scholarly journals Assessment of Outliers and Detection of Artifactual Network Segments Using Univariate and Multivariate Dispersion Entropy on Physiological Signals

Entropy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 244
Author(s):  
Evangelos Kafantaris ◽  
Ian Piper ◽  
Tsz-Yan Milly Lo ◽  
Javier Escudero
Keyword(s):  
Multivariate Time Series ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Physiological Signals ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Efficient Computation ◽  
Electrocardiogram Signals ◽  
Multivariate Dispersion ◽  
Organ Systems ◽  
Logistic Regression Classifier

Network physiology has emerged as a promising paradigm for the extraction of clinically relevant information from physiological signals by moving from univariate to multivariate analysis, allowing for the inspection of interdependencies between organ systems. However, for its successful implementation, the disruptive effects of artifactual outliers, which are a common occurrence in physiological recordings, have to be studied, quantified, and addressed. Within the scope of this study, we utilize Dispersion Entropy (DisEn) to initially quantify the capacity of outlier samples to disrupt the values of univariate and multivariate features extracted with DisEn from physiological network segments consisting of synchronised, electroencephalogram, nasal respiratory, blood pressure, and electrocardiogram signals. The DisEn algorithm is selected due to its efficient computation and good performance in the detection of changes in signals for both univariate and multivariate time-series. The extracted features are then utilised for the training and testing of a logistic regression classifier in univariate and multivariate configurations in an effort to partially automate the detection of artifactual network segments. Our results indicate that outlier samples cause significant disruption in the values of extracted features with multivariate features displaying a certain level of robustness based on the number of signals formulating the network segments from which they are extracted. Furthermore, the deployed classifiers achieve noteworthy performance, where the percentage of correct network segment classification surpasses 95% in a number of experimental setups, with the effectiveness of each configuration being affected by the signal in which outliers are located. Finally, due to the increase in the number of features extracted within the framework of network physiology and the observed impact of artifactual samples in the accuracy of their values, the implementation of algorithmic steps capable of effective feature selection is highlighted as an important area for future research.

Moving From Interprofessional Education Toward Interprofessional Practice: Bridging the Translation Gap

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 971-976
Author(s):  
Imran Musaji ◽  
Trisha Self ◽  
Karissa Marble-Flint ◽  
Ashwini Kanade
Keyword(s):  
Interprofessional Education ◽  
Interprofessional Collaboration ◽  
Evaluation Model ◽  
Implementation Strategies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Interprofessional Practice ◽  
Translational Model ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Clear Identification

Purpose The purpose of this article was to propose the use of a translational model as a tool for identifying limitations of current interprofessional education (IPE) research. Translational models allow researchers to clearly define next-step research needed to translate IPE to interprofessional practice (IPP). Method Key principles, goals, and limitations of current IPE research are reviewed. A popular IPE evaluation model is examined through the lens of implementation research. The authors propose a new translational model that more clearly illustrates translational gaps that can be used to direct future research. Next steps for translating IPE to IPP are discussed. Conclusion Comprehensive reviews of the literature show that the implementation strategies adopted to date have fostered improved buy-in from key stakeholders, as evidenced by improved attitudes and perceptions toward interprofessional collaboration/practice. However, there is little evidence regarding successful implementation outcomes, such as changed clinician behaviors, changed organizational practices, or improved patient outcomes. The authors propose the use of an IPE to IPP translational model to facilitate clear identification of research gaps and to better identify future research targets.

Clinical dilemmas of routine outcome monitoring and clinical feedback: a qualitative study of patient experiences

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stig Magne Solstad ◽  
Gøril Kleiven Solberg ◽  
Louis George Castonguay ◽  
Christian Moltu
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Clinical Skill ◽  
Routine Outcome Monitoring ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Basic Training ◽  
Feedback Systems ◽  
Clinical Encounters ◽  
Outcome Monitoring ◽  
Clinical Feedback

Purpose: Routine outcome monitoring (ROM) and clinical feedback systems (CFS) are becoming prevalent in mental health services. The field faces several challenges to successful implementation. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of these challenges by exploring the patient perspective. Method: We report the findings from a qualitative, video assisted interview study of 12 patients from a Norwegian mental health outpatient clinic using ROM/CFS. Results: Our analysis resulted in three pairs of opposing experiences with using ROM/CFS: 1) Explicit vs. implicit use of CFS information, 2) CFS directing focus towards- vs. directing focus away from therapeutic topics and 3) Giving vs. receiving feedback. None of these were intrinsically helpful or hindering. Participants had vastly differing preferences for how to use ROM/CFS in clinical encounters, but all needed the information to be used in a meaningful way by their therapists. If not, ROM/CFS was at risk of becoming meaningless and hindering for therapy. Conclusion: These findings confirm and provide further nuance to previous research. We propose to consider ROM/CFS a clinical skill that should be a part of basic training for therapists. How to use and implement ROM/CFS skillfully should also be the focus of future research.

