Sample records for questions faqs epidemiology

  1. Head Lice: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    MedlinePlus

    ... Treatment FAQs Malathion FAQs Epidemiology & Risk Factors Disease Biology Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals ... Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Epidemiology & Risk Factors Disease Biology Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals ...

  2. Body Lice Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    MedlinePlus

    ... Treatment FAQs Malathion FAQs Epidemiology & Risk Factors Disease Biology Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals ... Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Epidemiology & Risk Factors Disease Biology Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals ...

  3. Head Lice: Treatment Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    MedlinePlus

    ... Treatment FAQs Malathion FAQs Epidemiology & Risk Factors Disease Biology Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals ... Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Epidemiology & Risk Factors Disease Biology Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals ...

  4. Lymphatic Filariasis: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    MedlinePlus

    ... FAQs) Vectors of Lymphatic Filariasis Epidemiology & Risk Factors Biology Life Cycle of W. Bancrofti Life Cycle of B. Malayi Disease Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals Guidance for Evaluation and ...

  5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    Science.gov Websites

    DUF6 Guide DU Uses DUF6 Management and Uses DUF6 Conversion EIS Documents News FAQs Internet Resources , uranium hexafluoride (UF6), UF6 storage and depleted UF6 management. Below is a list of frequently asked management of depleted uranium. Click a question below to see the answer. Uranium and Its Properties What is

  6. Head Lice: Malathion Frequently Asked Questions

    MedlinePlus

    ... Treatment FAQs Malathion FAQs Epidemiology & Risk Factors Disease Biology Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals ... Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Epidemiology & Risk Factors Disease Biology Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals ...

  7. FAQs II

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kezar, Adrianna; Frank, Vikki; Lester, Jaime; Yang, Hannah

    2008-01-01

    In their paper entitled "Why should postsecondary institutions consider partnering to offer (Individual Development Accounts (IDAs)?" the authors reviewed frequently asked questions they encountered from higher education professionals about IDAs, but as their research continued so did the questions. FAQ II has more in-depth questions and…

  8. Advice and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Citizen-Science Environmental Health Assessments

    PubMed Central

    Barzyk, Timothy M.; Huang, Hongtai; Williams, Ronald; Kaufman, Amanda; Essoka, Jonathan

    2018-01-01

    Citizen science provides quantitative results to support environmental health assessments (EHAs), but standardized approaches do not currently exist to translate findings into actionable solutions. The emergence of low-cost portable sensor technologies and proliferation of publicly available datasets provides unparalleled access to supporting evidence; yet data collection, analysis, interpretation, visualization, and communication are subjective approaches that must be tailored to a decision-making audience capable of improving environmental health. A decade of collaborative efforts and two citizen science projects contributed to three lessons learned and a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) that address the complexities of environmental health and interpersonal relations often encountered in citizen science EHAs. Each project followed a structured step-by-step process in order to compare and contrast methods and approaches. These lessons and FAQs provide advice to translate citizen science research into actionable solutions in the context of a diverse range of environmental health issues and local stakeholders. PMID:29751612

  9. Advice and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Citizen-Science Environmental Health Assessments.

    PubMed

    Barzyk, Timothy M; Huang, Hongtai; Williams, Ronald; Kaufman, Amanda; Essoka, Jonathan

    2018-05-11

    Citizen science provides quantitative results to support environmental health assessments (EHAs), but standardized approaches do not currently exist to translate findings into actionable solutions. The emergence of low-cost portable sensor technologies and proliferation of publicly available datasets provides unparalleled access to supporting evidence; yet data collection, analysis, interpretation, visualization, and communication are subjective approaches that must be tailored to a decision-making audience capable of improving environmental health. A decade of collaborative efforts and two citizen science projects contributed to three lessons learned and a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) that address the complexities of environmental health and interpersonal relations often encountered in citizen science EHAs. Each project followed a structured step-by-step process in order to compare and contrast methods and approaches. These lessons and FAQs provide advice to translate citizen science research into actionable solutions in the context of a diverse range of environmental health issues and local stakeholders.

  10. Internet FAQ Archives - Online Education - faqs.org

    Science.gov Websites

    faqs.org Internet FAQ Archives - Online Education faqs.org faqs.org - Internet FAQ Archives Internet FAQ Archives Online Education Internet RFC Index Usenet FAQ Index Other FAQs Documents Tools IFC Rated FAQs Internet RFC/STD/FYI/BCP Archives The Internet RFC series of documents is also available from

  11. FAQ Question Submission

    Science.gov Websites

    , fax, or phone. Use this area to send us your question. Your name: Your E-Mail address: Your Phone Number (voice): Please include area code. Your Fax Number: Please include area code. Send Your Question

  12. Robotics FAQ Index

    Science.gov Websites

    faqs.org Robotics FAQ Index faqs.org faqs.org - Internet FAQ Archives Robotics FAQ Index [By Updates | Archive Stats | Search | Help] Internet RFC Index Usenet FAQ Index Other FAQs Documents Tools

  13. FAQs about the wireless challenge in healthcare.

    PubMed

    2014-01-01

    AAMI's Wireless Strategy Task Force (WSTF) developed the following document to provide answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding wireless issues in the healthcare environment. A special thanks to Steve Baker, senior principal engineer at Welch Allyn, for leading the project and writing much of the content; as well as to Rick Hampton, wireless communications manager at Partners HealthCare Systems, Scott Coleman at Welch Allyn, and Paul Sherman, a consultant retired from the Veteran's Administration, who developed responses to many of the questions. The complete list of FAQs can be accessed at www.aami.org/hottopics/wireless/index.html .

  14. MedlinePlus FAQ: News Coverage

    MedlinePlus

    ... gov/faq/news.html Question: I saw a news article on MedlinePlus but now I can't ... on this page, please enable JavaScript. Answer: Health news articles are no longer available on MedlinePlus. The ...

  15. The Use of Internet FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) and Files as Cost-Effective Supplements to Textbooks and Substitutions for Photocopies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    MacFarland, Thomas W.; Yates, Jan M.

    Gaining access to current and high-quality curriculum resource materials has become more difficult due to escalation in the prices of textbooks and in rigid interpretations of copyright laws which limit photocopying. Internet Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and files may offer a partial solution. Originally developed for the benefit of Usenet…

  16. MedlinePlus FAQ: Listing Your Web Site

    MedlinePlus

    ... medlineplus.gov/faq/criteria.html Question: How do Web sites get listed in MedlinePlus? To use the ... authoritative resources. MedlinePlus uses quality guidelines to evaluate Web sites. We try to ensure that the information ...

  17. Stakeholder Engagement/Capacity Building Pilot Opportunity FAQ

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the pilot opportunity for stakeholder engagement/capacity building. EPA is offering an opportunity for community stakeholders and ports to participate in a pilot project to test and refine capacity building tools.

  18. MedlinePlus FAQ: Copyrighted and Non-Copyrighted Material

    MedlinePlus

    ... medlineplus.gov/faq/copyrightfaq.html Question: Is the material on MedlinePlus copyrighted? To use the sharing features ... Answer: MedlinePlus contains both copyrighted and non-copyrighted material. Please see our copyright information page . Restrictions may ...

  19. A FAQ-Based e-Learning Environment to Support Japanese Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Yuqin; Yin, Chengjiu; Ogata, Hiroaki; Qiao, Guojun; Yano, Yoneo

    2011-01-01

    In traditional classes, having many questions from learners is important because these questions indicate difficult points for learners and for teachers. This paper proposes a FAQ-based e-Learning environment to support Japanese language learning that focuses on learner questions. This knowledge sharing system enables learners to interact and…

  20. STAT FAQs Part 2: Lifetime of PV Panels | State, Local, and Tribal

    Science.gov Websites

    is the productive lifetime and degradation rate of solar PV panels. Question: What is the productive life of solar PV panels, and do they produce the same amount of electricity year-over-year? Answer: The Governments | NREL STAT FAQs Part 2: Lifetime of PV Panels STAT FAQs Part 2: Lifetime of PV

  1. Pubic "Crab" Lice Treatment

    MedlinePlus

    ... Treatment FAQs Malathion FAQs Epidemiology & Risk Factors Disease Biology Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals ... Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Epidemiology & Risk Factors Disease Biology Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals ...

  2. Head Lice: Diagnosis

    MedlinePlus

    ... Treatment FAQs Malathion FAQs Epidemiology & Risk Factors Disease Biology Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals ... Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Epidemiology & Risk Factors Disease Biology Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals ...

  3. Head Lice: Treatment

    MedlinePlus

    ... Treatment FAQs Malathion FAQs Epidemiology & Risk Factors Disease Biology Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals ... Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Epidemiology & Risk Factors Disease Biology Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals ...

  4. Body Lice Diagnosis

    MedlinePlus

    ... Treatment FAQs Malathion FAQs Epidemiology & Risk Factors Disease Biology Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals ... Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Epidemiology & Risk Factors Disease Biology Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals ...

  5. Pubic "Crab" Lice Diagnosis

    MedlinePlus

    ... Treatment FAQs Malathion FAQs Epidemiology & Risk Factors Disease Biology Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals ... Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Epidemiology & Risk Factors Disease Biology Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals ...

  6. Body Lice Treatment

    MedlinePlus

    ... Treatment FAQs Malathion FAQs Epidemiology & Risk Factors Disease Biology Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals ... Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Epidemiology & Risk Factors Disease Biology Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals ...

  7. Turner Syndrome: Other FAQs

    MedlinePlus

    ... Other FAQs Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Turner Syndrome: Other FAQs Basic information for topics, such as " ... been diagnosed with Turner syndrome. Now what? Is Turner syndrome inherited? Turner syndrome is usually not inherited, but ...

  8. Formula Feeding FAQs: Starting Solids and Milk

    MedlinePlus

    ... 7-Month-Old Feeding Your 8- to 12-Month-Old Formula Feeding FAQs: Getting Started Formula Feeding FAQs: How Much and How Often Formula Feeding FAQs: Preparation and Storage Formula Feeding FAQs: Some Common Concerns A Guide ...

  9. MedlinePlus FAQ: Will MedlinePlus work on my mobile device?

    MedlinePlus

    ... mobile.html Question: Will MedlinePlus work on my mobile device? To use the sharing features on this page, ... Some video content might not play on your mobile device. See our FAQ on playing videos on phones ...

  10. Just the FAQs: An Alternative to Teaching the Research Paper

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Strickland, James

    2004-01-01

    Changing the form of the traditional research paper often results in a greater emphasis on inquiry or FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). An alternative form of presentation that capitalizes on available technology and requires students to develop their thinking, reading, writing and presentation skills is presented.

  11. Breastfeeding FAQs: Solids and Supplementing

    MedlinePlus

    ... Staying Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español Breastfeeding FAQs: Solids and Supplementing KidsHealth / For Parents / Breastfeeding FAQs: Solids and Supplementing What's in this article? ...

  12. Caregiver FAQ

    MedlinePlus

    ... volunteer FAQ Volunteer Application volunteer awards Honor/Tribute Design Donor-Advised Funds Matching Gifts You are here ... brain in particular. Many patients have periods of post-operative confusion, most recover but not all do. ...

  13. Breastfeeding FAQs: Safely Storing Breast Milk

    MedlinePlus

    ... Staying Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español Breastfeeding FAQs: Safely Storing Breast Milk KidsHealth / For Parents / Breastfeeding FAQs: Safely Storing Breast Milk What's in this ...

  14. FAQs of Pregnancy Loss and Miscarriage

    MedlinePlus

    ... Print Other FAQs About Pregnancy Loss (Before 20 Weeks of Pregnancy) Basic information for topics, such as " ... false Other FAQs About Pregnancy Loss (Before 20 Weeks of Pregnancy) Pregnancy Loss (Before 20 Weeks of ...

  15. Use of the MC-FAQ and MMSE-FAQ in cognitive screening of older African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and European Americans.

    PubMed

    Tappen, Ruth M; Rosselli, Monica; Engstrom, Gabriella

    2012-11-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the performance of the Mini-Cog-Functional Activities Questionnaire (MC-FAQ) and the Mini-Mental State Examination-Functional Activities Questionnaire (MMSE-FAQ) in cognitive screening of a multiethnic sample of older adults. This is a descriptive psychometric study. Cognitive screening was done in senior centers, at health fairs, and within the nine participating memory disorder centers in the State of Florida. African American, Hispanic American, and European American older adults who participated in this screening were matched on gender, age within 3 years and education within 3 years yielding a sample of 225. The MC-FAQ is a combination of the Mini-Cog and Functional Activities Questionnaire. The MMSE-FAQ combines the MMSE with the FAQ. The Geriatric Depression Scale was used to assess depressive symptoms. African Americans reported significantly less depressive symptoms (F[2, 217] = 10.31, p <0.001) and European Americans had significantly higher mean MMSE scores than the other two groups (F[2, 222] = 3.33, p = 0.037). Participants did not differ by ethnic group on the MC-FAQ or MMSE-FAQ classifications of normal, mild cognitive impairment, or dementia. Age, years of education, and depressive symptoms were significant predictors of MC-FAQ and MMSE-FAQ classifications. The results suggest that these combinations of screening measures may have less culture bias than the MMSE alone. Sensitivity and specificity should be evaluated in these groups with confirmatory neurological and psychiatric diagnosis. 2012 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry

  16. Regional Screening Levels Frequent Questions

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Regional Screening Level RSL frequently asked question FAQ page provides risk assessors answers to common questions about the preliminary remediation goal PRG risk based concentration RBC and risk calculator for the assessment of human Health.

  17. Provocative questions in cancer epidemiology in a time of scientific innovation and budgetary constraints.

    PubMed

    Lam, Tram Kim; Schully, Sheri D; Rogers, Scott D; Benkeser, Rachel; Reid, Britt; Khoury, Muin J

    2013-04-01

    In a time of scientific and technological developments and budgetary constraints, the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Provocative Questions Project offers a novel funding mechanism for cancer epidemiologists. We reviewed the purposes underlying the Provocative Questions Project, present information on the contributions of epidemiologic research to the current Provocative Questions portfolio, and outline opportunities that the cancer epidemiology community might capitalize on to advance a research agenda that spans a translational continuum from scientific discoveries to population health impact.

  18. Breastfeeding FAQs: Your Eating and Drinking Habits

    MedlinePlus

    ... Staying Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español Breastfeeding FAQs: Your Eating and Drinking Habits KidsHealth / For Parents / Breastfeeding FAQs: Your Eating and Drinking Habits What's in ...

  19. MedlinePlus FAQ: Statistics about MedlinePlus

    MedlinePlus

    ... faq/stats.html Can you give me some statistics about MedlinePlus? To use the sharing features on ... For page requests and unique visitors, see MedlinePlus statistics . Return to the list of MedlinePlus FAQs About ...

  20. Bed Bugs FAQs

    MedlinePlus

    ... Consultations, and General Public. Contact Us Parasites Home Bed Bugs FAQs Recommend on Facebook Tweet Share Compartir On ... are bed bugs treated and prevented? What are bed bugs? Bed bugs ( Cimex lectularius ) are small, flat, parasitic ...

  1. Frequently Asked Questions: An Effective Way to Store and Retrieve Reference Information?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stalker, John C.; Murfin, Marjorie E.

    1996-01-01

    Describes a computerized program presently being developed on the World Wide Web, which is designed to locate and store reference information through the use of FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions). Reports a preliminary investigation of the adequacy of FAQs to cover a sample of questions on American government, politics, elections and law. (AEF)

  2. FAQs about Facilities: Practical Tips for Planning Renovations and New School Library Media Centers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lenk, Mary Anne

    2002-01-01

    Answers frequently asked questions (FAQs) related to planning for renovating or building school library media centers (SLMCs). Topics include the role of the school library media specialist, advance planning, importance of a written long-range plan, library consultants, courses on planning, design compromises, planning resources, professional…

  3. Treatment of Anthrax Disease Frequently Asked Questions

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

    Judd, Kathleen S.; Young, Joan E.; Lesperance, Ann M.

    2010-05-14

    This document provides a summary of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the treatment of anthrax disease caused by a wide-area release of Bacillus anthracis spores as an act bioterrorism. These FAQs are intended to provide the public health and medical community, as well as others, with guidance and communications to support the response and long-term recovery from an anthrax event.

  4. Regional Screening Levels Frequent Questions (November 2017)

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Regional Screening Level RSL frequently asked question FAQ page provides risk assessors answers to common questions about the preliminary remediation goal PRG risk based concentration RBC and risk calculator for the assessment of human Health.

  5. What Questions Should I Ask My Doctor?

    MedlinePlus

    ... Trials Database Supporting Research Raising Awareness Our Blog Patient Education Pancreas News Basics of Pancreatic Cancer FAQs The ... Detection- Goggins Lab Sol Goldman Center Discussion Board Patient Education / Basics of Pancreatic Cancer Questions What questions should ...

  6. Frequent Questions about e-Manifest

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about e-Manifest covering these areas: scope, generators, receivers, manifest preparation & brokers, federal and state implementation, fee obligations, record retention, data policy, data correction, and user registration.

  7. Patient generated "frequently asked questions": identifying informational needs in a RCT of peer support in type 2 diabetes.

    PubMed

    Whitford, David L; Paul, Gillian; Smith, Susan M

    2013-07-01

    The purpose of this study is to discuss the use of a system of patient generated "frequently asked questions" (FAQs) in order to gain insight into the information needs of participants. FAQs generated during group meetings taking place in a randomized controlled trial of peer support in type 2 diabetes are described in terms of their frequencies and topic areas. Data from focus groups and semi-structured interviews concerning the FAQs was subjected to content analysis. 59/182 (33%) of the FAQs were directly related to the topic area of the scheduled peer support meeting with foot care, eyes and kidneys generating the most specific questions. The FAQs addressed mainly knowledge and concerns. The FAQs appeared to enhance peer support and also enabled participants to ask questions to experts that they may not have asked in a clinic situation. The use of FAQs to support peer supporters proved beneficial in a randomized controlled trial and may be usefully added to the tools used within a peer support framework. The use of FAQs provided valuable insight into the informal information needs of people with diabetes. Means of providing a similar structure in routine clinical care should be explored. Copyright © 2013 Primary Care Diabetes Europe. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. MedlinePlus FAQ: Framing

    MedlinePlus

    ... URL of this page: https://medlineplus.gov/faq/framing.html I'd like to link to MedlinePlus, ... M. encyclopedia. Our license agreements do not permit framing of their content from our site. For more ...

  9. Requirement to Provide Estimates of Outcomes and To Track Progress for Proposed Grant and Cooperative Agreement Projects Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The following FAQs were compiled to benefit prospective applicants seeking to apply for grants or cooperative agreements under the Pollution Prevention Division's Grant Programs (CFDA 66.708 and CFDA 66.717).

  10. Breastfeeding FAQs: Some Common Concerns

    MedlinePlus

    ... Staying Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español Breastfeeding FAQs: Some Common Concerns KidsHealth / For Parents / Breastfeeding ... breastfeeding is not necessary. My baby bites during breastfeeding. Can I stop it? Babies will often play ...

  11. Breastfeeding FAQs: Pain and Discomfort

    MedlinePlus

    ... Staying Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español Breastfeeding FAQs: Pain and Discomfort KidsHealth / For Parents / Breastfeeding ... have. Is it normal to have cramps while nursing? Yes. During the first few days to weeks ...

  12. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Local Foods, Local Places

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Answers to frequently asked questions about EPA's Local Foods, Local Places planning assistance program to help communities revitalize downtowns, create economic opportunities, and improve access to healthy food by promoting local foods.

  13. Frequently Asked Questions: IDEA Early Childhood--Disclosure Avoidance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Center for IDEA Early Childhood Data Systems (DaSy), 2014

    2014-01-01

    This 2014 document is an adaptation of the 2012 release of "Frequently Asked Questions--Disclosure Avoidance" intended for K-12 audiences. Presented here in the form of responses to frequently asked questions (FAQs) are suggestions intended to provide guidance to IDEA Part C early intervention and Part B 619 preschool special education…

  14. Hepatitis C FAQs for the Public

    MedlinePlus

    ... Partners & Grantees Policy and Programs Resource Center Hepatitis C FAQs for the Public Recommend on Facebook Tweet ... URL - Redirecting ... Quick Links to Hepatitis … A | B | C | D | E Viral Hepatitis Home Statistics & Surveillance Populations & ...

  15. Implementing Response to Intervention: Practices and Perspectives from Five Schools--Frequently Asked Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tackett, Kathryn Klingler; Roberts, Greg; Baker, Scott; Scammacca, Nancy

    2009-01-01

    One question frequently arises in the work of the Regional Comprehensive Centers: "What are states, districts, and schools doing about RTI?" This document addresses that question, with particular focus on instruction and the implementation of effective practices. It uses a frequently asked questions (FAQs) format, with answers based on…

  16. Breastfeeding FAQs: Sleep - Yours and Your Baby's

    MedlinePlus

    ... Staying Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español Breastfeeding FAQs: Sleep - Yours and Your Baby's KidsHealth / For ... to sleep sooner. My baby falls asleep while nursing. What can I do? Newborns often fall asleep ...

  17. Breastfeeding FAQs: How Much and How Often

    MedlinePlus

    ... Staying Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español Breastfeeding FAQs: How Much and How Often KidsHealth / For ... from the time my baby starts or stops nursing? You count the length between feedings from the ...

  18. An Item Response Theory Analysis of Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz (FAQ) Using the Three Parameter Model.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Obiekwe, Jerry C.

    Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz (FAQ) (E. Palmore, 1977) is an instrument that is used to educate, to measure learning, to test knowledge, to measure attitudes toward aging, and in research. A comparative analysis was performed between the FAQ I and its multiple choice version and the FAQ II and its multiple choice version in terms of their item…

  19. Cross-cultural Adaptation of the "Functional Activities Questionnaire - FAQ" for use in Brazil

    PubMed Central

    Sanchez, Maria Angélica dos Santos; Correa, Pricila Cristina Ribeiro; Lourenço, Roberto Alves

    2011-01-01

    Objective The aim of this paper was to present the results of the first stage of cross-cultural adaptation of the Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ). Methods The tool was subjected to translation and re-translation, and the test-retest reliability of a proposed version for use in Brazil was analyzed. Results Of the 548 questionnaire respondents, a convenience sample of 68 informants was selected for retesting. Internal consistency was measured by Cronbach's alpha (0.95) while test-retest reliability was assessed using intra-class correlation (0.97). The findings have shown that FAQ is brief - averaging seven minutes to apply, easily understood and has good intra-rater test-retest reliability. Conclusion Our results suggest this adapted version of the FAQ is a reliable and stable tool which may be useful for assessing function in Brazilian elderly. Notwithstanding, the version should be subjected to further analysis with the aim of reaching functional equivalence. PMID:29213759

  20. Scabies: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    MedlinePlus

    ... Did I get scabies from my pet? No. Animals do not spread human scabies. Pets can become ... or reproduce on humans but causes “mange” in animals. If an animal with “mange” has close contact ...

  1. Series: Practical guidance to qualitative research. Part 2: Context, research questions and designs.

    PubMed

    Korstjens, Irene; Moser, Albine

    2017-12-01

    In the course of our supervisory work over the years, we have noticed that qualitative research tends to evoke a lot of questions and worries, so-called frequently asked questions (FAQs). This series of four articles intends to provide novice researchers with practical guidance for conducting high-quality qualitative research in primary care. By 'novice' we mean Master's students and junior researchers, as well as experienced quantitative researchers who are engaging in qualitative research for the first time. This series addresses their questions and provides researchers, readers, reviewers and editors with references to criteria and tools for judging the quality of qualitative research papers. This second article addresses FAQs about context, research questions and designs. Qualitative research takes into account the natural contexts in which individuals or groups function to provide an in-depth understanding of real-world problems. The research questions are generally broad and open to unexpected findings. The choice of a qualitative design primarily depends on the nature of the research problem, the research question(s) and the scientific knowledge one seeks. Ethnography, phenomenology and grounded theory are considered to represent the 'big three' qualitative approaches. Theory guides the researcher through the research process by providing a 'lens' to look at the phenomenon under study. Since qualitative researchers and the participants of their studies interact in a social process, researchers influence the research process. The first article described the key features of qualitative research, the third article will focus on sampling, data collection and analysis, while the last article focuses on trustworthiness and publishing.

  2. Frequent Questions about Starting-up New Composite Wood Mills and the Use of Experimental Products and Resins

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The following frequently asked questions (FAQs) address issues relating to starting-up new doestice composite wood mills and the use of experimental product and resin systems under the Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products final rule

  3. The Trump Administrations March 2017 Defense Budget Proposals: Frequently Asked Questions

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-04-03

    The Trump Administration’s March 2017 Defense Budget Proposals: Frequently Asked Questions Pat Towell Specialist in U.S. Defense Policy and... Budget Lynn M. Williams Analyst in U.S. Defense Budget Policy April 3, 2017 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R44806 The Trump...Administration’s March 2017 Defense Budget Proposals: FAQs Congressional Research Service Contents Introduction

  4. [Eco-epidemiology: towards epidemiology of complexity].

    PubMed

    Bizouarn, Philippe

    2016-05-01

    In order to solve public health problems posed by the epidemiology of risk factors centered on the individual and neglecting the causal processes linking the risk factors with the health outcomes, Mervyn Susser proposed a multilevel epidemiology called eco-epidemiology, addressing the interdependence of individuals and their connection with molecular, individual, societal, environmental levels of organization participating in the causal disease processes. The aim of this epidemiology is to integrate more than a level of organization in design, analysis and interpretation of health problems. After presenting the main criticisms of risk-factor epidemiology focused on the individual, we will try to show how eco-epidemiology and its development could help to understand the need for a broader and integrative epidemiology, in which studies designed to identify risk factors would be balanced by studies designed to answer other questions equally vital to public health. © 2016 médecine/sciences – Inserm.

  5. American Trypanosomiasis (Also Known as Chagas Disease) Blood Screening FAQs

    MedlinePlus

    ... For Health Care Providers, Emergency Consultations, and General Public. Contact Us Parasites Home Blood Screening FAQs Language: English (US) Español (Spanish) Recommend on Facebook Tweet Share Compartir On this Page Why are blood banks now screening for Chagas disease? How does the ...

  6. Frequently Asked Questions on Starting-up New Composite Wood Mills and the Use of Experimental Products and Resins

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The following frequently asked questions (FAQs) address issues relating to starting-up new doestice composite wood mills and the use of experimental product and resin systems under the Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products final rule

  7. Frequently Asked Questions on Starting-up New Domestic Composite Wood Mills and the Use of Experimental Products and Resins

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The following frequently asked questions (FAQs) address issues relating to starting-up new doestice composite wood mills and the use of experimental product and resin systems under the Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products final rule

  8. PV FAQs: Will We Have Enough Materials for Energy-Significant PV Production?

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

    Not Available

    2004-01-01

    This PV FAQ fact sheet discusses whether we will have enough of the feedstock materials used for energy-significant PV production. The answer is that, for a set amount of PV production, we will indeed have enough materials.

  9. Lyme Disease Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

    MedlinePlus

    ... dedicated to developing a talented, committed team of students and residents who provide Lyme disease education and ... community-based. Members are medical and public health students chosen annually from a selected university system in ...

  10. Scabies: Workplace Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    MedlinePlus

    ... PDF file Microsoft PowerPoint file Microsoft Word file Microsoft Excel file Audio/Video file Apple Quicktime file RealPlayer file Text file Zip Archive file SAS file ePub file RIS file Page last reviewed: July 19, 2013 Page last updated: July 19, 2013 Content source: ...

  11. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Plague

    MedlinePlus

    ... Cyanogen chloride (CK) Digitalis Case Definition: Digitalis Poisoning Ethylene glycol Fentanyls and other opioids Case Definition: Opioids ( ... Thallium Toxic alcohols Case Definition: Toxic Alcohol Poisoning Ethylene glycol Trichothecene Case Definition: Trichothecene Mycotoxin Poisoning Unidentified ...

  12. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Malaria

    MedlinePlus

    ... areas tend to have less commercial activity, less population density, more green space, and agriculture ... that no more malaria exists in the world. Malaria has been eliminated from many developed countries ...

  13. Evidence-based decision-making in infectious diseases epidemiology, prevention and control: matching research questions to study designs and quality appraisal tools.

    PubMed

    Harder, Thomas; Takla, Anja; Rehfuess, Eva; Sánchez-Vivar, Alex; Matysiak-Klose, Dorothea; Eckmanns, Tim; Krause, Gérard; de Carvalho Gomes, Helena; Jansen, Andreas; Ellis, Simon; Forland, Frode; James, Roberta; Meerpohl, Joerg J; Morgan, Antony; Schünemann, Holger; Zuiderent-Jerak, Teun; Wichmann, Ole

    2014-05-21

    The Project on a Framework for Rating Evidence in Public Health (PRECEPT) was initiated and is being funded by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) to define a methodology for evaluating and grading evidence and strength of recommendations in the field of public health, with emphasis on infectious disease epidemiology, prevention and control. One of the first steps was to review existing quality appraisal tools (QATs) for individual research studies of various designs relevant to this area, using a question-based approach. Through team discussions and expert consultations, we identified 20 relevant types of public health questions, which were grouped into six domains, i.e. characteristics of the pathogen, burden of disease, diagnosis, risk factors, intervention, and implementation of intervention. Previously published systematic reviews were used and supplemented by expert consultation to identify suitable QATs. Finally, a matrix was constructed for matching questions to study designs suitable to address them and respective QATs. Key features of each of the included QATs were then analyzed, in particular in respect to its intended use, types of questions and answers, presence/absence of a quality score, and if a validation was performed. In total we identified 21 QATs and 26 study designs, and matched them. Four QATs were suitable for experimental quantitative study designs, eleven for observational quantitative studies, two for qualitative studies, three for economic studies, one for diagnostic test accuracy studies, and one for animal studies. Included QATs consisted of six to 28 items. Six of the QATs had a summary quality score. Fourteen QATs had undergone at least one validation procedure. The results of this methodological study can be used as an inventory of potentially relevant questions, appropriate study designs and QATs for researchers and authorities engaged with evidence-based decision-making in infectious disease epidemiology

  14. Evidence-based decision-making in infectious diseases epidemiology, prevention and control: matching research questions to study designs and quality appraisal tools

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background The Project on a Framework for Rating Evidence in Public Health (PRECEPT) was initiated and is being funded by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) to define a methodology for evaluating and grading evidence and strength of recommendations in the field of public health, with emphasis on infectious disease epidemiology, prevention and control. One of the first steps was to review existing quality appraisal tools (QATs) for individual research studies of various designs relevant to this area, using a question-based approach. Methods Through team discussions and expert consultations, we identified 20 relevant types of public health questions, which were grouped into six domains, i.e. characteristics of the pathogen, burden of disease, diagnosis, risk factors, intervention, and implementation of intervention. Previously published systematic reviews were used and supplemented by expert consultation to identify suitable QATs. Finally, a matrix was constructed for matching questions to study designs suitable to address them and respective QATs. Key features of each of the included QATs were then analyzed, in particular in respect to its intended use, types of questions and answers, presence/absence of a quality score, and if a validation was performed. Results In total we identified 21 QATs and 26 study designs, and matched them. Four QATs were suitable for experimental quantitative study designs, eleven for observational quantitative studies, two for qualitative studies, three for economic studies, one for diagnostic test accuracy studies, and one for animal studies. Included QATs consisted of six to 28 items. Six of the QATs had a summary quality score. Fourteen QATs had undergone at least one validation procedure. Conclusions The results of this methodological study can be used as an inventory of potentially relevant questions, appropriate study designs and QATs for researchers and authorities engaged with evidence-based decision

  15. Frequently asked questions of individuals with spinal cord injuries: results of a web-based consultation service in Iran.

    PubMed

    Rezaei, Mojtaba; Omidbeigi, Mahmoud; Hanaei, Sara; Saeedi, Negin; Naghdi, Khatereh; Vaccaro, Alexander R; Rahimi-Movaghar, Vafa

    2018-01-01

    Descriptive study of the results of a web-based consultation service for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). To review frequently asked questions (FAQ) among individuals with SCI and determine the most important topics. Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. A cross-sectional study reviewing questions from patients with SCI that were collected from the Health and Safety Consultant Center (HSCC) between January and December 2015. The HSCC is a web-based medical consultation service that provides patients with information and counseling pertaining to SCI. A total of 113 questions were collected from 99 individuals. The mean age was 32.02 ± 13.28 years with a range of 3-70 years. Men accounted for 81.7% of the questions, while women accounted for 18.3%. The most common site of SCI was thoracic (40.6%), followed by lumbar (31.3%), and cervical (28.1%). Recovery potential (38.1%), sexual and reproductive issues (26.5%), urinary (10.6%), and motor (10.6%) problems were among the most commonly reviewed topics. FAQ provide insight on areas of concerns for individuals with SCI and help guide providers to determine high-yield topics. Discerning the specific areas of need or concern for patients is instrumental in developing pertinent educational materials and programs, in addition to efficiently counseling patients and caregivers on the aftercare of SCI.

  16. The limitations of opportunistic epidemiology, pseudopod epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Kuller, Lewis H

    2016-10-01

    Epidemiology has been remarkably successful in the past in identifying the important agents of disease, the impact of the environment, both physical and social, and interrelationship with host susceptibility (genomics). Many of the advances in improving the health of individuals and populations have been the result of epidemiology studies that have identified the specific "agents" of disease and application of public health and preventive medicine. In recent years, large longitudinal studies have dominated epidemiology research, especially long incubation period chronic diseases. The initial hypotheses in these studies have been expanded by vertical extension studies using newer technologies to measure independent variables, vertical pseudopods, and additional studies of other diseases, horizontal pseudopods, of the original longitudinal study. Host susceptibility, i.e. genomics, has also become a prominent component of these longitudinal studies. The critical question addressed in this paper is whether these "pseudopod" epidemiology approaches have enhanced public health or generated a large number of studies of little impact.

  17. Guidelines for Good Epidemiology Practices for Occupational and Environmental Epidemiologic Research. The Chemical Manufacturers Association's Epidemiology Task Group.

    PubMed

    1991-12-01

    The Guidelines for Good Epidemiology Practices (GEPs) for Occupational and Environmental Epidemiologic Research address the conduct of studies generally undertaken to answer questions about human health in relationship to the work place or the environment. The GEPs propose minimum practices and procedures that should be considered to help ensure the quality and integrity of data used in epidemiologic research and to provide adequate documentation of the research methods. The GEPs address the process of conducting individual epidemiologic studies and do not prescribe specific research methods. The Guidelines for Good Epidemiology Practices propose minimum practices and procedures in the following areas: I. Organization and Personnel II. Facilities, Resource Commitment, and Contractors III. Protocol IV. Review and Approval V. Study Conduct VI. Communication VII. Archiving VIII. Quality Assurance Although the Guidelines for Good Epidemiology Practices will not guarantee good epidemiology, they do provide a useful framework for ensuring that all research issues are adequately addressed. This framework is proposed as a first step in improving epidemiologic research practices through adherence to sound scientific research principles. Appendices provide an overview of standard operating procedures, a glossary of terms used in the Guidelines, and suggested references on occupational epidemiology methods.

  18. MedlinePlus Connect: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    MedlinePlus

    ... topic data in XML format. Using the Web service, software developers can build applications that utilize MedlinePlus health topic information. The service accepts keyword searches as requests and returns relevant ...

  19. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Extreme Heat

    MedlinePlus

    ... to do this is through your diet. Drink fruit juice or a sports beverage when you exercise ... to reapply according to the package directions. Sunburn affects your body’s ability to cool itself and causes ...

  20. Scabies Diagnosis

    MedlinePlus

    ... Information Scabies FAQs Workplace FAQs Epidemiology & Risk Factors Biology Disease Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals Medications Institutional Settings Prevention ...

  1. Scabies: Treatment

    MedlinePlus

    ... Information Scabies FAQs Workplace FAQs Epidemiology & Risk Factors Biology Disease Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals Medications Institutional Settings Prevention ...

  2. Understanding nutritional epidemiology and its role in policy.

    PubMed

    Satija, Ambika; Yu, Edward; Willett, Walter C; Hu, Frank B

    2015-01-01

    Nutritional epidemiology has recently been criticized on several fronts, including the inability to measure diet accurately, and for its reliance on observational studies to address etiologic questions. In addition, several recent meta-analyses with serious methodologic flaws have arrived at erroneous or misleading conclusions, reigniting controversy over formerly settled debates. All of this has raised questions regarding the ability of nutritional epidemiologic studies to inform policy. These criticisms, to a large degree, stem from a misunderstanding of the methodologic issues of the field and the inappropriate use of the drug trial paradigm in nutrition research. The exposure of interest in nutritional epidemiology is human diet, which is a complex system of interacting components that cumulatively affect health. Consequently, nutritional epidemiology constantly faces a unique set of challenges and continually develops specific methodologies to address these. Misunderstanding these issues can lead to the nonconstructive and sometimes naive criticisms we see today. This article aims to clarify common misunderstandings of nutritional epidemiology, address challenges to the field, and discuss the utility of nutritional science in guiding policy by focusing on 5 broad questions commonly asked of the field. © 2015 American Society for Nutrition.

  3. Triangulation in aetiological epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Lawlor, Debbie A; Tilling, Kate; Davey Smith, George

    2016-12-01

    Triangulation is the practice of obtaining more reliable answers to research questions through integrating results from several different approaches, where each approach has different key sources of potential bias that are unrelated to each other. With respect to causal questions in aetiological epidemiology, if the results of different approaches all point to the same conclusion, this strengthens confidence in the finding. This is particularly the case when the key sources of bias of some of the approaches would predict that findings would point in opposite directions if they were due to such biases. Where there are inconsistencies, understanding the key sources of bias of each approach can help to identify what further research is required to address the causal question. The aim of this paper is to illustrate how triangulation might be used to improve causal inference in aetiological epidemiology. We propose a minimum set of criteria for use in triangulation in aetiological epidemiology, summarize the key sources of bias of several approaches and describe how these might be integrated within a triangulation framework. We emphasize the importance of being explicit about the expected direction of bias within each approach, whenever this is possible, and seeking to identify approaches that would be expected to bias the true causal effect in different directions. We also note the importance, when comparing results, of taking account of differences in the duration and timing of exposures. We provide three examples to illustrate these points. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.

  4. 75 FR 62502 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Information for Self-Certification Under FAQ 6...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-12

    ... Request; Information for Self-Certification Under FAQ 6 of the United States--European Union Safe Harbor.... SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Abstract In response to the European Union Directive on Data Protection that... framework bridges the differences between the European Union (EU) and U.S. approaches to privacy protection...

  5. WISEWOMAN: Frequently Asked Questions

    MedlinePlus

    ... FAQs CDC-RFA-DP18-1816: WISEWOMAN Related CDC Web Sites Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention ... and tribal organizations. Top of Page Related CDC Web Sites Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention ...

  6. Understanding Nutritional Epidemiology and Its Role in Policy12

    PubMed Central

    Satija, Ambika; Yu, Edward; Willett, Walter C; Hu, Frank B

    2015-01-01

    Nutritional epidemiology has recently been criticized on several fronts, including the inability to measure diet accurately, and for its reliance on observational studies to address etiologic questions. In addition, several recent meta-analyses with serious methodologic flaws have arrived at erroneous or misleading conclusions, reigniting controversy over formerly settled debates. All of this has raised questions regarding the ability of nutritional epidemiologic studies to inform policy. These criticisms, to a large degree, stem from a misunderstanding of the methodologic issues of the field and the inappropriate use of the drug trial paradigm in nutrition research. The exposure of interest in nutritional epidemiology is human diet, which is a complex system of interacting components that cumulatively affect health. Consequently, nutritional epidemiology constantly faces a unique set of challenges and continually develops specific methodologies to address these. Misunderstanding these issues can lead to the nonconstructive and sometimes naive criticisms we see today. This article aims to clarify common misunderstandings of nutritional epidemiology, address challenges to the field, and discuss the utility of nutritional science in guiding policy by focusing on 5 broad questions commonly asked of the field. PMID:25593140

  7. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Fiscal Year (FY) 14 Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup Grants

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    EPA prepared these Frequently Asked Questions and Answers to assist prospective applicants with preparing Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup grant proposals for the FY14 competition. Please review the FY 2014 proposal guidelines/Reques

  8. Triangulation in aetiological epidemiology

    PubMed Central

    Lawlor, Debbie A; Tilling, Kate; Davey Smith, George

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Triangulation is the practice of obtaining more reliable answers to research questions through integrating results from several different approaches, where each approach has different key sources of potential bias that are unrelated to each other. With respect to causal questions in aetiological epidemiology, if the results of different approaches all point to the same conclusion, this strengthens confidence in the finding. This is particularly the case when the key sources of bias of some of the approaches would predict that findings would point in opposite directions if they were due to such biases. Where there are inconsistencies, understanding the key sources of bias of each approach can help to identify what further research is required to address the causal question. The aim of this paper is to illustrate how triangulation might be used to improve causal inference in aetiological epidemiology. We propose a minimum set of criteria for use in triangulation in aetiological epidemiology, summarize the key sources of bias of several approaches and describe how these might be integrated within a triangulation framework. We emphasize the importance of being explicit about the expected direction of bias within each approach, whenever this is possible, and seeking to identify approaches that would be expected to bias the true causal effect in different directions. We also note the importance, when comparing results, of taking account of differences in the duration and timing of exposures. We provide three examples to illustrate these points. PMID:28108528

  9. Toxoplasmosis (Toxoplasma infection) Treatment

    MedlinePlus

    ... Form Controls Cancel Submit Search the CDC Parasites - Toxoplasmosis (Toxoplasma infection) Note: Javascript is disabled or is ... message, please visit this page: About CDC.gov . Toxoplasmosis General Information Toxoplasmosis FAQs Toxoplasmosis & Pregnancy FAQs Epidemiology & ...

  10. Toxoplasmosis (Toxoplasma infection) Disease Symptoms

    MedlinePlus

    ... Form Controls Cancel Submit Search the CDC Parasites - Toxoplasmosis (Toxoplasma infection) Note: Javascript is disabled or is ... message, please visit this page: About CDC.gov . Toxoplasmosis General Information Toxoplasmosis FAQs Toxoplasmosis & Pregnancy FAQs Epidemiology & ...

  11. Toxoplasmosis

    MedlinePlus

    ... Form Controls Cancel Submit Search the CDC Parasites - Toxoplasmosis (Toxoplasma infection) Note: Javascript is disabled or is ... message, please visit this page: About CDC.gov . Toxoplasmosis General Information Toxoplasmosis FAQs Toxoplasmosis & Pregnancy FAQs Epidemiology & ...

  12. Stress and Infertility

    MedlinePlus

    ... Home FAQs Frequently Asked Questions Quick Facts About Infertility FAQs About Infertility FAQs About the Psychological Component of Infertility FAQs About Cloning and Stem Cell Research SART's ...

  13. Diagnostic Testing for Female Infertility

    MedlinePlus

    ... Home FAQs Frequently Asked Questions Quick Facts About Infertility FAQs About Infertility FAQs About the Psychological Component of Infertility FAQs About Cloning and Stem Cell Research SART's ...

  14. Smoking and Infertility

    MedlinePlus

    ... Home FAQs Frequently Asked Questions Quick Facts About Infertility FAQs About Infertility FAQs About the Psychological Component of Infertility FAQs About Cloning and Stem Cell Research SART's ...

  15. Ovarian Drilling for Infertility

    MedlinePlus

    ... Home FAQs Frequently Asked Questions Quick Facts About Infertility FAQs About Infertility FAQs About the Psychological Component of Infertility FAQs About Cloning and Stem Cell Research SART's ...

  16. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) | Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program

    Cancer.gov

    Am I eligible? To be considered for the Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program (CPFP), you must meet eligibility criteria related to educational attainment, US citizenship/permanent residency status, and the duration of prior postdoctoral research experience. Refer to the Eligibility Requirements for details. How do I apply? You must apply through our online application process.

  17. Genomic Epidemiology of Tuberculosis.

    PubMed

    Comas, Iñaki

    2017-01-01

    The application of next generation sequencing technologies has opened the door to a new molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis, in which we can now look at transmission at a resolution not possible before. At the same time, new technical and analytical challenges have appeared, and we are still exploring the wider potential of this new technology. Whole genome sequencing in tuberculosis still requires bacterial cultures. Thus, although whole genome sequencing has revolutionized the interpretation of transmission patterns, it is not yet ready to be applied at the point-of-care. In this chapter, I will review the promises and challenges of genomic epidemiology, as well as some of the new questions that have arisen from the use of this new technology. In addition, I will examine the role of molecular epidemiology within the general frame of global tuberculosis control and how genomic epidemiology can contribute towards the elimination of the disease.

  18. EpiBasket: how e-commerce tools can improve epidemiological preparedness

    PubMed Central

    Xing, Weijia; Hejblum, Gilles; Valleron, Alain-Jacques

    2013-01-01

    Background Should an emerging infectious disease outbreak or an environmental disaster occur, the collection of epidemiological data must start as soon as possible after the event's onset. Questionnaires are usually built de novo for each event, resulting in substantially delayed epidemiological responses that are detrimental to the understanding and control of the event considered. Moreover, the public health and/or academic institution databases constructed with responses to different questionnaires are usually difficult to merge, impairing necessary collaborations. We aimed to show that e-commerce concepts and software tools can be readily adapted to enable rapid collection of data after an infectious disease outbreak or environmental disaster. Here, the ‘customers’ are the epidemiologists, who fill their shopping ‘baskets’ with standardised questions. Methods For each epidemiological field, a catalogue of questions is constituted by identifying the relevant variables based on a review of the published literature on similar circumstances. Each question is tagged with information on its source papers. Epidemiologists can then tailor their own questionnaires by choosing appropriate questions from this catalogue. The software immediately provides them with ready-to-use forms and online questionnaires. All databases constituted by the different EpiBasket users are interoperable, because the corresponding questionnaires are derived from the same corpus of questions. Results A proof-of-concept prototype was developed for Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice (KAP) surveys, which is one of the fields of the epidemiological investigation frequently explored during, or after, an outbreak or environmental disaster. The catalogue of questions was initiated from a review of the KAP studies conducted during or after the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic. Conclusion Rapid collection of standardised data after an outbreak or environmental disaster can be

  19. EpiBasket: how e-commerce tools can improve epidemiological preparedness.

    PubMed

    Xing, Weijia; Hejblum, Gilles; Valleron, Alain-Jacques

    2013-10-31

    Should an emerging infectious disease outbreak or an environmental disaster occur, the collection of epidemiological data must start as soon as possible after the event's onset. Questionnaires are usually built de novo for each event, resulting in substantially delayed epidemiological responses that are detrimental to the understanding and control of the event considered. Moreover, the public health and/or academic institution databases constructed with responses to different questionnaires are usually difficult to merge, impairing necessary collaborations. We aimed to show that e-commerce concepts and software tools can be readily adapted to enable rapid collection of data after an infectious disease outbreak or environmental disaster. Here, the 'customers' are the epidemiologists, who fill their shopping 'baskets' with standardised questions. For each epidemiological field, a catalogue of questions is constituted by identifying the relevant variables based on a review of the published literature on similar circumstances. Each question is tagged with information on its source papers. Epidemiologists can then tailor their own questionnaires by choosing appropriate questions from this catalogue. The software immediately provides them with ready-to-use forms and online questionnaires. All databases constituted by the different EpiBasket users are interoperable, because the corresponding questionnaires are derived from the same corpus of questions. A proof-of-concept prototype was developed for Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice (KAP) surveys, which is one of the fields of the epidemiological investigation frequently explored during, or after, an outbreak or environmental disaster. The catalogue of questions was initiated from a review of the KAP studies conducted during or after the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic. Rapid collection of standardised data after an outbreak or environmental disaster can be facilitated by transposing the e-commerce paradigm

  20. Winter Weather Frequently Asked Questions

    MedlinePlus

    ... Hot Weather Tips Warning Signs and Symptoms FAQs Social Media How to Stay Cool Missouri Cooling Centers Extreme ... PSAs for Disasters Resources for Emergency Health Professionals Social Media Health and Safety Concerns for All Disasters Animals ...

  1. Sample Cancer Epidemiology Grant Applications

    Cancer.gov

    The National Cancer Institute frequently receives questions from investigators for examples of successfully funded grant applications. Several investigators agreed to let the Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program post excerpts of their grant applications online.

  2. FAQs | Center for Cancer Research

    Cancer.gov

    New to NIH: Frequently Asked Questions Traveling to a new hospital can be stressful. We hope the information provided here will answer your questions before your first visit to the Pediatric Oncology Branch, located within the NIH Clinical Center. You can find answers to the following frequently asked questions below:

  3. Frequently Asked Questions about Genetic Counseling

    MedlinePlus

    Skip to main content FAQ About Genetic Counseling Enter Search Term(s): Español Research Funding An Overview Bioinformatics Current Grants Education and Training Funding Extramural Research News Features Funding Divisions ...

  4. Frequently Asked Questions about Genetic Testing

    MedlinePlus

    Skip to main content FAQ About Genetic Testing Enter Search Term(s): Español Research Funding An Overview Bioinformatics Current Grants Education and Training Funding Extramural Research News Features Funding Divisions ...

  5. Methods for measuring utilization of mental health services in two epidemiologic studies

    PubMed Central

    NOVINS, DOUGLAS K.; BEALS, JANETTE; CROY, CALVIN; MANSON, SPERO M.

