Sampling and analysis for radon-222 dissolved in ground water and surface water

USGS Publications Warehouse

DeWayne, Cecil L.; Gesell, T.F.

1992-01-01

Radon-222 is a naturally occurring radioactive gas in the uranium-238 decay series that has traditionally been called, simply, radon. The lung cancer risks associated with the inhalation of radon decay products have been well documented by epidemiological studies on populations of uranium miners. The realization that radon is a public health hazard has raised the need for sampling and analytical guidelines for field personnel. Several sampling and analytical methods are being used to document radon concentrations in ground water and surface water worldwide but no convenient, single set of guidelines is available. Three different sampling and analytical methods - bubbler, liquid scintillation, and field screening - are discussed in this paper. The bubbler and liquid scintillation methods have high accuracy and precision, and small analytical method detection limits of 0.2 and 10 pCi/l (picocuries per liter), respectively. The field screening method generally is used as a qualitative reconnaissance tool.

Chlamydia screening interventions from community pharmacies: a systematic review.

PubMed

Gudka, Sajni; Afuwape, Folasade E; Wong, Bessie; Yow, Xuan Li; Anderson, Claire; Clifford, Rhonda M

2013-07-01

Chlamydia (Chlamydia trachomatis) is the most commonly notified sexually transmissible infection in Australia. Increasing the number of people aged 16-25 years being tested for chlamydia has become a key objective. The strategy recommends that chlamydia screening sites should be easy to access. Community pharmacies are conveniently located and easily accessible. This review aimed to determine the different types of pharmacy-based chlamydia screening interventions, describe their uptake rates, and understand issues around the acceptability of and barriers to testing. Seven electronic databases were searched for peer-reviewed articles published up to 30 October 2011 for studies that reported chlamydia screening interventions from community pharmacies, or had qualitative evidence on acceptability or barriers linked with interventions. Of the 163 publications identified, 12 met the inclusion criteria. Nine reported chlamydia screening interventions in a pharmacy setting, whereas three focussed on perspectives on chlamydia screening. Pharmacists could offer a chlamydia test to consumers attending the pharmacy for a sexual health-related consultation, or consumers could request a chlamydia test as part of a population-based intervention. Participating consumers said pharmacies were accessible and convenient, and pharmacists were competent when offering a chlamydia test. Pharmacists reported selectively offering tests to women they thought would be most at risk, undermining the principles of opportunistic interventions. Chlamydia screening from community pharmacies is feasible, and can provide an accessible, convenient venue to get a test. Professional implementation support, alongside resources, education and training programs, and incentives may overcome the issue of pharmacists selectively offering the test.

Ligand screening systems for human glucose transporters as tools in drug discovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmidl, Sina; Iancu, Cristina V.; Choe, Jun-yong; Oreb, Mislav

2018-05-01

Hexoses are the major source of energy and carbon skeletons for biosynthetic processes in all kingdoms of life. Their cellular uptake is mediated by specialized transporters, including glucose transporters (GLUT, SLC2 gene family). Malfunction or altered expression pattern of GLUTs in humans is associated with several widespread diseases including cancer, diabetes and severe metabolic disorders. Their high relevance in the medical area makes these transporters valuable drug targets and potential biomarkers. Nevertheless, the lack of a suitable high-throughput screening system has impeded the determination of compounds that would enable specific manipulation of GLUTs so far. Availability of structural data on several GLUTs enabled in silico ligand screening, though limited by the fact that only two major conformations of the transporters can be tested. Recently, convenient high-throughput microbial and cell-free screening systems have been developed. These remarkable achievements set the foundation for further and detailed elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of glucose transport and will also lead to great progress in the discovery of GLUT effectors as therapeutic agents. In this mini-review, we focus on recent efforts to identify potential GLUT-targeting drugs, based on a combination of structural biology and different assay systems.

Screening for Victims of Sex Trafficking in the Emergency Department: A Pilot Program

PubMed Central

Mumma, Bryn E.; Scofield, Marisa E.; Mendoza, Lydia P.; Toofan, Yalda; Youngyunpipatkul, Justin; Hernandez, Bryan

2017-01-01

Introduction Estimates suggest that hundreds of thousands of sex trafficking victims live in the United States. Several screening tools for healthcare professionals to identify sex trafficking victims have been proposed, but the effectiveness of these tools in the emergency department (ED) remains unclear. Our primary objective in this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a screening survey to identify adult victims of sex trafficking in the ED. We also compared the sensitivity of emergency physician concern and a screening survey for identifying sex trafficking victims in the ED and determined the most effective question(s) for identifying adult victims of sex trafficking. Methods We enrolled a convenience sample of medically stable female ED patients, age 18–40 years. Patients completed a 14-question survey. Physician concern for sex trafficking was documented prior to informing the physician of the survey results. A “yes” answer to any question or physician concern was considered a positive screen, and the patient was offered social work consultation. We defined a “true positive” as a patient admission for or social work documentation of sex trafficking. Demographic and clinical information were collected from the electronic medical record. Results We enrolled 143 patients, and of those 39 (27%, 95% confidence interval [CI] [20%–35%]) screened positive, including 10 (25%, 95% CI [13%–41%]) ultimately identified as victims of sex trafficking. Sensitivity of the screening survey (100%, 95% CI [74%–100%]) was better than physician concern (40%, 95% CI [12%–74%]) for identifying victims of sex trafficking, difference 60%, 95% CI [30%–90%]. Physician specificity (91%, 95% CI [85%–95%]), however, was slightly better than the screening survey (78%, 95% CI [70%–85%]), difference 13%, 95% CI [4%–21%]. All 10 (100%, 95%CI [74%–100%]) “true positive” cases answered “yes” to the screening question regarding abuse. Conclusion Identifying adult victims of sex trafficking in the ED is feasible. A screening survey appears to have greater sensitivity than physician concern, and a single screening question may be sufficient to identify all adult victims of sex trafficking in the ED. PMID:28611881

Screening for Victims of Sex Trafficking in the Emergency Department: A Pilot Program.

PubMed

Mumma, Bryn E; Scofield, Marisa E; Mendoza, Lydia P; Toofan, Yalda; Youngyunpipatkul, Justin; Hernandez, Bryan

2017-06-01

Estimates suggest that hundreds of thousands of sex trafficking victims live in the United States. Several screening tools for healthcare professionals to identify sex trafficking victims have been proposed, but the effectiveness of these tools in the emergency department (ED) remains unclear. Our primary objective in this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a screening survey to identify adult victims of sex trafficking in the ED. We also compared the sensitivity of emergency physician concern and a screening survey for identifying sex trafficking victims in the ED and determined the most effective question(s) for identifying adult victims of sex trafficking. We enrolled a convenience sample of medically stable female ED patients, age 18-40 years. Patients completed a 14-question survey. Physician concern for sex trafficking was documented prior to informing the physician of the survey results. A "yes" answer to any question or physician concern was considered a positive screen, and the patient was offered social work consultation. We defined a "true positive" as a patient admission for or social work documentation of sex trafficking. Demographic and clinical information were collected from the electronic medical record. We enrolled 143 patients, and of those 39 (27%, 95% confidence interval [CI] [20%-35%]) screened positive, including 10 (25%, 95% CI [13%-41%]) ultimately identified as victims of sex trafficking. Sensitivity of the screening survey (100%, 95% CI [74%-100%]) was better than physician concern (40%, 95% CI [12%-74%]) for identifying victims of sex trafficking, difference 60%, 95% CI [30%-90%]. Physician specificity (91%, 95% CI [85%-95%]), however, was slightly better than the screening survey (78%, 95% CI [70%-85%]), difference 13%, 95% CI [4%-21%]. All 10 (100%, 95%CI [74%-100%]) "true positive" cases answered "yes" to the screening question regarding abuse. Identifying adult victims of sex trafficking in the ED is feasible. A screening survey appears to have greater sensitivity than physician concern, and a single screening question may be sufficient to identify all adult victims of sex trafficking in the ED.

DOVIS: an implementation for high-throughput virtual screening using AutoDock.

PubMed

Zhang, Shuxing; Kumar, Kamal; Jiang, Xiaohui; Wallqvist, Anders; Reifman, Jaques

2008-02-27

Molecular-docking-based virtual screening is an important tool in drug discovery that is used to significantly reduce the number of possible chemical compounds to be investigated. In addition to the selection of a sound docking strategy with appropriate scoring functions, another technical challenge is to in silico screen millions of compounds in a reasonable time. To meet this challenge, it is necessary to use high performance computing (HPC) platforms and techniques. However, the development of an integrated HPC system that makes efficient use of its elements is not trivial. We have developed an application termed DOVIS that uses AutoDock (version 3) as the docking engine and runs in parallel on a Linux cluster. DOVIS can efficiently dock large numbers (millions) of small molecules (ligands) to a receptor, screening 500 to 1,000 compounds per processor per day. Furthermore, in DOVIS, the docking session is fully integrated and automated in that the inputs are specified via a graphical user interface, the calculations are fully integrated with a Linux cluster queuing system for parallel processing, and the results can be visualized and queried. DOVIS removes most of the complexities and organizational problems associated with large-scale high-throughput virtual screening, and provides a convenient and efficient solution for AutoDock users to use this software in a Linux cluster platform.

Intelligent control system based on ARM for lithography tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Changlong; Tang, Xiaoping; Hu, Song; Wang, Nan

2014-08-01

The control system of traditional lithography tool is based on PC and MCU. The PC handles the complex algorithm, human-computer interaction, and communicates with MCU via serial port; The MCU controls motors and electromagnetic valves, etc. This mode has shortcomings like big volume, high power consumption, and wasting of PC resource. In this paper, an embedded intelligent control system of lithography tool, based on ARM, is provided. The control system used S5PV210 as processor, completing the functions of PC in traditional lithography tool, and provided a good human-computer interaction by using LCD and capacitive touch screen. Using Android4.0.3 as operating system, the equipment provided a cool and easy UI which made the control more user-friendly, and implemented remote control and debug, pushing video information of product by network programming. As a result, it's convenient for equipment vendor to provide technical support for users. Finally, compared with traditional lithography tool, this design reduced the PC part, making the hardware resources efficiently used and reducing the cost and volume. Introducing embedded OS and the concepts in "The Internet of things" into the design of lithography tool can be a development trend.

Integrating evidence and individual preferences using a web-based multi-criteria decision analytic tool: an application to prostate cancer screening.

PubMed

Cunich, Michelle; Salkeld, Glenn; Dowie, Jack; Henderson, Joan; Bayram, Clare; Britt, Helena; Howard, Kirsten

2011-01-01

Annalisa© (AL) is a web-based decision-support template grounded in multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). It uses a simple expected value algorithm to calculate a score for each option by taking into account the individual's preferences for different criteria (as importance weights) and the evidence of the performance of each option on each criterion. Given the uncertainty surrounding the trade offs between benefits and harms for prostate cancer screening, this topic was chosen as the vehicle to introduce this new decision-support template. The aim of the study was to introduce a new decision-support template, AL, and to develop and pilot a decision-support tool for prostate cancer screening using it. A decision-support tool for prostate cancer screening (ALProst) was implemented in the AL template. ALProst incorporated evidence on both the benefits and the potential harms of prostate cancer screening (the 'attributes') from published randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Individual weights for each attribute were elicited during interviews. By combining the individual's preferences and the evidence, the best option for the user was identified on the basis of quantified scores. A convenience sample of computer-proficient primary-care physicians (general practitioners [GPs] in Australia) from the Sydney Metropolitan area (Australia) were invited to complete a face-to-face interview involving the decision-support tool. Preference for undergoing prostate-specific antigen testing for prostate cancer, both personally and for their patients, was sought prior to seeing the tool. After gaining hands-on experience with using the tool, GPs were asked to comment on the merits of the template and the tool. Preference for presenting the benefits of prostate cancer screening as the relative or absolute risk reduction in prostate cancer-specific mortality was also sought. Of 60 GPs approached, ten (six men and four women) completed an interview (16.7% response rate). Most GPs agreed/strongly agreed with positive statements about the ease with which they could use AL (seven GPs), and understand the information in, and format of, AL (nine and eight, respectively). Eight agreed/strongly agreed that ALProst would be a useful tool for discussing prostate cancer screening with their patients. GPs were also asked to nominate difficult clinical decisions that they, and their patients, have had to make; responses included cancer screening (including prostate cancer); treating patients with multiple illnesses/diseases; managing multiple cardiovascular disease risk factors; and managing patients who are receiving multiple medications. The common element was the need to consider multiple factors in making these complex decisions. AL is distinguishable from most other decision-support templates available today by its underlying conceptual framework, MCDA, and its power to combine individual preferences with evidence to derive the best option for the user quantitatively. It therefore becomes potentially useful for all decisions at all levels in the healthcare system. Moreover, it will provide a universal graphic 'language' that can overcome the burden to patients of encountering a plethora of widely varying decision aids for different conditions during their lifetime.

Baby Steps Text: Feasibility Study of an SMS-Based Tool for Tracking Children's Developmental Progress.

PubMed

Suh, Hyewon; Porter, John R; Racadio, Robert; Sung, Yi-Chen; Kientz, Julie A

2016-01-01

To help reach populations of children without consistent Internet access or medical care, we designed and implemented Baby Steps Text, an automated text message-based screening tool. We conducted preliminary user research via storyboarding and prototyping with target populations and then developed a fully functional system. In a one-month deployment study, we evaluated the feasibility of Baby Steps Text with fourteen families. During a one-month study, 13 out of 14 participants were able to learn and use the response structure (yielding 2.88% error rate) and complete a child development screener entirely via text messages. All post-study survey respondents agreed Baby Steps Text was understandable and easy to use, which was also confirmed through post-study interviews. Some survey respondents expressed liking Baby Steps Text because it was easy, quick, convenient to use, and delivered helpful, timely information. Our initial deployment study shows text messaging is a feasible tool for supporting parents in tracking and monitoring their child's development.

The development and reliability of a simple field based screening tool to assess core stability in athletes.

PubMed

O'Connor, S; McCaffrey, N; Whyte, E; Moran, K

2016-07-01

To adapt the trunk stability test to facilitate further sub-classification of higher levels of core stability in athletes for use as a screening tool. To establish the inter-tester and intra-tester reliability of this adapted core stability test. Reliability study. Collegiate athletic therapy facilities. Fifteen physically active male subjects (19.46 ± 0.63) free from any orthopaedic or neurological disorders were recruited from a convenience sample of collegiate students. The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) were computed to establish inter-tester and intra-tester reliability. Excellent ICC values were observed in the adapted core stability test for inter-tester reliability (0.97) and good to excellent intra-tester reliability (0.73-0.90). While the 95% CI were narrow for inter-tester reliability, Tester A and C 95% CI's were widely distributed compared to Tester B. The adapted core stability test developed in this study is a quick and simple field based test to administer that can further subdivide athletes with high levels of core stability. The test demonstrated high inter-tester and intra-tester reliability. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

First steps towards the successful surface-based cultivation of human embryonic stem cells in hanging drop systems.

PubMed

Schulz, Julia C; Stumpf, Patrick S; Katsen-Globa, Alisa; Sachinidis, Agapios; Hescheler, Jürgen; Zimmermann, Heiko

2012-11-01

Miniaturization and parallelization of cell culture procedures are in focus of research in order to develop test platforms with low material consumption and increased standardization for toxicity and drug screenings. The cultivation in hanging drops (HDs) is a convenient and versatile tool for biological applications and represents an interesting model system for the screening applications due to its uniform shape, the advantageous gas supply, and the small volume. However, its application has so far been limited to non-adherent and aggregate forming cells. Here, we describe for the first time the proof-of-principle regarding the adherent cultivation of human embryonic stem cells in HD. For this microcarriers were added to the droplet as dynamic cultivation surfaces resulting in a maintained pluripotency and proliferation capacity for 10 days. This enables the HD technique to be extended to the cultivation of adherence-dependent stem cells. Also, the possible automation of this method by implementation of liquid handling systems opens new possibilities for miniaturized screenings, the improvement of cultivation and differentiation conditions, and toxicity and drug development.

First steps towards the successful surface-based cultivation of human embryonic stem cells in hanging drop systems

PubMed Central

Schulz, Julia C; Stumpf, Patrick S; Katsen-Globa, Alisa; Sachinidis, Agapios; Hescheler, Jürgen; Zimmermann, Heiko

2012-01-01

Miniaturization and parallelization of cell culture procedures are in focus of research in order to develop test platforms with low material consumption and increased standardization for toxicity and drug screenings. The cultivation in hanging drops (HDs) is a convenient and versatile tool for biological applications and represents an interesting model system for the screening applications due to its uniform shape, the advantageous gas supply, and the small volume. However, its application has so far been limited to non‐adherent and aggregate forming cells. Here, we describe for the first time the proof-of-principle regarding the adherent cultivation of human embryonic stem cells in HD. For this microcarriers were added to the droplet as dynamic cultivation surfaces resulting in a maintained pluripotency and proliferation capacity for 10 days. This enables the HD technique to be extended to the cultivation of adherence-dependent stem cells. Also, the possible automation of this method by implementation of liquid handling systems opens new possibilities for miniaturized screenings, the improvement of cultivation and differentiation conditions, and toxicity and drug development. PMID:23486530

Black Americans' Perspectives of Barriers and Facilitators of Community Screening for Kidney Disease.

PubMed

Umeukeje, Ebele M; Wild, Marcus G; Maripuri, Saugar; Davidson, Teresa; Rutherford, Margaret; Abdel-Kader, Khaled; Lewis, Julia; Wilkins, Consuelo H; Cavanaugh, Kerri

2018-04-06

Incidence of ESKD is three times higher in black Americans than in whites, and CKD prevalence continues to rise among black Americans. Community-based kidney disease screening may increase early identification and awareness of black Americans at risk, but it is challenging to implement. This study aimed to identify participants' perspectives of community kidney disease screening. The Health Belief Model provides a theoretic framework for conceptualization of these perspectives and optimization of community kidney disease screening activities. Researchers in collaboration with the Tennessee Kidney Foundation conducted three focus groups of adults in black American churches in Nashville, Tennessee. Questions examined views on CKD information, access to care, and priorities of kidney disease health. Content analysis was used. Guided by the Health Belief Model, a priori themes were generated, and additional themes were derived from the data using an inductive approach. Thirty-two black Americans completed the study in 2014. Participants were mostly women (79%) with a mean age of 56 years old (range, 24-78). Two major categories of barriers to kidney disease screening were identified: ( 1 ) participant factors, including limited kidney disease knowledge, spiritual/religious beliefs, emotions, and culture of the individual; and ( 2 ) logistic factors, including lack of convenience and incentives and poor advertisement. Potential facilitators of CKD screening included provision of CKD education, convenience of screening activities, and use of culturally sensitive and enhanced communication strategies. Program recommendations included partnering with trusted community members, selecting convenient locations, tailored advertising, and provision of compensation. Findings of this study suggest that provider-delivered culturally sensitive education and stakeholder engagement are critical to increase trust, decrease fear, and maximize participation and early identification of kidney disease among black Americans considering community screening. Copyright © 2018 by the American Society of Nephrology.

Validation Analysis of a Geriatric Dehydration Screening Tool in Community-Dwelling and Institutionalized Elderly People

PubMed Central

Rodrigues, Susana; Silva, Joana; Severo, Milton; Inácio, Cátia; Padrão, Patrícia; Lopes, Carla; Carvalho, Joana; do Carmo, Isabel; Moreira, Pedro

2015-01-01

Dehydration is common among elderly people. The aim of this study was to perform validation analysis of a geriatric dehydration-screening tool (DST) in the assessment of hydration status in elderly people. This tool was based on the DST proposed by Vivanti et al., which is composed by 11 items (four physical signs of dehydration and seven questions about thirst sensation, pain and mobility), with four questions extra about drinking habits. The resulting questionnaire was evaluated in a convenience sample comprising institutionalized (n = 29) and community-dwelling (n = 74) elderly people. Urinary parameters were assessed (24-h urine osmolality and volume) and free water reserve (FWR) was calculated. Exploratory factor analysis was used to evaluate the scale’s dimensionality and Cronbach’s alpha was used to measure the reliability of each subscale. Construct’s validity was tested using linear regression to estimate the association between scores in each dimension and urinary parameters. Two factors emerged from factor analysis, which were named “Hydration Score” and “Pain Score”, and both subscales showed acceptable reliabilities. The “Hydration Score” was negatively associated with 24-h urine osmolality in community-dwelling; and the “Pain Score” was negatively associated with 24-h urine osmolality, and positively associated with 24-h urine volume and FWR in institutionalized elderly people. PMID:25739005

Repurposing endogenous type I CRISPR-Cas systems for programmable gene repression

PubMed Central

Luo, Michelle L.; Mullis, Adam S.; Leenay, Ryan T.; Beisel, Chase L.

2015-01-01

CRISPR-Cas systems have shown tremendous promise as heterologous tools for genome editing and transcriptional regulation. Because these RNA-directed immune systems are found in most prokaryotes, an opportunity exists to harness the endogenous systems as convenient tools in these organisms. Here, we report that the Type I-E CRISPR-Cas system in Escherichia coli can be co-opted for programmable transcriptional repression. We found that deletion of the signature cas3 gene converted this immune system into a programmable gene regulator capable of reversible gene silencing of heterologous and endogenous genes. Targeting promoter regions yielded the strongest repression, whereas targeting coding regions showed consistent strand bias. Furthermore, multi-targeting CRISPR arrays could generate complex phenotypes. This strategy offers a simple approach to convert many endogenous Type I systems into transcriptional regulators, thereby expanding the available toolkit for CRISPR-mediated genetic control while creating new opportunities for genome-wide screens and pathway engineering. PMID:25326321

Genome Editing Redefines Precision Medicine in the Cardiovascular Field

PubMed Central

Lahm, Harald; Dreßen, Martina; Lange, Rüdiger; Wu, Sean M.; Krane, Markus

2018-01-01

Genome editing is a powerful tool to study the function of specific genes and proteins important for development or disease. Recent technologies, especially CRISPR/Cas9 which is characterized by convenient handling and high precision, revolutionized the field of genome editing. Such tools have enormous potential for basic science as well as for regenerative medicine. Nevertheless, there are still several hurdles that have to be overcome, but patient-tailored therapies, termed precision medicine, seem to be within reach. In this review, we focus on the achievements and limitations of genome editing in the cardiovascular field. We explore different areas of cardiac research and highlight the most important developments: (1) the potential of genome editing in human pluripotent stem cells in basic research for disease modelling, drug screening, or reprogramming approaches and (2) the potential and remaining challenges of genome editing for regenerative therapies. Finally, we discuss social and ethical implications of these new technologies. PMID:29731778

Confirmatory factor analysis of the Chinese Breast Cancer Screening Beliefs Questionnaire.

PubMed

Kwok, Cannas; Fethney, Judith; White, Kate

2012-01-01

Chinese women have been consistently reported as having low breast cancer screening practices. The Chinese Breast Cancer Screening Beliefs Questionnaire (CBCSB) was designed to assess Chinese Australian women's beliefs, knowledge, and attitudes toward breast cancer and screening practices. The objectives of the study were to confirm the factor structure of the CBCSB with a new, larger sample of immigrant Chinese Australian women and to report its clinical validity. A convenience sample of 785 Chinese Australian women was recruited from Chinese community organizations and shopping malls. Cronbach α was used to assess internal consistency reliability, and Amos v18 was used for confirmatory factor analysis. Clinical validity was assessed through linear regression using SPSS v18. The 3-factor structure of the CBCSB was confirmed, although the model required respecification to arrive at a suitable model fit as measured by the goodness-of-fit index (0.98), adjusted goodness-of-fit index (0.97), normed fit index (0.95), and root mean square error of approximation (0.031). Internal consistency reliability coefficients were satisfactory (>.6). Women who engaged in all 3 types of screening had more proactive attitudes to health checkups and perceived less barriers to mammographic screening. The CBCSB is a valid and reliable tool for assessing Chinese women's beliefs, knowledge, and attitudes about breast cancer and breast cancer screening practices. The CBCSB can be used for providing practicing nurses with insights into the provision of culturally sensitive breast health education.

Health beliefs of blue collar workers. Increasing self efficacy and removing barriers.

PubMed

Wilson, S; Sisk, R J; Baldwin, K A

1997-05-01

The study compared the health beliefs of participants and non-participants in a blood pressure and cholesterol screening held at the worksite. A cross sectional, ex-post facto design was used. Questionnaires measuring health beliefs related to cardiac screening and prevention of cardiac problems were distributed to a convenience sample of 200 blue-collar workers in a large manufacturing plant in the Midwest. One hundred fifty-one (75.5%) completed questionnaires were returned, of which 45 had participated in cardiac worksite screening in the past month. A multivariate analysis of variance was used to analyze data. Participants perceived significantly fewer barriers to cardiac screening and scored significantly higher on self efficacy than non-participants. These findings concur with other studies identifying barriers and self efficacy as important predictors of health behavior. Occupational health nurses' efforts are warranted to reduce barriers and improve self efficacy by advertising screenings, scheduling them at convenient times and locations, assuring privacy, and keeping time inconvenience to a minimum.

(125)I-Tetrazines and Inverse-Electron-Demand Diels-Alder Chemistry: A Convenient Radioiodination Strategy for Biomolecule Labeling, Screening, and Biodistribution Studies.

PubMed

Albu, Silvia A; Al-Karmi, Salma A; Vito, Alyssa; Dzandzi, James P K; Zlitni, Aimen; Beckford-Vera, Denis; Blacker, Megan; Janzen, Nancy; Patel, Ramesh M; Capretta, Alfredo; Valliant, John F

2016-01-20

A convenient method to prepare radioiodinated tetrazines was developed, such that a bioorthogonal inverse electron demand Diels-Alder reaction can be used to label biomolecules with iodine-125 for in vitro screening and in vivo biodistribution studies. The tetrazine was prepared by employing a high-yielding oxidative halo destannylation reaction that concomitantly oxidized the dihydrotetrazine precursor. The product reacts quickly and efficiently with trans-cyclooctene derivatives. Utility was demonstrated through antibody and hormone labeling experiments and by evaluating products using standard analytical methods, in vitro assays, and quantitative biodistribution studies where the latter was performed in direct comparison to Bolton-Hunter and direct iodination methods. The approach described provides a convenient and advantageous alternative to conventional protein iodination methods that can expedite preclinical development and evaluation of biotherapeutics.

A method for screening active components from Chinese herbs by cell membrane chromatography-offline-high performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and an online statistical tool for data processing.

PubMed

Cao, Yan; Wang, Shaozhan; Li, Yinghua; Chen, Xiaofei; Chen, Langdong; Wang, Dongyao; Zhu, Zhenyu; Yuan, Yongfang; Lv, Diya

2018-03-09

Cell membrane chromatography (CMC) has been successfully applied to screen bioactive compounds from Chinese herbs for many years, and some offline and online two-dimensional (2D) CMC-high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) hyphenated systems have been established to perform screening assays. However, the requirement of sample preparation steps for the second-dimensional analysis in offline systems and the need for an interface device and technical expertise in the online system limit their extensive use. In the present study, an offline 2D CMC-HPLC analysis combined with the XCMS (various forms of chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry) Online statistical tool for data processing was established. First, our previously reported online 2D screening system was used to analyze three Chinese herbs that were reported to have potential anti-inflammatory effects, and two binding components were identified. By contrast, the proposed offline 2D screening method with XCMS Online analysis was applied, and three more ingredients were discovered in addition to the two compounds revealed by the online system. Then, cross-validation of the three compounds was performed, and they were confirmed to be included in the online data as well, but were not identified there because of their low concentrations and lack of credible statistical approaches. Last, pharmacological experiments showed that these five ingredients could inhibit IL-6 release and IL-6 gene expression on LPS-induced RAW cells in a dose-dependent manner. Compared with previous 2D CMC screening systems, this newly developed offline 2D method needs no sample preparation steps for the second-dimensional analysis, and it is sensitive, efficient, and convenient. It will be applicable in identifying active components from Chinese herbs and practical in discovery of lead compounds derived from herbs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Perceptions of exercise screening among older adults.

PubMed

Stathokostas, Liza; Petrella, Andrea F M; Blunt, Wendy; Petrella, Robert J

2018-06-01

Prephysical activity screening is important for older adults' participating in physical activity. Unfortunately, many older adults face barriers to exercise participation and thus, may not complete proper physical activity screening. The purpose of this project was to conduct a thematic analysis of perceptions and experiences of community-dwelling older adults regarding prephysical activity screening (i.e., Get Active Questionnaire (GAQ) and a standardized exercise stress test). A convenience sample of adults (male n = 58, female n = 54) aged 75 ± 7 years living in the City of London, Ontario, Canada, was used. Participants completed a treadmill stress test and the GAQ at a research laboratory for community-based referrals. One week later, participants completed the GAQ again and were asked questions by a research assistant about their perceptions of the screening process. Thematic analysis of the responses was conducted. The results indicated that older adults view physical activity screening as acceptable, but not always necessary. Also, the experiences expressed by this sample of older adults indicated that physical activity screening can contribute to continued confidence (through reassurance) and can contribute to increased motivation (through yearly fitness results) in exercise participation. In conclusion, older adults may perceive screening as supportive in exercise adoption, if screening is simple, convenient, and supports older adults' motivation and confidence to exercise.

SCREEN-PRINTED TYROSINASE-CONTAINING ELECTRODES FOR THE BIOSENSING OF ENZYME INHIBITORS

EPA Science Inventory

Disposal amperometric inhibition biosensors have been microfabricated by screen printing a tyrosinase-containing carbon ink. The decrease in the substrate (catechol) steady-state current, caused by the addition of various pesticides and herbicides, offers convenient quantitation ...

Is Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) or Its Shorter Versions More Useful to Identify Risky Drinkers in a Chinese Population? A Diagnostic Study

PubMed Central

Yip, Benjamin H. K.; Chung, Roger Y.; Chung, Vincent C. H.; Kim, Jean; Chan, Iris W. T.; Wong, Martin C. S.; Wong, Samuel Y. S.; Griffiths, Sian M.

2015-01-01

Objective To examine the diagnostic performance of shorter versions of Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT), including Alcohol Consumption (AUDIT-C), in identifying risky drinkers in primary care settings using conventional performance measures, supplemented by decision curve analysis and reclassification table. Study design and Setting A cross-sectional study of adult males in general outpatient clinics in Hong Kong. The study included only patients who reported at least sometimes drinking alcoholic beverages. Timeline follow back alcohol consumption assessment method was used as the reference standard. A Chinese translated and validated 10-item AUDIT (Ch-AUDIT) was used as a screening tool of risky drinking. Results Of the participants, 21.7% were classified as risky drinkers. AUDIT-C has the best overall performance among the shorter versions of Ch-AUDIT. The AUC of AUDIT-C was comparable to Ch-AUDIT (0.898 vs 0.901, p-value = 0.959). Decision curve analysis revealed that when the threshold probability ranged from 15–30%, the AUDIT-C had a higher net-benefit than all other screens. AUDIT-C improved the reclassification of risky drinking when compared to Ch-AUDIT (net reclassification improvement = 0.167). The optimal cut-off of AUDIT-C was at ≥5. Conclusion Given the rising levels of alcohol consumption in the Chinese regions, this Chinese translated 3-item instrument provides convenient and time-efficient risky drinking screening and may become an increasingly useful tool. PMID:25756353

A pan-Canadian web-based education program to support screening for distress: evaluation of outcomes.

PubMed

McLeod, Deborah L; Morck, Angela C; Curran, Janet A

2014-02-01

Cancer-related distress has been endorsed as the sixth vital sign by many international cancer organizations, and some countries such as Canada have implemented national screening for distress programs. The completion of a screening tool is an important first step in improving responsiveness to cancer-related distress, but screening must be followed with skilled supportive care to make a difference in patient-reported outcomes. Our objective was to create a web-based education program to support nurses and other frontline staff in providing an initial response to screening results. To address screening and supportive care learning needs, the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology (CAPO), with support from the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, created a web-based education program as one component of the national screening for distress agenda. The program provides clinically grounded and interactive learning through the use of PowerPoint presentations, video clips of clinical interactions with patients and family members, and test questions. Presentation topics include, for example, strategies for dealing with screening results, managing referrals, and supportive counseling. We employed a matched pairs, pre-post survey design to assess the effect of the education program on confidence in screening and in providing initial supportive care. Our analysis of the first 147 matched pairs to complete the course suggests that satisfaction with the course was high. Statistically significant increases in confidence in relation to screening for distress and assessing distress, and in providing initial supportive care, were evident. Our ongoing experience with CAPO's Interprofessional Psychosocial Oncology Distance Education (IPODE) project (www.ipode.ca) project suggests that healthcare professionals value web-based learning for its accessibility and convenience. Such programs appear to offer excellent opportunities for cost-effective education that supports practice change.

Validity and reliability of Abbreviated Mental Test Score (AMTS) among older Iranian.

PubMed

Foroughan, Mahshid; Wahlund, Lars-Olof; Jafari, Zahra; Rahgozar, Mehdi; Farahani, Ida G; Rashedi, Vahid

2017-11-01

Cognitive impairment is common among older people and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of the Persian version of the Abbreviated Mental Test Score (AMTS) as a screening tool for dementia. Data were obtained from a cross-sectional study. One hundred and one older adults who were members of Iranian Alzheimer Association and 101 of their siblings were entered into this study by convenient sampling. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, criteria for diagnosing dementia and the Mini-Mental State Examination were used as the study tools. The gathered data were analyzed by the Mann-Whitney U-test, the Kruskal-Wallis test, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, and the receiver-operating characteristic. The AMTS could successfully differentiate the dementia group from the non-dementia group. Scores were significantly correlated with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders diagnosis for dementia and Mini-Mental State Examination scores (P < 0.001). Educational level (P < 0.001) and male sex (P = 0.015) were positively associated with AMTS, whereas (P < 0.001) was negatively associated with AMTS. Total Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.90. The scores 6 and 7 showed the optimum balance between sensitivity (99% and 94%, respectively) and specificity (85% and 86%, respectively). The Persian version of the AMTS is a valid cognitive assessment tool for older Iranian adults and can be used for dementia screening in Iran. © 2017 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.

Development of a Pediatric Fall Risk And Injury Reduction Program.

PubMed

Kramlich, Debra L; Dende, Denise

2016-01-01

Fall prevention programs that include reliable, valid, and clinically tested screening tools have demonstrated more positive effects for adult and geriatric populations than those not including such assessment. In contrast, because falling is a natural part of growth and development for pediatric patients, progression toward effective prevention programs for this population has proven to be a challenge; a significant impediment is the lack of definition regarding what constitutes a reportable fall. This project explored pediatric health care providers' perceptions of patient falls in order to define a reportable pediatric fall and inform development of a prevention program. A concept analysis of defining attributes, antecedents, and consequences of pediatric falls from literature formed the basis for a set of questions; a convenience sample of 28 pediatric health care providers in an acute care hospital in New England participated in six moderated focus groups. Constant comparison method was used to code the qualitative data and develop themes. Participants unanimously agreed on several points; as expected, their years of experience in pediatric practice provided valuable insight. Three major themes emerged: patient characteristics, caregiver characteristics, and environmental characteristics. Based on factors identified by staff, a screening tool was adopted and integrated into the electronic medical record. Staff were actively engaged in developing definitions, selecting tools, and identifying next steps toward a comprehensive fall reduction program for their patients. As a result, they have embraced changes and advocated successfully for endorsement by the organization.

Expression of human peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors ligand binding domain-maltose binding protein fusion protein in Escherichia coli: a convenient and reliable method for preparing receptor for screening ligands.

PubMed

Li, Changqing; Tian, Mi; Yuan, Ye; Zhou, Qinxin

2008-12-01

Human peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (hPPARs) are ligand-activated transcription factors and are the target for the treatment of many diseases. Screening of their ligands is mainly based on assays of ligand binding to the ligand binding domain (LBD) of hPPARs.However, such assays are difficult because of the preparation of hPPARs LBD. In order to yield functional hPPARs LBD for screening ligands, hPPARs LBD was fused with maltose-binding protein(MBP) using the pMAL-p2x expression system through the gene engineering technique. The radioligand binding assay showed that MBP did not affect ligand binding with hPPARs LBD in the fusion proteins, which means that MBP-hPPARs LBD can be used instead of hPPARs LBD in ligand screening work. The results show that the new strategy using MBP as a fusion tag for preparing hPPARs LBD for screening ligands is a convenient and reliable method. It may be used to easily obtain the other nuclear receptors.

Complex fluids with mobile charge-regulating macro-ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Markovich, Tomer; Andelman, David; Podgornik, Rudi

2017-10-01

We generalize the concept of charge regulation of ionic solutions, and apply it to complex fluids with mobile macro-ions having internal non-electrostatic degrees of freedom. The suggested framework provides a convenient tool for investigating systems where mobile macro-ions can self-regulate their charge (e.g., proteins). We show that even within a simplified charge-regulation model, the charge dissociation equilibrium results in different and notable properties. Consequences of the charge regulation include a positional dependence of the effective charge of the macro-ions, a non-monotonic dependence of the effective Debye screening length on the concentration of the monovalent salt, a modification of the electric double-layer structure, and buffering by the macro-ions of the background electrolyte.

Flexible CRISPR library construction using parallel oligonucleotide retrieval

PubMed Central

Read, Abigail; Gao, Shaojian; Batchelor, Eric

2017-01-01

Abstract CRISPR/Cas9-based gene knockout libraries have emerged as a powerful tool for functional screens. We present here a set of pre-designed human and mouse sgRNA sequences that are optimized for both high on-target potency and low off-target effect. To maximize the chance of target gene inactivation, sgRNAs were curated to target both 5΄ constitutive exons and exons that encode conserved protein domains. We describe here a robust and cost-effective method to construct multiple small sized CRISPR library from a single oligo pool generated by array synthesis using parallel oligonucleotide retrieval. Together, these resources provide a convenient means for individual labs to generate customized CRISPR libraries of variable size and coverage depth for functional genomics application. PMID:28334828

Technology-assisted title and abstract screening for systematic reviews: a retrospective evaluation of the Abstrackr machine learning tool.

PubMed

Gates, Allison; Johnson, Cydney; Hartling, Lisa

2018-03-12

Machine learning tools can expedite systematic review (SR) processes by semi-automating citation screening. Abstrackr semi-automates citation screening by predicting relevant records. We evaluated its performance for four screening projects. We used a convenience sample of screening projects completed at the Alberta Research Centre for Health Evidence, Edmonton, Canada: three SRs and one descriptive analysis for which we had used SR screening methods. The projects were heterogeneous with respect to search yield (median 9328; range 5243 to 47,385 records; interquartile range (IQR) 15,688 records), topic (Antipsychotics, Bronchiolitis, Diabetes, Child Health SRs), and screening complexity. We uploaded the records to Abstrackr and screened until it made predictions about the relevance of the remaining records. Across three trials for each project, we compared the predictions to human reviewer decisions and calculated the sensitivity, specificity, precision, false negative rate, proportion missed, and workload savings. Abstrackr's sensitivity was > 0.75 for all projects and the mean specificity ranged from 0.69 to 0.90 with the exception of Child Health SRs, for which it was 0.19. The precision (proportion of records correctly predicted as relevant) varied by screening task (median 26.6%; range 14.8 to 64.7%; IQR 29.7%). The median false negative rate (proportion of records incorrectly predicted as irrelevant) was 12.6% (range 3.5 to 21.2%; IQR 12.3%). The workload savings were often large (median 67.2%, range 9.5 to 88.4%; IQR 23.9%). The proportion missed (proportion of records predicted as irrelevant that were included in the final report, out of the total number predicted as irrelevant) was 0.1% for all SRs and 6.4% for the descriptive analysis. This equated to 4.2% (range 0 to 12.2%; IQR 7.8%) of the records in the final reports. Abstrackr's reliability and the workload savings varied by screening task. Workload savings came at the expense of potentially missing relevant records. How this might affect the results and conclusions of SRs needs to be evaluated. Studies evaluating Abstrackr as the second reviewer in a pair would be of interest to determine if concerns for reliability would diminish. Further evaluations of Abstrackr's performance and usability will inform its refinement and practical utility.

Utilization of Stop-flow Micro-tubing Reactors for the Development of Organic Transformations.

PubMed

Toh, Ren Wei; Li, Jie Sheng; Wu, Jie

2018-01-04

A new reaction screening technology for organic synthesis was recently demonstrated by combining elements from both continuous micro-flow and conventional batch reactors, coined stop-flow micro-tubing (SFMT) reactors. In SFMT, chemical reactions that require high pressure can be screened in parallel through a safer and convenient way. Cross-contamination, which is a common problem in reaction screening for continuous flow reactors, is avoided in SFMT. Moreover, the commercially available light-permeable micro-tubing can be incorporated into SFMT, serving as an excellent choice for light-mediated reactions due to a more effective uniform light exposure, compared to batch reactors. Overall, the SFMT reactor system is similar to continuous flow reactors and more superior than batch reactors for reactions that incorporate gas reagents and/or require light-illumination, which enables a simple but highly efficient reaction screening system. Furthermore, any successfully developed reaction in the SFMT reactor system can be conveniently translated to continuous-flow synthesis for large scale production.

Behavorial Screens for Detecting Developmental Neurotoxicity in Larval Zebrafish

EPA Science Inventory

As part of the EPA's effort to develop an in vivo, vertebrate screen for toxic chemicals, we have characterized basic behaviors of 6-day post-fertilization (dpf) zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae in a microtiter plate format. Our main goal is to develop a convenient, reproducible me...

PubMed Central

Brown, J. B.; Schmidt, G.; Lent, B.; Sas, G.; Lemelin, J.

2001-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To replicate, in a Francophone community, our prior work determining the reliability and validity of the full Woman Abuse Screening Tool (WAST) and a two-item version (WAST-Short). DESIGN: Questionnaires completed by abused and nonabused women. SETTING: Two women's shelters in Francophone communities in Ontario and Quebec and participants' homes or workplaces. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of 25 abused women currently residing in two women's shelters and a convenience sample of 21 women who reported they were not abused. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Women's responses to French versions of the WAST, the Abuse Risk Inventory (ARI), and comfort in answering the questions were compared. Also, the reliability and validity of French versions of WAST and WAST-Short were assessed. RESULTS: Abused (n = 23) and not abused (n = 21) women were demographically similar. A strong single-factor structure that accounted for 81% of total variance in the French WAST items was identified. The French WAST was found to be highly reliable with a coefficient alpha of .95 and demonstrated construct and discriminant validity. The WAST-Short correctly classified all the nonabused women and 78.7% of the abused women. The abused women reported feeling less comfortable responding to the WAST questions than the nonabused women. CONCLUSION: The French version of the WAST demonstrated good reliability and validity and discriminated between known samples of abused and nonabused women. Even though the French WAST-Short did not perform as well as the English version, results of this study support further evaluation of the WAST for screening women in Francophone or bilingual family practice settings. PMID:11398732

Smoking and behavioral health of women.

PubMed

Jessup, Martha A; Dibble, Suzanne L; Cooper, Bruce A

2012-07-01

Using data from a study of reliability and validity of a screening tool for co-occurring substance abuse and mental health problems, our objective was to compare behavioral health issues of female smokers and nonsmokers and explore correlates of smoking. Using a convenience sample (n=1021), we recruited participants to complete an online survey conducted in substance abuse treatment, primary care, mental health services, senior, and public settings. The survey included demographic questions, smoking status, the co-occurring disorders screening tool, the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs-Short Screener (GAIN-SS) and the Postraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL)-Civilian. One third of participants self-identified as smokers, and African American, American Indian, and bisexual women reported the highest rates of smoking. Seventy-two percent of women reported at least one mental health problem in the past year; 29% had a past year substance abuse problem, and 26% reported a past year co-occurring disorder of both. Smokers had significantly higher rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), past year depression and anxiety, suicidality, past year substance abuse, and co-occurring disorders. Smokers also had significantly higher rates of lifetime intimate partner violence (IPV) and childhood abuse. Smoking in women was associated with significantly higher rates of mental health and substance abuse problems. Substance abuse, being in a treatment setting, IPV, African American and mixed ethnicity, Medicaid insurance status, reduced income, and no home ownership were identified as predictors of smoking. Screening and evaluation of smoking status, mental health, substance use disorders, and the presence and impact of violence are essential for women's health.

Knowledge of Breast Cancer and Screening Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vahabi, Mandana

2005-01-01

Objective: To assess young women's breast health knowledge and explore its relation to the use of screening mammography. Methods: A convenience sample of 180 women aged 25-45 residing in Toronto, Canada, with no history of breast cancer and mammography received an information brochure and four questionnaires which assessed their knowledge of…

Development, Sensibility, and Validity of a Systemic Autoimmune Rheumatic Disease Case Ascertainment Tool.

PubMed

Armstrong, Susan M; Wither, Joan E; Borowoy, Alan M; Landolt-Marticorena, Carolina; Davis, Aileen M; Johnson, Sindhu R

2017-01-01

Case ascertainment through self-report is a convenient but often inaccurate method to collect information. The purposes of this study were to develop, assess the sensibility, and validate a tool to identify cases of systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARD) in the outpatient setting. The SARD tool was administered to subjects sampled from specialty clinics. Determinants of sensibility - comprehensibility, feasibility, validity, and acceptability - were evaluated using a numeric rating scale from 1-7. Comprehensibility was evaluated using the Flesch Reading Ease and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level. Self-reported diagnoses were validated against medical records using Cohen's κ statistic. There were 141 participants [systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), systemic sclerosis (SSc), rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren syndrome (SS), inflammatory myositis (polymyositis/dermatomyositis; PM/DM), and controls] who completed the questionnaire. The Flesch Reading Ease score was 77.1 and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level was 4.4. Respondents endorsed (mean ± SD) comprehensibility (6.12 ± 0.92), feasibility (5.94 ± 0.81), validity (5.35 ± 1.10), and acceptability (3.10 ± 2.03). The SARD tool had a sensitivity of 0.91 (95% CI 0.88-0.94) and a specificity of 0.99 (95% CI 0.96-1.00). The agreement between the SARD tool and medical record was κ = 0.82 (95% CI 0.77-0.88). Subgroup analysis by SARD found κ coefficients for SLE to be κ = 0.88 (95% CI 0.79-0.97), SSc κ = 1.0 (95% CI 1.0-1.0), PM/DM κ = 0.72 (95% CI 0.49-0.95), and SS κ = 0.85 (95% CI 0.71-0.99). The screening questions had sensitivity ranging from 0.96 to 1.0 and specificity ranging from 0.88 to 1.0. This SARD case ascertainment tool has demonstrable sensibility and validity. The use of both screening and confirmatory questions confers added accuracy.

Role of Urine Drug Testing in the Current Opioid Epidemic.

PubMed

Mahajan, Gagan

2017-12-01

While the evidence for urine drug testing for patients on chronic opioid therapy is weak, the guidelines created by numerous medical societies and state and federal regulatory agencies recommend that it be included as one of the tools used to monitor patients for compliance with chronic opioid therapy. To get the most comprehensive results, clinicians should order both an immunoassay screen and confirmatory urine drug test. The immunoassay screen, which can be performed as an in-office point-of-care test or as a laboratory-based test, is a cheap and convenient study to order. Limitations of an immunoassay screen, however, include having a high threshold of detectability and only providing qualitative information about a select number of drug classes. Because of these restrictions, clinicians should understand that immunoassay screens have high false-positive and false-negative rates. Despite these limitations, though, the results can assist the clinician with making preliminary treatment decisions. In comparison, a confirmatory urine drug test, which can only be performed as a laboratory-based test, has a lower threshold of detectability and provides both qualitative and quantitative information. A urine drug test's greater degree of specificity allows for a relatively low false-negative and false-positive rate in contrast to an immunoassay screen. Like any other diagnostic test, an immunoassay screen and a confirmatory urine drug test both possess limitations. Clinicians must keep this in mind when interpreting an unexpected test result and consult with their laboratory when in doubt about the meaning of the test result to avoid making erroneous decisions that negatively impact both the patient and clinician.

How to select the correct education strategy: when not to go online.

PubMed

Klingbeil, Carol G; Johnson, Norah L; Totka, Joan P; Doyle, Lynn

2009-01-01

Screening for intimate partner violence is an important injury prevention strategy. Nurses who develop staff education, to promote screening, need to select a method that is sensitive to learners. Online learning, although convenient, is not well suited to sensitive topics such as screening for intimate partner violence. The purpose of this article is to describe a curriculum for intimate partner violence screening based on self-efficacy theory, which includes a hospital-produced video, a role play, and a discussion.

Screening of current post-traumatic stress disorder in patients with substance use disorder using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21): a reliable and convenient measure.

PubMed

Kok, Tim; de Haan, Hein A; van der Meer, Margreet; Najavits, Lisa M; De Jong, Cor A J

2015-01-01

Several instruments have been developed and validated as screens for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in substance use disorder (SUD) patients. Unfortunately, many of these instruments have one or several disadvantages (e.g. low specificity, low sensitivity or high costs). No research has been conducted on instruments that screen simultaneously for other psychiatric disorders, which would be a potentially time-saving and cost-effective approach. In the current study we tested the psychometric properties of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) as a screen for PTSD. The DASS was assessed in an inpatient facility during intake with 58 patients and again 4 weeks after admission. Another 138 patients were assessed 4 weeks after admission only. The results were compared to the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) that was also administered after 4 weeks of abstinence. ROC curve analyses showed an area under the curve of 0.84 for the DASS at intake and 0.78 for the DASS after 4 weeks' abstinence. The DASS is therefore a reliable and convenient measure to use as a screen for PTSD in SUD patients. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Emergency department screening and intervention for patients with alcohol-related disorders: a pilot study.

PubMed

Love, Aaron Craig; Greenberg, Marna Rayl; Brice, Matthew; Weinstock, Michael

2008-01-01

Physicians in emergency departments (EDs) treat more patients with alcohol-related disorders than do those in primary care settings. To implement an effective screening, brief intervention, and referral (SBIR) program for use in EDs. Further, to evaluate the impact of the program on alcohol-consumption levels. A prospective cohort pilot study was conducted at a suburban community teaching hospital using a convenience sample of ED patients and an original seven-question screening tool based on well-known guidelines. Subjects screening positive for possible alcohol abuse were given treatment referrals. Follow-up telephone interviews were conducted 6 months later. Of the 1556 enrolled subjects, 251 (16%) were classified as at-risk drinkers. Seventy-nine at-risk subjects (32% [95% CI, 26%-37%]) screened positive on CAGE-based questions (Cut down, Annoyed, Guilty, Eye opener). At follow-up, 20 (25% [95% CI, 16%-35%]) were successfully contacted. Of these 20 subjects, 5 (25%) refused to participate in follow-up screening. For the remaining 15 individuals, follow-up screening indicated that the mean (SD) number of drinks consumed per week decreased from 28 (14) on study enrollment to 10 (10) at 6-month follow-up (P<.001). Maximum number of drinks per occasion decreased from 12 (8) at enrollment to 6 (7) on follow-up (P=.008). Subject scores on the CAGE-based questions decreased from pre- to postintervention, though not significantly, with an average of 2.1 (1) affirmative answers on enrollment and 1.5 (1.4) at follow-up (P=.108). Implementation of an effective SBIR program for alcohol-related disorders can be accomplished in the ED.

Computer-based cognitive retraining for adults with chronic acquired brain injury: a pilot study.

PubMed

Li, Kitsum; Robertson, Julie; Ramos, Joshua; Gella, Stephanie

2013-10-01

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a computer-based cognitive retraining (CBCR) program on improving memory and attention deficits in individuals with a chronic acquired brain injury (ABI). Twelve adults with a chronic ABI demonstrating deficits in memory and attention were recruited from a convenience sample from the community. Using a quasi-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design, a significant improvement was found in both memory and attention scores postintervention using the cognitive screening tool. This study supported the effectiveness of CBCR programs in improving cognitive deficits in memory and attention in individuals with chronic ABI. Further research is recommended to validate these findings with a larger ABI population and to investigate transfer to improvement in occupational performance that supports daily living skills.

A Liquid Array Platform For the Multiplexed Analysis of Synthetic Molecule-Protein Interactions

PubMed Central

Doran, Todd M.; Kodadek, Thomas

2014-01-01

Synthetic molecule microarrays, consisting of many different compounds spotted onto a planar surface such as modified glass or cellulose, have proven to be useful tools for the multiplexed analysis of small molecule- and peptide-protein interactions. However, these arrays are technically difficult to manufacture and use with high reproducibility and require specialized equipment. Here we report a more convenient alternative comprised of color-encoded beads that display a small molecule protein ligand on the surface. Quantitative, multiplexed assay of protein binding to up to 24 different ligands can be achieved using a common flow cytometer for the readout. This technology should be useful for evaluating hits from library screening efforts, the determination of structure activity relationships and for certain types of serological analyses. PMID:24245981

Analysis of beat fluctuations and oxygen consumption in cardiomyocytes by scanning electrochemical microscopy.

PubMed

Hirano, Yu; Kodama, Mikie; Shibuya, Masahiro; Maki, Yoshiyuki; Komatsu, Yasuo

2014-02-15

The contractile behavior of cardiomyocytes can be monitored by measuring their action potentials, and the analysis is essential for screening the safety of potential drugs. However, immobilizing cardiac cells on a specific electrode is considerably complicated. In this study, we demonstrate that scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) can be used to analyze rapid topographic changes in beating cardiomyocytes in a standard culture dish. Various cardiomyocyte contraction parameters and oxygen consumption based on cell respiration could be determined from SECM data. We also confirmed that cellular changes induced by adding the cardiotonic agent digoxin were conveniently monitored by this SECM system. These results show that SECM can be a potentially powerful tool for use in drug development for cardiovascular diseases. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A meta-analysis of the social communication questionnaire: Screening for autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Chesnut, Steven R; Wei, Tianlan; Barnard-Brak, Lucy; Richman, David M

2017-11-01

The current meta-analysis examines the previous research on the utility of the Social Communication Questionnaire as a screening instrument for autism spectrum disorder. Previously published reports have highlighted the inconsistencies between Social Communication Questionnaire-screening results and formal autism spectrum disorder diagnoses. The variations in accuracy resulted in some researchers questioning the validity of the Social Communication Questionnaire. This study systematically examined the accuracy of the Social Communication Questionnaire as a function of the methodological decisions made by researchers screening for autism spectrum disorder over the last 15 years. Findings from this study suggest that the Social Communication Questionnaire is an acceptable screening instrument for autism spectrum disorder (area under the curve = 0.885). Variations in methodological decisions, however, greatly influenced the accuracy of the Social Communication Questionnaire in screening for autism spectrum disorder. Of these methodological variations, using the Current instead of the Lifetime version of the Social Communication Questionnaire resulted in the largest detrimental effect ( d = -3.898), followed by using the Social Communication Questionnaire with individuals younger than 4 years of age ( d = -2.924) and relying upon convenience samples ( d = -4.828 for clinical samples, -2.734 for convenience samples, and -1.422 for community samples). Directions for future research and implications for using the Social Communication Questionnaire to screen for autism spectrum disorder are discussed.

Fast and accurate enzyme activity measurements using a chip-based microfluidic calorimeter.

PubMed

van Schie, Morten M C H; Ebrahimi, Kourosh Honarmand; Hagen, Wilfred R; Hagedoorn, Peter-Leon

2018-03-01

Recent developments in microfluidic and nanofluidic technologies have resulted in development of new chip-based microfluidic calorimeters with potential use in different fields. One application would be the accurate high-throughput measurement of enzyme activity. Calorimetry is a generic way to measure activity of enzymes, but unlike conventional calorimeters, chip-based calorimeters can be easily automated and implemented in high-throughput screening platforms. However, application of chip-based microfluidic calorimeters to measure enzyme activity has been limited due to problems associated with miniaturization such as incomplete mixing and a decrease in volumetric heat generated. To address these problems we introduced a calibration method and devised a convenient protocol for using a chip-based microfluidic calorimeter. Using the new calibration method, the progress curve of alkaline phosphatase, which has product inhibition for phosphate, measured by the calorimeter was the same as that recorded by UV-visible spectroscopy. Our results may enable use of current chip-based microfluidic calorimeters in a simple manner as a tool for high-throughput screening of enzyme activity with potential applications in drug discovery and enzyme engineering. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Improving compliance to colorectal cancer screening using blood and stool based tests in patients refusing screening colonoscopy in Germany.

PubMed

Adler, Andreas; Geiger, Sebastian; Keil, Anne; Bias, Harald; Schatz, Philipp; deVos, Theo; Dhein, Jens; Zimmermann, Mathias; Tauber, Rudolf; Wiedenmann, Bertram

2014-10-17

Despite strong recommendations for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, participation rates are low. Understanding factors that affect screening choices is essential to developing future screening strategies. Therefore, this study assessed patient willingness to use non-invasive stool or blood based screening tests after refusing colonoscopy. Participants were recruited during regular consultations. Demographic, health, psychological and socioeconomic factors were recorded. All subjects were advised to undergo screening by colonoscopy. Subjects who refused colonoscopy were offered a choice of non-invasive tests. Subjects who selected stool testing received a collection kit and instructions; subjects who selected plasma testing had a blood draw during the office visit. Stool samples were tested with the Hb/Hp Complex Elisa test, and blood samples were tested with the Epi proColon® 2.0 test. Patients who were positive for either were advised to have a diagnostic colonoscopy. 63 of 172 subjects were compliant to screening colonoscopy (37%). 106 of the 109 subjects who refused colonoscopy accepted an alternative non-invasive method (97%). 90 selected the Septin9 blood test (83%), 16 selected a stool test (15%) and 3 refused any test (3%). Reasons for blood test preference included convenience of an office draw, overall convenience and less time consuming procedure. 97% of subjects refusing colonoscopy accepted a non-invasive screening test of which 83% chose the Septin9 blood test. The observation that participation can be increased by offering non-invasive tests, and that a blood test is the preferred option should be validated in a prospective trial in the screening setting.

US Female College Students' Breast Health Knowledge, Attitudes, and Determinants of Screening Practices: New Implications for Health Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Early, Jody; Armstrong, Shelley Nicole; Burke, Sloane; Thompson, Doris Lee

2011-01-01

Objective: This study examined female college students' knowledge, attitudes, and breast cancer screening and determined significant predictors of breast self-examination, clinical breast examination, and mammography among this population. Participants: A convenience sample of 1,074 college women from 3 universities participated in the research.…

Evaluating Oral Fluid as a Screening Tool for Lead Poisoning.

PubMed

Gardner, Sher Lynn; Geller, Robert J; Hannigan, Robyn; Sun, Yu; Mangla, Anil

2016-11-01

Screening for lead poisoning is necessary in young children, but obtaining the needed blood sample is unpleasant and sometimes very difficult. Use of an alternative screening method that is less unpleasant and less difficult would likely help to increase the percent of children receiving screening. To evaluate the correlation of oral fluid and blood lead in a clinical setting, and to ascertain the acceptability and feasibility of obtaining oral fluid from a young child in the clinical setting. Oral fluid samples were collected from a convenience sample of 431 children aged 6 months to 5 years already due to receive a blood lead test in a primary care clinic. Blood lead results obtained at the same time were available for 407 children. The results of the two tests were compared with the blood lead test considered to be the "gold standard". Data analysis used Pearson correlations, scatter plots, linear regression, ANOVA and Bland-Altman analysis. 431 patients had oral fluid samples available for analysis, and 407 patients had blood samples available. Patients who had both blood concentrations <5 µg/dL and oral fluid values below the screening cutoff value were 223, while eight had both blood concentrations ≥ 5 µg/dL and oral fluid values above the screening threshold. Elevated oral fluid but blood lead values less than the value recommended for further intervention occurred in 176; no patients had elevated blood lead values with below-intervention oral fluid values. The negative predictive value of an oral fluid lead below the screening cutoff value was 100%. The use of oral fluid to screen for elevated body burdens of lead instead of the usual blood lead sample is feasible with a negative predictive value of 100%, while eliminating the need for blood for lead screening in more than half of these children. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The diagnostic accuracy of the MyDiagnostick to detect atrial fibrillation in primary care

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Atrial fibrillation is very common in people aged 65 or older. This condition increases the risk of death, congestive heart failure and thromboembolic conditions. Many patients with atrial fibrillation are asymptomatic and a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) is often the first clinical presentation. Guidelines concerning the prevention of CVA recommend monitoring the heart rate in patients aged 65 or older. Recently, the MyDiagnostick (Applied Biomedical Systems BV, Maastricht, The Netherlands) was introduced as a new screening tool which might serve as an alternative for the less accurate pulse palpation. This study was designed to explore the diagnostic accuracy of the MyDiagnostick for the detection of atrial fibrillation. Methods A phase II diagnostic accuracy study in a convenience sample of 191 subjects recruited in primary care. The majority of participants were patients with a known history of atrial fibrillation (n = 161). Readings of the MyDiagnostick were compared with electrocardiographic recordings. Sensitivity and specificity and their 95% confidence interval were calculated using 2x2 tables. Results A prevalence of 54% for an atrial fibrillation rhythm was found in the study population at the moment of the study. A combination of three measurements with the MyDiagnostick for each patient showed a sensitivity of 94% (95% CI 87 – 98) and a specificity of 93% (95% CI 85 – 97). Conclusion The MyDiagnostick is an easy-to-use device that showed a good diagnostic accuracy with a high sensitivity and specificity for atrial fibrillation in a convenience sample in primary care. Future research is needed to determine the place of the MyDiagnostick in possible screening or case-finding strategies for atrial fibrillation. PMID:24913608

Data-Dictionary-Editing Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cumming, A. P.

1989-01-01

Access to data-dictionary relations and attributes made more convenient. Data Dictionary Editor (DDE) application program provides more convenient read/write access to data-dictionary table ("descriptions table") via data screen using SMARTQUERY function keys. Provides three main advantages: (1) User works with table names and field names rather than with table numbers and field numbers, (2) Provides online access to definitions of data-dictionary keys, and (3) Provides displayed summary list that shows, for each datum, which data-dictionary entries currently exist for any specific relation or attribute. Computer program developed to give developers of data bases more convenient access to the OMNIBASE VAX/IDM data-dictionary relations and attributes.

A time-motion study of cardiovascular disease risk factor screening integrated into HIV clinic visits in Swaziland.

PubMed

Palma, Anton M; Rabkin, Miriam; Simelane, Samkelo; Gachuhi, Averie B; McNairy, Margaret L; Nuwagaba-Biribonwoha, Harriet; Bongomin, Pido; Okello, Velephi N; Bitchong, Raymond A; El-Sadr, Wafaa M

2018-03-01

Screening of modifiable cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors is recommended but not routinely provided for HIV-infected patients, especially in low-resource settings. Potential concerns include limited staff time and low patient acceptability, but little empirical data exists. As part of a pilot study of screening in a large urban HIV clinic in Swaziland, we conducted a time-motion study to assess the impact of screening on patient flow and HIV service delivery and exit interviews to assess patient acceptability. A convenience sample of patients ≥40 years of age attending routine HIV clinic visits was screened for hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and tobacco smoking. We observed HIV visits with and without screening and measured time spent on HIV and CVD risk factor screening activities. We compared screened and unscreened patients on total visit time and time spent receiving HIV services using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. A separate convenience sample of screened patients participated in exit interviews to assess their satisfaction with screening. We observed 172 patient visits (122 with CVD risk factor screening and 50 without). Screening increased total visit time from a median (range) of 4 minutes (2 to 11) to 15 minutes (9 to 30) (p < 0.01). Time spent on HIV care was not affected: 4 (2 to 10) versus 4 (2 to 11) (p = 0.57). We recruited 126 patients for exit interviews, all of whom indicated that they would recommend screening to others. Provision of CVD risk factor screening more than tripled the length of routine HIV clinic visits but did not reduce the time spent on HIV services. Programme managers need to take longer visit duration into account in order to effectively integrate CVD risk factor screening and counselling into HIV programmes. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of the International AIDS Society published by John Wiley & sons Ltd on behalf of the International AIDS Society.

Fixed-facility workplace screening mammography.

PubMed

Reynolds, H E; Larkin, G N; Jackson, V P; Hawes, D R

1997-02-01

Potential barriers to compliance with screening mammography guidelines include the cost and inconvenience involved with undergoing the procedure. Workplace screening with mobile mammography is one possible approach to the convenience barrier. However, fixed-facility workplace screening is a viable alternative for any company with a large workforce in one location. This paper describes our initial experience with one such fixed facility. The facility was a cooperative venture by a large pharmaceutical company and an academic radiology department to provide convenient, no-cost (to the patient) screening mammography to employees, dependents, and retirees more than 40 years old. The pharmaceutical company built the facility within its corporate headquarters and the academic radiology department provided the equipment and personnel. The company was billed a fixed cost per examination. In the first 22 months of operation, 4210 (of 4559 scheduled) screening mammograms were obtained. The mean age of the population was 53 years old. Ninety percent of the screening mammograms were interpreted as negative or benign; 10% required additional workup. Of the screened population, 62 biopsies were recommended and 60 were performed. Of these, 42 were benign and 18 malignant. The cancer detection rate was 4.3 per 1000 (0.43%). At the time of diagnosis, six patients were stage 0, 10 patients were stage I, one patient was stage II, and one patient was stage III. Eleven of the 18 patients had minimal cancers. Of the patients who completed a satisfaction survey, 97% percent expressed a high degree of satisfaction with the screening process and stated they would use the facility in the future. A fixed facility for workplace screening mammography is a viable way to provide nearly barrier-free access to high-quality mammography. Patient acceptance is high.

A strategy for screening and identifying mycotoxins in herbal medicine using ultra-performance liquid chromatography with tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Fang, Lian-xiang; Xiong, Ai-zhen; Wang, Rui; Ji, Shen; Yang, Li; Wang, Zheng-tao

2013-09-01

The objective of this study was to develop an effective strategy for screening and identifying mycotoxins in herbal medicine (HM). Here, Imperatae Rhizoma, a commonly used Chinese herb, was selected as a model HM. A crude drug contaminated with fungi was analyzed by comparing with uncontaminated ones. Ultra-performance LC coupled to tandem quadrupole TOF-MS (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) with collision energy function was applied to analyze different samples from Imperatae Rhizoma. Then, MarkerLynx(TM) software was employed to screen the excess components in analytes, compared with control samples, and those selected markers were likely to be the metabolites of fungi. Furthermore, each of the accurate masses of the markers obtained from MarkerLynx(TM) was then searched in a mycotoxins/fungal metabolites database established in advance. The molecular formulas with relative mass error between the measured and theoretical mass within 5 ppm were chosen and then applied to MassFragment(TM) analysis for further confirmation of their structures. With the use of this approach, five mycotoxins that have never been reported in HM were identified in contaminated Imperatae Rhizoma. The results demonstrate the potential of UPLC-Q-TOF-MS coupled with the MarkerLynx(TM) software and MassFragment(TM) tool as an efficient and convenient method to screen and identify mycotoxins in herbal materials and aid in the quality control of HM. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Ultra-wide field imaging system and traditional retinal examinations for screening fundus changes after cataract surgery.

PubMed

Peng, Jie; Zhang, Qi; Jin, Hai-Ying; Lu, Wu-Yi; Zhao, Pei-Quan

2016-01-01

To compare the results of non-mydriatic ultra-wide field imaging system, mydriatic slit-lamp lens (Volk +90 D) and mydriatic Goldmann three-mirror contact lens examinations in screening fundus lesions among patients after cataract surgery. Non-mydriatic images were obtained with an Optomap panoramic 200Tx (Optomap 200Tx) 3d after surgery and graded by a blinded ophthalmologist. A mydriatic slit-lamp lens examination was performed by another blinded retinal specialist on the same day. A third blinded retinal specialist examined patients two weeks after surgery using a Goldmann three-mirror contact lens. In total, 160 patients (184 eyes) were examined, and 66, 69, and 75 cases of retinal lesion(s) were identified using the Optomap 200Tx, slit-lamp lens, and Goldmann three-mirror contact lens, respectively. In 13 cases, fundus changes were sight-threatening. The results obtained by Optomap 200Tx examination and by mydriatic slit-lamp lens examination have good consistency (P=0.375, Kappa=0.942). The mydriatic Goldmann three-mirror lens examination revealed more fundus lesions but are consistent with Optomap 200Tx (P=0.004, Kappa=0.897) and mydriatic slit-lamp lens examination (P=0.031, Kappa=0.932). Early post-operative fundus screening in cataract patients is extremely important and necessary to prevent further vision loss. Wide-field imaging is a feasible and convenient tool for fundus examination that can be used as a primary screening method among patients after cataract surgery.

On the Analysis of Fingertip Photoplethysmogram Signals

PubMed Central

Elgendi, Mohamed

2012-01-01

Photoplethysmography (PPG) is used to estimate the skin blood flow using infrared light. Researchers from different domains of science have become increasingly interested in PPG because of its advantages as non-invasive, inexpensive, and convenient diagnostic tool. Traditionally, it measures the oxygen saturation, blood pressure, cardiac output, and for assessing autonomic functions. Moreover, PPG is a promising technique for early screening of various atherosclerotic pathologies and could be helpful for regular GP-assessment but a full understanding of the diagnostic value of the different features is still lacking. Recent studies emphasise the potential information embedded in the PPG waveform signal and it deserves further attention for its possible applications beyond pulse oximetry and heart-rate calculation. Therefore, this overview discusses different types of artifact added to PPG signal, characteristic features of PPG waveform, and existing indexes to evaluate for diagnoses. PMID:22845812

Fluorescence self-quenching assay for the detection of target collagen sequences using a short probe peptide.

PubMed

Nian, Linge; Hu, Yue; Fu, Caihong; Song, Chen; Wang, Jie; Xiao, Jianxi

2018-01-01

The development of novel assays to detect collagen fragments is of utmost importance for diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic decisions in various collagen-related diseases, and one essential question is to discover probe peptides that can specifically recognize target collagen sequences. Herein we have developed the fluorescence self-quenching assay as a convenient tool to screen the capability of a series of fluorescent probe peptides of variable lengths to bind with target collagen peptides. We have revealed that the targeting ability of probe peptides is length-dependent, and have discovered a relatively short probe peptide FAM-G(POG) 8 capable to identify the target peptide. We have further demonstrated that fluorescence self-quenching assay together with this short probe peptide can be applied to specifically detect the desired collagen fragment in complex biological media. Fluorescence self-quenching assay provides a powerful new tool to discover effective peptides for the recognition of collagen biomarkers, and it may have great potential to identify probe peptides for various protein biomarkers involved in pathological conditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modeling Biodegradation and Reactive Transport: Analytical and Numerical Models

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

Sun, Y; Glascoe, L

The computational modeling of the biodegradation of contaminated groundwater systems accounting for biochemical reactions coupled to contaminant transport is a valuable tool for both the field engineer/planner with limited computational resources and the expert computational researcher less constrained by time and computer power. There exists several analytical and numerical computer models that have been and are being developed to cover the practical needs put forth by users to fulfill this spectrum of computational demands. Generally, analytical models provide rapid and convenient screening tools running on very limited computational power, while numerical models can provide more detailed information with consequent requirementsmore » of greater computational time and effort. While these analytical and numerical computer models can provide accurate and adequate information to produce defensible remediation strategies, decisions based on inadequate modeling output or on over-analysis can have costly and risky consequences. In this chapter we consider both analytical and numerical modeling approaches to biodegradation and reactive transport. Both approaches are discussed and analyzed in terms of achieving bioremediation goals, recognizing that there is always a tradeoff between computational cost and the resolution of simulated systems.« less

CRISPR-Cas9: from Genome Editing to Cancer Research

PubMed Central

Chen, Si; Sun, Heng; Miao, Kai; Deng, Chu-Xia

2016-01-01

Cancer development is a multistep process triggered by innate and acquired mutations, which cause the functional abnormality and determine the initiation and progression of tumorigenesis. Gene editing is a widely used engineering tool for generating mutations that enhance tumorigenesis. The recent developed clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-CRISPR-associated 9 (CRISPR-Cas9) system renews the genome editing approach into a more convenient and efficient way. By rapidly introducing genetic modifications in cell lines, organs and animals, CRISPR-Cas9 system extends the gene editing into whole genome screening, both in loss-of-function and gain-of-function manners. Meanwhile, the system accelerates the establishment of animal cancer models, promoting in vivo studies for cancer research. Furthermore, CRISPR-Cas9 system is modified into diverse innovative tools for observing the dynamic bioprocesses in cancer studies, such as image tracing for targeted DNA, regulation of transcription activation or repression. Here, we view recent technical advances in the application of CRISPR-Cas9 system in cancer genetics, large-scale cancer driver gene hunting, animal cancer modeling and functional studies. PMID:27994508

Effectiveness of Group Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy on Symptoms of Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) ‎.

