scholarly journals Patient’s point of view on the use of telemedicine in multiple sclerosis: a web-based survey

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doriana Landi ◽  
Marta Ponzano ◽  
Carolina Gabri Nicoletti ◽  
Gaia Cola ◽  
Gianluca Cecchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Chronic Medical Conditions ◽  
Socioeconomic Conditions ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Disease Characteristics ◽  
Degree Of Disability

AbstractRestrictions in the access to healthcare facilities during COVID-19 pandemic have raised the need for remote monitoring of chronic medical conditions, including multiple sclerosis (MS). In order to enable the continuity of care in these circumstances, many telemedicine applications are currently tested. While physicians’ preferences are commonly investigated, data regarding the patients’ point of view are still lacking. We built a 37 items web-based survey exploring patients’ propensity, awareness, and opinions on telemedicine with the aim to evaluate the sustainability of this approach in MS. Analysing 613 questionnaires out of 1093 that were sent to persons with MS followed at the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Tor Vergata University, Rome, we found that more than half of respondents (54%) were open to having a televisit. Propensity toward telemedicine significantly depended on having a higher income (p = 0.037), living farther from the center (p = 0.038), using computer and tablet (p = 0.010) and using the Internet for other remote activities (p < 0.001), conversely it was not influenced by any specific disease characteristics (i.e. degree of disability). The main advantages and disadvantages of televisit reported by participants were respectively saving time (70%) and impossibility to measure physical parameters (71%). Although the majority of respondents are in favour of televisit, so far this approach is restricted to those displaying better socioeconomic conditions and higher familiarity with technology. Implications of the study are that telemedicine platforms should be better tailored to patients’ demands in order to spread the use of telemedicine, to enhance usability and to increase patients’ adherence.

Using Online Panels in Psychological Research

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja S. Göritz
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Psychological Research ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Quality Of Data ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Current State ◽  
Online Panels

Online panels (OPs) are an important form of web-based data collection, as illustrated by their widespread use. In the classical sense, a panel is a longitudinal study in which the same information is collected from the same individuals at different points in time. In contrast to that, an OP has come to denote a pool of registered people who have agreed to occasionally take part in web-based studies. Thus with OPs, the traditional understanding of a panel as a longitudinal study is broadened because an OP can be employed as a sampling source for both longitudinal and cross-sectional studies. This article gives an overview of the current state of use of OPs. It discusses what OPs are, what type of OPs there are, how OPs work from a technological point of view, and what their advantages and disadvantages are. The article reviews the current body of methodological findings on doing research with OPs. Based on this evidence, recommendations are given as to how the quality of data that are collected in OPs can be augmented.

Design process for serious activities inspired by play and games: a problem solving with a board game from disengamement and gamification processes (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stéphane Goria ◽  
Louise Dupet ◽  
Maëva Négroni ◽  
Gabriel Sega ◽  
Philippe Arnoux ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Detection ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Diagnostic Method ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Board Game ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Design Result

BACKGROUND most serious games and other game-based tools are designed as digital games or escape games. They are designed for learning or sometimes in the field of medicine as an aid to care. However, they can also be seen as an aid to research, in our case, to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of imaging techniques for cancer detection. OBJECTIVE we present a case study of action research on the design of a serious board game intended to consider the advantages and weaknesses of a diagnostic method in a different ways. The goal was to better understand the principles of designing a tool using game or play. METHODS we explicitly implemented another process than gamification to develop a structure reminiscent of the game to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of different imaging techniques from the point of view of the respondents (in this case specialists not directly involved in the project). Based on this feedback and the scientific literature on this subject, we detail the main categories of games and games developed for serious use in order to understand their differences. Concerning the cancer research part to which game contributes, our method is based on questions asked to experts and practitioners of this specialty. RESULTS an expert point of view translation tool in the form of a game has been realized to apprehend a research in a different way. CONCLUSIONS we show with the help of a diagram, some possible design paths leading to this type of design result including two hidden dimensions to consider (the awareness of the game or play by the "player" and his role as a contributor or recipient).