    2015-01-01

    Objectives of Study Psychiatric epidemiologic studies often include two or more sets of questions regarding service utilization, but the agreement across these different questions and the factors associated with their endorsement have not been examined. The objectives of this study were to describe the agreement of different sets of mental health service utilization questions that were included in the American Indian Service Utilization Psychiatric Epidemiology Risk and Protective Factors Project (AI-SUPERPFP), and compare the results to similar questions included in the baseline National Comorbidity Survey (NCS). Methods Responses to service utilization questions by 2878 AI-SUPERPFP and 5877 NCS participants were examined by calculating estimates of service use and agreement (κ) across the different sets of questions. Logistic regression models were developed to identify factors associated with endorsement of specific sets of questions. Results In both studies, estimates of mental health service utilization varied across the different sets of questions. Agreement across the different question sets was marginal to good (κ = 0.27–0.69). Characteristics of identified service users varied across the question sets. Limitations Neither survey included data to examine the validity of participant responses to service utilization questions. Recommendations for Further Research Question wording and placement appear to impact estimates of service utilization in psychiatric epidemiologic studies. Given the importance of these estimates for policy-making, further research into the validity of survey responses as well as impacts of question wording and context on rates of service utilization is warranted. PMID:18767205

  6. Consumer Health Information Needs and Question Classification: Analysis of Hypertension Related Questions Asked by Consumers on a Chinese Health Website.

    PubMed

    Guo, Haihong; Li, Jiao; Dai, Tao

    2015-01-01

    This study built up a classification schema of consumer health questions which consisted of 48 quaternary categories and 35 annotation rules. Using such a schema, we manually classified 2,000 questions randomly selected from nearly 100 thousand hypertension-related messages posted by consumers on a Chinese health website to analyze the information needs of health consumers. The results showed questions in the categories of treatment, diagnosis, healthy lifestyle, management, epidemiology, and health provider choosing were 48.1%, 23.8%, 11.9%, 5.2%, 9.0%, and 1.9% respectively. The comparison of the questions asked by consumers and physicians showed that their health information needs were significantly different (P<0.0001).

  7. Chapter 1 of the U.S. EPA’s External Civil Rights Compliance Office Compliance Toolkit: Chapter 1, transmittal letter, and FAQs

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This document contains Chapter 1: Application of the federal civil rights laws and the civil rights legal standards used in investigating and resolving civil rights complaints at EPA, transmittal letter and FAQs.

  8. WASP Model FAQ

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Contains frequently asked questions: Is there an Email Support Group for WASP, Do I Need Admin Rights to Install, How to Run WASP after Installation, Can I use my WASP7 File, Attaching to an Excel Spreadsheet or Access Database, Converting QUAL2K to WASP

  9. Frequent Questions about the Manifest Registry

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    FAQs Including Can I submit multiple form samples to the EPA Registry for approval? Must I submit a continuation sheet sample to the Manifest Registry under section 262.21(d)? Can I typeset the form after I am approved to print the manifest?

  10. What matters most: quantifying an epidemiology of consequence

    PubMed Central

    Keyes, Katherine; Galea, Sandro

    2015-01-01

    Risk factor epidemiology has contributed to substantial public health success. In this essay, we argue, however, that the focus on risk factor epidemiology has led epidemiology to ever increasing focus on the estimation of precise causal effects of exposures on an outcome at the expense of engagement with the broader causal architecture that produces population health. To conduct an epidemiology of consequence, a systematic effort is needed to engage our science in a critical reflection both about how well and under what conditions or assumptions we can assess causal effects and also on what will truly matter most for changing population health. Such an approach changes the priorities and values of the discipline and requires reorientation of how we structure the questions we ask and the methods we use, as well as how we teach epidemiology to our emerging scholars. PMID:25749559

  11. What matters most: quantifying an epidemiology of consequence.

    PubMed

    Keyes, Katherine; Galea, Sandro

    2015-05-01

    Risk factor epidemiology has contributed to substantial public health success. In this essay, we argue, however, that the focus on risk factor epidemiology has led epidemiology to ever increasing focus on the estimation of precise causal effects of exposures on an outcome at the expense of engagement with the broader causal architecture that produces population health. To conduct an epidemiology of consequence, a systematic effort is needed to engage our science in a critical reflection both about how well and under what conditions or assumptions we can assess causal effects and also on what will truly matter most for changing population health. Such an approach changes the priorities and values of the discipline and requires reorientation of how we structure the questions we ask and the methods we use, as well as how we teach epidemiology to our emerging scholars. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Heart Attack Recovery FAQs

    MedlinePlus

    ... recommendations to make a full recovery. View an animation of a heart attack . Heart Attack Recovery Questions ... Support Network Popular Articles 1 Understanding Blood Pressure Readings 2 Sodium and Salt 3 Heart Attack Symptoms ...

  13. Epidemiology and causation: a realist view.

    PubMed Central

    Renton, A

    1994-01-01

    In this paper the controversy over how to decide whether associations between factors and diseases are causal is placed within a description of the public health and scientific relevance of epidemiology. It is argued that the rise in popularity of the Popperian view of science, together with a perception of the aims of epidemiology as being to identify appropriate public health interventions, have focussed this debate on unresolved questions of inferential logic, leaving largely unanalysed the notions of causation and of disease at the ontological level. A realist ontology of causation of disease and pathogenesis is constructed within the framework of "scientific materialism", and is shown to provide a coherent basis from which to decide causes and to deal with problems of confounding and interaction in epidemiological research. It is argued that a realist analysis identifies a richer role for epidemiology as an integral part of an ontologically unified medical science. It is this unified medical science as a whole rather than epidemiological observation or experiment which decides causes and, in turn, provides a key element to the foundations of rational public health decision making. PMID:8138775

  14. Radiation epidemiology: Past and present

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

    Boice, J.D. Jr.

    1997-03-01

    Major advancements in radiation epidemiology have occurred during the last several years in studies of atomic bomb survivors, patients given medical radiation, and radiation workers, including underground miners. Risks associated with the Chernobyl accident, indoor radon and childhood exposure to I-131 have yet to be elucidated. Situations in the former Soviet Union around Chelyabinsk, a nuclear installation in the southern Urals, and in the Altai, which received radioactive fallout from weapons testing at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan, have the potential to provide information on the effects of chronic radiation exposure. Since Roentgen`s discovery of x-rays just 100 years ago, a tremendous amountmore » of knowledge has been accumulated about human health effects following irradiation. The 1994 UNSCEAR report contains the latest compilation and synthesis of radiation epidemiology. This overview will cover epidemiology from a radiation perspective. The different types of study methodologies will be described, followed by a kaleidoscope coverage of past and present studies; ending with some remaining questions in radiation epidemiology. This should set the stage for future chapters, and stimulate thinking about implications of the new data on radiation cancer risks.« less

  15. Frequent Questions about the Biennial Hazardous Waste Report

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    FAQs concerning form 8700-13 A/B which must be submitted by hazardous waste generators and treatment, storage and disposal facilities (TSDFs) under Sections 3002(a)(6) and 3004(a)(2) of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

  16. Frequent Questions About Managing Hazardous Waste at Academic Laboratories

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    FAQs about Alternative Requirements for Hazardous Waste Determination and Accumulation of Unwanted Material for Laboratories Owned by Colleges and Universities and Other Eligible Academic Entities Formally Affiliated with Colleges and Universities.

  17. Epidemiology in the Era of Big Data

    PubMed Central

    Mooney, Stephen J; Westreich, Daniel J; El-Sayed, Abdulrahman M

    2015-01-01

    Big Data has increasingly been promoted as a revolutionary development in the future of science, including epidemiology. However, the definition and implications of Big Data for epidemiology remain unclear. We here provide a working definition of Big Data predicated on the so-called ‘3 Vs’: variety, volume, and velocity. From this definition, we argue that Big Data has evolutionary and revolutionary implications for identifying and intervening on the determinants of population health. We suggest that as more sources of diverse data become publicly available, the ability to combine and refine these data to yield valid answers to epidemiologic questions will be invaluable. We conclude that, while epidemiology as practiced today will continue to be practiced in the Big Data future, a component of our field’s future value lies in integrating subject matter knowledge with increased technical savvy. Our training programs and our visions for future public health interventions should reflect this future. PMID:25756221

  18. Cultural conundrums: the ethics of epidemiology and the problems of population in implementing pre-exposure prophylaxis.

    PubMed

    Fiereck, Kirk

    2015-04-01

    The impending implementation of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has prompted complicated bioethical and public health ethics concerns regarding the moral distribution of antiretroviral medications (ARVs) to ostensibly healthy populations as a form of HIV prevention when millions of HIV-positive people still lack access to ARVs globally. This manuscript argues that these questions are, in part, concerns over the ethics of the knowledge production practices of epidemiology. Questions of distribution, and their attendant cost-benefit calculations, will rely on a number of presupposed, and therefore, normatively cultural assumptions within the science of epidemiology specifically regarding the ability of epidemiologic surveillance to produce accurate maps of HIV throughout national populations. Specifically, ethical questions around PrEP will focus on who should receive ARVs given the fact that global demand will far exceed supply. Given that sexual transmission is one of the main modes of HIV transmission, these questions of 'who' are inextricably linked to knowledge about sexual personhood. As a result, the ethics of epidemiology, and how the epidemiology of HIV in particular conceives, classifies and constructs sexual populations will become a critical point of reflection and contestation for bioethicists, health activists, physicians, nurses, and researchers in the multi-disciplinary field of global health. This paper examines how cultural conundrums within the fields of bioethics and public health ethics are directly implicated within the ethics of PrEP, by analyzing the problems of population inaugurated by the construction of the men who have sex with men (MSM) epidemiologic category in the specific national context of South Africa. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. Cultural Conundrums: The Ethics of Epidemiology and the Problems of Population in Implementing Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    The impending implementation of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has prompted complicated bioethical and public health ethics concerns regarding the moral distribution of antiretroviral medications (ARVs) to ostensibly healthy populations as a form of HIV prevention when millions of HIV-positive people still lack access to ARVs globally. This manuscript argues that these questions are, in part, concerns over the ethics of epidemiological science and knowledge production practices. Questions of distribution, and their attendant cost-benefit calculations, will rely on a number of presupposed, and therefore, normatively cultural assumptions within the science of epidemiology specifically regarding the ability of epidemiological surveillance to produce accurate maps of HIV throughout national populations. Specifically, ethical questions around PrEP will focus on who should receive ARVs given the fact that global demand will far exceed supply. Given that sexual transmission is one of the main modes of HIV transmission, these questions of “who” are inextricably linked to knowledge about sex, gender and sexuality. As a result, the ethics of epidemiology, and how the epidemiology of HIV in particular conceives, classifies and constructs sexual populations will become a critical point of reflection and contestation for bioethicists, health activists, physicians, nurses, and researchers in the medical humanities and biomedicine. This paper examines how cultural conundrums within the fields of bio- and public health ethics are directly implicated within the ethics of PrEP, by analyzing the problems of population inaugurated by the construction of the men who have sex with men (MSM) epidemiological category in the specific national context of South Africa. PMID:24373050

  20. Frequent Questions about the Hazardous Waste Manifest Form

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    FAQs including Are generators required to use all six copies of the manifest? How will state-only waste manifests be affected by the new rule? Where must the importer and foreign generator’s information be entered in the generator identification block?

  1. Regression Discontinuity Designs in Epidemiology

    PubMed Central

    Moscoe, Ellen; Mutevedzi, Portia; Newell, Marie-Louise; Bärnighausen, Till

    2014-01-01

    When patients receive an intervention based on whether they score below or above some threshold value on a continuously measured random variable, the intervention will be randomly assigned for patients close to the threshold. The regression discontinuity design exploits this fact to estimate causal treatment effects. In spite of its recent proliferation in economics, the regression discontinuity design has not been widely adopted in epidemiology. We describe regression discontinuity, its implementation, and the assumptions required for causal inference. We show that regression discontinuity is generalizable to the survival and nonlinear models that are mainstays of epidemiologic analysis. We then present an application of regression discontinuity to the much-debated epidemiologic question of when to start HIV patients on antiretroviral therapy. Using data from a large South African cohort (2007–2011), we estimate the causal effect of early versus deferred treatment eligibility on mortality. Patients whose first CD4 count was just below the 200 cells/μL CD4 count threshold had a 35% lower hazard of death (hazard ratio = 0.65 [95% confidence interval = 0.45–0.94]) than patients presenting with CD4 counts just above the threshold. We close by discussing the strengths and limitations of regression discontinuity designs for epidemiology. PMID:25061922

  2. 4-Year Cohort Graduation Rate: FAQ

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2010

    2010-01-01

    This paper offers a list of questions and corresponding answers about the 4-year cohort graduation rate. Answers to the following questions are presented: (1) Why don't GED (General Educational Development) students count as graduates?; (2) How does a district code students who have moved out of state? How should a district code a student who…

  3. Leishmaniasis Disease

    MedlinePlus

    ... Leishmaniasis General Information Leishmaniasis FAQs Epidemiology & Risk Factors Biology Disease Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals Publications Additional Resources Get ...

  4. Commentary: Epidemiology in the era of big data.

    PubMed

    Mooney, Stephen J; Westreich, Daniel J; El-Sayed, Abdulrahman M

    2015-05-01

    Big Data has increasingly been promoted as a revolutionary development in the future of science, including epidemiology. However, the definition and implications of Big Data for epidemiology remain unclear. We here provide a working definition of Big Data predicated on the so-called "three V's": variety, volume, and velocity. From this definition, we argue that Big Data has evolutionary and revolutionary implications for identifying and intervening on the determinants of population health. We suggest that as more sources of diverse data become publicly available, the ability to combine and refine these data to yield valid answers to epidemiologic questions will be invaluable. We conclude that while epidemiology as practiced today will continue to be practiced in the Big Data future, a component of our field's future value lies in integrating subject matter knowledge with increased technical savvy. Our training programs and our visions for future public health interventions should reflect this future.

  5. Hysterectomy - laparoscopic - discharge

    MedlinePlus

    American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Frequently asked questions, FAQ008, special procedures: hysterectomy. Updated March 2015. www.acog.org/Patients/FAQs/Hysterectomy . Accessed April 18, 2017. Carlson ...

  6. An argument for renewed focus on epidemiology for public health

    PubMed Central

    Rogawski, Elizabeth T.; Gray, Christine L.; Poole, Charles

    2016-01-01

    Purpose While epidemiology has an indispensable role in serving public health, the relative emphasis of applications of epidemiology often tend toward individual-level medicine over public health in terms of resources and impact. Methods We make distinctions between public health and medical applications of epidemiology to raise awareness among epidemiologists, many of whom came to the field with public health in mind. We discuss reasons for the overemphasis on medical epidemiology and suggest ways to counteract these incentives. Results Public health epidemiology informs interventions that are applied to populations or that confer benefits beyond the individual, while medical epidemiology informs interventions that improve the health of treated individuals. Available resources, new biomedical technologies, and existing epidemiologic methods favor medical applications of epidemiology. Focus on public health impact and methods suited to answer public health questions can create better balance and promote population-level improvements in public health. Conclusions By deliberately reflecting on research motivations and long-term goals, we hope the distinctions presented here will facilitate critical discussion and a greater consciousness of our potential impact on both individual and population-level health. Renewed intentions towards public health can help epidemiologists navigate potential projects and ultimately contribute to an epidemiology of consequence. PMID:27659585

  7. An argument for renewed focus on epidemiology for public health.

    PubMed

    Rogawski, Elizabeth T; Gray, Christine L; Poole, Charles

    2016-10-01

    Although epidemiology has an indispensable role in serving public health, the relative emphasis of applications of epidemiology often tend toward individual-level medicine over public health in terms of resources and impact. We make distinctions between public health and medical applications of epidemiology to raise awareness among epidemiologists, many of whom came to the field with public health in mind. We discuss reasons for the overemphasis on medical epidemiology and suggest ways to counteract these incentives. Public health epidemiology informs interventions that are applied to populations or that confer benefits beyond the individual, whereas medical epidemiology informs interventions that improve the health of treated individuals. Available resources, new biomedical technologies, and existing epidemiologic methods favor medical applications of epidemiology. Focus on public health impact and methods suited to answer public health questions can create better balance and promote population-level improvements in public health. By deliberately reflecting on research motivations and long-term goals, we hope the distinctions presented here will facilitate critical discussion and a greater consciousness of our potential impact on both individual and population-level health. Renewed intentions towards public health can help epidemiologists navigate potential projects and ultimately contribute to an epidemiology of consequence. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Synthesis of Key Points from the OSEP Early Childhood Transition FAQ (SPP/APR Indicators C-8, B-11 and B-12)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Diefendorf, M.; Henson, J.; Lucas, A.; Whaley, K.

    2010-01-01

    This document is a synthesis of the key points provided in the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Early Childhood Transition FAQs: SPP/APR indicators C-8 and B-12 released on December 1, 2009. It was developed to assist states with the implementation of effective transition policies and practices. The following is included: (1) Transition…

  9. Statistical inference to advance network models in epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Welch, David; Bansal, Shweta; Hunter, David R

    2011-03-01

    Contact networks are playing an increasingly important role in the study of epidemiology. Most of the existing work in this area has focused on considering the effect of underlying network structure on epidemic dynamics by using tools from probability theory and computer simulation. This work has provided much insight on the role that heterogeneity in host contact patterns plays on infectious disease dynamics. Despite the important understanding afforded by the probability and simulation paradigm, this approach does not directly address important questions about the structure of contact networks such as what is the best network model for a particular mode of disease transmission, how parameter values of a given model should be estimated, or how precisely the data allow us to estimate these parameter values. We argue that these questions are best answered within a statistical framework and discuss the role of statistical inference in estimating contact networks from epidemiological data. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Association Between Cannabis and Psychosis: Epidemiologic Evidence.

    PubMed

    Gage, Suzanne H; Hickman, Matthew; Zammit, Stanley

    2016-04-01

    Associations between cannabis use and psychotic outcomes are consistently reported, but establishing causality from observational designs can be problematic. We review the evidence from longitudinal studies that have examined this relationship and discuss the epidemiologic evidence for and against interpreting the findings as causal. We also review the evidence identifying groups at particularly high risk of developing psychosis from using cannabis. Overall, evidence from epidemiologic studies provides strong enough evidence to warrant a public health message that cannabis use can increase the risk of psychotic disorders. However, further studies are required to determine the magnitude of this effect, to determine the effect of different strains of cannabis on risk, and to identify high-risk groups particularly susceptible to the effects of cannabis on psychosis. We also discuss complementary epidemiologic methods that can help address these questions. Copyright © 2016 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Quasi-chemical theory of F-(aq): The "no split occupancies rule" revisited

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chaudhari, Mangesh I.; Rempe, Susan B.; Pratt, Lawrence R.

    2017-10-01

    We use ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) calculations and quasi-chemical theory (QCT) to study the inner-shell structure of F-(aq) and to evaluate that single-ion free energy under standard conditions. Following the "no split occupancies" rule, QCT calculations yield a free energy value of -101 kcal/mol under these conditions, in encouraging agreement with tabulated values (-111 kcal/mol). The AIMD calculations served only to guide the definition of an effective inner-shell constraint. QCT naturally includes quantum mechanical effects that can be concerning in more primitive calculations, including electronic polarizability and induction, electron density transfer, electron correlation, molecular/atomic cooperative interactions generally, molecular flexibility, and zero-point motion. No direct assessment of the contribution of dispersion contributions to the internal energies has been attempted here, however. We anticipate that other aqueous halide ions might be treated successfully with QCT, provided that the structure of the underlying statistical mechanical theory is absorbed, i.e., that the "no split occupancies" rule is recognized.

  12. [Exploration and practice in the construction of curriculum on epidemiology in preventive medicine].

    PubMed

    Zhu, Y M; Le, Y L; Yu, Y X; Wang, J B; Jin, M J; Tang, M L; Chen, K

    2017-12-10

    Epidemiology is one of main courses for undergraduate students majoring in preventive medicine. There are some limitations in the traditional epidemiology teaching, which is usually characterized in indoctrinated education: "lectured by the teachers and listened by the students." In Zhejiang University, staff of the epidemiology division tried to explore a new teaching mode as 'student-centered, teacher-leading, question-based, and combining with literature discussion and course practice.' After practicing for two years, students were inspired in learning initiatives, with teaching effectiveness obviously improved.

  13. Cancer and aging: Epidemiology and methodological challenges.

    PubMed

    Pedersen, Jacob K; Engholm, Gerda; Skytthe, Axel; Christensen, Kaare

    2016-01-01

    Epidemiological cancer data shed light on key questions within basic science, clinical medicine and public health. For decades, Denmark has had linkable health registers that contain individual level data on the entire population with virtually complete follow-up. This has enabled high quality studies of cancer epidemiology and minimized the challenges often faced in many countries, such as uncertain identification of the study base, age misreporting, and low validity of the cancer diagnoses. However, methodological challenges still remain to be addressed, especially in cancer epidemiology studies among the elderly and the oldest-old. For example, a characteristic pattern for many cancer types is that the incidence increases up to a maximum at about ages 75-90 years and is then followed by a decline or a leveling off at the oldest ages. It has been suggested that the oldest individuals may be asymptomatic, or even insusceptible to cancer. An alternative interpretation is that this pattern is an artifact due to lower diagnostic intensity among the elderly and oldest-old caused by higher levels of co-morbidities in this age group. Currently, the available cancer epidemiology data are not able to provide clear evidence for any of these hypotheses.

  14. Frequent Questions about the Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Final Rule

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    FAQs including What are the benefits of these revisions to the generator regulations? What changed in the final regulations since proposal? How and why will the hazardous waste generator regulations be reorganized? When will this rule become effective?

  15. Frequent Questions on International Agreements on Transboundary Shipments of Waste

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Answers FAQs such as How does the OECD control the shipment of hazardous waste between Member countries? Where do I find the green and amber lists of waste? Why hasn't the United States ratified the Basel Convention?

  16. NRCS Prototype Programmatic Agreement FAQ

    Science.gov Websites

    Search Frequently Asked Questions regarding the Natural Resources Conservation Service Prototype Programmatic Agreement The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) recently designated a prototype programmatic agreement (PPA) for the United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation

  17. The globalization of epidemiology: introductory remarks.

    PubMed

    Pearce, Neil

    2004-10-01

    We are all living in the era of globalization, and like it or not, it is going to change the way we practice epidemiology, the kinds of questions we ask, and the methods we use to answer them. Increasingly, pubic health problems are being shifted from rich countries to poor countries and from rich to poor populations within Western countries. There is increasing interest and concern about the situation in non-Western populations on the part of Western epidemiologists, with regards to collaborative research, skills transfer, and 'volunteerism' to enable the 'benefits' of Western approaches to epidemiology to be shared by the non-Western world. However, most existing collaborations benefit Western epidemiologists rather than the countries in which the research is conducted. Even when research in non-Western populations is conducted as a genuine collaboration, it can too often 'export failure' from the West. On the other hand, non-Western epidemiologists are increasingly developing new and innovative approaches to health research that are more appropriate to the global public health issues they are addressing. These include recognition of the importance of context and the importance of diversity and local knowledge, and a problem-based approach to addressing the major public health problems using appropriate technology. These debates formed the background for a plenary session on 'International Epidemiology and International Health' at the recent International Epidemiological Association (IEA) meeting in Montreal, and the papers from this session are presented here. The development of a truly global epidemiology can not only better address the public health problems in non-Western populations, but can shed light on the current limitations of epidemiology in addressing the major public health problems in the West.

  18. Enterobiasis (Pinworm Infection): Diagnosis

    MedlinePlus

    ... About CDC.gov . Pinworm Infection General Information Pinworm Infection FAQs Epidemiology & Risk Factors Biology Disease Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals Publications Get Email Updates ...

  19. Enterobiasis (Pinworm Infection): Treatment

    MedlinePlus

    ... About CDC.gov . Pinworm Infection General Information Pinworm Infection FAQs Epidemiology & Risk Factors Biology Disease Diagnosis Treatment Prevention & Control Resources for Health Professionals Publications Get Email Updates ...

  20. Epidemiologic trends of leprosy for the 21st century.

    PubMed

    Schreuder, Pieter A M; Noto, Salvatore; Richardus, Jan Hendrik

    2016-01-01

    Major gaps still exist in the knowledge about leprosy, particularly with regard to how it spreads. Leprosy epidemiology remains complicated due to the specific characteristics of Mycobacterium leprae. To describe epidemiologic trends for the 21st century, the first part of this paper gives an overview of the epidemiology of leprosy, followed by past trends and the present situation of new-case detection as a proxy of the incidence. The third part, regarding predicted epidemiologic trends for the 21st century, elaborates on the main topic of this paper. With limited diagnostic tools to detect infection with M leprae, other methods are necessary to estimate trends in incidence and transmission. A computer program has been developed for modeling the transmission and control of leprosy (SIMLEP). The effect of failure to sustain early case detection beyond 2005 on leprosy incidence and case detection is shown. Important unanswered questions are whether the incubation period is contagious and how rapid close contacts of leprosy patients are infected. As long as such key questions remain unanswered, it will be difficult to estimate the impact of control strategies on the transmission of M leprae on resulting disease incidence. In the meantime we can expect that the global new-case detection trends will stay more or less stable or only decrease slightly for many years to come. There is a need of new preventive interventions to change this situation and reduce the incidence of leprosy in the 21st century. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. MedlinePlus FAQ: RSS Service

    MedlinePlus

    ... rss.html Question: Do you have a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed for MedlinePlus? To use the sharing features on this page, please enable JavaScript. Answer: MedlinePlus offers a variety of RSS feeds to suit your particular interests. You can subscribe to general interest feeds that ...

  2. PV FAQs: Does the world have enough materials for PV to help address climate change?

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

    Not Available

    2005-06-01

    In the ongoing discussion of what needs to be done to stabilize atmospheric CO2 by mid-century (Hoffert 1998), one possible option would be to add about 10-20 terawatts (trillion watts, or TW) of photovoltaics (PV) in place of conventional sources. PV would help because, unlike burning fossil fuels, it produces no CO2. However, 10-20 TW is an enormous amount of energy. In peak Watts, the way PV installations are generally rated, it is about 50-100 TWpeak (TWp) of PV. Would we have enough materials to make this much PV? As we explain in this PV FAQ, we think our planetmore » has enough feedstock materials for PV to meet the ''TW challenge.''« less

  3. Disciplinary Literacy: Just the FAQs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shanahan, Timothy; Shanahan, Cynthia

    2017-01-01

    One of the most misunderstood parts of the Common Core State Standards is the section on literacy standards for history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. To help reduce some of the lingering confusion about these disciplinary literacy standards, Timothy and Cynthia Shanahan offer responses to a number of Frequently Asked Questions.…

  4. Qcorp: an annotated classification corpus of Chinese health questions.

    PubMed

    Guo, Haihong; Na, Xu; Li, Jiao

    2018-03-22

    Health question-answering (QA) systems have become a typical application scenario of Artificial Intelligent (AI). An annotated question corpus is prerequisite for training machines to understand health information needs of users. Thus, we aimed to develop an annotated classification corpus of Chinese health questions (Qcorp) and make it openly accessible. We developed a two-layered classification schema and corresponding annotation rules on basis of our previous work. Using the schema, we annotated 5000 questions that were randomly selected from 5 Chinese health websites within 6 broad sections. 8 annotators participated in the annotation task, and the inter-annotator agreement was evaluated to ensure the corpus quality. Furthermore, the distribution and relationship of the annotated tags were measured by descriptive statistics and social network map. The questions were annotated using 7101 tags that covers 29 topic categories in the two-layered schema. In our released corpus, the distribution of questions on the top-layered categories was treatment of 64.22%, diagnosis of 37.14%, epidemiology of 14.96%, healthy lifestyle of 10.38%, and health provider choice of 4.54% respectively. Both the annotated health questions and annotation schema were openly accessible on the Qcorp website. Users can download the annotated Chinese questions in CSV, XML, and HTML format. We developed a Chinese health question corpus including 5000 manually annotated questions. It is openly accessible and would contribute to the intelligent health QA system development.

  5. The most important questions in cancer research and clinical oncology : Question 1. Could the vertical transmission of human papilloma virus (HPV) infection account for the cause, characteristics, and epidemiology of HPV-positive oropharyngeal carcinoma, non-smoking East Asian female lung adenocarcinoma, and/or East Asian triple-negative breast carcinoma?

    PubMed

    Wee, Joseph T S; Poh, Sharon Shuxian

    2017-01-16

    Specific research foci: (1) Mouse models of gamma-herpes virus-68 (γHV-68) and polyomavirus (PyV) infections during neonatal versus adult life. (2) For human papilloma virus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal carcinoma (OPC)-(a) Asking the question: Is oral sex a powerful carcinogen? (b) Examining the evidence for the vertical transmission of HPV infection. (c) Examining the relationship between HPV and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infections and nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) in West European, East European, and East Asian countries. (d) Examining the association between HPV-positive OPC and human leukocyte antigen (HLA). (3) For non-smoking East Asian female lung adenocarcinoma-(a) Examining the incidence trends of HPV-positive OPC and female lung adenocarcinoma according to birth cohorts. (b) Examining the association between female lung adenocarcinoma and HPV. (c) Examining the associations of lung adenocarcinoma with immune modulating factors. (4) For triple-negative breast carcinoma (TNBC) in East Asians-(a) Examining the association between TNBC and HPV. (b) Examining the unique epidemiological characteristics of patients with TNBC. A summary "epidemiological" model tying some of these findings together.

  6. Urinary incontinence self-report questions: reproducibility and agreement with bladder diary.

    PubMed

    Bradley, Catherine S; Brown, Jeanette S; Van Den Eeden, Stephen K; Schembri, Michael; Ragins, Arona; Thom, David H

    2011-12-01

    This study aims to measure self-report urinary incontinence questions' reproducibility and agreement with bladder diary. Data were analyzed from the Reproductive Risk of Incontinence Study at Kaiser. Participating women reporting at least weekly incontinence completed self-report incontinence questions and a 7-day bladder diary. Self-report question reproducibility was assessed and agreement between self-reported and diary-recorded voiding and incontinence frequency was measured. Test characteristics and area under the curve were calculated for self-reported incontinence types using diary as the gold standard. Five hundred ninety-one women were included and 425 completed a diary. The self-report questions had moderate reproducibility and self-reported and diary-recorded incontinence and voiding frequencies had moderate to good agreement. Self-reported incontinence types identified stress and urgency incontinence more accurately than mixed incontinence. Self-report incontinence questions have moderate reproducibility and agreement with diary, and considering their minimal burden, are acceptable research tools in epidemiologic studies.

  7. On framing the research question and choosing the appropriate research design.

    PubMed

    Parfrey, Patrick; Ravani, Pietro

    2009-01-01

    Clinical epidemiology is the science of human disease investigation with a focus on diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. The generation of a reasonable question requires the definition of patients, interventions, controls, and outcomes. The goal of research design is to minimize error, ensure adequate samples, measure input and output variables appropriately, consider external and internal validities, limit bias, and address clinical as well as statistical relevance. The hierarchy of evidence for clinical decision making places randomized controlled trials (RCT) or systematic review of good quality RCTs at the top of the evidence pyramid. Prognostic and etiologic questions are best addressed with longitudinal cohort studies.

  8. The Epidemiology of Delirium: Challenges and Opportunities for Population Studies

    PubMed Central

    Davis, Daniel H.J.; Kreisel, Stefan H.; Muniz Terrera, Graciela; Hall, Andrew J.; Morandi, Alessandro; Boustani, Malaz; Neufeld, Karin J.; Lee, Hochang Benjamin; MacLullich, Alasdair M.J.; Brayne, Carol

    2013-01-01

    Delirium is a serious and common acute neuropsychiatric syndrome that is associated with short- and long-term adverse health outcomes. However, relatively little delirium research has been conducted in unselected populations. Epidemiologic research in such populations has the potential to resolve several questions of clinical significance in delirium. Part 1 of this article explores the importance of population selection, case-ascertainment, attrition, and confounding. Part 2 examines a specific question in delirium epidemiology: What is the relationship between delirium and trajectories of cognitive decline? This section assesses previous work through two systematic reviews and proposes a design for investigating delirium in the context of longitudinal cohort studies. Such a design requires robust links between community and hospital settings. Practical considerations for case-ascertainment in the hospital, as well as the necessary quality control of these programs, are outlined. We argue that attention to these factors is important if delirium research is to benefit fully from a population perspective. PMID:23907068

  9. The Global Epidemiologic Transition: Noncommunicable Diseases and Emerging Health Risk of Allergic Disease in Sub-Saharan Africa

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Atiim, George A.; Elliott, Susan J.

    2016-01-01

    Globally, there has been a shift in the causes of illness and death from infectious diseases to noncommunicable diseases. This changing pattern has been attributed to the effects of an (ongoing) epidemiologic transition. Although researchers have applied epidemiologic transition theory to questions of global health, there have been relatively few…

  10. Circular epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Kuller, L H

    1999-11-01

    Circular epidemiology can be defined as the continuation of specific types of epidemiologic studies beyond the point of reasonable doubt of the true existence of an important association or the absence of such an association. Circular epidemiology is an extreme example of studies of the consistency of associations. A basic problem for epidemiology is the lack of a systematic approach to acquiring new knowledge to reach a goal of improving public health and preventive medicine. For epidemiologists, research support unfortunately is biased toward the continued study of already proven hypotheses. Circular epidemiology, however, freezes at one point in the evolution of epidemiologic studies, failing to move from descriptive to analytical case-control and longitudinal studies, for example, to experimental, clinical trials. Good epidemiology journals are filled with very well-conducted epidemiologic studies that primarily repeat the obvious or are variations on the theme.

  11. Telomere Length in Epidemiology: A Biomarker of Aging, Age-Related Disease, Both, or Neither?

    PubMed Central

    Sanders, Jason L.; Newman, Anne B.

    2013-01-01

    Telomeres are nucleoprotein caps flanking DNA. They are shortened by cell division and oxidative stress and are lengthened by the enzyme telomerase and DNA exchange during mitosis. Short telomeres induce cellular senescence. As an indicator of oxidative stress and senescence (2 processes thought to be fundamental to aging), telomere length is hypothesized to be a biomarker of aging. This hypothesis has been tested for more than a decade with epidemiologic study methods. In cross-sectional studies, researchers have investigated whether leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is associated with demographic, behavioral, and health variables. In prospective studies, baseline LTL has been used to predict mortality and occasionally other adverse health outcomes. Conflicting data have generated heated debate about the value of LTL as a biomarker of overall aging. In this review, we address the epidemiologic data on LTL and demonstrate that shorter LTL is associated with older age, male gender, Caucasian race, and possibly atherosclerosis; associations with other markers of health are equivocal. We discuss the reasons for discrepancy across studies, including a detailed review of methods for measuring telomere length as they apply to epidemiology. Finally, we conclude with questions about LTL as a biomarker of aging and how epidemiology can be used to answer these questions. PMID:23302541

  12. Debunking some judicial myths about epidemiology and its relevance to UK tort law.

    PubMed

    Mcivor, Claire

    2013-01-01

    Due to the limitations of current medical knowledge, claimants in complicated disease litigation often experience difficulties in proving causation. This paper aims to demonstrate that in some instances these difficulties could be overcome through greater use of epidemiological evidence. To encourage greater use of such evidence, it is first of all necessary to address and correct a series of common judicial misconceptions of epidemiology as a scientific discipline. By distinguishing epidemiology from the application of bare statistics, and by explaining that the courts are not automatically bound by an epidemiological result of 51+% to hold that causation has been established, this paper seeks to allay common judicial concerns about epidemiological evidence. It further seeks to demonstrate that the current judicial approach to determining questions of probabilistic causation is fundamentally flawed and that it could be significantly improved through greater use of specialist epidemiological expert witnesses. On the issue of expertise, the paper goes on to highlight the problems associated with the tendency of UK lawyers to turn to clinicians as experts on all matters of biomedical science.

  13. Qualitative research and the epidemiological imagination: a vital relationship.

    PubMed

    Popay, J

    2003-01-01

    This paper takes as its starting point the assumption that the 'Epidemiological Imagination' has a central role to play in the future development of policies and practice to improve population health and reduce health inequalities within and between states but suggests that by neglecting the contribution that qualitative research can make epidemiology is failing to deliver this potential. The paper briefly considers what qualitative research is, touching on epistemological questions--what type of "knowledge" is generated--and questions of methods--what approaches to data collection, analysis and interpretation are involved). Following this the paper presents two different models of the relationship between qualitative and quantitative research. The enhancement model (which assumes that qualitative research findings add something extra to the findings of quantitative research) suggests three related "roles" for qualitative research: generating hypothesis to be tested by quantitative research, helping to construct more sophisticated measures of social phenomena and explaining unexpected research from quantitative research. In contrast, the Epistemological Model suggests that qualitative research is equal but different from quantitative research making a unique contribution through: researching parts other research approaches can't reach, increasing understanding by adding conceptual and theoretical depth to knowledge, shifting the balance of power between researchers and researched and challenging traditional epidemiological ways of "knowing" the social world. The paper illustrates these different types of contributions with examples of qualitative research and finally discusses ways in which the "trustworthiness" of qualitative research can be assessed.

  14. On framing the research question and choosing the appropriate research design.

    PubMed

    Parfrey, Patrick S; Ravani, Pietro

    2015-01-01

    Clinical epidemiology is the science of human disease investigation with a focus on diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. The generation of a reasonable question requires definition of patients, interventions, controls, and outcomes. The goal of research design is to minimize error, to ensure adequate samples, to measure input and output variables appropriately, to consider external and internal validities, to limit bias, and to address clinical as well as statistical relevance. The hierarchy of evidence for clinical decision-making places randomized controlled trials (RCT) or systematic review of good quality RCTs at the top of the evidence pyramid. Prognostic and etiologic questions are best addressed with longitudinal cohort studies.

  15. Random amplified polymorphic DNA PCR in the teaching of molecular epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Reinoso, Elina B; Bettera, Susana G

    2016-07-08

    In this article, we describe a basic practical laboratory designed for fifth-year undergraduate students of Microbiology as part of the Epidemiology course. This practice provides the students with the tools for molecular epidemiological analysis of pathogenic microorganisms using a rapid and simple PCR technique. The aim of this work was to assay RAPD-PCR technique in order to infer possible epidemiological relationships. The activity gives students an appreciation of the value of applying a simple molecular biological method as RAPD-PCR to a discipline-specific question. It comprises a three-session laboratory module to genetically assay DNAs from strains isolated from a food outbreak. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 44(4):391-396, 2016. © 2016 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

  16. Recruitment of minority students to U.S. epidemiology degree programs. The American College of Epidemiology Committee on Minority Affairs.

    PubMed

    St George, D M; Schoenbach, V J; Reynolds, G H; Nwangwu, J; Adams-Campbell, L

    1997-05-01

    African-, Hispanic-, and Native Americans are underrepresented in the field of epidemiology including degree programs. As part of the assessment component of its mandate, the American College of Epidemiology Committee on Minority Affairs conducted a survey of minority recruitment activities of U.S. epidemiology degree programs. The survey, containing questions related to marketing activities, institution infrastructure, financial support, academic offerings, and receptive/supportive environment, was mailed to all programs identified in Episource as offering epidemiology degrees. Separate responses were requested concerning activities at the department and school levels. Fifty-two completed questionnaires were received (response rate of 79%). All but two institutions had at least one activity conducted by either the department or the school. However, all activities were more common at the school- than at the department-level. Indeed, some activities [a written minority student recruitment plan (6% of departments and 52% of schools), personnel with minority recruitment responsibilities (4% of departments and 73% of schools)] were almost exclusively school-sponsored. Although marketing-type activities were the most common minority recruitment tool used by departments, only 21% made visits to minority schools, 17% visited other colleges specifically to recruit minorities, and 12% produced materials targeted to ethnic/racial minorities. Six percent of the departments and 19% of the schools offered financial support (grants, fellowships, scholarships) to almost all underrepresented minority students. Even though individual epidemiology degree programs may not see a need for general recruitment activities in order to maintain the size of their applicant pool, minority-specific recruitment activities should be undertaken to enhance and diversify that pool. We recommend that epidemiology departments develop, adopt, and implement comprehensive written plans for the

  17. Molecular epidemiology of Giardia and Cryptosporidium infections.

    PubMed

    Thompson, R C A; Ash, A

    2016-06-01

    Giardia and Cryptosporidium are ubiquitous enteric protozoan pathogens of vertebrates. Although recognised as the aetiological agents of disease in humans and domestic animals for many years, fundamental questions concerning their ecology have been unresolved. Molecular tools have helped to better understand their genetic diversity and in so doing have helped to resolve questions about their transmission patterns and associated impacts on public health. However, the value of molecular tools is often complicated by questions concerning their applications, interpretation of results and terminology. Taxonomic issues have, until recently, made it difficult to determine the epidemiology of infections with both Giardia and Cryptosporidium. Similarly, improved understanding of their respective phylogenetic relationships has helped to resolve questions about zoonotic potential and distribution in wildlife. In the case of Cryptosporidium, imaging technologies have complemented phylogenetic studies in demonstrating the parasite's affinities with gregarine protozoa and have further supported its extracellular developmental capability and potential role as an environmental pathogen. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. [Molecular epidemiology in the epidemiological transition].

    PubMed

    Tapia-Conyer, R

    1997-01-01

    The epidemiological transition describes the changes in the health profile of populations where infectious diseases are substituted by chronic or non-communicable diseases. Even in industrialized countries, infectious diseases emerge as important public health problems and with a very important association with several type of neoplasm. Molecular epidemiology brings in new tools for the study of the epidemiological transition by discovering infectious agents as etiology of diseases, neither of both new. Much has been advanced in the understanding of the virulence and resistance mechanism of different strains, or improving the knowledge on transmission dynamics and dissemination pathways of infectious diseases. As to the non-communicable diseases, molecular epidemiology has enhanced the identification of endogenous risk factors link to alterations, molecular changes in genetic material, that will allow a more detail definition of risk and the identification of individual and groups at risk of several diseases. The potential impact of molecular epidemiology in other areas as environmental, lifestyles and nutritional areas are illustrated with several examples.

  19. Climate Prediction Center - ENSO FAQ

    Science.gov Websites

    Weather Service NWS logo - Click to go to the NWS home page Climate Prediction Center Home Site Map News Additional Links General Questions about El Niño and La Niña What is climate variability? What are El Niño . Impacts How do El Niño and La Niña influence the U.S. Winter weather patterns? How do El Niño and La

  20. Healthy imaginations: a social history of the epidemiology of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.

    PubMed

    Brough, M

    2001-01-01

    It is difficult to imagine Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health without the powerful descriptors of epidemiology. The statistical imagery of numerical tables, pie charts, and bar graphs have become a key element in the public presentation of Indigenous public health issues. Such quantitative measurements of health draw on the authority of neutral, objective science and are thus rarely questioned in terms of their social meaning. This paper traces the history of this imagery through the 20th century, providing a social account of epidemiological description. Historical notions such as social Darwinism, assimilation, and dangerous other are all seen to be woven into the epidemiological text. The enormous rise in the epidemiological description of Indigenous health problems in recent years needs to be analyzed as a social phenomenon and, in particular, as an aspect of emerging forms of governmentality. Finally, it is argued that such analyses are needed in order to promote an anthropology of epidemiology and to avoid limiting medical anthropology to applications within epidemiology.

  1. Questioning the Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tienken, Christopher H.; Goldberg, Stephanie; DiRocco, Dominic

    2010-01-01

    Historical accounts of questioning used in the education process trace back to Socrates. One of the best examples of his use of questioning is found in Plato's "The Republic." Socrates used a series of strategic questions to help his student Glaucon come to understand the concept of justice. Socrates purposefully posed a series of…

  2. Importance and pitfalls of molecular analysis to parasite epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Constantine, Clare C

    2003-08-01

    Molecular tools are increasingly being used to address questions about parasite epidemiology. Parasites represent a diverse group and they might not fit traditional population genetic models. Testing hypotheses depends equally on correct sampling, appropriate tool and/or marker choice, appropriate analysis and careful interpretation. All methods of analysis make assumptions which, if violated, make the results invalid. Some guidelines to avoid common pitfalls are offered here.

  3. FAQ's | College of Engineering & Applied Science

    Science.gov Websites

    zipped (compressed) format. This will help when the file is very large or created by one of the high end Milwaukee Engineer People Faculty and Staff Biomedical Engineering Civil & Environmental Engineering Computer Labs Technical Questions The labs are generally open 24/7, how will I know when a lab/system

  4. 6 FAQs About Helping Someone Quit Smoking

    Cancer.gov

    Many people want to help their friends and loved ones quit smoking. But, they often don't know how. Here are 6 frequently asked questions about how to help someone quit smoking to help you get the information you need.

  5. Information Technology Usage for Epidemiological Functions in U.S. State Public Health Departments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stokes, Linda C.

    2012-01-01

    Information technology (IT) use for epidemiological purposes in state public health departments has been documented only for a limited number of specific applications, leaving questions about its actual utilization and hindering IT's potential for information sharing. Communications, stages of change, and systems theories all influence the…

  6. Utilization and value of personal digital assistants on an epidemiology final examination.

    PubMed

    Lawler, Frank H; Cacy, Jim

    2005-01-01

    The utility of personal digital assistants (PDAs) in basic science medical education is uncertain. Student outcomes on an epidemiology course final examination for academic years 2003 and 2004 were examined. Students were given permission to use PDAs on the final examination, and self-selected whether these instruments were used. Performance on the examination based on use of a PDA and whether students thought it was useful for the examination was compared. A total of 389 students took the final examination, with an 88% response rate to the survey questions. No statistically significant differences were found on final examination scores. No trends toward significance were found on analyses of the total examination, specific topical domains, or on specific questions where a PDA might be expected to be especially useful. From this study, it can be concluded that use of PDAs and whether students thought they might be helpful had no measurable effect on performance on an epidemiology final examination. Further delineation of the possible use of PDAs in a basic science course and on the final examination is indicated.

  7. Staphylococcus aureus Infections: Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, Clinical Manifestations, and Management

    PubMed Central

    Davis, Joshua S.; Eichenberger, Emily; Holland, Thomas L.

    2015-01-01

    SUMMARY Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen that causes a wide range of clinical infections. It is a leading cause of bacteremia and infective endocarditis as well as osteoarticular, skin and soft tissue, pleuropulmonary, and device-related infections. This review comprehensively covers the epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and management of each of these clinical entities. The past 2 decades have witnessed two clear shifts in the epidemiology of S. aureus infections: first, a growing number of health care-associated infections, particularly seen in infective endocarditis and prosthetic device infections, and second, an epidemic of community-associated skin and soft tissue infections driven by strains with certain virulence factors and resistance to β-lactam antibiotics. In reviewing the literature to support management strategies for these clinical manifestations, we also highlight the paucity of high-quality evidence for many key clinical questions. PMID:26016486

  8. Epidemiological reflections of the contribution of anthropology to public health policy and practice.

    PubMed

    Porter, John D H

    2006-01-01

    Academic disciplines like anthropology and epidemiology provide a niche for researchers to speak the same language, and to interrogate the assumptions that they use to investigate problems. How anthropological and epidemiological methods communicate and relate to each other affects the way public health policy is created but the philosophical underpinnings of each discipline makes this difficult. Anthropology is reflective, subjective and investigates complexity and the individual; epidemiology, in contrast, is objective and studies populations. Within epidemiological methods there is the utilitarian concept of potentially sacrificing the interests of the individual for the benefits of maximizing population welfare, whereas in anthropology the individual is always included. Other strengths of anthropology in the creation of public health policy include: its attention to complexity, questioning the familiar; helping with language and translation; reconfiguring boundaries to create novel frameworks; and being reflective. Public health requires research that is multi-, inter- and trans-disciplinary. To do this, there is a need for each discipline to respect the 'dignity of difference' between disciplines in order to help create appropriate and effective public health policy.

  9. About the Clean Boating Act (CBA)

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Provides a description of the Clean Boating Act using frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the background, scope and implementation of the amendment. The page also discusses compliance questions and best management practices.

  10. A proposed World Council on Epidemiology and Causation: summary of feedback and considerations in an international workshop.

    PubMed

    Bhopal, Raj

    2017-03-01

    Rigorous evaluation of associations in epidemiology is essential, especially given big data, data mining, and hypothesis-free analyses. There is a precedent in making judgments on associations in the monographs of the International Agency for Research on Cancer; however, only the carcinogenic effects of exposures are examined. The idea of a World Council of Epidemiology and Causality to undertake rigorous, independent, comprehensive examination of associations has been debated, including in a workshop at the International Epidemiology Association's 20 th World Congress of Epidemiology, 2014. The objective of the workshop was both to, briefly, debate the idea and set out further questions and next steps. The principal conclusion from feedback including from the workshop is that the World Council of Epidemiology and Causality idea, notwithstanding challenges, has promise and deserves more debate. The preferred model is for a small independent body working closely with relevant partners with a distributed approach to tasks. Recommendations are contextualized in contemporary approaches in causal thinking in epidemiology. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. IC: Frequently Asked Questions

    MedlinePlus

    ... Epidemiology (RICE) Study Boston Area Community Health (BACH) Survey ICA Pilot Research Program Funding Opportunities Clinical Trial ... Epidemiology (RICE) Study Boston Area Community Health (BACH) Survey ICA Pilot Research Program Funding Opportunities Clinical Trial ...

