Quantitative Appraisal Research Articles

Informing healthy urban policy making through quantitative health impact appraisal – a co-designed approach

Abstract Quantitative health impact appraisal for land use development is currently challenging. We show how a co-designed process between urban decision makers and academics can help to improve ways of deriving evidence for creating healthier cities. The Health Appraisal of Urban Systems (HAUS) economic valuation model was developed with local partners to inform a strategic framework for a UK urban regeneration site. HAUS is a comparative risk assessment model which allows the user to understand mechanisms for change through applying an impact-pathway approach to quantify changes in health. It is informed by systematic reviews of epidemiology and societal costs of 85 individual health end-points. Scenarios combined a range of characteristics including air and noise pollution, green space, crime, walkability, food environment and transport. Health outcomes include morbidity and mortality impacts. Results show the value of a holistic approach to comparing health risks in designing urban living. By monetising outcomes, practitioners were able to understand the relative magnitude of risk within a specific area and compare alternate urban development scenarios. Compared to an unmanaged development, the Strategic Framework can mitigate health risks by improving safety and quality of the public realm and add health benefits by encouraging activity and active commuting. Flood risks are managed, and green infrastructure improved and extended. These benefits extend to communities outside the site boundaries. Over 25 years, the PV benefits are £60 - 80 million in averted health costs. Strategic planning for urban areas can unlock the potential of the public realm to tackle health inequalities and mitigate serious risks to public health. Timely access to quantitative information on health can help inform understanding of unhealthy environments, strengthen arguments for good design, reinforce capacity of planning teams and so improve the quality of urban developments. Speakers/Panelists Odile Mekel NRW Centre for Health, Bochum, Germany

The burden of psoriasis in Belgium, 2021

Abstract Psoriasis is a common, chronic, inflammatory skin disease with a great impact on healthcare systems. Given the limitations of the currently available burden estimates, estimates of the Belgian national burden of disease study are necessary in order to guide decision-making processes within the health sector. According to the Global Psoriasis Atlas, the prevalence of psoriasis is rising globally. The current study aims to estimate the burden of psoriasis in Belgium using national data. As there is no single comprehensive data source on prevalence of psoriasis in Belgium, a critical appraisal of existing local and national data sources was conducted. We estimated the non-fatal psoriasis burden in terms of years lived with disability (YLD). Estimated prevalence data were combined with disability weights to yield YLDs imposed by psoriasis. Mortality attributable to psoriasis was assumed to be zero, in line with the Global Burden of Disease study (GBD) 2019. We assessed three data sources containing information on existing cases with psoriasis in Belgium. Based on qualitative and quantitative appraisal, a widespread network of general practitioners was identified as the best available national data source. In 2021, the prevalence of psoriasis in Belgium was 2.1%, leading to 13084 DALYs (113 DALYs per 100 000). The burden of psoriasis was in line with national disease burden estimates for bipolar disorder, multiple myeloma, and hearing loss. Our prevalence, YLD, and DALY estimates for psoriasis in Belgium were however lower than those of the GBD study. Psoriasis imposes a non-negligible burden on population health in Belgium, despite it not being a cause of death. Along progression in psoriasis management, objective evaluation of psoriasis burden is critical to track the trends at the population level. Key messages • Psoriasis is a common skin disease with a relatively high morbidity burden. • Information on psoriasis prevalence and burden are crucial for disease management and appropriate health-care planning.

