Sample records for accumulating scientific evidence

  1. Students' abilities to critique scientific evidence when reading and writing scientific arguments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Knight, Amanda M.

    Scientific arguments are used to persuade others for explanations that make sense of the natural world. Over time, through the accumulation of evidence, one explanation for a scientific phenomenon tends to take precedence. In science education, arguments make students' thinking and reasoning visible while also supporting the development of their conceptual, procedural, and epistemic knowledge. As such, argumentation has become a goal within recent policy documents, including the Next Generation Science Standards, which, in turn, presents a need for comprehensive, effective, and scalable assessments. This dissertation used assessments that measure students' abilities to critique scientific evidence, which is measured in terms of the form of justification and the support of empirical evidence, when reading and writing scientific arguments. Cognitive interviews were then conducted with a subset of the students to explore the criteria they used to critique scientific evidence. Specifically, the research investigated what characteristics of scientific evidence the students preferred, how they critiqued both forms of justification and empirical evidence, and whether the four constructs represented four separate abilities. Findings suggest that students' prioritized the type of empirical evidence to the form of justification, and most often selected relevant-supporting justifications. When writing scientific arguments, most students constructed a justified claim, but struggled to justify their claims with empirical evidence. In comparison, when reading scientific arguments, students had trouble locating a justification when it was not empirical data. Additionally, it was more difficult for students to critique than identify or locate empirical evidence, and it was more difficult for students to identify than locate empirical evidence. Findings from the cognitive interviews suggest that students with more specific criteria tended to have more knowledge of the construct

  2. Discriminating evidence accumulation from urgency signals in speeded decision making.

    PubMed

    Hawkins, Guy E; Wagenmakers, Eric-Jan; Ratcliff, Roger; Brown, Scott D

    2015-07-01

    The dominant theoretical paradigm in explaining decision making throughout both neuroscience and cognitive science is known as “evidence accumulation”--The core idea being that decisions are reached by a gradual accumulation of noisy information. Although this notion has been supported by hundreds of experiments over decades of study, a recent theory proposes that the fundamental assumption of evidence accumulation requires revision. The "urgency gating" model assumes decisions are made without accumulating evidence, using only moment-by-moment information. Under this assumption, the successful history of evidence accumulation models is explained by asserting that the two models are mathematically identical in standard experimental procedures. We demonstrate that this proof of equivalence is incorrect, and that the models are not identical, even when both models are augmented with realistic extra assumptions. We also demonstrate that the two models can be perfectly distinguished in realistic simulated experimental designs, and in two real data sets; the evidence accumulation model provided the best account for one data set, and the urgency gating model for the other. A positive outcome is that the opposing modeling approaches can be fruitfully investigated without wholesale change to the standard experimental paradigms. We conclude that future research must establish whether the urgency gating model enjoys the same empirical support in the standard experimental paradigms that evidence accumulation models have gathered over decades of study. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

  3. Evidence accumulation as a model for lexical selection.

    PubMed

    Anders, R; Riès, S; van Maanen, L; Alario, F X

    2015-11-01

    We propose and demonstrate evidence accumulation as a plausible theoretical and/or empirical model for the lexical selection process of lexical retrieval. A number of current psycholinguistic theories consider lexical selection as a process related to selecting a lexical target from a number of alternatives, which each have varying activations (or signal supports), that are largely resultant of an initial stimulus recognition. We thoroughly present a case for how such a process may be theoretically explained by the evidence accumulation paradigm, and we demonstrate how this paradigm can be directly related or combined with conventional psycholinguistic theory and their simulatory instantiations (generally, neural network models). Then with a demonstrative application on a large new real data set, we establish how the empirical evidence accumulation approach is able to provide parameter results that are informative to leading psycholinguistic theory, and that motivate future theoretical development. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Evidence accumulation detected in BOLD signal using slow perceptual decision making.

    PubMed

    Krueger, Paul M; van Vugt, Marieke K; Simen, Patrick; Nystrom, Leigh; Holmes, Philip; Cohen, Jonathan D

    2017-04-01

    We assessed whether evidence accumulation could be observed in the BOLD signal during perceptual decision making. This presents a challenge since the hemodynamic response is slow, while perceptual decisions are typically fast. Guided by theoretical predictions of the drift diffusion model, we slowed down decisions by penalizing participants for incorrect responses. Second, we distinguished BOLD activity related to stimulus detection (modeled using a boxcar) from activity related to integration (modeled using a ramp) by minimizing the collinearity of GLM regressors. This was achieved by dissecting a boxcar into its two most orthogonal components: an "up-ramp" and a "down-ramp." Third, we used a control condition in which stimuli and responses were similar to the experimental condition, but that did not engage evidence accumulation of the stimuli. The results revealed an absence of areas in parietal cortex that have been proposed to drive perceptual decision making but have recently come into question; and newly identified regions that are candidates for involvement in evidence accumulation. Previous fMRI studies have either used fast perceptual decision making, which precludes the measurement of evidence accumulation, or slowed down responses by gradually revealing stimuli. The latter approach confounds perceptual detection with evidence accumulation because accumulation is constrained by perceptual input. We slowed down the decision making process itself while leaving perceptual information intact. This provided a more sensitive and selective observation of brain regions associated with the evidence accumulation processes underlying perceptual decision making than previous methods. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Evidence Accumulator or Decision Threshold – Which Cortical Mechanism are We Observing?

    PubMed Central

    Simen, Patrick

    2012-01-01

    Most psychological models of perceptual decision making are of the accumulation-to-threshold variety. The neural basis of accumulation in parietal and prefrontal cortex is therefore a topic of great interest in neuroscience. In contrast, threshold mechanisms have received less attention, and their neural basis has usually been sought in subcortical structures. Here I analyze a model of a decision threshold that can be implemented in the same cortical areas as evidence accumulators, and whose behavior bears on two open questions in decision neuroscience: (1) When ramping activity is observed in a brain region during decision making, does it reflect evidence accumulation? (2) Are changes in speed-accuracy tradeoffs and response biases more likely to be achieved by changes in thresholds, or in accumulation rates and starting points? The analysis suggests that task-modulated ramping activity, by itself, is weak evidence that a brain area mediates evidence accumulation as opposed to threshold readout; and that signs of modulated accumulation are as likely to indicate threshold adaptation as adaptation of starting points and accumulation rates. These conclusions imply that how thresholds are modeled can dramatically impact accumulator-based interpretations of this data. PMID:22737136

  6. Normative evidence accumulation in unpredictable environments

    PubMed Central

    Glaze, Christopher M; Kable, Joseph W; Gold, Joshua I

    2015-01-01

    In our dynamic world, decisions about noisy stimuli can require temporal accumulation of evidence to identify steady signals, differentiation to detect unpredictable changes in those signals, or both. Normative models can account for learning in these environments but have not yet been applied to faster decision processes. We present a novel, normative formulation of adaptive learning models that forms decisions by acting as a leaky accumulator with non-absorbing bounds. These dynamics, derived for both discrete and continuous cases, depend on the expected rate of change of the statistics of the evidence and balance signal identification and change detection. We found that, for two different tasks, human subjects learned these expectations, albeit imperfectly, then used them to make decisions in accordance with the normative model. The results represent a unified, empirically supported account of decision-making in unpredictable environments that provides new insights into the expectation-driven dynamics of the underlying neural signals. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.08825.001 PMID:26322383

  7. Recent Scientific Evidence and Technical Developments in Cardiovascular Computed Tomography.

    PubMed

    Marcus, Roy; Ruff, Christer; Burgstahler, Christof; Notohamiprodjo, Mike; Nikolaou, Konstantin; Geisler, Tobias; Schroeder, Stephen; Bamberg, Fabian

    2016-05-01

    In recent years, coronary computed tomography angiography has become an increasingly safe and noninvasive modality for the evaluation of the anatomical structure of the coronary artery tree with diagnostic benefits especially in patients with a low-to-intermediate pretest probability of disease. Currently, increasing evidence from large randomized diagnostic trials is accumulating on the diagnostic impact of computed tomography angiography for the management of patients with acute and stable chest pain syndrome. At the same time, technical advances have substantially reduced adverse effects and limiting factors, such as radiation exposure, the amount of iodinated contrast agent, and scanning time, rendering the technique appropriate for broader clinical applications. In this work, we review the latest developments in computed tomography technology and describe the scientific evidence on the use of cardiac computed tomography angiography to evaluate patients with acute and stable chest pain syndrome. Copyright © 2016 Sociedad Española de Cardiología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  8. Conscious and Nonconscious Processes:Distinct Forms of Evidence Accumulation?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dehaene, Stanislas

    Among the many brain events evoked by a visual stimulus, which ones are associated specifically with conscious perception, and which merely reflect nonconscious processing? Understanding the neuronal mechanisms of consciousness is a major challenge for cognitive neuroscience. Recently, progress has been achieved by contrasting behavior and brain activation in minimally different experimental conditions, one of which leads to conscious perception whereas the other does not. This chapter reviews briefly this line of research and speculates on its theoretical interpretation. I propose to draw links between evidence accumulation models, which are highly successful in capturing elementary psychophysical decisions, and the conscious/nonconscious dichotomy. In this framework, conscious access would correspond to the crossing of a threshold in evidence accumulation within a distributed global workspace, a set of recurrently connected neurons with long axons that is able to integrate and broadcast back evidence from multiple brain processors. During nonconscious processing, evidence would be accumulated locally within specialized subcircuits, but would fail to reach the threshold needed for global ignition and, therefore, conscious reportability.

  9. Leadership and Presenteeism among Scientific Staff: The Role of Accumulation of Work and Time Pressure

    PubMed Central

    Dietz, Carolin; Scheel, Tabea

    2017-01-01

    The present study examines the joint roles of leadership and stressors for presenteeism of scientific staff. Leaders may have an impact on employees' health, both directly through interpersonal interactions and by shaping their working conditions. In the field of science, this impact could be special because of the mentoring relationships between the employees (e.g., PhD students) and their supervisors (e.g., professors). Based on the job demands-resources framework (JD-R), we hypothesized that the pressure to be present at the workplace induced by supervisors (supervisorial pressure) is directly related to employees' presenteeism as well as indirectly via perceptions of time pressure. The conservation of resources theory (COR) states that resource loss resulting from having to deal with job demands weakens the resource pool and therefore the capacity to deal with other job demands. Thus, we hypothesized that accumulation of work moderates the relationship between supervisorial pressure and time pressure, such that the relationship is stronger when accumulation of work is high compared to if accumulation of work is low. Cross-sectional data were obtained from 212 PhD students and postdocs of 30 scientific institutions in Germany. Analysis was performed using the SPSS macro PROCESS (Hayes, 2013). Supervisorial pressure was directly associated with higher presenteeism of employees and indirectly through increased time pressure. Moreover, supervisorial pressure and accumulation of work interacted to predict time pressure, but in an unexpected way. The positive relationship between supervisorial pressure and time pressure is stronger when accumulation is low compared to if accumulation of work is high. It seems possible that job stressors do not accumulate but substitute each other. Threshold models might explain the findings. Moreover, specific patterns of interacting job demands for scientific staff should be considered in absence management. PMID:29123497

  10. Questioning the evidence for a claim in a socio-scientific issue: an aspect of scientific literacy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roberts, Ros; Gott, Richard

    2010-11-01

    Understanding the science in a 'socio-scientific issue' is at the heart of the varied definitions of 'scientific literacy'. Many consider that understanding evidence is necessary to participate in decision making and to challenge the science that affects people's lives. A model is described that links practical work, argumentation and scientific literacy which is used as the basis of this research. If students are explicitly taught about evidence does this transfer to students asking questions in the context of a local socio-scientific issue? What do they ask questions about? Sixty-five primary teacher training students were given the pre-test, before being taught the 'concepts of evidence' and applying them in an open-ended investigation and were tested again 15 weeks later. Data were coded using Toulmin's argument pattern (TAP) and the 'concepts of evidence'. After the intervention it was found that, in relation to a socio-scientific issue, they raised significantly more questions specifically about the evidence that lead to the scientists' claims although questions explicitly targeting the quality of the data were still rare. This has implications for curricula that aim for scientific literacy.

  11. Assessment of Evidence in University Students' Scientific Writing.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Takao, Allison Y.; Kelly, Gregory J.

    2003-01-01

    Examines uses of evidence in university students' writing of scientific argument in an introductory-level oceanography course. Provides students with an interactive CD-ROM entitled 'Our Dynamic Planet' to write a scientific technical paper. Discusses ways of teaching students the construction of argument in scientific writing. (KHR)

  12. Accumulation of evidence during sequential decision making: the importance of top-down factors.

    PubMed

    de Lange, Floris P; Jensen, Ole; Dehaene, Stanislas

    2010-01-13

    In the last decade, great progress has been made in characterizing the accumulation of neural information during simple unitary perceptual decisions. However, much less is known about how sequentially presented evidence is integrated over time for successful decision making. The aim of this study was to study the mechanisms of sequential decision making in humans. In a magnetoencephalography (MEG) study, we presented healthy volunteers with sequences of centrally presented arrows. Sequence length varied between one and five arrows, and the accumulated directions of the arrows informed the subject about which hand to use for a button press at the end of the sequence (e.g., LRLRR should result in a right-hand press). Mathematical modeling suggested that nonlinear accumulation was the rational strategy for performing this task in the presence of no or little noise, whereas quasilinear accumulation was optimal in the presence of substantial noise. MEG recordings showed a correlate of evidence integration over parietal and central cortex that was inversely related to the amount of accumulated evidence (i.e., when more evidence was accumulated, neural activity for new stimuli was attenuated). This modulation of activity likely reflects a top-down influence on sensory processing, effectively constraining the influence of sensory information on the decision variable over time. The results indicate that, when making decisions on the basis of sequential information, the human nervous system integrates evidence in a nonlinear manner, using the amount of previously accumulated information to constrain the accumulation of additional evidence.

  13. Evidence Accumulation and Choice Maintenance Are Dissociated in Human Perceptual Decision Making

    PubMed Central

    Pedersen, Mads Lund; Endestad, Tor; Biele, Guido

    2015-01-01

    Perceptual decision making in monkeys relies on decision neurons, which accumulate evidence and maintain choices until a response is given. In humans, several brain regions have been proposed to accumulate evidence, but it is unknown if these regions also maintain choices. To test if accumulator regions in humans also maintain decisions we compared delayed and self-paced responses during a face/house discrimination decision making task. Computational modeling and fMRI results revealed dissociated processes of evidence accumulation and decision maintenance, with potential accumulator activations found in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, right inferior frontal gyrus and bilateral insula. Potential maintenance activation spanned the frontal pole, temporal gyri, precuneus and the lateral occipital and frontal orbital cortices. Results of a quantitative reverse inference meta-analysis performed to differentiate the functions associated with the identified regions did not narrow down potential accumulation regions, but suggested that response-maintenance might rely on a verbalization of the response. PMID:26510176

  14. Scientific Evidence and Potential Barriers in the Management of Brazilian Protected Areas.

    PubMed

    Giehl, Eduardo L H; Moretti, Marcela; Walsh, Jessica C; Batalha, Marco A; Cook, Carly N

    2017-01-01

    Protected areas are a crucial tool for halting the loss of biodiversity. Yet, the management of protected areas is under resourced, impacting the ability to achieve effective conservation actions. Effective management depends on the application of the best available knowledge, which can include both scientific evidence and the local knowledge of onsite managers. Despite the clear value of evidence-based conservation, there is still little known about how much scientific evidence is used to guide the management of protected areas. This knowledge gap is especially evident in developing countries, where resource limitations and language barriers may create additional challenges for the use of scientific evidence in management. To assess the extent to which scientific evidence is used to inform management decisions in a developing country, we surveyed Brazilian protected area managers about the information they use to support their management decisions. We targeted on-ground managers who are responsible for management decisions made at the local protected area level. We asked managers about the sources of evidence they use, how frequently they assess the different sources of evidence and the scientific content of the different sources of evidence. We also considered a range of factors that might explain the use of scientific evidence to guide the management of protected areas, such as the language spoken by managers, the accessibility of evidence sources and the characteristics of the managers and the protected areas they manage. The managers who responded to our questionnaire reported that they most frequently made decisions based on their personal experience, with scientific evidence being used relatively infrequently. While managers in our study tended to value scientific evidence less highly than other sources, most managers still considered science important for management decisions. Managers reported that the accessibility of scientific evidence is low relative

  15. Active inference, evidence accumulation and the urn task

    PubMed Central

    FitzGerald, Thomas HB; Schwartenbeck, Philipp; Moutoussis, Michael; Dolan, Raymond J; Friston, Karl

    2015-01-01

    Deciding how much evidence to accumulate before making a decision is a problem we and other animals often face, but one which is not completely understood. This issue is particularly important because a tendency to sample less information (often known as reflection impulsivity) is a feature in several psychopathologies, such as psychosis. A formal understanding information sampling may therefore clarify the computational anatomy of psychopathology. In this theoretical paper, we consider evidence accumulation in terms of active (Bayesian) inference using a generic model of Markov decision processes. Here, agents are equipped with beliefs about their own behaviour – in this case, that they will make informed decisions. Normative decision-making is then modelled using variational Bayes to minimise surprise about choice outcomes. Under this scheme, different facets of belief updating map naturally onto the functional anatomy of the brain (at least at a heuristic level). Of particular interest is the key role played by the expected precision of beliefs about control, which we have previously suggested may be encoded by dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain. We show that manipulating expected precision strongly affects how much information an agent characteristically samples, and thus provides a possible link between impulsivity and dopaminergic dysfunction. Our study therefore represents a step towards understanding evidence accumulation in terms of neurobiologically plausible Bayesian inference, and may cast light on why this process is disordered in psychopathology. PMID:25514108

  16. Content-specific evidence accumulation in inferior temporal cortex during perceptual decision-making

    PubMed Central

    Tremel, Joshua J.; Wheeler, Mark E.

    2015-01-01

    During a perceptual decision, neuronal activity can change as a function of time-integrated evidence. Such neurons may serve as decision variables, signaling a choice when activity reaches a boundary. Because the signals occur on a millisecond timescale, translating to human decision-making using functional neuroimaging has been challenging. Previous neuroimaging work in humans has identified patterns of neural activity consistent with an accumulation account. However, the degree to which the accumulating neuroimaging signals reflect specific sources of perceptual evidence is unknown. Using an extended face/house discrimination task in conjunction with cognitive modeling, we tested whether accumulation signals, as measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), are stimulus-specific. Accumulation signals were defined as a change in the slope of the rising edge of activation corresponding with response time (RT), with higher slopes associated with faster RTs. Consistent with an accumulation account, fMRI activity in face- and house-selective regions in the inferior temporal cortex increased at a rate proportional to decision time in favor of the preferred stimulus. This finding indicates that stimulus-specific regions perform an evidence integrative function during goal-directed behavior and that different sources of evidence accumulate separately. We also assessed the decision-related function of other regions throughout the brain and found that several regions were consistent with classifications from prior work, suggesting a degree of domain generality in decision processing. Taken together, these results provide support for an integration-to-boundary decision mechanism and highlight possible roles of both domain-specific and domain-general regions in decision evidence evaluation. PMID:25562821

  17. Roadblocks to Scientific Thinking in Educational Decision Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yates, Gregory C. R.

    2008-01-01

    Principles of scientific data accumulation and evidence-based practices are vehicles of professional enhancement. In this article, the author argues that a scientific knowledge base exists descriptive of the relationship between teachers' activities and student learning. This database appears barely recognised however, for reasons including (a)…

  18. Constructing Scientific Arguments Using Evidence from Dynamic Computational Climate Models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pallant, Amy; Lee, Hee-Sun

    2015-04-01

    Modeling and argumentation are two important scientific practices students need to develop throughout school years. In this paper, we investigated how middle and high school students ( N = 512) construct a scientific argument based on evidence from computational models with which they simulated climate change. We designed scientific argumentation tasks with three increasingly complex dynamic climate models. Each scientific argumentation task consisted of four parts: multiple-choice claim, openended explanation, five-point Likert scale uncertainty rating, and open-ended uncertainty rationale. We coded 1,294 scientific arguments in terms of a claim's consistency with current scientific consensus, whether explanations were model based or knowledge based and categorized the sources of uncertainty (personal vs. scientific). We used chi-square and ANOVA tests to identify significant patterns. Results indicate that (1) a majority of students incorporated models as evidence to support their claims, (2) most students used model output results shown on graphs to confirm their claim rather than to explain simulated molecular processes, (3) students' dependence on model results and their uncertainty rating diminished as the dynamic climate models became more and more complex, (4) some students' misconceptions interfered with observing and interpreting model results or simulated processes, and (5) students' uncertainty sources reflected more frequently on their assessment of personal knowledge or abilities related to the tasks than on their critical examination of scientific evidence resulting from models. These findings have implications for teaching and research related to the integration of scientific argumentation and modeling practices to address complex Earth systems.

  19. Scientific Reasoning: Theory Evidence Coordination in Physics-Based and Non-Physics-Based Tasks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ibrahim, Bashirah; Ding, Lin; Mollohan, Katherine N.; Stammen, Andria

    2016-01-01

    Scientific reasoning is crucial to any scientific discipline. One sub-skill particularly relevant to the scientific enterprise is theory evidence coordination. This study, underpinned by Kuhn's framework for scientific reasoning, investigates how university students coordinate their self-generated theory and evidence in a physics topic (energy)…

  20. Constructing Scientific Arguments Using Evidence from Dynamic Computational Climate Models

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pallant, Amy; Lee, Hee-Sun

    2015-01-01

    Modeling and argumentation are two important scientific practices students need to develop throughout school years. In this paper, we investigated how middle and high school students (N = 512) construct a scientific argument based on evidence from computational models with which they simulated climate change. We designed scientific argumentation…

  1. Distinct effects of prefrontal and parietal cortex inactivations on an accumulation of evidence task in the rat

    PubMed Central

    Erlich, Jeffrey C; Brunton, Bingni W; Duan, Chunyu A; Hanks, Timothy D; Brody, Carlos D

    2015-01-01

    Numerous brain regions have been shown to have neural correlates of gradually accumulating evidence for decision-making, but the causal roles of these regions in decisions driven by accumulation of evidence have yet to be determined. Here, in rats performing an auditory evidence accumulation task, we inactivated the frontal orienting fields (FOF) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC), two rat cortical regions that have neural correlates of accumulating evidence and that have been proposed as central to decision-making. We used a detailed model of the decision process to analyze the effect of inactivations. Inactivation of the FOF induced substantial performance impairments that were quantitatively best described as an impairment in the output pathway of an evidence accumulator with a long integration time constant (>240 ms). In contrast, we found a minimal role for PPC in decisions guided by accumulating auditory evidence, even while finding a strong role for PPC in internally-guided decisions. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05457.001 PMID:25869470

  2. Secondary school physics teachers' conceptions of scientific evidence: A collective case study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Taylor, Joseph A.

    Engaging secondary school students in inquiry-oriented tasks that more closely simulate the scholarly activities of scientists has been recommended as a way to improve scientific literacy. Two tasks that are frequently recommended include students' design of original experiments, and students' evaluation of scientific evidence and conclusions. Yet, little is known about teachers' conceptions of experimentation. The principal aim of this study, therefore, was to describe the nature of prospective and practicing physics teachers' conceptions of scientific evidence. More specifically, the following research questions guided this study: (1) What types of issues related to the measurement reliability and experimental validity of scientific evidence do practicing and prospective physics teachers think about when designing experiments? (2) When presented with hypothetical scenarios that describe unsound experimental procedures or poorly supported conclusions (or both), what concerns will prospective and practicing physics teachers raise? And (3) When the participants' responses to parallel research prompts are compared across protocols, what similarities and differences exist? The nature of the teacher-participants' conceptions was described from an analysis of data collected from research prompts such as interviews and hand written artifacts. In these research prompts, the teachers "thought aloud" while designing experiments and critically evaluated student-collected evidence presented in hypothetical classroom scenarios. The data from this study suggested that the three teachers, while contemplating the reliability and validity of scientific evidence, frequently used their conceptions of evidence in conjunction with specific subject matter conceptions. The data also indicated that the relationship between subject matter knowledge and conceptions of evidence was more pronounced for some conceptions of evidence than for others. Suggestions for future research included

  3. Questioning the Evidence for a Claim in a Socio-Scientific Issue: An Aspect of Scientific Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roberts, Ros; Gott, Richard

    2010-01-01

    Understanding the science in a "socio-scientific issue" is at the heart of the varied definitions of "scientific literacy". Many consider that understanding evidence is necessary to participate in decision making and to challenge the science that affects people's lives. A model is described that links practical work,…

  4. Homosexuality and scientific evidence: On suspect anecdotes, antiquated data, and broad generalizations.

    PubMed

    Kinney, Robert L

    2015-11-01

    The American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association have suggested for many years now that there is significant empirical evidence supporting the claim that homosexuality is a normal variant of human sexual orientation as opposed to a mental disorder. This paper summarizes and analyzes that purported scientific evidence and explains that much (if not all) of the evidence is irrelevant and does not support the homosexuality-is-not-a-mental-disorder claim. As a result of their deficiencies and arbitrariness, the credibility those two groups that are typically deemed authoritative and trustworthy is called into question. Lay summary: At one time, homosexuality was considered to be mentally disordered. Since the 1970s, however, major medical associations in the U.S. have labeled homosexuality as a normal counterpart of heterosexuality. Those medical associations have proposed that their homosexuality-is-normal claim is based on "scientific evidence." This article critically reviews that "scientific evidence" and finds that much of their literature does not support the claim that homosexuality is normal. This article suggests that instead of supporting their claim with scientific evidence, those major medical associations arbitrarily label homosexuality as normal.

  5. Perception as Evidence Accumulation and Bayesian Inference: Insights from Masked Priming

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Norris, Dennis; Kinoshita, Sachiko

    2008-01-01

    The authors argue that perception is Bayesian inference based on accumulation of noisy evidence and that, in masked priming, the perceptual system is tricked into treating the prime and the target as a single object. Of the 2 algorithms considered for formalizing how the evidence sampled from a prime and target is combined, only 1 was shown to be…

  6. Homosexuality and scientific evidence: On suspect anecdotes, antiquated data, and broad generalizations

    PubMed Central

    Kinney, Robert L.

    2015-01-01

    The American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association have suggested for many years now that there is significant empirical evidence supporting the claim that homosexuality is a normal variant of human sexual orientation as opposed to a mental disorder. This paper summarizes and analyzes that purported scientific evidence and explains that much (if not all) of the evidence is irrelevant and does not support the homosexuality-is-not-a-mental-disorder claim. As a result of their deficiencies and arbitrariness, the credibility those two groups that are typically deemed authoritative and trustworthy is called into question. Lay summary: At one time, homosexuality was considered to be mentally disordered. Since the 1970s, however, major medical associations in the U.S. have labeled homosexuality as a normal counterpart of heterosexuality. Those medical associations have proposed that their homosexuality-is-normal claim is based on “scientific evidence.” This article critically reviews that “scientific evidence” and finds that much of their literature does not support the claim that homosexuality is normal. This article suggests that instead of supporting their claim with scientific evidence, those major medical associations arbitrarily label homosexuality as normal. PMID:26997677

  7. Consensus statements from the Workshop "Probiotics and Health: Scientific evidence".

    PubMed

    Guarner, F; Requena, T; Marcos, A

    2010-01-01

    This report shows the level of scientific consensus on definition, characteristics and health benefits of probiotics. The content of the report has derived from the scientific meeting: Workshop on Probiotics and Health. Scientific evidence, that congregated several Spanish experts, including gastroenterologists, microbiologists, nutritionists, immunologists and food technologists, among others, who have agreed with the statements shown in this document. Each statement has been sustained with the most relevant scientific aspects that were discussed during the Workshop and the following evaluation of the report by all experts who approved and signed it.

  8. Evidence accumulation in obsessive-compulsive disorder: the role of uncertainty and monetary reward on perceptual decision-making thresholds.

    PubMed

    Banca, Paula; Vestergaard, Martin D; Rankov, Vladan; Baek, Kwangyeol; Mitchell, Simon; Lapa, Tatyana; Castelo-Branco, Miguel; Voon, Valerie

    2015-03-13

    The compulsive behaviour underlying obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may be related to abnormalities in decision-making. The inability to commit to ultimate decisions, for example, patients unable to decide whether their hands are sufficiently clean, may reflect failures in accumulating sufficient evidence before a decision. Here we investigate the process of evidence accumulation in OCD in perceptual discrimination, hypothesizing enhanced evidence accumulation relative to healthy volunteers. Twenty-eight OCD patients and thirty-five controls were tested with a low-level visual perceptual task (random-dot-motion task, RDMT) and two response conflict control tasks. Regression analysis across different motion coherence levels and Hierarchical Drift Diffusion Modelling (HDDM) were used to characterize response strategies between groups in the RDMT. Patients required more evidence under high uncertainty perceptual contexts, as indexed by longer response time and higher decision boundaries. HDDM, which defines a decision when accumulated noisy evidence reaches a decision boundary, further showed slower drift rate towards the decision boundary reflecting poorer quality of evidence entering the decision process in patients under low uncertainty. With monetary incentives emphasizing speed and penalty for slower responses, patients decreased the decision thresholds relative to controls, accumulating less evidence in low uncertainty. These findings were unrelated to visual perceptual deficits and response conflict. This study provides evidence for impaired decision-formation processes in OCD, with a differential influence of high and low uncertainty contexts on evidence accumulation (decision threshold) and on the quality of evidence gathered (drift rates). It further emphasizes that OCD patients are sensitive to monetary incentives heightening speed in the speed-accuracy tradeoff, improving evidence accumulation.

  9. 78 FR 6056 - Smokeless Tobacco Product Warning Statements; Request for Comments and Scientific Evidence

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-01-29

    ... by scientific evidence, regarding what changes to the smokeless tobacco product warnings, if any... scientific evidence, regarding what changes, if any, to the smokeless tobacco product warnings would promote... supporting evidence should address how any changes in the warnings would affect both users' and nonusers...

  10. Sequential biases in accumulating evidence

    PubMed Central

    Huggins, Richard; Dogo, Samson Henry

    2015-01-01

    Whilst it is common in clinical trials to use the results of tests at one phase to decide whether to continue to the next phase and to subsequently design the next phase, we show that this can lead to biased results in evidence synthesis. Two new kinds of bias associated with accumulating evidence, termed ‘sequential decision bias’ and ‘sequential design bias’, are identified. Both kinds of bias are the result of making decisions on the usefulness of a new study, or its design, based on the previous studies. Sequential decision bias is determined by the correlation between the value of the current estimated effect and the probability of conducting an additional study. Sequential design bias arises from using the estimated value instead of the clinically relevant value of an effect in sample size calculations. We considered both the fixed‐effect and the random‐effects models of meta‐analysis and demonstrated analytically and by simulations that in both settings the problems due to sequential biases are apparent. According to our simulations, the sequential biases increase with increased heterogeneity. Minimisation of sequential biases arises as a new and important research area necessary for successful evidence‐based approaches to the development of science. © 2015 The Authors. Research Synthesis Methods Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. PMID:26626562

  11. The effect of scientific evidence on conservation practitioners' management decisions.

    PubMed

    Walsh, Jessica C; Dicks, Lynn V; Sutherland, William J

    2015-02-01

    A major justification of environmental management research is that it helps practitioners, yet previous studies show it is rarely used to inform their decisions. We tested whether conservation practitioners focusing on bird management were willing to use a synopsis of relevant scientific literature to inform their management decisions. This allowed us to examine whether the limited use of scientific information in management is due to a lack of access to the scientific literature or whether it is because practitioners are either not interested or unable to incorporate the research into their decisions. In on-line surveys, we asked 92 conservation managers, predominantly from Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, to provide opinions on 28 management techniques that could be applied to reduce predation on birds. We asked their opinions before and after giving them a summary of the literature about the interventions' effectiveness. We scored the overall effectiveness and certainty of evidence for each intervention through an expert elicitation process-the Delphi method. We used the effectiveness scores to assess the practitioners' level of understanding and awareness of the literature. On average, each survey participant changed their likelihood of using 45.7% of the interventions after reading the synopsis of the evidence. They were more likely to implement effective interventions and avoid ineffective actions, suggesting that their intended future management strategies may be more successful than current practice. More experienced practitioners were less likely to change their management practices than those with less experience, even though they were not more aware of the existing scientific information than less experienced practitioners. The practitioners' willingness to change their management choices when provided with summarized scientific evidence suggests that improved accessibility to scientific information would benefit conservation management

  12. Examining the impact of sexism on evaluations of social scientific evidence in discrimination litigation.

    PubMed

    Kim, Anita; Tidwell, Natasha

    2014-12-01

    The present 2 studies involved undergraduate participants and investigated whether various types of sexism and other correlated predictors, such as political conservatism and scientific discounting, can predict people's evaluations of social science research on sex stereotypes, sexism, and sex discrimination. In Study 1, participants high in hostile sexism, scientific discounting, and/or political conservatism were more critical of scientific studies that provided evidence for sexism than identical studies showing null results. Study 2 showed that participants high in modern sexism, hostile sexism, and political conservatism evaluated social scientific studies more negatively; in addition, assessments of social scientific evidence quality mediated the effect of modern sexism on admissibility ratings (b = -0.15, z = -4.16, p = .00). Overall, these results suggest that sexist beliefs can bias one's judgments of social scientific evidence. Future research should explore whether the same psychological processes operate for judges and jurors as they evaluate the admissibility of evidence and examine ways to attenuate the effect of sexism on evaluations. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  13. Frames of scientific evidence: How journalists represent the (un)certainty of molecular medicine in science television programs.

    PubMed

    Ruhrmann, Georg; Guenther, Lars; Kessler, Sabrina Heike; Milde, Jutta

    2015-08-01

    For laypeople, media coverage of science on television is a gateway to scientific issues. Defining scientific evidence is central to the field of science, but there are still questions if news coverage of science represents scientific research findings as certain or uncertain. The framing approach is a suitable framework to classify different media representations; it is applied here to investigate the frames of scientific evidence in film clips (n=207) taken from science television programs. Molecular medicine is the domain of interest for this analysis, due to its high proportion of uncertain and conflicting research findings and risks. The results indicate that television clips vary in their coverage of scientific evidence of molecular medicine. Four frames were found: Scientific Uncertainty and Controversy, Scientifically Certain Data, Everyday Medical Risks, and Conflicting Scientific Evidence. They differ in their way of framing scientific evidence and risks of molecular medicine. © The Author(s) 2013.

  14. The Evidence-Based Reasoning Framework: Assessing Scientific Reasoning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Nathaniel J. S.; Furtak, Erin Marie; Timms, Michael; Nagashima, Sam O.; Wilson, Mark

    2010-01-01

    Recent science education reforms have emphasized the importance of students engaging with and reasoning from evidence to develop scientific explanations. A number of studies have created frameworks based on Toulmin's (1958/2003) argument pattern, whereas others have developed systems for assessing the quality of students' reasoning to support…

  15. An evidence accumulation model for conflict detection performance in a simulated air traffic control task.

    PubMed

    Neal, Andrew; Kwantes, Peter J

    2009-04-01

    The aim of this article is to develop a formal model of conflict detection performance. Our model assumes that participants iteratively sample evidence regarding the state of the world and accumulate it over time. A decision is made when the evidence reaches a threshold that changes over time in response to the increasing urgency of the task. Two experiments were conducted to examine the effects of conflict geometry and timing on response proportions and response time. The model is able to predict the observed pattern of response times, including a nonmonotonic relationship between distance at point of closest approach and response time, as well as effects of angle of approach and relative velocity. The results demonstrate that evidence accumulation models provide a good account of performance on a conflict detection task. Evidence accumulation models are a form of dynamic signal detection theory, allowing for the analysis of response times as well as response proportions, and can be used for simulating human performance on dynamic decision tasks.

  16. What Constitutes Science and Scientific Evidence: Roles of Null Hypothesis Testing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chang, Mark

    2017-01-01

    We briefly discuss the philosophical basis of science, causality, and scientific evidence, by introducing the hidden but most fundamental principle of science: the similarity principle. The principle's use in scientific discovery is illustrated with Simpson's paradox and other examples. In discussing the value of null hypothesis statistical…

  17. Alcohol-induced blackout as a criminal defense or mitigating factor: an evidence-based review and admissibility as scientific evidence.

    PubMed

    Pressman, Mark R; Caudill, David S

    2013-07-01

    Alcohol-related amnesia--alcohol blackout--is a common claim of criminal defendants. The generally held belief is that during an alcohol blackout, other cognitive functioning is severely impaired or absent. The presentation of alcohol blackout as scientific evidence in court requires that the science meets legal reliability standards (Frye, FRE702/Daubert). To determine whether "alcohol blackout" meets these standards, an evidence-based analysis of published scientific studies was conducted. A total of 26 empirical studies were identified including nine in which an alcohol blackout was induced and directly observed. No objective or scientific method to verify the presence of an alcoholic blackout while it is occurring or to confirm its presence retrospectively was identified. Only short-term memory is impaired and other cognitive functions--planning, attention, and social skills--are not impaired. Alcoholic blackouts would not appear to meet standards for scientific evidence and should not be admissible. © 2013 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  18. Contested evidence: Exposure to competing scientific claims and public support for banning bisphenol A.

    PubMed

    Brewer, Paul R; Ley, Barbara L

    2014-05-01

    The public controversy surrounding bisphenol A (BPA) revolves around competing claims about what scientific evidence shows regarding the effects of the chemical on human health. This study uses an experiment embedded within a public opinion survey to test the effects of exposure to such claims on public support for banning the use of BPA in products. Exposure to the claim that "there is not enough scientific evidence that BPA harms human health" reduced support, whereas exposure to the claim that there "is enough scientific evidence" failed to increase support. No effect emerged among those simultaneously exposed to both claims. The "not enough evidence" claim influenced less educated respondents and women but not college-educated respondents or men. Aspects of the underlying structure of opinion also differed depending on which claim(s) respondents received. The results illuminate how members of the public respond to competing scientific claims regarding controversial issues.

  19. [Scientific evidence on the legalization of abortion in Mexico City].

    PubMed

    Gayón-Vera, Eduardo

    2010-03-01

    On April 24 2007, abortion before 12 weeks became legal in Mexico City. The arguments for this decision were: diminish the maternal morbidity and mortality, avoid a "severe health problem" and accomplish the women's physical, mental and social well being. To analyze the scientific evidences that support or reject this arguments. Retrospective study realized by bibliographic search of electronic data basis and Internet portals of interested groups. Mexico is considered by the World Health Organization, one of the countries in the world with low maternal mortality rates (<100/100,000 live births). The main causes are: preeclampsia-eclampsia, pregnancy related hemorrhage, complications of pregnancy, delivery and puerperium, and other causes (92.2 to 93.1%). In 2007, the Health Services of Mexico City reported 11 deaths (0.03% of the total maternal deaths) associated with "non-spontaneous abortion". In the hospitals of the Mexican Institute of Social Security, maternal deaths as consequence of induced abortions were, approximately, three every year. The evidences used as arguments in favor of abortion come from studies performed in Sub-Saharan African countries, which do not apply to Mexico. The scientific evidences show that induced abortion has important psychological sequels in women, a higher frequency of illegal drug abuse, alcoholism, child abuse, low birth weight in the following pregnancy, greater risk of subsequent miscarriage and greater mortality rate. There are no scientific evidences to support the arguments used for the legal approval of abortion in Mexico City.

  20. What is value—accumulated reward or evidence?

    PubMed Central

    Friston, Karl; Adams, Rick; Montague, Read

    2012-01-01

    Why are you reading this abstract? In some sense, your answer will cast the exercise as valuable—but what is value? In what follows, we suggest that value is evidence or, more exactly, log Bayesian evidence. This implies that a sufficient explanation for valuable behavior is the accumulation of evidence for internal models of our world. This contrasts with normative models of optimal control and reinforcement learning, which assume the existence of a value function that explains behavior, where (somewhat tautologically) behavior maximizes value. In this paper, we consider an alternative formulation—active inference—that replaces policies in normative models with prior beliefs about the (future) states agents should occupy. This enables optimal behavior to be cast purely in terms of inference: where agents sample their sensorium to maximize the evidence for their generative model of hidden states in the world, and minimize their uncertainty about those states. Crucially, this formulation resolves the tautology inherent in normative models and allows one to consider how prior beliefs are themselves optimized in a hierarchical setting. We illustrate these points by showing that any optimal policy can be specified with prior beliefs in the context of Bayesian inference. We then show how these prior beliefs are themselves prescribed by an imperative to minimize uncertainty. This formulation explains the saccadic eye movements required to read this text and defines the value of the visual sensations you are soliciting. PMID:23133414

  1. Memory for Scientific Arguments and Their Sources: Claim-Evidence Consistency Matters

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Steffens, Brent; Britt, M. Anne; Braasch, Jason L.; Strømsø, Helge; Bråten, Ivar

    2014-01-01

    We investigated whether memory for scientific arguments and their sources were affected by the appropriateness of the claim-evidence relationship. Undergraduates read health articles in one of four conditions derived by crossing claim type (causal with definite qualifier, associative with tentative qualifier) and evidence type (experimental,…

  2. An evidence-based patient-centered method makes the biopsychosocial model scientific.

    PubMed

    Smith, Robert C; Fortin, Auguste H; Dwamena, Francesca; Frankel, Richard M

    2013-06-01

    To review the scientific status of the biopsychosocial (BPS) model and to propose a way to improve it. Engel's BPS model added patients' psychological and social health concerns to the highly successful biomedical model. He proposed that the BPS model could make medicine more scientific, but its use in education, clinical care, and, especially, research remains minimal. Many aver correctly that the present model cannot be defined in a consistent way for the individual patient, making it untestable and non-scientific. This stems from not obtaining relevant BPS data systematically, where one interviewer obtains the same information another would. Recent research by two of the authors has produced similar patient-centered interviewing methods that are repeatable and elicit just the relevant patient information needed to define the model at each visit. We propose that the field adopt these evidence-based methods as the standard for identifying the BPS model. Identifying a scientific BPS model in each patient with an agreed-upon, evidence-based patient-centered interviewing method can produce a quantum leap ahead in both research and teaching. A scientific BPS model can give us more confidence in being humanistic. In research, we can conduct more rigorous studies to inform better practices. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Implementing scientific evidence to improve the quality of Child Protection

    PubMed Central

    Cowley, Laura; Tempest, Vanessa; Maguire, Sabine; Mann, Mala; Naughton, Aideen; Wain, Laura; Kemp, Alison

    2013-01-01

    In contrast to other areas of medical practice, there was a lack of a clear, concise and accessible synthesis of scientific literature to aid the recognition and investigation of suspected child abuse, and no national training program or evidence based guidelines for clinicians. The project's aim was to identify the current scientific evidence for the recognition and investigation of suspected child abuse and neglect and to disseminate and introduce this into clinical practice. Since 2003 a comprehensive program of Systematic Reviews of all aspects of physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect of children, has been developed. Based on NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination standards, methodology was devised and reviewers trained. Dissemination was via peer reviewed publications, a series of leaflets highlighting key points in a Question and Answer format, and a website. To date, 21 systematic reviews have been completed, generating 28 peer reviewed publications, and six leaflets around each theme (eg fractures, bruising). More than 250,000 have been distributed to date. Our website generates more than 10,000 hits monthly. It hosts primary reviews that are updated annually, links to all included studies, publications, and detailed methodology. The reviews have directly informed five national clinical guidelines, and the first evidence based training in Child Maltreatment. Child abuse is every health practitioner's responsibility, and it is vital that the decisions made are evidence based, as it is expected in all other fields of medicine. Although challenging, this project demonstrates that it is possible to conduct high quality systematic reviews in this field. For the first time a clear concise synthesis of up to date scientific evidence is available to all practitioners in a range of accessible formats. This has underpinned high quality national guidance and training programs. It ensures all professionals have the appropriate knowledge base in this difficult

  4. Reading for tracing evidence: developing scientific knowledge through science text

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Probosari, R. M.; Widyastuti, F.; Sajidan, S.; Suranto, S.; Prayitno, B. A.

    2018-05-01

    The purposes of this study were to investigate students’ learning progression on reading activity, science concept comprehension and how they imply it in scientific communication in the classroom. Fifty-nine biology education students participated in this study. This classroom research was developed to portray students’ reading activity, factors affecting reading comprehension, and the development of reading motivation. Qualitative analysis was used to describe the whole activities, involve the instruction, process and the product of reading activity. The result concluded that each student has their own way in interpreting the information from scientific text, but generally, they can filter and apply it in their argument as a part of reasoning and evidence. The findings can be used to direct reading activity to the goal of inquiry in order to support the nature of reading as evidence.

  5. An Accumulation-of-Evidence Task Using Visual Pulses for Mice Navigating in Virtual Reality

    PubMed Central

    Pinto, Lucas; Koay, Sue A.; Engelhard, Ben; Yoon, Alice M.; Deverett, Ben; Thiberge, Stephan Y.; Witten, Ilana B.; Tank, David W.; Brody, Carlos D.

    2018-01-01

    The gradual accumulation of sensory evidence is a crucial component of perceptual decision making, but its neural mechanisms are still poorly understood. Given the wide availability of genetic and optical tools for mice, they can be useful model organisms for the study of these phenomena; however, behavioral tools are largely lacking. Here, we describe a new evidence-accumulation task for head-fixed mice navigating in a virtual reality (VR) environment. As they navigate down the stem of a virtual T-maze, they see brief pulses of visual evidence on either side, and retrieve a reward on the arm with the highest number of pulses. The pulses occur randomly with Poisson statistics, yielding a diverse yet well-controlled stimulus set, making the data conducive to a variety of computational approaches. A large number of mice of different genotypes were able to learn and consistently perform the task, at levels similar to rats in analogous tasks. They are sensitive to side differences of a single pulse, and their memory of the cues is stable over time. Moreover, using non-parametric as well as modeling approaches, we show that the mice indeed accumulate evidence: they use multiple pulses of evidence from throughout the cue region of the maze to make their decision, albeit with a small overweighting of earlier cues, and their performance is affected by the magnitude but not the duration of evidence. Additionally, analysis of the mice's running patterns revealed that trajectories are fairly stereotyped yet modulated by the amount of sensory evidence, suggesting that the navigational component of this task may provide a continuous readout correlated to the underlying cognitive variables. Our task, which can be readily integrated with state-of-the-art techniques, is thus a valuable tool to study the circuit mechanisms and dynamics underlying perceptual decision making, particularly under more complex behavioral contexts. PMID:29559900

  6. Dopamine Modulates the Efficiency of Sensory Evidence Accumulation During Perceptual Decision Making.

    PubMed

    Beste, Christian; Adelhöfer, Nico; Gohil, Krutika; Passow, Susanne; Roessner, Veit; Li, Shu-Chen

    2018-04-02

    Perceptual decision making is the process through which available sensory information is gathered and processed to guide our choices. However, the neuropsychopharmacological basis of this important cognitive function is largely elusive. Yet, theoretical considerations suggest that the dopaminergic system may play an important role. In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study design, we examined the effect of methylphenidate in 2 dosages (0.25 mg/kg and 0.5 mg/kg body weight) in separate groups of healthy young adults. We used a moving dots task in which the coherency of the direction of moving dots stimuli was manipulated in 3 levels (5%, 15%, and 35%). Drift diffusion modelling was applied to behavioral data to capture subprocesses of perceptual decision making. The findings show that only the drift rate (v), reflecting the efficiency of sensory evidence accumulation, but not the decision criterion threshold (a) or the duration of nondecisional processes (Ter), is affected by methylphenidate vs placebo administration. Compared with placebo, administering 0.25 mg/kg methylphenidate increased v, but only in the 35% coherence condition. Administering 0.5 mg/kg methylphenidate did not induce modulations. The data suggest that dopamine selectively modulates the efficacy of evidence accumulation during perceptual decision making. This modulation depends on 2 factors: (1) the degree to which the dopaminergic system is modulated using methylphenidate (i.e., methylphenidate dosage) and (2) the signal-to-noise ratio of the visual information. Dopamine affects sensory evidence accumulation only when dopamine concentration is not shifted beyond an optimal level and the incoming information is less noisy.

  7. SEE: structured representation of scientific evidence in the biomedical domain using Semantic Web techniques

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Accounts of evidence are vital to evaluate and reproduce scientific findings and integrate data on an informed basis. Currently, such accounts are often inadequate, unstandardized and inaccessible for computational knowledge engineering even though computational technologies, among them those of the semantic web, are ever more employed to represent, disseminate and integrate biomedical data and knowledge. Results We present SEE (Semantic EvidencE), an RDF/OWL based approach for detailed representation of evidence in terms of the argumentative structure of the supporting background for claims even in complex settings. We derive design principles and identify minimal components for the representation of evidence. We specify the Reasoning and Discourse Ontology (RDO), an OWL representation of the model of scientific claims, their subjects, their provenance and their argumentative relations underlying the SEE approach. We demonstrate the application of SEE and illustrate its design patterns in a case study by providing an expressive account of the evidence for certain claims regarding the isolation of the enzyme glutamine synthetase. Conclusions SEE is suited to provide coherent and computationally accessible representations of evidence-related information such as the materials, methods, assumptions, reasoning and information sources used to establish a scientific finding by adopting a consistently claim-based perspective on scientific results and their evidence. SEE allows for extensible evidence representations, in which the level of detail can be adjusted and which can be extended as needed. It supports representation of arbitrary many consecutive layers of interpretation and attribution and different evaluations of the same data. SEE and its underlying model could be a valuable component in a variety of use cases that require careful representation or examination of evidence for data presented on the semantic web or in other formats. PMID:25093070

  8. SEE: structured representation of scientific evidence in the biomedical domain using Semantic Web techniques.

    PubMed

    Bölling, Christian; Weidlich, Michael; Holzhütter, Hermann-Georg

    2014-01-01

    Accounts of evidence are vital to evaluate and reproduce scientific findings and integrate data on an informed basis. Currently, such accounts are often inadequate, unstandardized and inaccessible for computational knowledge engineering even though computational technologies, among them those of the semantic web, are ever more employed to represent, disseminate and integrate biomedical data and knowledge. We present SEE (Semantic EvidencE), an RDF/OWL based approach for detailed representation of evidence in terms of the argumentative structure of the supporting background for claims even in complex settings. We derive design principles and identify minimal components for the representation of evidence. We specify the Reasoning and Discourse Ontology (RDO), an OWL representation of the model of scientific claims, their subjects, their provenance and their argumentative relations underlying the SEE approach. We demonstrate the application of SEE and illustrate its design patterns in a case study by providing an expressive account of the evidence for certain claims regarding the isolation of the enzyme glutamine synthetase. SEE is suited to provide coherent and computationally accessible representations of evidence-related information such as the materials, methods, assumptions, reasoning and information sources used to establish a scientific finding by adopting a consistently claim-based perspective on scientific results and their evidence. SEE allows for extensible evidence representations, in which the level of detail can be adjusted and which can be extended as needed. It supports representation of arbitrary many consecutive layers of interpretation and attribution and different evaluations of the same data. SEE and its underlying model could be a valuable component in a variety of use cases that require careful representation or examination of evidence for data presented on the semantic web or in other formats.

  9. Consumer perception versus scientific evidence about health benefits and safety risks from fish consumption.

    PubMed

    Verbeke, Wim; Sioen, Isabelle; Pieniak, Zuzanna; Van Camp, John; De Henauw, Stefaan

    2005-06-01

    To investigate the gap between consumer perception and scientific evidence related to health benefits and safety risks from fish consumption. Consumer perceptions from a cross-sectional survey in March 2003 in Belgium were compared with scientific evidence based on a literature review. A quota sampling procedure was used with age as quota control variable. Subjects completed a self-administered questionnaire including health benefit beliefs from fish, fish content and effect beliefs for nutrients and harmful substances. Adults (n=429), who were the main person responsible for food purchasing in the household (284 women; 145 men), aged 18-83 years, from different regional, education, family size and income groups. Fish is predominantly perceived as a healthy food that reduces risk for coronary heart disease, which corroborates scientific evidence. This perception is stronger among women than among men. In contrast with scientific evidence, 46% of the consumers believe that fish contains dietary fibre, whereas less than one-third is aware that fish contains omega-3 fatty acids and that this nutrient has a positive impact on human health. The gap between perception and evidence is larger among consumers with lower education. In general, consumers are better aware of the content and effect of harmful substances than of nutrients in fish. Despite conclusive evidence about the content and positive effect of omega-3 fatty acids in fish, related consumer awareness and beliefs are poor and often wrong. This study exemplifies the need for nutrition education and more effective communication about the health benefits of fish consumption.

  10. Research in Special Education: Scientific Methods and Evidence-Based Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Odom, Samuel L.; Brantlinger, Ellen; Gersten, Russell; Horner, Robert H.; Thompson, Bruce; Harris, Karen R.

    2005-01-01

    This article sets the context for the development of research quality indicators and guidelines for evidence of effective practices provided by different methodologies. The current conceptualization of scientific research in education and the complexity of conducting research in special education settings underlie the development of quality…

  11. Cancer based pharmacogenomics network supported with scientific evidences: from the view of drug repurposing.

    PubMed

    Wang, Liwei; Liu, Hongfang; Chute, Christopher G; Zhu, Qian

    2015-01-01

    Pharmacogenomics (PGx) as an emerging field, is poised to change the way we practice medicine and deliver health care by customizing drug therapies on the basis of each patient's genetic makeup. A large volume of PGx data including information among drugs, genes, and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) has been accumulated. Normalized and integrated PGx information could facilitate revelation of hidden relationships among drug treatments, genomic variations, and phenotype traits to better support drug discovery and next generation of treatment. In this study, we generated a normalized and scientific evidence supported cancer based PGx network (CPN) by integrating cancer related PGx information from multiple well-known PGx resources including the Pharmacogenomics Knowledge Base (PharmGKB), the FDA PGx Biomarkers in Drug Labeling, and the Catalog of Published Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS). We successfully demonstrated the capability of the CPN for drug repurposing by conducting two case studies. The CPN established in this study offers comprehensive cancer based PGx information to support cancer orientated research, especially for drug repurposing.

  12. Empirical Evidence or Intuition? An Activity Involving the Scientific Method

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Overway, Ken

    2007-01-01

    Students need to have basic understanding of scientific method during their introductory science classes and for this purpose an activity was devised which involved a game based on famous Monty Hall game problem. This particular activity allowed students to banish or confirm their intuition based on empirical evidence.

  13. Male circumcision to prevent syphilis in 1855 and HIV in 1986 is supported by the accumulated scientific evidence to 2015: Response to Darby.

    PubMed

    Morris, Brian J; Wamai, Richard G; Krieger, John N; Banerjee, Joya; Klausner, Jeffrey D

    2017-10-01

    An article by Darby disparaging male circumcision (MC) for syphilis prevention in Victorian times (1837-1901) and voluntary medical MC programs for HIV prevention in recent times ignores contemporary scientific evidence. It is one-sided and cites outlier studies as well as claims by MC opponents that support the author's thesis, but ignores high quality randomised controlled trials and meta-analyses. While we agree with Darby that risky behaviours contribute to syphilis and HIV epidemics, there is now compelling evidence that MC helps reduce both syphilis and HIV infections. Although some motivations for MC in Victorian times were misguided, others, such as protection against syphilis, penile cancer, phimosis, balanitis and poor hygiene have stood the test of time. In the absence of a cure or effective prophylactic vaccine for HIV, MC should help lower heterosexually acquired HIV, especially when coupled with other interventions such as condoms and behaviour. This should save lives, as well as reducing costs and suffering. In contrast to Darby, our evaluation of the evidence leads us to conclude that MC would likely have helped reduce syphilis in Victorian times and, in the current era, will help lower both syphilis and HIV, so improving global public health.

  14. Belief beyond the evidence: using the proposed effect of breakfast on obesity to show 2 practices that distort scientific evidence1234

    PubMed Central

    Brown, Andrew W; Bohan Brown, Michelle M

    2013-01-01

    Background: Various intentional and unintentional factors influence beliefs beyond what scientific evidence justifies. Two such factors are research lacking probative value (RLPV) and biased research reporting (BRR). Objective: We investigated the prevalence of RLPV and BRR in research about the proposition that skipping breakfast causes weight gain, which is called the proposed effect of breakfast on obesity (PEBO) in this article. Design: Studies related to the PEBO were synthesized by using a cumulative meta-analysis. Abstracts from these studies were also rated for the improper use of causal language and biased interpretations. In separate analyses, articles that cited an observational study about the PEBO were rated for the inappropriate use of causal language, and articles that cited a randomized controlled trial (RCT) about the PEBO were rated for misleadingly citing the RCT. Results: The current body of scientific knowledge indicates that the PEBO is only presumed true. The observational literature on the PEBO has gratuitously established the association, but not the causal relation, between skipping breakfast and obesity (final cumulative meta-analysis P value <10−42), which is evidence of RLPV. Four examples of BRR are evident in the PEBO literature as follows: 1) biased interpretation of one's own results, 2) improper use of causal language in describing one's own results, 3) misleadingly citing others’ results, and 4) improper use of causal language in citing others’ work. Conclusions: The belief in the PEBO exceeds the strength of scientific evidence. The scientific record is distorted by RLPV and BRR. RLPV is a suboptimal use of collective scientific resources. PMID:24004890

  15. Authorization of Animal Experiments Is Based on Confidence Rather than Evidence of Scientific Rigor

    PubMed Central

    Nathues, Christina; Würbel, Hanno

    2016-01-01

    Accumulating evidence indicates high risk of bias in preclinical animal research, questioning the scientific validity and reproducibility of published research findings. Systematic reviews found low rates of reporting of measures against risks of bias in the published literature (e.g., randomization, blinding, sample size calculation) and a correlation between low reporting rates and inflated treatment effects. That most animal research undergoes peer review or ethical review would offer the possibility to detect risks of bias at an earlier stage, before the research has been conducted. For example, in Switzerland, animal experiments are licensed based on a detailed description of the study protocol and a harm–benefit analysis. We therefore screened applications for animal experiments submitted to Swiss authorities (n = 1,277) for the rates at which the use of seven basic measures against bias (allocation concealment, blinding, randomization, sample size calculation, inclusion/exclusion criteria, primary outcome variable, and statistical analysis plan) were described and compared them with the reporting rates of the same measures in a representative sub-sample of publications (n = 50) resulting from studies described in these applications. Measures against bias were described at very low rates, ranging on average from 2.4% for statistical analysis plan to 19% for primary outcome variable in applications for animal experiments, and from 0.0% for sample size calculation to 34% for statistical analysis plan in publications from these experiments. Calculating an internal validity score (IVS) based on the proportion of the seven measures against bias, we found a weak positive correlation between the IVS of applications and that of publications (Spearman’s rho = 0.34, p = 0.014), indicating that the rates of description of these measures in applications partly predict their rates of reporting in publications. These results indicate that the authorities licensing

  16. Authorization of Animal Experiments Is Based on Confidence Rather than Evidence of Scientific Rigor.

    PubMed

    Vogt, Lucile; Reichlin, Thomas S; Nathues, Christina; Würbel, Hanno

    2016-12-01

    Accumulating evidence indicates high risk of bias in preclinical animal research, questioning the scientific validity and reproducibility of published research findings. Systematic reviews found low rates of reporting of measures against risks of bias in the published literature (e.g., randomization, blinding, sample size calculation) and a correlation between low reporting rates and inflated treatment effects. That most animal research undergoes peer review or ethical review would offer the possibility to detect risks of bias at an earlier stage, before the research has been conducted. For example, in Switzerland, animal experiments are licensed based on a detailed description of the study protocol and a harm-benefit analysis. We therefore screened applications for animal experiments submitted to Swiss authorities (n = 1,277) for the rates at which the use of seven basic measures against bias (allocation concealment, blinding, randomization, sample size calculation, inclusion/exclusion criteria, primary outcome variable, and statistical analysis plan) were described and compared them with the reporting rates of the same measures in a representative sub-sample of publications (n = 50) resulting from studies described in these applications. Measures against bias were described at very low rates, ranging on average from 2.4% for statistical analysis plan to 19% for primary outcome variable in applications for animal experiments, and from 0.0% for sample size calculation to 34% for statistical analysis plan in publications from these experiments. Calculating an internal validity score (IVS) based on the proportion of the seven measures against bias, we found a weak positive correlation between the IVS of applications and that of publications (Spearman's rho = 0.34, p = 0.014), indicating that the rates of description of these measures in applications partly predict their rates of reporting in publications. These results indicate that the authorities licensing animal

  17. Unscientific beliefs about scientific topics in nutrition.

    PubMed

    Brown, Andrew W; Ioannidis, John P A; Cope, Mark B; Bier, Dennis M; Allison, David B

    2014-09-01

    Humans interact with food daily. Such repeated exposure creates a widespread, superficial familiarity with nutrition. Personal familiarity with nutrition from individual and cultural perspectives may give rise to beliefs about food not grounded in scientific evidence. In this summary of the session entitled “Unscientific Beliefs about Scientific Topics in Nutrition,” we discuss accumulated work illustrating and quantifying potentially misleading practices in the conduct and, more so, reporting of nutrition science along with proposed approaches to amelioration. We begin by defining “unscientific beliefs” and from where such beliefs may come, followed by discussing how large bodies of nutritional epidemiologic observations not only create highly improbable patterns of association but implausible magnitudes of implied effect. Poor reporting practices, biases, and methodologic issues that have distorted scientific understandings of nutrition are presented, followed by potential influences of conflicts of interest that extend beyond financial considerations. We conclude with recommendations for improving the conduct, reporting, and communication of nutrition-related research to ground discussions in evidence rather than solely on beliefs.

  18. The nitrogen legacy: emerging evidence of nitrogen accumulation in anthropogenic landscapes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Van Meter, K. J.; Basu, N. B.; Veenstra, J. J.; Burras, C. L.

    2016-03-01

    Watershed and global-scale nitrogen (N) budgets indicate that the majority of the N surplus in anthropogenic landscapes does not reach the coastal oceans. While there is general consensus that this ‘missing’ N either exits the landscape via denitrification or is retained within watersheds as nitrate or organic N, the relative magnitudes of these pools and fluxes are subject to considerable uncertainty. Our study, for the first time, provides direct, large-scale evidence of N accumulation in the root zones of agricultural soils that may account for much of the ‘missing N’ identified in mass balance studies. We analyzed long-term soil data (1957-2010) from 2069 sites throughout the Mississippi River Basin (MRB) to reveal N accumulation in cropland of 25-70 kg ha-1 yr-1, a total of 3.8 ± 1.8 Mt yr-1 at the watershed scale. We then developed a simple modeling framework to capture N depletion and accumulation dynamics under intensive agriculture. Using the model, we show that the observed accumulation of soil organic N (SON) in the MRB over a 30 year period (142 Tg N) would lead to a biogeochemical lag time of 35 years for 99% of legacy SON, even with complete cessation of fertilizer application. By demonstrating that agricultural soils can act as a net N sink, the present work makes a critical contribution towards the closing of watershed N budgets.

  19. Scientific evidence on perineal trauma during labor: Integrative review.

    PubMed

    Vieira, Flaviana; Guimarães, Janaina V; Souza, Marcia C S; Sousa, Poliana M L; Santos, Rafaela F; Cavalcante, Agueda M R Z

    2018-04-01

    To assess the scientific evidence for management and preservation of perineal integrity during the expulsive stage of labor. Integrative review that employed the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome strategy to formulate the research question: Which perineal measure(s) is(are) effective in maintaining perineal integrity during labor? The search was performed in the databases MEDLINE, LILACS, BDENF and SciELO. The ten selected studies were analyzed based on their level of evidence and grade of recommendation. Four categories of measures were located: antenatal perineal care, perineal massage during the expulsive phase of labor, manual perineal support during the expulsive phase of labor and perineal hyaluronidase injection. Based on its level of evidence, perineal massage with lubricants performed by the women or their partners at the end of pregnancy may be recommended as a measure favorable for perineal protection. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. An Update on Accumulating Exercise and Postprandial Lipaemia: Translating Theory Into Practice

    PubMed Central

    Burns, Stephen F; Stensel, David J

    2013-01-01

    Over the last two decades, significant research attention has been given to the acute effect of a single bout of exercise on postprandial lipaemia. A large body of evidence supports the notion that an acute bout of aerobic exercise can reduce postprandial triacylglycerol (TAG) concentrations. However, this effect is short-lived emphasising the important role of regular physical activity for lowering TAG concentrations through an active lifestyle. In 1995, the concept of accumulating physical activity was introduced in expert recommendations with the advice that activity can be performed in several short bouts throughout the day with a minimum duration of 10 minutes per activity bout. Although the concept of accumulation has been widely publicised, there is still limited scientific evidence to support it but several studies have investigated the effects of accumulated activity on health-related outcomes to support the recommendations in physical activity guidelines. One area, which is the focus of this review, is the effect of accumulating exercise on postprandial lipaemia. We propose that accumulating exercise will provide additional physical activity options for lowering postprandial TAG concentrations relevant to individuals with limited time or exercise capacity to engage in more structured forms of exercise, or longer bouts of physical activity. The benefits of accumulated physical activity might translate to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease in the long-term. PMID:23412842

  1. The scientific consensus on climate change as a gateway belief: experimental evidence.

    PubMed

    van der Linden, Sander L; Leiserowitz, Anthony A; Feinberg, Geoffrey D; Maibach, Edward W

    2015-01-01

    There is currently widespread public misunderstanding about the degree of scientific consensus on human-caused climate change, both in the US as well as internationally. Moreover, previous research has identified important associations between public perceptions of the scientific consensus, belief in climate change and support for climate policy. This paper extends this line of research by advancing and providing experimental evidence for a "gateway belief model" (GBM). Using national data (N = 1104) from a consensus-message experiment, we find that increasing public perceptions of the scientific consensus is significantly and causally associated with an increase in the belief that climate change is happening, human-caused and a worrisome threat. In turn, changes in these key beliefs are predictive of increased support for public action. In short, we find that perceived scientific agreement is an important gateway belief, ultimately influencing public responses to climate change.

