Internal Working Groups Research Articles

Performance of RRBs in pre-Merger and post-Merger period

Regional Rural Banks are established under the provisions of an ordinance promulgated on 26th September, 1975 and the RRB Act, 1976 with an objective to ensure sufficient institutional credit for agriculture and other rural sectors. Reforms and mergers introduced by the Government of India in consultation with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in the year 1994-95 to 2005-06. So, there is a need to study the growth and financial performance of Regional Rural banks in India in pre-Merger & post-Merger period. The study is based on secondary data collected from annual reports of NABARD and RBI. In order to provide access to low-cost banking facilities to the poor rural banking in India was started. Rural banks in those days mainly focused upon the Argo sector. RRBs in India penetrated every corner of the country and extended a helping hand in the growth process of the country. This research aim is that to analyze the financial performance of RRBs before amalgamations and after amalgamations. As spread ratio comprises of Interest income earned and interest income expensed divided by total assets. The other financial indicators such as no. of RRBs, branches, district coverage, deposits and advances have shown growth but it is not significant growth. The Internal working group of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) suggested that merger and amalgamation of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) may help in improving their health and viability, even as it sought to bring in new banks both public and private as sponsors of the merged RRBs.

A Climate Action Plan for the California Department of Water Resources

Key TakeawaysGreenhouse gas mitigation and adaptation to climate change vulnerabilities should be incorporated into existing utility business and project management processes.A comprehensive climate action plan can meet and exceed legal requirements, reduce risk, achieve business process efficiencies, apply best available science, and demonstrate social responsibility.Focused internal workgroups, expert consultation, inspired management, feedback loops, breadth of application, and quantitative detail are critical to success.

“Good-looking step” in “bad direction” – RBI Internal Working Group proposal

Learning outcomes After discussing this case, the authors expect that the students will have the following learnings: critically analyse the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) banking proposal, which was proposed by the Internal Working Group (IWG) in November 2020. Understand concepts such as connected lending, crony capitalism and financial crisis. Have a basic idea about the Banking Regulations Act, 1949 and regulatory framework in the Indian banking sector. Case overview/synopsis This case is an analysis of the recent RBI proposal on banking regulations in India. The authors have referred secondary data in terms of published papers by stalwarts and experts in the banking and economics field. This case analyses the pros and cons of the IWG proposal to RBI governing body. The case also touches upon interesting banking and macroeconomics concepts. What makes this case interesting is that RBI is open to receive comments from all the stakeholders till January 2021. Complexity academic level Applicable to undergraduate and postgraduate students studying banking and finance specialisation in commerce and business management streams. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 1: Accounting and Finance.

Legal aspects related to the access of natural family planning services: patient’s right to accurate and impartial information

Natural family planning methods historically were considered as a separate group of family planning methods as opposed to conventional contraception methods. In the 60‘s of the last century family planning have become an international demographic policy issue and lately it was included into the international public health agenda. Since that time natural family planning experienced a radical transformation in conceptual terms, accompanied by terminological chaos. In the last two decades the term of natural family planning as autonomous concept was almost completely eliminated from the language of international intergovernmental organizations, such as World Health Organization. Natural family planning methods terminologically now are incorporated into the concept of contraception, contrasting them with the so-called „effective modern contraceptive methods“. Two relevant conclusions could be drawn from that. Firstly, these above mentioned terminological innovations arise from working definitions developed by various internal working groups, lack transparency and thus they may not be formally considered as legally or politically binding international community. Secondly, the marginalization of effective natural family planning methods from the agenda of healthcare and the exclusive promotion of “effective modern contraception“ work against the rights and the interests of patients to receive unbiased and comprehensive information about healthcare services and to make an autonomous decision.

RDoC at 10: changing the discourse for psychopathology.

RDoC at 10: changing the discourse for psychopathology.

