Abstract Background: One of the most challenging issues for the elderly population is the clinical state of frailty. Frailty is defined as a cumulative decline across psychological, physical, and social functioning. Hospitalization is one of the most stressful events for older people who are becoming frail. The aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of interventions focused on management of frailty in hospitalized frail older adults. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of research was conducted using the Medline, Embase, Cochrane, ProQuest, CINAHL, SCOPUS and Web of Science electronic databases for papers published between 2000 and 2019. Randomized controlled studies were included that were aimed at the management of frailty in hospitalized older adults. The outcomes which were examined included frailty; physical, psychological, and social domains; length of stay in hospital; re-hospitalization; mortality; patient satisfaction; and the need for post discharge placement. Results: After screening 7976 records and 243 full-text articles, seven studies (3 interventions) were included, involving 1009 hospitalized older patients. The quality of these studies was fair to poor and the risk of publication bias in the studies was low. Meta-analysis of the studies showed statistically significant differences between the intervention and control groups for the management of frailty in hospitalized older adults (ES = 0.35; 95% CI: 0. 067–0.632; z = 2.43; P < 0.015). However, none of the included studies evaluated social status, only a few of the studies evaluated other secondary outcomes. The analysis also showed that a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment unit intervention was effective in addressing physical and psychological frailty, re-hospitalization, mortality, and patient satisfaction. Conclusions: Interventions for hospitalized frail older adults are effective in management of frailty. Multidimensional interventions conducted by a multidisciplinary specialist team in geriatric settings are likely to be effective in the care of hospitalized frail elderly. Due to the low number of RCTs carried out in a hospital setting and the low quality of existing studies, there is a need for new RCTs to be carried out to generate a protocol appropriate for frail older people.
Developing a framework that integrates Advanced Language Models into the qualitative research process.Qualitative research, vital for understanding complex phenomena, is often limited by labour-intensive data collection, transcription, and analysis processes. This hinders scalability, accessibility, and efficiency in both academic and industry contexts. As a result, insights are often delayed or incomplete, impacting decision-making, policy development, and innovation. The lack of tools to enhance accuracy and reduce human error exacerbates these challenges, particularly for projects requiring large datasets or quick iterations. Addressing these inefficiencies through AI-driven solutions like AIDA can empower researchers, enhance outcomes, and make qualitative research more inclusive, impactful, and efficient.The AIDA project enhances qualitative research by integrating AI technologies to streamline transcription, coding, and analysis processes. This innovation enables researchers to analyse larger datasets with greater efficiency and accuracy, providing faster and more comprehensive insights. By reducing manual effort and human error, AIDA empowers organisations to make informed decisions and implement evidence-based policies more effectively. Its scalability supports diverse societal and industry applications, from healthcare to market research, fostering innovation and addressing complex challenges. Ultimately, AIDA contributes to improving research quality, accessibility, and societal relevance, driving advancements across multiple sectors.
National forestry Commission (SBB) and National Park De Biesbosch. Subcontractor through NRITNational parks with large flows of visitors have to manage these flows carefully. Methods of data collection and analysis can be of help to support decision making. The case of the Biesbosch National Park is used to find innovative ways to figure flows of yachts, being the most important component of water traffic, and to create a model that allows the estimation of changes in yachting patterns resulting from policy measures. Recent policies oriented at building additional waterways, nature development areas and recreational concentrations in the park to manage the demands of recreation and nature conservation offer a good opportunity to apply this model. With a geographical information system (GIS), data obtained from aerial photographs and satellite images can be analyzed. The method of space syntax is used to determine and visualize characteristics of the network of leisure routes in the park and to evaluate impacts resulting from expected changes in the network that accompany the restructuring of waterways.
Chemical preservation is an important process that prevents foods, personal care products, woods and household products, such as paints and coatings, from undesirable change or decomposition by microbial growth. To date, many different chemical preservatives are commercially available, but they are also associated with health threats and severe negative environmental impact. The demand for novel, safe, and green chemical preservatives is growing, and this process is further accelerated by the European Green Deal. It is expected that by the year of 2050 (or even as soon as 2035), all preservatives that do not meet the ‘safe-by-design’ and ‘biodegradability’ criteria are banned from production and use. To meet these European goals, there is a large need for the development of green, circular, and bio-degradable antimicrobial compounds that can serve as alternatives for the currently available biocidals/ preservatives. Anthocyanins, derived from fruits and flowers, meet these sustainability goals. Furthermore, preliminary research at the Hanze University of Applied Science has confirmed the antimicrobial efficacy of rose and tulip anthocyanin extracts against an array of microbial species. Therefore, these molecules have the potential to serve as novel, sustainable chemical preservatives. In the current project we develop a strategy consisting of fractionation and state-of-the-art characterization methods of individual anthocyanins and subsequent in vitro screening to identify anthocyanin-molecules with potent antimicrobial efficacy for application in paints, coatings and other products. To our knowledge this is the first attempt that combines in-depth chemical characterization of individual anthocyanins in relation to their antimicrobial efficacy. Once developed, this strategy will allow us to single out anthocyanin molecules with antimicrobial properties and give us insight in structure-activity relations of individual anthocyanins. Our approach is the first step towards the development of anthocyanin molecules as novel, circular and biodegradable non-toxic plant-based preservatives.
