Qualified Data Research Articles

Sustainable data and metadata management at the BD2K-LINCS Data Coordination and Integration Center

The NIH-funded LINCS Consortium is creating an extensive reference library of cell-based perturbation response signatures and sophisticated informatics tools incorporating a large number of perturbagens, model systems, and assays. To date, more than 350 datasets have been generated including transcriptomics, proteomics, epigenomics, cell phenotype and competitive binding profiling assays. The large volume and variety of data necessitate rigorous data standards and effective data management including modular data processing pipelines and end-user interfaces to facilitate accurate and reliable data exchange, curation, validation, standardization, aggregation, integration, and end user access. Deep metadata annotations and the use of qualified data standards enable integration with many external resources. Here we describe the end-to-end data processing and management at the DCIC to generate a high-quality and persistent product. Our data management and stewardship solutions enable a functioning Consortium and make LINCS a valuable scientific resource that aligns with big data initiatives such as the BD2K NIH Program and concords with emerging data science best practices including the findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) principles.

Characteristics of High-Performing Radiologists Within Medicare Quality Programs

PurposeThe aim of this study was to assess radiologists’ performance on Medicare quality measures and identify physician characteristics potentially influencing such scores. MethodsMedicare quality scores reported by US radiologists in 2015 were obtained from CMS. Associations were explored with publicly available physician characteristic data. ResultsOverall, 15,045 radiologists reported 40,427 Medicare quality scores encompassing 25 claims measures, 18 registry measures, and 2 qualified clinical data registry (QCDR) measures. Claims measures included reporting fluoroscopic times (n = 10,152; mean score, 80.3 ± 27.6), carotid ultrasound stenosis (n = 8,940; mean score, 86.8 ± 20.6), inappropriate mammography use of “probably benign” (n = 8,083; mean score, 0.4 ± 3.3), mammography reminders (n = 7,229; mean score, 86.6 ± 29.0), bone scintigraphy correlation (n = 2,712; mean score, 76.0 ± 27.0), and line-related infection prevention (n = 2,226; mean score, 83.3 ± 27.4). Registry measures were reported by ≤17 radiologists. The two QCDR measures were dose index registry participation (n = 246; mean score, 99.5 ± 1.4) and mammography recall rate (n = 77; mean score, 9.0 ± 5.6). Higher scores were observed for radiologists in larger practices (strongest independent predictor), in subspecialized practices, in academic practices, in the South and West, and with fewer years in practice. The fluoroscopic exposure times measure had the best performance scores by musculoskeletal and interventional radiologists, carotid Doppler measure by abdominal radiologists, mammography measures by breast radiologists, bone scintigraphy measure by musculoskeletal and nuclear medicine radiologists, and line infection measure by interventionalists. The dose registry participation QCDR measure had near perfect performance across generalists and subspecialists. ConclusionsCurrent Medicare performance metrics favor radiologists in larger practices and subspecialized radiologists, possibly reflecting support infrastructures and the narrow focus of most metrics, respectively. These findings may assist targeted data-driven reporting by radiologists and guide efforts to refine existing and develop new metrics.

Como qualificar os dados pessoais? Uma perspectiva teórica e normativa da União Europeia em face dos gigantes da Internet

