Revisiting Sensor MAC for Periodic Monitoring: Why Should Transmitters Be Early Birds?

Author(s):  
Daewoo Kim ◽  
Jinhwan Jung ◽  
Yoonpyo Koo ◽  
Yung Yi
Keyword(s):  
2021 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2021-001874
Author(s):  
Athanasios S Kotoulas ◽  
D Karamanavis ◽  
G Ι Lambrou ◽  
P Karanikas

IntroductionThe ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is a global health crisis which poses many psychological research challenges. The objective of this study was to evaluate the responsiveness and validity of depression, anxiety and stress in a representative cohort of Hellenic military personnel using the short version of the Greek military version of the Depression–Anxiety–Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) questionnaire.MethodsA total of 158 participants were voluntarily surveyed using an electronically developed structured questionnaire. The anonymous e-questionnaire included a social demographic section and the DASS-21 scale section. It was distributed in September 2020 to the military personnel of the Hellenic Tactical Air Force Units using an intranet network during government restrictive measures due to the COVID-19 crisis.ResultsOur DASS-21 survey indicated a positive outcome at the psychometric level of our military sample population. Age, sex and systemic medications were statistically correlated with anxiety. Inter-correlations between the DASS-21 statements showed that individuals with low-level depression also experienced some degree of stress. Factor analysis indicated the reliability and validity of the questionnaire.ConclusionsThe low levels of depression and stress among our military sample population demonstrate the importance of periodic monitoring of the psychometric items of the DASS-21 subscales to design and implement psychological prevention strategies, especially during the ongoing and future healthcare crises.


2020 ◽  
Vol 09 (03) ◽  
pp. 163-167
Author(s):  
Arvind Krishnamurthy ◽  
Siva Shankar Behuria

Abstract Background Esophageal cancers (ECs) are more prevalent in the East Asian countries of the world, wherein squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) are the predominant histological subtype. In contrast, the patterns in the West are a bit heterogeneous, with esophageal adenocarcinoma (AC) being the more frequent histological subtype. There is very sparse published Indian data pertaining to the demographic trends of ECs. Materials and Methods Our study was a retrospective analysis of the demographic trends of 917 patients afflicted with ECs who were managed at our center over a 10-year period. Results and Discussion EC accounted for nearly 4.1% of the total cancer burden managed at our center from January 2002 to December 2011. The mean age of our patient cohort was 54.2 years. The male:female ratio was nearly 1.7:1. Tobacco chewing was noted in 25.4%, smoking in 37%, while alcohol consumption was noted in approximately 20% of the patients. SCC was the most common histological subtype (78.3%), while ACs constituted only 9.9%. Eighty-nine percent of our patients presented with locally advanced staged tumors. Definitive chemoradiation was the most common modality of definitive management then; however, over the years, our preferred choice of the management of ECs has shifted to neoadjuvant chemoradiation, followed by surgery in the carefully selected patients of locally advanced resectable ECs. Conclusion Our study clearly shows SCC to be the most common histological subtype among ECs, a trend that has been observed in the vast majority of the East Asian nations. The epidemic rise in the incidence of esophageal ACs as seen in the West is not seen in our study. Periodic monitoring of the demographic trends of ECs is of great importance both for clinicians and policymakers. We hope that our study will enlighten both policy holders and clinicians to better channelize the efforts toward prevention and more effective management of this deadly cancer.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen-Maria Dounavi ◽  
Yiorgos Sfikas ◽  
Yiorgos Tsiatouhas

2012 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 2511-2517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pabitra Saha ◽  
Subhasish K. Guha ◽  
Sonali Das ◽  
Shrabanee Mullick ◽  
Swagata Ganguly ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTIn India, chloroquine has been replaced by a combination of artesunate and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (AS-SP) for uncomplicatedP. falciparummalaria. Other available combinations, artemether-lumefantrine (AM-LF) and artesunate-mefloquine (AS-MQ), not included in the national program, are widely used by private practitioners. Little is known about the therapeutic efficacy of these artemisinin combinations and the prevalence of molecular markers associated with antimalarial drug resistance. A total of 157 patients withP. falciparummonoinfection were recruited and randomized into three study groups (AS-SP, AM-LF, and AS-MQ). All patients were followed up for 42 days to study the clinical and parasitological responses according to the WHO protocol (2009). We assessed the polymorphism of thepfATPase6,pfcrt,pfdhfr, andpfdhpsgenes by the DNA-sequencing method. The PCR-corrected therapeutic efficacies of AS-SP, AM-LF, and AS-MQ were 90.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.793 to 0.969), 95.9% (95% CI, 0.860 to 0.995), and 100% (95% CI, 0.927 to 1.00), respectively. No specific mutational pattern was observed in thepfATPase6gene. All isolates had a K76T mutation in thepfcrtgene. In thepfdhfr-pfdhpsgenotype, quadruple mutation was frequent, and quintuple mutation was documented in 6.3% ofP. falciparumisolates. The significant failure rate of AS-SP (9.5%), although within the limit (10%) for drug policy change, was due to SP failure because of prevailing mutations inpfdhfr, I51R59N108, withpfdhps, G437and/or E540. The efficacy of this ACT needs periodic monitoring. Artemether-lumefantrine and artesunate-mefloquine are effective alternatives to the artesunate-sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine combination.


