ScheduleLab: An Eclipse/OSGi based platform for empirical analysis of stochastic local search algorithms solving resource Scheduling problems

There is a shortage of software development tools that support researchers in academia and industry alike in experimentation for performance evaluation of resource scheduling algorithms based on stochastic local search (SLS) techniques. Given their stochastic nature researchers rely on empirical techniques for performance analysis of SLS algorithms. This work contributes an effort to develop such a tool, called ScheduleLab, based on the Eclipse/OSGi platform. The class of SLS algorithms is expansive, so we focus our efforts on SLS algorithms solving resource scheduling problems to control the scope of the work. The tool is non-invasive to the developer\u27s code base and extensible. The tool focuses on supporting problem instance generation and providing an experimentation harness for performance evaluation of such algorithms. We illustrate the utility of the tool with experimentation on algorithms that solve the job shop scheduling problem

Validation of a Core Patient-Reported Outcome Measure for Life Participation in Kidney Transplant Recipients:the SONG Life Participation Instrument

IntroductionLife participation has been established as a critically important core for trials in kidney transplantation. We aimed to validate a patient-reported outcome measure for life participation in kidney transplant recipients.MethodsA psychometric evaluation of the Standardized Outcomes in Nephrology life participation (SONG-LP) measure was conducted in adult kidney transplant recipients. The measure includes 4 items of life participation (leisure, family, work, and social) each with a 5-point Likert scale. Each item is scored from 0 (never) to 4 (always) and the summary measure score the average of each item.ResultsA total of 249 adult kidney transplant recipients from 20 countries participated. The SONG-LP instrument demonstrated internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.87; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.83–0.90, baseline) and test-retest reliability over 1 week (intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.62; 95% CI: 0.54–0.70). There was moderate to high correlation (0.65; 95% CI: 0.57–0.72) with the PROMIS Ability to Participate in Social Roles and Activities Short Form 8a that assessed a similar construct, and moderate correlation with measures that assessed related concepts (i.e., EQ5D 0.57; 95% CI: 0.49–0.65), PROMIS Cognitive Functional Abilities Subset Short Form 4a (0.40; 95% CI: 0.29–0.50).ConclusionThe SONG-LP instrument is a simple, internally consistent, reliable measure for kidney transplant recipients and correlates with similar measures. Routine incorporation in clinical trials will ensure consistent and appropriate assessment of life participation for informed patient-centered decision-making.<br/

[In Press] Indigenous Peoples' perspectives of living with chronic kidney disease: systematic review of qualitative studies

Marianne Kerr, Nicole Evangelidis, Penelope Abbott, Jonathan C. Craig, Michelle Dickson, Nicole Scholes-Robertson, Victoria Sinka, Rahim T. Vastani, Katherine Widders, Jacqueline H. Stephens, and Allison Jaur

Establishing a Core Outcome Measure for Peritoneal Dialysis-related Peritonitis: A Standardized Outcomes in Nephrology—Peritoneal Dialysis Consensus Workshop Report

IntroductionPeritoneal dialysis (PD)-related peritonitis is one of the leading causes of discontinuation of PD and is considered a critically important outcome for patients on PD. However, there is no universally accepted method of measuring this outcome in clinical trials.MethodsWe convened an online consensus workshop to establish a core outcome measure for PD-related peritonitis in clinical trials.ResultsA total of 53 participants, including 18 patients and caregivers, from 12 countries engaged in breakout discussions in this workshop. Transcripts were analyzed thematically. We identified the following 3 themes: (i) feasibility and applicability across diverse settings, which reflected the difficulty with implementing laboratory-based measures in resource-limited environments; (ii) ensuring validity, which included minimizing false positives and considering the specificity of symptoms; and (iii) being meaningful and tangible to patients, which meant that the measure should be easy to interpret, reflect the impact that symptoms have on patients, and promote transparency by standardizing the reporting of peritonitis among dialysis units.ConclusionA core outcome measure for PD-related peritonitis should include both symptom-based and laboratory-based criteria. Thus, the International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis (ISPD) definition of peritonitis is acceptable. However, there should be consideration of reporting suspected peritonitis in cases where laboratory confirmation is not possible. The measure should include all infections from the time of catheter insertion and capture both the rate of infection and the number of patients who remain peritonitis free. A&nbsp;core outcome measure with these features would increase the impact of clinical trials on the care and decision-making of patients receiving PD