Determinanten von Banken-Spreads während der Finanzmarktkrise

Welche Einflussfaktoren bestimmen die Spreadentwicklung im Kapitalmarktsegment der Banken im Verlauf der Finanzkrise? Unter Verwendung der Regressionsanalyse werden die Determinanten von Asset-Swap- (ASW) und Credit-Default-Swap- (CDS) Spreads ausgewählter europäischer Banken im Zeitraum April 2007-März 2009 untersucht. Eine Vielzahl von Variablen, denen in theoretischen Modellen ein Spread bestimmender Einfluss zugesprochen wird, besitzen in unserer empirischen Analyse nur eine begrenzte Erklärungskraft. Dagegen bestimmen Variablen, aus denen sich die Entwicklung des Unternehmenswertes ableiten lässt, die Entwicklung von ASW- und CDS-Spreads europäischer Finanzinstitute. Zudem analysieren wir die CDS-Bond-Basis, für welche während des Untersuchungszeitraums von null verschiedene Werte über längere Zeiträume hinweg bobachtbar waren. Unsere Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass die Diskrepanzen zwischen den zwei Spreads zum Teil durch Liquiditätsfaktoren zu erklären sind. Ein Großteil der Veränderungen der CDS-Bond-Basis bleibt jedoch unerklärt

The RAZOR (randomized open vs robotic cystectomy) trial: study design and trial update

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110540/1/bju12699.pd

Rapid inversion: running animals and robots swing like a pendulum under ledges.

Escaping from predators often demands that animals rapidly negotiate complex environments. The smallest animals attain relatively fast speeds with high frequency leg cycling, wing flapping or body undulations, but absolute speeds are slow compared to larger animals. Instead, small animals benefit from the advantages of enhanced maneuverability in part due to scaling. Here, we report a novel behavior in small, legged runners that may facilitate their escape by disappearance from predators. We video recorded cockroaches and geckos rapidly running up an incline toward a ledge, digitized their motion and created a simple model to generalize the behavior. Both species ran rapidly at 12-15 body lengths-per-second toward the ledge without braking, dove off the ledge, attached their feet by claws like a grappling hook, and used a pendulum-like motion that can exceed one meter-per-second to swing around to an inverted position under the ledge, out of sight. We discovered geckos in Southeast Asia can execute this escape behavior in the field. Quantification of these acrobatic behaviors provides biological inspiration toward the design of small, highly mobile search-and-rescue robots that can assist us during natural and human-made disasters. We report the first steps toward this new capability in a small, hexapedal robot

Improving the Care of Elderly Adults Undergoing Surgery in Michigan

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106116/1/jgs12643.pd

Progress and challenges in improving surgical outcomes

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93696/1/8933_ftp.pd

Sources of variation in under-5 mortality across sub-Saharan Africa: a spatial analysis

SummaryBackgroundDetailed spatial understanding of levels and trends in under-5 mortality is needed to improve the targeting of interventions to the areas of highest need, and to understand the sources of variation in mortality. To improve this understanding, we analysed local-level information on child mortality across sub-Saharan Africa between 1980–2010.MethodsWe used data from 82 Demographic and Health Surveys in 28 sub-Saharan African countries, including the location and timing of 3·24 million childbirths and 393 685 deaths, to develop high-resolution spatial maps of under-5 mortality in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. These estimates were at a resolution of 0·1 degree latitude by 0·1 degree longitude (roughly 10 km × 10 km). We then analysed this spatial information to distinguish within-country versus between-country sources of variation in mortality, to examine the extent to which declines in mortality have been accompanied by convergence in the distribution of mortality, and to study localised drivers of mortality differences, including temperature, malaria burden, and conflict.FindingsIn our sample of sub-Saharan African countries from the 1980s to the 2000s, within-country differences in under-5 mortality accounted for 74–78% of overall variation in under-5 mortality across space and over time. Mortality differed significantly across only 8–15% of country borders, supporting the role of local, rather than national, factors in driving mortality patterns. We found that by the end of the study period, 23% of the eligible children in the study countries continue to live in mortality hotspots—areas where, if current trends continue, the Sustainable Developent Goals mortality targets will not be met. In multivariate analysis, within-country mortality levels at each pixel were significantly related to local temperature, malaria burden, and recent history of conflict.InterpretationOur findings suggest that sub-national determinants explain a greater portion of under-5 mortality than do country-level characteristics. Sub-national measures of child mortality could provide a more accurate, and potentially more actionable, portrayal of where and why children are still dying than can national statistics.FundingThe Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment

Videotaping of surgical procedures and outcomes following extraperitoneal laparoscopic radical prostatectomy for clinically localised prostate cancer

Background: Video-recording of emerging minimally invasive surgical procedures is likely to become an integral component of patient record-keeping in the future for prostate cancer treatment. No prior work has shown the impact of videotaping of laparoscopic prostatectomy on patient outcomes. Our aim was to determine correlation between independent peer review of videotaping quality scores of extraperitoneal laparoscopic prostatectomy (ELRP) with complications, re-admissions, functional and early oncological outcomes.Study design, setting, and participants: We conducted a single-institution prospective cohort study comparing videotaping quality scores with the outcomes of ELRP in men with localised prostate cancer. Videotaping of surgical procedures were scored by two experienced laparoscopic surgeons using a validated scoring method. Validated record-linkage methodology and self-reported questionnaires were used to assess surgical complications, re-admissions, functional and oncological outcomes based on a common identifier called as community health index (CHI) number. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated between the different covariates with statistical significance considered at p&lt;0.05. Multivariate analyses assessed oncological outcomes (positive surgical margins/biochemical recurrence), post-operative complications and re-admission into hospital following initial hospital discharge with quality of surgical procedure.Results: 200 men were recruited into the study. 51 (25.5%) participants had post-operative complications. Record-linkage methodology identified 18 (9%) participants had re-admissions within 90 days of the procedure. 13 (6.5%) of these men required percutaneous drainage with hospital stay following re-admissions ranged between 3-12 days. 10 (5.0%) participants had intra/perioperative complications. 23 (11.5%) men reported to primary care physicians for various indications. Higher quality surgical technique videotaped scores (assessed by independent peer review) had a significant correlation with early continence recovery at 3 months post procedure, (p=0.013), but lost statistical significance with overall continence at 1 year. No statistical correlation was observed between videotaped scores and oncological outcomes (positive surgical margins/biochemical recurrence), post-operative complications and readmission into hospital.   Conclusions: Quality of surgical procedure assessed by independent third party videotaping score predicted early resumption of continence following extraperitoenal laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, however it did not predict complications, oncological or functional outcome as assessed using patient reported outcomes at 12 months.<br/

Contribution of body mass index to postoperative outcome in minority patients

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this investigation was to examine the association of body mass index (BMI) category with short‐term outcomes in minority surgical patients—a relationship that previously has not been well characterized. METHODS: Data from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program were used to calculate the BMI of minority patients undergoing surgery from 2005 to 2008. Patients were stratified into 5 BMI classes. Stepwise logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios for mortality after controlling for known clinically relevant covariates. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Morbidity and mortality at 30 days, across all 5 BMI classes. RESULTS: Among 119,619 minority patients studied, 50% were African American, 36% Hispanic, 10% Asian and Pacific Islanders, and 4% American Indian and Alaskan natives. Seventy percent were overweight or obese. Women were more likely to be obese or severely obese. The overall mortality rate was 1.5%, and this varied significantly by BMI class. Distribution of 30‐day mortality demonstrated a progressive decrease, with the highest risk of death in the underweight class, and the lowest risk of death in the severely obese class. This relationship was maintained, even in patients with at least 1 major postoperative complication. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of being overweight or obese was high in this nationally representative cohort of minority surgical patients. Although BMI class is a significant predictor of 30‐day mortality, the effect appeared paradoxical. The poorest outcomes were in the underweight and normal BMI patients. Severely obese patients had the lowest risk of mortality, even after experiencing a major postoperative complication. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2012; © 2011 Society of Hospital Medicine.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90173/1/958_ftp.pd

Hospital surgical volumes and mortality after coronary artery bypass grafting: using international comparisons to determine a safe threshold

Objective: To estimate a safe minimum hospital volume for hospitals performing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Data Source: Hospital data on all publicly funded CABG in five European countries, 2007–2009 (106,149 patients). Design: Hierarchical logistic regression models to estimate the relationship between hospital volume and mortality, allowing for case mix. Segmented regression analysis to estimate a threshold. Findings: The 30-day in-hospital mortality rate was 3.0 percent overall, 5.2 percent (95 percent CI: 4.0–6.4) in low-volume hospitals, and 2.1 percent (95 percent CI: 1.8–2.3) in high-volume hospitals. There is a significant curvilinear relationship between volume and mortality, flatter above 415 cases per hospital per year. Conclusions: There is a clear relationship between hospital CABG volume and mortality in Europe, implying a “safe” threshold volume of 415 cases per year