Mean Number Of Interactions Research Articles

Change in sexual and reproductive health knowledge among young women using the conversational agent “Nthabi” in Lesotho: a clinical trial

BackgroundYoung women worldwide face problems like unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Providing sexual and reproductive health education to young women in low- and middle-income countries is a priority. It is unknown if using digital health interventions to deliver health education is effective in resource-constrained settings.MethodsWe conducted an interventional trial among young women in the low–middle-income country of Lesotho to test the impact of the conversational agent system (“Nthabi”) designed to deliver sexual and reproductive health information on either a smartphone or tablet for up to 6 weeks. We measured participant’s knowledge before and after the discussion of family planning, folic acid use, and healthy eating. The main outcome measure was a change in knowledge among participants in these three topic areas. The number of correct pre- and post-test responses was compared using generalized linear models that directly estimated the proportions and percentages of correct responses.ResultsWe recruited 172 young women (mean age 22.5 years, 91% unmarried, 69% completed high school, 23% unemployed, 66% students) to use Nthabi on a mobile phone (11.6%) or loaned tablet device (88.4%). The mean number of interactions with Nthabi was 8.6. Family planning was chosen to be discussed by 82 of the 172 participants (52.2%), and of those, 49 (31.2%) completed the content on this topic, and 26 (16.6) completed the post-test. For the 11 questions about family planning, the total percent of correct responses increased from 85.5% (796 total responses) on the pre-test to 89.9% (320 responses) on the post-test (p = 0.0233). Folic acid use was chosen to be discussed by 74 (47.1%) of 172 participants, and of those, 27 (17.7%) completed the content on this topic, and all 27 (17.7%) completed the post-test. For the 5 questions about folic acid use, the total percent of correct responses was 45.3% (181 total responses) on the pre-test and 71.6% (111 responses) on the post-test (p < 0.0001).ConclusionsThe Nthabi conversational agent system increased knowledge of family planning methods and folic acid use among young women in Lesotho. Digital health interventions like Nthabi have the potential to offer new ways to deliver reproductive health information.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov registration April 20, 2020; ID: NCT04354168.

Predictors of Youth Accessibility for a Mobile Phone-Based Life Skills Training Program for Addiction Prevention.

Digital interventions are an emerging and promising avenue for addiction prevention and mental health promotion, but their reach and use are often limited, and little is known about the factors associated with youth accessibility. SmartCoach is a life skills training program for addiction prevention where adolescents are proactively invited for program participation in secondary school classes. The mobile phone-based program provides individualized coaching for a period of 4 months and addresses self-management skills, social skills, and substance use resistance skills. This study examined sociodemographic and other predictors of program participation and program use. A total of 476 adolescents in 28 secondary and upper secondary school classes in the German-speaking part of Switzerland were proactively invited for participation in the SmartCoach program. Using generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs), we examined predictors of both program participation and program use at the individual and school class levels. In total, 315 (66.2%) of the present 476 adolescents gave their active consent and provided the necessary information to be included in the program. None of the individual sociodemographic characteristics significantly predicted program participation, however, the participation rate was significantly higher in upper secondary school classes (84%) than secondary school classes (59%). The mean number of interactions with the program was 15.9, i.e., participants took part in almost half of the 34 possible interactions with the SmartCoach program. None of the baseline characteristics on the level of the school class significantly predicted program use. On the level of the individual, the univariate models showed that, compared to the reference category of 14-year-old students, program use was significantly lower for students who were 16 or older. Furthermore, participants with a migration background or an origin from a non-German-speaking country showed significantly lower program use. Finally, students with a medium level of perceived stress showed higher program use compared to those with a low level of stress. Within the final multivariate model for program use, only the variable "origin from a non-German-speaking country" remained significant. SmartCoach is an attractive offer for young people, in which two out of three young people who are invited in the classroom to participate do so. Among the program participants, the use of the program is acceptable, with an average of almost half of the content being worked on. There is potential for improvement in terms of recruitment, especially in school classes with a lower level of education. The most important starting point for improving program use lies in taking greater account of needs and wishes of students with non-German-speaking countries of origin.

