Qualitative past Timeline-Based Games

This extended abstract discusses timeline-based planning, a modeling approach that offers a unique way to model complex systems. Recently, the timeline-based planning framework has been extended to handle general nondeterminism in a game-theoretic setting, resulting in timeline-based games. In this context, the problem of establishing whether a timeline-based game admits a winning strategy and synthesizing such a strategy have been addressed. We propose exploring simpler yet expressive fragments of timeline-based games by leveraging results about the role of past operators in synthesis from temporal logic specifications. The qualitative fragment of timeline-based planning is a good starting point for this exploration. We suggest introducing syntactic restrictions on synchronization rules so that they only constrain the behavior of the system before the current time point, which is expected to lower the complexity of synthesizing timeline-based games to EXPTIME. 2012 ACM Subject Classification Computing methodologies → Planning for deterministic action

Controller Synthesis for Timeline-based Games

In the timeline-based approach to planning, originally born in the space sector, the evolution over time of a set of state variables (the timelines) is governed by a set of temporal constraints. Traditional timeline-based planning systems excel at the integration of planning with execution by handling temporal uncertainty. In order to handle general nondeterminism as well, the concept of timeline-based games has been recently introduced. It has been proved that finding whether a winning strategy exists for such games is 2EXPTIME-complete. However, a concrete approach to synthesize controllers implementing such strategies is missing. This paper fills this gap, outlining an approach to controller synthesis for timeline-based games

Case Identification and Characterization of Migrants with Dementia in the Lazio Region Using Health Administrative Data

Background: A crucial step for planning effective public health policies for migrants with dementia is the collection of data on the local dimensions of the phenomenon and patients' characteristics.Objective: This study aimed to identify and characterize migrants with dementia in the Lazio region using health administrative databases.Methods: Residents with dementia aged 50 years or older, living in the Lazio region as of December 31, 2018, were identified using a validated algorithm based on hospital discharge(s), claims for antidementia drugs, and co-payment exemption for dementia. Migrants were defined as people born abroad and grouped in migrants from High Migratory Pressure Countries (HMPCs) and Highly Developed Countries (HDCs). Overall and age-specific prevalence rates were estimated in native- and foreign-born patients.Results: Dementia was ascertained in 38,460 residents. Among them, 37,280 (96.9%) were born in Italy, 337 (0.9%) were migrants from HDCs, and 843 (2.2%) from HMPCs. Dementia prevalence was higher among natives (1.15%, 95%CI 1.14-1.16) relative to migrants from HDCs (0.60%, 95%CI 0.54-0.67) and HMPCs (0.29%, 95%CI 0.27-0.31). The prevalence of comorbidities did not differ between groups. Migrants with dementia had a lower likelihood of receiving antidementia treatments compared with natives (51.6% in migrants from HDCs, 49.3% in migrants from HMPCs, and 53.5% among Italians).Conclusion: Routinely collected data in healthcare administrative databases can support the identification of migrants with dementia. Migrants exhibited a lower age-standardized prevalence of registered dementia and lower access to dedicated treatments than Italians. These findings are suggestive of underdiagnosis and undertreatment of dementia in migrants

A Real-Time intelligent system for tracking patient condition

Hospitals have multiple data sources, such as embedded systems, monitors and sensors. The number of data available is increasing and the information are used not only to care the patient but also to assist the decision processes. The introduction of intelligent environments in health care institutions has been adopted due their ability to provide useful information for health professionals, either in helping to identify prognosis or also to understand patient condition. Behind of this concept arises this Intelligent System to track patient condition (e.g. critic events) in health care. This system has the great advantage of being adaptable to the environment and user needs. The system is focused in identifying critic events from data streaming (e.g. vital signs and ventilation) which is particularly valuable for understanding the patient’s condition. This work aims to demonstrate the process of creating an intelligent system capable of operating in a real environment using streaming data provided by ventilators and vital signs monitors. Its development is important to the physician because becomes possible crossing multiple variables in real-time by analyzing if a value is critic or not and if their variation has or not clinical importance

Developing a questionnaire evaluating knowledge, attitudes and behaviors on audit & feedback among general practitioners. A mixed methods study

Background: Audit and Feedback (A&F) is one of the most common strategies used to improve quality in healthcare. However, there is still lack of awareness regarding the enabling factors and barriers that could influence its effectiveness. The aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire to measure the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of general practitioners (GPs) regarding A&F. The study was performed in the context of the EASY-NET program (project code NET-2016-02364191). Methods: The survey was developed according to two steps. Firstly, a scoping review was performed in order to map the literature on the existing similar instruments with the aim of identifying the sub-domains and possible items to include in a preliminary version of the questionnaire. In the second phase, the questionnaire was reviewed by a multidisciplinary group of experts and administrated to a convenience sample in a pilot survey. Results: Ten papers were included in the scoping review. The survey target and development methodology were heterogenous among the studies. The knowledge, attitudes and behaviors domains were assessed in six, nine and seven studies, respectively. In the first step, 126 pertinent items were extracted and categorized as follows: 8 investigated knowledge, 93 investigated attitudes, and 25 investigated behaviors. Then, 2 sub-domains were identified for knowledge, 14 for attitudes and 7 for behavior. Based on these results, a first version of the survey was developed via consensus among two authors and then revised by the multidisciplinary group of experts in the field of A&F. The final version of the survey included 36 items: 8 in the knowledge domain, 19 in the attitudes domain and 9 in the behaviors domain. The results of the pilot study among 15 GPs suggested a good acceptability and item relevance and accuracy, with positive answers totaling 100% and 93.3% in the proposed questions. Conclusions: The methodology used has shown to be a good strategy for the development of the survey. The survey will be administrated before and after the implementation of an A&F intervention to assess both baseline characteristics and changes after the intervention