  2. The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change as a Gateway Belief: Experimental Evidence

    PubMed Central

    van der Linden, Sander L.; Leiserowitz, Anthony A.; Feinberg, Geoffrey D.; Maibach, Edward W.

    2015-01-01

    There is currently widespread public misunderstanding about the degree of scientific consensus on human-caused climate change, both in the US as well as internationally. Moreover, previous research has identified important associations between public perceptions of the scientific consensus, belief in climate change and support for climate policy. This paper extends this line of research by advancing and providing experimental evidence for a “gateway belief model” (GBM). Using national data (N = 1104) from a consensus-message experiment, we find that increasing public perceptions of the scientific consensus is significantly and causally associated with an increase in the belief that climate change is happening, human-caused and a worrisome threat. In turn, changes in these key beliefs are predictive of increased support for public action. In short, we find that perceived scientific agreement is an important gateway belief, ultimately influencing public responses to climate change. PMID:25714347

  3. Emergency department triage scales and their components: a systematic review of the scientific evidence.

    PubMed

    Farrohknia, Nasim; Castrén, Maaret; Ehrenberg, Anna; Lind, Lars; Oredsson, Sven; Jonsson, Håkan; Asplund, Kjell; Göransson, Katarina E

    2011-06-30

    Emergency department (ED) triage is used to identify patients' level of urgency and treat them based on their triage level. The global advancement of triage scales in the past two decades has generated considerable research on the validity and reliability of these scales. This systematic review aims to investigate the scientific evidence for published ED triage scales. The following questions are addressed: 1. Does assessment of individual vital signs or chief complaints affect mortality during the hospital stay or within 30 days after arrival at the ED?2. What is the level of agreement between clinicians' triage decisions compared to each other or to a gold standard for each scale (reliability)? 3. How valid is each triage scale in predicting hospitalization and hospital mortality? A systematic search of the international literature published from 1966 through March 31, 2009 explored the British Nursing Index, Business Source Premier, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and PubMed. Inclusion was limited to controlled studies of adult patients (≥ 15 years) visiting EDs for somatic reasons. Outcome variables were death in ED or hospital and need for hospitalization (validity). Methodological quality and clinical relevance of each study were rated as high, medium, or low. The results from the studies that met the inclusion criteria and quality standards were synthesized applying the internationally developed GRADE system. Each conclusion was then assessed as having strong, moderately strong, limited, or insufficient scientific evidence. If studies were not available, this was also noted.We found ED triage scales to be supported, at best, by limited and often insufficient evidence.The ability of the individual vital signs included in the different scales to predict outcome is seldom, if at all, studied in the ED setting. The scientific evidence to assess interrater agreement (reliability) was limited for one triage scale and insufficient or lacking for all other

  4. Emergency Department Triage Scales and Their Components: A Systematic Review of the Scientific Evidence

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Emergency department (ED) triage is used to identify patients' level of urgency and treat them based on their triage level. The global advancement of triage scales in the past two decades has generated considerable research on the validity and reliability of these scales. This systematic review aims to investigate the scientific evidence for published ED triage scales. The following questions are addressed: 1. Does assessment of individual vital signs or chief complaints affect mortality during the hospital stay or within 30 days after arrival at the ED? 2. What is the level of agreement between clinicians' triage decisions compared to each other or to a gold standard for each scale (reliability)? 3. How valid is each triage scale in predicting hospitalization and hospital mortality? A systematic search of the international literature published from 1966 through March 31, 2009 explored the British Nursing Index, Business Source Premier, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and PubMed. Inclusion was limited to controlled studies of adult patients (≥15 years) visiting EDs for somatic reasons. Outcome variables were death in ED or hospital and need for hospitalization (validity). Methodological quality and clinical relevance of each study were rated as high, medium, or low. The results from the studies that met the inclusion criteria and quality standards were synthesized applying the internationally developed GRADE system. Each conclusion was then assessed as having strong, moderately strong, limited, or insufficient scientific evidence. If studies were not available, this was also noted. We found ED triage scales to be supported, at best, by limited and often insufficient evidence. The ability of the individual vital signs included in the different scales to predict outcome is seldom, if at all, studied in the ED setting. The scientific evidence to assess interrater agreement (reliability) was limited for one triage scale and insufficient or lacking for all other

  5. Osteoarthritis and nutrition. From nutraceuticals to functional foods: a systematic review of the scientific evidence

    PubMed Central

    Ameye, Laurent G; Chee, Winnie SS

    2006-01-01

    The scientific and medical community remains skeptical regarding the efficacy of nutrition for osteoarthritis despite their broad acceptation by patients. In this context, this paper systematically reviews human clinical trials evaluating the effects of nutritional compounds on osteoarthritis. We searched the Medline, Embase, and Biosis databases from their inception to September 2005 using the terms random, double-blind method, trial, study, placebo, and osteoarthritis. We selected all peer-reviewed articles reporting the results of randomised human clinical trials (RCTs) in osteoarthritis that investigated the effects of oral interventions based on natural molecules. Studies on glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate were excluded. The quality of the RCTs was assessed with an osteoarthritic-specific standardised set of 12 criteria and a validated instrument. A best-evidence synthesis was used to categorise the scientific evidence behind each nutritional compound as good, moderate, or limited. A summary of the most relevant in vitro and animal studies is used to shed light on the potential mechanisms of action. Inclusion criteria were met by 53 RCTs out of the 2,026 identified studies. Good evidence was found for avocado soybean unsaponifiables. Moderate evidence was found for methylsulfonylmethane and SKI306X, a cocktail of plant extracts. Limited evidence was found for the Chinese plant extract Duhuo Jisheng Wan, cetyl myristoleate, lipids from green-lipped mussels, and plant extracts from Harpagophytum procumbens. Overall, scientific evidence exists for some specific nutritional interventions to provide symptom relief to osteoarthritic patients. It remains to be investigated whether nutritional compounds can have structure-modifying effects. PMID:16859534

  6. [Evidence-based medicine: the art of applying scientific knowledge in clinical practice].

    PubMed

    Lopes, A A

    2000-01-01

    This article was written with the objective of describing the concept of Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) and the competences required for its practice. EBM should be viewed as an integration of clinical experience with the ability to analyze and rationally apply the scientific information while taking care of patients. The application of methods and strategies to enhance the scientific background of the physician while taking into account the humanitarian values of the medical profession should contribute to improve the quality of the medical care that is offered in Brazil. The Medical Schools and Associations may play important roles in the promotion of EBM.

  7. Korean consumers' perceptions of health/functional food claims according to the strength of scientific evidence

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Ji Yeon; Kang, Eun Jin; Kwon, Oran

    2010-01-01

    In this study, we investigated that consumers could differentiate between levels of claims and clarify how a visual aid influences consumer understanding of the different claim levels. We interviewed 2,000 consumers in 13 shopping malls on their perception of and confidence in different levels of health claims using seven point scales. The average confidence scores given by participants were 4.17 for the probable level and 4.07 for the possible level; the score for the probable level was significantly higher than that for the possible level (P < 0.05). Scores for confidence in claims after reading labels with and without a visual aid were 5.27 and 4.43, respectively; the score for labeling with a visual aid was significantly higher than for labeling without a visual aid (P < 0.01). Our results provide compelling evidence that providing health claims with qualifying language differentiating levels of scientific evidence can help consumers understand the strength of scientific evidence behind those claims. Moreover, when a visual aid was included, consumers perceived the scientific levels more clearly and had greater confidence in their meanings than when a visual aid was not included. Although this result suggests that consumers react differently to different claim levels, it is not yet clear whether consumers understand the variations in the degree of scientific support. PMID:21103090

  8. Correcting Systemic Deficiencies in Our Scientific Infrastructure

    PubMed Central

    Doss, Mohan

    2014-01-01

    Scientific method is inherently self-correcting. When different hypotheses are proposed, their study would result in the rejection of the invalid ones. If the study of a competing hypothesis is prevented because of the faith in an unverified one, scientific progress is stalled. This has happened in the study of low dose radiation. Though radiation hormesis was hypothesized to reduce cancers in 1980, it could not be studied in humans because of the faith in the unverified linear no-threshold model hypothesis, likely resulting in over 15 million preventable cancer deaths worldwide during the past two decades, since evidence has accumulated supporting the validity of the phenomenon of radiation hormesis. Since our society has been guided by scientific advisory committees that ostensibly follow the scientific method, the long duration of such large casualties is indicative of systemic deficiencies in the infrastructure that has evolved in our society for the application of science. Some of these deficiencies have been identified in a few elements of the scientific infrastructure, and remedial steps suggested. Identifying and correcting such deficiencies may prevent similar tolls in the future. PMID:24910580

  9. Dental movement acceleration: Literature review by an alternative scientific evidence method

    PubMed Central

    Camacho, Angela Domínguez; Cujar, Sergio Andres Velásquez

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study was to analyze the majority of publications using effective methods to speed up orthodontic treatment and determine which publications carry high evidence-based value. The literature published in Pubmed from 1984 to 2013 was reviewed, in addition to well-known reports that were not classified under this database. To facilitate evidence-based decision making, guidelines such as the Consolidation Standards of Reporting Trials, Preferred Reporting items for systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses, and Transparent Reporting of Evaluations with Non-randomized Designs check list were used. The studies were initially divided into three groups: local application of cell mediators, physical stimuli, and techniques that took advantage of the regional acceleration phenomena. The articles were classified according to their level of evidence using an alternative method for orthodontic scientific article classification. 1a: Systematic Reviews (SR) of randomized clinical trials (RCTs), 1b: Individual RCT, 2a: SR of cohort studies, 2b: Individual cohort study, controlled clinical trials and low quality RCT, 3a: SR of case-control studies, 3b: Individual case-control study, low quality cohort study and short time following split mouth designs. 4: Case-series, low quality case-control study and non-systematic review, and 5: Expert opinion. The highest level of evidence for each group was: (1) local application of cell mediators: the highest level of evidence corresponds to a 3B level in Prostaglandins and Vitamin D; (2) physical stimuli: vibratory forces and low level laser irradiation have evidence level 2b, Electrical current is classified as 3b evidence-based level, Pulsed Electromagnetic Field is placed on the 4th level on the evidence scale; and (3) regional acceleration phenomena related techniques: for corticotomy the majority of the reports belong to level 4. Piezocision, dentoalveolar distraction, alveocentesis, monocortical tooth dislocation and ligament

  10. Presenting Global Warming and Evolution as Public Health Issues to Encourage Acceptance of Scientific Evidence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stover, Shawn K.; McArthur, Laurence B.; Mabry, Michelle L.

    2013-01-01

    Although evidence supporting anthropogenic global warming and evolution by natural selection is considerable, the public does not embrace these concepts. The current study explores the hypothesis that individuals will become more receptive to scientific viewpoints if evidence for evolution and implications of global warming are presented as issues…

  11. Evidence for gas accumulation associated with diapirism and gas hydrates at the head of the Cape Fear Slide

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Schmuck, E.A.; Paull, C.K.

    1993-01-01

    Single-channel seismic reflection profiles show evidence for areas of significant gas accumulation at the head of the Cape Fear Slide on the continental rise oft North Carolina. Gas accumulation appears to occur beneath a gas hydrate seal in landward-dipping strata and in domed strata associated with diapirism. In addition, gas venting may have occurred near diapirs located at the head of the slide.

  12. Scientific Evidence as Content Knowledge: A Replication Study with English and Turkish Pre-Service Primary Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roberts, Ros; Sahin-Pekmez, Esin

    2012-01-01

    Pre-service teachers around the world need to develop their content knowledge of scientific evidence to meet the requirements of recent school curriculum developments which prepare pupils to be scientifically literate. This research reports a replication study in Turkey of an intervention originally carried out with pre-service primary teachers in…

  13. Developing resident learning profiles: Do scientific evidence epistemology beliefs, EBM self-efficacy beliefs and EBM skills matter?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Robert, Nancy J.

    This study investigated resident scientific evidence epistemology beliefs, evidence based medicine (EBM) self-efficacy beliefs, and EBM skills. A convenience sample of fifty-one residents located in six U.S. based residency programs completed an online instrument. Hofer's epistemology survey questionnaire was modified to test responses based on four types of scientific evidence encountered in medical practice (Clinical Trial Phase 1, Clinical Trial Phase 3, Meta-analysis and Qualitative). It was hypothesized that epistemology beliefs would differ based on the type of scientific evidence considered. A principal components analysis produced a two factor solution that was significant across type of scientific evidence suggesting that when evaluating epistemology beliefs context does matter. Factor 1 is related to the certainty of research methods and the certainty of medical conclusions and factor 2 denotes medical justification. For each type of scientific evidence, both factors differed on questions comprising the factor structure with significant differences found for the factor 1 and 2 questions. A justification belief case problem using checklist format was triangulated with the survey results, and as predicted the survey and checklist justification z scores indicated no significant differences, and two new justification themes emerged. Modified versions of Finney and Schraw's statistical self-efficacy and skill instruments produced expected significant EBM score correlations with unexpected results indicating that the number of EBM and statistics courses are not significant for EBM self-efficacy and skill scores. The study results were applied to the construction of a learning profile that provided residents belief and skill feedback specific to individual learning needs. The learning profile design incorporated core values related to 'Believer' populations that focus on art, harmony, tact and diplomacy. Future research recommendations include testing context

  14. [Controversies about instrumented surgery and pain relief in degenerative lumbar spine pain. Results of scientific evidence].

    PubMed

    Robaina-Padrón, F J

    2007-10-01

    studies in subgroups of patients. We still are needing randomized studies to compare the surgical results with the natural history of the disease, the placebo effect, or the conservative treatment. The European Guidelines for lumbar chronic pain management show a "strong evidence" indicating that complex and demanding spine surgery where different instrumentation is used, is not more effective than a simple, safer and cheaper posterolateral fusion without instrumentation. Recently, the literature published in this field is sending a message to use "minimally invasive techniques", abandon transpedicular fusions and clearly indicating that we must apply the knowledge accumulated at least along the last 20 years based on the scientific evidence. In conclusion, based in recent information, we must recommend the "abandon of the instrumented pathway" in a great number of present indications for degenerative spine surgery, and look for new strategies in the field of rehabilitation and conservative treatments correctly apply, using before the decompressive and instrumented surgery all the interventional and minimally invasive techniques that are presently offer in the field of modem lumbar chronic pain treatment.

  15. European Code against Cancer 4th Edition: Process of reviewing the scientific evidence and revising the recommendations.

    PubMed

    Minozzi, Silvia; Armaroli, Paola; Espina, Carolina; Villain, Patricia; Wiseman, Martin; Schüz, Joachim; Segnan, Nereo

    2015-12-01

    The European Code Against Cancer is a set of recommendations to give advice on cancer prevention. Its 4th edition is an update of the 3rd edition, from 2003. Working Groups of independent experts from different fields of cancer prevention were appointed to review the recommendations, supported by a Literature Group to provide scientific and technical support in the assessment of the scientific evidence, through systematic reviews of the literature. Common procedures were developed to guide the experts in identifying, retrieving, assessing, interpreting and summarizing the scientific evidence in order to revise the recommendations. The Code strictly followed the concept of providing advice to European Union citizens based on the current best available science. The advice, if followed, would be expected to reduce cancer risk, referring both to avoiding or reducing exposure to carcinogenic agents or changing behaviour related to cancer risk and to participating in medical interventions able to avert specific cancers or their consequences. The information sources and procedures for the review of the scientific evidence are described here in detail. The 12 recommendations of the 4th edition of the European Code Against Cancer were ultimately approved by a Scientific Committee of leading European cancer and public health experts. Copyright © 2015 International Agency for Research on Cancer. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. [Evidence-based management of medical disposable materials].

    PubMed

    Yang, Hai

    2009-03-01

    Evidence-based management of medical disposable materials pays attention to collect evidence comprehensively and systematically, accumulate and create evidence through its own work and also evaluate evidence strictly. This can be used as a function to guide out job. Medical disposable materials evidence system contains product register qualification, product quality certification, supplier's behavior, internal and external communication evidence. Managers can find different ways in creating and using evidence referring to specific inside and outside condition. Evidence-based management can help accelerating the development of management of medical disposable materials from traditional experience pattern to a systematic and scientific pattern. It also has the very important meaning to improve medical quality, control the unreasonable growth of medical expense and make purchase and supply chain be more efficient.

  17. Evidence for gas accumulation associated with diapirism and gas hydrates at the head of the Cape Fear Slide

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Schmuck, E.A.; Paull, C.K.

    1993-01-01

    Single-channel seismic reflection profiles show evidence for areas of significant gas accumulation at the head of the Cape Fear Slide on the continental rise off North Carolina. Gas accumulation appears to occur beneath a gas hydrate seal in landward-dipping strata and in domed strata associated with diapirism. In addition, gas venting may have occurred near diapirs located at the head of the slide. ?? 1993 Springer-Verlag.

  18. Scientific reasoning in early and middle childhood: the development of domain-general evidence evaluation, experimentation, and hypothesis generation skills.

    PubMed

    Piekny, Jeanette; Maehler, Claudia

    2013-06-01

    According to Klahr's (2000, 2005; Klahr & Dunbar, 1988) Scientific Discovery as Dual Search model, inquiry processes require three cognitive components: hypothesis generation, experimentation, and evidence evaluation. The aim of the present study was to investigate (a) when the ability to evaluate perfect covariation, imperfect covariation, and non-covariation evidence emerges, (b) when experimentation emerges, (c) when hypothesis generation skills emerge, and (d), whether these abilities develop synchronously during childhood. We administered three scientific reasoning tasks referring to the three components to 223 children of five age groups (from age 4.0 to 13.5 years). Our results show that the three cognitive components of domain-general scientific reasoning emerge asynchronously. The development of domain-general scientific reasoning begins with the ability to handle unambiguous data, progresses to the interpretation of ambiguous data, and leads to a flexible adaptation of hypotheses according to the sufficiency of evidence. When children understand the relation between the level of ambiguity of evidence and the level of confidence in hypotheses, the ability to differentiate conclusive from inconclusive experiments accompanies this development. Implications of these results for designing science education concepts for young children are briefly discussed. © 2012 The British Psychological Society.

  19. Rapid temporal accumulation in spider fear: Evidence from hierarchical drift diffusion modelling.

    PubMed

    Tipples, Jason

    2015-12-01

    Fear can distort sense of time--making time seem slow or even stand still. Here, I used hierarchical drift diffusion modeling (HDDM; Vandekerckhove, Tuerlinckx, & Lee, 2008, 2011; Wiecki, Sofer, & Frank, 2013) to test the idea that temporal accumulation speeds up during fear. Eighteen high fearful and 23 low fearful participants judged the duration of both feared stimuli (spiders) and nonfeared stimuli (birds) in a temporal bisection task. The drift diffusion modeling results support the main hypothesis. In high but not low fearful individuals, evidence accumulated more rapidly toward a long duration decision-drift rates were higher-for spiders compared with birds. This result and further insights into how fear affects time perception would not have been possible on the basis of analyses of choice proportion data alone. Further results were interpreted in the context of a recent 2-stage model of time perception (Balcı & Simen, 2014). The results highlight the usefulness of diffusion modeling to test process-based explanations of disordered cognition in emotional disorders. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  20. Evidence Accumulation and Change Rate Inference in Dynamic Environments.

    PubMed

    Radillo, Adrian E; Veliz-Cuba, Alan; Josić, Krešimir; Kilpatrick, Zachary P

    2017-06-01

    In a constantly changing world, animals must account for environmental volatility when making decisions. To appropriately discount older, irrelevant information, they need to learn the rate at which the environment changes. We develop an ideal observer model capable of inferring the present state of the environment along with its rate of change. Key to this computation is an update of the posterior probability of all possible change point counts. This computation can be challenging, as the number of possibilities grows rapidly with time. However, we show how the computations can be simplified in the continuum limit by a moment closure approximation. The resulting low-dimensional system can be used to infer the environmental state and change rate with accuracy comparable to the ideal observer. The approximate computations can be performed by a neural network model via a rate-correlation-based plasticity rule. We thus show how optimal observers accumulate evidence in changing environments and map this computation to reduced models that perform inference using plausible neural mechanisms.

  1. [Bibliometric analysis of scientific articles on evidence-based nursing of burn in the mainland of China].

    PubMed

    Yue, L Q; Pi, X Q; Fan, X G

    2016-07-20

    To analyze the current research status of evidence-based nursing of burn in the mainland of China, in order to provide basis for the improvement of scientificity of burn nursing practice. Chinese scientific articles on evidence-based nursing of burn in the mainland of China published from January 1997 to December 2015 were retrieved from Chinese Biology Medicine disc, Chinese Journals Full-text Database, Wanfang Database, and VIP Database. From the results retrieved, date with regard to publication year, region of affiliation of the first author, journal distribution, literature type, literature quality assessment, topic of evidence-based research, fund program support, implementation of evidence-based practice steps, and language and quantity of reference. Data were processed with Microsoft Excel software. A total of 50 articles conforming to the criteria were retrieved. (1) Articles about evidence-based nursing of burn arose in 2004. Compared with that in the previous year, there was no obvious increase in the number of relevant articles in each year from 2004 to 2011. The number of literature in 2012 was obviously increased than that in each year from 2004 to 2011, while the number of literature in each year from 2012 to 2015 was not obviously increased compared with that in the previous year. (2) The regions of affiliation of the first author were distributed in 13 provinces, 3 minority autonomous regions, and 3 municipalities, with the largest distribution in East China, and Northwest China and Southwest China in the follow. (3) The articles were published in 32 domestic journals, with 9 (28.12%) nursing journals, 5 (15.62%) burn medical related journals, and 18 (56.25%) other journals. Twenty (40%) articles were published in Source Journal for Chinese Scientific and Technical Papers. (4) Regarding the literature type, 31 (62%) articles dealt with clinical experiences, 17 (34%) articles dealt with scientific research, and 2 (4%) articles dealt with case report

  2. A prospective multiple case study of the impact of emerging scientific evidence on established colorectal cancer screening programs: a study protocol.

    PubMed

    Geddie, Hannah; Dobrow, Mark J; Hoch, Jeffrey S; Rabeneck, Linda

    2012-06-01

    Health-policy decision making is a complex and dynamic process, for which strong evidentiary support is required. This includes scientifically produced research, as well as information that relates to the context in which the decision takes place. Unlike scientific evidence, this "contextual evidence" is highly variable and often includes information that is not scientifically produced, drawn from sources such as political judgement, program management experience and knowledge, or public values. As the policy decision-making process is variable and difficult to evaluate, it is often unclear how this heterogeneous evidence is identified and incorporated into "evidence-based policy" decisions. Population-based colorectal cancer screening poses an ideal context in which to examine these issues. In Canada, colorectal cancer screening programs have been established in several provinces over the past five years, based on the fecal occult blood test (FOBT) or the fecal immunochemical test. However, as these programs develop, new scientific evidence for screening continues to emerge. Recently published randomized controlled trials suggest that the use of flexible sigmoidoscopy for population-based screening may pose a greater reduction in mortality than the FOBT. This raises the important question of how policy makers will address this evidence, given that screening programs are being established or are already in place. This study will examine these issues prospectively and will focus on how policy makers monitor emerging scientific evidence and how both scientific and contextual evidence are identified and applied for decisions about health system improvement. This study will employ a prospective multiple case study design, involving participants from Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Quebec. In each province, data will be collected via document analysis and key informant interviews. Documents will include policy briefs, reports, meeting minutes, media

  3. Herbs with potential nephrotoxic effects according to traditional Persian medicine: Review and assessment of scientific evidence.

    PubMed

    Kolangi, Fatemeh; Memariani, Zahra; Bozorgi, Mahboubeh; Mozaffarpur, Seyyed Ali; Mirzapour, Mohaddeseh

    2018-04-03

    The increased use of herbal remedies particularly in patients with kidney diseases indicated the importance of studies which focused on nephrotoxic plants. The present study aimed to review and assess the kidney-damaging herbs mentioned in the Persian medicine [PM] books. The main PM books were searched for nephrotoxic herbs and their relevant reformers traditionally proposed for preventing renal damage. PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar were investigated for evaluation of the scientific evidence relating to the nephrotoxicity of herbs. A total of 64 plants with kidney damage potential and their reformer medicaments were recorded in 7 sources included in this review. Allium schoenoprasum and Marrubium vulgare were the most repeated and emphasized nephrotoxic plants in PM books, but there was not any relevant scientific evidence. Despite the lack of clinical studies, some evidence was found for 38% of plants that were related to renal damage. The most repeated reformers for reducing the renal side effects mainly consisted of gum tragacanth, gum Arabic, mastic gum, anise, jujube and honey and some evidence was found for their nephroprotective activities. The present study reviewed and assessed the herbs with adverse renal effects in the main PM books. Some evidence was in line with the potential nephrotoxicity of plants and their ‎reformers. Despite the lack of clinical research for evaluation of their renal damage, the herbs may be focused in term of their nephrotoxicity; and there is a need for further studies on the scientific basis of their nephrotoxicity. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  4. RELATING ACCUMULATOR MODEL PARAMETERS AND NEURAL DYNAMICS

    PubMed Central

    Purcell, Braden A.; Palmeri, Thomas J.

    2016-01-01

    Accumulator models explain decision-making as an accumulation of evidence to a response threshold. Specific model parameters are associated with specific model mechanisms, such as the time when accumulation begins, the average rate of evidence accumulation, and the threshold. These mechanisms determine both the within-trial dynamics of evidence accumulation and the predicted behavior. Cognitive modelers usually infer what mechanisms vary during decision-making by seeing what parameters vary when a model is fitted to observed behavior. The recent identification of neural activity with evidence accumulation suggests that it may be possible to directly infer what mechanisms vary from an analysis of how neural dynamics vary. However, evidence accumulation is often noisy, and noise complicates the relationship between accumulator dynamics and the underlying mechanisms leading to those dynamics. To understand what kinds of inferences can be made about decision-making mechanisms based on measures of neural dynamics, we measured simulated accumulator model dynamics while systematically varying model parameters. In some cases, decision- making mechanisms can be directly inferred from dynamics, allowing us to distinguish between models that make identical behavioral predictions. In other cases, however, different parameterized mechanisms produce surprisingly similar dynamics, limiting the inferences that can be made based on measuring dynamics alone. Analyzing neural dynamics can provide a powerful tool to resolve model mimicry at the behavioral level, but we caution against drawing inferences based solely on neural analyses. Instead, simultaneous modeling of behavior and neural dynamics provides the most powerful approach to understand decision-making and likely other aspects of cognition and perception. PMID:28392584

  5. Teachers' Perceptions of the Role of Evidence in Teaching Controversial Socio-Scientific Issues

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Levinson, Ralph

    2006-01-01

    Eighty-three teachers across the curriculum were interviewed to explain their views on and approaches to, the teaching of socio-scientific controversial issues to 14-19 year olds, particularly with regard to developments in biomedicine and biotechnology. This study focused on teachers' views on the nature of evidence in controversial issues and…

  6. Visuospatial Asymmetries Arise from Differences in the Onset Time of Perceptual Evidence Accumulation.

    PubMed

    Newman, Daniel P; Loughnane, Gerard M; Kelly, Simon P; O'Connell, Redmond G; Bellgrove, Mark A

    2017-03-22

    Healthy subjects tend to exhibit a bias of visual attention whereby left hemifield stimuli are processed more quickly and accurately than stimuli appearing in the right hemifield. It has long been held that this phenomenon arises from the dominant role of the right cerebral hemisphere in regulating attention. However, methods that would enable more precise understanding of the mechanisms underpinning visuospatial bias have remained elusive. We sought to finely trace the temporal evolution of spatial biases by leveraging a novel bilateral dot motion detection paradigm. In combination with electroencephalography, this paradigm enables researchers to isolate discrete neural signals reflecting the key neural processes needed for making these detection decisions. These include signals for spatial attention, early target selection, evidence accumulation, and motor preparation. Using this method, we established that three key neural markers accounted for unique between-subject variation in visuospatial bias: hemispheric asymmetry in posterior α power measured before target onset, which is related to the distribution of preparatory attention across the visual field; asymmetry in the peak latency of the early N2c target-selection signal; and, finally, asymmetry in the onset time of the subsequent neural evidence-accumulation process with earlier onsets for left hemifield targets. Our development of a single paradigm to dissociate distinct processing components that track the temporal evolution of spatial biases not only advances our understanding of the neural mechanisms underpinning normal visuospatial attention bias, but may also in the future aid differential diagnoses in disorders of spatial attention. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The significance of this research is twofold. First, it shows that individual differences in how humans direct their attention between left and right space reflects physiological differences in how early the brain starts to accumulate evidence for

  7. Measuring the perceived uncertainty of scientific evidence and its relationship to engagement with science.

    PubMed

    Retzbach, Joachim; Otto, Lukas; Maier, Michaela

    2016-08-01

    Many scholars have argued for the need to communicate openly not only scientific successes to the public but also limitations, such as the tentativeness of research findings, in order to enhance public trust and engagement. Yet, it has not been quantitatively assessed how the perception of scientific uncertainties relates to engagement with science on an individual level. In this article, we report the development and testing of a new questionnaire in English and German measuring the perceived uncertainty of scientific evidence. Results indicate that the scale is reliable and valid in both language versions and that its two subscales are differentially related to measures of engagement: Science-friendly attitudes were positively related only to 'subjectively' perceived uncertainty, whereas interest in science as well as behavioural engagement actions and intentions were largely uncorrelated. We conclude that perceiving scientific knowledge to be uncertain is only weakly, but positively related to engagement with science. © The Author(s) 2015.

  8. Using scientific evidence to improve information practice.

    PubMed

    Bradley, J; Marshall, J G

    1995-09-01

    The recent policy statement of the Medical Library Association (MLA) takes the position that scientific evidence is the basis for improving the quality of library and information sciences now and in the future. Research activity is seen as the foundation of an evolving knowledge base for the profession--a knowledge base that will set health sciences librarians apart from others in an increasingly competitive world of information service providers. The statement represents the culmination of many years of activity by association members, during which the role of research in health information practice has been debated. Over a similar time period, the quality movement, with its increasing demand for the collection and use of data, has been growing. Developments such as total quality management (TQM) and continuous quality improvement (CQI) reinforce the centrality of research with its increasing demand for the collection and use of data, has been growing. Developments such as total quality management (TQM) and continuous quality improvement (CQI) reinforce the centrality of research and its relationship to efficient and effective information practice as envisioned in the MLA policy statement.

  9. Further scientific evidence of the non-poisonous death of Napoleon.

    PubMed

    Corso, P F; Hindmarsh, T

    1996-01-01

    Napoleon's death has been historically attributed to cancer of the stomach. This has been documented in numerous writings including those of Antommarchi, Henry, and Shortt, all of whom were present at Napoleon's autopsy in 1821. These documents have been well preserved and have been accepted by historians and scholars worldwide as the probable cause of Napoleon's death. In an earlier presentation, the senior author presented a detailed historical review of Napoleon's death in a paper entitled 'The Last Days and Hours of Napoleon-What Really Happened'. This was given at the famous 'Debate of the Century' at the Napoleonic Society Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, in September of 1994. This paper will concern itself more specifically with new scientific material giving additional support to the cancerous cause of Napoleon's death, and with the lack of evidence of any substance which could cause his death to be attributed to arsenic poisoning. Hairs previously untested and even unknown to exist provide the basis for this new evidence.

  10. Scientific evidence of dockworker illness to nursing clinical reasoning.

    PubMed

    Almeida, Marlise Capa Verde de; Cezar-Vaz, Marta Regina

    2016-04-01

    To identify scientific evidence of occupational illness of dockworkers published in the literature. systematic review of the literature, developed according to the Cochrane method. The databases searched were: Cochrane, LILACS, MEDLINE/PubMed, CINAHL and SciELO. Studies from 1988 to 2014 were selected. The data were analyzed according to the level of evidence and Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology. We included 14 studies, in which 11 (78.6%) were from international journals. The year of 2012 showed greater number of studies. All studies were classified as: Level of Evidence 4, highlighting lung cancer, musculoskeletal and ischemic diseases, causal link in chemical risks. The development of preventive measures should especially include chemical exposure of workers applying the clinical reasoning of nurses' environmental knowledge to care for illnesses. Identificar evidências científicas de adoecimento ocupacional do trabalhador portuário publicadas na literatura. Revisão sistemática da literatura, construída conforme o método Cochrane. As bases de dados pesquisadas foram Cochrane, LILACS, MEDLINE/PubMed, CINAHL e SciELO. Foram selecionados artigos publicados de 1988 a 2014. Os dados foram analisados conforme o Nível de Evidência e Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology. Foram selecionadas 14 publicações, das quais 11 (78,6%) de revistas internacionais. O ano de 2012 reuniu maior número de publicações no período de estudo. Todas as publicações pertenciam ao Nível de Evidência 4, destacando o câncer pulmonar, doenças osteomusculares e isquêmicas, com nexo causal nos riscos químicos. A elaboração de medidas preventivas deve prever especialmente a exposição química do trabalhador, aplicando ao raciocínio clínico do enfermeiro um conhecimento ambiental para a assistência aos adoecimentos.

  11. [Scientific Evidence on Preventive Interventions in Childhood Obesity].

    PubMed

    Alba-Martín, Raquel

    The increasing prevalence of obesity or overweight at all ages, their associated morbidity and mortality associated, and the increased perception of the problem by the society have generated several hypotheses in response to the scientific and the international community. Investigate the preventive interventions in childhood obesity so far. Integrative review during the study period from April 2013 to November 2014. The MEDLINE international database was used, including PubMed, the Cochrane Library (Issue 4 2002), the national database Isooc (CSIC) national database, as well as the Internet. The review included health articles published in Spanish and English between 1990 and 2014 that focused on or included education, prevention, diagnostic, and treatment of obesity interventions. Of the 726 articles identified, 34 of most relevant (peer reviewed) were selected. It was noted that there is limited generisable evidence on interventions that could be implemented in Primary Care or referral services available, although numerous studies suggest that improvements in the overweight are possible. Despite the abundant literature and that many institutions place childhood obesity as one of the priorities of Public Health, we face the paradox that the evidence on cost-effectiveness of prevention interventions is sparse. Knowing these gaps in knowledge should lead to filling them with rigorous and well-designed studies. Copyright © 2016 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

  12. Kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) as a superfood: Review of the scientific evidence behind the statement.

    PubMed

    Šamec, Dunja; Urlić, Branimir; Salopek-Sondi, Branka

    2018-03-20

    Kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) is a cruciferous vegetable, characterized by leaves along the stem, which, in recent years, have gained a great popularity as a ´superfood´. Consequently, in a popular culture it is listed in many ´lists of the healthiest vegetables´. Without the doubt, a scientific evidences support the fact that cruciferous vegetables included in human diet can positively affect health and well-being, but remains unclear why kale is declared superior in comparison with other cruciferous. It is questionable if this statement about kale is triggered by scientific evidence or by some other factors. Our review aims to bring an overview of kale's botanical characteristics, agronomic requirements, contemporary and traditional use, macronutrient and phytochemical content and biological activity, in order to point out the reasons for tremendous kale popularity.

  13. Arthroplasty knee registry of Catalonia: What scientific evidence supports the implantation of our prosthesis?

    PubMed

    Samaniego Alonso, R; Gaviria Parada, E; Pons Cabrafiga, M; Espallargues Carreras, M; Martinez Cruz, O

    2018-02-28

    In our environment, it is increasingly necessary to perform an activity based on scientific evidence and the field of prosthetic surgery should be governed by the same principles. The national arthroplasty registries allow us to obtain a large amount of data in order to evaluate this technique. The aim of our study is to analyse the scientific evidence that supports the primary total knee arthroplasties implanted in Catalonian public hospitals, based on the Arthoplasty Registry of Catalonia (RACat) MATERIAL AND METHODS: A review of the literature was carried out on knee prostheses (cruciate retaining, posterior stabilized, constricted and rotational) recorded in RACat between the period 2005-2013 in the following databases: Orthopedic Data Evaluation Panel, PubMed, TripDatabase and Google Scholar. The prostheses implanted in fewer than 10 units (1,358 prostheses corresponding to 62 models) were excluded. 41,947 prostheses (96.86%) were analysed out of 43,305 implanted, corresponding to 74 different models. In 13 models (n = 4,715) (11.24%) no clinical evidence to support their use was found. In the remaining 36 models (n = 13,609) (32.45%), level iv studies were the most predominant evidence. There was a significant number of implanted prostheses (11.24%) for which no clinical evidence was found. The number of models should be noted, 36 out of 110, with fewer than 10 units implanted. The use of arthroplasty registries has proved an extremely useful tool that allows us to analyse and draw conclusions in order to improve the efficiency of this surgical technique. Copyright © 2018 SECOT. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  14. Hybrid regimes of knowledge? Challenges for constructing scientific evidence in the context of the GMO-debate.

    PubMed

    Böschen, Stefan

    2009-07-01

    Over the last two decades, there has been a remarkable shift of attention to the scientific and political fundamentals of the precautionary principle. The application of this principle has become a main strategy of coping with the different forms and problems related to non-knowledge. Thus, societies are increasingly confronted with the challenging and hitherto unresolved problem of political and technological decision-making under conditions of diverging framings of non-knowledge. At present, there seems to be no generally accepted scientific or institutional approach. This is why the fundamental question of how different scientific actors define and construct evidence is not answered yet. Hence, this paper is based on the consideration that the conflicts in risk policy concerning genetically modified organisms (GMO) depend on the unresolved conflicts about the diverging scientific strategies and structures of evidence-making between the epistemic cultures involved. Thus, this study investigates two questions: (1) do the epistemic strategies of evidence-making differ systematically with the scientific actors involved in the GMO-debate? (2) What consequences emerge considering institutionalized procedures of decision-making? This article is based on a secondary analysis of findings and perspectives reported in the literature and on the methods of qualitative social empirical research, i.e., interviews with experts. A total number of 34 interviews were conducted to explore the different strategies of handling non-knowledge and constructing evidence. Actors from science, administration, business and NGOs were interviewed. In this way, typical epistemic cultures can be described. An epistemic culture is the constellation of methodological strategies, theoretical assumptions and practical-experimental settings which define in every speciality the ways how we know what we know. There are two main results. Firstly, it was worked out that the epistemic cultures involved

  15. Expert opinions and scientific evidence for colonoscopy key performance indicators.

    PubMed

    Rees, Colin J; Bevan, Roisin; Zimmermann-Fraedrich, Katharina; Rutter, Matthew D; Rex, Douglas; Dekker, Evelien; Ponchon, Thierry; Bretthauer, Michael; Regula, Jaroslaw; Saunders, Brian; Hassan, Cesare; Bourke, Michael J; Rösch, Thomas

    2016-12-01

    Colonoscopy is a widely performed procedure with procedural volumes increasing annually throughout the world. Many procedures are now performed as part of colorectal cancer screening programmes. Colonoscopy should be of high quality and measures of this quality should be evidence based. New UK key performance indicators and quality assurance standards have been developed by a working group with consensus agreement on each standard reached. This paper reviews the scientific basis for each of the quality measures published in the UK standards. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  16. Effects of Scaffolds and Scientific Reasoning Ability on Web-Based Scientific Inquiry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wu, Hui-Ling; Weng, Hsiao-Lan; She, Hsiao-Ching

    2016-01-01

    This study examined how background knowledge, scientific reasoning ability, and various scaffolding forms influenced students' science knowledge and scientific inquiry achievements. The students participated in an online scientific inquiry program involving such activities as generating scientific questions and drawing evidence-based conclusions,…

  17. Examination of the "CSI Effect" on Perceptions of Scientific and Testimonial Evidence in a Hong Kong Chinese Sample.

    PubMed

    Hui, Cora Y T; Lo, T Wing

    2017-05-01

    Television is a powerful medium through which to convey information and messages to the public. The recent proliferation of forensic science and criminal justice information throughout all forms of media, coupled with raised expectations toward forensic evidence, has led some to suspect that a "CSI effect" ( Crime Scene Investigation effect) is taking place. The present study contributes to the literature addressing the CSI effect in two ways. First, it examines whether the CSI effect exists in the Chinese population of Hong Kong. Second, using a mock-jury paradigm, it empirically examines a more integrative perspective of the CSI effect. It was found that, although the amount of media coverage involving forensic evidence does influence participants' perception of legal evidence to some degree, such a perception does not affect participants' legal decision making. Viewers of forensic dramas were not more likely to convict the defendant when forensic evidence was presented and not less likely to convict when only testimonial evidence was presented. The only significant predictor of the defendant's culpability when scientific evidence was presented was participants' ratings of the reliability of scientific evidence. Results from the present study lend no support to the existence of the CSI effect in Hong Kong.

  18. Ultrastructural and clinical evidence of subretinal debris accumulation in type 2 macular telangiectasia.

    PubMed

    Cherepanoff, Svetlana; Killingsworth, Murray C; Zhu, Meidong; Nolan, Timothy; Hunyor, Alex P; Young, Stephanie H; Hageman, Gregory S; Gillies, Mark C

    2012-11-01

    To describe subretinal debris found on ultrastructural examination in an eye with macular telangiectasia (MacTel) type 2 and on optical coherence tomography (OCT) in a subset of patients with MacTel type 2. Blocks from the mid-periphery and temporal perifovea of an eye with clinically documented MacTel type 2 were examined with electron microscopy (EM). Cases came from the Sydney centre of the MacTel project and the practices of the authors. On EM examination, subretinal debris was found in the perifovea with accumulation of degenerate photoreceptor elements in the subretinal space. Despite the substantial subretinal debris, there was minimal retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) reaction. Focal defects were seen in the inner limiting membrane in the perifovea. Of the 65 Sydney MacTel project participants, three (5%) had prominent yellow material at the fovea. OCT revealed smooth mounds between the RPE and the ellipsoid region. The material was hyperautofluorescent. This study suggests that subretinal accumulation of photoreceptor debris may be a feature of MacTel type 2. Ultrastructural and OCT evidence of disease beyond the vasculature, involving photoreceptors and Muller cells, is presented.

  19. Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in patients with cystic fibrosis: scientific evidence regarding clinical impact, diagnosis, and treatment*

    PubMed Central

    da Silva, Luiz Vicente Ribeiro Ferreira; Ferreira, Flavia de Aguiar; Reis, Francisco José Caldeira; de Britto, Murilo Carlos Amorim; Levy, Carlos Emilio; Clark, Otavio; Ribeiro, José Dirceu

    2013-01-01

    Evidence-based techniques have been increasingly used in the creation of clinical guidelines and the development of recommendations for medical practice. The use of levels of evidence allows the reader to identify the quality of scientific information that supports the recommendations made by experts. The objective of this review was to address current concepts related to the clinical impact, diagnosis, and treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in patients with cystic fibrosis. For the preparation of this review, the authors defined a group of questions that would be answered in accordance with the principles of PICO–an acronym based on questions regarding the Patients of interest, Intervention being studied, Comparison of the intervention, and Outcome of interest. For each question, a structured review of the literature was performed using the Medline database in order to identify the studies with the methodological design most appropriate to answering the question. The questions were designed so that each of the authors could write a response. A first draft was prepared and discussed by the group. Recommendations were then made on the basis of the level of scientific evidence, in accordance with the classification system devised by the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, as well as the level of agreement among the members of the group. PMID:24068273

  20. [Workplace violence in Latin America: A review of the scientific evidence].

    PubMed

    Ansoleaga, Elisa; Gómez-Rubio, Constanza; Mauro, Amalia

    2015-01-01

    Workplace Violence has acquired social relevance given the evidence regarding there its health consequences. Has identified various effects such as mood disorders and sleep disorders, hostility, isolation, insecurity, among others. To describe and analyze scientific evidence published on workplace violence in studies in Latin American countries between 2009 and 2014. A descriptive and quantitative study. A search was made on the basis of Academic Search Complete (EBSCOhost) Academic Source Premier, PSICODOC, Scielo.org, JSTOR and SCOPUS. And indexed empirical studies were considered. We worked with 46 selected articles. The studies showed a higher amount of psychological violence at work, with a potential risk in women and health professionals. Also, the analysis categories were the most reported behaviors that express violence, health implications and facilitators. The literature on the study of workplace violence in Latin America is recent. Items are descriptive, interpretative studies with insufficient or analytical nature. Health personnel, particularly women, have conditions of vulnerability, with relevance with regard to sexual harassment, wage inequality and bullying.

  1. The effect of scientific evidence on conservation practitioners’ management decisions

    PubMed Central

    Walsh, Jessica C; Dicks, Lynn V; Sutherland, William J

    2015-01-01

    A major justification of environmental management research is that it helps practitioners, yet previous studies show it is rarely used to inform their decisions. We tested whether conservation practitioners focusing on bird management were willing to use a synopsis of relevant scientific literature to inform their management decisions. This allowed us to examine whether the limited use of scientific information in management is due to a lack of access to the scientific literature or whether it is because practitioners are either not interested or unable to incorporate the research into their decisions. In on-line surveys, we asked 92 conservation managers, predominantly from Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, to provide opinions on 28 management techniques that could be applied to reduce predation on birds. We asked their opinions before and after giving them a summary of the literature about the interventions’ effectiveness. We scored the overall effectiveness and certainty of evidence for each intervention through an expert elicitation process—the Delphi method. We used the effectiveness scores to assess the practitioners’ level of understanding and awareness of the literature. On average, each survey participant changed their likelihood of using 45.7% of the interventions after reading the synopsis of the evidence. They were more likely to implement effective interventions and avoid ineffective actions, suggesting that their intended future management strategies may be more successful than current practice. More experienced practitioners were less likely to change their management practices than those with less experience, even though they were not more aware of the existing scientific information than less experienced practitioners. The practitioners’ willingness to change their management choices when provided with summarized scientific evidence suggests that improved accessibility to scientific information would benefit conservation

  2. Concussions: What a neurosurgeon should know about current scientific evidence and management strategies.

    PubMed

    Neal, Matthew T; Wilson, Jonathan L; Hsu, Wesley; Powers, Alexander K

    2012-01-01

    There has been a tremendous amount of interest focused on the topic of concussions over the past few decades. Neurosurgeons are frequently consulted to manage patients with mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) that have radiographic evidence of cerebral injury. These injuries share significant overlap with concussions, injuries that typically do not reveal radiographic evidence of structural injury, in the realms of epidemiology, pathophysiology, outcomes, and management. Further, neurosurgeons often manage patients with extracranial injuries that have concomitant concussions. In these cases, neurosurgeons are often the only "concussion experts" that patients encounter. The literature has been reviewed and data have been synthesized on the topic including sections on historical background, epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnostic advances, clinical sequelae, and treatment suggestions, with neurosurgeons as the intended target audience. Neurosurgeons should have a fundamental knowledge of the scientific evidence that has developed regarding concussions and be prepared to guide patients with treatment plans.

  3. Scientific Data and Its Limits: Rethinking the Use of Evidence in Local Climate Change Policy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pearce, Warren

    2014-01-01

    Climate policy is typically seen as informed by scientific evidence that anthropogenic carbon emissions require reducing in order to avoid dangerous consequences. However, agreement on these matters has not translated into effective policy. Using interviews with local authority officials in the UK's East Midlands region, this paper argues that the…

  4. Racism and Health I: Pathways and Scientific Evidence.

    PubMed

    Williams, David R; Mohammed, Selina A

    2013-08-01

    This article reviews the scientific research that indicates that despite marked declines in public support for negative racial attitudes in the United States, racism, in its multiple forms, remains embedded in American society. The focus of the article is on the review of empirical research that suggests that racism adversely affects the health of non-dominant racial populations in multiple ways. First, institutional racism developed policies and procedures that have reduced access to housing, neighborhood and educational quality, employment opportunities and other desirable resources in society. Second, cultural racism, at the societal and individual level, negatively affects economic status and health by creating a policy environment hostile to egalitarian policies, triggering negative stereotypes and discrimination that are pathogenic and fostering health damaging psychological responses such as stereotype threat and internalized racism. Finally, a large and growing body of evidence indicates that experiences of racial discrimination are an important type of psychosocial stressor that can lead to adverse changes in health status and altered behavioural patterns that increase health risks.

  5. Racism and Health I: Pathways and Scientific Evidence

    PubMed Central

    Williams, David R.; Mohammed, Selina A.

    2013-01-01

    This article reviews the scientific research that indicates that despite marked declines in public support for negative racial attitudes in the United States, racism, in its multiple forms, remains embedded in American society. The focus of the article is on the review of empirical research that suggests that racism adversely affects the health of non-dominant racial populations in multiple ways. First, institutional racism developed policies and procedures that have reduced access to housing, neighborhood and educational quality, employment opportunities and other desirable resources in society. Second, cultural racism, at the societal and individual level, negatively affects economic status and health by creating a policy environment hostile to egalitarian policies, triggering negative stereotypes and discrimination that are pathogenic and fostering health damaging psychological responses such as stereotype threat and internalized racism. Finally, a large and growing body of evidence indicates that experiences of racial discrimination are an important type of psychosocial stressor that can lead to adverse changes in health status and altered behavioural patterns that increase health risks. PMID:24347666

  6. Concussions: What a neurosurgeon should know about current scientific evidence and management strategies

    PubMed Central

    Neal, Matthew T.; Wilson, Jonathan L.; Hsu, Wesley; Powers, Alexander K.

    2012-01-01

    Background: There has been a tremendous amount of interest focused on the topic of concussions over the past few decades. Neurosurgeons are frequently consulted to manage patients with mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) that have radiographic evidence of cerebral injury. These injuries share significant overlap with concussions, injuries that typically do not reveal radiographic evidence of structural injury, in the realms of epidemiology, pathophysiology, outcomes, and management. Further, neurosurgeons often manage patients with extracranial injuries that have concomitant concussions. In these cases, neurosurgeons are often the only “concussion experts” that patients encounter. Results: The literature has been reviewed and data have been synthesized on the topic including sections on historical background, epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnostic advances, clinical sequelae, and treatment suggestions, with neurosurgeons as the intended target audience. Conclusions: Neurosurgeons should have a fundamental knowledge of the scientific evidence that has developed regarding concussions and be prepared to guide patients with treatment plans. PMID:22439107

  7. Scientific Evidence-Based Effects of Hydrotherapy on Various Systems of the Body

    PubMed Central

    Mooventhan, A; Nivethitha, L

    2014-01-01

    The use of water for various treatments (hydrotherapy) is probably as old as mankind. Hydrotherapy is one of the basic methods of treatment widely used in the system of natural medicine, which is also called as water therapy, aquatic therapy, pool therapy, and balneotherapy. Use of water in various forms and in various temperatures can produce different effects on different system of the body. Many studies/reviews reported the effects of hydrotherapy only on very few systems and there is lack of studies/reviews in reporting the evidence-based effects of hydrotherapy on various systems. We performed PubMed and PubMed central search to review relevant articles in English literature based on “effects of hydrotherapy/balneotherapy” on various systems of the body. Based on the available literature this review suggests that the hydrotherapy has a scientific evidence-based effect on various systems of the body. PMID:24926444

  8. Scientific evidence-based effects of hydrotherapy on various systems of the body.

    PubMed

    Mooventhan, A; Nivethitha, L

    2014-05-01

    The use of water for various treatments (hydrotherapy) is probably as old as mankind. Hydrotherapy is one of the basic methods of treatment widely used in the system of natural medicine, which is also called as water therapy, aquatic therapy, pool therapy, and balneotherapy. Use of water in various forms and in various temperatures can produce different effects on different system of the body. Many studies/reviews reported the effects of hydrotherapy only on very few systems and there is lack of studies/reviews in reporting the evidence-based effects of hydrotherapy on various systems. We performed PubMed and PubMed central search to review relevant articles in English literature based on "effects of hydrotherapy/balneotherapy" on various systems of the body. Based on the available literature this review suggests that the hydrotherapy has a scientific evidence-based effect on various systems of the body.

  9. Validity Evidence for a Learning Progression of Scientific Explanation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yao, Jian-Xin; Guo, Yu-Ying

    2018-01-01

    Providing scientific explanations for natural phenomena is a fundamental aim of science; therefore, scientific explanation has been selected as one of the key practices in science education policy documents around the world. To further elaborate on existing educational frameworks of scientific explanation in K-12, we propose a learning progression…

  10. [Handbook for the preparation of evidence-based documents. Tools derived from scientific knowledge].

    PubMed

    Carrión-Camacho, M R; Martínez-Brocca, M A; Paneque-Sánchez-Toscano, I; Valencia-Martín, R; Palomino-García, A; Muñoz-Durán, C; Tamayo-López, M J; González-Eiris-Delgado, C; Otero-Candelera, R; Ortega-Ruiz, F; Sobrino-Márquez, J M; Jiménez-García-Bóveda, R; Fernández-Quero, M; Campos-Pareja, A M

    2013-01-01

    This handbook is intended to be an accessible, easy-to-consult guide to help professionals produce or adapt Evidence-Based Documents. Such documents will help standardize both clinical practice and decision-making, the quality always being monitored in such a way that established references are complied with. Evidence-Based Health Care Committee, a member of "Virgen del Rocío" University Hospital quality structure, proposed the preparation of a handbook to produce Evidence-Based Documents including: a description of products, characteristics, qualities, uses, methodology of production, and application scope of every one of them. The handbook consists of seven Evidence-Based tools, one chapter on critical analysis methodology of scientific literature, one chapter with internet resources, and some appendices with different assessment tools. This Handbook provides general practitioners with a great opportunity to improve quality and as a guideline to standardize clinical healthcare, and managers with a strategy to promote and encourage the development of documents in an effort to reduce clinical practice variability, as well as giving patients the opportunity of taking part in planning their own care. Copyright © 2011 SECA. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  11. Accumulating Evidence and Research Organization (AERO) model: a new tool for representing, analyzing, and planning a translational research program.

    PubMed

    Hey, Spencer Phillips; Heilig, Charles M; Weijer, Charles

    2013-05-30

    Maximizing efficiency in drug development is important for drug developers, policymakers, and human subjects. Limited funds and the ethical imperative of risk minimization demand that researchers maximize the knowledge gained per patient-subject enrolled. Yet, despite a common perception that the current system of drug development is beset by inefficiencies, there remain few approaches for systematically representing, analyzing, and communicating the efficiency and coordination of the research enterprise. In this paper, we present the first steps toward developing such an approach: a graph-theoretic tool for representing the Accumulating Evidence and Research Organization (AERO) across a translational trajectory. This initial version of the AERO model focuses on elucidating two dimensions of robustness: (1) the consistency of results among studies with an identical or similar outcome metric; and (2) the concordance of results among studies with qualitatively different outcome metrics. The visual structure of the model is a directed acyclic graph, designed to capture these two dimensions of robustness and their relationship to three basic questions that underlie the planning of a translational research program: What is the accumulating state of total evidence? What has been the translational trajectory? What studies should be done next? We demonstrate the utility of the AERO model with an application to a case study involving the antibacterial agent, moxifloxacin, for the treatment of drug-susceptible tuberculosis. We then consider some possible elaborations for the AERO model and propose a number of ways in which the tool could be used to enhance the planning, reporting, and analysis of clinical trials. The AERO model provides an immediate visual representation of the number of studies done at any stage of research, depicting both the robustness of evidence and the relationship of each study to the larger translational trajectory. In so doing, it makes some of the

  12. On Coordinating Theory with Evidence: The Role of Epistemic Commitments in Scientific Reasoning among College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zeineddin, Ava; Abd-El-Khalick, Fouad

    2008-01-01

    This study examined the impact of two epistemic commitments on the quality of college students' scientific reasoning in the domain of hydrostatics. These were the commitment to the consistency of theory with prior knowledge and commitment to the consistency of theory with evidence. Participants were 12 sophomore science majors enrolled in a large…

  13. Complementary medicine for axial spondyloarthritis: is there any scientific evidence?

    PubMed

    Danve, Abhijeet; Deodhar, Atul A

    2018-07-01

    Majority of patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) report use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies before and even after the diagnosis, due to perceived efficacy and wide-spread belief that these modalities lack side effects. In this review, we describe the available scientific evidence for the CAM therapies in axSpA. Clinical trials of the CAM therapies in axSpA are generally hampered by small sample size, short duration, difficulties in blinding, lack of control groups and strong placebo effect. Nonetheless, exercise programs like Pilates and mind-body techniques such as Tai Chi may have favorable effect on the disease activity and function. Although not yet confirmed, the modulation of the microbiome with the help of probiotics or fecal transplant has face validity given the evolving scientific rationale. Diet has only limited role in the management of axSpA. Deep tissue massage, omega-3 fatty acids and Stanger bath were found to be useful in small studies. CAM therapies are not always entirely well tolerated, particularly the manipulative techniques like chiropractic and Tui-na in patients with advanced disease and osteoporosis. There are no trials of yoga in axSpA despite the wider acceptance and use of yoga as an effective mind-body technique. Larger and better quality clinical trials of CAM therapies are needed to confirm their efficacy and safety in the management of axSpA and to include them in the 'mainstream' medicine.

  14. Cannabis and joints: scientific evidence for the alleviation of osteoarthritis pain by cannabinoids.

    PubMed

    O'Brien, Melissa; McDougall, Jason J

    2018-04-07

    Cannabis has been used for millennia to treat a multitude of medical conditions including chronic pain. Osteoarthritis (OA) pain is one of the most common types of pain and patients often turn to medical cannabis to manage their symptoms. While the majority of these reports are anecdotal, there is a growing body of scientific evidence which supports the analgesic potential of cannabinoids to treat OA pain. OA pain manifests as a combination of inflammatory, nociceptive, and neuropathic pain, each requiring modality-specific analgesics. The body's innate endocannabinoid system (ECS) has been shown to ameliorate all of these pain subtypes. This review summarizes the components of the ECS and details the latest research pertaining to plant-based and man-made cannabinoids for the treatment of OA pain. Recent pre-clinical evidence supporting a role for the ECS to control OA pain is described as well as current clinical evidence of the efficacy of cannabinoids for treating OA pain in mixed patient populations. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Everything should be as simple as possible, but no simpler: towards a protocol for accumulating evidence regarding the active content of health behaviour change interventions.

    PubMed

    Peters, Gjalt-Jorn Ygram; de Bruin, Marijn; Crutzen, Rik

    2015-01-01

    There is a need to consolidate the evidence base underlying our toolbox of methods of behaviour change. Recent efforts to this effect have conducted meta-regressions on evaluations of behaviour change interventions, deriving each method's effectiveness from its association to intervention effect size. However, there are a range of issues that raise concern about whether this approach is actually furthering or instead obstructing the advancement of health psychology theories and the quality of health behaviour change interventions. Using examples from theory, the literature and data from previous meta-analyses, these concerns and their implications are explained and illustrated. An iterative protocol for evidence base accumulation is proposed that integrates evidence derived from both experimental and applied behaviour change research, and combines theory development in experimental settings with theory testing in applied real-life settings. As evidence gathered in this manner accumulates, a cumulative science of behaviour change can develop.

  16. Everything should be as simple as possible, but no simpler: towards a protocol for accumulating evidence regarding the active content of health behaviour change interventions

    PubMed Central

    Peters, Gjalt-Jorn Ygram; de Bruin, Marijn; Crutzen, Rik

    2015-01-01

    There is a need to consolidate the evidence base underlying our toolbox of methods of behaviour change. Recent efforts to this effect have conducted meta-regressions on evaluations of behaviour change interventions, deriving each method's effectiveness from its association to intervention effect size. However, there are a range of issues that raise concern about whether this approach is actually furthering or instead obstructing the advancement of health psychology theories and the quality of health behaviour change interventions. Using examples from theory, the literature and data from previous meta-analyses, these concerns and their implications are explained and illustrated. An iterative protocol for evidence base accumulation is proposed that integrates evidence derived from both experimental and applied behaviour change research, and combines theory development in experimental settings with theory testing in applied real-life settings. As evidence gathered in this manner accumulates, a cumulative science of behaviour change can develop. PMID:25793484

  17. European Union research in support of environment and health: Building scientific evidence base for policy.

    PubMed

    Karjalainen, Tuomo; Hoeveler, Arnd; Draghia-Akli, Ruxandra

    2017-06-01

    Opinion polls show that the European Union citizens are increasingly concerned about the impact of environmental factors on their health. In order to respond and provide solid scientific evidence for the numerous policies related to the protection of human health and the environment managed at the Union level, the European Union made a substantial investment in research and innovation in the past two decades through its Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development, including the current programme, Horizon 2020, which started in 2014. This policy review paper analysed the portfolio of forty collaborative projects relevant to environment and health, which received a total amount of around 228 million euros from the EU. It gives details on their contents and general scientific trends observed, the profiles of the participating countries and institutions, and the potential policy implications of the results obtained. The increasing knowledge base is needed to make informed policy decisions in Europe and beyond, and should be useful to many stakeholders including the scientific community and regulatory authorities. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  18. Increasing scientific confidence in adverse outcome pathways: Application of tailored Bradford-Hill considerations for evaluating weight of evidence

    EPA Science Inventory

    Systematic consideration of scientific support is a critical element in developing and, ultimately, using adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) for various regulatory applications. Though weight of evidence (WoE) analysis has been proposed as a basis for assessment of the maturity and...

  19. Dietary fats and cardiovascular health: a summary of the scientific evidence and current debate.

    PubMed

    Fattore, Elena; Massa, Elena

    2018-04-04

    This narrative review summarises the main studies of the role of the different fatty acids in coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and the current scientific debate on dietary recommendations. Reduction and substitution of the saturated fatty acids (SFAs) with the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are still the main dietary recommendation to prevent CHD and CVD. In the last few years, however, the strength of the scientific evidence underlying this dietary advice has been questioned. Recent investigations reappraise the previously declared deleterious role of the SFAs and reduce the positive role of PUFAs, mainly the omega-6, whereas the role of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) remains unclear. In contrast, the negative effects of trans fatty acids (TFAs) seem stronger than previously thought. Finally, criticisms have emerged from a dietary recommendation approach focussed on individual components rather than on wide food items and eating habits.

  20. Standards of practice, professional judgment, and scientific evidence to establish and extend a beyond-use date.

    PubMed

    Thomson, Cassandra Marie; Savji, Taslim

    2014-01-01

    The establishment of both a beyond-use date and the extension of a beyond-use date need to be scientifically based. What is accepted as scientific evidence is at times misleading. The pharmacist may have the right to utilize some degree of professional judgment in both establishing and extending a beyond-use date, after a review of appropriate scientific literature. Notwithstanding this scientific review, it is the concept of professional judgment that seemingly needs to be better defined. A new-found appreciation for professional judgment will bring us to the understanding that a validated stability-indicating assay is the correct manner in which to extend a beyond-use date. This article addresses and discusses the recommendations and rigor required to establish and extend a beyond-use date. The perspectives of the pharmacist and physician are explored, as well as the impact of an extended beyond-use date, or lack thereof, are discussed. The application of a set of fundamental principles will be revealed, which will lead to finite conclusions as to the necessary methodology to establish as well as extend a beyond-use date.

  1. Selection of a method to rate the strength of scientific evidence for AORN recommendations.

    PubMed

    Steelman, Victoria M; Pape, Theresa; King, Cecil A; Graling, Paula; Gaberson, Kathleen B

    2011-04-01

    The use of scientific evidence to support national recommendations about clinical decisions has become an expectation of multidisciplinary health care organizations. The objectives of this project were to identify the most applicable evidence-rating method for perioperative nursing practice, evaluate the reliability of this method for perioperative nursing recommendations, and identify barriers and facilitators to adoption of this method for AORN recommendations. A panel of perioperative nurse experts evaluated 46 evidence-rating systems for quality, quantity, and consistency. We rated the methods that fully covered all three domains on five aspects of applicability to perioperative nursing practice recommendations. The Oncology Nursing Society's method was rated highest for all five aspects of applicability, and interrater reliability of this method for perioperative recommendations was 100%. Potential barriers to implementation of the rating method include knowledge deficit, staff resources, resistance to change, and fear of showing that lower levels of evidence support some recommendations. Facilitators included education, resource allocation, and starting small. Barriers and facilitators will be considered by the implementation team that will develop a plan to achieve integration of evidence rating into AORN documents. The AORN Board of Directors approved adoption of this method in June 2010. Copyright © 2011 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Accumulate-Repeat-Accumulate-Accumulate-Codes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Divsalar, Dariush; Dolinar, Sam; Thorpe, Jeremy

    2004-01-01

    Inspired by recently proposed Accumulate-Repeat-Accumulate (ARA) codes [15], in this paper we propose a channel coding scheme called Accumulate-Repeat-Accumulate-Accumulate (ARAA) codes. These codes can be seen as serial turbo-like codes or as a subclass of Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes, and they have a projected graph or protograph representation; this allows for a high-speed iterative decoder implementation using belief propagation. An ARAA code can be viewed as a precoded Repeat-and-Accumulate (RA) code with puncturing in concatenation with another accumulator, where simply an accumulator is chosen as the precoder; thus ARAA codes have a very fast encoder structure. Using density evolution on their associated protographs, we find examples of rate-lJ2 ARAA codes with maximum variable node degree 4 for which a minimum bit-SNR as low as 0.21 dB from the channel capacity limit can be achieved as the block size goes to infinity. Such a low threshold cannot be achieved by RA or Irregular RA (IRA) or unstructured irregular LDPC codes with the same constraint on the maximum variable node degree. Furthermore by puncturing the accumulators we can construct families of higher rate ARAA codes with thresholds that stay close to their respective channel capacity thresholds uniformly. Iterative decoding simulation results show comparable performance with the best-known LDPC codes but with very low error floor even at moderate block sizes.

