Level Of Quality Research Articles

The final part of the CRESS trilogy- how to evaluate the quality of stability studies.

High quality laboratory results are critical for patient management. However, poor sample quality can impact these results and patient safety. To ensure reliable and accurate results laboratories must be aware of each analyte's stability under various storage conditions and matrices to guarantee correct and dependable outcomes. This knowledge allows laboratories to define the allowable delay between sample collection and centrifugation/analysis for all analytes to guarantee appropriate results quality and interpretation. The EFLM WG-PRE therefore established a 4-step plan to tackle this issue, aiming to standardize and harmonize stability studies for improved comparison andmeta-analysis. The plan included the development of checklists and how-to guides for performing and reporting stability studies as well as a central resource of stability data. This manuscript deals with the issue of evaluating publications and incorporating them into a central resource. To evaluate stability studies, the CRESS checklist was used to structure 20 sections used to judge the quality of studies. Each section has 4 levels of quality, with scores converted to numerical values and weighted based on expert opinion. Based on this, a final score ranging from A to D was determined. The procedure was then tested on six manuscripts and checked for agreement between expert judgements. The results demonstrated that the proposed evaluation process is a useful tool to distinguish between best in class manuscripts and those of lower quality. The EFLM WG-PRE strongly believes that the provided recommendations and checklists will help improving stability studies both in quality and standardisation.

Using virtual and augmented reality to study architectural lighting

This paper presents industry stakeholder insights from the implementation of a dual modality intervention using virtual and augmented reality simulation to study complex lighting theory in architecture design. Using a design based research method the aim is to evaluate these insights and inform a pilot study to educate first year architectural design students on the complexities of lighting the built environment and methods to improve architectural workflow. The aim is to enable learners to experience natural and artificial lighting methods comparatively in real-time through multiple comparative visualisation methods. This is important to make informed evaluations regarding architectural designs in terms of spatial quality, character, performance, and user-comfort levels. This in turn allows architects to rapidly modify their designs to accommodate or mitigate the environmental effects. Outcomes from the initial usability test highlight the ability to switch back and forth between the virtual and augmented reality simulation technology, and between lighting visualisation modes as a huge step forward by the industry stakeholders. Additionally, the idea of representing the physical building where the simulation took place virtually using a detailed mapping gave a real-world anchor that made the simulations easy to navigate, leading to improved satisfaction and engagement. However, the study also highlighted improvements in the delivery of the simulation is required to improve simulation learnability and efficiency.

Differences In Quality of Life of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Patients at Rsi Sultan Agung Semarang Observational Analytical Studies in Age, Gender, and Stage of Cancer

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a malignant tumor in the head and neck area of squamous cell type located in the nasopharynx. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Indonesia is the 4th most malignant cancer and is considered one of the most malignant tumors with high mortality and morbidity. This study aims to determine the difference in quality of life in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients with characteristics (age, gender, and stage of cancer) nasopharyngeal tumors. The research method was carried out with analytical observational through a cross sectional approach. The measuring instruments used in the form of EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-H&N35 questionnaires were used to measure the quality of life of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients at RSI Sultan Agung Semarang. The data were analyzed using a binary logistic regression test. The results of the study of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients according to the characteristics at RSI Sultan Agung Semarang based on 13 respondents were dominated by male patients totaling 8 people (61.54%), aged 45 years as many as 8 people (61.54%), and cancer stages were divided into 6 people (≥46.15%) and 7 people (53.85%) in the early and advanced stages. The results of the Wald Test did not significantly differ in the quality of life of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients at RSI Sultan Agung Semarang with each sig intention. The independent variables were age (p = 0.187), gender (p = 0.227), and cancer stage (p = 0.558). The independent variable that most affected the level of quality of life of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients was gender with a value of Exp(B) = 5.394. The conclusion of this study is that there is no difference in quality of life in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients with characteristics (age, gender, and stage of cancer) nasopharyngeal tumors.International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Vol. 08 No. 02 Apr’24 Page: 151-156

Are Internet Information Sources Helpful for Adult Crohn’s Disease Patients regarding Nutritional Advice?

