scholarly journals Domiciliary Hospitalization through Wearable Biomonitoring Patches: Recent Advances, Technical Challenges, and the Relation to Covid-19

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (23) ◽  
pp. 6835
Author(s):  
André F. Silva ◽  
Mahmoud Tavakoli

This article reviews recent advances and existing challenges for the application of wearable bioelectronics for patient monitoring and domiciliary hospitalization. More specifically, we focus on technical challenges and solutions for the implementation of wearable and conformal bioelectronics for long-term patient biomonitoring and discuss their application on the Internet of medical things (IoMT). We first discuss the general architecture of IoMT systems for domiciliary hospitalization and the three layers of the system, including the sensing, communication, and application layers. In regard to the sensing layer, we focus on current trends, recent advances, and challenges in the implementation of stretchable patches. This includes fabrication strategies and solutions for energy storage and energy harvesting, such as printed batteries and supercapacitors. As a case study, we discuss the application of IoMT for domiciliary hospitalization of COVID 19 patients. This can be used as a strategy to reduce the pressure on the healthcare system, as it allows continuous patient monitoring and reduced physical presence in the hospital, and at the same time enables the collection of large data for posterior analysis. Finally, based on the previous works in the field, we recommend a conceptual IoMT design for wearable monitoring of COVID 19 patients.

1978 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. O. Olayide ◽  
J. K. Olayemi

This has been an overview, in economic terms, of the state of food and nutrition in Nigeria. It is confined to Nigeria for the obvious reason that one can best speak within the limits of his own experience. Nevertheless, what obtains in Nigeria is similar to what obtains in a number of other developing countries of Africa. Broadly speaking, it may not be true to say that most Nigerians are grossly undernourished or malnourished, but most of the population has always hovered around the minimum level of adequate nutrient intake. Furthermore, projected food supplies and demands indicate that the situation is not likely to improve much if the current trends continue. In general, the four main variables that influence the existing low rate of growth in food supply are: (11 the growing scarcity of traditional farm inputs, including the increasing man-land ratio, stagnant production technology, and low use of modern farm inputs; (2) marketing and price constraints; (3) profit constraints; and (4), organizational constraints. On the demand side, the variables are: (1) high income growth rate; (2) poor income distribution; (3) high consumer prices; and (4), socio-cultural factors. Instead of discussing solutions in terms of strategies for increasing food production and rationalizing food demand per se, this paper has discussed strategies for enhancing quantitative and qualitative food balance. By implication, these are strategies for, in time, ensuring quantitative and qualitative nutritional balance among nutrient sources, and among segments of the population. Because the ultimate objective of a nutrition policy is the welfare of the greatest proportion of the population, the long-term goal for the nation should be the reduction of the number of underfed or overfed people in the population, and the increase in the number of people who obtain optimum nutrition. The extreme of over-nutrition is as bad as the other extreme of undernutrition.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Timothy Riley

PurposeWith the current dynamics of scientific publishing increasingly driven by citation metrics, it is quite possible this will lead to the loss of some lower-ranked journals as they will be undervalued by authors, research institutions and research funders. This has been specifically predicted for natural science journals, but the efforts of editors of such journals to improve reputation have not been quantitatively assessed. This research aimed to fill this knowledge gap and assess the potential vulnerability of lower-ranked botany journals.Design/methodology/approachChanges in article citation rates since 2009 for 21 lower-ranked general botany journals were examined by least squares linear regression and factors potentially predictive of higher citation potential by principal component analysis. The findings were then examined in a case study of the publishing that followed the celebrated discovery of a living-fossil plant (Wollemia nobilis) in the mid-1990s.FindingsArticle citation rates steadily declined across most of these 21 journals over the period, and if submissions had been favoured (directly or indirectly) for citation potential, this appears to have been an ineffective, perhaps even a flawed, endeavour. Analysis of quantifiable article attributes across a subset of these journals revealed inconsistent relationships with no predictive value for citation potential. The case study clearly highlighted some processes contributing to declining citation rates and the value of botanical reporting well beyond that indicated by citation metrics.Research limitations/implicationsIt is not possible to know how important prediction of citation potential (directly or indirectly) is when journal editors accept papers for review or publication (such information is not made public, and this might not be a formalised process), so this study is only based what is considered (by the author) to be a reasonable assumption that all journals aim to improve their reputation and use citation metrics as one determinant of this.Social implicationsUnless we give value to lower-ranked regional botany journals in other ways than citations, the current trends in citation rates could lead to the diminution, even loss, of their valuable contribution biodiversity conservation.Originality/valueAlthough concerns have been expressed about the long-term viability of natural history journals, this is the first research to examine this quantitatively using citation metrics.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 2049-2067
Author(s):  
Karmen L. Porter ◽  
Janna B. Oetting ◽  
Loretta Pecchioni