Radial versus femoral access for rotational atherectomy angioplasty

Abstract Introduction The transfemoral approach (TFA) is a potentially advantageous acess site for complicated and prolonged percutaneous coronary angioplasty like rotational atherectomy (RA). Despite this, there is mounting data that suggests the transradial approach (TRA), an alternative to the TFA acess, is linked to reduced rates of mortality and access site complications. Aim This study was conducted with the aim of providing a quantitative appraisal of clinical outcomes of TRA for patients undergoing RA procedure. Methods In this retrospective study, we analyzed all RA procedures performed from March 2013 to June 2019 at our single center institution. Primary endpoints were procedural success, in-hospital mortality, and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) during hospitalization. Results Of the 98 patients undergoing RA, the TRA approach was chosen for 79% patients, and the TFA approach for 21% patients. No significant difference in procedural success rates was observed (94% vs. 91%, p=0.19). The use of RA via TRA correlated with a lower contrast volume (p=0.027) and a decreased post-procedure hospital stay (p=0.005). After multivariate adjustment, TRA demonstrated a noteworthy reduction in in-hospital mortality odds (OR: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.44 to 0.87; p = 0.003), major bleeding (OR: 0.48; 95% CI: 0.33 to 0.70; p < 0.001), MACE (OR: 0.68; 95% CI: 0.51 to 0.89; p = 0.015), and 30-day mortality (OR: 0.68; 95% CI: 0.51 to 0.89; p = 0.015). Conclusions Even though RA is a complex procedure, employing radial access (TRA) might be associated with favorable outcomes. These include a lower contrast volume, shorter hospital stay, and reduced odds of in-hospital mortality, major bleeding, MACE, and 30-day mortality compared to femoral access (TFA).

Quantitative appraisal of tectonically-influenced hydrocarbon-bearing Late-Cretaceous fluvial depositional system, Southwest Pakistan using spectral waveform-based instantaneous lateral thickness variability static simulations

Quantitative seismic reservoir characterization is one of the finest advancements in seismic technologies for sub-surface exploration of fluvial depositional systems (FDSS). These FDSS energy resources are combinations of thinly distributed gas-bearing trapping configurations such as the meander sandy channels (CH) along with aggradational parasequences (PBARS) of transgressive system tract (TST), which are developed during the extensive rise of sea-level followed by the rigorous standstill, and hence, which fills the PBARS and CH stratigraphic traps with possible hydrocarbons due to vertical and lateral changes in the facies. These thin-bedded CH and PBARS are very sensitive to a certain frequency component, which bandlimited seismic amplitudes (product of density and velocity) fail to quantify the paleo-thickness, paleo-velocities, paleo-densities, paleo-inclinations, paleo-geomorphology, vertical and lateral extents etc. of the stratigraphic traps. These parameters provide deep insights for quantitative-based stratigraphic reservoir characterizations. This study utilizes the spectral acoustic waveform seismic components and broadband spectrally-decomposed acoustic spectral waveform-based instantaneous lateral thickness variability static simulations (SLTRS) to quantify the FDSS of Southwest Pakistan. The 9–57 Hz bandwidth processed frequency volume reveals a poor tuning frequency component of 28 Hz and lateral extent of the stratigraphic, which failed to predict the direct geomorphology of PBARS and CH. 43-Hz spectral waveform could reveal the geomorphology with parallel-to-wavy seismic reflections (SRCS) for indicating the presence of meandering channels and PBARS. However, this attribute failed to predict the stratigraphic pinch-out zones and exact paleo-inclination of the PBARS and CH. The SLTRS have resolved the parallel-to-wavy SRCS with seismic sedimentological constraints, i.e., lithology-impedance contrast, phase of hydrocarbon generation, tuning frequencies, and thickness of the stratigraphic reservoir configurations, which implicates the channels systems at the shelf position of the basin. These attributes were unable to be predicted using the bandlimited seismic amplitudes. The SLTRS have simulated the gas zone with 2.921 gm./c.c simulated gas density [SGD], 7880 m/s simulated gas velocity [SGV], 19–25 m simulated gas thickness [SGT], and 1° simulated inclination of PBARS, which implicates the high sinuosity CH and PBARS stratigraphic trap [SAS]. Similarly, for transgressive-to-retrogradational sealing configurations, SLTRS have resolved 2.864 gm./c.c [SGD], 7365 [m/s] [SGV], 12–14 m simulated seal thickness [SST], and >2° inclination, which implicates the transgressive seal. The vertical and lateral extend of the stratigraphic trap was 16 m (proximal locations) (eastern margins) to 60 m (basin wards) (western margins) of the gas field. The quantitative uncertainty analysis between the SGD [gm./c.c], SGT [m] and SGV [m/s] show a very strong R2 > 0.90 with robust sea-level trends and the development of the aggradational to retrogradational parasequences. 43 Hz spectral waveform-based SLTRS have imaged very strong lateral amplitude attenuations observed from the 2.883 to 2.864 gm./c.c [SGD], 22–21 m [SGT] on inverted density simulations, 7535–7365 m/s [SGV] on inverted velocity simulations, and 19–15 m [SGT], which confirms the development of the hydrocarbon-bearing PBARS during the standstill sea-level of TST. Consequently, these stratigraphic endeavours may serve as an analogue for the worldwide exploration of FDSS with similar geology and basin configurations.

