727 research outputs found
Attractive Factors of Environment-Friendly Daily Necessities
Going green is increasingly important to the market. The present research indicates that functional and emotional factors can achieve the best-perceived effects when choosing an environment-friendly product. Therefore, this study aims to gather these attractive factors from high-involvement groups by using Miryoku engineering. First, we capture the factors through the Evaluation Grid Method and use Quantification Theory Type I for quantitative analysis. Then, generalize four feelings about environment-friendly products, namely “Assured,” “Responsible,” “Safe,” and “Comfortable.” We also define a linear dimension with short-, normal-, and far-sight for locating attractive factors and feelings. The result shows that high-involvement groups are more concerned about the long-term impacts of “Responsible” feelings, while low-involvement groups focus more on the obvious benefits of “Responsible” and “Safe” feelings. Moreover, the emphasis on natural ingredients is necessary for achieving “Assured” and “Comfortable” feelings for both the high- and low-involvement groups
Application of AHP hierarchical analysis and KANO quality model to investigate the needs of eye drop users and the charm factor of the compliance aids design
Previous studies have indicated that many patients with eye diseases are not adherent to eyedrops due to the difficulty in administration. The purpose of using eyedrop compliance aids is to help patients who have difficulties in administering eyedrops. However, this method has not been well recognized and accepted.
This study aimed to upgrade eyedrop compliance aids so that the adherence of eyedrop users could be improved. Among the research methods employed in this study, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) helped in proposing the best function sequence of the device, and a questionnaire based on the Kano model helped understand the degree of satisfaction with the existing products, as well as discover the appealing factors of their functions and examine their functional relationships. Finally, the results of the two methods were discussed and compared, and the results were used to identify the basic appealing factors influencing consumer satisfaction as well as provide the element attributes and significant features to be weighed in the design of eyedrops. This study suggested that in the design of eyedrops, both the physical and psychological needs of users should be taken into consideration, and reference indexes for aids design that may effectively improve user adherence to eyedrops should be proposed
Advanced Green Energy Nanomaterials for Optoelectronic Devices: Synthesis, Processing, Characterization, and Applications [Editorial]
The Effects of COVID-19 on Cancer Care Provision: A Systematic Review
This systematic review aims to gather primary data from cancer institutions that have implemented changes to cancer service provision amid the COVID-19 outbreak to inform future intervention and health care facility response strategies. A comprehensive literature search was done on Global Health Medline and EMBASE using pertinent key words and MeSH terms relating to COVID-19 and Cancer service provision. A total of 72 articles were selected for inclusion in this systematic review. Following the narrative synthesis that was conducted of the literature, 6 core themes that encompassed common cancer service intervention adopted by institutions were identified: (1) Testing and Tracking, (2) Outreach and Communication, (3) Protection, (4) Social Distancing (5) Treatment Management, (6) Service Restructuring. Since cancer patients are a high-risk population amid the COVID-19 pandemic, these areas of targeted intervention can be used to inform necessary actions in institutions facing similar risks, based on previous learning from numerous cancer centers globally
The Different Nature in Seyfert 2 Galaxies With and Without Hidden Broad-Line Regions
We compile a large sample of 120 Seyfert 2 galaxies (Sy2s) which contains 49
hidden broad-line region (HBLR) Sy2s and 71 non-HBLR Sy2s. From the difference
in the power sources between two groups, we test if HBLR Sy2s are dominated by
active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and if non-HBLR Sy2s are dominated by
starbursts. We show that: (1) HBLR Sy2s have larger accretion rates than
non-HBLR Sy2s; (2) HBLR Sy2s have larger \Nev /\Neii and \oiv /\Neii line ratios than non-HBLR
Sy2s; (3) HBLR Sy2s have smaller flux ratio which shows
the relative strength of the host galaxy and nuclear emission than non-HBLR
Sy2s. So we suggest that HBLR Sy2s and non-HBLR Sy2s are AGN-dominated and
starburst-dominated, respectively. In addition, non-HBLR Sy2s can be classified
into the luminous () and less luminous
() samples, when considering only
their obscuration. We suggest that: (1) the invisibility of polarized broad
lines (PBLs) in the luminous non-HBLR Sy2s depends on the obscuration; (2) the
invisibility of PBLs in the less luminous non-HBLR Sy2s depends on the very low
Eddington ratio rather than the obscuration.Comment: Accepted by ApJ, 11 pages, 4 figure
Radiomics in urolithiasis: Systematic review of current applications, limitations, and future directions
Radiomics is increasingly applied to the diagnosis, management, and outcome prediction of various urological conditions. Urolithiasis is a common benign condition with a high incidence and recurrence rate. The purpose of this scoping review is to evaluate the current evidence of the application of radiomics in urolithiasis, especially its utility in diagnostics and therapeutics. An electronic literature search on radiomics in the setting of urolithiasis was conducted on PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus from inception to 21 March 2022. A total of 7 studies were included. Radiomics has been successfully applied in the field of urolithiasis to differentiate phleboliths from calculi and classify stone types and composition pre-operatively. More importantly, it has also been utilized to predict outcomes and complications after endourological procedures. Although radiomics in urolithiasis is still in its infancy, it has the potential for large-scale implementation. Its greatest potential lies in the correlation with conventional established diagnostic and therapeutic factors
