General Tool Research Articles

A Centralized Approach to the Logging Mechanisms of Distributed Complex ERP Applications

Complex software applications traverse a multitude of running or idling states that depend on their implementation phase (development, testing, debugging, and exploitation). The applications can be monitored by letting them produce descriptive messages, the corresponding data being logged and usually marked according to their meaning or severity (info, debug, warning, error and fatal). Our software platform (Crosweb) provides the generic tools for implementing complex Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) applications and has its component software modules divided into several levels, the main ones being responsible for the infrastructure, the data management, the business logic, and user interfaces. Any of the mentioned components can produce logging messages, and the reporting methods can vary according to the place they occupy in the software hierarchy. The physical location of each software component can differ, their running environments often being distributed across several computing systems connected via various communication protocols. All these factors add complexity to the logged data inspection process. The current paper presents a solution that centralizes the logging information issued by the Crosweb components for ensuring a better exposure of the associated information and for simplifying the solutioning of the reflected problems.

A comprehensive review and benchmark of differential analysis tools for Hi-C data.

The 3D organization of the genome plays a crucial role in various biological processes. Hi-C technology is widely used to investigate chromosome structures by quantifying 3D proximity between genomic regions. While numerous computational tools exist for detecting differences in Hi-C data between conditions, a comprehensive review and benchmark comparing their effectiveness is lacking. This study offers a comprehensive review and benchmark of 10 generic tools for differential analysis of Hi-C matrices at the interaction count level. The benchmark assesses the statistical methods, usability, and performance (in terms of precision and power) of these tools, using both real and simulated Hi-C data. Results reveal a striking variability in performance among the tools, highlighting the substantial impact of preprocessing filters and the difficulty all tools encounter in effectively controlling the false discovery rate across varying resolutions and chromosome sizes. The complete benchmark is available at https://forgemia.inra.fr/scales/replication-chrocodiff using processed data deposited at https://doi.org/10.57745/LR0W9R. nathalie.vialaneix@inrae.fr.

Comparative Analysis of Deep Generative Model for Industrial Enzyme Design

Although enzymes have the advantage of efficient catalysis, natural enzymes lack stability in industrial environments and do not even meet the required catalytic reactions. This prompted us to urgently <i>de novo</i> design new enzymes. As a powerful strategy, computational method can not only explore sequence space rapidly and efficiently, but also promote the design of new enzymes suitable for specific conditions and requirements, so it is very beneficial to design new industrial enzymes. Currently, there exists only one tool for enzyme generation, which exhibits suboptimal performance. We have selected several general protein sequence design tools and systematically evaluated their effectiveness when applied to specific industrial enzymes. We summarized the computational methods used for protein sequence generation into three categories: structure-conditional sequence generation, sequence generation without structural constraints, and co-generation of sequence and structure. To effectively evaluate the ability of the six computational tools to generate enzyme sequences, we first constructed a luciferase dataset named Luc_64. Then we assessed the quality of enzyme sequences generated by these methods on this dataset, including amino acid distribution, EC number validation, etc. We also assessed sequences generated by structure-based methods on existing public datasets using sequence recovery rates and root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) from a sequence and structure perspective. In the functionality dataset, Luc_64, ABACUSR and ProteinMPNN stood out for producing sequences with amino acid distributions and functionalities closely matching those of naturally occurring luciferase enzymes, suggesting their effectiveness in preserving essential enzymatic characteristics. Across both benchmark datasets, ABACUS-R and ProteinMPNN, have also exhibited the highest sequence recovery rates, indicating their superior ability to generate sequences closely resembling the original enzyme structures. Our study provides a crucial reference for researchers selecting appropriate enzyme sequence design tools, highlighting the strengths and limitations of each tool in generating accurate and functional enzyme sequences. ProteinMPNN and ABACUS-R emerged as the most effective tools in our evaluation, offering high accuracy in sequence recovery and RMSD and maintaining the functional integrity of enzymes through accurate amino acid distribution. Meanwhile, the performance of protein general tools for migration to specific industrial enzymes was fairly evaluated on our specific industrial enzyme benchmark.