Purpose This study examined caregiver perceptions of their child's language and literacy disorder as influenced by communications with their speech-language pathologist. Method The participants were 12 caregivers of 10 school-aged children with language and literacy disorders. Employing qualitative methods, a collective case study approach was utilized in which the caregiver(s) of each child represented one case. The data came from semistructured interviews, codes emerged directly from the caregivers' responses during the interviews, and multiple coding passes using ATLAS.ti software were made until themes were evident. These themes were then further validated by conducting clinical file reviews and follow-up interviews with the caregivers. Results Caregivers' comments focused on the types of information received or not received, as well as the clarity of the information. This included information regarding their child's diagnosis, the long-term consequences of their child's disorder, and the connection between language and reading. Although caregivers were adept at describing their child's difficulties and therapy goals/objectives, their comments indicated that they struggled to understand their child's disorder in a way that was meaningful to them and their child. Conclusions The findings showed the value caregivers place on receiving clear and timely diagnostic information, as well as the complexity associated with caregivers' understanding of language and literacy disorders. The findings are discussed in terms of changes that could be made in clinical practice to better support children with language and literacy disorders and their families.


2018 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-79
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Nikorowicz-Zatorska

Abstract The present paper focuses on spatial management regulations in order to carry out investment in the field of airport facilities. The construction, upgrades, and maintenance of airports falls within the area of responsibility of local authorities. This task poses a great challenge in terms of organisation and finances. On the one hand, an active airport is a municipal landmark and drives local economic, social and cultural development, and on the other, the scale of investment often exceeds the capabilities of local authorities. The immediate environment of the airport determines its final use and prosperity. The objective of the paper is to review legislation that affects airports and the surrounding communities. The process of urban planning in Lodz and surrounding areas will be presented as a background to the problem of land use management in the vicinity of the airport. This paper seeks to address the following questions: if and how airports have affected urban planning in Lodz, does the land use around the airport prevent the development of Lodz Airport, and how has the situation changed over the time? It can be assumed that as a result of lack of experience, land resources and size of investments on one hand and legislative dissonance and peculiar practices on the other, aviation infrastructure in Lodz is designed to meet temporary needs and is characterised by achieving short-term goals. Cyclical problems are solved in an intermittent manner and involve all the municipal resources, so there’s little left to secure long-term investments.


Mousaion ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thatayaone Segaetsho ◽  
Julie Moloi

In the past few decades, digital technology has found a place in the acquisition, arrangement, description, preservation, and dissemination of information. However, heritage institutions are perturbed by the challenges of digital preservation strategies particularly for education. Despite continuous investment in digital preservation, there are limited skilled professionals to equip learners with the knowledge, skills and competencies required to drive digital preservation in Botswana. Therefore, this paper investigated the knowledge, skills and competencies related to digital preservation in the teaching curricula of the Department of Library and Information Studies (DLIS) at the University of Botswana. Data collection was done through intensive structured interviews with specific educators who teach courses on digital preservation in the archives and records management stream. The study revealed that despite the fact that the educators in preservation courses are aware of current trends in digital preservation, most of them have not obtained formal degree certification specific to digital preservation. The findings further revealed that minimal digital preservation competencies are observed in the teaching curricula. A significant number of challenges observed illustrated mainly a lack of resources and limited skills in terms of practical demonstrations by educators. The curricula mostly lacked clarity on long-term and short-term digital preservation. The study recommends that DLIS and other institutions should conduct surveys or curriculum auditing on digital preservation in order to improve the teaching content. A significant number of shortcomings regarding digital preservation that could motivate further studies are also discussed under the conclusion and recommendations section of this study.


1991 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 25-33
Author(s):  
A. J. Jakeman ◽  
P. G. Whitehead ◽  
A. Robson ◽  
J. A. Taylor ◽  
J. Bai

The paper illustrates analysis of the assumptions of the statistical component of a hybrid modelling approach for predicting environmental extremes. This shows how to assess the applicability of the approach to water quality problems. The analysis involves data on stream acidity from the Birkenes catchment in Norway. The modelling approach is hybrid in that it uses: (1) a deterministic or process-based description to simulate (non-stationary) long term trend values of environmental variables, and (2) probability distributions which are superimposed on the trend values to characterise the frequency of shorter term concentrations. This permits assessment of management strategies and of sensitivity to climate variables by adjusting the values of major forcing variables in the trend model. Knowledge of the variability about the trend is provided by: (a) identification of an appropriate parametric form of the probability density function (pdf) of the environmental attribute (e.g. stream acidity variables) whose extremes are of interest, and (b) estimation of pdf parameters using the output of the trend model.


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