Abstract WP203: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Common Data Elements: Public Review and Updates to the Stroke Recommendations

Objective: The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) initiated the Common Data Element (CDE) project to provide standardized clinical research data collection formats that increase the efficiency and effectiveness of studies and reduce start-up time, as well as improve data quality and facilitate and accelerate data sharing. In 2010, Stroke-specific CDEs were posted on the NINDS CDE website. The Stroke Oversight Committee (OC) reviewed Core CDEs in 2015; and in 2018, recommended that Stroke CDEs undergo a comprehensive review and update to Version 2.0. Background: In August 2018, a Stroke V2.0 Working Group (WG) consisting of over 50 worldwide subject matter experts was convened by NINDS. The WG was asked to review all current Stroke CDEs and subarachnoid hemorrhage and unruptured cerebral aneurysms (SAH) CDEs (developed in 2017) for harmonization and inclusion within Stroke V2.0. Methods: The Stroke V2.0 WG divided into eight domain-specific subgroups: Biospecimens, Biomarkers, and Laboratory Tests; Hospital Course and Acute Therapies; Imaging; Long Term Therapies; Medical History and Prior Health Status; Outcomes and Endpoints; Stroke Presentation and Vital Signs; and Stroke Types and Subtypes. Subgroups met regularly to review, revise and add to the existing Stroke CDEs based on developments in stroke research. Following an internal WG review, a public review of the draft updates will be held. The WG will consider public feedback before V2.0 is finalized. The Stroke OC plans to review the project status at the 2020 International Stroke Conference. Results: The Stroke V2.0 CDE recommendations will include updated and new template case report forms, data dictionaries, instrument informational documents and guideline documents. The updates will reflect the current state of science, streamline CDE recommendations, and incorporate SAH CDEs. Stroke V2.0 CDEs will be available on the NINDS CDE website in 2020. Conclusions: The NINDS CDEs are periodically revised as research progresses. Through the update of the Stroke CDEs to V2.0, the initiative strives to maintain the utility of CDEs as a valuable clinical research resource. NINDS encourages use of CDEs to standardize research data collection across studies.

Developing a Data Management Consultation Service for Faculty Researchers: a Case Study from a Large Midwestern Public University

To inform the development of data management services, a library research team at Kent State University conducted a survey of all tenured, tenure-track, and non-tenure track faculty about their data management practices and perceptions. The methodology and results will be presented in the article, as well as how this information was used to inform future work in the library’s internal working group. Recommendations will be presented that other academic libraries could model in order to develop similar services at their institutions. Personal anecdotes are included that help ascertain current practices and sentiments around research data from the perspective of the researcher. The article addresses the particular needs of a large Midwestern U.S. academic campus, which are not currently reflected in literature on the topic.

Taming the Wild West of Molecular Tools Application in Aquatic Research and Biomonitoring

Modern high-throughput sequencing technologies are becoming a game changer in many fields of aquatic research and biomonitoring. To unfold their full potential, however, the independent development of approaches has to be streamlined. This discussion must be fuelled by stakeholders and practitioners and, scientific results collaboratively filtered to identify the most promising avenues. Furthermore, aspects such as time, budget, skills and the application context have to be considered, finally communicating good practice strategies to target audiences. Since 2016, the EU COST Action DNAqua-Net is taming the wild west of molecular tools application in aquatic research and biomonitoring. After nucleating available knowledge by the formation of a highly international and transdisciplinary network of scientists, stakeholders, practitioners and enterprises, fields of high methodological diversity were identified. Relevant aspects are currently ground truthed, thereby reducing the plethora of pipelines, parameters and protocols to a subset of good practices or standardisations. To effectively bridge the science-application interface, the very same network is exploited for the dissemination of results (Leese et al. 2018). The internal working group structure of DNAqua-Net is used to provide an overview of existing methodological fields of diversity in DNA-based aquatic biomonitoring: WG1 -DNA Barcode

Changing Hearts and Minds: Improving Outcomes in Cancer Treatment-Related Cardiotoxicity.