Developing spatially explicit critical loads for herbaceous species across the United States using convex hulls.

Atmospheric deposition of nitrogen and sulfur, after land use change, is one of the most impactful stressors to terrestrial biodiversity. Deposition effects on ecosystems are pervasive, impacting species distributions and disrupting natural communities and associated ecosystem services. Decision makers in particular areas have in the past been limited to using critical loads from faraway research sites or from networks of plots that may or may not overlap with or represent their particular management area. That potential mismatch between the management area and available data presents scientific and possibly legal challenges. Here, we develop spatially explicit critical loads using convex hulls to fill this key knowledge gap in the translation of science to decision making. Specifically, we used convex hulls to understand how representative critical loads are to the broader landscape by comparing the environmental conditions from a set of roughly 15,000 sampled locations with critical loads to a broader landscape for which there is no direct sampling. We performed separate analyses for critical loads of forest and grassland biodiversity and of individual herbaceous species. We found that the sampled plots, though unevenly distributed across the landscape, represented forest and grassland canopy communities very well across the contiguous United States aside from areas in the Southeast and the coastal Pacific Northwest. For the 198 species assessed, 161 species (81%) had 50% or more of their historical range inside the convex hull, and 197 species (99%) had 50% or more of their historical range within 1 SD of the convex hull. These results indicate that most critical loads may be used with confidence across species' ranges to support decision making. These results also can guide future sampling efforts in strategic areas. Further, the use of convex hulls as a general tool for other efforts may greatly increase the utility of various existing datasets to support land managers and decision makers charged with protecting ecosystems.

From Earth Escape to Lunar Touchdown: A Simulated Lunar Lander Mission

This report investigates the application of design thinking principles to optimize the trajectory and operations of a lunar lander. By considering the spacecraft as the "user" within the design thinking framework, we aim to identify and address critical challenges during key mission phases: Earth Escape, Orbital Insertion, Lunar Transfer Trajectory Injection, and Powered Descent & Lunar Landing. Leveraging the General Mission Analysis Tool (GMAT), we translate design thinking solutions into testable virtual prototypes, allowing for iterative refinement and optimization of the mission plan. This approach prioritizes efficiency and functionality, ultimately paving the way for more cost-effective and successful lunar exploration endeavors.

On some issues of legal provision of information security of the state in modern conditions

Relevance. Highlighting the information security of the state at the legislative level as a new national priority requires improving its legal support. Only the development of a comprehensive legal platform from basic federal legal acts to detailed regulatory legal acts will create effective conditions for the implementation of this strategic national priority of the Russian Federation. The features and specifics of this priority must necessarily be taken into account when developing its regulatory legal acts.The purpose of the study is to identify mechanisms for improving the effectiveness of legal regulation in the field of information security in the Russian Federation.Objectives: to study the content of the main regulatory legal acts in the field of information security in Russia; to analyze the state of domestic legal support for information security; to assess the possibility of increasing the effectiveness of legal support for information security of the foundations of Russian statehood.Methodology. When writing the work, methods of analysis and synthesis, general scientific (logical) techniques and tools of a systematic approach were used.The results of the study. The study found that without proper legal support, it is impossible to guarantee the implementation of a new national priority – the information security of the Russian Federation. The necessity of taking measures to improve the effectiveness of legal regulation of this sphere of relations is substantiated.Conclusion. For the effective development, functioning and security of domestic digital platforms, it is necessary for the legislator to define clear definitions of the main (key) concepts in the field of information security, which is only a fundamental beginning to the development of a comprehensive legal framework in this area. It is also necessary for the federal regulators (FSB of Russia, FSTEC of Russia) to further study the existing legal acts in this area in order to optimize them through detailed regulation.

