bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Telepsychiatry and Cultural Barriers in Korea
Authors: Lee Ook
Published: February 2025

This research was performed in order to empirically prove that telepsychiatry can result in overcoming of the Confucian cultural barrier which discouraged Korean patients from seeking psychiatric care. The Confucian culture of Korea forces its members to observe absolute conformity to the social norm. In this kind of culture it is very hard to admit one's mental illness and to seek medical help. Thus telepsychiatry might be a good alternative to face-to-face meeting-based psychiatry especially in culturally inhibitive places such as Korea. We conducted a telepsychiatry experiment using Instant Messenger with 93 volunteers who had an experience of seeing a psychiatrist in person. The result shows that people tend to think that telepsychiatry allowed them to break out of the Confucian cultural protocol which put heavy emphasis on avoiding any irregular thought.
Treadmill Interface for Virtual Reality vs. Overground Walking: A Comparison of Gait in Individuals with and without Pain
Authors: Powell Wendy  , Stevens Brett  , Simmonds Maureen
Published: February 2025

A treadmill (TR) interfaced with a virtual reality (VR) system can provide an engaging environment that could improve activity adherence and walking function for individuals with pain. Furthermore, inclusion of discrete visual and auditory cues into the VR environment (e.g. manipulation of optic flow speed or audio beat frequency) could improve walking. This study compared gait characteristics (speed and cadence) of a baseline over ground walk (OVR) with a TR walk as part of a project to develop gait referenced visual and auditory frequency cues. Thirty-six participants aged between 22 and 80 years, with pain (n=19) and without pain (n=17) took part. A 2 × 2 MANOVA conducted on the speed and cadence for all participants showed a significant difference between pain and control groups for speed (F1,34=9.56, p<0.01) and cadence (F1,34=5.75, p<0.05), as well as a significant decrease from overground to treadmill conditions for both speed (F1,34=81.39, p<0.01) and cadence (F1,34=25.46, p<0.01). Differences between OVR and TR walking indicate that visual or auditory cues for VR walk training should be referenced according to TR baseline measures.
Features for Culturally Appropriate Avatars for Behavior-Change Promotion in At-Risk Populations
Authors: Lisetti Christine
Published: February 2025

We explore how avatars can be used as social orthotics defined as therapeutic computer-based social companions aimed at promoting healthy behaviors. We review some of the health interventions deployed in helping at-risk populations along with some of the unique advantages that computer-based interventions can add to face-to-face interventions. We posit that artificial intelligence has rendered possible the creation of culturally appropriate dialog-agents for interventions and we identify specific features for social avatars that are important – if not necessary – when applied to the domain of social orthotic systems for health promotion.
Designing Affective Video Games to Support the Social-Emotional Development of Teenagers with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Authors: Khandaker Mitu
Published: February 2025

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of developmental neuropsychiatric disorders, comprised of three diagnostic entities – autistic disorder (AD), Asperger's disorder (AS), and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (including atypical autism) (PDD-NOS). A number of intervention techniques are currently used to reduce some of the associated challenges, with techniques ranging from behavioral therapy to dietary interventions and traditional counseling. This positional paper proposes the use of video games which leverage affective computing technologies as intervention in autism spectrum disorders in the context of the use of traditional play therapy with adolescents, who may feel uncomfortable engaging in traditional play with toys they may be too old for. It aims to explore the potential for greater ‘social physics’ made possible by affective computing technologies. This involves computationally ‘recognizing’ emotions in a user, often through the use of multimodal affective sensors, including facial expressions, postural shifts, and physiological signals such as heart rate, skin conductivity, and EEG signals. However, it is suggested that this should be augmented by researching the effect of social game design mechanisms on social-emotional development, particularly for those who experience difficulty with social interaction.
Scientific Evidence for the Effectiveness of Virtual Reality for Pain Reduction in Adults with Acute or Chronic Pain
Authors: Shahrbanian Shahnaz  , Ma Xiaoli  , Korner-Bitensky Nicol  , Simmonds Maureen J.
Published: February 2025

The objective of this systematic review was to determine the level of scientific evidence for the effectiveness of VR for pain management in adults with pain. A comprehensive systematic search involving major health care databases was undertaken to identify randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and descriptive studies. Twenty-seven studies were identified that fulfilled the inclusion criteria. There was strong (Level 1a) evidence of a greater benefit from immersive VR and limited evidence (Level 2a) for the effectiveness of non-immersive VR in reducing acute pain. Moreover, there is limited evidence (Level 2a) of effectiveness of immersive VR compared to no VR for reducing chronic pain. There is currently no published study that has explored the effectiveness of non-immersive VR for chronic pain (level 5). It is concluded that VR can be recommended as a standard or adjunct clinical intervention for pain management at least in the management of acute pain.
Designing a Serious Game for Young Users: The Case of Happy Farm
Authors: Gamberini Luciano  , Marchetti Fabio  , Martino Francesco  , Spagnolli Anna
Published: February 2025

