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Background: Online education has become more popular in recent years. Nevertheless, students may face challenges in online courses that can influence their academic self-efficacy (ASF). However, a comprehensive and localized tool for measuring ASF in online courses in Iran is needed. This study aimed to validate transcultural adaptation and psychometrically evaluate the Online Learning Self-Efficacy Scale (OLSES) among high school seniors in Bandar Abbas City. Methods: This transcultural adaptation study validated the OLSES in Tehran in 2022. The sample consisted of 1080 High School Seniors living in Bandar Abbas who participated in the cluster sampling procedure. The researchers used the OLSES and the ASF Questionnaire (ASEQ), which were sent to the participants via Google Forms. The OLSES questionnaire was translated using the back-translation method, and ten experts evaluated its face and content validity. The concurrent validity of the OLSES questionnaire was examined by correlating it with ASEQ. The OLSES questionnaire's construct validity was tested by exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) using SPSS 21 and LISREL 8.80 software. The reliability of the OLSES questionnaire was evaluated by Cronbach's alpha, test-retest, and split-half methods. The confidence interval for testing the hypotheses was 0.05. Results: The results showed that the OLSES questionnaire had acceptable face and content validity, concurrent validity, construct validity, and reliability. The mean Content Validity Ratio (CVR) and Content Validity Index (CVI) values for the items were 0.88 and 0.83, respectively. The Pearson correlation coefficient between the OLSES and ASEQ scores was 0.56. The OLSES questionnaire had a valid three-factor structure, measuring online learning self-efficacy (OLSE) in online learning environments, technology self-efficacy, and time management. These factors explained 63.606% of the total variance, with variances of 25.87%, 18.78%, and 13.23%, respectively. The CFA indicated that the three-factor model was better for the data than the one-factor model, with acceptable fit indices: SRMR=0.021 and CMIN/DF=2.39. The number of items in the OLSES questionnaire remained unchanged at 22 throughout the validity and reliability assessments. The overall scale had a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.95 and a test-retest reliability of 0.79. Conclusion: The OLSES questionnaire was a valid and reliable measure of OLSES among high school seniors. It can be used to assess students' confidence in online learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders represented 149 million years lived with disability world-wide in 2019 and are the main cause of years lived with disability worldwide. Current treatment recommendations are based on "one-size fits all" principle, which does not take into account the large degree of biopsychosocial heterogeneity in this group of patients. To compensate for this, we developed a stratified care computerized clinical decision support system for general practice based on patient biopsychosocial phenotypes; furthermore, we added personalized treatment recommendations based on specific patient factors to the system. In this study protocol, we describe the randomized controlled trial for evaluating the effectiveness of computerized clinical decision support system for stratified care for patients with common musculoskeletal pain complaints in general practice. The aim of this study is to test the effect of a computerized clinical decision support system for stratified care in general practice on subjective patient outcome variables compared to current care. Methods: We will perform a cluster-randomized controlled trial with 44 general practitioners including 748 patients seeking their general practitioner due to pain in the neck, back, shoulder, hip, knee, or multisite. The intervention group will use the computerized clinical decision support system, while the control group will provide current care for their patients. The primary outcomes assessed at 3 months are global perceived effect and clinically important improvement in function measured by the Patient-Specific Function Scale (PSFS), while secondary outcomes include change in pain intensity measured by the Numeric Rating Scale (0–10), health-related quality of life (EQ-5D), general musculoskeletal health (MSK-HQ), number of treatments, use of painkillers, sick-leave grading and duration, referral to secondary care, and use of imaging. Discussion: The use of biopsychosocial profile to stratify patients and implement it in a computerized clinical decision support system for general practitioners is a novel method of providing decision support for this patient group. The study aim to recruit patients from May 2022 to March 2023, and the first results from the study will be available late 2023. Trial registration: The trial is registered in ISRCTN 11th of May 2022: 14,067,965. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonlinear mapping is an essential and common demand in online systems, such as sensor systems and mobile phones. Accelerating nonlinear mapping will directly speed up online systems. Previously the authors of this paper proposed a Dendrite Net (DD) with enormously lower time complexity than the existing nonlinear mapping algorithms; however, there still are redundant calculations in DD. This paper presents a DD with an acceleration module (AC) to accelerate nonlinear mapping further. We conduct three experiments to verify whether DD with AC has lower time complexity while retaining DD's nonlinear mapping properties and system identification properties: The first experiment is the precision and identification of unary nonlinear mapping, reflecting the calculation performance using DD with AC for basic functions in online systems. The second experiment is the mapping precision and identification of the multi-input nonlinear system, reflecting the performance for designing online systems via DD with AC. Finally, this paper compares the time complexity of DD and DD with AC and analyzes the theoretical reasons through repeated experiments. Results: DD with AC retains DD's excellent mapping and identification properties and has lower time complexity. Significance: DD with AC can be used for most engineering systems, such as sensor systems, and will speed up computation in these online systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic placed on libraries' existing workflows and operations, many librarians developed and debuted new services that addressed novel needs that emerged during the pandemic. This report describes how two electronic resource librarians at regional hospitals within a healthcare corporation used exhibition platforms to showcase resident research in an online format as a complement to in-person resident research programming. Case Presentation: Over the course of the pandemic, two exhibition platform variants were implemented, one year apart. This case report describes how each platform was developed. The first online event was conducted using a virtual exhibit platform to minimize in-person contact. The second online event, held the following year, blended a traditional live event with virtual elements using the online exhibit platform. To ensure completion of tasks, project management techniques were adopted throughout the event planning process. Conclusions: The pandemic created opportunities for hospitals to explore transforming meetings from primarily live and onsite into hybrid and fully virtual events. While many corporate hospitals have transitioned back to primarily in-person programming, newly adopted online practices such as online judging platforms and automation of continuing medical education tasks will likely remain. As in-person restrictions within healthcare settings are lifted or eased at uneven rates, organizations may continue to explore the value of in-person meetings versus the video conference experience of the same meeting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to report the experience of researchers in conducting online data collection in a survey with a quantitative approach. Method: experience report on the data collection of the survey "Use of personal protective equipment by health professionals in the fight against COVID 19" that took place between August 2020 and March 2021 by means of a self-administered virtual questionnaire. Results: the research was disseminated through the creation of a website and social networks, the sending of a poster accompanied by a specific text with a clickable link through Whatsapp®, contacts by email and phone, in addition to the strategy of seeds. During data collection, complicating and facilitating factors were observed. As a social contribution, the course "Biosafety: Good Practices in the performance in front of COVID-19" was made available. Conclusion: online data collection provided a nationwide survey at low cost, but with little participation from the eligible