713 research outputs found
An Evaluation of the Usability of a Computerized Decision Support System for Nursing Homes
Background: Computerized decision support systems (CDSSs) have the potential to significantly improve the quality of nursing care of older people by enhancing the decision making of nursing personnel. Despite this potential, health care organizations have been slow to incorporate CDSSs into nursing home practices.
Objective: This study describes facilitators and barriers that impact the ability of nursing personnel to effectively use a clinical CDSS for planning and treating pressure ulcers (PUs) and malnutrition and for following the suggested risk assessment guidelines for the care of nursing home residents.
Methods: We employed a qualitative descriptive design using varied methods, including structured group interviews, cognitive walkthrough observations and a graphical user interface (GUI) usability evaluation. Group interviews were conducted with 25 nursing personnel from four nursing homes in southern Norway. Five nursing personnel participated in cognitive walkthrough observations and the GUI usability evaluation. Text transcripts were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.
Results: Group interview participants reported that ease of use, usefulness and a supportive work environment were key facilitators of CDSS use. The barriers identified were lack of training, resistance to using computers and limited integration of the CDSS with the facility’s electronic health record (EHR) system. Key findings from the usability evaluation also identified the difficulty of using the CDSS within the EHR and the poorly designed GUI integration as barriers.
Conclusion: Overall, we found disconnect between two types of nursing personnel. Those who were comfortable with computer technology reported positive feedback about the CDSS, while others expressed resistance to using the CDSS for various reasons. This study revealed that organizations must invest more resources in educating nursing personnel on the seriousness of PUs and poor nutrition in the elderly, providing specialized CDSS training and ensuring that nursing personnel have time in the workday to use the CDSS
Low-degree multi-spectral p-mode fitting
We combine unresolved-Sun velocity and intensity observations at multiple wavelengths from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager and Atmospheric Imaging Array onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory to investigate the possibility of multi-spectral mode-frequency estimation at low spherical harmonic degree. We test a simple multi-spectral algorithm using a common line width and frequency for each mode and a separate amplitude, background and asymmetry parameter, and compare the results with those from fits to the individual spectra. The preliminary results suggest that this approach may provide a more stable fit than using the observables separately
Teaching clinical reasoning and decision-making skills to nursing students: Design, development, and usability evaluation of a serious game
Background
Serious games (SGs) are a type of simulation technology that may provide nursing students with the opportunity to practice their clinical reasoning and decision-making skills in a safe and authentic environment. Despite the growing number of SGs developed for healthcare professionals, few SGs are video based or address the domain of home health care.
Aims
This paper aims to describe the design, development, and usability evaluation of a video based SG for teaching clinical reasoning and decision-making skills to nursing students who care for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in home healthcare settings.
Methods
A prototype SG was developed. A unified framework of usability called TURF (Task, User, Representation, and Function) and SG theory were employed to ensure a user-centered design. The educational content was based on the clinical decision-making model, Bloom’s taxonomy, and a Bachelor of Nursing curriculum. A purposeful sample of six participants evaluated the SG prototype in a usability laboratory. Cognitive walkthrough evaluations, a questionnaire, and individual interviews were used for the usability evaluation. The data were analyzed using qualitative deductive content analysis based on the TURF framework elements and related usability heuristics.
Results
The SG was perceived as being realistic, clinically relevant, and at an adequate level of complexity for the intended users. Usability issues regarding functionality and the user–computer interface design were identified. However, the SG was perceived as being easy to learn, and participants suggested that the SG could serve as a supplement to traditional training in laboratory and clinical settings.
Conclusions
Using video based scenarios with an authentic COPD patient and a home healthcare registered nurse as actors contributed to increased realism. Using different theoretical approaches in the SG design was considered an advantage of the design process. The SG was perceived as being useful, usable, and satisfying. The achievement of the desired functionality and the minimization of user–computer interface issues emphasize the importance of conducting a usability evaluation during the SG development process
Scattering statistics of rock outcrops: Model-data comparisons and Bayesian inference using mixture distributions
The probability density function of the acoustic field amplitude scattered by
the seafloor was measured in a rocky environment off the coast of Norway using
a synthetic aperture sonar system, and is reported here in terms of the
probability of false alarm. Interpretation of the measurements focused on
finding appropriate class of statistical models (single versus two-component
mixture models), and on appropriate models within these two classes. It was
found that two-component mixture models performed better than single models.
The two mixture models that performed the best (and had a basis in the physics
of scattering) were a mixture between two K distributions, and a mixture
between a Rayleigh and generalized Pareto distribution. Bayes' theorem was used
to estimate the probability density function of the mixture model parameters.
It was found that the K-K mixture exhibits significant correlation between its
parameters. The mixture between the Rayleigh and generalized Pareto
distributions also had significant parameter correlation, but also contained
multiple modes. We conclude that the mixture between two K distributions is the
most applicable to this dataset.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, Accepted to the Journal of the Acoustical
Society of Americ
Construction of a scientific abstract
An abstract is a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference
proceeding, or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject [1]. It is used to help the
reader quickly ascertain the authors’ principle messages.