The interactivity and attractiveness of video games are increasingly deployed for educational and training purposes in what are called “serious games.” This paper describes Happy Farm, a serious game targeting young people and aimed at increasing their awareness of the risks connected to the consumption of psychoactive substances. The development of the game is driven by the premise that credibility and usability are pre-conditions for persuasion. The achievement of these qualities is pursued in the design and is generally testified by the results of the users' evaluation. Suggestions for the improvement of the game are also outlined.
Robotic assisted rehabilitation in Virtual Reality with the L-EXOS
Authors: Frisoli Antonio  , Bergamasco Massimo  , Carboncini Maria C.  , Rossi Bruno
Published: February 2025

This study presents the evaluation results of a clinical trial of robotic-assisted rehabilitation in Virtual Reality performed with the PERCRO L-Exos (Light-Exoskeleton) system, which is a 5-DoF force-feedback exoskeleton for the right arm. The device has demonstrated itself suitable for robotic arm rehabilitation therapy when integrated with a Virtual Reality (VR) system. Three different schemes of therapy in VR were tested in the clinical evaluation trial, which was conducted on a group of nine chronic stroke patients at the Santa Chiara Hospital in Pisa-Italy. The results of this clinical trial, both in terms of patients performance improvements in the proposed exercises and in terms of improvements in the standard clinical scales which were used to monitor patients receovery are reported and discussed. The evaluation both pre and post-therapy was carried out with both clinical and quantitative kinesiologic measurements. Statistically significant improvements were found in terms of Fugl-Meyer scores, Ashworth scale, increments of active and passive ranges of motion of the impaired limb, and quantitative indexes, such as task time and error.
The Rehabilitation Gaming System: a Review
Authors: Cameirão Mónica S.  , Bermúdez i Badia Sergi  , Duarte Oller Esther  , Verschure Paul F.M.J.
Published: February 2025

Stroke will become one of the main burdens of disease and loss of quality of life in the near future. However, we still have not found rehabilitation approaches that can scale up so as to face this challenge. Virtual reality based therapy systems are a great promise for directly addressing this challenge. Here we review different approaches that are based on this technology, their assumptions and clinical impact. We will focus on virtual reality based rehabilitation systems that combine hypotheses on the aftermath of stroke and the neuronal mechanisms of recovery that directly aims at addressing this challenge. In particular we will analyze the, so called, Rehabilitation Gaming System (RGS) that proposes the use of non-invasive multi-modal stimulation to activate intact neuronal systems that provide direct stimulation to motor areas affected by brain lesions. The RGS is designed to engage the patients in task specific training scenarios that adapt to their performance, allowing for an individualized training of graded difficulty and complexity. Although RGS stands for a generic rehabilitative approach it has been specifically tested for the rehabilitation of motor deficits of the upper extremities of stroke patients. In this chapter we review the main foundations and properties of the RGS, and report on the major findings extracted from studies with healthy and stroke subjects. We show that the RGS captures qualitative and quantitative data on motor deficits, and that this is transferred between real and VR tasks. Additionally, we show how the RGS uses the detailed assessment of the kinematics and performance of stroke patients to individualize the treatment. Subsequently, we will discuss how real-time physiology can be used to provide additional measures to assess the task difficulty and subject engagement. Finally, we report on preliminary results of an ongoing longitudinal study on acute stroke patients.
Virtual Reality Environments to Enhance Upper Limb Functional Recovery in Patients with Hemiparesis
Authors: Levin Mindy F.  , Knaut Luiz Alberto Manfre  , Magdalon Eliane C.  , Subramanian Sandeep
Published: February 2025

Impairments in reaching and grasping have been well-documented in patients with post-stroke hemiparesis. Patients have deficits in spatial and temporal coordination and may use excessive trunk displacement to assist arm transport during performance of upper limb tasks. Studies of therapeutic effectiveness have shown that repetitive task-specific practice may improve motor function outcomes. Movement retraining may be optimized when done in virtual reality (VR) environments. Environments created with VR technology can incorporate elements essential to maximize motor learning, such as repetitive and varied task practice, performance feedback and motivation. Haptic technology can also be incorporated into VR environments to enhance the user's sense of presence and to make motor tasks more ecologically relevant to the participant. As a first step in the validation of the use of VR environments for rehabilitation, it is necessary to demonstrate that movements made in virtual environments are similar to those made in equivalent physical environments. This has been verified in a series of studies comparing pointing and reaching/grasping movements in physical and virtual environments. Because of the attributes of VR, rehabilitation of the upper limb using VR environments may lead to better rehabilitation outcomes than conventional approaches.
ICT Supporting Nurses and Physicians in Hospitals: Results of a Comparative Survey in Austria and Germany
Authors: Hübner Ursula  , Schaubmayr Christine  , Flemming Daniel  , Sellemann Björn  , Aehlen Christiane  , Ammenwerth Elske
Published: February 2025