Propósito – O presente artigo tem por objetivo debater o conceito de dados pessoais, a partir da legislação europeia, perpassando por temas relativos à proteção e à comercialização.
 Metodologia – Trata-se de pesquisa teórica e jurídica, na qual, a partir do debate do valor dos dados pessoais produzidos pelos usuários na internet, discutem-se suas possíveis características jurídicas. Isso ocorre por meio da análise do fenômeno da monetização dos dados pessoais em contraste com as visões decorrentes das teorias realistas e personalistas. No plano da análise documental, é explorada a legislação da União Europeia (Carta Europeia de Direitos Fundamentais, Regulamento Geral sobre Proteção de Dados – Regulamento (UE) 2016/679, de 27 de abril de 2016 – e a legislação francesa. São analisados, ainda, casos judiciais concretos. 
 Resultados – É analisada e testada uma categorização das teorias jurídicas acerca do conceito de dados pessoais: teorias realistas; e teorias personalistas. As teorias realistas qualificam os dados pessoais como bens ou produtos, que podem ser de propriedade dos usuários, dos operadores ou do coletivo. Já as teorias personalistas cuidam da proteção dos dados e das pessoas que os produzem, bem como de sua privacidade, uma vez que tais dados carregam traços de sua identidade. O artigo testa e concluir positivamente pelo uso dessa categorização teórica.
 Implicações práticas – O trabalho pretende fornecer uma contribuição para refletir sobre os limites e as possibilidades de tratamento dos dados pessoais na era digital. Revela-se que esse tratamento pode ter uma característica mais econômica e patrimonialista, ou proteger a identidade do indivíduo contida nos dados produzidos. O propósito é fortalecer o debate sobre o poder de consentimento ao uso de dados pessoais, tanto em prol do empoderamento técnico e jurídico das pessoas, quanto sobre a possibilidade de controle sobre seus dados individuais e coletivos.
 Originalidade – A originalidade se traduz no fato do artigo evidenciar uma pesquisa sobre um tema crucial do direito, com forte implicação para todos os países. Não existe artigo publicado na língua portuguesa sobre essa temática, com o presente enfoque. Tal pesquisa foi realizada a partir da realidade europeia, listando os principais modos de possíveis de uso dos dados pessoais. Porém, ela evidencia um quadro teórico que é útil para pensar sobre a realidade brasileira e de outros países, também.

The Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS): A Primer for Otolaryngologists.

Following passage of the 2015 Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, most clinicians caring for Medicare Part B patients were required to participate in a new value-based reimbursement system known as the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) beginning in 2017. The MIPS adjusts payment rates to providers based on a composite score of performance across 4 categories: quality, advancing care information, clinical practice improvement activities, and resource use. However, factors such as practice size, setting, informational capabilities, and patient population may pose challenges as otolaryngologists endeavor to adapt to this broad-reaching payment reform. Given potential barriers to adoption, otolaryngologists should be aware of several important initiatives to help optimize their performance, including advocacy efforts by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, the development of otolaryngology-specific MIPS quality measures, and the launch of a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services-qualified otolaryngology clinical data registry to facilitate reporting.

Cross-Site Reliability of Human Induced Pluripotent stem cell-derived Cardiomyocyte Based Safety Assays Using Microelectrode Arrays: Results from a Blinded CiPA Pilot Study

Recent in vitro cardiac safety studies demonstrate the ability of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) to detect electrophysiologic effects of drugs. However, variability contributed by unique approaches, procedures, cell lines, and reagents across laboratories makes comparisons of results difficult, leading to uncertainty about the role of hiPSC-CMs in defining proarrhythmic risk in drug discovery and regulatory submissions. A blinded pilot study was conducted to evaluate the electrophysiologic effects of 8 well-characterized drugs on 4 cardiomyocyte lines using a standardized protocol across 3 microelectrode array platforms (18 individual studies). Drugs were selected to define assay sensitivity of prominent repolarizing currents (E-4031 for IKr, JNJ303 for IKs) and depolarizing currents (nifedipine for ICaL, mexiletine for INa) as well as drugs affecting multichannel block (flecainide, moxifloxacin, quinidine, and ranolazine). Inclusion criteria for final analysis was based on demonstrated sensitivity to IKr block (20% prolongation with E-4031) and L-type calcium current block (20% shortening with nifedipine). Despite differences in baseline characteristics across cardiomyocyte lines, multiple sites, and instrument platforms, 10 of 18 studies demonstrated adequate sensitivity to IKr block with E-4031 and ICaL block with nifedipine for inclusion in the final analysis. Concentration-dependent effects on repolarization were observed with this qualified data set consistent with known ionic mechanisms of single and multichannel blocking drugs. hiPSC-CMs can detect repolarization effects elicited by single and multichannel blocking drugs after defining pharmacologic sensitivity to IKr and ICaL block, supporting further validation efforts using hiPSC-CMs for cardiac safety studies.