population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. SARS-CoV-2 pandemic spread around the world exponentially. People use disinfectants excessively as a form of protection from the novel coronavirus, which may result in contact eczema. This, in turn, may be monitored by the local health authorities. Our study explores the internet in order to detect significant changes in online information search behaviors associated with eczema in Iraq during the pandemic. Material and Methods. We searched the internet, via Google Trends, using five search terms; "اكزيما", "الاكزيما", "اكزيما اليد", "كحول", and "مطهر"; these are the Arabic translation for "eczema", "the eczema", "hand eczema", "alcohol", and "disinfectant". We explored the temporal mapping covering two years, before and during the pandemic, using frequentist statistics, polynomial models, and neural networks to evaluate the time series which reflects web users' information-seeking behavior with regard to these terms. Results. Spatial mapping conveyed data from six Iraq governorates, including Ninawa, Babil, Al-Najaf, Baghdad, Basrah, and Erbil. Basrah governorate had the highest score (interest) for the search term "the eczema" (الاكزيما), while Al-Najaf had the highest score regarding the search term "disinfectant" (مطهر). Temporal mapping exhibited high variability, the highest of which was for the "the eczema" (الاكزيما) and "alcohol" (كحول). Exploring the time series using polynomial models demonstrated a weak power over the two years. However, in the course of the pandemic year, all models possessed moderate power. Conclusions. Changes in the human behavior during pandemic events are of prime importance for the pharmacovigilance experts. Pandemics may affect medical conditions, including hand eczema, as a manifestation of disinfectants overuse. Combining statistics and artificial intelligence facilitates screening, detecting, and collecting pharmacovigilance safety data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, there has been an explosion of innovation in software tools that encapsulate and expand the capabilities of the widely used student peer assessment. While the affordances and pedagogical impacts of traditional in-person, “paper-and-pencil” peer assessment have been studied extensively and are relatively well understood, computerized (online) peer assessment introduced not only shifts in scalability and efficiency, but also entirely new capabilities and forms of social learning interactions, instructor leverage, and distributed cognition, that still need to be researched and systematized. Despite the ample research on traditional peer assessment and evidence of its efficacy, common vocabulary and shared understanding of online peer-assessment system design, including the variety of methods, techniques, and implementations, is still missing. We present key findings of a comprehensive survey based on a systematic research framework for examining and generalizing affordances and constraints of online peer-assessment systems. This framework (a) provides a foundation of a design-science metatheory of online peer assessment, (b) helps structure the discussion of user needs and design options, and (c) informs educators and system design practitioners. We identified two major themes in existing and potential research—orientation towards scaffolded learning vs. exploratory learning and system maturity. We also outlined an agenda for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Long-term disability to work is a risk factor for a permanent reduction in income. Rehabilitation care can support people to return to work. In Germany, rehabilitation care to return to work is mostly provided in specialised clinics. The aim of the Rehapro-SERVE study is to reduce work disability days by facilitating rehabilitation care planning using a digital communication platform. To investigate the feasibility, we will test the implementation of the digital platform and evaluate the study procedures. The Rehapro-SERVE study is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) (grant number: 661R0053K1). Method: The feasibility study includes a two-armed unblinded block randomised controlled study (RCT) without follow-up assessments as well as an interview study. Participants for the RCT (n = 16) are primary care patients with a minimum of 4 weeks of absence from work due to musculoskeletal, oncological or psychological conditions and at high risk of early retirement. Eligibility criteria are age 40 to 60 years; minimum of 4 weeks continuous sick leave before recruitment due to musculoskeletal, mental health or oncological conditions; and being at high risk of early retirement. Patients will be recruited from 8 primary care practices in urban and rural areas in Hesse, Germany. Following baseline assessments, patients will be randomised to either digitalised care planning (treatment) or a control group. The digitalised care planning platform will include the patients' primary care physicians, jobcentres and public health physicians to decide on a tailored return-to-work programme. The collaboration will be supported by a case administrator and, if considered beneficial, a social worker for the patient. An interview study will evaluate the acceptability of the study procedures and the intervention. Discussion: The use of a digital communication platform enables stakeholders to exchange information and discuss rehabilitation care planning in a timely fashion. The results of the feasibility study will lead to the adaptation of study procedures for the main study. The results will support the design and conduct of similar studies including digital applications in primary care or across different healthcare settings. Trial registration: DRKS- German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00024207. Registered on 22 March 2021 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The Internet may facilitate active participation of the patient in specifying the priorities of disease management and improve rehearsal for awaiting interventions. In this study, we sought to assess the relationship of Internet use with the anaesthesia-related variables. Methods: A 15-question survey was formed involving questions about demographics, Internet use habits and awareness of the planned interventions. A previous online search for anaesthesia and topics of search were specifically asked. Searching for anaesthesia on the Internet was determined as the primary end-point. Results: One-hundred and fifty-seven patients (41.1 6 14.4 years, 63.1% female) responded to our survey. The ratio of the participants who had previous experience of anaesthesia was 62.4%. Seventy-nine percent of the subjects had an Internet access frequency of couple of times a week or more often. However, only 39.5% (n ¼ 49) of those specifically searched about anaesthesia on the Internet. Individuals who searched for anaesthesia on the Internet were younger and used to be online everyday. Regional anaesthesia was more frequently preferred method in this group. However, previously discussed anaesthesia issues with the surgeon were designated as the only closely associated variable of the primary end-point (OR ¼ 0.25, 95% CI [0.102-0.616], P ¼ .003). Conclusion: Possibly due to local cultural myths, our participants were more eager to get answers to their concerns about anaesthesia when compared with their counterparts in previous reports. Although Internet search habits played a role in this sense, the entity of "online search for anaesthesia" was closely associated only with having the surgeons' ideas about anaesthesia procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In‐tube solid‐phase microextraction with a capillary column as extraction device can be directly coupled with high‐performance liquid chromatography systems (HPLC). The in‐tube solid‐phase microextraction technique has been continuously developed since it was introduced in 1997. New couplings have also been evaluated on the basis of state‐of‐the‐art HPLC instruments. Different types of capillaries (wall‐coated open tubular, porous layer open tubular, sorbent‐packed, porous monolithic rods, or fiber‐packed) with selective stationary phases (monoliths, magnetic nanoparticles, conducting polymers, restricted access materials, ionic liquids, carbon, deep eutectic solvents, and hybrid materials) have been developed to boost in‐tube solid‐phase microextraction performance (sorption capacity and selectivity). This technique has been successfully applied to analyze biological samples (serum, plasma, whole blood, hair, urine, milk, skin, and saliva) for therapeutic drug monitoring, to study biomarkers, to detect illicit drugs, to conduct metabolomics studies, and to assess exposure to drugs. This review describes current advances in in‐tube solid‐phase microextraction extraction devices and their application in bioanalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the traditional printed form of the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire with a proposed online form in terms of validity, reliability, and