This study aimed to compare the use of clinical information systems, particularly for nursing, in Austria and Germany. In 2007, all acute care hospitals in both countries received questionnaires with identical questions. 12.4% in Germany and 34.6% in Austria responded. The surveys revealed a consistent higher usage of clinical IT in Austrian than in German hospitals. It also included a significant difference in the percentage of electronic nursing records in use. These findings correspond with a significantly higher number of PC workstations on the wards. Despite these differences, Austrian and German hospitals reported a nearly identical IT budget. Factors which might have influenced the wider use of clinical IT are a re-focus on clinical matters after rigorous organisational changes, legal constraints and a general IT-friendly climate in Austria.
Telenursing in Primary Health Care: Report of Experience in Southern Brazil
Authors: Dias Valesca Pastore  , Witt Regina Rigatto  , Silveira Denise Tolfo  , Kolling João Henrique Godinho  , Fontanive Paulo  , de Castro Filho Eno Dias  , Harzheim Erno
Published: February 2025

The Rio Grande do Sul Telematics and Telehealth kernel in Brazil, aims to enhance the quality of the Unified Health System (UHS) in support of primary health care (PHC) services, most of them engaged in the Family Health Program (FHP). Among the initiatives of the TeleHealth Rio Grande do Sul, there is consulting via e-mail and videoconference. They are requested and answered using specific forms available on TeleHealth's intranet. This study registers the experience on supporting and answering demands using clinical evidence, and presents professional characteristics and some results reached until now. Data related to professional characteristics were extracted from a questionnaire prepared by the program execution team, and applied during training sessions in 2007 and 2008. Consults sent by nurses, technicians and community health agents were analyzed considering its number and content. The analyzed sample of nurses showed that 89.1% were female, 40% younger than 30 years old and the majority graduated within the past 5 years. Most of them (97) work for the FHP and 51.61% have a pos graduate degree. Most of the interviewed nurses use e-mail to communicate and the internet at least once a week. So far, the program TeleHealth Rio Grande do Sul have received 498 consult requests, 111 related to the nursing field. The nurses answer nursing related doubts, sent by nursing technicians and community health agents. The consults involve several different subjects, mainly on wounds, woman health, drugs and medicines. Considering the consults demanded, the group decided to create health care protocols, starting with the most requested subjects, such as the wounds, which is about to be released on the Rio Grande do Sul TeleHealth website.
Using Ruby On Rails
Authors: Blaz Jacquelyn W.  , Pearce Patricia F.
Published: February 2025

The world is becoming increasingly web-based. Health care institutions are utilizing the web for personal health records, surveillance, communication, and education; health care researchers are finding value in using the web for research subject recruitment, data collection, and follow-up. Programming languages, such as Java, require knowledge and experience usually found only in software engineers and consultants. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate Ruby on Rails™as a feasible alternative for programming questionnaires for use on the web. Ruby on Rails™was specifically designed for the development, deployment, and maintenance of database-backed web applications. It is flexible, customizable, and easy to learn. With a relatively little initial training, a novice programmer can create a robust web application in a small amount of time, without the need of a software consultant. The translation of the Children's Computerized Physical Activity Reporter (C-CPAR) from a local installation in Microsoft Access to a web-based format utilizing Ruby on Rails™is given as an example.
The Mat Study: Global Insight into the Medication Administration Process
Authors: Elganzouri Erika  , Standish Cynthia  , Androwich Ida
Published: February 2025

An important aspect of global patient safety that has recently become a focal topic is preventing adverse drug events. As many as 7000 patients die every year as a result of medication errors. (1) According to Bates, Spell, & Cullen, adverse drug events can cost up to an average of $8.4 million per year in a 700 bed hospital, not including injury to patient or malpractice costs. (2) Errors can occur throughout the process of ordering a medicine, dispensing, retrieving, and administrating process. Safety measures have been implemented for physicians prescribing medication and pharmacists dispensing medication through MARs and CPOE. However, there is no safety net for nursing. Bar coding can offer that safety net and allow the nurse to verify “the five rights” of medication administration electronically. However, prior to implementation of a bar coding medication system (BCMA), it is important for an institution to gain full understanding of its current nursing work flow during the medication administration process.
A Mobile Medicine Decision Support System for District Nurses
Authors: Johansson Pauline  , Petersson Göran  , Nilsson Gunilla
Published: February 2025

Inappropriate use of medicines increases the risk of hospital admissions for the elderly. Not only does this lead to unnecessary suffering for the patients but also incurs a great financial cost to the society. A medicine decision support system in a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), with a barcode reader, can provide an overview of the patients' complete medicine use, and detect unsuitable drugs and drug combinations. Focusing on the elderly, our aim was to evaluate if a mobile medicine decision support system with a barcode reader is useful and user-friendly for nurses in home care. The participants received a comprehensive overview from the patients' medicine use and noted drug-drug interactions, therapeutic duplications and warnings for drugs unsuitable for elderly people. The nurses regarded that the decision support system increased prevention and safety, was useful and user-friendly. Our findings suggest that most of the content and functions were regarded as important. Therefore, this decision support system might be a useful tool for district nurses.
Information Literacy: Using LISTEN Project Strategies to Equip Nurses Worldwide
Authors: Patterson Ramona  , Carter-Templeton Heather  , Russell Cynthia
Published: February 2025