  3. [The Problems with Domestic Introduction of rTMS from the Three Viewpoints of Scientific Evidence, Specialty and Social Responsibility].

    PubMed

    Shinosaki, Kazuhiro

    2015-01-01

    The domestic introduction of rTMS is expected as a new treatment option for treatment-resistant depression. I discussed some problems with the introduction from three viewpoints : scientific evidence, specialty, and social responsibility. I surveyed scientific evidence for rTMS regarding the action mechanism, effectiveness, side effects, and its positioning in the treatment guidelines. To secure the quality of rTMS treatment, I proposed rTMS guidelines, nurturing of the specialists, and a center hospital plan, and pointed out some medium-term problems after its introduction and the consistency of rTMS treatment and standard depression treatment. From the viewpoint of social responsibility, rTMS treatment should be a medical service covered by health insurance to avoid its misuse. We should prepare to overcome the public suspicion of brain stimulation treatment for mental disease.

  4. Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream Waters: A Review and Synthesis of the Scientific Evidence (Final Report)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) Office of Research and Development has finalized the report Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream Waters: A Review and Synthesis of the Scientific Evidence. The report reviews more than 1,200 peer-reviewe...

  5. Accumulate-Repeat-Accumulate-Accumulate Codes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Divsalar, Dariush; Dolinar, Samuel; Thorpe, Jeremy

    2007-01-01

    Accumulate-repeat-accumulate-accumulate (ARAA) codes have been proposed, inspired by the recently proposed accumulate-repeat-accumulate (ARA) codes. These are error-correcting codes suitable for use in a variety of wireless data-communication systems that include noisy channels. ARAA codes can be regarded as serial turbolike codes or as a subclass of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes, and, like ARA codes they have projected graph or protograph representations; these characteristics make it possible to design high-speed iterative decoders that utilize belief-propagation algorithms. The objective in proposing ARAA codes as a subclass of ARA codes was to enhance the error-floor performance of ARA codes while maintaining simple encoding structures and low maximum variable node degree.

  6. Level of clinical evidence presented at the International Society for Hip Arthroscopy Annual Scientific Meeting over 5 years (2010–2014)

    PubMed Central

    Kay, Jeffrey; de SA, Darren; Shallow, Scott; Simunovic, Nicole; Safran, Marc R.; Philippon, Marc J.; Ayeni, Olufemi R.

    2015-01-01

    The International Society for Hip Arthroscopy (ISHA) Annual Scientific Meeting is at the forefront of informing today’s orthopaedic surgeons and society of the rapid advances in the exponentially growing field of hip arthroscopy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and observe any trends in the level of clinical evidence in the papers and posters presented at the ISHA Annual Scientific Meeting from 2010 to 2014. The online abstracts of the paper and poster presentations presented at the ISHA Annual Scientific Meetings were independently evaluated by two reviewers (582 total resulting presentations). Two reviewers screened these results for clinical studies and graded the quality of evidence from level I (i.e. randomized trials) to IV (i.e. case series) based on the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons classification system. Four hundred and twenty-eight presentations met the inclusion criteria and were evaluated. Overall, 10.1% of the presentations were level I, 12.8% were level II, 30.1% were level III and 47.0% were level IV evidence. Over time, from 2010 to 2014, we observed an increase in the percentage of level II paper presentations, an increase in the proportion of level III poster presentations, and a decrease in the proportion of both level IV paper and poster presentations. Significant non-random improvement in the level of evidence presented was noted for the poster presentations (P = 0.012) but not for the paper presentations (P = 0.61) over the study period. Statistical trends demonstrate ISHA’s increased awareness and commitment to presenting higher quality evidence as the availability of this evidence increases. PMID:27011857

  7. Using Time-Varying Evidence to Test Models of Decision Dynamics: Bounded Diffusion vs. the Leaky Competing Accumulator Model

    PubMed Central

    Tsetsos, Konstantinos; Gao, Juan; McClelland, James L.; Usher, Marius

    2012-01-01

    When people make decisions, do they give equal weight to evidence arriving at different times? A recent study (Kiani et al., 2008) using brief motion pulses (superimposed on a random moving dot display) reported a primacy effect: pulses presented early in a motion observation period had a stronger impact than pulses presented later. This observation was interpreted as supporting the bounded diffusion (BD) model and ruling out models in which evidence accumulation is subject to leakage or decay of early-arriving information. We use motion pulses and other manipulations of the timing of the perceptual evidence in new experiments and simulations that support the leaky competing accumulator (LCA) model as an alternative to the BD model. While the LCA does include leakage, we show that it can exhibit primacy as a result of competition between alternatives (implemented via mutual inhibition), when the inhibition is strong relative to the leak. Our experiments replicate the primacy effect when participants must be prepared to respond quickly at the end of a motion observation period. With less time pressure, however, the primacy effect is much weaker. For 2 (out of 10) participants, a primacy bias observed in trials where the motion observation period is short becomes weaker or reverses (becoming a recency effect) as the observation period lengthens. Our simulation studies show that primacy is equally consistent with the LCA or with BD. The transition from primacy-to-recency can also be captured by the LCA but not by BD. Individual differences and relations between the LCA and other models are discussed. PMID:22701399

  8. Obesity Pathogenesis: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement.

    PubMed

    Schwartz, Michael W; Seeley, Randy J; Zeltser, Lori M; Drewnowski, Adam; Ravussin, Eric; Redman, Leanne M; Leibel, Rudolph L

    2017-08-01

    Obesity is among the most common and costly chronic disorders worldwide. Estimates suggest that in the United States obesity affects one-third of adults, accounts for up to one-third of total mortality, is concentrated among lower income groups, and increasingly affects children as well as adults. A lack of effective options for long-term weight reduction magnifies the enormity of this problem; individuals who successfully complete behavioral and dietary weight-loss programs eventually regain most of the lost weight. We included evidence from basic science, clinical, and epidemiological literature to assess current knowledge regarding mechanisms underlying excess body-fat accumulation, the biological defense of excess fat mass, and the tendency for lost weight to be regained. A major area of emphasis is the science of energy homeostasis, the biological process that maintains weight stability by actively matching energy intake to energy expenditure over time. Growing evidence suggests that obesity is a disorder of the energy homeostasis system, rather than simply arising from the passive accumulation of excess weight. We need to elucidate the mechanisms underlying this "upward setting" or "resetting" of the defended level of body-fat mass, whether inherited or acquired. The ongoing study of how genetic, developmental, and environmental forces affect the energy homeostasis system will help us better understand these mechanisms and are therefore a major focus of this statement. The scientific goal is to elucidate obesity pathogenesis so as to better inform treatment, public policy, advocacy, and awareness of obesity in ways that ultimately diminish its public health and economic consequences. Copyright © 2017 Endocrine Society.

  9. Evidence accumulation in decision making: unifying the "take the best" and the "rational" models.

    PubMed

    Lee, Michael D; Cummins, Tarrant D R

    2004-04-01

    An evidence accumulation model of forced-choice decision making is proposed to unify the fast and frugal take the best (TTB) model and the alternative rational (RAT) model with which it is usually contrasted. The basic idea is to treat the TTB model as a sequential-sampling process that terminates as soon as any evidence in favor of a decision is found and the rational approach as a sequential-sampling process that terminates only when all available information has been assessed. The unified TTB and RAT models were tested in an experiment in which participants learned to make correct judgments for a set of real-world stimuli on the basis of feedback, and were then asked to make additional judgments without feedback for cases in which the TTB and the rational models made different predictions. The results show that, in both experiments, there was strong intraparticipant consistency in the use of either the TTB or the rational model but large interparticipant differences in which model was used. The unified model is shown to be able to capture the differences in decision making across participants in an interpretable way and is preferred by the minimum description length model selection criterion.

  10. Scientific progress: Knowledge versus understanding.

    PubMed

    Dellsén, Finnur

    2016-04-01

    What is scientific progress? On Alexander Bird's epistemic account of scientific progress, an episode in science is progressive precisely when there is more scientific knowledge at the end of the episode than at the beginning. Using Bird's epistemic account as a foil, this paper develops an alternative understanding-based account on which an episode in science is progressive precisely when scientists grasp how to correctly explain or predict more aspects of the world at the end of the episode than at the beginning. This account is shown to be superior to the epistemic account by examining cases in which knowledge and understanding come apart. In these cases, it is argued that scientific progress matches increases in scientific understanding rather than accumulations of knowledge. In addition, considerations having to do with minimalist idealizations, pragmatic virtues, and epistemic value all favor this understanding-based account over its epistemic counterpart. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Medical marijuana: the conflict between scientific evidence and political ideology. Part one of two.

    PubMed

    Cohen, Peter J

    2009-01-01

    Whether "medical marijuana" (Cannabis sativa used to treat a wide variety of pathologic states) should be accorded the status of a legitimate pharmaceutical agent has long been a contentious issue. Is it a truly effective drug that is arbitrarily stigmatized by many and criminalized by the federal government? Or is it without any medical utility, its advocates hiding behind a screen of misplaced (or deliberately misleading) compassion for the ill? Should Congress repeal its declaration that smoked marijuana is without "current medical benefit"? Should cannabis be approved for medical use by a vote of the people as already has been done in 13 states? Or should medical marijuana be scientifically evaluated for safety and efficacy as any other new investigational drug? How do the competing--and sometimes antagonistic--roles of science, politics and prejudice affect society's attempts to answer this question? This article examines the legal, political, policy, and ethical problems raised by the recognition of medical marijuana by over one-fourth of our states although its use remains illegal under federal law. Although draconian punishment can be imposed for the "recreational" use of marijuana, I will not address the contentious question of whether to legalize or decriminalize the use of marijuana solely for its psychotropic effects, a fascinating and important area of law and policy that is outside the scope of this paper. Instead, the specific focus of this article will be on the conflict between the development of policies based on evidence obtained through the use of scientific methods and those grounded on ideological and political considerations that have repeatedly entered the longstanding debate regarding the legal status of medical marijuana. I will address a basic question: Should the approval of medical marijuana be governed by the same statute that applies to all other drugs or pharmaceutical agents, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), after the

  12. The Scientific Case against Astrology.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kelly, Ivan

    1980-01-01

    Discussed is the lack of a scientific foundation and scientific evidence favoring astrology. Included are several research studies conducted to examine astrological tenets which yield generally negative results. (Author/DS)

  13. Standardized description of scientific evidence using the Evidence Ontology (ECO)

    PubMed Central

    Chibucos, Marcus C.; Mungall, Christopher J.; Balakrishnan, Rama; Christie, Karen R.; Huntley, Rachael P.; White, Owen; Blake, Judith A.; Lewis, Suzanna E.; Giglio, Michelle

    2014-01-01

    The Evidence Ontology (ECO) is a structured, controlled vocabulary for capturing evidence in biological research. ECO includes diverse terms for categorizing evidence that supports annotation assertions including experimental types, computational methods, author statements and curator inferences. Using ECO, annotation assertions can be distinguished according to the evidence they are based on such as those made by curators versus those automatically computed or those made via high-throughput data review versus single test experiments. Originally created for capturing evidence associated with Gene Ontology annotations, ECO is now used in other capacities by many additional annotation resources including UniProt, Mouse Genome Informatics, Saccharomyces Genome Database, PomBase, the Protein Information Resource and others. Information on the development and use of ECO can be found at http://evidenceontology.org. The ontology is freely available under Creative Commons license (CC BY-SA 3.0), and can be downloaded in both Open Biological Ontologies and Web Ontology Language formats at http://code.google.com/p/evidenceontology. Also at this site is a tracker for user submission of term requests and questions. ECO remains under active development in response to user-requested terms and in collaborations with other ontologies and database resources. Database URL: Evidence Ontology Web site: http://evidenceontology.org PMID:25052702

  14. Health literacy, emotionality, scientific evidence: Elements of an effective communication in public health.

    PubMed

    Biasio, Luigi Roberto; Carducci, Annalaura; Fara, Gaetano Maria; Giammanco, Giuseppe; Lopalco, Pier Luigi

    2018-01-30

    The importance of healthcare providers' communication abilities is still underestimated. Informing the population on the basis of documented evidence is essential but not enough to induce a change in the beliefs of who is doubtful or does not accept preventive interventions, such as vaccination. Lining up the offer of prevention to the knowledge of the citizens, also improving Health Literacy skills, is a critical step toward their empowerment and behavior change. The 2017 Erice Declaration was drafted to propose to the Institutions and the scientific community the main goals to improve communication and counteract Vaccine Hesitancy, at a very critical time, when mandatory vaccination was introduced in Italy.

  15. Memory Accumulation Mechanisms in Human Cortex Are Independent of Motor Intentions

    PubMed Central

    Tosoni, Annalisa; Mignogna, Valeria; McAvoy, Mark P.; Shulman, Gordon L.; Corbetta, Maurizio; Romani, Gian Luca

    2014-01-01

    Previous studies on perceptual decision-making have often emphasized a tight link between decisions and motor intentions. Human decisions, however, also depend on memories or experiences that are not closely tied to specific motor responses. Recent neuroimaging findings have suggested that, during episodic retrieval, parietal activity reflects the accumulation of evidence for memory decisions. It is currently unknown, however, whether these evidence accumulation signals are functionally linked to signals for motor intentions coded in frontoparietal regions and whether activity in the putative memory accumulator tracks the amount of evidence for only previous experience, as reflected in “old” reports, or for both old and new decisions, as reflected in the accuracy of memory judgments. Here, human participants used saccadic-eye and hand-pointing movements to report recognition judgments on pictures defined by different degrees of evidence for old or new decisions. A set of cortical regions, including the middle intraparietal sulcus, showed a monotonic variation of the fMRI BOLD signal that scaled with perceived memory strength (older > newer), compatible with an asymmetrical memory accumulator. Another set, including the hippocampus and the angular gyrus, showed a nonmonotonic response profile tracking memory accuracy (higher > lower evidence), compatible with a symmetrical accumulator. In contrast, eye and hand effector-specific regions in frontoparietal cortex tracked motor intentions but were not modulated by the amount of evidence for the effector outcome. We conclude that item recognition decisions are supported by a combination of symmetrical and asymmetrical accumulation signals largely segregated from motor intentions. PMID:24828652

  16. Does Joint Fact-finding work for Water-energy-food Nexus Issues? A Role of Scientific Evidence in Policy Process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baba, K.

    2014-12-01

    A quite famous phrase in risk management "How safe is enough safe?" implies there exists a framing gap among experts, the general public and stakeholders. Scientific evidence that experts provide usually contains uncertainty, while the public tends to have the other type of qualitative local knowledge. As there is no zero-risk society, we have to build consensus on acceptable level of risk and trade-offs of risks based on expert knowledge and local knowledge. Therefore having a dialogue among them in the early stage of the policy process such as problem definition and agenda setting is essential to cultivate trust and to integrate their knowledge. To this end, we especially pay attention to Joint Fact-finding (JFF). The tentative definition of JFF is that a promising strategy for experts, decision makers, and key public rights-holders and stakeholders from opposing sides of an issue to work together to resolve or narrow factual disputes over public policy issues. JFF process usually begins with identifying stakeholders and holding interviews with them to determine their interests. We call this step stakeholder analysis. Then we define the scope of the study including the required scientific evidence and the preliminary list of experts. After that, stakeholders jointly select experts to participate in the study, then they work together on what they would like to clear about scientific evidence. They finally get the common understanding and findings through these collaboration. We applied the stakeholder analysis to the issue of groundwater in Obama City and the issues of hot spring water and geothermal power in Beppu City in Japan. We drew conclusions from these case studies to some extent but at the same time we found that the analysis method has a limitation in applying it to multiple nexus issues because the method based on stakeholders' cognition. For example, in Obama case, we identified a lack of cooperation among stakeholders that especially agricultural

  17. The role of prostate-specific antigen in light of new scientific evidence.

    PubMed

    Hernández, C; Morote, J; Miñana, B; Cózar, J M

    2013-06-01

    Review the scientific evidence acquired in recent years on Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA). Analysis of the available evidence on the current role of PSA, according to a panel of experts who recorded their experience on the subject. Currently, PSA cannot be considered solely an indicator of the presence or absence of prostate cancer. Rather, the determination of PSA assists the urologist in indicating the most appropriate treatment for a patient with benign prostatic hypertrophic (BPH), as well as in suspecting a prostatic tumour when the PSA reading increases >0,3 ng/ml, in patients treated with 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor, over the reading achieved at six months of having initiated this treatment. Moreover, PSA is a key factor in the follow-up of patients with prostate adenocarcinoma who undergo surgery, radiation therapy or minimally invasive techniques. PSA helps to define biochemical recurrence, suggest the existence of a local or distal recurrence and propose or rule out adjuvant therapies. New data on the current role of PSA in the management of patients treated for BPH and/or prostate cancer should be taken into account. Copyright © 2013 AEU. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  18. New Ways of Delivering Marine Scientific Evidence for Policy Needs in the UK

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dorrington, T.

    2016-12-01

    The UK Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) is responsible for safeguarding the natural environment, supporting a world-leading food and farming industry, and sustaining a thriving rural economy. This includes the marine environment which makes a significant contribution to the economy of the UK through fisheries, aquaculture, transport, leisure and recreation, energy (including renewable), coastal tourism, and naval defence. The overall vision for the Defra marine programme is to therefore achieve clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas. In order to attain this it is essential that the decisions that government makes can be justified and that these decisions use the best available evidence and allow for any uncertainty. However, reductions across the budgets of departments such as Defra means that new ways of delivering evidence for policy needs must be sought. To do this we must consider marine monitoring efficiencies including the use of novel technologies, more integrated monitoring programmes, and greater collaboration with the research councils, industry, and academia. We must also seek to leverage other sources of funding from the European Union and other international partners. This presentation will address the main policy drivers (e.g. EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive) and future needs of the marine programme, the Defra Evidence Action Plan (EAP), and how we plan to use new avenues of gaining high quality marine scientific evidence in an era of declining budgets.

  19. New Ways of Delivering Marine Scientific Evidence for Policy Needs in the UK

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dorrington, T.

    2016-02-01

    The UK Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) is responsible for safeguarding the natural environment, supporting a world-leading food and farming industry, and sustaining a thriving rural economy. This includes the marine environment which makes a significant contribution to the economy of the UK through fisheries, aquaculture, transport, leisure and recreation, energy (including renewable), coastal tourism, and naval defence. The overall vision for the Defra marine programme is to therefore achieve clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas. In order to attain this it is essential that the decisions that government makes can be justified and that these decisions use the best available evidence and allow for any uncertainty. However, reductions across the budgets of departments such as Defra means that new ways of delivering evidence for policy needs must be sought. To do this we must consider marine monitoring efficiencies including the use of novel technologies, more integrated monitoring programmes, and greater collaboration with the research councils, industry, and academia. We must also seek to leverage other sources of funding from the European Union and other international partners. This presentation will address the main policy drivers (e.g. EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive) and future needs of the marine programme, the Defra Evidence Action Plan (EAP), and how we plan to use new avenues of gaining high quality marine scientific evidence in an era of declining budgets.

  20. Accumulating Evidence for a Drug–Drug Interaction Between Methotrexate and Proton Pump Inhibitors

    PubMed Central

    Mackey, Ann Corken; Kluetz, Paul; Jappar, Dilara; Korvick, Joyce

    2012-01-01

    Background. A number of medications are known to interact with methotrexate through various mechanisms. The aim of this article is to apprise practitioners of a new labeling change based on the accumulating evidence for a possible drug–drug interaction between methotrexate (primarily at high doses) and proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). Methods. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS) database of spontaneous adverse event reports and the published literature were searched for cases reporting an interaction between methotrexate and PPIs. Results. A search of the AERS database and existing literature found several individual case reports of drug–drug interactions and three additional supportive studies that suggest potential underlying mechanisms for the interaction. Conclusion. There is evidence to suggest that concomitant use of methotrexate (primarily at high doses) with PPIs such as omeprazole, esomeprazole, and pantoprazole may decrease methotrexate clearance, leading to elevated serum levels of methotrexate and/or its metabolite hydroxymethotrexate, possibly leading to methotrexate toxicities. In several case reports, no methotrexate toxicity was found when a histamine H2 blocker was substituted for a PPI. Based on the reviewed data, the FDA updated the methotrexate label to include the possible drug–drug interaction between high-dose methotrexate and PPIs. Physicians should be alerted to this potential drug–drug interaction in patients receiving concomitant high-dose methotrexate and PPIs. PMID:22477728

  1. Poststroke Fatigue: Emerging Evidence and Approaches to Management: A Scientific Statement for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association.

    PubMed

    Hinkle, Janice L; Becker, Kyra J; Kim, Jong S; Choi-Kwon, Smi; Saban, Karen L; McNair, Norma; Mead, Gillian E

    2017-07-01

    At least half of all stroke survivors experience fatigue; thus, it is a common cause of concern for patients, caregivers, and clinicians after stroke. This scientific statement provides an international perspective on the emerging evidence surrounding the incidence, prevalence, quality of life, and complex pathogenesis of poststroke fatigue. Evidence for pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions for management are reviewed, as well as the effects of poststroke fatigue on both stroke survivors and caregivers. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

  2. Milk and dairy products: good or bad for human health? An assessment of the totality of scientific evidence

    PubMed Central

    Thorning, Tanja Kongerslev; Raben, Anne; Tholstrup, Tine; Soedamah-Muthu, Sabita S.; Givens, Ian; Astrup, Arne

    2016-01-01

    Background There is scepticism about health effects of dairy products in the public, which is reflected in an increasing intake of plant-based drinks, for example, from soy, rice, almond, or oat. Objective This review aimed to assess the scientific evidence mainly from meta-analyses of observational studies and randomised controlled trials, on dairy intake and risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, cancer, and all-cause mortality. Results The most recent evidence suggested that intake of milk and dairy products was associated with reduced risk of childhood obesity. In adults, intake of dairy products was shown to improve body composition and facilitate weight loss during energy restriction. In addition, intake of milk and dairy products was associated with a neutral or reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly stroke. Furthermore, the evidence suggested a beneficial effect of milk and dairy intake on bone mineral density but no association with risk of bone fracture. Among cancers, milk and dairy intake was inversely associated with colorectal cancer, bladder cancer, gastric cancer, and breast cancer, and not associated with risk of pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, or lung cancer, while the evidence for prostate cancer risk was inconsistent. Finally, consumption of milk and dairy products was not associated with all-cause mortality. Calcium-fortified plant-based drinks have been included as an alternative to dairy products in the nutrition recommendations in several countries. However, nutritionally, cow's milk and plant-based drinks are completely different foods, and an evidence-based conclusion on the health value of the plant-based drinks requires more studies in humans. Conclusion The totality of available scientific evidence supports that intake of milk and dairy products contribute to meet nutrient recommendations, and may protect against the most prevalent chronic diseases

  3. Milk and dairy products: good or bad for human health? An assessment of the totality of scientific evidence.

    PubMed

    Thorning, Tanja Kongerslev; Raben, Anne; Tholstrup, Tine; Soedamah-Muthu, Sabita S; Givens, Ian; Astrup, Arne

    2016-01-01

    There is scepticism about health effects of dairy products in the public, which is reflected in an increasing intake of plant-based drinks, for example, from soy, rice, almond, or oat. This review aimed to assess the scientific evidence mainly from meta-analyses of observational studies and randomised controlled trials, on dairy intake and risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, cancer, and all-cause mortality. The most recent evidence suggested that intake of milk and dairy products was associated with reduced risk of childhood obesity. In adults, intake of dairy products was shown to improve body composition and facilitate weight loss during energy restriction. In addition, intake of milk and dairy products was associated with a neutral or reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly stroke. Furthermore, the evidence suggested a beneficial effect of milk and dairy intake on bone mineral density but no association with risk of bone fracture. Among cancers, milk and dairy intake was inversely associated with colorectal cancer, bladder cancer, gastric cancer, and breast cancer, and not associated with risk of pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, or lung cancer, while the evidence for prostate cancer risk was inconsistent. Finally, consumption of milk and dairy products was not associated with all-cause mortality. Calcium-fortified plant-based drinks have been included as an alternative to dairy products in the nutrition recommendations in several countries. However, nutritionally, cow's milk and plant-based drinks are completely different foods, and an evidence-based conclusion on the health value of the plant-based drinks requires more studies in humans. The totality of available scientific evidence supports that intake of milk and dairy products contribute to meet nutrient recommendations, and may protect against the most prevalent chronic diseases, whereas very few adverse effects have

  4. Representation and misrepresentation of scientific evidence in contemporary tobacco regulation: a review of tobacco industry submissions to the UK Government consultation on standardised packaging.

    PubMed

    Ulucanlar, Selda; Fooks, Gary J; Hatchard, Jenny L; Gilmore, Anna B

    2014-03-01

    Standardised packaging (SP) of tobacco products is an innovative tobacco control measure opposed by transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) whose responses to the UK government's public consultation on SP argued that evidence was inadequate to support implementing the measure. The government's initial decision, announced 11 months after the consultation closed, was to wait for 'more evidence', but four months later a second 'independent review' was launched. In view of the centrality of evidence to debates over SP and TTCs' history of denying harms and manufacturing uncertainty about scientific evidence, we analysed their submissions to examine how they used evidence to oppose SP. We purposively selected and analysed two TTC submissions using a verification-oriented cross-documentary method to ascertain how published studies were used and interpretive analysis with a constructivist grounded theory approach to examine the conceptual significance of TTC critiques. The companies' overall argument was that the SP evidence base was seriously flawed and did not warrant the introduction of SP. However, this argument was underpinned by three complementary techniques that misrepresented the evidence base. First, published studies were repeatedly misquoted, distorting the main messages. Second, 'mimicked scientific critique' was used to undermine evidence; this form of critique insisted on methodological perfection, rejected methodological pluralism, adopted a litigation (not scientific) model, and was not rigorous. Third, TTCs engaged in 'evidential landscaping', promoting a parallel evidence base to deflect attention from SP and excluding company-held evidence relevant to SP. The study's sample was limited to sub-sections of two out of four submissions, but leaked industry documents suggest at least one other company used a similar approach. The TTCs' claim that SP will not lead to public health benefits is largely without foundation. The tools of Better Regulation

  5. Does the scientific evidence support the advertising claims made for products containing Lactobacillus casei and Bifidobacterium lactis? A systematic review.

    PubMed

    Meléndez-Illanes, Lorena; González-Díaz, Cristina; Chilet-Rosell, Elisa; Álvarez-Dardet, Carlos

    2016-09-01

    To analyse the scientific evidence that exists for the advertising claims made for two products containing Lactobacillus casei and Bifidobacterium lactis and to conduct a comparison between the published literature and what is presented in the corporate website. Systematic review, using Medline through Pubmed and Embase. We included human clinical trials that exclusively measured the effect of Lactobacillus casei or Bifidobacterium lactis on a healthy population, and where the objective was related to the health claims made for certain products in advertising. We assessed the levels of evidence and the strength of the recommendation according to the classification criteria established by the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine (CEBM). We also assessed the outcomes of the studies published on the website that did not appear in the search. Of the 440 articles identified, 16 met the inclusion criteria. Only four (25%) of these presented a level of evidence of 1b and a recommendation grade of A, all corresponding to studies on product containing Bifidobacterium lactis, and only 12 of the 16 studies were published on the corporate website (47). There is insufficient scientific evidence to support the health claims made for these products, especially in the case of product containing Lactobacillus casei. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  6. Synchronous international scientific mobility in the space of affiliations: evidence from Russia.

    PubMed

    Markova, Yulia V; Shmatko, Natalia A; Katchanov, Yurij L

    2016-01-01

    The article presents a survey of Russian researchers' synchronous international scientific mobility as an element of the global system of scientific labor market. Synchronous international scientific mobility is a simultaneous holding of scientific positions in institutions located in different countries. The study explores bibliometric data from the Web of Science Core Collection and socio-economic indicators for 56 countries. In order to examine international scientific mobility, we use a method of affiliations. The paper introduces a model of synchronous international scientific mobility. It enables to specify country's involvement in the international division of scientific labor. Synchronous international scientific mobility is a modern form of the international division of labor in science. It encompasses various forms of part-time, temporary and remote employment of scientists. The analysis reveals the distribution of Russian authors in the space of affiliations, and directions of upward/downward international scientific mobility. The bibliometric characteristics of mobile authors are isomorphic to those of receiver country authors. Synchronous international scientific mobility of Russian authors is determined by differences in scientific impacts between receiver and donor countries.

  7. Was Hawan Designed to Fight Anxiety-Scientific Evidences?

    PubMed

    Romana, R K; Sharma, A; Gupta, V; Kaur, R; Kumar, S; Bansal, P

    2017-01-06

    Anxiety is a psychiatric disorder with unknown neurobiology; however, neurotransmitters like gamma-amino butyric acid, norepinephrine and serotonin (5-HT) play crucial roles in mediating anxiety. Present drug modules pose dependence risk to the patient; hence, there is a great need to develop complementary therapies to fight this disorder. Aromatherapy has also been employed in ancient times for a number of mental disorders. Mahamrituanjay Mantra, Om triambkum yajamahe, sughandhim puushtivardhanam, urvarukmev vandhanaat, mrityu mokshay mamritaat!!!!, the part of veda enlightens that aroma gives rise to good health (sughandhim puushtivardhanam). Hawan is a religious practice recommended for mental peace. Hawan is a process in which special herbs are offered in the fire of medicinal woods ignited in a specially designed fire pit. Analysis of literature demonstrates that the components of Hawan are having a number of volatile oils that are specifically useful for prevention and treatment of anxiety through some mechanism of action. Due to high temperature of fire, the vapors of these oils from herbs enter into the central nervous system through nasal route. As per modern science and ancient texts on medicine, nasal drug delivery systems are the best for the diseases related to brain and head. The routine of performing Hawan might keep the threshold value of the therapeutic components in the body and help in preventing anxiety. In the present manuscript, authors highlight and integrate the modern and ancient concepts for treatment and prevention of anxiety through scientific evidences.

  8. Scientific Reasoning in Early and Middle Childhood: The Development of Domain-General Evidence Evaluation, Experimentation, and Hypothesis Generation Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Piekny, Jeanette; Maehler, Claudia

    2013-01-01

    According to Klahr's (2000, 2005; Klahr & Dunbar, 1988) Scientific Discovery as Dual Search model, inquiry processes require three cognitive components: hypothesis generation, experimentation, and evidence evaluation. The aim of the present study was to investigate (a) when the ability to evaluate perfect covariation, imperfect covariation,…

  9. Scientists and Scientific Thinking: Understanding Scientific Thinking through an Investigation of Scientists Views about Superstitions and Religious Beliefs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coll, Richard K.; Lay, Mark C.; Taylor, Neil

    2008-01-01

    Scientific literacy is explored in this paper which describes two studies that seek to understand a particular feature of the nature of science; namely scientists' habits of mind. The research investigated scientists' views of scientific evidence and how scientists judge evidence claims. The first study is concerned with scientists' views of what…

  10. Medicinal plants used to treat snakebite in Central America: Review and assessment of scientific evidence.

    PubMed

    Giovannini, Peter; Howes, Melanie-Jayne R

    2017-03-06

    Every year between 1.2 and 5.5 million people worldwide are victims of snakebites, with about 400,000 left permanently injured. In Central America an estimated 5500 snakebite cases are reported by health centres, but this is likely to be an underestimate due to unreported cases in rural regions. The aim of this study is to review the medicinal plants used traditionally to treat snakebites in seven Central American countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. A literature search was performed on published primary data on medicinal plants of Central America and those specifically pertaining to use against snakebites. Plant use reports for traditional snakebite remedies identified in primary sources were extracted and entered in a database, with data analysed in terms of the most frequent numbers of use reports. The scientific evidence that might support the local uses of the most frequently reported species was also examined. A total of 260 independent plant use reports were recorded in the 34 sources included in this review, encompassing 208 species used to treat snakebite in Central America. Only nine species were reported in at least three studies: Cissampelos pareira L., Piper amalago L., Aristolochia trilobata L., Sansevieria hyacinthoides (L.) Druce, Strychnos panamensis Seem., Dorstenia contrajerva L., Scoparia dulcis L., Hamelia patens Jacq., and Simaba cedron Planch. Genera with the highest number of species used to treat snakebite were Piper, Aristolochia, Hamelia, Ipomoea, Passiflora and Peperomia. The extent of the scientific evidence available to understand any pharmacological basis for their use against snakebites varied between different plant species. At least 208 plant species are traditionally used to treat snakebite in Central America but there is a lack of clinical research to evaluate their efficacy and safety. Available pharmacological data suggest different plant species may target different symptoms of

  11. Teaching Urban High School Students Global Climate Change Information and Graph Interpretation Skills Using Evidence from the Scientific Literature

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rule, Audrey C.; Meyer, Mary A.

    2009-01-01

    Curriculum materials designed to provide students with practice interpreting plotted evidence of global climate change were developed using graphs from the scientific literature and tested with one hundred urban high school students from a high-poverty school in a major northern city in the US. The graph interpretation lessons followed a…

  12. Accumulate repeat accumulate codes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Abbasfar, A.; Divsalar, D.; Yao, K.

    2004-01-01

    In this paper we propose an innovative channel coding scheme called Accumulate Repeat Accumulate codes. This class of codes can be viewed as trubo-like codes, namely a double serial concatenation of a rate-1 accumulator as an outer code, a regular or irregular repetition as a middle code, and a punctured accumulator as an inner code.

  13. Public perception and communication of scientific uncertainty.

    PubMed

    Broomell, Stephen B; Kane, Patrick Bodilly

    2017-02-01

    Understanding how the public perceives uncertainty in scientific research is fundamental for effective communication about research and its inevitable uncertainty. Previous work found that scientific evidence differentially influenced beliefs from individuals with different political ideologies. Evidence that threatens an individual's political ideology is perceived as more uncertain than nonthreatening evidence. The authors present 3 studies examining perceptions of scientific uncertainty more broadly by including sciences that are not politically polarizing. Study 1 develops scales measuring perceptions of scientific uncertainty. It finds (a) 3 perceptual dimensions of scientific uncertainty, with the primary dimension representing a perception of precision; (b) the precision dimension of uncertainty is strongly associated with the perceived value of a research field; and (c) differences in perceived uncertainty across political affiliations. Study 2 manipulated these dimensions, finding that Republicans were more sensitive than Democrats to descriptions of uncertainty associated with a research field (e.g., psychology). Study 3 found that these views of a research field did not extend to the evaluation of individual results produced by the field. Together, these studies show that perceptions of scientific uncertainty associated with entire research fields are valid predictors of abstract perceptions of scientific quality, benefit, and allocation of funding. Yet, they do not inform judgments about individual results. Therefore, polarization in the acceptance of specific results is not likely due to individual differences in perceived scientific uncertainty. Further, the direction of influence potentially could be reversed, such that perceived quality of scientific results could be used to influence perceptions about scientific research fields. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  14. Is there scientific evidence favoring the substitution of commercially pure titanium with titanium alloys for the manufacture of dental implants?

    PubMed

    Cordeiro, Jairo M; Barão, Valentim A R

    2017-02-01

    The development of Ti alloys to manufacture dental implants has emerged in recent years due to the increased failure of commercially pure titanium (cpTi) implants. Thus, this study reviews existing information about the mechanical, chemical, electrochemical, and biological properties of the main Ti alloys developed over the past few years to provide scientific evidence in favor of using Ti-based alloys as alternative to cpTi. Ti alloys may be considered viable substitutes in the fabrication of dental implants. Such evidence is given by the enhanced properties of alloys, such as a low elastic modulus, high tensile strength, satisfactory biocompatibility, and good corrosion and wear resistances. In addition, Ti alloys may be modified at the structural, chemical, and thermomechanical levels, which allows the development of materials in accordance with the demands of several situations encountered in clinical practice. Although several in vitro studies have established the superiority of Ti alloys over cpTi, mainly in terms of their mechanical properties, there is no scientific evidence that supports the total replacement of this material in vivo. This review demonstrates the superiority of β-type alloys. However, it is evident that in vivo studies are encouraged to test new alloys to consolidate their use as substitutes for cpTi. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Representation and Misrepresentation of Scientific Evidence in Contemporary Tobacco Regulation: A Review of Tobacco Industry Submissions to the UK Government Consultation on Standardised Packaging

    PubMed Central

    Ulucanlar, Selda; Fooks, Gary J.; Hatchard, Jenny L.; Gilmore, Anna B.

    2014-01-01

    Background Standardised packaging (SP) of tobacco products is an innovative tobacco control measure opposed by transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) whose responses to the UK government's public consultation on SP argued that evidence was inadequate to support implementing the measure. The government's initial decision, announced 11 months after the consultation closed, was to wait for ‘more evidence’, but four months later a second ‘independent review’ was launched. In view of the centrality of evidence to debates over SP and TTCs' history of denying harms and manufacturing uncertainty about scientific evidence, we analysed their submissions to examine how they used evidence to oppose SP. Methods and Findings We purposively selected and analysed two TTC submissions using a verification-oriented cross-documentary method to ascertain how published studies were used and interpretive analysis with a constructivist grounded theory approach to examine the conceptual significance of TTC critiques. The companies' overall argument was that the SP evidence base was seriously flawed and did not warrant the introduction of SP. However, this argument was underpinned by three complementary techniques that misrepresented the evidence base. First, published studies were repeatedly misquoted, distorting the main messages. Second, ‘mimicked scientific critique’ was used to undermine evidence; this form of critique insisted on methodological perfection, rejected methodological pluralism, adopted a litigation (not scientific) model, and was not rigorous. Third, TTCs engaged in ‘evidential landscaping’, promoting a parallel evidence base to deflect attention from SP and excluding company-held evidence relevant to SP. The study's sample was limited to sub-sections of two out of four submissions, but leaked industry documents suggest at least one other company used a similar approach. Conclusions The TTCs' claim that SP will not lead to public health benefits is largely

  16. Shared scientific thinking in everyday parent-child activity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Crowley, Kevin; Callanan, Maureen A.; Jipson, Jennifer L.; Galco, Jodi; Topping, Karen; Shrager, Jeff

    2001-11-01

    Current accounts of the development of scientific reasoning focus on individual children's ability to coordinate the collection and evaluation of evidence with the creation of theories to explain the evidence. This observational study of parent-child interactions in a children's museum demonstrated that parents shape and support children's scientific thinking in everyday, nonobligatory activity. When children engaged an exhibit with parents, their exploration of evidence was observed to be longer, broader, and more focused on relevant comparisons than children who engaged the exhibit without their parents. Parents were observed to talk to children about how to select and encode appropriate evidence and how to make direct comparisons between the most informative kinds of evidence. Parents also sometimes assumed the role of explainer by casting children's experience in causal terms, connecting the experience to prior knowledge, or introducing abstract principles. We discuss these findings with respect to two dimensions of children's scientific thinking: developments in evidence collection and developments in theory construction.

  17. Masturbation: Scientific Evidence and Islam's View.

    PubMed

    Hoseini, Sayed Shahabuddin

    2017-12-01

    Masturbation is the stimulation of sexual organs usually to the point of orgasm with an essential autoerotic component. Due to the high prevalence of this sexual behavior, it was and still is a matter of debate if masturbation is a normal action without any side effects and even if it is advantageous or it is associated with side effects necessitating public education how to avoid it. In addition, it is a common question if masturbation is religiously lawful or not. In this study, I assess the results of scientific studies about this sexual behavior and also shed some light on the Islam's view about it.

  18. The importance of scientific evaluation of biological evidence--data from eight years of case review.

    PubMed

    Coyle, Heather Miller

    2012-12-01

    In 2009, the National Research Council published a report stating that the addition of more science and technology into the field of forensic science in the United States would be of great benefit to the judicial system. As a starting point to address this NRC report, one needs to make an assessment of the system. One factor that is continuously requested is an estimate of an error rate. In any given scientific area of forensics that is difficult to quantitate except by external review and audits. After eight years of requested defense review of cases with biological and DNA evidence, most cases appear to be scientifically sound in test methods and procedures. However, there were some cases where errors in the forensic science process did occur. This article takes information compiled from those eight years of defense review and summarizes the cases where errors have been discovered and discusses the scientific implications of these errors. The scope of this article is limited to crime scene collection and forensic science laboratory testing of biological materials for body fluid identification and DNA individualization to a source. The greatest value of defense review comes from (a) providing effective balance and independent oversight to the judicial process and (b) collecting data into a format that can be useful as a guide in training programs. Copyright © 2012 Forensic Science Society. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Crustal strain accumulation on Southern Basin and Range Province faults modulated by distant plate boundary earthquakes? Evidence from geodesy, seismic imaging, and paleoseismology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bennett, R. A.; Shirzaei, M.; Broermann, J.; Spinler, J. C.; Holland, A. A.; Pearthree, P.

    2014-12-01

    GPS in Arizona reveals a change in the pattern of crustal strain accumulation in 2010 and based on viscoelastic modeling appears to be associated with the distant M7.2 El Mayor-Cucapah (EMC) earthquake in Baja California, Mexico. GPS data collected between 1999 and 2009 near the Santa Rita normal fault in SE Arizona reveal a narrow zone of crustal deformation coincident with the fault trace, delineated by W-NW facing Pleistocene fault scarps of heights 1 to 7 m. The apparent deformation zone is also seen in a preliminary InSAR interferogram. Total motion across the zone inferred using an elastic block model constrained by the pre-2010 GPS measurements is ~1 mm/yr in a sense consistent with normal fault motion. However, continuous GPS measurements throughout Arizona reveal pronounced changes in crustal velocity following the EMC earthquake, such that the relative motion across the Santa Rita fault post-2010 is negligible. Paleoseismic evidence indicates that mapped Santa Rita fault scarps were formed by two or more large magnitude (M6.7 to M7.6) surface rupturing normal-faulting earthquakes 60 to 100 kyrs ago. Seismic refraction and reflection data constrained by deep (~800 m) well log data provide evidence of progressive, possibly intermittent, displacement on the fault through time. The rate of strain accumulation observed geodetically prior to 2010, if constant over the past 60 to 100 kyrs, would imply an untenable minimum slip rate deficit of 60 to 100 m since the most recent earthquake. One explanation for the available geodetic, seismic, and paleoseismic evidence is that strain accumulation is modulated by viscoelastic relaxation associated with frequent large magnitude earthquakes in the Salton Trough region, episodically inhibiting the accumulation of elastic strain required to generate large earthquakes on the Santa Rita and possibly other faults in the Southern Basin and Range. An important question is thus for how long the postseismic velocity changes

  20. Evidence that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is rapidly accumulating plastic.

    PubMed

    Lebreton, L; Slat, B; Ferrari, F; Sainte-Rose, B; Aitken, J; Marthouse, R; Hajbane, S; Cunsolo, S; Schwarz, A; Levivier, A; Noble, K; Debeljak, P; Maral, H; Schoeneich-Argent, R; Brambini, R; Reisser, J

    2018-03-22

    Ocean plastic can persist in sea surface waters, eventually accumulating in remote areas of the world's oceans. Here we characterise and quantify a major ocean plastic accumulation zone formed in subtropical waters between California and Hawaii: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP). Our model, calibrated with data from multi-vessel and aircraft surveys, predicted at least 79 (45-129) thousand tonnes of ocean plastic are floating inside an area of 1.6 million km 2 ; a figure four to sixteen times higher than previously reported. We explain this difference through the use of more robust methods to quantify larger debris. Over three-quarters of the GPGP mass was carried by debris larger than 5 cm and at least 46% was comprised of fishing nets. Microplastics accounted for 8% of the total mass but 94% of the estimated 1.8 (1.1-3.6) trillion pieces floating in the area. Plastic collected during our study has specific characteristics such as small surface-to-volume ratio, indicating that only certain types of debris have the capacity to persist and accumulate at the surface of the GPGP. Finally, our results suggest that ocean plastic pollution within the GPGP is increasing exponentially and at a faster rate than in surrounding waters.

  1. The Acquisition of Scientific Knowledge via Critical Thinking: A Philosophical Approach to Science Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Talavera, Isidoro

    2016-01-01

    There is a gap between the facts learned in a science course and the higher-cognitive skills of analysis and evaluation necessary for students to secure scientific knowledge and scientific habits of mind. Teaching science is not just about how we do science (i.e., focusing on just "accumulating undigested facts and scientific definitions and…

  2. Sudden Cardiac Risk Stratification with Electrocardiographic Indices - A Review on Computational Processing, Technology Transfer, and Scientific Evidence

    PubMed Central

    Gimeno-Blanes, Francisco J.; Blanco-Velasco, Manuel; Barquero-Pérez, Óscar; García-Alberola, Arcadi; Rojo-Álvarez, José L.

    2016-01-01

    Great effort has been devoted in recent years to the development of sudden cardiac risk predictors as a function of electric cardiac signals, mainly obtained from the electrocardiogram (ECG) analysis. But these prediction techniques are still seldom used in clinical practice, partly due to its limited diagnostic accuracy and to the lack of consensus about the appropriate computational signal processing implementation. This paper addresses a three-fold approach, based on ECG indices, to structure this review on sudden cardiac risk stratification. First, throughout the computational techniques that had been widely proposed for obtaining these indices in technical literature. Second, over the scientific evidence, that although is supported by observational clinical studies, they are not always representative enough. And third, via the limited technology transfer of academy-accepted algorithms, requiring further meditation for future systems. We focus on three families of ECG derived indices which are tackled from the aforementioned viewpoints, namely, heart rate turbulence (HRT), heart rate variability (HRV), and T-wave alternans. In terms of computational algorithms, we still need clearer scientific evidence, standardizing, and benchmarking, siting on advanced algorithms applied over large and representative datasets. New scenarios like electronic health recordings, big data, long-term monitoring, and cloud databases, will eventually open new frameworks to foresee suitable new paradigms in the near future. PMID:27014083

  3. Neural chronometry and coherency across speed-accuracy demands reveal lack of homomorphism between computational and neural mechanisms of evidence accumulation.

    PubMed

    Heitz, Richard P; Schall, Jeffrey D

    2013-10-19

    The stochastic accumulation framework provides a mechanistic, quantitative account of perceptual decision-making and how task performance changes with experimental manipulations. Importantly, it provides an elegant account of the speed-accuracy trade-off (SAT), which has long been the litmus test for decision models, and also mimics the activity of single neurons in several key respects. Recently, we developed a paradigm whereby macaque monkeys trade speed for accuracy on cue during visual search task. Single-unit activity in frontal eye field (FEF) was not homomorphic with the architecture of models, demonstrating that stochastic accumulators are an incomplete description of neural activity under SAT. This paper summarizes and extends this work, further demonstrating that the SAT leads to extensive, widespread changes in brain activity never before predicted. We will begin by reviewing our recently published work that establishes how spiking activity in FEF accomplishes SAT. Next, we provide two important extensions of this work. First, we report a new chronometric analysis suggesting that increases in perceptual gain with speed stress are evident in FEF synaptic input, implicating afferent sensory-processing sources. Second, we report a new analysis demonstrating selective influence of SAT on frequency coupling between FEF neurons and local field potentials. None of these observations correspond to the mechanics of current accumulator models.

  4. Influence of Vegetation on Sediment Accumulation in Restored Tidal Saltmarshes: Field Evidence from the Blackwater Estuary, Essex, UK

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Price, D.; French, J.; Burningham, H.

    2013-12-01

    Tidal saltmarshes in the UK, and especially in the estuaries of southeast England, have been subject to degradation and erosion over the last few decades, primarily caused by sea-level rise and coastal squeeze due to fixed coastal defences. This is of great concern to a range of coastal stakeholders due to the corresponding loss of functions and services associated with these systems. The coastal defence role that saltmarshes play is well established, and the importance of saltmarsh ecosystems as habitats for birds, fish, and other species is evidenced in the fact that a large proportion of saltmarsh in the southeast England is designated for its scientific and conservation significance. Sediment accumulation is critical for the maintenance of marsh elevation within the tidal frame and for delivery of the aforementioned functions and services. Although many studies have examined accumulation processes, key questions have yet to be fully tested through intensive field observations. One such question relates to the role of vegetation in mediating the retention of newly introduced sediment, as recent research has called into doubt the traditional view of halophytes significantly enhancing rates of sedimentation through wave dissipation. This study presents early results from a project designed to advance our understanding of the processes controlling sediment accumulation. The research focuses on the UK's first large-scale experimental managed flood defence realignment at Tollesbury, Blackwater estuary, Essex. The seawall protecting 21ha of reclaimed agricultural land was artificially breached in 1995 and saltmarsh has progressively developed as tidal exchange has introduced fine sediment into the site. Results from a 12 month monitoring campaign involving hierarchical two-week sediment trap deployments indicates that the role of vegetation in marsh development is less clear cut that previously thought. Gross sedimentation rates were generally higher in non

  5. From evidence-based medicine to genomic medicine

    PubMed Central

    2007-01-01

    The concept of ‘evidence-based medicine’ dates back to mid-19th century or even earlier. It remains pivotal in planning, funding and in delivering the health care. Clinicians, public health practitioners, health commissioners/purchasers, health planners, politicians and public seek formal ‘evidence’ in approving any form of health care provision. Essentially ‘evidence-based medicine’ aims at the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of the current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. It is in fact the ‘personalised medicine’ in practice. Since the completion of the human genome project and the rapid accumulation of huge amount of data, scientists and physicians alike are excited on the prospect of ‘personalised health care’ based on individual’s genotype and phenotype. The first decade of the new millennium now witnesses the transition from ‘evidence-based medicine’ to the ‘genomic medicine’. The practice of medicine, including health promotion and prevention of disease, stands now at a wide-open road as the scientific and medical community embraces itself with the rapidly expanding and revolutionising field of genomic medicine. This article reviews the rapid transformation of modern medicine from the ‘evidence-based medicine’ to ‘genomic medicine’. PMID:18923934

  6. Particulate matter beyond mass: recent health evidence on the role of fractions, chemical constituents and sources of emission

    PubMed Central

    Héroux, Marie-Eve; Gerlofs-Nijland, Miriam E.; Kelly, Frank J.

    2013-01-01

    Particulate matter (PM) is regulated in various parts of the world based on specific size cut offs, often expressed as 10 or 2.5 µm mass median aerodynamic diameter. This pollutant is deemed one of the most dangerous to health and moreover, problems persist with high ambient concentrations. Continuing pressure to re-evaluate ambient air quality standards stems from research that not only has identified effects at low levels of PM but which also has revealed that reductions in certain components, sources and size fractions may best protect public health. Considerable amount of published information have emerged from toxicological research in recent years. Accumulating evidence has identified additional air quality metrics (e.g. black carbon, secondary organic and inorganic aerosols) that may be valuable in evaluating the health risks of, for example, primary combustion particles from traffic emissions, which are not fully taken into account with PM2.5 mass. Most of the evidence accumulated so far is for an adverse effect on health of carbonaceous material from traffic. Traffic-generated dust, including road, brake and tire wear, also contribute to the adverse effects on health. Exposure durations from a few minutes up to a year have been linked with adverse effects. The new evidence collected supports the scientific conclusions of the World Health Organization Air Quality Guidelines and also provides scientific arguments for taking decisive actions to improve air quality and reduce the global burden of disease associated with air pollution. PMID:24304307

  7. Particulate matter beyond mass: recent health evidence on the role of fractions, chemical constituents and sources of emission.

    PubMed

    Cassee, Flemming R; Héroux, Marie-Eve; Gerlofs-Nijland, Miriam E; Kelly, Frank J

    2013-12-01

    Particulate matter (PM) is regulated in various parts of the world based on specific size cut offs, often expressed as 10 or 2.5 µm mass median aerodynamic diameter. This pollutant is deemed one of the most dangerous to health and moreover, problems persist with high ambient concentrations. Continuing pressure to re-evaluate ambient air quality standards stems from research that not only has identified effects at low levels of PM but which also has revealed that reductions in certain components, sources and size fractions may best protect public health. Considerable amount of published information have emerged from toxicological research in recent years. Accumulating evidence has identified additional air quality metrics (e.g. black carbon, secondary organic and inorganic aerosols) that may be valuable in evaluating the health risks of, for example, primary combustion particles from traffic emissions, which are not fully taken into account with PM2.5 mass. Most of the evidence accumulated so far is for an adverse effect on health of carbonaceous material from traffic. Traffic-generated dust, including road, brake and tire wear, also contribute to the adverse effects on health. Exposure durations from a few minutes up to a year have been linked with adverse effects. The new evidence collected supports the scientific conclusions of the World Health Organization Air Quality Guidelines and also provides scientific arguments for taking decisive actions to improve air quality and reduce the global burden of disease associated with air pollution.

  8. Scientific Versus Experiential Evidence: Discourse Analysis of the Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency Debate in a Multiple Sclerosis Forum.

    PubMed

    Koschack, Janka; Weibezahl, Lara; Friede, Tim; Himmel, Wolfgang; Makedonski, Philip; Grabowski, Jens

    2015-07-01

    into the dimensions "trust in evidence-based knowledge," "trust in experience-based knowledge," and "subjectivity" (ie, the emotional character of contributions manifested by the use of popular rhetoric that seemed to mask a deep personal involvement). By critical discourse analysis of the CCSVI discussion in a patient online forum, we reconstruct a lay discourse about the evidentiary value of knowledge. We detected evidence criteria in this lay discourse that are different from those in the expert discourse. But we should be cautious to interpret this dissociation as a sign of an intellectual incapability to understand scientific evidence or a naïve trust in experiential knowledge. Instead, it might be an indication of cognitive dissonance reduction to protect oneself against contradictory information.

  9. Scientific Versus Experiential Evidence: Discourse Analysis of the Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency Debate in a Multiple Sclerosis Forum

    PubMed Central

    Weibezahl, Lara; Friede, Tim; Himmel, Wolfgang; Makedonski, Philip; Grabowski, Jens

    2015-01-01

    positions could be identified by arranging them into the dimensions “trust in evidence-based knowledge,” “trust in experience-based knowledge,” and “subjectivity” (ie, the emotional character of contributions manifested by the use of popular rhetoric that seemed to mask a deep personal involvement). Conclusions By critical discourse analysis of the CCSVI discussion in a patient online forum, we reconstruct a lay discourse about the evidentiary value of knowledge. We detected evidence criteria in this lay discourse that are different from those in the expert discourse. But we should be cautious to interpret this dissociation as a sign of an intellectual incapability to understand scientific evidence or a naïve trust in experiential knowledge. Instead, it might be an indication of cognitive dissonance reduction to protect oneself against contradictory information. PMID:26133525

  10. Measuring Scientific Reasoning--A Review of Test Instruments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Opitz, Ansgar; Heene, Moritz; Fischer, Frank

    2017-01-01

    Education systems increasingly emphasize the importance of scientific reasoning skills such as "generating hypotheses" and "evaluating evidence." Despite this importance, we do not know which tests of scientific reasoning exist, which skills they emphasize, how they conceptualize scientific reasoning, and how well they are…

  11. Evidence-Based Practice in the social sciences? A scale of causality, interventions, and possibilities for scientific proof

    PubMed Central

    Tellings, Agnes

    2017-01-01

    This article discusses Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) in the social sciences. After a brief outline of the discussion, the work of William Herbert Dray (1921–2009) is examined. Dray, partly following Collingwood, worked on different forms of causality and methodology in historical explanation (in comparison to the social sciences), based on a distinction between causes and reasons. Dray’s ladder of rational understanding is also explored here. Taking his argumentation further and sometimes turning it upside-down, a scale of forms of causality is developed with accompanying types of interventions and possibilities for scientific proof of their effectivity. This scale makes it possible to weigh interventions regarding the degree to which “hard” scientific proof is possible for them. The article concludes with a brief discussion of how interventions in psychology and education should be chosen and can be justified, both those that do and those that don’t lend themselves to empirical research. PMID:28989240

  12. Fostering Scientific Reasoning in Education--Meta-Analytic Evidence from Intervention Studies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Engelmann, Katharina; Neuhaus, Birgit J.; Fischer, Frank

    2016-01-01

    Scientific reasoning skills are not just for researchers, they are also increasingly relevant for making informed decisions in our everyday lives. How can these skills be facilitated? The current state of research on supporting scientific reasoning includes intervention studies but lacks an integrated analysis of the approaches to foster…

  13. A brief review of current scientific evidence involving aromatherapy use for nausea and vomiting.

    PubMed

    Lua, Pei Lin; Zakaria, Noor Salihah

    2012-06-01

    The objective of this study was to compile existing scientific evidence regarding the effects of essential oils (EOs) administered via inhalation for the alleviation of nausea and vomiting. CINAHL, PubMed, and EBSCO Host and Science Direct databases were searched for articles related to the use of EOs and/or aromatherapy for nausea and vomiting. Only articles using English as a language of publication were included. Eligible articles included all forms of evidence (nonexperimental, experimental, case report). Interventions were limited to the use of EOs by inhalation of their vapors to treat symptoms of nausea and vomiting in various conditions regardless of age group. Studies where the intervention did not utilize EOs or were concerned with only alcohol inhalation and trials that combined the use of aromatherapy with other treatments (massage, relaxations, or acupressure) were excluded. Five (5) articles met the inclusion criteria encompassing trials with 328 respondents. Their results suggest that the inhaled vapor of peppermint or ginger essential oils not only reduced the incidence and severity of nausea and vomiting but also decreased antiemetic requirements and consequently improved patient satisfaction. However, a definitive conclusion could not be drawn due to methodological flaws in the existing research articles and an acute lack of additional research in this area. The existing evidence is encouraging but yet not compelling. Hence, further well-designed large trials are needed before confirmation of EOs effectiveness in treating nausea and vomiting can be strongly substantiated.

  14. Science and Pseudoscience in Medicine: Evidence-Based vs. Evidence-Biased Medicine.

    PubMed

    Jakovljević, Miro; Ostojić, Ljerka

    2016-12-01

    The concept of evidence-based medicine (EBM), as the highest standard of health care, came into existence in 1990s to promote a systematic approach to helping clinicians in their practice to be guided by the best available scientific evidence. However, there has been an increasing number of warning reports that in modern research, misrepresented, false and unuseful findings may be the majority or even the vast majority of published research claims In spite of the huge scientific progress, pseudoscience and associated evidence biased medicine represent a serious threat to the concept of the EBM. Effective education in medicine, proper research motivation, sound systems and creative thinking and culture of scientific dialogue may significantly contribute to better science and evidence-based medicine. The seven key words of good science, research and publishing are: integrity, motivation, capacity, understanding, knowledge, experience, and creativity.

  15. Medical marijuana: the conflict between scientific evidence and political ideology. Part two of two.

    PubMed

    Cohen, Peter J

    2009-01-01

    In Part I of this article, I examined the role of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in drug approval and then detailed the known risks of medical marijuana (any form of Cannabis sativa used--usually by smoking--to treat a wide variety of pathologic states and diseases). Part II of the article will begin by reviewing the benefits of Cannabis sativa as documented by well designed scientific studies that have been published in the peer-reviewed literature. I will then propose that ability of scientists to conduct impartial studies designed to answer the question of marijuana's role in medical therapy has been greatly hampered by political considerations. I will posit that in spite of the considerable efforts of policymakers, it is becoming apparent that marijuana's benefits should be weighed against its well-described risks. I will conclude that political advocacy is a poor substitute for dispassionate analysis and that neither popular votes nor congressional "findings" should be permitted to trump scientific evidence in deciding whether or not marijuana is an appropriate pharmaceutical agent to use in modern medical practice. Whether or not marijuana is accepted as a legitimate medical therapy should remain in the hands of the usual drug-approval process and that the statutory role of the Food and Drug Administration should be dispositive.

  16. Enhancing endorsement of scientific inquiry increases support for pro-environment policies.

    PubMed

    Drummond, Aaron; Palmer, Matthew A; Sauer, James D

    2016-09-01

    Pro-environment policies require public support and engagement, but in countries such as the USA, public support for pro-environment policies remains low. Increasing public scientific literacy is unlikely to solve this, because increased scientific literacy does not guarantee increased acceptance of critical environmental issues (e.g. that climate change is occurring). We distinguish between scientific literacy (basic scientific knowledge) and endorsement of scientific inquiry (perceiving science as a valuable way of accumulating knowledge), and examine the relationship between people's endorsement of scientific inquiry and their support for pro-environment policy. Analysis of a large, publicly available dataset shows that support for pro-environment policies is more strongly related to endorsement of scientific inquiry than to scientific literacy among adolescents. An experiment demonstrates that a brief intervention can increase support for pro-environment policies via increased endorsement of scientific inquiry among adults. Public education about the merits of scientific inquiry may facilitate increased support for pro-environment policies.

  17. Enhancing endorsement of scientific inquiry increases support for pro-environment policies

    PubMed Central

    Palmer, Matthew A.; Sauer, James D.

    2016-01-01

    Pro-environment policies require public support and engagement, but in countries such as the USA, public support for pro-environment policies remains low. Increasing public scientific literacy is unlikely to solve this, because increased scientific literacy does not guarantee increased acceptance of critical environmental issues (e.g. that climate change is occurring). We distinguish between scientific literacy (basic scientific knowledge) and endorsement of scientific inquiry (perceiving science as a valuable way of accumulating knowledge), and examine the relationship between people's endorsement of scientific inquiry and their support for pro-environment policy. Analysis of a large, publicly available dataset shows that support for pro-environment policies is more strongly related to endorsement of scientific inquiry than to scientific literacy among adolescents. An experiment demonstrates that a brief intervention can increase support for pro-environment policies via increased endorsement of scientific inquiry among adults. Public education about the merits of scientific inquiry may facilitate increased support for pro-environment policies. PMID:27703700

  18. Accumulate repeat accumulate codes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Abbasfar, Aliazam; Divsalar, Dariush; Yao, Kung

    2004-01-01

    In this paper we propose an innovative channel coding scheme called 'Accumulate Repeat Accumulate codes' (ARA). This class of codes can be viewed as serial turbo-like codes, or as a subclass of Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes, thus belief propagation can be used for iterative decoding of ARA codes on a graph. The structure of encoder for this class can be viewed as precoded Repeat Accumulate (RA) code or as precoded Irregular Repeat Accumulate (IRA) code, where simply an accumulator is chosen as a precoder. Thus ARA codes have simple, and very fast encoder structure when they representing LDPC codes. Based on density evolution for LDPC codes through some examples for ARA codes, we show that for maximum variable node degree 5 a minimum bit SNR as low as 0.08 dB from channel capacity for rate 1/2 can be achieved as the block size goes to infinity. Thus based on fixed low maximum variable node degree, its threshold outperforms not only the RA and IRA codes but also the best known LDPC codes with the dame maximum node degree. Furthermore by puncturing the accumulators any desired high rate codes close to code rate 1 can be obtained with thresholds that stay close to the channel capacity thresholds uniformly. Iterative decoding simulation results are provided. The ARA codes also have projected graph or protograph representation that allows for high speed decoder implementation.

  19. Scientific misconduct: also an issue in nursing science?

    PubMed

    Fierz, Katharina; Gennaro, Susan; Dierickx, Kris; Van Achterberg, Theo; Morin, Karen H; De Geest, Sabina

    2014-07-01

    Scientific misconduct (SMC) is an increasing concern in nursing science. This article discusses the prevalence of SMC, risk factors and correlates of scientific misconduct in nursing science, and highlights interventional approaches to foster good scientific conduct. Using the "Fostering Research Integrity in Europe" report of the European Science Foundation as a framework, we reviewed the literature in research integrity promotion. Although little empirical data exist regarding prevalence of scientific misconduct in the field of nursing science, available evidence suggests a similar prevalence as elsewhere. In studies of prospective graduate nurses, 4% to 17% admit data falsification or fabrication, while 8.8% to 26.4% report plagiarizing material. Risk factors for SMC exist at the macro, meso, and micro levels of the research system. Intervention research on preventing scientific misconduct in nursing is limited, yet findings from the wider field of medicine and allied health professions suggest that honor codes, training programs, and clearly communicated misconduct control mechanisms and misconduct consequences improve ethical behavior. Scientific misconduct is a multilevel phenomenon. Interventions to decrease scientific misconduct must therefore target every level of the nursing research systems. Scientific misconduct not only compromises scientific integrity by distorting empirical evidence, but it might endanger patients. Because nurses are involved in clinical research, raising their awareness of scientifically inappropriate behavior is essential. © 2014 Sigma Theta Tau International.

  20. Accumulation of 5-Oxoproline in Mouse Tissues After Inhibition of 5-Oxoprolinase and Administration of Amino Acids: Evidence for Function of the γ-Glutamyl Cycle*

    PubMed Central

    Van Der Werf, Paul; Stephani, Ralph A.; Meister, Alton

    1974-01-01

    5-Oxoprolinase catalyzes the conversion of 5-oxo-L-proline (L-pyroglutamate, L-2-pyrrolidone-5-carboxylate) to L-glutamate with concomitant stoichiometric cleavage of ATP to ADP and inorganic orthophosphate. In this reaction, a step in the γ-glutamyl cycle, 5-oxoproline (formed by the action of γ-glutamylcyclotransferase on γ-glutamyl amino acids, which are in turn formed by transpeptidation of amino acids with glutathione), is made available for glutathione synthesis. When mice are injected with L-2-imidazolidone-4-carboxylate, a competitive inhibitor of 5-oxoprolinase, they accumulate 5-oxoproline in their tissues (kidney, liver, brain, and eye) and excrete it in the urine. Mice given the inhibitor together with one of several L-amino acids accumulate and excrete much more 5-oxoproline than when they are given the inhibitor alone. Such augmentation of 5-oxoproline accumulation offers evidence for the function of the γ-glutamyl cycle in vivo and supports the view that 5-oxoproline is a quantitatively significant metabolite. Images PMID:4151516

  1. [Therapeutic potential of Hibiscus sabdariffa: a review of the scientific evidence].

