scholarly journals Optimal size of sample pooling for RNA pool testing: an avant-garde for scaling up SARS CoV 2 testing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khodare Arvind ◽  
Padhi Abhishek ◽  
Gupta Ekta ◽  
Agarwal Reshu ◽  
Dubey Shantanu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Maximum Size ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
Positive Sample ◽  
Pool Size ◽  
Optimal Size ◽  
Innovative Strategies ◽  
Diagnostic Kits ◽  
Sample Pooling

AbstractIntroductionTimely diagnosis is essential for the containment of the disease and breaks in the chain of transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The present situation demands countries to scale up their testing and design innovative strategies to conserve diagnostic kits and reagents. The pooling of samples saves time, manpower, and most importantly diagnostic kits and reagents. In the present study, we tried to define the pool size that could be applied with acceptable confidence for testing.Material and methodsWe used repeatedly tested positive clinical sample elutes having different levels of SARS CoV 2 RNA and negative sample elutes to prepare seven series of 11 pools each, having pool sizes ranging from 2 to 48 samples to estimate the optimal pool size. Each pool had one positive sample elute in different compositions. All the pools were tested by SARS CoV 2 RT-qPCR.ResultsOut of the 77 pools, only 53 (68.8%) were found positive. The sensitivity of pools of 2 to 48 samples was decreased from 100% (95% CL; 98.4-100) to 41.41% (95% CL; 34.9-48.1). The maximum size of the pool with acceptable sensitivity (>95%) was found to be of 6 samples. For the pool size of 6 samples, the sensitivity was 97.8% and the efficiency of pooling was 0.38.ConclusionThe pooling of samples is a practical way for scaling up testing and ultimately containing the further spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Optimal size of Sample Pooling for RNA Pool Testing: An Avant-Garde for Scaling up Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 Testing

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arvind Khodare ◽  
Abhishek Padhi ◽  
Ekta Gupta ◽  
Reshu Agarwal ◽  
Shantanu Dubey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
Optimal Size ◽  
Avant Garde ◽  
Sample Pooling

scholarly journals Evaluation of sample pooling for screening of SARS CoV-2

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0247767
Author(s):  
Andargachew Mulu ◽  
Dawit Hailu Alemayehu ◽  
Fekadu Alemu ◽  
Dessalegn Abeje Tefera ◽  
Sinknesh Wolde ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Diagnostic Testing ◽  
Positive Sample ◽  
Clinical Samples ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Resource Saving ◽  
Public Health Importance ◽  
Ct Value ◽  
Sample Pooling

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has revealed the global public health importance of robust diagnostic testing. To overcome the challenge of nucleic acid (NA) extraction and testing kit availability, an efficient method is urgently needed. Objectives To establish an efficient, time and resource-saving and cost-effective methods, and to propose an ad hoc pooling approach for mass screening of SARS-CoV-2. Methods We evaluated pooling approach on both direct clinical and NA samples. The standard reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test of the SARS CoV-2 was employed targeting the nucleocapsid (N) and open reading frame (ORF1ab) genomic region of the virus. The experimental pools were created using SARS CoV-2 positive clinical samples and extracted RNA spiked with up to 9 negative samples. For the direct clinical samples viral NA was extracted from each pool to a final extraction volume of 200μL, and subsequently both samples tested using the SARS CoV-2 RT-PCR assay. Results We found that a single positive sample can be amplified and detected in pools of up to 7 samples depending on the cycle threshold (Ct) value of the original sample, corresponding to high, and low SARS CoV-2 viral copies per reaction. However, to minimize false negativity of the assay with pooling strategies and with unknown false negativity rate of the assay under validation, we recommend pooling of 4/5 in 1 using the standard protocols of the assay, reagents and equipment. The predictive algorithm indicated a pooling ratio of 5 in 1 was expected to retain accuracy of the test irrespective of the Ct value samples spiked, and result in a 137% increase in testing efficiency. Conclusions The approaches showed its concept in easily customized and resource-saving manner and would allow expanding of current screening capacities and enable the expansion of detection in the community. We recommend clinical sample pooling of 4 or 5 in 1. However, we don’t advise pooling of clinical samples when disease prevalence is greater than 7%; particularly when sample size is large.

