Assessment of Heart Failure Patients' Interest in Mobile Health Apps for Self-Care: Survey Study.

BackgroundHeart failure is a serious public health concern that afflicts millions of individuals in the United States. Development of behaviors that promote heart failure self-care may be imperative to reduce complications and avoid hospital re-admissions. Mobile health solutions, such as activity trackers and smartphone apps, could potentially help to promote self-care through remote tracking and issuing reminders.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to ascertain heart failure patients' interest in a smartphone app to assist them in managing their treatment and symptoms and to determine factors that influence their interest in such an app.MethodsIn the clinic waiting room on the day of their outpatient clinic appointments, 50 heart failure patients participated in a self-administered survey. The survey comprised 139 questions from previously published, institutional review board-approved questionnaires. The survey measured patients' interest in and experience using technology as well as their function, heart failure symptoms, and heart failure self-care behaviors. The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) was among the 11 questionnaires and was used to measure the heart failure patients' health-related quality of life through patient-reported outcomes.ResultsParticipants were aged 64.5 years on average, 32% (16/50) of the participants were women, and 91% (41/45) of the participants were determined to be New York Heart Association Class II or higher. More than 60% (30/50) of the survey participants expressed interest in several potential features of a smartphone app designed for heart failure patients. Participant age correlated negatively with interest in tracking, tips, and reminders in multivariate regression analysis (P<.05). In contrast, MLHFQ scores (worse health status) produced positive correlations with these interests (P<.05).ConclusionsThe majority of heart failure patients showed interest in activity tracking, heart failure symptom management tips, and reminder features of a smartphone app. Desirable features and an understanding of factors that influence patient interest in a smartphone app for heart failure self-care may allow researchers to address common concerns and to develop apps that demonstrate the potential benefits of mobile technology

TAMEing ADPKD with metformin:safe and effective?

The biguanide metformin has been safely and widely used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus for decades. Preclinical studies have suggested that it may have a role in slowing disease progression in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. In this issue, Perrone et al. report results from the Trial of Administration of Metformin in PKD (TAME PKD) study, a phase 2 randomized controlled trial investigating the safety and tolerability of metformin in patients in the early stages of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. We discuss the implications of these findings and how they relate to a major phase 3 trial in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease that will start later in 2021

PERANCANGAN PENJADWALAN PRODUKSI DI PERUSAHAAN BORDIR HOKKIMAN SURABAYA

Abstract Hokkiman is a company which is excel at embroidery based production. Current issues faced by company are unknown standard time for the whole production processes, including machining time for various embroidery’s motives, which result in difficulties of calculating final completion time for an order, and necessity to improve current production scheduling system. The purposes of the research are to determine standard time for every production process, improving production scheduling performance by designing an appropriate production scheduling system that allow the company to accept order with due date requirement. Standard time are obtained by collecting primary datas on the production floor using continuous timing method, followed by the calculation for every production process. Standard time calculation for machining are achieved by using simple linear regression analysis. The new production scheduling system is designed by analyzing current system’s weaknesses. Proposed production scheduling system are made based on the Shortest Processing Time (SPT) method. Results of the research are as following, the improvement of production scheduling performances which are shortened response time (21,61%), makespan can be reduced by 19,17%, faster mean flowtime (21,47%), within the condition of 14 days due date is applied, the amount of job tardiness and lateness are decreased by 5,88% and 21,32% sequentially. Keywords: Standard time, Production Scheduling, Embroidery, Shortest Processing Time, Flowtime Abstrak Hokkiman merupakan perusahaan yang bergerak dalam bidang jasa bordir. Masalah yang dihadapi adalah tidak diketahuinya waktu baku dalam masingmasing proses produksi dan waktu pemesinan setiap motif, sehingga waktu penyelesaian order sulit dikalkulasi menyebabkan perusahaan tidak dapat menerima order yang memiliki tenggat waktu, serta sistem penjadwalan produksi saat ini yang kurang tepat. Tujuan dalam penelitian ini adalah menentukan waktu baku untuk masing-masing proses produksi dan motif bordir sehingga waktu penyelesaian suatu order dapat dikalkulasi, serta meningkatkan kinerja penjadwalan produksi perusahaan dengan merancang sistem penjadwalan produksi sesuai dengan kondisi perusahaan, sehingga perusahaan dapat menerima order yang memiliki tenggat waktu. Waktu baku didapatkan dengan mengumpulkan data primer di lantai produksi melalui metode continuous timing, dilanjutkan menghitung waktu standar untuk setiap proses produksi, perhitungan waktu standar untuk pemesinan suatu motif dilakukan dengan menggunakan model regresi linier. Perancangan penjadwalan produksi dilakukan dengan menganalisis metode penjadwalan awal. Penjadwalan dengan metode usulan dilakukan dengan metode Shortest Processing Time (SPT). Hasil yang didapatkan adalah adanya peningkatan kinerja sebesar 21,61% pada response time, makespan dipersingkat 19,17%, mean flowtime juga turun sebesar 8,84 hari per order (21,47%). Jika ditetapkan tenggat waktu 14 hari pada setiap order, lama keterlambatan dapat dipangkas 21,32%, dan jumlah order yang terlambat berkurang 5,88%. Kata kunci: Waktu Standar, Penjadwalan Produksi, Bordir, Shortest Processing Time, Flowtim