    PubMed

    Guardiola, Soledad; Mach, Núria

    2014-05-01

    Infusion of Hibiscus sabdariffa (H. sabdariffa) is a very popular drink in many parts of the world. Its phytochemical composition is associated to antioxidant, hypotensive, and antiatherosclerotic effects. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in these processes are not well known. The aim of this review was to report the scientific evidence supporting that regular use of H. sabdariffa decreases oxidative stress, atherosclerosis, lipid profile, and blood pressure. A search of recent publications was made in the following specialized electronic databases: Elsevier Journal, SciELO, FSTA, Science Direct, Springer Link, and NCBI. Results of research conducted in clinical trials in humans and in animal models and cell cultures were recorded. Keywords used included Hibiscus sabdariffa, oxidative stress, polyphenols, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and lipid profile. Results of the different articles suggested a possible therapeutic effect of H. sabdariffa extracts on oxidative stress, lipid profile, hypertension, and atherosclerosis thanks to its composition rich in phenolic compounds. Anthocyanins significantly decrease LDL oxidation, inhibit adipogenesis by regulating adipogenic signaling pathways and transcription factors, and modulate gene expression of certain microRNAs. No adverse events or side effects were reported. Further more homogeneous, placebo-controlled studies in humans are needed to state that H. sabdariffa has therapeutic efficacy in humans. Copyright © 2013 SEEN. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  2. Milk and acid-base balance: proposed hypothesis versus scientific evidence.

    PubMed

    Fenton, Tanis R; Lyon, Andrew W

    2011-10-01

    Recently the lay press has claimed a hypothetical association among dairy product consumption, generation of dietary acid, and harm to human health. This theoretical association is based on the idea that the protein and phosphate in milk and dairy products make them acid-producing foods, which cause our bodies to become acidified, promoting diseases of modern civilization. Some authors have suggested that dairy products are not helpful and perhaps detrimental to bone health because higher osteoporotic fracture incidence is observed in countries with higher dairy product consumption. However, scientific evidence does not support any of these claims. Milk and dairy products neither produce acid upon metabolism nor cause metabolic acidosis, and systemic pH is not influenced by diet. Observations of higher dairy product intake in countries with prevalent osteoporosis do not hold when urban environments are compared, likely due to physical labor in rural locations. Milk and other dairy products continue to be a good source of dietary protein and other nutrients. Key teaching points: Measurement of an acidic pH urine does not reflect metabolic acidosis or an adverse health condition. The modern diet, and dairy product consumption, does not make the body acidic. Alkaline diets alter urine pH but do not change systemic pH. Net acid excretion is not an important influence of calcium metabolism. Milk is not acid producing. Dietary phosphate does not have a negative impact on calcium metabolism, which is contrary to the acid-ash hypothesis.

  3. Ethical and scientific issues surrounding solid organ transplantation in HIV-positive patients: Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

    PubMed

    Christie, Timothy; Jiwani, Bashir; Asrat, Getnet; Montessori, Valentina; Mathias, Richard; Montaner, Julio

    2006-01-01

    End-stage liver disease is emerging as a leading cause of death among HIV-positive patients. Historically, an HIV diagnosis was a contraindication for a liver transplant; however, because of the efficacy of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), HIV-positive patients have one-year, two-year, and three-year post-transplantation survival rates similar to that of HIV-negative patients. Based on this evidence, HIV-positive patients are now considered eligible for transplantation. However, newly emerging guidelines include the stipulation that HIV-positive patients must be on HAART to be placed on a waiting list for transplantation. The purpose of the present paper is to evaluate the scientific and ethical probity of requiring HIV-positive patients to be on HAART as a condition for being on a liver transplant waiting list. It is argued that the emphasis should be placed on the probability of post-transplantation HAART tolerance, and that concerns about pretransplantation HAART tolerance are of secondary importance.

  4. Ethical and scientific issues surrounding solid organ transplantation in HIV-positive patients: Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence

    PubMed Central

    Christie, Timothy; Jiwani, Bashir; Asrat, Getnet; Montessori, Valentina; Mathias, Richard; Montaner, Julio

    2006-01-01

    End-stage liver disease is emerging as a leading cause of death among HIV-positive patients. Historically, an HIV diagnosis was a contraindication for a liver transplant; however, because of the efficacy of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), HIV-positive patients have one-year, two-year, and three-year post-transplantation survival rates similar to that of HIV-negative patients. Based on this evidence, HIV-positive patients are now considered eligible for transplantation. However, newly emerging guidelines include the stipulation that HIV-positive patients must be on HAART to be placed on a waiting list for transplantation. The purpose of the present paper is to evaluate the scientific and ethical probity of requiring HIV-positive patients to be on HAART as a condition for being on a liver transplant waiting list. It is argued that the emphasis should be placed on the probability of post-transplantation HAART tolerance, and that concerns about pretransplantation HAART tolerance are of secondary importance. PMID:18418478

  5. [Lorenz was right, or does aggressive energy accumulate?].

    PubMed

    Kudriavtseva, N N

    2004-06-01

    Evidence supporting the fact that inherited mechanisms of regulation of aggressive behavior as a result of a repeated experience of aggression ending in victories are transformed into pathological mechanisms based on accumulation of neurochemical shifts in the brain, enhancing aggressiveness, and forming aggressive motivation in aggressive winners. This confirms the concept by Lorenz on the existence of a mechanism (but not instinct) of a spontaneous accumulation of aggressive energy that needs a discharge and formation of permanent attraction to manifestation of aggression.

  6. Scientific reasoning profile of junior secondary school students on the concept of static fluid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mariana, N.; Siahaan, P.; Utari, S.

    2018-05-01

    Scientific reasoning is one of the most important ability. This study aims to determine the profile of scientific reasoning of junior high school students about the concept of static fluid. This research uses a descriptive method with a quantitative approach to get an idea about the scientific reasoning of One Roof Junior Secondary School Student Kotabaru Reteh in Riau. The technique of collecting data is done by test of scientific reasoning. Scientific reasoning capability refers to Furtak’s EBR (Evidence Based Reasoning) scientific reasoning indicator that contains the components of claims, data, evidence, and rules. The result obtained on each element of scientific reasoning is 35% claim, 23% data, 21% evidence and 17% rule. The conclusions of this research that scientific reasoning of Satu Atap Junior Secondary School student Kotabaru Reteh, Riau Province still in the low category.

  7. What Determines Student Acceptance of Politically Controversial Scientific Conclusions?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walker, J. D.; Wassenberg, Deena; Franta, Gabriel; Cotner, Sehoya

    2017-01-01

    Certain scientific conclusions are controversial, in that they are rejected by a substantial proportion of nonscientists despite an overwhelming scientific consensus. Science educators are motivated to help students understand the evidence behind the scientific consensus on these matters and to move students' views into alignment with those held…

  8. Making sense scientific claims in advertising. A study of scientifically aware consumers.

    PubMed

    Dodds, Rachel E; Tseëlon, Efrat; Weitkamp, Emma L C

    2008-04-01

    Evidence that science is becoming increasingly embedded in culture comes from the proliferation of discourses of ethical consumption, sustainability, and environmental awareness. Al Gore's recent award, along with UN's Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the Nobel peace prize-- provided a recent high profile linking of consumption and science. It is not clear to what extent the public at large engages in evaluating the scientific merits of the arguments about the link between human consumption and global environmental catastrophes. But on a local scale, we are routinely required to evaluate, scientific and pseudoscientific claims in advertising. Since advertising is used to sell products, the discourse of scientifically framed claims is being used to persuade consumers of the benefits of these products. In the case of functional foods and cosmetics, such statements are deployed to promote the health benefits and effectiveness of their products. This exploratory study examines the views of British consumers about the scientific and pseudoscientific claims made in advertisements for foods, with particular reference to functional foods, and cosmetics. The participants in the study all worked in scientific environments, though they were not all scientists. The study found that scientific arguments that were congruent with existing health knowledge tended to be accepted while pseudoscientific knowledge was regarded skeptically and concerns were raised over the accuracy and believability of the pseudoscientific claims. It appears that scientific awareness may play a part in consumers' ability to critically examine scientifically and pseudoscientifically based advertising claims.

  9. 5 CFR 630.301 - Annual leave accrual and accumulation-Senior Executive Service, Senior-Level, and Scientific and...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... legal authority, for planning, monitoring, developing, evaluating, and rewarding employee performance...-Senior Executive Service, Senior-Level, and Scientific and Professional Employees. 630.301 Section 630...-Level, and Scientific and Professional Employees. (a) Annual leave accrues at the rate of 1 day (8 hours...

  10. 5 CFR 630.301 - Annual leave accrual and accumulation-Senior Executive Service, Senior-Level, and Scientific and...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... legal authority, for planning, monitoring, developing, evaluating, and rewarding employee performance...-Senior Executive Service, Senior-Level, and Scientific and Professional Employees. 630.301 Section 630...-Level, and Scientific and Professional Employees. (a) Annual leave accrues at the rate of 1 day (8 hours...

  11. 5 CFR 630.301 - Annual leave accrual and accumulation-Senior Executive Service, Senior-Level, and Scientific and...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... legal authority, for planning, monitoring, developing, evaluating, and rewarding employee performance...-Senior Executive Service, Senior-Level, and Scientific and Professional Employees. 630.301 Section 630...-Level, and Scientific and Professional Employees. (a) Annual leave accrues at the rate of 1 day (8 hours...

  12. 5 CFR 630.301 - Annual leave accrual and accumulation-Senior Executive Service, Senior-Level, and Scientific and...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... legal authority, for planning, monitoring, developing, evaluating, and rewarding employee performance...-Senior Executive Service, Senior-Level, and Scientific and Professional Employees. 630.301 Section 630...-Level, and Scientific and Professional Employees. (a) Annual leave accrues at the rate of 1 day (8 hours...

  13. Learners' Epistemic Criteria for Good Scientific Models

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pluta, William J.; Chinn, Clark A.; Duncan, Ravit Golan

    2011-01-01

    Epistemic criteria are the standards used to evaluate scientific products (e.g., models, evidence, arguments). In this study, we analyzed epistemic criteria for good models generated by 324 middle-school students. After evaluating a range of scientific models, but before extensive instruction or experience with model-based reasoning practices,…

  14. Examining the influence of formative assessment on conceptual accumulation and conceptual change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tomita, Miki K.

    This study explored the effect of formative assessment on student achievement in science. Research in science education has shown that students enter science classrooms with previously formed explanatory models of the natural world; these naive "mental models" have a substantial influence on their learning of scientific conceptions. In general, conceptual change describes the pathway from pre-instructional or prior conceptions to a post-instructional or desired conception. Conceptual change involves a fundamental restructuring of a network of concepts rather than fitting new concepts into an existing conceptual network or structure. Research has shown that conceptual change is difficult to promote; for example, students may accumulate multiple conceptions over the course of instruction, including both new misconceptions and more scientifically-sound conceptions. Hellden and Solomon (2004) found that although students tended to evoke the same, less-scientific conceptions over time, they could produce more scientifically-sound conceptions during interviews with appropriate prompting; thus, students undergo conceptual accumulation rather than conceptual change. Students can recall scientifically-sound conceptions they have learned and may use them to reason, but they do so in partnership or hybridization with their less-scientific prior conceptions. Formative assessment, which focuses on providing immediate feedback by acting upon student understanding during the course of instruction, and conceptual change have both been linked to increased student achievement. Formative assessment is an instructional strategy that helps teachers to assess students' current understanding, identify the gap between current understanding and expected understanding, and provide immediate and useful feedback to students on how to close the gap. Formative assessment ranges from formal (e.g. embedded, planned-for interactions between teacher and entire class) to informal (e.g. on

  15. Deleterious effects of neuronal accumulation of glycogen in flies and mice

    PubMed Central

    Duran, Jordi; Tevy, María Florencia; Garcia-Rocha, Mar; Calbó, Joaquim; Milán, Marco; Guinovart, Joan J

    2012-01-01

    Under physiological conditions, most neurons keep glycogen synthase (GS) in an inactive form and do not show detectable levels of glycogen. Nevertheless, aberrant glycogen accumulation in neurons is a hallmark of patients suffering from Lafora disease or other polyglucosan disorders. Although these diseases are associated with mutations in genes involved in glycogen metabolism, the role of glycogen accumulation remains elusive. Here, we generated mouse and fly models expressing an active form of GS to force neuronal accumulation of glycogen. We present evidence that the progressive accumulation of glycogen in mouse and Drosophila neurons leads to neuronal loss, locomotion defects and reduced lifespan. Our results highlight glycogen accumulation in neurons as a direct cause of neurodegeneration. PMID:22549942

  16. A Delphi Technology Foresight Study: Mapping Social Construction of Scientific Evidence on Metagenomics Tests for Water Safety

    PubMed Central

    Birko, Stanislav; Dove, Edward S.; Özdemir, Vural

    2015-01-01

    Access to clean water is a grand challenge in the 21st century. Water safety testing for pathogens currently depends on surrogate measures such as fecal indicator bacteria (e.g., E. coli). Metagenomics concerns high-throughput, culture-independent, unbiased shotgun sequencing of DNA from environmental samples that might transform water safety by detecting waterborne pathogens directly instead of their surrogates. Yet emerging innovations such as metagenomics are often fiercely contested. Innovations are subject to shaping/construction not only by technology but also social systems/values in which they are embedded, such as experts’ attitudes towards new scientific evidence. We conducted a classic three-round Delphi survey, comprised of 107 questions. A multidisciplinary expert panel (n = 24) representing the continuum of discovery scientists and policymakers evaluated the emergence of metagenomics tests. To the best of our knowledge, we report here the first Delphi foresight study of experts’ attitudes on (1) the top 10 priority evidentiary criteria for adoption of metagenomics tests for water safety, (2) the specific issues critical to governance of metagenomics innovation trajectory where there is consensus or dissensus among experts, (3) the anticipated time lapse from discovery to practice of metagenomics tests, and (4) the role and timing of public engagement in development of metagenomics tests. The ability of a test to distinguish between harmful and benign waterborne organisms, analytical/clinical sensitivity, and reproducibility were the top three evidentiary criteria for adoption of metagenomics. Experts agree that metagenomic testing will provide novel information but there is dissensus on whether metagenomics will replace the current water safety testing methods or impact the public health end points (e.g., reduction in boil water advisories). Interestingly, experts view the publics relevant in a “downstream capacity” for adoption of

  17. Students' Positions and Considerations of Scientific Evidence about a Controversial Socioscientific Issue

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Albe, Virginie

    2008-01-01

    Efforts have been devoted to introduce in science curricula direct instruction for evaluating scientific reports on socioscientific issues. In this study, students' opinions on the SSI of mobile telephones effects have been investigated before and after a classroom activity designed to enable students to assess scientific data. Aspects of the…

  18. Experimental evidence of dietary ciguatoxin accumulation in an herbivorous coral reef fish.

    PubMed

    Clausing, Rachel J; Losen, Barbara; Oberhaensli, Francois R; Darius, H Taiana; Sibat, Manoella; Hess, Philipp; Swarzenski, Peter W; Chinain, Mireille; Dechraoui Bottein, Marie-Yasmine

    2018-07-01

    Ciguatoxins (CTXs) are potent algal toxins that cause widespread ciguatera poisoning and are found ubiquitously in coral reef food webs. Here we developed an environmentally-relevant, experimental model of CTX trophic transfer involving dietary exposure of herbivorous fish to the CTX-producing microalgae Gambierdiscus polynesiensis. Juvenile Naso brevirostris were fed a gel-food embedded with microalgae for 16 weeks (89 cells g -1 fish daily, 0.4 μg CTX3C equiv kg -1 fish). CTXs in muscle tissue were detectable after 2 weeks at levels above the threshold for human intoxication (1.2 ± 0.2 μg CTX3C equiv kg -1 ). Although tissue CTX concentrations stabilized after 8 weeks (∼3 ± 0.5 μg CTX3C equiv kg -1 ), muscle toxin burden (total μg CTX in muscle tissue) continued to increase linearly through the end of the experiment (16 weeks). Toxin accumulation was therefore continuous, yet masked by somatic growth dilution. The observed CTX concentrations, accumulation rates, and general absence of behavioural signs of intoxication are consistent with field observations and indicate that this method of dietary exposure may be used to develop predictive models of tissue-specific CTX uptake, metabolism and depuration. Results also imply that slow-growing fish may accumulate higher CTX flesh concentrations than fast-growing fish, which has important implications for global seafood safety. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Promoting Scientific Faculties: Does It Work? Evidence from Italy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maestri, Virginia

    2013-01-01

    In reaction to the OECD-wide declining trend in scientific enrollments, the Italian government launched a policy in 2005 to promote the study of science at the university. The policy promoted extra-curricular activities for secondary school students in Chemistry, Physics, Math and Materials Science. This article evaluates the policy impact on…

  20. Cross-cultural perspectives of scientific misconduct.

    PubMed

    Momen, Hooman; Gollogly, Laragh

    2007-09-01

    The increasing globalization of scientific research lends urgency to the need for international agreement on the concepts of scientific misconduct. Universal spiritual and moral principles on which ethical standards are generally based indicate that it is possible to reach international agreement on the ethical principles underlying good scientific practice. Concordance on an operational definition of scientific misconduct that would allow independent observers to agree which behaviour constitutes misconduct is more problematic. Defining scientific misconduct to be universally recognized and universally sanctioned means addressing the broader question of ensuring that research is not only well-designed - and addresses a real need for better evidence - but that it is ethically conducted in different cultures. An instrument is needed to ensure that uneven ethical standards do not create unnecessary obstacles to research, particularly in developing countries.

  1. Scientific Reasoning for Pre-service Elementary Teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sadaghiani, Homeyra R.

    2010-10-01

    The objectives of K-12 teacher education science courses often focus on conceptual learning and improving students overall attitude towards science. It is often assumed that with the use of research-based curriculum material and more hands on inquiry approaches, without any explicit instruction, student scientific and critical thinking skills would also be enhanced. In the last three years, we have been investigating student scientific and evidence-based reasoning abilities in a K-8 pre-service science course at Cal Poly Pomona. After recognizing student difficulties understanding the elements of scientific reasoning, we have provided explicit feedback using a rubric to assist students to become more rigorous and reflective thinkers; to use appropriate and accurate vocabulary; exercise evidence-base reasoning; and develop skepticism with respect to their own views. We will share the rubric and report on the preliminary results.

  2. Critical appraisal of scientific articles: part 1 of a series on evaluation of scientific publications.

    PubMed

    du Prel, Jean-Baptist; Röhrig, Bernd; Blettner, Maria

    2009-02-01

    In the era of evidence-based medicine, one of the most important skills a physician needs is the ability to analyze scientific literature critically. This is necessary to keep medical knowledge up to date and to ensure optimal patient care. The aim of this paper is to present an accessible introduction into critical appraisal of scientific articles. Using a selection of international literature, the reader is introduced to the principles of critical reading of scientific articles in medicine. For the sake of conciseness, detailed description of statistical methods is omitted. Widely accepted principles for critically appraising scientific articles are outlined. Basic knowledge of study design, structuring of an article, the role of different sections, of statistical presentations as well as sources of error and limitation are presented. The reader does not require extensive methodological knowledge. As far as necessary for critical appraisal of scientific articles, differences in research areas like epidemiology, clinical, and basic research are outlined. Further useful references are presented. Basic methodological knowledge is required to select and interpret scientific articles correctly.

  3. Using Science as Evidence in Public Policy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prewitt, Kenneth, Ed.; Schwandt, Thomas A., Ed.; Straf, Miron L., Ed.

    2012-01-01

    "Using Science as Evidence in Public Policy" encourages scientists to think differently about the use of scientific evidence in policy making. This report investigates why scientific evidence is important to policy making and argues that an extensive body of research on knowledge utilization has not led to any widely accepted explanation…

  4. [Challenges in care of trauma patient in Spain. The need for implementation of scientific evidence including secondary prevention].

    PubMed

    Fernández Mondéjar, E; Alvarez, F J; González Luque, J C

    2014-01-01

    The mortality of trauma patients has improved significantly in recent decades due to a combination of factors: medical care, educational campaigns and structural changes. Generalization of out-of hospital emergence medical services and the hospital care in specific centers for traumatized has undoubtedly contributed to this decline, but other factors such as periodic campaigns to prevent workplace and traffic accidents, as well as improvements in the road network have played a key role. The challenge now is to continue to decrease mortality, for which is essential an analysis of the situation to detect potential areas of improvement. The application of diagnostic or therapeutic actions with scientific evidence is associated with lower mortality, but as in other areas of medicine, the application of scientific evidence in trauma patients is barely 50%. Moreover, nearly 90% of trauma deaths occur in the crash site or in the first 72h of hospitalization, the vast majority as a result of injuries incompatible with life. In these circumstances it is clear that prevention is the most cost-effective activity. As medical practitioners, our role in prevention is mainly focused on the secondary prevention to avoid recidivism, for which it is necessary to identify risk factor (frequently alcohol, illegal drugs, psychotropic medication etc.) and implement a brief motivational intervention. This activity can reduce recidivism by nearly 50%. In Spain, the activity in this field is negligible therefore measures should be implemented for dissemination of secondary prevention in trauma. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier España, S.L. and SEMICYUC. All rights reserved.

  5. Synthesizing Quantitative Evidence for Evidence-based Nursing: Systematic Review.

    PubMed

    Oh, Eui Geum

    2016-06-01

    As evidence-based practice has become an important issue in healthcare settings, the educational needs for knowledge and skills for the generation and utilization of healthcare evidence are increasing. Systematic review (SR), a way of evidence generation, is a synthesis of primary scientific evidence, which summarizes the best evidence on a specific clinical question using a transparent, a priori protocol driven approach. SR methodology requires a critical appraisal of primary studies, data extraction in a reliable and repeatable way, and examination for validity of the results. SRs are considered hierarchically as the highest form of evidence as they are a systematic search, identification, and summarization of the available evidence to answer a focused clinical question with particular attention to the methodological quality of studies or the credibility of opinion and text. The purpose of this paper is to introduce an overview of the fundamental knowledge, principals and processes in SR. The focus of this paper is on SR especially for the synthesis of quantitative data from primary research studies that examines the effectiveness of healthcare interventions. To activate evidence-based nursing care in various healthcare settings, the best and available scientific evidence are essential components. This paper will include some examples to promote understandings. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  6. Deleterious effects of neuronal accumulation of glycogen in flies and mice.

    PubMed

    Duran, Jordi; Tevy, María Florencia; Garcia-Rocha, Mar; Calbó, Joaquim; Milán, Marco; Guinovart, Joan J

    2012-08-01

    Under physiological conditions, most neurons keep glycogen synthase (GS) in an inactive form and do not show detectable levels of glycogen. Nevertheless, aberrant glycogen accumulation in neurons is a hallmark of patients suffering from Lafora disease or other polyglucosan disorders. Although these diseases are associated with mutations in genes involved in glycogen metabolism, the role of glycogen accumulation remains elusive. Here, we generated mouse and fly models expressing an active form of GS to force neuronal accumulation of glycogen. We present evidence that the progressive accumulation of glycogen in mouse and Drosophila neurons leads to neuronal loss, locomotion defects and reduced lifespan. Our results highlight glycogen accumulation in neurons as a direct cause of neurodegeneration. Copyright © 2012 EMBO Molecular Medicine.

  7. Explaining the Alluring Influence of Neuroscience Information on Scientific Reasoning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rhodes, Rebecca E.; Rodriguez, Fernando; Shah, Priti

    2014-01-01

    Previous studies have investigated the influence of neuroscience information or images on ratings of scientific evidence quality but have yielded mixed results. We examined the influence of neuroscience information on evaluations of flawed scientific studies after taking into account individual differences in scientific reasoning skills, thinking…

  8. Applying evidence-based management to anorexia nervosa.

    PubMed

    Treasure, Janet

    2016-09-01

    This paper considers how the three principles of evidence based practice (clinical expertise, scientific evidence, and patient preference) can be applied to the complexity of treatment for anorexia nervosa AN. A narrative review of the evidence of these three domains is presented. Clinical cases are used to illustrate how the formulation and management can be put into practice at different stages of illness. The management of anorexia nervosa is complex. First, individuals with the illness do not regard the manifestations of the illness as a source of concern rather they are embraced and integrated into their identity. This contrasts to the reaction of other people who are terrified by the overt signs of ill health. Thus engagement into treatment is problematic. Second, the core symptom restricted eating, produces malnutrition which impacts on brain, body, and the social network. Thus a mixture of psychological and physical problems gradually accumulates over the course of the illness. This means that the treatment targets increase over time. Thus treatment has to work with motivation and readiness to change and tackle the various domains of ill health. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

  9. Prions: Introducing a Complex Scientific Controversy to a Biology Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zaitsev, Igor V.

    2009-01-01

    Thomas Kuhn, in "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions," posited that science does not progress by the steady accumulation of knowledge, but rather by a system of competition among paradigms. They vie for supremacy through greater parsimony, explanatory power, and popularity among the community of scientists (Kuhn, 1962). The current…

  10. Evidence based policy making in the European Union: the role of the scientific community.

    PubMed

    Majcen, Špela

    2017-03-01

    In the times when the acquis of the European Union (EU) has developed so far as to reach a high level of technical complexity, in particular in certain policy fields such as environmental legislation, it is important to look at what kind of information and data policy decisions are based on. This position paper looks at the extent to which evidence-based decision-making process is being considered in the EU institutions when it comes to adopting legislation in the field of environment at the EU level. The paper calls for closer collaboration between scientists and decision-makers in view of ensuring that correct data is understood and taken into consideration when drafting, amending, negotiating and adopting new legal texts at all levels of the EU decision-making process. It concludes that better awareness of the need for such collaboration among the decision-makers as well as the scientific community would benefit the process and quality of the final outcomes (legislation).

  11. An Extraordinary Accumulation of (-)-Pinoresinol in Cell-Free Extracts of Forsythia intermedia: Evidence for Enantiospecific Reduction of (+)-Pinoresinol

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Katayama, Takeshi; Davin, Laurence B.; Lewis, Norman G.

    1992-01-01

    Stereoselective and enantiospecific transformation mechanisms in lignan biogenesis are only now yielding to scientific inquiry: it has been shown that soluble cell-free preparations from Forsythia intermedia catalysis the formation of the enantiomerically pure lignan, (-)-secoisolariciresinol, when incubated with coniferyl alcohol in the presence of NAD(P)H and H2O2. Surprisingly, (-)-pinoresinol also accumulates in this soluble cell-free assay mixture in greater than 96% enantiomeric excess, even though it is not the naturally occurring antipode present in Forsythia sp. But these soluble cell-free preparations do not engender stereoselective coupling; instead, racemic pinoresinols are first formed, catalysed by an H2O2-dependent peroxidase reaction. An enantiospecific NAD(P)H reductase then converts (+)- pinoresinol, and not the (-)-antipode, into (-)-secoisolariciresinol. Stereoselective syntheis of(+)-pinoresinol from E-coniferyl alcohol is, however, catalysed by an insoluble enzyme preparation in F. suspensa, obtained following removal of readily soluble and ionically bound enzymes; no exogenously supplied cofactors were required other than oxygen, although the reaction was stimulated by NAD-malate addition. Thus, the overall biochemical pathway to enantiomerically pure (-)-secoisolariciresinol has been delineated.

  12. Defending the scientific integrity of conservation-policy processes.

    PubMed

    Carroll, Carlos; Hartl, Brett; Goldman, Gretchen T; Rohlf, Daniel J; Treves, Adrian; Kerr, Jeremy T; Ritchie, Euan G; Kingsford, Richard T; Gibbs, Katherine E; Maron, Martine; Watson, James E M

    2017-10-01

    Government agencies faced with politically controversial decisions often discount or ignore scientific information, whether from agency staff or nongovernmental scientists. Recent developments in scientific integrity (the ability to perform, use, communicate, and publish science free from censorship or political interference) in Canada, Australia, and the United States demonstrate a similar trajectory. A perceived increase in scientific-integrity abuses provokes concerted pressure by the scientific community, leading to efforts to improve scientific-integrity protections under a new administration. However, protections are often inconsistently applied and are at risk of reversal under administrations publicly hostile to evidence-based policy. We compared recent challenges to scientific integrity to determine what aspects of scientific input into conservation policy are most at risk of political distortion and what can be done to strengthen safeguards against such abuses. To ensure the integrity of outbound communications from government scientists to the public, we suggest governments strengthen scientific integrity policies, include scientists' right to speak freely in collective-bargaining agreements, guarantee public access to scientific information, and strengthen agency culture supporting scientific integrity. To ensure the transparency and integrity with which information from nongovernmental scientists (e.g., submitted comments or formal policy reviews) informs the policy process, we suggest governments broaden the scope of independent reviews, ensure greater diversity of expert input and transparency regarding conflicts of interest, require a substantive response to input from agencies, and engage proactively with scientific societies. For their part, scientists and scientific societies have a responsibility to engage with the public to affirm that science is a crucial resource for developing evidence-based policy and regulations in the public interest.

  13. Occupational health practice and exposure to nanoparticles: reconciling scientific evidence, ethical aspects, and legal requirements.

    PubMed

    Franco, Giuliano

    2011-01-01

    The paper aims at focusing the relationship between scientific evidence and ethical values' issues of occupational health practice according to the new Italian law 81/2008 stating that the occupational health physician (OHP) is required to act according to the Code of Ethics of the International Commission on Occupational Health. The code itself emphasizes that (i) the practice should be relevant, knowledge-based, sound, and appropriate to the occupational risks and (ii) the objectives and methods of health surveillance must be clearly defined. Because exposure to nanoparticles involves several uncertainties about health effects and may limit the effectiveness of workers' health surveillance, OHPs face a several ethical dilemmas, involving different stakeholders. The dilemmas arising from the practice should be dealt with according to the ethical principles of beneficence, autonomy, and justice in order to take a decision.

  14. [Phytotherapy in urology. Current scientific evidence of its application in urolithiasis, chronic pelvic pain, erectile dysfunction and urinary tract infections].

    PubMed

    Morán, E; Budía, A; Broseta, E; Boronat, F

    2013-03-01

    To assess the usefulness of phytotherapy in urolitiasis, urinary tract infections, erectile dysfunction (ED) and chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain (CP/CPP). Systematic review of the evidence published until January 2011 using the following scientific terms:phytotherapy, urinary lithiasis, Chronic prostatitis, chronic pelvic pain, erectile dysfunction, urinary tract infection, cystitis and the scientific names of compounds following the rules of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. The databases used were Medline and The Cochrane Library.We included articles published until January 2011 written in English and Spanish. We included studies in Vitro/in vivo on animal models or human beings. Exclusion criteria were literature not in English and Spanish or articles with serious methodological flaws. We included 86 articles selecting 40 that met the inclusion criteria. In Urolitiasis there are few works in humans. The phytate has its main use as prevention and in reducing the growth of residual fragments after extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). In CP/CPP the only compound that has shown effectiveness was the extract of pollen in a field of multimodal treatment. In DE ther is no evidence for the use of herbal medicine.Most of the works have limitations in the design or low sample size. In urinary tract infections most of the products are diuretics .There is only evidence for the cranberry as prevention in young or pregnant women. It must not be used as a treatment for urinary tract infections. Phytotherapy is usefull in repeat urinary tract infections and the CP/CPP. It has some role in the urolitiasis and lacks useful in the DE. Copyright © 2012 AEU. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  15. Plausibility and evidence: the case of homeopathy.

    PubMed

    Rutten, Lex; Mathie, Robert T; Fisher, Peter; Goossens, Maria; van Wassenhoven, Michel

    2013-08-01

    Homeopathy is controversial and hotly debated. The conclusions of systematic reviews of randomised controlled trials of homeopathy vary from 'comparable to conventional medicine' to 'no evidence of effects beyond placebo'. It is claimed that homeopathy conflicts with scientific laws and that homoeopaths reject the naturalistic outlook, but no evidence has been cited. We are homeopathic physicians and researchers who do not reject the scientific outlook; we believe that examination of the prior beliefs underlying this enduring stand-off can advance the debate. We show that interpretations of the same set of evidence--for homeopathy and for conventional medicine--can diverge. Prior disbelief in homeopathy is rooted in the perceived implausibility of any conceivable mechanism of action. Using the 'crossword analogy', we demonstrate that plausibility bias impedes assessment of the clinical evidence. Sweeping statements about the scientific impossibility of homeopathy are themselves unscientific: scientific statements must be precise and testable. There is growing evidence that homeopathic preparations can exert biological effects; due consideration of such research would reduce the influence of prior beliefs on the assessment of systematic review evidence.

  16. Science Classroom Discussion as Scientific Argumentation: A Study of Conceptually Rich (and Poor) Student Talk

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shemwell, Jonathan T.; Furtak, Erin Marie

    2010-01-01

    One way to frame science classroom discussion is to engage students in scientific argumentation, an important discourse format within science aimed at coordinating empirical evidence and scientific theory. Framing discussion as scientific argumentation gives clear priority to contributions that are sustained by evidence. We question whether this…

  17. Size, Accumulation and Performance for Research Grants: Examining the Role of Size for Centres of Excellence

    PubMed Central

    Bloch, Carter; Schneider, Jesper W.; Sinkjær, Thomas

    2016-01-01

    The present paper examines the relation between size, accumulation and performance for research grants, where we examine the relation between grant size for Centres of Excellence (CoE) funded by the Danish National Research Foundation (DNRF) and various ex post research performance measures, including impact and shares of highly cited articles. We examine both the relation between size and performance and also how performance for CoEs evolves over the course of grant periods. In terms of dynamics, it appears that performance over the grant period (i.e. 10 years) is falling for the largest CoEs, while it is increasing for those among the smallest half. Overall, multivariate econometric analysis finds evidence that performance is increasing in grant size and over time. In both cases, the relation appears to be non-linear, suggesting that there is a point at which performance peaks. The CoEs have also been very successful in securing additional funding, which can be viewed as a ‘cumulative effect’ of center grants. In terms of new personnel, the far majority of additional funding is spent on early career researchers, hence, this accumulation would appear to have a ‘generational’ dimension, allowing for scientific expertise to be passed on to an increasing number of younger researchers. PMID:26862907

  18. Scientific Research in Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shavelson, Richard J., Ed.; Towne, Lisa, Ed.

    2002-01-01

    Researchers, historians, and philosophers of science have debated the nature of scientific research in education for more than 100 years. Recent enthusiasm for "evidence-based" policy and practice in education now codified in the federal law that authorizes the bulk of elementary and secondary education programs have brought a new sense…

  19. The effects of metallic engineered nanoparticles upon plant systems: An analytic examination of scientific evidence.

    PubMed

    Tolaymat, Thabet; Genaidy, Ash; Abdelraheem, Wael; Dionysiou, Dionysios; Andersen, Christian

    2017-02-01

    Recent evidence for the effects of metallic engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) on plants and plant systems was examined together with its implications for other constituents of the Society-Environment-Economy (SEE) system. In this study, we were particularly interested to determine whether or not metallic ENPs have both stimulatory and inhibitory effects upon plant performance. An emphasis was made to analyze the scientific evidence on investigations examining both types of effects in the same studies. Analysis of evidence demonstrated that metallic ENPs have both stimulatory and inhibitory effects mostly in well-controlled environments and soilless media. Nano zero-valent iron (nZVI) and Cu ENPs have potential for use as micronutrients for plant systems, keeping in mind the proper formulation at the right dose for each type of ENP. The concentration levels for the stimulatory effects of Cu ENPs are lower than for those for nZVI. Newer findings showed that extremely smaller concentrations of Au ENPs (smaller than those for nZVI and Cu ENPs) induce positive effects for plant growth, which is attributed to effects on secondary metabolites. Ag ENPs have demonstrated their usage as antimicrobial/pesticidal agents for plant protection; however, precautions should be taken to avoid higher concentrations not only for plant systems, but also, other constituents in the SEE. Further research is warranted to investigate the stimulatory and inhibitory effects of metallic ENPs in soil media in order to broaden the horizon of sustainable agriculture production in terms of higher and safer yields so as to meet the food requirements of human population. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  20. Is Parental Alienation Disorder a Valid Concept? Not According to Scientific Evidence. A Review of "Parental Alienation, DSM-5 and ICD-11" by William Bernet

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pepiton, M. Brianna; Alvis, Lindsey J.; Allen, Kenneth; Logid, Gregory

    2012-01-01

    This article reviews a recent book arguing how a concept known as parental alienation syndrome--now parental alienation disorder--should be included in official psychiatric/psychological and medical classification diagnostic manuals. Anecdotal cases and opinion are presented as research and scientific evidence, and stories are presented as…

  1. Additional evidence of far transfer of scientific reasoning skills acquired in a CLASP reformed physics course

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Potter, Wendell H.; Lynch, Robert B.

    2013-01-01

    The introductory physics course taken by biological science majors at UC Davis, Physics 7, was radically reformed 16 years ago in order to explicitly emphasize the development of scientific reasoning skills in all elements of the course. We have previously seen evidence of increased performance on the biological and physical science portions of the MCAT exam, in a rigorous systemic physiology course, and higher graduating GPAs for students who took Physics 7 rather than a traditionally taught introductory physics course. We report here on the increased performance by a group of biological-science majors in a general chemistry course who took the first quarter of Physics 7 prior to beginning the chemistry course sequence compared to a similar group who began taking physics after completing the first two quarters of general chemistry.

  2. Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation: update on pathogenic mechanisms

    PubMed Central

    Levi, Sonia; Finazzi, Dario

    2014-01-01

    Perturbation of iron distribution is observed in many neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, but the comprehension of the metal role in the development and progression of such disorders is still very limited. The combination of more powerful brain imaging techniques and faster genomic DNA sequencing procedures has allowed the description of a set of genetic disorders characterized by a constant and often early accumulation of iron in specific brain regions and the identification of the associated genes; these disorders are now collectively included in the category of neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA). So far 10 different genetic forms have been described but this number is likely to increase in short time. Two forms are linked to mutations in genes directly involved in iron metabolism: neuroferritinopathy, associated to mutations in the FTL gene and aceruloplasminemia, where the ceruloplasmin gene product is defective. In the other forms the connection with iron metabolism is not evident at all and the genetic data let infer the involvement of other pathways: Pank2, Pla2G6, C19orf12, COASY, and FA2H genes seem to be related to lipid metabolism and to mitochondria functioning, WDR45 and ATP13A2 genes are implicated in lysosomal and autophagosome activity, while the C2orf37 gene encodes a nucleolar protein of unknown function. There is much hope in the scientific community that the study of the NBIA forms may provide important insight as to the link between brain iron metabolism and neurodegenerative mechanisms and eventually pave the way for new therapeutic avenues also for the more common neurodegenerative disorders. In this work, we will review the most recent findings in the molecular mechanisms underlining the most common forms of NBIA and analyze their possible link with brain iron metabolism. PMID:24847269

  3. How Awareness Changes the Relative Weights of Evidence During Human Decision-Making

    PubMed Central

    Lamme, Victor A. F.; Dehaene, Stanislas

    2011-01-01

    Human decisions are based on accumulating evidence over time for different options. Here we ask a simple question: How is the accumulation of evidence affected by the level of awareness of the information? We examined the influence of awareness on decision-making using combined behavioral methods and magneto-encephalography (MEG). Participants were required to make decisions by accumulating evidence over a series of visually presented arrow stimuli whose visibility was modulated by masking. Behavioral results showed that participants could accumulate evidence under both high and low visibility. However, a top-down strategic modulation of the flow of incoming evidence was only present for stimuli with high visibility: once enough evidence had been accrued, participants strategically reduced the impact of new incoming stimuli. Also, decision-making speed and confidence were strongly modulated by the strength of the evidence for high-visible but not low-visible evidence, even though direct priming effects were identical for both types of stimuli. Neural recordings revealed that, while initial perceptual processing was independent of visibility, there was stronger top-down amplification for stimuli with high visibility than low visibility. Furthermore, neural markers of evidence accumulation over occipito-parietal cortex showed a strategic bias only for highly visible sensory information, speeding up processing and reducing neural computations related to the decision process. Our results indicate that the level of awareness of information changes decision-making: while accumulation of evidence already exists under low visibility conditions, high visibility allows evidence to be accumulated up to a higher level, leading to important strategical top-down changes in decision-making. Our results therefore suggest a potential role of awareness in deploying flexible strategies for biasing information acquisition in line with one's expectations and goals. PMID:22131904

  4. How awareness changes the relative weights of evidence during human decision-making.

    PubMed

    de Lange, Floris P; van Gaal, Simon; Lamme, Victor A F; Dehaene, Stanislas

    2011-11-01

    Human decisions are based on accumulating evidence over time for different options. Here we ask a simple question: How is the accumulation of evidence affected by the level of awareness of the information? We examined the influence of awareness on decision-making using combined behavioral methods and magneto-encephalography (MEG). Participants were required to make decisions by accumulating evidence over a series of visually presented arrow stimuli whose visibility was modulated by masking. Behavioral results showed that participants could accumulate evidence under both high and low visibility. However, a top-down strategic modulation of the flow of incoming evidence was only present for stimuli with high visibility: once enough evidence had been accrued, participants strategically reduced the impact of new incoming stimuli. Also, decision-making speed and confidence were strongly modulated by the strength of the evidence for high-visible but not low-visible evidence, even though direct priming effects were identical for both types of stimuli. Neural recordings revealed that, while initial perceptual processing was independent of visibility, there was stronger top-down amplification for stimuli with high visibility than low visibility. Furthermore, neural markers of evidence accumulation over occipito-parietal cortex showed a strategic bias only for highly visible sensory information, speeding up processing and reducing neural computations related to the decision process. Our results indicate that the level of awareness of information changes decision-making: while accumulation of evidence already exists under low visibility conditions, high visibility allows evidence to be accumulated up to a higher level, leading to important strategical top-down changes in decision-making. Our results therefore suggest a potential role of awareness in deploying flexible strategies for biasing information acquisition in line with one's expectations and goals.

  5. ESP: Teaching "Scientific Method" by Counterexample

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blatt, S. L.

    1975-01-01

    Offers a course description of an introductory course in physics for nonscientists. The history of research into extrasensory perception is used as evidence of the scientific method. Lecture demonstrations are discussed. (Author/CP)

  6. Framing of scientific knowledge as a new category of health care research.

    PubMed

    Salvador-Carulla, Luis; Fernandez, Ana; Madden, Rosamond; Lukersmith, Sue; Colagiuri, Ruth; Torkfar, Ghazal; Sturmberg, Joachim

    2014-12-01

    The new area of health system research requires a revision of the taxonomy of scientific knowledge that may facilitate a better understanding and representation of complex health phenomena in research discovery, corroboration and implementation. A position paper by an expert group following and iterative approach. 'Scientific evidence' should be differentiated from 'elicited knowledge' of experts and users, and this latter typology should be described beyond the traditional qualitative framework. Within this context 'framing of scientific knowledge' (FSK) is defined as a group of studies of prior expert knowledge specifically aimed at generating formal scientific frames. To be distinguished from other unstructured frames, FSK must be explicit, standardized, based on the available evidence, agreed by a group of experts and subdued to the principles of commensurability, transparency for corroboration and transferability that characterize scientific research. A preliminary typology of scientific framing studies is presented. This typology includes, among others, health declarations, position papers, expert-based clinical guides, conceptual maps, classifications, expert-driven health atlases and expert-driven studies of costs and burden of illness. This grouping of expert-based studies constitutes a different kind of scientific knowledge and should be clearly differentiated from 'evidence' gathered from experimental and observational studies in health system research. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  7. Evidence Study Guide.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1987-04-01

    involving novel scientific evidence, e.g., the drug-induced or hypnosis -induced interview of a witness. Although the rules on experts contain no reference...under the Fed.R.Evid. Among the evidence which Nil.R.Evid. 803(6) makes admissible are forensic laboratory reports and chain of custody documents. The...34 inclusion of forensic laboratory reports and chain of custody documents in this Mil.R.Evid. is in conflict with the legislative history of

  8. Preparing manuscript: Scientific writing for publication.

    PubMed

    Bajwa, Sukhminder Jit Singh; Sawhney, Chhavi

    2016-09-01

    Publication has become a burning issue among Indian medical fraternity owing to certain academic and professional necessities. The large number of submissions to the anaesthesia journals has resulted in accumulation of too much below average scientific material. A properly written manuscript is the dream of every editor and reviewer. The art of preparing a manuscript can be acquired only by following certain basic rules and technical aspects, besides knowledge and skills. Before preparing the manuscript, a target journal should be considered. All the instructions to the authors pertaining to that particular journal should be followed meticulously before preparing the manuscript for submission. The basic structure of the manuscript to be followed can be summarised by the acronym IMRaD (introduction, methods, results and discussion). The current review article aims to highlight all those mandatory and desirable features which should be kept in consideration while preparing a scientific manuscript for publication.

  9. Adjusting Claims as New Evidence Emerges: Do Students Incorporate New Evidence into Their Scientific Explanations?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Novak, Ann M.; Treagust, David F.

    2018-01-01

    Constructing explanations of complex phenomena is an important part of doing science and it is also an important component of learning science. Students need opportunities to make claims based on available evidence and then use science concepts to justify why evidence supports the claim. But what happens when "new" evidence emerges for…

  10. Methodological approaches to developing and establishing the body of evidence on post-marketing Chinese medicine safety.

    PubMed

    Liao, Xing; Robinson, Nicola

    2013-07-01

    Evidence based medicine demands the highest form of scientific evidence to demonstrate the efficacy and clinical effectiveness for any therapeutic intervention in order to provide best care. It is however accepted that in the absence of scientific evidence, personal experience and expert opinion together with professional judgement are critical. Obtaining evidence for drug safety, postmarketing surveillance (PMS) has focussed on follow up of observational cohorts exposed to a particular drug in order to estimate the incidence of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Evidence on PMS of Chinese herbal products is still limited, in particular for herbal injections. The aim of this article is to suggest a new model of ascertaining the safety of Chinese medicine using a more comprehensive approach for collecting data. To collect safety data on the Chinese herbal injection, Kudiezi, a mixed methods approach is proposed using 18 hospital information systems to detect ADRs in order to prospectively observe 30,000 patients over 3 years. Evidence will also be collected using a questionnaire survey and through a sample of semi structured interviews. This information based on the expert opinion and the experience of clinicians will produce additional data on the frequency and types of side effects in clinical practice. Furthermore semi structured interviews with a random sample of patients receiving the injection will be carried out to ascertain any potential side effects missed. It is hoped that this comprehensive approach to data collection will accumulate wider evidence based on individual traditional Chinese medicine care and treatment and provide important feedback to the national data collection system to ensure completeness of ADR data recording, monitoring and any potential wider effects through developing improved ADR guidelines.

  11. [Evidence-based medicine: a critical analysis of the concept of evidence in medicine].

    PubMed

    Federspil, G; Vettor, R

    2001-06-01

    There is currently a lively debate involving scholars from diverse cultural background on the subject of evidence-based medicine. In order to set out the grounds of discussion this paper deals with the problem of "evidence", both the concept and meaning of this term. After a brief history of the idea of "evidence" from antiquity to the present day, it will be underlined how modern day thinking recognizes the existence of two types of "evidence": rational evidence supported first by René Descartes, and perceptible evidence, defended by Francis Bacon. In contemporary epistemology the idea of "evidence" has been conceived above all as perceptible and is closely linked to the idea of fact. The concept of "scientific fact" will therefore be analyzed and will reveal how in science, contrary to prevailing opinion, "pure facts" practically do not exist and how the "facts" which scientists talk about in their research are always "facts depending on theory". Subsequently the capacity of "facts" to prove scientific hypothesis will be examined. In the light of more recent epistemological reflection the thesis will be maintained according to which facts are not capable of definitively proving the truth of a theory. Such reflection leads to the conclusion that in medicine "evidence" is always dependent on the theoretical and practical context in which researchers work. In the final part of the paper the epistemological presumptions and ambitions of evidence-based medicine will be examined. This analysis concludes that the epistemology on which evidence-based medicine relies upon does not grasp the true complexity of the scientific methodology and can weaken in doctors the beneficial stimulus that is doubt.

  12. Evidence and evidence gaps in therapies of nasal obstruction and rhinosinusitis

    PubMed Central

    Rotter, Nicole

    2016-01-01

    Therapeutic decisions in otorhinolaryngology are based on clinical experience, surgical skills, and scientific evidence. Recently, evidence-based therapies have gained increased attention and importance due to their potential to improve the individual patient’s treatment and their potential at the same time to reduce treatment costs. In clinical practice, it is almost impossible to stay ahead of the increasing mass of literature and on the other hand critically assess the presented data. A solid scientific and statistical knowledge as well as a significant amount of spare time are required to detect systematic bias and other errors in study designs, also with respect to assessing whether or not a study should be part of an individual therapeutic decision. Meta-analyses, reviews, and clinical guidelines are, therefore, of increasing importance for evidence-based therapy in clinical practice. This review is an update of the availability of external evidence for the treatment of nasal obstruction and rhinosinusitis. It becomes evident that both groups of diseases differ significantly in the availability of external evidence. Furthermore, it becomes obvious that surgical treatment options are normally based on evidence of significantly lower quality than medical treatment options. PMID:28025606

  13. Delay of gratification by orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) in the accumulation task.

    PubMed

    Parrish, Audrey E; Perdue, Bonnie M; Stromberg, Erin E; Bania, Amanda E; Evans, Theodore A; Beran, Michael J

    2014-05-01

    There is considerable evidence indicating that chimpanzees can delay gratification for extended time intervals, particularly in the accumulation task in which food items accumulate within a participant's reach until the participant begins to consume them. However, there is limited evidence that other ape species might also exhibit this capacity, despite there being a number of similar studies indicating that nonape species (e.g., monkeys and birds) can delay gratification, but not for nearly as long as chimpanzees. To help define the taxonomic distribution of delay of gratification behavior in the order Primates, we tested 6 orangutans in the current experiments and compared their performance with comparable data from a previous study with capuchin monkeys. We varied delay length and visibility of the items that were still available for accumulation to determine the impact of these factors on performance. Species differences on the accumulation task emerged when comparing the current data to data from a previous study. Orangutans outperformed capuchin monkeys, suggesting that ape species may generally show better delay of gratification and delay maintenance abilities than monkeys. However, more studies are necessary to rule out alternative hypotheses on the distribution of delay maintenance abilities across primate species. ©2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  14. Communicating Scientific Findings to Lawyers, Policy-Makers, and the Public (Invited)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thompson, W.; Velsko, S. P.

    2013-12-01

    This presentation will summarize the authors' collaborative research on inferential errors, bias and communication difficulties that have arisen in the area of WMD forensics. This research involves analysis of problems that have arisen in past national security investigations, interviews with scientists from various disciplines whose work has been used in WMD investigations, interviews with policy-makers, and psychological studies of lay understanding of forensic evidence. Implications of this research for scientists involved in nuclear explosion monitoring will be discussed. Among the issues covered will be: - Potential incompatibilities between the questions policy makers pose and the answers that experts can provide. - Common misunderstandings of scientific and statistical data. - Advantages and disadvantages of various methods for describing and characterizing the strength of scientific findings. - Problems that can arise from excessive hedging or, alternatively, insufficient qualification of scientific conclusions. - Problems that can arise from melding scientific and non-scientific evidence in forensic assessments.

  15. Is risk analysis scientific?

    PubMed

    Hansson, Sven Ove; Aven, Terje

    2014-07-01

    This article discusses to what extent risk analysis is scientific in view of a set of commonly used definitions and criteria. We consider scientific knowledge to be characterized by its subject matter, its success in developing the best available knowledge in its fields of study, and the epistemic norms and values that guide scientific investigations. We proceed to assess the field of risk analysis according to these criteria. For this purpose, we use a model for risk analysis in which science is used as a base for decision making on risks, which covers the five elements evidence, knowledge base, broad risk evaluation, managerial review and judgment, and the decision; and that relates these elements to the domains experts and decisionmakers, and to the domains fact-based or value-based. We conclude that risk analysis is a scientific field of study, when understood as consisting primarily of (i) knowledge about risk-related phenomena, processes, events, etc., and (ii) concepts, theories, frameworks, approaches, principles, methods and models to understand, assess, characterize, communicate, and manage risk, in general and for specific applications (the instrumental part). © 2014 Society for Risk Analysis.

  16. Ethical, Scientific, and Educational Concerns With Unproven Medications

    PubMed Central

    Pray, W. Steven

    2006-01-01

    Quackery (promotion of products that do not work or have not been proven to work) was once a commonly used term within the pharmacy and medical communities. However, an increasingly anti-scientific national climate culminated in passage of the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, which granted unprecedented legitimacy to “dietary supplements” that had not been scientifically proven to be effective and/or safe. In part, this was facilitated when professional pharmacy magazines and journals published advertisements and articles promoting these unproven medications. Gradually, pharmacy codes of ethics eliminated references to quackery, and some pharmacy organizations seemed to accept the unproven medications they once exhorted the pharmacist not to sell. The profession's shift in attitude toward unproven medications occurred as the medical community at large began to realize the value of evidence-based medicine. Academicians must resist pressure to present unproven therapies as realistic alternatives for medications with scientific proof of safety and efficacy. They must stress the value of evidence-based medicine and urge students and pharmacists to recommend only those medications with evidence-based proof of safety and efficacy. PMID:17332867

  17. [Job crisis and transformations in the new model of accumulation].

    PubMed

    Zerda-Sarmiento, Alvaro

    2012-06-01

    The general and structural crisis capitalism is going through is the token of the difficulties accumulation model has been dealing with since 70's in developed countries. This model has been trying to settle down again on the basis of neoliberal principle and a new technical-economical paradigm. The new accumulation pattern has had a effect in employment sphere which have been made evident at all the elements that constitute work relationships. In Colombia, this model implementation has been partial and segmented. However, its consequences (and the long-term current crisis) have been evident in unemployment, precarious work, segmentation, informal work and restricted and private health insurance. Besides, financial accumulation makes labour profits flow at different levels. The economic model current government has aimed to implement leads to strengthening exports, so making population life conditions more difficult. In order to overcome the current state of affairs, the work sphere needs to become more creative. This creative approach should look for new schemes for expression and mobilization of work sphere's claims. This is supposed to be done by establishing a different economic model aimed to build a more inclusive future, with social justice.

  18. Accumulator and random-walk models of psychophysical discrimination: a counter-evaluation.

    PubMed

    Vickers, D; Smith, P

    1985-01-01

    In a recent assessment of models of psychophysical discrimination, Heath criticises the accumulator model for its reliance on computer simulation and qualitative evidence, and contrasts it unfavourably with a modified random-walk model, which yields exact predictions, is susceptible to critical test, and is provided with simple parameter-estimation techniques. A counter-evaluation is presented, in which the approximations employed in the modified random-walk analysis are demonstrated to be seriously inaccurate, the resulting parameter estimates to be artefactually determined, and the proposed test not critical. It is pointed out that Heath's specific application of the model is not legitimate, his data treatment inappropriate, and his hypothesis concerning confidence inconsistent with experimental results. Evidence from adaptive performance changes is presented which shows that the necessary assumptions for quantitative analysis in terms of the modified random-walk model are not satisfied, and that the model can be reconciled with data at the qualitative level only by making it virtually indistinguishable from an accumulator process. A procedure for deriving exact predictions for an accumulator process is outlined.

  19. Scientific Revolutions to the nth power: n = 0, 1, 2, 3.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Beichler, James

    2008-04-01

    Thomas Kuhn's description and characterization of scientific revolutions set the standard for interpreting and understanding these events, but his characterization introduced an anomaly. Newtonian science was at the pinnacle of its success immediately prior to the Second Scientific Revolution. From an evolutionary point-of-view, there were no crises to be solved just problems within the Newtonian paradigm, whereas the specific crises that initiated the revolution are evident from everyone's point-of-view after the revolution. This paradox is well recognized, but it seems not to be a problem and is just ignored as if it were not important or significant. Yet this discrepancy strikes at the very heart of physics and the overall progress of science. Historical conditions currently parallel the period immediately prior to the Second Scientific Revolution indicating that a new scientific revolution is approaching. When a comparison of the two periods is made, new characteristics of scientific revolutions are identified, the paradox is solved and evidence of a Zeroth Scientific Revolution emerges from the historical record.

  20. Agriscience Student Engagement in Scientific Inquiry: Representations of Scientific Processes and Nature of Science.

    PubMed

    Grady, Julie R; Dolan, Erin L; Glasson, George E

    2010-01-01

    Students' experiences with science integrated into agriscience courses contribute to their developing epistemologies of science. The purpose of this case study was to gain insight into the implementation of scientific inquiry in an agriscience classroom. Also of interest was how the tenets of the nature of science were reflected in the students' experiments. Participants included an agriscience teacher and her fifteen students who were conducting plant experiments to gain insight into the role of a gene disabled by scientists. Data sources included classroom observations, conversations with students, face-to-face interviews with the teacher, and students' work. Analysis of the data indicated that the teacher viewed scientific inquiry as a mechanical process with little emphasis on the reasoning that typifies scientific inquiry. Students' participation in their experiments also centered on the procedural aspects of inquiry with little attention to scientific reasoning. There was no explicit attention to the nature of science during the experiments, but the practice implied correct, incorrect, and underdeveloped conceptions of the nature of science. Evidence from the study suggests a need for collaboration between agriscience and science teacher educators to design and conduct professional development focused on scientific inquiry and nature of science for preservice and practicing teachers.

  1. Agriscience Student Engagement in Scientific Inquiry: Representations of Scientific Processes and Nature of Science

    PubMed Central

    Grady, Julie R.; Dolan, Erin L.; Glasson, George E.

    2013-01-01

    Students’ experiences with science integrated into agriscience courses contribute to their developing epistemologies of science. The purpose of this case study was to gain insight into the implementation of scientific inquiry in an agriscience classroom. Also of interest was how the tenets of the nature of science were reflected in the students’ experiments. Participants included an agriscience teacher and her fifteen students who were conducting plant experiments to gain insight into the role of a gene disabled by scientists. Data sources included classroom observations, conversations with students, face–to–face interviews with the teacher, and students’ work. Analysis of the data indicated that the teacher viewed scientific inquiry as a mechanical process with little emphasis on the reasoning that typifies scientific inquiry. Students’ participation in their experiments also centered on the procedural aspects of inquiry with little attention to scientific reasoning. There was no explicit attention to the nature of science during the experiments, but the practice implied correct, incorrect, and underdeveloped conceptions of the nature of science. Evidence from the study suggests a need for collaboration between agriscience and science teacher educators to design and conduct professional development focused on scientific inquiry and nature of science for preservice and practicing teachers. PMID:23935256

  2. Historical and cultural aspects of the pineal gland: comparison between the theories provided by Spiritism in the 1940s and the current scientific evidence.

    PubMed

    Lucchetti, Giancarlo; Daher, Jorge C; Iandoli, Decio; Gonçalves, Juliane P B; Lucchetti, Alessandra L G

    2013-01-01

    Significance has been attached to the pineal gland in numerous different cultures and beliefs. One religion that has advanced the role of the pineal gland is Spiritism. The objective of the present study was to compile information on the pineal gland drawing on the books of Francisco Cândido Xavier written through psychography and to carry out a critical analysis of their scientific bases by comparing against evidence in the current scientific literature. A systematic search using the terms "pineal gland" and "epiphysis" was conducted of 12 works allegedly dictated by the spirit "André Luiz". All information on the pineal having potential correlation with the field of medicine and current studies was included. Specialists in the area were recruited to compile the information and draw parallels with the scientific literature. The themes related to the pineal gland were: mental health, reproductive function, endocrinology, relationship with physical activity, spiritual connection, criticism of the theory that the organ exerts no function, and description of a hormone secreted by the gland (reference alluding to melatonin, isolated 13 years later). The historical background for each theme was outlined, together with the theories present in the Spiritist books and in the relevant scientific literature. The present article provides an analysis of the knowledge the scientific community can acquire from the history of humanity and from science itself. The process of formulating hypotheses and scientific theories can benefit by drawing on the cultural aspects of civilization, taking into account so-called non-traditional reports and theories.

  3. Role of brain iron accumulation in cognitive dysfunction: evidence from animal models and human studies.

    PubMed

    Schröder, Nadja; Figueiredo, Luciana Silva; de Lima, Maria Noêmia Martins

    2013-01-01

    Over the last decades, studies from our laboratory and other groups using animal models have shown that iron overload, resulting in iron accumulation in the brain, produces significant cognitive deficits. Iron accumulation in the hippocampus and the basal ganglia has been related to impairments in spatial memory, aversive memory, and recognition memory in rodents. These results are corroborated by studies showing that the administration of iron chelators attenuates cognitive deficits in a variety of animal models of cognitive dysfunction, including aging and Alzheimer's disease models. Remarkably, recent human studies using magnetic resonance image techniques have also shown a consistent correlation between cognitive dysfunction and iron deposition, mostly in the hippocampus, cortical areas, and basal ganglia. These findings may have relevant implications in the light of the knowledge that iron accumulates in brain regions of patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases. A better understanding of the functional consequences of iron dysregulation in aging and neurological diseases may help to identify novel targets for treating memory problems that afflict a growing aging population.

  4. Keeping agricultural soil out of rivers: evidence of sediment and nutrient accumulation within field wetlands in the UK.

    PubMed

    Ockenden, Mary C; Deasy, Clare; Quinton, John N; Surridge, Ben; Stoate, Chris

    2014-03-15

    Intensification of agriculture has resulted in increased soil degradation and erosion, with associated pollution of surface waters. Small field wetlands, constructed along runoff pathways, offer one option for slowing down and storing runoff in order to allow more time for sedimentation and for nutrients to be taken up by plants or micro-organisms. This paper describes research to provide quantitative evidence for the effectiveness of small field wetlands in the UK landscape. Ten wetlands were built on four farms in Cumbria and Leicestershire, UK. Annual surveys of sediment and nutrient accumulation in 2010, 2011 and 2012 indicated that most sediment was trapped at a sandy site (70 tonnes over 3 years), compared to a silty site (40 tonnes over 3 years) and a clay site (2 tonnes over 3 years). The timing of rainfall was more important than total annual rainfall for sediment accumulation, with most sediment transported in a few intense rainfall events, especially when these coincided with bare soil or poor crop cover. Nutrient concentration within sediments was inversely related to median particle size, but the total mass of nutrients trapped was dependent on the total mass of sediment trapped. Ratios of nutrient elements in the wetland sediments were consistent between sites, despite different catchment characteristics across the individual wetlands. The nutrient value of sediment collected from the wetlands was similar to that of soil in the surrounding fields; dredged sediment was considered to have value as soil replacement but not as fertiliser. Overall, small field wetlands can make a valuable contribution to keeping soil out of rivers. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  5. Students' conceptions of evidence during a university introductory forensic science course

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yeshion, Theodore Elliot

    Students' Conceptions of Science, Scientific Evidence, and Forensic Evidence during a University Introductory Forensic Science Course This study was designed to examine and understand what conceptions undergraduate students taking an introductory forensic science course had about scientific evidence. Because the relationships between the nature of science, the nature of evidence, and the nature of forensic evidence are not well understood in the science education literature, this study sought to understand how these concepts interact and affect students' understanding of scientific evidence. Four participants were purposefully selected for this study from among 89 students enrolled in two sections of an introductory forensic science course taught during the fall 2005 semester. Of the 89 students, 84 were criminal justice majors with minimal science background and five were chemistry majors with academic backgrounds in the natural and physical sciences. All 89 students completed a biographical data sheet and a pre-instruction Likert scale survey consisting of twenty questions relating to the nature of scientific evidence. An evaluation of these two documents resulted in a purposeful selection of four varied student participants, each of whom was interviewed three times throughout the semester about the nature of science, the nature of evidence, and the nature of forensic evidence. The same survey was administered to the participants again at the end of the semester-long course. This study examined students' assumptions, prior knowledge, their understanding of scientific inference, scientific theory, and methodology. Examination of the data found few differences with regard to how the criminal justice majors and the chemistry majors responded to interview questions about forensic evidence. There were qualitative differences, however, when the same participants answered interview questions relating to traditional scientific evidence. Furthermore, suggestions are

  6. The complementary medicine (CAM) for the treatment of chronic pain: scientific evidence regarding the effects of healing touch massage.

    PubMed

    Marletta, Giuseppe; Canfora, Angela; Roscani, Francesco; Cernicchiaro, Lucia; Cutrera, Maria; Russo, Marianna; Artioli, Giovanna; Sarli, Leopoldo

    2015-09-09

    Evidence-based medicine offers effective pathways of pharmacological treatment for chronic pain that may compromise the quality of life of patients; this is one of the main reasons why more and more people resort to traditional and complementary approaches, to try to maintain or regain their health. The effectiveness of the various forms of complementary treatments often cannot be proven objectively, which is why, given the need to find more concrete evidence of the effectiveness of complementary therapies with particular reference to the method of healing touch massage, a review of the literature was conducted in order to gather evidence of the efficacy of the specific method regarding pain and other health outcomes of patients with malignant disease to support a proposal for improvement, based on the practice of healing touch massage conducted by nurses. Systematic review. There are several examples (in some cases specifically regarding patients with tumors) of the positive effects of healing touch massage on pain, anxiety and fatigue, and also on biochemical parameters. The way to full recognition by both the institutional and the scientific community seems to promise fairly well, although it should be noted that the achievement of this goal will require further research avoiding the limitations of previous studies.

