Spatiotemporal blocking of the bouncy particle sampler for efficient inference in state-space models.

We propose a novel blocked version of the continuous-time bouncy particle sampler of Bouchard-Côté et al. (J Am Stat Assoc 113(522):855-867, 2018) which is applicable to any differentiable probability density. This alternative implementation is motivated by blocked Gibbs sampling for state-space models (Singh et al. in Biometrika 104(4):953-969, 2017) and leads to significant improvement in terms of effective sample size per second, and furthermore, allows for significant parallelization of the resulting algorithm. The new algorithms are particularly efficient for latent state inference in high-dimensional state-space models, where blocking in both space and time is necessary to avoid degeneracy of MCMC. The efficiency of our blocked bouncy particle sampler, in comparison with both the standard implementation of the bouncy particle sampler and the particle Gibbs algorithm of Andrieu et al. (J R Stat Soc Ser B Stat Methodol 72(3):269-342, 2010), is illustrated numerically for both simulated data and a challenging real-world financial dataset. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11222-021-10034-6.

[REPORTING CRITICAL LAB RESULTS, A CHALLENGE FOR THE LAB AND THE PHYSICIAN - A SUMMARY OF FOUR YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN MEIR MEDICAL CENTER LABORATORIES].

INTRODUCTION: Critical laboratory results require prompt reporting to the attending physician, as they may indicate that a patient is in a life-threatening condition. Although this important subject has been covered in many publications, it needs more attention from our healthcare organizations, which have no official policy on the subject. Matching expectations between the doctor and the laboratory needs to be better defined. PURPOSE: The aim of this work was to inform the community of doctors and laboratories about the multiple problems concerning the reporting of critical laboratory results, to create a platform for exchanging views and ideas, and to build an extensive infrastructure for developing a unified plan to address this important issue. METHODS: We present the results of four years of experience of reporting critical laboratory values at the Meir Medical Center Laboratories. The idea leading this work was to present the relatively low rate of critical results reported by the laboratories in 2010, sharing the problems discovered while investigating the situation in depth, and presenting the solutions that enabled us to obtain the desired results within four years. RESULTS: Gradual implementation of these improvements resulted in critical value reporting increasing from 55% in 2010 to 95% currently. CONCLUSION: We suggest a model for improving critical laboratory values reporting based on our 4-year experience, which emphasizes: (1) The importance of selecting proper tests and values for critical results; (2) The significance of using technology and computerized measures to support the process; and (3) Developing quick procedures for monitoring and controlling the process.