Search Results (9)

Aircraft design and development is complex and regulated by increasingly stringent regulatory documentation. While many disciplines manage design complexity with well-established digital tools, digital transformation of the certification process remains in the early stages of implementation. Models are often used to provide explicit structures to facilitate digital transformation. While several modeling approaches have been applied to regulatory documentation, a gap remains for an established list of requirements for developing effective models in the context of digital transformation. This paper proposes a list of requirements using a requirements elicitation framework adapted from the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) Needs and Requirements Manual. The adapted research methodology includes problem identification, needs assessment, and requirements development processes. The resulting requirements are validated against needs statements and verified against selected INCOSE requirement statement criteria. Four requirements are selected for a detailed feasibility assessment, which compares the efficacy of process mapping, Unified Modeling Language (UML), and ontological modeling methods to realize the requirements. Full article

In the context of digital transformation, the varying dimensions of digital maturity significantly influence value creation enhancement for enterprises. Optimizing these dimensions to augment corporate value represents an urgent challenge for manufacturing enterprises. This study examines 355 listed automotive manufacturing enterprises (including auto parts and related businesses) through multi-case analysis, grounded theory, and QCA methodology to investigate the intrinsic mechanisms and pathways linking digital transformation with value enhancement in automotive manufacturing. The sample enterprises were categorized by industry type into capital-intensive, technology-intensive, and labor-technology-intensive manufacturers, and were then further segmented into complete vehicle manufacturers, component manufacturers, and related industry manufacturers. The selection criteria emphasized enterprises with explicit digital transformation strategies, sufficient transformation documentation, complete annual reports, stable core operations, and anomaly-free key data. The key findings include the following: (1) Grounded theory identified service digitalization, environmental digitalization, middleware digitalization, marketing digitalization, and R&D digitalization as critical variables, with enterprise value enhancement requiring multi-dimensional synergies rather than single-factor determinants. (2) Configuration analysis revealed that comprehensive empowerment type (consistency > 0.8, coverage 35.9%) drives high-value enhancement, while service-deficiency, R&D-deficiency, and marketing-deficiency configurations characterize non-high-value scenarios. Service, R&D, and marketing digitalization emerge as core-value-enhancing competencies (consistency 0.817, coverage 75.9%). (3) Heterogeneous driving forces were observed across vehicle manufacturers, component manufacturers, and related industry manufacturers, though service digitalization constitutes a common-value-enhancing element. This research provides theoretical insights into manufacturing digital transformation’s value creation mechanisms and strategic implications, addressing current academic gaps. However, the automotive industry focus limits generalizability despite its concrete exploration of industry-specific digital transformation. Future studies should expand industry coverage and conduct comparative analyses to enhance theoretical robustness. Full article

Background: In geriatrics, explicit criteria for potentially inappropriate prescriptions (PIPs) are useful for optimizing drug use. Objective: To produce an expert consensus on explicit definitions of antibiotic-PIPs for hospitalized older patients. Methods: We conducted a Delphi survey involving French experts on antibiotic stewardship in hospital settings. During the survey’s rounds, the experts gave their opinion on each explicit definition, and could suggest new definitions. Definitions with a 1-to-9 Likert score of between 7 and 9 from at least 75% of the participants were adopted. The results were discussed during consensus meetings after each round. Results: Of the 155 invited experts, 128 (82.6%) participated in the whole survey: 59 (46%) infectious diseases specialists, 45 (35%) geriatricians, and 24 (19%) other specialists. In Round 1, 65 explicit definitions were adopted and 21 new definitions were suggested. In Round 2, 35 other explicit definitions were adopted. The results were validated during consensus meetings (with 44 participants after Round 1, and 54 after Round 2). Conclusions: The present study is the first to have provided a list of explicit definitions of potentially inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions for hospitalized older patients. It might help to disseminate key messages to prescribers and reduce inappropriate prescriptions of antibiotics. Full article

(1) Background: Some medications may be dangerous for older patients. Potentially inappropriate medication prescribing (PIP) among older patients represents a significant cause of morbidity. The aim of this study was to create an algorithm to detect PIP in a geriatric database (Multidomain Alzheimer Preventive Trial (MAPT) study), and then to assess the algorithm construct validity by comparing the prevalence of PIP and associated factors with literature data. (2) Methods: An algorithm was constructed to detect PIP and was based on different explicit criteria among which the European list of potentially inappropriate medications (EU(7)-PIM), the STOPP and START version 2 tools. For construct validity assessment, logistic mixed-effects model repeated measures analyses were used to identify factors associated with PIP. (3) Results: Prevalence of PIP was 59.0% with the EU(7)-PIM list criteria, 43.2% with the STOPP criteria and 51.3% with the START criteria. Age, polypharmacy, and higher Charlson comorbidity index were associated with PIP. (4) Conclusions: Prevalence of PIP and associated factors are consistent with literature data, supporting the construct validity of our algorithm. This algorithm opens up interesting perspectives both in terms of analysis of very large databases and integration into e-prescribing or pharmaceutical validation software. Full article