To Study the Requirement of Implementation of Zero Waste Management Plan for Steel Production Plant (A Review)

Unsustained mining practices have resulted in the overuse of shared resources this year, degrading the environment extensively. Additionally, there is an increase in nursery gas emissions from the generation of vital metals due to a continually growing demand for metals, a decline in metal grades, and complex underused stockpiles. As a result, the mineral preparation and metal production industry frequently finds itself under increasing pressure to advance the overall sustainability of its operations, notably through reducing energy consumption, outflows, and waste transfer. Large volumes of wastewater are released by the steel and press industries. Typically, a quantitative approach is used to assess the wastewater's natural effects. In any event, a more notable factor in the harm to the natural environment is the water quality of released effluent. Furthermore, there is still a gap in the thorough assessment of several contaminants in wastewater in terms of both quantity and quality. This work considers the volume of wastewater and the quality of primary forms in order to characterize an add-up to natural affect score that surveys the natural impact of wastewater release. A field check and estimation of wastewater release volume and quality is carried out to secure pH, suspend solids chemical oxygen request add up to nitrogen add up to press, and hexavalent chromium in order to actualize the totally subjective and quantitative appraisal. Coordination steel plants use five basic materials (discus, water, fuel, and control) in the process of producing steel. It is important to note that steel can be generated at a coordinate office using press mineral as well as at an auxiliary office, which mostly uses recycled steel waste to make steel. The development industry and other building applications use a variety of rolled products (sheets, tin- and zinc-plated sheets, cold rolled groups, steel channels, sheet-metal segments, etc.) and made or drawn products (bars, wires) in conjunction with crude steel. Over time, the idea of a life cycle strategy for the supportability of products and services has received more and more attention.

An examination of the usefulness of a quantitative appraisal method in nursing human resource management in primary hospital operating rooms: An example of integrated collaborative scheduling.

In recent years, China medical and health services have made great development. However, the management of nursing human resources in operating room of primary hospitals still faces a series of challenges. In the nursing work of operating room, high-quality nursing human resource management is important for improving the efficiency of operating room and ensuring the safety of patients. From January 2022 to December 2022, comprehensive collaborative scheduling and quantitative scoring evaluation methods were carried out in our hospital, and relevant data were collected. The flexible scheduling combined quantitative scoring performance appraisal system and the traditional scheduling plus average distribution performance appraisal system were statistically analyzed and compared in terms of annual surgical cases, annual overtime hours, annual back work hours, annual compensatory rest hours, and average daily working hours. This study was based on 30 medical staff (27 females and 3 males) in the operating room of a primary hospital. The annual operation volume increased by 387 cases compared with before, and the attitudes of patients to the service attitude and preoperative waiting time were significantly improved, reaching more than 95%. In addition, in the survey of surgeons, it was found that their satisfaction with preoperative preparation and operation time was significantly higher than that of the traditional scheduling method, and reached more than 95%. In the survey of nursing staff, it was found that the satisfaction with the traditional scheduling method was about 80%, and the satisfaction directly reached 100% after the comprehensive collaborative scheduling system. Based on the above survey, the satisfaction of nurses, doctors and patients with the new comprehensive collaborative scheduling system has improved compared with before. After the implementation of the comprehensive collaborative scheduling system, the annual surgical volume has increased significantly, and the average daily working hours of nursing staff have decreased. Comprehensive collaborative scheduling is an effective method of nursing human resource management in operating room, which can effectively improve the work efficiency of nurses and the satisfaction of patients, doctors and nurses. In practice, this method needs to be continuously explored and refined to adapt to different application scenarios and requirements.