Cardiovascular effects from cancer treatment remains a leading cause of treatment-associated morbidity and mortality among cancer survivors. The National Cancer Institute and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute convened a Workshop in June 2018 entitled "Changing Hearts and Minds: Improving Outcomes in Cancer Treatment-Related Cardiotoxicity" to highlight progress, ongoing work, and update scientific priorities since the 2013 Workshop. Here we will describe these advances and provide an overview of the research priorities identified. Since 2013, the National Institutes of Health has increased its support of cancer treatment-related cardiotoxicity research through the funding of grants and coordination of internal and external working groups. Workshop participants identified knowledge gaps and recommended over 20 new promising opportunities in basic and clinical cardiotoxicity research. Significant progress on mechanisms, detection, management, and prevention of cardiotoxicity has been made over the past 5years, yet some critical gaps remain.

Redeveloping the JBI Model of Evidence Based Healthcare.

In 2005, Pearson et al. presented a developmental framework of evidence-based practice that sought to situate healthcare evidence and its role and use within the complexity of practice settings globally. A decade later, it was deemed timely to re-examine the Model and its component parts to determine whether they remain relevant and a true and accurate reflection of where the evidence-based movement is today. A two-phase process was employed for this project. Phase 1 involved a citation analysis, conducted using the index citation of the original source article on the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Model by Pearson et al. The databases searched were Web of Science and Google Scholar from year of publication (2005) to July 2015. Duplicates and articles in languages other than English were removed, and all results were imported and combined in an Excel spreadsheet for review, coding and interpretation. Phase 2 (model revision) occurred in two parts. Part 1 involved revision of the Model by an internal working group. This revised version of the Model was then subjected to a process of focus group discussion (Part 2) that engaged staff of the Joanna Briggs Collaboration during the 2015 annual general meeting. These data were recorded then transcribed for review and consideration. The citation analysis revealed that the Model was primarily utilized to conceptualize evidence and evidence-based healthcare, but that language used in relation to concepts within the Model was variable. Equally, the working group and focus group feedback confirmed that there was a need to ensure the language utilized in the Model was internationally appropriate and in line with current international trends. This feedback and analysis informed the revised version of the JBI Model. Based on the citation analysis, working group and focus group feedback the new JBI Model for Evidence Based Healthcare attempts to utilize more internationally appropriate language to detail the intricacies of the relationships between systems and individuals across different settings and the need for contextual localization to enable policy makers and practitioners to make evidence-based decisions at the point of care.

2237 From bedside to benchmarks: A physician-scientist workforce dashboard for biomedical research institutions

2237 From bedside to benchmarks: A physician-scientist workforce dashboard for biomedical research institutions

The Development of County HR Policies: The Perspectives of Counties in Two States

We conducted 40 semi-structured interviews with county HR directors (20 in New York, 20 in North Carolina) to learn more about the development of internal HR policies. Key resources used by directors in both states include other jurisdictions, colleagues in other county departments, state and federal agencies, laws and statutes, professional associations, and information gathered from general Internet searches. More than half of the HR directors reported using internal working groups, and almost two-thirds indicated that they systematically reviewed the implications of policies for specific departments. Yet, only a handful of HR directors reported utilizing other promising practices such as engaging rank-and-file employees in the policy process, reviewing a new or revised policy’s consistency with existing policy, and using evidence-based decision making to develop policies. Although there was little difference by state, our findings indicate the characteristics of HR directors can shape how a jurisdiction approaches policymaking.

What Happens after Assignments? The Room for Manoeuvre of Committee Members in the Bundestag and the Tweede Kamer

This article analyses how parliamentary party groups in the Tweede Kamer and the Bundestag achieve internal cohesion via the working procedures of parliamentary committees. Earlier research has indicated that committees comprise legislators with more or less divergent views from the parliamentary party group (PPG) median. This begs the question what mechanisms exist to deal with internal conflicts and maintain a level of cohesiveness among committee members and the wider PPG. The analysis is based on evidence from interviews with 78 legislators. The results show how individual legislators develop the initial positions with relative autonomy but are subsequently placed in a system of scrutiny through the internal working groups established in the PPGs. The analysis also highlights informal relationships between legislators outside of the institutionalised patterns.