Water in Protoplanetary Disks with JWST-MIRI: Spectral Excitation Atlas and Radial Distribution from Temperature Diagnostic Diagrams and Doppler Mapping

Abstract This work aims at providing fundamental general tools for the analysis of water spectra as observed in protoplanetary disks with JWST-MIRI. We analyze 25 high-quality spectra from the JDISC Survey reduced with asteroid calibrators as presented in K. M. Pontoppidan et al. (2024). First, we present a spectral atlas to illustrate the clustering of H2O transitions from different upper-level energies (E u ) and identify single (unblended) transitions that provide the most reliable measurements. With that, we demonstrate two important excitation effects: the opacity saturation of ortho-para line pairs that overlap, and the subthermal excitation of excitation of v = 1–1 lines scattered across the v = 0–0 rotational band. Second, we define a shorter list of fundamental lines spanning E u = 1500–6000 K to develop simple line-ratio diagnostic diagrams for the radial temperature distribution of water in inner disks, which are interpreted using discrete temperature components and power-law radial gradients. Third, we report the detection of disk-rotation Doppler broadening of molecular lines, which confirms the radial distribution of water emission including, for the first time, the radially extended ≈170–220 K reservoir close to the snowline. The combination of measured line ratios and broadening suggests that drift-dominated disks have shallower temperature gradients with an extended cooler disk surface enriched by ice sublimation. We also report the first detection of an H2O-rich inner disk wind from narrow blueshifted absorption in the ro-vibrational lines. We summarize these findings and tools into a general recipe to make the study of water in planet-forming regions reliable, effective, and sustainable for samples of >100 disks.

Balancing Treatment Benefits and Risks of Severe Adverse Effects of Immunotherapy in Cancer: A Systematic Review

Background: Melanoma has shown resistance to conventional treatments, resulting in poor prognoses. Recent advancements in immunotherapy have improved patient outcomes. However, these therapies are associated with severe adverse reactions, raising concerns about their safety. Methods: A systematic review was conducted to evaluate the incidence and severity of adverse effects in melanoma patients undergoing immunotherapy compared to those receiving standard chemotherapy. Literature was sourced from Ovid Medline, CINAHL, and Scopus. After screening, 14 articles were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: The review revealed that ICIs are linked to a higher incidence of severe adverse events compared to traditional therapies. Of the included studies, six focused on severe reactions to ICIs, while others discussed general toxicities, risk factors, management strategies, and potential predictive tools. Notably, findings indicated that approximately 25.1% of patients treated with ICIs experienced immune-related adverse events. Conclusion: While ICIs have improved melanoma treatment, the increased risk of severe adverse reactions poses significant clinical challenges. Future research should focus on identifying mechanisms underlying these severe reactions and developing predictive tools.

Evaluating the effectiveness and limitations of online health information tools in assessing the quality of medication-related content.

The internet has become a primary source of information on medicines, yet the quality of this information is inconsistent. Despite the proliferation of web-based resources, limited research has specifically examined the reliability of online information on medicines. The variability in quality can be attributed to the recent shift toward digital information-seeking and the absence of specialized tools designed to assess the quality of medication-related information online. To evaluate the quality of information about Amitriptyline available on websites using three well-established, generic evaluation tools-HONcode, DISCERN, and JAMA-compared against the domain-specific Keystone action plan criteria. Adopting an evaluative research design, this study utilized the aforementioned four assessment tools to collect and analyze data. Four independent assessors were recruited to evaluate the quality of the information on selected websites. A Google search using "Amitriptyline" identified 30 websites for the study sample. Reliability analysis using Cronbach's alpha, the Inter-Class Correlation coefficient, and Kendall's rank-order correlation coefficient revealed that the Keystone criteria demonstrated the highest internal consistency and reliability compared to DISCERN, HONcode, and JAMA. This study indicates that the Keystone action plan criteria may serve as a reliable, domain-specific tool for evaluating medicines information on websites. The results underscore the importance of specialized assessment criteria for online medication information, as they provide more consistent and accurate evaluations compared to generic tools.

Is No difference a good outcome? Equity evaluation of the general surgery prioritization tool.