Stem Cell-Based Therapies: A New Ray of Hope for Diabetic Patients

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junaid Khan ◽  
Amit Alexander ◽  
Mukta Agrawal ◽  
Ajazuddin ◽  
Sunil Kumar Dubey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Drug Therapy ◽  
Type I Diabetes ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Diabetic Patients ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Type I

Diabetes and its complications are a significant health concern throughout the globe. There are physiological differences in the mechanism of type-I and type-II diabetes and the conventional drug therapy as well as insulin administration seem to be insufficient to address the problem at large successfully. Hypoglycemic swings, frequent dose adjustments and resistance to the drug are major problems associated with drug therapy. Cellular approaches through stem cell based therapeutic interventions offer a promising solution to the problem. The need for pancreatic transplants in case of Type- I diabetes can also be by-passed/reduced due to the formation of insulin producing β cells via stem cells. Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs) and induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs), successfully used for generating insulin producing β cells. Although many experiments have shown promising results with stem cells in vitro, their clinical testing still needs more exploration. The review attempts to bring into light the clinical studies favoring the transplantation of stem cells in diabetic patients with an objective of improving insulin secretion and improving degeneration of different tissues in response to diabetes. It also focuses on the problems associated with successful implementation of the technique and possible directions for future research.

scholarly journals Feasibility, usability and acceptability of paediatric lung ultrasound among healthcare providers and caregivers for the diagnosis of childhood pneumonia in resource-constrained settings: a qualitative study

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. e042547
Author(s):  
Atif Riaz ◽  
Olga Cambaco ◽  
Laura Elizabeth Ellington ◽  
Jennifer L Lenahan ◽  
Khatia Munguambe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Lung Ultrasound ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Pneumonia Diagnosis

ObjectivesPaediatric pneumonia burden and mortality are highest in low-income and middle-income countries (LMIC). Paediatric lung ultrasound (LUS) has emerged as a promising diagnostic tool for pneumonia in LMIC. Despite a growing evidence base for LUS use in paediatric pneumonia diagnosis, little is known about its potential for successful implementation in LMIC. Our objectives were to evaluate the feasibility, usability and acceptability of LUS in the diagnosis of paediatric pneumonia.DesignProspective qualitative study using semistructured interviewsSettingTwo referral hospitals in Mozambique and PakistanParticipantsA total of 21 healthcare providers (HCPs) and 20 caregivers were enrolled.ResultsHCPs highlighted themes of limited resource availability for the feasibility of LUS implementation, including perceived high cost of equipment, maintenance demands, time constraints and limited trained staff. HCPs emphasised the importance of policymaker support and caregiver acceptance for long-term success. HCP perspectives of usability highlighted ease of use and integration into existing workflow. HCPs and caregivers had positive attitudes towards LUS with few exceptions. Both HCPs and caregivers emphasised the potential for rapid, improved diagnosis of paediatric respiratory conditions using LUS.ConclusionsThis was the first study to evaluate HCP and caregiver perspectives of paediatric LUS through qualitative analysis. Critical components impacting feasibility, usability and acceptability of LUS for paediatric pneumonia diagnosis in LMIC were identified for initial deployment. Future research should explore LUS sustainability, with a particular focus on quality control, device maintenance and functionality and adoption of the new technology within the health system. This study highlights the need to engage both users and recipients of new technology early in order to adapt future interventions to the local context for successful implementation.Trial registration numberNCT03187067.