Adult patients suffering from Crohn’s disease (CD) are often dissatisfied with the information they receive from their physicians about nutrition and its impact on CD inflammation activity. Only a few publications are available about patients’ internet research on nutrition in CD. The study aim is to elucidate the internet information sources of adult CD patients regarding nutritional advice via a questionnaire. Methods: A questionnaire with 28 (general and specific) questions for outpatients at our tertiary center with CD was created and used for an analysis of their information sources about nutrition in CD. Four CD and/or nutritional medicine experts examined the 21 most relevant websites referring to nutritional advice for CD patients. Results: One hundred and fifty CD patients reported their Internet research behavior for nutritional advice and their dietary habits. Many CD patients prefer to consult the Internet instead of asking their general practitioner (GP) for nutritional recommendations. Most of the websites providing nutritional advice for CD patients are of very poor quality and cannot be recommended. We found significant correlations between (a) nutritional habits of CD patients, (b) their information sources and several demographic or CD-related factors. There is a lack of websites which provide high-quality, good nutritional advice to CD patients. Conclusion: The majority of the examined websites did not provide sufficient information according to the CD guidelines and nutritional medicine guidelines. A higher quality level of website content (e.g., on social media or on university/center websites) provided by experienced physicians is required to secure trustworthy and reliable nutritional information in CD.

An Efficient Water Quality Prediction and Assessment Method Based on the Improved Deep Belief Network—Long Short-Term Memory Model

The accuracy of water quality prediction and assessment has always been the focus of environmental departments. However, due to the high complexity of water systems, existing methods struggle to capture the future internal dynamic changes in water quality based on current data. In view of this, this paper proposes a data-driven approach to combine an improved deep belief network (DBN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) network model for water quality prediction and assessment, avoiding the complexity of constructing a model of the internal mechanism of water quality. Firstly, using Gaussian Restricted Boltzmann Machines (GRBMs) to construct a DBN, the model has a better ability to extract continuous data features compared to classical DBN. Secondly, the extracted time-series data features are input into the LSTM network to improve predicting accuracy. Finally, due to prediction errors, noise that randomly follows the Gaussian distribution is added to the assessment results based on the predicted values, and the probability of being at the current water quality level in the future is calculated through multiple evolutionary computations to complete the water quality assessment. Numerical experiments have shown that our proposed algorithm has a greater accuracy compared to classical algorithms in challenging scenarios.

Relationship Quality Among Persons with Serious Mental Illness and Their Relatives: Rates and Correlates.

Supportive family relationships for persons with serious mental illness (SMI) are correlated with positive functional, health and mental health outcomes and are essential to the recovery process. However, there has been a dearth of research on positive family dynamics. Using multivariate logistic regression with a U.S. community-recruited sample of persons with SMI (N = 523), we examined the extent to which demographics, clinical characteristics, and supportive and problematic relationship interactions were associated with relationship quality with reference relatives (RR). Secondarily, we tested whether the relationship between routine limit-setting practices by RR toward participants and relationship quality was significantly mediated by perceived emotional overinvolvement using Baron and Kenny's four step method. High levels of relationship quality were reported by two-thirds of the sample. Relationship quality was positively associated with frequency of contact between participants and RR, participants helping RR with activities of daily living, and caregiving provided by RR to participants. High relationship quality was negatively associated with RR being parents or other family members (compared to romantic partners), perceived emotional overinvolvement of RR, and psychological abuse by RR toward participants. Clinical and demographic characteristics were not associated with relationship quality. Perceived emotional overinvolvement was found to be a mediator between routine limit-setting practices and relationship quality. These results can help direct clinicians in targeting factors that will likely enhance the process of recovery.

Preoperative Risk Factors for Pain After Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review.

