Valuing setting-based recreation for selected visitors to national forests in the southern United States

Treesearch

Kavita Sardana; John C. Bergstrom; J. M.  Bowker

2016-01-01

In this study we estimate selected visitors’ demand and value for recreational trips to settings such as developed vs. undeveloped sites in U.S. national forests in the Southern United States using the travel cost method. The setting-based approach allows for valuation of multi-activity trips to particular settings. The results from an adjusted Poisson lognormal...

GEE-based SNP set association test for continuous and discrete traits in family-based association studies.

PubMed

Wang, Xuefeng; Lee, Seunggeun; Zhu, Xiaofeng; Redline, Susan; Lin, Xihong

2013-12-01

Family-based genetic association studies of related individuals provide opportunities to detect genetic variants that complement studies of unrelated individuals. Most statistical methods for family association studies for common variants are single marker based, which test one SNP a time. In this paper, we consider testing the effect of an SNP set, e.g., SNPs in a gene, in family studies, for both continuous and discrete traits. Specifically, we propose a generalized estimating equations (GEEs) based kernel association test, a variance component based testing method, to test for the association between a phenotype and multiple variants in an SNP set jointly using family samples. The proposed approach allows for both continuous and discrete traits, where the correlation among family members is taken into account through the use of an empirical covariance estimator. We derive the theoretical distribution of the proposed statistic under the null and develop analytical methods to calculate the P-values. We also propose an efficient resampling method for correcting for small sample size bias in family studies. The proposed method allows for easily incorporating covariates and SNP-SNP interactions. Simulation studies show that the proposed method properly controls for type I error rates under both random and ascertained sampling schemes in family studies. We demonstrate through simulation studies that our approach has superior performance for association mapping compared to the single marker based minimum P-value GEE test for an SNP-set effect over a range of scenarios. We illustrate the application of the proposed method using data from the Cleveland Family GWAS Study. © 2013 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.

Impact of Implementing a Wiki to Develop Structured Electronic Order Sets on Physicians' Intention to Use Wiki-Based Order Sets

PubMed Central

Beaupré, Pierre; Bégin, Laura; Dupuis, Audrey; Côté, Mario; Légaré, France

2016-01-01

Background Wikis have the potential to promote best practices in health systems by sharing order sets with a broad community of stakeholders. However, little is known about the impact of using a wiki on clinicians’ intention to use wiki-based order sets. Objective The aims of this study were: (1) to describe the use of a wiki to create structured order sets for a single emergency department; (2) to evaluate whether the use of this wiki changed emergency physicians’ future intention to use wiki-based order sets; and (3) to understand the impact of using the wiki on the behavioral determinants for using wiki-based order sets. Methods This was a pre/post-intervention mixed-methods study conducted in one hospital in Lévis, Quebec. The intervention was comprised of receiving access to and being motivated by the department head to use a wiki for 6 months to create electronic order sets designed to be used in a computer physician order entry system. Before and after our intervention, we asked participants to complete a previously validated questionnaire based on the Theory of Planned Behavior. Our primary outcome was the intention to use wiki-based order sets in clinical practice. We also assessed participants’ attitude, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norm to use wiki-based order sets. Paired pre- and post-Likert scores were compared using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. The post-questionnaire also included open-ended questions concerning participants’ comments about the wiki, which were then classified into themes using an existing taxonomy. Results Twenty-eight emergency physicians were enrolled in the study (response rate: 100%). Physicians’ mean intention to use a wiki-based reminder was 5.42 (SD 1.04) before the intervention, and increased to 5.81 (SD 1.25) on a 7-point Likert scale (P=.03) after the intervention. Participants’ attitude towards using a wiki-based order set also increased from 5.07 (SD 0.90) to 5.57 (SD 0.88) (P=.003). Perceived behavioral control and subjective norm did not change. Easier information sharing was the most frequently positive impact raised. In order of frequency, the three most important facilitators reported were: ease of use, support from colleagues, and promotion by the departmental head. Although participants did not mention any perceived negative impacts, they raised the following barriers in order of frequency: poor organization of information, slow computers, and difficult wiki access. Conclusions Emergency physicians’ intention and attitude to use wiki-based order sets increased after having access to and being motivated to use a wiki for 6 months. Future studies need to explore if this increased intention will translate into sustained actual use and improve patient care. Certain barriers need to be addressed before implementing a wiki for use on a larger scale. PMID:27189046

Exploring the Effects of Cultural Variables in the Implementation of Behavior-Based Safety in Two Organizations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bumstead, Alaina; Boyce, Thomas E.

2005-01-01

The present case study examines how culture can influence behavior-based safety in different organizational settings and how behavior-based safety can impact different organizational cultures. Behavior-based safety processes implemented in two culturally diverse work settings are described. Specifically, despite identical implementation plans,…

Conceptual design studies for surface infrastructure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bufkin, Ann L.; Jones, William R., II

1986-01-01

The utimate design of a manned Mars base will be the result of considerable engineering analysis and many trade studies to optimize the configuration. Many options and scenarios are available and all need to be considered at this time. Initial base elements, two base configuration concepts, internal space architectural concerns, and two base set-up scenarios are discussed. There are many variables as well as many unknowns to be reckoned with before people set foot on the red planet.

The frequency of outdoor play for preschool age children cared for at home-based child care settings.

PubMed

Tandon, Pooja S; Zhou, Chuan; Christakis, Dimitri A

2012-01-01

Given that more than 34% of U.S. children are cared for in home-based child care settings and outdoor play is associated with physical activity and other health benefits, we sought to characterize the outdoor play frequency of preschoolers cared for at home-based child care settings and factors associated with outdoor play. Cross-sectional study of 1900 preschoolers (representing approximately 862,800 children) cared for in home-based child care settings (including relative and nonrelative care) using the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort. Only 50% of home-based child care providers reported taking the child outside to walk or play at least once/day. More than one-third of all children did not go outside to play daily with either their parent(s) or home-based child care provider. There were increased odds of going outside daily for children cared for by nonrelatives in the child's home compared with care from a relative. Children with ≥3 regular playmates had greater odds of being taken outdoors by either the parents or child care provider. We did not find statistically significant associations between other child level (age, sex, screen-time), family level (highest education in household, mother's race, employment, exercise frequency), and child care level (hours in care, provider's educational attainment, perception of neighborhood safety) factors and frequency of outdoor play. At a national level, the frequency of outdoor play for preschoolers cared for in home-based child care settings is suboptimal. Further study and efforts to increase outdoor playtime for children in home-based child care settings are needed. Copyright © 2012 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Objective Borderline Method: A Probabilistic Method for Standard Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shulruf, Boaz; Poole, Phillippa; Jones, Philip; Wilkinson, Tim

2015-01-01

A new probability-based standard setting technique, the Objective Borderline Method (OBM), was introduced recently. This was based on a mathematical model of how test scores relate to student ability. The present study refined the model and tested it using 2500 simulated data-sets. The OBM was feasible to use. On average, the OBM performed well…

Personality Traits and Performance in Online Game-Based Learning: Collaborative versus Individual Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lara, Miguel Angel

2013-01-01

Extant research indicates that, in face-to-face settings, cooperative learning and game-based learning strategies can be effective. However, in online settings (e.g., in distance education), there is a paucity of research in this area. This study was designed to investigate performance and attitudes of university students who played an educational…

Large-Scale Constraint-Based Pattern Mining

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhu, Feida

2009-01-01

We studied the problem of constraint-based pattern mining for three different data formats, item-set, sequence and graph, and focused on mining patterns of large sizes. Colossal patterns in each data formats are studied to discover pruning properties that are useful for direct mining of these patterns. For item-set data, we observed robustness of…

Precision assessment of model-based RSA for a total knee prosthesis in a biplanar set-up.

PubMed

Trozzi, C; Kaptein, B L; Garling, E H; Shelyakova, T; Russo, A; Bragonzoni, L; Martelli, S

2008-10-01

Model-based Roentgen Stereophotogrammetric Analysis (RSA) was recently developed for the measurement of prosthesis micromotion. Its main advantage is that markers do not need to be attached to the implants as traditional marker-based RSA requires. Model-based RSA has only been tested in uniplanar radiographic set-ups. A biplanar set-up would theoretically facilitate the pose estimation algorithm, since radiographic projections would show more different shape features of the implants than in uniplanar images. We tested the precision of model-based RSA and compared it with that of the traditional marker-based method in a biplanar set-up. Micromotions of both tibial and femoral components were measured with both the techniques from double examinations of patients participating in a clinical study. The results showed that in the biplanar set-up model-based RSA presents a homogeneous distribution of precision for all the translation directions, but an inhomogeneous error for rotations, especially internal-external rotation presented higher errors than rotations about the transverse and sagittal axes. Model-based RSA was less precise than the marker-based method, although the differences were not significant for the translations and rotations of the tibial component, with the exception of the internal-external rotations. For both prosthesis components the precisions of model-based RSA were below 0.2 mm for all the translations, and below 0.3 degrees for rotations about transverse and sagittal axes. These values are still acceptable for clinical studies aimed at evaluating total knee prosthesis micromotion. In a biplanar set-up model-based RSA is a valid alternative to traditional marker-based RSA where marking of the prosthesis is an enormous disadvantage.

Does rational selection of training and test sets improve the outcome of QSAR modeling?

PubMed

Martin, Todd M; Harten, Paul; Young, Douglas M; Muratov, Eugene N; Golbraikh, Alexander; Zhu, Hao; Tropsha, Alexander

2012-10-22

Prior to using a quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) model for external predictions, its predictive power should be established and validated. In the absence of a true external data set, the best way to validate the predictive ability of a model is to perform its statistical external validation. In statistical external validation, the overall data set is divided into training and test sets. Commonly, this splitting is performed using random division. Rational splitting methods can divide data sets into training and test sets in an intelligent fashion. The purpose of this study was to determine whether rational division methods lead to more predictive models compared to random division. A special data splitting procedure was used to facilitate the comparison between random and rational division methods. For each toxicity end point, the overall data set was divided into a modeling set (80% of the overall set) and an external evaluation set (20% of the overall set) using random division. The modeling set was then subdivided into a training set (80% of the modeling set) and a test set (20% of the modeling set) using rational division methods and by using random division. The Kennard-Stone, minimal test set dissimilarity, and sphere exclusion algorithms were used as the rational division methods. The hierarchical clustering, random forest, and k-nearest neighbor (kNN) methods were used to develop QSAR models based on the training sets. For kNN QSAR, multiple training and test sets were generated, and multiple QSAR models were built. The results of this study indicate that models based on rational division methods generate better statistical results for the test sets than models based on random division, but the predictive power of both types of models are comparable.

Assessing quality of life in a clinical study on heart rehabilitation patients: how well do value sets based on given or experienced health states reflect patients' valuations?

PubMed

Leidl, Reiner; Schweikert, Bernd; Hahmann, Harry; Steinacker, Juergen M; Reitmeir, Peter

2016-03-22

Quality of life as an endpoint in a clinical study may be sensitive to the value set used to derive a single score. Focusing on patients' actual valuations in a clinical study, we compare different value sets for the EQ-5D-3L and assess how well they reproduce patients' reported results. A clinical study comparing inpatient (n = 98) and outpatient (n = 47) rehabilitation of patients after an acute coronary event is re-analyzed. Value sets include: 1. Given health states and time-trade-off valuation (GHS-TTO) rendering economic utilities; 2. Experienced health states and valuation by visual analog scale (EHS-VAS). Valuations are compared with patient-reported VAS rating. Accuracy is assessed by mean absolute error (MAE) and by Pearson's correlation ρ. External validity is tested by correlation with established MacNew global scores. Drivers of differences between value sets and VAS are analyzed using repeated measures regression. EHS-VAS had smaller MAEs and higher ρ in all patients and in the inpatient group, and correlated best with MacNew global score. Quality-adjusted survival was more accurately reflected by EHS-VAS. Younger, better educated patients reported lower VAS at admission than the EHS-based value set. EHS-based estimates were mostly able to reproduce patient-reported valuation. Economic utility measurement is conceptually different, produced results less strongly related to patients' reports, and resulted in about 20 % longer quality-adjusted survival. Decision makers should take into account the impact of choosing value sets on effectiveness results. For transferring the results of heart rehabilitation patients from another country or from another valuation method, the EHS-based value set offers a promising estimation option for those decision makers who prioritize patient-reported valuation. Yet, EHS-based estimates may not fully reflect patient-reported VAS in all situations.

Systematic Review of Community-Based Childhood Obesity Prevention Studies

PubMed Central

Segal, Jodi; Wu, Yang; Wilson, Renee; Wang, Youfa

2013-01-01

OBJECTIVE: This study systematically reviewed community-based childhood obesity prevention programs in the United States and high-income countries. METHODS: We searched Medline, Embase, PsychInfo, CINAHL, clinicaltrials.gov, and the Cochrane Library for relevant English-language studies. Studies were eligible if the intervention was primarily implemented in the community setting; had at least 1 year of follow-up after baseline; and compared results from an intervention to a comparison group. Two independent reviewers conducted title scans and abstract reviews and reviewed the full articles to assess eligibility. Each article received a double review for data abstraction. The second reviewer confirmed the first reviewer’s data abstraction for completeness and accuracy. RESULTS: Nine community-based studies were included; 5 randomized controlled trials and 4 non–randomized controlled trials. One study was conducted only in the community setting, 3 were conducted in the community and school setting, and 5 were conducted in the community setting in combination with at least 1 other setting such as the home. Desirable changes in BMI or BMI z-score were found in 4 of the 9 studies. Two studies reported significant improvements in behavioral outcomes (1 in physical activity and 1 in vegetable intake). CONCLUSIONS: The strength of evidence is moderate that a combined diet and physical activity intervention conducted in the community with a school component is more effective at preventing obesity or overweight. More research and consistent methods are needed to understand the comparative effectiveness of childhood obesity prevention programs in the community setting. PMID:23753099

[Effectiveness of a self-management program using goal setting based on a G-AP for patients after a stroke].

PubMed

Park, Min Gyeong; Ha, Yeongmi

2014-10-01

This study was conducted to develop a self-management program using goal setting for patients after a stroke. The program was based on a theory-based Goal setting and Action Planning framework (G-AP), and the effectiveness of the program was examined. A non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used. The experimental group (n=30) received the self-management program using goal setting based on the G-AP over 7 weeks. The education was delivered individually with a specifically designed stroke workbook. The control group (n=30) received only patient information leaflets about stroke. There were significant differences between the two groups. Stroke knowledge, self-efficacy, and health behavior compliance were significantly higher (all p<.001), and hospital anxiety (p<.001) and depression (p<.001) were significantly lower in the experimental group compared to the control group. This self-management program using goal setting based on a G-AP was found to be useful and beneficial for patients in stroke rehabilitation settings.

Parental Perceptions of Child Care Quality in Centre-Based and Home-Based Settings: Associations with External Quality Ratings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lehrer, Joanne S.; Lemay, Lise; Bigras, Nathalie

2015-01-01

The current study examined how parental perceptions of child care quality were related to external quality ratings and considered how parental perceptions of quality varied according to child care context (home-based or centre-based settings). Parents of 179 4-year-old children who attended child care centres (n = 141) and home-based settings…

Population-Based Preference Weights for the EQ-5D Health States Using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) in Iran.

PubMed

Goudarzi, Reza; Zeraati, Hojjat; Akbari Sari, Ali; Rashidian, Arash; Mohammad, Kazem

2016-02-01

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is used as a measure to valuate healthcare interventions and guide policy making. The EuroQol EQ-5D is a widely used generic preference-based instrument to measure Health-related quality of life. The objective of this study was to develop a value set of the EQ-5D health states for an Iranian population. This study is a cross-sectional study of Iranian populations. Our sample from Iranian populations consists out of 869 participants, who were selected for this study using a stratified probability sampling method. The sample was taken from individuals living in the city of Tehran and was stratified by age and gender from July to November 2013. Respondents valued 13 health states using the visual analogue scale (VAS) of the EQ-5D. Several fixed effects regression models were tested to predict the full set of health states. We selected the final model based on the logical consistency of the estimates, the sign and magnitude of the regression coefficients, goodness of fit, and parsimony. We also compared predicted values with a value set from similar studies in the UK and other countries. Our results show that the HRQoL does not vary among socioeconomic groups. Models at the individual level resulted in an additive model with all coefficients being statistically significant, R(2) = 0.55, a value of 0.75 for the best health state (11112), and a value of -0.074 for the worst health state (33333). The value set obtained for the study sample remarkably differs from those elicited in developed countries. This study is the first estimate for the EQ-5D value set based on the VAS in Iran. Given the importance of locally adapted value set the use of this value set can be recommended for future studies in Iran and In the EMRO regions.

Eight-step method to build the clinical content of an evidence-based care pathway: the case for COPD exacerbation

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Optimization of the clinical care process by integration of evidence-based knowledge is one of the active components in care pathways. When studying the impact of a care pathway by using a cluster-randomized design, standardization of the care pathway intervention is crucial. This methodology paper describes the development of the clinical content of an evidence-based care pathway for in-hospital management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation in the context of a cluster-randomized controlled trial (cRCT) on care pathway effectiveness. Methods The clinical content of a care pathway for COPD exacerbation was developed based on recognized process design and guideline development methods. Subsequently, based on the COPD case study, a generalized eight-step method was designed to support the development of the clinical content of an evidence-based care pathway. Results A set of 38 evidence-based key interventions and a set of 24 process and 15 outcome indicators were developed in eight different steps. Nine Belgian multidisciplinary teams piloted both the set of key interventions and indicators. The key intervention set was judged by the teams as being valid and clinically applicable. In addition, the pilot study showed that the indicators were feasible for the involved clinicians and patients. Conclusions The set of 38 key interventions and the set of process and outcome indicators were found to be appropriate for the development and standardization of the clinical content of the COPD care pathway in the context of a cRCT on pathway effectiveness. The developed eight-step method may facilitate multidisciplinary teams caring for other patient populations in designing the clinical content of their future care pathways. PMID:23190552

A systematic review of team-building interventions in non-acute healthcare settings.

PubMed

Miller, Christopher J; Kim, Bo; Silverman, Allie; Bauer, Mark S

2018-03-01

Healthcare is increasingly delivered in a team-based format emphasizing interdisciplinary coordination. While recent reviews have investigated team-building interventions primarily in acute healthcare settings (e.g. emergency or surgery departments), we aimed to systematically review the evidence base for team-building interventions in non-acute settings (e.g. primary care or rehabilitation clinics). We conducted a systematic review in PubMed and Embase to identify team-building interventions, and conducted follow-up literature searches to identify articles describing empirical studies of those interventions. This process identified 14 team-building interventions for non-acute healthcare settings, and 25 manuscripts describing empirical studies of these interventions. We evaluated outcomes in four domains: trainee evaluations, teamwork attitudes/knowledge, team functioning, and patient impact. Trainee evaluations for team-building interventions were generally positive, but only one study associated team-building with statistically significant improvement in teamwork attitudes/knowledge. Similarly mixed results emerged for team functioning and patient impact. The evidence base for healthcare team-building interventions in non-acute healthcare settings is much less developed than the parallel literature for short-term team function in acute care settings. Only one intervention we identified has been tested in multiple non-acute settings by distinct research teams. Positive findings regarding the utility of team-building interventions are tempered by a lack of control conditions, inconsistency in outcome measures, and high probability of bias. Considering these results alongside the well-recognized costs of poor healthcare teamwork suggests that additional research is sorely needed to develop the evidence base for team-building in non-acute settings.

Effect of environmental exposure to hydrogen sulfide on central nervous system and respiratory function: a systematic review of human studies

PubMed Central

Lim, Eunjung; Mbowe, Omar; Lee, Angela S. W.; Davis, James

2016-01-01

Background Assessment of the health effects of low-level exposure to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) on humans through experiments, industrial, and community studies has shown inconsistent results. Objective To critically appraise available studies investigating the effect of H2S on the central nervous system (CNS) and on respiratory function. Methods A search was conducted in 16 databases for articles published between January 1980 and July 2014. Two researchers independently evaluated potentially relevant papers based on a set of inclusion/exclusion criteria. Results Twenty-seven articles met the inclusion criteria: 6 experimental, 12 industry-based studies, and 10 community-based studies (one article included both experimental and industry-based studies). The results of the systematic review varied by study setting and quality. Several community-based studies reported associations between day-to-day variations in H2S levels and health outcomes among patients with chronic respiratory conditions. However, evidence from the largest and better-designed community-based studies did not support that chronic, ambient H2S exposure has health effects on the CNS or respiratory function. Results from industry-based studies varied, reflecting the diversity of settings and the broad range of H2S exposures. Most studies did not have individual measurements of H2S exposure. Discussion The results across studies were inconsistent, justifying the need for further research. PMID:27128692

Effect of environmental exposure to hydrogen sulfide on central nervous system and respiratory function: a systematic review of human studies.

PubMed

Lim, Eunjung; Mbowe, Omar; Lee, Angela S W; Davis, James

2016-01-01

Assessment of the health effects of low-level exposure to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) on humans through experiments, industrial, and community studies has shown inconsistent results. To critically appraise available studies investigating the effect of H2S on the central nervous system (CNS) and on respiratory function. A search was conducted in 16 databases for articles published between January 1980 and July 2014. Two researchers independently evaluated potentially relevant papers based on a set of inclusion/exclusion criteria. Twenty-seven articles met the inclusion criteria: 6 experimental, 12 industry-based studies, and 10 community-based studies (one article included both experimental and industry-based studies). The results of the systematic review varied by study setting and quality. Several community-based studies reported associations between day-to-day variations in H2S levels and health outcomes among patients with chronic respiratory conditions. However, evidence from the largest and better-designed community-based studies did not support that chronic, ambient H2S exposure has health effects on the CNS or respiratory function. Results from industry-based studies varied, reflecting the diversity of settings and the broad range of H2S exposures. Most studies did not have individual measurements of H2S exposure. The results across studies were inconsistent, justifying the need for further research.

On twelve types of covering-based rough sets.

PubMed

Safari, Samira; Hooshmandasl, Mohammad Reza

2016-01-01

Covering approximation spaces are a generalization of equivalence-based rough set theories. In this paper, we will consider twelve types of covering based approximation operators by combining four types of covering lower approximation operators and three types of covering upper approximation operators. Then, we will study the properties of these new pairs and show they have most of the common properties among existing covering approximation pairs. Finally, the relation between these new pairs is studied.

A comparison of three methods of setting prescribing budgets, using data derived from defined daily dose analyses of historic patterns of use.

PubMed Central

Maxwell, M; Howie, J G; Pryde, C J

1998-01-01

BACKGROUND: Prescribing matters (particularly budget setting and research into prescribing variation between doctors) have been handicapped by the absence of credible measures of the volume of drugs prescribed. AIM: To use the defined daily dose (DDD) method to study variation in the volume and cost of drugs prescribed across the seven main British National Formulary (BNF) chapters with a view to comparing different methods of setting prescribing budgets. METHOD: Study of one year of prescribing statistics from all 129 general practices in Lothian, covering 808,059 patients: analyses of prescribing statistics for 1995 to define volume and cost/volume of prescribing for one year for 10 groups of practices defined by the age and deprivation status of their patients, for seven BNF chapters; creation of prescribing budgets for 1996 for each individual practice based on the use of target volume and cost statistics; comparison of 1996 DDD-based budgets with those set using the conventional historical approach; and comparison of DDD-based budgets with budgets set using a capitation-based formula derived from local cost/patient information. RESULTS: The volume of drugs prescribed was affected by the age structure of the practices in BNF Chapters 1 (gastrointestinal), 2 (cardiovascular), and 6 (endocrine), and by deprivation structure for BNF Chapters 3 (respiratory) and 4 (central nervous system). Costs per DDD in the major BNF chapters were largely independent of age, deprivation structure, or fundholding status. Capitation and DDD-based budgets were similar to each other, but both differed substantially from historic budgets. One practice in seven gained or lost more than 100,000 Pounds per annum using DDD or capitation budgets compared with historic budgets. The DDD-based budget, but not the capitation-based budget, can be used to set volume-specific prescribing targets. CONCLUSIONS: DDD-based and capitation-based prescribing budgets can be set using a simple explanatory model and generalizable methods. In this study, both differed substantially from historic budgets. DDD budgets could be created to accommodate new prescribing strategies and raised or lowered to reflect local intentions to alter overall prescribing volume or cost targets. We recommend that future work on setting budgets and researching prescribing variations should be based on DDD statistics. PMID:10024703

Understanding Patient Experience Using Internet-based Email Surveys: A Feasibility Study at Mount Sinai Hospital.

PubMed

Morgan, Matthew; Lau, Davina; Jivraj, Tanaz; Principi, Tania; Dietrich, Sandra; Bell, Chaim M

2015-01-01

Email is becoming a widely accepted communication tool in healthcare settings. This study sought to test the feasibility of Internet-based email surveys of patient experience in the ambulatory setting. We conducted a study of email Internet-based surveys sent to patients in selected ambulatory clinics at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada. Our findings suggest that email links to Internet surveys are a feasible, timely and efficient method to solicit patient feedback about their experience. Further research is required to optimally leverage Internet-based email surveys as a tool to better understand the patient experience.

A comparison of the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of nitroglycerin according to the composition of the administration set: A preliminary study.

PubMed

Kim, Choon Ok; Song, Jeongyun; Min, Ji Young; Park, Su Jung; Lee, Hye Mi; Byon, Hyo-Jin

2018-03-01

There is a risk of drug sorption into an intravenous administration set composed of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane (PU), or polyolefin (PO). This has implications on the dose of the active ingredient the patient receives, and thus therapeutic success. This study aimed to determine the plasma concentration of nitroglycerin and the effect of nitroglycerin on patients based on the composition of the administration set. Using a randomized, open-labeled, 3 × 3 crossover method, 9 volunteers were assigned to 3 groups. In period I, nitroglycerin (100 μg/mL) was infused via a PVC- (group A), PU- (group B), or PO-based (group C) administration set. In period II, PU- (group A), PO- (group B), and PVC-based (group C) administration sets were used, and in period III, PO- (group A), PVC- (group B), and PU-based (group C) administration sets were used. The rate of drug administration in all periods was 12 mL/hour for 30 minutes using an infusion pump. Blood samples were collected, and the plasma concentrations of nitroglycerin were analyzed using validated high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Blood pressure was determined using a sphygmomanometer applied to the other upper arm at an interval of 5 minutes. We observed that the mean plasma concentration of nitroglycerin over time when administered using a PO-based tube was higher than that when using a PU- or PVC-based tube. When the percent change of the mean arterial pressure from baseline at each time point was compared among groups, there were statistically significant differences between PU and PO or PVC at most points during nitroglycerin infusion. Our results showed higher nitroglycerin plasma concentration and lower arterial pressure when a PO-based administration set was used than when a PVC- or PU-based administration set was used. PO-based administration sets may be more appropriate for nitroglycerin administration compared to those composed of PVC or PU.

Reaching the end of the line: Operational issues with implementing phone-based unannounced pill counts in resource-limited settings.

PubMed

Hirsch-Moverman, Yael; Burkot, Camilla; Saito, Suzue; Frederix, Koen; Pitt, Blanche; Melaku, Zenebe; Gadisa, Tsigereda; Howard, Andrea A

2017-01-01

Accurate measurement of adherence is necessary to ensure that therapeutic outcomes can be attributed to the recommended treatment. Phone-based unannounced pill counts were shown to be feasible and reliable measures of adherence in developed settings; and have been further used as part of medication adherence interventions. However, it is not clear whether this method can be implemented successfully in resource-limited settings, where cellular network and mobile phone coverage may be low. Our objective is to describe operational issues surrounding the use of phone-based unannounced pill counts in Lesotho and Ethiopia. Phone-based monthly unannounced pill counts, using an adaptation of a standardized protocol from previous US-based studies, were utilized to measure anti-TB and antiretroviral medication adherence in two implementation science studies in resource-limited settings, START (Lesotho) and ENRICH (Ethiopia). In START, 19.6% of calls were completed, with 71.9% of participants reached at least once; majority of failed call attempts were due to phones not being available (54.8%) or because participants were away from the pills (32.7%). In ENRICH, 33.5% of calls were completed, with 86.7% of participants reached at least once; the main reasons for failed call attempts were phones being switched off (31.5%), participants not answering (27.3%), participants' discomfort speaking on the phone (15.4%), and network problems (13.2%). Structural, facility-level, participant-level, and data collection challenges were encountered in these settings. Phone-based unannounced pill counts were found to be challenging, and response rates suboptimal. While some of these challenges were specific to local contexts, most of them are generalizable to resource-limited settings. In a research study context, a possible solution to ease operational challenges may be to focus phone-based unannounced pill count efforts on a randomly selected sample from participants who are provided with study phones and rigorously ensure that call attempts are made for these participants.

Wearable accelerometry-based technology capable of assessing functional activities in neurological populations in community settings: a systematic review

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Integrating rehabilitation services through wearable systems has the potential to accurately assess the type, intensity, duration, and quality of movement necessary for procuring key outcome measures. Objectives This review aims to explore wearable accelerometry-based technology (ABT) capable of assessing mobility-related functional activities intended for rehabilitation purposes in community settings for neurological populations. In this review, we focus on the accuracy of ABT-based methods, types of outcome measures, and the implementation of ABT in non-clinical settings for rehabilitation purposes. Data sources Cochrane, PubMed, Web of Knowledge, EMBASE, and IEEE Xplore. The search strategy covered three main areas, namely wearable technology, rehabilitation, and setting. Study selection Potentially relevant studies were categorized as systems either evaluating methods or outcome parameters. Methods Methodological qualities of studies were assessed by two customized checklists, depending on their categorization and rated independently by three blinded reviewers. Results Twelve studies involving ABT met the eligibility criteria, of which three studies were identified as having implemented ABT for rehabilitation purposes in non-clinical settings. From the twelve studies, seven studies achieved high methodological quality scores. These studies were not only capable of assessing the type, quantity, and quality measures of functional activities, but could also distinguish healthy from non-healthy subjects and/or address disease severity levels. Conclusion While many studies support ABT’s potential for telerehabilitation, few actually utilized it to assess mobility-related functional activities outside laboratory settings. To generate more appropriate outcome measures, there is a clear need to translate research findings and novel methods into practice. PMID:24625308

A New 3D Object Pose Detection Method Using LIDAR Shape Set

PubMed Central

Kim, Jung-Un

2018-01-01

In object detection systems for autonomous driving, LIDAR sensors provide very useful information. However, problems occur because the object representation is greatly distorted by changes in distance. To solve this problem, we propose a LIDAR shape set that reconstructs the shape surrounding the object more clearly by using the LIDAR point information projected on the object. The LIDAR shape set restores object shape edges from a bird’s eye view by filtering LIDAR points projected on a 2D pixel-based front view. In this study, we use this shape set for two purposes. The first is to supplement the shape set with a LIDAR Feature map, and the second is to divide the entire shape set according to the gradient of the depth and density to create a 2D and 3D bounding box proposal for each object. We present a multimodal fusion framework that classifies objects and restores the 3D pose of each object using enhanced feature maps and shape-based proposals. The network structure consists of a VGG -based object classifier that receives multiple inputs and a LIDAR-based Region Proposal Networks (RPN) that identifies object poses. It works in a very intuitive and efficient manner and can be extended to other classes other than vehicles. Our research has outperformed object classification accuracy (Average Precision, AP) and 3D pose restoration accuracy (3D bounding box recall rate) based on the latest studies conducted with KITTI data sets. PMID:29547551

A New 3D Object Pose Detection Method Using LIDAR Shape Set.

PubMed

Kim, Jung-Un; Kang, Hang-Bong

2018-03-16

In object detection systems for autonomous driving, LIDAR sensors provide very useful information. However, problems occur because the object representation is greatly distorted by changes in distance. To solve this problem, we propose a LIDAR shape set that reconstructs the shape surrounding the object more clearly by using the LIDAR point information projected on the object. The LIDAR shape set restores object shape edges from a bird's eye view by filtering LIDAR points projected on a 2D pixel-based front view. In this study, we use this shape set for two purposes. The first is to supplement the shape set with a LIDAR Feature map, and the second is to divide the entire shape set according to the gradient of the depth and density to create a 2D and 3D bounding box proposal for each object. We present a multimodal fusion framework that classifies objects and restores the 3D pose of each object using enhanced feature maps and shape-based proposals. The network structure consists of a VGG -based object classifier that receives multiple inputs and a LIDAR-based Region Proposal Networks (RPN) that identifies object poses. It works in a very intuitive and efficient manner and can be extended to other classes other than vehicles. Our research has outperformed object classification accuracy (Average Precision, AP) and 3D pose restoration accuracy (3D bounding box recall rate) based on the latest studies conducted with KITTI data sets.

OPATs: Omnibus P-value association tests.

PubMed

Chen, Chia-Wei; Yang, Hsin-Chou

2017-07-10

Combining statistical significances (P-values) from a set of single-locus association tests in genome-wide association studies is a proof-of-principle method for identifying disease-associated genomic segments, functional genes and biological pathways. We review P-value combinations for genome-wide association studies and introduce an integrated analysis tool, Omnibus P-value Association Tests (OPATs), which provides popular analysis methods of P-value combinations. The software OPATs programmed in R and R graphical user interface features a user-friendly interface. In addition to analysis modules for data quality control and single-locus association tests, OPATs provides three types of set-based association test: window-, gene- and biopathway-based association tests. P-value combinations with or without threshold and rank truncation are provided. The significance of a set-based association test is evaluated by using resampling procedures. Performance of the set-based association tests in OPATs has been evaluated by simulation studies and real data analyses. These set-based association tests help boost the statistical power, alleviate the multiple-testing problem, reduce the impact of genetic heterogeneity, increase the replication efficiency of association tests and facilitate the interpretation of association signals by streamlining the testing procedures and integrating the genetic effects of multiple variants in genomic regions of biological relevance. In summary, P-value combinations facilitate the identification of marker sets associated with disease susceptibility and uncover missing heritability in association studies, thereby establishing a foundation for the genetic dissection of complex diseases and traits. OPATs provides an easy-to-use and statistically powerful analysis tool for P-value combinations. OPATs, examples, and user guide can be downloaded from http://www.stat.sinica.edu.tw/hsinchou/genetics/association/OPATs.htm. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

Random forests-based differential analysis of gene sets for gene expression data.

PubMed

Hsueh, Huey-Miin; Zhou, Da-Wei; Tsai, Chen-An

2013-04-10

In DNA microarray studies, gene-set analysis (GSA) has become the focus of gene expression data analysis. GSA utilizes the gene expression profiles of functionally related gene sets in Gene Ontology (GO) categories or priori-defined biological classes to assess the significance of gene sets associated with clinical outcomes or phenotypes. Many statistical approaches have been proposed to determine whether such functionally related gene sets express differentially (enrichment and/or deletion) in variations of phenotypes. However, little attention has been given to the discriminatory power of gene sets and classification of patients. In this study, we propose a method of gene set analysis, in which gene sets are used to develop classifications of patients based on the Random Forest (RF) algorithm. The corresponding empirical p-value of an observed out-of-bag (OOB) error rate of the classifier is introduced to identify differentially expressed gene sets using an adequate resampling method. In addition, we discuss the impacts and correlations of genes within each gene set based on the measures of variable importance in the RF algorithm. Significant classifications are reported and visualized together with the underlying gene sets and their contribution to the phenotypes of interest. Numerical studies using both synthesized data and a series of publicly available gene expression data sets are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed methods. Compared with other hypothesis testing approaches, our proposed methods are reliable and successful in identifying enriched gene sets and in discovering the contributions of genes within a gene set. The classification results of identified gene sets can provide an valuable alternative to gene set testing to reveal the unknown, biologically relevant classes of samples or patients. In summary, our proposed method allows one to simultaneously assess the discriminatory ability of gene sets and the importance of genes for interpretation of data in complex biological systems. The classifications of biologically defined gene sets can reveal the underlying interactions of gene sets associated with the phenotypes, and provide an insightful complement to conventional gene set analyses. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Staff Stress and Morale in Community-Based Settings for People with Intellectual Disabilities and Challenging Behaviour: A Brief Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robertson, Janet; Hatton, Chris; Felce, David; Meek, Andrea; Carr, Deborah; Knapp, Martin; Hallam, Angela; Emerson, Eric; Pinkney, Lisa; Caesar, Emma; Lowe, Kathy

2005-01-01

Background: There are no studies that have compared outcomes for staff in different types of supported accommodation for people with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour. This study looked at stress, morale and intended job turnover in staff in two types of community-based residential supports: non-congregate settings where the…

Prioritizing the 21st Century Superintendent's Skill Set and Knowledge Base from the School Board Leadership Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaw, Teri L.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify the extent that specific research based skill sets and areas of knowledge emerged as highly important, moderately important, and less important from the perspective of school board leadership as it pertains to 21st century superintendents. The study further disaggregated the data by specific school…

Naturally-Emerging Technology-Based Leadership Roles in Three Independent Schools: A Social Network-Based Case Study Using Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Velastegui, Pamela J.

2013-01-01

This hypothesis-generating case study investigates the naturally emerging roles of technology brokers and technology leaders in three independent schools in New York involving 92 school educators. A multiple and mixed method design utilizing Social Network Analysis (SNA) and fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (FSQCA) involved gathering…

An Evaluation of a Peer-Based HIV/AIDS Education Program as Implemented in a Suburban High School Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cole, Brian P.; Nelson, Timothy D.; Steele, Ric G.

2008-01-01

This study presents the results of an evaluation of a peer-based HIV/AIDS education program, the BASE program, as implemented in a suburban high school setting. The participants were 132 high school students who participated in an "AIDS Awareness Day" as a part of the BASE program in their high school. Each student completed preintervention and…

Boosting standard order sets utilization through clinical decision support.

PubMed

Li, Haomin; Zhang, Yinsheng; Cheng, Haixia; Lu, Xudong; Duan, Huilong

2013-01-01

Well-designed standard order sets have the potential to integrate and coordinate care by communicating best practices through multiple disciplines, levels of care, and services. However, there are several challenges which certainly affected the benefits expected from standard order sets. To boost standard order sets utilization, a problem-oriented knowledge delivery solution was proposed in this study to facilitate access of standard order sets and evaluation of its treatment effect. In this solution, standard order sets were created along with diagnostic rule sets which can trigger a CDS-based reminder to help clinician quickly discovery hidden clinical problems and corresponding standard order sets during ordering. Those rule set also provide indicators for targeted evaluation of standard order sets during treatment. A prototype system was developed based on this solution and will be presented at Medinfo 2013.

Wearable accelerometry-based technology capable of assessing functional activities in neurological populations in community settings: a systematic review.

PubMed

Steins, Dax; Dawes, Helen; Esser, Patrick; Collett, Johnny

2014-03-13

Integrating rehabilitation services through wearable systems has the potential to accurately assess the type, intensity, duration, and quality of movement necessary for procuring key outcome measures. This review aims to explore wearable accelerometry-based technology (ABT) capable of assessing mobility-related functional activities intended for rehabilitation purposes in community settings for neurological populations. In this review, we focus on the accuracy of ABT-based methods, types of outcome measures, and the implementation of ABT in non-clinical settings for rehabilitation purposes. Cochrane, PubMed, Web of Knowledge, EMBASE, and IEEE Xplore. The search strategy covered three main areas, namely wearable technology, rehabilitation, and setting. Potentially relevant studies were categorized as systems either evaluating methods or outcome parameters. Methodological qualities of studies were assessed by two customized checklists, depending on their categorization and rated independently by three blinded reviewers. Twelve studies involving ABT met the eligibility criteria, of which three studies were identified as having implemented ABT for rehabilitation purposes in non-clinical settings. From the twelve studies, seven studies achieved high methodological quality scores. These studies were not only capable of assessing the type, quantity, and quality measures of functional activities, but could also distinguish healthy from non-healthy subjects and/or address disease severity levels. While many studies support ABT's potential for telerehabilitation, few actually utilized it to assess mobility-related functional activities outside laboratory settings. To generate more appropriate outcome measures, there is a clear need to translate research findings and novel methods into practice.

The GENCODE exome: sequencing the complete human exome

PubMed Central

Coffey, Alison J; Kokocinski, Felix; Calafato, Maria S; Scott, Carol E; Palta, Priit; Drury, Eleanor; Joyce, Christopher J; LeProust, Emily M; Harrow, Jen; Hunt, Sarah; Lehesjoki, Anna-Elina; Turner, Daniel J; Hubbard, Tim J; Palotie, Aarno

2011-01-01

Sequencing the coding regions, the exome, of the human genome is one of the major current strategies to identify low frequency and rare variants associated with human disease traits. So far, the most widely used commercial exome capture reagents have mainly targeted the consensus coding sequence (CCDS) database. We report the design of an extended set of targets for capturing the complete human exome, based on annotation from the GENCODE consortium. The extended set covers an additional 5594 genes and 10.3 Mb compared with the current CCDS-based sets. The additional regions include potential disease genes previously inaccessible to exome resequencing studies, such as 43 genes linked to ion channel activity and 70 genes linked to protein kinase activity. In total, the new GENCODE exome set developed here covers 47.9 Mb and performed well in sequence capture experiments. In the sample set used in this study, we identified over 5000 SNP variants more in the GENCODE exome target (24%) than in the CCDS-based exome sequencing. PMID:21364695

Activity-based prospective memory in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Kumar, Devvarta; Nizamie, S Haque; Jahan, Masroor

2008-05-01

The study reports activity-based prospective memory as well as its clinical and neuropsychological correlates in schizophrenia. A total of 42 persons diagnosed with schizophrenia and 42 healthy controls were administered prospective memory, set-shifting, and verbal working memory tasks. The schizophrenia group was additionally administered various psychopathology rating scales. Group differences, with poorer performances of the schizophrenia group, were observed on the measures of prospective memory, working memory, and set shifting. The performance on prospective memory tasks correlated with the performance levels on verbal working memory and set-shifting tasks but not with the clinical measures. This study demonstrated impaired activity-based prospective memory in schizophrenia. The impairment can be due to deficits in various neuropsychological domains.

Internet Versus Virtual Reality Settings for Genomics Information Provision.

PubMed

Persky, Susan; Kistler, William D; Klein, William M P; Ferrer, Rebecca A

2018-06-22

Current models of genomic information provision will be unable to handle large-scale clinical integration of genomic information, as may occur in primary care settings. Therefore, adoption of digital tools for genetic and genomic information provision is anticipated, primarily using Internet-based, distributed approaches. The emerging consumer communication platform of virtual reality (VR) is another potential intermediate approach between face-to-face and distributed Internet platforms to engage in genomics education and information provision. This exploratory study assessed whether provision of genomics information about body weight in a simulated, VR-based consultation (relative to a distributed, Internet platform) would be associated with differences in health behavior-related attitudes and beliefs, and interpersonal reactions to the avatar-physician. We also assessed whether outcomes differed depending upon whether genomic versus lifestyle-oriented information was conveyed. There were significant differences between communication platforms for all health behavior-oriented outcomes. Following communication in the VR setting, participants reported greater self-efficacy, dietary behavioral intentions, and exercise behavioral intentions than in the Internet-based setting. There were no differences in trust of the physician by setting, and no interaction between setting effects and the content of the information. This study was a first attempt to examine the potential capabilities of a VR-based communication setting for conveying genomic content in the context of weight management. There may be benefits to use of VR settings for communication about genomics, as well as more traditional health information, when it comes to influencing the attitudes and beliefs that underlie healthy lifestyle behaviors.

Diagnosis of Dementia by Machine learning methods in Epidemiological studies: a pilot exploratory study from south India.

PubMed

Bhagyashree, Sheshadri Iyengar Raghavan; Nagaraj, Kiran; Prince, Martin; Fall, Caroline H D; Krishna, Murali

2018-01-01

There are limited data on the use of artificial intelligence methods for the diagnosis of dementia in epidemiological studies in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) settings. A culture and education fair battery of cognitive tests was developed and validated for population based studies in low- and middle-income countries including India by the 10/66 Dementia Research Group. We explored the machine learning methods based on the 10/66 battery of cognitive tests for the diagnosis of dementia based in a birth cohort study in South India. The data sets for 466 men and women for this study were obtained from the on-going Mysore Studies of Natal effect of Health and Ageing (MYNAH), in south India. The data sets included: demographics, performance on the 10/66 cognitive function tests, the 10/66 diagnosis of mental disorders and population based normative data for the 10/66 battery of cognitive function tests. Diagnosis of dementia from the rule based approach was compared against the 10/66 diagnosis of dementia. We have applied machine learning techniques to identify minimal number of the 10/66 cognitive function tests required for diagnosing dementia and derived an algorithm to improve the accuracy of dementia diagnosis. Of 466 subjects, 27 had 10/66 diagnosis of dementia, 19 of whom were correctly identified as having dementia by Jrip classification with 100% accuracy. This pilot exploratory study indicates that machine learning methods can help identify community dwelling older adults with 10/66 criterion diagnosis of dementia with good accuracy in a LMIC setting such as India. This should reduce the duration of the diagnostic assessment and make the process easier and quicker for clinicians, patients and will be useful for 'case' ascertainment in population based epidemiological studies.

Multicriteria Decision-Making Approach with Hesitant Interval-Valued Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets

PubMed Central

Peng, Juan-juan; Wang, Jian-qiang; Wang, Jing; Chen, Xiao-hong

2014-01-01

The definition of hesitant interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets (HIVIFSs) is developed based on interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IVIFSs) and hesitant fuzzy sets (HFSs). Then, some operations on HIVIFSs are introduced in detail, and their properties are further discussed. In addition, some hesitant interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy number aggregation operators based on t-conorms and t-norms are proposed, which can be used to aggregate decision-makers' information in multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) problems. Some valuable proposals of these operators are studied. In particular, based on algebraic and Einstein t-conorms and t-norms, some hesitant interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy algebraic aggregation operators and Einstein aggregation operators can be obtained, respectively. Furthermore, an approach of MCDM problems based on the proposed aggregation operators is given using hesitant interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy information. Finally, an illustrative example is provided to demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of the developed approach, and the study is supported by a sensitivity analysis and a comparison analysis. PMID:24983009

Diversification of Processors Based on Redundancy in Instruction Set

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ichikawa, Shuichi; Sawada, Takashi; Hata, Hisashi

By diversifying processor architecture, computer software is expected to be more resistant to plagiarism, analysis, and attacks. This study presents a new method to diversify instruction set architecture (ISA) by utilizing the redundancy in the instruction set. Our method is particularly suited for embedded systems implemented with FPGA technology, and realizes a genuine instruction set randomization, which has not been provided by the preceding studies. The evaluation results on four typical ISAs indicate that our scheme can provide a far larger degree of freedom than the preceding studies. Diversified processors based on MIPS architecture were actually implemented and evaluated with Xilinx Spartan-3 FPGA. The increase of logic scale was modest: 5.1% in Specialized design and 3.6% in RAM-mapped design. The performance overhead was also modest: 3.4% in Specialized design and 11.6% in RAM-mapped design. From these results, our scheme is regarded as a practical and promising way to secure FPGA-based embedded systems.

Holding-based network of nations based on listed energy companies: An empirical study on two-mode affiliation network of two sets of actors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Huajiao; Fang, Wei; An, Haizhong; Gao, Xiangyun; Yan, Lili

2016-05-01

Economic networks in the real world are not homogeneous; therefore, it is important to study economic networks with heterogeneous nodes and edges to simulate a real network more precisely. In this paper, we present an empirical study of the one-mode derivative holding-based network constructed by the two-mode affiliation network of two sets of actors using the data of worldwide listed energy companies and their shareholders. First, we identify the primitive relationship in the two-mode affiliation network of the two sets of actors. Then, we present the method used to construct the derivative network based on the shareholding relationship between two sets of actors and the affiliation relationship between actors and events. After constructing the derivative network, we analyze different topological features on the node level, edge level and entire network level and explain the meanings of the different values of the topological features combining the empirical data. This study is helpful for expanding the usage of complex networks to heterogeneous economic networks. For empirical research on the worldwide listed energy stock market, this study is useful for discovering the inner relationships between the nations and regions from a new perspective.

'By seeing with our own eyes, it can remain in our mind': qualitative evaluation findings suggest the ability of participatory video to reduce gender-based violence in conflict-affected settings.

PubMed

Gurman, Tilly A; Trappler, Regan M; Acosta, Angela; McCray, Pamella A; Cooper, Chelsea M; Goodsmith, Lauren

2014-08-01

Gender-based violence is pervasive and poses unique challenges in conflict-affected settings, with women and girls particularly vulnerable to its sequelae. Furthermore, widespread stigmatization of gender-based violence promotes silence among survivors and families, inhibiting access to services. Little evidence exists regarding effective gender-based violence prevention interventions in these settings. Through Our Eyes, a multi-year participatory video project, addressed gender-based violence by stimulating community dialogue and action in post-conflict settings in South Sudan, Uganda, Thailand, Liberia and Rwanda. The present qualitative analysis of project evaluation data included transcripts from 18 focus group discussions (n = 125) and key informant interviews (n = 76). Study participants included project team members, representatives from partner agencies, service providers and community members who either participated in video production or attended video screenings. Study findings revealed that the video project contributed to a growing awareness of women's rights and gender equality. The community dialogue helped to begin dismantling the culture of silence gender-based violence, encouraging survivors to access health and law enforcement services. Furthermore, both men and women reported attitude and behavioral changes related to topics such as wife beating, gender-based violence reporting and girls' education. Health education professionals should employ participatory video to address gender-based violence within conflict-affected settings. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A Novel Tool Improves Existing Estimates of Recent Tuberculosis Transmission in Settings of Sparse Data Collection.

PubMed

Kasaie, Parastu; Mathema, Barun; Kelton, W David; Azman, Andrew S; Pennington, Jeff; Dowdy, David W

2015-01-01

In any setting, a proportion of incident active tuberculosis (TB) reflects recent transmission ("recent transmission proportion"), whereas the remainder represents reactivation. Appropriately estimating the recent transmission proportion has important implications for local TB control, but existing approaches have known biases, especially where data are incomplete. We constructed a stochastic individual-based model of a TB epidemic and designed a set of simulations (derivation set) to develop two regression-based tools for estimating the recent transmission proportion from five inputs: underlying TB incidence, sampling coverage, study duration, clustered proportion of observed cases, and proportion of observed clusters in the sample. We tested these tools on a set of unrelated simulations (validation set), and compared their performance against that of the traditional 'n-1' approach. In the validation set, the regression tools reduced the absolute estimation bias (difference between estimated and true recent transmission proportion) in the 'n-1' technique by a median [interquartile range] of 60% [9%, 82%] and 69% [30%, 87%]. The bias in the 'n-1' model was highly sensitive to underlying levels of study coverage and duration, and substantially underestimated the recent transmission proportion in settings of incomplete data coverage. By contrast, the regression models' performance was more consistent across different epidemiological settings and study characteristics. We provide one of these regression models as a user-friendly, web-based tool. Novel tools can improve our ability to estimate the recent TB transmission proportion from data that are observable (or estimable) by public health practitioners with limited available molecular data.

A Novel Tool Improves Existing Estimates of Recent Tuberculosis Transmission in Settings of Sparse Data Collection

PubMed Central

Kasaie, Parastu; Mathema, Barun; Kelton, W. David; Azman, Andrew S.; Pennington, Jeff; Dowdy, David W.

2015-01-01

In any setting, a proportion of incident active tuberculosis (TB) reflects recent transmission (“recent transmission proportion”), whereas the remainder represents reactivation. Appropriately estimating the recent transmission proportion has important implications for local TB control, but existing approaches have known biases, especially where data are incomplete. We constructed a stochastic individual-based model of a TB epidemic and designed a set of simulations (derivation set) to develop two regression-based tools for estimating the recent transmission proportion from five inputs: underlying TB incidence, sampling coverage, study duration, clustered proportion of observed cases, and proportion of observed clusters in the sample. We tested these tools on a set of unrelated simulations (validation set), and compared their performance against that of the traditional ‘n-1’ approach. In the validation set, the regression tools reduced the absolute estimation bias (difference between estimated and true recent transmission proportion) in the ‘n-1’ technique by a median [interquartile range] of 60% [9%, 82%] and 69% [30%, 87%]. The bias in the ‘n-1’ model was highly sensitive to underlying levels of study coverage and duration, and substantially underestimated the recent transmission proportion in settings of incomplete data coverage. By contrast, the regression models’ performance was more consistent across different epidemiological settings and study characteristics. We provide one of these regression models as a user-friendly, web-based tool. Novel tools can improve our ability to estimate the recent TB transmission proportion from data that are observable (or estimable) by public health practitioners with limited available molecular data. PMID:26679499

The interprofessional learning experience: Findings from a qualitative study based in an outpatient setting.

PubMed

Jakobsen, Flemming; Mørcke, Anne Mette; Hansen, Torben Bæk

2017-09-01

Clinical interprofessional education has traditionally taken place in hospital wards, but much diagnosis and treatment have shifted to the outpatient setting. The logical consequence is to shift more students' clinical placements from the "bedside" to outpatient settings. However, it is unclear how we ensure that this shift maximises learning. The purpose of this article is to understand the authentic learning experience in an interprofessional outpatient clinic setting. We performed an exploratory case study with interviews of four nursing students, 13 medical students, and six staff members who worked in an interprofessional outpatient orthopaedic clinic from March 2015 to January 2016. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using systematic text condensation. The students' self-reported learning experience in this outpatient clinic was characterised by direct patient contact and by authentic, interprofessional, task-based learning, and a preference for indirect supervision when conducting uncomplicated patient consultations. The supervisors intended to create this interprofessional outpatient clinic experience by having a clear teaching approach based on adult learning principles in a safe and challenging learning environment. The shift to the outpatient setting was strongly and practically supported by the management. This study indicates that student learning can be shifted to the outpatient clinic setting if there is supportive management and dedicated supervisors who establish a challenging yet safe interprofessional learning environment.

Parent Training on Generalized Use of Behavior Analytic Strategies for Decreasing the Problem Behavior of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Data-Based Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crone, Regina M.; Mehta, Smita Shukla

2016-01-01

Setting variables such as location of parent training, programming with common stimuli, generalization of discrete responses to non-trained settings, and subsequent reduction in child problem behavior may influence the effectiveness of interventions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of home-versus clinic-based training…

The effectiveness of clinical problem-based learning model of medico-jurisprudence education on general law knowledge for Obstetrics/Gynecological interns.

PubMed

Chang, Hui-Chin; Wang, Ning-Yen; Ko, Wen-Ru; Yu, You-Tsz; Lin, Long-Yau; Tsai, Hui-Fang

2017-06-01

The effective education method of medico-jurisprudence for medical students is unclear. The study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) model teaching medico-jurisprudence in clinical setting on General Law Knowledge (GLK) for medical students. Senior medical students attending either campus-based law curriculum or Obstetrics/Gynecology (Ob/Gyn) clinical setting morning meeting from February to July in 2015 were enrolled. A validated questionnaire comprising 45 questions were completed before and after the law education. The interns attending clinical setting small group improvisation medico-jurisprudence problem-based learning education had significantly better GLK scores than the GLK of students attending campus-based medical law education course after the period studied. PBL teaching model of medico-jurisprudence is an ideal alternative pedagogy model in medical law education curriculum. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Influenza vaccine effectiveness by test-negative design - Comparison of inpatient and outpatient settings.

PubMed

Feng, Shuo; Cowling, Benjamin J; Sullivan, Sheena G

2016-03-29

Observational studies of influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) are increasingly using the test-negative design. Studies are typically based in outpatient or inpatient settings, but these two approaches are rarely compared directly. The aim of our study was to assess whether influenza VE estimates differ between inpatient and outpatient settings. We searched the literature from Medline, PubMed and Web of Science using a combination of keywords to identify published studies of influenza VE using the test-negative design. Studies assessing any type of influenza vaccine among any population in any setting were considered, while interim studies or re-analyses were excluded. Retrieved articles were reviewed, screened and categorized based on study setting, location and influenza season. We searched for parallel studies in inpatient and outpatient settings that were done in the same influenza season, in the same location, and in the same or similar age groups. For each of the pairs identified, we estimated the difference in VE estimates between settings, and we tested whether the average difference was significant using a paired t-test. In total 25 pairs of estimates were identified that permitted comparisons between VE estimates in inpatient and outpatient study settings. Within pairs, the prevalence of influenza was generally higher among patients enrolled in the outpatient studies, while influenza vaccination coverage among the test-negative control groups was generally higher in the inpatient studies. There was no heterogeneity in the paired differences in VE, and the pooled difference in VE between inpatient and outpatient studies was -2% (95% confidence interval: -12%, 10%). We found no differences in VE estimates between inpatient and outpatient settings by studies using the test-negative design. Further research involving direct comparisons of VE estimates from the two settings in the same populations and years would be valuable. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Individualized Positive Behavior Support in School Settings: A Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goh, Ailsa E.; Bambara, Linda M.

2012-01-01

This meta-analysis examined school-based intervention research based on functional behavioral assessment (FBA) to determine the effectiveness of key individualized positive behavior support (IPBS) practices in school settings. In all, 83 studies representing 145 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Intervention, maintenance, and…

Tissue Non-Specific Genes and Pathways Associated with Diabetes: An Expression Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Mei, Hao; Li, Lianna; Liu, Shijian; Jiang, Fan; Griswold, Michael; Mosley, Thomas

2017-01-21

We performed expression studies to identify tissue non-specific genes and pathways of diabetes by meta-analysis. We searched curated datasets of the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and identified 13 and five expression studies of diabetes and insulin responses at various tissues, respectively. We tested differential gene expression by empirical Bayes-based linear method and investigated gene set expression association by knowledge-based enrichment analysis. Meta-analysis by different methods was applied to identify tissue non-specific genes and gene sets. We also proposed pathway mapping analysis to infer functions of the identified gene sets, and correlation and independent analysis to evaluate expression association profile of genes and gene sets between studies and tissues. Our analysis showed that PGRMC1 and HADH genes were significant over diabetes studies, while IRS1 and MPST genes were significant over insulin response studies, and joint analysis showed that HADH and MPST genes were significant over all combined data sets. The pathway analysis identified six significant gene sets over all studies. The KEGG pathway mapping indicated that the significant gene sets are related to diabetes pathogenesis. The results also presented that 12.8% and 59.0% pairwise studies had significantly correlated expression association for genes and gene sets, respectively; moreover, 12.8% pairwise studies had independent expression association for genes, but no studies were observed significantly different for expression association of gene sets. Our analysis indicated that there are both tissue specific and non-specific genes and pathways associated with diabetes pathogenesis. Compared to the gene expression, pathway association tends to be tissue non-specific, and a common pathway influencing diabetes development is activated through different genes at different tissues.

Comparison of cost determination of both resource consumption accounting and time-driven activity-based costing systems in a healthcare setting.

PubMed

Özyapıcı, Hasan; Tanış, Veyis Naci

2017-05-01

Objective The aim of the present study was to explore the differences between resource consumption accounting (RCA) and time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) systems in determining the costs of services of a healthcare setting. Methods A case study was conducted to calculate the unit costs of open and laparoscopic gall bladder surgeries using TDABC and RCA. Results The RCA system assigns a higher cost both to open and laparoscopic gall bladder surgeries than TDABC. The total cost of unused capacity under the TDABC system is also double that in RCA. Conclusion Unlike TDABC, RCA calculates lower costs for unused capacities but higher costs for products or services in a healthcare setting in which fixed costs make up a high proportion of total costs. What is known about the topic? TDABC is a revision of the activity-based costing (ABC) system. RCA is also a new costing system that includes both the theoretical advantages of ABC and the practical advantages of German costing. However, little is known about the differences arising from application of TDABC and RCA. What does this paper add? There is no study comparing both TDABC and RCA in a single case study based on a real-world healthcare setting. Thus, the present study fills this gap in the literature and it is unique in the sense that it is the first case study comparing TDABC and RCA for open and laparoscopic gall bladder surgeries in a healthcare setting. What are the implications for practitioners? This study provides several interesting results for managers and cost accounting researchers. Thus, it will contribute to the spread of RCA studies in healthcare settings. It will also help the implementers of TDABC to revise data concerning the cost of unused capacity. In addition, by separating costs into fixed and variable, the paper will help managers to create a blended (combined) system that can improve both short- and long-term decisions.

Effects of Interventions Based in Behavior Analysis on Motor Skill Acquisition: A Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alstot, Andrew E.; Kang, Minsoo; Alstot, Crystal D.

2013-01-01

Techniques based in applied behavior analysis (ABA) have been shown to be useful across a variety of settings to improve numerous behaviors. Specifically within physical activity settings, several studies have examined the effect of interventions based in ABA on a variety of motor skills, but the overall effects of these interventions are unknown.…

OB3D, a new set of 3D objects available for research: a web-based study

PubMed Central

Buffat, Stéphane; Chastres, Véronique; Bichot, Alain; Rider, Delphine; Benmussa, Frédéric; Lorenceau, Jean

2014-01-01

Studying object recognition is central to fundamental and clinical research on cognitive functions but suffers from the limitations of the available sets that cannot always be modified and adapted to meet the specific goals of each study. We here present a new set of 3D scans of real objects available on-line as ASCII files, OB3D. These files are lists of dots, each defined by a triplet of spatial coordinates and their normal that allow simple and highly versatile transformations and adaptations. We performed a web-based experiment to evaluate the minimal number of dots required for the denomination and categorization of these objects, thus providing a reference threshold. We further analyze several other variables derived from this data set, such as the correlations with object complexity. This new stimulus set, which was found to activate the Lower Occipital Complex (LOC) in another study, may be of interest for studies of cognitive functions in healthy participants and patients with cognitive impairments, including visual perception, language, memory, etc. PMID:25339920

Concordant integrative gene set enrichment analysis of multiple large-scale two-sample expression data sets.

PubMed

Lai, Yinglei; Zhang, Fanni; Nayak, Tapan K; Modarres, Reza; Lee, Norman H; McCaffrey, Timothy A

2014-01-01

Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) is an important approach to the analysis of coordinate expression changes at a pathway level. Although many statistical and computational methods have been proposed for GSEA, the issue of a concordant integrative GSEA of multiple expression data sets has not been well addressed. Among different related data sets collected for the same or similar study purposes, it is important to identify pathways or gene sets with concordant enrichment. We categorize the underlying true states of differential expression into three representative categories: no change, positive change and negative change. Due to data noise, what we observe from experiments may not indicate the underlying truth. Although these categories are not observed in practice, they can be considered in a mixture model framework. Then, we define the mathematical concept of concordant gene set enrichment and calculate its related probability based on a three-component multivariate normal mixture model. The related false discovery rate can be calculated and used to rank different gene sets. We used three published lung cancer microarray gene expression data sets to illustrate our proposed method. One analysis based on the first two data sets was conducted to compare our result with a previous published result based on a GSEA conducted separately for each individual data set. This comparison illustrates the advantage of our proposed concordant integrative gene set enrichment analysis. Then, with a relatively new and larger pathway collection, we used our method to conduct an integrative analysis of the first two data sets and also all three data sets. Both results showed that many gene sets could be identified with low false discovery rates. A consistency between both results was also observed. A further exploration based on the KEGG cancer pathway collection showed that a majority of these pathways could be identified by our proposed method. This study illustrates that we can improve detection power and discovery consistency through a concordant integrative analysis of multiple large-scale two-sample gene expression data sets.

Meta-analysis of pathway enrichment: combining independent and dependent omics data sets.

PubMed

Kaever, Alexander; Landesfeind, Manuel; Feussner, Kirstin; Morgenstern, Burkhard; Feussner, Ivo; Meinicke, Peter

2014-01-01

A major challenge in current systems biology is the combination and integrative analysis of large data sets obtained from different high-throughput omics platforms, such as mass spectrometry based Metabolomics and Proteomics or DNA microarray or RNA-seq-based Transcriptomics. Especially in the case of non-targeted Metabolomics experiments, where it is often impossible to unambiguously map ion features from mass spectrometry analysis to metabolites, the integration of more reliable omics technologies is highly desirable. A popular method for the knowledge-based interpretation of single data sets is the (Gene) Set Enrichment Analysis. In order to combine the results from different analyses, we introduce a methodical framework for the meta-analysis of p-values obtained from Pathway Enrichment Analysis (Set Enrichment Analysis based on pathways) of multiple dependent or independent data sets from different omics platforms. For dependent data sets, e.g. obtained from the same biological samples, the framework utilizes a covariance estimation procedure based on the nonsignificant pathways in single data set enrichment analysis. The framework is evaluated and applied in the joint analysis of Metabolomics mass spectrometry and Transcriptomics DNA microarray data in the context of plant wounding. In extensive studies of simulated data set dependence, the introduced correlation could be fully reconstructed by means of the covariance estimation based on pathway enrichment. By restricting the range of p-values of pathways considered in the estimation, the overestimation of correlation, which is introduced by the significant pathways, could be reduced. When applying the proposed methods to the real data sets, the meta-analysis was shown not only to be a powerful tool to investigate the correlation between different data sets and summarize the results of multiple analyses but also to distinguish experiment-specific key pathways.

