Search results for "informatics"
showing 10 items of 2542 documents
Use of a mobile phone diary for observing weight management and related behaviours
2010
We studied self-observations related to weight management recorded with a Wellness Diary application on a mobile phone. The data were recorded by 27 participants in a 12-week study, which included a short weight management lecture followed by independent usage of the Wellness Diary. We studied the validity of self-observed weight, and behavioural changes and weight patterns related to weight management success. Self-observed weight data tended to underestimate pre- and poststudy measurements, but there were high correlations between the measures (r ≥ 0.80). The amount of physical activity correlated significantly with weight loss (r = 0.44) as did different measures representing healthy ch…
The use of technology in the context of frailty screening and management interventions: a study of stakeholders’ perspectives
2019
Abstract Background Health and social care interventions show promise as a way of managing the progression of frailty in older adults. Information technology could improve the availability of interventions and services for older adults. The views of stakeholders on the acceptability of technological solutions for frailty screening and management have not been explored. Methods Focus groups were used to gather data from healthy and frail/pre-frail older adults, health and social care providers, and caregivers in three European countries – Italy, Poland and UK. Data were analysed using framework analysis in terms of facilitators or determinants of older adults’ adoption of technology. Results…
Attitude and knowledge of pain management among Italian nurses in hospital settings
2015
Pain is multidimensional, and, as such, the chief reason patients seek urgent healthcare services. If inadequately assessed and untreated, pain may negatively impact on the quality of life of the patient. Treating pain is an important step in regaining control over quality of life. The objective of the present study is to examine the level of knowledge and types of approach among Italian nurses who deal with pain assessment and management. The Ferrell and McCaffery's Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (KASRP) was distributed to 286 nurses employed in one of the biggest specialized hospitals in Rome, Italy. The interviewed staff work at three different settings, according to the h…
Sequential transcriptome analysis of human liver cancer indicates late stage acquisition of malignant traits
2014
Background & Aims Human hepatocarcinogenesis is as a multi-step process starting from dysplastic lesions to early carcinomas (eHCC) that ultimately progress to HCC (pHCC). However, the sequential molecular alterations driving malignant transformation of the pre-neoplastic lesions are not clearly defined. This lack of information represents a major challenge in the clinical management of patients at risk. Methods We applied next-generation transcriptome sequencing to tumor-free surrounding liver (n=7), low- (n=4) and high-grade (n=9) dysplastic lesions, eHCC (n=5) and pHCC (n=3) from 8 HCC patients with hepatitis B infection. Integrative analyses of genetic and transcriptomic changes were pe…
Redundant and synergistic information transfer in cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory variability
2015
In the framework of information dynamics, new tools are emerging which allow one to quantify how the information provided by two source processes about a target process results from the contribution of each source and from the interaction between the sources. We present the first implementation of these tools in the assessment of short-term cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory variability, by introducing two strategies for the decomposition of the information transferred to heart period (HP) variability from systolic arterial pressure (SAP) and respiration flow (RF) variability. Several measures based on the notion of transfer entropy (TE) are defined to quantify joint, individual and redun…
Instantaneous transfer entropy for the study of cardio-respiratory dynamics
2015
Measures of transfer entropy have been proposed to quantify the directional coupling and strength between two complex physiological variables. Particular attention has been given to nonlinear interactions within cardiovascular and respiratory dynamics as influenced by the autonomic nervous system. However, standard transfer entropy estimates have shown major limitations in dealing with issues concerning stochastic system modeling, limited observations in time, and the assumption of stationarity of the considered physiological variables. Moreover, standard estimates are unable to track time-varying changes in nonlinear coupling with high resolution in time. Here, we propose a novel definitio…
A new approach based on Machine Learning for predicting corneal curvature (K1) and astigmatism in patients with keratoconus after intracorneal ring i…
2014
Keratoconus (KC) is the most common type of corneal ectasia. A corneal transplantation was the treatment of choice until the last decade. However, intra-corneal ring implantation has become more and more common, and it is commonly used to treat KC thus avoiding a corneal transplantation. This work proposes a new approach based on Machine Learning to predict the vision gain of KC patients after ring implantation. That vision gain is assessed by means of the corneal curvature and the astigmatism. Different models were proposed; the best results were achieved by an artificial neural network based on the Multilayer Perceptron. The error provided by the best model was 0.97D of corneal curvature …
Web Support for weight-loss interventions: PREDIRCAM2 clinical trial baseline characteristics and preliminary results
2018
An ongoing clinical trial is testing the efficacy of web telematic support in a structured program for obesity treatment and diabetes prevention. Participants were recruited from two tertiary-care hospitals and randomized to receive either a telematic intervention (TI) supported by PREDIRCAM2 web platform or a non-telematic intervention (NTI). All receive 1-year follow-up. Both interventions consist of tailored dietary and exercise prescriptions, based on a Mediterranean dietary pattern and general WHO exercise recommendations for adults. At 6 months, both groups have received 7 contacts, 3 exclusively telematic for the TI group. This is a preliminary result intention-to-treat analysis. One…
Metabolite profiling of fecal water extracts from human colorectal cancer.
2009
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in developed countries. There is a need for better preventive strategies to improve the outcome of this disease. The increasing availability of high-throughput methodologies opens up new possibilities for screening new markers. The application of NMR metabolic profiling to fecal water extracts has interesting potential as a diagnostic tool for detecting colorectal cancer. We obtained NMR metabolic profiles of fecal water extracts from patients with colorectal cancer and healthy individuals, to characterize possible differences between them and to identify potential diagnostic markers. Our results show that metabolic profiling of …
Internet-based Mental Health Services in Norway and Sweden: Characteristics and Consequences
2011
Published version of an article in the journal: Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10488-011-0388-2 Internet-based mental health services increase rapidly. However, national surveys are incomplete and the consequences for such services are poorly discussed. This study describes characteristics of 60 Internet-based mental health services in Norway and Sweden and discusses their social consequences. More than half of the services were offered by voluntary organisations and targeted towards young people. Professionals answered service users’ questions in 60% of the services. Eight majo…