Paper Copies Research Articles

Interval Methods in Knowledge Representation

Please send your abstracts (or copies of papers that you want to see reviewed here) to vladik@utep.edu, or by regular mail to Vladik Kreinovich, Department of Computer Science, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA…

September 2022 Placement Ads

September 2022 Placement Ads

Telehealth Perceptions Among US Immigrant Patients at an Academic Internal Medicine Practice: Cross-sectional Study.

BackgroundThe use of telemedicine has increased dramatically through the COVID-19 pandemic. Although data are available about patient satisfaction with telemedicine, little is known about immigrant patients’ experience.ObjectiveWe sought to investigate patients’ experiences with telehealth compared to in- person visits between immigrants and nonimmigrants. We wanted to identify and describe next visit preferences within the Farmington University of Connecticut Internal Medicine practice to ultimately guide suggestions for more equitable use and accessibility of visit options.MethodsA total of 270 patients including 122 immigrants and 148 nonimmigrants were seen by 4 Internal Medicine providers in an in-person (n=132) or telemedicine (n=138) university practice setting. Patients were queried between February and April 2021, using an adaptation of a previously validated patient satisfaction survey that contained standard questions developed by the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Program. Patients seen via in-person visits completed a paper copy of the survey. The same survey was administered by a follow-up phone call for telemedicine visits. Patients surveyed spoke English, Spanish, or Arabic and were surveyed in their preferred language. For televisits, the same survey was read to the patient by a certified translator. The survey consisted of 10 questions on a Likert scale of 1-5. Of them, 9 questions assessed patient satisfaction under the categories of access to care, interpersonal interaction, and quality of care. An additional question asked patients to describe and explain the reasons behind next visit preferences. Survey question responses were compared by paired t tests.ResultsAcross both immigrant and nonimmigrant patient populations, satisfaction with perceived quality of care was high, regardless of visit type (P=.80, P=.60 for televisits and P=.76, P=.37 for in-person visits). During televisits, immigrants were more likely to feel providers spent sufficient time with them (P<.001). Different perceptions were noted among nonimmigrant patients. Nonimmigrants tended to perceive more provider time during in-person visits (P=.006). When asked to comment on reasons behind next televisit preference, nonimmigrant patients prioritized convenience, whereas immigrants noted not having to navigate office logistics. For those who chose in-person visits, both groups prioritized the need for a physical exam.ConclusionsAlthough satisfaction was high for both telemedicine and in-person visits across immigrant and nonimmigrant populations, significant differences in patient priorities were identified. Immigrants found televisits desirable because they felt they spent more time with providers and were able to avoid additional office logistics that are often challenging barriers for non-English speakers. This suggests opportunities to use information technology to provide cultural and language-appropriate information throughout immigrants’ in-person and telemedicine visit experience. A focus on diminishing these barriers will help reduce health care inequities among immigrant patients.

Interval Methods in Knowledge Representation

Please send your abstracts (or copies of papers that you want to see reviewed here) to vladik@utep.edu, or by regular mail to Vladik Kreinovich, Department of Computer Science, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA…

Report of the Editor for 2021 and Announcements of the President

Report of the Editor for 2021 and Announcements of the President

P1706: CLINICAL UTILITY OF ONLINE MONITORING OF PATIENT-REPORTED SYMPTOMS IN NEWLY DIAGNOSED PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA IN REAL-LIFE PRACTICE