Geophysical appraisal and hydrocarbon potential of the Pre-Cenomanian and Miocene reservoirs in the onshore and offshore Gulf of Suez Basin

The purpose of this study is to geophysically assess the petroleum potential of the Pre-Cenomanian (Nubia sandstones) as well as the Miocene oil reservoirs in the Rabeh field and Edfu-Saqqara field, located in the Gulf of Suez Basin. This will serve as a supplementary source for future exploration in the onshore and offshore Gulf of Suez Basin. This research utilizes the wireline logs of twelve drilled wells, eight of them drilled in Rabeh field, onshore southern Gulf of Suez Basin (RE-8, RE-22, RE-25, RE-2, RE-4, Nageh-1, South Malak-1 & Tawoos-1) and the rest four wells (Edfu A-3, Edfu A-5A, GS323-1 A & GS323-4 A) drilled in Edfu-Saqqara field, offshore central Gulf of Suez Basin. Moreover, twenty seismic profiles covering the Rabeh field were structurally interpreted. This interpretation exposed that the basement rocks are severely intersected by numerous NW–SE normal faults, along with minor E–W faults. The presence of these faults has a great role in forming suitable structural traps for holding hydrocarbon. Based on the qualitative and quantitative appraisal of the well logging data, Nubia, Nukhul and Rudies formations display positive petrophysical signs for being a potential reservoir in the studied fields. These reservoirs display respectable net pay thickness varying between 21 and 550 ft (i.e. 6.5–166.5 m), good net-to-gross ratio (0.01–0.90), excellent effective porosity (0.12–0.20), little shale content (0.03–0.20), minor water saturation (0.05–0.40) and high hydrocarbon saturation (0.60–0.95). The created lateral distribution maps for the considered petrophysical parameters in the Rabeh Field suggest that the drilling efforts should be essentially directed in the southeastern side of the Rabeh field to access the high-quality Nubia sandstone reservoirs.

Online news in India: a quantitative appraisal of the digital news consumption landscape in the world’s largest democracy (2014–2018)

ABSTRACT How do people in the world’s largest democracy consume news online? In this paper, I aim to answer this question by conducting a quantitative assessment of the online news consumption behavior of a large sample of Indian internet users (N≈50,000) over a period of 45 months. In doing so, I contribute to theoretical debates about global news media use, by systematically appraising the prominence and trends in audience share of different types of news sources, thereby shedding light on the digital news consumption landscape of a crucial, but understudied context. Theoretically, I engage with the displacement-complementarity hypothesis and find no evidence that digital-born media have contested the hegemony of legacy media in India online. Next, I investigate the regional-national media divide and find that regional, vernacular media have suffered significant declines in their audience shares over time. This begs the question whether the notion of ‘polycentrism’ – the idea that the Indian media environment is comprised of national and regional media of equivalent weight – is at all applicable online as it is offline. These findings also run counter to claims of ‘internet vernacularization’ that have been touted in the past. Finally, I propose the concept of audience mobility, and use it to identify qualitatively distinct dynamics in how vernacular audiences in India have migrated to national vis-à-vis international outlets. The findings and their implications are discussed in light of contemporary changes in Indian society that is characterized by rapid digitization and increasing literacy.

A comparison of Italian and UK methods for establishing the need for structural assessment of bridges

This paper compares the risk-based methodologies on the structural assessment of highway bridges underlying two national guidance documents, namely the well-established UK Design Manual for Roads and Bridges and the recent Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport’s Guidelines. Both documents present risk-based methods for evaluating the need for a structural assessment, while exhibiting fundamental differences. For instance, the Italian methodology uses a qualitative approach combining hazard, vulnerability and exposure classes in order to determine whether a structural assessment is required, whereas the UK methodology uses a quantitative risk appraisal based on reliability and risk scores. Both methodologies are applied to the case study of two bridges, highlighting similarities and differences between the two methodologies. The comparison of these two risk-based approaches may allow for a better understanding of the governing factors and for potential improvement of guidelines.