The general surgery prioritization tool (GSPT) was implemented in 2018 to equitably prioritize non-cancer elective general surgery waitlists. It combines patient-reported Impact On Life (IOL) scores and clinician-reported values for a total score which determines access to the waitlist. In New Zealand there are inequities in surgical access and outcomes, particularly for Māori, and this study evaluates whether the GSPT may contribute. A retrospective review of general surgery prioritization events at Capital & Coast District Health Board, New Zealand, between May 2018 and August 2022 was conducted. The patient-reported IOL score (6-36), total score (0-100), waitlist access, and time to surgery in days were recorded and analyzed for ethnic, age and gender differences. 4527 events were included. Median IOL score and total score were 20 and 68. 4231 (90.8%) met the waitlist threshold with a median time to surgery of 99 days. Higher average IOL scores were associated with being female (P = 0.005), Pacific Peoples (P = 0.007) and Other Ethnicity (P = 0.006). The average total score for Māori was 1.13 points higher than Europeans (P = 0.013). There was no evidence of associations between the odds of surgery booking and patient age, ethnicity and gender when adjusted for deprivation and procedure type. This study shows that despite differences in the IOL and total scores across ethnicity, no evidence of difference was found in the odds of surgical booking based on patient ethnicity, age or gender. Amendments to weighting of IOL scores and ethnicity score adjustment could be considered to remedy this.

The skull base chordoma patient reported outcome survey (sbCPROS): a patient-centered, disease-specific tool for assessing quality of life in chordoma patients.

Chordomas are rare malignant tumors arising from the embryological notochord that present most frequently in the lumbosacral spine, followed by the skull base, with an overall 1/1,000,000 incidence. These tumors and their treatment significantly affect quality of life (QOL) due to intricate anatomical locations and aggressive treatment regimens. Despite these challenges, there are currently no disease-specific patient-reported outcome (PRO) surveys for chordomas. We aimed to develop a tool to assess QOL in patients with skull base chordomas (sbCs). Twenty-seven patients who underwent sbC resection were interviewed on QOL throughout their care. Grounded-theory analysis of interview transcripts generated 7 themes. We developed an initial survey with 79 items from existing general and anatomic-specific QOL assessment tools addressing these themes. Ten chordoma providers and 10 new patients completed an anonymous Qualtrics survey, rating items' relevance on a 5-point Likert scale to validate survey content. An a priori cutoff of > 3.0 was used for significant relevance. Mean relevance scores for each item were compared between providers and patients as well as between skull base respondents and 5 control patients with lumbar spine and sacral chordomas, using two-sided Mann-Whitney U-tests. Seventy-four items reached the relevance threshold. These were consolidated to create the final 42-item Skull Base Chordoma Patient Reported Outcome Survey (sbCPROS). Providers significantly overvalued items related to the themes of pain (73%), sleep changes (60%), and sensory & motor symptoms (43%) relative to patients. Ten items were more relevant to skull base patients than patients with spinal tumors (p < 0.05). The authors developed a novel patient-centered, disease-specific PRO instrument to assess change in QOL for sbC patients over time. sbCPROS may provide significant insight into the delivery of high quality care for patients with sbCs and guide patient-physician discussions about care decision-making.

A systematic review of childhood cancer-related fatigue assessment tools based on the COSMIN guidelines

To systematically review the methodological quality and measurement properties of childhood cancer-related fatigue assessment tools based on the consensus-based standards for the selection of health measurement instruments (COSMIN) guidelines, providing a basis for clinical practitioners to select appropriate assessment tools. The databases searched included China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, China Biomedical Literature, Weipu, PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, and Web of Science for studies published up to January 2024. Children under 12 years old and their primary caregivers were enrolled as subjects. Articles were screened based on inclusion criteria, and the key information regarding the assessment tools was extracted. The risk of bias checklist from the COSMIN guidelines and the quality standard rating scale were employed to evaluate measurement properties and formulate final recommendations. A total of 18 articles were included, covering 7 fatigue measurement tools, consisting of 4 specific tools and 3 generic tools tools. Methodological differences were observed in measurement properties across these scales. The Chinese Version of the Pediatric Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (C-Ped-PROMIS) was rated as grade A recommendation due to its adequate content validity and internal consistency, while the remaining six scales were rated as grade B recommendation since their content validity was assessed as "insufficient" based on moderate-level evidence or higher. The C-Ped-PROMIS scale demonstrates good reliability, validity, and cross-cultural validity as the preferred tool for measuring childhood cancer-related fatigue. The scale can serve as an auxiliary tool, and future research should focus on the applicability of various tools to enhance the effectiveness of interventions for assessing childhood cancer-related fatigue.

