Search results for " evaluation."

Uncertainty assessment of an integrated urban drainage model

2009

Over the last few years, the use of mathematical models has gained importance in urban drainage system management; indeed, such models enable the combined analysis of different components that constitute a drainage system; the sewer system, wastewater treatment plant and the receiving water body. The effectiveness of an integrated approach has been widely demonstrated in the past and is presented in the EU Water Framework Directive, which also introduces a new point of view regarding the water quality management of the whole system, requiring a global analysis at the river basin scale for pollutant sources. However, integrated urban drainage models introduce several uncertain factors that a…

Seroepidemiologic research and hygienic-sanitary evaluation about human and animal brucellosis in Palermo province

1998

Satisfied or Frustrated? A Qualitative Analysis of Need Satisfying and Need Frustrating Experiences of Engaging With Digital Health Technology in Chr…

2020

Introduction: Digital health technologies such as self-monitoring devices and apps are becoming increasingly important as tools to promote healthy habits and support individuals in their self-care. There is still a scarcity of research that builds on motivational theory to better understand the functioning of digital health technologies. The self-determination theory (SDT) is a macro theory of motivation that delineates three basic psychological needs that are linked to different types of motivation and lead to well-being when satisfied and illbeing when frustrated. Objective: To explore how the use of a digital tool for self-monitoring and communication with healthcare satisfies or frustra…

Oral CorticoSteroid sparing with biologics in severe asthma: A remark of the Severe Asthma Network in Italy (SANI)

2020

According to the data derived from several national and international registries, including SANI (Severe Asthma Network Italy), and considering the strong impact that frequent or regular use of oral corticosteroid has on quality of life (QoL) of severe asthmatics, as well as on the costs for managing corticosteroid-related diseases, oral corticosteroid sparing up to withdrawal should be considered a primary outcome in the management of severe asthma. New biologics have clearly demonstrated that this effect is possible, with concomitant reduction in the rate of exacerbations and in symptom control. Then, there is no reason for using so frequently oral corticosteroid before having explored al…

Technical and health governance aspects of the External Quality Assessment Scheme for the SARS-CoV-2 molecular tests: institutional experience perfor…

2022

Abstract Objectives Since December 2019, the worldwide public health has been threatened by a severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by Coronavirus-2. From the beginning, a turning point has been the identification of new cases of infection, in order to minimize the virus spreading among the population. For this reason, it was necessary introducing a panel of tests able to identify positive cases, which became crucial for all countries. Methods As a Regional Reference Centre, the CRQ Laboratory (Regional Laboratory for the Quality Control) developed and conducted an External Quality Assessment (EQA) panel of assay, so as to evaluate the quality of real-time reverse transcription polymeras…

Setting up of a machine learning algorithm for the identification of severe liver fibrosis profile in the general US population cohort

2022

Background: The progress of digital transformation in clinical practice opens the door to transforming the current clinical line for liver disease diagnosis from a late-stage diagnosis approach to an early-stage based one. Early diagnosis of liver fibrosis can prevent the progression of the disease and decrease liver-related morbidity and mortality. We developed here a machine learning (ML) algorithm containing standard parameters that can identify liver fibrosis in the general US population.Materials and methods: Starting from a public database (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, NHANES), representative of the American population with 7265 eligible subjects (control populati…

Improving education management in Madagascar: results and implications of an impact evaluation

2008

International audience

High-throughput screening with the Eimeria tenella CDC2-related kinase2/cyclin complex EtCRK2/EtCYC3a

2012

The poultry disease coccidiosis, caused by infection with Eimeria spp. apicomplexan parasites, is responsible for enormous economic losses to the global poultry industry. The rapid increase of resistance to therapeutic agents, as well as the expense of vaccination with live attenuated vaccines, requires the development of new effective treatments for coccidiosis. Because of their key regulatory function in the eukaryotic cell cycle, cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are prominent drug targets. The Eimeria tenella CDC2-related kinase 2 (EtCRK2) is a validated drug target that can be activated in vitro by the CDK activator XlRINGO (Xenopus laevis rapid inducer of G2/M progression in oocytes). B…

Randomized pilot study and qualitative evaluation of a clinical decision support system for brain tumour diagnosis based on SV 1H MRS: Evaluation as …

2014

The results of a randomized pilot study and qualitative evaluation of the clinical decision support system Curiam BT are reported. We evaluated the system's feasibility and potential value as a radiological information procedure complementary to magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to assist novice radiologists in diagnosing brain tumours using MR spectroscopy (1.5 and 3.0T). Fifty-five cases were analysed at three hospitals according to four non-exclusive diagnostic questions. Our results show that Curiam BT improved the diagnostic accuracy in all the four questions. Additionally, we discuss the findings of the users' feedback about the system, and the further work to optimize it for real envir…

Selection bias ed incentivi alle imprese nei programmi per lo sviluppo locale: una valutazione ex-post

2015

This paper focuses on the evaluation of an aid scheme included in a larger local development program realized in Italy during the 2000-2006 cycle of EU Structural Funds. It follows a previous analysis (Cusimano, Mazzola, 2014) on the ex-post evaluation of the effects of the aid schemes included in the so-called territorial integrated projects (tips) and aims at identifying the possible presence of selection bias in measuring the effectiveness of the policy. After running an empirical analysis based on several propensity score matching (psm) methods, we show that, at least partially, the positive results previously obtained may not be related to an effective success of the policy, but could …