1,721,822 research outputs found
Comparison of different hydrological similarity measures to estimate flow quantiles
No full textThis paper aims to evaluate the influence of hydrological similarity measures on the definition of homogeneous regions. To this end, several attribute sets have been analyzed in the context of the Region of Influence (ROI) procedure. Several combinations of geomorphological, climatological, and geographical characteristics are also used to cluster potentially homogeneous regions. To verify the goodness of the resulting pooled sites, homogeneity tests arecarried out. Through a Monte Carlo simulation and a jack-knife procedure, flow quantiles areestimated for the regions effectively resulting as homogeneous. The analysis areperformed in both the so-called gauged and ungauged scenarios to analyze the effect of hydrological measures on flow quantiles estimation.</p
Assessing patients' self-efficacy in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: translation, content and face validation of the "Understanding COPD Questionnaire"
No full textBACKGROUND: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a condition that badly influences patients' quality of life. The self-efficacy reached by educational programs is related to the patient's satisfaction, as active participation is fundamental to physical improvement and learning new skills. AIM: To translate in Italian and assess the content and face validity of the "Understanding COPD (UCOPD) Questionnaire" pourposed by Dr. B. O'Neill in 2012. METHODS: Once author's consent was gained, the forward Italian translation was independently performed by two native speakers. The reconciliated Italian version was then backward translated by two english speakers with comments, according to the "European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of life" guidelines. The final version was analyzed by experts to evaluate the level of relevance of each item using a 4-point Likert Scale. From these results we calculated the Item and Scale Content Validity Index (I-CVI; S-CVI). Subsequently, face validity was conducted by asking non-experts, using semi-structured interviews, if the survey was clear and easy to understand. RESULTS: For the content validity analysis were enrolled 5 physicians, 4 nurses, 2 physiotherapists ). The survey showed a good level of content validity (S-CVI 0.90, I-CVI 0.63-1). The face validity analysis was conducted on 7 people affected by COPD. They declared to understand and clearly read all the items of the questionnaire. CONCLUSIONS: The translated UCOPD Questionnaire was confirmed in its content and face validity. NURSING IMPLICATIONS: Further perspectives are the use of the questionnaire to assess the level of self-efficacy and satisfaction in a cohort of Italian patients
The N-formyl peptide receptors: much more than chemoattractant receptors. Relevance in health and disease
No full textPattern Recognition Receptors (PRRs) are a superfamily of receptors that detect molecular structures typical for pathogens and damaged cells and play a crucial role in the proper function of the innate immune system. A particular subgroup of membrane-bound PRRs is represented by the N-formyl peptide receptors (FPRs) that consist of transmembrane G-protein coupled receptors involved in inflammatory responses. FPRs were initially described in immune cells as transducers of chemotactic signals in phagocytes that react to tissue injury. Subsequently, FPRs were also identified in a wide variety of cell types, including cancer cells. Beyond broad cellular distribution, FPRs are also characterized by the ability to bind a variety of ligands with different chemical and biological properties, ranging from natural peptides to synthetic compounds. The binding of FPRs to specific agonists induces a cascade of functional biological events, such as cell proliferation, migration, angiogenesis, and oxidative stress. From all this evidence, it becomes clear that FPRs are multifaceted receptors involved in several pathophysiological processes associated with inflammation. In this review, we provide a comprehensive molecular description of structure-function relationship of FPRs and their pivotal role in the host defense, highlighting the regulatory functions in both the initiation and resolution of inflammation. In addition to their activity as PRRs during innate immune response, we focus on their involvement in pathological conditions, including chronic inflammatory disease, neurodegenerative disorders, and cancer, with special emphasis on FPR targeting as promising therapeutic strategies in the era of precision medicine
Sexual and reproductive health in adolescents: validation of the questionnaire SexContraKnow instrument in Italian
No full textBACKGROUND: Adolescents have an inadequate level of health literacy, particularly regarding sexual and reproductive health and the use of birth control methods. This contributes to a high percentage of unintentional pregnancies and sexual behaviors that endanger the entire population. AIM: The purpose of this study is to validate the questionnaire, Sexcontraknow Instrument, in Italian, in order to evaluate the health literacy of adolescents, aged 14 to 19, regarding sexual and reproductive health, particularly on the use of contraceptive methods. METHODS: This is a quantitative research study that aims to validate a knowledge tool on sexual and reproductive health in the adolescent population. RESULTS: The Sexcontraknow Instrument questionnaire has been translated according to the process indicated by the EORTC Quality of Life Group validation criteria. The linguistic validation of the questionnaire in Italian was carried out using the forward-backward translation method. The content validity process was carried out by a group of 9 experts in the area of sexual education addressed to the study population, such as: doctors, midwives, gynecologists, teachers and health assistants. The face validity process, however, was carried out with a sample of convenience made up of 12 students aged 14 to 19 years, homogeneous in the gender. CONCLUSIONS: The SexContraKnow Instrument questionnaire has been transalated in Italiana and face and content validity has been performed. NURSING IMPLICATIONS: Having a tool that help evaluate the knowledge of young people, aids the nurse in preparing and making up for shortcomings through proper education, reducing the negative effects of poor literacy
A user-friendly software for modelling extreme values: EXTRASTAR (EXTRemes Abacus for STAtistical Regionalization)
No full textThe software EXTRASTAR (EXTRemes Abacus for STAtistical Regionalization) is here proposed. It can represent a useful and quick tool for both regional and at-site statistical analyses of Annual Maxima (AM) time series. The innovative aspects (compared to other algorithms/softwares) are: 1) an easy comparison of sample skewness of several observed series with pre-determined Monte Carlo Prediction Intervals (depending on sample size) from hypothesized probability distributions, for obtaining a first important indication about possible clusters and regional values for some parameters, which can be afterward refined (if deemed as necessary) with specific and more complex algorithms/softwares proposed in literature; 2) for at-site analyses, the possibility to benefit from calibration of one function for some parameters of the others (thus significantly reducing the computational costs). EXTRASTAR was tested with the daily AM series for the Italian rain-gauge network, by implementing EV1, GEV and TCEV distributions
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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