PubMed

Maddineshat, Maryam; Keyvanloo, Sodabe; Lashkardoost, Hossein; Arki, Mina; Tabatabaeichehr, Mahbubeh

2016-01-01

Standards of care and treatment of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) vary. Non-drug ‎psychosocial intervention therapy is recommended for women with any kind of ‎discomfort or distress caused by PMS. The current study examined the effectiveness of ‎group cognitive-behavioral therapy on the symptoms of PMS at a girls' dormitory of ‎North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences. In this quasi-experimental study, 32 female students with PMS who were majoring in ‎nursing and midwifery and residing in the dormitory were selected using the ‎convenience sampling method and were assigned to experimental and control groups. ‎The Standardized Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool was used as the research ‎tool. Eight sessions of cognitive-behavioral group therapy were held for the students Results: There was a significant difference in psychological symptoms before and after ‎cognitive-behavioral therapy (p=0.012). Furthermore, cognitive-behavioral therapy was ‎effective on social interferences caused by PMS symptoms (p=0.012).‎ Group cognitive-behavioral therapy effectively alleviates PMS symptoms in female ‎college students.‎.

Nutrition screening tools: an analysis of the evidence.

PubMed

Skipper, Annalynn; Ferguson, Maree; Thompson, Kyle; Castellanos, Victoria H; Porcari, Judy

2012-05-01

In response to questions about tools for nutrition screening, an evidence analysis project was developed to identify the most valid and reliable nutrition screening tools for use in acute care and hospital-based ambulatory care settings. An oversight group defined nutrition screening and literature search criteria. A trained analyst conducted structured searches of the literature for studies of nutrition screening tools according to predetermined criteria. Eleven nutrition screening tools designed to detect undernutrition in patients in acute care and hospital-based ambulatory care were identified. Trained analysts evaluated articles for quality using criteria specified by the American Dietetic Association's Evidence Analysis Library. Members of the oversight group assigned quality grades to the tools based on the quality of the supporting evidence, including reliability and validity data. One tool, the NRS-2002, received a grade I, and 4 tools-the Simple Two-Part Tool, the Mini-Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF), the Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST), and Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST)-received a grade II. The MST was the only tool shown to be both valid and reliable for identifying undernutrition in the settings studied. Thus, validated nutrition screening tools that are simple and easy to use are available for application in acute care and hospital-based ambulatory care settings.

Validity Tests of the Adolescent Domain Screening Inventory (ADSI) with Older Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corrigan, Matthew J.; Forte, James; Bulgaris, Sarah

2017-01-01

The purpose of this replication study is to test the validity of the Adolescent Domain Screening Inventory (ADSI) on an older adolescent population. This cross sectional study used a convenience sample to preliminarily test the validity of the ADSI. Concurrent validity correlations ranged from a high of 0.924 to a low of 0.760. The known…

Assessing patients' attitudes to opt-out HIV rapid screening in community dental clinics: a cross-sectional Canadian experience.

PubMed

Brondani, Mario; Chang, Steve; Donnelly, Leeann

2016-05-10

As a public health initiative, provided-initiated HIV screening test in dental settings has long been available in the U.S.; it was only in 2011 that such setting was used in Canada. The objective of this paper was to assess patients' response to, and attitudes towards, an opt-out rapid HIV screening test in a dental setting in Vancouver, Canada. A cross-sectional evaluation design using a self-complete survey questionnaire on self-perceived values and benefits of an opt-out rapid HIV screening was employed. An anonymous 10-item questionnaire was developed to explore reasons for accepting or declining the HIV rapid screening test, and barriers and facilitators for the HIV screening in dental settings. Eligible participants were male and female older than 19 years attending community dental clinics and who were offered the HIV screening test between June 2010 and February 2015. From the 1552 age-eligible patients, 519 completed the survey and 155 (10 %) accepted the HIV screening due to its convenience, and/or free cost, and/or instant results. From the 458 respondents who did not accept the screening, 362 (79 %) were between the ages of 25 and 45 years; 246 (53.7 %) had identifiable risk factors for contracting HIV; and 189 (41.3 %) reported having been tested within the last 3 months. Those tested in less than 3 months had 3.5 times higher odds to decline the HIV screening compared to those who have been tested between 3 months and 1 year. Convenience, cost-free and readily available results are factors influencing rapid HIV screening uptake. Although dental settings remain an alternative venue for HIV screening from the patients' perspectives, dental hygiene settings might offer a better option.

Accuracy of Nutritional Screening Tools in Assessing the Risk of Undernutrition in Hospitalized Children.

PubMed

Huysentruyt, Koen; Devreker, Thierry; Dejonckheere, Joachim; De Schepper, Jean; Vandenplas, Yvan; Cools, Filip

2015-08-01

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the predictive accuracy of screening tools for assessing nutritional risk in hospitalized children in developed countries. The study involved a systematic review of literature (MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central databases up to January 17, 2014) of studies on the diagnostic performance of pediatric nutritional screening tools. Methodological quality was assessed using a modified QUADAS tool. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for each screening tool per validation method. A meta-analysis was performed to estimate the risk ratio of different screening result categories of being truly at nutritional risk. A total of 11 studies were included on ≥1 of the following screening tools: Pediatric Nutritional Risk Score, Screening Tool for the Assessment of Malnutrition in Paediatrics, Paediatric Yorkhill Malnutrition Score, and Screening Tool for Risk on Nutritional Status and Growth. Because of variation in reference standards, a direct comparison of the predictive accuracy of the screening tools was not possible. A meta-analysis was performed on 1629 children from 7 different studies. The risk ratio of being truly at nutritional risk was 0.349 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.16-0.78) for children in the low versus moderate screening category and 0.292 (95% CI 0.19-0.44) in the moderate versus high screening category. There is insufficient evidence to choose 1 nutritional screening tool over another based on their predictive accuracy. The estimated risk of being at "true nutritional risk" increases with each category of screening test result. Each screening category should be linked to a specific course of action, although further research is needed.

Students' Use of Electronic Support Tools in Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crawford, Lindy; Higgins, Kristina N.; Huscroft-D'Angelo, Jacqueline N.; Hall, Lindsay

2016-01-01

This study investigated students' use of electronic support tools within a computer-based mathematics program. Electronic support tools are tools, such as hyperlinks or calculators, available within many computer-based instructional programs. A convenience sample of 73 students in grades 4-6 was selected to participate in the study. Students…

Rapid and selective screening of melamine in bovine milk using molecularly imprinted matrix solid-phase dispersion coupled with liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection.

PubMed

Yan, Hongyuan; Cheng, Xiaoling; Sun, Ning; Cai, Tianyu; Wu, Ruijun; Han, Kun

2012-11-01

A simple, convenient and high selective molecularly imprinted matrix solid-phase dispersion (MI-MSPD) using water-compatible cyromazine-imprinted polymer as adsorbent was proposed for the rapid screening of melamine from bovine milk coupled with liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection. The molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) synthesized by cyromazine as dummy template and reformative methanol-water system as reaction medium showed higher affinity and selectivity to melamine, and so they were applied as the specific dispersant of MSPD to extraction of melamine and simultaneously eliminate the effect of template leakage on quantitative analysis. Under the optimized conditions, good linearity was obtained in a range of 0.24-60.0μgg(-1) with the correlation coefficient of 0.9994. The recoveries of melamine at three spiked levels were ranged from 86.0 to 96.2% with the relative standard deviation (RSD)≤4.0%. This proposed MI-MSPD method combined the advantages of MSPD and MIPs, and could be used as an alternative tool for analyzing the residues of melamine in complex milk samples. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Improving secondary prevention screening in clinical encounters using mhealth among prelicensure master's entry clinical nursing students.

PubMed

FitzGerald, Leah Z; Rorie, Anne; Salem, Benissa E

2015-04-01

To determine the feasibility and acceptability of a mHealth application among nursing students for health promotion and secondary prevention health recommendations for hospitalized adult patients. A pretest-posttest design with a convenience sample of 169 prelicensure master's entry clinical nursing students in a large urban public university. Survey questions assessed intention to use, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norm, voluntariness, clinical area relevance, output quality, and result demonstrability of the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) evidence-based practice guidelines via the mHealth application. Descriptive statistics and frequencies were used to explore sociodemographics; paired t-tests were used to evaluate pre- and posttest differences. Pre- and posttest significant differences (p < .01) were found between intention to use, perceived usefulness, subjective norm, voluntariness, image, clinical relevance, result demonstrability, and output quality (p < .02). Ease use of a mHealth application was not significantly different. These findings highlight the need to integrate evidence-based practice tools using mHealth technology among prelicensure master's entry clinical nursing students in order to engage and foster translational learning and improve dissemination of secondary prevention screening guidelines among hospitalized patients. © 2015 Sigma Theta Tau International.

An special epithelial staining agents: folic acid receptor-mediated diagnosis (FRD) effectively and conveniently screen patients with cervical cancer.

PubMed

Lu, Meng-Han; Hu, Ling-Yun; Du, Xin-Xin; Yang, Min; Zhang, Wei-Yi; Huang, Ke; Li, Li-An; Jiang, Shu-Fang; Li, Ya-Li

2015-01-01

High-quality screening with cytology has markedly reduced mortality from cervical cancer. However, it needs experienced pathologists to review and make the final decisions. We have developed folic acid receptor-mediated diagnosis (FRD) kits to effectively and conveniently screen patients with cervical cancer. We conduct present study aim to assess clinical significances of FRD in screening cervical cancer. A total of 169 patients were enrolled at Chinese People's liberation Army (PLA) general hospital. We compared diagnostic significances of FRD with thinprep cytology test (TCT). Meanwhile, colposcopy was also performed to confirm any lesion suspicious for cervical cancer. The sensitivity and specificity of FRD were 71.93% and 66.07% in diagnosis cervical cancer, respectively. Meanwhile, the positive predictive values (PPV), negative predictive values (NPV), Youden index were 51.90%, 82.22%, 0.38, respectively. On the other hand, the sensitivity and specificity of TCT in diagnosis cervical cancer were 73.68% and 61.61% respectively. PPV, NPV and Youden index for TCT were 49.41%, 82.14% and 0.35 respectively. Overall, FRD have high values of sensitivity, specificity and Youden index. However, this difference failed to statistical significance. FRD have comparable diagnostic significance with TCT. Therefore, FRD might serve as one effective method to screen cervical cancer. Especially for those patients living in remote regions of China, where cytology was unavailable.

An special epithelial staining agents: folic acid receptor-mediated diagnosis (FRD) effectively and conveniently screen patients with cervical cancer

PubMed Central

Lu, Meng-Han; Hu, Ling-Yun; Du, Xin-Xin; Yang, Min; Zhang, Wei-Yi; Huang, Ke; Li, Li-An; Jiang, Shu-Fang; Li, Ya-Li

2015-01-01

High-quality screening with cytology has markedly reduced mortality from cervical cancer. However, it needs experienced pathologists to review and make the final decisions. We have developed folic acid receptor-mediated diagnosis (FRD) kits to effectively and conveniently screen patients with cervical cancer. We conduct present study aim to assess clinical significances of FRD in screening cervical cancer. A total of 169 patients were enrolled at Chinese People’s liberation Army (PLA) general hospital. We compared diagnostic significances of FRD with thinprep cytology test (TCT). Meanwhile, colposcopy was also performed to confirm any lesion suspicious for cervical cancer. The sensitivity and specificity of FRD were 71.93% and 66.07% in diagnosis cervical cancer, respectively. Meanwhile, the positive predictive values (PPV), negative predictive values (NPV), Youden index were 51.90%, 82.22%, 0.38, respectively. On the other hand, the sensitivity and specificity of TCT in diagnosis cervical cancer were 73.68% and 61.61% respectively. PPV, NPV and Youden index for TCT were 49.41%, 82.14% and 0.35 respectively. Overall, FRD have high values of sensitivity, specificity and Youden index. However, this difference failed to statistical significance. FRD have comparable diagnostic significance with TCT. Therefore, FRD might serve as one effective method to screen cervical cancer. Especially for those patients living in remote regions of China, where cytology was unavailable. PMID:26221336

Reduced use of occult bacteremia blood screens by emergency medicine physicians using immunization registry for children presenting with fever without a source.

PubMed

Zeretzke, Cristina M; McIntosh, Mark S; Kalynych, Colleen J; Wylie, Todd; Lott, Michelle; Wood, David

2012-07-01

This study examined whether utilization of the Florida State Health Online Tracking System (SHOTS) immunization registry to determine Haemophilus influenzae type B and heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate (PCV7) vaccine status impacts the protocolized decision to perform a screening blood draw for occult bacteremia (OB) in young children. A convenience sample of children 6 to 24 months of age presenting to the pediatric emergency department with fever of greater than 39°C without a source was enrolled. Physicians were trained to use the SHOTS immunization registry and reviewed the emergency department's fever protocol. A "preregistry" workup plan was documented for each patient based on clinical history, immunization status before accessing SHOTS, and physical examination. A "postregistry" workup plan was then documented based on the SHOTS record. Demographic and registry data were recorded. Preregistry workup plans indicated OB screening blood draws for 100% (n = 91; 95% confidence interval [CI], 96-100) of patients with unconfirmed immunization status. Of those 91 children, 58% (n = 53; 95% CI, 55-61) were documented in SHOTS as having received their primary conjugate vaccine series at ages 2, 4, and 6 months. Registry access reduced the percentage of screening blood draws from 100% (n = 91) to 42% (n = 38; 95% CI, 37-53; P < 0.001). The state immunization registry is an adjunctive tool to caregiver recall, which can be used by emergency medicine practitioners to confirm completion of the primary conjugate vaccine series before making the decision to perform blood screens for OB in children aged 6 to 24 months who present with fever without a source.

What factors do patients consider most important in making lung cancer screening decisions? Findings from a demonstration project conducted in the Veterans Health Administration.

PubMed

Lillie, Sarah E; Fu, Steven S; Fabbrini, Angela E; Rice, Kathryn L; Clothier, Barbara; Nelson, David B; Doro, Elizabeth A; Moughrabieh, M Anas; Partin, Melissa R

2017-02-01

The National Lung Screening Trial recently reported that annual low-dose computed tomography screening is associated with decreased lung cancer mortality in high-risk smokers. This study sought to identify the factors patients consider important in making lung cancer screening (LCS) decisions, and explore variations by patient characteristics and LCS participation. This observational survey study evaluated the Minneapolis VA LCS Clinical Demonstration Project in which LCS-eligible Veterans (N=1388) were randomized to either Direct LCS Invitation (mailed with decision aid, N=926) or Usual Care (provider referral, N=462). We surveyed participants three months post-randomization (response rate 44%) and report the proportion of respondents rating eight decision-making factors (benefits, harms, and neutral factors) as important by condition, patient characteristics, and LCS completion. Overall, the most important factor was personal risk of lung cancer and the least important factor was health risks from LCS. The reported importance varied by patient characteristics, including smoking status, health status, and education level. Overall, the potential harms of LCS were reported less important than the benefits or the neutral decision-making factors. Exposure to Direct LCS Invitation (with decision aid) increased Veterans' attention to specific decision-making factors; compared to Usual Care respondents, a larger proportion of Direct LCS Invitation respondents rated the chance of false-positive results, LCS knowledge, LCS convenience, and anxiety as important. Those completing LCS considered screening harms less important, with the exception of incidental findings. Decision tools influence Veterans' perceptions about LCS decision-making factors. As the factors important to LCS decision making vary by patient characteristics, targeted materials for specific subgroups may be warranted. Attention should be paid to how LCS incidental findings are communicated. Published by Elsevier B.V.

LTPP Climate Tool [Tech Brief

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-01-01

This Product Brief describes the Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) Climate Tool (intended for use by infrastructure engineers) that provides convenient access to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Modern-Era Retrospective An...

Convenient QSAR model for predicting the complexation of structurally diverse compounds with beta-cyclodextrins.

PubMed

Pérez-Garrido, Alfonso; Morales Helguera, Aliuska; Abellán Guillén, Adela; Cordeiro, M Natália D S; Garrido Escudero, Amalio

2009-01-15

This paper reports a QSAR study for predicting the complexation of a large and heterogeneous variety of substances (233 organic compounds) with beta-cyclodextrins (beta-CDs). Several different theoretical molecular descriptors, calculated solely from the molecular structure of the compounds under investigation, and an efficient variable selection procedure, like the Genetic Algorithm, led to models with satisfactory global accuracy and predictivity. But the best-final QSAR model is based on Topological descriptors meanwhile offering a reasonable interpretation. This QSAR model was able to explain ca. 84% of the variance in the experimental activity, and displayed very good internal cross-validation statistics and predictivity on external data. It shows that the driving forces for CD complexation are mainly hydrophobic and steric (van der Waals) interactions. Thus, the results of our study provide a valuable tool for future screening and priority testing of beta-CDs guest molecules.

Probing cigarette smoke-induced DNA single-strand breaks and screening natural protective compounds by use of magnetic bead-based chemiluminescence.

PubMed

Chen, Hongjun; Yu, Zicheng; Cao, Zhijuan; Lau, Choiwan

2016-11-01

Magnetic bead (MB)-based chemiluminescence (CL) ELISA can be a sample-thrifty, time-saving tool for evaluation of cigarette smoke-induced DNA single-strand breaks (SSBs) with high specificity. This article describes a novel approach using immobilized oligonucleotide on MBs to determine cigarette smoke-induced DNA SSBs and screen some protective natural compounds. Typically, fluorescein-labeled DNA (FAM-DNA) was immobilized on the MBs and then oxidized by the smoke in the absence or presence of natural compounds, and a part of FAM-DNA was fragmented due to cigarette smoke-induced DNA SSB and then detached from MBs whereas other non-broken FAM-DNA still remained on MBs. Then, any broken FAM-DNA fragments, complex tobacco smoke matrix, and other stuff related with natural compounds were conveniently washed away by a magnetic force, and thus possible interfering substances were completely removed. Finally, those remaining non-broken FAM-DNA on MBs were reacted with HRP-labeled anti-fluorescein antibody and then detected by CL ELISA. CL signal was converted to molar concentrations of the FAM-DNA by interpolation from a pre-determined standard linear calibration curve. The level of DNA SSBs induced by cigarette smoke was thus calculated using the method. A library of 30 natural products was subsequently screened, and two among them were found to protect DNA from oxidative damage and thus may be promising compounds for the development of new drugs. The method developed will be useful for quantitative screening of drug genotoxicity in terms of induction of DNA SSBs. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Physical, mental, and cognitive function in a convenience sample of centenarians in Australia.

PubMed

Richmond, Robyn L; Law, Jenaleen; Kay-Lambkin, Frances

2011-06-01

To examine the physical, mental, and cognitive function of centenarians. Descriptive study using a structured questionnaire and convenience sampling. Residential care facilities and private dwellings in Australia. A convenience sample of 188 centenarians. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) screened for anxiety and depression. The Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living (Katz ADL) was used to assess functional status. The Quality of Life Scale was used to assess quality of life. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was used to screen for dementia. Structured responses were obtained for living arrangement, marital status, social relationships, and supports. Centenarians had regular contact with friends (59%), neighbors (62%), and families (72%); 54% were religious and 43.5% had received social supports. Average MMSE and Katz ADL scores were 21.5 and 3.7, respectively; 45% had scores on the MMSE indicative of dementia, 10% indicated anxiety and 14% depression on the HADS. Participants with poor ratings of health experienced higher rates of anxiety and depression than their healthier counterparts. In this convenience sample of Australian centenarians, anxiety and depression was relatively nonexistent, and most reported a high quality of life. This was despite objective deterioration in functional status, paralleling the aging process, and high dependence on others for everyday tasks. Potentially, this is suggestive of a unique ability within the sample to adapt to aging and its limitations. © 2011, Copyright the Authors. Journal compilation © 2011, The American Geriatrics Society.

Texas nutrition environment assessment of retail food stores (TxNEA-S): development and evaluation.

PubMed

Gloria, Christian T; Steinhardt, Mary A

2010-11-01

Current nutrition environment instruments are typically designed to measure a small number of healthy foods based on national trends. They lack the depth to accurately measure the unique dietary choices of subpopulations, such as Texas consumers whose food preferences are influenced by Hispanic/Latino culture. Thus the purposes of the present study were to: (i) develop a comprehensive observational tool to measure the availability of healthy foods from retail stores in Texas; and (ii) conduct a pilot test to examine the tool's reliability, as well as differences in the availability of healthy foods in stores between high- and low-income neighbourhoods. Grocery and convenience stores were assessed for availability of healthy foods. Reliability was calculated using percentage agreement, and differences in availability were examined using 2 (store type) × 2 (neighbourhood income) ANOVA. One high-income and one low-income neighbourhood in Austin, Texas. A sample of thirty-eight stores comprising twenty-five convenience stores and thirteen grocery stores. The low-income neighbourhood had 324 % more convenience stores and 56 % fewer grocery stores than the high-income neighbourhood. High inter-rater (mean = 0·95) and test-retest reliability (mean = 0·92) and a significant interaction (P = 0·028) between store type and neighbourhood income were found. The TxNEA-S tool includes 106 healthy food items, such as fruits, vegetables, dairy, proteins and grains. The tool is reliable and face validity is affirmed by the Texas Department of Health. Grocery stores have more healthy foods than convenience stores, and high-income grocery stores offer more healthy foods than low-income grocery stores.

Health indicators: eliminating bias from convenience sampling estimators.

PubMed

Hedt, Bethany L; Pagano, Marcello

2011-02-28

Public health practitioners are often called upon to make inference about a health indicator for a population at large when the sole available information are data gathered from a convenience sample, such as data gathered on visitors to a clinic. These data may be of the highest quality and quite extensive, but the biases inherent in a convenience sample preclude the legitimate use of powerful inferential tools that are usually associated with a random sample. In general, we know nothing about those who do not visit the clinic beyond the fact that they do not visit the clinic. An alternative is to take a random sample of the population. However, we show that this solution would be wasteful if it excluded the use of available information. Hence, we present a simple annealing methodology that combines a relatively small, and presumably far less expensive, random sample with the convenience sample. This allows us to not only take advantage of powerful inferential tools, but also provides more accurate information than that available from just using data from the random sample alone. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Feasibility of Utilizing Ethnic Beauty Salons for Cervical Cancer Screening Education

PubMed Central

Carvallo, Mauricio; Lee, Eunice

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of using ethnic beauty salons to reach out to Vietnamese and Korean American women for cervical cancer screening education. Participants (N = 62) were conveniently recruited from ethnic beauty salons located in Albuquerque, NM. Two feasibility questionnaires were separately administered to cosmetologists and their customers. Findings support the view that ethnic beauty salons can be used as a gateway to reach out to these populations, and cosmetologists have the potential to operate as community lay health workers to deliver cervical cancer screening education aimed at reducing disparities in cervical cancer and screening to their ethnic customers. PMID:24698810

Screening for diabetes in optometry practices: acceptability to users.

PubMed

Howse, Jennifer H; Jones, Steve; Hungin, A Pali S

2011-07-01

Diabetes is a leading cause of blindness in the working age population. While optometrists have an established role in screening people with known diabetes for eye disease, their role in screening for diabetes has not been evaluated. For diabetes screening in optometry practices to be successful it must be acceptable to both optometrists and to the public. The purpose of this study was to determine acceptability to people attending optometry practices of using random capillary blood glucose (rCBG) tests to detect raised blood glucose levels in optometry practices. A screening service offering people with risk factors or symptoms of diabetes rCBG tests was piloted in five high street opticians' practices in North East England. One thousand and two people used the screening service during a 20 week period. Each was given a questionnaire to complete and return following a rCBG test. Nine hundred and thirty-nine questionnaires were returned (return rate 93.7%). The mean age of participants was 54.5 years, 63.3% were female and 75.0% had not been screened for diabetes previously. 99.1% agreed or strongly agreed that the location was convenient for them and 98.0% would recommend others to use the screening service. 83.8% of the participants would not have gone elsewhere to have any tests done and 148 (16.2%) responded that they would have sought a test elsewhere; 14.2% at the GP, 0.8% at a pharmacy and 0.5% elsewhere. Only 3.2% reported that the test procedure was uncomfortable.   To those attending opticians' practices, screening using rCBG tests is acceptable in terms of convenience and test comfort, and they would recommend the test to others. Screening in optometry practices provides an opportunity to identify people at risk of diabetes in a hitherto unutilised setting. Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics © 2011 The College of Optometrists.

Nutritional Risk Screening 2002, Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire, Malnutrition Screening Tool, and Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool Are Good Predictors of Nutrition Risk in an Emergency Service.

PubMed

Rabito, Estela Iraci; Marcadenti, Aline; da Silva Fink, Jaqueline; Figueira, Luciane; Silva, Flávia Moraes

2017-08-01

There is an international consensus that nutrition screening be performed at the hospital; however, there is no "best tool" for screening of malnutrition risk in hospitalized patients. To evaluate (1) the accuracy of the MUST (Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool), MST (Malnutrition Screening Tool), and SNAQ (Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire) in comparison with the NRS-2002 (Nutritional Risk Screening 2002) to identify patients at risk of malnutrition and (2) the ability of these nutrition screening tools to predict morbidity and mortality. A specific questionnaire was administered to complete the 4 screening tools. Outcomes measures included length of hospital stay, transfer to the intensive care unit, presence of infection, and incidence of death. A total of 752 patients were included. The nutrition risk was 29.3%, 37.1%, 33.6%, and 31.3% according to the NRS-2002, MUST, MST, and SNAQ, respectively. All screening tools showed satisfactory performance to identify patients at nutrition risk (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve between 0.765-0.808). Patients at nutrition risk showed higher risk of very long length of hospital stay as compared with those not at nutrition risk, independent of the tool applied (relative risk, 1.35-1.78). Increased risk of mortality (2.34 times) was detected by the MUST. The MUST, MST, and SNAQ share similar accuracy to the NRS-2002 in identifying risk of malnutrition, and all instruments were positively associated with very long hospital stay. In clinical practice, the 4 tools could be applied, and the choice for one of them should be made per the particularities of the service.

Exploring the acceptability of human papillomavirus self-sampling among Muslim immigrant women.

PubMed

Lofters, Aisha K; Vahabi, Mandana; Fardad, Mitra; Raza, Afrah

2017-01-01

With appropriate screening (ie, the Papanicolaou [Pap] test), cervical cancer is highly preventable, and high-income countries, including Canada, have observed significant decreases in cervical cancer mortality. However, certain subgroups, including immigrants from countries with large Muslim populations, experience disparities in cervical cancer screening. Little is known about the acceptability of human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling as a screening strategy among Muslim immigrant women in Canada. This study assessed cervical cancer screening practices, knowledge and attitudes, and acceptability of HPV self-sampling among Muslim immigrant women. A convenience sample of 30 women was recruited over a 3-month period (June-August 2015) in the Greater Toronto Area. All women were between 21 and 69 years old, foreign-born, and self-identified as Muslim, and had good knowledge of English. Data were collected through a self-completed questionnaire. More than half of the participants falsely indicated that Pap tests may cause cervical infection, and 46.7% indicated that the test is an intrusion on privacy. The majority of women reported that they would be willing to try HPV self-sampling, and more than half would prefer this method to provider-administered sampling methods. Barriers to self-sampling included confidence in the ability to perform the test and perceived cost, and facilitators included convenience and privacy being preserved. The results demonstrate that HPV self-sampling may provide a favorable alternative model of care to the traditional provider-administered Pap testing. These findings add important information to the literature related to promoting cancer screening among women who are under or never screened for cervical cancer.

Malnutrition screening tools for hospitalized children.

PubMed

Hartman, Corina; Shamir, Raanan; Hecht, Christina; Koletzko, Berthold

2012-05-01

Malnutrition is highly prevalent in hospitalized children and has been associated with relevant clinical outcomes. The scope of this review is to describe the five screening tools and the recent European Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ESPEN) research project aimed at establishing agreed, evidence-based criteria for malnutrition and screening tools for its diagnosis in hospitalized children. Five nutrition screening tools have recently been developed to identify the risk of malnutrition in hospitalized children. These tools have been tested to a limited extent by their authors in the original published studies but have not been validated by other independent studies. So far, such screening tools have not been established widely as part of standard pediatric care. Although nutrition screening and assessment are recommended by European Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition and the European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition and are often accepted to be required by healthcare facilities, there is no standardized approach to nutritional screening for pediatric inpatients. The near future will provide us with comparative data on the existing tools which may contribute to delineating a standard for useful nutrition screening in pediatrics.

Using S-P Chart and Bloom Taxonomy to Develop Intelligent Formative Assessment Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Wen-Chih; Yang, Hsuan-Che; Shih, Timothy K.; Chao, Louis R.

2009-01-01

E-learning provides a convenient and efficient way for learning. Formative assessment not only guides student in instruction and learning, diagnose skill or knowledge gaps, but also measures progress and evaluation. An efficient and convenient e-learning formative assessment system is the key character for e-learning. However, most e-learning…

Analytic and rule-based decision support tool for VDT workstation adjustment and computer accessories arrangement.

PubMed

Rurkhamet, Busagarin; Nanthavanij, Suebsak

2004-12-01

One important factor that leads to the development of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) and cumulative trauma disorders (CTD) among visual display terminal (VDT) users is their work posture. While operating a VDT, a user's body posture is strongly influenced by the task, VDT workstation settings, and layout of computer accessories. This paper presents an analytic and rule-based decision support tool called EQ-DeX (an ergonomics and quantitative design expert system) that is developed to provide valid and practical recommendations regarding the adjustment of a VDT workstation and the arrangement of computer accessories. The paper explains the structure and components of EQ-DeX, input data, rules, and adjustment and arrangement algorithms. From input information such as gender, age, body height, task, etc., EQ-DeX uses analytic and rule-based algorithms to estimate quantitative settings of a computer table and a chair, as well as locations of computer accessories such as monitor, document holder, keyboard, and mouse. With the input and output screens that are designed using the concept of usability, the interactions between the user and EQ-DeX are convenient. Examples are also presented to demonstrate the recommendations generated by EQ-DeX.

Mediation of late adolescent health-risk behaviors and gender influences.

PubMed

Christopherson, Toni Michelle; Conner, Bradley T

2012-11-01

This study explored how multiple bioecological constructs operate to explain health-risk behaviors in late adolescence and to test for moderator effects of gender. This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study with a convenience sample of 437 predominately Caucasian late adolescents with an average age of 19 years who lived in Northern California. Parental Attachment, Shyness, Loneliness, Law Abidance, and Youth Risk Behaviors were measured with self-report tools and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the data fit the model well. Analysis of group differences revealed that gender moderated the relationships among the measured variables; thus, data were analyzed in independent gender-based models. Structural modeling demonstrated good model fit for each gender. Shyness and parental attachment each were associated with loneliness. Loneliness was associated with smoking. Loneliness linked the relationship between shyness, parental attachment, and smoking. Parental attachment was associated with law abidance. Law abidance was associated with sexual behaviors for female adolescents only. This study provides valuable insights for public health nurses as it pertains to late adolescent health-risk behaviors. Nurses should use screening tools and techniques to ensure appropriate referrals and interventions to meet the needs of at-risk adolescents. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Mutation Breeding and Mutagenic Effect of Air Plasma on Penicillium Chrysogenum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gui, Fang; Wang, Hui; Wang, Peng; Liu, Hui; Cai, Xiaochun; Hu, Yihua; Yuan, Chengling; Zheng, Zhiming

2012-04-01

Low temperature air plasma was used as the mutation tool for penicillin-producing strain Penicillium chrysogenum. The discharge conditions were RF power of 360 W, temperature of 40°C in a sealed chamber, and pressure of 10 Pa to 30 Pa. The result showed that the kinetics of the survival rate followed a typical saddle-shaped curve. Based on a statistic analysis, at the treating duration of 10 min, the positive mutation rate was as high as 37.5% while the negative mutation rate was low. The colonial morphology changed obviously when the plasma treating duration reached or exceeded 45 min. After both primary and secondary screening, a mutant designated as aPc051310 with high productivity of penicillin was obtained, and a strong mutagenic effect on P. chrysogenum was observed in the process. It was proved that after five generations, the mutant aPc051310 still exhibits a high productivity. All the results prove that the plasma mutation method could be developed as a convenient and effective tool to breed high-yield strains in the fermentation industry, while expanding the plasm application at the same time.

Screening tools for multidimensional health problems warranting a geriatric assessment in older cancer patients: an update on SIOG recommendations†.

PubMed

Decoster, L; Van Puyvelde, K; Mohile, S; Wedding, U; Basso, U; Colloca, G; Rostoft, S; Overcash, J; Wildiers, H; Steer, C; Kimmick, G; Kanesvaran, R; Luciani, A; Terret, C; Hurria, A; Kenis, C; Audisio, R; Extermann, M

2015-02-01

Screening tools are proposed to identify those older cancer patients in need of geriatric assessment (GA) and multidisciplinary approach. We aimed to update the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) 2005 recommendations on the use of screening tools. SIOG composed a task group to review, interpret and discuss evidence on the use of screening tools in older cancer patients. A systematic review was carried out and discussed by an expert panel, leading to a consensus statement on their use. Forty-four studies reporting on the use of 17 different screening tools in older cancer patients were identified. The tools most studied in older cancer patients are G8, Flemish version of the Triage Risk Screening Tool (fTRST) and Vulnerable Elders Survey-13 (VES-13). Across all studies, the highest sensitivity was observed for: G8, fTRST, Oncogeriatric screen, Study of Osteoporotic Fractures, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group-Performance Status, Senior Adult Oncology Program (SAOP) 2 screening and Gerhematolim. In 11 direct comparisons for detecting problems on a full GA, the G8 was more or equally sensitive than other instruments in all six comparisons, whereas results were mixed for the VES-13 in seven comparisons. In addition, different tools have demonstrated associations with outcome measures, including G8 and VES-13. Screening tools do not replace GA but are recommended in a busy practice in order to identify those patients in need of full GA. If abnormal, screening should be followed by GA and guided multidisciplinary interventions. Several tools are available with different performance for various parameters (including sensitivity for addressing the need for further GA). Further research should focus on the ability of screening tools to build clinical pathways and to predict different outcome parameters. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Screening of female family members of von Willebrand disease patients: utility of a modified screening tool in a high-risk population.

PubMed

Faiz, A S; Kaveney, A; Guo, S; Murphy, S; Philipp, C S

2017-09-01

Family members of Von Willebrand disease (VWD) patients may have low levels of VWF without major bleeding episodes and often remain undiagnosed. The purpose of this study was to assess the utility of a modified Screening Tool in identifying previously untested reproductive age female family members of VWD patients for haemostatic evaluation. Ninety-four reproductive age women including 41 previously untested family members of VWD patients, 26 previously diagnosed VWD patients and 27 healthy controls were administered a modified Screening Tool and had blood drawn for CBC, ferritin, and VWF testing. Participants completed a pictorial blood assessment chart (PBAC) with menses. The modified Screening Tool was positive in 32% family members, 77% VWD patients, and 19% controls (P < 0.001). Combined with low ferritin, the modified Screening Tool was positive in 66% family members, 92% VWD patients, and 44% controls (P = 0.001). In family members, incorporating low ferritin with the modified Screening Tool resulted in a sensitivity of 86% (95% CI, 42-100) and negative predictive value of 93% (95% CI, 66-100). In the control group, NPV was between 92% and 95% for the modified Screening Tool and also for the modified Screening Tool combined with low ferritin or a positive PBAC. These data in a racially diverse population suggest the usefulness of a simple, easy to administer modified Screening Tool. In conjunction with ferritin it could be used in a primary care setting to stratify reproductive age women with a family history of VWD for haemostatic evaluation. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

pulver: an R package for parallel ultra-rapid p-value computation for linear regression interaction terms.

PubMed

Molnos, Sophie; Baumbach, Clemens; Wahl, Simone; Müller-Nurasyid, Martina; Strauch, Konstantin; Wang-Sattler, Rui; Waldenberger, Melanie; Meitinger, Thomas; Adamski, Jerzy; Kastenmüller, Gabi; Suhre, Karsten; Peters, Annette; Grallert, Harald; Theis, Fabian J; Gieger, Christian

2017-09-29

Genome-wide association studies allow us to understand the genetics of complex diseases. Human metabolism provides information about the disease-causing mechanisms, so it is usual to investigate the associations between genetic variants and metabolite levels. However, only considering genetic variants and their effects on one trait ignores the possible interplay between different "omics" layers. Existing tools only consider single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-SNP interactions, and no practical tool is available for large-scale investigations of the interactions between pairs of arbitrary quantitative variables. We developed an R package called pulver to compute p-values for the interaction term in a very large number of linear regression models. Comparisons based on simulated data showed that pulver is much faster than the existing tools. This is achieved by using the correlation coefficient to test the null-hypothesis, which avoids the costly computation of inversions. Additional tricks are a rearrangement of the order, when iterating through the different "omics" layers, and implementing this algorithm in the fast programming language C++. Furthermore, we applied our algorithm to data from the German KORA study to investigate a real-world problem involving the interplay among DNA methylation, genetic variants, and metabolite levels. The pulver package is a convenient and rapid tool for screening huge numbers of linear regression models for significant interaction terms in arbitrary pairs of quantitative variables. pulver is written in R and C++, and can be downloaded freely from CRAN at https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/pulver/ .

Molecular HIV screening.

PubMed

Bourlet, Thomas; Memmi, Meriam; Saoudin, Henia; Pozzetto, Bruno

2013-09-01

Nuclear acid testing is more and more used for the diagnosis of infectious diseases. This paper focuses on the use of molecular tools for HIV screening. The term 'screening' will be used under the meaning of first-line HIV molecular techniques performed on a routine basis, which excludes HIV molecular tests designed to confirm or infirm a newly discovered HIV-seropositive patient or other molecular tests performed for the follow-up of HIV-infected patients. The following items are developed successively: i) presentation of the variety of molecular tools used for molecular HIV screening, ii) use of HIV molecular tools for the screening of blood products, iii) use of HIV molecular tools for the screening of organs and tissue from human origin, iv) use of HIV molecular tools in medically assisted procreation and v) use of HIV molecular tools in neonates from HIV-infected mothers.

Development of a Mobile Tool That Semiautomatically Screens Patients for Stroke Clinical Trials.

PubMed

Spokoyny, Ilana; Lansberg, Maarten; Thiessen, Rosita; Kemp, Stephanie M; Aksoy, Didem; Lee, YongJae; Mlynash, Michael; Hirsch, Karen G

2016-10-01

Despite several national coordinated research networks, enrollment in many cerebrovascular trials remains challenging. An electronic tool was needed that would improve the efficiency and efficacy of screening for multiple simultaneous acute clinical stroke trials by automating the evaluation of inclusion and exclusion criteria, improving screening procedures and streamlining the communication process between the stroke research coordinators and the stroke clinicians. A multidisciplinary group consisting of physicians, study coordinators, and biostatisticians designed and developed an electronic clinical trial screening tool on a HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)-compliant platform. A web-based tool was developed that uses branch logic to determine eligibility for simultaneously enrolling clinical trials and automatically notifies the study coordinator teams about eligible patients. After 12 weeks of use, 225 surveys were completed, and 51 patients were enrolled in acute stroke clinical trials. Compared with the 12 weeks before implementation of the tool, there was an increase in enrollment from 16.5% of patients screened to 23.4% of patients screened (P<0.05). Clinicians and coordinators reported increased satisfaction with the process and improved ease of screening. We created a semiautomated electronic screening tool that uses branch logic to screen patients for stroke clinical trials. The tool has improved efficiency and efficacy of screening, and it could be adapted for use at other sites and in other medical fields. © 2016 American Heart Association, Inc.

The personal costs and convenience of screening mammography.

PubMed

Suter, Lisa Gale; Nakano, Connie Y; Elmore, Joann G

2002-09-01

Few studies have examined the impact of women's personal costs on obtaining a screening mammogram in the United States. All women obtaining screening mammograms at nine Connecticut mammography facilities during a 2-week study period were asked to complete a questionnaire. Facilities included urban and rural fixed sites and mobile sites. The survey included questions about insurance coverage, mammogram payment, and personal costs in terms of transportation, family care, parking, and lost work time from the women's perspective. The response rate was 62% (731 of 1189). Thirty-two percent of respondents incurred some type of personal cost, including lost work time, family care, and parking. Women incurring personal costs were more likely than those without personal costs to attend an urban facility (46% vs. 23%, p < 0.01) and be under the age of 50 (40% vs. 26%, p < 0.01). Overall, 61% of women listed convenience and 17% listed cost as a reason for choosing a mammography facility; 23% reported that cost might prevent them from obtaining a future mammogram. One third of women obtaining mammograms may be incurring personal costs. These personal costs should be considered in future cost-effectiveness analyses.

Is the presence of a validated malnutrition screening tool associated with better nutritional care in hospitalized patients?

PubMed

Eglseer, Doris; Halfens, Ruud J G; Lohrmann, Christa

2017-05-01

The aims of this study were to evaluate the association between the use of clinical guidelines and the use of validated screening tools, evaluate the nutritional screening policy in hospitals, and examine the association between the use of validated screening tools and the prevalence of malnutrition and nutritional interventions in hospitalized patients. This was a cross-sectional, multicenter study. Data were collected using a standardized questionnaire on three levels: institution (presence of a guideline for malnutrition), department (use of a validated screening tool), and patient (e.g., malnutrition prevalence). In all, 53 hospitals with 5255 patients participated. About 45% of the hospitals indicated that they have guidelines for malnutrition. Of the departments surveyed, 38.6% used validated screening tools as part of a standard procedure. The nutritional status of 74.5% of the patients was screened during admission, mostly on the basis of clinical observation and patient weight. A validated screening tool was used for 21.2% of the patients. Significant differences between wards with and without validated screening tools were found with regard to malnutrition prevalence (P = 0.002) and the following interventions: referral to a dietitian (P < 0.001), provision of energy-enriched snacks (P = 0.038), adjustment of consistency (food/drinks; P = 0.004), monitoring of the nutritional intake (P = 0.001), and adjustment of the meal ambiance (P < 0.001). Nutritional screening with validated tools in hospitalized patients remains poor. Generally, the nutritional status of patients is screened with unreliable parameters such as clinical observation and body mass index. The results of the present study suggest that the use of validated malnutrition screening tools is associated with better nutritional care and lower malnutrition prevalence rates in hospitalized patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Visual Impairment Screening Assessment (VISA) tool: pilot validation.

PubMed

Rowe, Fiona J; Hepworth, Lauren R; Hanna, Kerry L; Howard, Claire

2018-03-06

To report and evaluate a new Vision Impairment Screening Assessment (VISA) tool intended for use by the stroke team to improve identification of visual impairment in stroke survivors. Prospective case cohort comparative study. Stroke units at two secondary care hospitals and one tertiary centre. 116 stroke survivors were screened, 62 by naïve and 54 by non-naïve screeners. Both the VISA screening tool and the comprehensive specialist vision assessment measured case history, visual acuity, eye alignment, eye movements, visual field and visual inattention. Full completion of VISA tool and specialist vision assessment was achieved for 89 stroke survivors. Missing data for one or more sections typically related to patient's inability to complete the assessment. Sensitivity and specificity of the VISA screening tool were 90.24% and 85.29%, respectively; the positive and negative predictive values were 93.67% and 78.36%, respectively. Overall agreement was significant; k=0.736. Lowest agreement was found for screening of eye movement and visual inattention deficits. This early validation of the VISA screening tool shows promise in improving detection accuracy for clinicians involved in stroke care who are not specialists in vision problems and lack formal eye training, with potential to lead to more prompt referral with fewer false positives and negatives. Pilot validation indicates acceptability of the VISA tool for screening of visual impairment in stroke survivors. Sensitivity and specificity were high indicating the potential accuracy of the VISA tool for screening purposes. Results of this study have guided the revision of the VISA screening tool ahead of full clinical validation. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Rosette Assay: Highly Customizable Dot-Blot for SH2 Domain Screening.

PubMed

Ng, Khong Y; Machida, Kazuya

2017-01-01

With a growing number of high-throughput studies, structural analyses, and availability of protein-protein interaction databases, it is now possible to apply web-based prediction tools to SH2 domain-interactions. However, in silico prediction is not always reliable and requires experimental validation. Rosette assay is a dot blot-based reverse-phase assay developed for the assessment of binding between SH2 domains and their ligands. It is conveniently customizable, allowing for low- to high-throughput analysis of interactions between various numbers of SH2 domains and their ligands, e.g., short peptides, purified proteins, and cell lysates. The binding assay is performed in a 96-well plate (MBA or MWA apparatus) in which a sample spotted membrane is incubated with up to 96 labeled SH2 domains. Bound domains are detected and quantified using a chemiluminescence or near-infrared fluorescence (IR) imaging system. In this chapter, we describe a practical protocol for rosette assay to assess interactions between synthesized tyrosine phosphorylated peptides and a library of GST-tagged SH2 domains. Since the methodology is not confined to assessment of SH2-pTyr interactions, rosette assay can be broadly utilized for ligand and drug screening using different protein interaction domains or antibodies.

Factor structure of the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) from infertile women attending the Yazd Research and Clinical Center for Infertility.

PubMed

Shayan, Zahra; Pourmovahed, Zahra; Najafipour, Fatemeh; Abdoli, Ali Mohammad; Mohebpour, Fatemeh; Najafipour, Sedighe

2015-12-01

Nowadays, infertility problems have become a social concern, and are associated with multiple psychological and social problems. Also, it affects the interpersonal communication between the individual, familial, and social characteristics. Since women are exposed to stressors of physical, mental, social factors, and treatment of infertility, providing a psychometric screening tool is necessary for disorders of this group. The aim of this study was to determine the factor structure of the general health questionnaire-28 to discover mental disorders in infertile women. In this study, 220 infertile women undergoing treatment of infertility were selected from the Yazd Research and Clinical Center for Infertility with convenience sampling in 2011. After completing the general health questionnaire by the project manager, validity and, reliability of the questionnaire were calculated by confirmatory factor structure and Cronbach's alpha, respectively. Four factors, including anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction, depression, and physical symptoms were extracted from the factor structure. 50.12% of the total variance was explained by four factors. The reliability coefficient of the questionnaire was obtained 0.90. Analysis of the factor structure and reliability of General Health Questionnaire-28 showed that it is suitable as a screening instrument for assessing general health of infertile women.

Time Pattern Locking Scheme for Secure Multimedia Contents in Human-Centric Device

PubMed Central

Kim, Hyun-Woo; Kim, Jun-Ho; Park, Jong Hyuk; Jeong, Young-Sik

2014-01-01

Among the various smart multimedia devices, multimedia smartphones have become the most widespread due to their convenient portability and real-time information sharing, as well as various other built-in features. Accordingly, since personal and business activities can be carried out using multimedia smartphones without restrictions based on time and location, people have more leisure time and convenience than ever. However, problems such as loss, theft, and information leakage because of convenient portability have also increased proportionally. As a result, most multimedia smartphones are equipped with various built-in locking features. Pattern lock, personal identification numbers, and passwords are the most used locking features on current smartphones, but these are vulnerable to shoulder surfing and smudge attacks, allowing malicious users to bypass the security feature easily. In particular, the smudge attack technique is a convenient way to unlock multimedia smartphones after they have been stolen. In this paper, we propose the secure locking screen using time pattern (SLSTP) focusing on improved security and convenience for users to support human-centric multimedia device completely. The SLSTP can provide a simple interface to users and reduce the risk factors pertaining to security leakage to malicious third parties. PMID:25202737

Time pattern locking scheme for secure multimedia contents in human-centric device.

PubMed

Kim, Hyun-Woo; Kim, Jun-Ho; Park, Jong Hyuk; Jeong, Young-Sik

2014-01-01

Among the various smart multimedia devices, multimedia smartphones have become the most widespread due to their convenient portability and real-time information sharing, as well as various other built-in features. Accordingly, since personal and business activities can be carried out using multimedia smartphones without restrictions based on time and location, people have more leisure time and convenience than ever. However, problems such as loss, theft, and information leakage because of convenient portability have also increased proportionally. As a result, most multimedia smartphones are equipped with various built-in locking features. Pattern lock, personal identification numbers, and passwords are the most used locking features on current smartphones, but these are vulnerable to shoulder surfing and smudge attacks, allowing malicious users to bypass the security feature easily. In particular, the smudge attack technique is a convenient way to unlock multimedia smartphones after they have been stolen. In this paper, we propose the secure locking screen using time pattern (SLSTP) focusing on improved security and convenience for users to support human-centric multimedia device completely. The SLSTP can provide a simple interface to users and reduce the risk factors pertaining to security leakage to malicious third parties.

Arthropod deterrents from Artemisia pallens (Davana oil) components

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Davanone, a key sesquiterpene component of davana oil, has been synthesized in five convenient steps. Oxygenated sesquiterpenes have been linked to insect deterrent properties. Based on initial screening of davana oil, davanone and its hydroxy precursors have been generated and are being evaluated...

Malnutrition risk in hospitalized children: use of 3 screening tools in a large European population.

PubMed

Chourdakis, Michael; Hecht, Christina; Gerasimidis, Konstantinos; Joosten, Koen Fm; Karagiozoglou-Lampoudi, Thomais; Koetse, Harma A; Ksiazyk, Janusz; Lazea, Cecilia; Shamir, Raanan; Szajewska, Hania; Koletzko, Berthold; Hulst, Jessie M

2016-05-01

Several malnutrition screening tools have been advocated for use in pediatric inpatients. We evaluated how 3 popular pediatric nutrition screening tools [i.e., the Pediatric Yorkhill Malnutrition Score (PYMS), the Screening Tool for the Assessment of Malnutrition in Pediatrics (STAMP), and the Screening Tool for Risk of Impaired Nutritional Status and Growth (STRONGKIDS)] compared with and were related to anthropometric measures, body composition, and clinical variables in patients who were admitted to tertiary hospitals across Europe. The 3 screening tools were applied in 2567 inpatients at 14 hospitals across 12 European countries. The classification of patients into different nutritional risk groups was compared between tools and related to anthropometric measures and clinical variables [e.g., length of hospital stay (LOS) and infection rates]. A similar rate of completion of the screening tools for each tool was achieved (PYMS: 86%; STAMP: 84%; and STRONGKIDS: 81%). Risk classification differed markedly by tool, with an overall agreement of 41% between tools. Children categorized as high risk (PYMS: 25%; STAMP: 23%; and STRONGKIDS: 10%) had a longer LOS than that of children at low risk (1.4, 1.4, and 1.8 d longer, respectively; P < 0.001). In high-risk patients identified with the PYMS, 22% of them had low (<-2) body mass index (BMI) SD-scores (SDSs), and 8% of them had low height-for-age SDSs. For the STAMP, the percentages were 19% and 14%, respectively, and for the STRONGKIDS, the percentages were 23% and 19%, respectively. The identification and classification of malnutrition risk varied across the pediatric tools used. A considerable portion of children with subnormal anthropometric measures were not identified with all of the tools. The data obtained do not allow recommending the use of any of these screening tools for clinical practice. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01132742. © 2016 American Society for Nutrition.

The inter and intra rater reliability of the Netball Movement Screening Tool.

PubMed

Reid, Duncan A; Vanweerd, Rebecca J; Larmer, Peter J; Kingstone, Rachel

2015-05-01

To establish the inter- and intra-rater reliability of the Netball Movement Screening Tool, for screening adolescent female netball players. Inter- and intra-rater reliability study. Forty secondary school netball players were recruited to take part in the study. Twenty subjects were screened simultaneously and independently by two raters to ascertain inter-rater agreement. Twenty subjects were scored by rater one on two occasions, separated by a week, to ascertain intra-rater agreement. Inter and intra-rater agreement was assessed utilising the two-way mixed inter class correlation coefficient and weighted kappa statistics. No significant demographic differences were found between the inter and intra-rater groups of subjects. Inter class correlation coefficients' demonstrated excellent inter-rater (two-way mixed inter class correlation coefficients 0.84, standard error of measurement 0.25) and intra-rater (two-way mixed inter class correlation coefficients 0.96, standard error of measurement 0.13) reliability for the overall Netball Movement Screening Tool score and substantial-excellent (two-way mixed inter class correlation coefficients 1.0-0.65) inter-rater and substantial-excellent intra-rater (two-way mixed inter class correlation coefficients 0.96-0.79) reliability for the component scores of the Netball Movement Screening Tool. Kappa statistic showed substantial to poor inter-rater (k=0.75-0.32) and intra-rater (k=0.77-0.27) agreement for individual tests of the NMST. The Netball Movement Screening Tool may be a reliable screening tool for adolescent netball players; however the individual test scores have low reliability. The screening tool can be administered reliably by raters with similar levels of training in the tool but variable clinical experience. On-going research needs to be undertaken to ascertain whether the Netball Movement Screening Tool is a valid tool in ascertaining increased injury risk for netball players. Copyright © 2014 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SU-F-T-94: Plan2pdf - a Software Tool for Automatic Plan Report for Philips Pinnacle TPS

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

Wu, C

Purpose: To implement an automatic electronic PDF plan reporting tool for Philips Pinnacle treatment planning system (TPS) Methods: An electronic treatment plan reporting software is developed by us to enable fully automatic PDF report from Pinnacle TPS to external EMR programs such as MOSAIQ. The tool is named “plan2pdf”. plan2pdf is implemented using Pinnacle scripts, Java and UNIX shell scripts, without any external program needed. plan2pdf supports full auto-mode and manual mode reporting. In full auto-mode, with a single mouse click, plan2pdf will generate a detailed Pinnacle plan report in PDF format, which includes customizable cover page, Pinnacle plan summary,more » orthogonal views through each plan POI and maximum dose point, DRR for each beam, serial transverse views captured throughout the dose grid at a user specified interval, DVH and scorecard windows. The final PDF report is also automatically bookmarked for each section above for convenient plan review. The final PDF report can either be saved on a user specified folder on Pinnacle, or it can be automatically exported to an EMR import folder via a user configured FTP service. In manual capture mode, plan2pdf allows users to capture any Pinnacle plan by full screen, individual window or rectangular ROI drawn on screen. Furthermore, to avoid possible patients’ plan mix-up during auto-mode reporting, a user conflict check feature is included in plan2pdf: it prompts user to wait if another patient is being exported by plan2pdf by another user. Results: plan2pdf is tested extensively and successfully at our institution consists of 5 centers, 15 dosimetrists and 10 physicists, running Pinnacle version 9.10 on Enterprise servers. Conclusion: plan2pdf provides a highly efficient, user friendly and clinical proven platform for all Philips Pinnacle users, to generate a detailed plan report in PDF format for external EMR systems.« less

An evaluation of a family planning mobile job aid for community health workers in Tanzania.

PubMed

Braun, Rebecca; Lasway, Christine; Agarwal, Smisha; L'Engle, Kelly; Layer, Erica; Silas, Lucy; Mwakibete, Anna; Kudrati, Mustafa

2016-07-01

The global rapid growth in mobile technology provides unique opportunities to support community health workers (CHWs) in providing family planning (FP) services. FHI 360, Pathfinder International and D-tree International developed an evidence-based mobile job aid to support CHW counseling, screening, service provision and referrals, with mobile forms for client and service data, and text-message reporting and reminders. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the acceptability and potential benefits to service quality from the perspective of CHWs and their clients. The mobile job aid was piloted in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Data collection tools included a demographic survey of all 25 CHWs trained to use the mobile job aid, in-depth interviews with 20 of the CHWs after 3 months and a survey of 176 clients who received FP services from a CHW using the mobile job aid after 6 months. Both CHWs and their clients reported that the mobile job aid was a highly acceptable FP support tool. CHWs perceived benefits to service quality, including timelier and more convenient care; better quality of information; increased method choice; and improved privacy, confidentiality and trust with clients. Most clients discussed multiple FP methods with CHWs; only 1 in 10 clients reported discussion of all 9 methods. This research suggests that mobile phones can be effective tools to support CHWs with FP counseling, screening and referrals, data collection and reporting, and communication. Challenges remain to support informed contraceptive choice. Future research should focus on implementation, including scale-up and sustainability. Mobile job aids can uniquely enhance FP service provision at the community level through adherence to standard protocols, real-time feedback and technical assistance, and provision of confidential care. This study can inform future efforts to support and expand the role of CHWs in increasing FP access and informed contraceptive choice. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prospective Validation of the Ottawa 3DY Scale by Geriatric Emergency Management Nurses to Identify Impaired Cognition in Older Emergency Department Patients.

PubMed

Wilding, Laura; Eagles, Debra; Molnar, Frank; O'Brien, Jo-Anne; Dalziel, William B; Moors, Joy; Stiell, Ian

2016-02-01

Assessment of older emergency department (ED) patients with cognitive impairment is challenging because few tools exist that can be quickly administered by front-line practitioners. Our objective is to validate the Ottawa 3DY Scale, a 4-question screening tool for cognitive impairment, in older ED patients and compare its performance with that of the Animal Fluency Test. We conducted a prospective cohort study in 2 EDs and enrolled a convenience sample of patients aged 75 years or older with no history of cognitive impairment. Eligible patients were assessed by geriatric emergency management nurses who administered the Mini-Mental State Examination, ordered with the Ottawa 3DY Scale questions first, followed by the Animal Fluency Test. Mini-Mental State Examination score less than 25 was our criterion standard for cognitive impairment. Study patients (N=238) had a mean age of 81.9 years and were 60.1% women, and 26.5% were admitted to the hospital. The Ottawa 3DY Scale and Mini-Mental State Examination were in agreement for 75.6% of cases, with a sensitivity of 93.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] 77.8% to 98.9%) and specificity of 72.8% (95% CI 66.1% to 78.7%). The Animal Fluency Test score less than 15 and Mini-Mental State Examination score were in agreement for 46.2% of cases, with sensitivity 90.6% (95% CI 73.8% to 97.5%) and specificity 39.3% (95% CI 32.7% to 46.4%). Both the Ottawa 3DY Scale and the Animal Fluency Test demonstrated excellent sensitivity versus the Mini-Mental State Examination; however, the Animal Fluency Test exhibited poor specificity. The Ottawa 3DY Scale is an effective tool to screen for cognitive impairment in older ED patients, and its use may facilitate improved care in this vulnerable population. Copyright © 2015 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Screening Tool to Identify Spasticity in Need of Treatment

PubMed Central

Zorowitz, Richard D.; Wein, Theodore H.; Dunning, Kari; Deltombe, Thierry; Olver, John H.; Davé, Shashank J.; Dimyan, Michael A.; Kelemen, John; Pagan, Fernando L.; Evans, Christopher J.; Gillard, Patrick J.; Kissela, Brett M.

2017-01-01

Objective To develop a clinically useful patient-reported screening tool for health care providers to identify patients with spasticity in need of treatment regardless of etiology. Design Eleven spasticity experts participated in a modified Delphi panel and reviewed and revised 2 iterations of a screening tool designed to identify spasticity symptoms and impact on daily function and sleep. Spasticity expert panelists evaluated items pooled from existing questionnaires to gain consensus on the screening tool content. The study also included cognitive interviews of 20 patients with varying spasticity etiologies to determine if the draft screening tool was understandable and relevant to patients with spasticity. Results The Delphi panel reached an initial consensus on 21 of 47 items for the screening tool and determined that the tool should have no more than 11 to 15 items and a 1-month recall period for symptom and impact items. After 2 rounds of review, 13 items were selected and modified by the expert panelists. Most patients (n = 16 [80%]) completed the cognitive interview and interpreted the items as intended. Conclusions Through the use of a Delphi panel and patient interviews, a 13-item spasticity screening tool was developed that will be practical and easy to use in routine clinical practice. PMID:27552355

[Validation of a nutritional screening tool for hospitalized pediatric patients].

PubMed

Lama More, R A; Moráis López, A; Herrero Álvarez, M; Caraballo Chicano, S; Galera Martínez, R; López Ruzafa, E; Rodríguez Martínez, G; de la Mano Hernández, A; Rivero de la Rosa, M C

2012-01-01

Malnutrition among hospitalized patients has clinical implications, and interest has arisen to find screening tools able to identify subjects under risk. At present, there is no consensus about the most suitable nutrition screening tool for pediatric patients. To validate STAMP (Screening Tool for the Assessment of Malnutrition in Pediatrics) pediatric screening tool in Spain. Descriptive cross-sectional study of patients admitted to a 3rd level children's hospital with both medical and surgical specialities. During the first 24 hours of admission, STAMP screening tool was applied. For its validation, results were compared with those obtained from a nutritional assessment performed by specialist staff, which included clinical, anthropometric and body composition data. A sample of 250 children was studied. Nutritional assessment identified 64 patients (25.6%) under risk, 40 of whom were malnourished (16%). STAMP classified 48.4% of the patients as being under nutritional risk. This tool showed 75% sensitivity and 60.8% specificity when identifying patients under risk according to nutritional assessment. It showed 90% sensitivity and 59.5% specificity when identifying malnourished patients. Malnutrition was less frequent than that reported in other European countries, although diagnosis technique was different. STAMP is a simple and useful tool for nutritional screening, avoiding the need to assess all patients on admission in order to identify those under nutritional risk.

Screening for Alcohol Problems among 4-Year Colleges and Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winters, Ken C.; Toomey, Traci; Nelson, Toben F.; Erickson, Darin; Lenk, Kathleen; Miazga, Mark

2011-01-01

Objective: To assess the use of alcohol screening tools across US colleges. Participants: Directors of health services at 333 four-year colleges. Methods: An online survey was conducted regarding the use of alcohol screening tools. Schools reporting use of formal tools were further described in terms of 4 tools (AUDIT, CUGE, CAPS, and RAPS) that…

Towards the Development of an Intimate Partner Violence Screening Tool for Gay and Bisexual Men

PubMed Central

Stephenson, Rob; Hall, Casey D.; Williams, Whitney; Sato, Kimi; Finneran, Catherine

2013-01-01

Introduction: Recent research suggests that gay and bisexual men experience intimate partner violence (IPV) at rates comparable to heterosexual women. However, current screening tools used to identify persons experiencing IPV were largely created for use with heterosexual women. Given the high prevalence of IPV among gay and bisexual men in the United States, the lack of IPV screening tools that reflect the lived realities of gay and bisexual men is problematic.This paper describes the development of a short-form IPV screening tool intended to be used with gay and bisexual men. Methods: A novel definition of IPV, informed by formative Focus Group Discussions, was derived from a quantitative survey of approximately 1,100 venue-recruited gay and bisexual men. From this new definition, a draft IPV screening tool was created. After expert review (n=13) and cognitive interviews with gay and bisexual men (n=47), a screening tool of six questions was finalized.A national, online-recruited sample (n=822) was used to compare rates of IPV identified by the novel tool and current standard tools. Results: The six-item, short-form tool created through the six-stage research process captured a significantly higher prevalence of recent experience of IPV compared to a current and commonly used screening tool (30.7% versus 7.5%, p<0.05). The novel short-form tool described additional domains of IPV not currently found in screening tools, including monitoring behaviors, controlling behaviors, and HIV-related IPV. The screener takes less than five minutes to complete and is 6th grade reading level. Conclusion: Gay and bisexual men experiencing IPV must first be identified before services can reach them. Given emergent literature that demonstrates the high prevalence of IPV among gay and bisexual men and the known adverse health sequela of experiencing IPV, this novel screening tool may allow for the quick identification of men experiencing IPV and the opportunity for referrals for the synergistic management of IPV. Future work should focus on implementing this tool in primary or acute care settings in order to determine its acceptability and its feasibility of use more broadly. PMID:23997849

Towards the development of an intimate partner violence screening tool for gay and bisexual men.

PubMed

Stephenson, Rob; Hall, Casey D; Williams, Whitney; Sato, Kimi; Finneran, Catherine

2013-08-01

Recent research suggests that gay and bisexual men experience intimate partner violence (IPV) at rates comparable to heterosexual women. However, current screening tools used to identify persons experiencing IPV were largely created for use with heterosexual women. Given the high prevalence of IPV among gay and bisexual men in the United States, the lack of IPV screening tools that reflect the lived realities of gay and bisexual men is problematic.This paper describes the development of a short-form IPV screening tool intended to be used with gay and bisexual men. A novel definition of IPV, informed by formative Focus Group Discussions, was derived from a quantitative survey of approximately 1,100 venue-recruited gay and bisexual men. From this new definition, a draft IPV screening tool was created. After expert review (n=13) and cognitive interviews with gay and bisexual men (n=47), a screening tool of six questions was finalized.A national, online-recruited sample (n=822) was used to compare rates of IPV identified by the novel tool and current standard tools. The six-item, short-form tool created through the six-stage research process captured a significantly higher prevalence of recent experience of IPV compared to a current and commonly used screening tool (30.7% versus 7.5%, p<0.05). The novel short-form tool described additional domains of IPV not currently found in screening tools, including monitoring behaviors, controlling behaviors, and HIV-related IPV. The screener takes less than five minutes to complete and is 6th grade reading level. Gay and bisexual men experiencing IPV must first be identified before services can reach them. Given emergent literature that demonstrates the high prevalence of IPV among gay and bisexual men and the known adverse health sequela of experiencing IPV, this novel screening tool may allow for the quick identification of men experiencing IPV and the opportunity for referrals for the synergistic management of IPV. Future work should focus on implementing this tool in primary or acute care settings in order to determine its acceptability and its feasibility of use more broadly.

Exploring access and attitudes to regular sexually transmitted infection screening: the views of young, multi-ethnic, inner-city, female students.

PubMed

Normansell, Rebecca; Drennan, Vari M; Oakeshott, Pippa

2016-04-01

Low uptake of sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing by young people is a major public health problem worldwide. The aims of this qualitative, community-based study were to explore access and attitudes to STI screening in high risk, young, ethnically diverse female students. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted at an inner-London further education college with 17 women aged 16-25 years. The women wanted convenient, regular STI testing and perceived this as responsible behaviour. However, they doubted the maturity of their peers who were unlikely to view themselves as candidates for testing, and feared the perceived stigma associated with testing. This was reflected in their preference for confidential testing. Despite attending their general practice for non-sexual health matters, most did not consider this option for STI testing. However, the long wait in specialist clinics was an important barrier. Many younger participants would not want postal STI sample kits sent to their homes. We found dissatisfaction with sexual health education. STI screening for underserved groups such as young sexually active ethnically diverse female college students needs to be confidential, convenient, easily accessed and offered in ways that allow them to consider themselves as candidates for such screening without fear of social stigma. Family doctors should be aware that young women often do not perceive primary care to be an option for accessing STI screening, and could consider ways of advertising these services. Policymakers and commissioners should be aware that clinic waiting times and lack of education remain barriers to testing. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Comparison of traditional trigger tool to data warehouse based screening for identifying hospital adverse events.

PubMed

O'Leary, Kevin J; Devisetty, Vikram K; Patel, Amitkumar R; Malkenson, David; Sama, Pradeep; Thompson, William K; Landler, Matthew P; Barnard, Cynthia; Williams, Mark V

2013-02-01

Research supports medical record review using screening triggers as the optimal method to detect hospital adverse events (AE), yet the method is labour-intensive. This study compared a traditional trigger tool with an enterprise data warehouse (EDW) based screening method to detect AEs. We created 51 automated queries based on 33 traditional triggers from prior research, and then applied them to 250 randomly selected medical patients hospitalised between 1 September 2009 and 31 August 2010. Two physicians each abstracted records from half the patients using a traditional trigger tool and then performed targeted abstractions for patients with positive EDW queries in the complementary half of the sample. A third physician confirmed presence of AEs and assessed preventability and severity. Traditional trigger tool and EDW based screening identified 54 (22%) and 53 (21%) patients with one or more AE. Overall, 140 (56%) patients had one or more positive EDW screens (total 366 positive screens). Of the 137 AEs detected by at least one method, 86 (63%) were detected by a traditional trigger tool, 97 (71%) by EDW based screening and 46 (34%) by both methods. Of the 11 total preventable AEs, 6 (55%) were detected by traditional trigger tool, 7 (64%) by EDW based screening and 2 (18%) by both methods. Of the 43 total serious AEs, 28 (65%) were detected by traditional trigger tool, 29 (67%) by EDW based screening and 14 (33%) by both. We found relatively poor agreement between traditional trigger tool and EDW based screening with only approximately a third of all AEs detected by both methods. A combination of complementary methods is the optimal approach to detecting AEs among hospitalised patients.

The impact of breast cancer knowledge and attitudes on screening and early detection among an immigrant Iranian population in southern California

PubMed Central

Kobeissi, Loulou; Samari, Goleen; Telesca, Donatello; Esfandiari, Mahtash; Galal, Osman

2014-01-01

Background Few studies explore factors influencing breast cancer screening and early detection behaviors among immigrant Iranian women residing in the United States. Methods Using a cross-sectional survey, a convenience sample of 319 Iranian-American women was selected to explore the impact of breast cancer knowledge and attitude on screening. A self-administered questionnaire assessed: breast cancer screening knowledge, attitude, and mammography use (ever, previous year and future intention). Results 79 % of the women in the study reported ever-receiving at least one mammogram and 74 % received a mammogram in the past year. Personal attitude had an independent significant effect on: mammography use in the last year, ever use of mammography and future intention to screen. Knowledge and morality-induced attitude influenced screening behavior but not significantly. Conclusion Interventions targeting breast cancer screening among immigrant Iranian women in the US should focus on enhancing personal attitudes in order to influence actual screening behavior. PMID:24096382

A Pathway to Freedom: An Evaluation of Screening Tools for the Identification of Trafficking Victims.

PubMed

Bespalova, Nadejda; Morgan, Juliet; Coverdale, John

2016-02-01

Because training residents and faculty to identify human trafficking victims is a major public health priority, the authors review existing assessment tools. PubMed and Google were searched using combinations of search terms including human, trafficking, sex, labor, screening, identification, and tool. Nine screening tools that met the inclusion criteria were found. They varied greatly in length, format, target demographic, supporting resources, and other parameters. Only two tools were designed specifically for healthcare providers. Only one tool was formally assessed to be valid and reliable in a pilot project in trafficking victim service organizations, although it has not been validated in the healthcare setting. This toolbox should facilitate the education of resident physicians and faculty in screening for trafficking victims, assist educators in assessing screening skills, and promote future research on the identification of trafficking victims.

Correlation of Michigan neuropathy screening instrument, United Kingdom screening test and electrodiagnosis for early detection of diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

PubMed

Fateh, Hamid R; Madani, Seyed Pezhman; Heshmat, Ramin; Larijani, Bagher

2015-01-01

Almost half of Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathies (DPNs) are symptom-free. Methods including questionnaires and electrodiagnosis (EDx) can be fruitful for easy reach to early diagnosis, correct treatments of diabetic neuropathy, and so decline of complications for instance diabetic foot ulcer and prevention of high costs. The goal of our study was to compare effectiveness of the Michigan neuropathy screening instrument (MNSI), United Kingdom screening test (UKST) and electrophysiological evaluation in confirming diabetic peripheral neuropathy. One hundred twenty five known diabetes mellitus male and female subjects older than 18 with or without symptoms of neuropathy comprised in this research. All of them were interviewed in terms of demographic data, lipid profile, HbA1C, duration of disease, and history of retinopathy, so examined by Michigan neuropathy screening instrument (MNSI), United Kingdom screening test (UKST), and nerve conduction studies (NCS). The collected data were analyzed by SPSS software 18. One hundred twenty five diabetic patients (70 female, 55 male) were recruited in this study with a mean age of 58.7 ± 10.2, and mean duration of diabetes was 10.17 ± 6.9 years. The mean neuropathy score of MNSI and UKST were 2.3 (1.7) and 4.16 (2.9), respectively. Each instrument detected the peripheral neuropathy in 78 (69 %) and 91 (73 %) of patients, respectively. There was a significant relationship between number of neuropathies and mean of diabetes duration and development of retinopathy in both questionnaire evaluations and NCS. By nerve conduction study, neuropathy was detected in 121 (97 %) diabetic patients were reported in order 15 (12 %) mononeuropathy (as 33 % sensory and 67 % motor neuropathy) and 106 (85 %) polyneuropathy (as 31 % motor and 69 % sensorimotor neuropathy). As regards NCS is an objective, simple, and non-invasive tool and also can determine level of damage and regeneration in peripheral nerves, this study suggests electrodiagnosis as a convenient option for screening, confirming, and follow up of diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Identification of seniors at risk (ISAR) screening tool in the emergency department: implementation using the plan-do-study-act model and validation results.