The 21stcentury presents a major challenge in the form of information overload. In a profession where new knowledge is ever expanding, nurse educators must equip nurses to find the information they need to provide safe evidence-based care. Information literacy and information technology competencies have become a priority in nursing education, but inconsistencies in definitions, frameworks, content, and design, combined with ill-equipped faculty have hindered the development of a transferable model geared toward improving nurses' information literacy. Challenges are compounded for nurses in developing nations, where access to information and training for information literacy are both problematic. This paper describes experiences from the LISTEN project, during the 1st year of a 3-year funded Nurse Education Practice and Retention grant. Designed to improve information literacy competencies of student and workforce nurses, using individualized learning via interactive web-based modules, LISTEN provides on its' website a Did You Know video dramatizing the importance of information literacy to nurses, and offers resources for information literacy, information technology, and evidence-based nursing practice. Preliminary findings from beta testing reveal the module content is realistic, complete, and logical. The website and video have generated worldwide interest. Future possibilities include nationwide implementation and adaptation for the international arena.
The Use of Mobile Computational Technology in the Nursing Process: A New Challenge for Brazilian Nurses
Authors: Sperandio Dircelene Jussara  , Évora Yolanda Dora Martinez
Published: February 2025

The purpose of this study was to analyze the use a hand-mobile device with integrated wireless network interface to help nurses document the nursing process. The system is structured in five modules allowing the nurses to access and document data related to vital signals, hydroelectrolytic balance, assessment and nursing prescription at the point-of-care with transmission of data in real time. The results demonstrated that the mobile computer technology provided mobility for nurses and facilitated communication and documentation of care. In addition, real time documentation proved to be more efficient than a manual documentation system.
Personal Health Notes: Lessons Learned
Authors: Hellesø Ragnhild  , Sorensen Lena  , Slaughter Laura
Published: February 2025

The health care system is characterized by fragmentation and specialization which challenge the possibility for patients to be well-informed about and involved in their health care. The present study contributes to an in-depth understanding of how we can use patients' own personal health notes to learn about the health care information system and patients' experience of multiple encounters. The personal health note shows different aspects of the health care labyrinths considering the inconsistency as well as discontinuity of the information.
What Makes Nurses Perceive Differently on The Usability of Same System?
Authors: Lai Hsiang-Fen  , Chang Polun
Published: February 2025

Kardex system is important to provide rapid instructions for individual nursing care so it is important to measure and understand user's perceived usability of that system in order to make correct improvement. We evaluated 51 nurses' perceived ease to use and usefulness of the system and found the perceived usability could be affected by their computer skills, units, and shift report type.
Requirements Analysis for HL7 Message Development in Poison Control Center
Authors: Guo Jia-Wen  , Poynton Mollie  , Matney Susan  , Ellington Lee  , Crouch Barbara I.  , Caravati E. Martin
Published: February 2025

HL7 is the commonly accepted messaging standard for achieving interoperability among information systems. Until now, no analysis has been done on how poison control data can be matched in HL7 messages. The purpose of this study was to create a preliminary domain analysis model which can be used to identify the data required to message poison control data in HL7 messages.
Developing a Model for Elderly Care Plans
Authors: Kato Shogo  , Tsuru Satoko  , Iizuka Yoshinori
Published: February 2025

In Japan, a scientific methodology for determining the content of elderly care to be provided has not been established. In this study, we aim to develop databases consisting of the ADL (Activity of Daily Living) information required for our proposed “Process Model for Determining Elderly Care for ADL”. We developed the databases by considering the relevant literature and discussing the results with a group of professionals. Then, we modified the databases by applying them to actual cases. Further, we conducted a retrospective validation utilizing actual cases to confirm the adequacy of the databases.
HOHNEU: E-Learning in Occupational Health Education
Authors: Kokol Peter  , Blazun Helena
Published: February 2025

In the scope of the EU Leonardo project we developed an online master degree program in occupational health. During the project we performed two studies to research how the on line education is perceived by prospective students and lecturers. They showed that e-learning is an appropriate method for occupational health education but to be successful we also have to take into the consideration that health education requires some specific requirements which must be fulfilled.
Strategic Management of Health Care Information Systems: Nurse Managers' Perceptions
Authors: Lammintakanen Johanna  , Kivinen Tuula  , Saranto Kaija  , Kinnunen Juha
Published: February 2025