Rules or consequences? The role of ethical mind-sets in moral dynamics.

PubMed

Cornelissen, Gert; Bashshur, Michael R; Rode, Julian; Le Menestrel, Marc

2013-04-01

Recent research on the dynamics of moral behavior has documented two contrasting phenomena-moral consistency and moral balancing. Moral balancing refers to the phenomenon whereby behaving ethically or unethically decreases the likelihood of engaging in the same type of behavior again later. Moral consistency describes the opposite pattern-engaging in ethical or unethical behavior increases the likelihood of engaging in the same type of behavior later on. The three studies reported here supported the hypothesis that individuals' ethical mind-set (i.e., outcome-based vs. rule-based) moderates the impact of an initial ethical or unethical act on the likelihood of behaving ethically on a subsequent occasion. More specifically, an outcome-based mind-set facilitated moral balancing, and a rule-based mind-set facilitated moral consistency.

Weight isn't selling: The insidious effects of weight stigmatization in retail settings.

PubMed

Ruggs, Enrica N; Hebl, Michelle R; Williams, Amber

2015-09-01

In recent years, the literature on the stigma of obesity has grown but there still remains a paucity of research examining specific issues associated with its impact in the workplace. In the current study, we examine 3 such issues related to the influence of weight-based stigmatization in retail settings. First, we highlight research on the impact of obesity in men often is minimized or altogether excluded, and we examine whether weight-based stigmatization influences men in authentic retail settings (Study 1). Across retail contexts, Study 1 reveals that heavy (vs. nonheavy) men do experience significantly more interpersonal (subtle) discrimination. Second, we examine the "why" of weight-based stigmatization and find that weight-related negative stereotypes compound to produce indirect but strong effects of stigmatization in retail settings (Study 2). Third and finally, we examine whether weight-based stigmatization against men and women in retail also influences ratings of associated products and the organizations for which heavy individuals work (also Study 2). Results from Study 2 show that stereotypes work similarly for men and women and that a stigma-by-association effect occurs in which evaluators rate products and organizations associated with heavy (vs. nonheavy) retail personnel more negatively. Finally, we discuss the importance of these findings in gaining a more holistic look at the influence of weight stigmatization in the workplace. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Gym-based exoskeleton walking: A preliminary exploration of non-ambulatory end-user perspectives.

PubMed

Cahill, Aoife; Ginley, Orna Mc; Bertrand, Courtney; Lennon, Olive

2018-07-01

Robotic walking devices (RWD) have shown many physical benefits in Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) rehabilitation. No study to date has explored end-user perceptions of these devices or gained insight into the use of these devices in a gym-based setting. This preliminary study explores the perspectives of four non-ambulatory individuals with SCI on using an exoskeleton walking device in a gym-based community setting. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with four SCI individuals living in the community. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Inductive thematic analysis established common overarching themes and subthemes. Four primary themes emerged addressing "The Psychological Adjustments Around Using RWDs with Respect to Disability", "Perceived Physical, Social and Psychological Benefits of Using an Exoskeleton", "The Role of External Influences", and "A Wellness Model to Health". A fully integrated gym setting was found to provide a positive and encouraging space to utilise the device. In addition, both the ability to set training goals and the positive attitude of robotic trainers were deemed to be important factors. This preliminary study provides detailed perspectives of four non-ambulatory individuals with SCI on utilising an exoskeleton walking device in a community setting. It suggests that gym-based RWDs impact positively on the users' lives and enhance their perceived wellbeing and sense of community integration. Enabling access to similar, community-based facilities should be prioritised for those with longstanding SCI disability. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Youth Sports Clubs' Potential as Health-Promoting Setting: Profiles, Motives and Barriers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meganck, Jeroen; Scheerder, Jeroen; Thibaut, Erik; Seghers, Jan

2015-01-01

Setting and Objective: For decades, the World Health Organisation has promoted settings-based health promotion, but its application to leisure settings is minimal. Focusing on organised sports as an important leisure activity, the present study had three goals: exploring the health promotion profile of youth sports clubs, identifying objective…

The Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of a Rural Employer-Based Wellness Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saleh, Shadi S.; Alameddine, Mohamad S.; Hill, Dan; Darney-Beuhler, Jessica; Morgan, Ann

2010-01-01

Context: The cost-effectiveness of employer-based wellness programs has been previously investigated with favorable financial and nonfinancial outcomes being detected. However, these investigations have mainly focused on large employers in urban settings. Very few studies examined wellness programs offered in rural settings. Purpose: This paper…

Training Instructional Skills with Paraprofessional Service Providers at a Community-Based Habilitation Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Amanda L.; Luiselli, James K.; Harchik, Alan E.

2007-01-01

The present study evaluates a training program with paraprofessional service providers at a community-based habilitation setting. Four staff were taught to implement alternative and augmentative communication instruction with an adult who had autism and mental retardation through a combination of instruction, demonstration, behavior rehearsal, and…

The sociogeometry of inequality: Part I

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eliazar, Iddo

2015-05-01

The study of socioeconomic inequality is of prime economic and social importance, and the key quantitative gauges of socioeconomic inequality are Lorenz curves and inequality indices-the most notable of the latter being the popular Gini index. In this series of papers we present a sociogeometric framework to the study of socioeconomic inequality. In this part we shift from the notion of Lorenz curves to the notion of Lorenz sets, define inequality indices in terms of Lorenz sets, and introduce and explore a collection of distance-based and width-based inequality indices stemming from the geometry of Lorenz sets. In particular, three principle diameters of Lorenz sets are established as meaningful quantitative gauges of socioeconomic inequality-thus indeed providing a geometric quantification of socioeconomic inequality.

Some New Sets of Sequences of Fuzzy Numbers with Respect to the Partial Metric

PubMed Central

Ozluk, Muharrem

2015-01-01

In this paper, we essentially deal with Köthe-Toeplitz duals of fuzzy level sets defined using a partial metric. Since the utilization of Zadeh's extension principle is quite difficult in practice, we prefer the idea of level sets in order to construct some classical notions. In this paper, we present the sets of bounded, convergent, and null series and the set of sequences of bounded variation of fuzzy level sets, based on the partial metric. We examine the relationships between these sets and their classical forms and give some properties including definitions, propositions, and various kinds of partial metric spaces of fuzzy level sets. Furthermore, we study some of their properties like completeness and duality. Finally, we obtain the Köthe-Toeplitz duals of fuzzy level sets with respect to the partial metric based on a partial ordering. PMID:25695102

The leisure style of Canadian rural recreation participants: An analysis based on three different rural leisure settings

Treesearch

Paul Heintzman; Don Dawson

2012-01-01

This study was a secondary analysis of data from a previous study of 248 Canadians on four dimensions of leisure style: time use, leisure setting, leisure activity participation, and leisure motivation. Correlation analyses were conducted to determine if frequency of participation in three rural leisure settings were related to other leisure style dimensions.

Goal setting: an integral component of effective diabetes care.

PubMed

Miller, Carla K; Bauman, Jennifer

2014-08-01

Goal setting is a widely used behavior change tool in diabetes education and training. Prior research found specific relatively difficult but attainable goals set within a specific timeframe improved performance in sports and at the workplace. However, the impact of goal setting in diabetes self-care has not received extensive attention. This review examined the mechanisms underlying behavioral change according to goal setting theory and evaluated the impact of goal setting in diabetes intervention studies. Eight studies were identified, which incorporated goal setting as the primary strategy to promote behavioral change in individual, group-based, and primary care settings among patients with type 2 diabetes. Improvements in diabetes-related self-efficacy, dietary intake, physical activity, and A1c were observed in some but not all studies. More systematic research is needed to determine the conditions and behaviors for which goal setting is most effective. Initial recommendations for using goal setting in diabetes patient encounters are offered.

An Efficient ERP-Based Brain-Computer Interface Using Random Set Presentation and Face Familiarity

PubMed Central

Müller, Klaus-Robert; Lee, Seong-Whan

2014-01-01

Event-related potential (ERP)-based P300 spellers are commonly used in the field of brain-computer interfaces as an alternative channel of communication for people with severe neuro-muscular diseases. This study introduces a novel P300 based brain-computer interface (BCI) stimulus paradigm using a random set presentation pattern and exploiting the effects of face familiarity. The effect of face familiarity is widely studied in the cognitive neurosciences and has recently been addressed for the purpose of BCI. In this study we compare P300-based BCI performances of a conventional row-column (RC)-based paradigm with our approach that combines a random set presentation paradigm with (non-) self-face stimuli. Our experimental results indicate stronger deflections of the ERPs in response to face stimuli, which are further enhanced when using the self-face images, and thereby improving P300-based spelling performance. This lead to a significant reduction of stimulus sequences required for correct character classification. These findings demonstrate a promising new approach for improving the speed and thus fluency of BCI-enhanced communication with the widely used P300-based BCI setup. PMID:25384045

An efficient ERP-based brain-computer interface using random set presentation and face familiarity.

PubMed

Yeom, Seul-Ki; Fazli, Siamac; Müller, Klaus-Robert; Lee, Seong-Whan

2014-01-01

Event-related potential (ERP)-based P300 spellers are commonly used in the field of brain-computer interfaces as an alternative channel of communication for people with severe neuro-muscular diseases. This study introduces a novel P300 based brain-computer interface (BCI) stimulus paradigm using a random set presentation pattern and exploiting the effects of face familiarity. The effect of face familiarity is widely studied in the cognitive neurosciences and has recently been addressed for the purpose of BCI. In this study we compare P300-based BCI performances of a conventional row-column (RC)-based paradigm with our approach that combines a random set presentation paradigm with (non-) self-face stimuli. Our experimental results indicate stronger deflections of the ERPs in response to face stimuli, which are further enhanced when using the self-face images, and thereby improving P300-based spelling performance. This lead to a significant reduction of stimulus sequences required for correct character classification. These findings demonstrate a promising new approach for improving the speed and thus fluency of BCI-enhanced communication with the widely used P300-based BCI setup.

Establishing an Accepted Skill Set and Knowledge Base for Directors of University and College Intensive English Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forbes, Megan Julie

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to establish an accepted skill set, knowledge base, and overview of personal qualities necessary to be a director of a university or college based, non-proprietary intensive English program (UIEP). This research serves as a means of moving towards meeting three critical needs in the field. This research should inform…

Application description and policy model in collaborative environment for sharing of information on epidemiological and clinical research data sets.

PubMed

de Carvalho, Elias César Araujo; Batilana, Adelia Portero; Simkins, Julie; Martins, Henrique; Shah, Jatin; Rajgor, Dimple; Shah, Anand; Rockart, Scott; Pietrobon, Ricardo

2010-02-19

Sharing of epidemiological and clinical data sets among researchers is poor at best, in detriment of science and community at large. The purpose of this paper is therefore to (1) describe a novel Web application designed to share information on study data sets focusing on epidemiological clinical research in a collaborative environment and (2) create a policy model placing this collaborative environment into the current scientific social context. The Database of Databases application was developed based on feedback from epidemiologists and clinical researchers requiring a Web-based platform that would allow for sharing of information about epidemiological and clinical study data sets in a collaborative environment. This platform should ensure that researchers can modify the information. A Model-based predictions of number of publications and funding resulting from combinations of different policy implementation strategies (for metadata and data sharing) were generated using System Dynamics modeling. The application allows researchers to easily upload information about clinical study data sets, which is searchable and modifiable by other users in a wiki environment. All modifications are filtered by the database principal investigator in order to maintain quality control. The application has been extensively tested and currently contains 130 clinical study data sets from the United States, Australia, China and Singapore. Model results indicated that any policy implementation would be better than the current strategy, that metadata sharing is better than data-sharing, and that combined policies achieve the best results in terms of publications. Based on our empirical observations and resulting model, the social network environment surrounding the application can assist epidemiologists and clinical researchers contribute and search for metadata in a collaborative environment, thus potentially facilitating collaboration efforts among research communities distributed around the globe.

Nursing Minimum Data Set Based on EHR Archetypes Approach.

PubMed

Spigolon, Dandara N; Moro, Cláudia M C

2012-01-01

The establishment of a Nursing Minimum Data Set (NMDS) can facilitate the use of health information systems. The adoption of these sets and represent them based on archetypes are a way of developing and support health systems. The objective of this paper is to describe the definition of a minimum data set for nursing in endometriosis represent with archetypes. The study was divided into two steps: Defining the Nursing Minimum Data Set to endometriosis, and Development archetypes related to the NMDS. The nursing data set to endometriosis was represented in the form of archetype, using the whole perception of the evaluation item, organs and senses. This form of representation is an important tool for semantic interoperability and knowledge representation for health information systems.

Nursing Minimum Data Set Based on EHR Archetypes Approach

PubMed Central

Spigolon, Dandara N.; Moro, Cláudia M.C.

2012-01-01

The establishment of a Nursing Minimum Data Set (NMDS) can facilitate the use of health information systems. The adoption of these sets and represent them based on archetypes are a way of developing and support health systems. The objective of this paper is to describe the definition of a minimum data set for nursing in endometriosis represent with archetypes. The study was divided into two steps: Defining the Nursing Minimum Data Set to endometriosis, and Development archetypes related to the NMDS. The nursing data set to endometriosis was represented in the form of archetype, using the whole perception of the evaluation item, organs and senses. This form of representation is an important tool for semantic interoperability and knowledge representation for health information systems. PMID:24199126

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depressed individuals improves suppression of irrelevant mental-sets.

PubMed

Greenberg, Jonathan; Shapero, Benjamin G; Mischoulon, David; Lazar, Sara W

2017-04-01

An impaired ability to suppress currently irrelevant mental-sets is a key cognitive deficit in depression. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) was specifically designed to help depressed individuals avoid getting caught in such irrelevant mental-sets. In the current study, a group assigned to MBCT plus treatment-as-usual (n = 22) exhibited significantly lower depression scores and greater improvements in irrelevant mental-set suppression compared to a wait-list plus treatment-as-usual (n = 18) group. Improvements in mental-set-suppression were associated with improvements in depression scores. Results provide the first evidence that MBCT can improve suppression of irrelevant mental-sets and that such improvements are associated with depressive alleviation.

Design of simulation-based medical education and advantages and disadvantages of in situ simulation versus off-site simulation.

PubMed

Sørensen, Jette Led; Østergaard, Doris; LeBlanc, Vicki; Ottesen, Bent; Konge, Lars; Dieckmann, Peter; Van der Vleuten, Cees

2017-01-21

Simulation-based medical education (SBME) has traditionally been conducted as off-site simulation in simulation centres. Some hospital departments also provide off-site simulation using in-house training room(s) set up for simulation away from the clinical setting, and these activities are called in-house training. In-house training facilities can be part of hospital departments and resemble to some extent simulation centres but often have less technical equipment. In situ simulation, introduced over the past decade, mainly comprises of team-based activities and occurs in patient care units with healthcare professionals in their own working environment. Thus, this intentional blend of simulation and real working environments means that in situ simulation brings simulation to the real working environment and provides training where people work. In situ simulation can be either announced or unannounced, the latter also known as a drill. This article presents and discusses the design of SBME and the advantage and disadvantage of the different simulation settings, such as training in simulation-centres, in-house simulations in hospital departments, announced or unannounced in situ simulations. Non-randomised studies argue that in situ simulation is more effective for educational purposes than other types of simulation settings. Conversely, the few comparison studies that exist, either randomised or retrospective, show that choice of setting does not seem to influence individual or team learning. However, hospital department-based simulations, such as in-house simulation and in situ simulation, lead to a gain in organisational learning. To our knowledge no studies have compared announced and unannounced in situ simulation. The literature suggests some improved organisational learning from unannounced in situ simulation; however, unannounced in situ simulation was also found to be challenging to plan and conduct, and more stressful among participants. The importance of setting, context and fidelity are discussed. Based on the current limited research we suggest that choice of setting for simulations does not seem to influence individual and team learning. Department-based local simulation, such as simulation in-house and especially in situ simulation, leads to gains in organisational learning. The overall objectives of simulation-based education and factors such as feasibility can help determine choice of simulation setting.

Robustness of NMR-based metabolomics to generate comparable data sets for olive oil cultivar classification. An inter-laboratory study on Apulian olive oils.

PubMed

Piccinonna, Sara; Ragone, Rosa; Stocchero, Matteo; Del Coco, Laura; De Pascali, Sandra Angelica; Schena, Francesco Paolo; Fanizzi, Francesco Paolo

2016-05-15

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is emerging as a powerful technique in olive oil fingerprinting, but its analytical robustness has to be proved. Here, we report a comparative study between two laboratories on olive oil (1)H NMR fingerprinting, aiming to demonstrate the robustness of NMR-based metabolomics in generating comparable data sets for cultivar classification. Sample preparation and data acquisition were performed independently in two laboratories, equipped with different resolution spectrometers (400 and 500 MHz), using two identical sets of mono-varietal olive oils. Partial Least Squares (PLS)-based techniques were applied to compare the data sets produced by the two laboratories. Despite differences in spectrum baseline, and in intensity and shape of peaks, the amount of shared information was significant (almost 70%) and related to cultivar (same metabolites discriminated between cultivars). In conclusion, regardless of the variability due to operator and machine, the data sets from the two participating units were comparable for the purpose of classification. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Comparison of Web-Based Standard Setting and Monitored Standard Setting.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harvey, Anne L.; Way, Walter D.

Standard setting, when carefully done, can be an expensive and time-consuming process. The modified Angoff method and the benchmark method, as utilized in this study, employ representative panels of judges to provide recommended passing scores to standard setting decision-makers. It has been considered preferable to have the judges meet in a…

Difficulties Experienced in Setting and Achieving Goals by Participants of a Falls Prevention Programme: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation

PubMed Central

Mason, Wendy; Haines, Terry P.

2014-01-01

ABSTRACT Purpose: To evaluate the ability of participants of a falls prevention programme to set and achieve goals. Methods: The study used a prospective longitudinal design and a mixed-methods approach to data collection. Study participants were (1) 220 older adults participating in a 15-week combined exercise and education falls prevention programme and (2) 9 practitioners (3 home-care nurses, 5 community workers, and an exercise physiologist) involved in delivering the programme. Data from goal-setting forms were analyzed, and descriptive statistics were used to determine the number of appropriate goals set and achieved. Data were analyzed according to programme setting (home- or group-based) and whether or not participants were classified as being from a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) background in the Australian context. Semi-structured interviews with programme practitioners were thematically analyzed. Results: A total of 144 respondents (n=75 CALD group, n=41 non-CALD group, n=6 CALD home, n=22 non-CALD home) set 178 goals. Only 101 (57%) goals could be evaluated according to achievement, because participants set goals that focused on health state instead of behaviour, set goals not relevant to falls prevention, used inappropriate constructs to measure goal achievement, and either did not review their goals or dropped out of the programme before goal review. Of these 101 goals, 64 were achieved. Practitioners described their own difficulties in understanding the process of setting health behaviour goals along with communication, cultural, and logistic difficulties. Conclusions: Both CALD and non-CALD participants and those participating in both group- and home-based programmes experienced difficulty in setting and achieving goals to facilitate behaviour change for falls prevention. Data suggest that home-based participants had more difficulty in setting goals than their group-based counterparts and, to a lesser extent, that CALD participants experienced more difficulty in setting goals than their non-CALD counterparts. The use of a guided approach to goal setting and the need for more specific practitioner training and follow-up support regarding goal setting in the context of a falls prevention programme should be considered. PMID:25922563

Difficulties experienced in setting and achieving goals by participants of a falls prevention programme: a mixed-methods evaluation.

PubMed

Haas, Romi; Mason, Wendy; Haines, Terry P

2014-01-01

To evaluate the ability of participants of a falls prevention programme to set and achieve goals. The study used a prospective longitudinal design and a mixed-methods approach to data collection. Study participants were (1) 220 older adults participating in a 15-week combined exercise and education falls prevention programme and (2) 9 practitioners (3 home-care nurses, 5 community workers, and an exercise physiologist) involved in delivering the programme. Data from goal-setting forms were analyzed, and descriptive statistics were used to determine the number of appropriate goals set and achieved. Data were analyzed according to programme setting (home- or group-based) and whether or not participants were classified as being from a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) background in the Australian context. Semi-structured interviews with programme practitioners were thematically analyzed. A total of 144 respondents (n=75 CALD group, n=41 non-CALD group, n=6 CALD home, n=22 non-CALD home) set 178 goals. Only 101 (57%) goals could be evaluated according to achievement, because participants set goals that focused on health state instead of behaviour, set goals not relevant to falls prevention, used inappropriate constructs to measure goal achievement, and either did not review their goals or dropped out of the programme before goal review. Of these 101 goals, 64 were achieved. Practitioners described their own difficulties in understanding the process of setting health behaviour goals along with communication, cultural, and logistic difficulties. Both CALD and non-CALD participants and those participating in both group- and home-based programmes experienced difficulty in setting and achieving goals to facilitate behaviour change for falls prevention. Data suggest that home-based participants had more difficulty in setting goals than their group-based counterparts and, to a lesser extent, that CALD participants experienced more difficulty in setting goals than their non-CALD counterparts. The use of a guided approach to goal setting and the need for more specific practitioner training and follow-up support regarding goal setting in the context of a falls prevention programme should be considered.

Process Evaluation Results from an Environmentally Focused Worksite Weight Management Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeJoy, David M.; Wilson, Mark G.; Padilla, Heather M.; Goetzel, Ron Z.; Parker, Kristin B.; Della, Lindsay J.; Roemer, Enid C.

2012-01-01

There is currently much interest in exploring environmental approaches to combat weight gain and obesity. This study presents process evaluation results from a workplace-based study that tested two levels of environmentally focused weight management interventions in a manufacturing setting. The moderate treatment featured a set of relatively…

Community Rehabilitation: "Home versus Centre" Guidelines for Choosing the Optimal Treatment Location

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barker, Lauren N.; Ziino, Carlo

2010-01-01

This study aimed to produce indicators and guidelines for clinician use in determining whether individual therapy sessions for community rehabilitation services should be delivered in a home/community-based setting or centre-based setting within a flexible service delivery model. Concept mapping techniques as described by Tochrim and Kane (2005)…

Dose relations between goal setting, theory-based correlates of goal setting and increases in physical activity during a workplace trial.

PubMed

Dishman, Rod K; Vandenberg, Robert J; Motl, Robert W; Wilson, Mark G; DeJoy, David M

2010-08-01

The effectiveness of an intervention depends on its dose and on moderators of dose, which usually are not studied. The purpose of the study is to determine whether goal setting and theory-based moderators of goal setting had dose relations with increases in goal-related physical activity during a successful workplace intervention. A group-randomized 12-week intervention that included personal goal setting was implemented in fall 2005, with a multiracial/ethnic sample of employees at 16 geographically diverse worksites. Here, we examined dose-related variables in the cohort of participants (N = 664) from the 8 worksites randomized to the intervention. Participants in the intervention exceeded 9000 daily pedometer steps and 300 weekly minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during the last 6 weeks of the study, which approximated or exceeded current public health guidelines. Linear growth modeling indicated that participants who set higher goals and sustained higher levels of self-efficacy, commitment and intention about attaining their goals had greater increases in pedometer steps and MVPA. The relation between change in participants' satisfaction with current physical activity and increases in physical activity was mediated by increases in self-set goals. The results show a dose relation of increased physical activity with changes in goal setting, satisfaction, self-efficacy, commitment and intention, consistent with goal-setting theory.

Drilling Students’ Communication Skill through Science, Environment, Technology, and Society (SETS)-Based Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Farisi, B. L.; Tjandrakirana; Agustini, R.

2018-01-01

Student’s communication skill paid less attention in learning activity at school, even though communication skill is needed by students in the 21st century based on the demands of new curriculum in Indonesia (K13). This study focuses on drilling students’ communication skill through science, environment, technology, and society (SETS)-based learning. The research is a pre-experimental design with a one-shot case study model involving 10 students of ninth-grader of SMPN 2 Manyar, Gresik. The research data were collected through observation method using communication observation sheet. The data were analyzed using the descriptive qualitative method. The result showed that students’ communication skill reached the completeness of skills decided both individually and classically in the curriculum. The fundamental result of this research that SETS-based learning can be used to drill students’ communication skill in K13 context.

Moderation of effects of AAC based on setting and types of aided AAC on outcome variables: an aggregate study of single-case research with individuals with ASD.

PubMed

Ganz, Jennifer B; Rispoli, Mandy J; Mason, Rose Ann; Hong, Ee Rea

2014-06-01

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the potential moderating effects of intervention setting and type of aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) on outcome variables for students with autism spectrum disorders. Improvement rate difference, an effect size measure, was used to calculate aggregate effects across 35 single-case research studies. Results indicated that the largest effects for aided AAC were observed in general education settings. With respect to communication outcomes, both speech generating devices (SGDs) and the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) were associated with larger effects than other picture-based systems. With respect to challenging behaviour outcomes, SGDs produced larger effects than PECS. This aggregate study highlights the importance of considering intervention setting, choice of AAC system and target outcomes when designing and planning an aided AAC intervention.

Analysis of the Negative-SET Behaviors in Cu/ZrO2/Pt Devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Sen; Zhao, Xiaolong; Li, Qingjiang; Li, Nan; Wang, Wei; Liu, Qi; Xu, Hui

2016-12-01

Metal oxide-based electrochemical metallization memory (ECM) shows promising performance for next generation non-volatile memory. The negative-SET behavior has been observed in various oxide-based ECM devices. But the underlying mechanism of this behavior remains unaddressed and the role of the metal cation and oxygen vacancy in this behavior is unclear. In this work, we have observed two kinds of negative-SET (labeled as N-SET1 and N-SET2) behaviors in our Cu/ZrO2/Pt devices. Both the two behaviors can result in hard breakdown due to the high compliance current in reset process. The I-V characteristic shows that the two negative-SET behaviors have an obvious difference in operation voltage. Using four-probe resistance measurement method, the resistance-temperature characteristics of the ON-state after various negative-SET behaviors have been studied. The temperature dependence results demonstrate that the N-SET1 behavior is dominated by Cu conductive filament (CF) reformation caused by the Cu CF overgrowth phenomenon while the N-SET2 is related to the formation of oxygen vacancy CF. This work may provide a comprehensive understanding of the switching mechanism in oxide-based ECM devices.

Evaluation of a physically based quasi-linear and a conceptually based nonlinear Muskingum methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perumal, Muthiah; Tayfur, Gokmen; Rao, C. Madhusudana; Gurarslan, Gurhan

2017-03-01

Two variants of the Muskingum flood routing method formulated for accounting nonlinearity of the channel routing process are investigated in this study. These variant methods are: (1) The three-parameter conceptual Nonlinear Muskingum (NLM) method advocated by Gillin 1978, and (2) The Variable Parameter McCarthy-Muskingum (VPMM) method recently proposed by Perumal and Price in 2013. The VPMM method does not require rigorous calibration and validation procedures as required in the case of NLM method due to established relationships of its parameters with flow and channel characteristics based on hydrodynamic principles. The parameters of the conceptual nonlinear storage equation used in the NLM method were calibrated using the Artificial Intelligence Application (AIA) techniques, such as the Genetic Algorithm (GA), the Differential Evolution (DE), the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and the Harmony Search (HS). The calibration was carried out on a given set of hypothetical flood events obtained by routing a given inflow hydrograph in a set of 40 km length prismatic channel reaches using the Saint-Venant (SV) equations. The validation of the calibrated NLM method was investigated using a different set of hypothetical flood hydrographs obtained in the same set of channel reaches used for calibration studies. Both the sets of solutions obtained in the calibration and validation cases using the NLM method were compared with the corresponding solutions of the VPMM method based on some pertinent evaluation measures. The results of the study reveal that the physically based VPMM method is capable of accounting for nonlinear characteristics of flood wave movement better than the conceptually based NLM method which requires the use of tedious calibration and validation procedures.

Unified Research on Network-Based Hard/Soft Information Fusion

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-02-02

types). There are a number of search tree run parameters which must be set depending on the experimental setting. A pilot study was run to identify...Unlimited Final Report: Unified Research on Network-Based Hard/Soft Information Fusion The views, opinions and/or findings contained in this report...Final Report: Unified Research on Network-Based Hard/Soft Information Fusion Report Title The University at Buffalo (UB) Center for Multisource

Chaos and Fractals in C-K Map

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xing-Yuan; Liang, Qing-Yong; Meng, Juan

The characteristic of the fixed points of the Carotid-Kundalini (C-K) map is investigated and the boundary equation of the first bifurcation of the C-K map in the parameter plane is given. Based on the studies of the phase graph, the power spectrum, the correlation dimension and the Lyapunov exponents, the paper reveals the general features of the C-K map transforming from regularity. Meanwhile, using the periodic scanning technology proposed by Welstead and Cromer, a series of Mandelbrot-Julia (M-J) sets of the complex C-K map are constructed. The symmetry of M-J set and the topological inflexibility of distributing of periodic region in the Mandelbrot set are investigated. By founding the whole portray of Julia sets based on Mandelbrot set qualitatively, we find out that Mandelbrot sets contain abundant information of structure of Julia sets.

Analysis of global land surface albedo climatology and spatial-temporal variation during 1981-2010 from multiple satellite products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Tao; Liang, Shunlin; Song, Dan-Xia

2014-09-01

For several decades, long-term time series data sets of multiple global land surface albedo products have been generated from satellite observations. These data sets have been used as one of the key variables in climate change studies. This study aims to assess the surface albedo climatology and to analyze long-term albedo changes, from nine satellite-based data sets for the period 1981-2010, on a global basis. Results show that climatological surface albedo data sets derived from satellite observations can be used to validate, calibrate, and further improve surface albedo simulations and parameterizations in current climate models. However, the albedo products derived from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project and the Global Energy and Water Exchanges Project have large seasonal biases. At latitudes higher than 50°, the maximal difference in winter zonal albedo ranges from 0.1 to 0.4 among the nine satellite data sets. Satellite-based albedo data sets agree relatively well during the summer at high latitudes, with a standard deviation of 0.04 for the 70°-80° zone in both hemispheres. The fine-resolution (0.05°) data sets agree well with each other for all the land cover types in middle to low latitudes; however, large spread was identified for their albedos at middle to high latitudes over land covers with mixed snow and sparse vegetation. By analyzing the time series of satellite-based albedo products over the past three decades, albedo of the Northern Hemisphere was found to be decreasing in July, likely due to the shrinking snow cover. Meanwhile, albedo in January was found to be increasing, likely because of the expansion of snow cover in northern winter. However, to improve the albedo estimation at high latitudes, and ultimately the climate models used for long-term climate change studies, a still better understanding of differences between satellite-based albedo data sets is required.

Successes and Lessons Learned From Implementing Community Health Worker Programs in Community-Based and Clinical Settings: Insights From the Gulf Coast.

PubMed

Sherman, Mya; Covert, Hannah; Fox, Laila; Lichtveld, Maureen

Community health workers (CHWs) are an increasingly viable component of the American health system. While organizations may be interested in incorporating CHWs into the health care workforce, there are challenges to doing so. This study characterizes the successes and lessons learned from implementing new CHW programs in clinical and community-based settings in 4 US Gulf states. Semistructured interviews were conducted with CHWs and their supervisors. Interviews were conducted with participants in 16 community-based organizations and federally qualified health centers located in coastal counties and parishes of Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. Study participants consisted of 22 CHWs and 17 CHW supervisors. Although most challenges and strategies were reported by participants working in both clinical and community-based settings, some were workplace-specific. Participants from predominantly clinical settings described the importance of strengthening organizational cohesion and coordination, whereas participants from community-based participants discussed the need for specialized training for CHWs. In both work environments, participants indicated that CHW functioning was constrained by limited organizational resources, difficulty accessing the client population, and limited knowledge regarding the CHW's scope of practice. Strategies to improve CHW functioning in both settings included investing in local partnerships, streamlining resources, prioritizing strong communication and outreach, and establishing explicit operating procedures. The majority of participants noted that challenges lessened over time. Evaluating successes and lessons learned in CHW work is critical to maximize CHWs' abilities to address clients' health needs and promote health in underserved communities. This study provides important insights into how to successfully integrate CHWs into the public health workforce.

Preliminary Study on Appearance-Based Detection of Anatomical Point Landmarks in Body Trunk CT Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nemoto, Mitsutaka; Nomura, Yukihiro; Hanaoka, Shohei; Masutani, Yoshitaka; Yoshikawa, Takeharu; Hayashi, Naoto; Yoshioka, Naoki; Ohtomo, Kuni

Anatomical point landmarks as most primitive anatomical knowledge are useful for medical image understanding. In this study, we propose a detection method for anatomical point landmark based on appearance models, which include gray-level statistical variations at point landmarks and their surrounding area. The models are built based on results of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of sample data sets. In addition, we employed generative learning method by transforming ROI of sample data. In this study, we evaluated our method with 24 data sets of body trunk CT images and obtained 95.8 ± 7.3 % of the average sensitivity in 28 landmarks.

Economic impact of converting an interventional pain medicine physician office-based practice into a provider-based ambulatory pain practice.

PubMed

Grider, Jay S; Findley, Kelley A; Higdon, Courtney; Curtright, Jonathan; Clark, Don P

2014-01-01

One consequence of the shifting economic health care landscape is the growing trend of physician employment and practice acquisition by hospitals. These acquired practices are often converted into hospital- or provider-based clinics. This designation brings the increased services of the hospital, the accreditation of the hospital, and a new billing structure verses the private clinic (the combination of the facility and professional fee billing). One potential concern with moving to a provider-based designation is that this new structure might make the practice less competitive in a marketplace that may still be dominated by private physician office-based practices. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the impact of the provider-based/hospital fee structure on clinical volume. Determine the effect of transition to a hospital- or provider-based practice setting (with concomitant cost implications) on patient volume in the current practice milieu.   Community hospital-based academic interventional pain medicine practice. Economic analysis of effect of change in price structure on clinical volumes. The current study evaluates the effect of a change in designation with price implications on the demand for clinical services that accompany the transition to a hospital-based practice setting from a physician office setting in an academic community hospital. Clinical volumes of both procedures and clinic volumes increased in a mature practice setting following transition to a provider-based designation and the accompanying facility and professional fee structure. Following transition to a provider-based designation clinic visits were increased 24% while procedural volume demand did not change. Single practice entity and single geographic location in southeastern United States. The conversion to a hospital- or provider-based setting does not negatively impact clinical volume and referrals to community-based pain medicine practice. These results imply that factors other than price are a driver of patient choice.  

Exposure to fire setting behavior on YouTube.

PubMed

Thomas, Meara; Mackay, Sherri; Salsbury, Debbie

2012-07-01

This study is a preliminary examination of fire setting behaviors on YouTube. Data are based on a 1 day search of YouTube. Results indicate YouTube is replete with inappropriate models of fire setting. The findings have potential implications for intervention with fire setting youth. Copyright © 2012 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding facilitators and barriers to reengineering the clinical research enterprise in community-based practice settings.

PubMed

Kukafka, Rita; Allegrante, John P; Khan, Sharib; Bigger, J Thomas; Johnson, Stephen B

2013-09-01

Solutions are employed to support clinical research trial tasks in community-based practice settings. Using the IT Implementation Framework (ITIF), an integrative framework intended to guide the synthesis of theoretical perspectives for planning multi-level interventions to enhance IT use, we sought to understand the barriers and facilitators to clinical research in community-based practice settings preliminary to implementing new informatics solutions for improving clinical research infrastructure. The studies were conducted in practices within the Columbia University Clinical Trials Network. A mixed-method approach, including surveys, interviews, time-motion studies, and observations was used. The data collected, which incorporates predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors in IT use, were analyzed according to each phase of ITIF. Themes identified in the first phase of ITIF were 1) processes and tools to support clinical trial research and 2) clinical research peripheral to patient care processes. Not all of the problems under these themes were found to be amenable to IT solutions. Using the multi-level orientation of the ITIF, we set forth strategies beyond IT solutions that can have an impact on reengineering clinical research tasks in practice-based settings. Developing strategies to target enabling and reinforcing factors, which focus on organizational factors, and the motivation of the practice at large to use IT solutions to integrate clinical research tasks with patient care processes, is most challenging. The ITIF should be used to consider both IT and non-IT solutions concurrently for reengineering of clinical research in community-based practice settings. © 2013.

A fuzzy-based data transformation for feature extraction to increase classification performance with small medical data sets.

PubMed

Li, Der-Chiang; Liu, Chiao-Wen; Hu, Susan C

2011-05-01

Medical data sets are usually small and have very high dimensionality. Too many attributes will make the analysis less efficient and will not necessarily increase accuracy, while too few data will decrease the modeling stability. Consequently, the main objective of this study is to extract the optimal subset of features to increase analytical performance when the data set is small. This paper proposes a fuzzy-based non-linear transformation method to extend classification related information from the original data attribute values for a small data set. Based on the new transformed data set, this study applies principal component analysis (PCA) to extract the optimal subset of features. Finally, we use the transformed data with these optimal features as the input data for a learning tool, a support vector machine (SVM). Six medical data sets: Pima Indians' diabetes, Wisconsin diagnostic breast cancer, Parkinson disease, echocardiogram, BUPA liver disorders dataset, and bladder cancer cases in Taiwan, are employed to illustrate the approach presented in this paper. This research uses the t-test to evaluate the classification accuracy for a single data set; and uses the Friedman test to show the proposed method is better than other methods over the multiple data sets. The experiment results indicate that the proposed method has better classification performance than either PCA or kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) when the data set is small, and suggest creating new purpose-related information to improve the analysis performance. This paper has shown that feature extraction is important as a function of feature selection for efficient data analysis. When the data set is small, using the fuzzy-based transformation method presented in this work to increase the information available produces better results than the PCA and KPCA approaches. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluating the Real-World Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavior Therapy Efficacy Research on Eating Disorders: A Case Study from a Community-based Clinical Setting

PubMed Central

Lowe, Michael R.; Bunnell, Douglas W.; Neeren, Amy M.; Chernyak, Yelena; Greberman, Laurel

2009-01-01

Objective There is a growing consensus that there is a need to test the real-world effectiveness of eating disorder therapies that show promise in efficacy research. The current paper provides a narrative account of an NIMH-funded study that attempted to apply efficacy findings from CBT research to an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) at the largest community-based eating disorder program in the United States. Method We describe the study as originally envisioned as well as the various challenges that the researchers and the IOP staff encountered in implementing this study. Results The different training, assumptions, and “ways of knowing” of the research team and the treatment staff in regard to the nature of eating disorders and their treatment created multiple challenges for both groups during the study period. We describe valuable lessons learned about how to - and how not to -implement effectiveness designs in clinical settings that are relatively unfamiliar with empirically-based research findings. Discussion It is hoped that our experience in attempting to apply efficacy-based research findings on eating disorders treatment in a community-based clinical setting will prove helpful to other researchers and service providers engaging in such translational research. PMID:20063375

Methodological, Theoretical, Infrastructural, and Design Issues in Conducting Good Outcome Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Michael P.; Moore, Tessa A.

2011-01-01

This article outlines a set of methodological, theoretical, and other issues relating to the conduct of good outcome studies. The article begins by considering the contribution of evidence-based medicine to the methodology of outcome research. The lessons which can be applied in outcome studies in nonmedical settings are described. The article…

Co-Regulation and Knowledge Construction in an Online Synchronous Problem Based Learning Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Lila; Lajoie, Susanne P.; Poitras, Eric G.; Nkangu, Miriam; Doleck, Tenzin

2017-01-01

Learning to monitor and regulate one's learning in an academic setting is a task that all students must engage in. Learning in "group" situations requires both self- and co-regulation. This research examines a case study of a small group of medical student interactions during an on-line problem based learning activity (PBL) where…

Introducing Evidence-Based Principles to Guide Collaborative Approaches to Evaluation: Results of an Empirical Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shulha, Lyn M.; Whitmore, Elizabeth; Cousins, J. Bradley; Gilbert, Nathalie; al Hudib, Hind

2016-01-01

This article introduces a set of evidence-based principles to guide evaluation practice in contexts where evaluation knowledge is collaboratively produced by evaluators and stakeholders. The data from this study evolved in four phases: two pilot phases exploring the desirability of developing a set of principles; an online questionnaire survey…

Group-Based Learning in an Authoritarian Setting? Novel Extension Approaches in Vietnam's Northern Uplands

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schad, Iven; Roessler, Regina; Neef, Andreas; Zarate, Anne Valle; Hoffmann, Volker

2011-01-01

This study aims to analyze the potential and constraints of group-based extension approaches as an institutional innovation in the Vietnamese agricultural extension system. Our analysis therefore unfolds around the challenges of how to foster this kind of approach within the hierarchical extension policy setting and how to effectively shape and…

Behaviorally Based Interventions for Teaching Social Interaction Skills to Children with ASD in Inclusive Settings: A Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Camargo, Síglia Pimentel Höher; Rispoli, Mandy; Ganz, Jennifer; Hong, Ee Rea; Davis, Heather; Mason, Rose

2016-01-01

Behaviorally based interventions have been demonstrated to be effective to teach social interaction skills for children with autism spectrum disorders in general education. However, the overall and moderating effects of these interventions have not been previously investigated in inclusive settings. The goal of this study was to investigate the…

Dementia training programmes for staff working in general hospital settings - a systematic review of the literature.

PubMed

Scerri, Anthony; Innes, Anthea; Scerri, Charles

2017-08-01

Although literature describing and evaluating training programmes in hospital settings increased in recent years, there are no reviews that summarise these programmes. This review sought to address this, by collecting the current evidence on dementia training programmes directed to staff working in general hospitals. Literature from five databases were searched, based on a number of inclusion criteria. The selected studies were summarised and data was extracted and compared using narrative synthesis based on a set of pre-defined categories. Methodological quality was assessed. Fourteen peer-reviewed studies were identified with the majority being pre-test post-test investigations. No randomised controlled trials were found. Methodological quality was variable with selection bias being the major limitation. There was a great variability in the development and mode of delivery although, interdisciplinary ward based, tailor-made, short sessions using experiential and active learning were the most utilised. The majority of the studies mainly evaluated learning, with few studies evaluating changes in staff behaviour/practices and patients' outcomes. This review indicates that high quality studies are needed that especially evaluate staff behaviours and patient outcomes and their sustainability over time. It also highlights measures that could be used to develop and deliver training programmes in hospital settings.

Investigating the importance of Delaunay-based definition of atomic interactions in scoring of protein-protein docking results.

PubMed

Jafari, Rahim; Sadeghi, Mehdi; Mirzaie, Mehdi

2016-05-01

The approaches taken to represent and describe structural features of the macromolecules are of major importance when developing computational methods for studying and predicting their structures and interactions. This study attempts to explore the significance of Delaunay tessellation for the definition of atomic interactions by evaluating its impact on the performance of scoring protein-protein docking prediction. Two sets of knowledge-based scoring potentials are extracted from a training dataset of native protein-protein complexes. The potential of the first set is derived using atomic interactions extracted from Delaunay tessellated structures. The potential of the second set is calculated conventionally, that is, using atom pairs whose interactions were determined by their separation distances. The scoring potentials were tested against two different docking decoy sets and their performances were compared. The results show that, if properly optimized, the Delaunay-based scoring potentials can achieve higher success rate than the usual scoring potentials. These results and the results of a previous study on the use of Delaunay-based potentials in protein fold recognition, all point to the fact that Delaunay tessellation of protein structure can provide a more realistic definition of atomic interaction, and therefore, if appropriately utilized, may be able to improve the accuracy of pair potentials. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Discovering transnosological molecular basis of human brain diseases using biclustering analysis of integrated gene expression data.

PubMed

Cha, Kihoon; Hwang, Taeho; Oh, Kimin; Yi, Gwan-Su

2015-01-01

It has been reported that several brain diseases can be treated as transnosological manner implicating possible common molecular basis under those diseases. However, molecular level commonality among those brain diseases has been largely unexplored. Gene expression analyses of human brain have been used to find genes associated with brain diseases but most of those studies were restricted either to an individual disease or to a couple of diseases. In addition, identifying significant genes in such brain diseases mostly failed when it used typical methods depending on differentially expressed genes. In this study, we used a correlation-based biclustering approach to find coexpressed gene sets in five neurodegenerative diseases and three psychiatric disorders. By using biclustering analysis, we could efficiently and fairly identified various gene sets expressed specifically in both single and multiple brain diseases. We could find 4,307 gene sets correlatively expressed in multiple brain diseases and 3,409 gene sets exclusively specified in individual brain diseases. The function enrichment analysis of those gene sets showed many new possible functional bases as well as neurological processes that are common or specific for those eight diseases. This study introduces possible common molecular bases for several brain diseases, which open the opportunity to clarify the transnosological perspective assumed in brain diseases. It also showed the advantages of correlation-based biclustering analysis and accompanying function enrichment analysis for gene expression data in this type of investigation.

Discovering transnosological molecular basis of human brain diseases using biclustering analysis of integrated gene expression data

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Background It has been reported that several brain diseases can be treated as transnosological manner implicating possible common molecular basis under those diseases. However, molecular level commonality among those brain diseases has been largely unexplored. Gene expression analyses of human brain have been used to find genes associated with brain diseases but most of those studies were restricted either to an individual disease or to a couple of diseases. In addition, identifying significant genes in such brain diseases mostly failed when it used typical methods depending on differentially expressed genes. Results In this study, we used a correlation-based biclustering approach to find coexpressed gene sets in five neurodegenerative diseases and three psychiatric disorders. By using biclustering analysis, we could efficiently and fairly identified various gene sets expressed specifically in both single and multiple brain diseases. We could find 4,307 gene sets correlatively expressed in multiple brain diseases and 3,409 gene sets exclusively specified in individual brain diseases. The function enrichment analysis of those gene sets showed many new possible functional bases as well as neurological processes that are common or specific for those eight diseases. Conclusions This study introduces possible common molecular bases for several brain diseases, which open the opportunity to clarify the transnosological perspective assumed in brain diseases. It also showed the advantages of correlation-based biclustering analysis and accompanying function enrichment analysis for gene expression data in this type of investigation. PMID:26043779

Non-localization and localization ROC analyses using clinically based scoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paquerault, Sophie; Samuelson, Frank W.; Myers, Kyle J.; Smith, Robert C.

2009-02-01

We are investigating the potential for differences in study conclusions when assessing the estimated impact of a computer-aided detection (CAD) system on readers' performance. The data utilized in this investigation were derived from a multi-reader multi-case observer study involving one hundred mammographic background images to which fixed-size and fixed-intensity Gaussian signals were added, generating a low- and high-intensity signal sets. The study setting allowed CAD assessment in two situations: when CAD sensitivity was 1) superior or 2) lower than the average reader. Seven readers were asked to review each set in the unaided and CAD-aided reading modes, mark and rate their findings. Using this data, we studied the effect on study conclusion of three clinically-based receiver operating characteristic (ROC) scoring definitions. These scoring definitions included both location-specific and non-location-specific rules. The results showed agreement in the estimated impact of CAD on the overall reader performance. In the study setting where CAD sensitivity is superior to the average reader, the mean difference in AUC between the CAD-aided read and unaided read was 0.049 (95%CIs: -0.027; 0.130) for the image scoring definition that is based on non-location-specific rules, and 0.104 (95%CIs: 0.036; 0.174) and 0.090 (95%CIs: 0.031; 0.155) for image scoring definitions that are based on location-specific rules. The increases in AUC were statistically significant for the location-specific scoring definitions. It was further observed that the variance on these estimates was reduced when using the location-specific scoring definitions compared to that using a non-location-specific scoring definition. In the study setting where CAD sensitivity is equivalent or lower than the average reader, the mean differences in AUC are slightly above 0.01 for all image scoring definitions. These increases in AUC were not statistical significant for any of the image scoring definitions. The results on the variance analysis differed from those observed in the other study setting. This investigation furthers our understanding of the relationships between non-localization-specific and localization-specific ROC assessment methodologies and their relevance to clinical practice.

Benchmark data sets for structure-based computational target prediction.

PubMed

Schomburg, Karen T; Rarey, Matthias

2014-08-25

Structure-based computational target prediction methods identify potential targets for a bioactive compound. Methods based on protein-ligand docking so far face many challenges, where the greatest probably is the ranking of true targets in a large data set of protein structures. Currently, no standard data sets for evaluation exist, rendering comparison and demonstration of improvements of methods cumbersome. Therefore, we propose two data sets and evaluation strategies for a meaningful evaluation of new target prediction methods, i.e., a small data set consisting of three target classes for detailed proof-of-concept and selectivity studies and a large data set consisting of 7992 protein structures and 72 drug-like ligands allowing statistical evaluation with performance metrics on a drug-like chemical space. Both data sets are built from openly available resources, and any information needed to perform the described experiments is reported. We describe the composition of the data sets, the setup of screening experiments, and the evaluation strategy. Performance metrics capable to measure the early recognition of enrichments like AUC, BEDROC, and NSLR are proposed. We apply a sequence-based target prediction method to the large data set to analyze its content of nontrivial evaluation cases. The proposed data sets are used for method evaluation of our new inverse screening method iRAISE. The small data set reveals the method's capability and limitations to selectively distinguish between rather similar protein structures. The large data set simulates real target identification scenarios. iRAISE achieves in 55% excellent or good enrichment a median AUC of 0.67 and RMSDs below 2.0 Å for 74% and was able to predict the first true target in 59 out of 72 cases in the top 2% of the protein data set of about 8000 structures.

Beyond diagnosis: the Core Sets for persons with schizophrenia based on the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health.

PubMed

Gómez-Benito, Juana; Guilera, Georgina; Barrios, Maite; Rojo, Emilio; Pino, Oscar; Gorostiaga, Arantxa; Balluerka, Nekane; Hidalgo, María Dolores; Padilla, José Luis; Benítez, Isabel; Selb, Melissa

2017-07-30

Based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), this paper presents the results of the process to develop the Comprehensive and Brief Core Sets for schizophrenia that allow to comprehensively describe functioning in persons with schizophrenia. Twenty health professionals from diverse backgrounds participated in a formal and iterative decision-making process during an international consensus conference to develop these Core Sets. The conference was carried out based on evidence gathered from four preparatory studies (systematic literature review, qualitative study, expert survey, and empirical study). The first step of this decision-making and consensus process comprised of discussions and voting in working groups and plenary sessions to develop the comprehensive version. The categories of the Comprehensive ICF Core Set for schizophrenia served as the basis for the second step -a ranking and cutoff procedure to decide on the brief version. Of the 184 candidate categories identified in the preparatory studies, 97 categories were included in the Comprehensive Core Set for schizophrenia. A total of 25 categories were selected to constitute the Brief Core Set. The formal decision-making and consensus process integrating evidence from four preparatory studies and expert opinion led to the first version of the Core Sets for schizophrenia. Comprehensive and Brief Core Sets for schizophrenia may provide a common language among different health professionals and researchers, and a basic international standard of what to measure, report, and assess the functioning of persons with schizophrenia. Implications for rehabilitation Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder that has a tremendous impact on functioning and daily life of persons living with the disorder. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) offers an internationally recognized standard for describing the functioning status of these individuals. The Core Sets for schizophrenia have potential use in supporting rehabilitation practice such as for planning mental health services and other interventions or defining rehabilitation goals, and documenting patient care. The Core Sets for schizophrenia may also be used to promote interdisciplinary coordination and facilitate communication between members of a multidisciplinary rehabilitation team. Rehabilitation research is another potential area of application of the Core Sets for schizophrenia. This is valuable, since rehabilitation research provides crucial evidence for optimizing rehabilitation practice.

On-the-fly selection of cell-specific enhancers, genes, miRNAs and proteins across the human body using SlideBase

PubMed Central

Ienasescu, Hans; Li, Kang; Andersson, Robin; Vitezic, Morana; Rennie, Sarah; Chen, Yun; Vitting-Seerup, Kristoffer; Lagoni, Emil; Boyd, Mette; Bornholdt, Jette; de Hoon, Michiel J. L.; Kawaji, Hideya; Lassmann, Timo; Hayashizaki, Yoshihide; Forrest, Alistair R. R.; Carninci, Piero; Sandelin, Albin

2016-01-01

Genomics consortia have produced large datasets profiling the expression of genes, micro-RNAs, enhancers and more across human tissues or cells. There is a need for intuitive tools to select subsets of such data that is the most relevant for specific studies. To this end, we present SlideBase, a web tool which offers a new way of selecting genes, promoters, enhancers and microRNAs that are preferentially expressed/used in a specified set of cells/tissues, based on the use of interactive sliders. With the help of sliders, SlideBase enables users to define custom expression thresholds for individual cell types/tissues, producing sets of genes, enhancers etc. which satisfy these constraints. Changes in slider settings result in simultaneous changes in the selected sets, updated in real time. SlideBase is linked to major databases from genomics consortia, including FANTOM, GTEx, The Human Protein Atlas and BioGPS. Database URL: http://slidebase.binf.ku.dk PMID:28025337

A Microsoft Kinect-Based Point-of-Care Gait Assessment Framework for Multiple Sclerosis Patients.

PubMed

Gholami, Farnood; Trojan, Daria A; Kovecses, Jozsef; Haddad, Wassim M; Gholami, Behnood

2017-09-01

Gait impairment is a prevalent and important difficulty for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a common neurological disorder. An easy to use tool to objectively evaluate gait in MS patients in a clinical setting can assist clinicians to perform an objective assessment. The overall objective of this study is to develop a framework to quantify gait abnormalities in MS patients using the Microsoft Kinect for the Windows sensor; an inexpensive, easy to use, portable camera. Specifically, we aim to evaluate its feasibility for utilization in a clinical setting, assess its reliability, evaluate the validity of gait indices obtained, and evaluate a novel set of gait indices based on the concept of dynamic time warping. In this study, ten ambulatory MS patients, and ten age and sex-matched normal controls were studied at one session in a clinical setting with gait assessment using a Kinect camera. The expanded disability status scale (EDSS) clinical ambulation score was calculated for the MS subjects, and patients completed the Multiple Sclerosis walking scale (MSWS). Based on this study, we established the potential feasibility of using a Microsoft Kinect camera in a clinical setting. Seven out of the eight gait indices obtained using the proposed method were reliable with intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from 0.61 to 0.99. All eight MS gait indices were significantly different from those of the controls (p-values less than 0.05). Finally, seven out of the eight MS gait indices were correlated with the objective and subjective gait measures (Pearson's correlation coefficients greater than 0.40). This study shows that the Kinect camera is an easy to use tool to assess gait in MS patients in a clinical setting.

Digital data base application to porphyry copper mineralization in Alaska; case study summary

USGS Publications Warehouse

Trautwein, Charles M.; Greenlee, David D.; Orr, Donald G.

1982-01-01

The purpose of this report is to summarize the progress in use of digital image analysis techniques in developing a conceptual model for assessing porphyry copper mineral potential. The study area consists of approximately the southern one-half of the 1? by 3? Nabesna quadrangle in east-central Alaska. The digital geologic data base consists of data compiled under the Alaskan Mineral Resource Assessment Program (AMRAP) as well as digital elevation data and Landsat spectral reflectance data from the Multispectral Scanner System. The digital data base used to develop and implement a conceptual model for porphyry-type copper mineralization consisted of 16 original data types and 18 derived data sets formatted in a grid-cell (raster) structure and registered to a map base in the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projection. Minimum curvature and inverse distance squared interpolation techniques were used to generate continuous surfaces from sets of irregularly spaced data points. Processing requirements included: (1) merging or overlaying of data sets, (2) display and color coding of maps and images, (3) univariate and multivariate statistical analyses, and (4) compound overlaying operations. Data sets were merged and processed to create stereoscopic displays of continuous surfaces. The ratio of several data sets were calculated to evaluate relative variations and to enhance the display of surface alteration (gossans). Factor analysis and principal components analysis techniques were used to determine complex relationships and correlations between data sets. The resultant model consists of 10 parameters that identify three areas most likely to contain porphyry copper mineralization; two of these areas are known occurrences of mineralization and the third is not well known. Field studies confirmed that the three areas identified by the model have significant copper potential.

Using Water-Testing Data Sets.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Varrella, Gary F.

1994-01-01

Advocates an approach to teaching environmentally related studies based on constructivism. Presents an activity that makes use of data on chemicals in the water supply, and discusses obtaining and using data sets in the classroom. (LZ)

Systems-based biological concordance and predictive reproducibility of gene set discovery methods in cardiovascular disease.

PubMed

Azuaje, Francisco; Zheng, Huiru; Camargo, Anyela; Wang, Haiying

2011-08-01

The discovery of novel disease biomarkers is a crucial challenge for translational bioinformatics. Demonstration of both their classification power and reproducibility across independent datasets are essential requirements to assess their potential clinical relevance. Small datasets and multiplicity of putative biomarker sets may explain lack of predictive reproducibility. Studies based on pathway-driven discovery approaches have suggested that, despite such discrepancies, the resulting putative biomarkers tend to be implicated in common biological processes. Investigations of this problem have been mainly focused on datasets derived from cancer research. We investigated the predictive and functional concordance of five methods for discovering putative biomarkers in four independently-generated datasets from the cardiovascular disease domain. A diversity of biosignatures was identified by the different methods. However, we found strong biological process concordance between them, especially in the case of methods based on gene set analysis. With a few exceptions, we observed lack of classification reproducibility using independent datasets. Partial overlaps between our putative sets of biomarkers and the primary studies exist. Despite the observed limitations, pathway-driven or gene set analysis can predict potentially novel biomarkers and can jointly point to biomedically-relevant underlying molecular mechanisms. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An efficient graph theory based method to identify every minimal reaction set in a metabolic network

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Development of cells with minimal metabolic functionality is gaining importance due to their efficiency in producing chemicals and fuels. Existing computational methods to identify minimal reaction sets in metabolic networks are computationally expensive. Further, they identify only one of the several possible minimal reaction sets. Results In this paper, we propose an efficient graph theory based recursive optimization approach to identify all minimal reaction sets. Graph theoretical insights offer systematic methods to not only reduce the number of variables in math programming and increase its computational efficiency, but also provide efficient ways to find multiple optimal solutions. The efficacy of the proposed approach is demonstrated using case studies from Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In case study 1, the proposed method identified three minimal reaction sets each containing 38 reactions in Escherichia coli central metabolic network with 77 reactions. Analysis of these three minimal reaction sets revealed that one of them is more suitable for developing minimal metabolism cell compared to other two due to practically achievable internal flux distribution. In case study 2, the proposed method identified 256 minimal reaction sets from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome scale metabolic network with 620 reactions. The proposed method required only 4.5 hours to identify all the 256 minimal reaction sets and has shown a significant reduction (approximately 80%) in the solution time when compared to the existing methods for finding minimal reaction set. Conclusions Identification of all minimal reactions sets in metabolic networks is essential since different minimal reaction sets have different properties that effect the bioprocess development. The proposed method correctly identified all minimal reaction sets in a both the case studies. The proposed method is computationally efficient compared to other methods for finding minimal reaction sets and useful to employ with genome-scale metabolic networks. PMID:24594118

Mental Health Service Use in Schools and Non-School-Based Outpatient Settings: Comparing Predictors of Service Use

PubMed Central

Langer, David A.; Wood, Jeffrey J.; Wood, Patricia A.; Garland, Ann F.; Landsverk, John; Hough, Richard L.

2015-01-01

Researchers have consistently documented a gap between the large number of US youth meeting criteria for a mental health disorder with significant associated impairment, and the comparatively few youth receiving services. School-based mental health care may address the need–services gap by offering services more equitably to youth in need, irrespective of family economic resources, availability of transportation, and other factors that can impede access to community clinics. However, diagnoses alone do not fully capture the severity of an individual's mental health status and need for services. Studying service use only in relation to diagnoses may restrict our understanding of the degree to which service use is reflective of service need, and inhibit our ability to compare school and non-school-based outpatient settings on their responsiveness to service need. The present study evaluated predictors of mental health service use in school- and community-based settings for youth who had had an active case in one of two public sectors of care, comparing empirically-derived dimensional measurements of youth mental health service need and impairment ratings against non-need variables (e.g., ethnicity, income). Three dimensions of youth mental health service need were identified. Mental health service need and non-need variables each played a significant predictive role. Parent-rated impairment was the strongest need-based predictor of service use across settings. The impact of non-need variables varied by service setting, with parental income having a particularly noticeable effect on school-based services. Across time, preceding service use and impairment each significantly predicted future service use. PMID:26442131

Mental Health Service Use in Schools and Non-School-Based Outpatient Settings: Comparing Predictors of Service Use.

PubMed

Langer, David A; Wood, Jeffrey J; Wood, Patricia A; Garland, Ann F; Landsverk, John; Hough, Richard L

2015-09-01

Researchers have consistently documented a gap between the large number of US youth meeting criteria for a mental health disorder with significant associated impairment, and the comparatively few youth receiving services. School-based mental health care may address the need-services gap by offering services more equitably to youth in need, irrespective of family economic resources, availability of transportation, and other factors that can impede access to community clinics. However, diagnoses alone do not fully capture the severity of an individual's mental health status and need for services. Studying service use only in relation to diagnoses may restrict our understanding of the degree to which service use is reflective of service need, and inhibit our ability to compare school and non-school-based outpatient settings on their responsiveness to service need. The present study evaluated predictors of mental health service use in school- and community-based settings for youth who had had an active case in one of two public sectors of care, comparing empirically-derived dimensional measurements of youth mental health service need and impairment ratings against non-need variables (e.g., ethnicity, income). Three dimensions of youth mental health service need were identified. Mental health service need and non-need variables each played a significant predictive role. Parent-rated impairment was the strongest need-based predictor of service use across settings. The impact of non-need variables varied by service setting, with parental income having a particularly noticeable effect on school-based services. Across time, preceding service use and impairment each significantly predicted future service use.

Intrajudge Consistency Using the Angoff Standard-Setting Method.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plake, Barbara S.; Impara, James C.

This study investigated the intrajudge consistency of Angoff-based item performance estimates. The examination used was a certification examination in an emergency medicine specialty. Ten expert panelists rated the same 24 items twice during an operational standard setting study. Results indicate that the panelists were highly consistent, in terms…

Lead identification and optimization of novel collagenase inhibitors; pharmacophore and structure based studies

PubMed Central

Kalva, Sukesh; Vadivelan, S; Sanam, Ramadevi; Jagarlapudi, Sarma ARP; Saleena, Lilly M

2012-01-01

In this study, chemical feature based pharmacophore models of MMP-1, MMP-8 and MMP-13 inhibitors have been developed with the aid of HypoGen module within Catalyst program package. In MMP-1 and MMP-13, all the compounds in the training set mapped HBA and RA, while in MMP-8, the training set mapped HBA and HY. These features revealed responsibility for the high molecular bioactivity, and this is further used as a three dimensional query to screen the knowledge based designed molecules. These pharmacophore models for collagenases picked up some potent and novel inhibitors. Subsequently, docking studies were performed for the potent molecules and novel hits were suggested for further studies based on the docking score and active site interactions in MMP-1, MMP-8 and MMP-13. PMID:22553386

Identification and Construction of Combinatory Cancer Hallmark-Based Gene Signature Sets to Predict Recurrence and Chemotherapy Benefit in Stage II Colorectal Cancer.

PubMed

Gao, Shanwu; Tibiche, Chabane; Zou, Jinfeng; Zaman, Naif; Trifiro, Mark; O'Connor-McCourt, Maureen; Wang, Edwin

2016-01-01

Decisions regarding adjuvant therapy in patients with stage II colorectal cancer (CRC) have been among the most challenging and controversial in oncology over the past 20 years. To develop robust combinatory cancer hallmark-based gene signature sets (CSS sets) that more accurately predict prognosis and identify a subset of patients with stage II CRC who could gain survival benefits from adjuvant chemotherapy. Thirteen retrospective studies of patients with stage II CRC who had clinical follow-up and adjuvant chemotherapy were analyzed. Respective totals of 162 and 843 patients from 2 and 11 independent cohorts were used as the discovery and validation cohorts, respectively. A total of 1005 patients with stage II CRC were included in the 13 cohorts. Among them, 84 of 416 patients in 3 independent cohorts received fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy. Identification of CSS sets to predict relapse-free survival and identify a subset of patients with stage II CRC who could gain substantial survival benefits from fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy. Eight cancer hallmark-based gene signatures (30 genes each) were identified and used to construct CSS sets for determining prognosis. The CSS sets were validated in 11 independent cohorts of 767 patients with stage II CRC who did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy. The CSS sets accurately stratified patients into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups. Five-year relapse-free survival rates were 94%, 78%, and 45%, respectively, representing 60%, 28%, and 12% of patients with stage II disease. The 416 patients with CSS set-defined high-risk stage II CRC who received fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy showed a substantial gain in survival benefits from the treatment (ie, recurrence reduced by 30%-40% in 5 years). The CSS sets substantially outperformed other prognostic predictors of stage 2 CRC. They are more accurate and robust for prognostic predictions and facilitate the identification of patients with stage II disease who could gain survival benefit from fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy.

