucose: 0.5 ± 0.2. 15 patients had suboptimal glycemic balance (target glycaemia 7.2-11.2 mmol/ l, with values[11.2 or\3.8 mmol/l, or Hb1Ac[7%), 10 patients had a deregulated balance (more than 10 values[11.2 mmol/l or \3.8 mmol/l and even values[15 mmol/l). - Presence of guardian drugs if indicated: ACEI/ARB: 19 of 23 patients (82.6%), statin: 16 of 40 patients (40%), antiplatelet drug: 16 of 39 patients (41%). Conclusions: Blood glucose control was insufficient in many DPs and prescription of statins and antiplatelet drugs was often missing. If confirmed by a larger study, these two points need to be optimised. As it is not always possible and appropriate to make those changes during hospital stay, a further project should assess and optimise diabetes care across both inpatient and outpatient settings.

Assessment of parental discipline in daily life.

The use of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) for studying parenting has been rare. We examined the psychometric properties and structural validity of an EMA Parenting Scale based on 32 mothers' reports of their parenting over a period of 10 consecutive days, and explored the acceptance of the scale and compliance with the procedure. The results suggested that the EMA Parenting Scale was well accepted for the assessment of daily parenting, and that it consistently captured the overreactive and lax dimensions of parenting across different episodes of child misbehavior. Moreover, multilevel analyses suggested that the scale was sensitive to change across different parenting episodes, and that it reliably assessed the dimensions at both the personal and situational levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

Diabète et démence: tes liaisons dangereuses [Diabetes and dementia: the dangerous liaisons? ].

As population ages, a growing number of older patients present the constellation of diabetes and dementia. Numerous recent studies highlight that diabetes may increase the risk for Alzheimer and vascular dementia. Among patients with previous severe hypoglycemia, that risk may even double. Inversely demented patients have about three times higher risk of hypoglycemia. Given that spiral link between hypoglycemia and dementia, the latter should be considered as a possible complication of diabetes and consistently be screened for among older diabetic patients. Furthermore, the American Diabetes Association and American Geriatric Society consensus recommends a more flexible glycemic treatment goal of AIC among demented patients, with a target range between 8 and 9%.

Profilaxis antibiótica en cirugía bucal

Los antibióticos pueden administrarse de forma terapéutica -en una infección ya establecida-o de forma profiláctica. La necesidad de profilaxis antibiótica en cirugía bucal es un tema controvertido, así como su correcta administración. Debe realizarse únicamente en aquellos procedimientos que supongan un elevado riesgo de infección (extracciones traumáticas del tercer molar o qúe haya sufrido repetidos procesos de pericoronaritis) y en determinados casos de pacientes médicamente comprometidos. El antibiótico de elección es la penicilina, aunque en determinados casos puede usarse algún medicamento alternativo como el metronidazol. En pacientes sanos debe administrarse una dosis preoperatoria doble a la terapéutica y una o dos dosis postoperatorias. En pacientes médicamente comprometidos con riesgo a sufrir una endocarditis bacteriana se seguirán las recomendaciones de la British Society for Antimicrobial Chemoterapy (BSAC) o de la American Heart Association (AHA).