Assessment of De Quervain Tenosynovitis Patients with Strain-Based Elastography

Elastography was introduced to clinical practice almost two decades back, to further enhance ultrasound imaging for illustrating the difference in mechanical properties between diseased and healthy tissues, i.e., difference in tissue stiffness, in a qualitative and quantitative way. In the nineteenth century, Fritz De Quervain reported patients with pain and swelling at the wrist. It is an entrapment condition of the tendons within the first extensor compartment. The advantages of ultrasound (U/S), in general, is being a rapid bed-side test, low cost, availability, and great patient compliance all of which elastography makes use of. Elastography imaging for liver fibrosis assessment is a well-known technique; yet recent territories for tissue elasticity assessment are emerging. One of these large territories is muscle tendons elasticity assessment in different pathologic conditions. One of these areas is changes in tendons stiffness. Fifty-two subjects were studied, 30 diseased and 22 healthy. The main complaint of the diseased group was pain at the radial side of the wrist, while healthy subjects were symptom free. Sensitivity was 92%, while specificity was 93%. From my work, I reached the conclusion of that the disease can be diagnosed with strain-based elastography in a quantitative way with confidence and reliability

Enterprise Systems Adaptability and its Role to Determine Organisation Sustainability and Resilience: A Systematic Literature Review

The business environment can be unpredictable and unstable. In order to not only survive but also maintain their competitive advantage, organisations must be sustainable (able to operate long-term), resilient and adaptable. They need business solutions that will satisfy their needs and achieve their targets in a context of change over a long period. Most organisations invest heavily in enterprise systems (ESs) as a critical means to execute business processes, achieve goals, and increase competitiveness through the use of data and technology. Given this investment, it is important to examine how ESs contribute to organisational sustainability and resilience and determine how essential these systems are to be adaptable by design. An adaptable ES could be altered as needed and save the organisation from the threat of a significant failure or the need for a complete replacement of the ES to respond to any shift in the business environment. However, this systematic literature review suggests that research into ES adaptability lacks an assessment of the role it could play in enhancing organisational sustainability and resilience and proposes that such inquiry be made

Measuring the Performance of Ecommerce Websites

Measurements that capture website performance have long enabled businesses to improve strategies and operations. For an eCommerce website, there exists a limited understanding on how performance is measured. Measuring the performance of a website has been proposed in many ways and various contexts over the past decade. The study presented in this article used the owner perspective to theoretically develop and empirically test measurement model of website performance. The results suggest that performance is a second order factor model. The first order factors of the model are termed usage, financial returns and owner satisfaction. The resulting measurements are framed as a tool for benchmarking the performance of the website as well as a foundation for operationalising the website performance construct

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WEBSITE METRICS AND THE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF ONLINE BUSINESSES

Online businesses are often engaged in web metrics to gauge the performance of their eCommerce website. This study examines the relationships between web metrics and the financial performance. The key purpose of the present paper is to learn whether metrics measures have an impact on profitability in eCommerce website. An online survey was used to gather data from companies that have eCommerce website. The results from this study indicate that companies with perceived successful financial performance have also enjoyed perceived success in the customer behaviour on their website. Furthermore, the study explores the role of five contingency variables,the markets it operates in, the effort of the company to make the website visible, the involvement of the owners, the percentage of the online business and the age of the website, on this relationship. The results indicate that these variables moderate the relationship between metrics measures and the performance of the website so that a positive association occurs under older website, higher percentage of online, and higher level of owner’s involvement with the website. The findings prompt the owners to carefully monitor their website traffic for a possible downturn and remedy the situation prior to its occurrence

Measuring the Performance of eCommerce Websites– An Owner’s Perspective

Measurements that capture performance have long enabled businesses to monitor and improve their strategic and operational goals. For eCommerce websites, there has been a limited understanding of how to measure performance even though it has been researched in many ways and in various contexts over the past decade. The authors of this study adopted an owner perspective to develop and empirically test a model of website performance measurement. The results suggest that performance is a second order factor model. The first order factors of the model are usage, financial benefits and owner satisfaction. The model is useful as a tool for benchmarking the performance of the website as well as a foundation for operationalising performance. Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/pajais/vol3/iss1/2

Raman G band in double-wall carbon nanotubes combining p doping and high pressure