  7. Regulatory effects of curcumin on lipid accumulation in monocytes/macrophages

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Recent evidence suggests potential benefits from phytochemicals and micronutrients in protecting against oxidative and lipid-mediated damage, but the molecular mechanisms of these actions are still unclear. Here we investigated whether the dietary polyphenol curcumin can modulate the accumulation of...

  8. Publication pressure and scientific misconduct in medical scientists.

    PubMed

    Tijdink, Joeri K; Verbeke, Reinout; Smulders, Yvo M

    2014-12-01

    There is increasing evidence that scientific misconduct is more common than previously thought. Strong emphasis on scientific productivity may increase the sense of publication pressure. We administered a nationwide survey to Flemish biomedical scientists on whether they had engaged in scientific misconduct and whether they had experienced publication pressure. A total of 315 scientists participated in the survey; 15% of the respondents admitted they had fabricated, falsified, plagiarized, or manipulated data in the past 3 years. Fraud was more common among younger scientists working in a university hospital. Furthermore, 72% rated publication pressure as "too high." Publication pressure was strongly and significantly associated with a composite scientific misconduct severity score. © The Author(s) 2014.

  9. Preventive dentistry: practitioners' recommendations for low-risk patients compared with scientific evidence and practice guidelines.

    PubMed

    Frame, P S; Sawai, R; Bowen, W H; Meyerowitz, C

    2000-02-01

    and polishing to prevent periodontal disease in low-risk persons. There is no scientific evidence that dental examinations, including scaling and polishing, at 6 month intervals, as recommended by the dentists surveyed in this study, is superior to annual or less frequent examinations for low-risk populations. There is also no evidence that in-office fluoride applications offer incremental benefit over less costly methods of delivering fluoride for low-risk populations.

  10. Scientific misconduct and science ethics: a case study based approach.

    PubMed

    Consoli, Luca

    2006-07-01

    The Schön misconduct case has been widely publicized in the media and has sparked intense discussions within and outside the scientific community about general issues of science ethics. This paper analyses the Report of the official Committee charged with the investigation in order to show that what at first seems to be a quite uncontroversial case, turns out to be an accumulation of many interesting and non-trivial questions (of both ethical and philosophical interest). In particular, the paper intends to show that daily scientific practices are structurally permeated by chronic problems; this has serious consequences for how practicing scientists assess their work in general, and scientific misconduct in particular. A philosophical approach is proposed that sees scientific method and scientific ethics as inextricably interwoven. Furthermore, the paper intends to show that the definition of co-authorship that the members of the Committee use, although perhaps clear in theory, proves highly problematic in practice and raises more questions that it answers. A final plea is made for a more self-reflecting attitude of scientists as far as the moral and methodological profile of science is concerned as a key element for improving not only their scientific achievements, but also their assessment of problematic cases.

  11. The Cost of Accumulating Evidence in Perceptual Decision Making

    PubMed Central

    Drugowitsch, Jan; Moreno-Bote, Rubén; Churchland, Anne K.; Shadlen, Michael N.; Pouget, Alexandre

    2012-01-01

    Decision making often involves the accumulation of information over time, but acquiring information typically comes at a cost. Little is known about the cost incurred by animals and humans for acquiring additional information from sensory variables, due, for instance, to attentional efforts. Through a novel integration of diffusion models and dynamic programming, we were able to estimate the cost of making additional observations per unit of time from two monkeys and six humans in a reaction time random dot motion discrimination task. Surprisingly, we find that, the cost is neither zero nor constant over time, but for the animals and humans features a brief period in which it is constant but increases thereafter. In addition, we show that our theory accurately matches the observed reaction time distributions for each stimulus condition, the time-dependent choice accuracy both conditional on stimulus strength and independent of it, and choice accuracy and mean reaction times as a function of stimulus strength. The theory also correctly predicts that urgency signals in the brain should be independent of the difficulty, or stimulus strength, at each trial. PMID:22423085

  12. Scientific Reasoning and Epistemological Commitments: Coordination of Theory and Evidence among College Science Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zeineddin, Ava; Abd-El-Khalick, Fouad

    2010-01-01

    Reasoning skills are major contributors to academic and everyday life success. Epistemological commitments (ECs) are believed to underlie reasoning processes and, when considered, could do much in delineating the complex nature of scientific reasoning. This study examined the relationship between ECs and scientific reasoning among college science…

  13. Rendering clinical psychology an evidence-based scientific discipline: a case study.

    PubMed

    St Stoyanov, Drozdstoj; Machamer, Peter K; Schaffner, Kenneth F

    2012-02-01

    Both modern neuroscience and clinical psychology taken as separate fields have failed to reveal the explanatory mechanisms underlying mental disorders. The evidence acquired inside the mono-disciplinary matrices of neurobiology, clinical psychology and psychopathology are deeply insufficient in terms of their validity, reliability and utility. Further, no effective trans-disciplinary connections have been developed between them. In this context, our case study aims at illustrating some specific facets of clinical psychology as a crucial discipline for explaining and understanding mental disorder. The methods employed in clinical psychology are scrutinized using the exemplar case of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). We demonstrate that a clinical interview and a clinical psychological rating scale consist of the same kind of cognitive content. The provisional difference can be described in terms of its having two comparable complementary cognitive structures. The test is composed of self-evaluation reports (items) formulated as questions or statements. The psychopathological structured interview is formulated in terms of subjective experience indicated as symptoms (these are self-reports recorded by the physician), complemented with the so-called 'signs' or the presumably 'objective' observations of the overt behaviours of the patient. However, the cognitive content of clinical judgment is beyond any doubt as subjective as the narrative of the patient. None of the components of the structured psychopathological interview is independent of the inter-subjective system created in the situation of clinical assessment. Therefore, the protocols from various clinicians that serve to sustain the reliability claim of the 'scientific' Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders cannot be regarded as independent measurements of the cognitive content and value of the psychological rating scales or vice versa. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  14. Medical accuracy in sexuality education: ideology and the scientific process.

    PubMed

    Santelli, John S

    2008-10-01

    Recently, many states have implemented requirements for scientific or medical accuracy in sexuality education and HIV prevention programs. Although seemingly uncontroversial, these requirements respond to the increasing injection of ideology into sexuality education, as represented by abstinence-only programs. I describe the process by which health professionals and government advisory groups within the United States reach scientific consensus and review the legal requirements and definitions for medical accuracy. Key elements of this scientific process include the weight of scientific evidence, the importance of scientific theory, peer review, and recognition by mainstream scientific and health organizations. I propose a concise definition of medical accuracy that may be useful to policymakers, health educators, and other health practitioners.

  15. Conflict of interest, tailored science, and responsibility of scientific institutions and journals.

    PubMed

    Ruff, Kathleen; Mirabelli, Dario

    2014-11-01

    Recent revelations have raised concerns on how conflicts of interest may involve even leading scientists and prestigious institutions and lead to bias in reporting and assessing scientific evidence. These have highlighted the need for action to safeguard scientific integrity and public health. The Italian Epidemiology Association has declared that the "biased and deliberately tailored use of the scientific evidence" by scientists with a conflict of interest serves to delay needed measures to prevent harm to public health from a polluting Italian steel plant's continuing chemical emissions. In France, unresolved concerns over conflict of interest forced the Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Public Health to cancel its imminent appointment of a prominent scientist as its Director. These negative events demonstrate the necessity for scientific institutions and journals to implement rigorous measures regarding conflict of interest and the safeguarding of scientific integrity and public health.

  16. Predicting future discoveries from current scientific literature.

    PubMed

    Petrič, Ingrid; Cestnik, Bojan

    2014-01-01

    Knowledge discovery in biomedicine is a time-consuming process starting from the basic research, through preclinical testing, towards possible clinical applications. Crossing of conceptual boundaries is often needed for groundbreaking biomedical research that generates highly inventive discoveries. We demonstrate the ability of a creative literature mining method to advance valuable new discoveries based on rare ideas from existing literature. When emerging ideas from scientific literature are put together as fragments of knowledge in a systematic way, they may lead to original, sometimes surprising, research findings. If enough scientific evidence is already published for the association of such findings, they can be considered as scientific hypotheses. In this chapter, we describe a method for the computer-aided generation of such hypotheses based on the existing scientific literature. Our literature-based discovery of NF-kappaB with its possible connections to autism was recently approved by scientific community, which confirms the ability of our literature mining methodology to accelerate future discoveries based on rare ideas from existing literature.

  17. Accelerated Mutation Accumulation in Asexual Lineages of a Freshwater Snail

    PubMed Central

    Neiman, Maurine; Hehman, Gery; Miller, Joseph T.; Logsdon, John M.; Taylor, Douglas R.

    2010-01-01

    Sexual reproduction is both extremely costly and widespread relative to asexual reproduction, meaning that it must also confer profound advantages in order to persist. One theorized benefit of sex is that it facilitates the clearance of harmful mutations, which would accumulate more rapidly in the absence of recombination. The extent to which ineffective purifying selection and mutation accumulation are direct consequences of asexuality and whether the accelerated buildup of harmful mutations in asexuals can occur rapidly enough to maintain sex within natural populations, however, remain as open questions. We addressed key components of these questions by estimating the rate of mutation accumulation in the mitochondrial genomes of multiple sexual and asexual representatives of Potamopyrgus antipodarum, a New Zealand snail characterized by mixed sexual/asexual populations. We found that increased mutation accumulation is associated with asexuality and occurs rapidly enough to be detected in recently derived asexual lineages of P. antipodarum. Our results demonstrate that increased mutation accumulation in asexuals can differentially affect coexisting and ecologically similar sexual and asexual lineages. The accelerated rate of mutation accumulation observed in asexual P. antipodarum provides some of the most direct evidence to date for a link between asexuality and mutation accumulation and implies that mutational buildup could be rapid enough to contribute to the short-term evolutionary mechanisms that favor sexual reproduction. PMID:19995828

  18. Accumulate Repeat Accumulate Coded Modulation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Abbasfar, Aliazam; Divsalar, Dariush; Yao, Kung

    2004-01-01

    In this paper we propose an innovative coded modulation scheme called 'Accumulate Repeat Accumulate Coded Modulation' (ARA coded modulation). This class of codes can be viewed as serial turbo-like codes, or as a subclass of Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes that are combined with high level modulation. Thus at the decoder belief propagation can be used for iterative decoding of ARA coded modulation on a graph, provided a demapper transforms the received in-phase and quadrature samples to reliability of the bits.

  19. Science in Writing: Learning Scientific Argument in Principle and Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cope, Bill; Kalantzis, Mary; Abd-El-Khalick, Fouad; Bagley, Elizabeth

    2013-01-01

    This article explores the processes of writing in science and in particular the "complex performance" of writing a scientific argument. The article explores in general terms the nature of scientific argumentation in which the author-scientist makes claims, provides evidence to support these claims, and develops chains of scientific…

  20. Recommendations for the management of cardiovascular risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: scientific evidence and expert opinion.

    PubMed

    Martín-Martínez, María A; González-Juanatey, Carlos; Castañeda, Santos; Llorca, Javier; Ferraz-Amaro, Iván; Fernández-Gutiérrez, Benjamín; Díaz-González, Federico; González-Gay, Miguel A

    2014-08-01

    Last recommendations regarding cardiovascular risk (CVR) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients were developed by the EULAR group in 2010. The aim is to update evidence-based recommendations about this worrying health problem. We assembled a multidisciplinary workgroup (rheumatologists, endocrinologist, cardiologist, and epidemiologist) and a panel of 28 expert rheumatologists. The study was carried out in two big phases: identifying key areas in the prevention and management of CVR and developing a set of recommendations based on a review of the available scientific evidence and use of the Delphi consensus technique. All this has been developed according to an updating process of evidence-based recommendations. Overall, 25 recommendations were made addressing three complementary areas: CVR assessment tools, patient eligibility for assessment, and treatment strategies for control of CVR. The grade of the recommendations was not substantially modified compared to the original EULAR recommendations, except in two of them, which were upgraded from C to B. These two recommendations are the ones related to the use of corticosteroids and smoking cessation. The new developed recommendations address these two areas: CVR assessment and treatment strategies for control of CVR. There are substantial gaps in the current knowledge that do not allow classifying properly RA patients based on their actual CVR and to accurately identify those patients who would benefit from CVR assessment. Consequently, studies designed to determine the causal effects of RA disease characteristics on cardiovascular morbidity/mortality and to identify patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease are still needed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Effects of metacognitive exercise on the development of scientific reasoning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pearsall, Susan Helen

    1999-12-01

    The essence of scientific reasoning is the coordination of theory and evidence. Kuhn (1998) implicates metacognitive skill in reflecting on one's theories, and metastrategic management of inferential strategies involved in their coordination with evidence, as critical to scientific reasoning. The present study investigates how metacognitive exercise may improve children's performance on scientific reasoning tasks. Two groups composed of 50 fifth- and sixth-grade students engaged in a scientific investigation activity over six weekly sessions. Additionally, one group engaged in an activity involving reflection on others' performance on the task, while the comparison group spent equivalent time on an unrelated task. Children in the experimental condition showed significant improvement (relative to those in the comparison condition) in terms of the sequence identified by Kuhn et al. (1995), from entirely theory-based reasoning to the skilled coordination of theory and evidence. This improvement, however, was confined to the beginning levels in the sequence. Specifically, experimental subjects attended to and employed evidence in their reasoning to a greater extent than did comparison subjects, even though their inferences remained largely invalid. Also, experimental subjects showed a marginally significant trend toward greater use of multiple-instance evidence (which, unlike single instance evidence, allowed them to make comparative inferences). On a delayed posttest, children in the experimental condition continued to use evidence to justify their inferences to a significantly greater extent than the comparison group. In contrast, performance increased only slightly on a transfer task and group differences were largely nonsignificant. At the delayed posttest, experimental children's level of performance on the metacognitive activity was compared to their performance on the main task. Results indicated that when children were not consistent on both tasks, performance

  2. Review of the scientific evidence to support environmental risk assessment of shale gas development in the UK.

    PubMed

    Prpich, George; Coulon, Frédéric; Anthony, Edward J

    2016-09-01

    Interest in the development of shale gas resources using hydraulic fracturing techniques is increasing worldwide despite concerns about the environmental risks associated with this activity. In the United Kingdom (UK), early attempts to hydraulically fracture a shale gas well resulted in a seismic event that led to the suspension of all hydraulic fracturing operations. In response to this occurrence, UK regulators have requested that future shale gas operations that use hydraulic fracturing should be accompanied by a high-level environmental risk assessment (ERA). Completion of an ERA can demonstrate competency, communicate understanding, and ultimately build trust that environmental risks are being managed properly, however, this assessment requires a scientific evidence base. In this paper we discuss how the ERA became a preferred assessment technique to understand the risks related to shale gas development in the UK, and how it can be used to communicate information between stakeholders. We also provide a review of the evidence base that describes the environmental risks related to shale gas operations, which could be used to support an ERA. Finally, we conclude with an update of the current environmental risks associated with shale gas development in the UK and present recommendations for further research. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. An Action-Oriented Approach to Gifted Education: Evidence from the Field of Scientific Creativity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Jinghuan; Liu, Guirong; Lin, Chongde

    2012-01-01

    Eight years ago, the authors carried out a study on scientific creativity. Thirty-four eminent scientists, who had gained great creative scientific achievements in five fields--mathematics, physics, chemistry, geography and life science--were chosen and interviewed. In the study, the authors tried to find out what made a person demonstrate…

  4. Draft Scientific Report Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream Waters: A Review and Synthesis of the Scientific Evidence

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Synthesizes peer-reviewed scientific literature on the biological, chemical, and hydrologic connectivity of waters and the effects that small streams, wetlands, and open waters have on larger downstream waters such as rivers, lakes, estuaries, and oceans.

  5. 76 FR 4705 - Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-01-26

    ...] Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration.... Name of Committee: Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee. General Function of the Committee... nature of the evidence or arguments they wish to present, the names and addresses of proposed...

  6. 75 FR 56547 - Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-16

    ...] Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration... Products Scientific Advisory Committee. General Function of the Committee: To provide advice and... evidence or arguments they wish to present, the names and addresses of proposed participants, and an...

  7. Evidence-based periodontal therapy: An overview

    PubMed Central

    Vijayalakshmi, R.; Anitha, V.; Ramakrishnan, T.; Sudhakar, Uma

    2008-01-01

    Dentists need to make clinical decisions based on limited scientific evidence. In clinical practice, a clinician must weigh a myriad of evidences every day. The goal of evidence-based dentistry is to help practitioners provide their patients with optimal care. This is achieved by integrating sound research evidence with personal clinical expertise and patient values to determine the best course of treatment. Periodontology has a rich background of research and scholarship. Therefore, efficient use of this wealth of research data needs to be a part of periodontal practice. Evidence-based periodontology aims to facilitate such an approach and it offers a bridge from science to clinical practice. The clinician must integrate the evidence with patient preference, scientific knowledge, and personal experience. Most important, it allows us to care for our patients. Therefore, evidence-based periodontology is a tool to support decision-making and integrating the best evidence available with clinical practice. PMID:20142947

  8. Socio-scientific reasoning influenced by identities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Simonneaux, Laurence; Simonneaux, Jean

    2009-09-01

    Based on the comments by Lopez-Facal and Jiménez-Aleixandre, we consider that the cultural identities within Europe interfere with the question of the re-introduction of the Slovenian bear, generating a kind of "discrimination." When the SAQs under debate run against the students' systems of value, it seems that the closer the connection between the SAQs (socially acute questions) and the territorial and cultural identity, the more deeply the associated systems of values are affected; and the more the evidence is denied, the weaker the socio-scientific reasoning becomes. This result shows the importance of attempting to get the students to clarify the values underlying their socio-scientific reasoning. As Sadler observed, there was no transfer of socio-scientific reasoning on the three questions considered; each SAQ, as they are deeply related to social representations and identity, generated a specific line of reasoning balancing more or less each operation. Among various methods of teaching SAQs—problematizing, genetic, doctrinal and praxeological methods--socio-scientific reasoning may be a complex activity of problematization fostering the development of critical thinking. Confronted with the refusal to analyse the evidence in the case of the bear, and because of the nature of SAQs, we explore the notion of tangible proof. We think it relevant to study, together with the students, the processes of investigation used by the actors to establish or disestablish tangible proof on SAQs by analysing the intermediary states of the systems of proof, and possibly the "weak signals" which result in calling for the implementation of the precautionary principle.

  9. Measuring the effectiveness of scientific gatekeeping.

    PubMed

    Siler, Kyle; Lee, Kirby; Bero, Lisa

    2015-01-13

    Peer review is the main institution responsible for the evaluation and gestation of scientific research. Although peer review is widely seen as vital to scientific evaluation, anecdotal evidence abounds of gatekeeping mistakes in leading journals, such as rejecting seminal contributions or accepting mediocre submissions. Systematic evidence regarding the effectiveness--or lack thereof--of scientific gatekeeping is scant, largely because access to rejected manuscripts from journals is rarely available. Using a dataset of 1,008 manuscripts submitted to three elite medical journals, we show differences in citation outcomes for articles that received different appraisals from editors and peer reviewers. Among rejected articles, desk-rejected manuscripts, deemed as unworthy of peer review by editors, received fewer citations than those sent for peer review. Among both rejected and accepted articles, manuscripts with lower scores from peer reviewers received relatively fewer citations when they were eventually published. However, hindsight reveals numerous questionable gatekeeping decisions. Of the 808 eventually published articles in our dataset, our three focal journals rejected many highly cited manuscripts, including the 14 most popular; roughly the top 2 percent. Of those 14 articles, 12 were desk-rejected. This finding raises concerns regarding whether peer review is ill--suited to recognize and gestate the most impactful ideas and research. Despite this finding, results show that in our case studies, on the whole, there was value added in peer review. Editors and peer reviewers generally--but not always-made good decisions regarding the identification and promotion of quality in scientific manuscripts.

  10. Establishing a scientific and technical information program: Planning and resource management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Blados, Walter R.

    1992-01-01

    In the last 50 years, technological advances have accelerated at a rate unprecedented in history. We are experiencing a tremendous expansion of scientific and technological effort in many directions, and the result is a fantastic increase in the accumulation of scientific and technical information (STI) and knowledge. An integral part of the research and development (R&D) process is the STI associated with it. STI is both a raw material (input) and a product (output) of this process. The topics addressed include the following: the value of STI, management of an STI program, program policy and guidance, organizational structure, data sources, training/orientation, and the current information environment.

  11. First evidence of an extensive Acheulean large cutting tool accumulation in Europe from Porto Maior (Galicia, Spain).

    PubMed

    Méndez-Quintas, E; Santonja, M; Pérez-González, A; Duval, M; Demuro, M; Arnold, L J

    2018-02-15

    We describe a European Acheulean site characterised by an extensive accumulation of large cutting tools (LCT). This type of Lower Paleolithic assemblage, with dense LCT accumulations, has only been found on the African continent and in the Near East until now. The identification of a site with large accumulations of LCTs favours the hypothesis of an African origin for the Acheulean of Southwest Europe. The lithic tool-bearing deposits date back to 293-205 thousand years ago. Our chronological findings confirm temporal overlap between sites with clear "African" Acheulean affinities and Early Middle Paleolithic sites found elsewhere in the region. These complex technological patterns could be consistent with the potential coexistence of different human species in south-western Europe during the Middle Pleistocene.

  12. Articulating uncertainty as part of scientific argumentation during model-based exoplanet detection tasks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Hee-Sun; Pallant, Amy; Pryputniewicz, Sarah

    2015-08-01

    Teaching scientific argumentation has emerged as an important goal for K-12 science education. In scientific argumentation, students are actively involved in coordinating evidence with theory based on their understanding of the scientific content and thinking critically about the strengths and weaknesses of the cited evidence in the context of the investigation. We developed a one-week-long online curriculum module called "Is there life in space?" where students conduct a series of four model-based tasks to learn how scientists detect extrasolar planets through the “wobble” and transit methods. The simulation model allows students to manipulate various parameters of an imaginary star and planet system such as planet size, orbit size, planet-orbiting-plane angle, and sensitivity of telescope equipment, and to adjust the display settings for graphs illustrating the relative velocity and light intensity of the star. Students can use model-based evidence to formulate an argument on whether particular signals in the graphs guarantee the presence of a planet. Students' argumentation is facilitated by the four-part prompts consisting of multiple-choice claim, open-ended explanation, Likert-scale uncertainty rating, and open-ended uncertainty rationale. We analyzed 1,013 scientific arguments formulated by 302 high school student groups taught by 7 teachers. We coded these arguments in terms of the accuracy of their claim, the sophistication of explanation connecting evidence to the established knowledge base, the uncertainty rating, and the scientific validity of uncertainty. We found that (1) only 18% of the students' uncertainty rationale involved critical reflection on limitations inherent in data and concepts, (2) 35% of students' uncertainty rationale reflected their assessment of personal ability and knowledge, rather than scientific sources of uncertainty related to the evidence, and (3) the nature of task such as the use of noisy data or the framing of

  13. Sherlock Holmes: scientific detective.

    PubMed

    Snyder, Laura J

    2004-09-01

    Sherlock Holmes was intended by his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, to be a 'scientific detective'. Conan Doyle criticized his predecessor Edgar Allan Poe for giving his creation - Inspector Dupin - only the 'illusion' of scientific method. Conan Doyle believed that he had succeeded where Poe had failed; thus, he has Watson remark that Holmes has 'brought detection as near an exact science as it will ever be brought into the world.' By examining Holmes' methods, it becomes clear that Conan Doyle modelled them on certain images of science that were popular in mid- to late-19th century Britain. Contrary to a common view, it is also evident that rather than being responsible for the invention of forensic science, the creation of Holmes was influenced by the early development of it.

  14. [Evidence-based medicine: modern scientific methods for determining usefulness].

    PubMed

    Schmidt, J G

    1999-01-01

    For quite some time, clinical epidemiology has introduced the art of critical appraisal of evidence as well as the methods of how to design sound clinical studies and trials. Almost unnoticed by most medical institutions a new hierarchy of evidence has emerged which puts well thought out trials, able to document unbiased treatment benefit in terms of patient suffering, above pathophysiological theory. Many controlled trials have shown, in the meantime, that the control of laboratory or other kind of pathologies and the correction of anatomical abnormalities do not necessarily mean a benefit for the patient. Concepts relating to this dissection of evidence include: Surrogate fallacy ("cosmetics" of laboratory results or ligament or cartilage "cosmetics" in surgery), confounding (spurious causal relationships), selection bias (comparison with selected groups) as well as lead-time bias (mistaking earlier diagnosis as increase of survival), length bias (overlooking differences in the aggressiveness of diseases as determinants of disease stage distributions) and overdiagnosis bias (mistaking the increasing detection of clinically silent pathologies as improvement of prognosis). Moreover, absolute instead of relative risk reduction needs to be used to measure patient benefit. The incorporation of decision-analysis and of the concepts or clinical epidemiology will improve the efficiency and quality of medicine much more effectively than the sole focus on technical medical performance. Evidence based medicine is the systematic and critical appraisal of medical interventions, based on the understanding how to avoid the fallacies and biases mentioned.

  15. 75 FR 47308 - Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-08-05

    ...] Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration... Products Scientific Advisory Committee General Function of the Committee: To provide advice and... submit a brief statement of the general nature of the evidence or arguments they wish to present, the...

  16. 76 FR 58019 - Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-09-19

    ...] Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration.... Name of Committee: Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC). General Function of the... notify the contact person and submit a brief statement of the general nature of the evidence or arguments...

  17. 77 FR 7589 - Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-02-13

    ...] Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration.... Name of Committee: Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC). General Function of the... notify the contact person and submit a brief statement of the general nature of the evidence or arguments...

  18. Disease-associated protein seeding suggests a dissociation between misfolded protein accumulation and neurodegeneration in prion disease

    PubMed Central

    Alibhai, James; Diack, Abigail; Manson, Jean

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT Chronic neurodegenerative diseases, such as prion diseases or Alzheimer's disease, are associated with progressive accumulation of host proteins which misfold and aggregate. Neurodegeneration is restricted to specific neuronal populations which show clear accumulation of misfolded proteins, whilst neighbouring neurons remain unaffected. Such data raise interesting questions about the vulnerability of specific neuronal populations to neurodegeneration and much research has concentrated only on the mechanisms of neurodegeneration in afflicted neuronal populations. An alternative, undervalued and almost completely unstudied question however is how and why neuronal populations are resilient to neurodegeneration. One potential answer is unaffected regions do not accumulate misfolded proteins, thus mechanisms of neurodegeneration do not become activated. In this perspectives, we discuss novel data from our laboratories which demonstrate that misfolded proteins do accumulate in regions of the brain which do not show evidence of neurodegeneration and further evidence that microglial responses may define the severity of neurodegeneration. PMID:29023184

  19. Scientific and non-scientific challenges for Operational Earthquake Forecasting

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marzocchi, W.

    2015-12-01

    Tracking the time evolution of seismic hazard in time windows shorter than the usual 50-years of long-term hazard models may offer additional opportunities to reduce the seismic risk. This is the target of operational earthquake forecasting (OEF). During the OEF development in Italy we identify several challenges that range from pure science to the more practical interface of science with society. From a scientific point of view, although earthquake clustering is the clearest empirical evidence about earthquake occurrence, and OEF clustering models are the most (successfully) tested hazard models in seismology, we note that some seismologists are still reluctant to accept their scientific reliability. After exploring the motivations of these scientific doubts, we also look into an issue that is often overlooked in this discussion, i.e., in any kind of hazard analysis, we do not use a model because it is the true one, but because it is the better than anything else we can think of. The non-scientific aspects are mostly related to the fact that OEF usually provides weekly probabilities of large eartquakes smaller than 1%. These probabilities are considered by some seismologists too small to be of interest or useful. However, in a recent collaboration with engineers we show that such earthquake probabilities may lead to intolerable individual risk of death. Interestingly, this debate calls for a better definition of the still fuzzy boundaries among the different expertise required for the whole risk mitigation process. The last and probably more pressing challenge is related to the communication to the public. In fact, a wrong message could be useless or even counterproductive. Here we show some progresses that we have made in this field working with communication experts in Italy.

  20. Quality of gastroenterology research published in Saudi Arabian scientific journals.

    PubMed

    Almaghrabi, Majed M; Alamoudi, Abdullah S; Radi, Suhaib A; Merdad, Anas A; Makhdoum, Ahmad M; Batwa, Faisal A

    2015-01-01

    Evidence-based medicine has established itself in the field of gastroenterology. In this study we aim to assess the types of study designs of gastroenterology-related articles published in Saudi scientific journals. An online review using PubMed was carried out to review gastroenterology-related articles published in six Saudi medical journals in the time interval from 2003 to 2012. To classify the level of evidence in these articles we employed the Oxford's levels of evidence. One-way analysis of variance was used to compare the levels of evidence between published articles. A total of 721 gastroenterology-related articles were reviewed, of which 591 articles met our inclusion criteria; 80.7% were level IV. The three most common types of studies we encountered were cross-sectional (33.9%), case reports (27.9%), and case series (18.8%). Forty-three percent of the published research was in the field of hepatobiliary and spleen. The total number of articles increased from 260 articles in the 1 st 5-year period (2003-2007) to 330 in the 2 nd period (2008-2012). However, no statistically significant difference in the level of evidence was noted. In Annals of Saudi Medicine Journal, articles with level II increased from 0 to 10% with a P value 0.02. In our review of gastroenterology-related published articles in Saudi scientific journals, we observed an increase in the quantity of articles with the quality and level of evidence remaining unchanged. Further research is recommended to explore different reasons affecting the volume and quality of gastroenterology-related research in Saudi scientific journals.

  1. How People Reason: A Grounded Theory Study of Scientific Reasoning about Global Climate Change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Shiyu

    Scientific reasoning is crucial in both scientific inquiry and everyday life. While the majority of researchers have studied "how people reason" by focusing on their cognitive processes, factors related to the underpinnings of scientific reasoning are still under-researched. The present study aimed to develop a grounded theory that captures not only the cognitive processes during reasoning but also their underpinnings. In particular, the grounded theory and phenomenographic methodologies were integrated to explore how undergraduate students reason about competing theories and evidence on global climate change. Twenty-six undergraduate students were recruited through theoretical sampling. Constant comparative analysis of responses from interviews and written assessments revealed that participants were mostly drawn to the surface features when reasoning about evidence. While prior knowledge might not directly contribute to participants' performance on evidence evaluation, it affected their level of engagement when reading and evaluating competing arguments on climate issues. More importantly, even though all participants acknowledged the relative correctness of multiple perspectives, they predominantly favored arguments that supported their own beliefs with weak scientific reasoning about the opposing arguments. Additionally, factors such as personal interests, religious beliefs, and reading capacity were also found to have bearings on the way participants evaluated evidence and arguments. In all, this work contributes to the current endeavors in exploring the nature of scientific reasoning. Taking a holistic perspective, it provides an in-depth discussion of factors that may affect or relate to scientific reasoning processes. Furthermore, in comparison with traditional methods used in the literature, the methodological approach employed in this work brought an innovative insight into the investigation of scientific reasoning. Last but not least, this research may

  2. Establishing Trustworthiness When Students Read Multiple Documents Containing Conflicting Scientific Evidence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bråten, Ivar; Braasch, Jason L. G.; Strømsø, Helge I.; Ferguson, Leila E.

    2015-01-01

    Students read six documents that varied in terms of their perspectives on a scientific issue and the trustworthiness of the source features. After reading, students wrote essays, rank-ordered the documents according to perceived trustworthiness, and provided reasons for their rank-order decisions. Students put the most trust in a textbook and a…

  3. Evidence for Family Engagement in Scientific Reasoning at Interactive Animal Exhibits

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kisiel, James; Rowe, Shawn; Vartabedian, Melanie Ani; Kopczak, Charles

    2012-01-01

    While the opportunity to engage in scientific reasoning has been identified as an important aspect of informal science learning (National Research Council, 2009), most studies have examined this strand of science learning within the context of physics-based science exhibits. Few have examined the presence of such activity in conjunction with live…

  4. Five-month-old infants have expectations for the accumulation of nonsolid substances.

    PubMed

    Anderson, Erin M; Hespos, Susan J; Rips, Lance J

    2018-06-01

    Infants fail to represent quantities of non-cohesive substances in paradigms where they succeed with solid objects. Some investigators have interpreted these results as evidence that infants do not yet have representations for substances. More recent research, however, shows that 5-month-old infants expect objects and substances to behave and interact in different ways. In the present experiments, we test whether infants have expectations for substances when the outcomes are not simply the opposite of those for objects. In Experiment 1, we find that 5-month-old infants expect that when a cup of sand pours behind a screen, it will accumulate in just one pile rather than two. Similarly, infants expect that when two cups of sand pour in separate streams, two distinct piles will accumulate rather than one. Infants look significantly longer at outcomes with an inconsistent number of piles, providing evidence that infants have expectations for how sand accumulates. To test whether the number of cups or the number of pours guided expectations about accumulation, Experiment 2 placed these cues in conflict. This resulted in chance performance, suggesting that, for infants to build expectations about these outcomes, they need both cues (cup and pour) to converge. These findings offer insight into the nature of infants' representations for non-cohesive substances like sand. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Anthropogenic ``Global Warming'' Alarmism: Illuminating some Scientific and Methodological Flaws

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gould, Larry

    2009-10-01

    There continues to be an increasing number of scientists and public figures around the world who are challenging the dominant political- and mediadriven claims that have been bolstered by so-called ``consensus'' scientific views -- that dangerous ``global warming/climate change'' is caused primarily by human-produced carbon dioxide. This general talk will show that the weight of scientific evidence strongly contradicts the alarmist claims. It will also explain what are some of the methodological flaws that continue to threaten the scientific method.

  6. Scientific Competencies in the Social Sciences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dietrich, Heike; Zhang, Ying; Klopp, Eric; Brünken, Roland; Krause, Ulrike-Marie; Spinath, Frank M.; Stark, Robin; Spinath, Birgit

    2015-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to introduce a general theoretical model of scientific competencies in higher education and to adapt it to three social sciences, namely psychology, sociology, and political science, by providing evidence from expert interviews and program regulations. Within our general model, we distinguished and specified four…

  7. 76 FR 74789 - Scientific Information Request on Pressure Ulcer Treatment Medical Devices

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-12-01

    ... Strategies: A Comparative Effectiveness Review, which is currently being conducted by the Evidence-based... scientific information on these devices will improve the quality of this comparative effectiveness review. AHRQ is requesting this scientific information and conducting this comparative effectiveness review...

  8. Aripiprazole in the Maintenance Treatment of Bipolar Disorder: A Critical Review of the Evidence and Its Dissemination into the Scientific Literature

    PubMed Central

    Jureidini, Jon N.; Parry, Peter I.; Spielmans, Glen I.; Healy, David

    2011-01-01

    Background Aripiprazole, a second-generation antipsychotic medication, has been increasingly used in the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder and received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for this indication in 2005. Given its widespread use, we sought to critically review the evidence supporting the use of aripiprazole in the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder and examine how that evidence has been disseminated in the scientific literature. Methods and Findings We systematically searched multiple databases to identify double-blind, randomized controlled trials of aripiprazole for the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder while excluding other types of studies, such as open-label, acute, and adjunctive studies. We then used a citation search to identify articles that cited these trials and rated the quality of their citations. Our evidence search protocol identified only two publications, both describing the results of a single trial conducted by Keck et al., which met criteria for inclusion in this review. We describe four issues that limit the interpretation of that trial as supporting the use of aripiprazole for bipolar maintenance: (1) insufficient duration to demonstrate maintenance efficacy; (2) limited generalizability due to its enriched sample; (3) possible conflation of iatrogenic adverse effects of abrupt medication discontinuation with beneficial effects of treatment; and (4) a low overall completion rate. Our citation search protocol yielded 80 publications that cited the Keck et al. trial in discussing the use of aripiprazole for bipolar maintenance. Of these, only 24 (30%) mentioned adverse events reported and four (5%) mentioned study limitations. Conclusions A single trial by Keck et al. represents the entirety of the literature on the use of aripiprazole for the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder. Although careful review identifies four critical limitations to the trial's interpretation and overall utility

  9. Ethics issues in scientific data and service provision: evidence and challenges for the European Plate Observing System (EPOS)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cocco, Massimo; Freda, Carmela; Haslinger, Florian; Consortium, Epos

    2016-04-01

    Addressing Ethics issues is nowadays a relevant challenge for any initiative, program or project dealing with scientific data and products provision, access to services for scientific purposes and communication with different stakeholders, including society. This is corroborated by the evidence that Ethics has very high priority in EU funded research. Indeed, all the activities carried out under Horizon 2020 must comply with ethical principles and national, Union and international legislation. This implies that "For all activities funded by the European Union, Ethics is an integral part of research from beginning to end, and ethical compliance is seen as pivotal to achieve real research excellence." Here, we present the experience of EPOS, a public pan-European research infrastructure. EPOS aims at integrating data, data products, services and software (DDSS) for solid Earth science generated and provided by monitoring networks, observing systems and facilities belonging to European countries. EPOS fosters the integrated use of multidisciplinary solid Earth data to improve the understanding of physical and chemical processes controlling earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis as well as those driving tectonics and surface dynamics. The EPOS integration plan will make significant contributions to understanding and mitigating geo-hazards, yielding data for hazard assessment, data products for engaging different stakeholders, and services for training, education and communication to society. Numerous national research infrastructures engaged in EPOS are deployed for the monitoring of areas prone to geo-hazards and for the surveillance of the national territory including areas used for exploiting geo-resources. The EPOS community is therefore already trained to provide services to public (civil defence agencies, local and national authorities) and private (petroleum industry, mining industry, geothermal companies, aviation security) stakeholders. Our ability to

  10. Talking Relative Age Effects: A Fictional Analysis Based on Scientific Evidence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roberts, Simon J.

    2014-01-01

    During the past 30 years, there has been a considerable amount of scientific attention dedicated to the reported age discrimination which occurs in youth and elite sport. The purpose of this paper is to examine the notion of relative age effects (RAEs) through a slightly different lens. This paper therefore presents a fictional conversation…

  11. Scientific basis for the Precautionary Principle.

    PubMed

    Vineis, Paolo

    2005-09-01

    The Precautionary Principle is based on two general criteria: (a) appropriate public action should be taken in response to limited, but plausible and credible, evidence of likely and substantial harm; (b) the burden of proof is shifted from demonstrating the presence of risk to demonstrating the absence of risk. Not much has been written about the scientific basis of the precautionary principle, apart from the uncertainty that characterizes epidemiologic research on chronic disease, and the use of surrogate evidence when human evidence cannot be provided. It is proposed in this paper that a new scientific paradigm, based on the theory of evolution, is emerging; this might offer stronger support to the need for precaution in the regulation of environmental risks. Environmental hazards do not consist only in direct attacks to the integrity of DNA or other macromolecules. They can consist in changes that take place already in utero, and that condition disease risks many years later. Also, environmental exposures can act as "stressors", inducing hypermutability (the mutator phenotype) as an adaptive response. Finally, environmental changes should be evaluated against a background of a not-so-easily modifiable genetic make-up, inherited from a period in which humans were mainly hunters-gatherers and had dietary habits very different from the current ones.

  12. Teaching Argumentation and Scientific Discourse Using the Ribosomal Peptidyl Transferase Reaction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, R. Jeremy

    2011-01-01

    Argumentation and discourse are two integral parts of scientific investigation that are often overlooked in undergraduate science education. To address this limitation, the story of peptide bond formation by the ribosome can be used to illustrate the importance of evidence, claims, arguments, and counterarguments in scientific discourse. With the…

  13. Evidence Clearinghouses and Registries: Methods for Locating and Including Studies in Evidence Syntheses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Foster, Lisa; LaSota, Robin; Yeide, Martha

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this investigation is to report about study identification practices across evidence-based registries and clearinghouses in social policy fields, which serve as a resource for scientific, evidence-based decision-making about practices about desired outcomes in these social policy fields. The information retrieval procedures of the…

  14. Anthocyanins facilitate tungsten accumulation in Brassica

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hale, K.L.

    2002-11-01

    Accumulation of molybdenum in Brassica was recently found to be correlated with anthocyanin content, involving the formation of a blue complex. Here the role of anthocyanins in tungsten sequestration was investigated using three species of Brassica: B. rapa (cv. Fast plants), B. juncea (Indian mustard) and B. oleracea (red cabbage). Seedlings of B. rapa and B. juncea turned blue when supplied with colourless tungstate. The blue compound co-localized with anthocyanins in the peripheral cell layers, and the degree of blueness was correlated with anthocyanin content. The direct involvement of anthocyanins in the blue coloration was evident when purified anthocyanins showedmore » a colour change from pink to blue in vitro upon addition of tungstate, over a wide pH range. Anthocyanin production was upregulated 3-fold by W in B. juncea, possibly reflecting a function for anthocyanins in W tolerance or sequestration. The presence of anthocyanins facilitated W accumulation in B. rapa: anthocyanin-containing seedlings accumulated 3-fold more W than an anthocyaninless mutant. There was no correlation between anthocyanin content and W tolerance under these conditions. The nature of the interaction between anthocyanins and tungstate was investigated. X-ray absorption spectroscopy showed no change in the local chemical environment of Wupon uptake of tungstate by the plant; HPLC analysis of purified anthocyanin with or without tungstate showed no peak shift after metal treatment.« less

  15. Exploring high school students' use of theory and evidence in an everyday context: the role of scientific thinking in environmental science decision-making

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Fang-Ying

    2004-11-01

    This study examined 10th-grade students' use of theory and evidence in evaluating a socio-scientific issue: the use of underground water, after students had received a Science, Technology and Society-oriented instruction. Forty-five male and 45 female students from two intact, single-sex, classes participated in this study. A flow-map method was used to assess the participants' conceptual knowledge. The reasoning mode was assessed using a questionnaire with open-ended questions. Results showed that, although some weak to moderate associations were found between conceptual organization in memory and reasoning modes, the students' ability to incorporate theory and evidence was in general inadequate. It was also found that students' reasoning modes were consistent with their epistemological perspectives. Moreover, male and female students appear to have different reasoning approaches.

  16. Scientific Investigations of Elementary School Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Valanides, Nicos; Papageorgiou, Maria; Angeli, Charoula

    2014-01-01

    The study provides evidence concerning elementary school children's ability to conduct a scientific investigation. Two hundred and fifty sixth-grade students and 248 fourth-grade students were administered a test, and based on their performance, they were classified into high-ability and low-ability students. The sample of this study was…

  17. The Development of Scientific Thinking Skills in Elementary and Middle School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zimmerman, Corinne

    2007-01-01

    The goal of this article is to provide an integrative review of research that has been conducted on the development of children's scientific reasoning. Broadly defined, scientific thinking includes the skills involved in inquiry, experimentation, evidence evaluation, and inference that are done in the service of "conceptual change" or scientific…

  18. Strain accumulation and rotation in the Eastern California Shear Zone

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Savage, J.C.; Gan, Weijun; Svarc, J.L.

    2001-01-01

    Although the Eastern California Shear Zone (ECSZ) (strike ???N25??W) does not quite coincide with a small circle drawn about the Pacific-North America pole of rotation, trilateration and GPS measurements demonstrate that the motion within the zone corresponds to right-lateral simple shear across a vertical plane (strike N33??W??5??) roughly parallel to the tangent to that local small circle (strike ???N40??W). If the simple shear is released by slip on faults subparallel to the shear zone, the accumulated rotation is also released, leaving no secular rotation. South of the Garlock fault the principal faults (e.g., Calico-Blackwater fault) strike ???N40??W, close enough to the strike of the vertical plane across which maximum right-lateral shear accumulates to almost wholly accommodate that accumulation of both strain and rotation by right-lateral slip. North of the Garlock fault dip slip as well as strike slip on the principal faults (strike ???N20??W) is required to accommodate the simple shear accumulation. In both cases the accumulated rotation is released with the shear strain. The Garlock fault, which transects the ECSZ, is not offset by north-northwest striking faults nor, despite geological evidence for long-term left-lateral slip, does it appear at the present time to be accumulating left-lateral simple shear strain across the fault due to slip at depth. Rather the motion is explained by right-lateral simple shear across the orthogonal ECSZ. Left-lateral slip on the Garlock fault will release the shear strain accumulating there but would augment the accumulating rotation, resulting in a secular clockwise rotation rate ???80 nrad yr-1 (4.6?? Myr-1).

  19. Pulmonary accumulation of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the adult respiratory distress syndrome

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Powe, J.E.; Short, A.; Sibbald, W.J.

    1982-11-01

    The polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) plays an integral role in the development of permeability pulmonary edema associated with the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This report describes 3 patients with ARDS secondary to systemic sepsis who demonstrated an abnormal diffuse accumulation of Indium (/sup 111/In)-labeled PMNs in their lungs, without concomitant clinical or laboratory evidence of a primary chest infection. In one patient, the accumulation of the pulmonary activity during an initial pass suggested that this observation was related to diffuse leukoaggregation within the pulmonary microvasculature. A 4th patient with ARDS was on high-dose corticosteroids at the time of a similarmore » study, and showed no pulmonary accumulation of PMNs, suggesting a possible reason for the reported beneficial effect of corticosteroids in human ARDS.« less

  20. Bayes factors for the linear ballistic accumulator model of decision-making.

    PubMed

    Evans, Nathan J; Brown, Scott D

    2018-04-01

    Evidence accumulation models of decision-making have led to advances in several different areas of psychology. These models provide a way to integrate response time and accuracy data, and to describe performance in terms of latent cognitive processes. Testing important psychological hypotheses using cognitive models requires a method to make inferences about different versions of the models which assume different parameters to cause observed effects. The task of model-based inference using noisy data is difficult, and has proven especially problematic with current model selection methods based on parameter estimation. We provide a method for computing Bayes factors through Monte-Carlo integration for the linear ballistic accumulator (LBA; Brown and Heathcote, 2008), a widely used evidence accumulation model. Bayes factors are used frequently for inference with simpler statistical models, and they do not require parameter estimation. In order to overcome the computational burden of estimating Bayes factors via brute force integration, we exploit general purpose graphical processing units; we provide free code for this. This approach allows estimation of Bayes factors via Monte-Carlo integration within a practical time frame. We demonstrate the method using both simulated and real data. We investigate the stability of the Monte-Carlo approximation, and the LBA's inferential properties, in simulation studies.

  1. Quality of Gastroenterology Research Published in Saudi Arabian Scientific Journals

    PubMed Central

    Almaghrabi, Majed M.; Alamoudi, Abdullah S.; Radi, Suhaib A.; Merdad, Anas A.; Makhdoum, Ahmad M.; Batwa, Faisal A.

    2015-01-01

    Background/Aims: Evidence-based medicine has established itself in the field of gastroenterology. In this study we aim to assess the types of study designs of gastroenterology-related articles published in Saudi scientific journals. Patients and Methods: An online review using PubMed was carried out to review gastroenterology-related articles published in six Saudi medical journals in the time interval from 2003 to 2012. To classify the level of evidence in these articles we employed the Oxford's levels of evidence. One-way analysis of variance was used to compare the levels of evidence between published articles. Results: A total of 721 gastroenterology-related articles were reviewed, of which 591 articles met our inclusion criteria; 80.7% were level IV. The three most common types of studies we encountered were cross-sectional (33.9%), case reports (27.9%), and case series (18.8%). Forty-three percent of the published research was in the field of hepatobiliary and spleen. The total number of articles increased from 260 articles in the 1st 5-year period (2003–2007) to 330 in the 2nd period (2008–2012). However, no statistically significant difference in the level of evidence was noted. In Annals of Saudi Medicine Journal, articles with level II increased from 0 to 10% with a P value 0.02. Conclusion: In our review of gastroenterology-related published articles in Saudi scientific journals, we observed an increase in the quantity of articles with the quality and level of evidence remaining unchanged. Further research is recommended to explore different reasons affecting the volume and quality of gastroenterology-related research in Saudi scientific journals. PMID:25843195

  2. Where Is the Evidence for "Evidence-Based" Therapy?

    PubMed

    Shedler, Jonathan

    2018-06-01

    The term evidence-based therapy is a de facto code word for manualized therapy, most often brief cognitive behavior therapy and its variants. It is widely asserted that "evidence-based" therapy is scientifically proven, superior to other forms of psychotherapy, and the gold standard of care. Research findings do not support such assertions. Research on evidence-based therapies demonstrates that they are weak treatments. They have not shown superiority to other forms of psychotherapy, few patients get well, and treatment benefits do not last. Questionable research practices create a distorted picture of the actual benefits of these therapies. Copyright © 2018 Jonathan Shedler. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Community Intelligence in Knowledge Curation: An Application to Managing Scientific Nomenclature

    PubMed Central

    Zou, Dong; Li, Ang; Liu, Guocheng; Chen, Fei; Wu, Jiayan; Xiao, Jingfa; Wang, Xumin; Yu, Jun; Zhang, Zhang

    2013-01-01

    Harnessing community intelligence in knowledge curation bears significant promise in dealing with communication and education in the flood of scientific knowledge. As knowledge is accumulated at ever-faster rates, scientific nomenclature, a particular kind of knowledge, is concurrently generated in all kinds of fields. Since nomenclature is a system of terms used to name things in a particular discipline, accurate translation of scientific nomenclature in different languages is of critical importance, not only for communications and collaborations with English-speaking people, but also for knowledge dissemination among people in the non-English-speaking world, particularly young students and researchers. However, it lacks of accuracy and standardization when translating scientific nomenclature from English to other languages, especially for those languages that do not belong to the same language family as English. To address this issue, here we propose for the first time the application of community intelligence in scientific nomenclature management, namely, harnessing collective intelligence for translation of scientific nomenclature from English to other languages. As community intelligence applied to knowledge curation is primarily aided by wiki and Chinese is the native language for about one-fifth of the world’s population, we put the proposed application into practice, by developing a wiki-based English-to-Chinese Scientific Nomenclature Dictionary (ESND; http://esnd.big.ac.cn). ESND is a wiki-based, publicly editable and open-content platform, exploiting the whole power of the scientific community in collectively and collaboratively managing scientific nomenclature. Based on community curation, ESND is capable of achieving accurate, standard, and comprehensive scientific nomenclature, demonstrating a valuable application of community intelligence in knowledge curation. PMID:23451119

  4. Community intelligence in knowledge curation: an application to managing scientific nomenclature.

    PubMed

    Dai, Lin; Xu, Chao; Tian, Ming; Sang, Jian; Zou, Dong; Li, Ang; Liu, Guocheng; Chen, Fei; Wu, Jiayan; Xiao, Jingfa; Wang, Xumin; Yu, Jun; Zhang, Zhang

    2013-01-01

    Harnessing community intelligence in knowledge curation bears significant promise in dealing with communication and education in the flood of scientific knowledge. As knowledge is accumulated at ever-faster rates, scientific nomenclature, a particular kind of knowledge, is concurrently generated in all kinds of fields. Since nomenclature is a system of terms used to name things in a particular discipline, accurate translation of scientific nomenclature in different languages is of critical importance, not only for communications and collaborations with English-speaking people, but also for knowledge dissemination among people in the non-English-speaking world, particularly young students and researchers. However, it lacks of accuracy and standardization when translating scientific nomenclature from English to other languages, especially for those languages that do not belong to the same language family as English. To address this issue, here we propose for the first time the application of community intelligence in scientific nomenclature management, namely, harnessing collective intelligence for translation of scientific nomenclature from English to other languages. As community intelligence applied to knowledge curation is primarily aided by wiki and Chinese is the native language for about one-fifth of the world's population, we put the proposed application into practice, by developing a wiki-based English-to-Chinese Scientific Nomenclature Dictionary (ESND; http://esnd.big.ac.cn). ESND is a wiki-based, publicly editable and open-content platform, exploiting the whole power of the scientific community in collectively and collaboratively managing scientific nomenclature. Based on community curation, ESND is capable of achieving accurate, standard, and comprehensive scientific nomenclature, demonstrating a valuable application of community intelligence in knowledge curation.

  5. Molecular chaperone accumulation as a function of stress evidences adaptation to high hydrostatic pressure in the piezophilic archaeon Thermococcus barophilus.

    PubMed

    Cario, Anaïs; Jebbar, Mohamed; Thiel, Axel; Kervarec, Nelly; Oger, Phil M

    2016-07-05

    The accumulation of mannosyl-glycerate (MG), the salinity stress response osmolyte of Thermococcales, was investigated as a function of hydrostatic pressure in Thermococcus barophilus strain MP, a hyperthermophilic, piezophilic archaeon isolated from the Snake Pit site (MAR), which grows optimally at 40 MPa. Strain MP accumulated MG primarily in response to salinity stress, but in contrast to other Thermococcales, MG was also accumulated in response to thermal stress. MG accumulation peaked for combined stresses. The accumulation of MG was drastically increased under sub-optimal hydrostatic pressure conditions, demonstrating that low pressure is perceived as a stress in this piezophile, and that the proteome of T. barophilus is low-pressure sensitive. MG accumulation was strongly reduced under supra-optimal pressure conditions clearly demonstrating the structural adaptation of this proteome to high hydrostatic pressure. The lack of MG synthesis only slightly altered the growth characteristics of two different MG synthesis deletion mutants. No shift to other osmolytes was observed. Altogether our observations suggest that the salinity stress response in T. barophilus is not essential and may be under negative selective pressure, similarly to what has been observed for its thermal stress response.

  6. Molecular chaperone accumulation as a function of stress evidences adaptation to high hydrostatic pressure in the piezophilic archaeon Thermococcus barophilus

    PubMed Central

    Cario, Anaïs; Jebbar, Mohamed; Thiel, Axel; Kervarec, Nelly; Oger, Phil M.

    2016-01-01

    The accumulation of mannosyl-glycerate (MG), the salinity stress response osmolyte of Thermococcales, was investigated as a function of hydrostatic pressure in Thermococcus barophilus strain MP, a hyperthermophilic, piezophilic archaeon isolated from the Snake Pit site (MAR), which grows optimally at 40 MPa. Strain MP accumulated MG primarily in response to salinity stress, but in contrast to other Thermococcales, MG was also accumulated in response to thermal stress. MG accumulation peaked for combined stresses. The accumulation of MG was drastically increased under sub-optimal hydrostatic pressure conditions, demonstrating that low pressure is perceived as a stress in this piezophile, and that the proteome of T. barophilus is low-pressure sensitive. MG accumulation was strongly reduced under supra-optimal pressure conditions clearly demonstrating the structural adaptation of this proteome to high hydrostatic pressure. The lack of MG synthesis only slightly altered the growth characteristics of two different MG synthesis deletion mutants. No shift to other osmolytes was observed. Altogether our observations suggest that the salinity stress response in T. barophilus is not essential and may be under negative selective pressure, similarly to what has been observed for its thermal stress response. PMID:27378270

  7. Testing Scientific Software: A Systematic Literature Review

    PubMed Central

    Kanewala, Upulee; Bieman, James M.

    2014-01-01

    Context Scientific software plays an important role in critical decision making, for example making weather predictions based on climate models, and computation of evidence for research publications. Recently, scientists have had to retract publications due to errors caused by software faults. Systematic testing can identify such faults in code. Objective This study aims to identify specific challenges, proposed solutions, and unsolved problems faced when testing scientific software. Method We conducted a systematic literature survey to identify and analyze relevant literature. We identified 62 studies that provided relevant information about testing scientific software. Results We found that challenges faced when testing scientific software fall into two main categories: (1) testing challenges that occur due to characteristics of scientific software such as oracle problems and (2) testing challenges that occur due to cultural differences between scientists and the software engineering community such as viewing the code and the model that it implements as inseparable entities. In addition, we identified methods to potentially overcome these challenges and their limitations. Finally we describe unsolved challenges and how software engineering researchers and practitioners can help to overcome them. Conclusions Scientific software presents special challenges for testing. Specifically, cultural differences between scientist developers and software engineers, along with the characteristics of the scientific software make testing more difficult. Existing techniques such as code clone detection can help to improve the testing process. Software engineers should consider special challenges posed by scientific software such as oracle problems when developing testing techniques. PMID:25125798

  8. Testing Scientific Software: A Systematic Literature Review.

    PubMed

    Kanewala, Upulee; Bieman, James M

    2014-10-01

    Scientific software plays an important role in critical decision making, for example making weather predictions based on climate models, and computation of evidence for research publications. Recently, scientists have had to retract publications due to errors caused by software faults. Systematic testing can identify such faults in code. This study aims to identify specific challenges, proposed solutions, and unsolved problems faced when testing scientific software. We conducted a systematic literature survey to identify and analyze relevant literature. We identified 62 studies that provided relevant information about testing scientific software. We found that challenges faced when testing scientific software fall into two main categories: (1) testing challenges that occur due to characteristics of scientific software such as oracle problems and (2) testing challenges that occur due to cultural differences between scientists and the software engineering community such as viewing the code and the model that it implements as inseparable entities. In addition, we identified methods to potentially overcome these challenges and their limitations. Finally we describe unsolved challenges and how software engineering researchers and practitioners can help to overcome them. Scientific software presents special challenges for testing. Specifically, cultural differences between scientist developers and software engineers, along with the characteristics of the scientific software make testing more difficult. Existing techniques such as code clone detection can help to improve the testing process. Software engineers should consider special challenges posed by scientific software such as oracle problems when developing testing techniques.

  9. From science to evidence: the testimony on causation in the Bendectin cases.

    PubMed

    Sanders, J

    1993-11-01

    Critics of American tort law often question the ability of lay jurors to make factual determinations in trials involving complex scientific evidence. In this article, Professor Sanders attempts to refocus tort reform debate by studying how trial procedures themselves contribute to jurors' inability to properly assess scientific evidence. Professor Sanders' analysis centers on trials involving Bendectin, a drug which plaintiffs have claimed caused birth defects in the children of mothers who took it during pregnancy. After noting that the weight of scientific and federal judicial opinion concludes that plaintiffs cannot establish a causal link between Bendectin use and birth defects by a preponderance of the evidence, Professor Sanders analyzes the transcripts of six Bendectin trials to determine why jury verdicts do not comport with the weight of scientific and judicial opinion. Based on his conclusion that trials are incapable of adequately conveying the weight of scientific opinion to a lay jury, he evaluates the ability of various trial reform proposals to ameliorate this problem. Finally he recommends adopting proposals that would facilitate jurors' understanding of scientific evidence and lead to verdicts consistent with the weight of scientific opinion.

  10. The Development of Creative Thinking in Graduate Students Doing Scientific Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Truran, Peter

    2016-01-01

    The teaching of research methodology to graduate science students places an emphasis on scientific reasoning and on the generation and evaluation of evidence in support of research conclusions. Very little attention is paid to the teaching of scientific creativity, the processes for generation of new ideas, hypotheses, and theories. By contrast,…

  11. 42 CFR 426.417 - Contractor's statement regarding new evidence.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... evidence submitted with an amended complaint; (3) New evidence produced during discovery; (4) New evidence produced when the ALJ consults with scientific and clinical experts; and (5) New evidence presented during...

  12. 42 CFR 426.417 - Contractor's statement regarding new evidence.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... evidence submitted with an amended complaint; (3) New evidence produced during discovery; (4) New evidence produced when the ALJ consults with scientific and clinical experts; and (5) New evidence presented during...

  13. [Vaccines: building on scientific excellence and dispelling false myths].

    PubMed

    Signorelli, Carlo

    2015-01-01

    The EU and Italian institutions have recently reiterated their commitment to harmonize and implement vaccination policies as a fundamental strategy for public health. Nonetheless, vaccines are losing public confidence. False myths related to vaccine adverse reactions and commercial interests, combined with the recent judgements of the Court and the "Fluad® episode", are fuelling vaccine hesitancy. In such a context, a lively debate is ongoing in Italian scientific community. Aim of this contribution is to recall the available solid scientific evidence demonstrating that vaccines are among the most effective prevention tools ever invented and recall the economic data that support the cost-effectiveness of the immunisation. As every other medicine, vaccines are registered after large and solid clinical trials have been conducted. Immunization schedules are proposed by experts in the field of clinical medicine, epidemiology and public health on the basis of the available scientific evidence, and then implemented by policy makers also taking into consideration resources allocation and financial sustainability. The false myth that vaccines are offered because of economic interests is to be dispelled;moreover, researchers, policy makers, scientific societies and the healthcare community at large should renew commitment to invest in health education and communication on vaccines, always disclosing potential conflicts of interests.

  14. The BLAZE language: A parallel language for scientific programming

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mehrotra, P.; Vanrosendale, J.

    1985-01-01

    A Pascal-like scientific programming language, Blaze, is described. Blaze contains array arithmetic, forall loops, and APL-style accumulation operators, which allow natural expression of fine grained parallelism. It also employs an applicative or functional procedure invocation mechanism, which makes it easy for compilers to extract coarse grained parallelism using machine specific program restructuring. Thus Blaze should allow one to achieve highly parallel execution on multiprocessor architectures, while still providing the user with onceptually sequential control flow. A central goal in the design of Blaze is portability across a broad range of parallel architectures. The multiple levels of parallelism present in Blaze code, in principle, allow a compiler to extract the types of parallelism appropriate for the given architecture while neglecting the remainder. The features of Blaze are described and shows how this language would be used in typical scientific programming.

  15. The BLAZE language - A parallel language for scientific programming

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mehrotra, Piyush; Van Rosendale, John

    1987-01-01

    A Pascal-like scientific programming language, BLAZE, is described. BLAZE contains array arithmetic, forall loops, and APL-style accumulation operators, which allow natural expression of fine grained parallelism. It also employs an applicative or functional procedure invocation mechanism, which makes it easy for compilers to extract coarse grained parallelism using machine specific program restructuring. Thus BLAZE should allow one to achieve highly parallel execution on multiprocessor architectures, while still providing the user with conceptually sequential control flow. A central goal in the design of BLAZE is portability across a broad range of parallel architectures. The multiple levels of parallelism present in BLAZE code, in principle, allow a compiler to extract the types of parallelism appropriate for the given architecture while neglecting the remainder. The features of BLAZE are described and it is shown how this language would be used in typical scientific programming.

  16. Provider Recommendations in the Face of Scientific Uncertainty: An Analysis of Audio-Recorded Discussions about Vitamin D.

    PubMed

    Tarn, Derjung M; Paterniti, Debora A; Wenger, Neil S

    2016-08-01

    Little is known about how providers communicate recommendations when scientific uncertainty exists. To compare provider recommendations to those in the scientific literature, with a focus on whether uncertainty was communicated. Qualitative (inductive systematic content analysis) and quantitative analysis of previously collected audio-recorded provider-patient office visits. Sixty-one providers and a socio-economically diverse convenience sample of 603 of their patients from outpatient community- and academic-based primary care, integrative medicine, and complementary and alternative medicine provider offices in Southern California. Comparison of provider information-giving about vitamin D to professional guidelines and scientific information for which conflicting recommendations or insufficient scientific evidence exists; certainty with which information was conveyed. Ninety-two (15.3 %) of 603 visit discussions touched upon issues related to vitamin D testing, management and benefits. Vitamin D deficiency screening was discussed with 23 (25 %) patients, the definition of vitamin D deficiency with 21 (22.8 %), the optimal range for vitamin D levels with 26 (28.3 %), vitamin D supplementation dosing with 50 (54.3 %), and benefits of supplementation with 46 (50 %). For each of the professional guidelines/scientific information examined, providers conveyed information that deviated from professional guidelines and the existing scientific evidence. Of 166 statements made about vitamin D in this study, providers conveyed 160 (96.4 %) with certainty, without mention of any equivocal or contradictory evidence in the scientific literature. No uncertainty was mentioned when vitamin D dosing was discussed, even when recommended dosing was higher than guideline recommendations. Providers convey the vast majority of information and recommendations about vitamin D with certainty, even though the scientific literature contains inconsistent recommendations and

  17. Evidence of common and separate eye and hand accumulators underlying flexible eye-hand coordination

    PubMed Central

    Jana, Sumitash; Gopal, Atul

    2016-01-01

    Eye and hand movements are initiated by anatomically separate regions in the brain, and yet these movements can be flexibly coupled and decoupled, depending on the need. The computational architecture that enables this flexible coupling of independent effectors is not understood. Here, we studied the computational architecture that enables flexible eye-hand coordination using a drift diffusion framework, which predicts that the variability of the reaction time (RT) distribution scales with its mean. We show that a common stochastic accumulator to threshold, followed by a noisy effector-dependent delay, explains eye-hand RT distributions and their correlation in a visual search task that required decision-making, while an interactive eye and hand accumulator model did not. In contrast, in an eye-hand dual task, an interactive model better predicted the observed correlations and RT distributions than a common accumulator model. Notably, these two models could only be distinguished on the basis of the variability and not the means of the predicted RT distributions. Additionally, signatures of separate initiation signals were also observed in a small fraction of trials in the visual search task, implying that these distinct computational architectures were not a manifestation of the task design per se. Taken together, our results suggest two unique computational architectures for eye-hand coordination, with task context biasing the brain toward instantiating one of the two architectures. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Previous studies on eye-hand coordination have considered mainly the means of eye and hand reaction time (RT) distributions. Here, we leverage the approximately linear relationship between the mean and standard deviation of RT distributions, as predicted by the drift-diffusion model, to propose the existence of two distinct computational architectures underlying coordinated eye-hand movements. These architectures, for the first time, provide a computational basis for

  18. Importance of scientific resources among local public health practitioners.

    PubMed

    Fields, Robert P; Stamatakis, Katherine A; Duggan, Kathleen; Brownson, Ross C

    2015-04-01

    We examined the perceived importance of scientific resources for decision-making among local health department (LHD) practitioners in the United States. We used data from LHD practitioners (n = 849). Respondents ranked important decision-making resources, methods for learning about public health research, and academic journal use. We calculated descriptive statistics and used logistic regression to measure associations of individual and LHD characteristics with importance of scientific resources. Systematic reviews of scientific literature (24.7%) were most frequently ranked as important among scientific resources, followed by scientific reports (15.9%), general literature review articles (6.5%), and 1 or a few scientific studies (4.8%). Graduate-level education (adjusted odds ratios [AORs] = 1.7-3.5), larger LHD size (AORs = 2.0-3.5), and leadership support (AOR = 1.6; 95% confidence interval = 1.1, 2.3) were associated with a higher ranking of importance of scientific resources. Graduate training, larger LHD size, and leadership that supports a culture of evidence-based decision-making may increase the likelihood of practitioners viewing scientific resources as important. Targeting communication channels that practitioners view as important can also guide research dissemination strategies.