applicability. Methods: A crossover design study was conducted with 157 undergraduate students. Half of the sample answered the printed questionnaire first and then answered the online questionnaire 7 days later, while the other half of the sample did the inverse. Cronbach’s alpha was used to analyze the internal consistency of both the online and printed questionnaires. The construct validity was analyzed by confirmatory factor analysis, using a weighted least square mean and adjusted variance estimation and oblique rotation. The quality of the model was tested with fit indices. Results: The confirmatory factor analysis showed the 19-item structure with five factors: χ² of 230.718; degrees of freedom of 142; χ²/degrees of freedom of 1.625; comparative fit index of 0.978 and root mean square error of approximation of 0.073. All items presented factorial loads above 0.5. There was also excellent consistency between the formats of administration in all dimensions, with Cronbach’s alpha values above 0.70. The stability between the formats of administration varied between 0.78 (95%CI: 0.69-0.85) and 0.84 (95%CI: 0.77-0.89), suggesting desirable confidence between both formats of administration. Conclusion: The five-factor model of the online Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire shows internal consistency both in terms of the scale dimensions as well as in terms of the total items. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In a low-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) treated with methotrexate (MTX), the modeled hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) residual concentration (hCGres), calculated with NONMEM program® (NM) during the first 50 treatment days, is a predictor of MTX-resistance risk. This model was implemented with another algorithm on https://www.biomarker-kinetics.org/hCG . The objective was to confirm the validity of the website estimations with respect to NM.Methods: The consistencies of modeled hCGres estimated by NM and by the website were assessed in a dataset of 60 fictive patients with simulated hCG profiles, as well as in an independent database of 531 actual patients. Moreover, the hCGres predictive values regarding MTX failure-risk were assessed.Results: The values of hCGres obtained with both methods were highly consistent in the fictive patient and in the actual patient datasets: median relative prediction errors (RPE) were - 0.059 and 9.9 × 10-7, respectively. The ROC AUCs for predictions of MTX failure-risk were 0.90 (95% CI 0.87,0.93) with both NM and the website. The gradual association between increasing hCGres and the 2-year MTX failure-free survival was confirmed.Conclusion: There is a high consistency of hCGres estimates obtained with the two methods. The website is meant to help clinicians in the interpretation of hCG decline curves of MTX-treated GTN patients. hCGres is now validated for more than 1690 patients in four independent datasets, and its recognition as an early predictor of MTX resistance for treatment adjustment and for the future studies should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issue Addressed: Online systems offer opportunities to provide effective, ongoing support to childcare services to implement dietary guidelines. The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a dissemination strategy on childcare service: (i) adoption; and (ii) use of an online menu planning program designed to increase compliance with dietary guidelines.Methods: A nonrandomised controlled trial was conducted with long day care services across Australia. All services received an email invitation to access an online evidence-based menu planning program. Services in the intervention also received training, telephone contact and provision of a portable computer tablet to encourage program adoption and use. Outcomes were assessed at the 6-month follow-up using analytics data recorded by the online program. Outcomes included the proportion of services having accessed the program (adoption) and the proportion of services with a current menu entered in the program (use as intended).Results: Twenty-seven interventions and 19 control services took part. At the 6-month follow-up, 100% vs 58% of services had adopted the online menu planning program (OR: 14.67, 95% CI: 2.43-infinity; P < 0.01) and 41% vs 5% of services had a current menu entered in the program (OR: 9.99, 95% CI: 1.01-534.57; P < 0.01) in the intervention and control arms respectively.Conclusions: This study highlights the need for strategies to support adoption and use of an online menu planning program in childcare services if the potential benefits of such a program are to be achieved. Future research should explore the effectiveness of differing strategies to increase adoption and use of online programs at scale. SO WHAT?: Strategies to support childcare service uptake and use of online programs are required in order for the potential public health benefits of such technologies to be realised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Course and is an instructional approach that allows hundreds of thousands of students to access -- typically free of charge -- online courses anywhere around the world. The continuous and rapid growth of MOOCs has attracted the attention of educational community and has gained widespread popularity among many universities. Therefore, based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model, an applied research was conducted to study medical students' acceptance to use MOOCs. Materials and Methods: It is a descriptive survey that has been done in 2019. The sample consisted of 367 randomly selected students of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS). The data collection tool was a questionnaire, the validity and reliability of which were confirmed. The data were analyzed by SPSS and LISREL 8.8 software. Results: An important part of the results revealed that there was a positive meaningful relationship between "performance expectancy" and "behavioral intention", "effort expectancy" and "behavioral intention", "facilitating conditions" and "use of the system", and "behavioral intention" and "use of the system". Conclusion: According to the results of this study, MOOC managers' motivation to implement the system effectively strongly depends on the behavioral intention of users, especially students' willingness to accept and use the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: We aimed to introduce a low-cost combined online referral and immediate appointment selection system (CORIAS) to empower referrers and parents by allowing them to schedule an appointment at a time and location of their choosing in conjunction with the referrer at the time of referral. This was because an unacceptably high rate of reported lost referrals, combined with a high rate of failure to attend initial appointments (FTAs), was noted at a six-site community paediatric clinic service. We aimed to analyse the impact of CORIAS on important outcomes including timely appointment scheduling, attendance, loss of referrals, user acceptance, overall cost and administrative burden.Methods: For 3-month periods before and after the implementation of CORIAS, data were collected regarding all new referrals received and initial appointments scheduled, as well as reports of lost referrals. The number of attended initial appointments, FTAs, failures in successfully scheduling appointments, referrer background, CORIAS cost and qualitative feedback received from relevant parties was collated and analysed.Results: The proportion of referrals reported lost was 6% following the implementation of the combined online system in comparison to 17% pre-implementation. The FTA rate for scheduled initial appointments pre-implementation was 16%; post-implementation, the FTA rate was 9%. Qualitative benefits included a decrease in the administrative burden associated with appointment scheduling and increased service access for culturally and linguistically diverse families.Conclusion: Appropriately designed and implemented novel online systems may improve timely and equitable access to health care by providing secure, reliable pathways for referrers and by empowering and improving communication with patients and families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Characterizing the earliest demonstrable cognitive decline in middle-aged adults at risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) will allow for the better understanding of the early disease trajectory, and the provision of therapies prior to clinical symptom onset. We developed an online platform- healthybrainproject.org.au (Healthy Brain Project; HBP)- to recruit, assess, and monitor at-risk middle-aged adults.Objective: Describe the HBP methodology and report baseline characteristics and adherence indices of participants.Methods: Between February 2017 and August 2018, 4,000 community-based middle-aged Australian adults with a first or second-degree family history of dementia enrolled at our website (healthybrainproject.org.au). Participants were directed to complete five modules: "Basics", "Health History", "How You Feel", "How You Live", and "How You Think". Of these, 1,816 participants have received a saliva sampling kit for genetic analysis.Results: Participants had a mean (SD) age of 55.5 (6.8) years, 11.8 (3.4) years of education, and annual personal income of AUD$68,830 ($35,044). Participants took 26.4 (49.7) days after enrolment to complete questionnaires and cognitive tests. Most participants were from Victoria (63%), followed by New South Wales (14%). Most participants (74%) were female and 76% identified as Caucasian. Approximately 36% of participants completed all modules (n = 1,450), and 56% (n = 2,221) completed 4 out of 5 modules. Most saliva kits (89%) had been returned.Conclusion: The HBP joins a handful of online registries worldwide that assess and monitor a large cohort of individuals at risk of AD. Our study extends on these efforts by focusing on midlife, where the earliest signs of cognitive and pathological changes will manifest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sluice-pump station projects usually consist of many widely distributed hydraulic structures, such as pumping stations, sluices and dams. In order to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the project, it is necessary to observe and measure the settlement, expansion joints and seepage flow of hydraulic structures regularly and accurately. In this paper, an online correlation analysis and clustering method for multichannel real-time monitoring data streams was proposed. It aimed at finding the connections between data streams from multiple interested measuring channels, and automatically discovering potential project security problems and sensor failures. Firstly, the real-time data streams were continuously collected by recording sensor data from multiple measuring channels with the same frequency and aligning them on the time axis. Secondly, 3 statistical features of the data streams were incrementally calculated. By employing the statistical features, the calculation of correlation coefficients of any 2 data streams could only run in 0(1) time. Thirdly, the clustering algorithm of density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise was used in order to automatically find grouped data streams with strong correlations and noised data streams with weak or without correlations. By analyzing the clustering results according to project related characteristics and objective laws, potential project safety risks as well as sensor failures could be identified. Based on an earlier developed safety monitoring system for Taizhou Gaogang sluice-pump station project, the experiments were carried out to analyze and cluster multichannel data streams of uplift pressure, expansion joint and temperature online. It took less than 1 s to process multiple data streams for one time. The clustering results of the water level data streams revealed that the water levels in the uplift pressure tubes installed in 5 sections of the project had strong positive relations owing to the normal action of ground water penetration. Exceptionally, the variation of water level in 1 tube was highly affected by water level change of the Yangtze River, which means there existed an abnormal seepage in that position. The failure of 1 uplift pressure sensor was also found according to the clustering results. Besides, the clustering results of the data streams of expansion joint size and temperature could be explained by thermal expansion and contraction. Especially, the expansion joint sizes of most places in the east-west direction of the horizontal plane had strong negative correlations to the environment temperature while the ones in the other directions were less affected. All the data streams classified as the noises could be directly used to discover the abnormal situations of the corresponding sensors. In conclusion, the proposed method could effectively find the connections between the online data streams from multiple interested measuring channels, and discover potential project safety problems and sensor failures. It showed to be an effective way to supplement the online data analysis methods in the hydraulic area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the easy dehydration, yellowing and rotting of leaf vegetables, harmful substances produced in the human body, and being time-consuming and difficult to select leaf vegetables artificially, this study focused on development of nondestructive online detection system for leaf vegetables quality detection in small and medium restaurants based on machine vision. This system was composed of hardware modules and software processing system. The hardware modules included leaf vegetables separation unit, transmission unit, LED (light emitting diode) light sources unit, sensing unit, machine vision detection unit and sorting unit. The leaf vegetables separation could divide samples into pieces by designing a roller with a negative pressure. The sensing unit could control imaging acquisition and sorting operation of defective samples. In addition, the circuit of sorting unit included 555 timer, solenoid valve, relays and air compressor. The software was designed by using OpenCv and Visual C++ for realizing the automatic collection, data analysis and result display of the sample information. Finally, combining the characteristics of the corresponding information extraction method, the 320 spinach samples were adopted for verifying the system's performance, and among these samples, the yellow leaf, leaves with insect hole, rotting leaves and normal leaves were 91, 75, 91, and 63 respectively. For yellow leaves and rotting leaves, the RGB (red, green and blue) and HSV (hue, saturation, value) color space transform method were used by setting weight value H∈(60°, 130°), S∈(0, 0.17) and V∈(0, 0.23) to extract the characteristic information of the yellow leaves and rotting leaves of spinach. For leaves with insect hole, the threshold of 2G-R-B in RGB color space was adjusted for completing image graying, binarization and morphological denoising to extract contour feature information of leaves with insect hole, which could realize the discrimination of this kind of leaves and their area calculation. By the color space transformation of RGB to HSV, the threshold segmentation of hue variable with effective suppression of noise was selected to extract the characteristic region of yellowing leaves and rotten leaves. In order to obtain the correct information of insect eye contour, the closed operation of morphological filtering was used to remove the blade handle information. The experimental results show that the sorting system and information extraction algorithm can achieve the discrimination of spinach external quality. Compared with the artificial discrimination, the discrimination accuracies of yellow leaf, rotting leaves free of pests and leaves with insect hole were 96.70%, 92.59% and 84.62% respectively. The overall discrimination accuracy rate was 94.69%, and the selection speed of the device could reach 1 sample/0.84 s. The results also demonstrate that the sorting speed and the sorting accuracy of this system can meet the requirements of the quality separation of leafy vegetables. The test results show that the parameters of the system can meet the requirements of the quality separation. Compared with the quality of the artificially sorting vegetables, the system not only is easy to operate and time-saving, but also has good reliability. This research provides technical support for the practical research and development of leaf quality sorting device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Paediatric chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is a relatively common and disabling condition. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) as a treatment option for paediatric CFS/ME because there is good evidence that it is effective. Despite this, most young people in the UK are unable to access local specialist CBT for CFS/ME. A randomised controlled trial (RCT) showed FITNET was effective in the Netherlands but we do not know if it is effective in the National Health Service (NHS) or if it is cost-effective. This trial will investigate whether FITNET-NHS is clinically effective and cost-effective in the NHS.Methods: Seven hundred and thirty-four paediatric patients (aged 11-17 years) with CFS/ ME will be randomised (1:1) to receive either FITNET-NHS (online CBT) or Activity Management (delivered via video call). The internal pilot study will use integrated qualitative methods to examine the feasibility of recruitment and the acceptability of treatment. The full trial will assess whether FITNET-NHS is clinically effective and cost-effective. The primary outcome is disability at 6 months, measured using the SF-36-PFS (Physical Function Scale) questionnaire. Cost-effectiveness is measured via cost-utility analysis from an NHS perspective. Secondary subgroup analysis will investigate the effectiveness of FITNET-NHS in those with co-morbid mood disorders.Discussion: If FITNET-NHS is found to be feasible and acceptable (internal pilot) and effective and cost-effective (full trial), its provision by the NHS has the potential to deliver substantial health gains for the large number of young people suffering from CFS/ME but unable to access treatment because there is no local specialist service. This trial will provide further evidence evaluating the delivery of online CBT to young people with chronic conditions.Trial Registration: ISRCTN registry, registration number: ISRCTN18020851 . Registered on 4 August 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality Problem or Issue: In 2013, 'National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards' accreditation became mandatory for most health care services in Australia. Developing and maintaining accreditation education is challenging for health care services, particularly those in regional and rural settings. With accreditation imminent, there was a need to support health care services through the process.Initial Assessment: A needs analysis identified limited availability of open access online resources for national accreditation education.Choice Of Solution: A standardized set of online accreditation education resources was the agreed solution to assist regional and rural health care services meet compulsory requirements.Implementation: Education resources were developed over 3 months with project planning, implementation and assessment based on a program logic model.Evaluation: Resource evaluation was undertaken after the first 3 months of resource availability to establish initial usage and stakeholder perceptions. From 1 January 2015 to 31 March 2015, resource usage was 20 272, comprising 12 989 downloads, 3594 course completions and 3689 page views. Focus groups were conducted at two rural and one metropolitan hospital (n = 16), with rural hospitals reporting more benefits. Main user-based recommendations for future resource development were automatic access to customizable versions, ensuring suitability to intended audience, consistency between resource content and assessment tasks and availability of short and long length versions to meet differing users' needs.Lessons Learned: Further accreditation education resource development should continue to be collaborative, consider longer development timeframes and user-based recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate WhatsApp messenger usage for communication between consulting and emergency physicians. A retrospective, observational study was conducted in the emergency department (ED) of a tertiary care university hospital between January 2014 and June 2014. A total of 614 consultations requested by using the WhatsApp application were evaluated, and 519 eligible consultations were included in the study. The WhatsApp messages that were transferred to consultant physicians consisted of 510 (98.3 %) photographic images, 517 (99.6 %) text messages, 59 (11.3 %) videos, and 10 (1.9 %) voice messages. Consultation was most frequently requested from the orthopedics clinic ( n = 160, 30.8 %). The majority of requested consultations were terminated only by evaluation via WhatsApp messages. ( n = 311, 59.9 %). Most of the consulting physicians were outside of the hospital or were mobile at the time of the consultation ( n = 292, 56.3 %). The outside consultation request rate was significantly higher for night shifts than for day shifts ( p = .004), and the majority of outside consultation request were concluded by only WhatsApp application ( p < .001). WhatsApp is useful a communication tool between physicians, especially for ED consultants who are outside the hospital, because of the ability to transfer large amounts of clinical and radiological data during a short period of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Smoking is prevalent among Korean American men. Quitting is Winning, an Internet-based, cognitive-behavioral smoking cessation program, was developed using community-based participatory research principles.Methods: A randomized controlled trial was used to evaluate whether participants were more likely to complete the program and quit smoking at 6-months of follow-up with additional reinforcement. The main outcomes were the proportion of participants who completed the online program and the proportion who quit smoking for at least 30days, 26weeks after enrollment, among those randomized into the high-reinforcement (HR) condition compared with those in the low-reinforcement (LR) condition.Results: The study achieved a final enrollment of 403 participants including 56 women. Program completion was greater for the HR as compared to the LR condition (17% vs. 10%, p=.035). There was no significant difference in 30-day smoking cessation (intent-to-treat [ITT]) between the HR and LR conditions (9% vs. 8%, ns). Smoking cessation was greater among program completers as compared to those who did not complete the program (28% vs. 5%, p<.001).Conclusions: The addition of interim surveys and financial incentives for interim survey completion and program completion significantly increased the likelihood of program completion. Moreover, program completers were significantly more likely to quit smoking. Although smoking cessation rates did not significantly differ between the HR and LR conditions, the results suggest that future studies should explore the efficacy of larger financial incentives for program completion (Clinical Trial #NCT02584127). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relative to non-First Nations, Inuit, and Métis (FNIM) Canadians, FNIM people have poorer health status. Accessing and comprehending information and services that influence health is a fundamental skill that enables individuals to function within a health care system that expects individuals to play an active role in promoting their health. A qualitative investigation of the health literacy skills and the health information needs of young FNIM adults was conducted. Eight single First Nation mothers living on-reserve were interviewed between February 2012 and September 2012. Data analysis generated main themes and subthemes of: (1) Health Information Needs of First Nations Young mothers; (2) Interpersonal Health Information Resources: (i) Asking the Doctor/Telehealth, (ii) Female Family and Friends; and (3) Online Accessibility and User Skills: (i) Health Information Online, (ii) Social Media, and (iii) Navigation and Computer Skills. Although participants used online and social media resources to access health information, they expressed a lack of confidence in their ability to comprehend accessed information. Strategies to support First Nations young mothers are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online access to medical records and linked services, including requesting repeat prescriptions and booking appointments, enables patients to personalize their access to care. However, online access creates opportunities and challenges for both health professionals and their patients, in practices and in research. The challenges for practice are the impact of online services on workload and the quality and safety of health care. Health professionals are concerned about the impact on workload, especially from email or other online enquiry systems, as well as risks to privacy. Patients report how online access provides a convenient means through which to access their health provider and may offer greater satisfaction if they get a timely response from a clinician. Online access and services may also result in unforeseen consequences and may change the nature of the patient-clinician interaction. Research challenges include: (1) Ensuring privacy, including how to control inappropriate carer and guardian access to medical records; (2) Whether online access to records improves patient safety and health outcomes; (3) Whether record access increases disparities across social classes and between genders; and (4) Improving efficiency. The challenges for practice are: (1) How to incorporate online access into clinical workflow; (2) The need for a business model to fund the additional time taken. Creating a sustainable business model for a safe, private, informative, more equitable online service is needed if online access to records is to be provided outside of pay-for-service systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to understand how district size and wealth factors influence the adoption of open-source online systems in primary and secondary (K-12) education. Most schools now utilise online systems (e.g. CMS, LMS, SIS) for a number of purposes, and it is anticipated that no-cost and open-source systems could be of great value for democratising access to information system resources and improving the plight of struggling schools. By using web extraction techniques to collect all public school website data for K-12 districts in the target state (n = 133) and merging this data-set with public financial records, researchers conducted a series of one-way analysis of covariance and multivariate analysis of variance tests to determine main effects. Results indicate that larger, wealthier districts are more likely to adopt open source systems than smaller, poorer districts. These results call into question the democratising impact of open-source systems for struggling schools and suggest the importance of literacy development for supporting open adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The uses of internet-based technologies (e.g. patient portals, websites and applications) by cancer patients could be strong drive for change in cancer care coordination practices. The goal of this study was to assess the current utilisation of internet-based technologies (IBT) among cancer patients, and their willingness to use them for their health, as well as analyse the influence of socio-demographics on both aspects. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted in June 2013, over seven non-consecutive days within seven outpatient departments of Gustave Roussy, a comprehensive cancer centre (≈160,000 consultations yearly), located just outside Paris. We computed descriptive statistics and performed correlation analysis to investigate patients' usage and attitudes in correspondence with age, gender, socioeconomic status, social isolation, and place of living. We then conducted multinomial logistic regressions using R. The participation level was 85% (n = 1371). The median age was 53.4. 71% used a mobile phone everyday and 93% had access to Internet from home. Age and socioeconomic status were negatively associated with the use of IBT (p < 0.001). Regarding patients' expected benefits, a wide majority valued its use in health care, and especially, the possibility to enhance communication with providers. 84% of patients reported feeling comfortable with the use of such technologies but age and socioeconomic status had a significant influence. Most patients used IBTs every day. Overall, patients advocated for an extended use of IBT in oncology. Differences in perceived ease of use corresponding to age and socioeconomic status have to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The uses of internet-based technologies (e.g. patient portals, websites and applications) by cancer patients could be strong drive for change in cancer care coordination practices. The goal of this study was to assess the current utilisation of internet-based technologies (IBT) among cancer patients, and their willingness to use them for their health, as well as analyse the influence of socio-demographics on both aspects. Methods A questionnaire-based survey was conducted in June 2013, over seven non-consecutive days within seven outpatient departments of Gustave Roussy, a comprehensive cancer centre (≈160,000 consultations yearly), located just outside Paris. We computed descriptive statistics and performed correlation analysis to investigate patients’ usage and attitudes in correspondence with age, gender, socioeconomic status, social isolation, and place of living. We then conducted multinomial logistic regressions using R. Results The participation level was 85% ( n = 1371). The median age was 53.4. 71% used a mobile phone everyday and 93% had access to Internet from home. Age and socioeconomic status were negatively associated with the use of IBT ( p < 0.001). Regarding patients’ expected benefits, a wide majority valued its use in health care, and especially, the possibility to enhance communication with providers. 84% of patients reported feeling comfortable with the use of such technologies but age and socioeconomic status had a significant influence. Conclusion Most patients used IBTs every day. Overall, patients advocated for an extended use of IBT in oncology. Differences in perceived ease of use corresponding to age and socioeconomic status have to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of computerized health information systems (HIS) across the African continent has had mixed success over the past 20 years. Many countries have been left with non-functional systems which cannot be adapted to meet current health information demands because funding is exhausted, the source code for legacy systems is not available and the challenge of maintaining complex and distributed systems in resource-poor environments has simply proved too great. The expansion of Internet connectivity in Africa has enabled a new model of provisioning systems using the web which may prove to be more robust and scalable. This paper uses the case of a new web-based HIS in Ghana to illustrate the opportunities and challenges of this new model. We discuss how the HIS in Ghana was materialized through an act of “improvized outsourcing” according to Ciborra [(1999). Notes on improvisation and time in organizations.Accounting, Management and Information Technologies, 9(2), 77–94], improvization is called upon in urgent situations “when plans and procedures fail” (p. 77). Such an urgent situation took place in Ghana when the data center intended for hosting of the HIS server was not operational in time for the national rollout. Through an act of improvization, hosting of the server was outsourced to a private company in Accra. Silva (2002) [Outsourcing as an improvisation: A case study in Latin America.The Information Society, 18(2), 129–138] argues that power is essential in understanding why outsourcing improvizations succeed or fail, and in light of this we discuss what empowering factors that enabled the successful improvization in Ghana and the role of improvization and outsourcing for the long-term sustainability of system. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background Management of diabetes mellitus is complex and involves controlling multiple risk factors that may lead to complications. Given that patients provide most of their own diabetes care, patient self-management training is an important strategy for improving quality of care. Webbased interventions have the potential to bridge gaps in diabetes self-care and selfmanagement. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of a web-based patient self-management intervention on psychological (self-efficacy, quality of life, self-care) and clinical (blood pressure, cholesterol, glycemic control, weight) outcomes. Methods For this cohort study we used repeated-measures modelling and qualitative individual interviews. We invited patients with type 2 diabetes to use a self-management website and asked them to complete questionnaires assessing self-efficacy (primary outcome) every three weeks for nine months before and nine months after they received access to the website. We collected clinical outcomes at three-month intervals over the same period. We conducted indepth interviews at study conclusion to explore acceptability, strengths and weaknesses, and mediators of use of the website. We analyzed the data using a qualitative descriptive approach and inductive thematic analysis. Results Eighty-one participants (mean age 57.2 years, standard deviation 12) were included in the analysis. The self-efficacy score did not improve significantly more than expected after nine months (absolute change 0.12; 95% confidence interval -0.028, 0.263; p = 0.11), nor did clinical outcomes. Website usage was limited (average 0.7 logins/month). Analysis of the interviews (n = 21) revealed four themes:1) mediators of website use; 2) patterns of website use, including role of the blog in driving site traffic; 3) feedback on website; and 4) potential mechanisms for website effect. Conclusions A self-management website for patients with type 2 diabetes did not improve self-efficacy. Website use was limited. Although its perceived reliability, availability of a blog and emailed reminders drew people to the website, participants' struggles with type 2 diabetes, competing priorities in their lives, and website accessibility were barriers to its use. Future interventions should aim to integrate the intervention seamlessly into the daily routine of end users such that it is not seen as yet another chore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The literature abounds with research related to building online communities in a single course; however, limited evidence is available on this phenomenon from a program perspective. The intent of this qualitative case study inquiry was to explore student experiences in a graduate dental hygiene program contributing or impeding the development and sustainability of online learning communities. Methods: Approval from the IRB was received. A purposive sampling technique was used to recruit participants from a stratification of students and graduates. A total of 17 participants completed semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was completed through 2 rounds--1 for coding responses and 1 to construct categories of experiences. Results: The participants’ collective definition of an online learning community was a complex synergistic network of interconnected people who create positive energy. The findings indicated the development of this network began