  12. Questioning Questions: Elementary Teachers' Adaptations of Investigation Questions Across the Inquiry Continuum

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Biggers, Mandy

    2018-02-01

    Questioning is a central practice in science classrooms. However, not every question translates into a "good" science investigation. Questions that drive science investigations can be provided by many sources including the teacher, the curriculum, or the student. The variations in the source of investigation questions were explored in this study. A dataset of 120 elementary science classroom videos and associated lesson plans from 40 elementary teachers (K-5) across 21 elementary school campuses were scored on an instrument measuring the amount of teacher-direction or student-direction of the lessons' investigation questions. Results indicated that the investigation questions were overwhelmingly teacher directed in nature, with no opportunities for students to develop their own questions for investigation. This study has implications for researchers and practitioners alike, calling attention to the teacher-directed nature of investigation questions in existing science curriculum materials, and the need for teacher training in instructional strategies to adapt their existing curriculum materials across the continuum of teacher-directed and student-directed investigation questions. Teachers need strategies for adapting the teacher-directed questions provided in their existing curriculum materials in order to allow students the opportunity to engage in this essential scientific practice.

  13. The epidemiology and characteristics of stalking.

    PubMed

    Dressing, Harald; Kuehner, Christine; Gass, Peter

    2006-07-01

    This article summarizes major results in the field of epidemiology and characteristics of stalking, as published in literature between 2003 and October 2005. Although stalking had been only recently conceptualized, it soon became evident that it represents a significant social and medical problem. Community-based studies on the prevalence of stalking are scarce and predominantly from English-speaking countries. All epidemiological studies, however, revealed that stalking is a widespread phenomenon with lifetime prevalence rates of stalking victimization ranging 12-16% among women and 4-7% among men. With regard to the impact of stalking, studies suggest that stalking can cause serious economic, social, medical and psychiatric consequences. Growing evidence suggests that serious violence and even homicide may occur in the context of stalking, and research on risk assessment has yielded an improved understanding of risk factors. Research on therapy of stalkers and stalking victims is still at its beginning; however, there are some preliminary reports with encouraging results. Although there are research activities in the main fields, many basic questions still remain to be adequately addressed. Increased social and political awareness and expanded research funding are obligatory prerequisites to realize sound and well designed studies.

  14. Molecular Epidemiology and Genomics of Group A Streptococcus

    PubMed Central

    Bessen, Debra E.; McShan, W. Michael; Nguyen, Scott V.; Shetty, Amol; Agrawal, Sonia; Tettelin, Hervé

    2014-01-01

    Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococcus; GAS) is a strict human pathogen with a very high prevalence worldwide. This review highlights the genetic organization of the species and the important ecological considerations that impact its evolution. Recent advances are presented on the topics of molecular epidemiology, population biology, molecular basis for genetic change, genome structure and genetic flux, phylogenomics and closely related streptococcal species, and the long- and short-term evolution of GAS. The application of whole genome sequence data to addressing key biological questions is discussed. PMID:25460818

  15. Classifying Chinese Questions Related to Health Care Posted by Consumers Via the Internet.

    PubMed

    Guo, Haihong; Na, Xu; Hou, Li; Li, Jiao

    2017-06-20

    In question answering (QA) system development, question classification is crucial for identifying information needs and improving the accuracy of returned answers. Although the questions are domain-specific, they are asked by non-professionals, making the question classification task more challenging. This study aimed to classify health care-related questions posted by the general public (Chinese speakers) on the Internet. A topic-based classification schema for health-related questions was built by manually annotating randomly selected questions. The Kappa statistic was used to measure the interrater reliability of multiple annotation results. Using the above corpus, we developed a machine-learning method to automatically classify these questions into one of the following six classes: Condition Management, Healthy Lifestyle, Diagnosis, Health Provider Choice, Treatment, and Epidemiology. The consumer health question schema was developed with a four-hierarchical-level of specificity, comprising 48 quaternary categories and 35 annotation rules. The 2000 sample questions were coded with 2000 major codes and 607 minor codes. Using natural language processing techniques, we expressed the Chinese questions as a set of lexical, grammatical, and semantic features. Furthermore, the effective features were selected to improve the question classification performance. From the 6-category classification results, we achieved an average precision of 91.41%, recall of 89.62%, and F 1 score of 90.24%. In this study, we developed an automatic method to classify questions related to Chinese health care posted by the general public. It enables Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents to understand Internet users' information needs on health care. ©Haihong Guo, Xu Na, Li Hou, Jiao Li. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 20.06.2017.

  16. Environmental Epidemiology Program

    Science.gov Websites

    accessible with JavaScript activated. Utah Department of Health Bureau of Epidemiology Environmental Epidemiology Program (EEP) The Environmental Epidemiology Program strives to improve the health of Utah residents through science-based environmental health policy and by empowering citizens with knowledge about

  17. [Systems epidemiology].

    PubMed

    Huang, T; Li, L M

    2018-05-10

    The era of medical big data, translational medicine and precision medicine brings new opportunities for the study of etiology of chronic complex diseases. How to implement evidence-based medicine, translational medicine and precision medicine are the challenges we are facing. Systems epidemiology, a new field of epidemiology, combines medical big data with system biology and examines the statistical model of disease risk, the future risk simulation and prediction using the data at molecular, cellular, population, social and ecological levels. Due to the diversity and complexity of big data sources, the development of study design and analytic methods of systems epidemiology face new challenges and opportunities. This paper summarizes the theoretical basis, concept, objectives, significances, research design and analytic methods of systems epidemiology and its application in the field of public health.

  18. A method of determining where to target surveillance efforts in heterogeneous epidemiological systems

    PubMed Central

    van den Bosch, Frank; Gottwald, Timothy R.; Alonso Chavez, Vasthi

    2017-01-01

    The spread of pathogens into new environments poses a considerable threat to human, animal, and plant health, and by extension, human and animal wellbeing, ecosystem function, and agricultural productivity, worldwide. Early detection through effective surveillance is a key strategy to reduce the risk of their establishment. Whilst it is well established that statistical and economic considerations are of vital importance when planning surveillance efforts, it is also important to consider epidemiological characteristics of the pathogen in question—including heterogeneities within the epidemiological system itself. One of the most pronounced realisations of this heterogeneity is seen in the case of vector-borne pathogens, which spread between ‘hosts’ and ‘vectors’—with each group possessing distinct epidemiological characteristics. As a result, an important question when planning surveillance for emerging vector-borne pathogens is where to place sampling resources in order to detect the pathogen as early as possible. We answer this question by developing a statistical function which describes the probability distributions of the prevalences of infection at first detection in both hosts and vectors. We also show how this method can be adapted in order to maximise the probability of early detection of an emerging pathogen within imposed sample size and/or cost constraints, and demonstrate its application using two simple models of vector-borne citrus pathogens. Under the assumption of a linear cost function, we find that sampling costs are generally minimised when either hosts or vectors, but not both, are sampled. PMID:28846676

  19. Review of epidemiological studies of drinking-water turbidity in relation to acute gastrointestinal illness

    Treesearch

    Anneclaire J. De Roos; Patrick L. Gurian; Lucy F. Robinson; Arjita Rai; Issa Zakeri; Michelle C. Kondo

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Turbidity has been used as an indicator of microbiological contamination of drinking water in time-series studies attempting to discern the presence of waterborne gastrointestinal illness; however, the utility of turbidity as a proxy exposure measure has been questioned. OBJECTIVES: We conducted a review of epidemiological studies of the association between...

  20. Question analysis for Indonesian comparative question

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saelan, A.; Purwarianti, A.; Widyantoro, D. H.

    2017-01-01

    Information seeking is one of human needs today. Comparing things using search engine surely take more times than search only one thing. In this paper, we analyzed comparative questions for comparative question answering system. Comparative question is a question that comparing two or more entities. We grouped comparative questions into 5 types: selection between mentioned entities, selection between unmentioned entities, selection between any entity, comparison, and yes or no question. Then we extracted 4 types of information from comparative questions: entity, aspect, comparison, and constraint. We built classifiers for classification task and information extraction task. Features used for classification task are bag of words, whether for information extraction, we used lexical, 2 previous and following words lexical, and previous label as features. We tried 2 scenarios: classification first and extraction first. For classification first, we used classification result as a feature for extraction. Otherwise, for extraction first, we used extraction result as features for classification. We found that the result would be better if we do extraction first before classification. For the extraction task, classification using SMO gave the best result (88.78%), while for classification, it is better to use naïve bayes (82.35%).

  1. Pertussis immunity and epidemiology: mode and duration of vaccine-induced immunity.

    PubMed

    Magpantay, F M G; Domenech DE Cellès, M; Rohani, P; King, A A

    2016-06-01

    The resurgence of pertussis in some countries that maintain high vaccination coverage has drawn attention to gaps in our understanding of the epidemiological effects of pertussis vaccines. In particular, major questions surround the nature, degree and durability of vaccine protection. To address these questions, we used mechanistic transmission models to examine regional time series incidence data from Italy in the period immediately following the introduction of acellular pertussis (aP) vaccine. Our results concur with recent animal-challenge experiments wherein infections in aP-vaccinated individuals proved as transmissible as those in naive individuals but much less symptomatic. On the other hand, the data provide evidence for vaccine-driven reduction in susceptibility, which we quantify via a synthetic measure of vaccine impact. As to the precise nature of vaccine failure, the data do not allow us to distinguish between leakiness and waning of vaccine immunity, or some combination of these. Across the range of well-supported models, the nature and duration of vaccine protection, the age profile of incidence and the range of projected epidemiological futures differ substantially, underscoring the importance of the remaining unknowns. We identify key data gaps: sources of data that can supply the information needed to eliminate these remaining uncertainties.

  2. Pertussis immunity and epidemiology: mode and duration of vaccine-induced immunity

    PubMed Central

    MAGPANTAY, F. M. G.; DE CELLÉS, M. DOMENECH; ROHANI, P.; KING, A. A.

    2016-01-01

    SUMMARY The resurgence of pertussis in some countries that maintain high vaccination coverage has drawn attention to gaps in our understanding of the epidemiological effects of pertussis vaccines. In particular, major questions surround the nature, degree and durability of vaccine protection. To address these questions, we used mechanistic transmission models to examine regional time series incidence data from Italy in the period immediately following the introduction of acellular pertussis (aP) vaccine. Our results concur with recent animal-challenge experiments wherein infections in aP-vaccinated individuals proved as transmissible as those in naive individuals but much less symptomatic. On the other hand, the data provide evidence for vaccine-driven reduction in susceptibility, which we quantify via a synthetic measure of vaccine impact. As to the precise nature of vaccine failure, the data do not allow us to distinguish between leakiness and waning of vaccine immunity, or some combination of these. Across the range of well-supported models, the nature and duration of vaccine protection, the age profile of incidence and the range of projected epidemiological futures differ substantially, underscoring the importance of the remaining unknowns. We identify key data gaps: sources of data that can supply the information needed to eliminate these remaining uncertainties. PMID:26337864

  3. Measuring sun exposure in epidemiological studies: Matching the method to the research question.

    PubMed

    King, Laura; Xiang, Fan; Swaminathan, Ashwin; Lucas, Robyn M

    2015-12-01

    Sun exposure has risks and benefits for health. Testing these associations requires tools for measuring sun exposure that are feasible and relevant to the time-course of the health outcome. Recent sun exposure, e.g. the last week, is best captured by dosimeters and sun diaries. These can also be used for medium-term sun exposure e.g. over several weeks, but incur a high participant burden. Self-reported data on "typical time outdoors" for working and non-working days, is less detailed and not influenced by day-to-day variation. Over a longer period, e.g. the lifetime, or for particular life stages, proxies of sun exposure, such as latitude of residence or ambient ultraviolet (UV) radiation levels (from satellites or ground-level monitoring) can be used, with additional detail provided by lifetime sun exposure calendars that include locations of residence, usual time outdoors, and detail of sunburn episodes. Objective measures of lifetime sun exposure include microtopography of sun-exposed skin (e.g. using silicone casts) or conjunctival UV autofluorescence. Potential modifiers of the association between sun exposure and the health outcome, such as clothing coverage and skin colour, may also need to be measured. We provide a systematic approach to selecting sun exposure measures for use in epidemiological health research. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Questioning Questions: Elementary Teachers' Adaptations of Investigation Questions across the Inquiry Continuum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Biggers, Mandy

    2018-01-01

    Questioning is a central practice in science classrooms. However, not every question translates into a "good" science investigation. Questions that drive science investigations can be provided by many sources including the teacher, the curriculum, or the student. The variations in the source of investigation questions were explored in…

  5. Ethnography of epidemiologic transition: Avian flu, global health politics and agro-industrial capitalism in Thailand.

    PubMed

    Chuengsatiansup, Komatra

    2008-04-01

    This paper situates the ethnography of avian flu within the geo-political context of a new epidemiologic transition. Drawing on anthropological experience and insight, this paper examines areas of enquiry in which an ethnographic approach could contribute to a better implementation of prevention and control measures. Within the context of newly emerging diseases and accelerated globalization, the task of ethnography needs to extend far beyond the local. This paper reveals two major global issues that the ethnography of epidemiologic transition must take into consideration: (1) Global agro-industrial capitalism, and (2) global politics in the context of international health organizations and multi-national drug companies. The case of Thailand poses a question of how the strength of ethnographic practice could be deployed to account for the reality of the global-local interface of the new epidemiologic transition.

  6. Questions, Questioning Techniques, and Effective Teaching.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilen, William W., Ed.

    This book focuses on questioning techniques and strategies teachers may employ to make the difference between active and passive learning in the classroom. There are nine chapters: (1) Why Questions? (Ambrose A. Clegg, Jr.); (2) Review of Research on Questioning Techniques (Meredith D. Gall and Tom Rhody); (3) The Multidisciplinary World of…

  7. Molecular epidemiology of African sleeping sickness.

    PubMed

    Hide, G; Tait, A

    2009-10-01

    Human sleeping sickness in Africa, caused by Trypanosoma brucei spp. raises a number of questions. Despite the widespread distribution of the tsetse vectors and animal trypanosomiasis, human disease is only found in discrete foci which periodically give rise to epidemics followed by periods of endemicity A key to unravelling this puzzle is a detailed knowledge of the aetiological agents responsible for different patterns of disease--knowledge that is difficult to achieve using traditional microscopy. The science of molecular epidemiology has developed a range of tools which have enabled us to accurately identify taxonomic groups at all levels (species, subspecies, populations, strains and isolates). Using these tools, we can now investigate the genetic interactions within and between populations of Trypanosoma brucei and gain an understanding of the distinction between human- and nonhuman-infective subspecies. In this review, we discuss the development of these tools, their advantages and disadvantages and describe how they have been used to understand parasite genetic diversity, the origin of epidemics, the role of reservoir hosts and the population structure. Using the specific case of T.b. rhodesiense in Uganda, we illustrate how molecular epidemiology has enabled us to construct a more detailed understanding of the origins, generation and dynamics of sleeping sickness epidemics.

  8. [Chagas's disease and deep ecology: the anti-vectorial fight in question].

    PubMed

    Siqueira-Batista, Rodrigo; Gomes, Andréia Patrícia; Rôças, Giselle; Cotta, Rosângela Minardi Mitre; Rubião, Eduardo Cárdenas Nogueira; Pissinatti, Alcides

    2011-02-01

    The inter-relations between man and the environment are among the main themes currently debated by the Brazilian public health. On such horizon, the questions concerning Chagas's disease are found to remain specially in the scope of the directed actions of control to the triatomine, the anti-vectorial fight , though already a century since its first description by Carlos Chagas, a major epidemiological problem in Latin America. Based on these considerations the present article will seek to discuss the main ecological aspects related to the American trypanosomiasis, emphasizing the control of the vectorial transmission in the context of the deep ecology.

  9. Alaska Department of Natural Resources

    Science.gov Websites

    Questions Public Information Center Contacts/Office Directory Jobs/Volunteer Opportunities Boards and Recreation Support Services Division Offices Commissioner's Office Public Information Center Alaska State Resources / Commissioner's Office DNR FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions Maps & Geographic Information

  10. Epidemiology as discourse: the politics of development institutions in the Epidemiological Profile of El Salvador

    PubMed Central

    Aviles, L

    2001-01-01

    STUDY OBJECTIVE—To determine the ways in which institutions devoted to international development influence epidemiological studies.
DESIGN—This article takes a descriptive epidemiological study of El Salvador, Epidemiological Profile, conducted in 1994 by the US Agency for International Development, as a case study. The methods include discourse analysis in order to uncover the ideological basis of the report and its characteristics as a discourse of development.
SETTING—El Salvador.
RESULTS—The Epidemiological Profile theoretical basis, the epidemiological transition theory, embodies the ethnocentrism of a "colonizer's model of the world." This report follows the logic of a discourse of development by depoliticising development, creating abnormalities, and relying on the development consulting industry. The epidemiological transition theory serves as an ideology that legitimises and dissimulates the international order.
CONCLUSIONS—Even descriptive epidemiological assessments or epidemiological profiles are imbued with theoretical assumptions shaped by the institutional setting under which epidemiological investigations are conducted.


Keywords: El Salvador; politics PMID:11160170

  11. The Epidemiology of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in Asia

    PubMed Central

    Koh, Wee Ming; Bogich, Tiffany; Siegel, Karen; Jin, Jing; Chong, Elizabeth Y.; Tan, Chong Yew; Chen, Mark IC; Horby, Peter

    2016-01-01

    Context: Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a widespread pediatric disease caused primarily by human enterovirus 71 (EV-A71) and Coxsackievirus A16 (CV-A16). Objective: This study reports a systematic review of the epidemiology of HFMD in Asia. Data Sources: PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar were searched up to December 2014. Study Selection: Two reviewers independently assessed studies for epidemiologic and serologic information about prevalence and incidence of HFMD against predetermined inclusion/exclusion criteria. Data Extraction: Two reviewers extracted answers for 8 specific research questions on HFMD epidemiology. The results are checked by 3 others. Results: HFMD is found to be seasonal in temperate Asia with a summer peak and in subtropical Asia with spring and fall peaks, but not in tropical Asia; evidence of a climatic role was identified for temperate Japan. Risk factors for HFMD include hygiene, age, gender and social contacts, but most studies were underpowered to adjust rigorously for confounding variables. Both community-level and school-level transmission have been implicated, but their relative importance for HFMD is inconclusive. Epidemiologic indices are poorly understood: No supporting quantitative evidence was found for the incubation period of EV-A71; the symptomatic rate of EV-A71/Coxsackievirus A16 infection was from 10% to 71% in 4 studies; while the basic reproduction number was between 1.1 and 5.5 in 3 studies. The uncertainty in these estimates inhibits their use for further analysis. Limitations: Diversity of study designs complicates attempts to identify features of HFMD epidemiology. Conclusions: Knowledge on HFMD remains insufficient to guide interventions such as the incorporation of an EV-A71 vaccine in pediatric vaccination schedules. Research is urgently needed to fill these gaps. PMID:27273688

  12. Should the history of epidemiology be taught in epidemiology training programs?

    PubMed

    Laskaris, Zoey; Morabia, Alfredo

    2015-01-01

    Currently, there is no evidence concerning the presence of historical content in the epidemiology curricula of the United States and abroad. Similarly, it is not known how epidemiologists view this topic in the context of master's or doctoral level course work. We attempted to fill these knowledge gaps with data from 2 online surveys-Survey I administered to persons in charge of all epidemiology training programs in North America and Survey II to epidemiologists practicing around the world. A substantial minority (39%) of graduate programs in epidemiology in the United States teach a course on the history of the field. In both surveys, the most common reasons selected for teaching such a course were "To build a sense of identity as an epidemiologist" and "As a tool for achieving a deeper understanding into specific methods and concepts." The majority of respondents, from 63 countries, agreed that the history of epidemiology should be included in curricula for graduate students in epidemiology.

  13. [How to write high-quality epidemiological research paper Ⅵ. Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology-Nutritional Epidemiology (STROBE-nut)].

    PubMed

    Ding, C Y; Cao, Y; Yang, C; Sun, F; Zhan, S Y

    2017-01-10

    Concerns have been raised about the reporting quality in nutritional epidemiology. Therefore, strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology-nutritional epidemiology (STROBE-nut) has been proposed by extending the STROBE statement to include additional recommendations on issues related to nutritional epidemiology and dietary assessment, aiming to provide more specific guidelines on how to report observational research in the field. This paper presents a brief introduction to STROBE-nut and also an explanation of the key points in the additional items, with an example illustrating the application of the checklist.

  14. Causality and causal inference in epidemiology: the need for a pluralistic approach.

    PubMed

    Vandenbroucke, Jan P; Broadbent, Alex; Pearce, Neil

    2016-12-01

    Causal inference based on a restricted version of the potential outcomes approach reasoning is assuming an increasingly prominent place in the teaching and practice of epidemiology. The proposed concepts and methods are useful for particular problems, but it would be of concern if the theory and practice of the complete field of epidemiology were to become restricted to this single approach to causal inference. Our concerns are that this theory restricts the questions that epidemiologists may ask and the study designs that they may consider. It also restricts the evidence that may be considered acceptable to assess causality, and thereby the evidence that may be considered acceptable for scientific and public health decision making. These restrictions are based on a particular conceptual framework for thinking about causality. In Section 1, we describe the characteristics of the restricted potential outcomes approach (RPOA) and show that there is a methodological movement which advocates these principles, not just for solving particular problems, but as ideals for which epidemiology as a whole should strive. In Section 2, we seek to show that the limitation of epidemiology to one particular view of the nature of causality is problematic. In Section 3, we argue that the RPOA is also problematic with regard to the assessment of causality. We argue that it threatens to restrict study design choice, to wrongly discredit the results of types of observational studies that have been very useful in the past and to damage the teaching of epidemiological reasoning. Finally, in Section 4 we set out what we regard as a more reasonable 'working hypothesis' as to the nature of causality and its assessment: pragmatic pluralism. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.

  15. From ideas to studies: how to get ideas and sharpen them into research questions.

    PubMed

    Vandenbroucke, Jan P; Pearce, Neil

    2018-01-01

    Where do new research questions come from? This is at best only partially taught in courses or textbooks about clinical or epidemiological research. Methods are taught under the assumption that a researcher already knows the research question and knows which methods will fit that question. Similarly, the real complexity of the thought processes that lead to a scientific undertaking is almost never described in published papers. In this paper, we first discuss how to get an idea that is worth researching. We describe sources of new ideas and how to foster a creative attitude by "cultivating your thoughts". Only a few of these ideas will make it into a study. Next, we describe how to sharpen and focus a research question so that a study becomes feasible and a valid test of the underlying idea. To do this, the idea needs to be "pruned". Pruning a research question means cutting away anything that is unnecessary, so that only the essence remains. This includes determining both the latent and the stated objectives, specific pruning questions, and the use of specific schemes to structure reasoning. After this, the following steps include preparation of a brief protocol, conduct of a pilot study, and writing a draft of the paper including draft tables. Then you are ready to carry out your research.

  16. From ideas to studies: how to get ideas and sharpen them into research questions

    PubMed Central

    Vandenbroucke, Jan P; Pearce, Neil

    2018-01-01

    Where do new research questions come from? This is at best only partially taught in courses or textbooks about clinical or epidemiological research. Methods are taught under the assumption that a researcher already knows the research question and knows which methods will fit that question. Similarly, the real complexity of the thought processes that lead to a scientific undertaking is almost never described in published papers. In this paper, we first discuss how to get an idea that is worth researching. We describe sources of new ideas and how to foster a creative attitude by “cultivating your thoughts”. Only a few of these ideas will make it into a study. Next, we describe how to sharpen and focus a research question so that a study becomes feasible and a valid test of the underlying idea. To do this, the idea needs to be “pruned”. Pruning a research question means cutting away anything that is unnecessary, so that only the essence remains. This includes determining both the latent and the stated objectives, specific pruning questions, and the use of specific schemes to structure reasoning. After this, the following steps include preparation of a brief protocol, conduct of a pilot study, and writing a draft of the paper including draft tables. Then you are ready to carry out your research. PMID:29563838

  17. Can we share questions? Performance of questions from different question banks in a single medical school.

    PubMed

    Freeman, Adrian; Nicholls, Anthony; Ricketts, Chris; Coombes, Lee

    2010-01-01

    To use progress testing, a large bank of questions is required, particularly when planning to deliver tests over a long period of time. The questions need not only to be of good quality but also balanced in subject coverage across the curriculum to allow appropriate sampling. Hence as well as creating its own questions, an institution could share questions. Both methods allow ownership and structuring of the test appropriate to the educational requirements of the institution. Peninsula Medical School (PMS) has developed a mechanism to validate questions written in house. That mechanism can be adapted to utilise questions from an International question bank International Digital Electronic Access Library (IDEAL) and another UK-based question bank Universities Medical Assessment Partnership (UMAP). These questions have been used in our progress tests and analysed for relative performance. Data are presented to show that questions from differing sources can have comparable performance in a progress testing format. There are difficulties in transferring questions from one institution to another. These include problems of curricula and cultural differences. Whilst many of these difficulties exist, our experience suggests that it only requires a relatively small amount of work to adapt questions from external question banks for effective use. The longitudinal aspect of progress testing (albeit summatively) may allow more flexibility in question usage than single high stakes exams.

  18. Simple neck pain questions used in surveys, evaluated in relation to health outcomes: a cohort study

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background The high prevalence of pain reported in many epidemiological studies, and the degree to which this prevalence reflects severe pain is under discussion in the literature. The aim of the present study was to evaluate use of the simple neck pain questions commonly included in large epidemiological survey studies with respect to aspects of health. We investigated if and how an increase in number of days with pain is associated with reduction in health outcomes. Methods A cohort of university students (baseline age 19–25 years) were recruited in 2002 and followed annually for 4 years. The baseline response rate was 69% which resulted in 1200 respondents (627 women, 573 men). Participants were asked about present and past pain and perceptions of their general health, sleep disturbance, stress and energy levels, and general performance. The data were analyzed using a mixed model for repeated measurements and a random intercept logistic model. Results When reporting present pain, participants also reported lower prevalence of very good health, higher stress and sleep disturbance scores and lower energy score. Among those with current neck pain, additional questions characterizing the pain such as duration (categorized), additional pain sites and decreased general performance were associated with lower probability of very good health and higher amounts of sleep disturbance. Knowing about the presence or not of pain explains more of the variation in health between individuals, than within individuals. Conclusion This study of young university students has demonstrated that simple neck pain survey questions capture features of pain that affect aspects of health such as perceived general health, sleep disturbance, mood in terms of stress and energy. Simple pain questions are more useful for group descriptions than for describing or following pain in an individual. PMID:23102060

  19. Simple neck pain questions used in surveys, evaluated in relation to health outcomes: a cohort study.

    PubMed

    Grimby-Ekman, Anna; Hagberg, Mats

    2012-10-26

    The high prevalence of pain reported in many epidemiological studies, and the degree to which this prevalence reflects severe pain is under discussion in the literature. The aim of the present study was to evaluate use of the simple neck pain questions commonly included in large epidemiological survey studies with respect to aspects of health. We investigated if and how an increase in number of days with pain is associated with reduction in health outcomes. A cohort of university students (baseline age 19-25 years) were recruited in 2002 and followed annually for 4 years. The baseline response rate was 69% which resulted in 1200 respondents (627 women, 573 men). Participants were asked about present and past pain and perceptions of their general health, sleep disturbance, stress and energy levels, and general performance. The data were analyzed using a mixed model for repeated measurements and a random intercept logistic model. When reporting present pain, participants also reported lower prevalence of very good health, higher stress and sleep disturbance scores and lower energy score. Among those with current neck pain, additional questions characterizing the pain such as duration (categorized), additional pain sites and decreased general performance were associated with lower probability of very good health and higher amounts of sleep disturbance. Knowing about the presence or not of pain explains more of the variation in health between individuals, than within individuals. This study of young university students has demonstrated that simple neck pain survey questions capture features of pain that affect aspects of health such as perceived general health, sleep disturbance, mood in terms of stress and energy. Simple pain questions are more useful for group descriptions than for describing or following pain in an individual.

  20. The New Epidemiology--A Challenge to Health Administration. Issues in Epidemiology for Administration.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crichton, Anne, Ed.; Neuhauser, Duncan, Ed.

    The role of epidemiology in health administration is considered in 11 articles, and three course descriptions and a bibliography are provided. Titles and authors include the following: "The Need for Creative Managerial Epidemiology" (Gary L. Filerman); "The Growing Role of Epidemiology in Health Administration" (Maureen M.…

  1. Physical activity: from epidemiological evidence to individualized patient management.

    PubMed

    Charansonney, Olivier Luc; Vanhees, Luc; Cohen-Solal, Alain

    2014-01-01

    Physical activity (PA), physical fitness (PF), and even a few sedentary behaviors (SB) are strongly and independently linked to improved survival rate. However, key questions remain: what are the physiological interrelationships between SB, PA, and PF? How should we differently emphasize promoting PA, increasing PF with exercise, and decreasing SB among other prevention measures? What are the interrelationships of both PA and SB levels with drug treatment efficacy? To address these questions we developed an integrated patient-centric model combining physiology with epidemiological evidence to characterize the individual risk attached to PA level, PF, and SB. Epidemiological data were collected by extensive literature review. Nine meta-analyses, 198 cohort studies (3.8 million people), and 13 controlled trials were reviewed. 1. A high level of SB induces chronic stress and increases the risk of both chronic disease and mortality. 2. Vigorous PA increases PF and physiological reserve, thereby improving survival rate. This effect is not mediated by improved traditional risk factors. The risk for most individuals is a mix of high SB, low to mild PA, and low to mild PF. This model can improve the individualized prescription of PA modalities. Furthermore, the benefit of treatments such as statins or beta-blockers can be cancelled out if a decrease in PA or an increase in SB is induced by drug related side effects. To improve patient management both types of therapeutic interventions and dose should be carefully chosen for each individual in order to maintain/increase PA level while decreasing SB. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. [Causal analysis approaches in epidemiology].

    PubMed

    Dumas, O; Siroux, V; Le Moual, N; Varraso, R

    2014-02-01

    Epidemiological research is mostly based on observational studies. Whether such studies can provide evidence of causation remains discussed. Several causal analysis methods have been developed in epidemiology. This paper aims at presenting an overview of these methods: graphical models, path analysis and its extensions, and models based on the counterfactual approach, with a special emphasis on marginal structural models. Graphical approaches have been developed to allow synthetic representations of supposed causal relationships in a given problem. They serve as qualitative support in the study of causal relationships. The sufficient-component cause model has been developed to deal with the issue of multicausality raised by the emergence of chronic multifactorial diseases. Directed acyclic graphs are mostly used as a visual tool to identify possible confounding sources in a study. Structural equations models, the main extension of path analysis, combine a system of equations and a path diagram, representing a set of possible causal relationships. They allow quantifying direct and indirect effects in a general model in which several relationships can be tested simultaneously. Dynamic path analysis further takes into account the role of time. The counterfactual approach defines causality by comparing the observed event and the counterfactual event (the event that would have been observed if, contrary to the fact, the subject had received a different exposure than the one he actually received). This theoretical approach has shown limits of traditional methods to address some causality questions. In particular, in longitudinal studies, when there is time-varying confounding, classical methods (regressions) may be biased. Marginal structural models have been developed to address this issue. In conclusion, "causal models", though they were developed partly independently, are based on equivalent logical foundations. A crucial step in the application of these models is the

  3. Diet History Questionnaire II FAQs | EGRP/DCCPS/NCI/NIH

    Cancer.gov

    Answers to general questions about the Diet History Questionnaire II (DHQ II), as well as those related to DHQ II administration, validation, scanning, nutrient estimates, calculations, DHQ II modification, data quality, and more.

  4. An Immuno-epidemiological Model of Paratuberculosis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martcheva, M.

    2011-11-01

    The primary objective of this article is to introduce an immuno-epidemiological model of paratuberculosis (Johne's disease). To develop the immuno-epidemiological model, we first develop an immunological model and an epidemiological model. Then, we link the two models through time-since-infection structure and parameters of the epidemiological model. We use the nested approach to compose the immuno-epidemiological model. Our immunological model captures the switch between the T-cell immune response and the antibody response in Johne's disease. The epidemiological model is a time-since-infection model and captures the variability of transmission rate and the vertical transmission of the disease. We compute the immune-response-dependent epidemiological reproduction number. Our immuno-epidemiological model can be used for investigation of the impact of the immune response on the epidemiology of Johne's disease.

  5. Questioning Our Questions: Assessing Question Asking Practices to Evaluate a yPAR Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grace, Sarah; Langhout, Regina Day

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this research was to examine question asking practices in a youth participatory action research (yPAR) after school program housed at an elementary school. The research question was: In which ways did the adult question asking practices in a yPAR setting challenge and/or reproduce conventional models of power in educational…

  6. Medical sociology and epidemiology: convergences, divergences and legitimate boundaries.

    PubMed

    Spruit, I P; Kromhout, D

    1987-01-01

    For the purpose of exploring the existence of problem areas that may give rise to the question whether there is a tendency to (illegitimately) trespass across boundaries between medical sociology and epidemiology, important convergences and divergences between both disciplines are described. To assemble arguments for the legitimacy of fields of study we trace comparatively the history of both disciplines, definitions of their fields under study and aims of study, as well as characteristic concepts and constructs. Current research themes are taken from international journals; divergent interests are briefly described and potential 'trespassing' of boundaries is discussed, referring to themes showing convergences of interest.

  7. Atherogenesis and iron: from epidemiology to cellular level

    PubMed Central

    Vinchi, Francesca; Muckenthaler, Martina U.; Da Silva, Milene C.; Balla, György; Balla, József; Jeney, Viktória

    2014-01-01

    Iron accumulates in human atherosclerotic lesions but whether it is a cause or simply a downstream consequence of the atheroma formation has been an open question for decades. According to the so called “iron hypothesis,” iron is believed to be detrimental for the cardiovascular system, thus promoting atherosclerosis development and progression. Iron, in its catalytically active form, can participate in the generation of reactive oxygen species and induce lipid-peroxidation, triggering endothelial activation, smooth muscle cell proliferation and macrophage activation; all of these processes are considered to be proatherogenic. On the other hand, the observation that hemochromatotic patients, affected by life-long iron overload, do not show any increased incidence of atherosclerosis is perceived as the most convincing evidence against the “iron hypothesis.” Epidemiological studies and data from animal models provided conflicting evidences about the role of iron in atherogenesis. Therefore, more careful studies are needed in which issues like the source and the compartmentalization of iron will be addressed. This review article summarizes what we have learnt about iron and atherosclerosis from epidemiological studies, animal models and cellular systems and highlights the rather contributory than innocent role of iron in atherogenesis. PMID:24847266

  8. Epidemiologic Evidence to Guide the Understanding and Prevention of Gun Violence.

    PubMed

    Webster, Daniel W; Cerdá, Magdalena; Wintemute, Garen J; Cook, Philip J

    2016-01-01

    Gunfire from assaults, suicides, and unintentional shootings exacts an enormous burden on public health globally. The epidemiologic reviews in this special issue enhance our understanding of various forms of gun violence, inform interventions, and help chart directions for future research. The available science, however, is limited to answer many important questions necessary for mounting successful efforts to reduce gun violence. Certain data are lacking, and there are numerous analytical challenges to deriving unbiased estimates of policy impacts. Significant investments in research over the long term are warranted to answer questions central to successful prevention of gun violence. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. When is a research question not a research question?

    PubMed

    Mayo, Nancy E; Asano, Miho; Barbic, Skye Pamela

    2013-06-01

    Research is undertaken to answer important questions yet often the question is poorly expressed and lacks information on the population, the exposure or intervention, the comparison, and the outcome. An optimal research question sets out what the investigator wants to know, not what the investigator might do, nor what the results of the study might ultimately contribute. The purpose of this paper is to estimate the extent to which rehabilitation scientists optimally define their research questions. A cross-sectional survey of the rehabilitation research articles published during 2008. Two raters independently rated each question according to pre-specified criteria; a third rater adjudicated all discrepant ratings. The proportion of the 258 articles with a question formulated as methods or expected contribution and not as what knowledge was being sought was 65%; 30% of questions required reworking. The designs which most often had poorly formulated research questions were randomized trials, cross-sectional and measurement studies. Formulating the research question is not purely a semantic concern. When the question is poorly formulated, the design, analysis, sample size calculations, and presentation of results may not be optimal. The gap between research and clinical practice could be bridged by a clear, complete, and informative research question.

  10. The Global Epidemiologic Transition: Noncommunicable Diseases and Emerging Health Risk of Allergic Disease in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    PubMed

    Atiim, George A; Elliott, Susan J

    2016-04-01

    Globally, there has been a shift in the causes of illness and death from infectious diseases to noncommunicable diseases. This changing pattern has been attributed to the effects of an (ongoing) epidemiologic transition. Although researchers have applied epidemiologic transition theory to questions of global health, there have been relatively few studies exploring its relevance especially in the context of emerging allergic disorders in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In this article, we address the growing burden of noncommunicable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa through the lens of epidemiologic transition theory. After a brief review of the literature on the evolution of the epidemiologic transition with a particular emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa, we discuss existing frameworks designed to help inform our understanding of changing health trends in the developing world. We subsequently propose a framework that privileges "place" as a key construct informing our understanding. In so doing, we use the example of allergic disease, one of the fastest growing chronic conditions in most parts of the world. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

  11. Anxiety: its role in the history of psychiatric epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Murphy, J M; Leighton, A H

    2009-07-01

    The role played by anxiety in the history of psychiatric epidemiology has not been well recognized. Such lack of understanding retarded the incremental growth of psychiatric research in general populations. It seems useful to look back on this history while deliberations are being carried out about how anxiety will be presented in DSM-V. Drawing on the literature and our own research, we examined work that was carried out during and after the Second World War by a Research Branch of the United States War Department, by the Stirling County Study, and by the Midtown Manhattan Study. The differential influences of Meyerian psychobiology and Freudian psychoanalysis are noted. The instruments developed in the early epidemiologic endeavors used questions about nervousness, palpitations, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, upset stomach, etc. These symptoms are important features of what the clinical literature called 'manifest', 'free-floating' or 'chronic anxiety'. A useful descriptive name is 'autonomic anxiety'. Although not focusing on specific circumstances as in Panic and Phobic disorders, a non-specific form of autonomic anxiety is a common, disabling and usually chronic disorder that received empirical verification in studies of several community populations. It is suggested that two types of general anxiety may need to be recognized, one dominated by excessive worry and feelings of stress, as in the current DSM-IV definition of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), and another emphasizing frequent unexplainable autonomic fearfulness, as in the early epidemiologic studies.

  12. Causality and causal inference in epidemiology: the need for a pluralistic approach

    PubMed Central

    Vandenbroucke, Jan P; Broadbent, Alex; Pearce, Neil

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Causal inference based on a restricted version of the potential outcomes approach reasoning is assuming an increasingly prominent place in the teaching and practice of epidemiology. The proposed concepts and methods are useful for particular problems, but it would be of concern if the theory and practice of the complete field of epidemiology were to become restricted to this single approach to causal inference. Our concerns are that this theory restricts the questions that epidemiologists may ask and the study designs that they may consider. It also restricts the evidence that may be considered acceptable to assess causality, and thereby the evidence that may be considered acceptable for scientific and public health decision making. These restrictions are based on a particular conceptual framework for thinking about causality. In Section 1, we describe the characteristics of the restricted potential outcomes approach (RPOA) and show that there is a methodological movement which advocates these principles, not just for solving particular problems, but as ideals for which epidemiology as a whole should strive. In Section 2, we seek to show that the limitation of epidemiology to one particular view of the nature of causality is problematic. In Section 3, we argue that the RPOA is also problematic with regard to the assessment of causality. We argue that it threatens to restrict study design choice, to wrongly discredit the results of types of observational studies that have been very useful in the past and to damage the teaching of epidemiological reasoning. Finally, in Section 4 we set out what we regard as a more reasonable ‘working hypothesis’ as to the nature of causality and its assessment: pragmatic pluralism. PMID:26800751

  13. Toward automated consumer question answering: automatically separating consumer questions from professional questions in the healthcare domain.

    PubMed

    Liu, Feifan; Antieau, Lamont D; Yu, Hong

    2011-12-01

    Both healthcare professionals and healthcare consumers have information needs that can be met through the use of computers, specifically via medical question answering systems. However, the information needs of both groups are different in terms of literacy levels and technical expertise, and an effective question answering system must be able to account for these differences if it is to formulate the most relevant responses for users from each group. In this paper, we propose that a first step toward answering the queries of different users is automatically classifying questions according to whether they were asked by healthcare professionals or consumers. We obtained two sets of consumer questions (~10,000 questions in total) from Yahoo answers. The professional questions consist of two question collections: 4654 point-of-care questions (denoted as PointCare) obtained from interviews of a group of family doctors following patient visits and 5378 questions from physician practices through professional online services (denoted as OnlinePractice). With more than 20,000 questions combined, we developed supervised machine-learning models for automatic classification between consumer questions and professional questions. To evaluate the robustness of our models, we tested the model that was trained on the Consumer-PointCare dataset on the Consumer-OnlinePractice dataset. We evaluated both linguistic features and statistical features and examined how the characteristics in two different types of professional questions (PointCare vs. OnlinePractice) may affect the classification performance. We explored information gain for feature reduction and the back-off linguistic category features. The 10-fold cross-validation results showed the best F1-measure of 0.936 and 0.946 on Consumer-PointCare and Consumer-OnlinePractice respectively, and the best F1-measure of 0.891 when testing the Consumer-PointCare model on the Consumer-OnlinePractice dataset. Healthcare consumer

  14. Brief questions highlight the need for melanoma information campaigns.

    PubMed

    Foote, Janet A; Poole, Catherine M

    2013-12-01

    Melanoma awareness was briefly assessed at walk/runs held simultaneously in Philadelphia PA, Phoenix AZ, and Seattle WA. Of the participants, 75 % (1521) answered short questions during event registration. Among 1,036 respondents aged 14 years and older, 66 % reported knowing melanoma warning signs. Significantly more respondents with melanoma family history reported having a physician-administered skin exam and knowing warning signs. More than one third of walk/run participants reported no definitive melanoma warning sign knowledge. Self-reported melanoma awareness and detection indices were lowest among Phoenix participants; the event city with the greatest annual sun exposure. Educational efforts for melanoma awareness are critically needed. Selected results of this project were presented in a poster forum at the 2006 Congress for Epidemiology meeting held in Seattle, WA (June 2006).

  15. Uses of available record systems in epidemiologic studies of reproductive toxicology

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

    Polednak, A.P.; Janerich, D.T.

    The uses of available record systems in epidemiologic studies of reproductive toxicology are described with reference to New York State. The available record systems (and relevant reproductive end points) described include: a newborn screening program for metabolic diseases and hemoglobinopathies (relevant to point mutations); chromosome registries and prenatal cytogenetics (for chromosome anomalies); live birth certificates (for birth defects, birthweight, sex ratio, etc); fetal death certificates (for spontaneous fetal deaths); and a statewide cancer registry (for childhood cancers and transplacental carcinogenesis). The uses and limitations of these record systems are discussed, along with examples of their use in descriptive and analyticmore » epidemiologic studies. Descriptive studies outlined include investigations of temporal and geographic trends in birth defects, birth weight, and fetal deaths, with reference to environmental questions (eg, Love Canal, nuclear power plants). Analytic studies described concern parental occupation in relation to specific birth defects (neural tube defects and Down syndrome) and maternal use of contraceptive drugs.« less

  16. Improving question wording in surveys of culturally diverse populations.

    PubMed

    Warnecke, R B; Johnson, T P; Chávez, N; Sudman, S; O'Rourke, D P; Lacey, L; Horm, J

    1997-07-01

    The purpose of this paper is to briefly describe a theoretical model articulating cognitive theory and sources of potential response bias resulting from racial or ethnic cultural experience to survey questions that deal with health behavior. The theory components are then evaluated using questions obtained from national health surveys conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The analysis explores the effects of four cognitive tasks involved in responding to questions as specified by the model: question interpretation, information retrieval from memory, judgment formation, and response editing. Implications for epidemiological research are considered. Data were collected from a purposive sample of 423 adults aged 18 through 50 who were recruited to ensure equal numbers of African American, Puerto Rican, Mexican American, and non-Hispanic white respondents, stratified by age, gender, and education. Individual questions were selected for evaluation to ensure variation by topic and question format. Probes related to each of the cognitive tasks were designed to obtain insight into the underlying cognitive processes used by respondents to answer survey questions. All statistical analyses used logistic regression or ordinary least squares multiple regression as appropriate. Variation by race/ethnicity was found in the way respondents defined physical activity in a series of questions used in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Gender and race/ethnicity appeared to influence interpretation in the absence of specific cues in the question format about how to respond. Strategies used to retrieve information from memory did not appear to be influenced by respondent culture; however, frequency of the event was associated with the recall strategy in that more frequent or regular events were more likely to result in estimates about frequency, whereas

  17. Epidemiological causality.

    PubMed

    Morabia, Alfredo

    2005-01-01

    Epidemiological methods, which combine population thinking and group comparisons, can primarily identify causes of disease in populations. There is therefore a tension between our intuitive notion of a cause, which we want to be deterministic and invariant at the individual level, and the epidemiological notion of causes, which are invariant only at the population level. Epidemiologists have given heretofore a pragmatic solution to this tension. Causal inference in epidemiology consists in checking the logical coherence of a causality statement and determining whether what has been found grossly contradicts what we think we already know: how strong is the association? Is there a dose-response relationship? Does the cause precede the effect? Is the effect biologically plausible? Etc. This approach to causal inference can be traced back to the English philosophers David Hume and John Stuart Mill. On the other hand, the mode of establishing causality, devised by Jakob Henle and Robert Koch, which has been fruitful in bacteriology, requires that in every instance the effect invariably follows the cause (e.g., inoculation of Koch bacillus and tuberculosis). This is incompatible with epidemiological causality which has to deal with probabilistic effects (e.g., smoking and lung cancer), and is therefore invariant only for the population.

  18. Ask Questions to Encourage Questions Asked

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    belcastro, sarah-marie

    2017-01-01

    We delineate some types of structured practice (modeling, requests, feedback, and space-making) that help students learn to pose appropriate questions and to initiate exploration of those questions. Developing skills requires practice, so we suggest ways to embed structured practice into existing class sessions. Including structured practice is…

  19. Epidemiology: Then and Now.

    PubMed

    Kuller, Lewis H

    2016-03-01

    Twenty-five years ago, on the 75th anniversary of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, I noted that epidemiologic research was moving away from the traditional approaches used to investigate "epidemics" and their close relationship with preventive medicine. Twenty-five years later, the role of epidemiology as an important contribution to human population research, preventive medicine, and public health is under substantial pressure because of the emphasis on "big data," phenomenology, and personalized medical therapies. Epidemiology is the study of epidemics. The primary role of epidemiology is to identify the epidemics and parameters of interest of host, agent, and environment and to generate and test hypotheses in search of causal pathways. Almost all diseases have a specific distribution in relation to time, place, and person and specific "causes" with high effect sizes. Epidemiology then uses such information to develop interventions and test (through clinical trials and natural experiments) their efficacy and effectiveness. Epidemiology is dependent on new technologies to evaluate improved measurements of host (genomics), epigenetics, identification of agents (metabolomics, proteomics), new technology to evaluate both physical and social environment, and modern methods of data collection. Epidemiology does poorly in studying anything other than epidemics and collections of numerators and denominators without specific hypotheses even with improved statistical methodologies. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  20. Epidemiology and the Tobacco Epidemic: How Research on Tobacco and Health Shaped Epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Samet, Jonathan M

    2016-03-01

    In this article, I provide a perspective on the tobacco epidemic and epidemiology, describing the impact of the tobacco-caused disease epidemic on the field of epidemiology. Although there is an enormous body of epidemiologic evidence on the associations of smoking with health, little systematic attention has been given to how decades of research have affected epidemiology and its practice. I address the many advances that resulted from epidemiologic research on smoking and health, such as demonstration of the utility of observational designs and important parameters (the odds ratio and the population attributable risk), guidelines for causal inference, and systematic review approaches. I also cover unintended and adverse consequences for the field, including the strategy of doubt creation and the recruitment of epidemiologists by the tobacco industry to serve its mission. The paradigm of evidence-based action for addressing noncommunicable diseases began with the need to address the epidemic of tobacco-caused disease, an imperative for action documented by epidemiologic research. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  1. Simple Texts, Complex Questions: Helping Young Children Generate Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ness, Molly

    2017-01-01

    As they are naturally curious about the world around them, young children ask lots and lots of questions. In classrooms today, however, there seems to be little space for these student-generated questions as teachers are more likely to pose the questions. Research indicates that question generation is an effective strategy to motivate young…

  2. Question Popularity Analysis and Prediction in Community Question Answering Services

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Ting; Zhang, Wei-Nan; Cao, Liujuan; Zhang, Yu

    2014-01-01

    With the blooming of online social media applications, Community Question Answering (CQA) services have become one of the most important online resources for information and knowledge seekers. A large number of high quality question and answer pairs have been accumulated, which allow users to not only share their knowledge with others, but also interact with each other. Accordingly, volumes of efforts have been taken to explore the questions and answers retrieval in CQA services so as to help users to finding the similar questions or the right answers. However, to our knowledge, less attention has been paid so far to question popularity in CQA. Question popularity can reflect the attention and interest of users. Hence, predicting question popularity can better capture the users’ interest so as to improve the users’ experience. Meanwhile, it can also promote the development of the community. In this paper, we investigate the problem of predicting question popularity in CQA. We first explore the factors that have impact on question popularity by employing statistical analysis. We then propose a supervised machine learning approach to model these factors for question popularity prediction. The experimental results show that our proposed approach can effectively distinguish the popular questions from unpopular ones in the Yahoo! Answers question and answer repository. PMID:24837851

  3. Question popularity analysis and prediction in community question answering services.

    PubMed

    Liu, Ting; Zhang, Wei-Nan; Cao, Liujuan; Zhang, Yu

    2014-01-01

    With the blooming of online social media applications, Community Question Answering (CQA) services have become one of the most important online resources for information and knowledge seekers. A large number of high quality question and answer pairs have been accumulated, which allow users to not only share their knowledge with others, but also interact with each other. Accordingly, volumes of efforts have been taken to explore the questions and answers retrieval in CQA services so as to help users to finding the similar questions or the right answers. However, to our knowledge, less attention has been paid so far to question popularity in CQA. Question popularity can reflect the attention and interest of users. Hence, predicting question popularity can better capture the users' interest so as to improve the users' experience. Meanwhile, it can also promote the development of the community. In this paper, we investigate the problem of predicting question popularity in CQA. We first explore the factors that have impact on question popularity by employing statistical analysis. We then propose a supervised machine learning approach to model these factors for question popularity prediction. The experimental results show that our proposed approach can effectively distinguish the popular questions from unpopular ones in the Yahoo! Answers question and answer repository.