Despite being a generally successful procedure, pain following reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (rTSA) is a known complication. The aim of this systematic review is to identify preoperative risk factors for pain following rTSA to encourage evidence-based interventions, inform clinicians, and aid in surgical planning. Studies that reported preoperative risk factors and pain after rTSA were included. Studies which reported outcome measures that incorporated pain scores yet did not display them independently, studies which only reported intraoperative risk factors, and studies involving participants under 18 were excluded. The search was conducted on May 31, 2023, across the following databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Four independent researchers conducted this systematic review, and a descriptive analysis was subsequently performed. Twenty-five studies were included following the evaluation of full-text articles, involving a total of 9,470 shoulders. Preoperative risk factors identified were categorised into the following groups: BMI, smoking, radiographic findings, age and sex, prior surgery, functional ability and pain, and psychosocial. The strongest associations identified were preoperative opioid use and smoking, which were both associated with worse pain outcomes following rTSA; other preoperative risk factors highlighted in this review showed either weak or no correlation. Preoperative opioid use and smoking are likely risk factors for the development of pain after rTSA. Although the studies included varying levels of quality, the identification of modifiable risk factors is useful in optimising management prior to surgery and guiding patient expectations. The lack of evidence regarding associations with non-modifiable risk factors further reinforces the potential benefits of the procedure on diverse population groups and is useful in itself for assessing the candidacy of patients for the procedure, particularly when postoperative pain is a factor being considered.

Additive and Moderating Effect of Parents and Friends on Health and Behavior Outcomes During Emerging Adulthood

Relationships with parents and friends may work together to increase the risk of adjustment problems in emerging adulthood. However, it is still undetermined if social relationships act in an additive (i.e., serve as unique predictors) or moderating (i.e., interact with other predictors) fashion. In a cross-sectional sample of 859 female college students ( M age = 19.53, SD = 1.49; 73.9% White) from a large university in the south-central United States, we assessed how parents and best friends impact emerging adult internalizing symptoms, risky behavior, and health problems. We found that low levels of best friend risky behavior attenuated the links between father-emerging adult relationship quality and risky behavior and internalizing symptoms, and high levels of father-emerging adult relationship quality magnified the association between mother-emerging adult relations and internalizing symptoms. Ultimately, these results indicate that relationships with parents and friends served as additive or unique predictors of emerging adult health and behavior.

The reflective function questionnaire for youth: Hungarian adaptation and evaluation of associations with quality of life and psychopathology.

An important correlate of mental health problems is mentalizing capacity, which appears to be particularly influential during adolescence. However, quality of life has not been studied in relation to mentalizing capacity among adolescents. This study aimed to translate the Reflective Function Questionnaire for Youth (RFQY) into Hungarian, present its psychometric properties, and assess its relationship with demographic characteristics, psychopathology and quality of life. A community sample of 384 youths aged 12-18 years completed the RFQY, the Measure of Quality of Life for Children and Adolescents, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. First, we conducted an exploratory factor analysis with direct oblimin rotation on the RFQY items. Next, we assessed the associations between the RFQY and demographics, quality of life, and psychopathology. The EFA resulted in four factors: Internal-self, Internal-other, Self-other, and Strong emotions. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients of the scales were .81, .82, .67, and .80, respectively. The subscales were uniquely associated with psychopathology and quality of life. Our study provides the first psychometric support for the Hungarian version of the RFQY and indicates that adolescents suffering from internalizing, externalizing symptoms or lower levels of quality of life could benefit from interventions aimed at enhancing mentalizing capacity.

Variation in the Quality of Teacher–Child Interactions in Chinese Toddler Classrooms

Variation in the Quality of Teacher–Child Interactions in Chinese Toddler Classrooms

Quality of Carbon Emissions Disclosure on Corporate Sustainability Report Gojek Period 2020 and Goto Period 2021 – 2022

The high level of air pollution which is increasing from year to year causes air quality to decline. One of the causes of the increase in air is the growth in the number of motorized vehicles which causes an increase in the amount of emissions released in the form of Carbon Monoxide (CO), Hydrocarbons (HC), Nitrogen Oxide (NO). This shows that climate change is occurring. Climate change is one of the environmental problems that is currently of concern to stakeholders. The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is a non-profit organization that operates focused on addressing environmental issues. CDP works by publishing information sheets which are useful as a guide for companies to disclose greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from the company's business activities. The company publishes a sustainability report which reveals carbon emissions. GoTo is a merger between Gojek and Tokopedia where in 2020 Gojek published a sustainability report. Scoring of carbon emission disclosures both quantitatively and qualitatively was carried out in this research. During the 2020-2021 period, the highest level of suitability and quality of disclosure was obtained by GoTo. Quantitatively, the climate change category has high disclosure quality. Qualitatively, the GHG emissions calculation category has the highest disclosure quality.

