Using home sensing technology to assess outcome and recovery after hip and knee replacement in the UK: the HEmiSPHERE study protocol

Abstract Introduction Over 160 000 people with severe hip or knee pain caused by osteoarthritis undergo total hip (THR) or knee replacement (TKR) surgery each year in the UK within the National Health Service (NHS), and this number is expected to increase. Innovative approaches to evaluating surgical outcomes will be needed to respond to the increasing burden of joint replacement surgery. The Sensor Platform for Healthcare in a Residential Environment, Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration (SPHERE-IRC) have developed a system of sensors that can monitor the health-related behaviours of people living at home. The system includes sensors for the home environment (measuring temperature, humidity, room occupancy, water and electricity usage), a wristband body-worn activity monitor and silhouette (body outline) sensors. The aim of HEmiSPHERE (Hip and knEe study of a Sensor Platform of HEalthcare in a Residential Environment) is to (1) determine the accuracy and feasibility of the sensory data as it compares with conventional assessment of health outcomes after surgery using patient self-reported questionnaires, and (2) to explore how the SPHERE system is useful for everyday clinical decision-making. Methods and analysis A feasibility study recruiting and installing the SPHERE system in the homes of up to 30 NHS adult patients as they undergo a THR or TKR. Through a mixed-methods design, the SPHERE system will monitor and record continuous measurements of daily behaviour. Main outcomes will assess the relationships between environmental, behavioural and movement data and the parameters of interest from the standard clinical assessments measuring patient outcomes over time. Patient interviews and focus groups with consultant orthopaedic surgeons will provide in-depth understanding of the acceptability, feasibility and accuracy of the data. Ethics and dissemination We aim to disseminate the findings through regional talks and seminars, international conferences and peer-reviewed journals and social media

Prednisolone versus placebo addition in the treatment of patients with recent-onset psychotic disorder: a trial design

BACKGROUND: The symptom severity of a substantial group of schizophrenia patients (30-40%) does not improve through pharmacotherapy with antipsychotic medication, indicating a clear need for new treatment options to improve schizophrenia outcome. Meta-analyses, genetic studies, randomized controlled trials, and post-mortem studies suggest that immune dysregulation plays a role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Some anti-inflammatory drugs have shown beneficial effects on the symptom severity of schizophrenia patients. Corticosteroids are effective in various chronic inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. Prednisolone, a potent glucocorticosteroid, has minor mineral-corticosteroid potencies and can adequately pass the blood-brain barrier

Can transaction-cost, competence-bundle and process theories of the firm sustain the market/firm dichotomy thesis? beyond the critics of orthodox neoclassical economics

SIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Validation and initial results for the updated PAGE model Policy analysis for the greenhouse effect

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:7755.0364(15) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Updating PAGE Policy analysis for the greenhouse effect

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:7755.0364(14) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

A Resource‐Based Perspective on Organizational Citizenship and Counterproductive Work Behavior: The Role of Vitality and Core Self‐Evaluations

Although results from cross-sectional between-person studies suggest a differentiation of employees in good and bad performers, recent studies have challenged this assumption by showing that performance is also dependent on more transient states that vary within individuals. Acknowledging that individuals do not only differ in reference to others, but also in reference to themselves, we integrated the between- and within-person approach in the examination of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and counterproductive work behavior (CWB). We propose a model informed by conservation of resources theory in which OCB and minor CWB are predicted by within-person variation in one's level of vitality, with these relationships being moderated by trait core self-evaluations (CSE). Moderated multilevel Poisson regression analyses revealed that vitality was positively related with OCB and negatively with minor CWB. CSE moderated the relationship between vitality and OCB so that individuals high in CSE engaged in OCB regardless of their vitality levels; however, contrary to our expectations, CSE did not moderate the relationship between vitality and minor CWB. Together, these findings indicate a complex reality underlying the mechanisms that drive the enactment of OCB and CWB