  4. 48 CFR 52.204-11 - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-Reporting Requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... each calendar quarter. The Contractor shall review the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Federal... Contractor shall report the following information, using the online reporting tool available at http://www...

  5. Criticality in epidemiology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stollenwerk, Nico; Jansen, Vincent A. A.

    For a long time criticality has been considered in epidemiological models. We review the body of theory developed over the last twenty five years for the simplest models. It is at first glance difficult to imagine that an epidemiological system operates at a very fine tuned critical state as opposed to any other parameter region. However, the advent of self-organized criticality has given hints in how to interpret large fluctuations observed in many natural systems including epidemiological systems. We show some scenarios where criticality has been observed (e.g., measles under vaccination) and where evolution towards a critical state can explain fluctuations (e.g., meningococcal disease.)

  6. Two-Year-Old Children Differentiate Test Questions from Genuine Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grosse, Gerlind; Tomasello, Michael

    2012-01-01

    Children are frequently confronted with so-called "test questions". While genuine questions are requests for missing information, test questions ask for information obviously already known to the questioner. In this study we explored whether two-year-old children respond differentially to one and the same question used as either a genuine question…

  7. Mapping epidemiology's past to inform its future: metaknowledge analysis of epidemiologic topics in leading journals, 1974-2013.

    PubMed

    Trinquart, Ludovic; Galea, Sandro

    2015-07-15

    An empiric perspective on what epidemiology has studied over time might inform discussions about future directions for the discipline. We aimed to identify the main areas of epidemiologic inquiry and determine how they evolved over time in 5 high-impact epidemiologic journals. We analyzed the titles and abstracts of 20,895 articles that were published between 1974 and 2013. In 5 time periods that reflected approximately equal numbers of articles, we identified the main topics by clustering terms based on co-occurrence. Infectious disease and cardiovascular disease epidemiology were the prevailing topics over the 5 periods. Cancer epidemiology was a major topic from 1974 to 2001 but disappeared thereafter. Nutritional epidemiology gained relative importance from 1974 to 2013. Environmental epidemiology appeared during 1996-2001 and continued to be important, whereas 2 clusters related to methodology and meta-analysis in genetics appeared during 2008-2013. Several areas of epidemiology, including injury or psychiatric epidemiology, did not make an appearance as major topics at any time. In an ancillary analysis of 6 high-impact general medicine journals, we found patterns of epidemiologic articles that were overall consistent with the findings in epidemiologic journals. This metaknowledge investigation allowed identification of the dominant topics in and conversely those that were absent from 5 major epidemiologic journals. We discuss implications for the field. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  8. Posing Einstein's Question: Questioning Einstein's Pose.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Topper, David; Vincent, Dwight E.

    2000-01-01

    Discusses the events surrounding a famous picture of Albert Einstein in which he poses near a blackboard containing a tensor form of his 10 field equations for pure gravity with a question mark after it. Speculates as to the content of Einstein's lecture and the questions he might have had about the equation. (Contains over 30 references.) (WRM)

  9. Epidemiological designs for vaccine safety assessment: methods and pitfalls.

    PubMed

    Andrews, Nick

    2012-09-01

    Three commonly used designs for vaccine safety assessment post licensure are cohort, case-control and self-controlled case series. These methods are often used with routine health databases and immunisation registries. This paper considers the issues that may arise when designing an epidemiological study, such as understanding the vaccine safety question, case definition and finding, limitations of data sources, uncontrolled confounding, and pitfalls that apply to the individual designs. The example of MMR and autism, where all three designs have been used, is presented to help consider these issues. Copyright © 2011 The International Alliance for Biological Standardization. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Epidemiology for the nuclear medicine technologist.

    PubMed

    Bolus, N E

    2001-09-01

    The purpose of this article is to introduce the nuclear medicine technologist to the field of epidemiology. There are many applications of epidemiology in nuclear medicine, including research studies that deal with the causes of disease or ways to prevent disease from occurring and investigating the possible effects of ionizing radiation on occupational workers and the general public. One use of an epidemiologic study is to suggest ways to reduce the occurrence of a disease. After reading this article, the nuclear medicine technologist will be familiar with: a) the history and underlying assumptions of epidemiology, b) types of epidemiologic studies, c) what is a valid statistical association for an epidemiologic study, d) proper judgment of cause and effect relationships, e) definitions of epidemiologic terms, and f) an example of a nuclear medicine research study.

  11. International Lymphoma Epidemiology Consortium

    Cancer.gov

    The InterLymph Consortium, or formally the International Consortium of Investigators Working on Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Epidemiologic Studies, is an open scientific forum for epidemiologic research in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

  12. Epidemiological evidence in forensic pharmacovigilance.

    PubMed

    Persaud, Nav; Healy, David

    2012-01-01

    Until recently epidemiological evidence was not regarded as helpful in determining cause and effect. It generated associations that then had to be explained in terms of bio-mechanisms and applied to individual patients. A series of legal cases surrounding possible birth defects triggered by doxylamine (Bendectin) and connective tissue disorders linked to breast implants made it clear that in some instances epidemiological evidence might have a more important role, but the pendulum swung too far so that epidemiological evidence has in recent decades been given an unwarranted primacy, partly perhaps because it suits the interests of certain stakeholders. Older and more recent epidemiological studies on doxylamine and other antihistamines are reviewed to bring out the ambiguities and pitfalls of an undue reliance on epidemiological studies.

  13. Gene-environment interactions in cancer epidemiology: a National Cancer Institute Think Tank report.

    PubMed

    Hutter, Carolyn M; Mechanic, Leah E; Chatterjee, Nilanjan; Kraft, Peter; Gillanders, Elizabeth M

    2013-11-01

    Cancer risk is determined by a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified hundreds of common (minor allele frequency [MAF] > 0.05) and less common (0.01 < MAF < 0.05) genetic variants associated with cancer. The marginal effects of most of these variants have been small (odds ratios: 1.1-1.4). There remain unanswered questions on how best to incorporate the joint effects of genes and environment, including gene-environment (G × E) interactions, into epidemiologic studies of cancer. To help address these questions, and to better inform research priorities and allocation of resources, the National Cancer Institute sponsored a "Gene-Environment Think Tank" on January 10-11, 2012. The objective of the Think Tank was to facilitate discussions on (1) the state of the science, (2) the goals of G × E interaction studies in cancer epidemiology, and (3) opportunities for developing novel study designs and analysis tools. This report summarizes the Think Tank discussion, with a focus on contemporary approaches to the analysis of G × E interactions. Selecting the appropriate methods requires first identifying the relevant scientific question and rationale, with an important distinction made between analyses aiming to characterize the joint effects of putative or established genetic and environmental factors and analyses aiming to discover novel risk factors or novel interaction effects. Other discussion items include measurement error, statistical power, significance, and replication. Additional designs, exposure assessments, and analytical approaches need to be considered as we move from the current small number of success stories to a fuller understanding of the interplay of genetic and environmental factors. © 2013 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.

  14. Gene-Environment Interactions in Cancer Epidemiology: A National Cancer Institute Think Tank Report

    PubMed Central

    Hutter, Carolyn M.; Mechanic, Leah E.; Chatterjee, Nilanjan; Kraft, Peter; Gillander, Elizabeth M.

    2014-01-01

    Cancer risk is determined by a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified hundreds of common (minor allele frequency [MAF]>0.05) and less common (0.01questions on how best to incorporate the joint effects of genes and environment, including gene-environment interactions, into epidemiologic studies of cancer. To help address these questions, and to better inform research priorities and allocation of resources, the National Cancer Institute sponsored a “Gene-Environment Think Tank” on January 10th–011th, 2012. The objective of the Think Tank was to facilitate discussions on: 1) the state of the science; 2) the goals of gene-environment interaction studies in cancer epidemiology; and 3) opportunities for developing novel study designs and analysis tools. This report summarizes the Think Tank discussion, with a focus on contemporary approaches to the analysis of gene-environment interactions. Selecting the appropriate methods requires first identifying the relevant scientific question and rationale, with an important distinction made between analyses aiming to characterize the joint effects of putative or established genetic and environmental factors and analyses aiming to discover novel risk factors or novel interaction effects. Other discussion items include measurement error, statistical power, significance and replication. Additional designs, exposure assessments, and analytical approaches need to be considered as we move from the current small number of success stories to a fuller understanding of the interplay of genetic and environmental factors. PMID:24123198

  15. Against Popperized epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Jacobsen, M

    1976-03-01

    The recommendation of Popper's philosophy of science should be adopted by epidemiologists is disputed. Reference is made to other authors who have shown that the most constructive elements in Popper's ideas have been advocated by earlier philosophers and have been used in epidemiology without abandoning inductive reasoning. It is argued that Popper's denigration of inductive methods is particularly harmful to epidemiology. Inductive reasoning and statistical inference play a key role in the science; it is suggested that unfamiliarity with these ideas contributes to widespread misunderstanding of the function of epidemiology. Attention is drawn to a common fallacy involving correlations between three random variables. The prevalence of the fallacy may be related to confusion between deductive and inductive logic.

  16. Development and application of Human Genome Epidemiology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Jingwen

    2017-12-01

    Epidemiology is a science that studies distribution of diseases and health in population and its influencing factors, it also studies how to prevent and cure disease and promote health strategies and measures. Epidemiology has developed rapidly in recent years and it is an intercross subject with various other disciplines to form a series of branch disciplines such as Genetic epidemiology, molecular epidemiology, drug epidemiology and tumor epidemiology. With the implementation and completion of Human Genome Project (HGP), Human Genome Epidemiology (HuGE) has emerged at this historic moment. In this review, the development of Human Genome Epidemiology, research content, the construction and structure of relevant network, research standards, as well as the existing results and problems are briefly outlined.

  17. Questions for Surveys

    PubMed Central

    Schaeffer, Nora Cate; Dykema, Jennifer

    2011-01-01

    We begin with a look back at the field to identify themes of recent research that we expect to continue to occupy researchers in the future. As part of this overview, we characterize the themes and topics examined in research about measurement and survey questions published in Public Opinion Quarterly in the past decade. We then characterize the field more broadly by highlighting topics that we expect to continue or to grow in importance, including the relationship between survey questions and the total survey error perspective, cognitive versus interactional approaches, interviewing practices, mode and technology, visual aspects of question design, and culture. Considering avenues for future research, we advocate for a decision-oriented framework for thinking about survey questions and their characteristics. The approach we propose distinguishes among various aspects of question characteristics, including question topic, question type and response dimension, conceptualization and operationalization of the target object, question structure, question form, response categories, question implementation, and question wording. Thinking about question characteristics more systematically would allow study designs to take into account relationships among these characteristics and identify gaps in current knowledge. PMID:24970951

  18. Preeclampsia and High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy

    MedlinePlus

    ... AQ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FAQ034 PREGNANCY Preeclampsia and High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy • What is high blood pressure? • What is chronic hypertension? • What is gestational hypertension? • ...

  19. Demand Response For Power System Reliability: FAQ

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

    Kirby, Brendan J

    2006-12-01

    Demand response is the most underutilized power system reliability resource in North America. Technological advances now make it possible to tap this resource to both reduce costs and improve. Misconceptions concerning response capabilities tend to force loads to provide responses that they are less able to provide and often prohibit them from providing the most valuable reliability services. Fortunately this is beginning to change with some ISOs making more extensive use of load response. This report is structured as a series of short questions and answers that address load response capabilities and power system reliability needs. Its objective is tomore » further the use of responsive load as a bulk power system reliability resource in providing the fastest and most valuable ancillary services.« less

  20. Reflective Questions, Self-Questioning and Managing Professionally Situated Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Malthouse, Richard; Watts, Mike; Roffey-Barentsen, Jodi

    2015-01-01

    Reflective self-questioning arises within the workplace when people are confronted with professional problems and situations. This paper focuses on reflective and "situated reflective" questions in terms of self-questioning and professional workplace problem solving. In our view, the situational context, entailed by the setting, social…

  1. Psychiatric epidemiology in India.

    PubMed

    Math, Suresh Bada; Chandrashekar, C R; Bhugra, Dinesh

    2007-09-01

    Epidemiological studies report prevalence rates for psychiatric disorders from 9.5 to 370/1000 populations in India. This review critically evaluates the prevalence rate of mental disorders as reported in Indian epidemiological studies. Extensive search of PubMed, NeuroMed and MEDLARS using search terms "psychiatry" and "epidemiology" was done. Manual search of literature was also done. Retrieved articles were systematically selected using inclusion and exclusion criteria. Only sixteen prevalence studies fulfilled the study criteria. Most of the epidemiological studies done in India neglected anxiety disorders, substance dependence disorders, co-morbidity and dual diagnosis. The use of poor sensitive screening instruments, single informant and systematic underreporting has added to the discrepancy in the prevalence rate. The prevalence of mental disorders reported in epidemiological surveys can be considered lower estimates rather than accurate reflections of the true prevalence in the population. Researchers have focused on broad non-specific, non-modifiable risk factors, such as age, gender and social class. Future research focused on the general population, longitudinal (prospective), multi-centre, co-morbid studies, assessment of disability, functioning, family burden and quality of life studies involving a clinical service providing approach, is required.

  2. A Systematic Review of the Comparative Epidemiology of Avian and Human Influenza A H5N1 and H7N9 - Lessons and Unanswered Questions.

    PubMed

    Bui, C; Bethmont, A; Chughtai, A A; Gardner, L; Sarkar, S; Hassan, S; Seale, H; MacIntyre, C R

    2016-12-01

    The aim of this work was to explore the comparative epidemiology of influenza viruses, H5N1 and H7N9, in both bird and human populations. Specifically, the article examines similarities and differences between the two viruses in their genetic characteristics, distribution patterns in human and bird populations and postulated mechanisms of global spread. In summary, H5N1 is pathogenic in birds, while H7N9 is not. Yet both have caused sporadic human cases, without evidence of sustained, human-to-human spread. The number of H7N9 human cases in the first year following its emergence far exceeded that of H5N1 over the same time frame. Despite the higher incidence of H7N9, the spatial distribution of H5N1 within a comparable time frame is considerably greater than that of H7N9, both within China and globally. The pattern of spread of H5N1 in humans and birds around the world is consistent with spread through wild bird migration and poultry trade activities. In contrast, human cases of H7N9 and isolations of H7N9 in birds and the environment have largely occurred in a number of contiguous provinces in south-eastern China. Although rates of contact with birds appear to be similar in H5N1 and H7N9 cases, there is a predominance of incidental contact reported for H7N9 as opposed to close, high-risk contact for H5N1. Despite the high number of human cases of H7N9 and the assumed transmission being from birds, the corresponding level of H7N9 virus in birds in surveillance studies has been low, particularly in poultry farms. H7N9 viruses are also diversifying at a much greater rate than H5N1 viruses. Analyses of certain H7N9 strains demonstrate similarities with engineered transmissible H5N1 viruses which make it more adaptable to the human respiratory tract. These differences in the human and bird epidemiology of H5N1 and H7N9 raise unanswered questions as to how H7N9 has spread, which should be investigated further. © 2015 The Authors. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases

  3. Four Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hark-Weber, Amara G., Ed.

    2013-01-01

    The author is pleased to introduce a new section in "TAJ," Four Questions. The structure is simple: four questions are asked to teaching artists working in various media and locations. The questions are always the same, but because each teaching artist's approach is unique, their answers will provide an insight into particular methodologies that…

  4. Doing Science and Asking Questions II: An Exercise That Generates Questions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hurt Middlecamp, Catherine; Nickel, Anne-Marie L.

    2005-08-01

    Given the importance of questions in science, it is critical that students learn to ask questions as well as learning to answer them. This paper describes a classroom exercise to help students better ask their own questions. It has been classroom-tested in multiple formats and has also been used for curriculum development workshops for faculty. This exercise in creating questions can be easily customized to suit different instructional contexts; some variations are outlined. More broadly, this paper also discusses the pedagogical significance of questioning, raising four salient points: (1) learners are more likely to have a personal interest in the questions they raise; (2) questions can serve as entry points for issues relating to ethnicity and gender; (3) questions give control to the person who asks them; and (4) questions can challenge existing structures, categories, and norms.

  5. Diagnosing non-cavitated lesions in epidemiological studies: practical and scientific considerations.

    PubMed

    Carvalho, Joana Christina; Mestrinho, Heliana Dantas

    2014-01-01

    Over the last decade, there has been growing interest in diagnosing non-cavitated lesions in epidemiological studies involving large numbers of preschool children, schoolchildren and young adults. In this context, assessment of lesions characteristics indicating whether or not there is ongoing mineral loss is also considered relevant. The reasoning sustained by these studies is that diagnosis of the caries process limited to the cavitated level is no longer in accordance with current state-of-the-art knowledge in cariology. This paper highlights one topic of the lecture entitled "Caries Process: Evolving Evidence and Understanding," presented at the 18th Congress of the Brazilian Association for Oral Health Promotion (Associação Brasileira de Odontologia de Promoção de Saúde - ABOPREV) in April 2013. In the framework of epidemiological studies, the interest in diagnosing active and inactive non-cavitated lesions was elucidated. However, relevant questions associated with the diagnosis of non-cavitated lesions that might raise concerns among researchers and health administrators were not addressed. The present paper aims to bring these questions into discussion. The contribution of this discussion in terms of developing the understanding of caries decline is analyzed by using data from a caries trends study of Brazilian preschool children residing in the Federal District of Brazil as an example. The inclusion of active and inactive non-cavitated lesions in the diagnosis of the caries process allowed us to demonstrate that, in Brazilian 1- to 5-year-old children, caries prevalence decreased significantly from 1996 to 2006, simultaneously with a reduction in the rate of caries progression.

  6. Foodborne outbreak simulation to teach field epidemiology: the Moroccan Field Epidemiology Training Program.

    PubMed

    Jroundi, Imane; Belarbi, Abdellatif

    2016-11-01

    Morocco in 2010 launched a new field epidemiology training program to enhance the skills of health professionals in charge of epidemiological surveillance and to investigate outbreaks; including foodborne diseases that represent a very substantial burden of disease. To apply an active learning method to teach outbreak investigation within a controled environment for field epidemiology trainees program at the Moroccan National school of public Health. A scenario describing digestive symptoms evoking a restaurant-associated foodborne outbreak that would affect the school staff was designed for the residents to investigate, to assess their organizational capacity and application of all stages of epidemiological investigation. Nine Residents applied study design, database management and statistical analysis to investigate the foodborne outbreak, to estimate attack rates, classify cases and controls, to identify the contaminated foods and pathogens and to issue preventive recommendations for the control and the prevention of further transmission. The overall resident's satisfaction of the learning method was 67%. A simulation of an outbreak investigation within an academic setting is an active learning method to be used in the curriculum for introducing the residents on field epidemiology program to the principles and practices of outbreak investigation before their implication in a real situation.

  7. Trypanosoma evansi and Surra: A Review and Perspectives on Transmission, Epidemiology and Control, Impact, and Zoonotic Aspects

    PubMed Central

    Desquesnes, Marc; Dargantes, Alan; Lai, De-Hua; Lun, Zhao-Rong; Holzmuller, Philippe; Jittapalapong, Sathaporn

    2013-01-01

    This paper reviews the transmission modes of Trypanosoma evansi. Its worldwide distribution is attributed to mechanical transmission. While the role of tabanids is clear, we raise questions on the relative role of Haematobia sp. and the possible role of Stomoxys sp. in delayed transmission. A review of the available trypanocidal drugs and their efficacy in various host species is useful for understanding how they interact in disease epidemiology, which is complex. Although there are similarities with other mechanically transmitted trypanosomes, T. evansi has a more complex epidemiology due to the diversity of its hosts and vectors. The impact of clinical and subclinical disease is difficult to establish. A model was developed for buffaloes in the Philippines, which could be transferred to other places and livestock systems. Since Trypanosoma evansi was reported in humans, further research is required to investigate its zoonotic potential. Surra remains a potentially emerging disease that is a threat to Australia, Spain, and France. A number of questions about the disease have yet to be resolved. This brief review of the basic knowledge of T. evansi suggests that there is renewed interest in the parasite, which is spreading and has a major economic impact. PMID:24151595

  8. Trypanosoma evansi and surra: a review and perspectives on transmission, epidemiology and control, impact, and zoonotic aspects.

    PubMed

    Desquesnes, Marc; Dargantes, Alan; Lai, De-Hua; Lun, Zhao-Rong; Holzmuller, Philippe; Jittapalapong, Sathaporn

    2013-01-01

    This paper reviews the transmission modes of Trypanosoma evansi. Its worldwide distribution is attributed to mechanical transmission. While the role of tabanids is clear, we raise questions on the relative role of Haematobia sp. and the possible role of Stomoxys sp. in delayed transmission. A review of the available trypanocidal drugs and their efficacy in various host species is useful for understanding how they interact in disease epidemiology, which is complex. Although there are similarities with other mechanically transmitted trypanosomes, T. evansi has a more complex epidemiology due to the diversity of its hosts and vectors. The impact of clinical and subclinical disease is difficult to establish. A model was developed for buffaloes in the Philippines, which could be transferred to other places and livestock systems. Since Trypanosoma evansi was reported in humans, further research is required to investigate its zoonotic potential. Surra remains a potentially emerging disease that is a threat to Australia, Spain, and France. A number of questions about the disease have yet to be resolved. This brief review of the basic knowledge of T. evansi suggests that there is renewed interest in the parasite, which is spreading and has a major economic impact.

  9. Periodontitis and coronary artery disease: a questioned association between periodontal and vascular plaques

    PubMed Central

    Thomopoulos, Costas; Tsioufis, Costas; Soldatos, Nikos; Kasiakogias, Alexandros; Stefanadis, Christodoulos

    2011-01-01

    Periodontitis is a bacterially-induced, localized chronic inflammatory disease destroying both the connective tissue and the supporting bone of the teeth. In the general population, severe forms of the disease demonstrate a prevalence of almost 5%, whereas initial epidemiological evidence suggests an association between periodontitis and coronary artery disease (CAD). Both the infectious nature of periodontitis and the yet etiologically unconfirmed infectious hypothesis of CAD, question their potential association. Ephemeral bacteremia, systemic inflammation and immune-pathological reactions constitute a triad of mechanisms supporting a cross-talk between periodontal and vascular damage. To which extent each of these periodontitis-mediated components contribute to vascular damage still remains uncertain. More than twenty years from the initial epidemiological association, the positive weight of evidence remains still alive but rather debated, because of both the presence of many uncontrolled confounding factors and the different assessment of periodontal disease. From the clinical point of view, advising periodontal prevention or treatment targeting on the prevention of CAD it is unjustified. By contrast, oral hygiene including periodontal health might contribute to the overall well-being and healthy lifestyle and hence as might at least partially contribute to cardiovascular prevention. PMID:22254188

  10. Evolution and social epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Nishi, Akihiro

    2015-11-01

    Evolutionary biology, which aims to explain the dynamic process of shaping the diversity of life, has not yet significantly affected thinking in social epidemiology. Current challenges in social epidemiology include understanding how social exposures can affect our biology, explaining the dynamics of society and health, and designing better interventions that are mindful of the impact of exposures during critical periods. I review how evolutionary concepts and tools, such as fitness gradient in cultural evolution, evolutionary game theory, and contemporary evolution in cancer, can provide helpful insights regarding social epidemiology. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Developing a simplified consent form for biobanking.

    PubMed

    Beskow, Laura M; Friedman, Joëlle Y; Hardy, N Chantelle; Lin, Li; Weinfurt, Kevin P

    2010-10-08

    Consent forms have lengthened over time and become harder for participants to understand. We sought to demonstrate the feasibility of creating a simplified consent form for biobanking that comprises the minimum information necessary to meet ethical and regulatory requirements. We then gathered preliminary data concerning its content from hypothetical biobank participants. We followed basic principles of plain-language writing and incorporated into a 2-page form (not including the signature page) those elements of information required by federal regulations and recommended by best practice guidelines for biobanking. We then recruited diabetes patients from community-based practices and randomized half (n = 56) to read the 2-page form, first on paper and then a second time on a tablet computer. Participants were encouraged to use "More information" buttons on the electronic version whenever they had questions or desired further information. These buttons led to a series of "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQs) that contained additional detailed information. Participants were asked to identify specific sentences in the FAQs they thought would be important if they were considering taking part in a biorepository. On average, participants identified 7 FAQ sentences as important (mean 6.6, SD 14.7, range: 0-71). No one sentence was highlighted by a majority of participants; further, 34 (60.7%) participants did not highlight any FAQ sentences. Our preliminary findings suggest that our 2-page form contains the information that most prospective participants identify as important. Combining simplified forms with supplemental material for those participants who desire more information could help minimize consent form length and complexity, allowing the most substantively material information to be better highlighted and enabling potential participants to read the form and ask questions more effectively.

  12. Anatomy of a Cancer Treatment Scam

    MedlinePlus Videos and Cool Tools

    ... and Office Directors Budgets Financial Documents Other Financial Information Performance Office of Inspector General FTC Imposter Scams ... Reading Rooms FOIA Request Fee Regulations Freedom of Information Act Contacts Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Links Table ...

  13. When Sex Is Painful

    MedlinePlus

    ... AQ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS GYNECOLOGIC PROBLEMS FAQ020 When Sex Is Painful • How common is painful sex? • What causes pain during sex? • Where is pain during sex felt? • When should ...

  14. Recreational Water Quality Criteria Limits

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) provides an overview of NPDES permitting applicable to continuous dischargers (such as POTWs) based on water quality standards for pathogens and pathogen indicators associated with fecal contamination.

  15. Breastfeeding Your Baby

    MedlinePlus

    ... ASKED QUESTIONS FAQ029 LABOR, DELIVERY, AND POSTPARTUM CARE Breastfeeding Your Baby • How long should I breastfeed my baby? • How does breastfeeding benefit my baby? • How does breastfeeding benefit me? • ...

  16. Learning styles and preferences for live and distance education: an example of a specialisation course in epidemiology

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Distance learning through the internet is increasingly popular in higher education. However, it is unknown how participants in epidemiology courses value live vs. distance education. Methods All participants of a 5-day specialisation course in epidemiology were asked to keep a diary on the number of hours they spent on course activities (both live and distance education). Attendance was not compulsory during the course and participants were therefore also asked for the reasons to attend live education (lectures and practicals). In addition, the relation between participants’ learning styles (Index of Learning Styles) and their participation in live and distance education was studied. Results All 54 (100%) participants in the course completed the questionnaire on attendance and 46 (85%) completed the questionnaire on learning styles. The number of hours attending live education was negatively correlated with the number of hours going studying distance learning materials (Pearson correlation −0.5; p < 0.001). The most important reasons to attend live education was to stay focused during lectures (50%), and to ask questions during practicals (50%). A lack of time was the most important reason not to attend lectures (52%) or practicals (61%). Learning styles were not association with the number of hours spent on live or distance education. Conclusion Distance learning may play an important role in epidemiology courses, since it allows participants to study whenever and wherever they prefer, which provides the opportunity to combine courses with clinical duties. An important requirement for distance learning education appears to be the possibility to ask questions and to interact with instructors. PMID:23819522

  17. Learning styles and preferences for live and distance education: an example of a specialisation course in epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Groenwold, Rolf H H; Knol, Mirjam J

    2013-07-02

    Distance learning through the internet is increasingly popular in higher education. However, it is unknown how participants in epidemiology courses value live vs. distance education. All participants of a 5-day specialisation course in epidemiology were asked to keep a diary on the number of hours they spent on course activities (both live and distance education). Attendance was not compulsory during the course and participants were therefore also asked for the reasons to attend live education (lectures and practicals). In addition, the relation between participants' learning styles (Index of Learning Styles) and their participation in live and distance education was studied. All 54 (100%) participants in the course completed the questionnaire on attendance and 46 (85%) completed the questionnaire on learning styles. The number of hours attending live education was negatively correlated with the number of hours going studying distance learning materials (Pearson correlation -0.5; p < 0.001). The most important reasons to attend live education was to stay focused during lectures (50%), and to ask questions during practicals (50%). A lack of time was the most important reason not to attend lectures (52%) or practicals (61%). Learning styles were not association with the number of hours spent on live or distance education. Distance learning may play an important role in epidemiology courses, since it allows participants to study whenever and wherever they prefer, which provides the opportunity to combine courses with clinical duties. An important requirement for distance learning education appears to be the possibility to ask questions and to interact with instructors.

  18. [Scientific, practical and educational aspects of clinical epidemiology].

    PubMed

    Briko, N I

    2012-01-01

    This article defines clinical epidemiology and describes its goal and objectives. The author claims that clinical epidemiology is a section of epidemiology which underlies the development of evidence-based standards for diagnostics, treatment and prevention and helps to select the appropriate algorithm for each clinical case. The study provides a comprehensive overview of the relationship between clinical epidemiology and evidence-based medicine. Epidemiological research is shown to be methodological basis of clinical epidemiology and evidence-based medicine with randomized controlled trials being the "gold standard" for obtaining reliable data. The key stages in the history of clinical epidemiology are discussed and further development of clinical epidemiology and the integration of courses on clinical epidemiology in education is outlined for progress in medical research and health care practice.

  19. The application of epidemiology in national veterinary services: Challenges and threats in Brazil.

    PubMed

    Gonçalves, Vitor Salvador Picão; de Moraes, Geraldo Marcos

    2017-02-01

    of expertise in veterinary epidemiology, as well as institutional models that provide an appropriate environment for building and sustaining capacity in national veterinary services. Integrating epidemiology with animal health policy is a great opportunity if epidemiologists can understand the real issues, including the socio-economic dimensions of disease management, and focus on innovation and production of knowledge. It may be a trap if epidemiologists are restricted to answering specific decision-making questions and policy makers perceive their role exclusively as data analysts or providers of technological solutions. Fostering solutions for complex issues is key to successful integration with policy making. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Genomic Sequencing of Bordetella pertussis for Epidemiology and Global Surveillance of Whooping Cough.

    PubMed

    Bouchez, Valérie; Guglielmini, Julien; Dazas, Mélody; Landier, Annie; Toubiana, Julie; Guillot, Sophie; Criscuolo, Alexis; Brisse, Sylvain

    2018-06-01

    Bordetella pertussis causes whooping cough, a highly contagious respiratory disease that is reemerging in many world regions. The spread of antigen-deficient strains may threaten acellular vaccine efficacy. Dynamics of strain transmission are poorly defined because of shortcomings in current strain genotyping methods. Our objective was to develop a whole-genome genotyping strategy with sufficient resolution for local epidemiologic questions and sufficient reproducibility to enable international comparisons of clinical isolates. We defined a core genome multilocus sequence typing scheme comprising 2,038 loci and demonstrated its congruence with whole-genome single-nucleotide polymorphism variation. Most cases of intrafamilial groups of isolates or of multiple isolates recovered from the same patient were distinguished from temporally and geographically cocirculating isolates. However, epidemiologically unrelated isolates were sometimes nearly undistinguishable. We set up a publicly accessible core genome multilocus sequence typing database to enable global comparisons of B. pertussis isolates, opening the way for internationally coordinated surveillance.

  1. Cell phones and brain tumors: a review including the long-term epidemiologic data.

    PubMed

    Khurana, Vini G; Teo, Charles; Kundi, Michael; Hardell, Lennart; Carlberg, Michael

    2009-09-01

    The debate regarding the health effects of low-intensity electromagnetic radiation from sources such as power lines, base stations, and cell phones has recently been reignited. In the present review, the authors attempt to address the following question: is there epidemiologic evidence for an association between long-term cell phone usage and the risk of developing a brain tumor? Included with this meta-analysis of the long-term epidemiologic data are a brief overview of cell phone technology and discussion of laboratory data, biological mechanisms, and brain tumor incidence. In order to be included in the present meta-analysis, studies were required to have met all of the following criteria: (i) publication in a peer-reviewed journal; (ii) inclusion of participants using cell phones for > or = 10 years (ie, minimum 10-year "latency"); and (iii) incorporation of a "laterality" analysis of long-term users (ie, analysis of the side of the brain tumor relative to the side of the head preferred for cell phone usage). This is a meta-analysis incorporating all 11 long-term epidemiologic studies in this field. The results indicate that using a cell phone for > or = 10 years approximately doubles the risk of being diagnosed with a brain tumor on the same ("ipsilateral") side of the head as that preferred for cell phone use. The data achieve statistical significance for glioma and acoustic neuroma but not for meningioma. The authors conclude that there is adequate epidemiologic evidence to suggest a link between prolonged cell phone usage and the development of an ipsilateral brain tumor.

  2. [Gender-sensitive epidemiological data analysis: methodological aspects and empirical outcomes. Illustrated by a health reporting example].

    PubMed

    Jahn, I; Foraita, R

    2008-01-01

    In Germany gender-sensitive approaches are part of guidelines for good epidemiological practice as well as health reporting. They are increasingly claimed to realize the gender mainstreaming strategy in research funding by the federation and federal states. This paper focuses on methodological aspects of data analysis, as an empirical data example of which serves the health report of Bremen, a population-based cross-sectional study. Health reporting requires analysis and reporting methods that are able to discover sex/gender issues of questions, on the one hand, and consider how results can adequately be communicated, on the other hand. The core question is: Which consequences do a different inclusion of the category sex in different statistical analyses for identification of potential target groups have on the results? As evaluation methods logistic regressions as well as a two-stage procedure were exploratively conducted. This procedure combines graphical models with CHAID decision trees and allows for visualising complex results. Both methods are analysed by stratification as well as adjusted by sex/gender and compared with each other. As a result, only stratified analyses are able to detect differences between the sexes and within the sex/gender groups as long as one cannot resort to previous knowledge. Adjusted analyses can detect sex/gender differences only if interaction terms have been included in the model. Results are discussed from a statistical-epidemiological perspective as well as in the context of health reporting. As a conclusion, the question, if a statistical method is gender-sensitive, can only be answered by having concrete research questions and known conditions. Often, an appropriate statistic procedure can be chosen after conducting a separate analysis for women and men. Future gender studies deserve innovative study designs as well as conceptual distinctiveness with regard to the biological and the sociocultural elements of the category sex/gender.

  3. Toxicological and epidemiological evidence for health risks from inhaled engine emissions.

    PubMed Central

    Mauderly, J L

    1994-01-01

    Information from toxicological and epidemiological studies of the cancer and noncancer health risks from inhaled diesel engine exhaust (DE) and gasoline engine exhaust (GE) was reviewed. The toxicological database is more extensive for DE than for GE. Animal studies have shown that heavy, chronic exposures to both DE and GE can cause lung pathology and associated physiological effects. Inhaled GE has not been shown to be carcinogenic in animals. Chronically inhaled DE at high concentrations is a pulmonary carcinogen in rats, but the response is questionable in mice and negative in Syrian hamsters. The response in rats is probably not attributable to the DE soot-associated organic compounds, as previously assumed, and the usefulness of the rat data for predicting risk in humans is uncertain. Experimental human exposures to DE show that lung inflammatory and other cellular effects can occur after single exposures, and sparse data suggest that occupational exposures might affect respiratory function and symptoms. Epidemiology suggests that heavy occupational exposures to exhaust probably increase the risks for mortality from both lung cancer and noncancer pulmonary disease. The small magnitudes of the increases in these risks make the studies very sensitive to confounding factors and uncertainties of exposure; thus, it may not be possible to resolve exposure-response relationships conclusively by epidemiology. Our present knowledge suggests that heavy occupational exposures to DE and GE are hazardous but does not allow quantitative estimates of risk with a high degree of certainty. PMID:7529701

  4. [Current epidemiology of microbial low respiratory tract infections].

    PubMed

    Trémolières, F

    2006-01-01

    The recent literature brings nothing new since it provides only fragmented, though undoubtedly useful, studies which remain within the prevalence interval for the different bacterias. The occurrence of germs varies with time and space; nevertheless, whatever the studied series and the site of the studies, the 3 most frequent causal germs belong to the following five strains: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Influenza A, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Legionella pneumophila. Thus, 90% of all documented pneumoniae appear to be caused by the following pathogens: Pneumococcus; most frequent in hospitalized patients; Mycoplasma, Chlamydia and respiratory viruses were predominant in outpatients, with great variations; Staphylococcus and enterobacteriace may be encountered, mostly in elderlies with major debilitating diseases; association of germs, generally including pneumococcus, are increasingly identified. Last, in 25% to 50% of cases, the causal agent is not known. Recently, some Staphylococcus meticillin-resistant were identified. The diagnosis of viruses (as well as that of atypical bacterias) seems to have improved, thanks to the use of PCR though the interest of such a diagnosis remains questionable, except for epidemiological studies, as well as the relevance of this type of test in clinical practice. Nothing really new has come out on the epidemiology of acute bronchitis, while in bacterial exacerbation of COPD, attention focused on the colonizing or infective role of H. influenzae in the genesis of bronchus inflammation.

  5. Proposal and validation of a quick question to rate the influence of diet in geriatric epidemiological studies on vitamin d.

    PubMed

    Chevallereau, Gaëlle; Gleyses, Xavier; Roussel, Laurène; Hamdan, Sarah; Beauchet, Olivier; Annweiler, Cédric

    2013-01-01

    Diet is a major exogenous source of vitamin D. The objective of this analysis was to determine whether the yes/no answer to a simple question exploring diet ("Do you eat fatty fish at least once a week and/or eggs several times per week?") could be associated with serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D status among 261 older in- and outpatients (mean ± standard deviation, 83.5 ± 8.1 years). Two groups were distinguished based on the binary yes/no answer. Hypovitaminosis D was defined as serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D ≤ 75 nmol/L. More participants with hypovitaminosis D answered "No" to the question on diet compared to their counterparts (p = 0.002). Answering "No" was associated with hypovitaminosis D (OR = 3.22, p = 0.001) after adjustment for potential confounders, with a positive predictive value = 79 %. A simple dietary question may identify older patients with hypovitaminosis D who should receive vitamin D supplements.

  6. Partitioning phase preference for secondary organic aerosol in an urban atmosphere

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chang, Wayne Li-Wen

    Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) comprises a significant portion of atmospheric particular matter (PM). The impact of PM on both human health and global climate has long been recognized. Despite its importance, there are still many unanswered questions regarding the formation and evolution of SOA in the atmosphere. This study uses a modeling approach to understand the preferred partitioning behavior of SOA species into aqueous or organic condensed phases. More specifically, this work uses statistical analyses of approximately 24,000 data values for each variable from a state-of-the-art 3-D airshed model. Spatial and temporal distributions of fractions of SOA residing in the aqueous phase (fAQ) in the South Coast Air Basin of California are presented. Typical values of fAQ within the basin near the surface range from 5 to 80%. Results show that the distribution of fAQ values is inversely proportional to the total SOA loading. Further analysis accounting for various meteorological parameters indicates that large fAQ values are the results of aqueous-phase SOA insensitivity to the ambient conditions; while organic-phase SOA concentrations are dramatically reduced under unfavorable SOA formation conditions, aqueous-phase SOA level remains relatively unchanged, thus increasing fAQ at low SOA loading. Diurnal variations of fAQ near the surface are also observed: it tends to be larger during daytime hours than nighttime hours. When examining the vertical gradient of fAQ, largest values are found at heights above the surface layer. In summary, one must consider SOA in both organic and aqueous phases for proper regional and global SOA budget estimation.

  7. Sterilization for Women and Men

    MedlinePlus

    f AQ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FAQ011 CONTRACEPTION Sterilization for Women and Men • What is sterilization? • How does tubal occlusion work to prevent pregnancy? • How effective is female sterilization? • Does female sterilization ...

  8. Causation in epidemiology

    PubMed Central

    Parascandola, M; Weed, D

    2001-01-01

    Causation is an essential concept in epidemiology, yet there is no single, clearly articulated definition for the discipline. From a systematic review of the literature, five categories can be delineated: production, necessary and sufficient, sufficient-component, counterfactual, and probabilistic. Strengths and weaknesses of these categories are examined in terms of proposed characteristics of a useful scientific definition of causation: it must be specific enough to distinguish causation from mere correlation, but not so narrow as to eliminate apparent causal phenomena from consideration. Two categories—production and counterfactual—are present in any definition of causation but are not themselves sufficient as definitions. The necessary and sufficient cause definition assumes that all causes are deterministic. The sufficient-component cause definition attempts to explain probabilistic phenomena via unknown component causes. Thus, on both of these views, heavy smoking can be cited as a cause of lung cancer only when the existence of unknown deterministic variables is assumed. The probabilistic definition, however, avoids these assumptions and appears to best fit the characteristics of a useful definition of causation. It is also concluded that the probabilistic definition is consistent with scientific and public health goals of epidemiology. In debates in the literature over these goals, proponents of epidemiology as pure science tend to favour a narrower deterministic notion of causation models while proponents of epidemiology as public health tend to favour a probabilistic view. The authors argue that a single definition of causation for the discipline should be and is consistent with both of these aims. It is concluded that a counterfactually-based probabilistic definition is more amenable to the quantitative tools of epidemiology, is consistent with both deterministic and probabilistic phenomena, and serves equally well for the acquisition and the

  9. Against anti-health epidemiology: corporate obstruction of public health via manipulation of epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Egilman, David; Howe, Samantha

    2007-01-01

    In response to several articles on corporate corruption of science that appeared earlier in this journal, a critic outlined an epistemological model based on an unsupported assertion that epidemiologic evidence is always required to support cause-effect relationships. This model, if adopted, would eliminate compensation to victims of toxic exposures and impede regulation of accepted hazards. Epidemiology is only one element in support of cause-effect determinations. The critic's proposal of an anti-health epidemiology was initially developed by corporations with the goal of providing defense in litigation, and is based not on science but on a corporate need to enhance profits at the expense of public health.

  10. The Epidemiology of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in Asia: A Systematic Review and Analysis.

    PubMed

    Koh, Wee Ming; Bogich, Tiffany; Siegel, Karen; Jin, Jing; Chong, Elizabeth Y; Tan, Chong Yew; Chen, Mark Ic; Horby, Peter; Cook, Alex R

    2016-10-01

    Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a widespread pediatric disease caused primarily by human enterovirus 71 (EV-A71) and Coxsackievirus A16 (CV-A16). This study reports a systematic review of the epidemiology of HFMD in Asia. PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar were searched up to December 2014. Two reviewers independently assessed studies for epidemiologic and serologic information about prevalence and incidence of HFMD against predetermined inclusion/exclusion criteria. Two reviewers extracted answers for 8 specific research questions on HFMD epidemiology. The results are checked by 3 others. HFMD is found to be seasonal in temperate Asia with a summer peak and in subtropical Asia with spring and fall peaks, but not in tropical Asia; evidence of a climatic role was identified for temperate Japan. Risk factors for HFMD include hygiene, age, gender and social contacts, but most studies were underpowered to adjust rigorously for confounding variables. Both community-level and school-level transmission have been implicated, but their relative importance for HFMD is inconclusive. Epidemiologic indices are poorly understood: No supporting quantitative evidence was found for the incubation period of EV-A71; the symptomatic rate of EV-A71/Coxsackievirus A16 infection was from 10% to 71% in 4 studies; while the basic reproduction number was between 1.1 and 5.5 in 3 studies. The uncertainty in these estimates inhibits their use for further analysis. Diversity of study designs complicates attempts to identify features of HFMD epidemiology. Knowledge on HFMD remains insufficient to guide interventions such as the incorporation of an EV-A71 vaccine in pediatric vaccination schedules. Research is urgently needed to fill these gaps.

  11. Frequently Asked Questions

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Local Government Solar Project Portal's Frequently Asked Questions page provides a forum for cities and towns to ask specific questions of experts and for EPA to share answers to commonly asked questions.

  12. Environmental Chemicals and Type 2 Diabetes: An Updated Systematic Review of the Epidemiologic Evidence

    PubMed Central

    Kuo, Chin-Chi; Moon, Katherine; Thayer, Kristina A.; Navas-Acien, Ana

    2015-01-01

    The burden of diabetes is increasing globally. Identifying novel preventable risk factors is an urgent need. In 2011, the U.S. National Toxicological Program (NTP) conducted a workshop to evaluate the epidemiologic and experimental evidence on the relationship of environmental chemicals with obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Although the evidence was insufficient to establish causality, the NTP workshop review identified an overall positive association between some environmental chemicals and diabetes. In this systematic review, our objective was to summarize the epidemiological research published since the NTP workshop. We identified a total of 29 articles (7 on arsenic, 3 on cadmium, 2 on mercury, 11 on persistent organic pollutants, 3 on phthalates and 4 on bisphenol A) including 7 prospective studies. Considering consistency, temporality, strength, dose-response, and biological plausibility (confounding), we concluded that the evidence is suggestive but not sufficient for a relationship between arsenic and persistent organic pollutants, and insufficient for mercury, phthalates and bisphenol A. For cadmium the epidemiologic evidence does not seem to suggest an association with diabetes. Important research questions include the need of additional prospective studies and the evaluation of the dose-response relationship, the role of joint exposures, and effect modification with other comorbidities and genetic variants. PMID:24114039

  13. The Utrecht questionnaire (U-CEP) measuring knowledge on clinical epidemiology proved to be valid.

    PubMed

    Kortekaas, Marlous F; Bartelink, Marie-Louise E L; de Groot, Esther; Korving, Helen; de Wit, Niek J; Grobbee, Diederick E; Hoes, Arno W

    2017-02-01

    Knowledge on clinical epidemiology is crucial to practice evidence-based medicine. We describe the development and validation of the Utrecht questionnaire on knowledge on Clinical epidemiology for Evidence-based Practice (U-CEP); an assessment tool to be used in the training of clinicians. The U-CEP was developed in two formats: two sets of 25 questions and a combined set of 50. The validation was performed among postgraduate general practice (GP) trainees, hospital trainees, GP supervisors, and experts. Internal consistency, internal reliability (item-total correlation), item discrimination index, item difficulty, content validity, construct validity, responsiveness, test-retest reliability, and feasibility were assessed. The questionnaire was externally validated. Internal consistency was good with a Cronbach alpha of 0.8. The median item-total correlation and mean item discrimination index were satisfactory. Both sets were perceived as relevant to clinical practice. Construct validity was good. Both sets were responsive but failed on test-retest reliability. One set took 24 minutes and the other 33 minutes to complete, on average. External GP trainees had comparable results. The U-CEP is a valid questionnaire to assess knowledge on clinical epidemiology, which is a prerequisite for practicing evidence-based medicine in daily clinical practice. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. When Is a Question a Question for Children and Adults?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saindon, Mathieu R.; Trehub, Sandra E.; Schellenberg, E. Glenn; van Lieshout, Pascal H. H. M.

    2017-01-01

    Terminal changes in fundamental frequency provide the most salient acoustic cues to declarative questions, but adults sometimes identify such questions from pre-terminal cues. In the present study, adults and 7- to 10-year-old children judged a single speaker's adult- and child-directed utterances as questions or statements in a gating task with…

  15. Feminism meets the "new" epidemiologies: toward an appraisal of antifeminist biases in epidemiological research on women's health.

    PubMed

    Inhorn, M C; Whittle, K L

    2001-09-01

    This essay explores an alternative paradigm for epidemiology, one which is explicitly informed by a feminist perspective. We intend to expand upon recent critiques and debates within the emergent fields of "critical", "popular", and "alternative" epidemiology to examine how epidemiology's conceptual models--which are meant to contribute to the prevention of social inequalities in health, but may instead reinforce social hierarchies based on gender, race, and class--constrain our understanding of health and disease. Specifically, we examine persistent antifeminist biases in contemporary epidemiological research on women's health. Issues highlighted include: problem definition and knowledge production in women's health: biological essentialization of women as reproducers; and decontextualization and depoliticization of women's health risks. As part of this critique, we include suggestions for an emancipatory epidemiology that incorporates an alternative feminist framework.

  16. A Question of Questions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fenwick, John; McMillan, Rod

    In a conventional teaching situation, a lecturer may use a wide range of questioning techniques aimed at helping students to become active learners. In distance learning, students are often isolated and have limited opportunities for interaction in a social learning environment. Hence, learning strategies in distance learning need to be structured…

  17. Recruiting minorities into the profession of epidemiology. Surveying the applicants' mail. American College of Epidemiology Committee on Minority Affairs.

