Original Program Research Articles

Effect of a multicomponent programme based on reality orientation therapy on the physical performance and cognitive function of elderly community-dwellers: a quasi-experimental study.

Effects of a multicomponent exercise programme have an impact on the physical, cognitive, and psychological domains in elderly community-dwellers. However, some individuals aged 65 years or more have not shown positive effects after the intervention as reported in similar research. The objective of this quasi-experimental study was to clarify the effectiveness of a multicomponent programme based on reality orientation therapy (ROT) on the physical performance, cognitive ability, and psychological state in the elderly. Participants were recruited from the general public in 20 areas of Akita Prefecture, Japan, and they took part in each exercise programme for 90 min a day, once every 2 weeks, for 3 months, according to the group classification using cluster randomization into 20 cohorts in Akita. Physical, cognitive, and geriatric depression assessments were performed at baseline and after the 3-month intervention in both the ROT-based intervention group and the control group. The final samples for analysis consisted of 31 participants in the control group and 30 participants in the intervention group. The results of the statistical analysis comparing the two groups showed that the 5-repetition sit-to-stand test was performed significantly faster (P < 0.05) and that the results of the word list memory (WM) test and the Symbol Digit Substitution Task also had significantly improved (P < 0.05) after the intervention in both groups. The WM score did not show an interactive effect between the group and time factors, but it had a significant main effect on time in both groups (P < 0.05). The results of our quasi-experimental study indicated that the multicomponent programme based on the ROT would be as effective as the original multicomponent programme combined with aerobic exercise and cognitive tasks, as highlighted in the WM.

Model‐based source code refactoring with interaction and visual cues

AbstractRefactoring source code involves the developer in a myriad of program detail that can obscure the design changes that they actually wish to bring about. On the other hand, refactoring a UML model of the code makes it easier to focus on the program design, but the burdensome task of applying the refactorings to the source code is left to the developer. In an attempt to obtain the advantages of both approaches, we propose a refactoring approach where the interaction with the developer takes place at the model level, but the actual refactoring occurs on the source code itself. We call this approach model‐based source code refactoring and implement it in this paper using two tools: (1) Design‐Imp enables the developer to use interactive search‐based design exploration to create a UML‐based desired design from an initial design extracted from the source code. It also provides visual cues to improve developer comprehension during the design‐level refactoring process and to help the developer to discern between promising and poor refactoring solutions. (2) Code‐Imp then refactors the original source so that it has the same functional behavior as the original program, and a design close to the one produced in the design exploration phase, that is, a design that has been confirmed as “desirable” by the developer. We evaluated our approach involving interaction and visual cues with industrial developers refactoring three Java projects, comparing it with an approach using interaction without visual cues and a fully automated approach. The results show that our approach yields refactoring sequences that are more acceptable both to the individual developer and to a set of independent expert refactoring evaluators. Furthermore, our approach removed more code smells and was evaluated very positively by the experiment participants.

A knowledge-based simple education program for patients with epilepsy in Japan: Effects sustained after the program implementation

PurposeTo investigate the effects of an original education program on patients with epilepsy (PWE). The effects on knowledge about epilepsy, attitude to epilepsy, depression scales, and quality of life were investigated. MethodThirty-five PWE participated in a lecture-style educational program using an original knowledge-oriented textbook. All patients were administered a total of four rating scales: the Knowledge about Epilepsy Scale (KES), the Attitude toward Epilepsy Scale (AES), and the Japanese version of the Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory (QOLIE-31-P), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The KES and AES of patients (pKES and pAES) were compared to those of medical students (St) and residents (Rd). ResultsAfter education, pKES improved and showed significant differences among pre-and post-education and six months later. Before education, pKES was inferior to St and Rd. However, after education, pKES changed and became superior to St and Rd. Six months later, the advantage was lost, but not significantly. PAES also improved after education, with significant differences before, after, and six months later after education. PAES was statistically inferior to St and Rd before education, but the difference disappeared after education, and the effect persisted after six months.The non-depressed (BDI < 20) and depressed groups (BDI ≧ 20) improved in the KES after education. About the AES, the non-depressive group has a statistical tendency, but not the depressive group. At six months, the depressed group's AES is significantly lower than the non-depressed group. ConclusionWhile correct knowledge about epilepsy can improve attitudes and perceptions of epilepsy in PWE, special measures are needed for PWE with depression.