Complications and outcomes of tubeless versus nephrostomy tube in percutaneous nephrolithotomy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials
We aimed to perform a systematic review of randomized trials to summarize the evidence on the safety and stone-free rate after Tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) (ureteral stent/catheter, no nephrostomy) compared to Standard PCNL (nephrostomy, with/without ureteral stent/catheter) to evaluate if the tubeless approach is better. The inverse variance of the mean difference with a random effect, 95% Confidence Interval (CI), and p values was used for continuous variables. Categorical variables were assessed using Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel method with the random effect model, and reported as Risk Ratio (RR), 95% CI, and p values. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05 and a 95% CI. 26 studies were included. Mean operative time was significantly shorter in the Tubeless group (MD-5.18 min, 95% CI - 6.56, - 3.80, p < 0.00001). Mean postoperative length of stay was also significantly shorter in the Tubeless group (MD-1.10 day, 95% CI - 1.48, - 0.71, p < 0.00001). Incidence of blood transfusion, angioembolization for bleeding control, pain score at the first postoperative day, the number of patients requiring postoperative pain medication, fever, urinary infections, sepsis, perirenal fluid collection, pleural breach, hospital readmission, and SFR did not differ between the two groups. Incidence of postoperative urinary fistula was significantly lower in the Tubeless group (RR 0.18, 95% CI 0.07, 0.47, p = 0.0005). This systematic review shows that tubeless PCNL can be safely performed and the standout benefits are shorter operative time and hospital stay, and a lower rate of postoperative urinary fistula.Universita Politecnica delle Marche within the CRUI-CARE Agreemen
Impact of cardiac arrest centers on the survival of patients with nontraumatic out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest : a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Background
The role of cardiac arrest centers (CACs) in out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest care systems is continuously evolving. Interpretation of existing literature is limited by heterogeneity in CAC characteristics and types of patients transported to CACs. This study assesses the impact of CACs on survival in out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest according to varying definitions of CAC and prespecified subgroups.
Methods and Results
Electronic databases were searched from inception to March 9, 2021 for relevant studies. Centers were considered CACs if self‐declared by study authors and capable of relevant interventions. Main outcomes were survival and neurologically favorable survival at hospital discharge or 30 days. Meta‐analyses were performed for adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and crude odds ratios. Thirty‐six studies were analyzed. Survival with favorable neurological outcome significantly improved with treatment at CACs (aOR, 1.85 [95% CI, 1.52–2.26]), even when including high‐volume centers (aOR, 1.50 [95% CI, 1.18–1.91]) or including improved‐care centers (aOR, 2.13 [95% CI, 1.75–2.59]) as CACs. Survival significantly increased with treatment at CACs (aOR, 1.92 [95% CI, 1.59–2.32]), even when including high‐volume centers (aOR, 1.74 [95% CI, 1.38–2.18]) or when including improved‐care centers (aOR, 1.97 [95% CI, 1.71–2.26]) as CACs. The treatment effect was more pronounced among patients with shockable rhythm ( P =0.006) and without prehospital return of spontaneous circulation ( P =0.005). Conclusions were robust to sensitivity analyses, with no publication bias detected.
Conclusions
Care at CACs was associated with improved survival and neurological outcomes for patients with nontraumatic out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest regardless of varying CAC definitions. Patients with shockable rhythms and those without prehospital return of spontaneous circulation benefited more from CACs. Evidence for bypassing hospitals or interhospital transfer remains inconclusive
The Liver Tumor Segmentation Benchmark (LiTS)
In this work, we report the set-up and results of the Liver Tumor
Segmentation Benchmark (LITS) organized in conjunction with the IEEE
International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI) 2016 and International
Conference On Medical Image Computing Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI)
2017. Twenty four valid state-of-the-art liver and liver tumor segmentation
algorithms were applied to a set of 131 computed tomography (CT) volumes with
different types of tumor contrast levels (hyper-/hypo-intense), abnormalities
in tissues (metastasectomie) size and varying amount of lesions. The submitted
algorithms have been tested on 70 undisclosed volumes. The dataset is created
in collaboration with seven hospitals and research institutions and manually
reviewed by independent three radiologists. We found that not a single
algorithm performed best for liver and tumors. The best liver segmentation
algorithm achieved a Dice score of 0.96(MICCAI) whereas for tumor segmentation
the best algorithm evaluated at 0.67(ISBI) and 0.70(MICCAI). The LITS image
data and manual annotations continue to be publicly available through an online
evaluation system as an ongoing benchmarking resource.Comment: conferenc
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