Large variation in use of patient-reported outcome measures: A survey of 188 foot and ankle surgeons

Background: There is an increasing interest in the use of patient reported outcome measures (PROMs). However, there is a large variety of PROMs and a lack of consensus regarding preference for their use. Aim of this study is to determine how often PROMS are used for foot and ankle disorders, for what purpose PROMs are used, and what the preferences of the foot and ankle surgeons are, when choosing a PROM to use.Methods: Members of the Ankleplatform Study Group-Science of Variation Collaborative were invited to participate in this survey by email. The online survey consisted of six questions on the use and preferences regarding foot and ankle PROMs.Results: 188 participants completed the questionnaire. Of the respondents 17% reported not to use PROMs, 72% stated to use PROMS for research, 39% routinely for patient care and 34% for registration or quality assessment. The respondents were familiar with 30 different outcome measures, of which 20 were PROMs. One of the excluded outcome measures, the AOFAS Hindfoot scale was most commonly reported as preferred outcome measure. FAOS and MOXFQ were the preferred PROMs, reported by 9.7% of the surgeons. Subsequently followed by the FFI (4.3%), the FAAM (3.7%) and the VAS-FA (3.7%).Conclusions: A large majority of the foot and ankle surgeons uses PROMs. The AOFAS hindfoot scale is mentioned as the most preferred outcome measure, while in fact this is not a PROM. Of the twenty different PROMs mentioned in this study, most reported were the FAOS and MOXFQ both supported by only 9.7% of the surgeons. For proper comparison between patients in clinical practice and research, consensus is needed on which easy-to-use PROM with adequate clinimetric properties should be used. Therefore more evidence in the field of clinimetrics of foot and ankle outcome measures is needed. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of European Foot and Ankle Society

Programmable data collection platform study

The results of a feasibility study incorporating microprocessors in data collection platforms in described. An introduction to microcomputer hardware and software concepts is provided. The influence of microprocessor technology on the design of programmable data collection platform hardware is discussed. A standard modular PDCP design capable of meeting the design goals is proposed, and the process of developing PDCP programs is examined. A description of design and construction of the UT PDCP development system is given

Cloud Energy Micro-Moment Data Classification: A Platform Study

Energy efficiency is a crucial factor in the well-being of our planet. In parallel, Machine Learning (ML) plays an instrumental role in automating our lives and creating convenient workflows for enhancing behavior. So, analyzing energy behavior can help understand weak points and lay the path towards better interventions. Moving towards higher performance, cloud platforms can assist researchers in conducting classification trials that need high computational power. Under the larger umbrella of the Consumer Engagement Towards Energy Saving Behavior by means of Exploiting Micro Moments and Mobile Recommendation Systems (EM)3 framework, we aim to influence consumers behavioral change via improving their power consumption consciousness. In this paper, common cloud artificial intelligence platforms are benchmarked and compared for micro-moment classification. The Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, Google Colab, and Microsoft Azure Machine Learning are employed on simulated and real energy consumption datasets. The KNN, DNN, and SVM classifiers have been employed. Superb performance has been observed in the selected cloud platforms, showing relatively close performance. Yet, the nature of some algorithms limits the training performance.Comment: This paper has been accepted in IEEE RTDPCC 2020: International Symposium on Real-time Data Processing for Cloud Computin

Microcelebrity Practices: A Cross-Platform Study Through a Richness Framework

Social media have introduced a contemporary shift from broadcast to participatory media, which has brought about major changes to the celebrity management model. It is now common for celebrities to bypass traditional mass media and take control over their promotional discourse through the practice of microcelebrity. The theory of microcelebrity explains how people turn their public persona into media content with the goal of gaining and maintaining audiences who are regarded as an aggregated fan base. To accomplish this, the theory suggests that people employ a set of online self-presentation techniques that typically consist of three core practices: identity constructions, fan interactions and promoting visibility beyond the existing fan base. Studies on single platforms (e.g., Twitter), however, show that not all celebrities necessarily engage in all core practices to the same degree. Importantly, celebrities are increasingly using multiple social media platforms simultaneously to expand their audience, while overcoming the limitations of a particular platform. This points to a gap in the literature and calls for a cross-platform study. This dissertation employed a mixed-methods research design to reveal how social media platforms i.e., Twitter and Instagram, helped celebrities grow and maintain their audience. The first phase of the study relied on a richness scoring framework that quantified social media activities using affordance richness, a measure of the ability of a post to deliver the information necessary in affording a celebrity to perform an action by using social media artifacts. The analyses addressed several research questions regarding social media uses by different groups of celebrities and how the audience responded to different microcelebrity strategies. The findings informed the design of the follow-up interviews with audience members. Understanding expectations and behaviors of fans is relevant not only as a means to enhance the practice’s outcome and sustain promotional activity, but also as a contribution to our understandings about contemporary celebrity-fans relationships mediated by social media. Three findings are highlighted. First, I found that celebrities used the two platforms differently, and that different groups of celebrities emphasized different core practices. This finding was well explained by the interviews suggesting that the audiences had different expectations from different groups of celebrities. Second, microcelebrity strategies played an important role in an audience’s engagement decisions. The finding was supported by the interviews indicating that audience preferences were based on some core practices. Lastly, while their strategies had no effect on follow and unfollow decisions, the consistency of the practices had significant effects on the decisions. This study makes contributions to the theory of Microcelebrity and offers practical contributions by providing broad insights from both practitioners’ and audiences’ perspectives. This is essential given that microcelebrity is a learned practice rather than an inborn trait