Maximizing non-aeronautical revenues in airport terminals using gate assignment and passenger behaviour modelling

Airports must ensure that their operations can efficiently adapt to the emerging needs considering both the passenger experience and their economic viability. One way to achieve this is by optimizing the airport operations, aiming to maximize revenue levels considering operational objectives and passenger requirements inside the airport. This study presents an original mixed-integer linear programming model (MILP), which combines the gate assignment problem with passenger behaviour modelling. First, a survey was conducted to collect relevant information to model passenger behaviour and the purchases conducted in a terminal, leading to the estimation of discrete choice models that quantify the probability that a passenger makes purchases of certain levels at the terminal according to their flight type (departure, arrival or transfer). Then, the proposed MILP model assigns gates which would expectedly increase the airport non-aeronautical revenues at the terminal airport by matching flights and passenger gate categories to the most profitable gates, considering the proximity to the retail area, the walking distance needed to get to a gate in a specified time-horizon and the operational constraints of the airport. The application to the Lisbon Airport case study showed a potential increase of 8%–12.2% in revenues corresponding to 1732.7€ and 2967.3€ in half-an-hour time slots.

УКРАЇНСЬКИЙ ФОНДОВИЙ РИНОК: РЕАЛІЇ СЬОГОДЕННЯ

Important on the modern stage of development the economy of Ukraine of creation of favorable terms and new possibilities of fund market functioning for the sake of providing of national economy transformation, withstand development of international relations and integration of Ukraine in world space. Exactly success of fund market development leads to the necessity of realization of concrete measures in relation to the increase of liquidity, capitalization, transparency and strengthening of control for activity of fund market from the side of the state, forming of purposeful state strategy of fund market, upgrading the grant of services and service of customers, popularity and trust of citizens to the development of fund market and all like that. A research aim is an analysis of fund market development and prognostication of measures for an improvement and activation of its activity in the direction of professional preparation of specialists for work at the fund market. The methodological basis of research became methods of dialectics, methods and principles of scientific cognition, instruments of economic analysis with aim to forming of certain methodologies of analysis and evaluation of activity of fund market, that allow to accept correct administrative decisions in a post-war period of proceeding in the country economy. The basic hypothesis of research is supposition, that take in attention the instruments of fund market development improved and existent in foreign practice, will allow to improve and extend the sphere of activity of fund market, and start of the new educational programs of preparation the specialists for a fund market and it will promote professionalism of participants and culture of investing in a population. Exposition of basic material of research. It is well-proven that is existing a row of problems that restrain development and effective functioning of the Ukrainian fund market, in particular unstable economic situation in a country, insufficient transparency of market and low level internals of services that is given by certain exchange stocks, insufficient legislative adjusting and others like that. Therefore potential of fund market practically is not used. Reasonable necessity to carry out certain measures in relation to the normal functioning of fund market like activation of functioning of story level of the pension system, bank to the sector, increase of financial education of population and general culture of participants in relation to the self-weighted bringing in investments to the market, bringing of international partners, forming of the new legal mechanisms orientated on European and world effective in general lines norms and rules of fund market functioning. Originality and practical meaningfulness of research are confirmed by the offered directions of improvement of fund market activity and ground of the necessary educational programs of preparation the specialists for it. Conclusions and prospects of further researches. The conducted research allowed to establish, that to basic directions of modernization and fund market development it is possible to take the increase of efficiency of adjusting the activity of issuers of fund market, introduction of new tool at the fund market; stimulation of coming of investments is to the fund market; providing of the reliable and effective functioning of fund market infrastructure; realization of effective public policy of improvement of investment climate. Further researches will be sent to original educational program development in relation to expansion of limits of specialty «Finances, banking and insurance» to the level «Finances, banking, insurance and fund market».