Background: Adherence to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) is critical to maximize clinical effectiveness of drugs in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). However, adverse events (AEs) are one of the most frequent causes for non-adherence to TKI therapy. Aims: We herein report patients’ and physicians’ perception of using a newly developed online tool for patient-reported AEs monitoring in newly diagnosed CML patients in real-life practice. We also report health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and fatigue of patients up to six months. Methods: An online platform (EMPATHY) for systematic monitoring of patient-reported AEs (including a set 22 items mainly derived from the PRO-CTCAE Item Library) was developed for the purpose of this study. Newly diagnosed CML patients within 4 weeks of first line TKI therapy were eligible. At the time of a clinical visit (after having signed informed consent), and just before the consultation with the physician, patients were provided a tablet PC to self-rate (touchscreen) their symptoms. The local clinical research staff instructed patients on study procedures and on how to complete self- reported AEs via tablet. Patient-reported AEs were displayed graphically and available, in real time, to physicians’ PC during the clinical consultation. At 3- and 6-months both patients and physicians completed a Survey assessing acceptability, satisfaction and clinical utility of using this platform. At these time points, patient-reported HRQoL and fatigue were also assessed with the FACT-G and PROMIS-Fatigue questionnaires (via paper copies), respectively. Trajectories over time were estimated using a linear mixed model for repeated measures. Results: Ninety-four newly diagnosed CML patients were enrolled between July 2020 and August 2021 in 15 centers across US and Italy. There were 43% of patients treated with imatinib and 31%, 24% and 2%, treated with nilotinib, dasatinib and bosutinib, respectively. Median age of patients was 57 years (range, 19-82 years) and 55% were male. Sokal-risk was low in 42% of patients and 34% had at least one comorbidity. The majority of them (73%) used internet on a regular basis. The platform was generally well received by patients, for example, 99% (77/78) and 94% (73/78) of them agreeing or strongly agreeing (at 3 months) that it was easy to use and improved quality of communication with their physician, respectively. Of the 21 physicians (median age of 42 years) involved, nearly all (20/21; 95%) agreed that it was a valuable tool for improving accuracy of symptomatic AE of their patients. Similar high percentages were observed at 6 months. Compliance with patient-reported HRQoL and fatigue assessments was 99%, 93% and 93% at baseline, 3 and 6 months, respectively. No statistically significant differences were observed for the FACT-G and the PROMIS-Fatigue scores over time in the overall population. Summary/Conclusion: Current data suggest that the EMPATHY platform is well accepted by patients and physicians and its use may contribute to enhance physicians’ ability to better understand symptom burden of their patients.

The Authorship of The Occasional Paper (London, 1697–98)

Abstract The Occasional Paper was a series of anonymous pamphlets covering a diverse range of topics, published in ten numbers during 1697 and 1698. The series has always been attributed to Richard Willis (bap. 1664, d. 1734), successively bishop of Gloucester (1715–21), Salisbury (1721–23), and Winchester (1723–34). Edward Waddington’s (1670?–1731) copy of The Occasional Paper provides near-contemporary attributions of nine of the numbers to the clergymen William Hayley (1657–1715), Gilbert Burnet (1643–1715), Richard Lucas (1648/9–1715), Charles Trimnell (1663–1723), Samuel Bradford (1652–1731), William Hodges (1667–1703), and Willis. These attributions are consistent with the content of The Occasional Paper, and with a stylometric analysis of texts known to be by the attributed authors. This demonstrates that it was William Hayley that criticized Locke’s Reasonableness of Christianity (1695) in the first and fifth of these numbers, not Willis. It also reveals that Number II, ‘Concerning the Late Unfortunate Death of J. H----en, Esq’, presents the contemporary deathbed confession of the politician John Hampden (bap. 1653, d. 1696), communicated by Gilbert Burnet.

Interlibrary service and electronic delivery of documents in the regional information and library system

The purpose of the article is to analyze and evaluate the activities of the Interlibrary Loan sector of the Central Scientific Library of the Federal Research Center “Krasnoyarsk Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences” (CSL FRC KSC SB RAS) for the period of 2017–2021. CSL FRC KSC SB RAS concludes contracts for the provision of interlibrary loan services and electronic delivery of documents with the AllRussian Institute of Scientific and Technical Information RAS, State Public Scientific Technological Library of Russian Federation, State Public Scientific Technological Library of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and with the State Universal Scientific Library of the Krasnoyarsk region. It also plans to cooperate with the Library of Natural Sciences RAS and the Russian State Library. The main indicators analyzed by the author: the number of received and completed orders by the year, their percentage, forms of the ordered information received by the library. Completed orders come from stockholders mainly in the form of electronic copies and originals, in some cases, there come paper copies and links to electronic resources. It is noted that not all structural divisions of the Krasnoyarsk FRC use ILL, – this requires further work on the presentation of the service. The participation of the shared automation center of SPSTL SB RAS in the automation of information and library processes of the Central Scientific Library of the Federal Research Center of the KSC SB RAS is shown. The developed ways to improve the efficiency of the user service in the ILL sector are offered.