  19. Evidence-based librarianship: an overview.

    PubMed

    Eldredge, J D

    2000-10-01

    To demonstrate how the core characteristics of both evidence-based medicine (EBM) and evidence-based health care (EBHC) can be adapted to health sciences librarianship. Narrative review essay involving development of a conceptual framework. The author describes the central features of EBM and EBHC. Following each description of a central feature, the author then suggests ways that this feature applies to health sciences librarianship. First, the decision-making processes of EBM and EBHC are compatible with health sciences librarianship. Second, the EBM and EBHC values of favoring rigorously produced scientific evidence in decision making are congruent with the core values of librarianship. Third, the hierarchical levels of evidence can be applied to librarianship with some modifications. Library researchers currently favor descriptive-survey and case-study methods over systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, or other higher levels of evidence. The library literature nevertheless contains diverse examples of randomized controlled trials, controlled-comparison studies, and cohort studies conducted by health sciences librarians. Health sciences librarians are confronted with making many practical decisions. Evidence-based librarianship offers a decision-making framework, which integrates the best available research evidence. By employing this framework and the higher levels of research evidence it promotes, health sciences librarians can lay the foundation for more collaborative and scientific endeavors.

  20. Development of Lesson Plans and Student Worksheets Based Socio-Scientific Issues on Pollution Environmental Topic

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rahayu, S.; Meyliana, M.; Arlingga, A.; Reny, R.; Siahaan, P.; Hernani, H.

    2017-09-01

    The aim of this study is to develop lesson plans and student worksheets based socio-scientific issues on pollution environmental topic for seventh-grade junior high school students. Environmental pollution topic split into several subtopics namely air pollution, water pollution and soil pollution. The composing of lesson plans were developed based on socio-scientific issues with five stages, namely (1) Motivate; (2) Challenge; (3) Collect scientific evidence; (4) Analyse the evidence; (5) Build knowledge and make connections; and (6) Use evidence. While student worksheets contain articles on socio-scientific issues, practice, and there are a few questions to determine students’ reasoning. The method that is used in this research is research and development (R & D method). Development model used in this study is a model of Plomp that consists of four stages, namely: (1) Initial Research; (2) Design; (3) Realization or Construction; (4) Testing, evaluation and revision; (5) Implementation, while the research was limited to the fourth stage. Lesson plans and student worksheets based on socio-scientific issues was validated through an expert validation. The result showed that lesson plans and student worksheets based socio-scientific issues on pollution theme have a very decent and be able to apply in science classroom.

  1. Conifer ovulate cones accumulate pollen principally by simple impaction.

    PubMed

    Cresswell, James E; Henning, Kevin; Pennel, Christophe; Lahoubi, Mohamed; Patrick, Michael A; Young, Phillipe G; Tabor, Gavin R

    2007-11-13

    In many pine species (Family Pinaceae), ovulate cones structurally resemble a turbine, which has been widely interpreted as an adaptation for improving pollination by producing complex aerodynamic effects. We tested the turbine interpretation by quantifying patterns of pollen accumulation on ovulate cones in a wind tunnel and by using simulation models based on computational fluid dynamics. We used computer-aided design and computed tomography to create computational fluid dynamics model cones. We studied three species: Pinus radiata, Pinus sylvestris, and Cedrus libani. Irrespective of the approach or species studied, we found no evidence that turbine-like aerodynamics made a significant contribution to pollen accumulation, which instead occurred primarily by simple impaction. Consequently, we suggest alternative adaptive interpretations for the structure of ovulate cones.

  2. Conifer ovulate cones accumulate pollen principally by simple impaction

    PubMed Central

    Cresswell, James E.; Henning, Kevin; Pennel, Christophe; Lahoubi, Mohamed; Patrick, Michael A.; Young, Phillipe G.; Tabor, Gavin R.

    2007-01-01

    In many pine species (Family Pinaceae), ovulate cones structurally resemble a turbine, which has been widely interpreted as an adaptation for improving pollination by producing complex aerodynamic effects. We tested the turbine interpretation by quantifying patterns of pollen accumulation on ovulate cones in a wind tunnel and by using simulation models based on computational fluid dynamics. We used computer-aided design and computed tomography to create computational fluid dynamics model cones. We studied three species: Pinus radiata, Pinus sylvestris, and Cedrus libani. Irrespective of the approach or species studied, we found no evidence that turbine-like aerodynamics made a significant contribution to pollen accumulation, which instead occurred primarily by simple impaction. Consequently, we suggest alternative adaptive interpretations for the structure of ovulate cones. PMID:17986613

  3. Thinking and practice of accelerating transformation of traditional Chinese medicine from experience medicine to evidence-based medicine.

    PubMed

    Liu, Baoyan; Zhang, Yanhong; Hu, Jingqing; He, Liyun; Zhou, Xuezhong

    2011-06-01

    The gradual development of Chinese medicine is based on constant accumulation and summary of experience in clinical practice, but without the benefit of undergoing the experimental medicine stage. Although Chinese medicine has formed a systematic and unique theory system through thousands of years, with the development of evidence-based medicine, the bondage of the research methods of experience medicine to Chinese medicine is appearing. The rapid transition and transformation from experience medicine to evidence-based medicine have become important content in the development of Chinese medicine. According to the features of Chinese medicine, we propose the research idea of "taking two ways simultaneously," which is the study both in the ideal condition and in the real world. Analyzing and constructing the theoretical basis and methodology of clinical research in the real world, and building the stage for research technique is key to the effective clinical research of Chinese medicine. Only by gradually maturing and completing the clinical research methods of the real world could we realize "taking two ways simultaneously" and complementing each other, continuously produce scientific and reliable evidence of Chinese medicine, as well as transform and develop Chinese medicine from experience medicine to evidence-based medicine.

  4. [Genetic Mutation Accumulation and Clinical Outcome of Immune Checkpoint Blockade Therapy].

    PubMed

    Takahashi, Masanobu

    2016-06-01

    Immune checkpoint blockade therapy has recently attracted great attention in the area of oncology. In Japan, since 2014, an anti-PD-1 antibody nivolumab and anti-CTLA-4 antibody ipilimumab have been available for the treatment of patients with malignant melanoma, and nivolumab has been available for patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Clinical trials using these drugs and other immune checkpoint inhibitors are currently in progress worldwide. The immune checkpoint blockade therapy is a promising new cancer therapy; however, not all patients with cancer can benefit from this therapy. Recent evidence shows that markers reflecting the extent of genetic mutation accumulation, including mutation burden, non-synonymous mutation that produces neoantigen, and microsatellite instability, possibly serve as promising marker to predict who can benefit from the immune checkpoint blockade therapy. Here, I introduce the recent evidence and discuss the correlation between genetic mutation accumulation and clinical outcome of immune checkpoint blockade therapy.

  5. Cancer research in need of a scientific revolution: Using 'paradigm shift' as a method of investigation.

    PubMed

    Wion, Didier; Appaix, Florence; Burruss, Meriwether; Berger, Francois; van der Sanden, Boudewijn

    2015-09-01

    Despite important human and financial resources and considerable accumulation of scientific publications, patents, and clinical trials, cancer research has been slow in achieving a therapeutic revolution similar to the one that occurred in the last century for infectious diseases. It has been proposed that science proceeds not only by accumulating data but also through paradigm shifts. Here, we propose to use the concept of 'paradigm shift' as a method of investigation when dominant paradigms fail to achieve their promises. The first step in using the 'paradigm shift' method in cancer research requires identifying its founding paradigms. In this review, two of these founding paradigms will be discussed: (i) the reification of cancer as a tumour mass and (ii) the translation of the concepts issued from infectious disease in cancer research. We show how these founding paradigms can generate biases that lead to over-diagnosis and over-treatment and also hamper the development of curative cancer therapies. We apply the 'paradigm shift' method to produce perspective reversals consistent with current experimental evidence. The 'paradigm shift' method enlightens the existence of a tumour physiologic-prophylactic-pathologic continuum. It integrates the target/antitarget concept and that cancer is also an extracellular disease. The 'paradigm shift' method has immediate implications for cancer prevention and therapy. It could be a general method of investigation for other diseases awaiting therapy.

  6. The Physics of Decision Making:. Stochastic Differential Equations as Models for Neural Dynamics and Evidence Accumulation in Cortical Circuits

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Holmes, Philip; Eckhoff, Philip; Wong-Lin, K. F.; Bogacz, Rafal; Zacksenhouse, Miriam; Cohen, Jonathan D.

    2010-03-01

    We describe how drift-diffusion (DD) processes - systems familiar in physics - can be used to model evidence accumulation and decision-making in two-alternative, forced choice tasks. We sketch the derivation of these stochastic differential equations from biophysically-detailed models of spiking neurons. DD processes are also continuum limits of the sequential probability ratio test and are therefore optimal in the sense that they deliver decisions of specified accuracy in the shortest possible time. This leaves open the critical balance of accuracy and speed. Using the DD model, we derive a speed-accuracy tradeoff that optimizes reward rate for a simple perceptual decision task, compare human performance with this benchmark, and discuss possible reasons for prevalent sub-optimality, focussing on the question of uncertain estimates of key parameters. We present an alternative theory of robust decisions that allows for uncertainty, and show that its predictions provide better fits to experimental data than a more prevalent account that emphasises a commitment to accuracy. The article illustrates how mathematical models can illuminate the neural basis of cognitive processes.

  7. Understanding the Diffusion of Non-Evidence-Based Health Interventions: The Role of Experiential Evidence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Evans, Rhiannon; Murphy, Simon; Scourfield, Jonathan; Turley, Ruth

    2017-01-01

    Objective: The utilisation of evidence-based health interventions remains a challenge in educational settings. Although driving forward the scientific evidence-base may contribute to the diffusion of such approaches, abstract notions of population-level impact may not be seen as priorities in local. This paper considers the alternative forms of…

  8. Scientific Investigations of Elementary School Children

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Valanides, Nicos; Papageorgiou, Maria; Angeli, Charoula

    2014-02-01

    The study provides evidence concerning elementary school children's ability to conduct a scientific investigation. Two hundred and fifty sixth-grade students and 248 fourth-grade students were administered a test, and based on their performance, they were classified into high-ability and low-ability students. The sample of this study was randomly selected and included 80 students, 40 fourth-grade and 40 sixth-grade students of low and high abilities. Students were specifically instructed to investigate the functioning of a device, to think aloud prior and after any experiment with the device, and to keep a record of their experimental results. The results showed that students were inclined to mainly collect evidence from the experimental space and failed to control variables during their investigation. The majority of the students had difficulties with effectively organizing collected data and failed to coordinate hypotheses with evidence. The significant interaction effect that was found between grade level and ability in terms of students' investigation ability indicates that the existing gap between high- and low-ability students becomes bigger as students become older. Undoubtedly, ongoing research efforts for identifying patterns of children's cognitive development will be most valuable as they can have important implications for the design of teaching scenarios and inquiry-based science activities conducive to accelerating students' cognitive growth and scientific investigation abilities.

  9. Emphasizing history in communicating scientific debates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sherwood, S. C.

    2010-12-01

    Communication to the public of the reality of anthropogenic climate change has been less successful than many expect. The scientists themselves, the media, special interest groups, or the complexity of modern society are often blamed. However a look at past scientific paradigm shifts, in particular the Copernican revolution and the discovery of relativity, shows close parallels with the modern situation. Common aspects include the gradual formation of a scientific consensus in advance of the public; a politically partisan backlash against the new theory that, paradoxically, occurs after the arrival of conclusive supporting evidence; the prevalence of convincing but invalid pseudo-scientific counterarguments; the general failure of "debates" to increase public acceptance of the scientists' position; and, in the case of the heliocentric solar system, a very long time scale to final public acceptance (> 100 years). Greater emphasis on the lessons from such historical parallels, and on the success so far of consensus predictions of global warming made up to and including the first IPCC report in 1990, might be one useful way of enhancing the public's trust in science and scientists and thereby accelerate acceptance of uncomfortable scientific findings.

  10. Ports Primer: 8.1 Using Scientific Data and Research

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Communities can demonstrate environmental concerns by providing scientific evidence of environmental impact. Communities may be able to access existing local data and conduct their own analyses or communities may turn to existing studies.

  11. The profile of high school students’ scientific literacy on fluid dynamics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Parno; Yuliati, L.; Munfaridah, N.

    2018-05-01

    This study aims to describe the profile of scientific literacy of high school students on Fluid Dynamics materials. Scientific literacy is one of the ability to solve daily problems in accordance with the context of materials related to science and technology. The study was conducted on 90 high school students in Sumbawa using survey design. Data were collected using an instrument of scientific literacy for high school students on dynamic fluid materials. Data analysis was conducted descriptively to determine the students’ profile of scientific literacy. The results showed that high school students’ scientific literacy on Fluid Dynamics materials was in the low category. The highest average is obtained on indicators of scientific literacy i.e. the ability to interpret data and scientific evidence. The ability of scientific literacy is related to the mastery of concepts and learning experienced by students, therefore it is necessary to use learning that can trace this ability such as Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

  12. The contamination of scientific literature: looking for an antidote

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liotta, Marcello

    2017-04-01

    Science may have very strong implications for society. The knowledge of the processes occurring around the society represents a good opportunity to take responsible decisions. This is particularly true in the field of geosciences. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, climate changes and many other natural phenomena still need to be further investigated. The role of the scientific community is to increase the knowledge. Each member can share his own ideas and data thus allowing the entire scientific community to receive a precious contribution. The latter one often derives from research activities, which are expensive in terms of consumed time and resources. Nowadays the sharing of scientific results occurs through the publication on scientific journals. The reading of available scientific literature thus represents a unique opportunity to define the state of the art on a specific topic and to address research activities towards something new. When published results are obtained through a rigorous scientific process, they constitute a solid background where each member can add his ideas and evidences. Differently, published results may be affected by scientific misconduct; they constitute a labyrinth where the scientists lose their time in the attempt of truly understanding the natural processes. The normal scientific dialectic should unmask such results, thus avoiding literature contamination and making the scientific framework more stimulating. The scientific community should look for the best practice to reduce the risk of literature contamination.

  13. Is there any scientific evidence for the use of glucosamine in the management of human osteoarthritis?

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Glucosamine in its acetylated form is a natural constituent of some glycosaminoglycans (for example, hyaluronic acid and keratan sulfate) in the proteoglycans found in articular cartilage, intervertebral disc and synovial fluid. Glucosamine can be extracted and stabilized by chemical modification and used as a drug or a nutraceutical. It has been approved for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) in Europe to promote cartilage and joint health and is sold over the counter as a dietary supplement in the United States. Various formulations of glucosamine have been tested, including glucosamine sulfate and glucosamine hydrochloride. In vitro and in vivo studies have uncovered glucosamine's mechanisms of action on articular tissues (cartilage, synovial membrane and subchondral bone) and justified its efficacy by demonstrating structure-modifying and anti-inflammatory effects at high concentrations. However, results from clinical trials have raised many concerns. Pharmacokinetic studies have shown that glucosamine is easily absorbed, but the current treatment doses (for example, 1,500 mg/day) barely reach the required therapeutic concentration in plasma and tissue. The symptomatic effect size of glucosamine varies greatly depending on the formulation used and the quality of clinical trials. Importantly, the effect size reduces when evidence is accumulated chronologically and evidence for the structure-modifying effects of glucosamine are sparse. Hence, glucosamine was at first recommended by EULAR and OARSI for the management of knee pain and structure improvement in OA patients, but not in the most recent NICE guidelines. Consequently, the published recommendations for the management of OA require revision. Glucosamine is generally safe and although there are concerns about potential allergic and salt-related side effects of some formulations, no major adverse events have been reported so far. This paper examines all the in vitro and in vivo evidence for the mechanism

  14. Is there any scientific evidence for the use of glucosamine in the management of human osteoarthritis?

    PubMed

    Henrotin, Yves; Mobasheri, Ali; Marty, Marc

    2012-01-30

    Glucosamine in its acetylated form is a natural constituent of some glycosaminoglycans (for example, hyaluronic acid and keratan sulfate) in the proteoglycans found in articular cartilage, intervertebral disc and synovial fluid. Glucosamine can be extracted and stabilized by chemical modification and used as a drug or a nutraceutical. It has been approved for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) in Europe to promote cartilage and joint health and is sold over the counter as a dietary supplement in the United States. Various formulations of glucosamine have been tested, including glucosamine sulfate and glucosamine hydrochloride. In vitro and in vivo studies have uncovered glucosamine's mechanisms of action on articular tissues (cartilage, synovial membrane and subchondral bone) and justified its efficacy by demonstrating structure-modifying and anti-inflammatory effects at high concentrations. However, results from clinical trials have raised many concerns. Pharmacokinetic studies have shown that glucosamine is easily absorbed, but the current treatment doses (for example, 1,500 mg/day) barely reach the required therapeutic concentration in plasma and tissue. The symptomatic effect size of glucosamine varies greatly depending on the formulation used and the quality of clinical trials. Importantly, the effect size reduces when evidence is accumulated chronologically and evidence for the structure-modifying effects of glucosamine are sparse. Hence, glucosamine was at first recommended by EULAR and OARSI for the management of knee pain and structure improvement in OA patients, but not in the most recent NICE guidelines. Consequently, the published recommendations for the management of OA require revision. Glucosamine is generally safe and although there are concerns about potential allergic and salt-related side effects of some formulations, no major adverse events have been reported so far. This paper examines all the in vitro and in vivo evidence for the mechanism

  15. Maximum likelihood decoding analysis of Accumulate-Repeat-Accumulate Codes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Abbasfar, Aliazam; Divsalar, Dariush; Yao, Kung

    2004-01-01

    Repeat-Accumulate (RA) codes are the simplest turbo-like codes that achieve good performance. However, they cannot compete with Turbo codes or low-density parity check codes (LDPC) as far as performance is concerned. The Accumulate Repeat Accumulate (ARA) codes, as a subclass of LDPC codes, are obtained by adding a pre-coder in front of RA codes with puncturing where an accumulator is chosen as a precoder. These codes not only are very simple, but also achieve excellent performance with iterative decoding. In this paper, the performance of these codes with (ML) decoding are analyzed and compared to random codes by very tight bounds. The weight distribution of some simple ARA codes is obtained, and through existing tightest bounds we have shown the ML SNR threshold of ARA codes approaches very closely to the performance of random codes. We have shown that the use of precoder improves the SNR threshold but interleaving gain remains unchanged with respect to RA code with puncturing.

  16. Characterizing Adversity of Lysosomal Accumulation in Nonclinical Toxicity Studies: Results from the 5th ESTP International Expert Workshop.

    PubMed

    Lenz, B; Braendli-Baiocco, A; Engelhardt, J; Fant, P; Fischer, H; Francke, S; Fukuda, R; Gröters, S; Harada, T; Harleman, H; Kaufmann, W; Kustermann, S; Nolte, T; Palazzi, X; Pohlmeyer-Esch, G; Popp, A; Romeike, A; Schulte, A; Lima, B Silva; Tomlinson, L; Willard, J; Wood, C E; Yoshida, M

    2018-02-01

    Lysosomes have a central role in cellular catabolism, trafficking, and processing of foreign particles. Accumulation of endogenous and exogenous materials in lysosomes represents a common finding in nonclinical toxicity studies. Histologically, these accumulations often lack distinctive features indicative of lysosomal or cellular dysfunction, making it difficult to consistently interpret and assign adverse dose levels. To help address this issue, the European Society of Toxicologic Pathology organized a workshop where representative types of lysosomal accumulation induced by pharmaceuticals and environmental chemicals were presented and discussed. The expert working group agreed that the diversity of lysosomal accumulations requires a case-by-case weight-of-evidence approach and outlined several factors to consider in the adversity assessment, including location and type of cell affected, lysosomal contents, severity of the accumulation, and related pathological effects as evidence of cellular or organ dysfunction. Lysosomal accumulations associated with cytotoxicity, inflammation, or fibrosis were generally considered to be adverse, while those found in isolation (without morphologic or functional consequences) were not. Workshop examples highlighted the importance of thoroughly characterizing the biological context of lysosomal effects, including mechanistic data and functional in vitro readouts if available. The information provided here should facilitate greater consistency and transparency in the interpretation of lysosomal effects.

  17. 5 CFR 630.301 - Annual leave accrual and accumulation-Senior Executive Service, Senior-Level, and Scientific and...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ...-Senior Executive Service, Senior-Level, and Scientific and Professional Employees. 630.301 Section 630... LEAVE Annual Leave § 630.301 Annual leave accrual and accumulation—Senior Executive Service, Senior... the full pay period, and who— (1) Holds a position in the Senior Executive Service (SES) which is...

  18. Elaboration and formalization of current scientific knowledge of risks and preventive measures illustrated by colorectal cancer.

    PubMed

    Giorgi, R; Gouvernet, J; Dufour, J; Degoulet, P; Laugier, R; Quilichini, F; Fieschi, M

    2001-01-01

    Present the method used to elaborate and formalize current scientific knowledge to provide physicians with tools available on the Internet, that enable them to evaluate individual patient risk, give personalized preventive recommendations or early screening measures. The approach suggested in this article is in line with medical procedures based on levels of evidence (Evidence-based Medicine). A cyclical process for developing recommendations allows us to quickly incorporate current scientific information. At each phase, the analysis is reevaluated by experts in the field collaborating on the project. The information is formalized through the use of levels of evidence and grades of recommendations. GLIF model is used to implement recommendations for clinical practice guidelines. The most current scientific evidence incorporated in a cyclical process includes several steps: critical analysis according to the Evidence-based Medicine method; identification of predictive factors; setting-up risk levels; identification of prevention measures; elaboration of personalized recommendation. The information technology implementation of the clinical practice guideline enables physicians to quickly obtain personalized information for their patients. Cases of colorectal prevention illustrate our approach. Integration of current scientific knowledge is an important process. The delay between the moment new information arrives and the moment the practitioner applies it, is thus reduced.

  19. Scientific Habits of Mind in Virtual Worlds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Steinkuehler, Constance; Duncan, Sean

    2008-12-01

    In today's increasingly "flat" world of globalization (Friedman 2005), the need for a scientifically literate citizenry has grown more urgent. Yet, by some measures, we have done a poor job at fostering scientific habits of mind in schools. Recent research on informal games-based learning indicates that such technologies and the communities they evoke may be one viable alternative—not as a substitute for teachers and classrooms, but as an alternative to textbooks and science labs. This paper presents empirical evidence about the potential of games for fostering scientific habits of mind. In particular, we examine the scientific habits of mind and dispositions that characterize online discussion forums of the massively multiplayer online game World of Warcraft. Eighty-six percent of the forum discussions were posts engaged in "social knowledge construction" rather than social banter. Over half of the posts evidenced systems based reasoning, one in ten evidenced model-based reasoning, and 65% displayed an evaluative epistemology in which knowledge is treated as an open-ended process of evaluation and argument.

  20. 42 CFR 426.417 - Contractor's statement regarding new evidence.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... complaint; (2) New evidence submitted with an amended complaint; (3) New evidence produced during discovery; (4) New evidence produced when the ALJ consults with scientific and clinical experts; and (5) New...

  1. 42 CFR 426.417 - Contractor's statement regarding new evidence.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... complaint; (2) New evidence submitted with an amended complaint; (3) New evidence produced during discovery; (4) New evidence produced when the ALJ consults with scientific and clinical experts; and (5) New...

  2. 42 CFR 426.417 - Contractor's statement regarding new evidence.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... complaint; (2) New evidence submitted with an amended complaint; (3) New evidence produced during discovery; (4) New evidence produced when the ALJ consults with scientific and clinical experts; and (5) New...

  3. [New Scientific Evidence-based Public Health Guidelines and Practical Manual for Prevention of Sick House Syndrome].

    PubMed

    Kishi, Reiko; Yoshino, Hiroshi; Araki, Atsuko; Saijo, Yasuaki; Azuma, Kenichi; Kawai, Toshio; Yamato, Hiroshi; Osawa, Haruki; Shibata, Eiji; Tanaka, Masatoshi; Masuchi, Ayumi; Minatoya, Machiko; Ait Bamai, Yu

    2018-01-01

    Recently, we have published a book containing evidence-based public health guidelines and a practical manual for the prevention of sick house syndrome. The manual is available through the homepage of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (http://www.mhlw.go.jp/file/06-Seisakujouhou-11130500-Shokuhinanzenbu/0000155147.pdf). It is an almost completely revised version of the 2009 version. The coauthors are 13 specialists in environmental epidemiology, exposure sciences, architecture, and risk communication. Since the 1970s, health problems caused by indoor chemicals, biological pollution, poor temperature control, humidity, and others in office buildings have been recognized as sick building syndrome (SBS) in Western countries, but in Japan it was not until the 1990s that people living in new or renovated homes started to describe a variety of nonspecific subjective symptoms such as eye, nose, and throat irritation, headache, and general fatigue. These symptoms resembled SBS and were designated "sick house syndrome (SHS)." To determine the strategy for prevention of SHS, we conducted a nationwide epidemiological study in six cities from 2003-2013 by randomly sampling 5,709 newly built houses. As a result 1,479 residents in 425 households agreed to environmental monitoring for indoor aldehydes and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). After adjustment for possible risk factors, some VOCs and formaldehyde were dose-dependently shown to be significant risk factors. We also studied the dampness of the houses, fungi, allergies, and others. This book is fully based on the scientific evidence collected through these studies and other newly obtained information, especially from the aspect of architectural engineering. In addition to SHS, we included chapters on recent information about "multi-chemical sensitivity."

  4. Teaching ASTRO 101 Students the Art of Scientific Argumentation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schleigh, Sharon P.; Slater, Stephanie; Slater, Timothy F.

    2016-01-01

    Going beyond asking students to simply memorize facts about the universe, a longstanding challenge in teaching astronomy centers on successfully teaching students about the nature of science. As introductory astronomy survey courses, known widely as ASTRO 101, can sometimes be the last science course non-science majoring undergraduates take, many faculty hope to emphasize the scientific enterprise as a broad field in inquiry making valuable contributions to civilization as a whole, rather than as an isolated study of objects far from Earth. Scholars have long proposed that an understanding of the nature of science as a human endeavor requires explicit instruction. In other words, students successfully learning the facts of astronomy does not in any way ensure that students will learn anything about the nature of how astronomy is done. In a purposeful effort to improve students' understanding about the practices and discourse of astronomy, scholars working with the CAPER Center for Astronomy & Physics Education research are developing a suite of carefully designed instructional sequences—called Scientific Argumentation—focused on teaching students the differences between data and evidence, how to communicate and defend evidence-based conclusions, and how to be informed skeptics of scientific claims. Early results show students moving from naïve understandings of scientific practices to more informed understandings as well as demonstrating enhanced value for science in general as an worthwhile human endeavor with far reaching benefits.

  5. The development of scientific reasoning in medical education: a psychological perspective.

    PubMed

    Barz, Daniela Luminita; Achimaş-Cadariu, Andrei

    2016-01-01

    Scientific reasoning has been studied from a variety of theoretical perspectives, which have tried to identify the underlying mechanisms responsible for the development of this particular cognitive process. Scientific reasoning has been defined as a problem-solving process that involves critical thinking in relation to content, procedural, and epistemic knowledge. The development of scientific reasoning in medical education was influenced by current paradigmatic trends, it could be traced along educational curriculum and followed cognitive processes. The purpose of the present review is to discuss the role of scientific reasoning in medical education and outline educational methods for its development. Current evidence suggests that medical education should foster a new ways of development of scientific reasoning, which include exploration of the complexity of scientific inquiry, and also take into consideration the heterogeneity of clinical cases found in practice.

  6. Local accumulation times for spatial difference in morphogen concentration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wen, Xiaoqing; Yin, Hongwei

    During development of multicellular organisms, spatial patterns of cells and tissue organizations rely on the action of morphogens, which are signaling molecules and act as dose-dependent regulators of gene expression and cellular differentiation. Since some experimental evidences have indicated that the spatial difference in morphogen concentration regulates cellular proliferation rather than this concentration profile in developing tissues, we propose spatially discrete models to describe this difference for a synthesis-diffusion-degradation process of morphogen in infinite and finite development fields, respectively. For both of models, we respectively derive analytical expressions of local accumulation times, which are required to form the steady state of the spatial difference in morphogen concentration. Our results show that the local accumulation times for the spatial difference in morphogen concentrations are different from the ones for morphogen concentration profiles.

  7. Evidence-based librarianship: an overview

    PubMed Central

    Eldredge, Jonathan D.

    2000-01-01

    Objective: To demonstrate how the core characteristics of both evidence-based medicine (EBM) and evidence-based health care (EBHC) can be adapted to health sciences librarianship. Method: Narrative review essay involving development of a conceptual framework. The author describes the central features of EBM and EBHC. Following each description of a central feature, the author then suggests ways that this feature applies to health sciences librarianship. Results: First, the decision-making processes of EBM and EBHC are compatible with health sciences librarianship. Second, the EBM and EBHC values of favoring rigorously produced scientific evidence in decision making are congruent with the core values of librarianship. Third, the hierarchical levels of evidence can be applied to librarianship with some modifications. Library researchers currently favor descriptive-survey and case-study methods over systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, or other higher levels of evidence. The library literature nevertheless contains diverse examples of randomized controlled trials, controlled-comparison studies, and cohort studies conducted by health sciences librarians. Conclusions: Health sciences librarians are confronted with making many practical decisions. Evidence-based librarianship offers a decision-making framework, which integrates the best available research evidence. By employing this framework and the higher levels of research evidence it promotes, health sciences librarians can lay the foundation for more collaborative and scientific endeavors. PMID:11055296

  8. [Upon scientific accuracy scheme at clinical specialties].

    PubMed

    Ortega Calvo, M

    2006-11-01

    Will be medical specialties like sciences in the future? Yes, progressively they will. Accuracy in clinical specialties will be dissimilar in the future because formal-logic mathematics, quantum physics advances and relativity theory utilities. Evidence based medicine is now helping to clinical specialties on scientific accuracy by the way of decision theory.

  9. Scientific Visualization: A Synthesis of Historical Data.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Polland, Mark

    Visualization is the process by which one is able to create and sustain mental images for observation, analysis, and experimentation. This study consists of a compilation of evidence from historical examples that were collected in order to document the importance and the uses of visualization within the realm of scientific investigation.…

  10. Expert Opinion Is Necessary: Delphi Panel Methodology Facilitates a Scientific Approach to Consensus.

    PubMed

    Hohmann, Erik; Brand, Jefferson C; Rossi, Michael J; Lubowitz, James H

    2018-02-01

    Our current trend and focus on evidence-based medicine is biased in favor of randomized controlled trials, which are ranked highest in the hierarchy of evidence while devaluing expert opinion, which is ranked lowest in the hierarchy. However, randomized controlled trials have weaknesses as well as strengths, and no research method is flawless. Moreover, stringent application of scientific research techniques, such as the Delphi Panel methodology, allows survey of experts in a high quality and scientific manner. Level V evidence (expert opinion) remains a necessary component in the armamentarium used to determine the answer to a clinical question. Copyright © 2017 Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Scientific evidence and research in antimicrobial stewardship.

    PubMed

    Almirante, Benito; Garnacho-Montero, José; Pachón, Jerónimo; Pascual, Álvaro; Rodríguez-Baño, Jesús

    2013-09-01

    Evaluating the impact of antibiotic stewardship programs is challenging. There is evidence that they are effective in terms of reducing the consumption and cost of antibiotics, although establishing their impact on antimicrobial resistance (beyond restrictive policies in outbreaks caused by specific antimicrobial resistant organisms) and clinical outcomes is more difficult. Proper definitions of exposure and outcome variables, the use of advanced and appropriate statistical analyses and well-designed quasi-experimental studies would more accurately support the conclusions. Cluster randomized trials should be used whenever possible and appropriate, although the limitations of this approach should also be acknowledged. These issues are reviewed in this paper. We conclude that there are good research opportunities in the field of antibiotic stewardship. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

  12. A Model for Evidence Accumulation in the Lexical Decision Task

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wagenmakers, Eric-Jan; Steyvers, Mark; Raaijmakers, Jeroen G. W.; Shiffrin, Richard M.; van Rijn, Hedderik; Zeelenberg, Rene

    2004-01-01

    We present a new model for lexical decision, REM-LD, that is based on REM theory (e.g., Shiffrin & Steyvers, 1997). REM-LD uses a principled (i.e., Bayes' rule) decision process that simultaneously considers the diagnosticity of the evidence for the 'WORD' response and the 'NONWORD' response. The model calculates the odds ratio that the presented…

  13. Limitations on scientific prediction and how they could affect repository licensing

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Van Konynenburg, R.A.

    The best possibility for gaining an understanding of the likely future behavior of a high level nuclear waste disposal system is to use the scientific method. However, the scientific approach has inherent limitations when it comes to making long-term predictions with confidence. This paper examines some of these limiting factors as well as the criteria for admissibility of scientific evidence in the legal arena, and concludes that the prospects are doubtful for successful licensing of a potential repository under the regulations that are now being reconsidered. Suggestions am made for remedying this situation.

  14. Etiologic factors of chronic constipation: review of the scientific evidence.

    PubMed

    Leung, Felix W

    2007-02-01

    Geriatric patient educational material and a general practice review suggest insufficient dietary fiber intake, inadequate fluid intake, decrease physical activity, side effects of drugs, hypothyroidism, sex hormones and colorectal cancer obstruction may play a role in the pathogenesis of constipation. A search of recent literature, however, reveals that there is a paucity of evidence-based publications that address the etiologic factors of chronic constipation. Much of current writings on the subject may be based primarily on myths handed down from one generation to the next. In the absence of well-designed studies, there do not appear to be sufficient evidence-based information to implicate the above as major etiologic factors in the development of chronic constipation. The etiological role of each of these factors in the development of chronic constipation deserves to be assessed by modern techniques and methodologies. Funding agencies including the government and industry sponsors should support the development of evidence-based data sets. The understanding of the etiology of chronic constipation is the foundation on which cost-effective management strategies are to be built.

  15. [Investigation methodology and application on scientific and technological personnel of traditional Chinese medical resources based on data from Chinese scientific research paper].

    PubMed

    Li, Hai-yan; Li, Yuan-hai; Yang, Yang; Liu, Fang-zhou; Wang, Jing; Tian, Ye; Yang, Ce; Liu, Yang; Li, Meng; Sun Li-ying

    2015-12-01

    The aim of this study is to identify the present status of the scientific and technological personnel in the field of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) resource science. Based on the data from Chinese scientific research paper, an investigation regarding the number of the personnel, the distribution, their output of paper, their scientific research teams, high-yield authors and high-cited authors was conducted. The study covers seven subfields of traditional Chinese medicine identification, quality standard, Chinese medicine cultivation, harvest processing of TCM, market development and resource protection and resource management, as well as 82 widely used Chinese medicine species, such as Ginseng and Radix Astragali. One hundred and fifteen domain authority experts were selected based on the data of high-yield authors and high-cited authors. The database system platform "Skilled Scientific and Technological Personnel in the field of Traditional Chinese Medicine Resource Science-Chinese papers" was established. This platform successfully provided the retrieval result of the personnel, output of paper, and their core research team by input the study field, year, and Chinese medicine species. The investigation provides basic data of scientific and technological personnel in the field of traditional Chinese medicine resource science for administrative agencies and also evidence for the selection of scientific and technological personnel and construction of scientific research teams.

  16. What Is (Or Should Be) Scientific Evidence Use in K-12 Classrooms?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McNeill, Katherine L.; Berland, Leema

    2017-01-01

    Research and reform efforts frequently identify evidence as an essential component of science classroom instruction to actively engage students in science practices. Despite this agreement on the primacy of evidence, there is a lack of consensus around what counts as "evidence" in k-12 classrooms (e.g., ages 5-18): scholarship and…

  17. Streptococcus mutans Adherence: Presumptive Evidence for Protein-Mediated Attachment Followed by Glucan-Dependent Cellular Accumulation

    PubMed Central

    Staat, Robert H.; Langley, Sharon D.; Doyle, R. J.

    1980-01-01

    Adherence of Streptococcus mutans to smooth surfaces has been attributed to the production of sucrose-derived d-glucans. However, several studies indicate that the bacterium will adhere in the absence of sucrose. The present data confirmed that S. mutans adherence to saliva-coated hydroxyapatite beads in the absence of sucrose is described by the Langmuir equation. The nature of the sucrose-independent adherence was studied with the Persea americana agglutinin as a selective adherence inhibitor. Pretreatment of the bacterium with P. americana agglutinin caused a 10-fold reduction in adherence, and the inhibition was not reversed with the addition of sucrose. Pretreatment of S. mutans with proteases also reduced adherence, regardless of the sucrose content, whereas periodate oxidation and glucanohydrolase treatment of the bacteria reduced sucrose-mediated adherence to the levels found for sucrose-independent adherence. The P. americana agglutinin, glucanohydrolase, and pepsin pretreatment of the cells did not eliminate sucrose-induced agglutination. Scanning electron microscopy showed that short streptococcal chains were bound to saliva-coated hydroxyapatite crystals in the sucrose-independent system, whereas the presence of sucrose caused larger bacterial clumps to be found. A two-reaction model of S. mutans adherence was developed from these data. It is proposed that one reaction is attachment to the tooth pellicle which is mediated by cell-surface proteins rather than glucans or teichoic acids. The other reaction is cellular accumulation mediated by sucrose-derived d-glucans and cell surface lectins. A series of sequential adherence experiments with P. americana agglutinin as a selective inhibitor provided presumptive evidence for the validity of our model of S. mutans adherence. Images Fig. 1 PMID:7380545

  18. Analytical evidence of heterogeneous lead accumulation in the hypothalamic defence area and nucleus tractus solitarius.

    PubMed

    Guimarães, D; Santos, J P; Carvalho, M L; Diniz, M S; House, B; Miller, V M

    2014-09-01

    Lead is a potent toxicant associated with adverse cardiovascular effects and hypertension in children. Yet, few studies have determined if autonomic dysfunction associated with lead exposure involves brain regions which regulate autonomic responses. Central autonomic nuclei such as the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) and hypothalamic defence area (HDA) may be particularly sensitive to lead infiltration because they are adjacent to ventricles and areas with semi-permeable blood-brain-barriers. To understand if autonomic nuclei are sensitive to lead accumulation Wistar rats were exposed to lead from the gestational period and lead levels were quantified in brain regions that regulate arterial pressure: the NTS and the HDA. Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) was used to quantify total brain lead levels and revealed no differences between exposed and control tissues; measured values were close to the detection limit (2μg/g). Electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) was also used, which has a greater sensitivity, to quantify lead. There was ∼2.1μg/g lead in the NTS and ∼3.1μg/g lead in the HDA of exposed rats, and no lead in the control rats. There were greater lead levels in the HDA (∼50%) as compared with the NTS. Pathology studies revealed more prominent lead granules in the HDA as compared with the NTS. Increased microglia and astrocyte activation was also noted in the NTS of lead exposed rats as compared with the HDA. Regional differences in neuro-inflammatory responses likely contribute to heterogeneous lead accumulation, with enhanced clearance of lead in the NTS. Future studies will resolve the mechanisms underpinning tissue-specific lead accumulation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Regional Greenland accumulation variability from Operation IceBridge airborne accumulation radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lewis, Gabriel; Osterberg, Erich; Hawley, Robert; Whitmore, Brian; Marshall, Hans Peter; Box, Jason

    2017-03-01

    The mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) in a warming climate is of critical interest to scientists and the general public in the context of future sea-level rise. An improved understanding of temporal and spatial variability of snow accumulation will reduce uncertainties in GrIS mass balance models and improve projections of Greenland's contribution to sea-level rise, currently estimated at 0.089 ± 0.03 m by 2100. Here we analyze 25 NASA Operation IceBridge accumulation radar flights totaling > 17 700 km from 2013 to 2014 to determine snow accumulation in the GrIS dry snow and percolation zones over the past 100-300 years. IceBridge accumulation rates are calculated and used to validate accumulation rates from three regional climate models. Averaged over all 25 flights, the RMS difference between the models and IceBridge accumulation is between 0.023 ± 0.019 and 0.043 ± 0.029 m w.e. a-1, although each model shows significantly larger differences from IceBridge accumulation on a regional basis. In the southeast region, for example, the Modèle Atmosphérique Régional (MARv3.5.2) overestimates by an average of 20.89 ± 6.75 % across the drainage basin. Our results indicate that these regional differences between model and IceBridge accumulation are large enough to significantly alter GrIS surface mass balance estimates. Empirical orthogonal function analysis suggests that the first two principal components account for 33 and 19 % of the variance, and correlate with the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and wintertime North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), respectively. Regions that disagree strongest with climate models are those in which we have the fewest IceBridge data points, requiring additional in situ measurements to verify model uncertainties.

  20. The influence of large wood accumulations on riparian seed bank diversity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Osei, N. A.

    2012-04-01

    Little is known about the structure and complexity of seed bank within the riparian corridor and the how large wood accumulations contribute to riparian seed bank diversity. This study aimed to examine and quantify seed bank assemblage and diversity along the undisturbed riparian corridor of the Highland Water, a second order lowland stream draining the New Forest. Seed bank samples were collected from five riparian corridor microhabitats namely mid-channel bars, floodplains, bare banks, banks adjacent large wood accumulations and within large wood accumulations that differed in their hydrologic connectivity with the river. Descriptive statistics and ordination methods applied to the floristic and sediment data sets indicates that sediment organic matter content, species richness and proportions of functional types distinctly differed among the riparian microhabitats types but there was no difference in viable seed densities. Banks adjacent large wood accumulations were the most floristically diverse and rich in organic matter with mid-channel bars exhibiting the reverse. This was due to the ability of large wood accumulations to buffer varying magnitudes of physical gradients and sort seeds and sediments, therefore altering the character of bare banks. This study not only strengthen the evidence that riparian corridors exhibit elevated spatial sediment and vegetation heterogeneity but also demonstrates the importance of large wood accumulation as habitat modifiers, ecosystem engineers and conservation sink for moisture, organic matter and seeds, resources essential for riparian vegetation conservation, recovery and restoration efforts.

  1. Accumulation of polyubiquitylated proteins in response to Ala-Ala-Phe-chloromethylketone is independent of the inhibition of Tripeptidyl peptidase II.

    PubMed

    Villasevil, Eugenia M; Guil, Sara; López-Ferreras, Lorena; Sánchez, Carlos; Del Val, Margarita; Antón, Luis C

    2010-09-01

    In the present study we have addressed the issue of proteasome independent cytosolic protein degradation. Tripeptidyl peptidase II (TPPII) has been suggested to compensate for a reduced proteasome activity, partly based on evidence using the inhibitor Ala-Ala-Phe-chloromethylketone (AAF-cmk). Here we show that AAF-cmk induces the formation of polyubiquitin-containing accumulations in osteosarcoma and Burkitt's lymphoma cell lines. These accumulations meet many of the landmarks of the aggresomes that form after proteasome inhibition. Using a combination of experiments with chemical inhibitors and interference of gene expression, we show that TPPII inhibition is not responsible for these accumulations. Our evidence suggests that the relevant target(s) is/are in the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, most likely upstream the proteasome. We obtained evidence supporting this model by inhibition of Hsp90, which also acts upstream the proteasome. Although our data suggest that Hsp90 is not a target of AAF-cmk, its inhibition resulted in accumulations similar to those obtained with AAF-cmk. Therefore, our results question the proposed role for TPPII as a prominent alternative to the proteasome in cellular proteolysis. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Preferential Osmolyte Accumulation: a Mechanism of Osmotic Stress Adaptation in Diazotrophic Bacteria

    PubMed Central

    Madkour, Magdy A.; Smith, Linda Tombras; Smith, Gary M.

    1990-01-01

    A common cellular mechanism of osmotic-stress adaptation is the intracellular accumulation of organic solutes (osmolytes). We investigated the mechanism of osmotic adaptation in the diazotrophic bacteria Azotobacter chroococcum, Azospirillum brasilense, and Klebsiella pneumoniae, which are adversely affected by high osmotic strength (i.e., soil salinity and/or drought). We used natural-abundance 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to identify all the osmolytes accumulating in these strains during osmotic stress generated by 0.5 M NaCl. Evidence is presented for the accumulation of trehalose and glutamate in Azotobacter chroococcum ZSM4, proline and glutamate in Azospirillum brasilense SHS6, and trehalose and proline in K. pneumoniae. Glycine betaine was accumulated in all strains grown in culture media containing yeast extract as the sole nitrogen source. Alternative nitrogen sources (e.g., NH4Cl or casamino acids) in the culture medium did not result in measurable glycine betaine accumulation. We suggest that the mechanism of osmotic adaptation in these organisms entails the accumulation of osmolytes in hyperosmotically stressed cells resulting from either enhanced uptake from the medium (of glycine betaine, proline, and glutamate) or increased net biosynthesis (of trehalose, proline, and glutamate) or both. The preferred osmolyte in Azotobacter chroococcum ZSM4 shifted from glutamate to trehalose as a consequence of a prolonged osmotic stress. Also, the dominant osmolyte in Azospirillum brasilense SHS6 shifted from glutamate to proline accumulation as the osmotic strength of the medium increased. PMID:16348295

  3. Socioscientific Issues: A Path Towards Advanced Scientific Literacy and Improved Conceptual Understanding of Socially Controversial Scientific Theories

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pinzino, Dean William

    This thesis investigates the use of socioscientific issues (SSI) in the high school science classroom as an introduction to argumentation and socioscientific reasoning, with the goal of improving students' scientific literacy (SL). Current research is reviewed that supports the likelihood of students developing a greater conceptual understanding of scientific theories as well as a deeper understanding of the nature of science (NOS), through participation in informal and formal forms of argumentation in the context of SSI. Significant gains in such understanding may improve a student's ability to recognize the rigor, legitimacy, and veracity of scientific claims and better discern science from pseudoscience. Furthermore, students that participate in significant SSI instruction by negotiating a range of science-related social issues can make significant gains in content knowledge and develop the life-long skills of argumentation and evidence-based reasoning, goals not possible in traditional lecture-based science instruction. SSI-based instruction may therefore help students become responsible citizens. This synthesis also suggests that that the improvements in science literacy and NOS understanding that develop from sustained engagement in SSI-based instruction will better prepare students to examine and scrutinize socially controversial scientific theories (i.e., evolution, global warming, and the Big Bang).

  4. What Is the Role of Induction and Deduction in Reasoning and Scientific Inquiry?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lawson, Anton E.

    2005-01-01

    A long-standing and continuing controversy exists regarding the role of induction and deduction in reasoning and in scientific inquiry. Given the inherent difficulty in reconstructing reasoning patterns based on personal and historical accounts, evidence about the nature of human reasoning in scientific inquiry has been sought from a controlled…

  5. AHA Scientific Statement Population Approaches to Improve Diet, Physical Activity, and Smoking Habits A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

    PubMed Central

    Mozaffarian, Dariush; Afshin, Ashkan; Benowitz, Neal L.; Bittner, Vera; Daniels, Stephen R.; Franch, Harold A.; Jacobs, David R.; Kraus, William E.; Kris-Etherton, Penny M.; Krummel, Debra A.; Popkin, Barry M.; Whitsel, Laurie P.; Zakai, Neil A.

    2013-01-01

    Background Poor lifestyle, including suboptimal diet, physical inactivity, and tobacco use are leading causes of preventable diseases globally. Although even modest population shifts in risk substantially alter health outcomes, the optimal population-level approaches to improve lifestyle are not well established. Methods and Results For this American Heart Association Scientific Statement, the writing group systematically reviewed and graded the current scientific evidence for effective population approaches to improve dietary habits, increase physical activity, and reduce tobacco use. Strategies were considered in 6 broad domains: (1) media and education campaigns; (2) labeling and consumer information; (3) taxation, subsidies, and other economic incentives; (4) school and workplace approaches; (5) local environmental changes; and (6) direct restrictions and mandates. The writing group also reviewed the potential contributions of healthcare systems and surveillance systems to behavior change efforts. Several specific population interventions that achieved a Class I or IIa recommendation with grade A or B evidence were identified, providing a set of specific evidence-based strategies that deserve close attention and prioritization for wider implementation. Effective interventions included specific approaches in all 6 domains evaluated for improving diet, increasing activity, and reducing tobacco use. The writing group also identified several specific interventions in each of these domains for which current evidence was less robust, as well as other inconsistencies and evidence gaps, informing the need for further rigorous and interdisciplinary approaches to evaluate population programs and policies. Conclusions This systematic review identified and graded the evidence for a range of population-based strategies to promote lifestyle change. The findings provide a framework for policy makers, advocacy groups, researchers, clinicians, communities, and other

  6. Public Understanding of Climate Change in the United States

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weber, Elke U.; Stern, Paul C.

    2011-01-01

    This article considers scientific and public understandings of climate change and addresses the following question: Why is it that while scientific evidence has accumulated to document global climate change and scientific opinion has solidified about its existence and causes, U.S. public opinion has not and has instead become more polarized? Our…

  7. An overview on manufactured nanoparticles in plants: Uptake, translocation, accumulation and phytotoxicity.

    PubMed

    Tripathi, Durgesh Kumar; Shweta; Singh, Shweta; Singh, Swati; Pandey, Rishikesh; Singh, Vijay Pratap; Sharma, Nilesh C; Prasad, Sheo Mohan; Dubey, Nawal Kishore; Chauhan, Devendra Kumar

    2017-01-01

    The unprecedented capability to control and characterize materials on the nanometer scale has led to the rapid expansion of nanostructured materials. The expansion of nanotechnology, resulting into myriads of consumer and industrial products, causes a concern among the scientific community regarding risk associated with the release of nanomaterials in the environment. Bioavailability of excess nanomaterials ultimately threatens ecosystem and human health. Over the past few years, the field of nanotoxicology dealing with adverse effects and the probable risk associated with particulate structures <100 nm in size has emerged from the recognized understanding of toxic effects of fibrous and non-fibrous particles and their interactions with plants. The present review summarizes uptake, translocation and accumulation of nanomaterials and their recognized ways of phytotoxicity on morpho-anatomical, physiological, biochemical and molecular traits of plants. Besides this, the present review also examines the intrinsic detoxification mechanisms in plants in light of nanomaterial accumulation within plant cells or parts. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  8. Re-accumulation of Asteroids to Equilibrium Figures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hestroffer, D.; Tanga, P.; Richardson, D. C.; Berthier, J.; Cellino, A.; Durech, J.; Michel, P.

    2008-09-01

    Since their formation, asteroids since their formation have experienced little physical, geological or thermal evolution. Like comets they are thought to be among the most pristine remnants of the early solar system. One physical process, however, has played a major role since the ancient times: collisions. Dynamical families were produced by catastrophic collisions involving large enough energy to break the parent body. Other lines of evidence suggest that catastrophic collisions can also produce rubble-piles, i.e., loosely bound of post-collisional aggregates that re-accumulate to form a single body, and are kept together by gravity. The main objective of this work is to understand if—and under what conditions—Jacobi ellipsoids or other equilibrium figures can be obtained naturally by this way. This is done by performing numerical experiments simulating the re-accumulation process, and by performing high-angular resolution observations in order to better constrain the shape and density of the targets. It is shown that the outcomes of reaccumulation events tend to produce a rather narrow variety of possible shapes, and in some cases also binary systems.

  9. Scientific consensus, the law, and same sex parenting outcomes.

    PubMed

    adams, Jimi; Light, Ryan

    2015-09-01

    While the US Supreme Court was considering two related cases involving the constitutionality of same-sex marriage, one major question informing that decision was whether scientific research had achieved consensus regarding how children of same-sex couples fare. Determining the extent of consensus has become a key aspect of how social science evidence and testimony is accepted by the courts. Here, we show how a method of analyzing temporal patterns in citation networks can be used to assess the state of social scientific literature as a means to inform just such a question. Patterns of clustering within these citation networks reveal whether and when consensus arises within a scientific field. We find that the literature on outcomes for children of same-sex parents is marked by scientific consensus that they experience "no differences" compared to children from other parental configurations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Shaping scientific attitude of biology education students through research-based teaching

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Firdaus, Darmadi

    2017-08-01

    Scientific attitude is need of today's society for peaceful and meaningful living of every person in a multicultural world. A case study was conducted at the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, University of Riau, Pekanbaru in order to describe the scientific attitude that shaped by research-based teaching (RBT). Eighteen students of English for Biology bilingual program were selected from 88 regular students as a subject of the study. RBT designed consists of 9 steps: 1) field observations, 2) developing research proposals, 3) research proposal seminar, 4) field data collecting, 5) data analyzing & ilustrating, 6) writing research papers, 7) preparing power point slides, 8) creating a scientific poster, 9) seminar & poster session. Data were collected by using check list observation instuments during 14 weeks (course sessions), then analyzed by using descriptive-quantitative method. The results showed that RBT were able to shape critical-mindedness, suspended judgement, respect for evidence, honesty, objectivity, and questioning attitude as well as tolerance of uncertainty. These attitudes which shaped were varies according to every steps of learning activities. It's seems that the preparation of scientific posters and research seminar quite good in shaping the critical-mindedness, suspended judgment, respect for evidence, honesty, objectivity, and questioning attitude, as well as tolerance of uncertainty. In conclusion, the application of research-based teaching through the English for Biology courses could shape the students scientific attitudes. However, the consistency of the appearance of a scientific attitude in every stage of Biology-based RBT learning process need more intensive and critical assessment.

  11. Mitochondrial accumulation of APP and Aβ: significance for Alzheimer disease pathogenesis

    PubMed Central

    Pavlov, Pavel F; Petersen, Camilla Hansson; Glaser, Elzbieta; Ankarcrona, Maria

    2009-01-01

    Accumulating evidence suggest that alterations in energy metabolism are among the earliest events that occur in the Alzheimer disease (AD) affected brain. Energy consumption is drastically decreased in the AD-affected regions of cerebral cortex and hippocampus pointing towards compromised mitochondrial function of neurons within specific brain regions. This is accompanied by an elevated production of reactive oxygen species contributing to increased rates of neuronal loss in the AD-affected brain regions. In this review, we will discuss the role of mitochondrial function and dysfunction in AD. We will focus on the consequences of amyloid precursor protein and amyloid-β peptide accumulation in mitochondria and their involvement in AD pathogenesis. PMID:19725915

  12. The medical and scientific evidence in alleged tubocurarine poisonings. A review of the so-called Dr. X case.

    PubMed

    Siegel, H; Rieders, F; Holmstedt, B

    1985-01-01

    The problem of proving the presence or absence of a poison in a buried cadaver is the central theme of this presentation. Certain general questions are posed which may serve to guide those seeking to determine the cause of death in buried cadavers and allegedly due to a poison. Medicolegal and scientific evidence is presented from the court records of five deaths which were alleged homicides due to intravenous tubocurarine. As to the medical evidence: The prosecution claimed absence of adequate medical causes but full congruence with intravenous tubocurarine as the cause of death. The defense claimed and presented its evidence, including history, clinical picture, gross and microscopic pathological findings--for the deaths having occurred from competent natural causes in all but one case. In that one case the cause was undetermined. In two of the four cases evidence was presented for the mechanism of death and why they died at the time that they did. As to the forensic toxicological evidence: The prosecution claimed qualitative identification but with no particular quantitative detection or identification limits of tubocurarine in the remains based on results of combinations of HPLC followed by RIA and of some selected ion direct inlet mass spectrometry. The defense corroborated--along with a quantitative estimate--the presence of a substantial concentration of tubocurarine in the liver specimen of one case. However the chain of custody of this particular specimen was compromised for a period of several days between post-exhumation autopsy and submission to the prosecution toxicologists. With respect to all the other specimens examined by the defense, direct inlet mass spectrometry failed to show ions which are critical for establishing the identity of tubocurarine. The defense also presented results of experiments which showed that the tissues of the cases in question destroyed tubocurarine at such a rate that no reasonably conceivable administered amount could

  13. Forensic Science--Where Scientific Methods Are Utilized to Fight the Crime.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Henry C.

    1980-01-01

    Describes various scientific techniques used to analyze physical evidence, ten areas of specialization in forensic science, courses needed by forensic scientists, and the future of forensic science. (DS)

  14. Asserting scientific authority. Cognitive development and adolescent legal rights.

    PubMed

    Gardner, W; Scherer, D; Tester, M

    1989-06-01

    The APA uses amicus briefs to communicate scientific knowledge to the legal system. There can be tension, however, between promoting the social good through law and the disinterested reporting of scientific data. This article examines this conflict by discussing two APA amicus briefs filed in the United States Supreme Court in cases involving adolescents' abortion rights. The Court has restricted adolescents' rights to make important life decisions in part because adolescents have been presumed to lack competence and maturity. The briefs argued that developmental theory and data confirm that adolescents and adults have equivalent decision-making capacities. The scientific arguments in the briefs, however, do not justify this assertion. Analysis of the briefs illuminates some dimensions describing the role of a scientific statement in a legal brief. These dimensions identify ways to limit scientific claims about the evidence at hand to avoid overstatement. The primary danger of overstatement is that it undermines psychology's claim to expert authority in assisting in the formation of law and the shaping of social institutions.

  15. Prescriptive scientific narratives for communicating usable science.

    PubMed

    Downs, Julie S

    2014-09-16

    In this paper I describe how a narrative approach to science communication may help audiences to more fully understand how science is relevant to their own lives and behaviors. The use of prescriptive scientific narrative can help to overcome challenges specific to scientific concepts, especially the need to reconsider long-held beliefs in the face of new empirical findings. Narrative can captivate the audience, driving anticipation for plot resolution, thus becoming a self-motivating vehicle for information delivery. This quality gives narrative considerable power to explain complex phenomena and causal processes, and to create and reinforce memory traces for better recall and application over time. Because of the inherent properties of narrative communication, their creators have a special responsibility to ensure even-handedness in selection and presentation of the scientific evidence. The recent transformation in communication and information technology has brought about new platforms for delivering content, particularly through interactivity, which can use structured self-tailoring to help individuals most efficiently get exactly the content that they need. As with all educational efforts, prescriptive scientific narratives must be evaluated systematically to determine whether they have the desired effects in improving understanding and changing behavior.

  16. Prescriptive scientific narratives for communicating usable science

    PubMed Central

    Downs, Julie S.

    2014-01-01

    In this paper I describe how a narrative approach to science communication may help audiences to more fully understand how science is relevant to their own lives and behaviors. The use of prescriptive scientific narrative can help to overcome challenges specific to scientific concepts, especially the need to reconsider long-held beliefs in the face of new empirical findings. Narrative can captivate the audience, driving anticipation for plot resolution, thus becoming a self-motivating vehicle for information delivery. This quality gives narrative considerable power to explain complex phenomena and causal processes, and to create and reinforce memory traces for better recall and application over time. Because of the inherent properties of narrative communication, their creators have a special responsibility to ensure even-handedness in selection and presentation of the scientific evidence. The recent transformation in communication and information technology has brought about new platforms for delivering content, particularly through interactivity, which can use structured self-tailoring to help individuals most efficiently get exactly the content that they need. As with all educational efforts, prescriptive scientific narratives must be evaluated systematically to determine whether they have the desired effects in improving understanding and changing behavior. PMID:25225369

  17. A unifying vision for scientific decision making: the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' Scientific Integrity Principles.

    PubMed

    Tappenden, Kelly A

    2015-09-01

    In 2014, recognizing the need to have a single document to guide scientific decision making at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (Academy), the Council on Research was charged with developing a scientific integrity policy for the organization. From the Council on Research, four members volunteered to lead this workgroup, which reviewed the literature and best practices for scientific integrity from well-respected organizations, including federal funders of research. It became clear that the scope of this document would be quite broad, given the many scientific activities the Academy is involved in, and that it would be unreasonable to set policy for each of these many situations. Therefore, the workgroup set about defining the scope of scientific activities to be covered and envisioned a set of guiding principles, to which policies from every organizational unit of the Academy could be compared to ensure they were in alignment. While many relevant policies exist already, such as the requirement of a signed conflict of interest disclosure for Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo speakers, the Evidence Analysis Library funding policy, and the Academy's sponsorship policy, the scientific integrity principals are unique in that they provide a unifying vision to which future policies can be compared and approved based on their alignment with the principles. The six principles outlined in this article were approved by the full Council on Research in January 2015 and approved by the Academy's Board of Directors in March 2015. This article covers the scope of the principles, presents the principles and existing related resources, and outlines next steps for the Academy to review and revise current policies and create new ones in alignment with these principles. Copyright © 2015 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. 5-Aminolevulinic Acid Accumulation in a Cerebral Infarction Mimicking High-Grade Glioma.

    PubMed

    Behling, Felix; Hennersdorf, Florian; Bornemann, Antje; Tatagiba, Marcos; Skardelly, Marco

    2016-08-01

    5-Aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) has become an integral part in the neurosurgical treatment of malignant glioma. Over time, several other tumor entities have been identified to metabolize 5-ALA and show a similar fluorescence pattern during surgical resection. This case report is the first description of 5-ALA accumulation in postischemic cerebral tissue. This evidence questions the assumption that 5-ALA accumulation in glioma is exclusively attributed to tumor infiltration. Instead, 5-ALA accumulation can also occur beyond the tumor borders and may be partially ascribed to inflammatory changes in the surrounding brain tissue. A 64-year old woman presented with episodes of apraxia and a ring-enhancing lesion in postcontrast T1-weighted magnetic resonance sequences suggestive of high grade glioma. Strong fluorescence was observed during 5-ALA-guided resection. However, although the frozen section was inconclusive, the final histopathologic examination revealed a stage II cerebral infarction. 5-ALA accumulation in postischemic cerebral tissue should be considered for intended supramarginal resections near eloquent brain regions. Therefore, sufficient preoperative imaging should regularly include magnetic resonance imaging spectroscopy and perfusion sequences to ascertain the proper diagnosis. Moreover, further research is warranted to determine the role of 5-ALA accumulation in postischemic and inflammatory brain tissue. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. The finer points of writing and refereeing scientific articles.

    PubMed

    Bain, Barbara J; Littlewood, Tim J; Szydlo, Richard M

    2016-02-01

    Writing scientific papers is a skill required by all haematologists. Many also need to be able to referee papers submitted to journals. These skills are not often formally taught and as a result may not be done well. We have reviewed published evidence of errors in these processes. Such errors may be ethical, scientific or linguistic, or may result from a lack of understanding of the processes. The objective of the review is, by highlighting errors, to help writers and referees to avoid them. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Values, standpoints, and scientific/intellectual movements.

    PubMed

    Rolin, Kristina

    2016-04-01

    Feminist standpoint empiricism contributes to the criticism of the value-free ideal by offering a unique analysis of how non-epistemic values can play not only a legitimate but also an epistemically productive role in science. While the inductive risk argument focuses on the role of non-epistemic values in the acceptance of hypotheses, standpoint empiricism focuses on the role of non-epistemic values in the production of evidence. And while many other analyses of values in science focus on the role of non-epistemic values either in an individual scientist's decision making or in the distribution of research efforts in scientific communities, standpoint empiricism focuses on the role of non-epistemic values in the building of scientific/intellectual movements. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Theory of Multiple Intelligences: Is It a Scientific Theory?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Jie-Qi

    2004-01-01

    This essay discusses the status of multiple intelligences (MI) theory as a scientific theory by addressing three issues: the empirical evidence Gardner used to establish MI theory, the methodology he employed to validate MI theory, and the purpose or function of MI theory.

  2. Implementing Evidence-Based Social Work Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mullen, Edward J.; Bledsoe, Sarah E.; Bellamy, Jennifer L.

