Impacts of biomedical hashtag-based Twitter campaign: #DHPSP utilization for promotion of open innovation in digital health, patient safety, and personalized medicine

The open innovation hub Digital Health and Patient Safety Platform (DHPSP) was recently established with the purpose to invigorate collaborative scientific research and the development of new digital products and personalized solutions aiming to improve human health and patient safety. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of a Twitter-based campaign centered on using the hashtag #DHPSP to promote the visibility of the DHPSP initiative. Thus, tweets containing #DHPSP were monitored for five weeks for the period 20.10.2020–24.11.2020 and were analyzed with Symplur Signals (social media analytics tool). In the study period, a total of 11,005 tweets containing #DHPSP were posted by 3020 Twitter users, generating 151,984,378 impressions. Analysis of the healthcare stakeholder-identity of the Twitter users who used #DHPSP revealed that the most of participating user accounts belonged to individuals or doctors, with the top three user locations being the United States (501 users), the United Kingdom (155 users), and India (121 users). Analysis of co-occurring hashtags and the full text of the posted tweets further revealed that the major themes of attention in the #DHPSP Twitter-community were related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), medicine and health, digital health technologies, and science communication in general. Overall, these results indicate that the #DHPSP initiative achieved high visibility and engaged a large body of Twitter users interested in the DHPSP focus area. Moreover, the conducted campaign resulted in an increase of DHPSP member enrollments and website visitors, and new scientific collaborations were formed. Thus, Twitter campaigns centered on a dedicated hashtag prove to be a highly efficient tool for visibility-promotion, which could be successfully utilized by healthcare-related open innovation platforms or initiatives

The International Natural Product Sciences Taskforce (INPST) and the power of Twitter networking exemplified through #INPST hashtag analysis

Background: The development of digital technologies and the evolution of open innovation approaches have enabled the creation of diverse virtual organizations and enterprises coordinating their activities primarily online. The open innovation platform titled "International Natural Product Sciences Taskforce" (INPST) was established in 2018, to bring together in collaborative environment individuals and organizations interested in natural product scientific research, and to empower their interactions by using digital communication tools. Methods: In this work, we present a general overview of INPST activities and showcase the specific use of Twitter as a powerful networking tool that was used to host a one-week "2021 INPST Twitter Networking Event" (spanning from 31st May 2021 to 6th June 2021) based on the application of the Twitter hashtag #INPST. Results and Conclusion: The use of this hashtag during the networking event period was analyzed with Symplur Signals (https://www.symplur.com/), revealing a total of 6,036 tweets, shared by 686 users, which generated a total of 65,004,773 impressions (views of the respective tweets). This networking event's achieved high visibility and participation rate showcases a convincing example of how this social media platform can be used as a highly effective tool to host virtual Twitter-based international biomedical research events

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Enhancement of thermoelectric power of PbTe thin films by Ag ion implantation

Enhancement of the figure of merit (ZT) of thermoelectric materials is the topic of current research in energy studies. We report an enhancement in the thermoelectric power (TEP) of thermally evaporated PbTe thin films by low energy Ag ion implantation. This implantation results in PbTe:Ag nanocomposites. Implantations were carried out at a 130 keV Ag ion beam with ion fluences of 3 × 1015, 1.5 × 1016, 3 × 1016, and 4.5 × 1016 ions/cm2. The atomic concentrations were determined using Rutherford backscattering and found to be 1 at. %, 5 at. %, 10 at. %, and 14 at. % in the implanted PbTe films. Scanning electron microscopy images show the presence of fine cracks on the surface of as-deposited PbTe thin films that get shortened and suppressed and finally disappear at higher fluences of Ag ion implantation. The TEP measurements, from 300 K to 400 K, show ∼25% enhancement in the Seebeck coefficient of the Ag ion implanted films in comparison to the pristine PbTe thin film. The synchrotron based high resolution X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy investigations reveal the formation of Ag2Te in the surface layer after Ag ion implantation.Peer reviewe