Multitasking While Driving: How Drivers Self-Regulate Their Interaction with In-Vehicle Touchscreens in Automated Driving

Driver assistance systems are designed to increase comfort and safety by automating parts of the driving task. At the same time, modern in-vehicle information systems with large touchscreens provide the driver with numerous options for entertainment, information, or communication, and are a potential source of distraction. However, little is known about how driving automation affects how drivers interact with the center stack touchscreen, i.e., how drivers self-regulate their behavior in response to different levels of driving automation. To investigate this, we apply multilevel models to a real-world driving dataset consisting of 31,378 sequences. Our results show significant differences in drivers’ interaction and glance behavior in response to different levels of driving automation, vehicle speed, and road curvature. During automated driving, drivers perform more interactions per touchscreen sequence and increase the time spent looking at the center stack touchscreen. Specifically, at higher levels of driving automation (level 2), the mean glance duration toward the center stack touchscreen increases by 36% and the mean number of interactions per sequence increases by 17% compared to manual driving. Furthermore, partially automated driving has a strong impact on the use of more complex UI elements (e.g., maps) and touch gestures (e.g., multitouch). We also show that the effect of driving automation on drivers’ self-regulation is greater than that of vehicle speed and road curvature. The derived knowledge can inform the design and evaluation of touch-based infotainment systems and the development of context-aware driver monitoring systems.

Evaluating Learner Engagement with Gamification in Online Courses

Several reasons underlie the low retention rates in MOOCs. These reasons can be analysed from different perspectives, either in terms of the course design or the enrolled students. On the student side, we find little social interaction, boredom, tiredness, and a lack of motivation and time. These challenges can be addressed by adaptive gamification that proposes the design of personalised, hedonic learning experiences. Studies to date have adopted either the one-fits-all approach or the adaptive approach. Nevertheless, the adaptive solutions have considered a static player profile throughout the entire experience. This paper presents the design and evaluation of a dynamic adaptive gamification approach which—based on students’ interactions with game elements and also their opinions about these elements—dynamically updates the students’ player profile to better figure out which game elements suit them. We evaluated the engagement of students with gamification elements by means of a course composed of a knowledge "pill" related to the topic of “recycling plastics from the sea”, offered through the nanoMOOCs learning platform. We propose metrics such as the mean number of interactions with the gamification dashboard, the time spent by participants with game elements, and the opinions of students about these elements to compare the Dynamic Adaptive Gamification (DynamicAG) and the Static Adaptive (StaticAG) approaches. An experimental study with 66 high school students showed significant differences between both approaches. Specifically, the DynamicAG group spent twice as much time with the Dashboard than the StaticAG group. Moreover, students in the DynamicAG group were more engaged with game elements (mean number of interactions = 12.13) than those in the StaticAG group (mean number of interactions = 3.21).

Parasite species richness and host range are not spatially conserved

AbstractAimInteractor richness in host–parasite networks, corresponding to either parasite species richness for host species or host range for parasite species, can be a function of taxonomic or trait constraints. Species appearing in multiple networks can have similar interactor richness in each network owing to these taxonomic and trait constraints, resulting in a spatially conserved mean interactor richness and lower variation in interaction richness relative to a null expectation. Here, we used a global database of host–helminth interactions to examine the variability in interactor richness across a spatially explicit collection of 299 host–helminth networks.LocationGlobal.Time period1800–2003.Major taxa studiedHelminth parasite species and their host species.MethodsWe used randomization tests to examine spatial conservation of species interactions for both host and helminth species.ResultsWe failed to detect a signal of interactor richness conservation for &gt; 95% of host and helminth parasite species relative to a set of three null models, where both the mean number of interactions per species and the variation in the number of interactions per species did not differ from a random draw. Furthermore, we detected a significant taxonomic signal in divergence in parasite species richness from a null model for host species, indicating that slight departures from null expectations are related to host phylogenetic relationships.Main conclusionsOverall, this indicates that interactor richness can vary widely for the same species and that host and helminth parasite species can play very different functional roles in interaction networks across spatial or environmental gradients.