PubMed

Asomaning, Nana; Loftus, Carla

2014-07-01

To better meet the needs of older adults in the emergency department, Senior Friendly care processes, such as high-risk screening are recommended. The identification of Seniors at Risk (ISAR) tool is a 6-item validated screening tool for identifying elderly patients at risk of the adverse outcomes post-ED visit. This paper describes the implementation of the tool in the Mount Sinai Hospital emergency department using a Plan-Do-Study-Act model; and demonstrates whether the tool predicts adverse outcomes. An observational study tracked tool implementation. A retrospective chart audit was completed to collect data about elderly ED patients during 2 time periods in 2010 and 2011. Data analysis compared the characteristics of patients with positive and negative screening tool results. The identification of Seniors at Risk tool was completed for 51.6% of eligible patients, with 61.2% of patients having a positive result. Patients with positive screening results were more likely to be over age 79 (P = .003); be admitted to hospital (P < .001); have a longer mean ED length of stay (P < .001). For patients admitted to hospital, those with positive screening results had a longer mean inpatient stay (P = .012). Implementing the Idenfitication of Seniors at Risk tool was challenged by problematic compliance with tool completion. Strategies to address this included tool adaptation; and providing staff with knowledge of ED and inpatient geriatric resources and feedback on completion rates. Positive screening results predicted adverse outcomes in elderly Mount Sinai Hospital ED patients. © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Screening and assessment tools for pediatric malnutrition.

PubMed

Huysentruyt, Koen; Vandenplas, Yvan; De Schepper, Jean

2016-06-18

The ideal measures for screening and assessing undernutrition in children remain a point of discussion in literature. This review aims to provide an overview of recent advances in the nutritional screening and assessment methods in children. This review focuses on two major topics that emerged in literature since 2015: the practical endorsement of the new definition for pediatric undernutrition, with a focus on anthropometric measurements and the search for a consensus on pediatric nutritional screening tools in different settings. Few analytical tools exist for the assessment of the nutritional status in children. The subjective global nutritional assessment has been validated by anthropometric as well as clinical outcome parameters. Nutritional screening can help in selecting patients that benefit the most from a full nutritional assessment. Two new screening tools have been developed for use in a general (mixed) hospital population, and one for a population of children with cancer. The value of screening tools in different disease-specific and outpatient pediatric populations remains to be proven.

PubMed Central

Scarponi, L.; Pedrali, S.; Pizzorni, N.; Pinotti, C.; Foieni, F.; Zuccotti, G.; Schindler, A.

2017-01-01

SUMMARY The large majority of the available dysphagia screening tools has been developed for the stroke population. Only few screening tools are suitable for heterogeneous groups of patients admitted to a subacute care unit. The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital (RBWH) dysphagia screening tool is a nurse-administered, evidence-based swallow screening tool for generic acute hospital use that demonstrates excellent sensitivity and specificity. No Italian version of this tool is available to date. The aim of this study was to determine the reliability and screening accuracy of the Italian version of the RBWH (I-RBWH) dysphagia screening tool. A total of 105 patients consecutively admitted to a subacute care unit were enrolled. Using the I-RBWH tool, each patient was evaluated twice by trained nurses and once by a speech and language pathologist (SLP) blind to nurses' scores. The SLP also performed standardised clinical assessment of swallowing using the Mann assessment of swallowing ability (MASA). During the first and the second administration of the I-RBWH by nurses, 28 and 27 patients, respectively, were considered at risk of dysphagia, and 27 were considered at risk after SLP assessment. Intra- and inter-rater reliability was satisfactory. Comparison between nurse I-RBWH scores and MASA examination demonstrated a sensitivity and specificity of the I-RBWH dysphagia screening tool up to 93% and 96%, respectively; the positive and negative predictive values were 90% and 97%, respectively. Thus, the current findings support the reliability and accuracy of the I-RBWH tool for dysphagia screening of patients in subacute settings. Its application in clinical practice is recommended. PMID:28374867

GPURFSCREEN: a GPU based virtual screening tool using random forest classifier.

PubMed

Jayaraj, P B; Ajay, Mathias K; Nufail, M; Gopakumar, G; Jaleel, U C A

2016-01-01

In-silico methods are an integral part of modern drug discovery paradigm. Virtual screening, an in-silico method, is used to refine data models and reduce the chemical space on which wet lab experiments need to be performed. Virtual screening of a ligand data model requires large scale computations, making it a highly time consuming task. This process can be speeded up by implementing parallelized algorithms on a Graphical Processing Unit (GPU). Random Forest is a robust classification algorithm that can be employed in the virtual screening. A ligand based virtual screening tool (GPURFSCREEN) that uses random forests on GPU systems has been proposed and evaluated in this paper. This tool produces optimized results at a lower execution time for large bioassay data sets. The quality of results produced by our tool on GPU is same as that on a regular serial environment. Considering the magnitude of data to be screened, the parallelized virtual screening has a significantly lower running time at high throughput. The proposed parallel tool outperforms its serial counterpart by successfully screening billions of molecules in training and prediction phases.

Development of TUA-WELLNESS screening tool for screening risk of mild cognitive impairment among community-dwelling older adults

PubMed Central

Vanoh, Divya; Shahar, Suzana; Rosdinom, Razali; Din, Normah Che; Yahya, Hanis Mastura; Omar, Azahadi

2016-01-01

Background and aim Focus on screening for cognitive impairment has to be given particular importance because of the rising older adult population. Thus, this study aimed to develop and assess a brief screening tool consisting of ten items that can be self-administered by community dwelling older adults (TUA-WELLNESS). Methodology A total of 1,993 noninstitutionalized respondents aged 60 years and above were selected for this study. The dependent variable was mild cognitive impairment (MCI) assessed using neuropsychological test batteries. The items for the screening tool comprised a wide range of factors that were chosen mainly from the analysis of ordinal logistic regression (OLR) and based on past literature. A suitable cut-off point was developed using receiver operating characteristic analysis. Results A total of ten items were included in the screening tool. From the ten items, eight were found to be significant by ordinal logistic regression and the remaining two items were part of the tool because they showed strong association with cognitive impairment in previous studies. The area under curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity for cut-off 11 were 0.84%, 83.3%, and 73.4%, respectively. Conclusion TUA-WELLNESS screening tool has been used to screen for major risk factors of MCI among Malaysian older adults. This tool is only suitable for basic MCI risk screening purpose and should not be used for diagnostic purpose. PMID:27274208

Nutrition screening tools: does one size fit all? A systematic review of screening tools for the hospital setting.

PubMed

van Bokhorst-de van der Schueren, Marian A E; Guaitoli, Patrícia Realino; Jansma, Elise P; de Vet, Henrica C W

2014-02-01

Numerous nutrition screening tools for the hospital setting have been developed. The aim of this systematic review is to study construct or criterion validity and predictive validity of nutrition screening tools for the general hospital setting. A systematic review of English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch articles identified via MEDLINE, Cinahl and EMBASE (from inception to the 2nd of February 2012). Additional studies were identified by checking reference lists of identified manuscripts. Search terms included key words for malnutrition, screening or assessment instruments, and terms for hospital setting and adults. Data were extracted independently by 2 authors. Only studies expressing the (construct, criterion or predictive) validity of a tool were included. 83 studies (32 screening tools) were identified: 42 studies on construct or criterion validity versus a reference method and 51 studies on predictive validity on outcome (i.e. length of stay, mortality or complications). None of the tools performed consistently well to establish the patients' nutritional status. For the elderly, MNA performed fair to good, for the adults MUST performed fair to good. SGA, NRS-2002 and MUST performed well in predicting outcome in approximately half of the studies reviewed in adults, but not in older patients. Not one single screening or assessment tool is capable of adequate nutrition screening as well as predicting poor nutrition related outcome. Development of new tools seems redundant and will most probably not lead to new insights. New studies comparing different tools within one patient population are required. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.

A software tool for analyzing multichannel cochlear implant signals.

PubMed

Lai, Wai Kong; Bögli, Hans; Dillier, Norbert

2003-10-01

A useful and convenient means to analyze the radio frequency (RF) signals being sent by a speech processor to a cochlear implant would be to actually capture and display them with appropriate software. This is particularly useful for development or diagnostic purposes. sCILab (Swiss Cochlear Implant Laboratory) is such a PC-based software tool intended for the Nucleus family of Multichannel Cochlear Implants. Its graphical user interface provides a convenient and intuitive means for visualizing and analyzing the signals encoding speech information. Both numerical and graphic displays are available for detailed examination of the captured CI signals, as well as an acoustic simulation of these CI signals. sCILab has been used in the design and verification of new speech coding strategies, and has also been applied as an analytical tool in studies of how different parameter settings of existing speech coding strategies affect speech perception. As a diagnostic tool, it is also useful for troubleshooting problems with the external equipment of the cochlear implant systems.

A Fusion Protein of the p53 Transaction Domain and the p53-Binding Domain of the Oncoprotein MdmX as an Efficient System for High-Throughput Screening of MdmX Inhibitors.

PubMed

Chen, Rong; Zhou, Jingjing; Qin, Lingyun; Chen, Yao; Huang, Yongqi; Liu, Huili; Su, Zhengding

2017-06-27

In nearly half of cancers, the anticancer activity of p53 protein is often impaired by the overexpressed oncoprotein Mdm2 and its homologue, MdmX, demanding efficient therapeutics to disrupt the aberrant p53-MdmX/Mdm2 interactions to restore the p53 activity. While many potent Mdm2-specific inhibitors have already undergone clinical investigations, searching for MdmX-specific inhibitors has become very attractive, requiring a more efficient screening strategy for evaluating potential scaffolds or leads. In this work, considering that the intrinsic fluorescence residue Trp23 in the p53 transaction domain (p53p) plays an important role in determining the p53-MdmX/Mdm2 interactions, we constructed a fusion protein to utilize this intrinsic fluorescence signal to monitor high-throughput screening of a compound library. The fusion protein was composed of the p53p followed by the N-terminal domain of MdmX (N-MdmX) through a flexible amino acid linker, while the whole fusion protein contained a sole intrinsic fluorescence probe. The fusion protein was then evaluated using fluorescence spectroscopy against model compounds. Our results revealed that the variation of the fluorescence signal was highly correlated with the concentration of the ligand within 65 μM. The fusion protein was further evaluated with respect to its feasibility for use in high-throughput screening using a model compound library, including controls. We found that the imidazo-indole scaffold was a bona fide scaffold for template-based design of MdmX inhibitors. Thus, the p53p-N-MdmX fusion protein we designed provides a convenient and efficient tool for high-throughput screening of new MdmX inhibitors. The strategy described in this work should be applicable for other protein targets to accelerate drug discovery.

Single Cell Assay for Analyzing Single Cell Exosome and Endocrine Secretion and Cancer Markers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiu, Yu-Jui

To understand the inhomogeneity of cells in biological systems, there is a growing demand for the capability to characterize the properties of individual single cells. Since single cell studies require continuous monitoring of the cell behaviors instead of a snapshot test at a single time point, an effective single-cell assay that can support time lapsed studies in a high throughput manner is desired. Most currently available single-cell technologies cannot provide proper environments to sustain cell growth and cannot provide, for appropriate cell types, proliferation of single cells and convenient, non-invasive tests of single cell behaviors from molecular markers. In this dissertation, I present a highly versatile single-cell assay that can accommodate different cellular types, enable easy and efficient single cell loading and culturing, and be suitable for the study of effects of in-vitro environmental factors in combination with drug screening. The salient features of the assay are the non-invasive collection and surveying of single cell secretions at different time points and massively parallel translocation of single cells by user defined criteria, producing very high compatibility to the downstream process such as single cell qPCR and sequencing. Above all, the acquired information is quantitative -- for example, one of the studies is measured by the number of exosomes each single cell secretes for a given time period. Therefore, our single-cell assay provides a convenient, low-cost, and enabling tool for quantitative, time lapsed studies of single cell properties.

Adapting Champion's Breast Cancer Fear Scale to colorectal cancer: psychometric testing in a sample of older Chinese adults.

PubMed

Leung, Doris Y P; Wong, Eliza M L; Chan, Carmen W H

2014-06-01

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common type of cancer in both men and women, and older adults are more susceptible to this disease. Previous studies suggest that cancer fear may be a key predictor of participation in cancer screening. Yet there is a lack of validated measuring tools of fear relating to CRC for the Chinese older adult population. This study aims to test the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Colorectal Cancer Fear Scale (CRCFS), adapting from the Champion's Breast Cancer Fear Scale. The CRCFS was developed by altering the wording 'breast cancer' to 'colorectal cancer'. Interviewer-administered surveys were carried out with a convenience sample of 250 community-dwelling adults aged at least 60 years old without a history of cancer. A subsample of 40 participants completed the scale again at one-month. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the one-factor model provided excellent fits to the overall data, and two randomly split samples. Cronbach's alpha of the scale was 0.95 and test-retest reliability was 0.52. Positive and significant correlations of CRC Cancer Fear with CRC-related susceptibility, severity and barriers were observed. A non-linear relationship with benefits was found. The findings provide support for the psychometric properties of a Chinese version of the Champion Cancer Fear with an adaption to CRC in a sample of community dwelling older Chinese adults. The scale provides a useful tool to assess CRC-related fear, which interventions should address in order to improve screening rates among older Chinese adults. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Suicide Risk Screening Tools and the Youth Population.

PubMed

Patterson, Sharon

2016-08-01

The use of suicide risk screening tools is a critical component of a comprehensive approach to suicide risk assessment. Since nurses frequently spend more time with patients than any other healthcare professional, they are in key positions to detect and prevent suicidal behavior in youth. To inform nurses about suicide risk screening tools for the youth population. Suicide risk screening tools are research-based standardized instruments that are used to identify people who may be at risk for suicide. A literature search was performed using the Athabasca University Library Resource, the databases of the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. Nurses are cautioned to utilize suicide risk screening tools as only part of the suicide risk assessment in youth populations and avoid the danger of relying on tools that may result in a blind application of evidence to the detriment of clinical experience and judgement. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The development of a screening tool for the early identification of risk for suicidal behaviour among students in a developing country

PubMed Central

Vawda, Naseema B. M.; Milburn, Norweeta G.; Steyn, Renier; Zhang, Muyu

2016-01-01

Objective Adolescent suicidal behaviour is a public health concern in South Africa. The purpose of this manuscript is to report on the development of a screening tool for teachers to identify South African students who are most at risk for suicidal behaviour. This need is addressed within the context of the limited number of mental health professionals available to provide screening and care services in South Africa. Method Grade 8 students participated by completing sociodemographic questionnaires and self-report psychometric instruments. A screening tool for suicidal behaviour was developed using a four phase approach. Results Twelve factors for high risk suicidal behaviour were identified and included in the screening tool. While further research is needed to validate the screening tool, the findings provide a useful preliminary starting point for teachers to refer students at high risk for suicidal behaviour to mental health services for treatment. Conclusion This screening tool is based on factors that were identified as being associated with suicidal behaviour from local research on South African adolescents. The tool contributes to research on adolescent mental health, particularly suicidal behaviour, in developing low and middle income countries like South Africa, with the aim of creating African prevention and intervention programmes. PMID:28459269

The development of a screening tool for the early identification of risk for suicidal behavior among students in a developing country.

PubMed

Vawda, Naseema B M; Milburn, Norweeta G; Steyn, Renier; Zhang, Muyu

2017-05-01

Adolescent suicidal behavior is a public health concern in South Africa. The purpose of this article is to report on the development of a screening tool for teachers to identify South African students who are most at risk for suicidal behavior. This need is addressed within the context of the limited number of mental health professionals available to provide screening and care services in South Africa. Grade 8 students participated by completing sociodemographic questionnaires and self-report psychometric instruments. A screening tool for suicidal behavior was developed using a 4-phase approach. Twelve factors for high-risk suicidal behavior were identified and included in the screening tool. While further research is needed to validate the screening tool, the findings provide a useful preliminary starting point for teachers to refer students at high risk for suicidal behavior to mental health services for treatment. This screening tool is based on factors that were identified as being associated with suicidal behavior from local research on South African adolescents. The tool contributes to research on adolescent mental health, particularly suicidal behavior, in developing low and middle income countries like South Africa, with the aim of creating African prevention and intervention programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Construction of a System for the Strawberry Nursery Production towards Elimination of Latent Infection of Anthracnose Fungi by a Combination of PCR and Microtube Hybridization

PubMed Central

Furuta, Kazuyoshi; Nagashima, Saki; Inukai, Tsuyoshi; Masuta, Chikara

2017-01-01

One of the major problems in strawberry production is difficulty in diagnosis of anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum acutatum or Glomerella cingulata in latent infection stage. We here developed a diagnostic tool for the latent infection consisting of initial culturing of fungi, DNA extraction, synthesis of PCR-amplified probes and microtube hybridization (MTH) using a macroarray. The initial culturing step is convenient to lure the fungi out of the plant tissues, and to extract PCR-inhibitor-free DNA directly from fungal hyphae. For specific detection of the fungi, PCR primers were designed to amplify the fungal MAT1-2 gene. The subsequent MTH step using the PCR products as probes can replace the laborious electrophoresis step providing us sequence information and high-throughput screening. Using this method, we have conducted a survey for a few thousands nursery plants every year for three consecutive years, and finally succeeded in eliminating latent infection in the third year of challenge. PMID:28167891

Establishment of cells to monitor Microprocessor through fusion genes of microRNA and GFP

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

Tsutsui, Motomu; Hasegawa, Hitoki; Adachi, Koichi

Microprocessor, the complex of Drosha and DGCR8, promotes the processing of primary microRNA to precursor microRNA, which is a crucial step for microRNA maturation. So far, no convenient assay systems have been developed for observing this step in vivo. Here we report the establishment of highly sensitive cellular systems where we can visually monitor the function of Microprocessor. During a series of screening of transfectants with fusion genes of the EGFP cDNA and primary microRNA genes, we have obtained certain cell lines where introduction of siRNA against DGCR8 or Drosha strikingly augments GFP signals. In contrast, these cells have notmore » responded to Dicer siRNA; thus they have a unique character that GFP signals should be negatively and specifically correlated to the action of Microprocessor among biogenesis of microRNA. These cell lines can be useful tools for real-time analysis of Microprocessor action in vivo and identifying its novel modulators.« less

The development and validity of the Salford Gait Tool: an observation-based clinical gait assessment tool.

PubMed

Toro, Brigitte; Nester, Christopher J; Farren, Pauline C

2007-03-01

To develop the construct, content, and criterion validity of the Salford Gait Tool (SF-GT) and to evaluate agreement between gait observations using the SF-GT and kinematic gait data. Tool development and comparative evaluation. University in the United Kingdom. For designing construct and content validity, convenience samples of 10 children with hemiplegic, diplegic, and quadriplegic cerebral palsy (CP) and 152 physical therapy students and 4 physical therapists were recruited. For developing criterion validity, kinematic gait data of 13 gait clusters containing 56 children with hemiplegic, diplegic, and quadriplegic CP and 11 neurologically intact children was used. For clinical evaluation, a convenience sample of 23 pediatric physical therapists participated. We developed a sagittal plane observational gait assessment tool through a series of design, test, and redesign iterations. The tool's grading system was calibrated using kinematic gait data of 13 gait clusters and was evaluated by comparing the agreement of gait observations using the SF-GT with kinematic gait data. Criterion standard kinematic gait data. There was 58% mean agreement based on grading categories and 80% mean agreement based on degree estimations evaluated with the least significant difference method. The new SF-GT has good concurrent criterion validity.

Screening soy hydrolysates for the production of a recombinant therapeutic protein in commercial cell line by combined approach of near-infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics.

PubMed

Li, Guiyang; Wen, Zai-Qing

2013-03-01

Soy hydrolysates are widely used as the major nutrient sources for cell culture processes for industrial manufacturing of therapeutic recombinant proteins. The primary goal of this study was to develop a spectroscopy based chemometric method, a partial least squares (PLS), to screen soy hydrolysates for better yield of protein production (titers) in cell culture medium. Harvest titer values of 29 soy hydrolysate lots with production yield between 490 and 1,350 mg/L were obtained from shake flask models or from manufacture engineering runs. The soy hydrolysate samples were measured by near-infrared (NIR) in reflectance mode using an infrared fiber optic probe. The fiber optic probe could easily enable in situ measurement of the soy hydrolysates for convenient raw material screening. The best PLS calibration has a determination coefficient of R (2) = 0.887 utilizing no spectral preprocessing, the two spectral ranges of 10,000-5,376 cm(-1) and 4,980-4,484 cm(-1), and a rank of 6 factors. The cross-validation of the model resulted in a determination coefficient of R (2) = 0.741 between the predicted and actual titer values with an average standard deviation of 72 mg/L. Compared with the resource demanding shake flask model, the combination of NIR and chemometric modeling provides a convenient method for soy hydrolysate screening with the advantage of fast speed, low cost and non-destructive.

Adapting customer service to consumer-directed health care.

PubMed

Hammer, David C

2006-09-01

A growing number of hospitals are implementing new tools that provide convenient, more detailed patient access to billing information. These tools are paying off for hospitals through reduced calls to their billing offices, decreased mailing costs, and increased payments, as well as higher rates of customer satisfaction.

User's Guide to the Water-Analysis Screening Tool (WAST): A Tool for Assessing Available Water Resources in Relation to Aquatic-Resource Uses

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stuckey, Marla H.; Kiesler, James L.

2008-01-01

A water-analysis screening tool (WAST) was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, to provide an initial screening of areas in the state where potential problems may exist related to the availability of water resources to meet current and future water-use demands. The tool compares water-use information to an initial screening criteria of the 7-day, 10-year low-flow statistic (7Q10) resulting in a screening indicator for influences of net withdrawals (withdrawals minus discharges) on aquatic-resource uses. This report is intended to serve as a guide for using the screening tool. The WAST can display general basin characteristics, water-use information, and screening-indicator information for over 10,000 watersheds in the state. The tool includes 12 primary functions that allow the user to display watershed information, edit water-use and water-supply information, observe effects downstream from edited water-use information, reset edited values to baseline, load new water-use information, save and retrieve scenarios, and save output as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

DEVELOPMENT OF A SCREENING PROTOCOL TO IDENTIFY INDIVIDUALS WITH DYSFUNCTIONAL BREATHING

PubMed Central

Kiesel, Kyle; Rhodes, Tonya; Mueller, Jacob; Waninger, Alyssa; Butler, Robert

2017-01-01

Introduction Dysfunctional breathing (DB) has been linked to health conditions including low back pain and neck pain and adversely effects the musculoskeletal system. Individuals with DB often have decreased pain thresholds and impaired motor control, balance, and movement. No single test or screen identifies DB, which is multi-dimensional, and includes biochemical, biomechanical, and psychophysiological components. Several tools assess and test for DB, but no screen exists to determine whether additional testing and assessment are indicated. Purpose/Background The purpose of this study was to develop a breathing screening procedure that could be utilized by fitness and healthcare providers to screen for the presence of disordered breathing. A diagnostic test study approach was utilized to establish the diagnostic accuracy of the newly developed screen for DB. Methods A convenience sample of 51 subjects (27 females, 27.0 years, BMI 23.3) were included. To test for DB related to the biochemical dimension, end-tidal CO2 (ETCO2) was measured with a capnography unit. To test for DB related to biomechanical dimension, the Hi-Lo test was utilized. To test for DB related to the psychophysiological dimension, the Self Evaluation of Breathing Symptoms Questionnaire (SEBQ) and Nijmegen questionnaires were utilized. Potential screening items that have been shown to be related to DB in previous research and that could be performed by non-health care personnel were utilized to create the index test including activity level, breath hold time (BHT), respiration rate, and the Functional Movement Screen (FMS™). Results There were no strong correlations between the three measures of DB. Five subjects had normal breathing, 14 failed at least one measure, 20 failed at least two, and 12 failed all three. To develop screening items for each dimension, data were examined for association with failure. BHT and a four-item mini-questionnaire were identified as the most closely associated variables with failure of all three dimensions. A BHT of < 25 seconds and four questions were combined and yielded a sensitivity of 0.89 (0.85-0.93) and a specificity of 0.60 (0.18-0.92) for clinical identification of DB. Conclusion Easily obtained clinical measures of BHT and four questions can be utilized to screen for the presence of DB. If the screen is passed, there is an 89% chance that DB is not present. If the screen is failed, further assessment is recommended. Level of Evidence 2b PMID:29181255

The West Midlands breast cancer screening status algorithm - methodology and use as an audit tool.

PubMed

Lawrence, Gill; Kearins, Olive; O'Sullivan, Emma; Tappenden, Nancy; Wallis, Matthew; Walton, Jackie

2005-01-01

To illustrate the ability of the West Midlands breast screening status algorithm to assign a screening status to women with malignant breast cancer, and its uses as a quality assurance and audit tool. Breast cancers diagnosed between the introduction of the National Health Service [NHS] Breast Screening Programme and 31 March 2001 were obtained from the West Midlands Cancer Intelligence Unit (WMCIU). Screen-detected tumours were identified via breast screening units, and the remaining cancers were assigned to one of eight screening status categories. Multiple primaries and recurrences were excluded. A screening status was assigned to 14,680 women (96% of the cohort examined), 110 cancers were not registered at the WMCIU and the cohort included 120 screen-detected recurrences. The West Midlands breast screening status algorithm is a robust simple tool which can be used to derive data to evaluate the efficacy and impact of the NHS Breast Screening Programme.

The diagnostic accuracy of single- and five-field fundus photography in diabetic retinopathy screening by primary care physicians.

PubMed

Srihatrai, Parinya; Hlowchitsieng, Thanita

2018-01-01

The aim is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of digital fundus photography in diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening at a single university hospital. This was a cross-sectional hospital-based study. One hundred and ninety-eight diabetic patients were recruited for comprehensive eye examination by two ophthalmologists. Five-field fundus photographs were taken with a digital, nonmydriatic fundus camera, and trained primary care physicians then graded the severity of DR present by single-field 45° and five-field fundus photography. Sensitivity and specificity of DR grading were reported using the findings from the ophthalmologists' examinations as a gold standard. When fundus photographs of the participants' 363 eyes were analyzed for the presence of DR, there was substantial agreement between the two primary care physicians, κ = 0.6226 for single-field and 0.6939 for five-field photograph interpretation. The sensitivity and specificity of DR detection with single-field photographs were 70.7% (95% Confidence interval [CI]; 60.2%-79.7%) and 99.3% (95% CI; 97.4%-99.9%), respectively. Sensitivity and specificity for five-field photographs were 84.5% (95% CI; 75.8%-91.1%) and 98.6% (95% CI; 96.5%-99.6%), respectively. The receiver operating characteristic was 0.85 (0.80-0.90) for single-field photographs and 0.92 (0.88-0.95) for five-field photographs. The sensitivity and specificity of fundus photographs for DR detection by primary care physicians were acceptable. Single- and five-field digital fundus photography each represent a convenient screening tool with acceptable accuracy.

Development of a Computer-Based Format for the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) With University Students.

PubMed

Christoff, Adriana Oliveira; Barreto, Heloisa Gomm Arruda; Boerngen-Lacerda, Roseli

2016-07-28

The Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) is a reliable and valid tool for the early detection of harmful and hazardous drug use in primary care settings when administered by interview in the general population. In university students, substance use is high, so a reliable and feasible screening instrument is needed. To compare the computer-based ASSIST (ASSISTc) with the interview format (ASSISTi). A convenience sample with counterbalanced design was used alternating between the ASSISTi and ASSISTc with 15-day interval. Although this is not a traditional test-retest reliability study, the same statistical analysis was used: intraclass correlations (ICC), kappa (κ), and Cronbach's alpha (α) to compare the two formats. A satisfaction questionnaire was applied immediately after the second session. Both formats were completed by the students (n = 809) over 15 days. The scores of involvement with all substances and with tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine obtained with the two formats demonstrated excellent ICC (> .77). The level of agreement was considered substantial for tobacco (κ = .69) and cannabis (κ = .70) and moderate for alcohol (κ = .58). The consistency of the ASSISTc was considered satisfactory (α: .85 for tobacco, .73 for alcohol, and .87 for cannabis). The analysis of satisfaction and feasibility showed that the ASSISTi was easier to understand, but the two formats were considered similar when considering acceptability, ease of responding, and degree of intimidation. The two formats are acceptable, the scores are comparable, and they can be used interchangeably.

High content analysis of phagocytic activity and cell morphology with PuntoMorph.

PubMed

Al-Ali, Hassan; Gao, Han; Dalby-Hansen, Camilla; Peters, Vanessa Ann; Shi, Yan; Brambilla, Roberta

2017-11-01

Phagocytosis is essential for maintenance of normal homeostasis and healthy tissue. As such, it is a therapeutic target for a wide range of clinical applications. The development of phenotypic screens targeting phagocytosis has lagged behind, however, due to the difficulties associated with image-based quantification of phagocytic activity. We present a robust algorithm and cell-based assay system for high content analysis of phagocytic activity. The method utilizes fluorescently labeled beads as a phagocytic substrate with defined physical properties. The algorithm employs statistical modeling to determine the mean fluorescence of individual beads within each image, and uses the information to conduct an accurate count of phagocytosed beads. In addition, the algorithm conducts detailed and sophisticated analysis of cellular morphology, making it a standalone tool for high content screening. We tested our assay system using microglial cultures. Our results recapitulated previous findings on the effects of microglial stimulation on cell morphology and phagocytic activity. Moreover, our cell-level analysis revealed that the two phenotypes associated with microglial activation, specifically cell body hypertrophy and increased phagocytic activity, are not highly correlated. This novel finding suggests the two phenotypes may be under the control of distinct signaling pathways. We demonstrate that our assay system outperforms preexisting methods for quantifying phagocytic activity in multiple dimensions including speed, accuracy, and resolution. We provide a framework to facilitate the development of high content assays suitable for drug screening. For convenience, we implemented our algorithm in a standalone software package, PuntoMorph. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparing sexual minority cancer survivors recruited through a cancer registry to convenience methods of recruitment.

PubMed

Boehmer, Ulrike; Clark, Melissa A; Timm, Alison; Glickman, Mark; Sullivan, Mairead

2011-01-01

Sexual minority women, defined as having a lesbian or bisexual identity or reporting a preference for a female partner, are not considered by cancer surveillance. This study assesses the representativeness of sexual minority breast cancer survivors, defined as having a lesbian or bisexual identity or reporting a preference for a female partner, who were recruited into a convenience sample compared with a population-based registry sample of sexual minority breast cancer survivors. Long-term survivors of non-metastatic breast cancer who self-reported as sexual minority were recruited from a cancer registry and subsequently from the community using convenience recruitment methods. Sexual minority breast cancer survivors who screened eligible participated in a telephone survey about their quality of life and factors associated therewith. Participants in the convenience sample were similar to the registry-based sample with respect to adjustment to cancer, physical health, trust in physician, coping, social support, and sexual minority experiences. Compared with the convenience sample, breast cancer survivors in the registry sample were more likely married, more educated, diagnosed more recently, at an earlier stage of cancer, and more likely treated with breast-conserving surgery; they differed on adjuvant therapies. Because sexual minority breast cancer survivors who volunteered for the community-based sample shared most characteristics of the sample recruited from the cancer registry, we concluded that the community sample had comparable representational quality. In the absence of cancer surveillance of sexual minorities, thoughtful convenience recruitment methods provide good representational quality convenience samples. Copyright © 2011 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Screening and assessment tools for determining fitness to drive: a review of the literature for the pathways project.

PubMed

Dickerson, Anne E

2014-04-01

With a brief introduction, 10 tables summarize the findings from the literature describing screening and assessment tools used with older adults to identify risk or determine fitness to drive. With a focus on occupational therapy's duty to address driving as a valued activity, this paper offers information about tools used by occupational therapy practitioners across practice settings and specialists in driver rehabilitation. The tables are organized into groups of key research studies of assessment tools, screening batteries, tools used in combination (i.e., as a battery), driving simulation as an assessment tool, and screening/assessment for individuals with stroke, vision impairment, Parkinson's disease, dementia, and aging. Each table has a summary of important concepts to consider as occupational therapists choose the methods and tools to evaluate fitness to drive.

Problem-solving counseling as a therapeutic tool on youth suicidal behavior in the suburban population in Sri Lanka.

PubMed

Perera, E A Ramani; Kathriarachchi, Samudra T

2011-01-01

Suicidal behaviour among youth is a major public health concern in Sri Lanka. Prevention of youth suicides using effective, feasible and culturally acceptable methods is invaluable in this regard, however research in this area is grossly lacking. This study aimed at determining the effectiveness of problem solving counselling as a therapeutic intervention in prevention of youth suicidal behaviour in Sri Lanka. This control trial study was based on hospital admissions with suicidal attempts in a sub-urban hospital in Sri Lanka. The study was carried out at Base Hospital Homagama. A sample of 124 was recruited using convenience sampling method and divided into two groups, experimental and control. Control group was offered routine care and experimental group received four sessions of problem solving counselling over one month. Outcome of both groups was measured, six months after the initial screening, using the visual analogue scale. Individualized outcome measures on problem solving counselling showed that problem solving ability among the subjects in the experimental group had improved after four counselling sessions and suicidal behaviour has been reduced. The results are statistically significant. This Study confirms that problem solving counselling is an effective therapeutic tool in management of youth suicidal behaviour in hospital setting in a developing country.

An Intracranial Electroencephalography (iEEG) Brain Function Mapping Tool with an Application to Epilepsy Surgery Evaluation.

PubMed

Wang, Yinghua; Yan, Jiaqing; Wen, Jianbin; Yu, Tao; Li, Xiaoli

2016-01-01

Before epilepsy surgeries, intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) is often employed in function mapping and epileptogenic foci localization. Although the implanted electrodes provide crucial information for epileptogenic zone resection, a convenient clinical tool for electrode position registration and Brain Function Mapping (BFM) visualization is still lacking. In this study, we developed a BFM Tool, which facilitates electrode position registration and BFM visualization, with an application to epilepsy surgeries. The BFM Tool mainly utilizes electrode location registration and function mapping based on pre-defined brain models from other software. In addition, the electrode node and mapping properties, such as the node size/color, edge color/thickness, mapping method, can be adjusted easily using the setting panel. Moreover, users may manually import/export location and connectivity data to generate figures for further application. The role of this software is demonstrated by a clinical study of language area localization. The BFM Tool helps clinical doctors and researchers visualize implanted electrodes and brain functions in an easy, quick and flexible manner. Our tool provides convenient electrode registration, easy brain function visualization, and has good performance. It is clinical-oriented and is easy to deploy and use. The BFM tool is suitable for epilepsy and other clinical iEEG applications.

An Intracranial Electroencephalography (iEEG) Brain Function Mapping Tool with an Application to Epilepsy Surgery Evaluation

PubMed Central

Wang, Yinghua; Yan, Jiaqing; Wen, Jianbin; Yu, Tao; Li, Xiaoli

2016-01-01

Objects: Before epilepsy surgeries, intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) is often employed in function mapping and epileptogenic foci localization. Although the implanted electrodes provide crucial information for epileptogenic zone resection, a convenient clinical tool for electrode position registration and Brain Function Mapping (BFM) visualization is still lacking. In this study, we developed a BFM Tool, which facilitates electrode position registration and BFM visualization, with an application to epilepsy surgeries. Methods: The BFM Tool mainly utilizes electrode location registration and function mapping based on pre-defined brain models from other software. In addition, the electrode node and mapping properties, such as the node size/color, edge color/thickness, mapping method, can be adjusted easily using the setting panel. Moreover, users may manually import/export location and connectivity data to generate figures for further application. The role of this software is demonstrated by a clinical study of language area localization. Results: The BFM Tool helps clinical doctors and researchers visualize implanted electrodes and brain functions in an easy, quick and flexible manner. Conclusions: Our tool provides convenient electrode registration, easy brain function visualization, and has good performance. It is clinical-oriented and is easy to deploy and use. The BFM tool is suitable for epilepsy and other clinical iEEG applications. PMID:27199729

Validation of a Nutrition Screening Tool for Pediatric Patients with Cystic Fibrosis.

PubMed

Souza Dos Santos Simon, Miriam Isabel; Forte, Gabriele Carra; da Silva Pereira, Juliane; da Fonseca Andrade Procianoy, Elenara; Drehmer, Michele

2016-05-01

In cystic fibrosis (CF), nutrition diagnosis is of critical relevance because the early identification of nutrition-related compromise enables early, adequate intervention and, consequently, influences patient prognosis. Up to now, there has not been a validated nutrition screening tool that takes into consideration clinical variables. To validate a specific nutritional risk screening tool for patients with CF based on clinical variables, anthropometric parameters, and dietary intake. Cross-sectional study. The nutrition screening tool was compared with a risk screening tool proposed by McDonald and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation criteria. Patients aged 6 to 18 years, with a diagnosis of CF confirmed by two determinations of elevated chloride level in sweat (sweat test) and/or by identification of two CF-associated genetic mutations who were receiving follow-up care through the outpatient clinic of a Cystic Fibrosis Treatment Center. Earlier identification of nutritional risk in CF patients aged 6 to 18 years when a new screening tool was applied. Agreement among the tested methods was assessed by means of the kappa coefficient for categorical variables. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy values were calculated. The significance level was set at 5% (P<0.05). Statistical analyses were carried out in PASW Statistics for Windows version 18.0 (2009, SPSS Inc). Eighty-two patients (49% men, aged 6 to 18 years) were enrolled in the study. The agreement between the proposed screening tool and the tool for screening nutritional risk for CF by the McDonald method was good (κ=0.804; P<0.001) and the sensitivity and specificity was 85% and 95%, respectively. Agreement with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation criteria was lower (κ=0.418; P<0.001), and the sensitivity and specificity were both 72%. The proposed screening tool with defined clinical variables promotes earlier identification of nutritional risk in pediatric patients with CF. Copyright © 2016 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Frailty Screening Tools for Elderly Patients Incident to Dialysis.

PubMed

van Loon, Ismay N; Goto, Namiko A; Boereboom, Franciscus T J; Bots, Michiel L; Verhaar, Marianne C; Hamaker, Marije E

2017-09-07

A geriatric assessment is an appropriate method for identifying frail elderly patients. In CKD, it may contribute to optimize personalized care. However, a geriatric assessment is time consuming. The purpose of our study was to compare easy to apply frailty screening tools with the geriatric assessment in patients eligible for dialysis. A total of 123 patients on incident dialysis ≥65 years old were included <3 weeks before to ≤2 weeks after dialysis initiation, and all underwent a geriatric assessment. Patients with impairment in two or more geriatric domains on the geriatric assessment were considered frail. The diagnostic abilities of six frailty screening tools were compared with the geriatric assessment: the Fried Frailty Index, the Groningen Frailty Indicator, Geriatric8, the Identification of Seniors at Risk, the Hospital Safety Program, and the clinical judgment of the nephrologist. Outcome measures were sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value. In total, 75% of patients were frail according to the geriatric assessment. Sensitivity of frailty screening tools ranged from 48% (Fried Frailty Index) to 88% (Geriatric8). The discriminating features of the clinical judgment were comparable with the other screening tools. The Identification of Seniors at Risk screening tool had the best discriminating abilities, with a sensitivity of 74%, a specificity of 80%, a positive predictive value of 91%, and a negative predictive value of 52%. The negative predictive value was poor for all tools, which means that almost one half of the patients screened as fit (nonfrail) had two or more geriatric impairments on the geriatric assessment. All frailty screening tools are able to detect geriatric impairment in elderly patients eligible for dialysis. However, all applied screening tools, including the judgment of the nephrologist, lack the discriminating abilities to adequately rule out frailty compared with a geriatric assessment. Copyright © 2017 by the American Society of Nephrology.

The Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool revised for adolescents (PSST-A): prevalence of severe PMS and premenstrual dysphoric disorder in adolescents.

PubMed

Steiner, Meir; Peer, Miki; Palova, Eva; Freeman, Ellen W; Macdougall, Mary; Soares, Claudio N

2011-02-01

The Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool was modified for use in adolescents and piloted in 578 girls at three international sites. Nearly one third (29.6%) reported experiencing severe PMS or PMDD, with irritability being the most commonly reported symptom. Rates of menstrual-related pain were high, particularly in those with severe PMS or PMDD. Severe PMS and PMDD present with similar rates and symptoms in adolescents as in adults, and the Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool modified for adolescents is a fast, reliable tool to screen for these syndromes in adolescents.

The impact of computer self-efficacy, computer anxiety, and perceived usability and acceptability on the efficacy of a decision support tool for colorectal cancer screening

PubMed Central

Lindblom, Katrina; Gregory, Tess; Flight, Ingrid H K; Zajac, Ian

2011-01-01

Objective This study investigated the efficacy of an internet-based personalized decision support (PDS) tool designed to aid in the decision to screen for colorectal cancer (CRC) using a fecal occult blood test. We tested whether the efficacy of the tool in influencing attitudes to screening was mediated by perceived usability and acceptability, and considered the role of computer self-efficacy and computer anxiety in these relationships. Methods Eighty-one participants aged 50–76 years worked through the on-line PDS tool and completed questionnaires on computer self-efficacy, computer anxiety, attitudes to and beliefs about CRC screening before and after exposure to the PDS, and perceived usability and acceptability of the tool. Results Repeated measures ANOVA found that PDS exposure led to a significant increase in knowledge about CRC and screening, and more positive attitudes to CRC screening as measured by factors from the Preventive Health Model. Perceived usability and acceptability of the PDS mediated changes in attitudes toward CRC screening (but not CRC knowledge), and computer self-efficacy and computer anxiety were significant predictors of individuals' perceptions of the tool. Conclusion Interventions designed to decrease computer anxiety, such as computer courses and internet training, may improve the acceptability of new health information technologies including internet-based decision support tools, increasing their impact on behavior change. PMID:21857024

Screening methods for post-stroke visual impairment: a systematic review.

PubMed

Hanna, Kerry Louise; Hepworth, Lauren Rachel; Rowe, Fiona

2017-12-01

To provide a systematic overview of the various tools available to screen for post-stroke visual impairment. A review of the literature was conducted including randomised controlled trials, controlled trials, cohort studies, observational studies, systematic reviews and retrospective medical note reviews. All languages were included and translation was obtained. Participants included adults ≥18 years old diagnosed with a visual impairment as a direct cause of a stroke. We searched a broad range of scholarly online resources and hand-searched articles registers of published, unpublished and on-going trials. Search terms included a variety of MESH terms and alternatives in relation to stroke and visual conditions. Study selection was performed by two authors independently. The quality of the evidence and risk of bias were assessed using the STROBE, GRACE and PRISMA statements. A total of 25 articles (n = 2924) were included in this review. Articles appraised reported on tools screening solely for visual impairments or for general post-stroke disabilities inclusive of vision. The majority of identified tools screen for visual perception including visual neglect (VN), with few screening for visual acuity (VA), visual field (VF) loss or ocular motility (OM) defects. Six articles reported on nine screening tools which combined visual screening assessment alongside screening for general stroke disabilities. Of these, three included screening for VA; three screened for VF loss; three screened for OM defects and all screened for VN. Two tools screened for all visual impairments. A further 19 articles were found which reported on individual vision screening tests in stroke populations; two for VF loss; 11 for VN and six for other visual perceptual defects. Most tools cannot accurately account for those with aphasia or communicative deficits, which are common problems following a stroke. There is currently no standardised visual screening tool which can accurately assess all potential post-stroke visual impairments. The current tools screen for only a number of potential stroke-related impairments, which means many visual defects may be missed. The sensitivity of those which screen for all impairments is significantly lowered when patients are unable to report their visual symptoms. Future research is required to develop a tool capable of assessing stroke patients which encompasses all potential visual deficits and can also be easily performed by both the patients and administered by health care professionals in order to ensure all stroke survivors with visual impairment are accurately identified and managed. Implications for Rehabilitation Over 65% of stroke survivors will suffer from a visual impairment, whereas 45% of stroke units do not assess vision. Visual impairment significantly reduces the quality of life, such as being unable to return to work, driving and depression. This review outlines the available screening methods to accurately identify stroke survivors with visual impairments. Identifying visual impairment after stroke can aid general rehabilitation and thus, improve the quality of life for these patients.

Standardised alcohol screening in primary health care services targeting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia.

PubMed

Islam, M Mofizul; Oni, Helen T; Lee, K S Kylie; Hayman, Noel; Wilson, Scott; Harrison, Kristie; Hummerston, Beth; Ivers, Rowena; Conigrave, Katherine M

2018-03-29

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) around Australia have been asked to standardise screening for unhealthy drinking. Accordingly, screening with the 3-item AUDIT-C (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption) tool has become a national key performance indicator. Here we provide an overview of suitability of AUDIT-C and other brief alcohol screening tools for use in ACCHSs. All peer-reviewed literature providing original data on validity, acceptability or feasibility of alcohol screening tools among Indigenous Australians was reviewed. Narrative synthesis was used to identify themes and integrate results. Three screening tools-full AUDIT, AUDIT-3 (third question of AUDIT) and CAGE (Cut-down, Annoyed, Guilty and Eye-opener) have been validated against other consumption measures, and found to correspond well. Short forms of AUDIT have also been found to compare well with full AUDIT, and were preferred by primary care staff. Help was often required with converting consumption into standard drinks. Researchers commented that AUDIT and its short forms prompted reflection on drinking. Another tool, the Indigenous Risk Impact Screen (IRIS), jointly screens for alcohol, drug and mental health risk, but is relatively long (13 items). IRIS has been validated against dependence scales. AUDIT, IRIS and CAGE have a greater focus on dependence than on hazardous or harmful consumption. Detection of unhealthy drinking before harms occur is a goal of screening, so AUDIT-C offers advantages over tools like IRIS or CAGE which focus on dependence. AUDIT-C's brevity suits integration with general health screening. Further research is needed on facilitating implementation of systematic alcohol screening into Indigenous primary healthcare.

Mass spectrometric screening of ligands with lower off-rate from a clicked-based pooled library.

PubMed

Arai, Satoshi; Hirosawa, Shota; Oguchi, Yusuke; Suzuki, Madoka; Murata, Atsushi; Ishiwata, Shin'ichi; Takeoka, Shinji

2012-08-13

This paper describes a convenient screening method using ion trap electrospray ionization mass spectrometry to classify ligands to a target molecule in terms of kinetic parameters. We demonstrate this method in the screening of ligands to a hexahistidine tag from a pooled library synthesized by click chemistry. The ion trap mass spectrometry analysis revealed that higher stabilities of ligand-target complexes in the gas phase were related to lower dissociation rate constants, i.e., off-rates in solution. Finally, we prepared a fluorescent probe utilizing the ligand with lowest off-rate and succeeded in performing single molecule observations of hexahistidine-tagged myosin V walking on actin filaments.

Examining patterns of association with defensive information processing about colorectal cancer screening.

PubMed

McQueen, Amy; Swank, Paul R; Vernon, Sally W

2014-11-01

To reduce negative psychological affect from information or behavior that is inconsistent with one's positive self-concept, individuals use a variety of defensive strategies. It is unknown whether correlates differ across defenses. We examined correlates of four levels of defensive information processing about colorectal cancer screening. Cross-sectional surveys were completed by a convenience sample of 287 adults aged 50-75 years. Defenses measures were more consistently associated with individual differences (especially avoidant coping styles); however, situational variables involving health-care providers also were important. Future research should examine changes in defenses after risk communication and their relative impact on colorectal cancer screening. © The Author(s) 2013.

Student and community outcomes in service-learning: part 2--community outcomes.

PubMed

Reising, Deanna L; Allen, Patricia N; Hall, Susan G

2006-12-01

This article is the second of a two-part series reporting outcomes from a service-learning program implemented in a bachelor of science in nursing program. Part 1 (on pages 512-515) described students' perceptions of outcomes realized from the program, and Part 2 describes the community outcomes. The purposes of the program were to provide students with history-taking, blood pressure, and heart rate assessment skills, and beginning counseling skills, as well as to provide the university community with blood pressure screening and counseling in a convenient and accessible location. Data on community outcomes were collected on a continual basis during the hypertension screening and counseling program implementation. Clients were anonymously surveyed on health behavior actions taken after their screening and on the screening process. More than 700 client screenings were performed over 2 years, with positive health behavior changes being reported by clients.

[Effects of creating a tunnel through intercondylar fossa under arthroscopy for the treatment of complex tears at the medial meniscus posterior horn].

PubMed

Dong, Ling-Dai; Bing, Chang-Jian; Li, Jian-Lin; Cai, Yue

2017-04-25

To discuss the advantages of the arthroscopic treatment for complex tears of the medial meniscus posterior horn by creating a tunnel passageway through the intercondylar fossa. All 127 patients including 24 males and 103 females with complex tears at the medial meniscus posterior horn were reviewed. The age of all patients ranged from 45 to 78 years old, with an average of 67 years old. All 127 patients were treated with partial meniscectomy, in which 112 patients were treated with partial meniscectomy smoothly with three incisions (anterior medial incision, anterior lateral incision, high anterior lateral incision), and 15 patients were treated with four incisions (anterior medial incision, anterior lateral incision, high anterior lateral incision, posterior medial incision). Four aspects were estimated:whether the meniscus posterior horns could be observed totally and conveniently, whether tools could be pushed to target area conveniently, the damage of adjacent cartilages, operation time(the operation time of partial meniscectomy). Posterior horns of all patients were totally and conveniently observed, tools were conveniently pushed to the target area in all cases, and all the cases had no iatrogenic injuries at adjacent cartilages. The operation time of partial meniscectomy at posterior horns with three incisions ranged from 5 to 10 minutes, and it ranged from 10 to 30 minutes with four incisions. It is very convenient and fast of the arthroscopy to treat complex tears of the medial meniscus posterior horn by creating a tunnel through the intercondylor fossa. Iatrogenic injuries of the adjacent cartilages were prevented to the greatest extent.

Using Physical and Computer Simulations of Collective Behaviour as an Introduction to Modelling Concepts for Applied Biologists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rands, Sean A.

2012-01-01

Models are an important tool in science: not only do they act as a convenient device for describing a system or problem, but they also act as a conceptual tool for framing and exploring hypotheses. Models, and in particular computer simulations, are also an important education tool for training scientists, but it is difficult to teach students the…

The Development and Pilot Testing of the Marijuana Retail Surveillance Tool (MRST): Assessing Marketing and Point-of-Sale Practices among Recreational Marijuana Retailers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berg, Carla J.; Henriksen, Lisa; Cavazos-Rehg, Patricia; Schauer, Gillian L.; Freisthler, Bridget

2017-01-01

As recreational marijuana expands, it is critical to develop standardized surveillance measures to study the retail environment. To this end, our research team developed and piloted a tool assessing recreational marijuana retailers in a convenience sample of 20 Denver retailers in 2016. The tool assesses: (i) compliance and security (e.g.…

The association of patients' oral health literacy and dental school communication tools: a pilot study.

PubMed

Tam, Amy; Yue, Olivia; Atchison, Kathryn A; Richards, Jessica K; Holtzman, Jennifer S

2015-05-01

The aim of this pilot study was to assess adult patients' ability to read and understand two communication tools at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Dentistry: the dental school clinic website and a patient education brochure pertaining to sedation in children that was written by dental school personnel. A convenience sample of 100 adults seeking treatment at the school's general dental clinic during 2012-13 completed a health literacy screening instrument. They were then asked to read clinic educational and informational materials and complete a survey. Analyses were conducted to determine the association between the subjects' oral health literacy and sociodemographics and their ability to locate and interpret information in written oral health information materials. SMOG and Flesch-Kincade formulas were used to assess the readability level of the electronic and written communication tools. The results demonstrated an association between these adults' oral health literacy and their dental knowledge and ability to navigate health information website resources and understand health education materials. Health literacy was not associated with age or gender, but was associated with education and race/ethnicity. The SMOG Readability Index determined that the website and the sedation form were written at a ninth grade reading level. These results suggest that dental schools and other health care organizations should incorporate a health-literate approach for their digital and written materials to enhance patients' ability to navigate and understand health information, regardless of their health literacy.

A software tool to analyze clinical workflows from direct observations.

PubMed

Schweitzer, Marco; Lasierra, Nelia; Hoerbst, Alexander

2015-01-01

Observational data of clinical processes need to be managed in a convenient way, so that process information is reliable, valid and viable for further analysis. However, existing tools for allocating observations fail in systematic data collection of specific workflow recordings. We present a software tool which was developed to facilitate the analysis of clinical process observations. The tool was successfully used in the project OntoHealth, to build, store and analyze observations of diabetes routine consultations.

Usefulness of the Waist Circumference-to-Height Ratio in Screening for Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome among Korean Children and Adolescents: Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2010-2014.

PubMed

Choi, Dong-Hyun; Hur, Yang-Im; Kang, Jae-Heon; Kim, Kyoungwoo; Cho, Young Gyu; Hong, Soo-Min; Cho, Eun Byul

2017-03-10

The aims of this study were to assess the diagnostic value of the weight-to-height ratio (WHtR) for the detection of obesity and metabolic syndrome (MS) in Korean children and adolescents, and to determine the advantages of WHtR as a population-based screening tool in comparison with other obesity indicators, such as body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). We performed a cross-sectional analysis of data from 3057 children and adolescents (1625 boys, 1332 girls) aged 10-19 years who were included in the fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES, 2010-2012) up to the second year of the sixth KNHANES (2013-2014). Receiver operation characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to determine the optimal cutoff value and accuracy of WHtR for predicting individual obesity indicators or more than two non-WC components of MS. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) is a measure of the diagnostic power of a test. A perfect test will have an AUC of 1.0, and an AUC equal to 0.5 means that the test performs no better than chance. The optimal WHtR cutoff for the evaluation of general obesity and central obesity was 0.50 in boys and 0.47-0.48 in girls, and the AUC was 0.9. Regarding the assessment of each MS risk factor, the optimal WHtR cutoff was 0.43-0.50 in boys and 0.43-0.49 in girls, and these cutoffs were statistically significant only for the detection of high triglyceride and low High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. When a pairwise comparison of the AUCs was conducted between WHtR and BMI/WC percentiles to quantify the differences in power for MS screening, the WHtR AUC values (boys, 0.691; girls, 0.684) were higher than those of other indices; however, these differences were not statistically significant (boys, p = 0.467; girls, p = 0.51). The WHtR cutoff value was 0.44 (sensitivity, 67.7%; specificity, 64.6%) for boys and 0.43 (sensitivity, 66.4%; specificity, 66.9%) for girls. There was no significant difference between the diagnostic power of WHtR and that of BMI/WC when screening for MS. Although the use of WHtR was not superior, WHtR is still useful as a screening tool for metabolic problems related to obesity because of its convenience.

An Immunoassay for Monitoring Environmental and Human Exposure to the Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether BDE-47

PubMed Central

Ahn, Ki Chang; Gee, Shirley J.; Tsai, Hsing-Ju; Bennett, Deborah; Nishioka, Marcia G.; Blum, Arlene; Fishman, Elana; Hammock, Bruce D.

2012-01-01

We developed a selective competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to monitor environmental and human exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ether BDE-47 that is used as a flame retardant. 2,2’,4,4’-Tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47) a dominant PBDE congener of toxicological concern, was the target analyte. To achieve effective hapten presentation on the carrier protein for antibody production, immunizing haptens with a rigid double-bonded hydrocarbon linker introduced at different positions on the target molecule were synthesized as well as coating haptens that mimic a characteristic fragment of the molecule. Rabbit antisera produced against each immunizing antigen were screened against competitive hapten coating antigens. Under optimized competitive indirect ELISA conditions, the linear detection range in the assay buffer that includes 50% dimethyl sulfoxide was 0.35 - 8.50 μg/L with an IC50 value of 1.75 μg/L for BDE-47. Little or no cross-reactivity (< 6%) was observed to related PBDE congeners containing the BDE-47 moiety and other halogenated compounds. Using a magnetic particle-based competitive direct ELISA increased the sensitivity by 10-fold over the indirect ELISA. The ELISA provided quantitative results when performed on small volume/weight samples such as dust, furniture foam, and blood/serum following sample preparation, suggesting a convenient screening tool. PMID:19921894

Development and Initial Reliability Testing of NAK-50+: A Nutrition Attitude and Knowledge Questionnaire for Adults 50+ Years of Age.

PubMed

Ducak, Kate; Keller, Heather

2016-03-01

Few questionnaires to test nutrition knowledge and attitudes of older adults living independently in the community have been developed and tested to assess self-management tools such as Nutri-eSCREEN and other education programs. This study is a first step in the development of a questionnaire designed to evaluate the nutrition knowledge and attitudes of independent older adults (NAK-50+). The steps involved in this study were: (i) drafting initial questions based on the content of the Nutri-eSCREEN education material, (ii) using cognitive interviewing to determine if these questions were understandable and relevant (n = 9 adults ≥50 years of age), and (iii) completing test-retest reliability in a convenient community sample (n = 60 adults ≥50 years of age). Intra-class coefficients (ICC) and kappa were used to determine reliability. A 33-item questionnaire resulted from this development and analysis. ICC for the total score was 0.68 indicating good agreement and thus initial reliability. NAK-50+ is a face valid and reliable questionnaire that assesses nutrition knowledge and attitudes in independent adults aged ≥50 years. Further work to determine construct validity and to refine the questionnaire is warranted. Availability of the questionnaire for this age group will support rigorous evaluation of education and self-management interventions for this segment of the population.

Proper Exercise and Nutrition kit: use of obesity screening and assessment tools with underserved populations.

PubMed

Kopp, Mary K; Hornberger, Cynthia

2008-02-01

Additional efforts are needed to assist public health, school, and clinic-based pediatric nurses in identifying the prevalence of obesity among Kansas Medicaid-eligible children, 21 years or younger. A Proper Exercise and Nutrition (PEN) tool kit was mailed to 500 public health nurses who performed KAN Be Healthy (KBH) assessments. KBH nurses were provided an expanded training curriculum on growth, nutrition, and obesity along with appropriate screening tools. Nurses were surveyed about their current assessment practices and general knowledge of obese clients. After the PEN tool kit distribution, nurses reported an increased use of screening tools and standardized referral parameters. This program intervention was successful in changing nursing practice, resulting in evidence-based understanding of obesity screening and assessment.

Screening for Intimate Partner Violence in Orthopedic Patients: A Comparison of Three Screening Tools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sprague, Sheila; Madden, Kim; Dosanjh, Sonia; Petrisor, Brad; Schemitsch, Emil H.; Bhandari, Mohit

2012-01-01

Accurately identifying victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) can be a challenge for clinicians and clinical researchers. Multiple instruments have been developed and validated to identify IPV in patients presenting to health care practitioners, including the Woman Abuse Screening Tool (WAST) and the Partner Violence Screen (PVS). The purpose…

Logistics of Behavior Screenings: How and Why Do We Conduct Behavior Screenings at Our School?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oakes, Wendy Peia; Lane, Kathleen Lynne; Cox, Meredith Lucille; Messenger, Mallory

2014-01-01

In this article, the authors provide an overview of behavior screening tools available, including free and commercially available options. Next, the authors offer step-by-step procedures for (a) selecting, (b) scheduling, (c) preparing, (d) administering, and (e) scoring and interpreting behaviors screening tools. The authors conclude with…

CsSNP: A Web-Based Tool for the Detecting of Comparative Segments SNPs.

PubMed

Wang, Yi; Wang, Shuangshuang; Zhou, Dongjie; Yang, Shuai; Xu, Yongchao; Yang, Chao; Yang, Long

2016-07-01

SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) is a popular tool for the study of genetic diversity, evolution, and other areas. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a convenient, utility, robust, rapid, and open source detecting-SNP tool for all researchers. Since the detection of SNPs needs special software and series steps including alignment, detection, analysis and present, the study of SNPs is limited for nonprofessional users. CsSNP (Comparative segments SNP, http://biodb.sdau.edu.cn/cssnp/ ) is a freely available web tool based on the Blat, Blast, and Perl programs to detect comparative segments SNPs and to show the detail information of SNPs. The results are filtered and presented in the statistics figure and a Gbrowse map. This platform contains the reference genomic sequences and coding sequences of 60 plant species, and also provides new opportunities for the users to detect SNPs easily. CsSNP is provided a convenient tool for nonprofessional users to find comparative segments SNPs in their own sequences, and give the users the information and the analysis of SNPs, and display these data in a dynamic map. It provides a new method to detect SNPs and may accelerate related studies.

A new idea for visualization of lesions distribution in mammogram based on CPD registration method.

PubMed

Pan, Xiaoguang; Qi, Buer; Yu, Hongfei; Wei, Haiping; Kang, Yan

2017-07-20

Mammography is currently the most effective technique for breast cancer. Lesions distribution can provide support for clinical diagnosis and epidemiological studies. We presented a new idea to help radiologists study breast lesions distribution conveniently. We also developed an automatic tool based on this idea which could show visualization of lesions distribution in a standard mammogram. Firstly, establishing a lesion database to study; then, extracting breast contours and match different women's mammograms to a standard mammogram; finally, showing the lesion distribution in the standard mammogram, and providing the distribution statistics. The crucial process of developing this tool was matching different women's mammograms correctly. We used a hybrid breast contour extraction method combined with coherent point drift method to match different women's mammograms. We tested our automatic tool by four mass datasets of 641 images. The distribution results shown by the tool were consistent with the results counted according to their reports and mammograms by manual. We also discussed the registration error that was less than 3.3 mm in average distance. The new idea is effective and the automatic tool can provide lesions distribution results which are consistent with radiologists simply and conveniently.

The role of acculturation and collectivism in cancer screening for Vietnamese American women.

PubMed

Nguyen, Anh B; Clark, Trenette T

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of demographic variables and the interplay between collectivism and acculturation on breast and cervical cancer screening outcomes among Vietnamese American women. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 111 Vietnamese women from the Richmond, VA, metropolitan area, who participated in a larger cancer screening intervention. All participants completed measures on demographic variables, collectivism, acculturation, and cancer-screening-related variables (i.e., attitudes, self-efficacy, and screening behavior). Findings indicated that collectivism predicted both positive attitudes and higher levels of self-efficacy with regard to breast and cervical cancer screening. Collectivism also moderated the relationship between acculturation and attitudes toward breast cancer screening such that for women with low levels of collectivistic orientation, increasing acculturation predicted less positive attitudes towards breast cancer screening. This relationship was not found for women with high levels of collectivistic orientation. The current findings highlight the important roles that sociodemographic and cultural variables play in affecting health attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavior among Vietnamese women. The findings potentially inform screening programs that rely on culturally relevant values in helping increase Vietnamese women's motivation to screen.

The Role of Acculturation and Collectivism in Cancer Screening for Vietnamese American Women

PubMed Central

NGUYEN, ANH B.; CLARK, TRENETTE T.

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of demographic variables and the interplay between collectivism and acculturation on breast and cervical cancer screening outcomes among Vietnamese American women. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 111 Vietnamese women from the Richmond, VA, metropolitan area, who participated in a larger cancer screening intervention. All participants completed measures on demographic variables, collectivism, acculturation, and cancer-screening-related variables (i.e., attitudes, self-efficacy, and screening behavior). Findings indicated that collectivism predicted both positive attitudes and higher levels of self-efficacy with regard to breast and cervical cancer screening. Collectivism also moderated the relationship between acculturation and attitudes toward breast cancer screening such that for women with low levels of collectivistic orientation, increasing acculturation predicted less positive attitudes towards breast cancer screening. This relationship was not found for women with high levels of collectivistic orientation. The current findings highlight the important roles that sociodemographic and cultural variables play in affecting health attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavior among Vietnamese women. The findings potentially inform screening programs that rely on culturally relevant values in helping increase Vietnamese women’s motivation to screen. PMID:24313445

Screening for sepsis in general hospitalized patients: a systematic review.

PubMed

Alberto, L; Marshall, A P; Walker, R; Aitken, L M

2017-08-01

Sepsis is a condition widely observed outside critical care areas. To examine the application of sepsis screening tools for early recognition of sepsis in general hospitalized patients to: (i) identify the accuracy of these tools; (ii) determine the outcomes associated with their implementation; and (iii) describe the implementation process. A systematic review method was used. PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase databases were systematically searched for primary articles, published from January 1990 to June 2016, that investigated screening tools or alert mechanisms for early identification of sepsis in adult general hospitalized patients. The review protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42016042261). More than 8000 citations were screened for eligibility after duplicates had been removed. Six articles met the inclusion criteria testing two types of sepsis screening tools. Electronic tools can capture, recognize abnormal variables, and activate an alert in real time. However, accuracy of these tools was inconsistent across studies with only one demonstrating high specificity and sensitivity. Paper-based, nurse-led screening tools appear to be more sensitive in the identification of septic patients but were only studied in small samples and particular populations. The process of care measures appears to be enhanced; however, demonstrating improved outcomes is more challenging. Implementation details are rarely reported. Heterogeneity of studies prevented meta-analysis. Clinicians, researchers and health decision-makers should consider these findings and limitations when implementing screening tools, research or policy on sepsis recognition in general hospitalized patients. Copyright © 2017 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gaming the Past: Using Video Games to Teach Secondary History

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCall, Jeremiah

2011-01-01

Despite the growing number of books designed to radically reconsider the educational value of video games as powerful learning tools, there are very few practical guidelines conveniently available for prospective history and social studies teachers who actually want to use these teaching and learning tools in their classes. As the games and…

Codifference as a practical tool to measure interdependence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wyłomańska, Agnieszka; Chechkin, Aleksei; Gajda, Janusz; Sokolov, Igor M.

2015-03-01

Correlation and spectral analysis represent the standard tools to study interdependence in statistical data. However, for the stochastic processes with heavy-tailed distributions such that the variance diverges, these tools are inadequate. The heavy-tailed processes are ubiquitous in nature and finance. We here discuss codifference as a convenient measure to study statistical interdependence, and we aim to give a short introductory review of its properties. By taking different known stochastic processes as generic examples, we present explicit formulas for their codifferences. We show that for the Gaussian processes codifference is equivalent to covariance. For processes with finite variance these two measures behave similarly with time. For the processes with infinite variance the covariance does not exist, however, the codifference is relevant. We demonstrate the practical importance of the codifference by extracting this function from simulated as well as real data taken from turbulent plasma of fusion device and financial market. We conclude that the codifference serves as a convenient practical tool to study interdependence for stochastic processes with both infinite and finite variances as well.

Verbal versus Numerical Probabilities: Does Format Presentation of Probabilistic Information regarding Breast Cancer Screening Affect Women's Comprehension?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vahabi, Mandana

2010-01-01

Objective: To test whether the format in which women receive probabilistic information about breast cancer and mammography affects their comprehension. Methods: A convenience sample of 180 women received pre-assembled randomized packages containing a breast health information brochure, with probabilities presented in either verbal or numeric…

Comparing the Readability of Text Displays on Paper, E-Book Readers, and Small Screen Devices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Rebecca Dawn

2010-01-01

Science fiction has long promised the digitalization of books. Characters in films and television routinely check their palm-sized (or smaller) electronic displays for fast-scrolling information. However, this very technology, increasingly prevalent in today's world, has not been embraced universally. While the convenience of pocket-sized…

The Prevalence of Speech Disorders among University Students in Jordan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alaraifi, Jehad Ahmad; Amayreh, Mousa Mohammad; Saleh, Mohammad Yusef

2014-01-01

Problem: There are no available studies on the prevalence, and distribution of speech disorders among Arabic speaking undergraduate students in Jordan. Method: A convenience sample of 400 undergraduate students at the University of Jordan was screened for speech disorders. Two spontaneous speech samples and an oral reading of a passage were…

Development and validation of the health literacy assessment tool for older people in Taiwan: potential impacts of cultural differences.

PubMed

Chung, Min-Huey; Chen, Liang-Kung; Peng, Li-Ning; Chi, Mei-Ju

2015-01-01

To screen health literacy among urban elderly in Taiwan, who cannot be evaluated easily using the current measurement tools because of the "face", which meant someone felt embarrassed if he did not know how to do something. A literature review was performed to define a framework for developing the health literacy screening tool. Two hundred elderly were recruited to test the validity and reliability for pilot study. One thousand and eighty two elderly who came from quota sampling in Taipei City by administrative areas and gender were interviewed face-to-face to gather health literacy performance by the developed health literacy screening tool and the short-form Mandarin Health Literacy Scale (s-MHLS). 10-items of health literacy screening tool by self-perception were developed. The mean score of screening tool among analysis sample was 42.3 (0-50) and s-MHLS was 9.5 (0-11). Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.441 (p<0.0001) between these two measurements. Multiple regressions showed that, female, younger, higher education, living with family, has no primary caregiver, has few medical companionship, and higher score of health knowledge had better health literacy performance in both measurements. This screening tool should be applied to screen health literacy of elderly came from baby boomer who usually have lower education levels than the general population in Chinese regions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the efficacy of six nutritional screening tools to predict malnutrition in the elderly.

PubMed

Poulia, Kalliopi-Anna; Yannakoulia, Mary; Karageorgou, Dimitra; Gamaletsou, Maria; Panagiotakos, Demosthenes B; Sipsas, Nikolaos V; Zampelas, Antonis

2012-06-01

Malnutrition in the elderly is a multifactorial problem, more prevalent in hospitals and care homes. The absence of a gold standard in evaluating nutritional risk led us to evaluate the efficacy of six nutritional screening tools used in the elderly. Two hundred forty eight elderly patients (129 men, 119 female women, aged 75.2 ± 8.5 years) were examined. Nutritional screening was performed on admission using the following tools: Nutritional Risk Index (NRI), Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI), Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), Mini Nutritional Assessment - Screening Form (MNA-SF), Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) and Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS 2002). A combined index for malnutrition was also calculated. Nutritional risk and/or malnutrition varied greatly, ranging from 47.2 to 97.6%, depending on the nutritional screening tool used. MUST was the most valid screening tool (validity coefficient = 0.766, CI 95%: 0.690-0.841), while SGA was in better agreement with the combined index (κ = 0.707, p = 0.000). NRS 2002 although was the highest in sensitivity (99.4%), it was the lowest in specificity (6.1%) and positive predictive value (68.2%). MUST seem to be the most valid in the evaluation of the risk for malnutrition in the elderly upon admission to the hospital. NRS 2002 was found to overestimate nutritional risk in the elderly. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.

Feasibility Testing of an Emergency Department Screening Tool To Identify Older Adults Appropriate for Palliative Care Consultation.

PubMed

Ouchi, Kei; Block, Susan D; Schonberg, Mara A; Jamieson, Emily S; Aaronson, Emily L; Pallin, Daniel J; Tulsky, James A; Schuur, Jeremiah D

2017-01-01

Seriously ill older adults in the emergency department (ED) may benefit from palliative care referral, yet little is known about how to identify these patients. To assess the performance and determine the acceptability of a content-validated palliative care screening tool. We surveyed Emergency Medicine (EM) attending physicians at the end of their shifts using the screening tool and asked them to retrospectively apply it to all patients ≥65 years whom they had cared for. We conducted the survey for three consecutive weeks in October 2015. EM attending physicians at an urban, university-affiliated ED. Patient characteristics, acceptability rating, and time per patient screened. We approached 38 attending physicians to apply the screening tool for 69 eligible shifts. Physicians agreed to participate during 55 shifts (80%) and screened 207 patients. On 14 shifts (20%), physicians declined to participate. Mean age of the screened patients was 75 years, 51% were male, and 45% had at least one life-limiting illness. Overall, 67 patients (32%) screened positive for palliative care needs. Seventy percent of physicians (n = 33) found the screening tool acceptable to use and the average time of completion was 1.8 minutes per patient screened. A rapid screen of older adults for palliative care needs was acceptable to a majority of EM physicians and identified a significant number of patients who may benefit from palliative care referral. Further research is needed to improve acceptability and determine the appropriate care pathway for patients with palliative care needs.

