Formal Monitoring Research Articles

Formal Model of Process Functioning in the Operating System

The article presents a formal model of the functioning of the process in the operating system, created on the basis of a subject-object approach to the separation of the main elements of the operating system. A feature of the presented model is a high-level abstraction of the interaction between the operating system processes and resources, which allows applying the obtained results to a wide range of similar systems. The use of this model is necessary for carrying out the transition from the real world object (process) to a formal model to take into account the significant properties of the behavior of the process both during the static analysis phase of a binary executable file and the dynamic phase of monitoring its implementation. The system of safe execution of code is an extension of the composition of such approaches to the detection of malicious software as the application of the formal verification method «Model checking» and the use of machine safety to monitor the implementation of the studied program. This system allows using in corporate information and computer networks only such software, reliability of which is confirmed by a formal mathematical proof and continuous monitoring of its execution.

Regulating Cannabis Social Clubs: A comparative analysis of legal and self-regulatory practices in Spain, Belgium and Uruguay

BackgroundCannabis Social Clubs (CSCs) are a model of non-profit production and distribution of cannabis among a closed circuit of adult cannabis users. CSCs are now operating in several countries around the world, albeit under very different legal regimes and in different socio-political contexts. AimIn this paper we describe and compare the legal framework and the self-regulatory practices of Cannabis Social Clubs in three countries (Spain, Belgium, and Uruguay). The objective of our comparative analysis is to investigate how CSCs operate in each of these countries. To foster discussions about how one might regulate CSCs to promote public health objectives, we conclude this paper with a discussion on the balance between adequate governmental control and self-regulatory competences of CSCs. MethodsThe data used for this analysis stem from independently conducted local studies by the authors in their countries. Although the particular designs of the studies differ, the data in all three countries was collected through similar data collection methods: analysis of (legal and other documents), field visits to the clubs, interviews with staff members, media content analysis. FindingsWe identified a number of similarities and differences among the CSCs’ practices in the three countries. Formal registration as non-profit association seems to be a common standard among CSCs. We found nevertheless great variation in terms of the size of these organisations. Generally, only adult nationals and/or residents are able to join the CSCs, upon the payment of a membership fee. While production seems to be guided by consumption estimates of the members (Spain and Belgium) or by the legal framework (Uruguay), the thresholds applied by the clubs vary significantly across countries. Quality control practices remain an issue in the three settings studied here. The CSCs have developed different arrangements with regards to the distribution of cannabis to their members. ConclusionsBy uncovering the current practices of CSCs in three key settings, this paper contributes to the understanding of the model, which has to some extent been shaped by the self-regulatory efforts of those involved on the ground. We suggest that some of these self-regulatory practices could be accommodated in future regulation in this area, while other aspects of the functioning of the CSCs may require more formal regulation and monitoring. Decisions on this model should also take into account the local context where the clubs have emerged. Finally, the integration of medical supply within this model warrants further attention.

A national survey of neurological monitoring practice after obstetric regional anaesthesia in the UK.

Neuraxial anaesthesia is widely used in obstetrics and neurological complications are rare. However, when they occur, subsequent investigation and management are time-critical and correlate with the extent of neurological recovery. The Third National Audit Project recommended the implementation of guidelines in obstetric epidural management, including advice on monitoring for early signs of problems and acting upon concerns. However, no national guideline exists for postoperative management in the obstetric population. We conducted a national survey of monitoring after obstetric neuraxial blockade and the management of an abnormally prolonged block. We received responses from 112/189 (59.3%) obstetric anaesthetic leads invited to participate. We determined that post-neuraxial blockade monitoring in the UK is highly variable: only 63/112 (56.3%) respondents' units had a monitoring policy in place, although most of these did not undertake formal neurological monitoring, and a range of different monitoring methods and schedules were employed. In 12/63 (19%) local policies, the first review of neurology was performed at the standard postoperative visit the following day, and 66/112 (58.9%) units had no protocol in place to address emergency management of abnormally prolonged neuraxial blockade. Where a policy was in place, the initial recommended action and the type of imaging used were variable.

