Analyzing recommender systems for health promotion using a multidisciplinary taxonomy: A scoping review

Background: Recommender systems are information retrieval systems that provide users with relevant items (e.g., through messages). Despite their extensive use in the e-commerce and leisure domains, their application in healthcare is still in its infancy. These systems may be used to create tailored health interventions, thus reducing the cost of healthcare and fostering a healthier lifestyle in the population. Objective: This paper identifies, categorizes, and analyzes the existing knowledge in terms of the literature published over the past 10 years on the use of health recommender systems for patient interventions. The aim of this study is to understand the scientific evidence generated about health recommender systems, to identify any gaps in this field to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3) (namely, “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”), and to suggest possible reasons for these gaps as well as to propose some solutions. Methods: We conducted a scoping review, which consisted of a keyword search of the literature related to health recommender systems for patients in the following databases: ScienceDirect, PsycInfo, Association for Computing Machinery, IEEExplore, and Pubmed. Further, we limited our search to consider only English-lan-guage journal articles published in the last 10 years. The reviewing process comprised three researchers who filtered the results simultaneously. The quantitative synthesis was conducted in parallel by two researchers, who classified each paper in terms of four aspects—the domain, the methodological and procedural aspects, the health promotion theoretical factors and behavior change theories, and the technical aspects—using a new multidisciplinary taxonomy. Results: Nineteen papers met the inclusion criteria and were included in the data analysis, for which thirty-three features were assessed. The nine features associated with the health promotion theoretical factors and behavior change theories were not observed in any of the selected studies, did not use principles of tailoring, and did not assess (cost)-effectiveness. Discussion: Health recommender systems may be further improved by using relevant behavior change strategies and by implementing essential characteristics of tailored interventions. In addition, many of the features required to assess each of the domain aspects, the methodological and procedural aspects, and technical aspects were not reported in the studies. Conclusions: The studies analyzed presented few evidence in support of the positive effects of using health recommender systems in terms of cost-effectiveness and patient health outcomes. This is why future studies should ensure that all the proposed features are covered in our multidisciplinary taxonomy, including integration with electronic health records and the incorporation of health promotion theoretical factors and behavior change theories. This will render those studies more useful for policymakers since they will cover all aspects needed to determine their impact toward meeting SDG3.European Union's Horizon 2020 No 68112

Deviations from temporal scaling support a stage-specific regulation for C. elegans postembryonic development

Background After embryonic development, Caenorhabditis elegans progress through for larval stages, each of them finishing with molting. The repetitive nature of C. elegans postembryonic development is considered an oscillatory process, a concept that has gained traction from regulation by a circadian clock gene homologue. Nevertheless, each larval stage has a defined duration and entails specific events. Since the overall duration of development is controlled by numerous factors, we have asked whether different rate-limiting interventions impact all stages equally. Results We have measured the duration of each stage of development for over 2500 larvae, under varied environmental conditions known to alter overall developmental rate. We applied changes in temperature and in the quantity and quality of nutrition and analysed the effect of genetically reduced insulin signalling. Our results show that the distinct developmental stages respond differently to these perturbations. The changes in the duration of specific larval stages seem to depend on stage-specific events. Furthermore, our high-resolution measurement of the effect of temperature on the stage-specific duration of development has unveiled novel features of temperature dependence in C. elegans postembryonic development. Conclusions Altogether, our results show that multiple factors fine tune developmental timing, impacting larval stages independently. Further understanding of the regulation of this process will allow modelling the mechanisms that control developmental timing.España Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, (RYC-2014-15551)Junta de Andalucía FEDER Andalucía 2014-2020 y Consejería de Transformación Económica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades grants PID2019-104632GB-I00 (Ayuda PID2019-104632GBI0

Visual text mining: ensuring the presence of relevant studies in systematic literature reviews

One of the activities associated with the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) process is the\ud selection review of primary studies. When the researcher faces large volumes of primary studies\ud to be analyzed, the process used to select studies can be arduous. In a previous experiment, we\ud conducted a pilot test to compare the performance and accuracy of PhD students in conducting\ud the selection review activity manually and using Visual Text Mining (VTM) techniques. The\ud goal of this paper is to describe a replication study involving PhD and Master students. The\ud replication study uses the same experimental design and materials of the original experiment.\ud This study also aims to investigate whether the researcher's level of experience with conducting\ud SLRs and research in general impacts the outcome of the primary study selection step of the\ud SLR process. The replication results have con¯rmed the outcomes of the original experiment,\ud i.e., VTM is promising and can improve the performance of the selection review of primary\ud studies. We also observed that both accuracy and performance increase in function of the\ud researcher's experience level in conducting SLRs. The use of VTM can indeed be bene¯cial\ud during the selection review activity.FAPES

Tendência da mortalidade por câncer colorretal em Mato Grosso, Brasil, de 2000 a 2019