Examining the Effects of School-Based Drug Prevention Programs on Drug Use in Rural Settings: Methodology and Initial Findings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, C. Hendricks; Guo, Jing; Singer, L. Terri; Downes, Katheryne; Brinales, Joseph M.

2007-01-01

Context: Although there have been substantial advances in knowledge about drug prevention over the last decade, the majority of school-based drug prevention studies have been conducted in urban settings. There is little knowledge about the effectiveness of such programs when they are implemented in rural populations. Purpose: To examine the…

Implementation of Lifestyle Modification Program Focusing on Physical Activity and Dietary Habits in a Large Group, Community-Based Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stoutenberg, Mark; Falcon, Ashley; Arheart, Kris; Stasi, Selina; Portacio, Francia; Stepanenko, Bryan; Lan, Mary L.; Castruccio-Prince, Catarina; Nackenson, Joshua

2017-01-01

Background: Lifestyle modification programs improve several health-related behaviors, including physical activity (PA) and nutrition. However, few of these programs have been expanded to impact a large number of individuals in one setting at one time. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether a PA- and nutrition-based lifestyle…

Collaborative Teaching Strategies Lead to Retention of Skills in Acid-Base Physiology: A 2-Yr Follow-Up Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartmann, Jacob P.; Toksvang, Linea Natalie; Berg, Ronan M. G.

2015-01-01

A basic understanding of acid-base physiology is critical for the correct assessment of arterial blood gases in the clinical setting. In this context, collaborative teaching strategies in the undergraduate classroom setting may be useful, since it has been reported to enhance both transfer and retention of learned material in a time-efficient…

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy in a Community Setting: Examining Outcomes, Attrition, and Treatment Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lanier, Paul; Kohl, Patrica L.; Benz, Joan; Swinger, Dawn; Moussette, Pam; Drake, Brett

2011-01-01

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) deployed in a community setting comparing in-home with the standard office-based intervention. Child behavior, parent stress, parent functioning, and attrition were examined. Methods: Using a quasi-experimental design, standardized measures at three time…

Implementation of Positive Behavior Support with a Sibling Set in a Home Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duda, Michelle A.; Clarke, Shelley; Fox, Lise; Dunlap, Glen

2008-01-01

This study provides a demonstration of the process of positive behavior support (PBS) within a home setting to address the challenging behavior of a sibling set within family routines. Although a growing data base is demonstrating the feasibility and effectiveness of conducting functional behavioral assessment and implementing assessment-based…

Using video-based observation research methods in primary care health encounters to evaluate complex interactions.

PubMed

Asan, Onur; Montague, Enid

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to describe the use of video-based observation research methods in primary care environment and highlight important methodological considerations and provide practical guidance for primary care and human factors researchers conducting video studies to understand patient-clinician interaction in primary care settings. We reviewed studies in the literature which used video methods in health care research, and we also used our own experience based on the video studies we conducted in primary care settings. This paper highlighted the benefits of using video techniques, such as multi-channel recording and video coding, and compared "unmanned" video recording with the traditional observation method in primary care research. We proposed a list that can be followed step by step to conduct an effective video study in a primary care setting for a given problem. This paper also described obstacles, researchers should anticipate when using video recording methods in future studies. With the new technological improvements, video-based observation research is becoming a promising method in primary care and HFE research. Video recording has been under-utilised as a data collection tool because of confidentiality and privacy issues. However, it has many benefits as opposed to traditional observations, and recent studies using video recording methods have introduced new research areas and approaches.

Synoptic Storms in the North Atlantic in the Atmospheric Reanalysis and Scatterometer-Based Wind Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dukhovskoy, D. S.; Bourassa, M. A.

2016-12-01

The study compares and analyses the characteristics of synoptic storms in the Subpolar North Atlantic over the time period from 2000 through 2009 derived from reanalysis data sets and scatterometer-based gridded wind products. The analysis is performed for ocean 10-m winds derived from the following wind data sets: NCEP/DOE AMIP-II reanalysis (NCEPR2), NCAR/CFSR, Arctic System Reanalysis (ASR) version 1, Cross-Calibrated Multi-Platform (CCMP) wind product versions 1.1 and recently released version 2.0 prepared by the Remote Sensing Systems, and QuikSCAT. A cyclone tracking algorithm employed in this study for storm identification is based on average vorticity fields derived from the wind data. The study discusses storm characteristics such as storm counts, trajectories, intensity, integrated kinetic energy, spatial scale. Interannal variability of these characteristics in the data sets is compared. The analyses demonstrates general agreement among the wind data products on the characteristics of the storms, their spatial distribution and trajectories. On average, the NCEPR2 storms are more energetic mostly due to large spatial scales and stronger winds. There is noticeable interannual variability in the storm characteristics, yet no obvious trend in storms is observed in the data sets.

A case study on the application of International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)-based tools for vocational rehabilitation in spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Glässel, Andrea; Rauch, Alexandra; Selb, Melissa; Emmenegger, Karl; Lückenkemper, Miriam; Escorpizo, Reuben

2012-01-01

Vocational rehabilitation (VR) plays a key role in bringing persons with acquired disabilities back to work, while encouraging employment participation. The purpose of this case study is to illustrate the systematic application of International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF)-based documentation tools by using ICF Core Sets in VR shown with a case example of a client with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). The client was a 26-year-old male with paraplegia (7th thoracic level), working in the past as a mover. This case study describes the integration of the ICF Core Sets for VR into an interdisciplinary rehabilitation program by using ICF-based documentation tools. Improvements in the client's impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions were observed following rehabilitation. Goals in different areas of functioning were achieved. The use of the ICF Core Sets in VR allows a comprehensive assessment of the client's level of functioning and intervention planning. Specifically, the Brief ICF Core Set in VR can provide domains for intervention relevant to each member of an interdisciplinary team and hence, can facilitate the VR management process in a SCI center in Switzerland.

Field data sets for seagrass biophysical properties for the Eastern Banks, Moreton Bay, Australia, 2004-2014

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roelfsema, Chris M.; Kovacs, Eva M.; Phinn, Stuart R.

2015-08-01

This paper describes seagrass species and percentage cover point-based field data sets derived from georeferenced photo transects. Annually or biannually over a ten year period (2004-2014) data sets were collected using 30-50 transects, 500-800 m in length distributed across a 142 km2 shallow, clear water seagrass habitat, the Eastern Banks, Moreton Bay, Australia. Each of the eight data sets include seagrass property information derived from approximately 3000 georeferenced, downward looking photographs captured at 2-4 m intervals along the transects. Photographs were manually interpreted to estimate seagrass species composition and percentage cover (Coral Point Count excel; CPCe). Understanding seagrass biology, ecology and dynamics for scientific and management purposes requires point-based data on species composition and cover. This data set, and the methods used to derive it are a globally unique example for seagrass ecological applications. It provides the basis for multiple further studies at this site, regional to global comparative studies, and, for the design of similar monitoring programs elsewhere.

The influence of CT based attenuation correction on PET/CT registration: an evaluation study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yaniv, Ziv; Wong, Kenneth H.; Banovac, Filip; Levy, Elliot; Cleary, Kevin

2007-03-01

We are currently developing a PET/CT based navigation system for guidance of biopsies and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of early stage hepatic tumors. For these procedures, combined PET/CT data can potentially improve current interventions. The diagnostic efficacy of biopsies can potentially be improved by accurately targeting the region within the tumor that exhibits the highest metabolic activity. For RFA procedures the system can potentially enable treatment of early stage tumors, targeting tumors before structural abnormalities are clearly visible on CT. In both cases target definition is based on the metabolic data (PET), and navigation is based on the spatial data (CT), making the system highly dependent upon accurate spatial alignment between these data sets. In our institute all clinical data sets include three image volumes: one CT, and two PET volumes, with and without CT-based attenuation correction. This paper studies the effect of the CT-based attenuation correction on the registration process. From comparing the pairs of registrations from five data sets we observe that the point motion magnitude difference between registrations is on the same scale as the point motion magnitude in each one of the registrations, and that visual inspection cannot identify this discrepancy. We conclude that using non-rigid registration to align the PET and CT data sets is too variable, and most likely does not provide sufficient accuracy for interventional procedures.

A comparison of the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of nitroglycerin according to the composition of the administration set

PubMed Central

Kim, Choon Ok; Song, Jeongyun; Min, Ji Young; Park, Su Jung; Lee, Hye Mi; Byon, Hyo-Jin

2018-01-01

Abstract Background: There is a risk of drug sorption into an intravenous administration set composed of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane (PU), or polyolefin (PO). This has implications on the dose of the active ingredient the patient receives, and thus therapeutic success. This study aimed to determine the plasma concentration of nitroglycerin and the effect of nitroglycerin on patients based on the composition of the administration set. Methods: Using a randomized, open-labeled, 3 × 3 crossover method, 9 volunteers were assigned to 3 groups. In period I, nitroglycerin (100 μg/mL) was infused via a PVC- (group A), PU- (group B), or PO-based (group C) administration set. In period II, PU- (group A), PO- (group B), and PVC-based (group C) administration sets were used, and in period III, PO- (group A), PVC- (group B), and PU-based (group C) administration sets were used. The rate of drug administration in all periods was 12 mL/hour for 30 minutes using an infusion pump. Blood samples were collected, and the plasma concentrations of nitroglycerin were analyzed using validated high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Blood pressure was determined using a sphygmomanometer applied to the other upper arm at an interval of 5 minutes. Results: We observed that the mean plasma concentration of nitroglycerin over time when administered using a PO-based tube was higher than that when using a PU- or PVC-based tube. When the percent change of the mean arterial pressure from baseline at each time point was compared among groups, there were statistically significant differences between PU and PO or PVC at most points during nitroglycerin infusion. Conclusion: Our results showed higher nitroglycerin plasma concentration and lower arterial pressure when a PO-based administration set was used than when a PVC- or PU-based administration set was used. PO-based administration sets may be more appropriate for nitroglycerin administration compared to those composed of PVC or PU. PMID:29489681

Relativistic proton-nucleus scattering and one-boson-exchange models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maung, Khin Maung; Gross, Franz; Tjon, J. A.; Townsend, L. W.; Wallace, S. J.

1993-01-01

Relativistic p-(Ca-40) elastic scattering observables are calculated using four sets of relativistic NN amplitudes obtained from different one-boson-exchange (OBE) models. The first two sets are based upon a relativistic equation in which one particle is on mass shell and the other two sets are obtained from a quasipotential reduction of the Bethe-Salpeter equation. Results at 200, 300, and 500 MeV are presented for these amplitudes. Differences between the predictions of these models provide a study of the uncertainty in constructing Dirac optical potentials from OBE-based NN amplitudes.

[Multiple sclerosis epidemiological situation update: pertinence and set-up of a population based registry of new cases in Catalonia].

PubMed

Otero, S; Batlle, J; Bonaventura, I; Brieva, Ll; Bufill, E; Cano, A; Carmona, O; Escartín, A; Marco, M; Moral, E; Munteis, E; Nos, C; Pericot, I; Perkal, H; Ramió-Torrentà, Ll; Ramo-Tello, C; Saiz, A; Sastre-Garriga, J; Tintoré, M; Vaqué, J; Montalban, X

2010-05-16

The first epidemiological studies on multiple sclerosis (MS) around the world pictured a north to south latitudinal gradient that led to the first genetic and environmental pathogenic hypothesis. MS incidence seems to be increasing during the past 20 years based on recent data from prospective studies performed in Europe, America and Asia. This phenomenon could be explained by a better case ascertainment as well as a change in causal factors. The few prospective studies in our area together with the increase in the disease in other regions, justifies an epidemiological MS project in order to describe the incidence and temporal trends of MS. A prospective multicenter MS registry has been established according to the actual requirements of an epidemiological surveillance system. Case definition is based on the fulfillment of the McDonald diagnostic criteria. The registry setting is the geographical area of Cataluna (northeastern Spain), using a wide network of hospitals specialized in MS management. Recent epidemiological studies have described an increase in MS incidence. In order to contrast this finding in our area, we consider appropriate to set up a population based registry.

Barriers to the implementation of checklists in the office-based procedural setting.

PubMed

Shapiro, Fred E; Fernando, Rohesh J; Urman, Richard D

2014-01-01

Patient safety is critical for the patients, providers, and risk managers in the office-based procedural setting, and the same standard of care should be maintained regardless of the healthcare environment. Checklists may improve patient safety and potentially decrease risk. This study explored utilization of checklists in the office-based setting and the potential barriers to their implementation. A cross-sectional prospective study was performed by using a 19-question anonymous survey designed with REDCap®. Medical providers including physicians and nurses from 25 different offices that performed procedures participated, and 38 individual responses were included in the study. Only 50% of offices surveyed use safety checklists in their practice. Only 34% had checklists or equivalent protocol for emergencies such as anaphylaxis or failed airway. As many as 23.7% of respondents indicated that they encountered barriers to implementing checklists. The top barriers identified in the study were no incentive to use a checklist (77.8%), no mandate from a local or federal regulatory agency (44.4%), being too time consuming (33.3%), and lack of training (33.3%). Reasons identified that would encourage providers to use checklists included a clear mandate (36.8%) and evidence-based research (26.3%). Checklists are not being universally utilized in the office-based setting. There are barriers preventing their successful implementation. Risk managers may be able to improve patient safety and decrease risk by encouraging practitioners, possibly through incentives, to use customizable safety checklists. © 2014 American Society for Healthcare Risk Management of the American Hospital Association.

Habitat and environment of islands: primary and supplemental island sets

USGS Publications Warehouse

Matalas, Nicholas C.; Grossling, Bernardo F.

2002-01-01

The original intent of the study was to develop a first-order synopsis of island hydrology with an integrated geologic basis on a global scale. As the study progressed, the aim was broadened to provide a framework for subsequent assessments on large regional or global scales of island resources and impacts on those resources that are derived from global changes. Fundamental to the study was the development of a comprehensive framework?a wide range of parameters that describe a set of 'saltwater' islands sufficiently large to Characterize the spatial distribution of the world?s islands; Account for all major archipelagos; Account for almost all oceanically isolated islands, and Account collectively for a very large proportion of the total area of the world?s islands whereby additional islands would only marginally contribute to the representativeness and accountability of the island set. The comprehensive framework, which is referred to as the ?Primary Island Set,? is built on 122 parameters that describe 1,000 islands. To complement the investigations based on the Primary Island Set, two supplemental island sets, Set A?Other Islands (not in the Primary Island Set) and Set B?Lagoonal Atolls, are included in the study. The Primary Island Set, together with the Supplemental Island Sets A and B, provides a framework that can be used in various scientific disciplines for their island-based studies on broad regional or global scales. The study uses an informal, coherent, geophysical organization of the islands that belong to the three island sets. The organization is in the form of a global island chain, which is a particular sequential ordering of the islands referred to as the 'Alisida.' The Alisida was developed through a trial-and-error procedure by seeking to strike a balance between 'minimizing the length of the global chain' and 'maximizing the chain?s geophysical coherence.' The fact that an objective function cannot be minimized and maximized simultaneously indicates that the Alisida is not unique. Global island chains other than the Alisida may better serve disciplines other than those of hydrology and geology.

Development of responder criteria for multicomponent non-pharmacological treatment in fibromyalgia.

PubMed

Vervoort, Vera M; Vriezekolk, Johanna E; van den Ende, Cornelia H

2017-01-01

There is a need to identify individual treatment success in patients with fibromyalgia (FM) who received non-pharmacological treatment. The present study described responder criteria for multicomponent non-pharmacological treatment in FM, and estimated and compared their sensitivity and specificity. Candidate responder sets were 1) identified in literature; and 2) formulated by expert group consensus. All candidate responder sets were tested in a cohort of 129 patients with FM receiving multicomponent non-pharmacological treatment. We used two gold standards (both therapist's and patient's perspective), assessed at six months after the start of treatment. Seven responder sets were defined (three identified in literature and four formulated by expert group consensus), and comprised combinations of domains of 1) pain; 2) fatigue; 3) patient global assessment (PGA); 4) illness perceptions; 5) limitations in activities of daily living (ADL); and 6) sleep. The sensitivity and specificity of literature-based responder sets (n=3) ranged between 17%-99% and 15%-95% respectively, whereas the expert-based responder sets (n=4) performed slightly better with regard to sensitivity (range 41%-81%) and specificity (range 50%-96%). Of the literature-based responder sets the OMERACT-OARSI responder set with patient's gold standard performed best (sensitivity 63%, specificity 75% and ROC area = 0.69). Overall, the expert-based responder set comprising the domains illness perceptions and limitations in ADL with patient's gold standard performed best (sensitivity 47%, specificity 96% and ROC area = 0.71). We defined sets of responder criteria for multicomponent non-pharmacological treatment in fibromyalgia. Further research should focus on the validation of those sets with acceptable performance.

Computer-Guided Deep Brain Stimulation Programming for Parkinson's Disease.

PubMed

Heldman, Dustin A; Pulliam, Christopher L; Urrea Mendoza, Enrique; Gartner, Maureen; Giuffrida, Joseph P; Montgomery, Erwin B; Espay, Alberto J; Revilla, Fredy J

2016-02-01

Pilot study to evaluate computer-guided deep brain stimulation (DBS) programming designed to optimize stimulation settings using objective motion sensor-based motor assessments. Seven subjects (five males; 54-71 years) with Parkinson's disease (PD) and recently implanted DBS systems participated in this pilot study. Within two months of lead implantation, the subject returned to the clinic to undergo computer-guided programming and parameter selection. A motion sensor was placed on the index finger of the more affected hand. Software guided a monopolar survey during which monopolar stimulation on each contact was iteratively increased followed by an automated assessment of tremor and bradykinesia. After completing assessments at each setting, a software algorithm determined stimulation settings designed to minimize symptom severities, side effects, and battery usage. Optimal DBS settings were chosen based on average severity of motor symptoms measured by the motion sensor. Settings chosen by the software algorithm identified a therapeutic window and improved tremor and bradykinesia by an average of 35.7% compared with baseline in the "off" state (p < 0.01). Motion sensor-based computer-guided DBS programming identified stimulation parameters that significantly improved tremor and bradykinesia with minimal clinician involvement. Automated motion sensor-based mapping is worthy of further investigation and may one day serve to extend programming to populations without access to specialized DBS centers. © 2015 International Neuromodulation Society.

NASA Ocean Altimeter Pathfinder Project. Report 2; Data Set Validation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koblinsky, C. J.; Ray, Richard D.; Beckley, Brian D.; Bremmer, Anita; Tsaoussi, Lucia S.; Wang, Yan-Ming

1999-01-01

The NOAA/NASA Pathfinder program was created by the Earth Observing System (EOS) Program Office to determine how existing satellite-based data sets can be processed and used to study global change. The data sets are designed to be long time-series data processed with stable calibration and community consensus algorithms to better assist the research community. The Ocean Altimeter Pathfinder Project involves the reprocessing of all altimeter observations with a consistent set of improved algorithms, based on the results from TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P), into easy-to-use data sets for the oceanographic community for climate research. Details are currently presented in two technical reports: Report# 1: Data Processing Handbook Report #2: Data Set Validation This report describes the validation of the data sets against a global network of high quality tide gauge measurements and provides an estimate of the error budget. The first report describes the processing schemes used to produce the geodetic consistent data set comprised of SEASAT, GEOSAT, ERS-1, TOPEX/ POSEIDON, and ERS-2 satellite observations.

Employing continuous quality improvement in community-based substance abuse programs.

PubMed

Chinman, Matthew; Hunter, Sarah B; Ebener, Patricia

2012-01-01

This article aims to describe continuous quality improvement (CQI) for substance abuse prevention and treatment programs in a community-based organization setting. CQI (e.g., plan-do-study-act cycles (PDSA)) applied in healthcare and industry was adapted for substance abuse prevention and treatment programs in a community setting. The authors assessed the resources needed, acceptability and CQI feasibility for ten programs by evaluating CQI training workshops with program staff and a series of three qualitative interviews over a nine-month implementation period with program participants. The CQI activities, PDSA cycle progress, effort, enthusiasm, benefits and challenges were examined. Results indicated that CQI was feasible and acceptable for community-based substance abuse prevention and treatment programs; however, some notable resource challenges remain. Future studies should examine CQI impact on service quality and intended program outcomes. The study was conducted on a small number of programs. It did not assess CQI impact on service quality and intended program outcomes. Practical implications- This project shows that it is feasible to adapt CQI techniques and processes for community-based programs substance abuse prevention and treatment programs. These techniques may help community-based program managers to improve service quality and achieve program outcomes. This is one of the first studies to adapt traditional CQI techniques for community-based settings delivering substance abuse prevention and treatment programs.

Ligand-based and structure-based approaches in identifying ideal pharmacophore against c-Jun N-terminal kinase-3.

PubMed

Kumar, B V S Suneel; Kotla, Rohith; Buddiga, Revanth; Roy, Jyoti; Singh, Sardar Shamshair; Gundla, Rambabu; Ravikumar, Muttineni; Sarma, Jagarlapudi A R P

2011-01-01

Structure and ligand based pharmacophore modeling and docking studies carried out using diversified set of c-Jun N-terminal kinase-3 (JNK3) inhibitors are presented in this paper. Ligand based pharmacophore model (LBPM) was developed for 106 inhibitors of JNK3 using a training set of 21 compounds to reveal structural and chemical features necessary for these molecules to inhibit JNK3. Hypo1 consisted of two hydrogen bond acceptors (HBA), one hydrogen bond donor (HBD), and a hydrophobic (HY) feature with a correlation coefficient (r²) of 0.950. This pharmacophore model was validated using test set containing 85 inhibitors and had a good r² of 0.846. All the molecules were docked using Glide software and interestingly, all the docked conformations showed hydrogen bond interactions with important hinge region amino acids (Gln155 and Met149)and these interactions were compared with Hypo1 features. The results of ligand based pharmacophore model (LBPM)and docking studies are validated each other. The structure based pharmacophore model (SBPM) studies have identified additional features, two hydrogen bond donors and one hydrogen bond acceptor. The combination of these methodologies is useful in designing ideal pharmacophore which provides a powerful tool for the discovery of novel and selective JNK3 inhibitors.

Organizational contextual features that influence the implementation of evidence-based practices across healthcare settings: a systematic integrative review.

PubMed

Li, Shelly-Anne; Jeffs, Lianne; Barwick, Melanie; Stevens, Bonnie

2018-05-05

Organizational contextual features have been recognized as important determinants for implementing evidence-based practices across healthcare settings for over a decade. However, implementation scientists have not reached consensus on which features are most important for implementing evidence-based practices. The aims of this review were to identify the most commonly reported organizational contextual features that influence the implementation of evidence-based practices across healthcare settings, and to describe how these features affect implementation. An integrative review was undertaken following literature searches in CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases from January 2005 to June 2017. English language, peer-reviewed empirical studies exploring organizational context in at least one implementation initiative within a healthcare setting were included. Quality appraisal of the included studies was performed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Inductive content analysis informed data extraction and reduction. The search generated 5152 citations. After removing duplicates and applying eligibility criteria, 36 journal articles were included. The majority (n = 20) of the study designs were qualitative, 11 were quantitative, and 5 used a mixed methods approach. Six main organizational contextual features (organizational culture; leadership; networks and communication; resources; evaluation, monitoring and feedback; and champions) were most commonly reported to influence implementation outcomes in the selected studies across a wide range of healthcare settings. We identified six organizational contextual features that appear to be interrelated and work synergistically to influence the implementation of evidence-based practices within an organization. Organizational contextual features did not influence implementation efforts independently from other features. Rather, features were interrelated and often influenced each other in complex, dynamic ways to effect change. These features corresponded to the constructs in the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), which supports the use of CFIR as a guiding framework for studies that explore the relationship between organizational context and implementation. Organizational culture was most commonly reported to affect implementation. Leadership exerted influence on the five other features, indicating it may be a moderator or mediator that enhances or impedes the implementation of evidence-based practices. Future research should focus on how organizational features interact to influence implementation effectiveness.

Development of Hospital-based Data Sets as a Vehicle for Implementation of a National Electronic Health Record

PubMed Central

Keikha, Leila; Farajollah, Seyede Sedigheh Seied; Safdari, Reza; Ghazisaeedi, Marjan; Mohammadzadeh, Niloofar

2018-01-01

Background In developing countries such as Iran, international standards offer good sources to survey and use for appropriate planning in the domain of electronic health records (EHRs). Therefore, in this study, HL7 and ASTM standards were considered as the main sources from which to extract EHR data. Objective The objective of this study was to propose a hospital data set for a national EHR consisting of data classes and data elements by adjusting data sets extracted from the standards and paper-based records. Method This comparative study was carried out in 2017 by studying the contents of the paper-based records approved by the health ministry in Iran and the international ASTM and HL7 standards in order to extract a minimum hospital data set for a national EHR. Results As a result of studying the standards and paper-based records, a total of 526 data elements in 174 classes were extracted. An examination of the data indicated that the highest number of extracted data came from the free text elements, both in the paper-based records and in the standards related to the administrative data. The major sources of data extracted from ASTM and HL7 were the E1384 and Hl7V.x standards, respectively. In the paper-based records, data were extracted from 19 forms sporadically. Discussion By declaring the confidentiality of information, the ASTM standards acknowledge the issue of confidentiality of information as one of the main challenges of EHR development, and propose new types of admission, such as teleconference, tele-video, and home visit, which are inevitable with the advent of new technology for providing healthcare and treating diseases. Data related to finance and insurance, which were scattered in different categories by three organizations, emerged as the financial category. Documenting the role and responsibility of the provider by adding the authenticator/signature data element was deemed essential. Conclusion Not only using well-defined and standardized data, but also adapting EHR systems to the local facilities and the existing social and cultural conditions, will facilitate the development of structured data sets. PMID:29618962

Development of Hospital-based Data Sets as a Vehicle for Implementation of a National Electronic Health Record.

PubMed

Keikha, Leila; Farajollah, Seyede Sedigheh Seied; Safdari, Reza; Ghazisaeedi, Marjan; Mohammadzadeh, Niloofar

2018-01-01

In developing countries such as Iran, international standards offer good sources to survey and use for appropriate planning in the domain of electronic health records (EHRs). Therefore, in this study, HL7 and ASTM standards were considered as the main sources from which to extract EHR data. The objective of this study was to propose a hospital data set for a national EHR consisting of data classes and data elements by adjusting data sets extracted from the standards and paper-based records. This comparative study was carried out in 2017 by studying the contents of the paper-based records approved by the health ministry in Iran and the international ASTM and HL7 standards in order to extract a minimum hospital data set for a national EHR. As a result of studying the standards and paper-based records, a total of 526 data elements in 174 classes were extracted. An examination of the data indicated that the highest number of extracted data came from the free text elements, both in the paper-based records and in the standards related to the administrative data. The major sources of data extracted from ASTM and HL7 were the E1384 and Hl7V.x standards, respectively. In the paper-based records, data were extracted from 19 forms sporadically. By declaring the confidentiality of information, the ASTM standards acknowledge the issue of confidentiality of information as one of the main challenges of EHR development, and propose new types of admission, such as teleconference, tele-video, and home visit, which are inevitable with the advent of new technology for providing healthcare and treating diseases. Data related to finance and insurance, which were scattered in different categories by three organizations, emerged as the financial category. Documenting the role and responsibility of the provider by adding the authenticator/signature data element was deemed essential. Not only using well-defined and standardized data, but also adapting EHR systems to the local facilities and the existing social and cultural conditions, will facilitate the development of structured data sets.

The Model-Based Study of the Effectiveness of Reporting Lists of Small Feature Sets Using RNA-Seq Data.

PubMed

Kim, Eunji; Ivanov, Ivan; Hua, Jianping; Lampe, Johanna W; Hullar, Meredith Aj; Chapkin, Robert S; Dougherty, Edward R

2017-01-01

Ranking feature sets for phenotype classification based on gene expression is a challenging issue in cancer bioinformatics. When the number of samples is small, all feature selection algorithms are known to be unreliable, producing significant error, and error estimators suffer from different degrees of imprecision. The problem is compounded by the fact that the accuracy of classification depends on the manner in which the phenomena are transformed into data by the measurement technology. Because next-generation sequencing technologies amount to a nonlinear transformation of the actual gene or RNA concentrations, they can potentially produce less discriminative data relative to the actual gene expression levels. In this study, we compare the performance of ranking feature sets derived from a model of RNA-Seq data with that of a multivariate normal model of gene concentrations using 3 measures: (1) ranking power, (2) length of extensions, and (3) Bayes features. This is the model-based study to examine the effectiveness of reporting lists of small feature sets using RNA-Seq data and the effects of different model parameters and error estimators. The results demonstrate that the general trends of the parameter effects on the ranking power of the underlying gene concentrations are preserved in the RNA-Seq data, whereas the power of finding a good feature set becomes weaker when gene concentrations are transformed by the sequencing machine.

THE MIXED EVIDENCE FOR BRIEF INTERVENTION IN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS, TRAUMA CARE CENTERS AND INPATIENT HOSPITAL SETTINGS: WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

PubMed Central

Field, Craig Andrew; Baird, Janette; Saitz, Richard; Caetano, Raul; Monti, Peter M.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this review is to provide a broad overview of the status of brief intervention in the emergency department, trauma center and inpatient hospital setting. This review is based on a symposia presented at the 2009 annual conference of the Research Society on Alcoholism (Baird et al., 2009; Field, et al., 2009; Monti et al., 2009; Saitz et al., 2009). While the general efficacy of brief alcohol interventions in these settings has been recognized, the evidence is increasingly mixed. Herein we discuss possible confounding factors; including the inconsistencies in interventions provided, differences in target population, study design and assessment procedures. Recent studies investigating potential moderators of treatment outcomes suggest that a more sophisticated approach to evaluating the effectiveness of brief interventions across varying patient populations is needed in order to further understand its effectiveness. Current dissemination efforts represent a significant advance in broadening the base of treatment for alcohol problems by providing an evidenced based intervention in health care settings and should not be curtailed. However, additional research is required to enhance treatment outcomes, refine current practice guidelines and continue to bridge the gap between science and practice. Given the current state of research, a multi-setting clinical trial is recommended to account for potential contextual differences while controlling for study design. PMID:20860610

A new IRT-based standard setting method: application to eCat-listening.

PubMed

García, Pablo Eduardo; Abad, Francisco José; Olea, Julio; Aguado, David

2013-01-01

Criterion-referenced interpretations of tests are highly necessary, which usually involves the difficult task of establishing cut scores. Contrasting with other Item Response Theory (IRT)-based standard setting methods, a non-judgmental approach is proposed in this study, in which Item Characteristic Curve (ICC) transformations lead to the final cut scores. eCat-Listening, a computerized adaptive test for the evaluation of English Listening, was administered to 1,576 participants, and the proposed standard setting method was applied to classify them into the performance standards of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The results showed a classification closely related to relevant external measures of the English language domain, according to the CEFR. It is concluded that the proposed method is a practical and valid standard setting alternative for IRT-based tests interpretations.

Training set size, scale, and features in Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis of very high resolution unmanned aerial vehicle imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Lei; Cheng, Liang; Li, Manchun; Liu, Yongxue; Ma, Xiaoxue

2015-04-01

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has been used increasingly for natural resource applications in recent years due to their greater availability and the miniaturization of sensors. In addition, Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) has received more attention as a novel paradigm for remote sensing earth observation data. However, GEOBIA generates some new problems compared with pixel-based methods. In this study, we developed a strategy for the semi-automatic optimization of object-based classification, which involves an area-based accuracy assessment that analyzes the relationship between scale and the training set size. We found that the Overall Accuracy (OA) increased as the training set ratio (proportion of the segmented objects used for training) increased when the Segmentation Scale Parameter (SSP) was fixed. The OA increased more slowly as the training set ratio became larger and a similar rule was obtained according to the pixel-based image analysis. The OA decreased as the SSP increased when the training set ratio was fixed. Consequently, the SSP should not be too large during classification using a small training set ratio. By contrast, a large training set ratio is required if classification is performed using a high SSP. In addition, we suggest that the optimal SSP for each class has a high positive correlation with the mean area obtained by manual interpretation, which can be summarized by a linear correlation equation. We expect that these results will be applicable to UAV imagery classification to determine the optimal SSP for each class.

Financing Residency Training Redesign.

PubMed

Carney, Patricia A; Waller, Elaine; Green, Larry A; Crane, Steven; Garvin, Roger D; Pugno, Perry A; Kozakowski, Stanley M; Douglass, Alan B; Jones, Samuel; Eiff, M Patrice

2014-12-01

Redesign in the health care delivery system creates a need to reorganize resident education. How residency programs fund these redesign efforts is not known. Family medicine residency program directors participating in the Preparing Personal Physicians for Practice (P(4)) project were surveyed between 2006 and 2011 on revenues and expenses associated with training redesign. A total of 6 university-based programs in the study collectively received $5,240,516 over the entire study period, compared with $4,718,943 received by 8 community-based programs. Most of the funding for both settings came from grants, which accounted for 57.8% and 86.9% of funding for each setting, respectively. Department revenue represented 3.4% of university-based support and 13.1% of community-based support. The total average revenue (all years combined) per program for university-based programs was just under $875,000, and the average was nearly $590,000 for community programs. The vast majority of funds were dedicated to salary support (64.8% in university settings versus 79.3% in community-based settings). Based on the estimated ratio of new funding relative to the annual costs of training using national data for a 3-year program with 7 residents per year, training redesign added 3% to budgets for university-based programs and about 2% to budgets for community-based programs. Residencies undergoing training redesign used a variety of approaches to fund these changes. The costs of innovations marginally increased the estimated costs of training. Federal and local funding sources were most common, and costs were primarily salary related. More research is needed on the costs of transforming residency training.

Training Teachers to Conduct Trial-Based Functional Analyses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kunnavatana, S. Shanun; Bloom, Sarah E.; Samaha, Andrew L.; Dayton, Elizabeth

2013-01-01

The trial-based functional analysis (FA) is a promising approach to identification of behavioral function and is especially suited for use in educational settings. Not all studies on trial-based FA have included teachers as therapists, and those studies that have, included minimal information on teacher training. The purpose of this study was to…

NASA Ocean Altimeter Pathfinder Project. Report 1; Data Processing Handbook

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koblinsky, C. J.; Beckley, Brian D.; Ray, Richard D.; Wang, Yan-Ming; Tsaoussi, Lucia; Brenner, Anita; Williamson, Ron

1998-01-01

The NOAA/NASA Pathfinder program was created by the Earth Observing System (EOS) Program Office to determine how satellite-based data sets can be processed and used to study global change. The data sets are designed to be long time-sedes data processed with stable calibration and community consensus algorithms to better assist the research community. The Ocean Altimeter Pathfinder Project involves the reprocessing of all altimeter observations with a consistent set of improved algorithms, based on the results from TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P), into easy-to-use data sets for the oceanographic community for climate research. This report describes the processing schemes used to produce a consistent data set and two of the products derived f rom these data. Other reports have been produced that: a) describe the validation of these data sets against tide gauge measurements and b) evaluate the statistical properties of the data that are relevant to climate change. The use of satellite altimetry for earth observations was proposed in the early 1960s. The first successful space based radar altimeter experiment was flown on SkyLab in 1974. The first successful satellite radar altimeter was flown aboard the Geos-3 spacecraft between 1975 and 1978. While a useful data set was collected from this mission for geophysical studies, the noise in the radar measured and incomplete global coverage precluded ft from inclusion in the Ocean Altimeter Pathfinder program. This program initiated its analysis with the Seasat mission, which was the first satellite radar altimeter flown for oceanography.

Dynamic Analysis of the Carotid-Kundalini Map

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xingyuan; Liang, Qingyong; Meng, Juan

The nature of the fixed points of the Carotid-Kundalini (C-K) map was studied and the boundary equation of the first bifurcation of the C-K map in the parameter plane is presented. Using the quantitative criterion and rule of chaotic system, the paper reveals the general features of the C-K Map transforming from regularity to chaos. The following conclusions are obtained: (i) chaotic patterns of the C-K map may emerge out of double-periodic bifurcation; (ii) the chaotic crisis phenomena are found. At the same time, the authors analyzed the orbit of critical point of the complex C-K Map and put forward the definition of Mandelbrot-Julia set of the complex C-K Map. The authors generalized the Welstead and Cromer's periodic scanning technique and using this technology constructed a series of the Mandelbrot-Julia sets of the complex C-K Map. Based on the experimental mathematics method of combining the theory of analytic function of one complex variable with computer aided drawing, we investigated the symmetry of the Mandelbrot-Julia set and studied the topological inflexibility of distribution of the periodic region in the Mandelbrot set, and found that the Mandelbrot set contains abundant information of the structure of Julia sets by finding the whole portray of Julia sets based on Mandelbrot set qualitatively.

How Do Teachers Learn Together? A Study of School-Based Teacher Learning in China from the Perspective of Organisational Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Xiaolei; Wong, Jocelyn L. N.

2018-01-01

Studies of professional development have examined the influence of school-based approaches on in-service teacher learning and change but have seldom investigated teachers' job-embedded learning processes. This paper explores the dynamic processes of teacher learning in school-based settings. A qualitative comparative case study based on the…

Impacts of uncertainties in European gridded precipitation observations on regional climate analysis

PubMed Central

Gobiet, Andreas

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Gridded precipitation data sets are frequently used to evaluate climate models or to remove model output biases. Although precipitation data are error prone due to the high spatio‐temporal variability of precipitation and due to considerable measurement errors, relatively few attempts have been made to account for observational uncertainty in model evaluation or in bias correction studies. In this study, we compare three types of European daily data sets featuring two Pan‐European data sets and a set that combines eight very high‐resolution station‐based regional data sets. Furthermore, we investigate seven widely used, larger scale global data sets. Our results demonstrate that the differences between these data sets have the same magnitude as precipitation errors found in regional climate models. Therefore, including observational uncertainties is essential for climate studies, climate model evaluation, and statistical post‐processing. Following our results, we suggest the following guidelines for regional precipitation assessments. (1) Include multiple observational data sets from different sources (e.g. station, satellite, reanalysis based) to estimate observational uncertainties. (2) Use data sets with high station densities to minimize the effect of precipitation undersampling (may induce about 60% error in data sparse regions). The information content of a gridded data set is mainly related to its underlying station density and not to its grid spacing. (3) Consider undercatch errors of up to 80% in high latitudes and mountainous regions. (4) Analyses of small‐scale features and extremes are especially uncertain in gridded data sets. For higher confidence, use climate‐mean and larger scale statistics. In conclusion, neglecting observational uncertainties potentially misguides climate model development and can severely affect the results of climate change impact assessments. PMID:28111497

Impacts of uncertainties in European gridded precipitation observations on regional climate analysis.

PubMed

Prein, Andreas F; Gobiet, Andreas

2017-01-01

Gridded precipitation data sets are frequently used to evaluate climate models or to remove model output biases. Although precipitation data are error prone due to the high spatio-temporal variability of precipitation and due to considerable measurement errors, relatively few attempts have been made to account for observational uncertainty in model evaluation or in bias correction studies. In this study, we compare three types of European daily data sets featuring two Pan-European data sets and a set that combines eight very high-resolution station-based regional data sets. Furthermore, we investigate seven widely used, larger scale global data sets. Our results demonstrate that the differences between these data sets have the same magnitude as precipitation errors found in regional climate models. Therefore, including observational uncertainties is essential for climate studies, climate model evaluation, and statistical post-processing. Following our results, we suggest the following guidelines for regional precipitation assessments. (1) Include multiple observational data sets from different sources (e.g. station, satellite, reanalysis based) to estimate observational uncertainties. (2) Use data sets with high station densities to minimize the effect of precipitation undersampling (may induce about 60% error in data sparse regions). The information content of a gridded data set is mainly related to its underlying station density and not to its grid spacing. (3) Consider undercatch errors of up to 80% in high latitudes and mountainous regions. (4) Analyses of small-scale features and extremes are especially uncertain in gridded data sets. For higher confidence, use climate-mean and larger scale statistics. In conclusion, neglecting observational uncertainties potentially misguides climate model development and can severely affect the results of climate change impact assessments.

A Comparison of Three Approaches to Model Human Behavior

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palmius, Joel; Persson-Slumpi, Thomas

2010-11-01

One way of studying social processes is through the use of simulations. The use of simulations for this purpose has been established as its own field, social simulations, and has been used for studying a variety of phenomena. A simulation of a social setting can serve as an aid for thinking about that social setting, and for experimenting with different parameters and studying the outcomes caused by them. When using the simulation as an aid for thinking and experimenting, the chosen simulation approach will implicitly steer the simulationist towards thinking in a certain fashion in order to fit the model. To study the implications of model choice on the understanding of a setting where human anticipation comes into play, a simulation scenario of a coffee room was constructed using three different simulation approaches: Cellular Automata, Systems Dynamics and Agent-based modeling. The practical implementations of the models were done in three different simulation packages: Stella for Systems Dynamic, CaFun for Cellular automata and SesAM for Agent-based modeling. The models were evaluated both using Randers' criteria for model evaluation, and through introspection where the authors reflected upon how their understanding of the scenario was steered through the model choice. Further the software used for implementing the simulation models was evaluated, and practical considerations for the choice of software package are listed. It is concluded that the models have very different strengths. The Agent-based modeling approach offers the most intuitive support for thinking about and modeling a social setting where the behavior of the individual is in focus. The Systems Dynamics model would be preferable in situations where populations and large groups would be studied as wholes, but where individual behavior is of less concern. The Cellular Automata models would be preferable where processes need to be studied from the basis of a small set of very simple rules. It is further concluded that in most social simulation settings the Agent-based modeling approach would be the probable choice. This since the other models does not offer much in the way of supporting the modeling of the anticipatory behavior of humans acting in an organization.

A Quantitative Exploration of Preservice Teachers' Intent to Use Computer-based Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Kioh; Jain, Sachin; Westhoff, Guy; Rezabek, Landra

2008-01-01

Based on Bandura's (1977) social learning theory, the purpose of this study is to identify the relationship of preservice teachers' perceptions of faculty modeling of computer-based technology and preservice teachers' intent of using computer-based technology in educational settings. There were 92 participants in this study; they were enrolled in…

Transfer Learning with Convolutional Neural Networks for Classification of Abdominal Ultrasound Images.

PubMed

Cheng, Phillip M; Malhi, Harshawn S

2017-04-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate transfer learning with deep convolutional neural networks for the classification of abdominal ultrasound images. Grayscale images from 185 consecutive clinical abdominal ultrasound studies were categorized into 11 categories based on the text annotation specified by the technologist for the image. Cropped images were rescaled to 256 × 256 resolution and randomized, with 4094 images from 136 studies constituting the training set, and 1423 images from 49 studies constituting the test set. The fully connected layers of two convolutional neural networks based on CaffeNet and VGGNet, previously trained on the 2012 Large Scale Visual Recognition Challenge data set, were retrained on the training set. Weights in the convolutional layers of each network were frozen to serve as fixed feature extractors. Accuracy on the test set was evaluated for each network. A radiologist experienced in abdominal ultrasound also independently classified the images in the test set into the same 11 categories. The CaffeNet network classified 77.3% of the test set images accurately (1100/1423 images), with a top-2 accuracy of 90.4% (1287/1423 images). The larger VGGNet network classified 77.9% of the test set accurately (1109/1423 images), with a top-2 accuracy of VGGNet was 89.7% (1276/1423 images). The radiologist classified 71.7% of the test set images correctly (1020/1423 images). The differences in classification accuracies between both neural networks and the radiologist were statistically significant (p < 0.001). The results demonstrate that transfer learning with convolutional neural networks may be used to construct effective classifiers for abdominal ultrasound images.

A technique for the reduction of banding in Landsat Thematic Mapper Images

USGS Publications Warehouse

Helder, Dennis L.; Quirk, Bruce K.; Hood, Joy J.

1992-01-01

The radiometric difference between forward and reverse scans in Landsat thematic mapper (TM) images, referred to as "banding," can create problems when enhancing the image for interpretation or when performing quantitative studies. Recent research has led to the development of a method that reduces the banding in Landsat TM data sets. It involves passing a one-dimensional spatial kernel over the data set. This kernel is developed from the statistics of the banding pattern and is based on the Wiener filter. It has been implemented on both a DOS-based microcomputer and several UNIX-based computer systems. The algorithm has successfully reduced the banding in several test data sets.

Set statistics in conductive bridge random access memory device with Cu/HfO{sub 2}/Pt structure

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

Zhang, Meiyun; Long, Shibing, E-mail: longshibing@ime.ac.cn; Wang, Guoming

2014-11-10

The switching parameter variation of resistive switching memory is one of the most important challenges in its application. In this letter, we have studied the set statistics of conductive bridge random access memory with a Cu/HfO{sub 2}/Pt structure. The experimental distributions of the set parameters in several off resistance ranges are shown to nicely fit a Weibull model. The Weibull slopes of the set voltage and current increase and decrease logarithmically with off resistance, respectively. This experimental behavior is perfectly captured by a Monte Carlo simulator based on the cell-based set voltage statistics model and the Quantum Point Contact electronmore » transport model. Our work provides indications for the improvement of the switching uniformity.« less

The implementation of contour-based object orientation estimation algorithm in FPGA-based on-board vision system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alpatov, Boris; Babayan, Pavel; Ershov, Maksim; Strotov, Valery

2016-10-01

This paper describes the implementation of the orientation estimation algorithm in FPGA-based vision system. An approach to estimate an orientation of objects lacking axial symmetry is proposed. Suggested algorithm is intended to estimate orientation of a specific known 3D object based on object 3D model. The proposed orientation estimation algorithm consists of two stages: learning and estimation. Learning stage is devoted to the exploring of studied object. Using 3D model we can gather set of training images by capturing 3D model from viewpoints evenly distributed on a sphere. Sphere points distribution is made by the geosphere principle. Gathered training image set is used for calculating descriptors, which will be used in the estimation stage of the algorithm. The estimation stage is focusing on matching process between an observed image descriptor and the training image descriptors. The experimental research was performed using a set of images of Airbus A380. The proposed orientation estimation algorithm showed good accuracy in all case studies. The real-time performance of the algorithm in FPGA-based vision system was demonstrated.

Identification and classification of similar looking food grains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anami, B. S.; Biradar, Sunanda D.; Savakar, D. G.; Kulkarni, P. V.

2013-01-01

This paper describes the comparative study of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifiers by taking a case study of identification and classification of four pairs of similar looking food grains namely, Finger Millet, Mustard, Soyabean, Pigeon Pea, Aniseed, Cumin-seeds, Split Greengram and Split Blackgram. Algorithms are developed to acquire and process color images of these grains samples. The developed algorithms are used to extract 18 colors-Hue Saturation Value (HSV), and 42 wavelet based texture features. Back Propagation Neural Network (BPNN)-based classifier is designed using three feature sets namely color - HSV, wavelet-texture and their combined model. SVM model for color- HSV model is designed for the same set of samples. The classification accuracies ranging from 93% to 96% for color-HSV, ranging from 78% to 94% for wavelet texture model and from 92% to 97% for combined model are obtained for ANN based models. The classification accuracy ranging from 80% to 90% is obtained for color-HSV based SVM model. Training time required for the SVM based model is substantially lesser than ANN for the same set of images.

A Step towards a Sharable Community Knowledge Base for WRF Settings -Developing a WRF Setting Methodology based on a case study in a Torrential Rainfall Event

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

CHU, Q.; Xu, Z.; Zhuo, L.; Han, D.

2016-12-01

Increased requirements for interactions between different disciplines and readily access to the numerical weather forecasting system featured with portability and extensibility have made useful contribution to the increases of downstream model users in WRF over recent years. For these users, a knowledge base classified by the representative events would be much helpful. This is because the determination of model settings is regarded as the most important steps in WRF. However, such a process is generally time-consuming, even if with a high computational platform. As such, we propose a sharable proper lookup table on WRF domain settings and corresponding procedures based on a representative torrential rainfall event in Beijing, China. It has been found that WRF's simulations' drift away from the input lateral boundary conditions can be significantly reduced with the adjustment of the domain settings. Among all the impact factors, the placement of nested domain can not only affect the moving speed and angle of the storm-center, but also the location and amount of heavy-rain-belt which can only be detected with adjusted spatial resolutions. Spin-up time is also considered in the model settings, which is demonstrated to have the most obvious influence on the accuracy of the simulations. This conclusion is made based on the large diversity of spatial distributions of precipitation, in terms of the amount of heavy rain varied from -30% to 58% among each experiment. After following all the procedures, the variations of domain settings have minimal effect on the modeling and show the best correlation (larger than 0.65) with fusion observations. So the model settings, including domain size covering the greater Beijing area, 1:5:5 downscaling ratio, 57 vertical levels with top of 50hpa and 60h spin-up time, are found suitable for predicting the similar convective torrential rainfall event in Beijing area. We hope that the procedure for building the community WRF knowledge base in this paper would be helpful to peer-researchers and operational communities by saving them from repeating each other's work. More importantly, the results by studying different events and locations could enrich this community knowledge base to benefit WRF users around the world in the future.

Modeling individualized coefficient alpha to measure quality of test score data.

PubMed

Liu, Molei; Hu, Ming; Zhou, Xiao-Hua

2018-05-23

Individualized coefficient alpha is defined. It is item and subject specific and is used to measure the quality of test score data with heterogenicity among the subjects and items. A regression model is developed based on 3 sets of generalized estimating equations. The first set of generalized estimating equation models the expectation of the responses, the second set models the response's variance, and the third set is proposed to estimate the individualized coefficient alpha, defined and used to measure individualized internal consistency of the responses. We also use different techniques to extend our method to handle missing data. Asymptotic property of the estimators is discussed, based on which inference on the coefficient alpha is derived. Performance of our method is evaluated through simulation study and real data analysis. The real data application is from a health literacy study in Hunan province of China. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Query-Based Outlier Detection in Heterogeneous Information Networks.

PubMed

Kuck, Jonathan; Zhuang, Honglei; Yan, Xifeng; Cam, Hasan; Han, Jiawei

2015-03-01

Outlier or anomaly detection in large data sets is a fundamental task in data science, with broad applications. However, in real data sets with high-dimensional space, most outliers are hidden in certain dimensional combinations and are relative to a user's search space and interest. It is often more effective to give power to users and allow them to specify outlier queries flexibly, and the system will then process such mining queries efficiently. In this study, we introduce the concept of query-based outlier in heterogeneous information networks, design a query language to facilitate users to specify such queries flexibly, define a good outlier measure in heterogeneous networks, and study how to process outlier queries efficiently in large data sets. Our experiments on real data sets show that following such a methodology, interesting outliers can be defined and uncovered flexibly and effectively in large heterogeneous networks.

Query-Based Outlier Detection in Heterogeneous Information Networks

PubMed Central

Kuck, Jonathan; Zhuang, Honglei; Yan, Xifeng; Cam, Hasan; Han, Jiawei

2015-01-01

Outlier or anomaly detection in large data sets is a fundamental task in data science, with broad applications. However, in real data sets with high-dimensional space, most outliers are hidden in certain dimensional combinations and are relative to a user’s search space and interest. It is often more effective to give power to users and allow them to specify outlier queries flexibly, and the system will then process such mining queries efficiently. In this study, we introduce the concept of query-based outlier in heterogeneous information networks, design a query language to facilitate users to specify such queries flexibly, define a good outlier measure in heterogeneous networks, and study how to process outlier queries efficiently in large data sets. Our experiments on real data sets show that following such a methodology, interesting outliers can be defined and uncovered flexibly and effectively in large heterogeneous networks. PMID:27064397

Cost effective interventions for the prevention of cardiovascular disease in low and middle income countries: a systematic review.

PubMed

Shroufi, Amir; Chowdhury, Rajiv; Anchala, Raghupathy; Stevens, Sarah; Blanco, Patricia; Han, Tha; Niessen, Louis; Franco, Oscar H

2013-03-28

While there is good evidence to show that behavioural and lifestyle interventions can reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors in affluent settings, less evidence exists in lower income settings.This study systematically assesses the evidence on cost-effectiveness for preventive cardiovascular interventions in low and middle-income settings. Systematic review of economic evaluations on interventions for prevention of cardiovascular disease. PubMed, Web of Knowledge, Scopus and Embase, Opensigle, the Cochrane database, Business Source Complete, the NHS Economic Evaluations Database, reference lists and email contact with experts. we included economic evaluations conducted in adults, reporting the effect of interventions to prevent cardiovascular disease in low and middle income countries as defined by the World Bank. The primary outcome was a change in cardiovascular disease occurrence including coronary heart disease, heart failure and stroke. After selection of the studies, data were extracted by two independent investigators using a previously constructed tool and quality was evaluated using Drummond's quality assessment score. From 9731 search results we found 16 studies, which presented economic outcomes for interventions to prevent cardiovascular disease in low and middle income settings, with most of these reporting positive cost effectiveness results.When the same interventions were evaluated across settings, within and between papers, the likelihood of an intervention being judged cost effective was generally lower in regions with lowest gross national income. While population based interventions were in most cases more cost effective, cost effectiveness estimates for individual pharmacological interventions were overall based upon a stronger evidence base. While more studies of cardiovascular preventive interventions are needed in low and mid income settings, the available high-level of evidence supports a wide range of interventions for the prevention of cardiovascular disease as being cost effective across all world regions.

Patient-Centered Goal Setting in a Hospital-Based Outpatient Stroke Rehabilitation Center.

PubMed

Rice, Danielle B; McIntyre, Amanda; Mirkowski, Magdalena; Janzen, Shannon; Viana, Ricardo; Britt, Eileen; Teasell, Robert

2017-09-01

Goal-setting can have a positive impact on stroke recovery during rehabilitation. Patient participation in goal formulation can ensure that personally relevant goals are set, and can result in greater satisfaction with the rehabilitation experience, along with improved recovery of stroke deficits. This, however, not yet been studied in a stroke outpatient rehabilitation setting. To assess patient satisfaction of meeting self-selected goals during outpatient rehabilitation following a stroke. Retrospective chart review. Stroke patients enrolled in a multidisciplinary outpatient rehabilitation program, who set at least 1 goal during rehabilitation. Patients recovering from a stroke received therapy through the outpatient rehabilitation program between January 2010 and December 2013. Upon admission and discharge from rehabilitation, patients rated their satisfaction with their ability to perform goals that they wanted to achieve. Researchers independently sorted and labeled recurrent themes of goals. Goals were further sorted into International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) categories. To compare the perception of patients' goal satisfaction, repeated-measures analysis of variance was conducted across the 3 ICF goal categorizations. Goal satisfaction scores. A total of 286 patients were included in the analysis. Patient goals concentrated on themes of improving hand function, mobility, and cognition. Goals were also sorted into ICF categories in which impairment-based and activity limitation-based goals were predominant. Compared to activity-based and participation-based goals, patients with impairment-based goals perceived greater satisfaction with meeting their goals at admission and discharge (P < .001). Patient satisfaction in meeting their first-, second-, and third-listed goals each significantly improved by discharge from the rehabilitation program (P < .001). Within an outpatient stroke rehabilitation setting, patients set heterogeneous goals that were predominantly impairment based. Satisfaction in achieving goals significantly improved after receiving therapy. The type of goals that patients set were related to their goal satisfaction scores, with impairment-based goals being rated significantly higher than activity-based and participation-based goals. III. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Programming for Effective Concept Learning: Where Should the Branches Go and Why?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Driscoll, Marcy P.; And Others

The two studies detailed in this paper investigated the effects of adaptive sequencing of examples and adaptive feedback on concept learning using computer-based instruction. In the first study, two groups of undergraduate students progressed through a set of five behavior management concepts presented in the rational set generator framework.…

The Evidence for Student-Focused Motivational Interviewing in Educational Settings: A Review of the Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snape, Laura; Atkinson, Cathy

2016-01-01

The current systematic literature review sought to determine the effectiveness of Motivational Interviewing (MI) in educational settings. Student-focused school-based MI (SBMI) studies were assessed using qualitative and quantitative assessment frameworks and data were reported using PRISMA guidelines. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria,…

A Metasynthesis of the Complementarity of Culturally Responsive and Inquiry-Based Science Education in K-12 Settings: Implications for Advancing Equitable Science Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Julie C.

2017-01-01

Employing metasynthesis as a method, this study examined 52 empirical articles on culturally relevant and responsive science education in K-12 settings to determine the nature and scope of complementarity between culturally responsive and inquiry-based science practices (i.e., science and engineering practices identified in the National Research…

Diagnostic Stability of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Toddlers Prospectively Identified in a Community-Based Setting: Behavioural Characteristics and Predictors of Change over Time

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barbaro, Josephine; Dissanayake, Cheryl

2017-01-01

Autism spectrum disorder diagnoses in toddlers have been established as accurate and stable across time in high-risk siblings and clinic-referred samples. Few studies have investigated diagnostic stability in children prospective identified in community-based settings. Furthermore, there is a dearth of evidence on the individual behaviours that…

Teacher Experiences of Delivering an Obesity Prevention Programme (The WAVES Study Intervention) in a Primary School Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griffin, Tania L; Clarke, Joanne L; Lancashire, Emma R; Pallan, Miranda J; Passmore, Sandra; Adab, Peymane

2015-01-01

Objective: There has been a wealth of childhood obesity prevention studies in school-based settings. However, few have investigated the experiences of school staff charged with delivery of such programmes. This study aimed to elicit teachers' experiences of delivering a childhood obesity prevention programme for children aged 6-7 years. Design:…

Reading Practices in the Juvenile Correctional Facility Setting: Incarcerated Adolescents Speak Out

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wexler, Jade; Reed, Deborah K.; Sturges, Keith

2015-01-01

This multi-phasic, qualitative study explored the perceptions and provision of research-based reading instruction in the juvenile correctional facility setting. In three settings in two states, we interviewed students (n = 17), teachers (n = 5), and administrators (n = 3); and conducted two focus groups (n = 8), student surveys (n = 49), and seven…

Effect of Content Knowledge on Angoff-Style Standard Setting Judgments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Margolis, Melissa J.; Mee, Janet; Clauser, Brian E.; Winward, Marcia; Clauser, Jerome C.

2016-01-01

Evidence to support the credibility of standard setting procedures is a critical part of the validity argument for decisions made based on tests that are used for classification. One area in which there has been limited empirical study is the impact of standard setting judge selection on the resulting cut score. One important issue related to…

Obligatory versus elective single embryo transfer in in vitro fertilization. A population-based analysis of data from the U.K. Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

PubMed

Straughen, Jennifer K; Salihu, Hamisu M; Keith, Louis; Petrozzino, Jeffrey; Jones, Christopher

2013-01-01

To determine how obligatory single embryo transfer (SET) and elective SET influence pregnancy outcome. We compared women who underwent obligatory and elective SET using data from a comprehensive, population-based register from the United Kingdom Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which contained all in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments administered between 1991 and 1998. Generalized estimating equations were used to generate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to compare clinical pregnancy, live birth, and multiple birth rates. Obligatory and elective SET had similar clinical pregnancy and live birth rates and comparable multiple birth rates. Obligatory and elective SET were equally likely to end in a live birth (OR = 1.08; 95% CI = 0.90, 1.30). Similar results were found after restricting the data to women without previous IVF births (OR = 1.18; 95% CI = 0.98, 1.42) and without previous naturally conceived live births (OR = 1.16; 95% CI = 0.95, 1.43). This study suggests that obligatory SET can achieve pregnancy and live birth rates that are at least as good as elective SET. Equally important is the low multiple birth rate which was maintained in both forms of SET. More studies comparing elective versus obligatory SET can assist with achieving optimal pregnancy rates while preventing multiple births.

Differences between Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases and their role for prioritization of stem cell-based treatments.

PubMed

Hug, K; Hermerén, G

2013-06-01

The problems of allocation of scarce resources and priority setting in health care have so far not been much studied in the context of stem cell-based therapeutic applications. If and when competitive cost effective stem cell-based therapies are available, the problem of priority setting - to whom should stem cellbased therapies be offered and on what grounds - is discussed in this article using the examples of Parkinson's Disease (PD) and Huntington's Disease (HD). The aim of this paper is to examine the presently known differences between PD and HD and analyze the role of these differences for setting priorities of stem cell-based therapeutic applications to treat these diseases. To achieve this aim, we (1) present the theoretical framework used in the analysis; (2) compare PD and HD in terms of health related and non-health related consequences of these diseases for patients, their relatives and third parties; (3) analyze the ethical relevance of observed differences for priority setting given different values and variables; (4) compare PD and HD in terms of social justice related consequences of stem cell-based therapies; and (5) analyze the ethical relevance of these differences for priority setting given different values and variables. We argue that the steps of analysis applied in this paper could be helpful when setting priorities among treatments of other diseases with similar differences as those between PD and HD.

Open-set speaker identification with diverse-duration speech data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karadaghi, Rawande; Hertlein, Heinz; Ariyaeeinia, Aladdin

2015-05-01

The concern in this paper is an important category of applications of open-set speaker identification in criminal investigation, which involves operating with short and varied duration speech. The study presents investigations into the adverse effects of such an operating condition on the accuracy of open-set speaker identification, based on both GMMUBM and i-vector approaches. The experiments are conducted using a protocol developed for the identification task, based on the NIST speaker recognition evaluation corpus of 2008. In order to closely cover the real-world operating conditions in the considered application area, the study includes experiments with various combinations of training and testing data duration. The paper details the characteristics of the experimental investigations conducted and provides a thorough analysis of the results obtained.

Brain medical image diagnosis based on corners with importance-values.

PubMed

Gao, Linlin; Pan, Haiwei; Li, Qing; Xie, Xiaoqin; Zhang, Zhiqiang; Han, Jinming; Zhai, Xiao

2017-11-21

Brain disorders are one of the top causes of human death. Generally, neurologists analyze brain medical images for diagnosis. In the image analysis field, corners are one of the most important features, which makes corner detection and matching studies essential. However, existing corner detection studies do not consider the domain information of brain. This leads to many useless corners and the loss of significant information. Regarding corner matching, the uncertainty and structure of brain are not employed in existing methods. Moreover, most corner matching studies are used for 3D image registration. They are inapplicable for 2D brain image diagnosis because of the different mechanisms. To address these problems, we propose a novel corner-based brain medical image classification method. Specifically, we automatically extract multilayer texture images (MTIs) which embody diagnostic information from neurologists. Moreover, we present a corner matching method utilizing the uncertainty and structure of brain medical images and a bipartite graph model. Finally, we propose a similarity calculation method for diagnosis. Brain CT and MRI image sets are utilized to evaluate the proposed method. First, classifiers are trained in N-fold cross-validation analysis to produce the best θ and K. Then independent brain image sets are tested to evaluate the classifiers. Moreover, the classifiers are also compared with advanced brain image classification studies. For the brain CT image set, the proposed classifier outperforms the comparison methods by at least 8% on accuracy and 2.4% on F1-score. Regarding the brain MRI image set, the proposed classifier is superior to the comparison methods by more than 7.3% on accuracy and 4.9% on F1-score. Results also demonstrate that the proposed method is robust to different intensity ranges of brain medical image. In this study, we develop a robust corner-based brain medical image classifier. Specifically, we propose a corner detection method utilizing the diagnostic information from neurologists and a corner matching method based on the uncertainty and structure of brain medical images. Additionally, we present a similarity calculation method for brain image classification. Experimental results on two brain image sets show the proposed corner-based brain medical image classifier outperforms the state-of-the-art studies.

Developing a pressure ulcer risk factor minimum data set and risk assessment framework.