Building an Installation Artwork: Casting Light to Transform the Shapes of Printed Silk Screen to Be Part of the Space

Printmaking often includes a two-dimensional frame whether it was printed out on paper or canvas. In the time when most artist strive to create new forms of art whether it was in sculpting, drawing, painting so on and so forth, printmaking is still considered a traditional form of art limited to its frame. In an attempt to make a quantum leap in the concept of artistic works’ dimensions this research aimed to investigate a method which aids extracting the work of art from its limited frame. where lighting helps to free the shapes of the artwork and make them part of the surrounding atmosphere, a part of space. This was achieved by three artworks which were printed on plates of hardened glass; thus, each artwork is a set of layers that when merged together would create the final form of the artwork. Also, a paper copy of each artwork was made. Light was added to these artworks allowing the receivers to walk through the artwork instead of rotating around it, thus, participating into the artwork itself.

Evaluation of an education intervention for Australian health practitioners to support people with dementia with driving decisions: A pretest-posttest survey

Objective Drivers with dementia will at some stage need to stop driving. The timing of driving retirement is informed by the advice of health practitioners, however many find this task complex and challenging as they feel unprepared or lack confidence, having limited training and education on dementia and driving. Few opportunities exist for Australian health practitioners to advance learning about dementia and driving. This study evaluated the impact of a Dementia and Driving Education Module on practitioner self-perceived knowledge, confidence, and competence in supporting people living with dementia with decisions about driving. Methods A single group, pretest-posttest survey was conducted for this study. Health practitioners were recruited over 19 months via email and invited to attend a face-to-face dementia and driving workshop. The workshop comprised of a two-hour Dementia and Driving Education Module including seven learning activities incorporating six vignettes, five self-reflections, one case study and a paper copy of a dementia and driving decision aid. Participants completed a survey prior to, immediately after and six weeks post completion of the education module. Results A total of 240 health practitioners, from over six disciplines, took part in one of eleven workshops delivered via face-to-face and online across five states of Australia. Significant increases occurred in all outcome measures of perceived knowledge, confidence and competence between baseline and immediately post-education module survey responses and between baseline and six weeks post-survey responses. Conclusions The Dementia and Driving Education Module and accompanying decision aid demonstrate an efficacious solution for a diverse range of health practitioners to enhance their knowledge, confidence, and competence in supporting people living with dementia with driving retirement decisions.

Needs Assessment of Southeastern United States Vector Control Agencies: Capacity Improvement Is Greatly Needed to Prevent the Next Vector-Borne Disease Outbreak.

A national 2017 vector control capacity survey was conducted to assess the United States’ (U.S.’s) ability to prevent emerging vector-borne disease. Since that survey, the southeastern U.S. has experienced continued autochthonous exotic vector-borne disease transmission and establishment of invasive vector species. To understand the current gaps in control programs and establish a baseline to evaluate future vector control efforts for this vulnerable region, a focused needs assessment survey was conducted in early 2020. The southeastern U.S. region was targeted, as this region has a high probability of novel vector-borne disease introduction. Paper copies delivered in handwritten envelopes and electronic copies of the survey were delivered to 386 unique contacts, and 150 returned surveys were received, corresponding to a 39% response rate. Overall, the survey found vector control programs serving areas with over 100,000 residents and those affiliated with public health departments had more core capabilities compared to smaller programs and those not affiliated with public health departments. Furthermore, the majority of vector control programs in this region do not routinely monitor for pesticide resistance. Taken as a whole, these results suggest that the majority of the southeastern U.S. is vulnerable to vector-borne disease outbreaks. Results from this survey raise attention to the critical need of providing increased resources to bring all vector control programs to a competent level, ensuring that public health is protected from the threat of vector-borne disease.

SaveSmile: an annual cleft repair mission in Sudan

Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are often burdened by disease, beyond the scope of their healthcare capabilities. Sudan, in particular, lacks the resources and expertise to surgically repair orofacial clefts. This paper highlights Sudan’s need for medical aid from other countries and outside organizations and the procedures by which they collaborate with local entities to provide relief to those affected by cleft in Sudan. Additionally, this study reports on the prevalence of type of cleft lip and palate as well as rates and explanations of surgical complications over a period of 10 years and the short and long-term benefits to society. Paper copies of patient data was digitalized and run through statistical programs to look for patterns of demographics and diagnoses. Most patients were male, under four years old, and had a cleft lip.

Effectiveness of a Game-Based Phone Application in Educating Health Care Workers on the Proper Use of Personal Protective Equipment.