The aim of this study is to describe nurse managers' perceptions of the strategic management of information systems in health care. Lack of strategic thinking is a typical feature in health care and this may also concern information systems. The data for this study was collected by eight focus group interviews including altogether 48 nurse managers from primary and specialised health care. Five main categories described the strategic management of information systems in health care; IT as an emphasis of strategy; lack of strategic management of information systems; the importance of management; problems in privacy protection; and costs of IT. Although IT was emphasised in the strategies of many health care organisations, a typical feature was a lack of strategic management of information systems. This was seen both as an underutilisation of IT opportunities in health care organisations and as increased workload from nurse managers' perspective. Furthermore, the nurse managers reported that implementation of IT strengthened their managerial roles but also required stronger management. In conclusion, strategic management of information systems needs to be strengthened in health care and nurse managers should be more involved in this process.
Structuring Development Process of Learning Knowledge and Procedure in Healthcare Using the Unit Process Flow Chart
Authors: Shimono Ryoko  , Tsuru Satoko  , Kato Shogo  , Narita Shin  , Munechika Masahiko  , Iizuka Yoshinori
Published: February 2025

Websites are effective in supplying knowledge and learning methods in healthcare and also in improving them. However, either a supplier of the knowledge or a supplier of the learning method based on the knowledge is not able to accumulate what they have learnt through the development. We developed a system to improve development processes of knowledge and of learning method by using the methodology of quality management. In the development, we introduced a concept of Unit Process and used the ‘Unit Process Flow Chart’ in order to structure a process.
End-user Developed Workflow-based Hemodialysis Nursing Record System
Authors: Tai Hsin-Ling  , Lin Hsiu-Wen  , Ke Suh-Huei  , Lin Shu-Ai  , Chang Chiung-Chu  , Chang Polun
Published: February 2025

We reported how we decided to build our own Hemodialysis nursing record system using the end user computing strategy with Excel VBA. The project took one year to complete since we used our off-duty time and started everything from the grounds. We are proud of the final system which tightly meets our workflow and clinical needs. Its interface was carefully designed to be easy to use with a style.
Using Grid-Enabled Distributed Metadata Database to Index DICOM-SR
Authors: Blanquer Ignacio  , Hernandez Vicente  , Salavert José  , Segrelles Damià
Published: February 2025

Integrating medical data at inter-centre level implies many challenges that are being tackled from many disciplines and technologies. Medical informatics have applied an important effort on describing and standardizing Electronic Health Records, and specially standardisation has achieved an important extent on Medical Imaging. Grid technologies have been extensively used to deal with multi-domain authorisation issues and to provide single access points for accessing DICOM Medical Images, enabling the access and processing to large repositories of data. However, this approach introduces the challenge of efficiently organising data according to their relevance and interest, in which the medical report is a key factor. The present work shows an approach to efficiently code radiology reports to enable the multi-centre federation of data resources. This approach follows the tree-like structure of DICOM-SR reports in a self-organising metadata catalogue based on AMGA. This approach enables federating different but compatible distributed repositories, automatically reconfiguring the database structure, and preserving the autonomy of each centre in defining the template. Tools developed so far and some performance results are provided to prove the effectiveness of the approach.
An Easy Setup for Parallel Medical Image Processing: Using Taverna and ARC
Authors: Zhou Xin  , Krabbenhöft Hajo  , Niinimäki Marko  , Depeuringe Adrien  , Möller Steffen  , Müller Henning
Published: February 2025

Medical image processing is known as a computationally expensive and data intensive domain. It is thus well-suited for Grid computing. However, Grid computing usually requires the applications to be designed for parallel processing, which is a challenge for medical imaging researchers in hospitals that are most often not used to this. Making parallel programming methods easier to apply can promote Grid technologies in clinical environments. Readily available, functional tools with an intuitive interface are required to really promote healthgrids. Moreover, the tools need to be well integrated with the Grid infrastructure.
Enabling of Grid based Diffusion Tensor Imaging using a Workflow Implementation of FSL
Authors: Lützkendorf Ralf  , Bernarding Johannes  , Hertel Frank  , Viezens Fred  , Thiel Andreas  , Krefting Dagmar
Published: February 2025

Tensor analysis of diffusion weighted magnetic resonance images is increasingly used for non-invasive tracking of nerve fibers in the human brain. Diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) enables in-vivo research on the internal structure of the central nervous system, encompassing interconnection of functional areas, correlation between fiber deformations and certain desease patterns, as well as brain tumor localization. But the modeling of the local diffusion parameters is a computationally expensive part of the processing pipeline, resulting to run times up to days on standard desktop computers. A grid implementation of the algorithm with slice based parallelization reduces the processing down to 10% compared to a local cluster and 20% compared to sequential processing on the grid. A workflow implementation enables fault-tolerant handling of temporary failures within the grid. Furthermore, pure web-based access to the grid application allows for collaborative utilitzation even from protected infrastructures, as they are typically found in clinical environments.
The effect of sand grain roundness on the interpretation of CPTU penetration characteristics
Authors: Młynarek Zbigniew  , Wierzbicki Jędrzej  , Stefaniak Katarzyna
Published: February 2025