during the program orientation and was beneficial for building a foundation for the community. Students felt socially connected and supported by the network. Course design was another important category for participation in weekly discussions and group activities. Instructors were viewed as active participants in the community, offering helpful feedback and being a facilitator in discussions. Experiences impeding the development of online learning communities related to the poor performance of peers and instructors. Conclusion: Specific categories of experiences supported and impeded the development of online learning communities related to the program itself, course design, students and faculty. These factors are important to consider in order to maximize student learning potential in this environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is done an examination which aim is to support making an e-system for making an appointment to a medicine specialist. It is examined existing web-based technologies applied in similar systems as well as their advantages and disadvantages. For the examination work and for the elaboration are used web-date based and program languages. Developing an online based system gives a possibility for creating flexible applications planning to save time and financial resources for the users when they need to do an appointment as well as the medical specialists for their everyday work. For the first time in Bulgaria that type system has been applied in the private business in few years ago. Its appliance at the medical institutions could reduce the time of waiting up in a queue in front the doctor's cabinet and it could bring a better organization at the medical centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a need to enhance the effectiveness and reach of complex health promotion initiatives by providing opportunities for diverse health promotion practitioners and others to interact in online settings. This paper reviews the existing literature on how to take health promotion communities and networks into online settings. A scoping review of relevant bodies of literature and empirical evidence was undertaken to provide an interpretive synthesis of existing knowledge on the topic. Sixteen studies were identified between 1986 and 2007. Relatively little research has been conducted on the process of taking existing offline communities and networks into online settings. However, more research has focused on offline (i.e. not mediated via computer networks); 'virtual' (purely online with no offline interpersonal contact); and 'multiplex' communities (i.e. those that interact across both online and offline settings). Results are summarised under three themes: characteristics of communities in online and offline settings; issues in moving offline communities online, and designing online communities to match community needs. Existing health promotion initiatives can benefit from online platforms that promote community building and knowledge sharing. Online e-health promotion settings and communities can successfully integrate with existing offline settings and communities to form 'multiplex' communities (i.e. communities that operate fluently across both online and offline settings). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Usage data for research networking systems (RNSs) are valuable but generally unavailable for understanding scientific professionals' information needs and online collaborator seeking behaviors. This study contributes a method for evaluating RNSs and initial usage knowledge of one RNS obtained from using this method. We designed a log for an institutional RNS, defined categories of users and tasks, and analyzed correlations between usage patterns and user and query types. Our results show that scientific professionals spend more time performing deep Web searching on RNSs than generic Google users and we also show that retrieving scientist profiles is faster on an RNS than on Google (3.5 seconds vs. 34.2 seconds) whereas organization-specific browsing on a RNS takes longer than on Google (117.0 seconds vs. 34.2 seconds). Usage patterns vary by user role, e.g., faculty performed more informational queries than administrators, which implies role-specific user support is needed for RNSs. Clin Trans Sci 2012; Volume 5: 340-347 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we develop an algorithmic framework allowing for fast and elegant path correction exploiting Lie group symmetries and operating without the need for explicit control strategies such as cross-track regulation. These systems occur across the gamut of robotics, notably in locomotion, be it ground, underwater, airborne, or surgical domains. Instead of reintegrating an entire trajectory, the method selectively alters small key segments of an initial trajectory in a consistent way so as to transform it via symmetry operations. The algorithm is formulated for arbitrary Lie groups and applied in the context of the special Euclidean group and subgroups thereof. A sampling-based motion planner is developed that uses this method to create paths for underactuated systems with differential constraints. It is also shown how the path correction method acts as a controller within a feedback control loop for real-time path correction. These approaches are demonstrated for ground vehicles in the plane and for flexible bevel tip needle steering in space. The results show that using symmetry-based path correction for motion planning provides a prudent and simple, yet computationally tractable, integrated planning and control strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence-based practice (EBP) requires that practitioners routinely access, appraise, and utilize the best available research. We surveyed a representative sample of the Society of Clinical Psychology; 549 psychologists (response rate = 46%) reported their frequency of engaging in EBP when offering psychological services, rated their current knowledge of 12 online research resources, and evaluated their current knowledge of 12 research methods and designs. These psychologists reported, on average, using EBP in 73.1% of their psychological services. With the exception of PsycINFO and MEDLINE, clinical psychologists related low to moderate knowledge of online research resources. By contrast, these psychologists reported considerable knowledge of most research methods and designs, except for odds ratios and structural equation modeling. Psychologists' theoretical orientation, clinical experience, and employment setting predicted knowledge of both online resources and research designs. We discuss the educational and practice ramifications of these results. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 67:1-11, 2011. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Natural Standard database contains systematic reviews on foods, functional foods, diets, supplements, vitamins, minerals, and Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) modalities. It is designed to serve as a clinical decision support tool. This column will provide an overview of Natural Standard and its content and scope, as well as provide some basics for searching this resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science.gov is a portal to more than 40 scientific databases and 200 million pages of science information via a single query. It connects users to science information and research results from the U.S. government. This column will provide readers with an overview of the resource, as well as basic search hints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WorldWideScience.org is a Web-based global gateway connecting users to both national and international scientific databases and portals. This column will provide background information on the resource as well as introduce basic searching practices for users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Clinical decision support systems are a combination of software techniques to help the clinicians in their medical decision making process via functionalities ranging from basic signal analysis to therapeutic planning and computerized guidelines. The algorithms providing all these functionalities must be very carefully validated on real patient data and must be confronted to everyday clinical practice. One of the main problems when developing these techniques is the difficulty to obtain high-quality complete patient records, comprising data coming both from the biomedical equipment (high-frequency signals), and from numerous other sources (therapeutics, imagery, clinical actions, etc.). In this paper, we present an infrastructure for developing and testing such software algorithms. It is based on a bedside workstation where testing different algorithms simultaneously on real-time data is possible in the ward. It is completed by a collaborative portal enabling different teams to test their software algorithms on the same patient records, making comparisons and cross-validations more easily. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In an effort to help raise awareness about the need for disaster planning in health sciences libraries, emergency response planners at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library at the University of Virginia considered how best to promote the idea and provide a forum for gathering and exchanging information, while maintaining control over content in order to keep the focus and the quality of the entries consistent. The blog they created has been successful in providing much-needed assistance to hospital libraries and other libraries, both large and small, as well as for individuals and other organizations worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), part of Thompson Scientific, produces the Web of Science database as part of its Web of Knowledge. Recently, ISI introduced some new features, among them a new Author Finder feature, which allows users to zero in on a specific author in a very guided way. In addition, search results may be analyzed and reports created by users, both at the click of a button. This column focuses on these recently introduced features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Online Updates" column generally focuses on bibliographic databases that may be licensed from commercial vendors or are available free of charge from a federal government agency. HazLit is featured because it is a unique and comprehensive resource of the literature of natural disasters. This column provides background information oil HazLit and oilers some searching basics, as well as highlights special information found at the Web site that hosts the database. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective was to explore a relationship between the economics of religion and the attributes of online patient groups by testing the hypotheses that (1) the harsher the entry requirements to an online patient group, the more active its members are; and (2) membership homogeneity in a given group is reflected in the educational level of group members. Online groups were randomly chosen from the 'Yahoo groups' category of 'Illnesses'. The hypothesis about entry requirements was narrowed by defining those requirements as either 'Open', 'Register', or 'Closed'. The number of messages over a 4-month period in each of 162 different groups was tallied. The hypothesis about membership homogeneity was refined by counting the citations in messages and by predicting the educational level of members (as reflected in the average word length of messages) based on these citation counts. Across 162 groups, the number of messages was significantly less in Open groups than in Register groups and less in Register groups than in Closed groups. Across 14 groups, the average word length of messages in a group positively correlated with the number of citations in that group. The hypothesis is supported that increased group entry barriers correspond to increased group message activity and members tend to be similar within a group. These attributes could be used to help design effective groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Rehabilitation Information Center's REHABDATA database contains about 69,000 abstracts on information contained in published books, reports, and articles, as well as audiovisual materials. All information contained relates to the topic of disability and rehabilitation research. This column will provide background information on the REHABDATA file and include some basic search hints and features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: To describe the kinds of unintended consequences related to the implementation of computerized provider order entry (CPOE) in the outpatient setting. Design: Ethnographic and interview data were collected by an interdisciplinary team over a 7 month period at four clinics. Measurements: Instances of unintended consequences were categorized using an expanded Diffusion of Innovations theory framework. Results: The framework was clarified and expanded. There are both desirable and undesirable unintended consequences, and they can be either direct or indirect, but there are also many consequences that are not clearly either desirable or undesirable or may even be both, depending on one''s perspective. The undesirable consequences include error and security concerns and issues related to alerts, workflow, ergonomics, interpersonal relations, and reimplementations. Conclusion: Consequences of implementing and reimplementing clinical systems are complex. The expanded Diffusion of Innovations theory framework is a useful tool for analyzing such consequences. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: To describe the perceived effect of computerized physician order entry (CPOE) on professional collaboration, workflow and quality of care. Design: Semi-structured interviews with experts involved in the design, implementation and evaluation of computerized physician order systems in the United States. Measurements: The interview transcripts were analyzed using six key concepts that identify context, professional collaboration, workflow and quality of care. Results: The interviews reveal the complexity of CPOE. Although providers enter the orders, others collaborate in the decision-making process. There is a profound impact on workflow beyond that of the provider. While quality of care is the main impetus for implementation, it remains terribly difficult to measure the impact on quality. Conclusions: A proper understanding of CPOE as a collaborative effort and the transformation of the health care activities into integrated care programs requires an understanding of how orders are created and processed, how CPOE as part of an integrated system can support the workflow, and how risks affecting patient care can be identified and reduced, especially during hand-offs in the workflow. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) introduced LactMed, the Drugs and Lactation Database, in 2006. It is part of NLM's TOXNET system (Toxicology Data Network) and provides information on drugs and/or chemicals to which breastfeeding mothers (and thereby their infants) may be exposed. This column will present information on the content of the database, its structure, searching hints, and its links to supplemental information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes the process in which research work can be more efficiently and effectively communicated between interested parties. Initially, it will highlight problems with the use of existing methods for communicating research work into the particular context of design. For the purpose of this paper, communication will refer to its two-way process and it will imply the tasks of contributing, assessing and seeking relevant work, as well as, reacting on it. It then demonstrates how the application of SSM enabled an improved re-construction for the conceptual basis of this process as a whole. This led researchers to keep informed of timely, relevant and refereed work. A model to be called DREAM was produced; this is to serve, as it is proposed to be the framework for the development of other similar activity systems. Various prototypes have been produced to test the model's efficiency and effectiveness; and ultimately, to justify the forewords. Futuristically, it presents some emerging technologies that can be incorporated with the DREAM concept. Last but not least, it will be worth of noting that the generic nature of the model suggests its use in communicating multiple research topics including art, architecture, engineering, information science, business and others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many high quality, health science information resources freely available on the Internet. Many governmental and non-governmental organisations have web pages with very good information on health sciences that are highly useful for health professionals and patients. However, these reliable resources intermingle on the Web with other sites of low quality. The main tasks of today's medical librarians are evaluation, selection, analysis and organisation of resources available on the Web in order to deliver them in a useful form to the end users. This article describes the setting up of the Aldebaran Virtual Library that serves the health staff of a large hospital and consists of high-quality health sciences resources available freely over the Internet. The article focuses on the criteria and objectives used for selecting and organising the content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

FIRSTConsult, an Elsevier product, is an evidence-based clinical information tool that is part of MD Consult. The product, originally called PDxMD, is intended to be used by primary health care providers, such as those in family practice or internal medicine. FIRSTConsult is designed to be used on either a computer with an Internet connection or on a PDA. This column will present information on the content of FIRSTConsult and on the basics of searching this product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]