Effect of a monitored home-based exercise program combined with a behavior change intervention and a smartphone app on walking distances and quality of life in adults with peripheral arterial disease: the WalkingPad randomized clinical trial.

Aims: Investigate whether a Home-based Exercise Therapy (HBET) program for patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) and Intermittent Claudication (IC) with a behavior change intervention, supported by a smartphone application, is effective in improving walking distances and performance, and quality of life (QoL) over 6 months. Methods and results: This was a single-center, prospective, two-arm, single-blinded randomized controlled trial including 73 patients with PAD and IC, and three assessment moments: baseline, 3, and 6 months. Participants were randomized to receive a walking exercise prescription, with the support (n = 38) or without the support (n = 35) of the WalkingPad app, between January 2021 and July 2022. Both groups received two face-to-face behavior change sessions and 12 structured and targeted reinforcement phone calls over 6 months. Primary outcomes were between-group differences in pain-free walking distance (PFWD), functional walking distance (FWD), maximal walking distance (MWD), and 6-min walk distance (6 MWD) at 3 and 6 months. Secondary outcomes were QoL and walking impairment. Seventy-three patients (mean age 64 ± 7.2 years, 88% men) participated in this study, 60 of whom completed the three assessment moments. The whole sample significantly improved all primary outcomes in the first 3 months; that is, the average PFWD (151.1 m), FWD (175.2 m), MWD (171.1 m), and 6 MWD (30.8 m) increased from T1 to T2. Only MWD exhibited a significant average increase (35.0 m). Secondary outcomes also increased from baseline to 3 and 6 months. There were no between-group differences, except for MWD, which showed a greater increase at 6 months in the group that used the app, excluding patients with weak walking ability and extreme anxiety symptoms at baseline. Conclusion: The intervention improved distances and walking skills as well as the physical, mental, and disease-related quality of life among adults with PAD and IC. The group that used the WalkingPad app improved their MWD in 6 months compared to the control group, except for patients with poor walking ability and extreme anxiety symptoms, which suggests the effectiveness of the WalkingPad app for patients with high walking ability and no severe anxiety symptoms. More research is needed to determine the durability of these findings and to explore what app functionality might promote the other outcomes. Clinical Trial Registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04749732).

Six-month effects of supervised exercise on walking ability and health-related factors in peripheral arterial disease: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: In peripheral arterial disease (PAD) patients with intermittent claudication (IC), the combination of aerobic and resistance exercises could counteract muscle loss and attenuate disease progression. This study analyzed the effects of six months of a combined exercise program on walking ability, lower limb body composition, cardiovascular risk factors, and Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI). METHODS: Twenty-three patients (age 63.2±1.5 years and ABI 0.58±0.07) with PAD and IC were allocated to a control group (CG) or a supervised exercise group (SUP). Ten patients underwent six months of treadmill walking combined with resistance exercises, three times a week. The CG (N.=13) received a recommendation for walking. All patients were measured at baseline (M0), after three months (M3), and six months (M6). RESULTS: During constant treadmill protocol, the claudication onset time/distance (COT/COD), absolute claudication time/distance (ACT/ACD), and number of pauses of overall patients significantly improved at M3 and M6. Between groups were found significant differences in COT and COD at M6 (P=0.005 and P=0.007, respectively); and in ACT and ACD at M3 (P=0.003 for both) and at M6 (P=0.005 and P=0.005, respectively), with major improvements in the SUP. Over the six months, a significant group effect was found in fat-free mass (P=0.041) and predicted muscle mass (P=0.039) of the lower ABI leg, with greater improvements in the SUP. CONCLUSIONS: A supervised exercise program that combines aerobic and resistance training improves PAD symptoms and has additional benefits for patients. Patients in the program showed improvements in walking ability, lower-limb body composition, perceived exertion, and heart rate during treadmill walking.

A Model for Cognitive Personalization of Microtask Design.