The Development and Psychometric Validation of the Fainareti Screening Tool for Perinatal Mental Health in Greek Pregnant Women.

Background/Objectives: It would be helpful for primary healthcare professionals to have access to a brief, general screening tool allowing them to detect patients suffering from major mental illness. This also holds for organizations and institutions at which pregnant women ask for support during the perinatal period. An evaluation of the psychometric properties, validity, and reliability of the Fainareti mental health screening tool was carried out in Greek women in this study. Methods: The study participants consisted of 518 women retrospectively followed from pregnancy to their first year postpartum as part of a health intervention at the Day Center for Women's Mental Health Care (Perinatal Mental Health Disorders), operated by the non-profit organization Fainareti. Alongside the newly developed screening tool, this study utilized the Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale (PASS), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Results: The assessment of the tool's internal reliability included computing two separate internal consistency indices, with both indicating its significant level of reliability. The correlation analysis between the tool and the scales included in this study demonstrated the tool's strong convergent validity, while factor analyses confirmed its satisfactory construct validity. Conclusions: Overall, these findings suggest that the one-factor Fainareti mental health screening tool is suitable for initial assessments of the mental health of Greek women.

What risk assessment tools can be used with men convicted of child sexual exploitation material offenses? Recommendations from a review of current research.

We aimed to review research on recidivism risk assessment tools with individuals convicted of child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) offenses and make recommendations for use in forensic, correctional, and legal settings. Multiple tools would be defensible to use with individuals convicted of CSEM offenses. We discuss a minimum threshold of predictive accuracy to justify using a risk tool as an improvement on the typical level of accuracy expected from unstructured professional judgment. Beyond this minimum threshold, we offer additional considerations that researchers and practitioners can use in evaluating and selecting risk tools. We identified nine risk assessment tools with predictive accuracy research on individuals convicted of CSEM offenses: Child Pornography Offender Risk Tool (CPORT), Risk Matrix 2000/Sex (RM2000/S), OASys Sexual Reoffending Predictor-Indecent Images (OSP/I), Static-99R, STABLE-2007, ACUTE-2007, Post Conviction Risk Assessment (PCRA), Level of Service Inventory-Ontario Revision (LSI-OR), and Offender Group Reconviction Scale 3 (OGRS3). The CPORT, RM2000/S, STABLE-2007, and ACUTE-2007 (in conjunction with the STABLE-2007) are all defensible tools to use for assessing risk of any sexual recidivism or CSEM recidivism, specifically. The OSP/I consists of a single risk factor and considers risk of CSEM recidivism among all individuals convicted of sexual offenses, not only among individuals convicted of CSEM offenses. There is some support for Static-99R and the OGRS3, but they are not recommended options at this time, for different reasons. The PCRA and LSI-OR general recidivism risk tools have some empirical support in predicting general recidivism among CSEM samples (and sexual recidivism for the PCRA), with limitations noted. The use of multiple tools may have value in assessing risk and structuring management in CSEM cases; however, how they are best combined for these samples is still unclear. We expect research in this area to increase rapidly. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

The Validity and Reliability of the Polish Version of the PedsQL™ Gastrointestinal Symptoms Module for Pediatric Patients (Aged 2-18).