Evaluating optimal reference translations

Abstract The overall translation quality reached by current machine translation (MT) systems for high-resourced language pairs is remarkably good. Standard methods of evaluation are not suitable nor intended to uncover the many translation errors and quality deficiencies that still persist. Furthermore, the quality of standard reference translations is commonly questioned and comparable quality levels have been reached by MT alone in several language pairs. Navigating further research in these high-resource settings is thus difficult. In this paper, we propose a methodology for creating more reliable document-level human reference translations, called “optimal reference translations,” with the simple aim to raise the bar of what should be deemed “human translation quality.” We evaluate the obtained document-level optimal reference translations in comparison with “standard” ones, confirming a significant quality increase and also documenting the relationship between evaluation and translation editing.

Fuzzy Evaluation Model for Products with Multifunctional Quality Characteristics: Case Study on Eco-Friendly Yarn

Numerous advanced industrial countries emphasize green environmental protection alongside athletic healthcare. Many world-renowned sports brands are actively developing highly functional, environmentally friendly, and aesthetically pleasing products. For example, in the production of sports shoes, the eco-friendly yarn process is one of the important processes. This process involves multiple crucial larger-the-better quality characteristics closely tied to the functionality of sports shoes. Facing green environmental regulations and external competitors, it is evidently an imperative issue for enterprises to consider how to improve the quality of newly developed products, increase product value, and lower rates of both rework and scrap to accomplish the goals of saving energy and minimizing waste. Aiming to solve this problem, this study proposed a fuzzy evaluation model for products with multifunctional quality characteristics to assist the sporting goods manufacturing industry in evaluating whether all functional quality characteristics of its products meet the required quality level. This study first utilized the larger-the-better Six Sigma quality index concerning environmental protection for evaluation and then proposed product evaluation indicators for the eco-friendly yarn. Since the parameters of these indicators have not yet been determined, sample data need to be used for estimation. Enterprises require rapid response, so that the sample size is relatively small. Sampling error will increase the risk of misjudgment. Therefore, taking suggestions from previous studies, this study constructed the fuzzy evaluation model based on confidence intervals of quality indicators for the eco-friendly yarn. This method incorporated previous experience with data, thereby enhancing assessment accuracy.

Health-related quality of life among people with diabetes: A cross-sectional study in Hail region, Saudi Arabia ​.

Diabetes Mellitus is a serious and expanding health problem, together with the issues of health- related quality of life (HRQoL). This further puts pressure on the government to allocate more funds for public healthcare. This study was devised to evaluate the health-related quality of life of people living with diabetes in Hail region of Saudi Arabia. This cross-sectional research was carried out at eight locations in the Hail region of Saudi Arabia between 21st March-20th May 2022 using the adapted version of the Euro QoL-5 dimension (EQ-5D-3L) questionnaire. A multistage random sample approach was used to choose the diabetes clinics, and data collectors approached the participants in the waiting areas to collect the information. The data were analyzed using logistic regression analysis, Mann-Whitney test, and Kruskal-Wallis tests in IBM SPSS statistics 21.0. The mean HRQoL score was 0.71±0.21 with a visual analog score of 68.4±16.2. Despite having much higher levels of quality of life in terms of self-care (85.8%), regular activity (73.8%) and anxiety (71.8%), nearly one half of the people reported moderate pain or discomfort, and more than one third reported having moderate mobility issues. In general, the quality of life for women was poorer than for men. Individuals with diabetes who were unmarried, young, educated, financially secure, and taking only oral medication had much improved HRQoL. The Euro QoL of people with diabetes patients were significantly influenced by gender, marital status, age, education, employment and treatment modality (p-values < 0.05), whereas only treatment modality had a significant impact on the patients' visual analogue measures (p-values < 0.05). The HRQoL of people with diabetes in Hail region was moderate in general, with pain and mobility issues being particularly prevalent. Gender, marital status, age, education, employment and type of medication therapy are significant predictors of HRQoL of patients with diabetes. Hence, planning and programs to enhance the HRQoL of people with diabetes, especially women is recommended.