Getting the First Thousand-Optimizing Instagram Residency Content to Increase Followers During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Social media remains a growing platform for physicians to facilitate learning, network, and disseminate information. The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has challenged traditional medical student recruitment and outreach. Instagram is a platform that can be used by residency programs to increase engagement and as a potential recruitment tool. The authors present social media failed and successful strategies used to increase engagement and gain new followers. In June 2020, an initiative began to use Instagram on a more frequent and intentional basis. Three different strategies were implemented during the pandemic: mirroring Twitter posts, increasing multimedia, and leveraging Instagram Stories. The outcomes of interest included number of followers and engagement on posts. Data were collected October 2020. After June 1, 2020, the @mayoanesthesia account gained 1000 followers through 127 days, an average of 4.26 new followers each day. Before June 1, there were 24 total posts over 3.3 years with a total of 458 followers. Three different strategies were implemented at different times during the pandemic. During the mirroring Twitter posts period, the mean number of interactions per post was 14.5. During the second phase after separating the Twitter and Instagram strategy, the mean number of interactions per post increased to 57.8. Residency programs can creatively, yet methodically, use Instagram posts to increase social media engagement during resident recruitment season during the COVID-19 pandemic and likely beyond.

English

Transformation of natural landscapes is the leading cause of global biodiversity decline. This is often exacerbated through anthropogenic activities that result in the alteration of natural ecosystem. Displacement of local species is characteristics of this process and this is of negative consequence especially for species in mutualism. In this study, how grazing and mowing activities influence flower-insect interactions and communities of interacting partners was assessed. Insect-flower interactions were sampled in four replicates, each of grazed and mowed grasslands in a moderately disturbed ecosystem. Mean distance to natural areas was determined during the study to assess the buffering effect of these natural areas on insect-flower interactions in the local habitats. Flower visiting insect species richness and abundance were not significantly different between grazed and mowed grasslands; however, flowering plants richness and abundance were higher in grazed grasslands. Mean number of interactions was also higher in grazed grassland as compared to mowed. Furthermore, mean number of interactions reduced with increase in distance from the forest. This study showed the importance of natural habitat as a refuge for displaced flower-visiting insects from disturbed areas in a transformed landscape. Mutualistic partners in interaction tend to be resilient to moderate disturbance such as grazing in this study; however, an increase in the intensity of disturbance above the moderate threshold may result in a breakdown of interaction networks. Key words: Network metrics, grazing, landscape disturbance, flower-visiting insects, natural habitat.

Uso de medicamentos por pacientes com Artrite Reumatóide (AR) em um município do interior do RS

Objetivo: Verificar o perfil dos pacientes portadores de AR em relação ao uso dos medicamentos, às potenciais interações medicamentosas e ao uso de terapias alternativas. Método: Estudo transversal, em que foram entrevistados 31 pacientes com AR, com idade superior a 18 anos, de ambos os sexos, em qualquer etapa do tratamento. Para identificação dos indivíduos foram acessados os prontuários da Unidade Básica de Saúde do município de Jóia/RS, enquanto a coleta foi realizada no mês de janeiro de 2015. O presente estudo teve aprovação do Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa da Unijuí, sob o Parecer nº 898.482, conforme preconiza a Resolução nº 466/2012. Resultados: A maioria dos entrevistados era do sexo masculino (61,29%) e a faixa etária mais frequente foi 30-49 anos. A média de medicamentos utilizados por paciente foi de 5,23±2,80, sendo que 18 (58,06%) estavam em uso do metotrexato, sete (22,58%) de hidroxicloroquina, quatro (12,90%) de sulfassalazina e três (9,68%) faziam uso de outras Drogas Modificadoras do Curso da Doença (DMCD). O número médio de interações por paciente foi 2,51±2,58, revelando associação positiva entre os medicamentos administrados e maiores chances de interações. Conclusão: Durante o tratamento farmacológico os pacientes com AR devem receber orientação e acompanhamento em relação ao uso de medicamentos para reduzir efeitos indesejáveis e evitar potenciais interações medicamentosas, sendo que o determinante da melhora do quadro clínico do paciente se dá pelo diagnóstico e tratamento precoce associado a terapias complementares. Assim, pacientes com AR necessitam tratamento multidisciplinar, realizado por qualificados profissionais da saúde, recebendo atenção e as informações necessárias para maximizar o tratamento.