Improved Mental Health, Social Connections and Sense of Self: A Mixed Methods Systematic Review Exploring the Impact and Experience of Community Reminiscence Programs.

Older people can experience health and social challenges such as loneliness, depression, and lack of social connectedness. One initiative that has been trialed to address these challenges is reminiscence programs. These programs can include music, art, photographs, sports, and general discussion to stimulate memories. This review aimed to systematically search for literature that explored the impact and experience of reminiscence programs for older people living in the community for the purposes of informing community programming. The PICOS framework was used to develop the review parameters and search strategy. Qualitative and quantitative research focused on community-based reminiscence programs were included. Commercially produced databases and grey literature were searched. The Critical Appraisal Skills Program qualitative critical appraisal tool and McMaster quantitative critical appraisal tool were used to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. Quantitative data were descriptively synthesized, and qualitative data were thematically analyzed, with each reported separately. Twenty-seven studies were included in the review. All quantitative studies (n = 17) provided clear information regarding the purpose, sample size, and justification. The measures adopted were reliable and valid. All studies reported clear data collection/analysis information and statistically significant findings. All qualitative studies (n = 10) clearly articulated a purpose with nine clearly describing recruitment, data collection, and researcher relationship. Synthesis of quantitative data demonstrated positive findings through a reduction in depression, anxiety, and loneliness and improvements in quality of life and mastery. These findings were supported and broadened by qualitative findings with three key themes identified: program processes, program ingredients, and program benefits. Providing opportunities for older adults to come together to tell stories about their past experiences may positively contribute to social outcomes. As reminiscence programs gain popularity, their implementation in practice should be underpinned by clear and reproducible practices.

MDFN: A Multi-level Dynamic Fusion Network with self-calibrated edge enhancement for lung nodule segmentation

Precise segmentation of lung nodules from the surrounding tissues provides radiologists with distinct boundary details, instrumental to the meticulous diagnosis and subsequent treatment of lung cancer. Although extensively applied in practice, the existing deep learning approaches are generally confronted with under-segmentation for intractable nodules with heterogeneous textures, blurred boundaries, adhesive structures and the loss of crucial spatial and edge details during the deep convolutional encoding. Aiming at these issues, we take full advantage of the complementarity between edge and region to enhance the restoration of complex edges and propose a 2D Multi-level Dynamic Fusion Network (MDFN) for precise lung nodule segmentation and fine-grained edge details. Firstly, we innovatively construct a multi-scale spatial and channel feature selection module (MSCFS) to enrich the receptive fields and capture highly correlated multi-scale contexts. Secondly, a self-calibrated encoder with MSCFS is adopted to establish the spatial dependency between long distance and channel to avert the loss of both global and local features. Thirdly, a novel deep feature fusion decoder is designed to separately generate the edge and region features of the same and different levels and dynamically integrate them to restore fine-grained nodule edge morphology. Various experiments on LUNA16 public dataset confirm that MDFN outperforms other advanced methods on the quantitative index appraisal and qualitative visualization analysis, with an average DSC of 89.19% and Hausdorff distance of 2.353 mm. By contrast, with the powerful blend of multi-level edge and region features, MDFN achieves more smooth and consistent boundary details, especially for nodules adhesive to surrounding issues.

Enhanced biofuel production by co-pyrolysis of distiller's grains and waste plastics: A quantitative appraisal of kinetic behaviors and product characteristics

