Enhanced quality of electronic clinical record through open-source tool

Electronic records are significant to control healthcare information and save patient lives to increase the value of service in healthcare.This paper is drawn from an ongoing, large-scale research project of implementing an Electronic Clinical Record (ECR).The overall aim in this study is to introduce a new tool for the ECR deeper understanding of the complexities and challenges emerging from the implementation of the ECR, and in particular, to study how to manage a gradual transition to a digital record.The aim is to enable the physician and patient to get access to the electronic clinical record.It will propose a new open-source tool to improve the clinical systems.The objective of this research is to ensure sufficient in-depth knowledge of the challenges confronting service delivery related to health, especially in the healthcare sector; and a grasp of how the underlying ICT infrastructure and an ECR might be expected to assist in meeting these challenges.Results of our study identified the need for more research in this particular area as no definitive solution to the long-term access to electronic clinical records was revealed.Additionally, the research findings highlighted the fact that a few medical institutions may actually be concerned about long-term access to electronic records

Multiancestry Genome-Wide Association Study of Lipid Levels Incorporating Gene-Alcohol Interactions

A person's lipid profile is influenced by genetic variants and alcohol consumption, but the contribution of interactions between these exposures has not been studied. We therefore incorporated gene-alcohol interactions into a multiancestry genome-wide association study of levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides. We included 45 studies in stage 1 (genome-wide discovery) and 66 studies in stage 2 (focused follow-up), for a total of 394,584 individuals from 5 ancestry groups. Analyses covered the period July 2014-November 2017. Genetic main effects and interaction effects were jointly assessed by means of a 2-degrees-of-freedom (df) test, and a 1-df test was used to assess the interaction effects alone. Variants at 495 loci were at least suggestively associated (P <1 x 10(-6)) with lipid levels in stage 1 and were evaluated in stage 2, followed by combined analyses of stage 1 and stage 2. In the combined analysis of stages 1 and 2, a total of 147 independent loci were associated with lipid levels at P <5 x 10(-8) using 2-df tests, of which 18 were novel. No genome-wide-significant associations were found testing the interaction effect alone. The novel loci included several genes (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 5 (PCSK5), vascular endothelial growth factor B (VEGFB), and apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide 1 (APOBEC1) complementation factor (A1CF)) that have a putative role in lipid metabolism on the basis of existing evidence from cellular and experimental models.Peer reviewe

Prince2 Methodology: An Innovative Way for Improving Performance of Malaysian Automotive Industry

The role of project management is identically essential for organizations and it’s converted into an important issue for implementing modern projects. Operations & Management division is the spine of any corporate organization,and it is the key factor for progress the performance of the industry. International competition in automotive industry compulsory required, well-organized project management in each area, for satisfaction of clients and quality. The novel approach of Project Management is Project Management PRINCE2 (PMP2), which is the generic framework, which design to suit every type of project in industry. Therefore, the aim of this research is to investigate the impact of project management prince2 methodology in Malaysian automotive industry. PRINCE2 is a structured method for effective project management. PRINCE2 has strongly established in UK and spread all over the world fluently; as a generic, process based approach of project management. In view of the fact that its emphasis on, the dividing the project into manageable and controllable stages. This research will encourage the implementation of Prince2 methodology in automotive industry of Malaysia. Additionally, it will encourage the prospect applications of PRINCE2, which ultimately improve the human performance in automotive industry

A Novel Approach to Generate Type-1 Fuzzy Triangular and Trapezoidal Membership Functions to Improve the Classification Accuracy

Fuzzy logic is an approach that reflects human thinking and decision making by handling uncertainty and vagueness using fuzzy membership functions. When a human is engaged in the design of a fuzzy system, symmetric properties are naturally preferred. Fuzzy c-means clustering is a clustering algorithm that can cluster datasets to produce membership matrix and cluster centers, which results in generating type-1 fuzzy membership functions. However, fuzzy c-means algorithm has a limitation of producing only a single membership function type, Gaussian MF. Generation of multiple fuzzy membership functions is of immense importance as it provides more efficient and optimal solutions to a problem. Therefore, an approach to generate multiple type-1 fuzzy membership functions through fuzzy c-means is required for the optimal and improved results of classification datasets. Hence, to overcome the limitation of the fuzzy c-means algorithm, an approach for the generation of type-1 fuzzy triangular and trapezoidal membership function through fuzzy c-means is considered in this study. The approach is used to calculate and enhance the accuracy of classification datasets called iris, banknote authentication, blood transfusion, and Haberman’s survival. The proposed approach of generating MFs using FCM produce asymmetric MFs, whose results are compared with the MFs produced from grid partitioning (GP), which are symmetric MFs. The results show that the proposed approach of generating type-1 fuzzy membership function through fuzzy c-means is effective and can be adopted

Could the academic advisor, intrinsic motivation, and time management influence students’ attitudes towards research work on campus?