PubMed

Coleman, Susanne; Nelson, E Andrea; Keen, Justin; Wilson, Lyn; McGinnis, Elizabeth; Dealey, Carol; Stubbs, Nikki; Muir, Delia; Farrin, Amanda; Dowding, Dawn; Schols, Jos M G A; Cuddigan, Janet; Berlowitz, Dan; Jude, Edward; Vowden, Peter; Bader, Dan L; Gefen, Amit; Oomens, Cees W J; Schoonhoven, Lisette; Nixon, Jane

2014-10-01

To agree a draft pressure ulcer risk factor Minimum Data Set to underpin the development of a new evidenced-based Risk Assessment Framework. A recent systematic review identified the need for a pressure ulcer risk factor Minimum Data Set and development and validation of an evidenced-based pressure ulcer Risk Assessment Framework. This was undertaken through the Pressure UlceR Programme Of reSEarch (RP-PG-0407-10056), funded by the National Institute for Health Research and incorporates five phases. This article reports phase two, a consensus study. Consensus study. A modified nominal group technique based on the Research and Development/University of California at Los Angeles appropriateness method. This incorporated an expert group, review of the evidence and the views of a Patient and Public Involvement service user group. Data were collected December 2010-December 2011. The risk factors and assessment items of the Minimum Data Set (including immobility, pressure ulcer and skin status, perfusion, diabetes, skin moisture, sensory perception and nutrition) were agreed. In addition, a draft Risk Assessment Framework incorporating all Minimum Data Set items was developed, comprising a two stage assessment process (screening and detailed full assessment) and decision pathways. The draft Risk Assessment Framework will undergo further design and pre-testing with clinical nurses to assess and improve its usability. It will then be evaluated in clinical practice to assess its validity and reliability. The Minimum Data Set could be used in future for large scale risk factor studies informing refinement of the Risk Assessment Framework. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Advanced Nursing Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Nature-based interventions in institutional and organisational settings: a scoping review.

PubMed

Moeller, Chris; King, Nigel; Burr, Viv; Gibbs, Graham R; Gomersall, Tim

2018-04-26

The objective of this review was to scope the literature on nature-based interventions that could be conducted in institutional settings where people reside full-time for care or rehabilitation purposes. Systematic searches were conducted across CINAHL, Medline, Criminal Justice Abstracts, PsycINFO, Scopus, Social Care Online and Cochrane CENTRAL. A total of 85 studies (reported in 86 articles) were included. Four intervention modalities were identified: Gardening/therapeutic horticulture; animal-assisted therapies; care farming and virtual reality-based simulations of natural environments. The interventions were conducted across a range of settings, including inpatient wards, care homes, prisons and women's shelters. Generally, favourable impacts were seen across intervention types, although the reported effects varied widely. There is a growing body of literature on nature-based interventions that could be applied to a variety of institutional settings. Within most intervention types, there is sufficient research data available to perform full systematic reviews. Recommendations for future systematic reviews are offered.

Pathway-based analysis of GWAs data identifies association of sex determination genes with susceptibility to testicular germ cell tumors.

PubMed

Koster, Roelof; Mitra, Nandita; D'Andrea, Kurt; Vardhanabhuti, Saran; Chung, Charles C; Wang, Zhaoming; Loren Erickson, R; Vaughn, David J; Litchfield, Kevin; Rahman, Nazneen; Greene, Mark H; McGlynn, Katherine A; Turnbull, Clare; Chanock, Stephen J; Nathanson, Katherine L; Kanetsky, Peter A

2014-11-15

Genome-wide association (GWA) studies of testicular germ cell tumor (TGCT) have identified 18 susceptibility loci, some containing genes encoding proteins important in male germ cell development. Deletions of one of these genes, DMRT1, lead to male-to-female sex reversal and are associated with development of gonadoblastoma. To further explore genetic association with TGCT, we undertook a pathway-based analysis of SNP marker associations in the Penn GWAs (349 TGCT cases and 919 controls). We analyzed a custom-built sex determination gene set consisting of 32 genes using three different methods of pathway-based analysis. The sex determination gene set ranked highly compared with canonical gene sets, and it was associated with TGCT (FDRG = 2.28 × 10(-5), FDRM = 0.014 and FDRI = 0.008 for Gene Set Analysis-SNP (GSA-SNP), Meta-Analysis Gene Set Enrichment of Variant Associations (MAGENTA) and Improved Gene Set Enrichment Analysis for Genome-wide Association Study (i-GSEA4GWAS) analysis, respectively). The association remained after removal of DMRT1 from the gene set (FDRG = 0.0002, FDRM = 0.055 and FDRI = 0.009). Using data from the NCI GWA scan (582 TGCT cases and 1056 controls) and UK scan (986 TGCT cases and 4946 controls), we replicated these findings (NCI: FDRG = 0.006, FDRM = 0.014, FDRI = 0.033, and UK: FDRG = 1.04 × 10(-6), FDRM = 0.016, FDRI = 0.025). After removal of DMRT1 from the gene set, the sex determination gene set remains associated with TGCT in the NCI (FDRG = 0.039, FDRM = 0.050 and FDRI = 0.055) and UK scans (FDRG = 3.00 × 10(-5), FDRM = 0.056 and FDRI = 0.044). With the exception of DMRT1, genes in the sex determination gene set have not previously been identified as TGCT susceptibility loci in these GWA scans, demonstrating the complementary nature of a pathway-based approach for genome-wide analysis of TGCT. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Inference of combinatorial Boolean rules of synergistic gene sets from cancer microarray datasets.

PubMed

Park, Inho; Lee, Kwang H; Lee, Doheon

2010-06-15

Gene set analysis has become an important tool for the functional interpretation of high-throughput gene expression datasets. Moreover, pattern analyses based on inferred gene set activities of individual samples have shown the ability to identify more robust disease signatures than individual gene-based pattern analyses. Although a number of approaches have been proposed for gene set-based pattern analysis, the combinatorial influence of deregulated gene sets on disease phenotype classification has not been studied sufficiently. We propose a new approach for inferring combinatorial Boolean rules of gene sets for a better understanding of cancer transcriptome and cancer classification. To reduce the search space of the possible Boolean rules, we identify small groups of gene sets that synergistically contribute to the classification of samples into their corresponding phenotypic groups (such as normal and cancer). We then measure the significance of the candidate Boolean rules derived from each group of gene sets; the level of significance is based on the class entropy of the samples selected in accordance with the rules. By applying the present approach to publicly available prostate cancer datasets, we identified 72 significant Boolean rules. Finally, we discuss several identified Boolean rules, such as the rule of glutathione metabolism (down) and prostaglandin synthesis regulation (down), which are consistent with known prostate cancer biology. Scripts written in Python and R are available at http://biosoft.kaist.ac.kr/~ihpark/. The refined gene sets and the full list of the identified Boolean rules are provided in the Supplementary Material. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Adapting a Technology-Based Implementation Support Tool for Community Mental Health: Challenges and Lessons Learned.

PubMed

Livet, Melanie; Fixsen, Amanda

2018-01-01

With mental health services shifting to community-based settings, community mental health (CMH) organizations are under increasing pressure to deliver effective services. Despite availability of evidence-based interventions, there is a gap between effective mental health practices and the care that is routinely delivered. Bridging this gap requires availability of easily tailorable implementation support tools to assist providers in implementing evidence-based intervention with quality, thereby increasing the likelihood of achieving the desired client outcomes. This study documents the process and lessons learned from exploring the feasibility of adapting such a technology-based tool, Centervention, as the example innovation, for use in CMH settings. Mixed-methods data on core features, innovation-provider fit, and organizational capacity were collected from 44 CMH providers. Lessons learned included the need to augment delivery through technology with more personal interactions, the importance of customizing and integrating the tool with existing technologies, and the need to incorporate a number of strategies to assist with adoption and use of Centervention-like tools in CMH contexts. This study adds to the current body of literature on the adaptation process for technology-based tools and provides information that can guide additional innovations for CMH settings.

Faith-Based Mental Health Interventions with African Americans: A Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hays, Krystal; Aranda, Maria P.

2016-01-01

Faith-based interventions have emerged culturally sensitive way to address mental health issues among African Americans. This systematic review explores the scope and efficacy of faith-based mental health intervention outcomes among African Americans. Extracted data included the study population, setting, study design, intervention, adaptations,…

Simple SNP-based minimal marker genotyping for Humulus lupulus L. identification and variety validation.

PubMed

Henning, John A; Coggins, Jamie; Peterson, Matthew

2015-10-06

Hop is an economically important crop for the Pacific Northwest USA as well as other regions of the world. It is a perennial crop with rhizomatous or clonal propagation system for varietal distribution. A big concern for growers as well as brewers is variety purity and questions are regularly posed to public agencies concerning the availability of genotype testing. Current means for genotyping are based upon 25 microsatellites that provides relatively accurate genotyping but cannot always differentiate sister-lines. In addition, numerous PCR runs (25) are required to complete this process and only a few laboratories exist that perform this service. A genotyping protocol based upon SNPs would enable rapid accurate genotyping that can be assayed at any laboratory facility set up for SNP-based genotyping. The results of this study arose from a larger project designed for whole genome association studies upon the USDA-ARS hop germplasm collection consisting of approximately 116 distinct hop varieties and germplasm (female lines) from around the world. The original dataset that arose from partial sequencing of 121 genotypes resulted in the identification of 374,829 SNPs using TASSEL-UNEAK pipeline. After filtering out genotypes with more than 50% missing data (5 genotypes) and SNP markers with more than 20% missing data, 32,206 highly filtered SNP markers across 116 genotypes were identified and considered for this study. Minor allele frequency (MAF) was calculated for each SNP and ranked according to the most informative to least informative. Only those markers without missing data across genotypes as well as 60% or less heterozygous gamete calls were considered for further analysis. Genetic distances among individuals in the study were calculated using the marker with the highest MAF value, then by using a combination of the two markers with highest MAF values and so on. This process was reiterated until a set of markers was identified that allowed for all genotypes in the study to be genetically differentiated from each other. Next, we compared genetic matrices calculated from the minimal marker sets [(Table 2; 6-, 7-, 8-, 10- and 12-marker set matrices] and that of a matrix calculated from a set of markers with no missing data across all 116 samples (1006 SNP markers). The minimum number of markers required to meet both specifications was a set of 7-markers (Table 3). These seven SNPs were then aligned with a genome assembly, and DNA sequence both upstream and downstream were used to identify primer sequences that can be used to develop seven amplicons for high resolution melting curve PCR detection or other SNP-based PCR detection methods. This study identifies a set of 7 SNP markers that may prove useful for the identification and validation of hop varieties and accessions. Variety validation of unknown samples assumes that the variety under question has been included a priori in a discovery panel. These results are based upon in silica studies and markers need to be validated using different SNP marker technology upon a differential set of hop genotypes. The marker sequence data and suggested primer sets provide potential means to fingerprint hop varieties in most genetic laboratories utilizing SNP-marker technology.

A primitive study of voxel feature generation by multiple stacked denoising autoencoders for detecting cerebral aneurysms on MRA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nemoto, Mitsutaka; Hayashi, Naoto; Hanaoka, Shouhei; Nomura, Yukihiro; Miki, Soichiro; Yoshikawa, Takeharu; Ohtomo, Kuni

2016-03-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of a novel feature generation, which is based on multiple deep neural networks (DNNs) with boosting, for computer-assisted detection (CADe). It is hard and time-consuming to optimize the hyperparameters for DNNs such as stacked denoising autoencoder (SdA). The proposed method allows using SdA based features without the burden of the hyperparameter setting. The proposed method was evaluated by an application for detecting cerebral aneurysms on magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA). A baseline CADe process included four components; scaling, candidate area limitation, candidate detection, and candidate classification. Proposed feature generation method was applied to extract the optimal features for candidate classification. Proposed method only required setting range of the hyperparameters for SdA. The optimal feature set was selected from a large quantity of SdA based features by multiple SdAs, each of which was trained using different hyperparameter set. The feature selection was operated through ada-boost ensemble learning method. Training of the baseline CADe process and proposed feature generation were operated with 200 MRA cases, and the evaluation was performed with 100 MRA cases. Proposed method successfully provided SdA based features just setting the range of some hyperparameters for SdA. The CADe process by using both previous voxel features and SdA based features had the best performance with 0.838 of an area under ROC curve and 0.312 of ANODE score. The results showed that proposed method was effective in the application for detecting cerebral aneurysms on MRA.

Reducing hospital readmission through team-based primary care: A 7-week pilot study integrating behavioral health and pharmacy.

PubMed

DeCaporale-Ryan, Lauren N; Ahmed-Sarwar, Nabila; Upham, Robbyn; Mahler, Karen; Lashway, Katie

2017-06-01

A team-based service delivery model was applied to provide patients with biopsychosocial care following hospital discharge to reduce hospital readmission. Most previous interventions focused on transitions of care occurred in the inpatient setting with attention to predischarge strategies. These interventions have not considered psychosocial stressors, and few have explored management in primary care settings. A 7-week team-based service delivery model was implemented in a family medicine practice emphasizing a biopsychosocial approach. A physician, psychologist, pharmacist, care managers, and interdisciplinary trainees worked with 17 patients following hospital discharge. This comprehensive evaluation assessed patients' mood, cognitive abilities, and self-management of health behaviors. Modifications were made to improve ease of access to outpatient care and to improve patient understanding of the therapeutic plan. This pilot study was conducted to determine the utility of the model. Of 17 patients, 15 individuals avoided readmission at 30- and 90-day intervals. Other substantial benefits were noted, including reduced polypharmacy, engagement in specialty care, and reduction of environmental stressors to improve access to care. The clinic in which this was implemented is currently making efforts to maintain this model of care based on observed success. Although this work only represents a small sample, results are encouraging. This model can be replicated in other primary care settings with specialty clinicians on site. Specifically, approaches that promote a team-based delivery in a primary care setting may support improved patient outcomes and reduced overall systems' costs. Recommendations for research in a clinical setting are also offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Novel nonlinear knowledge-based mean force potentials based on machine learning.

PubMed

Dong, Qiwen; Zhou, Shuigeng

2011-01-01

The prediction of 3D structures of proteins from amino acid sequences is one of the most challenging problems in molecular biology. An essential task for solving this problem with coarse-grained models is to deduce effective interaction potentials. The development and evaluation of new energy functions is critical to accurately modeling the properties of biological macromolecules. Knowledge-based mean force potentials are derived from statistical analysis of proteins of known structures. Current knowledge-based potentials are almost in the form of weighted linear sum of interaction pairs. In this study, a class of novel nonlinear knowledge-based mean force potentials is presented. The potential parameters are obtained by nonlinear classifiers, instead of relative frequencies of interaction pairs against a reference state or linear classifiers. The support vector machine is used to derive the potential parameters on data sets that contain both native structures and decoy structures. Five knowledge-based mean force Boltzmann-based or linear potentials are introduced and their corresponding nonlinear potentials are implemented. They are the DIH potential (single-body residue-level Boltzmann-based potential), the DFIRE-SCM potential (two-body residue-level Boltzmann-based potential), the FS potential (two-body atom-level Boltzmann-based potential), the HR potential (two-body residue-level linear potential), and the T32S3 potential (two-body atom-level linear potential). Experiments are performed on well-established decoy sets, including the LKF data set, the CASP7 data set, and the Decoys “R”Us data set. The evaluation metrics include the energy Z score and the ability of each potential to discriminate native structures from a set of decoy structures. Experimental results show that all nonlinear potentials significantly outperform the corresponding Boltzmann-based or linear potentials, and the proposed discriminative framework is effective in developing knowledge-based mean force potentials. The nonlinear potentials can be widely used for ab initio protein structure prediction, model quality assessment, protein docking, and other challenging problems in computational biology.

Competencies for disaster mental health.

PubMed

King, Richard V; Burkle, Frederick M; Walsh, Lauren E; North, Carol S

2015-03-01

Competencies for disaster mental health are essential to domestic and international disaster response capabilities. Numerous consensus-based competency sets for disaster health workers exist, but no prior study identifies and discusses competency sets pertaining specifically to disaster mental health. Relevant competency sets were identified via MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EBSCO, and Google Scholar searches. Sixteen competency sets are discussed, some providing core competencies for all disaster responders and others for specific responder groups within particular professions or specialties. Competency sets specifically for disaster mental health professionals are lacking, with the exception of one set that focused only on cultural competence. The identified competency sets provide guidance for educators in developing disaster mental health curricula and for disaster health workers seeking education and training in disaster mental health. Valid, criterion-based competencies are required to guide selection and training of mental health professionals for the disaster mental health workforce. In developing these competencies, consideration should be given to the requirements of both domestic and international disaster response efforts.

Hercules Single-Stage Reusable Vehicle (HSRV) Operating Base

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moon, Michael J.; McCleskey, Carey M.

2017-01-01

Conceptual design for the layout of lunar-planetary surface support systems remains an important area needing further master planning. This paper explores a structured approach to organize the layout of a Mars-based site equipped for routinely flying a human-scale reusable taxi system. The proposed Hercules Transportation System requires a surface support capability to sustain its routine, affordable, and dependable operation. The approach organizes a conceptual Hercules operating base through functional station sets. The station set approach will allow follow-on work to trade design approaches and consider technologies for more efficient flow of material, energy, and information at future Mars bases and settlements. The station set requirements at a Mars site point to specific capabilities needed. By drawing from specific Hercules design characteristics, the technology requirements for surface-based systems will come into greater focus. This paper begins a comprehensive process for documenting functional needs, architectural design methods, and analysis techniques necessary for follow-on concept studies.

Smartphone-Based System for Learning and Inferring Hearing Aid Settings

PubMed Central

Aldaz, Gabriel; Puria, Sunil; Leifer, Larry J.

2017-01-01

Background Previous research has shown that hearing aid wearers can successfully self-train their instruments’ gain-frequency response and compression parameters in everyday situations. Combining hearing aids with a smartphone introduces additional computing power, memory, and a graphical user interface that may enable greater setting personalization. To explore the benefits of self-training with a smartphone-based hearing system, a parameter space was chosen with four possible combinations of microphone mode (omnidirectional and directional) and noise reduction state (active and off). The baseline for comparison was the “untrained system,” that is, the manufacturer’s algorithm for automatically selecting microphone mode and noise reduction state based on acoustic environment. The “trained system” first learned each individual’s preferences, self-entered via a smartphone in real-world situations, to build a trained model. The system then predicted the optimal setting (among available choices) using an inference engine, which considered the trained model and current context (e.g., sound environment, location, and time). Purpose To develop a smartphone-based prototype hearing system that can be trained to learn preferred user settings. Determine whether user study participants showed a preference for trained over untrained system settings. Research Design An experimental within-participants study. Participants used a prototype hearing system—comprising two hearing aids, Android smartphone, and body-worn gateway device—for ~6 weeks. Study Sample Sixteen adults with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss (HL) (ten males, six females; mean age = 55.5 yr). Fifteen had ≥6 mo of experience wearing hearing aids, and 14 had previous experience using smartphones. Intervention Participants were fitted and instructed to perform daily comparisons of settings (“listening evaluations”) through a smartphone-based software application called Hearing Aid Learning and Inference Controller (HALIC). In the four-week-long training phase, HALIC recorded individual listening preferences along with sensor data from the smartphone—including environmental sound classification, sound level, and location—to build trained models. In the subsequent two-week-long validation phase, participants performed blinded listening evaluations comparing settings predicted by the trained system (“trained settings”) to those suggested by the hearing aids’ untrained system (“untrained settings”). Data Collection and Analysis We analyzed data collected on the smartphone and hearing aids during the study. We also obtained audiometric and demographic information. Results Overall, the 15 participants with valid data significantly preferred trained settings to untrained settings (paired-samples t test). Seven participants had a significant preference for trained settings, while one had a significant preference for untrained settings (binomial test). The remaining seven participants had nonsignificant preferences. Pooling data across participants, the proportion of times that each setting was chosen in a given environmental sound class was on average very similar. However, breaking down the data by participant revealed strong and idiosyncratic individual preferences. Fourteen participants reported positive feelings of clarity, competence, and mastery when training via HALIC. Conclusions The obtained data, as well as subjective participant feedback, indicate that smartphones could become viable tools to train hearing aids. Individuals who are tech savvy and have milder HL seem well suited to take advantages of the benefits offered by training with a smartphone. PMID:27718350

A qualitative study of the relationship between clinician attributes, organization, and patient characteristics on implementation of a disease management program.

PubMed

Brazil, Kevin; Cloutier, Michelle M; Tennen, Howard; Bailit, Howard; Higgins, Pamela S

2008-04-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the challenges of integrating an asthma disease management (DM) program into a primary care setting from the perspective of primary care practitioners. A second goal was to examine whether barriers differed between urban-based and nonurban-based practices. Using a qualitative design, data were gathered using focus groups in primary care pediatric practices. A purposeful sample included an equal number of urban and nonurban practices. Participants represented all levels in the practice setting. Important themes that emerged from the data were coded and categorized. A total of 151 individuals, including physicians, advanced practice clinicians, registered nurses, other medical staff, and nonmedical staff participated in 16 focus groups that included 8 urban and 8 nonurban practices. Content analyses identified 4 primary factors influencing the implementation of a DM program in a primary care setting. They were related to providers, the organization, patients, and characteristics of the DM program. This study illustrates the complexity of the primary care environment and the challenge of changing practice in these settings. The results of this study identified areas in a primary care setting that influence the adoption of a DM program. These findings can assist in identifying effective strategies to change clinical behavior in primary care practices.

Technology-Rich Learning Environments in Elementary and Secondary Schools: An Interactive Study of Physical Settings and Educational Change.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stuebing, Susan; And Others

This paper reviews an ongoing study on the physical settings of education with technology at the elementary and high school levels. The study, which is multi-disciplinary in nature, is based in sites in the process of change in teaching strategies, using learning technology as a catalyst for this change to take place. The focus of the study is on…

Functional genomics annotation of a statistical epistasis network associated with bladder cancer susceptibility.

PubMed

Hu, Ting; Pan, Qinxin; Andrew, Angeline S; Langer, Jillian M; Cole, Michael D; Tomlinson, Craig R; Karagas, Margaret R; Moore, Jason H

2014-04-11

Several different genetic and environmental factors have been identified as independent risk factors for bladder cancer in population-based studies. Recent studies have turned to understanding the role of gene-gene and gene-environment interactions in determining risk. We previously developed the bioinformatics framework of statistical epistasis networks (SEN) to characterize the global structure of interacting genetic factors associated with a particular disease or clinical outcome. By applying SEN to a population-based study of bladder cancer among Caucasians in New Hampshire, we were able to identify a set of connected genetic factors with strong and significant interaction effects on bladder cancer susceptibility. To support our statistical findings using networks, in the present study, we performed pathway enrichment analyses on the set of genes identified using SEN, and found that they are associated with the carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene, a component of tobacco smoke. We further carried out an mRNA expression microarray experiment to validate statistical genetic interactions, and to determine if the set of genes identified in the SEN were differentially expressed in a normal bladder cell line and a bladder cancer cell line in the presence or absence of benzo[a]pyrene. Significant nonrandom sets of genes from the SEN were found to be differentially expressed in response to benzo[a]pyrene in both the normal bladder cells and the bladder cancer cells. In addition, the patterns of gene expression were significantly different between these two cell types. The enrichment analyses and the gene expression microarray results support the idea that SEN analysis of bladder in population-based studies is able to identify biologically meaningful statistical patterns. These results bring us a step closer to a systems genetic approach to understanding cancer susceptibility that integrates population and laboratory-based studies.

The Effect of Clinical Care Location on Clinical Outcomes After Peripheral Vascular Intervention in Medicare Beneficiaries.

PubMed

Turley, Ryan S; Mi, Xiaojuan; Qualls, Laura G; Vemulapalli, Sreekanth; Peterson, Eric D; Patel, Manesh R; Curtis, Lesley H; Jones, W Schuyler

2017-06-12

Modifications in reimbursement rates by Medicare in 2008 have led to peripheral vascular interventions (PVI) being performed more commonly in outpatient and office-based clinics. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of this shift in clinical care setting on clinical outcomes after PVI. Modifications in reimbursement have led to peripheral vascular intervention (PVI) being more commonly performed in outpatient hospital settings and office-based clinics. Using a 100% national sample of Medicare beneficiaries from 2010 to 2012, we examined 30-day and 1-year rates of all-cause mortality, major lower extremity amputation, repeat revascularization, and all-cause hospitalization by clinical care location of index PVI. A total of 218,858 Medicare beneficiaries underwent an index PVI between 2010 and 2012. Index PVIs performed in inpatient settings were associated with higher 1-year rates of all-cause mortality (23.6% vs. 10.4% and 11.7%; p < 0.001), major lower extremity amputation (10.1% vs. 3.7% and 3.5%; p < 0.001), and all-cause repeat hospitalization (63.3% vs. 48.5% and 48.0%; p < 0.001), but lower rates of repeat revascularization (25.1% vs. 26.9% vs. 38.6%; p < 0.001) when compared with outpatient hospital settings and office-based clinics, respectively. After adjustment for potential confounders, patients treated in office-based clinics remained more likely than patients in inpatient hospital settings to require repeat revascularization within 1 year across all specialties. There was also a statistically significant interaction effect between location of index revascularization and geographic region on the occurrence of all-cause hospitalization, repeat revascularization, and lower extremity amputation. Index PVI performed in office-based settings was associated with a higher hazard of repeat revascularization when compared with other settings. Differences in clinical outcomes across treatment settings and geographic regions suggest that inconsistent application of PVI may exist and highlights the need for studies to determine optimal delivery of PVI in clinical practice. Copyright © 2017 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The alarming problems of confounding equivalence using logistic regression models in the perspective of causal diagrams.

PubMed

Yu, Yuanyuan; Li, Hongkai; Sun, Xiaoru; Su, Ping; Wang, Tingting; Liu, Yi; Yuan, Zhongshang; Liu, Yanxun; Xue, Fuzhong

2017-12-28

Confounders can produce spurious associations between exposure and outcome in observational studies. For majority of epidemiologists, adjusting for confounders using logistic regression model is their habitual method, though it has some problems in accuracy and precision. It is, therefore, important to highlight the problems of logistic regression and search the alternative method. Four causal diagram models were defined to summarize confounding equivalence. Both theoretical proofs and simulation studies were performed to verify whether conditioning on different confounding equivalence sets had the same bias-reducing potential and then to select the optimum adjusting strategy, in which logistic regression model and inverse probability weighting based marginal structural model (IPW-based-MSM) were compared. The "do-calculus" was used to calculate the true causal effect of exposure on outcome, then the bias and standard error were used to evaluate the performances of different strategies. Adjusting for different sets of confounding equivalence, as judged by identical Markov boundaries, produced different bias-reducing potential in the logistic regression model. For the sets satisfied G-admissibility, adjusting for the set including all the confounders reduced the equivalent bias to the one containing the parent nodes of the outcome, while the bias after adjusting for the parent nodes of exposure was not equivalent to them. In addition, all causal effect estimations through logistic regression were biased, although the estimation after adjusting for the parent nodes of exposure was nearest to the true causal effect. However, conditioning on different confounding equivalence sets had the same bias-reducing potential under IPW-based-MSM. Compared with logistic regression, the IPW-based-MSM could obtain unbiased causal effect estimation when the adjusted confounders satisfied G-admissibility and the optimal strategy was to adjust for the parent nodes of outcome, which obtained the highest precision. All adjustment strategies through logistic regression were biased for causal effect estimation, while IPW-based-MSM could always obtain unbiased estimation when the adjusted set satisfied G-admissibility. Thus, IPW-based-MSM was recommended to adjust for confounders set.

Set-Based Discrete Particle Swarm Optimization Based on Decomposition for Permutation-Based Multiobjective Combinatorial Optimization Problems.

PubMed

Yu, Xue; Chen, Wei-Neng; Gu, Tianlong; Zhang, Huaxiang; Yuan, Huaqiang; Kwong, Sam; Zhang, Jun

2018-07-01

This paper studies a specific class of multiobjective combinatorial optimization problems (MOCOPs), namely the permutation-based MOCOPs. Many commonly seen MOCOPs, e.g., multiobjective traveling salesman problem (MOTSP), multiobjective project scheduling problem (MOPSP), belong to this problem class and they can be very different. However, as the permutation-based MOCOPs share the inherent similarity that the structure of their search space is usually in the shape of a permutation tree, this paper proposes a generic multiobjective set-based particle swarm optimization methodology based on decomposition, termed MS-PSO/D. In order to coordinate with the property of permutation-based MOCOPs, MS-PSO/D utilizes an element-based representation and a constructive approach. Through this, feasible solutions under constraints can be generated step by step following the permutation-tree-shaped structure. And problem-related heuristic information is introduced in the constructive approach for efficiency. In order to address the multiobjective optimization issues, the decomposition strategy is employed, in which the problem is converted into multiple single-objective subproblems according to a set of weight vectors. Besides, a flexible mechanism for diversity control is provided in MS-PSO/D. Extensive experiments have been conducted to study MS-PSO/D on two permutation-based MOCOPs, namely the MOTSP and the MOPSP. Experimental results validate that the proposed methodology is promising.

Prince Albert National Park Forest Cover Data in Vector Format

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fitzsimmons, Michael; Nickeson, Jaime; Hall, Forrest G. (Editor)

2000-01-01

This data set provides detailed canopy, understory, and ground cover height, density, and condition information for PANP in the western portion of the BOReal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) Southern Study Area (SSA) in vector form. The original biophysical resource data set was produced in 1978 based on aerial photographs taken in 1968 and field work conducted in the mid-1970s, and PANP's update/revision of the data set was completed in 1994. The data are stored in an ARC/INFO export file.

LEGO: a novel method for gene set over-representation analysis by incorporating network-based gene weights

PubMed Central

Dong, Xinran; Hao, Yun; Wang, Xiao; Tian, Weidong

2016-01-01

Pathway or gene set over-representation analysis (ORA) has become a routine task in functional genomics studies. However, currently widely used ORA tools employ statistical methods such as Fisher’s exact test that reduce a pathway into a list of genes, ignoring the constitutive functional non-equivalent roles of genes and the complex gene-gene interactions. Here, we develop a novel method named LEGO (functional Link Enrichment of Gene Ontology or gene sets) that takes into consideration these two types of information by incorporating network-based gene weights in ORA analysis. In three benchmarks, LEGO achieves better performance than Fisher and three other network-based methods. To further evaluate LEGO’s usefulness, we compare LEGO with five gene expression-based and three pathway topology-based methods using a benchmark of 34 disease gene expression datasets compiled by a recent publication, and show that LEGO is among the top-ranked methods in terms of both sensitivity and prioritization for detecting target KEGG pathways. In addition, we develop a cluster-and-filter approach to reduce the redundancy among the enriched gene sets, making the results more interpretable to biologists. Finally, we apply LEGO to two lists of autism genes, and identify relevant gene sets to autism that could not be found by Fisher. PMID:26750448

LEGO: a novel method for gene set over-representation analysis by incorporating network-based gene weights.

PubMed

Dong, Xinran; Hao, Yun; Wang, Xiao; Tian, Weidong

2016-01-11

Pathway or gene set over-representation analysis (ORA) has become a routine task in functional genomics studies. However, currently widely used ORA tools employ statistical methods such as Fisher's exact test that reduce a pathway into a list of genes, ignoring the constitutive functional non-equivalent roles of genes and the complex gene-gene interactions. Here, we develop a novel method named LEGO (functional Link Enrichment of Gene Ontology or gene sets) that takes into consideration these two types of information by incorporating network-based gene weights in ORA analysis. In three benchmarks, LEGO achieves better performance than Fisher and three other network-based methods. To further evaluate LEGO's usefulness, we compare LEGO with five gene expression-based and three pathway topology-based methods using a benchmark of 34 disease gene expression datasets compiled by a recent publication, and show that LEGO is among the top-ranked methods in terms of both sensitivity and prioritization for detecting target KEGG pathways. In addition, we develop a cluster-and-filter approach to reduce the redundancy among the enriched gene sets, making the results more interpretable to biologists. Finally, we apply LEGO to two lists of autism genes, and identify relevant gene sets to autism that could not be found by Fisher.

The use of occupation-based assessments and intervention in the hand therapy setting - A survey.

PubMed

Grice, Kimatha Oxford

2015-01-01

Descriptive survey. This study specifically explored the use of occupation-based assessments and intervention in the hand therapy setting, but also more generally, current practice trends about all assessments being utilized in this setting, frequency of their use, and therapists' perceptions about them. An online survey was distributed via email to members of the American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT). The survey consisted of ten questions and was administered via Survey Monkey. Responses were received from 22% of those surveyed. A descriptive analysis was completed of the results and indicated that over half use occupation-based assessments on a daily basis; most are related to ADL function and used for the development of goals. The primary reason for not utilizing occupation-based assessments is time limitation. Seventy-nine percent believe these measures are important for the services provided in the hand therapy setting. Occupation-based assessments and intervention are not utilized as much as therapists would like in the hand therapy setting, primarily due to time constraints. While not formally assessed, the majority of those who responded indicated that they do address occupation in their assessments and interventions. Not applicable. Copyright © 2015 Hanley & Belfus. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using video-based observation research methods in primary care health encounters to evaluate complex interactions

PubMed Central

Asan, Onur; Montague, Enid

2015-01-01

Objective The purpose of this paper is to describe the use of video-based observation research methods in primary care environment and highlight important methodological considerations and provide practical guidance for primary care and human factors researchers conducting video studies to understand patient-clinician interaction in primary care settings. Methods We reviewed studies in the literature which used video methods in health care research and, we also used our own experience based on the video studies we conducted in primary care settings. Results This paper highlighted the benefits of using video techniques such as multi-channel recording and video coding and compared “unmanned” video recording with the traditional observation method in primary care research. We proposed a list, which can be followed step by step to conduct an effective video study in a primary care setting for a given problem. This paper also described obstacles researchers should anticipate when using video recording methods in future studies. Conclusion With the new technological improvements, video-based observation research is becoming a promising method in primary care and HFE research. Video recording has been under-utilized as a data collection tool because of confidentiality and privacy issues. However, it has many benefits as opposed to traditional observations, and recent studies using video recording methods have introduced new research areas and approaches. PMID:25479346

Associations between the settings of exercise habits and health-related outcomes in community-dwelling older adults

PubMed Central

Makino, Keitaro; Ihira, Hikaru; Mizumoto, Atsushi; Shimizu, Kotaro; Ishida, Toyoaki; Furuna, Taketo

2015-01-01

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between the settings of exercise habits and health-related outcomes in community-dwelling older adults. [Subjects] A total of 304 Japanese community-dwelling older adults (70.3 ± 4.1 years; 113 males and 191 females) participated in this study. [Methods] Demographic characteristics, medical conditions, exercise habits, and health-related outcomes were assessed by face-to-face interviews and self-reported questionnaires. Older adults who had exercise habits were classified into two groups: individual- and group-based exercise habits groups, and the health-related outcomes were compared between groups. [Results] The scores for the Geriatric Depression Scale, exercise self-efficacy, and dietary variety of older adults who had group-based exercise habits were better than those of older adults who had individual-based exercise habits. In addition, the exercise settings (individual- and group-based) were significantly associated with scores for the Geriatric Depression Scale (odds ratio = 0.76) and exercise self-efficacy (odds ratio = 1.26), even after adjusting for age and gender. [Conclusion] These results implied that habitual exercise in group settings may have an effective role in promoting exercise self-efficacy and mental health. PMID:26311955

Acquiring Interactional Competence in a Study Abroad Context: Japanese Language Learners' Use of the Interactional Particle "ne"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Masuda, Kyoko

2011-01-01

This study examines the development of interactional competence (Hall, 1993, 1995) by English-speaking learners of Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) in a study abroad setting, as indexed by their use of the interactionally significant particle "ne." The analysis is based on a comparison of (a) 6 sets of conversations between JFL learners and…

Different Modes of Digital Learning Object Use in School Settings: Do We Design for Individual or Collaborative Learning?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akpinar, Yavuz

2014-01-01

The aim of the studies reported in this paper is to gain classroom based empirical evidence on the learning effectiveness of learning objects used in two types of study settings: Collaborative and individual. A total of 127 seventh and ninth grade students participated in the experiments. They were assigned into one of the study modes and worked…

The Effects of a Goal Setting Intervention on Productivity and Persistence in an Analogue Work Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tammemagi, Triona; O'Hora, Denis; Maglieri, Kristen A.

2013-01-01

The authors of this study sought to quantify the beneficial effect of goal setting on work performance, and to characterize the persistence or deterioration of goal-directed behavior over time. Twenty-six participants completed a computer-based data entry task. Performance was measured during an initial baseline, a goal setting intervention that…

Are the Best Scores the Best Scores for Predicting College Success?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patterson, Brian F.; Mattern, Krista D.; Swerdzewski, Peter

2012-01-01

The College Board's SAT[R] Score Choice[TM] policy allows students to choose which set(s) of scores to send to colleges and universities to which they plan to apply. Based on data gathered before the implementation of that policy, the following study evaluated the predictive validity of the various sets of SAT scores. The value of five score sets…

Smartphone-Based System for Learning and Inferring Hearing Aid Settings.

PubMed

Aldaz, Gabriel; Puria, Sunil; Leifer, Larry J

2016-10-01

Previous research has shown that hearing aid wearers can successfully self-train their instruments' gain-frequency response and compression parameters in everyday situations. Combining hearing aids with a smartphone introduces additional computing power, memory, and a graphical user interface that may enable greater setting personalization. To explore the benefits of self-training with a smartphone-based hearing system, a parameter space was chosen with four possible combinations of microphone mode (omnidirectional and directional) and noise reduction state (active and off). The baseline for comparison was the "untrained system," that is, the manufacturer's algorithm for automatically selecting microphone mode and noise reduction state based on acoustic environment. The "trained system" first learned each individual's preferences, self-entered via a smartphone in real-world situations, to build a trained model. The system then predicted the optimal setting (among available choices) using an inference engine, which considered the trained model and current context (e.g., sound environment, location, and time). To develop a smartphone-based prototype hearing system that can be trained to learn preferred user settings. Determine whether user study participants showed a preference for trained over untrained system settings. An experimental within-participants study. Participants used a prototype hearing system-comprising two hearing aids, Android smartphone, and body-worn gateway device-for ∼6 weeks. Sixteen adults with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss (HL) (ten males, six females; mean age = 55.5 yr). Fifteen had ≥6 mo of experience wearing hearing aids, and 14 had previous experience using smartphones. Participants were fitted and instructed to perform daily comparisons of settings ("listening evaluations") through a smartphone-based software application called Hearing Aid Learning and Inference Controller (HALIC). In the four-week-long training phase, HALIC recorded individual listening preferences along with sensor data from the smartphone-including environmental sound classification, sound level, and location-to build trained models. In the subsequent two-week-long validation phase, participants performed blinded listening evaluations comparing settings predicted by the trained system ("trained settings") to those suggested by the hearing aids' untrained system ("untrained settings"). We analyzed data collected on the smartphone and hearing aids during the study. We also obtained audiometric and demographic information. Overall, the 15 participants with valid data significantly preferred trained settings to untrained settings (paired-samples t test). Seven participants had a significant preference for trained settings, while one had a significant preference for untrained settings (binomial test). The remaining seven participants had nonsignificant preferences. Pooling data across participants, the proportion of times that each setting was chosen in a given environmental sound class was on average very similar. However, breaking down the data by participant revealed strong and idiosyncratic individual preferences. Fourteen participants reported positive feelings of clarity, competence, and mastery when training via HALIC. The obtained data, as well as subjective participant feedback, indicate that smartphones could become viable tools to train hearing aids. Individuals who are tech savvy and have milder HL seem well suited to take advantages of the benefits offered by training with a smartphone. American Academy of Audiology

Do Fitness Apps Need Text Reminders? An Experiment Testing Goal-Setting Text Message Reminders to Promote Self-Monitoring.

PubMed

Liu, Shuang; Willoughby, Jessica F

2018-01-01

Fitness tracking apps have the potential to change unhealthy lifestyles, but users' lack of compliance is an issue. The current intervention examined the effectiveness of using goal-setting theory-based text message reminders to promote tracking activities on fitness apps. We conducted a 2-week experiment with pre- and post-tests with young adults (n = 50). Participants were randomly assigned to two groups-a goal-setting text message reminder group and a generic text message reminder group. Participants were asked to use a fitness tracking app to log physical activity and diet for the duration of the study. Participants who received goal-setting reminders logged significantly more physical activities than those who only received generic reminders. Further, participants who received goal-setting reminders liked the messages and showed significantly increased self-efficacy, awareness of personal goals, motivation, and intention to use the app. The study shows that incorporating goal-setting theory-based text message reminders can be useful to boost user compliance with self-monitoring fitness apps by reinforcing users' personal goals and enhancing cognitive factors associated with health behavior change.

The Efficacy of the LearningRx Cognitive Training Program: Modality and Transfer Effects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Oliver W.; Serpell, Zewelanji; Faison, M. Omar

2016-01-01

This article describes two studies testing the efficacy of a commercial one-on-one cognitive training program (LearningRx) and its computer-based version (Brainskills) in laboratory and school settings. Study 1 tested Brainskills in a laboratory setting with 322 middle school students. Paired "t"-tests revealed significant gains on all…

Differences in Less Proficient and More Proficient ESL College Writing in the Philippine Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gustilo, Leah E.

2016-01-01

The present study aimed at characterizing what skilled or more proficient ESL college writing is in the Philippine setting through a contrastive analysis of three groups of variables identified from previous studies: resources, processes, and performance of ESL writers. Based on Chenoweth and Hayes' (2001; 2003) framework, the resource level…

Pedometer-Based Physical Activity Level and Body Composition among Minority Children in a Physical Activity Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agbuga, Bulent

2011-01-01

Most studies focusing on the relationship between physical activity and obesity have been conducted in middle class Caucasian adults and children and few such studies are available concerning minority children in physical activity settings (Johnson, Kulinna, Tudor-Locke, Darst, & Pangrazi, 2007; Rowlands et al., 1999; Tudor-Locke, Lee, Morgan,…

The Effect of Interactive Technology on Informal Learning and Performance in a Social Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boileau, Timothy

2011-01-01

This study is based on a qualitative multiple case study research design using a mixed methods approach to provide insight into the effect of interactive technology on informal learning and performance in a social business setting inhabited by knowledge workers. The central phenomenon examined is the variance in behavioral intention towards…

"It's Almost Like Talking to a Person": Student Disclosure to Pedagogical Agents in Sensitive Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savin-Baden, Maggi; Tombs, Gemma; Burden, David; Wood, Clare

2013-01-01

This paper presents findings of a pilot study which used pedagogical agents to examine disclosure in educational settings. The study used responsive evaluation to explore how use of pedagogical agents might affect students' truthfulness and disclosure by asking them to respond to a lifestyle choices survey delivered by a web-based pedagogical…

Can Critical Management Education Be Critical in a Formal Higher Educational Setting?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Choo, Kok Leong

2007-01-01

This article attempts to establish the scope of critical management education in a formal educational setting. It is based on an empirical study of 24 academic staffs' experience of engaging critical management education in four UK University Business Schools. The study seems to show that there are significant barriers to and potential pitfalls in…

Pilot evaluation of parent-child interaction therapy delivered in an Australian community early childhood clinic setting.

PubMed

Phillips, Jane; Morgan, Susan; Cawthorne, Karen; Barnett, Bryanne

2008-08-01

Parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) is a short-term, evidence-based parent training intervention used widely in the treatment of behaviourally disordered preschool-aged children. Outcome studies have shown PCIT to be associated with lasting improvements in child and sibling behaviours and in the interactional styles, stress levels, confidence, and psychological functioning of parents. To date, however, all outcome studies have been conducted in university research clinic settings, and therefore understanding about the effectiveness of PCIT applied in a real-world setting has been limited. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of PCIT delivered to families in an Australian community-based early childhood clinic. Participants included 43 families with children aged 19-52 months who were referred for treatment of disruptive child behaviours and who completed PCIT treatment at the Karitane Toddler Clinic, in Sydney, Australia. Parents provided pre- and post-treatment ratings of child behaviours, parental stress, parental psychopathology and parental attitudes to therapy. At the end of the programme, clinically and statistically significant improvements were seen in child behaviours and parental well-being, and parents reported high levels of satisfaction with treatment. Implications for the implementation of PCIT programmes in community-based settings are discussed and areas of further research are identified.

Evidence for Updating the Core Domain Set of Outcome Measures for Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Report from a Special Interest Group at OMERACT 2016.

PubMed

Morgan, Esi M; Riebschleger, Meredith P; Horonjeff, Jennifer; Consolaro, Alessandro; Munro, Jane E; Thornhill, Susan; Beukelman, Timothy; Brunner, Hermine I; Creek, Emily L; Harris, Julia G; Horton, Daniel B; Lovell, Daniel J; Mannion, Melissa L; Olson, Judyann C; Rahimi, Homaira; Gallo, Maria Chiara; Calandra, Serena; Ravelli, Angelo; Ringold, Sarah; Shenoi, Susan; Stinson, Jennifer; Toupin-April, Karine; Strand, Vibeke; Bingham, Clifton O

2017-12-01

The current Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) Core Set was developed in 1997 to identify the outcome measures to be used in JIA clinical trials using statistical and consensus-based techniques, but without patient involvement. The importance of patient/parent input into the research process has increasingly been recognized over the years. An Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) JIA Core Set Working Group was formed to determine whether the outcome domains of the current core set are relevant to those involved or whether the core set domains should be revised. Twenty-four people from the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe, including patient partners, formed the working group. Guided by the OMERACT Filter 2.0 process, we performed (1) a systematic literature review of outcome domains, (2) a Web-based survey (142 patients, 343 parents), (3) an idea-generation study (120 parents), (4) 4 online discussion boards (24 patients, 20 parents), and (5) a Special Interest Group (SIG) activity at the OMERACT 13 (2016) meeting. A MEDLINE search of outcome domains used in studies of JIA yielded 5956 citations, of which 729 citations underwent full-text review, and identified additional domains to those included in the current JIA Core Set. Qualitative studies on the effect of JIA identified multiple additional domains, including pain and participation. Twenty-one participants in the SIG achieved consensus on the need to revise the entire JIA Core Set. The results of qualitative studies and literature review support the need to expand the JIA Core Set, considering, among other things, additional patient/parent-centered outcomes, clinical data, and imaging data.

Skull defect reconstruction based on a new hybrid level set.

PubMed

Zhang, Ziqun; Zhang, Ran; Song, Zhijian

2014-01-01

Skull defect reconstruction is an important aspect of surgical repair. Historically, a skull defect prosthesis was created by the mirroring technique, surface fitting, or formed templates. These methods are not based on the anatomy of the individual patient's skull, and therefore, the prosthesis cannot precisely correct the defect. This study presented a new hybrid level set model, taking into account both the global optimization region information and the local accuracy edge information, while avoiding re-initialization during the evolution of the level set function. Based on the new method, a skull defect was reconstructed, and the skull prosthesis was produced by rapid prototyping technology. This resulted in a skull defect prosthesis that well matched the skull defect with excellent individual adaptation.

GOTree Machine (GOTM): a web-based platform for interpreting sets of interesting genes using Gene Ontology hierarchies

PubMed Central

Zhang, Bing; Schmoyer, Denise; Kirov, Stefan; Snoddy, Jay

2004-01-01

Background Microarray and other high-throughput technologies are producing large sets of interesting genes that are difficult to analyze directly. Bioinformatics tools are needed to interpret the functional information in the gene sets. Results We have created a web-based tool for data analysis and data visualization for sets of genes called GOTree Machine (GOTM). This tool was originally intended to analyze sets of co-regulated genes identified from microarray analysis but is adaptable for use with other gene sets from other high-throughput analyses. GOTree Machine generates a GOTree, a tree-like structure to navigate the Gene Ontology Directed Acyclic Graph for input gene sets. This system provides user friendly data navigation and visualization. Statistical analysis helps users to identify the most important Gene Ontology categories for the input gene sets and suggests biological areas that warrant further study. GOTree Machine is available online at . Conclusion GOTree Machine has a broad application in functional genomic, proteomic and other high-throughput methods that generate large sets of interesting genes; its primary purpose is to help users sort for interesting patterns in gene sets. PMID:14975175

[Case finding in early prevention networks - a heuristic for ambulatory care settings].

PubMed

Barth, Michael; Belzer, Florian

2016-06-01

One goal of early prevention is the support of families with small children up to three years who are exposed to psychosocial risks. The identification of these cases is often complex and not well-directed, especially in the ambulatory care setting. Development of a model of a feasible and empirical based strategy for case finding in ambulatory care. Based on the risk factors of postpartal depression, lack of maternal responsiveness, parental stress with regulation disorders and poverty a lexicographic and non-compensatory heuristic model with simple decision rules, will be constructed and empirically tested. Therefore the original data set from an evaluation of the pediatric documentary form on psychosocial issues of families with small children in well-child visits will be used and reanalyzed. The first diagnostic step in the non-compensatory and hierarchical classification process is the assessment of postpartal depression followed by maternal responsiveness, parental stress and poverty. The classification model identifies 89.0 % cases from the original study. Compared to the original study the decision process becomes clearer and more concise. The evidence-based and data-driven model exemplifies a strategy for the assessment of psychosocial risk factors in ambulatory care settings. It is based on four evidence-based risk factors and offers a quick and reliable classification. A further advantage of this model is that after a risk factor is identified the diagnostic procedure will be stopped and the counselling process can commence. For further validation of the model studies, in well suited early prevention networks are needed.

Characterizing and reducing equifinality by constraining a distributed catchment model with regional signatures, local observations, and process understanding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelleher, Christa; McGlynn, Brian; Wagener, Thorsten

2017-07-01

Distributed catchment models are widely used tools for predicting hydrologic behavior. While distributed models require many parameters to describe a system, they are expected to simulate behavior that is more consistent with observed processes. However, obtaining a single set of acceptable parameters can be problematic, as parameter equifinality often results in several behavioral sets that fit observations (typically streamflow). In this study, we investigate the extent to which equifinality impacts a typical distributed modeling application. We outline a hierarchical approach to reduce the number of behavioral sets based on regional, observation-driven, and expert-knowledge-based constraints. For our application, we explore how each of these constraint classes reduced the number of behavioral parameter sets and altered distributions of spatiotemporal simulations, simulating a well-studied headwater catchment, Stringer Creek, Montana, using the distributed hydrology-soil-vegetation model (DHSVM). As a demonstrative exercise, we investigated model performance across 10 000 parameter sets. Constraints on regional signatures, the hydrograph, and two internal measurements of snow water equivalent time series reduced the number of behavioral parameter sets but still left a small number with similar goodness of fit. This subset was ultimately further reduced by incorporating pattern expectations of groundwater table depth across the catchment. Our results suggest that utilizing a hierarchical approach based on regional datasets, observations, and expert knowledge to identify behavioral parameter sets can reduce equifinality and bolster more careful application and simulation of spatiotemporal processes via distributed modeling at the catchment scale.

Accurate Phylogenetic Tree Reconstruction from Quartets: A Heuristic Approach

PubMed Central

Reaz, Rezwana; Bayzid, Md. Shamsuzzoha; Rahman, M. Sohel

2014-01-01

Supertree methods construct trees on a set of taxa (species) combining many smaller trees on the overlapping subsets of the entire set of taxa. A ‘quartet’ is an unrooted tree over taxa, hence the quartet-based supertree methods combine many -taxon unrooted trees into a single and coherent tree over the complete set of taxa. Quartet-based phylogeny reconstruction methods have been receiving considerable attentions in the recent years. An accurate and efficient quartet-based method might be competitive with the current best phylogenetic tree reconstruction methods (such as maximum likelihood or Bayesian MCMC analyses), without being as computationally intensive. In this paper, we present a novel and highly accurate quartet-based phylogenetic tree reconstruction method. We performed an extensive experimental study to evaluate the accuracy and scalability of our approach on both simulated and biological datasets. PMID:25117474

Identification of a common neurobiological substrate for mental illness.

PubMed

Goodkind, Madeleine; Eickhoff, Simon B; Oathes, Desmond J; Jiang, Ying; Chang, Andrew; Jones-Hagata, Laura B; Ortega, Brissa N; Zaiko, Yevgeniya V; Roach, Erika L; Korgaonkar, Mayuresh S; Grieve, Stuart M; Galatzer-Levy, Isaac; Fox, Peter T; Etkin, Amit

2015-04-01

Psychiatric diagnoses are currently distinguished based on sets of specific symptoms. However, genetic and clinical analyses find similarities across a wide variety of diagnoses, suggesting that a common neurobiological substrate may exist across mental illness. To conduct a meta-analysis of structural neuroimaging studies across multiple psychiatric diagnoses, followed by parallel analyses of 3 large-scale healthy participant data sets to help interpret structural findings in the meta-analysis. PubMed was searched to identify voxel-based morphometry studies through July 2012 comparing psychiatric patients to healthy control individuals for the meta-analysis. The 3 parallel healthy participant data sets included resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, a database of activation foci across thousands of neuroimaging experiments, and a data set with structural imaging and cognitive task performance data. Studies were included in the meta-analysis if they reported voxel-based morphometry differences between patients with an Axis I diagnosis and control individuals in stereotactic coordinates across the whole brain, did not present predominantly in childhood, and had at least 10 studies contributing to that diagnosis (or across closely related diagnoses). The meta-analysis was conducted on peak voxel coordinates using an activation likelihood estimation approach. We tested for areas of common gray matter volume increase or decrease across Axis I diagnoses, as well as areas differing between diagnoses. Follow-up analyses on other healthy participant data sets tested connectivity related to regions arising from the meta-analysis and the relationship of gray matter volume to cognition. Based on the voxel-based morphometry meta-analysis of 193 studies comprising 15 892 individuals across 6 diverse diagnostic groups (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, addiction, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anxiety), we found that gray matter loss converged across diagnoses in 3 regions: the dorsal anterior cingulate, right insula, and left insula. By contrast, there were few diagnosis-specific effects, distinguishing only schizophrenia and depression from other diagnoses. In the parallel follow-up analyses of the 3 independent healthy participant data sets, we found that the common gray matter loss regions formed a tightly interconnected network during tasks and at resting and that lower gray matter in this network was associated with poor executive functioning. We identified a concordance across psychiatric diagnoses in terms of integrity of an anterior insula/dorsal anterior cingulate-based network, which may relate to executive function deficits observed across diagnoses. This concordance provides an organizing model that emphasizes the importance of shared neural substrates across psychopathology, despite likely diverse etiologies, which is currently not an explicit component of psychiatric nosology.

Viscosity of dysphagia-oriented cold-thickened beverages: effect of setting time at refrigeration temperature.

PubMed

Kim, Sung-Gun; Yoo, Byoungseung

2015-01-01

Although extensive literature is available on the viscosity of thickened beverages with food thickeners, no attempt has been made to study the effect of setting time on the viscosity of pudding-like cold-thickened beverages with xanthan gum (XG)-based thickeners by using a rheometer. In particular, it is of considerable practical importance to investigate the effect of setting time on their viscosity at 5°C because some cold-thickened beverages will be prepared in the kitchen in bulk and stored at 5°C before serving or consuming rather than serving immediately upon mixing with thickeners. To examine the effect of different setting times (15-120 min) on the viscosity of cold-thickened beverages prepared with various XG-based food thickeners, and also to compare the viscosity differences among the various cold beverages and XG-based food thickeners in beverage-thickener mixture systems. Four commercially available XG-based food thickeners (A-D) and three cold beverages (water, orange juice and milk) were used for the preparation of cold-thickened beverages. The thickened sample was portioned into six samples for the designated setting times and then stored at 5°C over setting time. Their apparent viscosity (η(a,50)) at 50 s(-1) was measured using a rheometer. The largest increases in η(a,50) values for thickened beverages, except for water, were observed at 15 min (p < 0.05), showing a pudding-like fluid, and at longer time periods their η(a,50) values gradually increased or were constant with an increase in setting time. The percentage increase in viscosity values at different setting times (15-120 min) as compared with the control (0 min) was less pronounced in the thickened orange juice and milk samples with thickener A over setting time, indicating that the thickened beverages with thickener A had more stable structure compared with those with other thickeners (B-D) over time. Statistical analysis showed that changes in the viscosity of cold-thickened beverages over setting time are greatly influenced by the type of beverages and thickeners. Cold-thickened beverages should be carefully prepared with instant commercial XG-based food thickeners because they produced different thickening patterns over setting time which clinicians must consider for a safe and easy swallowing. The information presented in this study will provide both clinicians and patients with additional knowledge to prepare cold-thickened beverages with the corrected viscosity for safe swallowing. © 2014 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Detection and Genotyping of Human Papillomavirus in Self-Obtained Cervicovaginal Samples by Using the FTA Cartridge: New Possibilities for Cervical Cancer Screening ▿

PubMed Central

Lenselink, Charlotte H.; de Bie, Roosmarie P.; van Hamont, Dennis; Bakkers, Judith M. J. E.; Quint, Wim G. V.; Massuger, Leon F. A. G.; Bekkers, Ruud L. M.; Melchers, Willem J. G.

2009-01-01

This study assesses human papillomavirus (HPV) detection and genotyping in self-sampled genital smears applied to an indicating FTA elute cartridge (FTA cartridge). The study group consisted of 96 women, divided into two sample sets. All samples were analyzed by the HPV SPF10-Line Blot 25. Set 1 consisted of 45 women attending the gynecologist; all obtained a self-sampled cervicovaginal smear, which was applied to an FTA cartridge. HPV results were compared to a cervical smear (liquid based) taken by a trained physician. Set 2 consisted of 51 women who obtained a self-sampled cervicovaginal smear at home, which was applied to an FTA cartridge and to a liquid-based medium. DNA was obtained from the FTA cartridges by simple elution as well as extraction. Of all self-obtained samples of set 1, 62.2% tested HPV positive. The overall agreement between self- and physician-obtained samples was 93.3%, in favor of the self-obtained samples. In sample set 2, 25.5% tested HPV positive. The overall agreement for high-risk HPV presence between the FTA cartridge and liquid-based medium and between DNA elution and extraction was 100%. This study shows that HPV detection and genotyping in self-obtained cervicovaginal samples applied to an FTA cartridge is highly reliable. It shows a high level of overall agreement with HPV detection and genotyping in physician-obtained cervical smears and liquid-based self-samples. DNA can be obtained by simple elution and is therefore easy, cheap, and fast. Furthermore, the FTA cartridge is a convenient medium for collection and safe transport at ambient temperatures. Therefore, this method may contribute to a new way of cervical cancer screening. PMID:19553570

Detection and genotyping of human papillomavirus in self-obtained cervicovaginal samples by using the FTA cartridge: new possibilities for cervical cancer screening.

PubMed

Lenselink, Charlotte H; de Bie, Roosmarie P; van Hamont, Dennis; Bakkers, Judith M J E; Quint, Wim G V; Massuger, Leon F A G; Bekkers, Ruud L M; Melchers, Willem J G

2009-08-01

This study assesses human papillomavirus (HPV) detection and genotyping in self-sampled genital smears applied to an indicating FTA elute cartridge (FTA cartridge). The study group consisted of 96 women, divided into two sample sets. All samples were analyzed by the HPV SPF(10)-Line Blot 25. Set 1 consisted of 45 women attending the gynecologist; all obtained a self-sampled cervicovaginal smear, which was applied to an FTA cartridge. HPV results were compared to a cervical smear (liquid based) taken by a trained physician. Set 2 consisted of 51 women who obtained a self-sampled cervicovaginal smear at home, which was applied to an FTA cartridge and to a liquid-based medium. DNA was obtained from the FTA cartridges by simple elution as well as extraction. Of all self-obtained samples of set 1, 62.2% tested HPV positive. The overall agreement between self- and physician-obtained samples was 93.3%, in favor of the self-obtained samples. In sample set 2, 25.5% tested HPV positive. The overall agreement for high-risk HPV presence between the FTA cartridge and liquid-based medium and between DNA elution and extraction was 100%. This study shows that HPV detection and genotyping in self-obtained cervicovaginal samples applied to an FTA cartridge is highly reliable. It shows a high level of overall agreement with HPV detection and genotyping in physician-obtained cervical smears and liquid-based self-samples. DNA can be obtained by simple elution and is therefore easy, cheap, and fast. Furthermore, the FTA cartridge is a convenient medium for collection and safe transport at ambient temperatures. Therefore, this method may contribute to a new way of cervical cancer screening.

Cost effective interventions for the prevention of cardiovascular disease in low and middle income countries: a systematic review

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background While there is good evidence to show that behavioural and lifestyle interventions can reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors in affluent settings, less evidence exists in lower income settings. This study systematically assesses the evidence on cost-effectiveness for preventive cardiovascular interventions in low and middle-income settings. Methods Design: Systematic review of economic evaluations on interventions for prevention of cardiovascular disease. Data sources: PubMed, Web of Knowledge, Scopus and Embase, Opensigle, the Cochrane database, Business Source Complete, the NHS Economic Evaluations Database, reference lists and email contact with experts. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies: we included economic evaluations conducted in adults, reporting the effect of interventions to prevent cardiovascular disease in low and middle income countries as defined by the World Bank. The primary outcome was a change in cardiovascular disease occurrence including coronary heart disease, heart failure and stroke. Data extraction: After selection of the studies, data were extracted by two independent investigators using a previously constructed tool and quality was evaluated using Drummond’s quality assessment score. Results From 9731 search results we found 16 studies, which presented economic outcomes for interventions to prevent cardiovascular disease in low and middle income settings, with most of these reporting positive cost effectiveness results. When the same interventions were evaluated across settings, within and between papers, the likelihood of an intervention being judged cost effective was generally lower in regions with lowest gross national income. While population based interventions were in most cases more cost effective, cost effectiveness estimates for individual pharmacological interventions were overall based upon a stronger evidence base. Conclusions While more studies of cardiovascular preventive interventions are needed in low and mid income settings, the available high-level of evidence supports a wide range of interventions for the prevention of cardiovascular disease as being cost effective across all world regions. PMID:23537334

Setting-related influences on physical inactivity of older adults in residential care settings: a review.

PubMed

Douma, Johanna G; Volkers, Karin M; Engels, Gwenda; Sonneveld, Marieke H; Goossens, Richard H M; Scherder, Erik J A

2017-04-28

Despite the detrimental effects of physical inactivity for older adults, especially aged residents of residential care settings may spend much time in inactive behavior. This may be partly due to their poorer physical condition; however, there may also be other, setting-related factors that influence the amount of inactivity. The aim of this review was to review setting-related factors (including the social and physical environment) that may contribute to the amount of older adults' physical inactivity in a wide range of residential care settings (e.g., nursing homes, assisted care facilities). Five databases were systematically searched for eligible studies, using the key words 'inactivity', 'care facilities', and 'older adults', including their synonyms and MeSH terms. Additional studies were selected from references used in articles included from the search. Based on specific eligibility criteria, a total of 12 studies were included. Quality of the included studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). Based on studies using different methodologies (e.g., interviews and observations), and of different quality (assessed quality range: 25-100%), we report several aspects related to the physical environment and caregivers. Factors of the physical environment that may be related to physical inactivity included, among others, the environment's compatibility with the abilities of a resident, the presence of equipment, the accessibility, security, comfort, and aesthetics of the environment/corridors, and possibly the presence of some specific areas. Caregiver-related factors included staffing levels, the available time, and the amount and type of care being provided. Inactivity levels in residential care settings may be reduced by improving several features of the physical environment and with the help of caregivers. Intervention studies could be performed in order to gain more insight into causal effects of improving setting-related factors on physical inactivity of aged residents.

A rough set-based association rule approach implemented on a brand trust evaluation model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liao, Shu-Hsien; Chen, Yin-Ju

2017-09-01

In commerce, businesses use branding to differentiate their product and service offerings from those of their competitors. The brand incorporates a set of product or service features that are associated with that particular brand name and identifies the product/service segmentation in the market. This study proposes a new data mining approach, a rough set-based association rule induction, implemented on a brand trust evaluation model. In addition, it presents as one way to deal with data uncertainty to analyse ratio scale data, while creating predictive if-then rules that generalise data values to the retail region. As such, this study uses the analysis of algorithms to find alcoholic beverages brand trust recall. Finally, discussions and conclusion are presented for further managerial implications.

Preliminary Study on Prevalence and Associated Factors with Sarcopenia in a Geriatric Hospitalized Rehabilitation Setting.

PubMed

Pongpipatpaiboon, K; Kondo, I; Onogi, K; Mori, S; Ozaki, K; Osawa, A; Matsuo, H; Itoh, N; Tanimoto, M

2018-01-01

The reported prevalence of sarcopenia has shown a wide range, crucially based on the diagnostic criteria and setting. This cross-sectional study evaluated the prevalence of sarcopenia and sought to identify factors associated with sarcopenia on admission in a specialized geriatric rehabilitation setting based on the newly developed the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia algorithm. Among 87 participants (mean age, 76.05 ± 7.57 years), 35 (40.2%) were classified as showing sarcopenia on admission. Prevalence was high, particularly among participants ≥80 years old, with tendencies toward lower body mass index, smoking habit, lower cognitive function, and greater functional impairment compared with the non-sarcopenic group. Identification of sarcopenia in elderly patients before rehabilitation and consideration of risk factors may prove helpful in achieving rehabilitation outcomes.