Vascular Forum: collective intelligence in the resolution of vascular clinical cases.

Background Collective intelligence is extremely important in collective groups that discuss clinical medical cases, assisting professionals in their decision-making processes, and consequently, helping their patients. Objectives To evaluate the rate of resolution and characteristics of the clinical discussions carried out in a private instant messaging group and its clinical applicability. Methods Retrospective analysis of clinical discussions and events on the Vascular Forum, an open group for specialists accessed with mobile devices. Results From July 2015 to July 2017, 1013 subjects were discussed among 680 members. Twenty-six (2.57%) of these subjects were curiosities, 101 (9.97%) related to diagnostic doubts, 492 (48.57%) to treatment doubts, and 205 (20.24%) to general doubts, while 189 (17.5%) were case reports. The mean number of interactions per event was 16.599 (±1.366). The mean time from posting of a new subject to the first reply was 42.14 (±7.55) min. The subject discussed was miscellaneous in 358 cases, venous in 336 cases, lymphatic in 15 cases, and arterial in 304 cases and the total number of replies was 15985. Conclusions Interaction between experts using instant messaging technology proved capable of raising subjects for discussion and eliciting management approaches quickly. The rate of resolution, defined as the time taken for the first correct answer to be posted, was also high. The Vascular Forum proved to be a tool of great clinical value for its participants, confirming the importance of collective intelligence in medicine.

Adverse events caused by potential drug-drug interactions in an intensive care unit of a teaching hospital.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the incidence of potential drug-drug interactions in an intensive care unit of a hospital, focusing on antimicrobial drugs.MethodsThis cross-sectional study analyzed electronic prescriptions of patients admitted to the intensive care unit of a teaching hospital between January 1 and March 31, 2014 and assessed potential drug-drug interactions associated with antimicrobial drugs. Antimicrobial drug consumption levels were expressed in daily doses per 100 patient-days. The search and classification of the interactions were based on the Micromedex® system.ResultsThe daily prescriptions of 82 patients were analyzed, totaling 656 prescriptions. Antimicrobial drugs represented 25% of all prescription drugs, with meropenem, vancomycin and ceftriaxone being the most prescribed medications. According to the approach of daily dose per 100 patient-days, the most commonly used antimicrobial drugs were cefepime, meropenem, sulfamethoxazole + trimethoprim and ciprofloxacin. The mean number of interactions per patient was 2.6. Among the interactions, 51% were classified as contraindicated or significantly severe. Highly significant interactions (clinical value 1 and 2) were observed with a prevalence of 98%.ConclusionThe current study demonstrated that antimicrobial drugs are frequently prescribed in intensive care units and present a very high number of potential drug-drug interactions, with most of them being considered highly significant.