Evaluation of trace elements in U.S. coals using the USGS COALQUAL database version 3.0. Part I: Rare earth elements and yttrium (REY)

Coal is a potential source of valuable elements such as rare earth elements and yttrium (REY). In this work, REY concentrations in U.S. domestic coals were evaluated using data from the USGS COALQUAL Database Version 3.0. The database contains a total of 7657 non-weathered, full-bed coal samples. The number of samples containing REY data points varies among elements. Assessment of data quality indicates that some of the REY data are semi-quantitative and should be used with caution. Different analytical instruments and methods with varying accuracies and precisions are thought to be the main sources of errors. Inclusion of qualified data also accounts for the sawtooth pattern of the UCC-normalized REY distribution. A new set of Q factor values was thus proposed to adjust qualified data. Consequently, mean concentrations of REY in U.S. coals were obtained with a total REY concentration of 65.5 ppm on a moisture-free whole coal basis. Further evaluation of REY in 5378 selected coal samples indicates that about 9–13% of the samples fall into the combined category of promising and highly promising coals for REY, according to the classification of Dai et al. (2017). Taking sampling bias into consideration, we further found that bituminous coal, particularly from the central Appalachian region, has the highest probability of being a source for beneficial recovery of REY. More specifically, bituminous coal from eastern Kentucky is likely to be the best option. Finally, we conclude that U.S. domestic coal is a promising, alternative source for beneficial recovery of REY to meet the U.S. REY demand for economic growth.

Using Clinical Data Standards to Measure Quality: A New Approach.

Background Value-based payment for care requires the consistent, objective calculation of care quality. Previous initiatives to calculate ambulatory quality measures have relied on billing data or individual electronic health records (EHRs) to calculate and report performance. New methods for quality measure calculation promoted by federal regulations allow qualified clinical data registries to report quality outcomes based on data aggregated across facilities and EHRs using interoperability standards. Objective This research evaluates the use of clinical document interchange standards as the basis for quality measurement. Methods Using data on 1,100 patients from 11 ambulatory care facilities and 5 different EHRs, challenges to quality measurement are identified and addressed for 17 certified quality measures. Results Iterative solutions were identified for 14 measures that improved patient inclusion and measure calculation accuracy. Findings validate this approach to improving measure accuracy while maintaining measure certification. Conclusion Organizations that report care quality should be aware of how identified issues affect quality measure selection and calculation. Quality measure authors should consider increasing real-world validation and the consistency of measure logic in respect to issues identified in this research.

Quality markers of animal medicinal materials: Correlative analysis of musk reveals distinct metabolic changes induced by multiple factors

BackgroundCommon farming environmental elements, such as longitude, latitude, and altitude, and physiological conditions, such as age and body weight, are thought to influence medicinal animal homeostasis and material quality by altering endocrine functions for primary and secondary metabolite formation. However, the currently available methods for evaluating complex components of traditional Chinese animal medicines have insufficient sensitivity and specificity. PurposeCharacterizing the primary/secondary metabolomes of medicinal animals is essential for understanding their material basis, controlling product quality, and reflecting on distribution interactions. Therefore, this study aimed to screen ecological- and physiological-related metabolites in captive Moschus berezovskii throughout the collection period based on the quality marker (Q-marker) concept. Study design and methodsFifty-one musk deer samples from 12 different distribution farms ranging in age from 2 to 11 years were enrolled. Differentially expressed musk metabolites were assessed via chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry technologies. A metabolome that mapped connections among these factors was established using chemometric and topological calculations. ResultsStatistical analysis revealed that muscone, cis-9-hexadecenal, antioxidant 2264, prasterone-3-sulfate, androstan-17-one, and 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid showed significantly altered expression. Partial least squares (PLS) regression analysis of qualified data for these 6 secondary metabolites (active components) demonstrated that age is the most important factor underlying the varying levels of muscone, androstan-17-one and 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid. Furthermore, weight was the most important factor for cis-9-hexadecenal, longitude was important for antioxidant 2264, latitude was important for prasterone-3-sulfate, and altitude was important for antioxidant 2264, androstan-17-one and 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic. Metabolite analysis within the MetaboAnalyst (MetPA) suite showed that 18 candidate biomarker metabolites were screened, including allantoin, glycine, serine, creatine, alanine, taurine, lactate, 2-oxoglutarate (2-OG), fumarate, proline, xanthine, cytosine, carnitine, arginine, threonine, aspartate, and urea. Metabolic network analysis showed 4 important pathways that were involved: arginine and proline metabolism, the urea cycle, aspartate metabolism, and glycine, serine and threonine metabolism. ConclusionUsing this combined metabolomic and chemometric approach, this study was successful in screening Q-markers for musk quality control and provided new insights into correlations among “ecological & physiological factors→Q-markers→metabolites”, which potentially provides crucial information for musk breeding and material quality control.