We use sulfuric acid as pressure medium to extrapolate the G-band position of the inner and outer tubes of double-wall carbon nanotubes. Keeping the G-band position of the inner and outer tubes constant, we can determine the fraction of double-wall and single-wall tubes in samples containing a mixture of the two. A-band-related electronic interwall interaction at 1560 cm−1 is observed, which is associated with the outer tube walls. This band is observed to shift with pressure at the same rate as the G band of outer tubes and is not suppressed with chemical doping. Differences in the interwall interaction is discussed for double-wall carbon nanotubes grown by the catalytic chemical-vapor method and double-wall carbon nanotubes obtained through transformation of peapods

Measuring eCommerce Website Success

This paper presents a research model, which is built on communication theory (Shannon and Weaver 1948) and DeLone and McLean’s (1992, 2003) information system model, to identify eCommerce website success dimensions. The research model is aiming to make a contribution to literature by identifying and incorporating dimensions of success relevant to eCommerce websites. Further empirical research is required to validate the finding

A cost effectiveness analysis of salt reduction policies to reduce coronary heart disease in four Eastern Mediterranean countries.

BACKGROUND: Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is rising in middle income countries. Population based strategies to reduce specific CHD risk factors have an important role to play in reducing overall CHD mortality. Reducing dietary salt consumption is a potentially cost-effective way to reduce CHD events. This paper presents an economic evaluation of population based salt reduction policies in Tunisia, Syria, Palestine and Turkey. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Three policies to reduce dietary salt intake were evaluated: a health promotion campaign, labelling of food packaging and mandatory reformulation of salt content in processed food. These were evaluated separately and in combination. Estimates of the effectiveness of salt reduction on blood pressure were based on a literature review. The reduction in mortality was estimated using the IMPACT CHD model specific to that country. Cumulative population health effects were quantified as life years gained (LYG) over a 10 year time frame. The costs of each policy were estimated using evidence from comparable policies and expert opinion including public sector costs and costs to the food industry. Health care costs associated with CHDs were estimated using standardized unit costs. The total cost of implementing each policy was compared against the current baseline (no policy). All costs were calculated using 2010 PPP exchange rates. In all four countries most policies were cost saving compared with the baseline. The combination of all three policies (reducing salt consumption by 30%) resulted in estimated cost savings of $235,000,000 and 6455 LYG in Tunisia;$39,000,000 and 31674 LYG in Syria; $6,000,000 and 2682 LYG in Palestine and$1,3000,000,000 and 378439 LYG in Turkey. CONCLUSION: Decreasing dietary salt intake will reduce coronary heart disease deaths in the four countries. A comprehensive strategy of health education and food industry actions to label and reduce salt content would save both money and lives

Twelve-month observational study of children with cancer in 41 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction Childhood cancer is a leading cause of death. It is unclear whether the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted childhood cancer mortality. In this study, we aimed to establish all-cause mortality rates for childhood cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the factors associated with mortality. Methods Prospective cohort study in 109 institutions in 41 countries. Inclusion criteria: children <18 years who were newly diagnosed with or undergoing active treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, retinoblastoma, Wilms tumour, glioma, osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, medulloblastoma and neuroblastoma. Of 2327 cases, 2118 patients were included in the study. The primary outcome measure was all-cause mortality at 30 days, 90 days and 12 months. Results All-cause mortality was 3.4% (n=71/2084) at 30-day follow-up, 5.7% (n=113/1969) at 90-day follow-up and 13.0% (n=206/1581) at 12-month follow-up. The median time from diagnosis to multidisciplinary team (MDT) plan was longest in low-income countries (7 days, IQR 3-11). Multivariable analysis revealed several factors associated with 12-month mortality, including low-income (OR 6.99 (95% CI 2.49 to 19.68); p<0.001), lower middle income (OR 3.32 (95% CI 1.96 to 5.61); p<0.001) and upper middle income (OR 3.49 (95% CI 2.02 to 6.03); p<0.001) country status and chemotherapy (OR 0.55 (95% CI 0.36 to 0.86); p=0.008) and immunotherapy (OR 0.27 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.91); p=0.035) within 30 days from MDT plan. Multivariable analysis revealed laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR 5.33 (95% CI 1.19 to 23.84); p=0.029) was associated with 30-day mortality. Conclusions Children with cancer are more likely to die within 30 days if infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, timely treatment reduced odds of death. This report provides crucial information to balance the benefits of providing anticancer therapy against the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children with cancer