    2008-01-01

    Recently, social work has been influenced by new forms of practice that hold promise for bringing practice and research together to strengthen the scientific knowledge base supporting social work intervention. The most recent new practice framework is evidence-based practice. However, although evidence-based practice has many qualities that might…

  3. The Influence of Weight-of-Evidence Messages on (Vaccine) Attitudes: A Sequential Mediation Model.

    PubMed

    Clarke, Christopher E; Weberling McKeever, Brooke; Holton, Avery; Dixon, Graham N

    2015-01-01

    Media coverage of contentious risk issues often features competing claims about whether a risk exists and what scientific evidence shows, and journalists often cover these issues by presenting both sides. However, for topics defined by scientific agreement, balanced coverage erroneously heightens uncertainty about scientific information and the issue itself. In this article, we extend research on combating so-called information and issue uncertainty using weight of evidence, drawing on the discredited autism-vaccine link as a case study. We examine whether people's perceptions of issue uncertainty (about whether a link exists) change before and after they encounter a news message with weight-of-evidence information. We also explore whether message exposure is associated with broader issue judgments, specifically vaccine attitudes. Participants (n = 181) read news articles that included or omitted weight-of-evidence content stating that scientific studies have found no link and that scientists agree that none exists. Postexposure issue uncertainty decreased-in other words, issue certainty increased-from preexposure levels across all conditions. Moreover, weight-of-evidence messages were associated with positive vaccine attitudes indirectly via reduced information uncertainty (i.e., one's belief that scientific opinion and evidence concerning a potential link is unclear) as well as issue uncertainty. We discuss implications for risk communication.

  4. MARRIAGE AND MEN’S WEALTH ACCUMULATION IN THE UNITED STATES, 1860-1870

    PubMed Central

    HONG, SOK CHUL

    2013-01-01

    This paper explores how changes in marital status affected men’s wealth accumulation in mid-nineteenth-century America, using a longitudinal sample of Union Army veterans linked to the 1860 and 1870 census manuscript schedules. Controlling for the endogeneity of wealth and marital selection, this paper provides strong evidence that marriage had positive effects on men’s wealth accumulation, whereas ending a marriage had negative effects. The estimated wealth premium on married men is about 60 percent per marital year. This substantial wealth premium is closely related to wives’ specializing in household production, and farmers and craftsmen economically benefited from the unpaid labor of their wives. PMID:24058226

  5. Professionalism, scientific freedom and dissent: individual and institutional roles and responsibilities in geoethics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bilham, Nic

    2015-04-01

    Debate and dissent are at the heart of scientific endeavour. A diversity of perspectives, alternative interpretations of evidence and the robust defence of competing theories and models drive the advancement of scientific knowledge. Just as importantly, legitimate dissent and diversity of views should not be covered up when offering scientific advice to policy-makers and providing evidence to inform public debate - indeed, they should be valued. We should offer what Andy Stirling has termed 'plural and conditional' scientific advice, not just for the sake of democratic legitimacy, but because it supports better informed and more effective policy-making. 'Monocultures' of scientific advice may have a superficial appeal to policy-makers, but they devalue the contribution of scientists, undermine the resilience of regulatory structures, are often misleading, and can lead to catastrophic policy failure. Furthermore, many of the great societal challenges now facing us require interdisciplinary approaches, across the natural sciences and more widely still, which bring to the fore the need for humility, recognition that we do not have all the answers, and mutual respect for the views of others. In contentious areas such as climate change, extraction of shale gas and radioactive waste disposal, however, such open dialogue may make researchers and practitioners vulnerable to advocates and campaigners who cherry-pick the evidence, misinterpret it, or seek to present scientific uncertainty and debate as mere ignorance. Nor are scientists themselves always above such unethical tactics. The apparent authority conferred on unscrupulous 'campaigning scientists' by their academic and professional credentials may make it all but impossible to distinguish them from those who legitimately make the case for a minority scientific view (and may be marginalised by the mainstream of their discipline in doing so). There is a risk that real scientific debate may be thwarted. Individual

  6. Demise of reef-flat carbonate accumulation with late Holocene sea-level fall: Evidence from Molokai, Hawaii

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Engels, M.S.; Fletcher, C.H.; Field, M.; Conger, C.L.; Bochicchio, C.

    2008-01-01

    Twelve cores from the protected reef-flat of Molokai revealed that carbonate sediment accumulation, ranging from 3 mm year-1 to less than 1 mm year-1, ended on average 2,500 years ago. Modern sediment is present as a mobile surface veneer but is not trapped within the reef framework. This finding is consistent with the arrest of deposition at the end of the mid-Holocene highstand, known locally as the "Kapapa Stand of the Sea," ???2 m above the present datum ca. 3,500 years ago in the main Hawaiian Islands. Subsequent erosion, non-deposition, and/or a lack of rigid binding were probable factors leading to the lack of reef-flat accumulation during the late Holocene sea-level fall. Given anticipated climate changes, increased sedimentation of reef-flat environments is to be expected as a consequence of higher sea level. ?? 2008 Springer-Verlag.

  7. The Navigation Guide—Evidence-Based Medicine Meets Environmental Health: Integration of Animal and Human Evidence for PFOA Effects on Fetal Growth

    PubMed Central

    Koustas, Erica; Sutton, Patrice; Johnson, Paula I.; Atchley, Dylan S.; Sen, Saunak; Robinson, Karen A.; Axelrad, Daniel A.; Woodruff, Tracey J.

    2014-01-01

    Background: The Navigation Guide is a novel systematic review method to synthesize scientific evidence and reach strength of evidence conclusions for environmental health decision making. Objective: Our aim was to integrate scientific findings from human and nonhuman studies to determine the overall strength of evidence for the question “Does developmental exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) affect fetal growth in humans?” Methods: We developed and applied prespecified criteria to systematically and transparently a) rate the quality of the scientific evidence as “high,” “moderate,” or “low”; b) rate the strength of the human and nonhuman evidence separately as “sufficient,” “limited,” “moderate,” or “evidence of lack of toxicity”; and c) integrate the strength of the human and nonhuman evidence ratings into a strength of the evidence conclusion. Results: We identified 18 epidemiology studies and 21 animal toxicology studies relevant to our study question. We rated both the human and nonhuman mammalian evidence as “moderate” quality and “sufficient” strength. Integration of these evidence ratings produced a final strength of evidence rating in which review authors concluded that PFOA is “known to be toxic” to human reproduction and development based on sufficient evidence of decreased fetal growth in both human and nonhuman mammalian species. Conclusion: We concluded that developmental exposure to PFOA adversely affects human health based on sufficient evidence of decreased fetal growth in both human and nonhuman mammalian species. The results of this case study demonstrate the application of a systematic and transparent methodology, via the Navigation Guide, for reaching strength of evidence conclusions in environmental health. Citation: Lam J, Koustas E, Sutton P, Johnson PI, Atchley DS, Sen S, Robinson KA, Axelrad DA, Woodruff TJ. 2014. The Navigation Guide—evidence-based medicine meets environmental health

  8. Scientific decision-making and stakeholder consultations: the case of salt recommendations.

    PubMed

    Timotijevic, Lada; Barnett, Julie; Brown, Kerry; Raats, Monique M; Shepherd, Richard

    2013-05-01

    Scientific advisory committees (SACs) are seen as "boundary organisations" working at the interface between science, policy and society. Although their narrowly defined remit of risk assessment is anchored in notions of rationality, objectivity, and reason, in reality, their sources for developing recommendations are not limited to scientific evidence. There is a growing expectation to involve non-scientific sources of information in the formation of knowledge, including the expectation of stakeholder consultation in forming recommendations. Such a move towards "democratisation" of scientific processes of decision-making within SACs has been described and often studied as "post-normal science" (PNS) (Funtowicz & Ravetz, 1993). In the current paper we examine the application of PNS in practice through a study of stakeholder consultations within the workings of the UK Scientific Advisory Committee for Nutrition (SACN). We use the theoretical insights from PNS-related studies to structure the analysis and examine the way in which PNS tenets resonate with the practices of SACN. We have selected a particular case of the SACN UK recommendations for salt as it is characterized by scientific controversy, uncertainty, vested interests and value conflict. We apply the tenets of PNS through documentary analysis of the SACN Salt Subgroup (SSG) consultation documents published in 2002/2003: the minutes of the 5 SACN SSG's meetings which included summary of the SACN SSG's stakeholder consultation and the SSG's responses to the consultation. The analysis suggests that the SACN consultation can be construed as a process of managing sources of risk to its organisation. Thus, rather than being an evidence of post-normal scientific practice, engagement became a mechanism for confirming the specific framing of science that is resonant with technocratic models of science holding authority over the facts. The implications for PNS theory are discussed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All

  9. Teaching argumentation and scientific discourse using the ribosomal peptidyl transferase reaction.

    PubMed

    Johnson, R Jeremy

    2011-01-01

    Argumentation and discourse are two integral parts of scientific investigation that are often overlooked in undergraduate science education. To address this limitation, the story of peptide bond formation by the ribosome can be used to illustrate the importance of evidence, claims, arguments, and counterarguments in scientific discourse. With the determination of the first structure of the large ribosomal subunit bound to a transition state inhibitor came an initial hypothesis about the role of the ribosome in peptide bond formation. This initial hypothesis was based on a few central assumptions about the transition state mimic and acid-base catalysis by serine proteases. The initial proposed mechanism started a flurry of scientific discourse in experimental articles and commentaries that tested the validity of the initial proposed mechanism. Using this civil argumentation as a guide, class discussions, assignments, and a debate were designed that allow students to analyze and question the claims and evidence about the mechanism of peptide bond synthesis. In the end, students develop a sense of critical skepticism, and an understanding of scientific discourse, while learning about the current consensus mechanism for peptide bond synthesis. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 185-190, 2011. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. Non-Scientific Criteria for Belief Sustain Counter-Scientific Beliefs.

    PubMed

    Metz, S Emlen; Weisberg, Deena S; Weisberg, Michael

    2018-02-01

    Why is evolutionary theory controversial among members of the American public? We propose a novel explanation: allegiance to different criteria for belief. In one interview study, two online surveys, and one nationally representative phone poll, we found that evolutionists and creationists take different justifications for belief as legitimate. Those who accept evolution emphasize empirical evidence and scientific consensus. Creationists emphasize not only the Bible and religious authority, but also knowledge of the heart. These criteria for belief remain predictive of views about evolution even when taking into account other related factors like religion, political affiliation, and education. Each view is supported by its own internally specified criteria for what constitutes a justified belief. Changing minds may thus require changing epistemic norms. Copyright © 2018 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  11. Lifespan mercury accumulation pattern in Liza aurata : Evidence from two southern European estuaries

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tavares, S.; Oliveira, H.; Coelho, J. P.; Pereira, M. E.; Duarte, A. C.; Pardal, M. A.

    2011-10-01

    Mercury accumulation throughout the lifespan of Liza aurata (Risso, 1810) was analysed in four tissues (muscle, gills, liver and brain) in two southern European coastal ecosystems with distinct mercury contamination. Specimens from four to five age classes were captured in two sampling sites in the Ria de Aveiro (Laranjo bay and Mira), a system historically contaminated by industrial mercury, and in one site in the Mondego estuary, assumed as a mercury-free ecosystem. Mercury concentration in all tissues was found to be significantly higher in the Ria de Aveiro (Laranjo bay) compared to the Mondego, in accordance with the environmental contamination (water, sediments and suspended particulate matter). Significant differences inside the Ria de Aveiro (between the Mira and Laranjo bay) were only detected in the liver. This tissue registered the highest levels of mercury (ranging from 0.11 to 4.2 μg g -1 ) in all sampling sites, followed by muscle, brain, and gills. In all sampling sites and tissues was denoted a mercury dilution pattern along the lifecycle (except in liver at the Mondego, the reference area where the concentrations are always very low). An exponential trend was found in the metal age variation patterns in Laranjo (the most contaminated area) and a linear trend in the Mira and the Mondego (the least contaminated areas). Organic mercury concentration in muscle generally accounted for over 95% of total mercury concentration, and followed the same accumulation pattern of total mercury. This fish species is of lesser importance in mercury transfer to adjacent coastal areas and although the consumption of fish from Laranjo may present some risk for the humans, this risk decreases with fish age/size.

  12. Character, paleoenvironment, rate of accumulation, and evidence for seismic triggering of Holocene turbidites, Canada Abyssal Plain, Arctic Ocean

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Grantz, A.; Phillips, R.L.; Mullen, M.W.; Starratt, S.W.; Jones, Glenn A.; Naidu, A.S.; Finney, B.P.

    1996-01-01

    Four box cores and one piston core show that Holocene sedimentation on the southern Canada Abyssal Plain for the last 8010??120 yr has consisted of a continuing rain of pelagic organic and ice-rafted elastic sediment with a net accumulation rate during the late Holocene of ???10 mm/1000 yr, and episodically emplaced turbidites 1-5 m thick deposited at intervals of 830 to 3450 yr (average 2000 yr). The average net accumulation rate of the mixed sequence of turbidites and thin pelagite interbeds in the cores is about 1.2 m/1000 yr. Physiography suggests that the turbidites originated on the Mackenzie Delta or its clinoform, and ??13C values of -27 to - 25??? in the turbidites are compatible with a provenance on a delta. Extant displaced neritic and lower slope to basin plain calcareous benthic foraminifers coexist in the turbidite units. Their joint occurence indicates that the turbidites originated on the modern continental shelf and entrained sediment from the slope and rise enroute to their final resting place on the Canada Abyssal Plain. The presence of Middle Pleistocene diatoms in the turbidites suggests, in addition, that the turbidites may have originated in shallow submarine slides beneath the upper slope or outer shelf. Small but consistent differences in organic carbon content and ??13C values between the turbidite units suggest that they did not share an identical provenance, which is at least compatible with an origin in slope failures. The primary provenance of the ice-rafted component of the pelagic beds was the glaciated terrane of northwestern Canada; and the provenance of the turbidite units was Pleistocene and Holocene sedimentary deposits on the outer continental shelf and upper slope of the Mackenzie Delta. Largely local derivation of the sediment of the Canada Abyssal Plain indicates that sediment accumulation rates in the Arctic Ocean are valid only for regions with similar depositional sources and processes, and that these rates cannot be

  13. Integrating nutrition and child development interventions: scientific basis, evidence of impact, and implementation considerations.

    PubMed

    Black, Maureen M; Pérez-Escamilla, Rafael; Rao, Sylvia Fernandez

    2015-11-01

    The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have contributed to unprecedented reductions in poverty and improvement in the lives of millions of men, women, and children in low- and middle-income countries. Yet, hundreds of millions of children under 5 y of age are not reaching their developmental potential. This article reviews the scientific basis for early childhood nutrition and child development interventions, the impact of integrated interventions on children's linear growth and cognitive development, and implementation strategies for integrated nutrition and child development programs. Advances in brain science have documented that the origins of adult health and well-being are grounded in early childhood, from conception through age 24 mo (first 1000 d) and extending to age 5 y (second 1000 d). Young children with adequate nutrition, nurturant caregiving, and opportunities for early learning have the best chances of thriving. Evidence from adoption, experimental, and quasi-experimental studies has shown that stunting prevention is sensitive during the first 1000 d, and sensitivity to child development interventions extends through the second 1000 d. Cognitive development responds to interventions post–1000 d with effect sizes that are inversely associated with initial age and length of program exposure. Integrated interventions need governance structures that support integrated policies and programming, with attention to training, supervision, and monitoring. The MDGs have been replaced by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with targets for the next 15 y. Achievement of the SDGs depends on children receiving adequate nutrition, nurturant caregiving, and learning opportunities from conception through age 5.

  14. Masked nonword repetition effects in yes/no and go/no-go lexical decision: a test of the evidence accumulation and deadline accounts.

    PubMed

    Perea, Manuel; Gómez, Pablo; Fraga, Isabel

    2010-06-01

    The pattern of masked repetition priming effects for word and nonword targets differs across tasks: Masked-priming effects in lexical decision occur for positive responses (i.e., words), but not for negative responses (nonwords), whereas masked-priming effects in the cross-case same-different task occur for positive responses (same), but not for negative responses (different)--regardless of lexical status. Here, we examined whether masked nonword priming effects are greater when the task involves an active go response to nonwords than when it involves the standard yes/no procedure in lexical decision. The obtained masked repetition priming effect for nonwords was of similar size in yes/no and go/no-go tasks. This finding is compatible with accounts of nonword priming that posit that nonword responses are produced by actively accumulating evidence for the nonword alternative in yes/no and go/no-go procedures, whereas it is inconsistent with the assumption of a deadline for no responses in the yes/no task.

  15. Comprehensive metabolomic, lipidomic and microscopic profiling of Yarrowia lipolytica during lipid accumulation identifies targets for increased lipogenesis

    DOE PAGES

    Pomraning, Kyle R.; Wei, Siwei; Karagiosis, Sue A.; ...

    2015-04-23

    Yarrowia lipolytica is an oleaginous ascomycete yeast that accumulates large amounts of lipids and has potential as a biofuel producing organism. Despite a growing scientific literature focused on lipid production by Y. lipolytica, there remain significant knowledge gaps regarding the key biological processes involved. We applied a combination of metabolomic and lipidomic profiling approaches as well as microscopic techniques to identify and characterize the key pathways involved in de novo lipid accumulation from glucose in batch cultured, wild-type Y. lipolytica. We found that lipids accumulated rapidly and peaked at 48 hours during the five day experiment, concurrent with a shiftmore » in amino acid metabolism. We also report that Y. lipolytica secretes disaccharides early in batch culture and reabsorbs them when extracellular glucose is depleted. Exhaustion of extracellular sugars coincided with thickening of the cell wall, suggesting that genes involved in cell wall biogenesis may be a useful target for improving the efficiency of lipid producing yeast strains.« less

  16. Can Observation Skills of Citizen Scientists Be Estimated Using Species Accumulation Curves?

    PubMed

    Kelling, Steve; Johnston, Alison; Hochachka, Wesley M; Iliff, Marshall; Fink, Daniel; Gerbracht, Jeff; Lagoze, Carl; La Sorte, Frank A; Moore, Travis; Wiggins, Andrea; Wong, Weng-Keen; Wood, Chris; Yu, Jun

    2015-01-01

    Volunteers are increasingly being recruited into citizen science projects to collect observations for scientific studies. An additional goal of these projects is to engage and educate these volunteers. Thus, there are few barriers to participation resulting in volunteer observers with varying ability to complete the project's tasks. To improve the quality of a citizen science project's outcomes it would be useful to account for inter-observer variation, and to assess the rarely tested presumption that participating in a citizen science projects results in volunteers becoming better observers. Here we present a method for indexing observer variability based on the data routinely submitted by observers participating in the citizen science project eBird, a broad-scale monitoring project in which observers collect and submit lists of the bird species observed while birding. Our method for indexing observer variability uses species accumulation curves, lines that describe how the total number of species reported increase with increasing time spent in collecting observations. We find that differences in species accumulation curves among observers equates to higher rates of species accumulation, particularly for harder-to-identify species, and reveals increased species accumulation rates with continued participation. We suggest that these properties of our analysis provide a measure of observer skill, and that the potential to derive post-hoc data-derived measurements of participant ability should be more widely explored by analysts of data from citizen science projects. We see the potential for inferential results from analyses of citizen science data to be improved by accounting for observer skill.

  17. Can Observation Skills of Citizen Scientists Be Estimated Using Species Accumulation Curves?

    PubMed Central

    Kelling, Steve; Johnston, Alison; Hochachka, Wesley M.; Iliff, Marshall; Fink, Daniel; Gerbracht, Jeff; Lagoze, Carl; La Sorte, Frank A.; Moore, Travis; Wiggins, Andrea; Wong, Weng-Keen; Wood, Chris; Yu, Jun

    2015-01-01

    Volunteers are increasingly being recruited into citizen science projects to collect observations for scientific studies. An additional goal of these projects is to engage and educate these volunteers. Thus, there are few barriers to participation resulting in volunteer observers with varying ability to complete the project’s tasks. To improve the quality of a citizen science project’s outcomes it would be useful to account for inter-observer variation, and to assess the rarely tested presumption that participating in a citizen science projects results in volunteers becoming better observers. Here we present a method for indexing observer variability based on the data routinely submitted by observers participating in the citizen science project eBird, a broad-scale monitoring project in which observers collect and submit lists of the bird species observed while birding. Our method for indexing observer variability uses species accumulation curves, lines that describe how the total number of species reported increase with increasing time spent in collecting observations. We find that differences in species accumulation curves among observers equates to higher rates of species accumulation, particularly for harder-to-identify species, and reveals increased species accumulation rates with continued participation. We suggest that these properties of our analysis provide a measure of observer skill, and that the potential to derive post-hoc data-derived measurements of participant ability should be more widely explored by analysts of data from citizen science projects. We see the potential for inferential results from analyses of citizen science data to be improved by accounting for observer skill. PMID:26451728

  18. Delay in micro-discharges appearance during PEO of Al: Evidence of a mechanism of charge accumulation at the electrolyte/oxide interface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martin, J.; Nominé, A.; Brochard, F.; Briançon, J.-L.; Noël, C.; Belmonte, T.; Czerwiec, T.; Henrion, G.

    2017-07-01

    PEO was conducted on Al by applying a pulsed bipolar current. The role of the cathodic polarization on the appearance of micro-discharges (MDs) and on the subsequent formation of the PEO oxide layers is investigated. Various ratios of the charge quantity RCQ = Qp/Qn (defined as the anodic Qp to cathodic Qn charge quantity ratio over one current pulse period) in the range [0.5; 6.0] were selected by changing the waveform parameters of the cathodic current while keeping the waveform of the anodic current unchanged. Results show that the appearance of MDs is delayed with respect to the rising edge of the anodic current; this delay strongly depends on both the processing time and the applied cathodic charge quantity. It is also evidenced that shorter delays promoted by high RCQ values (RCQ > 1) are associated with stronger MDs (large size and long life) that have detrimental effects on the formed PEO oxide layers. Thicker and the more compact oxide layer morphology is achieved with the intermediate RCQ value (RCQ = 0.9) for which the delay of the MDs appearance is high and the MDs softer. Low RCQ (RCQ < 0.9) results in an earlier extinction of the MDs as the process goes on, which leads to poorly oxidized metal. A mechanism of charge accumulation taking place at the oxide/electrolyte interface and arising before the occurrence of dielectric breakdown is proposed to explain the ignition of MDs during pulsed bipolar PEO of aluminium. A close examination of the voltage-time response which can be adequately simulated with an equivalent RC circuit evidences the capacitive behaviour of the oxide layer and therefore confirms this proposed mechanism of charge accumulation.

  19. SALTON SEA SCIENTIFIC DRILLING PROJECT: SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM.

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sass, J.H.; Elders, W.A.

    1986-01-01

    The Salton Sea Scientific Drilling Project, was spudded on 24 October 1985, and reached a total depth of 10,564 ft. (3. 2 km) on 17 March 1986. There followed a period of logging, a flow test, and downhole scientific measurements. The scientific goals were integrated smoothly with the engineering and economic objectives of the program and the ideal of 'science driving the drill' in continental scientific drilling projects was achieved in large measure. The principal scientific goals of the project were to study the physical and chemical processes involved in an active, magmatically driven hydrothermal system. To facilitate these studies, high priority was attached to four areas of sample and data collection, namely: (1) core and cuttings, (2) formation fluids, (3) geophysical logging, and (4) downhole physical measurements, particularly temperatures and pressures.

  20. Mineral transformation and biomass accumulation associated with uranium bioremediation at Rifle, Colorado

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Li, L.; Steefel, C.I.; Williams, K.H.

    2009-04-20

    Injection of organic carbon into the subsurface as an electron donor for bioremediation of redox-sensitive contaminants like uranium often leads to mineral transformation and biomass accumulation, both of which can alter the flow field and potentially bioremediation efficacy. This work combines reactive transport modeling with a column experiment and field measurements to understand the biogeochemical processes and to quantify the biomass and mineral transformation/accumulation during a bioremediation experiment at a uranium contaminated site near Rifle, Colorado. We use the reactive transport model CrunchFlow to explicitly simulate microbial community dynamics of iron and sulfate reducers, and their impacts on reaction rates.more » The column experiment shows clear evidence of mineral precipitation, primarily in the form of calcite and iron monosulfide. At the field scale, reactive transport simulations suggest that the biogeochemical reactions occur mostly close to the injection wells where acetate concentrations are highest, with mineral precipitate and biomass accumulation reaching as high as 1.5% of the pore space. This work shows that reactive transport modeling coupled with field data can be an effective tool for quantitative estimation of mineral transformation and biomass accumulation, thus improving the design of bioremediation strategies.« less

  1. Mechanisms of formation and accumulation of mitochondrial DNA deletions in aging neurons.

    PubMed

    Fukui, Hirokazu; Moraes, Carlos T

    2009-03-15

    Age-dependent accumulation of partially deleted mitochondrial DNA (DeltamtDNA) has been suggested to contribute to aging and the development of age-associated diseases including Parkinson's disease. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the generation and accumulation of DeltamtDNA have not been addressed in vivo. In this study, we have developed a mouse model expressing an inducible mitochondria-targeted restriction endonuclease (PstI). Using this system, we could trigger mtDNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in adult neurons. We found that this transient event leads to the generation of a family of DeltamtDNA with features that closely resemble naturally-occurring mtDNA deletions. The formation of these deleted species is likely to be mediated by yet uncharacterized DNA repairing machineries that participate in homologous recombination and non-homologous end-joining. Furthermore, we obtained in vivo evidence that DeltamtDNAs with larger deletions accumulate faster than those with smaller deletions, implying a replicative advantage of smaller mtDNAs. These findings identify DSB, DNA repair systems and replicative advantage as likely mechanisms underlying the generation and age-associated accumulation of DeltamtDNA in mammalian neurons.

  2. Mineral transformation and biomass accumulation associated with uranium bioremediation at Rifle, Colorado.

    PubMed

    Li, Li; Steefel, Carl I; Williams, Kenneth H; Wilkins, Michael J; Hubbard, Susan S

    2009-07-15

    Injection of organic carbon into the subsurface as an electron donor for bioremediation of redox-sensitive contaminants like uranium often leads to mineral transformation and biomass accumulation, both of which can alter the flow field and potentially bioremediation efficacy. This work combines reactive transport modeling with a column experiment and field measurements to understand the biogeochemical processes and to quantify the biomass and mineral transformation/accumulation during a bioremediation experiment at a uranium contaminated site near Rifle, Colorado. We use the reactive transport model CrunchFlow to explicitly simulate microbial community dynamics of iron and sulfate reducers, and their impacts on reaction rates. The column experiment shows clear evidence of mineral precipitation, primarily in the form of calcite and iron monosulfide. At the field scale, reactive transport simulations suggest that the biogeochemical reactions occur mostly close to the injection wells where acetate concentrations are highest, with mineral precipitate and biomass accumulation reaching as high as 1.5% of the pore space. This work shows that reactive transport modeling coupled with field data can bean effective tool for quantitative estimation of mineral transformation and biomass accumulation, thus improving the design of bioremediation strategies.

  3. Improved classification of evidence for EMF health risks.

    PubMed

    Leitgeb, Norbert

    2012-08-01

    Classifying evidence of causality between a risk factor and its potential health effect is challenging, in particular in an already emotional situation. Even the assessment of health risks by designated bodies may still depend on their composition of individuals with their background, bias, and, in worst case, their interests. This may explain opposing conclusions from the same pool of data which, consequently, may undermine credibility if not communicated properly. To overcome existing weakness in classifying and communicating evidence of health risks such as from electromagnetic fields, a new rule-based approach is presented. Developed by the German Commission on Radiological Protection (SSK), it discloses step-by-step the criteria for weighing scientific data and pools partial evidences of different scientific approaches to conclude on the overall evidence of causality between risk factor and effects. The validity of the approach is demonstrated by analyzing evidence of carcinogenicity of ionizing radiation, mobile phone use, and nocturnal exposure to visible light.

  4. Carbon isotope evidence for recent climate-related enhancement of CO 2 assimilation and peat accumulation rates in Antarctica.

    PubMed

    Royles, Jessica; Ogée, Jérôme; Wingate, Lisa; Hodgson, Dominic A; Convey, Peter; Griffiths, Howard

    2012-10-01

    Signy Island, maritime Antarctic, lies within the region of the Southern Hemisphere that is currently experiencing the most rapid rates of environmental change. In this study, peat cores up to 2 m in depth from four moss banks on Signy Island were used to reconstruct changes in moss growth and climatic characteristics over the late Holocene. Measurements included radiocarbon dating (to determine peat accumulation rates) and stable carbon isotope composition of moss cellulose (to estimate photosynthetic limitation by CO 2 supply and model CO 2 assimilation rate). For at least one intensively 14 C-dated Chorisodontium aciphyllum moss peat bank, the vertical accumulation rate of peat was 3.9 mm yr -1 over the last 30 years. Before the industrial revolution, rates of peat accumulation in all cores were much lower, at around 0.6-1 mm yr -1 . Carbon-13 discrimination (Δ), corrected for background and anthropogenic source inputs, was used to develop a predictive model for CO 2 assimilation. Between 1680 and 1900, there had been a gradual increase in Δ, and hence assimilation rate. Since 1800, assimilation has also been stimulated by the changes in atmospheric CO 2 concentration, but a recent decline in Δ (over the past 50-100 years) can perhaps be attributed to documented changes in temperature and/or precipitation. The overall increase in CO 2 assimilation rate ( 13 C proxy) and enhanced C accumulation ( 14 C proxy) are consistent with warmer and wetter conditions currently generating higher growth rates than at any time in the past three millennia, with the decline in Δ perhaps compensated by a longer growing season. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  5. Training Scientific Thinking Skills: Evidence from an MCAT[superscript 2015]-Aligned Classroom Module

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stevens, Courtney; Witkow, Melissa R.

    2014-01-01

    The present study reports on the development and evaluation of a classroom module to train scientific thinking skills. The module was implemented in two of four parallel sections of introductory psychology. To assess learning, a passage-based question set from the medical college admissions test (MCAT[superscript 2015]) preview guide was included…

  6. Four-hour quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction-based comprehensive chromosome screening and accumulating evidence of accuracy, safety, predictive value, and clinical efficacy.

    PubMed

    Treff, Nathan R; Scott, Richard T

    2013-03-15

    Embryonic comprehensive chromosomal euploidy may represent a powerful biomarker to improve the success of IVF. However, there are a number of aneuploidy screening strategies to consider, including different technologic platforms with which to interrogate the embryonic DNA, and different embryonic developmental stages from which DNA can be analyzed. Although there are advantages and disadvantages associated with each strategy, a series of experiments producing evidence of accuracy, safety, clinical predictive value, and clinical efficacy indicate that trophectoderm biopsy and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR)-based comprehensive chromosome screening (CCS) may represent a useful strategy to improve the success of IVF. This Biomarkers in Reproductive Medicine special issue review summarizes the accumulated experience with the development and clinical application of a 4-hour blastocyst qPCR-based CCS technology. Copyright © 2013 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Mammary candidiasis: A medical condition without scientific evidence?

    PubMed Central

    Jiménez, Esther; Arroyo, Rebeca; Cárdenas, Nivia; Marín, María; Serrano, Pilar; Fernández, Leonides

    2017-01-01

    Many physicians, midwives and lactation consultants still believe that yeasts (particularly Candida spp.) play an important role as an agent of nipple and breast pain despite the absolute absence of scientific proofs to establish such association. In this context, the objective of this study was to investigate the microorganisms involved in sore nipples and/or painful “shooting” breastfeeding by using a variety of microscopy techniques, as well as culture-dependent and–independent identification methods. Initially, 60 women (30 diagnosed as suffering “mammary candidiasis” and 30 with no painful breastfeeding) were recruited to elucidate the role of their pumps on the milk microbial profiles. After realizing the bias introduced by using such devices, manual expression was selected as the collection method for the microbiological analysis of milk samples provided by 529 women with symptoms compatible with “mammary candidiasis”. Nipple swabs and nipple biopsy samples were also collected from the participating women. Results showed that the role played by yeasts in breast and nipple pain is, if any, marginal. In contrast, our results strongly support that coagulase-negative staphylococci and streptococci (mainly from the mitis and salivarius groups) are the agents responsible for such cases. As a consequence, and following the recommendations of the US Library of Medicine for the nomenclature of infectious diseases, the term “mammary candidiasis” or “nipple thrush” should be avoided when referring to such condition and replaced by “subacute mastitis”. PMID:28704470

  8. Scientific Misconduct.

    PubMed

    Gross, Charles

    2016-01-01

    Scientific misconduct has been defined as fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism. Scientific misconduct has occurred throughout the history of science. The US government began to take systematic interest in such misconduct in the 1980s. Since then, a number of studies have examined how frequently individual scientists have observed scientific misconduct or were involved in it. Although the studies vary considerably in their methodology and in the nature and size of their samples, in most studies at least 10% of the scientists sampled reported having observed scientific misconduct. In addition to studies of the incidence of scientific misconduct, this review considers the recent increase in paper retractions, the role of social media in scientific ethics, several instructional examples of egregious scientific misconduct, and potential methods to reduce research misconduct.

  9. Scientific production of medical sciences universities in north of iran.

    PubMed

    Siamian, Hasan; Firooz, Mousa Yamin; Vahedi, Mohammad; Aligolbandi, Kobra

    2013-01-01

    NONE DECLARED. The study of the scientific evidence citation production by famous databases of the world is one of the important indicators to evaluate and rank the universities. The study at investigating the scientific production of Northern Iran Medical Sciences Universities in Scopus from 2005 through 2010. This survey used scientometrics technique. The samples under studies were the scientific products of four northern Iran Medical universities. Viewpoints quantity of the Scientific Products Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences stands first and of Babol University of Medical Sciences ranks the end, but from the viewpoints of quality of scientific products of considering the H-Index and the number of cited papers the Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences is a head from the other universities under study. From the viewpoints of subject of the papers, the highest scientific products belonged to the faculty of Pharmacy affiliated to Mazandaran University of Medial Sciences, but the three other universities for the genetics and biochemistry. Results showed that the Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences as compared to the other understudies universities ranks higher for the number of articles, cited articles, number of hard work authors and H-Index of Scopus database from 2005 through 2010.

  10. Evidence-based approach for continuous improvement of occupational health.

    PubMed

    Manzoli, Lamberto; Sotgiu, Giovanni; Magnavita, Nicola; Durando, Paolo

    2015-01-01

    It was recognized early on that an Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) approach could be applied to Public Health (PH), including the area of Occupational Health (OH). The aim of Evidence-Based Occupational Health (EBOH) is to ensure safety, health, and well-being in the workplace. Currently, high-quality research is necessary in order to provide arguments and scientific evidence upon which effective, efficient, and sustainable preventive measures and policies are to be developed in the workplace in Western countries. Occupational physicians need to integrate available scientific evidence and existing recommendations with a framework of national employment laws and regulations. This paper addresses the state of the art of scientific evidence available in the field (i.e., efficacy of interventions, usefulness of education and training of workers, and need of a multidisciplinary strategy integrated within the national PH programs) and the main critical issues for their implementation. Promoting good health is a fundamental part of the smart, inclusive growth objectives of Europe 2020 - Europe's growth strategy: keeping people healthy and active for longer has a positive impact on productivity and competitiveness. It appears clear that health quality and safety in the workplace play a key role for smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth in Western countries.

  11. Evidence-based medicine and epistemological imperialism: narrowing the divide between evidence and illness.

    PubMed

    Crowther, Helen; Lipworth, Wendy; Kerridge, Ian

    2011-10-01

    Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has been rapidly and widely adopted because it claims to provide a method for determining the safety and efficacy of medical therapies and public health interventions more generally. However, as others have noted, EBM may be riven through with cultural bias, both in the generation of evidence and in its translation. We suggest that technological and scientific advances in medicine accentuate and entrench these cultural biases, to the extent that they may invalidate the evidence we have about disease and its treatment. This creates a significant ethical, epistemological and ontological challenge for medicine. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  12. Extending the Reach of Evidence-Based Medicine: A Proposed Categorization of Lower-Level Evidence.

    PubMed

    Detterbeck, Frank C; Gould, Michael K; Lewis, Sandra Zelman; Patel, Sheena

    2018-02-01

    Clinical practice involves making many treatment decisions for which only limited formal evidence exists. While the methodology of evidence-based medicine (EBM) has evolved tremendously, there is a need to better characterize lower-level evidence. This should enhance the ability to appropriately weigh the evidence against other considerations, and counter the temptation to think it is more robust than it actually is. A framework to categorize lower-level evidence is proposed, consisting of nonrandomized comparisons, extrapolation using indirect evidence, rationale, and clinical experience (ie, an accumulated general impression). Subtypes are recognized within these categories, based on the degree of confounding in nonrandomized comparisons, the uncertainty involved in extrapolation from indirect evidence, and the plausibility of a rationale. Categorizing the available evidence in this way can promote a better understanding of the strengths and limitations of using such evidence as the basis for treatment decisions in clinically relevant areas that are devoid of higher-level evidence. Copyright © 2017 American College of Chest Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Addressing Unconscious Bias: Steps toward an Inclusive Scientific Culture

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stewart, Abigail

    2011-01-01

    In this talk I will outline the nature of unconscious bias, as it operates to exclude or marginalize some participants in the scientific community. I will show how bias results from non-conscious expectations about certain groups of people, including scientists and astronomers. I will outline scientific research in psychology, sociology and economics that has identified the impact these expectations have on interpersonal judgments that are at the heart of assessment of individuals' qualifications. This research helps us understand not only how bias operates within a single instance of evaluation, but how evaluation bias can accumulate over a career if not checked, creating an appearance of confirmation of biased expectations. Some research has focused on how best to interrupt and mitigate unconscious bias, and many institutions--including the University of Michigan--have identified strategic interventions at key points of institutional decision-making (particularly hiring, annual review, and promotion) that can make a difference. The NSF ADVANCE Institutional Transformation program encouraged institutions to draw on the social science literature to create experimental approaches to addressing unconscious bias. I will outline four approaches to intervention that have arisen through the ADVANCE program: (1) systematic education that increases awareness among decisionmakers of how evaluation bias operates; (2) development of practices that mitigate the operation of bias even when it is out of conscious awareness; (3) creation of institutional policies that routinize and sanction these practices; and (4) holding leaders accountable for these implementation of these new practices and policies. Although I will focus on ways to address unconscious bias within scientific institutions (colleges and universities, laboratories and research centers, etc.), I will close by considering how scientific organizations can address unconscious bias and contribute to creating an

  14. Accumulation of atmospheric sulfur in some Costa Rican soils

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bern, Carleton R.; Townsend, Alan R.

    2013-01-01

    Sulfur is one of the macronutrient elements whose sources to terrestrial ecosystems should shift from dominance by rock-weathering to atmospheric deposition as soils and underlying substrate undergo progressive weathering and leaching. However, the nature and timing of this transition is not well known. We investigated sources of sulfur to tropical rain forests growing on basalt-derived soils in the Osa Peninsula region of Costa Rica. Sulfur sources were examined using stable isotope ratios (δ34S) and compared to chemical indices of soil development. The most weathered soils, and the forests they supported, are dominated by atmospheric sulfur, while a less weathered soil type contains both rock-derived and atmospheric sulfur. Patterns of increasing δ34S with increasing soil sulfur concentration across the landscape suggest atmospheric sulfur is accumulating, and little rock-derived sulfur has been retained. Soil sulfur, minus adsorbed sulfate, is correlated with carbon and nitrogen, implying that sulfur accumulation occurs as plants and microbes incorporate sulfur into organic matter. Only the lower depth increments of the more weathered soils contained significant adsorbed sulfate. The evidence suggests a pattern of soil development in which sulfur-bearing minerals in rock, such as sulfides, weather early relative to other minerals, and the released sulfate is leached away. Sulfur added via atmospheric deposition is retained as organic matter accumulates in the soil profile. Adsorbed sulfate accumulates later, driven by changes in soil chemistry and mineralogy. These aspects of sulfur behavior during pedogenesis in this environment may hasten the transition to dominance by atmospheric sources.

  15. Herbal Supplements for Prostate Enlargement: Current State of the Evidence.

    PubMed

    Nabavizadeh, Reza; Zangi, Mahdi; Kim, Michelle M; Yavari Bejestani, Maryam; Tabatabaei, Shahin

    2018-02-01

    To provide a comprehensive review of the current state of herbal supplement market for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and correlate the ingredients of each product with available scientific evidence. Twenty-seven products from Amazon.com that were advertised as herbal supplements for LUTS and had listed their active ingredients were selected. Active ingredients were reviewed on Google Scholar. Product price, warranty, and consumer review information were also collected. A total of 58 unique active ingredients were identified. The mean number of ingredients was 8.26 (standard deviation 5.25). Whereas 17 (63%) products had an ingredient with a systematic review to support their use, 20 (74%) had an ingredient with conflicting evidence based on systematic reviews. Out of the supplements that contained ingredients supported by literature, all (100%) products simultaneously had other ingredients with no, conflicting, or refuting evidence. There was no (0%) product that contained only scientifically proven ingredients. There is no scientific study to evaluate these supplements as a whole. Despite the widespread use of herbal supplements for LUTS, there is scant scientific evidence to support their safety and efficacy. Lack of adequate regulation and government support for research and development are some of the factors that disincentivize researchers to study safety and efficacy of these products. We encourage physicians to warn their patients on the lack of adequate evidence to support the safety and efficacy of many of these supplements. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Scientific Reporting: Raising the Standards.

    PubMed

    McLeroy, Kenneth R; Garney, Whitney; Mayo-Wilson, Evan; Grant, Sean

    2016-10-01

    This article is based on a presentation that was made at the 2014 annual meeting of the editorial board of Health Education & Behavior. The article addresses critical issues related to standards of scientific reporting in journals, including concerns about external and internal validity and reporting bias. It reviews current reporting guidelines, effects of adopting guidelines, and offers suggestions for improving reporting. The evidence about the effects of guideline adoption and implementation is briefly reviewed. Recommendations for adoption and implementation of appropriate guidelines, including considerations for journals, are provided. © 2016 Society for Public Health Education.

  17. Corroborating evidence-based medicine.

    PubMed

    Mebius, Alexander

    2014-12-01

    Proponents of evidence-based medicine (EBM) have argued convincingly for applying this scientific method to medicine. However, the current methodological framework of the EBM movement has recently been called into question, especially in epidemiology and the philosophy of science. The debate has focused on whether the methodology of randomized controlled trials provides the best evidence available. This paper attempts to shift the focus of the debate by arguing that clinical reasoning involves a patchwork of evidential approaches and that the emphasis on evidence hierarchies of methodology fails to lend credence to the common practice of corroboration in medicine. I argue that the strength of evidence lies in the evidence itself, and not the methodology used to obtain that evidence. Ultimately, when it comes to evaluating the effectiveness of medical interventions, it is the evidence obtained from the methodology rather than the methodology that should establish the strength of the evidence. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  18. Science, truth, and forensic cultures: the exceptional legal status of DNA evidence.

    PubMed

    Lynch, Michael

    2013-03-01

    Many epistemological terms, such as investigation, inquiry, argument, evidence, and fact were established in law well before being associated with science. However, while legal proof remained qualified by standards of 'moral certainty', scientific proof attained a reputation for objectivity. Although most forms of legal evidence (including expert evidence) continue to be treated as fallible 'opinions' rather than objective 'facts', forensic DNA evidence increasingly is being granted an exceptional factual status. It did not always enjoy such status. Two decades ago, the scientific status of forensic DNA evidence was challenged in the scientific literature and in courts of law, but by the late 1990s it was being granted exceptional legal status. This paper reviews the ascendancy of DNA profiling, and argues that its widely-heralded objective status is bound up with systems of administrative accountability. The 'administrative objectivity' of DNA evidence rests upon observable and reportable bureaucratic rules, records, recording devices, protocols, and architectural arrangements. By highlighting administrative sources of objectivity, this paper suggests that DNA evidence remains bound within the context of ordinary organisational and practical routines, and is not a transcendent source of 'truth' in the criminal justice system. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  19. The development of scientific evidence for health policies for obesity: why and how

    PubMed Central

    Richardson, Molly B.; Williams, Michelle S.; Fontaine, Kevin R.; Allison, David B.

    2017-01-01

    Potential obesity-related policy approaches have recently been receiving more attention. While some have been implemented and others only proposed, few have been formally evaluated. We discuss the relevance, and in some cases irrelevance, of some of the types of evidence that are often brought to bear in considering obesity-related policy decisions. We discuss major methods used to generate such evidence, emphasizing study design and the varying quality of the evidence obtained. Third, we consider what the standards of evidence should be in various contexts, who ought to set those standards, as well as the inherent subjectivity involved in making policy decisions. Finally, we suggest greater transparency from both academics and policymakers in the acknowledgment of subjectivities so they can distinguish and communicate the roles played by empirical evidence and subjective values in the formulation of policy. PMID:28293021

  20. Replicative nature of Indian research, essence of scientific temper, and future of scientific progress.

    PubMed

    Singh, Ajai R; Singh, Shakuntala A

    2004-01-01

    A lot of Indian research is replicative in nature. This is because originality is at a premium here and mediocrity is in great demand. But replication has its merit as well because it helps in corroboration. And that is the bedrock on which many a fancied scientific hypothesis or theory stands, or falls. However, to go from replicative to original research will involve a massive effort to restructure the Indian psyche and an all round effort from numerous quarters.The second part of this paper deals with the essence of scientific temper,which need not have any basic friendship, or animosity, with religion, faith, superstition and other such entities. A true scientist follows two cardinal rules. He is never unwilling to accept the worth of evidence, howsoever damning to the most favourite of his theories. Second, and perhaps more important, for want of evidence, he withholds comment. He says neither yes nor no.Where will Science ultimately lead Man is the third part of this essay. One argument is that the conflict between Man and Science will continue tilleither of them is exhausted or wiped out. The other believes that it is Science which has to be harnessed for Man and not Man used for Science. And with the numerous checks and balances in place, Science will remain an effective tool for man's progress. The essential value-neutrality of Science will have to be supplemented by the values that man has upheld for centuries as fundamental, and which religious thought and moral philosophy have continuously professed.

  1. Replicative Nature of Indian Research, Essence of Scientific Temper, and Future of Scientific Progress*

    PubMed Central

    Singh, Ajai R.; Singh, Shakuntala A.

    2004-01-01

    A lot of Indian research is replicative in nature. This is because originality is at a premium here and mediocrity is in great demand. But replication has its merit as well because it helps in corroboration. And that is the bedrock on which many a fancied scientific hypothesis or theory stands, or falls. However, to go from replicative to original research will involve a massive effort to restructure the Indian psyche and an all round effort from numerous quarters. The second part of this paper deals with the essence of scientific temper,which need not have any basic friendship, or animosity, with religion, faith, superstition and other such entities. A true scientist follows two cardinal rules. He is never unwilling to accept the worth of evidence, howsoever damning to the most favourite of his theories. Second, and perhaps more important, for want of evidence, he withholds comment. He says neither yes nor no. Where will Science ultimately lead Man is the third part of this essay. One argument is that the conflict between Man and Science will continue tilleither of them is exhausted or wiped out. The other believes that it is Science which has to be harnessed for Man and not Man used for Science. And with the numerous checks and balances in place, Science will remain an effective tool for man's progress. The essential value-neutrality of Science will have to be supplemented by the values that man has upheld for centuries as fundamental, and which religious thought and moral philosophy have continuously professed. PMID:22815607

  2. Diversity of social ties in scientific collaboration networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shi, Quan; Xu, Bo; Xu, Xiaomin; Xiao, Yanghua; Wang, Wei; Wang, Hengshan

    2011-11-01

    Diversity is one of the important perspectives to characterize behaviors of individuals in social networks. It is intuitively believed that diversity of social ties accounts for competition advantage and idea innovation. However, quantitative evidences in a real large social network can be rarely found in the previous research. Thanks to the availability of scientific publication records on WWW; now we can construct a large scientific collaboration network, which provides us a chance to gain insight into the diversity of relationships in a real social network through statistical analysis. In this article, we dedicate our efforts to perform empirical analysis on a scientific collaboration network extracted from DBLP, an online bibliographic database in computer science, in a systematical way, finding the following: distributions of diversity indices tend to decay in an exponential or Gaussian way; diversity indices are not trivially correlated to existing vertex importance measures; authors of diverse social ties tend to connect to each other and these authors are generally more competitive than others.

  3. Mental models as indicators of scientific thinking

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Derosa, Donald Anthony

    One goal of science education reform is student attainment of scientific literacy. Therefore, it is imperative for science educators to identify its salient elements. A dimension of scientific literacy that warrants careful consideration is scientific thinking and effective ways to foster scientific thinking among students. This study examined the use of mental models as evidence of scientific thinking in the context of two instructional approaches, transmissional and constructivist. Types of mental models, frequency of explanative information, and scores on problem solving transfer questions were measured and compared among subjects in each instructional context. Methods. Subjects consisted of sophomore biology students enrolled in general biology courses at three public high schools. The Group Assessment of Logical Thinking instrument was used to identify two equivalent groups with an N of 65. Each group was taught the molecular basis of sickle cell anemia and the principles of hemoglobin gel electrophoresis using one of the two instructional approaches at their schools during five instructional periods over the course of one week. Laboratory equipment and materials were provided by Boston University School of Medicine's MobileLab program. Following the instructional periods, each subject was asked to think aloud while responding to four problem solving transfer questions. Each response was audiotaped and videotaped. The interviews were transcribed and coded to identify types of mental models and explanative information. Subjects' answers to the problem solving transfer questions were scored using a rubric. Results. Students taught in a constructivist context tended to use more complete mental models than students taught in a transmissional context. Fifty-two percent of constructivist subjects and forty-four percent of transmissional subjects demonstrated evidence of relevant mental models. Overall fifty-two percent of the subjects expressed naive mental models

  4. Scientific and technical complex for modeling, researching and testing of rocket-space vehicles’ electric power installations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bezruchko, Konstantin; Davidov, Albert

    2009-01-01

    In the given article scientific and technical complex for modeling, researching and testing of rocket-space vehicles' power installations which was created in Power Source Laboratory of National Aerospace University "KhAI" is described. This scientific and technical complex gives the opportunity to replace the full-sized tests on model tests and to reduce financial and temporary inputs at modeling, researching and testing of rocket-space vehicles' power installations. Using the given complex it is possible to solve the problems of designing and researching of rocket-space vehicles' power installations efficiently, and also to provide experimental researches of physical processes and tests of solar and chemical batteries of rocket-space complexes and space vehicles. Scientific and technical complex also allows providing accelerated tests, diagnostics, life-time control and restoring of chemical accumulators for rocket-space vehicles' power supply systems.

  5. Enhancing Scientific Literacy by Targeting Specific Scientific Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hicks, Sylvia; MacDonald, Shane; Martin, Ela

    2017-01-01

    The term scientific literacy is increasingly used by governments and teaching bodies, stemming from a growing international concern by scientists and government, who recognize the economic significance of developing scientific skills (McGregor & Kearton, 2010). However, in a society that requires students to be scientifically literate,…

  6. Ecological strategies of Al-accumulating and non-accumulating functional groups from the cerrado sensu stricto.

    PubMed

    Souza, Marcelo C de; Bueno, Paula C P; Morellato, Leonor P C; Habermann, Gustavo

    2015-01-01

    The cerrado's flora comprises aluminum-(Al) accumulating and non-accumulating plants, which coexist on acidic and Al-rich soils with low fertility. Despite their existence, the ecological importance or biological strategies of these functional groups have been little explored. We evaluated the leaf flushing patterns of both groups throughout a year; leaf concentrations of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Al, total flavonoids and polyphenols; as well as the specific leaf area (SLA) on young and mature leaves within and between the groups. In Al-accumulating plants, leaf flushed throughout the year, mainly in May and September; for non-accumulating plants, leaf flushing peaked at the dry-wet seasons transition. However, these behaviors could not be associated with strategies for building up concentrations of defense compounds in leaves of any functional groups. Al-accumulating plants showed low leaf nutrient concentrations, while non-accumulating plants accumulated more macronutrients and produced leaves with high SLA since the juvenile leaf phase. This demonstrates that the increase in SLA is slower in Al-accumulating plants that are likely to achieve SLA values comparable to the rest of the plant community only in the wet season, when sunlight capture is important for the growth of new branches.

  7. Human Health Effects of Biphenyl: Key Findings and Scientific Issues

    PubMed Central

    Li, Zheng; Hogan, Karen A.; Cai, Christine; Rieth, Susan

    2015-01-01

    Background: In support of the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has evaluated the human health hazards of biphenyl exposure. Objectives: We review key findings and scientific issues regarding expected human health effects of biphenyl. Methods: Scientific literature from 1926 through September 2012 was critically evaluated to identify potential human health hazards associated with biphenyl exposure. Key issues related to the carcinogenicity and noncancer health hazards of biphenyl were examined based on evidence from experimental animal bioassays and mechanistic studies. Discussion: Systematic consideration of experimental animal studies of oral biphenyl exposure took into account the variety of study designs (e.g., study sizes, exposure levels, and exposure durations) to reconcile differing reported results. The available mechanistic and toxicokinetic evidence supports the hypothesis that male rat urinary bladder tumors arise through urinary bladder calculi formation but is insufficient to hypothesize a mode of action for liver tumors in female mice. Biphenyl and its metabolites may induce genetic damage, but a role for genotoxicity in biphenyl-induced carcinogenicity has not been established. Conclusions: The available health effects data for biphenyl provides suggestive evidence for carcinogenicity in humans, based on increased incidences of male rat urinary bladder tumors at high exposure levels and on female mouse liver tumors. Kidney toxicity is also a potential human health hazard of biphenyl exposure. Citation: Li Z, Hogan KA, Cai C, Rieth S. 2016. Human health effects of biphenyl: key findings and scientific issues. Environ Health Perspect 124:703–712; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1509730 PMID:26529796

  8. Human Health Effects of Biphenyl: Key Findings and Scientific Issues.

    PubMed

    Li, Zheng; Hogan, Karen A; Cai, Christine; Rieth, Susan

    2016-06-01

    In support of the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has evaluated the human health hazards of biphenyl exposure. We review key findings and scientific issues regarding expected human health effects of biphenyl. Scientific literature from 1926 through September 2012 was critically evaluated to identify potential human health hazards associated with biphenyl exposure. Key issues related to the carcinogenicity and noncancer health hazards of biphenyl were examined based on evidence from experimental animal bioassays and mechanistic studies. Systematic consideration of experimental animal studies of oral biphenyl exposure took into account the variety of study designs (e.g., study sizes, exposure levels, and exposure durations) to reconcile differing reported results. The available mechanistic and toxicokinetic evidence supports the hypothesis that male rat urinary bladder tumors arise through urinary bladder calculi formation but is insufficient to hypothesize a mode of action for liver tumors in female mice. Biphenyl and its metabolites may induce genetic damage, but a role for genotoxicity in biphenyl-induced carcinogenicity has not been established. The available health effects data for biphenyl provides suggestive evidence for carcinogenicity in humans, based on increased incidences of male rat urinary bladder tumors at high exposure levels and on female mouse liver tumors. Kidney toxicity is also a potential human health hazard of biphenyl exposure. Li Z, Hogan KA, Cai C, Rieth S. 2016. Human health effects of biphenyl: key findings and scientific issues. Environ Health Perspect 124:703-712; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1509730.

  9. Teaching with Insects: An Applied Life Science Course for Supporting Prospective Elementary Teachers' Scientific Inquiry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haefner, Leigh A.; Friedrichsen, Patricia Meis; Zembal-Saul, Carla

    2006-01-01

    The National Science Education Standards (National Research Council [NRC], 1996) call for a greater emphasis on scientific inquiry in K-12 science classes. The Inquiry Standards recommend that students be engaged with scientific questions in which they collect and interpret data, give priority to evidence to construct explanations, test those…

  10. Experimental evidence of zone-center optical phonon softening by accumulating holes in thin Ge

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kabuyanagi, Shoichi; Nishimura, Tomonori; Yajima, Takeaki

    2016-01-15

    We discuss the impact of free carriers on the zone-center optical phonon frequency in germanium (Ge). By taking advantage of the Ge-on-insulator structure, we measured the Raman spectroscopy by applying back-gate bias. Phonon softening by accumulating holes in Ge film was clearly observed. This fact strongly suggests that the phonon softening in heavily-doped Ge is mainly attributed to the free carrier effect rather than the dopant atom counterpart. Furthermore, we propose that the free carrier effect on phonon softening is simply understandable from the viewpoint of covalent bonding modification by free carriers.

  11. Basic Science Evidence for the Link Between Erectile Dysfunction and Cardiometabolic Dysfunction

    PubMed Central

    Musicki, Biljana; Bella, Anthony J.; Bivalacqua, Trinity J.; Davies, Kelvin P.; DiSanto, Michael E.; Gonzalez-Cadavid, Nestor F.; Hannan, Johanna L.; Kim, Noel N.; Podlasek, Carol A.; Wingard, Christopher J.; Burnett, Arthur L.

    2016-01-01

    Introduction Although clinical evidence supports an association between cardiovascular/metabolic diseases (CVMD) and erectile dysfunction (ED), scientific evidence for this link is incompletely elucidated. Aim This study aims to provide scientific evidence for the link between CVMD and ED. Methods In this White Paper, the Basic Science Committee of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America assessed the current literature on basic scientific support for a mechanistic link between ED and CVMD, and deficiencies in this regard with a critical assessment of current preclinical models of disease. Results A link exists between ED and CVMD on several grounds: the endothelium (endothelium-derived nitric oxide and oxidative stress imbalance); smooth muscle (SM) (SM abundance and altered molecular regulation of SM contractility); autonomic innervation (autonomic neuropathy and decreased neuronal-derived nitric oxide); hormones (impaired testosterone release and actions); and metabolics (hyperlipidemia, advanced glycation end product formation). Conclusion Basic science evidence supports the link between ED and CVMD. The Committee also highlighted gaps in knowledge and provided recommendations for guiding further scientific study defining this risk relationship. This endeavor serves to develop novel strategic directions for therapeutic interventions. PMID:26646025

  12. Instructional scientific humor in the secondary classroom

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wizner, Francine

    This study is an examination of the manner in which educators employ scientific content humor and how that humor is perceived by their students. Content humor is a useful strategy in drawing the attention of students and improving their receptivity toward scientific information. It is also a useful tool in combating the growing distractions of the electronic classroom. Previous studies have found that humor has a positive effect on knowledge, memory, and understanding. However, few studies have been conducted below the undergraduate level and mainly quantitative measures of student recall have been used to measure learning. This study employed multiple data sources to determine how two secondary biology teachers used humor in order to explain scientific concepts and how their students perceived their teachers' use of scientific instructional humor. Evidence of student humor reception was collected from four students in each of the two classes. All of the scientific instructional humor used in the studied classrooms was cognitive in nature, varying among factual, procedural, conceptual, and metacognitive knowledge. Teachers tended to use dialogic forms of humor. Their scientific humor reflected everyday experiences, presented queries, poked fun at authority, and asked students to search out new perspectives and perform thought experiments. Teachers were the primary actors in performing the humorous events. The events were sometimes physical exaggerations of words or drawings, and they occurred for the purpose of establishing rapport or having students make connections between scientific concepts and prior knowledge. Student perceptions were that teachers did employ humor toward instructional objectives that helped their learning. Helping students become critical thinkers is a trademark of science teachers. Science teachers who take the risk of adopting some attributes of comedians may earn the reward of imparting behaviors on their students like critical thinking

  13. The Effectiveness of Scientific Inquiry With/Without Integration of Scientific Reasoning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Chun-Ting; She, Hsiao-Ching

    2015-01-01

    This study examines the difference in effectiveness between two scientific inquiry programs-one with an emphasis on scientific reasoning and one without a scientific reasoning component-on students' scientific concepts, scientific concept-dependent reasoning, and scientific inquiry. A mixed-method approach was used in which 115 grade 5…

  14. Uptake, accumulation and metabolization of the antidepressant fluoxetine by Mytilus galloprovincialis.

    PubMed

    Silva, Liliana J G; Martins, Margarida C; Pereira, André M P T; Meisel, Leonor M; Gonzalez-Rey, Maria; Bebianno, Maria João; Lino, Celeste M; Pena, Angelina

    2016-06-01

    Fluoxetine, a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant, is among the most prescribed pharmaceutical active substances worldwide. This study aimed to assess its accumulation and metabolization in the mussel Mytillus galloprovincialis, considered an excellent sentinel species for traditional and emerging pollutants. Mussels were collected from Ria Formosa Lagoon, Portugal, and exposed to a nominal concentration of fluoxetine (75 ng L(-1)) for 15 days. Approximately 1 g of whole mussel soft tissues was extracted with acetonitrile:formic acid, loaded into an Oasis MCX cartridge, and fluoxetine analysed by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MSn). After 3 days of exposure, fluoxetine was accumulated in 70% of the samples, with a mean of 2.53 ng g(-1) dry weight (d.w.) and norfluoxetine was only detected in one sample (10%), at 3.06 ng g(-1) d.w. After 7 days of exposure, the accumulation of fluoxetine and norfluoxetine increased up to 80 and 50% respectively, and their mean accumulated levels in mussel tissues were up to 4.43 and 2.85 ng g(-1) d.w., respectively. By the end of the exposure period (15 days), both compounds were detected in 100% of the samples (mean of 9.31 and 11.65 ng g(-1) d.w., respectively). Statistical analysis revealed significant accumulation differences between the 3rd and 15th day of exposure for fluoxetine, and between the 3rd and 7th against the 15th day of exposure for norfluoxetine. These results suggest that the fluoxetine accumulated in mussel tissues is likely to be metabolised into norfluoxetine with the increase of the time of exposure, giving evidence that at these realistic environmental concentrations, toxic effects of fluoxetine in mussel tissues may occur. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Effect of Hypergravity and Phytohormones on Isoflavonoid Accumulation in Soybean ( Glycine max. L.) Callus

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Downey, Peter J.; Levine, Lanfang H.; Musgrave, Mary E.; McKeon-Bennett, Michelle; Moane, Siobhán

    2013-02-01

    The objective of this study was to explore the potential interaction between gravity and growth hormones on isoflavonoid accumulation. Soybean callus ( Glycine max (L.) Merr. cv. `Acme') was grown in the dark for 16 days at 22 °C in a growth medium supplemented with four different combinations of phytohormones and subjected to 4- g and 8- g forces simulated in a centrifuge and 1- g in an adjacent stationary control. Isoflavonoid aglycones and their glycoside concentrations (daidzein, genistein, daidzin, 6″-O-malonyl-7-O-glucosyl daidzein, genistin, 6″-O-malonyl-7-O-glucosyl genistein) were determined in the resulting tissues. Although gravity had no significant impact on callus growth, increasing gravity reduced isoflavonoid accumulation in three out of the four phytohormone-supplemented culture media. The ratio of the auxin naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) to the cytokinin benzylaminopurine (BAP) was found to have profound effect on both callus growth and isoflavonoid accumulation. The cytokinin BAP promoted callus tissue growth, but reduced callus isoflavonoid suggesting the isoflavonoid accumulation was not keeping pace with the cell growth in the elevated concentration of BAP. On the other hand, NAA had little or no effect on callus growth, but greatly enhanced isoflavonoid accumulation. Interactive effects of gravity and hormone on isoflavonoid accumulation were evident and its implication to the mechanism by which gravity exerts the effect on plant secondary metabolites is discussed.

  16. Contextually Aided Recovery (CARe): a scientific theory for innate healing.

    PubMed

    Newell, Dave; Lothe, Lise R; Raven, Timothy J L

    2017-01-01

    The chiropractic profession emerged when scientific explanations for causes of health and disease were still in infancy and the co-existence of notions such as innate healing and vitalism were perhaps admissible within such a historical context. Notwithstanding, within the scientific culture of the 21 st Century all healthcare paradigms require evidential support which in regard these early concepts are in large part, absent. Nevertheless, a large body of emerging scientific evidence supports the existence of innate healing phenomena that may explain a plethora of clinical outcomes observed during chiropractic care. However, in contrast to the notion that removing the putative subluxation constitutes the mechanism by which this healing is initiated, the evidentially supported explanation is one that invokes the impact of contextual factors inherent in the skilful care and authority of the healthcare provider. This perspective is presented here as the scientific model of Contextually Aided Recovery (CARe). This paper contends that;Contextual effects are powerful and desirable and are triggered by contextual factors present in all therapeutic encounters including those encountered in chiropractic practice.These factors can elicit large clinical effects with substantive evidence supporting pain, immune and motor modulation.The compartmentalisation of specific and non-specific effects is a biologically and scientifically false dichotomy, erroneously invoked to de-legitimise treatment approaches that expertly construct contextual healing scenarios.The use of factors to construct contextual healing scenarios that maximise positive (placebo) and minimize negative (nocebo) effects is a skilful clinical art within the multimodal approach that describes modern chiropractic care and should be presented and defended as a legitimate component of orthodox healthcare Clinical improvement during chiropractic care, beyond any biologically specific treatment effects of manipulation

  17. Is the Study of Happiness a Worthy Scientific Pursuit?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Norrish, Jacolyn M.; Vella-Brodrick, Dianne A.

    2008-01-01

    This paper critiques the view that the study of happiness is not a worthy scientific pursuit. The happiness set point and hedonic treadmill theories denote the complexity of increasing happiness levels due to genetic limitations and adaptation, however, there is mounting evidence to suggest that with the use of appropriate measures and specific…

  18. Continuous and Episodic Modern Sediment Accumulation on Monterey Fan: Evidence from Ddt, 137Cs and Excess 210Pb

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gwiazda, R.; Paull, C. K.; Alexander, C. R.; Ussler, W.