The aim of this text is to strengthen the understanding of abstract writing, define its
specific components, and to help the writer evaluate and complete their abstract with
enhanced clarity and quality [2].
Typically, the academic research abstract contains four elements: objective and study
design, materials and methods, results, and discussion/conclusions. During peer
review, it is important that authors adhere to this format, as reviewers often evaluate
these parts separately
High-Frequency Oscillations in a Solar Active Region observed with the Rapid Dual Imager
High-cadence, synchronized, multiwavelength optical observations of a solar
active region (NOAA 10794) are presented. The data were obtained with the Dunn
Solar Telescope at the National Solar Observatory/Sacramento Peak using a newly
developed camera system : the Rapid Dual Imager. Wavelet analysis is undertaken
to search for intensity related oscillatory signatures, and periodicities
ranging from 20 to 370 s are found with significance levels exceeding 95%.
Observations in the H-alpha blue wing show more penumbral oscillatory phenomena
when compared to simultaneous G-band observations. The H-alpha oscillations are
interpreted as the signatures of plasma motions with a mean velocity of 20
km/s. The strong oscillatory power over H-alpha blue-wing and G-band penumbral
bright grains is an indication of the Evershed flow with frequencies higher
than previously reported.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure
Magneto-acoustic Waves in a Magnetic Slab Embedded in an Asymmetric Magnetic Environment: The Effects of Asymmetry
Modeling the behavior of magnetohydrodynamic waves in a range of magnetic geometries mimicking solar
atmospheric waveguides, from photospheric flux tubes to coronal loops, can offer a valuable contribution to the
field of solar magneto-seismology. The present study uses an analytical approach to derive the dispersion relation
for magneto-acoustic waves in a magnetic slab of homogeneous plasma enclosed on its two sides by semi-infinite
plasma of different densities, temperatures, and magnetic field strengths, providing an asymmetric plasma
environment. This is a step further in the generalization of the classic magnetic slab model, which is symmetric
about the slab, was developed by Roberts, and is an extension of the work by Allcock & Erdélyi where a magnetic
slab is sandwiched in an asymmetric nonmagnetic plasma environment. In contrast to the symmetric case, the
dispersion relation governing the asymmetric slab cannot be factorized into separate sausage and kink eigenmodes.
The solutions obtained resemble these well-known modes; however, their properties are now mixed. Therefore we
call these modes quasi-sausage and quasi-kink modes. If conditions on the two sides of the slab do not differ
strongly, then a factorization of the dispersion relation can be achieved for the further analytic study of various
limiting cases representing a solar environment. In the current paper, we examine the incompressible limit in detail
and demonstrate its possible application to photospheric magnetic bright points. After the introduction of a
mechanical analogy, we reveal a relationship between the external plasma and magnetic parameters, which allows
for the existence of quasi-symmetric modes
The impact of COVID-19 on research
This article is made available for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or be any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has swept across the globe causing hundreds of thousands of deaths, shutting down economies, closing borders and wreaking havoc on an unprecedented scale. It has strained healthcare services and personnel to the brink in many regions and will certainly deeply mark medical research both in the short and long-term
ABA triblock copolymers: from controlled synthesis to controlled function
The ABA amphiphilic block copolymers, poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate-hlock-methylphenylsilane-block-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA-PMPS-PHEMA) and poly[oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate-block-methylphenylsilane-block-oligo(ethylene glycol). methyl ether methacrylate] (POEGMA-PMPS-POEGMA) were successfully synthesised via atom transfer radical polymerisation (ATRP). Macroinitiators suitable for the ATRP of oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate were synthesised from the condensation reaction of alpha,omega-dihalopolymethylphenylsilane and 2'-hydroxyethyl 2-bromo-2-methylpropanoate. The copolymers were characterised using H-1 NMR and C-13 NMR spectroscopy and molecular weight characteristics were determined using size exclusion chromatography and H-1 NMR. The aggregation behaviour of some of the copolymers in water was studied using transmission and scanning electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. These revealed the prevalent aggregate species to be micelles. Larger aggregates of 300-1000 nm diameter were also observed. The UV induced degradation of the aggregates was studied by UV-Vis spectroscopy. The thermal behaviour of selected copolymers was studied by differential scanning calorimetry and microphase separation of the two components was demonstrated
Twisting Flux Tubes as a cause of Micro-Flaring Activity
High-cadence optical observations of an H-alpha blue-wing bright point near
solar AR NOAA 10794 are presented. The data were obtained with the Dunn Solar
Telescope at the National Solar Observatory/Sacramento Peak using a newly
developed camera system, the Rapid Dual Imager. Wavelet analysis is undertaken
to search for intensity-related oscillatory signatures, and periodicities
ranging from 15 to 370 s are found with significance levels exceeding 95%.
During two separate microflaring events, oscillation sites surrounding the
bright point are observed to twist. We relate the twisting of the oscillation
sites to the twisting of physical flux tubes, thus giving rise to reconnection
phenomena. We derive an average twist velocity of 8.1 km/s and detect a peak in
the emitted flux between twist angles of 180 and 230 degrees.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figure
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