Compliance with school nutrition policies in Ontario and Alberta: An assessment of secondary school vending machine data from the COMPASS study

We investigated the extent to which a sample of Ontario and Alberta secondary schools are being compliant with their respective provincial nutrition policies, in terms of the food and beverages sold in vending machines. This observational study used objective data on drinks and snacks from vending machines, collected over three years of the COMPASS study (2012/2013-2014/2015 school years). Drink (e.g., sugar-containing carbonated/non-carbonated soft drinks, sports drinks, etc.) and snack (e.g., chips, crackers, etc.) data were coded by number of units available, price, and location of vending machine(s) in the school. Univariate and bivariate analyses were undertaken using R version 3.2.3. In order to assess policy compliancy over time, nutritional information of products in vending machines was compared to nutrition standards set out in P/PM 150 in Ontario, and those set out in the Alberta Nutrition Guidelines for Children and Youth (2012) in Alberta. Results reveal a decline over time in the proportion of schools selling sugar-containing carbonated soft drinks (9% in 2012/2013 vs. 3% in 2014/2015), crackers (26% vs. 17%) and cake products (12% vs. 5%) in vending machines, and inconsistent changes in the proportion selling chips (53%, 67% and 65% over the three school years). Conversely, results highlight increases in the proportion of vending machines selling chocolate bars (7% vs. 13%) and cookies (21% vs. 40%) between the 2012/2013 and 2014/2015 school years. Nutritional standard policies were not adhered to in the majority of schools with respect to vending machines. There is a need for investment in formal monitoring and evaluation of school policies, and the provision of information and tools to support nutrition policy implementation.

The Role of Civil Society Organizations in Monitoring the Global AIDS Response.

Civil society organizations (CSOs) are recognized as playing an exceptional role in the global AIDS response. However, there is little detailed research to date on how they contribute to specific governance functions. This article uses Haas' framework on global governance functions to map CSO's participation in the monitoring of global commitments to the AIDS response by institutions and states. Drawing on key informant interviews and primary documents, it focuses specifically on CSO participation in Global AIDS Response Progress Reporting and in Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria processes. It argues that the AIDS response is unique within global health governance, in that CSOs fulfill both formal and informal monitoring functions, and considers the strengths and weaknesses of these contributions. It concludes that future global health governance arrangements should include provisions and resources for monitoring by CSOs because their participation creates more inclusive global health governance and contributes to strengthening commitments to human rights.

Online, library-based visual formal specification monitoring system for monitoring log-files with visible and hidden data

Runtime Monitoring (RM), also known as Runtime Verification (RV), is the process of monitoring and verifying the sequencing and temporal behavior of an underlying application and comparing it to the correct behavior as specified by a formal specification pattern. Hidden Markov Model (HMM)-based RM enables the monitoring of systems with both visible and hidden data, using the same formal specifications used by deterministic RM. This paper describes an online library of formal specification oracles and an accompanying toolset for the runtime monitoring log-files that contain hidden and visible data.

Social trust and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China

We study the relation between social trust and stock price crash risk using a sample of Chinese publicly traded A-share stocks during 2001–2012. The crash-prone environment and China's culturally and economically diverse society provide a good background for the examination. We document that (1) social trust and stock price crash risk are negatively correlated and (2) this relation is less pronounced for firms with greater analyst coverage or high institutional ownership. Our findings are robust to alternative measures of crash risk and social trust and additional control variables. Our results also indicate that, as an informal institution, social trust and other formal institutional monitoring mechanisms are partial substitutes. Social trust, as a socioeconomic factor, relates to crash risk.

Anticoagulated patient's perception of their illness, their beliefs about the anticoagulant therapy prescribed and the relationship with adherence: impact of novel oral anticoagulant therapy - study protocol for The Switching Study: a prospective cohort study.