Vicissitudes of a Dantean Collection: The 1527 ‘Giuntina delle rime’

ABSTRACT The essay shows how the most comprehensive sixteenth-century printed collection of pre-Petrarchan lyric poetry, printed by the Giunti press in Florence in 1527 and known as the ‘Giuntina delle rime’, was conceived as a Dantean collection. The article argues that the ‘Giuntina’ can be understood in relation to a Florentine context that reacted in opposition to Bembo’s codification, in his seminal dialogue Prose nelle quali si ragiona della volgar lingua (1525), of Petrarch and Boccaccio as supreme models for poetry and prose, and his devaluing Dante. This reaction led to the promotion of Dante’s lyric poetry through a collection printed by the leading Florentine publishing house. The essay presents new evidence to show that the original programme of revaluing Dante that lies behind the collection and its scope seem to have undergone a transformation, which obscured the force of that re-evaluation in the final print of the 1527 anthology.

Evaluation of the effects of a novel exercise program in the treatment of low back pain in women working in a seated position: A randomized trial.

Low back pain (LBP) in sedentary workers is an increasing problem. Hyperlordosis or hypolordosis of the lumbar spine may be one of the causes of LBP. Various exercise programs are used in the prevention of LBP, but they do not consider individualization for diagnosed hyperlordosis or hypolordosis of the lumbar spine. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the authors' original exercise program aimed at reducing hyperlordosis or increasing hypolordosis. Sixty women aged 26 to 40 working in a sedentary position participated in the study. The sagittal curvature and the range of motion of the lumbar spine flexion were measured with the Saunders inclinometer, and the level of LBP was evaluated using the VAS scale. Subjects were randomly divided into two groups that participated in a 3-month exercise program developed by the authors. The first group performed exercises adjusted to the diagnosed hyperlordosis or hypolordosis, and the second group performed the same exercises regardless of the lumbar lordosis angle. The study was conducted again after completing the exercises. There was a statistically significant difference between the groups (p< 0.0001) in the level of pain, with better results in the group where individualized exercise was used - 60% of the participants reported complete absence of LBP. The lumbar lordosis angle was within normal limits in 97% of the subjects in the first group, and in 47% of the subjects in the second group. The results of this study confirm the validity of using individualized exercises with regard to diagnosed hyperlordosis or hypolordosis of the lumbar spine in order to achieve better analgesic and postural correction effects.

Self-Determination in Maths Education: How to Strengthen Students’ Positive Attitude to Mathematics and Develop Their Emotional/Social Competences

The aim of this study was to verify the effectiveness of the self-determination theory (SDT) in mathematics teaching methodology. In the experimental group, 62 fifth-graders had 10 months of maths lessons according to an original programme that prioritises three needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness.&#x0D; The following research questions were formulated:&#x0D; &#x0D; How did students’ attitudes towards mathematics change under the influence of methodological interventions aimed at satisfying the three SDT needs?&#x0D; Did the methodological solutions contribute to better emotional/social competences in the students?&#x0D; Did the intervention result in higher maths achievement, measured by a maths knowledge and skills test and grades in the subject?&#x0D; &#x0D; The findings included statistically significant differences in 1) positive attitude towards mathematics (measured by the semantic differential technique), 2) emotional/social competences (measured by the KA scale from the tool called TROS-KA) and 3) mathematical achievements (measured by a maths test and grades in school) in comparison to the control group (N = 59), where less positive attitudes towards mathematics, lower maths grades and no significant increase in emotional/social competences were observed.

Quantifying interfacial interactions for improved membrane antifouling: A novel approach using triangulation and surface element integration method

To gain a thorough understanding of interfacial behaviors such as adhesion and flocculation controlling membrane fouling, it is necessary to simulate the actual membrane surface morphology and quantify interfacial interactions. In this work, a new method integrating the rough membrane morphology reconstruction technology (atomic force microscopy (AFM) combining with triangulation technique), the surface element integration (SEI) method, the extended Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (XDLVO) theory, the compound Simpson's approach, and the computer programming was proposed. This new method can exactly mimic the real membrane surface in terms of roughness and shape, breaking the limitation of previous fractal theory and Gaussian method where the simulated membrane surface is only statistically similar to the real rough surface, thus achieving a precise description of the interfacial interactions between sludge foulants and the real membrane surface. This method was then applied to assess the antifouling propensity of a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane modified with Ni-ZnO particles (NZPs). The simulated results showed that the interfacial interactions between sludge foulants in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) and the modified PVDF-NZPs membrane transformed from an attractive force to a repulsive force. The phenomenon confirmed the significant antifouling propensity of the PVDF-NZPs membrane, which is highly consistent with the experimental findings and the interfacial interactions described in previous literature, suggesting the high feasibility and reliability of the proposed method. Meanwhile, the original programming code of the quantification was also developed, which further facilitates the widespread use of this method and enhances the value of this work.