Background/Objectives: Health-related quality of life has come to the forefront of the process of treatment. As a non-quantitative value, it requires the use of specialized tools to be measured. Despite the availability of general HRQoL assessment tools in Polish, a specific instrument for children with gastrointestinal (GI) disorders has not been developed. This study aims to describe the linguistic validity and reliability of the Polish version of the PedsQL™ Gastrointestinal Symptoms Module, which measured health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children with gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. Methods: The PedsQL™ module, originally in English, was translated according to a structured process. Professional medical translators conducted the translations, and cognitive debriefing was performed with 35 respondents. Field testing involved 371 completed questionnaires (203 adults and 168 children). Results: Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, with values generally exceeding 0.8 indicating high reliability. Conclusions: The final Polish version of the PedsQL™ GI Symptoms Module exhibits strong linguistic and content validity, making it suitable for both clinical trials and routine practice. Its use enables a comprehensive, culturally sensitive assessment of HRQoL in pediatric patients with GI disorders, thereby supporting individualized patient care and enhancing the physician-patient communication that is essential for effective treatment.

Evaluating clinical tools to monitor cardiovascular (CV) risk in men with localized high-risk or locally advanced prostate cancer (LHRPC) treated with hormone therapy (HT).

116 Background: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and androgen receptor signaling inhibitors (ARSIs) indirectly increase CV risk. There are no risk estimation tools specific to men with prostate cancer undergoing HT. Current practice utilizes tools designed for the general population, such as the AHA/ACC ASCVD risk score. Herein, we investigate the applicability of such general population risk tools in men receiving pre-operative HT for LHRPC. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of men with LHRPCa who received 6 months of pre-operative ADT + apalutamide +/- abiraterone on NCT. Cardiometabolic factors of interest were extracted from the electronic medical record, and ASCVD risk scores were calculated alongside metabolic syndrome (MetS) Z scores (calculated using ASCVD calculator https://tools.acc.org/ldl/ascvd_risk_estimator/#!/calulate/estimator/ and metabolic syndrome severity calculator https://metscalc.org/metscalc/ ). Results: Sixty-four patients had data available to calculate baseline and end-of-treatment (EOT) ASCVD risk and MetS Z scores. Prior to initiation of HT, 46.8% of patients were on antihypertensive treatment, 11.3% had diabetes mellitus, and 45.2% were on lipid-lowering therapy. After 6 months of ADT + ARSI, the median change in ASCVD risk score was 0.95, and 21% of patients exhibited a clinically significant increase in ASCVD risk score of ≥ 2.5%. The median change in the metabolic syndrome Z score was -0.36, indicating a decrease in metabolic syndrome risk. 28% of all patients demonstrated an increase in metabolic syndrome risk after 6 months of HT. Conclusions: Despite the known association between HT and increased CV risk, most patients in this study did not experience a clinically meaningful increase in either ASCVD risk or MetS Z score. These findings suggest that general population risk estimation tools may not reflect temporal evolution of CV risk in patients undergoing HT. This study also highlights an unmet need for novel risk assessment tools specifically tailored to identify at-risk men among those treated with HT.

Emerging perspectives in quality of life after trabeculectomy surgery.

Trabeculectomy is the gold standard surgery in treatment of glaucoma but there is little reported on its early impact in health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Here we characterise HRQoL in the early post-operative period with two generic patient-reported outcome measures tools (PROMs), the EQ-5D and SF-6D, and compare them to visual-related and glaucoma-specific PROMs, the VF-25 and GUI. We prospectively enrolled 168 patients with failed medical treatment undergoing trabeculectomy and assessed HRQoL at baseline and in the post-operative period using the PROMs above. Paired t-tests, ANOVA and linear regression tests were used to analyse outcomes. A significant drop in HRQoL was identified in the first month post-operatively with the SF-6D, the VF-25 and the GUI but not with the EQ-5D. This drop was reversed to pre-operative levels by month 3. Four dimensions of HRQoL, including physical functioning, social functioning and adaptation to physical and to emotional roles had the most impact on the generic HRQoL. Visual acuity dropped one line in the operated eye at month 1 and was the only measurable clinical factor contributing to HRQoL. The early post-operative period in trabeculectomy surgery is associated with a reversible loss of HRQoL, which is the result of transient worsening of vision but also physical, emotional and social restrictions caused by the busy medication regimen and drastic lifestyle changes. The SF-6D was better than the EQ-5D at picking up changes in HRQoL.

