Solution of a singular integral equation by a split-interval method

The article is available at http://www.math.ualberta.ca/ijnam/Volume-4-2007/No-1-07/2007-01-05.pdf. This article is not available through the Chester Digital RepositoryThis article discusses a new numerical method for the solution of a singular integral equation of Volterra type that has an infinite class of solutions. The split-interval method is discussed and examples demonstrate its effectiveness

Economic Analysis of Portuguese Public Hospitals Through the Construction of Quality, Efficiency, Access, and Financial Related Composite Indicators

Hospitals consume most of the health systems’ fnancial resources. In Portugal, for instance, public hospitals represent more than half of the National Health Service debt and are decisive in their fnancial insufciency. Although proft is not the primary goal of hospitals, it is essential to guarantee their fnancial sustainability to ensure users’ health care and the necessary resources. An analysis of the existing literature shows that researches focus mainly on the hospital’s technical efciency. The literature has paid little or even no attention to the use of composite indicators in hospital benchmarking studies. This study uses the Beneft of Doubt methodology alongside recent data about Portuguese public hospitals (2013–2017) to understand the factors that contribute to low performance and high indebtedness levels. Our results suggest that hospitals perform better in terms of access (average score: 0.982). The group of criteria with the lowest performance was efciency and productivity (average score: 0.919), suggesting resources waste. Financial performance is, in general, higher than quality, raising social concerns about the way that public hospitals have been managed. Findings bring relevant implications. For example, the way hospitals are currently fnanced should consider efciency, productivity, quality, and access. Regulators should ensure that minimum performance levels are fulflled, applying preventive and corrective measures to avoid future low-performance levels. We suggest that hospital managers introduce satisfaction inquiries to improve quality. These improvements can attract more patients in the medium- or long-term; thus, our results are useful to citizens to make a better choice.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

211007

This work will demonstrate a new flavor of the RA-TDMA set of protocols, namely RA-TDMAs+, which uses IEEE-802.11 (WiFi) COTS hardware in ad-hoc mode to set up a dynamic mesh network of mobile nodes with highbandwidth. The protocol uses topology tracking to configure the TDMA frame and robust relative synchronization to define the TDMA slots without resorting to a global clock and in the presence of interfering traffic. The demo will set up a small-scale testbed using COTS hardware, thus evidencing the feasibility of the approach, and it will show 1clive plots 1d of the temporal (synchronization) and topological views of the network.This work was partially supported by National Funds through FCT/MCTES (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology), within the CISTER Research Unit (UIDB/04234/2020); by the Operational Competitiveness Programme and Internationalization (COMPETE 2020) under the PT2020 Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF); also by FCT and the ESF (European Social Fund) through the Regional Operational Programme (ROP) Norte 2020, under PhD grant 2020.06685.BD; and within the AQUAMON project (PTDC/CCI-COM/30142/2017).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A pilot study on fear and risk of fall: The impact of an8-month multicomponent exercise program in community-dwelling aged adults

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of an 8-month multicomponent exercise program in community-dwelling older adults. A comprehensive approach was employed to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of a thrice-weekly exercise intervention. Aged over 60 years, the capacity to stand and walk with or without assistive equipment, being physically inactive, medical clearance, and living in the community were all eligibility criteria. The Timed-up and Go test and Berg Balance Scale were used to examine risk of falling. The Fall-Efficacy Scale International was used to examine the fear of falling. The community-based exercise program involved thirty-five participants, the average age was 67.54 years (SD = 3.81) and 71% were female. At-tendance rates ranged from 76% to 100% on average. There was a significant trend toward a clinically important improvement in the timed-up and go test (t = 4.66; p < .001; d = 0.20), berg balance scale (t = -11.20; p < .001; d = 1.47) and fall-efficacy scale international (t = 5.81; p < .001; d = 0.88). This study has provided preliminary evidence that an 8-month community-based low-cost exercise program may be effective in improving agility, balance, and decreasing fear of falling in older people.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Influence of event duration on automatic wheeze classification

Patients with respiratory conditions typically exhibit adventitious respiratory sounds, such as wheezes. Wheeze events have variable duration. In this work we studied the influence of event duration on wheeze classification, namely how the creation of the non-wheeze class affected the classifiers' performance. First, we evaluated several classifiers on an open access respiratory sound database, with the best one reaching sensitivity and specificity values of 98% and 95%, respectively. Then, by changing one parameter in the design of the non-wheeze class, i.e., event duration, the best classifier only reached sensitivity and specificity values of 55% and 76%, respectively. These results demonstrate the importance of experimental design on the assessment of wheeze classification algorithms' performance.publishe