BackgroundAnticoagulant therapy is prescribed for millions of patients worldwide for the prevention and treatment of both arterial and venous thrombosis. Historically, only vitamin K antagonists have been available for clinicians to prescribe. The anticoagulation landscape is changing. The recent availability of the novel oral anticoagulants overcome many of the disadvantages associated with vitamin K antagonists. However the lack of formal monitoring and clinic follow-up is a concern for clinicians, as medication adherence is being assumed, which is known to decline in patients prescribed medications for chronic conditions. The switching study is a programme of work investigating the association between medication adherence and patient’s beliefs about anticoagulation therapy (warfarin and subsequently novel oral anticoagulants), together with beliefs about their illness and anticoagulation related quality of life.Methods/designThe anticoagulation database at King’s College Hospital will be interrogated and two groups of patients will be identified; those with a time in therapeutic range on warfarin of ≥75 % and those <50 %. These groups of patients will have their illness perceptions, anticoagulation specific quality of life and beliefs about medications compared. Those patients in the time in therapeutic range <50 % group, will be then be invited to switch to a novel oral anticoagulant, as per local guidance. Those patients, who do switch, will then be followed longitudinally and have their adherence, illness perceptions, anticoagulation specific quality of life and beliefs about medications, re-evaluated on the novel agent. The results from these sub-studies, will inform a clinical pathway to support patients on these novel agents, which will be evaluated in an independent group of patients.DiscussionThe results from the switching study will be used to develop a clinical pathway to support patient’s prescribed novel oral anticoagulant therapy long-term.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12878-016-0061-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Inpatient mortality after elective primary total hip and knee joint arthroplasty in Botswana.

Total hip and knee joint arthroplasty (TJA) rank among the most successful orthopaedic operations. Several developing countries in Africa have started to perform these procedures that are routine in developed countries. The aims of this study were to measure the incidence and assess the determinants of in-hospital mortality after elective primary TJA in our unit and compare it with published data. This was a retrospective study of the first consecutive cohort of patients who underwent elective primary TJA in Princess Marina Hospital, Botswana between March 2009 and October 2015 (6.5 years). 346 elective joint replacements were performed comprising 153 total hip arthroplasties (THA) and 193 total knee arthroplasties (TKA); 36% of the THA were in female patients and 82% of TKA were in females. The mean age was 64.5years (range 26-86). Three patients died giving an inpatient mortality rate of 0.86%. These three mortalities represent 1.55% (three out of 193) of all the TKA. There were no deaths after THA. The cause of mortality in two patients was an adverse cardiac event while the third mortality was due to pulmonary embolism. The inpatient mortality rate of 0.86% following TJA is higher than the reported rates in the developed countries but comparable with data from other developing countries. The inpatient mortality rate following TKA was higher than that following THA and cardiovascular events proved to be the main cause of death. We recommend formal cardiology assessment and close peri-operative monitoring of all patients with a history of cardiovascular disease undergoing TJA.

Filling the observational void: Scientific value and quantitative validation of hydrometeorological data from a community-based monitoring programme

This study shows how community-based hydrometeorological monitoring programmes can provide reliable high-quality measurements comparable to formal observations. Time series of daily rainfall, river stage and groundwater levels obtained by a local community in Dangila woreda, northwest Ethiopia, have passed accepted quality control standards and have been statistically validated against formal sources. In a region of low-density and declining formal hydrometeorological monitoring networks, a situation shared by much of the developing world, community-based monitoring can fill the observational void providing improved spatial and temporal characterisation of rainfall, river flow and groundwater levels. Such time series data are invaluable in water resource assessment and management, particularly where, as shown here, gridded rainfall datasets provide gross under or over estimations of rainfall and where groundwater level data are non-existent. Discussions with the local community during workshops held at the setup of the monitoring programme and since have demonstrated that the community have become engaged in the project and have benefited from a greater hydrological knowledge and sense of ownership of their resources. This increased understanding and empowerment is at the relevant scale required for effective community-based participatory management of shallow groundwater and river catchments.