Objective This study explored the feasibility and effects of a game-based phone application for training health care workers to use personal protective equipment. Method A single-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted. All participants in the experimental group (n = 123) and the control group (n = 125) received 75 minutes of training and were provided with a video and a paper copy of the procedures. Participants in the experimental group used an additional game-based phone application to simulate the procedures. Results Participants in the experimental group practiced a median of 15 times (range, 14-19 times). The learning curve indicated that they needed at least 12 repetitions to master the skill. Score improvements (Z = -2.257, p = .024) in the experimental group were significantly superior to those in the control group, as were the incidences of procedural errors of hand hygiene (χ2 = 4.085, p = .043) and protective clothing (χ2 = 5.394, p = .02). Conclusion The game-based phone application simulation guided participants to practice enough times to master the skill, enhance their skill performance, and reduce the incidence of procedural errors. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2022;53(5):212-220.].

A feast-and-famine pattern of sleep: Do railway staff get the sleep they need?

The relationship between sleep and health and wellbeing is receiving increasing attention in our society, following decades of research that has demonstrated the impact of insufficient sleep on performance and health. Fatigue has been identified as a factor in 21% of high-risk incidents in the GB rail industry, and insufficient sleep and long periods of being awake are known to be two key contributors to fatigue. This paper presents evidence from a recent survey conducted in the GB rail industry, which enabled the sleep and wakefulness of railway workers to be quantified. There were 7807 responses to the survey, which represents a very large sample. Responses were primarily collected online, though paper copies were made available in some organisations. Respondents reported sleeping less when working nights, more when working days, and the most on days off, which suggests a feast-and-famine pattern of sleep. 41% were getting 6h of sleep or less when working days, compared to 63% when working nights. Getting 6h or less of sleep was associated with excessive daytime sleepiness. Although it is accepted that individuals' sleep requirements vary, the patterns that shift workers reported in this survey suggest that many are not achieving the amount of sleep they need. The findings of the survey presented in this paper highlight that there is work to be done to understand and address the causes of insufficient sleep in railway workers.

Searching for veterinary evidence: A guide for equine professionals

SummaryThere is more and more online information available at our fingertips, but how do we efficiently identify and extract relevant information for good clinical decision making? The aim of this review article is to provide equine professionals with the building blocks to be able to develop skills for expertly navigating the scientific literature in a timely fashion. This includes what key questions you need to ask before starting (why am I searching and how much time do I have), where the best places are to search and how to find freely available legal copies of papers (articles, conference proceedings, book chapters and dissertations). Additionally, how to best conduct an information search and what you get from searches of varying comprehensiveness. Finally, this article will cover where to find databases of research syntheses where others have already carried out the hard work for you and some advanced techniques which are likely to save you substantial amounts of time. This article draws together expertise from a panel of veterinary clinicians, nurses and technicians, information specialists and librarians and clinical researchers.

From the Publisher

From the Publisher Larry J. Wagenaar, Publisher On August 1, 2021, The Michigan Historical Review (MHR) moved from the Department of History at Central Michigan University (CMU) to the Historical Society of Michigan (HSM). While HSM had been distributing more than ninety percent of the paper copies of The Michigan Historical Review to its members who chose to receive it, and had participated in the journal's editorial committee, moving into the role of publisher was new to the organization. The Michigan Historical Review fits in well within the mission of the Society. HSM focuses on five main mission areas, one of which relates to historical publications. Many MHR readers are familiar with our two popular history magazines, Michigan History and Chronicle. The former is the among the largest circulating state history magazines in the United States. We also publish a curriculum for children titled Michigan History for Kids. Each of these magazines includes a variety of feature articles along with other content and is eagerly awaited by our readers in Michigan and well beyond. While the MHR has changed publishers, we are very pleased that longtime editor Dr. Lane Demas, who is a member of the history faculty at CMU, has agreed to remain as the journal's editor. In recent years, he has been bearing nearly all the load of the journal—from initial author contact and handling book reviews to dealing with the layout and production process of the publication. Now that The Michigan Historical Review is part of HSM Publications, we have added the expertise of our editorial team, which is led by Editor in Chief Emily Allison. In addition, starting in March 2022, all HSM members will be given electronic access to the MHR regardless of whether they also receive the printed journal. As part of the transfer from CMU to HSM, we also sought an assistant editor to help lighten Dr. Demas' load and take over a variety of tasks that were not in the normal domain of a journal editor. We were fortunate that former MHR Assistant Editor Edwin M. Bradley was available and willing to join us. He labored successfully on the journal for nearly half a year but, sadly, passed away suddenly in late January 2022. Much of the work on the issue in your hands right now was completed by Ed, and his passing left a hole in the heart of our editorial team. [End Page v] HSM looks forward to continuing the outstanding tradition and scholarship of The Michigan Historical Review in the years ahead. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me or other members of the editorial team at review@hsmichigan.org with any questions or comments you may have. [End Page vi] Larry J. Wagenaar, Publisher HSM Publications Historical Society of Michigan Copyright © 2022 Historical Society of Michigan