Unsuspected role of the brain morphogenetic gene Otx1 in hematopoiesis

Otx1 belongs to the paired class of homeobox genes and plays a pivotal role in brain development. Here, we show that Otx1 is expressed in hematopoietic pluripotent and erythroid progenitor cells. Moreover, bone marrow cells from mice lacking Otx1 exhibit a cell-autonomous impairment of the erythroid compartment. In agreement with these results, molecular analysis revealed decreased levels of erythroid genes that include the SCL and GATA-1 transcription factors. Accordingly, a gain of function of SCL rescues the erythroid deficiency in Otx1-/- mice. Taken together, our findings indicate a function for Otx1 in the regulation of blood cell production. There is growing evidence suggesting that common cellular and molecular mechanisms orchestrate differentiation in various tissues. Homeobox-containing genes seem to be strong candidate genes to regulate a number of developmental processes, including neurogenesis and hematopoiesis. Members of the Otx family (Otx1, Otx2, Otx3, and Crx) are the vertebrate homologues of the Drosophila head gap gene orthodenticle and encode transcription factors containing a bicoid-like homeodomain. They are temporally and spatially regulated during development and seem to be required for proper head and sense organ patterning. Otx1, Otx2, and Otx3 show partially overlapping, but distinct expression patterns, and Otx2, the first to be activated during development, plays a major role in gastrulation and in the early specification of the anterior neural plate. In contrast, Otx1 shows a later onset and is involved in corticogenesis, sense organ development, and pituitary function. Mice bearing targeted deletion of Otx1 are affected by a permanent epileptic phenotype and show multiple brain abnormalities and morphological defects of the acoustic and visual sense organs. In addition, at the prepubescent stage, they exhibit transient dwarfism and hypogonadism because of low levels of pituitary hormones. In the present study, we have investigated whether Otx1 also plays a role in blood cell production, as several homeobox genes of different families are involved in normal and/or malignant hematopoiesis

Comparison of the effect of semi-rigid ankle bracing on performance among injured v. non-injured adolescent female hockey players

Objective. To determine the comparative proprioceptive performance of injured v. non-injured adolescent female hockey players wearing an ankle brace.Methods. Data were collected from 100 high school players who belonged to the Highway Secondary School Hockey League, KwaZulu-Natal, via voluntary parental informed consent and player assent. Players completed an injury questionnaire probing the prevalence and nature of hockey injuries (March - August 2013). Subsequently, players completed a Biodex proprioceptive test with and without an ankle brace. Probability was set at p≤0.05.Results. Twenty-two players sustained ankle injuries within the 6-month study period (p<0.001). Injured players performed similarly without bracing (right anterior posterior index (RAPI) 2.8 (standard deviation (SD) 0.9); right medial lateral index (RMLI) 1.9 (0.7); left anterior posterior index (LAPI) 2.7 (0.9); left medial lateral index (LMLI) 1.7 (0.6)) compared with bracing (RAPI 2.7 (1.4); RMLI 1.8 (0.6); LAPI 2.6 (1.0); LMLI 1.5 (0.6)) (p>0.05). However, bracing improved the ankle stability of the non-injured group (RAPI 2.2 (0.8); RMLI 1.5 (0.5); LAPI 2.4 (0.9); RMLI 1.5 (0.5)) compared with their performance without a brace (RAPI 2.5 (1.0); RMLI 1.8 (0.8); LAPI 2.8 (1.1); LMLI 1.8 (0.6)) (p<0.05).Conclusion. Ankle bracing did not enhance the stability of injured ankles. However, ankle bracing has an ergogenic effect that enhances the stability of healthy ankles

Relationship between cardiovascular health metrics and physical performance in community-living people: Results from the Longevity check-up (Lookup) 7+ project

Cardiovascular health metrics (CHMs) may predict disability independent of vascular events. Though, the link between CHMs and physical performance is unclear. This relationship was explored using data from the Longevity check-up (Lookup) 7+ project. Lookup 7+ is an ongoing cross-sectional survey conducted in unconventional settings across Italy. People who are at least 18-year-old and provide written informed consent are eligible. CHMs [i.e., smoking status, healthy diet, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and diabetes status] are assessed through closed questions and objective measurements. Physical performance is measured via the 5-repetition chair-stand test. Analyses included 7446 participants (55.5 \ub1 14.9 years; 56% women). Physical performance positively correlated with CHMs scores, such that participants who scored higher (6\u20137 points) completed the chair-stand test about 2 s faster than those scoring lower (1\u20132 points). In fully adjusted analysis, better physical performance was more frequently observed in younger, non-smoking, physically active men, with ideal BMI, and no diabetes. Our findings indicate a gradient of better physical function with increasing CHMs scores. Future investigations should establish the longitudinal effect of unhealthy behaviours and cardiovascular risk factors on physical performance and verify whether implementation of large-scale primordial cardiovascular prevention may positively impact physical fitness