920,565 research outputs found
Development of an animation to alleviate patient anxiety before endoscopic treatment
No full textBackground:
eHealth is the use of technology aimed at improving health care and has garnered significant interest in the last decade. Preoperative anxiety is the feeling of unease before a procedure and has been linked to a reduced postoperative quality of life. The effect of eHealth on preoperative anxiety has previously been researched; however, its specific effect in endoscopic procedures remains unclear. An increase in the number of endoscopies performed has been associated with a substantial increase in preoperative anxiety. This anxiety is also shown to correlate with the amount of information shared with the patients prior to the procedure, indicating that an appropriate level of patient education and engagement is necessary to alleviate preoperative anxiety. However, not all forms of patient engagement may be effective in reducing preoperative anxiety; for instance, information pamphlets have previously shown no significant effect on anxiety as the information provided was found to be overwhelming for patients. Therefore, a more suitable and engaging approach, such as eHealth, may be required.
Aim:
The aim of this study was to develop an informative animation educating patients, about to undergo endoscopic procedures, on the common concerns associated with endoscopy. The animation was developed using information obtained from the available literature.
Methodology:
The methodology was divided into three stages: literature search, finding and coding similarities, and animation. The aim of the first stage was to identify in the literature the commonly expressed fears and worries associated with surgery that influence a patient's preoperative anxiety levels. The second stage was to find the commonalities between the papers identified from the literature and to analyse them, using a qualitative analytic method known as descriptive coding. Finally, the last stage aimed to collate all the relevant information into an animation that summarises the common fears and worries relating to the procedure, as well as how best to tackle them as the patient.
Results:
Three papers were identified as relevant to the research question. They were compiled into three separate word documents and imported into NVIVO. Using NVIVO, the information from the papers was then coded into five separate themes. These themes, with their respective distribution in all the three papers, were: fear of complications (44%); fear of cancellations (5%); lack of information (33%); feeling out of one’s element (16%); and concern for the family (3%). The development of the animation took the themes into consideration and provided ways to alleviate these fears and worries.
Conclusion:
The two most frequent themes revealed during the coding stage of the study (fear of complications (44%) and lack of information (33%) corroborate previous relevant studies in the literature. This study adds to the notion that patients currently receive inadequate information to effectively alleviate their preoperative anxiety. Therefore, this work highlights the need for information that is both presented in a manner that is conducive to effective patient engagement and specific to the individual patient’s concerns
Variations on the Author
No full text“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Social trust in property ownership: a study in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia
No full textOwnership refers to the legal rights, obligations, and interests, all of which are formally recognised by a legal system. The regulation of property ownership dictates access to and control over land and other resources. In modern society, property ownership relies heavily on technology for identifying, record-keeping, and verifying property ownership to ensure compliance with the legal system. However, this reliance on technology introduces challenges such as fraud, incorrect information, and potential challenges like double sales as technology continues to advance. Further challenges can be encountered when it is regulated by several governmental entities to secure ownership. This research focuses specifically on the legal system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, acknowledging the global nature of challenges but tailoring the investigation to the unique context of this region. To address the challenges inherent in the land registration system, the research proposes a STF. Unlike existing approaches that primarily lean on technology, this framework delves into the underlying factors contributing to challenges and identifies key considerations for establishing a safe process for transferring ownership. The framework encompasses four categories of social needs for trusting systems: organisation, provenance, technical, and legal. Each category comprises a set of factors that should be considered during the development of the system. Importantly, this framework is designed in alignment with the interests of stakeholders who regularly engage with the systems and is validated by experts in governmental entities. The validation process is based on qualitative data and analyse using thematic analysis. The STF supports the analysis of user requirement specifications to identify the necessary requirements. The user needs are analysed to identify the requirements needed using the scenario-based approach of transferring ownership, with the knowledge that this scenario avoids the challenges outlined. The identified requirements serve as essential inputs for constructing models using the Event-B formal methods, a mathematical approach that ensures the correctness and consistency of the requirements. The formal model is built using a correctness-by-construction methodology, that allows the deduction of assurances for the trustworthy process of transferring ownership. The model undergoes evaluation by formal method specialists to guarantee the construction of an accurate model through the utilisation of discount expert review. Applying the formal method significantly affects system development. It aids in articulating implicit assumptions and clarifying system requirements. They highlight challenges with system requirements, and their rigour helps to understand the challenge better. Additionally, the formal method reduces implementation time and error by a large amount
Microencapsulation of Probiotics for Food Functionalization: An Update on Literature Reviews
No full textFunctional foods comprise the largest growing food category due to both consumer demands and health claims by manufacturers. Probiotics are considered one of the best choices for meeting these demands. Traditionally, the food vehicle for introducing probiotics to consumers was dairy products, and to expand the benefits of probiotics for a wider range of consumers, the need to use other food items was essential. To achieve this goal while maximising the benefits of probiotics, protection methods used during food processing were tackled. The microencapsulation of probiotics is a promising methodology for achieving this function. This review highlights the use of the microencapsulation of probiotics in order to functionalise food items that initially were not considered suitable for probiotication, such as baked products, or to increase their functionality such as dairy products. The co-microencapsulation of probiotics with other functional ingredients such polyphenol, prebiotics, or omega-3 is also highlighted
Expert review of the Land Registration Framework in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