Comprehensive development and testing of the ASIST-GBV, a screening tool for responding to gender-based violence among women in humanitarian settings.

PubMed

Wirtz, A L; Glass, N; Pham, K; Perrin, N; Rubenstein, L S; Singh, S; Vu, A

2016-01-01

Conflict affected refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) are at increased vulnerability to gender-based violence (GBV). Health, psychosocial, and protection services have been implemented in humanitarian settings, but GBV remains under-reported and available services under-utilized. To improve access to existing GBV services and facilitate reporting, the ASIST-GBV screening tool was developed and tested for use in humanitarian settings. This process was completed in four phases: 1) systematic literature review, 2) qualitative research that included individual interviews and focus groups with GBV survivors and service providers, respectively, 3) pilot testing of the developed screening tool, and 4) 3-month implementation testing of the screening tool. Research was conducted among female refugees, aged ≥15 years in Ethiopia, and female IDPs, aged ≥18 years in Colombia. The systematic review and meta-analysis identified a range of GBV experiences and estimated a 21.4 % prevalence of sexual violence (95 % CI:14.9-28.7) among conflict-affected populations. No existing screening tools for GBV in humanitarian settings were identified. Qualitative research with GBV survivors in Ethiopia and Colombia found multiple forms of GBV experienced by refugees and IDPs that occurred during conflict, in transit, and in displaced settings. Identified forms of violence were combined into seven key items on the screening tool: threats of violence, physical violence, forced sex, sexual exploitation, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, and early or forced marriage. Cognitive testing further refined the tool. Pilot testing in both sites demonstrated preliminary feasibility where 64.8 % of participants in Ethiopia and 44.9 % of participants in Colombia were identified with recent (last 12 months) cases of GBV. Implementation testing of the screening tool, conducted as a routine service in camp/district hospitals, allowed for identification of GBV cases and referrals to services. In this phase, 50.6 % of participants in Ethiopia and 63.4 % in Colombia screened positive for recent experiences of GBV. Psychometric testing demonstrated appropriate internal consistency of the tool (Cronbach's α = 0.77) and item response theory demonstrated appropriate discrimination and difficulty of the tool. The ASIST-GBV screening tool has demonstrated utility and validity for use in confidential identification and referral of refugees and IDPs who experience GBV.

Virtual Screening with AutoDock: Theory and Practice

PubMed Central

Cosconati, Sandro; Forli, Stefano; Perryman, Alex L.; Harris, Rodney; Goodsell, David S.; Olson, Arthur J.

2011-01-01

Importance to the field Virtual screening is a computer-based technique for identifying promising compounds to bind to a target molecule of known structure. Given the rapidly increasing number of protein and nucleic acid structures, virtual screening continues to grow as an effective method for the discovery of new inhibitors and drug molecules. Areas covered in this review We describe virtual screening methods that are available in the AutoDock suite of programs, and several of our successes in using AutoDock virtual screening in pharmaceutical lead discovery. What the reader will gain A general overview of the challenges of virtual screening is presented, along with the tools available in the AutoDock suite of programs for addressing these challenges. Take home message Virtual screening is an effective tool for the discovery of compounds for use as leads in drug discovery, and the free, open source program AutoDock is an effective tool for virtual screening. PMID:21532931

Development of the Aboriginal Communication Assessment After Brain Injury (ACAABI): A screening tool for identifying acquired communication disorders in Aboriginal Australians.

PubMed

Armstrong, Elizabeth M; Ciccone, Natalie; Hersh, Deborah; Katzenellebogen, Judith; Coffin, Juli; Thompson, Sandra; Flicker, Leon; Hayward, Colleen; Woods, Deborah; McAllister, Meaghan

2017-06-01

Acquired communication disorders (ACD), following stroke and traumatic brain injury, may not be correctly identified in Aboriginal Australians due to a lack of linguistically and culturally appropriate assessment tools. Within this paper we explore key issues that were considered in the development of the Aboriginal Communication Assessment After Brain Injury (ACAABI) - a screening tool designed to assess the presence of ACD in Aboriginal populations. A literature review and consultation with key stakeholders were undertaken to explore directions needed to develop a new tool, based on existing tools and recommendations for future developments. The literature searches revealed no existing screening tool for ACD in these populations, but identified tools in the areas of cognition and social-emotional wellbeing. Articles retrieved described details of the content and style of these tools, with recommendations for the development and administration of a new tool. The findings from the interview and focus group views were consistent with the approach recommended in the literature. There is a need for a screening tool for ACD to be developed but any tool must be informed by knowledge of Aboriginal language, culture and community input in order to be acceptable and valid.

Rapid, convenient method for screening imidazole-containing compounds for heme oxygenase inhibition.

PubMed

Vlahakis, Jason Z; Rahman, Mona N; Roman, Gheorghe; Jia, Zongchao; Nakatsu, Kanji; Szarek, Walter A

2011-01-01

Sensitive assays for measuring heme oxygenase activity have been based on the gas-chromatographic detection of carbon monoxide using elaborate, expensive equipment. The present study describes a rapid and convenient method for screening imidazole-containing candidates for inhibitory activity against heme oxygenase using a plate reader, based on the spectroscopic evaluation of heme degradation. A PowerWave XS plate reader was used to monitor the absorbance (as a function of time) of heme bound to purified truncated human heme oxygenase-1 (hHO-1) in the individual wells of a standard 96-well plate (with or without the addition of a test compound). The degradation of heme by heme oxygenase-1 was initiated using l-ascorbic acid, and the collected relevant absorbance data were analyzed by three different methods to calculate the percent control activity occurring in wells containing test compounds relative to that occurring in control wells with no test compound present. In the cases of wells containing inhibitory compounds, significant shifts in λ(max) from 404 to near 412 nm were observed as well as a decrease in the rate of heme degradation relative to that of the control. Each of the three methods of data processing (overall percent drop in absorbance over 1.5h, initial rate of reaction determined over the first 5 min, and estimated pseudo first-order reaction rate constant determined over 1.5h) gave similar and reproducible results for percent control activity. The fastest and easiest method of data analysis was determined to be that using initial rates, involving data acquisition for only 5 min once reactions have been initiated using l-ascorbic acid. The results of the study demonstrate that this simple assay based on the spectroscopic detection of heme represents a rapid, convenient method to determine the relative inhibitory activity of candidate compounds, and is useful in quickly screening a series or library of compounds for heme oxygenase inhibition. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Developing an undue influence screening tool for Adult Protective Services.

PubMed

Quinn, Mary Joy; Nerenberg, Lisa; Navarro, Adria E; Wilber, Kathleen H

2017-03-01

The study purpose was to develop and pilot an undue influence screening tool for California's Adult Protective Services (APS) personnel based on the definition of undue influence enacted into California law January 1, 2014. Methods included four focus groups with APS providers (n = 33), piloting the preliminary tool by APS personnel (n = 15), and interviews with four elder abuse experts and two APS administrators. Social service literature-including existing undue influence models-was reviewed, as were existing screening and assessment tools. Using the information from these various sources, the California Undue Influence Screening Tool (CUIST) was developed. It can be applied to APS cases and potentially adapted for use by other professionals and for use in other states. Implementation of the tool into APS practice, policy, procedures, and training of personnel will depend on the initiative of APS management. Future work will need to address the reliability and validity of CUIST.

THE USEPA'S METAL FINISHING FACILITY RISK SCREENING TOOL (MFFRST) AND POLLUTION PREVENTION TOOL (MFFP2T)

EPA Science Inventory

This presentation will provide an overview of the USEPA's Metal Finishing Facility Risk Screening Tool, including a discussion of the models used and outputs. The tool is currently being expanded to include pollution prevention considerations as part of the model. The current st...

Obesity and Insulin Resistance Screening Tools in American Adolescents: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999 to 2010.

PubMed

Lee, Joey A; Laurson, Kelly R

2016-08-01

To identify which feasible obesity and insulin resistance (IR) screening tools are most strongly associated in adolescents by using a nationally representative sample. Adolescents aged 12.0 to 18.9 years who were participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (n=3584) and who were measured for height, weight, waist circumference (WC), triceps and subscapular skinfold thickness, glycated hemoglobin, fasting glucose (FG) and fasting insulin (FI) level were included. Adolescents were split by gender and grouped by body mass index (BMI) percentile. Age- and gender-specific classifications were constructed for each obesity screening tool measure to account for growth and maturation. General linear models were used to establish groups objectively for analysis based on when IR began to increase. Additional general linear models were used to identify when IR significantly increased for each IR measure as obesity group increased and to identify the variance accounted for among each obesity-IR screening tool relationship. As the obesity group increased, homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and FI significantly increased, while FG increased only (above the referent) in groups with BMI percentiles ≥95.0, and glycated hemoglobin level did not vary across obesity groups. The most strongly associated screening tools were WC and FI in boys (R(2)=0.253) and girls (R(2)=0.257). FI had the strongest association with all of the obesity measures. BMI associations were slightly weaker than WC in each in relation to IR. Our findings show that WC and FI are the most strongly associated obesity and IR screening tool measures in adolescents. These feasible screening tools should be utilized in screening practices for at-risk adolescents. Copyright © 2015 Canadian Diabetes Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The ELPAT living organ donor Psychosocial Assessment Tool (EPAT): from 'what' to 'how' of psychosocial screening - a pilot study.

PubMed

Massey, Emma K; Timmerman, Lotte; Ismail, Sohal Y; Duerinckx, Nathalie; Lopes, Alice; Maple, Hannah; Mega, Inês; Papachristou, Christina; Dobbels, Fabienne

2018-01-01

Thorough psychosocial screening of donor candidates is required in order to minimize potential negative consequences and to strive for optimal safety within living donation programmes. We aimed to develop an evidence-based tool to standardize the psychosocial screening process. Key concepts of psychosocial screening were used to structure our tool: motivation and decision-making, personal resources, psychopathology, social resources, ethical and legal factors and information and risk processing. We (i) discussed how each item per concept could be measured, (ii) reviewed and rated available validated tools, (iii) where necessary developed new items, (iv) assessed content validity and (v) pilot-tested the new items. The resulting ELPAT living organ donor Psychosocial Assessment Tool (EPAT) consists of a selection of validated questionnaires (28 items in total), a semi-structured interview (43 questions) and a Red Flag Checklist. We outline optimal procedures and conditions for implementing this tool. The EPAT and user manual are available from the authors. Use of this tool will standardize the psychosocial screening procedure ensuring that no psychosocial issues are overlooked and ensure that comparable selection criteria are used and facilitate generation of comparable psychosocial data on living donor candidates. © 2017 Steunstichting ESOT.

Screening tools to identify patients with complex health needs at risk of high use of health care services: A scoping review.

PubMed

Marcoux, Valérie; Chouinard, Maud-Christine; Diadiou, Fatoumata; Dufour, Isabelle; Hudon, Catherine

2017-01-01

Many people with chronic conditions have complex health needs often due to multiple chronic conditions, psychiatric comorbidities, psychosocial issues, or a combination of these factors. They are at high risk of frequent use of healthcare services. To offer these patients interventions adapted to their needs, it is crucial to be able to identify them early. The aim of this study was to find all existing screening tools that identify patients with complex health needs at risk of frequent use of healthcare services, and to highlight their principal characteristics. Our purpose was to find a short, valid screening tool to identify adult patients of all ages. A scoping review was performed on articles published between 1985 and July 2016, retrieved through a comprehensive search of the Scopus and CINAHL databases, following the methodological framework developed by Arksey and O'Malley (2005), and completed by Levac et al. (2010). Of the 3,818 articles identified, 30 were included, presenting 14 different screening tools. Seven tools were self-reported. Five targeted adult patients, and nine geriatric patients. Two tools were designed for specific populations. Four can be completed in 15 minutes or less. Most screening tools target elderly persons. The INTERMED self-assessment (IM-SA) targets adults of all ages and can be completed in less than 15 minutes. Future research could evaluate its usefulness as a screening tool for identifying patients with complex needs at risk of becoming high users of healthcare services.

Readiness of nursing students to screen women for domestic violence.

PubMed

Ben Natan, Merav; Khater, Marva; Ighbariyea, Raeqa; Herbet, Hanin

2016-09-01

Although domestic violence against women is common in Israel and elsewhere, and though medical staff in Israel have a universal obligation to screen women for domestic violence, actual screening rates remain low. To examine which variables affect nursing students' intention to screen women for domestic violence when providing treatment, and whether the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) developed by Ajzen (1991) predicts this intention. This study is a quantitative cross sectional study. A large academic nursing school in central Israel. A convenience sample of 200 nursing students who had completed at least one year of studies took part in the study. Students completed a questionnaire based on the TPB. Nursing students showed high intention to screen women for domestic violence when providing treatment. Normative beliefs, subjective norms, behavioral beliefs, perceived control, and knowledge were found to affect students' intention to screen women for domestic violence. The opinion of the clinical instructor was most significant for students. The theoretical model predicted 32% of students' intention to screen women for domestic violence, with normative beliefs being the most significant variable. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The MIGenAS integrated bioinformatics toolkit for web-based sequence analysis

PubMed Central

Rampp, Markus; Soddemann, Thomas; Lederer, Hermann

2006-01-01

We describe a versatile and extensible integrated bioinformatics toolkit for the analysis of biological sequences over the Internet. The web portal offers convenient interactive access to a growing pool of chainable bioinformatics software tools and databases that are centrally installed and maintained by the RZG. Currently, supported tasks comprise sequence similarity searches in public or user-supplied databases, computation and validation of multiple sequence alignments, phylogenetic analysis and protein–structure prediction. Individual tools can be seamlessly chained into pipelines allowing the user to conveniently process complex workflows without the necessity to take care of any format conversions or tedious parsing of intermediate results. The toolkit is part of the Max-Planck Integrated Gene Analysis System (MIGenAS) of the Max Planck Society available at (click ‘Start Toolkit’). PMID:16844980

Using Collaborative Simulation Modeling to Develop a Web-Based Tool to Support Policy-Level Decision Making About Breast Cancer Screening Initiation Age

PubMed Central

Burnside, Elizabeth S.; Lee, Sandra J.; Bennette, Carrie; Near, Aimee M.; Alagoz, Oguzhan; Huang, Hui; van den Broek, Jeroen J.; Kim, Joo Yeon; Ergun, Mehmet A.; van Ravesteyn, Nicolien T.; Stout, Natasha K.; de Koning, Harry J.; Mandelblatt, Jeanne S.

2017-01-01

Background There are no publicly available tools designed specifically to assist policy makers to make informed decisions about the optimal ages of breast cancer screening initiation for different populations of US women. Objective To use three established simulation models to develop a web-based tool called Mammo OUTPuT. Methods The simulation models use the 1970 US birth cohort and common parameters for incidence, digital screening performance, and treatment effects. Outcomes include breast cancers diagnosed, breast cancer deaths averted, breast cancer mortality reduction, false-positive mammograms, benign biopsies, and overdiagnosis. The Mammo OUTPuT tool displays these outcomes for combinations of age at screening initiation (every year from 40 to 49), annual versus biennial interval, lifetime versus 10-year horizon, and breast density, compared to waiting to start biennial screening at age 50 and continuing to 74. The tool was piloted by decision makers (n = 16) who completed surveys. Results The tool demonstrates that benefits in the 40s increase linearly with earlier initiation age, without a specific threshold age. Likewise, the harms of screening increase monotonically with earlier ages of initiation in the 40s. The tool also shows users how the balance of benefits and harms varies with breast density. Surveys revealed that 100% of users (16/16) liked the appearance of the site; 94% (15/16) found the tool helpful; and 94% (15/16) would recommend the tool to a colleague. Conclusions This tool synthesizes a representative subset of the most current CISNET (Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network) simulation model outcomes to provide policy makers with quantitative data on the benefits and harms of screening women in the 40s. Ultimate decisions will depend on program goals, the population served, and informed judgments about the weight of benefits and harms. PMID:29376135

Screening for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in children: do guidelines provide enough guidance?

PubMed

Koot, B G P; Nobili, V

2017-09-01

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease in the industrialized world in children. Its high prevalence and important health risks make NAFLD highly suitable for screening. In practice, screening is widely, albeit not consistently, performed. To review the recommendations on screening for NAFLD in children. Recommendations on screening were reviewed from major paediatric obesity guidelines and NAFLD guidelines. A literature overview is provided on open questions and controversies. Screening for NAFLD is advocated in all obesity and most NAFLD guidelines. Guidelines are not uniform in whom to screen, and most guidelines do not specify how screening should be performed in practice. Screening for NAFLD remains controversial, due to lack of a highly accurate screening tool, limited knowledge to predict the natural course of NAFLD and limited data on its cost effectiveness. Guidelines provide little guidance on how screening should be performed. Screening for NAFLD remains controversial because not all conditions for screening are fully met. Consensus is needed on the optimal use of currently available screening tools. Research should focus on new accurate screening tool, the natural history of NAFLD and the cost effectiveness of different screening strategies in children. © 2017 The Authors. Obesity Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of World Obesity Federation.

CO-Benefits Risk Assessment (COBRA) Health Impacts Screening and Mapping Tool

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The COBRA (Co-Benefits Risk Assessment) screening tool can be used by state and local governments to estimate the health and economic benefits of clean energy policies. Find information about how to use the tool here.

[SCREENING OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS AMONG ELDERLY PEOPLE AT FAMILY MEDICINE].

PubMed

Račić, M; Ivković, N; Kusmuk, S

2015-11-01

The prevalence of malnutrition in elderly is high. Malnutrition or risk of malnutrition can be detected by use of nutritional screening or assessment tools. This systematic review aimed to identify tools that would be reliable, valid, sensitive and specific for nutritional status screening in patients older than 65 at family medicine. The review was performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Studies were retrieved using MEDLINE (via Ovid), PubMed and Cochrane Library electronic databases and by manual searching of relevant articles listed in reference list of key publications. The electronic databases were searched using defined key words adapted to each database and using MESH terms. Manual revision of reviews and original articles was performed using Electronic Journals Library. Included studies involved development and validation of screening tools in the community-dwelling elderly population. The tools, subjected to validity and reliability testing for use in the community-dwelling elderly population were Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF), Nutrition Screening Initiative (NSI), which includes DETERMINE list, Level I and II Screen, Seniors in the Community: Risk Evaluation for Eating, and Nutrition (SCREEN I and SCREEN II), Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), Nutritional Risk Index (NRI), and Malaysian and South African tool. MNA and MNA-SF appear to have highest reliability and validity for screening of community-dwelling elderly, while the reliability and validity of SCREEN II are good. The authors conclude that whilst several tools have been developed, most have not undergone extensive testing to demonstrate their ability to identify nutritional risk. MNA and MNA-SF have the highest reliability and validity for screening of nutritional status in the community-dwelling elderly, and the reliability and validity of SCREEN II are satisfactory. These instruments also contain all three nutritional status indicators and are practical for use in family medicine. However, the gold standard for screening cannot be set because testing of reliability and continuous validation in the study with a higher level of evidence need to be conducted in family medicine.

Reliability and Validity of the Acanthosis Nigricans Screening Tool for Use in Elementary School-Age Children by School Nurses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Leslie K.; Hall, Lynne M.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to test the reliability and validity of an acanthosis nigricans (AN) screening tool for use in elementary school-age children of different ethnic groups. Cross-sectional data were collected via observation of 288, 5- to 12-year-old school-age children. Three nurse clinicians used a 0-4 grade AN screening tool to rate…

The Evaluation of a Screening Tool for Children with an Intellectual Disability: The Child and Adolescent Intellectual Disability Screening Questionnaire

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKenzie, Karen; Paxton, Donna; Murray, George; Milanesi, Paula; Murray, Aja Louise

2012-01-01

The study outlines the evaluation of an intellectual disability screening tool, the "Child and Adolescent Intellectual Disability Screening Questionnaire" ("CAIDS-Q"), with two age groups. A number of aspects of the reliability and validity of the "CAIDS-Q" were assessed for these two groups, including inter-rater reliability, convergent and…

Screening for psychological late effects in childhood, adolescent and young adult cancer survivors: a systematic review.

PubMed

Michel, Gisela; Vetsch, Janine

2015-07-01

In the past years, increasing evidence showed that many childhood cancer survivors suffer from psychological distress long after treatment ended. However, psychosocial issues are often neglected during follow-up care. Including screening for psychological distress before follow-up appointments might help addressing the topic in survivors who need support. Our aim was to systematically review the available evidence on screening for psychological distress in childhood cancer survivors. We found eight studies that investigated different screening tools for their utility in detecting psychological distress in childhood cancer survivors. The Brief Symptom Inventory-18 with an adapted cutoff score for childhood cancer survivors, and the newly developed short form of the Beck Depression Index were both shown to be of a potential benefit as brief screening tools in follow-up care. We identified promising screening tools to be used to detect psychological distress in childhood cancer survivors. However, there is still a lack of studies addressing applicability and effectiveness when screening is routinely implemented into follow-up care. To improve quality of follow-up care, and identify and treat survivors with psychological distress, screening tools should now be implemented and their adequacy further tested in day-to-day clinic life.

Validation of a nutrition risk screening tool for children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis ages 2-20 years.

PubMed

McDonald, Catherine M

2008-04-01

According to the 2002 Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation nutrition consensus report, children with CF should grow normally. Cross-sectional data from the foundation's patient registry concluded that a body mass index at or greater than the 50th percentile is associated with better lung function. A consistent, evidence-based screening process can identify those individuals with CF having nutrition risk factors associated with a decrease in pulmonary function, target early intervention, and prevent further decline. A tool for screening nutrition risk is described to identify those children with CF who would benefit from more extensive nutrition intervention. The proposed screening tool is a risk-based classification system with 3 categories: weight gain, height velocity, and body mass index. The CF Foundation recommendations regarding these parameters are incorporated, with risk points assigned when minimum body mass index, weight gain, and/or height gain standards are unmet. An interrater measure of agreement determined a satisfactory level of reliability (kappa = 0.85). Patient records (n = 85) were reviewed to determine nutrition status category (no risk or at risk) of this tool compared with the CF Foundation 2002 Nutrition Consensus, yielding sensitivity and specificity at 84% and 75%, respectively. A second comparison was made with combined, independent nutrition risk factors not included in the screening tool. The sensitivity and specificity of the screening tool compared with the combined risk factors were 86% and 78%, respectively. This tool for screening nutrition risk for CF is reliable and valid, with consistent, reproducible results, free from subject or observer bias.

How to offer culturally relevant type 2 diabetes screening: lessons learned from the South asian diabetes prevention program.

PubMed

van Draanen, Jenna; Shafique, Ammara; Farissi, Aziz; Wickramanayake, Dilani; Kuttaiya, Sheela; Oza, Shobha; Stephens, Neil

2014-10-01

The literature on diabetes mellitus in the South Asian population clearly states the high-risk status of this group, yet there is a lack of effective models of culturally relevant, community-based screening and education programs for such a group. The South Asian Diabetes Prevention Program (SADPP) was developed to enhance equitable access to diabetes prevention resources for the South Asian communities in Toronto by offering language-specific and culturally relevant services. The SADPP model works through 3 participant education sessions plus an additional attachment and enrolment component. The screening tool that SADPP uses to provide participants with their individual risk score at the first education session is derived from the multiculturally validated Canadian Diabetes Risk Assessment Questionnaire (CANRISK), which has been modified to reflect the distinctive characteristics of the South Asian population. After analyzing the risk scores, 32% of participants were at increased risk, 40% were at high risk, 21% were at very high risk and only 7% were found to be at low risk of diabetes development. Evaluations of the program conducted in 2010 and 2013 revealed that the program is achieving its objectives and that participants increase their knowledge and self-efficacy related to diabetes prevention after program participation. Participants reported that the presentation from the nurse and dietitian, the question-and-answer time, the healthy eating demonstration, the multiple languages of delivery and the convenient location were especially beneficial. Those working in the field are encouraged to adapt this model and to contribute to the development of culturally relevant, community-driven diabetes prevention programs. Copyright © 2014 Canadian Diabetes Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The diagnostic accuracy of single- and five-field fundus photography in diabetic retinopathy screening by primary care physicians

PubMed Central

Srihatrai, Parinya; Hlowchitsieng, Thanita

2018-01-01

Purpose: The aim is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of digital fundus photography in diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening at a single university hospital. Methods: This was a cross-sectional hospital-based study. One hundred and ninety-eight diabetic patients were recruited for comprehensive eye examination by two ophthalmologists. Five-field fundus photographs were taken with a digital, nonmydriatic fundus camera, and trained primary care physicians then graded the severity of DR present by single-field 45° and five-field fundus photography. Sensitivity and specificity of DR grading were reported using the findings from the ophthalmologists’ examinations as a gold standard. Results: When fundus photographs of the participants’ 363 eyes were analyzed for the presence of DR, there was substantial agreement between the two primary care physicians, κ = 0.6226 for single-field and 0.6939 for five-field photograph interpretation. The sensitivity and specificity of DR detection with single-field photographs were 70.7% (95% Confidence interval [CI]; 60.2%–79.7%) and 99.3% (95% CI; 97.4%–99.9%), respectively. Sensitivity and specificity for five-field photographs were 84.5% (95% CI; 75.8%–91.1%) and 98.6% (95% CI; 96.5%–99.6%), respectively. The receiver operating characteristic was 0.85 (0.80–0.90) for single-field photographs and 0.92 (0.88–0.95) for five-field photographs. Conclusion: The sensitivity and specificity of fundus photographs for DR detection by primary care physicians were acceptable. Single- and five-field digital fundus photography each represent a convenient screening tool with acceptable accuracy. PMID:29283131

Point-of-Care Quantitative Measure of Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Enzyme Deficiency.

PubMed

Bhutani, Vinod K; Kaplan, Michael; Glader, Bertil; Cotten, Michael; Kleinert, Jairus; Pamula, Vamsee

2015-11-01

Widespread newborn screening on a point-of-care basis could prevent bilirubin neurotoxicity in newborns with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. We evaluated a quantitative G6PD assay on a digital microfluidic platform by comparing its performance with standard clinical methods. G6PD activity was measured quantitatively by using digital microfluidic fluorescence and the gold standard fluorescence biochemical test on a convenience sample of 98 discarded blood samples. Twenty-four samples were designated as G6PD deficient. Mean ± SD G6PD activity for normal samples using the digital microfluidic method and the standard method, respectively, was 9.7 ± 2.8 and 11.1 ± 3.0 U/g hemoglobin (Hb), respectively; for G6PD-deficient samples, it was 0.8 ± 0.7 and 1.4 ± 0.9 U/g Hb. Bland-Altman analysis determined a mean difference of -0.96 ± 1.8 U/g Hb between the digital microfluidic fluorescence results and the standard biochemical test results. The lower and upper limits for the digital microfluidic platform were 4.5 to 19.5 U/g Hb for normal samples and 0.2 to 3.7 U/g Hb for G6PD-deficient samples. The lower and upper limits for the Stanford method were 5.5 to 20.7 U/g Hb for normal samples and 0.1 to 2.8 U/g Hb for G6PD-deficient samples. The measured activity discriminated between G6PD-deficient samples and normal samples with no overlap. Pending further validation, a digital microfluidics platform could be an accurate point-of-care screening tool for rapid newborn G6PD screening. Copyright © 2015 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Implementation of New Communication Tools to an Online Chemistry Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ng, Karno

2018-01-01

Online courses provide flexibility and convenience for students and have become very popular in recent years. With the advance of technology and change of habits for the uses of traditional communication tools among students, there is a need for educators to explore effective ways to communicate with students that fit their social-media life…

Dissemination Strategies: The Evolution of Learning Resources on the Evaluation of Delirium, Dementia, and Depression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horvath, Kathy J.; Tumosa, Nina; Thielke, Stephen; Moorer, Julie; Huh, Terri; Cooley, Susan; Craft, Suzanne; Burns, Theressa

2011-01-01

Clinicians experience great pressures to provide timely, effective, and evidence-based medical care. Educators can aid these clinicians through the development of new tools that can facilitate timely completion of clinical tasks. These tools should summarize evidence-based information in a convenient format that allows easy use. This article…

Basic Botany On-Line: A Training Tool for the Master Gardener Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

VanDerZanden, Ann Marie; Rost, Bob; Eckel, Rick

2002-01-01

A noncredit, online training module on botany was offered to participants in the Oregon Master Gardener program. The 48 participants felt the module was a useful training tool. They also noted that the convenience of completing the material at their own pace and during a time that fit into their schedule. (SK)

Multifactorial screening for fall risk in community-dwelling older adults in the primary care office: development of the fall risk assessment & screening tool.

PubMed

Renfro, Mindy Oxman; Fehrer, Steven

2011-01-01

Unintentional falls is an increasing public health problem as incidence of falls rises and the population ages. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 1 in 3 adults aged 65 years and older will experience a fall this year; 20% to 30% of those who fall will sustain a moderate to severe injury. Physical therapists caring for older adults are usually engaged with these patients after the first injury fall and may have little opportunity to abate fall risk before the injuries occur. This article describes the content selection and development of a simple-to-administer, multifactorial, Fall Risk Assessment & Screening Tool (FRAST), designed specifically for use in primary care settings to identify those older adults with high fall risk. Fall Risk Assessment & Screening Tool incorporates previously validated measures within a new multifactorial tool and includes targeted recommendations for intervention. Development of the multifactorial FRAST used a 5-part process: identification of significant fall risk factors, review of best evidence, selection of items, creation of the scoring grid, and development of a recommended action plan. Fall Risk Assessment & Screening Tool has been developed to assess fall risk in the target population of older adults (older than 65 years) living and ambulating independently in the community. Many fall risk factors have been considered and 15 items selected for inclusion. Fall Risk Assessment & Screening Tool includes 4 previously validated measures to assess balance, depression, falls efficacy, and home safety. Reliability and validity studies of FRAST are under way. Fall risk for community-dwelling older adults is an urgent, multifactorial, public health problem. Providing primary care practitioners (PCPs) with a very simple screening tool is imperative. Fall Risk Assessment & Screening Tool was created to allow for safe, quick, and low-cost administration by minimally trained office staff with interpretation and follow-up provided by the PCP.

Using the Frailty Assessment for Care Planning Tool (FACT) to screen elderly chronic kidney disease patients for frailty: the nurse experience.

PubMed

Moffatt, Heather; Moorhouse, Paige; Mallery, Laurie; Landry, David; Tennankore, Karthik

2018-01-01

Recent evidence supports the prognostic significance of frailty for functional decline and poor health outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease. Yet, despite the development of clinical tools to screen for frailty, little is known about the experiential impact of screening for frailty in this setting. The Frailty Assessment for Care Planning Tool (FACT) evaluates frailty across 4 domains: mobility, function, social circumstances, and cognition. The purpose of this qualitative study was as follows: 1) explore the nurse experience of screening for frailty using the FACT tool in a specialized outpatient renal clinic; 2) determine how, if at all, provider perceptions of frailty changed after implementation of the frailty screening tool; and 3) determine the perceived factors that influence uptake and administration of the FACT screening tool in a specialized clinical setting. A semi-structured interview of 5 nurses from the Nova Scotia Health Authority, Central Zone Renal Clinic was conducted. A grounded theory approach was used to generate thematic categories and analysis models. Four primary themes emerged in the data analysis: "we were skeptical", "we made it work", "we learned how", and "we understand". As the renal nurses gained a sense of confidence in their ability to implement the FACT tool, initial barriers to implementation were attenuated. Implementation factors - such as realistic goals, clear guidelines, and ongoing training - were important factors for successful uptake of the frailty screening initiative. Nurse participants reported an overall positive experience using the FACT method to screen for frailty and indicated that their understanding of the multiple dimensions and subtleties of "frailty" were enhanced. Future nurse-led FACT screening initiatives should incorporate those factors identified as being integral to program success: realistic goals, clear guidelines, and ongoing training. Adopting the evaluation of frailty as a priority within clinical departments will encourage sustainability.

Using game authoring platforms to develop screen-based simulated functional assessments in persons with executive dysfunction following traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Martínez-Pernía, David; Núñez-Huasaf, Javier; Del Blanco, Ángel; Ruiz-Tagle, Amparo; Velásquez, Juan; Gomez, Mariela; Robert Blesius, Carl; Ibañez, Agustin; Fernández-Manjón, Baltasar; Slachevsky, Andrea

2017-10-01

The assessment of functional status is a critical component of clinical neuropsychological evaluations used for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in patients with cognitive brain disorders. There are, however, no widely adopted neuropsychological tests that are both ecologically valid and easily administered in daily clinical practice. This discrepancy is a roadblock to the widespread adoption of functional assessments. In this paper, we propose a novel approach using a serious game authoring platform (eAdventure) for creating screen-based simulated functional assessments. We created a naturalistic functional task that consisted of preparing a cup of tea (SBS-COT) and applied the assessment in a convenience sample of eight dyads of therapists/patients with mild executive dysfunction after traumatic brain injury. We had three main aims. First, we performed a comprehensive review of executive function assessment in activities of daily living. Second, we were interested in measuring the feasibility of this technology with respect to staffing, economic and technical requirements. Third, a serious game was administered to patients to study the feasibility of this technology in the clinical context (pre-screening test). In addition, quantitative (Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) questionnaires) and qualitative (semistructured interviews) evaluations were applied to obtain user input. Our results suggest that the staffing, economic and technical requirements of the SBS-COT are feasible. The outcomes of the pre-screening test provide evidence that this technology is useful in the functional assessment of patients with executive dysfunction. In relation to subjective data, the TAM questionnaire showed good user acceptability from a professional perspective. Interview analyses with professionals and patients showed positive experiences related to the use of the SBS-COT. Our work indicates that the use of these types of authoring platforms could have positive long-term implications for neuropsychological research, opening the door to more reproducible, cooperative and efficient research by allowing the facilitated production, reuse and sharing of neuropsychological assessment tools. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated toxicological screening reports of modified Agilent MSD Chemstation combined with Microsoft Visual Basic application programs.

PubMed

Choe, Sanggil; Kim, Suncheun; Choi, Hyeyoung; Choi, Hwakyoung; Chung, Heesun; Hwang, Bangyeon

2010-06-15

Agilent GC-MS MSD Chemstation offers automated library search report for toxicological screening using total ion chromatogram (TIC) and mass spectroscopy in normal mode. Numerous peaks appear in the chromatogram of biological specimen such as blood or urine and often large migrating peaks obscure small target peaks, in addition, any target peaks of low abundance regularly give wrong library search result or low matching score. As a result, retention time and mass spectrum of all the peaks in the chromatogram have to be checked to see if they are relevant. These repeated actions are very tedious and time-consuming to toxicologists. MSD Chemstation software operates using a number of macro files which give commands and instructions on how to work on and extract data from the chromatogram and spectroscopy. These macro files are developed by the own compiler of the software. All the original macro files can be modified and new macro files can be added to the original software by users. To get more accurate results with more convenient method and to save time for data analysis, we developed new macro files for reports generation and inserted new menus in the Enhanced Data Analysis program. Toxicological screening reports generated by these new macro files are in text mode or graphic mode and these reports can be generated with three different automated subtraction options. Text reports have Brief mode and Full mode and graphic reports have the option with or without mass spectrum mode. Matched mass spectrum and matching score for detected compounds are printed in reports by modified library searching modules. We have also developed an independent application program named DrugMan. This program manages drug groups, lists and parameters that are in use in MSD Chemstation. The incorporation of DrugMan with modified macro modules provides a powerful tool for toxicological screening and save a lot of valuable time on toxicological work. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Version 1.00 programmer`s tools used in constructing the INEL RML/analytical radiochemistry sample tracking database and its user interface

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

Femec, D.A.

This report describes two code-generating tools used to speed design and implementation of relational databases and user interfaces: CREATE-SCHEMA and BUILD-SCREEN. CREATE-SCHEMA produces the SQL commands that actually create and define the database. BUILD-SCREEN takes templates for data entry screens and generates the screen management system routine calls to display the desired screen. Both tools also generate the related FORTRAN declaration statements and precompiled SQL calls. Included with this report is the source code for a number of FORTRAN routines and functions used by the user interface. This code is broadly applicable to a number of different databases.

Serologic Screening for Herpes Simplex Virus among University Students: A Pilot Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mark, Hayley; Nanda, Joy P.; Joffe, Alain; Roberts, Jessica; Rompalo, Anne; Melendez, Johan; Zenilman, Jonathan

2008-01-01

Objective: The authors examined the feasibility of conducting serologic testing for the herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) among university students and assessed the psychosocial impact of an HSV-2 diagnosis. Methods: The authors recruited a convenience sample of 100 students (aged 18-39 years) without a history of genital herpes from 1 university…

Answering the Challenge of Teletext, Viewdata Systems and Other Fast Growing Communications, Such as Home Computers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Sandra K.

Newspapers are facing challenges from the new media of teletext, viewdata systems, and home computers. Teletext, which provides formated pages of text broadcast for viewing on a television screen, provides news immediately, simply, conveniently, and inexpensively. However, it does not provide the browse and scan options of newspapers. Of greater…

A Comparison of Systematic Screening Tools for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lane, Kathleen Lynne; Little, M. Annette; Casey, Amy M.; Lambert, Warren; Wehby, Joseph; Weisenbach, Jessica L.; Phillips, Andrea

2009-01-01

Early identification of students who might develop emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) is essential in preventing negative outcomes. Systematic screening tools are available for identifying elementary-age students with EBD, including the "Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders" (SSBD) and the "Student Risk Screening…

Developing and validating a perinatal depression screening tool in Kenya blending Western criteria with local idioms: A mixed methods study.

PubMed

Green, Eric P; Tuli, Hawa; Kwobah, Edith; Menya, D; Chesire, Irene; Schmidt, Christina

2018-03-01

Routine screening for perinatal depression is not common in most primary health care settings. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force only recently updated their recommendation on depression screening to specifically recommend screening during the pre- and postpartum periods. While practitioners in high-income countries can respond to this new recommendation by implementing one of several existing depression screening tools developed in Western contexts, such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) or the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), these tools lack strong evidence of cross-cultural equivalence, validity for case finding, and precision in measuring response to treatment in developing countries. Thus, there is a critical need to develop and validate new screening tools for perinatal depression that can be used by lay health workers, primary health care personnel, and patients. Working in rural Kenya, we used free listing, card sorting, and item analysis methods to develop a locally-relevant screening tool that blended Western psychiatric concepts with local idioms of distress. We conducted a validation study with a random sample of 193 pregnant women and new mothers to test the diagnostic accuracy of this scale along with the EPDS and PHQ-9. The sensitivity/specificity of the EPDS and PHQ-9 was estimated to be 0.70/0.72 and 0.70/0.73, respectively. This compared to sensitivity/specificity of 0.90/0.90 for a new 9-item locally-developed tool called the Perinatal Depression Screening (PDEPS). Across these three tools, internal consistency reliability ranged from 0.77 to 0.81 and test-retest reliability ranged from 0.57 to 0.67. The prevalence of depression ranges from 5.2% to 6.2% depending on the clinical reference standard. The EPDS and PHQ-9 are valid and reliable screening tools for perinatal depression in rural Western Kenya, the PDEPS may be a more useful alternative. At less than 10%, the prevalence of depression in this region appears to be lower than other published estimates for African and other low-income countries. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Depression Screening

MedlinePlus

... Depression Screening Substance Abuse Screening Alcohol Use Screening Depression Screening (PHQ-9) - Instructions The following questions are ... this tool, there is also text-only version . Depression Screening - Manual Instructions The following questions are a ...

Acquisition and utilisation of anthropometric measurements on admission in a paediatric hospital before and after the introduction of a malnutrition screening tool.

PubMed

Milani, S; Wright, C; Purcell, O; Macleod, I; Gerasimidis, K

2013-06-01

Acquisition of anthropometric measurements and assessment of growth in paediatric inpatients remains poor. The introduction of malnutrition screening tools that incorporate weight and height/length measurements might improve their acquisition and utilisation in other aspects of patient care. Documentation of weight and/length measurements and their plotting on growth charts was evaluated using a case notes review in paediatric inpatients who were admitted before (n = 146), during (n = 154) and after the pilot (n = 151) and official (n = 128) clinical use of a screening tool. Documentation of weight was high in all periods (> 97% of patients). Height/length measurement documentation was negligible (4% of patients) but improved after the introduction of the screening tool (> 62%; P < 0.0001), except in infants, who were not part of the screening programme. Introduction of a screening tool improved the acquisition of anthropometric measurements by nursing staff, although its utilisation by medical staff remained poor. © 2013 The Authors Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics © 2013 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

Screening and Evaluation Tool (SET) Users Guide

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

Pincock, Layne

This document is the users guide to using the Screening and Evaluation Tool (SET). SET is a tool for comparing multiple fuel cycle options against a common set of criteria and metrics. It does this using standard multi-attribute utility decision analysis methods.

Introduction to the Community-Focused Exposure and Risk Screening Tool (C-FERST)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA scientists are working partners to design and test the Community-Focused Exposure and Risk Screening Tool (C-FERST), a community mapping, information access, and assessment tool to help assess risk and assist in decision making with communities

Screening Physical Activity in Family Practice: Validity of the Spanish Version of a Brief Physical Activity Questionnaire

PubMed Central

Puig-Ribera, Anna; Martín-Cantera, Carlos; Puigdomenech, Elisa; Real, Jordi; Romaguera, Montserrat; Magdalena-Belio, José Félix; Recio-Rodríguez, Jose Ignacio; Rodriguez-Martin, Beatriz; Arietaleanizbeaskoa, Maria Soledad; Repiso–Gento, Irene; Garcia-Ortiz, Luis

2015-01-01

Objectives The use of brief screening tools to identify inactive patients is essential to improve the efficiency of primary care-based physical activity (PA) programs. However, the current employment of short PA questionnaires within the Spanish primary care pathway is unclear. This study evaluated the validity of the Spanish version of a Brief Physical Activity Assessment Tool (SBPAAT). Methods A validation study was carried out within the EVIDENT project. A convenience sample of patients (n = 1,184; age 58.9±13.7 years; 60.5% female) completed the SBPAAT and the 7-day Physical Activity Recall (7DPAR) and, in addition, wore an accelerometer (ActiGraph GT3X) for seven consecutive days. Validity was evaluated by measuring agreement, Kappa correlation coefficients, sensitivity and specificity in achieving current PA recommendations with the 7DPAR. Pearson correlation coefficients with the number of daily minutes engaged in moderate and vigorous intensity PA according to the accelerometer were also assessed. Comparison with accelerometer counts, daily minutes engaged in sedentary, light, moderate, and vigorous intensity PA, total daily kilocalories, and total PA and leisure time expenditure (METs-hour-week) between the sufficiently and insufficiently active groups identified by SBPAAT were reported. Results The SBPAAT identified 41.3% sufficiently active (n = 489) and 58.7% insufficiently active (n = 695) patients; it showed moderate validity (k = 0.454, 95% CI: 0.402–0.505) and a specificity and sensitivity of 74.3% and 74.6%, respectively. Validity was fair for identifying daily minutes engaged in moderate (r = 0.215, 95% CI:0.156 to 0.272) and vigorous PA (r = 0.282, 95% CI:0.165 to 0.391). Insufficiently active patients according to the SBPAAT significantly reported fewer counts/minute (-22%), fewer minutes/day of moderate (-11.38) and vigorous PA (-2.69), spent fewer total kilocalories/day (-753), and reported a lower energy cost (METs-hour-week) of physical activities globally (-26.82) and during leisure time (-19.62). Conclusions The SBPAAT is a valid tool to identify Spanish-speaking patients who are insufficiently active to achieve health benefits. PMID:26379036

Screening Physical Activity in Family Practice: Validity of the Spanish Version of a Brief Physical Activity Questionnaire.

PubMed

Puig-Ribera, Anna; Martín-Cantera, Carlos; Puigdomenech, Elisa; Real, Jordi; Romaguera, Montserrat; Magdalena-Belio, José Félix; Recio-Rodríguez, Jose Ignacio; Rodriguez-Martin, Beatriz; Arietaleanizbeaskoa, Maria Soledad; Repiso-Gento, Irene; Garcia-Ortiz, Luis

2015-01-01

The use of brief screening tools to identify inactive patients is essential to improve the efficiency of primary care-based physical activity (PA) programs. However, the current employment of short PA questionnaires within the Spanish primary care pathway is unclear. This study evaluated the validity of the Spanish version of a Brief Physical Activity Assessment Tool (SBPAAT). A validation study was carried out within the EVIDENT project. A convenience sample of patients (n = 1,184; age 58.9±13.7 years; 60.5% female) completed the SBPAAT and the 7-day Physical Activity Recall (7DPAR) and, in addition, wore an accelerometer (ActiGraph GT3X) for seven consecutive days. Validity was evaluated by measuring agreement, Kappa correlation coefficients, sensitivity and specificity in achieving current PA recommendations with the 7DPAR. Pearson correlation coefficients with the number of daily minutes engaged in moderate and vigorous intensity PA according to the accelerometer were also assessed. Comparison with accelerometer counts, daily minutes engaged in sedentary, light, moderate, and vigorous intensity PA, total daily kilocalories, and total PA and leisure time expenditure (METs-hour-week) between the sufficiently and insufficiently active groups identified by SBPAAT were reported. The SBPAAT identified 41.3% sufficiently active (n = 489) and 58.7% insufficiently active (n = 695) patients; it showed moderate validity (k = 0.454, 95% CI: 0.402-0.505) and a specificity and sensitivity of 74.3% and 74.6%, respectively. Validity was fair for identifying daily minutes engaged in moderate (r = 0.215, 95% CI:0.156 to 0.272) and vigorous PA (r = 0.282, 95% CI:0.165 to 0.391). Insufficiently active patients according to the SBPAAT significantly reported fewer counts/minute (-22%), fewer minutes/day of moderate (-11.38) and vigorous PA (-2.69), spent fewer total kilocalories/day (-753), and reported a lower energy cost (METs-hour-week) of physical activities globally (-26.82) and during leisure time (-19.62). The SBPAAT is a valid tool to identify Spanish-speaking patients who are insufficiently active to achieve health benefits.

Validation and adaptation of the Norwegian version of Hayes Ability Screening Index for intellectual difficulties in a psychiatric sample.

PubMed

Søndenaa, Erik; Nygård, Øyvind; Nøttestad, Jim Aage; Linaker, Olav Martin

2011-02-01

Intellectual disabilities (ID) among psychiatric patients have traditionally been neglected. A lack of convenient instruments and competency in ID may have worsened the conditions and treatment availability for these patients. Validation and adaptation of a screening instrument for ID (Hayes Ability Screening Index; HASI) in a psychiatric hospital setting. This is a cross-sectional study of 50 psychiatric patients in two Norwegian psychiatric hospitals comparing results of the HASI with the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI). The HASI correlated well with the standard IQ test used (r= 0.67, P< 0.001). At a stated cut-off score of 85, the HASI had a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 34%. The HASI is a valid and time-saving screening instrument for ID among psychiatric patients. The prescribed cut-off score, however, resulted in a large number of false positives.

US female college students' breast health knowledge, attitudes, and determinants of screening practices: new implications for health education.

PubMed

Early, Jody; Armstrong, Shelley Nicole; Burke, Sloane; Thompson, Doris Lee

2011-01-01

This study examined female college students' knowledge, attitudes, and breast cancer screening and determined significant predictors of breast self-examination, clinical breast examination, and mammography among this population. A convenience sample of 1,074 college women from 3 universities participated in the research. Respondents completed an online version of the Toronto Breast Self-examination Instrument as well as questions developed by the authors. Descriptive statistics showed gaps in college women's knowledge of breast health and negative attitudes toward screening that were relative to age. Multiple linear and logistic regression analyses revealed that knowledge, attitudes, and copay were significant predictors of screening, whereas family history and ethnicity were not. This study supported previous smaller-sample studies that showed college women to be a priority population for breast health education and revealed new significant factors that should be addressed in health education for this group.

Brief Report: Screening Tool for Autism in Two-Year-Olds (STAT): Development and Preliminary Data.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stone, Wendy L.; Coonrod, Elaine E.; Ousley, Opal Y.

2000-01-01

A study examined the validity of the Screening Tool for Autism in Two-Year-Olds (STAT) as a stage 2 screening instrument in a clinic-based sample of two-year-olds with autism (n=12) and with nonautistic developmental disorders (n=21). Results provide preliminary support for the utility of the STAT as an early screening of autism. (Contains…

Screening tools to identify patients with complex health needs at risk of high use of health care services: A scoping review

PubMed Central

Chouinard, Maud-Christine; Diadiou, Fatoumata; Dufour, Isabelle

2017-01-01

Background Many people with chronic conditions have complex health needs often due to multiple chronic conditions, psychiatric comorbidities, psychosocial issues, or a combination of these factors. They are at high risk of frequent use of healthcare services. To offer these patients interventions adapted to their needs, it is crucial to be able to identify them early. Objective The aim of this study was to find all existing screening tools that identify patients with complex health needs at risk of frequent use of healthcare services, and to highlight their principal characteristics. Our purpose was to find a short, valid screening tool to identify adult patients of all ages. Methods A scoping review was performed on articles published between 1985 and July 2016, retrieved through a comprehensive search of the Scopus and CINAHL databases, following the methodological framework developed by Arksey and O’Malley (2005), and completed by Levac et al. (2010). Results Of the 3,818 articles identified, 30 were included, presenting 14 different screening tools. Seven tools were self-reported. Five targeted adult patients, and nine geriatric patients. Two tools were designed for specific populations. Four can be completed in 15 minutes or less. Most screening tools target elderly persons. The INTERMED self-assessment (IM-SA) targets adults of all ages and can be completed in less than 15 minutes. Conclusion Future research could evaluate its usefulness as a screening tool for identifying patients with complex needs at risk of becoming high users of healthcare services. PMID:29190658

Correlates of Cervical Cancer Screening Among Adult Latino Women: A 5-Year Follow-Up.

PubMed

Rojas, Patria; Li, Tan; Ravelo, Gira J; Dawson, Christyl; Sanchez, Mariana; Sneij, Alicia; Wang, Weize; Kanamori, Mariano; Cyrus, Elena; De La Rosa, Mario R

2017-06-01

Latinas have the highest incidence rates of cervical cancer in the United States, and Latinas in the United States are less likely to utilize cervical cancer screening. We used secondary data analysis of a non-clinical convenience sample (n=316 women at baseline; n=285 at five-year follow-up) to examine correlates of cervical cancer screening among adult Latina women. Univariate and multiple logistic regression models using Generalized Estimated Equations (GEE) algorithm were utilized to assess the influence of the independent variables. Women who reported their main healthcare source as community health clinics, women who were sexually active, and women who reported that a healthcare provider discussed HIV prevention with them were more likely to report having a cervical cancer screening (aOR=2.06; CI=1.20, 3.52). The results suggest a need for continued efforts to ensure that medically underserved women (e.g., Latina women) receive counseling and education about the importance of preventive cancer screening.

Prevention and anthropology.

PubMed

Jopp, Eilin; Scheffler, Christiane; Hermanussen, Michael

2014-01-01

Screening is an important issue in medicine and is used to early identify unrecognised diseases in persons who are apparently in good health. Screening strongly relies on the concept of "normal values". Normal values are defined as values that are frequently observed in a population and usually range within certain statistical limits. Screening for obesity should start early as the prevalence of obesity consolidates already at early school age. Though widely practiced, measuring BMI is not the ultimate solution for detecting obesity. Children with high BMI may be "robust" in skeletal dimensions. Assessing skeletal robustness and in particularly assessing developmental tempo in adolescents are also important issues in health screening. Yet, in spite of the necessity of screening investigations, appropriate reference values are often missing. Meanwhile, new concepts of growth diagrams have been developed. Stage line diagrams are useful for tracking developmental processes over time. Functional data analyses have efficiently been used for analysing longitudinal growth in height and assessing the tempo of maturation. Convenient low-cost statistics have also been developed for generating synthetic national references.

An adverse event screening tool based on routinely collected hospital-acquired diagnoses.

PubMed

Brand, Caroline; Tropea, Joanne; Gorelik, Alexandra; Jolley, Damien; Scott, Ian; Sundararajan, Vijaya

2012-06-01

The aim was to develop an electronic adverse event (AE) screening tool applicable to acute care hospital episodes for patients admitted with chronic heart failure (CHF) and pneumonia. Consensus building using a modified Delphi method and descriptive analysis of hospital discharge data. Consultant physicians in general medicine (n = 38). In-hospital acquired (C-prefix) diagnoses associated with CHF and pneumonia admissions to 230 hospitals in Victoria, Australia, were extracted from the Victorian Admitted Episodes Data Set between July 2004 and June 2007. A 9-point rating scale was used to prioritize diagnoses acquired during hospitalization (routinely coded as a 'C-prefix' diagnosis to distinguish from diagnoses present on admission) for inclusion within an AE screening tool. Diagnoses rated a group median score between 7 and 9 by the physician panel were included. Selection of C-prefix diagnoses with a group median rating of 7-9 in a screening tool, and the level of physician agreement, as assessed using the Interpercentile Range Adjusted for Symmetry. Of 697 initial C-prefix diagnoses, there were high levels of agreement to include 113 (16.2%) in the AE screening tool. Using these selected diagnoses, a potential AE was flagged in 14% of all admissions for the two index conditions. Intra-rater reliability for each clinician ranged from kappa 0.482 to 1.0. A high level of physician agreement was obtained in selecting in-hospital diagnoses for inclusion in an AE screening tool based on routinely collected data. These results support further tool validation.

Evaluating radiographers' diagnostic accuracy in screen-reading mammograms: what constitutes a quality study?

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

Debono, Josephine C, E-mail: josephine.debono@bci.org.au; Poulos, Ann E; Westmead Breast Cancer Institute, Westmead, New South Wales

The aim of this study was to first evaluate the quality of studies investigating the diagnostic accuracy of radiographers as mammogram screen-readers and then to develop an adapted tool for determining the quality of screen-reading studies. A literature search was used to identify relevant studies and a quality evaluation tool constructed by combining the criteria for quality of Whiting, Rutjes, Dinnes et al. and Brealey and Westwood. This constructed tool was then applied to the studies and subsequently adapted specifically for use in evaluating quality in studies investigating diagnostic accuracy of screen-readers. Eleven studies were identified and the constructed toolmore » applied to evaluate quality. This evaluation resulted in the identification of quality issues with the studies such as potential for bias, applicability of results, study conduct, reporting of the study and observer characteristics. An assessment of the applicability and relevance of the tool for this area of research resulted in adaptations to the criteria and the development of a tool specifically for evaluating diagnostic accuracy in screen-reading. This tool, with further refinement and rigorous validation can make a significant contribution to promoting well-designed studies in this important area of research and practice.« less

Changing learning with new interactive and media-rich instruction environments: virtual labs case study report.

PubMed

Huang, Camillan

2003-01-01

Technology has created a new dimension for visual teaching and learning with web-delivered interactive media. The Virtual Labs Project has embraced this technology with instructional design and evaluation methodologies behind the simPHYSIO suite of simulation-based, online interactive teaching modules in physiology for the Stanford students. In addition, simPHYSIO provides the convenience of anytime web-access and a modular structure that allows for personalization and customization of the learning material. This innovative tool provides a solid delivery and pedagogical backbone that can be applied to developing an interactive simulation-based training tool for the use and management of the Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) image information system. The disparity in the knowledge between health and IT professionals can be bridged by providing convenient modular teaching tools to fill the gaps in knowledge. An innovative teaching method in the whole PACS is deemed necessary for its successful implementation and operation since it has become widely distributed with many interfaces, components, and customizations. This paper will discuss the techniques for developing an interactive-based teaching tool, a case study of its implementation, and a perspective for applying this approach to an online PACS training tool. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Evaluating the use of mobile phone technology to enhance cardiovascular disease screening by community health workers.

PubMed

Surka, Sam; Edirippulige, Sisira; Steyn, Krisela; Gaziano, Thomas; Puoane, Thandi; Levitt, Naomi

2014-09-01

Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD),by identifying individuals at risk is a well-established, but costly strategy when based on measurements that depend on laboratory analyses. A non-laboratory, paper-based CVD risk assessment chart tool has previously been developed to make screening more affordable in developing countries. Task shifting to community health workers (CHWs) is being investigated to further scale CVD risk screening. This study aimed to develop a mobile phone CVD risk assessment application and to evaluate its impact on CHW training and the duration of screening for CVD in the community by CHWs. A feature phone application was developed using the open source online platform, CommCare(©). CHWs (n=24) were trained to use both paper-based and mobile phone CVD risk assessment tools. They were randomly allocated to using one of the risk tools to screen 10-20 community members and then crossed over to screen the same number, using the alternate risk tool. The impact on CHW training time, screening time and margin of error in calculating risk scores was recorded. A focus group discussion evaluated experiences of CHWs using the two tools. The training time was 12.3h for the paper-based chart tool and 3h for the mobile phone application. 537 people were screened. The mean screening time was 36 min (SD=12.6) using the paper-base chart tool and 21 min (SD=8.71) using the mobile phone application, p=<0.0001. Incorrect calculations (4.3% of average systolic BP measurements, 10.4% of BMI and 3.8% of CVD risk score) were found when using the paper-based chart tool while all the mobile phone calculations were correct. Qualitative findings from the focus group discussion corresponded with the findings of the pilot study. The reduction in CHW training time, CVD risk screening time, lack of errors in calculation of a CVD risk score and end user satisfaction when using a mobile phone application, has implications in terms of adoption and sustainability of this primary prevention strategy to identify people with high CVD risk who can be referred for appropriate diagnoses and treatment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluating the use of mobile phone technology to enhance cardiovascular disease screening by community health workers

PubMed Central

Surka, Sam; Edirippulige, Sisira; Steyn, Krisela; Gaziano, Thomas; Puoane, Thandi; Levitt, Naomi

2014-01-01

Background Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD),by identifying individuals at risk is a well-established, but costly strategy when based on measurements that depend on laboratory analyses. A non-laboratory, paper-based CVD risk assessment chart tool has previously been developed to make screening more affordable in developing countries. Task shifting to community health workers (CHWs) is being investigated to further scale CVD risk screening. This study aimed to develop a mobile phone CVD risk assessment application and to evaluate it’s impact on CHW training and the duration of screening for CVD in the community by CHWs. Methods A feature phone application was developed using the open source online platform, CommCare©. CHWs (n=24) were trained to use both paper-based and mobile phone CVD risk assessment tools. They were randomly allocated to using one of the risk tools to screen 10-20 community members and then crossed over to screen the same number, using the alternate risk tool. The impact on CHW training time, screening time and margin of error in calculating risk scores was recorded. A focus group discussion evaluated experiences of CHWs using the two tools. Results The training time was 12.3 hrs for the paper-based chart tool and 3 hours for the mobile phone application. 537 people were screened. The mean screening time was 36 minutes (SD=12.6) using the paper-base chart tool and 21 minutes (SD=8.71) using the mobile phone application , p = <0.0001. Incorrect calculations (4.3 % of average systolic BP measurements, 10.4 % of BMI and 3.8% of CVD risk score) were found when using the paper-based chart tool while all the mobile phone calculations were correct. Qualitative findings from the focus group discussion corresponded with the findings of the pilot study. Conclusion The reduction in CHW training time, CVD risk screening time, lack of errors in calculation of a CVD risk score and end user satisfaction when using a mobile phone application, has implications in terms of adoption and sustainability of this primary prevention strategy to identify people with high CVD risk who can be referred for appropriate diagnoses and treatment. PMID:25002305

Development of a methodology for selecting criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management: a case study on participatory assessment.

PubMed

Mendoza, G A; Prabhu, R

2000-12-01

This paper describes an application of multiple criteria analysis (MCA) in assessing criteria and indicators adapted for a particular forest management unit. The methods include: ranking, rating, and pairwise comparisons. These methods were used in a participatory decision-making environment where a team representing various stakeholders and professionals used their expert opinions and judgements in assessing different criteria and indicators (C&I) on the one hand, and how suitable and applicable they are to a forest management unit on the other. A forest concession located in Kalimantan, Indonesia, was used as the site for the case study. Results from the study show that the multicriteria methods are effective tools that can be used as structured decision aids to evaluate, prioritize, and select sets of C&I for a particular forest management unit. Ranking and rating approaches can be used as a screening tool to develop an initial list of C&I. Pairwise comparison, on the other hand, can be used as a finer filter to further reduce the list. In addition to using these three MCA methods, the study also examines two commonly used group decision-making techniques, the Delphi method and the nominal group technique. Feedback received from the participants indicates that the methods are transparent, easy to implement, and provide a convenient environment for participatory decision-making.

Problem—solving counseling as a therapeutic tool on youth suicidal behavior in the suburban population in Sri Lanka

PubMed Central

Perera, E. A. Ramani; Kathriarachchi, Samudra T.

2011-01-01

Background: Suicidal behaviour among youth is a major public health concern in Sri Lanka. Prevention of youth suicides using effective, feasible and culturally acceptable methods is invaluable in this regard, however research in this area is grossly lacking. Objective: This study aimed at determining the effectiveness of problem solving counselling as a therapeutic intervention in prevention of youth suicidal behaviour in Sri Lanka. Setting and design: This control trial study was based on hospital admissions with suicidal attempts in a sub-urban hospital in Sri Lanka. The study was carried out at Base Hospital Homagama. Materials and Methods: A sample of 124 was recruited using convenience sampling method and divided into two groups, experimental and control. Control group was offered routine care and experimental group received four sessions of problem solving counselling over one month. Outcome of both groups was measured, six months after the initial screening, using the visual analogue scale. Results: Individualized outcome measures on problem solving counselling showed that problem solving ability among the subjects in the experimental group had improved after four counselling sessions and suicidal behaviour has been reduced. The results are statistically significant. Conclusion: This Study confirms that problem solving counselling is an effective therapeutic tool in management of youth suicidal behaviour in hospital setting in a developing country. PMID:21431005

mtDNAmanager: a Web-based tool for the management and quality analysis of mitochondrial DNA control-region sequences

PubMed Central

Lee, Hwan Young; Song, Injee; Ha, Eunho; Cho, Sung-Bae; Yang, Woo Ick; Shin, Kyoung-Jin

2008-01-01

Background For the past few years, scientific controversy has surrounded the large number of errors in forensic and literature mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) data. However, recent research has shown that using mtDNA phylogeny and referring to known mtDNA haplotypes can be useful for checking the quality of sequence data. Results We developed a Web-based bioinformatics resource "mtDNAmanager" that offers a convenient interface supporting the management and quality analysis of mtDNA sequence data. The mtDNAmanager performs computations on mtDNA control-region sequences to estimate the most-probable mtDNA haplogroups and retrieves similar sequences from a selected database. By the phased designation of the most-probable haplogroups (both expected and estimated haplogroups), mtDNAmanager enables users to systematically detect errors whilst allowing for confirmation of the presence of clear key diagnostic mutations and accompanying mutations. The query tools of mtDNAmanager also facilitate database screening with two options of "match" and "include the queried nucleotide polymorphism". In addition, mtDNAmanager provides Web interfaces for users to manage and analyse their own data in batch mode. Conclusion The mtDNAmanager will provide systematic routines for mtDNA sequence data management and analysis via easily accessible Web interfaces, and thus should be very useful for population, medical and forensic studies that employ mtDNA analysis. mtDNAmanager can be accessed at . PMID:19014619

Rapid review of cognitive screening instruments in MCI: proposal for a process-based approach modification of overlapping tasks in select widely used instruments.

PubMed

Díaz-Orueta, Unai; Blanco-Campal, Alberto; Burke, Teresa

2018-05-01

ABSTRACTBackground:A detailed neuropsychological assessment plays an important role in the diagnostic process of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). However, available brief cognitive screening tests for this clinical population are administered and interpreted based mainly, or exclusively, on total achievement scores. This score-based approach can lead to erroneous clinical interpretations unless we also pay attention to the test taking behavior or to the type of errors committed during test performance. The goal of the current study is to perform a rapid review of the literature regarding cognitive screening tools for dementia in primary and secondary care; this will include revisiting previously published systematic reviews on screening tools for dementia, extensive database search, and analysis of individual references cited in selected studies. A subset of representative screening tools for dementia was identified that covers as many cognitive functions as possible. How these screening tools overlap with each other (in terms of the cognitive domains being measured and the method used to assess them) was examined and a series of process-based approach (PBA) modifications for these overlapping features was proposed, so that the changes recommended in relation to one particular cognitive task could be extrapolated to other screening tools. It is expected that future versions of cognitive screening tests, modified using a PBA, will highlight the benefits of attending to qualitative features of test performance when trying to identify subtle features suggestive of MCI and/or dementia.

Provider perspectives on the utility of a colorectal cancer screening decision aid for facilitating shared decision making.

PubMed

Schroy, Paul C; Mylvaganam, Shamini; Davidson, Peter

2014-02-01

Decision aids for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening have been shown to enable patients to identify a preferred screening option, but the extent to which such tools facilitate shared decision making (SDM) from the perspective of the provider is less well established. Our goal was to elicit provider feedback regarding the impact of a CRC screening decision aid on SDM in the primary care setting. Cross-sectional survey. Primary care providers participating in a clinical trial evaluating the impact of a novel CRC screening decision aid on SDM and adherence. Perceptions of the impact of the tool on decision-making and implementation issues. Twenty-nine of 42 (71%) eligible providers responded, including 27 internists and two nurse practitioners. The majority (>60%) felt that use of the tool complimented their usual approach, increased patient knowledge, helped patients identify a preferred screening option, improved the quality of decision making, saved time and increased patients' desire to get screened. Respondents were more neutral is their assessment of whether the tool improved the overall quality of the patient visit or patient satisfaction. Fewer than 50% felt that the tool would be easy to implement into their practices or that it would be widely used by their colleagues. Decision aids for CRC screening can improve the quality and efficiency of SDM from the provider perspective but future use is likely to depend on the extent to which barriers to implementation can be addressed. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Development and evaluation of RAMP I - a practitioner's tool for screening of musculoskeletal disorder risk factors in manual handling.

PubMed

Lind, Carl Mikael; Forsman, Mikael; Rose, Linda Maria

2017-10-16

RAMP I is a screening tool developed to support practitioners in screening for work-related musculoskeletal disorder risk factors related to manual handling. RAMP I, which is part of the RAMP tool, is based on research-based studies combined with expert group judgments. More than 80 practitioners participated in the development of RAMP I. The tool consists of dichotomous assessment items grouped into seven categories. Acceptable reliability was found for a majority of the assessment items for 15 practitioners who were given 1 h of training. The usability evaluation points to RAMP I being usable for screening for musculoskeletal disorder risk factors, i.e., usable for assessing risks, being usable as a decision base, having clear results and that the time needed for an assessment is acceptable. It is concluded that RAMP I is a usable tool for practitioners.

Comparison of slope instability screening tools following a large storm event and application to forest management and policy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whittaker, Kara A.; McShane, Dan

2012-04-01

The objective of this study was to assess and compare the ability of two slope instability screening tools developed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) to assess landslide risks associated with forestry activities. HAZONE is based on a semi-quantitative method that incorporates the landslide frequency rate and landslide area rate for delivery of mapped landforms. SLPSTAB is a GIS-based model of inherent landform characteristics that utilizes slope geometry derived from DEMs and climatic data. Utilization of slope instability screening tools by geologists, land managers, and regulatory agencies can reduce the frequency and magnitude of landslides. Aquatic habitats are negatively impacted by elevated rates and magnitudes of landslides associated with forest management practices due to high sediment loads and alteration of stream channels and morphology. In 2007 a large storm with heavy rainfall impacted southwestern Washington State trigging over 2500 landslides. This storm event and accompanying landslides provides an opportunity to assess the slope stability screening tools developed by WDNR. Landslide density (up to 6.5 landslides per km2) from the storm was highest in the areas designated by the screening tools as high hazard areas, and both of the screening tools were equal in their ability to predict landslide locations. Landslides that initiated in low hazard areas may have resulted from a variety of site-specific factors that deviated from assumed model values, from the inadequate identification of potentially unstable landforms due to low resolution DEMs, or from the inadequate implementation of the state Forest Practices Rules. We suggest that slope instability screening tools can be better utilized by forest management planners and regulators to meet policy goals regarding minimizing landslide rates and impacts to sensitive aquatic species.

Evaluation of a Screening Instrument for Autism Spectrum Disorders in Prisoners

PubMed Central

Robinson, Louise; Spencer, Michael D.; Thomson, Lindsay D. G.; Stanfield, Andrew C.; Owens, David G. C.; Hall, Jeremy; Johnstone, Eve C.

2012-01-01

There have been concerns that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are over-represented but not recognised in prison populations. A screening tool for ASDs in prisons has therefore been developed. Aims We aimed to evaluate this tool in Scottish prisoners by comparing scores with standard measures of autistic traits (Autism Quotient (AQ)), neurodevelopmental history (Asperger Syndrome (and High-Functioning Autism) Diagnostic Interview (ASDI)), and social cognition (Ekman 60 Faces test). Methods Prison officers across all 12 publicly-run closed prisons in Scotland assessed convicted prisoners using the screening tool. This sample included male and female prisoners and both adult and young offenders. Prisoners with high scores, along with an equal number of age and sex-matched controls, were invited to take part in interviews. Prisoners' relatives were contacted to complete a neurodevelopmental assessment. Results 2458 prisoners were screened using the tool, and 4% scored above the cut-off. 126 prisoners were further assessed using standardised measures. 7 of those 126 assessed scored 32 or above (cut-off) on the AQ. 44 interviews were completed with prisoners' relatives, no prisoner reached the cut-off score on the ASDI. Scores on the screening tool correlated significantly with AQ and ASDI scores, and not with the Ekman 60 Faces Test or IQ. Sensitivity was 28.6% and specificity 75.6%; AUC was 59.6%. Conclusions Although this screening tool measures autistic traits in this population, sensitivity for scores of 32 or above on the AQ is poor. We consider that this limits its usefulness and do not recommend that the tool is routinely used to screen for ASDs in prisons. PMID:22662113

Developing the Thai Siriraj Psoriatic Arthritis Screening Tool and validating the Thai Psoriasis Epidemiology Screening Tool and the Early Arthritis for Psoriatic Patients questionnaire.

PubMed

Chiowchanwisawakit, Praveena; Wattanamongkolsil, Luksame; Srinonprasert, Varalak; Petcharat, Chonachan; Siriwanarangsun, Palanan; Katchamart, Wanruchada

2016-10-01

To validate the Thai language version of the Psoriasis Epidemiology Screening Tool (PEST) and the Early Arthritis for Psoriatic Patients Questionnaire (EARP), as well as also to develop a new tool for screening psoriatic arthritis (PsA) among psoriasis (Ps) patients. This was a cross-sectional study. Ps patients visiting the psoriasis clinic at Siriraj Hospital were recruited. They completed the EARP and PEST. Full musculoskeletal history, examination, and radiography were evaluated. PsA was diagnosed by a rheumatologist's evaluation and fulfillment of the classification criteria for psoriatic arthritis. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves, sensitivity, and specificity were used to evaluate the performances of the tools. The Siriraj Psoriatic Arthritis Screening Tool (SiPAT) contained questions most relevant to peripheral arthritis, axial inflammation, and enthesitis, selected from multivariate analysis. Of a total of 159 patients, the prevalence of PsA was 78.6 %. The ROC curve analyses of Thai EARP, PEST, and SiPAT were 0.90 (95 % CI 0.84, 0.96), 0.85 (0.78, 0.92), and 0.89 (0.83, 0.95), respectively. The sensitivities of SiPAT, Thai EARP, and PEST were 91.0, 83.0, and 72.0 %, respectively, while the specificities were 69.0, 79.3, and 89.7 %, respectively. All screening questionnaires showed good diagnostic performances. SiPAT could be considered as a screening tool with its desirable properties: higher sensitivity and taking less time. Thai PEST and EARP could possibly be sequentially administered for people with a positive test from SiPAT to reduce the number of false positives.