scholarly journals Strategies for involving patients and the public in scaling-up initiatives in health and social services: protocol for a scoping review and Delphi survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Ben Charif ◽  
◽  
Karine V. Plourde ◽  
Sabrina Guay-Bélanger ◽  
Hervé Tchala Vignon Zomahoun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Delphi Study ◽  
Public Involvement ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
Delphi Survey ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health And Social Services ◽  
Scoping Reviews

Abstract Background The scale-up of evidence-based innovations is required to reduce waste and inequities in health and social services (HSS). However, it often tends to be a top-down process initiated by policy makers, and the values of the intended beneficiaries are forgotten. Involving multiple stakeholders including patients and the public in the scaling-up process is thus essential but highly complex. We propose to identify relevant strategies for meaningfully and equitably involving patients and the public in the science and practice of scaling up in HSS. Methods We will adapt our overall method from the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method. Following this, we will perform a two-prong study design (knowledge synthesis and Delphi study) grounded in an integrated knowledge translation approach. This approach involves extensive participation of a network of stakeholders interested in patient and public involvement (PPI) in scaling up and a multidisciplinary steering committee. We will conduct a systematic scoping review following the methodology recommended in the Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers Manual. We will use the following eligibility criteria: (1) participants—any stakeholder involved in creating or testing a strategy for PPI; (2) intervention—any PPI strategy proposed for scaling-up initiatives; (3) comparator—no restriction; (4) outcomes: any process or outcome metrics related to PPI; and (5) setting—HSS. We will search electronic databases (e.g., Medline, Web of Science, Sociological Abstract) from inception onwards, hand search relevant websites, screen the reference lists of included records, and consult experts in the field. Two reviewers will independently select and extract eligible studies. We will summarize data quantitatively and qualitatively and report results using the PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist. We will conduct an online Delphi survey to achieve consensus on the relevant strategies for PPI in scaling-up initiatives in HSS. Participants will include stakeholders from low-, middle-, and high-income countries. We anticipate that three rounds will allow an acceptable degree of agreement on research priorities. Discussion Our findings will advance understanding of how to meaningfully and equitably involve patients and the public in scaling-up initiatives for sustainable HSS. Systematic review registration We registered this protocol with the Open Science Framework on August 19, 2020 (https://osf.io/zqpx7/).

scholarly journals Promoting Scale-Up Across a Global Project Platform: Lessons from the Evidence to Action Project

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Ghiron ◽  
Eric Ramirez-Ferrero ◽  
Rita Badiani ◽  
Regina Benevides ◽  
Alexis Ntabona ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Health System Strengthening ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Look Ahead ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

AbstractThe USAID-funded flagship family planning service delivery project named Evidence to Action (E2A) worked from 2011 to 2021 to improve family planning and reproductive health for women and girls across seventeen nations in sub-Saharan Africa using a “scaling-up mindset.” The paper discusses three key lessons emerging from the project’s experience with applying ExpandNet’s systematic approach to scale up. The methodology uses ExpandNet/WHO’s scaling-up framework and guidance tools to design and implement pilot or demonstration projects in ways that look ahead to their future scale-up; develop a scaling-up strategy with local stakeholders; and then strategically manage the scaling-up process. The paper describes how a scaling-up mindset was engendered, first within the project’s technical team in Washington and then how they subsequently sought to build capacity at the country level to support scale-up work throughout E2A’s portfolio of activities. The project worked with local multi-stakeholder resource teams, often led by government officials, to equip them to lead the scale-up of family planning and health system strengthening interventions. Examples from project experience in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda illustrating key concepts are discussed. E2A also established a community of practice on systematic approaches to scale up as a platform for sharing learning across a variety of technical agencies engaged in scale-up work and to create learning opportunities for interacting with thought leaders around critical scale-up issues.