    PubMed

    Morssink, C B; Kumanyika, S; Tell, G S; Schoenbach, V J

    1996-01-01

    The underrepresentation in epidemiology of members of racial/ethnic minority groups is greater than in medicine and health fields in general. Using printed recruitment materials, we evaluated the impression that epidemiology programs might make on prospective minority students. Mainstream recruitment materials were solicited from all identifiable U.S. epidemiology programs (n = 70) by requesting copies of typical mailings to prospective students. Of 51 respondents, 46 sent materials that could be analyzed by tabulating and evaluating minority-related content in text and pictures. Materials reflected a generally low-key approach to epidemiology student recruitment. Most minority-related text referred to affirmative action or financial aid and was at the school level rather than specific to the epidemiology programs. Few minority-related epidemiology course titles or research interests were identified. We recommend including more information about epidemiology and its relevance to minority health in mainstream recruitment materials as one possible strategy for increasing the number of minority applicants.

  18. Exam Question Exchange.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alexander, John J., Ed.

    1983-01-01

    Acceptable answers are provided for two chemistry questions. The first question is related to the prediction of the appearance of non-first-order proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra. The second question is related to extraterrestrial kinetic theory of gases. (JN)

  19. Current practice of epidemiology in Africa: highlights of the 3rd conference of the African epidemiological association and 1st conference of the Cameroon society of epidemiology, Yaoundé, Cameroon, 2014

    PubMed Central

    Nkwescheu, Armand Seraphin; Fokam, Joseph; Tchendjou, Patrice; Nji, Akindeh; Ngouakam, Hermann; Andre, Bita Fouda; Joelle, Sobngwi; Uzochukwu, Benjamin; Akinroye, Kingsley; Mbacham, Wilfred; Colizzi, Vittorio; Leke, Rose; Victora, Cesar

    2015-01-01

    As the study of disease occurrence and health indicators in human populations, Epidemiology is a dynamic field that evolves with time and geographical context. In order to update African health workers on current epidemiological practices and to draw awareness of early career epidemiologists on concepts and opportunities in the field, the 3rd African Epidemiology Association and the 1st Cameroon Society of Epidemiology Conference was organized in June 2-6, 2014 at the Yaoundé Mont Febe Hotel, in Cameroon. Under the theme«Practice of Epidemiology in Africa: Stakes, Challenges and Perspectives», the conference attracted close to five hundred guest and participants from all continents. The two main programs were the pre-conference course for capacity building of African Early Career epidemiologists, and the conference itself, providing a forum for scientific exchanges on recent epidemiological concepts, encouraging the use of epidemiological methods in studying large disease burden and neglected tropical diseases; and highlighting existing opportunities. PMID:26523191

  20. Current practice of epidemiology in Africa: highlights of the 3rd conference of the African epidemiological association and 1st conference of the Cameroon society of epidemiology, Yaoundé, Cameroon, 2014.

    PubMed

    Nkwescheu, Armand Seraphin; Fokam, Joseph; Tchendjou, Patrice; Nji, Akindeh; Ngouakam, Hermann; Andre, Bita Fouda; Joelle, Sobngwi; Uzochukwu, Benjamin; Akinroye, Kingsley; Mbacham, Wilfred; Colizzi, Vittorio; Leke, Rose; Victora, Cesar

    2015-01-01

    As the study of disease occurrence and health indicators in human populations, Epidemiology is a dynamic field that evolves with time and geographical context. In order to update African health workers on current epidemiological practices and to draw awareness of early career epidemiologists on concepts and opportunities in the field, the 3(rd) African Epidemiology Association and the 1st Cameroon Society of Epidemiology Conference was organized in June 2-6, 2014 at the Yaoundé Mont Febe Hotel, in Cameroon. Under the theme«Practice of Epidemiology in Africa: Stakes, Challenges and Perspectives», the conference attracted close to five hundred guest and participants from all continents. The two main programs were the pre-conference course for capacity building of African Early Career epidemiologists, and the conference itself, providing a forum for scientific exchanges on recent epidemiological concepts, encouraging the use of epidemiological methods in studying large disease burden and neglected tropical diseases; and highlighting existing opportunities.

  1. Assessment of H1N1 questions and answers posted on the Web.

    PubMed

    Kim, Sujin; Pinkerton, Thomas; Ganesh, Nithya

    2012-04-01

    A novel strain of human influenza A (H1N1) posed a serious pandemic threat worldwide during 2009. The public's fear of pandemic flu often raises awareness and discussion of such events. The goal of this study was to characterize major topical matters of H1N1 questions and answers raised by the online question and answer community Yahoo! Answers during H1N1 outbreak. The study used Text Mining for SPSS Clementine (v.12; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL) to extract the major concepts of the collected Yahoo! questions and answers. The original collections were retrieved using "H1N1" in search, keyword and then filtered for only "resolved questions" in the "health" category submitted within the past 2 years. The most frequently formed categories were as follows: general health (health, disease, medicine, investigation, evidence, problem), flu-specific terms (H1N1, swine, shot, fever, cold, infective, throat), and nonmedical issues (feel, North American, people, child, nations, government, states, help, doubt, emotion). The study found that URL data are fairly predictable: those providing answers are divided between ones dedicated to giving trustworthy information-from news organizations and the government, for instance-and those looking to espouse a more biased point of view. Critical evaluation of online sources should be taught to select the quality of information and improve health literacy. The challenges of pandemic prevention and control, therefore, demand both e-surveillance and better informed "Netizens." Copyright © 2012 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. An animated depiction of major depression epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Patten, Scott B

    2007-06-08

    Epidemiologic estimates are now available for a variety of parameters related to major depression epidemiology (incidence, prevalence, etc.). These estimates are potentially useful for policy and planning purposes, but it is first necessary that they be synthesized into a coherent picture of the epidemiology of the condition. Several attempts to do so have been made using mathematical modeling procedures. However, this information is not easy to communicate to users of epidemiological data (clinicians, administrators, policy makers). In this study, up-to-date data on major depression epidemiology were integrated using a discrete event simulation model. The mathematical model was animated in Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) to create a visual, rather than mathematical, depiction of the epidemiology. Consistent with existing literature, the model highlights potential advantages of population health strategies that emphasize access to effective long-term treatment. The paper contains a web-link to the animation. Visual animation of epidemiological results may be an effective knowledge translation tool. In clinical practice, such animations could potentially assist with patient education and enhanced long-term compliance.

  3. The New ADL Registry. ADL Registry Web Portal Changes

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-08-19

    Questions or Comments? Jason Haag Learning Technology Analyst jason.haag.ctr@adlnet.gov +1.850.471.1300 ...PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Advanced Decision Learning (ADL),Joint ADL Co-Lab,13501 Ingenuity Drive Suite 248,Orlando,FL,32826 8... Technologies /adlr/  News and Announcements  Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)  Documentation  Events and Event Registration 4 ADL Registry Functional

  4. How Do Question Writers Compose External Examination Questions? Question Writing as a Socio-Cognitive Process

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Martin; Constantinou, Filio; Crisp, Victoria

    2017-01-01

    The focus of this research is on the practice of education examination question writing. Educational examinations are tests that are taken by candidates in schools or colleges but that are externally developed, administered and marked by an assessment organisation. Whilst the practice of writing external examination questions is ubiquitous,…

  5. An evidence-based analysis of epidemiologic associations between lymphatic and hematopoietic cancers and occupational exposure to gasoline.

    PubMed

    Keenan, J J; Gaffney, S; Gross, S A; Ronk, C J; Paustenbach, D J; Galbraith, D; Kerger, B D

    2013-10-01

    The presence of benzene in motor gasoline has been a health concern for potential increased risk of acute myelogenous leukemia and perhaps other lymphatic/hematopoietic cancers for approximately 40 years. Because of the widespread and increasing use of gasoline by consumers and the high exposure potential of occupational cohorts, a thorough understanding of this issue is important. The current study utilizes an evidence-based approach to examine whether or not the available epidemiologic studies demonstrate a strong and consistent association between occupational exposure to gasoline and lymphatic/hematopoietic cancers. Among 67 epidemiologic studies initially identified, 54 were ranked according to specific criteria relating to the relevance and robustness of each study for answering the research question. The 30 highest-ranked studies were sorted into three tiers of evidence and were analyzed for strength, specificity, consistency, temporality, dose-response trends and coherence. Meta statistics were also calculated for each general and specific lymphatic/hematopoietic cancer category with adequate data. The evidence-based analysis did not confirm any strong and consistent association between occupational exposure to gasoline and lymphatic/hematopoietic cancers based on the epidemiologic studies available to date. These epidemiologic findings, combined with the evidence showing relatively low occupational benzene vapor exposures associated with gasoline formulations during the last three decades, suggest that current motor gasoline formulations are not associated with increased lymphatic/hematopoietic cancer risks related to benzene.

  6. Aging without Dementia is Achievable: Current Evidence from Epidemiological Research.

    PubMed

    Qiu, Chengxuan; Fratiglioni, Laura

    2018-01-01

    Both the incidence and the prevalence of dementia increase exponentially with increasing age. This raises the question of whether dementia is an inevitable consequence of aging or whether aging without dementia is achievable. In this review article, we sought to summarize the current evidence from epidemiological and neuropathological studies that investigated this topic. Epidemiological studies have shown that dementia could be avoided even at extreme old ages (e.g., centenarians or supercentenarians). Furthermore, clinico-neuropathological studies found that nearly half of centenarians with dementia did not have sufficient brain pathology to explain their cognitive symptoms, while intermediate-to-high Alzheimer pathology was present in around one-third of very old people without dementia or cognitive impairment. This suggests that certain compensatory mechanisms (e.g., cognitive reserve or resilience) may play a role in helping people in extreme old ages escape dementia syndrome. Finally, evidence has been accumulating in recent years indicating that the incidence of dementia has declined in Europe and North America, which supports the view that the risk of dementia in late life is modifiable. Evidence has emerged that intervention strategies that promote general health, maintain vascular health, and increase cognitive reserve are likely to help preserve cognitive function till late life, thus achieving the goal of aging without dementia.

  7. Aging without Dementia is Achievable: Current Evidence from Epidemiological Research

    PubMed Central

    Qiu, Chengxuan; Fratiglioni, Laura

    2018-01-01

    Both the incidence and the prevalence of dementia increase exponentially with increasing age. This raises the question of whether dementia is an inevitable consequence of aging or whether aging without dementia is achievable. In this review article, we sought to summarize the current evidence from epidemiological and neuropathological studies that investigated this topic. Epidemiological studies have shown that dementia could be avoided even at extreme old ages (e.g., centenarians or supercentenarians). Furthermore, clinico-neuropathological studies found that nearly half of centenarians with dementia did not have sufficient brain pathology to explain their cognitive symptoms, while intermediate-to-high Alzheimer pathology was present in around one-third of very old people without dementia or cognitive impairment. This suggests that certain compensatory mechanisms (e.g., cognitive reserve or resilience) may play a role in helping people in extreme old ages escape dementia syndrome. Finally, evidence has been accumulating in recent years indicating that the incidence of dementia has declined in Europe and North America, which supports the view that the risk of dementia in late life is modifiable. Evidence has emerged that intervention strategies that promote general health, maintain vascular health, and increase cognitive reserve are likely to help preserve cognitive function till late life, thus achieving the goal of aging without dementia. PMID:29562544

  8. National Lymphedema Network

    MedlinePlus

    ... Studies (52) Conference Powerpoints (0) For Patients (15) Hot Topics (2) Nutrition (18) Question Corner (68) Research (38) Insurance (46) Inspirational Patients (8) LymphLink Articles (174) FAQ's (6) Position Papers (9) LSAP Perspective (9) 2017 NLN International Conference ...

  9. Factsheet for the California No-Discharge Zone Prohibiting Vessel Sewage in all California Marine Waters

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The factsheet was produced by EPA Region 9 for California No Discharge Zone final rule. It includes background information, as well as a frequently asked questions (FAQs) section. The document also includes a map of California no discharge zones.

  10. Partitioning phase preference for secondary organic aerosol in an urban atmosphere.

    PubMed

    Chang, Wayne L; Griffin, Robert J; Dabdub, Donald

    2010-04-13

    Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) comprises a significant portion of atmospheric particular matter. The impact of particular matter on both human health and global climate has long been recognized. Despite its importance, there are still many unanswered questions regarding the formation and evolution of SOA in the atmosphere. This study uses a modeling approach to understand the preferred partitioning behavior of SOA species into aqueous or organic condensed phases. More specifically, this work uses statistical analyses of approximately 24,000 data values for each variable from a state of the art 3D airshed model. Spatial and temporal distributions of fractions of SOA residing in the aqueous phase (fAQ) in the South Coast Air Basin of California are presented. Typical values of fAQ within the basin near the surface range from 5 to 80%. Results show that the likelihood of large fAQ values is inversely proportional to the total SOA loading. Analysis of various meteorological parameters indicates that large fAQ values are predicted because modeled aqueous-phase SOA formation is less sensitive than that of organic-phase SOA to atmospheric conditions that are not conducive to SOA formation. There is a diurnal variation of fAQ near the surface: It tends to be larger during daytime hours than during nighttime hours. Results also indicate that the largest fAQ values are simulated in layers above ground level at night. In summary, one must consider SOA in both organic and aqueous phases for proper regional and global SOA budget estimation.

  11. Cancer Epidemiology Data Repository (CEDR)

    Cancer.gov

    In an effort to broaden access and facilitate efficient data sharing, the Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program (EGRP) has created the Cancer Epidemiology Data Repository (CEDR), a centralized, controlled-access database, where Investigators can deposit individual-level de-identified observational cancer datasets.

  12. The tale wagged by the DAG: broadening the scope of causal inference and explanation for epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Krieger, Nancy; Davey Smith, George

    2016-12-01

    'Causal inference', in 21st century epidemiology, has notably come to stand for a specific approach, one focused primarily on counterfactual and potential outcome reasoning and using particular representations, such as directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) and Bayesian causal nets. In this essay, we suggest that in epidemiology no one causal approach should drive the questions asked or delimit what counts as useful evidence. Robust causal inference instead comprises a complex narrative, created by scientists appraising, from diverse perspectives, different strands of evidence produced by myriad methods. DAGs can of course be useful, but should not alone wag the causal tale. To make our case, we first address key conceptual issues, after which we offer several concrete examples illustrating how the newly favoured methods, despite their strengths, can also: (i) limit who and what may be deemed a 'cause', thereby narrowing the scope of the field; and (ii) lead to erroneous causal inference, especially if key biological and social assumptions about parameters are poorly conceived, thereby potentially causing harm. As an alternative, we propose that the field of epidemiology consider judicious use of the broad and flexible framework of 'inference to the best explanation', an approach perhaps best developed by Peter Lipton, a philosopher of science who frequently employed epidemiologically relevant examples. This stance requires not only that we be open to being pluralists about both causation and evidence but also that we rise to the challenge of forging explanations that, in Lipton's words, aspire to 'scope, precision, mechanism, unification and simplicity'. © The Author 2016; all rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.

  13. Mendelian randomization in nutritional epidemiology

    PubMed Central

    Qi, Lu

    2013-01-01

    Nutritional epidemiology aims to identify dietary and lifestyle causes for human diseases. Causality inference in nutritional epidemiology is largely based on evidence from studies of observational design, and may be distorted by unmeasured or residual confounding and reverse causation. Mendelian randomization is a recently developed methodology that combines genetic and classical epidemiological analysis to infer causality for environmental exposures, based on the principle of Mendel’s law of independent assortment. Mendelian randomization uses genetic variants as proxiesforenvironmentalexposuresofinterest.AssociationsderivedfromMendelian randomization analysis are less likely to be affected by confounding and reverse causation. During the past 5 years, a body of studies examined the causal effects of diet/lifestyle factors and biomarkers on a variety of diseases. The Mendelian randomization approach also holds considerable promise in the study of intrauterine influences on offspring health outcomes. However, the application of Mendelian randomization in nutritional epidemiology has some limitations. PMID:19674341

  14. Exam Question Exchange.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alexander, John J., Ed.

    1987-01-01

    Contains two articles relating to chemistry examination questions. One provides examples of how to sequence multiple choice questions so that partial credit may be given for some responses. The second includes a question and solution dealing with stereoisomerism as a result of free radical chlorination of a nonstereoisometic substance. (TW)

  15. Breast Cancer Epidemiology in Puerto Rico

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-06-01

    cancer epidemiology. Dr. Rosario took a course on Social Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Baltimore, MD. June 29 to...July 3, 2009. This course offered an overview of conceptual and methodological approaches relevant to the study of the impact of social factors on...conference call. 2. Training: a. Courses: i. Attended a course on Social Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

  16. [Three years of vertical networking in the German Network of Competence on Viral Hepatitis: what can we learn from the usage of different information tools?].

    PubMed

    Meyer, S; Manns, M P; Wedemeyer, H

    2006-01-01

    Treatment of patients with viral hepatitis is time-consuming and sometimes complicated. Several sources of information have been established as internet sites, however systematic analyses of the need and use of these information platforms are lacking. The Competence Network on Viral Hepatitis (Hep-Net) was established in 2002 and offers a telephone hotline, an e-mail service and a home page with frequently asked questions (FAQs). On the internet pages "FAQs" 38 125 hits have been registered on single "question-answer-units" within three years. In a half of the cases the question are associated with modes of transmission. In contrast, patient's questions in e-mail and the telephone hotline are mainly dealing with the treatment of hepatitis C. More than 46 % of the physician's questions referred to unclearness in indications for treatment. Questions on specific medical problems of individual patients and, in e-mail, also on legal issues played a major part. Many of these questions have not been addressed in the actual guidelines in Germany. In summary, the Hep-Net vertical networking tools represent a fast, quality-assured endorsement to the daily management of patients with viral hepatitis. The combination of internet, e-mail service and telephone hotline gives consideration to individual necessities of patients and physicians. However, the detailed analysis of usage also shows limitations of current guidelines which should be considered during updating.

  17. Beginning EFL Teachers' Beliefs about Quality Questions and Their Questioning Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pham, Ly Ngoc Khanh; Hamid, M. Obaidul

    2013-01-01

    Motivated by the scarcity of research that examines the impact of teacher beliefs on their actual practices in Vietnam, this study investigated the relationship between teachers' beliefs about quality questions and their questioning behaviours in terms of questioning purposes, content focus, students' cognitive level, wording and syntax. Thirteen…

  18. Epidemiologic Study of One Million U.S. Radiation Workers and Veterans

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

    Boice, John D.

    The single most important question in radiation epidemiology is determining the level of health risks associated with radiation exposures that occur gradually over time. The study of one million early U.S. radiation workers and veterans has been designed to provide information on risk following chronic exposures by focusing on occupational groups with differing radiation exposure patterns, including intakes of radionuclides. The cost-efficient study builds on the investments made and foundations laid by investigators and government agencies over the past 30-40 years, which have established early worker cohorts that can now provide answers to questions on the lifetime human health risksmore » associated with low-level radiation exposures. Within the overall goal of the epidemiologic study of one million U.S. radiation workers and veterans, this project had a total of nine specific aims which included studies of six populations for multiple endpoints including cancer overall mortality, leukemia and non-cancer mortality. The six populations included: Mound, Ohio, workers exposed to polonium, tritium and plutonium; nuclear power plant workers within the Landauer dosimetry and Nuclear Regulatory Commission data files; industrial radiographers; Mallinckrodt uranium workers; uranium workers who linked with the US Renal Data System; and nuclear weapons test participants. Over 400,000 workers and atomic veterans are included in these populations, with vital status being determined and analyses of all causes of death undertaken. A critical, integral component of the studies has been comprehensive evaluations of dosimetry involving, in many cases, complex dose reconstructions, and assessments of uncertainties. The work has also involved development of state-of-the art statistical approaches and modeling. All nine aims were accomplished successfully, resulting in publication of two NCRP documents, 13 literature papers, numerous Boice Reports in Health Physics News and many

  19. DNA methylation analysis from saliva samples for epidemiological studies.

    PubMed

    Nishitani, Shota; Parets, Sasha E; Haas, Brian W; Smith, Alicia K

    2018-06-18

    Saliva is a non-invasive, easily accessible tissue, which is regularly collected in large epidemiological studies to examine genetic questions. Recently, it is becoming more common to use saliva to assess DNA methylation. However, DNA extracted from saliva is a mixture of both bacterial and human DNA derived from epithelial and immune cells in the mouth. Thus, there are unique challenges to using salivary DNA in methylation studies that can influence data quality. This study assesses: (1) quantification of human DNA after extraction; (2) delineation of human and bacterial DNA; (3) bisulfite conversion (BSC); (4) quantification of BSC DNA; (5) PCR amplification of BSC DNA from saliva and; (6) quantitation of DNA methylation with a targeted assay. The framework proposed will allow saliva samples to be more widely used in targeted epigenetic studies.

  20. The epidemiology of rape and sexual coercion in South Africa: an overview.

    PubMed

    Jewkes, Rachel; Abrahams, Naeema

    2002-10-01

    During 1999 the issue of rape in South Africa was debated at the highest levels. The epidemiology of rape has become an issue of considerable political importance and sensitivity, with President Mbeki demanding an answer to the question: how much rape is there in South Africa? The purpose of this paper is both to summarise and synthesise the findings of research to provide an overview of the epidemiology of rape of women in South Africa and to show how difficult it is to answer the President's question. The review begins by considering why rape is so difficult to research. Data available shows that rape reported to the police (240 incidents of rape and attempted rape per 100,000 women each year) represents the tip of an ice berg of sexual coercion. Representative community-based surveys have found, for example, that in the 17-48 age group there are 2070 such incidents per 100,000 women per year. Non-consensual sex in marriage and dating relationships is believed to be very common but is usually not well reported in surveys. Forced sexual initiation is reported by almost a third of adolescent girls. In addition coerced consensual sex is a common problem in schools, workplaces and amongst peers. Knowledge of causal and contributory factors influencing the high levels of rape are also discussed. We conclude that the rape statistic for the country is currently elusive but levels of non-consensual and coerced sex are clearly very high. International comparison needs to be approached with caution because most developing countries lack the infrastructure for accurate crime reporting and do not have such a substantial body of survey data.

  1. Formative student-authored question bank: perceptions, question quality and association with summative performance

    PubMed Central

    Walsh, Jason L; Harris, Benjamin H L; Denny, Paul; Smith, Phil

    2018-01-01

    Purpose of the study There are few studies on the value of authoring questions as a study method, the quality of the questions produced by students and student perceptions of student-authored question banks. Here we evaluate PeerWise, a widely used and free online resource that allows students to author, answer and discuss multiple-choice questions. Study design We introduced two undergraduate medical student cohorts to PeerWise (n=603). We looked at their patterns of PeerWise usage; identified associations between student engagement and summative exam performance; and used focus groups to assess student perceptions of the value of PeerWise for learning. We undertook item analysis to assess question difficulty and quality. Results Over two academic years, the two cohorts wrote 4671 questions, answered questions 606 658 times and posted 7735 comments. Question writing frequency correlated most strongly with summative performance (Spearman’s rank: 0.24, p=<0.001). Student focus groups found that: (1) students valued curriculum specificity; and (2) students were concerned about student-authored question quality. Only two questions of the 300 ’most-answered' questions analysed had an unacceptable discriminatory value (point-biserial correlation <0.2). Conclusions Item analysis suggested acceptable question quality despite student concerns. Quantitative and qualitative methods indicated that PeerWise is a valuable study tool. PMID:28866607

  2. Scale-dependent approaches to modeling spatial epidemiology of chronic wasting disease.

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Conner, Mary M.; Gross, John E.; Cross, Paul C.; Ebinger, Michael R.; Gillies, Robert; Samuel, Michael D.; Miller, Michael W.

    2007-01-01

    For each scale, we presented a focal approach that would be useful for understanding the spatial pattern and epidemiology of CWD, as well as being a useful tool for CWD management. The focal approaches include risk analysis and micromaps for the regional scale, cluster analysis for the landscape scale, and individual based modeling for the fine scale of within population. For each of these methods, we used simulated data and walked through the method step by step to fully illustrate the “how to”, with specifics about what is input and output, as well as what questions the method addresses. We also provided a summary table to, at a glance, describe the scale, questions that can be addressed, and general data required for each method described in this e-book. We hope that this review will be helpful to biologists and managers by increasing the utility of their surveillance data, and ultimately be useful for increasing our understanding of CWD and allowing wildlife biologists and managers to move beyond retroactive fire-fighting to proactive preventative action.

  3. Recognizing Excellence in Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Epidemiology: The 2014 National MCH Epidemiology Awards

    PubMed Central

    Vladutiu, Catherine J.; Jones, Jessica R.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose The impact of programs, policies, and practices developed by professionals in the field of maternal and child health (MCH) epidemiology is highlighted biennially by 16 national MCH agencies and organizations, or the Coalition for Excellence in MCH Epidemiology. Description In September 2014, multiple leading agencies in the field of MCH partnered to host the national CityMatCH Leadership and MCH Epidemiology Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. The conference offered opportunities for peer exchange; presentation of new scientific methodologies, programs, and policies; dialogue on changes in the MCH field; and discussion of emerging MCH issues relevant to the work of local, state, and national MCH professionals. During the conference, the National MCH Epidemiology Awards were presented to individuals, teams, institutions, and leaders for significantly contributing to the improved health of women, children, and families. Assessment During the conference, the Coalition presented seven deserving health researchers and research groups with national awards in the areas of advancing knowledge, effective practice, outstanding leadership, young professional achievement, and lifetime achievement. The article highlights the accomplishments of these national-level awardees. Conclusion Recognition of deserving professionals strengthens the field of MCH epidemiology, and sets the standard for exceptional research, mentoring, and practice. PMID:26723200

  4. Web-Based Communication Strategies Designed to Improve Intention to Minimize Risk for Colorectal Cancer: Randomized Controlled Trial

    PubMed Central

    Flight, Ingrid; Zajac, Ian T; Turnbull, Deborah; Young, Graeme P; Olver, Ian

    2018-01-01

    Background People seek information on the Web for managing their colorectal cancer (CRC) risk but retrieve much personally irrelevant material. Targeting information pertinent to this cohort via a frequently asked question (FAQ) format could improve outcomes. Objective We identified and prioritized colorectal cancer information for men and women aged 35 to 74 years (study 1) and built a website containing FAQs ordered by age and gender. In study 2, we conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test whether targeted FAQs were more influential on intention to act on CRC risk than the same information accessed via a generic topic list. Secondary analyses compared preference for information delivery, usability, relevance, and likelihood of recommendation of FAQ and LIST websites. Methods Study 1 determined the colorectal cancer information needs of Australians (N=600) by sex and age group (35-49, 50-59, 60-74) through a Web-based survey. Free-text responses were categorized as FAQs: the top 5 issues within each of the 6 cohorts were identified. Study 2 (N=240) compared the impact of presentation as targeted FAQ links to information with links presented as a generic list (LIST) and a CONTROL (no information) condition. We also tested preference for presentation of access to information as FAQ or LIST by adding a CHOICE condition (a self-selected choice of FAQs or a list of information topics). Results Study 1 showed considerable consistency in information priorities among all 6 cohorts with 2 main concerns: treatment of CRC and risk factors. Some differences included a focus on general risk factors, excluding diet and lifestyle, in the younger cohort, and on the existence of a test for CRC in the older cohorts. Study 2 demonstrated that, although respondents preferred information access ordered by FAQs over a list, presentation in this format had limited impact on readiness to act on colorectal cancer risk compared with the list or a no-information control (P=.06

  5. Formative student-authored question bank: perceptions, question quality and association with summative performance.

    PubMed

    Walsh, Jason L; Harris, Benjamin H L; Denny, Paul; Smith, Phil

    2018-02-01

    There are few studies on the value of authoring questions as a study method, the quality of the questions produced by students and student perceptions of student-authored question banks. Here we evaluate PeerWise, a widely used and free online resource that allows students to author, answer and discuss multiple-choice questions. We introduced two undergraduate medical student cohorts to PeerWise (n=603). We looked at their patterns of PeerWise usage; identified associations between student engagement and summative exam performance; and used focus groups to assess student perceptions of the value of PeerWise for learning. We undertook item analysis to assess question difficulty and quality. Over two academic years, the two cohorts wrote 4671 questions, answered questions 606 658 times and posted 7735 comments. Question writing frequency correlated most strongly with summative performance (Spearman's rank: 0.24, p=<0.001). Student focus groups found that: (1) students valued curriculum specificity; and (2) students were concerned about student-authored question quality. Only two questions of the 300 'most-answered' questions analysed had an unacceptable discriminatory value (point-biserial correlation <0.2). Item analysis suggested acceptable question quality despite student concerns. Quantitative and qualitative methods indicated that PeerWise is a valuable study tool. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  6. Essential Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilhelm, Jeffrey D.

    2012-01-01

    The secret to teaching may be as simple as asking students good questions--and then giving them the opportunity to find the answers. The author shares how he uses essential questions that set the class off on an inquiry. Rather than consuming information that he distributes and then repeating it on a test, students carry out their own…

  7. Questioning ORACLE: An Assessment of ORACLE's Analysis of Teachers' Questions and [A Comment on "Questioning ORACLE"].

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scarth, John; And Others

    1986-01-01

    Analysis of teachers' questions, part of the ORACLE (Observation Research and Classroom Learning Evaluation) project research, is examined in detail. Scarth and Hammersley argue that the rules ORACLE uses for identifying different types of questions involve levels of ambiguity and inference that threaten reliability and validity of the study's…

  8. Unpark Those Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ness, Molly

    2013-01-01

    Whenever Mr. Henderson's 3rd grade students had a question that he couldn't immediately answer or that seemed off-topic, he asked them to write the question on a sticky note and place it on a poster dubbed the "Parking Lot." His intention was to find time later to answer those questions, but too often, he said, the parking lot…

  9. PRECEPT: an evidence assessment framework for infectious disease epidemiology, prevention and control.

    PubMed

    Harder, Thomas; Takla, Anja; Eckmanns, Tim; Ellis, Simon; Forland, Frode; James, Roberta; Meerpohl, Joerg J; Morgan, Antony; Rehfuess, Eva; Schünemann, Holger; Zuiderent-Jerak, Teun; de Carvalho Gomes, Helena; Wichmann, Ole

    2017-10-01

    Decisions in public health should be based on the best available evidence, reviewed and appraised using a rigorous and transparent methodology. The Project on a Framework for Rating Evidence in Public Health (PRECEPT) defined a methodology for evaluating and grading evidence in infectious disease epidemiology, prevention and control that takes different domains and question types into consideration. The methodology rates evidence in four domains: disease burden, risk factors, diagnostics and intervention. The framework guiding it has four steps going from overarching questions to an evidence statement. In step 1, approaches for identifying relevant key areas and developing specific questions to guide systematic evidence searches are described. In step 2, methodological guidance for conducting systematic reviews is provided; 15 study quality appraisal tools are proposed and an algorithm is given for matching a given study design with a tool. In step 3, a standardised evidence-grading scheme using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation Working Group (GRADE) methodology is provided, whereby findings are documented in evidence profiles. Step 4 consists of preparing a narrative evidence summary. Users of this framework should be able to evaluate and grade scientific evidence from the four domains in a transparent and reproducible way.

  10. PRECEPT: an evidence assessment framework for infectious disease epidemiology, prevention and control

    PubMed Central

    Harder, Thomas; Takla, Anja; Eckmanns, Tim; Ellis, Simon; Forland, Frode; James, Roberta; Meerpohl, Joerg J; Morgan, Antony; Rehfuess, Eva; Schünemann, Holger; Zuiderent-Jerak, Teun; de Carvalho Gomes, Helena; Wichmann, Ole

    2017-01-01

    Decisions in public health should be based on the best available evidence, reviewed and appraised using a rigorous and transparent methodology. The Project on a Framework for Rating Evidence in Public Health (PRECEPT) defined a methodology for evaluating and grading evidence in infectious disease epidemiology, prevention and control that takes different domains and question types into consideration. The methodology rates evidence in four domains: disease burden, risk factors, diagnostics and intervention. The framework guiding it has four steps going from overarching questions to an evidence statement. In step 1, approaches for identifying relevant key areas and developing specific questions to guide systematic evidence searches are described. In step 2, methodological guidance for conducting systematic reviews is provided; 15 study quality appraisal tools are proposed and an algorithm is given for matching a given study design with a tool. In step 3, a standardised evidence-grading scheme using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation Working Group (GRADE) methodology is provided, whereby findings are documented in evidence profiles. Step 4 consists of preparing a narrative evidence summary. Users of this framework should be able to evaluate and grade scientific evidence from the four domains in a transparent and reproducible way. PMID:29019317

  11. [Identification and sampling of people with migration background for epidemiological studies in Germany].

    PubMed

    Reiss, K; Makarova, N; Spallek, J; Zeeb, H; Razum, O

    2013-06-01

    In 2009, 19.6% of the population of Germany either had migrated themselves or were the offspring of people with migration experience. Migrants differ from the autochthonous German population in terms of health status, health awareness and health behaviour. To further investigate the health situation of migrants in Germany, epidemiological studies are needed. Such studies can employ existing databases which provide detailed information on migration status. Otherwise, onomastic or toponomastic procedures can be applied to identify people with migration background. If migrants have to be recruited into an epidemiological study, this can be done register-based (e. g., data from registration offices or telephone lists), based on residential location (random-route or random-walk procedure), via snowball sampling (e. g., through key persons) or via settings (e. g., school entry examination). An oversampling of people with migration background is not sufficient to avoid systematic bias in the sample due to non-participation. Additional measures have to be taken to increase access and raise participation rates. Personal contacting, multilingual instruments, multilingual interviewers and extensive public relations increase access and willingness to participate. Empirical evidence on 'successful' recruitment strategies for studies with migrants is still lacking in epidemiology and health sciences in Germany. The choice of the recruitment strategy as well as the measures to raise accessibility and willingness to participate depend on the available resources, the research question and the specific migrant target group. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  12. Proposal and validation of a quick question to rate the influence of sun exposure in geriatric epidemiological studies on vitamin D.

    PubMed

    Annweiler, Cédric; Schott, Anne-Marie; Beauchet, Olivier

    2012-12-01

    Vitamin D is synthesized in the skin under the action of solar ultraviolet-B radiation. The objective of this study was to determine whether a simple question exploring sun exposure ("When weather is nice, do you stay more than 15 minutes exposed to the sun (face and hands uncovered) between 11am and 3pm?") could be associated with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D status among 751 older community-dwelling women (mean age, 80.2 ± 3.5 years). Two groups were distinguished based on the binary "Yes" versus "No" answer. Hypovitaminosis D was defined as serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D < 30 ng/mL. Fewer women with hypovitaminosis D answered "Yes" to the question on sun exposure (p = 0.042). Answering "Yes" was inversely associated with hypovitaminosis D (OR = 0.56, p = 0.049) after adjustment for demographic characteristics and exogenous sources of vitamin D, with a positive predictive value of 88 %. This simple question may reflect the sun's influence on vitamin D status and identify older community-dwellers with hypovitaminosis D.

  13. Curiosity Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nelsen, Jane; DeLorenzo, Chip

    2010-01-01

    Have you ever found yourself lecturing a child, with the best of intentions, in an attempt to help him or her learn a lesson or process a situation in a manner that you feel will be productive? Curiosity questions, which the authors also call What and How questions, help children process an experience, event, or natural consequence so that they…

  14. Importance of Survey Design for Studying the Epidemiology of Emerging Tobacco Product Use Among Youth.

    PubMed

    Delnevo, Cristine D; Gundersen, Daniel A; Manderski, Michelle T B; Giovenco, Daniel P; Giovino, Gary A

    2017-08-15

    Accurate surveillance is critical for monitoring the epidemiology of emerging tobacco products in the United States, and survey science suggests that survey response format can impact prevalence estimates. We utilized data from the 2014 New Jersey Youth Tobacco Survey (n = 3,909) to compare estimates of the prevalence of 4 behaviors (ever hookah use, current hookah use, ever e-cigarette use, and current e-cigarette use) among New Jersey high school students, as assessed using "check-all-that-apply" questions, with estimates measured by means of "forced-choice" questions. Measurement discrepancies were apparent for all 4 outcomes, with the forced-choice questions yielding prevalence estimates approximately twice those of the check-all-that-apply questions, and agreement was fair to moderate. The sensitivity of the check-all-that-apply questions, treating the forced-choice format as the "gold standard," ranged from 38.1% (current hookah use) to 58.3% (ever e-cigarette use), indicating substantial false-negative rates. These findings highlight the impact of question response format on prevalence estimates of emerging tobacco products among youth and suggest that estimates generated by means of check-all-that-apply questions may be biased downward. Alternative survey designs should be considered to avoid check-all-that-apply response formats, and researchers should use caution when interpreting tobacco use data obtained from check-all-that-apply formats. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Prevalence of problem drinking and characteristics of a single-question screen.

    PubMed

    Stewart, Scott H; Borg, Keith T; Miller, Peter M

    2010-09-01

    Hazardous drinking and alcohol use disorders (i.e, abuse and dependence) are common in Emergency Departments (EDs). This study examined 1) the prevalence of these conditions among ED patients and 2) characteristics of a single screening question (having consumed at least five drinks for males or four for females during a single day). Data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions were analyzed. Logistic regression for clustered data was used to estimate the relative risk for past-year ED use associated with hazardous drinking, abuse, and dependence. Contingency tables were analyzed to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of the single-question screen for detecting these conditions. Hazardous drinking was not associated with ED utilization. Alcohol abuse was associated with a relative risk of 1.3 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1-1.5) and alcohol dependence with a relative risk of 1.9 (95% CI 1.6-2.2). For current drinkers, the single question screen was 0.96, 0.85, and 0.90 sensitive for hazardous drinking, alcohol abuse, and alcohol dependence, respectively. Individuals with a positive screen in the past year were considered at least hazardous drinkers, and specificity was 0.80, 0.64, and 0.65 for hazardous drinking, abuse, and dependence, respectively. Specificity was modestly increased in women. Most problem drinkers were hazardous drinkers, but only severe alcohol use disorders were particularly prevalent in the ED. The single heavy-drinking-day item appears sensitive for problem drinking. Positive tests must be followed by additional assessment to differentiate hazardous drinking from alcohol use disorders. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  16. Question Classification Taxonomies as Guides to Formulating Questions for Use in Chemistry Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Festo, Kayima

    2016-01-01

    Teacher questions play an important role in facilitating classroom discourse. Using appropriate question types and proper questioning techniques help to create reflective-active learners. Teacher questions can elicit students' explanations, elaboration of their ideas and thinking, and they can be used to disclose students' misconceptions. Despite…

  17. The hazards of hazard identification in environmental epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Saracci, Rodolfo

    2017-08-09

    Hazard identification is a major scientific challenge, notably for environmental epidemiology, and is often surrounded, as the recent case of glyphosate shows, by debate arising in the first place by the inherently problematic nature of many components of the identification process. Particularly relevant in this respect are components less amenable to logical or mathematical formalization and essentially dependent on scientists' judgment. Four such potentially hazardous components that are capable of distorting the correct process of hazard identification are reviewed and discussed from an epidemiologist perspective: (1) lexical mix-up of hazard and risk (2) scientific questions as distinct from testable hypotheses, and implications for the hierarchy of strength of evidence obtainable from different types of study designs (3) assumptions in prior beliefs and model choices and (4) conflicts of interest. Four suggestions are put forward to strengthen a process that remains in several aspects judgmental, but not arbitrary, in nature.

  18. The science of epidemiology and the methods needed for public health assessments: a review of epidemiology textbooks.

    PubMed

    Gouda, Hebe N; Powles, John W

    2014-02-10

    Epidemiology is often described as 'the science of public health'. Here we aim to assess the extent that epidemiological methods, as covered in contemporary standard textbooks, provide tools that can assess the relative magnitude of public health problems and can be used to help rank and assess public health priorities. Narrative literature review. Thirty textbooks were grouped into three categories; pure, extended or applied epidemiology, were reviewed with attention to the ways the discipline is characterised and the nature of the analytical methods described. Pure texts tend to present a strict hierarchy of methods with those metrics deemed to best serve aetiological inquiry at the top. Extended and applied texts employ broader definitions of epidemiology but in most cases, the metrics described are also those used in aetiological inquiry and may not be optimal for capturing the consequences and social importance of injuries and disease onsets. The primary scientific purpose of epidemiology, even amongst 'applied' textbooks, is aetiological inquiry. Authors do not readily extend to methods suitable for assessing public health problems and priorities.

  19. Question-Asking and Question-Exploring

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sands, Lorraine; Carr, Margaret; Lee, Wendy

    2012-01-01

    The Centre of Innovation Research at Greerton Early Childhood Centre was characterised as a dispositional milieu where working theories were explored through a narrative research methodology. As the research progressed, the teachers at Greerton strengthened the way we were listening to, and watching out for young children's questions to enable…

  20. Genetics and epidemiology, congenital anomalies and cancer

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

    Friedman, J.M.

    1997-03-01

    Many of the basic statistical methods used in epidemiology - regression, analysis of variance, and estimation of relative risk, for example - originally were developed for the genetic analysis of biometric data. The familiarity that many geneticists have with this methodology has helped geneticists to understand and accept genetic epidemiology as a scientific discipline. It worth noting, however, that most of the work in genetic epidemiology during the past decade has been devoted to linkage and other family studies, rather than to population-based investigations of the type that characterize much of mainstream epidemiology. 30 refs., 2 tabs.

  1. A human judgment approach to epidemiological forecasting

    PubMed Central

    Farrow, David C.; Brooks, Logan C.; Rosenfeld, Roni

    2017-01-01

    Infectious diseases impose considerable burden on society, despite significant advances in technology and medicine over the past century. Advanced warning can be helpful in mitigating and preparing for an impending or ongoing epidemic. Historically, such a capability has lagged for many reasons, including in particular the uncertainty in the current state of the system and in the understanding of the processes that drive epidemic trajectories. Presently we have access to data, models, and computational resources that enable the development of epidemiological forecasting systems. Indeed, several recent challenges hosted by the U.S. government have fostered an open and collaborative environment for the development of these technologies. The primary focus of these challenges has been to develop statistical and computational methods for epidemiological forecasting, but here we consider a serious alternative based on collective human judgment. We created the web-based “Epicast” forecasting system which collects and aggregates epidemic predictions made in real-time by human participants, and with these forecasts we ask two questions: how accurate is human judgment, and how do these forecasts compare to their more computational, data-driven alternatives? To address the former, we assess by a variety of metrics how accurately humans are able to predict influenza and chikungunya trajectories. As for the latter, we show that real-time, combined human predictions of the 2014–2015 and 2015–2016 U.S. flu seasons are often more accurate than the same predictions made by several statistical systems, especially for short-term targets. We conclude that there is valuable predictive power in collective human judgment, and we discuss the benefits and drawbacks of this approach. PMID:28282375

  2. A human judgment approach to epidemiological forecasting.

    PubMed

    Farrow, David C; Brooks, Logan C; Hyun, Sangwon; Tibshirani, Ryan J; Burke, Donald S; Rosenfeld, Roni

    2017-03-01

    Infectious diseases impose considerable burden on society, despite significant advances in technology and medicine over the past century. Advanced warning can be helpful in mitigating and preparing for an impending or ongoing epidemic. Historically, such a capability has lagged for many reasons, including in particular the uncertainty in the current state of the system and in the understanding of the processes that drive epidemic trajectories. Presently we have access to data, models, and computational resources that enable the development of epidemiological forecasting systems. Indeed, several recent challenges hosted by the U.S. government have fostered an open and collaborative environment for the development of these technologies. The primary focus of these challenges has been to develop statistical and computational methods for epidemiological forecasting, but here we consider a serious alternative based on collective human judgment. We created the web-based "Epicast" forecasting system which collects and aggregates epidemic predictions made in real-time by human participants, and with these forecasts we ask two questions: how accurate is human judgment, and how do these forecasts compare to their more computational, data-driven alternatives? To address the former, we assess by a variety of metrics how accurately humans are able to predict influenza and chikungunya trajectories. As for the latter, we show that real-time, combined human predictions of the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 U.S. flu seasons are often more accurate than the same predictions made by several statistical systems, especially for short-term targets. We conclude that there is valuable predictive power in collective human judgment, and we discuss the benefits and drawbacks of this approach.

  3. Mitochondrial DNA and Cancer Epidemiology Workshop

    Cancer.gov

    A workshop to review the state-of-the science in the mitochondrial DNA field and its use in cancer epidemiology, and to develop a concept for a research initiative on mitochondrial DNA and cancer epidemiology.

  4. Burn prevention in Zambia: a targeted epidemiological approach.

    PubMed

    Heard, Jason P; Latenser, Barbara A; Liao, Junlin

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study is to assess primary burn prevention knowledge in a rural Zambian population that is disproportionately burdened by burn injuries. A 10-question survey was completed by youths, and a 15-question survey was completed by adults. The survey was available in both English and Nyanja. The surveys were designed to test their knowledge in common causes, first aid, and emergency measures regarding burn injuries. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore relationships between burn knowledge, age, school, and socioeconomic variables. A burn prevention coloring book, based on previous local epidemiological data, was also distributed to 800 school age youths. Five hundred fifty youths and 39 adults completed the survey. The most significant results show knowledge deficits in common causes of burns, first aid treatment of a burn injury, and what to do in the event of clothing catching fire. Younger children were more likely to do worse than older children. The adults performed better than the youths, but still lack fundamental burn prevention and treatment knowledge. Primary burn prevention data from the youths and adults surveyed demonstrate a clear need for burn prevention and treatment education in this population. In a country where effective and sustainable burn care is lacking, burn prevention may be a better investment to reduce burn injury than large investments in healthcare resources.

  5. Correlation between Question Intonation and Focus of Interrogation--Evidence from French Dislocated Questions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shen, Xiao-nan

    This study explores the relationship between question intonation patterns in French using dislocated questions and question-focus (Q- focus). A dislocated question is defined as an interrogative sentence whose sequence is interrupted by the topicalization of a constituent at the left ("Toi, tu viens?"), at the right (Tu viens,…

  6. The lingering question of menthol in cigarettes.

    PubMed

    Besaratinia, Ahmad; Tommasi, Stella

    2015-02-01

    Tobacco use is the single most important preventable cause of cancer-related deaths in the USA and many parts of the world. There is growing evidence that menthol cigarettes are starter tobacco products for children, adolescents, and young adults. Accumulating research also suggests that smoking menthol cigarettes reinforces nicotine dependence, impedes cessation, and promotes relapse. However, menthol cigarettes are exempt from the US Food and Drug Administration ban on flavored cigarettes due, in part, to the lack of empirical evidence describing the health consequences of smoking menthol cigarettes relative to regular cigarettes. Determining the biological effects of menthol cigarette smoke relative to regular cigarette smoke can clarify the health risks associated with the use of respective products and assist regulatory agencies in making scientifically based decisions on the development and evaluation of regulations on tobacco products to protect public health and to reduce tobacco use by minors. We highlight the inherent shortcomings of the conventional epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory research on menthol cigarettes that have contributed to the ongoing debate on the public health impact of menthol in cigarettes. In addition, we provide perspectives on how future investigations exploiting state-of-the-art biomarkers of exposure and disease states can help answer the lingering question of menthol in cigarettes.

  7. Incorporating microbiota data into epidemiologic models: examples from vaginal microbiota research.

    PubMed

    van de Wijgert, Janneke H; Jespers, Vicky

    2016-05-01

    Next generation sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction technologies are now widely available, and research incorporating these methods is growing exponentially. In the vaginal microbiota (VMB) field, most research to date has been descriptive. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of different ways in which next generation sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction data can be used to answer clinical epidemiologic research questions using examples from VMB research. We reviewed relevant methodological literature and VMB articles (published between 2008 and 2015) that incorporated these methodologies. VMB data have been analyzed using ecologic methods, methods that compare the presence or relative abundance of individual taxa or community compositions between different groups of women or sampling time points, and methods that first reduce the complexity of the data into a few variables followed by the incorporation of these variables into traditional biostatistical models. To make future VMB research more clinically relevant (such as studying associations between VMB compositions and clinical outcomes and the effects of interventions on the VMB), it is important that these methods are integrated with rigorous epidemiologic methods (such as appropriate study designs, sampling strategies, and adjustment for confounding). Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. [Epidemiology of the animal prion diseases].

    PubMed

    Domínguez Carmona, M

    2001-01-01

    The authors review the epidemiology of spongiform encephalitis, discussing the possible mechanism of appearance of the epidemic bovine spongiform encephalitis epidemic, leaving aside to another publication the epidemiology of the human spongiform encephalitis and its pathogeny.

  9. Translational Epidemiology in Psychiatry

    PubMed Central

    Weissman, Myrna M.; Brown, Alan S.; Talati, Ardesheer

    2012-01-01

    Translational research generally refers to the application of knowledge generated by advances in basic sciences research translated into new approaches for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of disease. This direction is called bench-to-bedside. Psychiatry has similarly emphasized the basic sciences as the starting point of translational research. This article introduces the term translational epidemiology for psychiatry research as a bidirectional concept in which the knowledge generated from the bedside or the population can also be translated to the benches of laboratory science. Epidemiologic studies are primarily observational but can generate representative samples, novel designs, and hypotheses that can be translated into more tractable experimental approaches in the clinical and basic sciences. This bedside-to-bench concept has not been explicated in psychiatry, although there are an increasing number of examples in the research literature. This article describes selected epidemiologic designs, providing examples and opportunities for translational research from community surveys and prospective, birth cohort, and family-based designs. Rapid developments in informatics, emphases on large sample collection for genetic and biomarker studies, and interest in personalized medicine—which requires information on relative and absolute risk factors—make this topic timely. The approach described has implications for providing fresh metaphors to communicate complex issues in interdisciplinary collaborations and for training in epidemiology and other sciences in psychiatry. PMID:21646577

  10. Snippets from the past: the evolution of Wade Hampton Frost's epidemiology as viewed from the American Journal of Hygiene/Epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Morabia, Alfredo

    2013-10-01

    Wade Hampton Frost, who was a Professor of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University from 1919 to 1938, spurred the development of epidemiologic methods. His 6 publications in the American Journal of Hygiene, which later became the American Journal of Epidemiology, comprise a 1928 Cutter lecture on a theory of epidemics, a survey-based study of tonsillectomy and immunity to Corynebacterium diphtheriae (1931), 2 papers from a longitudinal study of the incidence of minor respiratory diseases (1933 and 1935), an attack rate ratio analysis of the decline of diphtheria in Baltimore (1936), and a 1936 lecture on the age, time, and cohort analysis of tuberculosis mortality. These 6 American Journal of Hygiene /American Journal of Epidemiology papers attest that Frost's personal evolution mirrored that of the emerging "early" epidemiology: The scope of epidemiology extended beyond the study of epidemics of acute infectious diseases, and rigorous comparative study designs and their associated quantitative methods came to light.