A Model to Assess the Behavioral Impacts of Consultative Knowledge Based Systems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mak, Brenda; Lyytinen, Kalle

1997-01-01

This research model studies the behavioral impacts of consultative knowledge based systems (KBS). A study of graduate students explored to what extent their decisions were affected by user participation in updating the knowledge base; ambiguity of decision setting; routinization of usage; and source credibility of the expertise embedded in the…

Task Complexity, Focus on L2 Constructions, and Individual Differences: A Classroom-Based Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Revesz, Andrea

2011-01-01

Motivated by cognitive-interactionist frameworks for task-based learning, this study explores whether task complexity affects the extent to which learners focus on form-meaning connections during task-based work in a classroom setting, and whether this relationship is modulated by 3 individual difference factors--linguistic self-confidence,…

A Study of Student Engagement in Project-Based Learning across Multiple Approaches to STEM Education Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Alfred; Miro, Danielle

2016-01-01

Objective: In this study, we investigated the implementation of project-based learning (PBL) activities in four secondary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education settings to examine the impact of inquiry based instructional practices on student learning. Method: Direct classroom observations were conducted during the…

Providing Tobacco Treatment in a Community Mental Health Setting: A Pilot Study.

PubMed

Okoli, Chizimuzo T C; Mason, Dia A; Brumley-Shelton, Angela; Robertson, Heather

Individuals with mental illnesses (MIs) are disproportionately affected by tobacco-related disease burden because of higher tobacco use prevalence and poor tobacco treatment outcomes. This pilot study examines the outcomes of delivering an evidence-based tobacco treatment program (the Cooper-Clayton program) in a community mental health setting. A prospective nonequivalent group design was used to assess outcomes. This study included 47 participants, of which 19 were in a community mental health setting and 28 were from two non-mental-health settings. Information on sociodemographic (gender, age, educational level, and current life stressors) and medical, MI, substance use, and tobacco use and cessation histories were obtained. Program completion and smoking cessation at the end of treatment (verified with expired carbon monoxide monitoring) were assessed. The program consists of combining behavioral counseling with nicotine replacement therapy for 12 weeks. Participants from the mental health setting were significantly less educated, had greater medical comorbidities, had greater psychiatric and mental health histories, and had greater perceived secondhand tobacco smoke exposure as compared with those from the non-mental-health settings. Thirty-two percent of the participants (6/19) completed the program in the mental health site as compared with 68% (19/28) from the non-mental-health site. None of those from the mental health site achieved cessation as compared with 68% of those from non-mental-health sites. The differential outcomes of evidence-based tobacco treatment programs in non-mental-health versus mental health settings may suggest the need to modify existing tobacco treatment approaches for those with MIs in community settings.

Effect of adding acid solution on setting time and compressive strength of high calcium fly ash based geopolymer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antoni, Herianto, Jason Ghorman; Anastasia, Evelin; Hardjito, Djwantoro

2017-09-01

Fly ash with high calcium oxide content when used as the base material in geopolymer concrete could cause flash setting or rapid hardening. However, it might increase the compressive strength of geopolymer concrete. This rapid hardening could cause problems if the geopolymer concrete is used on a large scale casting that requires a long setting time. CaO content can be indicated by pH values of the fly ash, while higher pH is correlated with the rapid setting time of fly ash-based geopolymer. This study investigates the addition of acid solution to reduce the initial pH of the fly ash and to prolong the setting time of the mixture. The acids used in this study are hydrochloric acid (HCl), sulfuric acid (H2 SO4), nitric acid (HNO3) and acetic acid (CH3 COOH). It was found that the addition of acid solution in fly ash was able to decrease the initial pH of fly ash, however, the initial setting time of geopolymer was not reduced. It was even faster than that of the control mixture. The acid type causes various influence, depending on the fly ash properties. In addition, the use of acid solution in fly ash reduces the compressive strength of geopolymer mortar. It is concluded that the addition of acid solution cannot prolong the rapid hardening of high calcium fly ash geopolymer, and it causes adverse effect on the compressive strength.

Visualization of Penile Suspensory Ligamentous System Based on Visible Human Data Sets

PubMed Central

Chen, Xianzhuo; Wu, Yi; Tao, Ling; Yan, Yan; Pang, Jun; Zhang, Shaoxiang; Li, Shirong

2017-01-01

Background The aim of this study was to use a three-dimensional (3D) visualization technology to illustrate and describe the anatomical features of the penile suspensory ligamentous system based on the Visible Human data sets and to explore the suspensory mechanism of the penis for the further improvement of the penis-lengthening surgery. Material/Methods Cross-sectional images retrieved from the first Chinese Visible Human (CVH-1), third Chinese Visible Human (CVH-3), and Visible Human Male (VHM) data sets were used to segment the suspensory ligamentous system and its adjacent structures. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images of this system were studied and compared with those from the Visible Human data sets. The 3D models reconstructed from the Visible Human data sets were used to provide morphological features of the penile suspensory ligamentous system and its related structures. Results The fundiform ligament was a superficial, loose, fibro-fatty tissue which originated from Scarpa’s fascia superiorly and continued to the scrotal septum inferiorly. The suspensory ligament and arcuate pubic ligament were dense fibrous connective tissues which started from the pubic symphysis and terminated by attaching to the tunica albuginea of the corpora cavernosa. Furthermore, the arcuate pubic ligament attached to the inferior rami of the pubis laterally. Conclusions The 3D model based on Visible Human data sets can be used to clarify the anatomical features of the suspensory ligamentous system, thereby contributing to the improvement of penis-lengthening surgery. PMID:28530218

Visualization of Penile Suspensory Ligamentous System Based on Visible Human Data Sets.

PubMed

Chen, Xianzhuo; Wu, Yi; Tao, Ling; Yan, Yan; Pang, Jun; Zhang, Shaoxiang; Li, Shirong

2017-05-22

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to use a three-dimensional (3D) visualization technology to illustrate and describe the anatomical features of the penile suspensory ligamentous system based on the Visible Human data sets and to explore the suspensory mechanism of the penis for the further improvement of the penis-lengthening surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS Cross-sectional images retrieved from the first Chinese Visible Human (CVH-1), third Chinese Visible Human (CVH-3), and Visible Human Male (VHM) data sets were used to segment the suspensory ligamentous system and its adjacent structures. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images of this system were studied and compared with those from the Visible Human data sets. The 3D models reconstructed from the Visible Human data sets were used to provide morphological features of the penile suspensory ligamentous system and its related structures. RESULTS The fundiform ligament was a superficial, loose, fibro-fatty tissue which originated from Scarpa's fascia superiorly and continued to the scrotal septum inferiorly. The suspensory ligament and arcuate pubic ligament were dense fibrous connective tissues which started from the pubic symphysis and terminated by attaching to the tunica albuginea of the corpora cavernosa. Furthermore, the arcuate pubic ligament attached to the inferior rami of the pubis laterally. CONCLUSIONS The 3D model based on Visible Human data sets can be used to clarify the anatomical features of the suspensory ligamentous system, thereby contributing to the improvement of penis-lengthening surgery.

THE DETROIT ASTHMA MORBIDITY, AIR QUALITY AND TRAFFIC (DAMAT) STUDY

EPA Science Inventory

The project was completed successfully. In Project Year 1, the health outcome and exposure data sets were collected, cleaned and processed, including specifically:

• A set of daily exposure measures, based on measurements of the selected pollutants measure...

• Accelerated bridge construction (ABC) decision making and economic modeling tool.

  DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

  2011-12-01

  In this FHWA-sponsored pool funded study, a set of decision making tools, based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was developed. This tool set is prepared for transportation specialists and decision-makers to determine if ABC is more effective ...

• Estimating Missing Unit Process Data in Life Cycle Assessment Using a Similarity-Based Approach.

  PubMed

  Hou, Ping; Cai, Jiarui; Qu, Shen; Xu, Ming

  2018-05-01

  In life cycle assessment (LCA), collecting unit process data from the empirical sources (i.e., meter readings, operation logs/journals) is often costly and time-consuming. We propose a new computational approach to estimate missing unit process data solely relying on limited known data based on a similarity-based link prediction method. The intuition is that similar processes in a unit process network tend to have similar material/energy inputs and waste/emission outputs. We use the ecoinvent 3.1 unit process data sets to test our method in four steps: (1) dividing the data sets into a training set and a test set; (2) randomly removing certain numbers of data in the test set indicated as missing; (3) using similarity-weighted means of various numbers of most similar processes in the training set to estimate the missing data in the test set; and (4) comparing estimated data with the original values to determine the performance of the estimation. The results show that missing data can be accurately estimated when less than 5% data are missing in one process. The estimation performance decreases as the percentage of missing data increases. This study provides a new approach to compile unit process data and demonstrates a promising potential of using computational approaches for LCA data compilation.

• A Multi-Modal Digital Game-Based Learning Environment for Hospitalized Children with Chronic Illnesses.

  ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

  Chin, Jui-Chih; Tsuei, Mengping

  2014-01-01

  The aim of this study was to explore the digital game-based learning for children with chronic illnesses in the hospital settings. The design-based research and qualitative methods were applied. Three eight-year-old children with leukemia participated in this study. In the first phase, the multi-user game-based learning system was developed and…

Assessment of Teachers' Reactions to a Knowledge- and Skills-Based Pay Structure at an International School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lowe, Joel Courtney

2013-01-01

This study explores teachers' reactions to a knowledge- and skills-based pay (KSBP) system implemented in a large international school. Such systems are designed to set teacher compensation based on demonstrated professional knowledge and skills as opposed to the traditional scale based on years of experience and degrees attained. This study fills…

Deriving a Set of Privacy Specific Heuristics for the Assessment of PHRs (Personal Health Records).

PubMed

Furano, Riccardo F; Kushniruk, Andre; Barnett, Jeff

2017-01-01

With the emergence of personal health record (PHR) platforms becoming more widely available, this research focused on the development of privacy heuristics to assess PHRs regarding privacy. Existing sets of heuristics are typically not application specific and do not address patient-centric privacy as a main concern prior to undergoing PHR procurement. A set of privacy specific heuristics were developed based on a scoping review of the literature. An internet-based commercially available, vendor specific PHR application was evaluated using the derived set of privacy specific heuristics. The proposed set of privacy specific derived heuristics is explored in detail in relation to ISO 29100. The assessment of the internet-based commercially available, vendor specific PHR application indicated numerous violations. These violations were noted within the study. It is argued that the new derived privacy heuristics should be used in addition to Nielsen's well-established set of heuristics. Privacy specific heuristics could be used to assess PHR portal system-level privacy mechanisms in the procurement process of a PHR application and may prove to be a beneficial form of assessment to prevent the selection of a PHR platform with a poor privacy specific interface design.

Integrating children with psychiatric disorders in the classroom: a systematic review.

PubMed

Cossu, Giulia; Cantone, Elisa; Pintus, Mirra; Cadoni, Michela; Pisano, Anna; Otten, Roy; Kuijpers, Rowella; Pintus, Elisa; Sancassiani, Federica; Moro, Maria Francesca; Holzinger, Anita; Mereu, Alessandra; Preti, Antonio; Carta, Mauro Giovanni

2015-01-01

The school setting may be the optimal context for early screening of and intervention on child mental health problems, because of its large reach and intertwinement with various participants (child, teacher, parent, other community services). But this setting also exposes children to the risk of stigma, peer rejection and social exclusion. This systematic literature review investigates the efficacy of mental health interventions addressed to children and adolescents in school settings, and it evaluates which programs explicitly take into account social inclusion indicators. Only randomized controlled trials conducted on clinical populations of students and carried out in school settings were selected: 27 studies overall. Most studies applied group Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or Interpersonal Psychotherapy. Findings were suggestive of the effectiveness of school-based intervention programs in reducing symptoms of most mental disorders. Some evidence was found about the idea that effective studies on clinical populations may promote the social inclusion of children with an ongoing mental disorder and avoid the risk of being highly stigmatized. School programs are still needed that implement standardized models with verifiable and evidence-based practices involving the whole school community.

Satellite servicing economic study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

Previous studies have shown that satellite servicing is cost effective; however, all of these studies were of different formats, dollar year, learning rates, availability, etc. Therefore, it was difficult to correlate any useful trends from these studies. The reviewed study was initiated to correlate the economic data into a common data base, using a common set of assumptions. A selected set of existed funded programs was then analyzed to provide an independent analysis of the servicing options and potential economic benefits.

Satellite servicing economic study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

Previous studies have shown that satellite servicing is cost effective; however, all of these studies were of different formats, dollar year, learning rates, availability, etc. Threfore, it was difficult to correlate any useful trends from these studies. The reviewed study was initiated to correlate the economic data into a common data base, using a common set of assumptions. A selected set of existed funded programs was then analyzed to provide an independent analysis of the servicing options and potential economic benefits.

Modelling the Costs and Effects of Selective and Universal Hospital Admission Screening for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

PubMed Central

Hubben, Gijs; Bootsma, Martin; Luteijn, Michiel; Glynn, Diarmuid; Bishai, David

2011-01-01

Background Screening at hospital admission for carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been proposed as a strategy to reduce nosocomial infections. The objective of this study was to determine the long-term costs and health benefits of selective and universal screening for MRSA at hospital admission, using both PCR-based and chromogenic media-based tests in various settings. Methodology/Principal Findings A simulation model of MRSA transmission was used to determine costs and effects over 15 years from a US healthcare perspective. We compared admission screening together with isolation of identified carriers against a baseline policy without screening or isolation. Strategies included selective screening of high risk patients or universal admission screening, with PCR-based or chromogenic media-based tests, in medium (5%) or high nosocomial prevalence (15%) settings. The costs of screening and isolation per averted MRSA infection were lowest using selective chromogenic-based screening in high and medium prevalence settings, at $4,100 and $10,300, respectively. Replacing the chromogenic-based test with a PCR-based test costs $13,000 and $36,200 per additional infection averted, and subsequent extension to universal screening with PCR would cost $131,000 and $232,700 per additional infection averted, in high and medium prevalence settings respectively. Assuming $17,645 benefit per infection averted, the most cost-saving strategies in high and medium prevalence settings were selective screening with PCR and selective screening with chromogenic, respectively. Conclusions/Significance Admission screening costs $4,100–$21,200 per infection averted, depending on strategy and setting. Including financial benefits from averted infections, screening could well be cost saving. PMID:21483492

Improving the spectral measurement accuracy based on temperature distribution and spectra-temperature relationship

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zhe; Feng, Jinchao; Liu, Pengyu; Sun, Zhonghua; Li, Gang; Jia, Kebin

2018-05-01

Temperature is usually considered as a fluctuation in near-infrared spectral measurement. Chemometric methods were extensively studied to correct the effect of temperature variations. However, temperature can be considered as a constructive parameter that provides detailed chemical information when systematically changed during the measurement. Our group has researched the relationship between temperature-induced spectral variation (TSVC) and normalized squared temperature. In this study, we focused on the influence of temperature distribution in calibration set. Multi-temperature calibration set selection (MTCS) method was proposed to improve the prediction accuracy by considering the temperature distribution of calibration samples. Furthermore, double-temperature calibration set selection (DTCS) method was proposed based on MTCS method and the relationship between TSVC and normalized squared temperature. We compare the prediction performance of PLS models based on random sampling method and proposed methods. The results from experimental studies showed that the prediction performance was improved by using proposed methods. Therefore, MTCS method and DTCS method will be the alternative methods to improve prediction accuracy in near-infrared spectral measurement.

Effectiveness and Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices in Residential Care Settings

PubMed Central

James, Sigrid; Alemi, Qais; Zepeda, Veronica

2013-01-01

Purpose Prompted by calls to implement evidence-based practices (EBPs) into residential care settings (RCS), this review addresses three questions: (1) Which EBPs have been tested with children and youth within the context of RCS? (2) What is the evidence for their effectiveness within such settings? (3) What implementation issues arise when transporting EBPs into RCS? Methods Evidence-based psychosocial interventions and respective outcome studies, published from 1990–2012, were identified through a multi-phase search process, involving the review of four major clearinghouse websites and relevant electronic databases. To be included, effectiveness had to have been previously established through a comparison group design regardless of the setting, and interventions tested subsequently with youth in RCS. All outcome studies were evaluated for quality and bias using a structured appraisal tool. Results Ten interventions matching a priori criteria were identified: Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach, Aggression Replacement Training, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Ecologically-Based Family Therapy, Eye Movement and Desensitization Therapy, Functional Family Therapy, Multimodal Substance Abuse Prevention, Residential Student Assistance Program, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, and Trauma Intervention Program for Adjudicated and At-Risk Youth. Interventions were tested in 13 studies, which were conducted in different types of RCS, using a variety of study methods. Outcomes were generally positive, establishing the relative effectiveness of the interventions with youth in RCS across a range of psychosocial outcomes. However, concerns about methodological bias and confounding factors remain. Most studies addressed implementation issues, reporting on treatment adaptations, training and supervision, treatment fidelity and implementation barriers. Conclusion The review unearthed a small but important body of knowledge that demonstrates that EBPs can be implemented in RCS with encouraging results. PMID:23606781

Effectiveness and Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices in Residential Care Settings.

PubMed

James, Sigrid; Alemi, Qais; Zepeda, Veronica

2013-04-01

Prompted by calls to implement evidence-based practices (EBPs) into residential care settings (RCS), this review addresses three questions: (1) Which EBPs have been tested with children and youth within the context of RCS? (2) What is the evidence for their effectiveness within such settings? (3) What implementation issues arise when transporting EBPs into RCS? Evidence-based psychosocial interventions and respective outcome studies, published from 1990-2012, were identified through a multi-phase search process, involving the review of four major clearinghouse websites and relevant electronic databases. To be included, effectiveness had to have been previously established through a comparison group design regardless of the setting, and interventions tested subsequently with youth in RCS. All outcome studies were evaluated for quality and bias using a structured appraisal tool. Ten interventions matching a priori criteria were identified: Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach, Aggression Replacement Training, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Ecologically-Based Family Therapy, Eye Movement and Desensitization Therapy, Functional Family Therapy, Multimodal Substance Abuse Prevention, Residential Student Assistance Program, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, and Trauma Intervention Program for Adjudicated and At-Risk Youth. Interventions were tested in 13 studies, which were conducted in different types of RCS, using a variety of study methods. Outcomes were generally positive, establishing the relative effectiveness of the interventions with youth in RCS across a range of psychosocial outcomes. However, concerns about methodological bias and confounding factors remain. Most studies addressed implementation issues, reporting on treatment adaptations, training and supervision, treatment fidelity and implementation barriers. The review unearthed a small but important body of knowledge that demonstrates that EBPs can be implemented in RCS with encouraging results.

A Case Study of a Collaborative Speech-Language Pathologist

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ritzman, Mitzi J.; Sanger, Dixie; Coufal, Kathy L.

2006-01-01

This study explored how a school-based speech-language pathologist implemented a classroom-based service delivery model that focused on collaborative practices in classroom settings. The study used ethnographic observations and interviews with 1 speech-language pathologist to provide insights into how she implemented collaborative consultation and…

Hysteroscopic Endometrial Polypectomy: Clinical and Economic Data in Decision Making.

PubMed

Franchini, Mario; Lippi, Giuseppe; Calzolari, Stefano; Giarrè, Giovanna; Gubbini, Giampietro; Catena, Ursula; Di Spiezio Sardo, Attilio; Florio, Pasquale

To compare the costs of hysteroscopic polypectomy using mechanical and electrosurgical systems in the hospital operating room and an office-based setting. Retrospective cohort study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). Tertiary referral hospital and center for gynecologic care. Seven hundred and fifty-four women who underwent endometrial polypectomy between January 20, 2015, and April 27, 2016. Hysteroscopic endometrial polypectomy performed in the same-day hospital setting or office setting using one of the following: bipolar electrode, loop electrode, mechanical device, or hysteroscopic tissue removal system. The various costs associated with the 2 clinical settings at Palagi Hospital, Florence, Italy were compiled, and a direct cost comparison was made using an activity-based cost-management system. The costs for using reusable loop electrode resection-16 or loop electrode resection-26 were significantly less expensive than using disposable loop electrode resection-27, the tissue removal system, or bipolar electrode resection (p = .0002). Total hospital costs for polypectomy with all systems were significantly less expensive in an office setting compared with same-day surgery in the hospital setting (p = .0001). Office-based hysteroscopic tissue removal was associated with shorter operative time compared with the other procedures (p = .0002) CONCLUSION: The total cost of hysteroscopic polypectomy is markedly higher when using disposable equipment compared with reusable equipment, both in the hospital operating room and the office setting. Same-day hospital or office-based surgery with reusable loop electrode resection is the most cost-effective approach in each settings, but requires experienced surgeons. Finally, the shorter surgical time should be taken into consideration for patients undergoing vaginal polypectomy in the office setting, owing more to patient comfort than to cost savings. Copyright © 2017 American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Integrative analysis of GWAS, eQTLs and meQTLs data suggests that multiple gene sets are associated with bone mineral density.

PubMed

Wang, W; Huang, S; Hou, W; Liu, Y; Fan, Q; He, A; Wen, Y; Hao, J; Guo, X; Zhang, F

2017-10-01

Several genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of bone mineral density (BMD) have successfully identified multiple susceptibility genes, yet isolated susceptibility genes are often difficult to interpret biologically. The aim of this study was to unravel the genetic background of BMD at pathway level, by integrating BMD GWAS data with genome-wide expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) and methylation quantitative trait loci (meQTLs) data METHOD: We employed the GWAS datasets of BMD from the Genetic Factors for Osteoporosis Consortium (GEFOS), analysing patients' BMD. The areas studied included 32 735 femoral necks, 28 498 lumbar spines, and 8143 forearms. Genome-wide eQTLs (containing 923 021 eQTLs) and meQTLs (containing 683 152 unique methylation sites with local meQTLs) data sets were collected from recently published studies. Gene scores were first calculated by summary data-based Mendelian randomisation (SMR) software and meQTL-aligned GWAS results. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was then applied to identify BMD-associated gene sets with a predefined significance level of 0.05. We identified multiple gene sets associated with BMD in one or more regions, including relevant known biological gene sets such as the Reactome Circadian Clock (GSEA p-value = 1.0 × 10 -4 for LS and 2.7 × 10 -2 for femoral necks BMD in eQTLs-based GSEA) and insulin-like growth factor receptor binding (GSEA p-value = 5.0 × 10 -4 for femoral necks and 2.6 × 10 -2 for lumbar spines BMD in meQTLs-based GSEA). Our results provided novel clues for subsequent functional analysis of bone metabolism, and illustrated the benefit of integrating eQTLs and meQTLs data into pathway association analysis for genetic studies of complex human diseases. Cite this article : W. Wang, S. Huang, W. Hou, Y. Liu, Q. Fan, A. He, Y. Wen, J. Hao, X. Guo, F. Zhang. Integrative analysis of GWAS, eQTLs and meQTLs data suggests that multiple gene sets are associated with bone mineral density. Bone Joint Res 2017;6:572-576. © 2017 Wang et al.

Relationships between college settings and student alcohol use before, during and after events: a multi-level study.

PubMed

Paschall, Mallie J; Saltz, Robert F

2007-11-01

We examined how alcohol risk is distributed based on college students' drinking before, during and after they go to certain settings. Students attending 14 California public universities (N=10,152) completed a web-based or mailed survey in the fall 2003 semester, which included questions about how many drinks they consumed before, during and after the last time they went to six settings/events: fraternity or sorority party, residence hall party, campus event (e.g. football game), off-campus party, bar/restaurant and outdoor setting (referent). Multi-level analyses were conducted in hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to examine relationships between type of setting and level of alcohol use before, during and after going to the setting, and possible age and gender differences in these relationships. Drinking episodes (N=24,207) were level 1 units, students were level 2 units and colleges were level 3 units. The highest drinking levels were observed during all settings/events except campus events, with the highest number of drinks being consumed at off-campus parties, followed by residence hall and fraternity/sorority parties. The number of drinks consumed before a fraternity/sorority party was higher than other settings/events. Age group and gender differences in relationships between type of setting/event and 'before,''during' and 'after' drinking levels also were observed. For example, going to a bar/restaurant (relative to an outdoor setting) was positively associated with 'during' drinks among students of legal drinking age while no relationship was observed for underage students. Findings of this study indicate differences in the extent to which college settings are associated with student drinking levels before, during and after related events, and may have implications for intervention strategies targeting different types of settings.

Structural and Sequence Similarity Makes a Significant Impact on Machine-Learning-Based Scoring Functions for Protein-Ligand Interactions.

PubMed

Li, Yang; Yang, Jianyi

2017-04-24

The prediction of protein-ligand binding affinity has recently been improved remarkably by machine-learning-based scoring functions. For example, using a set of simple descriptors representing the atomic distance counts, the RF-Score improves the Pearson correlation coefficient to about 0.8 on the core set of the PDBbind 2007 database, which is significantly higher than the performance of any conventional scoring function on the same benchmark. A few studies have been made to discuss the performance of machine-learning-based methods, but the reason for this improvement remains unclear. In this study, by systemically controlling the structural and sequence similarity between the training and test proteins of the PDBbind benchmark, we demonstrate that protein structural and sequence similarity makes a significant impact on machine-learning-based methods. After removal of training proteins that are highly similar to the test proteins identified by structure alignment and sequence alignment, machine-learning-based methods trained on the new training sets do not outperform the conventional scoring functions any more. On the contrary, the performance of conventional functions like X-Score is relatively stable no matter what training data are used to fit the weights of its energy terms.

Orbital transfer vehicle launch operations study: Automated technology knowledge base, volume 4

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1986-01-01

A simplified retrieval strategy for compiling automation-related bibliographies from NASA/RECON is presented. Two subsets of NASA Thesaurus subject terms were extracted: a primary list, which is used to obtain an initial set of citations; and a secondary list, which is used to limit or further specify a large initial set of citations. These subject term lists are presented in Appendix A as the Automated Technology Knowledge Base (ATKB) Thesaurus.

Gene-set analysis based on the pharmacological profiles of drugs to identify repurposing opportunities in schizophrenia.

PubMed

de Jong, Simone; Vidler, Lewis R; Mokrab, Younes; Collier, David A; Breen, Gerome

2016-08-01

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified thousands of novel genetic associations for complex genetic disorders, leading to the identification of potential pharmacological targets for novel drug development. In schizophrenia, 108 conservatively defined loci that meet genome-wide significance have been identified and hundreds of additional sub-threshold associations harbour information on the genetic aetiology of the disorder. In the present study, we used gene-set analysis based on the known binding targets of chemical compounds to identify the 'drug pathways' most strongly associated with schizophrenia-associated genes, with the aim of identifying potential drug repositioning opportunities and clues for novel treatment paradigms, especially in multi-target drug development. We compiled 9389 gene sets (2496 with unique gene content) and interrogated gene-based p-values from the PGC2-SCZ analysis. Although no single drug exceeded experiment wide significance (corrected p<0.05), highly ranked gene-sets reaching suggestive significance including the dopamine receptor antagonists metoclopramide and trifluoperazine and the tyrosine kinase inhibitor neratinib. This is a proof of principle analysis showing the potential utility of GWAS data of schizophrenia for the direct identification of candidate drugs and molecules that show polypharmacy. © The Author(s) 2016.

Lunar base scenario cost estimates: Lunar base systems study task 6.1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

The projected development and production costs of each of the Lunar Base's systems are described and unit costs are estimated for transporting the systems to the lunar surface and for setting up the system.

Using Group Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Intervention in School Settings with Pupils Who Have Externalizing Behavioural Difficulties: An Unexpected Result

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Squires, Garry; Caddick, Katie

2012-01-01

There has been a growing interest in the use of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) in school settings by educational psychologists in England. This small-scale study set out to explore the effectiveness of a school-based, eight-session CBT intervention for 12-13-year-old children with externalizing behavioural difficulties. Twelve pupils were…

Instructor's Perceptions towards the Use of an Online Instructional Tool in an Academic English Setting in Kuwait

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erguvan, Deniz

2014-01-01

This study sets out to explore the faculty members' perceptions of a specific web-based instruction tool (Achieve3000) in a private higher education institute in Kuwait. The online tool provides highly differentiated instruction, which is initiated with a level set at the beginning of the term. The program is used in two consecutive courses as…

Using the Many-Facet Rasch Model to Evaluate Standard-Setting Judgments: Setting Performance Standards for Advanced Placement® Examinations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaliski, Pamela; Wind, Stefanie A.; Engelhard, George, Jr.; Morgan, Deanna; Plake, Barbara; Reshetar, Rosemary

2012-01-01

The Many-Facet Rasch (MFR) Model is traditionally used to evaluate the quality of ratings on constructed response assessments; however, it can also be used to evaluate the quality of judgments from panel-based standard setting procedures. The current study illustrates the use of the MFR Model by examining the quality of ratings obtained from a…

Low Back Pain in 17 Countries, a Rasch Analysis of the ICF Core Set for Low Back Pain

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roe, Cecilie; Bautz-Holter, Erik; Cieza, Alarcos

2013-01-01

Previous studies indicate that a worldwide measurement tool may be developed based on the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF) Core Sets for chronic conditions. The aim of the present study was to explore the possibility of constructing a cross-cultural measurement of functioning for patients with low back pain…

Applying NAEP to Improve Mathematics Content and Methods Courses for Preservice Elementary and Middle School Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodson-Espy, Tracy; Cifarelli, Victor V.; Pugalee, David; Lynch-Davis, Kathleen; Morge, Shelby; Salinas, Tracie

2014-01-01

This study explored how mathematics content and methods courses for preservice elementary and middle school teachers could be improved through the integration of a set of instructional materials based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). A set of eight instructional modules was developed and tested. The study involved 7…

Thinking Maps: Research-Based Instructional Strategy in a PDS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kessler, Cristy; Zuercher, Deborah K.; Wong, Caroline S.

2013-01-01

An exploratory action research case study was conducted at Moanalua Middle School from 2006-2009 to examine the impact of Thinking Maps on student achievement. Thinking Maps are not just another set of graphic organizers but a set of eight of unique visual mind maps with each linked to a specific higher-order thinking pattern. This study tells the…

The perceived importance of anatomy and neuroanatomy in the practice of speech-language pathology.

PubMed

Martin, Kate; Bessell, Nicola J; Scholten, Ingrid

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the application of anatomy and neuroanatomy knowledge to current practice of speech-language pathology (SLP), based on the perceptions of practicing SLPs, and to elicit information on participants' experiences of learning these subjects in their primary SLP degree with a view to inform potential curriculum development. A qualitative approach was taken to the collection of data. Eight practicing SLPs from four settings were interviewed. The critical incident technique, together with further probing, was used to elicit information. Interviews were transcribed and later thematically analyzed. This study found that knowledge of anatomy and neuroanatomy was perceived to be important by SLPs across all settings, to varying degrees, with a greater application in acute hospital settings. Negative experiences in studying this material were reported across all settings regardless of country of study. Participants discussed ways to increase students' motivation to learn this challenging material. Relevance of material demanded by students may be enhanced if active learning methods were used to teach anatomy/neuroanatomy, including case-based learning and with vertical and horizontal integration of material to provide a cohesive, spiral curriculum. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.

Imputation across genotyping arrays for genome-wide association studies: assessment of bias and a correction strategy.

PubMed

Johnson, Eric O; Hancock, Dana B; Levy, Joshua L; Gaddis, Nathan C; Saccone, Nancy L; Bierut, Laura J; Page, Grier P

2013-05-01

A great promise of publicly sharing genome-wide association data is the potential to create composite sets of controls. However, studies often use different genotyping arrays, and imputation to a common set of SNPs has shown substantial bias: a problem which has no broadly applicable solution. Based on the idea that using differing genotyped SNP sets as inputs creates differential imputation errors and thus bias in the composite set of controls, we examined the degree to which each of the following occurs: (1) imputation based on the union of genotyped SNPs (i.e., SNPs available on one or more arrays) results in bias, as evidenced by spurious associations (type 1 error) between imputed genotypes and arbitrarily assigned case/control status; (2) imputation based on the intersection of genotyped SNPs (i.e., SNPs available on all arrays) does not evidence such bias; and (3) imputation quality varies by the size of the intersection of genotyped SNP sets. Imputations were conducted in European Americans and African Americans with reference to HapMap phase II and III data. Imputation based on the union of genotyped SNPs across the Illumina 1M and 550v3 arrays showed spurious associations for 0.2 % of SNPs: ~2,000 false positives per million SNPs imputed. Biases remained problematic for very similar arrays (550v1 vs. 550v3) and were substantial for dissimilar arrays (Illumina 1M vs. Affymetrix 6.0). In all instances, imputing based on the intersection of genotyped SNPs (as few as 30 % of the total SNPs genotyped) eliminated such bias while still achieving good imputation quality.

Support vector machine regression (SVR/LS-SVM)--an alternative to neural networks (ANN) for analytical chemistry? Comparison of nonlinear methods on near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy data.

PubMed

Balabin, Roman M; Lomakina, Ekaterina I

2011-04-21

In this study, we make a general comparison of the accuracy and robustness of five multivariate calibration models: partial least squares (PLS) regression or projection to latent structures, polynomial partial least squares (Poly-PLS) regression, artificial neural networks (ANNs), and two novel techniques based on support vector machines (SVMs) for multivariate data analysis: support vector regression (SVR) and least-squares support vector machines (LS-SVMs). The comparison is based on fourteen (14) different datasets: seven sets of gasoline data (density, benzene content, and fractional composition/boiling points), two sets of ethanol gasoline fuel data (density and ethanol content), one set of diesel fuel data (total sulfur content), three sets of petroleum (crude oil) macromolecules data (weight percentages of asphaltenes, resins, and paraffins), and one set of petroleum resins data (resins content). Vibrational (near-infrared, NIR) spectroscopic data are used to predict the properties and quality coefficients of gasoline, biofuel/biodiesel, diesel fuel, and other samples of interest. The four systems presented here range greatly in composition, properties, strength of intermolecular interactions (e.g., van der Waals forces, H-bonds), colloid structure, and phase behavior. Due to the high diversity of chemical systems studied, general conclusions about SVM regression methods can be made. We try to answer the following question: to what extent can SVM-based techniques replace ANN-based approaches in real-world (industrial/scientific) applications? The results show that both SVR and LS-SVM methods are comparable to ANNs in accuracy. Due to the much higher robustness of the former, the SVM-based approaches are recommended for practical (industrial) application. This has been shown to be especially true for complicated, highly nonlinear objects.

Priority setting in the provincial health services authority: survey of key decision makers

PubMed Central

Teng, Flora; Mitton, Craig; MacKenzie, Jennifer

2007-01-01

Background In recent years, decision makers in Canada and elsewhere have expressed a desire for more explicit, evidence-based approaches to priority setting. To achieve this aim within health care organizations, knowledge of both the organizational context and stakeholder attitudes towards priority setting are required. The current work adds to a limited yet growing body of international literature describing priority setting practices in health organizations. Methods A qualitative study was conducted using in-depth, face-to-face interviews with 25 key decision makers of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) of British Columbia. Major themes and sub-themes were identified through content analysis. Results Priorities were described by decision makers as being set in an ad hoc manner, with resources generally allocated along historical lines. Participants identified the Strategic Plan and a strong research base as strengths of the organization. The main areas for improvement were a desire to have a more transparent process for priority setting, a need to develop a culture which supports explicit priority setting, and a focus on fairness in decision making. Barriers to an explicit allocation process included the challenge of providing specialized services for disparate patient groups, and a lack of formal training in priority setting amongst decision makers. Conclusion This study identified factors important to understanding organizational context and informed next steps for explicit priority setting for a provincial health authority. While the PHSA is unique in its organizational structure in Canada, lessons about priority setting should be transferable to other contexts. PMID:17565691

The MUSOS (MUsic SOftware System) Toolkit: A computer-based, open source application for testing memory for melodies.

PubMed

Rainsford, M; Palmer, M A; Paine, G

2018-04-01

Despite numerous innovative studies, rates of replication in the field of music psychology are extremely low (Frieler et al., 2013). Two key methodological challenges affecting researchers wishing to administer and reproduce studies in music cognition are the difficulty of measuring musical responses, particularly when conducting free-recall studies, and access to a reliable set of novel stimuli unrestricted by copyright or licensing issues. In this article, we propose a solution for these challenges in computer-based administration. We present a computer-based application for testing memory for melodies. Created using the software Max/MSP (Cycling '74, 2014a), the MUSOS (Music Software System) Toolkit uses a simple modular framework configurable for testing common paradigms such as recall, old-new recognition, and stem completion. The program is accompanied by a stimulus set of 156 novel, copyright-free melodies, in audio and Max/MSP file formats. Two pilot tests were conducted to establish the properties of the accompanying stimulus set that are relevant to music cognition and general memory research. By using this software, a researcher without specialist musical training may administer and accurately measure responses from common paradigms used in the study of memory for music.

Point Set Denoising Using Bootstrap-Based Radial Basis Function.

PubMed

Liew, Khang Jie; Ramli, Ahmad; Abd Majid, Ahmad

2016-01-01

This paper examines the application of a bootstrap test error estimation of radial basis functions, specifically thin-plate spline fitting, in surface smoothing. The presence of noisy data is a common issue of the point set model that is generated from 3D scanning devices, and hence, point set denoising is one of the main concerns in point set modelling. Bootstrap test error estimation, which is applied when searching for the smoothing parameters of radial basis functions, is revisited. The main contribution of this paper is a smoothing algorithm that relies on a bootstrap-based radial basis function. The proposed method incorporates a k-nearest neighbour search and then projects the point set to the approximated thin-plate spline surface. Therefore, the denoising process is achieved, and the features are well preserved. A comparison of the proposed method with other smoothing methods is also carried out in this study.

Video based object representation and classification using multiple covariance matrices.

PubMed

Zhang, Yurong; Liu, Quan

2017-01-01

Video based object recognition and classification has been widely studied in computer vision and image processing area. One main issue of this task is to develop an effective representation for video. This problem can generally be formulated as image set representation. In this paper, we present a new method called Multiple Covariance Discriminative Learning (MCDL) for image set representation and classification problem. The core idea of MCDL is to represent an image set using multiple covariance matrices with each covariance matrix representing one cluster of images. Firstly, we use the Nonnegative Matrix Factorization (NMF) method to do image clustering within each image set, and then adopt Covariance Discriminative Learning on each cluster (subset) of images. At last, we adopt KLDA and nearest neighborhood classification method for image set classification. Promising experimental results on several datasets show the effectiveness of our MCDL method.

Global land cover mapping and characterization: present situation and future research priorities

USGS Publications Warehouse

Giri, Chandra

2005-01-01

The availability and accessibility of global land cover data sets plays an important role in many global change studies. The importance of such science‐based information is also reflected in a number of international, regional, and national projects and programs. Recent developments in earth observing satellite technology, information technology, computer hardware and software, and infrastructure development have helped developed better quality land cover data sets. As a result, such data sets are increasingly becoming available, the user‐base is ever widening, application areas have been expanding, and the potential of many other applications are enormous. Yet, we are far from producing high quality global land cover data sets. This paper examines the progress in the development of digital global land cover data, their availability, and current applications. Problems and opportunities are also explained. The overview sets the stage for identifying future research priorities needed for operational land cover assessment and monitoring.

Parameterization of Shape and Compactness in Object-based Image Classification Using Quickbird-2 Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tonbul, H.; Kavzoglu, T.

2016-12-01

In recent years, object based image analysis (OBIA) has spread out and become a widely accepted technique for the analysis of remotely sensed data. OBIA deals with grouping pixels into homogenous objects based on spectral, spatial and textural features of contiguous pixels in an image. The first stage of OBIA, named as image segmentation, is the most prominent part of object recognition. In this study, multiresolution segmentation, which is a region-based approach, was employed to construct image objects. In the application of multi-resolution, three parameters, namely shape, compactness and scale must be set by the analyst. Segmentation quality remarkably influences the fidelity of the thematic maps and accordingly the classification accuracy. Therefore, it is of great importance to search and set optimal values for the segmentation parameters. In the literature, main focus has been on the definition of scale parameter, assuming that the effect of shape and compactness parameters is limited in terms of achieved classification accuracy. The aim of this study is to deeply analyze the influence of shape/compactness parameters by varying their values while using the optimal scale parameter determined by the use of Estimation of Scale Parameter (ESP-2) approach. A pansharpened Qickbird-2 image covering Trabzon, Turkey was employed to investigate the objectives of the study. For this purpose, six different combinations of shape/compactness were utilized to make deductions on the behavior of shape and compactness parameters and optimal setting for all parameters as a whole. Objects were assigned to classes using nearest neighbor classifier in all segmentation observations and equal number of pixels was randomly selected to calculate accuracy metrics. The highest overall accuracy (92.3%) was achieved by setting the shape/compactness criteria to 0.3/0.3. The results of this study indicate that shape/compactness parameters can have significant effect on classification accuracy with 4% change in overall accuracy. Also, statistical significance of differences in accuracy was tested using the McNemar's test and found that the difference between poor and optimal setting of shape/compactness parameters was statistically significant, suggesting a search for optimal parameterization instead of default setting.

Nursing staff competence, work strain, stress and satisfaction in elderly care: a comparison of home-based care and nursing homes.

PubMed

Hasson, Henna; Arnetz, Judith E

2008-02-01

The aims of this study were to: (1) compare older people care nursing staff's perceptions of their competence, work strain and work satisfaction in nursing homes and home-based care; and (2) to examine determinants of work satisfaction in both care settings. The shift in older people care from hospitals to community-based facilities and home care has had implications for nursing practice. Lack of competence development, high levels of work strain and low levels of work satisfaction among nursing staff in both care settings have been associated with high turnover. Few studies have compared staff perceptions of their competence and work in nursing homes as opposed to home-based care. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey. Nursing staff perceptions of their competence, work strain, stress and satisfaction were measured by questionnaire in 2003 in two older people care organizations in Sweden. Comparisons of all outcome variables were made between care settings both within and between the two organizations. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine predictors of work satisfaction in home care and nursing homes respectively. In general, staff in home-based care reported significantly less sufficient knowledge compared with staff in nursing homes. However, home care staff experienced significantly less physical and emotional strain compared with staff in nursing homes. Ratings of work-related exhaustion, mental energy and overall work satisfaction did not differ significantly between care settings. In both care settings, work-related exhaustion was the strongest (inverse) predictor of work satisfaction. Future interventions should focus on counteracting work-related exhaustion and improving competence development to improve work satisfaction among older people care nursing staff in both care settings. Relevance to clinical practice. Work-related exhaustion and lack of competence development may have significant negative implications for work satisfaction among older people care nursing staff in both home care and nursing homes.

Migration from printing inks in multilayer food packaging materials by GC-MS analysis and pattern recognition with chemometrics.

PubMed

Clemente, Isabel; Aznar, Margarita; Nerín, Cristina; Bosetti, Osvaldo

2016-01-01

Inks and varnishes used in food packaging multilayer materials can contain different substances that are potential migrants when packaging is in contact with food. Although printing inks are applied on the external layer, they can migrate due to set-off phenomena. In order to assess food safety, migration tests were performed from two materials sets: set A based on paper and set B based on PET; both contained inks. Migration was performed to four food simulants (EtOH 50%, isooctane, EtOH 95% and Tenax(®)) and the volatile compounds profile was analysed by GC-MS. The effect of presence/absence of inks and varnishes and also their position in the material was studied. A total of 149 volatile compounds were found in migration from set A and 156 from set B materials, some of them came from inks. Quantitative analysis and a principal component analysis were performed in order to identify patterns among sample groups.

Comparison of data used for setting occupational exposure limits.

PubMed

Schenk, Linda

2010-01-01

It has previously been shown that occupational exposure limits (OELs) for the same substance can vary significantly between different standard-setters. The work presented in this paper identifies the steps in the process towards establishing an OEL and how variations in those processes could account for these differences. This study selects for further scrutiny substances for which the level of OELs vary by a factor of 100, focussing on 45 documents concerning 14 substances from eight standard-setters. Several of the OELs studied were more than 20 years old and based on outdated knowledge. Furthermore, different standard-setters sometimes based their OELs on different sets of data, and data availability alone could not explain all differences in the selection of data sets used by standard-setters. While the interpretation of key studies did not differ significantly in standard-setters' documentations, the evaluations of the key studies' quality did. Also, differences concerning the critical effect coincided with differences in the level of OELs for half of the substances.

Automatic threshold selection for multi-class open set recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scherreik, Matthew; Rigling, Brian

2017-05-01

Multi-class open set recognition is the problem of supervised classification with additional unknown classes encountered after a model has been trained. An open set classifer often has two core components. The first component is a base classifier which estimates the most likely class of a given example. The second component consists of open set logic which estimates if the example is truly a member of the candidate class. Such a system is operated in a feed-forward fashion. That is, a candidate label is first estimated by the base classifier, and the true membership of the example to the candidate class is estimated afterward. Previous works have developed an iterative threshold selection algorithm for rejecting examples from classes which were not present at training time. In those studies, a Platt-calibrated SVM was used as the base classifier, and the thresholds were applied to class posterior probabilities for rejection. In this work, we investigate the effectiveness of other base classifiers when paired with the threshold selection algorithm and compare their performance with the original SVM solution.

Northern Russian chironomid-based modern summer temperature data set and inference models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nazarova, Larisa; Self, Angela E.; Brooks, Stephen J.; van Hardenbroek, Maarten; Herzschuh, Ulrike; Diekmann, Bernhard

2015-11-01

West and East Siberian data sets and 55 new sites were merged based on the high taxonomic similarity, and the strong relationship between mean July air temperature and the distribution of chironomid taxa in both data sets compared with other environmental parameters. Multivariate statistical analysis of chironomid and environmental data from the combined data set consisting of 268 lakes, located in northern Russia, suggests that mean July air temperature explains the greatest amount of variance in chironomid distribution compared with other measured variables (latitude, longitude, altitude, water depth, lake surface area, pH, conductivity, mean January air temperature, mean July air temperature, and continentality). We established two robust inference models to reconstruct mean summer air temperatures from subfossil chironomids based on ecological and geographical approaches. The North Russian 2-component WA-PLS model (RMSEPJack = 1.35 °C, rJack2 = 0.87) can be recommended for application in palaeoclimatic studies in northern Russia. Based on distinctive chironomid fauna and climatic regimes of Kamchatka the Far East 2-component WAPLS model (RMSEPJack = 1.3 °C, rJack2 = 0.81) has potentially better applicability in Kamchatka.

The effectiveness of family-based treatment for full and partial adolescent anorexia nervosa in an independent private practice setting: Clinical outcomes.

PubMed

Goldstein, Mandy; Murray, Stuart B; Griffiths, Scott; Rayner, Kathryn; Podkowka, Jessica; Bateman, Joel E; Wallis, Andrew; Thornton, Christopher E

2016-11-01

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe psychiatric illness with little evidence supporting treatment in adults. Among adolescents with AN, family-based treatment (FBT) is considered first-line outpatient approach, with a growing evidence base. However, research on FBT has stemmed from specialist services in research/public health settings. This study investigated the effectiveness of FBT in a case series of adolescent AN treated in a private practice setting. Thirty-four adolescents with full or partial AN, diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria, participated, and were assessed at pretreatment and post-treatment. Assessments included change in % expected body weight, mood, and eating pathology. Significant weight gain was observed from pretreatment to post-treatment. 45.9% of the sample demonstrated full weight restoration and a further 43.2% achieved partial weight-based remission. Missing data precluded an examination of change in mood and ED psychopathology. Effective dissemination across different service types is important to the wider availability of evidence-based treatments. These weight restoration data lend preliminary support to the implementation of FBT in real world treatment settings. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2016; 49:1023-1026). © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Predicting fatty acid profiles in blood based on food intake and the FADS1 rs174546 SNP.

PubMed

Hallmann, Jacqueline; Kolossa, Silvia; Gedrich, Kurt; Celis-Morales, Carlos; Forster, Hannah; O'Donovan, Clare B; Woolhead, Clara; Macready, Anna L; Fallaize, Rosalind; Marsaux, Cyril F M; Lambrinou, Christina-Paulina; Mavrogianni, Christina; Moschonis, George; Navas-Carretero, Santiago; San-Cristobal, Rodrigo; Godlewska, Magdalena; Surwiłło, Agnieszka; Mathers, John C; Gibney, Eileen R; Brennan, Lorraine; Walsh, Marianne C; Lovegrove, Julie A; Saris, Wim H M; Manios, Yannis; Martinez, Jose Alfredo; Traczyk, Iwona; Gibney, Michael J; Daniel, Hannelore

2015-12-01

A high intake of n-3 PUFA provides health benefits via changes in the n-6/n-3 ratio in blood. In addition to such dietary PUFAs, variants in the fatty acid desaturase 1 (FADS1) gene are also associated with altered PUFA profiles. We used mathematical modeling to predict levels of PUFA in whole blood, based on multiple hypothesis testing and bootstrapped LASSO selected food items, anthropometric and lifestyle factors, and the rs174546 genotypes in FADS1 from 1607 participants (Food4Me Study). The models were developed using data from the first reported time point (training set) and their predictive power was evaluated using data from the last reported time point (test set). Among other food items, fish, pizza, chicken, and cereals were identified as being associated with the PUFA profiles. Using these food items and the rs174546 genotypes as predictors, models explained 26-43% of the variability in PUFA concentrations in the training set and 22-33% in the test set. Selecting food items using multiple hypothesis testing is a valuable contribution to determine predictors, as our models' predictive power is higher compared to analogue studies. As unique feature, we additionally confirmed our models' power based on a test set. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Challenges in Identifying Refugees in National Health Data Sets.

PubMed

Semere, Wagahta; Yun, Katherine; Ahalt, Cyrus; Williams, Brie; Wang, Emily A

2016-07-01

To evaluate publicly available data sets to determine their utility for studying refugee health. We searched for keywords describing refugees in data sets within the Society of General Internal Medicine Dataset Compendium and the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research database. We included in our analysis US-based data sets with publicly available documentation and a self-defined, health-related focus that allowed for an examination of patient-level factors. Of the 68 data sets that met the study criteria, 37 (54%) registered keyword matches related to refugees, but only 2 uniquely identified refugees. Few health data sets identify refugee status among participants, presenting barriers to understanding refugees' health and health care needs. Information about refugee status in national health surveys should include expanded demographic questions and focus on mental health and chronic disease.

Smoking prevention in children and adolescents: A systematic review of individualized interventions.

PubMed

Duncan, Lindsay R; Pearson, Erin S; Maddison, Ralph

2018-03-01

This study systematically reviewed the literature to determine what type of cognitive-behavioral based interventions administered outside of formal school settings effectively prevent smoking initiation among children and adolescents. Applying the PRISMA guidelines we searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINHAL, Pub Med, SCOPUS, and Sport Discus. Article review, data extraction, and assessment of risk of bias were conducted by two independent reviewers. We included 16 studies administered in various settings: seven in health care; four informally during and outside of school hours; three in the home; and two in extra-curricular settings. Positive preventive effects in smoking behavior ranging from 3-months to 4-years were observed in eight studies. Social environmental influences (e.g., parental smoking, friends) are salient contributing factors. Effective approaches involved interventions conducted in health care settings as well as those employing interpersonal communication and support strategies (e.g., via peer leaders, parent support, physicians). Primary health care settings may be optimal for implementing cigarette smoking prevention interventions for children and adolescents. Providing tailored education and facilitating interpersonal discussions between health care providers and families about the risks of smoking/strategies to avoid uptake, as well as capitalizing on technology-based modalities may reduce rates among children and adolescents. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparative study of biodegradability prediction of chemicals using decision trees, functional trees, and logistic regression.

PubMed

Chen, Guangchao; Li, Xuehua; Chen, Jingwen; Zhang, Ya-Nan; Peijnenburg, Willie J G M

2014-12-01

Biodegradation is the principal environmental dissipation process of chemicals. As such, it is a dominant factor determining the persistence and fate of organic chemicals in the environment, and is therefore of critical importance to chemical management and regulation. In the present study, the authors developed in silico methods assessing biodegradability based on a large heterogeneous set of 825 organic compounds, using the techniques of the C4.5 decision tree, the functional inner regression tree, and logistic regression. External validation was subsequently carried out by 2 independent test sets of 777 and 27 chemicals. As a result, the functional inner regression tree exhibited the best predictability with predictive accuracies of 81.5% and 81.0%, respectively, on the training set (825 chemicals) and test set I (777 chemicals). Performance of the developed models on the 2 test sets was subsequently compared with that of the Estimation Program Interface (EPI) Suite Biowin 5 and Biowin 6 models, which also showed a better predictability of the functional inner regression tree model. The model built in the present study exhibits a reasonable predictability compared with existing models while possessing a transparent algorithm. Interpretation of the mechanisms of biodegradation was also carried out based on the models developed. © 2014 SETAC.

Carotid artery B-mode ultrasound image segmentation based on morphology, geometry and gradient direction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sunarya, I. Made Gede; Yuniarno, Eko Mulyanto; Purnomo, Mauridhi Hery; Sardjono, Tri Arief; Sunu, Ismoyo; Purnama, I. Ketut Eddy

2017-06-01

Carotid Artery (CA) is one of the vital organs in the human body. CA features that can be used are position, size and volume. Position feature can used to determine the preliminary initialization of the tracking. Examination of the CA features can use Ultrasound. Ultrasound imaging can be operated dependently by an skilled operator, hence there could be some differences in the images result obtained by two or more different operators. This can affect the process of determining of CA. To reduce the level of subjectivity among operators, it can determine the position of the CA automatically. In this study, the proposed method is to segment CA in B-Mode Ultrasound Image based on morphology, geometry and gradient direction. This study consists of three steps, the data collection, preprocessing and artery segmentation. The data used in this study were taken directly by the researchers and taken from the Brno university's signal processing lab database. Each data set contains 100 carotid artery B-Mode ultrasound image. Artery is modeled using ellipse with center c, major axis a and minor axis b. The proposed method has a high value on each data set, 97% (data set 1), 73 % (data set 2), 87% (data set 3). This segmentation results will then be used in the process of tracking the CA.

Antimicrobial efficacy of soap and water hand washing versus an alcohol-based hand cleanser.

PubMed

Holton, Ronald H; Huber, Michaell A; Terezhalmy, Geza T

2009-12-01

The emergence of alcohol-based hand cleansers may represent an alternative to soap and water in the clinical dental setting. In this study, the antimicrobial efficacy of traditional hand washing vs. a unique alcohol-based hand cleanser with persistence was evaluated. Two experienced dentists participated over a 10-day period. On days 1-5, each clinician used an antibacterial liquid soap (Dial, Dial Corporation, Scottsdale, AZ). Days 6-10, an alcohol-based hand cleanser (Triseptin Water Optional, Healthpoint Surgical, Fort Worth, TX) was used. Sampling was by modified glove juice technique. The results indicate that the alcohol-based hand cleanser dramatically outperforms the traditional hand washing agent in the general dental setting.

A Systematic Evaluation of Field-Based Screening Methods for the Assessment of Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Injury Risk.

PubMed

Fox, Aaron S; Bonacci, Jason; McLean, Scott G; Spittle, Michael; Saunders, Natalie

2016-05-01

Laboratory-based measures provide an accurate method to identify risk factors for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury; however, these methods are generally prohibitive to the wider community. Screening methods that can be completed in a field or clinical setting may be more applicable for wider community use. Examination of field-based screening methods for ACL injury risk can aid in identifying the most applicable method(s) for use in these settings. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate and compare field-based screening methods for ACL injury risk to determine their efficacy of use in wider community settings. An electronic database search was conducted on the SPORTDiscus™, MEDLINE, AMED and CINAHL databases (January 1990-July 2015) using a combination of relevant keywords. A secondary search of the same databases, using relevant keywords from identified screening methods, was also undertaken. Studies identified as potentially relevant were independently examined by two reviewers for inclusion. Where consensus could not be reached, a third reviewer was consulted. Original research articles that examined screening methods for ACL injury risk that could be undertaken outside of a laboratory setting were included for review. Two reviewers independently assessed the quality of included studies. Included studies were categorized according to the screening method they examined. A description of each screening method, and data pertaining to the ability to prospectively identify ACL injuries, validity and reliability, recommendations for identifying 'at-risk' athletes, equipment and training required to complete screening, time taken to screen athletes, and applicability of the screening method across sports and athletes were extracted from relevant studies. Of 1077 citations from the initial search, a total of 25 articles were identified as potentially relevant, with 12 meeting all inclusion/exclusion criteria. From the secondary search, eight further studies met all criteria, resulting in 20 studies being included for review. Five ACL-screening methods-the Landing Error Scoring System (LESS), Clinic-Based Algorithm, Observational Screening of Dynamic Knee Valgus (OSDKV), 2D-Cam Method, and Tuck Jump Assessment-were identified. There was limited evidence supporting the use of field-based screening methods in predicting ACL injuries across a range of populations. Differences relating to the equipment and time required to complete screening methods were identified. Only screening methods for ACL injury risk were included for review. Field-based screening methods developed for lower-limb injury risk in general may also incorporate, and be useful in, screening for ACL injury risk. Limited studies were available relating to the OSDKV and 2D-Cam Method. The LESS showed predictive validity in identifying ACL injuries, however only in a youth athlete population. The LESS also appears practical for community-wide use due to the minimal equipment and set-up/analysis time required. The Clinic-Based Algorithm may have predictive value for ACL injury risk as it identifies athletes who exhibit high frontal plane knee loads during a landing task, but requires extensive additional equipment and time, which may limit its application to wider community settings.

Configurations of leadership practices in hospital units.

PubMed

Meier, Ninna

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to explore how leadership is practiced across four different hospital units. The study is a comparative case study of four hospital units, based on detailed observations of the everyday work practices, interactions and interviews with ten interdisciplinary clinical managers. Comparing leadership as configurations of practices across four different clinical settings, the author shows how flexible and often shared leadership practices were embedded in and central to the core clinical work in all units studied here, especially in more unpredictable work settings. Practices of symbolic work and emotional support to staff were particularly important when patients were severely ill. Based on a study conducted with qualitative methods, these results cannot be expected to apply in all clinical settings. Future research is invited to extend the findings presented here by exploring leadership practices from a micro-level perspective in additional health care contexts: particularly the embedded and emergent nature of such practices. This paper shows leadership practices to be primarily embedded in the clinical work and often shared across organizational or professional boundaries. This paper demonstrated how leadership practices are embedded in the everyday work in hospital units. Moreover, the analysis shows how configurations of leadership practices varied in four different clinical settings, thus contributing with contextual accounts of leadership as practice, and suggested "configurations of practice" as a way to carve out similarities and differences in leadership practices across settings.

Dynamics of study strategies and teacher regulation in virtual patient learning activities: a cross sectional survey.

PubMed

Edelbring, Samuel; Wahlström, Rolf

2016-04-23

Students' self-regulated learning becomes essential with increased use of exploratory web-based activities such as virtual patients (VPs). The purpose was to investigate the interplay between students' self-regulated learning strategies and perceived benefit in VP learning activities. A cross-sectional study (n = 150) comparing students' study strategies and perceived benefit of a virtual patient learning activity in a clinical clerkship preparatory course. Teacher regulation varied among three settings and was classified from shared to strong. These settings were compared regarding their respective relations between regulation strategies and perceived benefit of the virtual patient activity. Self-regulation learning strategy was generally associated with perceived benefit of the VP activities (rho 0.27, p < 0.001), but was not true in all settings. The association was higher in the two strongly regulated settings. The external regulation strategy did generally associate weakly with perceived benefit (rho 0.17, p < 0.05) with large variations between settings. The flexible student-autonomous appeal of virtual patients should not lead to the dismissal of guidance and related course activities. External teacher and peer regulation seem to be productive for increasing learners' perceived benefit. Awareness of the interplay among teacher regulation (external) and various study strategies can increase the value of flexible web-based learning resources to students.

Promoting Inquiry-Based Teaching in Laboratory Courses: Are We Meeting the Grade?

PubMed Central

Butler, Amy; Burke da Silva, Karen

2014-01-01

Over the past decade, repeated calls have been made to incorporate more active teaching and learning in undergraduate biology courses. The emphasis on inquiry-based teaching is especially important in laboratory courses, as these are the courses in which students are applying the process of science. To determine the current state of research on inquiry-based teaching in undergraduate biology laboratory courses, we reviewed the recent published literature on inquiry-based exercises. The majority of studies in our data set were in the subdisciplines of biochemistry, cell biology, developmental biology, genetics, and molecular biology. In addition, most exercises were guided inquiry, rather than open ended or research based. Almost 75% of the studies included assessment data, with two-thirds of these studies including multiple types of assessment data. However, few exercises were assessed in multiple courses or at multiple institutions. Furthermore, assessments were rarely based on published instruments. Although the results of the studies in our data set show a positive effect of inquiry-based teaching in biology laboratory courses on student learning gains, research that uses the same instrument across a range of courses and institutions is needed to determine whether these results can be generalized. PMID:25185228

German Value Set for the EQ-5D-5L.

PubMed

Ludwig, Kristina; Graf von der Schulenburg, J-Matthias; Greiner, Wolfgang

2018-06-01

The objective of this study was to develop a value set for EQ-5D-5L based on the societal preferences of the German population. As the first country to do so, the study design used the improved EQ-5D-5L valuation protocol 2.0 developed by the EuroQol Group, including a feedback module as internal validation and a quality control process that was missing in the first wave of EQ-5D-5L valuation studies. A representative sample of the general German population (n = 1158) was interviewed using a composite time trade-off and a discrete choice experiment under close quality control. Econometric modeling was used to estimate values for all 3125 possible health states described by EQ-5D-5L. The value set was based on a hybrid model including all available information from the composite time trade-off and discrete choice experiment valuations without any exclusions due to data issues. The final German value set was constructed from a combination of a conditional logit model for the discrete choice experiment data and a censored at -1 Tobit model for the composite time trade-off data, correcting for heteroskedasticity. The value set had logically consistent parameter estimates (p < 0.001 for all coefficients). The predicted EQ-5D-5L index values ranged from -0.661 to 1. This study provided values for the health states of the German version of EQ-5D-5L representing the preferences of the German population. The study successfully employed for the first time worldwide the improved protocol 2.0. The value set enables the use of the EQ-5D-5L instrument in economic evaluations and in clinical studies.

The impact of volcanic aerosol on the Northern Hemisphere stratospheric polar vortex: mechanisms and sensitivity to forcing structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toohey, M.; Krüger, K.; Bittner, M.; Timmreck, C.; Schmidt, H.

2014-12-01

Observations and simple theoretical arguments suggest that the Northern Hemisphere (NH) stratospheric polar vortex is stronger in winters following major volcanic eruptions. However, recent studies show that climate models forced by prescribed volcanic aerosol fields fail to reproduce this effect. We investigate the impact of volcanic aerosol forcing on stratospheric dynamics, including the strength of the NH polar vortex, in ensemble simulations with the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model. The model is forced by four different prescribed forcing sets representing the radiative properties of stratospheric aerosol following the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo: two forcing sets are based on observations, and are commonly used in climate model simulations, and two forcing sets are constructed based on coupled aerosol-climate model simulations. For all forcings, we find that simulated temperature and zonal wind anomalies in the NH high latitudes are not directly impacted by anomalous volcanic aerosol heating. Instead, high-latitude effects result from enhancements in stratospheric residual circulation, which in turn result, at least in part, from enhanced stratospheric wave activity. High-latitude effects are therefore much less robust than would be expected if they were the direct result of aerosol heating. Both observation-based forcing sets result in insignificant changes in vortex strength. For the model-based forcing sets, the vortex response is found to be sensitive to the structure of the forcing, with one forcing set leading to significant strengthening of the polar vortex in rough agreement with observation-based expectations. Differences in the dynamical response to the forcing sets imply that reproducing the polar vortex responses to past eruptions, or predicting the response to future eruptions, depends on accurate representation of the space-time structure of the volcanic aerosol forcing.

A Descriptive Study of a Building-Based Team Problem-Solving Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brewer, Alexander B.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to empirically evaluate Building-Based Teams for General Education Intervention or BBT for GEI. BBT for GEI is a team problem-solving process designed to assist schools in conducting research-based interventions in the general education setting. Problem-solving teams are part of general education and provide support…

Improving the FLORIS wind plant model for compatibility with gradient-based optimization

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

Thomas, Jared J.; Gebraad, Pieter MO; Ning, Andrew

The FLORIS (FLOw Redirection and Induction in Steady-state) model, a parametric wind turbine wake model that predicts steady-state wake characteristics based on wind turbine position and yaw angle, was developed for optimization of control settings and turbine locations. This article provides details on changes made to the FLORIS model to make the model more suitable for gradient-based optimization. Changes to the FLORIS model were made to remove discontinuities and add curvature to regions of non-physical zero gradient. Exact gradients for the FLORIS model were obtained using algorithmic differentiation. A set of three case studies demonstrate that using exact gradients withmore » gradient-based optimization reduces the number of function calls by several orders of magnitude. The case studies also show that adding curvature improves convergence behavior, allowing gradient-based optimization algorithms used with the FLORIS model to more reliably find better solutions to wind farm optimization problems.« less

Is the secure base phenomenon evident here, there, and anywhere? A cross-cultural study of child behavior and experts' definitions.

