scholarly journals Measurement of Walking Ground Reactions in Real-Life Environments: A Systematic Review of Techniques and Technologies

Sensors ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 2085 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erfan Shahabpoor ◽  
Aleksandar Pavic
2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Gómez-Vírseda ◽  
Yves de Maeseneer ◽  
Chris Gastmans

Abstract Background Respect for autonomy is a key concept in contemporary bioethics and end-of-life ethics in particular. Despite this status, an individualistic interpretation of autonomy is being challenged from the perspective of different theoretical traditions. Many authors claim that the principle of respect for autonomy needs to be reconceptualised starting from a relational viewpoint. Along these lines, the notion of relational autonomy is attracting increasing attention in medical ethics. Yet, others argue that relational autonomy needs further clarification in order to be adequately operationalised for medical practice. To this end, we examined the meaning, foundations, and uses of relational autonomy in the specific literature of end-of-life care ethics. Methods Using PRESS and PRISMA procedures, we conducted a systematic review of argument-based ethics publications in 8 major databases of biomedical, philosophy, and theology literature that focused on relational autonomy in end-of-life care. Full articles were screened. All included articles were critically appraised, and a synthesis was produced. Results Fifty publications met our inclusion criteria. Twenty-eight articles were published in the last 5 years; publications were originating from 18 different countries. Results are organized according to: (a) an individualistic interpretation of autonomy; (b) critiques of this individualistic interpretation of autonomy; (c) relational autonomy as theoretically conceptualised; (d) relational autonomy as applied to clinical practice and moral judgment in end-of-life situations. Conclusions Three main conclusions were reached. First, literature on relational autonomy tends to be more a ‘reaction against’ an individualistic interpretation of autonomy rather than be a positive concept itself. Dichotomic thinking can be overcome by a deeper development of the philosophical foundations of autonomy. Second, relational autonomy is a rich and complex concept, formulated in complementary ways from different philosophical sources. New dialogue among traditionally divergent standpoints will clarify the meaning. Third, our analysis stresses the need for dialogical developments in decision making in end-of-life situations. Integration of these three elements will likely lead to a clearer conceptualisation of relational autonomy in end-of-life care ethics. This should in turn lead to better decision-making in real-life situations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (18) ◽  
pp. 6889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Guzzi ◽  
Luigi Cirillo ◽  
Elisa Buti ◽  
Francesca Becherucci ◽  
Carmela Errichiello ◽  
...  