Automatic backhaul planning for 5G Open RAN Networks based on MNO Data

The Quality of Service (QoS) requirements for the 5th Generation (5G) services are ambitious and broad, particularly for the latency targets. To cover those, a flexible and cost-efficient Radio Access Network (RAN) is essential as proposed by the Open-RAN (O-RAN) concept. In addition, the deployment of O-RAN 5G networks can be expedited by considering network access, aggregation, and core locations of legacy technologies, where physical requisites as power supply, fiber optic links, and others are already met. With this in mind, this paper extends previous simulation work that proposed a radio network planning algorithm for 5G Millimeter Wave (mmWave) small cells to O-RAN-based networks. The backhaul planning algorithm considers both the 5G/O-RAN QoS constraints, a real 4th Generation (4G) network topology, and the respective Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) from a Mobile Network Operator (MNO) as the foundation to plan an O-RAN compliant backhaul network. Our findings identified that the latency of current networks is greatly determined by the network load. In the utmost case, comparing the network baseline and busy hour KPIs, the baseline planned O-RAN network requires 7%of the equivalent busy hour network nodes. This approach has the potential to help MNOs to outline an enlightened strategy, minimizing Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) and augmenting QoS towards upgrading legacy networks to O-RAN 5G networks.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Chitosan-Based Membranes for Skin Wound Repair in a Dorsal Fold Chamber Rat Model

Frequently, deep partial and full-thickness skin wounds do not spontaneously regenerate. To restore the normal function of skin, epidermal and dermal components have to be supplied to the wound bed by grafting various substrates. Available options are limited and frequently costly. Herein, authors present a possible approach using 3D skin scaffolds capable of mimicking structure and biological functions of the extracellular matrix, providing, in parallel, a good environment for cell attachment, proliferation and differentiation. Low-molecular weight chitosan-based membranes were prepared by freeze-drying and ionizing radiation techniques to be used as skin scaffolds. Poly (vinyl alcohol), PVA, vinyl pyrrolidone, VP, and gelatin from cold water fish were incorporated. Information regarding membranes’ physical-chemical properties from SEM analysis, swelling and weight loss, together with biological response through in vitro assays (using Human Caucasian Fetal Foreskin Fibroblast) allowed the selection of an optimized batch of membranes that was used as skin scaffold in a dorsal rat model wound. The in vivo implantation assays (in Wistar rats) resulted in very promising results: (i) healing process faster than control; (ii) good vascularization; (iii) viable new tissues morphologically functional.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evaluation of the psychometric properties of the portuguese peabody developmental motor scales - 2 edition: a study with children aged 12 to 48 months

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of Peabody Developmental Motor Scales II (PDMS-2-Folio and Fewell, 2000) using a Portuguese sample. The validation of the Portuguese version of the PDMS-2 was applied according to the manual, for 392 children, from two institutions, from 12 to 48 months, with an analysis of the internal consistency (α Cronbach), of test–retest reliability (ICC) and construct validity (confirmatory factor analysis). The results of the confirmatory factorial analysis (χ2 = 55.614; df = 4; p = 0.06; χ2/df =13.904; SRMR (Standardized Root Mean Square Residual) = 0.065; CFI (Comparative Fit Index) = 0.99, TLI = 0.99, RMSEA (Root Mean Square Error of Approximation) = 0.068) of two factors (Gross Motor and Fine Motor) as the original version but correlated. Most of the subtests had good internal consistency (α = 0.85) and good test–retest stability (ICC = 0.98 to 0.99). The results indicated that the Portuguese version of the PDMS-2 is adequate and valid for assessing global and fine motor skills in children aged 12 to 48 months, and can be used as a reference tool by health and education professionals to assess motor skills and, thus, allowing to detect maladjustments, deficiencies or precocity, so that children can later receive appropriate intervention.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Plasma phospholipidomic profile differs between children with phenylketonuria and healthy children

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a disease of the catabolism of phenylalanine (Phe), caused by an impaired function of the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase. Therapeutics is based on the restriction of Phe intake, which mostly requires a modification of the diet. Dietary restrictions can lead to imbalances in specific nutrients, including lipids. In the present study, the plasma phospholipidome of PKU and healthy children (CT) was analysed by HILIC-MS/MS and GC-MS. Using this approach, 187 lipid species belonging to 9 different phospholipid classes and 3 ceramides were identified. Principal component analysis of the lipid species dataset showed a distinction between PKU and CT groups. Univariate analysis revealed that 146 species of phospholipids were significantly different between both groups. Lipid species showing significant variation included phosphatidylcholines, containing polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), which were more abundant in PKU. The high level of PUFA-containing lipid species in children with PKU may be related to a diet supplemented with PUFA. This study was the first report comparing the plasma polar lipidome of PKU and healthy children, highlighting that the phospholipidome of PKU children is significantly altered compared to CT. However, further studies with larger cohorts are needed to clarify whether these changes are specific to phenylketonuric children.publishe