scholarly journals Determinants of therapeutic lag in multiple sclerosis

2021 ◽  
pp. 135245852098130
Author(s):  
Izanne Roos ◽  
Emmanuelle Leray ◽  
Federico Frascoli ◽  
Romain Casey ◽  
J William L Brown ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Expanded Disability Status Scale ◽  
Disability Progression ◽  
Delayed Onset ◽  
Disease Characteristics ◽  
Disability Status ◽  
Male Sex ◽  
Pre Treatment ◽  
Patient Subgroups

Background: A delayed onset of treatment effect, termed therapeutic lag, may influence the assessment of treatment response in some patient subgroups. Objectives: The objective of this study is to explore the associations of patient and disease characteristics with therapeutic lag on relapses and disability accumulation. Methods: Data from MSBase, a multinational multiple sclerosis (MS) registry, and OFSEP, the French MS registry, were used. Patients diagnosed with MS, minimum 1 year of exposure to MS treatment and 3 years of pre-treatment follow-up, were included in the analysis. Studied outcomes were incidence of relapses and disability accumulation. Therapeutic lag was calculated using an objective, validated method in subgroups stratified by patient and disease characteristics. Therapeutic lag under specific circumstances was then estimated in subgroups defined by combinations of clinical and demographic determinants. Results: High baseline disability scores, annualised relapse rate (ARR) ⩾ 1 and male sex were associated with longer therapeutic lag on disability progression in sufficiently populated groups: females with expanded disability status scale (EDSS) < 6 and ARR < 1 had mean lag of 26.6 weeks (95% CI = 18.2–34.9), males with EDSS < 6 and ARR < 1 31.0 weeks (95% CI = 25.3–36.8), females with EDSS < 6 and ARR ⩾ 1 44.8 weeks (95% CI = 24.5–65.1), and females with EDSS ⩾ 6 and ARR < 1 54.3 weeks (95% CI = 47.2–61.5). Conclusions: Pre-treatment EDSS and ARR are the most important determinants of therapeutic lag.

scholarly journals Influence of Random Forest Hyperparameterization on Short-Term Runoff Forecasting in an Andean Mountain Catchment

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 238
Author(s):  
Pablo Contreras ◽  
Johanna Orellana-Alvear ◽  
Paul Muñoz ◽  
Jörg Bendix ◽  
Rolando Célleri
Keyword(s):  
Random Forest ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Lead Times ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Runoff Forecasting ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Improved Model ◽  
Search Approach

The Random Forest (RF) algorithm, a decision-tree-based technique, has become a promising approach for applications addressing runoff forecasting in remote areas. This machine learning approach can overcome the limitations of scarce spatio-temporal data and physical parameters needed for process-based hydrological models. However, the influence of RF hyperparameters is still uncertain and needs to be explored. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze the sensitivity of RF runoff forecasting models of varying lead time to the hyperparameters of the algorithm. For this, models were trained by using (a) default and (b) extensive hyperparameter combinations through a grid-search approach that allow reaching the optimal set. Model performances were assessed based on the R2, %Bias, and RMSE metrics. We found that: (i) The most influencing hyperparameter is the number of trees in the forest, however the combination of the depth of the tree and the number of features hyperparameters produced the highest variability-instability on the models. (ii) Hyperparameter optimization significantly improved model performance for higher lead times (12- and 24-h). For instance, the performance of the 12-h forecasting model under default RF hyperparameters improved to R2 = 0.41 after optimization (gain of 0.17). However, for short lead times (4-h) there was no significant model improvement (0.69 < R2 < 0.70). (iii) There is a range of values for each hyperparameter in which the performance of the model is not significantly affected but remains close to the optimal. Thus, a compromise between hyperparameter interactions (i.e., their values) can produce similar high model performances. Model improvements after optimization can be explained from a hydrological point of view, the generalization ability for lead times larger than the concentration time of the catchment tend to rely more on hyperparameterization than in what they can learn from the input data. This insight can help in the development of operational early warning systems.

scholarly journals The Metano Modeling Toolbox MMTB: An Intuitive, Web-Based Toolbox Introduced by Two Use Cases

