Cost–consequence analysis of a hemostatic matrix alone or in combination for spine surgery patients

Background: A five-year retrospective database analysis comparing the use of Floseal¹ flowable topical hemostat alone (F) and in combination with gelatin/thrombin (F?+?G/T) to achieve hemostasis and control surgical bleeding showed higher resource utilization for F?+?G/T cases relative to F matched pairs during spinal surgery. Lower resource use in the F group was characterized by shorter hospital length of stay and surgical time as well as fewer blood transfusions and less hemostat agent used per surgery.

Objective: To evaluate the cost–consequence of using F compared to F?+?G/T in minor, major and severe spinal surgery from the US hospital perspective.

Methods: A cost–consequence model was developed using the US hospital perspective. Model inputs include clinical inputs from the literature, cost inputs (hemostatic matrices, blood product transfusion, hospital stay and operating room time) from the literature, and an analysis of annual spine surgery volume (minor, major and severe) using the 2012 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database. Costs are reported in 2017?US dollars. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses address sources of variability in the results.

Results: A medium-volume hospital (130 spine surgeries per year) using F versus F?+?G/T for spine surgeries is expected to require 85 less hours of surgical time, 58 fewer hospital days and 7 fewer blood transfusions in addition to hemostat volume savings (F: 1?mL, thrombin: 1994?mL). The cost savings associated with the hospital resources for a medium-volume hospital are expected to be $317,959 (surgical hours?=?$154,746, hospital days?=?$125,237, blood transfusions?=?$19,023, hemostatic agents?=?$18,953) or $2445 per spine surgery.

Conclusions: The use of F versus F?+?G/T could lead to annual cost savings for US hospitals performing a low to high volume of spinal surgeries per year.     

Irrational exuberance in the Chinese iron ore market?

The rapid run-ups in the Chinese iron ore market in the first half of 2016 have sparked much concern about the appearance of speculative bubbles in this market among many market analysts. Using a recently developed bubble testing procedure, we confirm that there indeed existed periods of irrational exuberance in the Chinese iron ore market. However, most of the bubble periods are short-lived, reflecting the market’s ability to quickly respond to price deviations unjustified by fundamentals. The longest bubble period occurred in mid-2014, corresponding to a period of relatively low trading volume. Using a fractional probit model, we find evidence consistent with the hypothesis that market liquidity may play a role in bubble occurrences.     

论国际板市场投资者保护法律机制的构建

随着我国资本市场国际化和金融创新,国际板推出的筹备工作正紧锣密鼓地进行。但是由于国际板的特殊性和复杂性,它会给投资者带来新的投资风险。因此,应借鉴发达国家和地区对境外公司发行、上市等行为的法律监管制度和投资者保护经验,结合我国实际,立足于立法规制、政府监管、司法保障及跨境协作等方面,构建国际板投资者保护的法律机制。     

天津市能源消费与经济增长的互动机理及政策启示——基于8个高耗能行业的实证分析

从高耗能行业入手分析能源消费与经济增长的互动机理可以为天津市节能降耗战略提供科学依据.采用灰色关联度方法,分析了1996年-2006年间天津市高耗能行业能源消费与经济增长的互动作用机理,结果表明天津市高耗能行业的能源消费对经济增长具有重要的推动作用,且高新技术产业能源消费状况不客忽视.文章最后对天津市在"十一五"末完成规定的节能指标以及"十二五"的节能计划提出了有针对性的政策建议.     

Hedging effectiveness of fertilizer swaps

The fertilizer swaps market is a potential tool to protect against fertilizer price risk. The swaps evaluated here are cash settled using The Fertilizer Index. Hedge ratios and hedging effectiveness are calculated for urea and DAP diammonium phosphate (DAP)) swaps. Urea and DAP swaps perform poorly as a hedging tool over a one-week horizon. As the hedging horizon increases, the hedging effectiveness of swaps improves. The swaps are more effective in mitigating risk across ocean freight routes than across inland routes. The limited hedging effectiveness is due to high spatial basis risk in fertilizer markets.     

高技术产业中排他性合约研究——以英特尔和AMD为例

构建上游双寡头和下游多家厂商的排他性交易模型。以上游优势厂商控制的下游厂商数量为决策变量,分析了在位上游优势厂商通过控制下游厂商,导致中间产品的价格歧视,剥削下游厂商,排挤竞争对手,提高最终产品价格和不利于产业良性竞争等负面影响。     

竞争中成长的民营物流企业

民营物流企业经过连续的"高速增长"之后,企业发展进入相对的"平台期",由于经营环境、社会环境和行业政策环境的制约,民营物流企业发展遇到了较大的困难,比如定位模糊、人才缺乏、资金不足等。所以明确市场定位、加快人才的培养和引进、扩宽融资渠道是民营物流企业要解决的关键问题。     

“走出”工学结合特色的旅游英语教学改革

旅游英语专业要突破发展瓶颈,工学结合犹如一支及时的强心剂。本文笔者通过调查指出工学结合特色的旅游英语教学改革一方面要完善课程体系设置,"语言能力+专业技能"双管齐下,另一方面要"引进来+走出去",建立适应工学结合特色的专业课程教学模式。     

土木工程概预算课程对培养卓越工程师的影响分析

结合卓越工程师培养计划的基本要求,分析传统的土木工程概预算课程教学存在的问题。从教学内容、教学方法、教学手段、课程考核方式等方面讨论其对培养卓越工程师的影响分析。     

新中国成立初期城市私有住宅公有化过程及其启示

当前,我国城市住宅短缺问题突出,政府城市住宅政策尚不完善。有鉴于此,回顾和总结新中国成立初期的城市住房政策就颇有意义。在新中国成立初期,我国同样面临城市住宅短缺的问题。当时,私有住宅占城市住宅总量的绝大多数。中国政府采取两步走的公有化策略,公私并存和社会主义改造。通过对城市住宅的公有化,政府手中掌握了大量的城市住宅资源,有利于管理和分配。但在公有化过程中私人房主的利益一而再地被忽视和损害。回看新中国成立初期的那段历史,可以为我们今天城市住宅制度的制定提供一些启示,一是,住宅制度的制定需遵循经济规律;二是,满足百姓的住宅需求是住宅制度的根本目标。