Does Self-Certification Encourage or Reduce Opportunistic Behavior?

ABSTRACTWe experimentally investigate the effectiveness of a self-certification requirement as an informal control to reduce opportunistic behavior. We predict and find that a requirement that managers sign to take sole responsibility for their decisions—even though the decision is kept private—acts as a “double-edged sword.” Using a capital investment setting involving two decision stages, we find that self-certifying managers are less likely to behave opportunistically at the first stage. However, at the second stage, managers are more likely to behave opportunistically if they previously self-certified an opportunistic decision. Additional analysis indicates that a monitoring-based control removes the effectiveness of self-certification altogether. Overall, we find that the effectiveness of a self-certification requirement in reducing opportunistic behavior is bounded by its timing and the presence of other controls; it is potentially useful when managers are making a first decision, and only in the absence of a formal monitoring system.Data Availability: Data available upon request. Please contact the authors.

An Overview of Occupational Risks From Climate Change.

Changes in atmosphere and temperature are affecting multiple environmental indicators from extreme heat events to global air quality. Workers will be uniquely affected by climate change, and the occupational impacts of major shifts in atmospheric and weather conditions need greater attention. Climate change-related exposures most likely to differentially affect workers in the USA and globally include heat, ozone, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, other chemicals, pathogenic microorganisms, vector-borne diseases, violence, and wildfires. Epidemiologic evidence documents a U-, J-, or V-shaped relationship between temperature and mortality. Whereas heat-related morbidity and mortality risks are most evident in agriculture, many other outdoor occupational sectors are also at risk, including construction, transportation, landscaping, firefighting, and other emergency response operations. The toxicity of chemicals change under hyperthermic conditions, particularly for pesticides and ozone. Combined with climate-related changes in chemical transport and distribution, these interactions represent unique health risks specifically to workers. Links between heat and interpersonal conflict including violence require attention because they pose threats to the safety of emergency medicine, peacekeeping and humanitarian relief, and public safety professionals. Recommendations for anticipating how US workers will be most susceptible to climate change include formal monitoring systems for agricultural workers; modeling scenarios focusing on occupational impacts of extreme climate events including floods, wildfires, and chemical spills; and national research agenda setting focusing on control and mitigation of occupational susceptibility to climate change.

Community monitoring interventions to curb corruption and increase access and quality of service delivery in low‐ and middle‐income countries: a systematic review

Community monitoring interventions to curb corruption and increase access and quality of service delivery in low‐ and middle‐income countries: a systematic review

Oncology Patients’ Satisfaction Towards Quality Health Care Services at Accredited University Hospital

Background: Patients’ satisfaction has become an important tool to assess the quality health care services, which is progressively required by accreditation agencies in the checking of quality of hospital care. Aim: evaluate oncology patient satisfaction towards health care services at University Hospital after accreditation. Methods: Quantitative, descriptive study was used. This study was conducted in five units as the medical; surgical (male and female) and gynecology wards at King Abdulaziz University Hospital. It is one of the first Hospitals in the eastern Mediterranean region implement health care accreditation standards. Sample: Total number of non-randomized convenience sample was 123 oncology patients who admitted to the above-mentioned setting. Patients were selected for their oncology diagnosis from each department and who is oriented and conscious included in the study. Data was collected by structured interview questionnaire for measuring patient satisfaction level towards health care services. Results: Studied sample was satisfied by the knowledge and an experience they give about illness; information about medical tests; and information is given about treatment at (mean = 4.67); highly statistically, significant difference's relationship was observed in the total level of patient's satisfaction, and care received from nurses to the oncology patient during his hospital staying and regarding to services care organization at p = .000. Conclusion: there was satisfaction with the information provided by the medical staff about the patient's illness and the course of treatment. This is followed by the time spent with the physician and the interpersonal skills of the physician and nurses. The implication of study: develop the training program for health care providers about effective documentation; guidelines for providers in care for similar patients, and different formal monitoring systems are used by health care providers or regulators.