A Peptide Vaccine Design Targeting KIT Mutations in Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a leading blood cancer subtype that can be caused by 27 gene mutations. Previous studies have explored potential vaccine and drug treatments against AML, but many were proven immunologically insignificant. Here, we targeted this issue and applied various clinical filters to improve immune response. KIT is an oncogenic gene that can cause AML when mutated and is predicted to be a promising vaccine target because of its immunogenic responses when activated. We designed a multi-epitope vaccine targeting mutations in the KIT oncogene using CD8+ and CD4+ epitopes. We selected the most viable vaccine epitopes based on thresholds for percentile rank, immunogenicity, antigenicity, half-life, toxicity, IFNγ release, allergenicity, and stability. The efficacy of data was observed through world and regional population coverage of our vaccine design. Then, we obtained epitopes for optimized population coverage from PCOptim-CD, a modified version of our original Java-based program code PCOptim. Using 24 mutations on the KIT gene, 12 CD8+ epitopes and 21 CD4+ epitopes were obtained. The CD8+ dataset had a 98.55% world population coverage, while the CD4+ dataset had a 65.14% world population coverage. There were five CD4+ epitopes that overlapped with the top CD8+ epitopes. Strong binding to murine MHC molecules was found in four CD8+ and six CD4+ epitopes, demonstrating the feasibility of our results in preclinical murine vaccine trials. We then created three-dimensional (3D) models to visualize epitope-MHC complexes and TCR interactions. The final candidate is a non-toxic and non-allergenic multi-epitope vaccine against KIT mutations that cause AML. Further research would involve murine trials of the vaccine candidates on tumor cells causing AML.

Side-channel Elimination via Partial Control-flow Linearization

Partial control-flow linearization is a code transformation conceived to maximize work performed in vectorized programs. In this article, we find a new service for it. We show that partial control-flow linearization protects programs against timing attacks. This transformation is sound: Given an instance of its public inputs, the partially linearized program always runs the same sequence of instructions, regardless of secret inputs. Incidentally, if the original program is publicly safe, then accesses to the data cache will be data oblivious in the transformed code. The transformation is optimal: Every branch that depends on some secret data is linearized; no branch that depends on only public data is linearized. Therefore, the transformation preserves loops that depend exclusively on public information. If every branch that leaves a loop depends on secret data, then the transformed program will not terminate. Our transformation extends previous work in non-trivial ways. It handles C constructs such as “goto,” “break,” “switch,” and “continue,” which are absent in the FaCT domain-specific language (2018). Like Constantine (2021), our transformation ensures operation invariance but without requiring profiling information. Additionally, in contrast to SC-Eliminator (2018) and Lif (2021), it handles programs containing loops whose trip count is not known at compilation time.

Was Stalin a Marxist? And If He Was, What Does This Mean for Marxism?

Abstract Stalin was a Marxist, but a certain kind of Marxist who selected out of the body of work of Marx, Engels, and Lenin a non-democratic and inhumane form of Marxism leaving out the humanist and democratic aspects of the original Marxist programme. The means he chose to build what he considered a socialist society fatally tainted the goal of a society in which working people make the fundamental decisions that determine their lives.

Repair Is Nearly Generation: Multilingual Program Repair with LLMs

Most programmers make mistakes when writing code. Some of these mistakes are small and require few edits to the original program – a class of errors recently termed last mile mistakes. These errors break the flow for experienced developers and can stump novice programmers. Existing automated repair techniques targeting this class of errors are language-specific and do not easily carry over to new languages. Transferring symbolic approaches requires substantial engineering and neural approaches require data and retraining. We introduce RING, a multilingual repair engine powered by a large language model trained on code (LLMC) such as Codex. Such a multilingual engine enables a flipped model for programming assistance, one where the programmer writes code and the AI assistance suggests fixes, compared to traditional code suggestion technology. Taking inspiration from the way programmers manually fix bugs, we show that a prompt-based strategy that conceptualizes repair as localization, transformation, and candidate ranking, can successfully repair programs in multiple languages with minimal effort. We present the first results for such a multilingual repair engine by evaluating on 6 different languages and comparing performance to language-specific repair engines. We show that RING can outperform language-specific repair engines for three of these languages.