Host-star Properties of Hot, Warm, and Cold Jupiters in the Solar Neighborhood from Gaia Data Release 3: Clues to Formation Pathways

Giant planets exhibit diverse orbital properties, hinting at their distinct formation and dynamic histories. In this paper, using Gaia Data Release 3 (DR3), we investigate if and how the orbital properties of Jupiters are linked to their host star properties, particularly their metallicity and age. We obtain metallicities for main-sequence stars of spectral type F, G, and K, hosting hot, warm, and cold Jupiters with varying eccentricities. We compute the velocity dispersions of the host stars of these three groups using kinematic information from Gaia DR3 and obtain average ages using a velocity dispersion–age relation. We find that the host stars of hot Jupiters are relatively metal rich ([Fe/H] = 0.18 ± 0.13) and young (median age of 3.97 ± 0.51 Gyr) compared to the host stars of cold Jupiters in nearly circular orbits, which are relatively metal poor (0.03 ± 0.18) and older (median age of 6.07 ± 0.79 Gyr). The host stars of cold Jupiters in high-eccentricity orbits, on the other hand, show metallicities similar to those of the hosts of hot Jupiters, but are older, on average (median age of 6.25 ± 0.92 Gyr). The similarity in metallicity between the hosts of hot Jupiters and the hosts of cold Jupiters in high-eccentricity orbits supports high-eccentricity migration as the potential origin of hot Jupiters, with the latter serving as the progenitors of hot Jupiters. However, the average age difference between them suggests that the older hot Jupiters may have been engulfed by their host star over timescales ∼ 6 Gyr. This allows us to estimate the value of stellar tidal quality factor, ${Q}_{* }^{{\prime} }\sim {10}^{6\pm 1}$

Upfront Xpert MTB/RIF testing on various specimen types for presumptive infant TB cases for early and appropriate treatment initiation.

BACKGROUND:Diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in infants is challenging due to non-specific clinical presentations of the disease in this age-group and low sensitivity of widely available TB diagnostic tools, which in turn delays prompt access to TB treatment. Upfront access to Xpert/MTB RIF (Xpert) testing, a highly sensitive and specific rapid diagnostic tool, could potentially address some of these challenges. Under the current project, we assessed the utility and feasibility of applying upfront Xpert for diagnosis of tuberculosis in infants, including for testing of non-sputum specimens. METHODS:A high throughput lab was established in each of the four project cities, and linked to various health care providers across the city, through rapid specimen transportation and electronic reporting linkages. Free Xpert testing was offered to all infant (<2 years of age) presumptive TB cases (both pulmonary and extra-pulmonary) seeking care at public and private health facilities. RESULTS:A total of 7,994 presumptive infant TB cases were enrolled in the project from April 2014 to October 2016, detecting 465 (5.8%, CI: 5.3-6.4) TB cases. The majority (93.9%; CI: 93.4-94.4) of patient specimens were non-sputum and TB positivity was higher amongst non-sputum specimens. Further, a high proportion (5.6% CI 3.8-8.1) of infant TB cases were found to be rifampicin resistant. Covering large cities with a single lab per city over more than two years, the project demonstrated the feasibility of same-day diagnosis with upfront Xpert testing. This in turn led to prompt treatment initiation, with a two-day median turnaround time to treatment initiation. Case mortality observed in the project cohort of diagnosed TB cases was 11.0% (CI 8.4-14.1), the majority of which was pre- or early treatment mortality, in spite of prompt access to treatment for most diagnosed cases. CONCLUSION:The current project demonstrated the feasibility of applying rapid and upfront Xpert testing for presumptive infant TB cases. Rapid TB diagnosis in turn facilitates prompt and appropriate treatment initiation. Further, levels of rifampicin resistance observed in infants TB cases highlight the additional benefit of upfront resistance testing. However, high rates of early case mortality, in spite of prompt diagnosis and treatment initiation, highlight the need for further research in infant patient pathways for overall improvement in TB care for infant populations