Pyrolysis of biomass feedstocks can produce valuable biofuel, however, the final products may present excessive corrosion and poor stability due to the lack of hydrogen content. Co-pyrolysis with hydrogen-rich substances such as waste plastics may compensate for these shortcomings. In this study, the co-pyrolysis of a common biomass, i.e. distiller's grains (DG), and waste polypropylene plastic (PP) were investigated towards increasing the quantity and quality of the production of biofuel. Results from the thermogravimetric analyses showed that the reaction interval of individual pyrolysis of DG and PP was 124–471 °C and 260–461 °C, respectively. Conversely, an interaction effect between DG and PP was observed during co-pyrolysis, resulting in a slower rate of weight loss, a longer temperature range for the pyrolysis reaction, and an increase in the temperature difference between the evolution of products. Likewise, the Coats-Redfern model showed that the activation energies of DG, PP and an equal mixture of both were 42.90, 130.27 and 47.74 kJ mol−1, respectively. It thus follows that co-pyrolysis of DG and PP can effectively reduce the activation energy of the reaction system and promote the degree of pyrolysis. Synergistic effects essentially promoted the free radical reaction of the PP during co-pyrolysis, thereby reducing the activation energy of the process. Moreover, due to this synergistic effect in the co-pyrolysis of DG and PP, the ratio of elements was effectively optimized, especially the content of oxygen-containing species was reduced, and the hydrocarbon content of products was increased. These results will not only advance our understanding of the characteristics of co-pyrolysis of DG and PP, but will also support further research toward improving an efficient co-pyrolysis reactor system and the pyrolysis process itself.

LGBTQ + cultural competency training for health professionals: a systematic review

BackgroundHealth disparities experienced by LGBTQ + individuals have been partially attributed to health professionals’ lack of cultural competence to work with them. Cultural competence, the intricate integration of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors that improve cross-cultural communication and interpersonal relationships, has been used as a training framework to enhance interactions between LGBTQ + patients and health professionals. Despite multiple published LGBTQ + cultural competency trainings, there has been no quantitative appraisal and synthesis of them. This systematic review assessed articles evaluating the design and effectiveness of these trainings and examined the magnitude of their effect on cultural competence outcomes.MethodsIncluded studies quantitatively examined the effectiveness of LGBTQ + cultural competency trainings for health professionals across all disciplines in various healthcare settings. 2,069 citations were retrieved from five electronic databases with 44 articles meeting inclusion criteria. The risk of bias in the included studies was assessed by two authors utilizing the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklists. Data extracted included study design, country/region, sample characteristic, training setting, theoretical framework, training topic, modality, duration, trainer, training target, measurement instrument, effect size and key findings. This review followed the PRISMA statement and checklist to ensure proper reporting.Results75% of the studies were published between 2017 and 2023. Four study designs were used: randomized controlled trial (n = 1), quasi-experimental pretest–posttest without control (n = 39), posttest only with control (n = 1) and posttest only without control (n = 3). Training modalities were multiple modalities with (n = 9) and without simulation (n = 25); single modality with simulation (n = 1); and with didactic lectures (n = 9). Trainings averaged 3.2 h. Ten studies employed LGBTQ + trainers. The training sessions resulted in statistically significant improvements in the following cultural competence constructs: (1) knowledge of LGBTQ + culture and health (n = 28, effect size range = 0.28 – 1.49), (2) skills to work with LGBTQ + clients (n = 8, effect size range = 0.12 – 1.12), (3) attitudes toward LGBTQ + individuals (n = 14, effect size range = 0.19 – 1.03), and (4) behaviors toward LGBTQ + affirming practices (n = 7, effect size range = 0.51 – 1.11).ConclusionsThe findings of this review highlight the potential of LGBTQ + cultural competency training to enhance cultural competence constructs, including (1) knowledge of LGBTQ + culture and health, (2) skills to work with LGBTQ + clients, (3) attitudes toward LGBTQ + individuals, and (4) behaviors toward LGBTQ + affirming practices, through an interdisciplinary and multi-modal approach. Despite the promising results of LGBTQ + cultural competency training in improving health professionals’ cultural competence, there are limitations in study designs, sample sizes, theoretical framing, and the absence of longitudinal assessments and patient-reported outcomes, which call for more rigorous research. Moreover, the increasing number of state and federal policies that restrict LGBTQ + health services highlight the urgency of equipping health professionals with culturally responsive training. Organizations and health systems must prioritize organizational-level changes that support LGBTQ + inclusive practices to provide access to safe and affirming healthcare services for LGBTQ + individuals.