Simple Nutrition Screening Tool for Pediatric Inpatients.

PubMed

White, Melinda; Lawson, Karen; Ramsey, Rebecca; Dennis, Nicole; Hutchinson, Zoe; Soh, Xin Ying; Matsuyama, Misa; Doolan, Annabel; Todd, Alwyn; Elliott, Aoife; Bell, Kristie; Littlewood, Robyn

2016-03-01

Pediatric nutrition risk screening tools are not routinely implemented throughout many hospitals, despite prevalence studies demonstrating malnutrition is common in hospitalized children. Existing tools lack the simplicity of those used to assess nutrition risk in the adult population. This study reports the accuracy of a new, quick, and simple pediatric nutrition screening tool (PNST) designed to be used for pediatric inpatients. The pediatric Subjective Global Nutrition Assessment (SGNA) and anthropometric measures were used to develop and assess the validity of 4 simple nutrition screening questions comprising the PNST. Participants were pediatric inpatients in 2 tertiary pediatric hospitals and 1 regional hospital. Two affirmative answers to the PNST questions were found to maximize the specificity and sensitivity to the pediatric SGNA and body mass index (BMI) z scores for malnutrition in 295 patients. The PNST identified 37.6% of patients as being at nutrition risk, whereas the pediatric SGNA identified 34.2%. The sensitivity and specificity of the PNST compared with the pediatric SGNA were 77.8% and 82.1%, respectively. The sensitivity of the PNST at detecting patients with a BMI z score of less than -2 was 89.3%, and the specificity was 66.2%. Both the PNST and pediatric SGNA were relatively poor at detecting patients who were stunted or overweight, with the sensitivity and specificity being less than 69%. The PNST provides a sensitive, valid, and simpler alternative to existing pediatric nutrition screening tools such as Screening Tool for the Assessment of Malnutrition in Pediatrics (STAMP), Screening Tool Risk on Nutritional status and Growth (STRONGkids), and Paediatric Yorkhill Malnutrition Score (PYMS) to ensure the early detection of hospitalized children at nutrition risk. © 2014 American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.

The development and evaluation of the Screening Tool for the Assessment of Malnutrition in Paediatrics (STAMP©) for use by healthcare staff.

PubMed

McCarthy, H; Dixon, M; Crabtree, I; Eaton-Evans, M J; McNulty, H

2012-08-01

The early identification of malnutrition and nutrition risk through nutrition screening is common practice in adult clinical care but, in children, this has been hampered by the lack of an appropriate nutrition screening tool. The present study aimed to develop and evaluate a simple, child-specific nutrition screening tool for administration by non-nutrition healthcare professionals. In a two-phase observational study, significant predictors of nutrition risk were identified using a structured questionnaire. These were then combined to produce a nutrition screening tool. For evaluation purposes, the reliability, sensitivity and specificity of the newly-developed Screening Tool for the Assessment of Malnutrition in Paediatrics (STAMP(©)) were estimated by comparing the classification of nutrition risk using the tool with that determined by a full nutritional assessment by a registered dietitian. A total of 122 children were recruited for development phase and a separate cohort of 238 children was recruited for the evaluation phase. Low percentile weight for age, reported weight loss, discrepancy between weight and height percentile and recently changed appetite were all identified as predictors of nutrition risk. These predictors, together with the expected nutrition risk of clinical diagnoses, were combined to produce STAMP(©). Evaluation of STAMP(©) demonstrated fair to moderate reliability in identifying nutrition risk compared to the nutrition risk classification determined by a registered dietitian (κ = 0.541; 95% confidence interval = 0.461-0.621). Sensitivity and specificity were estimated at 70% (51-84%) and 91% (86-94%), respectively. The present study describes the development and evaluation of a new nutrition screening tool specifically for use in a UK general paediatric inpatient population. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics © 2012 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

iScreen: Image-Based High-Content RNAi Screening Analysis Tools.

PubMed

Zhong, Rui; Dong, Xiaonan; Levine, Beth; Xie, Yang; Xiao, Guanghua

2015-09-01

High-throughput RNA interference (RNAi) screening has opened up a path to investigating functional genomics in a genome-wide pattern. However, such studies are often restricted to assays that have a single readout format. Recently, advanced image technologies have been coupled with high-throughput RNAi screening to develop high-content screening, in which one or more cell image(s), instead of a single readout, were generated from each well. This image-based high-content screening technology has led to genome-wide functional annotation in a wider spectrum of biological research studies, as well as in drug and target discovery, so that complex cellular phenotypes can be measured in a multiparametric format. Despite these advances, data analysis and visualization tools are still largely lacking for these types of experiments. Therefore, we developed iScreen (image-Based High-content RNAi Screening Analysis Tool), an R package for the statistical modeling and visualization of image-based high-content RNAi screening. Two case studies were used to demonstrate the capability and efficiency of the iScreen package. iScreen is available for download on CRAN (http://cran.cnr.berkeley.edu/web/packages/iScreen/index.html). The user manual is also available as a supplementary document. © 2014 Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening.

Mesoporous materials and nanocrystals for enhancing the dissolution behavior of poorly water-soluble drugs.

PubMed

Santos, Helder A; Peltonen, Leena; Limnell, Tarja; Hirvonen, Jouni

2013-01-01

Advanced drug delivery formulations are presently recognized as promising tools for overcoming the adverse physicochemical properties of conventional drug molecules, such as poor water solubility, which often leads to poor drug bioavailability. Oral drug delivery is considered as the easiest and most convenient route of drug administration. However, via the current trends utilizing combinatorial chemistry and high throughput screening in drug development, new drug molecules are moving towards lipophilic and poorly water-soluble large molecules, and the oral delivery route is becoming increasingly challenging. In this context, formulation of poorly soluble and/or permeable drugs using mesoporous materials and nanocrystals technology have proven to be highly successful due to the greater surface/volume ratio of these systems, resulting in improvements in dissolution and bioavailability, as well as enhanced drug permeability. This review addresses the issues of poorly water-soluble drugs with a major focus on recent developments in the application of the mesoporous materials (e.g., porous silicon and silica) and nanocrystals in drug delivery applications. In addition, we present several recent examples of the significant potential of these materials for the pharmaceutical field.

Total reflection X-ray fluorescence as a convenient tool for determination of trace elements in microscale gasoline and diesel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Airui; Jin, Axiang; Wang, Hai; Wang, Xiaokang; Zha, Pengfei; Wang, Meiling; Song, Xiaoping; Gao, Sitian

2018-03-01

Quantitative determination of trace elements like S, Fe, Cu, Mn and Pb in gasoline and S in diesel is of great importance due to the growing concerns over air pollution, human health and engine failure caused by utilization of gasoline and diesel with these harmful elements. A method of total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) was developed to measure these harmful trace elements in gasoline and diesel. A variety of factors to affect measurement results, including TXRF parameters, microwave-assisted digestion conditions and internal standard element and its addition, were examined to optimize these experimental procedures. The hydrophobic treatment of the surface of quartz reflectors to support the analyte with neutral silicone solutions could prepare thin films of gasoline and diesel digestion solutions for subsequent TXRF analysis. The proposed method shows good potential and reliability to determine the content of harmful trace elements in gasoline and diesel with high sensitivity and accuracy without drawing different standard calibration curves, and can be easily employed to screen gasoline and diesel in routine quality control and assurance.

ReGaTE: Registration of Galaxy Tools in Elixir

PubMed Central

Mareuil, Fabien; Deveaud, Eric; Kalaš, Matúš; Soranzo, Nicola; van den Beek, Marius; Grüning, Björn; Ison, Jon; Ménager, Hervé

2017-01-01

Abstract Background: Bioinformaticians routinely use multiple software tools and data sources in their day-to-day work and have been guided in their choices by a number of cataloguing initiatives. The ELIXIR Tools and Data Services Registry (bio.tools) aims to provide a central information point, independent of any specific scientific scope within bioinformatics or technological implementation. Meanwhile, efforts to integrate bioinformatics software in workbench and workflow environments have accelerated to enable the design, automation, and reproducibility of bioinformatics experiments. One such popular environment is the Galaxy framework, with currently more than 80 publicly available Galaxy servers around the world. In the context of a generic registry for bioinformatics software, such as bio.tools, Galaxy instances constitute a major source of valuable content. Yet there has been, to date, no convenient mechanism to register such services en masse. Findings: We present ReGaTE (Registration of Galaxy Tools in Elixir), a software utility that automates the process of registering the services available in a Galaxy instance. This utility uses the BioBlend application program interface to extract service metadata from a Galaxy server, enhance the metadata with the scientific information required by bio.tools, and push it to the registry. Conclusions: ReGaTE provides a fast and convenient way to publish Galaxy services in bio.tools. By doing so, service providers may increase the visibility of their services while enriching the software discovery function that bio.tools provides for its users. The source code of ReGaTE is freely available on Github at https://github.com/C3BI-pasteur-fr/ReGaTE. PMID:28402416

Same family, different species: methodological conduct and quality varies according to purpose for five types of knowledge synthesis.

PubMed

Tricco, Andrea C; Zarin, Wasifa; Ghassemi, Marco; Nincic, Vera; Lillie, Erin; Page, Matthew J; Shamseer, Larissa; Antony, Jesmin; Rios, Patricia; Hwee, Jeremiah; Veroniki, Areti Angeliki; Moher, David; Hartling, Lisa; Pham, Ba'; Straus, Sharon E

2018-04-01

The aim of the study was to characterize methodological conduct, reporting, and quality of five knowledge synthesis (KS) approaches. Retrospective analysis of a convenience sample of five published databases of KS approaches: overview of reviews (n = 74), scoping reviews (n = 494), rapid reviews (n = 84), systematic reviews (n = 300), and network meta-analyses (NMAs; n = 456). Data in the five published databases were abstracted by two reviewers independently, any missing data for this retrospective analysis were abstracted by one experienced reviewer. Methods were appraised using the A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) tool. Descriptive analysis was performed. Reporting the use of a protocol ranged from 4% for rapid reviews to 32% for systematic reviews. The use of two reviewers for citation and full-text screening ranged from 20% for scoping reviews to 60% for NMAs. Data abstraction was performed in duplicate for 11% of rapid reviews and 54% of NMAs, and for risk of bias appraisal, this ranged from 6% for scoping reviews to 41% for NMAs. NMAs had the highest median percentage of maximum obtainable AMSTAR score (64%; Q1-Q3:45-73%), while scoping reviews had the lowest (25%; Q1-Q3:13-38%). NMAs consistently scored the highest on the AMSTAR tool likely because the purpose is to estimate treatment effects statistically. Scoping reviews scored the lowest (even after adjusting the score for not relevant items) likely because the purpose is to characterize the literature. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Symptoms of somatization as a rapid screening tool for mitochondrial dysfunction in depression

PubMed Central

Gardner, Ann; Boles, Richard G

2008-01-01

Aims Somatic symptomatology is common in depression, and is often attributed to the Freudian-inspired concept of "somatization". While the same somatic symptoms and depression are common in mitochondrial disease, in cases with concurrent mood symptoms the diagnosis of a mitochondrial disorder and related therapy are typically delayed for many years. A short screening tool that can identify patients with depression at high risk for having underlying mitochondrial dysfunction is presented. Methods Six items of the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP) were found to differentiate among 21 chronically-depressed Swedish subjects with low versus normal muscle ATP production rates. A screening tool consisting of the six KSP questions was validated in the relatives of American genetics clinic patients, including in 24 matrilineal relatives in families with maternally inherited mitochondrial disease and in 30 control relatives. Results Among the depressed Swedish patients, the screening tool was positive in 13/14 with low and 1/7 with normal mitochondrial function (P = 0.0003). Applied to the American relatives of patients, the screening tool was positive in 13/24 matrilineal relatives and in 1/30 control relatives (P = 2 × 10-5). Conclusion Our preliminary data suggest that a small number of specific somatic-related questions can be constructed into a valid screening tool for cases at high risk for having a component of energy metabolism in their pathogenesis. PMID:18294386

HENRY'S LAW CALCULATOR

EPA Science Inventory

On-Site was developed to provide modelers and model reviewers with prepackaged tools ("calculators") for performing site assessment calculations. The philosophy behind OnSite is that the convenience of the prepackaged calculators helps provide consistency for simple calculations,...

Hydrogen Financial Analysis Scenario Tool (H2FAST). Web Tool User's Manual

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

Bush, B.; Penev, M.; Melaina, M.

The Hydrogen Financial Analysis Scenario Tool (H2FAST) provides a quick and convenient indepth financial analysis for hydrogen fueling stations. This manual describes how to use the H2FAST web tool, which is one of three H2FAST formats developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Although all of the formats are based on the same financial computations and conform to generally accepted accounting principles (FASAB 2014, Investopedia 2014), each format provides a different level of complexity and user interactivity.

Exploring Student Teachers' Views on ePortfolios as an Empowering Tool to Enhance Self-Directed Learning in an Online Teacher Education Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Wyk, Micheal M.

2017-01-01

This paper explores Economics student teachers' views on ePortfolios as an empowering tool to enhance self-directed learning in an online teacher education course. An interpretive phenomenological research approach was employed for data collection and a purposive convenient sampling technique was selected to collect data. Only Postgraduate…

The Role of Self-Efficacy in Predicting Use of Distance Education Tools and Learning Management Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arpaci, Ibrahim

2017-01-01

This study aims to investigate the role of self-efficacy in predicting students' use of distance education tools and learning management systems (LMSs). A total of 124 undergraduate students who enrolled in a course on Distance Education and selected using convenience sampling willingly participated in the study. The participants had little prior…

Self-reported history of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) and STI-related utilization of the German health care system by men who have sex with men: data from a large convenience sample.

PubMed

Schmidt, Axel J; Marcus, Ulrich

2011-05-18

In Germany, testing and treatment of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) services are not provided by one medical discipline, but rather dispersed among many different providers. Common STIs like gonorrhoea or Chlamydia infection are not routinely reported. Although men who have sex with men (MSM) are particularly vulnerable to STIs, respective health care utilization among MSM is largely unknown. A sexual behaviour survey among MSM was conducted in 2006. Questions on self-reported sexual behaviour, STI-related health care consultation and barriers to access, coverage of vaccination against hepatitis, screening for asymptomatic STIs, self-reported history of STIs, and partner notification were analysed. Analysis was stratified by HIV-serostatus (3,511 HIV-negative/unknown versus 874 positive). General Practitioners, particularly gay doctors, were preferred for STI-related health care. Low threshold testing in sex-associated venues was acceptable for most respondents. Shame and fear of homophobic reactions were the main barriers for STI-testing. More than half of the respondents reported vaccination against hepatitis A/B. HIV-positive MSM reported screening offers for STIs three to seven times more often than HIV-negative or untested MSM. Unlike testing for syphilis or hepatitis C, screening for asymptomatic pharyngeal and rectal infections was rarely offered. STIs in the previous twelve months were reported by 7.1% of HIV-negative/untested, and 34.7% of HIV-positive respondents. Self-reported histories of STIs in MSM convenience samples differ significantly by HIV-serostatus. Higher rates of STIs among HIV-positive MSM may partly be explained by more testing. Communication between health care providers and their clients about sexuality, sexual practices, and sexual risks should be improved. A comprehensive STI screening policy for MSM is needed.

A PDA study management tool (SMT) utilizing wireless broadband and full DICOM viewing capability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Documet, Jorge; Liu, Brent; Zhou, Zheng; Huang, H. K.; Documet, Luis

2007-03-01

During the last 4 years IPI (Image Processing and Informatics) Laboratory has been developing a web-based Study Management Tool (SMT) application that allows Radiologists, Film librarians and PACS-related (Picture Archiving and Communication System) users to dynamically and remotely perform Query/Retrieve operations in a PACS network. The users utilizing a regular PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) can remotely query a PACS archive to distribute any study to an existing DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) node. This application which has proven to be convenient to manage the Study Workflow [1, 2] has been extended to include a DICOM viewing capability in the PDA. With this new feature, users can take a quick view of DICOM images providing them mobility and convenience at the same time. In addition, we are extending this application to Metropolitan-Area Wireless Broadband Networks. This feature requires Smart Phones that are capable of working as a PDA and have access to Broadband Wireless Services. With the extended application to wireless broadband technology and the preview of DICOM images, the Study Management Tool becomes an even more powerful tool for clinical workflow management.

IT-based wellness tools for older adults: Design concepts and feedback.

PubMed

Joe, Jonathan; Hall, Amanda; Chi, Nai-Ching; Thompson, Hilaire; Demiris, George

2018-03-01

To explore older adults' preferences regarding e-health applications through use of generated concepts that inform wellness tool design. The 6-8-5 method and affinity mapping were used to create e-health design ideas that were translated into storyboards and scenarios. Focus groups were conducted to obtain feedback on the prototypes and included participant sketching. A qualitative analysis of the focus groups for emerging themes was conducted, and sketches were analyzed. Forty-three older adults participated in six focus group sessions. The majority of participants found the wellness tools useful. Preferences included features that supported participants in areas of unmet needs, such as ability to find reliable health information, cognitive training, or maintaining social ties. Participants favored features such as use of voice navigation, but were concerned over cost and the need for technology skills and access. Sketches reinforced these wants, including portability, convenience, and simplicity. Several factors were found to increase the desirability of such devices including convenient access to their health and health information, a simple, accessible interface, and support for memory issues. Researchers and designers should incorporate the feedback of older adults regarding wellness tools, so that future designs meet the needs of older adults.

Prediction of Persistent Musculoskeletal Pain at 12 Months: A Secondary Analysis of the Optimal Screening for Prediction of Referral and Outcome (OSPRO) Validation Cohort Study.

PubMed

Beneciuk, Jason M; Lentz, Trevor A; He, Ying; Wu, Samuel S; George, Steven Z

2018-05-01

Musculoskeletal pain is a societal epidemic because it is highly prevalent and a leading contributor to disability; however, physical therapists are still challenged when predicting which patients are at high risk for persistent symptoms. The objectives of this study were to identify patient characteristics predictive of persistent musculoskeletal pain 12 months following physical therapist care and to determine the influence of anatomical region. The design included a secondary analysis of a cohort study. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 65 years, had a primary report of knee, shoulder, back, or neck pain, were receiving physical therapy, and were enrolled in the Orthopedic Physical Therapy Investigative Network (OPT-IN) Optimal Screening for Prediction of Referral and Outcome (OSPRO) validation cohort study. Candidate predictor variables included demographic and clinical characteristics, comorbidities, and OSPRO Review of Systems (OSPRO-ROS) and OSPRO Yellow Flag (OSPRO-YF) tool scores. Persistent musculoskeletal pain was assessed by self-report responses to questions on the duration of pain and activity limitation. Logistic regression was used for completed cases to identify predictors of persistent pain at 12 months in full and parsimonious models. Follow-up assessment at 12 months was performed for 63.4% of participants (279/440). Participants with persistent pain at 12 months (n = 101; 36.2%) had more comorbidities, higher numerical pain rating scale scores, and higher OSPRO-ROS and OSPRO-YF tool scores at baseline than those without persistent pain, and the findings were independent of anatomical region. The number of comorbidities (odds ratio [OR] range = 0.30-0.46), numerical pain rating scale scores (OR at baseline = 1.44-1.75; OR at 4 weeks = 1.37-1.39), and OSPRO-ROS (plus additional items) scores (OR = 1.33-1.54) were predictors in full and parsimonious models. Convenience sampling was used, with a follow-up rate at 12 months (63.4%) that was lower than anticipated, and an operational definition for chronic low back pain was applied to persistent musculoskeletal pain in other body regions. The OSPRO-ROS tool may be used to improve the prediction of persistent musculoskeletal pain at 12 months in conjunction with comorbidities and pain intensity (baseline and 4 weeks). These are potentially important findings because persistent pain was not commonly evaluated in previous screening studies; however, it is a relevant outcome in an era of front-line nonpharmacological pain management.

Valuing Equal Protection in Aviation Security Screening.

PubMed

Nguyen, Kenneth D; Rosoff, Heather; John, Richard S

2017-12-01

The growing number of anti-terrorism policies has elevated public concerns about discrimination. Within the context of airport security screening, the current study examines how American travelers value the principle of equal protection by quantifying the "equity premium" that they are willing to sacrifice to avoid screening procedures that result in differential treatments. In addition, we applied the notion of procedural justice to explore the effect of alternative selective screening procedures on the value of equal protection. Two-hundred and twenty-two respondents were randomly assigned to one of three selective screening procedures: (1) randomly, (2) using behavioral indicators, or (3) based on demographic characteristics. They were asked to choose between airlines using either an equal or a discriminatory screening procedure. While the former requires all passengers to be screened in the same manner, the latter mandates all passengers undergo a quick primary screening and, in addition, some passengers are selected for a secondary screening based on a predetermined selection criterion. Equity premiums were quantified in terms of monetary cost, wait time, convenience, and safety compromise. Results show that equity premiums varied greatly across respondents, with many indicating little willingness to sacrifice to avoid inequitable screening, and a smaller minority willing to sacrifice anything to avoid the discriminatory screening. The selective screening manipulation was effective in that equity premiums were greater under selection by demographic characteristics compared to the other two procedures. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

Colorectal cancer screening barriers in persons with low income.

PubMed

Holmes-Rovner, Margaret; Williams, Gilbert A; Hoppough, Susan; Quillan, Lisa; Butler, Rishan; Given, C William

2002-01-01

The purpose of this study was to provide insight into the modest success of a physician and patient education and reminder program that improved screening rates from 37% to 49% among rural Medicaid-eligible patients in western Michigan. The following four focus groups were conducted: African American men, African American women, White men, and White women, matched with moderators by gender and ethnicity. The sample was selected by contacting prior eligible screening refusers, completing groups with a convenience sample who had accepted screening. Twenty-one patients participated who were ages >50 years. The screening refusal rates were 19% for men and 9% for women. Open-ended questions guided the discussion of colorectal cancer (CRC) attitudes, beliefs, and practices. All participants believed in the efficacy of cancer screening. White women were better informed about screening purposes and procedures. The major barriers to screening were quality of care (ie, the perceived lack of offering screening and the follow-up of test results) and the potential for pain from screening or treatment of CRC, should it be discovered. Successful efforts to improve awareness of the importance and efficacy of screening must further address deeply held skepticism and fears about CRC screening in this population. A fruitful direction for this difficult problem appears to be improved communication (both negative and positive test results). Without feedback, patients with negative results may assume lack of provider follow-through.

[Screening of adverse childhood experiences in preschoolers: scoping review].

PubMed

Vega-Arce, Maribel; Núñez-Ulloa, Gastón

The aim of the present article was to describe available scientific publications detailing strategies and screening tools for Adverse Childhood Experiences in preschoolers (2 to 5 years of age). A scoping review of the topic was carried out through investigative articles published in peer review journals from January 1998 to June 2017 and indexed in seven international databases (Cochrane Library, EBSCO, PubMed, Science Direct, Springer, Web of Science and Scielo). The articles were selected based on predefined criteria, using limiters and manual screening. Twenty articles published between 1999 and 2017 were selected. The screening of adverse childhood experiences is performed through opportunistic recruitment in a professional context aimed at caregivers and children, which integrates training actions, application of screening tools and reception of identified cases. Screening tools differ between interviews and questionnaires. Furthermore, we report the periodicity of the screening, the behaviors and beliefs of the professionals against it and the barriers to its implementation. This review confirms that the screening of Adverse Childhood Experiences is an emerging topic in the research field. We emphasize the need to systematize and evaluate the strategies and tools for screening Adverse Childhood Experiences, as well as to develop local approaches to respond to the needs of children exposed to adversity. Copyright © 2017 Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez. Publicado por Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

A Screening Tool for Assessing Alcohol Use Risk among Medically Vulnerable Youth.

PubMed

Levy, Sharon; Dedeoglu, Fatma; Gaffin, Jonathan M; Garvey, Katharine C; Harstad, Elizabeth; MacGinnitie, Andrew; Rufo, Paul A; Huang, Qian; Ziemnik, Rosemary E; Wisk, Lauren E; Weitzman, Elissa R

2016-01-01

In an effort to reduce barriers to screening for alcohol use in pediatric primary care, the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) developed a two-question Youth Alcohol Screening Tool derived from population-based survey data. It is unknown whether this screening tool, designed for use with general populations, accurately identifies risk among youth with chronic medical conditions (YCMC). This growing population, which comprises nearly one in four youth in the US, faces a unique constellation of drinking-related risks. To validate the NIAAA Youth Alcohol Screening Tool in a population of YCMC, we performed a cross-sectional validation study with a sample of 388 youth ages 9-18 years presenting for routine subspecialty care at a large children's hospital for type 1 diabetes, persistent asthma, cystic fibrosis, inflammatory bowel disease, or juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Participants self-administered the NIAAA Youth Alcohol Screening Tool and the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children as a criterion standard measure of alcohol use disorders (AUD). Receiver operating curve analysis was used to determine cut points for identifying youth at moderate and highest risk for an AUD. Nearly one third of participants (n = 118; 30.4%) reported alcohol use in the past year; 86.4% (106) of past year drinkers did not endorse any AUD criteria, 6.8% (n = 8) of drinkers endorsed a single criterion, and 6.8% of drinkers met criteria for an AUD. Using the NIAAA tool, optimal cut points found to identify youth at moderate and highest risk for an AUD were ≥ 6 and ≥12 drinking days in the past year, respectively. The NIAAA Youth Alcohol Screening Tool is highly efficient for detecting alcohol use and discriminating disordered use among YCMC. This brief screen appears feasible for use in specialty care to ascertain alcohol-related risk that may impact adversely on health status and disease management.

A Screening Tool for Assessing Alcohol Use Risk among Medically Vulnerable Youth

PubMed Central

Levy, Sharon; Dedeoglu, Fatma; Gaffin, Jonathan M.; Garvey, Katharine C.; Harstad, Elizabeth; MacGinnitie, Andrew; Rufo, Paul A.; Huang, Qian; Ziemnik, Rosemary E.; Wisk, Lauren E.; Weitzman, Elissa R.

2016-01-01

Background In an effort to reduce barriers to screening for alcohol use in pediatric primary care, the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) developed a two-question Youth Alcohol Screening Tool derived from population-based survey data. It is unknown whether this screening tool, designed for use with general populations, accurately identifies risk among youth with chronic medical conditions (YCMC). This growing population, which comprises nearly one in four youth in the US, faces a unique constellation of drinking-related risks. Method To validate the NIAAA Youth Alcohol Screening Tool in a population of YCMC, we performed a cross-sectional validation study with a sample of 388 youth ages 9–18 years presenting for routine subspecialty care at a large children’s hospital for type 1 diabetes, persistent asthma, cystic fibrosis, inflammatory bowel disease, or juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Participants self-administered the NIAAA Youth Alcohol Screening Tool and the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children as a criterion standard measure of alcohol use disorders (AUD). Receiver operating curve analysis was used to determine cut points for identifying youth at moderate and highest risk for an AUD. Results Nearly one third of participants (n = 118; 30.4%) reported alcohol use in the past year; 86.4% (106) of past year drinkers did not endorse any AUD criteria, 6.8% (n = 8) of drinkers endorsed a single criterion, and 6.8% of drinkers met criteria for an AUD. Using the NIAAA tool, optimal cut points found to identify youth at moderate and highest risk for an AUD were ≥ 6 and ≥12 drinking days in the past year, respectively. Conclusions The NIAAA Youth Alcohol Screening Tool is highly efficient for detecting alcohol use and discriminating disordered use among YCMC. This brief screen appears feasible for use in specialty care to ascertain alcohol-related risk that may impact adversely on health status and disease management. PMID:27227975

Nutritional screening in hospitalized pediatric patients: a systematic review.

PubMed

Teixeira, Adriana Fonseca; Viana, Kátia Danielle Araújo Lourenço

2016-01-01

This systematic review aimed to verify the available scientific evidence on the clinical performance and diagnostic accuracy of nutritional screening tools in hospitalized pediatric patients. A search was performed in the Medline (National Library of Medicine United States), LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences), PubMed (US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health), in the SCIELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online), through CAPES portal (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior), bases Scopus e Web of Science. The descriptors used in accordance with the Descriptors in Health Sciences (DeCS)/Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list were "malnutrition", "screening", and "pediatrics", as well as the equivalent words in Portuguese. The authors identified 270 articles published between 2004 and 2014. After applying the selection criteria, 35 were analyzed in full and eight articles were included in the systematic review. We evaluated the methodological quality of the studies using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS). Five nutritional screening tools in pediatrics were identified. Among these, the Screening Tool for the Assessment of Malnutrition in Pediatrics (STAMP) showed high sensitivity, almost perfect inter-rater agreement and between the screening and the reference standard; the Screening Tool Risk on Nutritional Status and Growth (STRONGkids) showed high sensitivity, lower percentage of specificity, substantial intra-rater agreement, and ease of use in clinical practice. The studies included in this systematic review showed good performance of the nutritional screening tools in pediatrics, especially STRONGkids and STAMP. The authors emphasize the need to perform for more studies in this area. Only one tool was translated and adapted to the Brazilian pediatric population, and it is essential to carry out studies of tool adaptation and validation for this population. Copyright © 2016 Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Screening in toddlers and preschoolers at risk for autism spectrum disorder: Evaluating a novel mobile-health screening tool.

PubMed

Kanne, Stephen M; Carpenter, Laura Arnstein; Warren, Zachary

2018-05-07

There are many available tools with varying levels of accuracy designed to screen for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in young children, both in the general population and specifically among those referred for developmental concerns. With burgeoning waitlists for comprehensive diagnostic ASD assessments, finding accurate methods and tools for advancing diagnostic triage becomes increasingly important. The current study compares the efficacy of four oft used paper and pencil measures, the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers Revised with Follow-up, the Social Responsiveness Scale, Second Edition, and the Social Communication Questionnaire, and the Child Behavior Checklist to a novel mobile-health screening tool developed by Cognoa, Inc. (Cognoa) in a group of children 18-72 months of age. The Cognoa tool may have potential benefits as it integrates a series of parent-report questions with remote clinical ratings of brief video segments uploaded via parent's smartphones to calculate level of ASD risk. Participants were referred to one of three tertiary care diagnostic centers for ASD-related concerns (n = 230) and received a best estimate ASD diagnosis. Analysis and comparison of psychometric properties indicated potential advantages for Cognoa within this clinical sample across age ranges not often covered by another single measure/tool. Autism Res 2018. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. With the wait times getting longer for comprehensive Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnostic assessments, it is becoming increasingly important to find accurate tools to screen for ASD. The current study compares four screening measures that have been in use for some time to a novel mobile-health screening tool, called Cognoa. The Cognoa tool is novel because it integrates parent-report questions with clinical ratings of brief video segments uploaded via parent's smartphones to calculate ASD risk. Two hundred thirty children who were referred to one of three ASD specialty diagnostic centers to see if they had ASD participated in the study. A direct comparison indicated potential advantages for Cognoa not often covered by another single measure/tool. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Accuracy of a Screening Tool for Early Identification of Language Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uilenburg, Noëlle; Wiefferink, Karin; Verkerk, Paul; van Denderen, Margot; van Schie, Carla; Oudesluys-Murphy, Ann-Marie

2018-01-01

Purpose: A screening tool called the "VTO Language Screening Instrument" (VTO-LSI) was developed to enable more uniform and earlier detection of language impairment. This report, consisting of 2 retrospective studies, focuses on the effects of using the VTO-LSI compared to regular detection procedures. Method: Study 1 retrospectively…

Screen Media Use in Hospitalized Children.

PubMed

Arora, Gitanjli; Soares, Neelkamal; Li, Ning; Zimmerman, Frederick J

2016-05-01

Screen media overuse is associated with negative physical and mental health effects in children. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting screen media use at home; however, there are no similar guidelines for children's hospitals. This study was conducted to explore caregiver (parent or other guardian) perceptions about screen media use, compare at-home with in-hospital screen media use, and measure screen use among hospitalized children. We obtained data from a convenience cohort of hospitalized children at a single, comprehensive tertiary care children's hospital over 3 periods of 2 weeks each from 2013 to 2014. Home and hospital screen media use was measured through survey and study personnel directly observed hospital screen use. Descriptive statistics are reported and generalized estimating equation was used to identify characteristics associated with screen media use. Observation (n = 1490 observations) revealed screen media on 80.3% of the time the hospitalized child was in the room and awake, and 47.8% of observations with direct attention to a screen. Surveyed caregivers reported their child engaging in significantly more screen media use in the hospital setting as compared with home, and 42% of caregivers reported the amount of screen time used by their child in the hospital was more than they would have liked. Hospitalized children have access to a variety of screen media, and this media is used at rates far higher than recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Children's hospitals should consider developing guidelines for screen media use. Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics

Automated cell analysis tool for a genome-wide RNAi screen with support vector machine based supervised learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Remmele, Steffen; Ritzerfeld, Julia; Nickel, Walter; Hesser, Jürgen

2011-03-01

RNAi-based high-throughput microscopy screens have become an important tool in biological sciences in order to decrypt mostly unknown biological functions of human genes. However, manual analysis is impossible for such screens since the amount of image data sets can often be in the hundred thousands. Reliable automated tools are thus required to analyse the fluorescence microscopy image data sets usually containing two or more reaction channels. The herein presented image analysis tool is designed to analyse an RNAi screen investigating the intracellular trafficking and targeting of acylated Src kinases. In this specific screen, a data set consists of three reaction channels and the investigated cells can appear in different phenotypes. The main issue of the image processing task is an automatic cell segmentation which has to be robust and accurate for all different phenotypes and a successive phenotype classification. The cell segmentation is done in two steps by segmenting the cell nuclei first and then using a classifier-enhanced region growing on basis of the cell nuclei to segment the cells. The classification of the cells is realized by a support vector machine which has to be trained manually using supervised learning. Furthermore, the tool is brightness invariant allowing different staining quality and it provides a quality control that copes with typical defects during preparation and acquisition. A first version of the tool has already been successfully applied for an RNAi-screen containing three hundred thousand image data sets and the SVM extended version is designed for additional screens.

Comparison of two nutritional screening tools to detect nutritional risk in hematologic inpatients.

PubMed

Fiol-Martínez, Lucía; Calleja-Fernández, Alicia; Pintor de la Maza, Begoña; Vidal-Casariego, Alfonso; Villar-Taibo, Rocío; Urioste-Fondo, Ana; Cuervo, Marta; Cano-Rodríguez, Isidoro; Ballesteros-Pomar, María D

2017-02-01

The aim of the study was to compare two nutritional screening tools in oncohematologic inpatients. A cross-sectional study was performed in a hematology ward from August to December 2015. Within the first 24 h of admission, the following nutritional screenings were performed: Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST), and Subjective Global Assessment (SGA). Patients who stayed in the hematologic ward were reevaluated with the three screening tools 1 and 2 wk after admission. The SGA was used as the gold standard in the detection of malnutrition. Sixty-three patients were included in the study. Of these, 61.9% were men, ages 64 y (SD = 17.9 y) with 90.5% having a diagnosis of cancer. The prevalence of patients with nutritional risk at admission was 17.5% with SGA, 16.7% at week 1, and 31.6% at week 2. According to MST, the prevalence was 41.3% at admission, 13.9% at week 1, and 15.8% at week 2. According to MUST, the prevalence was 36.5%, 25%, and 36.8%, respectively. The results of diagnostic tests on admission were an area under the curve receiver operating characteristic of 0.691 for MST and 0.830 for MUST at admission; at week 1, 0.717 for MST and 0.850 for MUST; and at week 2 of assessment, 0.506 for MST and 0.840 for MUST. MUST might be a better screening tool than MST for detecting the risk for malnutrition in oncohematological inpatients. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated Diabetic Retinopathy Screening and Monitoring Using Retinal Fundus Image Analysis.

PubMed

Bhaskaranand, Malavika; Ramachandra, Chaithanya; Bhat, Sandeep; Cuadros, Jorge; Nittala, Muneeswar Gupta; Sadda, SriniVas; Solanki, Kaushal

2016-02-16

Diabetic retinopathy (DR)-a common complication of diabetes-is the leading cause of vision loss among the working-age population in the western world. DR is largely asymptomatic, but if detected at early stages the progression to vision loss can be significantly slowed. With the increasing diabetic population there is an urgent need for automated DR screening and monitoring. To address this growing need, in this article we discuss an automated DR screening tool and extend it for automated estimation of microaneurysm (MA) turnover, a potential biomarker for DR risk. The DR screening tool automatically analyzes color retinal fundus images from a patient encounter for the various DR pathologies and collates the information from all the images belonging to a patient encounter to generate a patient-level screening recommendation. The MA turnover estimation tool aligns retinal images from multiple encounters of a patient, localizes MAs, and performs MA dynamics analysis to evaluate new, persistent, and disappeared lesion maps and estimate MA turnover rates. The DR screening tool achieves 90% sensitivity at 63.2% specificity on a data set of 40 542 images from 5084 patient encounters obtained from the EyePACS telescreening system. On a subset of 7 longitudinal pairs the MA turnover estimation tool identifies new and disappeared MAs with 100% sensitivity and average false positives of 0.43 and 1.6 respectively. The presented automated tools have the potential to address the growing need for DR screening and monitoring, thereby saving vision of millions of diabetic patients worldwide. © 2016 Diabetes Technology Society.

Water Distribution System Risk Tool for Investment Planning (WaterRF Report 4332)

EPA Science Inventory

Product Description/Abstract The product consists of the Pipe Risk Screening Tool (PRST), and a report on the development and use of the tool. The PRST is a software-based screening aid to identify and rank candidate pipes for actions that range from active monitoring (including...

Newborn Screening

MedlinePlus

... Laboratory Sciences Office of Public Health Genomics Publications & Articles Newborn Screening Lab Bulletin Laboratory Partners Multimedia Tools Newborn Screening Program – Role of Laboratories Meet the Scientist Newborn Screening: Family Stories Newborn Screening: Public Health ...

Evaluation of the efficacy of nutritional screening tools to predict malnutrition in the elderly at a geriatric care hospital

PubMed Central

Baek, Myoung-Ha

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Malnutrition in the elderly is a serious problem, prevalent in both hospitals and care homes. Due to the absence of a gold standard for malnutrition, herein we evaluate the efficacy of five nutritional screening tools developed or used for the elderly. SUBJECTS/METHODS Elected medical records of 141 elderly patients (86 men and 55 women, aged 73.5 ± 5.2 years) hospitalized at a geriatric care hospital were analyzed. Nutritional screening was performed using the following tools: Mini Nutrition Assessment (MNA), Mini Nutrition Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF), Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI), Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) and Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS 2002). A combined index for malnutrition was also calculated as a reference tool. Each patient evaluated as malnourished to any degree or at risk of malnutrition according to at least four out of five of the aforementioned tools was categorized as malnourished in the combined index classification. RESULTS According to the combined index, 44.0% of the patients were at risk of malnutrition to some degree. While the nutritional risk and/or malnutrition varied greatly depending on the tool applied, ranging from 36.2% (MUST) to 72.3% (MNA-SF). MUST showed good validity (sensitivity 80.6%, specificity 98.7%) and almost perfect agreement (k = 0.81) with the combined index. In contrast, MNA-SF showed poor validity (sensitivity 100%, specificity 49.4%) and only moderate agreement (k = 0.46) with the combined index. CONCLUSIONS MNA-SF was found to overestimate the nutritional risk in the elderly. MUST appeared to be the most valid and useful screening tool to predict malnutrition in the elderly at a geriatric care hospital. PMID:26634053

Evaluation of the efficacy of nutritional screening tools to predict malnutrition in the elderly at a geriatric care hospital.

PubMed

Baek, Myoung-Ha; Heo, Young-Ran

2015-12-01

Malnutrition in the elderly is a serious problem, prevalent in both hospitals and care homes. Due to the absence of a gold standard for malnutrition, herein we evaluate the efficacy of five nutritional screening tools developed or used for the elderly. Elected medical records of 141 elderly patients (86 men and 55 women, aged 73.5 ± 5.2 years) hospitalized at a geriatric care hospital were analyzed. Nutritional screening was performed using the following tools: Mini Nutrition Assessment (MNA), Mini Nutrition Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF), Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI), Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) and Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS 2002). A combined index for malnutrition was also calculated as a reference tool. Each patient evaluated as malnourished to any degree or at risk of malnutrition according to at least four out of five of the aforementioned tools was categorized as malnourished in the combined index classification. According to the combined index, 44.0% of the patients were at risk of malnutrition to some degree. While the nutritional risk and/or malnutrition varied greatly depending on the tool applied, ranging from 36.2% (MUST) to 72.3% (MNA-SF). MUST showed good validity (sensitivity 80.6%, specificity 98.7%) and almost perfect agreement (k = 0.81) with the combined index. In contrast, MNA-SF showed poor validity (sensitivity 100%, specificity 49.4%) and only moderate agreement (k = 0.46) with the combined index. MNA-SF was found to overestimate the nutritional risk in the elderly. MUST appeared to be the most valid and useful screening tool to predict malnutrition in the elderly at a geriatric care hospital.

Cognitive screening tools for identification of dementia in illiterate and low-educated older adults, a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Paddick, Stella-Maria; Gray, William K; McGuire, Jackie; Richardson, Jenny; Dotchin, Catherine; Walker, Richard W

2017-06-01

The majority of older adults with dementia live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Illiteracy and low educational background are common in older LMIC populations, particularly in rural areas, and cognitive screening tools developed for this setting must reflect this. This study aimed to review published validation studies of cognitive screening tools for dementia in low-literacy settings in order to determine the most appropriate tools for use. A systematic search of major databases was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. Validation studies of brief cognitive screening tests including illiterate participants or those with elementary education were eligible. Studies were quality assessed using the QUADAS-2 tool. Good or fair quality studies were included in a bivariate random-effects meta-analysis and a hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic (HSROC) curve constructed. Forty-five eligible studies were quality assessed. A significant proportion utilized a case-control design, resulting in spectrum bias. The area under the ROC (AUROC) curve was 0.937 for community/low prevalence studies, 0.881 for clinic based/higher prevalence studies, and 0.869 for illiterate populations. For the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) (and adaptations), the AUROC curve was 0.853. Numerous tools for assessment of cognitive impairment in low-literacy settings have been developed, and tools developed for use in high-income countries have also been validated in low-literacy settings. Most tools have been inadequately validated, with only MMSE, cognitive abilities screening instrument (CASI), Eurotest, and Fototest having more than one published good or fair quality study in an illiterate or low-literate setting. At present no screening test can be recommended.

Reporting completeness and transparency of meta-analyses of depression screening tool accuracy: A comparison of meta-analyses published before and after the PRISMA statement.

PubMed

Rice, Danielle B; Kloda, Lorie A; Shrier, Ian; Thombs, Brett D

2016-08-01

Meta-analyses that are conducted rigorously and reported completely and transparently can provide accurate evidence to inform the best possible healthcare decisions. Guideline makers have raised concerns about the utility of existing evidence on the diagnostic accuracy of depression screening tools. The objective of our study was to evaluate the transparency and completeness of reporting in meta-analyses of the diagnostic accuracy of depression screening tools using the PRISMA tool adapted for diagnostic test accuracy meta-analyses. We searched MEDLINE and PsycINFO from January 1, 2005 through March 13, 2016 for recent meta-analyses in any language on the diagnostic accuracy of depression screening tools. Two reviewers independently assessed the transparency in reporting using the PRISMA tool with appropriate adaptations made for studies of diagnostic test accuracy. We identified 21 eligible meta-analyses. Twelve of 21 meta-analyses complied with at least 50% of adapted PRISMA items. Of 30 adapted PRISMA items, 11 were fulfilled by ≥80% of included meta-analyses, 3 by 50-79% of meta-analyses, 7 by 25-45% of meta-analyses, and 9 by <25%. On average, post-PRISMA meta-analyses complied with 17 of 30 items compared to 13 of 30 items pre-PRISMA. Deficiencies in the transparency of reporting in meta-analyses of the diagnostic test accuracy of depression screening tools of meta-analyses were identified. Authors, reviewers, and editors should adhere to the PRISMA statement to improve the reporting of meta-analyses of the diagnostic accuracy of depression screening tools. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Molecular diagnosis of malaria by photo-induced electron transfer fluorogenic primers: PET-PCR.

PubMed

Lucchi, Naomi W; Narayanan, Jothikumar; Karell, Mara A; Xayavong, Maniphet; Kariuki, Simon; DaSilva, Alexandre J; Hill, Vincent; Udhayakumar, Venkatachalam

2013-01-01

There is a critical need for developing new malaria diagnostic tools that are sensitive, cost effective and capable of performing large scale diagnosis. The real-time PCR methods are particularly robust for large scale screening and they can be used in malaria control and elimination programs. We have designed novel self-quenching photo-induced electron transfer (PET) fluorogenic primers for the detection of P. falciparum and the Plasmodium genus by real-time PCR. A total of 119 samples consisting of different malaria species and mixed infections were used to test the utility of the novel PET-PCR primers in the diagnosis of clinical samples. The sensitivity and specificity were calculated using a nested PCR as the gold standard and the novel primer sets demonstrated 100% sensitivity and specificity. The limits of detection for P. falciparum was shown to be 3.2 parasites/µl using both Plasmodium genus and P. falciparum-specific primers and 5.8 parasites/µl for P. ovale, 3.5 parasites/µl for P. malariae and 5 parasites/µl for P. vivax using the genus specific primer set. Moreover, the reaction can be duplexed to detect both Plasmodium spp. and P. falciparum in a single reaction. The PET-PCR assay does not require internal probes or intercalating dyes which makes it convenient to use and less expensive than other real-time PCR diagnostic formats. Further validation of this technique in the field will help to assess its utility for large scale screening in malaria control and elimination programs.

Population Screening Using Sewage Reveals Pan-Resistant Bacteria in Hospital and Community Samples.

PubMed

Meir-Gruber, Lital; Manor, Yossi; Gefen-Halevi, Shiraz; Hindiyeh, Musa Y; Mileguir, Fernando; Azar, Roberto; Smollan, Gill; Belausov, Natasha; Rahav, Galia; Shamiss, Ari; Mendelson, Ella; Keller, Nathan

2016-01-01

The presence of pan-resistant bacteria worldwide possesses a threat to global health. It is difficult to evaluate the extent of carriage of resistant bacteria in the population. Sewage sampling is a possible way to monitor populations. We evaluated the presence of pan-resistant bacteria in Israeli sewage collected from all over Israel, by modifying the pour plate method for heterotrophic plate count technique using commercial selective agar plates. This method enables convenient and fast sewage sampling and detection. We found that sewage in Israel contains multiple pan-resistant bacteria including carbapenemase resistant Enterobacteriacae carrying blaKPC and blaNDM-1, MRSA and VRE. blaKPC carrying Klebsiella pneumonia and Enterobacter cloacae were the most common Enterobacteriacae drug resistant bacteria found in the sewage locations we sampled. Klebsiella pneumonia, Enterobacter spp., Escherichia coli and Citrobacter spp. were the 4 main CRE isolated from Israeli sewage and also from clinical samples in our clinical microbiology laboratory. Hospitals and Community sewage had similar percentage of positive samplings for blaKPC and blaNDM-1. VRE was found to be more abundant in sewage in Israel than MRSA but there were more locations positive for MRSA and VRE bacteria in Hospital sewage than in the Community. Therefore, our upgrade of the pour plate method for heterotrophic plate count technique using commercial selective agar plates can be a useful tool for routine screening and monitoring of the population for pan-resistant bacteria using sewage.

Population Screening Using Sewage Reveals Pan-Resistant Bacteria in Hospital and Community Samples

PubMed Central

Mileguir, Fernando; Azar, Roberto; Smollan, Gill; Belausov, Natasha; Rahav, Galia; Shamiss, Ari; Mendelson, Ella; Keller, Nathan

2016-01-01

The presence of pan-resistant bacteria worldwide possesses a threat to global health. It is difficult to evaluate the extent of carriage of resistant bacteria in the population. Sewage sampling is a possible way to monitor populations. We evaluated the presence of pan-resistant bacteria in Israeli sewage collected from all over Israel, by modifying the pour plate method for heterotrophic plate count technique using commercial selective agar plates. This method enables convenient and fast sewage sampling and detection. We found that sewage in Israel contains multiple pan-resistant bacteria including carbapenemase resistant Enterobacteriacae carrying blaKPC and blaNDM-1, MRSA and VRE. blaKPC carrying Klebsiella pneumonia and Enterobacter cloacae were the most common Enterobacteriacae drug resistant bacteria found in the sewage locations we sampled. Klebsiella pneumonia, Enterobacter spp., Escherichia coli and Citrobacter spp. were the 4 main CRE isolated from Israeli sewage and also from clinical samples in our clinical microbiology laboratory. Hospitals and Community sewage had similar percentage of positive samplings for blaKPC and blaNDM-1. VRE was found to be more abundant in sewage in Israel than MRSA but there were more locations positive for MRSA and VRE bacteria in Hospital sewage than in the Community. Therefore, our upgrade of the pour plate method for heterotrophic plate count technique using commercial selective agar plates can be a useful tool for routine screening and monitoring of the population for pan-resistant bacteria using sewage. PMID:27780222

Detection of the Antimicrobial Triclosan in Environmental Samples by Immunoassay

PubMed Central

Ahn, Ki Chang; Ranganathan, Anupama; Bever, Candace S.; Hwang, Sung Hee; Holland, Erika B.; Morisseau, Kevin; Pessah, Isaac N.; Hammock, Bruce D.; Gee, Shirley J.

2016-01-01

A sensitive, competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of the antimicrobial triclosan (TCS; 2,4,4’-trichloro-2’-hydroxydiphenyl ether) was developed. Novel immunizing haptens were synthesized by derivatizing at the 4-Cl position of the TCS molecule. Compounds derived from substitutions at 4’-Cl and that replaced the 2’–OH with a –Cl were designed as unique coating antigen haptens. Polyclonal rabbit antisera were screened against the coating antigen library in order to identify combinations of immunoreagents resulting in the most sensitive assays. The most sensitive assay identified was one utilizing antiserum #1155 and a heterologous competitive hapten where the 2’–OH group was substituted with a Cl. An IC50 value and the detection range for TCS in assay buffer were 1.19 and 0.21–6.71 μg/L, respectively. The assay was selective for TCS, providing low cross-reactivity (< 5%) to the major metabolites of TCS and to brominated diphenyl ether-47. A second assay utilizing a competitive hapten containing Br instead of Cl substitutions was broadly selective for both brominated and chlorinated diphenylethers. Using the most sensitive assay combination, TCS concentrations were measured in water samples following dilution. Biosolid samples were analyzed following dilution of a simple solvent extract. The immunoassay results were similar to those determined by LC-MS/MS. This immunoassay can be used as a rapid and convenient tool to screen for human and environmental exposure. PMID:26937944

Detection of the Antimicrobial Triclosan in Environmental Samples by Immunoassay.

PubMed

Ahn, Ki Chang; Ranganathan, Anupama; Bever, Candace S; Hwang, Sung Hee; Holland, Erika B; Morisseau, Kevin; Pessah, Isaac N; Hammock, Bruce D; Gee, Shirley J

2016-04-05

A sensitive, competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of the antimicrobial triclosan (TCS; 2,4,4'-trichloro-2'-hydroxydiphenyl ether) was developed. Novel immunizing haptens were synthesized by derivatizing at the 4-Cl position of the TCS molecule. Compounds derived from substitutions at 4'-Cl and that replaced the 2'-OH with a Cl atom were designed as unique coating antigen haptens. Polyclonal rabbit antisera were screened against the coating antigen library to identify combinations of immunoreagents resulting in the most sensitive assays. The most sensitive assay identified was one utilizing antiserum no. 1155 and a heterologous competitive hapten, where the 2'-OH group was substituted with a Cl atom. An IC50 value and the detection range for TCS in assay buffer were 1.19 and 0.21-6.71 μg/L, respectively. The assay was selective for TCS, providing low cross-reactivity (<5%) to the major metabolites of TCS and to brominated diphenyl ether-47. A second assay utilizing a competitive hapten containing Br instead of Cl substitutions was broadly selective for both brominated and chlorinated diphenylethers. Using the most sensitive assay combination, we measured TCS concentrations in water samples following dilution. Biosolid samples were analyzed following the dilution of a simple solvent extract. The immunoassay results were similar to those determined by LC-MS/MS. This immunoassay can be used as a rapid and convenient tool to screen for human and environmental exposure.

A new biochromatography model based on DNA origami assembled PPARγ: construction and evaluation.

PubMed

Zhou, Jie; Meng, Lingchang; Sun, Chong; Chen, Shanshan; Sun, Fang; Luo, Pei; Zhao, Yongxing

2017-05-01

As drug targets, receptors have potential to screen drugs. Silica is an attractive support to immobilize receptors; however, the lack of biocompatibility makes it easier for receptors to lose bioactivity, which remains an obstacle to its widespread use. With the advantage of biocompatibility, DNA origami can be used as a biological carrier to improve the biocompatibility of silica and assemble receptors. In this study, a new biochromatography model based on DNA origami was constructed. A large quantity of M13ssDNA was used as a scaffold, leading to significant costs, so M13ssDNA was self-produced from the bacteriophage particles. This approach is demonstrated using the ligand binding domain of gamma isoform peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPARγ-LBD) as a research object. PPARγ-LBD was assembled on DNA origami carrier and then coupled on the surface of silica. The products were packed into the column as stationary phase to construct the biochromatography with the ability to recognize drugs. Affinity and specificity of the biochromatography model were evaluated by HPLC. The final results showed that the biochromatography could recognize rosiglitazone specifically, which further proved that the model could screen chemical compositions interacted with PPARγ. It was the first time to take advantage of DNA origami to assemble PPARγ to construct biochromatography. The new biochromatography model has the advantages of being efficient, convenient, and high-throughput. This method affords a new way to rapidly and conveniently screen active ingredients from complex sample plant extracts and natural product-like libraries.

Electrical safety device

DOEpatents

White, David B.

1991-01-01

An electrical safety device for use in power tools that is designed to automatically discontinue operation of the power tool upon physical contact of the tool with a concealed conductive material. A step down transformer is used to supply the operating power for a disconnect relay and a reset relay. When physical contact is made between the power tool and the conductive material, an electrical circuit through the disconnect relay is completed and the operation of the power tool is automatically interrupted. Once the contact between the tool and conductive material is broken, the power tool can be quickly and easily reactivated by a reset push button activating the reset relay. A remote reset is provided for convenience and efficiency of operation.

A functional glycoprotein competitive recognition and signal amplification strategy for carbohydrate-protein interaction profiling and cell surface carbohydrate expression evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yangzhong; Chen, Zhuhai; Liu, Yang; Li, Jinghong

2013-07-01

A simple and sensitive carbohydrate biosensor has been suggested as a potential tool for accurate analysis of cell surface carbohydrate expression as well as carbohydrate-based therapeutics for a variety of diseases and infections. In this work, a sensitive biosensor for carbohydrate-lectin profiling and in situ cell surface carbohydrate expression was designed by taking advantage of a functional glycoprotein of glucose oxidase acting as both a multivalent recognition unit and a signal amplification probe. Combining the gold nanoparticle catalyzed luminol electrogenerated chemiluminescence and nanocarrier for active biomolecules, the number of cell surface carbohydrate groups could be conveniently read out. The apparent dissociation constant between GOx@Au probes and Con A was detected to be 1.64 nM and was approximately 5 orders of magnitude smaller than that of mannose and Con A, which would arise from the multivalent effect between the probe and Con A. Both glycoproteins and gold nanoparticles contribute to the high affinity between carbohydrates and lectin. The as-proposed biosensor exhibits excellent analytical performance towards the cytosensing of K562 cells with a detection limit of 18 cells, and the mannose moieties on a single K562 cell were determined to be 1.8 × 1010. The biosensor can also act as a useful tool for antibacterial drug screening and mechanism investigation. This strategy integrates the excellent biocompatibility and multivalent recognition of glycoproteins as well as the significant enzymatic catalysis and gold nanoparticle signal amplification, and avoids the cell pretreatment and labelling process. This would contribute to the glycomic analysis and the understanding of complex native glycan-related biological processes.A simple and sensitive carbohydrate biosensor has been suggested as a potential tool for accurate analysis of cell surface carbohydrate expression as well as carbohydrate-based therapeutics for a variety of diseases and infections. In this work, a sensitive biosensor for carbohydrate-lectin profiling and in situ cell surface carbohydrate expression was designed by taking advantage of a functional glycoprotein of glucose oxidase acting as both a multivalent recognition unit and a signal amplification probe. Combining the gold nanoparticle catalyzed luminol electrogenerated chemiluminescence and nanocarrier for active biomolecules, the number of cell surface carbohydrate groups could be conveniently read out. The apparent dissociation constant between GOx@Au probes and Con A was detected to be 1.64 nM and was approximately 5 orders of magnitude smaller than that of mannose and Con A, which would arise from the multivalent effect between the probe and Con A. Both glycoproteins and gold nanoparticles contribute to the high affinity between carbohydrates and lectin. The as-proposed biosensor exhibits excellent analytical performance towards the cytosensing of K562 cells with a detection limit of 18 cells, and the mannose moieties on a single K562 cell were determined to be 1.8 × 1010. The biosensor can also act as a useful tool for antibacterial drug screening and mechanism investigation. This strategy integrates the excellent biocompatibility and multivalent recognition of glycoproteins as well as the significant enzymatic catalysis and gold nanoparticle signal amplification, and avoids the cell pretreatment and labelling process. This would contribute to the glycomic analysis and the understanding of complex native glycan-related biological processes. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental details; characterization of probes; the influence of electrolyte pH; probe concentration and glucose concentration on the electrode ECL effect. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr01598j

EJSCREEN: Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EJSCREEN is an environmental justice screening and mapping tool that provides EPA and the public with a nationally consistent approach to characterizing potential areas may warrant further consideration, analysis, or outreach.

Screening for post-traumatic stress disorder after injury in the pediatric emergency department--a systematic review protocol.

PubMed

Odenbach, Jeffrey; Newton, Amanda; Gokiert, Rebecca; Falconer, Cathy; Courchesne, Craig; Campbell, Sandra; Curtis, Sarah J

2014-03-02

Pediatric injury is highly prevalent and has significant impact both physically and emotionally. The majority of pediatric injuries are treated in emergency departments (EDs), where treatment of physical injuries is the main focus. In addition to physical trauma, children often experience significant psychological trauma, and the development of acute stress disorder (ASD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common. The consequences of failing to recognize and treat children with ASD and PTSD are significant and extend into adulthood. Currently, screening guidelines to identify children at risk for developing these stress disorders are not evident in the pediatric emergency setting. The goal of this systematic review is to summarize evidence on the psychometric properties, diagnostic accuracy, and clinical utility of screening tools that identify or predict PTSD secondary to physical injury in children. Specific research objectives are to: (1) identify, describe, and critically evaluate instruments available to screen for PTSD in children; (2) review and synthesize the test-performance characteristics of these tools; and (3) describe the clinical utility of these tools with focus on ED suitability. Computerized databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, ISI Web of Science and PsycINFO will be searched in addition to conference proceedings, textbooks, and contact with experts. Search terms will include MeSH headings (post-traumatic stress or acute stress), (pediatric or children) and diagnosis. All articles will be screened by title/abstract and articles identified as potentially relevant will be retrieved in full text and assessed by two independent reviewers. Quality assessment will be determined using the QUADAS-2 tool. Screening tool characteristics, including type of instrument, number of items, administration time and training administrators level, will be extracted as well as gold standard diagnostic reference properties and any quantitative diagnostic data (specificity, positive and negative likelihood/odds ratios) where appropriate. Identifying screening tools to recognize children at risk of developing stress disorders following trauma is essential in guiding early treatment and minimizing long-term sequelae of childhood stress disorders. This review aims to identify such screening tools in efforts to improve routine stress disorder screening in the pediatric ED setting. PROSPERO registration: CRD42013004893.

Communicating risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer with an interactive decision support tool.

PubMed

Rupert, Douglas J; Squiers, Linda B; Renaud, Jeanette M; Whitehead, Nedra S; Osborn, Roger J; Furberg, Robert D; Squire, Claudia M; Tzeng, Janice P

2013-08-01

Women with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome (HBOC) face a higher risk of earlier, more aggressive cancer. Because of HBOC's rarity, screening is recommended only for women with strong cancer family histories. However, most patients do not have accurate history available and struggle to understand genetic concepts. Cancer in the Family, an online clinical decision support tool, calculated women's HBOC risk and promoted shared patient-provider decisions about screening. A pilot evaluation (n=9 providers, n=48 patients) assessed the tool's impact on knowledge, attitudes, and screening decisions. Patients used the tool before wellness exams and completed three surveys. Providers accessed the tool during exams, completed exam checklists, and completed four surveys. Patients entered complete family histories (67%), calculated personal risk (96%), and shared risk printouts with providers (65%). HBOC knowledge increased dramatically for patients and providers, and many patients (75%) perceived tool results as valid. The tool prompted patient-provider discussions about HBOC risk and cancer family history (88%). The tool was effective in increasing knowledge, collecting family history, and sparking patient-provider discussions about HBOC screening. Interactive tools can effectively communicate personalized risk and promote shared decisions, but they are not a substitute for patient-provider discussions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Towards the development of a screening tool to enhance the detection of elder abuse and neglect by emergency medical technicians (EMTs): a qualitative study.

PubMed

Cannell, M Brad; Jetelina, Katelyn K; Zavadsky, Matt; Gonzalez, Jennifer M Reingle

2016-06-01

To develop a screening tool to enhance elder abuse and neglect detection and reporting rates among emergency medical technicians (EMTs). Our primary aim was to identify the most salient indicators of elder abuse and neglect for potential inclusion on a screening tool. We also sought to identify practical elements of the tool that would optimize EMT uptake and use in the field, such as format, length and number of items, and types of response options available. Qualitative data were collected from 23 EMTs and Adult Protective Services (APS) caseworkers that participated in one of five semi-structured focus groups. Focus group data were iteratively coded by two coders using inductive thematic identification and data reduction. Findings were subject to interpretation by the research team. EMTs and APS caseworks identified eight domains of items that might be included on a screening tool: (1) exterior home condition; (2) interior living conditions; (3) social support; (4) medical history; (5) caregiving quality; (6) physical condition of the older adult; (7) older adult's behavior; and, (8) EMTs instincts. The screening tool should be based on observable cues in the physical or social environment, be very brief, easily integrated into electronic charting systems, and provide a decision rule for reporting guidance to optimize utility for EMTs in the field. We described characteristics of a screening tool for EMTs to enhance detection and reporting of elder abuse and neglect to APS. Future research should narrow identified items and evaluate how these domains positively predict confirmed cases of elder abuse and neglect.

Elder abuse: The role of general practitioners in community-based screening and multidisciplinary action

PubMed

Ries, Nola M; Mansfield, Elise

2018-04-01

There are growing calls for elder abuse screening to be conducted by a range of community-based service providers, including general practitioners (GPs), practice nurses, home care workers and lawyers. Improved screening may be a valuable first step towards improving elder abuse detection and response; however, practitioners need evidence-based strategies for screening and follow-up. This article summarises several brief screening tools for various forms of elder abuse. Screening tool properties and evidence gaps are noted. As elder abuse often requires multidisciplinary responses, initiatives to connect health, legal and other service providers are highlighted. GPs are trusted professionals who are well placed to identify older patients at risk of, or experiencing, various forms of abuse. They should be aware of available screening tools and consider how best to incorporate them into their own practice. They also play an important role in multidisciplinary action to address elder abuse.

Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior to Explain Women's Role in Prostate Cancer Screening.

PubMed

Di Sarra, Luca; Ghezzi, Valerio; Eastland, Taryn Yolanda; Antonini, Francesca; Scialó, Gennaro; Zega, Maurizio; Alvaro, Rosaria

2015-01-01

To test the suitability of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) for explaining Italian women's role in prostatic cancer screening promotion. A descriptive, cross-sectional, online self-report survey was conducted with a convenience sample of 235 Italian women. Variables included attitudes women's role, perceived behavioral control, subjective norm, behavioral intention, and prostate cancer screening promotion behavior. A survey composed of the Eastland Prostate Cancer Survey subscales that were consistent with the TPB was distributed via e-mail to potential participants. The survey was live for 12 weeks (March 2013 to May 2013). Responses were collated with eSurv.org. Data were analyzed using latent path analysis and structural equation modeling. Behavioral intentions in promoting prostate cancer screening significantly predicted the likelihood of the Italian women to adopt self-reported prostate cancer screening promotion behaviors. In addition, the exclusive direct impact of the intentions explained 39% of the variance in self-reported behaviors. The TPB could represent a good framework to explain the role of Italian women in prevention behaviors related to the prostatic screening domain. Consistent with literature findings in social and nursing sciences, the intention to promote prostate cancer screening was a powerful "predictor" of the behavior itself.

Development of Novel Antibiotic Lysocin E Identified by Silkworm Infection Model.

PubMed

Hamamoto, Hiroshi; Sekimizu, Kazuhisa

2017-01-01

In this symposium, we reported the identification and mechanistic analysis of a novel antibiotic named lysocin E. Lysocin E was identified by screening for therapeutic effectiveness in a silkworm Staphylococcus aureus infection model. The advantages of the silkworm infection model for screening and purification of antibiotics from the culture supernatant of soil bacteria are: 1) low cost; 2) no ethical issues; 3) convenient for evaluation of the therapeutic effectiveness of antibiotics; and 4) pharmacokinetics similar to those of mammals. Lysocin E has remarkable features compared with known antibiotics such as a novel mechanism of action and target. Here, we summarize our reports presented in this symposium.

Convenient, Sensitive and High-Throughput Method for Screening Botanic Origin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Yuan; Jiang, Chao; Liu, Libing; Yu, Shulin; Cui, Zhanhu; Chen, Min; Lin, Shufang; Wang, Shu; Huang, Luqi

2014-06-01

In this work, a rapid (within 4-5 h), sensitive and visible new method for assessing botanic origin is developed by combining loop-mediated isothermal amplification with cationic conjugated polymers. The two Chinese medicinal materials (Jin-Yin-Hua and Shan-Yin-Hua) with similar morphology and chemical composition were clearly distinguished by gene SNP genotyping assays. The identification of plant species in Patented Chinese drugs containing Lonicera buds is successfully performed using this detection system. The method is also robust enough to be used in high-throughput screening. This new method is very helpful to identify herbal materials, and is beneficial for detecting safety and quality of botanic products.

Spontaneous Swallow Frequency Compared with Clinical Screening in the Identification of Dysphagia in Acute Stroke

PubMed Central

Crary, Michael A.; Carnaby, Giselle D.; Sia, Isaac

2017-01-01

Background The aim of this study was to compare spontaneous swallow frequency analysis (SFA) with clinical screening protocols for identification of dysphagia in acute stroke. Methods In all, 62 patients with acute stroke were evaluated for spontaneous swallow frequency rates using a validated acoustic analysis technique. Independent of SFA, these same patients received a routine nurse-administered clinical dysphagia screening as part of standard stroke care. Both screening tools were compared against a validated clinical assessment of dysphagia for acute stroke. In addition, psychometric properties of SFA were compared against published, validated clinical screening protocols. Results Spontaneous SFA differentiates patients with versus without dysphagia after acute stroke. Using a previously identified cut point based on swallows per minute, spontaneous SFA demonstrated superior ability to identify dysphagia cases compared with a nurse-administered clinical screening tool. In addition, spontaneous SFA demonstrated equal or superior psychometric properties to 4 validated, published clinical dysphagia screening tools. Conclusions Spontaneous SFA has high potential to identify dysphagia in acute stroke with psychometric properties equal or superior to clinical screening protocols. PMID:25088166

Spontaneous swallow frequency compared with clinical screening in the identification of dysphagia in acute stroke.

PubMed

Crary, Michael A; Carnaby, Giselle D; Sia, Isaac

2014-09-01

The aim of this study was to compare spontaneous swallow frequency analysis (SFA) with clinical screening protocols for identification of dysphagia in acute stroke. In all, 62 patients with acute stroke were evaluated for spontaneous swallow frequency rates using a validated acoustic analysis technique. Independent of SFA, these same patients received a routine nurse-administered clinical dysphagia screening as part of standard stroke care. Both screening tools were compared against a validated clinical assessment of dysphagia for acute stroke. In addition, psychometric properties of SFA were compared against published, validated clinical screening protocols. Spontaneous SFA differentiates patients with versus without dysphagia after acute stroke. Using a previously identified cut point based on swallows per minute, spontaneous SFA demonstrated superior ability to identify dysphagia cases compared with a nurse-administered clinical screening tool. In addition, spontaneous SFA demonstrated equal or superior psychometric properties to 4 validated, published clinical dysphagia screening tools. Spontaneous SFA has high potential to identify dysphagia in acute stroke with psychometric properties equal or superior to clinical screening protocols. Copyright © 2014 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The accuracy and efficiency of electronic screening for recruitment into a clinical trial on COPD.

PubMed

Schmickl, Christopher N; Li, Man; Li, Guangxi; Wetzstein, Marnie M; Herasevich, Vitaly; Gajic, Ognjen; Benzo, Roberto P

2011-10-01

Participant recruitment is an important process in successful conduct of randomized controlled trials. To facilitate enrollment into a National Institutes of Health-sponsored clinical trial involving patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), we developed and prospectively validated an automated electronic screening tool based on boolean free-text search of admission notes in electronic medical records. During a 2-week validation period, all patients admitted to prespecified general medical services were screened for eligibility by both the electronic screening tool and a COPD nurse. Group discussion was the gold standard for confirmation of true-positive results. Compared with the gold standard, electronic screening yielded 100% sensitivity, 92% specificity, 100% negative predictive value, and 72% positive predictive value. Compared with traditional manual screening, electronic screening demonstrated time-saving potential of 76%. Thus, the electronic screening tool accurately identifies potential study subjects and improves efficiency of patient accrual for a clinical trial on COPD. This method may be expanded into other institutional and clinical settings. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of a Brief Pre-Implementation Screening Tool to Identify Teachers Who Are at Risk for Not Implementing Intervention Curriculum and High-Implementing Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Bo; Stanton, Bonita; Lunn, Sonja; Patel, Pooja; Koci, Veronica; Deveaux, Lynette

2017-01-01

Few questionnaires have been developed to screen for potentially poor implementers of school-based interventions. This study combines teacher characteristics, perceptions, and teaching/training experiences to develop a short screening tool that can identify potential "low-performing" or "high-performing" teachers…

A Review of Cultural Adaptations of Screening Tools for Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soto, Sandra; Linas, Keri; Jacobstein, Diane; Biel, Matthew; Migdal, Talia; Anthony, Bruno J.

2015-01-01

Screening children to determine risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders has become more common, although some question the advisability of such a strategy. The purpose of this systematic review is to identify autism screening tools that have been adapted for use in cultures different from that in which they were developed, evaluate the cultural…

A screening tool to prioritize public health risk associated with accidental or deliberate release of chemicals into the atmosphere

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

The Chemical Events Working Group of the Global Health Security Initiative has developed a flexible screening tool for chemicals that present a risk when accidentally or deliberately released into the atmosphere. The tool is generic, semi-quantitative, independent of site, situation and scenario, encompasses all chemical hazards (toxicity, flammability and reactivity), and can be easily and quickly implemented by non-subject matter experts using freely available, authoritative information. Public health practitioners and planners can use the screening tool to assist them in directing their activities in each of the five stages of the disaster management cycle. PMID:23517410

Screening for Peripheral Artery Disease

MedlinePlus

... Disclosures Acknowledgments Footnotes Figures & Tables Info & Metrics eLetters Article Tools Print Citation Tools Screening for Peripheral Artery ... Remember my user name & password. Submit Share this Article Email Thank you for your interest in spreading ...

Healthful Nutrition of Foods in Navajo Nation Stores: Availability and Pricing.

