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In a Social Network Service (SNS), a large amount of data with a variety of characteristics is generated through voluntary participation of users. These data are called \Big Social Data." Big social data can identify not only content registered on the web but also the relations of the friends of users. One of the most representative studies on SNS is analysis of the characteristics of social content and social relations, because SNS users tend to add people who are in close contact with them and have similar interests to their list of friends. Finding new knowledge from these large amounts of big social data can be very useful. This paper proposes a polarity analysis method for discovering hidden knowledge based on formal concept analysis in SNSs called PA-DHK. Further, we show, via experiments, that our data analysis approach can be applied to knowledge discovery using association rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a storage-independent model for SPARQL-to-SQL translation algorithms based on a relational view. In the development of Web ontology research, the translation from SPARQL to SQL continues to be an issue. Previous research has focused on an efficient and complete translation from SPARQL queries to equivalent SQL queries. However, these translation algorithms depend on specific storage structures. When we modify the storage structure, the translation algorithm should also be modified to suit the changed storage structure. This has motivated study of the issue of a model for the independent use of storage structures by algorithms. These can then guarantee independence between translation algorithms and storages by generating relational views, and improve the application and usability of the translation algorithm. In addition, this paper presents experiment results showing the accuracy and no data loss rate of query results for different storages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Despite numerous published concept analyses of nursing competency, the specific understanding of trauma nursing competency in emergency departments remains limited, with no clear definition. This study aimed to clarify the definitions and attributes of trauma nursing competencies in emergency departments., Design: Walker and Avant's method was used to clarify the concept of trauma nursing competency in emergency departments., Data Sources: PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL and RISS were searched from inception to 23 April 2023., Eligibility Criteria: Relevant studies that included combinations of the terms 'nurse', 'nursing', 'emergency', 'trauma', 'competency', 'capability' and 'skill' were selected. We restricted the literature search to English and Korean full-text publications, with no limit on the publication period; grey literature was excluded., Data Extraction and Synthesis: This study uses defining attributes, antecedents and consequences extracted through data analysis. To aid comprehension of the model, related and contrary cases of the concept were created, and empirical referents were defined., Results: After excluding duplicates, irrelevant studies, incomplete texts and articles unrelated to the context and study population, 15 of the initial 927 studies were included. Five additional studies were added after a manual search of the references. The final concept analysis therefore included 20 studies. The attributes of trauma nursing competency for emergency nurses included 'rapid initial assessments considering injury mechanisms', 'priority determinations based on degrees of urgency and severity', 'clinical knowledge of trauma nursing', 'skills of trauma nursing', 'interprofessional teamwork' and 'emotional care'., Conclusions: The concept analysis revealed that it is possible to promote the enhancement and development of trauma nursing competency in emergency departments across various contexts, such as clinical practice, education, research and organisational settings. This could ultimately improve trauma nursing quality and treatment outcomes., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Since its emergence in 2019, it has become apparent that coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) infection can result in multi systemic involvement. In addition to pulmonary symptoms, hepatobiliary involvement has been widely reported. Extent of hepatic involvement ranges from minor elevation in liver function tests (LFTs) to significant hepatocellular or cholestatic injury. In majority of cases, resolution of hepatic injury or improvement in LFTs is noted as patients recover from COVID-19 infection. However, severe biliary tract injury progressing to liver failure has been reported in patients requiring prolonged intensive care unit stay or mechanical ventilation. Due to the timing of its presentation, this form of progressive cholestatic injury has been referred to as COVID-19 cholangiopathy or post-COVID-19 cholangiopathy, and can result in devastating consequences for patients. COVID-19 cholangiopathy is recognized by dramatic elevation in serum alkaline phosphatase and bilirubin and radiologic evidence of bile duct injury. Cholangiopathy in COVID-19 occurs weeks to months after the initial infection and during the recovery phase. Imaging findings and pathology often resemble bile duct injury associated with primary or secondary sclerosing cholangitis. Etiology of COVID-19 cholangiopathy is unclear. Several mechanisms have been proposed, including direct cholangiocyte injury, vascular compromise, and cytokine release syndromes. This review summarizes existing data on COVID-19 cholangiopathy, including reported cases in the literature, proposed pathophysiology, diagnostic testing, and long-term implications., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Rotational thrombelastometry (ROTEM) has been used to evaluate the coagulation state, predict transfusion, and optimize hemostatic management in trauma patients. However, there were limited studies on whether the prediction value could be improved by adding the ROTEM parameter to the prediction model for in-hospital mortality and massive transfusion (MT) in trauma patients., Objective: This study assessed whether ROTEM data could improve the MT prediction model., Method: This was a single-center, retrospective study. Patients who presented to the trauma center and underwent ROTEM between 2016 and 2020 were included. The primary and secondary outcomes were massive transfusions and in-hospital mortality, respectively. We constructed two models using multivariate logistic regression with backward conditional stepwise elimination (Model 1: without the ROTEM parameter and Model 2: with the ROTEM parameter). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was calculated to assess the predictive ability of the models., Result: In total, 969 patients were included; 196 (20.2%) received MT. The in-hospital mortality rate was 14.1%. For MT, the AUROC was 0.854 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.825-0.883) and 0.860 (95% CI, 0.832-0.888) for Model 1 and 2, respectively. For in-hospital mortality, the AUROC was 0.886 (95% CI, 0.857-0.915) and 0.889 (95% CI, 0.861-0.918) for models 1 and 2, respectively. The AUROC values for models 1 and 2 were not statistically different for either MT or in-hospital mortality., Conclusion: We found that the addition of the ROTEM parameter did not significantly improve the predictive power of MT and in-hospital mortality in trauma patients., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Dongyup Baik et al.)

Background: Prospective studies of the long-term outcomes of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection after treatment with interferon-based therapy (IBT) or direct-acting antivirals (DAA) are limited in many Asian countries., Aim: To elucidate the incidences of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and death/transplantation based on treatment with IBT or DAA, to compare the outcomes of the sustained virologic response (SVR) to IBT and DAA, and to investigate outcome-determining factors after SVR., Methods: This cohort included 2054 viremic patients (mean age, 57 years; 46.5% male; 27.4% with cirrhosis) prospectively enrolled at seven hospitals between 2007 and 2019. They were classified as the untreated group ( n = 619), IBT group ( n = 578), and DAA group ( n = 857). Outcomes included the incidences of HCC and death/transplantation. The incidences of the outcomes for each group according to treatment were calculated using an exact method based on the Poisson distribution. A multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to determine the factors associated with HCC or death/transplantation, followed by propensity score matching to confirm the results., Results: During a median of 4.1 years of follow-up, HCC and death/transplantation occurred in 113 and 206 patients, respectively, in the entire cohort. Compared with the untreated group, the incidences of HCC and death/transplantation were significantly lower in the IBT group [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 0.47, 95%CI: 0.28-0.80 and aHR 0.28, 95%CI: 0.18-0.43, respectively] and the DAA group (aHR 0.58, 95%CI: 0.35-0.96, and aHR 0.19, 95%CI: 0.20-0.68, respectively). Among 1268 patients who attained SVR with IBT ( n = 451) or DAA ( n = 816), the multivariable-adjusted analysis showed no differences in the risks of HCC (HR 2.03; 95%CI: 0.76-5.43) and death/transplantation (HR 1.38; 95%CI: 0.55-3.49) between the two groups. This was confirmed by a propensity score-matching analysis. Independent factors for HCC after SVR were age, genotype 1, and the presence of cirrhosis., Conclusion: Treatment and achieving SVR with either IBT or DAA significantly reduced the incidences of HCC and mortality in the Asian patients with HCV infection. The risks of HCC and mortality were not significantly different regardless of whether SVR was induced by IBT or DAA., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: Nothing to declare., (©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The concurrent use of anticholinergics and acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (ACHEIs) in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with dementia should be avoided because the opposing pharmacological actions of both drugs reduce the treatment efficacy. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of the concurrent use of these two types of drugs in Korean patients., Methods: In the 2017 Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service-National Aged Patient Sample data, comprising insurance claims records for a 10% random sample of patients aged ≥ 65 years in Korea, "concurrent use" was defined as the overlapping of anticholinergic and ACHEI doses for at least 2 months., Results: Among 8,845 PD patients with dementia, 847 (9.58%) were co-administered anticholinergics, used to treat the motor symptoms of PD, and ACHEIs for a mean duration of 7.7 months. A total of 286 (33.77% of all co-administered) patients used both drug types concurrently all year. About 80% of concurrent users were prescribed each drug by the same prescriber, indicating that coadministration may not be due to a lack of information sharing between providers. Logistic regression analysis showed that patients mainly treated at clinics (odds ratio (OR), 1.541; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.158-2.059), hospitals (OR, 2.135; 95% CI, 1.586-2.883), and general hospitals (OR, 1.568; 95% CI, 1.221-2.028) were more likely to be co-prescribed anticholinergics and ACHEIs than those mainly treated at tertiary-care hospitals. PD patients with dementia treated at healthcare organizations located in areas other than the capital city had an approximately 22% higher risk of concurrent use (OR: 1.227, 95% CI: 1.046-1.441)., Conclusions: The concurrent use of anticholinergics for the motor symptoms of PD and ACHEIs in elderly Korean PD patients with dementia cannot be ignored, and strategies that mitigate potentially inappropriate concurrent drug use are required., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: Positive Deviance/Hearth (PDH) is an internationally recognized nutrition rehabilitation program. However, nutritional improvements are inconsistent across contexts. It is unclear if variations are due to differences in program design, implementation, utilization, or other contextual factors. Furthermore, few PDH programs have addressed the high time and work burdens of caregivers and volunteers. To address this, the study integrated interactive voice calling (IVC) with PDH., Objectives: A program impact pathway (PIP) analysis was used to evaluate the secondary outcomes of facilitators, barriers, and contextual factors that influenced the design, implementation, and utilization of a Positive Deviance/Hearth-Interactive Voice Calling program to improve the nutritional status of children in Cambodia., Methods: A PIP analysis was done on data collected through in-depth interviews with caregivers ( n  = 32), key informant interviews with volunteers ( n  = 16) and project staff ( n  = 3), and surveys of project staff ( n  = 5)., Results: In the design phase, facilitators included quality training, technical support and design tools, community mobilization, and linkage to existing health services. Barriers included poor community mobilization. For the implementation phase, facilitators were good volunteer knowledge, follow-up tools and guidance, supervision, and spot checks of volunteers. Barriers were lack of time and overworked older caregivers. For the utilization phase, facilitators included family and volunteer support and access to phones, whereas barriers were lack of support, time, and financial resources; low levels of education and old age of caregivers; and inconsistent phone use. Contextual factors included food insecurity and increased childcare responsibilities of grandmothers due to migration of mothers., Conclusions: The PIP analysis identified facilitators, barriers, and contextual factors that may affect the design, intervention, and utilization of IVC interventions for health and nutrition behavior change and elements to consider when designing and implementing them. When implementing child nutrition programs in Cambodia, supporting interventions addressing mental health and time and resource constraints of elderly caregivers should also be included.This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03399058., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society for Nutrition.)

Objectives: In an era when the average life expectancy and overall mortality rate have improved, Korea remains at risk for infectious disease outbreaks that place substantial burdens on the healthcare system. This study investigated trends in mortality and the economic burden of infectious diseases., Methods: Healthcare data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (2009-2019) and the Korean Statistics Information Service (1997-2019) were used. We selected 10 infectious disease groups (intestinal infections, tuberculosis, vaccine- preventable diseases, sepsis, viral hepatitis, HIV-related diseases, central nervous system infections, rheumatic heart diseases, respiratory tract infections, and arthropod-borne viral diseases)., Results: The age-standardized mortality rate for infectious diseases increased from 27.2 per 100,000 population in 1997 to 37.1 per 100,000 population in 2019 and has had an upward trend since 2004. During this same period, significant increases were seen in respiratory tract infections and among elderly persons, especially those aged ≥85 years. The costs for infectious diseases increased from 4.126 billion US dollar (USD) in 2009 to 6.612 billion USD in 2019, with respiratory tract infections accounting for 3.699 billion USD (69%). The annual cost per patient for visits for medical care due to infectious diseases increased from 131 USD in 2009 to 204 USD in 2019., Conclusions: Mortality among elderly persons and those with respiratory tract infections increased during the study period. The economic burden of infectious diseases has consistently increased, especially for respiratory tract infections. It is therefore essential to establish effective management policies that considers specific infectious diseases and patient groups.

Background and study aims  The aim of this study was to evaluate whether timed barium esophagram within 24 hours post-per-oral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) (TBE-PP) could predict clinical outcomes. Patients and methods  This was a single-center retrospective study of prospectively collected data on consecutive patients with ≥ 6-month follow-up who underwent POEM followed by TBE-PP. Esophageal contrast retention 2 minutes after TBE-PP was assessed as Grade 1 (< 10 %), 2 (10 %-49 %), 3 (50 %-89 %) or 4 (> 90 %). Eckardt score, esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), high-resolution manometry (HRM) and function lumen imaging probe (FLIP) of the esophagogastric junction (EGJ) were obtained at baseline. These tests along with pH testing of antisecretory therapy were repeated 6 and 24 months after POEM. Clinical response by Eckardt score ≤ 3, EGJ-distensibility index (EGJ-DI) > 2.8 mm 2 /mm Hg, and integrated relaxation pressure (IRP) < 15 mm Hg and incidence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) were compared by transit time. Results  Of 181 patients (58 % male, mean 53 ± 17 yr), TBE-PP was classified as Grade 1 in 122 (67.4 %), Grade 2 in 41 (22.7 %), Grade 3 in 14 (7.7 %) and Grade 4 in 4 (2.2 %). At 6 months, overall clinical response by ES (91.7 %), IRP (86.6 %), EGJ-DI (95.7 %) and the diagnosis of GERD (68.6 %) was similar between Grade 1 and Grade 2-4 TBE-PP. At 24 months, Grade 1 had a higher frequency of a normal IRP compared to Grades 2-4 (95.7 % vs. 60 %, P  = 0.021) but overall response by ES (91.2 %), EGJ-DI (92.3 %) and the diagnosis of GERD (74.3 %) were similar. Conclusions  Contrast emptying rate by esophagram after POEM has limited utility to predict clinical response or risk of post-procedure GERD., Competing Interests: Competing interests Dr. DeWitt is a consultant for Boston Scientific, Inc. Dr. Al-Haddad is a consultant for Boston Scientific Inc., (The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).)

Objective: To examine the difference in the rehabilitation rate from underweight by child age at enrolment in the Positive Deviance (PD)/Hearth programme., Design: This secondary data analysis used programme monitoring records of underweight children aged 6-60 months attending a 2-week PD/Hearth session and followed up for 6 months from September 2018 to March 2019. Data were analysed using multilevel mixed-effect regression and Poisson regression with robust variance., Setting: Rajshahi Division, Bangladesh., Participants: A total of 5227 underweight (weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ) <-2) children attended the PD/Hearth sessions., Results: From enrolment to 6 months follow-up, the mean WAZ improved from -2·80 to -2·09, and the percentage of underweight children decreased to 54·5 %. Compared to the enrolment age of 6-11 months, the estimated monthly change in WAZ at 6 months of follow-up were 0·05 lower for 12-23 months, 0·06 lower for 24-35 months, and 0·09 lower for 36-60 months of the enrolment age (all P < 0·001). The probability of rehabilitation at 6 months of follow-up were lower by 16·7 % for 12-23 months (RR = 0·83; 95 % CI 0·77, 0·91), 15·5 % for 24-35 months (RR = 0·84; 95 % CI 0·78, 0·92), and 34·9 % for 36-60 months of the enrolment age (RR = 0·65; 95 % CI 0·59, 0·72), compared to the enrolment age of 6-11 months., Conclusions: Enrolment in the PD/Hearth programme at a younger age had the advantage of greater rehabilitation from underweight than older age. Our findings provide a better understanding of the successes and failures of the PD/Hearth programme to achieve more sustainable and cost-effective impacts.

Child undernutrition in Cambodia is a persistent public health problem requiring low-cost and scalable solutions. Rising cellphone use in low-resource settings represents an opportunity to replace in-person counselling visits with phone calls; however, questions remain on relative effectiveness. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of two options for delivering a World Vision infant and young child feeding (IYCF) counselling programme: (1) traditional Positive Deviance/Hearth (PDH) programme with in-person visits or (2) PDH with Interactive Voice Calling (PDH-IVC) which integrates phone calls to replace 62.5% of face-to-face interaction between caregivers and volunteers, compared to the standard of care (SOC). We conducted a longitudinal cluster-randomised controlled trial in 361 children 6-23 months. We used an adjusted difference-in-difference approach using baseline, midline (3 months) and endline (12 months) surveys to evaluate the impact on child growth among the three groups. At baseline, nearly a third of children were underweight, and over half were food insecure. At midline the PDH group and the PDH-IVC groups had improved weight-for-age z-scores (0.13 DID, p = 0.011; 0.13 DID, p = 0.02, respectively) and weight-for-height z-score (0.16 DID, p = 0.038; 0.24 DID, p = 0.002), relative to SOC. There were no differences in child height-for-age z-scores. At endline, the impact was sustained only in the PDH-IVC group for weight-for-age z-score (0.14 DID, p = 0.049), and the prevalence of underweight declined by 12.8 percentage points (p = 0.036), relative to SOC. Integration of phone-based IYCF counselling is a potentially promising solution to reduce the burden of in-person visits; however, the modest improvements suggest the need to combine it with other strategies to improve child nutrition., (© 2021 World Vision International. Maternal & Child Nutrition published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Patients with relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma (R/R PTCL) treated with pralatrexate have previously shown superior overall survival (OS) compared to those who underwent conventional chemotherapy (CC, 15.4 vs. 4.07 months). We conducted an economic evaluation of pralatrexate from a societal perspective in Korea based on data from the PROPEL phase II study., Methods: Using a Markov model with a weekly cycle, we simulated the experience of patients with R/R PTCL receiving pralatrexate or CC for 15 years. The model consists of five health states; initial treatment, treatment pause, subsequent treatment, stem cell transplantation (SCT) success, and death. Comparative effectiveness was based on PROPEL phase II single-arm study and its matched historical control analysis. Costs included drug, drug administration, monitoring, adverse event management, and SCT costs., Results: The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of the base case was $39,153 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained. The results of one-way sensitivity analysis ranged from $33,949 to $51,846 per QALY gained, which remained within an implicit willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of anticancer drugs in Korea., Conclusions: Pralatrexate is a cost-effective intervention with improved OS and incremental costs within the WTP limit. Pralatrexate could function as a new therapeutic option for patients suffering from life-threatening R/R PTCL.

Objectives: Patients increasingly use patient-reported outcomes (PROs) to self-monitor their health status. Visualizing PROs longitudinally (over time) could help patients interpret and contextualize their PROs. The study sought to assess hospitalized patients' objective comprehension (primary outcome) of text-only, non-graph, and graph visualizations that display longitudinal PROs., Materials and Methods: We conducted a clinical research study in 40 hospitalized patients comparing 4 visualization conditions: (1) text-only, (2) text plus visual analogy, (3) text plus number line, and (4) text plus line graph. Each participant viewed every condition, and we used counterbalancing (systematic randomization) to control for potential order effects. We assessed objective comprehension using the International Organization for Standardization protocol. Secondary outcomes included response times, preferences, risk perceptions, and behavioral intentions., Results: Overall, 63% correctly comprehended the text-only condition and 60% comprehended the line graph condition, compared with 83% for the visual analogy and 70% for the number line (P = .05) conditions. Participants comprehended the visual analogy significantly better than the text-only (P = .02) and line graph (P = .02) conditions. Of participants who comprehended at least 1 condition, 14% preferred a condition that they did not comprehend. Low comprehension was associated with worse cognition (P < .001), lower education level (P = .02), and fewer financial resources (P = .03)., Conclusions: The results support using visual analogies rather than text to display longitudinal PROs but caution against relying on graphs, which is consistent with the known high prevalence of inadequate graph literacy. The discrepancies between comprehension and preferences suggest factors other than comprehension influence preferences, and that future researchers should assess comprehension rather than preferences to guide presentation decisions., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objectives: As personal health data are being returned to patients with increasing frequency and volume, visualizations are garnering excitement for their potential to facilitate patient interpretation. Evaluating these visualizations is important to ensure that patients are able to understand and, when appropriate, act upon health data in a safe and effective manner. The objective of this systematic review was to review and evaluate the state of the science of patient-facing visualizations of personal health data., Methods: We searched five scholarly databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, ACM Digital Library [Association for Computing Machinery Digital Library], and IEEE Computational Index [Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computational Index]) through December 1, 2018 for relevant articles. We included English-language articles that developed or tested one or more patient-facing visualizations for personal health data. Three reviewers independently assessed quality of included articles using the Mixed methods Appraisal Tool. Characteristics of included articles and visualizations were extracted and synthesized., Results: In 39 articles included in the review, there was heterogeneity in the sample sizes and methods for evaluation but not sample demographics. Few articles measured health literacy, numeracy, or graph literacy. Line graphs were the most common visualization, especially for longitudinal data, but number lines were used more frequently in included articles over past 5 years. Article findings suggested more patients understand the number lines and bar graphs compared with line graphs, and that color is effective at communicating risk, improving comprehension, and increasing confidence in interpretation., Conclusion: In this review, we summarize types and components of patient-facing visualizations and methodologies for development and evaluation in the reviewed articles. We also identify recommendations for future work relating to collecting and reporting data, examining clinically actionable boundaries for diverse data types, and leveraging data science. This work will be critically important as patient access of their personal health data through portals and mobile devices continues to rise., Competing Interests: None declared., (Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Objectives: This study identified sociodemographic and clinical factors that predicted live discharge among home hospice patients with heart failure, and related these findings to perspectives among health care providers about challenges to caring for these patients., Background: Hospice patients with heart failure are frequently discharged from hospice before death ("live discharge"). However, little is known about the factors and circumstances associated with live discharge among patients with heart failure., Methods: Quantitative analyses of patient medical records (N = 1,498) and qualitative interviews were performed with health care providers (n = 19) at a not-for-profit hospice agency in New York City., Results: Thirty percent of home hospice patients with heart failure experienced a live discharge, most frequently due to 911 calls that led to acute hospitalization. The odds of acute hospitalization were higher for younger patients (age 18 to 74 years: adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 2.10; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.34 to 3.28), African American (AOR: 2.06; 95% CI: 1.31 to 3.24) or Hispanic (AOR: 2.99; 95% CI: 1.99 to 4.50) patients, and higher functioning patients (Palliative Performance Scores of 50% to 70%; AOR: 5.68; 95% CI: 3.66 to 8.79). Qualitative interviews with health care providers highlighted the unique characteristics of heart failure (e.g., sudden changes in patients' condition), the importance of patients' understanding of hospice and their own prognosis, and the role of sociocultural and family context in precipitating and potentially preventing live discharge (e.g., absence of social supports in the home)., Conclusions: Live discharge from hospice, especially due to acute hospitalization, is common with heart failure. Greater attention is needed for patients' knowledge of and readiness for hospice care, especially among younger and diverse populations, and for factors related to the social and family context in which hospice care is provided., (Copyright © 2019 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aims: Estimating survival is challenging in the terminal phase of advanced heart failure. Patients, families, and health-care organizations would benefit from more reliable prognostic tools. The Palliative Performance Scale Version 2 (PPSv2) is a reliable and validated tool used to measure functional performance; higher scores indicate higher functionality. It has been widely used to estimate survival in patients with cancer but rarely used in patients with heart failure. The aim of this study was to identify prognostic cut-points of the PPSv2 for predicting survival among patients with heart failure receiving home hospice care., Methods and Results: This retrospective cohort study included 1114 adult patients with a primary diagnosis of heart failure from a not-for-profit hospice agency between January 2013 and May 2017. The primary outcome was survival time. A Cox proportional-hazards model and sensitivity analyses were used to examine the association between PPSv2 scores and survival time, controlling for demographic and clinical variables. Receiver operating characteristic curves were plotted to quantify the diagnostic performance of PPSv2 scores by survival time. Lower PPSv2 scores on admission to hospice were associated with decreased median (interquartile range, IQR) survival time [PPSv2 10 = 2 IQR: 1-5 days; PPSv2 20 = 3 IQR: 2-8 days] IQR: 55-207. The discrimination of the PPSv2 at baseline for predicting death was highest at 7 days [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.802], followed by an AUC of 0.774 at 14 days, an AUC of 0.736 at 30 days, and an AUC of 0.705 at 90 days., Conclusions: The PPSv2 tool can be used by health-care providers for prognostication of hospice-enrolled patients with heart failure who are at high risk of near-term death. It has the greatest utility in patients who have the most functional impairment., (© 2019 The Authors. ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)

Purpose: Adherence to antiretroviral therapy is essential to HIV management and sustaining viral suppression. Despite simplified regimens, adherence remains difficult for certain persons living with HIV (PLWH). There is evidence to support the use of mHealth apps for effective self-management in PLWH; however, a medication adherence app with real-time monitoring for this population has not been developed and rigorously evaluated by PLWH. We developed a mHealth app (WiseApp) for HIV self-management to help PLWH self-manage their health. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usability of the WiseApp., Methods: We conducted a three-step usability evaluation using 1) a traditional think-aloud protocol with end-users, 2) a heuristic evaluation with experts in informatics, and 3) a cognitive walkthrough with end-users. During the cognitive walkthrough, we tested two devices (fitness tracker and medication tracking bottle) that were linked to the WiseApp., Results: The think-aloud protocol informed iterative updates to the app, specifically to make it easier to see different sections of the app. The heuristic evaluation confirmed the necessity of these design changes. The cognitive walkthrough informed additional updates and confirmed that overall, the app and the linked devices were usable for the end-users., Conclusion: The results of the cognitive walkthrough with both experts and end-users informed iterative refinements to the WiseApp and finalization of a mHealth app for PLWH to better self-manage their health., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Patient-generated health data (PGHD) collected digitally with mobile health (mHealth) technology has garnered recent excitement for its potential to improve precision management of chronic conditions such as atrial fibrillation (AF), a common cardiac arrhythmia. However, sustained engagement is a major barrier to collection of PGHD. Little is known about barriers to sustained engagement or strategies to intervene upon engagement through application design., Objective: This article investigates individual patient differences in sustained engagement among individuals with a history of AF who are self-monitoring using mHealth technology., Methods: This qualitative study involved patients, health care providers, and research coordinators previously involved in a randomized, controlled trial involving electrocardiogram (ECG) self-monitoring of AF. Patients were adults with a history of AF randomized to the intervention arm of this trial who self-monitored using ECG mHealth technology for 6 months. Semistructured interviews and focus groups were conducted separately with health care providers and research coordinators, engaged patients, and unengaged patients. A validated model of sustained engagement, an adapted unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), guided data collection, and analysis through directed content analysis., Results: We interviewed 13 patients (7 engaged, 6 unengaged), 6 providers, and 2 research coordinators. In addition to finding differences between engaged and unengaged patients within each predictor in the adapted UTAUT model (perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, facilitating conditions), four additional factors were identified as being related to sustained engagement in this population. These are: (1) internal motivation to manage health, (2) relationship with health care provider, (3) supportive environments, and (4) feedback and guidance., Conclusion: Although it required some modification, the adapted UTAUT model was useful in understanding of the parameters of sustained engagement. The findings of this study provide initial requirement specifications for the design of applications that engage patients in this unique population of adults with AF., Competing Interests: None., (Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Objective: To conduct an in-depth analysis of users' experiences using an HIV self-management app., Materials and Methods: We conducted four follow-up focus groups at the end of a 3-month randomized feasibility trial. All focus group sessions were audio-recorded and transcribed. A thematic analysis was conducted to explore emerging themes. All of the themes were categorized into three factors of the PRECEDE component of the PRECEDE-PROCEED framework. For a finer granularity of analysis, the codes of each theme were broken into positive, negative, and neutral codes