Quantitative ethnobotanical appraisal of plants used by inhabitants of Jelar Valley, Dir Upper, Northern Pakistan

Quantitative ethnobotanical appraisal of plants used by inhabitants of Jelar Valley, Dir Upper, Northern Pakistan

Effects of simulation-based cardiopulmonary and respiratory case training experiences on interprofessional teamwork: A systematic review.

Simulation exercises are meant to provide an opportunity for health care workers to improve teamwork and develop clinical skills, among other goals. The objective of this systematic review was to determine whether simulated interdisciplinary activities in the health care or clinical setting improve interprofessional collaboration within health care teams that include respiratory therapists. A systematic literature search of PubMed, EMBASE and CINAHL was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses reporting guideline to find relevant articles using both MeSH terms and free text. Filters were applied to include English-language studies; studies published within the last 10 years (2011-2021), and studies involving human participants. Studies were excluded if they did not assess the effects of simulation on aspects of teamwork, if participants were students, if teams did not include respiratory therapists, or if the training did not involve a simulated experience in a clinical setting. The search identified 312 articles, 75 of which were advanced to full-text review. Of those 75 articles, 62 were eliminated for not measuring teamwork in their outcomes. Two articles were excluded for being published before 2011, and one was eliminated for poor methodological quality. A risk of bias assessment using standardized qualitative and quantitative appraisal checklists was conducted on each of the remaining 10 studies selected for inclusion. A total of 10 studies met the inclusion criteria for this review (eight prospective, pre/post-test studies and two prospective observational studies). Randomization and participant/researcher blinding were not present in the majority of the studies and reporting bias was also found to be a concern throughout the literature. However, all of the studies noted increased teamwork scores post-intervention, though they differed in the tools used to evaluate this outcome. Collectively, the studies included in this review demonstrate that interprofessional simulation experiences including respiratory therapists enhance teamwork. The various tools used to assess change in teamwork had evidence of validity; however, studies varied in their outcomes measured, making quantitative analysis inappropriate. There are challenges involved in creating and assessing these simulations, particularly when performed within a clinical environment, which make it difficult to fully remove bias from the study design. It is unclear if the teamwork improvement can strictly be attributed to the simulation intervention or in part due to the general development of team members' competencies throughout the research period. Additionally, the permanency of the effects cannot be evaluated based on the studies included and could be an area for future research. Despite the limited number and methodological precision of studies included in this review along with the differing outcome evaluation methods, the authors conclude that positive teamwork improvement results are generalizable and agree with the broader base of research of the effectiveness of simulation on teambuilding.

Revising the JBI quantitative critical appraisal tools to improve their applicability: an overview of methods and the development process.

JBI offers a suite of critical appraisal instruments that are freely available to systematic reviewers and researchers investigating the methodological limitations of primary research studies. The JBI instruments are designed to be study-specific and are presented as questions in a checklist. The JBI instruments have existed in a checklist-style format for approximately 20 years; however, as the field of research synthesis expands, many of the tools offered by JBI have become outdated. The JBI critical appraisal tools for quantitative studies (eg, randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental studies) must be updated to reflect the current methodologies in this field. Cognizant of this and the recent developments in risk-of-bias science, the JBI Effectiveness Methodology Group was tasked with updating the current quantitative critical appraisal instruments. This paper details the methods and rationale that the JBI Effectiveness Methodology Group followed when updating the JBI critical appraisal instruments for quantitative study designs. We detail the key changes made to the tools and highlight how these changes reflect current methodological developments in this field.

