Information system

PURPOSE: To use a qualitative research approach to explore adults' experience of living with non-epileptic attack disorder. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to explore the experience of adults (18 years+) with a confirmed diagnosis of non-epileptic attack disorder (NEAD) across the trajectory of the disorder. The topics investigated included the onset of symptoms, the experience of non-epileptic attacks, the diagnostic process and living with NEAD. METHOD: Twelve people diagnosed with NEAD who attended a tertiary hospital neurology department took part in semi-structured interviews...

Hypothesis testing is a valuable method used to investigate ideas and test predictions arising from theories based on available data. In the context of critical system architecture, there is a need to effectively utilize hypothesis testing to identify faulty paths and improve system safety. This research aims to propose guidelines and best practices for presenting hypothesis testing in critical system architecture. The problem addressed in this study is the underutilization of hypothesis testing in life-critical system methods, resulting in a lack of identification of faulty paths...

The banking industry necessitates implementing an early warning system to effectively identify the factors that impact bank managers and enable them to make informed decisions, thereby mitigating systemic risk. Identifying factors that influence banks in times of stability and crisis is crucial, as it ultimately contributes to developing an improved early warning system. This study undertakes a comparative analysis of the stability of Indonesian Islamic and conventional banking across distinct economic regimes-crisis and stability...

BACKGROUND: Accurate measurement of antenatal antiretroviral treatment (ART) coverage in pregnancy is imperative in tracking progress towards elimination of vertical HIV transmission. In the Western Cape, South Africa, public-sector individual-level routine data are consolidated from multiple sources, enabling the description of temporal changes in population-wide antenatal antiretroviral coverage. We evaluated the validity of different methods for measuring ART coverage among pregnant women...

BACKGROUND: Professional licensing bodies are valuable sources for tracking the health workforce, as many skilled health-care providers require formal training, registration, and licensure. Regulatory activities in Ethiopia were not effectively implemented due to poor follow-up and gaps in skilled human resources, budget, and information technology infrastructure. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore and describe the lived experiences and challenges faced by health care managers in health professionals' licensure practices in Ethiopia...

Self-reported weight and height serve as important metrics in estimating overweight and obesity prevalence within epidemiological studies, primarily due to their cost and time efficiency. However, the accuracy and reliability of these self-reported measures remain controversial, with conflicting reports emerging from different regions. This study aims to compare self-reported weight and height with measured values among young female adults in the United Arab Emirates. A cross-sectional study of 131 female university students aged 17-27 reported their weight and height on a self-administered questionnaire and on the same day had their height and weight measured...

BACKGROUND: Faced with the increase in the number of chronic diseases with the aging of the population, and with the observation of the insufficiency of therapeutic control, a new need has emerged, that of having a patient as a partner in care. METHODS: This study is a randomized controlled trial. Patients with coronary heart disease will be recruited from one clinical site and randomly assigned into two groups: the intervention group and the control group. All participants will be followed up for a total of one year (with three-time points for data collection)...

To study how the nervous system processes visual information, experimenters must record neural activity while delivering visual stimuli in a controlled fashion. In animals with a nearly panoramic field of view, such as flies, precise stimulation of the entire visual field is challenging. We describe a projector-based device for stimulation of the insect visual system under a microscope. The device is based on a bowl-shaped screen that provides a wide and nearly distortion-free field of view. It is compact, cheap, easy to assemble, and easy to operate using the included open-source software for stimulus generation...

BACKGROUND: Juvenile antisocial behavior can have long-lasting and devastating effects for juveniles themselves, victims, and society. Evidence-based treatment is vital. Forensic Outpatient Systemic Therapy (Forensische Ambulante Systeem Therapie; FAST) is a promising treatment for juveniles showing severe antisocial behavior including aggression, (domestic) violence, and delinquent behavior. FAST has a flexible intensity and length, addresses individual and systemic risk and protective factors, and is responsive to the abilities of the client (system), intervention characteristics all considered crucial for effective treatment...

INTRODUCTION: Telemedicine is a useful tool for decreasing hospital stress, patient suffering, ambulance needs, hospital anxiety, and costs while improving the standard of care. Nonetheless, the lack of awareness regarding telemedicine poses a barrier to its application, presenting several difficulties in underdeveloped nations like Ethiopia. This review evaluates Ethiopian-specific telemedicine knowledge and associated factors. METHODS: This systematic review was conducted using a search of several online databases in addition to the main databases, like Medline, PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct...