A characteristic element for the structure of subsoil in Poland is the occurrence of different geological formations in the construction-subsoil collaboration zone. For example, frequently sands of different genesis are found. Thus the assessment of their mechanical parameters is of considerable practical significance. Several factors, including overconsolidation ratio and roundness value of sand grains, affect the CPTU penetration characteristics used in the determination of strength and stress parameters. Especially the latter factor is relatively little known. In order to investigate the effect of roundness value of sand grains on cone resistance, CPTU were performed using a Hyson 20 Tf heavy static probe. Testing was conducted in the subsoil where glacifluvial, fluvial and eolic sands were found. In the analysis of recorded results existing correlations were analyzed in terms of their suitability for the determination of the relative density and effective friction angle.
Seismic stability analysis of reinforced soil structures using pseudo-static method
Authors: Munwar Basha B.  , Sivakumar Babu G.L.
Published: February 2025

The paper pertains to the pseudo-static seismic stability analysis of reinforced soil structures. Using limit equilibrium method and assuming the failure surface to be logarithmic spiral, analysis has been conducted to maintain internal stability against both tensile and pullout failure of the reinforcements. The influence of the intensity of the surcharge load placed on the backfill is also considered in the analysis. Studies have also been made regarding the influence of backfill soil friction angle, horizontal seismic accelerations, the tensile strength of reinforcement, pullout length of the reinforcement and number of reinforcement layers on the seismic stability against tension and pullout modes of failure.
Entropy concept to explain the particle breakage
Authors: Lorincz J.  , Imre E.  , Kárpáti L.  , Trang P.Q.  , Gálos M.  , Telekes G.
Published: February 2025

The well-known theories do not explain/predict the tendency of particle breakage for initially concave grading curves. The paper presents the results of some particle breakage initially concave moreover with initially A<0.5 grading curves. The tendency seems to be the same for these.
Experimental study of variation of shear wave velocity of Macao marine clay during one dimensional consolidation
Authors: Shi X.T.  , Lok M.H.
Published: February 2025

The work described in this paper is an experimental investigation on the variation of shear wave velocity of reconstituted Macau marine clay during consolidation using piezoelectric bender elements installed in oedometer. From the results of deformation and the simultaneously acquired shear wave velocity, variation of shear wave velocity during the consolidation process was closely studied. It was found that shear wave velocity drops slightly immediately upon loading, after which it generally increases with the increase of average degree of consolidation. The increase of shear wave velocity reflects the transfer of load from pore water pressure to skeletal stresses during the consolidation process. Based on the experimental results, the relationships between shear wave velocity and vertical effective stress; and between shear wave velocity and void ratio were proposed. These two separate empirical correlations can also be verified with the virgin compression line.
Assessment of a viscoelastoplastic constitutive model for asphalt mix response under repeated loading
Authors: Soltani H.  , Baziar M.H.
Published: February 2025

Civil engineers usually encounter the time-dependent behavior of materials in tunneling, road-building, mining and dam construction projects. The behavior of asphalt concrete material used in the construction of asphalt concrete core dam is the focus of this paper. In this research, a viscoelastoplastic constitutive model utilized to predict the material response for a given loading history. A series of creep tests with the variety of constant loads were implemented to extract the model parameters. The predicted response from the viscoelastoplasic model was compared with the measuerd data from a repeated loading test to evaluate the efficiency of the model for the prediction of the real behavior of material.
Contrainte effective étendue aux sols non saturés; Effet des paramètres d'interfaces
Authors: Taibi S.  , Dumont M.  , Fleureau J.M.
Published: February 2025

La notion de « contrainte effective étendue aux sols non saturés » est aujourd'hui l'un des concepts les plus controversés en mécanique des sols. Cette notion entre dans la formulation des lois de comportement aussi bien élastiques qu'élasto-plastiques de la phase solide, et contrôle les relations contrainte-déformation, les variations de volume et la résistance du squelette solide indépendamment de l'amplitude de la pression interstitielle. Ces dernières années, plusieurs chercheurs ont montré que le concept de contrainte effective étendu aux sols non saturés, reste un moyen efficace pour décrire qualitativement et quantitativement le comportement mécanique unifié des sols avec un passage du domaine saturé au non saturé et réciproquement. Le papier traite de l'effet de la tension superficielle air-eau et de la mouillabilité des particules solides par le liquide (angle de raccordement) dans la formulation de la force capillaire s'exerçant entre les particules. Celle-ci, intégrée dans un volume élémentaire représentatif (VER), permet de définir une contrainte “capillaire” σ′cap(pc), fonction de la pression capillaire pc. La prise en compte de la tension interfaciale dans l'estimation de la contrainte capillaire σ′cap, est loin d'être négligeable. Alors que cet effet est non significatif lorsque la teneur en eau tend vers 0, il devient vite très important lorsque la teneur en eau vaut quelques pourcents. Des validations ont été réalisées sur un sable argileux, une kaolinite et une roche poreuse composée de « grains » cimentés
Formation and repeatability of crack network in soil
Authors: Li Jinhui  , Zhang Limin
Published: February 2025