scholarly journals Citizen workshops in public libraries to disseminate and discuss primary care research results: a scaling-up study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Massougbodji ◽  
Hervé Tchala Vignon Zomahoun ◽  
Evehouenou Lionel Adisso ◽  
Jasmine Sawadogo ◽  
Valérie Borde ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Translation ◽  
Financial Incentives ◽  
General Public ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Knowledge Gain ◽  
Research Results

Abstract Background Little is known about engaging patients and stakeholders in the process of scaling up effective knowledge translation interventions targeting the general public. Using an integrated knowledge translation approach, we aimed to scale up and evaluate an effective pilot program of disseminating research results in public libraries. Methods We conducted a scaling-up study targeting the general public. Based on our successful pilot project, we co-developed and implemented a larger-scale program of free citizen workshops in public libraries, this time in close research partnership with stakeholders and patient representatives. Citizen workshops, each facilitated by one participating physician and one science communicator, consisted of a 45-min computer-assisted presentation and a 45-min open exchange. Additional scale-up costs included offering financial incentives to stakeholders involved and the purchase of audio-visual equipment. The intervention outcome was knowledge gained. Scale-up outcomes were satisfaction, appropriateness, coverage, time and costs. An evaluation questionnaire was used to collect data of interest. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed. Results The workshop theme chosen by patient and stakeholder representatives was the high prevalence of medication overuse among people over 65 years of age. From April to May 2019, 26 workshops were given in 25 public libraries reaching 362 people. Eighteen participating physicians and six science communicators facilitated the workshops. Participants reported significant knowledge gain (mean difference 2.1, 95% CI 2.0–2.2, P < .001). Median score for overall public satisfaction was 9/10 (IQR 8–10). A high level of appropriateness of the workshops was globally rated by the public participants Coverage was 92.6% of the total number of public libraries targeted. Costs were $6,051.84 CAD for workshop design and $22,935.41 CAD for scaling them up. Conclusion This project successfully established a large-scale and successful KT bridge between researchers, clinicians, and citizens via public libraries. This study provides a model for a dissemination practice that benefits the general public by both engaging them in the dissemination process and by targeting them directly.

What does it Take to Scale up and Sustain Evidence-Based Practices?

2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janette K. Klingner ◽  
Alison G. Boardman ◽  
Kristen L. Mcmaster
Keyword(s):  
Research Policy ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
District Leadership ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Evidence Based Practices ◽  
Strategic Reading ◽  
Collaborative Strategic Reading

This article discusses the strategic scaling up of evidence-based practices. The authors draw from the scholarly work of fellow special education researchers and from the field of learning sciences. The article defines scaling up as the process by which researchers or educators initially implement interventions on a small scale, validate them, and then implement them more widely in real-world conditions. Examples of scale-up research are included. The authors discuss challenges to scaling up and sustaining evidence-based practices, followed by factors that can potentially support scaling up, including professional development and district leadership. A case example describes how these issues can play out by highlighting experiences with a Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) scale-up research project in a large urban school district. The article concludes by offering recommendations for research, policy, and practice.

Inductive graph invariants and approximation algorithms

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. R. Subramanian
Keyword(s):  
Optimization Problems ◽  
Independence Number ◽  
Optimal Solution ◽  
Maximum Size ◽  
Chordal Graphs ◽  
Minimum Size ◽  
Optimal Size ◽  
Induced Subgraph ◽  
Special Cases ◽  
Optimal Formula

We introduce and study an inductively defined analogue [Formula: see text] of any increasing graph invariant [Formula: see text]. An invariant [Formula: see text] is increasing if [Formula: see text] whenever [Formula: see text] is an induced subgraph of [Formula: see text]. This inductive analogue simultaneously generalizes and unifies known notions like degeneracy, inductive independence number, etc., into a single generic notion. For any given increasing [Formula: see text], this gets us several new invariants and many of which are also increasing. It is also shown that [Formula: see text] is the minimum (over all orderings) of a value associated with each ordering. We also explore the possibility of computing [Formula: see text] (and a corresponding optimal vertex ordering) and identify some pairs [Formula: see text] for which [Formula: see text] can be computed efficiently for members of [Formula: see text]. In particular, it includes graphs of bounded [Formula: see text] values. Some specific examples (like the class of chordal graphs) have already been studied extensively. We further extend this new notion by (i) allowing vertex weighted graphs, (ii) allowing [Formula: see text] to take values from a totally ordered universe with a minimum and (iii) allowing the consideration of [Formula: see text]-neighborhoods for arbitrary but fixed [Formula: see text]. Such a generalization is employed in designing efficient approximations of some graph optimization problems. Precisely, we obtain efficient algorithms (by generalizing the known algorithm of Ye and Borodin [Y. Ye and A. Borodin, Elimination graphs, ACM Trans. Algorithms 8(2) (2012) 1–23] for special cases) for approximating optimal weighted induced [Formula: see text]-subgraphs and optimal [Formula: see text]-colorings (for hereditary [Formula: see text]’s) within multiplicative factors of (essentially) [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] respectively, where [Formula: see text] denotes the inductive analogue (as defined in this work) of optimal size of an unweighted induced [Formula: see text]-subgraph of the input and [Formula: see text] is the minimum size of a forbidden induced subgraph of [Formula: see text]. Our results generalize the previous result on efficiently approximating maximum independent sets and minimum colorings on graphs of bounded inductive independence number to optimal [Formula: see text]-subgraphs and [Formula: see text]-colorings for arbitrary hereditary classes [Formula: see text]. As a corollary, it is also shown that any maximal [Formula: see text]-subgraph approximates an optimal solution within a factor of [Formula: see text] for unweighted graphs, where [Formula: see text] is maximum size of any induced [Formula: see text]-subgraph in any local neighborhood [Formula: see text].

Scaling Up an Organization

Innovating ◽  
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Perez-Breva ◽  
Nick Fuhrer
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future

Organizations don’t just grown on their own. You build them, and you may end up building multiple organizations, each one atop the previous one. The scale-up logic is straightforward: You present what you did (the past) to motivate where you will go (the future), but what you work on is the middle (the present). Most emerging organizations fail because they build for the future having ignored the entire present. But you don’t have to worry about whether a decision is optimal for that rosy future—it just needs to work today. As you build the next organization, you’ll reuse parts from the old one and you’ll get to implement everything you’ve learned. Growth and scale-up work like problem solving: no one cares how you first came up with the solution. The organization that systematizes your current innovation prototype is your first big milestone.

scholarly journals Mitigating voltage losses in photoelectrochemical cell scale-up

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 2734-2740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatwa F. Abdi ◽  
Ronald Ramiro Gutierrez Perez ◽  
Sophia Haussener
Keyword(s):  
Scale Up ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
Photoelectrochemical Cell ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Dimensional Simulation

Two-dimensional simulation quantifies the different losses in scaling-up photoelectrochemical cell, which can be minimized to ∼50 mV.

Constraints and Strategies to Scaling Up in Sport for Development and Peace Organizations: Evidence From the Field

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 611-630
Author(s):  
Jon Welty Peachey ◽  
Adam Cohen ◽  
Nari Shin
Keyword(s):  
Scale Up ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
General Lack ◽  
Development Tool ◽  
Sport For Development ◽  
Business Acumen ◽  
Mind Set ◽  
Practical Implications

The purpose of this study was to explore and examine the constraints faced by managers as they attempt to scale up their sport for development and peace (SDP) organizations, and to identify the strategies they are employing to mitigate these constraints. Previous research has not examined constraints to scaling up in the SDP nonprofit space. Findings revealed three major themes related to challenges within four types of scaling up (quantitative, functional, political, organizational); skepticism about sport as a development tool, funding challenges leading to an entrepreneurial mind-set, and challenges associated with a general lack of business acumen among key leaders. Within each of these three themes, strategies for addressing these constraints are illuminated. These constraints and strategies are positioned within the broader nonprofit context, and theoretical and practical implications for scaling up SDP organizations are also explicated.

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