Objective: To analyze the time series of colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality, according to sex and age group, in Mato Grosso, Brazil, from 2000 to 2019. Methods: Ecological time series study, with standardized mortality rates by CRC (C18 to C21), of residents in Mato Grosso. Information on deaths was provided by the Mato Grosso State Department of Health, and comprise the Mortality Information System, and demographic information obtained from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. For the analysis of the temporal trend, the joinpoint regression analysis was used. Results: A total of 2,406 deaths from CRC were identified in Mato Grosso in the period 2000 to 2019. The highest rates were found among the age groups from 60 to 79 years. For men, there was an increasing trend in mortality rates due to CRC for almost all age groups, with the exception of those aged 40 to 49 years and those aged 80 years or more. For women, there was a significant increase in the age groups from 50 to 59 years and 80 years or more. Conclusion: The results of the study showed an increase in mortality rates from CRC in the state of Mato Grosso, from 2000 to 2019, in certain age groups of both sexes, but especially for men. Knowledge about the evolution of mortality can provide data on the epidemiological situation of cancer at the local level and, thus, contribute to the development of actions to control and prevent this disease.Objetivo: Analisar a tendência temporal da mortalidade por câncer colorretal (CCR) segundo sexo e faixa etária, em Mato Grosso, Brasil, de 2000 a 2019. Métodos: Estudo ecológico de série temporal das taxas ajustadas de mortalidade pelo CCR (C18 a C21), de residentes de Mato Grosso. As informações sobre os óbitos foram fornecidas pela Secretaria de Estado de Saúde de Mato Grosso, e compõem o Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade, e as informações demográficas obtidas do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Para análise da tendência temporal foi empregada a análise de regressão por joinpoint. Resultados: Foram identificados 2.406 óbitos por CCR em Mato Grosso no período de 2000 a 2019. As maiores taxas foram encontradas entre as faixas etárias de 60 a 79 anos. Para os homens, evidenciou-se tendência crescente das taxas de mortalidade por CCR para quase todas as faixas etárias, com exceção da de 40 a 49 anos e a de 80 anos ou mais. Para as mulheres houve aumento significativo nas faixas etárias de 50 a 59 anos e de 80 anos ou mais. Conclusão: Os resultados do estudo mostraram aumento das taxas de mortalidade por CCR no estado do Mato Grosso, no período de 2000 a 2019, em determinadas faixas etárias de ambos os sexos, mas sobretudo para os homens. O conhecimento sobre a evolução da mortalidade pode oferecer dados da situação epidemiológica do câncer em nível local e, assim, contribuir na elaboração de ações de controle e prevenção deste agravo

Hugo Chávez: una década en el poder

Una década de Hugo Chávez Frías y su proyecto político en Venezuela trajo consigo un cambio de paradigmas que llama la atención de la sociedad en general. Este libro es el resultado del esfuerzo conjunto de un grupo de académicos de distintas nacionalidades que desde sus líneas de investigación realizan análisis que le brindan al lector elementos para comprender de manera global lo que significa una década de gobierno del Presidente Chávez en Venezuela.Este libro es el resultado del esfuerzo conjunto de un grupo de académicos de distintas nacionalidades que desde sus líneas de investigación realizan análisis que le brindan al lector elementos para comprender de manera global lo que significa una década de gobierno del Presidente Chávez en Venezuela

Cutaneous lymphoma international consortium study of outcome in advanced stages of mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome: effect of specific prognostic markers on survival and development of a prognostic model

Advanced-stage mycosis fungoides (MF; stage IIB to IV) and Sézary syndrome (SS) are aggressive lymphomas with a median survival of 1 to 5 years. Clinical management is stage based; however, there is wide range of outcome within stages. Published prognostic studies in MF/SS have been single-center trials. Because of the rarity of MF/SS, only a large collaboration would power a study to identify independent prognostic markers. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Literature review identified the following 10 candidate markers: stage, age, sex, cutaneous histologic features of folliculotropism, CD30 positivity, proliferation index, large-cell transformation, WBC/lymphocyte count, serum lactate dehydrogenase, and identical T-cell clone in blood and skin. Data were collected at specialist centers on patients diagnosed with advanced-stage MF/SS from 2007. Each parameter recorded at diagnosis was tested against overall survival (OS). RESULTS: Staging data on 1,275 patients with advanced MF/SS from 29 international sites were included for survival analysis. The median OS was 63 months, with 2- and 5-year survival rates of 77% and 52%, respectively. The median OS for patients with stage IIB disease was 68 months, but patients diagnosed with stage III disease had slightly improved survival compared with patients with stage IIB, although patients diagnosed with stage IV disease had significantly worse survival (48 months for stage IVA and 33 months for stage IVB). Of the 10 variables tested, four (stage IV, age > 60 years, large-cell transformation, and increased lactate dehydrogenase) were independent prognostic markers for a worse survival. Combining these four factors in a prognostic index model identified the following three risk groups across stages with significantly different 5-year survival rates: low risk (68%), intermediate risk (44%), and high risk (28%). CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this study includes the largest cohort of patients with advanced-stage MF/SS and identifies markers with independent prognostic value, which, used together in a prognostic index, may be useful to stratify advanced-stage patients

San Antonio’s Edwards Aquifer Protection Program: Review and Analysis

The City of San Antonio’s Edwards Aquifer Protection Program utilizes land and conservation easement acquisitions to protect the quality and quantity of Edwards Aquifer recharge. This review considers four key components of its viability: (1) establishing and sustaining public appreciation of the need for the policy, (2) choosing the appropriate policy mechanism to address the problem, (3) establishing clear justifications for prioritization of purchases that prevent mission drift, and (4) demonstrating the program’s impact and effectiveness. Overall, the analysis concludes that the program has been well adapted to the city’s need to protect the recharge and contributing zones beyond its regulatory jurisdiction. As such, it may serve as a significant model for other cities, particularly in Texas, where regulations may face legal and cultural resistance. The city has effectively educated the public on the value of this sales tax funded measure, even though some justification of its premises, such as inevitable development in western counties, remains subjective. A strong foundation is also evident, with a consistent focus on acquiring land that fits the original, narrow intent of the effort. An impediment to its continuation, however, may be the difficulty of presenting clear evidence of its success, a challenge for all policies designed to avert future harms to natural resources. Citation: Romero FS. San Antonio's Edwards Aquifer Protection Program: Review and Analysis. Texas Water Journal. 9(1):1-15. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v9i1.7063