PubMed

Posada, German; Lu, Ting; Trumbell, Jill; Kaloustian, Garene; Trudel, Marcel; Plata, Sandra J; Peña, Paola P; Perez, Jennifer; Tereno, Susana; Dugravier, Romain; Coppola, Gabrielle; Constantini, Alessandro; Cassibba, Rosalinda; Kondo-Ikemura, Kiyomi; Nóblega, Magaly; Haya, Ines M; Pedraglio, Claudia; Verissimo, Manuela; Santos, Antonio J; Monteiro, Ligia; Lay, Keng-Ling

2013-01-01

The evolutionary rationale offered by Bowlby implies that secure base relationships are common in child-caregiver dyads and thus, child secure behavior observable across diverse social contexts and cultures. This study offers a test of the universality hypothesis. Trained observers in nine countries used the Attachment Q-set to describe the organization of children's behavior in naturalistic settings. Children (N = 547) were 10-72 months old. Child development experts (N = 81) from all countries provided definitions of optimal child secure base use. Findings indicate that children from all countries use their mother as a secure base. Children's organization of secure base behavior was modestly related to each other both within and across countries. Experts' descriptions of the optimally attached child were highly similar across cultures. © 2013 The Authors. Child Development © 2013 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Cone beam CT-based set-up strategies with and without rotational correction for stereotactic body radiation therapy in the liver.

PubMed

Bertholet, Jenny; Worm, Esben; Høyer, Morten; Poulsen, Per

2017-06-01

Accurate patient positioning is crucial in stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) due to a high dose regimen. Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is often used for patient positioning based on radio-opaque markers. We compared six CBCT-based set-up strategies with or without rotational correction. Twenty-nine patients with three implanted markers received 3-6 fraction liver SBRT. The markers were delineated on the mid-ventilation phase of a 4D-planning-CT. One pretreatment CBCT was acquired per fraction. Set-up strategy 1 used only translational correction based on manual marker match between the CBCT and planning CT. Set-up strategy 2 used automatic 6 degrees-of-freedom registration of the vertebrae closest to the target. The 3D marker trajectories were also extracted from the projections and the mean position of each marker was calculated and used for set-up strategies 3-6. Translational correction only was used for strategy 3. Translational and rotational corrections were used for strategies 4-6 with the rotation being either vertebrae based (strategy 4), or marker based and constrained to ±3° (strategy 5) or unconstrained (strategy 6). The resulting set-up error was calculated as the 3D root-mean-square set-up error of the three markers. The set-up error of the spinal cord was calculated for all strategies. The bony anatomy set-up (2) had the largest set-up error (5.8 mm). The marker-based set-up with unconstrained rotations (6) had the smallest set-up error (0.8 mm) but the largest spinal cord set-up error (12.1 mm). The marker-based set-up with translational correction only (3) or with bony anatomy rotational correction (4) had equivalent set-up error (1.3 mm) but rotational correction reduced the spinal cord set-up error from 4.1 mm to 3.5 mm. Marker-based set-up was substantially better than bony-anatomy set-up. Rotational correction may improve the set-up, but further investigations are required to determine the optimal correction strategy.

Content-Based Analysis of Bumper Stickers in Jordan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jaradat, Abdullah A.

2016-01-01

This study has set out to investigate bumper stickers in Jordan focusing mainly on the themes of the stickers. The study hypothesized that bumper stickers in Jordan reflect a wide range of topics including social, economic, and political. Due to being the first study of this phenomenon, the study has adopted content-based analysis to determine the…

Effectiveness of Facebook Based Learning to Enhance Creativity among Islamic Studies Students by Employing Isman Instructional Design Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alias, Norlidah; Siraj, Saedah; Daud, Mohd Khairul Azman Md; Hussin, Zaharah

2013-01-01

The study examines the effectiveness of Facebook based learning to enhance creativity among Islamic Studies students in the secondary educational setting in Malaysia. It describes the design process by employing the Isman Instructional Design Model. A quantitative study was carried out using experimental method and background survey. The…

Initial validation of the prekindergarten Classroom Observation Tool and goal setting system for data-based coaching.

PubMed

Crawford, April D; Zucker, Tricia A; Williams, Jeffrey M; Bhavsar, Vibhuti; Landry, Susan H

2013-12-01

Although coaching is a popular approach for enhancing the quality of Tier 1 instruction, limited research has addressed observational measures specifically designed to focus coaching on evidence-based practices. This study explains the development of the prekindergarten (pre-k) Classroom Observation Tool (COT) designed for use in a data-based coaching model. We examined psychometric characteristics of the COT and explored how coaches and teachers used the COT goal-setting system. The study included 193 coaches working with 3,909 pre-k teachers in a statewide professional development program. Classrooms served 3 and 4 year olds (n = 56,390) enrolled mostly in Title I, Head Start, and other need-based pre-k programs. Coaches used the COT during a 2-hr observation at the beginning of the academic year. Teachers collected progress-monitoring data on children's language, literacy, and math outcomes three times during the year. Results indicated a theoretically supported eight-factor structure of the COT across language, literacy, and math instructional domains. Overall interrater reliability among coaches was good (.75). Although correlations with an established teacher observation measure were small, significant positive relations between COT scores and children's literacy outcomes indicate promising predictive validity. Patterns of goal-setting behaviors indicate teachers and coaches set an average of 43.17 goals during the academic year, and coaches reported that 80.62% of goals were met. Both coaches and teachers reported the COT was a helpful measure for enhancing quality of Tier 1 instruction. Limitations of the current study and implications for research and data-based coaching efforts are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Whats the story? Information needs of trauma teams.

PubMed

Sarcevic, Aleksandra; Burd, Randall S

2008-11-06

This paper reports on information needs of trauma teams based on an ethnographic study in an urban teaching hospital. We focus on questions posed by trauma team members during ten trauma events. We identify major categories of questions, as well as information seekers and providers. In addition to categories known from other critical care settings, we found categories unique to trauma settings. Based on these findings, we discuss implications for information technology support for trauma teams.

On the construction of a ground truth framework for evaluating voxel-based diffusion tensor MRI analysis methods.

PubMed

Van Hecke, Wim; Sijbers, Jan; De Backer, Steve; Poot, Dirk; Parizel, Paul M; Leemans, Alexander

2009-07-01

Although many studies are starting to use voxel-based analysis (VBA) methods to compare diffusion tensor images between healthy and diseased subjects, it has been demonstrated that VBA results depend heavily on parameter settings and implementation strategies, such as the applied coregistration technique, smoothing kernel width, statistical analysis, etc. In order to investigate the effect of different parameter settings and implementations on the accuracy and precision of the VBA results quantitatively, ground truth knowledge regarding the underlying microstructural alterations is required. To address the lack of such a gold standard, simulated diffusion tensor data sets are developed, which can model an array of anomalies in the diffusion properties of a predefined location. These data sets can be employed to evaluate the numerous parameters that characterize the pipeline of a VBA algorithm and to compare the accuracy, precision, and reproducibility of different post-processing approaches quantitatively. We are convinced that the use of these simulated data sets can improve the understanding of how different diffusion tensor image post-processing techniques affect the outcome of VBA. In turn, this may possibly lead to a more standardized and reliable evaluation of diffusion tensor data sets of large study groups with a wide range of white matter altering pathologies. The simulated DTI data sets will be made available online (http://www.dti.ua.ac.be).

Scientific Playworlds: a Model of Teaching Science in Play-Based Settings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fleer, Marilyn

2017-09-01

Eminent scientists, like Einstein, worked with theoretical contradiction, thought experiments, mental models and visualisation—all characteristics of children's play. Supporting children's play is a strength of early childhood teachers. Promising research shows a link between imagination in science and imagination in play. A case study of 3 preschool teachers and 26 children (3.6-5.9 years; mean age of 4.6 years) over 6 weeks was undertaken, generating 59.6 h of digital observations and 788 photographs of play practices. The research sought to understand (1) how imaginative play promotes scientific learning and (2) examined how teachers engaged children in scientific play. Although play pedagogy is a strength of early childhood teachers, it was found that transforming imaginary situations into scientific narratives requires different pedagogical characteristics. The study found that the building of collective scientific narratives alongside of discourses of wondering were key determinants of science learning in play-based settings. Specifically, the pedagogical principles of using a cultural device that mirrors the science experiences, creating imaginary scientific situations, collectively building scientific problem situations, and imagining the relations between observable contexts and non-observable concepts, changed everyday practices into a scientific narrative and engagement. It is argued that these unique pedagogical characteristics promote scientific narratives in play-based settings. An approach, named as Scientific Playworlds, is presented as a possible model for teaching science in play-based settings.

Effectiveness Study of a CBT-Based Adolescent Coping with Depression Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garvik, Margit; Idsoe, Thormod; Bru, Edvin

2014-01-01

Even though the efficacy of group-based cognitive behavioural interventions is well established both for adolescents diagnosed with major depressive disorders as well as for adolescents with depressive symptoms, in order to prevent further development, there has been a call for effectiveness studies in real world settings. This study investigated…

The sociogeometry of inequality: Part II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eliazar, Iddo

2015-05-01

The study of socioeconomic inequality is of prime economic and social importance, and the key quantitative gauges of socioeconomic inequality are Lorenz curves and inequality indices - the most notable of the latter being the popular Gini index. In this series of papers we present a sociogeometric framework to the study of socioeconomic inequality. In this part we focus on the gap between the rich and the poor, which is quantified by gauges termed disparity curves. We shift from disparity curves to disparity sets, define inequality indices in terms of disparity sets, and introduce and explore a collection of distance-based and width-based inequality indices stemming from the geometry of disparity sets. We conclude with mean-absolute-deviation (MAD) representations of the inequality indices established in this series of papers, and with a comparison of these indices to the popular Gini index.

Covariance Association Test (CVAT) Identifies Genetic Markers Associated with Schizophrenia in Functionally Associated Biological Processes.

PubMed

Rohde, Palle Duun; Demontis, Ditte; Cuyabano, Beatriz Castro Dias; Børglum, Anders D; Sørensen, Peter

2016-08-01

Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder with large personal and social costs, and understanding the genetic etiology is important. Such knowledge can be obtained by testing the association between a disease phenotype and individual genetic markers; however, such single-marker methods have limited power to detect genetic markers with small effects. Instead, aggregating genetic markers based on biological information might increase the power to identify sets of genetic markers of etiological significance. Several set test methods have been proposed: Here we propose a new set test derived from genomic best linear unbiased prediction (GBLUP), the covariance association test (CVAT). We compared the performance of CVAT to other commonly used set tests. The comparison was conducted using a simulated study population having the same genetic parameters as for schizophrenia. We found that CVAT was among the top performers. When extending CVAT to utilize a mixture of SNP effects, we found an increase in power to detect the causal sets. Applying the methods to a Danish schizophrenia case-control data set, we found genomic evidence for association of schizophrenia with vitamin A metabolism and immunological responses, which previously have been implicated with schizophrenia based on experimental and observational studies. Copyright © 2016 by the Genetics Society of America.

Ecological quality boundary-setting procedures: the Gulf of Riga case study.

PubMed

Aigars, Juris; Müller-Karulis, Bärbel; Martin, Georg; Jermakovs, Vadims

2008-03-01

Two approaches for setting ecological class boundaries, response curves and a simplified mathematical boundary-setting protocol, were tested for coastal, transitional and open waters in the Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea. The simplified mathematical boundary-setting protocol defines acceptable ecological status based on expert judgment by a uniform relative deviation from reference conditions. In contrast, response curves derive class boundary definitions from observed changes in biological quality elements along environmental pressure gradients for class boundary definitions. Identification of relevant environmental pressures for the construction of response curves was based on a conceptual model of eutrophication in the Gulf of Riga. Response curves were successfully established for summer chlorophyll a and transparency, as well as for macrozoobenthos abundance in the Central Gulf, macrozoobenthos biotic coefficient in the Southern Gulf, and maximum depth of phytobenthos in the Northern Gulf. In the Gulf of Riga response curves almost always permitted a larger deviation from reference conditions than the 50% deviation applied for the simplified mathematical boundary-setting protocol. The case study clearly demonstrated that class boundary definitions should take into account the sensitivity of the target water body. Also, the class boundaries for different ecological quality elements were internally more consistent than those derived by the simplified mathematical boundary-setting protocol.

Atom-type-based AI topological descriptors: application in structure-boiling point correlations of oxo organic compounds.

PubMed

Ren, Biye

2003-01-01

Structure-boiling point relationships are studied for a series of oxo organic compounds by means of multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis. Excellent MLR models based on the recently introduced Xu index and the atom-type-based AI indices are obtained for the two subsets containing respectively 77 ethers and 107 carbonyl compounds and a combined set of 184 oxo compounds. The best models are tested using the leave-one-out cross-validation and an external test set, respectively. The MLR model produces a correlation coefficient of r = 0.9977 and a standard error of s = 3.99 degrees C for the training set of 184 compounds, and r(cv) = 0.9974 and s(cv) = 4.16 degrees C for the cross-validation set, and r(pred) = 0.9949 and s(pred) = 4.38 degrees C for the prediction set of 21 compounds. For the two subsets containing respectively 77 ethers and 107 carbonyl compounds, the quality of the models is further improved. The standard errors are reduced to 3.30 and 3.02 degrees C, respectively. Furthermore, the results obtained from this study indicate that the boiling points of the studied oxo compound dominantly depend on molecular size and also depend on individual atom types, especially oxygen heteroatoms in molecules due to strong polar interactions between molecules. These excellent structure-boiling point models not only provide profound insights into the role of structural features in a molecule but also illustrate the usefulness of these indices in QSPR/QSAR modeling of complex compounds.

Classification of Complete Proteomes of Different Organisms and Protein Sets Based on Their Protein Distributions in Terms of Some Key Attributes of Proteins

PubMed Central

Ma, Yue; Tuskan, Gerald A.

2018-01-01

The existence of complete genome sequences makes it important to develop different approaches for classification of large-scale data sets and to make extraction of biological insights easier. Here, we propose an approach for classification of complete proteomes/protein sets based on protein distributions on some basic attributes. We demonstrate the usefulness of this approach by determining protein distributions in terms of two attributes: protein lengths and protein intrinsic disorder contents (ID). The protein distributions based on L and ID are surveyed for representative proteome organisms and protein sets from the three domains of life. The two-dimensional maps (designated as fingerprints here) from the protein distribution densities in the LD space defined by ln(L) and ID are then constructed. The fingerprints for different organisms and protein sets are found to be distinct with each other, and they can therefore be used for comparative studies. As a test case, phylogenetic trees have been constructed based on the protein distribution densities in the fingerprints of proteomes of organisms without performing any protein sequence comparison and alignments. The phylogenetic trees generated are biologically meaningful, demonstrating that the protein distributions in the LD space may serve as unique phylogenetic signals of the organisms at the proteome level. PMID:29686995

The Role of Technology-Based Scaffolding in Problem-Based Online Asynchronous Discussion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ak, Serife

2016-01-01

This study examined the effects of technology-based scaffolds that were composed through the use of the seven-stage, problem-based learning strategy on knowledge construction in a problem-based online asynchronous discussion. In a quasi-experimental setting, 60 students in an undergraduate Instructional Technology and Material Design course were…

Automatic Identification of Messages Related to Adverse Drug Reactions from Online User Reviews using Feature-based Classification.

PubMed

Liu, Jingfang; Zhang, Pengzhu; Lu, Yingjie

2014-11-01

User-generated medical messages on Internet contain extensive information related to adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and are known as valuable resources for post-marketing drug surveillance. The aim of this study was to find an effective method to identify messages related to ADRs automatically from online user reviews. We conducted experiments on online user reviews using different feature set and different classification technique. Firstly, the messages from three communities, allergy community, schizophrenia community and pain management community, were collected, the 3000 messages were annotated. Secondly, the N-gram-based features set and medical domain-specific features set were generated. Thirdly, three classification techniques, SVM, C4.5 and Naïve Bayes, were used to perform classification tasks separately. Finally, we evaluated the performance of different method using different feature set and different classification technique by comparing the metrics including accuracy and F-measure. In terms of accuracy, the accuracy of SVM classifier was higher than 0.8, the accuracy of C4.5 classifier or Naïve Bayes classifier was lower than 0.8; meanwhile, the combination feature sets including n-gram-based feature set and domain-specific feature set consistently outperformed single feature set. In terms of F-measure, the highest F-measure is 0.895 which was achieved by using combination feature sets and a SVM classifier. In all, we can get the best classification performance by using combination feature sets and SVM classifier. By using combination feature sets and SVM classifier, we can get an effective method to identify messages related to ADRs automatically from online user reviews.

Enhancing Quality Interventions Promoting Healthy Sexuality (EQUIPS): A Novel Application of Translational Research Methods

PubMed Central

Acosta, Joie; Ebener, Patricia; Driver, Jennifer; Keith, Jamie; Peebles, Dana

2013-01-01

Abstract Translational research is expanding, in part, because Evidence‐Based Programs or Practices (EBPs) are not adopted in many medical domains. However, little translational research exists on EBPs that are prevention programs delivered in nonclinical, community‐based settings. These organizations often have low capacity, which undermines implementation quality and outcomes. Rigorous translational research is needed in these settings so within a single study, capacity, implementation quality, and outcomes are measured and links between them tested. This paper overviews the study Enhancing Quality Interventions Promoting Healthy Sexuality (EQUIPS), which tests how well a community‐based setting (Boys & Girls Clubs) conducts an EBP called Making Proud Choices that aims to prevent teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, with and without an implementation support intervention called Getting To Outcomes. The study design is novel as it assesses: Getting To Outcomes’ impact on capacity, implementation quality, and outcomes simultaneously and in both study conditions; will assess sustainability by measuring capacity and fidelity a year after the Getting To Outcomes support ends; and will operate on a large scale similar to many national initiatives. Many studies have not incorporated all these elements and thus EQUIPS could serve as a model for translational research in many domains. PMID:23751031

Prognostic score–based balance measures for propensity score methods in comparative effectiveness research

PubMed Central

Stuart, Elizabeth A.; Lee, Brian K.; Leacy, Finbarr P.

2013-01-01

Objective Examining covariate balance is the prescribed method for determining when propensity score methods are successful at reducing bias. This study assessed the performance of various balance measures, including a proposed balance measure based on the prognostic score (also known as the disease-risk score), to determine which balance measures best correlate with bias in the treatment effect estimate. Study Design and Setting The correlations of multiple common balance measures with bias in the treatment effect estimate produced by weighting by the odds, subclassification on the propensity score, and full matching on the propensity score were calculated. Simulated data were used, based on realistic data settings. Settings included both continuous and binary covariates and continuous covariates only. Results The standardized mean difference in prognostic scores, the mean standardized mean difference, and the mean t-statistic all had high correlations with bias in the effect estimate. Overall, prognostic scores displayed the highest correlations of all the balance measures considered. Prognostic score measure performance was generally not affected by model misspecification and performed well under a variety of scenarios. Conclusion Researchers should consider using prognostic score–based balance measures for assessing the performance of propensity score methods for reducing bias in non-experimental studies. PMID:23849158

Issues in assessing multi-institutional performance of BI-RADS-based CAD systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Markey, Mia K.; Lo, Joseph Y.

2005-04-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors that impact the generalization of breast cancer computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems that utilize the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS). Data sets from four institutions were analyzed: Duke University Medical Center, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Wake Forest University. The latter two data sets are subsets of the Digital Database for Screening Mammography. Each data set consisted of descriptions of mammographic lesions according to the BI-RADS lexicon, patient age, and pathology status (benign/malignant). Models were developed to predict pathology status from the BI-RADS descriptors and the patient age. Comparisons between the models built on data from the different institutions were made in terms of empirical (non-parametric) receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results suggest that BI-RADS-based CAD systems focused on specific classes of lesions may be more generally applicable than models that cover several lesion types. However, better generalization was seen in terms of the area under the ROC curve than in the partial area index (>90% sensitivity). Previous studies have illustrated the challenges in translating a BI-RADS-based CAD system from one institution to another. This study provides new insights into possible approaches to improve the generalization of BI-RADS-based CAD systems.

A two-stage cluster sampling method using gridded population data, a GIS, and Google Earth(TM) imagery in a population-based mortality survey in Iraq.

PubMed

Galway, Lp; Bell, Nathaniel; Sae, Al Shatari; Hagopian, Amy; Burnham, Gilbert; Flaxman, Abraham; Weiss, Wiliam M; Rajaratnam, Julie; Takaro, Tim K

2012-04-27

Mortality estimates can measure and monitor the impacts of conflict on a population, guide humanitarian efforts, and help to better understand the public health impacts of conflict. Vital statistics registration and surveillance systems are rarely functional in conflict settings, posing a challenge of estimating mortality using retrospective population-based surveys. We present a two-stage cluster sampling method for application in population-based mortality surveys. The sampling method utilizes gridded population data and a geographic information system (GIS) to select clusters in the first sampling stage and Google Earth TM imagery and sampling grids to select households in the second sampling stage. The sampling method is implemented in a household mortality study in Iraq in 2011. Factors affecting feasibility and methodological quality are described. Sampling is a challenge in retrospective population-based mortality studies and alternatives that improve on the conventional approaches are needed. The sampling strategy presented here was designed to generate a representative sample of the Iraqi population while reducing the potential for bias and considering the context specific challenges of the study setting. This sampling strategy, or variations on it, are adaptable and should be considered and tested in other conflict settings.

A two-stage cluster sampling method using gridded population data, a GIS, and Google EarthTM imagery in a population-based mortality survey in Iraq

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Mortality estimates can measure and monitor the impacts of conflict on a population, guide humanitarian efforts, and help to better understand the public health impacts of conflict. Vital statistics registration and surveillance systems are rarely functional in conflict settings, posing a challenge of estimating mortality using retrospective population-based surveys. Results We present a two-stage cluster sampling method for application in population-based mortality surveys. The sampling method utilizes gridded population data and a geographic information system (GIS) to select clusters in the first sampling stage and Google Earth TM imagery and sampling grids to select households in the second sampling stage. The sampling method is implemented in a household mortality study in Iraq in 2011. Factors affecting feasibility and methodological quality are described. Conclusion Sampling is a challenge in retrospective population-based mortality studies and alternatives that improve on the conventional approaches are needed. The sampling strategy presented here was designed to generate a representative sample of the Iraqi population while reducing the potential for bias and considering the context specific challenges of the study setting. This sampling strategy, or variations on it, are adaptable and should be considered and tested in other conflict settings. PMID:22540266

Being Confined within? Constructions of the Good Childhood and Outdoor Play in Early Childhood Education and Care Settings in Ireland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kernan, Margaret; Devine, Dympna

2010-01-01

This study is based on a study of the experience of the outdoors in early childhood education and care settings in Ireland. Central to the analyses are the inter-linkages drawn between constructions of a "good" childhood, and children's "need" for outdoor play, as well as the contradictions which arise around competing…

EFFECT OF NITRATE-BASED BIOREMEDIATION ON CONTAMINANT DISTRIBUTION AND SEDIMENT TOXICITY-COLUMN STUDY

EPA Science Inventory

A laboratory column study was set up to evaluate changes in contaminant distribution and sediment toxicity following nitrate-based bioremediation and to correlate toxicity reduction with loss of fuel components. Glass columns were packed with sediment from an aquifer that had be...

Integration of Evidence into a Detailed Clinical Model-based Electronic Nursing Record System

PubMed Central

Park, Hyeoun-Ae; Jeon, Eunjoo; Chung, Eunja

2012-01-01

Objectives The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of an electronic nursing record system for perinatal care that is based on detailed clinical models and clinical practice guidelines in perinatal care. Methods This study was carried out in five phases: 1) generating nursing statements using detailed clinical models; 2) identifying the relevant evidence; 3) linking nursing statements with the evidence; 4) developing a prototype electronic nursing record system based on detailed clinical models and clinical practice guidelines; and 5) evaluating the prototype system. Results We first generated 799 nursing statements describing nursing assessments, diagnoses, interventions, and outcomes using entities, attributes, and value sets of detailed clinical models for perinatal care which we developed in a previous study. We then extracted 506 recommendations from nine clinical practice guidelines and created sets of nursing statements to be used for nursing documentation by grouping nursing statements according to these recommendations. Finally, we developed and evaluated a prototype electronic nursing record system that can provide nurses with recommendations for nursing practice and sets of nursing statements based on the recommendations for guiding nursing documentation. Conclusions The prototype system was found to be sufficiently complete, relevant, useful, and applicable in terms of content, and easy to use and useful in terms of system user interface. This study has revealed the feasibility of developing such an ENR system. PMID:22844649

Kernel-Based Measure of Variable Importance for Genetic Association Studies.

PubMed

Gallego, Vicente; Luz Calle, M; Oller, Ramon

2017-06-17

The identification of genetic variants that are associated with disease risk is an important goal of genetic association studies. Standard approaches perform univariate analysis where each genetic variant, usually Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), is tested for association with disease status. Though many genetic variants have been identified and validated so far using this univariate approach, for most complex diseases a large part of their genetic component is still unknown, the so called missing heritability. We propose a Kernel-based measure of variable importance (KVI) that provides the contribution of a SNP, or a group of SNPs, to the joint genetic effect of a set of genetic variants. KVI can be used for ranking genetic markers individually, sets of markers that form blocks of linkage disequilibrium or sets of genetic variants that lie in a gene or a genetic pathway. We prove that, unlike the univariate analysis, KVI captures the relationship with other genetic variants in the analysis, even when measured at the individual level for each genetic variable separately. This is specially relevant and powerful for detecting genetic interactions. We illustrate the results with data from an Alzheimer's disease study and show through simulations that the rankings based on KVI improve those rankings based on two measures of importance provided by the Random Forest. We also prove with a simulation study that KVI is very powerful for detecting genetic interactions.

A long non-coding RNA expression profile can predict early recurrence in hepatocellular carcinoma after curative resection.

PubMed

Lv, Yufeng; Wei, Wenhao; Huang, Zhong; Chen, Zhichao; Fang, Yuan; Pan, Lili; Han, Xueqiong; Xu, Zihai

2018-06-20

The aim of this study was to develop a novel long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) expression signature to accurately predict early recurrence for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative resection. Using expression profiles downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas database, we identified multiple lncRNAs with differential expression between early recurrence (ER) group and non-early recurrence (non-ER) group of HCC. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) for logistic regression models were used to develop a lncRNA-based classifier for predicting ER in the training set. An independent test set was used to validated the predictive value of this classifier. Futhermore, a co-expression network based on these lncRNAs and its highly related genes was constructed and Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses of genes in the network were performed. We identified 10 differentially expressed lncRNAs, including 3 that were upregulated and 7 that were downregulated in ER group. The lncRNA-based classifier was constructed based on 7 lncRNAs (AL035661.1, PART1, AC011632.1, AC109588.1, AL365361.1, LINC00861 and LINC02084), and its accuracy was 0.83 in training set, 0.87 in test set and 0.84 in total set. And ROC curve analysis showed the AUROC was 0.741 in training set, 0.824 in the test set and 0.765 in total set. A functional enrichment analysis suggested that the genes of which is highly related to 4 lncRNAs were involved in immune system. This 7-lncRNA expression profile can effectively predict the early recurrence after surgical resection for HCC. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Proposal for a candidate core-set of fitness and strength tests for patients with childhood or adult idiopathic inflammatory myopathies

PubMed Central

van der Stap, Djamilla K.D.; Rider, Lisa G.; Alexanderson, Helene; Huber, Adam M.; Gualano, Bruno; Gordon, Patrick; van der Net, Janjaap; Mathiesen, Pernille; Johnson, Liam G.; Ernste, Floranne C.; Feldman, Brian M.; Houghton, Kristin M.; Singh-Grewal, Davinder; Kutzbach, Abraham Garcia; Munters, Li Alemo; Takken, Tim

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVES Currently there are no evidence-based recommendations regarding which fitness and strength tests to use for patients with childhood or adult idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM). This hinders clinicians and researchers in choosing the appropriate fitness- or muscle strength-related outcome measures for these patients. Through a Delphi survey, we aimed to identify a candidate core-set of fitness and strength tests for children and adults with IIM. METHODS Fifteen experts participated in a Delphi survey that consisted of five stages to achieve a consensus. Using an extensive search of published literature and through the expertise of the experts, a candidate core-set based on expert opinion and clinimetric properties was developed. Members of the International Myositis Assessment and Clinical Studies Group (IMACS) were invited to review this candidate core-set during the final stage, which led to a final candidate core-set. RESULTS A core-set of fitness- and strength-related outcome measures was identified for children and adults with IIM. For both children and adults, different tests were identified and selected for maximal aerobic fitness, submaximal aerobic fitness, anaerobic fitness, muscle strength tests and muscle function tests. CONCLUSIONS The core-set of fitness and strength-related outcome measures provided by this expert consensus process will assist practitioners and researchers in deciding which tests to use in IIM patients. This will improve the uniformity of fitness and strength tests across studies, thereby facilitating the comparison of study results and therapeutic exercise program outcomes among patients with IIM. PMID:26568594

A level set approach for shock-induced α-γ phase transition of RDX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Josyula, Kartik; Rahul; De, Suvranu

2018-02-01

We present a thermodynamically consistent level sets approach based on regularization energy functional which can be directly incorporated into a Galerkin finite element framework to model interface motion. The regularization energy leads to a diffusive form of flux that is embedded within the level sets evolution equation which maintains the signed distance property of the level set function. The scheme is shown to compare well with the velocity extension method in capturing the interface position. The proposed level sets approach is employed to study the α-γphase transformation in RDX single crystal shocked along the (100) plane. Example problems in one and three dimensions are presented. We observe smooth evolution of the phase interface along the shock direction in both models. There is no diffusion of the interface during the zero level set evolution in the three dimensional model. The level sets approach is shown to capture the characteristics of the shock-induced α-γ phase transformation such as stress relaxation behind the phase interface and the finite time required for the phase transformation to complete. The regularization energy based level sets approach is efficient, robust, and easy to implement.

Heterogeneous classifier fusion for ligand-based virtual screening: or, how decision making by committee can be a good thing.

PubMed

Riniker, Sereina; Fechner, Nikolas; Landrum, Gregory A

2013-11-25

The concept of data fusion - the combination of information from different sources describing the same object with the expectation to generate a more accurate representation - has found application in a very broad range of disciplines. In the context of ligand-based virtual screening (VS), data fusion has been applied to combine knowledge from either different active molecules or different fingerprints to improve similarity search performance. Machine-learning (ML) methods based on fusion of multiple homogeneous classifiers, in particular random forests, have also been widely applied in the ML literature. The heterogeneous version of classifier fusion - fusing the predictions from different model types - has been less explored. Here, we investigate heterogeneous classifier fusion for ligand-based VS using three different ML methods, RF, naïve Bayes (NB), and logistic regression (LR), with four 2D fingerprints, atom pairs, topological torsions, RDKit fingerprint, and circular fingerprint. The methods are compared using a previously developed benchmarking platform for 2D fingerprints which is extended to ML methods in this article. The original data sets are filtered for difficulty, and a new set of challenging data sets from ChEMBL is added. Data sets were also generated for a second use case: starting from a small set of related actives instead of diverse actives. The final fused model consistently outperforms the other approaches across the broad variety of targets studied, indicating that heterogeneous classifier fusion is a very promising approach for ligand-based VS. The new data sets together with the adapted source code for ML methods are provided in the Supporting Information .

A Component-Based Vocabulary-Extensible Sign Language Gesture Recognition Framework.

PubMed

Wei, Shengjing; Chen, Xiang; Yang, Xidong; Cao, Shuai; Zhang, Xu

2016-04-19

Sign language recognition (SLR) can provide a helpful tool for the communication between the deaf and the external world. This paper proposed a component-based vocabulary extensible SLR framework using data from surface electromyographic (sEMG) sensors, accelerometers (ACC), and gyroscopes (GYRO). In this framework, a sign word was considered to be a combination of five common sign components, including hand shape, axis, orientation, rotation, and trajectory, and sign classification was implemented based on the recognition of five components. Especially, the proposed SLR framework consisted of two major parts. The first part was to obtain the component-based form of sign gestures and establish the code table of target sign gesture set using data from a reference subject. In the second part, which was designed for new users, component classifiers were trained using a training set suggested by the reference subject and the classification of unknown gestures was performed with a code matching method. Five subjects participated in this study and recognition experiments under different size of training sets were implemented on a target gesture set consisting of 110 frequently-used Chinese Sign Language (CSL) sign words. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed framework can realize large-scale gesture set recognition with a small-scale training set. With the smallest training sets (containing about one-third gestures of the target gesture set) suggested by two reference subjects, (82.6 ± 13.2)% and (79.7 ± 13.4)% average recognition accuracy were obtained for 110 words respectively, and the average recognition accuracy climbed up to (88 ± 13.7)% and (86.3 ± 13.7)% when the training set included 50~60 gestures (about half of the target gesture set). The proposed framework can significantly reduce the user's training burden in large-scale gesture recognition, which will facilitate the implementation of a practical SLR system.

Separate class true discovery rate degree of association sets for biomarker identification.

PubMed

Crager, Michael R; Ahmed, Murat

2014-01-01

In 2008, Efron showed that biological features in a high-dimensional study can be divided into classes and a separate false discovery rate (FDR) analysis can be conducted in each class using information from the entire set of features to assess the FDR within each class. We apply this separate class approach to true discovery rate degree of association (TDRDA) set analysis, which is used in clinical-genomic studies to identify sets of biomarkers having strong association with clinical outcome or state while controlling the FDR. Careful choice of classes based on prior information can increase the identification power of the separate class analysis relative to the overall analysis.

77 FR 1501 - Special Purpose Permit Application; Draft Environmental Assessment; Hawaii-Based Shallow-Set...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-10

...-FF01M01000] Special Purpose Permit Application; Draft Environmental Assessment; Hawaii-Based Shallow-Set... the operation of the Hawaii-based shallow-set longline fishery that targets swordfish (Xiphias gladius... albatross, by NMFS in its regulation of the shallow-set longline fishery based in Hawaii. This fishery...

What childhood obesity prevention programmes work? A systematic review and meta-analysis

PubMed Central

Wang, Y.; Cai, L.; Wu, Y.; Wilson, R. F.; Weston, C.; Fawole, O.; Bleich, S. N.; Cheskin, L. J.; Showell, N. N.; Lau, B. D.; Chiu, D. T.; Zhang, A.; Segal, J.

2015-01-01

Summary Previous reviews of childhood obesity prevention have focused largely on schools and findings have been inconsistent. Funded by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the National Institutes of Health, we systematically evaluated the effectiveness of childhood obesity prevention programmes conducted in high-income countries and implemented in various settings. We searched MEDLINE®, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL®, ClinicalTrials.gov and the Cochrane Library from inception through 22 April 2013 for relevant studies, including randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental studies and natural experiments, targeting diet, physical activity or both, and conducted in children aged 2–18 in high-income countries. Two reviewers independently abstracted the data. The strength of evidence (SOE) supporting interventions was graded for each study setting (e.g. home, school). Meta-analyses were performed on studies judged sufficiently similar and appropriate to pool using random effect models. This paper reported our findings on various adiposity-related outcomes. We identified 147 articles (139 intervention studies) of which 115 studies were primarily school based, although other settings could have been involved. Most were conducted in the United States and within the past decade. SOE was high for physical activity-only interventions delivered in schools with home involvement or combined diet–physical activity interventions delivered in schools with both home and community components. SOE was moderate for school-based interventions targeting either diet or physical activity, combined interventions delivered in schools with home or community components or combined interventions delivered in the community with a school component. SOE was low for combined interventions in childcare or home settings. Evidence was insufficient for other interventions. In conclusion, at least moderately strong evidence supports the effectiveness of school-based interventions for preventing childhood obesity. More research is needed to evaluate programmes in other settings or of other design types, especially environmental, policy and consumer health informatics-oriented interventions. PMID:25893796

Indication criteria for total hip or knee arthroplasty in osteoarthritis: a state-of-the-science overview.

PubMed

Gademan, Maaike G J; Hofstede, Stefanie N; Vliet Vlieland, Thea P M; Nelissen, Rob G H H; Marang-van de Mheen, Perla J

2016-11-09

This systematic review gives an overview of guidelines and original publications as well as the evidence on which the currently proposed indication criteria are based. Until now such a state-of-the-science overview was lacking. Websites of orthopaedic and arthritis organizations (English/Dutch language) were independently searched by two authors for THA/TKA guidelines for OA. Furthermore, a systematic search strategy in several databases through August 2014 was performed. Quality of the guidelines was assessed with the AGREE II instrument, which consists of 6 domains (maximum summed score of 6 indicating high quality). Also, the level of evidence of all included studies was assessed. We found 6 guidelines and 18 papers, out of 3065 references. The quality of the guidelines summed across 6 domains ranged from 0.46 to 4.78. In total, 12 THA, 10 TKA and 2 THA/TKA indication sets were found. Four studies stated that no evidence-based indication criteria are available. Indication criteria concerning THA/TKA consisted of the following domains: pain (in respectively 11 and 10 sets), function (12 and 7 sets), radiological changes (10 and 9 sets), failed conservative therapy (8 and 4 sets) and other indications (6 and 7 sets). Specific cut-off values or ranges were often not stated and the level of evidence was low. The indication criteria for THA/TKA are based on limited evidence. Empirical research is needed, especially regarding domain specific cut-off values or ranges at which the best postoperative outcomes are achieved for patients, taking into account the limited lifespan of a prosthesis.

Evaluations of Sexual Assault Prevention Programs in Military Settings: A Synthesis of the Research Literature.

PubMed

Orchowski, Lindsay M; Berry-Cabán, Cristóbal S; Prisock, Kara; Borsari, Brian; Kazemi, Donna M

2018-03-01

The prevention of sexual assault (SA) in the U.S. military is a significant priority. This study applied the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to a literature search that identified research evaluating SA prevention programs conducted within military settings. Only six studies published between 2005 and 2016 met criteria for inclusion in the review. Studies demonstrated high heterogeneity in the: (1) conceptual framework of the prevention approach; (2) target population and timing of administration; (3) study recruitment methods; (4) methodological design; (5) method of delivery, program dosage and theory of change; and (6) outcome administration and efficacy. Scientific rigor according to the Oxford Center for Evidence-based Medicine was also variable. Several gaps in the research base were identified. Specifically, research evaluating SA prevention programs have only been conducted among U.S. Army and U.S. Navy samples. Most studies did not examine whether program participation was associated with reductions in rates of sexual violence. Studies also lacked utilization of a long-term follow-up period. Additionally, studies did not reflect the types of SA prevention programs currently being implemented in military settings. Taken together, further research is needed to enhance the evidence base for SA prevention in the military, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the approaches currently being conducted with service members.

Supporting nurse practitioners' practice in primary healthcare settings: a three-level qualitative model.

PubMed

Chouinard, Véronique; Contandriopoulos, Damien; Perroux, Mélanie; Larouche, Catherine

2017-06-26

While greater reliance on nurse practitioners in primary healthcare settings can improve service efficiency and accessibility, their integration is not straightforward, challenging existing role definitions of both registered nurses and physicians. Developing adequate support practices is therefore essential in primary healthcare nurse practitioners' integration. This study's main objective is to examine different structures and mechanisms put in place to support the development of primary healthcare nurse practitioner's practice in different healthcare settings, and develop a practical model for identifying and planning adequate support practices. This study is part of a larger multicentre study on primary healthcare nurse practitioners in the province of Quebec, Canada. It focuses on three healthcare settings into which one or more primary healthcare nurse practitioners have been integrated. Case studies have been selected to cover a maximum of variations in terms of location, organizational setting, and stages of primary healthcare nurse practitioner integration. Findings are based on the analysis of available documentation in each primary healthcare setting and on semi-structured interviews with key actors in each clinical team. Data were analyzed following thematic and cross-sectional analysis approaches. This article identifies three types of support practices: clinical, team, and systemic. This three-level analysis demonstrates that, on the ground, primary healthcare nurse practitioner integration is essentially a team-based, multilevel endeavour. Despite the existence of a provincial implementation plan, the three settings adopted very different implementation structures and practices, and different actors were involved at each of the three levels. The results also indicated that nursing departments played a decisive role at all three levels. Based on these findings, we suggest that support practices should be adapted to each organization's environment and experience and be modified as needed throughout the integration process. We also stress the importance of combining this approach with a strong coordination mechanism involving managers who have in-depth understanding of nursing professional roles and scopes of practice. Making primary healthcare nurse practitioner integration frameworks more flexible and clarifying and strengthening the role of senior nursing managers could be the key to successful integration.

Computerized Testing in a Hospital Setting: Psychometric and Psychological Effects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Leif; And Others

1996-01-01

This Swedish study sought to evaluate a touch-screen computer-based (CB) test administration system in a hospital setting in comparison with paper-and-pencil administrative routine. Patients were given psychometric tests (involving depression, mood, and intelligence measurement) in both formats. Patient pleasantness, activation, and calmness were…

Preservice Teacher Mobile Investigation and Interpretation of Everyday Mathematics across Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kalir, Jeremiah

2016-01-01

This study reports upon design-based research that enacted mobile mathematics learning for preservice teachers across classroom, community, and online settings. The integration of mobile learning within mathematics teacher education is understudied, and it is necessary to better understand mobile technology affordances when locating disciplinary…

Modernization: A Case Study of the Interaction of Setting, Custom, and Ideology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frankel, Daniel G.; Roer-Bornstein, Dorit

An investigation was conducted to better understand the interaction between physical and social settings, culturally based customs for parenting, and the ideology of caretakers in two Israeli cultures undergoing modernization. Yemenite and Kurdish parenting systems were examined by observing mother/infant interactions in unstructured naturalistic…

Explicating the Concept of Contrapositive Equivalence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dawkins, Paul Christian; Hub, Alec

2017-01-01

This paper sets forth a concept (Simon, 2017) of contrapositive equivalence and explores some related phenomena of learning through a case study of Hugo's learning in a teaching experiment guiding the reinvention of mathematical logic. Our proposed concept of contrapositive equivalence rests upon set-based meanings for mathematical categories and…

Research on Turbofan Engine Model above Idle State Based on NARX Modeling Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Bing; Shu, Wenjun

2017-03-01

The nonlinear model for turbofan engine above idle state based on NARX is studied. Above all, the data sets for the JT9D engine from existing model are obtained via simulation. Then, a nonlinear modeling scheme based on NARX is proposed and several models with different parameters are built according to the former data sets. Finally, the simulations have been taken to verify the precise and dynamic performance the models, the results show that the NARX model can well reflect the dynamics characteristic of the turbofan engine with high accuracy.

Training instructional skills with paraprofessional service providers at a community-based habilitation setting.

PubMed

Wood, Amanda L; Luiselli, James K; Harchik, Alan E

2007-11-01

The present study evaluates a training program with paraprofessional service providers at a community-based habilitation setting. Four staff were taught to implement alternative and augmentative communication instruction with an adult who had autism and mental retardation through a combination of instruction, demonstration, behavior rehearsal, and performance feedback. Training was conducted under natural conditions at the adult's group home residence. Three of the four staff were able to maintain near-100% instructional accuracy following initial training. The results add to the limited research literature concerning community-based training of direct-care personnel.

Goal Setting to Promote a Health Lifestyle.

PubMed

Paxton, Raheem J; Taylor, Wendell C; Hudnall, Gina Evans; Christie, Juliette

2012-01-01

The purpose of this parallel-group study was to determine whether a feasibility study based on newsletters and telephone counseling would improve goal- setting constructs; physical activity (PA); and fruit and vegetable (F & V) intake in a sample of older adults. Forty-three older adults ( M age = 70 years, >70% Asian, 54% female) living in Honolulu, Hawaii were recruited and randomly assigned to either a PA or F & V intake condition. All participants completed measures of PA, F & V intake, and goal setting mechanisms (i.e., specificity, difficulty, effort, commitment, and persistence) at baseline and 8-weeks. Paired t -tests were used to evaluate changes across time. We found that F & V participants significantly increased F & V intake and mean scores of goal specificity, effort, commitment, and persistence (all p < .05). No statistically significant changes in PA or goal setting mechanisms were observed for participants in the PA condition. Overall, our results show that a short-term intervention using newsletters and motivational calls based on goal- setting theory was effective in improving F & V intake; however, more research is needed to determine whether these strategies are effective for improving PA among a multiethnic sample of older adults.

3D-quantitative structure-activity relationship studies on benzothiadiazepine hydroxamates as inhibitors of tumor necrosis factor-alpha converting enzyme.

PubMed

Murumkar, Prashant R; Giridhar, Rajani; Yadav, Mange Ram

2008-04-01

A set of 29 benzothiadiazepine hydroxamates having selective tumor necrosis factor-alpha converting enzyme inhibitory activity were used to compare the quality and predictive power of 3D-quantitative structure-activity relationship, comparative molecular field analysis, and comparative molecular similarity indices models for the atom-based, centroid/atom-based, data-based, and docked conformer-based alignment. Removal of two outliers from the initial training set of molecules improved the predictivity of models. Among the 3D-quantitative structure-activity relationship models developed using the above four alignments, the database alignment provided the optimal predictive comparative molecular field analysis model for the training set with cross-validated r(2) (q(2)) = 0.510, non-cross-validated r(2) = 0.972, standard error of estimates (s) = 0.098, and F = 215.44 and the optimal comparative molecular similarity indices model with cross-validated r(2) (q(2)) = 0.556, non-cross-validated r(2) = 0.946, standard error of estimates (s) = 0.163, and F = 99.785. These models also showed the best test set prediction for six compounds with predictive r(2) values of 0.460 and 0.535, respectively. The contour maps obtained from 3D-quantitative structure-activity relationship studies were appraised for activity trends for the molecules analyzed. The comparative molecular similarity indices models exhibited good external predictivity as compared with that of comparative molecular field analysis models. The data generated from the present study helped us to further design and report some novel and potent tumor necrosis factor-alpha converting enzyme inhibitors.

Seasonality and phenology alter functional leaf traits.

PubMed

McKown, Athena D; Guy, Robert D; Azam, M Shofiul; Drewes, Eric C; Quamme, Linda K

2013-07-01

In plant ecophysiology, functional leaf traits are generally not assessed in relation to phenological phase of the canopy. Leaf traits measured in deciduous perennial species are known to vary between spring and summer seasons, but there is a knowledge gap relating to the late-summer phase marked by growth cessation and bud set occurring well before fall leaf senescence. The effects of phenology on canopy physiology were tested using a common garden of over 2,000 black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) individuals originating from a wide geographical range (44-60ºN). Annual phenological events and 12 leaf-based functional trait measurements were collected spanning the entire summer season prior to, and following, bud set. Patterns of seasonal trait change emerged by synchronizing trees using their date of bud set. In particular, photosynthetic, mass, and N-based traits increased substantially following bud set. Most traits were significantly different between pre-bud set and post-bud set phase trees, with many traits showing at least 25% alteration in mean value. Post-bud set, both the significance and direction of trait-trait relationships could be modified, with many relating directly to changes in leaf mass. In Populus, these dynamics in leaf traits throughout the summer season reflected a shift in whole plant physiology, but occurred long before the onset of leaf senescence. The marked shifts in measured trait values following bud set underscores the necessity to include phenology in trait-based ecological studies or large-scale phenotyping efforts, both at the local level and larger geographical scale.

Weight-Related Goal Setting in a Telephone-Based Preventive Health-Coaching Program: Demonstration of Effectiveness.

PubMed

O'Hara, Blythe J; Gale, Joanne; McGill, Bronwyn; Bauman, Adrian; Hebden, Lana; Allman-Farinelli, Margaret; Maxwell, Michelle; Phongsavan, Philayrath

2017-11-01

This study investigated whether participants in a 6-month telephone-based coaching program, who set physical activity, nutrition, and weight loss goals had better outcomes in these domains. Quasi-experimental design. The Australian Get Healthy Information and Coaching Service (GHS), a free population-wide telephone health-coaching service that includes goal setting as a key component of its coaching program. Consenting GHS coaching participants who had completed coaching between February 2009 and December 2012 (n = 4108). At baseline, participants select a goal for the coaching program, and sociodemographic variables are collected. Self-reported weight, height, waist circumference, physical activity, and nutrition-related behaviors are assessed at baseline and 6 months. Descriptive analysis was performed on key sociodemographic variables, and the relationship between goal type and change in health outcomes was assessed using a series of linear mixed models that modeled change from baseline to 6 months. Participants who set goals in relation to weight management and physical activity achieved better results in these areas than those who set alternate goals, losing more than those who set alternate goals (1.5 kg and 0.9 cm in waist circumference) and increasing walking per week (40 minutes), respectively. There was no difference in food-related outcomes for those that set nutrition-related goals. Goal setting for weight management and increasing physical activity in the overweight and obese population, undertaken in a telephone-based coaching program, can be effective.

Enrichment assessment of multiple virtual screening strategies for Toll-like receptor 8 agonists based on a maximal unbiased benchmarking data set.

PubMed

Pei, Fen; Jin, Hongwei; Zhou, Xin; Xia, Jie; Sun, Lidan; Liu, Zhenming; Zhang, Liangren

2015-11-01

Toll-like receptor 8 agonists, which activate adaptive immune responses by inducing robust production of T-helper 1-polarizing cytokines, are promising candidates for vaccine adjuvants. As the binding site of toll-like receptor 8 is large and highly flexible, virtual screening by individual method has inevitable limitations; thus, a comprehensive comparison of different methods may provide insights into seeking effective strategy for the discovery of novel toll-like receptor 8 agonists. In this study, the performance of knowledge-based pharmacophore, shape-based 3D screening, and combined strategies was assessed against a maximum unbiased benchmarking data set containing 13 actives and 1302 decoys specialized for toll-like receptor 8 agonists. Prior structure-activity relationship knowledge was involved in knowledge-based pharmacophore generation, and a set of antagonists was innovatively used to verify the selectivity of the selected knowledge-based pharmacophore. The benchmarking data set was generated from our recently developed 'mubd-decoymaker' protocol. The enrichment assessment demonstrated a considerable performance through our selected three-layer virtual screening strategy: knowledge-based pharmacophore (Phar1) screening, shape-based 3D similarity search (Q4_combo), and then a Gold docking screening. This virtual screening strategy could be further employed to perform large-scale database screening and to discover novel toll-like receptor 8 agonists. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Mixed method evaluation of a community-based physical activity program using the RE-AIM framework: practical application in a real-world setting.

PubMed

Koorts, Harriet; Gillison, Fiona

2015-11-06

Communities are a pivotal setting in which to promote increases in child and adolescent physical activity behaviours. Interventions implemented in these settings require effective evaluation to facilitate translation of findings to wider settings. The aims of this paper are to i) present findings from a RE-AIM evaluation of a community-based physical activity program, and ii) review the methodological challenges faced when applying RE-AIM in practice. A single mixed-methods case study was conducted based on a concurrent triangulation design. Five sources of data were collected via interviews, questionnaires, archival records, documentation and field notes. Evidence was triangulated within RE-AIM to assess individual and organisational-level program outcomes. Inconsistent availability of data and a lack of robust reporting challenged assessment of all five dimensions. Reach, Implementation and setting-level Adoption were less successful, Effectiveness and Maintenance at an individual and organisational level were moderately successful. Only community-level Adoption was highly successful, reflecting the key program goal to provide community-wide participation in sport and physical activity. This research highlighted important methodological constraints associated with the use of RE-AIM in practice settings. Future evaluators wishing to use RE-AIM may benefit from a mixed-method triangulation approach to offset challenges with data availability and reliability.

The Chronic Care Model and Diabetes Management in US Primary Care Settings: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Stellefson, Michael; Stopka, Christine

2013-01-01

Introduction The Chronic Care Model (CCM) uses a systematic approach to restructuring medical care to create partnerships between health systems and communities. The objective of this study was to describe how researchers have applied CCM in US primary care settings to provide care for people who have diabetes and to describe outcomes of CCM implementation. Methods We conducted a literature review by using the Cochrane database of systematic reviews, CINAHL, and Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition and the following search terms: “chronic care model” (and) “diabet*.” We included articles published between January 1999 and October 2011. We summarized details on CCM application and health outcomes for 16 studies. Results The 16 studies included various study designs, including 9 randomized controlled trials, and settings, including academic-affiliated primary care practices and private practices. We found evidence that CCM approaches have been effective in managing diabetes in US primary care settings. Organizational leaders in health care systems initiated system-level reorganizations that improved the coordination of diabetes care. Disease registries and electronic medical records were used to establish patient-centered goals, monitor patient progress, and identify lapses in care. Primary care physicians (PCPs) were trained to deliver evidence-based care, and PCP office–based diabetes self-management education improved patient outcomes. Only 7 studies described strategies for addressing community resources and policies. Conclusion CCM is being used for diabetes care in US primary care settings, and positive outcomes have been reported. Future research on integration of CCM into primary care settings for diabetes management should measure diabetes process indicators, such as self-efficacy for disease management and clinical decision making. PMID:23428085

A systematic review on US-based community health navigator (CHN) interventions for cancer screening promotion--comparing community- versus clinic-based navigator models.

PubMed

Hou, Su-I; Roberson, Kiersten

2015-03-01

This study synthesized lessons learned from US-based community and clinic health navigator (CHN) interventions on cancer screening promotion to identify characteristics of models and approaches for addressing cancer disparities. The combination terms "cancer screening" and "community health workers or navigators" or "patient navigators" were used in searching Medline, CINAHL, and PsycInfo. A total of 27 articles published during January 2005∼April 2014 were included. Two CHN models were identified: community-based (15 studies) and clinic/hospital-based (12 studies). While both models used the term "navigators," most community-based programs referred them as community health workers/navigators/advisors, whereas clinic-based programs often called them patient navigators. Most community-based CHN interventions targeted specific racial/ethnic minority or rural groups, while clinic-based programs mostly targeted urban low income or mixed ethnic groups. Most community-based CHN programs outreached members from community networks, while clinic-based programs commonly worked with pre-identified in-service clients. Overall, regardless model type, CHNs had similar roles and responsibilities, and interventions demonstrated effective outcomes. Our review identified characteristics of CHN interventions with attention to different settings. Lessons learned have implication on the dissemination and implementation of CHN interventions for cancer screening promotion across setting and target groups.

Student Use of Academic Knowledge and Skills in Work-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawley, Joshua D.; Marks, Helen M.

2006-01-01

Using data from in a large Mid-western district, this study analyses the use of academic skills in work-based learning. The primary question asked in this study has to do with the impact of participating in work-based learning on the use of academic skills. Four sets of academic skills were measured using surveys (language arts, math, science, and…

National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972: Critical Data Base. 22U-884.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Talbert, Robin

The National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS) critical data base contains 151 items (plus background information) from the base year and followup questionnaires; about thirty-seven percent of all items. This set of critical items consists of: (1) basic demographic variables; (2) items necessary for defining activity states…

Interpretable Decision Sets: A Joint Framework for Description and Prediction

PubMed Central

Lakkaraju, Himabindu; Bach, Stephen H.; Jure, Leskovec

2016-01-01

One of the most important obstacles to deploying predictive models is the fact that humans do not understand and trust them. Knowing which variables are important in a model’s prediction and how they are combined can be very powerful in helping people understand and trust automatic decision making systems. Here we propose interpretable decision sets, a framework for building predictive models that are highly accurate, yet also highly interpretable. Decision sets are sets of independent if-then rules. Because each rule can be applied independently, decision sets are simple, concise, and easily interpretable. We formalize decision set learning through an objective function that simultaneously optimizes accuracy and interpretability of the rules. In particular, our approach learns short, accurate, and non-overlapping rules that cover the whole feature space and pay attention to small but important classes. Moreover, we prove that our objective is a non-monotone submodular function, which we efficiently optimize to find a near-optimal set of rules. Experiments show that interpretable decision sets are as accurate at classification as state-of-the-art machine learning techniques. They are also three times smaller on average than rule-based models learned by other methods. Finally, results of a user study show that people are able to answer multiple-choice questions about the decision boundaries of interpretable decision sets and write descriptions of classes based on them faster and more accurately than with other rule-based models that were designed for interpretability. Overall, our framework provides a new approach to interpretable machine learning that balances accuracy, interpretability, and computational efficiency. PMID:27853627

Quantitative structure-activity relationships for reactivities of sulfate and hydroxyl radicals with aromatic contaminants through single-electron transfer pathway.

PubMed

Luo, Shuang; Wei, Zongsu; Spinney, Richard; Villamena, Frederick A; Dionysiou, Dionysios D; Chen, Dong; Tang, Chong-Jian; Chai, Liyuan; Xiao, Ruiyang

2018-02-15

Sulfate radical anion (SO 4 •- ) and hydroxyl radical (OH) based advanced oxidation technologies has been extensively used for removal of aromatic contaminants (ACs) in waters. In this study, we investigated the Gibbs free energy (ΔG SET ∘ ) of the single electron transfer (SET) reactions for 76 ACs with SO 4 •- and OH, respectively. The result reveals that SO 4 •- possesses greater propensity to react with ACs through the SET channel than OH. We hypothesized that the electron distribution within the molecule plays an essential role in determining the ΔG SET ∘ and subsequent SET reactions. To test the hypothesis, a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) model was developed for predicting ΔG SET ∘ using the highest occupied molecular orbital energies (E HOMO ), a measure of electron distribution and donating ability. The standardized QSAR models are reported to be ΔG ° SET =-0.97×E HOMO - 181 and ΔG ° SET =-0.97×E HOMO - 164 for SO 4 •- and OH, respectively. The models were internally and externally validated to ensure robustness and predictability, and the application domain and limitations were discussed. The single-descriptor based models account for 95% of the variability for SO 4 •- and OH. These results provide the mechanistic insight into the SET reaction pathway of radical and non-radical bimolecular reactions, and have important applications for radical based oxidation technologies to remove target ACs in different waters. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

R&D on dental implants breakage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Croitoru, Sorin Mihai; Popovici, Ion Alexandru

2017-09-01

Most used dental implants for human dental prostheses are of two steps type: first step means implantation and, after several months healing and osseointegration, second step is prosthesis fixture. For sure, dental implants and prostheses are meant to last for a lifetime. Still, there are unfortunate cases when dental implants break. This paper studies two steps dental implants breakage and proposes a set of instruments for replacement and restoration of the broken implant. First part of the paper sets the input data of the study: structure of the studied two steps dental implants based on two Romanian patents and values of the loading forces found in practice and specialty papers. In the second part of the paper, using DEFORM 2D™ FEM simulation software, worst case scenarios of loading dental implants are studied in order to determine which zones and components of the dental implant set are affected (broken). Last part of the paper is dedicated to design and presentation of a set for extracting and cutting tools used to restore the broken implant set.

Dissemination of Evidence-Based Practice: Can We Train Therapists from a Distance?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vismara, Laurie A.; Young, Gregory S.; Stahmer, Aubyn C.; Griffith, Elizabeth McMahon; Rogers, Sally J.

2009-01-01

Although knowledge about the efficacy of behavioral interventions for children with ASD is increasing, studies of effectiveness and transportability to community settings are needed. The current study conducted an effectiveness trial to compare distance learning vs. live instruction for training community-based therapists to implement the Early…

Providing Culturally Responsive Teaching in Field-Based and Student Teaching Experiences: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kea, Cathy D.; Trent, Stanley C.

2013-01-01

This mixed design study chronicles the yearlong outcomes of 27 undergraduate preservice teacher candidates' ability to design and deliver culturally responsive lesson plans during field-based experience lesson observations and student teaching settings after receiving instruction in a special education methods course. While components of…

A Multidisciplinary Osteoporosis Service-Based Action Research Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitehead, Dean; Keast, John; Montgomery, Val; Hayman, Sue

2004-01-01

Objective: To investigate an existing Trust-based osteoporosis service's preventative activity, determine any issues and problems and use this data to reorganise the service, as part of a National Health Service Executive/Regional Office-commissioned and funded study. Setting: A UK Hospital Trust's Osteoporosis Service. Design & Method: A…

A Population-Based Study of Preschoolers' Food Neophobia and Its Associations with Food Preferences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russell, Catherine Georgina; Worsley, Anthony

2008-01-01

Objective: This cross-sectional study was designed to investigate the relationships between food preferences, food neophobia, and children's characteristics among a population-based sample of preschoolers. Design: A parent-report questionnaire. Setting: Child-care centers, kindergartens, playgroups, day nurseries, and swimming centers. Subjects:…

“What’s the Story?” Information Needs of Trauma Teams

PubMed Central

Sarcevic, Aleksandra; Burd, Randall S.

2008-01-01

This paper reports on information needs of trauma teams based on an ethnographic study in an urban teaching hospital. We focus on questions posed by trauma team members during ten trauma events. We identify major categories of questions, as well as information seekers and providers. In addition to categories known from other critical care settings, we found categories unique to trauma settings. Based on these findings, we discuss implications for information technology support for trauma teams. PMID:18999288

Newborn infants' sensitivity to perceptual cues to lexical and grammatical words.

PubMed

Shi, R; Werker, J F; Morgan, J L

1999-09-30

In our study newborn infants were presented with lists of lexical and grammatical words prepared from natural maternal speech. The results show that newborns are able to categorically discriminate these sets of words based on a constellation of perceptual cues that distinguish them. This general ability to detect and categorically discriminate sets of words on the basis of multiple acoustic and phonological cues may provide a perceptual base that can help older infants bootstrap into the acquisition of grammatical categories and syntactic structure.

Improving the governance of patient safety in emergency care: a systematic review of interventions

PubMed Central

Hesselink, Gijs; Berben, Sivera; Beune, Thimpe

2016-01-01

Objectives To systematically review interventions that aim to improve the governance of patient safety within emergency care on effectiveness, reliability, validity and feasibility. Design A systematic review of the literature. Methods PubMed, EMBASE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and PsychInfo were searched for studies published between January 1990 and July 2014. We included studies evaluating interventions relevant for higher management to oversee and manage patient safety, in prehospital emergency medical service (EMS) organisations and hospital-based emergency departments (EDs). Two reviewers independently selected candidate studies, extracted data and assessed study quality. Studies were categorised according to study quality, setting, sample, intervention characteristics and findings. Results Of the 18 included studies, 13 (72%) were non-experimental. Nine studies (50%) reported data on the reliability and/or validity of the intervention. Eight studies (44%) reported on the feasibility of the intervention. Only 4 studies (22%) reported statistically significant effects. The use of a simulation-based training programme and well-designed incident reporting systems led to a statistically significant improvement of safety knowledge and attitudes by ED staff and an increase of incident reports within EDs, respectively. Conclusions Characteristics of the interventions included in this review (eg, anonymous incident reporting and validation of incident reports by an independent party) could provide useful input for the design of an effective tool to govern patient safety in EMS organisations and EDs. However, executives cannot rely on a robust set of evidence-based and feasible tools to govern patient safety within their emergency care organisation and in the chain of emergency care. Established strategies from other high-risk sectors need to be evaluated in emergency care settings, using an experimental design with valid outcome measures to strengthen the evidence base. PMID:26826151

Automatic approach to deriving fuzzy slope positions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Liang-Jun; Zhu, A.-Xing; Qin, Cheng-Zhi; Liu, Jun-Zhi

2018-03-01

Fuzzy characterization of slope positions is important for geographic modeling. Most of the existing fuzzy classification-based methods for fuzzy characterization require extensive user intervention in data preparation and parameter setting, which is tedious and time-consuming. This paper presents an automatic approach to overcoming these limitations in the prototype-based inference method for deriving fuzzy membership value (or similarity) to slope positions. The key contribution is a procedure for finding the typical locations and setting the fuzzy inference parameters for each slope position type. Instead of being determined totally by users in the prototype-based inference method, in the proposed approach the typical locations and fuzzy inference parameters for each slope position type are automatically determined by a rule set based on prior domain knowledge and the frequency distributions of topographic attributes. Furthermore, the preparation of topographic attributes (e.g., slope gradient, curvature, and relative position index) is automated, so the proposed automatic approach has only one necessary input, i.e., the gridded digital elevation model of the study area. All compute-intensive algorithms in the proposed approach were speeded up by parallel computing. Two study cases were provided to demonstrate that this approach can properly, conveniently and quickly derive the fuzzy slope positions.

The Effect of Baggase Ash on Fly Ash-Based Geopolimer Binder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bayuaji, R.; Darmawan, M. S.; Husin, N. A.; Banugraha, R.; Alfi, M.; Abdullah, M. M. A. B.

2018-06-01

Geopolymer concrete is an environmentally friendly concrete. However, the geopolymer binder has a problem with setting time; mainly the composition comprises high calcium fly ash. This study utilized bagasse ash to improve setting time on fly ash-based geopolymer binder. The characterization of bagasse ash was carried out by using chemical and phase analysis, while the morphology characterization was examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The setting time test and the compressive strength test used standard ASTM C 191-04 and ASTM C39 / C39M respectively. The compressive strength of the samples determined at 3, 28 and 56 days. The result compared the requirement of the standards.