Quantifying food loss during primary production and processing in France

Data on the extent of food loss and waste and on the destinations of lost and wasted food during the upstream stages of supply chains – primary production and processing – are currently scarce in France and in other industrialized countries. The reasons include a lack of available measurements, wide differences in the definition of what food loss and waste are at these stages, and, especially in the primary sector, its diversity. Research plays an essential role in filling this knowledge gap in order to support decision-makers in adopting strategies for more sustainable food use, to innovate in technology and practices aimed at food loss and waste reduction, and to raise awareness about the role of food in human societies.This study aimed to answer key questions on: i) the extent of food loss and waste at the upstream stages of food supply chains in industrialized countries; ii) how it can be measured at these stages; and iii) the role that reuse and recycling play in the reduction of food loss and waste. The paper provides answers to these questions and discusses methodological issues of food loss quantification relevant to the upstream stages of food supply chains.In this study, food loss is defined as discarded or lost food products, initially intended for human consumption, unless they were used for animal feed (excluding pet food). INRA internal multidisciplinary working groups organized per food sector collected data from a large array of available reports, published studies, and interviews with technical experts and businesses. Four plant sectors (cereals, pulses, oil crops, and fruit/vegetables/potatoes) and six animal sectors (milk, beef, lamb, pork, poultry, eggs, and farmed fish) were analyzed.The results indicate that food loss does indeed occur at the upstream stages of supply chains. The role of the different supply chain stages varies between the food sectors. Based on our study results for the year 2013, between 3 and 11% of food was lost, and up to 12% for fruit, vegetables and potatoes, from production to processing (up to retailing in the case of fruit and vegetables). Recycling, including reuse of discarded food directly as food or indirectly as animal feed, plays a moderate role in food waste reduction during primary production and processing.Our paper shows the limits of implementation, in terms of method and access to data, of the current quantification framework at these stages. Because of data scarcity, a wide range of data sources was used to gather information which, with the help of experts, was interpreted, converted and recalculated into food loss estimates. We therefore argue for a food sector-specific approach to data collection and to the identification of food loss determinants and solutions for reduction. Insights from our study point out the need for improvements towards a more handy and robust quantification framework.

Legal aspects related to the access of natural family planning services: patient’s right to accurate and impartial information

Natural family planning methods historically were considered as a separate group of family planning methods as opposed to conventional contraception methods. In the 60‘s of the last century family planning have become an international demographic policy issue and lately it was included into the international public health agenda. Since that time natural family planning experienced a radical transformation in conceptual terms, accompanied by terminological chaos. In the last two decades the term of natural family planning as autonomous concept was almost completely eliminated from the language of international intergovernmental organizations, such as World Health Organization. Natural family planning methods terminologically now are incorporated into the concept of contraception, contrasting them with the so-called „effective modern contraceptive methods“. Two relevant conclusions could be drawn from that. Firstly, these above mentioned terminological innovations arise from working definitions developed by various internal working groups, lack transparency and thus they may not be formally considered as legally or politically binding international community. Secondly, the marginalization of effective natural family planning methods from the agenda of healthcare and the exclusive promotion of “effective modern contraception“ work against the rights and the interests of patients to receive unbiased and comprehensive information about healthcare services and to make an autonomous decision.

Abstract TP419: A Common Data Language for Clinical Research Studies: The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and National Library of Medicine Cerebral Aneurysms and Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Common Data Elements Version 1.0 Recommendations