  11. Snippets From the Past: The Evolution of Wade Hampton Frost's Epidemiology as Viewed From the American Journal of Hygiene/Epidemiology

    PubMed Central

    Morabia, Alfredo

    2013-01-01

    Wade Hampton Frost, who was a Professor of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University from 1919 to 1938, spurred the development of epidemiologic methods. His 6 publications in the American Journal of Hygiene, which later became the American Journal of Epidemiology, comprise a 1928 Cutter lecture on a theory of epidemics, a survey-based study of tonsillectomy and immunity to Corynebacterium diphtheriae (1931), 2 papers from a longitudinal study of the incidence of minor respiratory diseases (1933 and 1935), an attack rate ratio analysis of the decline of diphtheria in Baltimore (1936), and a 1936 lecture on the age, time, and cohort analysis of tuberculosis mortality. These 6 American Journal of Hygiene /American Journal of Epidemiology papers attest that Frost's personal evolution mirrored that of the emerging “early” epidemiology: The scope of epidemiology extended beyond the study of epidemics of acute infectious diseases, and rigorous comparative study designs and their associated quantitative methods came to light. PMID:24022889

  12. Brain Tumor Epidemiology: Consensus from the Brain Tumor Epidemiology Consortium (BTEC)

    PubMed Central

    Bondy, Melissa L.; Scheurer, Michael E.; Malmer, Beatrice; Barnholtz-Sloan, Jill S.; Davis, Faith G.; Il’yasova, Dora; Kruchko, Carol; McCarthy, Bridget J.; Rajaraman, Preetha; Schwartzbaum, Judith A.; Sadetzki, Siegal; Schlehofer, Brigitte; Tihan, Tarik; Wiemels, Joseph L.; Wrensch, Margaret; Buffler, Patricia A.

    2010-01-01

    Epidemiologists in the Brain Tumor Epidemiology Consortium (BTEC) have prioritized areas for further research. Although many risk factors have been examined over the past several decades, there are few consistent findings possibly due to small sample sizes in individual studies and differences between studies in subjects, tumor types, and methods of classification. Individual studies have generally lacked sufficient sample size to examine interactions. A major priority based on available evidence and technologies includes expanding research in genetics and molecular epidemiology of brain tumors. BTEC has taken an active role in promoting understudied groups such as pediatric brain tumors, the etiology of rare glioma subtypes, such as oligodendroglioma, and meningioma, which not uncommon, has only recently been systematically registered in the US. There is also a pressing need to bring more researchers, especially junior investigators, to study brain tumor epidemiology. However, relatively poor funding for brain tumor research has made it difficult to encourage careers in this area. We review the group’s consensus on the current state of scientific findings and present a consensus on research priorities to identify the important areas the science should move to address. PMID:18798534

  13. The Training of Epidemiologists and Diversity in Epidemiology: Findings from the 2006 Congress of Epidemiology Survey

    PubMed Central

    Carter-Pokras, Olivia D.; Spirtas, Robert; Bethune, Lisa; Mays, Vickie; Freeman, Vincent L.; Cozier, Yvette C.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose In the past decade, we have witnessed increasing numbers of individuals entering the field of epidemiology. With the increase also has come a diversity of training and paths by which individuals entered the field. The purpose of this survey was characterization of the epidemiology workforce, its job diversity, and continuing education needs. Methods The Minority Affairs and Membership committees of the American College of Epidemiology (ACE) prepared and administered a workforce survey to identify racial/ethnic diversity, demographic background, workplace type, credentials, income, subspecialties, and continuing education needs of epidemiologists. The survey was self-administered to attendees of the Second North American Congress of Epidemiology in June 2006. Results A sample of 397 respondents of the 1348 registered for the Congress was captured (29.5% response). Epidemiologists who participated were from 36 states and 18 countries; 54.6% were trained at the doctoral level; 19.1% earned $120,001 or more a year. A wide range of epidemiology subspecialties and continuing education needs were identified. Conclusions This preliminary snapshot of epidemiologists indicates a wide range of training mechanisms, workplace sites, and subspecialties. Results indicate a need for examination of the core graduate training needs of epidemiologist as well as responding to desired professional development needs through the provision of continuing educations efforts. PMID:19344867

  14. Molecular Pathological Epidemiology Gives Clues to Paradoxical Findings

    PubMed Central

    Nishihara, Reiko; VanderWeele, Tyler J.; Shibuya, Kenji; Mittleman, Murray A.; Wang, Molin; Field, Alison E.; Giovannucci, Edward; Lochhead, Paul; Ogino, Shuji

    2015-01-01

    A number of epidemiologic studies have described what appear to be paradoxical associations, where an incongruous relationship is observed between a certain well-established risk factor for disease incidence and favorable clinical outcome among patients with that disease. For example, the “obesity paradox” represents the association between obesity and better survival among patients with a certain disease such as coronary heart disease. Paradoxical observations cause vexing clinical and public health problems as they raise questions on causal relationships and hinder the development of effective interventions. Compelling evidence indicates that pathogenic processes encompass molecular alterations within cells and the microenvironment, influenced by various exogenous and endogenous exposures, and that interpersonal heterogeneity in molecular pathology and pathophysiology exists among patients with any given disease. In this article, we introduce methods of the emerging integrative interdisciplinary field of molecular pathological epidemiology (MPE), which is founded on the unique disease principle and disease continuum theory. We analyze and decipher apparent paradoxical findings, utilizing the MPE approach and available literature data on tumor somatic genetic and epigenetic characteristics. Through our analyses in colorectal cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and glioblastoma (malignant brain tumor), we can readily explain paradoxical associations between disease risk factors and better prognosis among disease patients. The MPE paradigm and approach can be applied to not only neoplasms but also various non-neoplastic diseases where there exists indisputable ubiquitous heterogeneity of pathogenesis and molecular pathology. The MPE paradigm including consideration of disease heterogeneity plays an essential role in advancements of precision medicine and public health. PMID:26445996

  15. Molecular pathological epidemiology gives clues to paradoxical findings.

    PubMed

    Nishihara, Reiko; VanderWeele, Tyler J; Shibuya, Kenji; Mittleman, Murray A; Wang, Molin; Field, Alison E; Giovannucci, Edward; Lochhead, Paul; Ogino, Shuji

    2015-10-01

    A number of epidemiologic studies have described what appear to be paradoxical associations, where an incongruous relationship is observed between a certain well-established risk factor for disease incidence and favorable clinical outcome among patients with that disease. For example, the "obesity paradox" represents the association between obesity and better survival among patients with a certain disease such as coronary heart disease. Paradoxical observations cause vexing clinical and public health problems as they raise questions on causal relationships and hinder the development of effective interventions. Compelling evidence indicates that pathogenic processes encompass molecular alterations within cells and the microenvironment, influenced by various exogenous and endogenous exposures, and that interpersonal heterogeneity in molecular pathology and pathophysiology exists among patients with any given disease. In this article, we introduce methods of the emerging integrative interdisciplinary field of molecular pathological epidemiology (MPE), which is founded on the unique disease principle and disease continuum theory. We analyze and decipher apparent paradoxical findings, utilizing the MPE approach and available literature data on tumor somatic genetic and epigenetic characteristics. Through our analyses in colorectal cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and glioblastoma (malignant brain tumor), we can readily explain paradoxical associations between disease risk factors and better prognosis among disease patients. The MPE paradigm and approach can be applied to not only neoplasms but also various non-neoplastic diseases where there exists indisputable ubiquitous heterogeneity of pathogenesis and molecular pathology. The MPE paradigm including consideration of disease heterogeneity plays an essential role in advancements of precision medicine and public health.

  16. Networks and the Epidemiology of Infectious Disease

    PubMed Central

    Danon, Leon; Ford, Ashley P.; House, Thomas; Jewell, Chris P.; Keeling, Matt J.; Roberts, Gareth O.; Ross, Joshua V.; Vernon, Matthew C.

    2011-01-01

    The science of networks has revolutionised research into the dynamics of interacting elements. It could be argued that epidemiology in particular has embraced the potential of network theory more than any other discipline. Here we review the growing body of research concerning the spread of infectious diseases on networks, focusing on the interplay between network theory and epidemiology. The review is split into four main sections, which examine: the types of network relevant to epidemiology; the multitude of ways these networks can be characterised; the statistical methods that can be applied to infer the epidemiological parameters on a realised network; and finally simulation and analytical methods to determine epidemic dynamics on a given network. Given the breadth of areas covered and the ever-expanding number of publications, a comprehensive review of all work is impossible. Instead, we provide a personalised overview into the areas of network epidemiology that have seen the greatest progress in recent years or have the greatest potential to provide novel insights. As such, considerable importance is placed on analytical approaches and statistical methods which are both rapidly expanding fields. Throughout this review we restrict our attention to epidemiological issues. PMID:21437001

  17. Domestic Violence

    MedlinePlus

    f AQ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FAQ083 WOMEN’S HEALTH Domestic Violence • What is domestic violence? • What are the types of abuse? • How can ... are available to help abused women? What is domestic violence? Domestic violence is a pattern of threatening or ...

  18. A topic clustering approach to finding similar questions from large question and answer archives.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Wei-Nan; Liu, Ting; Yang, Yang; Cao, Liujuan; Zhang, Yu; Ji, Rongrong

    2014-01-01

    With the blooming of Web 2.0, Community Question Answering (CQA) services such as Yahoo! Answers (http://answers.yahoo.com), WikiAnswer (http://wiki.answers.com), and Baidu Zhidao (http://zhidao.baidu.com), etc., have emerged as alternatives for knowledge and information acquisition. Over time, a large number of question and answer (Q&A) pairs with high quality devoted by human intelligence have been accumulated as a comprehensive knowledge base. Unlike the search engines, which return long lists of results, searching in the CQA services can obtain the correct answers to the question queries by automatically finding similar questions that have already been answered by other users. Hence, it greatly improves the efficiency of the online information retrieval. However, given a question query, finding the similar and well-answered questions is a non-trivial task. The main challenge is the word mismatch between question query (query) and candidate question for retrieval (question). To investigate this problem, in this study, we capture the word semantic similarity between query and question by introducing the topic modeling approach. We then propose an unsupervised machine-learning approach to finding similar questions on CQA Q&A archives. The experimental results show that our proposed approach significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art methods.

  19. The Role of Ambient Ozone in Epidemiologic Studies of Heat-Related Mortality

    PubMed Central

    Snowden, Jonathan M.; Kontgis, Caitlin; Tager, Ira B.

    2012-01-01

    Background: A large and growing literature investigating the role of extreme heat on mortality has conceptualized the role of ambient ozone in various ways, sometimes treating it as a confounder, sometimes as an effect modifier, and sometimes as a co-exposure. Thus, there is a lack of consensus about the roles that temperature and ozone together play in causing mortality. Objectives: We applied directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) to the topic of heat-related mortality to graphically represent the subject matter behind the research questions and to provide insight on the analytical options available. Discussion: On the basis of the subject matter encoded in the graphs, we assert that the role of ozone in studies of temperature and mortality is a causal intermediate that is affected by temperature and that can also affect mortality, rather than a confounder. Conclusions: We discuss possible questions of interest implied by this causal structure and propose areas of future work to further clarify the role of air pollutants in epidemiologic studies of extreme temperature. PMID:22899622

  20. Setting Research Priorities for HIV/AIDS-related research in a post-graduate training programme: lessons learnt from the Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme scientific workshop

    PubMed Central

    Poggensee, Gabriele; Waziri, Ndadilnasiya Endie; Bashorun, Adebobola; Nguku, Patrick Mboya; Fawole, Olufunmilayo Ibitola; Sabitu, Kabir

    2014-01-01

    In Nigeria the current prevalence of HIV is 4.1% with over 3.5 million infected and estimated 1.5 million in need of anti-retroviral treatment. Epidemiological and implementation studies are necessary for monitoring and evaluation of interventions. To define research areas which can be addressed by participants of the Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Training Programme (NFELTP) a workshop was held in April 2013 in Abuja, Nigeria. Priority research areas were identified using criteria lists for ranking of the relevance of research questions. Based on a research matrix, NFELTP residents developed the aims and objectives, study design for HIV-related research proposals. This workshop was the first workshop held by the NFELTP to establish an inventory of research questions which can be addressed by the residents within their training period. This inventory will help to increase HIV/AIDS-related activities of NFELTP which are in accordance with research needs in Nigeria and PEPFAR objectives. PMID:25426209

  1. Setting research priorities for HIV/AIDS-related research in a post-graduate training programme: lessons learnt from the Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme scientific workshop.

    PubMed

    Poggensee, Gabriele; Waziri, Ndadilnasiya Endie; Bashorun, Adebobola; Nguku, Patrick Mboya; Fawole, Olufunmilayo Ibitola; Sabitu, Kabir

    2014-01-01

    In Nigeria the current prevalence of HIV is 4.1% with over 3.5 million infected and estimated 1.5 million in need of anti-retroviral treatment. Epidemiological and implementation studies are necessary for monitoring and evaluation of interventions. To define research areas which can be addressed by participants of the Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Training Programme (NFELTP) a workshop was held in April 2013 in Abuja, Nigeria. Priority research areas were identified using criteria lists for ranking of the relevance of research questions. Based on a research matrix, NFELTP residents developed the aims and objectives, study design for HIV-related research proposals. This workshop was the first workshop held by the NFELTP to establish an inventory of research questions which can be addressed by the residents within their training period. This inventory will help to increase HIV/AIDS-related activities of NFELTP which are in accordance with research needs in Nigeria and PEPFAR objectives.

  2. The science of epidemiology and the methods needed for public health assessments: a review of epidemiology textbooks

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Objectives Epidemiology is often described as ‘the science of public health’. Here we aim to assess the extent that epidemiological methods, as covered in contemporary standard textbooks, provide tools that can assess the relative magnitude of public health problems and can be used to help rank and assess public health priorities. Study Design Narrative literature review. Methods Thirty textbooks were grouped into three categories; pure, extended or applied epidemiology, were reviewed with attention to the ways the discipline is characterised and the nature of the analytical methods described. Results Pure texts tend to present a strict hierarchy of methods with those metrics deemed to best serve aetiological inquiry at the top. Extended and applied texts employ broader definitions of epidemiology but in most cases, the metrics described are also those used in aetiological inquiry and may not be optimal for capturing the consequences and social importance of injuries and disease onsets. Conclusions The primary scientific purpose of epidemiology, even amongst ‘applied’ textbooks, is aetiological inquiry. Authors do not readily extend to methods suitable for assessing public health problems and priorities. PMID:24507570

  3. A Machine Learning-based Method for Question Type Classification in Biomedical Question Answering.

    PubMed

    Sarrouti, Mourad; Ouatik El Alaoui, Said

    2017-05-18

    Biomedical question type classification is one of the important components of an automatic biomedical question answering system. The performance of the latter depends directly on the performance of its biomedical question type classification system, which consists of assigning a category to each question in order to determine the appropriate answer extraction algorithm. This study aims to automatically classify biomedical questions into one of the four categories: (1) yes/no, (2) factoid, (3) list, and (4) summary. In this paper, we propose a biomedical question type classification method based on machine learning approaches to automatically assign a category to a biomedical question. First, we extract features from biomedical questions using the proposed handcrafted lexico-syntactic patterns. Then, we feed these features for machine-learning algorithms. Finally, the class label is predicted using the trained classifiers. Experimental evaluations performed on large standard annotated datasets of biomedical questions, provided by the BioASQ challenge, demonstrated that our method exhibits significant improved performance when compared to four baseline systems. The proposed method achieves a roughly 10-point increase over the best baseline in terms of accuracy. Moreover, the obtained results show that using handcrafted lexico-syntactic patterns as features' provider of support vector machine (SVM) lead to the highest accuracy of 89.40 %. The proposed method can automatically classify BioASQ questions into one of the four categories: yes/no, factoid, list, and summary. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that our method produced the best classification performance compared to four baseline systems.

  4. The Effects of Question Generation, Question Answering and Reading on Prose Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Owens, Anthony Mathew

    Eighty-seven students took part in a study (using three experimental conditions) of the effect of question generation, question answering, and rereading on an immediate posttest and on a delayed test of knowledge of a text passage. In condition G, subjects generated multiple-choice questions that would test knowledge of each of the six content…

  5. Valid screening questions useful to diagnose hand and forearm eczema are available in the Spanish language, a new tool for global research.

    PubMed

    Martí-Margarit, Anna; Manresa, Josep M; Herdman, Mike; Pujol, Ramon; Serra, Consol; Flyvholm, Mary-Ann; Giménez-Arnau, Ana M

    2015-04-01

    Hand eczema is an impacting cutaneous disease. Globally valid tools that help to diagnose hand and forearm eczema are required. To validate the questions to detect hand and/or forearm eczema included in the "Nordic Occupational Skin Questionnaire" (NOSQ-2002) in the Spanish language. A prospective pilot study was conducted with 80 employees of a cleaning company and a retrospective one involving 2,546 individuals. The responses were analysed for sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values. The final diagnosis according to the patients' hospital records, the specialty care records and the physical examination was taken as gold standard. The Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) was also evaluated. Sensitivity and specificity, in a worst case scenario (WC) combining both questions, were 96.5% and 66.7%, respectively, and in a per protocol (PP) analysis, were 96.5% and 75.2%. The questions validated detected eczema effectively, making this tool suitable for use e.g. in multicentre epidemiological studies or clinical trials.

  6. Salmonella epidemiology: A whirlwind of change.

    PubMed

    Besser, John M

    2018-05-01

    The field of infectious disease epidemiology for Salmonella and other enteric pathogens is undergoing some of the most profound changes since the time of Kauffman and White. Rapid advances in "big data" technologies such as genomics and metagenomics are making it possible to monitor and control salmonellosis in new and exciting ways. Epidemiological methods are becoming increasingly robust through the routine use of standardized hypothesis-generating questionnaires, iterative open-ended interviewing, informational trace-backs and new modeling techniques for describing the attribution of disease to food sources. In addition, Salmonella epidemiology is facing important challenges and new opportunities due to the rapid adoption of culture independent diagnostic test panels by clinical laboratories. Where is this unprecedented wave of change taking us? This chapter will examine emerging trends in Salmonella epidemiology, and take a peek into the not-so-distant future. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  7. [Occupational epidemiology: some methodological considerations].

    PubMed

    Alvear-Galindo, María Guadalupe; del Pilar Paz-Román, María

    2006-01-01

    During the last decade, occupational epidemiology has gained a great importance, not only because of the increase of pollutants and their noxiousness, but also because it has gone from the descriptive to the analytic level. The purpose of this work is to present what has been reported on epidemiological studies, different ways of characterizing and measuring occupational exposure, by emphasizing slants of exposure and selection measurement. In the reviewed studies, an interest in improving the exposure evaluation has been shown. The mainly reported measurement slants are the ways of measuring and classifying the exposure. The main designs were transversal with the use of matrixes to improve the evaluation of exposure. Conditions of hygiene and security were considered in order to control the quality of the information. This information was analyzed with different criteria. Some of the elements that hinder the research on occupational epidemiology are a mixed exposure, small populations, lack of exposure data, low levels of exposure and long periods of illness latency. Some breakthroughs in the strategies of epidemiological analysis and some other areas of knowledge have made possible a better understanding of work and health conditions of workers.

  8. Community Engagement in Epidemiological Research

    PubMed Central

    Sapienza, Jessica N.; Corbie-Smith, Giselle; Keim, Sarah; Fleischman, Alan R.

    2007-01-01

    Objectives Engaging communities has become a critical aspect of planning and implementing health research. The role community engagement should play in epidemiological and observational research remains unclear since much of this research is not directly generated by community concerns and is not interventional in nature. The National Children's Study (NCS), an observational longitudinal study of 100,000 children and their families, provides a model to help guide the development of community engagement strategies in epidemiologic research. Methodology This manuscript describes community engagement activities of the NCS during the planning phases of the study. Results There are many challenges of community engagement in epidemiologic research particularly before the actual research sites are determined. After communities of interest are designated many further issues must be resolved, including: defining the specific community, determining which residents or institutions represent the identified community, and developing trust and rapport through respectful engagement. Conclusions Community engagement is critical to the long-term success of any longitudinal epidemiologic study. A partnership with the community should be formed to ensure mutual respect and the establishment of an enduring relationship. Genuine community engagement offers the hope of enhancing recruitment, retention, and participant satisfaction. PMID:17512886

  9. Epidemiology in Germany-general development and personal experience.

    PubMed

    Wichmann, Heinz-Erich

    2017-08-01

    Did you ever hear about epidemiology in Germany? Starting from an epidemiological desert the discipline has grown remarkably, especially during the last 10-15 years: research institutes have been established, research funding has improved, multiple curriculae in Epidemiology and Public Health are offered. This increase has been quite steep, and now the epidemiological infrastructure is much better. Several medium-sized and even big population cohorts are ongoing, and the number and quality of publications from German epidemiologists has reached a respectable level. My own career in epidemiology started in the field of environmental health. After German reunification I concentrated for many years on environmental problems in East Germany and observed the health benefits after improvement of the situation. Later, I concentrated on population-based cohorts in newborns (GINI/LISA) and adults (KORA, German National Cohort), and on biobanking. This Essay describes the development in Germany after worldwar 2, illustrated by examples of research results and build-up of epidemiological infractructures worth mentioning.

  10. Phylogenetically resolving epidemiologic linkage

    PubMed Central

    Romero-Severson, Ethan O.; Bulla, Ingo; Leitner, Thomas

    2016-01-01

    Although the use of phylogenetic trees in epidemiological investigations has become commonplace, their epidemiological interpretation has not been systematically evaluated. Here, we use an HIV-1 within-host coalescent model to probabilistically evaluate transmission histories of two epidemiologically linked hosts. Previous critique of phylogenetic reconstruction has claimed that direction of transmission is difficult to infer, and that the existence of unsampled intermediary links or common sources can never be excluded. The phylogenetic relationship between the HIV populations of epidemiologically linked hosts can be classified into six types of trees, based on cladistic relationships and whether the reconstruction is consistent with the true transmission history or not. We show that the direction of transmission and whether unsampled intermediary links or common sources existed make very different predictions about expected phylogenetic relationships: (i) Direction of transmission can often be established when paraphyly exists, (ii) intermediary links can be excluded when multiple lineages were transmitted, and (iii) when the sampled individuals’ HIV populations both are monophyletic a common source was likely the origin. Inconsistent results, suggesting the wrong transmission direction, were generally rare. In addition, the expected tree topology also depends on the number of transmitted lineages, the sample size, the time of the sample relative to transmission, and how fast the diversity increases after infection. Typically, 20 or more sequences per subject give robust results. We confirm our theoretical evaluations with analyses of real transmission histories and discuss how our findings should aid in interpreting phylogenetic results. PMID:26903617

  11. Student Moderators in Asynchronous Online Discussion: A Question of Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zingaro, Daniel

    2012-01-01

    Much current research exalts the benefits of having students facilitate weekly discussions in asynchronous online courses. This study seeks to add to what is known about student moderation through an analysis of the types of questions students use to spur each discussion. Prior experimental work has demonstrated that the types of questions posed…

  12. Causality in cancer epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Lagiou, Pagona; Adami, Hans-Olov; Trichopoulos, Dimitrios

    2005-01-01

    In this review, issues of causality in epidemiologic research with emphasis on the aetiology of human cancer are considered. Principles of assessing causation in epidemiological studies of cancer are distinguished into those concerning an individual study, several studies and a particular person. Strengths and weaknesses of various approaches of documenting carcinogenicity in humans are examined and lists of major established causes of human cancer are presented. The review concludes with estimates of mortality from cancer around the world that can be attributed to specific factors under the light of the current scientific knowledge.

  13. MedlinePlus FAQ: Is audio description available for videos on MedlinePlus?

    MedlinePlus

    ... audiodescription.html Question: Is audio description available for videos on MedlinePlus? To use the sharing features on ... page, please enable JavaScript. Answer: Audio description of videos helps make the content of videos accessible to ...

  14. Improving Student Question Classification

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heiner, Cecily; Zachary, Joseph L.

    2009-01-01

    Students in introductory programming classes often articulate their questions and information needs incompletely. Consequently, the automatic classification of student questions to provide automated tutorial responses is a challenging problem. This paper analyzes 411 questions from an introductory Java programming course by reducing the natural…

  15. Childhood Brain Tumor Epidemiology: A Brain Tumor Epidemiology Consortium Review

    PubMed Central

    Johnson, Kimberly J.; Cullen, Jennifer; Barnholtz-Sloan, Jill S.; Ostrom, Quinn T.; Langer, Chelsea E.; Turner, Michelle C.; McKean-Cowdin, Roberta; Fisher, James L.; Lupo, Philip J.; Partap, Sonia; Schwartzbaum, Judith A.; Scheurer, Michael E.

    2014-01-01

    Childhood brain tumors are the most common pediatric solid tumor and include several histological subtypes. Although progress has been made in improving survival rates for some subtypes, understanding of risk factors for childhood brain tumors remains limited to a few genetic syndromes and ionizing radiation to the head and neck. In this report, we review descriptive and analytical epidemiology childhood brain tumor studies from the past decade and highlight priority areas for future epidemiology investigations and methodological work that is needed to advance our understanding of childhood brain tumor causes. Specifically, we summarize the results of a review of studies published since 2004 that have analyzed incidence and survival in different international regions and that have examined potential genetic, immune system, developmental and birth characteristics, and environmental risk factors. PMID:25192704

  16. Cancer Epidemiology Cohorts

    Cancer.gov

    Cohort studies are fundamental for epidemiological research by helping researchers better understand the etiology of cancer and provide insights into the key determinants of this disease and its outcomes.

  17. The Checkered History of American Psychiatric Epidemiology

    PubMed Central

    Horwitz, Allan V; Grob, Gerald N

    2011-01-01

    Context American psychiatry has been fascinated with statistics ever since the specialty was created in the early nineteenth century. Initially, psychiatrists hoped that statistics would reveal the benefits of institutional care. Nevertheless, their fascination with statistics was far removed from the growing importance of epidemiology generally. The impetus to create an epidemiology of mental disorders came from the emerging social sciences, whose members were concerned with developing a scientific understanding of individual and social behavior and applying it to a series of pressing social problems. Beginning in the 1920s, the interest of psychiatric epidemiologists shifted to the ways that social environments contributed to the development of mental disorders. This emphasis dramatically changed after 1980 when the policy focus of psychiatric epidemiology became the early identification and prevention of mental illness in individuals. Methods This article reviews the major developments in psychiatric epidemiology over the past century and a half. Findings The lack of an adequate classification system for mental illness has precluded the field of psychiatric epidemiology from providing causal understandings that could contribute to more adequate policies to remediate psychiatric disorders. Because of this gap, the policy influence of psychiatric epidemiology has stemmed more from institutional and ideological concerns than from knowledge about the causes of mental disorders. Conclusion Most of the problems that have bedeviled psychiatric epidemiology since its inception remain unresolved. In particular, until epidemiologists develop adequate methods to measure mental illnesses in community populations, the policy contributions of this field will not be fully realized. PMID:22188350

  18. Asking the Right Questions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Malley, Jeffrey J.

    1990-01-01

    Contends that knowing the right questions to ask is crucial to making an analytical and informative examination of a topic. Presents a question framework for country studies in geography. Includes questions on physical, political, cultural, economic and population geography, transportation, communications, natural resources, and technology. (RW)

  19. Microcomputers and the future of epidemiology.

    PubMed Central

    Dean, A G

    1994-01-01

    The Workshop on Microcomputers and the Future of Epidemiology was held March 8-9, 1993, at the Turner Conference Center, Atlanta, GA, with 130 public health professionals participating. The purpose of the workshop was to define microcomputer needs in epidemiology and to propose future initiatives. Thirteen groups representing public health disciplines defined their needs for better and more useful data, development of computer technology appropriate to epidemiology, user support and human infrastructure development, and global communication and planning. Initiatives proposed were demonstration of health surveillance systems, new software and hardware, computer-based training, projects to establish or improve data bases and community access to data bases, improved international communication, conferences on microcomputer use in particular disciplines, a suggestion to encourage competition in the production of public-domain software, and longrange global planning for epidemiologic computing and data management. Other interested groups are urged to study, modify, and implement those ideas. PMID:7910692

  20. The 150 most important questions in cancer research and clinical oncology series: questions 40-49.

    PubMed

    2017-07-13

    Since the beginning of 2017, Chinese Journal of Cancer has published a series of important questions in cancer research and clinical oncology, which sparkle diverse thoughts, interesting communications, and potential collaborations among researchers all over the world. In this article, 10 more questions are presented as followed. Question 40. Why do mice being used as tumorigenesis models raised in different places or different conditions possess different tumor formation rate? Question 41. How could we generate more effective anti-metastasis drugs? Question 42. What is the molecular mechanism underlying heterogeneity of cancer cachexia in patients with the same pathologic type? Question 43. Will patients with oligo-metastatic disease be curable by immunotherapy plus stereotactic body radiotherapy? Question 44. Can the Warburg effect regulation be targeted for cancer treatment? Question 45. Why do adenocarcinomas seldom occur in the small intestine? Question 46. Is Epstein-Barr virus infection a causal factor for nasal natural killer/T cell lymphoma formation? Question 47. Why will not all but very few human papillomavirus-infected patients eventually develop cervical cancer? Question 48. Why do cervical carcinomas induced by human papilloma virus have a low mutation rate in tumor suppressor genes? Question 49. Can viral infection trigger lung cancer relapse?

  1. `Question Moments': A Rolling Programme of Question Opportunities in Classroom Science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pedrosa-de-Jesus, Helena; Leite, Sara; Watts, Mike

    2016-06-01

    This naturalistic study integrates specific `question moments' into lesson plans to increase pupils' classroom interactions. A range of tools explored students' ideas by providing students with opportunities to ask and write questions. Their oral and written outcomes provide data on individual and group misunderstandings. Changes to the schedule of lessons were introduced to explore these questions and address disparities. Flexible lesson planning over 14 lessons across a 4-week period of high school chemistry accommodated students' contributions and increased student participation, promoted inquiring and individualised teaching, with each teaching strategy feeding forward into the next.

  2. About the Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program

    Cancer.gov

    Epidemiology is the scientific study of the causes and distribution of disease in populations. NCI-funded epidemiology research is conducted through research at institutions in the United States and internationally.

  3. Clinical usefulness of the two-question assessment tool for depressive symptoms in Japanese patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

    PubMed

    Arimura, Yasuji; Yamazaki, Shin; Yanagi, Shigehisa; Matsumoto, Nobuhiro; Takegami, Misa; Hayashino, Yasuaki; Fukuhara, Shunichi; Nakazato, Masamitsu

    2013-02-01

    Depressive symptoms are highly prevalent in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and have been associated with poor outcomes. Developing a concise questionnaire to measure depressive symptoms in COPD patients is needed in outpatient settings. We evaluated the clinical usefulness of a concise two-question instrument to assess depressive symptoms in patients with COPD. The study was conducted as a cross-sectional analysis in patients with COPD. All patients completed a self-reported questionnaire consisting of the two-question instrument, as well as a shortened version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10) to measure depressive symptoms. Performance of the two-question instrument was evaluated using the results for CESD-10 as standard. We also measured patients' health-related quality of life using the Medical Outcomes Study 8-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-8) to determine whether the instrument was related to SF-8. Sensitivity of the two-question instrument in the detection of depressive symptoms was 73.3 % (95 % confidence interval [CI] 51-95.7), specificity was 73 % (95 % CI 58.7-87.3), and area under the receiver operating characteristics curve was 0.73 (95 % CI 0.59-0.87). When study patients were divided into two groups with a cutoff of 1 point on the two-question instrument, scores for all subscales of the SF-8 except "bodily pain" were significantly lower in patients with than without depressive symptoms. This concise two-question instrument is useful as assessment of depressive symptom in patients with COPD in busy outpatient settings.

  4. Reflective questions in health counseling.

    PubMed

    Poskiparta, M; Kettunen, T; Liimatainen, L

    1998-09-01

    This study explores questions that nurses ask patients in order to awaken reflection on their health behavior in health counseling. Thirty-eight counseling situations were videotaped in a hospital. The data were analyzed using conversation analysis which was adapted for the purpose of this study. Nonverbal communication supported speech and was interpreted alongside it. This study found that nurses used only a few reflective questions, most of which were future-oriented or introduced hypotheses. In a nonreflective discussion, nurses used only check-up and alternative questions to get information about patients' illnesses and health care measures. Findings indicated that reflective conversation began with check-up questions about patients' immediate situation, followed by questions about patients' feelings in the past, present, or future. On the third level of questioning, the structure might vary between embedded questions, check-up, alternative, or feeling questions. Nonverbal communication supported the discussion. Reflective questions tended to ensure patient-centered conversation and might improve the effectiveness of health counselling.

  5. Detailed Knowledge About HIV Epidemiology and Transmission Dynamics and Their Associations With Preventive and Risk Behaviors Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men in the United States

    PubMed Central

    Sullivan, Stephen P; Stephenson, Rob B

    2017-01-01

    Background Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) in the United States remain disproportionately affected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Yet their testing frequency is suboptimal and condomless anal sex (CAS) is increasing. Behavioral theories posit that information about HIV is a pivotal construct in individual risk reduction. However, measurements of knowledge have traditionally focused on ever hearing about HIV and being aware of the most common routes of spread. Objective Using a national Web-based sample of sexually active GBMSM, we sought to (1) quantify levels of detailed knowledge about HIV epidemiology and transmission dynamics, (2) describe variations in detailed knowledge levels across demographic strata, and (3) evaluate potential associations of increasing levels of detailed knowledge with HIV testing in the past year and engaging in CAS with a male partner in the past 3 months. Methods GBMSM were recruited through a social networking website (Facebook) from August to September 2015 and asked 17 knowledge-based questions pertaining to the following 2 domains using a Web-based survey: HIV epidemiology (9 questions including statistics on incidence, prevalence, and distribution) and HIV transmission dynamics (8 questions including modes of spread and per-act transmission probabilities). Ordinal domain-specific indices of detailed knowledge were created for each respondent by summing their number of correct responses. Separate cumulative logit models were used to identify factors independently associated with each index, and multivariable logistic regression models were used to characterize associations with HIV testing history and recently engaging in CAS. Results Of the 1064 participants in our study, only half (49.62%, 528/1064) had been tested for HIV in the past year, and almost half (47.84%, 509/1064) had engaged in CAS with a male partner in the past 3 months. Majority scored 3 of 9 epidemiology questions correct (26

  6. Advances in spatial epidemiology and geographic information systems.

    PubMed

    Kirby, Russell S; Delmelle, Eric; Eberth, Jan M

    2017-01-01

    The field of spatial epidemiology has evolved rapidly in the past 2 decades. This study serves as a brief introduction to spatial epidemiology and the use of geographic information systems in applied research in epidemiology. We highlight technical developments and highlight opportunities to apply spatial analytic methods in epidemiologic research, focusing on methodologies involving geocoding, distance estimation, residential mobility, record linkage and data integration, spatial and spatio-temporal clustering, small area estimation, and Bayesian applications to disease mapping. The articles included in this issue incorporate many of these methods into their study designs and analytical frameworks. It is our hope that these studies will spur further development and utilization of spatial analysis and geographic information systems in epidemiologic research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Clinical trials, epidemiology, and public confidence.

    PubMed

    Seigel, Daniel

    2003-11-15

    Critics in the media have become wary of exaggerated research claims from clinical trials and epidemiological studies. Closer to home, reviews of published studies find a high frequency of poor quality in research methods, including those used for statistical analysis. The statistical literature has long recognized that questionable research findings can occur when investigators fail to set aside their own outcome preferences as they analyse and interpret data. These preferences can be related to financial interests, a concern for patients, peer recognition, and commitment to a hypothesis. Several analyses of published papers provide evidence of an association between financial conflicts of interest and reported results. If we are to regain professional and lay confidence in research findings some changes are required. Clinical journals need to develop more competence in the review of analytic methods and provide space for thorough discussion of published papers whose results are challenged. Graduate schools need to prepare students for the conflicting interests that surround the practice of statistics. Above all, each of us must recognize our responsibility to use analytic procedures that illuminate the research issues rather than those serving special interests. Copyright 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  8. Integrating the landscape epidemiology and genetics of RNA viruses: rabies in domestic dogs as a model.

    PubMed

    Brunker, K; Hampson, K; Horton, D L; Biek, R

    2012-12-01

    Landscape epidemiology and landscape genetics combine advances in molecular techniques, spatial analyses and epidemiological models to generate a more real-world understanding of infectious disease dynamics and provide powerful new tools for the study of RNA viruses. Using dog rabies as a model we have identified how key questions regarding viral spread and persistence can be addressed using a combination of these techniques. In contrast to wildlife rabies, investigations into the landscape epidemiology of domestic dog rabies requires more detailed assessment of the role of humans in disease spread, including the incorporation of anthropogenic landscape features, human movements and socio-cultural factors into spatial models. In particular, identifying and quantifying the influence of anthropogenic features on pathogen spread and measuring the permeability of dispersal barriers are important considerations for planning control strategies, and may differ according to cultural, social and geographical variation across countries or continents. Challenges for dog rabies research include the development of metapopulation models and transmission networks using genetic information to uncover potential source/sink dynamics and identify the main routes of viral dissemination. Information generated from a landscape genetics approach will facilitate spatially strategic control programmes that accommodate for heterogeneities in the landscape and therefore utilise resources in the most cost-effective way. This can include the efficient placement of vaccine barriers, surveillance points and adaptive management for large-scale control programmes.

  9. Epidemiology of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures.

    PubMed

    Asadi-Pooya, Ali A; Sperling, Michael R

    2015-05-01

    We critically review the existing literature about the epidemiology (i.e., diagnosis, occurrence, age, gender, comorbidity with epilepsy, associated factors, prognosis, mortality, and cost) of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) and provide suggestions for future research. Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures are commonly diagnosed at epilepsy centers. The diagnosis of PNES relies on a multidisciplinary evaluation and is usually based on different combinations of data. Recording a seizure, while under video-EEG monitoring, is the most reliable diagnostic test. However, not all patients present with seizures while under video-EEG monitoring. Furthermore, not all epileptic seizures produce visible changes in the scalp EEG. The incidence of PNES was estimated to be 1.4-4.9/100,000/year in three previous studies, and the prevalence was calculated to be between 2 to 33 per 100,000 in one study, making it a significant neuropsychiatric condition. However, there remains a scarcity of data about the epidemiology of PNES, and extant studies that assessed the epidemiological characteristics of PNES have significant limitations. For example, inconsistencies with regard to the age of patients studied and lack of standardization of the diagnostic criteria are some of the significant limitations among studies. In conclusion, PNES merit further epidemiological and pathophysiological investigation. A more precise definition and clear guidance on standards for the diagnosis might influence the direction of future research. Well-designed prospective population-based studies to clarify the epidemiology of PNES in various parts of the world, including an evaluation of the predisposing, precipitating, and perpetuating factors in cross-cultural comparisons is required. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. The Priority of the Question: Focus Questions for Sustained Reasoning in Science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lustick, David

    2010-08-01

    Science education standards place a high priority on promoting the skills and dispositions associated with inquiry at all levels of learning. Yet, the questions teachers employ to foster sustained reasoning are most likely borrowed from a textbook, lab manual, or worksheet. Such generic questions generated for a mass audience, lack authenticity and contextual cues that allow learners to immediately appreciate a question’s relevance. Teacher queries intended to motivate, guide, and foster learning through inquiry are known as focus questions. This theoretical article draws upon science education research to present a typology and conceptual framework intended to support science teacher educators as they identify, develop, and evaluate focus questions with their students.

  11. Phylogenetically resolving epidemiologic linkage

    DOE PAGES

    Romero-Severson, Ethan O.; Bulla, Ingo; Leitner, Thomas

    2016-02-22

    The use of phylogenetic trees in epidemiological investigations has become commonplace, but their epidemiological interpretation has not been systematically evaluated. Here, we use an HIV-1 within-host coalescent model to probabilistically evaluate transmission histories of two epidemiologically linked hosts. Previous critique of phylogenetic reconstruction has claimed that direction of transmission is difficult to infer, and that the existence of unsampled intermediary links or common sources can never be excluded. The phylogenetic relationship between the HIV populations of epidemiologically linked hosts can be classified into six types of trees, based on cladistic relationships and whether the reconstruction is consistent with the truemore » transmission history or not. We show that the direction of transmission and whether unsampled intermediary links or common sources existed make very different predictions about expected phylogenetic relationships: (i) Direction of transmission can often be established when paraphyly exists, (ii) intermediary links can be excluded when multiple lineages were transmitted, and (iii) when the sampled individuals’ HIV populations both are monophyletic a common source was likely the origin. Inconsistent results, suggesting the wrong transmission direction, were generally rare. In addition, the expected tree topology also depends on the number of transmitted lineages, the sample size, the time of the sample relative to transmission, and how fast the diversity increases after infection. Typically, 20 or more sequences per subject give robust results. Moreover, we confirm our theoretical evaluations with analyses of real transmission histories and discuss how our findings should aid in interpreting phylogenetic results.« less

  12. Epidemiology of hepatitis E virus in Iran

    PubMed Central

    Taherkhani, Reza; Farshadpour, Fatemeh

    2016-01-01

    Iran is known as an endemic country for hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection, while there are variations in the epidemiology of HEV infection throughout the country. The available epidemiological studies in different regions of Iran show HEV seroprevalence of 1.1%-14.2% among general population, 4.5% -14.3% among blood donors, 6.1%-22.8% among injecting drug users, 6.3%-28.3% among hemodialysis patients, 1.6%-11.3% among patients infected with other hepatitis viruses, 27.5% among patients with chronic liver disease, 30.8% among kidney transplant recipient patients, and 10%-16.4% among human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients. These variations reflect differences in the status of public health and hygiene, risk factors, and routes of transmission in different regions and groups. Therefore, it is necessary to review the epidemiology of HEV infection to determine the most prevalent risk factors and routes of transmission, and to evaluate the effectiveness of preventive strategies employed in the public health services of the country. Moreover, the other epidemiological aspects of HEV, including the genotypic pattern, extra hepatic manifestations, and incidence of chronic infection need to be investigated among Iranian population to expand the current knowledge on the epidemiology of HEV and to clarify the real burden of HEV infection. Therefore, this review was performed to provide a general overview regarding the epidemiology of HEV in Iran. PMID:27298557

  13. Can epidemiological studies discern subtle neurological effects due to perinatal exposure to PCBs?

    PubMed

    Seegal, R F

    1996-01-01

    What conclusions can be drawn concerning the potential neurological effects of perinatal exposure to either PCBs, or PCBs and other fish-borne contaminants? First, by their very nature epidemiological studies are limited in their ability to detect subtle associations--including possible links between exposure to low levels of environmental contaminants and disease. As stated by Dr. Schantz, both Rogan and the Jacobsons report small changes in motor and cognitive behavior--typically less than one-half of a standard deviation--and only in the most highly exposed children. Given these small changes in CNS function, the substantive criticisms of Paneth (including the Jacobsons' choice to employ a random, rather than matched, control sample and the related fact that fish-eating mothers differed from non-fish-eating mothers on several important characteristics) and similar "generic" concerns raised by Taubes, a critical reader must question both the validity of the findings from the Michigan study and the reasons for discrepancies in results between the Jacobson and Rogan studies. Are the differences in neurobehavioral effects reported by the Jacobsons and colleagues, and Rogan and colleagues, due to the presence of confounders, exposure to different neurotoxicants, or subtle differences in methodologies? At present it is not possible to answer these questions. Nevertheless, certain commonalities exist between the Rogan and Jacobson studies, and most recently, the study conducted by Daly and colleagues in New York. All of these studies report alterations in the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale, suggesting that exposure to environmental contaminants (including PCBs) may induce subtle, transient alterations in maturation of the human CNS. Secondly, because contaminated fish contain a large number of putative developmental neurotoxicants (e.g., methyl-mercury, p,p'-DDE, PCBs, and pesticides), I am pessimistic that additional studies of human populations

  14. Terminology, concepts, and models in genetic epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Teare, M Dawn; Koref, Mauro F Santibàñez

    2011-01-01

    Genetic epidemiology brings together approaches and techniques developed in mathematical genetics and statistics, medical genetics, quantitative genetics, and epidemiology. In the 1980s, the focus was on the mapping and identification of genes where defects had large effects at the individual level. More recently, statistical and experimental advances have made possible to identify and characterise genes associated with small effects at the individual level. In this chapter, we provide a brief outline of the models, concepts, and terminology used in genetic epidemiology.

  15. Epidemiology of Enterocytozoon bieneusi Infection in Humans.

    PubMed

    Matos, Olga; Lobo, Maria Luisa; Xiao, Lihua

    2012-01-01

    A review was conducted to examine published works that focus on the complex epidemiology of Enterocytozoon bieneusi infection in humans. Studies on the prevalence of these emerging microsporidian pathogens in humans, in developed and developing countries, the different clinical spectra of E. bieneusi intestinal infection in children, in different settings, and the risk factors associated with E. bieneusi infection have been reviewed. This paper also analyses the impact of the recent application of PCR-based molecular methods for species-specific identification and genotype differentiation has had in increasing the knowledge of the molecular epidemiology of E. bieneusi in humans. The advances in the epidemiology of E. bieneusi, in the last two decades, emphasize the importance of epidemiological control and prevention of E. bieneusi infections, from both the veterinary and human medical perspectives.

  16. "Question Moments": A Rolling Programme of Question Opportunities in Classroom Science

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pedrosa-de-Jesus, Helena; Leite, Sara; Watts, Mike

    2016-01-01

    This naturalistic study integrates specific "question moments" into lesson plans to increase pupils' classroom interactions. A range of tools explored students' ideas by providing students with opportunities to ask and write questions. Their oral and written outcomes provide data on individual and group misunderstandings. Changes to the…

  17. Epidemiology of prostate and kidney cancer in the Aboriginal population of Canada: A systematic review

    PubMed Central

    Wong, Emily Chu Lee; Kapoor, Anil

    2017-01-01

    Introduction Prostate and kidney cancer rates in the Aboriginal population of Canada is a growing issue. Methods A systematic review of prostate and kidney cancer epidemiology in the Aboriginal population of Canada was performed with international comparison and evaluation of present epidemiological disparities. PubMed, Medline, and Embase (from January 1946 to June 2016), relevant government-published reports, and the websites of organizations contributing to prostate or kidney cancer guidelines were searched. We included studies that informed any of the three epidemiological questions this review is focused on answering. Results Two systematic reviews, two meta-analyses, five literature reviews, and 21 single-study papers were included. The incidence and mortality rates of kidney cancer were elevated among Canadian Aboriginals when compared to the provincial or national population and to several international regions. No studies reported data on survival. Prostate cancer incidence, mortality, and survival rates were lower in Aboriginals provincially, nationally, and internationally, with incidence and survival reaching statistical significance. Elevated rate of risk factors for kidney cancer was a significant finding among Canadian Aboriginals. Aboriginals were screened for prostate cancer less than the general Canadian population, a trend also observed in the U.S. Conclusions The elevated incidence and mortality of kidney cancer among Canadian Aboriginals is most likely attributable to the rise in lifestyle-based risk factors. Two correlations concerning prostate cancer are made. However, due to temporal and regional disparities in data, further investigation is required to elucidate these observations. PMID:28503238

  18. Teacher Training for Effective Questioning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Godbold, John V.

    This paper reviews research studies concerning the effectiveness of varying strategies for teaching questioning skills and groups them into the following organizational scheme: (a) study of question classification systems as a strategy for teaching questioning skills, (b) use of laboratory experiences as a strategy for teaching questioning skills,…

  19. Automatic Chinese Factual Question Generation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Ming; Rus, Vasile; Liu, Li

    2017-01-01

    Question generation is an emerging research area of artificial intelligence in education. Question authoring tools are important in educational technologies, e.g., intelligent tutoring systems, as well as in dialogue systems. Approaches to generate factual questions, i.e., questions that have concrete answers, mainly make use of the syntactical…

  20. What do primary care practitioners want to know? A content analysis of questions asked at the point of care.

    PubMed

    Bjerre, Lise M; Paterson, Nicholas R; McGowan, Jessie; Hogg, William; Campbell, Craig M; Viner, Gary; Archibald, Douglas

    2013-01-01

    Assessing physician needs to develop continuing medical education (CME) activities is an integral part of CME curriculum development. The purpose of the present study was to demonstrate the feasibility of identifying areas of perceived greatest needs for continuing medical education (CME) by using questions collected electronically at the point of care. This study is a secondary analysis of the "Just-in-Time" (JIT) information librarian consultation service database of questions using quantitative content analysis methods. The original JIT project demonstrated the feasibility of a real-time librarian service for answering questions asked by primary care clinicians at the point of care using a Web-based platform or handheld device. Data were collected from 88 primary care practitioners in Ontario, Canada, from October 2005 to April 2006. Questions were answered in less than 15 minutes, enabling clinicians to use the answer during patient encounters. Description of type and frequency of questions asked, including the organ system on which the questions focused, was produced using 2 classification systems, the "taxonomy of generic clinical questions" (TGCQ), and the International Classification for Primary Care version 2 (ICPC-2). Of the original 1889 questions, 1871 (99.0%) were suitable for analysis. A total of 970 (52%) of questions related to therapy; of these, 671 (69.2%) addressed questions about drug therapy, representing 36% of all questions. Questions related to diagnosis (24.8%) and epidemiology (13.5%) were also common. Organ systems questions concerning musculoskeletal, endocrine, skin, cardiac, and digestive systems were asked more than other categories. Questions collected at the point of care provide a valuable and unique source of information on the true learning needs of practicing clinicians. The TGCQ classification allowed us to show that a majority of questions had to do with treatment, particularly drug treatment, whereas the use of the ICPC-2

  1. Conceptual Questions and Challenge Problems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nurrenbern, Susan C.; Robinson, William R.