The study of data quality in crowdsourcing campaigns is currently a prominent research topic, given the diverse range of participants involved. A potential solution to enhancing data quality processes in crowdsourcing is cognitive personalization, which involves appropriately adapting or assigning tasks based on a crowd worker's cognitive profile. There are two common methods for assessing a crowd worker's cognitive profile: administering online cognitive tests, and inferring behavior from task fingerprinting based on user interaction log events. This article presents the findings of a study that investigated the complementarity of both approaches in a microtask scenario, focusing on personalizing task design. The study involved 134 unique crowd workers recruited from a crowdsourcing marketplace. The main objective was to examine how the administration of cognitive ability tests can be used to allocate crowd workers to microtasks with varying levels of difficulty, including the development of a deep learning model. Another goal was to investigate if task fingerprinting can be used to allocate crowd workers to different microtasks in a personalized manner. The results indicated that both objectives were accomplished, validating the usage of cognitive tests and task fingerprinting as effective mechanisms for microtask personalization, including the development of a deep learning model with 95% accuracy in predicting the accuracy of the microtasks. While we achieved an accuracy of 95%, it is important to note that the small dataset size may have limited the model's performance.

Detection of Intermittent Claudication from Smartphone Inertial Data in Community Walks Using Machine Learning Classifiers.

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) causes blockage of the arteries, altering the blood flow to the lower limbs. This blockage can cause the individual with PAD to feel severe pain in the lower limbs. The main contribution of this research is the discovery of a solution that allows the automatic detection of the onset of claudication based on data analysis from patients' smartphones. For the data-collection procedure, 40 patients were asked to walk with a smartphone on a thirty-meter path, back and forth, for six minutes. Each patient conducted the test twice on two different days. Several machine learning models were compared to detect the onset of claudication on two different datasets. The results suggest that we can identify the onset of claudication using inertial sensors with a best case accuracy of 92.25% for the Extreme Gradient Boosting model.

A systematic review on smartphone use for activity monitoring during exercise therapy in intermittent claudication.

OBJECTIVE: Supervised exercise therapy is recommended as first line in the management of intermittent claudication. Its use is often limited by accessibility, compliance and cost. Home-based exercise therapy (HBET) programs emerged as an alternative solution, but have shown inferior results. The use of structured monitoring with the use of external wearable activity monitors (WAM) has been shown to improve outcomes. Mobile applications (apps) can make use of built-in accelerometers of modern smartphones and become an alternative solution for monitoring patients during HBET, potentially providing wider accessibility. This review aims to assess current use of smartphone technology (ie, mobile apps) for monitoring or tracking patients' activity in exercise therapy for peripheral arterial disease (PAD). METHODS: The PubMed database was searched from January 2011 to September 2021. Eligible articles had to include a population of patients with PAD, conduct a mobile-health exercise intervention and use smartphone technology for monitoring or tracking patients' activity. Randomized controlled trials, prospective studies, and study protocols were included. RESULTS: A total of seven articles met the selection criteria. These articles described six different studies and five different mobile apps. Three were fitness apps (FitBit, Nike+ FuelBand, and Garmin Connect) that synchronized with commercially available WAMs to provide users with feedback. Two were PAD-specific apps (TrackPAD and Movn) developed specifically to assess patients' activity during exercise therapy. PAD-specific apps also incorporated coaching and educational elements such as weekly goal setting, claudication reminders, messaging, gamification, training advice, and PAD education. CONCLUSIONS: Current HBET programs use smartphone apps mainly via commercially available fitness apps that synchronize with WAM devices to register and access data. PAD-specific apps are scarce, but show promising features that can be used to monitor, train, coach, and educate patients during HBET programs. Larger studies combining these elements into HBET programs should provide future direction.

WalkingPad protocol: a randomized clinical trial of behavioral and motivational intervention added to smartphone-enabled supervised home-based exercise in patients with peripheral arterial disease and intermittent claudication.

