System dynamics to model the unintended consequences of denying payment for venous thromboembolism after total knee arthroplasty.

Background: The Hospital Acquired Condition Strategy (HACS) denies payment for venous thromboembolism (VTE) after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The intention is to reduce complications and associated costs, while improving the quality of care by mandating VTE prophylaxis. We applied a system dynamics model to estimate the impact of HACS on VTE rates, and potential unintended consequences such as increased rates of bleeding and infection and decreased access for patients who might benefit from TKA.

A system dynamics analysis determining willingness to wait and pay for the implementation of data standards in clinical research.

Background: Industry standards provide rigorous descriptions of required data presentation, with the aim of ensuring compatibility across different clinical studies. However despite their crucial importance, these standards are often not used as expected in the development of clinical research. The reasons for this lack of compliance could be related to the high cost and time-intensive nature of the process of data standards implementation.

So different, yet so similar: meta-analysis and policy modeling of willingness to participate in clinical trials among Brazilians and Indians.

Background: With the global expansion of clinical trials and the expectations of the rise of the emerging economies known as BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China), the understanding of factors that affect the willingness to participate in clinical trials of patients from those countries assumes a central role in the future of health research.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis (SRMA) of willingness to participate in clinical trials among Brazilian patients and then we compared it with Indian patients (with results of another SRMA previously conducted by our group) through a system dynamics model.

Results: Five studies were included in the SRMA of Brazilian patients.

A comparative analysis of isotonic versus hypertonic solution volume replacement in septic rats.

Purpose: Sepsis severity and mortality risk require aggressive therapy which includes hemodynamic support. The best fluid for volume replacement, however, is controversial. This study aimed to compare 0.

Selection mechanisms underlying high impact biomedical research--a qualitative analysis and causal model.

Background: Although scientific innovation has been a long-standing topic of interest for historians, philosophers and cognitive scientists, few studies in biomedical research have examined from researchers' perspectives how high impact publications are developed and why they are consistently produced by a small group of researchers. Our objective was therefore to interview a group of researchers with a track record of high impact publications to explore what mechanism they believe contribute to the generation of high impact publications.

Methodology/principal Findings: Researchers were located in universities all over the globe and interviews were conducted by phone.

Qualitative analysis of the interdisciplinary interaction between data analysis specialists and novice clinical researchers.

Background: The inherent complexity of statistical methods and clinical phenomena compel researchers with diverse domains of expertise to work in interdisciplinary teams, where none of them have a complete knowledge in their counterpart's field. As a result, knowledge exchange may often be characterized by miscommunication leading to misinterpretation, ultimately resulting in errors in research and even clinical practice. Though communication has a central role in interdisciplinary collaboration and since miscommunication can have a negative impact on research processes, to the best of our knowledge, no study has yet explored how data analysis specialists and clinical researchers communicate over time.

Obesity and abdominal wound healing in rats.

Introduction: Treatment for obesity essentially has to do with weight loss, which can be achieved through surgical procedures. Despite the considerable rise in the number of such procedures, the relationship between obesity and the healing process has not been totally clarified.

Purpose: To investigate abdominal wound healing in obese Wistar rats on the seventh and fourteenth days following a laparotomy.