Interacciones medicamentosas potenciales en pacientes paliativos

AimTo identify potential drug interactions in patients included in a Domiciliary Palliative Care Unit. Material and methodsA descriptive retrospective study was conducted on 209 patients treated by a Domiciliary Palliative Care Unit in Madrid during 2011.Potential drug interactions were estimated by using the on-line resource http://www.drugs.com. Statistical descriptive analysis and multivariate with logistic regression analysis were performed. ResultsThe mean number of drugs per patient at the 1st visit was 7.47, and 7.00 at the 3rd visit. The mean number of interactions per patient at the 1st visit was 6.12, and 5.51 at the 3rd visit.The percentage of patients with drug interactions at the 1st visit was 91.4%, and 90.9% at the 3rd visit.It was found that 13.27% of the interactions were clinically relevant.The therapeutic groups which interactions were clinically relevant were opioids, omeprazole, laxatives, and antidepressants.After the multivariate statistical analysis, there was a significant correlation at the 1st visit (P<.05) between the number of drugs and the presence of interactions; for each drug added, the interaction risk doubled. At the 3rd visit, the number of drugs, elevated blood pressure, and high opioids intake persisted. ConclusionsOnly 13.27% of the «potential interactions» are clinically relevant. It was found that for each new drug added, the risk of potential interactions doubled. Therefore, it is essential to know the drugs involved, in order to improve the quality of the care and minimize the risks associated with their administration, ensuring a maximum quality healthcare in this, and other, populations.

R\&amp;D for a Dedicated Fast Timing Layer in the CMS Endcap Upgrade

The PhaseII Upgrades of CMS are being planned for the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) era when the mean number of interactions per beam crossing ("in-time pileup") is expected to reach ~140-200. The potential backgrounds arising from mis-associated jets and photon showers, for example, during event reconstruction could be reduced if physics objects are tagged with an "event time". This tag is fully complementary to the "event vertex" which is already commonly used to reduce mis-reconstruction. Since the tracking vertex resolution is typically ~10^{-3} (50 micron/4.8cm) of the rms vertex distribution, whereas only ~10^{-1} (i.e. 20 vs.170 picoseconds (psec)) is demonstrated for timing, it is often assumed that only photon (i.e. EM calorimeter or shower-max) timing is of interest. We show that the optimal solution will likely be a single timing layer which measures both charged particle and photon time (a pre-shower layer).

Measuring centrality with slow protons in proton-nucleus collisions at 18 GeV/c

Experiment E910 has measured slow protons and deuterons from collisions of 18 $\mathrm{GeV}/c$ protons with Be, Cu, and Au targets at the BNL AGS. These correspond to the ``grey tracks'' first observed in emulsion experiments. We report on their momentum and angular distributions and investigate their use in measuring the centrality of a collision, as defined by the mean number of projectile-nucleon interactions. The relation between the measured ${N}_{\mathrm{grey}}$ and the mean number of interactions $\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}{(N}_{\mathrm{grey}})$ is studied using several simple models, one newly proposed, as well as the RQMD event generator. RQMD is shown to reproduce the ${N}_{\mathrm{grey}}$ distribution, and exhibits a dependence of ${N}_{\mathrm{grey}}$ on centrality that is similar to the behavior of the simple models. We find a strong linear dependence of $\overline{{N}_{\mathrm{grey}}}$ on $\ensuremath{\nu}$, with a constant of proportionality that varies with target. For the Au target, we report a relative systematic error for extracting $\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}{(N}_{\mathrm{grey}})$ that lies between 10 and 20 % over all ${N}_{\mathrm{grey}}.$

Oestrous behaviour of Holstein cows during cooler and hotter tropical seasons.

Seasonal effects on post-partum ovarian activity, duration and intensity of sexual behaviour were determined for Holstein dairy cattle imported from a temperate climate into a tropical region. Animals were observed continuously during the cooler (temperature-humidity index (THI) < 25) and hotter (THI > 25) seasons for 2 years. They were restricted to a cement footing in the hotter season observation period in Year 1, but had access to both concrete and dirt footing during all other seasons. Sequential milk progesterone profiles provided an indication of when follicular phases occurred, and recorded sexual behaviour was compared with these to determine if oestrous signs accompanied ovulations. Most cows had normal ovarian cycles and ovulated regularly during both seasons, but quiet ovulations occurred with greater frequency during the hotter times of the year (P < 0.05). Demonstrations of sexual behaviour were affected by choice of footing rather than season. The actual time when cows stood passively and allowed herdmates to complete mounting ranged from 5.1 +/- 0.7 to 5.8 +/- 1 h with access to exercise yards and cement or dirt footing, but declined to only 1.3 +/- 1.1 h when animals were confined to cement (P < 0.05). Similarly, the total duration of oestrus and mean number of interactions were significantly (P < 0.05) reduced during the observation period conducted with cows confined to concrete footing. These findings further emphasize that the duration of oestrus in dairy cows in considerably shorter than the commonly quoted 18 h.