CONTROL MODEL OF DATA STREAM TRANSMITTED OVER A NETWORK BASED ON PROXYING TECHNOLOGY

Network traffic control model is described in the work, including data mining modules transmitted in the network as well as further qualified data analysis module based on artificial intelligence methods and means, namely recursive and convolutional neural networks. The topicality of work is proved by the intensive scientific research conducted in the field of information security, big data intelligent data processing tools, and stipulated by growing necessity to limit access of children to aggressive information, which can impact on the child’s psychoemotional state. Particular attention is paid in the article to proxy-server development for HTTP query receipt, search for a match in white and black lists and decision making as to data legality.

Penerapan model kendali mutu data hidrologi dalam rangka peningkatan kualitas data

Planning and management of water resources are dependent on the quality of hydrological data. Hydrological data plays an important role in hydrological analysis. The availability of good and qualified hydrological data is one of the determinants of the results of hydrological analysis. However, the facts indicate that many of the available data do not fit their ideal state. To solve this problem, a hydrological data quality control model should be established in order to improve the quality of national hydrological data. The scope includes quality control of rainfall and discharge data. Analysis of the quality control of rainfall data was conducted on 58 rainfall stations spread on the island of Java. The analysis shows that 41 stations are good categorized, 14 stations are in moderate category and 3 stations are badly categorized. Based on these results, a light improvement scenario was performed, good category Station increased to 46 stations, moderate category decreased to 11 stations and bad category reduced to 1 Stations. Quality control of discharge data analysis was conducted on 14 discharge stations spread on Java Island. Analyzes were performed for QC1, QC2 and QC3 then got final QC value. The results on the final QC show no stations for good category, 2 stations for moderate categories and 12 stations for bad category. Based on the results of the analysis, a light improvement scenario was performed with the result of bad category increased to good category 5 stations, bad category increased to moderate 7 stations, and moderate category 1 stations.

Comment on Tomaskova et al. Mortality in Miners with Coal-Workers' Pneumoconiosis in the Czech Republic in the Period 1992-2013. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 2017, 14, 269.

With interest, I read the recent analysis by Tomaskova and co-workers (2017) about mortality from coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP). The research question remains unclear whether coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP) resulting from exposure to respirable coal dust containing crystalline silica accelerates the development of lung cancer or whether it is an intermediate stage in the pathway. I made several points of considerations with respect to (1) qualified data; (2) alternate measures for excessive risks; and (3) methodological flaws that should be avoided.

A Comparative Analysis of College Readiness Assessment Results of Illinois High School Agriculture Students

Agricultural education is defined by a best practice three-component model of instruction that includes a classroom experience, leadership development and FFA involvement, and an experiencebased activity through a Supervised Agricultural Experience program (SAE). Based on program of activities award criteria, each year state FFA associations recognize top chapters with gold or silver emblem designations. This quantitative study provides a comparison of eleventh grade Illinois agriculture students from Gold and Silver Emblem FFA chapters to all Illinois eleventhgrade students on college assessments. In addition, it provides a comparison of Illinois agriculture students from Gold and Silver Emblem FFA chapters to all juniors tested from the same schools. Student identification numbers were securely collected from agriculture instructors and principals at qualifying schools and data were compiled by the office of the state board of education. The assessment results were analyzed and compared to determine if there were statistically significant differences that emerged between selected agriculture students and their peers using the ACT assessment designed to measure college readiness. Results indicated that the selected group of agriculture students are as college ready as their peers. Further analysis indicated that female agriculture students perform at a higher level than their peers on college readiness assessments.