Noninvasive tools for diagnosis or prediction of acute kidney allograft rejection have been extensively investigated in recent years. Biochemical and molecular analyses of blood and urine provide a liquid biopsy that could offer new possibilities for rejection prevention, monitoring, and therefore, treatment. Nevertheless, these tools are not yet available for routine use in clinical practice. In this systematic review, MEDLINE was searched for articles assessing urinary biomarkers for diagnosis or prediction of kidney allograft acute rejection published in the last five years (from 1 January 2015 to 31 May 2020). This review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Articles providing targeted or unbiased urine sample analysis for the diagnosis or prediction of both acute cellular and antibody-mediated kidney allograft rejection were included, analyzed, and graded for methodological quality with a particular focus on study design and diagnostic test accuracy measures. Urinary C-X-C motif chemokine ligands were the most promising and frequently studied biomarkers. The combination of precise diagnostic reference in training sets with accurate validation in real-life cohorts provided the most relevant results and exciting groundwork for future studies.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. e032128
Author(s):  
Shuai Ming ◽  
Kunpeng Xie ◽  
Mingzhu Yang ◽  
Huijuan He ◽  
Ya Li ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo compare the efficacy and safety of intravitreal dexamethasone (DEX) implant and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents in the treatment of macular oedema secondary to retinal vein occlusion (RVO).DesignSystematic review and meta-analysis based on Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE).Data sourcesPubMed, Cochrane Library and ClinicalTrials.gov registry were searched from inception to 10 December 2019, without language restrictions.Eligibility criteriaRandomised controlled trials (RCTs) and real-world observation studies comparing the efficacy of DEX implant and anti-VEGF agents for the treatment of patients with RVO, naïve or almost naïve to both arms, were included.Data extraction and synthesisTwo reviewers independently extracted data for mean changes in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central subfield thickness (CST) and product safety. Review Manager V.5.3 and GRADE were used to synthesise the data and validate the evidence, respectively.ResultsFour RCTs and 12 real-world studies were included. An average lower letter gain in BCVA was determined for the DEX implant (mean difference (MD) = −6.59; 95% CI −8.87 to −4.22 letters) administered at a retreatment interval of 5–6 months. Results were similar (MD6 months=−12.68; 95% CI −21.98 to −3.37 letters; MD12 months=−9.69; 95% CI −12.01 to −7.37 letters) at 6 and 12 months. The DEX implant resulted in comparable or marginally less CST reduction at months 6 and 12 but introduced relatively higher risks of elevated intraocular pressure (RR=3.89; 95% CI 2.16 to 7.03) and cataract induction (RR=5.22; 95% CI 1.67 to 16.29). Most real-life studies reported an insignificant numerical gain in letters for anti-VEGF drugs relative to that for DEX implant. However, the latter achieved comparable efficacy with a 4-month dosage interval.ConclusionCompared with anti-VEGF agents, DEX implant required fewer injections but had inferior functional efficacy and safety. Real-life trials supplemented the efficacy data for DEX implant.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (15) ◽  
pp. 5135
Author(s):  
Nuria Caballé-Cervigón ◽  
José L. Castillo-Sequera ◽  
Juan A. Gómez-Pulido ◽  
José M. Gómez-Pulido ◽  
María L. Polo-Luque

Human healthcare is one of the most important topics for society. It tries to find the correct effective and robust disease detection as soon as possible to patients receipt the appropriate cares. Because this detection is often a difficult task, it becomes necessary medicine field searches support from other fields such as statistics and computer science. These disciplines are facing the challenge of exploring new techniques, going beyond the traditional ones. The large number of techniques that are emerging makes it necessary to provide a comprehensive overview that avoids very particular aspects. To this end, we propose a systematic review dealing with the Machine Learning applied to the diagnosis of human diseases. This review focuses on modern techniques related to the development of Machine Learning applied to diagnosis of human diseases in the medical field, in order to discover interesting patterns, making non-trivial predictions and useful in decision-making. In this way, this work can help researchers to discover and, if necessary, determine the applicability of the machine learning techniques in their particular specialties. We provide some examples of the algorithms used in medicine, analysing some trends that are focused on the goal searched, the algorithm used, and the area of applications. We detail the advantages and disadvantages of each technique to help choose the most appropriate in each real-life situation, as several authors have reported. The authors searched Scopus, Journal Citation Reports (JCR), Google Scholar, and MedLine databases from the last decades (from 1980s approximately) up to the present, with English language restrictions, for studies according to the objectives mentioned above. Based on a protocol for data extraction defined and evaluated by all authors using PRISMA methodology, 141 papers were included in this advanced review.