A pyridine-appended half-salamo-based fluorescent chemosensor for efficiently and selectively sensing Cu2+ ions

A fluorescent chemosensor for fast detection of Cu2+ ion has been established based on a novel pyridine-appended half-salamo-based compound. The chemosensor PHS is easy to synthesize, eco-friendly and cost effective. It demonstrates an excellent selectivity and sensitivity towards Cu2+ ion in the mixed DMF:H2O (9:1, V/V, pH = 7.2) solution by change in fluorescence intensity. Calculated through the Origin Program, relevant experimental results were obtained, such as the limit of detection (LOD), the limit of quantification (LOQ) and the association constant (Ka). Compared with other reported probes, this probe showed a lower detection limit and provided a relatively simple and effective method for the detection of Cu2+. In addition, plausible mechanism for the interaction of the probe PHS with Cu2+ was proposed according to the fluorescence titration experiments, Job’s plot, and DFT calculations.

Battery SOH estimation based on decision tree and improved support vector machine regression algorithm

Battery state of health (SOH) estimation is crucial for the estimation of the remaining driving range of electric vehicles and is one of the core functions of the battery management system (BMS). The lithium battery feature sample data used in this paper is extracted from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States. Based on the obtained feature samples, a decision tree algorithm is used to analyze them and obtain the importance of each feature. Five groups of different feature inputs are constructed based on the cumulative feature importance, and the original support vector machine regression (SVR) algorithm is applied to perform SOH estimation simulation experiments on each group. The experimental results show that four battery features (voltage at SOC = 100%, voltage, discharge time, and SOC) can be used as input to achieve high estimation accuracy. To improve the training efficiency of the original SVR algorithm, an improved SVR algorithm is proposed, which optimizes the differentiability and solution method of the original SVR objective function. Since the loss function of the original SVR is non-differentiable, a smoothing function is introduced to approximate the loss function of the original SVR, and the original quadratic programming problem is transformed into a convex unconstrained minimization problem. The conjugate gradient algorithm is used to solve the smooth approximation objective function in a sequential minimal optimization manner. The improved SVR algorithm is applied to the simulation experiment with four battery feature inputs. The results show that the improved SVR algorithm significantly reduces the training time compared to the original SVR, with a slight trade-off in simulation accuracy.

Right ventricular visualization at SPECT perfusion imaging before and after revascularization in patients with postinfarction cardiosclerosis