BACKGROUND:Research is essential and necessary for those who love learning, whether they belong to a research institution or not. Numerous elements influence researchers’ attitudes towards good research work, but in this study we focus on the most significant ones: advisor support, intrinsic motivation, timing, and planning. OBJECTIVES:The current study aims at motivating readers to help improve students’ attitudes towards research work within the university context. METHOD:The target demographic of the current research comprises masters and doctoral students from three major public institutions in Xi’an, China. We aimed to examine the effects of the variables and the study employed correlation and stepwise regression. RESULTS:The results show that advisor support influences attitudes towards research positively and significantly (β= 0.20, p < 0.01). Likewise, intrinsic motivation has a positive and significant effect on attitude towards research (β= 0.18, p < 0.01). Time attitudes significantly influenced attitudes towards research (β= 0.14, p < 0.05). Furthermore, time planning also positively and significantly influenced the attitude towards research (β= 0.15, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION:To achieve an excellent attitude towards research work, students need a cooperative academic advisor who will intrinsically motivate them in their research activities. However, they must manage their academic time and be equipped with time management skills

Sutured Clear Corneal Incision: Wound Apposition and Permeability to Bacterial-Sized Particles

Purpose: To determine the effects of single radial or horizontal suture placement in 2-step clear corneal incision (CCI) wound apposition and permeability to particles of India ink.Methods: Five fresh human globes were included. Two 25-gauge needles connected to a saline solution bag and to a digital manometer were inserted through the limbus, 120 degrees apart from each other. Four 2-step CCIs (2.75 mm wide and 3 mm length) were constructed in each cornea. Incisions were divided into 3 groups: single radial suture (SRS), single horizontal suture (SHS), and unsutured group. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was performed before and after suture placement. With a preset 10 mm Hg intraocular pressure (IOP), India ink was applied to the incision site and a standardized sudden IOP fluctuation was induced. OCT and superficial images were recorded before and after suture placement. India ink inflow and internal and external CCI gapping were outlined and measured by planimeter.Results: the area and linear distance of India ink inflow after pressure challenge in all study groups were higher when compared with pre-pressure measurements; however, this increase was significant in the SRS and SHS groups (P < 0.05). Additionally, SRS placement significantly increased inner wound gapping (P = 0.018), and SHS significantly widened outer wound gape (P = 0.02).Conclusions: Well-constructed unsutured 2-step CCI seems to be more efficient at preventing bacterial-sized particles inflow during sudden changes in IOP, and it seems to offer better wound apposition as assessed by OCT.May Vision Foundation, Los Angeles, CaliforniaResearch to Prevent Blindness, New York, New YorkJohns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MarylandResearch to Prevent Blindness Althouse Special Scholars AwardFight for Sight, New York, New YorkUniv So Calif, Keck Sch Med, Doheny Eye Inst, Los Angeles, CA 90033 USAJohns Hopkins Univ, Sch Med, Wilmer Eye Inst, Baltimore, MD 21205 USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Paulista Sch Med, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Paulista Sch Med, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Applications of FT-NIRS combined with PLS multivariate methods for the detection & quantification of saccharin adulteration incommercial fruit juices

<p>Detection of adulteration in carbohydrates rich foods like fruit juices is particularly difficult because of the variety of the commercial sweeteners available that match the concentration profiles of the major carbohydrates in the foods. In present study, a new sensitive and robust assay using Fourier Transform Near Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-NIRS) combined with partial least square (PLS) multivariate methods has been developed for detection and quantification of saccharin adulteration in different commercial fruit juice samples. For this investigation 6 different commercially available fruit juice samples were intentionally-adulterated with saccharin at the following percentage levels: 0 %, 0.10 %, 0.30 %, 0.50 %, 0.70 %, 0.90 %, 1.10 %, 1.30 %, 1.50 %, 1.70 % and 2.00 % (weight/volume). Altogether 198 samples were used including 18 pure juice samples (un-adulterated) and 180 juice samples adulterated with saccharin. PLS multivariate methods including partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), and partial least-squares regressions (PLSR) were applied to the obtained spectral data to build models. The PLSDA model was employed to differentiate between pure fruit juice samples and those adulterated with saccharin. The R² value obtained for the PLS-DA model was 97.90 % with an RMSE error of 0.67 %. Similarly, a PLS regression model was also developed to quantify the amount of saccharin adulterant in juice samples. The R² value obtained for the PLSR model was 97.04 % with RMSECV error of 0.88 %. The employed model was then cross-validated by using a test set which included 30 % of the total adulterated juice samples. The excellent performance of the model was proved by the low RMSEP value of 0.92 % and the high correlation factor of 0.97. This newly developed method is robust, non-destructive, highly sensitive, and economical.</p