Transfer Patient Imaging: A Novel Peer Feedback Program Beyond Institutional Boundaries

At our level 1 trauma center, we overread cross-sectional scans on all transferred patients, initially reported by community radiologists (CR). We designed a unique peer feedback learning model to address discrepancies encountered with outside overreads with the goal of practice improvement on the part of the CRs. Although there is ample literature on internal peer review and peer learning programs, no publications address errors committed by peers outside institutional boundaries. In this paper we describe our model and report a survey analyzing the perception of the program by the CRs. Outside CT and MR exams and reports of patients transferred to our level 1 trauma center were imported into PACS and prospectively overread by specialist trauma radiologists. Our report contained a summary of the outside findings as well as our findings. In the case of a significant discrepancy, a paper copy of our final report was sent by US mail to the originating CR. When the program had been active for 18 months, an invitation to participate in a survey was sent to all radiologists who had been sent reports. Eight thousand three hundred forty patients were transferred, of which 4331 (52%) had 9175 exams with outside reports (8666 CT scans and 509 MRI). One hundred seventy six final report letters containing significant discrepancies were sent to 139 individual radiologists. These 139 radiologists also later received our survey letter. Thirty-eight (27%) responses were received. Thirty-two respondents (84%) recalled receiving the report and reviewed the exam in question. Twenty-eight of them (85%) agreed with the overread and 30 (88%) believed that our feedback program should be continued. We have designed a novel peer feedback learning model to address discrepancies in outside overreads which is administratively simple and well received by the CRs getting feedback. Those CR who responded to the survey rated the experience favorably and wanted the practice continued, although the overall response rate did not allow statistical analysis. Also, institutions trying to design similar or new peer learning models can benefit from our experience.

Interval Methods in Knowledge Representation

Please send your abstracts (or copies of papers that you want to see reviewed here) to vladik@utep.edu, or by regular mail to Vladik Kreinovich, Department of Computer Science, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA…

Folic acid supplementation and malaria susceptibility and severity among people taking antifolate antimalarial drugs in endemic areas.

Folic acid supplementation and malaria susceptibility and severity among people taking antifolate antimalarial drugs in endemic areas.

Renewal of Archival Legacy Soil Data: A Case Study of the Busia Area, Kenya

Much older soils information, collectively known as legacy soils data lies idle in libraries or in the personal collections of retired soil scientists. The probability is very high for this legacy data to be lost or destroyed. We demonstrate the stepwise process of bringing legacy soils data “back to life” using the Reconnaissance Soil Survey of the Busia Area (quarter degree sheet No. 101) in western Kenya as an example. The first step, site identification, involves meeting and deliberating with key institutions to identify a setting for the study. The second step, data archeology, involves locating and cataloging legacy soil data from key institutions, which often requires numerous site visits and the assistance of individuals familiar with the target data. The third step, data rescue, involves converting paper copies of data into a digital format by scanning the maps, narrative descriptions, and tables, and storing the information in a database. The fourth step, data renewal, consists of bringing the data to modern standards by taking advantage of technological and conceptual advances in geoinformation technology. In our example, the resulting digital (scanned) soil map of the Busia Area is a significant upgrade from the fragile paper map. The fifth step, data interpretation, entails careful interpretation of the soil information available within the legacy soil survey to provide additional agronomic information. This allowed us to produce 10 land quality maps showing the ability of the land to perform specific agronomic functions, and 18 different crop suitability maps that were not previously available. The rescued maps and their associated tabular and narrative data also provide crucial inputs for generating more detailed soil maps using digital soil mapping techniques that were unavailable when the original mapping was conducted.