The Objective Borderline Method (OBM): A Probability-Based Model for Setting up an Objective Pass/Fail Cut-Off Score in Medical Programme Assessments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shulruf, Boaz; Turner, Rolf; Poole, Phillippa; Wilkinson, Tim

2013-01-01

The decision to pass or fail a medical student is a "high stakes" one. The aim of this study is to introduce and demonstrate the feasibility and practicality of a new objective standard-setting method for determining the pass/fail cut-off score from borderline grades. Three methods for setting up pass/fail cut-off scores were compared: the…

KNOW ESSENTIALS: a tool for informed decisions in the absence of formal HTA systems.

PubMed

Mathew, Joseph L

2011-04-01

Most developing countries and resource-limited settings lack robust health technology assessment (HTA) systems. Because the development of locally relevant HTA is not immediately viable, and the extrapolation of external HTA is inappropriate, a new model for evaluating health technologies is required. The aim of this study was to describe the development and application of KNOW ESSENTIALS, a tool facilitating evidence-based decisions on health technologies by stakeholders in settings lacking formal HTA systems. Current HTA methodology was examined through literature search. Additional issues relevant to resource-limited settings, but not adequately addressed in current methodology, were identified through further literature search, appraisal of contextually relevant issues, discussion with healthcare professionals familiar with the local context, and personal experience. A set of thirteen elements important for evidence-based decisions was identified, selected and combined into a tool with the mnemonic KNOW ESSENTIALS. Detailed definitions for each element, coding for the elements, and a system to evaluate a given health technology using the tool were developed. Developing countries and resource-limited settings face several challenges to informed decision making. Models that are relevant and applicable in high-income countries are unlikely in such settings. KNOW ESSENTIALS is an alternative that facilitates evidence-based decision making by stakeholders without formal expertise in HTA. The tool could be particularly useful, as an interim measure, in healthcare systems that are developing HTA capacity. It could also be useful anywhere when rapid evidence-based decisions on health technologies are required.

European consensus on a competency-based virtual reality training program for basic endoscopic surgical psychomotor skills.

PubMed

van Dongen, Koen W; Ahlberg, Gunnar; Bonavina, Luigi; Carter, Fiona J; Grantcharov, Teodor P; Hyltander, Anders; Schijven, Marlies P; Stefani, Alessandro; van der Zee, David C; Broeders, Ivo A M J

2011-01-01

Virtual reality (VR) simulators have been demonstrated to improve basic psychomotor skills in endoscopic surgery. The exercise configuration settings used for validation in studies published so far are default settings or are based on the personal choice of the tutors. The purpose of this study was to establish consensus on exercise configurations and on a validated training program for a virtual reality simulator, based on the experience of international experts to set criterion levels to construct a proficiency-based training program. A consensus meeting was held with eight European teams, all extensively experienced in using the VR simulator. Construct validity of the training program was tested by 20 experts and 60 novices. The data were analyzed by using the t test for equality of means. Consensus was achieved on training designs, exercise configuration, and examination. Almost all exercises (7/8) showed construct validity. In total, 50 of 94 parameters (53%) showed significant difference. A European, multicenter, validated, training program was constructed according to the general consensus of a large international team with extended experience in virtual reality simulation. Therefore, a proficiency-based training program can be offered to training centers that use this simulator for training in basic psychomotor skills in endoscopic surgery.

Attribute-based classification for zero-shot visual object categorization.

PubMed

Lampert, Christoph H; Nickisch, Hannes; Harmeling, Stefan

2014-03-01

We study the problem of object recognition for categories for which we have no training examples, a task also called zero--data or zero-shot learning. This situation has hardly been studied in computer vision research, even though it occurs frequently; the world contains tens of thousands of different object classes, and image collections have been formed and suitably annotated for only a few of them. To tackle the problem, we introduce attribute-based classification: Objects are identified based on a high-level description that is phrased in terms of semantic attributes, such as the object's color or shape. Because the identification of each such property transcends the specific learning task at hand, the attribute classifiers can be prelearned independently, for example, from existing image data sets unrelated to the current task. Afterward, new classes can be detected based on their attribute representation, without the need for a new training phase. In this paper, we also introduce a new data set, Animals with Attributes, of over 30,000 images of 50 animal classes, annotated with 85 semantic attributes. Extensive experiments on this and two more data sets show that attribute-based classification indeed is able to categorize images without access to any training images of the target classes.

How to Develop Electrochemistry SETS-Based Interactive E-Book?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Munawwarah, M.; Anwar, S.; Sunarya, Y.

2017-09-01

This study aims to develop SETS-based interactive e-book teaching material through 4S TMD methode. The research methode in this study is the Development Research (RD) Richey and Klein that consists of design, phase, and evaluation. The design step was to analyze and plan the types of teaching materials instructional developed. There are 12 indicators from 3 standard competences that produced in selection step based new curriculum, the compatibility subject matter and indicators, and the relations between value and subject matter. Structuring steps yield concept map, macro structure, and multiple representation that were arranged to be first draft of teaching material that was used for develop the instruments for characterization step. Chatacterization test have been done to students in 12nd grades with 68 texts. Characterization results indicated that there were some texts included to difficult text. Difficult texts have been reduced with the ways back to qualitative steps and particulation. The second draft of teaching material was arranged based the results of didactic reduction of difficult texts. This draft was used for arranged interactive e-book. The characteristics of this SETS-based interactive e-book that developed were mention about the connection between science with environment, technology, and society. This interactive e-book consists of animation, task, and quizes that taken the interaction of students directly.

Primary Intravenous Set Consumption Across 3 Branded Infusion Pumps

PubMed Central

Hedlund, Nancy; Sarangpur, Shishir; Kayler, Shannon; O'Brien, Kathy

2017-01-01

This retrospective study of 6426 hip replacement, coronary artery bypass graft, and colectomy surgeries across 23 US hospitals found that intravenous (IV) set designs that can be interchanged for use both in gravity-fed and automated pump delivery systems are replaced less frequently than IV sets designed for use primarily by one delivery method. Semistructured interviews with nurses highlighted the impact of set design on nursing workflow when moving between gravity-fed and pump-based administration. Use of interchangeable, single-design IV sets across gravity and automated infusions minimizes disruptions to closed systems, may reduce nurses being distracted from patients' clinical needs when replacing sets, and may yield supply cost savings. PMID:28682999

AISLE: an automatic volumetric segmentation method for the study of lung allometry.

PubMed

Ren, Hongliang; Kazanzides, Peter

2011-01-01

We developed a fully automatic segmentation method for volumetric CT (computer tomography) datasets to support construction of a statistical atlas for the study of allometric laws of the lung. The proposed segmentation method, AISLE (Automated ITK-Snap based on Level-set), is based on the level-set implementation from an existing semi-automatic segmentation program, ITK-Snap. AISLE can segment the lung field without human interaction and provide intermediate graphical results as desired. The preliminary experimental results show that the proposed method can achieve accurate segmentation, in terms of volumetric overlap metric, by comparing with the ground-truth segmentation performed by a radiologist.

Debriefing a Health-Related Educational Game: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lennon, Jeffrey L.

2010-01-01

This study sought to evaluate the utility of a Web-based game on the topic of immunity, based upon the work of Nobel Prize winner Ileya Mechnikov. This was accomplished through postgame written debriefing with an oral debriefing follow-up. A qualitative case study was conducted in a nonformal home setting. The participant learned new information,…

Community-Based Financial Literacy Education in a Cultural Context: A Study of Teacher Beliefs and Pedagogical Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tisdell, Elizabeth J.; Taylor, Edward W.; Forte, Karin Sprow

2013-01-01

This article presents the findings related to teaching beliefs and pedagogical practices of a study that examined how financial literacy educators educate adults from underserved population groups in community-based settings. The study is theoretically framed in the teaching beliefs and culturally responsive education literature. Findings reveal a…

Effects of emotion on different phoneme classes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Chul Min; Yildirim, Serdar; Bulut, Murtaza; Busso, Carlos; Kazemzadeh, Abe; Lee, Sungbok; Narayanan, Shrikanth

2004-10-01

This study investigates the effects of emotion on different phoneme classes using short-term spectral features. In the research on emotion in speech, most studies have focused on prosodic features of speech. In this study, based on the hypothesis that different emotions have varying effects on the properties of the different speech sounds, we investigate the usefulness of phoneme-class level acoustic modeling for automatic emotion classification. Hidden Markov models (HMM) based on short-term spectral features for five broad phonetic classes are used for this purpose using data obtained from recordings of two actresses. Each speaker produces 211 sentences with four different emotions (neutral, sad, angry, happy). Using the speech material we trained and compared the performances of two sets of HMM classifiers: a generic set of ``emotional speech'' HMMs (one for each emotion) and a set of broad phonetic-class based HMMs (vowel, glide, nasal, stop, fricative) for each emotion type considered. Comparison of classification results indicates that different phoneme classes were affected differently by emotional change and that the vowel sounds are the most important indicator of emotions in speech. Detailed results and their implications on the underlying speech articulation will be discussed.

Is goal-directed attentional guidance just intertrial priming? A review.

PubMed

Lamy, Dominique F; Kristjánsson, Arni

2013-07-01

According to most models of selective visual attention, our goals at any given moment and saliency in the visual field determine attentional priority. But selection is not carried out in isolation--we typically track objects through space and time. This is not well captured within the distinction between goal-directed and saliency-based attentional guidance. Recent studies have shown that selection is strongly facilitated when the characteristics of the objects to be attended and of those to be ignored remain constant between consecutive selections. These studies have generated the proposal that goal-directed or top-down effects are best understood as intertrial priming effects. Here, we provide a detailed overview and critical appraisal of the arguments, experimental strategies, and findings that have been used to promote this idea, along with a review of studies providing potential counterarguments. We divide this review according to different types of attentional control settings that observers are thought to adopt during visual search: feature-based settings, dimension-based settings, and singleton detection mode. We conclude that priming accounts for considerable portions of effects attributed to top-down guidance, but that top-down guidance can be independent of intertrial priming.

Evaluation of new gyrB-based real-time PCR system for the detection of B. fragilis as an indicator of human-specific fecal contamination.

PubMed

Lee, Chang Soo; Lee, Jiyoung

2010-09-01

A rapid and specific gyrB-based real-time PCR system has been developed for detecting Bacteroides fragilis as a human-specific marker of fecal contamination. Its specificity and sensitivity was evaluated by comparison with other 16S rRNA gene-based primers using closely related Bacteroides and Prevotella. Many studies have used 16S rRNA gene-based method targeting Bacteroides because this genus is relatively abundant in human feces and is useful for microbial source tracking. However, 16S rRNA gene-based primers are evolutionarily too conserved among taxa to discriminate between human-specific species of Bacteroides and other closely related genera, such as Prevotella. Recently, one of the housekeeping genes, gyrB, has been used as an alternative target in multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) to provide greater phylogenetic resolution. In this study, a new B. fragilis-specific primer set (Bf904F/Bf958R) was designed by alignments of 322 gyrB genes and was compared with the performance of the 16S rRNA gene-based primers in the presence of B. fragilis, Bacteroides ovatus and Prevotella melaninogenica. Amplicons were sequenced and a phylogenetic tree was constructed to confirm the specificity of the primers to B. fragilis. The gyrB-based primers successfully discriminated B. fragilis from B. ovatus and P. melaninogenica. Real-time PCR results showed that the gyrB primer set had a comparable sensitivity in the detection of B. fragilis when compared with the 16S rRNA primer set. The host-specificity of our gyrB-based primer set was validated with human, pig, cow, and dog fecal samples. The gyrB primer system had superior human-specificity. The gyrB-based system can rapidly detect human-specific fecal source and can be used for improved source tracking of human contamination. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Suitability of satellite derived and gridded sea surface temperature data sets for calibrating high-resolution marine proxy records

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ouellette, G., Jr.; DeLong, K. L.

2016-02-01

High-resolution proxy records of sea surface temperature (SST) are increasingly being produced using trace element and isotope variability within the skeletal materials of marine organisms such as corals, mollusks, sclerosponges, and coralline algae. Translating the geochemical variations within these organisms into records of SST requires calibration with SST observations using linear regression methods, preferably with in situ SST records that span several years. However, locations with such records are sparse; therefore, calibration is often accomplished using gridded SST data products such as the Hadley Center's HADSST (5º) and interpolated HADISST (1º) data sets, NOAA's extended reconstructed SST data set (ERSST; 2º), optimum interpolation SST (OISST; 1º), and Kaplan SST data sets (5º). From these data products, the SST used for proxy calibration is obtained for a single grid cell that includes the proxy's study site. The gridded data sets are based on the International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS) and each uses different methods of interpolation to produce the globally and temporally complete data products except for HadSST, which is not interpolated but quality controlled. This study compares SST for a single site from these gridded data products with a high-resolution satellite-based SST data set from NOAA (Pathfinder; 4 km) with in situ SST data and coral Sr/Ca variability for our study site in Haiti to assess differences between these SST records with a focus on seasonal variability. Our results indicate substantial differences in the seasonal variability captured for the same site among these data sets on the order of 1-3°C. This analysis suggests that of the data products, high-resolution satellite SST best captured seasonal variability at the study site. Unfortunately, satellite SST records are limited to the past few decades. If satellite SST are to be used to calibrate proxy records, collecting modern, living samples is desirable.

Reconciliation of Decision-Making Heuristics Based on Decision Trees Topologies and Incomplete Fuzzy Probabilities Sets

PubMed Central

Doubravsky, Karel; Dohnal, Mirko

2015-01-01

Complex decision making tasks of different natures, e.g. economics, safety engineering, ecology and biology, are based on vague, sparse, partially inconsistent and subjective knowledge. Moreover, decision making economists / engineers are usually not willing to invest too much time into study of complex formal theories. They require such decisions which can be (re)checked by human like common sense reasoning. One important problem related to realistic decision making tasks are incomplete data sets required by the chosen decision making algorithm. This paper presents a relatively simple algorithm how some missing III (input information items) can be generated using mainly decision tree topologies and integrated into incomplete data sets. The algorithm is based on an easy to understand heuristics, e.g. a longer decision tree sub-path is less probable. This heuristic can solve decision problems under total ignorance, i.e. the decision tree topology is the only information available. But in a practice, isolated information items e.g. some vaguely known probabilities (e.g. fuzzy probabilities) are usually available. It means that a realistic problem is analysed under partial ignorance. The proposed algorithm reconciles topology related heuristics and additional fuzzy sets using fuzzy linear programming. The case study, represented by a tree with six lotteries and one fuzzy probability, is presented in details. PMID:26158662

Reconciliation of Decision-Making Heuristics Based on Decision Trees Topologies and Incomplete Fuzzy Probabilities Sets.

PubMed

Doubravsky, Karel; Dohnal, Mirko

2015-01-01

Complex decision making tasks of different natures, e.g. economics, safety engineering, ecology and biology, are based on vague, sparse, partially inconsistent and subjective knowledge. Moreover, decision making economists / engineers are usually not willing to invest too much time into study of complex formal theories. They require such decisions which can be (re)checked by human like common sense reasoning. One important problem related to realistic decision making tasks are incomplete data sets required by the chosen decision making algorithm. This paper presents a relatively simple algorithm how some missing III (input information items) can be generated using mainly decision tree topologies and integrated into incomplete data sets. The algorithm is based on an easy to understand heuristics, e.g. a longer decision tree sub-path is less probable. This heuristic can solve decision problems under total ignorance, i.e. the decision tree topology is the only information available. But in a practice, isolated information items e.g. some vaguely known probabilities (e.g. fuzzy probabilities) are usually available. It means that a realistic problem is analysed under partial ignorance. The proposed algorithm reconciles topology related heuristics and additional fuzzy sets using fuzzy linear programming. The case study, represented by a tree with six lotteries and one fuzzy probability, is presented in details.

Perceived Barriers to Information Access Among Medical Residents in Iran: Obstacles to Answering Clinical Queries in Settings with Limited Internet Accessibility

PubMed Central

Mazloomdoost, Danesh; Mehregan, Shervineh; Mahmoudi, Hilda; Soltani, Akbar; Embi, Peter J.

2007-01-01

Studies performed in the US and other Western countries have documented that physicians generate many clinical questions during a typical day and rely on various information sources for answers. Little is known about the information seeking behaviors of physicians practicing in other countries, particularly those with limited Internet connectivity. We conducted this study to document the perceived barriers to information resources used by medical residents in Iran. Our findings reveal that different perceived barriers exist for electronic versus paper-based resources. Notably, paper-based resources are perceived to be limited by resident time-constraints and availability of resources, whereas electronic resources are limited by cost decentralized resources (such as PDAs) and accessibility of centralized, Internet access. These findings add to the limited literature regarding health information-seeking activities in international healthcare settings, particularly those with limited Internet connectivity, and will supplement future studies of and interventions in such settings. PMID:18693891

Perceived barriers to information access among medical residents in Iran: obstacles to answering clinical queries in settings with limited Internet accessibility.

PubMed

Mazloomdoost, Danesh; Mehregan, Shervineh; Mahmoudi, Hilda; Soltani, Akbar; Embi, Peter J

2007-10-11

Studies performed in the US and other Western countries have documented that physicians generate many clinical questions during a typical day and rely on various information sources for answers. Little is known about the information seeking behaviors of physicians practicing in other countries, particularly those with limited Internet connectivity. We conducted this study to document the perceived barriers to information resources used by medical residents in Iran. Our findings reveal that different perceived barriers exist for electronic versus paper-based resources. Notably, paper-based resources are perceived to be limited by resident time-constraints and availability of resources, whereas electronic resources are limited by cost decentralized resources (such as PDAs) and accessibility of centralized, Internet access. These findings add to the limited literature regarding health information-seeking activities in international healthcare settings, particularly those with limited Internet connectivity, and will supplement future studies of and interventions in such settings.

A Pilot Study of a Novel Method of Measuring Stigma about Depression Developed for Latinos in the Faith-Based Setting.

PubMed

Caplan, Susan

2016-08-01

In order to understand the effects of interventions designed to reduce stigma about mental illness, we need valid measures. However, the validity of commonly used measures is compromised by social desirability bias. The purpose of this pilot study was to test an anonymous method of measuring stigma in the community setting. The method of data collection, Preguntas con Cartas (Questions with Cards) used numbered playing cards to conduct anonymous group polling about stigmatizing beliefs during a mental health literacy intervention. An analysis of the difference between Preguntas con Cartas stigma votes and corresponding face-to-face individual survey results for the same seven stigma questions indicated that there was a statistically significant differences in the distributions between the two methods of data collection (χ(2) = 8.27, p = 0.016). This exploratory study has shown the potential effectiveness of Preguntas con Cartas as a novel method of measuring stigma in the community-based setting.

An Automatic Approach for Analyzing Treatment Effectiveness Based on Medication Hierarchy - The Myocardial Infarction Case Study.

PubMed

Li, Yingxue; Hu, Yiying; Yang, Jingang; Li, Xiang; Liu, Haifeng; Xie, Guotong; Xu, Meilin; Hu, Jingyi; Yang, Yuejin

2017-01-01

Treatment effectiveness plays a fundamental role in patient therapies. In most observational studies, researchers often design an analysis pipeline for a specific treatment based on the study cohort. To evaluate other treatments in the data set, much repeated and multifarious work including cohort construction, statistical analysis need to be done. In addition, as treatments are often with an intrinsic hierarchical relationship, many rational comparable treatment pairs can be derived as new treatment variables besides the original single treatment one from the original cohort data set. In this paper, we propose an automatic treatment effectiveness analysis approach to solve this problem. With our approach, clinicians can assess the effect of treatments not only more conveniently but also more thoroughly and comprehensively. We applied this method to a real world case of estimating the drug effectiveness on Chinese Acute Myocardial Infarction (CAMI) data set and some meaningful results are obtained for potential improvement of patient treatments.

Incidence of laboratory-confirmed influenza disease among infants under 6 months of age: a systematic review

PubMed Central

Fell, Deshayne B; Johnson, Jeanene; Mor, Zohar; Katz, Mark A; Skidmore, Becky; Neuzil, Kathleen M; Ortiz, Justin R; Bhat, Niranjan

2017-01-01

Objectives The aim of this systematic review was to assess incidence rates of laboratory-confirmed influenza (LCI) outcomes among infants under 6 months of age. Design Systematic literature search and review of indexed studies in PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library and CINAHL Plus from inception to 19 April 2017. Setting Population-based estimates from community or hospital settings. Participants Infants under 6 months of age. Primary and secondary outcome measures LCI illness in ambulatory care settings, LCI hospitalisation, LCI intensive care unit admission and LCI death. Only studies with population-based incidence data were included. Results We identified 27 primary studies, 11 of which were from the USA, four were from other non-US high-income settings and the remaining were from lower-middle-income or upper-middle-income countries. Most studies (n=23) assessed incidence of LCI hospitalisation, but meta-analysis to pool study-specific rates was not possible due to high statistical and methodological heterogeneity. Among US studies, the reported incidence of LCI hospitalisation ranged from 9.3 to 91.2 per 10 000 infants under 6 months for seasonal influenza, while the only US-based estimate for pandemic H1N1 influenza was 20.2 per 10 000 infants. Reported rates for LCI hospitalisation for seasonal influenza from other countries ranged from 6.2 to 73.0 per 10 000 infants under 6 months, with the exception of one study with an estimated rate of 250 per 10 000 infants. No events were reported in five of the nine studies that evaluated LCI death among infants under 6 months. Conclusion Our review of published studies found limited data on LCI outcomes for infants under 6 months, particularly from non-US settings. Globally representative and reliable incidence data are necessary to fully evaluate influenza disease burden and the potential impact of maternal influenza immunisation programme on morbidity and mortality in young infants. PMID:28882916

PANDORA: keyword-based analysis of protein sets by integration of annotation sources.

PubMed

Kaplan, Noam; Vaaknin, Avishay; Linial, Michal

2003-10-01

Recent advances in high-throughput methods and the application of computational tools for automatic classification of proteins have made it possible to carry out large-scale proteomic analyses. Biological analysis and interpretation of sets of proteins is a time-consuming undertaking carried out manually by experts. We have developed PANDORA (Protein ANnotation Diagram ORiented Analysis), a web-based tool that provides an automatic representation of the biological knowledge associated with any set of proteins. PANDORA uses a unique approach of keyword-based graphical analysis that focuses on detecting subsets of proteins that share unique biological properties and the intersections of such sets. PANDORA currently supports SwissProt keywords, NCBI Taxonomy, InterPro entries and the hierarchical classification terms from ENZYME, SCOP and GO databases. The integrated study of several annotation sources simultaneously allows a representation of biological relations of structure, function, cellular location, taxonomy, domains and motifs. PANDORA is also integrated into the ProtoNet system, thus allowing testing thousands of automatically generated clusters. We illustrate how PANDORA enhances the biological understanding of large, non-uniform sets of proteins originating from experimental and computational sources, without the need for prior biological knowledge on individual proteins.

A Case Example of the Implementation of Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support in a High School Setting Using Change Point Test Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bohanon, Hank; Fenning, Pamela; Hicks, Kira; Weber, Stacey; Thier, Kimberly; Aikins, Brigit; Morrissey, Kelly; Briggs, Alissa; Bartucci, Gina; McArdle, Lauren; Hoeper, Lisa; Irvin, Larry

2012-01-01

The purpose of this case study was to expand the literature base regarding the application of high school schoolwide positive behavior support in an urban setting for practitioners and policymakers to address behavior issues. In addition, the study describes the use of the Change Point Test as a method for analyzing time series data that are…

Measuring Inviting School Climate: A Case Study of a Public Primary School in an Urban Low Socioeconomic Setting in Kenya

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okaya, Tom Mboya; Horne, Marj; Lamig, Madeleine; Smith, Kenneth H.

2013-01-01

The present study utilized the Inviting School Survey-Revised (ISS-R) (Smith, 2005b, 2013) based on Invitational Theory and Practice (Purkey & Novak, 2008) to examine the school climate of a public primary school in a low urban socio-economic setting in Kenya. School climate was defined as the perceptions of primary school teachers and pupils…

Density-based cluster algorithms for the identification of core sets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lemke, Oliver; Keller, Bettina G.

2016-10-01

The core-set approach is a discretization method for Markov state models of complex molecular dynamics. Core sets are disjoint metastable regions in the conformational space, which need to be known prior to the construction of the core-set model. We propose to use density-based cluster algorithms to identify the cores. We compare three different density-based cluster algorithms: the CNN, the DBSCAN, and the Jarvis-Patrick algorithm. While the core-set models based on the CNN and DBSCAN clustering are well-converged, constructing core-set models based on the Jarvis-Patrick clustering cannot be recommended. In a well-converged core-set model, the number of core sets is up to an order of magnitude smaller than the number of states in a conventional Markov state model with comparable approximation error. Moreover, using the density-based clustering one can extend the core-set method to systems which are not strongly metastable. This is important for the practical application of the core-set method because most biologically interesting systems are only marginally metastable. The key point is to perform a hierarchical density-based clustering while monitoring the structure of the metric matrix which appears in the core-set method. We test this approach on a molecular-dynamics simulation of a highly flexible 14-residue peptide. The resulting core-set models have a high spatial resolution and can distinguish between conformationally similar yet chemically different structures, such as register-shifted hairpin structures.

Home-based music therapy--a systematic overview of settings and conditions for an innovative service in healthcare.

PubMed

Schmid, Wolfgang; Ostermann, Thomas

2010-10-14

Almost every Western healthcare system is changing to make their services more centered around out-patient care. In particular, long-term or geriatric patients who have been discharged from the hospital often require home-based care and therapy. Therefore, several programs have been developed to continue the therapeutic process and manage the special needs of patients after discharge from hospital. Music therapy has also moved into this field of healthcare service by providing home-based music therapy (HBMT) programs. This article reviews and summarizes the settings and conditions of HBMT for the first time. The following databases were used to find articles on home-based music therapy: AMED, CAIRSS, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsychINFO, and PSYNDEX. The search terms were "home-based music therapy" and "mobile music therapy". Included articles were analyzed with respect to participants as well as conditions and settings of HBMT. Furthermore, the date of publication, main outcomes, and the design and quality of the studies were investigated. A total of 20 international publications, 11 clinical studies and nine reports from practice, mainly from the United States (n = 8), were finally included in the qualitative synthesis. Six studies had a randomized controlled design and included a total of 507 patients. The vast majority of clients of HBMT are elderly patients living at home and people who need hospice and palliative care. Although settings were heterogeneous, music listening programs played a predominant role with the aim to reduce symptoms like depression and pain, or to improve quality of life and the relationship between patients and caregivers as primary endpoints. We were able to show that HBMT is an innovative service for future healthcare delivery. It fits with the changing healthcare system and its conditions but also meets the therapeutic needs of the increasing number of elderly and severely impaired people. Apart from music therapists, patients and their families HBMT is also interesting as a blueprint for home based care for other groups of caregivers.

Who Shall Not Be Treated: Public Attitudes on Setting Health Care Priorities by Person-Based Criteria in 28 Nations.

PubMed

Rogge, Jana; Kittel, Bernhard

2016-01-01

The principle of distributing health care according to medical need is being challenged by increasing costs. As a result, many countries have initiated a debate on the introduction of explicit priority regulations based on medical, economic and person-based criteria, or have already established such regulations. Previous research on individual attitudes towards setting health care priorities based on medical and economic criteria has revealed consistent results, whereas studies on the use of person-based criteria have generated controversial findings. This paper examines citizens' attitudes towards three person-based priority criteria, patients' smoking habits, age and being the parent of a young child. Using data from the ISSP Health Module (2011) in 28 countries, logistic regression analysis demonstrates that self-interest as well as socio-demographic predictors significantly influence respondents' attitudes towards the use of person-based criteria for health care prioritization. This study contributes to resolving the controversial findings on person-based criteria by using a larger country sample and by controlling for country-level differences with fixed effects models.

Factors contributing to the effectiveness of four school-based sexual violence interventions.

PubMed

Clinton-Sherrod, A Monique; Morgan-Lopez, Antonio A; Gibbs, Deborah; Hawkins, Stephanie R; Hart, Laurie; Ball, Barbara; Irvin, Neil; Littler, Nicole

2009-01-01

This study extends past research by examining factors associated with changes in attitudes, knowledge, and intended behaviors related to sexual assault. This study included 1,182 participants from four unique multiple-session school-based sexual violence interventions. Implementation and participant factors examined include single- versus mixed-gender groups, group setting versus classroom lecture setting, and participant gender. Participants completed self-administered, paper-and-pencil pre- and postsurveys. A significant desired overall effect was found on participants' reports of positive attitudes, beliefs, and behavior regarding sexual harassment and personal boundaries and positive dating relationship norms (from pretest to posttest). There were steeper increases over time in both measures, with larger mixed-gender/single-gender differences among boys than among girls. Differences in the impact of participating in mixed- versus single-gender groups depended on classroom versus small group settings. The implications of these findings are discussed for sexual assault prevention programs.

A novel method to estimate the affinity of HLA-A∗0201 restricted CTL epitope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Yun-sheng; Lin, Yong; Zhu, Bo; Lin, Zhi-hua

2009-02-01

A set of 70 peptides with affinity for the class I MHC HLA-A∗0201 molecule was subjected to quantitative structure-affinity relationship studies based on the SCORE function with good results ( r2 = 0.6982, RMS = 0.280). Then the 'leave-one-out' cross-validation (LOO-CV) and an outer test set including 18 outer samples were used to validate the QSAR model. The results of the LOO-CV were q2 = 0.6188, RMS = 0.315, and the results of outer test set were r2 = 0.5633, RMS = 0.2292. All these show that the QSAR model has good predictability. Statistical analysis showed that the hydrophobic and hydrogen bond interaction played a significant role in peptide-MHC molecule binding. The study also provided useful information for structure modification of CTL epitope, and laid theoretical base for molecular design of therapeutic vaccine.

A jazz-based approach for optimal setting of pressure reducing valves in water distribution networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Paola, Francesco; Galdiero, Enzo; Giugni, Maurizio

2016-05-01

This study presents a model for valve setting in water distribution networks (WDNs), with the aim of reducing the level of leakage. The approach is based on the harmony search (HS) optimization algorithm. The HS mimics a jazz improvisation process able to find the best solutions, in this case corresponding to valve settings in a WDN. The model also interfaces with the improved version of a popular hydraulic simulator, EPANET 2.0, to check the hydraulic constraints and to evaluate the performances of the solutions. Penalties are introduced in the objective function in case of violation of the hydraulic constraints. The model is applied to two case studies, and the obtained results in terms of pressure reductions are comparable with those of competitive metaheuristic algorithms (e.g. genetic algorithms). The results demonstrate the suitability of the HS algorithm for water network management and optimization.

Web-based international studies in limited populations of pediatric leukemia.

PubMed

Valsecchi, Maria Grazia; Silvestri, Daniela; Covezzoli, Anna; De Lorenzo, Paola

2008-02-01

Recent progress in cancer research leads to the characterization of small subgroups of patients by genetic/biological features. Clinical studies in this setting are frequently promoted by international networks of independent researchers and are limited by practical and methodological constraints, not least the regulations recently issued by national and international institutions (EU Directive 2001/20/EC). We reviewed various methods in the design of international multicenter studies, with focus on randomized clinical trials. This paper reports our experience in planning and conducting international studies in childhood leukemia. We applied a decentralized study conduct based on a two-level structure, comprising a national and an international coordinating level. For the more recent trials this structure was implemented as a web-based system. This approach accommodates major legal requirements (e.g., safety reporting) and ensures Good Clinical Practice principles by implementing risk-oriented monitoring procedures. Setting up international non-commercial trials is increasingly complicated. Still, they are strongly needed for answering relevant questions in limited populations. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Rain-rate data base development and rain-rate climate analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crane, Robert K.

1993-01-01

The single-year rain-rate distribution data available within the archives of Consultative Committee for International Radio (CCIR) Study Group 5 were compiled into a data base for use in rain-rate climate modeling and for the preparation of predictions of attenuation statistics. The four year set of tip-time sequences provided by J. Goldhirsh for locations near Wallops Island were processed to compile monthly and annual distributions of rain rate and of event durations for intervals above and below preset thresholds. A four-year data set of tropical rain-rate tip-time sequences were acquired from the NASA TRMM program for 30 gauges near Darwin, Australia. They were also processed for inclusion in the CCIR data base and the expanded data base for monthly observations at the University of Oklahoma. The empirical rain-rate distributions (edfs) accepted for inclusion in the CCIR data base were used to estimate parameters for several rain-rate distribution models: the lognormal model, the Crane two-component model, and the three parameter model proposed by Moupfuma. The intent of this segment of the study is to obtain a limited set of parameters that can be mapped globally for use in rain attenuation predictions. If the form of the distribution can be established, then perhaps available climatological data can be used to estimate the parameters rather than requiring years of rain-rate observations to set the parameters. The two-component model provided the best fit to the Wallops Island data but the Moupfuma model provided the best fit to the Darwin data.

A Feasibility Study of CO2-Based Rankine Cycle Powered by Solar Energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xin-Rong; Yamaguchi, Hiroshi; Fujima, Katsumi; Enomoto, Masatoshi; Sawada, Noboru

An experiment study was carried out in order to investigate feasibility of CO2-based Rankine cycle powered by solar energy. The proposed cycle is to achieve a cogeneration of heat and power, which consists of evacuated solar tube collectors, power generating turbine, heat recovery system, and feed pump. The Rankine cycle of the system utilizes solar collectors to convert CO2 into high-temperature supercritical state, used to drive a turbine and produce electrical power. The cycle also recovers thermal energy, which can be used for absorption refrigerator, air conditioning, hot water supply so on for a building. A set of experimental set-up was constructed to investigate the performance of the CO2-based Rankine cycle. The results show the cycle can achieve production of heat and power with reasonable thermodynamics efficiency and has a great potential of the application of the CO2-based Rankine cycle powered by solar energy. In addition, some research interests related to the present study will also be discussed in this paper.

snpGeneSets: An R Package for Genome-Wide Study Annotation

PubMed Central

Mei, Hao; Li, Lianna; Jiang, Fan; Simino, Jeannette; Griswold, Michael; Mosley, Thomas; Liu, Shijian

2016-01-01

Genome-wide studies (GWS) of SNP associations and differential gene expressions have generated abundant results; next-generation sequencing technology has further boosted the number of variants and genes identified. Effective interpretation requires massive annotation and downstream analysis of these genome-wide results, a computationally challenging task. We developed the snpGeneSets package to simplify annotation and analysis of GWS results. Our package integrates local copies of knowledge bases for SNPs, genes, and gene sets, and implements wrapper functions in the R language to enable transparent access to low-level databases for efficient annotation of large genomic data. The package contains functions that execute three types of annotations: (1) genomic mapping annotation for SNPs and genes and functional annotation for gene sets; (2) bidirectional mapping between SNPs and genes, and genes and gene sets; and (3) calculation of gene effect measures from SNP associations and performance of gene set enrichment analyses to identify functional pathways. We applied snpGeneSets to type 2 diabetes (T2D) results from the NHGRI genome-wide association study (GWAS) catalog, a Finnish GWAS, and a genome-wide expression study (GWES). These studies demonstrate the usefulness of snpGeneSets for annotating and performing enrichment analysis of GWS results. The package is open-source, free, and can be downloaded at: https://www.umc.edu/biostats_software/. PMID:27807048

Chlamydia screening strategies and outcomes in educational settings: a systematic review.

PubMed

Jamil, Muhammad Shahid; Bauer, Heidi M; Hocking, Jane S; Ali, Hammad; Wand, Handan; Walker, Jennifer; Douglas, Laura; Donovan, Basil; Kaldor, John M; Guy, Rebecca J

2014-03-01

Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) screening programs have been established in educational settings in many countries during the past 2 decades. However, recent evidence suggests that high uptake of screening and management (treatment, partner notification, and retesting for reinfection) improves program effectiveness. We conducted a systematic review to understand the screening strategies, the extent of screening conducted, and uptake of management strategies in educational settings. Screening studies in educational settings were identified through a systematic search of published literature from 2005 to 2011. We identified 27 studies describing 30 screening programs in the United States/Canada (n = 10), Europe (n = 8), Australia/New Zealand (n = 5), and Asia (n = 4). Most studies targeted both male and female students (74%). Classroom-based strategies resulted in 21,117 testes overall (4 programs), followed by opportunistic screening during routine health examination (n = 13,470; 5 programs) and opportunistic screening at school-based health centers (n = 13,006; 5 programs). The overall median CT positivity was 4.7% (range, 1.3%-18.1%). Only 5 programs reported treatment rates (median, 100%; range, 86%-100%), 1 partner notification rate (71%), 1 retesting rate within a year of an initial CT diagnosis (47%), and 2 reported repeat positivity rates (21.1% and 26.3%). In conclusion, this systematic review shows that a variety of strategies have been used to screen large numbers of students in educational settings; however, only a few studies have reported CT management outcomes.

Do regional methods really help reduce uncertainties in flood frequency analyses?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cong Nguyen, Chi; Payrastre, Olivier; Gaume, Eric

2013-04-01

Flood frequency analyses are often based on continuous measured series at gauge sites. However, the length of the available data sets is usually too short to provide reliable estimates of extreme design floods. To reduce the estimation uncertainties, the analyzed data sets have to be extended either in time, making use of historical and paleoflood data, or in space, merging data sets considered as statistically homogeneous to build large regional data samples. Nevertheless, the advantage of the regional analyses, the important increase of the size of the studied data sets, may be counterbalanced by the possible heterogeneities of the merged sets. The application and comparison of four different flood frequency analysis methods to two regions affected by flash floods in the south of France (Ardèche and Var) illustrates how this balance between the number of records and possible heterogeneities plays in real-world applications. The four tested methods are: (1) a local statistical analysis based on the existing series of measured discharges, (2) a local analysis valuating the existing information on historical floods, (3) a standard regional flood frequency analysis based on existing measured series at gauged sites and (4) a modified regional analysis including estimated extreme peak discharges at ungauged sites. Monte Carlo simulations are conducted to simulate a large number of discharge series with characteristics similar to the observed ones (type of statistical distributions, number of sites and records) to evaluate to which extent the results obtained on these case studies can be generalized. These two case studies indicate that even small statistical heterogeneities, which are not detected by the standard homogeneity tests implemented in regional flood frequency studies, may drastically limit the usefulness of such approaches. On the other hand, these result show that the valuation of information on extreme events, either historical flood events at gauged sites or estimated extremes at ungauged sites in the considered region, is an efficient way to reduce uncertainties in flood frequency studies.

Multi-criteria decision analysis of breast cancer control in low- and middle- income countries: development of a rating tool for policy makers.

PubMed

Venhorst, Kristie; Zelle, Sten G; Tromp, Noor; Lauer, Jeremy A

2014-01-01

The objective of this study was to develop a rating tool for policy makers to prioritize breast cancer interventions in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs), based on a simple multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach. The definition and identification of criteria play a key role in MCDA, and our rating tool could be used as part of a broader priority setting exercise in a local setting. This tool may contribute to a more transparent priority-setting process and fairer decision-making in future breast cancer policy development. First, an expert panel (n = 5) discussed key considerations for tool development. A literature review followed to inventory all relevant criteria and construct an initial set of criteria. A Delphi study was then performed and questionnaires used to discuss a final list of criteria with clear definitions and potential scoring scales. For this Delphi study, multiple breast cancer policy and priority-setting experts from different LMICs were selected and invited by the World Health Organization. Fifteen international experts participated in all three Delphi rounds to assess and evaluate each criterion. This study resulted in a preliminary rating tool for assessing breast cancer interventions in LMICs. The tool consists of 10 carefully crafted criteria (effectiveness, quality of the evidence, magnitude of individual health impact, acceptability, cost-effectiveness, technical complexity, affordability, safety, geographical coverage, and accessibility), with clear definitions and potential scoring scales. This study describes the development of a rating tool to assess breast cancer interventions in LMICs. Our tool can offer supporting knowledge for the use or development of rating tools as part of a broader (MCDA based) priority setting exercise in local settings. Further steps for improving the tool are proposed and should lead to its useful adoption in LMICs.

Learning linear transformations between counting-based and prediction-based word embeddings

PubMed Central

Hayashi, Kohei; Kawarabayashi, Ken-ichi

2017-01-01

Despite the growing interest in prediction-based word embedding learning methods, it remains unclear as to how the vector spaces learnt by the prediction-based methods differ from that of the counting-based methods, or whether one can be transformed into the other. To study the relationship between counting-based and prediction-based embeddings, we propose a method for learning a linear transformation between two given sets of word embeddings. Our proposal contributes to the word embedding learning research in three ways: (a) we propose an efficient method to learn a linear transformation between two sets of word embeddings, (b) using the transformation learnt in (a), we empirically show that it is possible to predict distributed word embeddings for novel unseen words, and (c) empirically it is possible to linearly transform counting-based embeddings to prediction-based embeddings, for frequent words, different POS categories, and varying degrees of ambiguities. PMID:28926629

Traditional versus Computer-Based Dissections in Enhancing Learning in a Tertiary Setting: A Student Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Franklin, Sue; Peat, Mary; Lewis, Alison

2002-01-01

Describes a study that investigates both the use and usefulness of laboratory dissections and computer-based dissections in a tertiary, first-year human biology course. Explores attitudes toward dissection. (DDR)

How can web-based training facilitate a more carer friendly practice in community-based health and social care services in Norway? Staff experiences and implementation challenges.

PubMed

Hanssen, Helene; Norheim, Anne; Hanson, Elizabeth

2017-03-01

It is a central feature of current Norwegian health and social care policy to see informal carers as active partners. However, research has revealed that carers often experience a lack of recognition by professionals. In 2010, the Norwegian Directorate of Health initiated a web-based competence-building programme (CBP) for health and social care practitioners aimed at facilitating collaboration with carers. The programme comprised case presentations, e-lectures, exercises and topics for discussion, and was introduced in 2012. It was flexible and free of charge. This article is based on a study (2012-2013) that followed the piloting of this CBP in four settings. The study aimed to explore factors that influenced the implementation of the programme and whether or not using it affected health and social care practitioners' attitudes and perceived capacity for collaboration with carers. The study employed a mixed-methods design. A questionnaire was distributed to all staff before and 5 months after the CBP was introduced, followed by focus group interviews with a sample of staff members and individual interviews with the leadership in the involved settings and those who introduced the programme. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, which subsequently formed the basis for the focus group interviews. The qualitative data were analysed by means of content analysis. The programme's introduction was similar across all research settings. Nevertheless, whether or not it was adopted depended to a large extent on leadership commitment and engagement. In settings where the programme's use was monitored, supported by management and formed part of on-the-job training, there seemed to be a positive impact on staff attitudes concerning collaboration with carers. Participant staff reported that their awareness of, motivation for and confidence in collaboration with carers were all strengthened. In contrast, the programme was of minimal benefit in settings with low leadership engagement. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Management and display of four-dimensional environmental data sets using McIDAS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hibbard, William L.; Santek, David; Suomi, Verner E.

1990-01-01

Over the past four years, great strides have been made in the areas of data management and display of 4-D meteorological data sets. A survey was conducted of available and planned 4-D meteorological data sources. The data types were evaluated for their impact on the data management and display system. The requirements were analyzed for data base management generated by the 4-D data display system. The suitability of the existing data base management procedures and file structure were evaluated in light of the new requirements. Where needed, new data base management tools and file procedures were designed and implemented. The quality of the basic 4-D data sets was assured. The interpolation and extrapolation techniques of the 4-D data were investigated. The 4-D data from various sources were combined to make a uniform and consistent data set for display purposes. Data display software was designed to create abstract line graphic 3-D displays. Realistic shaded 3-D displays were created. Animation routines for these displays were developed in order to produce a dynamic 4-D presentation. A prototype dynamic color stereo workstation was implemented. A computer functional design specification was produced based on interactive studies and user feedback.

The neural correlates of gist-based true and false recognition

PubMed Central

Gutchess, Angela H.; Schacter, Daniel L.

2012-01-01

When information is thematically related to previously studied information, gist-based processes contribute to false recognition. Using functional MRI, we examined the neural correlates of gist-based recognition as a function of increasing numbers of studied exemplars. Sixteen participants incidentally encoded small, medium, and large sets of pictures, and we compared the neural response at recognition using parametric modulation analyses. For hits, regions in middle occipital, middle temporal, and posterior parietal cortex linearly modulated their activity according to the number of related encoded items. For false alarms, visual, parietal, and hippocampal regions were modulated as a function of the encoded set size. The present results are consistent with prior work in that the neural regions supporting veridical memory also contribute to false memory for related information. The results also reveal that these regions respond to the degree of relatedness among similar items, and implicate perceptual and constructive processes in gist-based false memory. PMID:22155331

Problem severity and motivation for treatment in incarcerated substance abusers.

PubMed

Hiller, Matthew L; Narevic, Egle; Webster, J Matthew; Rosen, Paul; Staton, Michele; Leukefeld, Carl; Garrity, Thomas F; Kayo, Rebecca

2009-01-01

Studies of community-based treatment programs for substance users document that motivation for treatment is a consistent predictor of clients remaining under treatment for a longer period of time. Recent research has replicated this in prison-based treatment programs, implying that motivation is clinically important regardless of setting. The current study examines predictors of treatment motivation using data collected from 661 male drug-involved inmates during in-depth interviews that include components of the Addiction Severity Index, TCU Motivation Scale, and the Heath Services Research Instrument. Findings showed treatment motivation can be measured effectively in prison-based settings. Motivation scores were not significantly different between individuals in a prison-based treatment program and those in the general prison population. Furthermore, higher motivation for treatment scores were associated with greater levels of problem severity, suggesting that individuals with more drug-use related life problems may recognize this need and desire help for beginning long-term recovery.

The Role of the e-Tutor in Synchronous Online Problem-Based Learning: A Study in a Master Public Health Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Jong, Nynke; Verstegen, Daniëlle M. L.; Könings, Karen D.

2018-01-01

The aim of this study is to compare the role of the tutor in an online and a face-to-face problem-based learning (PBL) session to shed light on potential differences of the tutor role in both settings. In this practice-based study we compared the two groups with the same tutor undertaking the same module. Students completed questionnaires about…

A Field-Based Testing Protocol for Assessing Gross Motor Skills in Preschool Children: The Children's Activity and Movement in Preschool Study Motor Skills Protocol

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Harriet G.; Pfeiffer, Karin A.; Dowda, Marsha; Jeter, Chevy; Jones, Shaverra; Pate, Russell R.

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable tool for use in assessing motor skills in preschool children in field-based settings. The development of the Children's Activity and Movement in Preschool Study Motor Skills Protocol included evidence of its reliability and validity for use in field-based environments as part of large…

Lecturer's Gender and Their Valuation of Student Evaluation of Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atek, Engku Suhaimi Engku; Salim, Hishamuddin; Halim, Zulazhan Ab.; Jusoh, Zailani; Yusuf, Mohd Ali Mohd

2015-01-01

Student evaluation of teaching (SET) is carried out every semester at Malaysian universities and lecturers are evaluated based on student ratings. But very little is researched about what lecturers actually think about SET and whether it serves any meaningful purpose at all. This quantitative study involving six public universities on the East…

The Little Brain That Could: Understanding Executive Function in Early Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blasco, Patricia M.; Saxton, Sage; Gerrie, Mary

2014-01-01

Executive functions (EFs) involve a number of interconnected systems that, when compromised, can result in difficulties that affect a child's ability to perform tasks across early childhood settings, including the home and community-based settings. In retrospective research studies, researchers have found that a young child's…

Stability of Initial Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnoses in Community Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daniels, Amy M.; Rosenberg, Rebecca E.; Law, J. Kiely; Lord, Catherine; Kaufmann, Walter E.; Law, Paul A.

2011-01-01

The study's objectives were to assess diagnostic stability of initial autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses in community settings and identify factors associated with diagnostic instability using data from a national Web-based autism registry. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to assess the relative risk of change in initial ASD…

Training Objectives, Transfer, Validation and Evaluation: A Sri Lankan Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wickramasinghe, Vathsala M.

2006-01-01

Using a stratified random sample, this paper examines the training practices of setting objectives, transfer, validation and evaluation in Sri Lanka. The paper further sets out to compare those practices across local, foreign and joint-venture companies based on the assumption that there may be significant differences across companies of different…

Implementation of a Self-Management System for Students with Disabilities in General Education Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schulze, Margaret A.

2016-01-01

Despite the fact that self-management procedures have a robust literature base attesting to their efficacy with students with disabilities, the use of these strategies in general education settings remains limited. This mixed methods study examined the implementation of self-management procedures using both quantitative and qualitative methods.…

Cooperative Learning in a Community College Setting: Developmental Coursework in Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rivera, Natalie

2013-01-01

This action research study, set in a community college in the southwestern United States, was designed to investigate the effects of implementing cooperative learning strategies in a developmental mathematics course. Introductory algebra was formerly taught in a lecture based format, and as such regularly had a low course completion rate. To…

The Psychotherapy Process with Adolescents: A First Pilot Study and Preliminary Comparisons between Different Therapeutic Modalities Using the "Adolescent Psychotherapy Q-Set"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bychkova, Tetyana; Hillman, Saul; Midgley, Nick; Schneider, Celeste

2011-01-01

An innovative methodology is presented for describing the therapeutic processes involved in five types of adolescent treatments: psychoanalysis, psychodynamic psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy, mentalisation-based treatment and interpersonal psychotherapy. Using the "Adolescent Psychotherapy Q-Set" (APQ), 18 experienced clinicians…

How Setting Goals Enhances Learners' Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Listening Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ballesteros Muñoz, Liliana; Tutistar Jojoa, Silvana

2014-01-01

This article outlines a study that explores the relationship between SMART goal setting (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based) and learning English in Colombia concerning a foreign language learners' self-efficacy beliefs in listening. The participants were seventh and ninth grade students of two schools in Bogotá, Colombia.…

Comparing Panelists' Understanding of Standard Setting across Multiple Levels of an Alternate Science Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hansen, Mary A.; Lyon, Steven R.; Heh, Peter; Zigmond, Naomi

2013-01-01

Large-scale assessment programs, including alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS), must provide evidence of technical quality and validity. This study provides information about the technical quality of one AA-AAS by evaluating the standard setting for the science component. The assessment was designed to have…

Employment outcome for people with schizophrenia in rural v. urban China: population-based study

PubMed Central

Yang, Lawrence H.; Phillips, Michael R.; Li, Xianyun; Yu, Gary; Zhang, Jingxuan; Shi, Qichang; Song, Zhiqiang; Ding, Zhijie; Pang, Shutao; Susser, Ezra

2013-01-01

Background Although outcomes among people with schizophrenia differ by social context, this has rarely been examined across rural v. urban settings. For individuals with schizophrenia, employment is widely recognised as a critical ingredient of social integration. Aims To compare employment for people with schizophrenia in rural v. urban settings in China. Method In a large community-based study in four provinces representing 12% of China’s population, we identified 393 people with schizophrenia (112 never treated). We used adjusted Poisson regression models to compare employment for those living in rural (n = 297) v. urban (n = 96) settings. Results Although rural and urban residents had similar impairments due to symptoms, rural residents were three times more likely to be employed (adjusted relative risk 3.27, 95% CI 2.11–5.07, P<0.001). Conclusions People with schizophrenia have greater opportunities to use their capacities for productive work in rural than urban settings in China. Contextual mechanisms that may explain this result offer a useful focus for future research. PMID:23258768

Implementation of a Substance Use Recovery Support Mobile Phone App in Community Settings: Qualitative Study of Clinician and Staff Perspectives of Facilitators and Barriers.

PubMed

Lord, Sarah; Moore, Sarah K; Ramsey, Alex; Dinauer, Susan; Johnson, Kimberly

2016-06-28

Research supports the effectiveness of technology-based treatment approaches for substance use disorders. These approaches have the potential to broaden the reach of evidence-based care. Yet, there is limited understanding of factors associated with implementation of technology-based care approaches in different service settings. In this study, we explored provider and staff perceptions of facilitators and barriers to implementation of a mobile phone substance use recovery support app with clients in 4 service settings. Interviews were conducted with leadership and provider stakeholders (N=12) from 4 agencies in the first year of an implementation trial of the mobile phone app. We used the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research as the conceptual foundation for identifying facilitators and barriers to implementation. Implementation process facilitators included careful planning of all aspects of implementation before launch, engaging a dedicated team to implement and foster motivation, working collaboratively with the app development team to address technical barriers and adapt the app to meet client and agency needs, and consistently reviewing app usage data to inform progress. Implementation support strategies included training all staff to promote organization awareness about the recovery support app and emphasize its priority as a clinical care tool, encouraging clients to try the technology before committing to use, scaling rollout to clients, setting clear expectations with clients about use of the app, and using peer coaches and consistent client-centered messaging to promote engagement. Perceived compatibility of the mobile phone app with agency and client needs and readiness to implement emerged as salient agency-level implementation facilitators. Facilitating characteristics of the recovery support app itself included evidence of its impact for recovery support, perceived relative advantage of the app over usual care, the ability to adapt the app to improve client use, and its ease of use. The mobile phone itself was a strong motivation for clients to opt in to use the app in settings that provided phones. App access was limited in settings that did not provide phones owing to lack of mobile phone ownership or incompatibility of the app with clients' mobile phones. Individual differences in technology literacy and provider beliefs about substance use care either facilitated or challenged implementation. Awareness of patient needs and resources facilitated implementation, whereas external policies and regulations regarding technology use introduced barriers to implementation. The conceptually grounded facilitators and barriers identified in this study can guide systematic targeting of strategies to improve implementation of mobile phone interventions in community treatment settings. Results also inform the design of technology-based therapeutic tools. This study highlights directions for research with regard to implementation of technology-based behavioral health care approaches.

Implementation of a Substance Use Recovery Support Mobile Phone App in Community Settings: Qualitative Study of Clinician and Staff Perspectives of Facilitators and Barriers

PubMed Central

Moore, Sarah K; Ramsey, Alex; Dinauer, Susan; Johnson, Kimberly

2016-01-01

Background Research supports the effectiveness of technology-based treatment approaches for substance use disorders. These approaches have the potential to broaden the reach of evidence-based care. Yet, there is limited understanding of factors associated with implementation of technology-based care approaches in different service settings. Objectives In this study, we explored provider and staff perceptions of facilitators and barriers to implementation of a mobile phone substance use recovery support app with clients in 4 service settings. Methods Interviews were conducted with leadership and provider stakeholders (N=12) from 4 agencies in the first year of an implementation trial of the mobile phone app. We used the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research as the conceptual foundation for identifying facilitators and barriers to implementation. Results Implementation process facilitators included careful planning of all aspects of implementation before launch, engaging a dedicated team to implement and foster motivation, working collaboratively with the app development team to address technical barriers and adapt the app to meet client and agency needs, and consistently reviewing app usage data to inform progress. Implementation support strategies included training all staff to promote organization awareness about the recovery support app and emphasize its priority as a clinical care tool, encouraging clients to try the technology before committing to use, scaling rollout to clients, setting clear expectations with clients about use of the app, and using peer coaches and consistent client-centered messaging to promote engagement. Perceived compatibility of the mobile phone app with agency and client needs and readiness to implement emerged as salient agency-level implementation facilitators. Facilitating characteristics of the recovery support app itself included evidence of its impact for recovery support, perceived relative advantage of the app over usual care, the ability to adapt the app to improve client use, and its ease of use. The mobile phone itself was a strong motivation for clients to opt in to use the app in settings that provided phones. App access was limited in settings that did not provide phones owing to lack of mobile phone ownership or incompatibility of the app with clients’ mobile phones. Individual differences in technology literacy and provider beliefs about substance use care either facilitated or challenged implementation. Awareness of patient needs and resources facilitated implementation, whereas external policies and regulations regarding technology use introduced barriers to implementation. Conclusions The conceptually grounded facilitators and barriers identified in this study can guide systematic targeting of strategies to improve implementation of mobile phone interventions in community treatment settings. Results also inform the design of technology-based therapeutic tools. This study highlights directions for research with regard to implementation of technology-based behavioral health care approaches. PMID:27352884

Doctors' use of mobile devices in the clinical setting: a mixed methods study.

PubMed

Nerminathan, Arany; Harrison, Amanda; Phelps, Megan; Alexander, Shirley; Scott, Karen M

2017-03-01

Mobile device use has become almost ubiquitous in daily life and therefore includes use by doctors in clinical settings. There has been little study as to the patterns of use and impact this has on doctors in the workplace and how negatively or positively it impacts at the point of care. To explore how doctors use mobile devices in the clinical setting and understand drivers for use. A mixed methods study was used with doctors in a paediatric and adult teaching hospital in 2013. A paper-based survey examined mobile device usage data by doctors in the clinical setting. Focus groups explored doctors' reasons for using or refraining from using mobile devices in the clinical setting, and their attitudes about others' use. The survey, completed by 109 doctors, showed that 91% owned a smartphone and 88% used their mobile devices frequently in the clinical setting. Trainees were more likely than consultants to use their mobile devices for learning and accessing information related to patient care, as well as for personal communication unrelated to work. Focus group data highlighted a range of factors that influenced doctors to use personal mobile devices in the clinical setting, including convenience for medical photography, and factors that limited use. Distraction in the clinical setting due to use of mobile devices was a key issue. Personal experience and confidence in using mobile devices affected their use, and was guided by role modelling and expectations within a medical team. Doctors use mobile devices to enhance efficiency in the workplace. In the current environment, doctors are making their own decisions based on balancing the risks and benefits of using mobile devices in the clinical setting. There is a need for guidelines around acceptable and ethical use that is patient-centred and that respects patient privacy. © 2016 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

A New Clinicobiological Scoring System for the Prediction of Infection-Related Mortality and Survival after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

PubMed

Forcina, Alessandra; Rancoita, Paola M V; Marcatti, Magda; Greco, Raffaella; Lupo-Stanghellini, Maria Teresa; Carrabba, Matteo; Marasco, Vincenzo; Di Serio, Clelia; Bernardi, Massimo; Peccatori, Jacopo; Corti, Consuelo; Bondanza, Attilio; Ciceri, Fabio

2017-12-01

Infection-related mortality (IRM) is a substantial component of nonrelapse mortality (NRM) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). No scores have been developed to predict IRM before transplantation. Pretransplantation clinical and biochemical data were collected from a study cohort of 607 adult patients undergoing allo-HSCT between January 2009 and February 2017. In a training set of 273 patients, multivariate analysis revealed that age >60 years (P = .003), cytomegalovirus host/donor serostatus different from negative/negative (P < .001), pretransplantation IgA level <1.11 g/L (P = .004), and pretransplantation IgM level <.305 g/L (P = .028) were independent predictors of increased IRM. Based on these results, we developed and subsequently validated a 3-tiered weighted prognostic index for IRM in a retrospective set of patients (n = 219) and a prospective set of patients (n = 115). Patients were assigned to 3 different IRM risk classes based on this index score. The score significantly predicted IRM in the training set, retrospective validation set, and prospective validation set (P < .001, .044, and .011, respectively). In the training set, 100-day IRM was 5% for the low-risk group, 11% for the intermediate-riak group, and 16% for the high-risk groups. In the retrospective validation set, the respective 100-day IRM values were 7%, 17%, and 28%, and in the prospective set, they were 0%, 5%, and 7%. This score predicted also overall survival (P < .001 in the training set, P < 041 in the retrospective validation set, and P < .023 in the prospective validation set). Because pretransplantation levels of IgA/IgM can be modulated by the supplementation of enriched immunoglobulins, these results suggest the possibility of prophylactic interventional studies to improve transplantation outcomes. Copyright © 2017 The American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Discovering the Power of Individual-Based Modelling in Teaching and Learning: The Study of a Predator-Prey System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ginovart, Marta

2014-08-01

The general aim is to promote the use of individual-based models (biological agent-based models) in teaching and learning contexts in life sciences and to make their progressive incorporation into academic curricula easier, complementing other existing modelling strategies more frequently used in the classroom. Modelling activities for the study of a predator-prey system for a mathematics classroom in the first year of an undergraduate program in biosystems engineering have been designed and implemented. These activities were designed to put two modelling approaches side by side, an individual-based model and a set of ordinary differential equations. In order to organize and display this, a system with wolves and sheep in a confined domain was considered and studied. With the teaching material elaborated and a computer to perform the numerical resolutions involved and the corresponding individual-based simulations, the students answered questions and completed exercises to achieve the learning goals set. Students' responses regarding the modelling of biological systems and these two distinct methodologies applied to the study of a predator-prey system were collected via questionnaires, open-ended queries and face-to-face dialogues. Taking into account the positive responses of the students when they were doing these activities, it was clear that using a discrete individual-based model to deal with a predator-prey system jointly with a set of ordinary differential equations enriches the understanding of the modelling process, adds new insights and opens novel perspectives of what can be done with computational models versus other models. The complementary views given by the two modelling approaches were very well assessed by students.

Setting analyst: A practical harvest planning technique

Treesearch

Olivier R.M. Halleux; W. Dale Greene

2001-01-01

Setting Analyst is an ArcView extension that facilitates practical harvest planning for ground-based systems. By modeling the travel patterns of ground-based machines, it compares different harvesting settings based on projected average skidding distance, logging costs, and site disturbance levels. Setting Analyst uses information commonly available to consulting...

Prevalence of Arthritis in Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

PubMed Central

Usenbo, Anthony; Kramer, Veronika; Young, Taryn; Musekiwa, Alfred

2015-01-01

Objective In this systematic review, we estimate the prevalence of six types of arthritis in Africa; namely rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, juvenile arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, gout, and ankylosing spondylitis. Methods We comprehensively searched literature on 31 August 2014 in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library to identify eligible studies from 1975 up to 31 July 2014. Two review authors independently selected studies, extracted data, and appraised studies. We carried out random effects meta-analysis of prevalence of arthritis and assessed heterogeneity through subgroup analyses. We performed separate analyses for population- and hospital-based studies, as well as rural and urban settings. Main Findings We included 27 cross-sectional studies (20 population-based and 7 hospital-based) from Africa reporting on the prevalence of arthritis. The majority of the studies were from South Africa (44.4%, 12/27). Rheumatoid arthritis in urban settings ranged from 0.1% in Algeria, 0.6% in the DRC, to a meta-analysis overall prevalence of 2.5% in South Africa, and in rural settings ranged from a meta-analysis overall prevalence of 0.07% in South Africa, 0.3% in Egypt, to 0.4% in Lesotho. Osteoarthritis was the most prevalent form of arthritis and in urban settings it was 55.1% in South Africa and in rural settings, all in South Africa, ranged from 29.5%, 29.7%, up to 82.7% among adults aged over 65 years. Other results include highest prevalence of 33.1% for knee osteoarthritis in rural South Africa, 0.1% for ankylosing spondylitis in rural South Africa, 4.4% for psoriatic arthritis in urban South Africa, 0.7% for gout in urban South Africa, and 0.3% for juvenile idiopathic arthritis in urban Egypt. A third of the included studies had a low risk of bias (33.3%, 9/27), 40.8% (11/27) moderate risk, and 25.9% (7/27) had a high risk of bias. Conclusions In this systematic review, we have identified the paucity of latest prevalence data on arthritis in Africa. More studies are needed to address the prevalence and the true burden of this disease in Africa. PMID:26241756

Prevalence of Arthritis in Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Usenbo, Anthony; Kramer, Veronika; Young, Taryn; Musekiwa, Alfred

2015-01-01

In this systematic review, we estimate the prevalence of six types of arthritis in Africa; namely rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, juvenile arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, gout, and ankylosing spondylitis. We comprehensively searched literature on 31 August 2014 in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library to identify eligible studies from 1975 up to 31 July 2014. Two review authors independently selected studies, extracted data, and appraised studies. We carried out random effects meta-analysis of prevalence of arthritis and assessed heterogeneity through subgroup analyses. We performed separate analyses for population- and hospital-based studies, as well as rural and urban settings. We included 27 cross-sectional studies (20 population-based and 7 hospital-based) from Africa reporting on the prevalence of arthritis. The majority of the studies were from South Africa (44.4%, 12/27). Rheumatoid arthritis in urban settings ranged from 0.1% in Algeria, 0.6% in the DRC, to a meta-analysis overall prevalence of 2.5% in South Africa, and in rural settings ranged from a meta-analysis overall prevalence of 0.07% in South Africa, 0.3% in Egypt, to 0.4% in Lesotho. Osteoarthritis was the most prevalent form of arthritis and in urban settings it was 55.1% in South Africa and in rural settings, all in South Africa, ranged from 29.5%, 29.7%, up to 82.7% among adults aged over 65 years. Other results include highest prevalence of 33.1% for knee osteoarthritis in rural South Africa, 0.1% for ankylosing spondylitis in rural South Africa, 4.4% for psoriatic arthritis in urban South Africa, 0.7% for gout in urban South Africa, and 0.3% for juvenile idiopathic arthritis in urban Egypt. A third of the included studies had a low risk of bias (33.3%, 9/27), 40.8% (11/27) moderate risk, and 25.9% (7/27) had a high risk of bias. In this systematic review, we have identified the paucity of latest prevalence data on arthritis in Africa. More studies are needed to address the prevalence and the true burden of this disease in Africa.