2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bharat S. Parekh ◽  
Chin-Yih Ou ◽  
Peter N. Fonjungo ◽  
Mireille B. Kalou ◽  
Erin Rottinghaus ◽  
...  

SUMMARYHIV diagnostics have played a central role in the remarkable progress in identifying, staging, initiating, and monitoring infected individuals on life-saving antiretroviral therapy. They are also useful in surveillance and outbreak responses, allowing for assessment of disease burden and identification of vulnerable populations and transmission “hot spots,” thus enabling planning, appropriate interventions, and allocation of appropriate funding. HIV diagnostics are critical in achieving epidemic control and require a hybrid of conventional laboratory-based diagnostic tests and new technologies, including point-of-care (POC) testing, to expand coverage, increase access, and positively impact patient management. In this review, we provide (i) a historical perspective on the evolution of HIV diagnostics (serologic and molecular) and their interplay with WHO normative guidelines, (ii) a description of the role of conventional and POC testing within the tiered laboratory diagnostic network, (iii) information on the evaluations and selection of appropriate diagnostics, (iv) a description of the quality management systems needed to ensure reliability of testing, and (v) strategies to increase access while reducing the time to return results to patients. Maintaining the central role of HIV diagnostics in programs requires periodic monitoring and optimization with quality assurance in order to inform adjustments or alignment to achieve epidemic control.


F1000Research ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 1371
Author(s):  
Leyli Zanjirani Farahani ◽  
Abedin Saghafipour ◽  
Mehdi Mohebali ◽  
Behnaz Akhoundi ◽  
Hedayatollah Raufi

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a fatal parasitic zoonotic worldwide disease, which transmits to humans by the infected Phlebotomine sand fly bite. The common form of VL in Iran is the Mediterranean type with the causative agent of Leishmania infantum, whose main reservoirs are stray and domesticated dogs. The disease has several endemic foci in Iran, mostly seen among children under the age of 10, living in rural areas and nomadic tribes. The first cases of Kala-Azar in Qom province, central Iran, were reported in the year 2001, from the villages of Ghahan district. After conducting VL control strategies in the area, no new cases of the disease had been reported until recently. The cases described here are two 2-year-old girls, living in the urban parts of Qom province, one of whom did not have a history of traveling to known endemic areas of the disease. The patients were admitted to hospital in 2016-2017, complaining from recurrent fever with unrecognized reason, associated with decreased appetite and weight loss. Disease follow-up demonstrated anemia and splenomegaly, which led to diagnosis of VL, and both patients are now fully recovered. VL was presumed to be controlled in Qom province but the present cases indicate that possible VL existence remains in the region. Therefore, urgent studies and periodic monitoring are needed to identify potential reservoirs of VL in the area.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 1454
Author(s):  
Rossella Simeoni ◽  
Federico Colonnelli ◽  
Veronica Eutizi ◽  
Matteo Marchetti ◽  
Elena Paolini ◽  
...  

Motivation: We are witnessing two phenomena. The first is that the physiotherapist is increasingly becoming a figure that must interact with Digital Health. On the other hand, social robots through research are improving more and more in the aspects of social interaction thanks also to artificial intelligence and becoming useful in rehabilitation processes. It begins to become strategic to investigate the intersections between these two phenomena. Objective: Therefore, we set ourselves the goal of investigating the consensus and opinion of physiotherapists around the introduction of social robots in clinical practice both in rehabilitation and assistance. Procedure: An electronic survey has been developed focused on social robot-based rehabilitation and assistance and has been submitted to subjects focused on physiotherapy sciences to investigate their opinion and their level of consent regarding the use of the social robot in rehabilitation and assistance. Two samples of subjects were recruited: the first group (156 participating subjects, 79 males, 77 females, mean age 24.3 years) was in the training phase, and the second (167 participating subjects, 86 males, 81 females, mean age 42.4 years) group was involved in the work processes. An electronic feedback form was also submitted to investigate the acceptance of the proposed methodology. Results: The survey showed a consistency of the results between the two samples from which interesting considerations emerge. Contrary to stereotypes that report how AI-based devices put jobs at risk, physiotherapists are not afraid of these devices. The subjects involved in the study believe the following: (a) social robots can be reliable co-workers but will remain a complementary device; (b) their role will be of the utmost importance as an operational manager in their use and in performance monitoring; (c) these devices will allow an increase in working capacity and facilitate integration. All those involved in the study believe that the proposed electronic survey has proved to be a useful and effective tool that can be useful as a periodic monitoring tool and useful for scientific societies. Conclusions: The evolution of social robots represents an unstoppable process as does the increase in the aging of the population. Stakeholders must not look with suspicion toward these devices, which can represent an important resource, but rather invest in monitoring and consensus training initiatives.


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