Analytical Techniques for Supporting Hospital Case Mix Planning Encompassing Forced Adjustments, Comparisons, and Scoring.

: This article presents analytical techniques and a decision support tool to aid in hospital capacity assessment and case mix planning (CMP). To date, no similar techniques have been provided in the literature. : Initially, an optimization model is proposed to analyze the impact of making a specific change to an existing case mix, identifying how patient types should be adjusted proportionately to varying levels of hospital resource availability.

Extensive hypothesis testing for estimation of crash frequency models.

Estimating crash data count models poses a significant challenge which requires extensive knowledge, experience, and meticulous hypothesis testing to capture underlying trends. Simultaneous consideration of multiple modelling aspects is required including, among others, functional forms, likely contributing factors, and unobserved heterogeneity. However, model development, frequently affected by time and knowledge, can easily overlook crucial modelling aspects such as identification of likely contributing factors, necessary transformations, and distributional assumptions.

A comprehensive multi-objective framework for the estimation of crash frequency models.

A common and challenging data and modeling aspect in crash analysis is unobserved heterogeneity, which is often handled using random parameters and special distributions such as Lindley. Random parameters can be estimated with respect to each observation for the entire dataset, and grouped across segments of the dataset, with variable means, or variable variances. The selection of the best approach to handle unobserved heterogeneity depends on the data characteristics and requires the corresponding hypothesis testing.

Predicting hospital bed utilisation for post-surgical care by means of the Monte Carlo method with historical data.

Objective This study aim was to develop a predictive model of bed utilisation to support the decision process of elective surgery planning and bed management to improve post-surgical care. Methods This study undertook a retrospective analysis of de-identified data from a tertiary metropolitan hospital in Southeast Queensland, Australia. With a reference sample from 2years of historical data, a model based on the Monte Carlo method has been developed to predict hospital bed utilisation for post-surgical care of patients who have undergone surgical procedures.

A stochastic programming approach to perform hospital capacity assessments.

This article introduces a bespoke risk averse stochastic programming approach for performing a strategic level assessment of hospital capacity (QAHC). We include stochastic treatment durations and length of stay in the analysis for the first time. To the best of our knowledge this is a new capability, not yet provided in the literature.

Managing surgical waiting lists through dynamic priority scoring.

Prioritising elective surgery patients under the Australian three-category system is inherently subjective due to variability in clinician decision making and the potential for extraneous factors to influence category assignment. As a result, waiting time inequities can exist which may lead to adverse health outcomes and increased morbidity, especially for patients deemed to be low priority. This study investigated the use of a dynamic priority scoring (DPS) system to rank elective surgery patients more equitably, based on a combination of waiting time and clinical factors.

Statistical modelling of goalkicking performance in the Australian Football League.

Objectives: Australian football goal kicking is vital to team success, but its study is limited. Develop and apply Bayesian models incorporating temporal, spatial and situational variables to predict shot outcomes. The models aim to (i) rank players on their goal kicking and (ii) create clusters of statistically similar players and rank these clusters to provide generalised recommendations about player types.

An Overview of Hospital Capacity Planning and Optimisation.

Health care is uncertain, dynamic, and fast growing. With digital technologies set to revolutionise the industry, hospital capacity optimisation and planning have never been more relevant. The purposes of this article are threefold.

Process data analytics for hospital case-mix planning.

The composition and volume of patients treated in a hospital, i.e., the patient case-mix, directly impacts resource utilisation.

Role of miR-2392 in driving SARS-CoV-2 infection.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs involved in post-transcriptional gene regulation that have a major impact on many diseases and provide an exciting avenue toward antiviral therapeutics. From patient transcriptomic data, we determined that a circulating miRNA, miR-2392, is directly involved with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) machinery during host infection. Specifically, we show that miR-2392 is key in driving downstream suppression of mitochondrial gene expression, increasing inflammation, glycolysis, and hypoxia, as well as promoting many symptoms associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection.

The Great Deceiver: miR-2392's Hidden Role in Driving SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs involved in post-transcriptional gene regulation that have a major impact on many diseases and provides an exciting avenue towards antiviral therapeutics. From patient transcriptomic data, we have discovered a circulating miRNA, miR-2392, that is directly involved with SARS-CoV-2 machinery during host infection. Specifically, we show that miR-2392 is key in driving downstream suppression of mitochondrial gene expression, increasing inflammation, glycolysis, and hypoxia as well as promoting many symptoms associated with COVID-19 infection.

Improving case ascertainment of congenital anomalies: findings from a prospective birth cohort with detailed primary care record linkage.

Background: Congenital anomalies (CAs) are a common cause of infant death and disability. We linked children from a large birth cohort to a routine primary care database to detect CA diagnoses from birth to age 5 years. There could be evidence of underreporting by CA registries as they estimate that only 2% of CA registrations occur after age 1 year.

