Views of healthcare professionals to linkage of routinely collected healthcare data : a systematic review

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Core requirements for successful data linkage: an example of a triangulation method

OBJECTIVES: The aim was to explore the views of professional stakeholders and healthcare professionals (HCPs) on the linkage of UK National Health Service (NHS) data for paediatric pharmacovigilance purposes and to make recommendations for such a system. METHODS: A mixed methods approach including a literature review, interviews, focus groups and a three-round Delphi survey with HCPs in Scotland was followed by a triangulation process using a systematic protocol. The survey was structured using the Theoretical Domains Framework of behaviour change. Items retained after applying the matrix-based triangulation process were thematically coded. Ethical approval was granted by the North of Scotland Research Ethics Service. RESULTS: Results from 18 papers, 23 interviewees, 23 participants of focus groups and 61 completed questionnaires in the Delphi survey contributed to the triangulation process. A total of 25 key findings from all four studies were identified during triangulation. There was good convergence; 21 key findings were agreed and remained to inform recommendations. The items were coded as practical/technical (eg, decision about the unique patient identifier to use), mandatory (eg, governed by statute), essential (consistently mentioned in all studies and therefore needed to ensure professional support) or preferable. CONCLUSIONS: The development of a paediatric linked database has support from professional stakeholders and HCPs in Scotland. The triangulation identified three sets of core requirements for a new system of data linkage. An additional fourth set of 'preferable' requirements might increase engagement of HCPs and their support for the new system

Evolution of the Chern-Simons Vortices

Based on the gauge potential decomposition theory and the $\phi$-mapping theory, the topological inner structure of the Chern-Simons-Higgs vortex has been showed in detail. The evolution of CSH vortices is studied from the topological properties of the Higgs scalar field. The vortices are found generating or annihilating at the limit points and encountering, splitting or merging at the bifurcation points of the scalar field $\phi .$Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure

Reference ranges of oxidative stress biomarkers selected for non-invasive biological surveillance of nanotechnology workers: Study protocol and meta-analysis results for 8-OHdG in exhaled breath condensate

In the field of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) and other airborne particulate exposure biomonitoring, circulating oxidative stress biomarkers appear promising. These biomarkers could be monitored in different biological matrices. Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) enables their measurements in the respiratory tract, without affecting airway function or creating inflammation. The 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) was found increased in the EBC of ENM-exposed workers. Our objectives were to assess the reference range of 8-OHdG in the EBC and to identify determinants of its inter- and intra-individual variability. The meta-analysis was stratified by analytical method (chemical versus immunochemical analysis) and resulted in a between-study variability over 99 % of the total variability. The between-study variability completely dominated the within-studies variability. By using a mixed model with study ID as a random effect rather than a meta-regression, only smoking was evidenced as a potential determinant of 8-OHdG inter-individual variability, and only when immunochemical analysis was used. To our knowledge, this is the first meta-analysis aimed at estimating reference values for 8-OHdG in the EBC. The estimated values should be considered preliminary, as they are based on a limited number of studies, mostly of moderate to low quality of evidence. Further research is necessary to standardize EBC sampling, storage and analytical methods. Such a standardization would enable a more accurate estimation of the reference ranges of the 8-OHdG and potentially other biomarkers measurable in the EBC, which are essential for a meaningful interpretation of the biomonitoring results

Constraint and gauge shocks in one-dimensional numerical relativity

We study how different types of blow-ups can occur in systems of hyperbolic evolution equations of the type found in general relativity. In particular, we discuss two independent criteria that can be used to determine when such blow-ups can be expected. One criteria is related with the so-called geometric blow-up leading to gradient catastrophes, while the other is based upon the ODE-mechanism leading to blow-ups within finite time. We show how both mechanisms work in the case of a simple one-dimensional wave equation with a dynamic wave speed and sources, and later explore how those blow-ups can appear in one-dimensional numerical relativity. In the latter case we recover the well known ``gauge shocks'' associated with Bona-Masso type slicing conditions. However, a crucial result of this study has been the identification of a second family of blow-ups associated with the way in which the constraints have been used to construct a hyperbolic formulation. We call these blow-ups ``constraint shocks'' and show that they are formulation specific, and that choices can be made to eliminate them or at least make them less severe.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures and 1 table, revised version including several amendments suggested by the refere

Convergence of Quantum Annealing with Real-Time Schrodinger Dynamics

Convergence conditions for quantum annealing are derived for optimization problems represented by the Ising model of a general form. Quantum fluctuations are introduced as a transverse field and/or transverse ferromagnetic interactions, and the time evolution follows the real-time Schrodinger equation. It is shown that the system stays arbitrarily close to the instantaneous ground state, finally reaching the target optimal state, if the strength of quantum fluctuations decreases sufficiently slowly, in particular inversely proportionally to the power of time in the asymptotic region. This is the same condition as the other implementations of quantum annealing, quantum Monte Carlo and Green's function Monte Carlo simulations, in spite of the essential difference in the type of dynamics. The method of analysis is an application of the adiabatic theorem in conjunction with an estimate of a lower bound of the energy gap based on the recently proposed idea of Somma et. al. for the analysis of classical simulated annealing using a classical-quantum correspondence.Comment: 6 pages, minor correction

A note on the extension of the polar decomposition for the multidimensional Burgers equation

It is shown that the generalizations to more than one space dimension of the pole decomposition for the Burgers equation with finite viscosity and no force are of the form u = -2 viscosity grad log P, where the P's are explicitly known algebraic (or trigonometric) polynomials in the space variables with polynomial (or exponential) dependence on time. Such solutions have polar singularities on complex algebraic varieties.Comment: 3 pages; minor formatting and typos corrected. Submitted to Phys. Rev. E (Rapid Comm.

Universalities in One-electron Properties of Limit Quasi-periodic Lattices

We investigate one-electron properties of one-dimensional self-similar structures called limit quasi-periodic lattices. The trace map of such a lattice is nonconservative in contrast to the quasi-periodic case, and we can determine the structure of its attractor. It allows us to obtain the three new features of the present system: 1) The multi-fractal characters of the energy spectra are {\it universal}. 2) The supports of the $f(\alpha)$-spectra extend over the whole unit interval, $[0, 1]$. 3) There exist marginal critical states.Comment: 4 pages, 2figure

Hopf's last hope: spatiotemporal chaos in terms of unstable recurrent patterns

Spatiotemporally chaotic dynamics of a Kuramoto-Sivashinsky system is described by means of an infinite hierarchy of its unstable spatiotemporally periodic solutions. An intrinsic parametrization of the corresponding invariant set serves as accurate guide to the high-dimensional dynamics, and the periodic orbit theory yields several global averages characterizing the chaotic dynamics.Comment: Latex, ioplppt.sty and iopl10.sty, 18 pages, 11 PS-figures, compressed and encoded with uufiles, 170 k

Optical Nonlinearities at the Interface between Glass and Liquid Crystal

In this paper, the optical behavior of a nonlinear interface is studied. The nonlinear medium has been a nematic liquid crystal, namely MBBA, and the nonlinear one, glasses of different types (F-10 and F-2) depending on the experimental needs. The anchoring forces at the boundary have been found to inhibit the action of the evanescent field in the case of total internal reflection. Most of observed nonlinearities are due to thermal effects. As a consequence, liquid crystals do not seem to be good candidates for total internal reflection optical bistability