Integration of decision support systems to improve decision support performance

Decision support system (DSS) is a well-established research and development area. Traditional isolated, stand-alone DSS has been recently facing new challenges. In order to improve the performance of DSS to meet the challenges, research has been actively carried out to develop integrated decision support systems (IDSS). This paper reviews the current research efforts with regard to the development of IDSS. The focus of the paper is on the integration aspect for IDSS through multiple perspectives, and the technologies that support this integration. More than 100 papers and software systems are discussed. Current research efforts and the development status of IDSS are explained, compared and classified. In addition, future trends and challenges in integration are outlined. The paper concludes that by addressing integration, better support will be provided to decision makers, with the expectation of both better decisions and improved decision making processes

Detectable HIV Viral Load in Kenya: Data from a Population-Based Survey.

IntroductionAt the individual level, there is clear evidence that Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) transmission can be substantially reduced by lowering viral load. However there are few data describing population-level HIV viremia especially in high-burden settings with substantial under-diagnosis of HIV infection. The 2nd Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey (KAIS 2012) provided a unique opportunity to evaluate the impact of antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage on viremia and to examine the risks for failure to suppress viral replication. We report population-level HIV viral load suppression using data from KAIS 2012.MethodsBetween October 2012 to February 2013, KAIS 2012 surveyed household members, administered questionnaires and drew serum samples to test for HIV and, for those found to be infected with HIV, plasma viral load (PVL) was measured. Our principal outcome was unsuppressed HIV viremia, defined as a PVL ≥ 550 copies/mL. The exposure variables included current treatment with ART, prior history of an HIV diagnosis, and engagement in HIV care. All point estimates were adjusted to account for the KAIS 2012 cluster sampling design and survey non-response.ResultsOverall, 61·2% (95% CI: 56·4-66·1) of HIV-infected Kenyans aged 15-64 years had not achieved virological suppression. The base10 median (interquartile range [IQR]) and mean (95% CI) VL was 4,633 copies/mL (0-51,596) and 81,750 copies/mL (59,366-104,134), respectively. Among 266 persons taking ART, 26.1% (95% CI: 20.0-32.1) had detectable viremia. Non-ART use, younger age, and lack of awareness of HIV status were independently associated with significantly higher odds of detectable viral load. In multivariate analysis for the sub-sample of patients on ART, detectable viremia was independently associated with younger age and sub-optimal adherence to ART.DiscussionThis report adds to the limited data of nationally-representative surveys to report population- level virological suppression. We established heterogeneity across the ten administrative and HIV programmatic regions on levels of detectable viral load. Timely initiation of ART and retention in care are crucial for the elimination of transmission of HIV through sex, needle and syringe use or from mother to child. Further refinement of geospatial mapping of populations with highest risk of transmission is necessary

Scaling of entanglement at quantum phase transition for two-dimensional array of quantum dots

With Hubbard model, the entanglement scaling behavior in a two-dimensional itinerant system is investigated. It has been found that, on the two sides of the critical point denoting an inherent quantum phase transition (QPT), the entanglement follows different scalings with the size just as an order parameter does. This fact reveals the subtle role played by the entanglement in QPT as a fungible physical resource

Entanglement control in one-dimensional s=1/2s=1/2 random XY spin chain

The entanglement in one-dimensional random XY spin systems where the impurities of exchange couplings and the external magnetic fields are considered as random variables is investigated by solving the different spin-spin correlation functions and the average magnetization per spin. The entanglement dynamics near particular locations of the system is also studied when the exchange couplings (or the external magnetic fields) satisfy three different distributions(the Gaussian distribution, double-Gaussian distribution, and bimodal distribution). We find that the entanglement can be controlled by varying the strength of external magnetic field and the different distributions of impurities. Moreover, the entanglement of some nearest-neighboring qubits can be increased for certain parameter values of the three different distributions.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure