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This paper aims to propose a constructive methodology for determining the matrix sign function for a stable variant of the Kung-Traub method. It analytically shows that the new scheme is asymptotically stable. Different numerical experiments compare the new scheme's behavior with the existing matrix iteration of the same type. Finally, the given approach applies to solve the algebraic Riccati equation and the Sylvester equation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the study of relaxed conditions for semi-local convergence for a general iterative method, k-step Newton's method, using majorizing sequences. Dynamical behavior of the mentioned method is also analyzed via Julia set and basins of attraction. Numerical examples of nonlinear systems of equations will be examined to verify the given theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, there has been developed an adaptive method with memory based on the first two steps of the general optimal method without memory by Kung and Traub. Included is the convergence analysis along with numerical implementations. The proposed adaptive method with memory can increase the efficiency index of the optimal method without memory as high as possible while reusing all the available information of the functional evaluations in the previous iteration for this purpose. Also, we discuss the numerical stability from the point of basins of attraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss about nonlinear pseudoparabolic equations with nonlocal boundary conditions. An effective error estimation for this method has not yet been discussed. The aim of this paper is to fill this gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, based on the optimal free derivative without memory methods proposed by Cordero et al. [A. Cordero, J.L. Hueso, E. Martinez, J.R. Torregrosa, Generating optimal derivative free iterative methods for nonlinear equations by using polynomial interpolation, Mathematical and Computer Modeling. 57 (2013) 1950-1956], we develop two new iterative with memory methods for solving a nonlinear equation. The first has two steps with three self-accelerating parameters, and the second has three steps with four self-accelerating parameters. These parameters are calculated using information from the current and previous iteration so that the presented methods may be regarded as the with memory methods. The self-accelerating parameters are computed applying Newton's interpolatory polynomials. Moreover, they use three and four functional evaluations per iteration and corresponding R-orders of convergence are increased from 4 ad 8 to 7.53 and 15.51, respectively. It means that, without any new function calculations, we can improve convergence order by 93% and 96%. We provide rigorous theories along with some numerical test problems to confirm theoretical results and high computational efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a fourth order method for computing simple roots of nonlinear equations by using suitable Taylor and weight function approximation. The method is based on Weerakoon-Fernando method [S. Weerakoon, G.I. Fernando, A variant of Newton's method with third-order convergence, Appl. Math. Lett. 17 (2000) 87-93]. The method is optimal, as it needs three evaluations per iterate, namely one evaluation of function and two evaluations of first derivative. So, Kung and Traub's conjecture is fulfilled. We also perform some numerical tests that confirm the theoretical results and allow us to compare the proposed method with some existing methods of the same type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Global increase in colonization by multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria poses a significant concern. The precise impact of MDR colonization in solid organ transplant recipients (SOTR) remains not well established., Objectives: To assess the impact of MDR colonization on SOTR's mortality, infection, or graft loss., Methods and Data Sources: Data from PROSPERO, OVID Medline, OVID EMBASE, Wiley Cochrane Library, ProQuest Dissertations, Theses Global, and SCOPUS were systematically reviewed, spanning from inception until 20 March 2023. The study protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022290011) and followed the PRISMA guidelines. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, PARTICIPANTS, INTERVENTIONS, AND ASSESSMENT OF RISK OF BIAS: Cohorts and case-control studies that reported on adult SOTR colonized by Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) or carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. (CRE), or MDR-pseudomonas, and compared to noncolonized, were included. Two reviewers assessed eligibility, conducted a risk of bias evaluation using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, and rated certainty of evidence using the GRADE approach., Methods of Data Synthesis: We employed RevMan for a meta-analysis, using random-effects models to compute pooled odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Statistical heterogeneity was determined using the I 2 statistic., Results: 15,202 SOTR (33 cohort, six case-control studies) were included, where liver transplant and VRE colonization (25 and 14 studies) were predominant. MDR colonization significantly increased posttransplant 1-year mortality (OR, 2.35; 95% CI, 1.63-3.38) and mixed infections (OR, 10.74; 95% CI, 7.56-12.26) across transplant types (p < 0.001 and I 2  = 58%), but no detected impact on graft loss (p 0.41, I 2  = 0). Subgroup analysis indicated a higher association between CRE or ESBL colonization with outcomes (CRE: death OR, 3.94; mixed infections OR, 24.8; ESBL: mixed infections OR, 10.3; no mortality data) compared to MRSA (Death: OR, 2.25; mixed infection: OR, 7.75) or VRE colonization (Death: p 0.20, mixed infections: OR, 5.71)., Conclusions: MDR colonization in SOTR, particularly CRE, is associated with increased mortality. Despite the low certainty of the evidence, actions to prevent MDR colonization in transplant candidates are warranted., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background and Objective: The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE)-ADOLOPMENT methodology has been widely used to adopt, adapt, or de novo develop recommendations from existing or new guideline and evidence synthesis efforts. The objective of this guidance is to refine the operationalization for applying GRADE-ADOLOPMENT., Methods: Through iterative discussions, online meetings, and email communications, the GRADE-ADOLOPMENT project group drafted the updated guidance. We then conducted a review of handbooks of guideline-producing organizations, and a scoping review of published and planned adolopment guideline projects. The lead authors refined the existing approach based on the scoping review findings and feedback from members of the GRADE working group. We presented the revised approach to the group in November 2022 (approximately 115 people), in May 2023 (approximately 100 people), and twice in September 2023 (approximately 60 and 90 people) for approval., Results: This GRADE guidance shows how to effectively and efficiently contextualize recommendations using the GRADE-ADOLOPMENT approach by doing the following: (1) showcasing alternative pathways for starting an adolopment effort; (2) elaborating on the different essential steps of this approach, such as building on existing evidence-to-decision (EtDs), when available or developing new EtDs, if necessary; and (3) providing examples from adolopment case studies to facilitate the application of the approach. We demonstrate how to use contextual evidence to make judgments about EtD criteria, and highlight the importance of making the resulting EtDs available to facilitate adolopment efforts by others., Conclusion: This updated GRADE guidance further operationalizes the application of GRADE-ADOLOPMENT based on over 6 years of experience. It serves to support uptake and application by end users interested in contextualizing recommendations to a local setting or specific reality in a short period of time or with limited resources., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors are members or contributors to the GRADE working group. Zachary Munn is supported by an NHMRC investigator grant APP 1195676. Alexander G. Mathioudakis was supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR Manchester BRC, NIHR203308) and by an NIHR Clinical Lectureship in Respiratory Medicine. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background and Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the scientific community to collaborate in an unprecedented way, with the rapid and urgent generation and translation of new knowledge about the disease and its causative agent. Iteratively, and at different levels of government and globally, population-level guidance was created and updated, resulting in the need for a living catalog of guidelines, the eCOVID-19 Recommendations Map and Gateway to Contextualization (RecMap). This article focuses on the approach that was used to analyze barriers and opportunities associated with using the RecMap in public health in Canada., Study Design and Setting: A mixed qualitative and quantitative approach data were used to inform this knowledge mobilization project and inform feedback on implementation of the eCOVID-19 RecMap. This approach involved surveying 110 attendees from a public health webinar. Following this webinar, an evidence brief and series of case studies were created and disseminated to 24 Canadian public health practitioners who attended a virtual workshop. This workshop identified barriers and opportunities to improve RecMap use., Results: This study helped to shed light on the needs that public health practitioners have when finding, using, and disseminating public health guidelines. Through the workshop that was conducted, opportunities for public health guidelines can be categorized into 4 categories: 1) information access, 2) awareness, 3) public health development, and 4) usability. Barriers that were identified can also be categorized into 4 categories: 1) usability, 2) information maintenance, 3) public health guidance, 4) awareness., Conclusion: This work will help to inform the development and organization of future public health guidelines, and the needs that public health practitioners have when engaging with them., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest There are no competing interests for any author., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background and Objective: Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE)-ADOLOPMENT is widely applied to efficiently use existing credible guidelines and contextualize them to a target setting. To highlight the experiences of a Latin American Guideline Development Group (GDG) applying GRADE-ADOLOPMENT to adapt the American Society of Hematology's clinical practice guideline on managing venous thromboembolisms (VTEs) in Latin America., Study Design and Setting: We employed a mixed-method postevaluation using self-administered surveys and semistructured interviews. We assessed the Latin American GDG (1) general satisfaction and confidence using the approach, (2) their ratings on the usefulness, appropriateness, and importance of GRADE-ADOLOPMENT and its tools to inform their judgements, and (3) any additional facilitators and barriers to refine the process., Results: Eleven of the 14 GDG members, including nine panelists and two methodologists, provided survey responses and eight participated in the interview. Respondents felt "mostly" or "completely" satisfied with the adapted guideline. Eight panelists who were surveyed agree that GRADE-ADOLOPMENT is useful in countries with limited resources. Although panelists expressed initial apprehensions in their understanding of the process, they demonstrated enhanced confidence in their capacity to apply GRADE after completing workshop training and by acquiring experience. Panelists reiterated the importance of considering evidence-to-decision (EtD) criteria (ie, resources, feasibility, and cost-effectiveness) when adapting recommendations. The GDG encountered challenges with collecting local and regional data, prioritizing recommendations while considering intraregional diversity, and the lengthy publication period, although the latter stemmed from procedures not related to GRADE-ADOLOPMENT., Conclusions: GRADE-ADOLOPMENT is an important tool to facilitate the adaptation and uptake of clinical practice guidelines in novel settings. The GDG felt satisfied with their overall experience using the GRADE-ADOLOPMENT approach. However, their experience could have been optimized if they had access to robust regional evidence, more recommendations to adapt from, and worked with more efficient guideline production timelines., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no conflict of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

The Arab region is experiencing the largest youth cohort in its history. Parental influence is a clear factor in the well-being of this demographic. This scoping review serves as the first consolidated synthesis of existing research on parenting in the Arab world, aimed at identifying research gaps and informing future research agendas. Searches of 18 databases resulted in 4,758 records (1995-2018) in all languages. Using Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework, eligible studies (n = 152) underwent duplicate data abstraction. An evidence gap map was developed using 3i.e.'s platform. Studies were mostly published in English (88%), and lead authors' affiliations were mostly from Arab institutions. Included studies were mostly cross-sectional (89%), quantitative (96%), conducted in a school/university (83%), and surveyed children and adolescents (70%). Most studies (79%) examined parenting influences on youth outcomes. Fewer examined parenting measurement (30%) or evaluated interventions (1%). Mental health and school performance were the most commonly investigated outcomes. The evidence gap map allows researchers who study youth in the Arab world to efficiently and visually delineate the gaps and strategically prioritize research needs. Future studies should employ robust mixed methods study designs, focus on evaluation and psychometric research, engage youth in the research process and explore a more diverse set of outcomes., (Copyright © 2024 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To make informed decisions, the general population should have access to accessible and understandable health recommendations. To compare understanding, accessibility, usability, satisfaction, intention to implement, and preference of adults provided with a digital "Plain Language Recommendation" (PLR) format vs. the original "Standard Language Version" (SLV)., Study Design and Setting: An allocation-concealed, blinded, controlled superiority trial and a qualitative study to understand participant preferences. An international on-line survey. 488 adults with some English proficiency. 67.8% of participants identified as female, 62.3% were from the Americas, 70.1% identified as white, 32.2% had a bachelor's degree as their highest completed education, and 42% said they were very comfortable reading health information. In collaboration with patient partners, advisors, and the Cochrane Consumer Network, we developed a plain language format of guideline recommendations (PLRs) to compare their effectiveness vs. the original standard language versions (SLVs) as published in the source guideline. We selected two recommendations about COVID-19 vaccine, similar in their content, to compare our versions, one from the World Health Organization (WHO) and one from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The primary outcome was understanding, measured as the proportion of correct responses to seven comprehension questions. Secondary outcomes were accessibility, usability, satisfaction, preference, and intended behavior, measured on a 1-7 scale., Results: Participants randomized to the PLR group had a higher proportion of correct responses to the understanding questions for the WHO recommendation (mean difference [MD] of 19.8%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 14.7-24.9%; P < 0.001) but this difference was smaller and not statistically significant for the CDC recommendation (MD of 3.9%, 95% CI -0.7% to 8.3%; P = 0.096). However, regardless of the recommendation, participants found the PLRs more accessible, (MD of 1.2 on the seven-point scale, 95% CI 0.9-1.4%; P < 0.001) and more satisfying (MD of 1.2, 95% CI 0.9-1.4%; P < 0.001). They were also more likely to follow the recommendation if they had not already followed it (MD of 1.2, 95% CI 0.7-1.8%; P < 0.001) and share it with other people they know (MD of 1.9, 95% CI 0.5-1.2%; P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the preference between the two formats (MD of -0.3, 95% CI -0.5% to 0.03%; P = 0.078). The qualitative interviews supported and contextualized these findings., Conclusion: Health information provided in a PLR format improved understanding, accessibility, usability, and satisfaction and thereby has the potential to shape public decision-making behavior., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Dr. Pottie is supported by the Ian McWhinney Research Chair in Family Medicine, Western University. Dr. Butcher declares consulting fees from Nobias Therapeutics, Inc. Dr. Hartling is supported by a Canada Research Chair in Knowledge Synthesis and Translation. Dr. Scott is supported by a Canada Research Chair in Knowledge Translation in Child Health. Dr. Hartling and Dr. Scott are Distinguished Researchers with the Stollery Science Lab supported by the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation. Dr. Richards is a volunteer vice president of the Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance, a volunteer-run organization that receives independent grants from pharmaceutical companies., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)