BACKGROUND: Physical exercise is a first-line treatment for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and intermittent claudication (IC) reducing pain and increasing the distances walked. Home-based exercise therapy (HBET) has the advantage of reaching a higher number of patients and increasing adherence to physical exercise as it is performed in the patient's residential area and does not have the time, cost, and access restrictions of supervised exercise therapy (SET) implemented in a clinical setting. Even so, rates of adherence to physical exercise are relatively low, and therefore, m-health tools are promising in increasing motivation to behavior change and adherence to physical exercise. A built-in virtual assistant is a patient-focused tool available in a mobile interface, providing a variety of functions including health education, motivation, and implementation of behavior change techniques. METHODS: This is a single-center, prospective, three-arm, single-blind, randomized, controlled, superior clinical trial with stratified and blocked random allocation. Three hundred participants with PAD and IC will be recruited from an Angiology and Vascular Surgery Department, Centro Hospitalar Universitário Porto (CHUPorto), Porto, Portugal. All patients will receive the same medical care recommended by  current guidelines. Participants in all three groups will receive a personalized prescription for an HBET program and a behavioral change and motivational intervention. Participants in experimental groups 1 and 2 will receive a smartphone with the WalkingPad app to monitor exercise sessions. Experimental group 2 WalkingPad app will have a built-in virtual assistant that will promote behavioral change and provide motivational support. Participants allocated to the active control group will not receive the m-health tool, but a practice diary to encourage monitoring. The  program will last for 6 months with three evaluation moments (baseline, 3, and 6 months). The primary outcome will be the change in distances walked (maximal and pain-free) from baseline to 3 and 6 months. Secondary outcomes will be changes in quality of life, patients' perception of resistance, and walking speed. DISCUSSION: This study will allow measuring the effectiveness of an m-health tool in increasing motivation for behavior change and adherence to an HBET program in patients with PAD. The superiority of experimental group 2 in the primary and secondary outcomes will indicate that the virtual assistant is effective for motivating behavioral change and encouraging the practice and adherence to physical exercise. The use of m-health tools and virtual health assistants can potentially fill a gap in the access and quality of health services and information, reducing the burden on the health system and promoting self-management and self-care in chronic illness. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04749732 . Registered on 10 February 2021.

Violência sexual perpetrada na adolescência e fase adulta: análise dos casos notificados na capital de Rondônia / Violencia sexual perpetrada en adolescencia y fase adulta: análisis de casos denunciados en la capital de Rondônia / Sexual violence perpetrated in adolescence and adult phase: analysis of reported cases in the capital of Rondônia

Resumo Objetivo analisar o perfil epidemiológico dos casos notificados de violência sexual perpetrada contra as mulheres em Porto Velho, Rondônia. Método estudo quantitativo, descritivo, transversal, incluindo os casos de violência contra mulheres com idade igual ou superior a 12 anos registrados no Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação no período de 2010 a 2018. Resultados verificou-se significância estatística entre mulheres que sofreram violência sexual em relação à escolaridade (p=0,000); situação conjugal/civil (p=0,000); se eram gestantes (p=0,026); se o agressor possuía vínculo/grau de parentesco como cônjuge/namorado (p=0,000); ex-cônjuge/namorado (p=0,002); amigos/conhecidos (p=0,015); desconhecido (p=0,000); suspeita do uso de álcool (p=0,001); local da ocorrência (p=0,000), se ocorreu outras vezes (p=0,000); procedimento realizado (aborto previsto em lei (p=0,001), contracepção de emergência (p=0,001), coleta de material (p=0,012) e profilaxia (p=0,000)); e meio usado na agressão (força corporal/espancamento (p=0,000), ameaça (p=0,031), objeto perfurocortante (p=0,000), arma de fogo (p=0,000), enforcamento (p=0,000) e objeto contundente (p=0,019)). Conclusão e implicações na prática evidenciou-se a violência sexual como prevalente na adolescência, independentemente da faixa etária, e o tipo de agressão foi o estupro. A contribuição possibilitará direcionar esforços na prevenção desse agravo em grupos de idades mais jovens nas diferentes formas de relacionamentos.

Resumen Objetivo analizar el perfil epidemiológico de los casos denunciados de violencia sexual perpetrados contra mujeres en Porto Velho, Rondônia. Método estudio transversal, cuantitativo y descriptivo, que incluye casos de violencia contra mujeres de 12 años o más registrados en el Sistema de Información de Enfermedades de Notificación Obligatoria de 2010 a 2018. Resultados se encontró significación estadística entre las mujeres que sufrieron violencia sexual en relación con la escolaridad (p=0.000); el estado civil/conyugal (p=0.000); si eran mujeres embarazadas (p=0,026); agresor que tenía una relación/grado de parentesco cónyuge/novio (p=0,000); ex-cónyuge/novio (p=0,002); amigas/conocidas (p=0,015); desconocidas (p=0,000); con sospecha de consumo de alcohol (p=0,001); y para el lugar de ocurrencia (p=0,000), si ocurrió otras veces (p=0,000); procedimiento realizado (aborto previsto por la ley (p=0,001), anticoncepción de emergencia (p=0,001), recolección de material (p= 0,012) y profilaxis (p=0,000)); y medios utilizados en la agresión (fuerza corporal/golpeo (p=0,000), amenaza (p=0,031), objeto punzante (p=0,000), arma de fuego (p=0,000), ahorcamiento (p=0,000) y objeto contundente (p=0,019)). Conclusión e implicaciones en la práctica la violencia sexual se evidenció como prevalente en la adolescencia, independientemente del grupo de edad, y el tipo de agresión fue la violación. La contribución permitirá dirigir esfuerzos para prevenir esta enfermedad en grupos de edades más jóvenes en diferentes formas de relación.