Quantitative ethnobotanical appraisal of Shawal Valley, South Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Background: This study's primary goal was to collect and document uses of plants by local residents of Shawal Valley, South Waziristan, Pakistan. Methodology: A semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview 65 residents (24 women and 41 males). The Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), Use Value (UV), Fidelity Level (FL), Informant Consensus Factor (ICF), and Jaccard Index (JI). Results: The research region is abode of 60 plant species belonged to 32 families of ethnobotanical significance. Lamiaceae family contributed maximum number of species (7), followed by Pinaceae (6 species). The most preferred plant parts among the reported species were the leaves (60%), followed by the stem (28.3%). Thymus mongolicus was found to have the highest RFC (0.86), while Adiantum capillus-veneris had the lowest (i.e. 0.02). The UV was between 0.02 and 1. Thymus mongolicus was found to have the greatest UV (UV=1); whereas, Adiantum capillus-veneris had the lowest UV (0.02). Twelve plants had a fidelity level of 100% while Quercus dilatata had the lowest (33.3%). Plants' ICF values varied from 0.87 to 0.96. The Average Direct Matrix Ranking revealed that Quercus dilatata received the highest rating (1st) for its many uses, followed by Pinuswallichiana (2nd), and Rumex dentatus (3rd), Pinus gerardiana (4th), and Zingiberofficinale (5th). Conclusion:Ethnomedicinal research indicates that indigenous people in the studied area are knowledgeable on the use of plants. These plants and indigenous knowledge must be preserved.

A Quantitative Appraisal of Adjustment Lending

This paper presents a quantitative analysis of adjustment programmes. This is done by charting changes in various performance indicators fonowing the receipt of the first adjustment loan, and by further contrasting the results with those for the comparator group of countries that did not receive adjustment loans. h is found that the average decline in the GOP growth rate in the loan-recipient countries was less than in the comparator groups. Similar results were obtained in regard to per capita GOP. At the same time, in both cases, a majority of loan-recipient countries experienced an improvement in their relative position vis-d-vis the nonrecipient s. It is further apparent that the loan-recipient countries made an adjustment effort in the period following the fIrst loan. To begin with, economic expansion was concentrated in the traded goods sectors, industry and agriculture, both of which experienced an improvement in the loan-recipient countries relative to the comparator groups. Also, the growth of consumption declined substantially in absolute terms as well as relative to the non-recipient countries. In turn, an acceleration is observed in the growth of investment that holds the promise for future economic growth.

Review of the Economic and Environmental Impacts of Producing Waxy Crude Oils

Within the oil and gas industry, there is unanimity that wax deposits-driven pipeline blockages are a critical environmental concern and an economic liability of up to billions of dollars. However, a quantitative assessment of such an impact and, especially, of the different individual impacts that add up is absent from the current scientific literature. Such a gap is a deterrent for better-focused research. Given the production transition to heavy and paraffinic oils, harsh climatic zones, and extremely deep offshore oilfields, an extensive investigation is increasingly needed. The current endeavour was inspired by such a challenge and a review of the most recent technical and scientific publications was devised. A PRISMA-inspired and adapted methodology for systematic reviews was adopted. Over two hundred research articles, conference papers, books, theses, reviews, public databases and industry and government agencies reports were considered. As a result, a significant research gap is filled, both with the compilation, critical revision, and systematisation of the dispersed published scientific and technical data on the matter and with the definition of a quantitative economic impact appraisal for the wax deposition issue.

Differences in muscle coordination between older men and women during brisk walking.

Brisk walking is a highly recommended physical activity for healthy community-dwelling older adults. The objective of this study was to examine through principal component analysis (PCA) how muscle coordination differs between older women and men during brisk walking. Thirty-five healthy older adults (65.2 ± 3.0 years old, 18 females, and 17 males) participated in the study. Eight surface electromyographic electrodes were used to record lower extremity muscle activities, and four inertial measurement unit sensors to monitor hip, knee, and ankle motion. Energy expenditure and heart rate were also measured during brisk walking. The effects of a person's sex on muscle coordination were identified through wavelet and PCA analysis of the sEMG signals. The results of energy expenditure and heart rate confirmed that brisk walking exercise is beneficial for older adults. PCA analysis showed that muscle coordination patterns differ between older women and men: during the stance phase a greater co-contraction of tibialis anterior and soleus in the men, and a greater activation of the quadriceps muscles during the loading-response phase in the women. The wavelet and PCA analyses facilitated a quantitative appraisal of sex-specific differences in the muscle coordination patterns of older men and women during brisk walking.