PERANCANGAN PENJADWALAN PRODUKSI DI PERUSAHAAN BORDIR HOKKIMAN SURABAYA

Abstract Hokkiman is a company which is excel at embroidery based production. Current issues faced by company are unknown standard time for the whole production processes, including machining time for various embroidery’s motives, which result in difficulties of calculating final completion time for an order, and necessity to improve current production scheduling system. The purposes of the research are to determine standard time for every production process, improving production scheduling performance by designing an appropriate production scheduling system that allow the company to accept order with due date requirement. Standard time are obtained by collecting primary datas on the production floor using continuous timing method, followed by the calculation for every production process. Standard time calculation for machining are achieved by using simple linear regression analysis. The new production scheduling system is designed by analyzing current system’s weaknesses. Proposed production scheduling system are made based on the Shortest Processing Time (SPT) method. Results of the research are as following, the improvement of production scheduling performances which are shortened response time (21,61%), makespan can be reduced by 19,17%, faster mean flowtime (21,47%), within the condition of 14 days due date is applied, the amount of job tardiness and lateness are decreased by 5,88% and 21,32% sequentially. Keywords: Standard time, Production Scheduling, Embroidery, Shortest Processing Time, Flowtime Abstrak Hokkiman merupakan perusahaan yang bergerak dalam bidang jasa bordir. Masalah yang dihadapi adalah tidak diketahuinya waktu baku dalam masingmasing proses produksi dan waktu pemesinan setiap motif, sehingga waktu penyelesaian order sulit dikalkulasi menyebabkan perusahaan tidak dapat menerima order yang memiliki tenggat waktu, serta sistem penjadwalan produksi saat ini yang kurang tepat. Tujuan dalam penelitian ini adalah menentukan waktu baku untuk masing-masing proses produksi dan motif bordir sehingga waktu penyelesaian suatu order dapat dikalkulasi, serta meningkatkan kinerja penjadwalan produksi perusahaan dengan merancang sistem penjadwalan produksi sesuai dengan kondisi perusahaan, sehingga perusahaan dapat menerima order yang memiliki tenggat waktu. Waktu baku didapatkan dengan mengumpulkan data primer di lantai produksi melalui metode continuous timing, dilanjutkan menghitung waktu standar untuk setiap proses produksi, perhitungan waktu standar untuk pemesinan suatu motif dilakukan dengan menggunakan model regresi linier. Perancangan penjadwalan produksi dilakukan dengan menganalisis metode penjadwalan awal. Penjadwalan dengan metode usulan dilakukan dengan metode Shortest Processing Time (SPT). Hasil yang didapatkan adalah adanya peningkatan kinerja sebesar 21,61% pada response time, makespan dipersingkat 19,17%, mean flowtime juga turun sebesar 8,84 hari per order (21,47%). Jika ditetapkan tenggat waktu 14 hari pada setiap order, lama keterlambatan dapat dipangkas 21,32%, dan jumlah order yang terlambat berkurang 5,88%. Kata kunci: Waktu Standar, Penjadwalan Produksi, Bordir, Shortest Processing Time, Flowtim

