Abstract
Near real time media content personalisation is nowadays a major challenge involving media content sources, distributors and viewers. This paper describes an approach to seamless recommendation, negotiation and transaction of personalised media content. It adopts an integrated view of the problem by proposing, on the business-to-business (B2B) side, a brokerage platform to negotiate the media items on behalf of the media content distributors and sources, providing viewers, on the business-to-consumer (B2C) side, with a personalised electronic programme guide (EPG) containing the set of recommended items after negotiation. In this setup, when a viewer connects, the distributor looks up and invites sources to negotiate the contents of the viewer personal EPG. The proposed multi-agent brokerage platform is structured in four layers, modelling the registration, service agreement, partner lookup, invitation as well as item recommendation, negotiation and transaction stages of the B2B processes. The recommendation service is a rule-based switch hybrid filter, including six collaborative and two content-based filters. The rule-based system selects, at runtime, the filter(s) to apply as well as the final set of recommendations to present. The filter selection is based on the data available, ranging from the history of items watched to the ratings and/or tags assigned to the items by the viewer. Additionally, this module implements (i) a novel item stereotype to represent newly arrived items, (ii) a standard user stereotype for new users, (iii) a novel passive user tag cloud stereotype for socially passive users, and (iv) a new content-based filter named the collinearity and proximity similarity (CPS). At the end of the paper, we present off-line results and a case study describing how the recommendation service works. The proposed system provides, to our knowledge, an excellent holistic solution to the problem of recommending multimedia contents.

Abstract
Media content personalisation is a major challenge involving viewers as well as media content producer and distributor businesses. The goal is to provide viewers with media items aligned with their interests. Producers and distributors engage in item negotiations to establish the corresponding service level agreements (SLA). In order to address automated partner lookup and item SLA negotiation, this paper proposes the MultiMedia Brokerage (MMB) platform, which is a multiagent system that negotiates SLA regarding media items on behalf of media content producer and distributor businesses. The MMB platform is structured in four service layers: interface, agreement management, business modelling and market. In this context, there are: (i) brokerage SLA (bSLA), which are established between individual businesses and the platform regarding the provision of brokerage services; and (ii) item SLA (iSLA), which are established between producer and distributor businesses about the provision of media items. In particular, this paper describes the negotiation, establishment and enforcement of bSLA and iSLA, which occurs at the agreement and negotiation layers, respectively. The platform adopts a pay-per-use business model where the bSLA define the general conditions that apply to the related iSLA. To illustrate this process, we present a case study describing the negotiation of a bSLA instance and several related iSLA instances. The latter correspond to the negotiation of the Electronic Program Guide (EPG) for a specific end viewer.

Abstract
Symptomatic intradialytic hypotension (IDH) continues to be an important complication of hemodialysis treatment. There is some evidence that besides an IDH episode, repeated episodes could represent an even more important independent risk factor for mortality in hemodialysis patients. A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed to study 18 dialysis treatments in 43 patients during 6 weeks. Relationships of IDH episodes with baseline variables were examined using a Poisson regression model (generalized linear model). IDH was frequent (93% of patients) and highly variable by patient (0%-100%). Multivariate analysis showed that patients who experienced frequent hypotensive episodes had a lower dry weight (90% confidence interval [CI]: 0.95-0.99), higher phosphorus levels (90% CI: 1.07-1.47), greater prevalence of diabetes mellitus (90% CI: 1.11-2.71), and hypertension (90% CI: 1.04-2.45). Dry weight, hypertension, and phosphorus levels are modifiable risk factors to possibly reduce the rate of IDH episodes. The potential protective role of phosphorus warrants further investigation.

Abstract
Several guidelines recommend the importance of educating the patient about the care of vascular access. Nurses have a key role in promoting the development of self-care behaviors by providing the necessary knowledge to patients, so that they develop the necessary skills to take care of the arteriovenous fistula (AVF). This article describes the process of building a scale of assessment of self-care behaviors with arteriovenous fistula in hemodialysis (ASBHD-AVF). This is a cross-sectional study in which the development, construction, and validation process followed the directions of the authors Streiner and Norman. This is a convenience sample, sequential, and nonprobabilistic constituted by 218 patients. The study was conducted in two stages during 2012-2014. The first phase corresponds to the scale construction process, 64 patients participated, while the second corresponds to the evaluation of metric properties and 154 patients participated. The principal component analysis revealed a two-factor structure, with factorial weights between 0.805 and 0.511 and between 0.700 and 0.369, respectively, explaining 39.12% of the total variance of the responses. The Cronbach's alpha of the subscale management of signs and symptoms is 0.797 and from the subscale prevention of complications is 0.722. The ASBHD-AVF revealed properties that allow its use to assess the self-care behaviors in the maintenance and conservation of the AVF.

Abstract
Aims and objectives. We developed a scale to assess the self-care behaviours developed by patients with end-stage renal disease to preserve the vascular network prior to construction of arteriovenous fistula. Background. The possibility of creation of an arteriovenous fistula depends on the existence of an arterial and venous network in good condition, namely the size and elasticity of the vessels. It is essential to teach the person to develop self-care behaviours for the preservation of the vascular network, regardless of the modality of dialysis selected. Design. Methodological study. Methods. The scale was developed based on clinical experience and research conducted by the researcher in the area of the vascular access for haemodialysis. The content of the scale was judged by two panels of experts for content validity. The revised version of the scale was administered to a convenience sample of 90 patients with end-stage renal disease. In the statistical analysis, we used the Cronbach's alpha, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and scree plot and the principal component analysis with varimax rotation. Results. A principal component analysis confirmed the univariate structure of the scale (KMO = 0.759, Bartlett's sphericity test-approximate chi(2) 142.201, p < 0.000). Cronbach's a is 0.831, varying between 0.711-0.879. Conclusion. This scale revealed properties that allow its use to assess the patients self-care behaviours regarding the preservation of the vascular network. Relevance to clinical practice. This scale can be used to evaluate educational programmes for the development of self-care behaviours in the preservation of vascular network. This scale can identify not only the patients that are able to take care of their vascular network but also the proportion of patients who are not able to do it, that need to be educated.

Abstract