Heat and mass transfer due to a magneto micropolar fluid flow along a semi-infinite vertical plate bounded by a porous medium are investigated in presence of induced magnetic field. In case of cooling flow, heat and mass fluxes from the plate are subjected to be constant under the action of a constant heat sink. Mathematical model related to the problem is developed from the basis of studying magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) for both lighter and heavier particles. Dimensionless model of momentum, microrotation, induction, energy and concentration equations are solved simultaneously by the explicit scheme of finite difference technique. According to the obtained stability and convergence criteria of this transient flow, very negligible time step (Δt = 0.002) compared to the existing works has been taken to perform the numerical computation. Quantities of chief physical interest of the flow as shear stress, couple stress, current density, Nusselt number and Sherwood number are also studied here. The numerically computed results are compared with published results of available research works. Interestingly an excellent agreement is found with finite difference solutions in both explicit and implicit schemes. In order to discuss the physical aspects of the problem, the flow variables for different values of associated parameters are illustrated in graphs. Finally, important findings of the study are listed as concluding remarks. Full article

Purpose: To identify the prevalence of potentially inappropriate drug prescription in a sample of nursing home residents in France, combining explicit criteria and implicit approach and to involve pharmacists in the multi-professional process of therapeutic optimization. Methods: A cross-sectional, observational, multicenter study was conducted during a five-month period in a sample of French nursing homes. Information on drug prescription, diseases, and socio-demographic characteristics of nursing home residents was collected. For each prescription, identification of potentially inappropriate drug prescription was done, based on explicit and implicit criteria. Results: Nursing home residents were administered an average of 8.1 (SD 3.2, range 0–20) drugs per day. Nearly 87% (n = 237) of the residents had polypharmacy with five or more drugs prescribed per day. Among the 274 nursing home residents recruited from five nursing homes, 212 (77.4%) had at least one potentially inappropriate drug prescription. According to the Laroche list, 84 residents (30.7%) had at least one drug with an unfavorable benefit–harm balance. An overdosing was found for 20.1% (n = 55) of the residents. Nearly 30% (n = 82) of the residents had a drug prescribed without valid medical indication. Conclusions: This study shows that potentially inappropriate drug prescriptions are highly prevalent among nursing home residents, nevertheless pharmacists can take part in drug utilization review in collaboration with the nursing home staff. Full article

Studies of the emissions from wildland fires are important for understanding the role of these events in the production, transport, and fate of emitted gases and particulate matter, and, consequently, their impact on atmospheric and ecological processes, and on human health and wellbeing. Wildland fire emission research provides the quantitative information needed for the understanding and management of wildland fire emissions impacts based on human needs. Recent work to characterize emissions from specific fuel types, or those from specific areas, has implicitly been driven by the recognition of the importance of those fuel types in the context of wildland fire science; however, the importance of specific fuels in driving investigations of biomass-burning emissions has not been made explicit thus far. Here, we make a first attempt to discuss the development and application of criteria to answer the question, “What are the most important fuels for biomass-burning emissions investigations to inform wildland fire science and management?” Four criteria for fuel selection are proposed: “(1) total emissions, (2) impacts, (3) availability and uncertainty, and (4) potential for future importance.” Attempting to develop and apply these criteria, we propose a list of several such fuels, based on prior investigations and the body of wildland-fire emission research. Full article

There is evidence that forest resiliency is declining in the western US due to recent increases in both areas burned by wildfire and the number of large fires. Fire refugia may increase forest resiliency; however, for land managers to incorporate fire refugia into their management plans, methods need to be developed to identify and rank criteria for what make fire refugia important. As part of a larger effort to build a spatially explicit ranking model for unburned islands in the inland northwestern US, we investigated the perceived importance of criteria used to inform a ranking model to identify high-value fire refugia. We developed a survey targeting land managers within the inland northwestern US. Participants were asked to score a predetermined list of criteria by their importance for determining the value of fire refugia. These scores were analyzed to identify trends among respondents that could be used to develop a fire refugia ranking model. The results indicate that respondents generally organized criteria into two groups: Human infrastructure and wildlife habitat. However, there was little consensus among respondents in their scoring of fire refugia importance criteria, suggesting that a single region-wide fire refugia ranking model may not be feasible. More research with a larger sample size is needed to develop targeted ranking models. Full article

Background: Nursing home residents often have several conditions that necessitate the use of multiple medicines. This study investigates the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) and its associations with sex, age, number of medicines, and study location (rural/urban). Methods: A cross-sectional study of long-term care residents from six nursing homes. Data was collected from medical records. We identified PIMs by applying the NORGEP-NH criteria. We conducted a Poisson regression analysis to investigate the association between the number of PIMs and sex, age, number of medicines, and study location. Results: We included 103 (18.4%) of 559 residents (68.0% women; mean age 83.2 years, mean number of daily used medicines 7.2 (SD = 3.6)). We identified PIMs in 56% of the residents (mean number = 1.10, SD = 1.26). In adjusted analyses, residents ≥80 years had 0.43 fewer PIMs compared to residents <80 years (p < 0.05). Residents using 4–6, 7–9, and 10+ medicines had on average 0.73, 1.06, and 2.11 more PIMs compared to residents using 0–3 medicines (p < 0.001), respectively. Conclusion: PIM use is prevalent among nursing home residents and is significantly associated with age and number of medicines. Our findings suggest a modest decrease in residents using PIMs compared to previous studies. Nevertheless, prescribing quality in nursing home residents in both urban and rural areas is still of great concern. Full article