Making one-sided exercise decisions: The influence of exercise-related cognitive errors

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 1240-1249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean R Locke ◽  
Lawrence R Brawley
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cognitive Errors ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Cognitive Error ◽  
Biased Processing

Exercise-related cognitive errors reflect biased processing of exercise-relevant information. The purpose of this study was to examine whether differences existed between individuals reporting low and high exercise-related cognitive errors on information processed about a relevant exercise decision-making situation. In all, 138 adults completed an online questionnaire. The high exercise-related cognitive error group primarily focused on negative content about the situation compared to the low exercise-related cognitive error group who focused on both positive and negative content. The high exercise-related cognitive error group displayed biased processing of exercise information, as suggested by the cognitive errors model. Future research should examine whether biasing information processing caused by exercise-related cognitive errors can be modified and attenuated.

Cryptocurrency bubble risk and the FOMC announcements during COVID-19 black swan event

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anis Jarboui ◽  
Emna Mnif
Keyword(s):  
Federal Reserve ◽  
Abnormal Returns ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Open Market ◽  
Predictive Capacity ◽  
Federal Open Market Committee ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cumulative Abnormal Returns ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose After the COVID-19 outbreak, the Federal Reserve has undertaken several monetary policies to alleviate the pandemic consequences on the markets. This paper aims to evaluate the effects of the Federal Reserve monetary policy on the cryptocurrency dynamics during the COVID19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach We examine the response and feedback effects via an event study methodology. For this purpose, abnormal returns (AR) and cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) around the first FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) announcement related to the COVID-19 pandemic for the top five cryptocurrencies are explored. We, further investigate the effect of the eight FOMC statement announcements during the COVID19 pandemic on these cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, Litecoin, and Ripple). In the above-mentioned crypto-currency markets, we investigate the presence of bubbles by using the PSY test. We then examine the concordance of the dates of these bubbles with the dates of the FOMC announcements. Findings The empirical results show that the first FOMC event has a negative significant effect after 4 days of the announcement date for all studied cryptocurrencies except Tether. The results also indicate that cumulative abnormal returns are significant during the event windows of (−3,8), (−3,9), and (−3,10). Besides, we find that Bitcoin, Ethereum and, Litecoin lived short bubbles lasting for a few days. However, Ripple and Tether markets present no bubbles and no explosive periods. Research limitations/implications This paper presents trained proof that FOMC announcements have a positive effect on volatility's predictive capacity. This work therefore promotes the study of the data quality of volatility in future research as well. Practical implications The justified effect of the FOMC announcements on cryptocurrency as a speculative asset has practical implications for investors in building their trading strategies in anticipation of the next FOMC announcement. Therefore, this study implies that the FOMC announcements contain very relevant information for investors in the cryptocurrency market. This research may not only encourage a better understanding of the evolution of the expectations of policymakers, but also facilitate a better understanding of how these expectations are developed. Originality/value The COVID-19 pandemic has disturbed the stability of financial markets, inciting the Fed to take some monetary regulations. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first one that analyses the response of five major cryptocurrencies to FOMC announcements during COVID 19 pandemic and associates these dates with bubble occurrences.

scholarly journals A Digital Forensic Readiness Architecture for Online Examinations

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivans Kigwana ◽  
H. S Venter
Keyword(s):  
Online Courses ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Content Management ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Future Research ◽  
International Electrotechnical Commission ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Digital Forensic ◽  
Online Examination ◽  
Proactive Measures

Some institutions provide online courses to students to ease the courses’ workload. Online courses can also be convenient because the online course content management software conducts marking of tests and examinations. However, a few students could be willing to exploit such a system’s weaknesses in a bid to cheat in online examinations because invigilators are absent. Proactive measures are needed and measures have to be implemented in order to thwart unacceptable behaviour in situations where there is little control of students’ conduct. Digital Forensic Readiness (DFR) employs a proactive approach for an organisation to be forensically prepared for situations where there is little control over people. This can be achieved by gathering, storing and handling incident response data, with the aim of reducing the time and cost that would otherwise be spent in a post-event response process. The problem this paper addresses is that, at the time of writing this paper, there existed no known DFR architecture that can be used to collect relevant information for DFR purposes, specifically in the course of an online examination, as described in the standard published by the International Standards Organisation (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) (ISO/IEC 27043:2015) for incident investigation principles and processes. Due to the lack of DFR architecture, the authors propose an Online Examination Digital Forensic Readiness Architecture (OEDFRA) that can be used to achieve DFR when online examinations are conducted. This architecture employs already existing DFR techniques, discussed in the study, to help educational institutions achieve DFR in online examinations. This architecture, (OEDFRA), when implemented, will be tested in future research in order to confirm its contribution to the field of DFR.