A BLUE-PRINT FOR PERFORMING PAEDIATRIC PHARMACOLOGICAL RESEARCH

IntroductionIn order to develop rational, patient tailored dosing schemes, population PK/PD studies in children and infants are needed. The emergence of new laboratory techniques (LC-MS/MS) and statistical tools (population PK/PD modeling) allows for the analysis of sparse and unbalanced data and has increased the possibilities to perform (observational) PK/PD studies in the paediatric clinic.To improve the quality of future pediatric PK/PD investigations the experience and knowledge about these tools should be shared and a basic study template agreed upon.ObjectiveWe aim to present a possible blue-print to assist paediatricians in the design and conduct of multicentre PK/PD studies in children and infants.MethodsBased on a review of the existing literature and multiple interviews with paediatricians and pharmacologists involved in multicenter paediatric PK/PD research a blue-print is drafted containing recommendations and examples for the design and implementation of PK/PD studies in children. The draft blue-print will be available at the conference and participants are asked for feed-back.ResultsPK/PD research to determine dosing in children and infants is preferably performed in a multi-center infrastructure in order to include a sufficient number of subjects within a reasonable time, covering all covariates relevant for dosage. The multi-center collaboration may also enable the analysis of multiple drugs in one cohort increasing cost-efficiency. Formal monitoring is needed to guarantee the quality of collected data.DiscussionIf performed well, the results of these studies will contribute to the evidence base underlying clinical guidelines and regulatory decisions concerning labeling adjustments.

Preventive Conservation Plan for Library Buildings in La Plata, Argentina

This summary shows the advances of a project called “Development of building environmental management and continuous monitoring for preventive conservation in UNLP libraries” which is now taking place in the libraries of the National University of La Plata. It is essential to know the hygrothermal condition inside the book deposits, as one of the first preventive measures to become aware of the state of conservation of the books. The aim of the study is to propose a systematic environmental monitoring method to verify compatibility between measured parameters and optimal preservation conditions. Annual monitoring campaign was performed in twelve libraries with diverse results according to the characteristics of the envelope and HVAC systems. It is the first time that a formal monitoring campaign has taken place in these library buildings. We met staff well disposed and eager to achieve better results. We provide a standard report model suitable for the institutions as a decision-making tool, with simultaneous analysis of temperature and relative humidity, according to the local climate.

Reducing our footprints and reversing degradation: A role for informal as well as formal monitoring

Reducing our footprints and reversing degradation: A role for informal as well as formal monitoring

Informal Rangeland Monitoring and Its Importance to Conservation in a U.S. Ranching Community

Effective natural resource management relies on accurate and timely information on the natural environment, which may be obtained by formal (“scientific”) or informal (“local” or “traditional”) methods. Formal monitoring methods are well documented and widely accepted among the rangeland science community, yet adoption by U.S. ranchers is inconsistent. In contrast, informal monitoring appears to be widely used by ranchers, but its practice and importance have rarely been documented or assessed. By interviewing ranchers and government agency personnel, we evaluated informal monitoring in and around the Altar Valley, Arizona, United States. Informal monitoring techniques included qualitative visual appraisals of forage quantity, indicator species and erosion, and incorporated local environmental history. The environmental knowledge embedded in informal monitoring was generally compatible with natural science. Informal monitoring was conducted continuously throughout the year and provided near real-time assessments that integrated observations of most land in individual pastures and ranches. In contrast, formal monitoring was generally performed only once per year, in a limited number of areas and with a delay of a few months between observation and completion of analysis. Thus informal monitoring had higher spatial coverage and temporal resolution and provided assessments faster than formal monitoring. Consequently, ranchers generally considered informal monitoring to be more relevant than formal monitoring to formulating yearly grazing plans and responding rapidly to unpredictable changes in the natural environment. Ranchers incorporated informal monitoring into assessments of rangeland trends and outcomes of conservation measures and thereby into choices of grazing system and planning of brush management and erosion control. Thus informal monitoring was foundational to long-term conservation, annual rangeland management planning, and adaptive natural resource management on subyearly timescales. If informal monitoring is of comparable utility in other rural communities, it would appear advantageous to document and evaluate informal approaches and to incorporate them into formal conservation planning.

