Proximal business intelligence on the semantic web

This is the post-print version of this article. The official version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2010 Springer.Ubiquitous information systems (UBIS) extend current Information System thinking to explicitly differentiate technology between devices and software components with relation to people and process. Adapting business data and management information to support specific user actions in context is an ongoing topic of research. Approaches typically focus on providing mechanisms to improve specific information access and transcoding but not on how the information can be accessed in a mobile, dynamic and ad-hoc manner. Although web ontology has been used to facilitate the loading of data warehouses, less research has been carried out on ontology based mobile reporting. This paper explores how business data can be modeled and accessed using the web ontology language and then re-used to provide the invisibility of pervasive access; uncovering more effective architectural models for adaptive information system strategies of this type. This exploratory work is guided in part by a vision of business intelligence that is highly distributed, mobile and fluid, adapting to sensory understanding of the underlying environment in which it operates. A proof-of concept mobile and ambient data access architecture is developed in order to further test the viability of such an approach. The paper concludes with an ontology engineering framework for systems of this type – named UBIS-ONTO

Perspectives in quality: designing the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist

The World Health Organization's Patient Safety Programme created an initiative to improve the safety of surgery around the world. In order to accomplish this goal the programme team developed a checklist with items that could and, if at all possible, should be practised in all settings where surgery takes place. There is little guidance in the literature regarding methods for creating a medical checklist. The airline industry, however, has more than 70 years of experience in developing and using checklists. The authors of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist drew lessons from the aviation experience to create a safety tool that supports essential clinical practice. In order to inform the methodology for development of future checklists in health care, we review how we applied lessons learned from the aviation experience in checklist development to the development of the Surgical Safety Checklist and also discuss the differences that exist between aviation and medicine that impact the use of checklists in health car

Food Insecurity and Violence in a Prospective Cohort of Women at Risk for or Living With HIV in the U.S.

Background Food insecurity and violence are two major public health issues facing U.S. women. The link between food insecurity and violence has received little attention, particularly regarding the temporal ordering of events. The present study used data from the Women’s Interagency Human Immunodeficiency Virus Study to investigate the longitudinal association of food insecurity and violence in a cohort of women at risk for or living with HIV. Methods Study participants completed six assessments from 2013–16 on food insecurity (operationalized as marginal, low, and very low food security) and violence (sexual or physical, and psychological). We used multi-level logistic regression, controlling for visits (level 1) nested within individuals (level 2), to estimate the association of experiencing violence. Results: Among 2,343 women (8,528 visits), we found that victims of sexual or physical violence (odds ratio = 3.10; 95% confidence interval: 1.88, 5.19) and psychological violence (odds ratio = 3.00; 95% confidence interval: 1.67, 5.50) were more likely to report very low food security. The odds of experiencing violence were higher for women with very low food security at both the current and previous visit as compared to only the current visit. HIV status did not modify these associations. Conclusions: Food insecurity was strongly associated with violence, and women exposed to persistent food insecurity were even more likely to experience violence. Food programs and policy must consider persistent exposure to food insecurity, and interpersonal harms faced by food insecure women, such as violence

Mechanisms for the Negative Effects of Internalized HIV-Related Stigma on Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence in Women: The Mediating Roles of Social Isolation and Depression

Internalization of HIV-related stigma may inhibit a person's ability to manage HIV disease through adherence to treatment regimens. Studies, mainly with white men, have suggested an association between internalized stigma and suboptimal adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, there is a scarcity of research with women of different racial/ethnic backgrounds and on mediating mechanisms in the association between internalized stigma and ART adherence

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

Food Insecurity is Associated with Poor HIV Outcomes Among Women in the United States

Women in the general population experience more food insecurity than men. Few studies have examined food insecurity’s impact on HIV treatment outcomes among women. We examined the association between food insecurity and HIV outcomes in a multi-site sample of HIV-infected women in the United States (n = 1154). Two-fifths (40%) of participants reported food insecurity. In an adjusted multivariable Tobit regression model, food insecurity was associated with 2.08 times higher viral load (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.04, 4.15) and lower CD4+ counts (− 42.10, CI: − 81.16, − 3.03). Integration of food insecurity alleviation into HIV programs may improve HIV outcomes in women

Multicenter Evaluation of a 0-Hour/1-Hour Algorithm in the Diagnosis of Myocardial Infarction With High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin T