Aim. To evaluate the intersystemic (between the myocardium of the left coronary artery system and the right coronary artery system redistribution mechanisms of perfusion in the myocardium after revascularization in patients with coronary artery disease with focal cardiosclerosis using gated single photon emission computed tomography. Сardiosclerosis foci were initially identified by magnetic resonance imaging. Material and Methods. The study included 17 patients with coronary artery disease with multivessel coronary disease and large-focal cardiosclerosis according to the results of magnetic resonance imaging with contrast; the diagnosis of left ventricular aneurysm was established in 14 patients, the focal subendocardial cardiosclerosis was diagnosed in 3 patients. For various reasons, all patients underwent myocardial revascularization without the left ventricle reconstruction (coronary artery bypass grafting in 10 patients, percutaneous coronary intervention in 7 patients). Magnetic resonance imaging was used as the gold standard for focal cardiosclerosis before revascularization. All patients before and after revascularization underwent gated single photon emission computed tomography with MIBI scan. During the initial analysis of peaks on the profile slices of coronal and transversal midsections passing along the lateral walls of the left and right ventricles, we did not notice a clear visualization of in 8 patients (group 1), while an increased MIBI scan accumulation in the right ventricle myocardium was clearly visualized in 9 patients (group 2). Based on the peaks height of profile curves, we compared changes in the maxima of radiopharmaceutical accumulation before and after revascularization in the lateral walls of the left ventricle and right ventricle. All studies were performed using the original Cardiac Functional Imaging medical program in order to obtain quantitative information about the myocardial function of both the left ventricle, and also the right ventricle. This program made it possible to highlight the right ventricle area even in the case of its weak visualization through the initial formation of parametric images, where the right ventricle area was visualized. Results. When comparing the revascularization results of the two groups, we noted that the left ventricle ejection fraction increased significantly only in patients without initial visualization of the right ventricular myocardium. Left ventricle ejection fraction did not change after revascularization in patients with initially increased accumulation of the radiopharmaceutical in the right ventricle. Globally, only an improvement in the diastolic function of the left and right ventricles was noted in the latter group of patients. In addition, an increase in the right ventricular uptake level was noted for patients with focal cardiosclerosis and the initially increased uptake in the right ventricle after the maximum possible complete myocardial revascularization, which may indicate a redistribution of perfusion in favor of a more intact right ventricular myocardium. Conclusions. 1. In patients without signs of increased visualization of the right ventricle (group 1) after revascularization, we revealed a statistically significant increase in the left ventricle ejection fraction (p-value=0.024), a decrease in the end-systolic volume (p-value=0.024), an increase in the motion in segments corresponding to the peri-infarct scar zone (p-value=0.016), and a change in systolic thickening in the segment of the basal parts of the anterolateral wall (p-value=0.046). 2. Initially increased visualization of the right ventricle in patients with extensive focal cardiosclerosis in the myocardium of the left ventricle suggests the absence of the left ventricle ejection fraction increase after myocardial revascularization. 3. An increase in the visualization of the right ventricle after complete myocardial revascularization indicates an intersystemic redistribution of perfusion in favor of the preserved myocardium of this part of the heart.

Program for quantum wave-packet dynamics with time-dependent potentials (new version announcement)

wavepacket is a program to simulate the dynamics of a wave packet interacting with a time-dependent potential, with the time-dependent Schrödinger equation being solved on a one-, two-, or three-dimensional spatial grid using the split operator method. This new version fixes bugs present in the original program. New version program summaryProgram Title: wavepacketCPC Library link to program files:https://doi.org/10.17632/gnxmkygxrw.1Licensing provisions: GPLv3Programming language: C (iso C99)Journal reference of previous version: Comput. Phys. Commun. 185 (2014) 407–414.Does the new version supersede the previous version?: YesReasons for the new version: Bug fixes.Summary of revisions: This new version fixes bugs in the program wavepacket [1]. In the original version, the function print_wf_bin, used (optionally) to write out the wave function as a binary file, contained a bug that would result in only part of the full wave function being written out when the program was run in parallel.Additionally, negative values of the parameters nt and/or nprint could lead to the program being stuck in an infinite loop. Additional checks have been added to ensure that both these parameters are positive (or zero).Nature of problem: Solves the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for a single particle interacting with a time-dependent potential.Solution method: The wave function is described by its value on a spatial grid and the evolution operator is approximated using the split-operator method [2,3], with the kinetic energy operator calculated using a Fast Fourier Transform.Additional comments including restrictions and unusual features: Simulation can be in one, two, or three dimensions. The fftw [4] implementation of the fast Fourier transform is used, so the corresponding library must be installed. Serial and parallel versions are compiled from the same source files. The parallel version is based on the Message-Passing Interface (mpi) [5].

The Impact of Netflix on Viewer Behaviour and Media Consumption: An Exploration of the Effects of Streaming Services on Audience Engagement and Entertainment Preferences

Online video streaming platforms have swept the globe. Traditional form of entertainment like Television is now being replaced by video on demand services providers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney Hotstar, to name a few. These service providers have now established themselves as a serious rival to the broadcasting and television industry. The demand for regular television broadcasting is declining as these platforms are providing high quality original productions at the ease of the customer’s home. The impact of streaming services, specifically Netflix, on viewers behaviour and media consumption has been explored using both primary and secondary data sources. Primary data source include survey with OTT platform users, while secondary data source encompass studies and reports by media research firms and industry analysts. This combination of data sources provides a comprehensive view of the changes brought about by streaming services. The analysis of both primary and secondary data highlights the shift from linear Tv to on demand viewing, the rise in binge-watching, and the increase in diversity of content due to original programming. The data also shows that personalized recommendation have made it easier for viewers to discover new shows and movies. Overall, the data supports the conclusion that streaming services have transformed the way people engage with and consumer media.