Abstract Objective to analyze the epidemiological profile of reported cases of sexual violence perpetrated against women in Porto Velho, Rondônia. Method a quantitative, descriptive cross-sectional study, including cases of violence against women aged 12 years or older registered in the Notifiable Diseases Information System from 2010 to 2018. Results statistical significance was found among women who suffered sexual violence in relation to education (p=0.000); marital status (p=0.000); if they were pregnant women (p=0.026); if the aggressor had a relationship/degree of kinship as spouse/boyfriend (p=0.000); ex-spouse/boyfriend (p=0.002); friends/acquaintances (p=0.015); unknown (p=0.000); with suspected alcohol use (p=0.001) and for the place of occurrence (p=0.000), if it occurred other times (p=0.000); procedure performed (abortion provided for by law (p=0.001), emergency contraception (p=0.001), material collection (p= 0.012) and prophylaxis (p=0.000)); and means used in aggression (body strength/beating (p=0.000), threat (p=0.031), sharp object (p=0.000), firearm (p=0.000), hanging (p=0.000) and blunt object (p=0.019)). Conclusion and implications for practice sexual violence was evidenced as prevalent in adolescence, regardless of age group, and the type of aggression was rape. The contribution will enable efforts to be directed to prevent this disease in groups of younger ages in different forms of relationships.

Vivências de mulheres em situação de violência interpessoal por parceiro íntimo: a contribuição do enfermeiro / Experiences of women in situations of interpersonal violence by an intimate partner: the nurse's contribution

Introdução: a violência interpessoal compreende um dos tipos de violência de gênero, em que a vítima e o agressor não têm laços consanguíneos, em que o principal agressor é o parceiro íntimo. Objetivos: descrever as vivências de mulheres em situação violência interpessoal por parceiro íntimo; caracterizar as implicações da violência interpessoal por parceiro íntimo às mulheres; analisar de que forma as mulheres enfrentam ou buscam a saída do ciclo da violência interpessoal por parceiros íntimos. Metodologia: pesquisa qualitativa, analítica e exploratória, alinhada à técnica do Discurso do Sujeito Coletivo (DSC). A pesquisa foi realizada no Centro Especializado de Atendimento às Mulheres de Macaé, Rio de Janeiro e foi submetida no Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa da Escola de Enfermagem Anna Nery, aprovada sob parecer 09496919.0.0000.5238. Resultados: foram entrevistadas 19 mulheres, das quais sete tinham entre 20 e 30 anos; oito tinham ensino médio completo; nove delas se autodeclararam pardas; dez estavam desempregadas e com uma renda familiar de um a dois salários mínimos; e nove disseram ser evangélicas. As violências física e psicológica foram as representações que mais foram vivenciadas, com um total de 17 mulheres, respectivamente. Os sentimentos deixados pela violência foram a vergonha e culpa, dificultando o rompimento do ciclo e que trouxeram implicações negativas para a vida das mulheres, desmotivando-as a viverem novos relacionamentos. A rede de apoio e os centros especializados apresentaram-se como essenciais para a saída do ciclo de violência. Conclusão: a violência atinge mulheres em qualquer faixa etária, raça, religião e condição social, não traçando um perfil característico daquelas que vivenciam esta situação. Além disso, mostrou que as vivências permearam por todos os tipos de violência e que a rede familiar e social que circunda essa mulher é decisiva no processo de rompimento do ciclo, bem como o apoio especializado recebido por profissionais.