    1998-11-01

    The JCE Internet Conceptual Question and Challenge Problem Web site is a source of questions and problems that can be used in teaching and assessing conceptual understanding and problem solving in chemistry. Here you can find a library of free-response and multiple-choice conceptual questions and challenge problems, tips for writing these questions and problems, and a discussion of types of conceptual questions. This site is intended to be a means of sharing conceptual questions and challenge problems among chemical educators. This is a living site that will grow as you share conceptual questions and challenge problems and as we find new sources of information. We would like to make this site as inclusive as possible. Please share your questions and problems with us and alert us to references or Web sites that could be included on the site. You can use email, fax, or regular mail. Email: nurrenbern@purdue.edu or wrrobin@purdue.edu Fax: 765/494-0239 Mailing address: Susan C. Nurrenbern or William R. Robinson; Department of Chemistry; Purdue University; 1393 Brown Building; West Lafayette, IN 47907-1393. The Conceptual Questions and Challenge Problems Web site can be found here.

  2. Epidemiology of Lice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Juranek, Dennis D.

    1977-01-01

    Research into the epidemiology of lice indicates that infestation is uncommon in blacks, more common in females than males, significantly higher in low income groups, and transmission is by way of articles of clothing. (JD)

  3. A novel AIDS/HIV intelligent medical consulting system based on expert systems.

    PubMed

    Ebrahimi, Alireza Pour; Toloui Ashlaghi, Abbas; Mahdavy Rad, Maryam

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to propose a novel intelligent model for AIDS/HIV data based on expert system and using it for developing an intelligent medical consulting system for AIDS/HIV. In this descriptive research, 752 frequently asked questions (FAQs) about AIDS/HIV are gathered from numerous websites about this disease. To perform the data mining and extracting the intelligent model, the 6 stages of Crisp method has been completed for FAQs. The 6 stages include: Business understanding, data understanding, data preparation, modelling, evaluation and deployment. C5.0 Tree classification algorithm is used for modelling. Also, rational unified process (RUP) is used to develop the web-based medical consulting software. Stages of RUP are as follows: Inception, elaboration, construction and transition. The intelligent developed model has been used in the infrastructure of the software and based on client's inquiry and keywords related FAQs are displayed to the client, according to the rank. FAQs' ranks are gradually determined considering clients reading it. Based on displayed FAQs, test and entertainment links are also displayed. The accuracy of the AIDS/HIV intelligent web-based medical consulting system is estimated to be 78.76%. AIDS/HIV medical consulting systems have been developed using intelligent infrastructure. Being equipped with an intelligent model, providing consulting services on systematic textual data and providing side services based on client's activities causes the implemented system to be unique. The research has been approved by Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education for being practical.

  4. Problem of Questioning

    ScienceCinema

    None

    2017-12-09

    Le Prof.Leprince-Ringuet, chercheur sur le plan scientifique, artistique et humain, parle de la remise en question des hommes et la remise en question scientifique fondamentale ou exemplaire- plusieurs personnes prennent la parole p.ex Jeanmairet, Adam, Gregory. Le Prof.Gregory clot la soirée en remerciant le Prof.Leprince-Ringuet

  5. Oral chelators deferasirox and deferiprone for transfusional iron overload in thalassemia major: new data, new questions

    PubMed Central

    Neufeld, Ellis J.

    2006-01-01

    For nearly 30 years, patients with transfusional iron overload have depended on nightly deferoxamine infusions for iron chelation. Despite dramatic gains in life expectancy in the deferoxamine era for patients with transfusion-dependent anemias, the leading cause of death for young adults with thalassemia major and related disorders has been cardiac disease from myocardial iron deposition. Strategies to reduce cardiac disease by improving chelation regimens have been of the highest priority. These strategies have included development of novel oral iron chelators to improve compliance, improved assessment of cardiac iron status, and careful epidemiologic assessment of European outcomes with deferiprone, an oral alternative chelator available for about a decade. Each of these strategies is now bearing fruit. The novel oral chelator deferasirox was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); a randomized clinical trial demonstrates that deferasirox at 20 to 30 mg/kg/d can maintain or improve hepatic iron in thalassemia as well as deferoxamine. A randomized trial based on cardiac T2* magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suggests that deferiprone can unload myocardial iron faster than deferoxamine. Retrospective epidemiologic data suggest dramatic reductions in cardiac events and mortality in Italian subjects exposed to deferiprone compared with deferoxamine. These developments herald a new era for iron chelation, but many unanswered questions remain. PMID:16627763

  6. Asking a Great Question: A Librarian Teaches Questioning Skills to First-Year Medical Students.

    PubMed

    Adams, Nancy E

    2015-01-01

    In a single one-hour session, first-year medical students were taught a framework for differentiating between lower-order questions that lead to knowledge of facts and higher-order questions that lead to integration of concepts and deeper learning, thereby preparing them for problem-based learning (PBL). Students generated lists of questions in response to an assertion prompt and categorized them according to Bloom's Taxonomy. These data were analyzed in addition to data from the course exam, which asked them to formulate a higher-level question in response to a prompt. Categorizing questions according to Bloom's Taxonomy was a more difficult task for students than was formulating higher-order questions. Students reported that the skills that they learned were used in subsequent PBL sessions to formulate higher-order learning objectives that integrated new and previously-learned concepts.

  7. Cross-domain question classification in community question answering via kernel mapping

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Su, Lei; Hu, Zuoliang; Yang, Bin; Li, Yiyang; Chen, Jun

    2015-10-01

    An increasingly popular method for retrieving information is via the community question answering (CQA) systems such as Yahoo! Answers and Baidu Knows. In CQA, question classification plays an important role to find the answers. However, the labeled training examples for statistical question classifier are fairly expensive to obtain, as they require the experienced human efforts. Meanwhile, unlabeled data are readily available. This paper employs the method of domain adaptation via kernel mapping to solve this problem. In detail, the kernel approach is utilized to map the target-domain data and the source-domain data into a common space, where the question classifiers are trained under the closer conditional probabilities. The kernel mapping function is constructed by domain knowledge. Therefore, domain knowledge could be transferred from the labeled examples in the source domain to the unlabeled ones in the targeted domain. The statistical training model can be improved by using a large number of unlabeled data. Meanwhile, the Hadoop Platform is used to construct the mapping mechanism to reduce the time complexity. Map/Reduce enable kernel mapping for domain adaptation in parallel in the Hadoop Platform. Experimental results show that the accuracy of question classification could be improved by the method of kernel mapping. Furthermore, the parallel method in the Hadoop Platform could effective schedule the computing resources to reduce the running time.

  8. Genotyping of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: application in epidemiologic studies

    PubMed Central

    Kato-Maeda, Midori; Metcalfe, John Z.; Flores, Laura

    2014-01-01

    Genotyping is used to track specific isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a community. It has been successfully used in epidemiologic research (termed ‘molecular epidemiology’) to study the transmission dynamics of TB. In this article, we review the genetic markers used in molecular epidemiologic studies including the use of whole-genome sequencing technology. We also review the public health application of molecular epidemiologic tools. PMID:21366420

  9. Assessing Question Quality Using NLP

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kopp, Kristopher J.; Johnson, Amy M.; Crossley, Scott A.; McNamara, Danielle S.

    2017-01-01

    An NLP algorithm was developed to assess question quality to inform feedback on questions generated by students within iSTART (an intelligent tutoring system that teaches reading strategies). A corpus of 4575 questions was coded using a four-level taxonomy. NLP indices were calculated for each question and machine learning was used to predict…

  10. Screening for colorectal cancer: medical and economic aspects.

    PubMed

    Sanduleanu, S; Stockbrügger, R W

    2003-01-01

    Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second commonest cause of cancer death in the Western world. In The Netherlands, CRC causes about 4400 deaths per year, and its diagnosis and treatment make up for a large share of health-care costs. Review and discussioN. Experts in the field presently assume that screening for CRC and its precursor lesions, colorectal adenomas (CRAs), could prevent death from colorectal neoplasia by more than 80%. Additionally, there is increasing acknowledgement that CRC screening programmes can save lives at a cost similar to, or even less than, the generally accepted breast cancer or cervical cancer screening programmes. Nonetheless, while neighbouring countries have taken vigorous measures to fight CRC, the Dutch are still hesitating in this matter. This is partly due to some yet unanswered questions concerning the acceptability of screening for CRC in the general population, the starting age and the frequency of screening, the type of screening tests to be used, and the programme organization. In this commentary, general epidemiological and pathogenetic aspects of CRC are addressed. In addition, some frequently asked questions (FAQ) and (very subjective) answers about screening for CRC are offered, as potential substrate for further in-depth discussions. The emerging message for the community is that an effective national screening programme is urgently required to reduce the substantial morbidity and mortality from this disease.

  11. What is a Question?

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Knuth, Kevin H.; Clancy, Daniel (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    A given question can be defined in terms of the set of statements or assertions that answer it. Application of the logic of inference to this set of assertions allows one to derive the logic of inquiry among questions. There are interesting symmetries between the logics of inference and inquiry; where probability describes the degree to which a premise implies an assertion, there exists an analogous quantity that describes the bearing or relevance that a question has on an outstanding issue. These have been extended to suggest that the logic of inquiry results in functional relationships analogous to, although more general than, those found in information theory. Employing lattice theory, I examine in greater detail the structure of the space of assertions and questions demonstrating that the symmetries between the logical relations in each of the spaces derive directly from the lattice structure. Furthermore, I show that while symmetries between the spaces exist, the two lattices are not isomorphic. The lattice of assertions is described by a Boolean lattice 2(sup N) whereas the lattice of real questions is shown to be a sublattice of the free distributive lattice FD(N) = 2(sup 2(sup N)). Thus there does not exist a one-to-one mapping of assertions to questions, there is no reflection symmetry between the two spaces, and questions in general do not possess unique complements. Last, with these lattice structures in mind, I discuss the relationship between probability, relevance and entropy.

  12. Seasonal infectious disease epidemiology

    PubMed Central

    Grassly, Nicholas C; Fraser, Christophe

    2006-01-01

    Seasonal change in the incidence of infectious diseases is a common phenomenon in both temperate and tropical climates. However, the mechanisms responsible for seasonal disease incidence, and the epidemiological consequences of seasonality, are poorly understood with rare exception. Standard epidemiological theory and concepts such as the basic reproductive number R0 no longer apply, and the implications for interventions that themselves may be periodic, such as pulse vaccination, have not been formally examined. This paper examines the causes and consequences of seasonality, and in so doing derives several new results concerning vaccination strategy and the interpretation of disease outbreak data. It begins with a brief review of published scientific studies in support of different causes of seasonality in infectious diseases of humans, identifying four principal mechanisms and their association with different routes of transmission. It then describes the consequences of seasonality for R0, disease outbreaks, endemic dynamics and persistence. Finally, a mathematical analysis of routine and pulse vaccination programmes for seasonal infections is presented. The synthesis of seasonal infectious disease epidemiology attempted by this paper highlights the need for further empirical and theoretical work. PMID:16959647

  13. Any Questions? Want to Stimulate Student Curiosity? Let Them Ask Questions!

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weiss, Tarin Harrar

    2013-01-01

    Of the eight scientific practices highlighted in "A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas," the first is for students to develop abilities to ask questions and define problems (NRC 2012). Constructing a range of questions about an object or phenomenon validates not only what students have…

  14. Invited commentary: do-it-yourself modern epidemiology--at last!

    PubMed

    Morabia, Alfredo

    2014-10-01

    In this issue of the Journal, Keyes and Galea (Am J Epidemiol. 2014;180(7):661-668) propose "7 foundational steps" for introducing epidemiologic methods and concepts to beginners. Keyes and Galea's credo is that the methododological and conceptual components that comprise epidemiology, today scattered in textbook chapters, come together as an integrated and coherent methodological corpus in the process of designing studies. Thus, they expound, the process of designing studies should be the core of teaching epidemiology. Two aspects of their 7-steps-to-epidemiology, do-it-yourself user manual stand out as novel: 1) the approach, because of its emphasis on modern epidemiology's causal framework of a dynamic population in a steady state evolving across time, and 2) the ambition to teach modern epidemiology in introductory courses, instead of the popular mix of classical and modern epidemiology that is often used today to keep introductory courses simple. Both aspects are of potentially great significance for our discipline. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. University Library Virtual Reference Services: Best Practices and Continuous Improvement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shaw, Kate; Spink, Amanda

    2009-01-01

    The inclusion or not of chat services within Virtual Reference (VR) is an important topic for university libraries. Increasingly, email supported by a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) database is suggested in the scholarly literature as the preferred, cost-effective means for providing university VR services. This paper examines these issues and…

  16. Online Help-Seeking in Communities of Practice: Modeling the Acceptance of Conceptual Artifacts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nistor, Nicolae; Schworm, Silke; Werner, Matthias

    2012-01-01

    Interactive online help systems are considered to be a fruitful supplement to traditional IT helpdesks, which are often overloaded. They often comprise user-generated FAQ collections playing the role of technology-based conceptual artifacts. Two main questions arise: how the conceptual artifacts should be used, and which factors influence their…

  17. Toward Question-Asking Machines: The Logic of Questions and the Inquiry Calculus

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Knuth,Kevin H.

    2005-01-01

    For over a century, the study of logic has focused on the algebra of logical statements. This work, first performed by George Boole, has led to the development of modern computers, and was shown by Richard T. Cox to be the foundation of Bayesian inference. Meanwhile the logic of questions has been much neglected. For our computing machines to be truly intelligent, they need to be able to ask relevant questions. In this paper I will show how the Boolean lattice of logical statements gives rise to the free distributive lattice of questions thus defining their algebra. Furthermore, there exists a quantity analogous to probability, called relevance, which quantifies the degree to which one question answers another. I will show that relevance is not only a natural generalization of information theory, but also forms its foundation.

  18. Landmarks in the history of cancer epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Greenwald, Peter; Dunn, Barbara K

    2009-03-15

    The application of epidemiology to cancer prevention is relatively new, although observations of the potential causes of cancer have been reported for more than 2,000 years. Cancer was generally considered incurable until the late 19th century. Only with a refined understanding of the nature of cancer and strategies for cancer treatment could a systematic approach to cancer prevention emerge. The 20th century saw the elucidation of clues to cancer causation from observed associations with population exposures to tobacco, diet, environmental chemicals, and other exogenous factors. With repeated confirmation of such associations, researchers entertained for the first time the possibility that cancer, like many of the infectious diseases of the time, might be prevented. By the mid-20th century, with antibiotics successfully addressing the majority of infectious diseases and high blood pressure treatment beginning to affect the prevalence of heart disease in a favorable direction, the focus of much of epidemiology shifted to cancer. The early emphasis was on exploring, in greater depth, the environmental, dietary, hormonal, and other exogenous exposures for their potential associations with increased cancer risk. The first major breakthrough in identifying a modifiable cancer risk factor was the documentation of an association between tobacco smoking and lung cancer. During the past four decades, epidemiologic studies have generated population data identifying risk factors for cancers at almost every body site, with many cancers having multiple risk factors. The development of technologies to identify biological molecules has facilitated the incorporation of these molecular manifestations of biological variation into epidemiologic studies, as markers of exposure as well as putative surrogate markers of cancer outcome. This technological trend has, during the past two decades, culminated in emphasis on the identification of genetic variants and their products as

  19. Making sense of sexual orientation measures: findings from a cognitive processing study with adolescents on health survey questions.

    PubMed

    Austin, S Bryn; Conron, Kerith; Patel, Aarti; Freedner, Naomi

    2007-01-01

    To carry out a study using cognitive processing interview methods to explore ways in which adolescents understand sexual orientation questions currently used on epidemiologic surveys. In-depth, individual interviews were conducted to probe cognitive processes involved in answering four self-report survey questions assessing sexual identity, sexual attraction, and sex of sexual partners.A semi-structured interview guide was used to explore variation in question interpretation, information retrieval patterns and problems, item clarity, valence of reactions to items (positive, negative, neutral), respondent burden, and perceived threat associated with the measures. Thirty adolescents aged 15 to 21 of diverse sexual orientations and race/ethnicities participated in the study, including female, male, and transgender youth. A question on sexual attraction was the most consistently understood and thus was easy for nearly all youth to answer. In contrast, a measure of sexual identity with options heterosexual, bisexual, gay/lesbian, and unsure was the most difficult to answer. Most preferred a sexual identity item that also provided the intermediate options mostly heterosexual and mostly homosexual, which many said reflected their experience of feeling between categories. Participants had varying and inconsistent interpretations of sexual behavior terms, such as sex and sexual intercourse, used in assessing the sex of sexual partners. Differences in understanding could affect interpretation of survey data in important ways. Development of valid measures of sexual orientation will be essential to better monitor health disparities.

  20. The role of questions in the science classroom - how girls and boys respond to teachers' questions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Eliasson, Nina; Karlsson, Karl Göran; Sørensen, Helene

    2017-03-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore (a) to what extent male and female science teachers pose different types of questions and (b) if the type of science question posed influences the extent to which boys or girls respond to them. Transcripts of the teacher-student interaction in a whole-class situation were analysed, with attention paid to interactions that involved science questions. Closed and open questions were used. Results revealed that the percentage of closed questions posed corresponded to 87%. Results show that teachers mainly use closed questions, and responses from boys to closed questions are in the majority regardless of if the question is posed by a female teacher (56%) or a male teacher (64%). Both categories of closed questions are mainly considered lower order questions that do not facilitate higher cognitive levels in students. Thus, a direct consequence of an excessive use of this type of questions may be that both boys and girls will be given less opportunities to practise their ability to talk about science. Less access to general classroom interaction may also affect girls' attitudes to science in a negative way which could ultimately hamper the recruitment of girls to higher scientific studies.

  1. Paradigms in epidemiology textbooks: in the footsteps of Thomas Kuhn.

    PubMed Central

    Bhopal, R

    1999-01-01

    This article attempts to contribute to the debate on the future of epidemiology by combining Thomas Kuhn's ideas on scientific paradigms with the author's observations on some epidemiology textbooks. The author's interpretations were based on his readings of Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, epidemiology textbooks, and papers on the future of epidemiology. Thomas Kuhn's view is that sciences mostly work with a single paradigm driven by exemplars of successful work, and that proposals for paradigm change are resisted. Sciences that are maturing or changing do not have a dominant paradigm. Epidemiology textbooks showed diversity in their concepts, content, and approach. Most exemplars related to etiologic research rather than public health practice. One key focus of the recent controversy regarding the role of epidemiology has been the increasing inability of epidemiology to solve socially based public health problems. Kuhn's views help explain the polarization of views expressed. Kuhn's philosophy of science offers insights into controversies such as whether a paradigm shift is needed or imminent and the gap between epidemiology and public health practice. Interaction between science philosophers, epidemiologists, and public health practitioners may be valuable. PMID:10432899

  2. Paradigms in epidemiology textbooks: in the footsteps of Thomas Kuhn.

    PubMed

    Bhopal, R

    1999-08-01

    This article attempts to contribute to the debate on the future of epidemiology by combining Thomas Kuhn's ideas on scientific paradigms with the author's observations on some epidemiology textbooks. The author's interpretations were based on his readings of Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, epidemiology textbooks, and papers on the future of epidemiology. Thomas Kuhn's view is that sciences mostly work with a single paradigm driven by exemplars of successful work, and that proposals for paradigm change are resisted. Sciences that are maturing or changing do not have a dominant paradigm. Epidemiology textbooks showed diversity in their concepts, content, and approach. Most exemplars related to etiologic research rather than public health practice. One key focus of the recent controversy regarding the role of epidemiology has been the increasing inability of epidemiology to solve socially based public health problems. Kuhn's views help explain the polarization of views expressed. Kuhn's philosophy of science offers insights into controversies such as whether a paradigm shift is needed or imminent and the gap between epidemiology and public health practice. Interaction between science philosophers, epidemiologists, and public health practitioners may be valuable.

  3. Spatial evolutionary epidemiology of spreading epidemics

    PubMed Central

    2016-01-01

    Most spatial models of host–parasite interactions either neglect the possibility of pathogen evolution or consider that this process is slow enough for epidemiological dynamics to reach an equilibrium on a fast timescale. Here, we propose a novel approach to jointly model the epidemiological and evolutionary dynamics of spatially structured host and pathogen populations. Starting from a multi-strain epidemiological model, we use a combination of spatial moment equations and quantitative genetics to analyse the dynamics of mean transmission and virulence in the population. A key insight of our approach is that, even in the absence of long-term evolutionary consequences, spatial structure can affect the short-term evolution of pathogens because of the build-up of spatial differentiation in mean virulence. We show that spatial differentiation is driven by a balance between epidemiological and genetic effects, and this quantity is related to the effect of kin competition discussed in previous studies of parasite evolution in spatially structured host populations. Our analysis can be used to understand and predict the transient evolutionary dynamics of pathogens and the emergence of spatial patterns of phenotypic variation. PMID:27798295

  4. Spatial evolutionary epidemiology of spreading epidemics.

    PubMed

    Lion, S; Gandon, S

    2016-10-26

    Most spatial models of host-parasite interactions either neglect the possibility of pathogen evolution or consider that this process is slow enough for epidemiological dynamics to reach an equilibrium on a fast timescale. Here, we propose a novel approach to jointly model the epidemiological and evolutionary dynamics of spatially structured host and pathogen populations. Starting from a multi-strain epidemiological model, we use a combination of spatial moment equations and quantitative genetics to analyse the dynamics of mean transmission and virulence in the population. A key insight of our approach is that, even in the absence of long-term evolutionary consequences, spatial structure can affect the short-term evolution of pathogens because of the build-up of spatial differentiation in mean virulence. We show that spatial differentiation is driven by a balance between epidemiological and genetic effects, and this quantity is related to the effect of kin competition discussed in previous studies of parasite evolution in spatially structured host populations. Our analysis can be used to understand and predict the transient evolutionary dynamics of pathogens and the emergence of spatial patterns of phenotypic variation. © 2016 The Author(s).

  5. Questioning and reading goals: information-seeking questions asked on scientific texts read under different task conditions.

    PubMed

    Ishiwa, Koto; Sanjosé, Vicente; Otero, José

    2013-09-01

    A number of studies report that few questions are asked in classrooms and that many of them are shallow questions. This study investigates the way in which reading goals determine questioning on scientific texts. Reading goals were manipulated through two different tasks: reading for understanding versus reading to solve a problem. A total of 183 university students. In the first and third questioning experiments, the participants read two short texts. Students in one condition were instructed to understand the texts, whereas in the alternative condition they had to read texts to solve a problem. Students were instructed to write down any questions they might have about the texts. The questions were categorized according to the type of underlying obstacle: associative, explanatory, or predictive. The second experiment used a think-aloud methodology to identify the mental representations generated by the students. The two questioning experiments show that the questions asked depend on the reading goals. Significantly more explanation questions were asked in the understanding condition than in the problem-solving condition. Also, the two conditions were found to have a different influence on the generation of association and explanation questions. Very few prediction questions were asked in either condition. The think-aloud experiment revealed that the mental representations attempted by readers under the two conditions were indeed different. In conclusion, the experiments showed that, given a certain textual input, readers' questions depend on the reading goals associated with tasks. © 2012 The British Psychological Society.

  6. Semantic annotation of consumer health questions.

    PubMed

    Kilicoglu, Halil; Ben Abacha, Asma; Mrabet, Yassine; Shooshan, Sonya E; Rodriguez, Laritza; Masterton, Kate; Demner-Fushman, Dina

    2018-02-06

    Consumers increasingly use online resources for their health information needs. While current search engines can address these needs to some extent, they generally do not take into account that most health information needs are complex and can only fully be expressed in natural language. Consumer health question answering (QA) systems aim to fill this gap. A major challenge in developing consumer health QA systems is extracting relevant semantic content from the natural language questions (question understanding). To develop effective question understanding tools, question corpora semantically annotated for relevant question elements are needed. In this paper, we present a two-part consumer health question corpus annotated with several semantic categories: named entities, question triggers/types, question frames, and question topic. The first part (CHQA-email) consists of relatively long email requests received by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) customer service, while the second part (CHQA-web) consists of shorter questions posed to MedlinePlus search engine as queries. Each question has been annotated by two annotators. The annotation methodology is largely the same between the two parts of the corpus; however, we also explain and justify the differences between them. Additionally, we provide information about corpus characteristics, inter-annotator agreement, and our attempts to measure annotation confidence in the absence of adjudication of annotations. The resulting corpus consists of 2614 questions (CHQA-email: 1740, CHQA-web: 874). Problems are the most frequent named entities, while treatment and general information questions are the most common question types. Inter-annotator agreement was generally modest: question types and topics yielded highest agreement, while the agreement for more complex frame annotations was lower. Agreement in CHQA-web was consistently higher than that in CHQA-email. Pairwise inter-annotator agreement proved most

  7. Thirty years of use and improvement of remote sensing, applied to epidemiology: from early promises to lasting frustration.

    PubMed

    Herbreteau, Vincent; Salem, Gérard; Souris, Marc; Hugot, Jean-Pierre; Gonzalez, Jean-Paul

    2007-06-01

    Remote sensing, referring to the remote study of objects, was originally developed for Earth observation, through the use of sensors on board planes or satellites. Improvements in the use and accessibility of multi-temporal satellite-derived environmental data have, for 30 years, contributed to a growing use in epidemiology. Despite the potential of remote-sensed images and processing techniques for a better knowledge of disease dynamics, an exhaustive analysis of the bibliography shows a generalized use of pre-processed spatial data and low-cost images, resulting in a limited adaptability when addressing biological questions.

  8. [Biological markers in epidemiology: concepts, applications, perspectives (part I)].

    PubMed

    Hoffmann, W; Latza, U; Ahrens, W; Greiser, K H; Kroke, A; Nieters, A; Schulze, M B; Steiner, M; Terschüren, C; Wjst, M

    2002-02-01

    The inclusion of biomarkers in epidemiological research provides new possibilities for exposure assessment and the study of early structural or functional changes and pre-clinical stages of diseases. At the same time issues of validity, reliability, and quality control as well as logistics require special attention. Usually epidemiological studies become more expensive with regard to time and cost. Interdisciplinary collaboration between epidemiology, basic research, and laboratory research is crucial. A prerequisite for this collaboration are agreements on definitions, methods and procedures. The definition of "biomarker" and a description of previous uses of biomarkers in epidemiological studies are presented in the first part of this paper. The second part addresses genetic markers and markers of individual sensitivity and susceptibility. We will end with a discussion about the possible future of biomarkers in epidemiology.

  9. Lessons from sea louse and salmon epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Groner, Maya L; Rogers, Luke A; Bateman, Andrew W; Connors, Brendan M; Frazer, L Neil; Godwin, Sean C; Krkošek, Martin; Lewis, Mark A; Peacock, Stephanie J; Rees, Erin E; Revie, Crawford W; Schlägel, Ulrike E

    2016-03-05

    Effective disease management can benefit from mathematical models that identify drivers of epidemiological change and guide decision-making. This is well illustrated in the host-parasite system of sea lice and salmon, which has been modelled extensively due to the economic costs associated with sea louse infections on salmon farms and the conservation concerns associated with sea louse infections on wild salmon. Consequently, a rich modelling literature devoted to sea louse and salmon epidemiology has been developed. We provide a synthesis of the mathematical and statistical models that have been used to study the epidemiology of sea lice and salmon. These studies span both conceptual and tactical models to quantify the effects of infections on host populations and communities, describe and predict patterns of transmission and dispersal, and guide evidence-based management of wild and farmed salmon. As aquaculture production continues to increase, advances made in modelling sea louse and salmon epidemiology should inform the sustainable management of marine resources. © 2016 The Author(s).

  10. Lessons from sea louse and salmon epidemiology

    PubMed Central

    Rogers, Luke A.; Bateman, Andrew W.; Connors, Brendan M.; Frazer, L. Neil; Godwin, Sean C.; Krkošek, Martin; Lewis, Mark A.; Peacock, Stephanie J.; Rees, Erin E.; Revie, Crawford W.; Schlägel, Ulrike E.

    2016-01-01

    Effective disease management can benefit from mathematical models that identify drivers of epidemiological change and guide decision-making. This is well illustrated in the host–parasite system of sea lice and salmon, which has been modelled extensively due to the economic costs associated with sea louse infections on salmon farms and the conservation concerns associated with sea louse infections on wild salmon. Consequently, a rich modelling literature devoted to sea louse and salmon epidemiology has been developed. We provide a synthesis of the mathematical and statistical models that have been used to study the epidemiology of sea lice and salmon. These studies span both conceptual and tactical models to quantify the effects of infections on host populations and communities, describe and predict patterns of transmission and dispersal, and guide evidence-based management of wild and farmed salmon. As aquaculture production continues to increase, advances made in modelling sea louse and salmon epidemiology should inform the sustainable management of marine resources. PMID:26880836

  11. Dietary Supplement Label Database (DSLD)

    Science.gov Websites

    Intakes (DRIs) Definitions Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Information Sources Release Notes Help Search full label derived information from dietary supplement products marketed in the U.S. with a Web-based user interface that provides ready access to label information. It was developed to serve the research

  12. Pesticide Labeling Questions & Answers

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Pesticide manufacturers, applicators, state regulatory agencies, and other stakeholders raise questions or issues about pesticide labels. The questions on this page are those that apply to multiple products or address inconsistencies among product labels.

  13. Epidemiology of Gout

    PubMed Central

    Choi, Hyon

    2014-01-01

    Synopsis Gout is the most prevalent inflammatory arthritis in men. The findings of several epidemiological studies from a diverse range of countries suggest that the prevalence of gout has risen over the last few decades. Whilst incidence data are scarce, data from the US suggests that the incidence of gout is also rising. Evidence from prospective epidemiological studies has confirmed dietary factors (animal purines, alcohol and fructose), obesity, the metabolic syndrome, hypertension, diuretic use, and chronic kidney disease as clinically relevant risk factors for hyperuricemia and gout. Low-fat dairy products, coffee, and vitamin C appear to have a protective effect. Further prospective studies are required to examine other proposed risk factors for hyperuricaemia and gout such as the use of β-blockers and angiotension-II receptor antagonists (other than losartan), obstructive sleep apnoea, and osteoarthritis, and putative protective factors such as calcium-channel blockers and losartan. PMID:24703341

  14. Epidemiology: Informing Clinical Practice and Research on Language Disorders in Children.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lubker, Bobbie Boyd; Tomblin, J. Bruce

    1998-01-01

    Describes the discipline of epidemiology and the application of epidemiologic methods to the study of children's language disorders. Epidemiology is described as the study of the distributions and determinants of disease, disorders, disabilities, and desirable health events in populations. Common epidemiologic research designs are discussed.…

  15. Social justice, epidemiology and health inequalities.

    PubMed

    Marmot, Michael

    2017-07-01

    A lifetime spent studying how social determinants of health lead to health inequalities has clarified many issues. First is that social stratification is an appropriate topic of study for epidemiologists. To ignore it would be to ignore a major source of variation in health in society. Not only is the social gradient in health appropriate to study but we have made progress both in understanding its causes and what can be done to address them. Post-modern 'critical theory' raises questions about the social construction of science. Given the attack on science by politicians of bad faith, it is important to recognise that epidemiology and public health have a crucial role to play in providing evidence to improve health of society and reduce inequalities. Evidence gives grounds for optimism that progress can be made both in improving the health of the worst-off in society and narrowing health inequalities. Theoretical debates about 'inequality of what' have been helpful in clarifying theories that drive further gathering of evidence. While it is important to consider alternative explanations of the social gradient in health-principal among them reverse causation-evidence strongly supports social causation. Social action is by its nature political. It is, though, a vital function to provide the evidence that underpins action.

  16. Gluten-related disorders: certainties, questions and doubts.

    PubMed

    Valenti, Simona; Corica, Domenico; Ricciardi, Luisa; Romano, Claudio

    2017-11-01

    In the last decade, the ingestion of gluten, a heterogeneous complex of proteins present in wheat, rice, barley and probably in oats, has been associated with clinical disorders, such as celiac disease, wheat allergy and recently to non-celiac gluten sensitivity or wheat intolerance syndrome. Gluten-related disorders, which are becoming epidemiologically relevant with an estimated global prevalence of about 5%, require the exclusion of gluten from the diet. For the past 5 years, an important shift in the availability of gluten-free products, together with increased consumption in the general population, has been recorded and is estimated to be about 12-25%. Many people follow a self-prescribed gluten-free diet, despite the fact that the majority have not first been previously excluded, or confirmed, as having gluten disorders. They rely on claims that a gluten-free diet improves general health. In this review, we provide an overview of the clinical disorders related to gluten or wheat ingestion, pointing out the current certainties, open questions, possible answers and several doubts in the management of these conditions. KEY MESSAGE Incidence of gluten-related disorders is increased in the last decade and self-diagnosis is frequent with inappropriate starting of a gluten-free diet. Gluten and wheat are considered as the most important triggers to coeliac disease, wheat allergy and non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Pediatricians, allergologist and gastroenterologist are involved in the management of these conditions and appropriate diagnostic protocols are required.

  17. The 150 most important questions in cancer research and clinical oncology series: questions 50-56.

    PubMed

    2017-08-29

    Since the beginning of 2017, Chinese Journal of Cancer has published a series of important questions in cancer research and clinical oncology, which sparkle diverse thoughts, interesting communications, and potential collaborations among researchers all over the world. In this article, seven more questions are presented as followed. Question 50. When tumor cells spread from primary site to distant sites, are they required to be "trained" or "armed" in the bone marrow niche prior to colonizing soft tissues? Question 51. Are there tipping points during cancer progression which can be identified for manipulation? Question 52. Can we replace molecular biomarkers by network biomarkers? Question 53. Are conventional inhibitors of key cellular processes such as cell proliferation and differentiation more effective than targeted chemotherapeutics that antagonize the downstream cell signaling network via cell-surface receptors such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) and c-Met, or intracellular receptors such as androgen receptor (AR) and estrogen receptor (ER), by drugs like erlotinib, sunitinib and cabozantinib, or enzalutamide and tomoxifen? Question 54. How can we robustly identify the candidate causal event of somatic genome alteration (SGA) by using computational approach? Question 55. How can we systematically reveal the immune evasion mechanism exploited by each tumor and utilize such information to guide targeted therapy to restore immune sensitivity? Question 56. Can the nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients with sarcomatoid carcinoma (SC) subtype benefit from more specific targeted therapy?

  18. The epidemiology of pneumococcal carriage and infections in Malaysia.

    PubMed

    Le, Cheng-Foh; Jefferies, Johanna M; Yusof, Mohd Yasim Mohd; Sekaran, Shamala Devi; Clarke, Stuart C

    2012-06-01

    In Malaysia, various aspects of the epidemiology of pneumococcal carriage and disease remain largely unclear due to the lack of supporting data. Although a number of relevant studies have been documented, their individual discrete findings are not sufficient to inform experts on pneumococcal epidemiology at a national level. Therefore, in this review we aim to bring together and systematically evaluate the key information regarding pneumococcal disease epidemiology in Malaysia and provide a comprehensive overview of the data. Major aspects discussed include pneumococcal carriage, disease incidence and prevalence, age factors, invasiveness of pneumococci, serotypes, molecular epidemiology and antibiotic susceptibility. Penicillin resistance is increasingly prevalent and studies suggest that the majority of pneumococcal serotypes causing pneumococcal disease in Malaysia are covered by currently available conjugate vaccines. Continued surveillance is needed to provide a better understanding of pneumococcal epidemiology in Malaysia.

  19. [Precision medicine: new opportunities and challenges for molecular epidemiology].

    PubMed

    Song, Jing; Hu, Yonghua

    2016-04-01

    Since the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 and the announcement of the Precision Medicine Initiative by U.S. President Barack Obama in January 2015, human beings have initially completed the " three steps" of " genomics to biology, genomics to health as well as genomics to society". As a new inter-discipline, the emergence and development of precision medicine have relied on the support and promotion from biological science, basic medicine, clinical medicine, epidemiology, statistics, sociology and information science, etc. Meanwhile, molecular epidemiology is considered to be the core power to promote precision medical as a cross discipline of epidemiology and molecular biology. This article is based on the characteristics and research progress of medicine and molecular epidemiology respectively, focusing on the contribution and significance of molecular epidemiology to precision medicine, and exploring the possible opportunities and challenges in the future.

  20. MEASURING RISKS IN HUMANS: THE PROMISE AND PRACTICE OF EPIDEMIOLOGY

    EPA Science Inventory


    Epidemiology has been considered the fundamental science of public health policy. The use of epidemiologic data in environmental health policy has been limited particularly in the environmental regulatory arena. Epidemiologic risk assessment (ERA) is different from risk ass...

  1. Measuring Victimization inside Prisons: Questioning the Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wolff, Nancy; Shi, Jing; Bachman, Ronet

    2008-01-01

    Violence and victimization inside the prison setting are accepted as facts, although the facts about their prevalence remain uncertain. Variation in the methods used to estimate rates of sexual and physical victimization contribute to the wide range in estimates appearing in the prison literature. This article focuses on the questions used in the…

  2. The Priority of the Question: Focus Questions for Sustained Reasoning in Science

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lustick, David

    2010-01-01

    Science education standards place a high priority on promoting the skills and dispositions associated with inquiry at all levels of learning. Yet, the questions teachers employ to foster sustained reasoning are most likely borrowed from a textbook, lab manual, or worksheet. Such generic questions generated for a mass audience, lack authenticity…

  3. MMAB FAQs

    Science.gov Websites

    Global Climate & Weather Modeling Mesoscale Modeling Marine Modeling and Analysis Contact Us Website Weather Service NWS logo - Click to go to the NWS homepage Environmental Modeling Center Home News for Environmental Prediction Environmental Modeling Center W/NP 21, NCWCP 5830 Unversity Research

  4. TES FAQ

    Atmospheric Science Data Center

    2013-03-14

    ... General Information When did TES begin taking measurements? TES began making measurements on August 22, ... contains data from a single TES orbit for one focal plane. Note that a TES orbit starts at the South Pole Apex. A Level 1B ...

  5. GLCF: FAQ

    Science.gov Websites

    my image processing program. How do I do this? I am using ArcView, how do I import your imagery? I am remote sensing and computer science professionals who have designed a suite of in-house processing order to indicate processing level - not format - we have added the "L1G" extension. The

  6. Depression FAQs

    Cancer.gov

    Depression affects about 15 million American adults every year. Women are more likely to get depression than men. In general, about one out of every four women will get depression at some point in her life.

  7. Vulvodynia FAQ

    MedlinePlus

    ... may be taken. Your gynecologist may use a cotton swab to touch areas of the vulva. The ... helpful in relieving or reducing symptoms: • Wear 100% cotton underwear. • Do not wear underwear while sleeping. • Avoid ...

  8. FAQ Videos

    Science.gov Websites

    ; Environment Human Health Animal Health Safe Use Practices Food Safety Environment Air Water Soil Wildlife Ingredients Low-Risk Pesticides Organic Pesticide Ingredients Pesticide Incidents Human Exposure Pet Exposure :00PM Pacific Time, Mon-Fri A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A-Z Index Health &

  9. Donation FAQs

    MedlinePlus

    ... to-six-week period. This does not include travel time, which is defined by air travel and staying overnight in a hotel. Nearly 40% of donors will travel during the donation process. Marrow and PBSC donation require about the same total time commitment. What if I have medical complications related ...

  10. Sunscreens FAQs

    MedlinePlus

    ... regulations in place that govern the manufacture and marketing of all sunscreen products, including safety data on ... Us Media contacts Advertising contacts AAD logo Advertising, marketing and sponsorships Legal notice Copyright © 2018 American Academy ...

  11. ToxFAQs

    MedlinePlus

    ... Favorites Del.icio.us Digg Facebook Google Bookmarks Yahoo MyWeb Get email updates To receive email updates ... Favorites Del.icio.us Digg Facebook Google Bookmarks Yahoo MyWeb Page last reviewed: June 24, 2014 Page ...

  12. Infertility FAQ's

    MedlinePlus

    ... drug use. Use of certain medications and supplements. Cancer treatment involving the use of certain types of chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery to remove one or both testicles Medical conditions such as diabetes, cystic fibrosis, certain types ...

  13. Leishmaniasis FAQs

    MedlinePlus

    ... be spread via contaminated needles (needle sharing) or blood transfusions. Congenital transmission (spread from a pregnant woman to ... care provider and can help with the laboratory testing for leishmaniasis. Tissue specimens—for example, from skin ...

  14. The Current Status of the Disease Caused by Enterovirus 71 Infections: Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Molecular Epidemiology, and Vaccine Development.

    PubMed

    Chang, Ping-Chin; Chen, Shou-Chien; Chen, Kow-Tong

    2016-09-09

    Enterovirus 71 (EV71) infections have a major public health impact in the Asia-Pacific region. We reviewed the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and molecular epidemiology of EV71 infection as well as EV71 vaccine development. Previous studies were found using the search terms "enterovirus 71" and "epidemiology" or "pathogenesis" or "molecular epidemiology" or "vaccine" in Medline and PubMed. Articles that were not published in the English language, manuscripts without an abstract, and opinion articles were excluded from the review. The reported epidemiology of cases caused by EV71 infection varied from country to country; seasonal variations in incidence were observed. Most cases of EV71 infection that resulted in hospitalization for complications occurred in children less than five years old. The brainstem was the most likely major target of EV71 infection. The emergence of the EV71 epidemic in the Asia-Pacific region has been associated with the circulation of different genetic lineages (genotypes B3, B4, C1, C2, and C4) that appear to be undergoing rapid evolutionary changes. The relationship between the gene structure of the EV71 virus and the factors that ensure its survival, circulation, and evasion of immunity is still unknown. EV71 infection has emerged as an important global public health problem. Vaccine development, including the development of inactivated whole-virus live attenuated, subviral particles, and DNA vaccines, has been progressing.

  15. Pacific Northwest residential energy survey. Volume 3. Question-by-question results

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

    None

    1980-07-01

    Tabulations are presented of responses to approximately 105 questions. Results are tabulated by 9 geographic regions: the four states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington; four climate zones in the region; and a weighted Pacific Northwest total. A description of the tabulated data is given in the Introduction. Tabulated data deal with questions on dwelling characteristics; heating and air-conditioning systems; water heating; appliances; demographic and swelling characteristics; and insulation.

  16. Frequent Questions on Recycling

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This is a list of frequent questions on recycling, broken down into five categories. These are answers to common questions that EPA has received from press and web inquiries. This list is located on the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle website.

  17. Local health department epidemiologic capacity: a stratified cross-sectional assessment describing the quantity, education, training, and perceived competencies of epidemiologic staff.

    PubMed

    O'Keefe, Kaitlin A; Shafir, Shira C; Shoaf, Kimberley I

    2013-01-01

    Local health departments (LHDs) must have sufficient numbers of staff functioning in an epidemiologic role with proper education, training, and skills to protect the health of communities they serve. This pilot study was designed to describe the composition, training, and competency level of LHD staff and examine the hypothesis that potential disparities exist between LHDs serving different sized populations. Cross-sectional surveys were conducted with directors and epidemiologic staff from a sample of 100 LHDs serving jurisdictions of varied sizes. Questionnaires included inquiries regarding staff composition, education, training, and measures of competency modeled on previously conducted studies by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. Number of epidemiologic staff, academic degree distribution, epidemiologic training, and both director and staff confidence in task competencies were calculated for each LHD size strata. Disparities in measurements were observed in LHDs serving different sized populations. LHDs serving small populations reported a smaller average number of epidemiologic staff than those serving larger jurisdictions. As size of population served increased, percentages of staff and directors holding bachelors' and masters' degrees increased, while those holding RN degrees decreased. A higher degree of perceived competency of staff in most task categories was reported in LHDs serving larger populations. LHDs serving smaller populations reported fewer epidemiologic staff, therefore might benefit from additional resources. Differences observed in staff education, training, and competencies suggest that enhanced epidemiologic training might be particularly needed in LHDs serving smaller populations. RESULTS can be used as a baseline for future research aimed at identifying areas where training and personnel resources might be particularly needed to increase the capabilities of LHDs.

  18. The epidemiology of adults with severe sepsis and septic shock in Scottish emergency departments.

    PubMed

    Gray, Alasdair; Ward, Kirsty; Lees, Fiona; Dewar, Colin; Dickie, Sarah; McGuffie, Crawford

    2013-05-01

    The Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) promotes a bundle approach to the care of septic patients to improve outcome. Some have questioned the capability of delivering the bundle in emergency departments (EDs). The authors report the epidemiology and 6 h bundle compliance of patients with severe sepsis/septic shock presenting to Scottish EDs. Analysis of the previously reported Scottish Trauma Audit Group sepsis database was performed including 20 mainland Scottish EDs. A total of 308,910 attendances were screened (between 2 March and 31 May 2009), and 5285 of 27,046 patients were identified after case note review and included on the database. This analysis includes patients who had severe sepsis/septic shock before leaving the ED. Epidemiological, severity of illness criteria, and ED management data were analysed. 626 patients (median age 73; M/F ratio 1:1; 637 presentations) met entrance criteria. The median number of cases per site was 16 (range 3-103). 561 (88.1%) patients arrived by ambulance. The most common source of infection was the respiratory tract (n=411, 64.5%) The most common physiological derangements were heart rate (n=523, 82.1%), respiratory rate (n=452, 71%) and white cell count (n=432, 67.8%). The median hospital stay was 9 days (IQR 4-17 days). 201 (31.6%) patients were admitted to critical care within 2 days, 130 (20.4%) directly from the ED. 180 patients (28.3%) died. There was poor compliance with all aspect of the SSC resuscitation bundle. Sepsis presentations are of variable frequency but have typical epidemiology and clinical outcomes. SSC bundle resuscitation uptake is poor in Scottish EDs.

  19. Review and International Recommendation of Methods for Typing Neisseria gonorrhoeae Isolates and Their Implications for Improved Knowledge of Gonococcal Epidemiology, Treatment, and Biology

    PubMed Central

    Unemo, Magnus; Dillon, Jo-Anne R.

    2011-01-01

    Summary: Gonorrhea, which may become untreatable due to multiple resistance to available antibiotics, remains a public health problem worldwide. Precise methods for typing Neisseria gonorrhoeae, together with epidemiological information, are crucial for an enhanced understanding regarding issues involving epidemiology, test of cure and contact tracing, identifying core groups and risk behaviors, and recommending effective antimicrobial treatment, control, and preventive measures. This review evaluates methods for typing N. gonorrhoeae isolates and recommends various methods for different situations. Phenotypic typing methods, as well as some now-outdated DNA-based methods, have limited usefulness in differentiating between strains of N. gonorrhoeae. Genotypic methods based on DNA sequencing are preferred, and the selection of the appropriate genotypic method should be guided by its performance characteristics and whether short-term epidemiology (microepidemiology) or long-term and/or global epidemiology (macroepidemiology) matters are being investigated. Currently, for microepidemiological questions, the best methods for fast, objective, portable, highly discriminatory, reproducible, typeable, and high-throughput characterization are N. gonorrhoeae multiantigen sequence typing (NG-MAST) or full- or extended-length porB gene sequencing. However, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and Opa typing can be valuable in specific situations, i.e., extreme microepidemiology, despite their limitations. For macroepidemiological studies and phylogenetic studies, DNA sequencing of chromosomal housekeeping genes, such as multilocus sequence typing (MLST), provides a more nuanced understanding. PMID:21734242

  20. MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY: POTENTIAL IMPACTS ON THE ASSESSMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH

    EPA Science Inventory

    Introduction

    The term "molecular epidemiology" has been used to cover a broad range of scientific activities, often without specific reference to epidemiology. In fact, as noted by Foxman and Riley [1],molecular epidemiology has often been described almost exclusively in...

  1. Contribution of the Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study (REDS) to research on blood transfusion safety in Brazil.