The effect of post-capture management strategy on the welfare and productivity of wild red deer (Cervus elaphus) hinds introduced to farming systems

AbstractWild red deer (Cervus elaphus) hinds were subjected to one of five post-capture management strategies during the period from capture in late pregnancy in March, until weaning in September. The treatments were: remained enclosed at the capture site; relocated to a remote site; relocated to a conventional deer farm on improved pasture; relocated to a conventional deer farm and grazed with farmed hinds; housed prior to calving on a conventional deer farm site. For a further year, all hinds were managed under conventional deer farm conditions. There was considerable evidence, based on mortality and behaviour, to suggest that initial housing of the hinds following capture compromised their welfare. Deaths of hinds (seven out of 20) occurred in this group, associated with bullying during the housed period. Hinds on this treatment also showed a higher frequency of aggressive interactions compared with the groups directly moved to the deer farm (11% v. 2% respectively of scans conducted at 10-min intervals over 6h; P &lt; 0·001) and a reduced level of lying behaviour (15% v. 34 to 47% of scans; P &lt; 0·001) during the gestation period. Similarly, during the calving period, this group lay the least (27% v. 43 to 72% of scans; P &lt; 0·001) and the mean number of interactions between hinds reached 11·7 compared with 1·5 to 4·9 (F &lt; 0·001) in the other groups over a continuous 6-h recording period. The two groups of hinds relocated directly onto sown swards were generally similar to one another in terms of behaviour and performance. However, the group mixed with farmed hinds suffered from considerable calf losses in year 1 due to disease (four out of 12). Losses of hinds over winter in year 1 (nine out of 90) occurred principally amongst those animals which had not become habituated to human presence or supplementary feeding in the summer, i.e. groups remaining enclosed at the capture site or relocated to a remote site. When all hinds were treated similarly in year 2 the hinds from these same two groups, together with those initially housed indoors, showed more hind-hind interactions overall than the two groups located directly onto the deer farm (7·2 v. 3·1 interactions per hind over a 4-h period; P &lt; 0·02) and it is suggested that these hinds had not yet adapted to their new environment. An ACTH stimulation test conducted during year 2 supported the view that the two groups of hinds most recently introduced into the managed system were subject to a chronic stressor at the time of testing, since administration of ACTH did not elicit a significant increase in plasma cortisol concentrations (mean values pre- and post-ACTH 188 and 217 nmol/l respectively). In contrast, the mean plasma cortisol concentrations of the two groups managed under extensive farm conditions from the outset, showed a significant rise (pre- and post-ACTH, 261 and 376 nmol/l respectively; P &lt; 0·01). From this it is concluded that their adaptation to the farm environment had already occurred. The live-weight gains of the wild hinds calves (229 g/day) on the improved pastures in the 1st year of the study were below that for farmed hinds calves (282 g/day; P &lt; 0·05), suggesting that they were not habituated to the management system. However, by the end of year 2 animal performance was comparable with that of farmed hinds and calf growth rates reached 276 g/day. Thus while housing wild red deer immediately after capture is associated with poor welfare, analysis of behaviour, adrenal response and animal production over a longer period suggests that by the end of the study few important differences remained between the groups.

Linear stability of high-dimensional symplectic systems

We show that for linear high-dimensional symplectic systems, the stability only depends on the mean number of interactions between subsystems. Numerical experiments confirm this result and its genericity.