Introduction: interpersonal violence comprises one of the types of gender violence, in which the victim and the aggressor do not have consanguineous ties, in which the main aggressor is the intimate partner. Objectives: to describe the experiences of women in situations of interpersonal violence by an intimate partner; characterize the implications of interpersonal violence by an intimate partner to women; to analyze how women face or seek an exit from the cycle of interpersonal violence by intimate partners. Methodology: qualitative, analytical and exploratory research, aligned with the Collective Subject Discourse (DSC) technique. The research was conducted at the Specialized Center for Assistance to Women in Macaé, Rio de Janeiro and was submitted to the Research Ethics Committee of the Anna Nery School of Nursing, approved under opinion 09496919.0.0000.5238. Results: 19 women were interviewed, seven of whom were between 20 and 30 years old; eight had completed high school; nine of them declared themselves brown; ten were unemployed and had a family income of one to two minimum wages; and nine said they were evangelical. Physical and psychological violence were the most experienced representations, with a total of 17 women, respectively. The feelings left by the violence were shame and guilt, making it difficult to break the cycle and which had negative implications for the lives of women, discouraging them from experiencing new relationships. The support network and specialized centers were essential to end the cycle of violence. Conclusion: violence affects women in any age group, race, religion and social condition, not drawing a characteristic profile of those who experience this situation. In addition, it showed that the experiences permeated all types of violence and that the family and social network that surrounds this woman is decisive in the process of breaking the cycle, as well as the specialized support received by professionals.

Introducción: la violencia interpersonal comprende uno de los tipos de violencia de género, en el que la víctima y el agresor no tienen vínculos consanguíneos, en el que el agresor principal es su pareja. Objetivos: describir las experiencias de las mujeres en situaciones de violencia interpersonal por parte de la pareja; caracterizar las implicaciones de la violencia interpersonal de su pareja para las mujeres; analizar cómo las mujeres enfrentan o buscan una salida del ciclo de violencia interpersonal por parte de sus parejas. Metodología: investigación cualitativa, analítica y exploratoria, alineada con la técnica del Discurso del sujeto colectivo (DSC). La investigación se realizó en el Centro Especializado de Asistencia a la Mujer en Macaé, Río de Janeiro, y se presentó al Comité de Ética en Investigación de la Escuela de Enfermería Anna Nery, aprobada con el dictamen 09496919.0.0000.5238. Resultados: se entrevistó a 19 mujeres, siete de las cuales tenían entre 20 y 30 años; ocho habían completado la escuela secundaria; nueve de ellos se declararon marrones; diez estaban desempleados y tenían un ingreso familiar de uno o dos salarios mínimos; y nueve dijeron que eran evangélicos. La violencia física y psicológica fueron las representaciones más experimentadas, con un total de 17 mujeres, respectivamente. Los sentimientos que dejó la violencia fueron vergüenza y culpa, lo que dificultaba romper el ciclo y tenía implicaciones negativas para la vida de las mujeres, desanimándolas de experimentar nuevas relaciones. La red de apoyo y los centros especializados fueron esenciales para poner fin al ciclo de violencia. Conclusión: la violencia afecta a mujeres de cualquier grupo de edad, raza, religión y condición social, y no dibuja un perfil característico de quienes experimentan esta situación. Además, demostró que las experiencias impregnaron todo tipo de violencia y que la red familiar y social que rodea a esta mujer es decisiva en el proceso de romper el ciclo, así como el apoyo especializado recibido por los profesionales.

Amamentação na primeira hora de vida em uma maternidade de referência de Macaé / First life breastfeeding in a Macaé reference maternity

Objetivos: Identificar a prevalência da amamentação na primeira hora pós-parto e fatores associados em uma maternidade de referência de Macaé. Métodos: Um estudo transversal foi conduzido com 113 puérperas e neonatos. Os dados foram obtidos entre agosto e dezembro de 2014, por meio de questionários para entrevistas, caderneta da gestante e prontuários médicos. O modelo de Poisson foi ajustado para análise da prevalência da amamentação na primeira hora de acordo com as variáveis de exposição. Resultados: A prevalência da amamentação na primeira hora foi de 75,2%. Não foi encontrada associação estatisticamente significativa entre o tipo de parto e amamentação na primeira hora (pvalor= 0,418). Detectou-se associação estatisticamente significativa entre o baixo peso e a não amamentação na primeira hora pós-parto, mesmo após ajuste (p-valor=0,002). Conclusões: A maioria dos recém-nascidos foi amamentada na primeira hora de vida, o que é um bom resultado, segundo preconizado pelo Ministério da Saúde. Não houve associação estatisticamente significativa entre o tipo de parto e amamentação na primeira hora de vida. Detectou-se que recém-nascidos com baixo peso apresentaram risco cinco vezes maior de não serem amamentados na primeira hora de vida em relação àqueles que nasceram com peso adequado.