Study objectiveWe aim to prospectively validate the diagnostic accuracy of the recently developed 0-h/1-h algorithm, using high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) for the early rule-out and rule-in of acute myocardial infarction.MethodsWe enrolled patients presenting with suspected acute myocardial infarction and recent (<6 hours) onset of symptoms to the emergency department in a global multicenter diagnostic study. Hs-cTnT (Roche Diagnostics) and sensitive cardiac troponin I (Siemens Healthcare) were measured at presentation and after 1 hour, 2 hours, and 4 to 14 hours in a central laboratory. Patient triage according to the predefined hs-cTnT 0-hour/1-hour algorithm (hs-cTnT below 12 ng/L and Δ1 hour below 3 ng/L to rule out; hs-cTnT at least 52 ng/L or Δ1 hour at least 5 ng/L to rule in; remaining patients to the “observational zone”) was compared against a centrally adjudicated final diagnosis by 2 independent cardiologists (reference standard). The final diagnosis was based on all available information, including coronary angiography and echocardiography results, follow-up data, and serial measurements of sensitive cardiac troponin I, whereas adjudicators remained blinded to hs-cTnT.ResultsAmong 1,282 patients enrolled, acute myocardial infarction was the final diagnosis for 213 (16.6%) patients. Applying the hs-cTnT 0-hour/1-hour algorithm, 813 (63.4%) patients were classified as rule out, 184 (14.4%) were classified as rule in, and 285 (22.2%) were triaged to the observational zone. This resulted in a negative predictive value and sensitivity for acute myocardial infarction of 99.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 98.2% to 99.7%) and 96.7% (95% CI 93.4% to 98.7%) in the rule-out zone (7 patients with false-negative results), a positive predictive value and specificity for acute myocardial infarction of 77.2% (95% CI 70.4% to 83.0%) and 96.1% (95% CI 94.7% to 97.2%) in the rule-in zone, and a prevalence of acute myocardial infarction of 22.5% in the observational zone.ConclusionThe hs-cTnT 0-hour/1-hour algorithm performs well for early rule-out and rule-in of acute myocardial infarction

Associations Between Food Insecurity and Psychotropic Medication Use Among Women Living With HIV in the United States

AIMS: Psychotropic prescription rates continue to increase in the United States (USA). Few studies have investigated whether social-structural factors may play a role in psychotropic medication use independent of mental illness. Food insecurity is prevalent among people living with HIV in the USA and has been associated with poor mental health. We investigated whether food insecurity was associated with psychotropic medication use independent of the symptoms of depression and anxiety among women living with HIV in the USA. METHODS: We used cross-sectional data from the Women\u27s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS), a nationwide cohort study. Food security (FS) was the primary explanatory variable, measured using the Household Food Security Survey Module. First, we used multivariable linear regressions to test whether FS was associated with symptoms of depression (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression [CESD] score), generalised anxiety disorder (GAD-7 score) and mental health-related quality of life (MOS-HIV Mental Health Summary score; MHS). Next, we examined associations of FS with the use of any psychotropic medications, including antidepressants, sedatives and antipsychotics, using multivariable logistic regressions adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, income, education and alcohol and substance use. In separate models, we additionally adjusted for symptoms of depression (CESD score) and anxiety (GAD-7 score). RESULTS: Of the 905 women in the sample, two-thirds were African-American. Lower FS (i.e. worse food insecurity) was associated with greater symptoms of depression and anxiety in a dose-response relationship. For the psychotropic medication outcomes, marginal and low FS were associated with 2.06 (p \u3c 0.001; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.36-3.13) and 1.99 (p \u3c 0.01; 95% CI = 1.26-3.15) times higher odds of any psychotropic medication use, respectively, before adjusting for depression and anxiety. The association of very low FS with any psychotropic medication use was not statistically significant. A similar pattern was found for antidepressant and sedative use. After additionally adjusting for CESD and GAD-7 scores, marginal FS remained associated with 1.93 (p \u3c 0.05; 95% CI = 1.16-3.19) times higher odds of any psychotropic medication use. Very low FS, conversely, was significantly associated with lower odds of antidepressant use (adjusted odds ratio = 0.42; p \u3c 0.05; 95% CI = 0.19-0.96). CONCLUSIONS: Marginal FS was associated with higher odds of using psychotropic medications independent of depression and anxiety, while very low FS was associated with lower odds. These complex findings may indicate that people experiencing very low FS face barriers to accessing mental health services, while those experiencing marginal FS who do access services are more likely to be prescribed psychotropic medications for distress arising from social and structural factors

Food Insecurity and Frailty Among Women With and Without HIV in the United States: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Introduction: Frailty is frequently observed among people with HIV, and food insecurity is associated with frailty in the general population. Evidence is scarce on the associations between food insecurity and frailty among women with HIV who maybe particularly vulnerable to the impacts of food insecurity. The goal of this study was to assess associations between food insecurity and frailty among women with and without HIV. Methods: There were 1265 participants from the Women’s Interagency HIV Study who participated in frailty assessments in2017. Frailty was measured using the Fried Frailty Phenotype, and women were subsequently categorized as robust, pre-frailor frail. Food insecurity was assessed using the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module, with women categorized as having high, marginal, low or very low food security. Multinomial logistic regression models were conducted to examine cross-sectional associations between food insecurity and frailty while adjusting for socio-demographic, behavioural and HIV status covariates. Results and discussion: Approximately one-third (31.9%) of the women had marginal, low or very low food security, and the proportions of women who met the criteria for frailty or pre-frailty were 55.6% and 12.4% respectively. In the adjusted model, the relative risk ratio (RRR) of frailty for women with very low food security versus women with high food security was 3.37(95% CI [1.38 to 8.24],p Conclusions: Very low food security was associated with more frequent frailty and pre-frailty among women with and without for HIV. HIV serostatus was not associated with frailt