Simulated impact of RTS,S/AS01 vaccination programs in the context of changing malaria transmission.

PubMed

Brooks, Alan; Briët, Olivier J T; Hardy, Diggory; Steketee, Richard; Smith, Thomas A

2012-01-01

The RTS,S/AS01 pre-erythrocytic malaria vaccine is in phase III clinical trials. It is critical to anticipate where and how it should be implemented if trials are successful. Such planning may be complicated by changing levels of malaria transmission. Computer simulations were used to examine RTS,S/AS01 impact, using a vaccine profile based on phase II trial results, and assuming that protection decays only slowly. Settings were simulated in which baseline transmission (in the absence of vaccine) was fixed or varied between 2 and 20 infectious mosquito bites per person per annum (ibpa) over ten years. Four delivery strategies were studied: routine infant immunization (EPI), EPI plus infant catch-up, EPI plus school-based campaigns, and EPI plus mass campaigns. Impacts in changing transmission settings were similar to those in fixed settings. Assuming a persistent effect of vaccination, at 2 ibpa, the vaccine averted approximately 5-7 deaths per 1000 doses of vaccine when delivered via mass campaigns, but the benefit was less at higher transmission levels. EPI, catch-up and school-based strategies averted 2-3 deaths per 1000 doses in settings with 2 ibpa. In settings where transmission was decreasing or increasing, EPI, catch-up and school-based strategies averted approximately 3-4 deaths per 1000 doses. Where transmission is changing, it appears to be sufficient to consider simulations of pre-erythrocytic vaccine impact at a range of initial transmission levels. At 2 ibpa, mass campaigns averted the most deaths and reduced transmission, but this requires further study. If delivered via EPI, RTS,S/AS01 could avert approximately 6-11 deaths per 1000 vaccinees in all examined settings, similar to estimates for pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in African infants. These results support RTS,S/AS01 implementation via EPI, for example alongside vector control interventions, providing that the phase III trials provide support for our assumptions about efficacy.

Diverse Pathways in Early Childhood Professional Development: An Exploration of Early Educators in Public Preschools, Private Preschools, and Family Child Care Homes

PubMed Central

Fuligni, Allison Sidle; Howes, Carollee; Lara-Cinisomo, Sandraluz; Karoly, Lynn

2009-01-01

This paper presents a naturalistic investigation of the patterns of formal education, early childhood education training, and mentoring of a diverse group of urban early childhood educators participating in the Los Angeles: Exploring Children's Early Learning Settings (LA ExCELS) study. A total of 103 preschool teachers and family child care providers serving primarily low-income 3- and 4-year-old children in Los Angeles County provided data on their education, training, and beliefs about teaching. This sample worked in public center based preschool programs including Head Start classrooms and State preschool classrooms (N=42), private non-profit preschools including community based organizations and faith-based preschools (N=42), and licensed family child care homes (N=19). This study uses a person-centered approach to explore patterns of teacher preparation, sources of support, supervision, and mentoring across these 3 types of education settings, and how these patterns are associated with early childhood educators' beliefs and practices. Findings suggest a set of linkages between type of early education setting, professional development, and supervision of teaching. Public preschools have the strongest mandates for formal professional development and typically less variation in levels of monitoring, whereas family child care providers on average have less formal education and more variability in their access to and use of other forms of training and mentorship. Four distinct patterns of formal education, child development training, and ongoing mentoring or support were identified among the educators in this study. Associations between professional development experiences and teachers' beliefs and practices suggested the importance of higher levels of formal training for enhancing the quality of teacher-child interactions. Implications of the findings for changing teacher behaviors are discussed with respect to considering the setting context. PMID:20072719

The Design and Development of an Online, Case-Based Course in a Teacher Preparation Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peña, Carmen M.

2004-01-01

The goals of this study were to: 1) design a web-based course using WebCT for future secondary school teachers at the University of Texas Pan American, 2) evaluate the effectiveness of the course, and 3) provide a set of guidelines for designing web-based courses for other teacher educators. The participants in this study consisted of junior- and…

Colon Reference Set Application: Mary Disis - University of Washington (2008) — EDRN Public Portal

Cancer.gov

The proposed study aims to validate the diagnostic value of a panel of serum antibodies for the early detection of colorectal cancer (CRC). We have developed a serum antibody based assay that shows promise in discriminating sera from CRC patients from healthy donors. We have evaluated two separate sample sets of sera that were available either commercially or were comprised of left over samples from previous studies by our group. Both sample sets showed concordance in discriminatory power. We have not been able to identify investigators with a larger, well defined sample set of early stage colon cancer sera and request assistance from the EDRN in obtaining such samples to help assess the potential diagnostic value of our autoantibody panel

Integrated Approach Using Condition Monitoring and Modeling to Investigate Wind Turbine Gearbox Design: Preprint

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

Sheng, S.; Guo, Y.

2015-03-01

Vibration-based condition monitoring (CM) of geared utility-scale turbine drivetrains has been used by the wind industry to help improve operation and maintenance (O&M) practices, increase turbine availability, and reduce O&M cost. This study is a new endeavor that integrates the vibration-based CM technique with wind turbine gearbox modeling to investigate various gearbox design options. A teamof researchers performed vibration-based CM measurements on a damaged wind turbine gearbox with a classic configuration, (i.e., one planetary stage and two parallel stages). We observed that the acceleration amplitudes around the first-order sidebands of the intermediate stage gear set meshing frequency were much lowermore » than that measured at the high-speed gear set, and similar difference wasalso observed in a healthy gearbox. One factor for a reduction at the intermediate stage gear set is hypothesized to be the soft sun-spline configuration in the test gearbox. To evaluate this hypothesis, a multibody dynamic model of the healthy test gearbox was first developed and validated. Relative percent difference of the first-order sidebands--of the high-speed and intermediate stagegear-meshing frequencies--in the soft and the rigid sun spline configurations were compared. The results verified that the soft sun-spline configuration can reduce the sidebands of the intermediate stage gear set and also the locating bearing loads. The study demonstrates that combining vibration-based CM with appropriate modeling can provide insights for evaluating different wind turbinegearbox design options.« less

Patients' preference for exercise setting and its influence on the health benefits gained from exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation.

PubMed

Tang, Lars H; Kikkenborg Berg, Selina; Christensen, Jan; Lawaetz, Jannik; Doherty, Patrick; Taylor, Rod S; Langberg, Henning; Zwisler, Ann-Dorthe

2017-04-01

To assess patient preference for exercise setting and examine if choice of setting influences the long-term health benefit of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation. Patients participating in a randomised controlled trial following either heart valve surgery, or radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation were given the choice to perform a 12-week exercise programme in either a supervised centre-based, or a self-management home-based setting. Exercise capacity and physical and mental health outcomes were assessed for up to 24months after hospital discharge. Outcomes between settings were compared using a time×setting interaction using a mixed effects regression model. Across the 158 included patients, an equivalent proportion preferred to undertake exercise rehabilitation in a centre-based setting (55%, 95% CI: 45% to 63%) compared to a home-based setting (45%, 95% CI: 37% to 53%, p=0.233). At baseline, those who preferred a home-based setting reported better physical health (mean difference in physical component score: 5.0, 95% CI 2.3 to 7.4; p=0.001) and higher exercise capacity (mean between group difference 15.9watts, 95% CI 3.7 to 28.1; p=0.011). With the exception of the depression score in the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score (F(3.65), p=0.004), there was no evidence of a significant difference in outcomes between settings. The preference of patients to participate in home-based and centre-based exercise programmes appears to be equivalent and provides similar health benefits. Whilst these findings support that patients should be given the choice between exercise-settings when initiating cardiac rehabilitation, further confirmatory evidence is needed. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Rural Doctors' Views on and Experiences with Evidence-Based Medicine: The FrEEDoM Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Hisham, Ranita; Liew, Su May; Ng, Chirk Jenn; Mohd Nor, Kamaliah; Osman, Iskandar Firzada; Ho, Gah Juan; Hamzah, Nurazira; Glasziou, Paul

2016-01-01

Evidence-based medicine is the integration of individual clinical expertise, best external evidence and patient values which was introduced more than two decades ago. Yet, primary care physicians in Malaysia face unique barriers in accessing scientific literature and applying it to their clinical practice. This study aimed to explore the views and experiences of rural doctors' about evidence-based medicine in their daily clinical practice in a rural primary care setting. Qualitative methodology was used. The interviews were conducted in June 2013 in two rural health clinics in Malaysia. The participants were recruited using purposive sampling. Four focus group discussions with 15 medical officers and three individual in-depth interviews with family medicine specialists were carried out. All interviews were conducted using a topic guide and were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, checked and analyzed using a thematic approach. Key themes identified were: (1) doctors viewed evidence-based medicine mainly as statistics, research and guidelines, (2) reactions to evidence-based medicine were largely negative, (3) doctors relied on specialists, peers, guidelines and non-evidence based internet sources for information, (4) information sources were accessed using novel methods such as mobile applications and (5) there are several barriers to evidence-based practice, including doctor-, evidence-based medicine-, patient- and system-related factors. These included inadequacies in knowledge, attitude, management support, time and access to evidence-based information sources. Participants recommended the use of online services to support evidence-based practice in the rural settings. The level of evidence-based practice is low in the rural setting due to poor awareness, knowledge, attitude and resources. Doctors use non-evidence based sources and access them through new methods such as messaging applications. Further research is recommended to develop and evaluate interventions to overcome the identified barriers.

Improving patient health engagement with mobile texting: A pilot study in the head and neck postoperative setting.

PubMed

Sosa, Alan; Heineman, Nathan; Thomas, Kimberly; Tang, Kai; Feinstein, Marie; Martin, Michelle Y; Sumer, Baran; Schwartz, David L

2017-05-01

Cell phone ownership is nearly universal. Messaging is one of its most widely used features. Texting-based interventions may improve patient engagement in the postoperative setting, but remain understudied. Patients were recruited before discharge from the hospital and received automated daily texts for 1 week providing information about expected recovery. Patients were encouraged to text questions to providers, which were triaged for intervention. Web-based surveys solicited patient feedback about the platform. Thirty-two patients were approached, and 23 patients (72%) were enrolled in the study. All study patients texted their providers, although frequency (median, 7 texts; range, 2-44 texts) varied. Unmarried patients and those facing surgical complications used the platform more frequently. Mean patient satisfaction with the platform was high (mean, 3.8 on a 4-point Likert scale). Text messaging seems feasible in the acute postoperative setting and potentially improves engagement of patients with head and neck cancer. Further study is warranted to confirm scalability and impact. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 39: 988-995, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Development and validation of a registry-based definition of eosinophilic esophagitis in Denmark

PubMed Central

Dellon, Evan S; Erichsen, Rune; Pedersen, Lars; Shaheen, Nicholas J; Baron, John A; Sørensen, Henrik T; Vyberg, Mogens

2013-01-01

AIM: To develop and validate a case definition of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) in the linked Danish health registries. METHODS: For case definition development, we queried the Danish medical registries from 2006-2007 to identify candidate cases of EoE in Northern Denmark. All International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10) and prescription codes were obtained, and archived pathology slides were obtained and re-reviewed to determine case status. We used an iterative process to select inclusion/exclusion codes, refine the case definition, and optimize sensitivity and specificity. We then re-queried the registries from 2008-2009 to yield a validation set. The case definition algorithm was applied, and sensitivity and specificity were calculated. RESULTS: Of the 51 and 49 candidate cases identified in both the development and validation sets, 21 and 24 had EoE, respectively. Characteristics of EoE cases in the development set [mean age 35 years; 76% male; 86% dysphagia; 103 eosinophils per high-power field (eos/hpf)] were similar to those in the validation set (mean age 42 years; 83% male; 67% dysphagia; 77 eos/hpf). Re-review of archived slides confirmed that the pathology coding for esophageal eosinophilia was correct in greater than 90% of cases. Two registry-based case algorithms based on pathology, ICD-10, and pharmacy codes were successfully generated in the development set, one that was sensitive (90%) and one that was specific (97%). When these algorithms were applied to the validation set, they remained sensitive (88%) and specific (96%). CONCLUSION: Two registry-based definitions, one highly sensitive and one highly specific, were developed and validated for the linked Danish national health databases, making future population-based studies feasible. PMID:23382628

Classification of Complete Proteomes of Different Organisms and Protein Sets Based on Their Protein Distributions in Terms of Some Key Attributes of Proteins

DOE PAGES

Guo, Hao-Bo; Ma, Yue; Tuskan, Gerald A.; ...

2018-01-01

The existence of complete genome sequences makes it important to develop different approaches for classification of large-scale data sets and to make extraction of biological insights easier. Here, we propose an approach for classification of complete proteomes/protein sets based on protein distributions on some basic attributes. We demonstrate the usefulness of this approach by determining protein distributions in terms of two attributes: protein lengths and protein intrinsic disorder contents (ID). The protein distributions based on L and ID are surveyed for representative proteome organisms and protein sets from the three domains of life. The two-dimensional maps (designated as fingerprints here)more » from the protein distribution densities in the LD space defined by ln( L ) and ID are then constructed. The fingerprints for different organisms and protein sets are found to be distinct with each other, and they can therefore be used for comparative studies. As a test case, phylogenetic trees have been constructed based on the protein distribution densities in the fingerprints of proteomes of organisms without performing any protein sequence comparison and alignments. The phylogenetic trees generated are biologically meaningful, demonstrating that the protein distributions in the LD space may serve as unique phylogenetic signals of the organisms at the proteome level.« less

Classification of Complete Proteomes of Different Organisms and Protein Sets Based on Their Protein Distributions in Terms of Some Key Attributes of Proteins

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

Guo, Hao-Bo; Ma, Yue; Tuskan, Gerald A.

The existence of complete genome sequences makes it important to develop different approaches for classification of large-scale data sets and to make extraction of biological insights easier. Here, we propose an approach for classification of complete proteomes/protein sets based on protein distributions on some basic attributes. We demonstrate the usefulness of this approach by determining protein distributions in terms of two attributes: protein lengths and protein intrinsic disorder contents (ID). The protein distributions based on L and ID are surveyed for representative proteome organisms and protein sets from the three domains of life. The two-dimensional maps (designated as fingerprints here)more » from the protein distribution densities in the LD space defined by ln( L ) and ID are then constructed. The fingerprints for different organisms and protein sets are found to be distinct with each other, and they can therefore be used for comparative studies. As a test case, phylogenetic trees have been constructed based on the protein distribution densities in the fingerprints of proteomes of organisms without performing any protein sequence comparison and alignments. The phylogenetic trees generated are biologically meaningful, demonstrating that the protein distributions in the LD space may serve as unique phylogenetic signals of the organisms at the proteome level.« less

Challenges to replicating evidence-based research in real-world settings: training African-American peers as patient navigators for colon cancer screening.

PubMed

Sly, Jamilia R; Jandorf, Lina; Dhulkifl, Rayhana; Hall, Diana; Edwards, Tiffany; Goodman, Adam J; Maysonet, Elithea; Azeez, Sulaiman

2012-12-01

Many cancer-prevention interventions have demonstrated effectiveness in diverse populations, but these evidenced-based findings slowly disseminate into practice. The current study describes the process of disseminating and replicating research (i.e., peer patient navigation for colonoscopy screening) in real-world settings. Two large metropolitan hospitals collaborated to replicate a peer patient navigation model within their existing navigation systems. Six African-American peer volunteers were recruited and trained to navigate patients through colonoscopy scheduling and completion. Major challenges included: (1) operating within multiple institutional settings; (2) operating within nonacademic/research infrastructures; (3) integrating into an established navigation system; (4) obtaining support of hospital staff without overburdening; and (5) competing priorities and time commitments. Bridging the gap between evidence-based research and practice is critical to eliminating many cancer health disparities; therefore, it is crucial that researchers and practitioners continue to work to achieve both diffusion and fusion of evidence-based findings. Recommendations for addressing these challenges are discussed.

Examining the Case for Functional Behavior Assessment as an Evidence-Based Practice for Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders in General Education Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Terrance M.; Alter, Peter J.

2017-01-01

This article is a review of functional behavior assessment studies in general education setting for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. The studies were assessed in accordance with published standards for evidence-based practices. Overall, few studies met criteria for inclusion in this review and even fewer studies included all three…

Attaining Reading Success through School-Wide and Content-Based Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joseph Watts, Martha

2013-01-01

Reading performance among Grade 11 students has been low in the local school district under study. Schools within the boundaries of that setting have implemented research-based interventions to curb this problem of poor reading performance. A quasi-experimental, causal-comparative study was conducted to investigate the effect of Marzano's…

The Effect from Coaching Based Leadership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moen, Frode; Federici, Roger Andre

2012-01-01

The main purpose of the present study was to implement an experiment to explore the effects from coaching based leadership on goal setting, self-efficacy, and causal attribution. The study comprised of 20 executives and 124 middle managers at a branch of a Norwegian Fortune 500 company who all voluntarily participated in an experiment over a…

Attendance motivations and visitor segments within a university agricultural festival

Treesearch

Carla Barbieri; Yasuharu Katsube; Christine Tew

2010-01-01

Festivals attract a variety of visitors driven by a complex set of motivations. The objective of this study was to identify and classify motivations for attending the South Farm Showcase (SFS), a university-based agricultural festival in Missouri. The study further developed a motivation-based segmentation of festival visitors and examined their distinct...

Role-Playing Game Based Assessment to Fractional Concept in Second Grade Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chiu, Fu-Yuan; Hsieh, Mei-Ling

2017-01-01

This study developed a set of Role-playing game (RPG), which was used to explore whether significant differences exist in academic performance and learning attitudes between RPG-based assessment and traditional lectures. This study also investigated the satisfaction of students toward the RPG scenario. Research participants included 100 second…

Multiple Intelligences-Based Planning of EFL Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zebari, Sanan Shero Malo; Allo, Hussein Ali Ahmed; Mohammedzadeh, Behbood

2018-01-01

The present study aimed to set a plan for teaching EFL classes based on the identification of university students' dominant multiple intelligences in EFL classes, and the differences in the types of intelligence between female and male students in terms of their gender. The problem the present study aimed to address is that the traditional concept…

Finding Self: A Qualitative Study of Transgender, Transitioning, and Adulterated Silicone

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallace, Phyllis M.

2010-01-01

Objective: To describe the development and testing of a theory-based interview guide. To increase awareness of adulterated silicone use among Transgender. Design: A qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews. Setting: Interviews were conducted in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Method: Seven transgender adults aged 18 and over were interviewed…

Research-Based Lessons That Support Student Independent Reading in Social Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swanson, Elizabeth; Reed, Deborah; Vaughn, Sharon

2016-01-01

High school social studies teachers face unique challenges in helping their students learn independently from text in their discipline. In this article, a set of research-based practices that couple independent student reading with high-quality instruction proven to improve content learning for high school nonnative English speakers is provided.…

Learning Risk-Taking and Coping with Uncertainty through Experiential, Team-Based Entrepreneurship Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arpiainen, Riitta-Liisa; Kurczewska, Agnieszka

2017-01-01

This empirical study investigates how students' perceptions of risk-taking and coping with uncertainty change while they are exposed to experience-based entrepreneurship education. The aim of the study is twofold. First, the authors set out to identify the dynamics of entrepreneurial thinking among students experiencing risk and uncertainty while…

Preliminary Study of Resilience-Based Group Therapy for Improving the Functioning of Anxious Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Candice C.; Rich, Brendan A.; Sanchez, Lisa; O'Brien, Kelly; Alvord, Mary K.

2014-01-01

Background: There is a lack of research examining the feasibility of group psychotherapy interventions for anxious children in private clinical service settings. Furthermore, no research to date has examined the effectiveness of resilience-based interventions for helping children with anxiety disorders. Objective: The present study aims to examine…

Goals, Success Factors, and Barriers for Simulation-Based Learning: A Qualitative Interview Study in Health Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dieckmann, Peter; Friis, Susanne Molin; Lippert, Anne; Ostergaard, Doris

2012-01-01

Introduction: This study describes (a) process goals, (b) success factors, and (c) barriers for optimizing simulation-based learning environments within the simulation setting model developed by Dieckmann. Methods: Seven simulation educators of different experience levels were interviewed using the Critical Incident Technique. Results: (a) The…

Content Analysis of a Computer-Based Faculty Activity Repository

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker-Eveleth, Lori; Stone, Robert W.

2013-01-01

The research presents an analysis of faculty opinions regarding the introduction of a new computer-based faculty activity repository (FAR) in a university setting. The qualitative study employs content analysis to better understand the phenomenon underlying these faculty opinions and to augment the findings from a quantitative study. A web-based…

Sensitivity of Historical Simulation of the Permafrost to Different Atmospheric Forcing Data Sets from 1979 to 2009

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Donglin; Wang, Huijun; Wang, Aihui

2017-11-01

Numerical simulation is of great importance to the investigation of changes in frozen ground on large spatial and long temporal scales. Previous studies have focused on the impacts of improvements in the model for the simulation of frozen ground. Here the sensitivities of permafrost simulation to different atmospheric forcing data sets are examined using the Community Land Model, version 4.5 (CLM4.5), in combination with three sets of newly developed and reanalysis-based atmospheric forcing data sets (NOAA Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR), European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Re-Analysis Interim (ERA-I), and NASA Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA)). All three simulations were run from 1979 to 2009 at a resolution of 0.5° × 0.5° and validated with what is considered to be the best available permafrost observations (soil temperature, active layer thickness, and permafrost extent). Results show that the use of reanalysis-based atmospheric forcing data set reproduces the variations in soil temperature and active layer thickness but produces evident biases in their climatologies. Overall, the simulations based on the CFSR and ERA-I data sets give more reasonable results than the simulation based on the MERRA data set, particularly for the present-day permafrost extent and the change in active layer thickness. The three simulations produce ranges for the present-day climatology (permafrost area: 11.31-13.57 × 106 km2; active layer thickness: 1.10-1.26 m) and for recent changes (permafrost area: -5.8% to -9.0%; active layer thickness: 9.9%-20.2%). The differences in air temperature increase, snow depth, and permafrost thermal conditions in these simulations contribute to the differences in simulated results.

Teamwork skills in actual, in situ, and in-center pediatric emergencies: performance levels across settings and perceptions of comparative educational impact.

PubMed

Couto, Thomaz Bittencourt; Kerrey, Benjamin T; Taylor, Regina G; FitzGerald, Michael; Geis, Gary L

2015-04-01

Pediatric emergencies require effective teamwork. These skills are developed and demonstrated in actual emergencies and in simulated environments, including simulation centers (in center) and the real care environment (in situ). Our aims were to compare teamwork performance across these settings and to identify perceived educational strengths and weaknesses between simulated settings. We hypothesized that teamwork performance in actual emergencies and in situ simulations would be higher than for in-center simulations. A retrospective, video-based assessment of teamwork was performed in an academic, pediatric level 1 trauma center, using the Team Emergency Assessment Measure (TEAM) tool (range, 0-44) among emergency department providers (physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, paramedics, patient care assistants, and pharmacists). A survey-based, cross-sectional assessment was conducted to determine provider perceptions regarding simulation training. One hundred thirty-two videos, 44 from each setting, were reviewed. Mean total TEAM scores were similar and high in all settings (31.2 actual, 31.1 in situ, and 32.3 in-center, P = 0.39). Of 236 providers, 154 (65%) responded to the survey. For teamwork training, in situ simulation was considered more realistic (59% vs. 10%) and more effective (45% vs. 15%) than in-center simulation. In a video-based study in an academic pediatric institution, ratings of teamwork were relatively high among actual resuscitations and 2 simulation settings, substantiating the influence of simulation-based training on instilling a culture of communication and teamwork. On the basis of survey results, providers favored the in situ setting for teamwork training and suggested an expansion of our existing in situ program.

Beyond main effects of gene-sets: harsh parenting moderates the association between a dopamine gene-set and child externalizing behavior.

PubMed

Windhorst, Dafna A; Mileva-Seitz, Viara R; Rippe, Ralph C A; Tiemeier, Henning; Jaddoe, Vincent W V; Verhulst, Frank C; van IJzendoorn, Marinus H; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J

2016-08-01

In a longitudinal cohort study, we investigated the interplay of harsh parenting and genetic variation across a set of functionally related dopamine genes, in association with children's externalizing behavior. This is one of the first studies to employ gene-based and gene-set approaches in tests of Gene by Environment (G × E) effects on complex behavior. This approach can offer an important alternative or complement to candidate gene and genome-wide environmental interaction (GWEI) studies in the search for genetic variation underlying individual differences in behavior. Genetic variants in 12 autosomal dopaminergic genes were available in an ethnically homogenous part of a population-based cohort. Harsh parenting was assessed with maternal (n = 1881) and paternal (n = 1710) reports at age 3. Externalizing behavior was assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at age 5 (71 ± 3.7 months). We conducted gene-set analyses of the association between variation in dopaminergic genes and externalizing behavior, stratified for harsh parenting. The association was statistically significant or approached significance for children without harsh parenting experiences, but was absent in the group with harsh parenting. Similarly, significant associations between single genes and externalizing behavior were only found in the group without harsh parenting. Effect sizes in the groups with and without harsh parenting did not differ significantly. Gene-environment interaction tests were conducted for individual genetic variants, resulting in two significant interaction effects (rs1497023 and rs4922132) after correction for multiple testing. Our findings are suggestive of G × E interplay, with associations between dopamine genes and externalizing behavior present in children without harsh parenting, but not in children with harsh parenting experiences. Harsh parenting may overrule the role of genetic factors in externalizing behavior. Gene-based and gene-set analyses offer promising new alternatives to analyses focusing on single candidate polymorphisms when examining the interplay between genetic and environmental factors.

Improving quality of care through routine, successful implementation of evidence-based practice at the bedside: an organizational case study protocol using the Pettigrew and Whipp model of strategic change

PubMed Central

2007-01-01

Background Evidence-based practice (EBP) is an expected approach to improving the quality of patient care and service delivery in health care systems internationally that is yet to be realized. Given the current evidence-practice gap, numerous authors describe barriers to achieving EBP. One recurrently identified barrier is the setting or context of practice, which is likewise cited as a potential part of the solution to the gap. The purpose of this study is to identify key contextual elements and related strategic processes in organizations that find and use evidence at multiple levels, in an ongoing, integrated fashion, in contrast to those that do not. Methods The core theoretical framework for this multi-method explanatory case study is Pettigrew and Whipp's Content, Context, and Process model of strategic change. This framework focuses data collection on three entities: the Why of strategic change, the What of strategic change, and the How of strategic change, in this case related to implementation and normalization of EBP. The data collection plan, designed to capture relevant organizational context and related outcomes, focuses on eight interrelated factors said to characterize a receptive context. Selective, purposive sampling will provide contrasting results between two cases (departments of nursing) and three embedded units in each. Data collection methods will include quantitative tools (e.g., regarding culture) and qualitative approaches including focus groups, interviews, and documents review (e.g., regarding integration and “success”) relevant to the EBP initiative. Discussion This study should provide information regarding contextual elements and related strategic processes key to successful implementation and sustainability of EBP, specifically in terms of a pervasive pattern in an acute care hospital-based health care setting. Additionally, this study will identify key contextual elements that differentiate successful implementation and sustainability of EBP efforts, both within varying levels of a hospital-based clinical setting and across similar hospital settings interested in EBP. PMID:17266756

Use of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy to quantify immunoglobulin G concentrations in alpaca serum.

PubMed

Burns, J; Hou, S; Riley, C B; Shaw, R A; Jewett, N; McClure, J T

2014-01-01

Rapid, economical, and quantitative assays for measurement of camelid serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) are limited. In camelids, failure of transfer of maternal immunoglobulins has a reported prevalence of up to 20.5%. An accurate method for quantifying serum IgG concentrations is required. To develop an infrared spectroscopy-based assay for measurement of alpaca serum IgG and compare its performance to the reference standard radial immunodiffusion (RID) assay. One hundred and seventy-five privately owned, healthy alpacas. Eighty-two serum samples were collected as convenience samples during routine herd visits whereas 93 samples were recruited from a separate study. Serum IgG concentrations were determined by RID assays and midinfrared spectra were collected for each sample. Fifty samples were set aside as the test set and the remaining 125 training samples were employed to build a calibration model using partial least squares (PLS) regression with Monte Carlo cross validation to determine the optimum number of PLS factors. The predictive performance of the calibration model was evaluated by the test set. Correlation coefficients for the IR-based assay were 0.93 and 0.87, respectively, for the entire data set and test set. Sensitivity in the diagnosis of failure of transfer of passive immunity (FTPI) ([IgG] <1,000 mg/dL) was 71.4% and specificity was 100% for the IR-based method (test set) as gauged relative to the RID reference method assay. This study indicated that infrared spectroscopy, in combination with chemometrics, is an effective method for measurement of IgG in alpaca serum. Copyright © 2014 by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

Implementation of evidence-based practice by nurses working in community settings and their strategies to mentor student nurses to develop evidence-based practice: A qualitative study.

PubMed

Brooke, Joanne Mary; Mallion, Jaimee

2016-08-01

The aim of the study was to explore how community nurses apply the best available evidence to their practice, and how they mentor student nurses to conceptualize and implement evidence-based practice in community settings. In the UK, the expansion of health-care provision in the community has supported the development of highly skilled community nurses. However, there is limited literature regarding the strategies used by community nurses to implement evidence-based practice and mentor student nurses to conceptualize evidence-based practice in community placements. An exploratory qualitative approach applying inductive reasoning to focus group data was used. As a result, nurses working for a community NHS Foundation Trust in South England with a mentor qualification were invited to participate in one of the seven focus groups, 33 nurses participated. Data were analyzed with thematic analysis. The themes discussed in this paper are: 'our practice is evidence-based' as guidelines and policies provided structure, but occasionally stifled autonomous clinical decision-making, and 'time' as a barrier and facilitator to mentoring student nurses in community settings. In conclusion, nurses need to develop the ability to incorporate patients' needs and wishes within evidence-based care. Time was a facilitator for some community mentors, but protected time is required to complete the necessary practice documentation of student nurses. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

The effect of community-based support services on clinical efficacy and health-related quality of life in HIV/AIDS patients in resource-limited settings in sub-Saharan Africa.

PubMed

Kabore, Inoussa; Bloem, Jeanette; Etheredge, Gina; Obiero, Walter; Wanless, Sebastian; Doykos, Patricia; Ntsekhe, Pearl; Mtshali, Nomantshali; Afrikaner, Eric; Sayed, Rauf; Bostwelelo, John; Hani, Andiswa; Moshabesha, Tiisetso; Kalaka, Agnes; Mameja, Jerry; Zwane, Nompumelelo; Shongwe, Nomvuyo; Mtshali, Phangisile; Mohr, Beryl; Smuts, Archie; Tiam, Appolinaire

2010-09-01

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV/AIDS in developing countries has been rapidly scaled up through directed public and private resources. Data on the efficacy of ART in developing countries are limited, as are operational research studies to determine the effect of selected nonmedical supportive care services on health outcomes in patients receiving ART. We report here on an investigation of the delivery of medical care combined with community-based supportive services for patients with HIV/AIDS in four resource-limited settings in sub-Saharan Africa, carried out between 2005 and 2007. The clinical and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) efficacy of ART combined with community support services was studied in a cohort of 377 HIV-infected patients followed for 18 months, in community-based clinics through patient interviews, clinical evaluations, and questionnaires. Patients exposed to community-based supportive services experienced a more rapid and greater overall increase in CD4 cell counts than unexposed patients. They also had higher levels of adherence, attributed primarily to exposure to home-based care services. In addition, patients receiving home-based care and/or food support services showed greater improvements in selected health-related QOL indicators. This report discusses the feasibility of effective ART in a large number of patients in resource-limited settings and the added value of concomitant community-based supportive care services.

MAVTgsa: An R Package for Gene Set (Enrichment) Analysis

DOE PAGES

Chien, Chih-Yi; Chang, Ching-Wei; Tsai, Chen-An; ...

2014-01-01

Gene semore » t analysis methods aim to determine whether an a priori defined set of genes shows statistically significant difference in expression on either categorical or continuous outcomes. Although many methods for gene set analysis have been proposed, a systematic analysis tool for identification of different types of gene set significance modules has not been developed previously. This work presents an R package, called MAVTgsa, which includes three different methods for integrated gene set enrichment analysis. (1) The one-sided OLS (ordinary least squares) test detects coordinated changes of genes in gene set in one direction, either up- or downregulation. (2) The two-sided MANOVA (multivariate analysis variance) detects changes both up- and downregulation for studying two or more experimental conditions. (3) A random forests-based procedure is to identify gene sets that can accurately predict samples from different experimental conditions or are associated with the continuous phenotypes. MAVTgsa computes the P values and FDR (false discovery rate) q -value for all gene sets in the study. Furthermore, MAVTgsa provides several visualization outputs to support and interpret the enrichment results. This package is available online.« less

The Study of Imperfection in Rough Set on the Field of Engineering and Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheu, Tian-Wei; Liang, Jung-Chin; You, Mei-Li; Wen, Kun-Li

Based on the characteristic of rough set, rough set theory overlaps with many other theories, especially with fuzzy set theory, evidence theory and Boolean reasoning methods. And the rough set methodology has found many real-life applications, such as medical data analysis, finance, banking, engineering, voice recognition, image processing and others. Till now, there is rare research associating to this issue in the imperfection of rough set. Hence, the main purpose of this paper is to study the imperfection of rough set in the field of engineering and education. First of all, we preview the mathematics model of rough set, and a given two examples to enhance our approach, which one is the weighting of influence factor in muzzle noise suppressor, and the other is the weighting of evaluation factor in English learning. Third, we also apply Matlab to develop a complete human-machine interface type of toolbox in order to support the complex calculation and verification the huge data. Finally, some further suggestions are indicated for the research in the future.

Assessing Classism in Academic Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Langhout, Regina Day; Rosselli, Francine; Feinstein, Jonathan

2007-01-01

The research described in this paper creates a behaviorally based measure that defines theoretically distinct domains of classism, assesses base rates within a college context, and examines how social class, race, and gender are related to classism. Participants of the study were college students at Hilltop University. A web-based survey was used…

GLEAM v3: satellite-based land evaporation and root-zone soil moisture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martens, Brecht; Miralles, Diego G.; Lievens, Hans; van der Schalie, Robin; de Jeu, Richard A. M.; Fernández-Prieto, Diego; Beck, Hylke E.; Dorigo, Wouter A.; Verhoest, Niko E. C.

2017-05-01

The Global Land Evaporation Amsterdam Model (GLEAM) is a set of algorithms dedicated to the estimation of terrestrial evaporation and root-zone soil moisture from satellite data. Ever since its development in 2011, the model has been regularly revised, aiming at the optimal incorporation of new satellite-observed geophysical variables, and improving the representation of physical processes. In this study, the next version of this model (v3) is presented. Key changes relative to the previous version include (1) a revised formulation of the evaporative stress, (2) an optimized drainage algorithm, and (3) a new soil moisture data assimilation system. GLEAM v3 is used to produce three new data sets of terrestrial evaporation and root-zone soil moisture, including a 36-year data set spanning 1980-2015, referred to as v3a (based on satellite-observed soil moisture, vegetation optical depth and snow-water equivalent, reanalysis air temperature and radiation, and a multi-source precipitation product), and two satellite-based data sets. The latter share most of their forcing, except for the vegetation optical depth and soil moisture, which are based on observations from different passive and active C- and L-band microwave sensors (European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative, ESA CCI) for the v3b data set (spanning 2003-2015) and observations from the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite in the v3c data set (spanning 2011-2015). Here, these three data sets are described in detail, compared against analogous data sets generated using the previous version of GLEAM (v2), and validated against measurements from 91 eddy-covariance towers and 2325 soil moisture sensors across a broad range of ecosystems. Results indicate that the quality of the v3 soil moisture is consistently better than the one from v2: average correlations against in situ surface soil moisture measurements increase from 0.61 to 0.64 in the case of the v3a data set and the representation of soil moisture in the second layer improves as well, with correlations increasing from 0.47 to 0.53. Similar improvements are observed for the v3b and c data sets. Despite regional differences, the quality of the evaporation fluxes remains overall similar to the one obtained using the previous version of GLEAM, with average correlations against eddy-covariance measurements ranging between 0.78 and 0.81 for the different data sets. These global data sets of terrestrial evaporation and root-zone soil moisture are now openly available at www.GLEAM.eu and may be used for large-scale hydrological applications, climate studies, or research on land-atmosphere feedbacks.

Teaching between-class generalization of toy play behavior to handicapped children.

PubMed Central

Haring, T G

1985-01-01

In this study, young children with severe and moderate handicaps were taught to generalize play responses. A multiple baseline across responses design, replicated with four children, was used to assess the effects of generalization training within four sets of toys on generalization to untrained toys from four other sets. The responses taught were unique for each set of toys. Across the four participants, training to generalize within-toy sets resulted in complete between-class generalization in 11 sets, partial generalization in 3 sets, and no generalization in 2 sets. No generalization occurred to another class of toys that differed from the previous sets in that they produced a reaction to the play movement (e.g., pianos). Implications for conducting research using strategies based on class interrelationships in training contexts are discussed. PMID:4019349

A Qualitative Study of Early Childhood Educators' Beliefs about Key Preschool Classroom Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lara-Cinisomo, Sandraluz; Fuligni, Allison Sidle; Daugherty, Lindsay; Howes, Carollee; Karoly, Lynn

2009-01-01

The aim of the study was to uncover early childhood educators' beliefs about how to best work with children getting ready for kindergarten. The study involved 11 focus groups with providers from three types of early education settings located in Los Angeles County: (1) public center-based programs, (2) private center-based programs, and (3) family…

Effects of an Infant-Focused Relationship-Based Hospital and Home Visiting Intervention on Reducing Symptoms of Postpartum Maternal Depression: A Pilot Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nugent, J. Kevin; Bartlett, Jessica Dym; Valim, Clarissa

2014-01-01

Relationship-based interventions are an effective means for reducing postpartum depression (PPD), but few cost-effective tools that can be administered efficiently in medical and home settings are available or well-studied. This study examines the efficacy of the Newborn Behavioral Observations (NBO), an infant-centered relationship-based…

Comparison of methods of alert acknowledgement by critical care clinicians in the ICU setting

PubMed Central

Harrison, Andrew M.; Thongprayoon, Charat; Aakre, Christopher A.; Jeng, Jack Y.; Dziadzko, Mikhail A.; Gajic, Ognjen; Pickering, Brian W.

2017-01-01

Background Electronic Health Record (EHR)-based sepsis alert systems have failed to demonstrate improvements in clinically meaningful endpoints. However, the effect of implementation barriers on the success of new sepsis alert systems is rarely explored. Objective To test the hypothesis time to severe sepsis alert acknowledgement by critical care clinicians in the ICU setting would be reduced using an EHR-based alert acknowledgement system compared to a text paging-based system. Study Design In one arm of this simulation study, real alerts for patients in the medical ICU were delivered to critical care clinicians through the EHR. In the other arm, simulated alerts were delivered through text paging. The primary outcome was time to alert acknowledgement. The secondary outcomes were a structured, mixed quantitative/qualitative survey and informal group interview. Results The alert acknowledgement rate from the severe sepsis alert system was 3% (N = 148) and 51% (N = 156) from simulated severe sepsis alerts through traditional text paging. Time to alert acknowledgement from the severe sepsis alert system was median 274 min (N = 5) and median 2 min (N = 80) from text paging. The response rate from the EHR-based alert system was insufficient to compare primary measures. However, secondary measures revealed important barriers. Conclusion Alert fatigue, interruption, human error, and information overload are barriers to alert and simulation studies in the ICU setting. PMID:28316887

Limitations of basing screening policies on screening trials: The US Preventive Services Task Force and Prostate Cancer Screening.

PubMed

Etzioni, Ruth; Gulati, Roman; Cooperberg, Matt R; Penson, David M; Weiss, Noel S; Thompson, Ian M

2013-04-01

The US Preventive Services Task Force recently recommended against prostate-specific antigen screening for prostate cancer based primarily on evidence from the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) and the US Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) cancer screening trial. : To examine limitations of basing screening policy on evidence from screening trials. We reviewed published modeling studies that examined population and trial data. The studies (1) project the roles of screening and changes in primary treatment in the US mortality decline; (2) extrapolate the ERSPC mortality reduction to the long-term US setting; (3) estimate overdiagnosis based on US incidence trends; and (4) quantify the impact of control arm screening on PLCO mortality results. Screening plausibly explains 45% and changes in primary treatment can explain 33% of the US prostate cancer mortality decline. Extrapolating the ERSPC results to the long-term US setting implies an absolute mortality reduction at least 5 times greater than that observed in the trial. Approximately 28% of screen-detected cases are overdiagnosed in the United States versus 58% of screen-detected cases suggested by the ERSPC results. Control arm screening can explain the null result in the PLCO trial. Modeling studies indicate that population trends and trial results extended to the long-term population setting are consistent with greater benefit of prostate-specific antigen screening-and more favorable harm-benefit tradeoffs-than has been suggested by empirical trial evidence.

Analyzing the Behavioral Differences between Students of Different Genders, Prior Knowledge and Learning Performance with an Educational MMORPG: A Longitudinal Case Study in an Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hou, Huei-Tse

2013-01-01

Many researchers have studied the effects of game-based learning (GBL) (eg, Annetta, Minogu, Holmes & Cheng, 2009; Kiili, 2007). However, empirical process analyses of long-term applications of GBL in a school setting are much less common. A process analysis of GBL in a school setting allows us to better understand the role of games in…

Chinese Students' Perceptions of a Collaborative E-Learning Environment and Factors Affecting Their Performance: Implementing a Flemish E-Learning Course in a Chinese Educational Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhu, Chang; Valcke, Martin; Schellens, Tammy; Li, Yifei

2009-01-01

This study was set up in a Chinese university in Beijing by implementing a Flemish e-learning course in a Chinese setting. A main feature of the e-learning environment is the asynchronous "task-based" online group discussion. The purpose of the study is to understand Chinese students' perceptions of a collaborative e-learning environment…

A new region-edge based level set model with applications to image segmentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhi, Xuhao; Shen, Hong-Bin

2018-04-01

Level set model has advantages in handling complex shapes and topological changes, and is widely used in image processing tasks. The image segmentation oriented level set models can be grouped into region-based models and edge-based models, both of which have merits and drawbacks. Region-based level set model relies on fitting to color intensity of separated regions, but is not sensitive to edge information. Edge-based level set model evolves by fitting to local gradient information, but can get easily affected by noise. We propose a region-edge based level set model, which considers saliency information into energy function and fuses color intensity with local gradient information. The evolution of the proposed model is implemented by a hierarchical two-stage protocol, and the experimental results show flexible initialization, robust evolution and precise segmentation.

Passive in-home measurement of stride-to-stride gait variability comparing vision and Kinect sensing.

PubMed

Stone, Erik E; Skubic, Marjorie

2011-01-01

We present an analysis of measuring stride-to-stride gait variability passively, in a home setting using two vision based monitoring techniques: anonymized video data from a system of two web-cameras, and depth imagery from a single Microsoft Kinect. Millions of older adults fall every year. The ability to assess the fall risk of elderly individuals is essential to allowing them to continue living safely in independent settings as they age. Studies have shown that measures of stride-to-stride gait variability are predictive of falls in older adults. For this analysis, a set of participants were asked to perform a number of short walks while being monitored by the two vision based systems, along with a marker based Vicon motion capture system for ground truth. Measures of stride-to-stride gait variability were computed using each of the systems and compared against those obtained from the Vicon.

Policy and public health recommendations to promote the initiation and duration of breast-feeding in developed country settings.

PubMed

Dyson, Lisa; Renfrew, Mary J; McFadden, Alison; McCormick, Felicia; Herbert, Gill; Thomas, James

2010-01-01

To develop policy and public health recommendations for implementation at all levels by individuals and organisations working in, or related to, the field of breast-feeding promotion in developed country settings, where breast-feeding rates remain low. Two research phases, comprising (i) an assessment of the formal evidence base in developed country settings and (ii) a consultation with UK-based practitioners, service managers and commissioners, and representatives of service users. The evidence base included three systematic reviews and an Evidence Briefing. One hundred and ten studies evaluating an intervention in developed country settings were assessed for quality and awarded an overall quality rating. Studies with a poor quality rating were excluded. The resulting seventy studies examined twenty-five types of intervention for breast-feeding promotion. These formed the basis of the second consultation phase to develop the evidence-based interventions into recommendations for practice, which comprised (i) pilot consultation, (ii) electronic consultation, (iii) fieldwork meetings and (iv) workshops. Draft findings were synthesised for two rounds of stakeholder review conducted by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Twenty-five recommendations emerged within three complementary and necessary categories, i.e. public health policy, mainstream clinical practice and local interventions. The need for national policy directives was clearly identified as a priority to address many of the barriers experienced by practitioners when trying to work across sectors, organisations and professional groups. Routine implementation of the WHO/UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative across hospital and community services was recommended as core to breast-feeding promotion in the UK. A local mix of complementary interventions is also required.

A posteriori noise estimation in variable data sets. With applications to spectra and light curves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Czesla, S.; Molle, T.; Schmitt, J. H. M. M.

2018-01-01

Most physical data sets contain a stochastic contribution produced by measurement noise or other random sources along with the signal. Usually, neither the signal nor the noise are accurately known prior to the measurement so that both have to be estimated a posteriori. We have studied a procedure to estimate the standard deviation of the stochastic contribution assuming normality and independence, requiring a sufficiently well-sampled data set to yield reliable results. This procedure is based on estimating the standard deviation in a sample of weighted sums of arbitrarily sampled data points and is identical to the so-called DER_SNR algorithm for specific parameter settings. To demonstrate the applicability of our procedure, we present applications to synthetic data, high-resolution spectra, and a large sample of space-based light curves and, finally, give guidelines to apply the procedure in situation not explicitly considered here to promote its adoption in data analysis.

Quantitative analysis of single- vs. multiple-set programs in resistance training.

PubMed

Wolfe, Brian L; LeMura, Linda M; Cole, Phillip J

2004-02-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the existing research on single-set vs. multiple-set resistance training programs. Using the meta-analytic approach, we included studies that met the following criteria in our analysis: (a) at least 6 subjects per group; (b) subject groups consisting of single-set vs. multiple-set resistance training programs; (c) pretest and posttest strength measures; (d) training programs of 6 weeks or more; (e) apparently "healthy" individuals free from orthopedic limitations; and (f) published studies in English-language journals only. Sixteen studies generated 103 effect sizes (ESs) based on a total of 621 subjects, ranging in age from 15-71 years. Across all designs, intervention strategies, and categories, the pretest to posttest ES in muscular strength was (chi = 1.4 +/- 1.4; 95% confidence interval, 0.41-3.8; p < 0.001). The results of 2 x 2 analysis of variance revealed simple main effects for age, training status (trained vs. untrained), and research design (p < 0.001). No significant main effects were found for sex, program duration, and set end point. Significant interactions were found for training status and program duration (6-16 weeks vs. 17-40 weeks) and number of sets performed (single vs. multiple). The data indicated that trained individuals performing multiple sets generated significantly greater increases in strength (p < 0.001). For programs with an extended duration, multiple sets were superior to single sets (p < 0.05). This quantitative review indicates that single-set programs for an initial short training period in untrained individuals result in similar strength gains as multiple-set programs. However, as progression occurs and higher gains are desired, multiple-set programs are more effective.

Comparison of the New LEAF Area INDEX (LAI 3G) with the Kazahstan-Wide LEAF Area INDEX DATA SET (GGRS-LAI) over Central ASIA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kappas, M.; Propastin, P.; Degener, J.; Renchin, T.

2014-12-01

Long-term global data sets of Leaf Area Index (LAI) are important for monitoring global vegetation dynamics. LAI indicating phenological development of vegetation is an important state variable for modeling land surface processes. The comparison of long-term data sets is based on two recently available data sets both derived from AVHRR time series. The LAI 3g data set introduced by Zaichun Zhu et al. (2013) is developed from the new improved third generation Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI3g) and best-quality MODIS LAI data. The second long-term data set is based on the 8 km spatial resolution GIMMS-AVHRR data (GGRS-data set by Propastin et al. 2012). The GGRS-LAI product uses a three-dimensional physical radiative transfer model which establishes relationship between LAI, vegetation fractional cover and given patterns of surface reflectance, view-illumination conditions and optical properties of vegetation. The model incorporates a number of site/region specific parameters, including the vegetation architecture variables such as leaf angle distribution, clumping index, and light extinction coefficient. For the application of the model to Kazakhstan, the vegetation architecture variables were computed at the local (pixel) level based on extensive field surveys of the biophysical properties of vegetation in representative grassland areas of Kazakhstan. The comparison of both long-term data sets will be used to interpret their quality for scientific research in other disciplines. References:Propastin, P., Kappas, M. (2012). Retrieval of coarse-resolution leaf area index over the Republic of Kazakhstan using NOAA AVHRR satellite data and ground measurements," Remote Sensing, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 220-246. Zaichun Zhu, Jian Bi, Yaozhong Pan, Sangram Ganguly, Alessandro Anav, Liang Xu, Arindam Samanta, Shilong Piao, Ramakrishna R. Nemani and Ranga B. Myneni (2013). Global Data Sets of Vegetation Leaf Area Index (LAI)3g and Fraction of photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR)3g Derived from Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI3g) for the Period 1981 to 2011. Remote Sens. 2013, 5, 927-948; doi:10.3390/rs5020927

Estimating a test's accuracy using tailored meta-analysis-How setting-specific data may aid study selection.

PubMed

Willis, Brian H; Hyde, Christopher J

2014-05-01

To determine a plausible estimate for a test's performance in a specific setting using a new method for selecting studies. It is shown how routine data from practice may be used to define an "applicable region" for studies in receiver operating characteristic space. After qualitative appraisal, studies are selected based on the probability that their study accuracy estimates arose from parameters lying in this applicable region. Three methods for calculating these probabilities are developed and used to tailor the selection of studies for meta-analysis. The Pap test applied to the UK National Health Service (NHS) Cervical Screening Programme provides a case example. The meta-analysis for the Pap test included 68 studies, but at most 17 studies were considered applicable to the NHS. For conventional meta-analysis, the sensitivity and specificity (with 95% confidence intervals) were estimated to be 72.8% (65.8, 78.8) and 75.4% (68.1, 81.5) compared with 50.9% (35.8, 66.0) and 98.0% (95.4, 99.1) from tailored meta-analysis using a binomial method for selection. Thus, for a cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 1 prevalence of 2.2%, the post-test probability for CIN 1 would increase from 6.2% to 36.6% between the two methods of meta-analysis. Tailored meta-analysis provides a method for augmenting study selection based on the study's applicability to a setting. As such, the summary estimate is more likely to be plausible for a setting and could improve diagnostic prediction in practice. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Impact of CAMEX-4 Data Sets for Hurricane Forecasts using a Global Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kamineni, Rupa; Krishnamurti, T. N.; Pattnaik, S.; Browell, Edward V.; Ismail, Syed; Ferrare, Richard A.

2005-01-01

This study explores the impact on hurricane data assimilation and forecasts from the use of dropsondes and remote-sensed moisture profiles from the airborne Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment (LASE) system. We show that the use of these additional data sets, above those from the conventional world weather watch, has a positive impact on hurricane predictions. The forecast tracks and intensity from the experiments show a marked improvement compared to the control experiment where such data sets were excluded. A study of the moisture budget in these hurricanes showed enhanced evaporation and precipitation over the storm area. This resulted in these data sets making a large impact on the estimate of mass convergence and moisture fluxes, which were much smaller in the control runs. Overall this study points to the importance of high vertical resolution humidity data sets for improved model results. We note that the forecast impact from the moisture profiling data sets for some of the storms is even larger than the impact from the use of dropwindsonde based winds.

Increased base rate of atrial pacing for prevention of atrial fibrillation after implantation of a dual-chamber pacemaker: insights from the Atrial Overdrive Pacing Study.

PubMed

Kantharia, Bharat K; Freedman, Roger A; Hoekenga, David; Tomassoni, Gery; Worley, Seth; Sorrentino, Robert; Steinhaus, David; Wolkowicz, Joel M; Syed, Zaffer A

2007-11-01

Different pacing sites and various algorithms have been utilized to prevent atrial fibrillation (AF) in pacemaker recipients. However, the optimal pacing rate settings have not yet been established. In this randomized, prospective, multicentre, single-blinded, cross over study, rate-adaptive pacing at a high base rate (BR) in patients, age 60 years or above, or a history of paroxysmal AF, who underwent dual-chamber (DDD) pacemaker implantation for standard pacing indications, was evaluated for prevention of AF. In the study cohort of 145 patients implanted with DDD pacemakers with a programmable rest rate (RR) feature, the BR/RR settings were sequentially but randomly adjusted as follows: 60 bpm/Off for the baseline quarter (initial 3 months) and then to either 'A-B-C' or 'C-B-A' settings (A = 70/65 bpm, B = 70/Off, C = 80/65 bpm) for the subsequent quarters each of 3 months duration. Data on automatic mode switch episodes, device diagnostics, and a questionnaire evaluating pacemaker awareness and palpitations were collected. Ninety-nine patients, mean age 77 +/- 10 years, who completed the study protocol and followed for 12 months did not show significant differences in the number of mode switch episodes between any settings used. The percentage of atrial pacing was lower during baseline pacing compared to settings A, B, and C (P < 0.0001). Setting C produced a higher percentage of atrial pacing than A and B (P < 0.01). Although a higher percentage of atrial pacing correlated with a lower incidence of mode switch episodes, there was no statistically significant difference in the number of mode switch episodes between settings A, B, and C. There were no significant differences in the questionnaire scores relating to pacemaker awareness or palpitation. Overdrive single-site pacing in the right atrium achieved by programming analysed settings in the present study did not reduce AF as assessed by mode switch episodes. Additionally, no change in the symptoms of arrhythmia or awareness of pacing was seen.

Image-processing algorithms for inspecting characteristics of hybrid rice seed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Fang; Ying, Yibin

2004-03-01

Incompletely closed glumes, germ and disease are three characteristics of hybrid rice seed. Image-processing algorithms developed to detect these seed characteristics were presented in this paper. The rice seed used for this study involved five varieties of Jinyou402, Shanyou10, Zhongyou207, Jiayou and IIyou. The algorithms were implemented with a 5*600 images set, a 4*400 images set and the other 5*600 images set respectively. The image sets included black background images, white background images and both sides images of rice seed. Results show that the algorithm for inspecting seeds with incompletely closed glumes based on Radon Transform achieved an accuracy of 96% for normal seeds, 92% for seeds with fine fissure and 87% for seeds with unclosed glumes, the algorithm for inspecting germinated seeds on panicle based on PCA and ANN achieved n average accuracy of 98% for normal seeds, 88% for germinated seeds on panicle and the algorithm for inspecting diseased seeds based on color features achieved an accuracy of 92% for normal and healthy seeds, 95% for spot diseased seeds and 83% for severe diseased seeds.

A level set-based topology optimization method for simultaneous design of elastic structure and coupled acoustic cavity using a two-phase material model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noguchi, Yuki; Yamamoto, Takashi; Yamada, Takayuki; Izui, Kazuhiro; Nishiwaki, Shinji

2017-09-01

This papers proposes a level set-based topology optimization method for the simultaneous design of acoustic and structural material distributions. In this study, we develop a two-phase material model that is a mixture of an elastic material and acoustic medium, to represent an elastic structure and an acoustic cavity by controlling a volume fraction parameter. In the proposed model, boundary conditions at the two-phase material boundaries are satisfied naturally, avoiding the need to express these boundaries explicitly. We formulate a topology optimization problem to minimize the sound pressure level using this two-phase material model and a level set-based method that obtains topologies free from grayscales. The topological derivative of the objective functional is approximately derived using a variational approach and the adjoint variable method and is utilized to update the level set function via a time evolutionary reaction-diffusion equation. Several numerical examples present optimal acoustic and structural topologies that minimize the sound pressure generated from a vibrating elastic structure.

Evidence-Based Adequacy Model for School Funding: Success Rates in Illinois Schools that Meet Targets

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, Gregory J.

2012-01-01

This quantitative study explores the 2010 recommendation of the Educational Funding Advisory Board to consider the Evidence-Based Adequacy model of school funding in Illinois. This school funding model identifies and costs research based practices necessary in a prototypical school and sets funding levels based upon those practices. This study…

Weight-Based Victimization among Adolescents in the School Setting: Emotional Reactions and Coping Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Puhl, Rebecca M.; Luedicke, Joerg

2012-01-01

Weight-based victimization is a frequent experience for adolescents, but little is known about their emotional reactions and coping strategies in response to weight-based teasing and bullying. The present study examined the ways that adolescents cope with experiences of weight-based victimization at school. An initial sample of 1,555 students from…

The Setting is the Service: How the Architecture of Sober Living Residences Supports Community Based Recovery

PubMed Central

Wittman, Fried; Jee, Babette; Polcin, Douglas L.; Henderson, Diane

2014-01-01

The architecture of residential recovery settings is an important silent partner in the alcohol/drug recovery field. The settings significantly support or hinder recovery experiences of residents, and shape community reactions to the presence of sober living houses (SLH) in ordinary neighborhoods. Grounded in the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous, the SLH provides residents with settings designed to support peer based recovery; further, these settings operate in a community context that insists on sobriety and strongly encourages attendance at 12-step meetings. Little formal research has been conducted to show how architectural features of the recovery setting – building appearance, spatial layouts, furnishings and finishes, policies for use of the facilities, physical care and maintenance of the property, neighborhood features, aspects of location in the city – function to promote (or retard) recovery, and to build (or detract from) community support. This paper uses a case-study approach to analyze the architecture of a community-based residential recovery service that has demonstrated successful recovery outcomes for its residents, is popular in its community, and has achieved state-wide recognition. The Environmental Pattern Language (Alexander, Ishikawa, & Silverstein, 1977) is used to analyze its architecture in a format that can be tested, critiqued, and adapted for use by similar programs in many communities, providing a model for replication and further research. PMID:25328377

The Setting is the Service: How the Architecture of Sober Living Residences Supports Community Based Recovery.

PubMed

Wittman, Fried; Jee, Babette; Polcin, Douglas L; Henderson, Diane

2014-07-01

The architecture of residential recovery settings is an important silent partner in the alcohol/drug recovery field. The settings significantly support or hinder recovery experiences of residents, and shape community reactions to the presence of sober living houses (SLH) in ordinary neighborhoods. Grounded in the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous, the SLH provides residents with settings designed to support peer based recovery; further, these settings operate in a community context that insists on sobriety and strongly encourages attendance at 12-step meetings. Little formal research has been conducted to show how architectural features of the recovery setting - building appearance, spatial layouts, furnishings and finishes, policies for use of the facilities, physical care and maintenance of the property, neighborhood features, aspects of location in the city - function to promote (or retard) recovery, and to build (or detract from) community support. This paper uses a case-study approach to analyze the architecture of a community-based residential recovery service that has demonstrated successful recovery outcomes for its residents, is popular in its community, and has achieved state-wide recognition. The Environmental Pattern Language (Alexander, Ishikawa, & Silverstein, 1977) is used to analyze its architecture in a format that can be tested, critiqued, and adapted for use by similar programs in many communities, providing a model for replication and further research.

Ancillary care in public health intervention research in low-resource settings: researchers' practices and decision-making.

PubMed

Taylor, Holly A; Merritt, Maria W; Mullany, Luke C

2011-09-01

Little is known about researchers' practices regarding the provision of ancillary care (AC) in public health intervention studies they have conducted and the factors that influence their decisions about whether to provide ancillary care in low-resource settings. We conducted 52 in-person in-depth interviews with public health researchers. Data analysis was iterative and led to the identification of themes and patterns among themes. We found that researchers who conduct their research in the community setting are more likely to identify and plan for the AC needs of potential research subjects before a study begins, whereas those affiliated with a permanent facility are more likely to deliver AC to research subjects on an ad hoc basis. Our findings suggest that on the whole, at least for public health intervention research in low-resource settings, researchers conducting research in the community setting confront more complex ethical and operational challenges in their decision-making about AC than do researchers conducting facility-based studies.

A general scientific information system to support the study of climate-related data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Treinish, L. A.

1984-01-01

The development and use of NASA's Pilot Climate Data System (PCDS) are discussed. The PCDS is used as a focal point for managing and providing access to a large collection of actively used data for the Earth, ocean and atmospheric sciences. The PCDS provides uniform data catalogs, inventories, and access methods for selected NASA and non-NASA data sets. Scientific users can preview the data sets using graphical and statistical methods. The system has evolved from its original purpose as a climate data base management system in response to a national climate program, into an extensive package of capabilities to support many types of data sets from both spaceborne and surface based measurements with flexible data selection and analysis functions.

The challenge of treating conduct disorder in low-resourced settings: rap music to the rescue.

PubMed

Evans, Dylan J

2010-12-01

Conduct disorder is one of the most frequent serious childhood problems that present for treatment in community clinic settings. Evidence-based treatments for conduct disorder are intensive and require considerable resources to implement. In low-resourced contexts it is often not feasible to implement evidence-based treatments in their current form, which poses significant challenges for clinicians attempting to treat children in these settings. This article explores these challenges using a case study of the treatment of a young adolescent boy with a short-term multisystem intervention where rap music was employed as a powerful tool to facilitate an empathic connection in therapy and as a projective technique to explore underlying emotional difficulties.

Designing for expansive science learning and identification across settings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stromholt, Shelley; Bell, Philip

2017-10-01

In this study, we present a case for designing expansive science learning environments in relation to neoliberal instantiations of standards-based implementation projects in education. Using ethnographic and design-based research methods, we examine how the design of coordinated learning across settings can engage youth from non-dominant communities in scientific and engineering practices, resulting in learning experiences that are more relevant to youth and their communities. Analyses highlight: (a) transformative moments of identification for one fifth-grade student across school and non-school settings; (b) the disruption of societal, racial stereotypes on the capabilities of and expectations for marginalized youth; and (c) how youth recognized themselves as members of their community and agents of social change by engaging in personally consequential science investigations and learning.

Short-Term Cognitive-Behavioural Group Treatment for Hoarding Disorder: A Naturalistic Treatment Outcome Study.

PubMed

Moulding, Richard; Nedeljkovic, Maja; Kyrios, Michael; Osborne, Debra; Mogan, Christopher

2017-01-01

The study aim was to test whether a 12-week publically rebated group programme, based upon Steketee and Frost's Cognitive Behavioural Therapy-based hoarding treatment, would be efficacious in a community-based setting. Over a 3-year period, 77 participants with clinically significant hoarding were recruited into 12 group programmes. All completed treatment; however, as this was a community-based naturalistic study, only 41 completed the post-treatment assessment. Treatment included psychoeducation about hoarding, skills training for organization and decision making, direct in-session exposure to sorting and discarding, and cognitive and behavioural techniques to support out-of-session sorting and discarding, and nonacquiring. Self-report measures used to assess treatment effect were the Savings Inventory-Revised (SI-R), Savings Cognition Inventory, and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales. Pre-post analyses indicated that after 12 weeks of treatment, hoarding symptoms as measured on the SI-R had reduced significantly, with large effect sizes reported in total and across all subscales. Moderate effect sizes were also reported for hoarding-related beliefs (emotional attachment and responsibility) and depressive symptoms. Of the 41 participants who completed post-treatment questionnaires, 14 (34%) were conservatively calculated to have clinically significant change, which is considerable given the brevity of the programme judged against the typical length of the disorder. The main limitation of the study was the moderate assessment completion rate, given its naturalistic setting. This study demonstrated that a 12-week group treatment for hoarding disorders was effective in reducing hoarding and depressive symptoms in an Australian clinical cohort and provides evidence for use of this treatment approach in a community setting. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. A 12-week group programme delivered in a community setting was effective for helping with hoarding symptoms with a large effect size. Hoarding beliefs (emotional attachment and responsibility) and depression were reduced, with moderate effect sizes. A third of all participants who completed post-treatment questionnaires experienced clinically significant change. Suggests that hoarding CBT treatment can be effectively translated into real-world settings and into a brief 12-session format, albeit the study had a moderate assessment completion rate. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.