    2012-12-01

    The mode and magnitude of fine-grained sediment accumulation on the Monterey Fan off the California central coast was investigated using pesticide concentrations and radioactive tracer profiles in sediment cores. DDT is a man-made pesticide that was used extensively in central California between 1945 and 1970. As such, its presence in marine sediments is a telltale sign of a modern sedimentation age. DDT and its metabolites, DDE and DDD, (collectively referred to as DDTr) were measured in fifty-five ~20cm-long sediment cores collected from the surface of the Monterey Fan up to 250 km to the south and 210 km to the west of the Monterey Canyon head, and in four transects across the Monterey Canyon channel at maximum water depths of 3160, 3380, 3580, and 3880 meters. Profiles of excess 210Pb (210Pbxs) and 137Cs were measured in 5 cores from the Fan to estimate recent sedimentation rates. Detectable levels of DDTr were observed in all but one of these cores, with DDTr concentrations characteristically highest at the surface and decreasing with depth. The area-normalized and depth-integrated DDTr content measured in all the cores in the Fan and in the deepest two channel transects was geographically fairly homogenous, with no statistical relationship between DDTr inventory and distance from the main channel crossing the Fan. The total sediment mass deposited on the Fan over the last 60 years, inferred from the total inventory of DDTr present in the area surveyed, is consistent with the amount of sediment delivered by the Salinas River over the same time period. 210Pbxs activities are fairly homogeneous within an uppermost layer of variable thickness (4.6-8cm) and decrease exponentially below it, but these exponential decreases are often interrupted by horizons with constant or increased 210Pbxs activity. Moreover, the coexistence of variable DDTr concentrations with homogeneous 210Pbxs activities in the top sediment indicates that the uniformity of 210Pbxs is not due

  19. Distinguishing Science from Pseudoscience in School Psychology: Science and Scientific Thinking as Safeguards against Human Error

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lilienfeld, Scott O.; Ammirati, Rachel; David, Michal

    2012-01-01

    Like many domains of professional psychology, school psychology continues to struggle with the problem of distinguishing scientific from pseudoscientific and otherwise questionable clinical practices. We review evidence for the scientist-practitioner gap in school psychology and provide a user-friendly primer on science and scientific thinking for…

  20. Hydroxynonenal-generated crosslinking fluorophore accumulation in Alzheimer disease reveals a dichotomy of protein turnover.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Xiongwei; Castellani, Rudy J; Moreira, Paula I; Aliev, Gjumrakch; Shenk, Justin C; Siedlak, Sandra L; Harris, Peggy L R; Fujioka, Hisashi; Sayre, Lawrence M; Szweda, Pamela A; Szweda, Luke I; Smith, Mark A; Perry, George

    2012-02-01

    Lipid peroxidation generates reactive aldehydes, most notably hydroxynonenal (HNE), which covalently bind amino acid residue side chains leading to protein inactivation and insolubility. Specific adducts of lipid peroxidation have been demonstrated in intimate association with the pathological lesions of Alzheimer disease (AD), suggesting that oxidative stress is a major component of AD pathogenesis. Some HNE-protein products result in protein crosslinking through a fluorescent compound similar to lipofuscin, linking lipid peroxidation and the lipofuscin accumulation that commonly occurs in post-mitotic cells such as neurons. In this study, brain tissue from AD and control patients was examined by immunocytochemistry and immunoelectron microscopy for evidence of HNE-crosslinking modifications of the type that should accumulate in the lipofuscin pathway. Strong labeling of granulovacuolar degeneration (GVD) and Hirano bodies was noted but lipofuscin did not contain this specific HNE-fluorophore. These findings directly implicate lipid crosslinking peroxidation products as accumulating not in the lesions or the lipofuscin pathways, but instead in a distinct pathway, GVD, that accumulates cytosolic proteins. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Nutritionally enhanced crops and food security: scientific achievements versus political expediency.

    PubMed

    Farre, Gemma; Twyman, Richard M; Zhu, Changfu; Capell, Teresa; Christou, Paul

    2011-04-01

    Genetic engineering (GE) is one of a raft of strategies that can be used to tackle malnutrition. Recent scientific advances have shown that multiple deficiencies can be tackled simultaneously using engineered plant varieties containing high levels of different minerals and organic nutrients. However, the impact of this progress is being diluted by the unwillingness of politicians to see beyond immediate popular support, favoring political expediency over controversial but potentially life-saving decisions based on rational scientific evidence. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Scientific perspectives on music therapy.

    PubMed

    Hillecke, Thomas; Nickel, Anne; Bolay, Hans Volker

    2005-12-01

    What needs to be done on the long road to evidence-based music therapy? First of all, an adequate research strategy is required. For this purpose the general methodology for therapy research should be adopted. Additionally, music therapy needs a variety of methods of allied fields to contribute scientific findings, including mathematics, natural sciences, behavioral and social sciences, as well as the arts. Pluralism seems necessary as well as inevitable. At least two major research problems can be identified, however, that make the path stony: the problem of specificity and the problem of eclecticism. Neuroscientific research in music is giving rise to new ideas, perspectives, and methods; they seem to be promising prospects for a possible contribution to a theoretical and empirical scientific foundation for music therapy. Despite the huge heterogeneity of theoretical approaches in music therapy, an integrative model of working ingredients in music therapy is useful as a starting point for empirical studies in order to question what specifically works in music therapy. For this purpose, a heuristic model, consisting of five music therapy working factors (attention modulation, emotion modulation, cognition modulation, behavior modulation, and communication modulation) has been developed by the Center for Music Therapy Research (Viktor Dulger Institute) in Heidelberg. Evidence shows the effectiveness of music therapy for treating certain diseases, but the question of what it is in music therapy that works remains largely unanswered. The authors conclude with some questions to neuroscientists, which we hope may help elucidate relevant aspects of a possible link between the two disciplines.

  3. A lee-side eddy and its influence on snow accumulation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gerber, Franziska; Mott, Rebecca; Hoch, Sebastian W.; Lehning, Michael

    2016-04-01

    Knowledge of changes in seasonal mountain snow water resources is essential for e.g. hydropower companies. To successfully predict these changes a fundamental understanding of precipitation patterns and their changes in mountainous terrain is needed. Both, snow accumulation and ablation need to be investigated to make precise predictions of the amount of water stored in seasonal snow cover. Only if the processes governing snow accumulation and ablation are understood with sufficient quantitative accuracy, the evolution of snow water resources under a changing climate can be addressed. Additionally, knowledge of detailed snow accumulation patterns is essential to assess avalanche danger. In alpine terrain, snow accumulation is strongly dependent on the local wind field. Based on the concept of preferential deposition, reduced snow accumulation is expected on the upper windward slope of a mountain due to updrafts, while enhanced snow accumulation should occur through blocking at the windward foot or due to flow separation on the leeward side. However, the understanding of these processes is mainly based on numerical simulations, as they are hard to measure. A LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) campaign was conducted in October 2015 in the Dischma valley (Davos, CH) to investigate the local flow field in the lee of the Sattelhorn during a one-day snowfall event. The flow field was monitored using a plane position indicator (PPI) scan at 25/28° and a range height indicator (RHI) scan across the Sattelhorn. Additionally, snow height change measurements on the leeward side of the Sattelhorn were performed by terrestrial laser scanning (TLS). Analyses of the flow field in the framework of preferential deposition are in agreement with the concept of flow separation and preferred snow deposition on leeward slopes. A very persistent eddy that formed over the leeward slope of the Sattelhorn detached from the main flow became evident from the retrievals of the RHI scans. An

  4. An evidence-based environmental perspective of manufactured silver nanoparticle in syntheses and applications: a systematic review and critical appraisal of peer-reviewed scientific papers.

    PubMed

    Tolaymat, Thabet M; El Badawy, Amro M; Genaidy, Ash; Scheckel, Kirk G; Luxton, Todd P; Suidan, Makram

    2010-02-01

    Most recently, renewed interest has arisen in manufactured silver nanomaterials because of their unusually enhanced physicochemical properties and biological activities compared to the bulk parent materials. A wide range of applications has emerged in consumer products ranging from disinfecting medical devices and home appliances to water treatment. Because the hypothesized mechanisms that govern the fate and transport of bulk materials may not directly apply to materials at the nanoscale, there are great concerns in the regulatory and research communities about potential environmental impacts associated with the use of silver nanoparticles. In particular, the unlimited combinations of properties emerging from the syntheses and applications of silver nanoparticles are presenting an urgent need to document the predominant salt precursors, reducing agents and stabilizing agents utilized in the synthesis processes of silver nanoparticles to guide the massive efforts required for environmental risk assessment and management. The primary objective of this study is to present an evidence-based environmental perspective of silver nanoparticle properties in syntheses and applications. The following specific aims are designed to achieve the study objective: Aim 1--to document the salt precursors and agents utilized in synthesizing silver nanoparticles; Aim 2--to determine the characteristics of silver nanoparticles currently in use in the scientific literature when integrated in polymer matrices to form nanocomposites and combined with other metal nanoparticles to form bimetallic nanoparticles; Aim 3--to provide a summary of the morphology of silver nanoparticles; and (4) Aim 4--to provide an environmental perspective of the evidence presented in Aims 1 to 3. A comprehensive electronic search of scientific databases was conducted in support of the study objectives. Specific inclusion criteria were applied to gather the most pertinent research articles. Data and information

  5. 150,000 years of loess accumulation in central Alaska

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jensen, Britta J. L.; Evans, Michael E.; Froese, Duane G.; Kravchinsky, Vadim A.

    2016-03-01

    The Halfway House site in interior Alaska is arguably the most studied loess deposit in northwestern North America. The site contains a complex paleomagnetic and paleoenvironmental record, but has lacked the robust chronologic control that would allow its full potential to be exploited. Detailed reexamination of stratigraphy, paleomagnetics and tephrostratigraphy reveals a relatively complete marine isotope stage (MIS) 6 to Holocene record constrained by the Old Crow (124 ± 10 ka), VT (106 ± 10 ka), Sheep Creek-Klondike (ca. 80 ka), Dominion Creek (77 ± 8 ka) and Dawson (ca. 30.2 cal ka BP) tephras. We show two well-developed paleosols formed during Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 5e and 5a, while MIS 5c and 5b are either poorly represented or absent. The new tephrostratigraphy presented here is the most complete one to date for the late Pleistocene and indicates MIS 5 sediments are more common than previously recognized. A magnetic excursion within the sediments is identified as the post-Blake excursion (94.1 ± 7.8 ka), providing independent age control and adding to the increasing body of evidence that Alaskan loess is a detailed recorder of variations of the Earth's magnetic field over time. A high-resolution magnetic susceptibility profile placed into this new chronostratigraphic framework supports the hypothesis that wind-intensity is the main variable controlling fluctuations in susceptibility. Correlation of the susceptibility record to global marine δ18O records is complicated by highly variable accumulation rates. We find the lowest rates of accumulation during peak warm and cold stages, while abrupt increases are associated with periods of transition between marine isotope (sub)stages. Building on previous accumulation models for Alaska, surface roughness is likely a leading variable controlling loess accumulation rates during transitions and peak cold periods, but the negligible accumulation during MIS 5e and 5a suggests that loess production was

  6. Exploration of Korean Students' Scientific Imagination Using the Scientific Imagination Inventory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mun, Jiyeong; Mun, Kongju; Kim, Sung-Won

    2015-09-01

    This article reports on the study of the components of scientific imagination and describes the scales used to measure scientific imagination in Korean elementary and secondary students. In this study, we developed an inventory, which we call the Scientific Imagination Inventory (SII), in order to examine aspects of scientific imagination. We identified three conceptual components of scientific imagination, which were composed of (1) scientific sensitivity, (2) scientific creativity, and (3) scientific productivity. We administered SII to 662 students (4th-8th grades) and confirmed validity and reliability using exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach α coefficient. The characteristics of Korean elementary and secondary students' overall scientific imagination and difference across gender and grade level are discussed in the results section.

  7. The Relevance of English in Colombian Scientific Research Awareness

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cortés, Jimy Alexander; Arellano, Iván Darío

    2017-01-01

    Even though the majority of Colombian professors are also involved in research, they have limitations in their English language skills that separate them from the rest of the scientific society. Evidently, these limitations have become an obstacle in the awareness of professors' modest, but no less important, research work. In order to carry out…

  8. Personality disorders and the DSM-5: Scientific and extra-scientific factors in the maintenance of the status quo.

    PubMed

    Gøtzsche-Astrup, Oluf; Moskowitz, Andrew

    2016-02-01

    The aim of this study was to review and discuss the evidence for dimensional classification of personality disorders and the historical and sociological bases of psychiatric nosology and research. Categorical and dimensional conceptualisations of personality disorder are reviewed, with a focus on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-system's categorisation and the Five-Factor Model of personality. This frames the events leading up to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, personality disorder debacle, where the implementation of a hybrid model was blocked in a last-minute intervention by the American Psychiatric Association Board of Trustees. Explanations for these events are discussed, including the existence of invisible colleges of researchers and the fear of risking a 'scientific revolution' in psychiatry. A failure to recognise extra-scientific factors at work in classification of mental illness can have a profound and long-lasting influence on psychiatric nosology. In the end it was not scientific factors that led to the failure of the hybrid model of personality disorders, but opposing forces within the mental health community in general and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, Task Force in particular. Substantial evidence has accrued over the past decades in support of a dimensional model of personality disorders. The events surrounding the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, Personality and Personality Disorders Work Group show the difficulties in reconciling two different worldviews with a hybrid model. They also indicate the future of a psychiatric nosology that will be increasingly concerned with dimensional classification of mental illness. As such, the road is paved for more substantial changes to personality disorder classification in the International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision, in 2017. © The Royal Australian and

  9. 100 top-cited scientific papers in limb prosthetics.

    PubMed

    Eshraghi, Arezoo; Osman, Noor Azuan Abu; Gholizadeh, Hossein; Ali, Sadeeq; Shadgan, Babak

    2013-11-17

    Research has tremendously contributed to the developments in both practical and fundamental aspects of limb prosthetics. These advancements are reflected in scientific articles, particularly in the most cited papers. This article aimed to identify the 100 top-cited articles in the field of limb prosthetics and to investigate their main characteristics. Articles related to the field of limb prosthetics and published in the Web of Knowledge database of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) from the period of 1980 to 2012. The 100 most cited articles in limb prosthetics were selected based on the citation index report. All types of articles except for proceedings and letters were included in the study. The study design and level of evidence were determined using Sackett's initial rules of evidence. The level of evidence was categorized either as a systematic review or meta-analysis, randomized controlled trial, cohort study, case-control study, case series, expert opinion, or design and development. The top cited articles in prosthetics were published from 1980 to 2012 with a citation range of 11 to 90 times since publication. The mean citation rate was 24.43 (SD 16.7) times. Eighty-four percent of the articles were original publications and were most commonly prospective (76%) and case series studies (67%) that used human subjects (96%) providing level 4 evidence. Among the various fields, rehabilitation (47%), orthopedics (29%), and sport sciences (28%) were the most common fields of study. The study established that studies conducted in North America and were written in English had the highest citations. Top cited articles primarily dealt with lower limb prosthetics, specifically, on transtibial and transradial prosthetic limbs. Majority of the articles were experimental studies.

  10. Expert opinion vs. empirical evidence

    PubMed Central

    Herman, Rod A; Raybould, Alan

    2014-01-01

    Expert opinion is often sought by government regulatory agencies when there is insufficient empirical evidence to judge the safety implications of a course of action. However, it can be reckless to continue following expert opinion when a preponderance of evidence is amassed that conflicts with this opinion. Factual evidence should always trump opinion in prioritizing the information that is used to guide regulatory policy. Evidence-based medicine has seen a dramatic upturn in recent years spurred by examples where evidence indicated that certain treatments recommended by expert opinions increased death rates. We suggest that scientific evidence should also take priority over expert opinion in the regulation of genetically modified crops (GM). Examples of regulatory data requirements that are not justified based on the mass of evidence are described, and it is suggested that expertise in risk assessment should guide evidence-based regulation of GM crops. PMID:24637724

  11. The development of scientific thinking in elementary school: a comprehensive inventory.

    PubMed

    Koerber, Susanne; Mayer, Daniela; Osterhaus, Christopher; Schwippert, Knut; Sodian, Beate

    2015-01-01

    The development of scientific thinking was assessed in 1,581 second, third, and fourth graders (8-, 9-, 10-year-olds) based on a conceptual model that posits developmental progression from naïve to more advanced conceptions. Using a 66-item scale, five components of scientific thinking were addressed, including experimental design, data interpretation, and understanding the nature of science. Unidimensional and multidimensional item response theory analyses supported the instrument's reliability and validity and suggested that the multiple components of scientific thinking form a unitary construct, independent of verbal or reasoning skills. A partial credit model gave evidence for a hierarchical developmental progression. Across each grade transition, advanced conceptions increased while naïve conceptions decreased. Independent effects of intelligence, schooling, and parental education on scientific thinking are discussed. © 2014 The Authors. Child Development © 2014 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

  12. Integrating Nutrition and Child Development Interventions: Scientific Basis, Evidence of Impact, and Implementation Considerations123

    PubMed Central

    Black, Maureen M; Pérez-Escamilla, Rafael; Fernandez Rao, Sylvia

    2015-01-01

    The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have contributed to unprecedented reductions in poverty and improvement in the lives of millions of men, women, and children in low- and middle-income countries. Yet, hundreds of millions of children under 5 y of age are not reaching their developmental potential. This article reviews the scientific basis for early childhood nutrition and child development interventions, the impact of integrated interventions on children’s linear growth and cognitive development, and implementation strategies for integrated nutrition and child development programs. Advances in brain science have documented that the origins of adult health and well-being are grounded in early childhood, from conception through age 24 mo (first 1000 d) and extending to age 5 y (second 1000 d). Young children with adequate nutrition, nurturant caregiving, and opportunities for early learning have the best chances of thriving. Evidence from adoption, experimental, and quasi-experimental studies has shown that stunting prevention is sensitive during the first 1000 d, and sensitivity to child development interventions extends through the second 1000 d. Cognitive development responds to interventions post–1000 d with effect sizes that are inversely associated with initial age and length of program exposure. Integrated interventions need governance structures that support integrated policies and programming, with attention to training, supervision, and monitoring. The MDGs have been replaced by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with targets for the next 15 y. Achievement of the SDGs depends on children receiving adequate nutrition, nurturant caregiving, and learning opportunities from conception through age 5. PMID:26875208

  13. Evidence, education and practice.

    PubMed

    Kaste, Markku

    2006-01-01

    Stroke causes greater loss of quality-adjusted life years than any other disease and is also one of the most expensive disorders. The burden of stroke will increase in the future due to change in the age structure of populations. We have a vast body of evidence on how to prevent stroke and how to treat stroke patients. Good examples are treatment of hypertension, antithrombotic agents and carotid surgery in stroke prevention, thrombolysis in ischaemic stroke and stroke unit care for all stroke patients. We only have to translate scientific evidence into daily practice. If some pieces are missing, it is our duty to generate them through research. While taking part in randomized clinical trials (RCTs), the discipline, an essential part of RCTs, will improve the daily care of all stroke patients. Besides RCTs there are many other sources of scientific evidence for stroke management, one of which is the European Stroke Initiative (EUSI). The mission of the EUSI is to improve and optimize stroke management in Europe through education and by offering best practice guidelines. Also national and international societies and organizations play an important role in providing education. The human factor is one obstacle to more successful stroke management because to be more effective we must change our own clinical routine. We can make a difference by applying available evidence to our daily practice. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  14. The scientific basis for postoperative respiratory care.

    PubMed

    Branson, Richard D

    2013-11-01

    Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) are common and expensive. Costs, morbidity, and mortality are higher with PPCs than with cardiac or thromboembolic complications. Preventing and treating PPCs is a major focus of respiratory therapists, using a wide variety of techniques and devices, including incentive spirometry, CPAP, positive expiratory pressure, intrapulmonary percussive ventilation, and chest physical therapy. The scientific evidence for these techniques is lacking. CPAP has some evidence of benefit in high risk patients with hypoxemia. Incentive spirometry is used frequently, but the evidence suggests that incentive spirometry alone has no impact on PPC. Chest physical therapy, which includes mechanical clapping and postural drainage, appears to worsen atelectasis secondary to pain and splinting. As with many past respiratory therapy techniques, the profession needs to take a hard look at these techniques and work to provide only practices based on good evidence. The idea of a PPC bundle has merit and should be studied in larger, multicenter trials. Additionally, intraoperative ventilation may play a key role in the development of PPCs and should receive greater attention.

  15. Evidence-based policymaking is not like evidence-based medicine, so how far should you go to bridge the divide between evidence and policy?

    PubMed

    Cairney, Paul; Oliver, Kathryn

    2017-04-26

    There is extensive health and public health literature on the 'evidence-policy gap', exploring the frustrating experiences of scientists trying to secure a response to the problems and solutions they raise and identifying the need for better evidence to reduce policymaker uncertainty. We offer a new perspective by using policy theory to propose research with greater impact, identifying the need to use persuasion to reduce ambiguity, and to adapt to multi-level policymaking systems.We identify insights from secondary data, namely systematic reviews, critical analysis and policy theories relevant to evidence-based policymaking. The studies are drawn primarily from countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. We combine empirical and normative elements to identify the ways in which scientists can, do and could influence policy.We identify two important dilemmas, for scientists and researchers, that arise from our initial advice. First, effective actors combine evidence with manipulative emotional appeals to influence the policy agenda - should scientists do the same, or would the reputational costs outweigh the policy benefits? Second, when adapting to multi-level policymaking, should scientists prioritise 'evidence-based' policymaking above other factors? The latter includes governance principles such the 'co-production' of policy between local public bodies, interest groups and service users. This process may be based primarily on values and involve actors with no commitment to a hierarchy of evidence.We conclude that successful engagement in 'evidence-based policymaking' requires pragmatism, combining scientific evidence with governance principles, and persuasion to translate complex evidence into simple stories. To maximise the use of scientific evidence in health and public health policy, researchers should recognise the tendency of policymakers to base judgements on their beliefs, and shortcuts based on their emotions

  16. Philip Morris' new scientific initiative: an analysis

    PubMed Central

    HIRSCHHORN, N.; BIALOUS, S. A.; SHATENSTEIN, S.

    2001-01-01

    In the fall of 2000, Philip Morris re-initiated an external research grants programme ("Philip Morris External Research Program", or PMERP), the first since the dissolution of the Council for Tobacco Research (CTR) and the Center for Indoor Air Research (CIAR). The ostensible purpose of the programme is to help develop cigarette designs "that might reduce the health risk of smoking". Internal company documents also indicate that Philip Morris urgently seeks to restore its scientific "credibility", as part of a "new openness" in relation to the external community. The structure of the review panel—a cohort of external peer reviewers, a science advisory board, and an internal, anonymous review and approvals committee—is nearly identical to that of the CIAR. The majority of the named reviewers have had previous affiliation with the tobacco industry either as reviewers or grantees, but only a minority have done research directly on tobacco or smoking. The programmatic substance of the PMERP could be interpreted as soliciting exculpatory evidence with respect to smoking and exposure to smoke. We remain sceptical about the scientific integrity of PMERP.


Keywords: Philip Morris; scientific credibility; tobacco industry PMID:11544389

  17. Evidence-based practice.

    PubMed Central

    McKibbon, K A

    1998-01-01

    Evidence-based practice (EBP) is spreading in popularity in many health care disciplines. One of its main features is the reliance on the partnership among hard scientific evidence, clinical expertise, and individual patient needs and choices. Librarians play an important role in the spread of EBP because of the importance of identifying and retrieving appropriate literature from various sources for use in making health care decisions. This article gives an overview of how to search for therapy, diagnosis, etiology, and prognosis both for original studies and secondary publications such as systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and clinical practice guidelines. Understanding how this research is done, how it is indexed, and how to retrieve the clinical evidence are an important set of skills that librarians can provide for clinicians interested in EBP. PMID:9681176

  18. Turning Crisis into Opportunity: Nature of Science and Scientific Inquiry as Illustrated in the Scientific Research on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wong, Siu Ling; Kwan, Jenny; Hodson, Derek; Yung, Benny Hin Wai

    2009-01-01

    Interviews with key scientists who had conducted research on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), together with analysis of media reports, documentaries and other literature published during and after the SARS epidemic, revealed many interesting aspects of the nature of science (NOS) and scientific inquiry in contemporary scientific research in the rapidly growing field of molecular biology. The story of SARS illustrates vividly some NOS features advocated in the school science curriculum, including the tentative nature of scientific knowledge, theory-laden observation and interpretation, multiplicity of approaches adopted in scientific inquiry, the inter-relationship between science and technology, and the nexus of science, politics, social and cultural practices. The story also provided some insights into a number of NOS features less emphasised in the school curriculum—for example, the need to combine and coordinate expertise in a number of scientific fields, the intense competition between research groups (suspended during the SARS crisis), the significance of affective issues relating to intellectual honesty and the courage to challenge authority, the pressure of funding issues on the conduct of research and the ‘peace of mind’ of researchers, These less emphasised elements provided empirical evidence that NOS knowledge, like scientific knowledge itself, changes over time. They reflected the need for teachers and curriculum planners to revisit and reconsider whether the features of NOS currently included in the school science curriculum are fully reflective of the practice of science in the 21st century. In this paper, we also report on how we made use of extracts from the news reports and documentaries on SARS, together with episodes from the scientists’ interviews, to develop a multimedia instructional package for explicitly teaching the prominent features of NOS and scientific inquiry identified in the SARS research.

  19. A patient with type I CD36 deficiency whose myocardium accumulated 123I-BMIPP after 4 years.

    PubMed

    Ito, K; Sugihara, H; Tanabe, T; Zen, K; Hikosaka, T; Adachi, Y; Katoh, S; Azuma, A; Nakagawa, M

    2001-06-01

    A 73-year-old man with aortic regurgitation was examined by 123I-alpha-methyl-p-iodophenylpentadecanoic acid (BMIPP) myocardial single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in 1995. Myocardial accumulation was not evident on either the early or the delayed image obtained 15 minutes and 3 hours, respectively, after injecting 123I-BMIPP. Flow cytometric analysis of CD36 expression in monocytes and platelets identified a type I CD36 deficiency. The patient was hospitalized for severe heart failure in 1999. Upon admission, the cardiothoracic ratio on chest X-rays was 73%, and the left ventricular end-diastolic diameter on echocardiograms was enlarged to 77 mm. On the second day, we performed 123I-BMIPP myocardial SPECT. Myocardial accumulation was evident in the delayed, but not in the early image. We repeated 123I-BMIPP myocardial SPECT on the 10th day after admission. Myocardial accumulation was evident on both early and delayed images. 99mTc-tetrofosmin myocardial SPECT was immediately performed after 123I-BMIPP myocardial SPECT to distinguish myocardial from pooling images in the left ventricle, but, because the images from both 99Tc-tetrofosmin and 123I-BMIPP myocardial SPECT were idential, we considered that the 123I-BMIPP myocardial SPECT images reflected the actual myocardial condition. The CD36 molecule transports long-chain fatty acid (LCFA) on the myocardial membrane, but 123I-BMIPP scintigraphy does not show any myocardial accumulation in patients with type I CD36 deficiency, indicating that myocardial LCFA uptake occurs through CD36 on the human myocardial membrane. Even though our patient had type I CD36 deficiency, BMIPP was uptaken by the myocardium during heart failure, suggesting a variant pathway on the human myocardial membrane for LCFA uptake.

  20. Environmental risk, precaution, and scientific rationality in the context of WTO/NAFTA trade rules.

    PubMed

    Crawford-Brown, Douglas; Pauwelyn, Joost; Smith, Kelly

    2004-04-01

    This article considers the role of scientific rationality in understanding statements of risk produced by a scientific community. An argument is advanced that, while scientific rationality does impose constraints on valid scientific justifications for restrictions on products and practices, it also provides flexibility in the judgments needed to both develop and apply characterizations of risk. The implications of this flexibility for the understanding of risk estimates in WTO and NAFTA deliberations are explored, with the goal of finding an intermediate ground between the view that science unambiguously justifies or rejects a policy, and the view that science is yet another cultural tool that can be manipulated in support of any decision. The result is a proposal for a dialogical view of scientific rationality in which risk estimates are depicted as confidence distributions that follow from a structured dialogue of scientific panels focused on judgments of evidence, evidential reasoning, and epistemic analysis.

  1. The scientific basis for patient blood management.

    PubMed

    Murphy, M F; Goodnough, L T

    2015-08-01

    Patient blood management is an increasingly used term to describe an evidence-based, multidisciplinary approach to optimising the care of patients who might need transfusion. It encompasses measures to avoid transfusion such as anaemia management without transfusion, cell salvage and the use of anti-fibrinolytic drugs to reduce bleeding as well as restrictive transfusion. It ensures that patients receive the optimal treatment, and that avoidable, inappropriate use of blood and blood components is reduced. This paper provides an overview of the scientific basis for patient blood management with a focus on the increasing evidence for restrictive rather than liberal transfusion practice and the use of electronic blood ordering and decision support to facilitate its implementation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  2. Death rates reflect accumulating brain damage in arthropods.

    PubMed

    Fonseca, Duane B; Brancato, Carolina L; Prior, Andrew E; Shelton, Peter M J; Sheehy, Matt R J

    2005-09-22

    We present the results of the first quantitative, whole-lifespan study of the relationship between age-specific neurolipofuscin concentration and natural mortality rate in any organism. In a convenient laboratory animal, the African migratory locust, Locusta migratoria, we find an unusual delayed-onset neurolipofuscin accumulation pattern that is highly correlated with exponentially accelerating age-specific Gompertz-Makeham death rates in both males (r=0.93, p=0.0064) and females (r=0.97, p=0.0052). We then test the conservation of this association by aggregating the locust results with available population-specific data for a range of other terrestrial, freshwater, marine, tropical and temperate arthropods whose longevities span three orders of magnitude. This synthesis shows that the strong association between neurolipofuscin deposition and natural mortality is a phylogenetically and environmentally widespread phenomenon (r=0.96, p < 0.0001). These results highlight neurolipofuscin as a unique and outstanding integral biomarker of ageing. They also offer compelling evidence for the proposal that, in vital organs like the brain, either the accumulation of toxic garbage in the form of lipofuscin itself, or the particular molecular reactions underlying lipofuscinogenesis, including free-radical damage, are the primary events in senescence.

  3. The Role of Scientific Collections in Scientific Preparedness

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    Building on the findings and recommendations of the Interagency Working Group on Scientific Collections, Scientific Collections International (SciColl) aims to improve the rapid access to science collections across disciplines within the federal government and globally, between government agencies and private research institutions. SciColl offered a novel opportunity for the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, to explore the value of scientific research collections under the science preparedness initiative and integrate it as a research resource at each stage in the emergence of the infectious diseases cycle. Under the leadership of SciColl’s executive secretariat at the Smithsonian Institution, and with multiple federal and international partners, a workshop during October 2014 fully explored the intersections of the infectious disease cycle and the role scientific collections could play as an evidentiary scientific resource to mitigate risks associated with emerging infectious diseases. PMID:26380390

  4. The use of masks and respirators to prevent transmission of influenza: a systematic review of the scientific evidence

    PubMed Central

    bin‐Reza, Faisal; Lopez Chavarrias, Vicente; Nicoll, Angus; Chamberland, Mary E.

    2011-01-01

    Please cite this paper as: bin‐Reza et al. (2012) The use of masks and respirators to prevent transmission of influenza: a systematic review of the scientific evidence. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses 6(4), 257–267. There are limited data on the use of masks and respirators to reduce transmission of influenza. A systematic review was undertaken to help inform pandemic influenza guidance in the United Kingdom. The initial review was performed in November 2009 and updated in June 2010 and January 2011. Inclusion criteria included randomised controlled trials and quasi‐experimental and observational studies of humans published in English with an outcome of laboratory‐confirmed or clinically‐diagnosed influenza and other viral respiratory infections. There were 17 eligible studies. Six of eight randomised controlled trials found no significant differences between control and intervention groups (masks with or without hand hygiene; N95/P2 respirators). One household trial found that mask wearing coupled with hand sanitiser use reduced secondary transmission of upper respiratory infection/influenza‐like illness/laboratory‐confirmed influenza compared with education; hand sanitiser alone resulted in no reduction. One hospital‐based trial found a lower rate of clinical respiratory illness associated with non‐fit‐tested N95 respirator use compared with medical masks. Eight of nine retrospective observational studies found that mask and/or respirator use was independently associated with a reduced risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Findings, however, may not be applicable to influenza and many studies were suboptimal. None of the studies established a conclusive relationship between mask/respirator use and protection against influenza infection. Some evidence suggests that mask use is best undertaken as part of a package of personal protection especially hand hygiene. The effectiveness of masks and respirators is likely linked to

  5. Integrating visualization and interaction research to improve scientific workflows.

    PubMed

    Keefe, Daniel F

    2010-01-01

    Scientific-visualization research is, nearly by necessity, interdisciplinary. In addition to their collaborators in application domains (for example, cell biology), researchers regularly build on close ties with disciplines related to visualization, such as graphics, human-computer interaction, and cognitive science. One of these ties is the connection between visualization and interaction research. This isn't a new direction for scientific visualization (see the "Early Connections" sidebar). However, momentum recently seems to be increasing toward integrating visualization research (for example, effective visual presentation of data) with interaction research (for example, innovative interactive techniques that facilitate manipulating and exploring data). We see evidence of this trend in several places, including the visualization literature and conferences.

  6. Information demands of occupational health physicians and their attitude towards evidence-based medicine.

    PubMed

    Schaafsma, Frederieke; Hulshof, Carel; van Dijk, Frank; Verbeek, Jos

    2004-08-01

    This study assessed the extent and nature of information demands among occupational health physicians and their attitude towards the application of evidence-based medicine in occupational health. A questionnaire survey was carried out among a random sample of 159 physicians practicing occupational medicine in The Netherlands. The questionnaire investigated the type and number of questions encountered in daily practice, the actions taken in response, the physicians' experience in using scientific databases on the Internet, and their attitude towards evidence-based medicine. The occupational health physicians' questions concerned medical, legal, and rehabilitation topics in particular. In pursuing answers to their questions, they generally chose to contact colleagues. Scientific databases were not consulted very often, although, in general, the attitude towards evidence-based medicine was positive. In addition to known barriers for practicing evidence-based medicine, occupational health physicians perceive a lack of scientific evidence in their field. The extensiveness of the field of knowledge in occupational health care was not regarded as an obstacle to their application of evidence-based medicine. Occupational health physicians have a demand for information on a broad range of topics, and, in most cases, their attitude towards evidence-based medicine is fairly positive. Besides education and training in evidence-based medicine, access to the Internet and the presence of a good knowledge infrastructure would help occupational health physicians use evidence-based medicine.

  7. Adipocyte differentiation-related protein promotes lipid accumulation in goat mammary epithelial cells.

    PubMed

    Shi, H B; Yu, K; Luo, J; Li, J; Tian, H B; Zhu, J J; Sun, Y T; Yao, D W; Xu, H F; Shi, H P; Loor, J J

    2015-10-01

    Milk fat originates from the secretion of cytosolic lipid droplets (CLD) synthesized within mammary epithelial cells. Adipocyte differentiation-related protein (ADRP; gene symbol PLIN2) is a CLD-binding protein that is crucial for synthesis of mature CLD. Our hypothesis was that ADRP regulates CLD production and metabolism in goat mammary epithelial cells (GMEC) and thus plays a role in determining milk fat content. To understand the role of ADRP in ruminant milk fat metabolism, ADRP (PLIN2) was overexpressed or knocked down in GMEC using an adenovirus system. Immunocytochemical staining revealed that ADRP localized to the surface of CLD. Supplementation with oleic acid (OA) enhanced its colocalization with CLD surface and enhanced lipid accumulation. Overexpression of ADRP increased lipid accumulation and the concentration of triacylglycerol in GMEC. In contrast, morphological examination revealed that knockdown of ADRP decreased lipid accumulation even when OA was supplemented. This response was confirmed by the reduction in mass of cellular TG when ADRP was knocked down. The fact that knockdown of ADRP did not completely eliminate lipid accumulation at a morphological level in GMEC without OA suggests that some other compensatory factors may also aid in the process of CLD formation. The ADRP reversed the decrease of CLD accumulation induced by adipose triglyceride lipase. This is highly suggestive of ADRP promoting triacylglycerol stability within CLD by preventing access to adipose triglyceride lipase. Collectively, these data provide direct in vitro evidence that ADRP plays a key role in CLD formation and stability in GMEC. Copyright © 2015 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Coordinated within-trial dynamics of low-frequency neural rhythms controls evidence accumulation.

    PubMed

    Werkle-Bergner, Markus; Grandy, Thomas H; Chicherio, Christian; Schmiedek, Florian; Lövdén, Martin; Lindenberger, Ulman

    2014-06-18

    Higher cognitive functions, such as human perceptual decision making, require information processing and transmission across wide-spread cortical networks. Temporally synchronized neural firing patterns are advantageous for efficiently representing and transmitting information within and between assemblies. Computational, empirical, and conceptual considerations all lead to the expectation that the informational redundancy of neural firing rates is positively related to their synchronization. Recent theorizing and initial evidence also suggest that the coding of stimulus characteristics and their integration with behavioral goal states require neural interactions across a hierarchy of timescales. However, most studies thus have focused on neural activity in a single frequency range or on a restricted set of brain regions. Here we provide evidence for cooperative spatiotemporal dynamics of slow and fast EEG signals during perceptual decision making at the single-trial level. Participants performed three masked two-choice decision tasks, one each with numerical, verbal, or figural content. Decrements in posterior α power (8-14 Hz) were paralleled by increments in high-frequency (>30 Hz) signal entropy in trials demanding active sensory processing. Simultaneously, frontocentral θ power (4-7 Hz) increased, indicating evidence integration. The coordinated α/θ dynamics were tightly linked to decision speed and remarkably similar across tasks, suggesting a domain-general mechanism. In sum, we demonstrate an inverse association between decision-related changes in widespread low-frequency power and local high-frequency entropy. The cooperation among mechanisms captured by these changes enhances the informational density of neural response patterns and qualifies as a neural coding system in the service of perceptual decision making. Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/348519-10$15.00/0.

  9. Scientific citations favor positive results: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    PubMed

    Duyx, Bram; Urlings, Miriam J E; Swaen, Gerard M H; Bouter, Lex M; Zeegers, Maurice P

    2017-08-01

    Citation bias concerns the selective citation of scientific articles based on their results. We brought together all available evidence on citation bias across scientific disciplines and quantified its impact. An extensive search strategy was applied to the Web of Science Core Collection and Medline, yielding 52 studies in total. We classified these studies on scientific discipline, selection method, and other variables. We also performed random-effects meta-analyses to pool the effect of positive vs. negative results on subsequent citations. Finally, we checked for other determinants of citation as reported in the citation bias literature. Evidence for the occurrence of citation bias was most prominent in the biomedical sciences and least in the natural sciences. Articles with statistically significant results were cited 1.6 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3-1.8) times more often than articles with nonsignificant results. Articles in which the authors explicitly conclude to have found support for their hypothesis were cited 2.7 (CI 2.0-3.7) times as often. Article results and journal impact factor were associated with citation more often than any other reported determinant. Similar to what we already know on publication bias, also citation bias can lead to an overrepresentation of positive results and unfounded beliefs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. 42 CFR 426.440 - Evidence.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... on scientific and clinical issues, rebuttal witnesses, and other relevant evidence. The ALJ may... proceeding, or the reports will be excluded from the record. (f) Except as set forth in paragraph (c) of this... offered or taken for the record are open to examination by all parties. ...

  11. Information retrieval, critical appraisal and knowledge of evidence-based dentistry among Finnish dental students.

    PubMed

    Nieminen, P; Virtanen, J I

    2017-11-01

    One of the core skills of competent dentist is the ability to search and analyse high-quality evidence. Problems in understanding the basic aspects of knowledge-based information may impede its implementation into clinical practice. We examined how Finnish dental students acquire scientific information and how familiar they are with methods for evaluating scientific evidence related to clinical questions. All fifth-year dental students (n = 120) at the three universities in Finland received a self-administered questionnaire. The three most commonly used sources of information were colleagues, the commercial Health Gate Portal for dental practitioners and personal lecture notes. Although students rarely read scientific journals, they did find that they possess at least passable or even good skills in literature retrieval. Three questions related to the appraisal of evidence in dentistry revealed that students' knowledge of evidence-based dentistry was inadequate to critically evaluate clinical research findings. Most students seem to lack knowledge of key methodological evidence-based terms. The present curricula in dental schools fail to encourage the students to search and acquire knowledge wider than their patients themselves do. Universities have the responsibility to teach dentists various methods of critical appraisal to cope with scientific information. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Carotenoid accumulation in orange-pigmented Capsicum annuum fruit, regulated at multiple levels.

    PubMed

    Rodriguez-Uribe, Laura; Guzman, Ivette; Rajapakse, Wathsala; Richins, Richard D; O'Connell, Mary A

    2012-01-01

    The pericarp of Capsicum fruit is a rich dietary source of carotenoids. Accumulation of these compounds may be controlled, in part, by gene transcription of biosynthetic enzymes. The carotenoid composition in a number of orange-coloured C. annuum cultivars was determined using HPLC and compared with transcript abundances for four carotenogenic enzymes, Psy, LcyB, CrtZ-2, and Ccs determined by qRT-PCR. There were unique carotenoid profiles as well as distinct patterns of transcription of carotenogenic enzymes within the seven orange-coloured cultivars. In one cultivar, 'Fogo', carrying the mutant ccs-3 allele, transcripts were detected for this gene, but no CCS protein accumulated. The premature stop termination in ccs-3 prevented expression of the biosynthetic activity to synthesize the capsanthin and capsorubin forms of carotenoids. In two other orange-coloured cultivars, 'Orange Grande' and 'Oriole', both with wild-type versions of all four carotenogenic enzymes, no transcripts for Ccs were detected and no red pigments accumulated. Finally, in a third case, the orange-coloured cultivar, Canary, transcripts for all four of the wild-type carotenogenic enzymes were readily detected yet no CCS protein appeared to accumulate and no red carotenoids were synthesized. In the past, mutations in Psy and Ccs have been identified as the loci controlling colour in the fruit. Now there is evidence that a non-structural gene may control colour development in Capsicum.

  13. Variation of Accumulation Rates Over the Last Eight Centuries on the East Antarctic Plateau Derived from Volcanic Signals in Ice Cores

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Anschuetz, H.; Sinisalo, A.; Isaksson, E.; McConnell, J. R.; Hamran, S.-E.; Bisiaux, M. M.; Pasteris, D.; Neumann, T. A.; Winther, J.-G.

    2011-01-01

    Volcanic signatures in ice-core records provide an excellent means to date the cores and obtain information about accumulation rates. From several ice cores it is thus possible to extract a spatio-temporal accumulation pattern. We show records of electrical conductivity and sulfur from firn cores from the Norwegian-USA scientific traverse during the International Polar Year 2007-2009 (IPY) through East Antarctica. Major volcanic eruptions are identified and used to assess century-scale accumulation changes. The largest changes seem to occur in the most recent decades with accumulation over the period 1963- 2007/08 being up to 25 % different from the long-term record. There is no clear overall trend, some sites show an increase in accumulation over the period 1963 to present while others show a decrease. Almost all of the sites above 3200 m above sea level (asl) suggest a decrease. These sites also show a significantly lower accumulation value than large-scale assessments both for the period 1963 to present and for the long-term mean at the respective drill sites. The spatial accumulation distribution is influenced mainly by elevation and distance to the ocean (continentality), as expected. Ground-penetrating radar data around the drill sites show a spatial variability within 10-20 % over several tens of kilometers, indicating that our drill sites are well representative for the area around them. Our results are important for large-scale assessments of Antarctic mass balance and model validation.

  14. NCI at Frederick Scientific Library Reintroduces Scientific Publications Database | Poster

    Cancer.gov

    A 20-year-old database of scientific publications by NCI at Frederick, FNLCR, and affiliated employees has gotten a significant facelift. Maintained by the Scientific Library, the redesigned database—which is linked from each of the Scientific Library’s web pages—offers features that were not available in previous versions, such as additional search limits and non-traditional metrics for scholarly and scientific publishing known as altmetrics.

  15. Promoting Scientific Thinking and Conceptual Change about Alternative Explanations of Climate Change and Other Controversial Socio-scientific Topics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lombardi, D.; Sinatra, G. M.

    2013-12-01

    Critical evaluation and plausibility reappraisal of scientific explanations have been underemphasized in many science classrooms (NRC, 2012). Deep science learning demands that students increase their ability to critically evaluate the quality of scientific knowledge, weigh alternative explanations, and explicitly reappraise their plausibility judgments. Therefore, this lack of instruction about critical evaluation and plausibility reappraisal has, in part, contributed to diminished understanding about complex and controversial topics, such as global climate change. The Model-Evidence Link (MEL) diagram (originally developed by researchers at Rutgers University under an NSF-supported project; Chinn & Buckland, 2012) is an instructional scaffold that promotes students to critically evaluate alternative explanations. We recently developed a climate change MEL and found that the students who used the MEL experienced a significant shift in their plausibility judgments toward the scientifically accepted model of human-induced climate change. Using the MEL for instruction also resulted in conceptual change about the causes of global warming that reflected greater understanding of fundamental scientific principles. Furthermore, students sustained this conceptual change six months after MEL instruction (Lombardi, Sinatra, & Nussbaum, 2013). This presentation will discuss recent educational research that supports use of the MEL to promote critical evaluation, plausibility reappraisal, and conceptual change, and also, how the MEL may be particularly effective for learning about global climate change and other socio-scientific topics. Such instruction to develop these fundamental thinking skills (e.g., critical evaluation and plausibility reappraisal) is demanded by both the Next Generation Science Standards (Achieve, 2013) and the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics (CCSS Initiative-ELA, 2010; CCSS Initiative-Math, 2010), as well as a

  16. Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation

    MedlinePlus

    ... are here Home » Disorders » All Disorders Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation Information Page Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation Information Page What research is being ...

  17. Constant-Differential-Pressure Two-Fluid Accumulator

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Piecuch, Benjamin; Dalton, Luke T.

    2010-01-01

    A two-fluid accumulator has been designed, built, and demonstrated to provide an acceptably close approximation to constant differential static pressure between two fluids over the full ranges of (1) accumulator stroke, (2) rates of flow of the fluids, and (3) common static pressure applied to the fluids. Prior differential- pressure two-fluid accumulators are generally not capable of maintaining acceptably close approximations to constant differential pressures. The inadequacies of a typical prior differential-pressure two-fluid accumulator can be summarized as follows: The static differential pressure is governed by the intrinsic spring rate (essentially, the stiffness) of an accumulator tank. The spring rate can be tailored through selection of the tank-wall thickness, selection of the number and/or shape of accumulator convolutions, and/or selection of accumulator material(s). Reliance on the intrinsic spring rate of the tank results in three severe limitations: (1) The spring rate and the expulsion efficiency tend to be inversely proportional to each other: that is to say, as the stiffness (and thus the differential pressure) is increased, the range of motion of the accumulator is reduced. (2) As the applied common static pressure increases, the differential pressure tends to decrease. An additional disadvantage, which may or may not be considered limiting, depending on the specific application, is that an increase in stiffness entails an increase in weight. (3) The additional weight required by a low expulsion efficiency accumulator eliminates the advantage given to such gas storage systems. The high expulsion efficiency provided by this two-fluid accumulator allows for a lightweight, tightly packaged system, which can be used in conjunction with a fuel cell-based system.

  18. Free cholesterol accumulation impairs antioxidant activities and aggravates apoptotic cell death in menadione-induced oxidative injury.

    PubMed

    Lee, Waisin; Xu, Mingjing; Li, Yue; Gu, Yong; Chen, Jianping; Wong, Derek; Fung, Peter C W; Shen, Jiangang

    2011-10-01

    Although the relationship between hypercholesterolemia and oxidative stress has been extensively investigated, direct evidence regarding to the roles of cholesterol accumulation in the generations of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and apoptotic cell death under oxidative stress is lack. In this study, we investigated productions of superoxide anions (O(2)(-)) and nitric oxide (NO), and apoptotic cell death in wild type Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and cholesterol accumulated CHO cells genetically and chemically. Oxidative stress was induced by menadione challenge. The results revealed that abundance of free cholesterol (FC) promoted menadione-induced O(2)(-) and NO productions. FC accumulation down-regulated eNOS expression but up-regulated NADPH oxidases, and inhibited the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase. Treatment of menadione increased the expressions of iNOS and qp91 phox, enhanced the activities of SOD and catalase in the wild-type CHO cells but inhibited the activity of glutathione peroxidase in the cholesterol accumulated CHO cells. Moreover, FC abundance promoted apoptotic cell death in these cells. Taken together, those results suggest that free cholesterol accumulation aggravates menadione-induced oxidative stress and exacerbates apoptotic cell death. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Statistical Data Editing in Scientific Articles.

    PubMed

    Habibzadeh, Farrokh

    2017-07-01

    Scientific journals are important scholarly forums for sharing research findings. Editors have important roles in safeguarding standards of scientific publication and should be familiar with correct presentation of results, among other core competencies. Editors do not have access to the raw data and should thus rely on clues in the submitted manuscripts. To identify probable errors, they should look for inconsistencies in presented results. Common statistical problems that can be picked up by a knowledgeable manuscript editor are discussed in this article. Manuscripts should contain a detailed section on statistical analyses of the data. Numbers should be reported with appropriate precisions. Standard error of the mean (SEM) should not be reported as an index of data dispersion. Mean (standard deviation [SD]) and median (interquartile range [IQR]) should be used for description of normally and non-normally distributed data, respectively. If possible, it is better to report 95% confidence interval (CI) for statistics, at least for main outcome variables. And, P values should be presented, and interpreted with caution, if there is a hypothesis. To advance knowledge and skills of their members, associations of journal editors are better to develop training courses on basic statistics and research methodology for non-experts. This would in turn improve research reporting and safeguard the body of scientific evidence. © 2017 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

  20. [The nursing administration scientific publications in Brasil since 1947 until 1972].

    PubMed

    Martins, Elaine Guimarães; Sanna, Maria Cristina

    2005-01-01

    The Nursing Administration was added to the Nursing Undergraduation Curriculum when the evidence of this need came clear to the brazilian nurses. The main objective of the present investigation is to describe the history pathway of scientific productions about Nursing Administration to evidence the special points of this history, intended to contribute to the understanding of the sequence of their productions and the utilization of this concepts in the administration nursing practice. The study referred from 1947 to 1972, by the searching in the electronic nursing scientific publications data base named--PERIENF. The results were 19 indications submitted to a thematic analysis treatment. This procedure reveals that since the forties the nurses were conscious of the difficulties they had experimented in their administration performance, growing up to the inclusion of this theme in the undergraduate courses and demonstrating its organization until the definition of the "Curriculo Mínimo do Curso de Enfermagem e Obstetricia" in 1972, granting a special place of this discipline.

  1. Evidence-Based Practices and Autism

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mesibov, Gary B.; Shea, Victoria

    2011-01-01

    Interventions for autism are increasing being held to standards such as "evidence-based practice" in psychology and "scientifically-based research" in education. When these concepts emerged in the context of adult psychotherapy and regular education, they caused considerable controversy. Application of the concepts to autism treatments and special…

  2. 42 CFR 426.440 - Evidence.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... testimony of expert witnesses on scientific and clinical issues, rebuttal witnesses, and other relevant... party to the proceeding, or the reports will be excluded from the record. (f) Except as set forth in... other evidence offered or taken for the record are open to examination by all parties. ...

  3. 42 CFR 426.440 - Evidence.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... testimony of expert witnesses on scientific and clinical issues, rebuttal witnesses, and other relevant... party to the proceeding, or the reports will be excluded from the record. (f) Except as set forth in... other evidence offered or taken for the record are open to examination by all parties. ...

  4. Mapping the accumulation of co-infiltrating CNS dendritic cells and encephalitogenic T cells during EAE

    PubMed Central

    Clarkson, Benjamin D; Walker, Alec; Harris, Melissa; Rayasam, Aditya; Sandor, Matyas; Fabry, Zsuzsanna

    2014-01-01

    Evidence from experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) suggests that CNS-infiltrating dendritic cells (DCs) are crucial for restimulation of coinfiltrating T cells. Here we systematically quantified and visualized the distribution and interaction of CNS DCs and T cells during EAE. We report marked periventricular accumulation of DCs and myelin-specific T cells during EAE disease onset prior to accumulation in the spinal cord, indicating that the choroid plexus-CSF axis is a CNS entry portal. Moreover, despite emphasis on spinal cord inflammation in EAE and in correspondence with MS pathology, inflammatory lesions containing interacting DCs and T cells are present in specific brain regions. PMID:25288303

  5. Specimens as records: scientific practice and recordkeeping in natural history research.

    PubMed

    Ilerbaig, Juan

    2010-01-01

    For the past two decades, scholars in archival science have begun to question traditional assumptions about the nature of the record. Drawing on theories from fields such as sociology, organization theory, and science studies, and on their own ethnographic studies, they propose more inclusive definitions and widening the contexts of analysis of record making and recordkeeping. This paper continues this critical consideration of the concept of record by examining the nature of nonprototypical records in the scientific world. The paper focuses on the system of specimens and field notes established by biologist Joseph Grinnell at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (University of California, Berkeley) as a means of examining several aspects of the nature of the scientific record: materiality, representation, and the triad evidence/memory/accountability. Focusing on the creation and management of these scientific records, the paper argues that further analyses of scientific record making and recordkeeping are bound to benefit both scientific work, which depends more and more on databases and archives, as well as archival science, which is becoming more relevant beyond its traditional realm of the legal/business/administrative world.

  6. Exploration of Korean Students' Scientific Imagination Using the Scientific Imagination Inventory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mun, Jiyeong; Mun, Kongju; Kim, Sung-Won

    2015-01-01

    This article reports on the study of the components of scientific imagination and describes the scales used to measure scientific imagination in Korean elementary and secondary students. In this study, we developed an inventory, which we call the Scientific Imagination Inventory (SII), in order to examine aspects of scientific imagination. We…

  7. Civil Conflict and Human Capital Accumulation: The Long-Term Effects of Political Violence in Peru

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leon, Gianmarco

    2012-01-01

    This paper provides empirical evidence of the persistent effect of exposure to political violence on human capital accumulation. I exploit the variation in conflict location and birth cohorts to identify the long- and short-term effects of the civil war on educational attainment. Conditional on being exposed to violence, the average person…

  8. The Development of Children's Ability to Use Evidence to Infer Reality Status

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tullos, Ansley; Woolley, Jacqueline D.

    2009-01-01

    These studies investigate children's use of scientific reasoning to infer the reality status of novel entities. Four- to 8-year-olds heard about novel entities and were asked to infer their reality status from 3 types of evidence: supporting evidence, irrelevant evidence, and no evidence. Experiment 1 revealed that children used supporting versus…

  9. 42 CFR 426.540 - Evidence.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... of expert witnesses on scientific and clinical issues, rebuttal witnesses, and other relevant... Board or a party to the proceeding, or the report will be excluded from the record. (f) Except as set..., all documents and other evidence offered or taken for the record is open to examination by all parties. ...

  10. Designing next-generation platforms for evaluating scientific output: what scientists can learn from the social web

    PubMed Central

    Yarkoni, Tal

    2012-01-01

    Traditional pre-publication peer review of scientific output is a slow, inefficient, and unreliable process. Efforts to replace or supplement traditional evaluation models with open evaluation platforms that leverage advances in information technology are slowly gaining traction, but remain in the early stages of design and implementation. Here I discuss a number of considerations relevant to the development of such platforms. I focus particular attention on three core elements that next-generation evaluation platforms should strive to emphasize, including (1) open and transparent access to accumulated evaluation data, (2) personalized and highly customizable performance metrics, and (3) appropriate short-term incentivization of the userbase. Because all of these elements have already been successfully implemented on a large scale in hundreds of existing social web applications, I argue that development of new scientific evaluation platforms should proceed largely by adapting existing techniques rather than engineering entirely new evaluation mechanisms. Successful implementation of open evaluation platforms has the potential to substantially advance both the pace and the quality of scientific publication and evaluation, and the scientific community has a vested interest in shifting toward such models as soon as possible. PMID:23060783

  11. Deconstructing the evidence-based discourse in health sciences: truth, power and fascism.

    PubMed

    Holmes, Dave; Murray, Stuart J; Perron, Amélie; Rail, Geneviève

    2006-09-01

    Background  Drawing on the work of the late French philosophers Deleuze and Guattari, the objective of this paper is to demonstrate that the evidence-based movement in the health sciences is outrageously exclusionary and dangerously normative with regards to scientific knowledge. As such, we assert that the evidence-based movement in health sciences constitutes a good example of microfascism at play in the contemporary scientific arena. Objective  The philosophical work of Deleuze and Guattari proves to be useful in showing how health sciences are colonised (territorialised) by an all-encompassing scientific research paradigm - that of post-positivism - but also and foremost in showing the process by which a dominant ideology comes to exclude alternative forms of knowledge, therefore acting as a fascist structure. Conclusion  The Cochrane Group, among others, has created a hierarchy that has been endorsed by many academic institutions, and that serves to (re)produce the exclusion of certain forms of research. Because 'regimes of truth' such as the evidence-based movement currently enjoy a privileged status, scholars have not only a scientific duty, but also an ethical obligation to deconstruct these regimes of power.

  12. [A new vision of nursing: the evolution and development of evidence-based nursing].

    PubMed

    Chiang, Li-Chi

    2014-08-01

    The concept and principles of evidence-based medicine (EBM), first introduced in 1996 in the UK and Canada, have greatly impacted healthcare worldwide. Evidence-based care is a new approach to healthcare that works to reduce the gap between evidence and practice in order to further the scientific credentials and practices of the nursing profession. The revolution in healthcare has perhaps most noticeably impacted the nursing sciences. Today, new methodologies are increasingly synthesizing knowledge, while expanded access to publication resources is creating a new era in evidence-based nursing. Therefore, we expect to see in Taiwan the increased sharing of innovative implementations of evidence-based nursing practice and promotion campaigns and the exploration of a new evidence-based nursing paradigm for incorporating evidence-based concepts into the policymaking process, nursing practice, and nursing education. All scientists in clinical care, education, and research are responsible to establish scientific nursing knowledge in support of the evidence-based nursing practice.

  13. ILSI Brazil International Workshop on Functional Foods: a narrative review of the scientific evidence in the area of carbohydrates, microbiome, and health

    PubMed Central

    Meheust, Agnès; Augustin, Livia; Benton, David; Berčík, Přemysl; Birkett, Anne; Eldridge, Alison L.; Faintuch, Joel; Hoffmann, Christian; Jones, Julie Miller; Kendall, Cyril; Lajolo, Franco; Perdigon, Gabriela; Prieto, Pedro Antonio; Rastall, Robert A.; Sievenpiper, John L.; Slavin, Joanne; de Menezes, Elizabete Wenzel

    2013-01-01

    To stimulate discussion around the topic of ‘carbohydrates’ and health, the Brazilian branch of the International Life Sciences Institute held the 11th International Functional Foods Workshop (1–2 December 2011) in which consolidated knowledge and recent scientific advances specific to the relationship between carbohydrates and health were presented. As part of this meeting, several key points related to dietary fiber, glycemic response, fructose, and impacts on satiety, cognition, mood, and gut microbiota were realized: 1) there is a need for global harmonization of a science-based fiber definition; 2) low-glycemic index foods can be used to modulate the postprandial glycemic response and may affect diabetes and cardiovascular outcomes; 3) carbohydrate type may influence satiety and satiation; glycemic load and glycemic index show links to memory, mood, and concentration; 4) validated biomarkers are needed to demonstrate the known prebiotic effect of carbohydrates; 5) negative effects of fructose are not evident when human data are systematically reviewed; 6) new research indicates that diet strongly influences the microbiome; and 7) there is mounting evidence that the intestinal microbiota has the ability to impact the gut–brain axis. Overall, there is much promise for development of functional foods that impact the microbiome and other factors relevant to health, including glycemic response (glycemic index/glycemic load), satiety, mood, cognition, and weight management. PMID:23399638

  14. Breast cancer risk accumulation starts early: prevention must also.

    PubMed

    Colditz, Graham A; Bohlke, Kari; Berkey, Catherine S

    2014-06-01

    Nearly one in four breast cancers is diagnosed before the age of 50, and many early-stage premalignant lesions are present but not yet diagnosed. Therefore, we review evidence to support the strategy that breast cancer prevention efforts must begin early in life. This study follows the literature review methods and format. Exposures during childhood and adolescence affect a woman's long-term risk of breast cancer, but have received far less research attention than exposures that occur later in life. Breast tissue undergoes rapid cellular proliferation between menarche and first full-term pregnancy, and risk accumulates rapidly until the terminal differentiation that accompanies first pregnancy. Evidence on childhood diet and growth in height, and adolescent alcohol intake, among other adolescent factors is related to breast cancer risk and risk of premalignant proliferative benign lesions. Breast cancer prevention efforts will have the greatest effect when initiated at an early age and continued over a lifetime. Gaps in knowledge are identified and deserve increase attention to inform prevention.

  15. Diagnosis and management of primary hyperparathyroidism--a scientific statement from the Department of Bone Metabolism, the Brazilian Society for Endocrinology and Metabolism.

    PubMed

    Bandeira, Francisco; Griz, Luiz; Chaves, Narriane; Carvalho, Nara Crispim; Borges, Lívia Maria; Lazaretti-Castro, Marise; Borba, Victoria; Castro, Luiz Cláudio de; Borges, João Lindolfo; Bilezikian, John

    2013-08-01

    To conduct a literature review on the diagnosis and management of primary hyperparathyroidism including the classical hipercalcemic form as well as the normocalcemic variant. This scientific statement was generated by a request from the Brazilian Medical Association (AMB) to the Brazilian Society for Endocrinology as part of its Clinical Practice Guidelines program. Articles were identified by searching in PubMed and Cochrane databases as well as abstracts presented at the Endocrine Society, Brazilian Society for Endocrinology Annual Meetings and the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Annual Meeting during the last 5 years. Grading quality of evidence and strength of recommendation were adapted from the first report of the Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine. All grades of recommendation, including "D", are based on scientific evidence. The differences between A, B, C and D, are due exclusively to the methods employed in generating evidence. We present a scientific statement on primary hyperparathyroidism providing the level of evidence and the degree of recommendation regarding causes, clinical presentation as well as surgical and medical treatment.

  16. Social skills interventions for individuals with autism: evaluation for evidence-based practices within a best evidence synthesis framework.

    PubMed

    Reichow, Brian; Volkmar, Fred R

    2010-02-01

    This paper presents a best evidence synthesis of interventions to increase social behavior for individuals with autism. Sixty-six studies published in peer-reviewed journals between 2001 and July 2008 with 513 participants were included. The results are presented by the age of the individual receiving intervention and by delivery agent of intervention. The findings suggest there is much empirical evidence supporting many different treatments for the social deficits of individuals with autism. Using the criteria of evidence-based practice proposed by Reichow et al. (Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38:1311-1318, 2008), social skills groups and video modeling have accumulated the evidence necessary for the classifications of established EBP and promising EBP, respectively. Recommendations for practice and areas of future research are provided.

  17. Student Difficulties in Socio-Scientific Argumentation and Decision-Making Research Findings: Crossing the Borders of Two Research Lines

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Acar, Omer; Turkmen, Lutfullah; Roychoudhury, Anita

    2010-01-01

    Students' poor argumentation in the context of socio-scientific issues has become a concern in science education. Identified problems associated with student argumentation in socio-scientific issues are misevaluation of evidence, naive nature of science conceptualizations, and inappropriate use of value-based reasoning. In this theoretical paper,…

  18. Scientific integrity memorandum

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Showstack, Randy

    2009-03-01

    U.S. President Barack Obama signed a presidential memorandum on 9 March to help restore scientific integrity in government decision making. The memorandum directs the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to develop a strategy within 120 days that ensures that "the selection of scientists and technology professionals for science and technology positions in the executive branch is based on those individuals' scientific and technological knowledge, credentials, and experience; agencies make available to the public the scientific or technological findings or conclusions considered or relied upon in policy decisions; agencies use scientific and technological information that has been subject to well-established scientific processes such as peer review; and agencies have appropriate rules and procedures to ensure the integrity of the scientific process within the agency, including whistleblower protection."

  19. The Politics of Evidence Use in Health Policy Making in Germany-the Case of Regulating Hospital Minimum Volumes.

    PubMed

    Ettelt, Stefanie

    2017-06-01

    This article examines the role of scientific evidence in informing health policy decisions in Germany, using minimum volumes policy as a case study. It argues that scientific evidence was used strategically at various stages of the policy process both by individual corporatist actors and by the Federal Joint Committee as the regulator. Minimum volumes regulation was inspired by scientific evidence suggesting a positive relationship between service volume and patient outcomes for complex surgical interventions. Federal legislation was introduced in 2002 to delegate the selection of services and the setting of volumes to corporatist decision makers. Yet, despite being represented in the Federal Joint Committee, hospitals affected by its decisions took the Committee to court to seek legal redress and prevent policy implementation. Evidence has been key to support, and challenge, decisions about minimum volumes, including in court. The analysis of the role of scientific evidence in minimum volumes regulation in Germany highlights the dynamic relationship between evidence use and the political and institutional context of health policy making, which in this case is characterized by the legislative nature of policy making, corporatism, and the role of the judiciary in reviewing policy decisions. Copyright © 2017 by Stefanie Ettelt.

  20. Biota-Sediment Accumulation Factor Data

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Biota-Sediment Accumulation Factor contains approximately 20,000 biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs) from 20 locations (mostly Superfund sites) for nonionic organic chemicals and pesticides. Fresh, tidal, and marine ecosystems are included in the data.