PubMed

Kumar, Gayathri; Jim-Martin, Sonlatsa; Piltch, Emily; Onufrak, Stephen; McNeil, Carrie; Adams, Laura; Williams, Nancy; Blanck, Heidi M; Curley, Larry

2016-09-01

Low availability and affordability of healthier foods in food stores on the Navajo Nation (NN) may be a community-level risk factor for the high prevalence of obesity among the Navajo people. This study assessed the availability and pricing of foods and beverages in supermarkets and convenience stores throughout the NN. Descriptive study design using the Nutrition Environment Measurement Survey in Stores audit tool. Supermarkets (n = 13) and convenience stores (n = 50) on NN and border-town supermarkets (n = 9). Not applicable. Availability and pricing of healthy and less-healthy foods. Descriptive and χ(2) analyses. Navajo convenience stores offered fewer healthier food options compared to Navajo supermarkets. In Navajo convenience stores, 100% whole grain products, reduced-fat cheese, lean meats, reduced-fat chips, and fat-free or light hot dogs were available in fewer stores than their corresponding less-healthy versions (all with p < .05). In both Navajo supermarkets and convenience stores, 100% whole wheat bread, lean cold cuts, and reduced-fat cheese were all more expensive per unit than their corresponding less-healthy versions (all with p < .05). According to this study, healthier foods are not as readily available in Navajo convenience stores as they are in Navajo supermarkets. Improving access to and affordability of healthier foods in reservation stores of all sizes may support healthy eating among Navajo residents. © 2016 by American Journal of Health Promotion, Inc.

Comparison of Three Cognitive Screening Tools in Older Urban and Regional Aboriginal Australians.

PubMed

Radford, Kylie; Mack, Holly A; Draper, Brian; Chalkley, Simon; Delbaere, Kim; Daylight, Gail; Cumming, Robert G; Bennett, Hayley; Broe, Gerald A

2015-01-01

Validated cognitive screening tools for use in urban and regional Aboriginal populations in Australia are lacking. In a cross-sectional community-based study, 235 participants were assessed on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS) and an urban modification of the Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment (mKICA). Performance on these cognitive screening tools was compared to dementia diagnosis by clinical consensus. All tests were culturally acceptable with good psychometric properties. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses revealed that the MMSE and mKICA were the most accurate. The MMSE is an effective cognitive screening tool in urban Aboriginal populations. The mKICA is a good alternative when illiteracy, language or cultural considerations deem it appropriate. The RUDAS also has adequate validity in this population. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

siMacro: A Fast and Easy Data Processing Tool for Cell-Based Genomewide siRNA Screens.

PubMed

Singh, Nitin Kumar; Seo, Bo Yeun; Vidyasagar, Mathukumalli; White, Michael A; Kim, Hyun Seok

2013-03-01

Growing numbers of studies employ cell line-based systematic short interfering RNA (siRNA) screens to study gene functions and to identify drug targets. As multiple sources of variations that are unique to siRNA screens exist, there is a growing demand for a computational tool that generates normalized values and standardized scores. However, only a few tools have been available so far with limited usability. Here, we present siMacro, a fast and easy-to-use Microsoft Office Excel-based tool with a graphic user interface, designed to process single-condition or two-condition synthetic screen datasets. siMacro normalizes position and batch effects, censors outlier samples, and calculates Z-scores and robust Z-scores, with a spreadsheet output of >120,000 samples in under 1 minute.

siMacro: A Fast and Easy Data Processing Tool for Cell-Based Genomewide siRNA Screens

PubMed Central

Singh, Nitin Kumar; Seo, Bo Yeun; Vidyasagar, Mathukumalli; White, Michael A.

2013-01-01

Growing numbers of studies employ cell line-based systematic short interfering RNA (siRNA) screens to study gene functions and to identify drug targets. As multiple sources of variations that are unique to siRNA screens exist, there is a growing demand for a computational tool that generates normalized values and standardized scores. However, only a few tools have been available so far with limited usability. Here, we present siMacro, a fast and easy-to-use Microsoft Office Excel-based tool with a graphic user interface, designed to process single-condition or two-condition synthetic screen datasets. siMacro normalizes position and batch effects, censors outlier samples, and calculates Z-scores and robust Z-scores, with a spreadsheet output of >120,000 samples in under 1 minute. PMID:23613684

Physician Awareness of Developmental Screening and Referral in the State of Kuwait.

PubMed

Hix-Small, Hollie; Alkherainej, Khaled

In the State of Kuwait, family physicians and pediatricians are responsible for identifying and referring children at risk of disability. The aims of this study were to better understand physician (1) use of developmental screening instruments, (2) referral practices for children at risk of developmental disability, (3) interpretation of screening results, and (4) anticipatory guidance topics prioritized over child screening. A nonprobability volunteer, self-selection sample of family physicians, general practitioners, and pediatricians (n = 398) completed a 60-item paper questionnaire. Items assessed included: (1) practitioner familiarity with, belief in, and use of screening instruments; (2) familiarity with early childhood intervention services; (3) perceived barriers to screening implementation; and (4) anticipatory topics prioritized over screening. Logistic regression was used to test a priori hypotheses. In general, family doctors and pediatricians practicing in public hospitals and primary health care centers in the State of Kuwait do not use or know how to use a developmental screening instrument, while over half prioritized immunization counseling over child screening. Screening confidence and training on using screening instruments increased the likelihood of tool use. Staff shortages, time constraints, and a perceived lack of Arabic screening instruments were barriers to tool use. Raising health care providers' awareness of standardized developmental screening instruments and establishment of an early identification system in the State of Kuwait are needed. Standardization and adaptation of technically sound Arabic-language screening tools for use in the State of Kuwait and physician training programs on screening are recommended.

Analysis of laparoscopy in trauma.

PubMed

Villavicencio, R T; Aucar, J A

1999-07-01

The optimum roles for laparoscopy in trauma have yet to be established. To date, reviews of laparoscopy in trauma have been primarily descriptive rather than analytic. This article analyzes the results of laparoscopy in trauma. Outcome analysis was done by reviewing 37 studies with more than 1,900 trauma patients, and laparoscopy was analyzed as a screening, diagnostic, or therapeutic tool. Laparoscopy was regarded as a screening tool if it was used to detect or exclude a positive finding (eg, hemoperitoneum, organ injury, gastrointestinal spillage, peritoneal penetration) that required operative exploration or repair. Laparoscopy was regarded as a diagnostic tool when it was used to identify all injuries, rather than as a screening tool to identify the first indication for a laparotomy. It was regarded as a diagnostic tool only in studies that mandated a laparotomy (gold standard) after laparoscopy to confirm the diagnostic accuracy of laparoscopic findings. Costs and charges for using laparoscopy in trauma were analyzed when feasible. As a screening tool, laparoscopy missed 1% of injuries and helped prevent 63% of patients from having a trauma laparotomy. When used as a diagnostic tool, laparoscopy had a 41% to 77% missed injury rate per patient. Overall, laparoscopy carried a 1% procedure-related complication rate. Cost-effectiveness has not been uniformly proved in studies comparing laparoscopy and laparotomy. Laparoscopy has been applied safely and effectively as a screening tool in stable patients with acute trauma. Because of the large number of missed injuries when used as a diagnostic tool, its value in this context is limited. Laparoscopy has been reported infrequently as a therapeutic tool in selected patients, and its use in this context requires further study.

Re-Mediating Classroom Activity with a Non-Linear, Multi-Display Presentation Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bligh, Brett; Coyle, Do

2013-01-01

This paper uses an Activity Theory framework to evaluate the use of a novel, multi-screen, non-linear presentation tool. The Thunder tool allows presenters to manipulate and annotate multiple digital slides and to concurrently display a selection of juxtaposed resources across a wall-sized projection area. Conventional, single screen presentation…

Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges: Using EJ SCREEN ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Communities across the United States are faced with concerns about environmental risks and exposures including air contaminants near roadways, proximity to hazardous waste sites and children’s environmental health. These concerns are compounded by complicated data, limited opportunities for collaboration and resource-based restrictions such as funding. This workshop will introduce innovative approaches for combining the capacity of EPA science tools - EJ SCREEN and the recently released Community Focused Exposure and Risk Screening Tool (C-FERST). Following a nationally applicable case study, participants will learn how these tools can be used sequentially to; (1) identify community environmental health ‘hotspots’; (2) take a closer look at local scale sources of exposure and; (3) use new features of the tool to target potential partners and resources across the country. By exploring the power of GIS mapping and crowdsource data, participants will leave with simple, user-defined approaches for using state of the science tools to advance their community and environmental health projects. Presentation using EJ SCREEN and C-FERST

An experience of qualified preventive screening: shiraz smart screening software.

PubMed

Islami Parkoohi, Parisa; Zare, Hashem; Abdollahifard, Gholamreza

2015-01-01

Computerized preventive screening software is a cost effective intervention tool to address non-communicable chronic diseases. Shiraz Smart Screening Software (SSSS) was developed as an innovative tool for qualified screening. It allows simultaneous smart screening of several high-burden chronic diseases and supports reminder notification functionality. The extent in which SSSS affects screening quality is also described. Following software development, preventive screening and annual health examinations of 261 school staff (Medical School of Shiraz, Iran) was carried out in a software-assisted manner. To evaluate the quality of the software-assisted screening, we used quasi-experimental study design and determined coverage, irregular attendance and inappropriateness proportions in relation with the manual and software-assisted screening as well as the corresponding number of requested tests. In manual screening method, 27% of employees were covered (with 94% irregular attendance) while by software-assisted screening, the coverage proportion was 79% (attendance status will clear after the specified time). The frequency of inappropriate screening test requests, before the software implementation, was 41.37% for fasting plasma glucose, 41.37% for lipid profile, 0.84% for occult blood, 0.19% for flexible sigmoidoscopy/colonoscopy, 35.29% for Pap smear, 19.20% for mammography and 11.2% for prostate specific antigen. All of the above were corrected by the software application. In total, 366 manual screening and 334 software-assisted screening tests were requested. SSSS is an innovative tool to improve the quality of preventive screening plans in terms of increased screening coverage, reduction in inappropriateness and the total number of requested tests.

ReGaTE: Registration of Galaxy Tools in Elixir.

PubMed

Doppelt-Azeroual, Olivia; Mareuil, Fabien; Deveaud, Eric; Kalaš, Matúš; Soranzo, Nicola; van den Beek, Marius; Grüning, Björn; Ison, Jon; Ménager, Hervé

2017-06-01

Bioinformaticians routinely use multiple software tools and data sources in their day-to-day work and have been guided in their choices by a number of cataloguing initiatives. The ELIXIR Tools and Data Services Registry (bio.tools) aims to provide a central information point, independent of any specific scientific scope within bioinformatics or technological implementation. Meanwhile, efforts to integrate bioinformatics software in workbench and workflow environments have accelerated to enable the design, automation, and reproducibility of bioinformatics experiments. One such popular environment is the Galaxy framework, with currently more than 80 publicly available Galaxy servers around the world. In the context of a generic registry for bioinformatics software, such as bio.tools, Galaxy instances constitute a major source of valuable content. Yet there has been, to date, no convenient mechanism to register such services en masse. We present ReGaTE (Registration of Galaxy Tools in Elixir), a software utility that automates the process of registering the services available in a Galaxy instance. This utility uses the BioBlend application program interface to extract service metadata from a Galaxy server, enhance the metadata with the scientific information required by bio.tools, and push it to the registry. ReGaTE provides a fast and convenient way to publish Galaxy services in bio.tools. By doing so, service providers may increase the visibility of their services while enriching the software discovery function that bio.tools provides for its users. The source code of ReGaTE is freely available on Github at https://github.com/C3BI-pasteur-fr/ReGaTE . © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

Nutritional screening tools for hospitalized children: methodological considerations.

PubMed

Joosten, Koen F M; Hulst, Jessie M

2014-02-01

Children who are admitted to the hospital are at a risk of developing undernutrition, especially children with an underlying disease. High percentages of both acute and chronic undernutrition have been reported in various Western countries for many years. Several nutritional screening tools have been developed for hospitalized children in the last years. This review gives an overview of the nutritional screening tools that are currently available with a focus on their aims, clinical use and validity. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.

Eliciting women's cervical screening preferences: a mixed methods systematic review protocol.

PubMed

Wood, Brianne; Van Katwyk, Susan Rogers; El-Khatib, Ziad; McFaul, Susan; Taljaard, Monica; Wright, Erica; Graham, Ian D; Little, Julian

2016-08-11

With the accumulation of evidence regarding potential harms of cancer screening in recent years, researchers, policy-makers, and the public are becoming more critical of population-based cancer screening. Consequently, a high-quality cancer screening program should consider individuals' values and preferences when determining recommendations. In cervical cancer screening, offering women autonomy is considered a "person-centered" approach to health care services; however, it may impact the effectiveness of the program should women choose to not participate. As part of a larger project to investigate women's cervical screening preferences and correlates of these preferences, this systematic review will capture quantitative and qualitative investigations of women's cervical screening preferences and the methods used to elicit them. This mixed methods synthesis will use a thematic analysis approach to synthesize qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods evidence. This protocol describes the methods that will be used in this investigation. A search strategy has been developed with a health librarian and peer reviewed using PRESS. Based on this strategy, five databases and the gray literature will be searched for studies that meet the inclusion criteria. The quality of the included individual studies will be examined using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Three reviewers will extract data from the primary studies on the tools or instruments used to elicit women's preferences regarding cervical cancer screening, theoretical frameworks used, outcomes measured, the outstanding themes from quantitative and qualitative evidence, and the identified preferences for cervical cancer screening. We will describe the relationships between study results and the study population, "intervention" (e.g., tool or instrument), and context. We will follow the PRISMA reporting guideline. We will compare findings across studies and between study methods (e.g., qualitative versus quantitative study designs). The strength of the synthesized findings will be assessed using the validated GRADE and CERQual tool. This review will inform the development of a tool to elicit women's cervical screening preferences. Understanding the methods used to elicit women's preferences and what is known about women's cervical screening preferences will be useful for guideline developers who wish to incorporate a woman-centered approach specifically for cervical screening guidelines. PROSPERO CRD42016035737.

The development of a sleep disorder screening program in Australian community pharmacies.

PubMed

Tran, Adam; Fuller, Joanne M; Wong, Keith K; Krass, Ines; Grunstein, Ron; Saini, Bandana

2009-08-01

To develop, pilot and determine the feasibility of a sleep-specific screening and awareness program in community pharmacies. The screening was piloted in five Australian community pharmacies. The Pharmacy Tool for Assessment of Sleep Health was constructed by drawing on known relationships between sleep disorders, and lifestyle factors, medical conditions and medications. Four validated instruments were used in the screening tool: the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Multivariable Apnea Prediction Index (MAPI) and International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group Screening Criteria (IRLS). These instruments were used to predict the participant's risk of a sleep disorder and the results were compared with reported lifestyle, medical and medication factors. On-site training of consenting pharmacists was provided, followed by an eight week client recruiting and screening period. Feedback was elicited from participating pharmacists and clients. The feasibility of, and trends found from, the developed screening tool and protocol. Of 167 clients who requested or were invited to participate by pharmacists, 84 (50.3%) were screened. Analysis of collected data indicated that 33.3%, 21.4% and 27.4% of participants were at risk of having or developing insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and restless legs syndrome (RLS) respectively, while 38.1% were not at risk of any of the screened disorders. OSA odds increased 12.8 times (95% CI: 3.2-50.4) with diabetes and 4.9 times (1.2-20.9) with opioid use, while shift workers were 8.4 times (1.6-43.2) more likely to have insomnia. Participants and pharmacists reported the screening protocol and instrument was user friendly and feasible. The development and pilot of this screening tool was successful. The prevalence of sleep disorders in the sampled population was high but generally consistent with previous studies on the general population. Furthermore, associations found may form a foundation for a clinical algorithm to identify those at a higher risk of having or developing a sleep disorder. Further work is required to validate this screening tool in the community pharmacy context.

Diagnostic Validity of the Eppendorf Schizophrenia Inventory (ESI): A Self-Report Screen for Ultrahigh Risk and Acute Psychosis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Niessen, Maurice A. J.; Dingemans, Peter M. A. J.; van de Fliert, Reinaud; Becker, Hiske E.; Nieman, Dorien H.; Linszen, Don

2010-01-01

Providers of mental health services need tools to screen for acute psychosis and ultrahigh risk (UHR) for transition to psychosis in help-seeking individuals. In this study, the Eppendorf Schizophrenia Inventory (ESI) was examined as a screening tool and for its ability to correctly predict diagnostic group membership (e.g., help seeking, mild…

The Analysis of Fourth Grade Primary Students' Reader Self-Perceptions in Terms of Gender and Preschool Educational Background

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sagirli, Muhittin; Okur, Burçin

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to analyse perceptions of fourth grade primary school students on their reading ability. In study, screening model was used as a quantitative research method. The sample of this research was selected by convenience sampling. The sample consisted of 556 fourth grade students who received education in 8 public schools in…

Identification of Patients with Sleep Disordered Breathing: Comparing the Four-Variable Screening Tool, STOP, STOP-Bang, and Epworth Sleepiness Scales

PubMed Central

Silva, Graciela E.; Vana, Kimberly D.; Goodwin, James L.; Sherrill, Duane L.; Quan, Stuart F.

2011-01-01

Study Objective: The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) has been used to detect patients with potential sleep disordered breathing (SDB). Recently, a 4-Variable screening tool was proposed to identify patients with SDB, in addition to the STOP and STOP-Bang questionnaires. This study evaluated the abilities of the 4-Variable screening tool, STOP, STOP-Bang, and ESS questionnaires in identifying subjects at risk for SDB. Methods: A total of 4,770 participants who completed polysomnograms in the baseline evaluation of the Sleep Heart Health Study (SHHS) were included. Subjects with RDIs ≥ 15 and ≥ 30 were considered to have moderate-to-severe or severe SDB, respectively. Variables were constructed to approximate those in the questionnaires. The risk of SDB was calculated by the 4-Variable screening tool according to Takegami et al. The STOP and STOP-Bang questionnaires were evaluated including variables for snoring, tiredness/sleepiness, observed apnea, blood pressure, body mass index, age, neck circumference, and gender. Sleepiness was evaluated using the ESS questionnaire and scores were dichotomized into < 11 and ≥ 11. Results: The STOP-Bang questionnaire had higher sensitivity to predict moderate-to-severe (87.0%) and severe (70.4%) SDB, while the 4-Variable screening tool had higher specificity to predict moderate-to-severe and severe SDB (93.2% for both). Conclusions: In community populations such as the SHHS, high specificities may be more useful in excluding low-risk patients, while avoiding false positives. However, sleep clinicians may prefer to use screening tools with high sensitivities, like the STOP-Bang, in order to avoid missing cases that may lead to adverse health consequences and increased healthcare costs. Citation: Silva GE; Vana KD; Goodwin JL; Sherrill DL; Quan SF. Identification of patients with sleep disordered breathing: comparing the Four-Variable screening tool, STOP, STOP-Bang, and Epworth Sleepiness Scales. J Clin Sleep Med 2011;7(5):467-472. PMID:22003341

Virtual screening methods as tools for drug lead discovery from large chemical libraries.

PubMed

Ma, X H; Zhu, F; Liu, X; Shi, Z; Zhang, J X; Yang, S Y; Wei, Y Q; Chen, Y Z

2012-01-01

Virtual screening methods have been developed and explored as useful tools for searching drug lead compounds from chemical libraries, including large libraries that have become publically available. In this review, we discussed the new developments in exploring virtual screening methods for enhanced performance in searching large chemical libraries, their applications in screening libraries of ~ 1 million or more compounds in the last five years, the difficulties in their applications, and the strategies for further improving these methods.

Measuring the food service environment: development and implementation of assessment tools.

PubMed

Minaker, Leia M; Raine, Kim D; Cash, Sean B

2009-01-01

The food environment is increasingly being implicated in the obesity epidemic, though few reported measures of it exist. In order to assess the impact of the food environment on food intake, valid measures must be developed and tested. The current study describes the development of a food service environment assessment tool and its implementation in a community setting. A descriptive study with mixed qualitative and quantitative methods at a large, North American university campus was undertaken. Measures were developed on the basis of a conceptual model of nutrition environments. Measures of community nutrition environment were the number, type and hours of operation of each food service outlet on campus. Measures of consumer nutrition environment were food availability, food affordability, food promotion and nutrition information availability. Seventy-five food service outlets within the geographic boundaries were assessed. Assessment tools could be implemented in a reasonable amount of time and showed good face and content validity. The food environments were described and measures were grouped so that food service outlet types could be compared in terms of purchasing convenience, cost/value, healthy food promotion and health. Food service outlet types that scored higher in purchasing convenience and cost/value tended to score lower in healthy food promotion and health. This study adds evidence that food service outlet types that are convenient to consumers and supply high value (in terms of calories per dollar) tend to be less health-promoting. Results from this study also suggest the possibility of characterizing the food environment according to the type of food service outlet observed.

Climate project screening tool: an aid for climate change adaptation

Treesearch

Toni Lyn Morelli; Sharon Yeh; Nikola M. Smith; Mary Beth Hennessy; Constance I. Millar

2012-01-01

To address the impacts of climate change, land managers need techniques for incorporating adaptation into ongoing or impending projects. We present a new tool, the Climate Project Screening Tool (CPST), for integrating climate change considerations into project planning as well as for developing concrete adaptation options for land managers. We designed CPST as part of...

EVALUATING POLLUTION PREVENTION PROGRESS (P2P) III: AN ENVIRONMENTAL TOOL FOR SCREENING IN PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT AND CHEMICAL PROCESS DESIGN

EPA Science Inventory

P2P is a computer-based tool that supports the comparison of process and product alternatives in terms of environmental impacts. This tool provides screening-level information for use in process design and in product LCA. Twenty one impact categories and data for approximately ...

Paediatric nutrition risk scores in clinical practice: children with inflammatory bowel disease.

PubMed

Wiskin, A E; Owens, D R; Cornelius, V R; Wootton, S A; Beattie, R M

2012-08-01

There has been increasing interest in the use of nutrition risk assessment tools in paediatrics to identify those who need nutrition support. Four non-disease specific screening tools have been developed, although there is a paucity of data on their application in clinical practice and the degree of inter-tool agreement. The concurrent validity of four nutrition screening tools [Screening Tool for the Assessment of Malnutrition in Paediatrics (STAMP), Screening Tool for Risk On Nutritional status and Growth (STRONGkids), Paediatric Yorkhill Malnutrition Score (PYMS) and Simple Paediatric Nutrition Risk Score (PNRS)] was examined in 46 children with inflammatory bowel disease. Degree of malnutrition was determined by anthropometry alone using World Health Organization International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) criteria. There was good agreement between STAMP, STRONGkids and PNRS (kappa > 0.6) but there was only modest agreement between PYMS and the other scores (kappa = 0.3). No children scored low risk with STAMP, STRONGkids or PNRS; however, 23 children scored low risk with PYMS. There was no agreement between the risk tools and the degree of malnutrition based on anthropometric data (kappa < 0.1). Three children had anthropometry consistent with malnutrition and these were all scored high risk. Four children had body mass index SD scores < -2, one of which was scored at low nutrition risk. The relevance of nutrition screening tools for children with chronic disease is unclear. In addition, there is the potential to under recognise nutritional impairment (and therefore nutritional risk) in children with inflammatory bowel disease. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics © 2012 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

A Comprehensive Look at Polypharmacy and Medication Screening Tools for the Older Cancer Patient

PubMed Central

DeGregory, Kathlene A.; Morris, Amy L.; Ramsdale, Erika E.

2016-01-01

Inappropriate medication use and polypharmacy are extremely common among older adults. Numerous studies have discussed the importance of a comprehensive medication assessment in the general geriatric population. However, only a handful of studies have evaluated inappropriate medication use in the geriatric oncology patient. Almost a dozen medication screening tools exist for the older adult. Each available tool has the potential to improve aspects of the care of older cancer patients, but no single tool has been developed for this population. We extensively reviewed the literature (MEDLINE, PubMed) to evaluate and summarize the most relevant medication screening tools for older patients with cancer. Findings of this review support the use of several screening tools concurrently for the elderly patient with cancer. A deprescribing tool should be developed and included in a comprehensive geriatric oncology assessment. Finally, prospective studies are needed to evaluate such a tool to determine its feasibility and impact in older patients with cancer. Implications for Practice: The prevalence of polypharmacy increases with advancing age. Older adults are more susceptible to adverse effects of medications. “Prescribing cascades” are common, whereas “deprescribing” remains uncommon; thus, older patients tend to accumulate medications over time. Older patients with cancer are at high risk for adverse drug events, in part because of the complexity and intensity of cancer treatment. Additionally, a cancer diagnosis often alters assessments of life expectancy, clinical status, and competing risk. Screening for polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate medications could reduce the risk for adverse drug events, enhance quality of life, and reduce health care spending for older cancer patients. PMID:27151653

Reply: Comparison of slope instability screening tools following a large storm event and application to forest management and policy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whittaker, Kara A.; McShane, Dan

2013-02-01

A large storm event in southwest Washington State triggered over 2500 landslides and provided an opportunity to assess two slope stability screening tools. The statistical analysis conducted demonstrated that both screening tools are effective at predicting where landslides were likely to take place (Whittaker and McShane, 2012). Here we reply to two discussions of this article related to the development of the slope stability screening tools and the accuracy and scale of the spatial data used. Neither of the discussions address our statistical analysis or results. We provide greater detail on our sampling criteria and also elaborate on the policy and management implications of our findings and how they complement those of a separate investigation of landslides resulting from the same storm. The conclusions made in Whittaker and McShane (2012) stand as originally published unless future analysis indicates otherwise.

Older adult mistreatment risk screening: contribution to the validation of a screening tool in a domestic setting.

PubMed

Lindenbach, Jeannette M; Larocque, Sylvie; Lavoie, Anne-Marise; Garceau, Marie-Luce

2012-06-01

ABSTRACTThe hidden nature of older adult mistreatment renders its detection in the domestic setting particularly challenging. A validated screening instrument that can provide a systematic assessment of risk factors can facilitate this detection. One such instrument, the "expanded Indicators of Abuse" tool, has been previously validated in the Hebrew language in a hospital setting. The present study has contributed to the validation of the "e-IOA" in an English-speaking community setting in Ontario, Canada. It consisted of two phases: (a) a content validity review and adaptation of the instrument by experts throughout Ontario, and (b) an inter-rater reliability assessment by home visiting nurses. The adaptation, the "Mistreatment of Older Adult Risk Factors" tool, offers a comprehensive tool for screening in the home setting. This instrument is significant to professional practice as practitioners working with older adults will be better equipped to assess for risk of mistreatment.

Integrating Diabetes Guidelines into a Telehealth Screening Tool.

PubMed

Gervera, Kelly; Graves, Barbara Ann

2015-01-01

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States and contributes to long-term complications that are costly to healthcare systems. Twenty-five percent of all veterans in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) have diabetes. The purpose of this article is to describe the development and implementation of a quality improvement project to embed an evidence-based diabetes screening tool, based on Veterans Affairs/Department of Defense diabetes clinical practice guidelines, into the VHA electronic medical record. The objectives of the screening tool were threefold: to promote evidence-based care, to standardize care coordination, and to promote self-management and proper utilization of resources. Record reviews were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the screening tool. Results showed an 88 percent increase in the assessment of annual exams and/or labs, a 16.5 percent increase in disease management assessment and offering of services, and a 50 percent increase in goal-setting activity.

Collective screening tools for early identification of dyslexia

PubMed Central

Andrade, Olga V. C. A.; Andrade, Paulo E.; Capellini, Simone A.

2015-01-01

Current response to intervention models (RTIs) favor a three-tier system. In general, Tier 1 consists of evidence-based, effective reading instruction in the classroom and universal screening of all students at the beginning of the grade level to identify children for early intervention. Non-responders to Tier 1 receive small-group tutoring in Tier 2. Non-responders to Tier 2 are given still more intensive, individual intervention in Tier 3. Limited time, personnel and financial resources derail RTI’s implementation in Brazilian schools because this approach involves procedures that require extra time and extra personnel in all three tiers, including screening tools which normally consist of tasks administered individually. We explored the accuracy of collectively and easily administered screening tools for the early identification of second graders at risk for dyslexia in a two-stage screening model. A first-stage universal screening based on collectively administered curriculum-based measurements was used in 45 7 years old early Portuguese readers from 4 second-grade classrooms at the beginning of the school year and identified an at-risk group of 13 academic low-achievers. Collectively administered tasks based on phonological judgments by matching figures and figures to spoken words [alternative tools for educators (ATE)] and a comprehensive cognitive-linguistic battery of collective and individual assessments were both administered to all children and constituted the second-stage screening. Low-achievement on ATE tasks and on collectively administered writing tasks (scores at the 25th percentile) showed good sensitivity (true positives) and specificity (true negatives) to poor literacy status defined as scores ≤1 SD below the mean on literacy abilities at the end of fifth grade. These results provide implications for the use of a collectively administered screening tool for the early identification of children at risk for dyslexia in a classroom setting. PMID:25667575

Meta-analysis of screening and case finding tools for depression in cancer: evidence based recommendations for clinical practice on behalf of the Depression in Cancer Care consensus group.

PubMed

Mitchell, Alex J; Meader, Nick; Davies, Evan; Clover, Kerrie; Carter, Gregory L; Loscalzo, Matthew J; Linden, Wolfgang; Grassi, Luigi; Johansen, Christoffer; Carlson, Linda E; Zabora, James

2012-10-01

To examine the validity of screening and case-finding tools used in the identification of depression as defined by an ICD10/DSM-IV criterion standard. We identified 63 studies involving 19 tools (in 33 publications) designed to help clinicians identify depression in cancer settings. We used a standardized rating system. We excluded 11 tools without at least two independent studies, leaving 8 tools for comparison. Across all cancer stages there were 56 diagnostic validity studies (n=10,009). For case-finding, one stem question, two stem questions and the BDI-II all had level 2 evidence (2a, 2b and 2c respectively) and given their better acceptability we gave the stem questions a grade B recommendation. For screening, two stem questions had level 1b evidence (with high acceptability) and the BDI-II had level 2c evidence. For every 100 people screened in advanced cancer, the two questions would accurately detect 18 cases, while missing only 1 and correctly reassure 74 with 7 falsely identified. For every 100 people screened in non-palliative settings the BDI-II would accurately detect 17 cases, missing 2 and correctly re-assure 70, with 11 falsely identified as cases. The main cautions are the reliance on DSM-IV definitions of major depression, the large number of small studies and the paucity of data for many tools in specific settings. Although no single tool could be offered unqualified support, several tools are likely to improve upon unassisted clinical recognition. In clinical practice, all tools should form part of an integrated approach involving further follow-up, clinical assessment and evidence based therapy. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

ON-LINE CALCULATOR: FORWARD CALCULATION JOHNSON ETTINGER MODEL

EPA Science Inventory

On-Site was developed to provide modelers and model reviewers with prepackaged tools ("calculators") for performing site assessment calculations. The philosophy behind OnSite is that the convenience of the prepackaged calculators helps provide consistency for simple calculations,...

ON-LINE CALCULATOR: JOHNSON ETTINGER VAPOR INTRUSION MODEL

EPA Science Inventory

On-Site was developed to provide modelers and model reviewers with prepackaged tools ("calculators") for performing site assessment calculations. The philosophy behind OnSite is that the convenience of the prepackaged calculators helps provide consistency for simple calculations,...

Barriers to asymptomatic screening and other STD services for adolescents and young adults: focus group discussions

PubMed Central

Tilson, Elizabeth C; Sanchez, Victoria; Ford, Chandra L; Smurzynski, Marlene; Leone, Peter A; Fox, Kimberley K; Irwin, Kathleen; Miller, William C

2004-01-01

Background Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are a major public health problem among young people and can lead to the spread of HIV. Previous studies have primarily addressed barriers to STD care for symptomatic patients. The purpose of our study was to identify perceptions about existing barriers to and ideal services for STDs, especially asymptomatic screening, among young people in a southeastern community. Methods Eight focus group discussions including 53 White, African American, and Latino youth (age 14–24) were conducted. Results Perceived barriers to care included lack of knowledge of STDs and available services, cost, shame associated with seeking services, long clinic waiting times, discrimination, and urethral specimen collection methods. Perceived features of ideal STD services included locations close to familiar places, extended hours, and urine-based screening. Television was perceived as the most effective route of disseminating STD information. Conclusions Further research is warranted to evaluate improving convenience, efficiency, and privacy of existing services; adding urine-based screening and new services closer to neighborhoods; and using mass media to disseminate STD information as strategies to increase STD screening. PMID:15189565

Breast Cancer Screening Beliefs Questionnaire: Psychometric properties assessment of the Arabic version.

PubMed

Kwok, Cannas; Endrawes, Gihane; Lee, Chun Fan

2016-02-01

The aim of the study was to report the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the Breast Cancer Screening Beliefs Questionnaire (BCSBQ). A convenience sample of 251 Arabic-Australian women was recruited from a number of Arabic community organizations. Construct validity was examined by Cuzick's non-parametric test while Cronbach α was used to assess internal consistency reliability. Explanatory factor analysis was conducted to study the factor structure. The results indicated that the Arabic version of the BCSBQ had satisfactory validity and internal consistency. The Cronbach's alpha of the three subscales ranged between 0.810 and 0.93. The frequency of breast cancer screening practices (breast awareness, clinical breast-examination and mammography) were significantly associated with attitudes towards general health check-up and perceived barriers to mammographic screening. Exploratory factor analysis showed a similar fit for the hypothesized three-factor structure with our data set. The Arabic version of the BCBSQ is a culturally appropriate, valid and reliable instrument for assessing the beliefs, knowledge and attitudes to breast cancer and breast cancer screening practices among Arabic-Australian women. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Malnutrition Risk after Liver Transplantation Using the Nutritional Screening Tools

PubMed Central

Lim, Hee-Sook; Kim, Hyung-Chul; Park, Yoon-Hyung

2015-01-01

Malnutrition is a common problem in patients with end-stage liver disease requiring liver transplantation. The aim of this study was to evaluate nutritional status by using nutritional screening tools [Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS) 2002, Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) and Subjective Global Assessment (SGA)] in patients before and after liver transplantation. We analyzed medical record, blood test, nutrient intake and malnutrition rate just before transplantation and at discharge, and at 3, 6, 12 months after transplantation respectively. Initially 33 patients enrolled as study subjects and finally 28 patients completed the study. Nutrients intake such as energy, fiber, calcium, potassium, vitamin C, and folate were insufficient at 12 months after transplantation. The rates of malnutrition before transplantation were very high, reported at 81.8% for the NRS 2002, 87.9% for the MUST, and 84.8% for the SGA. By 12 months after operation, malnutrition rates reported at NRS, MUST and SGA had decreased to 6.1%, 10.7%, and 10.7%, respectively. Sensitivity was 87.1% for the NRS 2002, 82.0% for the MUST, and 92.0% for the SGA. Of these screening tools the SGA was the highest sensitive tool that predict the risk of mortality in malnutrition patients who received transplantation. Further studies on nutritional status of patients and proper tools for nutrition intervention are needed to provide adequate nutritional care for patients. PMID:26566519

Evaluation of Malnutrition Risk after Liver Transplantation Using the Nutritional Screening Tools.

PubMed

Lim, Hee-Sook; Kim, Hyung-Chul; Park, Yoon-Hyung; Kim, Soon-Kyung

2015-10-01

Malnutrition is a common problem in patients with end-stage liver disease requiring liver transplantation. The aim of this study was to evaluate nutritional status by using nutritional screening tools [Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS) 2002, Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) and Subjective Global Assessment (SGA)] in patients before and after liver transplantation. We analyzed medical record, blood test, nutrient intake and malnutrition rate just before transplantation and at discharge, and at 3, 6, 12 months after transplantation respectively. Initially 33 patients enrolled as study subjects and finally 28 patients completed the study. Nutrients intake such as energy, fiber, calcium, potassium, vitamin C, and folate were insufficient at 12 months after transplantation. The rates of malnutrition before transplantation were very high, reported at 81.8% for the NRS 2002, 87.9% for the MUST, and 84.8% for the SGA. By 12 months after operation, malnutrition rates reported at NRS, MUST and SGA had decreased to 6.1%, 10.7%, and 10.7%, respectively. Sensitivity was 87.1% for the NRS 2002, 82.0% for the MUST, and 92.0% for the SGA. Of these screening tools the SGA was the highest sensitive tool that predict the risk of mortality in malnutrition patients who received transplantation. Further studies on nutritional status of patients and proper tools for nutrition intervention are needed to provide adequate nutritional care for patients.

Performance evaluation of structure based and ligand based virtual screening methods on ten selected anti-cancer targets.

PubMed

Ramasamy, Thilagavathi; Selvam, Chelliah

2015-10-15

Virtual screening has become an important tool in drug discovery process. Structure based and ligand based approaches are generally used in virtual screening process. To date, several benchmark sets for evaluating the performance of the virtual screening tool are available. In this study, our aim is to compare the performance of both structure based and ligand based virtual screening methods. Ten anti-cancer targets and their corresponding benchmark sets from 'Demanding Evaluation Kits for Objective In silico Screening' (DEKOIS) library were selected. X-ray crystal structures of protein-ligand complexes were selected based on their resolution. Openeye tools such as FRED, vROCS were used and the results were carefully analyzed. At EF1%, vROCS produced better results but at EF5% and EF10%, both FRED and ROCS produced almost similar results. It was noticed that the enrichment factor values were decreased while going from EF1% to EF5% and EF10% in many cases. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

[Screening for malnutrition among hospitalized patients in a Colombian University Hospital].

PubMed

Cruz, Viviana; Bernal, Laura; Buitrago, Giancarlo; Ruiz, Álvaro J

2017-04-01

On admission, 30 to 50% of hospitalized patients have some degree of malnutrition, which is associated with longer length of stay, higher rates of complications, mortality and greater costs. To determine the frequency of screening for risk of malnutrition in medical records and assess the usefulness of the Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST). In a cross-sectional study, we searched for malnutrition screening in medical records, and we applied the MST tool to hospitalized patients at the Internal Medicine Wards of San Ignacio University Hospital. Of 295 patients included, none had been screened for malnutrition since hospital admission. Sixty one percent were at nutritional risk, with a higher prevalence among patients with HIV (85.7%), cancer (77.5%) and pneumonia. A positive MST result was associated with a 3.2 days increase in length of hospital stay (p = 0.024). The prevalence of malnutrition risk in hospitalized patients is high, but its screening is inadequate and it is underdiagnosed. The MST tool is simple, fast, low-cost, and has a good diagnostic performance.

Sigma Metrics Across the Total Testing Process.

PubMed

Charuruks, Navapun

2017-03-01

Laboratory quality control has been developed for several decades to ensure patients' safety, from a statistical quality control focus on the analytical phase to total laboratory processes. The sigma concept provides a convenient way to quantify the number of errors in extra-analytical and analytical phases through the defect per million and sigma metric equation. Participation in a sigma verification program can be a convenient way to monitor analytical performance continuous quality improvement. Improvement of sigma-scale performance has been shown from our data. New tools and techniques for integration are needed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluating the reliability of an injury prevention screening tool: Test-retest study.

PubMed

Gittelman, Michael A; Kincaid, Madeline; Denny, Sarah; Wervey Arnold, Melissa; FitzGerald, Michael; Carle, Adam C; Mara, Constance A

2016-10-01

A standardized injury prevention (IP) screening tool can identify family risks and allow pediatricians to address behaviors. To assess behavior changes on later screens, the tool must be reliable for an individual and ideally between household members. Little research has examined the reliability of safety screening tool questions. This study utilized test-retest reliability of parent responses on an existing IP questionnaire and also compared responses between household parents. Investigators recruited parents of children 0 to 1 year of age during admission to a tertiary care children's hospital. When both parents were present, one was chosen as the "primary" respondent. Primary respondents completed the 30-question IP screening tool after consent, and they were re-screened approximately 4 hours later to test individual reliability. The "second" parent, when present, only completed the tool once. All participants received a 10-dollar gift card. Cohen's Kappa was used to estimate test-retest reliability and inter-rater agreement. Standard test-retest criteria consider Kappa values: 0.0 to 0.40 poor to fair, 0.41 to 0.60 moderate, 0.61 to 0.80 substantial, and 0.81 to 1.00 as almost perfect reliability. One hundred five families participated, with five lost to follow-up. Thirty-two (30.5%) parent dyads completed the tool. Primary respondents were generally mothers (88%) and Caucasian (72%). Test-retest of the primary respondents showed their responses to be almost perfect; average 0.82 (SD = 0.13, range 0.49-1.00). Seventeen questions had almost perfect test-retest reliability and 11 had substantial reliability. However, inter-rater agreement between household members for 12 objective questions showed little agreement between responses; inter-rater agreement averaged 0.35 (SD = 0.34, range -0.19-1.00). One question had almost perfect inter-rater agreement and two had substantial inter-rater agreement. The IP screening tool used by a single individual had excellent test-retest reliability for nearly all questions. However, when a reporter changes from pre- to postintervention, differences may reflect poor reliability or different subjective experiences rather than true change.

Residency application screening tools: A survey of academic medical centers.

PubMed

Hillebrand, Kristen; Leinum, Corey J; Desai, Sonya; Pettit, Natasha N; Fuller, Patrick D

2015-06-01

The current use and content of screening tools utilized by ASHP-accredited pharmacy residency programs were assessed. A survey consisting of 19 questions assessing residency programs and the screening of pharmacy residency program applicants was e-mailed to residency directors of 362 pharmacy residency programs at 105 University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC)-member institutions. Questions gathered general program demographic information, data related to applicant growth from residency years 2010-11 to 2011-12, and information about the residency screening processes currently used. Responses were received from 73 residency program sites (69.5%) of the 105 UHC-member institutions to whom the e-mail was sent. Many sites used screening tools to calculate applicants' scores and then determined which candidates to invite for an onsite interview based on applicants' scores and group discussion. Seventy-eight percent (n = 57) of the 73 responding institutions reported the use of a screening tool or rubric to select applicants to invite for onsite interviews. The most common method of evaluation was individual applicant review before meeting as a group to discuss candidate selection. The most important factor for determining which residency candidate to interview was the overall impression based on the candidate's curriculum vitae (CV) and letters of recommendation. Most residency programs in UHC-member hospitals used a screening tool to determine which applicants to invite for an onsite interview. The most important factor for determining which residency candidate to interview was the overall impression based on the candidate's CV and letters of recommendation. Copyright © 2015 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

Patient-completed or symptom-based screening tools for endometriosis: a scoping review.

PubMed

Surrey, Eric; Carter, Cathryn M; Soliman, Ahmed M; Khan, Shahnaz; DiBenedetti, Dana B; Snabes, Michael C

2017-08-01

The objective of this review was to evaluate existing patient-completed screening questionnaires and/or symptom-based predictive models with respect to their potential for use as screening tools for endometriosis in adult women. Validated instruments were of particular interest. We conducted structured searches of PubMed and targeted searches of the gray literature to identify studies reporting on screening instruments used in endometriosis. Studies were screened according to inclusion and exclusion criteria that followed the PICOS (population, intervention, comparison, outcomes, study design) framework. A total of 16 studies were identified, of which 10 described measures for endometriosis in general, 2 described measures for endometriosis at specific sites, and 4 described measures for deep-infiltrating endometriosis. Only 1 study evaluated a questionnaire that was solely patient-completed. Most measures required physician, imaging, or laboratory assessments in addition to patient-completed questionnaires, and several measures relied on complex scoring. Validation for use as a screening tool in adult women with potential endometriosis was lacking in all studies, as most studies focused on diagnosis versus screening. This literature review did not identify any fully validated, symptom-based, patient-reported questionnaires for endometriosis screening in adult women.

Sensitivity and specificity of the Chinese version of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief for identifying undergraduate students susceptible to psychosis.

PubMed

Ma, Wei-Fen; Wu, Po-Lun; Yang, Shu-Ju; Cheng, Kuang-Fu; Chiu, Hsien-Tsai; Lane, Hsien-Yuan

2010-12-01

Early interventions can improve treatment outcomes for individuals with major psychiatric disorders and with nonspecific symptoms but increasingly impaired cognitive perception, emotions, and behaviour. One way used to identify people susceptible to psychosis is through the schizotypal personality trait. Persons with schizotypal characteristics have been identified with the widely used Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief. However, no suitable instruments are available to screen individuals in the Taiwanese population for evidence of early psychotic symptoms. The purpose of this study was to test the sensitivity and specificity of the Chinese version of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief for identifying undergraduate students' susceptibility to psychosis. Two-stage, cross-sectional survey design. The self-administered scale was tested in a convenience sample of 618 undergraduate students at a medical university in Taiwan. Among these students, 54 completed the scale 2 weeks apart for test-retest reliability, and 80 were tested to identify their susceptibility to psychosis. In Stage I, participants with scores in the top 6.5% were classified as the high-score group (n=40). The control group (n=40) was randomly selected from the remaining participants with scores <15 and matched by gender. These 80 students were asked to participate in psychiatric interviews in Stage II. The instrument was tested for reliability using intraclass correlation coefficients and the Kuder-Richardson formula 20. The instrument was analysed for optimal sensitivity and specificity using odds-ratio analysis and receiver operating characteristic curves. The 22-item Chinese version of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief had a 2-week test-retest reliability of 0.82 and internal consistency of 0.76. The optimal cut-off score was 17, with odds ratios of 24.4 and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curves of 0.83. The instrument had a sensitivity of 80.0% and specificity of 85.9% in identifying undergraduate students' susceptibility to psychosis. The Chinese version Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief is a reliable instrument, but should not be used as a screening tool until its psychometric properties have been evaluated in more detail. Other screening tools need to be used in future studies with the CSPQ-B to improve the accuracy of identifying susceptibility to psychosis among young adults. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Cyquant cell proliferation assay as a fluorescence-based method for in vitro screening of antimalarial activity.

PubMed

Sriwilaijaroen, Nongluk; Kelly, Jane Xu; Riscoe, Michael; Wilairat, Prapon

2004-12-01

The appearance of drug resistant parasites and the absence of an effective vaccine have resulted in the need for new effective antimalarial drugs. Consequently, a convenient method for in vitro screening of large numbers of antimalarial drug candidates has become apparent. The CyQUANT cell proliferation assay is a highly sensitive fluorescence-based method for quantitation of cell number by measuring the strong fluorescence produced when green GR dye binds to nucleic acids. We have applied the CyQUANT assay method to evaluate the growth of Plasmodium falciparum D6 strain in culture. The GR-nucleic acid fluorescence linearly correlated with percent parasitemia at both 0.75 or 1 percent hematocrit with the same correlation coefficient of r2 = 0.99. The sensitivity of P. falciparum D6 strain to chloroquine and to 3,6-bis-omega-diethylaminoamyloxyxanthone, a novel antimalarial, determined by the CyQUANT assay were comparable to those obtained by the traditional [3H]-ethanolamine assay: IC50 value of chloroquine was 54 nM and 51 nM by the CyQUANT and [3H]-ethanolamine assay, respectively; IC50 value for 3,6-bis-omega-diethylaminoamyloxyxanthone was 254 nM and 223 nM by the CyQUANT and [3H]-ethanolamine assay, respectively. This procedure requires no radioisotope, uses simple equipment, and is an easy and convenient procedure, with no washing and harvesting steps. Moreover, all procedures can be set up continuously and thus, the CyQUANT assay is suitable in automatic high through-put drug screening of antimalarial drugs.

DEMONSTRATION BULLETIN: RAPID OPTICAL SCREEN TOOL (ROST™) - LORAL CORPORATION

EPA Science Inventory

The Loral Rapid Optical Screen Tool (ROST™) is a tunable dye laser system used for the detection of petroleum, semi-volatile, and some volatile organic compounds in soils. The technology is used in conjunction with a cone penetrometer (CP).

Modelling skin penetration using the Laplace transform technique.

PubMed

Anissimov, Y G; Watkinson, A

2013-01-01

The Laplace transform is a convenient mathematical tool for solving ordinary and partial differential equations. The application of this technique to problems arising in drug penetration through the skin is reviewed in this paper. © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Dietary screening tool identifies nutritional risk in older adults123

PubMed Central

Miller, Paige E; Mitchell, Diane C; Hartman, Terryl J; Lawrence, Frank R; Sempos, Christopher T; Smiciklas-Wright, Helen

2009-01-01

Background: No rapid methods exist for screening overall dietary intakes in older adults. Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a scoring system for a diet screening tool to identify nutritional risk in community-dwelling older adults. Design: This cross-sectional study in older adults (n = 204) who reside in rural areas examined nutrition status by using an in-person interview, biochemical measures, and four 24-h recalls that included the use of dietary supplements. Results: The dietary screening tool was able to characterize 3 levels of nutritional risk: at risk, possible risk, and not at risk. Individuals classified as at nutritional risk had significantly lower indicators of diet quality (Healthy Eating Index and Mean Adequacy Ratio) and intakes of protein, most micronutrients, dietary fiber, fruit, and vegetables. The at-risk group had higher intakes of fats and oils and refined grains. The at-risk group also had the lowest serum vitamin B-12, folate, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin concentrations. The not-at-nutritional-risk group had significantly higher lycopene and β-carotene and lower homocysteine and methylmalonic acid concentrations. Conclusion: The dietary screening tool is a simple and practical tool that can help to detect nutritional risk in older adults. PMID:19458013

Creation and preliminary validation of the screening for self-medication safety post-stroke scale (S-5).

PubMed

Kaizer, Franceen; Kim, Angela; Van, My Tram; Korner-Bitensky, Nicol

2010-03-01

Patients with stroke should be screened for safety prior to starting a self-medication regime. An extensive literature review revealed no standardized self-medication tool tailored to the multi-faceted needs of the stroke population. The aim of this study was to create and validate a condition-specific tool to be used in screening for self-medication safety in individuals with stroke. Items were generated using expert consultation and review of the existing tools. The draft tool was pilot-tested on expert stroke clinicians to receive feedback on content, clarity, optimal cueing and domain omissions. The final version was piloted on patients with stroke using a structured interviewer-administered interview. The tool was progressively refined and validated according to feedback from the 11 expert reviewers. The subsequent version was piloted on patients with stroke. The final version includes 16 questions designed to elicit information on 5 domains: cognition, communication, motor, visual-perception and, judgement/executive function/self-efficacy. The Screening for Safe Self-medication post-Stroke Scale (S-5) has been created and validated for use by health professionals to screen self-medication safety readiness of patients after stroke. Its use should also help to guide clinicians' recommendations and interventions aimed at enhancing self-medication post-stroke.

Convenient, sensitive and high-throughput method for screening botanic origin.

PubMed

Yuan, Yuan; Jiang, Chao; Liu, Libing; Yu, Shulin; Cui, Zhanhu; Chen, Min; Lin, Shufang; Wang, Shu; Huang, Luqi

2014-06-23

In this work, a rapid (within 4-5 h), sensitive and visible new method for assessing botanic origin is developed by combining loop-mediated isothermal amplification with cationic conjugated polymers. The two Chinese medicinal materials (Jin-Yin-Hua and Shan-Yin-Hua) with similar morphology and chemical composition were clearly distinguished by gene SNP genotyping assays. The identification of plant species in Patented Chinese drugs containing Lonicera buds is successfully performed using this detection system. The method is also robust enough to be used in high-throughput screening. This new method is very helpful to identify herbal materials, and is beneficial for detecting safety and quality of botanic products.

Gender Roles and Acculturation: Relationships With Cancer Screening Among Vietnamese American Women

PubMed Central

Nguyen, Anh B.; Clark, Trenette T.; Belgrave, Faye Z.

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of demographic variables and the interplay between gender roles and acculturation on breast and cervical cancer screening outcomes among Vietnamese American women. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 100 Vietnamese women from the Richmond, VA, metropolitan area. Women were recruited to participate in a larger cancer screening intervention. All participants completed measures on demographic variables, gender roles, acculturation, and cancer screening variables. Findings indicated that traditional masculine gender roles were associated with increased self-efficacy for breast and cervical cancer screening. Higher levels of acculturation were associated with higher probability of having had a Papanicolaou test. In addition, acculturation moderated the relationship between traditional female gender roles and cancer screening variables. For highly acculturated women, higher levels of feminine gender roles predicted higher probability of having had a previous clinical breast exam and higher levels of self-efficacy for cervical cancer screening, while the opposite was true for lower acculturated women. The findings of this study indicate the important roles that sociodemographic variables, gender roles, and acculturation play in affecting health attitudes and behaviors among Vietnamese women. These findings also help to identify a potentially high-risk subgroup and existing gaps that need to be targeted by preventive interventions. PMID:24491129

Gender roles and acculturation: relationships with cancer screening among Vietnamese American women.

PubMed

Nguyen, Anh B; Clark, Trenette T; Belgrave, Faye Z

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of demographic variables and the interplay between gender roles and acculturation on breast and cervical cancer screening outcomes among Vietnamese American women. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 100 Vietnamese women from the Richmond, VA, metropolitan area. Women were recruited to participate in a larger cancer screening intervention. All participants completed measures on demographic variables, gender roles, acculturation, and cancer screening variables. Findings indicated that traditional masculine gender roles were associated with increased self-efficacy for breast and cervical cancer screening. Higher levels of acculturation were associated with higher probability of having had a Papanicolaou test. In addition, acculturation moderated the relationship between traditional female gender roles and cancer screening variables. For highly acculturated women, higher levels of feminine gender roles predicted higher probability of having had a previous clinical breast exam and higher levels of self-efficacy for cervical cancer screening, while the opposite was true for lower acculturated women. The findings of this study indicate the important roles that sociodemographic variables, gender roles, and acculturation play in affecting health attitudes and behaviors among Vietnamese women. These findings also help to identify a potentially high-risk subgroup and existing gaps that need to be targeted by preventive interventions.

Age, BMI, and race are less important than random plasma glucose in identifying risk of glucose intolerance: the Screening for Impaired Glucose Tolerance Study (SIGT 5).

PubMed

Ziemer, David C; Kolm, Paul; Weintraub, William S; Vaccarino, Viola; Rhee, Mary K; Caudle, Jane M; Irving, Jade M; Koch, David D; Narayan, K M Venkat; Phillips, Lawrence S

2008-05-01

Age, BMI, and race/ethnicity are used in National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and American Diabetes Association (ADA) guidelines to prompt screening for pre-diabetes and diabetes, but cutoffs have not been evaluated rigorously. Random plasma glucose (RPG) was measured and 75-g oral glucose tolerance tests were performed in 1,139 individuals without known diabetes. Screening performance was assessed by logistic regression and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AROC). NIDDK/ADA indicators age >45 years and BMI >25 kg/m(2) provided significant detection of both diabetes and dysglycemia (both AROCs 0.63), but screening was better with continuous-variable models of age, BMI, and race and better still with models of age, BMI, race, sex, and family history (AROC 0.78 and 0.72). However, screening was even better with RPG alone (AROCs 0.81 and 0.72). RPG >125 mg/dl could be used to prompt further evaluation with an OGTT. Use of age, BMI, and race/ethnicity in guidelines for screening to detect diabetes and pre-diabetes may be less important than evaluation of RPG. RPG should be investigated further as a convenient, inexpensive screen with good predictive utility.

Measurement properties of screening and diagnostic tools for autism spectrum adults of mean normal intelligence: A systematic review.

PubMed

Baghdadli, A; Russet, F; Mottron, L

2017-07-01

The autism spectrum (AS) is a multifaceted neurodevelopmental variant associated with lifelong challenges. Despite the relevant importance of identifying AS in adults for epidemiological, public health, and quality of life issues, the measurement properties of the tools currently used to screen and diagnose adults without intellectual disabilities (ID) have not been assessed. This systematic review addresses the accuracy, reliability, and validity of the reported AS screening and diagnostic tools used in adults without ID. Electronic databases and bibliographies were searched, and identified papers evaluated against inclusion criteria. The PRISMA statement was used for reporting the review. We evaluated the quality of the papers using the COSMIN Checklist for psychometric data, and QUADAS-2 for diagnostic data. For the COSMIN assessment, evidence was considered to be strong when several methodologically good articles, or one excellent article, reported consistent evidence for or against a measurement property. For the QUADAS ratings, evidence was considered to be "satisfactory" if at least one study was rated with a low risk of bias and low concern about applicability. We included 38 articles comprising 32 studies, five reviews, and one book chapter and assessed nine tools (three diagnostic and six screening, including eight of their short versions). Among screening tools, only AQ-50, AQ-S, and RAADS-R and RAADS-14 were found to provide satisfactory or intermediate values for their psychometric properties, supported by strong or moderate evidence. Nevertheless, risks of bias and concerns on the applicability of these tools limit the evidence on their diagnostic properties. We found that none of the gold standard diagnostic tools used for children had satisfactory measurement properties. There is limited evidence for the measurement properties of the screening and diagnostic tools used for AS adults with a mean normal range of measured intelligence. This may lessen the validity of conclusions and public health decisions on an important fraction of the adult autistic population. This not only justifies further validation studies of screening and diagnostic tools for autistic adults, but also supports the parallel use of self-reported information and clinical expertise with these instruments during the diagnostic process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Socioeconomic factors affecting colorectal, breast and cervical cancer screening in an Asian urban low-income setting at baseline and post-intervention.

PubMed

Wee, Liang En; Koh, Gerald Choon-Huat; Chin, Run Ting; Yeo, Wei Xin; Seow, Branden; Chua, Darren

2012-07-01

Inequalities in cancer screening are little studied in Asian societies. We determined whether area and individual measures of socio-economic status (SES) affected cancer screening participation in Singapore and prospectively evaluated an access-enhancing community-based intervention. The study population involved all residents aged >40 years in two housing estates comprising of owner-occupied (high-SES area) and rental (low-SES area) flats. From 2009 to 2011, non-adherents to regular screening for colorectal/breast/cervical cancer were offered free convenient screening over six months. Pre- and post-intervention screening rates were compared with McNemar's test. Multi-level logistic regression identified factors of regular screening at baseline; Cox regression analysis identified predictors of screening post-intervention. Participation was 78.2% (1081/1383). In the low-SES area, 7.7% (33/427), 20.4% (44/216), and 14.3% (46/321) had regular colorectal, cervical and breast cancer screening respectively. Post-intervention, screening rates in the low-SES area rose significantly to 19.0% (81/427), 25.4% (55/216), and 34.3% (74/216) respectively (p<0.001). Area SES was more consistently associated with screening than individual SES at baseline. Post-intervention, for colorectal cancer screening, those with higher education were more likely to attend (p=0.004); for female cancer screening, the higher-income were less likely to attend (p=0.032). Access-enhancing community-based interventions improve participation among disadvantaged strata of Asian societies. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Obesity Prevention and Screening.

PubMed

Mackey, Eleanor R; Olson, Alexandra; DiFazio, Marc; Cassidy, Omni

2016-03-01

Obesity is widespread, associated with several physical and psychosocial comorbidities, and is difficult to treat. Prevention of obesity across the lifespan is critical to improving the health of individuals and society. Screening and prevention efforts in primary care are an important step in addressing the obesity epidemic. Each period of human development is associated with unique risks, challenges, and opportunities for prevention and intervention. Screening tools for overweight/obesity, although imperfect, are quick and easy to administer. Screening should be conducted at every primary care visit and tracked longitudinally. Screening tools and cutoffs for overweight and obesity vary by age group. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Capturing the Data: Nutrition Risk Screening of Adults in Hospital

PubMed Central

Frew, Elizabeth; Cant, Robyn; Sequeira, Jennifer

2010-01-01

This study aims to explore limitations with the Malnutrition Screening Tool in identifyingmalnutrition risk, in a cohort of 3,033 adult Australian medical and surgical hospital inpatients. Seventy-two percent of patients were screened; illness and medical care limited access to others. Malnutrition risk (16.5%; n = 501) was found in all age groups with a trend to higher risk in medical wards; 10% (n = 300) of patients with communication barriers were excluded. Systematic screening increased dietitians’ referrals by 39%. Further research is required to enable screening of all patients, including those with communication issues with an easy to use valid tool. PMID:22254032

Identification of heme oxygenase-1 stimulators by a convenient ELISA-based bilirubin quantification assay.

PubMed

Rücker, Hannelore; Amslinger, Sabine

2015-01-01

The upregulation of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) has proven to be a useful tool for fighting inflammation. In order to identify new HO-1 inducers, an efficient screening method was developed which can provide new lead structures for drug research. We designed a simple ELISA-based HO-1 enzyme activity assay, which allows for the screening of 12 compounds in parallel in the setting of a 96-well plate. The well-established murine macrophage cell line RAW264.7 is used and only about 26µg of protein from whole cell lysates is needed for the analysis of HO-1 activity. The quantification of HO-1 activity is based on an indirect ELISA using the specific anti-bilirubin antibody 24G7 to quantify directly bilirubin in the whole cell lysate, applying a horseradish peroxidase-tagged antibody together with ortho-phenylenediamine and H2O2 for detection. The bilirubin is produced on the action of HO enzymes by converting their substrate heme to biliverdin and additional recombinant biliverdin reductase together with NADPH at pH 7.4 in buffer. This sensitive assay allows for the detection of 0.57-82pmol bilirubin per sample in whole cell lysates. Twenty-three small molecules, mainly natural products with an α,β-unsaturated carbonyl unit such as polyphenols, including flavonoids and chalcones, terpenes, an isothiocyanate, and the drug oltipraz were tested at typically 6 or 24h incubation with RAW264.7 cells. The activity of known HO-1 inducers was confirmed, while the chalcones cardamonin, flavokawain A, calythropsin, 2',3,4'-trihydroxy-4-methoxychalcone (THMC), and 2',4'-dihydroxy-3,4-dimethoxychalcone (DHDMC) were identified as new potent HO-1 inducers. The highest inductive power after 6h incubation was found at 10µM for DHDMC (6.1-fold), carnosol (3.9-fold), butein (3.1-fold), THMC (2.9-fold), and zerumbone (2.5-fold). Moreover, the time dependence of HO-1 protein production for DHDMC was compared to its enzyme activity, which was further evaluated in the presence of lipopolysaccharide and the specific HO-1 inhibitor tin protoporphyrin IX. Taken together, we developed a convenient and highly sensitive ELISA-based HO-1 enzyme activity assay, allowing the identification and characterization of molecules potentially useful for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Screening for substance abuse risk in cancer patients using the Opioid Risk Tool and urine drug screen.

PubMed

Barclay, Joshua S; Owens, Justine E; Blackhall, Leslie J

2014-07-01

The use of opioids for management of cancer-related pain has increased significantly and has been associated with a substantial rise in rates of substance abuse and diversion. There is a paucity of data not only on the prevalence of substance abuse in cancer patients, but also for issues of drug use and diversion in family caregivers. This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of risk factors for substance abuse and diversion, and abnormal urine drug screens in cancer patients receiving palliative care. A retrospective chart review was performed for patients with cancer who were seen in the University of Virginia Palliative Care Clinic during the month of September 2012. We evaluated Opioid Risk Tool variables and total scores, insurance status, and urine drug screen results. Of the 114 cancer patients seen in September 2012, the mean Opioid Risk Tool score was 3.79, with 43% of patients defined as medium to high risk. Age (16-45 years old, 23%) and a personal history of alcohol (23%) or illicit drugs (21%) were the most common risk factors identified. We obtained a urine drug screen on 40% of patients, noting abnormal findings in 45.65%. Opioids are an effective treatment for cancer-related pain, yet substantial risk for substance abuse exits in the cancer population. Screening tools, such as the Opioid Risk Tool, should be used as part of a complete patient assessment to balance risk with appropriate relief of suffering.

Development of the Sydney Falls Risk Screening Tool in brain injury rehabilitation: A multisite prospective cohort study.

PubMed

McKechnie, Duncan; Fisher, Murray J; Pryor, Julie; Bonser, Melissa; Jesus, Jhoven De

2018-03-01

To develop a falls risk screening tool (FRST) sensitive to the traumatic brain injury rehabilitation population. Falls are the most frequently recorded patient safety incident within the hospital context. The inpatient traumatic brain injury rehabilitation population is one particular population that has been identified as at high risk of falls. However, no FRST has been developed for this patient population. Consequently in the traumatic brain injury rehabilitation population, there is the real possibility that nurses are using falls risk screening tools that have a poor clinical utility. Multisite prospective cohort study. Univariate and multiple logistic regression modelling techniques (backward elimination, elastic net and hierarchical) were used to examine each variable's association with patients who fell. The resulting FRST's clinical validity was examined. Of the 140 patients in the study, 41 (29%) fell. Through multiple logistic regression modelling, 11 variables were identified as predictors for falls. Using hierarchical logistic regression, five of these were identified for inclusion in the resulting falls risk screening tool: prescribed mobility aid (such as, wheelchair or frame), a fall since admission to hospital, impulsive behaviour, impaired orientation and bladder and/or bowel incontinence. The resulting FRST has good clinical validity (sensitivity = 0.9; specificity = 0.62; area under the curve = 0.87; Youden index = 0.54). The tool was significantly more accurate (p = .037 on DeLong test) in discriminating fallers from nonfallers than the Ontario Modified STRATIFY FRST. A FRST has been developed using a comprehensive statistical framework, and evidence has been provided of this tool's clinical validity. The developed tool, the Sydney Falls Risk Screening Tool, should be considered for use in brain injury rehabilitation populations. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Malnutrition in hospitalized patients: results from La Rioja.

PubMed

Martín Palmero, Ángela; Serrano Pérez, Andra; Chinchetru Ranedo, Mª José; Cámara Balda, Alejandro; Martínez de Salinas Santamarí, Mª Ángeles; Villar García, Gonzalo; Marín Lizárraga, Mª Del Mar

2017-03-30

There is a high malnutrition prevalence in hospitalized patients. To determine the malnutrition prevalence in hospitalized patients of La Rioja Community (Spain) when evaluated with different screening/ evaluation tools and its relationship with hospital stay and mortality. Cross sectional observational study of hospitalized adult patients (age > 18 years old) from medical and surgical departments that underwent within 72 h of their admission a nutritional screening with Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS) 2002, Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) y Subjective Global Assessment (SGA). 384 patients (273 medical and 111 surgical) were evaluated. Almost fifty percent of them were considered malnourished independently of the screening/assessment tool used. High concordance was found between SGA and NRS-2002 (k = 0.758). Malnourished patients had a longer hospital stay than those well-nourished (9.29 vs. 7.10 days; p = 0.002), used a greater number of medicines (9.2 vs. 7.4; p = 0.001) and underwent a higher number of diagnostic tests (16.4 vs. 12.5; p = 0,002). Half of the hospitalized patients in the medical and surgical department of La Rioja are malnourished. This is associated with a longer hospital stay, higher use of medicines, diagnostics tests and greater mortality. Malnutrition could be detected with easy screening tools to treat it appropriately.

Systematic review of fall risk screening tools for older patients in acute hospitals.

PubMed

Matarese, Maria; Ivziku, Dhurata; Bartolozzi, Francesco; Piredda, Michela; De Marinis, Maria Grazia

2015-06-01

To determine the most accurate fall risk screening tools for predicting falls among patients aged 65 years or older admitted to acute care hospitals. Falls represent a serious problem in older inpatients due to the potential physical, social, psychological and economic consequences. Older inpatients present with risk factors associated with age-related physiological and psychological changes as well as multiple morbidities. Thus, fall risk screening tools for older adults should include these specific risk factors. There are no published recommendations addressing what tools are appropriate for older hospitalized adults. Systematic review. MEDLINE, CINAHL and Cochrane electronic databases were searched between January 1981-April 2013. Only prospective validation studies reporting sensitivity and specificity values were included. Recommendations of the Cochrane Handbook of Diagnostic Test Accuracy Reviews have been followed. Three fall risk assessment tools were evaluated in seven articles. Due to the limited number of studies, meta-analysis was carried out only for the STRATIFY and Hendrich Fall Risk Model II. In the combined analysis, the Hendrich Fall Risk Model II demonstrated higher sensitivity than STRATIFY, while the STRATIFY showed higher specificity. In both tools, the Youden index showed low prognostic accuracy. The identified tools do not demonstrate predictive values as high as needed for identifying older inpatients at risk for falls. For this reason, no tool can be recommended for fall detection. More research is needed to evaluate fall risk screening tools for older inpatients. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[Short interspersed repetitive sequences (SINEs) and their use as a phylogenetic tool].

PubMed

Kramerov, D A; Vasetskiĭ, N S

2009-01-01

The data on one of the most common repetitive elements of eukaryotic genomes, short interspersed elements (SINEs), are reviewed. Their structure, origin, and functioning in the genome are discussed. The variation and abundance of these neutral genomic markers makes them a convenient and reliable tool for phylogenetic analysis. The main methods of such analysis are presented, and the potential and limitations of this approach are discussed using specific examples.

Willingness and preferences of nurses related to learning with technology.

PubMed

Pilcher, Jobeth W; Bedford, Laurie

2011-01-01

To what extent are nurses willing to learn with technology-enhanced tools, such as online education, podcasts, webcasts, mobile learning, and realistic simulations? What factors influence their willingness? This article includes a description of a mixed methodology study that addressed these questions. Nurses of all ages indicated a willingness to learn with a variety of technological tools. Primary determinants of willingness were associated with ease of use, familiarity, convenience, and perceived benefit.

Development of the geometry database for the CBM experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akishina, E. P.; Alexandrov, E. I.; Alexandrov, I. N.; Filozova, I. A.; Friese, V.; Ivanov, V. V.

2018-01-01

The paper describes the current state of the Geometry Database (Geometry DB) for the CBM experiment. The main purpose of this database is to provide convenient tools for: (1) managing the geometry modules; (2) assembling various versions of the CBM setup as a combination of geometry modules and additional files. The CBM users of the Geometry DB may use both GUI (Graphical User Interface) and API (Application Programming Interface) tools for working with it.

Cognitive assessment tools in Asia: a systematic review.

PubMed

Rosli, Roshaslina; Tan, Maw Pin; Gray, William Keith; Subramanian, Pathmawathi; Chin, Ai-Vyrn

2016-02-01

The prevalence of dementia is increasing in Asia than in any other continent. However, the applicability of the existing cognitive assessment tools is limited by differences in educational and cultural factors in this setting. We conducted a systematic review of published studies on cognitive assessments tools in Asia. We aimed to rationalize the results of available studies which evaluated the validity of cognitive tools for the detection of cognitive impairment and to identify the issues surrounding the available cognitive impairment screening tools in Asia. Five electronic databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Science Direct) were searched using the keywords dementia Or Alzheimer Or cognitive impairment And screen Or measure Or test Or tool Or instrument Or assessment, and 2,381 articles were obtained. Thirty-eight articles, evaluating 28 tools in seven Asian languages, were included. Twenty-nine (76%) of the studies had been conducted in East Asia with only four studies conducted in South Asia and no study from northern, western, or central Asia or Indochina. Local language translations of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) were assessed in 15 and six studies respectively. Only three tools (the Korean Dementia Screening Questionnaire, the Picture-based Memory Intelligence Scale, and the revised Hasegawa Dementia Screen) were derived de novo from Asian populations. These tools were assessed in five studies. Highly variable cut-offs were reported for the MMSE (17-29/30) and MoCA (21-26/30), with 13/19 (68%) of studies reporting educational bias. Few cognitive assessment tools have been validated in Asia, with no published validation studies for many Asian nations and languages. In addition, many available tools display educational bias. Future research should include concerted efforts to develop culturally appropriate tools with minimal educational bias.

The New European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism Definition of Malnutrition: Application for Nutrition Assessment and Prediction of Morbimortality in an Emergency Service.