This paper investigates the relationship between monetary policy and bank risk-taking by introducing a model wherein banks expend a level of costly monitoring effort to select low-risk projects, thereby reducing the risk associated with the loans they grant. The impact of monetary policy on bank risk-taking is examined through both theoretical models and empirical analysis. The paper compares theoretical models with different assumptions, revealing an unambiguous negative effect without the assumption of limited liability for banks, and an ambiguous effect with the assumption of limited liability for banks, influenced by the equity ratio...

INTRODUCTION: We aimed to investigate the effects of secondary bacterial and fungal infections on patient outcomes in patients followed up in the intensive care unit (ICU) due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODOLOGY: We retrospectively analyzed reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positive COVID-19 patients followed in the ICU of our hospital between March 2020 and June 2021, using the hospital information system. Demographic data, pathogens causing a secondary infection, onset time of secondary infection, and patient outcomes were recorded...

The rapid growth of the Internet of Things and wearable sensors has led to advancements in monitoring technology in the field of health. One such advancement is the development of wearable respiratory sensors, which offer a new approach to real-time respiratory monitoring compared to traditional methods. However, the energy consumption of these sensors raises concerns about environmental pollution. To address the issue, this study proposes the use of a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) as a sustainable energy source...

Where sea urchin harvest has been so intense that populations have drastically regressed, concerns have arisen about the effectiveness of harvesting management. According to the theory of phase transition in shallow rocky reefs between vegetated and barren habitats, sea urchin recruitment, a key population structuring process, seems hampered by some stabilizing feedback despite an end to local human harvest of sea urchins. To shed a light on predation effects on sea urchin recruits, a 27-day field experiment was conducted using mega-predator exclusion cages (40x40x40 cm, 1 cm in mesh size) in barren and turf substrates...

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to pose a global public health threat. The pandemic overstretched already weak health systems in low- and low-middle-income countries, including Ethiopia. There is a paucity of studies on the impact of COVID-19 on antenatal care access, uptake, and provision in Ethiopia. This study examines the impact of COVID-19 on antenatal care provision in the Sidama region, Ethiopia. METHODS: A concurrent mixed-methods study was conducted between 14 February and 10 May 2022 at 15 public hospitals in the Sidama region...

This paper focuses on studying the optimization problem of multi-agent systems (MAS) under undirected graph. To reduce the communication frequency among agents, a zero-gradient-sum (ZGS) algorithm based on dynamic event-triggered (DET) mechanism is investigated. The event-triggered condition of each agent only uses its own state information and the neighbor's state information at the previous triggering instants, without requiring continuous state information from the neighbor. In addition, the designed algorithm allows for the sampling period to be arbitrarily large...

The logistics management information system (LMIS) plays a crucial role in effective record-keeping and reporting, ensuring efficient management of stock status and consumption data. A proficient LMIS improves accountability and supports informed logistic decisions in healthcare. Conversely, a subpar LMIS negatively affects essential medicine availability, compromising overall healthcare service efficiency. This study aimed to evaluate the status of the logistics management information system and the availability of non-program tracer drugs (NPTDs) in public health facilities within Bahir Dar City...

Unprecedented heat waves can affect all persons, but some are more sensitive to the effects of heat, including children and adults with underlying health conditions, pregnant women, and outdoor workers. Many regions of the United States experienced record-breaking high temperatures in 2023, with populations exposed to extremely high temperatures for prolonged periods. CDC examined emergency department (ED) visits associated with heat-related illness (HRI) from the National Syndromic Surveillance Program and compared daily HRI ED visit rates during the warm-season months (May-September) of 2023 with those during 2018-2022...

Bistable electrochromic (EC) materials and systems offer significant potential for building decarbonization through their optical modulation and energy efficiency. However, challenges such as limited design strategies and bottlenecks in cost, fabrication, and color have hindered the full commercialization of energy-saving EC windows and displays, with few materials achieving true bistability. Herein, a novel strategy for designing bistable electrochromic materials is proposed by leveraging supramolecular interactions...

BACKGROUND: Clinical decision support (CDS) tools that incorporate machine learning-derived content have the potential to transform clinical care by augmenting clinicians' expertise. To realize this potential, such tools must be designed to fit the dynamic work systems of the clinicians who use them. We propose the use of academic detailing-personal visits to clinicians by an expert in a specific health IT tool-as a method for both ensuring the correct understanding of that tool and its evidence base and identifying factors influencing the tool's implementation...