Non-electronic Sources Research Articles

Resilience in inter-organizational networks of red buses: dealing with their daily disruptions in critical infrastructures

This research aims to determine how the inter-organizational (supply) system that serves and oversees the critical infrastructures might lessen the negative effects of routine interruptions. Furthermore, this research aims to gain insight into the types of disruptions that Red Buses experience and their strategies to manage them. The subject matter of this discourse pertains to the domains of science, numbers, and statistics. This research employs a quantitative research methodology to examine the effects of routine disruptions on inter-organizational systems and to evaluate the corresponding hypotheses. The individuals involved in this investigation work and operate the Red Bus Service in Karachi. By random sampling, a sample of 152 workers and drivers was selected from the Red Bus Service in Karachi. Data was collected from both electronic and non-electronic sources. Data was collected using Google Forms distributed via various internet channels such as WhatsApp and email addresses. Data was analyzed by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM); we used SmartPLS 4 software for that. The finding shows that disturbance co-occurrence has a negative relationship with CI resilience to focal disruption, a positive relationship with non-routineness, and a negative relationship with economic performance.

Prevalence of infertility in Sudan: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background/aim: Infertility is defined as the inability of heterosexual couples to achieve a successful clinically recognizable pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse. Infertility estimations are very important to inform the healthcare policymakers and governments to implement appropriate social and economic policies. Thus, this study aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of infertility (primary and secondary) and its etiologic factors in Sudan.Methods: This study included all published and unpublished studies written in Arabic or English. Electronic sources (namely, PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and ClinicalTrials.gov) and nonelectronic sources (direct Google search, Google Scholar, OpenGrey, OATD, WorldCat log, and university websites) were used from their inception to May 16, 2021. A total of 1955 studies were reviewed, of which only 20 studies were eligible for the meta-analysis. Studies were eligible if they provided the prevalence of infertility in Sudan. The Joanna Briggs Institute Quality Assessment Tool was used to evaluate each study. Data synthesis and statistical analysis were conducted using Jeffrey's Amazing Statistics Program version 0.14.1.0.Results: The pooled prevalence of overall infertility, primary infertility, and secondary infertility in Sudan were 13% (I2 = 96.45, p < 0.001), 65% (I2 = 98.5, p < 0.001), and 35% (I2 = 98.5, p < 0.001), respectively, and the prevalence of infertility factors were 41%, 27%, 16%, and 17% for female, male, combined factors, and unexplained factors, respectively. Women with infertility were mainly present because of ovulatory disorders (ovulatory factors, 36%; polycystic ovary syndrome, 38%). By contrast, spermatic disorders such as azoospermia (37%), oligozoospermia (30%), and asthenozoospermia (30%) were the main causes of male infertility.Conclusion: In Sudan, the prevalence of primary infertility is higher than that of secondary infertility. Female factors were the most common causes of infertility in Sudan, and this study found a high prevalence of unexplained factors. Polycystic ovary syndrome and azoospermia were the most common causes of female and male infertility in Sudan, respectively. The interpretation of these findings should take into consideration the presence of substantial heterogeneity between the included studies.

Rapid immunochromatographic tests for the diagnosis of chronic Chagas disease in at-risk populations: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BackgroundDespite of a high disease burden, mainly in Latin America, Chagas disease (CD) is underdiagnosed and undertreated. Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) might improve the access to diagnosis. The aim of this study is to review the accuracy of commercially available RDTs used in field conditions for the diagnosis of chronic CD in populations at risk, in endemic and non-endemic countries.Methods/Principal findingsWe undertook a comprehensive search of the following databases: PubMed, SCOPUS, LILACS (last up-date on the 01st July, 2017), without language or date limits. Non-electronic sources have been also searched. This review included clinical studies with cohort recruitment of individuals at risk of T. cruzi exposure, without age limits; adequate reference standards for the diagnosis of CD. We excluded case-control studies and those testing RDTs during acute CD. Data on test accuracies were pooled through a bivariate random-effects model. Only one index test was evaluated separately. Geographical area, commercial brand, disease prevalence, study size, and risk of bias were explored as possible source of heterogeneity. Values of sensitivity and specificity were computed to obtain summary positive/negative likelihood ratios, and summary diagnostic odds ratio. Ten studies were included on six different immunochromatographic RDTs. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of the RDTs resulted 96.6% (95% CI 91.3–98.7%) and 99.3% (95% CI 98.4–99.7%), respectively. Test accuracy was particularly good in endemic areas (98.07%/99.03% of sensitivity/specificity, respectively). One test (Stat-Pak) showed an overall sensitivity of 97% (95% CI 87.6–99.3) and specificity of 99.4% (95% CI 98.6–99.8).Conclusions/SignificanceRDTs demonstrated to be sufficiently accurate to recommend their use for screening in endemic areas, even as stand-alone tests. This approach might increase the accessibility to the diagnosis. However, an additional confirmatory test in case of positive result remains a prudent approach.