Objectives: To identify the prevalence of breastfeeding in the first hour after delivery and associated factors in reference maternity of Macaé. Methods: a cross-sectional study was carried with 113 women postpartum and newborns. The data were obtained between August and December 2014 using interview forms, pregnant woman's notebook and medical records. The Poisson model was adjusted for analysis of the prevalence of maternal breastfeeding in the first hour of life according to exposure variables. Results: The prevalence of breastfeeding in the first hour postpartum was 75.2%. There was no statistically significant association between the type of delivery and breastfeeding in the first hour postpartum (pvalue= 0.418). A statistically significant association between low birth weight and no breastfeeding was detected in the first hour postpartum, even after adjustment (p-value=0.002). Conclusions: The majority of newborns were breastfed in the first hour of life, which is a good result, as recommended by the Ministry of Health. There was no statistically significant association between the type of delivery and breastfeeding in the first hour of life. Low birth weight infants were found to be five times more likely to be breastfed in the first hour of life than those who were born with adequate weight.

Combined Aerobic and Resistance Exercise in Walking Performance of Patients With Intermittent Claudication: Systematic Review.

Background: The short-term benefits of aerobic and resistance exercise in subjects affected by Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) are scarcely examined in interaction. This study aimed to identify the effects of combined aerobic and resistance exercise programs on walking performance compared with isolated aerobic exercise or with the usual care in patients with intermittent claudication. Methods: A systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA statement. A total of five electronic databases were searched (until October 2019) for randomized and non-randomized controlled trials. The focus comprised PAD patients with intermittent claudication who performed a combined aerobic and resistance exercise program that assessed the walking performance. Results: Seven studies include combined aerobic and resistance exercise vs. isolated aerobic or vs. usual care. The studies represented a sample size of 337 participants. The follow-up ranged from 4 to 12 weeks, 2 to 5 times-per-week. The risk of bias in the trials was a deemed moderate-to-high risk. After the interventions, the percent change in walking performance outcomes had a large variation. In the combined and isolated aerobic programs, the walking performance always improved, while in the usual care group oscillates between the deterioration and the improvement in all outcomes. Combined exercise and isolated aerobic exercise improved the claudication onset distance from 11 to 396%, and 30 to 422%, the absolute claudication distance from 81 to 197%, and 53 to 121%, and the maximal walking distance around 23 and 10%, respectively. Conclusions: Currently, there is insufficient evidence about the effects of combined aerobic and resistance exercise compared to isolated aerobic exercise or usual care on walking performance. However, despite the low quality of evidence, the combined aerobic and resistance exercise seems to be an effective strategy to improve walking performance in patients with intermittent claudication. These combined exercise modes or isolated aerobic exercise produce positive and significant results on walking performance. The usual care approach has a trend to deteriorate the walking performance. Thus, given the scarcity of data, new randomized controlled trial studies that include assessments of cardiovascular risk factors are urgently required to better determine the effect of this exercise combination.

Electrochemical Characterization of Single Lithium-Ion Conducting Polymer Electrolytes Based on sp3 Boron and Poly(ethylene glycol) Bridges.

A novel series of single lithium-ion conducting polymer electrolytes (SLICPE) based on sp3 boron and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) bridges is presented, in the context of the development of a new generation of batteries, with the aim to overcome the problems related to concentration overpotential and low ion transport numbers in conventional solid polymer electrolytes (SPE). The phase separation generated by the physical mixture of SPE with plasticizers such as poly(ethylene oxide) is still a serious problem. In this work, the use of PEG with different chain lengths, for the polycondensation reaction with LiB(OCH3)4, to synthesize SLICPE allows preventing phase separation while tuning the predominant conduction mechanism, and thus the electrical properties, especially the lithium-ion transference number. The ionic transport is promoted by chain mobility as the chain length is increased. SLICPE with the best ionic conductivity values (4.95 ± 0.05) × 10-6 S cm-1 was the one synthesized from poly(ethylene glycol) with an average MN of 400 (BEG8), having an O/Li+ ratio of 20. The lithium transference number ( tLi+) and electrochemical stability window of SLICPE membranes at 25 °C decreased as the PEG bridge length between sp3 boron atoms increased from 0.97 to 0.88 and 5.4 to 4.2 V vs Li0/Li+, respectively, for SLICPE synthesized from PEG with an average MN of 50-400 (BEG1 to BEG8).