PubMed

Fink, Jaqueline da Silva; Marcadenti, Aline; Rabito, Estela Iraci; Silva, Flávia Moraes

2017-03-01

Recently, the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) provided novel consensus criteria for malnutrition diagnosis. This study aimed to evaluate the applicability of this instrument in combination with different nutrition screening tools (1) to identify malnutrition and (2) to predict morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. Observational prospective study in 750 adults admitted to the emergency service of a tertiary public hospital. Subjective Global Assessment (SGA-reference method) and the new ESPEN criteria were used to assess nutrition status of patients, who were initially screened for nutrition risk using 4 different tools. Outcome measures included length of hospital stay, occurrence of infection, and incidence of death during hospitalization, analyzed by logistic regression. There was a lack of agreement between the SGA and ESPEN definition of malnutrition, regardless of the nutrition screening tool applied previously (κ = -0.050 to 0.09). However, when Malnutrition Screening Tool and Nutritional Risk Screening-2002 (NRS-2002) were used as the screening tool, malnourished patients according to ESPEN criteria showed higher probability of infection (relative risk [RR], 1.54; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-2.31 and RR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.37-3.10, respectively), and when the NRS-2002 was used, the risk for death was 2.7 times higher (hazard ratio, 2.69; 95% CI, 1.07-6.81) in malnourished patients than in well-nourished patients. Although the new ESPEN criteria had a poor diagnostic value, it seems to be a prognostic tool among hospitalized patients, especially when used in combination with the NRS-2002.

Salivary diagnostics and its impact in dentistry, research, education, and the professional community.

PubMed

Slavkin, H C; Fox, C H; Meyer, D M

2011-10-01

Oral fluid-based (salivary) tests have the potential to create practical, point-of-care clinical instruments that are convenient, practical, and comfortable to use in dentistry and medicine. Currently, there are no simple, accurate, and inexpensive sampling, screening, or detection methods to support definitive diagnostic platforms across dental and medical disciplines. Though the benefits from advancing screening and detection technologies seem eminent, analytical, chemical, molecular, genetic, and protein markers are still under development. Clinical applications in patient care must be validated independently to ensure that they are clinically accurate, reliable, precise, and uniformly consistent for screening and detecting specific diseases or conditions. As technology designed to improve patient care through risk assessment, prevention, and disease management is transferred into clinical practice, dentistry may need to reassess its role in general health care. © International & American Associations for Dental Research

Determinants of participation in colorectal cancer screening among community-dwelling Chinese older people: Testing a comprehensive model using a descriptive correlational study.

PubMed

Leung, Doris Y P; Wong, Eliza M L; Chan, Carmen W H

2016-04-01

The prevalence of colorectal cancer (CRC) among older people is high. Screening for CRC presents a cost-effective secondary prevention and control strategy which results in a significant reduction in mortality. This study aims to describe the prevalence of CRC screening and examine its risk factors among Chinese community-dwelling older people guided by a comprehensive model combining Health Belief Model and Extended Parallel Processing Model. A descriptive correlational study was conducted. A convenience sample of 240 community-dwelling adults aged ≥60 was recruited in May-July in 2012 in Hong Kong. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire which collected information on demographic variables, CRC-related psychosocial variables and whether they had a CRC screening in the past 10 years. Among the participants, 25.4% reported having a CRC screening test. Results of logistic regression analyses indicated that participants with a higher level in cue to action, and lower perceived knowledge barriers and severity-fear were significantly associated with participation in CRC screening. But there were no significant associations between fatalism and cancer fear with screening. The prevalence of CRC screening was low in Hong Kong Chinese community-dwelling elders. A number of modifiable factors associated with CRC screening were identified which provides specific targets for interventions. This study also adds to the knowledge regarding the associations between fatalism and fear with CRC screening behaviors among Chinese older people. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Developing Family Healthware, a family history screening tool to prevent common chronic diseases.

PubMed

Yoon, Paula W; Scheuner, Maren T; Jorgensen, Cynthia; Khoury, Muin J

2009-01-01

Family health history reflects the effects of genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors and is an important risk factor for a variety of disorders including coronary heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. In 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed Family Healthware, a new interactive, Web-based tool that assesses familial risk for 6 diseases (coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and colorectal, breast, and ovarian cancer) and provides a "prevention plan" with personalized recommendations for lifestyle changes and screening. The tool collects data on health behaviors, screening tests, and disease history of a person's first- and second-degree relatives. Algorithms in the software analyze the family history data and assess familial risk based on the number of relatives affected, their age at disease onset, their sex, how closely related the relatives are to each other and to the user, and the combinations of diseases in the family. A second set of algorithms uses the data on familial risk level, health behaviors, and screening to generate personalized prevention messages. Qualitative and quantitative formative research on lay understanding of family history and genetics helped shape the tool's content, labels, and messages. Lab-based usability testing helped refine messages and tool navigation. The tool is being evaluated by 3 academic centers by using a network of primary care practices to determine whether personalized prevention messages tailored to familial risk will motivate people at risk to change their lifestyles or screening behaviors.

Sensitivity and specificity of the subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator pre-implant screening tool.

PubMed

Zeb, Mehmood; Curzen, Nick; Allavatam, Venugopal; Wilson, David; Yue, Arthur; Roberts, Paul; Morgan, John

2015-09-15

The sensitivity and specificity of the subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator (S-ICD) pre-implant screening tool required clinical evaluation. Bipolar vectors were derived from electrodes positioned at locations similar to those employed for S-ICD sensing and pre-implant screening electrodes, and recordings collected through 80-electrode PRIME®-ECGs, in six different postures, from 40 subjects (10 healthy controls, and 30 patients with complex congenital heart disease (CCHD); 10 with Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), 10 with single ventricle physiology (SVP), and 10 with transposition of great arteries (TGA)). The resulting vectors were analysed using the S-ICD pre-implant screening tool (Boston Scientific) and processed through the sensing algorithm of S-ICD (Boston Scientific). The data were then evaluated using 2 × 2 contingency tables. Fisher exact and McNemar tests were used for a comparison of the different categories of CCHD, and p < 0.05 vs. controls considered to be statistically significant. 57% of patients were male, mean age of 36.3 years. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of the S-ICD screening tool were 95%, 79%, 59% and 98%, respectively, for controls, and 84%, 79%, 76% and 86%, respectively, in patients with CCHD (p = 0.0001). The S-ICD screening tool was comparatively more sensitive in normal controls but less specific in both CCHD patients and controls; a possible explanation for the reported high incidence of inappropriate S-ICD shocks. Thus, we propose a pre-implant screening device using the S-ICD sensing algorithm to minimise false exclusion and selection, and hence minimise potentially inappropriate shocks. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Musica de la Frontera: Research Note on the UCLA Frontera Digital Archive

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Romero, Robert Chao

2005-01-01

The Frontera Digital Archive is an impressive and invaluable research tool for multidisciplinary scholars of Chicana/o studies and Latin American studies. The archive preserves rare Mexican vernacular musical recordings and provides convenient access to these recordings via Internet.

Molecular methods for pathogen detection and quantification

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Ongoing interest in convenient, inexpensive, fast, sensitive and accurate techniques for detecting and/or quantifying the presence of soybean pathogens has resulted in increased usage of molecular tools. The method of extracting a molecular target (usually DNA or RNA) for detection depends wholly up...

Stormwater Management Model

EPA Science Inventory

SWMM is a model for urban hydrology. It has a long history and is relied upon by professional engineers in the US and around the world. SWMM provides both gray and green Infrastructure modeling capabilities. As such, it is a convenient tool for understanding the tradeoff between ...

Screening cognitive impairment among institutionalized older Chinese men in Taiwan: a new minimum data set-based dementia screening tool is needed.

PubMed

Lin, Chu-Sheng; Lin, Ming-Hsien; Peng, Li-Ning; Chen, Liang-Kung; Hwang, Shinn-Jang; Lan, Chung-Fu

2011-01-01

Dementia screening is of great importance in various health settings for older people, long-term care facilities are no exception. The need for an effective dementia screening tool being culture sensitive is important. Minimum data set (MDS) is a population instrument for health care management in the world, which also covers dementia screening. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the MDS-based dementia screening tools among older Chinese men in the Veteran Home in Taiwan. Overall, 576 participants (mean age: 80.9±5.3 years, all males, 92.7% physically independent), 18.6% had cognitive impairment according to the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) (mean score: 26.7±3.9). However, the prevalence of cognitive impairment was 5.5% by MDS cognitive performance scale (CPS) and 18.9% by MDS cognition scale (MDS-COGS). The screening results of CPS and MDS-COGS were highly interrelated (γ=0.93, p<0.001), and MMSE scores were also significantly associated with CPS and MDS-COGS status (γ=-0.50, p<0.001 and γ=-0.52, p<0.001, respectively). Although the prevalence of cognitive impairment by MMSE and MDS-COGS are similar, the results are significantly inconsistent (p<0.001). In conclusion, both MDS-COGS and CPS were significantly correlated with MMSE scores, but significant inconsistence was noted between screening results of MMSE, CPS and MDS-COGS. Further study is needed to develop MDS-based dementia screening tools for older Chinese men in Taiwan. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Molecular Diagnosis of Malaria by Photo-Induced Electron Transfer Fluorogenic Primers: PET-PCR

PubMed Central

Lucchi, Naomi W.; Narayanan, Jothikumar; Karell, Mara A.; Xayavong, Maniphet; Kariuki, Simon; DaSilva, Alexandre J.; Hill, Vincent; Udhayakumar, Venkatachalam

2013-01-01

There is a critical need for developing new malaria diagnostic tools that are sensitive, cost effective and capable of performing large scale diagnosis. The real-time PCR methods are particularly robust for large scale screening and they can be used in malaria control and elimination programs. We have designed novel self-quenching photo-induced electron transfer (PET) fluorogenic primers for the detection of P. falciparum and the Plasmodium genus by real-time PCR. A total of 119 samples consisting of different malaria species and mixed infections were used to test the utility of the novel PET-PCR primers in the diagnosis of clinical samples. The sensitivity and specificity were calculated using a nested PCR as the gold standard and the novel primer sets demonstrated 100% sensitivity and specificity. The limits of detection for P. falciparum was shown to be 3.2 parasites/µl using both Plasmodium genus and P. falciparum-specific primers and 5.8 parasites/µl for P. ovale, 3.5 parasites/µl for P. malariae and 5 parasites/µl for P. vivax using the genus specific primer set. Moreover, the reaction can be duplexed to detect both Plasmodium spp. and P. falciparum in a single reaction. The PET-PCR assay does not require internal probes or intercalating dyes which makes it convenient to use and less expensive than other real-time PCR diagnostic formats. Further validation of this technique in the field will help to assess its utility for large scale screening in malaria control and elimination programs. PMID:23437209

Understanding and promoting treatment-seeking for eating disorders and body image concerns on college campuses through online screening, prevention and intervention.

PubMed

Lipson, Sarah Ketchen; Jones, J Megan; Taylor, C Barr; Wilfley, Denise E; Eichen, Dawn M; Fitzsimmons-Craft, Ellen E; Eisenberg, Daniel

2017-04-01

While there have been important recent advances in the development of effective universal prevention and intervention programs, it is not yet clear how to engage large numbers of students in these programs. In this paper, we report findings from a two-phase pilot study. In the first phase, we used a population-level, online survey to assess eating disorder symptom level and habits/attitudes related to service utilization (N=2180). Using validated screening tools, we found that roughly one in three students has significant symptoms of eating disorders or elevated weight concerns, the vast majority of whom (86.5%) have not received treatment. In the second phase, we referred students to online prevention and selective/indicated intervention programs based on symptom classification (N=1916). We find that program enrollment is highest for students in the indicated intervention (18.1%) and lowest for students in the universal prevention (4.1%). We find that traditionally-emphasized barriers such as stigma, misinformation, and financial limitations do not appear to be the most important factors preventing treatment-seeking. Rather students report not seeking help for reasons such as lack of time, lack of perceived need, and a desire to deal with the issue "on my own." Findings offer insight into the treatment-seeking habits and attitudes of college students, including those barriers that may be overcome by offering online programs and those that persist despite increased access to and convenience of relevant resources. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

General consumer communication tools for improved image management and communication in medicine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ratib, Osman M.; Rosset, Antoine; McCoy, J. Michael

2005-04-01

We elected to explore emerging consumer technologies that can be adopted to improve and facilitate image and data communication in medical and clinical environment. The wide adoption of new communication paradigm such as instant messaging, chatting and direct emailing can be integrated in specific applications. The increasing capacity of portable and hand held devices such as iPod music players offer an attractive alternative for data storage that exceeds the capabilities of traditional offline storage media such as CD or even DVD. We adapted medical image display and manipulation software called OSIRIX to integrate different innovative technologies facilitating the communication and data transfer between remote users. We integrated email and instant messaging features to the program allowing users to instantaneously email an image or a set of images that are displayed on the screen. Using iChat instant messaging application from Apple a user can share the content of his screen with a remote correspondent and communicate in real time using voice and video. To provide convenient mechanism for exchange of large data sets the program can store the data in DICOM format on CD or DVD, but was also extended to use the large storage capacity of iPod hard disks as well as Apple"s online storage service "dot Mac" that users can subscribe to benefit from scalable secure storage that accessible from anywhere on the internet. The adoption of these innovative technologies is likely to change the architecture of traditional picture archiving and communication systems and provide more flexible and efficient means of communication.

UNDERSTANDING AND PROMOTING TREATMENT-SEEKING FOR EATING DISORDERS AND BODY IMAGE CONCERNS ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES THROUGH ONLINE SCREENING, PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION

PubMed Central

Lipson, Sarah Ketchen; Jones, J. Megan; Taylor, C. Barr; Wilfley, Denise E.; Eichen, Dawn M.; Fitzsimmons-Craft, Ellen E.; Eisenberg, Daniel

2017-01-01

While there have been important recent advances in the development of effective universal prevention and intervention programs, it is not yet clear how to engage large numbers of students in these programs. In this paper, we report findings from a two-phase pilot study. In the first phase, we used a population-level, online survey to assess eating disorder symptom level and habits/attitudes related to service utilization (N=2,180). Using validated screening tools, we found that roughly one in three students have significant symptoms of eating disorders or elevated weight concerns, the vast majority of whom (86.5%) have not received treatment. In the second phase, we referred students to online prevention and selective/indicated intervention programs based on symptom classification (N=1,916). We find that program enrollment is highest for students in the indicated intervention (18.1%) and lowest for students in the universal prevention (4.1%). We find that traditionally-emphasized barriers such as stigma, misinformation, and financial limitations do not appear to be the most important factors preventing treatment-seeking. Rather students report not seeking help for reasons such as lack of time, lack of perceived need, and a desire to deal with the issue “on my own.” Findings offer insight into the treatment-seeking habits and attitudes of college students, including those barriers that may be overcome by offering online programs and those that persist despite increased access to and convenience of relevant resources. PMID:27117825

Older Korean American men's prostate cancer screening behavior: the prime role of culture.

PubMed

Lee, Hee Yun; Jung, Yunkyung

2013-12-01

East and South Asian male immigrants show markedly low odds of prostate cancer screening as compared to U.S.-born men. However, knowledge about these immigrants' culture-based screening behavior and barriers to screening is extremely limited. This study investigates factors influencing receipt of prostate cancer screening among Korean American immigrant men, particularly investigating culture's impact on screening behaviors. Data were collected through a convenience and purposive sampling technique from 134 Korean American males aged 50 and older recruited in New York City. A structured questionnaire was used and cultural variables were measured by adopting items from Tang and colleagues' work. Approximately 60 % of the sample had received a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test in their lifetime, and of these, about 66 % reported having done so in the previous 12 months. Logistic regression analysis revealed that a crisis-oriented intervention approach was associated with a substantially reduced likelihood of screening. A positive correlation was noted between the use of Eastern medicine and PSA test receipt. Further analysis revealed a significant interaction effect between use of Eastern medicine and age in predicting PSA test uptake. Culture-specific intervention strategies for increasing prostate cancer screening in this group are discussed, with particular attention to increasing pertinent health literacy. Health professionals should consider the cultural domain when working with Korean immigrant men in order to provide culturally competent care.

Data integration and warehousing: coordination between newborn screening and related public health programs.

PubMed

Therrell, Bradford L

2003-01-01

At birth, patient demographic and health information begin to accumulate in varied databases. There are often multiple sources of the same or similar data. New public health programs are often created without considering data linkages. Recently, newborn hearing screening (NHS) programs and immunization programs have virtually ignored the existence of newborn dried blood spot (DBS) newborn screening databases containing similar demographic data, creating data duplication in their 'new' systems. Some progressive public health departments are developing data warehouses of basic, recurrent patient information, and linking these databases to other health program databases where programs and services can benefit from such linkages. Demographic data warehousing saves time (and money) by eliminating duplicative data entry and reducing the chances of data errors. While newborn screening data are usually the first data available, they should not be the only data source considered for early data linkage or for populating a data warehouse. Birth certificate information should also be considered along with other data sources for infants that may not have received newborn screening or who may have been born outside of the jurisdiction and not have birth certificate information locally available. This newborn screening serial number provides a convenient identification number for use in the DBS program and for linking with other systems. As a minimum, data linkages should exist between newborn dried blood spot screening, newborn hearing screening, immunizations, birth certificates and birth defect registries.

A review of cultural adaptations of screening tools for autism spectrum disorders.

PubMed

Soto, Sandra; Linas, Keri; Jacobstein, Diane; Biel, Matthew; Migdal, Talia; Anthony, Bruno J

2015-08-01

Screening children to determine risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders has become more common, although some question the advisability of such a strategy. The purpose of this systematic review is to identify autism screening tools that have been adapted for use in cultures different from that in which they were developed, evaluate the cultural adaptation process, report on the psychometric properties of the adapted instruments, and describe the implications for further research and clinical practice. A total of 21 articles met criteria for inclusion, reporting on the cultural adaptation of autism screening in 19 countries and in 10 languages. The cultural adaptation process was not always clearly outlined and often did not include the recommended guidelines. Cultural/linguistic modifications to the translated tools tended to increase with the rigor of the adaptation process. Differences between the psychometric properties of the original and adapted versions were common, indicating the need to obtain normative data on populations to increase the utility of the translated tool. © The Author(s) 2014.

The Feasibility of Standardised Geriatric Assessment Tools and Physical Exercises in Frail Older Adults.

PubMed

Jadczak, A D; Mahajan, N; Visvanathan, R

2017-01-01

Geriatric assessment tools are applicable to the general geriatric population; however, their feasibility in frail older adults is yet to be determined. The study aimed to determine the feasibility of standardised geriatric assessment tools and physical exercises in hospitalised frail older adults. Various assessment tools including the FRAIL Screen, the Charlson Comorbidity Index, the SF-36, the Trail Making Test (TMT), the Rapid Cognitive Screen, the Self Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA-SF) and the Lawton iADL as well as standard physical exercises were assessed using observational protocols. The FRAIL Screen, MNA-SF, Rapid Cognitive Screen, Lawton iADL and the physical exercises were deemed to be feasible with only minor comprehension, execution and safety issues. The TMT was not considered to be feasible and the SF-36 should be replaced by its shorter form, the SF-12. In order to ensure the validity of these findings a study with a larger sample size should be undertaken.

Discovery of novel anti-HIV agents via Cu(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) click chemistry-based approach.

PubMed

Gao, Ping; Sun, Lin; Zhou, Junsu; Li, Xiao; Zhan, Peng; Liu, Xinyong

2016-09-01

In recent years, a variety of new synthetic methodologies and concepts have been proposed in the search for new pharmaceutical lead structures and optimization. Notably, the Cu(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) click chemistry approach has drawn great attention and has become a powerful tool for the generation of privileged medicinal skeletons in the discovery of anti-HIV agents. This is due to the high degree of reliability, complete specificity (chemoselectivity and regioselectivity), mild conditions, and the biocompatibility of the reactants. Herein, the authors describe the progress thus far on the discovery of novel anti-HIV agents via the CuAAC click chemistry-based approach. CuAAC click chemistry is a proven protocol for synthesizing triazole products which could serve as basic pharmacophores, act as replacements of traditional scaffold or substituent modification, be a linker of dual-target or dual-site inhibitors and more for the discovery of novel anti-HIV agents. What's more, it also provides convenience and feasibility for dynamic combinatorial chemistry and in situ screening. It is envisioned that click chemistry will draw more attention and make more contributions in anti-HIV drug discovery in the future.

[Dental caries and early childhood development: a pilot study].

PubMed

Núñez, F Loreto; Sanz, B Javier; Mejía, L Gloria

2015-01-01

To investigate the association between dental caries and early childhood development in 3-year-olds from Talca, Chile. A pilot study with a convenience sample of 3-year-olds from Talca (n = 39) who attend public healthcare centers. Child development was measured by the Psychomotor Development Index (PDI), a screening tool used nationally among pre-school children to assess language development, fine motor skills and coordination areas. Dental caries prevalence was evaluated by decayed, missing, filled teeth (DFMT) and decayed, missing, filled tooth surfaces (DFMS) ceo-d and ceo-s indexes. The children were divided into two groups according to the PDIscore: those with a score of 40 or more were considered developmentally normal (n = 32), and those with a score below 40 were considered as having impaired development (n = 7). The severity of caries (DMFT) was negatively correlated with PDI (r = -0.82), and children with the lowest TEPSI score had the highest DFMT values. The average DMFT in children with normal development was 1.31, and 3.57 for those with impaired development. This pilot study indicates that the severity of dental caries is correlated with early childhood development. Copyright © 2015. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U.

Development of an immunochromatographic kit for rapid detection of human influenza B virus infection.

PubMed

Zhang, Peirui; Duan, Yueqiang; Zhang, Dexi; Zhang, Shaogeng; Li, Zhiwei; Wang, Xiliang; Yang, Penghui

2014-01-01

Type B influenza virus is a major epidemic strain responsible for considerable mortality and morbidity. A colloidal gold immunochromatographic strip for the rapid detection of human influenza B virus was developed. This test is based on membrane chromatography and uses colloidal gold conjugated with influenza B virus anti-NP monoclonal antibody as the tracer. The assembled test strip was housed in a plastic case. The colloid gold strip (CGS) specifically detected all influenza B viruses tested and did not react with other respiratory viruses. Compared with SYBR Green real-time PCR, the sensitivity and specificity of the CGS test was 89.76% and 99.56%, respectively, and the consistency ratio between CGS and real-time PCR was 96.06% in detecting influenza B virus in 710 nasopharyngeal swabs from patients with influenza-like illness in the hospital. The CGS array developed in this study enabled typing of influenza B viruses in human clinical specimens. Thus, together with the advantages of rapid detection and easy operation without requiring specialized personnel and equipment, this technique is a convenient and relatively inexpensive diagnostic tool for large-scale screening of clinical samples.

Wavelet Compression of Satellite-Transmitted Digital Mammograms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zheng, Yuan F.

2001-01-01

Breast cancer is one of the major causes of cancer death in women in the United States. The most effective way to treat breast cancer is to detect it at an early stage by screening patients periodically. Conventional film-screening mammography uses X-ray films which are effective in detecting early abnormalities of the breast. Direct digital mammography has the potential to improve the image quality and to take advantages of convenient storage, efficient transmission, and powerful computer-aided diagnosis, etc. One effective alternative to direct digital imaging is secondary digitization of X-ray films. This technique may not provide as high an image quality as the direct digital approach, but definitely have other advantages inherent to digital images. One of them is the usage of satellite-transmission technique for transferring digital mammograms between a remote image-acquisition site and a central image-reading site. This technique can benefit a large population of women who reside in remote areas where major screening and diagnosing facilities are not available. The NASA-Lewis Research Center (LeRC), in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF), has begun a pilot study to investigate the application of the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) network to telemammography. The bandwidth of the T1 transmission is limited (1.544 Mbps) while the size of a mammographic image is huge. It takes a long time to transmit a single mammogram. For example, a mammogram of 4k by 4k pixels with 16 bits per pixel needs more than 4 minutes to transmit. Four images for a typical screening exam would take more than 16 minutes. This is too long a time period for a convenient screening. Consequently, compression is necessary for making satellite-transmission of mammographic images practically possible. The Wavelet Research Group of the Department of Electrical Engineering at The Ohio State University (OSU) participated in the LeRC-CCF collaboration by providing advanced compression technology using wavelet transform. OSU developed a time-efficient software package with various wavelets to compress a serious of mammographic images. This documents reports the result of the compression activities.

Dementia Screening Accuracy is Robust to Premorbid IQ Variation: Evidence from the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-III and the Test of Premorbid Function.

PubMed

Stott, Joshua; Scior, Katrina; Mandy, William; Charlesworth, Georgina

2017-01-01

Scores on cognitive screening tools for dementia are associated with premorbid IQ. It has been suggested that screening scores should be adjusted accordingly. However, no study has examined whether premorbid IQ variation affects screening accuracy. To investigate whether the screening accuracy of a widely used cognitive screening tool for dementia, the Addenbrooke's cognitive examination-III (ACE-III), is improved by adjusting for premorbid IQ. 171 UK based adults (96 memory service attendees diagnosed with dementia and 75 healthy volunteers over the age of 65 without subjective memory impairments) completed the ACE-III and the Test of Premorbid Function (TOPF). The difference in screening performance between the ACE-III alone and the ACE-III adjusted for TOPF was assessed against a reference standard; the presence or absence of a diagnosis of dementia (Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, or others). Logistic regression and receiver operating curve analyses indicated that the ACE-III has excellent screening accuracy (93% sensitivity, 94% specificity) in distinguishing those with and without a dementia diagnosis. Although ACE-III scores were associated with TOPF scores, TOPF scores may be affected by having dementia and screening accuracy was not improved by accounting for premorbid IQ, age, or years of education. ACE-III screening accuracy is high and screening performance is robust to variation in premorbid IQ, age, and years of education. Adjustment of ACE-III cut-offs for premorbid IQ is not recommended in clinical practice. The analytic strategy used here may be useful to assess the impact of premorbid IQ on other screening tools.

Musculoskeletal impairment survey in Rwanda: Design of survey tool, survey methodology, and results of the pilot study (a cross sectional survey)

PubMed Central

Atijosan, Oluwarantimi; Kuper, Hannah; Rischewski, Dorothea; Simms, Victoria; Lavy, Christopher

2007-01-01

Background Musculoskeletal impairment (MSI) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, especially in developing countries. Prevalence studies for MSI in the developing world have used varying methodologies and are seldom directly comparable. This study aimed to develop a new tool to screen for and diagnose MSI and to pilot test the methodology for a national survey in Rwanda. Methods A 7 question screening tool to identify cases of MSI was developed through literature review and discussions with healthcare professionals. To validate the tool, trained rehabilitation technicians screened 93 previously identified gold standard 'cases' and 86 'non cases'. Sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value were calculated. A standardised examination protocol was developed to determine the aetiology and diagnosis of MSI for those who fail the screening test. For the national survey in Rwanda, multistage cluster random sampling, with probability proportional to size procedures will be used for selection of a cross-sectional, nationally representative sample of the population. Households to be surveyed will be chosen through compact segment sampling and all individuals within chosen households will be screened. A pilot survey of 680 individuals was conducted using the protocol. Results: The screening tool demonstrated 99% sensitivity and 97% specificity for MSI, and a positive predictive value of 98%. During the pilot study 468 out of 680 eligible subjects (69%) were screened. 45 diagnoses were identified in 38 persons who were cases of MSI. The subjects were grouped into categories based on diagnostic subgroups of congenital (1), traumatic (17), infective (2) neurological (6) and other acquired(19). They were also separated into mild (42.1%), moderate (42.1%) and severe (15.8%) cases, using an operational definition derived from the World Health Organisation's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Conclusion: The screening tool had good sensitivity and specificity and was appropriate for use in a national survey. The pilot study showed that the survey protocol was appropriate for measuring the prevalence of MSI in Rwanda. This survey is an important step to building a sound epidemiological understanding of MSI, to enable appropriate health service planning. PMID:17391509

A pilot study of an HbA1c chairside screening protocol for diabetes in patients with chronic periodontitis: the dental hygienist's role.

PubMed

Bossart, M; Calley, K H; Gurenlian, J R; Mason, B; Ferguson, R E; Peterson, T

2016-05-01

To assess effectiveness, convenience and cost of point-of-care diabetes screenings performed by a dental hygienist for patients with periodontitis, using a diabetes risk questionnaire, periodontal findings and a glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) analyser. A purposive sample of 50 participants with periodontitis, never diagnosed with diabetes, reporting ≥one diabetes risk factor, were administered an HbA1c test. Spearman's correlation measured relationships between HbA1c and diabetes risk test scores, numbers of missing teeth, percentage of deep pockets ≥5 mm and percentage of bleeding sites (BOP). Cost and time were assessed. Analyses used 0.05 alpha levels. Thirty-two per cent (n = 16) of participants presented HbA1c values indicating prediabetes; one HbA1c value indicated type 2 diabetes, totalling 34% (N = 17). No relationships existed between HbA1c values and diabetes risk scores (rs = 0.153; P = 0.144), numbers of missing teeth (r = 0.190; P = 0.093), percentage of deep pockets (rs = -0.048; P = 0.370) or percentage of BOP sites (rs = 0.066, P = 0.324). Direct cost for each HbA1c was $9US, excluding follow-up medical diagnosis. Mean screening time including patient education was 14 min (SD = 6.2). Fifty-three per cent (n = 9 of 17) of participants with elevated HbA1c values contacted their primary healthcare provider within 2 weeks as recommended. Point-of-care HbA1c screenings by dental hygienists were effective and convenient for identifying undiagnosed prediabetes and provide opportunity for interprofessional patient care; cost or lack of dental insurance may inhibit implementation. Identification of patients at risk for diabetes requires further evaluation. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Performance of screening tools in detecting major depressive disorder among patients with coronary heart disease: a systematic review.

PubMed

Ren, Yanping; Yang, Hui; Browning, Colette; Thomas, Shane; Liu, Meiyan

2015-03-01

Eligible studies published before 31 Dec 2013 were identified from the following databases: Ovid Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Scopus, Cochrane Library, CINAHL Plus, and Web of Science. Eligible studies published before 31, Dec 2013 were identified from the following databases: Ovid Medline, EMBASE, psycINFO, Scopus, Cochrane Library, CINAHL Plus, and Web of Science. Eight studies aiming to identify MDD in CHD patients were included, and there were 10 self-reporting questionnaires (such as PHQ-2, PHQ-9, PHQ categorical algorithm, HADS-D, BDI, BDI-II, BDI-II-cog, CES-D, SCL-90, 2 simple yes/no items) and 1 observer rating scale (Ham-D). For MDD alone, the sensitivity and specificity of various screening tools at the validity and optimal cut-off point varied from 0.34 [0.19, 0.52] to 0.96 [0.78, 1.00] and 0.69 [0.65, 0.73] to 0.97 [0.93, 0.99]. Results showed PHQ-9 (≥10), BDI-II (³14 or ≥16), and HADS-D (≥5 or ≥4) were widely used for screening MDD in CHD patients. There is no consensus on the optimal screening tool for MDD in CHD patients. When evaluating the performance of a screening tool, balancing the high sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV) between specificity and positive predictive value (PPV) for screening or diagnostic purpose should be considered. After screening, further diagnosis, appropriate management, and necessary referral may also improve cardiovascular outcomes.

New tools and approaches to newborn screening: ready to open Pandora's box?

PubMed

Ficicioglu, Can

2017-05-01

The landscape of newborn screening (NBS) is changing as new tools are developed. We must acknowledge that NBS is a very important and extraordinarily positive initiative especially for rare and serious inherited disorders; however, lessons learned from current NBS should guide the future of NBS as we enter the era of "omics" that will expand NBS for many other genetic disorders. In this article, I will first discuss new tools such as genomics and metabolomics for NBS. I will then turn to assessing how best to take advantage of new technical developments while considering the best interests of patients and the success of newborn screening.

Consensus statements for screening and assessment tools.

PubMed

Bédard, Michel; Dickerson, Anne E

2014-04-01

Occupational therapists, both generalists and specialists, have a critical role in providing services to senior drivers. These services include evaluating fitness-to-drive, developing interventions to support community mobility, and facilitating the transition from driving to non-driving when necessary for personal and community safety. The evaluation component and decision-making process about fitness-to-drive are highly dependent on the use of screening and assessment tools. The purpose of this paper is to briefly present the rationale and context for 12 consensus statements about the usefulness and appropriateness of screening and assessment tools to determine fitness-to-drive, within the occupational therapy clinical setting, and their implications on community mobility.

The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and a single screening question as screening tools for depressive disorder in Dutch advanced cancer patients.

PubMed

Warmenhoven, Franca; van Rijswijk, Eric; Engels, Yvonne; Kan, Cornelis; Prins, Judith; van Weel, Chris; Vissers, Kris

2012-02-01

Depression is highly prevalent in advanced cancer patients, but the diagnosis of depressive disorder in patients with advanced cancer is difficult. Screening instruments could facilitate diagnosing depressive disorder in patients with advanced cancer. The aim of this study was to determine the validity of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and a single screening question as screening tools for depressive disorder in advanced cancer patients. Patients with advanced metastatic disease, visiting the outpatient palliative care department, were asked to fill out a self-questionnaire containing the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and a single screening question "Are you feeling depressed?" The mood section of the PRIME-MD was used as a gold standard. Sixty-one patients with advanced metastatic disease were eligible to be included in the study. Complete data were obtained from 46 patients. The area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristics analysis of the BDI-II was 0.82. The optimal cut-off point of the BDI-II was 16 with a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 69%. The single screening question showed a sensitivity of 50% and a specificity of 94%. The BDI-II seems an adequate screening tool for a depressive disorder in advanced cancer patients. The sensitivity of a single screening question is poor.

Assessing local capacity to expand rural breast cancer screening and patient navigation: An iterative mixed-method tool.

PubMed

Inrig, Stephen J; Higashi, Robin T; Tiro, Jasmin A; Argenbright, Keith E; Lee, Simon J Craddock

2017-04-01

Despite federal funding for breast cancer screening, fragmented infrastructure and limited organizational capacity hinder access to the full continuum of breast cancer screening and clinical follow-up procedures among rural-residing women. We proposed a regional hub-and-spoke model, partnering with local providers to expand access across North Texas. We describe development and application of an iterative, mixed-method tool to assess county capacity to conduct community outreach and/or patient navigation in a partnership model. Our tool combined publicly-available quantitative data with qualitative assessments during site visits and semi-structured interviews. Application of our tool resulted in shifts in capacity designation in 10 of 17 county partners: 8 implemented local outreach with hub navigation; 9 relied on the hub for both outreach and navigation. Key factors influencing capacity: (1) formal linkages between partner organizations; (2) inter-organizational relationships; (3) existing clinical service protocols; (4) underserved populations. Qualitative data elucidate how our tool captured these capacity changes. Our capacity assessment tool enabled the hub to establish partnerships with county organizations by tailoring support to local capacity and needs. Absent a vertically integrated provider network for preventive services in these rural counties, our tool facilitated a virtually integrated regional network to extend access to breast cancer screening to underserved women. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Generation of Scaffold-free, Three-dimensional Insulin Expressing Pancreatoids from Mouse Pancreatic Progenitors In Vitro.

PubMed

Scavuzzo, Marissa A; Teaw, Jessica; Yang, Diane; Borowiak, Malgorzata

2018-06-02

The pancreas is a complex organ composed of many different cell types that work together to regulate blood glucose homeostasis and digestion. These cell types include enzyme-secreting acinar cells, an arborized ductal system responsible for the transportation of enzymes to the gut, and hormone-producing endocrine cells. Endocrine beta-cells are the sole cell type in the body that produce insulin to lower blood glucose levels. Diabetes, a disease characterized by a loss or the dysfunction of beta-cells, is reaching epidemic proportions. Thus, it is essential to establish protocols to investigate beta-cell development that can be used for screening purposes to derive the drug and cell-based therapeutics. While the experimental investigation of mouse development is essential, in vivo studies are laborious and time-consuming. Cultured cells provide a more convenient platform for screening; however, they are unable to maintain the cellular diversity, architectural organization, and cellular interactions found in vivo. Thus, it is essential to develop new tools to investigate pancreatic organogenesis and physiology. Pancreatic epithelial cells develop in the close association with mesenchyme from the onset of organogenesis as cells organize and differentiate into the complex, physiologically competent adult organ. The pancreatic mesenchyme provides important signals for the endocrine development, many of which are not well understood yet, thus difficult to recapitulate during the in vitro culture. Here, we describe a protocol to culture three-dimensional, cellular complex mouse organoids that retain mesenchyme, termed pancreatoids. The e10.5 murine pancreatic bud is dissected, dissociated, and cultured in a scaffold-free environment. These floating cells self-assemble with mesenchyme enveloping the developing pancreatoid and a robust number of endocrine beta-cells developing along with the acinar and the duct cells. This system can be used to study the cell fate determination, structural organization, and morphogenesis, cell-cell interactions during organogenesis, or for the drug, small molecule, or genetic screening.

A web-based screening tool for near-port air quality assessments

EPA Science Inventory

The Community model for near-PORT applications (C-PORT) is a screening tool with an intended purpose of calculating differences in annual averaged concentration patterns and relative contributions of various source categories over the spatial domain within about 10 km of the port...

Screening Tools to Estimate Mold Burdens in Homes

EPA Science Inventory

Objective: The objective of this study was to develop screening tools that could be used to estimate the mold burden in a home which would indicate whether more detailed testing might be useful. Methods: Previously, in the American Healthy Home Survey, a DNA-based method of an...

THE USEPA'S METAL FINISHING FACILITY RISK SCREENING TOOL (MFFRST)

EPA Science Inventory

The US Environmetal ProtectionAgenccy's Metal Finishing
Facility Risk Screening Tool (MFFRST)

William M. Barrett Jr, Ph.D. , P.E. ; Paul Harten, Ph.D.1, and Matthew Lorber

The US Environmental Protection Agency completed the development of the first version of...

CMOST: an open-source framework for the microsimulation of colorectal cancer screening strategies.

PubMed

Prakash, Meher K; Lang, Brian; Heinrich, Henriette; Valli, Piero V; Bauerfeind, Peter; Sonnenberg, Amnon; Beerenwinkel, Niko; Misselwitz, Benjamin

2017-06-05

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. CRC incidence and mortality can be reduced by several screening strategies, including colonoscopy, but randomized CRC prevention trials face significant obstacles such as the need for large study populations with long follow-up. Therefore, CRC screening strategies will likely be designed and optimized based on computer simulations. Several computational microsimulation tools have been reported for estimating efficiency and cost-effectiveness of CRC prevention. However, none of these tools is publicly available. There is a need for an open source framework to answer practical questions including testing of new screening interventions and adapting findings to local conditions. We developed and implemented a new microsimulation model, Colon Modeling Open Source Tool (CMOST), for modeling the natural history of CRC, simulating the effects of CRC screening interventions, and calculating the resulting costs. CMOST facilitates automated parameter calibration against epidemiological adenoma prevalence and CRC incidence data. Predictions of CMOST were highly similar compared to a large endoscopic CRC prevention study as well as predictions of existing microsimulation models. We applied CMOST to calculate the optimal timing of a screening colonoscopy. CRC incidence and mortality are reduced most efficiently by a colonoscopy between the ages of 56 and 59; while discounted life years gained (LYG) is maximal at 49-50 years. With a dwell time of 13 years, the most cost-effective screening is at 59 years, at $17,211 discounted USD per LYG. While cost-efficiency varied according to dwell time it did not influence the optimal time point of screening interventions within the tested range. Predictions of CMOST are highly similar compared to a randomized CRC prevention trial as well as those of other microsimulation tools. This open source tool will enable health-economics analyses in for various countries, health-care scenarios and CRC prevention strategies. CMOST is freely available under the GNU General Public License at https://gitlab.com/misselwb/CMOST.

The STRONGkids nutritional risk screening tool can be used by paediatric nurses to identify hospitalised children at risk.

PubMed

Moeeni, Vesal; Walls, Tony; Day, Andrew S

2014-12-01

Hospitalised children have higher rates of undernutrition. Early detection of at-risk patients could lead to prompt preventative or corrective interventions. Several nutritional risk screening tools are available for screening hospitalised children including the STRONGkids tool. This study was designed to assess the usefulness of STRONGkids when applied by nurses rather than a paediatrician. The STRONGkids questionnaire was simplified to enhance clarity with nursing staff. Trained nursing staff were asked to apply the tool to children, aged 1 month to 17 years, admitted to the Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand. Each patient was also assessed by a paediatrician. In addition, the current nutritional state of each patient was defined by measuring their weight and height. Of the 162 children enrolled, 11.7% were undernourished and 13% overnourished. STRONGkids recognised 84% of undernourished children when the tool was applied by nurses and 90% when the tool was applied by a paediatrician, indicating substantial agreement (kappa = 0.65). A minor simplification to the questionnaire improved its utility. STRONGkids successfully recognised at-risk children, when applied by either nurses or a paediatrician. It was suitable and feasible for nursing staff to use it to screen for children at risk of nutritional deterioration. ©2014 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Computed tomography diagnosed cachexia and sarcopenia in 725 oncology patients: is nutritional screening capturing hidden malnutrition?

PubMed Central

Ní Bhuachalla, Éadaoin B.; Daly, Louise E.; Power, Derek G.; Cushen, Samantha J.; MacEneaney, Peter

2017-01-01

Abstract Background Nutrition screening on admission to hospital is mandated in many countries, but to date, there is no consensus on which tool is optimal in the oncology setting. Wasting conditions such as cancer cachexia (CC) and sarcopenia are common in cancer patients and negatively impact on outcomes; however, they are often masked by excessive adiposity. This study aimed to inform the application of screening in cancer populations by investigating whether commonly used nutritional screening tools are adequately capturing nutritionally vulnerable patients, including those with abnormal body composition phenotypes (CC, sarcopenia, and myosteatosis). Methods A prospective study of ambulatory oncology outpatients presenting for chemotherapy was performed. A detailed survey incorporating clinical, nutritional, biochemical, and quality of life data was administered. Participants were screened for malnutrition using the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST), and the Nutritional Risk Index (NRI). Computed tomography (CT) assessment of body composition was performed to diagnose CC, sarcopenia, and myosteatosis according to consensus criteria. Results A total of 725 patients (60% male, median age 64 years) with solid tumours participated (45% metastatic disease). The majority were overweight/obese (57%). However, 67% were losing weight, and CT analysis revealed CC in 42%, sarcopenia in 41%, and myosteatosis in 46%. Among patients with CT‐identified CC, the MUST, MST, and NRI tools categorized 27%, 35%, and 7% of them as ‘low nutritional risk’, respectively. The percentage of patients with CT‐identified sarcopenia and myosteatosis that were categorised as ‘low nutritional risk’ by MUST, MST and NRI were 55%, 61%, and 14% and 52%, 50%, and 11%, respectively. Among these tools, the NRI was most sensitive, with scores <97.5 detecting 85.8%, 88.6%, and 92.9% of sarcopenia, myosteatosis, and CC cases, respectively. Using multivariate Cox proportional hazards models, NRI score < 97.5 predicted greater mortality risk (hazard ratio 1.8, confidence interval: 1.2–2.8, P = 0.007). Conclusions High numbers of nutritionally vulnerable patients, with demonstrated abnormal body composition phenotypes on CT analysis, were misclassified by MUST and MST. Caution should be exercised when categorizing the nutritional risk of oncology patients using these tools. NRI detected the majority of abnormal body composition phenotypes and independently predicted survival. Of the tools examined, the NRI yielded the most valuable information from screening and demonstrated usefulness as an initial nutritional risk grading system in ambulatory oncology patients. PMID:29271097

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

Macintosh, Andrew, E-mail: andrew.macintosh@anu.edu.au; Waugh, Lauren

Concerns about the effectiveness of environmental impact assessment (EIA) have prompted proposals to improve its performance by limiting the discretion of decision-makers in screening. To investigate whether such proposals are likely to generate the desired results, we conducted an evaluation of the screening process under the Australian government's EIA regime from its introduction on 16 July 2000 to 30 June 2013 (study period). Almost 1 in 5 ‘particular manner’ decisions—a type of screening decision under the regime—were found to be unlawful. The extent of non-compliance is explained on the basis of convenience. The department was required to assess a largemore » number of projects under tight timeframes and with limited resources, while being pressured by proponents to allow their projects to bypass EIA. These pressures resulted in the development of an informal custom whereby the formal compensatory mitigation restrictions were frequently ignored. The results highlight the relative significance of formal and informal institutions in EIA. Formal EIA rules typically provide a mere outline of the process. The informal institutions adopted by administrators often have a greater influence on how the process operates and what it achieves. - Highlights: • Concerns about the effectiveness of environmental impact assessment (EIA) have prompted proposals to improve its performance by limiting the discretion of decision-makers in screening. • To investigate whether such proposals are likely to generate the desired results, we conducted an evaluation of the Australian government's screening process, looking at the extent of compliance with a formal prohibition on the consideration of compensatory mitigation. • Almost 1 in 5 ‘particular manner’ decisions – a type of screening decision under the regime – were found to be unlawful (with a 95% confidence interval of between 1:4 and 1:7) because of a failure to abide by the compensatory mitigation restrictions. For urban development actions, the ratio between lawful and unlawful particular manner decisions was worse than 1:1. • The extent of non-compliance is explained on the basis of convenience. Budget and interest group pressures resulted in the development of an informal custom whereby the formal compensatory mitigation restrictions were ignored. • The results highlight the relative significance of formal and informal institutions in EIA. Formal EIA rules typically provide a mere outline of the process. The informal institutions adopted by administrators often have a greater influence on how the process operates and what it achieves.« less

Protocol for a systematic review of screening tools for fear of recurrent illness in common life-threatening diseases.

PubMed

Jones, Jenny; Kane, Paul; Polson, Rob; Leslie, Stephen J; Hulbert-Williams, Nicholas J; Simard, Sébastien; Ozakinci, Gozde; Hubbard, Gill

2015-03-19

A myocardial infarction (MI) ('heart attack') can be intensely stressful, and the impact of this event can leave patients with clinically significant post-MI stress symptoms. Untreated stress can make heart disease worse. Few tools are available that screen for specific thoughts or beliefs that can trigger post-MI stress responses. In other life-threatening illnesses, fear of recurrence (FoR) of illness has been identified as a key stressor, and screening tools have been developed to identify this. The aim of this review is to identify FoR screening tools used in other common life-threatening diseases that report on the development of the tool, to assess if there are any that can be adapted for use in MI survivors so that those with high levels of FoR can be identified and helped. The review will evaluate full FoR screening tools and methods of measurement used in common life-threatening disease clinical populations. The Campbell and Cochrane Libraries, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Embase, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA), Published International Literature on Traumatic Stress (PILOTS), Social Services Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, Web of Knowledge, Health and Psychosocial Instruments and SCOPUS databases will be searched for relevant studies published from database inception. Reference lists and published reviews/meta-analyses will also be searched. All titles and abstracts will be screened and relevant full-text versions retrieved by two reviewers, who will then extract all the data. Each will independently review all data extracted by the other. Selected studies will also be assessed by two independent researchers using the COnsensus-based standards for the Selection of health status measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist and other quality criteria. This will be done to evaluate the degree to which their measurement properties meet the standards for good methodological quality. Disagreement will be resolved through consensus. Untreated post-MI stress has a considerable psychological and physical impact on MI survivors. Therefore, there is a critical need to develop a screening tool to identify fear of recurrent MI so that those affected can be identified and directed to appropriate support interventions. This proposed research will enable a tool to be developed and adapted for use in the MI survivor patient population. CRD42014010500.

DDL:Digital systems design language

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shival, S. G.

1980-01-01

Hardware description languages are valuable tools in such applications as hardware design, system documentation, and logic design training. DDL is convenient medium for inputting design details into hardware-design automation system. It is suitable for describing digital systems at gate, register transfer, and major combinational block level.

Design as a marketing tool: cater to your clients.

PubMed

Falick, J

1982-09-01

competing successfully in the market and functioning efficiently often depend on a reassessment of the environment. Accordingly, upgraded convenience, comfort, and atmosphere have become major marketing mechanisms for hospitals. This article presents several examples of how hospitals have used design to provide marketing advantages.

Fast Multiscale Algorithms for Information Representation and Fusion

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-07-01

We are also developing convenient command-line invocation tools in addition to the previously developed APIs . Various real-world data sets...This knowledge is important in geolocation applications where knowing whether a received signal is line-of-sight or not is necessary for the

Construct Validation of Three Nutrition Questions Using Health and Diet Ratings in Older Canadian Males Living in the Community.

PubMed

Akhtar, Usman; Keller, Heather H; Tate, Robert B; Lengyel, Christina O

2015-12-01

Brief nutrition screening tools are desired for research and practice. Seniors in the Community: Risk Evaluation for Eating and Nutrition (SCREEN-II, 14 items) and the abbreviated version SCREEN-II-AB (8 items) are valid and reliable nutrition screening tools for older adults. This exploratory study used a retrospective cross-sectional design to determine the construct validity of a subset of 3 items (weight loss, appetite, and swallowing difficulty) currently on the SCREEN-II and SCREEN-II-AB tools. Secondary data on community-dwelling senior males (n = 522, mean ± SD age = 86.7 ± 3.0 years) in the Manitoba Follow-up Study (MFUS) study were available for analysis. Participants completed the mailed MFUS Nutrition Survey that included SCREEN-II items and questions pertaining to self-rated health, diet healthiness, and rating of the importance of nutrition towards successful aging as the constructs for comparison. Self-perceived health status (F = 14.7, P < 0.001), diet healthiness (ρ = 0.17, P = 0.002) and the rating of nutrition's importance to aging (ρ = 0.10, P = 0.03) were correlated with the 3-item score. Inferences were consistent with associations between these construct variables and the full SCREEN-II. Three items from SCREEN-II and SCREEN-II-AB demonstrate initial construct validity with self-perceived health status and diet healthiness ratings by older males; further exploration for criterion and predictive validity in more diverse samples is needed.

The two most popular malnutrition screening tools in the light of the new ESPEN consensus definition of the diagnostic criteria for malnutrition.

PubMed

Poulia, Kalliopi-Anna; Klek, Stanislaw; Doundoulakis, Ioannis; Bouras, Emmanouil; Karayiannis, Dimitrios; Baschali, Aristea; Passakiotou, Marili; Chourdakis, Michael

2017-08-01

The new definition of malnutrition in adults proposed recently by The European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) changed the view on the issue and raised the question of the reliability of available diagnostic tools. Therefore, the aim of this study was to verify the accuracy of the two most commonly used screening tools by comparing their findings with the new ESPEN criteria. Nutritional screening was performed in 1146 (median age 60 years, interquartile range: 44-73 years, 617 males, 529 females) patients on admission to hospitals with two nutritional screening tools: Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS2002) and Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST). The screening results were then compared to the ESPEN new diagnostic criteria for malnutrition. According to the NRS2002 13.5% and 27.9% of the outpatients and hospitalized patients respectively were found to be at moderate/high risk of malnutrition. With the use of MUST 9.1% and 14.9% of the outpatients and hospitalized patients respectively were found to be at moderate/high risk of malnutrition. According to the ESPEN diagnostic criteria 6.4% and 11.3% of outpatients and hospitalized patients respectively were classified as malnourished. MUST was found to be better correlated to the latter for both outpatients (K = 0.777, p < 0.001) and hospitalized patients (K = 0.843, p < 0.001) as compared to NRS2002 (k = 0.256, p < 0.001 and k = 0.228, p < 0.001). ROC plots Area Under the Curve (AUC) was found to be higher for MUST compared to NRS2002 (0.964 vs. 0.695 for outpatients and 0.980 vs 0.686 for hospitalized patients respectively). To our knowledge, this study is the first to analyze the clinical value of a malnutrition screening tool in the light of the new ESPEN definition for malnutrition. According to our results, MUST was better correlated with ESPEN criteria for the definition of malnutrition, leading us to the conclusion that it can more efficiently identify the malnourished patients, during the screening process. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.

Implementing Routine Suicide Risk Screening for Psychiatric Outpatients With Serious Mental Disorders: I. Qualitative Results

PubMed Central

Lang, Michelle; Uttaro, Thomas; Caine, Eric; Carpinello, Sharon; Felton, Chip

2010-01-01

The objective of this study was to acquire process information, clinician and client feedback during implementation of a routine suicide risk screening program for outpatients with serious mental disorders. We studied implementation of a suicide-screening tool in a large public mental health outpatient facility in New York City. Most clinical staff who provided an opinion indicated screening was useful, feasible and helpful; most clients did not mind screening. Facilitators to program implementation included administrative support and ease of use. Barriers included consent, misperceptions, and concerns regarding potential liability. It is feasible to implement a suicide-screening tool in a public outpatient clinic. However, even experienced clinicians harbor unfounded myths. Effective large scale use will require vigorous training and oversight. PMID:19363752

[Steps to transform a necessity into a validated and useful screening tool for early detection of developmental problems in Mexican children].

PubMed

Rizzoli-Córdoba, Antonio; Delgado-Ginebra, Ismael

A screening test is an instrument whose primary function is to identify individuals with a probable disease among an apparently healthy population, establishing risk or suspicion of a disease. Caution must be taken when using a screening tool in order to avoid unrealistic measurements, delaying an intervention for those who may benefit from it. Before introducing a screening test into clinical practice, it is necessary to certify the presence of some characteristics making its worth useful. This "certification" process is called validation. The main objective of this paper is to describe the different steps that must be taken, from the identification of a need for early detection through the generation of a validated and reliable screening tool using, as an example, the process for the modified version of the Child Development Evaluation Test (CDE or Prueba EDI) in Mexico. Copyright © 2015 Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez. Publicado por Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

Vaginal symptoms and bacterial vaginosis (BV): how useful is self-report? Development of a screening tool for predicting BV status.

PubMed

Nelson, D B; Bellamy, S; Odibo, A; Nachamkin, I; Ness, R B; Allen-Taylor, L

2007-11-01

Vaginal complaints compel an evaluation of bacterial vaginosis (BV), however, many cases of BV are asymptomatic. We evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of vaginal symptoms in the diagnosis of BV and examined the utility of creating a BV screening tool using clinical, behavioural and demographic characteristics. A total of 1916 pregnant women were included in this analysis. In total, 757 women screened positive for BV and over one third of BV-positive women presented without any lower genital tract symptoms (39.4%). African American race, abnormal vaginal odour, and smoking were independently related to BV positivity. A BV screening tool including these three factors was fairly predictive of BV status with the area under the ROC curve equal to 0.669. This three-item prediction rule may be useful in identifying high- risk pregnant women in need of BV screening and, given the high specificity, accurately identify the group of BV-negative pregnant women.

Noise Exposure Questionnaire (NEQ): A Tool for Quantifying Annual Noise Exposure

PubMed Central

Johnson, Tiffany A.; Cooper, Susan; Stamper, Greta C.; Chertoff, Mark

2017-01-01

Background Exposure to both occupational and non-occupational noise is recognized as a risk factor for noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Although audiologists routinely inquire regarding history of noise exposure, there are limited tools available for quantifying this history or for identifying those individuals who are at highest risk for NIHL. Identifying those at highest risk would allow hearing conservation activities to be focused on those individuals. Purpose To develop a detailed, task-based questionnaire for quantifying an individual’s annual noise exposure arising from both occupational and non-occupational sources (aim 1) and to develop a short screening tool that could be used to identify individuals at high risk of NIHL (aim 2). Research Design Review of relevant literature for questionnaire development followed by a cross-sectional descriptive and correlational investigation of the newly developed questionnaire and screening tool. Study Sample One hundred fourteen college freshmen completed the detailed questionnaire for estimating annual noise exposure (aim 1) and answered the potential screening questions (aim 2). An additional 59 adults participated in data collection where the accuracy of the screening tool was evaluated (aim 2). Data Collection and Analysis In study aim 1, all subjects completed the detailed questionnaire and the potential screening questions. Descriptive statistics were used to quantify subject participation in various noisy activities and their associated annual noise exposure estimates. In study aim 2, linear regression techniques were used to identify screening questions that could be used to predict a subject’s estimated annual noise exposure. Clinical decision theory was then used to assess the accuracy with which the screening tool predicted high and low risk of NIHL in a new group of subjects. Results Responses on the detailed questionnaire indicated that our sample of college freshmen reported high rates of participation in a variety of occupational and non-occupational activities associated with high sound levels. Although participation rates were high, annual noise exposure estimates were below highest-risk levels for many subjects because the frequency of participation in these activities was low in many cases. These data illustrate how the Noise Exposure Questionnaire (NEQ) could be used to provide detailed and specific information regarding an individual’s exposure to noise. The results of aim 2 suggest that the screening tool, the 1-Minute Noise Screen, can be used to identify those subjects with high- and low-risk noise exposure, allowing more in-depth assessment of noise exposure history to be targeted at those most at risk. Conclusions The NEQ can be used to estimate an individual’s annual noise exposure and the 1-Minute Noise Screen can be used to identify those subjects at highest risk of NIHL. These tools allow audiologists to focus hearing conservation efforts on those individuals who are most in need of those services. PMID:28054909

Evaluating the effectiveness of five screening tools used to identify malnutrition risk in hospitalized elderly: A systematic review.

PubMed

Cascio, Brooke L; Logomarsino, John V

This systematic review investigated 5 frequently used nutrition screening tools (NSTs) used in hospitals and their effectiveness at identifying malnutrition risk in the elderly. A literature review was conducted to obtain research articles focused on malnutrition screening in hospitalized elderly and effectiveness of the NST used. Twenty six articles were reviewed and evaluated, resulting in 8 that met inclusion criteria. The Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form, designed for use in the elderly, resulted in overestimation of malnutrition. Four screening tools did demonstrate more effectiveness in identifying malnutrition risk; however, several different biochemical and anthropometric parameters were used, which prevented meaningful comparisons. There is a need for a universal NST "gold standard" for use in the elderly, and further research is indicated. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Immobilized OBOC combinatorial bead array to facilitate multiplicative screening.

PubMed

Xiao, Wenwu; Bononi, Fernanda C; Townsend, Jared; Li, Yuanpei; Liu, Ruiwu; Lam, Kit S

2013-07-01

One-bead-one-compound (OBOC) combinatorial library screening has been broadly utilized for the last two decades to identify small molecules, peptides or peptidomimetics targeting variable screening probes such as cell surface receptors, bacteria, protein kinases, phosphatases, proteases etc. In previous screening methods, library beads were suspended in solution and screened against one single probe. Only the positive beads were tracked and isolated for additional screens and finally selected for chemical decoding. During this process, the remaining negative beads were not tracked and discarded. Here we report a novel bead immobilization method such that a bead library array can be conveniently prepared and screened in its entirety, sequentially many times with a series of distinct probes. This method not only allows us to increase the screening efficiency but also permits us to determine the binding profile of each and every library bead against a large number of target receptors. As proof of concept, we serially screened a random OBOC disulfide containing cyclic heptapeptide library with three water soluble dyes as model probes: malachite green, bromocresol purple and indigo carmine. This multiplicative screening approach resulted in a rapid determination of the binding profile of each and every bead respective to each of the three dyes. Beads that interacted with malachite green only, bromocresol purple only, or both indigo carmine and bromocresol purple were isolated, and their peptide sequences were determined with microsequencer. Ultimately, the novel OBOC multiplicative screening approach could play a key role in the enhancement of existing on-bead assays such as whole cell binding, bacteria binding, protein binding, posttranslational modifications etc. with increased efficiency, capacity, and specificity.

CE: Original Research: Primary Care Providers and Screening for Military Service and PTSD.

PubMed

Mohler, Kristin Michelle; Sankey-Deemer, Cydnee

2017-11-01

: Background: Most veterans have the option of receiving their health care from the Veterans Health Administration or through primary care providers in the private sector. However, there is some evidence that fewer than half of community-based, private sector primary care and mental health providers screen their patients for military service, particularly in rural areas, leaving these veterans less likely to be screened for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other military service-related conditions. To determine whether primary care providers in the private sector are screening patients for military service and subsequent PTSD. We designed and piloted a survey to determine whether primary care providers in a rural Pennsylvania region routinely screen for military service and service-related PTSD. We distributed the survey to a convenience sample of more than 250 primary care providers in central and western Pennsylvania through the U.S. Postal Service, via Facebook, and via work e-mails for those who worked in a local health system. Among 50 eligible respondents, only four (8%) said they screen all their patients for military service, and 20 (40%) reported screening none; only two respondents (4%) screened all their patients who have served in the military for PTSD, and 30 (60%) screened none. Veterans who rely on private sector providers may not receive evidence-based care for military service-related health problems, including PTSD. To improve care for these patients, providers in the private sector should be educated on why all patients should be screened for military service, how to conduct such screening properly, and veterans' general health concerns.

Feature extraction applied to agricultural crops as seen by LANDSAT

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kauth, R. J.; Lambeck, P. F.; Richardson, W.; Thomas, G. S.; Pentland, A. P. (Principal Investigator)

1979-01-01

The physical interpretation of the spectral-temporal structure of LANDSAT data can be conveniently described in terms of a graphic descriptive model called the Tassled Cap. This model has been a source of development not only in crop-related feature extraction, but also for data screening and for haze effects correction. Following its qualitative description and an indication of its applications, the model is used to analyze several feature extraction algorithms.

The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2017 to 2027

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-01-01

JANUARY 2017 The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2017 to 2027 Provided as a convenience, this “screen-friendly” version is identical in content to the...Years referred to in describing the economic outlook are calendar years. Numbers in the text, tables, and figures may not add up to totals because...as is a glossary of common budgetary and economic terms (www.cbo.gov/publication/42904). CBO THE BUDGET AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: 2017 TO 2027 JANUARY

Navy Fuel Composition and Screening Tool (FCAST) v.2.5

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-07-18

a major impediment to certification of these fuels as Fit-For- Purpose (FFP) for the U.S. Navy. A method whereby a candidate fuel could be rapidly...the U.S. Navy. A method whereby a candidate fuel could be rapidly screened for many FFP properties, using a minimal volume (< 1 mL), would overcome...mobility fuels with new alternative fuels, regardless of their source or processing methods . The Fuel Composition and Screening Tool (FCAST) was

DEVELOPMENT OF THE METAL FINISHING FACILITY RISK SCREENING TOOL (MFFRST)

EPA Science Inventory

Recently the US EPA completed the development of the first version of the Metal Finishing Facility Risk Screening Tool (MFFRST) and has made this product available to the general public. MFFRST calculates the air emissions from a metal plating line and determines the risk to bot...

Psychological Factors Associated with Paranursing Expertise.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brammer, Robert; Haller, Katherine

The psychological factors associated with paranursing expertise were examined in a study of 135 certified nursing assistants (CNAs) at a geriatric nursing facility in Amarillo, Texas. Data were collected through a project-developed screening tool called the Geriatric Employee Screening Tool (GEST), which is a true-false instrument patterned after…

Extrapolating toxicity data across species using U.S. EPA SeqAPASS tool

EPA Science Inventory

In vitro high-throughput screening (HTS) and in silico technologies have emerged as 21st century tools for chemical hazard identification. In 2007 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched the ToxCast Program, which has screened thousands of chemicals in hundreds of...

Experiences on developing digital down conversion algorithms using Xilinx system generator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Chengfa; Yuan, Yuan; Zhao, Lizhi

2013-07-01

The Digital Down Conversion (DDC) algorithm is a classical signal processing method which is widely used in radar and communication systems. In this paper, the DDC function is implemented by Xilinx System Generator tool on FPGA. System Generator is an FPGA design tool provided by Xilinx Inc and MathWorks Inc. It is very convenient for programmers to manipulate the design and debug the function, especially for the complex algorithm. Through the developing process of DDC function based on System Generator, the results show that System Generator is a very fast and efficient tool for FPGA design.

Screening and Treatment for Alcohol, Tobacco and Opioid Use Disorders: A Survey of Family Physicians across Ontario

PubMed Central

Loheswaran, Genane; Soklaridis, Sophie; Selby, Peter; Le Foll, Bernard

2015-01-01

Introduction As a primary point of contact within the health care system, family physicians are able to play a vital role in identifying individuals with substance use disorders and connecting them to the appropriate treatment. However, there is very little data available on whether family physicians are actively screening for and treating substance use disorders. The objective of the current survey was to assess whether family physicians in Ontario are screening for alcohol, opioid and tobacco use disorders, using validated tools and providing treatment. Methods An online survey consisting of a series of 38 primarily close-ended questions was circulated to family physicians in Ontario. Rates of screening for alcohol, opioid and tobacco dependence, use of validated tools for screening, providing treatment for dependent individuals and the current barriers to the prescription of pharmacotherapies for these drug dependences were assessed. Results The use of validated screening tools was limited for all three substances. Screening by family physicians for the substance use disorders among adolescents was much lower than screening among adults. Pharmacotherapy was more commonly used as an intervention for tobacco dependence than for alcohol and opioid dependence. This was explained by the lack of knowledge among family physicians on the pharmacotherapies for alcohol and opioid dependence. Conclusions Findings from the current study suggest there is a need for family physicians to integrate screening for substance use disorders using validated tools into their standard medical practice. Furthermore, there is a need for increased knowledge on pharmacotherapies for alcohol and opioid use disorders. It is important to note that the low response rate is a major limitation to this study. One possible reason for this low response rate may be a lack of interest and awareness among family physicians on the importance of screening and treatment of substance use disorders in Ontario. PMID:25923976

Discovery of Selective Inhibitors of Imidazoleglycerol-Phosphate Dehydratase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis by Virtual Screening

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Podshivalov, D.; Mandzhieva, Yu. B.; Sidorov-Biryukov, D. D.; Timofeev, V. I.; Kuranova, I. P.

2018-01-01

Bacterial imidazoleglycerol-phosphate dehydratase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (HisB- Mt) is a convenient target for the discovery of selective inhibitors as potential antituberculosis drugs. The virtual screening was performed to find compounds suitable for the design of selective inhibitors of HisB- Mt. The positions of four ligands, which were selected based on the docking scoring function and docked to the activesite region of the enzyme, were refined by molecular dynamics simulation. The nearest environment of the ligands was determined. These compounds selectively bind to functionally essential active-site residues, thus blocking access of substrates to the active site of the enzyme, and can be used as lead compounds for the design of selective inhibitors of HisB- M.

Several steps/day indicators predict changes in anthropometric outcomes: HUB city steps

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Walking for exercise remains the most frequently reported leisure-time activity, likely because it is simple, inexpensive, and easily incorporated into most people’s lifestyle. Pedometers are simple, convenient, and economical tools that can be used to quantify step-determined physical activity. F...

Building Earth's Largest Library: Driving into the Future.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coffman, Steve

1999-01-01

Examines the Amazon.com online bookstore as a blueprint for designing the world's largest library. Topics include selection; accessibility and convenience; quality of Web sites and search tools; personalized service; library collection development, including interlibrary loan; library catalogs and catalog records; a circulation system; costs;…

Guidelines for Improving Employer Effectiveness in Interviewing Disabled Applicants.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cole, Joyce Couch; Bragman, Ruth

1985-01-01

This article presents a five-step, structured format to be used in preparing employers for conducting interviews with disabled applicants. Described in this article is a straightforward, convenient tool that can also be used by rehabilitation personnel when providing awareness training and employer education. (Author)

Hybrid and Electric Advanced Vehicle Systems Simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beach, R. F.; Hammond, R. A.; Mcgehee, R. K.

1985-01-01

Predefined components connected to represent wide variety of propulsion systems. Hybrid and Electric Advanced Vehicle System (HEAVY) computer program is flexible tool for evaluating performance and cost of electric and hybrid vehicle propulsion systems. Allows designer to quickly, conveniently, and economically predict performance of proposed drive train.

Screening for Intensive Intervention Needs in Secondary Schools: Directions for the Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lane, Kathleen Lynne; Oakes, Wendy Peia; Lusk, Mandy E.; Cantwell, Emily Dawn; Schatschneider, Christopher

2016-01-01

In this article, we provided descriptive and methodological illustrations of how to conduct systematic behavior screenings at the middle and high school levels to detect students with intensive intervention needs using one systematic screening tool: the Student Risk Screening Scale. We discussed the importance of systematic screening and presented…

Systematic Screening at the Elementary Level: Considerations for Exploring and Installing Universal Behavior Screening

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oakes, Wendy Peia; Lane, Kathleen Lynne; Ennis, Robin Parks

2016-01-01

This descriptive study reports data from one elementary school whose leadership team explored and installed systematic behavior screening as part of their tiered model of prevention. The authors compared student performance on two school-selected screening tools: the Student Risk Screening Scale for Internalizing and Externalizing (SRSS-IE) and…

The Democritos Movement Screening Tool for Preschool Children (DEMOST-PRE©): development and factorial validity.

PubMed

Kambas, Antonis; Venetsanou, Fotini

2014-07-01

The aim of this study was (a) to develop an assessment tool (the Democritos Movement Screening Tool for Preschool Children - DEMOST-PRE), designed to provide preschool educators, clinicians and researchers with information about assessment and screening of the motor proficiency of children aged 4-6 years, as well as the development and control of movement programmes and (b) to assess its factorial validity. First, tool's content and face validity were established and its final structure was determined. Then, the DEMOST-PRE was administered to 435 children (197 girls) aged 48-71 months (M=60.48 months, SD=6.98). The factor analysis conducted revealed two distinct components. Present evidence combined with the DEMOST-PRE administrative traits make it promising for preschool aged children's assessment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effect of the addition of osteoporosis education to a bone health screening program for older adults.

PubMed

Gaines, Jean M; Narrett, Matthew; Parrish, John M

2010-01-01

Osteoporosis affects approximately 26% of women and 4% of men after the age of 65 years. However, the diffusion of knowledge about osteoporosis risk factors, prevention and treatment remains low. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to investigate the value of adding initial and refresher osteoporosis education classes to a bone health screening program. A convenience sample of 376 men (n = 62) and women (n = 314) over the age of 62 years was assigned randomly to the Screening plus Education (n =193) or Screening only (n = 183) groups. Participants in both study groups demonstrated an increase in knowledge about osteoporosis, regardless of group assignment and other factors, over the two years of the study. Self-reported calcium use increased for all women and for men in the education group from baseline to year one, with a decline thereafter. There was no effect on exercise behaviors. This study points out the critical need for a more comprehensive and personalized bone health program that includes more than classroom-based education. Copyright © 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of a Culturally Tailored Education to Promote Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Among Chinese-Australian Women.

PubMed

Kwok, Cannas; Lim, Danforn

2016-09-01

This paper aims to evaluate the impact of the culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate education program on the following: (i) awareness of screening practices (breast awareness, mammogram, and Pap smear test); (ii) screening intention within the next six months; and (iii) knowledge about breast and cervical cancer among Chinese-Australian women. Titled "Happy and Healthy Life in Sydney," this was a quasi-experimental study with both pre- and post-test design. A convenience sample of 288 Chinese women was recruited through Chinese organizations such as churches and community centers. Participants completed the questionnaires before and after the educational program. The results show that the program was effective in promoting awareness of breast and cervical cancer screening and resulted in increased participative intentions in both mammogram and Pap smear testing within the next 6 months. Results also indicate that knowledge and belief scores were significantly increased. Our study supports that educational programs which use culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate strategies are effective in improving both knowledge of breast and cervical cancer and awareness of their early detection practices among Chinese-Australian women.

Breast and cervical cancer screening among South Asian immigrants in the United States.

PubMed

Menon, Usha; Szalacha, Laura A; Prabhughate, Abhijit

2012-01-01

South Asian (SA) immigrants (from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) constitute the fastest growing of all Asian American immigrants to the United States, with a growth rate of 106% from 1990 to 2001. Data are lacking on health behaviors of this population subgroup, including cancer-related information. : The purpose of this study was to assess rates and correlates of breast and cervical cancer screening in a community sample of SAs. Participants were recruited from among attendees of 3 community-based agency programs. Data were collected in English, Hindi, and Gujarati from a convenience sample of 198 participants. Two-thirds of the sample (n = 127, 65.5%) had ever had a mammogram, whereas only a third (n = 65, 32.8%) had ever had a Papanicolaou smear or vaginal examination. Several predisposing factors (eg, country of birth, years in the United States, acculturation, age, and acknowledged barriers to screening) were significant predictors of breast and cervical screening, whereas the only enabling factor was past screening behavior. Additional study is warranted on cultural aspects of cancer screening behaviors. These data are formative on facilitators and barriers to mammogram and Papanicolaou test completion among these understudied minority women. Nurses who practice in primary care may begin to target health education based on sociodemographics of SA women and emphasize discussion of barriers to screening.

Validity, efficacy and reliability of 3 nutritional screening tools regarding the nutritional assessment in different social and health areas.