The Analysis of Noun Clause Translation in the Novel of The Kill Order

This research analyzed the noun clause translation in the novel of The Kill Order and its translation novel. The data in this research are in the form of noun clause in The Kill Order novel and its translation novel. The data were collected by reading both novels and taking notes, then the data were analyzed using Spradley’s theory. The data were analyzed through these following steps: domain analysis, taxonomic analysis, componential analysis, and finding cultural value. The result of the research reveals that there were 73 noun clause found in the novel of The Kill Order. This research applied technique of translation theory by Molina and Albir (2002), the researcher found 14 translation techniques with the frequency usage to 133 times. Furthermore, the quality of noun clause translation is qualified with the final assessment of 2.794 by using theory of quality of translation by Nababan et al (2012). The impacts of translation technique to the translation quality are adaptation, amplification, borrowing, compensation, description, discursive creation, established equivalent, linguistic amplification, linguistic compression, literal, modulation, particularization, reduction, and variation are the techniques of translation which produced qualified data of translation. As the follow up, the researcher expects the next researchers to conduct the analysis on translation with other object of research. The researcher also expects the next researchers to identify clause with different relevant theories.

CMS Issues Final Rule for Medicare Quality Reporting in 2018

CMS Issues Final Rule for Medicare Quality Reporting in 2018

MPMFFT based DCA-DBT integrated probabilistic model for face expression classification

Face Expression is the visible feature mask to concede person's behaviour, intension or reaction. The paper has dealt out a qualified data mining model for expression recognition called MPMFFT (Multiple Pattern Multiple Feature based Feature Transformation) integrated model. This proposed model transformed the facial information in 22 aggregative features. These features include textural, geometrical, mathematical and structural characteristics. The characteristics are captured in the entire facial region and expression sensitive selected facial segment. To acquire the features, three local region extraction models are used on both broad and responsive facial areas. This complete featured composition formed a set of 132 features. This transformed data form is treated under the danger theory. At First, DCA (Dendric Cell algorithm) is ready to generate feature patterns to identify safe and danger qualified features. After this, each cell group is processed under DBT (Dempster Belief Theory) for integrated feature weight assignment based on mapping to the expression class. This weighted and cell formed data set is finally processed under probabilistic implementation using Bayesian nets. The experiment is applied on JAFFE, CMU and CK datasets. The experimental observations are compiled for individual expressions against decision tree, SVM and KNN methods. The comparative results signify that the model improved the accuracy of each of distinctive facial expression.

Progress in modeling in-containment source term with ASTEC-Na

The ASTEC-Na code is being developed to simulate any sort of postulated accidents in Na-cooled fast reactors, particularly severe accidents. A significant progress has been made in the development of source term models, their implementation in the code and the specific validation of the specific code module, hereafter named CPA∗, under the auspices of the JASMIN project.In this paper the fundamentals of models for Na pool fire thermal-hydraulics and particle generation and chemical ageing of airborne particulates are described. Based mostly on data gathered from the open literature, CPA∗ performance under conditions anticipated during Na pool fires has been assessed against AB1, AB2, F2 and EMIS10 experiments. Thermal-hydraulic estimates have shown acceptable generic trends with noticeable quantitative deviations, despite the highly parametrized models used. A similar statement concerning aerosol behavior following measurements tendency is also applicable. As for chemical ageing, the comparisons set indicate that further work is still necessary. Therefore, even though some significant progress has been achieved, it is unquestionable that further work needs to be done in the three areas addressed. Finally, it should be highlighted that one of the main outcomes of this work is the need of obtaining qualified data for models and codes validation, so that a thorough and sound model assessment and code validation can be conducted.