Train-the-Trainers in hand hygiene facilitate the implementation of the WHO hand hygiene multimodal improvement strategy in Japan: evidence for the role of local trainers, adaptation, and sustainability

Background“Train-the-Trainers in hand hygiene” (TTT) is a standardized training to train infection prevention and control (IPC) practitioners with the aim to promote hand hygiene in health care according to the World Health Organization (WHO) multimodal improvement strategy. Little is known in the literature about the sustained impact of hand hygiene and IPC trainings adapted locally. The aim of this study is to describe the impact of three TTT courses conducted annually in Japan on the adoption of the WHO multimodal improvement strategy by local IPC practitioners who became a “trainer” after their first TTT participation as a “trainee”.MethodsThree TTT courses were conducted annually from 2020 to 2022 in Japan. A team “TTT-Japan” composed of more than 20 IPC practitioners who completed their first TTT participation adapted the original TTT program to reflect the local healthcare context in Japan, and subsequently convened the 2nd and 3rd TTTs. Pre- and post-course evaluations and post-course satisfaction surveys of the course participants were conducted to assess improvement in knowledge on hand hygiene and perception towards the course, respectively. Attitude and practice surveys of the TTT-Japan trainers were conducted to assess their perception and experience in hand hygiene promotion. The Hand Hygiene Self-Assessment Framework (HHSAF), a validated tool created by WHO to monitor the capacity of hand hygiene promotion at facility level, was applied at TTT-Japan trainers’ facilities to compare results before and after trainers’ engagement. We applied inductive thematic analysis for qualitative analyses of open-ended survey questions of the trainers’ attitude and practice surveys, and the Wilcoxon Sign Rank test for quantitive comparisons of pre- and post-data for the surveys and HHSAF.Results158 Japanese healthcare workers participated in three TTT courses, the majority of whom (131, 82.9%) were nurses. Twenty-seven local trainers were involved in 2nd and 3rd TTTs. The scores of pre- and post-course evaluations significantly improved after the course (P < 0.001) and the improvement was consistent across all three TTTs. Post-course satisfaction survey showed that over 90% of the participants reported that the course met their expectations and that what they learned in the courses would be useful for their practice. Trainers’ attitude and practice survey showed that more than three quarters (76.9%) of the trainers reported that their experience as a trainer had a positive impact on their practice at their own facilities. Qualitative analysis of the trainers’ attitude and practice survey revealed that trainers appreciated continuous learning as a trainer, and group effort to promote hand hygiene as the TTT-Japan team. The HHSAF institutional climate change element at the trainers’ facilities significantly improved after their engagement as a trainer (P = 0.012).ConclusionsTTTs were successfully adapted and implemented in Japan, leading to sustained hand hygiene promotion activities by local trainers over three years. Further research is warranted to assess the long-term impact on local hand hygiene promotion in different settings.

Delay Minimization Using Hybrid RSMA-TDMA for Mobile Edge Computing

Rate-splitting multiple access (RSMA) has recently received attention due to its benefits in both spectral and energy efficiencies. In this paper, we propose a hybrid RSMA-time-division multiple access (TDMA) scheme for a mobile edge computing (MEC) system, where two edge users need to offload their task data to a MEC server. In the proposed scheme, the offloading time is divided into two time phases. Specifically, we design a cognitive radio (CR)-inspired RSMA scheme, in which two users, namely the primary user and secondary user, offload their task data to the MEC server in the first time phase, while only a single user can offload task data in the second time phase. With the aim of minimizing the overall offloading delay, we formulate the offloading delay minimization problem subject to the transmit power and total energy constraints. We transform the original fractional programming non-convex problem to a convex one by using the Dinkelbach transform and propose Dinkelbach and Newton iterative algorithms to determine the optimal transmit power allocation. Specifically, we establish the optimization criteria for the three offloading schemes and derive the corresponding closed-form expressions for the optimal power allocation. Compared to the existing offloading schemes, the numerical results show that the proposed hybrid RSMA-TDMA scheme in scenarios where having a limited energy budget is superior in offloading delay compared to other offloading schemes and the sum offloading delay tends to a constant with the increase in the energy budget.