Preference for utilization of drug information sources among postgraduate medical residents

Background: Drug use information is vital for ensuring rationale and safe drug therapy. Physician across the globe use different sources of drug information during their routine practice. Postgraduate residents are in their interim-phase of education, research and clinical exposure. They are exposed to vast array of authentic and non-authentic drug information due to technology advancements and interaction with peers and medical representatives. There exists paucity in literature on their preference and drug information pattern. Therefore, this study was conducted to find out their preference for drug information sources.Methods: The present study was prospective, observational, questionnaire-based survey. The study was conducted between March 2017 and April 2017. The study included postgraduate medical residents pursing speciality courses at a tertiary care teaching hospital in Navi-Mumbai. Data was compiled and analysed in Microsoft excel.Results: Majority postgraduate residents preferred Non-electronics source for drug information. Text books (84%) were commonly preferred followed by medical journals in Non-electronic sources while internet-websites (76%) followed by e-journals and e-books were preferred in electronic sources. Majority preferred non-electronic sources for drug pharmacology and adverse reactions while electronic was preferred for indication, interaction, cost and therapy guidelines. For information on new drugs, majority preferred journals (71%) and websites (64%). Lack of time, source knowledge and high cost were perceived limiting factors for drug information.Conclusions: Postgraduate residents have varied preferences for drug information resources. Internet websites poses a challenge for authentic drug information. Interventions in the form of continuous medical education are required to improve their information-seeking behaviours.

Post-Marketing Regulation of Medicines Withdrawn from the Market Because of Drug-Attributed Deaths: An Analysis of Justification.

Several medicinal products have been withdrawn from the market because of drug-attributed deaths. However, there has been no investigation of whether such withdrawals were justified, and the extent to which confirmatory studies are used to investigate drug-adverse event relationships when deaths are reported is uncertain. We documented medicinal products withdrawn from the market because of drug-attributed deaths, identified confirmatory studies investigating the drug-adverse event relationships, examined whether withdrawals of medicinal products because of drug-attributed deaths after marketing were justified based on a mechanistic analysis, and examined the trends over time. We searched electronic and non-electronic sources to identify medicinal products that were withdrawn because of drug-attributed deaths. We used a previously published algorithm to examine whether the withdrawals of products were justified. We then searched PubMed and Google Scholar to identify studies investigating the drug-adverse event relationships, used the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine criteria to document the levels of evidence, and assessed whether the evidence of an association was confirmed. We included 83 medicinal products. The reasons for withdrawal appeared to have been justified in 80 cases (96%). The median interval between the first reported adverse reaction that was related to the cause of death and the first reported death was 1 year (interquartile range=1-3); products were withdrawn sooner when the interval between the first reported relevant adverse reaction and the first death was shorter. Confirmatory studies were conducted in 57 instances (69%), and there was evidence of an association in 52 cases (63%). Four products (5%) were re-introduced after initial withdrawal. Regulatory authorities have been justified in making withdrawal decisions when deaths have been attributed to medicinal products, using the precautionary principle when alternative decisions could have been made. Medicinal products are likely to be quickly withdrawn from the market when there is a short interval to the first reported deaths. The use of an algorithm such as we have used in this study could help to expedite the process of decision making.

354 Correlations between night shift work and the development of breast cancer: systematic review

ObjectiveNight work and shift work are among the most prevalent occupational exposures. It is postulated that night work can result in a higher risk of breast cancer. There is uncertainty...

P069 Clinical Practice Guidelines Manuals and Toolkits. Are They Different Among Languages, Countries And Developers?

BackgroundManuals and Toolkits (MT) are standards for developing Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG). Most developers have their own MT. There isn’t enough information about characteristics of MT in other languages than...

Evaluating the Impact of Hybrid Electronic-paper Environments Upon Novice Nurse Information Seeking

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of hybrid environments (i.e. where part of the patient record is paper-based and part of it is electronic) upon aspects of novice nurse information seeking (i.e. amount of information accessed, choice of key information sources, type of information and use of information seeking tactics). A within group, laboratory, experimental study was conducted using two simulated environments (i.e. a paper environment and a hybrid environment). Thirty-five novice nurses participated in the study. Findings revealed significant differences between the paper and hybrid environments in terms of their effects upon aspects of novice nurse information seeking. Subjects accessed: 1) less information in the hybrid environment than the paper environment, 2) more non-electronic sources of information were accessed by novice nurses in the hybrid environment, and 3) novice nurses used more passive information seeking tactics in the hybrid environment than the paper environment. Qualitative findings from the cued recall data revealed subjects experienced increased cognitive load in the hybrid environment. Hybrid environments may affect aspects of novice nurse information seeking. Future research should explore the effects of hybrid environments upon the information seeking of other types of health professionals (e.g. physicians, physiotherapists) with differing levels of expertise (i.e. novice, intermediate and expert).