Introduction: The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Library of Medicine (NLM) initiated development of cerebral aneurysms and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH)-specific Common Data Elements (CDEs) in 2015 as part of a joint project to develop data standards for funded clinical research in neuroscience. Objective: Through the development of these data standards for clinical research, the NINDS and NLM SAH joint CDE initiative strives to improve SAH data collection by increasing efficiency, improving data quality, reducing study start-up time, facilitating data sharing/meta-analyses and helping educate new clinical investigators. Methods: The working group consisted of international members with varied fields of expertise related to SAH and was divided into domains such as subject characteristics and assessments and exams. They developed a set of SAH-specific CDE recommendations by selecting among, refining and adding to existing field-tested data elements. Recommendations, based on reviewing the established Stroke CDEs as well as other disease-specific CDEs, were uploaded to the NIH CDE Repository. Following an internal working group review of recommendations, the SAH CDEs will be vetted during a public review on the NINDS website. Results: Version 1.0 of the SAH CDEs will be available in early 2017. New SAH CDEs and recommendations will include those developed for unruptured intracranial aneurysms and long-term therapies. The NINDS CDE website provides uniform names and structures for each data element, as well as guidance documents and template case report forms using the CDEs. Conclusion: The NINDS encourages the use of CDEs by the clinical research community in order to standardize the collection of research data across studies. The NINDS CDEs are a continually evolving resource, requiring updates as research advancements indicate. These newly developed SAH CDEs will serve to be a valuable starting point for researchers and facilitate streamlining and sharing data. Information provided at this meeting will include examples of how the SAH CDEs may be used by a research study, demonstrations of navigating the NINDS CDE and NIH CDE Repository websites and how users can submit feedback.

Recommendations for the National Institute for Neurologic Disorders and Stroke spinal cord injury common data elements for children and youth with SCI.

In 2014, the adult spinal cord injury (SCI) common data element (CDE) recommendations were made available. This project was a review of the adult SCI CDE for relevance to children and youth with SCI. The objective of this study was to review the National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) adult SCI CDEs for relevance to children and youth with SCI. International. The pediatric working group consisted of international members with varied fields of expertise related to pediatric SCI. The group convened biweekly meetings for 6 months in 2015. All of the adult SCI CDEs were reviewed, evaluated and modified/created for four age groups: 0-5 years, 6-12 years, 13-15 years and 16-18 years. Whenever possible, results of published research studies were used to guide recommendations. In the absence of empirical support, grey literature and international content expert consensus were garnered. Existing pediatric NINDS CDEs and new CDEs were developed in areas where adult recommendations were not appropriate. After internal working group review of domain recommendations, these pediatric CDEs were vetted during a public review from November through December 2015. Version 1.0 of the pediatric SCI CDEs was posted in February 2016. The pediatric SCI CDEs are incorporated directly into the NINDS SCI CDE sets and can be found at https://commondataelements.ninds.nih.gov.

Successful Organizational Strategies to Sustain Use of A-CHESS: A Mobile Intervention for Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorders.

BackgroundMobile health (mHealth) services are growing in importance in health care research with the advancement of wireless networks, tablets, and mobile phone technologies. These technologies offer a wide range of applications that cover the spectrum of health care delivery. Although preliminary experiments in mHealth demonstrate promising results, more robust real-world evidence is needed for widespread adoption and sustainment of these technologies.ObjectiveOur aim was to identify the problems/challenges associated with sustained use of an mHealth addiction recovery support app and to determine strategies used by agencies that successfully sustained client use of A-CHESS.MethodsQualitative inquiry assessed staff perceptions about organizational attributes and strategies associated with sustained use of the mobile app, A-CHESS. A total of 73 interviews of clinicians and administrators were conducted. The initial interviews (n=36) occurred at the implementation of A-CHESS. Follow-up interviews (n=37) occurred approximately 12 and 24 months later. A coding scheme was developed and Multiuser NVivo was used to manage and analyze the blinded interview data.ResultsSuccessful strategies used by treatment providers to sustain A-CHESS included (1) strong leadership support, (2) use of client feedback reports to follow up on non-engaged clients, (3) identify passionate staff and incorporate A-CHESS discussions in weekly meetings, (4) develop A-CHESS guidelines related to client use, (5) establish internal work groups to engage clients, and (6) establish a financial strategy to sustain A-CHESS use. The study also identified attributes of A-CHESS that enhanced as well as inhibited its sustainability.ConclusionsMobile apps can play an important role in health care delivery. However, providers will need to develop strategies for engaging both staff and patients in ongoing use of the apps. They will also need to rework business processes to accommodate the changes in communication frequency and style, learn to use app data for decision making, and identify financing mechanisms for supporting these changes.