Geostationary platform study: Advanced ESGP/evolutionary SSF accommodation study

The implications on the evolutionary space station of accommodating geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) facilities including unmanned satellites and platforms, manned elements, and transportation and servicing vehicles/elements. The latest existing definitions of typical unmanned GEO facilities and transportation and servicing vehicles/elements are utilized. The physical design, functional design, and operations implications at the space station are determined. Various concepts of the space station from past studies are utilized ranging from the IOC Multifunction Space Station to a branched transportation node space station, and the implications of the accommodation the GEO infrastructure of each type are assessed. Where possible, parametric data are provided to show the implications of variations in sizes and quantities of elements, launch rates, crew sizes, etc. The use of advanced automation, robotics equipment, and an efficient mix of manned/automated support for accomplishing necessary activities at the space station are identified and assessed. The products of this study are configuration sketches, resource requirements, trade studies, and parametric data

Geostationary platform study: Advanced ESGP/evolutionary SSF accommodation study

The implications on the evolutionary space station of accommodating geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) facilities are assessed. These facilities include unmanned satellites and platforms, manned elements, and transportation and servicing vehicles/elements. The latest existing definitions of typical unmanned GEO facilities and transportation and servicing vehicles/elements are utilized. The physical design, functional design, and operations implications at the space station are determined. Various concepts of the space station from past studies are utilized ranging from the IOC Multifunction Space Station to a branched transportation node space station and the implications of accommodating the GEO infrastructure at each type are assessed. Where possible, parametric data is provided to show the implications of variations in sizes and quantities of elements, launch rates, crew sizes, etc. The use of advanced automation, robotics equipment, and an efficient mix of manned/automated support for accomplishing necessary activities at the space station are identified and assessed. The products of this study are configuration sketches, resource requirements, trade studies, and parametric data

Developing the Intervention and Outcome Components of a Proposed Randomised Controlled trial (RCT) of a National Screening Programme for Open Angle Glaucoma (OAG) : Medical Research Council funded trial platform study (G0701759): Study protocol

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AGENCY IN THE ONLINE MATCHMAKING PLATFORM: Study of Rumah Taaruf myQuran and Mawaddah Indonesia

The emergence of the online ta'aruf matchmaking platform represents a shift in the community's religious practice from offline to online media. The matchmaking platform’s use of internet technology is a unique selling point, as it attracts a large number of members. Apart from the religious messages propagated by each platform, the emergence of the online taaruf matchmaking media is undoubtedly sustained by the agencies involved in order to attract its members. The purpose of this article is to discuss the role of agents in two online matchmaking platforms: Rumah Taaruf myQuran and Mawaddah Indonesia. This research employs an agency theory framework. Based on the data gathered, this study concludes that the success of these two platforms is a reflection of the performance of the numerous agents involved. These agents are not gender-specific, but rather multi-agency.Munculnya biro jodoh taaruf online merupakan sebuah perubahan sosial dari praktik keagamaan masyarakat dari model offline beralih menjadi online. Pemanfaatan teknologi internet oleh para biro jodoh menjadikan daya tarik tersendiri sehingga banyak yang menggunakan jasanya. Selain bersandar kepada pesan-pesan keagamaan yang dikampanyekan oleh masing-masing, kemunculan biro jodoh taaruf online tersebut tentu ditopang oleh para agensi yang terlibat sehingga sukses menjaring para pencari jodoh. Tulisan ini mengulas tentang bagaimana agen berperan dalam platform perjodohan online: Rumah Taaruf myQuran dan Mawaddah Indonesia. Penelitian ini berda pada pendekatan teori agensi. Berdasarkan data yang didapatkan, penelitian ini berkesimpulan bahwa kesuksesan kedua platform ini merupakan representasi dari kinerja banyak agen yang terlibat. Para agen ini tidak dipecah berdasarkkan gender melainkan multiagensi

Data base architecture for instrument characteristics critical to spacecraft conceptual design

Spacecraft designs are driven by the payloads and mission requirements that they support. Many of the payload characteristics, such as mass, power requirements, communication requirements, moving parts, and so forth directly affect the choices for the spacecraft structural configuration and its subsystem design and component selection. The conceptual design process, which translates mission requirements into early spacecraft concepts, must be tolerant of frequent changes in the payload complement and resource requirements. A computer data base was designed and implemented for the purposes of containing the payload characteristics pertinent for spacecraft conceptual design, tracking the evolution of these payloads over time, and enabling the integration of the payload data with engineering analysis programs for improving the efficiency in producing spacecraft designs. In-house tools were used for constructing the data base and for performing the actual integration with an existing program for optimizing payload mass locations on the spacecraft