PubMed

Castro-Vega, Iciar; Veses Martín, Silvia; Cantero Llorca, Juana; Barrios Marta, Cristina; Bañuls, Celia; Hernández-Mijares, Antonio

2018-03-09

Nutritional screening allows for the detection of nutritional risk. Validated tools should be implemented, and their usefulness should be contrasted with a gold standard. The aim of this study is to discover the validity, efficacy and reliability of 3 nutritional screening tools in relation to complete nutritional assessment. A sub-analysis of a cross-sectional and descriptive study on the prevalence of disease-related malnutrition. The sample was selected from outpatients, hospitalized and institutionalized patients. MUST, MNAsf and MST screening were employed. A nutritional assessment of all the patients was undertaken. The SENPE-SEDOM consensus was used for the diagnosis. In the outpatients, both MUST and MNAsf have a similar validity in relation to the nutritional assessment (AUC 0.871 and 0.883, respectively). In the institutionalized patients, the MUST screening method is the one that shows the greatest validity (AUC 0.815), whereas in the hospitalized patients, the most valid methods are both MUST and MST (AUC 0.868 and 0.853, respectively). It is essential to use nutritional screening to invest the available resources wisely. Based on our results, MUST is the most suitable screening method in hospitalized and institutionalized patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Rigorous Screening Technology for Identifying Suitable CO2 Storage Sites II

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

George J. Koperna Jr.; Vello A. Kuuskraa; David E. Riestenberg

2009-06-01

This report serves as the final technical report and users manual for the 'Rigorous Screening Technology for Identifying Suitable CO2 Storage Sites II SBIR project. Advanced Resources International has developed a screening tool by which users can technically screen, assess the storage capacity and quantify the costs of CO2 storage in four types of CO2 storage reservoirs. These include CO2-enhanced oil recovery reservoirs, depleted oil and gas fields (non-enhanced oil recovery candidates), deep coal seems that are amenable to CO2-enhanced methane recovery, and saline reservoirs. The screening function assessed whether the reservoir could likely serve as a safe, long-term CO2more » storage reservoir. The storage capacity assessment uses rigorous reservoir simulation models to determine the timing, ultimate storage capacity, and potential for enhanced hydrocarbon recovery. Finally, the economic assessment function determines both the field-level and pipeline (transportation) costs for CO2 sequestration in a given reservoir. The screening tool has been peer reviewed at an Electrical Power Research Institute (EPRI) technical meeting in March 2009. A number of useful observations and recommendations emerged from the Workshop on the costs of CO2 transport and storage that could be readily incorporated into a commercial version of the Screening Tool in a Phase III SBIR.« less

Applying a Participatory Design Approach to Define Objectives and Properties of a “Data Profiling” Tool for Electronic Health Data

PubMed Central

Estiri, Hossein; Lovins, Terri; Afzalan, Nader; Stephens, Kari A.

2016-01-01

We applied a participatory design approach to define the objectives, characteristics, and features of a “data profiling” tool for primary care Electronic Health Data (EHD). Through three participatory design workshops, we collected input from potential tool users who had experience working with EHD. We present 15 recommended features and characteristics for the data profiling tool. From these recommendations we derived three overarching objectives and five properties for the tool. A data profiling tool, in Biomedical Informatics, is a visual, clear, usable, interactive, and smart tool that is designed to inform clinical and biomedical researchers of data utility and let them explore the data, while conveniently orienting the users to the tool’s functionalities. We suggest that developing scalable data profiling tools will provide new capacities to disseminate knowledge about clinical data that will foster translational research and accelerate new discoveries. PMID:27570651

Barriers and facilitators to opportunistic chronic kidney disease screening by general practice nurses.

PubMed

Sinclair, Peter M; Day, Jenny; Levett-Jones, Tracy; Kable, Ashley

2017-10-01

Opportunistic screening in general practice (GP) is a cost-effective and viable approach to the early identification of chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study sought to identify the barriers and facilitators to CKD screening practices of GP nurses working in a regional area of New South Wales, Australia. An eight-item elicitation questionnaire informed by the Theory of Planned Behaviour was administered to a convenience sample of 26 GP nurses. Participants identified that the advantages of CKD screening were its early detection and treatment, the reduction of disease burden, and the opportunity to increase awareness and provide disease prevention education. These positive attitudinal beliefs were offset by negative beliefs about the impost of opportunistic screening on nursing time, particularly when there were other competing clinical priorities. Participants reported that practice doctors were wary of the financial costs associated with additional non-claimable services and believed that unfunded services, regardless of patient benefit, were difficult to justify in a private business environment. Screening was enabled in GP settings with existing screening protocols or initiatives, and when patients presented with known risk factors. Barriers to screening were more frequently described and illustrated a strong focus on financial aspects of GP. Without reimbursement through the Medicare Benefits Scheme, screening was not considered an economical use of nursing time. Other competing and billable clinical services took precedence. The findings of this study can be used to inform the development and evaluation of interventions that target opportunistic CKD screening in the GP setting. © 2016 Asian Pacific Society of Nephrology.

Development and validation of a Haitian Creole screening instrument for depression

PubMed Central

Rasmussen, Andrew; Eustache, Eddy; Raviola, Giuseppe; Kaiser, Bonnie; Grelotti, David; Belkin, Gary

2014-01-01

Developing mental health care capacity in post-earthquake Haiti is hampered by the lack of assessments that include culturally bound idioms Haitians use when discussing emotional distress. The current study describes a novel emic-etic approach to developing a depression screening for Partners In Health/Zanmi Lasante. In Study 1 Haitian key informants were asked to classify symptoms and describe categories within a pool of symptoms of common mental disorders. Study 2 tested the symptom set that best approximated depression in a sample of depressed and not depressed Haitians in order to select items for the screening tool. The resulting 13-item instrument produced scores with high internal reliability that were sensitive to culturally-informed diagnoses, and interpretations with construct and concurrent validity (vis-à-vis functional impairment). Discussion focuses on the appropriate use of this tool and integrating emic perspectives into developing psychological assessments globally. The screening tool is provided as an Appendix. PMID:25080426

Mini-Nutritional Assessment, Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool, and Nutrition Risk Screening Tool for the Nutritional Evaluation of Older Nursing Home Residents.

PubMed

Donini, Lorenzo M; Poggiogalle, Eleonora; Molfino, Alessio; Rosano, Aldo; Lenzi, Andrea; Rossi Fanelli, Filippo; Muscaritoli, Maurizio

2016-10-01

Malnutrition plays a major role in clinical and functional impairment in older adults. The use of validated, user-friendly and rapid screening tools for malnutrition in the elderly may improve the diagnosis and, possibly, the prognosis. The aim of this study was to assess the agreement between Mini-Nutritional Assessment (MNA), considered as a reference tool, MNA short form (MNA-SF), Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), and Nutrition Risk Screening (NRS-2002) in elderly institutionalized participants. Participants were enrolled among nursing home residents and underwent a multidimensional evaluation. Predictive value and survival analysis were performed to compare the nutritional classifications obtained from the different tools. A total of 246 participants (164 women, age: 82.3 ± 9 years, and 82 men, age: 76.5 ± 11 years) were enrolled. Based on MNA, 22.6% of females and 17% of males were classified as malnourished; 56.7% of women and 61% of men were at risk of malnutrition. Agreement between MNA and MUST or NRS-2002 was classified as "fair" (k = 0.270 and 0.291, respectively; P < .001), whereas the agreement between MNA and MNA-SF was classified as "moderate" (k = 0.588; P < .001). Because of the high percentage of false negative participants, MUST and NRS-2002 presented a low overall predictive value compared with MNA and MNA-SF. Clinical parameters were significantly different in false negative participants with MUST or NRS-2002 from true negative and true positive individuals using the reference tool. For all screening tools, there was a significant association between malnutrition and mortality. MNA showed the best predictive value for survival among well-nourished participants. Functional, psychological, and cognitive parameters, not considered in MUST and NRS-2002 tools, are probably more important risk factors for malnutrition than acute illness in geriatric long-term care inpatient settings and may account for the low predictive value of these tests. MNA-SF seems to combine the predictive capacity of the full version of the MNA with a sufficiently short time of administration. Copyright © 2016 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Motivators for women to attend cervical screening: the influential role of GPs.

PubMed

O'Connor, Mairead; Murphy, Judith; Martin, Cara; O'Leary, John; Sharp, Linda

2014-08-01

Participation in organized cervical cancer screening has declined recently. While research has focussed on barriers to screening participation, less attention has been paid to what motivates women to attend. Moreover, little is known about health care provider/practitioner-level barriers and facilitators to participation. Better understanding of these issues could help inform strategies to improve participation. To explore the role of GPs in influencing women's cervical screening behaviours and investigate other motivators for women to attend for a cervical smear. Ten focus groups were conducted in Ireland, shortly before the launch of a national cervical screening programme. Discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and transcripts were analysed thematically. GPs greatly influence women's screening behaviours and can have a positive or negative impact on women's participation in screening. Four major subthemes emerged in relation to this: the attitude of the GP; prompting by the GP; trust in the GP and women's relationships with their GP. Two main motivators to screening participation were identified: personal reasons/benefits (e.g. potential of smears to be life-saving); and practical issues/convenience. Women's also expressed desires for what they would like to see incorporated in the national screening programme (e.g. an 'out-of-hours' service). GPs can impact positively and negatively on women's cervical screening participation. Providing on-going support to GPs around their cervical screening practices is essential to maximize screening attendance. Targeted information materials that focus on the personal reasons and benefits of having smear tests could help stimulate women to participate. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Process and outcomes evaluation of older driver screening programs : the Assessment of Driving-Related Skills (ADReS) older-driver screening tool

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-05-01

Physicians are one resource for identification of older drivers who may be at risk for decreased safe driving ability. However, : physicians have not had the tools to make decisions about the safe driving ability of their patients. With this in mind,...

Comparing Two CBM Maze Selection Tools: Considering Scoring and Interpretive Metrics for Universal Screening

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ford, Jeremy W.; Missall, Kristen N.; Hosp, John L.; Kuhle, Jennifer L.

2016-01-01

Advances in maze selection curriculum-based measurement have led to several published tools with technical information for interpretation (e.g., norms, benchmarks, cut-scores, classification accuracy) that have increased their usefulness for universal screening. A range of scoring practices have emerged for evaluating student performance on maze…

DEVELOPMENT OF THE METAL FINISHING FACILITY RISK SCREENING TOOL

EPA Science Inventory

Enhancement of the US Environmental Protection Agency's
Metal Finishing Facility Risk Screening Tool (MFFRST)

William M. Barrett Jr, Ph.D., P.E. , P.E.; Paul Harten, Ph.D.1, Matt Lorber , Charles Peck , and Steve Schwartz, P.E., Q.E.P.3

Recently, the US Environ...

OPTIMAL WELL LOCATOR (OWL): A SCREENING TOOL FOR EVALUATING LOCATIONS OF MONITORING WELLS

EPA Science Inventory

The Optimal Well Locator ( OWL) program was designed and developed by USEPA to be a screening tool to evaluate and optimize the placement of wells in long term monitoring networks at small sites. The first objective of the OWL program is to allow the user to visualize the change ...

Use of the Child Behavior Checklist as a Diagnostic Screening Tool in Community Mental Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rishel, Carrie W.; Greeno, Catherine; Marcus, Steven C.; Shear, M. Katherine; Anderson, Carol

2005-01-01

Objective: This study examines whether the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) can be used as an accurate psychiatric screening tool for children in community mental health settings. Method: Associations, logistic regression models, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis were used to test the predictive relationship between the CBCL and…

How Well Do They Read? Brief English and French Screening Tools for College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fichten, Catherine S.; Nguyen, Mai N.; King, Laura; Havel, Alice; Mimouni, Zohra; Barile, Maria; Budd, Jillian; Jorgensen, Shirley; Chauvin, Alexandre; Gutberg, Jennifer

2014-01-01

We translated and report on the psychometric properties of English and French versions of two reading difficulties screening tools for junior/community college students. We administered the Adult Reading History Questionnaire-Revised (ARHQ-R) (Parrila, Georgiou, & Corkett, 2007) to 1889 students enrolled in compulsory language courses in…

PLASMA PROTEIN PROFILING AS A HIGH THROUGHPUT TOOL FOR CHEMICAL SCREENING USING A SMALL FISH MODEL

EPA Science Inventory

Hudson, R. Tod, Michael J. Hemmer, Kimberly A. Salinas, Sherry S. Wilkinson, James Watts, James T. Winstead, Peggy S. Harris, Amy Kirkpatrick and Calvin C. Walker. In press. Plasma Protein Profiling as a High Throughput Tool for Chemical Screening Using a Small Fish Model (Abstra...

The DSM-5 Self-Rated Level 1 Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure as a Screening Tool.

PubMed

Bastiaens, Leo; Galus, James

2018-03-01

The DSM-5 Self-Rated Level 1 Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure was developed to aid clinicians with a dimensional assessment of psychopathology; however, this measure resembles a screening tool for several symptomatic domains. The objective of the current study was to examine the basic parameters of sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive power of the measure as a screening tool. One hundred and fifty patients in a correctional community center filled out the measure prior to a psychiatric evaluation, including the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview screen. The above parameters were calculated for the domains of depression, mania, anxiety, and psychosis. The results showed that the sensitivity and positive predictive power of the studied domains was poor because of a high rate of false positive answers on the measure. However, when the lowest threshold on the Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure was used, the sensitivity of the anxiety and psychosis domains and the negative predictive values for mania, anxiety and psychosis were good. In conclusion, while it is foreseeable that some clinicians may use the DSM-5 Self-Rated Level 1 Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure as a screening tool, it should not be relied on to identify positive findings. It functioned well in the negative prediction of mania, anxiety and psychosis symptoms.

"My Heart Die in Me": Idioms of Distress and the Development of a Screening Tool for Mental Suffering in Southeast Liberia.

PubMed

Fabian, Katrin; Fannoh, Josiah; Washington, George G; Geninyan, Wilfred B; Nyachienga, Bethuel; Cyrus, Garmai; Hallowanger, Joyce N; Beste, Jason; Rao, Deepa; Wagenaar, Bradley H

2018-05-04

The integration of culturally salient idioms of distress into mental healthcare delivery is essential for effective screening, diagnosis, and treatment. This study systematically explored idioms, explanatory models, and conceptualizations in Maryland County, Liberia to develop a culturally-resonant screening tool for mental distress. We employed a sequential mixed-methods process of: (1) free-lists and semi-structured interviews (n = 20); patient chart reviews (n = 315); (2) pile-sort exercises, (n = 31); and (3) confirmatory focus group discussions (FGDs); (n = 3) from June to December 2017. Free-lists identified 64 idioms of distress, 36 of which were eliminated because they were poorly understood, stigmatizing, irrelevant, or redundant. The remaining 28 terms were used in pile-sort exercises to visualize the interrelatedness of idioms. Confirmatory FDGs occurred before and after the pile-sort exercise to explain findings. Four categories of idioms resulted, the most substantial of which included terms related to the heart and to the brain/mind. The final screening tool took into account 11 idioms and 6 physical symptoms extracted from patient chart reviews. This study provides the framework for culturally resonant mental healthcare by cataloguing language around mental distress and designing an emic screening tool for validation in a clinical setting.

C-SPADE: a web-tool for interactive analysis and visualization of drug screening experiments through compound-specific bioactivity dendrograms

PubMed Central

Alam, Zaid; Peddinti, Gopal

2017-01-01

Abstract The advent of polypharmacology paradigm in drug discovery calls for novel chemoinformatic tools for analyzing compounds’ multi-targeting activities. Such tools should provide an intuitive representation of the chemical space through capturing and visualizing underlying patterns of compound similarities linked to their polypharmacological effects. Most of the existing compound-centric chemoinformatics tools lack interactive options and user interfaces that are critical for the real-time needs of chemical biologists carrying out compound screening experiments. Toward that end, we introduce C-SPADE, an open-source exploratory web-tool for interactive analysis and visualization of drug profiling assays (biochemical, cell-based or cell-free) using compound-centric similarity clustering. C-SPADE allows the users to visually map the chemical diversity of a screening panel, explore investigational compounds in terms of their similarity to the screening panel, perform polypharmacological analyses and guide drug-target interaction predictions. C-SPADE requires only the raw drug profiling data as input, and it automatically retrieves the structural information and constructs the compound clusters in real-time, thereby reducing the time required for manual analysis in drug development or repurposing applications. The web-tool provides a customizable visual workspace that can either be downloaded as figure or Newick tree file or shared as a hyperlink with other users. C-SPADE is freely available at http://cspade.fimm.fi/. PMID:28472495

Falls risk assessment outcomes and factors associated with falls for older Indigenous Australians.

PubMed

Hill, Keith D; Flicker, Leon; LoGiudice, Dina; Smith, Kate; Atkinson, David; Hyde, Zoë; Fenner, Stephen; Skeaf, Linda; Malay, Roslyn; Boyle, Eileen

2016-12-01

To describe the prevalence of falls and associated risk factors in older Indigenous Australians, and compare the accuracy of validated falls risk screening and assessment tools in this population in classifying fall status. Cross-sectional study of 289 Indigenous Australians aged ≥45 years from the Kimberley region of Western Australia who had a detailed assessment including self-reported falls in the past year (n=289), the adapted Elderly Falls Screening Tool (EFST; n=255), and the Falls Risk for Older People-Community (FROP-Com) screening tool (3 items, n=74) and FROP-Com falls assessment tool (n=74). 32% of participants had ≥1 fall in the preceding year, and 37.3% were classified high falls risk using the EFST (cut-off ≥2). In contrast, for the 74 participants assessed with the FROP-Com, only 14.9% were rated high risk, 35.8% moderate risk, and 49.3% low risk. The FROP-Com screen and assessment tools had the highest classification accuracy for identifying fallers in the preceding year (area under curve >0.85), with sensitivity/specificity highest for the FROP-Com assessment (cut-off ≥12), sensitivity=0.84 and specificity=0.73. Falls are common in older Indigenous Australians. The FROP-Com falls risk assessment tool appears useful in this population, and this research suggests changes that may improve its utility further. © 2016 Public Health Association of Australia.

The m/r SEBT: development of a functional screening tool for dance educators.

PubMed

Wilson, Margaret; Batson, Glenna

2014-12-01

Dance screenings provide direct and indirect data bearing on a dancer's readiness to undertake rigorous physical training. Rarely, however, are dance teachers able to translate results from these screenings into practical technical knowledge. In this article, an example of a preseason assessment tool is presented that translates scientific findings into useful information for dance teachers conducting auditions. Designed as a baseline assessment of the dancer during auditioning, the m/r SEBT tool helps teachers stratify technical levels, identify injury risk, and consequently assist with immediate and appropriate recommendations for supplemental training and//or follow-up with a medical professional. The tool evolved out of more than 3 years of collaborative, multisite research utilizing the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) as a dynamic test of balance. Modifications were made to render the test more dance-specific and to increase balance challenges. Within the 3-year period, more than 100 dancers were tested in four sites, two in the United States and two in the United Kingdom. Despite the relatively large collective sample size, neither the original SEBT nor its modifications (m/r SEBT) held robust face or content validity as balance screens. What did emerge, however, were qualitative criteria that the authors organized into a feasible assessment tool for preseason auditions. While this tool awaits further validation, its current evolution helps serve as a bridge between dance teachers' clinical and practical knowledge.

A Multimedia Child Developmental Screening Checklist: Design and Validation

PubMed Central

Cheng, Hsin-Yi Kathy; Chen, Li-Ying; Cheng, Chih-Hsiu; Ju, Yan-Ying; Chen, Chia-Ling

2016-01-01

Background Identifying disability early in life confers long-term benefits for children. The Taipei City Child Development Screening tool, second version (Taipei II) provides checklists for 13 child age groups from 4 months to 6 years. However, the usability of a text-based screening tool largely depends on the literacy level and logical reasoning ability of the caregivers, as well as language barriers caused by increasing numbers of immigrants. Objective The objectives of this study were to (1) design and develop a Web-based multimedia version of the current Taipei II developmental screening tool, and (2) investigate the measurement equivalence of this multimedia version to the original paper-based version. Methods To develop the multimedia version of Taipei II, a team of experts created illustrations, translations, and dubbing of the original checklists. The developmental screening test was administered to a total of 390 primary caregivers of children aged between 4 months and 6 years. Results Psychometric testing revealed excellent agreement between the paper and multimedia versions of Taipei II. Good to excellent reliabilities were demonstrated for all age groups for both the cross-mode similarity (mode intraclass correlation range 0.85-0.96) and the test-retest reliability (r=.93). Regarding the usability, the mean score was 4.80 (SD 0.03), indicating that users were satisfied with their multimedia website experience. Conclusions The multimedia tool produced essentially equivalent results to the paper-based tool. In addition, it had numerous advantages, such as it can facilitate active participation and promote early screening of target populations. ClinicalTrial Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02359591; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02359591 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6l21mmdNn) PMID:27777218

Evaluation of nutritional screening tools among patients scheduled for heart valve surgery.

PubMed

Lomivorotov, Vladimir V; Efremov, Sergey M; Boboshko, Vladimir A; Nikolaev, Dmitry A; Vedernikov, Pavel E; Shilova, Anna N; Lomivorotov, Vladimir N; Karaskov, Alexander M

2013-03-01

The study aim was to detect the most sensitive nutritional screening tool and to assess its prognostic value with regards to an adverse clinical course in patients with heart valve disease undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). This prospective cohort study included 441 adult patients who were screened using four nutritional screening tools: Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002); Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST); Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA); and Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire (SNAQ). Nutritional assessment was performed using a Subjective Global Assessment (SGA). In-hospital mortality, postoperative complications, and duration of hospital stay were each analyzed. With regards to the detection of malnutrition, the sensitivities of MUST, SNAQ, MNA and NRS-2002 were 100%, 92%, 84.6% and 43.6%, respectively. Malnutrition identified by MUST and MNA were associated with postoperative complications (OR 1.63, p = 0.033 and OR 1.6, p = 0.035) and prolonged hospitalization (OR 1.57, p = 0.048 and OR 1.7, p = 0.02). According to multivariate logistic regression analysis, along with well-known age and duration of CPB, malnutrition identified by MUST and MNA was associated with a risk of development of complications (OR 1.6, p = 0.049 and OR 1.6, p = 0.04, respectively). The sensitivities of SNAQ, MUST, NRS-2002 and MNA with regards to postoperative complications were 26.8%, 28.8%, 10%, and 31.6%, respectively. The MUST tool is preferable with regards to the detection of malnutrition. Both, MUST and MNA independently predicted postoperative complications. SNAQ and NRS-2002 proved insensitive with regards to the postoperative course among patients with heart valve disease who were scheduled for cardiothoracic surgery.

Development of a screening tool to predict malnutrition among children under two years old in Zambia

PubMed Central

Hasegawa, Junko; Ito, Yoichi M; Yamauchi, Taro

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Background: Maternal and child undernutrition is an important issue, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Children at high risk of malnutrition should be prioritized to receive necessary interventions to minimize such risk. Several risk factors have been proposed; however, until now, there has been no appropriate evaluation method to identify these children. In sub-Saharan Africa, children commonly receive regular check-ups from community health workers. A simple and easy nutrition assessment method is therefore needed for use by semi-professional health workers. Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop and test a practical screening tool for community use in predicting growth stunting in children under two years in rural Zambia. Methods: Field research was conducted from July to August 2014 in Southern Province, Zambia. Two hundred and sixty-four mother-child pairs participated in the study. Anthropometric measurements were performed on all children and mothers, and all mothers were interviewed. Risk factors for the screening test were estimated by using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator analysis. After re-evaluating all participants using the new screening tool, a receiver operating characteristic curve was drawn to set the cut-off value. Sensitivity and specificity were also calculated. Results: The screening tool included age, weight-for-age Z-score status, birth weight, feeding status, history of sibling death, multiple birth, and maternal education level. The total score ranged from 0 to 22, and the cut-off value was eight. Sensitivity and specificity were 0.963 and 0.697 respectively. Conclusions: A screening tool was developed to predict children at high risk of malnutrition living in Zambia. Further longitudinal studies are needed to confirm the test’s validity in detecting future stunting and to investigate the effectiveness of malnutrition treatment. PMID:28730929

A Multimedia Child Developmental Screening Checklist: Design and Validation.

PubMed

Cheng, Hsin-Yi Kathy; Chen, Li-Ying; Cheng, Chih-Hsiu; Ju, Yan-Ying; Chen, Chia-Ling; Tseng, Kevin C

2016-10-24

Identifying disability early in life confers long-term benefits for children. The Taipei City Child Development Screening tool, second version (Taipei II) provides checklists for 13 child age groups from 4 months to 6 years. However, the usability of a text-based screening tool largely depends on the literacy level and logical reasoning ability of the caregivers, as well as language barriers caused by increasing numbers of immigrants. The objectives of this study were to (1) design and develop a Web-based multimedia version of the current Taipei II developmental screening tool, and (2) investigate the measurement equivalence of this multimedia version to the original paper-based version. To develop the multimedia version of Taipei II, a team of experts created illustrations, translations, and dubbing of the original checklists. The developmental screening test was administered to a total of 390 primary caregivers of children aged between 4 months and 6 years. Psychometric testing revealed excellent agreement between the paper and multimedia versions of Taipei II. Good to excellent reliabilities were demonstrated for all age groups for both the cross-mode similarity (mode intraclass correlation range 0.85-0.96) and the test-retest reliability (r=.93). Regarding the usability, the mean score was 4.80 (SD 0.03), indicating that users were satisfied with their multimedia website experience. The multimedia tool produced essentially equivalent results to the paper-based tool. In addition, it had numerous advantages, such as it can facilitate active participation and promote early screening of target populations. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02359591; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02359591 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6l21mmdNn).

Patients' awareness of symptoms of dysphagia.

PubMed

Boczko, Faerella

2006-11-01

To assess geriatric patients' assessment of their clinical symptoms of dysphagia by means of a customized dysphagia screening tool and the usefulness of this assessment to health care professionals. The screening tool was distributed to an appropriate cohort and the entries correlated with results of standard speech-language pathology clinical assessments. A large long-term care/subacute rehabilitation facility. There were 199 new admissions screened. The patients included 74 (37.2%) males and 125 (60.8%) females. Patients' ages ranged from 50 to 98 with the mean age of 79.9 years. The screening tool used requires yes/no patient responses to 9 clinical indicators of dysphagia: difficulty keeping liquids in the mouth; coughing after drinking; shortness of breath while drinking; voice change after drinking; coughing after eating; shortness of breath after eating; food getting stuck in the mouth/throat when eating; voice change after eating; difficulty with saliva. After completing the questionnaire, the speech-language pathologist then conducted a standard bedside swallowing examination using the same 9 indicators. The findings suggest that although patients are less discriminating than clinicians in recognizing swallowing problems, the screening tool as a generalized indicator of potential for dysphagia is consistent and reliable. Individual items should not be used as indicators of dysphagia, but as a whole, the screening tool completed by patients is a reliable indicator of potential for dysphagia. Patients' awareness of their own swallowing impairment represents an important aspect of functional recovery. The findings of the study indicate that when patients self-identify a swallowing problem, the speech-language pathologist also identifies the existence of a problem, although not the same problem identified by the patient, with the same intensity or with the same manifestation.

Diving deeper into Zebrafish development of social behavior: analyzing high resolution data.

PubMed

Buske, Christine; Gerlai, Robert

2014-08-30

Vertebrate model organisms have been utilized in high throughput screening but only with substantial cost and human capital investment. The zebrafish is a vertebrate model species that is a promising and cost effective candidate for efficient high throughput screening. Larval zebrafish have already been successfully employed in this regard (Lessman, 2011), but adult zebrafish also show great promise. High throughput screening requires the use of a large number of subjects and collection of substantial amount of data. Collection of data is only one of the demanding aspects of screening. However, in most screening approaches that involve behavioral data the main bottleneck that slows throughput is the time consuming aspect of analysis of the collected data. Some automated analytical tools do exist, but often they only work for one subject at a time, eliminating the possibility of fully utilizing zebrafish as a screening tool. This is a particularly important limitation for such complex phenotypes as social behavior. Testing multiple fish at a time can reveal complex social interactions but it may also allow the identification of outliers from a group of mutagenized or pharmacologically treated fish. Here, we describe a novel method using a custom software tool developed within our laboratory, which enables tracking multiple fish, in combination with a sophisticated analytical approach for summarizing and analyzing high resolution behavioral data. This paper focuses on the latter, the analytic tool, which we have developed using the R programming language and environment for statistical computing. We argue that combining sophisticated data collection methods with appropriate analytical tools will propel zebrafish into the future of neurobehavioral genetic research. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Screening tool for oropharyngeal dysphagia in stroke - Part I: evidence of validity based on the content and response processes.

PubMed

Almeida, Tatiana Magalhães de; Cola, Paula Cristina; Pernambuco, Leandro de Araújo; Magalhães, Hipólito Virgílio; Magnoni, Carlos Daniel; Silva, Roberta Gonçalves da

2017-08-17

The aim of the present study was to identify the evidence of validity based on the content and response process of the Rastreamento de Disfagia Orofaríngea no Acidente Vascular Encefálico (RADAVE; "Screening Tool for Oropharyngeal Dysphagia in Stroke"). The criteria used to elaborate the questions were based on a literature review. A group of judges consisting of 19 different health professionals evaluated the relevance and representativeness of the questions, and the results were analyzed using the Content Validity Index. In order to evidence validity based on the response processes, 23 health professionals administered the screening tool and analyzed the questions using a structured scale and cognitive interview. The RADAVE structured to be applied in two stages. The first version consisted of 18 questions in stage I and 11 questions in stage II. Eight questions in stage I and four in stage II did not reach the minimum Content Validity Index, requiring reformulation by the authors. The cognitive interview demonstrated some misconceptions. New adjustments were made and the final version was produced with 12 questions in stage I and six questions in stage II. It was possible to develop a screening tool for dysphagia in stroke with adequate evidence of validity based on content and response processes. Both validity evidences obtained so far allowed to adjust the screening tool in relation to its construct. The next studies will analyze the other evidences of validity and the measures of accuracy.

Rates of detection of developmental problems at the 18-month well-baby visit by family physicians' using four evidence-based screening tools compared to usual care: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Thomas, R E; Spragins, W; Mazloum, G; Cronkhite, M; Maru, G

2016-05-01

Early and regular developmental screening can improve children's development through early intervention but is insufficiently used. Most developmental problems are readily evident at the 18-month well-baby visit. This trial's purpose is to: (1) compare identification rates of developmental problems by GPs/family physicians using four evidence-based tools with non-evidence based screening, and (2) ascertain whether the four tools can be completed in 10-min pre-visit on a computer. We compared two approaches to early identification via random assignment of 54 families to either: 'usual care' (informal judgment including ad-hoc milestones, n = 25); or (2) 'Evidence-based' care (use of four validated, accurate screening tools, n = 29), including: the Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS), the PEDS-Developmental Milestones (PEDS-DM), the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) and PHQ9 (maternal depression). In the 'usual care' group four (16%) and in the evidence-based tools group 18 (62%) were identified as having a possible developmental problem. In the evidence-based tools group three infants were to be recalled at 24 months for language checks (no specialist referrals made). In the 'usual care' group four problems were identified: one child was referred for speech therapy, two to return to check language at 24 months and a mother to discuss depression. All forms were completed on-line within 10 min. Despite higher early detection rates in the evidence-based care group, there were no differences in referral rates between evidence-based and usual-care groups. This suggests that clinicians: (1) override evidence-based screening results with informal judgment; and/or (2) need assistance understanding test results and making referrals. Possible solutions are improve the quality of information obtained from the screening process, improved training of physicians, improved support for individual practices and acceptance by the regional health authority for overall responsibility for screening and creation of a comprehensive network. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Sensitivity of simulated conservation practice effectiveness to representation of field and in-stream processes in the Little River Watershed

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Evaluating the effectiveness of conservation practices (CPs) is an important step to achieving efficient and successful water quality management. Watershed-scale simulation models can provide useful and convenient tools for this evaluation, but simulated conservation practice effectiveness should be...

The microcomputer scientific software series 4: testing prediction accuracy.

Treesearch

H. Michael Rauscher

1986-01-01

A computer program, ATEST, is described in this combination user's guide / programmer's manual. ATEST provides users with an efficient and convenient tool to test the accuracy of predictors. As input ATEST requires observed-predicted data pairs. The output reports the two components of accuracy, bias and precision.

Predictive validity of the identification of seniors at risk screening tool in a German emergency department setting.

PubMed

Singler, Katrin; Heppner, Hans Jürgen; Skutetzky, Andreas; Sieber, Cornel; Christ, Michael; Thiem, Ulrich

2014-01-01

The identification of patients at high risk for adverse outcomes [death, unplanned readmission to emergency department (ED)/hospital, functional decline] plays an important role in emergency medicine. The Identification of Seniors at Risk (ISAR) instrument is one of the most commonly used and best-validated screening tools. As to the authors' knowledge so far there are no data on any screening tool for the identification of older patients at risk for a negative outcome in Germany. To evaluate the validity of the ISAR screening tool in a German ED. This was a prospective single-center observational cohort study in an ED of an urban university-affiliated hospital. Participants were 520 patients aged ≥75 years consecutively admitted to the ED. The German version of the ISAR screening tool was administered directly after triage of the patients. Follow-up telephone interviews to assess outcome variables were conducted 28 and 180 days after the index visit in the ED. The primary end point was death from any cause or hospitalization or recurrent ED visit or change of residency into a long-term care facility on day 28 after the index ED visit. The mean age ± SD was 82.8 ± 5.0 years. According to ISAR, 425 patients (81.7%) scored ≥2 points, and 315 patients (60.5%) scored ≥3 points. The combined primary end point was observed in 250 of 520 patients (48.1%) on day 28 and in 260 patients (50.0%) on day 180. Using a continuous ISAR score the area under the curve on day 28 was 0.621 (95% confidence interval, CI 0.573-0.669) and 0.661 (95% CI 0.615-0.708) on day 180, respectively. The German version of the ISAR screening tool acceptably identified elderly patients in the ED with an increased risk of a negative outcome. Using the cutoff ≥3 points instead of ≥2 points yielded better overall results.

What are the most effective methods for assessment of nutritional status in outpatients with gastric and colorectal cancer?

PubMed

Abe Vicente, Mariana; Barão, Katia; Silva, Tiago Donizetti; Forones, Nora Manoukian

2013-01-01

To evaluate methods for the identification of nutrition risk and nutritional status in outpatients with colorectal (CRC) and gastric cancer (GC), and to compare the results to those obtained for patients already treated for these cancers. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 137 patients: group 1 (n = 75) consisting of patients with GC or CRC, and group 2 (n = 62) consisting of patients after treatment of GC or CRC under follow up, who were tumor free for a period longer than 3 months. Nutritional status was assessed in these patients using objective methods [body mass index (BMI), phase angle, serum albumin]; nutritional screening tools [Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST), Nutritional Risk Index (NRI)], and subjective assessment [Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PGSGA)]. The sensitivity and specificity of each method was calculated in relation to the PG-SGA used as gold standard. One hundred thirty seven patients participated in the study. Stage IV cancer patients were more common in group 1. There was no difference in BMI between groups (p = 0.67). Analysis of the association between methods of assessing nutritional status and PG-SGA showed that the nutritional screening tools provided more significant results (p < 0.05) than the objective methods in the two groups. PG-SGA detected the highest proportion of undernourished patients in group 1. The nutritional screening tools MUST, NRI and MST were more sensitive than the objective methods. Phase angle measurement was the most sensitive objective method in group 1. The nutritional screening tools showed the best association with PG-SGA and were also more sensitive than the objective methods. The results suggest the combination of MUST and PG-SGA for patients with cancer before and after treatment. Copyright © AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2013. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of an inpatient fall risk screening tool to identify the most critical fall risk factors in inpatients.

PubMed

Hou, Wen-Hsuan; Kang, Chun-Mei; Ho, Mu-Hsing; Kuo, Jessie Ming-Chuan; Chen, Hsiao-Lien; Chang, Wen-Yin

2017-03-01

To evaluate the accuracy of the inpatient fall risk screening tool and to identify the most critical fall risk factors in inpatients. Variations exist in several screening tools applied in acute care hospitals for examining risk factors for falls and identifying high-risk inpatients. Secondary data analysis. A subset of inpatient data for the period from June 2011-June 2014 was extracted from the nursing information system and adverse event reporting system of an 818-bed teaching medical centre in Taipei. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and logistic regression analysis. During the study period, 205 fallers and 37,232 nonfallers were identified. The results revealed that the inpatient fall risk screening tool (cut-off point of ≥3) had a low sensitivity level (60%), satisfactory specificity (87%), a positive predictive value of 2·0% and a negative predictive value of 99%. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed an area under the curve of 0·805 (sensitivity, 71·8%; specificity, 78%). To increase the sensitivity values, the Youden index suggests at least 1·5 points to be the most suitable cut-off point for the inpatient fall risk screening tool. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed a considerably increased fall risk in patients with impaired balance and impaired elimination. The fall risk factor was also significantly associated with days of hospital stay and with admission to surgical wards. The findings can raise awareness about the two most critical risk factors for falls among future clinical nurses and other healthcare professionals and thus facilitate the development of fall prevention interventions. This study highlights the needs for redefining the cut-off points of the inpatient fall risk screening tool to effectively identify inpatients at a high risk of falls. Furthermore, inpatients with impaired balance and impaired elimination should be closely monitored by nurses to prevent falling during hospitalisations. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Wearable Notification via Dissemination Service in a Pervasive Computing Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-01

context, state, and environment in a manner that would be transparent to a Soldier’s common operations. 15. SUBJECT TERMS pervasive computing, Android ...of user context shifts, i.e., changes in the user’s position, history , workflow, or resource interests. If the PCE is described as a 2-component...convenient viewing on the Glass’s screen just above the line of sight. All of the software developed uses Google’s Android open-source software stack

Modified HDA Characterization Study

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-08-30

the test because of attack on the probes, in test vesel V1 , for measuring temperature and pressure. The magnitude of attack would not effect PVT...included prefiltration with 50 cm 3 of this solvent Subsequent tests involved merely wetting the membranes immediately before exposing them to HDA...steel screen was also test’d Fol convenience, 6T 1 AA was used in the form of tubing, to complete the couples. Spek linens ol each type of mnctal wet

An Analysis of the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2016 Shipbuilding Plan

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-10-01

OCTOBER 2015 An Analysis of the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2016 Shipbuilding Plan Provided as a convenience, this “screen-friendly” version is identical in...hyperlinked references in the text to view them Summary The Department of Defense (DoD) submitted to the Congress the Navy’s 2016 shipbuilding plan...appropriations for shipbuilding in recent decades. The Navy’s 2016 shipbuilding plan is similar to its 2015 plan with respect to the goal for the

Examining the Relationship Between the Functional Movement Screen and the Landing Error Scoring System in an Active, Male Collegiate Population.

PubMed

Everard, Eoin M; Harrison, Andrew J; Lyons, Mark

2017-05-01

Everard, EM, Harrison, AJ, and Lyons, M. Examining the relationship between the functional movement screen and the landing error scoring system in an active, male collegiate population. J Strength Cond Res 31(5): 1265-1272, 2017-In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on movement screening as the principal aspect of preparticipation testing. Two of the most common movement screening tools are the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) and the Landing Error Scoring System (LESS). Several studies have examined the reliability and validity of these tools, but so far, there have been no studies comparing the results of these 2 screening tools against each other. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between FMS scores and LESS scores. Ninety-eight male college athletes actively competing in sport (Gaelic games, soccer, athletics, boxing/mixed martial arts, Olympic weightlifting) participated in the study and performed the FMS and LESS screens. Both the 21-point and 100-point scoring systems were used to score the FMS. Spearman's correlation coefficients were used to determine the relationship between the 2 screening scores. The results showed a significant moderate correlation between FMS and LESS scores (rho 100 and 21 point = -0.528; -0.487; p < 0.001). In addition, r values of 0.26 and 0.23 indicate a poor shared variance between the 2 screens. The results indicate that performing well in one of the screens does not necessarily equate to performing well in the other. This has practical implications as it highlights that both screens may assess different movement patterns and should not be used as a substitute for each other.

A novel firefly luciferase biosensor enhances the detection of apoptosis induced by ESAT-6 family proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

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

Shi, Junwei; Zhang, Huan; Fang, Liurong

Highlights: • We developed a novel firefly luciferase based biosensor to detect apoptosis. • The novel biosensor 233-DnaE-DEVDG was reliable, sensitive and convenient. • 233-DnaE-DEVDG faithfully indicated ESAT-6 family proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis induced apoptosis. • EsxA, esxT and esxL in ESAT-6 family proteins induced apoptosis. • Activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) participated in esxT-induced apoptosis. - Abstract: The activation of caspase-3 is a key surrogate marker for detecting apoptosis. To quantitate caspase-3 activity, we constructed a biosensor comprising a recombinant firefly luciferase containing a caspase-3 cleavage site. When apoptosis was induced, caspase-3 cleavage of the biosensor activated firefly luciferasemore » by a factor greater than 25. The assay conveniently detected apoptosis in real time, indicating that it will facilitate drug discovery. We screened ESAT-6 family proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and found that esxA, esxT and esxL induced apoptosis. Further, activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and the NF-κB-regulated genes encoding tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) participated in esxT-induced apoptosis. We conclude that this assay is useful for high-throughput screening to identify and characterize proteins and drugs that regulate apoptosis.« less

Translating Cholesterol Guidelines Into Primary Care Practice: A Multimodal Cluster Randomized Trial

PubMed Central

Eaton, Charles B.; Parker, Donna R.; Borkan, Jeffrey; McMurray, Jerome; Roberts, Mary B.; Lu, Bing; Goldman, Roberta; Ahern, David K.

2011-01-01

PURPOSE We wanted to determine whether an intervention based on patient activation and a physician decision support tool was more effective than usual care for improving adherence to National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines. METHODS A 1-year cluster randomized controlled trial was performed using 30 primary care practices (4,105 patients) in southeastern New England. The main outcome was the percentage of patients screened for hyperlipidemia and treated to their low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and non–high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol goals. RESULTS After 1 year of intervention, both randomized practice groups improved screening (89% screened), and 74% of patients in both groups were at their LDL and non-HDL cholesterol goals (P <.001). Using intent-to-treat analysis, we found no statistically significant differences between practice groups in screening or percentage of patients who achieved LDL and non-HDL cholesterol goals. Post hoc analysis showed practices who made high use of the patient activation kiosk were more likely to have patients screened (odds ratio [OR] = 2.54; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.97–3.27) compared with those who made infrequent or no use. Additionally, physicians who made high use of decision support tools were more likely to have their patients at their LDL cholesterol goals (OR = 1.27; 95% CI, 1.07–1.50) and non-HDL goals (OR = 1.23; 95% CI, 1.04–1.46) than low-use or no-use physicians. CONCLUSION This study showed null results with the intent-to-treat analysis regarding the benefits of a patient activation and a decision support tool in improving cholesterol management in primary care practices. Post hoc analysis showed a potential benefit in practices that used the e-health tools more frequently in screening and management of dyslipidemia. Further research on how to incorporate and increase adoption of user-friendly, patient-centered e-health tools to improve screening and management of chronic diseases and their risk factors is warranted. PMID:22084264

Frailty screening and assessment tools: a review of characteristics and use in Public Health.

PubMed

Gilardi, F; Capanna, A; Ferraro, M; Scarcella, P; Marazzi, M C; Palombi, L; Liotta, G

2018-01-01

Frailty screening and assessment are a fundamental issue in Public Health in order to plan prevention programs and services. By a narrative review of the literature employing the International Narrative Systematic Assessment tool, the authors aims to develop an updated framework for the main procedures and measurement tools to assess frailty in older adults, paying attention to the use in the primary care setting. The study selected 10 reviews published between January 2010 and December 2016 that define some characteristics of the main tools used to measure the frailty. Within the selected reviews only one of the described tools met all the criteria (multidimensionality, quick and easy administration, accurate risk prediction of negative outcomes and high sensitivity and specificity) necessary for a screening tool. Accurate risk prediction of negative outcomes could be the appropriate and sufficient criteria to assess a tool aimed to detect frailty in the community-dwelling elderly population. A two-step process (a first short questionnaire to detect frailty and a second longer questionnaire to define the care demand at individual level) could represent the appropriate pathway for planning care services at community level.

"I want to save my life": Conceptions of cervical and breast cancer screening among urban immigrant women of South Asian and Chinese origin.

PubMed

Hulme, Jennifer; Moravac, Catherine; Ahmad, Farah; Cleverly, Shelley; Lofters, Aisha; Ginsburg, Ophira; Dunn, Sheila

2016-10-13

Breast and cervical cancer screening rates remain low among immigrant women and those of low socioeconomic status. The Cancer Awareness: Ready for Education and Screening (CARES) project ran a peer-led multi-lingual educational program between 2012 and 2014 to reach under and never-screened women in Central Toronto, where breast and cervical cancer screening rates remain low. The objective of this qualitative study was to better understand how Chinese and South Asian immigrants - the largest and most under-screened immigrant groups according to national and provincial statistics - conceive of breast and cervical cancer screening. We explored their experiences with screening to date. We explicitly inquired about their perceptions of the health care system, their screening experiences with family physicians and strategies that would support screening in their communities. We conducted 22 individual interviews and two focus groups in Bengali and Mandarin with participants who had attended CARES educational sessions. Transcripts were coded through an iterative constant comparative and interpretative approach. Themes fell into five major, overlapping domains: risk perception and concepts of preventative health and screening; health system engagement and the embedded experience with screening; fear of cancer and procedural pain; self-efficacy, obligation, and willingness to be screened; newcomer barriers and competing priorities. These domains all overlap, and contribute to screening behaviours. Immigrant women experienced a number of barriers to screening related to 'navigating newness', including transportation, language barriers, arrangements for time off work and childcare. Fear of screening and fear of cancer took many forms; painful or traumatic encounters with screening were described. Female gender of the provider was paramount for both groups. Newly screened South Asian women were reassured by their first encounter with screening. Some Chinese women preferred the anonymous screening options available in China. Women generally endorsed a willingness to be screened, and even offered to organize women in their community hubs to access screening. The experience of South Asian and Chinese immigrant women suggests that under and never-screened newcomers may be effectively integrated into screening programs through existing primary care networks, cultural-group specific outreach, and expanding access to convenient community -based screening.

DNA detection of Trypanosoma evansi: Diagnostic validity of a new assay based on loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP).

PubMed

Tong, Qunbo; Chen, Rui; Kong, Qingming; Goossens, Julie; Radwanska, Magdalena; Lou, Di; Ding, Jianzu; Zheng, Bin; Fu, Yixiu; Wang, Tianping; Stefan, Magez; Lu, Shaohong

2018-01-30

Trypanosoma evansi (T. evansi) is the most widely spread pathogenic trypanosome in the world. The control of trypanosomiasis depends on accurate diagnosis and effective treatment. Focusing on the presence of T. evansi in Asia, we developed a detection assay based on tracing phosphate ions (Pi) generated during LAMP targeting the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) gene of Rode Trypanozoon antigenic type 1.2 (RoTat 1.2 VSG). The diagnostic potential as well as the use of the assay as a test-of-cure method after berenil treatment, was assessed in mice at different time points of infection. In addition, 67 buffalo blood collected from Tongling county, Anhui province, as well as 42 cattle sera from the Shanghai area, were used to evaluate the diagnostic validity of the test. The detection limit of the novel LAMP assay was determined to be as low as 1 fg of T. evansi DNA, while the reaction time for the test was only 30min. Hence it outperforms both microscopy and PCR. In the test-of-cure assessment, successful berenil mediated cure could be confirmed within 48h after treatment. This offers a tremendous advantage over conventional antibody-based diagnostic tools in which successful cure only can be confirmed after months. In the cattle and buffalo screening, the LAMP was able to detect a false-negative determined sample, wrongly classified in a conventional microscopy and PCR screening. Finally, no cross-reactivity was observed with other zoonotic parasites, such as T. evansi type B, T. congolense, T. brucei, Schistosoma japonicum, Plasmodium falciparum, Leishmania donovani, Toxoplasma gondii and Angiostrongylus cantonensis. We conclude that the novel LAMP assay is sensitive, specific and convenient for field use, particularly in areas where infection incidence has become extremely low. The LAMP assay could be used as a tool for trypanosomiasis control and elimination strategies in areas where T. evansi Type A infections are causing a threat to livestock farming. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The reliability, validity and feasibility of tools used to screen for caregiver burden: a systematic review.

PubMed

Whalen, Kimberly J; Buchholz, Susan W

The overall objective of this review is to quantitatively measure the psychometric properties and the feasibility of caregiver burden screening tools. The more specific objectives were to determine the reliability, validity as well as feasibility of tools that are used to screen for caregiver burden and strain. This review considered international quantitative research papers that addressed the psychometric properties and feasibility of caregiver burden screening tools. The search strategy aimed to find both published and unpublished studies from 1980-2007 published only in the English language. An initial limited search of MEDLINE and CINAHL was undertaken followed by analysis of the text words contained in the title and abstract and the index terms used to describe the article. A second search identified keywords and index terms across major databases. Third, the reference list of identified reports and articles was searched for additional studies. Each paper was assessed by two independent reviewers for methodological quality prior to inclusion in the review using an appropriate critical appraisal instrument from the Joanna Briggs Institutes' System for the Unified Management, Assessment and Review (SUMARI) package. Because burden is a multidimensional construct defined internationally with a multitude of other terms, only those studies whose title, abstract or keywords contained the search terminology developed for this review were identified for retrieval. The construct of caregiver burden is not standardized, and many terms are used to describe burden. A caregiver is also identified as a carer. Instruments exist in multiple languages and have been tested in multiple populations. A total of 112 papers, experimental and non-experimental in nature, were included in the review. The majority of papers were non-experimental studies that tested or used a caregiver burden screening tool. Because of the nature of these papers, a meta-analysis of the results was not possible. Instead a table is used to depict the 74 caregiver burden screening tools that meet the psychometric and feasibility standards of this review. The Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), in particular the 22-item version, has been examined the most throughout the literature. In addition to its sound psychometric properties, the ZBI has been widely used across languages and cultures. The significant amount of research that has already been done on psychometric testing of caregiver burden tools has provided a solid foundation for additional research. Although some tools have been well tested, many tools have published limited psychometric properties and feasibility data. The clinician needs to be aware of this and may need to team up with a researcher to obtain additional research data on their specific population before using a minimally tested caregiver burden screening tool. Because caregiver burden is multidimensional and many different terms are used to describe burden, both the clinician and researcher need to be precise in their selection of the appropriate tool for their work.

Screening tools for identification of elder abuse: a systematic review.

PubMed

Gallione, Chiara; Dal Molin, Alberto; Cristina, Fabio V B; Ferns, Hilary; Mattioli, Mark; Suardi, Barbara

2017-08-01

To review the efficacy and accuracy of tools administered to older people, intended to detect and measure elder abuse. The mistreatment of older people represents a widespread problem, with exponential growth risk, especially considering the progressive ageing of the world population. It could have serious consequences for the victim's health if not recognised early, denounced and stopped. Abuse is often undetected by service providers because there is a lack of awareness surrounding the magnitude of the problem. Education and formal training in the signs of abuse are also generally poorly developed, as are reporting procedures which would lead to further investigation. Systematic review. Comprehensive database searches of MEDLINE, Cochrane, EMBASE and Scopus were undertaken. Screening of 695 articles resulted in 11 included. Appraisal and analysis using PRISMA Statement and STROBE checklist were undertaken. Eleven screening tools have been presented: H-S/EAST, VASS, EASI, CASE, BASE, E-IOA, EAI, EPAS, CPEABS, OAPAM and OAFEM, all aimed at healthcare professional or, in some cases, expected to be specifically used by nurses. The fundamental function of any assessment instrument is to guide through a standardised screening process and to ensure that signs of abuse are not missed. Several tools have been tested; some have demonstrated a moderate to good internal consistency and some have been validated to allow an early identification. None have been evaluated against measurable violence or health outcomes. Nurses and all healthcare providers should screen patients routinely. However, we are not able to recommend a single tool as the selection and implementation has to be appropriate to the setting. Furthermore, the study population and the possibility of using multiple tools in combination should be taken into consideration, to assess all the aspects of violence. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Clinical significance of nutritional risk screening tool for hospitalised children with acute burn injuries: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Bang, Y K; Park, M K; Ju, Y S; Cho, K Y

2018-06-01

We assessed the nutritional risks among children hospitalised with acute burn injuries and their associated clinical outcomes using three nutritional risk screening (NRS) tools: Screening Tool for Risk of Impaired Nutritional Status and Growth (STRONG KIDS ), Pediatric Yorkhill Malnutrition Score (PYMS) and Screening Tool for the Assessment for Malnutrition in Pediatrics (STAMP). This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2015 to November 2016, in a regional burn centre. Patients were screened by two independent observers, using the three NRS tools. A total of 100 children aged 3 months to 16.5 years were included. STRONG KIDS identified 16% of patients as having high risk, with being identified 45% by PYMS and 44% by STAMP. After adjustment for confounding factors in multivariate regression analysis, patients in the high-risk group had significantly longer median (SD) lengths of stay [medium versus high risk: STRONG KIDS , 9.5 (6.6) versus 15.0 (24.2) days; PYMS, 8.5 (4.4) versus 13.0 (16.1) days; STAMP, 9.0 (5.7) versus 11.0 (17.4) days] and greater median (SD) weight loss [medium versus high risk: STRONG KIDS , 0.15 (0.8) versus -0.35 (0.8) kg; STAMP, 0.5 (0.7) versus 0 (0.1) kg] than patients in the medium-risk group (P < 0.05). The strengths of agreement in the nutritional risk classification between the two observers were good (κ for STRONG KIDS = 0.61; PYMS = 0.79; STAMP = 0.75) (P < 0.01). The STRONG KIDS , PYMS and STAMP tools could be useful and practical for determining which hospitalised children with acute burn injuries will need additional nutritional intervention. © 2017 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

Nutritional Risk in Emergency-2017: A New Simplified Proposal for a Nutrition Screening Tool.

PubMed

Marcadenti, Aline; Mendes, Larissa Loures; Rabito, Estela Iraci; Fink, Jaqueline da Silva; Silva, Flávia Moraes

2018-03-13

There are many nutrition screening tools currently being applied in hospitals to identify risk of malnutrition. However, multivariate statistical models are not usually employed to take into account the importance of each variable included in the instrument's development. To develop and evaluate the concurrent and predictive validities of a new screening tool of nutrition risk. A prospective cohort study was developed, in which 4 nutrition screening tools were applied to all patients. Length of stay in hospital and mortality were considered to test the predictive validity, and the concurrent validity was tested by comparing the Nuritional Risk in Emergency (NRE)-2017 to the other tools. A total of 748 patients were included. The final NRE-2017 score was composed of 6 questions (advanced age, metabolic stress of the disease, decreased appetite, changing of food consistency, unintentional weight loss, and muscle mass loss) with answers yes or no. The prevalence of nutrition risk was 50.7% and 38.8% considering the cutoff points 1.0 and 1.5, respectively. The NRE-2017 showed a satisfactory power to indentify risk of malnutrition (area under the curve >0.790 for all analyses). According to the NRE-2017, patients at risk of malnutrition have twice as high relative risk of a very long hospital stay. The hazard ratio for mortality was 2.78 (1.03-7.49) when the cutoff adopted by the NRE-2017 was 1.5 points. NRE-2017 is a new, easy-to-apply nutrition screening tool which uses 6 bi-categoric features to detect the risk of malnutrition, and it presented a good concurrent and predictive validity. © 2018 American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.

Patient phenotypes in fibromyalgia comorbid with systemic sclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis: influence of diagnostic and screening tests. Screening with the FiRST questionnaire, diagnosis with the ACR 1990 and revised ACR 2010 criteria.

PubMed

Perrot, Serge; Peixoto, Mariana; Dieudé, Philippe; Hachulla, Eric; Avouac, Jerome; Ottaviani, Sebastien; Allanore, Yannick

2017-01-01

Fibromyalgia (FM) may occur with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic sclerosis (SSc), and debate remains about its diagnosis. We aimed to use three FM tools (a screening tool (FiRST), diagnostic criteria (ACR 1990 and revised 2010), to compare FM prevalence between RA and SSc patients, to describe the phenotypes of patients with comorbid FM, and to analyze links between FM and secondary Sjögren's syndrome (SS). Consecutive adult patients with confirmed RA or SSc from four university hospitals were tested with the three FM tools. FiRST detected FM in 22.6% of the 172 RA patients, with confirmation in 22.1% (ACR1990) and 19.1% (ACR2010). ACR1990FM+ RA patients had more diffuse pain, whereas ACR2010FM+ RA patients had higher BMI and pain intensity, more diffuse pain, active disease, disability, and associated SS. FiRST detected FM in 27.8% of the 122 SSc patients, with confirmation in 30.3% (ACR1990) and 23.7% (ACR2010). ACR1990FM+ SSc patients had greater disability and pain intensity, and more diffuse pain, whereas ACR2010FM+ SSc patients had higher BMI, pain intensity, more disability and diffuse pain, and associated SS. Correlations between FM diagnostic and screening tool results were modest in both conditions. Secondary SS was associated with comorbid FM. The prevalence of FM is high in SSc and RA, whatever the FM diagnostic tool used. Secondary SS is associated with FM in both RA and SSc. The revised ACR 2010 FM criteria and FiRST screening tool reveal specific phenotypes potentially useful for improving disease management.

Hearing loss screening tool (COBRA score) for newborns in primary care setting

PubMed Central

Poonual, Watcharapol; Navacharoen, Niramon; Kangsanarak, Jaran; Namwongprom, Sirianong

2017-01-01

Purpose To develop and evaluate a simple screening tool to assess hearing loss in newborns. A derived score was compared with the standard clinical practice tool. Methods This cohort study was designed to screen the hearing of newborns using transiently evoked otoacoustic emission and auditory brain stem response, and to determine the risk factors associated with hearing loss of newborns in 3 tertiary hospitals in Northern Thailand. Data were prospectively collected from November 1, 2010 to May 31, 2012. To develop the risk score, clinical-risk indicators were measured by Poisson risk regression. The regression coefficients were transformed into item scores dividing each regression-coefficient with the smallest coefficient in the model, rounding the number to its nearest integer, and adding up to a total score. Results Five clinical risk factors (Craniofacial anomaly, Ototoxicity, Birth weight, family history [Relative] of congenital sensorineural hearing loss, and Apgar score) were included in our COBRA score. The screening tool detected, by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, more than 80% of existing hearing loss. The positive-likelihood ratio of hearing loss in patients with scores of 4, 6, and 8 were 25.21 (95% confidence interval [CI], 14.69–43.26), 58.52 (95% CI, 36.26–94.44), and 51.56 (95% CI, 33.74–78.82), respectively. This result was similar to the standard tool (The Joint Committee on Infant Hearing) of 26.72 (95% CI, 20.59–34.66). Conclusion A simple screening tool of five predictors provides good prediction indices for newborn hearing loss, which may motivate parents to bring children for further appropriate testing and investigations. PMID:29234358

Analysis of outcomes in radiation oncology: An integrated computational platform

PubMed Central

Liu, Dezhi; Ajlouni, Munther; Jin, Jian-Yue; Ryu, Samuel; Siddiqui, Farzan; Patel, Anushka; Movsas, Benjamin; Chetty, Indrin J.

2009-01-01

Radiotherapy research and outcome analyses are essential for evaluating new methods of radiation delivery and for assessing the benefits of a given technology on locoregional control and overall survival. In this article, a computational platform is presented to facilitate radiotherapy research and outcome studies in radiation oncology. This computational platform consists of (1) an infrastructural database that stores patient diagnosis, IMRT treatment details, and follow-up information, (2) an interface tool that is used to import and export IMRT plans in DICOM RT and AAPM/RTOG formats from a wide range of planning systems to facilitate reproducible research, (3) a graphical data analysis and programming tool that visualizes all aspects of an IMRT plan including dose, contour, and image data to aid the analysis of treatment plans, and (4) a software package that calculates radiobiological models to evaluate IMRT treatment plans. Given the limited number of general-purpose computational environments for radiotherapy research and outcome studies, this computational platform represents a powerful and convenient tool that is well suited for analyzing dose distributions biologically and correlating them with the delivered radiation dose distributions and other patient-related clinical factors. In addition the database is web-based and accessible by multiple users, facilitating its convenient application and use. PMID:19544785

InteGO2: a web tool for measuring and visualizing gene semantic similarities using Gene Ontology.

PubMed

Peng, Jiajie; Li, Hongxiang; Liu, Yongzhuang; Juan, Liran; Jiang, Qinghua; Wang, Yadong; Chen, Jin

2016-08-31

The Gene Ontology (GO) has been used in high-throughput omics research as a major bioinformatics resource. The hierarchical structure of GO provides users a convenient platform for biological information abstraction and hypothesis testing. Computational methods have been developed to identify functionally similar genes. However, none of the existing measurements take into account all the rich information in GO. Similarly, using these existing methods, web-based applications have been constructed to compute gene functional similarities, and to provide pure text-based outputs. Without a graphical visualization interface, it is difficult for result interpretation. We present InteGO2, a web tool that allows researchers to calculate the GO-based gene semantic similarities using seven widely used GO-based similarity measurements. Also, we provide an integrative measurement that synergistically integrates all the individual measurements to improve the overall performance. Using HTML5 and cytoscape.js, we provide a graphical interface in InteGO2 to visualize the resulting gene functional association networks. InteGO2 is an easy-to-use HTML5 based web tool. With it, researchers can measure gene or gene product functional similarity conveniently, and visualize the network of functional interactions in a graphical interface. InteGO2 can be accessed via http://mlg.hit.edu.cn:8089/ .

Screening for hearing, visual and dual sensory impairment in older adults using behavioural cues: a validation study.

PubMed

Roets-Merken, Lieve M; Zuidema, Sytse U; Vernooij-Dassen, Myrra J F J; Kempen, Gertrudis I J M

2014-11-01

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Severe Dual Sensory Loss screening tool, a tool designed to help nurses and care assistants to identify hearing, visual and dual sensory impairment in older adults. Construct validity of the Severe Dual Sensory Loss screening tool was evaluated using Crohnbach's alpha and factor analysis. Interrater reliability was calculated using Kappa statistics. To evaluate the predictive validity, sensitivity and specificity were calculated by comparison with the criterion standard assessment for hearing and vision. The criterion used for hearing impairment was a hearing loss of ≥40 decibel measured by pure-tone audiometry, and the criterion for visual impairment was a visual acuity of ≤0.3 diopter or a visual field of ≤0.3°. Feasibility was evaluated by the time needed to fill in the screening tool and the clarity of the instruction and items. Prevalence of dual sensory impairment was calculated. A total of 56 older adults receiving aged care and 12 of their nurses and care assistants participated in the study. Crohnbach's alpha was 0.81 for the hearing subscale and 0.84 for the visual subscale. Factor analysis showed two constructs for hearing and two for vision. Kappa was 0.71 for the hearing subscale and 0.74 for the visual subscale. The predictive validity showed a sensitivity of 0.71 and a specificity of 0.72 for the hearing subscale; and a sensitivity of 0.69 and a specificity of 0.78 for the visual subscale. The optimum cut-off point for each subscale was score 1. The nurses and care assistants reported that the Severe Dual Sensory Loss screening tool was easy to use. The prevalence of hearing and vision impairment was 55% and 29%, respectively, and that of dual sensory impairment was 20%. The Severe Dual Sensory Loss screening tool was compared with the criterion standards for hearing and visual impairment and was found a valid and reliable tool, enabling nurses and care assistants to identify hearing, visual and dual sensory impairment among older adults. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High-throughput strategies for the discovery and engineering of enzymes for biocatalysis.

PubMed

Jacques, Philippe; Béchet, Max; Bigan, Muriel; Caly, Delphine; Chataigné, Gabrielle; Coutte, François; Flahaut, Christophe; Heuson, Egon; Leclère, Valérie; Lecouturier, Didier; Phalip, Vincent; Ravallec, Rozenn; Dhulster, Pascal; Froidevaux, Rénato

2017-02-01

Innovations in novel enzyme discoveries impact upon a wide range of industries for which biocatalysis and biotransformations represent a great challenge, i.e., food industry, polymers and chemical industry. Key tools and technologies, such as bioinformatics tools to guide mutant library design, molecular biology tools to create mutants library, microfluidics/microplates, parallel miniscale bioreactors and mass spectrometry technologies to create high-throughput screening methods and experimental design tools for screening and optimization, allow to evolve the discovery, development and implementation of enzymes and whole cells in (bio)processes. These technological innovations are also accompanied by the development and implementation of clean and sustainable integrated processes to meet the growing needs of chemical, pharmaceutical, environmental and biorefinery industries. This review gives an overview of the benefits of high-throughput screening approach from the discovery and engineering of biocatalysts to cell culture for optimizing their production in integrated processes and their extraction/purification.

Poverty and pediatric palliative care: what can we do?

PubMed

Beaune, Laura; Leavens, Anne; Muskat, Barbara; Ford-Jones, Lee; Rapoport, Adam; Zlotnik Shaul, Randi; Morinis, Julia; Chapman, Lee Ann

2014-01-01

It has been recognized that families of children with life-limiting health conditions struggle with significant financial demands, yet may not have awareness of resources available to them. Additionally, health care providers may not be aware of the socioeconomic needs of families they care for. This article describes a mixed-methods study examining the content validity and utility for health care providers of a poverty screening tool and companion resource guide for the pediatric palliative care population. The study found high relevance and validity of the tool. Significant barriers to implementing the screening tool in clinical practice were described by participants, including: concerns regarding time required, roles and responsibilities, and discomfort in asking about income. Implications for practice and suggestions for improving the tool are discussed. Screening and attention to the social determinants of health lie within the scope of practice of all health care providers. Social workers can play a leadership role in this work.

Correspondence of the Boston Assessment of Traumatic Brain Injury-Lifetime (BAT-L) clinical interview and the VA TBI screen.

PubMed

Fortier, Catherine Brawn; Amick, Melissa M; Kenna, Alexandra; Milberg, William P; McGlinchey, Regina E

2015-01-01

Mild traumatic brain injury is the signature injury of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and Operation New Dawn (OND), yet its identification and diagnosis is controversial and fraught with challenges. In 2007, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) implemented a policy requiring traumatic brain injury (TBI) screening on all individuals returning from deployment in the OEF/OIF/OND theaters of operation that lead to the rapid and widespread use of the VA TBI screen. The Boston Assessment of TBI-Lifetime (BAT-L) is the first validated, postcombat semistructured clinical interview to characterize head injuries and diagnose TBIs throughout the life span, including prior to, during, and post-military service. Community-dwelling convenience sample of 179 OEF/OIF/OND veterans. BAT-L, VA TBI screen. Based on BAT-L diagnosis of military TBI, the VA TBI screen demonstrated similar sensitivity (0.85) and specificity (0.82) when administered by research staff. When BAT-L diagnosis was compared with historical clinician-administered VA TBI screen in a subset of participants, sensitivity was reduced. The specificity of the research-administered VA TBI screen was more than adequate. The sensitivity of the VA TBI screen, although relatively high, suggests that it does not oversample or "catch all" possible military TBIs. Traumatic brain injuries identified by the BAT-L, but not identified by the VA TBI screen, were predominantly noncombat military injuries. There is potential concern regarding the validity and reliability of the clinician administered VA TBI screen, as we found poor correspondence between it and the BAT-L, as well as low interrater reliability between the clinician-administered and research-administered screen.

Towards Automated Screening of Two-dimensional Crystals

PubMed Central

Cheng, Anchi; Leung, Albert; Fellmann, Denis; Quispe, Joel; Suloway, Christian; Pulokas, James; Carragher, Bridget; Potter, Clinton S.

2007-01-01

Screening trials to determine the presence of two-dimensional (2D) protein crystals suitable for three-dimensional structure determination using electron crystallography is a very labor-intensive process. Methods compatible with fully automated screening have been developed for the process of crystal production by dialysis and for producing negatively stained grids of the resulting trials. Further automation via robotic handling of the EM grids, and semi-automated transmission electron microscopic imaging and evaluation of the trial grids is also possible. We, and others, have developed working prototypes for several of these tools and tested and evaluated them in a simple screen of 24 crystallization conditions. While further development of these tools is certainly required for a turn-key system, the goal of fully automated screening appears to be within reach. PMID:17977016

Iterative Development of an Online Dietary Recall Tool: INTAKE24.

PubMed

Simpson, Emma; Bradley, Jennifer; Poliakov, Ivan; Jackson, Dan; Olivier, Patrick; Adamson, Ashley J; Foster, Emma

2017-02-09

Collecting large-scale population data on dietary intake is challenging, particularly when resources and funding are constrained. Technology offers the potential to develop novel ways of collecting large amounts of dietary information while making it easier, more convenient, intuitive, and engaging for users. INTAKE24 is an online multiple pass 24 h dietary recall tool developed for use in national food and nutrition surveys. The development of INTAKE24 was a four-stage iterative process of user interaction and evaluation with the intended end users, 11-24 years old. A total of 80 11-24 years old took part in the evaluation, 20 at each stage. Several methods were used to elicit feedback from the users including, 'think aloud', 'eye tracking', semi-structured interviews, and a system usability scale. Each participant completed an interviewer led recall post system completion. Key system developments generated from the user feedback included a 'flat' interface, which uses only a single interface screen shared between all of the various activities (e.g., free text entry, looking up foods in the database, portion size estimation). Improvements to the text entry, search functionality, and navigation around the system were also influenced through feedback from users at each stage. The time to complete a recall using INTAKE24 almost halved from the initial prototype to the end system, while the agreement with an interviewer led recall improved. Further developments include testing the use of INTAKE24 with older adults and translation into other languages for international use. Our future aim is to validate the system with recovery biomarkers.

Iterative Development of an Online Dietary Recall Tool: INTAKE24

PubMed Central

Simpson, Emma; Bradley, Jennifer; Poliakov, Ivan; Jackson, Dan; Olivier, Patrick; Adamson, Ashley J.; Foster, Emma

2017-01-01

Collecting large-scale population data on dietary intake is challenging, particularly when resources and funding are constrained. Technology offers the potential to develop novel ways of collecting large amounts of dietary information while making it easier, more convenient, intuitive, and engaging for users. INTAKE24 is an online multiple pass 24 h dietary recall tool developed for use in national food and nutrition surveys. The development of INTAKE24 was a four-stage iterative process of user interaction and evaluation with the intended end users, 11–24 years old. A total of 80 11–24 years old took part in the evaluation, 20 at each stage. Several methods were used to elicit feedback from the users including, ‘think aloud’, ‘eye tracking’, semi-structured interviews, and a system usability scale. Each participant completed an interviewer led recall post system completion. Key system developments generated from the user feedback included a ‘flat’ interface, which uses only a single interface screen shared between all of the various activities (e.g., free text entry, looking up foods in the database, portion size estimation). Improvements to the text entry, search functionality, and navigation around the system were also influenced through feedback from users at each stage. The time to complete a recall using INTAKE24 almost halved from the initial prototype to the end system, while the agreement with an interviewer led recall improved. Further developments include testing the use of INTAKE24 with older adults and translation into other languages for international use. Our future aim is to validate the system with recovery biomarkers. PMID:28208763

Building a virtual ligand screening pipeline using free software: a survey.

PubMed

Glaab, Enrico

2016-03-01

Virtual screening, the search for bioactive compounds via computational methods, provides a wide range of opportunities to speed up drug development and reduce the associated risks and costs. While virtual screening is already a standard practice in pharmaceutical companies, its applications in preclinical academic research still remain under-exploited, in spite of an increasing availability of dedicated free databases and software tools. In this survey, an overview of recent developments in this field is presented, focusing on free software and data repositories for screening as alternatives to their commercial counterparts, and outlining how available resources can be interlinked into a comprehensive virtual screening pipeline using typical academic computing facilities. Finally, to facilitate the set-up of corresponding pipelines, a downloadable software system is provided, using platform virtualization to integrate pre-installed screening tools and scripts for reproducible application across different operating systems. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press.