scholarly journals Carpooling in Connected and Autonomous Vehicles: Current Solutions and Future Directions

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farkhanda Zafar ◽  
Hasan Ali Khattak ◽  
Moayad Aloqaily ◽  
Rasheed Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Autonomous Vehicles ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Comprehensive Survey ◽  
One Stop ◽  
Future Research Directions

Owing to the advancements in communication and computation technologies, the dream of commercialized connected and autonomous cars is becoming a reality. However, among other challenges such as environmental pollution, cost, maintenance, security, and privacy, the ownership of vehicles (especially for Autonomous Vehicles (AV)) is the major obstacle in the realization of this technology at the commercial level. Furthermore, the business model of pay-as-you-go type services further attracts the consumer because there is no need for upfront investment. In this vein, the idea of car-sharing ( aka carpooling) is getting ground due to, at least in part, its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and affordable choice of transportation. Carpooling systems are still in their infancy and face challenges such as scheduling, matching passengers interests, business model, security, privacy, and communication. To date, a plethora of research work has already been done covering different aspects of carpooling services (ranging from applications to communication and technologies); however, there is still a lack of a holistic, comprehensive survey that can be a one-stop-shop for the researchers in this area to, i) find all the relevant information, and ii) identify the future research directions. To fill these research challenges, this paper provides a comprehensive survey on carpooling in autonomous and connected vehicles and covers architecture, components, and solutions, including scheduling, matching, mobility, pricing models of carpooling. We also discuss the current challenges in carpooling and identify future research directions. This survey is aimed to spur further discussion among the research community for the effective realization of carpooling.

scholarly journals Systems analysis of miRNA biomarkers to inform drug safety

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy L. Schofield ◽  
Joseph P. Brown ◽  
Jack Brown ◽  
Ania Wilczynska ◽  
Catherine Bell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Safety ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Tissue Injury ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Drug Induced ◽  
Rna Molecules ◽  
Extracellular Milieu ◽  
Point Of Care Test ◽  
Organ Systems

AbstractmicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are short non-coding RNA molecules which have been shown to be dysregulated and released into the extracellular milieu as a result of many drug and non-drug-induced pathologies in different organ systems. Consequently, circulating miRs have been proposed as useful biomarkers of many disease states, including drug-induced tissue injury. miRs have shown potential to support or even replace the existing traditional biomarkers of drug-induced toxicity in terms of sensitivity and specificity, and there is some evidence for their improved diagnostic and prognostic value. However, several pre-analytical and analytical challenges, mainly associated with assay standardization, require solutions before circulating miRs can be successfully translated into the clinic. This review will consider the value and potential for the use of circulating miRs in drug-safety assessment and describe a systems approach to the analysis of the miRNAome in the discovery setting, as well as highlighting standardization issues that at this stage prevent their clinical use as biomarkers. Highlighting these challenges will hopefully drive future research into finding appropriate solutions, and eventually circulating miRs may be translated to the clinic where their undoubted biomarker potential can be used to benefit patients in rapid, easy to use, point-of-care test systems.

scholarly journals How does gaze to faces support face-to-face interaction? A review and perspective

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy S Hessels
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Observational Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Dynamic Systems Theory ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Vision Science ◽  
Literature Overview ◽  
Social Gaze ◽  
Human Social Behaviour

Gaze – where one looks, how long, and when – plays an essential part in human social behaviour. While many aspects of social gaze have been reviewed, there is no comprehensive review or theoretical framework that describes how gaze to faces supports face-to-face interaction. In this review, I address the following questions: (1) When does gaze need to be allocated to a particular region of a face in order to provide the relevant information for successful interaction; (2) How do humans look at other people, and faces in particular, regardless of whether gaze needs to be directed at a particular region to acquire the relevant visual information; (3) How does gaze support the regulation of interaction? The work reviewed spans psychophysical research, observational research and eye-tracking research in both lab-based and interactive contexts. Based on the literature overview, I sketch a framework for future research based on dynamic systems theory. The framework holds that gaze should be investigated in relation to sub-states of the interaction, encompassing sub-states of the interactors, the content of the interaction as well as the interactive context. The relevant sub-states for understanding gaze in interaction vary over different timescales from microgenesis to ontogenesis and phylogenesis. The framework has important implications for vision science, psychopathology, developmental science and social robotics.

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