Going Green: One Library's Journey Toward Sustainability

The Duke University Medical Center Library created and implemented a sustainability plan as a way of contributing to the University's institutional goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2024. An internal working group coordinated efforts to implement more environmentally friendly practices, create awareness of the importance of this project, and obtain staff buy-in. As a result, the Library was awarded the University's Green Workplace certification. This article will share not only the process for implementing sustainability initiatives, but will also detail some practices that other libraries can achieve.

Sustained Erythroid Response Associated With Red Cell Transfusion and Progressive Growth Factor Independence Is Feasible With Adjuvant Sertraline In Low-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome (LR-MDS)

BackgroundLR-MDS is a heterogeneous group of clonal marrow disorder associated with ineffective hematopoeisis and complex genomic etiology. For patients (pt) with refractory cytopenia phenotype (RC-P), transfusion and growth factor support, such as Erythropoietin Stimulating Agents (ESAs) and Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor (G-CSF), are treatment options. Response rates for ESA is about 30%, (and response potentiation can be achieved in about 35% of pt receiving concurrent G-CSF.However, ESA unresponsiveness is a common phenomenon and is associated with transfusion dependence, normal/high EPO levels, and high IPSS score. Therefore, novel therapies are greatly needed. Biologically, LR-MDS is linked to deregulation of apoptosis and cytokine signaling pathways. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) can induce normalization of deranged cytokines such as IL6 and TNF-α in clinical depression. In animal model of arthritis, sertraline abrogates manifestation of autoimmune arthritis by reducing TNF α. Our group recently showed that significant improvement in overall survival (OS) can be achieved in low-risk MDS patients treated with SSRIs, such as sertraline, which is independent of concurrent MDS directed therapy. (Li, et al. ASH 2012 abstract # 3818) Here, we report a case of sequential reversal of transfusion and growth factor dependence phenotype in a pt with refractory anemia multi-lineage dysplasia LR- MDS. MethodsA 72-year male with transfusion dependent refractory anemia (8 units RBC in 8 weeks) was evaluated in clinic. His bone marrow showed erythroid and megakaryocytic dysplasia consistent with RCMD by WHO 2008 classification. Cytogenetic study revealed 45;X-Y[4];46 XY[16]. R-IPSS=1.5 (Cytogenetic=0; blast [0%] =0; Hb=7g/dL=1.5; Platelets [135000] =0; ANC [1500] =0). EPO and ferritin levels were 449 IU/L and 1600 NG/ML, respectively. R-H-EPO was administered at 40000 IU subcutaneously (SQ) per week. In view of severe depression, pt initiated sertraline at 100 mg orally on day (D) 61 of treatment. Response after 12 weeks of ESA, sequential addition of G-CSF and sertraline, were assessed according to internal working group (IWG) 2006 criteria. ResultsAfter 3 months of standard weekly SQ ESA (D1-D92) (Fig.1), and given ESA refractoriness, G-CSF at 480 mcg SQ 5-times weekly was added (ESA + G-CSF schedule) (D92-D189).Transfusion independence was observed by D 161 of combined ESA+G-CSF(Fig.1). Progressive hemoglobin stabilization resulted in G-CSF dose reduction to twice a week from D189 –D 257 (Fig. 1). Sequential resolution of ESA dependence was observed from D257- D515. Over the treatment period, the absolute increase in Hb level was 4.2 g/dL from baseline. Restoration of ESA erythroid response was observed by D93-210 after G-CSF and sertraline addition. (Table. 1) Sustained and improved Hb levels were achieved after 200 days of G-CSF discontinuation and ESA dose de-escalation while on sertraline treatment. [Display omitted] ConclusionsReversal of transfusion dependence represents a critical step in treatment algorithm of LR-MDS pt presenting with refractory anemia. In this context, ferritin normalization has previously been recognized as independent prognostic factor for outcome in MDS. Our case suggests feasibility of restoration of ESA sensitivity with concurrent G-CSF+ sertraline, and evidence for sustained beneficial effect of sertraline while ESA de-escalation, which seems independent from G-CSF. The MDS disease modifying effect of sertraline in LR- MDS patient presenting with refractory anemia and experiencing ESA refractoriness should be evaluated in prospective trials. Disclosures:No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.