2020 ◽  
Vol 258 (10) ◽  
pp. 2077-2090 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Ehlken ◽  
Focke Ziemssen ◽  
Nicole Eter ◽  
Ines Lanzl ◽  
Hakan Kaymak ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose Intravitreal injection of VEGF inhibitors has become the standard of care for different macular diseases within the last years resulting in improved visual outcomes. Under real-life conditions, however, the necessity for frequent retreatments and reexaminations poses a burden for patients and treatment centers. Non-adherence and non-persistence to intravitreal treatment may lead to inferior clinical outcomes, and knowledge of contributing factors is crucial to improve adherence. This systematic review analyzes current literature for potential factors involved in non-adherence and non-persistence. Methods A systematic search was conducted in PubMed and Embase including three different aspects of intravitreal injection therapy: (1) diseases with intravitreal injections as treatment, (2) intravitreal injection, and (3) aspects of therapy adherence or therapy persistence. Data from identified quantitative studies were further extracted and grouped according to WHO criteria (condition, socio-economy, therapy, patient, and health system). The methodological quality of identified studies was graded. Identified qualitative studies (i.e., interviews) were descriptively analyzed and their findings narratively reported. Results Twenty-four publications were included. In 16 of those publications, a quantitative data analysis was conducted, analyzing factors associated with non-adherence. Worse visual acuity at baseline and unfavorable development of visual acuity, higher age, and greater distance to the treatment center were associated with non-adherence, while there was inconsistent evidence for an association of comorbidity. In qualitative studies, high follow-up/treatment burden, fear and anxiety, disappointed patient expectations, and lack of motivation to continue treatment were reported as reasons for non-persistence. Conclusions Knowledge of potential barriers in IVT treatment may improve adherence and potentially clinical results. Improvements can be achieved particularly in the healthcare complex (organizational improvements) and the “patient” complex by establishing realistic expectations. Recurrent education of the patient may be necessary.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Spensberger ◽  
Ingo Kollar ◽  
Eileen Gambrill ◽  
Christian Ghanem ◽  
Sabine Pankofer

Purpose: This article presents a systematic review of research regarding how best to educate social work students and practitioners concerning of the process of evidence-based practice and/or the application of empirically supported treatments (ESTs). Method: We conducted a systematic review with a narrative synthesis, largely following the Cochrane Handbook of Systematic Reviews for Interventions and PRISMA reporting guidelines for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Results: Twenty-seven studies met our eligibility criteria. These consisted mostly of uncontrolled designs and their measures relied mainly on learners’ self-perception regarding acquisition of declarative and procedural knowledge, motivation, and satisfaction. Reports were mostly positive (88.7%). Conclusions: Research regarding the education of social work students and practitioners about the process of evidence-based practice as well as ESTs is limited. Further investigation is needed concerning the effectiveness of specific teaching methods using controlled designs and more rigorous outcome measures including observation of practice in real-life situations and/or in role-plays.


2017 ◽  
Vol 101 ◽  
pp. 7-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Pope ◽  
Nigel Bruce ◽  
Mukesh Dherani ◽  
Kirstie Jagoe ◽  
Eva Rehfuess

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kersti AM Samuelsson ◽  
Outi Töytäri ◽  
Anna-Liisa Salminen ◽  
Åse Brandt

Background: Effects presented on the use of assistive devices such as prosthesis are often based on laboratory findings (i.e. efficacy). Objectives: To summarise and evaluate findings from studies on effectiveness of lower limb prostheses for adults in real life contexts, primarily in terms of activity, participation, and quality of life (QoL) and secondarily in terms of user satisfaction, use/non-use, and/or cost-effectiveness. Study Design: Systematic review. Methods: We included controlled studies and non-controlled follow-up studies including both baseline and follow-up data. Using 14 different databases supplemented with manual searches, we searched for studies published from 1998 until June 2009. Results: Out of an initial 818 identified publications, eight met the inclusion criteria. Four studies reported on the effectiveness of a microprocessor-controlled knee (MP-knee) compared to a non-microprocessor-controlled knee (NMP-knee). Results were inconsistent except for quality of life and use/non-use, where the authors reported an improvement with the MP-knee compared to the NMP-knee. The remaining four studies included a diversity of prosthetic intervention measures and types of endpoints. Conclusions: Overall, there was an inconsistency in results and study quality. This review highlights the need for high-quality research studies that reflect the effectiveness of different prosthesis interventions in terms of users’ daily living and QoL. Clinical relevance Clinical guidelines are important to every practitioner. Information on expected effectiveness from assistive devices should be well founded and contain both facts about the device quality and its contribution to users’ daily lives. Thus, studies based on users’ experiences from prosthetic use in everyday life activities are of great importance.


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