Thermal Dissipation and Variability in Electrical Breakdown of Carbon Nanotube Devices

We study high-field electrical breakdown and heat dissipation from carbon nanotube (CNT) devices on SiO2 substrates. The thermal "footprint" of a CNT caused by van der Waals interactions with the substrate is revealed through molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Experiments and modeling find the CNT-substrate thermal coupling scales proportionally to CNT diameter and inversely with SiO2 surface roughness (~d/{\Delta}). Comparison of diffuse mismatch modeling (DMM) and data reveals the upper limit of thermal coupling ~0.4 W/K/m per unit length at room temperature, and ~0.7 W/K/m at 600 C for the largest diameter (3-4 nm) CNTs. We also find semiconducting CNTs can break down prematurely, and display more breakdown variability due to dynamic shifts in threshold voltage, which metallic CNTs are immune to; this poses a fundamental challenge for selective electrical breakdowns in CNT electronics

TeV BL Lac objects at the dawn of the Fermi era

We reconsider the emission properties of the BL Lac objects emitting in the high-energy gamma-ray band exploiting the new information in the MeV-GeV band obtained by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope in its first three months of operation. To this aim we construct the spectral energy distribution of all the BL Lacs revealed by LAT and of the known TeV BL Lacs not detected by LAT, also including data from the Swift satellite, and model them with a simple one-zone leptonic model. The analysis shows that the BL Lacs detected by LAT (being or not already detected in the TeV band) share similar physical parameters. While some of the TeV BL Lacs not revealed by LAT have spectral energy distributions and physical parameters very similar to the LAT BL Lacs, a group of objects displays peculiar properties (larger electron energies and smaller magnetic fields) suggesting different physical conditions in the emission region. Finally, we discuss possible criteria to effectively select good new candidates for the Cherenkov telescopes among the LAT sources, presenting a list of predicted fluxes in the very high-energy band calculated including the effect of the absorption by the extragalactic background light.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Identification and functional characterization of an N-terminal oligomerization domain for polycystin-2*

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), the most common inherited cause of kidney failure, is caused by mutations in either PKD1 (85%) or PKD2 (15%). The PKD2 protein, polycystin-2 (PC2 or TRPP2), is a member of the transient receptor potential (TRP) superfamily and functions as a non-selective calcium channel. PC2 has been found to form oligomers in native tissues suggesting that it may form functional homo- or heterotetramers with other subunits, similar to other TRP channels. Our experiments unexpectedly revealed that PC2 mutant proteins lacking the known C-terminal dimerization domain were still able to form oligomers and co-immunoprecipitate full-length PC2, implying the possible existence of a proximal dimerization domain. Using yeast two-hybrid and biochemical assays, we have mapped an alternative dimerization domain to the N terminus of PC2 (NT2-1-223, L224X). Functional characterization of this domain demonstrated that it was sufficient to induce cyst formation in zebrafish embryos and inhibit PC2 surface currents in mIMCD3 cells probably by a dominant-negative mechanism. In summary, we propose a model for PC2 assembly as a functional tetramer which depends on both C- and N-terminal dimerization domains. These results have significant implications for our understanding of PC2 function and disease pathogenesis in ADPKD and provide a new strategy for studying PC2 function

Cost Effectiveness of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination for Men Who have Sex with Men; Reviewing the Available Evidence