Is “good” resettlement policy unimplementable? Learning from advocacy in Cambodia

Accountability advocacy is an increasingly common approach to working with displaced communities. This article explores a resettlement scheme for an Asian Development Bank project in Cambodia in which advocacy interventions resulted in significant improvements in resettlement sites over the eight years of the project. Resettlement standards improved in some of the sites so much that they might now be called “islands of governance”, tightly ring-fenced from the otherwise limited support provided ordinarily to displaced or landless Cambodians. Given these extremes, the article considers whether “good” resettlement policy is implementable. It also argues that best practice resettlement principles, such as the requirement to minimise displacement – no matter how sensible or well-intended when designed at an international level – have the potential for negative unintended consequences in implementation. These impacts cannot necessarily be mitigated through formal monitoring, oversight, and technical assistance. Building on the knowledge already available, it identifies five considerations relevant to resettlement programmes as they continue to evolve.

The effects of high frequency oscillation ventilation on patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome: a Meta-analysis and sequential analysis of trial

To evaluate the effect of high frequency oscillation ventilation (HFOV) vs. conventional mechanical ventilation (CV) on the treatment and prognosis of adult patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Published articles concerning randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about the effect of HFOV vs. CV on the prognosis of adult patients with ARDS published before May 2014 were retrieved from PubMed, EMBase, Cochrane central registry of controlled trials, CNKI and Wanfang Data. The mortality and data of physiological parameters were analyzed with STATA 12.0, and the mortality rate was also analyzed by trial sequential analysis with TSA 0.9, and the line chart was drawn with Microsoft Office Excel 2003. Seven trials with 1,731 patients met the criteria, all of them recorded the physiological parameters data, and mortality rate was mentioned in 6 trials (1,705 patients). Compared with CV, HFOV did not show any statistically significant beneficial effects on mortality [relative risk (RR)=0.93, 95% confidence interval (95%CI)=0.70-1.24, P=0.63], and other clinical outcomes, including survival without mechanical ventilation (RR=1.05, 95%CI=0.72-1.54, P=0.80), survival on mechanical ventilation (RR=1.23, 95%CI=0.65-2.35, P=0.52), or treatment failure (RR=0.89, 95%CI=0.50-1.56, P=0.67). The risk factors of adverse events including hypotension (RR=0.89, 95%CI=0.07-10.99, P=0.93), acidosis (RR=1.05, 95%CI=0.43-2.56, P=0.91), and air leakage from ventilator (RR=0.74, 95%CI=0.31-1.80, P=0.51) were similar. But the physiologic parameters of patients and parameters of ventilator in HFOV group, including oxygenation index, positive end-expiratory pressure, tidal volume, mean airway pressure, arterial pH, partial pressure of arterial carbon dioxide, fraction of inspired oxygen, ratio of partial pressure of arterial oxygen to fraction of inspired oxygen, were better than those in the CV group. Methods adapted from formal interim monitoring boundaries applied to cumulative Meta-analysis showed that the evidence failed by a considerable degree to meet the standards for forgoing studies, and the necessary sample was 3 874 patients. Trial sequential analysis also showed that the accumulated Z-score did not cross the traditional boundary (P=0.05) and interim monitoring boundaries. This result indicated that there was no significant difference between CV and HFOV on mortality before the number of needed sample reached (3,874 cases). We could not get a definitive conclusion with current evidences. Compared with CV, the use of HFOV in ARDS was not associated with a significant reduction in mortality. But the physiologic parameters of patients in HFOV group were better than those in the CV group. More RCTs are needed to draw a definitive conclusion.