Information-seeking behaviour and the digital information world

This paper explores the nature of information-seeking behaviour, showing how behaviour in relation to electronic databases and the World Wide Web may be formed through previous experience of non-electronic sources, such as the telephone directory and the book index. Models of information-seeking behaviour are presented and the difficulties experienced by people in discovering how to search for information are explored, with reference to research in information science.

Time to get wired: Using web-based corpora in critical discourse analysis

Although the world wide web has become a popular object of and tool for different kinds of semiotic and linguistic investigation, critical discourse analysis (CDA) does not seem to share this enthusiasm in equal measure. The contemporary relevance of the web as a key site for the articulation of social issues should make it a prime target for critical discourse analysts with a political and emancipatory brief. Nonetheless, CDA publications are still predominantly based on conventional, non-electronic sources of data. This article discusses the analytic potential that web-based data opens up and also identifies the specific challenges that arise as a result. These are linked to the size of the web, its diversity, ephemeral quality, interactivity, and multimodality. Indicating directions in which future research might proceed, the article makes a plea for more critical discourse analysts to work with web-based corpora.

Systematic review of economic aspects of alternative modes of delivery.

To carry out a systematic review of the literature relating to economic aspects of alternative modes of delivery. A comprehensive literature search of the years 1990-1999 was conducted of electronic and non-electronic sources using a tested search strategy. Papers considered to contain useful cost or resource use data were read in full and classified according to their relevance to the review and their methodological quality. Relevant cost and resource use data were converted to pound sterling and inflated to 1998-1999 price levels. The literature search resulted in 975 papers, 49 of which met criteria for the review. Thirty-two papers were from the USA where the organisation, structure and costs of health care are significantly different from that of other industrialised countries. The aggregate costs of different modes of delivery reported in these American studies were between four and five times higher than costs reported in other studies. The majority of included studies were of poor quality. Data from the better quality studies demonstrated that caesarean section costs a health service substantially more than other modes of delivery. The range of costs of an uncomplicated vaginal delivery were 629 pound sterling - 1,298 pound sterling compared with1,238 pound sterling - 3,551 pound sterling for a caesarean section. However, papers have so far only considered short term health service costs. Research is required to estimate the cost and resource use attributable to alternative modes of delivery. Future research should investigate the long term health service costs and the costs that arise outside the health service which are likely to vary according to mode of delivery.

Systematic review of economic aspects of alternative modes of delivery

Objective To carry out a systematic review of the literature relating to economic aspects of alternative modes of delivery. Methods A comprehensive literature search of the years 1990–1999 was conducted of electronic and non-electronic sources using a tested search strategy. Papers considered to contain useful cost or resource use data were read in full and classified according to their relevance to the review and their methodological quality. Relevant cost and resource use data were converted to £ sterling and inflated to 1998-1999 price levels. Results The literature search resulted in 975 papers, 49 of which met criteria for the review. Thirty-two papers were from the USA where the organisation, structure and costs of health care are significantly different from that of other industrialised countries. The aggregate costs of different modes of delivery reported in these American studies were between four and five times higher than costs reported in other studies. The majority of included studies were of poor quality. Data from the better quality studies demonstrated that caesarean section costs a health service substantially more than other modes of delivery. The range of costs of an uncomplicated vaginal delivery were £629-£1298 compared with £1238-£3551 for a caesarean section. However, papers have so far only considered short term health service costs. Conclusions Research is required to estimate the cost and resource use attributable to alternative modes of delivery. Future research should investigate the long term health service costs and the costs that arise outside the health service which are likely to vary according to mode of delivery.

The changing role of librarians: Managing new technologies in libraries

Never before have there been so many opportunities for involvement in an information-based society including electronic and multimedia publishing; local, national, and global networking; development of navigational and filtering tools for access to networked and non-electronic sources; and new modes for delivering information and educational programs. The base of recorded information is growing at an accelerating rate, in increasing varieties of formats (texts, numeric, graphic, video, audio, image, electronic, etc.). Furthermore, an increasing array of computing and telecommunications technologies are emerging to create new options and opportunities for the development of information capture, storage, retrieval, and delivery systems/services. These developments point toward increased difficulty for the information user to obtain needed information in the required time-frame, quantity, and level of detail. The role of information specialists is to facilitate the interactions between the potential information user community and the body of recorded information. The traditional information access and management roles played by the information professions are expanding, particularly in the design and development of new information products and services and of tools to support information seeking and selection, the analysis and synthesis of information content on behalf of users, and information user instruction. The emerging recognition of companies as learning organizations, reinvention of government agencies, new directions for education in universities, colleges, and schools, promise new opportunities for information specialists to reinforce and expand their facilitation of communication and learning processes in their organizations and communities.