BACKGROUND: Men who have sex with men require special attention for human papillomavirus vaccination given elevated infection risks and the development of, in particular, anal cancer. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to review the cost effectiveness of human papillomavirus vaccination for both currently vaccine-eligible and non-eligible individuals, particularly the men-who-have-sex-with-men population, and synthesize the available evidence. METHODS: We systematically searched for published articles in two main databases (PubMed and EMBASE). Screening and data extraction were performed by two independent reviewers. The risk of bias was assessed using a validated instrument (Bias in Economic Evaluation, ECOBIAS). Methodological aspects, study results, and sensitivity analyses were extracted and synthesized to generate a consistent overview of the cost effectiveness of human papillomavirus vaccination in the men-who-have-sex-with-men population. RESULTS: From 770 identified articles, four met the inclusion criteria. Across the studies, human papillomavirus vaccination showed incremental cost-effectiveness ratios ranging from dominant to US$96,146 and US$14,000 to US$18,200 for tertiary prevention and primary prevention, respectively. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio seemed most sensitive to vaccine efficacy, vaccine costs, and the incidence of anal cancer in the selected target populations. CONCLUSION: This review presents the human papillomavirus vaccine, both as a primary and adjuvant (tertiary) vaccination, as a potentially cost-effective strategy for preventing mainly-but not limited to only-anal cancer in men-who-have-sex-with-men populations

Collapse of the vortex-lattice inductance and shear modulus at the melting transition in untwinned YBa2Cu3O7\rm YBa_2Cu_3O_7

The complex resistivity $\hat{\rho}(\omega)$ of the vortex lattice in an untwinned crystal of 93-K $\rm YBa_2Cu_3O_7$ has been measured at frequencies $\omega/2\pi$ from 100 kHz to 20 MHz in a 2-Tesla field $\bf H\parallel c$, using a 4-probe RF transmission technique that enables continuous measurements versus $\omega$ and temperature $T$. As $T$ is increased, the inductance ${\cal L}_s(\omega) ={\rm Im} \hat{\rho}(\omega)/ \omega$ increases steeply to a cusp at the melting temperature $T_m$, and then undergoes a steep collapse consistent with vanishing of the shear modulus $c_{66}$. We discuss in detail the separation of the vortex-lattice inductance from the `volume' inductance, and other skin-depth effects. To analyze the spectra, we consider a weakly disordered lattice with a low pin density. Close fits are obtained to $\rho_1(\omega)$ over 2 decades in $\omega$. Values of the pinning parameter $\kappa$ and shear modulus $c_{66}$ obtained show that $c_{66}$ collapses by over 4 decades at $T_m$, whereas $\kappa$ remains finite.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, Phys. Rev. B, in pres

Lipidomic analyses, breast- and formula-feeding, and growth in infants.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate lipidomic differences between breast- and formula-fed infants. STUDY DESIGN: We utilized high-resolution mass-spectrometry methods to analyze 3.2 mm dried blood spot samples collected at ages 3 months (n = 241) and 12 months (n = 144) from a representative birth cohort study. Lipidomic profiles were compared between infants exclusively breast-fed, formula-fed, or mixed-fed, and related to 12-month infancy weight. Data analysis included supervised multivariate statistics (partial least squares discriminant analysis), and univariate analysis with correction for multiple testing. RESULTS: Distinct differences in 3-month lipidomic profiles were observed between exclusively breast-fed and formula-fed infants; mixed-fed infants showed intermediate profiles. Principle lipidomic characteristics of breast-fed infants were lower total phosphatidylcholines (PCs), with specifically lower short chain unsaturated PC but higher long chain polyunsaturated PC; higher cholesterol esters; and variable differences in sphingomyelins. At 12 months, lipidomic profiles were markedly different to those at 3 months, and differences between the earlier breast/formula/mixed-feeding groups were no longer evident. However, several specific lipid species, associated with breast-feeding at 3 months, also correlated with differences in 3- to 12-month weight. CONCLUSIONS: State-of-the-art dried blood spot sample lipidomic profiling demonstrated striking differences between breast-fed and formula-fed infants. Although these changes diminished with age, breast-fed lipidomic profiles at 3 months were associated with infancy weight and could potentially represent biomarkers of infant nutrition.PP was supported by a UK MRC Clinical Training Fellowship (G1001995). The Cambridge Baby Growth Study has been supported by the European Union, the World Cancer Research Foundation International, the Medical Research Council (including a centenary award), and the NIHR Cambridge Comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre. The lipidomics assays were supported by the Medical Research Council (UD99999906 and Cambridge Lipidomics Biomarker Research Initiative G0800783).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2014.10.02