Metabolites ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Julia Koblitz ◽  
Sabine Will ◽  
S. Riemer ◽  
Thomas Ulas ◽  
Meina Neumann-Schaal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Networks ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Use Cases ◽  
Mathematical Methods ◽  
State Behavior ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Research Fields ◽  
Balance Analysis ◽  
Metabolic Models ◽  
User Friendly

Genome-scale metabolic models are of high interest in a number of different research fields. Flux balance analysis (FBA) and other mathematical methods allow the prediction of the steady-state behavior of metabolic networks under different environmental conditions. However, many existing applications for flux optimizations do not provide a metabolite-centric view on fluxes. Metano is a standalone, open-source toolbox for the analysis and refinement of metabolic models. While flux distributions in metabolic networks are predominantly analyzed from a reaction-centric point of view, the Metano methods of split-ratio analysis and metabolite flux minimization also allow a metabolite-centric view on flux distributions. In addition, we present MMTB (Metano Modeling Toolbox), a web-based toolbox for metabolic modeling including a user-friendly interface to Metano methods. MMTB assists during bottom-up construction of metabolic models by integrating reaction and enzymatic annotation data from different databases. Furthermore, MMTB is especially designed for non-experienced users by providing an intuitive interface to the most commonly used modeling methods and offering novel visualizations. Additionally, MMTB allows users to upload their models, which can in turn be explored and analyzed by the community. We introduce MMTB by two use cases, involving a published model of Corynebacterium glutamicum and a newly created model of Phaeobacter inhibens.

A Test Sheet Optimization Approach to Supporting Web-based Learning Diagnosis Using Group Testing Methods

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Chu-Fu Wang ◽  
Chih-Lung Lin ◽  
Gwo-Jen Hwang ◽  
Sheng-Pin Kung ◽  
Shin-Feng Chen
Keyword(s):  
Test Item ◽  
Group Testing ◽  
Diagnostic System ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Optimization Approach ◽  
Exposure Rate ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Item Exposure ◽  
Test Items ◽  
Doubling Method

Assessment can help teachers to examine the effectiveness of teaching and to diagnose the unfamiliar basic concepts (or attributes) of students within the testing scope. A web-based adaptive testing and diagnostic system can achieve the above objective efficiently and correctly. From a diagnostic point of view, the major concerns are to diagnose whether or not an examinee has learned each basic concept well in the testing scope, while also limiting the number of test items used (the testing length) to as few as possible, which will be directly related to the patience of the examinee. In this paper, we consider a test item selecting optimization diagnostic problem to reveal the mastery profile of an examinee (that is, to diagnose each basic concept's learning status (well learned/unfamiliar) in the testing scope) with a short testing length and a limited test item exposure rate. This paper uses the techniques of Group Testing theory for the design of our test item selecting algorithm. Two test item selecting strategies, the bisecting method and the doubling method, are proposed. The effectiveness of the proposed methods was evaluated by experimental simulations. The results show that both of the proposed algorithms use fewer test items and a limited test item exposure rate compared to the conventional methods.

New Trends in Asymptotic Approaches: Summation and Interpolation Methods

2001 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor V. Andrianov ◽  
Jan Awrejcewicz
Keyword(s):  
Applied Sciences ◽  
Solid Mechanics ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Asymptotic Methods ◽  
Perturbation Series ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Local Character

In this review article, we present in some detail new trends in application of asymptotic techniques to mechanical problems. First we consider the various methods which allows for the possibility of extending the perturbation series application space and hence omiting their local character. While applying the asymptotic methods very often the following situation appears: an existence of the asymptotics ε → 0 implies an existence of the asymptotics ε → ∞ (or, in a more general sense, ε → a and ε → b). Therefore, an idea of constructing a single solution valid for a whole interval of parameter ε changes is very attractive. In other words, we discuss a problem of asymptotically equivalent function constructions possessing for ε → a and ε → b a known asymptotic behavior. The defined problems are very important from the point of view of both theoretical and applied sciences. In this work, we review the state-of-the-art, by presenting the existing methods and by pointing out their advantages and disadvantages, as well as the fields of their applications. In addition, some new methods are also proposed. The methods are demonstrated on a wide variety of static and dynamic solid mechanics problems and some others involving fluid mechanics. This review article contains 340 references.

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