Vapor-liquid equilibria of monoacylglicerol + monoacylglicerol or alcohol or fatty acid at subatmospheric pressures

Partial acylglycerols are relevant minor compounds in the oil/fat industry. They represent important role to the food industry, as surface-active agents and emulsifiers. Also, they are present in the biodiesel production and its separation steps. Therefore, knowledge of their thermophysical properties are critical to product and process design. Considering that, this study aims at determining by the DSC technique novel boiling point data for two monoacylglycerols, namely, monononanoin and monolaurin at subatmospheric pressures, and for four binary fatty mixtures at selected pressures (TPx data), i.e. lauric acid + monocaprylin (3.42 kPa), monononanoin + monolaurin (2.06 kPa), monononanoin + hexadecanol (2.02 kPa), and monolaurin + octadecanol (2.05 kPa). As expected, the system with two monoacylglycerols (monononanoin + monolaurin) showed an ideal behavior. On the other hand, the other systems presented non-ideal behavior. Experimental data were successfully regressed by the Wilson, the NRTL and the UNIQUAC models. Predictive capacity of the UNIFAC method and its different versions was tested, and results indicated that improvements concerning lipid systems are still necessary. These improvements must be based on diverse and qualified experimental data.

Human leukocyte antigen A, B and Hepatitis B infection outcome: A meta-analysis

AimTo evaluate the association between HLA A, B with chronic Hepatitis B by comprehensive meta-analysis. MethodsWe searched PubMed and Cochrane databases, identified relevant studies, evaluated these for quality by New Castle Ottawa scale (NOS) and further analyzed the qualified data sets. Heterogeneity analyses were performed by Cochrane's Q test and I2 tests. Pooled Odds ratio (OR) & 95% Confidence Interval (CI) were obtained by fixed effects, using Mantel-Haenszel's method for homogenous studies, and by using DerSimonian and Laird's method for heterogenous studies. Publication bias was determined by the Beggs test and Eggers test and all tests were two tailed to evaluate their significance. ResultsThe meta-analyses on 1652 healthy controls and 659 Chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) patients from 8 studies from various continents revealed a HLA B*07 (p value of Odds ratio (pOR)=0.004; OR Fixed effects=0.480 with 95%CI 0.290–0.794) and B*58 (pOR=0.029; OR Fixed Effects=0.020 with 95%CI 0.381–0.949) associated protection for CHB. The identified HLA B*35 associated risk (pOR 0.009; OR Fixed effect 1.445; 95% confidence interval 1.094–1.907) however did not stand the test of random effect model. ConclusionWhile HLA B*07 and B*58 are protective against CHB. The HLA B*35 associated marginal risk need to be further validated in well-designed global study on larger cohorts, considering the population, ethnic, epidemiological and HLA diversity at the sequence level: these may throw further light to utilize these markers in predictive medicine.

The PRIME Registry Helps Thousands of Primary Care Clinicians Liberate EHR Data and Prepare for MIPS

The PRIME Registry is a population health and performance improvement tool for clinicians and practices. It extracts patient data from the physician's electronic health record and turns it into actionable measures. PRIME is registered as a qualified clinical data registry and specialty registry open

Risk factors related to failure of internal fixation for intertrochanteric fracture in Chinese patients: a meta analysis and review

Objective To evaluate the risk factors related to the failure of internal fixation for intertrochanteric fracture in Chinese patients. Methods A comprehensive Meta analysis of the clinical research from January 2005 to August 2016 on the failure of internal fixation for intertrochanteric fracture in Chinese patients was conducted after Pubmed, CNKI, Wanfang Data, et al., had been searched. Revman5.0 was used to perform the heterogeneity test and calculate the OR value and 95%CI after quality assessment and retrieval of the qualified data. Results Included for this analysis were 23 studies involving 4,031 pa-tients of whom 588 failed. The factors related to the failure of internal fixation for intertrochanteric fracture included patient age [OR=0.51, 95%CI (0.30, 0.90), P 0.05], injury cause [OR=1.68, 95%CI (0.66, 4.25), P >0.05] or type of internal fixation [OR=0.37, 95%CI (0.06, 2.14), P >0.05]. Conclusions High age, concomitant osteoporosis, complicated fracture pattern, unsatisfactory fracture reduc-tion, TAD≥25 mm, time for full weight bearing < 6 weeks, and concomitant internal diseases may be the risk factors closely related to the failure of internal fixation for intertrochanteric fracture in Chinese patients. There has been no sufficient evidence to show that gender, injury cause or type of internal fixation may be associated with the failed internal fixation for intertrochanteric fracture. Key words: Hip fractures; Fracture fixation, internal; Treatment failure; Meta-analysis