    PubMed

    Loureiro, Paula; de Almeida-Neto, Cesar; Proietti, Anna Bárbara Carneiro; Capuani, Ligia; Gonçalez, Thelma Terezinha; de Oliveira, Claudia Di Lorenzo; Leão, Silvana Carneiro; Lopes, Maria Inês; Sampaio, Divaldo; Patavino, Giuseppina Maria; Ferreira, João Eduardo; Blatyta, Paula Fraiman; Lopes, Maria Esther Duarte; Mendrone-Junior, Alfredo; Salles, Nanci Alves; King, Melissa; Murphy, Edward; Busch, Michael; Custer, Brian; Sabino, Ester Cerdeira

    2014-03-01

    The Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study (REDS) program was established in the United States in 1989 with the purpose of increasing blood transfusion safety in the context of the HIV/AIDS and human T-lymphotropic virus epidemics. REDS and its successor, REDS-II were at first conducted in the US, then expanded in 2006 to include international partnerships with Brazil and China. In 2011, a third wave of REDS renamed the Recipient Epidemiology and Donor Evaluation Study-III (REDS-III) was launched. This seven-year research program focuses on both blood banking and transfusion medicine research in the United States of America, Brazil, China, and South Africa. The main goal of the international programs is to reduce and prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS and other known and emerging infectious agents through transfusion, and to address research questions aimed at understanding global issues related to the availability of safe blood. This article describes the contribution of REDS-II to transfusion safety in Brazil. Articles published from 2010 to 2013 are summarized, including database analyses to characterize blood donors, deferral rates, and prevalence, incidence and residual risk of the main blood-borne infections. Specific studies were developed to understand donor motivation, the impact of the deferral questions, risk factors and molecular surveillance among HIV-positive donors, and the natural history of Chagas disease. The purpose of this review is to disseminate the acquired knowledge and briefly summarize the findings of the REDS-II studies conducted in Brazil as well as to introduce the scope of the REDS-III program that is now in progress and will continue through 2018.

  2. Explaining errors in children's questions.

    PubMed

    Rowland, Caroline F

    2007-07-01

    The ability to explain the occurrence of errors in children's speech is an essential component of successful theories of language acquisition. The present study tested some generativist and constructivist predictions about error on the questions produced by ten English-learning children between 2 and 5 years of age. The analyses demonstrated that, as predicted by some generativist theories [e.g. Santelmann, L., Berk, S., Austin, J., Somashekar, S. & Lust. B. (2002). Continuity and development in the acquisition of inversion in yes/no questions: dissociating movement and inflection, Journal of Child Language, 29, 813-842], questions with auxiliary DO attracted higher error rates than those with modal auxiliaries. However, in wh-questions, questions with modals and DO attracted equally high error rates, and these findings could not be explained in terms of problems forming questions with why or negated auxiliaries. It was concluded that the data might be better explained in terms of a constructivist account that suggests that entrenched item-based constructions may be protected from error in children's speech, and that errors occur when children resort to other operations to produce questions [e.g. Dabrowska, E. (2000). From formula to schema: the acquisition of English questions. Cognitive Liguistics, 11, 83-102; Rowland, C. F. & Pine, J. M. (2000). Subject-auxiliary inversion errors and wh-question acquisition: What children do know? Journal of Child Language, 27, 157-181; Tomasello, M. (2003). Constructing a language: A usage-based theory of language acquisition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press]. However, further work on constructivist theory development is required to allow researchers to make predictions about the nature of these operations.

  3. Examining the Impact of Question Surface Features on Students’ Answers to Constructed-Response Questions on Photosynthesis

    PubMed Central

    Weston, Michele; Haudek, Kevin C.; Prevost, Luanna; Urban-Lurain, Mark; Merrill, John

    2015-01-01

    One challenge in science education assessment is that students often focus on surface features of questions rather than the underlying scientific principles. We investigated how student written responses to constructed-response questions about photosynthesis vary based on two surface features of the question: the species of plant and the order of two question prompts. We asked four versions of the question with different combinations of the two plant species and order of prompts in an introductory cell biology course. We found that there was not a significant difference in the content of student responses to versions of the question stem with different species or order of prompts, using both computerized lexical analysis and expert scoring. We conducted 20 face-to-face interviews with students to further probe the effects of question wording on student responses. During the interviews, we found that students thought that the plant species was neither relevant nor confusing when answering the question. Students identified the prompts as both relevant and confusing. However, this confusion was not specific to a single version. PMID:25999312

  4. Ecogeographic Genetic Epidemiology

    PubMed Central

    Sloan, Chantel D.; Duell, Eric J.; Shi, Xun; Irwin, Rebecca; Andrew, Angeline S.; Williams, Scott M.; Moore, Jason H.

    2009-01-01

    Complex diseases such as cancer and heart disease result from interactions between an individual's genetics and environment, i.e. their human ecology. Rates of complex diseases have consistently demonstrated geographic patterns of incidence, or spatial “clusters” of increased incidence relative to the general population. Likewise, genetic subpopulations and environmental influences are not evenly distributed across space. Merging appropriate methods from genetic epidemiology, ecology and geography will provide a more complete understanding of the spatial interactions between genetics and environment that result in spatial patterning of disease rates. Geographic Information Systems (GIS), which are tools designed specifically for dealing with geographic data and performing spatial analyses to determine their relationship, are key to this kind of data integration. Here the authors introduce a new interdisciplinary paradigm, ecogeographic genetic epidemiology, which uses GIS and spatial statistical analyses to layer genetic subpopulation and environmental data with disease rates and thereby discern the complex gene-environment interactions which result in spatial patterns of incidence. PMID:19025788

  5. The questioned p value: clinical, practical and statistical significance.

    PubMed

    Jiménez-Paneque, Rosa

    2016-09-09

    The use of p-value and statistical significance have been questioned since the early 80s in the last century until today. Much has been discussed about it in the field of statistics and its applications, especially in Epidemiology and Public Health. As a matter of fact, the p-value and its equivalent, statistical significance, are difficult concepts to grasp for the many health professionals some way involved in research applied to their work areas. However, its meaning should be clear in intuitive terms although it is based on theoretical concepts of the field of Statistics. This paper attempts to present the p-value as a concept that applies to everyday life and therefore intuitively simple but whose proper use cannot be separated from theoretical and methodological elements of inherent complexity. The reasons behind the criticism received by the p-value and its isolated use are intuitively explained, mainly the need to demarcate statistical significance from clinical significance and some of the recommended remedies for these problems are approached as well. It finally refers to the current trend to vindicate the p-value appealing to the convenience of its use in certain situations and the recent statement of the American Statistical Association in this regard.

  6. Population health and status of epidemiology: WHO European Region I.

    PubMed

    Rahu, Mati; Vlassov, Vasiliy V; Pega, Frank; Andreeva, Tatiana; Ay, Pinar; Baburin, Aleksei; Bencko, Vladimír; Csépe, Péter; Gebska-Kuczerowska, Anita; Ondrusová, Martina; Ribak, Joseph

    2013-06-01

    This article of the International Epidemiological Association commissioned paper series stocktakes the population health and status of epidemiology in 21 of the 53 countries of the WHO European Region. By United Nations geographical classification, these countries belong to Eastern Europe, Western Asia and South-Central Asia. Published data were used to describe population health indicators and risk factors. Epidemiological training and research was assessed based on author knowledge, information searches and E-mail survey of experts. Bibliometric analyses determined epidemiological publication outputs. Between-country differences in life expectancy, amount and profile of disease burden and prevalence of risk factors are marked. Epidemiological training is affected by ongoing structural reforms of educational systems. Training is advanced in Israel and several Eastern European countries. Epidemiological research is mainly university-based in most countries, but predominantly conducted by governmental research institutes in several countries of the former Soviet Union. Funding is generally external and limited, partially due to competition from and prioritization of biomedical research. Multiple relevant professional societies exist, especially in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Few of the region's 39 epidemiological academic journals have international currency. The number of epidemiological publications per population is highest for Israel and lowest for South-Central Asian countries. Epidemiological capacity will continue to be heterogeneous across the region and depend more on countries' individual historical, social, political and economic conditions and contexts than their epidemiologists' successive efforts. National and international research funding, and within- and between-country collaborations should be enhanced, especially for South-Central Asian countries.

  7. Epidemiological profile of colombian patients with rheumatoid arthritis in a specialized care clinic.

    PubMed

    Bautista-Molano, Wilson; Fernández-Avila, Daniel; Jiménez, Ruth; Cardozo, Rosa; Marín, Andrés; Soler, María Del Pilar; Gómez, Olga; Ruiz, Oscar

    Few studies report the epidemiological profile of RA patients attending clinics for comprehensive care. We describe the clinical, socio-demographic characteristics and comorbidities of a cohort of patients with RA. Cross-sectional study in a cohort of patients according to ACR criteria/EULAR 2010 classification who have entered to the AR clinic since October 2012 until May 2014, referred from primary care. Frequencies for socio-demographic, comorbidity, state of disease activity, functional status, biomarkers and therapeutic modalities variables are described. In total, 1652 patients were included with a mean age of 58 years and a duration of 9 years. Rheumatoid factor was positive in 80% and anti-citrullinated peptide antibody in 63% of patients. In total, 43.6% of patients had comorbidities: Hypertension (20.4%), osteoporosis (17.3%) and Sjögren's syndrome (10.4%). Fifty percent of the patients had moderate and high disease activity level measured by DAS-28 score, and the mean HAQ score was 0.64 (DS 1.12). Seventy three percent of patients were treated with oral disease modified anti rheumatic treatment and 63.6% of them were with methotrexate. 42.4% of the patients were treated with glucocorticoids (mean dose 6.3mg). The epidemiological behavior of a group of RA patients is reported. The presence of comorbidities is significant affecting the risk of morbidity and mortality in these patients. The definition of the epidemiological profile of this population will allow the design of research questions to resolve outstanding problems in the clinical context of this pathology. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Reumatología y Colegio Mexicano de Reumatología. All rights reserved.

  8. Biology Question Generation from a Semantic Network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Lishan

    Science instructors need questions for use in exams, homework assignments, class discussions, reviews, and other instructional activities. Textbooks never have enough questions, so instructors must find them from other sources or generate their own questions. In order to supply instructors with biology questions, a semantic network approach was developed for generating open response biology questions. The generated questions were compared to professional authorized questions. To boost students' learning experience, adaptive selection was built on the generated questions. Bayesian Knowledge Tracing was used as embedded assessment of the student's current competence so that a suitable question could be selected based on the student's previous performance. A between-subjects experiment with 42 participants was performed, where half of the participants studied with adaptive selected questions and the rest studied with mal-adaptive order of questions. Both groups significantly improved their test scores, and the participants in adaptive group registered larger learning gains than participants in the control group. To explore the possibility of generating rich instructional feedback for machine-generated questions, a question-paragraph mapping task was identified. Given a set of questions and a list of paragraphs for a textbook, the goal of the task was to map the related paragraphs to each question. An algorithm was developed whose performance was comparable to human annotators. A multiple-choice question with high quality distractors (incorrect answers) can be pedagogically valuable as well as being much easier to grade than open-response questions. Thus, an algorithm was developed to generate good distractors for multiple-choice questions. The machine-generated multiple-choice questions were compared to human-generated questions in terms of three measures: question difficulty, question discrimination and distractor usefulness. By recruiting 200 participants from

  9. 32 CFR 316.7 - Questions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Questions. 316.7 Section 316.7 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (CONTINUED) PRIVACY PROGRAM DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY PRIVACY PROGRAM § 316.7 Questions. Questions on both the substance and procedure of...

  10. Infectious Agents and Cancer Epidemiology Research Webinar Series

    Cancer.gov

    Infectious Agents and Cancer Epidemiology Research Webinar Series highlights emerging and cutting-edge research related to infection-associated cancers, shares scientific knowledge about technologies and methods, and fosters cross-disciplinary discussions on infectious agents and cancer epidemiology.

  11. Epidemiology, Science as Inquiry and Scientific Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kaelin, Mark; Huebner, Wendy

    2003-01-01

    The recent worldwide SARS outbreak has put the science of epidemiology into the headlines once again. Epidemiology is "... the study of the distribution and the determinants of health-related states or events and the application of these methods to the control of health problems" (Gordis 2000). In this context, the authors have developed a…

  12. Epidemiology of hepatitis C virus in Iran.

    PubMed

    Taherkhani, Reza; Farshadpour, Fatemeh

    2015-10-14

    In Iran, the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is relatively low according to the population-based epidemiological studies. However, the epidemiology of HCV is changing and the rate of HCV infection is increasing due to the growth in the number of injecting drug users in the society. In addition, a shift has occurred in the distribution pattern of HCV genotypes among HCV-infected patients in Iran. Genotype 1a is the most prevalent genotype in Iran, but in recent years, an increase in the frequency of 3a and a decrease in 1a and 1b have been reported. These variations in the epidemiology of HCV reflect differences in the routes of transmission, status of public health, lifestyles, and risk factors in different groups and geographic regions of Iran. Health policy makers should consider these differences to establish better strategies for control and prevention of HCV infection. Therefore, this review was conducted to present a clear view regarding the current epidemiology of HCV infection in Iran.

  13. Epidemiology of hepatitis C virus in Iran

    PubMed Central

    Taherkhani, Reza; Farshadpour, Fatemeh

    2015-01-01

    In Iran, the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is relatively low according to the population-based epidemiological studies. However, the epidemiology of HCV is changing and the rate of HCV infection is increasing due to the growth in the number of injecting drug users in the society. In addition, a shift has occurred in the distribution pattern of HCV genotypes among HCV-infected patients in Iran. Genotype 1a is the most prevalent genotype in Iran, but in recent years, an increase in the frequency of 3a and a decrease in 1a and 1b have been reported. These variations in the epidemiology of HCV reflect differences in the routes of transmission, status of public health, lifestyles, and risk factors in different groups and geographic regions of Iran. Health policy makers should consider these differences to establish better strategies for control and prevention of HCV infection. Therefore, this review was conducted to present a clear view regarding the current epidemiology of HCV infection in Iran. PMID:26478671

  14. Epidemiological studies of cognitive impairment and dementia across Eastern and Middle European countries (epidemiology of dementia in Eastern and Middle European Countries).

    PubMed

    Kiejna, A; Frydecka, D; Adamowski, T; Bickel, H; Reynish, E; Prince, M; Caracciolo, B; Fratiglioni, L; Georges, J

    2011-02-01

    To determine the availability and the consistency of prevalence findings of epidemiological studies on cognitive impairment and dementia conducted in Eastern and Middle Europe. We adopted a stepwise multimethod study approach consisting of iterative literature searches for epidemiological articles published between 1990 and 2006 and subsequent data analyses of published material, reanalyses of existing accessible epidemiological data sets and expert inquiries in Eastern and Middle European countries. Systematic computer-assisted searches used the keywords: "dementia", "Alzheimer", "cognitive impairment", "incidence", "prevalence", "epidemiology" in combination with the name of the relevant countries or "Europe" in English and Polish language. We supplemented the literature search with a review of the references in the articles that were identified during the initial search. We were able to find few regional and country-specific epidemiological studies of various kinds (population-based, cohort, cross-sectional studies) and conducted on different restricted population groups of patients (from neurological units, out-patients units, residential homes). No studies were identified from most of the countries taken under consideration and the ones we found were characterized by an immense diversity with a considerable degree of clinical and methodological variations. The few studies that there are suggest prevalence rates of dementia in Eastern Europe similar to those in Western Europe. There is strong need for epidemiological studies in Eastern and Middle Europe, as well as for greater coordination and standardization of methods to improve the quality and comparability of epidemiological data to determine the prevalences' rates of dementia in all the EU countries. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  15. Psychiatric epidemiology: selected recent advances and future directions.

    PubMed Central

    Kessler, R. C.

    2000-01-01

    Reviewed in this article are selected recent advances and future challenges for psychiatric epidemiology. Major advances in descriptive psychiatric epidemiology in recent years include the development of reliable and valid fully structured diagnostic interviews, the implementation of parallel cross-national surveys of the prevalences and correlates of mental disorders, and the initiation of research in clinical epidemiology. Remaining challenges include the refinement of diagnostic categories and criteria, recognition and evaluation of systematic underreporting bias in surveys of mental disorders, creation and use of accurate assessment tools for studying disorders of children, adolescents, the elderly, and people in less developed countries, and setting up systems to carry out small area estimations for needs assessment and programme planning. Advances in analytical and experimental epidemiology have been more modest. A major challenge is for psychiatric epidemiologists to increase the relevance of their analytical research to their colleagues in preventative psychiatry as well as to social policy analysts. Another challenge is to develop interventions aimed at increasing the proportion of people with mental disorders who receive treatment. Despite encouraging advances, much work still needs to be conducted before psychiatric epidemiology can realize its potential to improve the mental health of populations. PMID:10885165

  16. Epidemiology & Genomics Research Program

    Cancer.gov

    The Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program, in the National Cancer Institute's Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, funds research in human populations to understand the determinants of cancer occurrence and outcomes.

  17. 47 CFR 13.215 - Question pools.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Question pools. 13.215 Section 13.215 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION GENERAL COMMERCIAL RADIO OPERATORS Examination System § 13.215 Question pools. The question pool for each written examination element will be composed of questions...

  18. Questions for Music Education Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jorgensen, Estelle R.

    2008-01-01

    In addressing the question-set "What questions do music education researchers need to address?", an illustrative list of juxtaposed descriptive and normative questions is sketched as follows: What are and should be the dimensions of music education? What are and should be the institutional agencies of music education? What are and should be the…

  19. [Epidemiology's and epidemiologists' vices and virtues].

    PubMed

    Gennaro, Valerio; Ricci, Paolo; Levis, Angelo Gino; Crosignani, Paolo

    2009-01-01

    Epidemiology is a public health oriented discipline and is aimed to detect the spatial, temporal, social and causal distribution of diseases in the human population, in order to promote timely and effective preventive solutions. This paper highlights some gold standard of the epidemiological method and suggests some considerations for a critical comprehension of epidemiological studies, in particular those that deny or minimize the existence of public health risks. This paper will focus on some crucial elements such as definition, attribution, misclassification and underestimation of the harmful exposures caused by a multitude of factors, undervaluation of the possible interactions among harmful agents (even when law limits are respected), selection of exposed populations, insufficient number of studied diseases, importance of the right comparisons between similar groups when the reference population is used, disproportion between shortness of follow-up in respect with long latency period of the studied diseases, including cancer. This paper also observes that many epidemiologists carry out confirmative studies rather than exploratory ones, and they end to both underestimate and underevaluate the multiplicity of the causal associations in favour of a reductive and a critical approach to the statistics which, in final analysis, wants to replace epidemiology. It points out, moreover, that neglecting primary prevention as well as precautionary principles in the interpretation of public health studies, arises the suspicion of professional limitation or strong conflict of interests (business bias). Epidemiology is naturally oriented to both primary prevention and public health defense, and today, more than ever before, for many reasons, among which the overwhelming market power that is first and foremost the cause of the general increase of populations affected by avoidable pathologies, a systematic, correct and timely application of this precious discipline seems to be

  20. Do Questions Get Infants Talking? Infant Vocal Responses to Questions and Declaratives in Maternal Speech

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reimchen, Melissa; Soderstrom, Melanie

    2017-01-01

    Maternal questions play a crucial role in early language acquisition by virtue of their special grammatical, prosodic and lexical forms, and their abundance in the input. Infants are able to discriminate questions from other sentence types and produce rising intonations in their own requests. This study examined whether caregiver questions were…

  1. [Imported diseases, the epidemiological challenge of communicable diseases (author's transl)].

    PubMed

    Gsell, O

    1978-06-01

    Imported infectious diseases being seen more often in consequence of intensive human contacts with developing countries through labourers and tourists, but also in consequence of immigration and of import of exotic diseases and of food, favoured by the quick air traffic, can be divided into 5 groups: 1. Imported diseases from the tropics (exotic diseases) 2. Imported agents from the tropics with human infection in the native country 3. Re-importation of diseases which were eliminated in the homelands 4. Diseases which are as well imported as also native 5. Single disease importations from neighboured countries. The imported infections are discussed systematically, caused by viruses, rickettsias, bacteries, protozoes, fungi, and followed by references to statistics, laboratory infection reports, questions of insurance. Imported diseases of the future are especially mentioned. Knowledge of the tropical infections as a main danger for our "civilized" world should be part of the medical training, since imported infectious diseases cause an epidemiologic challenge in the modern picture of communicable infections.

  2. ADHD in the Arab World: A Review of Epidemiologic Studies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Farah, Lynn G.; Fayyad, John A.; Eapen, Valsamma; Cassir,Youmna; Salamoun, Mariana M.; Tabet, Caroline C.; Mneimneh, Zeina N.; Karam, Elie G.

    2009-01-01

    Objective: Epidemiological studies on psychiatric disorders are quite rare in the Arab World. This article reviews epidemiological studies on ADHD in all the Arab countries. Method: All epidemiological studies on ADHD conducted from 1966 through th present were reviewed. Samples were drawn from the general community, primary care clinical…

  3. [Epidemiological intelligence as a model of organization in health].

    PubMed

    Rodrigues-Júnior, Antonio Luiz

    2012-03-01

    The concept of epidemiological intelligence, as a construction of information societies, goes beyond monitoring a list of diseases and the ability to elicit rapid responses. The concept should consider the complexity of the definition of epidemiology in the identification of this object of study without being limited to a set of actions in a single government sector. The activities of epidemiological intelligence include risk assessment, strategies for prevention and protection, subsystems of information, crisis management rooms, geographical analysis, etc. This concept contributes to the understanding of policies in health, in multisectorial and geopolitical dimensions, as regards the organization of services around public health emergencies, primary healthcare, as well as disasters. The activities of epidemiological intelligence should not be restricted to scientific research, but the researchers must beware of threats to public health. Lalonde's model enabled consideration of epidemiological intelligence as a way to restructure policies and share resources by creating communities of intelligence, whose purpose is primarily to deal with public health emergencies and disasters.

  4. Are prescription stimulants "smart pills"? The epidemiology and cognitive neuroscience of prescription stimulant use by normal healthy individuals.

    PubMed

    Smith, M Elizabeth; Farah, Martha J

    2011-09-01

    Use of prescription stimulants by normal healthy individuals to enhance cognition is said to be on the rise. Who is using these medications for cognitive enhancement, and how prevalent is this practice? Do prescription stimulants in fact enhance cognition for normal healthy people? We review the epidemiological and cognitive neuroscience literatures in search of answers to these questions. Epidemiological issues addressed include the prevalence of nonmedical stimulant use, user demographics, methods by which users obtain prescription stimulants, and motivations for use. Cognitive neuroscience issues addressed include the effects of prescription stimulants on learning and executive function, as well as the task and individual variables associated with these effects. Little is known about the prevalence of prescription stimulant use for cognitive enhancement outside of student populations. Among college students, estimates of use vary widely but, taken together, suggest that the practice is commonplace. The cognitive effects of stimulants on normal healthy people cannot yet be characterized definitively, despite the volume of research that has been carried out on these issues. Published evidence suggests that declarative memory can be improved by stimulants, with some evidence consistent with enhanced consolidation of memories. Effects on the executive functions of working memory and cognitive control are less reliable but have been found for at least some individuals on some tasks. In closing, we enumerate the many outstanding questions that remain to be addressed by future research and also identify obstacles facing this research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).

  5. April 2018 Cancer Epidemiology Matters E-News | EGRP/DCCPS/NCI/NIH

    Cancer.gov

    April 2018 issue of Cancer Epidemiology Matters E-News, published by NCI’s Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program, features research of early-life factors, cancer epidemiologic data sharing, upcoming events, and more.

  6. Global epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Elliott, P

    1993-01-01

    Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health and disease in human populations. Epidemiology on a global scale is severely constrained by the lack of data. In many countries, there are no comprehensive data on mortality or basic demographic data. Where data are available, findings on the relationship of environment to health across countries need to be interpreted with caution. For example, there is well-known variation in standards of medical practice and diagnosis, and in certification and coding, but there are also large differences in diet, the social environment and lifestyle--all of which strongly predict disease incidence. Inappropriate inference concerning aetiology made from such broad-scale studies may result in what has been termed the 'ecological fallacy'. A complementary approach is to collect and analyse data in standardized fashion as part of international collaborative studies. These can offer some important advantages over the more conventional single-centre design. Recent advances have meant that studies of environment and health can now--in some countries--be carried out using routine data at the small area level. Although problems of interpretation remain, they are generally less severe than in broad-scale studies. Examples of this approach are given.

  7. Improving the Questions Students Ask

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Donohue-Smith, Maureen

    2006-01-01

    Teachers often tell their classes that "there is no such thing as a stupid question." But this is not completely honest. Questions aren't asked in a vacuum; their intelligence or stupidity depends on a variety of contextual variables. The ideal question is the right one, posed to the right source in the right way at the right time for the right…

  8. Six paths for the future of social epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Galea, Sandro; Link, Bruce G

    2013-09-15

    Social epidemiology is now an accepted part of the academic intellectual landscape. However, in many ways, social epidemiology also runs the risk of losing the identity that distinguished it as a field during its emergence. In the present article, we scan the strengths of social epidemiology to imagine paths forward that will make the field distinct and useful to the understanding of population health in future. We suggest 6 paths to such a future, each emerging from promising research trends in the field in which social epidemiologists can, and should, lead in coming years. Each of these paths contributes to the formation of distinct capacities that social epidemiologists can claim and use to elaborate or fill in gaps in the already strong history of social epidemiology. They present an opportunity for the field to build on its strengths and move forward while leading in new and critical areas in population health.

  9. May 2018 Cancer Epidemiology Matters E-News | EGRP/DCCPS/NCI/NIH

    Cancer.gov

    May 2018 issue of Cancer Epidemiology Matters E-News, published by NCI’s Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program, features examples of funded cancer epidemiology grant applications, updated cancer statistics resources, upcoming events, and more.

  10. Contact Us

    Science.gov Websites

    DUF6 Management and Uses DUF6 Conversion EIS Documents News FAQs Internet Resources Glossary Home  Depleted UF6 Conversion EIS or the Depleted UF6 Management Program web site. Your questions or comments site is to inform and involve the public in the Depleted UF6 Management Program, including the Depleted

  11. Image Use Fees | Galaxy of Images

    Science.gov Websites

    This site has moved! Please go to our new Image Gallery site! dot header Image Use Fees Licensing , research and study purposes only. For current pricing, please download our Image Use Fee Schedule See our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list for additional information. Purchase an image now Contact Information

  12. Age-Adjustment and Related Epidemiology Rates in Education and Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baker, John D.; Kruckman, Laurence; George, Joyce

    2006-01-01

    A quick review of introductory textbooks reveals that while gerontology authors and instructors introduce some aspect of demography and epidemiology data, there is limited focus on age adjustment or other important epidemiology rates. The goal of this paper is to reintroduce a variety of basic epidemiology strategies such as incidence, prevalence,…

  13. An epidemiological perspective on bovine tuberculosis spotlighting facts and dilemmas in Iran, a historically zebu-dominant farming country

    PubMed Central

    Tadayon, Keyvan; Mosavari, Nader; Feizabadi, Mohammad Mehdi

    2013-01-01

    For the whole 20th century, bovine tuberculosis (BTB) challenged the international community efforts to control this zoonotic disease. Asia and Africa accommodate the largest BTB-infected zebu cattle in the world. Similar to other few Asian nations, Iran has been actively running its BTB-control plan for the last four decades. BTB however, is still a number-one health concern for Iranian veterinary practitioners and also farmers across the country. Why is that? Here we have addressed this question in the light of most recent epidemiological data as well as microbiology and molecular biology observations. PMID:23463850

  14. The Value Question in Metaphysics

    PubMed Central

    Kahane, Guy

    2012-01-01

    Much seems to be at stake in metaphysical questions about, for example, God, free will or morality. One thing that could be at stake is the value of the universe we inhabit—how good or bad it is. We can think of competing philosophical positions as describing possibilities, ways the world might turn out to be, and to which value can be assigned. When, for example, people hope that God exists, or fear that we do not possess free will, they express attitudes towards these possibilities, attitudes that presuppose answers to questions about their comparative value. My aim in this paper is to distinguish these evaluative questions from related questions with which they can be confused, to identify structural constraints on their proper pursuit, and to address objections to their very coherence. Answers to such evaluative questions offer one measure of the importance of philosophical disputes. PMID:23024399

  15. The Value Question in Metaphysics.

    PubMed

    Kahane, Guy

    2012-07-01

    Much seems to be at stake in metaphysical questions about, for example, God, free will or morality. One thing that could be at stake is the value of the universe we inhabit-how good or bad it is. We can think of competing philosophical positions as describing possibilities, ways the world might turn out to be, and to which value can be assigned. When, for example, people hope that God exists, or fear that we do not possess free will, they express attitudes towards these possibilities, attitudes that presuppose answers to questions about their comparative value. My aim in this paper is to distinguish these evaluative questions from related questions with which they can be confused, to identify structural constraints on their proper pursuit, and to address objections to their very coherence. Answers to such evaluative questions offer one measure of the importance of philosophical disputes.

  16. EPIDEMIOLOGY AND EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT

    EPA Science Inventory

    Research collaborations between the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL) and the National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) centered on the development and application of exposure analysis tools in environmental epidemiology include the El Paso...

  17. The High-Density Lipoprotein Puzzle: Why Classic Epidemiology, Genetic Epidemiology, and Clinical Trials Conflict?

    PubMed

    Rosenson, Robert S

    2016-05-01

    Classical epidemiology has established the incremental contribution of the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol measure in the assessment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk; yet, genetic epidemiology does not support a causal relationship between HDL cholesterol and the future risk of myocardial infarction. Therapeutic interventions directed toward cholesterol loading of the HDL particle have been based on epidemiological studies that have established HDL cholesterol as a biomarker of atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk. However, therapeutic interventions such as niacin, cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibitors increase HDL cholesterol in patients treated with statins, but have repeatedly failed to reduce cardiovascular events. Statin therapy interferes with ATP-binding cassette transporter-mediated macrophage cholesterol efflux via miR33 and thus may diminish certain HDL functional properties. Unraveling the HDL puzzle will require continued technical advances in the characterization and quantification of multiple HDL subclasses and their functional properties. Key mechanistic criteria for clinical outcomes trials with HDL-based therapies include formation of HDL subclasses that improve the efficiency of macrophage cholesterol efflux and compositional changes in the proteome and lipidome of the HDL particle that are associated with improved antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. These measures require validation in genetic studies and clinical trials of HDL-based therapies on the background of statins. © 2016 American Heart Association, Inc.

  18. Now That's a Good Question! How to Promote Cognitive Rigor through Classroom Questioning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Francis, Erik M.

    2016-01-01

    In this book, Erik M. Francis explores how one of the most fundamental instructional strategies--questioning--can provide the proper scaffolding to deepen student thinking, understanding, and application of knowledge. You'll learn: (1) Techniques for using questioning to extend and evaluate student learning experiences; (2) Eight different kinds…

  19. Five Strategies for Questioning with Intention

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Costa, Arthur L.; Kallick, Bena

    2015-01-01

    Masterful teachers don't just ask a lot of questions; they ask questions in a purposeful way. In this article, Costa and Kallick describe five strategies that can help teachers become more purposeful in designing and posing questions. One strategy is to plan questions that elicit student thinking at various cognitive levels, from simple recall of…

  20. Genesis of Preeclampsia: An Epidemiological Approach

    PubMed Central

    Salvador-Moysén, Jaime; Martínez-López, Yolanda; Ramírez-Aranda, José M.; Aguilar-Durán, Marisela; Terrones-González, Alberto

    2012-01-01

    There are analyzed some of the main aspects related to the causality of preeclampsia, privileging two types of models: the clinic model and the epidemiologic model, first one represented by the hypothesis of the reduced placental perfusion and the second one considering the epidemiologic findings related to the high levels of psychosocial stress and its association with preeclampsia. It is reasoned out the relevance of raising the causality of the disease from an interdisciplinary perspective, integrating the valuable information generated from both types, clinical and epidemiologic, and finally a tentative explanatory model of preeclampsia is proposed, the subclinical and sociocultural aspects that predispose and trigger the disease are emphasized making aspects to stand out: the importance of reduced placental perfusion as an indicator of individual risk, and the high levels of physiological stress, as a result of the unfavorable conditions of the psychosocial surroundings (indicator of population risk) of the pregnant women. PMID:22462008

  1. Ethics Guidelines in Environmental Epidemiology: Their Development and Challenges We Face.

    PubMed

    Kramer, Shira; Soskolne, Colin L

    2017-06-01

    This review integrates historical developments and key events in bringing ethics into epidemiology in general and into environmental epidemiology in particular. The goal is to provide context for and discern among the various approaches and motivations that drive the need for ethical conduct in support of the public interest. The need for ethics guidelines in epidemiology is different from developments in other biomedical-related fields by virtue of its focus on populations rather than on individuals. The need for ethics guidelines in environmental epidemiology as a subspecialty of epidemiology stems from the larger scale of its mission than that of epidemiology per se. Ethics guidelines in the field of environmental epidemiology have been established. They articulate not only the profession's core values and mission, but more specifically, they address the environmental epidemiologist's obligations to the participants in research, to colleagues, and to employers. They are the product of consensus, scholarship, and diligent stewardship over several decades. The next challenge is ensuring their value and impact. The forces that support professional and institutional success, and the power of special interests, are the major threats to achieving the goals of ethical conduct and research for the public good. In environmental epidemiology, these threats have global implications.

  2. It's about the Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bearwald, Ronald R.

    2011-01-01

    The best coaching partnerships are built on conversation and listening, and they are not built on a coach giving answers to a mentee. Ronald Bearward explains how coaches can use questions to help mentees find answers for themselves. Effective questions lead to greater reflection and solutions that teachers can use now and in the future.

  3. Designing Great Hinge Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wiliam, Dylan

    2015-01-01

    According to author Dylan Wiliam, because lessons never go exactly as planned, teachers should build plan B into plan A. This involves designing a lesson with a "hinge" somewhere in the middle and using specific kinds of questions--what he calls hinge questions--to quickly assess students' understanding of a concept before moving on.…

  4. EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES OF DISINFECTANTS AND DISINFECTANT BY-PRODUCTS

    EPA Science Inventory

    This article provides a review of the epidemiologic evidence for human health effects that may be associated with the disinfection of drinking water. An epidemiologic study attempts to link human health effects with exposure to a specific agent (e.g., DBCM), agents (e.g., THMs or...

  5. Unanswered questions in ecology.

    PubMed Central

    May, R

    1999-01-01

    This is very much a personal view of what I think are some of the most important unanswered questions in ecology. That is, these are the questions that I expect will be high on the research agenda over the coming century. The list is organized hierarchically, beginning with questions at the level of individual populations, and progressing through interacting populations to entire communities or ecosystems. I will try to guess both at possible advances in basic knowledge and at potential applications. The only thing that is certain about this view of the future is that much of it will surely turn out to be wrong, and many of the most interesting future developments will be quite unforeseen. PMID:10670015

  6. Six Paths for the Future of Social Epidemiology

    PubMed Central

    Galea, Sandro; Link, Bruce G.

    2013-01-01

    Social epidemiology is now an accepted part of the academic intellectual landscape. However, in many ways, social epidemiology also runs the risk of losing the identity that distinguished it as a field during its emergence. In the present article, we scan the strengths of social epidemiology to imagine paths forward that will make the field distinct and useful to the understanding of population health in future. We suggest 6 paths to such a future, each emerging from promising research trends in the field in which social epidemiologists can, and should, lead in coming years. Each of these paths contributes to the formation of distinct capacities that social epidemiologists can claim and use to elaborate or fill in gaps in the already strong history of social epidemiology. They present an opportunity for the field to build on its strengths and move forward while leading in new and critical areas in population health. PMID:24008899

  7. Malaria epidemiology and economics: the effect of delayed immune acquisition on the cost-effectiveness of insecticide-treated bednets.

    PubMed Central

    Guyatt, H L; Snow, R W; Evans, D B

    1999-01-01

    An understanding of the epidemiology of a disease is central in evaluating the health impact and cost-effectiveness of control interventions. The epidemiology of life-threatening malaria is receiving renewed interest, with concerns that the implementation of preventive measures such as insecticide-treated bednets (ITNs) while protecting young children might in fact increase the risks of mortality and morbidity in older ages by delaying the acquisition of functional immunity. This paper aims to illustrate how a combined approach of epidemiology and economics can be used to (i) explore the long-term impact of changes in epidemiological profiles, and (ii) identify those variables that are critical in determining whether an intervention will be an efficient use of resources. The key parameters for determining effectiveness are the protective efficacy of ITNs (reduction in all-cause mortality), the malaria attributable mortality and the increased malaria-specific mortality risk due to delays in the acquisition of functional immunity. In particular, the analysis demonstrates that delayed immune acquisition is not a problem per se, but that the critical issue is whether it occurs immediately following the implementation of an ITN programme or whether it builds up slowly over time. In the 'worst case' scenario where ITNs immediately increase malaria-specific mortality due to reduced immunity, the intervention might actually cost lives. In other words, it might be better to not use ITNs. On the other hand, if reduced immunity takes two years to develop, ITNs would still fall into the category of excellent value for money compared to other health interventions, saving a year of life (YLL) at a cost of between US$25-30. These types of calculations are important in identifying the parameters which field researchers should be seeking to measure to address the important question of the net impact of delaying the acquisition of immunity through preventive control measures. PMID

  8. What's so different about big data?. A primer for clinicians trained to think epidemiologically.

    PubMed

    Iwashyna, Theodore J; Liu, Vincent

    2014-09-01

    The Big Data movement in computer science has brought dramatic changes in what counts as data, how those data are analyzed, and what can be done with those data. Although increasingly pervasive in the business world, it has only recently begun to influence clinical research and practice. As Big Data draws from different intellectual traditions than clinical epidemiology, the ideas may be less familiar to practicing clinicians. There is an increasing role of Big Data in health care, and it has tremendous potential. This Demystifying Data Seminar identifies four main strands in Big Data relevant to health care. The first is the inclusion of many new kinds of data elements into clinical research and operations, in a volume not previously routinely used. Second, Big Data asks different kinds of questions of data and emphasizes the usefulness of analyses that are explicitly associational but not causal. Third, Big Data brings new analytic approaches to bear on these questions. And fourth, Big Data embodies a new set of aspirations for a breaking down of distinctions between research data and operational data and their merging into a continuously learning health system.

  9. The emergence of translational epidemiology: from scientific discovery to population health impact.

    PubMed

    Khoury, Muin J; Gwinn, Marta; Ioannidis, John P A

    2010-09-01

    Recent emphasis on translational research (TR) is highlighting the role of epidemiology in translating scientific discoveries into population health impact. The authors present applications of epidemiology in TR through 4 phases designated T1-T4, illustrated by examples from human genomics. In T1, epidemiology explores the role of a basic scientific discovery (e.g., a disease risk factor or biomarker) in developing a "candidate application" for use in practice (e.g., a test used to guide interventions). In T2, epidemiology can help to evaluate the efficacy of a candidate application by using observational studies and randomized controlled trials. In T3, epidemiology can help to assess facilitators and barriers for uptake and implementation of candidate applications in practice. In T4, epidemiology can help to assess the impact of using candidate applications on population health outcomes. Epidemiology also has a leading role in knowledge synthesis, especially using quantitative methods (e.g., meta-analysis). To explore the emergence of TR in epidemiology, the authors compared articles published in selected issues of the Journal in 1999 and 2009. The proportion of articles identified as translational doubled from 16% (11/69) in 1999 to 33% (22/66) in 2009 (P = 0.02). Epidemiology is increasingly recognized as an important component of TR. By quantifying and integrating knowledge across disciplines, epidemiology provides crucial methods and tools for TR.

  10. The Emergence of Translational Epidemiology: From Scientific Discovery to Population Health Impact

    PubMed Central

    Khoury, Muin J.; Gwinn, Marta; Ioannidis, John P. A.

    2010-01-01

    Recent emphasis on translational research (TR) is highlighting the role of epidemiology in translating scientific discoveries into population health impact. The authors present applications of epidemiology in TR through 4 phases designated T1–T4, illustrated by examples from human genomics. In T1, epidemiology explores the role of a basic scientific discovery (e.g., a disease risk factor or biomarker) in developing a “candidate application” for use in practice (e.g., a test used to guide interventions). In T2, epidemiology can help to evaluate the efficacy of a candidate application by using observational studies and randomized controlled trials. In T3, epidemiology can help to assess facilitators and barriers for uptake and implementation of candidate applications in practice. In T4, epidemiology can help to assess the impact of using candidate applications on population health outcomes. Epidemiology also has a leading role in knowledge synthesis, especially using quantitative methods (e.g., meta-analysis). To explore the emergence of TR in epidemiology, the authors compared articles published in selected issues of the Journal in 1999 and 2009. The proportion of articles identified as translational doubled from 16% (11/69) in 1999 to 33% (22/66) in 2009 (P = 0.02). Epidemiology is increasingly recognized as an important component of TR. By quantifying and integrating knowledge across disciplines, epidemiology provides crucial methods and tools for TR. PMID:20688899

  11. Let's Switch Questioning Around

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tovani, Cris

    2015-01-01

    English teacher Cris Tovani knows from her experiences teaching elementary school that students are naturally curious. But, too often, students are so trained to be question answerers that by the time they reach high school, they no longer form questions of their own and instead focus on trying to figure out what answer the teacher wants. Tovani…

  12. Difficult Questions of Difficult Questions: The Role of The Researcher and Transcription Styles

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Henderson, Holly

    2018-01-01

    This paper refracts a comparison of three distinct transcription styles through questions of researcher reflexivity. It uses the data from a single question asked by the researcher in multiple interviews for a small empirical project. These data are transcribed in three ways, and the resulting transcripts are discussed in relation to the analysis…

  13. A Systematic Bayesian Integration of Epidemiological and Genetic Data

    PubMed Central

    Lau, Max S. Y.; Marion, Glenn; Streftaris, George; Gibson, Gavin

    2015-01-01

    Genetic sequence data on pathogens have great potential to inform inference of their transmission dynamics ultimately leading to better disease control. Where genetic change and disease transmission occur on comparable timescales additional information can be inferred via the joint analysis of such genetic sequence data and epidemiological observations based on clinical symptoms and diagnostic tests. Although recently introduced approaches represent substantial progress, for computational reasons they approximate genuine joint inference of disease dynamics and genetic change in the pathogen population, capturing partially the joint epidemiological-evolutionary dynamics. Improved methods are needed to fully integrate such genetic data with epidemiological observations, for achieving a more robust inference of the transmission tree and other key epidemiological parameters such as latent periods. Here, building on current literature, a novel Bayesian framework is proposed that infers simultaneously and explicitly the transmission tree and unobserved transmitted pathogen sequences. Our framework facilitates the use of realistic likelihood functions and enables systematic and genuine joint inference of the epidemiological-evolutionary process from partially observed outbreaks. Using simulated data it is shown that this approach is able to infer accurately joint epidemiological-evolutionary dynamics, even when pathogen sequences and epidemiological data are incomplete, and when sequences are available for only a fraction of exposures. These results also characterise and quantify the value of incomplete and partial sequence data, which has important implications for sampling design, and demonstrate the abilities of the introduced method to identify multiple clusters within an outbreak. The framework is used to analyse an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the UK, enhancing current understanding of its transmission dynamics and evolutionary process. PMID:26599399

  14. [Epidemiologic findings of the etiology of psychogenic diseases].

    PubMed

    Franz, M; Schellberg, D; Schepank, H

    1993-01-01

    In an epidemiological longitudinal field study, a sample of high risk probands suffering from medium psychogenic impairment was investigated with regard to the etiological relevancy of factors influencing psychogenic disorders (psychoneuroses, character neuroses, psychosomatic and/or psychosomatic functional diseases). The study focused the question of the etiological impact of personality, life events, and social support. With theoretical reference to the psychodynamic concept of personality trained physicians and psychologists investigated 240 probands in a half standardized psychodynamic interview which included psychometric and social empiric instruments. Expert ratings and self ratings were used to assess the current psychogenic impairment. The impact of the constructs personality, critical life events, and social support on psychogenic impairment was specified in two path models. In both models psychodynamic personality variables had the highest impact on the criterium. Psychodynamically consistent, the ability to establish mature object relations and the maturity of ego functions was inversely related to the degree of psychogenic impairment, whereas an immature organisation of defense mechanisms exerted an aggravating influence on the severity of impairment. The present path analyses altogether point to a possible central etiological impact of personality and/or psychodynamic variables on the severity of psychogenic impairment.

  15. Toxicology and Epidemiology: Improving the Science with a Framework for Combining Toxicological and Epidemiological Evidence to Establish Causal Inference

    PubMed Central

    Adami, Hans-Olov; Berry, Sir Colin L.; Breckenridge, Charles B.; Smith, Lewis L.; Swenberg, James A.; Trichopoulos, Dimitrios; Weiss, Noel S.; Pastoor, Timothy P.

    2011-01-01

    Historically, toxicology has played a significant role in verifying conclusions drawn on the basis of epidemiological findings. Agents that were suggested to have a role in human diseases have been tested in animals to firmly establish a causative link. Bacterial pathogens are perhaps the oldest examples, and tobacco smoke and lung cancer and asbestos and mesothelioma provide two more recent examples. With the advent of toxicity testing guidelines and protocols, toxicology took on a role that was intended to anticipate or predict potential adverse effects in humans, and epidemiology, in many cases, served a role in verifying or negating these toxicological predictions. The coupled role of epidemiology and toxicology in discerning human health effects by environmental agents is obvious, but there is currently no systematic and transparent way to bring the data and analysis of the two disciplines together in a way that provides a unified view on an adverse causal relationship between an agent and a disease. In working to advance the interaction between the fields of toxicology and epidemiology, we propose here a five-step “Epid-Tox” process that would focus on: (1) collection of all relevant studies, (2) assessment of their quality, (3) evaluation of the weight of evidence, (4) assignment of a scalable conclusion, and (5) placement on a causal relationship grid. The causal relationship grid provides a clear view of how epidemiological and toxicological data intersect, permits straightforward conclusions with regard to a causal relationship between agent and effect, and can show how additional data can influence conclusions of causality. PMID:21561883

  16. A Study of Novice Instructors' Questioning Techniques and Classroom Discourse Surrounding Those Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roach, Kitty Lane

    2015-01-01

    The goals of this dissertation were to examine how novice calculus teachers used questions in their classrooms, how those questions and their use might change after video case-based course coordination, and what evidence of influence on student learning might be seen in undergraduate student achievement. This research focused on one way to elicit…

  17. A Comparison of Study Strategies for Passages: Rereading, Answering Questions, and Generating Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weinstein, Yana; McDermott, Kathleen B.; Roediger, Henry L., III

    2010-01-01

    Students are often encouraged to generate and answer their own questions on to-be-remembered material, because this interactive process is thought to enhance memory. But does this strategy actually work? In three experiments, all participants read the same passage, answered questions, and took a test to get accustomed to the materials in a…

  18. Automated Dental Epidemiology System. II. Systems Analysis and Functional Design,

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1983-08-01

    reduction of time and expense required for dental treatment and a minimization of patient time lost from military duties. Navy dentistry can thus be...regard, dental epidemiology can be especially valuable for evaluating and improving the Navy preventive dentistry program. It has been recommended that...processing applications to dentistry and dental epidemiology was performed. Alternative means to improve military dental epidemiology techniques and

  19. [Anthropology engaged against Ebola (2014-2016): approaches, contributions and new questions].

    PubMed

    Desclaux, Alice; Anoko, Julienne

    2017-10-02

    Anthropologists contributed to the response to the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in three ways : as Ebola experts, cultural mediators between populations and caregivers, and researchers. This article presents a preliminary review of approaches, contributions and related issues based on a literature review, case studies and debates. The anthropological research discussed in this article concerns four themes : epidemiological contexts of transmission ; cultural interpretation of illness and social responses ; social construction of stakeholders' experience ; critical analysis of public health interventions. In addition to insightful contributions, particularly regarding the socio-political contexts and their interfaces with global public health measures, anthropologists tested forms of communication to facilitate access of public health actors to their results. However, these heterogeneous forms of engagement raise a number of questions, especially when they reflect anthropological interpretations that exclude any critical or reflexive dimension, or when anthropology is considered to be similar to social intervention. Nevertheless, anthropological research provides a major contribution, which could be even greater if transnational networks set up by researchers to analyse the socio-political, economic and biocultural dimensions of emerging epidemics are supported in order to improve ?preparedness? for future health crises.

  20. Improving the Linkages between Air Pollution Epidemiology and Quantitative Risk Assessment

    PubMed Central

    Bell, Michelle L.; Walker, Katy; Hubbell, Bryan

    2011-01-01

    Background: Air pollution epidemiology plays an integral role in both identifying the hazards of air pollution as well as supplying the risk coefficients that are used in quantitative risk assessments. Evidence from both epidemiology and risk assessments has historically supported critical environmental policy decisions. The extent to which risk assessors can properly specify a quantitative risk assessment and characterize key sources of uncertainty depends in part on the availability, and clarity, of data and assumptions in the epidemiological studies. Objectives: We discuss the interests shared by air pollution epidemiology and risk assessment communities in ensuring that the findings of epidemiological studies are appropriately characterized and applied correctly in risk assessments. We highlight the key input parameters for risk assessments and consider how modest changes in the characterization of these data might enable more accurate risk assessments that better represent the findings of epidemiological studies. Discussion: We argue that more complete information regarding the methodological choices and input data used in epidemiological studies would support more accurate risk assessments—to the benefit of both disciplines. In particular, we suggest including additional details regarding air quality, demographic, and health data, as well as certain types of data-rich graphics. Conclusions: Relatively modest changes to the data reported in epidemiological studies will improve the quality of risk assessments and help prevent the misinterpretation and mischaracterization of the results of epidemiological studies. Such changes may also benefit epidemiologists undertaking meta-analyses. We suggest workshops as a way to improve the dialogue between the two communities. PMID:21816702