The formation process and repeatability of desiccation cracks in soils was studied through field surveys. The changes of crack porosity and aperture with drying time and water content were studied. Results show that the process of crack formation can be divided into three distinct stages: initial stage, primary stage, and steady state stage. In the initial stage few cracks appeared with gradually decreasing water content. After a few cracks appeared in the soil, the soil water would evaporate from the crack walls horizontally in addition to the water loss from the ground surface in the vertical direction. Formation of the crack network in this stage took place rather rapidly within one or two days and this was the primary stage. In the steady sate stage, both the crack porosity and crack aperture increased very slowly and tended to reach a steady state. The pattern and locations of the cracks during several wetting-drying cycles were found to be repeatable. Relatively large cracks might still be open at near saturation for a fresh soil experiencing the first few drying-wetting cycles because shrinkage during the first few drying cycles could cause irreversible fabric changes. Small cracks may disappear due to swelling of soil aggregates. However the cracks remained to be potential discontinuities when the crack aperture is not large enough to allow mitigation of soil particles in the cracks so that healing of cracks cannot take place.
Using an Open Source Observational Tool to Measure the Influence of the Doctor's Consulting Style and the Computer System on the Outcomes of the Clinical Consultation
Authors: De Lusignan Simon  , Kumarapeli Pushpa  , Debar Safia  , Kushniruk Andre W.  , Pearce Chris
Published: February 2025

Computerization of general practice is an international phenomenon. Many of the Electronic Patient Record (EPR) systems have developed organically with considerable variation in their interface and functionality. Consequently they have differing impact on the clinical consultation. There is a dearth of tools available to study their impact on the consultation. The objective is to use ALFA to film and analyze a simulated clinical consultation. We used the ALFA (Activity Log File Aggregation) open source toolkit, to make video based observation and analysis of the computer mediated consultation. ALFA enables precise comparison of core elements of EPR systems. It allows multiple video channels including screen capture, data about computer use, and verbal interactions to be synchronized, timed and navigated through for analysis. The toolkit is free and can be downloaded under an open source license from www.biomedicalinformatics.info/alfa/. Its outputs, which include Unified Modelling Language (UML), provide the evidence-base for assessing the impact of the computer on the consultation the designing of EPR systems. ALFA has been used to compare different brands of primary care computer systems; nurse case-load selection and consultation in psychiatry.
Can openEHR Archetypes Be Used in a National Context? The Danish Archetype Proof-of-Concept Project
Authors: Bernstein Knut  , Tvede Ida  , Petersen Jan  , Bredegaard Kirsten
Published: February 2025

Semantic interoperability and secondary use of data are important informatics challenges in modern healthcare. Connected Digital Health Denmark is investigating if the openEHR reference model, archetypes and templates could be used for representing and exchanging clinical content specification and could become a candidate for a national logical infrastructure for semantic interoperability. The Danish archetype proof-of-concept project has tried out some elements of the openEHR methodology in cooperation with regions and vendors. The project has pointed out benefits and challenges using archetypes, and has identified barriers that need to be addressed in the next steps.
A Medical Device Domain Analysis Model Based on HL7 RIM
Authors: Luzi Daniela  , Pecoraro Fabrizio  , Mercurio Gregorio  , Ricci Fabrizio L.
Published: February 2025

Clinical investigations (CIs) are carried out to demonstrate safety and efficacy of new Medical Devices (MDs). The presence of many stakeholders participating in CIs makes it necessary to develop a common standard language to achieve semantic interoperability among systems and organizations. In Italy the National Research Council is carrying out a project supported by Ministry of Health aiming to develop an information system (MEDIS) that manages MD clinical investigations. In order to develop a flexible and interoperable system, MEDIS design has been based on the application of HL7 (Health Level 7) v.3 standards. This paper presents the results of the MEDIS design: the MD DAM based on HL7 RIM.
Semantic Interoperability between Health Communication Standards through Formal Ontologies
Authors: Oemig Frank  , Blobel Bernd
Published: February 2025

The paper shortly analyses the HL7 communication standards for resolving the gap between them by developing a set of ontologies reflecting the concepts and relationships which is exemplified with the incompatible HL7 versions 2.x and 3. Bridging between the different ontologies is performed by introducing a reference ontology to which a mapping is defined. The paper discusses problems and solutions which appeared during the development process.
Towards ISO 13606 and openEHR Archetype-Based Semantic Interoperability
Authors: Martínez-Costa Catalina  , Menárguez-tortosa Marcos  , Fernández-Breis Jesualdo Tomás
Published: February 2025