AIR QUALITY MONITORING USING MACHINE LEARNING

Air pollution is a critical environmental issue with significant implications for public health and the well-being of ecosystems. This project focuses on developing an innovative solution for air pollution monitoring utilizing machine learning (ML) techniques. The primary objective is to design a system that can accurately predict, analyze, and monitor air quality in real time, providing valuable insights for effective pollution control and management. The proposed system incorporates a network of sensors strategically placed in various locations to capture diverse air quality parameters such as particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and more. The collected data is then processed through ML algorithms to identify patterns, correlations, and trends, enabling the system to accurately predict air quality levels. The project aims to address traditional monitoring systems' limitations by leveraging ML models' adaptability and self-learning capabilities. By continuously updating and refining the models based on incoming data, the system becomes more adept at providing precise and timely information on air quality fluctuations. This endeavour contributes to a deeper understanding of local air pollution dynamics and empowers decision-makers with actionable insights for implementing targeted interventions. The integration of ML in air pollution monitoring represents a significant step towards creating sustainable and data-driven strategies for mitigating the adverse effects of pollution on human health and the environment. Index terms Air pollution, Machine Learning, Environmental Monitoring, Sustainability, Predictive Modeling, Sensor Network, Data Analysis.

Construction and Reflection on College Students' Aesthetic Education based on Cultural Confidence

Aesthetic education is an important content of moral education in colleges and universities. Scientific aesthetic education is an important way to improve students' humanistic accomplishment and comprehensive quality, and it is also a key link to cultivate outstanding talents. Integrating cultural self-confidence into aesthetic education in colleges and universities is conducive to giving full play to the educational function of China's excellent traditional culture, condensing the connotation of cultural education and enhancing the value function of aesthetic education. Colleges and universities should integrate and penetrate the concept of cultural self-confidence from the aspects of the construction of aesthetic education curriculum system, the organization of activities, the creation of aesthetic education atmosphere, and the evaluation mechanism of aesthetic education. Based on cultural self-confidence, colleges and universities should build a new ecology of aesthetic education for college students, balance aesthetic education and cultural education, make aesthetic education for college students deeply rooted in excellent cultural environment, strengthen their cultural self-confidence and comprehensively improve their quality level.

Characteristics, reliability, and quality of YouTube videos on meralgia paresthetica: a descriptive cross-sectional study.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate YouTube videos on meralgia paresthetica (MP) for reliability, quality, and differences between quality levels. We analyzed 59 videos related to MP. We evaluated several video characteristics, including views, likes, dislikes, duration, and speaker profile. We used view ratio, like ratio, Video Power Index (VPI), Global Quality Scale (GQS), JAMA criteria, and modified DISCERN (mDISCERN) to assess viewer engagement, popularity, educational quality, and reliability. The videos received a total of 4,009,141 views (average 67,951.54), with 25.4% focused on exercise training and 23.7% focused on disease information. Mean scores were mDISCERN 2.4, GQS 2.8, and JAMA 2.1. Physician-led videos had higher mDISCERN scores, while allied health worker-led videos had more views, likes, dislikes, view ratios, and VPI. Poor and high-quality videos differed in views, likes, view ratio, VPI, and duration. Positive correlations existed among mDISCERN, JAMA, and GQS scores, with video duration positively correlated with GQS. The content of YouTube videos discussing diseases significantly influences viewer engagement and popularity. To enhance the availability of valuable content on YouTube, which lacks a peer review process, medical professionals must contribute high-quality educational materials tailored to their target audience.