by study group., Results: 36 participants, including 24 from the intervention group and 12 from the control group, participated in the focus group sessions. A total of 14 themes organized by the PRECEDE factors were identified from focus group transcripts. Five themes related to predisposing factors were: 1) ease of app use; 2) user-friendly functionality; 3) self-efficacy for symptom management; 4) design preference of illustrated strategies with videos; and 5) user-control (convenience vs. security). Four themes related to enabling factors were: 1) information needs of symptom management; 2) symptom-tracking; 3) fit in lifestyle/schedule/living conditions; and 4) additional languages (e.g., Spanish). Five themes related to reinforcing factors were: 1) communication with healthcare providers; 2) individual-tailored information visualization; 3) social networking; 4) individual-tailored information quality; and 5) improvement in quality of life., Discussion and Conclusion: Usability evaluation in a real-world setting enabled us to measure users' actual experiences when interacting with the app during their everyday lives. Our work highlights the importance of using mobile technology for persons living with HIV, specifically those with low income/housing instability, and adds to the body of literature on the potential for implementation and dissemination of symptom self-management strategies through a mobile platform., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Childhood and adolescence are critical periods that affect adults' health status. Therefore, the factors influencing the health of children and adolescents should be analyzed. In Korea, a wide range of youth-related health data has been obtained, both on the regional level and on the national level. This report summarizes the current status of studies related to the health of Korean children and adolescents. Data for which open access is offered include the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Study, the Panel Study on Korean Children, the Korean Youth Panel Survey, the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey, and the Student Health Examination. In addition, the Health Examination of Korean Youth Outside of School, the Korean Children and Adolescents Obesity Cohort Study, the Korean Children's Environmental Health Study, the Korea Youth Media Use and Harmful Environment Survey, the Comprehensive Survey of Korean Youth, and the Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study are summarized.

Four experiments were conducted to investigate feed and water intake, feed efficiency, and abdominal fat levels of six lines of chickens developed from two randombred control populations following selection for high 8-wk BW under high (1.6%), low (.2%), and normal (.4%) dietary salt selection environments. The Athens-Canadian Randombreds (AC) and Athens Randombreds (ARB) served as base populations for development of the six lines. Progeny from these lines were evaluated in the first, fifth, sixth, and seventh generations in Experiments 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. In Experiment 1, abdominal fat levels were shown to be inversely related to dietary salt level. The lowest abdominal fat level was observed in birds fed the 1.6% salt diet and the highest abdominal fat level in birds fed the .2% salt diet. Birds receiving the normal (.4%) salt diet had intermediate abdominal fat levels. In Experiments 2, 3, and 4, selected lines were exposed to different dietary salt levels to measure both line and dietary salt response patterns. Significant (P < .05) differences were observed between genotypes (AC vs ARB) and between dietary salt treatments for BW, feed and water intake, and water to feed ratio. However, there was no evidence of genetic change between lines in abdominal fat level as a result of selection under different salt environments.

Growth patterns of quail lines divergently selected for 4-wk BW under split and complete nutrition environments were investigated utilizing a diallel mating scheme. The design, involving 16 mating combinations, allowed investigation of heterotic effects, reciprocal cross effects, and combining ability. Progeny from Generation 27 breeders were evaluated in two hatches under both selection diets. Heterosis for hatch weight was essentially zero; however, percentage heterosis from High x High crosses and Low x Low crosses ranged from 5 to 18% after 1 wk of age. Quail progeny from Low x High crosses were consistently larger than quail from reciprocal High x Low crosses under both selection diets. Reciprocal differences were greatest immediately posthatch and declined with age. However, in crosses involving males from High and Low split diet lines mated to females from High and Low complete diet lines, large reciprocal differences in BW remained at 8 wk. Mean heterosis values for BW across ages from crossing High and Low lines both within and across selection environments were negative in six of eight comparisons. Mean values ranged from +3 to -11% and indicated that greater selection responses may have been made in divergent selection for low 4-wk BW than for high BW. General combining ability of lines was greater when transmitted via females as opposed to males, and was similar under the two diets (split and complete). There was evidence that high-BW lines exhibited greater general combining ability under both dietary environments than did low-BW lines.