Construction and validation of a prediction nomogram model for acute gastrointestinal failure in patients with severe traumatic brain injury.

This study aims to establish and validate the prediction model of acute gastrointestinal failure (AGF) in patients with severe traumatic brain injury. A total of 665 inpatients from Shaoxing People's Hospital from January 2018 to January 2024 were admitted and randomly divided into training group (466 cases) and validation group (199 cases). Data were collected by general situation questionnaire and AGF assessment tool. According to the results of multivariate logistic regression analysis, the prediction nomogram model was established with R software. Bootstrap method was used for internal verification of the model, and verification group was used for external verification. The area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration curves were used to evaluate the differentiation and calibration degree of the model. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that pulmonary infection, hypoxemia, glasgow coma scale (GCS) score ≤ 8 on admission, hyponatremia and metabolic acidosis were independent risk factors for AGF in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (P < .05). On this basis, a new prediction model was constructed, as follows: logit P = -4.998 + 0.858 × pulmonary infection + 0.923 × hypoxemia + 1.488 × GCS score ≤ 8 + 1.274 × hyponatremia + 1.020 × metabolic acidosis. The area under ROC of the new model was 0.787 (95% CI: 0.831-0.909), and the cutoff point was 0.4589. The sensitivity and specificity of the model were 69.74% and 76.15%, respectively. Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test showed that the prediction model had a good fitting effect (χ2 = 4.828, P = .681). External verification showed that the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test showed that the prediction model had a good fitting effect (χ2 = 12.712, P = .122). Calibration curves showed the nomogram established fits well with the real data. The prediction model constructed in this study has good differentiation and calibration degree, which can intuitively and easily select high-risk patients, and provide reference for early screening and gastrointestinal nursing intervention.

Calibrar: An R package for fitting complex ecological models

Abstract The fitting or parameter estimation of complex ecological models is a challenging optimisation task, with a notable lack of tools for fitting complex, long runtime or stochastic models. calibrar is an R package that is dedicated to the fitting of complex models to data. It is a generic tool that can be used for any type of model, especially those with non‐differentiable objective functions and long runtime, including individual or agent based models. calibrar supports multiple phases and constrained optimisation, includes 20 optimisation algorithms, including derivative‐based and heuristic ones. It supports any type of parallelisation, the capability to restart interrupted optimisations for long runtime models and the combination of different optimisation methods during the multiple phases of a calibration. User‐level expertise in R is necessary to handle calibration experiments with calibrar, but there is no need to modify the model's code, which can be programmed in any language. It implements maximum likelihood estimation methods and automated construction of the objective function from simulated model outputs. For more experienced users, calibrar allows the implementation of user‐defined objective functions. The package source code is fully accessible and can be installed directly from CRAN.

Textual evidence systematic reviews series paper 3: critical appraisal of evidence from narrative, opinion, and policy.

JBI has long held the view that an inclusive approach to the conceptualization of what counts as evidence is important to the evidence-based movement. JBI's approach for appraising textual evidence had encompassed all forms of text (narrative, opinion, and policy), with one general tool used to guide critical appraisal. The proliferation of textual evidence and increase in textual evidence reviews demonstrate the need to reconceptualize JBI's methodological approach to critically appraising textual evidence. The objective of this paper is to outline the updated methodological approach to systematic reviews of textual evidence, especially in relation to the development of 3 separate critical appraisal tools for narrative, expert opinion, and policy text. Using an adapted Delphi approach, the JBI Textual Evidence Methodology Group convened over several rounds of meetings and discussions with international experts to reach consensus toward the reconceptualization of critical appraisal tools for textual evidence sources. Strategies to effectively interrogate the legitimacy and authenticity of sources were found to be dependent upon the type of textual evidence under review. Therefore, 3 separate critical appraisal tools for narrative, expert opinion, and policy text were developed. This paper provides an overview of the development of 3 separate critical appraisal tools, highlighting the complex nature of textual evidence data sources.