Communication: Dimensionality of the ionic conduction pathways in glass and the mixed-alkali effect.

A revised empirical relationship between the power law exponent of ac conductivity dispersion and the dimensionality of the ionic conduction pathway is established on the basis of electrical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) measurements on crystalline ionic conductors. These results imply that the "universal" ac conductivity dispersion observed in glassy solids is associated with ionic transport along fractal pathways. EIS measurements on single-alkali glasses indicate that the dimensionality of this pathway D is ∼2.5, while in mixed-alkali glasses, D is lower and goes through a minimum value of ∼2.2 when the concentrations of the two alkalis become equal. D and σ display similar variation with alkali composition, thus suggesting a topological origin of the mixed-alkali effect.

Challenges of Health Games in the Social Network Environment.

Virtual communities and their benefits have been widely exploited to support patients, caregivers, families, and healthcare providers. The complexity of the social organization evolved the concept of virtual community to social networks, exploring the establishment of ties and relations between people. These technological platforms provide a way to keep up with one's connections network, through a set of communication and interaction tools. Games, as social interactive technologies, have great potential, ensuring a supportive community and thereby reducing social isolation. Serious social health games bring forward several research challenges. This article examines the potential benefits of the triad "health-serious games-social networks" and discusses some research challenges and opportunities of the liaison of serious health games and social networks.

A correlation between the ionic conductivities and the formation enthalpies of trivalent-doped ceria at relatively low temperatures.

We report a correlation between oxygen ionic conductivity and the enthalpy of formation of trivalent-doped ceria from the component binary oxides observed at relatively low temperatures (150-275 degrees C). The bulk conductivities of La-doped ceria samples identical to those previously examined by thermochemical studies were measured as a function of La content for a direct comparison. The conductivity showed a maximum at a La concentration of 5 mol%, implying that the number of freely mobile oxygen vacancies reaches a maximum near that doping level in the temperature range of interest. The formation enthalpies previously reported by Chen and Navrotsky also show a maximum, indicating destabilization near that composition. Additional measurements show that this maximum is very pronounced and sharply peaked near that composition. These enthalpies suggest that the energetically favorable long-range interactions between the charged defects that trap the oxygen vacancies become dominant above 5 mol% doping in the CeO2-LaO1.5 solid solution. In addition, the conductivities measured from independently prepared Gd-doped ceria samples show a maximum at around 10 mol% doping below 450 degrees C as anticipated from a pronounced maximum in the formation enthalpies of the CeO2-GdO1.5 solid solution. These empirical findings confirm that the ionic conductivity of trivalent-doped ceria is strongly enough correlated with its formation enthalpy at relatively low temperatures so that information about the critical dopant concentration associated with the conductivity maximum may be gained from the formation enthalpies of the solid solutions, and vice versa. We have no direct information about this correlation at higher temperatures; both thermodynamics and conductivity maximum might change if the defect clusters dissociate to any significant extent.

On the conduction pathway for protons in nanocrystalline yttria-stabilized zirconia.

In this communication we elucidate a microstructural picture of proton conduction in nano-crystalline yttria-stabilized zirconia at low temperatures (Kim et al. Adv. Mater., 2008, 20, 556). Based on careful analysis of electrical impedance spectra obtained from samples with grain sizes of approximately 13 and approximately 100 nm under both wet and dry atmospheres over a wide range of temperatures (room temperature-500 degrees C), we were able to identify the pathway for proton conduction in this material. It was found that the grain boundaries in nano-crystalline yttria-stabilized zirconia are highly selective for ion transport, being conductive for proton transport but resistive for oxygen-ion transport.

Direct calorimetric measurement of grain boundary and surface enthalpies in yttria-stabilized zirconia.

We measured the change in enthalpy with grain size of a dense nanograined yttria-stabilized zirconia by oxide melt solution calorimetry and derived a grain boundary enthalpy, 0.73 +/- 0.19 J m(-2). Surface enthalpies of nanopowders are 2.21 +/- 0.14 J m(-2) (anhydrous surface) and 1.60 +/- 0.09 J m(-2) (hydrous surface). The grain boundary enthalpy is about a factor of two smaller than the enthalpy of the anhydrous surface, suggesting that densification which maintains nanosized grains is indeed thermodynamically driven. This is the first direct calorimetric measurement of grain boundary enthalpy in a ceramic.