No full textThe aim of this article is to present a framework of the influencing factors in the land registration system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The framework is mainly developed to enhance the stockholders’ trust in purchasing properties. This framework is developed by reviewing the challenges in the land registration systems and identifying the factors that capture from socio-technical elements derived from the literature, interview with investors, and then validated by an expert review. The study applies a qualitative methodology that involves semi-structured interviews, and a thematic method to analysis the collected data to pursue the intended aim. The article suggests a social trust framework for the land registration system which enhances the trust in the provided information by mitigating the challenges in the current system. The findings also indicate that appropriate use of technology such as smart contracts and blockchain would reach the aim of the study
Layer-by-Layer Coating of Single-Cell Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus to Increase Viability Under Simulated Gastrointestinal Conditions and Use in Film Formation
No full textProbiotics and prebiotics are widely used as functional food ingredients. Viability of probiotics in the food matrix and further in the digestive system is still a challenge for the food industry. Different approaches were used to enhance the viability of probiotics including microencapsulation and layer-by-layer cell coating. The of aim of this study was to evaluate the viability of coated Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus using a layer-by-layer (LbL) technique with black seed protein (BSP) extracted from Nigella sativa defatted seeds cakes (NsDSC), as a coating material, with alginate, inulin, or glucomannan, separately, and the final number of coating layers was 3. The viable cell counts of the plain and coated L. rhamnosus were determined under sequential simulated gastric fluid (SGF) for 120 min and simulated intestinal fluid (SIF) for 180 min. Additionally, the viability after exposure to 37, 45, and 55°C for 30 min was also determined. Generally, the survivability of coated L. rhamnosus showed significant (p ≤ 0.05) improvement (<4, 3, and 1.5 logs reduction for glucomannan, alginate and inulin, respectively) compared with plain cells (∼6.7 log reduction) under sequential exposure to SGF and SIF. Moreover, the cells coated with BSP and inulin showed the best protection for L. rhamnosus under high temperatures. Edible films prepared with pectin with LbL-coated cells showed significantly higher values in their tensile strength (TS) of 50% and elongation at the break (EB) of 32.5% than pectin without LbL-coated cells. The LbL technique showed a significant protection of probiotic cells and potential use in food application
Akkermansia muciniphila, a new generation of beneficial microbiota in modulating obesity: A systematic review
No full textObesity is a complex syndrome and is recognized as the ultimate pathway of many chronic diseases. Studies using Akkermansia muciniphila supplementation strategy have proved to be effective for the prevention and treatment of obesity and other metabolic disorders. Although there are studies that support the protective effect of this strategy, the effects on the prevention of obesity on humans are not clear yet and need more investigation. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of A. muciniphila administration on modulating obesity. This systematic review was generated from articles published within the last 10 years. All articles were in English and included animal subjects. The review relied on the search engines Google Scholar, Pub Med, Web of Science and Medline using the following keywords: A. muciniphila, next-generation probiotic, new-generation probiotic, obesity, fat mass, body fat and lipid profile. The search has revealed 804 articles with relevant key words. After the exclusion of irrelevant articles, 10 studies were selected based on the criteria. These studies were randomized controlled trials that have shown that A. muciniphila modulates obesity by regulating metabolism and energy hemostasis and improving insulin sensitivity and glucose hemostasis. In addition, studies showed this microorganism enhances low grade inflammation by different mechanisms
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
No full textWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Enforcement and Spectrum Sharing: Case Studies of Federal-Commercial Sharing
No full textTo promote economic growth and unleash the potential of wireless broadband, there is a need to introduce more spectrally efficient technologies and spectrum management regimes. That led to an environment where commercial wireless broadband need to share spectrum with the federal and non-federal operations. Implementing sharing regimes on a non-opportunistic basis means that sharing agreements must be implemented. To have meaning, those agreements must be enforceable.\ud
\ud
With the significant exception of license-free wireless systems, commercial wireless services are based on exclusive use. With the policy change facilitating spectrum sharing, it becomes necessary to consider how sharing might take place in practice. Beyond the technical aspects of sharing, that must be resolved lie questions about how usage rights are appropriately determined and enforced. This paper is reasoning about enforcement in a particular spectrum bands (1695-1710 MHz and 3.5 GHz) that are currently being proposed for sharing between commercial services and incumbent spectrum users in the US. We examine three enforcement approaches, exclusion zones, protection zones and pure ex post and consider their implications in terms of cost elements, opportunity cost, and their adaptability
The construction of Karen Karnak: The multi-author-function
No full textThis thesis is situated within the comparatively recent developments of Web 2.0 and the emergence of interactive WikiMedia, and explores the mode of authorship within a Read/Write culture compared to that of a Read/Only tradition. The hypothesis of this study is that the role of the audience has become merged with the author, and as such, represents new functions and attributes, distinct from a more conventional concept of authorship, in which the roles of audience and author are more separate. Read/Write and participatory culture, as defined by this study, is focused on collaboration, and includes the influences of D.I.Y. culture, Open-Source practices and the production of text by multiple authors. Multi-authorship presents a re-thinking of several concepts which support the notion of the individual author, since the focus of multi-authorship is not on attribution and ownership of a finished text, but on the continued malleability of a text. Modes of multi-authorship, demonstrated in the use of the pseudonyms Alan Smithee and Karen Eliot, represent declarative authors whose names signify multiple origins, whilst concurrently indicating a distinct body of work. The function of these names form an important context to this study, since primary research involves the construction of an experimental mode of multi-authorship utilising WikiMedia technology and the interaction of thirty nine participants, who are invited to create a body of work under the collective pseudonym Karen Karnak. The data generated by this experiment is analysed using aspects of Michel Foucault's author-function to identify and determine power structures inherent in the WikiMedia context. The interplay of power structures, including concepts such as identity, ownership and the body of work, affect the resulting mode of authorship and contribute to the construction of Karen Karnak, suggesting further areas of research into the emerging multi-author
- …