Study of Image Qualities From 6D Robot-Based CBCT Imaging System of Small Animal Irradiator.

Purpose: To assess the quality of cone beam computed tomography images obtained by a robotic arm-based and image-guided small animal conformal radiation therapy device.

Method And Materials: The small animal conformal radiation therapy device is equipped with a 40 to 225 kV X-ray tube mounted on a custom made gantry, a 1024 × 1024 pixels flat panel detector (200 μm resolution), a programmable 6 degrees of freedom robot for cone beam computed tomography imaging and conformal delivery of radiation doses. A series of 2-dimensional radiographic projection images were recorded in cone beam mode by placing and rotating microcomputed tomography phantoms on the "palm' of the robotic arm.

Helical tomotherapy to LINAC plan conversion utilizing RayStation Fallback planning.

RaySearch RayStation Fallback (FB) planning module can generate an equivalent backup radiotherapy treatment plan facilitating treatment on other linear accelerators. FB plans were generated from the RayStation FB module by simulating the original plan target and organ at risk (OAR) dose distribution and delivered in various backup linear accelerators. In this study, helical tomotherapy (HT) backup plans used in Varian TrueBeam linear accelerator were generated with the RayStation FB module.

Spatially fractionated radiotherapy (GRID) using helical tomotherapy.

Spatially fractionated radiotherapy (GRID) was designed to treat large tumors while sparing skin, and it is usually delivered with a linear accelerator using a commercially available block or multileaf collimator (LINAC-GRID). For deep-seated (skin to tumor distance (> 8 cm)) tumors, it is always a challenge to achieve adequate tumor dose coverage. A novel method to perform GRID treatment using helical tomotherapy (HT-GRID) was developed at our institution.

Radiobiological impact of dose calculation algorithms on biologically optimized IMRT lung stereotactic body radiation therapy plans.

Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate the radiobiological impact of Acuros XB (AXB) vs. Anisotropic Analytic Algorithm (AAA) dose calculation algorithms in combined dose-volume and biological optimized IMRT plans of SBRT treatments for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

Methods: Twenty eight patients with NSCLC previously treated SBRT were re-planned using Varian Eclipse (V11) with combined dose-volume and biological optimization IMRT sliding window technique.

Advanced Small Animal Conformal Radiation Therapy Device.

We have developed a small animal conformal radiation therapy device that provides a degree of geometrical/anatomical targeting comparable to what is achievable in a commercial animal irradiator. small animal conformal radiation therapy device is capable of producing precise and accurate conformal delivery of radiation to target as well as for imaging small animals. The small animal conformal radiation therapy device uses an X-ray tube, a robotic animal position system, and a digital imager.

Addressing key issues in the consanguinity-related risk of autosomal recessive disorders in consanguineous communities: lessons from a qualitative study of British Pakistanis.

Currently, there is no consensus regarding services required to help families with consanguineous marriages manage their increased genetic reproductive risk. Genetic services for communities with a preference for consanguineous marriage in the UK remain patchy, often poor. Receiving two disparate explanations of the cause of recessive disorders (cousin marriage and recessive inheritance) leads to confusion among families.

Dosimetric Comparison of Craniospinal Irradiation Using Different Tomotherapy Techniques.

The objective of this study is to compare the new and conventional tomotherapy treatment techniques and to evaluate dosimetric differences between them. A dosimetric analysis was performed by comparing planning target volume (PTV) median dose, 95% of PTV dose coverage, Paddick conformity index (CI), homogeneity index (HI), whole-body integral dose, and OAR median doses. The beam on time (BOT) and the effect of different jaw sizes and pitch values was studied.

Consanguinity and prevalence patterns of inherited disease in the UK Pakistani community.

Objectives: The aim of this paper is to describe the current knowledge about inherited diseases in UK children of Pakistani origin, who now number over 300,000, and to investigate disease associations with parental consanguinity.

Methods: Published data on the overall prevalence of inherited diseases were reviewed in conjunction with published and unpublished information from the city of Bradford where there is a large resident Pakistani community.

Results: There is significant literature on infant mortality, congenital anomalies, disabilities and many clinical conditions, often drawing attention to ethnic variations and an increased disease prevalence in UK Pakistani children.

Radiation-induced alterations in mitochondria of the rat heart.

Radiation therapy for the treatment of thoracic cancers may be associated with radiation-induced heart disease (RIHD), especially in long-term cancer survivors. Mechanisms by which radiation causes heart disease are largely unknown. To identify potential long-term contributions of mitochondria in the development of radiation-induced heart disease, we examined the time course of effects of irradiation on cardiac mitochondria.