Semantic interoperability of clinical standards is a major challenge in eHealth across Europe. It would allow healthcare professionals to manage the complete electronic healthcare record of the patient regardless of which institution generated each clinical session. Clinical archetypes are fundamental for the consecution of semantic interoperability, but they are built for particular electronic healthcare record standards. Therefore, methods for transforming archetypes between standards are needed. In this work, a method for transforming archetypes between ISO 13606 and openEHR, based on Model-Driven Engineering and Semantic Web technologies, is presented.
Information Systems for Administration, Clinical Documentation and Quality Assurance in an Austrian Disease Management Programme
Authors: Beck Peter  , Truskaller Thomas  , Rakovac Ivo  , Bruner Fritz  , Zanettin Dominik  , Pieber Thomas R.
Published: February 2025

5.9% of the Austrian population is affected by diabetes mellitus. Disease Management is a structured treatment approach that is suitable for application to the diabetes mellitus area and often is supported by information technology. This article describes the information systems developed and implemented in the Austrian disease management programme for type 2 diabetes. Several workflows for administration as well as for clinical documentation have been implemented utilizing the Austrian e-Health infrastructure. De-identified clinical data is available for creating feedback reports for providers and programme evaluation.
A Knowledge Model Driven Solution for Web-Based Telemedicine Applications
Authors: Nageba Ebrahim  , Fayn Jocelyne  , Rubel Paul
Published: February 2025

Building knowledge-based telemedicine systems to deliver high quality services is still a challenge. The availability and capability of different human, communication and material resources play an important role in the telemedical task management process especially in emergency scenarios. In this paper we propose a knowledge model enabling intelligent, ubiquitous telemedicine tasks management. The objective of this model is to support the quality of telemedical services delivered by web-based telemedicine applications. The methodology is based on a telemedicine tasks ontology representing the concepts and their interrelations, and on a set of rules that shall be applied by a Reasoner for decision making. This architecture design shall optimize the messages exchange among the different actors in the telemedicine systems, consequently providing more rapid and reliable telemedicine assistance.
An Automated Voice Response System for Anticoagulant Therapy Management
Authors: Quaglini Silvana  , Giorgino Toni  , Rojas-Barahona Lina M.  , Caffi Ezio  , De Vito Mauro  , Persico Alessandra  , Cavallini Anna
Published: February 2025

The system described in this paper is aimed at improving the clinical workflow of post-stroke patients under oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT). The system helps both physicians and patients during the periodic control visits necessary to assess the anticoagulation status and the next therapeutic plan. Controls represent a burden for both patients, which after blood drawing must wait for the result, and for physicians, that, after assessing the therapy plan, must communicate it to patients, face-to-face or by telephone. A system is proposed, which embeds an algorithm for the patient-tailored calculation of the drug dosage and scheduling, and an automatic telephone dialogue for the communication of the therapy plan, once it has been validated or adjusted by the physician.
An Evolutionary Approach to the Representation of Adverse Events
Authors: Ceusters Werner  , Capolupo Maria  , Smith Barry  , De Moor Georges
Published: February 2025

One way to detect, monitor and prevent adverse events with the help of Information Technology is by using ontologies capable of representing three levels of reality: what is the case, what is believed about reality, and what is represented. We report on how Basic Formal Ontology and Referent Tracking exhibit this capability and how they are used to develop an adverse event ontology and related data annotation scheme for the European ReMINE project.
Knowledge Discovery about Quality of Life Changes of Spinal Cord Injury Patients: Clustering Based on Rules by States
Authors: Gibert Karina  , García-Rudolph Alejandro  , Curcoll Lluïsa  , Soler Dolors  , Pla Laura  , Tormos José María
Published: February 2025

In this paper, an integral Knowledge Discovery Methodology, named Clustering based on rules by States, which incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) and statistical methods as well as interpretation-oriented tools, is used for extracting knowledge patterns about the evolution over time of the Quality of Life (QoL) of patients with Spinal Cord Injury. The methodology incorporates the interaction with experts as a crucial element with the clustering methodology to guarantee usefulness of the results. Four typical patterns are discovered by taking into account prior expert knowledge. Several hypotheses are elaborated about the reasons for psychological distress or decreases in QoL of patients over time. The knowledge discovery from data (KDD) approach turns out, once again, to be a suitable formal framework for handling multidimensional complexity of the health domains.
Object-Oriented Integrated Approach for the Design of Scalable ECG Systems
Authors: Boskovic Dusanka  , Besic Ingmar  , Avdagic Zikrija
Published: February 2025

The paper presents the implementation of Object-Oriented (OO) integrated approaches to the design of scalable Electro-Cardio-Graph (ECG) Systems. The purpose of this methodology is to preserve real-world structure and relations with the aim to minimize the information loss during the process of modeling, especially for Real-Time (RT) systems. We report on a case study of the design that uses the integration of OO and RT methods and the Unified Modeling Language (UML) standard notation. OO methods identify objects in the real-world domain and use them as fundamental building blocks for the software system. The gained experience based on the strongly defined semantics of the object model is discussed and related problems are analyzed.