“There's only room for one of us in this relationship”: Examining the role of the dark triad in high-performance dyads

The Dark Triad is highly relevant in high-performance environments as it offers explanation for feelings of superiority, opportunities to be ruthless in the pursuit of victory, and a heightened belief of influence over others for individual success. High-performance dyads focus on achieving a collective goal to achieve additional individual glory. The aim of this study was to investigate how levels of these traits and (dis)similarity in them was associated with relationship quality of 316 high-performance dyads. Greater dissimilarity in narcissism resulted in higher relationship quality for both dyadic members. Actor effects indicated that higher levels of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism were related to a reduction in coaches' own perceptions of relationship quality, whilst only higher levels of Machiavellianism were associated with a reduction in athletes' own perceived levels of relationship quality. Partner effects showed higher levels of athlete Machiavellianism reduced the relationship quality of coaches.

Seasonal Data Cleaning for Sales with Chase Demand Strategy

The intricate process of planning production, involving product life cycle management and the synthesis of manufacturing information, is crucial for coherence in manufacturing. Manufacturing companies, operating in a high-mix, low-volume production environment, integrate production planning with management to focus on production processes, emphasizing high-quality, rapid product delivery. This includes material item planning to anticipate future demands and ensure sufficient raw material and finished product quantities, considering purchasing, production, and sales capacities. This study explores the electro technical sector, specifically a manufacturing entity specializing in low-voltage plastic cable distribution boxes. It scrutinizes the vital role of seasonal data cleaning in optimizing production planning, with a targeted focus on three products. The implementation of a chase demand strategy is related to capacity planning, taking into account the change in production capacity linked to demand over time. The problem in implementing this strategy is related to the fluctuating level of quality due to changes in demand for specified products.

An evaluation of consumer smartphones for generating bolus and surface mould applicators for radiation oncology.

The use of Computed Tomography (CT) imaging data to create 3D printable patient-specific devices for radiation oncology purposes is already well established in the literature and has shown to have superior conformity than conventional methods. Using non-ionizing radiation imaging techniques such as photogrammetry or laser scanners in-lieu of a CT scanner presents many desirable benefits including reduced imaging dose and fabrication of the device can be completed prior to simulation. With recent advancements in smartphone-based technology, photographic and LiDAR-based technologies are more readily available than ever before and to a high level of quality. As a result, these non-ionizing radiation imaging methods are now able to generate patient-specific devices that can be acceptable for clinical use. In this work, we aim to determine if smartphones can be used by radiation oncologists or other radiation oncology staff to generate bolus or brachytherapy surface moulds instead of conventional CT with equivalent or comparable accuracy. This work involved two separate studies: a phantom and participant study. For the phantom study, a RANDO anthropomorphic phantom (limited to the nose region) was used to generate 3D models based on three different imaging techniques: conventional CT, photogrammetry & LiDAR which were both acquired on a smartphone. Virtual boliwere designed in Blender and 3D printed from PLA plastic material. Theconformity of each printed boli was assessed by measuring the air gap volume and approximate thickness between the phantom & bolus acquired together on a CT. For the participant study, photographs, and a LiDAR scan of four volunteers were captured using an iPhone 13 Pro™ to assess their feasibility for generating human models. Each virtual 3D model was visually assessed to identify any issues in their reconstruction. The LiDAR models wereregistered to the photogrammetry models where a distance to agreement analysis was performed to assess their level of similarity.Additionally, a 3D virtual bolus was designed and printed using ABS material from all models to assess their conformity onto the participants skin surface using a verbal feedback method. The photogrammetry derived bolus showed comparable conformity to the CT derived bolus while the LiDAR derived bolus showed poorer conformity as shown by their respective air gap volume and thickness measurements. The reconstruction quality of both the photogrammetry and LiDAR models of the volunteers was inadequate in regions of facial hair and occlusion, which may lead to clinically unacceptable patient-specific device that are created from these areas. All participants found the photogrammetry 3D printed bolus to conform to their nose region with minimal room to move while three of the four participants found the LiDAR was acceptable and could be positioned comfortably over their entire nose. Smartphone-based photogrammetry and LiDAR software show great potential for future use in generating 3D reference models for radiation oncology purposes. Further investigations into whether they can be used to fabricate clinically acceptable patient-specific devices on a larger and more diverse cohort of participants and anatomical locations is required for a thorough validation of their clinical usefulness.